by Mia Fox
“You’re in my head? Now? God James, why now when I’m at my most vulnerable?”
“Listen to me, Suki,” he said, turning my head up to face him. “She’s distorting the images. Like I said, I was with her...long ago. But that last image, the one with me smiling as she approached...”
I interrupted, “It’s the worst. It’s as if the very sight of her made you swoon. As if you...you love...”
“Stop. Don’t even go there. You don’t realize what she did. Yes, she showed you a time when I was with her, but she also made you see me at other times -- times when I wasn’t even around her. The look on my face? That was how I looked when I first saw you walk into the bar at Maison 360. The first time that we met face to face.
“That’s how you reacted when you looked at me? But you didn’t know me?”
“I knew you,” he said smiling. “I just hadn’t met you,” he said, kissing my cheeks and wiping away the tears at the same time. I lifted my head tentatively at first and then met James’ glance. He bent his head and kissed me so softly as if worried that he would scare me off, but when he felt me give into him, accept his kiss, well...then, he pulled me in so close that I could feel my heart keeping time with his own. We had been through so much, heartache, loss, danger, but in this moment, it was just the two of us and regardless of the perils that still faced us, we were both damned if we weren’t going to stay in each other’s arms for just a bit longer.
He stared into my eyes without saying a word. Shaking his head in disbelief he said, “How can you be so beautiful even here? After trudging through mud, swimming with eels, and dodging the soulless beings that exist at every turn...how do you radiate such purity?”
I felt a blush rise up my cheeks. I turned my eyes downward, but James was having none of that. He placed his hand under my chin, lifted my face to him and this time, the kiss wasn’t tentative. He kissed me like I hadn’t been kissed in a very long time.
“You deserve to be kissed like that every day.”
“And you’re just the man to do it?” I teased.
“And then some,” he said, taking my hand and leading me to where the rocks jutted out from the mountain, forming a natural canopy to keep us hidden from view. Our mouths never left each other as he pressed my back against the smooth rock. We poured all of our emotions into that kiss -- the sorrow of our recent loss, the hope of our reunion, and the need to always be together. My senses were heightened and every touch of his hand that lightly ran down the length of my body sent desire through me.
It might have been that the air was thinner where we were, but I suspected it was James and the power he wielded over me -- knowing my mind and body intimately -- that made me feel a dizzying rush. I wrapped my leg around his and he pressed against me. The feel of him matched the hard surface of the stone that I rested against.
“I don’t want this to end.”
“It doesn’t have to,” he answered, his voice husky from passion.
“I meant us...not this.”
For the briefest of moments, he pulled back and stopped to stare in my eyes. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
* * *
Although it wasn’t the most comfortable of surroundings, romance was never lacking with James. After we made love, I slept, and when I opened my eyes half an hour later, I found even more evidence of his love. Daisies and wild flowers surrounded me. Their petals had been strewn over the rocks where we lay, creating a fragrant blanket. He picked up one petal and tickled the tip of my nose with it.
“Wow, what is all this?”
“This is me saying that I love you.”
“You didn’t have to do all of this. You must have had to walk for miles to find this many flowers here.”
“It didn’t take that long. You forget that I’m graced with special abilities.”
“After that performance I could never forget about your abilities.”
He brushed a hair out of my eyes. “Seriously now, I just didn’t like the fact that Raven was present when I first said it to you. It’s not what I would have wanted.”
“It’s okay.” I rolled onto my back and stared up at the sky. It was dark except for one patch of brightness behind the clouds. Somewhere, the light was trying to free itself from darkness. “Do you think Phineas has found Charlotte?”
“You said she was just ahead of you. Of course he has. He would have come back and found us if he had gotten into any trouble.”
“That’s...that’s not what I meant. Do you think he found her...the way she was before coming here?”
“I don’t know,” he said shaking his head and sighing. “You never told me...how did you get Charlotte away from the Reckoning ceremony?”
“That’s what I tried to say earlier...to Phin...it was Shadow.”
“What was Shadow? What do you mean?”
“All of this,” she said, letting her arms expand wide, emphasizing her point. “The Romani Realms...while horrible and built on fear...there’s something else here too. It’s not all bad.”
James looked at me with a questioning glance.
“Don’t you see? One can’t know friendship if you’ve never had a foe. Without hatred, we wouldn’t know love...and without fear, we would never recognize the serenity of our thoughts. Shadow is a dichotomy. She’s everything that is wrong and right with this place.”
James lay down next to me, sharing my view of the sky. We were quiet for a moment, watching the clouds move quickly across the darkening sky, which was changing to a dark purple as the sun set over the mountains.
He remained silent for awhile as if trying to sort through the nonsensical ways of this Realm. “I’m not sure I understand why she is so important to Charlotte.”
“Charlotte may have come here to avenge Samantha’s death and bring her back. But that wasn’t what fate had planned. She’s been through a lot here; we all have. But, it was always for Shadow, she just didn’t know it.”
“I’m not following...what was?”
“It was Shadow, not Samantha, who presented the real reason for Charlotte to come here. She came for Shadow.”
* * *
Chapter Twenty
When Phineas finally made his way through the water caves and emerged onto the beach, he thought he would be prepared for anything. But the sight in front of him was like nothing he had ever expected.
On the beach were at least a dozen seal sleeping in a circle and in the midst of that circle, equally at peace, was Charlotte. As the water lapped gently onto their backs and retreated, the seal would shapeshift from their current form into that of other girls -- Selkies...seals when in water and women on land. Keeping watch over the scene was a lone dolphin that bobbed on the surface of the water, just a few feet from where it met the shore.
He approached quietly from the side, hoping to get to Charlotte and help her out of the circle unnoticed, but as if sensing his intention, the dolphin whistled and to his surprise, it immediately shifted into the form of Shadow. Her eyes narrowed as Phineas continued to come closer.
“Stay back!” she ordered, waking Charlotte.
Charlotte lifted her head, her eyes opening wide in surprise to the scene in front of her. Phineas was approaching slowly, his hand on a sheaf by his hip. Charlotte could see a knife encased in it. Instinctively, she placed a protective arm around Shadow, who clung to her and started to whimper in spite of her earlier show of bravado.
“Phineas, do what she says.”
Phineas kept his eyes on Shadow, but his heart melted at the sound of Charlotte’s voice. It had been too long since he heard her say his name and he wished it wasn’t in the context of telling him to stay away.
“Charlotte, I want to help you.”
“Then, put the knife down and you can come over here.”
There was no question that he was going to listen. He reached for his knife and threw it to the ground before moving toward Charlotte slowly for fear of Shadow trying something that might harm her.
“Why don’t you sit down?” Charlotte suggested when he was beside them. With Charlotte sandwiched between Shadow and Phineas, the trio sat in awkward silence for a moment.
“We have a plan,” Phineas said under his breath. “A plan to get you home.”
“I don’t want to talk about that until you hear what I have to tell you.”
Phineas shook his head in frustration. Unless all of them were in the same mind frame they couldn’t risk time traveling out of the Romani Realms. It was too dangerous and likely that one would get left behind.
Phineas took Charlotte’s hand, he couldn’t help himself being so close to her. “I’ve missed you so much, Charlotte. I’ve been so worried. Please, listen to me.”
Charlotte smiled at him and turned to Shadow. She smoothed down the girl’s hair that had once again turned to snakes, a reaction that occurred when she was nervous or feeling protective of Charlotte. “Will you give us minute alone?” she asked of Shadow.
“You won’t leave me?”
“Of course not,” Charlotte said and held her close. The snakes disappeared showing only Shadow’s beautiful, blonde curls. Charlotte leaned closer so that only Shadow could hear her. “You and I are always going to be together. We just may have to wait for that special time I told you about.”
“Will it be soon?”
Charlotte looked at the little girl and then she snuck a glance at Phineas, who looked nervous and edgy that she was holding Shadow in her lap. “I think it will be real soon.”
Shadow nodded and then walked to the water. She called over her shoulder, “I’ll be back after my swim,” and then dove in and immediately shifted into the form of a dolphin.
Phineas stood up and watched her swim farther from the shore, his mouth agape. Pulling Charlotte up by the hand, he urged, “Let’s hurry. The others are waiting.”
“No Phin, we need to talk,” Charlotte insisted and patted the ground beside her, indicating he should sit down again.
Without hesitation, Phineas sat down. Hell, he would face off against the Buraqs if it meant keeping Charlotte safe. “Is everything alright?” In spite of the time that had lapsed, Phineas reached for her as if they had always been together, and to his relief, she melted into his arms.
Charlotte rested her head on his shoulder. “It is now...now that you’re here and I know the others are waiting. Tell me about Samantha. How will we get to her?”
“James and I worked out a signal system. We let him know that we’re safe and he’ll meet us with Suki. Then, we wait until it’s dark to travel back to Samantha and get the hell out of Dodge.”
Charlotte smiled at his silly reference. “I miss her. I can’t believe this is all going to be over soon. What do you think she’s doing right now?”
“She’s probably bored out of her mind. I would be if I weren’t here with you.”
* * *
If they weren’t in the Romani Realms, one would think Samantha and Daniel were an old married couple, enjoying the day and each other’s company. Samantha watched Daniel tend the crops that lined the fence at the edge of his property. He had ensured that his small slice of heaven in the midst of so much chaos provided well for him.
“This should be enough to can for next winter,” he said referring to his bounty that included beets, carrots, and even cherries.
Earlier they had feasted on roast pheasant along with the runner beans and a tomato salad that came from the garden, and for dessert, Daniel had surprised Samantha with a sweet potato pie.
“You work hard,” she noted. “That was just about the best meal I’ve had here. It sure beats the beetles that I ate the first few nights.
“Yeah, but you probably enjoyed the food served in the glass gazebo dining area.”
“Once I got past the mute girls who served it.”
“They had me totally freaked out when I first got here...so did the Nephilim. They’re pretty, but totally creepy,” Daniel smiled, happy to have someone to talk to. He grew quiet...knowing that it couldn’t last.
Sensing the shift in his mood, Samantha looked up at him and wrinkled her nose, a habit that Daniel had grown to love. “What’s wrong?”
He put his bushel down and crossed to her, sitting down beside her on the blanket that she had spread out next to the lavender bushes whose fragrance filled the air -- a welcome respite from the dark side of the Romani Realms that smelled like stagnant water and death.
“What could be wrong?” he said, sitting behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back against his chest and holding her closely. He inhaled the sweet smell of her wild, red mane, and closed his eyes as he leaned his head against hers.
The sun was just level with the horizon, casting glorious colors of pink and orange across the sky.
“Your hair against the sky would make for a beautiful picture,” he said, pulling it back in his hands and with her neck exposed, he leaned forward and kissed the back of it. Samantha’s breath caught.
“I’m sorry. I...it just felt right.”
“You should’ve done that a long time ago,” she said turning her head over her shoulder and sending a mischievous gaze in his direction. Within a second, she felt his reaction as his hardness pressed against her back.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated.
“You have to stop saying that,” she teased, and then shifted her body so that she could feel him even more so.
“Sam...would you like more pie?”
“Uh uh,” she said reaching her hand behind her and purposefully letting it rest on his upper thigh, nearly touching him where he most wanted her to.
“Do you want me to read to you?”
“Uh uh.” Growing bolder, Samantha shifted her body so that she was facing Daniel and leaned forward so that she could gently press her lips to his cheek. He naturally wrapped his arms around her, and she hopped onto his lap, throwing her legs around his waist.
“Oh god.”
She could feel him straining in his jeans.
“Samantha, there’s something you should know.”
“I know everything I need to about you.”
“Well, you don’t know that I’ve never done this.”
Samantha stopped, and stared up at him.
“How?”
He smiled and chuckled. “You never mince words. Well, the technical ‘how’ is that I’ve never been with a woman.”
“No, I mean how is that possible? You’re a guy; you’re way hot; and you’re 22.”
“When you mess around with black magic when you’re 17, and end up in a place like this, you don’t exactly want to give it up to a demon or one of the other lost souls who did unspeakable things to end up here. You’re the only thing that is right about this place. It makes me happy that I waited...for you.”
“I haven’t done it either. But...,” she leaned in and kissed him, this time on the mouth and he responded tenderly, letting his lips gently mold against hers, his hands lightly caressing her back.
“But?” he asked, coming up for a breath.
“But I want to...with you.”
Daniel smiled and leaned into her again, gently laying her down on her back as he kissed her. His hand reached for her breast and when he heard a soft moan escape her mouth, his fingers deftly undid the buttons on her blouse, letting it flow open. He bent his head and kissed her collarbone, making his way down her stomach.
When he stopped to whip off his own shirt, Samantha admired his toned chest muscled arms and chiseled abs. She sat up and removed her bra, pulling her long hair in front of her chest modestly. Daniel leaned over her, bringing his lips to hers once more.
“Are you sure?”
“More than sure.”
He helped her shimmy out of her jeans and as he tugged them down, he planted little kisses along her stomach, working his way down, kissing her hip bone and then letting his mouth rest over her panties. With his thumb laced inside the light fabric, he gently removed them and continued t
o allow his mouth to explore her. Her body responded to him immediately, feeling his tender kisses, the way he held her hips and the undeniable fact that she wanted this to go on forever.
“Daniel...you better stop that or...
“Or...” he teased and looked up at her. Her eyes met his and she smiled, a smile that warmed his heart and filled him with hope that he once thought was completely lost. Samantha crooked her finger at him and he didn’t hesitate to fill her silent request. He trailed his mouth up her neck until he found her lips. With his arms planted firmly on either side of her, he straddled her body and leaned into her. His knee gently nudged against her inner thigh, letting his desire be known. Their kisses grew more passionate and with it, so did their desire, until Samantha welcomed him inside and they became one.
* * *
“Samantha owes you her life,” Phineas said in amazement, holding Charlotte against his chest. “You two were truly meant to find Suki’s bottle. Only those with great potential do so.”
Charlotte looked down, appearing momentarily uncomfortable with his observation. “I don’t know about that,” she said modestly and changed the subject. “You’re sure she’s alright? You’ve seen her?”
“She’s fine. She told us how you found her first, but her memory was gone. How did you do it?”
“I believed in her...in us and our friendship. I knew that she would come back to me.”
Phineas nodded, now completely understanding, for it was how he felt about Charlotte. “She had you, but she got lucky as well in finding Daniel.” Phineas shook his head, not quite believing the situation himself. “Imagine finding the one good guy in this entire Realm.”
Charlotte took his hand. “It’s her gift...spotting a true soul. If anyone could do that here, it’s Samantha. But, you’re wrong about one thing. Daniel isn’t the only good guy here.”
Phineas looked at Charlotte and his heart soared with the meaning behind her words. He ran his thumb along her porcelain cheek, and when she bit her lower lip, he just couldn’t restrain himself any longer. He leaned in and kissed her, gently and slowly, willing the moment to last. He felt her arms go around his neck, pulling him in closer and he knew that Charlotte had missed him as much as he felt empty without her.