She took herself and her drink out past the deck and to the pool. Instead of sitting on a lounger she sat at the edge of the pool, dangling her legs over the side.
There was also the man, Kenda. She'd been attracted to him immediately. But they were from two completely different worlds. And she didn't mean the fact that he was white and she was black. He was rich, like Aunt Edna. But not just rich, he carried himself like a man who'd never had to do without wealth or privilege his entire life. His brothers had the same feel of wealth and privilege about them. The way they carried themselves, their grooming, their confidence, these were men who had the world at their fingertips. What could she expect to have in common with a man like Kenda? She'd grown up poor and been in and out of hospitals and doctor's offices most of her life. When you had a ghost as your constant companion, you couldn't help but not fit in. She was an outcast and a misfit everywhere she went. She didn't have the world at her fingertips. She wasn't rich. She didn't even know what she'd be doing three months from now, or even where she'd be living. She wasn't the kind of woman a man like Kenda would fall in love with. She was the kind of woman a man like Kenda would want to have fun with. As in, a one-night stand, or at most, a summer fling.
Something brushed by her foot.
Startled, she looked into the water. She cried out when she saw the shadow of something large swim past her leg in the water. On instinct, she drew her feet up, but she wasn't fast enough. Whatever it was, it grabbed her ankle and pulled her forward, dragging her from the edge of the pool and below the surface of the water.
She tried to scream, but her mouth filled with water. She tried to kick away from whatever it was that was holding her, but it was too strong. She kicked and flung her arms out, but she couldn't break free.
Her eyes started to burn from the chlorine, but she had to see. She couldn't close her eyes.
Then, before her, the entire world changed. The water began to harden around her. She was suddenly at the bottom of a ravine. No, not a ravine. A cavern. An enormous cavern. She was down at the very bottom and couldn't see the top. And there were people. She was staring up at thousands and thousands of people, but they'd been enclosed in man-made tombs built into the rock walls surrounding her.
Where was she? Who were those people? Why were they entombed in white sheaths?
But that wasn't right. Instantly, she knew that was wrong. The water around her wasn't merely hardening and the people weren't entombed in white sheaths. The water was hardening to ice. And the people around her had been entombed in ice.
This, she realized, was the White World. Somehow, she was in the White World. But she hadn't been sleeping. She knew she hadn't been sleeping.
She screamed again.
More water filled her mouth.
She couldn't die like this.
She couldn't breathe, couldn't get away from the hand that was holding her.
One of the frozen figures jolted. Then it moved. The next moment it was flying toward her. She couldn't help it, she screamed again, swallowing more water.
The icy figure came at her fast, then stopped inches from her face.
She screamed again, kicked wildly, struck out, but she couldn't free herself.
"Help us, Kesi," the figure said. "Come home to Chimera and free us."
Something warm touched her lips. She cried out again, but this time, her mouth didn't fill with water. So she screamed again and again. She fought against the arms that encircled her, clawed at them. She had to break free.
"Jaden. Jaden, it's me."
The arms tightened, holding her so close that she could barely move.
"Jaden."
She recognized that voice.
She wasn't drowning anymore.
Blinking, she looked around. "Where'd they go? Where'd they go!" The entombed people were gone. The frozen figure was gone. The hand around her ankle was gone. She was back in her aunt's yard beside the pool and someone was holding her.
"Who? Jaden. Who was here?"
She turned to look at the speaker and nearly cried in relief.
"Kenda." Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled close to him. The warmth of his body surrounded her; comforted her.
He was nodding and stroking her hair so gently she wanted to cry.
"I'm here. It's okay," he told her, pulling her tight against his body.
She looked around, making sure the world didn't change on her again. She was breathing hard, but still couldn't manage to catch her breath. The sweet taste of fresh air was too good. She gulped it down.
"It's all right," Kenda said. "You're all right."
She shook her head. "It's not all right. I was sitting here by the pool, right here. I was awake, and he pulled me in." She looked around again, "I don't know if it was a dream or real. But he tried to kill me, Kenda. He reached out and touched me and he tried to kill me."
CHAPTER NINE
Jaden sat up in bed, a fresh mug of tea in hand. The previous cup had fallen into the pool. She doubted she'd be the one to retrieve it. She didn't know if she'd ever want to be in a pool again.
She'd changed into her night dress. While she'd been changing, Kenda had been heating water for tea. He'd gotten a cup for himself, too, she saw. Then he'd propped up her pillows so she could sit upright and drink without spilling it.
He sat beside her now, one arm around her shoulder. Under normal circumstances she would not have allowed a man she barely knew into bed with her, but she'd been shaking so badly, even with the comforter pulled up to her chin. He'd gotten in beside her and held her, waiting for the shaking to subside. They both knew it wasn't cold that had her shaking. It was fear. Pure, unadulterated fear. She hadn't been this afraid since she'd been fifteen. When the nightmares had started. No, that wasn't right. She hadn't been this afraid since last night. Since the Man in White had thrown her into the cliff.
She told Kenda what she'd seen, emphasizing the fact that she'd been awake when it started. "If he can just pull me into another world like that, I'm not safe anywhere."
"You were unconscious when I pulled you out of the water, so you must have been having some kind of dream." He paused for a moment and rubbed his face with one hand. "I have to tell you; I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life. I could hear you screaming from the front yard. That's how I knew you were in the back. Then I get to the backyard and there you were, floating in the water." He sucked in air and let it out slowly. "Scared the life out of me."
"I'm sorry. But I'm glad you came back. I don't want to think about what would have happened..." she shook again.
"Don't think about it."
He squeezed her tight for a few moments, making her feel warm and safe. When he released her, she wanted to ask him to stay. She was too scared to sleep alone tonight.
"Do you think that's when it happened? When you were unconscious, I mean? That maybe the world didn't change, but you lost consciousness and went into a dream state?"
She considered that. It made sense. "I kept trying to scream and was swallowing water." She nodded. "Maybe you're right. That bastard forced me into a situation where I'd be unconscious, then he came for me. But that still doesn't answer what pulled me into the water in the first place."
"Has anything like this happened to you before?"
"No. Never. Either he was an apparition or a dream. Even in the dreams he was never able to actually touch me. Yesterday was the first time." She looked down at her hands. They were still trembling, but not as badly as before. "I don't know what to do. I'm scared."
"I'm staying with you tonight. No," He held his hand up to stop her from talking. "I've already decided that I'm staying. If anything else happens, I'll be here."
"I can't expect you to do that. You don't even know me."
"I've never pulled anyone out of a pool and given them mouth to mouth before, so I feel like I know you at least a little."
She couldn't help it. She laughed.
"J
aden, this is the God's honest truth. If I go home tonight, I'll be up all night worried about you. You'd be doing me a favor by letting me stay."
She turned to look at him. His eyes were the brightest green she'd ever seen.
"You're a nice man, aren't you? A good man."
"I try."
What was wrong with her? Not an hour ago she'd nearly drowned to death in her aunt's pool, now here she was, flirting with her rescuer. Though, flirting wasn't exactly right. She was too nervous to flirt. And still too unnerved by what had happened to her.
"So what do you want to do?" He held a finger up. "Before you answer, let me give you the rules."
"Oh, there are rules?"
"Absolutely. Rule one, you're not allowed to think about the Man in White. Rule two, you're not allowed to talk about the Man in White. Rule three, rules one and two are in force until tomorrow."
"It's nearly tomorrow already."
"Until later tomorrow. Until sunrise tomorrow."
"Okay, but before the rules go in force, one last thing. Have you ever heard of a place called Chimera? The man who spoke to me told me to come back to Chimera. And he didn't call me Jaden. He called me Kesi."
"Has anyone ever spoke to you in your dreams before?"
"Never."
"Chimera. I heard that name before, but not as a place." He looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought. "Give me a minute."
She was silent as he considered. When he sat up and looked at her, her heart quickened. But this time it wasn't because of the man. It was what the man might know.
"I remember. It was when I was in college. But it won't help you."
"It may. How do you know that name?"
"Greek mythology. Chimera is a hybrid monster. I don't think that's what you mean, though. Sounds like you're talking about a place. A place you're supposed to go back to. I think the question is, have you ever heard of Chimera?"
"I haven't. And I haven't been to anywhere whose name resembled it. But what if it isn't a place? What if it's a thought or something?"
"A thought? How so?"
"Like a state of mind." She shook her head. "No, that's stupid."
"There's something else. You've said the Man in White has never touched you before and nobody in your dreams has ever spoken to you, until last night. So what has changed?"
"I've thought about that. It has to be me being here and maybe meeting Hayley and Bria. That's the only thing that's different in my life. I think meeting them has..." she tried to think of the right words, but there weren't any. "...it has scared him—the Man in White, I mean." She considered this, then nodded. "Yeah. I don't think he likes the fact that we've met. That we're in the same place. I wonder if Bria and Hayley have had odd experiences since Bria came to stay with Nico."
"I doubt it. As far as I know, tonight is the first time they met."
"I'll talk to them tomorrow. See if they've experienced anything out of the ordinary." She looked out the sliding glass doors toward the ocean. It was too dark to actually see it, but she could hear it. The sound, along with Kenda's arm around her, calmed her.
"We know that there's possibly a place called Chimera and that you resemble someone named Kesi. That gives us somewhere to start."
"Us?"
"Us."
"Why do you care? You've just met me? And as nice as you are, I can see in your eyes that you don't really believe me."
"You don't want me to care? Okay. I'm going home."
"No," she laughed. "I'm glad you're staying. You're just being really nice to someone you don't know. I have to seem crazy to you."
"Do I believe there's an entity that haunts your dreams and has followed you, Hayley and Bria since you were children?" He rubbed at his temple. "That's a pretty tall order for an ordinary guy like me. I don't believe in ghosts. But ask me if I think something strange is going on and I'd say yes. Clearly, something is happening here. I'm not sure what, but I'm gonna find out. Not only for you. I've known Hayley since I was a kid. Same goes for Bria. She's my buddy's kid sister and she's been through enough already. I'm going to help get to the bottom of this."
"Poor Kenda."
"Playing hero by staying the night with a beautiful woman. My life has been a trial."
She couldn't help it. Her smile broadened at the beautiful woman' comment. She shifted so she could look at him, eye to eye, then froze when their eyes met. His smile slid away, but he didn't turn from her.
Kiss me, she found herself thinking. Right now. Kiss me.
He reached around her and her heart nearly stopped. Then he grabbed the remote control. He clicked the TV over the fireplace on and flipped through the channels. "Now, about those rules."
The moment was gone.
"Rules in force starting now," she agreed, disappointed. "I like your idea of television. We don't have to think if we're watching television."
"Exactly."
"Aunt Edna has Netflix. Let's watch Grace and Frankie. If that show can't put a smile on my face, nothing can."
"I've never seen it."
She took the remote from him and clicked the Netflix button. "Then, Kenda Browning, you are in for a treat."
He shifted. "It's hot under here." He bent forward, shifted some more, then came up holding socks. "That's better."
"Now you're comfortable, just from taking off your socks?"
"Absolutely."
They watched Grace and Frankie, but it didn't stop her from thinking. Now she was wondering who this man was. He'd rescued her and now was staying up late with her, a stranger, because he wanted to make sure she was safe. Who did that kind of thing?
"Are you from around here?" she asked.
"No. I'm from Long Island, in New York."
"How did you and your brothers end up here?"
"Tyler. He had this crazy idea to start a business together. He'd been here maybe ten years ago, on business, and fallen in love with the town. But I've gotta tell you, ten years ago St. Sebastians wasn't what you see now. It was a largely forgotten beach town with virtually no tourism. Tyler saw an opportunity."
"So he persuaded you and Chris to move here and start a company? What do you do?"
"Tyler studied business and has his MBA, I'm an architect. I was working for one of those mega firms in Manhattan. Chris is the only one of us without a degree, but he'd been in construction since before graduating high school. Tyler thought we had all the ingredients we needed to start a successful construction company. I would focus on design, Tyler would watch the bottom line, and Chris would oversee the actual construction."
"It all fit into place. Like a puzzle. That's amazing. You do know how amazing that is, right?"
He laughed. "It wasn't at first. I could work with Chris and Tyler, but Chris and Tyler could not work with each other. They kept trying to tell each other what to do and how to better manage their areas. Chris didn't study finance, but he'd handled the books where he'd worked for three years. He wasn't a novice when it came to finances. When it comes to design, Chris is invaluable there, too. He knows what's financially doable. He helps me re-work my ideas when they become a bit too...grandiose. I welcome his help. Tyler, doesn't. So we had to get a general manager to sort of oversee the whole business and speak as an intermediary between Chris and Tyler when needed. Nico has a finance background, but he double majored. Finance and art history." He held his hands up. "No, don't ask."
"So he keeps everyone in check?"
"He keeps Tyler and Chris in check. That's a job too big even for me, and a job I don't want. Even when we were kids they were like oil and water. They'd get into these awful fistfights. The only thing that would stop them would be when I started to cry."
"You cried?"
"I was like eight, and they were eleven and twelve. They were my entire world back then, so it was scary when they'd get into it like that. It was like watching my world crumble."
"What about your parents?"
"Our parents," he snorted. "They meant we
ll. Their idea of good parenting was a backyard pool, seventy-five thousand dollar cars when we turned sixteen, and fat trust funds. My father was busy making money. That's what my mom always told us. Mom was busy doing good in the world. She was on just about every charity board in existence. When they weren't working, they were traveling."
"So it was just the three of you. You must have been close."
"We were and are. Even Tyler and Chris. I make it sound bad, but really we're fortunate. We have this company that's doing far better than we had a right to hope. But if we'd never created it, we'd have been fine. I could have left school and never worked a day in my life and had been fine."
"You're that rich?"
"My parents are that rich. I used some of my inheritance when I went away to college, so I could focus on my studies without having to get a job. I don't need the rest. But it's there for my children."
"You're telling me that you and your brothers started your own company from scratch, without any financial backing from your parents, and have made it into a success?"
"Tyler has been working since high school. He put himself through college. He made some good investments, and had nearly all the capital we needed. Chris lives like a monk. At least he used to. Between the two of us, we were able to round out the money we needed."
"You're not what you seem."
He looked at her then. "I'm not sure if that's good or bad."
"I shouldn't have said that. I'm constantly saying things I shouldn't say."
"Still not sure if I've been complimented or insulted."
"You haven't been insulted."
Jaden (St. Sebastians Quartet #1) Page 7