But as they sat down on a bench, I noticed something was off about their relationship. She seemed to be totally in control of him. When he turned his head to kiss her, I stopped dead in my tracks and openly stared at him, probably looking like a total stalker. He looked just like Nick. “Oh my God,” I said aloud. But it couldn’t be him. Nick was gone.
As I studied him closer, I thought that he wasn’t an exact replica, but something just felt so similar. The guy looked up from underneath his dark bangs and made perfect eye contact with me, but there was no recognition. I tried to collect myself and looked over his head, making it look as though I was interested in something in the store window behind him. He looked at me inquisitively, but then turned his attention back to the pretty girl he was talking to. She was stunningly beautiful with pale white skin and flaming red hair. He was also paler than normal, almost like he hadn’t seen any sun all summer. His eyes never left her lips while they were talking. It was almost like he was drawn to her, like a moth to a flame. He simply couldn’t look away when she had his attention. I realized I was intruding on a private moment so I turned and walked away. But I couldn’t help thinking that something was so familiar about him, something I just couldn’t dismiss. I took one more look at him over my shoulder, but he hadn’t given me another look.
I walked into the shop of bath supplies and soaps, knowing Joy would be in there trying to find a new perfume. She seemed to do that every few weeks, change her scent. She purchased fragrances like most people bought underwear.
“Oh Paige, you have got to try this one!” She sprayed me full in the face with something that smelled like a cross between roses and pure sugar. It smelled terrible.
“Yuck! What is that? Eau of old lady?” I noticed a few of the older customers suddenly turn and walk away from me, I also noticed their dirty looks my direction. “Oh sorry.” I said without really meaning it.
“You don’t like it?” Joy said sheepishly.
“No, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have reacted like that. I just saw something out on the street that kind of freaked me out.” I shook my head as if I would shake away the mental image of the two people together, but I knew it wouldn’t go away.
Joy put the bottle back on the shelf with all the other testers. “Why? What happened?” She put her hand on my shoulder. She was great at stuff like this. The comforter role, I didn’t really have that down so much, I was more of the “wear your emotions on your sleeve” type of girl.
“No, it was just weird. I saw this couple and I thought I knew the guy, but I guess not. He kind of looked like someone I used to know, but he must’ve had one of those faces, you know?”
“Well, I want to see him,” she hurried me out of the store, “point him out.”
I saw them, still sitting on the bench, looking totally enamored with each other. But I wasn’t going to point them out to her. I was already some random stranger, I mean I might have looked creepy before but I wasn’t psycho level yet.
“No! I can’t do that, I don’t even know them,” I protested.
“Fine. I’ll just have to find them myself.” She began scanning the crowd, though with her large Gucci sunglasses you probably couldn’t even tell that she was looking for them, but the second her head stopped I knew she had found them. She pulled her glasses down slightly to the bridge of her nose with her right hand and looked over them. Her blue eyes almost appeared brighter but I assumed it was just the sun. There was something else in her eyes, a flicker of recognition? Maybe this guy really did have one of those familiar faces.
She slowly put her sunglasses back up and took my hand. “Paige, it’s time for us to go.”
“Huh? Did you see the guy or not?” I looked back to the couple and sure enough they were still sitting there, but now the redhead was staring directly at us. There was a dangerous fire in her eyes.
“Paige, now.” She started pulling me in the direction of her car. She walked quickly with her head down.
Once we got to the car she popped the trunk and put her packages in the back. She hurried around to her door, fumbling with her keys. After sitting down she put the A/C on full blast. I sat down in the passenger side seat next to her and turned my body so I was facing her full on. I wanted answers now.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on here or not? I swear things are so bizarre in this town.” I sighed heavily, letting her know my frustration with her lack of explanation as to why we left so quickly. I hoped that she would catch my drift.
“Paige there’s just some things about here that you don’t understand. Some things I can’t tell you.”
“Like what? You obviously knew her, but from where?”
She sighed and turned to look at me directly in the eyes and said, “Another life.”
4
“You have got to be kidding me? You’re into all this paranormal crap too?”
She laughed, “No, I don’t mean like that. I knew her a really long time ago, it just feels like another life.”
I still wasn’t totally catching on. “Like how long ago? I mean we’re not that old Joy.”
She took a deep breath and looked at me intently. “Alright, here goes nothing. You know how I don’t tell anyone in town how I came to own the gallery?”
“Yeah you explained that the first time I met you. You said that it helped people believe in the ‘charm’ of the place.”
“Yeah, the charm… Well, before I had the gallery, let’s put it this way, I wasn’t all that charming. I didn’t have a lot of money then. I bought the gallery when my parents died, they left me money in their will and I decided that I was going to live my dream with it. That girl back there? She knew me from before I had money. And let’s just say she wasn’t so pleasant.”
“So you’re still running from bullies?” That just didn’t seem like the Joy I knew.
She fiddled with the air-conditioning, turning it down lower. “Yeah I guess you could say that. I moved here after my parents died. I act like I grew up around here but really I’m from Virginia. I had no idea my past would follow me here, I think that’s what freaked me out the most. Not her in particular just that my past is catching up with me. And I don’t know that my fans would like to know that I’m just a girl from some podunk town in western Virginia.” She looked at me with tears in her eyes, it was hard for her to admit how difficult it had been for her growing up. I guess she didn’t really like the term “struggling artist”.
“I don’t think your fans would care either way, Joy. They love you. You’re like a freaking goddess to them.”
She laughed as a small tear rolled down her cheek. “I am not! I just got lucky, in the right place at the right time and all that.”
“Yeah, sure, and it doesn’t hurt that your artwork is actually fantastic. Or the fact that you can talk about it, something most artists will never be able to do. Don’t worry about that crazy chick. She’s got nothing on you.”
“Thanks,” she said quietly. “Now you ready to get out of here? I have a gift certificate to this amazing restaurant on the other side of town.”
I laughed, Joy would have a gift card. She’s the only bazillionare I knew and of course she clipped coupons.
After ordering some of the most expensive items on the menu, Joy and I sat and chatted for a while. I thought this would be the best time to ask about her parents. I knew it would be hard for her to speak about, but I thought it was worthwhile asking.
“Joy?” I asked on bated breath, “When did your parents pass away?”
I couldn't recall her ever mentioning them being deceased before today. I mean she had even gone to visit family recently. That would have been a prime opportunity to mention the fact that they were gone.
She averted her eyes and mumbled something before going into her story. “My parents died two years ago. They were brutally murdered by some crazy person. They caught him, he admitted to the whole thing.” She shook her head. “The worst part is I don't even know why he did i
t. The authorities figured that someone had sent him, but they have no idea why. I mean we had some money, but we didn't use it, so no one really knew. I was so shocked to be able to buy the gallery after they passed. I had no idea we had that kind of money, I was never raised in the type of household that appeared to have so much money. The guy committed suicide in jail only a few weeks after my parents’ death, I never even got to talk to him.”
I was flabbergasted and she had stopped talking so I said the only thing that came to my mind, “What would you have said to him?”
She shrugged. “I don't know. I guess I would've asked him why he did it.”
“Would it have made you feel any better? To know why?”
“I don't know, I guess it would've given me some closure though. I miss them. I miss them every day but I'm thankful for the time I had with them. I guess you're not the only one to experience some loss in your life Paige.”
I nodded. “I guess not.”
Finding my thoughts back on Nick, I remembered Ultan’s words at the gallery. I decided that perhaps I should question Joy, maybe she knew more than I originally thought.
“Joy, what do you know about Ultan?”
“Not so much actually. Just that he lives in my apartment complex. Wears a lot of dark clothes, and is completely delicious.”
“He's from Salem?”
“He's a transplant. Like most of us.”
“Do you know how close he is with Gran?”
Joy nodded. “Yeah, really close.”
“Got it. He was at the gallery the other night. Said something about a book. Know anything about that?”
“Nah.” She looked just as confused as I felt.
“He noticed my necklace too. Said it was pretty. It’s just a stupid pentagram, I’m sure a thousand stores sell them here.”
“Actually yours is pretty unique and it looks old.” I rolled my eyes at her. She looked serious for a moment. “Paige, I know that you think that all of this witchcraft stuff is just a big joke, but a lot of people around here really believe in it. Whether it's because it fills their pockets during tourist season, or because it’s their religion. You might just want to lay off the disbelief for a little while. Be open to things, that's all I'm saying.”
I could tell she wasn't trying to offend me, but she knew I didn't really believe in any of that stuff. But if Joy asked me to bite my tongue, I would. I still wondered about the book though and what it had to do with me. As Joy continued to snack on her salad I made the decision that I would at least try to find it. Maybe it had some of the answers I was looking for.
5
The next day I decided to go back and visit Beatrice. Maybe she had some of the answers I had been searching for. Maybe she would know something about the book that Ultan had mentioned.
As I entered the smoky shop, I heard a light chime from above the door. I hadn’t noticed that the day before but I guessed it's because I was so wrapped up in Joy bringing me in here and I didn't want to go. I couldn't figure out what had been keeping me from entering the store the day before but today it seemed welcoming not smoggy. The shop was still totally full of crap but this time it felt cozy instead of cluttered and claustrophobic. I looked around and noticed that most of the blinds were open today, allowing for some natural light to shine in. Beatrice came shuffling around from the back room, turning her head this way and that. I couldn't tell if she was completely blind or if she just used her emotion tracker to find people but she quickly realized who the visitor was. “Paige, isn't it?”
“Yes ma'am,” I nodded. “I was wondering if you could do something for me.”
She smiled a small thin line and rested her hands on the counter. “You better come with me child.”
She tightened her shawls around her shoulders and shuffled into the back room through the beaded chains. I quickly followed her, my feet making creaking noises on the old hardwood floor as I walked. I dipped my head through the hanging beads and entered a dark room with overstuffed chairs and a small table in the middle. Sitting in the center of it was a round, pearl colored globe.
“I thought you read emotions, not fortunes.”
She sat down gingerly in the red chair behind the globe. Even with all her shawls, she still seemed small. “Sometimes I do both. When spirits call me to. You shouldn't be concerned with the spirits child, they don't seek to harm you.”
I tilted my head. “Someone wants to hurt me?” These were the answers I'd been looking for. Either Beatrice was a total crackpot, or she was speaking more sense than anyone else had.
“Fire and ice do not mix well. Your mother knew that, it's why you haven't visited here in quite a while, isn't it?”
I shook my head. “I don't think I understand. I came here to ask you about a book.”
“A book? Your family's book?”
“Sure.” She sounded like she knew she was talking about, I could go with that.
“And how did you hear about this book?”
I didn't want involve Ultan, I wasn't sure that he would appreciate me outing his rumors. “Gran mentioned it once. But she can't find it. Any idea where it might be?”
She tapped her fingers on the arm of the chair making me feel as though she could tell I was lying. “Aine knows where the book is. She would never misplace such an important artifact. She does not however, know that you are going to find it.”
I swallowed hard. “Beatrice is there something I should know?”
She shook her head slowly back and forth. “There's nothing more I can tell you child. A family must take care of their own. Yours will choose when the time is right, but be wary Paige, they do not fear the danger among them. They may wait too long. Your protector knows that. It's why he's come for you. You should embrace him.”
One person came to my mind. Ultan. “How will he protect me?”
“Depends on his task. I see much work in his future. But he will try to break the laws. And laws cannot be broken.” She turned her head once more and tilted it as if she were listening. “You must go. Do not come here again, they are watching.”
Fear and confusion had my feet glued to the ground and I was afraid to move scared I would fall over.
The old woman stood up from her chair and stuck her hand up at me. It was only then that I noticed the pentagram tattoo etched into her palm. “GO!” She said it so forcefully for such a small soft-spoken woman that I immediately obeyed. I was outside and walking away from the shop without even realizing what had happened. Beatrice may have been a crazy old lady, but she saw something in Ultan that I hadn't. He was going to keep me safe from whatever she feared so much.
I thought I could begin to ask Gran what was going on when I realized she had left for her weekly poker tournament, though she told everyone she was going to high tea. I felt a chill of loneliness in the large mansion. I really hadn’t explored it much since I’d arrived and all I kept thinking about was Ultan talking about a book that Gran had. Beatrice believed Gran knew where it was hidden, and the only place I could think of that Gran would trust would be her own home. So I decided to take her keys out of the side table in the foyer and do some digging around.
I started upstairs, searching the bedrooms. I figured if anything of value was still left in the house it would be up there. I found my mother’s childhood bedroom first. With pink walls and delicate white furniture I knew it had to be a little girl’s room. But not much had changed in it since I was a child. I had stayed here many times when I was little, but thinking back on it, Beatrice had been right. I really hadn’t stayed at all as a teenager. I guess I was a bit wrapped up in my own world though, so perhaps I had avoided coming to visit. I shouldn’t have done that with Gran getting older. I was realizing that soon she wouldn’t be around anymore for me to spend time with. As I looked through my mother’s old things, a chest filled with dirty costumes and a closet full of toys, I began to feel sad about not visiting her enough. Not seeing any books lying around, I figured this wasn’t the o
ne I was looking for, so I moved on.
The next bedroom I found was a guestroom completely covered in dust, with sheets covering all of the furniture. The shutters were closed in this room, which I thought was kind of odd and I tried to feel around as the lights no longer worked. I had to assume Gran had some of the electric turned off so she wouldn’t have to pay such a high bill in this old house. No point heating the rooms that weren’t being used in the winter. I continued to feel around, noticing the beautiful dressing table and the delicate, ornate mirror. I lifted the dusty cover off of what looked like a stool and sat down on what was left of the plush seat, in front of the mirror to look at myself. The piece was beautiful and had been kept in immaculate condition. I had half a mind to ask Gran if I could put it in my room but then she would know that I’d been snooping around. As I looked at my reflection I noticed something behind me. I quickly turned around but nothing was there.
“My eyes just playing tricks on me I guess,” I said aloud, hoping it would boost my confidence. I could have sworn I’d seen a blue light but perhaps I was just scared, letting my fear and confusion take over.
I covered the vanity back up with the cloth and was on my way to leave the room when I heard a noise. It was coming from the same area that I had seen a flash of a shadow in the mirror. There was a bookcase still there with several books lying on it, but I had looked through all of them and none of them were the one I was looking for. That is, if I had any idea what I was looking for. I thought that when I found it, it would simply jump out at me, but perhaps it wouldn’t and this bookcase needed further investigation. I walked slowly over to the bookcase and ran my finger along each of the books one last time. It was then that I noticed one sticking out slightly. I pulled it out to look further at its pages when a miraculous thing happened. Behind the book was a small knob. It was an old one, maybe from the Victorian era and I thought that perhaps some of my answers may be behind the bookcase. These old homes held secret passageways for escaped slaves or hidden secrets. I was elated with my discovery, but realized quickly that whatever was behind there would probably be just as dark and scary as this bedroom was. I needed a flashlight.
The Salem Shifters: Complete Series Books 1-3 Page 7