headed out the door. I punched in my sister’s birth date as I set the alarm system. I was running to my car now, excited to get back to some sense of normalcy. Looking around the building, I was able to find and push the button to open the garage door. The door squeaked and groaned on its way to the top of the garage. I got in my car, started the engine and quickly backed it out of the garage. I walked back through the big door, and pushed the button again so it would close. As I watched the door, come down to its resting place I made sure to reset the security system before finally starting on my way. My thoughts and concerns for Derrick had lessened. I was sure he would be fine now that his brothers had rescued him. However, I still felt an agitation in the pit of my stomach that I wouldn’t understand until much later.
I made my way down the driveway, to the closed gate at the end. I drove closer to the key pad, and stared at the numbers in silence. I didn’t know this code. I quieted my mind for a minute, and tried punching in my sister’s birth date. The gate made a creaking sound as it opened. I would have to ask Ryan later why he used those exact numbers so repeatedly. I headed north on the highway. According to my calculations, it should take me about 70 minutes if I followed the speed limit.
The highway had both spruce and pine trees on each side of the road. There wasn’t much to look at so I would have to amuse myself with my thoughts. I was annoyed that Derrick had suggested I go home. Every time I thought we had made a connection he would say, or do something that would make me doubt it. He seemed like he was in a hurry to get rid of me.
Halfway back to town, I realized that I had forgotten my diamonds and Turad. I would work this shift tonight, then drive back tomorrow for my things. My mind shifted back for a few minutes to Derrick. I was wondering how he was doing and if he could breathe properly with all the bruises that he must have. Hopefully, he hadn’t broken anything. The feeling hit me immediately. I could now breathe, the weight on my chest the last time I had thought of him was gone.
The impression I was now receiving was a feeling of irritation. It seemed quite unbelievable that when I thought of someone I could pick up on their emotional state almost instantly. I had an intense knot in my stomach. I wondered if Derrick realized I had left Ryan’s place and he was feeling irritated with that fact that I left. He was such a walking contradiction!
I couldn’t tell if what I felt was mine or his, but the agitation was clearly present. Why would I feel like vomiting, I realized that I hadn’t eaten anything in the last few days, since I lost my Turad. In all the hustle and bustle of activity and stress, I had neglected food. I guess all the adrenaline that was racing through my body delayed the hunger signal until now. I searched around my glove box to see if there was something to eat. I found a package of power bars that I kept in case I needed something quick. I ripped open the package and bit in to it. I couldn’t believe that I had ignored the most basic need of my body.
Suckered In
After finishing my first bar, the hunger was temporarily satisfied, but the tight knot stayed. I remembered the finger breath thing that Ryan had showed me and I decided it was a good time to try it. Holding the wheel with my knee, and placing my fingers in a circle like before, I took a huge cleansing breath. I forced the air out of my diaphragm, and then let my fingers go. My body felt relaxed and lighter.
I thought about work, realizing I had fallen into Ross’s drama and owned it. When I thought about work again, I didn’t want to go in at all. He must have been handling things fine until he found out I was not in Florida. When I called him, I sensed his emotional stress, and felt obligated to make things better. He played on my emotions and I had allowed it…again.
Shit, that is exactly what I did. I spoke to him -- then owned his emotional crap. I would work tonight, and then I would go back to Ryan’s and decide what to do next, from there. I smiled; Derrick must be thinking about me because I could feel frustration that I knew was not mine when I thought of him. Some things never changed I thought as I snickered to myself. I pulled into the city and headed for work. I was pulling in behind the coffee shop when my blackberry rang. The caller ID said it was Megan. I answered it on the fourth ring.
“Hello.”
“Jordan, thank God, you answered. I’ve been worried sick, about you.”
“Why?” I asked. “You knew I was on holiday.”
“I had a terrible dream about you, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was happening. Mom told me you didn’t go to Florida this time.”
“Megan, I’m at work now. Can I call you later?”
“What time are you finished?” she asked.
“About ten.”
“Can I come and talk to you after work?” she asked.
“If you want, but can't it wait until morning, I feel really tired this afternoon.”
“No, I need to talk to you about my dream - the sooner the better,” she said.
“Why don’t you come by work at nine-thirty; you can help me clean up.” I thought to myself that if it were not important, that little comment would change her mind. I didn’t think I had the patience to deal with her lectures tonight.
“Fine, I’ll be there at nine-thirty to help you,” she said. “I love you Jordan.”
“I love you too, Megan.” That was strange; my sister had never said those words to me before. This resonated with everything else I had gone through lately. I had stepped into the twilight zone. Almost anything seemed possible at this point.
“See you later,” she said.
"Bye," I said as I headed inside the shop to find two employees waiting for me at the door. Their faces seemed happy to see me. Kathy was the first to speak.
“Oh, thank God you’re here, I need to leave early tonight to go to baseball.”
“I thought the coffee shop was short staffed,” I remarked.
“It is, but I know you’ll understand. It really isn’t that busy this afternoon anyway.”
“Did you ask, Ross?” I asked
“Yes, he said it was your call, because he has to leave soon to go on a date.”
I was instantly pissed off, feeling totally suckered in. This would be the last time I would go out of my way because I felt obligated. I was both exhausted and annoyed. I just wanted to relax, and go home, but no, I had to fill in so everyone else could have a life.
“I’ll have to see,” I replied to her.
The lineup at the till started about ten minutes later.
Ross came over and whispered, “Could you wash the front window before you go home?” he asked.
I felt angry; I had a lineup of people reaching past the door, and he didn’t even thank me for coming in. I decided to give my notice. I would enjoy giving him my resignation. It would be on his desk tonight, before I left and I would continue my holiday. I couldn’t go back to the way things were. I had changed - both inside and out.
As I was serving other customers, a gentleman in the middle of the line caught my attention. He seemed agitated while waiting until I took his order. He wanted a coffee with milk, not cream. Gerry filled his order; but must not have been paying attention, for he gave him a coffee with cream. The man started yelling and screaming, so of course being manager on duty I had to handle it. I apologized for the mix up and offered him another coffee free of charge. He didn’t listen and just continued to yell profanities. I tried to calm him but he stormed out in anger.
I instantly saw a vision of the man having a conversation with his girlfriend this morning. She was breaking up with him. Later, the same day, I could see his boss telling him he needed to find another job. He had lost another big account recently because of a lack of concentration. He was on his way here to get a coffee when he got a flat tire. I could understand that the man had a miserable day and wanted a simple cup of coffee to cheer him up. Because of what he had experienced earlier, the coffee screw up was just the last straw on the camel’s back. We became the focal point for his frustration. He was a volcano ready to blow; eventually it would
have happened. This was the moment, I realized that people sometimes use other situations to direct hostility, and remove it from their energy.
When the vision stopped, I felt sorry for the man. He started out having a terrible day and because of the mood he was in, kept creating the same energy that followed him around. Misery does love company. I realized if he had taken the time to clear his energy off after the breakup, his day would have ended very differently.
When the line was finally gone, it was nine o’clock. My sister was coming soon to help, so I told Kathy she could go. It seemed quieter outside than usual. I decided it was a good time to write and place my resignation on Ross’s desk. That being done, I followed through with my chores for the night. Exactly at 9:25, I watched my sister walk in the door. She was never early unless it was related to work. She was always late personally. She ran over to me, and gave me a warm-hearted hug. When she pulled away, I noticed the tears in her eyes.
“What’s wrong, is it mom or dad?”
“No, I had the most terrible dream, and I needed to make sure you are alright,” she replied.
“I’m fine. It was just a bad dream,” I said.
“Can we sit down?” she asked.
I looked around the store; it was dead. Gerry was in the back cleaning, so I thought what are they going to do-fire me? I was quitting anyway. I walked over to a window seat with her, and we sat down.
“Talk to me,” I said.
“A few nights after you left, I had a horrible dream. It was as if you were in some sort of cave and it was filling with water. I could see the air bubbles disappear and you were holding your breath. I was positive you had drowned; it seemed so real. I am really sorry about all the hurtful things that I said at our last meeting.”
Shocked, I could barely form any words. My sister had just had a vision! Her quest was about to begin.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“It all happened just as you saw it. I was trapped and couldn’t breathe. If the dream had continued, you would have seen that I escaped through a drain in the floor. You, my dear, have had a vision. I will explain to you what you should expect next, so you won’t be overwhelmed like I was.”
My first impulse was to tell her everything about the journey I had just experienced. Her face went pale, and she started crying. I moved closer to comfort her, when I heard the front door chime, telling me we were not alone any more. My back was to the door so I spoke over my shoulder.
“I’ll be right with you.”
“It’s no hurry, I can wait for you,” said a familiar male voice.
My face went pale, and I could feel the muffin I had consumed an hour earlier, rolling in my stomach. This was the feeling I had had all night, but could not put my finger on it. I understood now what my body was trying to tell me, something was wrong. This is what I was feeling when I would focus on Derrick’s energy, he knew. Frank had found me, which meant he had the book. I turned around to try to shield my sister from his eyes.
“What do you want, and how did you find me?” I asked.
“You know what I want? I need the use of your gifts because I’ve found the book. We already discussed how I could find you. I thought it was ingenious of me to use off-cast with your boss and get you to come in. I could not find you because the spell placed on the location where you were staying was very ingenious and unbreakable. The man you were staying with had his property well protected.”
Of course, they protected it well, I thought, and like an idiot, I had walked unwittingly into Frank’s hands without giving it any mind.
“I thought you lost all your powers,” I said.
“I still have a few, but most of the spectacular ones I still can’t use. The Black Book, to my
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