Daughter of Magic

by Teresa Roman

“I’m older than you, for one thing, and I’m . . .”

  “You’re a year older than me.” I came to a sudden realization and narrowed my eyes at Devin. “Please don’t tell me this is about me being a girl.”

  “It’s not, and it isn’t about you being eighteen, either. The world can be a dangerous place, Lilli.”

  “And what would you have me do?” I asked, trying not to get upset. It wasn’t like I asked to be on my own, after all. “I don’t exactly have many other choices.” I silently prayed he wouldn’t suggest that I move to Eureka to be with my aunt. That would crush me.

  “Move in with me,” Devin blurted out.

  I stared at him, my mouth open wide, but before I got a chance to respond, the lobby door swung open and a hotel guest walked in with his room card in hand. After I finished checking him out, another guest strolled in, then another. It stayed busy until almost noon. I snuck out for my lunch break, alone, to think about Devin’s offer.

  Moving in with him was a good idea, in theory. I didn’t relish the idea of being in my house alone. There were too many memories there. I didn’t know how I was supposed to not think about the fact that my dad died in his bedroom just a few feet down the hall from mine. But my feelings for Devin were too confusing. They had been that way almost from the time we met, and, as the months went by, I never succeeded in talking myself out of what I felt. There were times I wondered if maybe he felt something for me, too. I fantasized that the reason he helped me get hired at the Tides was because, when he spotted me in the coffee shop, he thought I was pretty and wanted to get to know me better. I mean, who offers to help a random stranger get a job without some sort of ulterior motive? But if he had one, I never figured out what it was.

  When I returned from my lunch break, the lobby was empty. As I joined Devin behind the desk, he said, “So did you think about what I asked earlier?”

  “Isn’t it your turn to go on a break?” I replied, not eager to have this conversation with him.

  “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me yes.”

  “You don’t want a roommate, trust me. I’ll drive you crazy.”

  Devin stared at me, unwavering. “Not possible.”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to,” I began. It felt weird rejecting something I really wanted to accept. “It’s just that . . . I just can’t.”

  “Is it because of work? You think we spend too much time together?”

  “No,” I replied too quickly. There was no way I could get him to understand without saying too much, and I couldn’t do that. There was only so much heartbreak I could take at one time.

  “Then why?”

  “So much has changed in my life. Right now, I just need one thing to stay the same.”

  Devin’s jaw tensed, but if it did because he was unhappy with my answer, he kept it to himself. Instead, he said, “Then at least come over tonight after work. Can you do that?”

  I managed a smile. “I guess I can.”

  After work, I followed Devin back to his place in my car. He lived in a small, one-story rental property. I hadn’t been over in a few weeks, but nothing about the inside had changed. His home was the tidiest and least cluttered place I’d ever seen. He had no family photos dotting the walls, no memorabilia lining the bookshelf in his living room. I’d asked him about that once and received only a vague reply. He was good at giving those, but every time I tried digging deeper, I hit a brick wall. I swore to myself that one day I’d get him to break down and tell me his secrets.

  “Take a seat.” Devin gestured toward the couch as he closed the door behind us. “Are you hungry?” he asked, as he made his way toward the kitchen.

  “A little.”

  “Give me a few minutes and I’ll have dinner ready.”

  “You don’t need to cook,” I said, as I listened to him rummage through his kitchen cabinets. “We can just order pizza.”

  He poked his head into the living room. “You’re kidding me, right?” Devin didn’t like fast food. An aversion he and my dad shared. His cooking amazed; the dishes he prepared were simple, but tasted magnificent. Devin seemed to be one of those people who did everything well.

  After a few minutes the smells coming from the kitchen made my mouth water. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was. I joined Devin in the kitchen. “Let me help,” I said.

  “No need. You just sit and relax. I’ll be done soon.”

  “I can at least set the table.”

  He reached into the cabinet above him and handed me two plates. By the time I finished laying the forks down beside the dishes, Devin came from the kitchen with a large tray in his hands. He set it down in the center of the table and we both sat. Normally, I wasn’t much of a salad person, but he’d made a dressing that I couldn’t get enough of. Besides salad, Devin had pan-fried fish. Moist and flaky, the fish had the slightest hint of lemon and butter and practically melted in my mouth.

  Eating dinner together brought back memories of my dad. I remembered the first time Devin cooked a meal at my house. Dad had been so impressed.

  I was so deep in thought that I didn’t realize I’d stopped eating. “What are you thinking about?” Devin asked.

  “Dad,” I said, unable to hide the longing in my voice, “and the first time you cooked for us.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to . . .”

  “It’s not your fault. It’s not anybody’s.”

  “I miss him, too.”

  For some reason it felt good to hear him say that. “I’m sorry,” I said, picking up my fork. “I didn’t mean to ruin dinner.”

  “You didn’t ruin anything.” Devin leaned forward and reached for my hand. “I just don’t like to see you sad . . . and I really hate the idea of you being all by yourself.”

  I gave him a weak smile. “You worry too much.”

  Sometimes, I liked Devin’s overprotectiveness, figuring if he didn’t care, he wouldn’t fret over me as much as he did. He got on my case all the time about locking doors and being more aware of my surroundings. I didn’t tell him that sometimes I purposely tried not to be aware of what was going on around me. The less I paid attention to faces, the smaller the chance that I’d see one that frightened me and made me question my sanity. “I’ll be fine.”

  “At least promise me something?”

  I shrugged and said okay.

  “If you need me, you’ll call, even if it’s just to talk, no matter what time it is?”

  “Yeah, of course.” Although I doubted it would ever come to that. I’d always been pretty self-sufficient and hated dumping on other people. Besides, my problems weren’t exactly the type I could share, at least not if I wanted to remain outside the walls of a mental hospital.

  After we finished eating, I helped Devin clean up and then the two of us sat back down on the couch. I turned the TV on. Devin had no cable, and not much was on except for the local news, which in Crescent City wasn’t very exciting.

  “You should seriously consider getting cable,” I said after finding nothing of interest to watch.

  “I have some movies.” Devin got up and returned with a box in his hands. The movies were ancient and probably left behind by the last renter. I managed to find something that looked like it might be funny and popped it into the DVD player.

  Soon after it started, the sky began to darken. It was still early, barely after eight, but my eyelids grew heavy. All those sleepless nights had caught up with me. Devin wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer. He smelled good, earthy, like the herbs my dad grew in his garden. A mix of lavender and rosemary. The warmth of his body comforted me, and before long I drifted off to sleep.

  It was the worst time to have another one of my dreams.

  Chapter 5

  I stood in a field surrounded by shades of blue and green. The sky was nearly cloudless, the blades of grass under my feet were soft and plush like a carpet, and the trees in the distance swayed in the gentle breeze. I took in the idyllic scene a
nd, at first, saw no one. Then I heard a man’s voice, followed by a woman’s, then soft laughter that could only belong to a child. I walked toward the sound until I stood only a few feet away from the couple playing with their son. They were in a courtyard that stood in the center of a building that took up three sides of a square. The building was flanked by enormous statues that looked like lions with wings.

  Suddenly, the sky darkened and three men appeared out of nowhere.

  The man lifted his son into his wife’s arms. “Take him and go.”

  “No,” she said. “We’re staying with you.”

  One of the men laughed, his coal black eyes full of evil, then his faced morphed into something monstrous. His eyes receded while his forehead became more prominent, the complexion of his skin taking a slightly greenish hue. Teeth sharpened into fangs and, from his fingers, talons grew. “More witches for us to kill.”

  “Go,” the man roared again. But his wife refused to listen.

  Everything happened so quickly. The man, his wife who held their son in her arms, and the monsters vanished and reappeared so quickly I could barely tell who was who and what was happening until I heard the woman scream. I wanted to do something, but I felt frozen, helpless. The woman fell to the ground, throwing herself over her son’s body, but not before turning to thrust a dagger into one of the creature’s chests. As the dagger went in, the creature fell backward, his body turning into a pile of ash. Two more piles of ash littered the courtyard, along with the man’s body. It lay in a heap only feet away from the woman and their son.

  “No,” I cried out at the sight of the man’s body, but my distress was nothing compared to the anguish of his wife and child. As their cries filled the air, my heart bled for them. “No,” I cried out again as I choked back a sob. They couldn’t hear me.

  Out of nowhere, hands wrapped around my arms. I gasped as shock and fear coursed through me, sure that another one of those monsters had returned, except this time it could see me. I jerked my arms wildly in an effort to free myself from its grip.

  The next thing I knew I was awake, shaking, with tears streaming down my face.

  Devin pulled me into his arms. “Lilli, what’s happening?”

  “He’s dead,” I said before I could stop myself. “They killed him in front of his family.”

  “Who’s dead?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “It was just a dream, Lilli.”

  My racing heart began to slow. The hands wrapped around my arms were Devin’s. He’d been trying to wake me up.

  “I’m sorry.” I pulled away and wiped my tears. “This is so embarrassing.”

  For a few moments, neither of us said anything. Then Devin reached across to rest his hand on mine. “Can you tell me about it?”

  “No, it’s stupid.”

  “Was it about your father?”

  I shook my head, willing the subject of my nightmare to go away, but I knew that Devin wouldn’t let it go so easily.

  “Then what?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” I stood and looked around the room, trying to remember where I’d left my bag. Devin reached for my hand again.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “Home; it’s late.”

  “You are not going anywhere.”

  My shaky legs weren’t strong enough to keep me on my feet with Devin tugging on my hand. I landed back on the couch beside him.

  “I want you to tell me what your dream was about. I might be able to help.”

  “I don’t need help. Like I said, it was just a bad dream, no big deal.”

  “Bad dreams don’t leave people screaming and shaking.”

  I turned my head away from him. “If I tell you, you’ll think I’m crazy.”

  “I won’t. Nothing you can say will make me think that way.” He sounded so sure of himself.

  “You only say that because you don’t know.”

  “Don’t know what?”

  “How seriously messed up I am.”

  “Hey.” Devin scooted closer to me and grasped my chin with his hand, turning my head so that I faced him. “Don’t ever say that about yourself.”

  I shook my head free.

  “Don’t you trust me, Lilli? I know that I can help with whatever’s bothering you if you only let me.”

  Despite the voice in my head that shouted at me to keep my secrets to myself, the need to unburden myself was stronger. I rested my elbows on my knees and lowered my face into my open hands. With my heart pounding again, I began to tell Devin about my dream. “I saw a man die in front of his family. He was killed by something . . . something evil. There were three of them, some kind of monster looking things. I don’t know what they were, but they turned into ash after they died. Vampires do that, don’t they? It was daytime, though. Aren’t vampires supposed to sleep during the day?”

  I wasn’t sure what reaction to expect from Devin after my insane rambling, but he surprised me, when sounding both certain and sincere he said, “They weren’t vampires.”

  I let everything that had been on my chest for so long spill out. “I’ve been having nightmares ever since I was a kid. Not normal ones, either. I dream about witches and magic and monsters and people dying, and all I do is stand there and watch because there’s nothing I can do to stop it. I think if I knew they were just dreams I could stand it, but they don’t feel like dreams; they feel like something else. I know this sounds crazy, but it feels like I’m having visions of things that have really happened. Only that’s impossible because witches and magic and monsters don’t exist.”

  “What if they do?”

  I hesitated before continuing. “I don’t know. I’ve never believed in the supernatural. Except, now I’m beginning to wonder if maybe I’m wrong.”

  “Really?” Devin said, his curiosity piqued. “And why is that?”

  I took a deep breath as the memory of my father’s funeral flooded my mind. I wasn’t ready to tell him about seeing my mother’s ghost. Instead, I explained that I’d been coming face to face with the monsters from my dreams.

  “Do you think they’ve ever noticed you the same way you’ve noticed them?” Devin asked.

  His question struck me as strange, although it seemed genuine and not the least bit patronizing. I wasn’t sure how he could believe me when half the time I didn’t even really believe that what I saw was real. “No. Well, except the first time. I was with my dad and I remember screaming and hiding my head. I was just a little kid then, so I think everyone who heard me crying just figured I was throwing a tantrum. But ever since then, whenever I saw one, I just tried to get away. I’d turn and head in the opposite direction, or tell my dad that I needed to go to the bathroom and run off. He always knew what it meant when I did that.”

  “You must’ve been so scared.”

  “I was. I still am, because I never know when it’s going to happen. I can go months without seeing one, but then I’ll see several of them in a week. And the crazy thing is that I’m pretty sure I’m the only one that sees them, so it’s not like I have anyone I can talk to about it.”

  Devin shook his head before clasping his hands around the back of his neck. “This is why I don’t think you should be alone. It’s not safe.”

  It took a minute for his words to sink in. “Are you saying you think what I’ve been seeing isn’t just a product of my imagination?”

  “No . . . Yes. I mean, how can anyone ever really be sure about things like this? But why take chances you don’t have to?”

  I took that to mean that he sort of believed me. Since I was already on a roll, I decided to spill the rest of my story to see how he’d react.

  “There’s more,” I said.

  What the hell was I doing?

  “What do you mean?”

  “I saw my mother’s ghost.” I waited for a response, but Devin remained quiet. I went on. “I’m scared. I mean, I’ve gotten sort of used to the dreams and stuff, but I’ve nev
er seen ghosts before. What if it happens again? I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

  “You’re not losing your mind.” Devin stared at his feet, twined his fingers together and held his hands in his lap. He looked up, then down again. It seemed like the only direction he didn’t turn his head in was mine. Finally, he said, “Think about it. Considering what you’ve been through, it’s not so strange that you saw your mother at your father’s funeral.”

  Something dawned on me as Devin finished speaking. “Wait a minute. I never told you I saw her at my father’s funeral. How did you know?”

  “I . . . I just remember that day,” Devin stammered. “You asked me if I saw a woman. I put two and two together just now and assumed that’s who you were talking about.”

  “Please don’t tell anyone what I just told you,” I pleaded. “I don’t want anyone else to think I’m crazy.”

  “First of all, I won’t breathe a word of this to anyone.” Devin pressed his hand to the small of my back. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “And second of all, I don’t think you’re crazy.”

  “So you believe in ghosts?” I asked sarcastically. “And monsters?”

  “I believe in a lot of things. Far more than most people do.”

  “So what you’re saying is that we’re both crazy?” I felt like laughing, if only to ease the tension. “Maybe that’s why we’re such good friends.”

  As Devin scooted closer to me, I turned to look at him again. He clasped the sides of my face in his hands. The only light in the room came from the TV, but it was enough to see that he was staring at me. For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me. My heart fluttered as I imagined what his lips would feel like on mine. But then he pulled his hand away, turned his head and whispered, “No,” under his breath.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  Devin shook his head. “What’s wrong is that you need to get some sleep.” He stood and held his hand out to me. “Come.”

  As he pulled me up I asked, “Where are we going?”

  “I’m taking you to my bed.” Before I could protest, he scooped me into his arms as if I were as light as a feather. Being in his arms, feeling the heat of his body against mine caused my heart to flutter wildly.