* * *
“Nathan,” I called from the crack of the bathroom door, intentionally making my voice sound fearful. I adjusted the towel tighter around me, and glanced at the foggy mirror. I didn’t have enough time to swipe my hand across the glass for one last look at myself. But I felt the damp condensation clinging to my face, and when I looked down, my skin glistened with it. I smiled, confident and self-assured.
I felt bolder than ever before because of this new improved body. The small stretch marks on my hips, caused by a growth spurt, were gone, and my breasts were a fuller B cup. My skin was flawless, like Nathan said it would be. Not to mention, every muscle in my body was tight, as if I spent all my spare time at the gym. It was awesome, and I couldn’t wait to find out how it would feel to have Nathan’s hands all over it.
I’m so bad.
“What’s wrong?” Nathan stood in front of the door, his nervous eyes on mine.
I dropped my gaze and made an effort not to look at him. Instead, I opened the door wider, released the towel, and snaked my hand down my body. I looked at him when I heard a pleasing sound cluck from his throat. His eyes were bright and lustful. I pulled him into the bathroom and closed the door.
“I think we should conserve on water tonight,” I told him, stepping into the shower.
“I think you’re right,” he said, stripping. I could hear his heart beating faster and the yearning in his voice. He stepped in next to me and placed his hands around my neck, tilting my face up. “You’re the most gorgeous person I’ve ever seen.”
I bent my head back, allowing the hot water to cascade down my hair, lightly spraying my face. I never knew happiness like this existed.
“No, Mr. Caswell,” I said, rubbing his damp cheek, “I think you are.”
A slow smile formed on his lips, then curved into a crooked one. He shook his head. And then his scorching lips were on mine. My tongue flicked and danced against his. I lightly bit his bottom lip, causing him to groan. I stepped back, bringing us under the gentle spray of water, while our mouths hungrily moved together in harmony, as if he were going off to war and this could be our last kiss.
Every nerve ending in my body hummed with pleasure beneath his touch, more sensitive than before I became immortal. It was as if the receptors were now wide open, sucking in each luxuriant feeling.
Time ran away from us, like it always did when people were having fun together or engrossed in conversation, and before we knew it, it was well past midnight. We were lying in bed, tired, but glowing.
“I have something for you.” Nathan reached in his overnight bag beside the bed.
“You do?” I wondered what it was and how long he had it.
“I was going to wait until your birthday to give this to you, but in a way it is your birthday since you were just born into immortality.” He handed me a black velvet ring box.
“You didn’t have to do this.” I held the box in my hand and stared at it. It couldn’t possibly be an engagement ring. Maybe it was a promise ring.
“I wanted to because it represents us. And to be honest, I really enjoyed buying this for you. So please open it and tell me what you think.”
I opened the box and immediately became teary-eyed.
The gift was a silver Claddagh ring.
“Do you like it?” He studied my face, and then smiled when he saw the happy tears in my eyes.
“I love it.” I kissed him. “Thank you so much. This means a lot to me.” I slipped it on my right wedding finger and it fit perfectly. “But how did you know my size?”
“Your mom told me when you were upstairs getting your whistle.”
“She knew about this?” More tears pushed out of my eyes at the thought of Mom having some part in this.
“She thought it was a brilliant idea and knew you would love it.” He picked up my hand and rubbed his thumb across the ring. “Do you know what it means?”
“Of course I do, but I want you to tell me.”
I watched his thumb touch each individual representation as he told it to me.
“The hands mean friendship and togetherness. The heart signifies love, and the crown stands for loyalty.” He lifted my hand and kissed that finger. “Us, tied up into this clever, little ring.”
I kissed him again. “This is the most wonderful gift anybody has ever given me. Thank you.” I was touched by how much thought he had put into it.
“You’re very welcome.” He reached across me to turn the light off.
“Wait.” I held my hand up to look at the ring one last time. “Okay, now you can turn the light off.”
He switched the lamp off and settled back in bed. I sat up, looking around the dark room. Well, to a human the room would be dark, but to my new eyes the room was bright with a light gray cast to it, and everything was colorless, like a black and white TV. It was cool I could see clearly in the dark, but I was perturbed by it. I lay back down and grunted.
“Don’t you like to be able to see in the dark?”
“I do, but I love sleeping in a pitch dark room and now I’m wondering if I’ll ever have a good night’s sleep again.”
“You’ll adapt to it, and if worse comes to worst, we can always buy you one of those sleeping masks.”
“I guess so.” I closed my eyes in annoyance. I knew it was stupid to feel this way, but I couldn’t help it. I cherished my sleep and the whole ritual of it, which included a pitch dark room.
“It’ll be okay,” his groggy voice said.
I pressed myself against him and sighed. A few minutes later, Nathan fell asleep, and I lay there for a while listening to his shallow breathing. That was until I heard my name being softly called by a female voice.
“Nathan.” I shook his arm. His lids flew open. “Don’t say anything, just listen,” I whispered.
The female said my name again. He looked at me, and we sat up when a white light filled the room.
“Paige,” the female said yet again, now visible in the room. She was wearing a white cloak. Her long, fiery red hair framed her pretty, delicate face, beneath her hood.
“Grandmother?” I choked, not sure if I was correct.
She moved closer to the bed. Nathan hugged his arms around me in protection.
Her emerald eyes fell gently upon me. “Fear not, my child. I’m not here to harm you, but to help. I would’ve come sooner, but I was preoccupied.”
“Are… Are you dead?” I stammered.
She glanced at her body. “My physical body has been dead for a while now, but that’s not important. I need to inform you two on some things.”
“What is it?” The urgency in her face disturbed me, and I held onto Nathan for comfort.
“Solomon’s ring does exist, but it no longer holds its power.”
“How do you know?” Nathan asked, sounding skeptical.
“Because I had found it, but I don’t have time to tell you how, only Paige’s father was on the right track.”
“So the power has been destroyed?” I felt a jolt of relief, but then her eyes dimmed, and I knew this wasn’t going to be good. My stomach clenched.
“I tried to destroy the ring,” she said, “but couldn’t, and found the only way to turn it into a useless piece of costume jewelry was to transfer its power into another object.”
“Where’s the object?” Nathan asked, interested now.
She averted her eyes, and her shoulders slouched forward. I thought she was going to cry and felt a thickness growing in my throat, but then her attention fell back on us, and her face was masked in regret. “You have your arms around it,” her soft voice said.
A haunting chill ran up my spine, and a violent shiver went through me. Nathan squeezed his arms tighter around me and let out an unsettling groan.
“H-how?” I asked, thinking how wrong and unfair this was. Why me?
“When you were born, I snuck into your bedroom, and cast the spell while you were asleep. I apologize for doing this to you, but at the time I thoug
ht it was the right thing to do since you come from an ancient line of witches.”
Witches? I couldn’t believe it, but then I recalled Mom telling me about my dad doing research on witchcraft. I still couldn’t believe it though. I mean, I’d know if I were a witch, right?
“The ‘old one’ knows about Paige’s bloodline doesn’t he? That’s why he’s interested in her?” Nathan’s voice was hard with anger.
She turned her attention on him. “He’s interested in her for many reasons.” She paused and folded her hands. “Please forgive me for my brevity, but my allotted time is coming to an end, and I must get to the point.”
“Wait. Did he kill you?” I had to know.
She shook her head. “No. I don’t think so, but I was struck from behind, so I don’t know who did it.”
“Does my father know about this, now that he’s dead?”
“No, but I’ll be visiting with him when I crossover to where he is, and I’ll tell him then.”
“Can we transfer this power out of Paige into something else?” Nathan asked. I noticed the light was starting to fade and felt a lump forming in my throat. I didn’t want her to go.
She looked around the room, and her face turned anxious. “The power cannot be transferred from Paige, and as you know, the power is impotent without the incantations Solomon used to control the dark spirits. I wasn’t able to look for the incantations, and I don’t know where they are.” She stopped, as if to catch her breath, and continued. “When the vessel the ‘old one’ had been dwelling in was sick, he took his leave and found another one. While he was in that vessel, by pure luck, he found the ring I had tossed into a gutter, at an antique store here in town and–”
“Carrie’s mom’s store,” I gasped.
“Yes,” she confirmed, “and now he’s going to want you to find the incantations. That’s one of the reasons why he wanted you to become immortal. You see, Solomon was a very wise magician, and not just anybody can find his incantations, even if they have the ring. The ‘old one’ is aware of this and knows you can find it for him.
“Now, there’s the matter of Aosoth.” She looked at Nathan. “She knows the ‘old one’ has the ring, and he tricked her. She’s not happy about it. She wants that power for herself. So she’s going to do the next best thing, which is forcing Paige into finding the incantations for her before the ‘old one’ gets a hold of Paige.”
I could hear Nathan’s breaths coming out faster, his heart keeping in time with it. What the hell am I going to do? The only thing I could do was go along with Aosoth or the “old one,” find the incantations, and use it on them. That was my only option.
His voice came out harsh. “She will not get hold of Paige.”
“Wait a minute,” I said. “I’m immortal, so she can’t get hold of me. I’m stronger than her because she’s younger.” I totally forgot about that until now. Ha, ha, the beeotch can’t get me.
Nathan frowned. “She’s conniving, Paige, and I’m sure she’ll find a way to take you down.” I rested my forehead on his shoulder, feeling sick to my stomach. “Don’t worry. I’m going to take care of her,” he said, rubbing my cheek.
“I have to take my leave now,” my grandmother said. She placed her fingers on her lips and blew a kiss at me. “A couple more things. The ‘old one’ is aware you hold a power, and he’s starting to question why he doesn’t feel any energy in the ring. What I’m trying to say is, if he realizes what I had done, and that the light some of the dark spirits can see in you is actually the ring’s power, your immortal life will be in grave danger, especially if others find out. So I suggest you two keep this knowledge to yourselves, and don’t breathe a word of it beyond safe walls. And Nathan, I know you incapacitated Aosoth with your clever incantation before Anwar grabbed her, and she’s withering in pain right now. I also know about your savage capabilities, but be cautious. Aosoth will regain her energy, and there’s no telling what she’s going to do.” She moved her hand in a circle, saying a few words I couldn’t understand. Her image was shorting out, like a flickering light bulb, and that was the last thing I remembered.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Friends Forever
Beyond the Eyes: YA Paranormal Romance Page 60
