by Candy Crum
“Relax,” I said, taking a couple steps toward the kitchen.
“Mia!” Andrews scolded. “Get back here. You don’t know what he’ll do.”
I smiled. “Yes, I do. You see, you were unconscious at the time, so you wouldn’t know, but I compelled this man.” I took another step forward. “In the warehouse, the night that he killed you and my best friend, Will.”
“That doesn’t mean anything, Mia,” Andrews said. “You were really new then. You’re still really new. You don’t know that it stuck.”
“That’s the funny part,” I said, taking another step forward. I saw that he was shaking. Whether it was from fear, or because he was putting in a lot of effort to defy me, I couldn’t be certain. I laughed. “It’s hilarious even. Tristan had everyone, including Billy the Kid over there, under his compulsion. His defenses were down. He had no way of fighting anyone off, including a novice like me. So, yes… That compulsion stuck. It’s impossible that it didn’t, not while under Tristan’s control and mine.”
His brows furrowed as rage replaced his previous only semi-confident expression. Without warning, he lifted the gun and put it to his temple.
“Yeah? Well, you never told me not to hurt myself.”
Uh… Didn’t see that one coming.
“I’m the only mother fucker that knows where Jay is. If I die, you’re fucked.”
“He’s right, Mia. Be careful,” Andrews said. He had a Glock pointed across the room at him.
At that moment, my fear and worry about letting Jay slip through my fingers again after everything that he’d done overwhelmed me. I couldn’t. There was no way I could let him go again. Suddenly, I felt like I was being choked. My chest burned, and my head felt like it would explode. I felt such pressure behind my eyes.
That bastard smiled at me from across the room. There was no doubt in my mind. He was going to do it. He was going to kill himself. “Good luck, bitch. You’re gonna need it.”
“Stop!” I shouted, my power burst forth, and everyone in the room became still.
Turning my head, I saw that Andrews was even under my control. I’d done it. I’d mass compelled adults. It had taken a lot of anxiety to do it, and I obviously didn’t have any control over who it affected and who it didn’t, but it worked. Solid C plus… Maybe B minus.
“Put the gun down,” I told him. Slowly, he did as I asked. “Drop it on the floor and kick it over to me.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
He did as I asked, and I crossed the room before untying Paula. “You and Devon get out of here,” I told her.
“Thank you! I don’t know how you did it, but thank you,” she said.
Once she was untied, she hugged me. That’s not what I’d told her to do… She was compelled just like my new best friend over there. That meant she had free will. The compulsion was wearing off. Paula ran for Andrews, and I wasted no time snatching up the wrist of the man that I so desperately needed to talk to. His face stayed slack, letting me know that he was still mine.
“Andrews,” I said. “Those men out back are only incapacitated, I think. They need to be tied up.”
Andrews only nodded before taking his sister out the back door. I turned to the man in my grasp and smiled. There wasn’t a moment of this that I wasn’t going to enjoy.
* * *
It took a very long time to get everything sorted with the local police. Andrews had a friend of his come from Jackson, and I called Tristan. I needed his help in case some influencing needed to happen. My powers were so erratic that I had no way of knowing when it would stick or for how long.
For the most part, it was pretty easy. They were on the property and inside with guns. They worked for Jay. They were very bad men with very bad intentions. We had the targets at Andrews’ parents’ house as evidence that we were over there shooting before, and the call made to his phone from one of their phones where they’d threatened Paula.
Of course, since Paula was alive and able to speak for herself, she validated everything. Tristan only had to use a small amount of influence when trying to keep them off our backs about not calling the police sooner and letting them handle it. After having met them, I knew that my assumption was correct. A small area like this, the police didn’t need to be impressive like Andrews. And they weren’t.
Andrews made his way over to me. “How are you doing?”
I nodded. “Oh, I’m doing great. I was able to get some rather useful information.”
“Oh?” he asked.
I nodded. “I didn’t kill him, by the way. But I did take him to the brink and let him go. He was very forthcoming. As long, as he wasn’t fed a bunch of shit, Jay’s staying in Miami, but that’s not all. He’s been working with someone down there to increase his business. Drugs and girls.”
“You want to go, don’t you?” he asked.
I smiled. “Hell yes, I do. I can’t just let him go. Pack your stuff, hotness. You’re going with me.”
He sighed and shook his head before turning to walk away. “I suppose, since I have no say at all.”
Not if he wanted to catch Jay as much as I did. We were closer than ever, and I wasn’t about to let this opportunity go.
Chapter One
The night air was cool and thick as it sheathed me in total darkness. The satin shorts and camisole that I’d gone to bed in had become damp from the heavy moisture hanging in the air. Holding my hands in front of my body, I wandered around totally blinded in the blackness as I tried to find some kind of clue that would give me a better picture.
Taking another step, my bare feet met with soft ground, the tall grass tickling my calves as I moved. It must have been a field, though the crisp, clean scent told me it was free of large animals.
Thunder cracked in the distance. The ominous, coal-black clouds had chased the moon and stars away, not even the faintest glow giving away their presence. It took a moment, but my mind had finally begun to recognize the area. It was a dream world, one that I’d seen before. With every passing night and into every dream, I was able to travel further and further into the illusion. I’d had recurring dreams before, but there was something different about these that seemed to call out to me.
Disturbing was the word that came to mind. Terrifying, even. My nerves always shook because I felt like there was something in the dream that I was supposed to learn, but always failed to. Whatever it was, I needed to find it. I was sick of seeing the same thing most of the nights that I dreamed.
The wind began to pick up, and I looked to the north. The same direction that I looked to every night. Lightning webbed across the sky, illuminating the massive, empty field in which I stood. Finally, I could see everything within the flash. This time, I saw something new. Something I’d never seen before.
Off in the distance stood two figures. Even with the great distance between them and me, I could feel the tension in the air. The hair-raising feeling surrounding them was anger, hatred. They were about to fight.
Thunder rolled again as the lightning danced across the sky. Using the flashes to light my path, I ran toward the figures in the distance. Something was happening, and I felt almost compelled to find out what. As I approached, a bolt of raw, electric energy reached down from the sky, flames spreading around the two figures in a perfect circle. I stopped hard, slipping on the damp grass and falling to the ground. I couldn’t approach any closer. I was grateful something had stopped me because I realized that I’d have fully approached if given the chance.
Sharp chills cut through me from head to toe as I realized that one of them was controlling the blaze. Nothing short of that could have kept the fire contained in such a manner. With my closeness, I could see that the figures were women. One of them was short, only a little over five feet tall and stood roughly fifty feet away to my right. Her long, jet-black hair reached just below her hips and whipped around in the wind.
As I studied her, I began to see a deep-red, transparent cloud—an aura—surrounding her. She was
strong. Very strong. Even I could feel her overwhelming power from where I stood.
Looking to my left, her opponent was close to the same height, only her hair was impossibly white and hung to her knees. This woman was far different. She was surrounded by an aura as well, though hers was a very deep blue. Something about her called to me, and it took everything I had not to trudge barefoot through the flames to reach her.
Rain began to fall and soaked everything around us, though it was unable to extinguish the fire. Movement brought me to attention as the white-haired woman lifted her arms. The earth began to quake as it broke free all around her. She looked like a dancer as she moved her body, forcing the element into submission under her power. The packed earth sailed through the air toward the dark-haired woman, but she was quick to react.
In a flash, she disappeared from my sight, dodging the attack. My eyes darted around the battle field as I tried to find her. My body locked up as my vision became obscured. Something, or rather someone had come to stand directly before me. Slowly, my eyes traveled upward, seeing the mysterious dark-haired woman looking down at me. Her dark, emerald green eyes and dilated coal-black pupils stared into mine. Her hair seemed alive as it brushed my skin, sending tingles running through my body. Her flawless, olive-toned skin nearly glowed as she stood there, an odd expression on her face. Concern. Why on earth would this woman be concerned for me?
“Kailah,” she spoke. Her soft, sweet voice echoed through my mind.
I inhaled sharply. Though her mouth barely moved, her perfect, white teeth showed just enough for me to make out four tiny, yet still elongated, razor-sharp fangs. My heart fluttered as I wondered if the woman before me was the creature that she appeared to be. How did she know me? What did she want with me?
“Y-yes?” I replied, not having a clue what else to possibly say.
“This is not a dream, Kailah. It’s a warning.” She leaned in closer to me. Her next word came out in a whisper. “Run.”
“Wait… What? From you? Or from her?” I asked, chills once again stabbing me like thousands of needles running from the roots of my hair to the bare, wet bottoms of my feet.
“She’s coming for you in the real world, child. When you wake, she will find you very, very soon. You cannot let her take you. You are the key. The only one that we have. Let no one harm you. You’re stronger than you think. Now run!”
As soon as I turned to do exactly as I was told, the thunder cracked overhead, and the lightning began crashing to the ground all around me. Something was trying to hold me where I stood, but I ran anyway. I heard a loud growl from behind me, but decided not to look back. The earth began to shake once again, and my bare feet slid on the wet grass, the soft ground cushioning me as I landed on my right hip.
“Hello, Kailah.” A new voice echoed through the night. It was cold, emotionless, but held power in its tone.
I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw her, standing only a few feet ahead of me. I stared into her fearsome, ivy blue eyes, her long white hair blowing in the wind.
Though the color of her hair would suggest otherwise, she looked no older than me: around twenty. Her skin was also olive toned, maybe a few shades darker, but she was flawless, just like the other woman had been. Her crystalline blue eyes had death in them, and I found myself backing away from her, toward the raven-haired woman I began to think was my savior there.
The woman ahead of me laughed and the sound enveloped me like frigid water. “Kailah, you would choose the Vampire over your own grandmother?”
As I tried to digest the information that she had unleashed on me, I could sense something. Darkness. Panic rose as my entire body began to feel strange. My fear was taking on something totally different. It felt like pins and needles pricked at my skin from head to toe. I was hyperaware of everything. I could feel the location of both women. One ahead of me, and one just a few feet behind. I could sense the dark-haired woman moving, her own senses heightened as she readied herself for a fight.
What was happening? What was happening to me? Wasn’t it just a dream? When would I wake?
So many things ran through my mind, but nothing made sense. It didn’t have time to.
A large knife blew past me and headed straight for the woman in front of me. The dark blue energy that surrounded her exploded into a barrier, not only stopping the knife, but flinging it away – directly at me. My eyes instinctively closed as I threw my hands out in an attempt to stop the blade from striking me – at least in any place that was terribly important.
“It is you!” the white-haired woman said with wonder.
My eyes opened at the sound of her voice. Her words echoed in my mind as my eyes focused on blue energy surrounding my hands, the large knife buried in the aura cloud instead of in my flesh. As I studied it, I realized it was just like that of the white-haired woman, only mine was light in color and hers was very dark.
I’d had all I could handle. Fear crippled me then, and I couldn’t stop the scream that bubbled up out of my throat as the energy dissipated and the knife fell to the ground.
What the hell is going on? I wondered.
The woman’s attention shifted, and with soft, graceful motion, she lifted her hand into the sky. A lightning bolt responded as it split from the darkness above and reached for her outstretched hand. She caught the energy before hurling it at her opponent. Another loud growl sounded out only a moment before something slammed hard into the blue energy barrier surrounding the white-haired woman. I focused and saw that it was the woman that had been referred to as the Vampire.
Red energy swelled around the Vampire as she pushed against the blue barrier.
“Kailah!” the Vampire called out. “She can find you in your dreams! Go! Now! You must wake up! She searches for you now! I’m linked to you through another ancestor of yours. She is much younger. If she could find you, then Khia can even faster. Run! Trust no one! We will come for you! We will help you!”
“Oh, do shut up,” the white-haired woman, Khia, said. “I will find her first. And she will help me destroy all of you blood-sucking demons. Mark my words.”
“Kailah!” the Vampire called out. “WAKE UP!” As soon as the order left her lips, energy exploded from her body as Khia was thrown several feet back. “This dream is a figment of your own mine, but make no mistake, this is a premonition of sorts. You are the key to ending this war. If Khia finds you, it will doom all of humanity to a fate worse than death. Leave this realm now and prepare yourself. Your life is about to change.”
Chapter Two
Air violently filled my lungs as I sat straight up in bed. My heart was racing and my mind wasn’t much better. That was one hell of a dream. I shook as I thought back to what I’d been told. It was terrifying, but it was just a dream. I heard thunder off in the distance, but it was very faint.
I spent several moments staring down at my blanket, taking deep breaths to calm myself. It was working very nicely until my eyes wandered upward. My breath caught in my throat, a scream choking off as I scrambled backwards, hitting my head on the headboard. At the foot of my bed stood a translucent man. He was gripping the footboard as he studied me. Something about him seemed familiar as I stared into his deep brown eyes.
His hair was long and silvery as it hung in two braids, one over each shoulder. His skin was dark like mine, and I could tell that he was Native American. He looked a lot like my grandfather. If he was from around the Seymour Indiana area, it was possible that he was from the same tribe that my family stemmed from.
As I adjusted to his presence, I calmed. It was clear the spirit wasn’t there to harm me. It might sound odd to just get used to a ghost standing at the foot of the bed, but coming from the family I did – it was normal. We were a family of dreamers. Nothing was strange to us. Though we had only but a fraction of our Native American ancestors’ blood, it was theirs that stuck with us the most.
We saw spirits, had precognitive dreams – which made the one that I’d awoken from
that much more terrifying –, and could sense impending death. Well, my mom could do all of those. My sister could see spirits and sense death. I was the lucky one of the three of us that could only see spirits. I didn’t have any special abilities. I’d could only remember one or two times when I’d predicted something correctly.
My Native American ancestral roots were stronger on my father’s side, which was strange, given my sister and I shared my mother’s gifts. My mom always joked we came from witches, but my grandfather told me it was our native heritage, rich in our natural connections to nature and the spirits of our ancestors. I liked his story much better.
The man at the foot of my bed opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came. His body began to fade for a moment, but came back into full view. He was spending all of his available energy on showing himself and, as a result, was unable to speak.
Or maybe it’s me holding him back…
The thought occurred to me and it made sense. I’d seen spirits before, but never that clearly and certainly not for that length of time. This was different, however. There was a sense of urgency to him. He didn’t want to talk to me – he needed to. Another thought ran through my mind…
What if it was about the dream?
Surely not…
Once again, he opened his mouth to speak, but the action proved to be too much. He completely faded away and the air cooled as he vanished. I hadn’t realized how warm his presence had been. The breath that I heavily released made me realize that I’d been holding it for longer than I’d thought. I’d also been death-gripping my sheets… Maybe I was a bit more frightened than I thought.
Looking over to the clock, I saw that it was 4 a.m. The silence let me know that I’d completely forgotten to set the alarm. Seems my rude wakeup call was a good thing because it was already time to get up and get ready for work. Instead of lounging around for a few minutes as I usually did, I got up and got started. I didn’t want to waste another moment in bed thinking about the terrible dream or the wandering spirit that had visited me upon waking.