A Patch of Darkness

by Yolanda Sfetsos

  A look of disgust crossed Ebony’s face.

  I stepped in front of her, blocking her from this creep. She wasn’t the focus. I was, and he needed to be reminded. “What do you want with us?” I asked him.

  His black eyes blended in with the surroundings. “Ah, of course, we’re in a dark corner you’ve managed to make your own after manipulating the realms to your advantage. So of course you’re demanding answers from me.” He paused, taking a step to the side, still eyeing Ebony. I stepped between them again. “I never would’ve guessed a simpleton like you could have the ability to do such a thing. Managing to astral project from your own body is one thing, but being able to drag others in with you is something…unexpected.”

  “I don’t need your praise.” His stare sent chills through my body.

  “That wasn’t praise, it was a mere observation. Jonathan was wise to become involved with a creature like you. There will no doubt be benefits from your union, things he never dreamed of.”

  My head thudded as his words slowly seeped into my mind. He’d just mentioned Jonathan, which on some level should make sense because they were obviously involved in some sort of business transaction. But to mention both of us in such a personal context made my blood run cold.

  I couldn’t let him know how much he’d shocked me. Keep it together, keep it together. I could mull all of this over later when there wasn’t some old creep trying to unnerve me.

  “What are you?” I asked, grinding my teeth together. Oh Jonathan, what are you involved in?

  The thin man licked his lips and winked at Ebony.

  “How do you know Jonathan?” My hands were clammy and I felt as if everything I thought I knew was crashing down around me.

  “I refuse to answer any of your questions.”

  I shook away all of my wayward thoughts to answer this creep. “But you have to. This is my domain.”

  He laughed and it echoed around the darkness, enveloping our bodies. “This may be your domain, but you don’t possess the power needed to drain the will out of me.”

  This wasn’t how I expected things to go. What was the point in forcing him into the dark patch if I couldn’t make him answer my questions? I didn’t know what to do. I was pretty sure he wasn’t a ghost or a demon.

  “This isn’t the last time we’ll cross paths. I’d love to stay and chat awhile longer, but more important things need my attention right now. The next time we meet will be the last for both of you. I’ll take great pleasure in seeing the end of two catchers.” And with that, he vanished.

  I channeled my power, forcing the dark walls to collapse around us until we were standing in the cemetery with the sun beating down on us.

  “Whatever that was, it was astounding.” The voice raised goose bumps along my skin.

  I really didn’t need this right now.

  Chapter Twenty

  Oren McKee stood with one shoulder pressed against the headstone and his arms crossed over his narrow chest. He was dressed as immaculately as the other times I’d seen him—in black from head to toe. How did he get away with wearing so much black in this heat? A hint of a smile played along the edges of his mouth. His white ponytail fell over his chest, glowing in the sun.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” I spat.

  “Are you still angry with me? I thought you would’ve had enough time to calm down by now.”

  “Well, you thought wrong,” I said, reaching out to grab Ebony’s arm.

  “And who is this gorgeous young lady beside you? Could this be your wonderful apprentice?”

  “That’s none of your business—”

  “Yes, I’m her apprentice.” Ebony pulled away from me, her right hand already extended towards him. He’d won her over with the title.

  Oren took her hand in his and lowered his lips to the top of her hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

  It made me sick to see him do that. Was Oren taking a taste of her power too? Was that how he got away with it, by acting all charming and gentlemanly?

  “Has Sierra talked about me?”

  “There was no need.” His eyes peered into mine over her hand. “I’ve heard a great deal from others.”

  “Wow, I didn’t know others spoke about me,” Ebony gushed.

  Oren moved his lips from her hand but still held it.

  “Can you put her hand down? I wouldn’t want you to get carried away,” I said.

  He hesitated, looked down at Ebony’s hand before gracefully dropping it. The smile never left his face.

  Ebony turned to me with narrowed eyes. She was practically yelling, “Where are your manners? Why are you being so rude to this fine gentleman?” But I knew there was nothing gentle about him—alluring and suave, yes, but not gentle. This man used his wit and charm to suit his own selfish needs and I wasn’t about to let her get the wrong impression. She’d already suffered enough shocks today.

  Seeing the guy who’d betrayed and lied to her about the amulet couldn’t have been easy for Ebony. And what was Travis? I’d sensed some age and the same power leak I tapped into back at the bookstore. Something that reminded me of Burr but I wasn’t sure why.

  Oren took a step towards me. I took one back.

  He sighed. “There’s no need to be so untrusting, Sierra. I want nothing but the best for you.”

  “I’m sure you do.”

  “Now, why don’t you tell me what you and your gorgeous apprentice were doing just a minute ago?”

  “That’s none of your damn business!”

  “Don’t mind, Sierra, Mr. McKee, she just hasn’t been herself lately. What she was trying to say was you caught us in the middle of a very strange situation, involving an asshole—excuse the language—and a facet of Sierra’s talent she failed to tell anyone about,” Ebony answered, poking her tongue out at me before returning her attention to what she no doubt thought was a harmless old man.

  Luckily one of us knew the truth about him.

  “Oh, really?” Oren cocked an eyebrow. “That sounds intriguing because all I saw were the two of you frozen like statues. It was bizarre—no movement, rigid as stone. It was a little unsettling. Neither of you reacted to my presence.”

  Ebony jumped up into the air with a little whoop. For someone who’d just encountered the real person she’d been sleeping with, she sure was chirpy all of a sudden. “Yay, I actually crossed over! You were right, Sierra. I bet the negative energy from the amulet has worn off.”

  “You had an amulet with negative energy?” Oren asked.

  “Quit asking questions that have nothing to do with you.”

  “It’s okay. I don’t mind sharing. I’m so excited right now,” she said, smiling. “This jerk I was seeing gave me an amulet under false pretenses. I thought I was wearing a good-luck charm. Turns out it was some amulet with a jinx. I can’t even remember the name of it.”

  “That’s awful. What man in his right mind would do something so callous to a lovely lady like you?”

  “My thoughts exactly, but it turns out this guy isn’t even a guy…at least I don’t think he is. Maybe he’s a witch or something just as evil,” Ebony said with a roll of her eyes.

  I snickered. If she only knew she was talking to a witch right now.

  Oren flashed a quick glance my way, eyes wide. “You think he may be a witch?”

  Ebony shrugged. “Could be, why?”

  “I’m a witch hunter, I could help you.”

  “No, it’s okay, we really don’t need your help.” I was invisible all of a sudden. Neither seemed to want to hear what I had to say.

  “Oh, come on, I’m sure we could use all the help we can get right now,” Ebony said with a pout. “Mr. McKee’s very generous to offer.”

  “Please, call me, Oren.”

  “Shut up, Ebony. Give me a sec with Oren, will you?”

  “But I want—”

  “Ebony…please.”

  “Okay, okay.” She stomped her feet like a toddler. “It wa
s nice to meet you, Oren.”

  “Likewise,” he said, tilting his chin.

  She flashed him a smile. “Hopefully grumpy woman over here will take me along to tomorrow’s meeting and I’ll see you there.”

  “I hope so.” He nodded with a smile.

  Ebony waved at him but ignored me as she walked past the tree to stand on the other side.

  “I’ll need a little more distance! And keep your head down or the spirits will find you.”

  She sighed but kept walking down the path between the tombstones. If only she knew I was trying to protect her. Again.

  “Are you okay, Sierra?”

  I turned back to Oren, who was now standing closer than I remembered him being seconds before. His light blue eyes were full of concern. I wondered how much of this situation he actually knew about.

  “So, have you been following me around since the last time we met here?”

  “I don’t follow you around. I keep an eye on you without interfering,” he said with a shake of his head.

  “Just answer the question.”

  “I know something happened at the Hocking house but didn’t use my powers to find out what. I also know you were attacked by one of the ghosts you’re holding”—he pointed at the bag—“and you’re suffering more than you let on.”

  I looked down at the duffel bag with the two canisters. I’d almost forgotten I still had them. “And why am I suffering exactly?”

  He met my eyes. “Because you know a lot more about me than you’d care to. The anger you feel right now has nothing to do with my taking a sip of your essence. You’re angry with me because you know who I really am.”

  “Correction, who you might be,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest defensively. “And for the record, I’m still pissed off about the power-sucking incident. You can’t just do that to someone and then drop the bombshell you did on me.”

  He shrugged. “I honestly thought you knew what I was, or at least suspected.”

  I snorted. “Right. I’ve already told you, until the other night on Wallace Street, I knew nothing about the existence of witches or anything else.” Suspecting isn’t the same as knowing.

  “Sierra…” Oren closed the distance between us. He reached for my hand but I tucked it further under my arm. That didn’t deter him and he didn’t stop until he had my left hand clasped in his. The coldness of his touch hit me right away. “It’s not a matter of who I may be, it’s who I am. Deep down inside your heart you know the truth. The man you believe is your grandfather had enough guts to finally tell you, didn’t he?”

  “You’re not my…” My voice trailed off. Even trying to contemplate the words, the meaning, and all the feelings attached to the admittance made me choke on my own words.

  “Joseph mightn’t have wanted to know the truth but I did. I won’t go into details of how I obtained such information, but I will tell you there’s no doubt you’re my granddaughter.” He squeezed my hand.

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “Then believe this.” Oren tugged at my hand until it was resting against his chest. I could feel the steady beat of his heart under my palm when I spread my fingers over it. He held it in place until the vision thumped into my brain…

  My grandmother stood facing Oren in the darkness of what looked like a backyard. I recognized the surroundings—it was the same patch of grass behind the house in which I grew up in and still lived. A boy’s bike rested beside an old skateboard.

  “Oren, I need to tell you something,” she said.

  “Go ahead, my love.”

  She sighed. “Please, don’t call me that. You know I belong to another.”

  “But your heart is still with me,” he whispered, breathless.

  “Some of my heart might be with you, but Joseph has most of it now. I don’t know how it’s possible to love two very different men at the same time, but I was blessed twice with love.” She looked away. “You should’ve stayed away, Oren. It took so many years to get over you—why did you return to my life?”

  He grabbed a hold of her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. Oren took her hand in his and kissed it. “Because you’re the only woman I will ever love, Pepita. You make it sound as if I was the one who left.”

  “You gave me no choice. I wanted to leave that world filled with ghosts, witches and demons,” she said with a sigh. “You chose not to leave with me.”

  “Oh, Pepita, I was a stupid man…”

  She caressed his cheek with her free hand. “Oren, I need to tell you something very important. This child growing inside of me…is yours. I know it’s a little girl and she’s your daughter.”

  Tears sprang to those clear, blue eyes. “And you’re sure?”

  She nodded as tears slid down her cheeks. “I’m positive. There’s no way Joseph could’ve… I’m four months pregnant. I checked the calendar and Joseph was away on business when you came over late that night and I allowed you back into my bed.”

  Oren pulled her close, dropping his mouth over hers.

  “Pepita, is everything all right out there?”

  She was breathless from Oren’s kiss but managed to call back, “Yes, Joseph, just clearing up a few things the kids left in the way!”

  “Okay, just checking. I love you!”

  “Love you too,” she whispered back, but her eyes were on Oren.

  She took a step back when Oren pressed a hand to her already rounded belly. “She will never know about me, will she?”

  Pepita’s tears slid down her cheeks as she shook her head. “She can’t. It’s not right.”

  “Let me have one last time with you?”

  “That’s enough, you sick son of a bitch!” I broke the connection and yanked my hand back from his grip. I glared at him as hatred swept over my body.

  Right now, I hated him for what he’d done and for making me share the vision of how he’d toyed with my grandmother’s emotions.

  “I loved her more than anything in this world.”

  A part of me now understood that to be true, but I still didn’t want to believe it. Maybe he’d conjured up the memory. He was a witch and could’ve used some sort of mind-control tactic on me. Yet, I knew in my heart that the incident I’d just seen had really happened. My grandmother only had one daughter, which made my mother Oren’s offspring, and I was his…

  “Do you believe me now?” he asked.

  Words froze inside my mouth when I tried to respond. I swallowed the lump forming inside my throat, nodded once and said, “Don’t think I’m going to start calling you grandpa. I’ve already got one.”

  “Sierra, we need to talk about this.”

  I took a step away from him. “No, we don’t need to talk about this at all. I hate that you put my grandparents through this. I hate how you forced me to watch such an intimate memory. And most of all, I hate you.”

  The pain in his eyes was instant but I didn’t care. He’d caused his fair share of pain without stopping to think about anyone but himself.

  “Sierra…”

  I turned away and headed for Ebony, leaving him behind.

  “Honestly, Sierra, how many hot guys do you need in your life?”

  I stomped on the brakes. “It’s not what you think.”

  “Right, it never is,” Ebony said with a shake of her head. “Do we need to have the Papan conversation again?”

  “Just go home and relax for a while. I might call you later to go spook catching. Are you up for it if I do?” I wasn’t up to the task of discussing any of the males in my life at the moment.

  Ebony smiled as she jumped out of the car. “Of course! I can cross over now. Actually, I can’t wait to test my skills since you’re now willing to have me do more than hold your phone and voice recorder.”

  I picked through her answer, ignoring the little bits of fluff. The bottom line was, Ebony was relieved. It looked like something positive had come out of the useless encounter with Travis after all. “Good, I’ll see you lat
er then.”

  “Where’re you going?” She leaned in through the open window.

  “I’m on my way to the Council to hand these in.” I lugged the duffel bag from the backseat and onto the passenger seat.

  “You brave girl.” Ebony laughed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with? I don’t mind.”

  “Thanks, but I have to set foot in that place again sometime. I can’t let them think I’m scared of their stupid building.”

  “Okay, play the tough-guy angle and see how it goes, but you and I definitely need to have a chat about what the deal is with you and Oren. There was a lot of touchy-feely stuff going on there.” She rolled her eyes. “Then again, after seeing you with Papan this morning, why am I not surprised?”

  “You better get going now.”

  “Why?”

  I sighed. “If you don’t, I’m going to strangle you.”

  “Oh, come on, he was a charmer. Admit it.”

  “Oh, you have no idea how much of a charmer Oren is, but he’s also old enough to be my…”

  “Grandfather? I know, but there’s something very appealing about the old chap. He’s like Sean Connery, better with age and all that. If there’s really nothing going on between you two, would you mind if I, you know…?” She winked.

  I shuddered at the thought. “Didn’t you just find out the guy you were sleeping with wasn’t who you thought he was.”

  “Now that’s the understatement of the year, right there. But I don’t wanna dwell on the past.”

  “Right, yeah, but finding out he was something disgusting masquerading as a young guy doesn’t bother you? It doesn’t put you off men for a while?” If it were me, I’d probably sign up with the closest convent.

  “I’m over it. Life’s too short,” she said a little too quickly, dismissing it with a flick of her hand. “I’m just glad we finally figured out why the man we saw at Jonathan’s bookstore looked so familiar. Knowing it was right at the edge of my mind was startin’ to bug the shit outta me! I guess that’s why I couldn’t remember, because he looked different. Anyway, are you going to ask Jonathan why that creepy man was meeting with him?”