Life Curse: Taber Blood I

Chapter 24

Daniel took the kids to Jared's room. He left them playing with Jared's action figures and then joined Macey, Roxanna, and David. The stranger who hid in the woods claims to be the great-great-grandson of Edward Taber. His great-great-grandfather was banned from the family by Evalena at least two centuries ago. Daniel didn't see this new obstacle for Evalena coming, and he wondered if the threat posed would ignite her evil spirit. If so, danger lies ahead for anyone who gets in her way. 

"They were the ones responsible for my great-great-grandfather's placement in the asylum. Joseph rebelled against the witch, Evalena, so she possessed my great uncle and forced him to commit Edward Taber to a life in confinement. If you interfere with her plans for Jared, she will do the same to you."

Macey's heart rate increased, "What plans for Jared? Edward, you said?"

"Ed or Eddie is fine. Jared is the last born Taber. Or so the tree of ancestors thought."

David cleared his throat, leaned forward, elbows atop the table, and spied the young man's mannerisms. "Thought?"

"Yes, the ancestors didn't know about me until now."

Roxanna pounded on the table, "Please say it all before I punch you!"

Daniel also started in on Eddie, but Macey remained quiet. She couldn't stop staring at Eddie's eyes because they were identical to Jared's. Her father-in-law was a stoic, ruthless man. Though he wasn't more unusual than the next man who displayed the same traits, he did not seem bothered with what people thought of him. His piercing blue eyes lacked life as if he were staring straight through her at all times like he didn't see the natural world in front of him.  Perhaps he saw the very witch Eddie now claims will destroy her if she attempts to save her son. Macey rubbed her sweaty hands on her pant leg. The witch already speaks to Jared through the hand-painted tree. So did the ancestors. Macey assumed the witch controlled the ancestors, which spells trouble for Jared. 

"What is it the ancestors seek?" Macey was calm, more so than the other three. They were about to kill the messenger, but Macey wanted to hear why the ancestors wanted to take her son. 

Eddie rested his back onto the chair and sighed, "Our ancestor, Joseph Taber, met an evil witch who came to the Americas by ship. Her name is Evalena. Macey and Daniel weren't surprised, but Roxanna and David were learning in real-time.

"You mean her name was Evalena, the witch," Roxanna said. "Here, I thought our problem was a tree painted on a wall. A dead witch makes more sense," she said with a sarcastic tone. 

"Evalena cursed Joseph and still lives within the mansion. The curse allows her to live using a Taber as a host." There was more to the story, but  Eddie thought it better to withhold the details. 

"What did this witch want?" Roxanna said.

"What does she want," Eddie said as he leaned forward. 

"Does?" David said. All this was intriguing, frightening, and bizarre. David's father didn't write anything about a witch named Evalena. The urge to write everything down overcame him, just like his father before him. The minor details matter when assessing their situation. In this scenario, it could save a child from the unimaginable. 

"It is Evalena who possesses the Tabers. She continues to live as long as the curse remains," Eddie said. "Grandfather told the stories when I was a young boy. Evalena is capable of jumping from one body to another. She can survive in anyone's body, but it is short-lived without Taber blood."

"So when Elijah died, she jumped to another person?" Macey said.

Daniel knew what she was thinking, that Evalena possessed him. "I do apologize, ma'am."