Chapter 10 ~ Should She Stay, Or Should She Go? ~

• ~ Should She Stay, Or Should She Go? ~
• As the minutes ticked away in the back of the car. Silence enveloped William and Rosa. Only the occasional sigh out of Rosa was heard.
• 'What is Miss Erickson thinking about?' William mused to himself. Glancing at her from his peripheral vision. She was intently staring at the blur of the patches of greenery, with the farmhouse here and there in the far distance. Her fingers tightened into a ball as her nails dug into her skin.
• Their unspoken thoughts hung between them. Each is lost in their own minds.
• 'Is he a vampire like me? Betty has never said anything to me about this, nor Mimi!' Rosa wrinkled her nose as she thought about the possibilities. 'Why is he staring at me? Oh, shit, I hope he isn't a mind reader!' Rosa turned her head and offered him a forced smile.
• With the clouds that gradually moved on into the region, raindrops were released, falling down to the surface of the earth.
• Huffing, William’s gaze flickered toward Rosa, who stared intently out the window again. Her expression of frustration. He could sense the storm brewing behind her calm facade.
• “Tell me,” William ventured, trying to gauge Rosa's mood. “How do you know The Game Master?”
• The contorted expression on Rosa's face said a lot. William had found one root of Rosa's disgruntled mood. Thinking twice before she opened her mouth. William chuckled internally. 'At least she thinks twice before she speaks! That is good to know!'
• Rosa opened her mouth to begin, "You mean Travis!" Rosa snorted. "Long story short," she turned her head to give William her full attention. "Travis had hired me, knowing he didn't have the money to pay for my services. I gave him a choice ... that is when he gave me the ticket. It was the only way he was going to get what he wanted.
• Travis did not thoroughly consider his actions. After all, this was not the first time Travis had contacted me to aid in his projects. He is well aware of my work style! Everyone who has hired me does! And this isn't the first time Travis and I have had beef with one another.
• I am sure you have already figured it out ... but Travis has bitten off more than he can chew. At least this time! That brings me to why I am here.! Travis thinks I am playing this little game that he has created … I have a different plan!” She was honest with the Earl.
• 'Something is different about Rosa!' The shift was subtle, but William could feel it ever since the necklace was taken off Rosa's body. Yet he could not put a finger on what he was sensing from her. He didn't feel threatened, but all of his senses were on high alert. 'What the hell?'
• Rosa continued with a smile on her face, "I am sure that after everything is said and done, Travis will learn a valuable lesson. If he is going to hire outside sources, he better have the funding to pay their wages!" she had finished off.
• Silently, William was trying to figure out the energy that was spilling out from Rosa, 'Fathlia!' it had dawned on him. William instinctively went to the necklace that was once on Rosa's neck. 'Sorcery!' "And what plans do you have in mind?" he controlled the tone of his voice to make sure she didn't realize that he was on to her true nature.
• “My plans have changed slightly, just a bit!" Rosa sealed her lips for a second, thinking about what she would say next. "I have never liked Travis. He is a whiny little piss baby." She forced the sides of her lips up, "if Travis had left things alone. At the airport, I would have called a cab and gone straight to the hotel I had marked down. Instead, Travis started to push his weight around.” Rosa kept her eyes glued on William. “By the time I am done making his life misserable, he will lose my number and contact information, and he will never speak to me again!” she smiled, showing slightly her white teeth.
• William raised a brow, “you are not interest in the grand prize?”
• Rosa motioned with her head no, tilted to the side. "I am a trust fund baby! I don't need the money or the excitement. What I want to do is revisit the locations my family and I had taken 10 years ago." Rosa exhaled loudly as she saw the landscape change from open fields to buildings. Maybe even buy property here. After all, Mimi always wanted me to go back to our roots!"
• He could not figure out if he wanted Rosa to stay at the Mansion or ship her off on her way. "Just make sure you do not interfere with the guest's enjoyment, and we will have no issues!" William had left things there with the conversation.
• William watched every muscle movement on Rosa’s face. Slowly, she drifted to the back of her mind. 'Aiden I thought you said Dalphine could not find anyone registered with the covens with the surnames Lancashire or Erickson?' he mentally asked.
• 'It isn't a law that a person with skills has to register. It only means that there are no members within the coven's under those surnames, sir!' Aiden shifted, uncomfortable behind the wheel. He was beginning to sense that Rosa was a Fathlia. And not someone who came from a weak bloodline, but the opposite.
• William knew that Aiden was correct, yet he was shocked that no one had ever mentioned Rosa Lancashire or Rosa Erickson before. 'What about being a sorceress? Are there any records of that?' he wondered.
• 'I can't say, sir! That would have to be a question for Dalphine, as she maintains all the records for the magickal realm.' Aiden had responded.
• 'There is only one way to find out!' William said to Aiden. "That appears to be a witch's mark!" he pointed at the practically hidden pendant that was under Rosa's cardigan. The same pendant that his mother had pointed out not long ago.
• Taking the item with her hands, she said, "You have good eyesight and have knowledge of such things." Rosa snorted with humour.
• William nodded his head several times. "What coven are you part of?" he asked, wanting to keep the conversation going.
• Rosa filled her lungs before speaking, "I am not! My auntie insists I wear this ridiculous thing. She told me it would keep the demons away." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I could never get on board with that hogwash nonsense. What they do is what I consider to be herbalism, not magick." She was confident in her convictions. "Needless to say, that woman can tell when I am lying, even over the phone. So I don't have to listen to her barking ... I wear the damn thing!"
• "A kitchen witch, I can see your sour outlook!" William smirked, "What about sorcery?"
• Slightly dismissive, "I will never deny its existence!" Rosa said in a flat tone. "But Sorcery and witchcraft ... that's two different things!"
• "True!" William kept his sight on Rosa as she turned her head to look out the window again. Clearly done with the conversation.
• 'Sir, I don't know how it is possible and I am sure you have already picked it up, but Miss Erickson is a fathlia!' There was a hint of worry in the words Aiden had projected to the Earl of Lancashire.
• 'I know! It came forth after a necklace was taken off Miss Erickson's neck. I am sure a powerful sorcerer or sorceress had cast their magick on the item.' William fought to keep the neutral expression on his face. Even more now, he was wondering if he should send Rosa on her way or let her stay.