As she arrived at the shop, her eyes were met by a sight she really could have done without today: Wendy.
“Morning, Val. I said I’d be here at nine and here I am.” Even her chirpiness made Val feel nauseous.
“Hi Wendy. I was sure you wouldn’t skip town,” Val smiled wryly.
“Well, I just want to pay for my book.” Wendy looked down at her as she climbed the steps and for a second Val sensed something odd or different about Wendy today. She couldn’t pinpoint it, but she had changed.
“Come on in.” Val opened the door and moved to switch off the alarm.
“You are so lucky to have a job here. I don’t think I would be able to get my head out of the books.” Wendy passed Val and headed down the main aisle.
“Well, I try to stay focused.” Val dropped her bag behind the counter and looked for her pricing book. “What was the title of the book you took yesterday Wendy so I can work out the price?” Val called out but there was no answer.
“Wendy, I need the book’s title?” Val came around the counter and started to walk down the aisle after Wendy. When she reached the end there was still no sign of her, so Val turned and walked back to the counter. “Wendy?” Val called out again. There was no response. The doorbell rang and when Val looked around, the person who walked in nearly made her faint. It was Wendy.
“Morning Val. Sorry I’m a little late, but the bus got stuck behind an accident on the main road. Did you see it on your way into work?” Wendy looked at Val, slightly concerned with the fact that Val was now making her way towards her shaking her head like a deranged goat.
“Everything OK, Val?” Wendy asked, eyeing Val up and down.
“You just arrived?” Val stood so close to Wendy that she could smell the coffee that Wendy had had with her breakfast.
“Are you OK? Do you want me to come back later?” Wendy started to move backwards towards the door.
“No. Just pay for your book. Which one did you take?” Val started to move back around the counter never taking her eyes off Wendy.
“I took a signed first edition. Kate West’s ‘Dedication for the Solitary Witch’,” Wendy said in a hushed tone. It was different when you just paid for a book. Vocalising it made it sound odd.
“Yes, Kate West. Just a second.” Val bent her knees, not letting her gaze leave Wendy for a second and grabbed the special book of prices. She flicked from page to page looking at Wendy between turns.
“That’s forty-six pounds please.” Val forced a grin at Wendy as she got her money out to pay.
“I know I have strange tastes, but I’m harmless,” Wendy said passing the money over and starting to make her way out of the shop.
“Wendy, can I ask you something?” Wendy turned to look at Val.
“What?” Wendy responded.
“Do you know anything about dreams?”
“Only what I read in books, Val. If you go down the middle aisle there is a very good section on dream interpretation.” She paused. “Is that it?”
“Yes, thanks.” Val waved feebly at Wendy and she was gone.
“Oh my God! What just happened?” Val walked down the centre aisle, looking for the dream interpretation section. Val knew she had seen Wendy come in with her and then disappear, and come back again. Maybe she was trying to make her go insane. Wendy was buying every book the shop had on witchcraft and Val knew now, from her own personal experience, that everything we see isn’t always what it seems.
“Could Wendy have cast some spell on me so that I would see her more than once?” Val wondered. “Well, it will take a lot more than that to freak me out when I can teleport from one place to another.” As Val started scanning the books, she spotted one called ‘Astral projection for beginners’. She had heard of this before on the TV, something her mum had been watching. Val took the book back to the counter.
She needed to find out how this aggressor was attacking her during her sleep and if she could protect herself. If he could cause effects in the real world, then maybe she could attack him in the dream world. It had to be worth a try. Val also wanted to know how Wendy the witch had just pulled off that little stunt. However, Wendy didn’t pose any physical threat to Val, so she was going to study the more dangerous of the two first.
Val was reading behind the counter with a cup of coffee when she heard the peeping of Delta’s horn outside.
Val made her way out of the shop to greet her.
“So, you ready to go?” Delta shouted out of the car window.
“Where?” Val responded with a blank expression on her face.
“To town. I left you a message this morning about going into town during your lunch break, and, if you didn’t reply, I would take it that we were on and I would pick you up at twelve.” Delta was starting to look annoyed and as Val was feeling a slight hunger pang in her stomach, she decided that a lunch out couldn’t hurt.
“Let me just lock up and I’ll be with you.” Val turned and ran back into the shop. Within a short space of time, Val and Delta were on their way to the shops and Val was telling Delta about Wendy’s visits.
Delta seemed uninterested in what Val had to say and, as they arrived in the car park, she sprang from the car shouting, “Let’s shop” as she danced into the shopping centre.
“You’re happy today,” Val said sarcastically.
“Well today I’m going to fulfil my dreams.” Delta was still spinning when they reached the coffee shop they both loved. Val made a straight line to the counter almost falling over ballerina Delta.
“Latte?” Val shouted over to Delta.
“Uh huh, skinny please.” Delta came to a standstill leaning on one of the shopping centre pillars, posing like a model ready to be photographed.
“Your friend seems happy,” someone behind her said. It took her a moment to recognise the girl standing there, then she realised it was Francesca.
“Hello.” Val forced a parting of lips that possibly resembled a smile.
“How are you? I just decided to come and do some shopping. Jason is in Boots getting some pain killers.” Francesca pushed past Val to the counter.
“Oy!” Val protested.
“Jason has told me all about your little problem and I think you should be locked away and studied, but who am I to say what freaks get to walk this planet?” Francesca turned her back on Val who was standing with her mouth hanging open with the shock.
“Excuse me! Who the hell do you think you are?” Val grabbed Francesca’s arm and pulled her around.
“I’m your worst nightmare.” Francesca turned and grabbed Val by the throat, lifting her several feet off the ground. Val could feel the breath being squeezed out of her body and she was unable to fight.
“People like you make me sick. Did you really think I wouldn’t be able to tell that you fancied Jason, that you had been trying to keep him all to yourself?” Francesca was now moving across the open cafe towards the middle of the shopping centre. Val was floating a foot of the floor hanging on the end of Francesca’s hand. She could see Delta, but she was still busy doing Swan Lake and didn’t seem to have noticed the goings on. There was no chance of her screaming; she couldn’t even breathe. Just then she spotted Jason running towards them. “At last,” Val thought to herself.
“Let her go, Francesca,” Jason called out.
“Never, you will never love her the way you love me,” Francesca spat back.
Jason was by their side in seconds and the first blow was enough. His fist struck Francesca square in the back and she dropped Val, who fell to the floor gasping for air.
“I’ll kill her, she’s mine,” Francesca hissed as started to run away.
“Are you OK, Val?” Jason gave Val his hand to help her up.
“I think I’ll survive,” Val said brushing herself down.
“Why did she do that?” Val looked to Jason for an answer.
“Because I told her last night that there was never going to be a me and her.” Jason moved in closer
to Val putting his hands gently around her waist.
“Sorry?” Val spluttered.
“Don’t you get it? I never told you about her because I didn’t want her to come here. I thought it would just be me and you.” Jason brought his face closer to Val’s.
“Well, that’s not nice.” Val was trying to feel sorry for Francesca, but it was hard.
“I want you, Val,” Jason whispered in her ear. What happened next was so fast Val didn’t have time to stop it. Jason had his lips on hers and her whole body was shaking, and shaking and shaking. What was going on?
“Val, come on honey. You slept through the alarm, wake up.” Susan was rocking Val’s body into consciousness. “You will be late for work.” Susan stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Val pondering on the only revenge she would ever get on the girl who had stolen her man.
CHAPTER 10
Tickets Please
Val was unenthusiastic about getting out of bed, but she was already late so she couldn’t delay for long. She sat up taking a gulp of the tea her mum had left and swivelled her legs out of bed. Once she got going, she moved swiftly and was ready to leave in time to catch her bus.
“See you later, honey.” Susan kissed Val on the cheek and passed her lunch.
As Val made her way to the bus, Delta rang her. “Morning,” Val answered.
“Hi, would you like to meet me for lunch?” Delta said chirpily.
“OK, same time as usual,” Val answered.
“Cool.” Delta hung up.
When Val arrived at the shop her jaw nearly hit the ground. There was Wendy waiting in the doorway, in exactly the same stance and clothes as in her dream. As a matter of fact, the phone call from Delta had been at the same time in my dream Val realised, although, in the dream, she hadn’t answered it.”
“Morning Val. I said I would be here at nine and here I am,” Wendy said as Val made her way up the steps. Val quickly made herself come to terms with what she was seeing, and responded. “Morning Wendy,” she said, unlocking the door. “Well, I just want to pay for my book,” Wendy said pursuing Val. “You are so lucky to have a job here. I don’t think I would be able to get my head out of the books,” she added, following Val closely.
Val moved around the counter to safety and sat down. She didn’t want Wendy to see how shaken she was with the whole dream repetition situation.
Wendy headed off down the main aisle, just as she had the night before in Val’s dream. At this point, Val got out of her chair and headed towards the door to see if ‘Wendy two’ was on her way.
Testing to see if her dream was more of a premonition than a reverie, Val turned her head back towards the shop and called out, “Wendy, do you know the title of the book you took?” Testing “Yes, it was ‘Lunar Cycles of importance from 1645 to 1945’,” Wendy called from the centre aisle. Val breathed a sigh of relief. That wasn’t what she had said to her before. And as far as Val could see from the door, she wasn’t going to magically reappear from anywhere.
“OK,” Val replied moving behind the counter to find the book of prices. Wendy returned to the counter after a few minutes perusing the aisles.
“So, how much do I owe you?”
“Twenty-five pounds. You have expensive tastes in reading, Wendy,” Val smiled.
“Well, I believe that the books you read define who you really are, don’t you?” Wendy pulled the cash out of her purse and looked Val straight in the eyes. Val was frozen to the spot for a second. She remembered that in her dream, Wendy had been different, something had changed, and here she was looking at the same change once again.
“Thank you,” Val said almost in a whisper.
“No, thank you.” Wendy picked up the bag from the counter and walked out.
Val stood for a few seconds wondering what Wendy had meant with the book comment. Did she know about the Zodiac book? How could she know?
Val remembered asking ‘dream Wendy’ about dreams and subsequently finding a useful book that was in the centre aisle, so she decided to investigate. She walked down the aisle, quickly finding the spot she was looking for. There in the centre was ‘Astral projection for beginners’, the book she had picked up.
Val tried desperately to rationalise what was happening. Maybe she had seen it before and her dream had just reminded her of its place. “Yes that’s it,” she said to herself while nodding convincingly. Val opened the front page and took it back to the counter sitting down to read a little.
The next thing Val knew, Delta was outside beeping her horn. Val jumped. Putting her book onto the counter she quickly locked up and made her way outside.
“So how did you sleep last night?” Delta asked as soon as Val was in the mini.
“Fine, though I had a bit of a weird dream.”
“So, indulge me in your fantasies.” Delta grinned back at her. Val told her about the double Wendy scenario and how Delta was had been ballerina, finishing with the Francesca situation.
“Wow, that’s a busy dream.” Delta looked slightly concerned. “Take my advice Val, don’t let the Francesca thing bother you.”
“If you are concerned that I’m going to set her on fire, I won’t - unless she really is a baddie.” Val made kung fu arms as if ready to attack.
They parked the mini, making a mad dash into the shopping centre through the rain that was now pouring down.
“Latte?” Val called to Delta who was grabbing them a table.
“Uh huh. Skinny please.” Delta did a quick ballet turn to her chair. Val wished she hadn’t told her about the dream; she would be making fun of her all week.
“Your friend seems happy,” a voice came from behind her. Val’s skin turned to ice. This time she wouldn’t mistake that voice.
“Francesca, hello.” Val turned smiling at the girl behind her. “How are you?” “I bet Jason’s in Boots,” Val responded smugly.
“No, he’s back at the shop; they are expecting a visitor.” Francesca looked slightly confused by Val’s comment. Val realised this wasn’t her dream and she needed to act slightly more normally.
“Would you like a coffee?” Val asked.
“Are you sure?” Francesca looked at Val, clearly puzzled. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“I would love a hot chocolate with cream please, oh, and call me Fran. Only my nan and granddad call me Francesca. I keep thinking you are going to tell me off.” Fran smiled and Val knew it was going to be hard to dislike her.
“Go and sit with Delta and I’ll bring them over,” Val told her.
Val made her way over with the tray to the sound of laughter from the other girls. “What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Fran was just explaining how much Jason had moaned about his ribs hurting in hospital,” Delta responded.
“Yes, he was like a little girl,” Fran smiled. “Though, he was so brave really, saving that little girl and her mother. It was such a lucky thing that Jason and Delta were around at the time.” Fran smiled at Delta. “Shame you missed all the fun, Val. What’s it like working in a bookshop?”
Val’s mouth twitched; they hadn’t told her she was there. The cheek! “Well, I try to keep busy.” Val tapped Delta’s leg under the table. Delta smiled back shrugging her shoulders. As they sat telling each other their life stories, Val unexpectedly felt an intense twinge in her arm, almost making her spit out her mouthful of mocha.
“Anyone want another one?” she spluttered.
“I never say no to chocolate,” Fran answered.
“Do you have time?” Delta looked at her watch.
“Yes, all the time in the world.” Val turned and headed to the counter. “One skinny latte, one chocolate and one mocha please.”
Val winced as the pain intensified. She discreetly lifted up the sleeve on her sweater to reveal that two of the final five symbols were bright red. “No wonder it hurts so much,” Val thought. She turned to see Fran waving at her.
“Five pounds twenty please,” the girl behind the counter said.
“What?” Val could see her lips moving, but the sound of grating metal drowned out her words.
“Five pounds twenty,” the girl repeated impatiently.
Val could now hear screams. This was pure terror. She turned around and felt herself being drawn away from the coffee shop. As she started to walk, she made sure her earpiece was in place and that her trusty sword was in her back pocket.
Val was oblivious to the chaos she had left behind her. Delta, realising instantly that something was wrong, stood up and made her way to the counter where the waitress was shouting about Val walking away without paying.
“Shut up!” Delta snapped putting the money on the counter.
“Is there anything wrong?” Fran was hot on Delta’s heels.
“Not now, Fran.” Delta could see Val heading toward the shops almost like a bloodhound on a trail.
The screaming was becoming unbearable. Val kept walking until she felt that she was getting closer. Finally she stopped in front of a door – to the ladies’ toilets.
As soon as Val opened the door, she knew this was the place; the noise was now excruciating.
Luckily for Val, the toilets were empty. She found herself facing a huge mirror that covered the whole wall. Slap-bang in the middle, she could see the backs of a dozen people, all looking down at something and screaming. Val hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she shouldn’t be questioning what she was about to do, but there just wasn’t time. “Here I go.” Val placed her hands on the mirror and vanished.
The door to the toilet flew open and Delta ran in just in time to catch the last of Val’s spark. Fran ran into the back of her.
“Where’s Val?” Fran looked around. All the cubicles were open and there was obviously no one in there. “Delta, where’s Val?” Fran grabbed Delta’s arm.
“Be quiet!” Delta snapped, at Fran as she got out her very sparkly accessorised military-style mobile and started to dial. “Hi Jason, Have you got her?” Delta stood silently listening, as Fran looked on in amazement, then said, “Yes, she’s here,” and nodded at Fran.
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