by R. A. Gates
and shook his arm from her shoulders.
He tore his eyes away from the
hopeless flirt up front to glance at her.
“You were shivering.”
She tried to give him a
reassuring smile, but she didn't have it in
her. “I'm fine. Go back to your
gawking.” She leaned away from him
and ignored the dirty looks he threw her
way.
What is wrong with me? Why do
I care if he likes her? Her carefully
constructed
walls
kept
crumbling
whenever she was near him for any
length of time. She was starting to turn
into one of those drooling robot girls that
fawned all over him at school.
I'd rather die. Promising herself
to keep her distance from him didn't
make the ache fade away when he
returned his attention to Athena. Instead
of dwelling on that unwelcome reaction,
she distracted herself by picturing Prince
Sebastian’s face from the drawing. The
more she thought of his full lips and
piercing eyes, the more handsome he
became. A fantasy of the prince waking
from her kiss and whisking her away to
his castle played out in her head as they
drove along the California highway.
They finally pulled into the
parking lot of a motel, just outside of
town. The 'L' was burned out in the neon
sign that buzzed loudly as they passed
by. Athena went to pay for the room
while the others unloaded the car. Her
three large suitcases were so heavy she
probably decided to relocate to warmer
climates. That thought brought a smile to
Ivy's lips.
“All right, spill,” Athena said as
the door clicked shut behind her.
Ivy plopped her bags down on
one of the two king sized beds. “Spill
what?” She walked into the small
bathroom and filled the chipped sink
with water. Sparky flew up and perched
on the edge to drink.
“Don't play me for a fool, Ivy. I
know you're not visiting an old friend.”
Athena sat on the edge bed, crossed her
legs and waited.
Thane and Garren were no help
as they sat silently at the table by the
front door. “Well, the person we're
visiting isn't actually a friend, since none
of us have met him before.” She was
going for the minimalist approach, but by
the expression on Athena's face, it wasn't
working.
“So, why are you visiting?”
Ivy drew in a long, slow breath.
“Because he might be able to help us.”
“With what?” Athena wasn't
missing a beat.
“With the failing wards around
Salmagundi.”
Athena's eyes widened. “What's
this guy's name?”
The three answered at once.
“Charlie.”
“Bob.”
“Sebastian.”
Now, they want to talk.
Being as perceptive as she was,
Athena picked up on Thane's answer.
“Sebastian? As in Prince Sebastian? The
wizard who set the wards in the first
place and is currently frozen in time
from a curse? That Sebastian?”
Ivy glared at Thane. Big-mouth.
He shrugged and turned away to
hide the blush creeping up his neck.
“Yeah.”
Athena sat silent as her gaze
wandered from one person to another.
Then, she burst out laughing. And not the
usual tittering she did around most guys,
but a full-fledged, body convulsing
laugh. This continued for a good five
minutes, at the end of which her face
was wet and she was clutching her
sides. She took a moment to catch her
breath.
“And you three think you're going
to break the curse?”
They nodded, which sent her
right back into hysterics. Exhausted, Ivy
ignored the laughing hyena and grabbed
her bag to get ready for bed. She
showered then dressed in a big t-shirt
and climbed into the nearest bed.
Athena had finally calmed down
and was talking closely with Garren on
the worn-out couch while Thane ran
through the channels on the TV. She
hoped things would be better after a
good night's sleep. As she settled down,
obsidian eyes gazed at her with
appreciation and desire. At least her
dreams promised to be pleasant.
Chapter 13
“What did you do?” An accusing
voice from Ivy’s past echoed all around
her. A chill ran along her skin as she
recognized where she was, and more
importantly, when.
No, not again.
This memory hadn’t haunted her
dreams in months. And even though she
knew the sequence by heart, fear still
gripped her heart as the events of that
night played on.
Her body trembled as she
squeezed her eyes shut and wished to
turn the moonlit clearing in the woods to
somewhere safe, bright, real. The stench
of earth and blood churned her stomach.
It wasn’t working.
Footsteps stomped closer. Her
eyes snapped open to see the angry mob
forming a circle around her.
Do something! Run. Fight.
Anything different. The same fear that
froze her that night over a year ago
incapacitated her again. Knowing that
she shouldn’t, she couldn’t help but peek
over to see the figure of a woman lying
on the grass. The moonlight glinted off
her curly hair.
Mom.
“No!” she screamed as she ran to
reach her, only to be shoved back into
the center of the circle. She landed on
her butt, crying out in pain. Tears fell
silently down her cheeks as she watched
another woman close her mother's eyes
with a brush of her hand.
Wake up, damn it!
She struggled to stand on shaking
legs to protect herself. A moan from the
tree line caught her attention. She
staggered closer, but stayed within her
bounds, to see another person down.
Two men tried to revive the girl lying
unconscious on the ground. They
wouldn’t succeed.
Guilt burned in her belly, hot
bile rising in her throat. She was going
to throw up. She pressed her hands to
her head, trying to focus beyond the
nightmare to her sleeping self.
This isn’t real anymore. You
don’t need to be here. Wake up!
One of the men next to the girl
stood up and stalked toward her, fire in
his eyes. “What did you do?” he shouted.
She shook her head, not knowing
what else to do. It wasn’t her fault. She
didn’t mean t
o do it, didn’t know she
could. Panic consumed her as the circle
of people enclosed tighter and tighter
around her.
“Wake up,” the wind seemed to
whisper.
I’m trying. She searched for a
weakness in the chain of angry mob
surrounding her.
“Wake up!” The voice drifting in
the air grew louder, more insistent.
The encroaching people shouted,
“What did you do?”
“You did this!”
“Witch!” They held their knives
and stakes high as they attacked.
“No!” She screamed as the first
dagger came down. The voice boomed
right before it could plunge into her
chest.
“Wake up, Ivy!”
Air rushed into her lungs when
she woke from the nightmare. She
opened her eyes and gasped at the
change in scenery. A pair of blue eyes
stared into hers.
Garren was in her face, an iron
grip on her arms, yelling at her. “Wake
up!”
She latched onto his shoulders,
needing an anchor to reality.
Concern swam in his eyes.
“Deep breaths, Ivy. In through your nose,
out through your mouth,” he instructed.
She followed his lead, willing
her body to relax. Her thundering heart
beat slower and slower until it settled
into its normal rhythm. That was the first
time she’d come close to being hurt in
the nightmare. Could the consequences
of one consciousness bleed into the next
because of her magic? Can her dreams
really kill her? Hopefully, she’d never
find out.
Loosening her grip on Garren’s
shoulders, she let them slide over his
arms until they landed on her lap. His
mere presence was calming.
Suddenly, a loud crash like a
thunderclap boomed all around her,
shaking the bed. She jumped and pressed
a hand to her chest, as if she could
physically push her pounding heart
down.
Garren let out a whooshing
breath. “Are you all right now?”
Probably not. She nodded.
Don't tell me it happened
again? Breaking eye contact, she
ventured to survey the room. They were
in the motel room Athena rented last
night, and it was a mess. Clothes were
strewn all over, hanging off lamps and
chairs. All of their belongings and
weapons lay haphazard over the floor
and beds.
This is worse than before.
Only Garren was with her in the
room. He still held her shoulders, his
thumbs rubbing small circles on her
arms. Fear that she hurt someone, like in
the nightmare, swelled inside her.
“What did I do?” she asked
softly.
“Good question. Athena woke
me up because you were whimpering in
your sleep and wouldn't wake up. Then,
everything not nailed down started flying
through the room.” He gazed around at
the mess and sighed.
“Where are Thane and Athena?
Did I hurt them?” Panic rose again, like
icy fingers crawling up her spine.
Garren shook his head and
stroked the goose bump flesh on her
arms. “They're outside, waiting for the
storm to pass.” The crooked little smile
he wore made her chest swell with
warmth.
The corner of her mouth pulled
in reaction to the pleasant feeling his
smile was evoking. Then the front door
opened, and she dragged her gaze from
Garren to the two coming in.
Athena swept in and tiptoed
around the objects littering the floor as
she made her way to the bed. Her hand
touched Garren's shoulder and slid along
his back, stopping at the opposite one.
She let it linger there while she spoke to
Ivy.
“Gawd, Ivy. Are you still having
nightmares?”
She couldn't tear her eyes away
from Athena's hand, touching Garren like
it was the most natural thing in the
world. That wonderful feeling that
hummed in her belly moments before
fizzled down to nothing.
“Looks like it.”
Athena's manicured nails traced
the seam of Garren's white t-shirt; such a
simple act, yet so intimate. She barely
contained a smile, one eyebrow arched,
as if daring Ivy to protest.
“What
were
you
dreaming
about?” Garren asked, pulling her
attention back.
She wasn't ready to lay her past
out in front of him, like purging the
contents of her purse for all and sundry
to see. For some reason, it was
important she didn't give him more
reasons to hate her.
“I don't... I don't remember .”
The bed dipped next to her.
Thane reached out and gently squeezed
her hand. “Is there anything I can do?”
The look of pity on his face was
too much. She snatched her hand away
and tossed the covers off her legs.
“No, I'm fine.” She bolted to the
bathroom to get away from all the
pathetic attempts to sooth her. She hated
being coddled.
After kicking Sparky out of his
hiding spot in the bathtub, she showered
to try and wash away the lingering fear
still clinging to her from the dream. The
closer they got to Sacramento, the worse
the memories and nightmares became.
She wasn't sure if she was ready to face
the demons that lay in wait for her there.
After dressing in a clean pair of
jeans and a t-shirt, she wrapped a towel
around her head and left the bathroom.
With all the steam, the mirror was
useless.
Garren lounged on his bed
flipping through the TV channels. Thane
sat at the table reading one of his potion
books. They didn’t even stir when she
walked back into the room.
“Where’s Athena?”
“Getting food,” Garren said
without even a glance her way.
“Good,
I’m
starving.”
She
grabbed Athena’s make-up bag, hoping
to find something to treat her dry skin.
Generally, she wasn’t a vain person, but
spending the day on the beach with no
sunblock wreaked havoc on her face.
She scooted Sparky over before
she sat down on the bed, wincing at the
pain still throbbing in her hip. The edges
of the massive bruise had already begun
to yellow. Speaking of injuries, she
lifted the sleeve of her shirt to inspect
the gash on her arm.
Still gross. She ran her fingers
along the sides of the cut, pushi
ng down
along the swollen edges. No pus, that
was good.
A fast food commercial blared
on the TV. She practically drooled at the
sight of the greasy, yummy goodness of
the double-decker burger. As the picture
faded to black, she caught Garren’s
reflection on the screen. But he wasn’t
watching the program.
He was staring at her.
She glanced over to confirm
what she’d seen just in time to see his
head snap forward.
O-kay. Knowing she was being
watched made her more self-conscious
than ever. She instinctually straightened
her posture as she sat cross-legged on
the bed.
Ignore him. She grabbed the
compact to check out the sun damage
more closely. Not only were her nose
and cheekbones burned, but her forehead
was breaking out. Too bad her magic
couldn’t clear her skin.
Hmmm. I’ll have to ask Thane if
there’s a zit potion he could make.
As she applied aloe cream to her
face, she glanced at the TV again. She
supposed he could’ve been eying her
arm and the ugly wound across her
bicep.
He’s looking at me again . Her
heart tripped up under his scrutiny. Why
is he staring at me? Maybe he’s
mesmerized by my natural beauty.
Yeah, right.
She couldn’t help but laugh out
loud at that thought. This was Garren
gawking at her. He’s probably thinking
up the best way to humiliate her when
they returned to Salmagundi.
“What’s so funny?” Thane asked.
His gaze veered from the TV to Ivy and
back again, his brow furrowed.
“Nothing,” she said as she
unwrapped the towel from her head.
With a shrug, he continued
reading his book.
She stole a quick glance at
Garren but his attention was once again
absorbed on the infomercial playing in
front of him. Maybe she imagined it.
Great, now even my own mind is
against me.
She did her best to ignore him,
but the temptation to check if he was still
watching her grew too strong. As she
combed the tangles out of her curly hair,
she focused on the screen, waiting to
catch his reflection again.
He’s doing it again . Part of her
wanted to call him on it, tease him about
ogling her. But another part didn’t want
him to stop.
She stayed quiet and slowed
down her movements. She flipped her
damp hair over her shoulder to hide her
face. It also made it easier to observe
him without being noticed. Her breath
hitched every time he stole a glance at
her.
