Soul's Journey

by Joanne Johnson

back in our time?” I asked.

  “He sees you with the use of his medallion, but can’t find you physically because this place is protected. Do you remember the vibration that we used to hide my parent’s castle? I have done the same thing for my home. Therefore, as long as we are here, we have no need to worry. Frank could be standing outside the gate and not see the house. Because they vibrate at a lower frequency they can’t see that which is at a higher vibration; it simply doesn’t exist for them. The only way he would be able to see us is to use his inner sight. However, he does not carry the inner peace to access that gift”.

  “Why doesn’t Frank find any of your other family members?” I asked.

  “We all chose different first and last names when we decided to live here. We made sure that if one of us were taken, the others couldn’t be tracked.”

  “Taken,” I asked. “Who would want to take you?”

  “We have a vast quantity of knowledge about druids, magic, time travel and potions, or at least access to the information. There are people like Frank that would like to exploit the power for their own personal gain. Normally, we could never use our gifts for personal gain, but we could be forced into using that power if our family or friends were used as leverage against us.”

  “That’s why they want me?” I asked. “They think I’m important to you.”

  He smiled, “If the truth be known, you’ve kind of grown on me like a wart, but I’m glad you’re here.”

  “That’s not nice,” I said. “Warts are ugly and annoying, and can be painful.”

  He had that sheepish grin again, “There is nothing ugly about you, but I believe you can hold your own with the other two traits. Things would be so much easier if you didn’t always rise to meet my challenge.”

  I tried to look serious as I spoke, “I’m sorry that I have such a difficult time controlling my reactions to you. It’s like my body has a mind of its own and my thoughts always seem to follow.”

  “You won’t have to worry about it soon enough,” he said smiling.

  I took it to mean that he would fix the situation with Frank and I could go back to my own boring life. He seemed to be waiting for a reaction. Of course, I didn’t give him one. I was too busy thinking about him looking forward to burning me off like a wart. I turned around, headed back to my room, and closed the door.

  After about an hour of fuming in my room, I was still trying to convince myself that I would also be glad to leave him and get back to my life. I headed to the kitchen door and the smell of pasta and sauce hit my nose. It smelled delicious, my mouth started to water the instant I opened the door. I entered the kitchen and noticed there were pots on the stove and dirty dishes everywhere.

  “I didn’t know you could actually cook,” I commented in surprised.

  “I love to cook; it calms my brain and relaxes me. Please take a seat at the table, lunch will be served in no time.”

  He brought a bottle of red wine to the table and placed a glass in front of me.

  I looked at the bottle of wine and said, “I’m not drinking today.”

  “Don’t you like wine with your meal?” he asked.

  “It’s nothing to do with my meal; it has more to do with my wits. I believe I need to keep them on guard when I’m in your presence.” He smiled knowingly and sat down at the table. Since we arrived here his mannerisms had confused me, they were different. He made me feel like he enjoyed my company occasionally.

  “So what’s our plan?” I asked.

  “We’re going to take a trip to Mexico.”

  "Why?"

  “I’ve done some research in the old books. According to the Atlantean texts, I need to get an ancient coffer from the Mayan ruins. I need to find a sacred object to place the amulet in to destroy its power. The box will pull out all of the powers that the amulet has given to Frank. Then I can rid us of the amulet by sending it to another dimension with the potion. Most importantly, I need to remove the powers and knowledge that Frank has gained from the amulet. According to old law, the amulet will allow the owner to absorb all the power the amulet has after one full lunar cycle. If we destroy the amulet, he will still carry its power. This is where the coffer fits in.”

  “When are we leaving? I should go home and get my passport.”

  “You don’t need a passport when you travel with me remember?” he laughed.

  “We’ll be leaving first thing this evening. I thought 7:00 p.m. would give us ample time to get in and out of the park before it opens tomorrow. If you can nap that would be good, because there’s a long night ahead of us.”

  The Guest

  As I was standing in my borrowed room, I realized that my body felt exhausted, but my mind, on the other hand, was speeding around a racetrack. I was thinking about Derrick, and wondering why he had been dropped into my life. I had finally found someone who I was extremely attracted to, only to find out that he was off limits. The sexual tension was almost unbearable when he was anywhere near my breathing space. The only way I could think of to deal with it, was to completely avoid him, but it wasn’t working so far. I felt like a top that was wound up too tightly.

  I lay down in my bed to catch a catnap. No sooner had my eyes shut when I remembered the feelings and the orgasm I had that night in my dream. I had opened Pandora’s Box, and let out years of sexual frustration, only to find no avenue for release. I was not even allowed to fantasize for fear of him banging on my door giving me that “what the hell are you doing?” look. I was getting rather tired of that look. He seemed to be giving me that look a lot over the last couple of days.

  I remembered seeing a pool outside, and decided I would go for a swim. The air was sticky and hot, so a cool swim would be welcome. I searched through the drawers until I found what I was looking for, well almost. I could not find a swimsuit, so I had to make do. I pulled out a short white tank top, and a pair of ‘Daisy Duke’ shorts. I laughed to myself; his sister must love the “Dukes of Hazards.” I have never seen so many pairs of short shorts in one place. It wasn’t even the style any more.

  After getting the garment on, I proceeded to look in the mirror and was shocked that someone would wear it. As I glanced down at my body, my breasts perked out from under my short, tight, tank shirt. It was a good thing that I didn’t have too much of a behind, because it too would be hanging out of these shorts. One last glance and I thought it was better than going naked.

  I grabbed a towel from the bathroom and headed down to the pool. I was at the edge of the pool within a few minutes, and breathed a sigh of relief. I hadn’t been spotted. He would probably accuse me of trying to arouse him in this getup. I was at the edge of the pool gazing into the clear blue water. Considering how hot it was today, the pool would feel extremely refreshing. I sat on the edge of the pool with my feet lazily resting in the water slowly splashing back and forth. The water felt wonderfully cool and relaxing, so after taking a large breath I jumped right in.

  I dove to the bottom of the pool, touched the cement and slowly made my way back to the surface. I grabbed the cement edge, before my head surfaced when I noticed a stranger standing on the ledge where I had placed my hand. He seemed to have a strange smile on his face. With a high-pitched scream, I pushed myself away from the edge and back toward the center of the pool. My heart was racing as he put his hands up in a stop motion.

  “I am so sorry. I am surprised to see you too,” he said. “Derrick never mentioned that he had a guest when he called me earlier today.” I was treading water in the middle of the pool when Derrick came running outside. He stopped running, when he saw the man and a huge smile replaced the frown.

  “Hello Ryan, I see you’ve met Jordan.”

  “Jordan, this is Ryan,” Derrick explained.

  “So this is the lady’s car you had me break into at the rest stop and drive back to my shop,” Ryan said.

  Startled, I asked, “You have my car?”

  “I am keeping it safe until you come to collect it.” He sm
iled warmly. “We thought it was better with me than sitting in the parking lot in the mountains unattended.”

  I swam to the edge of the pool and started to walk up the steps. When I reached the top step, I realized I was looking at two men who were standing with their mouths hanging open wide. I glanced down, and could see both nipples showing through the small white top. All I needed to make my ensemble complete was a pole and stilettos.

  A sudden flush crept over my face as I realized what I was wearing. Quickly, I turned around to hide my exposed breasts. My nipples were so hard I could have poked someone’s eye out. I stood with my back to the gentlemen trying to regain some composure. I kept thinking to myself, you only have one chance to make a first impression. I did not want to think of the impression I was leaving. The heat continued to cover my body and face as I used my arms to try to cover up my breasts.

  When Ryan cleared his throat and broke the silence, I gave an inner “Thank frickin Christ.” Moments like these always seem to last forever when you are embarrassed to this degree.

  “I had no idea that the scenery was so beautiful out this way, Derrick,” Ryan declared. Derrick made a snorting noise with his mouth and walked my way. When he was standing beside me, he reached out to give me the towel I had brought.

  I looked him in the eye and thanked him with a nod as I grabbed the towel. I looked into his eyes for another second and noticed that I got the “what the hell are you doing look” again. I laughed; it had been a few hours since the last look, I guess it was time for another one. When fully covered by my towel, I turned to face Ryan.

  “Sorry, I assumed I was alone.” I extended my hand for him to shake as I continued, “It is nice to meet you Ryan; I’m Jordan.” I pulled my hand back quickly as to not give him the wrong idea of how friendly I could be from my state of undress.

  “Hi Jordan,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure to see you… I mean meet you.”

  He looked at me with a cocky grin and asked, “How did you meet Derrick?”

  I smiled and said, “We ran into each other in the mountains, and since then I have been like a wart that needs to be burned off his big toe.” I knowingly winked at Derrick to see if he took the hint.

  I took a good look at Ryan. He was also handsome, and a lot more approachable than Derrick. He was the same height, but Ryan had blonde hair and blue eyes. These men made my five foot ten frame feel small. They were both taller than six foot five or six. They must have grown up in the Amazon. I smiled to myself, feeling I had made a funny. In all my coffee shop years, I had never seen two men that were more attractive. They could have had their own calendar.

  I finally said, “How do you know each other?” They both looked at each other for a long moment before Derrick said.

  “Ryan and I met in college a few years back and became great friends.” My spidey sense was tingling; I knew there was more going on that they were not sharing with me. Neither man was being forthcoming with any further information.

  “So… Ryan, you have my car.”

  He smiled and then glanced at Derrick as he replied, “I do, and I hope you’ll come for a swim in my pool when you come to retrieve it.” I smiled warmly; I knew he was trying to determine my relationship with Derrick. I snickered to myself, thinking that I would enjoy rattling Derrick’s chain a little. The look on his face hadn’t changed. It was still that “what the hell are you doing” look.

  I was in the mood for something different. I thought if I could drive Derrick crazy then maybe the chemistry with him would lessen. Maybe I needed a different focus, and Ryan would do nicely.

  I walked up to Ryan and smiled warmly as I repeated, “I look forward to it.” I looked at Derrick who was still wearing the