“You saw what I saw. You’re an ‘absorber.’ You have the ability to absorb the gifts of others around you and use them as your own. But you’re also an empath. That’s what has caused you so much trouble over the years. Being an empath is the worst power to have if you don’t have a handle on it. That little fire you started, that was you absorbing Grey’s power and unleashing it on your car when you sensed the fear of the others around you.”
“The glass…”
“The kindness. It was overwhelming. All of those strangers coming to help you. When you become overwhelmed by the feelings of others, your emotions lash out. We have to figure out a way to channel that. In the meantime, stay away from Grey. I don’t need the town burnt to a crisp. I really can’t cope with that right now,” she said, letting her guard down a little.
Paige recognized that she was distressed. The mayor put up a good front, but one couldn’t hide from someone who could feel what they felt. Helena-Marie Blansett was stressed under that calm exterior. Paige shook it off. She had her own issues to deal with.
“None of this makes any sense,” Paige said, holding her head in her hands.
“It does, dear, and it will make more sense the longer you’re here. I have a place arranged for you at the Beachside Bed and Breakfast. I promise that the longer you’re here, the better things will be for you. I can see it.” Helena-Marie winked and helped Paige to her feet. “Follow the sidewalk east until you run into the sand. The bed and breakfast is right there. You can’t miss it. Mrs. Applewood is a good friend. She will take care of you, I promise. Now, duty calls. I have St. Patrick’s Day festivities to plan, but you’ll let me know if you need anything.”
“So, you summoned me to come here just to send me to a bed and breakfast?”
“No, Paige. I summoned you so you could use your gifts to help others, but mostly so you could begin your life. It’s my responsibility to make sure you have the life you were meant to lead.”
“I had a life—”
“Perhaps, but it wasn’t the one you were meant to have.”
Just then a young woman about Paige’s age walked in with a guy. “Lucy, perfect timing,” Helena-Marie called out. “Lucy, Danny, this is Paige.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Lucy said. She was grasping a piece of jewelry. She seemed like she had a lot on her mind.
“You too. Sorry I can’t stay and chat but I’ve got to run.” It had been a long day, after all. Paige was sure she could find the B&B on her own. She took off down the walk way and left them be. It was a small town for Pete’s sake. Paige knew all too well how easy it was to find something or someone in a small town.
None of that bothered her now. She was preoccupied with the fact that everything she’d always known in her heart was true, was actually true! As people walked by her, she tried to do what she’d done with Grey and the mayor. She tried to absorb their power, but it wasn’t working.
“Everyone in town isn’t magically inclined,” a deep voice said from behind her. “Certainly no one out this evening is as gifted as you.”
“What are you, a mind-reader?”
“No. That would be terrible,” the doctor said with conviction.
Paige laughed. “This place feels like opposite-ville or something. Most people would love to be mind-readers.”
“No, they just think that because they don’t understand what it would entail. I see people’s auras. I can tell how they are feeling, if they are well, or if they aren’t. It makes me good at my job, but it’s difficult at times to know things about others that sometimes they don’t even know about themselves. I wouldn’t want to know everyone’s thoughts. I can’t read your mind, but I can deduce that you’re trying to tap into people’s powers by the color of your aura.”
He stepped up to walk beside Paige as darkness blanketed the town.
“Are you following me?” she asked him, feigning nervousness. She sensed he had no ill intentions. Besides, he was really handsome. She didn’t mind looking at his dark hair, dark eyes, and luxuriously long eyelashes. But she didn’t want to hurt him either. She’d hate for him to lose an eye because he said the wrong thing.
“I’m not following you. We’re just going to the same place. I’m Zack, by the way.”
“I’m Paige, and I haven’t told you where I’m going, Zack.”
“Yeah,” he said with a laugh. “Busted.”
“The mayor says I’m an absorber. She said that I caught my car on fire when that fire starter came near.”
“Wow, that’s an amazing power, but a dangerous one.”
“I know. It’s scary.”
“Well, don’t be afraid of your powers. That’s the first lesson in magic. Embrace.”
“So if I’m an absorber, how come I can’t see people’s auras since you’re right here next to me?”
“Your empath power overshadows the ability to read auras. You can feel what others feel. The powers are very similar, but yours is more powerful, so you don’t need to see auras. Why see what you can feel?”
“How do you know all of this about me?”
“I can see it.”
They walked in silence for a minute as she tried to make sense of everything until she spotted a large homey-looking mansion directly in front of her just as the mayor had said. It wasn’t nearly as nice as the mayor’s place, but it was quite a bit larger and looked a lot more comfortable.
“This is me,” she told him with a shrug. “I’ve never seen a beach before.”
“Really? Care to take a walk?”
Paige thought of the vision she’d seen earlier of Zack reaching for her, screaming her name. “I’d better not.”
“Can I see you again tomorrow?” he asked.
Paige stepped closer to him, noticing that his eyes weren’t brown at all. They were a deep shade of violet. “Your eyes…”
“And yours…they’re so beautiful,” he said, leaning in to brush her cheek with his thumb. Suddenly, with his touch came a darkness, a shiny green flapping object tried to distract her from the same vision she’d seen earlier with the mayor.
Paige recoiled, falling backward when the vision hit her again. This time, more vividly. “What the…? Why do I keep seeing that vision? It seems so scary!” The hair on her arms stood on end.
“It is scary. Our powers. They’re colliding.”
“Why?” she shouted.
“I don’t know,” Zack told her honestly.
He held a hand out to help her up, but she got to her feet with a start. “Don’t touch me!” she screamed.”
“I’m sorry, Zack. I… I just can’t know you. It’s for your own good.” She felt the familiar tingle that meant things were about to get broken. “You have to stay away from me. I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt anyone.” She turned to run inside. “Just stay away.”
****
“I don’t know if I can…” Zack whispered as he watched her disappear into the bed and breakfast.
There was no reason why he should want to be around this woman, not after what he’d seen, but he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about her. He felt his eyes change colors when he was in her presence, another one of his gift. It wasn’t a fearful color, either, as it should’ve been. He wasn’t certain what color they were but he knew it had to do with the way he felt drawn to her.
Chapter 3
Luckily, shortly after Paige realized she’d left her things behind, the mayor had them delivered to the B&B. She got to her room and shook her hands out in an attempt to stay calm. She didn’t want to cause any damage here. Especially not here, where the people were so kind and some even seemed excited about her arrival. The owner at the front desk said they’d been expecting her for some time.
She couldn’t think of any of that, though. All she could think of was Zack. Where the invisible thread that had brought her here and led her to the mayor had severed, a new one had formed that felt as though it attached her directly to him.
She
didn’t understand it. Yeah, he was hot, but so what? She’d seen plenty of good-looking guys. And who cared that he was well-spoken and kind? A dime a dozen… Yeah right. She rolled her eyes even at herself.
All of his attributes aside, that wasn’t what drew her to him, and she knew it. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she knew it was serious. She’d never felt such a connection to anyone, much less a stranger.
It didn’t matter because she couldn’t get close to him. Clearly, she was a part of something really bad that was supposed to happen to him. Since he was screaming her name in the vision, she rationalized that if she stayed away from him, maybe it wouldn’t happen.
Even as she dozed off in the lovely waterfront room that had been prepared especially for her, she knew that, regardless of that vision, Zack was meant to be something to her. She just didn’t know what. For the first time in years, Paige slept without loneliness plaguing her. Instead, hope bloomed.
* * * *
Zack had called on his uncle, Wayne Willis, as soon as he’d gotten home from walking Paige to the B&B. Dr. Willis had been retired for years, but he filled in for Zack on the rare occasion that he needed a break. He was happy to oblige when his nephew told him he needed a day or two off.
He’d been Zack’s mentor; more than that, he’d been like a father to him. He’d helped raise Zack during the time when his parents first separated. They never reconciled and now live happily apart on opposite coasts. That was why he clung to the uncle who’d never let him down. He was glad they were close enough that he felt he could ask for his help.
Zack Lewis had never properly courted a lady before. He’d shared time with women, of course, but none in the vicinity of the likes of Paige. It wasn’t that she was beautiful, although she was. It wasn’t that she was gifted, though; she was that too. It was something unexplainable. He quite enjoyed a mystery since not much was a mystery to him, but it wasn’t that that drew him to her, either. It was just something. It was like a spell.
A spell…
At first light the next morning, as Zack took his morning jog, he took the scenic route straight to the mayor’s house.
He basically accosted Helena-Marie while she was out getting her morning paper. She assured him that no spell had been worked on him. Then she said something that would stick with him forever:
“Dr. Lewis, what did you think love would feel like? Did you think it would take months of getting to know someone? Date after droning date? Maybe that’s what falling in love is for some people, but not for you. It was never going to be like that for you. When it’s love, it’s true love. She knows it, and you do, too. In your case, you just have to decide whether exploring it is worth living out that nightmare you’ve been having all these years. If you choose to pursue Paige, I assure you that vision will come true. If you decide not to, you will live your life never seeing that nightmare come to fruition, but you will never know this feeling that you have for her again. It’s your decision.”
Shit, she didn’t sugarcoat it, he thought.
He stood there rubbing his face with one hand, rubbing the back of his neck with the other.
Helena-Marie smiled. “Help her hone her gifts, will you? She’s much more powerful than she knows. You’ll see for yourself.”
“So I do go to her, then?” he asked anxiously.
“I can’t be sure. Decisions are ever changing. You know that. But you also already know your intentions, yet you stand here asking me to tell you that which you already know.”
“Helena-Marie, if I go to her, will she be the end of me?” That was as point-blank as it could get. Right between the eyes.
She looked into the distance, seemingly disengaged. “I honestly don’t know, Zack. Good day.”
She waved as she walked back inside, leaving him there to ponder what she’d told him. She didn’t know? What was that supposed to mean? Zack knew about the mayor’s gifts. He knew she could see the future. He’d never envied that until now when his future was at stake.
Zack wandered around aimlessly, considering the facts and the variables. The latter seemed to outweigh the facts. Or at least he’d thought he was wandering aimlessly until he found himself in front of the B&B where Paige was staying.
He stood there thinking of what the mayor had told him. It took him back to the age-old question about whether it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. He knew if he allowed himself to indulge in this overwhelming pull he felt toward Paige, he would lose. She would, too. The dark aura around the vision told him as much.
He’d gone to Mystic Tides magic shop after he’d left Paige the night before. He’d asked the cousins’ for help. They’d reluctantly obliged.
Zack knew he had to see Paige again. He didn’t feel like he should tell her about the “never falling in love again” consequences of them not being together as he’d been informed by the mayor. He didn’t want her to feel pressured either way. He wanted things to happen naturally whether they decided to see one another or not. That was one reason for the amulet. Sure, it would protect her from her absorption power, but it served another purpose as well. It would keep them both from seeing the vision each time they touched. It was a way for them to spend time together without being constantly reminded of the thing that would drive them apart…if that was what they decided to do.
He thought long and hard as he pulled the amulet the witches had forged for him from his pocket. He looked at it in his hand before making the decision that would change his life forever.
* * * *
Paige walked out onto the deck of the B&B trying to ignore the overwhelming pull she felt to find the young doctor she’d met the day before. The smell that had been unknown to her when she’d first arrived in town now smelled like comfort. The breeze in Blansett carried with it the smell of the ocean. If she’d known its beauty, she would’ve come long before. Photos hadn’t done the rolling waves justice. After she felt confident that no one was looking, she slid her foot out of her shoe and into the sand, savoring the feel of it between her toes.
“Paige?” She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Zack.
“Shit! I thought I was alone. And I thought I asked you not to come back around here.” She feigned aggravation, but she wasn’t sorry to see him. She quickly slid her shoe back on, feeling the trapped grains of sand scratching her foot.
“You were, and you did, but I brought you something. A gift.”
“Oh no,” she said, waving her hand at him as he walked around from the side of the B&B, approaching her from the beach. “I don’t want any more ‘gifts,’ thank you very much.”
“You’ll want this one.” He held out a necklace. It had a crystal blue stone in it, the same color of her eyes. There was a movement inside, a whirlpool, it seemed. It was magical.
She looked closer as he held it out to her. “It’s beautiful.”
“Almost as beautiful as its new owner.”
“Don’t.” She scrunched up her nose. “Don’t do the thing.”
“What thing?”
“The thing where you compliment me and expect me to fall over with my legs open. You’re a good-looking guy. I’m sure that tactic has worked for you in the past, but I’m just not—”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he interrupted. “I’m sorry if I offended you. I just meant… Oh, never mind. Here.” He held it out to her again.
“Why would you buy me a present? We don’t even know each other.”
“This is more than a necklace. It’s an amulet to protect you.”
“Protect me from what?”
“It’ll protect you from yourself.”
“What does that mean? Why are you people always talking in some sort of magical code language? Just spit it out already.”
Zack laughed.
“What’s funny?”
“Sorry, it’s just that you’re so…forward.”
“The amulet?” Paige asked again, trying not to get distracted by
his charm.
“Of course. You’re an absorber. In the outside world, that wouldn’t be an issue for you, but here, where magic is all around, you can see where that would present a problem. So I had the cousins, ah, some friends make this for you. As long as you wear it, you won’t absorb.”
Paige reached for it, careful not to touch Zack’s hand. She didn’t want to see that vision again. “Thank you,” she said, accepting the very thoughtful gift.
“Would you like to go for coffee?”
“Zack, aren’t you afraid?”
“Yes,” he told her honestly. “But I’m also afraid of not knowing you. I need to know you.”
“Your eyes… They are different. Blue.”
“Well, that’s new. I’m not sure what that color means, but they change color with my mood.”
“That’s so cool.” Her tone softened but hardened again when she remembered the topic at hand. “I can’t be responsible for your wellbeing.”
“What makes you think that you’re responsible for my wellbeing?”
“The vision. I know I’m there when whatever happens in that vision takes place. I know it has to do with me. I can feel it. We’re connected.” She admitted letting her guard down.
“Oh—” he said, stumbling backward, seemingly caught off guard.
“What is it? Are you all right?”
“It’s just… I’ve heard about…but never seen a rainbow aura so radiant, so bright…”
“What is it?” Paige said, becoming more and more concerned. She looked down at herself. “What’s the matter?”
“Paige, you’re a healer.”
“Yeah, so what? I can fix some things. I don’t really have a good handle on how to do it, but sometimes, if something or someone is hurt, I can tend to minor bumps and bruises. You’re a doctor. You do the same thing.”
“You can do a lot more than that! This is just phenomenal. Paige, you are…” He stepped closer.
“What?” she whispered, lost in his eyes.
“You’re perfect…” he whispered, unable to stop himself from leaning closer and touching her arm.
Mystic Luck (Mystic Tides Book 2) Page 19