Against The Odds (14 page)

They walked in silence, in the dark, Rebecca hesitant,
thinking about The Darkness, and Clayton, sure-footed, thinking how
good it would be. At the cottage, Clayton went to take off his
suit. Rebecca, in the adjoining
cottage, decided to change
too. It was well after midnight, but they behaved like the night
was just beginning. Rebecca was trying to decide whether to wear
the long negligee or a pair of cheeky shorts to seduce him, when
she heard it. It hissed and sucked the air in great big gulps. It
was angry, agitated. It came to the patio door, tapped on the glass
and moved away. It wanted her to know it was there. Rebecca cried
out.

“
Not now. No, not now.”

She fell onto her knees. She could never win. She
would
never have the man she loved. Tears were streaming
down her face when she realized she was not alone and when she
looked up, the shock ravaged her body. She stared at him,
motionless, unable to comprehend. There was Clayton, with nothing
on but a white towel, his hair standing spiky and his eyes white
and crazed. He looked like he would pounce on her.

Clayton had gone into the shower, needing to calm his
nerves. He had just run the water when he heard it, the hissing,
threatening sound. His hair had stood
up and he knew it was
going for Rebecca. He rushed to the adjoining door, but they had
not unlocked it. He saw no key, so he went outside and that’s when
he saw it. It was a great, brown bat, tapping its beak on the
window. It wanted Rebecca and he moved towards it. It looked at him
and he saw its fear. Something about him had scared it, because it
flew wildly away.
I
s Rebecca alright?
He panicked and ran to her. He saw her, sitting there,
crying. He could not move. Her fear and desperation shocked
him.
He was even more shocked at the way she stared at him,
as if he was an animal.

“
Clayton, Clayton, you are the white tiger? Oh, Clayton. Why
didn’t you tell me? Why did you keep it from me? Why Clayton?
Why?”

She was hysterical now, and Clayton just stood
there.
What was
going on, white tiger, me? What is she on about?

He moved
towards her, but she lifted her hand.

“
Don’t dare touch me, you bastard. Don’t you dare! You liar!
What did you think would happen? Tell me, tell me.”

“Rebecca, please calm down. I
don’t know what you
are saying. Rebecca? Rebecca?”

“How could I have not seen it? Those eyes, of course. You
were staring me in the face the whole time. Those blue eyes. Of
course, the
harbor
. Your
office is right there, on Victoria Street.”

“Rebecca,
are you listening to me? Calm down. I am
coming to you now, okay?”

He moved
to her and touched her arm. The electric shock hit them and she
shouted.

“Why do you try and hurt me? Why? You are supposed to me my
Protector. You are not supposed to hurt me.
Go away. You
want to hurt me.”

“
Rebecca, Princess, please, I don’t want to hurt you. You are
just scared, okay? Please, let me hold you.”

Rebecca felt defeated. He had come straight after The
Darkness. She was confused.
Has my white tiger gone dark? Is that why things
had been different? That he would betray me? Okay, he might as well
get it over with. Let it be the end.

She felt him lift her and put her on the bed. He was
holding her and he let her cry. He rocked her gently and she fell
asleep. Clayton covered
her, but he could not bear to leave
her. He had no clue what was going on, but her fear had been
shocking, to say the least.
What is that thing? Why has it come for her? Why
does she think I am a white tiger? What is she accusing me
of?
These
questions
plagued his mind, until he fell off to sleep,
holding Rebecca.

~ ~ ~
~

Rebecca woke up and felt Clayton’s arm around her. She
turned and stared at him. He was sleeping, a frown on his face. He
opened his eyes to see Rebecca staring at him. She saw the
confusion in his face and his fear that she would attack him again.
She looked at his blue eyes, as they got darker and she finally
accepted the truth she had been too scared to accept. Clayton was
her Protector, her white tiger. He did not know. She felt slightly
silly. Nana had given her such a clear description of him.
His
azurite eyes were unmistakably those of a white tiger.
Also, he walked in that slow deliberate way and often paced when he
was agitated. Why had she not accepted this truth?

“
Rebecca?” Clayton sounded so unsure of himself, it broke her
heart.

“Clayton,
hello. I think you should put something on
because that white towel is not hiding a thing.”

Clayton
did not move. He was looking at her, trying to decide if he had
been dreaming. She was behaving as if nothing had happened. Was he
hallucinating, as Jono would say?

“
Rebecca, what happened last night?”

“
Clayton, dark blue questions so early.”

She
tried to move away from him, but he held her.

“
No, no more running away. Now Rebecca, now.”

“I
know, but can we just sit properly, have some coffee and talk?
Please. I need it. I
really need it. I know that there are
things we need to talk about Clayton, but some coffee first? And
clothes for you? Okay?”

Clayton
could see she was trying to buy some time and he could see she was
afraid.

“Alright, let’s do it your way. But Rebecca, we
are
not leaving this place until you have told me everything. I don’t
care if we stay here forever. Do you understand?”

“
Yes. Now, can I make us some coffee?”

Clayton got up and found the key and opened the door. He
left the inter-leading door opened as
he dressed. He did not
want anything to happen while he went out, so he listened carefully
as she made the coffee.

They sat
in the kitchen at the table and Clayton waited patiently for her to
begin.

“Clayton, I don’t really know what to say. It is so
complicated
and strange and I want to tell you that, if at
the end of this, you think I am crazy, I will understand. I also
want to say that I have tried so hard, in my mind, to keep you out
of this. You must believe me. I tried to pretend that I didn’t
know, so that I could protect you. Okay, what do you want to
know?”

“
Rebecca.”

His eyes
were icy blue and he was getting annoyed with her. He waited a long
time to hear what was going in their lives and all she was doing
was trying to stall.

“Rebecca, I want to discus
s this rationally. But,
you are determined to make me angry. What do I want to know? What
the fuck is that supposed to mean? Are you playing with
me?”

“
Clayton, please calm down.”

She got up and paced around, coffee in hand. What should
she say? Where to star
t? Clayton’s eyes followed her as she
paced. He did not move from his seat. He was starting to frighten
her. He looked like he would explode.
This is not helping.
Where should she start?

“Tell me what that bat-thing was outside last night. Why he
came for
you.”

“
Okay, well that’s The Darkness. It is a creature which was
created or rather born when I was born. It has the sole purpose of
destroying me, my life basically. Oh Clayton, how do I say this?
Okay, let me tell you what happened. I was fourteen years old when
I became aware of the problem.”

Her eyes
clouded and her mind meandered its way back in time.

*****

Rebecca was fourteen
years old when she first realized that something was odd
about her. All the boys feared her and very few tried to ask her
out on a date. She knew she was beautiful and was confused why
other less attractive girls got more boys interested in them.
Rebecca felt hurt and isolated and fought back with her intelligent
wit and soon was very popular at school. However
, boys were
always hesitant with her. One boy, Malcolm, a tall thin boy with
shy smile, often walked her home and chatted to her. He clearly
liked her and they spent a great deal of time together. She
desperately wanted him to touch her, but he always hesitated. She
asked him once why he did not like her and he simply
replied.

“
I am afraid of what you will do to me. Oh Rebecca, I want to
kiss you so much, but I know you will hurt me.”

She had pushed him for more information, but he said
nothing. She felt
rejected and confused. That night she went
to see Nana, who lived close by and asked her why boys were afraid
of her.

They sat on the patio and Nana was silent. Rebecca became
hysterical. “Oh, no, there is something wrong with me. Nana,
please, not
you too. My parents stare blankly when I ask and
you too.”

Nana,
her short red hair blowing in wind, had held her close and tried to
comfort her.

“
No, I do not want your comfort, tell me the
truth.”

Nana had gone inside and returned with a dusty
photo
album. The whole album was filled with pictures of men, some young,
some old, some recent pictures, some fading.

“These are all the men that I have loved or who have loved
me through my life. None of them have lasted long in my life. Each
of them, f
or some reason, would turn away from me in fear.
Only your grandfather remained with me. He was my Protector, as
your father is your mother’s Protector. That is what the special
man is called ‘The Protector’.”

What is Nana on about? What protector? From
what?

“You see my child, all women born from my family have been
cursed. This is an old curse and nobody has been able to break it.
It seems that one of your great grandmothers, Portia, was quite
the
favored
one with
men.
Because she was so beautiful, she always got the men
she wanted. One woman, Felicia, finally put an end to it. Portia
and Felicia were best friends, until Portia tried to steal her
friend’s husband. Felicia went into the forest, where she met with
a black witch. They made ‘The Curse of The Darkness’, a spell which
binds many generations to its power. It creates a creature, which
looks like a bat with yellow, owl eyes. It is born the day a female
child in the family is born. It lives and watches and its lone task
is to frighten men away from the woman concerned.”

Nana
looked tired now.

“
But Nana, there is no such creature with me. I know this.
Surely I would have seen it or felt it?”

“Rebecca, you must
let me finish. The creature,
known as The Darkness, is not seen by all. It creates a shadow and
glares with its yellow eyes over your shoulder at a man who cares
about you. It will frighten him and make him believe that you are
frightening. It has always been this way. My mother, frustrated and
tired, found a white witch to try and break the spell. She could
not break it, but she found a way to deal with it. It seems that
the spell was based on lust and sex, not love. It works on a man’s
fear. If he really loved a woman he could match the force of The
Darkness with love. The only men who have seen the creature are the
men who can protect you from it. Each of us has a Protector. He is
the only one who holds the key to its weakness. Rebecca, until you
meet your Protector, your relationships will be short and painful.
You must learn to accept this. Many men will desire you, but few
will ever enjoy the pleasures of your flesh. That was the basis of
the curse, that all of us would be untouchable, though desired. Do
you understand, my baby?”

Rebecca was stunned into silence. She could not believe
what her grandmother was telling her. She t
hought of her parents and realized that
they had always seemed to have a special bond beyond the normal
love for each other. It was al
so true that her father was
his mother’s protector. He was fiercely protective over her and she
often teased him about it.
Nana
explained that each woman in the family had a protective symbol,
which did not destroy The Darkness, but limited its power
.
Without the symbol, the Protector could be killed or destroyed. She
explained why her mother never took off the large amethyst ring she
wore and why she had a red dragon’s eye tattooed on her left
shoulder. She told Rebecca that The Darkness grew stronger with
each generation and it seemed to affect the women at a younger age.
She had only experienced its power at the age of twenty-five, but
Rowena had felt it at eighteen. Now, she was feeling its effects at
fourteen. Nana was worried about this.
What does it mean?
She told Rebecca that they would know that the curse was over when
the woman bore a son. No woman had born a son in her family in many
generations.

“I
will meditate tonight for you. Give me your watch. And I will
discover the symbol of your
protection. We must get to work
right now, before someone is harmed. The Darkness is getting too
strong.”