eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work. This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd. 2932 Ross Clark Circle, #384 Dothan, AL 36301 39 & Holding Copyright © 2006 by Tia Bangs Cover by Scott Carpenter ISBN: 1-59998-157-2 www.samhainpublishing.com All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: October 2006
39 & Holding Tia Bangs
Dedication Thank you to my editor, Jessica, who I can never thank enough for all the long hours she puts into helping my stories be the very best they can be. And a huge thank you to Crissy; for making my dream come true. Thank you! Thanks to Rocky, who is not only a friend, but the best crit partner I could ever have! A big thanks to my children. If I didn’t have their support, understanding, and unconditional love; none of this would be possible! ☺ And thanks to you and to all my friends…I truly appreciate all of the support you have shown!
39 & Holding
5
Chapter One “Don’t forget…” “I know, Mom.” The door slammed loudly behind Ashley as she hurried out the door, heading to work. Melissa Lawson smiled as she watched her go. Taking her cup of tea in hand, she strolled over to the calendar on the wall and stared at it dejectedly. Chewing the end of the black pen tied to it, she shook her head. Black just wasn’t bold enough. Fetching a red marker from the utility drawer, she drew a wide circle around a date two rows down from today. Her birthday. She had been married, divorced, married, and divorced again. So where did that leave her now? Thirty-nine and holding! Putting the pen away, she sat down on the sofa to enjoy the quiet and reflect on the impending day. She had married very young the first time around. The second, well, she could only blame that disaster on sheer stupidity. For two years, she’d been making it on her own. She stared at the bright red circle. It was time to make some changes before she turned into her worst nightmare—an old single mother who had nothing once her children finally flew the coop off to college. For Ashley, it wasn’t so far away and Christopher would only be a couple of years behind her. Yes, the time to make the changes in her life was now. Melissa longed to make decisions for herself and to live the way she’d always dreamed. And God help her, if that meant that she’d be thirtynine and holding until she was in an old folks home, well, so be it! She’d www.samhainpublishing.com
6
Tia Bangs
at least have tried… And really, who looks forward to turning forty anyway? She finished her tea, leaned her head against the cushions of the sofa and took a deep breath. A list. That’s what she needed. She reached forward and picked up a pen and pad of paper from the coffee table, crossed her legs and gently tapped the pen off of the side of her cheek. A BRAND NEW ME she wrote neatly, then stared at the few words while thoughts rushed through her mind of what she might put on the list. Once she wrote something down, it was there and she would not cross it out or start the list over, there would be no turning back. Lists kept Melissa on track. It wasn’t easy being a single parent and to keep her home-life running smoothly, she desperately depended on her lists to get through each and every day. First thing she listed was a new look. She picked an easy one to start with. Well, yeah! Change was not easy and any goal worth fulfilling had to be taken in steps. Her first one may be small, but it still counted. And this was a perfect time, too. Since summer break was here, Ashley and Christopher would be doing their thing without her since they’d reached the age where she was an embarrassment. Parents usually embarrassed teenagers, or worse, teenagers deny they even had parents, gasp! And Melissa’s children weren’t any different. They had jumped at the opportunity to go on vacation for two weeks with their grandparents to the beach, though. Melissa had opted to stay home even though her parents begged, pleaded, and even tried to bribe her to go with them. Time alone didn’t come her way often, much less two weeks worth of peace. She was determined to enjoy it while she had it. Shaking off the maudlin thoughts that went along with her birthday and the pressure from her parents to get on with her life, she stared at the list. Why was she so afraid to actually admit she was getting older? www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
7
The big 4-0 was fast approaching. For a short minute, anxiety to put her plan into action rushed into her thoughts, making her cringe with the fear of not knowing if she’d be able to follow through and complete the tasks on her list in time. With a soft sigh, she tucked the note in the utility drawer, away from prying eyes, and rinsed her cup before heading upstairs to get ready for her day. Christopher didn’t do more than mumble when she stuck her head in his room to tell him she was going out and he was on his own for breakfast and lunch. While it wasn’t unusual, she prayed he didn’t destroy the kitchen or burn down the house before she got home. Then, armed with credit cards and cash, she grabbed her keys and headed to the beauty salon. Before she could change her mind, she quickly walked up the steps and into the salon. The receptionist nodded when Melissa approached the desk. With a harried smile, she waved towards the chairs, while juggling the phone on her shoulder and jotting down Melissa’s arrival in the appointment book. Melissa smiled nervously for a second, not really sure what look she was thinking about. Liz, Melissa’s best friend and the owner of the salon, would know what look she’d need to reinvent herself. She’d work her magic and put Melissa one step closer to her goal. Walking over to the chair, she sat down to wait. She shouldn’t have bothered, though. As soon as the receptionist got off of the phone and called back to Liz, her friend hurried out and escorted Melissa back with nonstop chatter. Melissa couldn’t resist a smile at her friend’s bright mood. Sitting in the chair, she waited for Liz to drape a cape around her neck and come up for air. She trusted Liz without a shadow of a doubt. It had taken her five years and a lot of trial and error, mostly error, to find a stylist who she not only liked, but could trust. And Liz fit the bill to a T. But it was more www.samhainpublishing.com
8
Tia Bangs
than that, really. Liz was her best friend and wouldn’t laugh at her sudden need for change with the big 4-0 looming on the horizon. “I need a change, Liz.” Just saying the words aloud helped firm her resolve. One step at a time, that’s how she’d do this. One step at a time. “A change, huh? What kind of change? Big? Small? Talk to me.” Quelling her nerves, Melissa mulled it over as she watched Liz prepare her work area. “I think something big would be good. But not so shocking that I’ll want to wear a hat until it grows out. You’re the boss, do whatever you think that will look better than this mess.” Looking into the mirror, Melissa fluffed her out-of-control hair and let her cinnamon brown eyes meet Liz’s green ones. Something must have registered there because Liz’s eyes widened and a small smile began to creep across her face. Whatever Liz was envisioning, she had apparently wanted to do it for a long time. Silence reigned for a minute before Liz let loose with her ideas. “Okay, well, I think we’ll take off a few inches, maybe add a couple colors here and there, and oh, I know! We’ll add highlights to show off that wicked tan you spend so much time on and…” The excitement filled the shop and Melissa found herself being caught up in it as the nervousness faded away. Crossing her fingers underneath the cape, she silently hoped that she wasn’t taking too big of a first step even as she battled down the doubt. Mentally, she checked off the first item on her list as she picked up a magazine and started flipping though the pages until she found a story that caught her eye and tuned out the noises of the salon. Melissa was brought back to reality as Liz spun the chair away from the mirror. “Go ahead and fix yourself a cup of coffee or tea while you’re processing.” Liz helped her slide off of the chair. Without a thought, Melissa placed the magazine on the worktable and headed towards the coffee maker while Liz began the quick cleanup from her perm. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
9
On her way, she looked at the wall of antique hair utensils, and wondered how on earth a few of them were used so many years ago, some clearly before electricity had been discovered. Her fingers lightly touched a handmade barber’s chair, complete with built in ashtrays, a rollout footrest and a padded leather headrest. A few more steps and she found herself standing in front of an even older looking chair, which had wires dangling down from the hood. Each wire separated into two more wires—one attached to a rod and the other to a clip-like device. “What’s this, Liz?” she asked and glanced at the machine again. “That’s what they used to perm hair with years ago,” Liz said, now standing beside her. “You’re kidding?” “Nope. They used to roll the hair around the rods and clip them into place and then they’d plug it in and that’s how the perm would work. From the electricity with chemicals instead of the chemical reacting perms we have now.” “You mean to tell me, people willingly sat in that chair and stuck their heads under that hood,” she swallowed and searched Liz’s face, “knowing that they were hooked up to electricity and that the hair was wet on metal rods?” “Yes, it was very popular in its day. It was the big thing. Everyone wanted curly hair that lasted longer than dry rollers. And well, no one said it was the best idea, but it did work. It was a bitch in a storm though.” “Oh my, I’ll bet!” She laughed and then pulled in a slow breath of air as she imagined how horrified she’d be if she was hooked up to that machine during a thunderstorm. Someone called for Liz from the front and she stepped away with a smile. “Coming.” www.samhainpublishing.com
10
Tia Bangs
Melissa’s eyes were glued to the machine. She’d always loved history, and she was more than fascinated with this tiny piece of it. Most people liked to know about the big things like weapons and whatnot, but not Melissa. She was most fascinated by the smaller things that made daily life possible before the conveniences of modern electricity and tools. A sudden chill had her rubbing her arms gently to ward it off as she walked around to the other side of the machine, looking at it from another angle. Her fingers twitched with the urge to touch it. Slipping her hand out from the cape, she stepped closer to the machine and slowly moved her hand to the hooded part of it. She had only intended to admire the craftsmanship, but was totally unprepared for the shock that raced up her hand. “Ouch!” Her heart pounded as she began shaking her hand in response. She tucked it back under the safety of the cape and rubbed her hand against her pants. It still stung in response to the charge that had raced through it. “You all right? What happened?” Liz stood next to her even though Melissa hadn’t noticed her approach. “Just got shocked, I’m okay.” “What? That’s not possible,” Liz said as she walked to the side of the machine, bend down and pull the cord from behind the machine, holding it in the air. “It’s not plugged in, Mel, you must have just enough static electricity in your body and when you touched it, you shocked yourself. You know, like from a new carpet?” “Yeah.” She walked with Liz towards the coffee area, ignoring the pulsing sting in her palm that told her otherwise. “That must have been it.” “You sure you’re okay?” www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
11
“Yeah, I’m fine, really…” She gave a nervous laugh and turned towards the coffeepot and began to fix a cup. That would teach her to go around touching things that didn’t belong to her. She was never good at listening as a child when her mother warned her, and now she knew why her children did the same. Payback was a bitch. Lesson learned the hard way. She carried the drink back to the seat and sat down while she waited during the processing time. Before long, Liz was working on her hair again. Two hours later, three magazines read, one coffee, one cup of tea, and feeling like her ass would be permanently numb, Liz finally turned the chair so that she was now facing the mirror. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Short, but not too short. Colored, but not the “God I have to visit the salon every four weeks for a touch-up” color. And there was even a kind of soft wave where she never thought would be possible. It was definitely a positive start to her day and it’d only taken a few hours and seventy dollars to mark part one of the first on her list completed. And she was now on her way to step two of the new look—shopping for clothes. Now, you’d think this would be the best part or most fun for her. But truth be told, she really hated shopping. She totally blamed it on her daughter who loved to shop and usually took three hours before making up her mind over which pair of jeans she liked the best. So shopping for a few outfits was not something she looked forward to. But no one said this changing of life thing would be easy. The steps would get harder the closer she moved towards her goal. With that firmly in mind, she took a deep breath and drove away. Once in the department store, she faced the racks with the determination of a warrior before a battle. She went directly to the section that carried her size and started pulling brightly colored shirts, www.samhainpublishing.com
12
Tia Bangs
skirts, and pants off of the racks and placing them in the cart. From there, she went to the purse aisle so she had matching handbags, and then the shoe department. The whole time she worked through them, she kept her goal in her mind. She wasn’t leaving this store without five brand new, completely matched outfits. By the time she finished, she’d taken longer than planned and was seriously working on a coffee headache. Putting the car in gear, she headed to the small strip mall at the other end of town where her favorite Starbucks was nestled in the corner and offered the luxury of drive through. Pulling up to the front, she debated just grabbing a coffee and bolting home to see to dinner. Her new determination to become her own person raced through her and she pulled into a parking space, instead. Christopher was a big boy. He could make a sandwich and get packed up for his vacation on his own. She made a note to add “cutting the apron strings” to the bottom of her list. With a flash of a smile reminiscent of her younger years, Melissa locked her door and sprinted up the steps to sweep into the shop. The aroma of the different blends of coffee made her mouth water the second the door closed behind her. Melissa took a deep breath, her mouth watering as she walked up to the counter. The pastries in the display case caught her eye and temptation beckoned. When was the last time she'd taken time to sit and enjoy a pastry with her coffee? Giving into the impulse for decadence, she ordered a rich slice of chocolate cake to go along with her mocha. Inhaling the sharp scent of the chocolate, she fumbled with her change before finding a small table tucked into the corner of the room by the window. Melissa settled in her chair and was surprised by the moment of guilt even as she lifted the fork to savor that first sharp bite of bittersweet chocolate. Closing her eyes, she let it slide across her tongue before washing it away with a quick sip of the hot mocha. This was what she'd www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
13
been missing in her life. Somewhere along the way, she'd lost track of those little things that made life rich and worthwhile. She'd set her own needs aside and began living through her children. Now, they were nearly grown and it was time to take some of those little sacrifices back. With that in her mind, she turned to stare out the window to watch the people hurrying along the sidewalk. The Rat Race ran everyone's life. Briefly, she considered item number two on her list. “Extract myself from being a slave to my boss and my career.” That was a project for tomorrow, though. Even as she dismissed the idea, her gaze snagged a brightly colored sign flapping from a loose tie in the autumn breeze. "Grand Opening Sale" was written in crayola bold. Vaguely, she remembered an income tax agent used to have that spot in the strip. It couldn't be that big of a shop, really. Glancing at her watch, she debated the wisdom of checking it out. Her parents were picking the kids up later tonight, so maybe she could find that last minute thing to tuck into their suitcases so they'd open them to a nice surprise from Mom. The one thing she could count on was the total disorganized chaos that came from teenagers packing for a twoweek trip. She’d just grab something and tuck it into their suitcases while they panicked as they tried to pack the kitchen sink. Before she knew it, her stomach was complaining, but those last three bites just had to be eaten. It would be a shame to waste it, after all. Leaning back to savor her coffee, she watched the world move around her. As she watched the passersby, her list rushed through her mind for a brief moment. She could dwell on her list later; now, she was relaxing, enjoying a sunny quiet afternoon and continued to peer out the tall thick paned window. A married couple strolled past. The woman smiled at her and snuggled into the man’s side. An elderly woman followed, who could barely walk even with the use of a walker. The determination to be www.samhainpublishing.com
14
Tia Bangs
independent with each step clearly written on her face as she moved inch by inch down the sidewalk with the caregiver close at her heel. Melissa sipped the last of her mocha drink while watching a mother being tugged by two small children, as they dragged her as fast as their little legs could possibly go, towards the playhouse at the end of the strip mall. She remembered those days. She would beg for a second to take a breather. Now that her own were ready to take on the world and leave the nest, she would give anything for those innocent reckless days again. Which brought her back to reality, her break was over and she needed to be on her way. Putting the world of what-ifs behind her, she ventured out into the afternoon. Each shop had a colorful window display, advertising items of sales, and best buy items. The shopkeepers were full of marketing to the beginning summer rush with an exuberance she almost envied. Anything to catch the eye of window-shoppers in hopes that they’ll step through that door and once there, a sale would be almost definite. She slowed when she spotted the grand opening sign again, and she approached the new shop. From across the square, it hadn’t been clear as to what it was, but on closer examination, she was thoroughly intrigued. It was a unique all occasion gift shop. It wasn’t very large from the size of the glass front, but the artistic display on the shelves placed in front of the windows appealed to her. Curiosity getting the best of her, she was determined to go inside. Just to see how on earth they used the small space for a gift store. She stepped inside, out of the heat, and into the sounds of instrumental music softly floating throughout the shop. She might find the going away gifts for her children in here she hoped. She came up empty handed in the department store, mostly because she had other things on her mind. Then, she was on a mission www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
15
and could not afford to be sidetracked. Now though, she could take her time and browse, maybe something will catch her eye and she wouldn’t have to make another stop on the way home. The store was dimly lit, to fit the mood of the mysterious hunting for treasures theme the owner had chosen for the grand opening. The theme was fitting! Boxes upon boxes were placed on tables; shelves were crammed full of trinkets—jewelry, books, antiques. Even painted thimbles were on display. She found herself standing close to the table where the small boxes were. She glanced at them first, hoping the perfect gift for her daughter would be right there on the top. When nothing caught her eye, she rolled up her sleeves and starting digging through the boxes. A small laugh escaped her lips; this was definitely a treasure hunt! Before long, she had rummaged through almost all of the assorted boxes on the table before she found a piece of jewelry that Ashley just might like. She pulled it out of the box and walked towards the front window, holding it up in better light, checking for sparkle factor and smiling. The necklace was perfect! It had a small crystal rose hanging in the center. At first, it appeared to be one solid color, but when the rose slid across the chain, the different angle of the light hitting it, it changed colors. Satisfied with her choice, Melissa moved on in search for a gift for her son. It took just as long to find the perfect gift for him, but she didn’t care. She was having fun looking for their gifts. Tucking both items under her arm, she browsed through the small shop. There was an area of old dusty books she rummaged through for a minute or two, until she began sneezing, and then moved on to another area of the store. Against one wall, she spotted old music boxes. The temptation to try them won the battle of looking not touching, and before long, she twisted the windup handles on half of the shelf, enjoying the different tunes from www.samhainpublishing.com
16
Tia Bangs
each box. There was one though, that she really liked the soft melody and she turned it over, checking the price tag, and decided she’d buy that for herself. She paid for the items and went back to her car, placing the bag in the back seat next to the department store bags and headed home. Once home, she quickly wrapped up the gifts and prepared dinner. This was their last day together for two weeks, and she wanted everything to be perfect. Their favorite meals, drinks, movies, and she’d surprise them with the gifts. The night was a huge success and even ended perfectly, just as her parents came to pick up her children. They were full, excited, and raring to go. Melissa hugged them several times, in fact, as many as she could get away with right up until they slid across the seat of her parents car. She even hugged them through the window one last time before she stood in the drive, waving as she watched the car head down the road, until she could no longer see their smiling faces and their waves. She was exhausted, shopping and the evening had taken its toll. She quickly showered and headed to bed. Rest didn’t come though, the house was too quiet. Not that this night was any different from any other. Except for the fact her children weren’t home and the alone factor kicked in high gear. She fixed herself a cup of hot cocoa and pulled out the list she stashed next to the silverware drawer and sat at the table, reviewing it. Half way finished with her drink, she glanced at the clock, the time registering in her mind, and she gulped the rest of the drink down. She rinsed the cup, put the list back in the drawer and headed back to bed. It was Sunday already and she needed every ounce of rest she could get to be prepared for the workweek in hell. The music box caught her eye on the dresser. She picked it up, twisted the small silver handle, and it began to softly chime in her hands. She started to place it back down www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
17
when her fingers began to tingle. A little at first but the longer she held on to it, the deeper the sensation and she quickly placed it down. She was too tired to think what happened, and frankly, too tired to care at this point. She slid under the covers and fluffed her pillow one last time before resting her head on it and fell into a peaceful sleep.
Step Two: Taking what is mine, and getting what I am worth. She was still clueless as to what she needed to do to fully execute this step, but thankfully, Monday morning hell was just what she needed to set her in the right direction. And she was right on track as soon as she walked into her office, noticing that over the weekend the weekend helpers had slacked off. As usual. Leaving her with a heaping pile of things to go through that they obviously didn’t have time to finish. In other words, they goofed around all weekend, did as little as they possibly could and were paid for more than what they should have. Which totally pissed her off! That’s when she made up her mind, she was going to get what she had coming, starting this very second! And damn it, she was certainly going to try to get paid for how hard she worked in the office. She may have been hired as a floater twelve years ago, but she had done more than float from department to department. She pulled her weight and most days, the weight of several others, a.k.a. the slackers, who didn’t believe in putting in an honest day’s work. And that was about to end. She marched straight to the head honcho’s office and knocked on the door. Hard enough to get the message it was urgent, but not hard enough to make her boss want to fire her ass. After she heard his “come in” response to her banging, she entered and stood behind the first chair
www.samhainpublishing.com
18
Tia Bangs
she came to. Mostly for strength, not willing to show weakness. She was beginning to get bigger balls. And liking them! She quickly pleaded her case, or as her boss would see it, all but begged for a raise. She finally plopped down in the chair. Melissa crossed her legs and leaned one elbow on the corner of his desk. She put it all on the line, not giving room for any debate. She was either going to get a raise or the slackers had to go because she was fucking sick of doing their work while they were getting paid handsomely for it. Much to her surprise, her boss decided to fire the slackers. And said, using Melissa’s own words, “you do their work anyway, you may as well keep doing it”. Well, okay, that part of her plan backfired. She was just warming up to those new balls that she was carrying around, though. And everyone knows before you can step a few feet forward, you must learn to fall on your face a few times. Melissa considered this the falling on face part of it all. Lesson learned and since she doesn’t consider herself as a total dumb-ass, the next time she played hardball, she’d better make sure she had all the balls in her court, and accounted for. Not long after lunch, she was finally caught up on her work, giving her a little time to work out the next step on her list during her coffee break. She pulled out a tablet and tore off a sheet and starting jotting down some ideas of what she would change if she could. Then she started to list things she’d have to scrimp and scrape to buy. This would keep her from straying away from the goal. Just shy of her break ending she had the next step down on paper. It only took a few words but it would be the biggest step yet. Step three: The ex-husbands. Make that, the deadbeat, slimeball ex-husbands. That was going to be a challenge. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
19
Melissa managed a weak smile before putting the sheet of paper in her purse. The details she could work out later, after dinner. Doing this on company time probably wasn't the smartest thing, considering she just demanded money or the slackers to be fired. Hell if she was going to get caught doing personal things on company time. She didn’t need to find the unemployment line today. Come to think of it, not one person on her floor commented on her new haircut or clothes either, and half of the day was over. What was up with that? Everyone notices things like that. Why hadn’t they, when it came to her turn? And did it really matter? Yes! Yes, it did! She always said nice things when people change their appearances, or their style. Hell, even with new babies, diet goals reached, kids graduating, and everything under the sun that should be complimented. She should get the same treatment from her co-workers, right? She sighed heavy. Maybe later she’d tackle them, right now though, she was heading in the last stretch of finishing her work pile for the day, thank goodness. Not that she didn’t enjoy her job, she did, most of the time. But with her new attitude, she felt like she could conquer the world. Well, maybe not the world, but a few blocks anyway. With all of the energy flooding through her veins, she needed to be outside in the free world. To think. To feel and to figure out what the hell she was going to do with her two ex-husbands. Of course, she was tackling each one of them singly. She wasn’t brave enough or, to be honest, stupid enough to have them in the same room, at the same time. She’d be outnumbered. She was the one who was going to change her life, not them telling her what she could do with her “foolish” thoughts. Melissa clocked out and headed straight home. She tossed a frozen dinner into the microwave. She turned on the small countertop TV and www.samhainpublishing.com
20
Tia Bangs
sat down to eat her meal while watching the local evening news. Afterwards, she quickly cleaned the dishes and table and brewed a fresh pot of coffee. As she sat on the sofa, tablet in hand, freshly brewed cup of coffee in the other, she looked at the paper and all she could see was Nathan’s name printed on the top of the page. Not that there was a lot wrong with Nathan, her first husband, but they just didn’t work out because she was too young to know any better, all the responsibilities with marriage. Young and naïve, she’d thought she would love him until the end of time. When, in fact, she had been in love with the being married part. It was sad that she now knew the reasons why their marriage hadn’t a prayer of ever working out, but lesson learned. And being foolish and young was not a good reason; it was simply the truth. And she was about to make things right. That was the hard part. It was all her. She hadn’t wanted to work it out any longer with Nathan all those years ago. Oh, Nathan had loved her very much. She just hadn’t loved him back the way he needed to be loved. She’d realized the longer they were together the worse it would be for him. And she couldn’t bear to do that to him no matter what the end result. That of course changed when she dropped the D word on him. Oh boy, did it ever! Nathan went from sweet, perfect, “I’ll move any mountain to do whatever it will take to make you happy, Melissa, please let’s keep on trying. Maybe we can love each other enough to save this marriage”… to an instant asshole. A vicious, venomous, cold-hearted, hate in the eyes man she no longer recognized. To make it pure and simple, the last few months of their married life had been like living in hell. Maybe not that bad, but really, did it need to be? It was horrible. The looks, the shame. The rumors that had followed shortly after she had asked for a divorce. She was more than happy to www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
21
sign away everything she helped work hard for, just to get out, and far, far away from Nathan. So this was where the ball bounces back. He’d taken advantage of her because she was weak. She cared about what her friends and family thought. She was scared to death the longer he kept spreading rumors, sooner or later, someone just might believe a hair of what he was yakking about. A couple did, but they are no longer her friends. And good riddance! Payback time was due. For all of the pain he caused. For all of the nights she cried herself to sleep. For all of the times she prayed for her heart to find the kindness in him so they might actually have a chance saving their marriage. And for every last thing she gave up just to get rid of his name and their married life. Although Nathan was the easier of her ex-husbands when it came to dealing with things. Truthfully, if she messed up with Nathan she could learn from it and move on to the next. Hopefully taking what she learned and jamming it down Warren-the-weasel’s throat. First things first though. Nathan was the smaller part of the third step, and he was the one who would give her the strength to follow through with Warren. And ultimately completing step three. She picked up the phone before her nerve wore off and dialed his number. When he didn’t answer, she had no choice but to leave a message on his machine, politely asking him to return her call no matter what time it was. But only if he would not be able to meet in the park tomorrow after work, around six. If she didn’t hear from him, she’d assume he was going to show up. She said it with a tone she used to use when they needed to have a serious conversation. He would still recognize it and not be so quick to brush the call off and ignore it. Not that he would. She hasn’t talked to him in almost five years, only in passing and just to say hello, so it wasn’t like they were best buddies. www.samhainpublishing.com
22
Tia Bangs
For her to call he would know whatever she needed to talk to him about, it was important. Well, that’s what she hoped anyway. Not only to get off of her chest what she’d been carrying around all these years, but to get practice on how to handle things, face to face, person to person, with Warren. And the fact, too, she would like to see him, to let him know that even though he had taken every last penny and possession she had, other than the clothes on her back, she was thriving today, and successful to boot. She would not forward information about working a part time job, three nights a week, just so she could buy the extras. He didn’t need to know that. But you can bet your bottom dollar, she was going to be spitshined, and glamorous as all get out. As best as she was able to pull off anyway. Showing him it didn’t matter that he took it all, she did fine. In fact, better than when they were together. Watching the expression on his face would be priceless. Revenge? No, not really. Just a little selfsatisfaction. Nothing wrong with that every now and again. She checked off placing the called to Nathan and she dialed Warrenthe-weasel’s number and ended up leaving the same message, but for a different time. She figured by eight she’d still have enough gusto to settle up with him. Most importantly for his children. Ashley and Christopher were the first things she planned on mentioning. He’d damn well better give her the right answers, too. If he didn’t, well, then she’d have to go back to her list and figure out how to handle that. But she was banking on the fact that he’d be blown away with her not so nice, curt and to the point, taking no shit, new attitude. She hoped that he’d step up to the plate and do what he should for the sake of his children. “I could use some chocolate.” She lightly licked her lips and leaned forward, placing the coffee cup on the table. All of the sudden a tingling sensation flowed through her fingers, making her drop the tablet onto www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
23
the floor. At first the tingling was light, like her hand had fallen to sleep. But within seconds the pain felt like it had earlier at the beauty salon, when she was zapped after touching the old perm machine. She began rubbing her hands together, and when that didn’t ease the pain, she shook the hand quickly back and forth. That didn’t work either. Bringing her hands up to her face, she blew on her fingers lightly, hoping something would ease the burning pain that now felt like a hundred bees had just left their little stingers all across her hand. As quickly as the pain began, it disappeared. There was nothing. No tingling, no pain, no itching, no burning. Nada. She stared at her hand and her lips parted slightly. Confused with what just happened, how quickly the pain was there and then it was gone, she didn’t know what to think. Shrugging and sliding forward on the sofa cushion, she reached to the floor, ready to pick up the pen, and her hand stopped in mid-air. Her gaze focused on a shiny silver wrapper. There, on the carpet right next to her feet, was a chocolate bar.
www.samhainpublishing.com
24
Tia Bangs
Chapter Two Melissa was baffled and nervous at the same time. She half leaned over, staring at the shiny wrapper in disbelief. Her heart was hammering at a rate similar to an avalanche bombarding down a snowcapped mountain. Her hands shook and the palms, sweaty. Her mouth, feeling like the Sahara desert. She didn’t even dare blink as thoughts rushed through her mind. How the hell did the candy just appear…out of no where? She didn’t move a muscle, but soft trembles traveled through her body—from the shock of seeing the silver wrapper still lying next to her feet. She slowly sat back, and glanced around the room, waiting for whoever was playing the prank on her to jump out from their hiding place and yell ‘gotcha!’ Any minute now they’d say it. And she strained her hearing for any creaking noise, giggling, or labored breathing while the culprit was still in hiding. Five minutes later, she was still sitting in the same spot on the sofa, waiting for whoever to jump out and when they didn’t, reality was beginning to sink in just a little. Sliding to the farthest end of the sofa, she crawled off. If they weren’t going to come out, she was going to search until she found them. They would all enjoy a good laugh and then share the damn candy!
www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
25
She walked all through the house searching the rooms, closets, and any and all hiding places she could think of. But she came up with no one. The only person who was in her house was her. But how? That doesn’t explain how the chocolate bar seemed to appear out of no where. If no one put it there, she needed to know how it got there. But who would she ask? She was alone. There was no one to take credit for the prank, no one to thank even, for pulling a good one over on her. She relaxed her arms and rested her hands on the back of the sofa and she leaned forward enough to peer over the cushions. She spotted the silver wrapper, and the candy bar was in the exact place it was. Tucking her hair behind her ears, stealing a couple slow, deep breaths, she edged her way closer to the coffee table on shaky legs. There had to be an explanation. A perfectly logical reason how the candy got there. There’s no way things appear just like this. If that were the case, she’d have a small bag of precious gems. Emeralds to be exact, they were her favorite. Yeah, a few emerald stones nestled inside a tiny velvet bag for starters…if things appeared out of the blue. But of course, they don’t. Knowing that brought her back to how on this earth did that candy get there? And oddly, right after she was thinking about one? It was way too weird for her to contemplate. “This is ridiculous, just walk over to it, Mel, pick it up and eat it already.” As if speaking aloud gave her the added gusto, balls, or whatever else, she bucked-up and walked around the coffee table. She reached down and picked up the candy bar. In five seconds flat, she tore open the package and took one big bite of the candy. The rich, smooth dark chocolate flavor registered as it began to melt on her tongue. She was a little surprised it was in fact, her favorite candy, and then she finished the rest of the sweet sugary confection. www.samhainpublishing.com
26
Tia Bangs
She was satisfied, not only the craving, but also her mind was as well. At this point she had no answer and she was okay with the fact she wasn’t going to wrack her brains out any longer wondering how it had arrived. Not knowing settled with her just fine. After all, it was just a piece of candy. An eighty-nine cent piece of candy. She walked to the kitchen and placed her foot on the hood release to the trash container and thought for a millisecond whether she should keep the wrapper, just in case. Just in case of what? She didn’t steal the damn thing. No, she couldn’t explain how it came into her possession, but it did. She ate it, and that was that. She pressed her foot down on the pedal, tossed the silver wrapper inside and walked away. Tea. She needed a fresh, hot cup of tea. Yeah, that’d do the trick. After filling the kettle with fresh water and placing it on the burner to heat over the flames, she reached for a large mug from out of the cupboard and placed it onto the counter next to the stove. She opened the box of specialty tea, the aromas filling the air. Mints, berries, honey. The scents tickled her nose as she read each section. Chamomile. She needed something to relax her, obviously, because she was losing her mind! She must have bought the candy earlier and put it next to her when she settled on the sofa. She was so wrapped up in making her list she hadn’t noticed the candy slipping to the edge of the cushion. And she moved just right, releasing the candy from the spot between the cushions and it fell to the floor, right on top of her tablet. That’s how the whole candy bar situation took place, it was the only logical way it could happen. Did she ever need the calming tea! Clearly she was exhausted from her long busy day. She had to be if she thought for one second the www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
27
chocolate came from the air, like… magic? Laughing at herself over how ridiculous that really sounded, she decided she was just tired. Tired and alone. No noise, only what she was making. Her house was never this quiet. Christopher and Ashley were always doing things, filling up the house with noises. Now that it’s just her, her mind was playing tricks. She smiled, knowing she was right. Tonight was a break in the everyday bustle and now that the children were gone, her mind wasn’t used to the slower speeds it had gone through during the past couple of hours. Instead, her mind was used to helping with homework, doing laundry, handling phone calls, dinner, bills, multi-tasking. She just needed to get use to the quiet and her mind would follow. Eventually. She would begin to enjoy the pause from the insane pace. She turned off the kettle, poured the boiling water in the mug and ripped open the tea package, placing the bag in the water. She walked out through the sliding glass door and onto the small deck. The warm fresh air, mixed with the scent of the tea, began relaxing her. She went over to her favorite chair and sat down. She even put her feet up, resting the cup on her lap as she let the tea steep. Closing her eyes she just sat there, listening to the sounds of the leaves as the slight breeze moved them. She could hear a frog croaking softly as if it were maybe calling out to its mate. A cricket or grasshopper, which one it was she didn’t know, she could never keep those two sounds straight, chimed in. For the first time in a long time she was totally and completely relaxed. In fact, so much so that she drifted off to sleep. She woke to the sound of an owl hooting. She opened her eyes slowly, still holding the mug. The tea was ice cold. The night air was chilly, www.samhainpublishing.com
28
Tia Bangs
giving her goose bumps and waking her up the rest of the way. She slowly uncrossed her ankles and dropped her feet to the floor. Her leg muscles and lower back ached a little for a minute, before the blood began flowing through her body. She rose and then walked back into the house. Turning, she stopped and locked the sliding glass door and headed straight to the kitchen. She dumped the cold tea down the drain, left the mug in the sink and went to her bedroom. It didn’t take long for her to change into nightclothes and crawl under the covers. Tomorrow was another day and the incident with the candy bar was now long forgotten.
Melissa slid out of bed barely awake and rushed to the shower. She wasted most of the night because she fell asleep on the deck; she needed to make up for lost time. And she needed to prepare for the meeting with Nathan. She thought of a few things to try on him so she could be prepared for Warren-the-weasel later today. After her shower, she fixed herself a cup of tea and a bowl of cereal. She decided afterwards, she was going to take a walk. Maybe clear her mind and hopefully some ideas of how to handle the exes would surface. That was her plan anyway, even though nothing really helped while she walked. She could just wing it. After all, she usually didn’t talk about the past; she tried not to, to be honest. So why would she think ideas would just come to her? She wasn’t used to getting things off of her chest and setting things right. This was all new. She had no choice but to go with the flow, ride the wave, and hope she doesn’t fall off or if so, not that bad.
www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
29
Before she could sit down and start to seriously think about the meeting with Nathan, she went into her room and stripped down the bed. Laundry day. She tossed the sheets in the washer and walked to the linen closet, pulling out a fresh set. She placed the fitted sheet over the mattress and shook open the flat. Starting at the top of the bed, she smoothed the flannel sheet across the mattress and walked to the bottom of the bed and began tucking it in. Sliding her hand up and under, she pushed the sheet flat and worked her way from the left to the right. Stopping for only a second because she felt the sheet balling under the mattress. She pulled the sheet out and tried to tuck it in again, and still the bunching she couldn’t smooth out. She was growing frustrated and pushed her hand under the mattress, only having to stop again when she felt strange material hitting the tips of her fingers. Gliding her hand slowly side to side between the mattress and box spring, feeling for whatever was in the way. A sock? No. How the hell can a sock get stuck under her mattress? It couldn’t. So then what? Lifting the mattress and leaning the edge of it against her upper thigh, she reached her arm over. Sliding her other arm under, she reached for whatever might be there. She pulled the item closer, almost to the edge of the box spring. She pulled it the rest of the way out, noticing a little aquamarine colored, velvety, small bag-type of thingy. Yep, it definitely was a little pull stringed bag. A velvet drawstring bag to be exact. She lowered the mattress and sat on the edge of the bed, holding the soft bag in her palms. She placed one finger into the tiny opening, pushing at the band at the top, until the opening was big enough so she could tip the contents out and onto the sheet. www.samhainpublishing.com
30
Tia Bangs
Softly shaking the bag until she had it almost tipped upside down, the opening aimed at the sheet, she gave it one or two good hard shakes. Whatever was in the bottom of the bag freed itself and fell gingerly on top of the sheet. There was a glint of wonder in her eyes and excitement shimmered in them as they grew wider with amazement.. As if she didn’t believe what she was seeing. How could this be? Was she really seeing things? With a shaky hand, her breathing hitched as she slowly reached and lightly touched them. The smooth, cool, slick feel, almost glass-like, really amazed her. Time stood still as she sat in wonder as her brain began absorbing what really was happening in the room. Not caring about the rational part of the moment, all she thought, and all she felt was wonder. Excitement. Her whole body started to shake lightly when it began to finally sink in. She didn’t care how the emeralds got there at this moment, she was feeling too much like a small child being let loose in a candy store. As she rolled the gems between her fingers and palms and held them closer to her eyes, she began inspecting every angle. The bedroom light danced between the corners and middle, and then glimmered around and through every nook and cranny of each and every gem. Gasping for breath, not realizing she held it, she began to take in air as her heart began to slowly beat back to normal rhythm. She placed the gems back inside the bag and pulled the satin strings tight, sealing the opening. She gently set the bag on the bed, sitting quietly as thoughts were spinning out of control. Confused was an understatement. She snuck a peek over to the bag, wondering if she dreamed the whole thing up, but when she spotted the bag, she knew she hadn’t. Somehow she was the owner of six perfect gems. Six shiny, beautiful emeralds. But how? How did they get there? And who put them there? www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
31
She crossed her leg and wracked her brain, thinking about who had been in her home last. Why would this person leave such valuable gems in her house, and not want them back? No one had visited her in the past three months, and she knew the gems didn’t belong to her children. There was no way her kids could have access to the gems, so… “Oh, my God!” She jumped off of the bed and ran to the doorway. Bracing her arms on the frame, her gaze locked to the pouch. “Impossible. There is no way. Is there?” She swallowed the lump down her throat. Her mind threw thought after thought as fast as she could blink, but the pounding of her heartbeat drowned out anything she was thinking. “Magic?” she whispered. “No. Not possible.” She nodded “But how?” She backed out of the room the rest of the way and in a daze, walked to the kitchen on jelly legs and turned on the faucet. She splashed water on her face and then patted it dry with a hand towel. She slowly walked back towards the bedroom and looked at the sheet. The pouch was still there. Magic… She had what? Powers? What kind of powers? Her head started to spin with thoughts so fast she could almost pass out. She found the nearest spot on the floor, by the door, and sat. She tucked her head between her knees and breathed slow deep breaths until the dizziness left and she sat straight again. “I can do magic?” She smiled nervously, closed her eyes and licked her lips. A picture of a beautiful wild exotic bouquet of flowers danced against her lids. “Birds of paradise.” She softly spoke before opening her eyes. Nothing. No flowers were in front of her. In fact, she searched the whole house and there was not a flower in sight. “Yeah, like I have magic, you dumb-ass!” She headed for the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea. A half an hour later, she was watching TV and totally engrossed with the program. www.samhainpublishing.com
32
Tia Bangs
She was starting to put all of what had happened behind her. But then, her fingers started to burn and her hand tingled lightly at first and grew stronger as each second passed. Again, as quickly as it started, it was gone. She rubbed her fingers and hand, shaking the blood back into it. She just sat there, remembering the same feeling that happened with the candy bar. A knock on the door stole her thoughts and she walked over, peeking through the little window. A man with a delivery logo on his hat was on the other side. Sliding the chain across the door, opening it slightly, she looked at him. “Can I help you?” “Ms. Lawson?” “Yes.” “Delivery for you.” “I didn’t order anything.” She stared at him for a second. “You are Ms. Melissa Lawson, correct?” “Yes, but—” “I was told to deliver this to you.” He held out a long vanilla colored box so she could see the package. “Who?” “Don’t know, ma’am.” She slid the chain off and opened the door, taking the box from out of his hand and giving him a tip. “Thank you.” “Have a nice day,” he said. She closed the door and walked over to the table, placing the box down. She slowly slipped the lid off of the box and lifted a few layers of tissue paper that was neatly folded. “Holy shit! No fucking way!” She stood still. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open as she stared at the box. “How? What the hell?” She began to pace back and forth, not once taking her eyes off of the Birds of Paradise flowers. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
33
The adrenaline began pumping through her body when she really, honest to goodness, began putting two and two together. She pulled her hands through her hair. She needed to tell someone. Liz! She raced to the phone and dialed the number to the salon. Liz was busy and Melissa left a message for her to call when she had a spare minute. She could contain the excitement until she talked to Liz, she hoped. She just needed to keep busy. Not only busy, she needed something to settle her nerves. She walked to the fridge and opened it, searching for something a little more potent than milk. Nothing, there wasn’t a drop of alcohol in there. She closed the door and sat at the table. She’d just have to wait it out until she had a chance to talk with Liz. If she had to do it without a nip to settle some of the nervousness flowing through her body, well, then she’d have to.
“I’m telling you, Liz, that’s what happened.” Melissa sat quietly, waiting for Liz to comment, to say anything that maybe could help her make sense of what was happening. But all Liz did was sit there as if she was speechless. As if she believed, but real life proved it all wasn’t possible. “Can you tell me again, from the beginning, please? I’m not quite sure I heard you right,” Liz asked. She started at the beginning, from the shock she got at the beauty salon to the candy bar to the gems and lastly, to the flowers. Melissa repeated just about every minute of the past day. If she didn’t have the candy wrapper, gems and the flowers spread out on the table, she
www.samhainpublishing.com
34
Tia Bangs
wouldn’t even think if she were in Liz’s shoes, she’d believe the story either. She’d probably think Melissa was drunk off her ass, or worse, she might even have tried some drug, or something. Not that Melissa ever had; it was just the story was too amazingly unbelievable, there had to be something behind all that was happening to concoct this type of story. “And you have no idea how these got here?” Liz asked as her hand moved slowly above the items. “Nope, have no idea.” “And you say you just thought about it and then they, what appeared?” “I think so.” “No chant? Spell? Blinking eyes, folding arms like that genie chick?” “Not that I realize.” “And then poof, they were here?” “Some, yes, the others were a little bit in coming.” “Why do you think?” “I don’t know. The candy and flowers I said aloud. The candy was in front of me in less than a minute, the flowers not quite half an hour. The gems were a thought, they took longer, but all of them had the zap feeling like at your salon when I got shocked.” “Oh, Jesus!”
www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
35
Chapter Three The room grew silent as if they had finally come to terms that something unexplainable, something mysterious, magical even had taken place. And what was going to happen next was on both their minds. Would the powers leave Melissa? Get stronger? “Have you tested them?” “No. I didn’t even know what the hell was happening, let alone trying something. I don’t know how it happened when things started popping out of no where. Testing this wasn’t on my mind at the time.” “Well, let’s see how it happens. Give it a try,” Liz suggested. “What if something goes wrong?” “Like what?” “I don’t know,” Melissa started to pace, “what if I’m hurt, or you? What if…” “You haven’t been, other than the shocks right?” “Right.” “Even when you thought instead of speaking the wish, right?” “Right.” “Then I think it’s okay. There should be no reason this time would be any different from before.” “True.” She stood, resting her hands on her hips. “What do we test?” “Shit, you’re asking me? This is all just sinking in.” “How do you think I feel?” www.samhainpublishing.com
36
Tia Bangs
“Man…” Liz looked at Melissa and then smiled. “You’ll be fine. I’m here and I’ll help with whatever I can.” “Ok. Let’s test this whatever it is I’ve got out.” She sat beside Liz at the table. “Something small, easy, for starters.” “Sounds good, Mel.” “I wish I had a double-decker chocolate fudge cake with whipped cream frosting, and color sprinkles, on the top only.” She wished with a shaky voice and then looked to Liz for support; glad someone was there with her. “Feel anything?” Liz asked. “Not yet,” she said and then the ache started. “Oh, God! Here it comes, Liz!” She rubbed her hand and shook it as the tingling intensified and burned. It almost throbbed as she kept shaking her hand, trying to ease the pain. Then, as quickly as it started, it was gone. “You okay?” “I think so.” Melissa licked her lips and folded her arms, tucking her hand underneath her armpit, pinning it against her body. “Is the pain gone?” “Yeah, it doesn’t last long, thank God!” Within the next few seconds, a cake appeared on the table. Everything she wished for, right down to the multi-colored sprinkles, was on the cake. “Holy shit! No fucking way! You…you have powers! Wow! Try it again!” Liz all but screamed with excitement. “You pick this time,” Melissa said. They worked all afternoon testing her powers, both by speaking wishes and silent wishing. Liz kept track of all of the wishes on a pad of paper and she promised to stop by later in the evening to see how the list was against what Melissa had wished for. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
37
Before Liz left she had talked Melissa into postponing her meetings with the exes, until they both knew more about what was happening with her. In her state of mind, with her new-founded power, Melissa needed to be able to control, hell, understand them before one of her exhusbands was accidentally tarred and feathered…literally. “You get some rest and I’ll dig around some and try to find out about the perm machine, who owned it before me, that might help. Don’t know, but we know this happened after the shock. I’ll stop by around seven. We should know something by then.” Liz gave her a hug and left Melissa alone so she could take a nap. Which she did as soon as she curled up on the sofa.
“Ok.” Liz stood beside Melissa. “Ready to check off the list?” “Yes, but before we do, thank you for being here and for helping me, and for keeping this just between us. ” She smiled and hugged her. “That’s what friends are for and, honey, you don’t have to ever worry about me telling anyone about your powers. Even if I wanted to they’d never believe it.” “Thank you.” “Let’s get this party started, shall we?” Melissa nodded and placed both hands on her hips as Liz read off the first item, which sent her on a wild goose chase, searching the entire room that was jam-packed with items. Her front room looked like a warehouse, the way things were stacked on top of each other and piles high. Melissa walked through the maze of items as Liz read one after the other, and shouted back when she found the item so Liz could cross it off of the list.
www.samhainpublishing.com
38
Tia Bangs
This went on for two hours; the whole list had been covered. Exhausted, they plopped down on the sofa and rested after the search of items. Melissa watched as Liz held the sheet of paper and moved closer so she could see. “I don’t believe it, Mel.” “What?” “The only thing on both sections that didn’t appear is money, the rest is all here.” “That’s impossible.” She snatched the piece of paper out of her hand and glanced at all of the crossed off items. Checking off each item mentally as she read silently down the list and remembered seeing the item. She realized what Liz said was accurate. Every single thing, each voiced and silently wished item, was neatly stacked in front of her. Melissa placed the paper on her lap and folded her arms as her gaze scanned the large piles. “What on earth am I going to do with all of this stuff? Good God! Someone’s going to think I stole all of these things. There is no way I can afford even a tenth of everything. How am I going to explain this, Liz?” “Calm down, it’s okay. Listen, only you and me know about this, and well, there is Christmas, birthdays, holidays. You can wrap up most and use it for that. The others, well, I guess you could have a yard sale. Better yet, drop it off at the Salvation Army or churches. I’ll help you, don’t worry.” She felt Liz tap her hand. “Besides,” Liz added, “this was just a test to see what you can do. It’s not going to be like this day after day. Then hell yeah, you’d have to worry. But, this stuff, no problem, really. We’ll put most of it in your attic and then the things you’ll never use or don’t want to send as gifts, I’ll load in my car and drive you where ever you want to donate it.” “This is a lot of stuff, Liz.” “Yeah…” www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
39
Most of the night, they worked at sorting out the items. What was going to be used for gifts was carried up to the attic, and what Melissa couldn’t think of what she’d do with it was carried out to the car. After that task was finished, Melissa put fresh water in the teakettle and pulled two mugs off of the hooks under the cabinet and tea bags out of the container. She filled the mugs with steaming water and carried them to the table, sliding one in front of Liz before she sat. “You want to know what I found out about the machine?” Liz asked. “Oh, my God, I totally forgot about. Did you find out something?” “Yes, but I’m not sure about a few things—it was kind of hit and miss. And I’m waiting for a call with hopefully the missing info, but I was warned not to hold my breath. Guess the guy is a hermit or something and doesn’t like talking to people. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.” Melissa watched as Liz took a quick drink of the tea and then placed the mug down. “I bought the machine at an auction years ago, the first year I opened the salon. Anyway, it came with a box of things, owner’s manual, bill of sale, and stuff like that. But I never really sorted through the box because those machines are a rare find and I was just so happy I found one.” She paused and pulled out a piece of paper from the back pocket of her jeans. “The last owner before me was a woman named Mrs. Jenkins. At the time she lived in New Paul, Virginia. She was fresh out of school and her parents bought her the machine as a graduation gift. She set up shop. The owner before her was a woman from Longhorne, Texas, Mrs. Peterson. She bought it from auction shortly after she opened her salon, too. Before her, there was a Mrs. Harris, from Spokane, Washington. Before Mrs. Harris, Mrs. Bliss from Twin Peaks, Ohio owned it.” “All of these owners, why? Do you know?” Melissa interrupted. www.samhainpublishing.com
40
Tia Bangs
“Yes, but there’s more before I tell you. There was a Mrs. Brown from Alabama, Mrs. Reid from New Jersey, and the original owner as far as I could trace was a Mrs. Kennedy, from Germany.” “Germany?” “Yes. From what I could find out, that’s where the first ownership started,” Liz answered. “That’s a lot of people owning it, but why?” “That’s what I thought, too. So I got a few leads and talked to one of the great-great-granddaughters, of I can’t remember who. But anyway, when I asked about the machine she only said it didn’t work right for them and when it was checked for repairs, nothing was wrong with it. She remembered being told about her great-grand-mom being zapped by it and she made her husband put it in the barn, claiming it was dangerous.” “She was shocked, too? Than she must have had powers, right?” “I’m not sure, the girl clamed up when I tried to ask questions about anything more. So I called around some more and wasn’t able to find out anything substantial. And then I went home and searched the garage and found the papers and the small plastic bag of replacement parts that were taped inside the hood when I bought it.” Melissa watched as Liz refilled her mug. “And then, I looked over the content of the bill of sale, the manual, and other stuff, but nothing really popped out at me. I just had a feeling there was something I was overlooking.” Melissa was watching every move she made as if she were hanging on Liz’s every word. “And then I flipped through the owner’s manual and started reading it.” “You found something, didn’t you? Oh, God, tell me!” www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
41
“At first, I didn’t think anything of it. The machine was so old and it was nothing out of the ordinary to have a page or two separated from the little booklet. So I didn’t really pay much attention, especially because the sheet was written in another language. So I tucked it back into the manual and started on page one again. Reading the last page of the instructions, that sheet kept sliding out, so I flipped through the next section and then the very last section, which was written in German. I started looking for where this page might fit, but there were no number symbols on it. Which really didn’t strike me as odd, but the closer I looked, I noticed the sheet was hand written, excellently, I’ll add. So I flipped the page over and it looked sorta like a letter, and not an instruction page. I took the page inside and went on line and began typing the language in as best as I could, and it turns out, the paper didn’t belong in the manual after all. It was written by the very first owner and slipped into the manual by her.” “What’d it say?” Melissa’s heart was thumping hard. She was dying to find out. Any connection. Even a fraction of one that could explain all of this and how it happened before. Something that could perhaps help her understand the strange happenings ever since the machine shocked her. “All I could find out was Mr. Kennedy had a mistress. And from guessing, Mrs. Kennedy had found out. The mistress was her client and Mrs. Kennedy must have been furious that she was actually flaunting this right underneath her nose.” “Wait. The husband had his wife do the hair of his mistress? Why didn’t Mrs. Kennedy put the boots to the both of them?” Melissa thought this was very strange, after all, he was cheating on his wife. Why did Mrs. Kennedy put up with this? “That’s what I thought too, so I did a little research. Turns out, Mrs. Kennedy came from an extremely wealthy and high in society family. And www.samhainpublishing.com
42
Tia Bangs
something like this all those years ago would be so scandalous, and outing them would all but shun the whole family in society.” “But, still, it just doesn’t make sense.” Melissa pulled her fingers through her hair and then tucked a few locks behind her ears, and rested her chin in the cup of her hand. “It gets better. The letter didn’t make a lot of sense, really. She said something about turning over a new leaf and then something about the family thinking she had gone mad due to a few unexplained things.” “Oh, God! Wait! You mean to tell me, that snake of a husband of hers tried to convince everyone she was out of her mind because she had enough of dealing with their affair and threatened to confront his cheating ass and tell the family his dirty little secret?” She grew silent for a second as she began to connect the dots in her mind. “And then, she was what? At her wits end? Stuck between keeping the family honor and trying to make her husband tow the line? This happened? She was grasping at straws, at the end of her rope and what, Liz?” “I’m not sure, Mel. Maybe she was zapped like you or maybe…” “Maybe that was where it all started.” Mel chimed in. “Yeah. Like a curse or something. Maybe she had some kind of powers and didn’t know it, and it took her having enough, putting up with his cheating ass for way too long. That might have started this whole ball rolling.” She paused. “Does any of this click with what happened to you?” Liz asked. “Only that I decided it was high time for a change, that’s why the new look and meeting the exes.”
www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
43
Chapter Four “Okay, not much to go on, but maybe we’ll know more after the call. Now we have to figure out how you can leave the house and not cause chaos. All you do is think about something and then it happens. You’re meeting the exes and we can’t have them running through the park, fat, stripped naked, and their wankers shriveled up.” “Damn, there goes all my fun, Liz!” “No, don’t!” “What?” “See? You were about to wish something without even realizing it.” “Christ, you’re right.” She ran the past few sentences through her mind. “How am I going to get through this? I can’t do it. It’s just too much responsibility.” Panic ran through her veins. She felt hot, her face flushed and she was scared to death! What would she do if she accidentally hurt someone because she was having a bad day and they pissed her off? How could she live with herself? There wasn’t any way she could stay in her home for the rest of her life. For starters, her bank account couldn’t support it. Then there were errands and doing things with her kids. Oh my! Her kids! She couldn’t tell them. She definitely had to figure this power thingy out before they came home. Why was this happening now? Didn’t she have enough to deal with at the moment with her two ex-husbands? Wasn’t that stressful enough? Now, somehow, she’d been given some type of power and she didn’t know why she had it or how to www.samhainpublishing.com
44
Tia Bangs
control it. What if she ended up the last person on earth because she wished for quiet time alone? Suddenly, right then, the thrill of it all had faded. It was replaced with a huge, heavy burden. She had to watch everything she did and think through every thought before something bad happened. “This sucks! Yeah, it’s nice to have things the second I think it.” She leaned forward on the table and rested her head on her arms. She ran her hands over her hair, smoothing it flat. “But do you realize with one slip of a word, how things, bad things, can happen without me even really meaning it?” She sighed and rested her cheek on the table, stretching her arms out straight, then she yawned. “It was fun for a while, but now…now I’m afraid to think and leave my house.” She sat back and slumped in her chair. “Do you really think you can hurt someone?” “Don’t know, but it’s not easy to swallow that the possibility is there. Look at all the things I wished for today. It’s possible and that…oh God! How do I not let stuff happen? An instruction manual explaining all of this would come in handy right about now.” “That’s brilliant! Why don’t you wish for one?” Melissa crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. “Already tried while you were gone, and nothing. Not even one single line of a helpful hint.” “Shit, I’m sorry, Mel. But somehow I don’t think you’d be able to actually kill someone,” she paused, “I hope.” “That makes two of us. I’m starting to really be afraid of this. Actually,” she swallowed hard, “I’m scared shitless!” “I’ll stay tonight if you want company,” Liz offered. Relief washed over Melissa and she didn’t hesitate taking Liz up on the offer. She didn’t need to be asked twice, and somehow, just knowing someone would be there just in case something really bizarre happened www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
45
settled her frayed nerves. Not enough to sleep soundly, but perhaps enough to sleep off and on. Okay, catnap would be more like it! “I bet after a good night’s sleep, things will be different in the morning. You won’t be so afraid and will figure out something.” “It’s worth a try. Maybe something will click in my head. It has been a long day.” “Right now it’s new and overwhelming. I think in the morning, a solution to helping you deal with this so you won’t be afraid to leave the house will come to you. You’re just too tired and excited to think clearly.” “You’re probably right.” “There are pj’s in the third drawer.” She pointed to the dresser and walked towards the bed, pulling the shammed pillows off and placing them on the chest at the foot of the bed while Liz took the pajamas and went to the bathroom and changed. Melissa turned down the bed covers and crawled in on the right-hand side, leaving the left uncovered for Liz. It didn’t take either of them long to get comfortable and say goodnight before both drifted off to sleep. They were purely exhausted from the long day they had with testing her powers.
Melissa didn’t have any trouble sleeping through the night. She didn’t dream or toss and turn at all. She felt rested, relaxed, and as if this whole thing had been a fabrication of her mind. Until… Liz started moving on the other side of the bed. This morning though, Melissa didn’t feel like she was an accident waiting to happen. And probably by the time she had her first cup of coffee, things would
www.samhainpublishing.com
46
Tia Bangs
look even better. The bed jiggled when Liz move again and reached for Melissa’s arm. “Good morning, Liz,” she said and opened her eyes. When Liz’s grip grew tighter and Melissa turned her head, looking at Liz. But she could only see the back of her head. And then she felt Liz slowly sliding closer, almost pushing Melissa off of the bed with her butt and legs. “What are you doing? I’m going to fall off. Stop it, Liz!” But Liz ignored her. In fact, it took only a few seconds for Liz to push her off of the bed completely and the two of them fell quickly to the floor. “Shut up! Do you have a gun?” Liz whispered. “What? No! I have kids.” “Anything that can cause damage?” “What the hell is going on? You’re scaring me.” “There’s a man in this room!” “What!” “Shut up! We need something to hurt him so we can get the fuck out of here safely. We need to call the cops, too!” “Where?” she whispered. They pressed their cheeks to the floor, looking underneath the bed and could see his booted feet; the mattress hid the rest of his body from their view. “How big do you think?” “Don’t know, I saw him then blinked, thinking I was still sleeping and. Then I stole another peek, and he was still standing there! If we stick together, it’s two against one. We can make it out okay.” Liz whispered. It was a hell of a lot better than any idea Melissa had planned—which was nothing at the moment. “Good morning, ladies.” The low voice made them hold onto each other. Scared out of their skins. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
47
“I am not here to harm you.” “Yeah, right!” Liz whispered to Melissa. “I speak the truth. I was sent here to help Melissa with her powers.” They looked at each other, shock written across both of their faces. How did he know? Was he watching them last night? A peeping Tom? What did he want, and who sent him? They huddled together and slowly rose to their knees, steadying them as they peered up over the mattress. They stole a good quick look before sliding back down to the safety behind the bed. “Who is he?” “I have no idea!” “Where did he come from?” “How the hell should I know, you saw him first!” Melissa breathed. “Did you wish for him while you slept?” “Not that I remember, what do we do? To get out, we have to go right past him.” She looked Liz square in the eyes. “Ladies, I will not hurt you, like I said. I was sent here to help with the power. Now, if you’ll come out from behind the bed, I’ll explain it all.” Neither moved out from the spot on the floor beside the bed. “If I was going to hurt you, do you not think because I’m here, in the flash of an eye, that I would have caused harm while you were resting?” “He has a point, Mel.” “Yeah, but that doesn’t make him an instant good guy.” “I can just zap you two to the kitchen, if you so choose to travel that way.” They were doomed. Melissa cleared her throat. “All you want to do is talk?” “That is my intention, yes.” “And you aren’t going to hurt us, we have your word?” Melissa asked. “On my honor. I wish no harm to you.” www.samhainpublishing.com
48
Tia Bangs
“What do you think, Liz?” she whispered. “I am losing my patience, ladies. Either you show yourselves and sit and talk, or I’ll use magic to do it,” he interrupted before Liz could answer. “You said you wouldn’t hurt us, and now you’re threatening?” Liz said. “I am tired and I refuse to beg two grown women, who are hiding behind a bed, to act like adults and stand up. I’ll be in the kitchen. When you are brave enough, join me,” he said and then they heard silence. Resting on their knees again, slowly looking up and over the mattress, they realized he was gone. As if reading each other’s mind, they stood up. Still gripping each other’s hands, they walked slowly out of the bedroom and through the front room. Continuing until they reached the kitchen. Side by side, as if joined at the hip, they took the first step inside and then stopped. “I can read minds, too. In fact, there is next to nothing I can’t do. So please, sit down. Although I do understand fearing the unknown, I am growing quite bored. You are safe in your own home.” Melissa swallowed her heart back down her throat and was the first to take another step. She pulled Liz behind her as she made her way to the table. She pulled out a chair and slid another next to it for Liz. Tapping the seat, she tugged on Liz’s arm until she sat. “Ladies, as I said previously, I’m here to explain to Melissa her newfound powers. It is with huge responsibility, and at all times, you must show the utmost respect,” he said and pointed to the attic. “Well, you see—” Melissa tried to explain. “You think you are the first to see what you can make appear?” He gave a soft laugh. “There have been many over hundreds of years, you are not the first. I assure you.” He added. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
49
“So,” she cleared her throat, “can you tell me how it is I have these powers? How long I’ll have them? And what do I do with them?” She mumbled question after question. Her body started to relax as her shoulders dropped and suddenly even though Liz was there; she was tuned out of Melissa’s mind. Apparently, this gorgeous man had her complete attention. Wait! Gorgeous? Where the hell did that come from? When had she noticed he was gorgeous? Did she look that closely? She had to have, to have the thought slip through her mind. And what was that? Was he actually smiling at her? Oh my god, yes! He was reading her mind! “Stop that!” “What?” He grinned. “Isn’t there any way you can turn that off?” she hissed. “I won’t tolerate that in my house. Powers or not. And frankly, I don’t give a damn who sent you, you have no right to read my mind!” “Sorry, it’s like second nature to me. You’ll learn this, too.” “You mean I’ll be able to do it too?” Her mouth hung open slightly. “You have already, you’ve just shrugged it off as your mind playing tricks on you. Now that you know, you’ll learn all the voices will drive you insane at first, and then you’ll learn how to tone them to a quiet whisper. And then, and only then, will it be bearable.” “Tell me, if these powers are supposed to be so fabulous, than why does it seem to be painful at the same time?” She tapped her fingers on the table. “Good point. Why does Mel, here, have pain when something happens? If she can learn to control reading minds surely she can cut down on the pain factor?” Liz added. “It’s conditioning,” he said simply. “That’s fancy for a curse,” she huffed. “So why don’t you tell me the whole story, starting with how I got them.” She sat straight-backed in the www.samhainpublishing.com
50
Tia Bangs
chair and waited for it seemed like forever for him to answer. This morning, she wasn’t that patient. She was the one now who was getting bored. “It started from that machine.” She tried to jumpstart the conversation. “Well,” he interrupted. “Actually, that was what activated it.” She stared at him and a blank expression crossed her face. Growing tired of the dance of words he insisted on using, she wanted some hardcore facts. Not a few meager pointless sentences. She was past tired, past boredom, even past anger. She was about to blow her top all over his taller-than-most, sexierthan-ever ass! “I have the right to know all the details. After all, isn’t that why you’re here? To explain to me and help me use them? Well guess what? You’re not helping me. I think I’m even more confused about what happened. And unless you plan on spitting it out, this very second, you can go back to where ever it is that you came from.” She barely noticed when Liz touched her back and started rubbing it, nudging her to calm down. It didn’t matter. She’s waited long enough. He either told her, or he was gone. Period! Between Liz and her, they could figure it out. Maybe not completely, but enough so the amount of things falling from thin air would be minimum. And if not, well, she could always give it to charity. They could certainly find good homes for the items. “You’re in no position to give me an ultimatum!” “Yeah… well I think I am! So unless you start coming clean, you’re out of here! And I’ll ignore you until you’re gone,” she stated matter-offactly. His whole being seemed to be filled with wanting. Wanting to feel her soft, pouty lips against his. And that was just for starters. He wanted to www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
51
feed off of her anger and turn it into a slow, steady, heated passion. Yeah, that’s what he wanted! To feel her soft skin against his hand as he gently undressed her. He shuddered inwardly at the thought. He was not going to be sucked in by her beauty. He was there to do a job, one he disliked more than anything. And he had dreaded it each and every day for the past two hundred and thirty years. The very day he messed up, he’d been stuck in time to await his punishment. To wait until he was called upon to fix what he could with the next gifted one—Melissa. Not only was he sent to teach another, but failure weighed heavy on his mind as well. Not to mention she was an impossible, stubborn woman. Scratch that! She was one big pain in his ass! But if he wanted to be free, he had to put up with her whining and temper. Unless he refused, and then he would be sent back in time, waiting for the next one he would be assigned to. Would that person behave any better? And just how long would he have to wait for the next one? Was he willing to take the risk? No! No woman would push him into not completing a job. This was his assignment, and damn it, he’d pass it with flying colors! His mind was made up. He was going to help her stubborn, bitchy ass and do it as quickly as possible. After all, he had a lot of years to catch up on. The sooner he helped her learn about the powers, the sooner he could get on with his life. To see what had happened while he wasn’t able to move on for two hundred plus years. “What do you want to know?” He gave in. As he waited for her to answer, his gaze couldn’t help but roam over her body. Starting at her soft silky brown hair. The way it shimmered in the light made him want to reach out and touch it, let the strands fall between his fingers as he tested the softness. Onto her beautiful eyes. www.samhainpublishing.com
52
Tia Bangs
They were cinnamon colored. The soft, almost unnoticeable, ring around them was a light coffee with cream colored small band, accenting the cinnamon perfectly. Like he could be paralyzed and lost in her glance. At her beck and call at any given moment. She had a square chin and a wide mouth. Generously curved parted lips, which didn’t need a lick of color. Her natural bronzed skin was enough. Her lashes swept down and across her high cheekbones, and her button nose was perfectly centered. Lord! He couldn’t keep this up. She had to say something and soon. Because if she didn’t, he could tell just by the warming of his blood and the strong, steady pumping of his heart, he’d burst from lust, and soon. His staff was all but begging for a little more room in his pants as it enlarged just a tad bit more. “I want to know exactly how long I will have this power.” Finally she said something. His mind could stop wandering in the gutter, and he could concentrate on the whole reason he was there to begin with. “You will have them forever.” “Until I die?” “Forever.” There was only so much information he’d share with her during the “I’m getting used to the powers” first talk. “How about what can I do to control them? I’m having a hard enough time now.” “Yes, I know. Controlling your power will take some time, practice, and patience. I will teach you how but do not think this is something you will learn quickly. It is not. And if you rush it, it has a way of backfiring. Your power is nothing to take lightly,” he warned. “I’m sure I won’t understand it all in a day, but I should have a general idea of things, right?” Oh, brother! He rolled his eyes and sighed deeply. He crossed his arms over his chest. Was she serious? All in a day? General idea? Hell, www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
53
this wasn’t a card game! Her powers were an extraordinary gift. One that could grant her anything her heart desired. Could right wrongs. Anything she could think of, all except money. She was treating this as lightly as changing her underwear daily. Why was she chosen? She obviously had no clue the line passed down to her. How powerful she was. She should never have been granted activation of her power. Even if by accident. She clearly wasn’t worthy. Or even close to ready… Well, he had no right to go against what had been written years ago. He did not have the authority to give his opinion. The only option he had was to help her, or wait in time until the next opportunity arose.
www.samhainpublishing.com
54
Tia Bangs
Chapter Five “We’ll tackle one day at a time, starting tomorrow. Then once you’re more comfortable, we can combine a few things. Speed your learning time, which should please you.” He flipped his hand in a mocking gesture. “Don’t be an ass!” she shouted. “Me? Me, an ass? You were saying how much this would be a piece of cake. Learning like riding a bike or tying your shoe,” he shouted back. “Yes, you are! You pop in here, take us by surprise, I’ll add. And you act like it’s a godsend you’re here. We should bow down to you. Kiss your feet, thank heavens you are here!” “And you should! I’m here to help you learn to control your power. You have no idea how powerful, how you were hand chosen. You think…” He stopped in mid-sentence. He was so mad, his eyes widened from rage and his lips thinned. The shade of his skin grew three different, deeper shades of red in seconds. “Don’t!” Was all he was able to spit out. Liz glared at him. Then he looked at Melissa, her mouth gaping wide until she closed it when the reality sunk in. “You have nerve, woman!” He leaned forward and as he did, his massive frame pushed the table forward an inch from the sudden movement. “Me? What?” “You know very well what! I warned you!” “Holy shit, what’s that horrible smell?” Liz blurted. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
55
“You did that on purpose! This is all but a game for you, isn’t it?” He rose from his seat as if propelled by an explosive force. “I did not. How dare you accuse me!” “Then explain these!” He pulled on the straps of the hip-waders. A moment ago, he hadn’t been wearing them. “And this! This!” He lifted one leg as if he were going to shake it. “Don’t you dare take one step. I just mopped!” “What the hell did you do, Mel?” Liz broke in, interrupting their fight. “I’ll tell you what your friend here did!” he yelled. “It’s safe to stop pinching your nose by the way,” he snarled and watched the two of them slowly taking their hand away from their noses. The air was no longer stagnant and filled with the sour, strong scent of cow manure. With the snap of a finger, the hip-waders were a memory, totally disappeared off of his body. “She thought I was too big for my britches, an exaggerator to boot, and before I could stop her, the damage was already done.” He finished and stood stiff. His anger raged through him with what Melissa had done. “Oh, my God! I get it, shit so deep he needs waders!” Liz connected the trail of hints. Not only was Liz laughing, but Melissa couldn’t help but laugh, too. Then they both quieted when noticing a small bronze fog stared floating around him. “I’m sorry, honest. I did not mean for that to happen. You were just going on and on. And to us, you know, humans, we have a hard time believing stuff like this. It’s going to take some getting used to. But I did not do it on purpose,” she said, which was half of an apology. The bronze fog had disappeared.
www.samhainpublishing.com
56
Tia Bangs
“I’m retiring for a while. I trust you not to do something similar while I rest?” He lowered his voice as he controlled his anger to a bare minimum. “I will try to control dressing you in anything else today.” She waved the invisible white flag. “Thank you. We will talk more of using your powers after I have rested. Please do not leave your home. You are too dangerous until you fully understand and control your urges.” He didn’t wait for an answer. He just snapped his fingers and he was gone. “I can’t believe you did that, Mel,” Liz said. “It wasn’t like I meant it.” “He deserved it. He was getting a little full of himself. I don’t blame you even if it was intentional,” Liz added. “Well, it wasn’t.” She laughed. “But, I’ll admit for a brief moment, it was funny.” Melissa rose and straightened her shoulders and cleared her throat. Her amusement swiftly died when she replayed how angry he was in her mind. “What do you think that was, the haze, did you see it?” “God, yes! I thought he was either going to explode or take flight! It was weird but he was so angry I didn’t dare blink.” Liz said. She felt the same way when she noticed the bronze fog appear, but she was so caught in his anger, his words, their fight. She didn’t really pay all that much attention at the time. Then she started to realize he was not what she thought. She couldn’t explain it, but there was more to this than him being assigned to help her grow familiar with her powers. She just knew. She could feel it when he talked to her, and the way he looked at her. The uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
57
That definitely warned her there was more to this story than he was letting on. Something, maybe even a bit dangerous? She tried to disguise her annoyance and fear in front of Liz. It was bad enough doubts and uneasy feelings continued to wash through her body. She didn’t need Liz worrying and feeling the same way. She smiled an overly bright smile and offered Liz some tea. Until she could put her finger on it, or she had something concrete to back up those feelings, Melissa was going to keep a very tight lip. This whole situation was bizarre and weird, stressful and whatever else she could toss into the emotional roller coaster. She was in no way, no form, going to make it any worse or more strained. Liz was her rock. Her best friend and the one who always stayed calm and collected. Melissa needed her to stay that way. Just in case. “So what do we do with him? He’s not going to let you out of this house until you have your powers down pat. And according to him, that will take some time. Which, I’ll add, you don’t have. A) You have to go to work and b) your children will be coming home,” Liz reminded her. “I don’t know.” She peeked into the front room, searching to see if Mr. Tall Dark and Magic was there. Satisfied when she didn’t see him, she waked over to the counter, leaned her back against it and crossed her ankles. The more she tried to figure the situation out, the more she thought about him. The way his muscles flexed when he appeared to not even be using them. The way he casually stood in her bedroom. His body seemed to ooze sexual appeal and he obviously didn’t even realize it. As if it was his own cologne. One which Melissa was instantly attracted to, and the same scent registered in her mind now. She wanted www.samhainpublishing.com
58
Tia Bangs
him close to her again but at the same time, she couldn’t stand to be in the same room with him. He was self-absorbed and cocky. And, if she were honest, a bit rude, too. She had to figure out how to control her powers and soon. The sooner she did the faster he’d leave and she wouldn’t have to put up with him. “Never mind about him. I’ve got to deal with the exes of mine. This is my one and only chance to put the past behind me. I don’t care what his highness says. I’m going through with my meetings.” “Have any idea what you’re going to say to either of them?” “Roughly. The rest will come to me,” she proudly stated. Well, you better call one of them now, while the coast is clear. Who knows when you’ll have time to yourself after today.” With that, Melissa strolled over to the phone and dialed Nathan’s number first.
“Okay, I’ll be right over there. Not close enough to hear so you’ll have privacy, but close enough to help if something happens. Good luck.” “Thanks, Liz.” Melissa watched Liz casually blend into the scenery of the park. There was no turning back now. Nathan would be here any minute and she’d have to follow through with the meeting. She couldn’t leave, that’d make her look like an idiot. She might have done that a time or two in the past, but not today. Not in front of an ex. Oh, God! Here he comes! Her stomach flipped just like it would if she were bungee jumping off a tall bridge. It tightened in strong knots. Her heart was hammering so hard she couldn’t hear anything but the loud echoing in her ears. Just another fifty feet and he’d be right next to her! www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
59
Trying to calm her nerves, she focused on Liz through the crowd. Once she spotted her, she felt a whole hell of a lot better. She’d never be able to pull this off without her help. “Melissa, my, you look different, wonderful,” Nathan said and he tried to lean in and hug her, but Melissa stopped him in time. Instead, she guided him to the bench so they could sit. “It sure has been a long time, princess.” God! She hated it when he called her that. “Yes, it has. Listen, Nathan, there are a couple things I want to talk to you about,” she began and eyed Liz, making sure she knew where she was every second. She needed her for support. She would probably have chickened out the second the almost panic attack kicked in. She could do this, no problem…as long as she could see Liz. Hey, bravery was never her strong suit, but she was working on it. “I know, and I can’t believe it, princess. After all of these years, you still feel… Well, I think it’s very romantic. But I’m seeing someone. You had your chance. You walked away, not me. Princess, we’ll just keep this between us. I’m flattered, really I am.” Whoa! Where the hell did that come from? What did he say? Romantic? He didn’t think this meeting was… Oh, God, he did! “You’re nuts, Nathan! This isn’t to get back together.” She tried to calm her anger. Yeah, when pigs fly she might think for one second about it… Not! “This is far from that actually. Congratulations on being involved though. I am happy for you.” Clearing her throat, she breathed deeply. Get it over with and hurry before he thinks of something crazy again! “I forgive you.” There, she finally spit it out. It was about time. The rest would be a piece of cake and before she knew it, the meeting would be over. Not soon enough, but at least she was speaking her mind, which usually didn’t happen often. www.samhainpublishing.com
60
Tia Bangs
“Forgive me? For what?” She noticed the lines on his forehead grow deeper. He really didn’t know? Had he forgotten how bad it was when they split? “For taking advantage of my naivete. For making me feel like dirt and for spreading those horrible rumors and for taking everything I owned except the clothes on my back. For all of that, I forgive you.” “You forgive me? You forgive me?” She could see the anger as it lit his eyes. The color deepened and his skin was turning shades of red. “Yes. I couldn’t understand why you did all of that when we were going through our divorce. But after the pain started to fade, I began to understand, and was even a little glad you put the screws to me.” She noticed he opened his mouth but no words came out, so she continued. “It made me realize when you’re not happy with someone, material things don’t matter. And it made me realize I was learning a hard lesson. And someday I’d understand that. And you see, I did. I learned that even though you stole from me what rightfully was mine, look at where I am today. It was because of how nasty you were, I worked my ass off. I managed to replace the items and then some. And what mattered most was the pride and satisfied feeling afterwards. I have everything you wouldn’t let me have from hard work and long hours. But pride, too. I learned these things made me want them all the more. I was able to buy them on my own and take care of myself, and save some money. And be successful, but most of all happy. Look at me, Nathan, does it look like I crawled under a rock and stayed there? I have a very good job, a nice house, and two beautiful kids.” “I don’t— ” “I owe it to you for being so ruthless and stingy. I wish you all the best and I hope you have found true happiness like I have. Thankful for each day you wake up and pray that’ll happen the next.” Ending it there, www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
61
she rose from the bench, stealing one last look at his surprised face before walking away. Trembling, but feeling relieved. Feeling extremely proud of herself, too. She noticed Liz following slowly behind her, just in case Nathan was watching, and she continued to walk to the far side of the park. She walked out of his sight to where the vendors were set up. “How’d it go?” “Great! I feel so much better!” “That’s fabulous! I don’t think Nathan took it well. He looked like he was slinking out of the park, his head tucked down and his tail between his legs as he rushed towards his car.” “Good! Can you believe he thought I asked him here to get back together?” “No way!” “Two coffees please.” She pulled five dollars out and paid the man. “Yeah, he was flattered but said he was involved at the moment,” she added and took the coffees, handing one to Liz, and they were silent long enough to take a quick sip. “I set him straight and in a hurry. And then I calmly got it all off of my chest.” “Excellent! You did great! Are you ready for the next?” “You bet I am!” After they finished their coffee, they walked the park, making sure Nathan had indeed left. Melissa didn’t need a surprise attack while she was talking with Warren-the-weasel. The coast was clear, Nathan was long gone, and Liz took her hiding place. Melissa breathed in relaxing slow, steady deep breaths. She was mentally and physically ready for the meeting. Now all that was missing was Warren. She glanced at her watch. She still had ten minutes to prepare. www.samhainpublishing.com
62
Tia Bangs
As long as the waiting time didn’t turn into nervous energy, which could flow very quickly and turn into panic, she’d be all right. She just had to find something to occupy her mind so that wouldn’t happen. But what? As her gaze searched the park, noticing families, dogs, and couples enjoying a late afternoon stroll, she was looking in the wrong direction when Liz was trying to catch her attention because Warren had entered the park. It was too late. He was a few feet away from the back of the bench. She’d never seen him coming. But she could feel him. Well, she could feel something was wrong because the hair on the back of her neck stood up as well as the fine hairs on her arms. She turned around quickly and saw Warren was within inches of the bench. Just seconds before he took his last steps and sat down. “I don’t have all day. Why did you ask me here?” Boy, he certainly cut to the chase. Not a single thing had changed, right down to his impatience. Looking and listening to him now, she wondered what the hell she had ever seen in him. Besides good looks, she couldn’t name one good quality at this moment. “I’m sorry to put a crimp on your day and plans,” she said with a hint of nervousness in her voice. Get a grip, pull it together! This is your day. Don’t let him bully you, not when you’re making progress. You can do this. “And you should be. You have the most awful timing, like always. You haven’t changed at all. Your hair maybe, but that’s all.” He took another pot-shot. At this rate, she’d be running out of the park in tears because he got to her and she couldn’t follow through with her plan. Her stomach flip-flopped. The bile began to rise up her throat and her hands grew clammy. Her body started to shake. She was frightened, she hated to admit it to herself, but he scared her. There was no way she could do this. Not now. Actually, not ever. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
63
Just as she was ready to give up, she saw Liz giving her the thumbs up. Quickly, Melissa regrouped just enough to say something to stop herself from looking like an idiot. Or a chickenshit, or even a scatterbrain. “Yes, well, I won’t take up much of your time. The reason I asked you to meet me today is,” she stopped for one second to swallow and take a last deep breath for courage, “I wanted to tell you in person so you weren’t surprised by this. You know the kids are getting older, and before we know it they’ll be out of school.” “What? You’re hitting me up for money? You bitch! I knew this was a trap! You are some piece of work. You are not getting one red cent from me! I knew it. Margaret warned me you might say something like this!” “Margaret?” “Don’t play all blonde on me now. You know fucking well who Margaret is!” “No, believe it or not, I haven’t kept tabs on you, not since you left.” “You mean, the day you threw me out!” She slid across the seat away from him. “It doesn’t matter. That was years ago. I just wanted to let you know I have filed for child support. Raising them by myself hasn’t been easy all these years, college is coming up and I can’t do alone. I’ve never asked you for anything. No diapers. Clothes, dentists, doctors. Trips with the school. Nothing. Not one penny did I ever ask you for.” “And that’s how it’s going to stay! The kids are old enough to get jobs. And I haven’t seen them in years. I have a new family, mouths to feed, and I am not giving you money.” Boy, he knew just how to push her buttons. He was making her sound like a stirring-up-trouble gold digger! The more he opened his mouth, the angrier she became. www.samhainpublishing.com
64
Tia Bangs
“I never stopped you from calling them or seeing them. That was your choice. The paperwork has all ready been filed,” she said as calmly as she could and then a flash of bright light blinded her for a second. Behind Warren, stood Brent. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “Jesus! You are crazy! You asked me to meet you, you stupid bitch,” Warren said. He stood and walked a few feet as she watched him. He turned around and then stopped and faced her. Her gaze locked on him and then to Brent. “He can’t see or hear me. You’re in danger. Get up, go get Liz and go straight home. Now!” But it was too late. Before she could register what Brent said, Warren had pinned her on the bench. His face was an inch away from hers. He grabbed her chin and said something she didn’t quite understand because the fear was rushing through her body. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and thought about being home, where she was safe. When she opened her eyes, she looked straight into Warren’s. The last thing she remembered seeing, through a bronze fog, was Warren being flung off of her and into the nearest row of bushes a few yards away. “What the hell? How did that happen?” Liz asked. “I didn’t do it, Brent did.” “No, actually you did it. Now I have to clean up this mess. Go home and stay there,” he ordered. “This could have been much worse.” After what happened, neither one of them was in any shape to argue due to the shock of it all. They did as he said and headed straight to Melissa’s house.
www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
65
Three hours later, Brent zapped himself back to Melissa’s place. He just sat there, his arms crossed. He was silent for what seemed like the longest five minutes of his life. He knew he had to say something, he just didn’t know where to begin. Would he start with the fact he had to erase all the memories from the hundreds of people in the park because they all witnessed pigs flying? Everyone knew pigs didn’t have wings, and they were not able to fly. Or the part where he had to pull Warren from the bushes and erase his memory of ever meeting Melissa in the park today. He had to plant the thought of not arguing or fighting her when Warren was called to court over child support. He wasn’t even sure which point to argue about first. What he was sure of though, was he had to get it in that thick skull of hers, she had no idea how strong her powers are. Or how easily they can fall out of her control, without her even realizing it. Like today. “Okay, let’s put the cards on the table, shall we?” he began and intertwined his fingers. “You must do as I say. I know you think I am being bossy, but I am only trying to keep you safe.” He tossed through his mind the next couple of sentences before he continued. But Melissa took that as a hint to respond, which was just what she did. “Thank you for taking care of things. It must have been a real mess if it took you that long.” “Unfortunately, I can’t fix all things with the snap of my fingers.” “I’m sorry.” “It doesn’t matter. It is in the past. We must be on the same playing field otherwise this will never work. I’m getting too old to chase after you. Do we understand each other?” “Actually, no, we don’t. I do not want these powers so if you’ll kindly tell me how I can get rid of them. My life was okay before this happened. At least I didn’t have to worry about powers, strange things happening, www.samhainpublishing.com
66
Tia Bangs
you, cleaning up messes. Sure, I was doing my best before. And yes, I could have used some help or a break every now and again. But those things I could deal with. This, I can not control. Please help me get rid of them.” She all but begged and he noticed her eyes tearing up. Having her cry right now, after the long stressful afternoon, he certainly didn’t need. Damage control had been completed. Now, knowing how upset and maybe a little emotionally overwhelmed she must be feeling, he had to break the news to her as gently as he could. “I do understand, believe me, I do. I wasn’t born knowing I had powers either, so I do know how confused, upset, angry and even sad you must feel right now.” “You weren’t? When did you find out? Did someone appear for you, too?” He’d rather not think back all those years ago, but if it would help cushion her fall, he would have to walk down memory lane. If only for a few minutes. Lord, please let it be only briefly. “I was young. About seven or eight. I hadn’t reached my growth spurt yet and was having a difficult time in school. I was so much shorter than the rest of the boys in my class. One day, I was being bullied and fell backwards over an old wood stove. I was zapped by it. Next thing I knew, strange things started happening. And they intensified when puberty was complete. That was when my parents sat down and explained the powers that I had. Where we came from and how we ended up staying on Earth. And like you, at first, it was great. There wasn’t anything I couldn’t do, but as soon it all sunk in—the classes, tests, and learning to control things and separate my emotions, that was the hardest of all to conquer—then I was able to try to live with the powers as best as I could.” He paused, giving her time to absorb what he was sharing with her. “But I had parents to help me and because I was so young and didn’t understand the changes. During that time, people didn’t separate, www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
67
divorce, move thousands of miles away from each other. Families stayed together and those who were ‘gifted’ lived all in one town. Where everyone could help the new ones and help those who needed to be trained. But throughout time, laws changed and families were able to separate, sometimes moving away. And with that happening, the line of powers stemmed coast to coast, hemisphere to hemisphere. Making it almost impossible to keep track of the new generations with powers. By doing so, those native gifted ones married out of the bloodline. Years of breeding this way lessened and weakened the powers. Not all that are born with the blood have powers. Some have it and don’t even know. Sometimes, and more common in your time, something has to happen to bring the powers from out of dormancy. Which is exactly what happened that day in the salon. And I’m sorry to tell you, because I do know how you feel, but the powers will always be with you. In time, you will have mastered them and will learn to live normal and happy life.” There, that was as gentle as he could explain it. He was as honest with her as possible, without telling her too much so she’d be overwhelmed. And from the vibes she was giving off and the thoughts he was reading in her mind, she seemed to understand it. She was actually all right with all of this, for the time being. “So where exactly did you come from and why did your family come to Earth?” Of all of the questions she could have asked, why that one? Maybe she was just warming up and would ask the more difficult, powersrelated questions later. Or maybe she really wanted to know, for whatever reason. Perhaps to know him on a more personal level, instead of student-trainee. “It’s a very long story and greatly confusing. The quick version, I’m from Pluto.” “Like the planet?” She gave a nervous laugh. www.samhainpublishing.com
68
Tia Bangs
“Yes, our planet. But to you in this day and age, Pluto is just a mere mass of rock, no longer considered a planet in the solar system.” He stopped before giving her any information to scare her off. Some things were better left unsaid until he was sure she’d be able to handle it. At this time, the real reason behind him leaving Pluto, the truth about his kind and their leader, she just wasn’t ready to know about.
www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
69
Chapter Six “Okay, so as long as the cards are on the table, why have you been ‘assigned’ to me?” “Good question, Mel.” Liz smiled. He tried as quickly as he was able, to read her mind. He needed to know where this line of questioning was heading. He was only going to tell her as much as she needed to right now, and the only way he could know for sure was taking a quick peak into her thoughts. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t feel guilty for it. He did. In times like this though, a reading was necessary. So much for skipping the topic. Now he had to choose his words very wisely, keeping their kind out of it as much as possible and steering clear of releasing even a smidgen of information about the leader. “There are a select few who have been chosen, who are on a list of sorts if you will, and we take turns training. I was next in line when your powers were activated so I was ordered to train you.” “How long? And what’s up with the bronze haze?” Liz jumped in on the questions once again. Tread carefully, his mind reminded him. “The haze is our leader’s show of disapproval.” “Wait, you mean, she’s being watched?” “Yes and no. It’s complicated.” “No. It’s either yes, she’s being watched, or no, she’s not. It can’t be both ways,” Liz argued. www.samhainpublishing.com
70
Tia Bangs
“Let me see if I can explain so you’ll understand.” He cleared his throat. “She is being watched, but only when she gives off a vibration she is in trouble. You see, we are all protected to a certain point. If something is horribly wrong that will alter the future, fear in the greatest degree, or she is in harm’s way, all of this will trigger the vibration. The leader will appear through the haze to make sure whatever the trouble is, is not lifethreatening. Or to see if help is needed. It is also in the case of you’re treading on thin ice and the leader is not happy. Sort of a warning signal.” “Does he watch all of the time?” Liz asked. “No. What people do on a daily basis holds little interest to anyone, so it’s tuned out. What does bring interest is when something is not right. That is when the haze appears, briefly, and usually during training to witness your progress. And may appear at times, upon a renewal of the soul, or sorts, to see the color of your seasoning.” “Ok, now you’ve lost me,” Melissa chimed in. “That is why we must start immediately with training so you can learn what all of this means for you. It’s too hard to explain, and none are simple answers. I’d have to start from beginning to the end and would take years if we do it that way.” “Okay, so we start in the morning. Is he watching us now?” “No. He sees you are in the safety of your home and is satisfied. Your home is your safe haven. It is the one place where you feel completely relaxed and doing a reading is so simple it’s like blinking your eyes. That quickly, because of your state of mind. It only takes a few seconds to tune you in so to speak, to see you are there. In and out, and that’s roll call.” “Well, I hate to say this because it really is getting interesting now and I want to hear more, but I have to head home. I’ve got an early www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
71
morning appointment. I’ll stop by afterwards though” Liz said and waited for Melissa to catch up to her before she could walk out of the door. “You’re leaving us alone? But I thought you’d stay again.” She was petrified with the thought. “You’ll be okay. He’ll zap out of here in a little while and you’ll have the house all to yourself for the rest of the night. I’ll check in first thing in the morning.” Melissa tried to smile as best as she could despite how afraid and awkward she was feeling. “Be careful, drive safely.” She closed the door, locked it, and leaned her back against it. She closed her eyes for a second or two, drawing in a breath of air, biting her lip to stifle the outcry. She had to buck-up and go back into the other room. If she could raise two teenagers—going through puberty, first crushes, periods, first heartbreaks—she could sit through a couple of hours of conversation alone with him. Just the two of them. Alone. Suddenly, a powerful relief filled her as a sense of strength washed through her body. The brief despair lessened and disappeared. With dazzling determination, she walked straight. Standing as tall as her five foot four frame was possible of doing, she entered the kitchen and sat across from him. Wit a calm cool and clear mind, she was prepared to hear what he would share with her regarding the things they’d study on her first lesson. For starters, using and having these powers, she was openmindedly prepared, as best as she could ever be. Her courage and determination were like a rock inside of her. Until the very second when she looked into his eyes. Then all the determination and strength, courage, and confidence flew right out of the window. Swallowing quickly and looking away, she www.samhainpublishing.com
72
Tia Bangs
couldn’t afford to be distracted from the attraction, which was growing stronger the longer she spent time with him. Confused with how quickly she could go from confident straight into a dribbling lovesick fool, she looked restlessly around the room. Searching for something to focus on so she could regroup and pull herself together. The blood began to pound in her temples. The way she’d pined for him was a humiliating, deflated feeling compared to a few minutes ago when she was standing at the door. Her breath quickened. Her cheeks became warm as the reality of how long it actually had been since she was in the company of a man hit her. Even longer, since she’d been intimate with a man. Oh, great! Gone from bad to worse in a split second? Sex? She was thinking about sex now? There was no way she could make it through this night if she couldn’t even look at him. This was going to be the longest night of her life if she couldn’t pull it together, and quickly. And to do that, she had to look at him. She was so caught up in the school-girl-crush syndrome, she couldn’t tell exactly how long she’d been silent. Judging by the tight muscles in his jaw, and how they relaxed a few seconds after she gazed at him, it was at least a few minutes if she guessed. She looked again. She couldn’t help herself. She could feel the sexual magnetism
that
made
him
so
self-confident.
Under
normal
circumstances, if she met him out somewhere, she might actually think he could be one she’d want to get to know a little better. But this wasn’t under normal circumstances, and with her new-founded powers, she had enough on her plate. She didn’t need to add a relationship to the chaos. Knowing that though didn’t change the way her heart turned over in response to his gaze meeting hers. She just needed to control the urges www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
73
running through her body long enough to let him help her understand her powers. Well as much as her mind can absorb for tonight. Hopefully time would go quickly and before she knew it, it would be time for her to go to bed. He’d leave and not return until tomorrow. By then, Liz would be back. Melissa needed to start the conversation, fill the silence and take her mind off his masculine body so this awkward period would be a thing of the past. “I’m ready to hear more,” she simply said. At least she didn’t get tongue-tied. It was enough to let him take it from here, giving her a couple extra minutes to focus her thoughts. “The easiest way to understanding your powers is to start right in with the lessons. Which means, we have to work together. One hundred percent. If you’re not willing to trust me, you will have a very difficult time understanding them. As a result, it will take much longer to learn the ropes. The leader will, in turn, have more input on your progress and sometimes, his mood can mean tougher repercussions. So you must be a serious student and try your best with understanding and learning your lessons.” She tried really hard to learn and use what she knew to the best of her ability. Thank goodness she hadn’t been half-bad in school or she’d be dreading these lessons. But a part of her, now that there was no escaping this, was actually excited. If she couldn’t beat them, she’d have no choice but to join in. At this point, she was beyond intimidation. She felt elated by her new objectivity, and with this flash of confidence, she felt a bottomless peace and satisfaction. She also felt a warm glow flowing through her when she accepted her change in life and the powers she now carried. Her smile broadened when she noticed his smile of approval. And she gloried briefly in the shared moment between them. www.samhainpublishing.com
74
Tia Bangs
“Since I know you are a very calculating woman and you strive for order in your life, I’ve put together a list of things we’ll be going over tomorrow.” She picked up the list from off of the table and glanced at it, stealing looks at him every now and again as she read what he had written. “Thank you,” she said, waving the sheet of paper gently in the air. “This will help me take one step at a time so it’s not so intimidating.” She smiled at him and read the list quickly again. “It can go this smoothly and simple during your training if we work together, like we are now. It’s when you disobey what I say that throws a ratchet into the calmness, creating chaos. And until you know how to do damage control, that puts our lessons on hold and strains our teamwork.” “I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t think anything would happen as serious as it turned out.” She tried to reach out to him and meet him half way, hoping he did understand, or at least remember how he felt when he first learned of the gift when he was in her shoes. “So, our leader, do I ever get to meet him? Do we have regular meetings?” “You won’t meet the leader until you are fully trained. Then you’ll be invited to a meeting in which the leader will test all you have learned, and you will demonstrate your powers.” “You mean, like a pass or fail test? What happens if I fail?” she asked, worried. “You won’t.” “You don’t know that.” She placed the paper on the table, worry crossing her face as a slight panic snuck slowly through her body. “Has anyone failed?”
www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
75
“You will not fail, so you need not worry about all of this. I refuse to let you, so you will work hard and you will pass the meeting with flying colors.” How could he look her square in the eyes and not worry, remembering the one and only time he had failed his mission? He worked so hard, watched his last student with an eagle’s eye. Worked relentless hours and when the time came, the student failed. He was the one who was punished for that defeat. He was banished from his land, his home, to wait for his next assignment. Being banished was a slap in his face, and his family’s faces. Almost like the villagers were stoning him. Sentenced to live his life in solitude, isolation, to be placed in a world where only he was allowed, but under the strict hand and eye of the ruler. Almost like a genie in a bottle. Stuck in time. Only allowed what was absolutely necessary to survive and never let out of that time until the master allowed it. With Brent, it would be his next assignment. This assignment. His last student had plotted and deceived him, and he never knew until recently; the day of the meeting, when the ruler visited. During that meeting, the ruler explained the reasons for Brent’s punishment. Oh, the student didn’t get off scot-free. The student was stripped of all the power, learning, memories, and the bloodline was sterilized and destroyed. But still, Brent was held in time for over two hundred years, and he felt like he had the worse of the punishments. That is why he would not let Melissa fail. He would not spend another day being held in time, with no interaction with anyone. He would see to it she passed with the highest of honors, freeing not only his family from the shame having him banned in time, but to restore him to freedom. www.samhainpublishing.com
76
Tia Bangs
Worse, to make this even more stressful, he was placed on a time schedule. He had very little time to help her realize her powers, accept them, and be able to use them properly. “We should call it a night. We’ll be up bright and early to get as much in as we can for the first day of training.” “Thank you for taking care of the mess I created today.” “You’re welcome. Let’s just call it a free day.” “A free day?” “You can have one free day, you know, getting the hang of it. Today can be that day. Deal?” “Deal,” she said and stood up, ready to go to bed. “See you in the morning.” “Good night.” With the snap of his fingers, he was gone. She wondered why he was showing an emotional side. From the first moment he appeared, he had not been very pleasant. In fact, he was an asshole. He’d been a holierthan-thou, listen-to-me-and-do-what-I-say, arrogant prick! But now she started to understand what he was trying to do, she really didn’t want him to disappear and go away anymore. She was kind of getting used to him being around. As long as he was showing a different, gentler side—if even briefly—she could try really hard tomorrow. After all, she did create havoc today and who was there when she really needed it? He was. She owed him for all he’d done today. She was going to make a damn good student. No. She’d be the best fucking student he had ever had to train! Yes, damn straight she would. With a spring in her step, she quickly dressed for bed, brushed her teeth and pulled her hair into a ponytail with a soft scrunchie. Then she crawled into bed. Tomorrow she’d start out fresh and she would listen www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
77
and learn as much as she could. She’d pass that damn test! She’d control her powers, learn them inside and out, and in record time! She smiled and fluffed her pillow and fell quickly to sleep. He found it difficult to rest. Melissa was on his mind. Not only how quickly she felt horrible and almost ashamed of what happened earlier because of her actions. But when he looked closer, he could actually see the pain in her eyes. He could see the heart rendering tenderness of her gaze, then she’d stared with longing at him. She was so disturbing to him in every way. He remembered his gaze was riveted on her face and then moved over her body, slowly. He had done all he could not to reach over and touch her face, holding it gently in his hand. Just thinking about it sent a shiver through his body and his skin started tingling with excitement. He had to stop, and fast. His staff was growing by the second and he didn’t need to be tortured by the thought of not being able to touch her and more. He pulled his T-shirt off, tossing it on the bed and then his pants came off next. Picking them up, he crossed the room and put them in the hamper. He snapped his fingers and the dresser drawer opened and then he wiggled one finger and the clothes shuffled around until he found what he was searching for. He lifted his finger and a matching set of dark silk pajamas rose from the drawer and floated through the air until he could reach out and grab a hold of them. Quickly he dressed and waved his hand once, making the dresser drawer close. He waved it again, this time over the bed, and the blankets lifted and folded down, enough so he could crawl underneath them. Which he did, he fixed his pillow so it was more suitable for resting and pulled the covers up, tucking them under his arms. He closed his www.samhainpublishing.com
78
Tia Bangs
eyes. He was now ready to rest and he’d be prepared and ready for her lessons tomorrow. Yeah, if only he could keep her out of his mind long enough so he could sleep. No matter what he did, what he tried, he was too restless. It wasn’t like he could make a wish or snap his fingers, making it extremely easy to fall to sleep. Wishes like that were not allowed to those who are banned. At least not in his home. The leader had full power over this area and granting things for comfort was not allowed for people who were being punished. If he were at Melissa’s house, Brent could snap his fingers for sleep and he’d be in nodsville asap. But, he wasn’t. Could he? Should he? It wasn’t against the rules. He could not stay under the same roof as her. Not when he had thoughts of kissing those fine, delicious lips. Or holding her body close to him, close enough so he could feel the heat flowing from her body and trying to penetrate his. A beer. Yeah, that’s what he needed. A beer and TV. That certainly would relax him enough to maybe fall to sleep quicker. If anything, watching TV would take his mind off of her. He sat up, sliding to the edge of the bed, and raked a hand through his sandy brown hair. This wouldn’t be the first night he couldn’t sleep. Flashbacks of his first few days in isolation shot to the front of his mind. Brief, quick pictures flashed across his closed lids, of him wandering in a town he was the only one residing in. Even though there was a grocery store, a theatre, a small park. Basically everything a small town would have in it for retail and entertainment. The only thing missing was a way to get in touch with someone. No phone, no computer, and there wasn’t a person in sight. No one he could talk to at the grocery store. He was allowed to take anything he wanted. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
79
It didn’t matter the quantity. The shelves would be fully stocked the next time he walked through the doors. After the first two weeks, he wasn’t as shocked by all of his surroundings. But he also didn’t think his punishment would last a year, let alone over two hundred! With his new trainee, because of his error with his past student, he was on a time schedule so that a mistake wouldn’t happen ever again. If he was not able to teach her well enough for her to pass the meeting in time, he’d be forever bound to stay in his own one-person town. Never able to be a part of the real world again. Not able to talk with people or to catch up on all of the lost time with his family. His whole life and freedom was held in her tiny little hands. If he was freed, it would be because Melissa learned well. If he was sent back to time permanently, it would mean failure, again. If that was the case, he’d live his life alone forever. Not until he passed away either. For his kind never died. What a horrible thought. To be the only one for eternity. He walked to the fridge and opened it, pulling out a beer and twisting off the cap. He walked to the sofa and plopped down, picking up the remote and he began channel surfing. There had to be something on the TV that could lift his mood, or at least take his mind off of this complete mess he’d gotten himself into. Something so he could stop thinking about how the rest of his life was literally in her hands. He finished the beer and had settled on a program. Finally he was starting to unwind. He snapped his fingers and instantly a second beer, uncapped, was in his hand. He took a long drink, rested his head back on the cushion and put his feet up on the coffee table, crossing them at his ankles. Just for a second he closed his eyes. If anyone walked into the room that moment, it would appear he had fallen asleep on the sofa watching television. If not for the fact he was holding an ice-cold beer in his hand, www.samhainpublishing.com
80
Tia Bangs
which he now placed on the table and sat back again. His lids closed as he quietly tuned out the stress from the day, as well as the television program. He didn’t care if he fell to sleep on the sofa for the night. This was the most relaxed he’d been since the moment he was notified he had a new assignment. There was no way he was going to ruin how he was feeling by opening his eyes and walking to the bedroom. Even snapping his fingers would break the mood and he reveled in every little second he was granted it. To him, this was far overdue. A hurricane, volcano, whatever disaster could be thought of, wouldn’t get him to budge until he was ready. Those little things he put on hold because he was enjoying the strange glorious feeling of each and every muscle losing tension didn’t matter at that moment. Nothing would steal it away from him either, not if he had any say in it. Which, unfortunately for him, he did not. He stood as if his body was not his own and suddenly he found himself in a brightly lit room. Thin, see-through curtains covered windows, from ceiling to floor, and moved gently in the soft sweetsmelling breeze flowing through the room. In the next second, he was in a warm bubble bath, surrounded in lavender scents and various sized candles were along all sides of the tub. Then, as quickly as the warm water registered with him, he found himself laying on the softest featherbed he’d ever been on. He could feel someone touching him, but not being able to see who it was. And, oh, God! It had to be…Melissa! She must be dreaming about him this very moment. Which meant, she really liked him…a lot…and her powers surpassed his. There was only one other person he’s aware of that has this type of power…the leader. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
81
Now it was all starting to make sense and falling into place. Was he kidding? He was thinking about the leader, now? Yes, but not for long, because even though he couldn’t see Melissa, he sure as hell could feel her lips around his cock. The way she was kissing the head of his dick and then slowly running her tongue over his whole length before she took him deep into her mouth… It was heaven! Was he ever enjoying it, too! And then he could swear he was feeling the weight of her body on top of him. Oh, God, yes he was! She was riding him. Slow, and then fast. He closed his eyes, ready to feel her soft skin against his hand. Yet at the same time he wanted to see her beautiful face as he was pumping in and out of her. And lord! Could he be any harder? Not fucking likely! He hasn’t had sex with a person in over two hundred years, being more horny wasn’t even possible! He could feel how tight her pussy was as she rode him. How gently her full breasts brushed against his chest. And even the softness of her hair as it fell from off her shoulders, touching his skin. He could feel her hot breath against his neck and it all but killed him, he was going to explode if he couldn’t kiss her. What she was doing to him, he could get lost in her love. He could move
mountains,
close
the
doors
of
hell,
and
open
the
heavens…anything she wanted as long as they could climax together. Together? Hell! She’d better come fast because he was so close to it, it wasn’t even funny. Neither was this… The second he felt nothing but air across his skin, he opened his eyes, and noticed he was standing on the top of a mountain. For what? Why the fuck was he here? How could he go back to a couple minutes ago and finish what she started? What the hell? “Fuck!” www.samhainpublishing.com
82
Tia Bangs
His heart thumped as fast as a person could blink an eye, as he watched the ground below become clearer the closer he was getting to it. She had what? Thrown him over a cliff? He jumped? Oh, God! She dreamed him jumping off of a cliff and in about twenty seconds he’d be just a mere memory when his body spattered to… A belly flop! Hot! It stung as he sank a few feet below water level before swimming to the surface, pulling himself out of the pool. His chest heaved quick, short breaths and he bent half over, holding his knees as he tried to pull more air into his lungs. At that second though, he wasn’t very successful. This was a living hell! She was going to kill him if she kept this up. “Good, lord! How long does she dream?” Yet again, he was taken out of one place and plopped smack-dab into another. This time he was standing in a dressing room wearing…high heels? And a dress? Not just any dress either. The sluttiest dress he’d ever seen. A matching purse? This was going too far. This was pushing the envelope. He kicked off the shoes, tore off the dress and just stood there. He was way beyond angry. His temper when crossed could almost be uncontrollable. Curses fell from his mouth as his nostrils flared. Clenching his teeth, he seethed with anger and humiliation. But then he realized she had not done any of this on purpose. She was only dreaming. How could he be this angry and blame her when the events happened only because she was sleeping? His anger quickly subsided the second he found himself back in his own home, standing in the middle of his front room. TV still on, the beer in the same place he left it. The only difference was he was dripping wet. With the snap of his fingers and the wave of his hand the TV was turned off, the beer was www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
83
gone, and he was in dry clothes once again. He shuddered at the thought of how strong her powers were. Tonight could not be repeated. Now that he’d fit the crucial pieces the leader left out of the story together, first thing in the morning he was going to have a talk with him. And then with Melissa. He had to explain to her and get her to agree to a spell to stop her from dreaming, before this would be an every night event. He climbed into bed, closed his eyes and a deep unaccustomed pain pressed in his chest. A suffocating sensation tightened in his throat, and there was a deep heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach. How would she take that she was the chosen one? She was the only one who could save his kind, and she was going to have to battle the leader, whether she wanted to or not. Her life was in danger, and she had no idea what was planned and he couldn’t tell her either. He wondered as he rolled over. After all, he wasn’t exactly welcoming it with open arms, ready to congratulate her. He knew her well enough to know when he told her of the leader’s plan—to strip her of her power and teach humans a lesson for declaring Pluto a mere stone—she would probably tell him to go straight to hell. Brent sighed and rolled onto his side. He had a feeling the leader wouldn’t stop there though. He’d want revenge…an eye for an eye, so to speak. He thought for a minute about settling the score if he were the leader. Only two choices sprang to mind, destroy Earth, or destroy all Earthlings. She might even accuse him of setting her up. Knowing all along he was assigned to train her, knowing full well he was training her to take the leader’s position after she passed the test. Maybe Melissa wouldn’t take it so badly. Many humans loved power and authority, was she one of them? Somehow he highly doubted it, and www.samhainpublishing.com
84
Tia Bangs
he rolled over again. It was no use, he wasn’t going to get any rest until he talked with the leader and confirmed his findings. It didn’t take very long. The leader was expecting him and Brent didn’t step around the subject. He confronted the leader, told him he knew about entire plan and expressed his displeasure with knowing what the leader had in store for Melissa. Surprisingly, the leader took the news very well. What didn’t set well with Brent, though, was he was forbidden to tell her of the findings. The leader reminded him of the schedule and of his assignment. If he told her before the test, he would never see freedom again. Not even if Melissa passed the test. To make the threat even more intense, the ruler swore in front of him that his family would be stripped of their powers, but not banned from the community. They would live as normal humans in every sense of the word. They would not heal with the blink of an eye by using magic. They would eventually die like humans do. The bloodline would be broken with him, because he would not be allowed to ever find a woman to love and to share his life with. Or to create a baby. His life right now, well, it totally sucked! The ruler granted him the power to aid his sleeping at night so what he learned wouldn’t be written all over his face when he was training Melissa. She might know just by looking at him something was wrong and the ruler couldn’t take that chance. He found himself back in his bed and before he could even adjust his pillow, the spell took over and he fell into a deep peaceful sleep.
www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
85
Chapter Seven Melissa walked over to the coffee maker and prepared the coffee. Liz was on her way over, and since Brent wasn’t here yet, she didn’t have to face him alone. Thank goodness. She poured a cup of coffee and made her way to the counter. Leaning forward slightly, she looked out the window over the sink and watched Liz’s car pull up the driveway. She waved at Liz, motioning for her to come in. She quickly poured another cup of coffee, sat down at the table, and waited. “Thank you. You have no idea how badly I need this. What a morning!” Liz said as Melissa slid the cream in front of her. “That bad?” “I never thought I’d say this but I had the client from hell!” “Oh my God, what happened?” She learned forward, concerned with the morning Liz had. “Let’s just say, when she calls again for her next appointment, I’ll be booked. Someone else can have that appointment. Never mind about my problem client, how was your night? Did he stay? Where is Mister Magic Man anyway?” She wiggled her brows. “No, he didn’t spend the night. How could you think that?” “I didn’t mean sleep over, I meant on the sofa, talked all night. Christ, Mel, get your mind out of the gutter!” Liz smiled. “Better yet, why don’t you tell me why it’s there and how come he’s there, too?” “Liz, stop it!” www.samhainpublishing.com
86
Tia Bangs
“I’m serious! You’re the one who slammed the point. Give it up, let’s hear it. How come you were thinking of doing the down and dirty with the magic man! So what happened?” Liz wasn’t going to let it go. Melissa couldn’t tell her about the delicious dream she had, or that they actually had a really nice discussion last night. A civil one, no less. No way in hell was she going to fess up that he could be someone she wouldn’t mind having a relationship with. “Mel, come on. You’re holding out on me. What happened? What’d you guys talk about last night anyway?” Liz pried. “Knock, knock.” A voice from out of no where echoed in the room and then suddenly Brent was sitting at the table. A dozen doughnuts and piping hot flavored coffee in his hand. “Good morning. Don’t let me interrupt. Doughnut?” He pushed the box towards them. “You weren’t interrupting anything. Just having coffee while waiting for you,” Melissa said. “You sure?” “Positive.” She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks as she reached for a doughnut and took a bite, keeping her from saying something foolish. Or worse, actually blurting out what they were discussing before he popped in. Or the fact she dreamed of him last night. “Can I stay today?” Liz asked. “I mean, this isn’t some secret I can’t be here because I don’t have powers type of thing is it?” “Actually.” He started to answer and suddenly all eyes were on him. Even Melissa stopped chewing as she waited. Slight panic formed in her belly, threatening to run wild through her. Liz just had to stay, she had to. She needed her for support. She couldn’t do this if Liz wasn’t allowed to be here. He continued, “under normal circumstances, with what you now know, you’d be taken to a special area, a remote place, and be questioned. Afterwards, your memory would be erased. But since you www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
87
didn’t stumble across this by accident, and you have been here since the beginning when Melissa realized she has powers, we have to take another route.” “What do you mean another route?” Liz asked. “I was sent after Melissa discovered her powers. You were the one who saw it all. There is no way, without altering more than a thought or two that we can erase your memory. There is too much you’d lose if we did. So we held a meeting and agreed instead, due to your ability to prove your friendship, we’ve allowed you exclusive access to witness her training. But, you must know, you have a choice to make before we begin our lessons,” he added. Melissa’s eyes grew wide, she didn’t like the sounds of this at all. “Such as?” Liz calmly asked. “You are allowed to stay, an insider’s view of what happens with powers. But you may choose to not know any more down the road, and we will plant an override, so to speak. Which will make your mind move on to another thought. You’re tricked into thinking you imagined what you saw. Stress, tired, things like this. And it will be effective immediately. You will not be hurt in any way. This will only be a trick of the mind. No one will be the wiser and you’ll never think any further about this.” Melissa looked at Liz for any facial expression that would hint her answer. Sadly, she wasn’t able to tell whether Liz would agree or disagree at this point. “Or you stand beside your friend and we will watch you. Daily. Making sure you do not compromise our trust, or leak the truth.” “What do you mean, watch?” Liz asked. “Like all day long? Every little detail, move I make, thing I say?” “No. How to explain this?” Melissa’s gaze went from Liz and then back on to Brent. www.samhainpublishing.com
88
Tia Bangs
“A tracker. A trigger, an alarm of words will send a signal to us, which will open the world to you, where we can see if you are stepping close to outing our secret. If you do, extreme measures will have to be taken. You will be taken to a remote location and you will leave us no choice but to do damage control, to protect our interests. Make this decision wisely because if you choose to be here and support Melissa, you are in it until the day you die,” he finished and there was a long silence. All were aware of the seriousness in the decision Liz had to make. Question was, would she agree to it? Liz wasn’t one to ever tell a secret, why would she start now? But on the other hand, would the rule apply, let’s say, when Liz was married and one night the secret slipped out while she was talking in her sleep? The strange uncomfortable silence continued, and the longer it was quiet, the more Melissa panicked. Did Liz feel pressured because of their friendship? “With all due respect, I’m not sure how your kind treat friendships, but Mel and I have been friends for a very long time. There isn’t anything I can’t tell her and I know she’ll never breathe a word of it. And the same goes for me. Any secret, big or small, goes to my grave and beyond. I will stand by her side, support her, and all the secrets are safe with me. I do fully understand if they leak out what will happen and I’m willing to accept that, too,” Liz said and then smiled at Melissa. “Thank you.” Melissa grabbed Liz’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Very well, the choice has been made and we will honor the agreement. As soon as you finish your coffee, we will start the first lesson,” he told them and disappeared again. “Where’d he go?”
www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
89
“I don’t know, maybe he went for some sense of humor pills or something. God, he’s dry,” Liz said. “He could use a little excitement in his life once in a while, I think.” “Yeah,” Melissa added and then was lost in her thoughts of where he might have disappeared to, and if he was searching for something. Or maybe, just maybe, he felt uncomfortable with the fact of a normal human witnessing everything. What was the first lesson anyway? Would it be a hard one? How much would he ask her to learn in one day? Would he be a strict teacher? If she made a mistake, would he be the type who’d lose his cool and get angry with her, or worse, would he start yelling at her? Suddenly, this whole thing wasn’t what she thought it would be when she accepted she had some type of powers. She didn’t think she would have classes. She just thought he’d explain what she could do, how to control it and that would be it. Certainly not enough to warrant lessons. Just how many would she have before he was out of her life, and she was handling things on her own?
“First lesson for today.” He handed her a large thick book that had no title on the cover. It was bound with a leather jacket, and the pages looked like they were from a time long, long ago—handmade even. The color of the pages looked like a soft melon color, with a hint of something that made it sparkle when she moved the book in her hands. Which took some doing, because it had to weigh at least ten pounds. “You will read the first chapter of the book and when I return we’ll review it, testing to see if you really understand what you have read.” He waved his hand, and he was gone. “That’s it? Reading is your first lesson?” Liz asked. www.samhainpublishing.com
90
Tia Bangs
“I guess so.” Melissa opened the book and started flipping through the blank pages until she came to the first page that had writing on it. The page was written in the most beautiful calligraphy she had ever seen. Actually, something she’d never seen before, not even on the fanciest of wedding invitations. It was almost breathtaking, and she didn’t even want to touch the page for fear of ruining such delicate details. “Wow!” Liz said and Melissa could feel her breath on her shoulder as she stole a peak of the page. Melissa placed the book flat on the table, gently, so they both could see it and look at it in awe. “It’s something, isn’t it?” Melissa said as a small smile crept across her face. “Is this yours, do you get to keep it?” “I’m not sure, I’ll ask, but I hope so.” They quieted and started reading the first page. Then they read the second and the next, until they both had read the complete first chapter together. “That’s some history lesson. How can he expect you to remember all of that? There are so many people who had passed down the powers, and so many who used the powers for evil who had to be eliminated There’s no way you can keep this straight. Magic Man is nuts!” “It’s not as bad if you break it down.” “What? You mean to tell me you can follow?” “Yup, trust me, it’s really easy.” Melissa started to explain how easy it could be if it was broken down by families and not person to person. Before long, she had Liz understanding how the whole history lesson was not only believable, but very easy to follow. Even down to the reasons why the evil ones had to be killed. Melissa took her time to explain each and every part, and while doing so, both failed to notice Brent had zapped himself into the room and was listening to Melissa explain. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
91
“Very good. I see you’ve learned well. As long as you fully understand, we can go to the next chapter, which tells of your powers. You see, it’s written in the book, you are there, you just don’t know it yet. But you will.” “I’m in here?” She asked, pointing to the pages. “Yes, you’ll have to look hard, but you are. When you see it, you’ll realize—” He abruptly stopped when a bronze haze began flowing around the room. “What the hell?” Liz asked. “The leader,” Melissa and Brent answered simultaneously. “Yes, like I was saying, everyone with powers is in the book. They just have to find it because no names are mentioned. But when they find it, they will know—a gut feeling of sorts you can say. And by the time you’ve learned all, you will know which part of the book is written about you.” He rearranged his words and the haze disappeared from the room. “I’ll find it. I was pretty good at trivia and riddles when I was younger.” Melissa’s voice carried excitement. “Well then, let’s get on with chapter two and we can start practicing some spells and some magic phrases. Let’s see how quickly you can catch on to those things. If you do well, you can take the rest of the day off and we will pick up on the next lesson tomorrow. Deal?” “Deal.” She shook his hand, smiling confidently. After all, how hard could it be to say a spell out loud? Besides, once she proved she could remember a spell, the magic phrases surely would be just as easy. “Don’t get too confident, Melissa. It is a lot harder than to speak a spell,” he quickly added. “I’m not cocky.” Boy, how much of an idiot did he think she was? She could comprehend, clearly. She’d proved it with learning the first lesson. Reading a spell would be like reading out loud. She never had a problem www.samhainpublishing.com
92
Tia Bangs
with getting up in front of the class in school and reading an essay. This should be no different. He was an ass. That she was sure of. “All right. The first spell is simple. Turn to page twenty-nine. Do you see the box at the bottom of the page, it’s decorated with a vine around it,” he said and she noticed a smirk on his face. Instead of asking him what the hell was so stinking amusing, she decided to take the high road and look at the page. The sooner she got through this lesson the sooner she could do the next. In no time, she’d be finished for the day and he could go back to wherever it was that he went when he left. “I don’t see it. You say it’s at the bottom of the page? Are you sure? Page twenty-nine?” She asked him to repeat it just in case she heard him wrong. “You heard me right, and it is there. It’s not as easy as you think it is.” “Okay, I give up. I can’t find it and your attitude is really working on my nerves. Please stop it. I will find it, you just have to give me a minute.” “Calm down, Mel, he was just being himself.” Liz whispered in her ear. “On the contrary. This is exactly what I meant by things not being as easy as they seem. You can not learn or use the book if you are frustrated or angry. The book knows, and if you can’t see the picture it is because one of these reasons. And the book will not allow you to see any spells or information you could use when you are in a foul mood or irritated.” He stood tall, his hands firmly on his hips. “Call me when you can see the picture. Until you can see it, we can not go any further. You can not skip any steps in the lessons, so moving on all depends on how quickly you can clear your mind and see the box.” With that, he snapped his fingers and vanished. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
93
She was so annoyed she could throw the book at him if it wasn’t that important and irreplaceable. She would not ruin any book on his moody sarcastic ass! He simply was not worth it. “That man is impossible!” She stormed out of the room, leaving the book open on the table, and stomped out onto the deck. She leaned over the rail, resting her body against it as she closed her eyes and drew fresh air into her lungs. How the hell was she going to get through this and pass the test if she couldn’t even see the damn box? The lesson was held up because he worked on her nerves and now…now she couldn’t continue at all because he was pissing her off. How was that fair? There was no way she could do this if he was her trainer. Right now she wanted to choke the very last breath out of his smart-ass! She couldn’t though, because she needed him to learn how to control her powers. Boy, if this wasn’t a catch twenty-two. A needle in a haystack. A bump on a log, stick in the mud, and whatever corny phrases she could think of. And he was a thorn in her side. All she knew was this whole thing stunk! “Can I come out?” Liz said and Melissa turned, facing Liz who was standing in the doorway. “Yes.” “You sure? You look pretty upset. Is there anything I can do to help?” “He just rubs me the wrong way, you know? Like he knew I wasn’t going to be able to see the box on the page but to prove a point and to make me look like an idiot, he failed to mention that little fact. So instead of warning me about the way the book works, he just let me go on and waited for me to fail. And when I did, what did he do? Gloated is what he did,” she spat out and paced back and forth. “That man!” she yelled and stopped dead in her tracks. Her chest heaved the madder she grew with him. Why? Why did he have to be that www.samhainpublishing.com
94
Tia Bangs
way? It was like he didn’t even want her to pass the lessons, but why would he want her to fail? Brent paced back and forth across the hardwood floor. He felt like shit not warning her of the book. But he couldn’t help himself. The way she was so sure of herself. The way her confidence shown brightly around her body like a bright light of invisible protection, the surer she became. He hated it. He hated the fact he knew where she was going to end up as soon as she passed all the lessons. He hated the fact he was forbidden to tell her the real truth behind her powers and where it would lead her. It wasn’t fair! What if she didn’t want it? What if she just wanted her normal life again? What if she didn’t want to have the responsibility, or the powers felt like a burden to her? What about her family and her children? What would happen to them? Would she be able to cope with all of this, especially when it came to taking care of her children? What would they think when they found out their mother had powers? Not to mention, she would have been sworn in to serve and protect all of her kind. The powers could be a very blessed thing if one wanted them and could accept them. But at the same time, it could be almost like a death sentence. The way other people passed on once they die, gifted ones did not. There was no way to stop this from happening. It was the way it was written. What would she do when she couldn’t stop sickness from happening to her human friends and close family members? That would be the test of all tests. She would not want to accept that, as most of the others with power hadn’t. But she would come to understand that even though she couldn’t cure anyone, her power could www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
95
be used for other wonderful events. What exactly those wonderful events were, she wasn’t sure yet. Surely there would be many more good than the bad things they couldn’t control. Still, it would make it hard when she had to stand by and just watch her friends and family continue to be sick when all she would have to do was wave her hand and turn the sickness away. Her children. He remembered how difficult it was for him growing up with the powers. Here, her children didn’t even know yet. What would they say when they found out? How would they deal with it? Would they understand, or like him, at first, protest against the powers and all they can do? Would they be freaked out over learning all of this? What would they think when they saw their mother using her powers for the first time? All of these unanswered questions just made him pace the floor all the faster. Melissa wasn’t helping either. She was so powerful she didn’t even realize. He was a little jealous how things could come to her quickly if he was honest. It served her right for not being able to see the box. If she didn’t carry the attitude… Attitude? More like confidence. She knew she could do it, and you egged her on so she was slightly annoyed. So much so, that the book would feel her negative vibrations, making it impossible for her to see the box. You did this to her. “I know!” he shouted out to the air. There was little he could do about it now. She wasn’t able to see the picture. She was clearly upset and until she calmed down and could sit and relax, she wouldn’t be able to read one stinking word. So now it was a waiting game. Time was not on his side either. If she doesn’t meet the deadline, it would be his entire fault. “God! What have I done?” www.samhainpublishing.com
96
Tia Bangs
What a fine mess he’d gotten himself into. If only he wasn’t so, how did she put it? Cocky? Yeah, if only he wasn’t so cocky, they’d still be studying and she might even be whipping up simple spells. Probably be studying way through the chapter by now. “Damnit!” He stormed out of the room and began walking down the road that headed into town. He needed to vent, to release some steam. He needed to take a long walk to clear his head. To lift the weight of guilt because he knew darn well, they were waiting because he had angered her. It wasn’t because she did it herself. No. It was because he didn’t know when to shut his mouth. The longer he walked little by little his anger faded. He’d have to apologize to her the first chance he got. He would also have to work on his temper and how easy it was to egg her on. And before he forgot, he still had to talk her into casting a spell not to dream until she passed the test. Once he reached town, he sat on the bench outside of the ice cream shop and rested his elbows on his knees. He raked his hands through his hair. Half the day was over and he was still waiting for her to call him back. He was working against the clock by the minute. He wanted to kick himself right about now because if this happened more than a few times, they’d never make the deadline. He wasn’t willing to let that happen. He had to make it right with her. He couldn’t wait for her to call him back. He was going to go to her and try to get her to relax. He’d do whatever he had to do to make that happen. The longer she was away from her lessons the closer he was to becoming stuck in time for eternity. With the wave of his hand, he was back in Melissa’s house. He looked around the room and didn’t see her. Or Liz for that matter. But the more he listened, he could hear them talking outside. So he followed the sound of their voices and walked out onto the deck to join them. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
97
“I have a question for you. What do you do for fun?” He took the first step, trying to apologize and get her in a better mood. “What?” she asked, her tone curt. “Fun. Don’t you have fun? What do you do to relax, to unwind, to have fun?” he asked, trying to ease her tension. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a single mother of two teenagers. I work two jobs just to keep my head above water. I don’t even have beer or a bottle of the hard stuff in my fridge. Fun? I haven’t known the meaning of that in, oh, I don’t know, years I guess. Unless you count getting my new do and clothes fun. If that counts, than it’s been a few days,” she dryly answered. “No, it doesn’t count. Listen, I’m trying to help you so we can continue with your lessons. But I can’t help if you refuse to meet me half way. I’m asking you out to have fun and you can relax. And frankly, you’re not being any help to me.” She hesitated and just looked at him, blinking with bafflement. She was still pissed and the second he opened his mouth, it just validated her anger. But now he was standing there trying to help her calm down so she could continue with the lessons? It was him that brought her to this point. He should feel guilty. Now he wanted to take her out to have fun. What was up with that? She wouldn’t even know where to begin, even if she accepted. She wasn’t sure she would yet. She was still tossing her anger through her mind and she wasn’t ready to give him an answer. “She’d love to go. It’s been so long, you heard her. It’s about time she let loose and had a blast. So, what do you have in mind? Where were you thinking? Since she’s not going to answer you, it’s up to you to decide,” Liz answered for her. Liz knew Melissa enough that she could tell without www.samhainpublishing.com
98
Tia Bangs
even looking at her she wouldn’t be pleased with the answer. There wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it now. She’d have to get revenge on Liz later, when they were alone. How dare she accept his offer without even asking Melissa what she thought first? She wasn’t ten, and Liz certainly wasn’t her mother either. No. She was her best friend and sometimes best friends thought they knew what was best, especially when someone was angry. Liz was no exception. She knew once Melissa started having a little fun, she wouldn’t worry about lessons, magic, or anything else for that matter. Melissa might not like it at first, but Liz was only trying to help. “Liz, I can speak for myself, thank you,” she hissed and then took a deep breath. She didn’t want to admit what she said was true. She didn’t want to have to admit she hadn’t had fun in ages either. So now what? What would her answer be? How could she say what she wanted to do when it had been so long since she had fun? If she gave an answer, would they think it stupid? She felt like an outcast enough for one day. Why didn’t he just leave her alone so she could calm down on her own? She would, eventually. But no. He had to come back with this concocted plan of his, which didn’t really sit all that well with her. She sighed and crossed her arms loosely across her chest. She was defeated. She knew it, and by the looks on both of their faces, Brent and Liz did, too. She had no choice but to give up and go along with his plan. If he offered to show her a good time then she’d take it out of his hide if he failed. She wasted enough time on being angry with him. He better know what he’s doing. Or else! Or else what? She wasn’t sure, but she could probably think of something. She’d make it a point to make him suffer for it too, that she was very sure of. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
99
“I’ll change and we’ll go have some of that fun you’re insisting we have. Meet you back here in fifteen minutes, Liz.” She started walking inside the house. “Oh, I’m afraid I’ll have to pass, have to go check on the salon. But call me when you guys get back and I’ll come right over and help with the lesson,” Liz said and Melissa couldn’t help but notice her grin. She didn’t know what to say. Clearly they both were ganging up on her. Boy, what happened to them? When did they all of the sudden take sides? Why had she failed to notice this taking place? “Suit yourself. I’d like it if you’d come. I think you’ll have fun, but I understand you have a business to run. I’ll call when we get back,” she said, trying not to sound bitchy or angry. After all, Liz was trying to help her. Right now, she was all Melissa had. She could never be mad at her for very long. It was her stubbornness shining through, not the fault of Liz. “I’ll be ready in a few minutes.” She headed to her bedroom to change. “Brent, be easy on her. She’s been put through a lot over the past couple of days. Anyone would be a little snappy if they were in her shoes. She wasn’t lying; it has been that long since she had fun. I’m beginning to think she’s forgotten the meaning of the word. She’s had it really rough over the years. Her kids always come first, and her ex-husbands weren’t exactly supportive. Show her a good time and please don’t make her feel like she’s being foolish, no matter what she wants to do,” Liz said and then walked off of the deck and headed out to her car. That was friendship. That was what he missed over the years. If only he had someone to stick up for him no matter what. Even when it was stupid. Or the end result wouldn’t be favorable. Melissa was lucky to www.samhainpublishing.com
100
Tia Bangs
have Liz. They both knew how special they were to each other. He’d have that too, in time. Just as soon as she passed her test. He heard her footsteps on the stairs and walked into the house. Standing in her front room, he waited for her to come into his view. Once she did… What a view! She was wearing blue jeans that flattered her long slender legs, and the soft pick sweater she was wearing brought out the color of her eyes and the shade of her skin perfectly. She was so beautiful. More beautiful than what he first thought if that was even possible. “Why are you looking at me funny? Am I dressed down too much? I didn’t know what to wear because you didn’t tell me where we were going.” “No, what you’re wearing in fine. You ready to go?” He was almost afraid to do this. It has been so long since he had fun himself. How could he show her how to have fun, but not get caught up in the moment? Worse, once he experienced fun again, how would he deal with the possibility of never having it again? Guess he better make the best of it because it could be the last time he would be experiencing it. He hoped not but by the way her lessons halted earlier, he began to wonder if they’d meet the time frame he was given to teach her. No. He wasn’t going to think about that now. What he was going to concentrate on was making sure she had fun. Right now he wasn’t sure where they were going, but he’d see to it she would have a good time. In fact, today would be the best day she’d ever had. “I’m ready if you are,” she said. He held out his hand and watched as she walked the rest of the way until she stood beside him. “We’re going to travel by magic. This won’t hurt, you may as well get used to traveling this way because you’ll be doing it more often than you think.” www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
101
He placed her hand on his arm, holding it gently next to his body and with the wave of one hand, they disappeared from the room. The next second, they were standing in front of an amusement park. “Wow! I didn’t even feel a thing. How did you do that?” The excitement was returning to her voice. “Tomorrow I’ll teach you. This time is for having fun. No rules, no lessons, no arguing. It’s all about fun.” He held her by the small of her back and realized just how petite she was. She was tall but her frame almost felt delicate against his hand. “Ready?” “Won’t people ask if they recognize me? What do we say to them? Everyone knows I’m not seeing anyone. What if someone sees us together, what do I tell them?” “Another part of the powers that you’ll learn. We’re invisible to everyone here. They can’t see us, and they won’t hear us either. We can do whatever we want in the park. No waiting in lines, nothing. And no one will be the wiser.” He took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers and started walking through the entrance. “Really? No one can see us? What if we get something to eat, will they see food floating through the air? Are we like ghosts to them, they can feel us and not see us?” She continued with her questions. “No one can see us and no matter what we eat or drink, nothing will be floating through the air. I guess we are kind of like ghosts. They’ll feel us as a slight breeze as we pass them but that’s about the extent of it. Now please,” he turned and faced her, “let’s go and have some fun. No more questions unless along the lines of do you take your hamburger with mustard.” He moved the hair off of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “Do you want to eat first or see some exhibits, the farm animals, or rides?” he asked as they began slowly walking down the first roadway into the park. www.samhainpublishing.com
102
Tia Bangs
“Let’s just walk and see where it takes us, is that okay?” She looked at him and smiled. “That sounds wonderful. When we come to the end of a road, you pick which way we go and we’ll see where that will take us. Then the next, I’ll pick,” he said and they picked up the pace. It was as if this day was as much for him as it was for her. He hadn’t been to a park or fair since he was a young boy and judging by how she was reacting to the noises and people, he guessed it has been just as long for her, too. The longer they wandered through the park the closer he was feeling to her. The vibes she was giving off were of a pure heart and one who had been hurt so many times it just didn’t seem fair. How could her husbands be so cruel? That was the worst picture he had gotten when he did a reading on her before he showed up at her house for the first time. He couldn’t believe men would be so cruel to women. Not even when the ruler handed Brent her file once he was assigned to her, and he read it for himself. He just couldn’t believe those hurtful things came out of people’s mouths. Worse, how could they call themselves men when they turned their backs on her, letting her struggle with life and with raising two children? He vowed then, they’d pay for their actions and when their time came, he would make sure of it. But that didn’t change the fact her heart had been shattered and it was very difficult now for her to trust anyone. Let alone a man. He guessed they were the reason she never really dated after she divorced for the second time. Who could blame her? Not him. He’d feel the same way, he supposed, if a woman did that to him. He’d be really slow in trusting people. Actually he had been in her shoes with his last student. She had tricked him, lied to him. He had never even seen it coming. Only when he www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
103
was left trying to pick up the pieces and that was way after the damage had been done. It was when he’d been sent into isolation, he really saw the truth. But they hadn’t been intimate so even that wasn’t as bad as what Melissa had gone through. He needed to stop thinking about how hard times had been for her in the past and start showing her a good time. Sure he hadn’t dated in over two hundred years, but dating wasn’t something someone would forget, was it? Wait a second. When did this become a date? He never mentioned date. That would explain why Liz told a fib and ducked out at the last minute. She must have thought he was asking Melissa out on a date. Oh lord! And what if that was exactly what Melissa had thought, too? What then? Pressure. This was pure stress at the moment. He hadn’t thought he was asking her on a date. But now, somehow his mind had twisted it around, and with Liz not joining, well, it had to be true. He had asked her out on a date. His glance clung to her, analyzing her reaction while they stopped at a crossroad. He watched as she slowly met his gaze, and he was caught watching her. To ease the awkwardness of his blatant stare, he winked and smiled as they headed down the game runway. Now this he could do. He had just about every game here back home in isolation. He was relieved to finally have something familiar to help ease the tension. At this point, he knew being here was right. Being with her was more right. No. He couldn’t get attached because of the “what ifs”. If she didn’t pass the test, he’d never see her again. Biggest reason right there, not to get too close to her. He was her trainer. He was such a liar! She was more than a student of powers to him and he damn well knew it. Of course, he knew it. But what if, worse case scenario, she failed and he was banned forever? At least he could enjoy www.samhainpublishing.com
104
Tia Bangs
the time he had with her now. He could then have the memories, right? Yes! He finally realized controlling everything he felt while she was around would be relentless work. He wouldn’t do it. The corners of his mouth arched slightly as his smile grew. He was very pleased with the decision. “Let’s play this.” He walked side by side with her to a cork gun game. “Just aim and pull the trigger,” he said and waved his hand, holding time still around them as she took the gun from his hand. He watched her aim, pull the trigger, and miss. Her smile broadened and she began laughing at her poor attempt at shooting the target. Her laugh melted his heart and warmed his blood, and it even gave new energy to his tired body. He couldn’t remember the last time a laugh made him feel that way. Come to think of it, no laugh had ever made him feel like that. What did it mean? He didn’t want to think about it. “Try again.” He touched her back lightly while she took aim and shot at the target a second time. She missed again. Again, her laughter sang through his body. If this kept up, he’d be a pool of liquid by the end of an hour. But he didn’t care. Her presence gave him joy and the pool of water would be so worth it! “Let me help you.” He stood behind her. He helped her stand straight and tall with slight pressure from his hand on her back. What was that scent? Her perfume? No, it was her shampoo. Kiwi? Yeah, and a hint of coconut. She smelled delicious. Almost good enough to eat. “Like this?” She broke his thoughts, just in time too because the back of her neck was close enough kissing her tender skin wouldn’t be all that difficult. “Yes, now steady the gun against your shoulder.” He helped show her how. “And take this arm, locking your elbow,” he guided, “and look down here.” His hand ran down the barrel and his finger rested on the sight. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
105
“Now, line this up with the target and when you’re ready, pull the trigger.” He finished and stepped aside so she could line it up as best as she could. I can do this, I can do this, she kept repeating to herself. The adrenaline picked up speed the closer her finger was to pulling the trigger. One, two, she counted silently. Then she pulled the trigger and put the gun down. “Bull’s eye!” Brent yelled and she was so excited she wrapped her arms around his neck, stepped up on her tiptoes, and she kissed him. She could feel him kissing her back. She gloried briefly in the shared moment and then pulled away. “I’m sorry. The excitement got to me.” Already she missed the warmth of his body and the feeling of his lips on hers. She was being stupid. He wasn’t interested. It was the excitement of the moment that was all. Wasn’t it? Well, of course it was. What do you have to offer him? Two failed marriages. Two teenage children? Yeah, that’s something to write home about. He is not even the slightest bit interested in anything, other than teaching you about your powers. Period. “I’m hungry, can we find some place to eat?” she asked and watched as he waved his hand, returning time to where it was before they played the game. “Don’t they lose time when you do that?” “No, well, yes, but they don’t know it. It adjusts itself when they sleep. If it’s more than ten minutes, it’s broken up over a period of a month. We try not to stop time often. It’s usually done with damage control, but today we’re making an exception.” “There’s so much to learn.” She sighed. “Hey,” he said, slowing down. She turned, facing him. www.samhainpublishing.com
106
Tia Bangs
“We agreed we wouldn’t think about the lessons. This is supposed to be a fun day, a not-worrying-about-a-thing day, remember?” he reminded her and she could feel his body heat as it was just dancing lightly across her skin. Yeah, not worry about a thing… Right. What about making a fool out of herself with that kiss? That she was very worried about. “I remember. I’m having a good time. It’s been fun so far.” She squeezed his hand. “Let’s eat and then we’ll see about taking the fun factor up and tripling it.” They walked down the road searching for the food vendors. They ate lunch and went on rides, visited the farm animal area, and even searched the arts and crafts buildings. He described some of the items she wasn’t sure what they were or where they originated. History seemed to be like second nature to him. There wasn’t anything he didn’t know something about. Smart was an understatement. “I think I’ve had enough, I’d like to go home. It’s been really great today, thank you.” She juggled all the stuffed animals he had won for her under her arms, across her shoulder, and she even carried some in her hands. She noticed his smile quickly left his face. What did she say? He couldn’t possibly think she… “I haven’t had this much fun in I don’t know how long, but I’m not twenty anymore and my legs can’t keep going. Not like my brain says it wants to,” she added quickly and noticed his smile return. “Ready, hold tight.” He draped his arm around her and waved his hand, zapping them back to her home. She unloaded all of the stuffed animals she carried onto the kitchen table, right next to the book. She quickly glanced down the page and there it was. The box. She saw the picture inside of it. It worked! But her exhausted body overpowered the excitement of seeing the picture and she walked away and fixed herself a cup of tea. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
107
“Thank you again for a lovely time. It really was great.” “I’m glad you had fun. I’d hate to think it was only me who was enjoying the afternoon.” “Is it okay if we work on the lesson tomorrow? I’m really beat and would like to crawl into a hot bath and then bed. Is it all right?” “I see nothing wrong with it, but there’s one thing we have to do before I leave. Just a little problem with some of your powers.” “What?” “You have the ability of making your dreams come true. So would you agree to speak a spell to stop this from happening until after your lessons are complete, or until you’ve learned how to do this without a spell?” Panic rose from her toes to her face. Did what she dream the other night really come true? The passionate moment she had with him in her mind? Was that what he was referring to? What happened after? The rest of her dream she didn’t remember. “It’s okay, nothing to worry about,” he jumped in, and she knew he was reading her thoughts. That was even worse! “Let’s do it now, and can we do a spell that’ll stop you from being able to read me until I know how to do it too?” she asked, eager for all of this to stop, as soon as possible. “I’ll do a spell that will end reading your mind, and we’ll do one to stop your dreams.” She watched and listened as he cast the short spell that would stop him from reading her mind until she knew how to control that part of her magic. “The spell is simple. I’ve written it down and all you have to do is say it aloud and it’s all taken care of. It will put a halt on your dreams becoming reality when you’re sleeping.”
www.samhainpublishing.com
108
Tia Bangs
She watched as he pulled a piece of paper from out of his back pocket and she took it from him. She opened it and read it silently. “That’s it? That’s all I have to say? I thought it’d be more complicated.” “No, this spell is a simple one, not much to it. Some spells though, you’ll learn, will need a lot of concentration as well as some tools, herbs, things like that. Some are time released, some instant. You’ll have complete access to the store once we start learning spells.” She recited the spell and then folded the paper up, handing it back to him. “I don’t feel any different, you sure it’s working?” “You spoke it exactly the way you were supposed to. It will work.” “Thanks again for the lovely day.” She stood and wasn’t quite sure if she should shake his hand or hug him. Or kiss his cheek. She opted for shaking hands. She already had made a fool out of herself once today by kissing him. She wasn’t going to take another stab at it. “It was my pleasure. I’d say we’ll do it again but I’m not sure if we’ll have enough time left over after the lessons.” Disappointment washed through her. It wasn’t like she wanted to spend another day at the theme park, but she did like the idea of spending more time with Brent, without the lessons. She was getting to like him, very much. She knew it was happening even before they went to the park today. She was thrilled when he asked her to join him for a fun day even though his timing sucked. She was still excited. “See you tomorrow.” She watched him snap his fingers, and he was gone. She headed to her room and quickly undressed and slid under the covers. She had a most relaxing and fun day. Something she hasn’t had in forever. Since before her children were born. When life was so much easier. Way before she was married. When she didn’t have a care in the www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
109
world, and if she did, it wasn’t anything taxing. Those were the simple days. Today, Brent had taken all she had been stressing over and made it seem to disappear. If only for the afternoon. It meant the world to her. If she had to guess, this would be what a bird felt when testing its wings for the first time when she stood outside of the gate. But soon after, she took her first leap of faith and was actually floating. Soaring with happiness that was once bottled up deep inside of her. Suddenly it was all about her. What she wanted. What she thought, and what she could do and have. Happiness. Fun. And if she was honest, even as much of a dork and impossibly insensitive he came across as, she really had an amazing time with him. And when she kissed him for real, she couldn’t believe how bold she was. Or how quickly she threw herself in his arms. His safe strong arms. But then the fear turned into glorious shock when it registered—he was kissing her back. The strong hardness of his lips turned surprisingly gentle. The kiss sent the pit of her stomach into a wild swirl. She parted his lips, caught up in the moment and she felt his tongue exploring her mouth. She was eager to meet his and that was when her knees turned into a jellied glob. She realized what she’d done and pulled away. But she didn’t want to. Was it because he was someone who was close to her at the moment? Or was it because she really has to get out more, and the kiss was a signal of how long she had put off being with a man? No. She wasn’t easy. The kiss wasn’t just an “in the moment” kiss. She wanted to kiss him. Not from the first time she saw him, but at some point he had interested her enough to think about kissing him, spending time with him. And having a relationship with him. www.samhainpublishing.com
110
Tia Bangs
She knew it was all a fantasy in her mind. Men just don’t pop from out of thin air. Tall. Sexy. Delicious. Those types of men are not looking for a relationship. At least not with a single mother with two teenagers. Most men, who were looking, wanted someone without baggage. Melissa sure had a lot of that. It didn’t matter now. What was done on the spur of the moment was done, there was no turning back time. Even with her being attracted to him, she would temper the feelings and keep them buried deep down inside. She’d be more than careful about letting her feelings show.
www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
111
Chapter Eight Brent was settling in for the night. He tucked the blankets underneath his arms and fidgeted briefly until he was completely comfortable before he drifted off to sleep. He hadn’t dreamed in years, but tonight, his dreams were like a wild fire burning out of control. And they were all about Melissa. The way she laughed and the way it softly echoed in his body, making him feel warm and needing. He wanted to be close to her. He wanted to kiss her. Hell, he really wanted to make love to her. This whole day was like something he’d gone through when swooning over a childhood sweetheart. The only difference was, he really didn’t get the girl in the end. No matter how badly he wanted it to turn out, he knew he’d never be able to have her. He tossed and turned with thoughts of all the fun they had in the theme park. Then horrible flashes of the leader haunted his dreams with what he had in store for Melissa. How could Brent work with her every day, training her to be able to use her powers to the fullest, and not able to tell her exactly what her future held? Was it fair to keep such a huge secret from her? No, it wasn’t. She had every right to know what the leader was up to and how much danger she could be in. Was in. But he was sworn not to breathe a word of it. He was once again placed in a very tough spot. Torn between doing what he knew was right in his heart, or doing what he was www.samhainpublishing.com
112
Tia Bangs
threatened to do. The fine line between right and wrong certainly was a shaded area. The only thing that would lift what he was sworn to hold secret would be if she figured it out before the test. She may be smart but he doubted she was sneaky in thinking, that slimy of a person, to figure it out before then. Not that she was stupid. But this would be something that would come easy to those who grew up with the powers and used them daily. She did not. The stakes were highly stacked against her. He could hold on to the hair of hope though, and he would. He drifted into a sound sleep and from then, he didn’t toss or turn once. Hell, he didn’t even stir. Until a strange scent grew stronger and stronger in the air surrounding his bed. Enough so he rolled over and felt a body next to him. Instantly awake, he carefully opened his eyes. To his surprise, Melissa was beside him. Even more shocking, he was in her house. In her room. In her bed! What the hell? How did he get here? That’s impossible. She cast the dream spell. He had heard it with his own ears. He couldn’t be here. He must be imagining it. He closed his eyes, counted to five and opened them again. He was still at the same place. In her house and in her bed. What would she think if she woke up right then? She’d accuse him… He had to get out of there. And fast. Before she woke up and found him there. Asking questions he knew he wouldn’t be able to answer. He quickly and quietly sat up, snapped his fingers once and held his breath. Praying the noise wouldn’t wake her before he was out of her house and back into his own bed. Something had gone wrong. He sat there, amazed and very shaken— more than before. But he snapped his fingers. Why didn’t he return to his house? What was going on?
www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
113
All he knew was he had to get out of her bed and fast before she woke up and started screaming at him for being here. He’d figure out how come his powers didn’t work later. His stomach clenched tightly and it was impossible to steady his erratic pulse when no matter what he tried, he wasn’t able to get out of her bed. Baffled was an understatement. What could he do now? He wasn’t allowed, for some unknown reason, to escape her room, her bed. So what could he do? Did he just sit there and wait for her to wake up? Hell no! He wasn’t going to be blamed for something he had no control over. He had to get out of this bed. There has to be a way! Spell after spell still left him in her bed. No amount of waving of his hand had helped either. Trying as many times as he could, the fact still remained, he wasn’t budging. Not by his choice, mind you. But it didn’t change what was happening. Having his spells fail gnawed away at his confidence. This has never happened to him before. And this was a hell of a time for spells, his spells, to turn out as duds! He had no choice but to wake her. Somehow she had something to do with him not being able to leave. The only logical way to break this… whatever spell it was… was to wake her. He pulled the covers up and around his body and leaned slightly on his side, gently touching her shoulder and shaking it. His spoke in an odd, yet gentle tone as he called her name over and over again. Until he could feel her body moving. He continued to shake her, calling her name with an infinitely compassionate tone. She rolled over and their gazes met. Hers were half-asleep and she looked like she was still in dreamland. For a second, her beauty made him speechless. He couldn’t utter a word right now if his life depended on it! She held her arms out and pulled him closer and his skin warmed under her touch. He held her snugly to him. The way she touched him, www.samhainpublishing.com
114
Tia Bangs
with unbearable tenderness as she edged her way closer, made him forget what he was trying to do. He was caught up in the desire, caught up in how she looked at him. How she had a look in her eye that said she knew exactly what she wanted. It appeared that she wanted him. He couldn’t help himself. He bent his head slightly so her lips were within kissing distance and he lowered his mouth. His tongue traced the softness of her lips and she arched her back, pressing her chest against his body. When she kissed, the feel of her lips sent the pit of stomach out into orbit! The caress, sliding against his, set his body aflame. His groin tightened and his staff began to grow. God, he wanted her. He wanted this never to end. This feeling of belonging. The feeling of it being right, that they were as one. That was only from a kiss! He couldn’t imagine all the new feelings he’d experience if they actually made love. It would be mind-blowing the say the least. Was she slowly edging her hand under the covers? Yes! He should stop her; he had to stop her. She didn’t know what she was doing, did she? She had to. She had him under some type of spell. Wasn’t he allowed to kiss her? To follow whatever lead she gave? No. This was all wrong. He groaned silently inside as he ended the kiss. His body on fire. His thoughts colliding with others, clouding any reasoning, any rational frame of mind. He was taking advantage of her. Even if she had this power over him, he couldn’t follow through. He had to stop it, and stop it now. It was very hard for him to do, considering he couldn’t leave her bed. But he could control touching her, which he did. After a while he was sure his horniness would ease and his staff would go back to its original size.
www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
115
But boy, for those few passionate moments he wanted to leap off of that cliff and be at her sexually charged beck and call. He knew he’d enjoy every blessed moment of it. He took a deep breath, and loosened his grip helping her back down on the mattress. He’d have to wait it out until she was awake and thinking clearly. He would have a hell of a lot of explaining to do but she’d understand. Even if she didn’t, he could look her square in the eye and swear nothing other than sharing a kiss happened. He knew deep down inside, after she grew calm, she’d believe him. She trembled inside. Hurt. Wounded. Why did he push her away? She didn’t know how he ended up in her bed but all she could think when she realized he was there was thank God! Just looking at his strong, handsome, tender face, how could she not want to kiss him? The moment when she’d reached up and touched his skin, he hadn’t slapped her hand away or moved. She wanted to touch him even more. She thought he wanted it too. But he stopped. Why? Was it something she’d done? Was it the way she kissed? Oh God, she was a horrible kisser! That’s why he pulled away. A small, lonely tear fell from her eye. None followed, but it was enough to bring back all those bad memories of past failed relationships. And here she was… She had a hunk of a man in her bed, they were touching and kissing. She could even feel his hard-on pushing against her thigh and then…he moved away from her. How else was she supposed to take it? There was definitely something wrong with her when it came to being this close to a man. There had to be, otherwise they’d still be in each other’s arms. She did it again. She made this whole thing much worse by kissing him. How could she look him in the eyes again without feeling how www.samhainpublishing.com
116
Tia Bangs
distant he wanted to be? How could she separate her feelings for him when he was teaching her about powers, when she knew he rejected her? Brushing the tear off of her cheek carefully, as not to make him aware she was awake and not dreaming, she closed her eyelids tightly. To help fight the sudden urge to cry her eyes out. Rejected. No matter which way she tossed it in her head, it still didn’t feel good. No sugarcoating would stop the stinging of her heart. Why did it hurt this badly? She wasn’t falling… She was. She had fallen in love with him. Falling in love with someone she’d never be able to have. Worse, she’d gone and fell in love with someone who wasn’t interested in her enough to feel the same way. She just made a total ass out of herself. Well, thank goodness, because if he thought she had spelled him here on purpose, and then he rejected her… She breathed in slowly, trying to calm her nerves and the pent-up disappointment she felt. By morning she’d listen to him explain, she’d act irritated with him. Keeping up the front of it all being a dreamed wish and then it would be over and he would never find out the truth. The more she tried to forget about the pain the more it seared right through her. All she could think about was how he freed himself from her arms and pulled away. What was wrong with her? Was she that bad off to be sexually unattractive? Was doing more than kissing that disgusting of a thing for him? Her anger grew the longer she stayed still, pretending to be sleeping. She could feel him resting on his side of the bed, probably sleeping by now. The bastard! Well, she wouldn’t have it! She wanted to know what was so horrible about being with her. Damn it, she’d wake his pompous ass up just to hear the answer. He at least owed her an explanation. He kissed her, too. He put his tongue in her mouth and held her closer. He made her body come alive with desire. She felt his staff growing, she knew he liked it, too. So what www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
117
was up? Why on earth did he stop? He wasn’t going to turn her on, get her all hot and bothered, and then roll over. No sirree! Not in any of his lifetimes! She rolled over onto her side and stared at him. With one quick motion, she pushed his shoulder. She swallowed hard, lifted her chin and boldly met his gaze. “Just what the hell is wrong with me? Am I that revolting to you?” She stiffened. “Was it that bad to kiss me? Come on! Be honest with me, because I’ve had enough of assholes playing me. I don’t need you to be added to the list,” she hissed as she sat straight up in bed, crossing her arms, waiting to hear what line of shit he’d give her. “I’m waiting!” Startled by her own voice, she didn’t dare look away. She stared him straight in the eyes and waited for any answer. At first all she heard was his quick intake of breath. As if he wanted to say something but had to rethink it. Why? What was he going to say? Was he really going to tell her she was a bad kisser, he didn’t enjoy it? Was she honestly prepared to hear that come out of his mouth? And just when she thought he was going to give her an answer, he touched the sides of her face. She looked into his eyes and noticed a softening of his features. Even as his eyebrows shot up in surprise with what had came out of her mouth. Then the adrenaline slowed in her body and her anger was being over-ridden with shame. She cradled her head in her trembling hands, trying to hide her face from the pitying look she knew was coming any second now. But she’d postpone the look as long as she could. She’d steal enough time to at least be able to hold her chin high and look him straight in the eye without cringing over her outburst, or running out the door and away from home.
www.samhainpublishing.com
118
Tia Bangs
Yeah, like that would work. As soon as the spell wore off, he’d find her. Then he’d probably be angry from his search, making this far worse than it already was. During the debate going on in her brain, she felt him moving and then he touched her face again. His fingers lightly running through her hair and she peeked out of the thin slot between her fingers. He wasn’t looking at her with pitiful eyes either. No, passion was it? Could it be? She watched as his finger slid sensuously over her bare arm, making her blood warm as the electric sensation from his touch absorbed deeply through her skin. Stimulating every nerve ending she had. He swung her into the circle of his arms. His hands locked against her spine as he lowered his head, gaze meeting hers, and then he gently brushed his lips on top of hers. The kiss was slow, thoughtful, until he could feel her giving herself freely and he reclaimed her lips. Crushing her to him and the passion between them rose to the next level. His kiss was punishing and angry almost, as the need to kiss her right straight to her soul fueled his blood. His tongue explored the recesses of her mouth and it made his body feel like he was floating on a cloud. As if they stopped kissing he wouldn’t feel like a man. He’d be empty and lonely. Raising his head, he gazed into her eyes, bodies pressed together. He could feel her hardened nipples, hot and warm against him. He moved his mouth over hers again, devouring its softness as his hand roamed across her back, until he felt the edge of her nightshirt. He slipped his hand underneath it. The second he touched her skin he knew he was in love with her. A total feeling of ecstasy sang through his body and they were still fully dressed! He slowly unbuttoned her shirt www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
119
as he kissed her soft warm skin. Her neck, her throat, the softness of her shoulder, until he removed her bra, too. He took a second and looked at her. She was stunningly beautiful and he crushed his lips on hers. Eager to push this passion one more step, he lowered her gently back down on the mattress. He was urgent to feel her plump, firm beast. But he didn’t want to rush things despite what his body was screaming for him to do. No, he would make their first time as beautiful a memory as holding a newborn baby for the first time. A series of soft feathery kisses, starting in the crook of her neck, slowly over to her shoulder, and across the top of her chest. He continued brushing light, hot kisses over her skin until finally his lips were on the area of her plump breast. His heart hammered out of control. His instinct was to pull her nipple into his mouth, now! But he resisted the urge to do it in haste. He gently caressed her breast and licked a trail slow and steady as his tongue could, until it finally made it closer to her nipple. She arched her back, silently giving him a nudge to go a little faster. He knew from that moment on not only could he not wait to feel her in his mouth, she wanted it just as badly. He teased her nipple by lightly tracing a path around it with his tongue. A soft moan escaped her, and he could feel her fingers pushing into his shoulders. His staff was hard and thick, running out of room in the confines of his jeans. His heartbeat was strong, loud, and quick. He could feel hers just as strong against his lips. He couldn’t resist her any longer. His teeth grazed her nipple, which made her moan again. God! Heaven to his ears and sending his blood boiling through his veins. His cock growing as thick and long as it could possibly grow. www.samhainpublishing.com
120
Tia Bangs
And for some strange reason, her voice almost echoing around his ear, could make him harder. Even though it was painfully, pleasurably rock-solid now! He wanted to push the envelope even more. He would do anything and everything he could to make her release another moan. He gently held her breast and pulled a nipple into his mouth, and to his surprise, a moan tried to escape his own mouth. It would have, too, if he weren’t lightly suckling. His tongue teased her nipple again and he pulled it deep inside his mouth. Taking turns teasing and sucking. He could feel her hips lifting, pushing into his body. Drop after drop of pre-come released and absorbed into the fabric of his boxers. Both panting, they quickly undressed and moved under the covers. Naked body against naked body. Her lips still burned in the aftermath of his fiery possession. It was divine ecstasy when he kissed her, as if their minds matched in thought. His lips slowly descended as hers rose slightly, meeting his. She quivered at the sweet tenderness of his kiss as her fingers seared from touching his body. Her hands slid up and down his muscular back, groping him, pulling him closer, as her tongue pushed past his lips and began dancing with further passion when his met hers eagerly. He took her mouth with a savage intensity that, to her surprise, matched evenly with hers. Her body warmed ten degrees, not just from his kiss but from the feeling of his strong body just mere inches from hers. She hadn’t felt this passion with any man. What did that mean? Was it because she hasn’t been with a man in so long she was horny with a capital H? No. She drank in the sweetness of his kiss and her heart swelled. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
121
She loved him. As much as it should shock her, it didn’t. In fact, it did the total opposite. For once in her whole entire life, she knew he was the one. The one she had pretended when she was seven, playing wedding day in her room. It was him. He was her Prince Charming. She was totally convinced now. She would almost laugh at how ridiculous he used to look in her young innocent mind, if he wasn’t planting kisses on her shoulders, neck and face. Yeah, he didn’t have a horse and she couldn’t for the life of her remember if her perfect mate back then had magical powers, because his kisses were leaving her weak and confused. But totally aware the second he was on top of her and settled between her legs. She noticed he was holding his massive body up by his elbows so as not to crush her, which made him all the more sexy-herotype-god. Lord! She was dripping wet! She could feel her horniness slowly trickling down her area towards her ass. At this rate, he would have very easy access and no trouble sliding into her. When he did, that is, and she hoped it would be soon. The room was warm and she could smell his scent. A hint of musk. And when he edged down the bed and parted her legs, she lost ability to think, especially when his mouth kissed her mound. He trailed kiss after kiss around her very eager entrance. She moved down slightly. The need to feel his tongue on her was driving her insane! But she didn’t feel his tongue on her wetness. No. Instead, she felt him opening her legs, spreading her folds wide and blowing his hot breath on her nub. Her area pulsed and her body quivered. How could a breath almost make her come? She wanted more! More of his warm fingers holding her open. More of his breath blowing smoldering kisses on her now exposed clit. Her pussy tightened and she couldn’t hold the moan in any longer. It www.samhainpublishing.com
122
Tia Bangs
escaped from deep in her belly, out of her mouth and straight into the air. Which made him blow quick bursts of air on her clit. Her legs trembled and her hips rocked slightly. Her breasts were firm, her nipples, pebble hard. Another round of quick bursts of air surrounded her hardened nub, and she could feel his lips just inches away. The air pushing out of his nose made goose bumps appear on her inner thighs. And, oh God! He tasted her! She was on the very edge of coming! Yes! No! Not this soon. But she wanted to. Yes, she did! The feel of his warm tongue pushed her to climax, but she held back at the same time because she didn’t want to come just yet and end it all. Faster he moved his tongue around her swollen area, lightly touching her throbbing clit. Tasting her, touching her, blowing hot breaths against her. How on earth could she hold off? She couldn’t. What? What’s going on? He stopped. Why? She wiggled and moaned and slid her fingers in his hair, holding his head gently as she tried to move him closer. But he didn’t budge. She lifted her hips, and still nothing. His fingers just held her open. Her body was on fire. Her area dripping wet, and steam could almost come out of her as hot as she was feeling deep inside. She needed him to touch her, taste her. This was the purest torture ever! How could she get him to taste her again? Why did he want to tease her like this? She was only human! God! She smiled wickedly and slowly ran her hands across her breasts, raking her nails over her nipples. Slowly working her hands down, down, and down further. Until they were resting on his fingers. She lifted her www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
123
ass slightly as her fingers moved over her slickness. She pushed two inside her opening and then moved them out and over her area. Again and again, she did this and she could feel his fingers pushing slightly against her skin every time she entered herself. Finally…she felt his mouth trying to taste her. But she would not open her hand, or move it. Teasing. Two could play at that game! She was driving him mad, just as much as she was doing to herself. Just when she thought she couldn’t hold off a second longer, she moved her hand and allowed him access. The second she felt his mouth on her, she was coming. A wonderful, painfully glorious climax peaked and electrified every nerve ending in her body. She came again and her hips bucked slightly up and down, up and down against his tongue, as he took her even higher with her heated release. Not one cell wasn’t ablaze. Her thoughts stopped. She arched her back high and her body felt like it just soared off of Mt. Everest! It sang with every tightening of her muscles. Louder and louder. Rushing her into, through and beyond total passionate desire and complete satisfaction. She was still panting from her orgasms when he entered her. He took his time though she didn’t want him to. She had no energy to fight him because her body had not come back down to earth yet. He pushed deeper as she spread her legs wider. Deeper still, until he was fully inside her. They moved as one, as they made sweet, hot, passionate love with each other. Not rushing, both moving in sync, both not believing how perfectly the other fit. It was mind-blowing to say the least. As if they were paired together thousands of years ago. Both feeling the strong sense of connection that www.samhainpublishing.com
124
Tia Bangs
they belonged together, not only body to body, mind to mind. But heart to heart and soul to soul. He cradled her in his arms, not willing to let her go. She was his and he knew he was hers. For eternity. His lips curled in a smile as the fresh memories of their bonding floated against his closed lids. He had never had a woman make him feel this way. Reality crept in his mind. He was bound by honor to the ruler but his heart was bound to her with love. She needed to know. She had the right to know but he could not tell her. But how could he not, after what they just shared together? Guilt plagued his thoughts. What if after she found out the truth she learned he’d known all along? Would she be mad? Hell, he knew she’d be furious, and rightfully so. He pulled her closer to him. He would not lose her, not now, not ever. He’d just have to figure out a way to get her to find out the truth before it was too late. One thing on his side, she was smart. If he could gently drop a hint or two, guide her in the right direction so she’d be able to figure it out on her own, that would not be breaking his word. It’d be damn close, but he would be careful and make sure he only nudged her enough, and not have himself in a bind by crossing over that fine invisible line. He could do it. He had to do it. His pride, his love for her would not allow her to face her future without a little knowledge of what she was going to be up against. He gently squeezed her and kissed her hair, whispering good night. The warmth of the sun resting on his cheek made him open his eyes, sneaking a peak at the time. Eight a.m. He’s never slept in before. He rolled over, planning to kiss Melissa good morning but she was gone. Her side of the bed he could feel against his palm was cold. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
125
With the wave of his hand, his boxers floated towards him. Another wave brought his jeans to him as well. He quickly slipped them on and headed out the bedroom door as he buttoned and zipped them. “Good morning.” Her lovely voice sounded as he entered the kitchen. “Sit, breakfast is almost ready,” she added and the smell of scrambled eggs and bacon registered with his senses. He walked up behind her, pulled her in his arms and kissed her neck. “Morning, beautiful.” He could feel her leaning into him and he smiled. “Your coffee’s getting cold,” she teased and playfully tapped on his hand, enough so he released her and sat down. He fixed his coffee and couldn’t help but notice the lesson book wide open on the table. She’s been studying? For how long? How far into the lessons had she reached? He took a sip from the mug just as a plate floated across the table and gently lowered in front of him. Arching a brow, he was impressed. Moving objects, lesson six. She mastered it flawlessly. “Thank you,” he said and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her as she sat across from him. “Been studying I see?” “Well, I couldn’t sleep.” She lowered her eyes and a soft shade of pink flushed across her cheeks. “I thought as long as I was up, I should get a jump start on the lessons. Quite fascinating, actually, I found it hard to resist. Once I started, I learned more and the excitement…well, I just kept on reading.” He pulled the book towards him. “Chapter eight, you took in a lot of information.” “No.” She stopped and his gaze locked with hers. “This is the second time. I’ve already read the lesson book once and had a ton of questions. I thought if I read it again, it might make more sense.” He was speechless and proud all wrapped into one. www.samhainpublishing.com
126
Tia Bangs
What would be in her future, he knew without a shadow of a doubt, would be thoughtful and passionate. Yet she was stubborn as an ox when it was necessary. He absolutely adored her and couldn’t imagine his life without her. His past at this moment was nothing but a faded memory. “Eat, it’s getting cold. Then you can help me with spells. Damage control I was afraid to try alone, so I’m pretty eager to try it now that you’re awake and can help me if I mess up.” Amazing. If he hadn’t shared the night with her, he would almost disbelieve her. But he knew she spoke the truth. “Any trouble with the spells?” “Nope.” “Not even a slight delay?” “Not even one tenth of a second,” she proudly stated. “Okay, let me finish my coffee and then shower, and we’ll do a quick review and go straight to working on damage control.” “Great!” she said and he saw the sparkles dancing across her eyes and her aura bright as white could be, with a strong purple band around her. Her powers had tripled in less than twenty-four hours. He’s never seen anything like it before in his entire non-dying life. Only heard rumors of those who were as strong, but they had to be destroyed. Only legends from long ago, passed down from generation to generation, new member to new member. Now she had the type of power, just like the destroyed ones had. Too powerful to even begin to process, let alone absorb and understand the potential she possessed. And she was his. Holy hell! She wanted him. Combined, working as a team, they could update very old ancient laws and modernize them so they were up to speed with the times, but not lose the integrity. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
127
There wasn’t anything she could not overcome, he didn’t think. But he would stand by her side, throwing her curveball after curveball, waiting to see what he believed with his own eyes. One thing he was certain of was the ruler had not chosen foolishly. But he very well may have underestimated her strength. The day of the test would certainly be an eye opener for him if that were the case. He might have, for the first time in history, met his match. And then some! Brent had to make damn sure Melissa not only knew the ins and outs of her powers, but how far her limits were as well so she would be able to take control of any situation the ruler placed her in. But she also would be able to have a few tricks up her sleeve in case she needed a little help. She would not fail. History would not repeat itself. Instead, history would be made. He could feel it to the tips of his toes. Question was, was she starting to feel it too?
She was puzzled by new thoughts. Her body full of restless energy under the circumstances and the night of heated passion they shared. Well, she should have been able to sleep with every ounce of energy zapped from her body. But, instead, the instant she felt him push deep inside her for the last time, releasing his orgasm, it was as if her body had taken on a new form. Her bones, muscles, blood. Every single cell practically burst with energizing life. Nothing she ever experienced before had happened when his seed filled and warmed her inner core. It sure as hell wasn’t anything she could yet explain even though it was fresh in her mind. The longer
www.samhainpublishing.com
128
Tia Bangs
she tried to give a reason for how freshly young, vibrant, and brand-new her body felt, the more restless she became. She needed to occupy her mind so she dove into her lesson book. Now when she thought back, learning wasn’t all that difficult compared to her last lesson. It was as easy as coloring a picture or counting to ten. And the spells. They were thrilling and scary the first time she cast them. But the more she practiced, the smoother the spells rolled off of her tongue. She could feel them in every fiber of her body. After the second time she practiced casting a spell, she could recite it word for word with her eyes closed—the same as if she were reading it, following line by line off of the page. She closed her eyes and thought about the spells. She had learned at least twenty in one night’s time. She opened her eyes again, her grin growing wider. She was amazed at the amount she had learned. Amazed and proud to boot! Oh, and last night. How terrific it had been. She hadn’t thought at first her little play of words in her head would work. Especially since he’d just walked her through a dream spell. But it had worked. And in her favor too. At first, she wasn’t sure about his feelings and then she lost her temper and it all worked out. Thank God, because he had touched her like no other. She had fallen for him even before she wished him in her bed. He didn’t even ask her over breakfast about how he ended up there. Did he think the dream spell didn’t work? Or did he really know what she had done? Did it matter? She guessed not and shrugged. If he didn’t ask, then he didn’t want to know. Besides, after they made love last night, the how he got there didn’t really seem all that important. The important thing was she had found him. Or he found her. They were together and if he shared the same feelings for her as she did for him, she couldn’t be any happier. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
129
She would do just about anything to keep it that way. The morning was off to a phenomenal start and she only had one cup of coffee. She jumped at the sound of his voice in the hallway. Her stomach tightened, mostly from excitement and not fear. She had practiced the spells over and over again. But this time she would do it in front of Brent. Did she have something to prove? You bet she did. But not to Brent. She had to prove she could do it under pressure. Biting her lip, she looked away seconds before he entered the room. She needed a few more seconds to control her nerves as she could feel they wanted to run rampant through her body. Swallowing not only the lump down her throat but her nervousness, she turned slowly around and faced him. Her stomach was still tight and clenched and she had to remind herself to breathe. Why was she still frazzled? She knew she could perform the spells. But what if the nerves got the best of her and she flopped? In front of him, no less. No. She would be calm. The muscles in her belly began to relax and she was ready. “Let’s start with the disappearing spell. I want you to make your table disappear, bring it back, and then you disappear and then come back,” he ordered. She pushed the hair behind her ears, took one slow, deep cleansing breath and chanted the spell as she snapped her fingers. The table was gone, and she continued with chanting the next spell. She waved her hand, snapped her fingers and the table returned to its original spot and then she disappeared. By the time he could count to three, she was standing in the same spot where she had been when the lesson began. “Very nice. You’ve studied well.” “Thanks.” The butterflies in her belly were a thing of the past. Her pride and confidence flowed through her and she could swear she felt two inches taller at that moment. www.samhainpublishing.com
130
Tia Bangs
“I remember them in order, is it okay if I show you? That’s how I practiced. It would be quicker if I did them one right after the other for my first time showing you. That is, I mean, to be honest.” Her shoulders grew straighter. She was a little embarrassed. Slightly nervous and extremely eager to get this all over with so they could move on to more lessons. Especially because of the way he was watching her. She could see his gaze wandering over her body as he watched her test the spells. She wanted to go over, look at him. Hold him. Kiss him good morning and just revel in how wonderful it felt to be in his arms again. As long as he was looking at her that way, the more she wanted to act on her desires. But if she could hurry up and get through proving she knew the spells, they could start learning the lesson for today. Hopefully the lessons would only take a few hours. Then they would have the rest of the day to, well, she hoped they could spend more quiet intimate time together. Her gaze darted to meet his. He was reading her mind! Oh no he won’t! She blocked him with the blink of her eyes. If he wanted to play dirty, she could too. She chanted spell after spell, until each and every last one had been tested. It happened so quickly that when she was finished, she faced him. She noticed he was standing there looking at her with his mouth wide open. As if in shock. Serves him right for reading her mind. After the night they shared, if he wanted to know something, he could ask. She would be honest with him. Did he do that? No, he took the easy, sneaky way around it. Well, that would be the last time he’d be able to because she placed a mind-blocking spell on him while she was at it. If he wanted to know, he would have to speak up. He had no trouble saying what was on his mind last night. This morning shouldn’t be any different. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
131
“Okay, well, let’s start with damage control,” he said as he walked over and sat down. She took the seat beside him. “Open to page one hundred-ninety two.” She slid the book in front of her and searched until she found the page number. “Got it.” “I know you’ve read the complete book but I’m sure this chapter brought up some questions. Unless you’re really tuned and have been practicing for years, this can be somewhat confusing.” “Actually, I do have many questions. But maybe if I do the exercise it might clear some of them up. There are some things that I won’t figure out though, not even with the lessons.” She flipped through a couple pages, searching for the spot she didn’t quite understand. Once she found it, she moved the book towards him so he’d be able to see where she was talking about. She touched her finger almost in the middle of the page and rested it there. Looking at him, she said, “This part I just don’t understand. What exactly we are?” She waited, eager for his reply. “You remember learning about the Salem witches in school?” She nodded. “Well, we’re sort of like them, but we can alter history, greatly. If you clean up one area in the beginning, you must also in the end, so the problem is not repeated. But in doing so, it’s occasionally necessary to rearrange the outcome.” His face relaxed and he leaned casually against the back of his chair. “If you were finished taking care of the problem satisfactorily, and you’re left with doing the surrounding area, an onlooker might have been innocently caught in the mess. You’ll have to alter the time and thoughts.” “But what if that person was on his or her way to an important meeting?” www.samhainpublishing.com
132
Tia Bangs
“You’d have to fix it so the memory is gone, but allowing the meeting to take place. “But then, let’s say someone was seriously hurt, it can go either way, depending on the situation. You must read and look into the future and decide if fixing that will be the best way or not. If you decide to fix it, it alters people’s lives.” “Oh, I see. Yeah, I get it a little better now, thanks.” She slid the book back in front of her. “You’ll understand once you start practicing damage control. I’ll set up different situations and you’ll try to fix them as best as you can. They will be fake people so if you chose the wrong way no harm will be done to their lives. A dramatization.” “So we’re sort of a mix of witches, warlock, and genies. All combined?” “Something like that. It’s really difficult to explain unless you learn about each one and then you’ll have a better understanding,” he said and watched as she waved her hand and a pile of books appeared in front of her. “Those will be good for a start.” He snapped his fingers. “There are a few books on your bedside table that will explain a little better, what you’re searching for. Maybe if we start a lesson you’ll be able to put a couple things together so at least, you’ll have a basic idea.” “This is only a dramatization. This world is not real and neither are the people. You’ll be able to try your hand at damage control. If at any point you would like to start the whole thing again from the beginning, all you have to say is ‘the beginning’, and you’ll be all set to start the lesson all over again.” “Oh, this is like Star Trek! I loved that part of the show!” “Sorry, I’m not familiar.” www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
133
“You have a TV and you have never watched Star Trek?” “Afraid not, no.” “Well, later you’ll have to watch an episode with me. I have the whole DVD collection. I think you’ll enjoy it.” “We’ll see. Let’s get back to the lesson.” “Sorry.” “Like I said, you’ll be placed in a situation with a different outcome for which ever way you choose. The right one may be the first attempt or it can be a dozen tries later. Use your instincts, your gut feelings. Step back and look at the whole picture before you begin. There is no time limit. The simulation will go as fast or as slow as your movement and thoughts. Remember this is only practice. You do not have to hit the bull’s eye the first time in. No one’s life is depending on how quickly you move from start to finish. Are you ready?” He took a step towards her and held out his hand. “Yes,” she said. He walked another four steps, released her hand, and snapped his fingers.
www.samhainpublishing.com
134
Tia Bangs
Chapter Nine Suddenly Melissa wasn’t in her home any longer. She turned in a complete circle and Brent was no where in sight. She was very much alone. She faced forward, taking one step at a time and found herself at the zoo. What the hell? How did she get there? Gathering her wits about her, she realized this was the first lesson. Her first real lesson in damage control. Well, now she knew why she was here. What didn’t settle at all with her was how come? She knew something was going to happen, she just didn’t know what or when. And it scared the hell out of her. She looked around. People walked around; some were feeding the animals in the small petting area. Families were looking at the zoo map, no doubt planning which part of the zoo they would visit next. Nothing out of the ordinary popped out at her so she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and continued walking. She wasn’t going in any direction in particular. She knew she would find the area when she came to it. She couldn’t explain it. It was just a feeling deep in her bones. Smiling at the passersby, she made a mental note of where she was in case she needed to start over. She walked past the gorilla area and was heading to the cheetah resort. Children were laughing and their excitement grew when some park employees dressed in animal costumes started strolling through the walkway. They handed out balloons and comics. Parents took pictures of their children standing next to the animated characters. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
135
Others were taking the free tokens for game and drinks in the pavilion area. While others gladly accepted the generous free gift certificates for a free return visit or to use for gifts in the shopping center. She walked past exhibit after exhibit and an hour passed before she noticed she had walked through one quarter of the zoo. So far so good, nothing happened and she was enjoying sharpening her senses as she spent time touring the zoo. The excitement slowly began to disappear. She was somewhat unsettled with thoughts. She knew she was being tested but something should have happened by now. Shouldn’t it? With an odd twinge of disappointment, she lowered her head. And then a flash of wild grief ripped through her. Why didn’t she pay attention earlier? She should have noticed it right away. No use beating herself up over it now. She would be damned if she would start the whole thing over again, too. Better late than never, right? Her test stuck out like a sore thumb now. So what did this mean? How would she go about damage control when there is no damage? This was a huge puzzle to her and even though she spotted the test she didn’t know what she should do now. She needed to wait. But for what? What was she supposed to do? Stand still? Pretend she was taking a rest, try not to look suspicious? She didn’t have any time to think about it because just then, a bronze haze appeared out of no where and all hell broke loose. The people in costumes turned into real animals. Snarling, growling. Causing the nearby people to panic. Children were screaming and crying. Parents were scooping up their children in their arms and running away. Her heart thumped rapidly as her eyes darted from person to person. The adrenaline in her body ran rampant and out of control. From somewhere deep inside her, instinct kicked in and she chanted spell after www.samhainpublishing.com
136
Tia Bangs
spell. Snapping her fingers just at the exact time that was needed and waving her hand when the spell called for it. It was like time was playing in slow motion so she could handle the whole situation but not one second had actually slowed. She managed to change the wild animals back into the original costumed people form. Along with erasing the horrible memories from the crying children and their panic-stricken parents. All of this took three hours of her time. But to her, it only felt like a few minutes. Everything taken care of, she double-checked each and every person, making sure she didn’t miss one. Satisfied, she snapped her fingers, expecting the lesson to be over but to her surprise, she was still standing in the zoo. What the hell? Melissa passed the first lesson, but why was she still there? Most importantly, how come Brent couldn’t join her? It was as if his powers had no effect. He couldn’t zap her out, and he couldn’t zap himself by her side either. Furthermore, he couldn’t even send any message through her mind or in the air. He was helpless. The simulation chip must be malfunctioning. He gazed through the big screen TV, watching as she tried every spell she was aware of that could take her to the exit. He even heard her speaking the words to start the lesson over, in a last attempt to fix whatever was wrong. But it was of no use. She was stuck inside, and there was nothing he could do to help her. Just then he noticed in the far background, a haze. The leader. Shit! The leader was the reason behind all of this. In his disbelief, Brent walked closer to the screen and touched the spot where the haze was. Maybe he thought it was a blotch on the screen but then the haze moved, almost as if it was following Melissa. What the hell was the leader www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
137
up to? He was not supposed to interfere in the lessons, especially in a simulation. But no matter how shocked Brent was by watching, and how he could not warn her either, a part of him was drawn into watching every move the both of them made. He knew Melissa hadn’t noticed the leader, but Brent just stared anyway. His mind wandered, trying to figure out what the leader was up to. Closer and closer, the leader gained on her and still, she had no clue she was being followed. Maybe because she was desperately trying to find her way out. Or maybe because all of her mind-reading powers were drained temporarily during the simulation. It was as if she was absolutely clueless. Not one fiber in her body had picked up a sensation that she was being watched. Brent’s anger doubled. He had no other option but to accept she was on her own. There was nothing he could do to help her. She’d have to face whatever the leader had planned. That was the worst part of it all. Brent didn’t like the feeling of not being able to help. Not that he didn’t honor and respect the leader, he did, and he had in the past. But ever since Brent had been placed on this assignment, the leader had acted differently. Very slightly, but just enough so Brent was beginning to feel uneasy about this whole thing. Even more so now that he knew what her future had in store for her. Not to forget, he was sworn to honor, respect, and keep this secret or face dire punishment. But this? Watching her. She was still unaware the leader was there, and Lord only knew what his intention was. That was punishment. Would he actually hurt her? No. No, he wouldn’t. She wasn’t fully trained and she was not able to defend herself. The leader was acting a little bizarre but he wasn’t a madman. He would not attack someone who couldn’t defend him or herself. www.samhainpublishing.com
138
Tia Bangs
This was ridiculous. Brent was only thinking these crazy thoughts because there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to help her. He ran his hand through his hair, slid his hands in his jean pockets and took a deep breath. He could not believe how quickly he had jumped to conclusions. Worse, he almost felt like he did not trust the leader as far as he could spit. Boy, his testosterone must have quadrupled for him to act this possessively of her. Thinking for a long minute she’d be hurt, and by the leader no less. A nervous laugh escaped his lips. This whole lesson was nuts! Not only was the machine malfunctioning but his mind wandered into the nutzo zone. He laughed again and took a step backward. If this was love, his mind, hell his whole being was in deep, serous trouble. A huge sinful smile lit his face. He wouldn’t trade whatever his brain and body was going through for the world. Suddenly something caught his attention and his gaze clung to the screen. On the bronze haze that had grown in size. His brow arched. What was the leader up to? Why was he still there? This didn’t sit right with him. The leader’s behavior was out of the ordinary. He’d never witnessed the leader acting this way. Almost like he was stalking her. For a moment, Brent studied the leader intently. What was the leader up to? Brent’s gaze sharpened from sudden urge to protect Melissa. Protect her from what? He wasn’t sure, but he had a twisting, unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. Whatever was on the mind of the leader…well, it wasn’t good. A voice cut through the silence of the room. Actually, it was more like a mocking laugh. Now Brent knew the uneasy feelings were justified. His anger all but bubbled in his blood. He clenched his mouth and his hands tightened into rock-hard fists. He quickly went from irritation straight into rage. If he could zap himself www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
139
into the simulation, he thought he could actually kill the ruler with his bare hands! In dazed exasperation, he hesitated. Torn by his conflicting emotions. How could he want to kill the leader? Worse, how far was he willing to go to try to help Melissa if she ever got out of there? He had trusted the leader for hundreds of years and in one split second, all the trust was gone. He was confused. His mind spun with bewilderment. There was absolutely nothing he could do but wait it out. Lord help him if he could ever make it inside. Lord help the leader even more! An eerie feeling rushed through Melissa and her steps slowed. She looked around and listened. She couldn’t explain the uneasy, creepy feeling but she knew something was up. It was bad enough she was stuck inside and not able to find the damn exit, but now she was feeling afraid. Like she was in danger. Yeah, she was anxious. More so not to be able to escape this place! She became uncomfortable as the seconds ticked away. The same feeling she had when Warren-the-weasel was arguing with her clouded her mind. As causally as she could manage, she started walking again. A little faster as she searched for the exit. A warning voice whispered in her head, which took her adrenaline up a few notches. Where the fuck was the exit? Suddenly the fear took hold, gripping her body and taking it prisoner. She didn’t know what the hell was going on, but she did know, whatever it was, she didn’t like it. This never happened in any episode of Star Trek! Her composure was slowly starting to crumble. She hesitated and abruptly stopped in her tracks. Measuring the surroundings. She definitely sensed danger. She just couldn’t pinpoint where, or what it was. A shadow of alarm rushed through her. Some sixth sense www.samhainpublishing.com
140
Tia Bangs
brought her fully aware of danger. And a sense of inadequacy swept over her. Every fiber in her body sent alarm signals erupting inside. She turned, uneasy, and out of the corner of her eye, for a fraction of a second, she saw a bronze haze. The leader. She knew right away. But the vibes she was picking up was of pure dishonesty. Goose bumps pushed the fine hairs on her arms straight up, and as if she’d done this a million times before—instinct perhaps—she raised her hand and chanted a spell she had never read or known before. She found herself suddenly standing beside Brent. She fell against his hard chest, in the safety of his arms, and her body trembled with fear. In the very next second, both were in the safety of her home. “What the hell is happening?” She pushed him away from her. She was furious now that she realized she was out of the simulation. “I don’t know what happened with the lesson.” “You know damn well what I’m talking about. I want to know what is up with that leader guy? Why was he there following me? What was he going to do?” Hands firmly planted on her hips, she stared him down. “I really don’t know what he was doing.” “How dare you! How can you look at me, after all we’ve been through, and lie to me like that?” She took one quick step and slapped him across the cheek. “I’m not some freak power-toy. Whatever you two have going on, from now on, count me out. I want no part of this, not now. Not ever.” Her hand still stung from the slap. She was so angry she didn’t regret it for one second. She knew he was keeping something from her. He was a coward and deserved the slap. And so much more, but that was all she could think to do to him in the moment. “Listen, Melissa,” he said and stepped closer to her. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
141
“Stay right where you are, Brent. I can’t take anymore shit today, so save it all, because frankly, I’m not interested.” “I swear to you I do not know why he was in the lesson, or for what purpose he had in not letting you exit once you solved the test accurately.” What was he saying? Brent honestly expected her to believe he had no idea what was going on? Yeah right! Not! She snorted and leaned against the counter, her arms crossed tightly across her chest. She’ll listen to the big pile of shit of an excuse coming out of his mouth and then she’ll show him the door. Promising he would never be welcome there again. If she couldn’t trust him now after all of their time together, well, he could leave and never return. She could take care of herself. She’d done okay so far before her powers, and she’ll do it afterwards, too. She wouldn’t use the powers either. The faster she could forget what had changed so dramatically in her life over the past few days, the quicker she would have her normal, boring life back. Thank you very much! She smiled a very confident, pleasing smile. “I tell the truth. I do not know what he was doing. He did not tell me he was going to be there.” She rolled her eyes. He’d better work a lot harder if he was going to convince her, because right now what was coming out of his mouth was pretty weak. “Okay, so let’s pretend so far I’m buying it. There is still something you are keeping from me. The reason why he’s after me would be a good start.” “I can not tell you that. I’m sorry, but I can’t.” “Well, I guess that about sums it up then doesn’t it. You know where the door is. You need to leave. I have a problem with people not being able to be honest with me. And since you know and refuse to tell me, www.samhainpublishing.com
142
Tia Bangs
well, good bye is all I have left to say to you.” She turned her back on him, gritting her teeth. How could he keep this from her? Didn’t anything matter to him? Didn’t she matter to him? “You don’t understand. Please let me explain.” “Unless you are going to tell me why the leader is after my ass and what his plans are, I won’t listen. Otherwise, I doubt there is anything you can say that will change my mind.” Stiff-backed, she stood her ground as her blood boiled in her veins. She wanted to slap him again, Lord help her! She wasn’t a violent person and suddenly, with a little magic thrown into her life, she was becoming a raving lunatic! “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, I do. It’s that I can’t or I will be banished forever.” What? Did she hear him right? Was this a loose attempt to yank at her heart and get her to feel a little guilty for treating him so badly? Or could it actually be the truth? Had he lied to her in the past? No, not that she could remember, which meant, some of this must be true. Okay, so now she has to listen to the rest of it. Damn him! “Spill it, Brent.” “I cannot tell you, like I said. But if you happen across it on your own, then I will be able to answer the questions you ask.” “What is this, some type of riddle? Seek and find game? Treasure hunt?” “I guess, in a way, yes. All I can do is answer your questions but only if you have the information beforehand. Then and only then, am I allowed to fill you in and guide you the rest of the way.” Was his line of crap working? Did she believe what he was saying? Why was this so fucking complicated? He could make it all so much easier to deal with if he would just tell her what he was trying to keep so secret. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
143
“Okay, let me get this right.” She sat down at the table and tapped her fingers on it lightly. “You can’t tell me why. Unless I stumble across whatever secret this is that you are keeping. Then you’ll be able to tell me, right?” “Correct.” “Do you know how absolutely crazy this all sounds? I’m to believe that if I guess, then you’ll tell me? But, if I know, why would I need you to tell me? Answer me that?” Ha! Take that Mr. I Have The Answer For Everything! “It’s not that simple. If you find it, you won’t be able to understand it. It’s not as it is written and you’ll need my help to make it clear.” He sat across from her. “Whoa. Wait a minute. It’s written? The lesson book! Was that what you meant earlier when you said I was in the book?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. In her anxiety to find the answers now, she rushed to retrieve the book and bring it back to the table. “Where! Where am I in this thing?” “That I can not tell you.” “God damn it! What on earth can you tell me?” She began flipping through page after page, looking for where she may be in the lesson book. “I’ve read this a few times and not once did I see my name. So it’s has to be like a hidden message type thing, right?” “Yes.” “You said yes!” Surprised, she looked at him. Well, that must be one of the things he was allowed to help her with, without having to worry about being banished forever to wherever that would be. She was onto something now. As minute as it was, it was a clue. She would do whatever it took to fit all the pieces together. The leader pissed her off and she wanted revenge. She wanted to know exactly why he played like that today. What reason could that be? www.samhainpublishing.com
144
Tia Bangs
Why was he making it so real? Unless it wasn’t fake. Unless he really was going after her. Again, the whys outnumbered the answers she was finding. But before long she’d even the score, make the playing field fair again. The next time he pulled this shit, she’d be ready. She would certainly give him a run for the money. Hopefully being the winner and kicking his magical power, holier than thou ass! She noticed the sound of the chair squeaking across the floor and looked up from the book for a second. “Just where do you think you’re going?” “Leaving. You said earlier…” She stood up, not allowing him finish the sentence. “You sit your ass back down in that chair. You’re not going anywhere until I figure this out. Don’t even think about it because if you do leave, I’ll hunt you down. You hear me?” She held the chair, pointed to the seat and waited for him to sit down. She returned to her chair, glanced up at him one last time, making sure he knew she meant exactly every word she had said, and began studying the book again. The answers to all her questions were in the book. All she had to do was find them. How hard could that be? It was like studying for an open book test. The answers were there. She just had to look for the questions. Four hours later, she plopped her head down on the book, hard. She hasn’t found one thing pointing to where she was in the book. Not one spell, not one time was her name in there either. At this rate, she’d be old and gray before she found out the truth. She had a funny feeling she knew the leader wouldn’t wait long for round two. She peeked up, resting her face on her folded arms. “Isn’t there any clue you can give, pointing me somewhat in the right direction, without giving me the actual truth?” She locked her gaze with his and noticed www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
145
even though he tried to hide his feelings she could see the stress lines under his eyes. She noticed how the color softened, like he was torn between what he knew was right and what was wrong. “Never mind.” Brent had had hours to think of how he could come so close to that fine line of being banished and helping her. During the time he couldn’t come up with all that much as far as helping her, without the fear of punishment. But he did come up with a few ideas. “I can give you some help. You’ll have to play like twenty questions though, for me to answer you. But you only get two questions, that is all I can do without worrying about the consequences. Choose them wisely, please. For that is all the help I can give you until you find what you are looking for.” He wanted so very much to say the hell with it all and tell her everything he knew. But besides the fact he would be banished forever, the other side of the coin was, she would be alone. Alone, facing whatever the leader chose to throw her way. That he could not do. There was no way he would leave her to face the leader and be in his mercy. No way would he allow the leader to play her for a fool, giving her small victories until the big whammy. Nope, not happening. She needed his help and he could not do that if he told her the whole truth. Not even when he saw the hate and pain in her eyes. Someday she’d realize, even if it were much later. Her safety, his love for her, all would be worth it. He watched every move she made, which wasn’t much. It was as if she were thinking very hard on what she would ask. Even more, when she closed her eyes and didn’t say a word. All he could do was watch her breathing and wait for her to ask the questions. He hoped they were ones that would be to her favor. Actually, he prayed with every fiber in his body. www.samhainpublishing.com
146
Tia Bangs
She suddenly sat up and smiled. “Okay, I think I have one question.” She held the book up and closed it. Then she opened the book directly in the middle. “This half is not what I am looking for, is it?” she asked pointing to the first half of the book. “No, it is not. You’re right.” Thank goodness! His heart picked up speed with the realization she had thought long and hard. Even the most simple of questions were just what she needed to ask. Another couple hours went by and he sat almost still the whole time, waiting, ready to answer once she thought she found what she was looking for. But to his surprise when she was finished reading the second half of the book and closed it, she said nothing. Not one single word. Not one question, and there was no expression on her face either. He couldn’t read her mind because of the spell that had been cast previously. He was betting on her figuring it out. He was rooting for her one hundred percent. Her silence was all but eating him up inside. He was anxious to answer her questions, to finally be able to tell her all. He wanted to show her, explain to her why she was chosen and what that meant. He wanted her to trust him like she did before all of this had happened. And most of all, he wanted to hold her in his arms again. To feel her soft skin under his hands. To feel her warm kisses and body against him. Like it should be. Like he wanted it to be. Forever. He was sitting on the edge of his seat, ready to help her. But she had to say something. Anything! God, what was she thinking about? What was taking her so long? When he almost felt his body ready to jump out of his skin, he noticed her pushing the closed book in front of him. “Okay. How do I beat him?” “What?” “I asked how do I beat him? When they said the chosen one would fight with the leader and create a much stronger bond of powers, I assumed the leader would be fighting with someone, like those bad guys www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
147
who were stripped of their powers. But they were talking about him fighting me. So what do I do to stop this?”
www.samhainpublishing.com
148
Tia Bangs
Chapter Ten He smiled the biggest smile he thought was ever possible. He noticed her face was full of strength, shining with a steadfast and serene peace. She had figured half of it out! She was confused with a huge detail, but he was confident she’d figure it out in time. Her courage and determination were written all over her face and he would gladly stand by her side and help her. “Now, you have to figure out how to beat him.” He leaned forward and squeezed her hand. “Wait, I thought you said you could help me if I figured it out?” “I did. I will. But the plan has to come from you. I can not make that choice for you. All I can do is help you with your decisions.” The smile was still on his face despite the fact she was looking gloomily at him. He didn’t care though. He knew if she were smart enough to figure out some of the underlying secret, she’d soon discover that even though she was alone in the planning, she wasn’t alone in anything else. “Okay, so,” she sat straight up, “I have to figure out a plan to beat him. But he’s stronger than I am; I’ll never win. And just what are we playing for anyway? And what happens to the loser?” “Well, the loser will lose a great battle. The winner will inherit the powers of the loser and there is nothing the winner can’t do. The combination of powers is the key to unlocking all the old ways and creating new laws for all of those blessed with powers. It will eliminate those who may steer towards abusing the powers. Sort of like a DNA test. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
149
Once you know where it comes from, usually there can be a cure, a fix. That’s been the missing piece for generations. Until you discovered your powers.” He tried to explain in little chunks at a time as not to overwhelm her. She didn’t want to hear the short condensed version though. He could tell she was growing impatient by the lack of attention she was paying to him. The way her lips were starting to thin, as if she had something to say but was holding back. “It also can be used for bad. There will be no stopping it. That’s why it’s so important to plan, and have it solid. Because the next time the leader is around you, he’ll fight until he can fight no more. He’ll stop at nothing to try to gain your powers. You are a threat to him. He knows this and he wants your powers. In the beginning, he wanted you to take his seat. He wanted to step down, and take all that is in his control and turn it over to you.” He stood up and started to pace. “But once he witnessed how quickly you learned, how much stronger you became without even trying, well, something snapped I’m guessing. He wants to take your powers and be the most powerful leader of all time. And he wants revenge. That’s my guess anyway.” “Why? And to what extreme would he go to take my powers?” “I’m afraid I can’t tell you why I think he wants revenge. He won’t allow me to interfere with this. He told me if I told you what I had found out I would be banished forever. It is only when you put most of the pieces together and asked me, I’m allowed to help you. But with the fight, you are alone against him I am on the sidelines. Make no mistake about it. I feel it’s a dangerous situation. I don’t know why he has taken action. I do know you cannot trust him like before. He wants it all and won’t stop until he gets it.” www.samhainpublishing.com
150
Tia Bangs
“But why? Why didn’t he just take the power from me? He had plenty of opportunity. Why didn’t he just strip me of the powers and be on his way?” “It was written ages ago that you would be found. No one can take your powers unless you are defeated. It is also written if that happens—” “All hell will break loose, right? He can change the laws and he can have all of you, us, under his mercy.” “Exactly.” “Greed?” “I believe so. I’m not sure what happened. All I know is you are in danger, as well as many others. He will not fight fair. You will have to be on your guard when the testing time comes. You must do whatever you can to stop him or you give him your powers, whichever you chose.” “You’re kidding? You think for one second he’s getting what I have? You’ve got another thing coming! He scared me half to death and he’s not getting them if I have anything to do with it. A few days ago, I would have gladly handed them over. But not after what happened in my lesson, no way! He can’t have them unless he wins them fair and square!” That’s more like it! That’s the spit in the face, fire in the belly, and fight until you can’t fight any longer woman of his dreams. The very woman he was going to ask to be his wife once this was all said and done. Even if she lost, they’d still be together. That he would see to, of course, if she agreed. But right now she had better think of a plan, and fast. There wasn’t much time to spare. He wasn’t sure when the leader would call upon her again. She had better be prepared for whatever he dished out. She had to be ready, there was no if ands or buts about it. She was beyond angry. She just couldn’t believe what was happening in her life. A few days ago she was plain ol’ Melissa. Single mother of two, www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
151
working two jobs so her children and she could live life fairly comfortably. But now her life had changed so dramatically, it was almost not real. To top it off, she had to come up with a plan not only to keep her powers, but keep them safe so the leader couldn’t take them and use them for whatever he had in mind. Was she out of her freaking mind? Did she actually think she could pull all of this off? She must be hysterical to even consider following through. Especially since she had no idea how strong her newfound powers are. Think. Think. A plan. A list! “Okay, first, I’ll write all the spells I know. From there I’ll use them and make a list from strongest to weakest. Then I’ll have to see which ones I can combine.” She grabbed a pad of paper and two pens then she ripped out of sheet of paper and handed it to Brent, along with a pen. “You list books, supplies I’ll need, too, and whatever else you think I can use to educate me a ton faster.” She smiled and reached across the table, placing her hand over his. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” “And I’m so deeply sorry, I don’t know what came over me. I’ve never struck anyone in my life and I lost it and hit you.” “Under the circumstance, I understand.” “I know you understand but that doesn’t change the fact I hit you. I don’t know how I can fix it, but I will.” “Not necessary, it’s forgotten.” “No. It wasn’t right and I’ll figure out something, I give you my word.” “How about we figure out how to win and we’ll call it even.” “That won’t fix it.”
www.samhainpublishing.com
152
Tia Bangs
“Don’t think for one second you two will be word-sparring. He will fight you like a man. You won’t have any help. He’ll try to kick your ass. We’ll be more then square.” She hadn’t thought about that part of it. She was so going to get her ass kicked! Using magic to boot. Yup, she had lost her mind! Tears began to swarm in her eyes. No, she couldn’t cry. But her body was weeping inside despite her willpower. Her face flushed and her bottom lip began to quiver. She could no longer see the lines on the paper in front of her. And what was that? A soft splat from a tear had escaped her puffy eyes and landed on the paper below. Then another followed by another. Before she could contain the tears and fear from escaping, she broke down and cried. Letting all of the fear, sadness, and every emotion in between come to a boil and release. Until she could shed no more tears. Then she raised her head, took the back of her hand, and swiped the last traces from her face. She took a tissue Brent was holding for her when she was ready. It broke his heart watching her cry. Brent wanted to take her in his arms and hold her, letting her know she could always lean on him. He was man enough to know that sometimes, even when people cry, it doesn’t mean they need comforting. He had a feeling this was one of those times. He also knew she was stronger than she appeared. Of course she had to be. She hadn’t exactly had things handed to her. Not that she complained about how hard she had to work or how tired she was. Or even asking for help. She hadn’t. She was courageous to say the least. He was certain raising two children on her own couldn’t have been a walk in the park for her. He respected her not only for her www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
153
courage and strength, but she was not afraid to show emotion and even admit she was a little vulnerable, too. If they could come up with a pretty good plan, whip it in shape enough so it might buy her some time to find the perfect spell, maybe then they would have the upper hand so she could defeat the leader. He knew they didn’t have a lot of time. The next time she left her home very well could be the time the leader chose to fight her for her powers. He needed to figure out what happened that turned the tables against Melissa and why it was so important to take her by surprise. Especially when she wasn’t fully aware and hadn’t used to her powers to their potential. If he could find out one of the answers to those nagging questions before Melissa ran into the leader again, he might be able to at least level the playing field. She’d have a little more information and a lot more understanding to what made the leader want to speed up the test. Brent also had to tread lightly. After all, the leader could still punish him. Strip him of some of his powers so he wouldn’t be much help to her. One thing Brent was sure of, the leader was making up rules as he went along. Lately nothing made all that much sense to him. But what did was he had to help Melissa protect herself and her powers. Everything would have to wait, even the answers if need be. She had to leave her house in a couple days and then the leader would have the opportunity to test her. Brent pushed all of what was running in his mind, all the confusions and unanswered questions, back deep and locked them away for now. He quickly picked up the pen and piece of paper. A small list of reading materials was what he first worked on. From there, he listed helpful tools and items for spells she might be able to use. Then he made a list of things he thought she might be able to combine to make spells more powerful. www.samhainpublishing.com
154
Tia Bangs
He had to think with an open mind and think like a cheating player, too. Every angle, fair and not so fair, needed to be explored. From there they could test them to see which one would work best and which way would help her win. She would think like a winner. She needed to prepare her mental stability now. A winner wins, period. They worked for hours on the lists and flipping through spell books. He could work for days like this but she hasn’t crossed over completely yet and she still required daily rest. Tiredness on her face was very apparent to him. No matter how much coffee she drank through the night, he could hear and see her yawning. When he took a closer look, her eyes were red and bloodshot from staying up so late. He noticed under her eyes there were puffy, soft pink pockets. She definitely needed sleep. They’d have to finish the work in the morning. Her body needed to shut down for a while, or she would be in no shape to fight off a headache, never mind going against the leader to save her powers. He reached across the table, gently took the pen out of her hand and placed it on the tablet. “You need some sleep.” “I’m okay, I can keep going. I’ll brew a fresh pot of coffee, that will give me my second wind.” She smiled at him and he admired her determination. But even as much as she thought she’d be okay, in ten minutes, he knew she was fooling herself. This wasn’t rocking one of her children to sleep when they were younger and teething. She could rest for a few hours and then continue a little refreshed. She was in the safety zone, her home, so she did have the opportunity to take a few hours to recharge herself. “Come on, I’ll walk you to your room. This will all be here after you rest. Trust me.” He rose and walked over to the chair then held out his hand for her to take. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
155
He helped her up and they walked hand in hand to her bedroom. He left her standing, barley holding herself up, and quickly turned down the covers on the bed. He picked up her nightclothes from the chair in front of the window and handed them to her. “Put these on and I’ll be back in a few minutes to say good night.” He kissed her forehead lightly and left the room so she could have privacy. Melissa didn’t care about privacy. She was too tired to care. All she wanted was out of her clothes and to crawl under the covers. Anything in between at this moment was useless and a waste of time. She was so tired she couldn’t even think. She covered up, fixed her pillow, and rested her head on it. Adjusting it one last time as her lids lowered as if being pressed down by heavy sand. Her whole body began to feel funny. Tingling and weightless. When she tried to move, she couldn’t. Not one muscle would cooperate by budging an inch. Her body had a mind of its own, and it definitely wasn’t interested in anything that required movement. She had no energy to fight it, not even to roll over. She was past exhausted. She wasn’t sure if she was dreaming at this point or if she was awake. Boy, she was feeling her age right now, that was for sure. She took a long, slow breath and licked her lips. Finally realizing she wasn’t dreaming, she could feel things and she could hear the alarm clock ticking as the seconds passed. It didn’t matter if her whole body felt like warm rubber. If she had to say something right now, it sure as hell wouldn’t make any sense. Brent was right. She needed a nap. Just a couple hours and she would be ready to start again. That should be enough to help clear her mind. She hoped. She heard his soft knocking on the door and she called him in. She couldn’t open her eyes because when she did, the light www.samhainpublishing.com
156
Tia Bangs
burned. He must have understood because she could feel the weight of his body as he sat on the edge of the bed. Her body warmed and she felt peaceful, even when she felt him gently brushing the hair off of her forehead. All she could manage to say was thank you before drifting off to sleep again.
They planned for several days. On occasion, they sent Liz on a scavenger hunt for spell supplies because neither could take the chance of stepping outside of the house and running into the leader unprepared. Liz didn’t ask any questions. She was a true friend, supporting, and when the safety of one of her friends was on the line, Liz took that as an attack against her as well. She was hell-bent on finding whatever Brent had asked for. Even if it meant rummaging in the woods and bringing back a dog-toothed violet root. It was as good as done. Finally, everything they needed had been collected. Each spell was practiced until she could speak them in her sleep, word for word. Until she was so sick of hearing her voice and reading the words, she could almost scream. The day was here. Tomorrow, first thing in the morning Melissa would go out of the house. Ready to fight the biggest battle of her life. Ready to win. Ready to teach the leader that changing the rules and using the powers for bad was wrong. If she was stuck with these powers and if she could do anything to try to stop him, damn it, she would! Apparently she had more strength than she first realized. Even if she thought she couldn’t win against someone who was born with such powers, well, she was going to do her best to fake the confidence to kick his ass! www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
157
Liz camped out at Melissa’s house, as did Brent. Both were working on going over any loose ends with the plan. There wouldn’t be time to think. There would only be time to react to what would be happening. They both wanted Melissa to be prepared for what was surely to face her in the morning. Brent shared the story with Liz; all the leader had done in the years held his powers. He also shared with her how the leader had trained him and how he banished him when another student tricked him. Until recently, he thought was her fault only. Though, he learned the leader struck a deal with the student to see that Brent failed. He didn’t want Brent to find out about all the strength the leader was gaining. Neither did he want Brent finding out all the wicked deals he was making for more power. And how he was planning on making Earth pay for agreeing Pluto was nothing but a mere rock floating in outer space. His plan hit a curveball when Melissa was zapped and her powers began to awaken. She was the one who held the power to stop him, stop his plans of destroying Earthlings and making certain Earth was nothing but a glob of mass floating in the solar system as well. He purely had an evil heart now. Finding out about how powerful she was pushed the leader over the line. Learning of Melissa being the chosen one…he wanted her powers. He could only gain them if they fought and she lost. When Brent pieced this information together after a quick reading on the leader’s mind during Melissa’s lesson at the zoo, he made it all but impossible for the leader to ambush Melissa until she was ready. Until the time when she knew how to use her powers. Then it would be a fair fight. Granted, Melissa didn’t have years of practice with her powers but they couldn’t worry about that now. Time had run out, soon Brent would be sent back to seclusion. She would be facing the leader on her own. On his turf, the leader would arrange the timing to his favor. www.samhainpublishing.com
158
Tia Bangs
Brent wasn’t about to let any ambush happen. He had to bring her up to speed as best as he could so the battle would take place while he was still in her world. At least he’d be there to help keep the fight fair. Otherwise, he’d be no where in sight and there wouldn’t be any way he could help if she needed it. Melissa agreed to this. She would know he was in her corner. That was a hell of a lot more comforting than facing the leader alone. Well, Liz would be there, too. But let’s face it, she didn’t have any powers. Liz didn’t know the leader as well as Brent did, so there really was only once choice. She made it. She just hoped she would be ready. She wished she would know all the tricks the leader would play and how to handle them, too. She was scared shitless! What would happen if she lost? Would she be banished into seclusion? What would happen to her children? There were too many possibilities that could go wrong. She would be damned if she were going to waste her time thinking bad thoughts. She was going to fight, and fight with everything she had. Some things she didn’t have, though, she hoped would appear to her when she needed them. She was not going to lose her children if that would be the outcome. She’s fought too hard to protect them to lose them to a slimeball. If she wasn’t willing to hand them over to her ex-husbands, there was no way in hell she would let them go to someone who Lord knew what he would do to them. It wasn’t happening! She would do whatever she had to do to win or she’d die trying! None of them slept for very long during the night. Not that they weren’t tired, they were, but with what was taking place the next day, nervous anxiety ran through them. Making rest a very short event. Not to mention all of the wondering about what the leader would do. How sneaky he’d be, and how quickly he would turn in to the ultimate low-life bad guy. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
159
Evil bastard. No. Evil, ruthless bastard was more like it. They knew the leader would sink to any level, try anything. Fair or not, so far, no one really knew what he would try in the attempt to win and strip Melissa of her powers. The leader had hundreds of years to get to know, experiment and strengthen his powers. Melissa had a few days at best. This was somewhat uneven, well, drastically uneven. All they could hope for was Melissa trying her best to defeat the leader. Hoping all the hidden powers she wasn’t able to activate would miraculously kick in, at just the right time. It was reaching. They knew the chances of that happening were highly unlikely. They had more of a reason to hope the leader would grow too confident during the battle and make a mistake somehow, so that Melissa could use his cockiness to her advantage.
www.samhainpublishing.com
160
Tia Bangs
Chapter Eleven The big day. This is it. Time had run out for Melissa. She did not have one more day to prepare. Or one single second to spare. Fate was on her doorstep. Knocking loudly. Loud enough to shake the door and windows. No, that wasn’t fate. That was the leader. Clearly his patience had been stretched beyond the limit. He had pussyfooted and waited long enough. He was ready to strip her from all the powers she carried so he could absorb them. Ultimately making him so powerful, so ruthless, dealing with the devil would seem like a soft breeze blowing the grass in a meadow. He was angry. He was even greedier, and he had found a loophole. He could not zap himself into her safety zone but there wasn’t any rule or stipulation stating he could not bring the house down around her very feet. Literally. “What the hell? He’s going to bury us alive! I thought we were safe in here, he can’t touch us?” “He can’t. He’s calling you out. He outsmarted us, Melissa. If you don’t leave the house, he’ll shake it until it falls piece by piece, if need be.” “Holy shit!” Liz said. Was she stupid, or what? There was no fucking way she could win. Who was she kidding? She didn’t have enough time even to begin www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
161
understanding her powers and she thought she could go up against him? Worse, she really believed she could kick his ass! As if her whole world began crumbling around her, pictures that were hanging on the walls fell abruptly to the floor, shattering, shards of glass flying in all directions. Crashing, rumbling noises grew tremendously as pans clattered against each other. Cups, glasses and plates rattled so vigorously, they began breaking just from the jolts. She was shaking in her shoes as if she could not believe what was happening before her very eyes, watching as precious childhood memorabilia crumbled, lying on the floor. She wasn’t sure if she was more scared with the reality or just plain pissed off. Probably equally both. Sudden anger surged through her and she clenched her teeth. She wanted blood. The leader’s blood! She was going to rock his world. Blow him straight to hell and back. Only to send him there into the fire-pits of hell once more. She’d rip his hair out, one strand at a time. Then she would yank each of his fingernails out, ever so slowly, and peel his skin off of his body. She’d tear muscles free from his form, one at a time until his heart, what he had of it anyway, was reachable and hers for the taking. So she could stretch it apart and stomp on it before grinding it into the earth. And that was only for starters! She charged towards the door. If he wanted a fight, he was going about it the right way. Brent grabbed her arm, stopping her from walking out. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked. “Can’t you see what he’s doing to my home?” He let go of her arm and took her face and gently held it between his hands. Her anger abated somewhat under the warm glow of his smile. The lively twinkle of his eyes almost erased the last bit of fury she was holding onto for dear life. www.samhainpublishing.com
162
Tia Bangs
“You’re going about this all wrong. Angry, you’ll surely lose. Stay calm and focused. That is the only way we have any chance at all. Remember this?” She nodded. “He’ll feed off of my emotions, fueling them, taking my guard down.” “And I thought you weren’t listening to all the drumming everything into your mind,” he teased. “Oh, the nagging you mean?” He clutched his heart as if her words actually wounded him and she noticed the curving of a smile on his face. “Let’s kick some serious ass, shall we?” It was she who halted any movement this time. Could he be any more chivalrous? Adorable? So damn cute and sexy? She leaned against his chest, raising her body slightly on her tiptoes and kissed him. Her kiss was slow and thoughtful. As if lingering, enjoying the smoothness of his lips. The warmth of his mouth, not knowing if this kiss would ultimately be the final kiss she would share with him for the rest of her existence. She gave herself freely to the passion, hoping he shared the same for her. Enveloping not just his body from head to toe, but marking his soul as hers and hers for him. Liz came abruptly from out of the hallway, screaming, pure panic sounding in every incoherent word she yelled. Which ended the kiss and they looked at her as Liz tried to catch her breath. “You two planning to do something, sometime today? Or should I tip the tub upside down and hide under it until he’s finished?” “Well,” Brent tapped Melissa’s ass, “I guess since Liz is a party pooper, let’s finish this so I can get back to loving you.”
www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
163
Though neither of them knew if they would ever be together again once the battle was over. But what a thought his final words were as they walked out the front door together, hand in hand. The world suddenly turned in slow motion. It was as if each step took a full minute to complete as they walked side by side towards the leader. Just the same as in the old John Wayne movies—when they paced fifty steps before they slowed and turned, facing each other. Staring the enemy straight in the eyes ready to call their bluff, or shoot them dead. Except, this wasn’t a movie and they didn’t have a gun. Killing him with a bullet was not possible. The only way to be rid of the leader was to beat him at his own game. Her heart should be racing, fear was running through Melissa at an insane rate. So fast, she should be searching for a small paper bag because any second, the adrenaline would catch up and she’d start to hyperventilate. But that strangely just wasn’t happening. She wasn’t going to analyze it either. Whatever the reason, she was calm. She wasn’t going to curse the moment because she knew it wouldn’t be long before she was begging silently for this to be over with. Not breaking her concentration, her stride was relaxed, not calculated or timed. Just a perfect confident flow of motion as she matched step for step with Brent until they stopped a few feet away from the leader. She loosened her grip and her hand fell from his and she took one huge step forward, leaving Brent on the sideline. Melissa didn’t dare take her gaze off of the gigantic man who had a strange, bright glow around him. It had to be the leader. And even though she knew Brent was near, she desperately wanted to see him. For strength, added courage, whatever the reason. Just a quick look to see where he was. But before she actually had made the foolish move, a sudden calm washed over her and she could swear Brent was in her head, talking to her. www.samhainpublishing.com
164
Tia Bangs
She couldn’t even process what he was saying, the aura around the leader began changing from the bronze color she was accustomed to seeing into a light plum that changed quickly into a dark wood violet. Color change. Color change. What did the shade mean? Damn it, she knew the answer. She studied all color meanings until she had nightmares. Purple. Purple. Sonofabitch, what does it mean? Panic. Pure panic enveloped her as colors began flashing in her mind, each new one erasing the previous. Any time now! Start remembering! Only a few seconds passed but it felt like an eternity. Purple. Hurry up! Green flashed in her thoughts, along with the meaning. Following was magenta, peach and then yellow. Finally purple, yes! Oh shit! The meaning registered in her brain and she ran to her right quickly, just in time to move out of the way. A shower of chimney bricks fell from out of the crisp blue sky, dropping and smashing into smaller pieces exactly where she was just standing. She breathed in a long steady breath and closed her eyes as she concentrated, slowly chanting a spell silently over and over again. When she opened her eyes and pointed to the leader, the pile of rubble lifted from the ground and shot clear across the open air. Heading at speeds unseen before, straight towards the leader. He must have figured out what she was up to because he held his hand up, blocking the bricks. As if they had hit an invisible wall, they dropped to the ground in front of his feet. Before she could move or look him in the eyes, she watched as he stepped casually over the rubble. His smirky grin did not escape her gaze and that’s when her world whirl-winded out of control. Spell after spell, the leader recited. She had no time to think about how to counteract each one. There was not time. She had to go on pure instinct alone as she dodged machetes, was zapped into a hungry lion’s www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
165
cage. From there she was handcuffed and a chain was bolted around her body while submerged underwater, sinking rapidly as the cold water was rushing around her. Barely escaping drowning, she found herself hanging onto the edge of a cliff, soaking wet. She was freezing her ass off as each muscle, big and small, felt like they were on fire. Looking down, she saw the hot molten lava. Worse, her fingers were still damp and sliding against the smooth rocks, loosening her grip. Her lungs were hungry for air. She was exhausted and only ten minutes had passed since she walked out of the house. Getting herself back onto solid ground, she’d had enough. Time to do something. A little payback was in order. Otherwise, he would beat her by pure exhaustion, and it wouldn’t take too long either at this rate. Brent’s calming voice echoed in her ears. Soft, gentle, as he reminded her of spells. He encouraged her and he had faith in her. He knew if she could hang in a little while longer, the leader would slip up and she could seize the moment…and win. Although Brent was not allowed to help her in battle, he could jump in and give suggestions if the leader had played a card against the rules. He was a referee of sorts. Right now she’d take any help she could get. Even as small a thought as that was. She felt comforted knowing if a dirtier than dirty trick was pulled, Brent could interfere. She drew energy on his encouraging words. Little did anyone know, while doing so, Brent was releasing some of his strength through his thoughts. Okay, okay. She was taking it without asking first. She’d make it up to Brent later. Providing there would be a later for them. God! What if the leader won? What would happen to her kids? Her family? She would never see Brent again, too. www.samhainpublishing.com
166
Tia Bangs
No, she wasn’t going to hand him over just like that. Brent was the best thing that has happened to her in ages. She was keeping him, thank you very much. Well then, she had better think of a way to beat the leader once and for all, and be rid of him for good. She chanted combined powerful spells. Some sent the leader to far ends of the world. Another one, he was sinking in quicksand. And with one he was caught in the line of a falling avalanche as it rushed, ready to buy him alive. She changed him into a moth and watched him fighting to free himself from a web. Just as the spider was reading to sink its fangs into him, injecting poison and preparing a silky cocoon around him as a coffin, to savor for later. The leader wasn’t even breaking a sweat. How the hell was he enduring all those things without any effect on him? What was the deal with that? How could he zap himself in one spot while whipping up a spell and then in a fraction of a second, he’d be a totally different spot, chanting another spell. He could even enlarge his form and in an instant become invisible and dropkick her right into a mud puddle. When he was finished, he would show his form again, floating, but in a sitting position. With his legs crossed as his laugh, which was more like a roar, echoed through her body with sheer pain as an added bonus. She was sitting ankle deep in the mud puddle. Covered head to toe with cold, gritty goop. She took the back of her hand and pushed the hair from off of her face. Starting at her chin, she took one long sweep up and over the top of her head. Her eyes pressed tightly closed, she felt down her torso pulling her shirt out of her pants. Using the clean part of the shirt that was protected by her jeans, she wiped her eyes free from the watery muddy grime. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
167
Only to see the leader, who looked bored as hell, because while she was freeing her eyes from the mud, he zapped himself a bowl of fruit from which he plucked a shiny red apple and began eating it. Spitting out the skin as he went along. She hoped he would choke on it. The prick! Couldn’t he at least pretend he was interested? Even to watch as his enemy, human being from head to toe, get her ass kicked… and he was the one doing it! She watched him as she caught her breath, thankful for the small break while he was devouring the apple. He spat out the seeds and then he moved on to a sprig of grapes. She watched as he tossed one in the air and tipped his head back, catching it in his mouth. God! Eating? What was he going to do, eat all freaking night? Well, she could sit there and watch and wait until he had eaten the complete bowl of fruit, or she could stand up, dust off the clumps of mud that hadn’t fallen from her clothes yet, and start whipping his ass. At least that would be better than staying seated in a cold mud puddle. Once she was determined to fight back, she slowly rose to her knees. Gasping for air a few times, due to hitting the ground so hard when he flung her across the yard, she finally stood and smoothed her clothing as best as she could. She pushed herself to a standing position. Her shoulders straightened and she cleared her throat, ready to recite a spell that hopefully would begin to turn the tables on him. She knew exactly which one she was going to use, too. She began by reaching down to the ground and taking a small handful of dirt and began rubbing it briskly between the palms of her hands. At first she noticed the leader wasn’t affected by her action. But the more the sand was being ground in her hand, warming from the friction, the less he paid attention to his food and focused more full on her. Well, it was about time! www.samhainpublishing.com
168
Tia Bangs
What she was doing had to be bothering him. It had to be annoying; there was no way it couldn’t be. His skin would feel like it was crawling with little hot fire pokers. It probably was feeling like prickly summer heat rash. But once it moved on and really began working, by being absorbed into his skin, there would be no way to ignore it. Oh, boy! Was he ever paying attention to her now! She didn’t even break her concentration as she continued to rub the dirt vigorously between her hands. Not once did she lose eye contact with him either. She stepped away from the puddle and chanted another spell. One that was leaving Brent speechless. That sure as shit was not a spell they had practiced. So, where had she heard it? It didn’t matter because the shock had been topped the second Brent saw her eyes glowing a bright deep yellow. Brent didn’t move. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her either. Not even when she rose inches off of the ground and floated closer to the leader, who was busy trying to announce a spell that would either shed his skin, or at least stop it from burning so badly. She hovered next to the leader and lightly blew air towards him. Still grinding the dirt between her hands and still floating. But now, her whole body was consumed by the yellow brightness of her eyes. Brent had to squint to watch. The color was brighter than the sun, if that was even possible. He realized if he continued to look, struggling to see her behind such an illuminated shield, he’d be blind within seconds. Clearly she had drawn on deep hidden powers. He’d never in his hundreds of years roaming the Earth witnessed anything quite like this. Then it hit him. Of course! It made total sense. Now things were beginning to fit together in the puzzle. He understood the leader’s urgent need to strip her of all of her powers. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
169
Greed certainly had something to do with it. Brent realized though, once she learned the whole purpose of her powers, the leader was doomed. The missing piece. She would ultimately end his reign and he’d evaporate to nothing, not even air when she won. For she was dubbed the “golden child”, which would explain the insane, intense color oozing from every pore in her body. The golden child was the most powerful being in the universe. Nothing could strip the powers. Unless… Yes, of course. Brent remembered when he was young, learning spells in the classroom. A day did not go by without him or one of his classmates asking the instructor to tell the tale of the golden child. No matter how many times he and his classmates had heard the story, they still sat on the edge of the bench, hanging onto the instructor’s every word as the tale was woven from the beginning until the very end. It had been spun into the most out of this world, magical tale they had ever heard. Always at the end of the story, questions flooded the room. The excitement was evident in their young eager voices as they waited patiently to hear how come if the golden child was so special and powerful, did she not know? Why was it she was old and in battle before she was allowed to use what was in her soul and running through her veins? Then there was always a short period when the instructor would let the students act parts out. Like good cop verses bad, or cowboy verses Indians. For the instructor only had knowledge of the events. Unfortunately, clear pictures of faces weren’t available. The leader who the golden child would fight hundreds of years later could be one of those very students sitting in the instructor’s classroom. Or the golden child could very well be one of their sisters, girlfriends or wife even. Wow! Standing a few feet away from Brent was the legendary golden child. One who as a child he not only feared due to the unknown and www.samhainpublishing.com
170
Tia Bangs
unspoken ability of her power. But he also loved her. The beauty. The god-like, untamed raw power she possessed. The pureness of her heart which held the secrets and was the key to her whole being. Their whole being. She had finally unlocked all that was hidden deep inside. Just in time, too. For if she had not unleashed what was written thousands of years ago, fate would have told a whole other story. Part two, as he knew it to be. His instructor would always finish the days learning by telling the other side of the story. The one that no student wanted to hear. The same one that could send shivers down each of their spines. The same one that gave him nightmares all through his younger years. A story about a golden child who had been selected by birth to possess such great powers, but she was not like them. She wasn’t aware of the greatness running in her body and she lived a very hard life. She would struggle every day and sometimes she would not have enough money to take care of herself. Worse, the people she trusted while searching for a mate were living, breathing wolves in sheep clothing type of humans. Ones who not only would take advantage of love but would end up taking everything the chosen one had worked so hard to obtain. Then one day, the golden child was far below being down in the dumps. And needed to make some serious changes in her life and set out to do just that. Well, something happened out of the ordinary and the window of the powers was opened. Just enough to change life as the chosen one had known it. Trouble with this was word spread through Brent’s community and one evil man wanted those hidden powers. The only way possible was to trick one of the leader's kind into training the awakened power. Teaching her how to use the powers and then leading the chosen one to believe www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
171
that was all that was needed to control the powers. And the leader used his rank, and fear of him, any time he could. He had a hidden agenda and the chosen child was the only one who could save the humans and mankind. The chosen one had no idea, and the instructor started to realize the ultimate plan to overtake the chosen one, but was it in time to save Earth? To save all of their kind too? The memory of the instructor’s story was as fresh in Brent’s mind as the first time he had heard it in the classroom. Coming up was his favorite part of the tale. When the instructor continued, he went on to say that while in study she had found her soul mate. The “she” part had surprised him at first, and disappointed him too. He assumed the chosen one would be male, but only because all rulers on Pluto had been male. Females rarely held any seat of power, only if one in power suddenly was lost. This was temporary though, and before long another male would take her place in ruling. But the golden child was female and the more he thought about it, the more his heart swelled with pride and he would love nothing more than to know her, to see her in action, to stand up for her, to help her in any way he was able to. But he was young, and daydreaming of a goddess was not all that uncommon. Her mate would work, helping the golden child realize her powers until she was able to unleash the entire potential of her magic. Using them for the greater good of mankind. And hopefully save their kind too from all the evil the leader had bestowed upon them. But that task would not be easy because the evil one was setting a trap for the golden child. If during the war between them, she had not yet discovered and unleashed all her powers’ abilities, the leader could strip her powers and banish the teacher and the golden child forever. Separated for eternity. Their kind would also be forever locked into their www.samhainpublishing.com
172
Tia Bangs
own separate prisons of hell as they had no choice but to do the biding of the leader, no matter what he requested. The evil one would not be able to be defeated if the latter happened. He would use her power for his personal pleasure, unlocking the door to all banished evil sorcerers and uniting together to create hell on Earth. The golden child would never see the love of her life again. Human race would be forgotten. Her family and friends would never see her and all humans alive in her time would end up personal slaves to the evil dwellers on Earth. Which would also be tossed aside as a nothing planet, just like Pluto had been. The evil dwellers would control the entire population. If one disappointed the evil dwellers, all would pay the price. Maybe no sunlight for days, or raining until the ground could not possibly hold one more drop and flooding would occur. But the entire time her people would still have to work and follow through with the demands. Yeah, part two of the story was such a horrible outlook on life, he didn’t want to think how time then would be. Besides, at the age of seven, he was completely happy with believing that good won. The golden child would realize her potential and the evil one would not be able to rule the earth. He was seven, for Pete’s sake! He trusted people. Humans were his friends. His generation had mingled with, married and coupled with humans. He could not imagine the struggle living life under the evil dwellers. Humans were fairly intelligent. Surely, the golden child would access her powers before that time. Well it took thirty-nine of her years, and not a second too soon for her to unleash her powers. The same powers only whispered by elders through time for fear of cursing all things good. Brent had his eyes closed. He could still see the brightness of her being as it lightened against his lids. He could hear the leader as his www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
173
whimpers grew into painful cries of begging. Brent could only imagine what was happening to the leader that very second. He didn’t recognize the spell Melissa was chanting, but it sure as hell wasn’t a good thing for the leader. Because his cries and pleading rolled quickly into yelling and screaming, begging for her to end the torture. No matter how loud he yelled or what spell he chanted, he was at her mercy. Completely. Nothing he could conjure up would save his ass at this point. Brent wasn’t sure if he was more proud in his teaching or thankful that whatever had snapped inside her, the result was awakening the dormant power in which their lives would be saved. It was all over for the leader. It was just the matter of time. Would she toy with him? Make him beg until almost the last breath he took? Or would she hold pity on him? Not willing to compromise and stoop to his level, ending his reign of powers swiftly? It was a coin toss the way Brent saw it. It could go either way. He had to keep on listening and use that along with how well he had gotten to know her over the past week for the brightness was still evident. He still wasn’t able to open his eyes or he’d be blinded until Melissa could heal him. How fucking cool was this? He actually trained the golden child and hadn’t realized it up until yesterday. That wasn’t the honest truth. He wasn’t positive she was the golden child until the last minute. But he did know she possessed powers the leader wanted. When he thought long and hard, it briefly brushed his thoughts but then they would be dismissed. Surely there would be a sign she was actually living and breathing, as the most powerful goddess ever created through all time. He made love to the most powerful woman in all history! He had the best sex of his life with…holy shit! He was in love with the one. And she www.samhainpublishing.com
174
Tia Bangs
must love him, too. After all, she was fighting this battle to save all of them. To save him. To help right many wrongs. To change the way rules had been etched in stone. To try to erase and make up for so many things that should not have ever happened in time. And lastly, to have the leader face the music. This was the leader’s judgment day. And she was the judge. Before Brent could chew on these thoughts, the warm bright glow vanished and his lids were dark in color once more. Normal, like they should be when eyes were closed. He kept his eyes shut for a minute longer and listened to the noise around him. Funny. No noise. Nothing. It was as if the silence was deafening to him. There had to be something that was making noise. They were in the aftermath of the greatest battle in generations. He thought there would be plenty to interrupt the silence. Glass shattering, sirens going off. Rocks falling from off of the top of rubble. Even dogs barking or birds singing again. But still nothing. Had he gone deaf? He slowly lifted his lids, peeking out through slit eyelids before opening them fully. His eyes were sharp and assessing at first before they gleamed like glassy volcanic rock. Proud of all he was seeing. While he had his eyes closed, Melissa had not only taken care of the leader, but she had already administered damage control. He looked to his right and then to his left, and everything was as normal as it would be on any given day of the week. He turned around slowly and glanced over her home. It was perfect. Not even a blade of grass was crooked. She had everything in control. It was as if nothing had happened. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
175
His smile was wide. His teeth strikingly white against his tanned face. She noticed small touches of amazement and humor around the mouth and near the eyes. God, she was so glad this was over. Most important, she was alive. She has saved her family and she saved Brent from being sent through time again. It was over. Her power kicked in and she beat him. She actually won the battle against the beast. Never mind that. Those lips needed to be kissed! With that decision, she walked up to the comfort of his welcoming arms, leaned in and kissed him. His lips brushed against hers as he spoke but she quieted him. She wasn’t finished kissing him yet! Returning her lips to his, the kiss sang through her veins. His tongue explored her mouth and she met and matched his demand. Enjoying every second of it, too. They had to stop before she totally lost all control of herself and ripped his clothes off of him. Need she be reminded they were still standing in her front yard, in the middle of the afternoon, where neighbors and passersby could witness the closeness they were sharing? “We should go in. Don’t want the neighbors to get the wrong idea.” “Good idea.” She looped her arm through his and they walked up her sidewalk and into the house where they could enjoy being together in the privacy of her home. Actually it just dawned on them—Liz was still there. Enjoying alone time and picking up where they left off in the yard minutes earlier would have to wait until later. They walked into the kitchen followed by Liz, who recapped every single detail for Brent. She was able to watch from the safety of one of the kid’s rooms upstairs. She made all of them a cup of coffee while she retold her favorite parts of the battle.
www.samhainpublishing.com
176
Tia Bangs
They finished their coffee and the adrenaline had left their bodies and Brent and Melissa had calmed from the intense situation. “Melissa, can I ask you a question?” he asked before Liz got her second wind and retold the story for a third time. “Anything.” “Where did you send, or what did you do with the leader?” “He’s in a safe place. Completely harmless. Let’s just say he’s hanging around.” “Hanging around?” Liz asked, pure delight tainting her words. “Yeah. I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do with him. A safe place so he could be watched was a given. I didn’t have it in me to kill him. Banishing him to a secluded town was just as cruel. So I thought about a middle ground. I whipped up a vial and stuck him in it. Securing it with a cap that will never come off.” She stopped for a second and reached her hand down the front of her blouse and pulled on the chain around her neck. “What better way to keep an eye on him than to have him on a necklace? This way he will be able to watch the world go by, but never be able to get out. Tit for tat!” Liz laughed and touched the colorfully decorated vial. “He’s in there?” Surely amazed that a man was actually inside such a small tiny instrument. “Yup, he’s quite comfortable. He has everything he needs to survive.” Over the next half an hour they wondered what the leader might be doing, until they looked up to the window after hearing a car pull into the driveway. Seconds later, Ashley and Christopher came barging through the front door. Judging from the thumps mixing with the sounds of their steps, they must have dropped their suitcases just inside the door before they began searching for their mother. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
177
“Mom! Mom!” Ashley shouted and then stopped dead in her tracks, Christopher bumped into her back, pushing her further into the kitchen. “What the heck, Ash, why’d you stop?” he asked and stepped out from behind her. “Oh.” “Ashley, Christopher! You almost tripped us by leaving your bags in the doorway. Oh. Hello,” Melissa’s mother said when she noticed her daughter had company. “Ashley, Christopher, Mom, Dad, this is Brent. We’ve been dating for a little over a week. Brent, this is my daughter Ashley, she’s eighteen. My son Christopher, he’s fifteen. My mother, Mrs. Roberta Lawson. Her husband, my father, Mr. Dixon Lawson.” She introduced everyone in one quick sweep of the room from who was standing closest to her, to the farthest away. “Nice to meet you all,” Brent said and shook hands with her parents and her children, too. “Anyone up for coffee?” Liz asked, ending the long pause as Melissa’s family obviously were checking Brent out and getting used to Melissa having a man in her life. Melissa decided she would tell her family about her powers, but now was not the time or place. Let everyone feel comfortable with sharing their lives with Brent first, before she totally uprooted them and threw her powers at them. Yeah, she would tell them, but in her own time. When she was ready and thought they were able to handle and accept it. Right now, she was enjoying her time with her family. Had her children grown in the two weeks they were gone? Boy, it sure did appear that way to her. But she supposed it could be because she hasn’t seen them in fourteen days. “Mom.” “Yes, Ashley.” “I guess this break was good for all of us.” www.samhainpublishing.com
178
Tia Bangs
“How do you mean?” “Well, you started dating again, which I’ve gotta say is about time. With all due respect, Mom, you needed to go out and see the world a little. Meet someone nice and looks like you have. I’m happy for you.” She wasn’t sure what exactly that meant, but somewhere in there was a compliment though. “Thank you.” “So here’s the thing.” Uh oh, here it comes. ‘So here’s the thing’ was Ashley’s way of putting something pretty serous on the table. Prepare. Lord only knows where this is going to lead. “What my granddaughter is trying to tell you, dear, is she met someone.” “What? She did?” Melissa glanced at her mother and then at Ashley. “You did?” “She did. It was absolutely adorable. Dixon, do you remember how we used to be that way?” Both Ashley and Melissa rolled their eyes. The “how they met” story was sure to follow unless someone headed them off at the pass. “Grandma,” Ashley groaned. “So, tell me about him.” Melissa took the opportunity to distract her parents from their story. “Mom, his name is Lucas.” “Lucas. Does Lucas have a last name?” “Of course he does,” Ashley dryly answered and everyone grew quiet. All eyes were on her as the first love excitement hung heavy in the air surrounding the table. Even Christopher was paying attention—usually when it came to a boy his sister liked he ran in the other room. Most likely because the boy went to their school and he would be running into him often. www.samhainpublishing.com
39 & Holding
179
Sometimes he didn’t like the boy she had a crush on which proved to be challenging. But this new boy lived in Florida so Christopher wouldn’t be bumping into him anytime soon. “Are you listening, Mom?” Busted. “Yes, honey. Let me get used to you having a boyfriend for a second.” “He’s not like any boy, Mom. He’s handsome and very polite, generous and has a great sense of humor.” She continued. Handsome? Polite? Oh, God! This was serious. Lucas was Ashley’s first real crush on a man. The boys she’d dated, she used to call them immature pigs when they burped or farted. What happened to her little girl? Where had she gone? “I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet him, honey. Maybe sometime we’ll go so I can meet the man who stole your heart.” She smiled at her daughter, knowing exactly how she was feeling. Love. Love was the ultimate experience anyone could endure. “Really? That would be so cool, Mom. We did so much together. Grandma and Grandpa love him, don’t you?” They looked at her and nodded. “He was very polite, dear. He’s in college. Has his head on straight and he just adores her.” “We’ll have to plan a trip soon.” Even though her little girl was all grown up, Melissa was ultimately sad she didn’t have the chance to meet Lucas. That was right up there at the top of the list for a mother. Like a first word, first step taken and so forth. “I’m sorry, too, Mom. I wish you could meet him. I know you’d love him, too.” A strong bright light illuminated the entire kitchen. Bright enough, everyone was forced to close his or her eyes or be permanently blinded. “Mom, what just happened?” Christopher asked. www.samhainpublishing.com
180
Tia Bangs
“Melissa?” Her parents’ confused glances shot her way. “Holy shit, Mel.” Liz blurted out. “Brent?” Melissa asked. “Must run in the family. I think you’ll have to tell them now. Honey, this you can’t ignore or put off till later.” Brent whispered in her ear as he reached out and waved his hand over the land. Melissa had no choice but to explain how come they were all standing on a beach in Florida, facing the ocean, as the sun was beginning to set for the evening. And she knew without a shadow of a doubt, that the young man who was approaching them was Lucas.
www.samhainpublishing.com
About the Author To learn more about Tia Bangs, please visit www.tiabangs.com. Send an email to Tia at
[email protected] or join her Yahoo! group to join in the
fun
with
other
readers
as
well
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TiaBangs/join.
as
Tia
Bangs!
Look for these titles by Tia Bangs Coming Soon: Desperately Seeking Megan Her Alibi Was…a Dog! Undercover Mayhem
He thought his heart was broken…until her music healed his soul.
Midnight Sonata © 2006 Dee Tenorio
CEO Skylar Remington's heart is broken. Literally. The discovery of a potentially fatal condition has run him to ground. Avoiding the press and family concern, he goes into hiding to prepare for surgery in suburban California, where he meets a precocious young boy and his mother, a woman whose music and life make him wish his heart was whole. Widow Evie Parker has heart problems of her own. Her eleven-yearold son is in desperate need of a father figure, her mother-in-law is after her to remarry and her unwise heart races every time she sees the new neighbor. But the past she thought left behind is reaching out to find her, threatening the peace she’s worked so hard to create. Will falling in love with the man next-door mean finally having her happily ever after…or will he show her the true meaning of heartbreak? Enjoy the following excerpt for Midnight Sonata: Getting Sky to talk to her had taken all but the jaws of life. When he did speak, she found far more questions and a burning intensity inside him, threatening her for coming too close. Again, not anger, just…power. That was it. As if behind his reticence there was a kind of will and strength she’d never encountered before. He seemed to think she’d be afraid of it. Any woman who’d been told she was using her husband’s memory as a crutch would be insulted—and she was—but it didn’t affect her feelings. No matter what she thought, she couldn’t help being attracted.
Not that she’d ever get the chance to act on it. Evie rubbed her eyes, tired of going over it all in her mind. So far, she’d looked at this same sheet of music for twenty minutes and hadn’t made so much as a single note in her mind about it. It could have been a religious leaflet and she wouldn’t have known the difference. The only thing in her mind was Sky and the state of confusion he’d left her in. Men just didn’t make any sense. Period. Andrew was part of her life. Sky didn’t appear to begrudge her AJ. If she knew he was still up, she’d head over there and demand some answers out of him. She looked out the side window into his dark house beyond. Despite the glow from her own lamps—or maybe because of them—she could make out a figure standing behind the glass. A lonely, distant form…and a pair of lost eyes called to her. Her heart began beating wildly, willing him to come closer, to let her see him completely. He remained where he was, frozen in place. Waiting. The choice was hers. Going to him was going to mean a lot more than two more awkward dates for Lily’s baby’s sake. If she went to him now, Sky Remington was going to get inside her heart; a heart he might reject, he might trample. The wind whistled between their houses, a keening sound she’d never put much stock into before. It mourned. It called. Now or never. Never again. She put the music down, watching for some sort of response from him. The pages slipped from her fingers, scattering to the ground below, but still she didn’t move and neither did he. He’s going to change everything, her heart cried out, unsure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but for the first time since she opened her door to find two police officers standing on the other side, Evie Parker wanted change.
She turned on her heel and headed for the door. The wind licked at her as soon as it opened, pulling with warm currents. Her hair flew around her face while she pulled the door shut and ran across the porch. The distance between their homes had never felt longer, but she made each step faster than the last. Just as she raised her hand to pound on the door, it opened. He stood there, forbidding, brilliant eyes hooded and flashing. His mouth remained grim, shoulders squared to the threshold, telling her with no compunction that he wasn’t letting her inside. Ever. The wind began slashing behind her, making her feel as if she’d stepped into a tornado. She could barely hear her own voice above the wail and roar, above her speeding heartbeat. Her very air felt stolen by the growling winds. “You have no right to say Andrew shouldn’t matter to me!” He nodded, dipping his chin incrementally to acknowledge her anger if not her bald statement. “I loved him!” The next nod was slower to come and far shorter. “He gave me AJ, dammit. He saved me when I had nothing and no one else. I can’t forget him just because you want me to.” Andrew’s place in her life deserved respect. “I didn’t ask you to forget him!” He finally deigned to snap back at her. Rather than recoil, she found herself growing angry again. How conflicting did he have to be? “So what are you asking me, Sky? What do you want me to do?” “I’m not asking for anything!” “The hell you’re not, but you won’t tell me what. You talk to me but you never say anything. You look at me with those eyes like you own me
but you won’t touch me. You want something, damn you!” She shoved at his middle, not even moving him, but pushing all the same. “Just tell me what you want from me!” “Everything!” he yelled, grabbing her wrists and holding her arms apart, shaking them even as he shook. “I want everything I have no right to ask for. I want you, Evie. I want your smile and your taste and your body and your heart and your soul. I want to be inside you so damn deep you’ll never remember what it was like to have anyone else there. I want to be the one you think of and the one you ache for. I want to be the only one. I want everything and I don’t know why. Does that satisfy you? Can you sleep now, knowing that? Because I sure as hell can’t!” He dropped her hands, heaving his breaths while hers lodged in her throat. Sky backed up a step, turning away from her to drag both hands through his hair, his voice becoming low and guttural before he leaned heavily against his foyer wall. “Run away, Evie. Get as far from me as you can.” Normally, he’d be speaking her language. But her feet wouldn’t move. Her heart raced, this time not in fear. She could hear beyond it. She could breathe. And chose, against every instinct she’d ever had, to stay. He gave her a miserable look, one as tortured as she sometimes felt. “Go, Evie.” She stayed put. He shook his head. “Why do you want to deal with me? I’m not even nice to you.” “You’re not any nicer to yourself.” His chuckle didn’t bring a smile to his face. “I know me better than you do. The truth is I don’t have a goddamned thing to offer you. Nothing that would matter to a woman like you. I’m a cold, empty, soulless monster who’s managed to suck the joy and life out of everyone and
everything I’ve ever cared about. You don’t want to know more of someone like that. You don’t want it around your son.” No, but she didn’t believe that of him, no matter what he said. “What about what you want?” His anger faded as quickly as it came. Now all he looked was weary. “I see you and your family and I want… I wish I still had something like it. I want to belong, but I don’t. I want to be part of it all again. I want to be…God, someone who deserves to be part of something like that. But I’m not and I never will be.” She watched him slide down the wall to his haunches; pained, dejected, and she ached inside. She might not understand his anger, but she knew his loneliness. It wasn’t whim, or even passion, that drove her to step over his threshold and carefully close his front door, but need; his and her own. Without the streetlights she found herself enshrouded by his world of shadows and darkness, only the faint glow from her own home to guide her. There, without the rage of the wind to bolster her courage, she trembled. Was this how AJ felt when he found those wounded animals, knowing he could help, yet afraid of the task before him? Sky was no animal, but a flesh and blood man beneath his restrained demeanor. She’d seen flashes of his fire. He could burn her if she came too close, too fast. And yet…she couldn’t turn away. Not because of him. Because of herself. She moved forward, dropping low to place both her hands on his. Even in the shadows, she could see his eyes, watching her every move, guarded. Rather than touch his face, as she wanted to do, she let her fingertips rest on his spread thighs, leaning forward slow enough that there could be no questioning what she meant to do. He kept watching her, wary eyes now little more than thin slits.
She let her lips touch his, surprised at the smooth heat of them. He didn’t stop her, so she firmed her kiss, the flesh of her bottom lip registering his first movement of response. Just a pulse of pressure, a movement of his mouth. She kissed him again, breathless when he moved his hands to her waist. One small kiss turned into another, then another, each one more complete, hungrier. His hand grasped the fabric of her shirt, pulling her closer, then taking hold of her firmly, pulling her breasts-to-chest against him as he took over the kiss. And devoured her.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd. It’s all about the story… Action/Adventure Fantasy Historical Horror Mainstream Mystery/Suspense Non-Fiction Paranormal Red Hots! Romance Science Fiction Western Young Adult http://www.samhainpublishing.com
