Thunder rolled, followed by lightning strobes as we entered my room. Crawling across my bed, I turned on the tiny lamp on my nightstand and retrieved the crystal necklace from my jewelry box.
Ethan kicked off his shoes and took the necklace. Sitting beside me, he slid the chain over my head. When he tugged my comforter and sheets back and bolts of static flashed, Ethan’s hand fisted on the bedding. He didn’t say a word, but I couldn’t miss the protective anger in his eyes as he pulled me down beside him. For several seconds, we laid side-by-side, staring up at the ceiling. Then he hooked his arm around my waist and gathered me against him, spooning my back to his chest.
Snuggling close to his warmth, I listened to the storm raging outside. Lightning lit up the entire room, highlighting the dragon tattoo on his forearm. I stared at the symbols inside the flames’ tips. There was an Egyptian Ankh, a Native American medicine wheel, a Celtic cross, a rising phoenix, the Hindu Om symbol. On and on they continued.
I slowly ran my finger across his tattoo. “What do all the symbols mean?”
He brought my fingers to his mouth, kissing each knuckle. “They’re for protection, just like the dragon is a symbol of protection.”
“But why all the different ones?”
Ethan tugged on the elastic band in my hair, freeing my ponytail. “I’ve come in contact with people with different religious beliefs,” he said as he slid his fingers through my hair. Lifting the tips to his nose, he inhaled. “Their issues are entwined with their cultural and religious beliefs, so I do what I can to protect myself.”
I hadn’t thought about the religious perspective as it pertained to the darkness he saw, but it made sense that he would experience different kinds of “negative energy” based on the sender’s belief system. Lacing my hand with his, I lifted our linked hands and kissed the dragon on his forearm. “I’m in awe that you figured out how to protect yourself.”
“Not in every way,” he murmured, sounding frustrated. Was he thinking about the feather tattoo?
Thunder crashed as I glanced over my shoulder. “Did you find anything on the web about your feather tattoo?”
Lightning illuminated his blue eyes a split second before the power failed, sending the room into total darkness. “Nothing new,” he said right before his lips touched mine.
Caught by surprise, I gasped, then pressed my lips to his and flattened my palm against his chest. I wanted to experience every contour of his sleek muscles.
Cupping my face, he pulled me toward him. Fingers slipped into my hair, clasping my head as he deepened our kiss. My insides burned and I pushed closer with a blistering need to be as connected to him as possible.
Ethan’s fingers curled tight in my hair. I felt the tension in his hold before he broke our kiss. Grasping my waist, he pressed his forehead against mine and exhaled several harsh breaths. “Nara, we need to stop before we both don’t want to.”
“I don’t think I want to,” I said, molding myself to him.
Lightning flashed again, highlighting his pained smile. “It’s good to know I’m not the only one who lays in bed at night fantasizing about holding you like this.”
Before I could respond, he rolled me over and hooked his arm around my waist. Spooning me tight against his body once more, he whispered into my hair, “I love you, Sunshine.”
My insides melted, hearing it for real this time. Ethan had shown his love for me in so many ways. Why was my selfish heart locking away the “I love you so much it hurts” silent scream in my mind? I felt the emotions, but why couldn’t I say them? Wrapping my arms around his on my waist, tears filled my eyes as I tried my best to tell him what he meant to me. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You’d be devastated,” he said with a hollow laugh, then slid his leg between mine, locking us together. “I won’t be able to prevent you from seeing my dreams, Nara. Just know that you’re protected as long as I hold you. If this works, then you’ll eventually move on to seeing yourself in the dreams and that’s when you’ll need to look for the shadow.”
It suddenly occurred to me that if Ethan saw my dreams like watching a movie, then he saw…my face heated instantly. “Um, since you see my whole day, where are you when I’m taking a shower?”
His lips touched my ear. “Waiting in your bedroom.”
Yeah, right. I groaned in embarrassment. “All my secrets are revealed.”
“I don’t know exactly how you feel about me, Nara. That secret is still yours. And about the other… I’ve respected your privacy.”
Pleased heat shot down my neck and across my chest. Now I knew why he hadn’t seen Fate attack me in the shower. “Wow, that’s impressive. It would’ve been so easy to—”
“That’s cheating.” He kissed the curve of my ear. “If I ever see you without your clothes, it’ll be your choice and not in some dream.”
Ethan’s sincere comment, spoken in his deep, husky voice, sent a jolt of pleasure shooting through me. Tell him you love him, damn it! What was wrong with me? I quietly sniffed back tears of frustration.
The thunder and lightning were starting to fade to distant rumbles and faint blips, but the gusty wind continued to blow rain in a watery, thrumming rush against my bedroom window. The rhythmic sound, combined with the relaxing sensation of Ethan’s fingers sliding through my hair, lulled me. Closing my eyes, I drifted to sleep.
***
“Ethan?” I whispered, holding my hands straight out as I stumbled in total darkness. I heard thunder in the distance, but no lightning cut through the blackness. I stepped carefully, hoping to find a door or wall with a light switch.
Something zoomed past, a wave of rotting flesh and sharp sulfur following its wake. The acrid smell burned my nose and throat, making the tiny hairs on my arms rise up. A scurrying sound preceded a faint hiss. I froze and gulped, hoping it didn’t sense me. Claws scrabbled and I heard it turning around. Whatever it was, it had detected my presence. Nails gouged the ground and a grunt echoed in my direction as if it had bolted toward me. I knew I couldn’t outrun it, so I jerked my hands up and tensed, ready for the impact.
Lightning illuminated the black space for a split second, but it was long enough to highlight the heinous creature. A thick-barrel chest and powerful arms were closing in on me, claws extended in shredding mode. Its blackened teeth dripped with blood and saliva, the snarling maw ready to devour. I let out a terrified scream just as someone gripped my waist and pulled me backward.
The creature must’ve reached for me, because searing, knife-like pain suddenly yanked at my left thigh, tearing and ripping at the flesh and muscles. Crying out, I jerked my leg back and gagged when I smelled the iron-rich scent of my blood. Warm liquid spurted down my thigh, a thick whoosh gushing with my rampant heartbeat.
The scene changed. I was standing in a dimly-lit living room I didn’t recognize. Thunder popped, followed by flashes of lightning. I glanced down at my thigh and let out a sob of relief. My skin and jeans were intact.
In a nearby room, someone screamed. I started toward the sound, but my left thigh cramped, stopping me cold. Grabbing hold of the fireplace mantel, my fingers bumped a football trophy. The inscription on the brass plate read: Blue Ridge High School Varsity Football.
The yelling escalated, a high-pitched voice screeching at ear-piercing decibels. I gritted my teeth, ignoring the dull pain radiating through my leg as I pushed open the swinging door into a kitchen. A two-headed snake monster with a human-like body held an empty steaming pan. The monster hissed at the creature cowering on the floor in a football jersey covered with dripping red liquid. Was that blood?
The smell of burned skin and spaghetti sauce permeated the air, and yet the attacking monster continued forward, moving toward the bent over figure, swinging the hot pan. Excruciating pain laced across my back while fear immobilized me.
I tried to yell, to demand the snake-monster stop, but tightness cinched around my waist, sucking me out of the room. I screamed and g
rabbed for the invisible band pulling me back, but my fingers only snagged on my own clothes. Then everything went peacefully black and soft as if I’d been surrounded by silk.
Rubbing my face against the softness, I inhaled the earthy scent, feeling safe and protected. I welcomed the quiet tranquility. Clung to it. Only moments had passed when a faint whisper of pale light began to seep through the darkness. The serenity was about to leave me.
“No,” I pleaded, grasping at invisible folds, hoping to keep the dark cloak of safety wrapped around me forever. Music filled my ears and I was in a bedroom, but kind of above it. I frowned at the perspective. I wasn’t this tall. I started to take a step but almost lost my balance. Glancing down, I was standing on a chair. This wasn’t my room, but it felt like mine.
Razor-sharp fingernails dug into my shoulders, while rough hands shook me hard. My head snapped around, my brain sloshing in my skull. I was so dizzy my head lolled from shoulder to shoulder. Then cruel words poured in, the dam opening full blast.
“We hate you.” Voices repeated over and over.
A horrible image blipped in my mind, making me cringe.
“You’re acting crazy,” a man said in a freaked-out voice.
Another graphic picture flashed. I blinked. “Stop. Go away!”
“You’re embarrassing me. What’s wrong with you?” a woman’s shrill words echoed in my ear.
“Go crawl in a hole and die, you freak!” A guy my age taunted, full of spite and hatred.
My heart pounded hard as if it were trying to burst through my chest. The screeching voices and the terrifying scenes wouldn’t stop. Over and over the insults came in loud bursts, as if people were standing all around me, but I was alone in my room. How was this happening? Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to shake away the horror.
Fingers bit into my shoulders once more. I gasped at the surreal pain. My eyes flew open. A grotesque skeletal creature with red eyes and long curling horns clacked his boney jaw at me. Bits of bloody muscle and sinew were barely keeping its jaw together. He looked like he’d been flayed, yet he stood in front of me, a menacing, powerful force.
“You want to die,” he said. “I see it in your eyes.”
My stomach churned and I stumbled, almost falling off the chair. I shook my head in violent jerks. “I’m not crazy. I’m not.”
A long skeletal arm waved. “You’re nuttier than a fruitcake.” The beast glanced down at his clawed, emaciated hand, then his red, hostile eyes jerked to me. “Do you think I’m real?”
I clenched my teeth. “You’re not real.”
He backhanded me, his boney knuckles cracking against my cheekbone. “Felt real as shit, didn’t it?” he mocked, evil laughter echoing.
I glared, trying hard not to shake in front of him. He was enjoying my fear. Feeding off it.
Nodding toward the ceiling fan, he smiled. “Go ahead. If you do it, I’ll leave you alone.” He shoved his face close to mine and promised with a whisper, “Forever.”
His rancid smell gagged me. Salt suddenly burned my cracked lips. Tears. I was crying. The creature grinned then, and with a flick of his hand, the head-banging music on my stereo upped a notch, pumping to the rapid beat of my heart.
“I just want it to stop,” I whispered.
“Poof and that’s it.” He snapped his fingers and leered. “For….ev….er.”
I wanted to throw up, but exhaustion and hysteria conspired, demanding relief from the constant din barraging my mind. Peace sounded so good. My foot hit the back of the chair, knocking it away.
The room tilted, then jerked and my throat burned as if it were on fire. The need to breathe, to suck in air overwhelmed. I clawed at the tight extension cord, but the skulled beast yanked at my hands, pulling them down. “Don’t fight it.” He sounded pleased, almost serene. Releasing my hands, he folded his boney fingers inward slowly, the long claws curling toward his fist. With each bend of his knuckles, the room blacked in and out, my throat crushing bit by bit.
Someone grabbed my legs and screamed my name.
Blood rushed back to my brain and I vaguely heard, “No, Ethan! Oh, God please, no!”
The demon beast was gone and Samson had his arms wrapped around my hips. “Help me. I believe you, little brother. I believe you.” He pressed his face against my waist. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve come home sooner. Please, I can’t do this without your help. Lift the cord off.”
He believed me? My arms felt like ten-pound weights had been tied to them, but I clumsily managed to pull the cord off my neck.
We fell to the carpet and Samson yanked me close with rough, unsteady movements. Tears streaked down his cheeks and his trembling hands felt like a vise on my face as he forced me to look at him. “We’re leaving tonight! You’re coming to live with me.”
When the soft darkness started to surround me once more, this time I fought it. “I want to stay,” I croaked. My throat burned and my face felt bloated and puffy with tears, but I wanted to see more of Ethan and Samson. “I’m so sorry, Ethan.” I whispered as the wash of silky darkness swept over me, bathing me in instant quietude. Folded in its warmth and assurance of peace, it occurred to me that this darkness was the opposite of white light, yet it held strong positive qualities. It was the brightest kind of darkness. A calming safety net, like my dreams were for Ethan.
A faint flutter reached my ears, and then a pale light began to bleed into the darkness. The peacefulness was about to leave me again. I grabbed at the invisible dark folds of safety, and for a split second, an image rippled across them, distorting with the movement. Was it round? I strained to see, but gasped when it disintegrated in my grasp. I could’ve sworn my fingers brushed against feathers.
I stood in the sunlight in my kitchen, watching my mom turn a charred hamburger over in the frying pan. As I scrubbed the tears from my face, a distinct pinging sounded from the island beside me.
Mom called out, “Inara! Phone.”
“What?” I heard myself reply from upstairs.
Mom leaned away from the pan, speaking louder. “A message on your phone—” she started to say, then sighed and moved the pan to another burner.
When I realized she was going to pick up my cell phone, I remembered my dad was supposed to contact me. I heard myself coming down the stairs, but I’d be too late to stop her. Before my mom could glance at the display, the dream me stepped in front of her, thinking I could somehow block her view. Her hand went right through my body to pick up the phone. Dream me shuddered at the strange sensation just as I walked into the kitchen.
Mom turned the cell phone toward me. Shock and hurt flickered in her gaze.
The text message from Aunt Sage read, Am still trying to find your dad.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“What does that mean?” Mom asked, pointing to my cell.
Dream me stepped inside my body. I took the phone and as I tried to think of an excuse, the screen saver popped up; it was a picture I’d snapped of Bo, Luke and Duke. “Picture,” I blurted.
“Picture?”
“Um, yeah. We’re doing a project in Biology about…genetics. We’re supposed to bring in pictures of our parents.”
Tension eased from her face. “Well, there are plenty of pictures of your father and me.” She slowly walked over to the built-in cabinets in our living room, where photo albums were entombed with a film of decade-old dust.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a faint shadow appear to my right and felt its oppressive coldness pushing against me. The last thing I wanted was for Mom to look at old family pictures and dwell on the past. Before she could pull out an album, I said, “Actually, I needed a picture of Dad when he was a kid, not an adult. That’s why I asked Aunt Sage if she might have some.” Holding up my phone, I continued, “Guess she’s not having much luck. Do you have any of you when you were little?”
Mom looked disappointed, then her eyes lit up. “Wait. I think I might have a couple pictures of me when I was in elementary s
chool up in my room. I’ll go look.”
As soon as she disappeared upstairs, I straightened my spine, turned to the shadow beside me, and spoke in a forceful tone. “I see you hovering around me like a cranky old man with nothing better to do than butt into people’s lives. My fate is my own, not yours to swat around at your whim.”
The shadow quickly moved away from me, but then the room began to spin and I was suddenly in the middle of a forest. Sun streaked through the trees, while birds chirped and other forest sounds echoed in the dense woods.
The fog grew darker and a little more solid until he resembled the outline of a human form. It was an odd experience to watch dark smoke morph into a face with a menacing expression and empty, soulless space where eyes should be. The shadow glided close. “You’re messing in my domain, little girl,” he said in a cold, hard tone, then spread his arms wide, as if the world were his to command. “Fate is my power to wield, not yours!”
The outrage radiating from Fate made my stomach twist, but if I didn’t stand up to him, he’d continue to haunt me or worse, kill me.
Narrowing my gaze on the shadow, I glanced upward to the trees where the birds were chirping, then stared into his bottomless eye sockets. “Ravens warned me each time you tried to harm me. Could that be because they knew what you were doing went against nature? That it fell outside the natural order?”
The shadow curled his hands into fists and blipped in and out. He was moving at such a high frequency, I could barely track him. Finally his form settled and solidified again. Staring over my shoulder, he snarled. “You mean those ravens?”
The moment I turned, deep grocks and reverberating croaks flooded my ears. Twenty-five feet away, a huge swarm of ravens had formed a fast-moving cyclone and Ethan was standing in the middle of it with his eyes closed. “Ethan!” I called out, but the birds’ cacophony grew even louder. Their swarm spread until the wall of shiny black wings blocked Ethan from my view. I had no idea what the ravens’ presence or their odd behavior meant, nor did I understand why Ethan had finally shown up in my dream. Panic welled. I wanted to run toward him, but my feet wouldn’t move, no matter how hard I tried.
Dark Roses: Eight Paranormal Romance Novels Page 83