Free Within the Cards by Donna Altman Page B

tarnished in any way. They had to maintain power in the immortal world. If it were known one of their kind left the family and walked with the purebreds, their race would be seen as a mockery in the face of all immortals. They felt if you could not control your own, then how could you control the realm of the world of the undead.
    Embarrassment was not something a witchyre would stand for much less the leaders of this clan tolerate. They knew the only way to bring her back home to their lifestyle was to cast a spell on her. Without a spell, she would have never left me. Ellie would never leave me unless she had no choice. I knew they forced her. She loved me, and I loved her. I could not give up on her now. I would never give up on Ellie. She was more than a lover; she was my wife.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Six
    TAKEN AWAY
     
     
    The day they took her away was burnt in my memory as if it were yesterday. We had recently moved to the Georgia coast. Savannah was a beautiful town. It was settled in Seventeen Thirty-three. It was an old city even in the time that Ellie and I lived there. It withstood the Civil War, and Sherman spared it during his march through Georgia.
    The buildings were tall with beautiful architecture. The town’s roads spared the old oak trees layered with Spanish moss. These roads didn’t intersect with the normal cross formation. They made squares around the towering trees. Local people walked these roads visiting each square to familiarize themselves with the occupants of that area.
    Savannah was a town that flourished due to the river that ran through it. The river was wide enough for large vessels to pass easily and made the owners of the cotton gin industry rich. Ellie and I strolled the river’s edge every afternoon. We hunted its banks for drifters and drunks that happened to fall into the watery rolling tide. It was the same river where Ellie and I married each other and formally pledged our eternity. Our wedding was a small ceremony of a few friends that we came to know after moving to this great city.
    We met these friends when we arrived in Savannah. The southern hospitality over-flowed and seeped through every crack in the town. The southern accents of these people slide off their tongues with a slow grace of etiquette. Ellie love to listen to the women as they gossiped over the week's news. She laughed when she said, imitating the sweetest of southern charm, “they could cut your throat and make you supper with the same knife.” These southern bells flowed with grace and certainty as they chattered while watching their children in the street’s squares.
    Our time in Savannah was the happiest. We were married in Liberty square under an oak tree that Ellie was sure was older than she. The day I saw her in her wedding dress made me realize that although we were immortal and considered dark creatures of the night by those who spoke of these fairy tale myths, we were, for all that attended, a normal young couple just beginning their lives together. That day we both were no longer outcast, but we were considered part of a family of friends. These friends never realizing that we shared a secret.
    Ironically, Ellie and I sat in Liberty square on the last day we were together and laughing at the conversations of the women that watched people pass by each time greeting each other. There were two women in particular that day that Ellie found amusing. We listened to these two women as they sat on the bench near us.
    “Hello, Margaret,” one of the women called out as a small framed woman strolled by. She stopped for a few moments.
    “Hello, Olivia,” she returned the greeting with a smile.
    “How is John doing? I heard he had taken ill.” the woman named Olivia spoke, looking up at the woman standing in front of her.
    “He’s doing well, thank you for asking. The doctor said he should be as good as new in a day or two.” Margaret smiled with her reply.
    “Well, I hope he feels better soon.