“How?”
We’d come upon a patch of silky soft grass. I gently pulled his hand and we both sat down. I leaned my body against his, and he smoothed my hair back from my face.
“I began teleporting—shimmering— when I was about eight years old. I could go anywhere in the world I wanted to. I found myself seeking others who were like me, and could teach me more about myself and my powers. By focusing on exactly what I hoped to find, somehow I always managed to find my way there.”
“Where did you go?” I whispered. His lips were so close to mine. If I leaned forward just the slightest bit...
“Everywhere. Well, a lot of places. A lot of very strange places.” He chuckled softly. “The first place I went was a farmhouse in the Australian Outback. It was home to a sorcerer, a witch, and their three daughters. For a while they became sort of like my family. They taught me many things about who we are.
“But then I must have been ready for some new guidance, because a few years later I found myself in a small village in western Africa. Later I went to Tibet, Brazil, Russia, Italy…you name it.”
“So you learned how to be a warlock from different people around the world?”
“Yes…many people in many places. Many different kinds of magic.”
“Wow.”
He stood up and held out his hand. Together we walked over to the sparkling pond that bore a perfect reflection of the moon on its still waters.
“Okay, you discover that you are a warlock, and learn all about it. So why doesn’t anyone around here know about you?” I asked, not because I was concerned, but so I would have an answer for Ana.
“Well, I expect it’s because they weren’t looking.” He grinned. “Maria isn’t a witch, and I spend only a little time out here. It’s not like I advertise I’m a warlock. It’s very easy to go unnoticed when you want to.”
I felt an enormous sense of relief that surprised me. I hadn’t realized how important it was to me that Nicholas be accepted by Ana, Sophie and Lily. Once they heard his story there’d be no cause for worry, and I’d be free to spend time with him without them giving me a hard time about it.
Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind, and I was shocked I hadn’t thought of it until now.
“Justin! What happened to him? Did you find him?” I asked, dreading his answer. But I had to know.
Nicholas stared straight ahead, his jaw set. “He was approaching your house when the sentinels sounded their warning, but was still several hundred yards away. He ran away when he heard them. I followed close behind and tracked him back to his house where he planned to remain for the night.”
“So you didn’t fight?” I felt a flood of relief. I knew that it was foolish for me to feel this way, but I couldn’t bear the thought of Justin dying at Nicholas’s hands.
“No, we didn’t fight. I made sure that he was staying away, and then I came back and got you. I wanted to make sure you were all right, and I knew we needed to clear some things up between us.”
“I’m glad you did. This whole night has been…well, it’s been pretty insane.”
Nicholas gazed down at me. “Yes, it has…but some parts have been pretty nice too, don’t you think?” His voice was rich with seduction.
I nodded. The thrilling tingle of his gaze sent shivers up and down my spine.
“I…I’m glad you came back. And I’m glad you’re here with me,” I added bravely.
“So am I,” he smiled. “Although, I must confess, after the day I finally met you on the beach, I haven’t been very good at staying away, and our nocturnal meetings weren’t enough for me.”
I frowned at him, puzzled. “What do you mean? Have you been back here before tonight?” Then I realized. “Wait a minute...”
It all made sense now. Nicholas could shimmer.
He wore a comical look of embarrassment and childlike mischievousness. His green eyes sparkled, and he brushed a lock of hair off his forehead. “I may have peeked in on you a few times.”
I let out a big sigh and laughed. “And here I was this whole time thinking I was going crazy.”
“I had to see you, if only for a moment...” His eyes searched mine.
My whole body was on fire, and no longer under my control. Some invisible force pulled me closer to him until our bodies touched. I gazed into his eyes and knew in my heart he was the one I wanted. The only one I had ever wanted. The only one I would ever want.
Every cell in my body wanted to feel his arms around me, but more than anything, I wanted to know that everything he’d said was true… that he wanted me… that I’d been the one he’d been searching for.
“How did you get into my dreams?” I whispered. “How was that…real?”
He whispered back, “At first, I thought you were just a dream, too, until I saw you on the beach that day. I recognized your soul. You’re a Spirit Walker, like me.”
“A what?”
“We can leave our bodies and exist on another level. I’ve been doing it for longer than you, but I’d always walked alone. I saw you, but you never saw me. Then, one day you found me, and our souls united. Now, even if our bodies are separated, our souls will find a way to be together.”
“In my dreams…” I couldn’t finish my sentence. I searched his eyes hoping he could feel my deepest thoughts.
“We’re in love,” he whispered for me.
I closed my eyes as our bodies pressed together, the familiar sense of reunion and completion soaking my heart with joy. He wrapped one arm gently around my back, while his other hand delicately brushed my hair away from my face.
Then, with his fingertips still touching my cheek, his lips kissed mine. So natural…like breathing, but it filled me with a rush of exhilaration unlike anything I’d ever experienced. I’d kissed him many times in my dreams, but this was so much better. This was everything. This was my reason for being alive.
Our bodies wrapped in a tangled embrace. We stood as one in the middle of the majestic forest, and kissed with an unbridled passion I had never known before.
He held me closer, and I felt tiny and protected in his powerful arms. His kisses, soft and gentle at first, grew stronger and more passionate. I became breathless, and he gently pulled back and nuzzled my nose, his long lashes tickling my cheek.
He breathed deeply, and his hot breath caressed my neck, turning my insides to butter. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I have wanted this for so long…to really feel you.”
“Me too,” I whispered, aching for the feel of his lips on mine once more. Every second he wasn’t kissing me felt like an eternity.
He returned his warm soft mouth to mine, and again, we connected with a loving passion that ignited the flames of my soul. I wanted this feeling…this exact moment…to last forever. Nothing in the world mattered but being here, having his arms around me, and feeling his soul connect with mine as his sweet kisses brought my heart to life.
I don’t know how long it was before I realized my feet were no longer touching the silky grass. If I hadn’t opened my eyes to peek at his face—to reassure myself that this was actually happening, and that it really was Nicholas who was kissing me this way—I may never have noticed that we had risen several feet in the air, and were slowly drifting skyward.
My heart soared and my soul danced as we floated higher and higher, until we were almost at the tops of the enormous silver trees. Yet, I was not afraid. Nothing was more perfect than the euphoria I felt sailing through the air wrapped in Nicholas’s loving arms. Time stood still as we gazed at each other, held and kissed each other…entwined in the night sky.
I had no idea how long it was before he reluctantly moved his mouth from mine and whispered in my ear, “It’s time to go back now.”
His words were devastating. “No,” I protested, trying to find his lips again.
He kissed me gently, and then murmured, “We have to go back now. It’s almost morning; people will be waking up.”
I forced my eyes away from
his and noticed that, indeed, the sky was becoming brighter with the first light of dawn.
“Just a little while longer,” I pleaded. I wasn’t ready for this sweet dream to end.
He chuckled softly and nuzzled sweet kisses on my neck. “We can come back,” he said quietly. “Nothing can keep us from each other now.”
“When will I see you again?” I hated the sound of desperation that snuck into my voice.
“Soon. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be close…very close. A few houses away, in fact.” He grinned and softly kissed me again.
“For good?” I whispered in his ear.
“For now. But I’m only a second away from you at all times, and I’ll be keeping a very close eye on you and your friends until this situation is resolved.”
We’d begun a slow spiraling descent back to earth, and as my feet touched the dewy moss, I knew our magical moment was over. My heart cried out for more, but my brain took solace in the knowledge that Nicholas was here with me now…and here he would stay.
With one last fleeting kiss, he wrapped his arms around me. Once again, warm passion flooded through my veins—only to be quickly replaced with the shivering, tickling sensation of freezing ants.
Chapter 27. Becoming
Nicholas returned me to my bed so gently neither Sophie nor Lily gave the slightest stir. He hovered over me briefly, and it took every ounce of self-control I had not to pull him down on top of me. He dipped his head slightly and gave me a final, soft kiss.
“And by the way, you look absolutely stunning,” he whispered, so quietly I thought I may have imagined it. Then he faded away in the shadows of the sunrise.
For a long time after Nicholas left I lay there in my bed, my eyes shut tight, replaying the events of the evening. Over and over I had to convince myself it hadn’t been a dream…and a nightmare.
I forced the agony of Justin’s attack out of my head and indulged in the blissful memory of being with Nicholas in the forest. Why did he refer to that place as an “isle”? I didn’t remember seeing any water except the pond.
Finally, I felt movement coming from Lily’s side of the bed. The clock read 8:30. I hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep, but I’d never felt more awake in my life. Sophie was rousing now as well. I remained still, my eyes closed. I wanted to savor the last few minutes in quiet reminiscence of Nicholas’s sweet kisses. And I didn’t want to have to talk about Hunters or defend Nicholas’s worth to the people I cared most about.
I just wanted peace.
Sophie sat up and stretched her arms. In the middle of a huge yawn, she suddenly yelped and jumped out of bed.
Then I heard Lily’s startled gasp.
I shot up. “What? What?” I looked around the room, panicked. Only the three of us were there, but both Sophie and Lily were staring at me. Lily was rubbing her eyes in disbelief, her jaw hanging open. Sophie just stood there, transfixed.
“Oh...my…GOD!” Sophie exclaimed, her eyes unnaturally wide.
“What?!” Was there some tell-tale trace of my night with Nicholas? Did they know I snuck out while they were asleep? Is the look on my face that obvious, or could they just tell?
I glanced over to Lily, who was staring at me with the same odd expression Sophie was. “WOW,” she mouthed silently, as if too taken aback to vocalize properly.
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you going to tell me what you two are so worked up about?” I asked them, and nervously touched my face to see if I had suddenly grown a monstrous wart on the end of my nose.
Sophie came closer to me, and it appeared that her initial shock was starting to fade. She scrutinized me thoughtfully.
“It looks amazing, of course. I just always thought she would go blonde…,” she said, holding a critical finger to her mouth.
“You did?” Lily asked, joining in her critique of me. “I was certain she’d go dark brown, maybe black...”
My stomach flipped several times as their words sank in, and I reluctantly pulled forward a lock of my hair from behind my shoulders. My reaction was much like Sophie’s, when instead of a pale-wheat color in my hand, there was now a dark crimson. I swallowed my scream and dropped my hair as if it were on fire…which was exactly how it now looked.
“Ohmygod-ohmygod-ohmygod!” I cried, and leaped from the bed over to the full-length mirror across the room. I collapsed on the floor and stared in shock at my reflection. Nothing had prepared me for this. Not even my mother’s hair was this red, hers had far more brown to it. Mine looked like…
“It looks like really ripe strawberries,” Sophie said, grinning.
“Like a red rose…or dark fire,” Lily said, behind me.
“Sorta like blood…but not in a gross way,” Sophie said.
“Okay, enough. I get it…it’s RED!” I exclaimed, mesmerized and horrified by my new reflection. I couldn’t believe how drastically different it made me look.
“It’s so gorgeous,” Sophie gushed as she sat beside me and ran her fingers through my hair. “So rich and vibrant…would cost a fortune in a salon.”
“As if I would ever pay to—”
“The color makes your eyes really pop,” Lily interjected. “And it’s absolutely perfect for your complexion.”
“It’s strange how it looks so completely natural, yet I’ve never seen this hair color on anybody before…anywhere,” Sophie mused.
“Me neither,” said Lily. “But it truly is stunning. I think you got really lucky.”
They continued to extol the beauty of my newly scarlet mane, but Lily calling it ‘stunning’ had triggered a memory. That was the exact same thing Nicholas had said right before he left. Had my hair already turned by then?
There was a light knock on the door. “Callie? You up, hon? I thought I heard voices in there,” my dad called from the other side.
“Crap!” I whispered, desperately. “How do I explain this?” I pointed at my offending scalp.
Sophie shrugged her shoulders, and Lily just shook her head.
“Cal?” he called again.
“I’m changing—don’t come in just yet...”
“Everything all right? Thought I heard yelling.”
“Sophie and Lily spent the night. Sorry if we were loud.” I shot a desperate glance at them, and suddenly Lily jumped up and ran into the bathroom. She emerged a second later holding a large bath towel.
“Here, wrap this around your head like you just got out of the shower,” she hissed under her breath. I quickly threw on the towel and opened the door. My father stood there grinning.
“Hi, ladies,” he said to Sophie and Lily, who were lounging nonchalantly against the bed.
“Hi, Mister McCoy,” they sang innocently. I rolled my eyes. They couldn’t have looked more like they were hiding something if they’d tried.
“I musta missed y’all come home last night,” he said, his eyes showing a little disappointment. “Don’t know what happened. Musta crashed out on the couch durin’ the game. Didn’t realize I was so tuckered out. Real sorry about that. How was your night?” He leaned in the doorway.
I was so glad the lie I needed to tell my dad had some truth to it. “It was a wonderful night…I had an amazing time.” I smiled at him with sincere eyes.
“Yeah…it was really something else,” Sophie said with a phony smile plastered on her face.
Dad’s grin returned. “Well, that’s great. Glad you kids had a good time. I don’t mean to interrupt you gals; I’m just headin’ inta town for a while, heard you was up and thought I’d check in on ya.”
“Okay. Hey, Dad, is it all right if Lily and Sophie stay over for the next few nights, seeing as how we’re on winter break and all?”
“Well, shore, I don’t see a problem with that. You girls have fun, and don’t go gettin’ inta too much trouble.” He winked at us, and I gave him a quick peck on the cheek and shut the door.
“Phew,” I sighed as my body slid down the closed door and landed on the floor.
“You dad i
s such a sweet guy,” Lily said, and Sophie nodded.
“Yeah, well, let’s just see how sweet he is when he sees I’ve managed to turn myself into a human stop sign,” I said with a scowl.
We took turns showering and getting dressed. None of us was very hungry, so we set off to Ana’s to see if there were any new developments. The gargoyles sat firmly in place on their posts. Their yellow eyes followed us warily, but otherwise they did not move. I took this to be a good sign. We breezed through the side door where, once again, Delilah was concocting a mouth-watering meal.
She turned away from the stove, and for once her face showed the faintest glimmer of surprise when she saw me. Her dark eyes lingered on my head for a brief second, and she gave a little grunt. Then she looked me up and down suspiciously, as if she somehow knew of my clandestine tryst with Nicholas. My face flushed hotly. My scarlet hair may as well have been a scarlet letter branded on my chest.
Delilah told me Ana was in the sunroom, and we hurried from the kitchen to find her.
I strode toward the back of the house, Lily and Sophie close behind me. But when I reached the sunroom, I stopped in my tracks so suddenly they both barreled into me, nearly knocking me off of my feet.
I attempted to regain my composure and smiled nervously at Ana, and then at the person sitting beside her.
Nicholas didn’t smile back.
Chapter 28. Cursed
“Come in. Please sit down.” Ana’s voice sounded oddly formal. She sat stiffly, her back erect. The three of us shuffled in and took seats around the room, and I had the distinct feeling I was in trouble for something. Nicholas focused his intense gaze on me, but I didn’t dare return it. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to hide my true feelings for him.
Ana appraised me briefly, and a small smile tugged at her tight lips. “Your hair looks lovely; it really suits you.”
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