Mesmerized

Lily. I'm not going into this relationship blind. I know you hold the power."
    "That's not true. We are equals."
    "Yeah right, all you have to do is use your little eye trick on me or lick your lips and I'm a goner. I don't mind though."
    "I promise I will never use compulsion on you. That's just wrong."
    ***
    A couple of hours later the doorbell rang, and Lily jumped up to answer it. A dark-skinned woman with caramel-colored eyes stood on the steps. Lily took in her attire: she wore a black flowing dress, and had a gold-and-black scarf wrapped around her neck. She looked like she belonged in a different era. 
    Light bounced off the huge colorful rings on the woman’s hands. Lily wanted to ask her what the names of the stones were, but realized she was staring. 
    "Can I help you?"
    "You must be Lily. You look just like your mother did at your age. So mesmerizing one has to force themself to look away."
    Heat rose to her cheeks. "Come inside and I'll get my mom."
    “Mom!” Lily yelled up the stairs.
     Her mom hurried down and threw her arms around the woman. "Camille, it's been too long."
    "Agreed. I can't believe this is the first time I've seen your daughter." Camille shook her head as if gravely disappointed. 
    "Lily and Jake, this is Camille, the woman I told you about."
    Jake stood up from the couch and extended his hand to the woman. She grasped his hand and held on for a moment staring at him as if she was searching for something. 
    "Yep, he is cursed alright. What does a woman have to do around her to get some tea?"
    Sandra laughed. "You haven't changed a bit! Still bossy as ever. Come with me." Lily’s mother led Camille to the kitchen. 
    Jake and Lily stared at each other unsure if they should follow or give them time alone. They decided to follow and walked into the kitchen. Sandra and Camille were sitting at the table talking. Lily leaned against the cabinets and Jake copied her.
    Sandra and Camille chatted about their lives over the past few years. Then Sandra started talking about Lily. “We had to tell her a few years ago. She’s done fairly well with the stone, but there are still some issues.”
    Lily grimaced. She didn’t like being talked about like she wasn’t there.
    “We sent her off to boarding school up in New York. That’s where she met Jake. She ran into some trouble up there and they took off together.” Her mother’s gaze shifted over to them. “He’s been good to her. She asked for our help.”
    Camille stared at Jake. “The curse is very old.”
    “Before you go any further,” Jake interrupted. “I don’t wish for you to take the curse away. As you know, Lily ages slowly and I want to be with her for as long as she’s alive.”
    “Are you sure about that? I could break the curse.”
    Jake looked into Lily’s eyes. “Yes. Very. But, when she does die, I want to die with her. Is that anything you can help with?”
    Camille’s eyes bore into Jake. It was like she was reading his soul. After minutes of silence, she spoke, “Yes. I can give you something to drink. It will kill you almost immediately. I would suggest you hide it in a spot only you know of and when that day comes, drink it.”
    Jake nodded. “Thank you.”
    Camille turned back to Sandra. “You said something else. Something about a family after him?”
    “Yes. They’ve been chasing him for generations, catching him here and there.”
    “What do they want?”
    “The secret to immortality.”
    Camille patted the seat next to her. “Come and tell me, Jake.”
    Jake sat down and began his story again, filling her in about the curse, Laura, and their latest capture of him. 
    “You were able to get him out?” Camille asked Lily.
    “Yes. I had to take the necklace off, but we got out.”
    “We have some investigators digging into the family history. How many family members are left, who knows, what kind of money they have,” Sandra added. “We’re hoping to hear back from them sometime today.”
    "This is not going to be easy. I can spell them so they forget about the curse, but we're not really sure how big the web is. How many people know? Does he have a journal... Something this old will have many moving pieces." Camille looked at each one of them searchingly. "This could get dirty. Are you guys prepared for that?" 
    One by one, they nodded their heads. 
    Camille took a deep breath and flattened her hands to the table. She paused for effect, eyeing each of them in turn. "The most