by Zizi Cole
Her eyes had been gouged out and her throat slit. Her throat was cut so deeply, she was practically decapitated. I saw she had a deep cut on her wrist. Whoever this was had cut her tattoo off of her wrist.
I heard footsteps and I knew he was behind me. I still had a grip on the pool skimmer. I swung around and hit him in the head with the skimmer. It connected with his temple and he fell sideways into the pool. I dropped the skimmer and ran out of the room, heading for the back door. I pulled it open and shut it quietly. Maybe I could outrun him if he didn’t hear which way I went.
Once outside, I wasn’t sure where to go that he wouldn’t anticipate. I looked around. I saw the barns out in the pasture. We had never had horses but the buildings had been there as long as I could remember. I ran towards the barn. I slipped inside using the big door, surprised at how easily that it opened. Once inside I climbed up into the hay loft. I hid within the hay and waited. I wasn’t sure what I was waiting for, but I kept waiting.
Suddenly Momma was there. She was settled in the hay with me. She looked at me with so much sadness that it broke my heart all over again. I knew that she wasn’t sad for herself. Well, not for herself completely, but she was sad for me. She was scared for me and there wasn’t anything she could do.
She leaned closer to me and whispered, “You have to find it.”
“Find what?” I whispered back.
“The book,” she said.
“What book, Momma?”
“THE book,” she told me. “Please don’t let him touch you. He’s gotten too close a couple of times.”
I nodded. I knew that he had gotten close enough that I felt his clothes brush against me. I knew his touch wasn’t a good thing in any way, shape, or form. In fact, my neck slightly burned where the cloth had brushed me when I got away from him earlier.
“How do I stop him?” I asked her.
“With your heart,” she answered.
“What do you mean, Momma? I’m scared, and I’m tired of being scared. I want this to end,” I told her wearily.
“You will know when the time comes,” she answered. “It will come to an end soon.”
Suddenly I heard crackling. I peeked out the window and the word “Soon” was burning on the ground below.
I woke up with a jolt. Damn these dreams. My fingers were sore, so I looked down and saw little blisters on my hands. How did I blister? I had never been hurt in my dreams before. I got up and walked to my window. The sun was starting to rise. The light hit my car and caught my attention. The word “Soon” was written across the top of my car in blood. I shook my head. Even seeing it in blood on my car didn’t scare me as much as it should anymore. I turned away from the mess I was seeing outside of the window and went downstairs to start a fresh pot of coffee. I had a feeling it was going to be a long day.
15
Once I got the coffee brewing, I decided to make pancakes. It had been a while since I cooked anything. I was just putting the first set of pancakes on the griddle when I heard voices coming into the kitchen. I glanced at the clock. It was barely six o’clock and it sounded like someone was already pissy.
“You big buffoon, you are going to let me go to work. I have to pay my bills. So, someone is taking me into town or I am going to be calling a cab out here, and you will be the one paying the cab fare,” Mia said as she was walking into the room.
“No. You aren’t going anywhere today. Just call whoever covers for you when you can’t be there. Tell them you’re being detained and just need them to cover,” Cole told her smoothly.
“That person is me,” Mia stressed. “I never miss work. I have to be there, and I’m going to be there. That diner is my life. You aren’t my daddy, husband, or anyone that can boss me around.”
“Good morning, guys,” I said, so they would know I was in there.
“Morning,” they both grumbled. It amazed me how much they were alike. After seeing them interact, I wasn’t surprised she didn’t like him. Then I thought, maybe it wasn’t that she didn’t like him. Perhaps she did like him. I had never seen her react to someone like she did Cole. I thought I had seen her watching him out of the corner of my eye a couple times.
Cole sat down at the island, and Mia headed for the coffee. She poured herself a cup, then glared at Cole, but poured him a cup as well. She took it over and set it on the island in front of him. Then I heard her gasp.
I turned around quickly to face her. “What?”
She was staring at me in horror. She walked over and turned me around where my back was to her. I could feel her fingers hovering above my neck and the heat from her fingers felt hotter than it should have.
“What happened to your neck?” she asked.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I told her, panic rising in my voice.
“It looks like you’ve been branded,” she whispered.
I remembered the nightmare from last night and how the creeper’s clothes had touched me. I reached back and gently felt my neck. My touch sent scalding pain through my neck and I almost dropped to my knees. Sweet Jesus, that hurt!
I turned back to her. “I was touched by his clothes last night in my dream.”
“That’s from where his clothes touched you?” she asked. Her eyes were wide, and I could tell she was scared.
I looked down at my hands where the blisters were still hurting. I held my hands out for her examination. I knew since the blisters were still there, I would have to tell someone. Telling her was easier than telling Jake; I hated telling Jake anything bad.
“I got burned in my dream last night, too. The hot tub was boiling in my dream and I stuck my hands in it,” I explained.
Cole got up and walked out of the kitchen towards the pool room. I figured he was checking the temperature of the hot tub to make sure it hadn’t been tampered with. While we were waiting for him to come back in, I turned around and flipped my pancakes so they wouldn’t burn.
Cole and Jake came into the room at the same time. I heard Jake’s footsteps and I grabbed a cup of coffee for him. As he came around the island to stand beside me, I handed him the coffee. He took a sip as he looked at my neck. I was sure by the way he was staring at my neck that Cole had already told him about it.
Jake set his coffee to the side and pulled out his cell phone. He gently moved my hair so none of it was touching my neck, and held his phone up to it. I heard the faint click of the camera shutter, and knew he was talking pictures of my neck. He then typed something on his phone and put it back in his pocket. Jake silently picked up his coffee and joined Cole and Mia at the table.
After I had finished cooking and serving the pancakes, we all moved to the kitchen table. Cole looked around as everyone was getting situated. He waited patiently until he had our attention before he spoke.
“No one is to use the pool or hot tub until this is done. I’ve taken the liberty of disconnecting the power to the entire room. It was a good thing Alexandrea told us about the dream and the hot tub. It looked like someone had turned the temperature control all the way up and had broken the knob off. It will need to be fixed before it can be used again.”
I nodded. I wasn’t sure how anyone knew that we used the pool room anyway. I hadn’t used it until Mia and I started working out. I looked down at my burned, blistered fingers. I was surprised that it didn’t actually hurt. I was more worried about the fact it left evidence of my nightmare. I looked around the table at the others sitting there. Mia was playing with her pancake, just pushing it around the plate. Cole was eating and reading something on his phone, and Jake was watching me.
“So what do you guys think about this?” I asked, holding out my hands.
Jake and Cole looked at each other. Then Jake looked back at me. He took my hands gently in his and ran his over mine. He frowned and then looked back at Cole.
“You didn’t tell me she was hurt from the hot tub,” Jake said, trying to reign in his temper.
“I wasn’t,” I told him sof
tly. “Well, I was, but it was in my nightmare last night. This was the first time anything has hurt me, both in the nightmare and outside of it.”
“I’ll find something to protect you in your dreams.” Jake let go of my hands. He took his phone back out and took pictures of my hands like he had with my neck earlier. He then picked up his coffee and took a sip of it. “What about a dream catcher? Have you tried that yet?”
I shook my head. “No, I haven’t tried a dream catcher. Do they really work?”
Mia spoke up, “They do if you get them from a shaman that has the power to make them. I can go after work and pick one up. I know who makes them, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy. This person has been helping me learn more about my abilities. He knew our mothers when they were children, so he kind of knows what to expect.”
Cole glared at her. “If you keep insisting on going to work, then I’m going with you and hanging out at the diner all day. Hope your bottomless refills on beverages sign is accurate because I will be there the whole time you are.”
“No, you won’t. Like I said, I can’t go to my shaman friend with you lurking,” Mia protested.
Cole shrugged, “Then you aren’t going.”
As amusing as I found these little tiffs they were having, they needed to work together so we could end this.
“Mia Rose Capone, you will let him go with you to the diner. Then he can drop you off at your car after work and head this way. That way you can go to whoever it is that you were talking about, then come back. I’m tired of all of this! I want life to go back to normal, and you need to quit acting like a baby,” I told her. Then I turned on Cole, “And you. You will give her the space she needs to do her job and leave her the fuck alone when she asks. I don’t know you, but believe me, I am not afraid to shove the pool skimmer up your ass.”
Jake smiled a big, genuine smile. “There’s my girl. It’s about time you started acting like you again. I’ve missed it.”
I smiled back at him. He was right, I hadn’t been acting like myself. I had been acting like the victim this monster made me into. The self-doubt was gone. It was time for a change and that change was happening now.
***
I paced the floor at a quick clip. I kicked a chair that was in my way as hard as I could and sent it flying across the room. I flung pictures off the walls with just a wave of my hand. I’d almost had the bitch. How the fuck did she find that pool skimmer? It shouldn’t have been there. There should have been nothing for her to use against me.
I gently touched my temple where she hit me with it. It was tender to the touch. I could tell that it was already bruised. I was going to have to find a way to take care of that. I couldn’t let anyone see the bruising or they might start to suspect. I couldn’t let them find out. I knew a glamour spell that should work to disguise the bruise or make it fade away temporarily.
In my round of pacing, I stopped and looked into the mirror. There was bruising all along the right side of my face. Seeing the bruising pissed me off even more. I punched the mirror, then yanked it off the wall and threw it across the room. That bitch was going to pay.
I stopped, took a breath, and smiled. A thought occurred to me. The spell I’d cast had worked. If I was bruised, then she was marked as well. The sigil had been placed on her. There were advantages to what had happened last night. I couldn’t help but wonder where she had disappeared to. She had been in the pool room and the next thing I knew, she was gone. Of course, I’d had to get out of the pool, which had given her a head start.
I started the fire in the yard because I knew she was smart enough not to stay in the house with me. She always seemed to get away from me at the last second. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I made sure there was no one else in the dreams that could help her. I would figure it out and I would get her. I had worked hard on making sure that there would be no one else in the dreams. The spells and sacrifices that I made were supposed to ensure that we were alone.
I walked into my spare bedroom. The windows were blacked out. I turned on the light and went to the wall. I stared at the pictures of her from before I took care of her fucking parents. Her beautiful blonde hair was shining in the sun and her smile was magical. I had to make her mine. Forever.
I reached towards the picture and ran my fingers gently down her face. I imagined my fingers touching her warm, smooth skin. I figured that it would feel like melting butter. Soon sweetheart, I vowed. It would be very soon.
16
Shortly after breakfast, Mia and Cole left to go to the diner. I did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. I couldn’t believe how many coffee cups we’d been through. I would text Mia later and have her bring me some disposable coffee cups. It would make clean up a lot easier. When I finished with the kitchen, I went around and cleaned the rest of the house.
Jake had left for a little bit to go get supplies and check in with his dad. He might claim that he didn’t work with his dad, but I knew that he really did. He helped him as much as he was able and he felt bad that he was spending so much time away. I could see the guilt on his face when he told me he was going to his dad’s farm for a bit.
I sat on the couch and debated what to do next. I felt her before she had completely appeared. I smiled. At least I wasn’t alone. At least my Momma was going to be with me while I was still in danger. I looked at her.
“I wondered when you would show your face besides in my dreams,” I told her.
She smiled. “You’ve been busy.”
“Not too busy for my mother to haunt me,” I joked. Only it wasn’t just a joke. I would never be too busy for her. I wish I would have realized that before she was murdered.
She smiled. “Did you find the book?”
I looked at her. She had mentioned the book last night. “What book?”
“THE book,” she said, emphasizing the word ‘the’.
“No, I don’t even know what book we’re discussing. Some actual information would be helpful here. What color is it? What does it look like? Is it big, little, heavy, thin? C’mon Momma, throw me a bone here,” I sighed. She was being very vague about this book that she wanted me to find.
“The book is important. I would tell you where it was, if I knew. It’s a book of great importance to this family. You and Mia are going to need it.”
I frowned. “You don’t mean like a Book of Shadows?”
She nodded. “Yes. The book.”
“Okay, Momma. I’ll look. Where did you see it last?”
“I don’t remember. It’s odd. I should remember.” Her eyebrows knitted together as she looked around the room.
“It’s okay, Momma. I’ll find it,” I promised.
She nodded and as she faded she said, “Find the book.”
Great. Now I had to go on a scavenger hunt for a book that I didn’t know anything about. I didn’t even know what the book looked like. I was just told to find it. Where would my mother keep an extremely important book she didn’t want anyone knowing about?
I put my head in my hands. I was just realizing that I didn’t really know anything about my mother. It was like suddenly she was this mysterious woman that somehow raised me without showing me any of her personality traits. How could I have not known that she was a witch or whatever the hell she was? What was she? No one had told me for sure.
I stood up and glanced around the house. I really doubted she would keep something like “The Book” in the house where just anyone could stumble over it. I headed to the kitchen for more coffee. There was no way I was going to do a scavenger hunt around the property without enough coffee in my system to keep me wired for a month. I looked out the window while I sipped.
I knew she had hidden it on the property. She wouldn’t trust taking something that important off the property and risk something happening to it. I walked outside and sat on the swing while I finished my coffee. There had to be a way for me to find it easily. If I knew where it was, then I could go get it when I needed it.
I set the coffee on the ground and sat cross-legged on the swing. I relaxed my body and closed my eyes. I wasn’t sure what to concentrate on, so I just concentrated on my mother. I thought about Mia and Aunt Christina. Then I thought about our grandmother. I tried to remember when we were all together. I had a feeling this “power” we had ran in the female blood lines.
Mentally, I tried to find the connection between us. The blood. I could feel the bonds forming. Slowly the ties between myself and all of the female blood relatives on my mother’s side became stronger. It was like a web being woven from member to member. It didn’t seem to matter if the woman was alive or dead, I could feel the connections to them building. The more I concentrated, the stronger the links with the family members became. Each line grew thicker and stronger in my mind. The strongest bonds were to my mother and Mia. As each line solidified, I could feel the knowledge and power start to swell and travel down them towards me.
I felt a hand firmly grip my shoulder. I screamed and jumped. As soon as I had felt the hand touch me, the connection had broken immediately. I opened my eyes to Jake kneeling beside the swing. His eyebrows were drawn together in a concerned frown. I looked around. His truck was in the drive. The driver’s side door standing wide open and the engine was still running. I looked at Jake again. He had a handgun in his hand.
“What in the world are you doing?” I asked incredulously. I couldn’t figure out why he had a gun out or why it looked like he had been in a hurry.
“Are you okay?” He studied my face. “When I pulled up, you weren’t moving. I was afraid something happened to you. There was this strange glow around you. When I tried talking to you, you didn’t respond. It was like you weren’t there. It wasn’t until I touched you that you seemed to come back to your body.”
