by Amanda Paris
Kirsten didn’t have to work, of course, and we all expected that she’d travel to Europe for the summer. But she didn’t, telling us that she loved sunny Florida and her new friends too much to leave us. As a Canadian, she said she never got tired of the warmth after living so long in the cold. I vaguely remembered feeling the same way when I first moved from Colorado, but that had been such a long time ago, I really couldn’t remember much about it. DeLand had been my home for a long time now. I already felt some nostalgia for it, knowing that I’d likely be leaving it for good at some point after Damien and I got married.
Damien had not pressured me to set a date in the near future after my conversation with Aunt Jo. I wore his ring on my hand and had begun making definite plans, so he knew I was really serious about going ahead with the wedding.
We’d discussed several ideas, including having the ceremony at Sugar Hill. But I think we both knew that our hearts belonged in the chapel in England where we’d first pledged our love. It was fortunate that it had been rebuilt, a perfect site for us to wed next summer. Even though I’d originally wanted to wait until after college, we’d compromised by agreeing to postpone the wedding for one year only. Then we’d apply and go to a university together. Neither of us really wanted to delay too long anyway. We’d already waited a lifetime.
I felt sad that none of my old friends—however estranged— would attend the wedding. Though a perfect spot for us, England was too far for everyone but Aunt Jo. Damien had offered to fly anyone I wanted, but I declined. Somehow, it felt like our private place, and I’d grown apart from the friends I’d had before him. My past life had overtaken my present one, and while I missed some of my former friends, especially Annie, Zack, and even Ben, I couldn’t say I really regretted anything. I would do everything over again given the chance.
I began work for the summer a week after school ended. On my first day, I wondered if Ben would return to work at the drugstore with me, but I doubted it, given everything that had happened over the last year. He never showed, so I figured he’d taken another job somewhere. I finally heard that he was a lifeguard at the local Y. It was a perfect job for him, and I hoped he was happy.
I didn’t hear from Kirsten for several weeks and thought perhaps she’d decided to travel for the summer after all. It was strange that she wouldn’t tell me given how close we’d grown over the last weeks of school, but I didn’t give it too much thought. Friends often grew apart during the summer break.
I settled into a routine at the drugstore, spending most of my mornings and part of my afternoons there before driving out to Sugar Hill to see Damien. In the evenings, I’d go back home to have dinner with Aunt Jo. Damien often came with me, but I always made him leave soon afterwards. I had begun the pattern for my dress, and I didn’t want him to see it.
One morning, I busily stocked the shelves when I felt a strange sensation. A chill ran down my spine, and I turned around before I heard her voice.
“Hello, Emmeline,” Kirsten said as she approached me. This in itself was strange—only Damien called me Emmeline. It struck a disturbing chord in me, and I felt almost panicked.
Get a grip, I thought. It must be the heat. She’d probably been so used to hearing Damien call me Emmeline that she’d fallen into the habit herself. I was just overreacting.
“Hello, Kirsten,” I replied, forcing a note of cheerfulness in my voice.
An awkward silence ensued.
“I haven’t seen you in awhile,” I continued nervously, unable to keep the tremor from my voice. My hands shook, and I broke out in a cold sweat.
“Yeah, I’ve been a little busy,” she finally answered.
Was it me, or was her voice a little strange, her accent a little different from the one I’d remembered before? And yet, at the same time, it sounded so familiar.
She didn’t wait for me to respond.
“I’ve mainly been at the Y,” she said, still in that eerie voice I suddenly remembered. It sounded as if it came through a tunnel from long ago.
“Oh, yeah?” I said, looking for an escape. She was blocking me in front, and the cosmetics section had me trapped from behind.
“Mm-hm,” she said, coming closer. She smiled, lowering her lashes. I felt paralyzed with fear. An intense light seemed to surround Kirsten, whose skin glowed and lips appeared painted the deepest shade of red, as though she’d applied layers of a lip stain. I shook my head, trying to clear it.
“Emmeline, I hope you don’t mind…I know you and Ben dated before. But he’s asked me out, and I’ve said yes,” she finished in a silky voice, coming still closer.
I had been rolling beach towels, getting ready for the tourists that came through on their way to Daytona, but when she said this, my arms dropped everything.
My first impression was intense relief—so she only wanted to deliver some bad news. She wasn’t Lamia, my evil stepmother from the past. I shook my head again to clear it. What was wrong with me?
It had to happen, of course. Ben had to begin dating again at some point, but did it have to be her? And why couldn’t I shake that odd sensation that made me feel so afraid? This was Kirsten, after all, someone I’d seen a hundred times by now and knew almost as well as myself. Yet I couldn’t shake the weird feeling I had. Kirsten’s boyfriends were none of my business, and I’d made it very clear to Ben that I’d moved on. Our relationship hadn’t been the same ever since the afternoon of the fight. If he wanted to date Kirsten, then it had nothing to do with me.
“Great,” I said in a squeaky voice. To my credit, I looked her straight in the eye and tried to ignore the overpowering feeling of danger.
That’s when I noticed. Her eyes were no longer the strange golden color they usually were. They looked much, much darker.
“Good, Emmeline. That’s wonderful news. I wouldn’t want for you to be upset,” she said, her voice becoming lower, huskier. It was a voice I recognized, and it terrified me.
She was already walking out of the store before I could respond. How could I have been so stupid, so blind? I ignored all the warning signs from the very beginning.
Lamia. She would get to me through Ben. She’d been waiting, listening and biding her time. She’d planned the entire time to find the one person most vulnerable because of course he wouldn’t believe any warning about her from me. She knew I still cared for Ben despite our estrangement. For some reason I didn’t yet understand, she couldn’t get to Damien, but she obviously saw Ben as an easier target.
Damien didn’t like Kirsten much; he thought she was a nuisance, and she knew it. He didn’t, of course, know that she was really Lamia, but his indifference to her somehow must have made him immune to her power.I’d thought I caught her flirting with him once or twice, but it didn’t bother me because Damien never responded to her advances.
At the time, I’d just attributed her overfriendliness to cultural differences, thinking that it was just her way of being nice. And then, too, we were her only friends in Florida. Damien was polite but not that responsive. He respected her as my friend, but that was it.
Had Damien known who Kirsten really was, he would have gone after her to avenge me. But he hadn’t been able to defeat her in our past life. Why would she avoid him now? Didn’t witches only get stronger the more past lives they experienced?
I wondered why Lamia had chosen to reveal herself to me now. I could only figure that she had more than just my death in store for me. Maybe she’d go after everyone I cared for and leave me last. She’d obviously kept herself hidden from me as long as was necessary, striking out only after she’d gleaned all the information she needed. Once she knew everything about my current life, she could begin her attack, which included revealing herself to me. She wanted me to know that she orchestrated my pain. Part of the satisfaction in her revenge, I concluded, was to make me suffer. She started with someone I loved, someone also obviously attracted to her—Ben. It seemed that her powers had doubled, if not trebled from our past life in the t
hirteenth century. Had she experienced another past life since then? Not only could she change shapes and bewitch others, using their own emotions against them, she could also almost totally hide her power from me, another witch. I only felt her when she chose the time and place.
By now, I’d finally composed myself enough to begin thinking clearly about what I needed to do next. My first thought was that I had to get to Ben. I didn’t bother telling the manager, Mr. McDougal, that I needed the rest of the afternoon off, but ran out of the store to where I’d parked the Saratoga. I knew I’d have to use my powers to make it go much faster than it usually did. Lamia already had a good ten minutes on me. I was glad I hadn’t let Damien drive me into work this morning. I worried about what she might or even could do to Damien, but I thought that she wouldn’t go after him, at least not yet.
I knew eventually that Damien would be worried when I didn’t show up at his place later and would start searching for me. That could be dangerous. Just before I got to the Y, where Ben worked, I called Damien on my cell phone. He answered immediately, and I struggled to steady my voice so he wouldn’t suspect something was wrong. I told him I had a headache and needed to go home and sleep. I cringed at the lie, but it couldn’t be helped. I had to keep him safe.
As I expected, he was immediately concerned, but I rushed to assure him that I didn’t want him to come to Aunt Jo’s since it was just a headache. The safest place for Damien, I thought, was Sugar Hill, way out of town.Though Damien was physically the strongest person I knew, Lamia was a witch. It would take a witch to deal with her. I took a deep breath, praying that I was strong enough. To my knowledge, I’d only had one past life, and that had been cut very short. I knew I possessed only one power, while Lamia wielded many. Could I defeat her?
Damien didn’t want to hang up, sensing something was wrong, but I downplayed my agitation and thought I’d made him understand that it wasn’t a big deal—just a headache from the heat. I could see that my hands were shaking, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to continue hiding my agitation for long.
I finally convinced him, and after we hung up, I decided to ask for help from the only person I knew who could give it—Ramona.
I felt guilty because I hadn’t spoken much to Ramona lately. I’d taken Damien to her store once, and though Damien was polite, I could tell that he wanted me to put my power behind me, to live a normal human life. Ramona was a reminder of that part of me he still found distressing, so I was sorry to say that I hadn’t kept in touch much since I’d brought Damien back. Ramona also definitely looked like a witch, and I knew that Damien couldn’t get past the stigma, even knowing that I was one too.
A few minutes later, I arrived to the store, parked the Saratoga out front, and rushed in. Ramona was helping a customer to choose several herbs. She signaled for me to wait, but I was antsy, each moment making me more afraid for Ben’s safety than the next.
The customer finally made her purchase and left. I was furious and frantic.
“Why did you make me wait?” I said, exasperated. “Don’t you know why I’m here?”
“Because right now, there’s nothing you can do,” she replied quietly.
“What do you mean, nothing I can do!”
“She isn’t at the Y.”
“Then where is she, and how long have you known what she is?”
“I suspected some time ago, but I couldn’t be sure. Part of her power, I think, is an ability to hide herself from us. You didn’t recognize her immediately either.”
I knew she was right, having already surmised this for myself. I should have felt her the moment she’d arrived, but then I mentally kicked myself. I had felt her or felt something; I’d just ignored the feeling because it was so weak.
“Where is she now?” I asked, feeling that this was a huge waste of time.
“I’m not sure, but I’m positive it isn’t the Y.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Because I see his future, and nothing bad happens to him today.”
I felt a huge sense of relief.
“What about tomorrow?” I asked.
“Fine.”
“And the next day?”
“Also fine.”
“What about long-term? Do you see Lamia anywhere in Ben’s future?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t there.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that Ben’s okay for right now, but since Lamia can hide from me, I can’t see what role she’ll play in his life. All I can see is that he isn’t dead.”
“Then he’s safe?”
“Not exactly. I do sense some danger, some force looming over him. And I see him lying still. But I don’t see him losing his life force.”
“How can you know that he isn’t going to die?”
“Intuition. But Emily, I could be wrong. If Lamia can hide herself like this and her actions, I don’t know what she’s capable of.”
“Then she could be on her way to him right now.”
“No, I don’t think so. His picture is very clear today.”
“Then I have time to get to Ben before she does.”
I made Ramona promise to call if she saw anything clearer that could help. I wasn’t exactly reassured by what she’d told me.
I was anxious to leave and get to Ben. I knew I was likely the last person he wanted to see, but I had to try, to make him understand the danger he faced.
As I was leaving, Ramona’s voice followed me. “Remember, Emily, to be careful. She’s a powerful witch.”
I arrived a few minutes later at the Y, hoping Ben was still there. It had been a while since I’d been, and I obviously had forgotten where things were located. I blundered into a random room, right in the middle of a summer camp crafts demonstration. I excused myself, backing out into a group of middle-schoolers running and yelling down the hall. Was everything conspiring to keep me from Ben?
The hall cleared, and I saw a friendly camp counselor who directed me to the outdoor pool where Ben was a lifeguard.
I made my way out to the pool, relieved to see Ben there, but he was in the middle of giving swim lessons to twenty or so five-year-olds. I obviously couldn’t interrupt that.
The lesson finally finished, and Ben started talking to Zack, who saw me and waved. I was glad for one friendly face, at least.
Ben looked up, saw who it was, and turned away. So this was going to be more difficult than I thought. He started go into the locker room, and I ran to stop him.
The five-year-olds, fresh from their lesson yelled at me, “No running around the pool!”
I ignored them, wanting to catch Ben. Zack called after me, laughing, “Hey, Emily, didn’t you hear? You’re not supposed to run around the pool! Don’t forget what happened last time!”
I didn’t slow down or laugh. This was too important.
“Ben,” I called, out of breath. The pool was Olympic-size. Before reaching the locker door, he stopped, turned, and looked at me, not speaking.
“Ben,” I said again more quietly, still trying to get my breath. “I have to talk to you. It’s about Lam—Kirsten.”
He crossed his arms across his chest.
“What about her?” he asked defensively.
“Ben, you can’t go out with her,” I blurted out.
He rolled his eyes and started to go in the locker.
“You really are unbelievable, Emily,” he muttered.
I clutched his arm.
“Listen, Ben, I know you’re upset with me. And you have a right to be, but this is just too important. You have to listen… she’s dangerous. You’ve got to stay away from her.”
He smiled at me, but there was no mirth in it.
“Jealous?” he asked.
“What? No! Ben, this isn’t a game.”
“Oh, really? Then what would you call it? You have Damien now. You made it very clear that you want nothing to do with me. And you lost the right to tell me who I could and couldn�
�t date when you broke up with me. You want to know what I think? I don’t care what you say. I think you are jealous. Kirsten is beautiful, much prettier than you, and she wants to go out with me. You don’t want me, but you don’t want someone else to have me, either. It’s malicious, Emily, but then that’s what I’ve come to expect from you,” he finished, stalking off.
It could not have hurt more if he’d hit me. I didn’t go after him. It was hopeless; he hated me now in earnest, and nothing I could say would change his mind.
I turned to Zack.
“You have to make him understand,” I pleaded, desperate now for someone to believe me.
Zack shook his head at me.
“Give it a rest, Emily. I didn’t want to get in the middle of this, but just listen to yourself. I mean, you’re engaged to somebody else! Why don’t you just cut Ben a break? He deserves to be happy too, you know,” he finished, walking off.
Zack was right. Ben did deserve to be happy, and he shouldn’t have to be a pawn in Lamia’s game with me. If was I going to save him, I’d have to go after her.
Chapter Seventeen
"Déjà Vu"
The river is within us, the sea is all about us…
T. S. Eliot, “The Dry Salvages”
As it turned out, going after Kirsten proved harder than I thought. Two weeks went by, and I hadn’t seen her. I couldn’t track her to the false address she’d given me, and the school wouldn’t tell me any confidential information, not that I actually thought it would have helped. I tried using my power, considering that this definitely counted as a life-threatening emergency, but it didn’t work. Ramona was right. She was blocking both of us.
