The Ring of Fire: The Dragon Dream: Book Two

by Robin Janney

  “He’s scared,” stated Veronica, with a shrug of her shoulders. Her smile was self-deprecating. “I am too, but I tend to be as hopeful as the doctor.”

  Smiling, Les took another sip of wine.

  Apparently done eating, although she’d only eaten a few bites, Veronica rose to her feet. “I’m going to clean up and then head to the gym. Are you finished?”

  “No, leave my plate and the cartons. I’ll take care of it when I’m finished.” As his wife cleared the rest of the table, and kindly set the remaining cartons closer to him, Les took one in hand and dumped the rest of the chicken onto his plate. He finished his meal in worried silence.

  O ne city street blended into another. Craig gave little attention to where he was going. At his father’s announcement, panic had started building in him and he knew he had to walk it off before it erupted.

  He wouldn’t be able to explain what he was panicking about if asked. His father returning to work should be good news. It should be great news. But Craig worried that his father was trying to rush his healing attempting to push his son into action – for Craig to either go back home or to bring his wife to the city and start a new life.

  But Craig couldn’t see his wife fitting into New York society. Katie had been right about that much. Angela was ill-suited to the society he had been moving in these past few weeks. She would never be able to deal with the crowds. Or the gossip. The gossip here made Flo Jamenson, the gossip of Tyler’s Grove, look like the guardian of kept secrets.

  He’d heard more whispers about his friendship with Katie, coupled with outrageous reasons why he hadn’t brought his wife with him in the first place. Why was it so impossible to believe a man and woman could be platonic friends?

  Surprised to find himself crossing Brooklyn Bridge, Craig decided to walk across to Brooklyn Heights before turning around. His legs ate up the walkway quickly, for he gave himself no time to admire the view. His sole desire was to burn up energy. Angela would have been wild with delightful energy at these sights. He would be hard pressed to keep up with her the day he finally managed to bring her here. His father had already said they were welcome to visit during the Christmas season.

  Once in the small park area, Craig found his panic deflated. He sat on an empty bench and looked across at Manhattan. This city had been his home for as long as he could remember. But he had lost his childhood love for the city the first summer he’d visited his grandmother in her Montana abode.

  It was quiet there. Just like his ranch was quiet.

  Here, there was the incessant drone of humanity. It was never quiet. Even in the solitude of his bedroom he thought he could still hear the city’s heartbeat.

  “Craig?” asked a familiar voice. “Are you alright?”

  He looked up at Katie as she stopped before him. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was dressed for her jog in shorts and a sports bra. Her skin glistened with the sheen of sweat. Her eyebrows were crunched together over her nose in concern. “Hey, Katie. Dad just told me he’s going back to work.”

  “Oh, but that’s good news!” declared Katie. She lifted a leg to the bench and stretched her muscles. “So, why do you look like it’s not?”

  Craig shrugged, wondering how she managed to smell like summer flowers even while exercising. It wasn’t Angela’s rose scent, but it was close. “Honestly, I’m not sure.” Talking with Katie came as naturally as talking with Angela. Easier since Katie was here. Even as she switched legs to stretch, he gave no notice to her proximity. Unlike in high school, there was no pressure to her flirting. “I just worry he’s rushing things.”

  Katie patted his arm and sat beside him on the bench. “You worry too much, Craig. You need to learn how to relax!”

  He laughed, his tension easing. “True enough.”

  “Look, after my run I’m going out dancing at a couple of the clubs I hang out at. You’re welcome to come along.”

  “As tempting as that is, I can’t. I have a video chat with my wife in about an hour.” And it was tempting, Craig realized. He had loved dancing and clubbing as a young teen, though the clubs catering to minors had been few and far between. They’d always been able to find a way in, even though they’d been caught a time or two. It was one of the things he had given up after his stepmother’s abuse.

  “Come afterwards!” Katie pleaded. “Please? It’s the city that never sleeps! Everything will still be happening when you and Angela are done talking! You deserve a break from taking care of your wife and your dad. You’re exhausted, Craig, even I can see it.”

  Now there was a change, mused Craig. The old Katie used to beg him to ditch whatever chore stood between him and fun with her. Not that talking with his wife was a chore. And if he were to go clubbing with Katie, it would no doubt be enough to wear him out and allow him to sleep more than an hour at a time.

  So, he smiled at the pretty woman sitting next to him. “Sure. Let’s plan on it. Where should I meet you?”

  Katie’s smile was brilliant. “Text me when you’re ready and I’ll come get you.”

  30

  J ared heard the scratching at his door again and groaned. What was his sister doing now to cause her dog to come fetch him again? He rolled out of bed even as Angela’s screams rang out.

  “Fuck.” He knew that scream. He tore out of his room and down the hallway to her room. Her screams had faded by the time he entered his sister’s bedroom through the open doorway, and he found her huddled in the center of her bed. Princess hopped onto the bed and leaned into her mistress.

  “Angela? Are you alright?” he demanded of his older sister.

  But she didn’t answer. She sat hugging her knees and shaking violently.

  “Hey!” Jared hopped onto the large bed with her and snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Focus!” He leaned down to meet her terrified eyes, placing a thin hand on her shoulder. “I know I’m not Craig, but I’m all you’ve got right now. Come on, Angela, focus damn it! Look at me!”

  Tears began to slide down her cheeks as Angela focused on him. She gritted her teeth and soon her breathing even out. Slowly, her body stopped shaking.

  Finally, his sister drew a deep breath. “Go back to bed, Jared. It was just a dream.”

  “Just a dream, my ass,” he declared. Couldn’t she see how scared he was right now? He needed more than a bossy sister’s ‘go back to bed’ to reassure him that she was alright. “I remember those screams, Angie, you used to scream just like that growing up. Don’t tell me it was nothing!”

  She bit her lip and he could see her struggle. “It was bad. But I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Jared didn’t answer right away. He couldn’t help her if she didn’t talk with him! Like they used to. Which maybe she couldn’t remember. “You don’t want to talk about it, or you don’t want to talk about it with me?”

  Angela wiped her tears away from her cheeks. “It’s just not your burden, Jared.”

  “You’re my sister, Angie, and I hate seeing you the way you’ve been the last couple of weeks. Why can’t you talk to me like we used to?” He let her hear how hurt he was. “You must know on some level we used to be friends.”

  A shudder passed through her, and her hand clamped over her mouth until it ended. “Jared, I just know I have to be careful who I talk to about this dream. I want so badly to call my husband, even though it’s the middle of the night and I’d wake him. But I know if I do that, it will only make things worse.”

  “So, you still get premonitions?” asked Jared for clarification. He sighed when his sister nodded.

  “Not that it does me any good,” she muttered.

  Jared snorted, much like their father. “Tell me about it. I’m here because of one, but I can’t help you if you won’t talk to me. Is there anyone you can talk to about it?”

  Angela shrugged. “I’ve been emailing back and forth with Kevin. I’m not sure for how long.”

  “Kevin? Why not your own doctor? I mean, not
hing against Kevin, but isn’t he more Craig’s friend than yours?”

  “Pat…” Angela shook her head tiredly. “There are some things Pat doesn’t understand. She…” His sister’s voice trailed off, sounding almost embarrassed.

  “She what?”

  “I’ve tried talking to her about the dreams I’ve been having, but she thinks I’m delusional. That I’m imagining things worse than what they are. She tried prescribing me a new medicine, again, but I wouldn’t take the paper from her. Not that I could take it right now anyway and she knows that! I can’t explain it very well.”

  Jared sighed and gave up. She didn’t want to talk to him – or she couldn’t. He hoped she was interpreting her premonition correctly. Dad had never told him about the times in the past his sister had been wrong, just that it had happened. “Alright. As long as you’re able to talk to somebody about it. Will you email him now, or wait until morning?”

  “Now,” answered Angela, her voice decisive and a touch angry. Jared hoped she wasn’t angry with him; he was merely trying to help her. “While it’s still fresh. Besides, I’m too awake now to go back to sleep right away.”

  He laughed tiredly. “Well, I’m gonna try. I’ll see you in the morning, sis.”

  “Thanks for checking on me.” Angela called after him as he left her room. With another shudder, she turned the bedside lamp on. Fetching her laptop from her desk, she brought it back to the bed with her. Opening it, she turned it on and opened her email once it had finished booting up.

  This is going to be a long email Kevin, and I’m sorry, but I’ve had another dream…

  C raig awoke from a dead sleep with a violent start. He’d only been in bed for an hour, as late as it was, but his exhaustion from trying to keep up with Katie had driven him into a deep sleep.

  God, what strange dreams he’d been having since arriving in New York. And they’d only gotten stranger. But even now, as they had from the beginning, the images were fading away. Odd to say the least, he always remembered the few dreams he had. The only thing he could remember for certain was Angela screaming in terror.

  He checked the time, thinking about calling her, but decided not to. She would be sleeping, and it wasn’t good for her to have her sleep disturbed. He decided not to log onto the home network, thinking Katie had been right in saying he needed a break from caring for his family. His wife was safe in her bed; no doubt with their dog stretched out beside her.

  Rolling out of bed, he wandered to the bedroom window and looked out at the city that was always wide awake. Well, they might not be sleeping, but Craig wanted more for himself. Katie had still been going like a teenager when he’d called for a cab and left her at…whatever club they’d been at. It had been fun and relaxing, but Craig wasn’t a teen anymore and his body was reminding him of that.

  Thinking it safe, he wandered out to the kitchen in his boxers to warm some milk in the hopes it would put him back to sleep. As he was pulling the mug of sweetened milk out of the microwave, he nearly jumped out of his skin when a light flipped on.

  “Craig, thank God!” Veronica exclaimed, her hands pulling her robe close around herself. “When I heard someone out here, I thought it was Denny at first, but he’s still in with Les. And I was so worried…”

  “Building’s pretty safe, Veronica,” replied Craig, trying not to notice how short her nightclothes beneath the robe had been. Irritated, he decided to take the milk to his bedroom.

  “Craig, there’s no need to be embarrassed. I used to change your diaper, for God’s sake.” The hurt on her face seemed genuine.

  “You should have remembered that sooner,” he commented, not stopping.

  Her voice snapped at him. “I’m sorry, Craig! How many times do I have to say it? Can’t you ever forgive me?”

  Craig paused, turned and looked at her. “I’m working on it,” he said honestly, and then turned back to walk down the hallway to his room. Lacking a lock to the bedroom door, he put his back to it and slid down to the floor.

  His stepmother was trying to make amends, no matter her lies, so why couldn’t he just forgive her? Why did he still feel hunted?

  T his is going to be a long email Kevin, and I’m sorry, but I’ve had another dream. It started out dark, like so many of them have been recently. But then it was like the parting of curtains on a stage and I saw my husband walking along a path in the red sandy desert.

  He seemed so calm and confident until he came upon the crossroads. I hate crossroad intersections. They represent choices, different paths, life-changing events, in dreams and in real life. My life has changed so many times because of Simmons Crossroads.

  But, back to the dream. There was a different woman standing at each ‘path’. Myself, Katie and another one represented by the orphan waif from his comic books…why does he see his stepmother that way, Kevin? Veronica’s not an injured innocent.

  If I interpret the dream correctly, then my husband’s beginning to see me differently. He sees me almost as sick as the orphan waif. I’ve never understood why he sees me…saw me…as angelic. I’ve never felt as beautiful as the images he draws. At the same time, I know I’m not the emaciated woman he’s seeing in this dream. I know I’ve got problems, but dammit I’m not as sick as Pat and he seem to think!

  Back to the dream. I’m not sure why but I prayed to see things as they really were…to see through the cloak of symbolism. And only got more I’m afraid. Instead of the desert, Craig was stranded on a rock in a raging ocean in the middle of a terrible storm. The waves were battering him, trying to pull him off but he had driven his sword into the rock and it anchored him. Instead of three women, there were only two in the water…each crying out to him to be saved. There was only enough room on the rock for one other, so he could only save one of us. The dream ended as he reached out, and the Dragon Queen got in my face so I couldn’t see who he chose. She tried eating me…but I woke up in time. I must have screamed, because Jared came in to check on me.

  I just don’t know what’s happening in New York with Katie, but I think whichever one of us Craig ends up choosing…I’m almost certain the other one is going to die because of it. (I promise you I’m not suicidal and will not be if he chooses Katie over me.)

  If you have a different interpretation, feel free to offer it. Please!

  I can’t even call my husband about this dream, Kevin, not without it helping cement the change in how he views me. He doesn’t return texts, even if he’s the one who texted me first. He’s started rushing our nightly chats, and if the pictures I got tonight are real, it’s so he can go out with Katie.

  And he’s so happy in the pictures I’ve included with this email. I’ve been getting them for a while and trust me there are more than what I’ve sent. Someone in New York has a boring life if they have all this time to follow my husband and take pictures. I’m sure someone is just trying to toy with me, but the longer it goes on…the more I think Craig’s being as tempted as the pictures suggest. I don’t think I bring this much happiness to him. Maybe before we were married, or before the kidnapping that took my memories. You were there for the week I don’t remember, and you talked to him a lot before then…did I ever make him this happy?

  I’m sorry, I’m coming off as insecure, aren’t I? Maybe I am, but I just feel like I’m in danger of losing my husband. Maybe I deserve to…I couldn’t even overcome my anxiety to board an airplane. I did try, I was there at the airport. I just couldn’t…He deserves to be loved better than I’m capable of. Maybe he’d be better off with Katie. (Not suicidal, promise.)

  Thanks for listening, Kevin.

  ~Angela

  K evin sighed as he finished the lengthy email from his friend’s wife later that morning. According to the time stamp on the email, she had sent it with the sunrise; his sunrise, not the one in Montana.

  He sorely wished he could call Craig and ask him point blank what the hell was going on, but he agreed with Angela on this point: if either of them called to confr
ont Craig on this behavior, it would only cement the change she feared. His friend was not answering his phone and hadn’t returned phone calls since they’d spoken the day the other man’s father had been released from the hospital. It was disconcerting to him to think the other man was avoiding his wife in the same manner.

  He considered the pictures Angela had attached with this email. It was something of a surprise to see Craig enjoying another woman’s company. His friend had never taken much notice of the opposite sex until Angela had showed up at his store. Kevin knew his friend well enough to know the look of admiration on his face wasn’t lustful, and it certainly didn’t match the expression Craig wore when he looked at his wife. But Angela was seeing it with different eyes.

  Insecure eyes? Perhaps. But it was nearing the beginning of August, and that month was always hard for the young woman. She had lost her brother not that far into August, and in a weird twist of fate, both he and Craig had been present for the accident. Both had tried to comfort the traumatized girl as she’d struggled to get to her brother’s broken body. How had they never heard more about the accident in the three days they’d stayed in the area?

  But back to the present.

  Craig had already been gone from his home for close to two months now, and from what Angela said – he wasn’t coming home any time soon. The fact that the woman in the pictures was the physical opposite of Angela didn’t really help either. The other woman, a phrase which made Kevin cringe to even think, was large breasted with a slim waist, and an overall dainty build. Angela was far more athletic, despite the fact she was mildly underweight. Her curves were subtler than Katie’s, but even he was able to appreciate the woman the little girl from the accident had become.