Mystic Bonds

by C C Solomon

  I scrunched my face in thought. “Perhaps we’ve been communicating in our dreams longer than we think and subconsciously we just reacted off of that?” I offered.

  He nodded, his eyes slightly glazed. I imagined mine weren’t that different. “I’d buy that. Maybe we had a whole relationship in our dreams.” He chuckled.

  “That would be freaky.”

  He gave me the lopsided smile that I recalled seeing in my dreams. “We might have a lot to make up for in real life, then.” He stepped closer to me.

  I backed up. “I don’t think that would be very productive. I have friends waiting outside and my brother is across the hall.” Plus, I didn’t want to kiss him again. I couldn’t. He confused me. There was a man outside professing to knock down doors to get to me who gave me butterflies. I couldn’t forget or ignore that.

  Phillip paused and nodded. “Would you like to sit? Anything to drink or eat?” He offered.

  “Let’s sit out here. And nothing now, thanks.” I walked over to the table and sat down.

  Phillip sat across from me. He reached out a hand, palm up, on the table. “Now that you’re here, I don’t want to let you go.”

  I looked at his hand, debating whether I could trust myself to touch him.

  “I won’t bite,” he stated.

  I looked up to his face and he gave me soft, kind eyes. I put my hand in his. “So, you run this town? Why didn’t you ever tell me that before?”

  “I didn’t even think to mention it. It only recently happened. Our last leader died. Heart attack.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. So, is that why I hadn’t heard from you in a while? Busy?”

  He frowned. “Uh, yeah. I’m sorry to have left you hanging. Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, sort of. First, I want to thank you again for helping me escape. And then supporting me in that pharmacy. I don’t know why I keep doubting myself.”

  “No need.”

  “My brother and I made friends.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “And they all decided to follow you here?”

  “Something like that. We were in a government town who agreed to accompany us back to the prison to free the others. But the prison moved.”

  “So, you can’t find them. Maybe I can help.”

  “I don’t want to put you out. I mean, you’ve done so much already. But if there is anything I can do to repay you for setting me free, I will.”

  “It’s not a problem. I want to help you find the others. I only ask that you consider staying here. Are all your friends paranormals?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  “That’s great. Part of what makes this town so successful is that we all have gifts.”

  “You don’t want to be part of the government?”

  He smiled. “We’re doing pretty well here.”

  “I see.”

  “Look, why don’t you and your friends relax, get freshened up, and meet me and some others for dinner? You can see how we live here.”

  I nodded. “I look forward to it.”

  The ponytail guard, who I learned was named Mitch, led us to rooms in another apartment about a quarter of a mile from Phillip’s apartment building. We got three apartments on the same floor to relax in and were informed that if we wanted to explore to call a specific number they gave us and someone would come to escort us around.

  We all crowded into Charles and my apartment, gathering around the living room to regroup. We were surrounded by beige walls and carpets and deep-brown furniture. The barebones apartment was the total opposite of Phillip’s fully-decorated place.

  “What are we doing here?” Erik asked, pacing the room. “If your friend says he can help us, then we should get right on it.”

  “Well, he’s trying a locater spell but those things aren’t always automatic. They can take time. I gave him a shirt I found in the prison but it’s still work. He says he’s putting his best people on it. Until then, there isn’t anything I can do but help with location,” I explained, sitting on the arm of the couch.

  “We can head back to Hagerstown. We don’t have to stick around here to do this,” Charles stated, looking out of the balcony sliding doors.

  “I still need to meet Annie Mae,” Lisa said. “And this town seems cool, I’d like to explore it.”

  “I’d like to meet some of the people I dreamed of as well,” Felix concurred. “We can at least stay one night. Maybe we’ll find out that we want to stay longer.”

  “Well, you guys may want to stay here but I have a good thing going back in Hagerstown,” Faith said, crossing her arms.

  “You’re a bartender,” Felix stated, scrunching up his face.

  Faith cut her eyes at him. “Yes, so? I like doing that. The only thing good about going to a new town is seeing new fa—” Her eyes widened. “—ces. New paranormal faces with lots of energy to share. You know, maybe we can stay here for a while.”

  “Please don’t go around draining the locals,” Felix implored, eyes filled with concern.

  Faith gave a slight shrug. “They’ll bounce back. They’re all paranormal.”

  “When we were driving through the town, some of it didn’t smell right,” Erik stated, face in a grimace. “Like a musky locker room. Means there are some deceptive people here. Possible evil magic too.”

  “Maybe we can help root that out for Phillip,” I stated. “We have to do something to pay him back. Well, maybe you guys don’t, but Charles and I do.”

  “We’re all in this together,” Lisa replied.

  “She’s right,” Felix said cheerfully. “If this guy helps free your people, then we gotta find some way to pay him back, even if it means staying and helping the town for a while. What else do we have to do?”

  Chapter 16

  Her name was Grace Sarin. She was about 5’7, with a toned and curvy build. She had long, waist-length, wavy, brown hair and dark-brown, almost-black eyes. Grace was a deep tan color, highlighting her East Indian descent. She was beautiful and her smile seemed genuine and inviting. In another life, she could have been a Miss Universe pageant contestant. I was envious but I liked her from the moment I saw her. She seemed so comfortable, as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

  She wore a bright-yellow sundress under a jean jacket. I rarely got an opportunity to dress so carefree. I was always ready to run. It made me wonder if this town had offered so much security that people could really relax.

  “You called for a tour?” she said in a deep voice, almost singing it. I felt like a bird should have flown down and perched on her finger. She was a Disney princess and was smiling so hard I could barely see her irises.

  Faith, who had opened the door for her, turned and looked back at us with wide, confused eyes. “Are you part of the welcome committee?” She asked, turning back to Grace, a smirk on her face.

  “I guess you could call me that.” Grace walked into the apartment towards the living room. “This everybody?”

  Faith closed the door behind her and headed back to us. “Yeah, gang’s all here.”

  Felix stood up as soon as he saw her. “Grace,” he stated.

  The woman tilted her head and gave Felix a curious smile. “How do you know my name?”

  He walked towards her. “You’re the woman of my dreams.”

  Grace chuckled. “Well, that’s always fun to hear.”

  Lisa slapped her forehead.

  Faith crossed her arms and chuckled. “I don’t think he meant it quite like that, sweetheart,” she stated.

  Felix’s eyes widened in confusion. “I saw you and a lot of people from this town in my dreams. That’s what led me here.”

  Grace nodded slowly, a slight look of confusion on her face. She looked around at everyone else. “So, what brings the rest of you beautiful people here?”

  “We heard of the town and wanted to be a part of it,” Erik stated, nonchalantly, hands in his pockets.

  Grace widened her eyes. “We don’t advertise. Except for
our steel surrounding.”

  “How many people do you have here?”

  Grace’s smile widened, if that were possible, and she tsk-tsked. “How ‘bout you tell me some truths and I’ll give you some answers.” Hmm, girl was smarter than she looked.

  “Phillip and I dreamed of each other. Specifically, we were able to communicate through dreams and telepathy and that’s how I found this place,” I said.

  She squinted her eyes at me, smile still in place. “And how does sweetie pie over there know my name?” She titled her head towards Felix, hands on her hips.

  “She thinks I’m cute,” Felix whispered to Charles, who was standing beside him.

  “I didn’t hear her say that,” Charles whispered back.

  “He has a gift,” I answered.

  “All of you have gifts, right? What are they?”

  “Answer our question first,” Erik demanded.

  She looked to him, smile never leaving. “Over one thousand gifted humans here.”

  “How large is this town, size wise?”

  “Around six square miles. And we’ve been around for a little over four years. We get bigger over time. There, I gave you two for the price of one.” She giggled. “Your turn now. Answer my question,” she sang.

  “We all have powers. I’m a werejackal. Charles is a tech mage. Amina is a witch. Faith is a succubus. Lisa is a fairy and Felix…well, we don’t know what he is but he has powers.”

  I eyed Erik curiously. I hadn’t expected him to be so forthcoming. Looks like Snow White was getting Grumpy to follow her. He seemed just as surprised by his sharing because he lowered his head and shook it, eyes confused.

  “You won’t tell anyone what Lisa is, will you?” I asked Grace.

  She gave me a knowing smile. “Of course not. This is a town full of paranormals but Fae are non-existent. I can imagine why you would want to keep it quiet and I’ll be mum until I can’t be.”

  I lifted an eyebrow. “Okay, I guess we’ll have to accept that.”

  “How’d you get me to talk?” Erik asked, avoiding her eyes.

  Grace looked to him. “I’m special. What’s your next question?”

  He looked like he wanted to argue but he narrowed his eyes and continued on. “How did your former leader die?” Erik asked.

  I turned to Erik. “He had a heart attack. I told you that,” I stated. Erik didn’t look at me.

  “Who told you that?” Grace asked me, a look of concern on her face.

  I looked to her. “Phillip.”

  She cocked an eyebrow and looked away. “Well, that’s what happened then.”

  This time, I narrowed my eyes at her. “That doesn’t sound like a reassuring answer.”

  She looked back at me with smiling eyes. “Why would Phillip lie to you? He seems to like you all and we don’t get many visitors.” She clapped her hands excitedly. “So, what are you all interested in seeing?”

  She was hiding something which made me uneasy. However, I promised Charles I wouldn’t get off track of our first mission, which was to find the others, so I would have to put that mystery on pause. I looked over at Erik who was staring me. I gave him a questioning look and he gave me a quick shake of the head and turned away. Well, that wasn’t good.

  Turns out, Grace was actually a good tour guide. In our exploration of the small town, we discovered there was also a duckpin alley, which made Felix randomly excited, and a burlesque club run by a vampire group, which made Faith unsurprisingly excited.

  Grace explained that she was one of the first to become a part of the town and that they only recently completed building the steel wall with a bit of magic and actual construction. They had a plan in place regarding how to expand as well and move the wall back as they grew in numbers. The town was always looking for more people but they were set on it being a fully paranormal town. And the steel wall was an extra precaution against monsters and other threats if the ward didn’t hold.

  The town started as a refuge for those with gifts who were hunted by humans scared of them or humans imprisoning them. For this reason, she had no doubt that Phillip was honest about helping us free the others. Not that I had any question of that.

  “We also have a library, a police station, and a building we use as a hospital, which is headed by the best medicine mage you will ever meet,” Grace added as we continued our tour of the town on foot.

  “What’s your job here?” Erik asked, standing beside her.

  “You mean besides tour guide? I run the library and teach. Someone’s subbing for me right now. Our school is headed by Ms. Annie Mae. She’s like the town mother of everyone,” Grace explained.

  Lisa perked up. “Annie Mae? Can we meet her?”

  “Taking you to her now,” Grace said. “You’ll love her. She makes the best desserts. I’m trying to learn her recipes.”

  “Oh, I like the sound of that,” Felix stated, patting his stomach.

  Annie Mae Jenkins lived on the first floor of garden-style apartments overlooking a beautiful, flower-and-vegetable-garden-filled courtyard. When we arrived, she was sitting in the courtyard at a large picnic table with two pitchers of what I assumed was fresh lemonade, some glasses, plates, utensils, and a large carrot cake and apple pie. I loved her already.

  She was whispering something to a small blue bird perched on her index finger. Okay, clearly, she was the real Disney princess here.

  Annie Mae was short with cocoa colored skin and tightly curled, short, black hair. She wore a red, brightly-printed maxi wrap dress and a chunky yellow necklace. She was in good shape for a woman who appeared to be in her mid-50s, although something told me she was ten years older than that. She looked over at us, at me I thought, and smiled. I smiled back without thinking.

  “I’ll catch you all later. You have my number,” Grace stated and backed away through the gates of the courtyard.

  I was still amazed they had a local phone system.

  We moved through the entrance of the courtyard in awe of Annie Mae and the surroundings. The courtyard consisted of a black stone walkway, mini vegetable gardens, trees, some fruit bearing, and flowers. Seating areas were scattered about and there was a mini fountain filled with koi fish in the middle of the space. Surrounding the courtyard were white brick and mortar apartments going up three levels. I swear I heard soothing ‘40s era jazz coming through some unseen speakers.

  A sense of calm fell over me that I had only felt when visiting a spa before the world went to crap. The smell of flowers and pie filled my nostrils and I felt like skipping over to her.

  “Don’t just stand there, y’all, come on over,” Annie Mae called, watching the bird fly away.

  “How’d she know we were coming?” Erik asked as we headed over.

  “That’s Annie Mae and she’s a seer or psychic,” Lisa answered. “She told me in a dream.”

  “I hope you all have a sweet tooth. I made this all from scratch, no magic,” Annie Mae added. “As easy as it can be, nothing beats old-fashioned cooking.”

  “You telling me,” Felix said, eyeing the spread.

  “Well, eat up, honey. I didn’t bake this just for it to be seen, chile’,” she said, getting up from her chair. “Where’s my girl Lisa?”

  Lisa, who was behind us all called out. “I’m here!” She quickly walked over to Annie Mae and they embraced in a tight hug. I felt a twinge of jealousy. We’d all loss mothers and seeing what appeared to be that relationship in front of us did affect me a bit.

  Annie Mae let go of Lisa who looked a little dejected. “This is a safe space you all. We can talk freely here.”

  “We couldn’t before?” Erik asked, arms crossed again.

  Annie Mae shrugged. “In a town full of magic, you never know who is listening into your conversation. Lot of nosey people around. But you can talk here.” She clapped her hands together. “I am just so happy to finally see you all.”

  “Were you expecting us?” Erik questioned, face still in a suspicious scowl
. Clearly, he was not buying the good vibrations Annie Mae was selling us.

  The older woman smiled at him. “Yes, I was, Erik.” She walked over to grumpy bear, reached up, and patted his shoulder.

  “Can you be a little nicer, Erik?” I whispered to him.

  “I don’t mind the questions. You are a born leader, Erik. I can tell. You don’t want to be anymore, I know, but you can’t help it. It’s who you are. You won’t be happy with life if you don’t stand up. And you have a lot of life left. I am looking forward to watching you make this world better.”

  Erik softened his face but he did not say a word. Annie Mae patted his shoulder again.

  I smiled and walked over to cut a piece of cake—it was calling me—as Annie Mae moved back to Lisa.

  “Lisa, doll. We’ve talked before but you know I think the world of you. You are not the lost child you think you are. Your world is about to become much larger. Filled with friends, love, and a strength you’ve been afraid to find. You are more than what you were.”

  Lisa gave her a thousand-watt smile.

  Annie Mae next moved on to Faith and grabbed her hands. “Faith. You are more than meets the eye. You embody what our future will become in so many ways. Don’t be afraid to show all that you are.” Annie Mae looked down at Faiths hands and arms. “Love the tattoos.”

  None of us knew what Annie Mae was talking about but the look on Faith’s face—enlightenment—showed that she did.

  Judging by the reactions so far, it was like Annie Mae was more than a seer. It was like she was a blanket of peace. I couldn’t wait until she made it over to me. I sat down, ate my cake, and continued to watch the show as Annie Mae walked over to Charles.

  “Charles. Aren’t you a ball of fun? Don’t you ever lose that spirit. I know you’ve been through heartache and I wish I could tell you it’s all good times from here. But what makes you a survivor is your resolve to be who you always were, even when the world around you isn’t. It’s admirable and it’s why you are so loveable. No matter what happens to you, don’t ever change who you are at your core.” Annie Mae gave him a light pinch of the cheeks and Charles gave her a self-appreciating smile before she moved on to Felix.