Prophecy

by C. Marie Bowen

  Hunter’s mouth brushed hers, the barest touch of skin against skin. His tenderness encouraged her to relax. When she did, he tugged her lower lip with his teeth, then brushed the sensitive skin with his tongue. Slowly, he deepened the kiss.

  Cat leaned into him with enthusiasm and wound her arms around his neck to pull him even closer.

  When her tongue touched his, he moaned and released her lips to trail warm, moist kisses across her earlobe and down her neck.

  She leaned her head back to allow him better access. The wind caught her chignon and pulled the pins from the bun to whip the ends of her long hair around them.

  Hunter held her along her back to her neck with one arm. His other hand slid up her side of and cupped her breast gently. “Mon beau chaton.” He exhaled and drew her close. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and tucked her head beneath his chin. They stood silent for several moments as he smoothed her hair.

  Into the silence, Hunter muttered, “Your brother is going to kill me.”

  Cat pulled her head back and considered the black center of his dark blue eyes. “Then don’t tell him. It’s my life, Mr. Hunter, not my brother’s.”

  He chuckled and tightened his hold on her once more. “It’s not that simple, jolie demoiselle. I wish it were.” He took a deep breath. “You should call me Alexander. I think we’re more than just friends now.”

  Beneath his chin, Cat smiled.

  Chapter 22

  Amy Harris

  Amy floated in the soft space between dreams and reality. She knew she rested in the back of the buckboard beside Jason, snuggled underneath blankets in the predawn chill.

  She opened her eyes, but instead of seeing stars, her view looked down upon the campsite where she slept. Kelly and Jim were awake. Kelly stirred the small fire and set the tin to boil water for coffee and tea.

  A vision of some sort?

  Her view widened, and she saw herself and Jason tucked together in the wagon. Then her line of sight lifted toward the rising sun and shot east.

  The grassy plains blurred as it passed beneath her. The sun rose swiftly to its zenith then lowered.

  Nighttime. She continued east as the moon rose and flashed across the sky.

  Sunrise. The terrain below changed. She flew above a city, and then trees and a wide slow-moving river. Another day ended, and the ground below grew dark. She looked up and watched the stars and the moon race west.

  Morning again, and train smoke captured her attention. It moved toward her, heading west. Her movement slowed, and she descended from the sky to pass beside the train. Boxcars flashed by, then coach cars. She slowed and reversed direction to move beside the train. Through glass windows, she saw the uniformed porter walk along the aisle. She went through metal and into the car.

  Few travelers were awake at dawn, most slept curled in their seats. Through the cars she floated, an invisible spectator. Her vision turned and focused on a sleeping girl—her head rested near the window against her travel bag. Amy looked down on herself—no, on Alyse. Her twin slept in the seat alongside their uncles.

  Alyse opened her eyes and her sleepy gaze lifted to Amy's vantage point. Amy watched Alyse mouth her name—Amy.

  Then the vision moved out of the window. She sped east once more. The sun passed overhead and into night, then rose and traced its path across the sky.

  Toward evening, she slowed, and her sight lowered from the horizon to the ground. Beneath her, a large gray wolf ran west, pushed beyond its limits. The exhausted animal blew a bloody froth from its nose with each labored breath. It chased no game, and no danger pursued it. The beast acted out of character, as though possessed by an irresistible force. The wolf stumbled and fell. A gush of blood spewed from its mouth, and it gasped its last few breaths.

  From a nearby grove, a doe leapt away, wild eyed, racing west. The bray of her young fawn fell on deaf ears. As with the wolf, the animal appeared driven by a force Amy could neither see nor understand.

  From high above, she followed the string of animal possessions, one after another, as they ran west. A deep dread took shape in Amy’s mind as she felt a keen and eternal darkness move toward her.

  Her chest tightened, and she struggled for breath. A frenzied panic took hold of her.

  It comes for me.

  “Amy, what's wrong?” Jason’s voice reached her.

  The vision shredded, and she tried to blink gummy eyes. She gasped for breath and growled as if she had been one of the animals possessed.

  “Sweetheart, are you ill? Wake up.” Jason held her in his arms.

  Her eyes opened, and she pushed Jason away. In desperation, she pulled herself up and leaned over the side of the buckboard to vomit. She felt Jason gather her hair and hold her head steady as she emptied her stomach again.

  When the cramp inside eased, she lowered herself to the bed and allowed Jason to wrap his arms around her. Her hand shook as she took the cup of water from Jimmy Leigh.

  “Thank you, Jim.” Tears threatened, and she closed her eyes.

  Jason steadied her hand and helped her sip the cool water.

  “I'm not sure what to do,” Jason’s whisper held an edge of panic. “Tell me what you need. Will you be all right?”

  “I will be. Just give me a moment. It will pass. I had—a bad dream.”

  “I hope to hell I never have a dream like that.” Jason held her close and rubbed her arms.

  The tremors eased, and she took another sip from the cup. “I’m better now.” She smiled her thanks to Jason.

  Jason hugged her a last time and slid to the end of the wagon. He pulled on his boots, found his hat, and walked to the fire.

  Amy didn’t attempt to move yet. She couldn’t. Her heart fluttered each time she thought of her vision.

  I wish Nichole and Merril were here.

  Guilt from withholding the truth about herself from her husband assailed her, but there had never been a reason to tell him about her abilities. Her secret couldn’t remain hidden much longer. She finished the water from the tin.

  Jim tightened the cinch on his saddle then approached the wagon. “There's no rush, gal. We can head out once you feel better.”

  “I'm better now.” She shrugged the blanket aside. “It was only a bad dream.”

  Jim’s gaze captured hers “Take your time. We won’t leave until you’re ready.” He pushed back his hat with his gloved thumb and looked at the angle of the sun. “We should get home just past noon.”

  Amy moved down to the end of the wagon, slipped on her shoes and laced them. She lowered her feet to the ground, and then gripped the side of the wagon and waited for her head to stop spinning. Whatever physical manifestation bound her to the vision persisted. Uneasiness settled in her belly. To cover her discomfort, she pulled the blankets to her and folded them.

  Kelly tossed his bunk roll into the wagon and handed her the coffee tins to stow.

  “Look.” Jim’s voice held a hushed urgency. He stepped beside Amy and pointed back the way they had come.

  Amy followed the line of his arm and saw them. In the center of the dirt road, two black wolves sat still as statues, watching the group break camp. “Oh my!”

  “What is it?” Kelly asked.

  Jim held up his hand to Kelly to be silent then pointed at the wolves. In moments, all four travelers stared at the two large animals seated in the road.

  “That’s just plumb unnatural.” Kelly hunched his shoulders turned toward his mount.

  “Do you think they'll follow us?” Jason wondered aloud.

  “I think they will. Yes.” Amy responded, her thoughts on Alyse as she stared into the wolves’ yellow eyes.

  Both Jim and Jason turned and stared at her.

  Amy heaved a sigh. “There were two black cats at the house in Denver.” She looked from Jason to Jim and pointed toward the wolves. “The cats acted strange, like these animals. I think they’re the same, somehow.”

  “The cats and the wolves are the same.” J
ason raised his eyebrow. “Are you sure you feel all right?”

  Amy narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth into a smile. “Why, yes, Jason, I’m fine.”

  Jason ran his hand through his hair and reset his hat. “Good. Then let's go home.” He shot Jim a hard glance and walked to the front of the wagon to help Kelly harness the team.

  “You know more than you’re saying, don't you?” Jim queried, his gaze still on the pair of wolves.

  “Almost always,” Amy replied with resignation.

  One wolf stood and nudged the other, and then they moved off the road into the summer grass.

  “They act like those two cats, Jim. I swear. I know it doesn’t make a lick of sense.” She shook her head and turned back to organizing the wagon. She heard Jim move away as she finished stowing the bedding and gear. When she looked back, Jim and Kelly were mounted and talking beside the doused fire.

  “Ready?” Jason took her arm and helped her climb into the seat. He shook the reins after the horsemen passed by and followed them onto the road.

  Amy kept a look out for the wolves, but if they trailed behind, they remained well hidden. Jason’s silence gave her time to review her vision and the warm sunlight on her face felt like courage. Whenever she thought of the possessed animals racing west, her stomach twisted. She had to warn Jason that an unspeakable evil heading toward them, not far behind a twin sister and uncles he didn’t know existed.

  How do I explain?

  “If you sigh one more time, I’m going to stop the wagon.” Jason looked at her with concern. “What’s wrong?”

  Tell him now.

  Her mouth opened, but the words caved in on themselves. She shook her head and blinked at tears. “Just the dream,” she whispered and looked across the yellow grass. When she glanced back, Jason still watched her.

  “Your parasol is beneath the seat in case you need it.”

  “Thank you.” She retrieved the umbrella and slid it open.

  “If you want to tell me about your dream, I’ll listen.”

  Amy nodded and brushed a tear from her cheek. “When I can.”

  Ahead of them, Jim pulled rein and dropped back to Amy's side of the wagon.

  “Do you see ’em?” he asked.

  Amy shook her head.

  Jim pointed up.

  Both Amy and Jason looked up to see two dark hawks circle high above them.

  “So... now you think the wolves turned into hawks and are following us?” Jason scoffed at Jim.

  Jim looked hard at Jason. Without another word, Jim urged his mount forward to ride again with Kelly.

  Amy ignored the men and watched the hawks. They could just be hawks, riding high on the air currents, but they stayed above the small group of travelers.

  “I’ve had just about enough of Jimmy Leigh,” Jason grumbled.

  Amy turned to her husband and leaned close to his arm. “Try to be more open-minded, Jason. There are many things in this world we don’t understand.”

  Jason glanced at Amy. “It’s not just the hawks and the wolves.” Jason stared ahead at the horsemen. “He encourages that nonsense with you, and I know why.”

  “My practical love. So logical. So rational.” Amy tangled her fingers into curls that trailed over his collar. “What would you say if I told you something completely outlandish and asked you to believe me?”

  Jason turned to her and searched her face. “Are you serious?”

  Amy pressed her lips and inclined her head. “I am, and I would like to tell you a thing about me you don't know.” She held his gaze until he looked back at the road.

  “Go on, then. Tell me.” His voice was soft.

  “When I was a young girl in Boston, I began to have dreams while awake. Visions of people and things would rush into my head. I didn't understand it, and they frightened me terribly. I told my mother.”

  Jason glanced at her, then back to the road. “What did your mother say?”

  “She told me the visions couldn’t hurt me, and I should never tell anyone about them. She asked me to come to her each time I had one, and tell her what I saw, and she would write it down.”

  “And you did this?” Jason asked

  “I did. I told her everything. It became apparent I saw things before they happened.”

  “Why do you say, ‘apparent’? What did you see?”

  “Oh, Jason, many things. Unimportant ones, mostly. Things my mother would explain later, but as a child, I didn't know or care. It comforted me to know she believed me and took great care to write down whatever I said. It helped me to not be alarmed by them.”

  Jason’s voice rose. “Margaret encouraged you?”

  “She taught me how to live with my visions,” Amy explained patiently. “They’re part of who I am, not something she could change. When I grew older, she taught me how to interpret them. How to know when I saw something important, and when they held only trivial information.”

  Ahead, Kelly pointed to a washed-out portion of road.

  “Give me an example of trivial information.” Jason guided the buckboard around the missing portion of road.

  “Let me think.” Amy tapped a finger on her lips, then nodded. “I must have been about ten years old when I saw who left their dog's droppings on the commons walking path.”

  “You saw them at the park?”

  “Yes, but I sat in the parlor with my mother. I didn't know the man, but I described him and the dog to my mother. She wrote it down. A few days later, an article appeared in the paper. The man had been fined for leaving his dog’s droppings on the walking path. The article provided a description of him and his dog, just as I had.”

  Jason chuckled. “Visions of dog crap. All right, then give me an example of an important one.” After a few moments of silence, Jason nudged her with his shoulder. “Go on.”

  Amy nodded, but didn't look up as she spoke. “Before I returned to the ranch for the barbeque, I had a vision in Denver. A strong one. An important one.” She looked up at Jason and saw she had his full attention. “I saw Merril and Kevin, both distraught over the death of their father. I saw the fringed carriage of Nichole's flip over. I saw Merril tell you he couldn't find her pulse.” Her gaze locked with his.

  Jason shook his head. “I'm speechless. Are you telling me you can see the future, and no one knows about this except me and your mother?”

  “Nichole and Merril know,” Amy admitted.

  “You told them and not me?” he questioned sharply.

  “I had to warn Nichole about Jones. She wanted to know how I knew he’d come after her. I told her about the visions to convince her the threat was real. Then Nichole told me what an old Indian said to Merril about her.” Disappointment filled her, and she shook her head and looked down at her hands. “Oh, Jason. Sometimes it's just easier to talk about this with people who don’t scoff at me and think I’ve lost my mind. Both Nichole and Merril are open-minded. I never thought you would be.”

  They rode in silence. Amy cast a glance at Jason every so often.

  He must understand.

  The muscle in his jaw worked rhythmically. After several miles, he spoke without turning his head. “What do the wolves have to do with this?” He shot her a scathing glance. “And how much have you confided in Jimmy Leigh?”

  “Jim knows nothing of this from me.” Amy glared at her husband, then turned and looked up at the hawks still circling above them. “As for the wolves—” Amy hesitated until she felt Jason’s eyes on her. She turned to face him. “I think my sister sent them.” She lifted her chin and met his stare.

  He raised his eyebrows and laughed. “Your sister? You don't have a sister.” He chuckled and looked back at the road.

  “I wasn't raised with a sister. But I’ve come to believe I have one, nonetheless.”

  “Your visions again?”

  Amy looked across the prairie. In the distance, storm clouds rose in the afternoon heat. She could sense the moisture. The flow of power moved eastward
, away from their path. “No. It’s different with her, but I think it’s all connected somehow.”

  Their conversation lapsed into silence. Amy looked at Jason occasionally, but he kept his eyes on the road before them. Soon, The Highlands outbuildings came into sight, and then the house.

  As they pulled onto the long drive up to the yard, Jason slowed the wagon to a stop, then looked at Amy. “Did you have a vision this morning? Is that what made you sick?”

  A flurry of nerves fell through her chest to her stomach.

  Tell him.

  She turned toward Jason and nodded.

  “And you decided to tell me all this—now—because of something in your vision?” Jason’s voice was low and serious.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “How bad is it?” Jason laid his arm along the back of the seat behind Amy. “What’s going to happen?”

  Amy shook her head. Relief flooded her, and she held her hand to her mouth. “I don't know, exactly.” Tears threatened her eyes, but she refused to turn away from Jason’s blue gaze. “There’s something coming, but I have no name for it. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. I think it’s why Alyse is trying to find me.” Amy shook her head and the tears slid down her cheeks. She looked down at her hands, fingers twisted in her lap. “I only know it frightens me, and not many things do.”

  Jason wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Her name is Alyse?”

  Amy looked up from her hands and nodded. “Yes. She’s on a train now, and will arrive in Denver in a few days.”

  Jason relaxed back against the buckboard seat and glanced up at the clear blue sky.

  Amy followed his gaze. The hawks were gone.

  Merril and Nichole crossed from the back of the house to greet Jim. Nichole glanced at them and waved, but continued with her husband and Jim past the corral and into the barn.

  “Do I still have a place here, Amy?” Jason watched the group disappear into the shadowed interior of the barn.

  Amy could see both fear and regret etched on Jason's face. He had aged visibly in just a few weeks. “I think we do.” She took his hand. “It will be different than before, of course. But the wounds will mend. Nichole loves you. She wants you here with her.”