by Meg Ripley
Cameron leaned against the sink once again, gripping it so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He was going to have to find some time to shift soon to relieve some of this tension. It wouldn’t fix everything, but it would help. “So what? Anyone could fit that bill.”
“Who do you think you’re kidding, dude? I’ve known you for a long time. You’re completely smitten.”
“She’s my employee,” Cameron growled.
“And? You think this is the first time someone fell for the help? Maybe you should start watching your own movies.” Blane’s smirk was beyond annoying, but mostly because he was right.
“I just can’t do it. What about Tess?”
Stepping forward, Blane set his hand firmly on Cameron’s shoulder. “It’s admirable that you were so in love with her. But you can’t mourn her forever. I didn’t know her as well as I know you, but I’m pretty sure she’d want you to be happy.”
The joy and excitement of the night had faded completely. Cameron had a new trophy to put on his shelf, and a beautiful date to spend the evening with, but the only thing he wanted to do now was go home, crawl into bed, and forget that any of it had ever happened. “I don’t have any way of knowing that.”
“She didn’t mention it before she passed?” Blane asked gently.
She had, but Cameron didn’t like to think about it. It was easier to deny the words of truth she’d tried so hard to speak to him while she was ill. Tess had sat right there in their living room and told him to move on with his life, to be happy, to make sure Andy was happy. He’d cut her off, refusing to hear her talk like that, but of course Tess wanted to prepare for the future, even if it was a future she wasn’t destined to be a part of. “Maybe, but that doesn’t make it any easier.”
“I’m sure that’s true, and I can’t say that I’d want to be in your shoes. I can’t even imagine what it would be like for me if something happened to Courtney. But I do know you have an incredible woman out there who’s probably wondering where the hell you’ve gone and what she’s supposed to do with herself. Either that, or she’s cozying up to Rob Lowe in your absence and is getting ready to run away with him.”
“Very funny.” Blane was just joking, but the idea was enough to make Cameron straighten up again. He didn’t have any claim to Samantha, but he didn’t like the thought of another man moving in on her.
“I’m just kidding,” Blane admitted. “I introduced her to Courtney before I came in here. They’re probably talking about all sorts of girly stuff. But I suppose if Rob Lowe happens to come by, well then…”
“All right, all right. I guess even if I’m not sure what I want to do about my feelings for Samantha, I can still be a good date.” He adjusted his tie and straightened his tux jacket, taking a deep breath as he tried to convince himself this was going to be okay.
“Atta boy.” His friend patted him on the shoulder once more and smiled into the mirror. “It’s a start, anyway. And congratulations, by the way. You deserved that Oscar.”
Cameron headed for the door, turning on his heel to look at his friend. “I’ve earned one for producing, now let’s see if I can earn one for acting.”
Chapter Eight
“Not again.”
Samantha’s thoughts echoed in her mind, but she couldn’t say them out loud. It was like her body wasn’t her own anymore. She’d been able to control some of what she did in these visions, and at least she was no longer a part of the fighting, but she was still caught up in the battle. The army extended out on all sides of her, shields and helmets and swords as far as the eye could see. Samantha could no longer tell who was fighting on what side, and she had to wonder if that mattered. The fighting raged, the clashing of spears and swords thundering in her ears.
The one thing she felt she could be grateful for was that she was on her horse again. It wasn’t really hers, but she’d come to think of it as such. It was like an island in an ocean of chaos, and even though the horse didn’t quite keep her safe, riding on its back was much better than being down on the ground.
Samantha turned around, looking for the shadow creature, even though she didn’t truly want to find him. It was more of a sense of curiosity. Maybe if she figured out who this creature was, she could also figure out why he kept bringing her back there.
He was there behind the saddle, just as she knew he would be, but she couldn’t see his face. Nothing but a blurry shadow, and yet he had this much power over her. The skin on her back jerked and twitched, her body’s way of trying to get away from him. But Samantha knew she was trapped.
An outcry rose in the distance. Samantha turned her head, but the cold fingers of the shadow turned her face away. His touch startled and disgusted her. She didn’t want him anywhere near her, but she knew she couldn’t get away. Gritting her teeth, Samantha put up her hand and shoved his arm away so she could look.
Someone was making their way through the crowd. Samantha couldn’t see who it was at first, but the rest of the crowd was having a reaction to this presence. They lowered their swords and stepped back, opening a bloody path.
The feet of the newcomer’s mount squished into the stained and trampled grass as it approached. Samantha drew in a breath as she studied the beast of burden, which was far different from her horse. With the shaggy body of a large wolf, it held its antlered head high as it strode toward Samantha. Its sleek face held bright blue eyes with a spark in them that suggested self-awareness. It wore no bridle, marching proudly along on its own volition.
Finally bringing her gaze back up to its riders, Samantha was startled to see the graceful woman who sat astride the deer-wolf hybrid. Her dark auburn hair tumbled down past her shoulders, and she kept her deep brown eyes focused directly on Samantha. Her skin was pure white, and she wore a gauzy red dress that spread out around her on the fur of the animal she rode.
The shadow was growing extremely agitated. It gave a strangling hiss in Samantha’s ear and tried to turn her away from the stranger once again. Samantha shoved her elbow backwards. She didn’t know if this thing was anything like a human, but it was worth trying. He gave an agitated cry, but the movement didn’t really deter him. Instead, he reached forward and grabbed the right rein of Samantha’s horse, yanking hard to turn it away from what was happening.
The horse rolled its eyes, pulling back against the bit as it tried bringing its dark gray face back around to see what was happening. It couldn’t have gone anywhere anyway, since the soldiers were packed in on all sides.
The elegant woman was now about ten feet away and her mount came to a halt. The fighting had stopped completely now, and every soldier had turned to stare. Even the shadow had locked his gaze on the woman, and Samantha could sense the fear that arose like a foul stench from his ashy gray skin.
With a small, knowing smile, the woman opened her mouth to speak. Samantha leaned slightly off the left side of her horse, still afraid of being on the ground, but desperate to hear what she had to say.
All hell broke loose. The shadow creature stood up on the horse’s rump and screamed, and it rallied the soldiers. They hefted their weapons as they echoed his call, turning to anyone who was in arm’s length and resumed fighting once again. The pathway that had been open between Samantha and the woman closed instantly as it filled with warring troops.
The woman’s lips were moving, and Samantha knew she was speaking directly to her. It was impossible to hear above the din, but Samantha was desperate for whatever information she could get. She gathered the reins in her own hands and tried to guide her horse toward the deer-wolf. While her mount seemed to want to go in that direction earlier, the resumed war had changed its mind. It hopped and leapt underneath her. The shadow clapped and screeched, encouraging the antics. In one final movement of desperation, the steed thrust its head down between its front legs and launched its back end into the air.
Samantha awoke, her breathing heavy and her hands clutching the blankets around her. Tears had leaked down onto her cheeks
and dampened her pillow and sweat soaked the sheets. She tried to pull in a deep breath, but her body was shaking so badly, it was barely more than a gasp.
Looking at the clock, Samantha shoved herself out of bed. Her alarm wouldn’t go off for another twenty minutes, but that wasn’t enough time to try to get back to sleep. It wouldn’t be worth it anyway if she was going to be launched back into that same vision. It was better to just get up and focus on the real world.
But the real world was growing harder by the day. Samantha dragged herself across the room and into the bathroom for a shower, but her body was exhausted. She hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in at least a week. Neither aromatherapy nor meditation helped, and she’d even resorted to trying a glass of warm milk. Whatever this spirit wanted from her, it was relentless.
Her shower did nothing to wake her up, and Samantha slumped downstairs to get breakfast started before Andy got up. She nearly burned his toast when she dozed as she leaned against the edge of the counter. Her hands were weak, and the carton of milk felt far too heavy. This was getting bad. Somehow, she managed to get through the morning, making sure Andy was dressed, fed, and ready for the day.
Cameron strolled through the kitchen long enough to grab a muffin on his way out the door, and Samantha was glad they didn’t have a chance to talk. She didn’t want him to see just how miserable she was. Their night at the Oscars had been magical. Never having been to such an exclusive event, she hadn’t been sure what to expect. But it was just a lavish, fantastic party, and Samantha had to admit it was a lot of fun to meet so many big names in the entertainment industry.
The best part was being with Cameron. He was such a polite and courteous date, and she knew something was sparking between them. She didn’t dare to call it a flame yet, but Samantha knew it had the potential to build into a blazing fire. Cameron sensed it, too; she could tell. That soft, burning look in his eyes had been unmistakable. But by the end of the night, he’d pulled back to a polite distance, and Samantha knew it was for the best. He was her boss, and there were too many complications.
Still, it was hard not to think of what could have been their first kiss. It’d been so close to happening, and there was nothing in that moment that Samantha wanted more. Her stomach clenched every time she so much as thought about it, and that only made it more difficult to be around Cameron day in and day out. If he was avoiding her, then that was best for both of them.
“Can we go to de p-pawk today?” Andy asked enthusiastically when he’d returned downstairs after brushing his teeth.
“There’s a chance of rain. I’m not sure it’s a good idea.” It was true, but Samantha was grateful for a good excuse. She didn’t want to tell Andy that she just didn’t have the energy.
“Aw, okay. Wet’s pway a b-boawd game!”
Samantha pulled in a deep breath. She’d run along after Andy ever since she’d started. She enjoyed playing with him and teaching him, but she needed a day that didn’t require much thinking or physical movement. “Maybe later. I was thinking it would be fun to give ourselves a break and watch a little TV.” She finished washing his orange juice glass and set it in the rack to dry.
The boy frowned. “Dat sounds bowing.”
“It won’t be so boring. I think Fraggle Rock is on. You like that one.” Truth be told, Samantha didn’t really mind the cute little puppets herself.
His frown deepened as he turned those big brown eyes on her. “Don’t you w-w-wike pwaying wit m-me anymowe?”
Guilt squeezed at her heart, and she knelt in front of Andy. “Of course I do, sweetheart. I just don’t have a lot of energy, today.” She could easily have gone upstairs and headed back to bed, and she didn’t usually like to nap during the day.
“Awe you s-s-sick?” He pressed his cool little hand against her forehead. “Wewda was sick once, and I took cawe of her.”
“That’s very sweet of you, but I’m not sick.” At least, not really. Her body was just exhausted, but Samantha wasn’t sure what was going on with her mind. “Let’s just go see what we can find on TV for now, and then we can figure out what we’ll do after that.”
The idea was good enough for Andy, and he followed her into the living room. He curled up next to Samantha as she picked up the remote to find something to watch, laying his fringe of brown hair on her leg and snuggling close.
Samantha smiled sleepily, comforted by the warm weight of him. He was such a sweet boy, and a little time for them to just relax wouldn’t hurt either of them. She stroked her fingers through his hair as she tipped her head back and closed her eyes, feeling more relaxed than she had in several days…
Her eyes flew open knowing something was wrong. Samantha blinked, wondering for a moment why she’d slept in the living room and how long she’d been there. The TV had changed over to a kids’ movie she didn’t recognize, and Andy was gone. Samantha clicked off the television and looked around. “Andy?”
There was no answer, but an odd smell hung in the air. Her heart pounded as she inhaled deeply, hoping she wasn’t right, but it was definitely smoke. “Andy! Where are you?” Samantha was on her feet, charging through the house.
It didn’t take long the find the source of the smoke, considering that it crept in wisps along the ceiling. Samantha traced these down the hallway and around the corner to the kitchen, where she was afraid to open the door.
Andy stood in the middle of the kitchen—or at least Samantha assumed it was Andy. What she was actually looking at was a small dragon, snorting as he stomped the black crumbs under his feet. Every couple of seconds, a small stream of fire shot out one nostril. The smoke was much thicker in here, but it was obvious after one quick look that there were no active flames other than the ones coming from his dragon.
“Andy! What on earth is going on in here?” Samantha curled her fists at her sides, not even sure where to begin. The one thing she did know was that she was more awake than she’d been in a week.
He ceased his stomping to look up at her. A startled dragon might have been amusing if it weren’t for the situation, his mouth slack and his eyes wide. “I was h-h-hungwy, and you weh asweep.”
“You could have woken me up!” Samantha waved her hands in front of her face as she approached him, grimacing at all the smoke. “And you could have burned the house down!”
Andy slowly melted back down into his human form. His wings tucked into his back, and his head rolled uncannily as his neck shortened and straightened. It wasn’t long before the sulking face focused on her was incredibly human.
Just when she thought things couldn’t get worse, the door to the garage opened and Cameron stepped through. After one look at the kitchen, he dropped his briefcase and shot forward to his son and nanny. “What’s going on? Is everyone okay?”
Samantha pressed her lips together. “Everyone’s fine, but I’m still trying to figure out what happened. Andy was just about to tell me.”
Cameron turned to his son expectantly.
The waterworks began instantly, tears gushing down his cheeks. “I w-was h-hungwy, and Ms. P-P-Pawkah was asweep. I tawt I c-could make de t-t-toast mysewf, but aw it did was b-b-b…” He kept trying with the last word, but he couldn’t seem to get it out.
“I think we understand,” Cameron said gruffly, cutting him off. “Go up to your room and get cleaned up.” He waited until his son left before he began opening windows.
Samantha helped him, opening the wide patio doors. “I can’t believe he did this. He doesn’t ever act up—”
Cameron yanked up the sash and turned to her with angry eyes. “What I can’t believe is that you let this happen! He shouldn’t have shifted and he shouldn’t have tried to cook on his own, but where the hell were you? He says you were asleep?” He held his hands in the air helplessly, like he didn’t know what to do with them.
His words hit her like a blow, and she took a step backwards. “It’s not what it sounds like. We were watching TV, and I dozed off. I just woke up to all this
.”
“You both could’ve been killed.” He marched across the kitchen toward her, a look on his face like she’d never seen before. “I trusted you, Samantha.”
“It wasn’t on purpose!” She took a slight step backwards, suddenly unsure of him. “It’s not like I was upstairs in my bed. I just happened to doze off on the couch!”
“In the middle of the morning?”
Tears of anger and frustration burned at the backs of her eyes, and Samantha knew it was mostly from being so tired. She just couldn’t be calm about this right now. “Yes! I haven’t been sleeping for shit, and I fell asleep. It’s not a crime, I didn’t mean to do it, and even if I did, I had no reason to believe Andy would do something like that. And yes, it’s the middle of the morning! You think I don’t know that?” Samantha covered her face with her hands and leaned against the table, not wanting to let him see her cry.
There was no response from him for a moment. “I came home because I forgot a few papers I needed,” he finally said quietly. Warm fingers tugged gently at her wrists as he pried her hands away from her face. “Tell me what’s going on. Why aren’t you sleeping?”
The smoke had mostly left the room now, leaving behind the scent of heavily burnt toast. Samantha lowered herself into a chair. “It’s the nightmares.”
He moved around to the other side of the table, but he didn’t sit. “If they’re that bad, then there must be something else going on.”
Her jaw tightened. “Why do you say that?”
Cameron took off his suit jacket and cast it over the back of a chair. “I’m no psychologist, Samantha, but a few bad dreams aren’t going to do this to you. Talk to me.”
The lump in her throat was so thick, she didn’t think she could speak around it. She tried to look at that as a blessing at first, because she just couldn’t tell him the truth. But his young son had just shifted into dragon form and practically set the kitchen on fire. He was no stranger to the unusual. “I’m a medium,” she finally strangled out. “Spirits have been talking to me my entire life.”