“I had a very good time last night.” Matt leaned across the table to kiss her forehead.
“You got laid. Of course you had a good time,” she laughed as Matt sat back in his chair. “You have no idea how much I needed that. Thank you.”
“We should do it again sometime.”
Khiara drummed her fingers against the Dunkin Donuts cup and swallowed around the lump that had formed in her throat. “I wouldn’t mind having you available for a booty call,” she finally conceded.
“I can’t believe someone like you doesn’t have a guy on call.” Matt shook his head at her. “What about all those guys you game with?”
“None of them care about me like that,” Khiara muttered, bringing the cup back to her lips. She let herself focus on the coffee – the smell of the French vanilla, and the sweet, smooth flavor.
Matt tilted his head and said, “You’re really close to one of them, though, aren’t you? Steven…?”
“Sean,” she said the moment she swallowed. “We went to high school together.”
“And he doesn’t have anything to say about who you date?”
“We don’t share everything.” Khiara pondered the remark, then realized that Sean was well aware of each and every sexual partner she had had in the past decade, every date, every triumph, and every failure in her life. “Well… Everything until now,” she amended. “I certainly wouldn’t tell him about us, unless things got serious.”
Matt shrugged and said, “Sometimes friends are in love, and just won’t admit it.”
Khiara laughed sharply, the sound a bit harsher than she had intended. “I know for a fact that isn’t true. At least, not from his side.”
“You do?” Matt looked at her, an eyebrow raised. “You seem very confident about that. So it’s something you’ve discussed?”
“It is. Trust me, there’s nothing between me and Sean, or any of the other guys.” Khiara set her cup down, reached out, and took her hands in his. With a toss of her hair, she said, “Anyway, this is just between the two of us, right?”
“If that’s how you want it, then, yes.”
Khiara felt the corners of her lips quirk up somewhat and she gave his hands a squeeze. “Do you want to do this again, except go out for a real date next Friday night?” Even though she was enjoying having breakfast with a companion, she hoped he would get her not-so-subtle hint that it was time for him to leave. There were other things to deal with today.
“I think that would be fun, as long as we don’t piss Sean or your other friends off.”
“Oh, please.” Khiara scoffed, tired of hearing Sean’s name. “Stop worrying about him. You probably won’t meet him for a long time, if ever.”
Matt laughed as he rose to his feet, and scooped up their cups, plastic knives, and take-out containers of cream cheese, and dropped them in the garbage can. “I’ll see you next Friday.” He kissed the top of her head and left the house.
Khiara sat for a long moment at the kitchen table, pondering the less pleasant aspects of the previous evening. Had she been alone throughout the night, the fear would have kept her from sleeping. Being in Matt’s arms had provided satisfaction in more ways than one. Unfortunately, she knew it was a temporary comfort.
The past was haunting her, and she had to find a way to stop it from doing more.
Khiara rose from the table, smoothed her hair, and went to turn the sign on the door to “Open” for the shop. To her surprise, the first person to walk in was Felisa Levine, one of her coven sisters.
Felisa belonged to the coven branch in southern New Hampshire, where she taught classes on healing, magickal journaling, and much more. Although Felisa was quite introverted, Khiara could count on her for an inappropriate remark to lighten a tense mood.
She embraced Felisa and said, “I didn’t expect to see you today. How’s that adorable daughter of yours?”
Pushing her long, windblown black hair out of her face, Felisa said, “I’m worried about what I’ve been feeling lately. I wanted to check on you.”
As her friend regarded her with large, dark eyes, Khiara stared back. After a moment, she gave a nod. “You probably know as much as I do at this point. Come in to the living room.”
As soon as they sat on the couch, Felisa reached out to hold her hand. “My guides tell me someone or something is stalking you,” Felisa told her. “They said you already know, and that there’s nothing I can do, but I still had to see you. Have you been having any nightmares?”
“Ah, I thought you were here about the Sean thing,” Khiara responded. She would not have been surprised if Cate had talked to Felisa about her idealistically romantic faux pas. She knew she was the topic of discussion when her coven sisters thought she was in need of extra support.
“Cate did fill me in on the Sean situation but, no, I’m thinking further back. I know we’ve talked about the things that happened back when you were sixteen,” Felisa said. “The whole reason you moved up here was very sensible. I just feel like somehow that it’s coming back around, and I’m not sure why. Does that make sense?”
“It absolutely does.” Khiara took a deep breath and tucked her hair behind her ears. “Yes, I’ve been having awful dreams. Not only that, but I think… No, I’m certain he’s here, following me.”
“I thought you destroyed him.”
“So did I, but…” She held her hands up, then let them fall into her lap. “The ninth anniversary of that night is coming.”
“Nine… That’s the number of a completion of a cycle,” Felisa said, reaching out to touch her shoulder. “And soon you will be going through your first Saturn return, about to enter a new phase of your life.”
“I know all of that, but I didn’t want to read too much into it,” Khiara said as she glanced around the living room. “I would like to believe that the timing is simply coincidental.”
“We always say there are no coincidences,” Felisa reminded her with a smile.
“True. That is one of our mottoes.” Khiara rose to fiddle with the pillows in the corner. “However, I’m prone to overanalyzing and, well, between the dreams and the voices–”
“Voices?”
“He says he’s coming for me.”
“Have you cast any spells of protection?” Felisa asked.
With a shrug, Khiara said, “I’m in no state of mind to work magick.”
“Well, just be careful,” Felisa warned. “I would rather you be too cautious, than ignore any signs of trouble. The concurrence of these events is far more than a fluke, I think. I feel very strongly about this. Forget worrying about being over-analytical and ask yourself if you truly think you are in some sort of danger. May I?” Felisa reached toward her, and Khiara sat down again and let her friend take her hand. “Yes, you are being watched,” Felisa said. “By something you dread; by the thing you thought was gone, and it was for a time. But it found its way back. You need to be careful this coming Saturday.”
“The anniversary of when it happened,” Khiara acknowledged.
“It will try to disconnect you from this life. You will have a way to keep that from happening, but it won’t hinge directly on things you do.”
“That doesn’t sound good.” Khiara grimaced. She liked to be able to take care of herself, solve her own problems and deal with trouble on her own. Relying on others usually did not end well.
“It has the potential to be very serious.” Felisa looked at her, her deep brown eyes troubled. “I would invite you to come and stay with me, but I don’t think you will be safe no matter where you go. I feel like you need to be here if this has any chance of playing out in your favor.”
“That’s weird. What about safety in witchy numbers?” Khiara laughed without humor.
“You might want to ask your coven to help you strengthen your wards, but I can see that won’t help.” Felisa dropped her hand. “Oh my gosh. I knew something was going on, because my guides told me so, but it wasn’t until just now that I saw it clearly.”
>
“I’m sure it will be fine,” Khiara said earnestly, trying to put her friend at ease, even as her own heart was racing.
“As it stands now, when this thing happens,” Felisa whispered, her dark eyes wide with apprehension, “you won’t be coming back. I don’t see anybody who has the power to help you return.”
****
The sense of being watched had intensified to the point where now she felt like someone else was controlling her every move.
She stood in a desolate forest, in an unfamiliar land.
Everywhere she looked around her, there were no signs of life. This was a dead place.
Yet she was not alone.
And the presence was all too dreadfully familiar.
“Khiara,” something whispered, and she shuddered as if she were cold. “I am coming for you.”
“I don’t want to see you. I just want you to leave me alone!” she shouted.
“I can’t leave you alone. You owe me a life for a life. You belong to me.” Something reached out to brush her face. “You will see, even though we are beyond saving, I still need you. I will see you soon.”
Chapter 5
Khiara sat bolt upright in bed as she had so many times before over the past several nights. The dreams were intensifying and she felt almost suffocated by them. “I won’t be afraid,” she growled, despite Felisa’s warning, despite the dream warnings, despite the voice. The additional foretelling seemed like overkill to her. She knew exactly who and what was coming for her, as well as why.
It wasn’t just her past coming back to haunt her; it was him coming back to exact retribution against her.
No amount of strengthening wards could stop him.
Taking a deep breath, Khiara jumped out of bed and hurried to open the blinds to let in the sunlight. It warmed her, but no longer had the power to chase away the nightmares. The problem was the nightmares were no longer relegated to the realm of dreams.
Fingers pressed to her forehead, Khiara squinted in the Friday morning light. She had been a bundle of nerves since last Saturday, and as tomorrow neared by the minute, she hated the fact that she could only wait for her nightmares to become reality.
“Will you calm down?” Cate grumbled at her several hours later as they were preparing to close the store. “Your concentration is shot to shit.”
Khiara had spilled an entire box of incense sticks on the floor, and was trying to pick them up. “Tomorrow is the anniversary and he’s out there, waiting for me.”
Cate set a box of CDs on the counter and knelt to help Khiara. “I know you went through some crazy shit with him, but do you think he could really come back?”
“I know he’s already here,” Khiara said vehemently as she shoved a handful of sticks back into the box. “If something weird happens to me, like if I disappear…”
“Call the police?” Cate interjected quickly as she slid the last of the delicate sticks of incense into the carton.
Khiara shook her head. “They wouldn’t be able to help. What would they do? Find a way through the gate? Listen to two witches tell them a third was dragged off into another world?”
Cate sat back on her heels. “You can’t be serious. That’s only in stories, Khiara. You know – the myths we discuss as metaphorical tales meant to teach lessons.”
“Look, try not to worry about it.” Khiara scooped up the box and rose to her feet. “If I’m not here tomorrow or the day after that, just… just let it go.”
“Should I get the coven together? We could try a protection spell,” Cate suggested, gazing at her with worry on her face.
Khiara bowed her head. She knew there was nothing anybody can do. If it makes you feel better, she thought cynically.
“That might be just what I need,” she answered to soothe her friend’s fears. “Hey, I’m going to head over to Sean’s for an early night. Maybe dealing with the weirdness between he and I will help me forget all of this menace-from-my-past crap. Can you lock up for me tonight?”
“Sure.” Cate rose to her feet, still looking concerned. “Call me tomorrow, okay?”
“I will.” Khiara grabbed her messenger bag and, without even checking her appearance in the mirror, bolted out the front door as quickly as she could.
Cate was the same age as her, with no children and a tendency to mother-hen. Khiara knew that if something odd did happen to her, the coven would be in good hands with Cate’s leadership. She also knew that Cate wanted to try to solve everybody’s problems, and it would hurt her deeply to know that she could not solve Khiara’s.
At Sean’s house, Khiara willed herself to be almost invisible to everybody there. She drank her soda, ate her pizza, and tried to play the game, but every time someone spoke her name, she could only respond, “What?”
She barely noticed when Sean slid a note to her. Opening it, she read, “Is something wrong?”
A small smile pulled at the corner of her lips. Picking up her pencil, she wrote back, “Just dealing with personal issues.”
His response was, “Can I help?”
When she recovered from her surprise, she smiled at him and wrote, “No, but thank you for asking.”
Sean called it an early night, while it was still light outside. The campaign had reached its end; the characters had saved the world, and received their reward in gold pieces and magic items. Khiara noted her character’s earnings and spoils on the character sheet, and then packed up quickly, hoping to leave before anybody could stop her. If this is it, then no sense in drawing out goodbyes, she thought.
Despite his show of concern, the person she hoped most to avoid was Sean.
Unfortunately, he stood at the door before she even reached it, and blocked her way. She glanced back and noticed the guys using the side door to leave. Stung by the abandonment and realizing Sean had somehow premeditated it, she turned to glare at him.
“What’s going on?” he demanded to know. “You’ve been acting weird since that night two weeks ago.”
“Can you blame me?” She shrugged, trying to act casual.
“Look, I realize you’re disappointed…”
“I’m fine and it isn’t about you,” Khiara answered sharply.
Sean looked at her, his eyes wide. “Is it that guy you’ve been seeing?”
“Maybe. You’re not my only friend in this town. I talk to people other than you.”
“Oh. Right.” Sean sounded frustrated. “So, what’s the problem that you’re not telling me about now?”
“There’s no problem.” She tightened her grip on the strap of the messenger bag, willing him to get out of her way and let her go home.
“There is. I feel like… I feel like I’m not going to see you again, or something.” Sean looked at her with such solemnity, that Khiara thought maybe he had somehow felt the strange pulse of negative, otherworldly energy that had been following her for the past couple of weeks.
She shook herself mentally, responded, “There is nothing you can do about it”, and pushed past him to put her hand on the doorknob. He reached up to hold the door shut and she stood there, just staring at the hand that was keeping her from leaving.
“There’s something you aren’t telling me,” he said. “I know you have other people you can talk to, but you’ve always told me everything.”
“So?”
“And I’ve always told you everything.” He tapped his foot on the floor planks. “So what the hell is going on with you? What happened to my best friend?”
“You don’t need to know everything that has ever happened in my life,” Khiara retorted in annoyance. “Nothing that has happened will make any difference. It got me into the trouble I’m dealing with now. I don’t need you making things worse by interrogating me, or reminding me of how I fucked up our friendship.”
“What happened to you? What are you talking about?” Sean’s eyes were so full of concern that Khiara almost found herself breaking down and telling him everything.
“Like I said
,” she choked out, “it has nothing to do with you, and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about my problems.”
She yanked on the doorknob to open the door, and left as quickly as she could.
****
On Saturday morning she woke up shaking all over from yet another dream.
He was coming back, he had said. He was coming for her. He had made his claim to her very clear.
In this dream, she had seen his shadowy doppelganger; this was what had been watching her over the past two weeks, only this time it was giving her a chance to see just one aspect of it. She recognized its energy from the moment it had entered her dream, and it left her cold with dread. Trying to bring her mind to the present, she wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the chill spreading through her body.
Khiara’s phone rang, jarring her out of her grogginess, as her feet hit the floor.
“Felisa,” she said by way of greeting the moment she had the receiver pressed to her ear.
“You’re still there!” her friend gasped in apparent relief.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Khiara answered. Talking to Felisa made her feel anchored to reality once more. “Thank you for calling me right now. It really helped.”
“Well, that’s good. Please keep in touch, Khiara. Please.” The worry in Felisa’s voice was palpable. “I could feel the strangest energy reaching out to you last night.”
“I know. That’s exactly what I dreamed,” Khiara said, nodding even though her friend could not see her. “I’ll stay in touch. I have to get ready to open the store.”
“Do you have to go anywhere today?” Felisa inquired before Khiara could hang up the telephone.
“I just have some books to return to the library this afternoon.”
“Can’t you stay home or ask Sean to do it for you?”
With a sigh, Khiara answered, “I can’t avoid leaving the house, Felisa. Besides, you know what I’m dealing with. He can probably get in here despite the wards, despite everything. It might be better if I’m out in public often, rather than hiding at home.
The Gossamer Gate Page 4