by Weil, J. L.
Careful of my movements, I leaned a hip against his car and waited for him to walk around. Even with the black night, I could see his sapphire eyes lighting up like blue diamonds. “I wish this night would never end,” I admitted.
His answer was to pull me into his arms, exactly where I wanted to be. I squeezed and let out a contented sigh. Plastered against him, he kissed the top of my head. There was still a light sting at my lower back, nothing intolerable. He pressed his face next to mine, and his ridiculously long lashes fanned my cheek. “Good-night Bri.”
I didn’t want to leave. It had been a huge step to the way things used to be between us. No way was I ready to let that go. I was too afraid that when I woke in the morning, it would cease to be the same – to exist. There were a billion questions on the tip of my tongue, questions about us, questions about the tattoo, and questions about that place. In the end, I was just too exhausted to expel the energy needed to process all that information. So instead I just said ‘night.
He pressed a sweet, soft kiss to my lips, and I floated on cloud nine all the way home on that kiss alone.
This was a night I would never forget.
Truly.
I had the tramp stamp to prove it.
Chapter 18
THE FEELING OF BEING ON top of the world followed me the rest of the night. As I got ready for bed I could still feel the warmth of his lips. Pulling on my knee-high socks, I sat at the edge of the bed. Unable to believe the events of the day, I touched my lips remembering what it was like to have his mouth pressed to mine.
Everything with Gavin was always so intense. When things were good, they were cosmic. When things went sour, it destroyed my world. I doubted either of those things were healthy for a relationship, but I didn’t think Gavin and I constituted as a normal couple.
I knew that there was nothing normal about me anymore.
Lying on my side, I snuggled into my pillow. The tingling throb on my lower back brought a small smile to my lips. It was annoyingly persistent but brought pleasant memories. I had to remember to thank Sophie for her underhanded plan. In the end, it was just what we needed.
Closing my eyes, I tried to force my giddiness to subside. Sleep was going to be a long time coming at this rate. My fingers clutched the tingling cool stones of the necklace dangling at my neck. Even though it didn’t necessarily work with powerful witches like granny dearest, I felt more secure with it on. Maybe the added presence of my new glamour tattoo would protect my dreams from others or more importantly, from me.
Sleep might not have been in my future, but my unusual dreams were. I recognized the dream for what it was…magic. The swooping feeling of being swept away from myself to a world I had yet really been able to control. The possibilities were there. I had even on occasion grabbed the reins and steered the mystical visions. It was just the instability of it all, the insecurity of my ability to control my dreams. One day soon I was going to master these dreams.
For now I just wasn’t sure who I would find waiting for me in this parallel universe I seemed to visit more often than not.
The frothy blue-green waves lapped against the foamy shore as they rose and fell. My dark auburn hair whipped against my face with the wind, blocking my sight. Sand squished in-between my bare toes. Spitting a strand of hair from my mouth, I pushed the tangling mess from my face.
There she stood on the bluff like a dark goddess with mega self-entitlement and a streak of wickedness. She looked like she owned the world, as if it was hers to command with a crook of a finger. If I thought Gavin had an ego problem, she took the cake. She oozed badass.
She wore a bikini with a sarong tied at her waist in black. Long tan legs peeked through the sheer fabric. Waves upon waves of flaming dark red hair flowed with the wind, not like my snarling mess. Her purplish eyes laughed as she looked down to me, her granddaughter.
Immediately I went on defense.
Raising my head a notch, I met her amused gaze and arched a challenging brow.
She threw her head back and laughed. A deep, enchantress kind of laugh, and there was pride in those twinkling eyes when they found mine again.
Hmm. Apparently my newly protected mark doesn’t hold against Morgana, and I could tell that it had been her magic that had pulled me here. Though if I had to guess, since she technically was dead, it was still my dream, still my head she was poking around in.
Like a light switch had been flipped on inside me, I was packed with rage. Angry for being a puppet in some wacked out dream escapade, angry at myself, and angry at feeling useless.
She made me want to strike her down with lightning. I was so furious, I was quaking from it. Unaware of the storm brewing around me, I was lost in my own fury and frustration.
“I see someone still doesn’t have a handle on their control over the weather,” she taunted, knowing just what buttons to push.
The wind picked up, lightning lit the sky and the heavens opened up behind me, except this time I took notice. The blood through my veins intermixed with power. Together the two blended, changing me, giving me an unconscious strength and confidence.
I blinked. Taking just a second to rein in what was begging to be released.
In just that nanosecond, she was in front of me, her soft yet firm hands gripping mine. Her eyes illuminated like purple lite-brite pegs. “What you don’t want is to let nature rule you. Remember that it is you who summoned her here, she is yours to control. Like a child, she must be taught to obey.”
Together with our hands bound, I felt the energy between us amp up like a high voltage shock. Stunned I gasped. Then the mother of all storms circled us but never touched us. We stood in the eye of the storm, unscathed. Just as quickly as it had been ignited, the vibrating hum of magic began a slow dance of recession and with it the storm followed. The winds died to a standstill, the darkened ominous clouds broke apart letting a stream of sunlight hit the beach as the thundering waves quieted to low, gentle surf.
“Wow. That was amazing.” I couldn’t keep the awe from my voice.
“It was, wasn’t it?” Her smile was smug, and her eyes lively. “I’d expect nothing less than amazing from my granddaughter.”
Every time she referred to me as her granddaughter I forgot that she was talking about me. It really hadn’t sunk in that this prevailing, beautiful, arrogant woman was part of my existence. Without her I never would have been. It was a hard pill to swallow considering she hadn’t been the friendliest during our first encounter. She wasn’t exactly your typical grandmother material.
I was unsure what to say or do. Like most of my dreams of her, she took the reins.
“Let’s soak up some vitamin D and have a little girl time.” She waved her hand in the air and poof, out sprang two wooden beach chairs. “We can chitchat about school, about magic, the boys in your life.” She casually snuck in the last part.
Boys?
As in more than one, apparently Morgana knew more about my life than she led on. She made herself comfortable in one of the lounge chairs, and for the first time I realized I was practically naked. Well I had on a very skimpy red bikini and a wrap much shorter than hers.
“You put me in a bikini?” I couldn’t help the outrage.
She tilted down a pair of sunglass she hadn’t worn earlier, amused at my discovery in lack of clothing choice. “Hmm. I wasn’t sure about the cut, but it flatters your curves splendidly. I’ve seen your selection of clothing dear, what you need is a little more piazza in your wardrobe. That and some sex appeal.”
I choked on the sea salt air. My own grandmother was giving me fashion advice. God who knew what was next – tips on sex?
She studied me from behind her shades. “You’re looking a little pale, magic will do that – drain you until you build up your strength. Why don’t you have a seat?”
Grandma Morgana just boarded the crazy train. She was out of her mind if she thought I was going to lay on the beach, mostly naked and gossip.
However much it irked me, she had been right about my energy levels. I was feeling more than a little lightheaded and wobbly on my feet. A seat sounded fabulous right now and was too appealing to resist.
I sighed and joined her.
Sitting in the sun baked chair, I fought the urge to cover myself with my arms. This was silly. What I needed was a large beach towel. No more had the thought crossed my mind when lo and behold, a zebra stripped towel appeared at my feet.
“Inventive. How about snapping us up a couple martinis while you’re at it?” Was everything to her so nonchalant? A joke? She gave me a smile filled with a thousand secrets. “One drink won’t hurt. After all you do have a fake ID. How is your newly mutated body art anyway? Sore? Tingly? All normal I assure you.”
Wide-eyed and suspicious, I began to wonder if anything in my life would be my own ever again. She left me speechless more often than not, and I think she thrived on the element of surprise.
“Don’t be so shocked. As my only granddaughter, well only living descendant really, I’ve taken a special interest in your wellbeing.”
Jeesh. Can a witch get any kind of privacy around here? “So what you’re saying is you’re keeping tabs on me.”
She tapped a black nail to her lip. “If you like. You should be more careful who you let in your house,” she spoke, seriousness sparking in her violet eyes. “You’re in danger.” Gone was the feisty banter.
No shit. Thanks to you.
She let a sultry laugh. “Not me sweet granddaughter but…someone close to you.”
Cripes. Had she just read my thoughts? That was scary.
Then it dawned on me. The magic I’d felt in the air on Thanksgiving came flooding back to me. “It was you,” I accused knowing without a doubt I was right. “You were at my house on Thanksgiving.”
She grinned at me like a proud parent. “Took you long enough. I figured you’d recognize my…subtle hints.”
Subtle? My aunt had been there. She was clueless about the madness that I now find myself surrounded in. “I should have,” I muttered in hindsight. “Though, I would have expected something more dramatic from you.”
“True I do like things dazzling. In this case, I just wanted your attention. Instead I got shoved out, by my own granddaughter.” She didn’t look the least upset by it.
“What do you mean I pushed you out?” I asked.
“You have more skill than you give yourself credit for. What you lack is self-assurance my dear. Then you’d be unstoppable.”
Unstoppable?
I shivered. I didn’t want that kind of power or responsibility.
“It’s yours whether you want it or not love,” she informed with a hint of a smile on her deep cherry lips.
She did it again. “Will you stay out of my thoughts,” I growled. “How is that even possible?”
She tsked her tongue. “So young. So naive. So much promise, so much to learn. I could show you. Show you it all and more. And more… And more…” The last words echoed over and over in my head as her form begin to flicker. My time with her was coming to end as I descended out of the dream and back into the comfy fold of my bed.
My eyes popped open, a quick glance at the red numbers on the alarm informed that I had lost plenty of beauty rest. There was only an hour before school started. A dull ache had taken up residency behind my eyes. The side effects from these dreams were really starting to suck some serious ass.
Dragging my sorry butt out of bed, I showered and changed into loose clothing. I was careful not to have anything harsh touching the still sensitive and sore skin at my lower back. Turning in the mirror, I tugged up my shirt and checked out the stunning glimmering ink.
It was beautiful.
I was such a rebel.
And this rebel was going to be late for school if she didn’t shake a leg.
Chapter 19
SCHOOL WAS UNEVENTFUL, AND EVENTUALLY the pounding in my head subsided. Gavin had shown up in-between each of my classes like old times. The world felt right as rain again.
In chem we took our usual seats at our table together. He stretched out his long legs. “Break any new rules since yesterday?” he asked, giving me a sinful smile that had fireflies rocketing in my belly.
I leaned on my elbow. “I think I am going to stick to the straight and narrow path from now on.”
He twirled the hoop in his bottom lip playfully. “And here I thought the whole bad girl suited you. I bet you still have the ID.”
The corners of my mouth tipped. “Maybe I’m not ready to let go completely. A girl can never be too prepared.”
“That’s what mom is always telling Sophie, but I’m pretty sure she isn’t talking about fake ID’s or tattoos.”
I flushed a beet red. His words painting an explicit picture of the two of us in my head, and the satisfied smile on his lips said he knew exactly where my thoughts had headed. Suddenly I wanted to be anywhere but here, in a class filled with prying eyes, and a gossip mill waiting to explode.
But when he looked at me like that, the room disappeared. My body on its own accord leaned closer to him. There was this invisible pull between us, and his smoldering eyes did funny things to my stomach. His thumb played with the jumping pulse on my wrist. I inhaled the unique woodsy scent that was all him.
My gaze dropped to his totally kissable lips, and an unhealthy dose of excitement hummed through my body – a mixture of magic and teenage hormones. I started to get all kinds of crazy ideas, and his grin turned down right wicked.
Just as I was thinking about covering those full lips with mine, our ancient chemistry teacher shuffled in, balancing a stack of books and a wad of papers. The sound of chalk shrieking on the chalkboard brought me down from seventh heaven - regrettably.
Those sapphire eyes heated like a blue flame. “After school…” he mouthed.
Yes. Yes. Yes. My body was screaming.
Then my tummy dropped, and my face fell. Today I had already made plans for another vigorous training session with Lukas. I shook my head. “I can’t today,” I murmured, an apology bursting in my eyes.
And just like that the mood was broken. There was an unsaid understanding in his blue eyes that said he knew precisely what I was doing after school and with whom.
~*~
Lukas was waiting for me in my driveway when I pulled up after school. Sometimes I wondered if he even went to classes. He was always readily available. Weird.
The autumn sun picked up highlights in his hair, looking more like a member of a boy band than a witch. For the beginning of December we were having the most perfect weather. Large puffy white clouds rolled above in a clear blue sky.
“Hey,” I greeted, slamming the car door behind me. Tossing my bag over my shoulder, I forced a smile. My heart just wasn’t in practicing. I couldn’t help thinking about Gavin and what could have been. So much time had been wasted these last few weeks. I hated the thought of losing an ounce of what could be spent together.
Lukas followed me inside, and I propelled my bag in the corner. Heading to the kitchen I got us a couple cans of coke. Lunar wove in and out of my legs yowling for attention, until he caught sight of my guest. Then like a bat out of hell, Lunar took off, nails shrieking against the floor. What a spaz. Trying to forget about Lunar’s nutty behavior I asked, “What’s on the agenda today?”
He popped the top on his coke, the fizz hissing. “How about we do a little dreaming?”
I took a swig of my drink, the can cooling in my hand. “You mean dreamscaping?” I wasn’t sure how I felt about going under again. My head had just recovered from last night’s escapade, and I wasn’t thrilled about another round. My body needed rest. It seemed the more magic I used within the dream, the harder the effects hit when I woke up.
A half smile played across his lips. “Let’s see if we can get you to control it, prevent or block it.”
“You can do all that?”
His answer was a sunny grin.
I’ll take
that as a yes. “You suck,” I added sorely.
He was completely unaffected by my charm. “Let’s change it up. This time I’ll pull you in. You’ll get the feel of being on the other side, the one summoned into the dream.”
At least someone was excited, I couldn’t say the same. Strolling into the family room I asked over my shoulder, “So how are we doing this?”
He grinned, loving this. “Assume the position sleeping beauty.” His hand swooped over the couch like it was my royal chamber.
“Clever,” I added snarky.
Setting the coke on a coaster, I kicked off my shoes. Hey, if I was going to take a nap, I deserved comfort. Lying on the couch, I tried every which way to get relaxed. The fact that Lukas was watching me did not help. He kneeled over me, his emerald eyes shining above me. “No funny business,” I warned.
“Never,” he swore, a corner of his mouth lifted. That was so not believable and did nothing to calm my unease. “Close your eyes,” he instructed.
“But how are you–”
He put a finger on my lips, silencing me. “Don’t question. Just trust me.”
Trust.
Such a complex and simple concept. Why was it so hard to trust Lukas, but Gavin I inexplicitly trusted with my life? All these thoughts and questions tumbled into my head as I shut my eyes. I assumed he did some kind of hocus pocus mojo to put us both under.
Before I knew it Lukas was calling my name. His voice had that underwater muffled quality to it, like it was being over powered by something else. Time ceased to exist. It could have been seconds or minutes, eventually I followed his familiar voice.
A whole new world of vibrant, flashing color opened against the blackness. Music blared all around me in patterns with erratically disco lights. The floor shined under my feet.
“Took you long enough.”
I whirled around at the sound of his voice, my hair flying out around me.
“Remind me to have us work on your timing. It blows.” He stood in the middle of a sea of people bumping and grinding, well mostly grinding, to heavy bass music.
