Sweet Nightmares (The Damned Series Book 1)

by Zizi Cole

  “I think we need to have a toast. To family,” I said, raising my snifter.

  “To family and the end of secrets,” Mia added, clinking her drink to mine.

  I drank the drink in one gulp. I poured us another drink and slammed it down too. I set the snifter on the counter with a thud. I leaned forward on my elbows and looked Mia in the eye.

  “I have a confession,” I told her.

  “What’s that?” she asked, setting her glass down gently.

  “I’ve been getting a bad feeling for days and I can’t shake it. Just like Momma described in her letter to me,” I said.

  Mia nodded. “I know. Me too. I also know that things are going to escalate quickly when whatever it is happens, but I can’t figure out when. I’m not sensing much about this. Almost like someone knows that I get visions and is somehow blocking me.”

  “That doesn’t sit well, Mia. Listen, I called my lawyer the other day. If anything happens to me before I’m married with children, everything goes to you.”

  “Don’t talk like that, Alexandrea Marie,” Mia scolded. “Nothing is going to happen to you.”

  “If it does, I want you to know. The lawyer has an envelope. I used a wax seal on it to ensure no one else opens it before you. It has everything about the house, the safe, everything. Also inside the envelope is a key to my safety deposit box. I had the bank give me an extra. The other key is mine. Inside the box are the deeds, titles, and other important documents needed for the house when you take ownership,” I explained. I hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but I wanted to be prepared.

  Mia sighed, “Okay, Lex, I get it. I won’t need it, but if it makes you feel better to be prepared, I understand. Thank you for trusting me.”

  I hugged her. “I’ll always trust you. You’re basically my sister. You’ve always been here for me, even when I wasn’t here for you.”

  My phone went off. I pulled it out of my pocket and quickly read the text. I put my phone back in my pocket. “The guys are going to be late. Apparently there’s something going on out on the highway and traffic is backed up.”

  Mia looked at me funny. “The traffic is never backed up out here. Must be an accident. I’m gonna go wash up really quick, then I’ll start fixing dinner. I was thinking homemade pizza tonight.”

  I watched her walk off. I refilled my glass one more time. I decided I wasn’t going anywhere tonight, so getting a little drunk wouldn’t hurt anything. I turned and looked out the bay windows. It was pitch black out. That was odd. I stepped closer to the window and realized that the lights outside were all out. I frowned. I would have to have Jake look into that when he got here.

  I downed my drink and turned to go put my glass on the counter when the power went out. I froze. The house was silent.

  “Mia?” I called out. I didn’t hear a response. I set the glass down on the table and walked towards the counter to get a flashlight out of the drawer.

  Suddenly a blinding pain shot through the back of my head. As I was losing consciousness, I thought, this is it.

  23

  When I woke up, I was tied down to a large stone. My arms were tied together to a pole above my head. My feet were tied to poles at the end of the stone. I could feel the night air on my skin. I could see the stars overhead. I looked around. From what I could see, I was in a clearing in the woods surrounding my house. I recognized the area immediately. It was the ritualistic circle that I had seen in my dream, the one Jake was found outside of. A chill passed over me. I tried to see if there was anyone with me. I couldn’t see anyone, but I could feel a presence around me.

  I heard a voice coming from the trees to my left. It was a soft chanting. I strained to hear what was being chanted but I didn’t think it was English. I was pretty sure it was Latin. The chanting seemed to fade away. I strained my ears trying to hear him. Within a few minutes, I could hear him again. A surge of power rushed over my skin as he closed the circle of power.

  I watched the figure walk out of the trees. He was dressed in all black and I couldn’t see his face because of his hood, which was pulled low. As he walked closer, a wave a familiarity flooded me. I knew he was the guy from my nightmares here in the flesh, but he also just seemed familiar.

  “You’re awake, little mouse,” he said softly.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  “The man of your dreams,” he responded, chuckling.

  I rolled my eyes and the chuckling stopped. I attempted to shrug, which was difficult since my arms were tied over my head. “Sorry, it’s hard to take you seriously when you’re making stupid puns.”

  He walked closer until he was standing at the edge of the stone. He backhanded me, hard. “Do you take me seriously now, little mouse?”

  I nodded. I was seeing stars from the hit. I took a deep breath to try to ease the pain. I had to keep him calm. Hopefully, Jake and Cole would be here to save me soon. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make fun of you. Why are you calling me ‘little mouse?’”

  “You always run away like a little mouse,” he answered with a shrug.

  He caressed my face gently with the tips of his gloved fingers. Great, he was smart enough not to leave fingerprints. My skin crawled where he touched my face. I tried to keep still but it was hard not to shrug away from him.

  “Who are you?” I whispered.

  “Soon, sweetheart, soon,” he answered.

  The word “sweetheart” made me shudder. The only person that ever called me that was Michael and I knew this wasn’t him. I almost wished it was because I could handle him. I usually knew what to say to make him calm down.

  He disappeared for a moment. Then, he stood back up with a jar in his hand. He opened the jar, and the coppery scent of blood wafted in the air. He set the jar by my head and took a knife out of a pocket. He cut my shirt down the middle, exposing my bra and torso. He picked the jar back up and stuck his fingers into it. He took his bloody fingers and started to draw on the flat of my stomach. I watched him with a mix of fascination, disgust, and dread. This couldn’t be good.

  After he drew the symbol on my stomach, he dipped his fingers into the blood again and reached for my face. I jerked my head, trying to get away from him. He set down the jar and backhanded me again. “Stay still. I don’t want to hurt you more than necessary.”

  “How much is necessary?” I asked.

  He just grunted and picked the jar back up. He dipped his fingers into the jar again and drew an inverted pentagram on my forehead between my eyes. I could feel the design as he was drawing it. I didn’t know what ritual he was trying to do, but he was trying to open my third eye. If he managed to get my third eye to open, he would be able to reach into my soul. No matter what he tried to do, it was going to be bad.

  He set the jar down and picked up the knife. The knife had symbols carved into it. It looked ritualistic. He touched my neck with the knife. “Scream for me, little mouse.”

  I shook my head no. I wouldn’t scream for him even if he killed me. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. I pressed my lips together. I even bit down a little on my lips to keep from making a sound as he pressed the knife harder against my skin. I heard a small pop and felt my skin give as he broke the skin with the knife.

  He took the knife and held it up so I could see the blood on it. He put the tip to his mouth and licked my blood off the knife. As he did so, he moaned. I thought I was going to be sick. I could feel him watching my reaction, so I tried to remain motionless. He leaned closer to me and whispered, “You will be mine soon enough.”

  He started to chant again. The chanting started softly but grew a little louder. He leaned his head back and his hood fell off. When he straightened his head back up, I saw his face and knew him.

  “Deputy Price?” I asked incredulously. I hadn’t expected it to be him. I suspected my therapist, Dr. Fields, before him. “I thought you were a good guy!”

  Ethan stared at me for a moment. He seemed perplexed, like he didn’t quite kno
w how to respond. He had been found out, but he also had me where he wanted me. He knew I couldn’t go anywhere.

  “There is no such thing as a good guy,” Ethan said. “Good guys do bad things all the time. Just look at your precious Jake. If you knew what I know about him, you would know he isn’t a good guy. Jake has killed people in cold blood, yet you idolize him. Sheriff Johnson used to evade taxes. Your own father helped bad guys walk away. Did you know he had a case thrown out for a guy that was guilty of murder? We had the evidence we needed to lock him away forever, yet he got out on a technicality.”

  “Why my Momma though, Ethan? Why did she have to die?” I asked. I had to keep him talking. The answer was going to kill me inside, but I had to know. I could feel the tears burning the back of my eyes, as I tried my damnedest to keep them from spilling over.

  “That bitch caught me coming out to my spot one day. She said if she caught me out here again, she would make sure the Sheriff would know who and what I was. The Sheriff is a Catholic man and would frown upon my religion if he found out. Plus, she was in my way.”

  “In the way of what?” I asked, knowing the answer.

  “You, my little mouse,” he answered. “You belong to me. We are going to be together for a long time. With your magic combined with mine, we will be unstoppable.”

  “What happens if I don’t join you?”

  “You will join me. If you aren’t willing, you will be by the time I’m done with you.” He shrugged, “There are other ways to be with me that aren’t physical.”

  “You know, Jake will be looking for me,” I told him.

  “And I’ll take care of him, too.” He sneered.

  ***

  I raced into the house as soon as I pulled up and noticed everything was dark. I had a flashlight in my hand. The front door was standing open. I ran in. I found Mia sitting on the floor in the hallway with her head between her hands.

  “What happened?” I asked her.

  Mia shook her head gently. “I don’t know, Jake. I was heading to the bathroom to wash up a little before I started dinner. I was going to make pizza. Something hit me in the back of the head. Next thing I knew, it was dark in here and you were running in the door.”

  I squatted down in front of her and shined the flashlight into her eyes. She likely had a concussion. Other than that, she seemed fine. I had to find Alexandrea.

  “Where is Lex?” I asked her quietly.

  She shook her head again. “She was in the kitchen. I don’t know where she is now.”

  I got up and ran into the kitchen. The room was empty. I pulled out my phone and tried to call Lex. I saw her phone light up on the floor. It must have fallen out of her pocket, or maybe she had dropped it when the perp abducted her. I knew with every fiber of my being that he, whoever he was, had taken her. She would have never just taken off like this on her own. I hung up and dialed Cole’s number.

  “Man, I need you here now. Mia was hit in the head, and Lex is missing. I’m gonna start searchin’ for her. I doubt he took her far.”

  “I’m on my way. Should be there in a couple of minutes. How’s Mia?” he asked, concern in his voice.

  “I think she has a concussion, but she’ll be fine,” I explained. “She’ll be waiting for you to get here, and she can show you which way I went. I know they’re here somewhere.”

  “Got it.” Cole said, hanging up the phone.

  I put the phone in my pocket and looked around. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I needed a clear head or I would get Lex killed. If nothing else, she needed to be okay. I couldn’t let anything happen to her.

  I started to head out of the house. I stood at the top of the steps and looked around. That’s when I heard the voice. It was the same voice I had heard when Lex was trapped in the steam room.

  “This way,” the voice whispered in my ear. “Hurry.”

  “Which way?” I asked.

  “The woods. She’s there.”

  I nodded as I took off at a dead run. I was afraid I was going to be too late. I prayed I wouldn’t be too late. I had already let her down by allowing the monster to get that close to her. I ran as hard as I could until I got to the edge of the woods.

  I stopped and focused. I knew I needed to be quiet if I planned on getting to them undetected. I started to walk quickly but stealthily through the woods. I was able to avoid breaking branches and rustling leaves. Tracking was something I had always been good at.

  I worked my way towards the center of the woods. I stopped when I could hear voices. I knew I was close, but I didn’t want to announce my presence just yet. I needed to get an idea of the type of situation Alexandrea was in so I could determine what I needed to do.

  I stood right inside the tree line. I could see Lex tied to a sacrificial stone in the middle of a ritual circle. I focused on the guy next to her. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was Ethan Price. That son of a bitch! I thought he was one of us. He knew a lot of sensitive information, including things from some of my past cases that the local police had been involved in.

  I could hear Lex asking him questions to keep him talking. I couldn’t stop the small grin that flitted across my face as I realized what she was doing. She was trying to distract him and stall him until the rescue party showed up. I listened to their conversation.

  “You know, Jake will be looking for me,” she told him.

  “And I’ll take care of him too.” He sneered.

  I knew I couldn’t wait any longer, so I ran into the circle to protect the woman I loved.

  24

  I watched helplessly as Jake burst into the circle of power. He had his gun drawn and was wearing the protection amulet I had given him around his neck. Deputy Price stood above me with a knife pointed at my heart. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Jake. He had found me. I couldn’t believe he had found me. He scanned the area quickly for other threats besides Ethan.

  He looked at me and asked, “You, okay?”

  I nodded slightly.

  Ethan laughed. His laugh was maniacal. He looked at Jake and yelled, “Don’t come any closer! Take another step and she dies now.”

  Jake froze. He lifted his hands up, still holding the gun in one hand, but the barrel was pointing towards the sky. “Okay, I won’t move. Don’t hurt her. Let her go. Use me instead.”

  I didn’t take my eyes off of Jake. Ethan pressed the tip of the knife into my chest.

  “Put the gun down, Jacob,” he demanded. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? She is mine, she will always be mine. But did she ever see me? No. She was always looking at you. She’s still looking at you. The golden boy. The football player every girl wanted and every guy wanted to be. I knew she was mine when I saw her in the first grade, then you had to steal her away from me. I will have her now and she will be mine forever.”

  Ethan raised the knife over his head to plunge it into my heart. Jake rushed him. He tackled Ethan to the ground. As they hit the ground the knife flew out of Ethan’s hand. They started to struggle. I saw the amulet chord break and fall to the ground underneath them.

  Ethan went still. Jake seemed to have control of the situation. Jake looked up at me and smiled reassuringly as he sat on top of Ethan, keeping him pinned to the ground. Suddenly, the knife flew off the ground and embedded itself deeply into Jake’s chest. Jake looked down and fell backwards.

  I screamed. Ethan laughed. The more he laughed, the louder I screamed. The ropes that tied me down to the stone started to smoke. They suddenly turned to ash and fell off of me. I sat up and stared at Ethan and Jake. Jake was laying on the ground gasping for air and Ethan was laughing hysterically. I felt the anger build as I stared at Ethan.

  I got up and raced over to Jake. He was still fighting to breathe. I dropped on my knees beside him and held his face in my hands. I could feel the tears building in my eyes. I turned his head to face me.

  “Please, don’t leave me,” I whispered. “I need you. I need you now more than ever.”

 
; Jake stared in my eyes. “I’ll. Never. Leave. You.”

  “Save your strength, help will be here soon,” I begged.

  “I’ll always be right here,” he gasped, touching my chest.

  I had tears pouring down my face. “Jake, you can’t leave me.”

  His breathing became more labored. I kissed him on the lips. He smiled as his last breath left him.

  “No. Don’t leave me. Please. Stay,” I begged. “I love you. You hear me? I love you. I need you with me every day for eternity. The rest of our lives isn’t enough. Come back to me. Please? Please. Don’t go.”

  A sinister laugh caught my attention. I looked up from Jake’s lifeless body to see Ethan watching us with a look of amusement on his face. “I don’t know how you got free, Alexandrea, but I do quite enjoy hide and seek. We’ve been playing it for quite some time now. I’ll give you a head start, little mouse, and then I’ll come find you like I always do.”

  I stood up slowly and looked at him. I wasn’t running away anymore. I was no longer scared of him. Okay, I was terrified of the crazy son of a bitch, but I wasn’t going to back down. Jake wouldn’t want me to, and I had to protect what was mine. My family, my love, my magic, my life, it was mine and some psycho freak wasn’t going to take that away from me. I was taking control. I had a choice. I could run and hide or stay and fight. I was choosing to fight.

  “I’m not running away from you, Ethan,” I told him firmly. “I’m done being scared and hiding. This ends here and now.”

  “Oh, my little mouse has finally gotten brave,” Ethan said coldly. “This should be fun, albeit short lived.”

  My stomach was in knots. I hoped I could do this on my own. I glanced over my shoulder at Jake’s lifeless body lying on the ground. That was when I found my resolve. I knew then that one of us wasn’t going to be leaving this sacred circle tonight. I prayed that I would be the one able to walk away.

  I rolled my shoulders and my neck. I took a deep breath, and looked Ethan square in the eye. “You forget something about mice, Ethan. They bite.”