Eternity

by Teresa Federici

  “Did I block you?” I asked, childish delight plain on my face.

  “Oh yes, marvelously I might add for someone not initiated.” Her own delight was written across her features.

  “What does that mean, uninitiated? I know what the word means, but what am I uninitiated in?”

  “Your talents.” Teagan answered simply, nodding at me with a knowing look in her bright blue eyes.

  “What talents?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know.

  “Well, when you were downstairs, we both sensed in you what could be called physic abilities. You’re a ‘sensitive’ or medium. Have you ever seen a ghost? Or spoken to one? Seen things that others couldn’t?” Harley asked, and Teagan added, “Or wouldn’t.” with a snort of derision.

  I nodded my head thoughtfully and looked around again, the last vestige of my former self struggling to maintain control, the scientific, analytical side of my brain screaming that these women who sat before me looking so normal, Harley in black slacks and a lime green sweater and Teagan in jeans, t-shirt and hoodie, were crazy, spouting nonsense and fantastical notions.

  I could see from the look on both their faces that they were at it again, poking around in my head, but instead of pushing them out, I let them in. I gave in completely. Everything that had happened to me in the past days was presently the only thoughts occupying space in my thoughts, so Teagan’s response wasn’t too surprising. Her words were, though.

  “Oh! I’ve seen him in here.” Teagan exclaimed.

  “Yeah, he’s what brought me here. Is he…?” I let the question trail off. Did I want to know it, have strangers confirm what I already suspected?

  Harley took pity on me, and let me down gently.

  “He is, but you must know that he’s non-practicing.” Her voice was gentle when she said it.

  “What the hell does that mean? That he doesn’t kill people and drink their blood?”

  The idea that he might do just that should have bothered me more than it actually did, but he was already part of me, and I could make all kinds of excuses to make his killing not so horrible. He had to live, right?

  “Well, yes, that is what that means. Do you know nothing of vampires?” she asked, reaching out and putting a hand over mine where it was clenched on my spoon. Everything had fallen into place and the mystery of Gareth was solved, just like that.

  The way he could move so fast, the picture from the obituary that showed a Gareth looking the same as he did today, fifteen years later, the unearthly eyes. The diary of what I had thought was a madman on the internet. The lobby after the break-in…

  “No, I don’t. Will you tell me?” I begged, but I could see that she wasn’t going to tell me anything other than what she had just revealed.

  “You had better let him tell you.” Teagan said softly.

  “Fat chance of that happening. He told me last night that he won’t bother me again.” My reply was morose, the rejection plain in my voice.

  Harley snorted, rolling her eyes again. She did that very well.

  “He can’t leave you alone. He’ll try, but he’s drawn to you; you’ve made quite an impression on him. Something from his past reminds him of you, and that adds to the attraction.” Her jade eyes had gone misty as if she was in a faraway place and maybe she was. “Vampires are usually hard to read, but he’s left his signature on you, so it makes it easier for me.” She was quiet for a moment, and Teagan and I looked at her expectantly. Suddenly she frowned, and her eyes cleared.

  “You’re being stalked. You’re in a lot of danger.”

  “Not from Gareth, though. He wouldn’t hurt me.” I was amazed that she knew this, but she shook her head vehemently.

  “No, not your vampire, but another. He wants something from you; you have something he wants, something he’s afraid of.”

  I thought back to all the times that I had known someone was watching me, and all those times I had thought it was Gareth. His height, his build, his eyes.

  “Has he, is he the one that’s been in my house?” Even as I asked the question, I knew the answer. If a vampire had been in my house that night, he would have killed me before I could have even make it out of my office.

  “I can’t tell, but I would think not. You would most likely be dead.”

  Her words sent shivers down my spine. So was the one in my house working for the other vampire? Great, now I had two vampires to deal with on top of everything else that was happening to me. What every girl wants.

  I looked at Teagan. “What do you get off him?”

  She looked surprised, but then remembered that I was uninitiated. God, I hated that word.

  “I’m not as gifted as Harley is in that respect. She’s a spiritual witch. She’s more in touch with the spirits, more of a medium. More like you.” she finished on an upward note.

  “I’m not a witch though.”

  “What I meant was that’s her ability. Witches aren’t born. Psychics are born, sensitives are born, but to be a witch is a religion.”

  “Do you have to be psychic to be a witch?” I asked, thoroughly confused.

  Harley spoke this time. “No, most witches I know are not psychic in the least, but nearly every witch has power. An empath or someone who could read minds,” Teagan raised her hand at that, “something that calls to them in the blood, but you haven’t explored your gift, you don’t know what your affinity is. Teagan is an elemental witch. She can call to the elements, such as fire.”

  My eyes widened in fascination as Teagan held out her hand and a ball of flame floated gently on her palm. Then she snapped her hand closed and the flame was gone. I laughed and clapped my hands, thoroughly impressed.

  “Don’t be too impressed. Even you can learn fire, but her real talents lie in controlling the weather.”

  “Like Storm in X-Men?” I asked, not sure she would like the comparison, but it was all I could think of.

  “I LOVE that movie!” Teagan exclaimed, pointing a finger at me, but then I realized she wasn’t pointing it at me, but rather towards the window over the sink. I turned around and glanced out the window. My eyes grew wide as the gray skies cleared and the sun shown down strong and warm, making the stained glass hanging over the window cast patterns of colorful light on the wall.

  I turned back to Teagan, and watched as her eyes slowly came back into focus, as if she had gone into a trance. I turned back to the window and the clouds came back, obscuring the sun.

  “How do I know that wasn’t just perfect timing?” I still wanted to be skeptical, but I just couldn’t fight it anymore. Everything that I was seeing, everything that had happened, just seemed to gel with what they were saying. “Faith, which is the basis for any religion. Faith in yourself, faith in something far greater than you,” Harley answered.

  “How can you do that and not be, well, found out?”

  “Most people who just saw that would think that was just a normal shifting of the clouds. People only see what they want to see, and most of the time, they’re wrong. If you saw me at the grocery store, would you think I was a witch?” Teagan asked me, her head tilted slightly to the side.

  I looked at her, not seeing a witch who could apparently control the weather, but a college student, home for the day from UNH in Manchester. She couldn’t be much younger than me, maybe around twenty-four, but she was right; I would never have taken her for a witch. The image of a witch I had was so completely different from the actual reality that it’s amazing that I didn’t profile more people incorrectly. Or maybe I did, but I didn’t do it on purpose.

  The day slipped by as we kept talking, and they kept answering my questions, both of them very patient. Every once in awhile, the front door would open, the bell would jingle, and one of them would go to help the customer that came in. Sometimes I would hear footsteps coming up to the second floor, and I would listen as someone that was allowed up to the inner sanctuary would walk around, perusing books, and I would try to figure out if they were a witch or sorce
rer, or even a vampire.

  “We really do need to close that mind of yours. If anyone of them wanted to tune in, they’d hear you in a heartbeat.” Harley stated the next time someone came up the stairs, and she gave me an exasperated look.

  “Can everyone read minds? Is there some training I should know about?”

  “No, humans can’t always read minds, but vampires and werewolves can, and trust me, they will.” Teagan answered, getting up from her seat and snatching a bag of potato chips from a basket on the kitchen counter. She held them out to me and I shook my head, but Harley grabbed a handful and laid them on a napkin in front of her.

  “Huh, well that makes sense then.” I said softly, almost to myself, my eyes widening as realization dawned on me.

  “What makes sense?” Teagan asked, and I was grateful she didn’t just pull my thoughts from my mind.

  “He always seemed to know what I was thinking, when to change the subject when I was uncomfortable. It was because he could read my mind.” I was filled with wonder, then chagrin. God, what had he seen in my head? A blush infused my face with color. What had he read in my mind the night at the bar?

  After that, the day seemed to fly by, and before I knew it, Harley had gotten up for the last time to go downstairs.

  “I’m going to go lock up, it’s closing time. Do you want to stay the night? We have an extra room and spare PJs. I think I could even dig up a toothbrush.”

  I debated for barely a second. Despite our initial sniping at one another, Harley and I had found much in common, and we both gathered energy from Teagan’s exuberance. I wondered briefly what Gareth would think if I didn’t show up at my house tonight, but since he was keeping secrets from me, I saw no reason to inform him.

  “Yeah, I think I will. Thanks.”

  In for a penny, in for a pound, my mother always said. It was as though I was stepping into a new life, exchanging my old one for a better fit. I would call Officer Stevens and let him know; I might not have wanted to tell Gareth, but I wasn’t completely stupid. Besides, if he wanted to know where I was, all he had to do was ask the police. I was sure they would be happy to tell him where I was.

  I stumbled into the third bedroom sometime after one in the morning, drunk as a lord. After dinner, which was takeout pizza, Harley had brought out a bottle of rum, and instead of starting what I was beginning to think of as my schooling, we had all proceeded to get toasted. I had never laughed so hard in my life.

  I stubbed my toe and cursed loudly, only to hear answering giggles from either side of the long hallway that separated the three bedrooms.

  “Not funny, you guys.” I muttered, but I finally found the bed and collapsed onto it, utterly exhausted. As sleep came to claim me, I thought that I had finally found where I was supposed to be all my life. I was finally part of something, and I had Gareth to thank for it, because if he had never showed up in my life, I never would have found my way here.

  Chapter Ten

  I made it back to my house around ten that morning and I jumped in the shower, washing the last of the hangover away. Everything that I had learned yesterday swirled through my thoughts. Vampires and werewolves and witches, oh my.

  I found it hard to believe that I hadn’t thought of Gareth except in fleeting moments since yesterday afternoon, but now that I was alone, his image came rushing back to haunt me.

  I knew that I would see him again, and with my new knowledge of what he was, I tried to devise a way to get him back in front of me.

  I threw on some cargo pants and a hooded sweater and put on my tennis shoes. I grabbed a change of clothes for the lab, seeing as though I would be in Manchester anyway, and I doubted that the girls would mind if I stayed over again.

  That thought stopped me, and I was amazed that it had even entered my mind that I would stay over their house again. Somehow I knew they wouldn’t care.

  I had managed to make new friends and that alone was unusual, but the fact that I wanted to keep these friends was miraculous.

  Since I was going back to Written, again I let the police know where I’d be. Just as I was getting into my Jeep, I heard my cell phone going off. As I dug for it, I wondered who it could be. I had given Harley and Teagan my number, and taken theirs, because naturally they too wanted to keep tabs on me, but when I looked at the caller ID, I was shocked to see Gareth’s name on the screen.

  I hadn’t been the one to program his number into my phone because he had never given it to me.

  “Hello?” I answered cautiously, not sure what to say, if anything. If he could read my mind over the phone, he would know what I was thinking anyway.

  “Where have you been?” His voice was sharp, but I could hear something that sounded like worry underlying the edginess.

  “Gee, I think I’m old enough to not have to answer that question, Dad.” I loved him, but sometimes he didn’t exactly make me feel all warm and fuzzy. And apparently he couldn’t read minds at a distance or over the phone.

  “I told you I would protect you, but if you disappear, I can’t very well fulfill my obligation, now can I?” The worry sound was gone, replaced by indignation.

  I gasped at his words, making a face at the phone I was glad no one could see.

  “An obligation? Is that how you see me?” I replied, stabbing my key into the ignition and turning it viciously, taking out the agony jabbing through me on my poor Jeep. If he had been here I would have gladly taken it out on him, vampire or no vampire.

  His voice gentled, sounding weary, as he answered. “No, Anna, I don’t see you as an obligation. I just want to protect you and I can’t do that if I don’t know where you are.”

  My movements stilled at his words, my hand sat frozen on the gear shift. I didn’t know what to do, didn’t know what to say. I could tell him where I had been, where I was going, but he had to tell me something in return.

  “Gareth, what is it you’re not telling me about everything that’s happened?” I asked softly. If he relented and told me the truth, I would go to him right now, and he could watch me all day long if he wanted.

  “I told you everything.” He was back on edge, and I could hear him shift the phone from one ear to the other.

  “I don’t think you have. I think that you are holding something back from me, something…something that you need to keep secret.”

  “Yes, the work on the immortality gene, but I’ve already told you that.” Now he was guarded, his hackles up. I could hear wariness in his voice, a guarded caution. He knew that I had found something out.

  I sighed and threw the gear shift in reverse.

  “Is that all?” I pleaded with him. I needed him to tell me, I needed to hear from his mouth what he was.

  “That’s all. Are you going to tell me where you are?”

  “Well, Gareth, right now I’m home, but I won’t be here long.” I replied, my voice waspish.

  “How much longer are you going to be there?” I heard wind whistling past the mouthpiece of his phone and I knew he was rushing to get to me.

  “Not long enough for even you to get to me. Find me when you want to be completely honest with me, okay Gareth? Until then, just stay away.”

  With those words I snapped the phone shut and tossed it into my bag and jammed my foot on the accelerator, checking myself at the last minute in case my police detail should think that someone was chasing me.

  Damn him! And damn myself! Why couldn’t I have just told him, and why couldn’t he tell me? Were we going to dance around this forever?

  I chuffed softly; he might have forever, but I sure didn’t, at least not right now.

  I made it back to Written without running the Jeep off the road, despite the tears that fell freely from my tired eyes. Neither Harley nor Teagan said anything about my pitiful state, and I didn’t feel them poking about in my head, and for that I was grateful.

  After a wonderful lunch where I ate completely too much, we moved into the living room, taking our drinks with us. It was
study time for the uninitiated.

  “Are you ready to start?” Harley asked, taking a sip from her ever-present green tea.

  “I am so ready to start. Where do we begin?”

  “Well, it’s visualization really, quite simple. Like you did yesterday, pushing me out of your head, but Teagan had it right when she said that it’s like a firewall, only you’re not blocking anyone from coming in, you’re blocking your thoughts from going out.”

  We sat facing one another, each taking a couch, Teagan tucking her legs under her and Harley crossing hers lotus style. I mimicked them, thinking it was more like meditation than not.

  “It is like meditation, but once you learn it, it will become second nature.” This from Harley, her voice soft.

  “Close your eyes and visualize a wall, or a door. Something that would block entry. Have you ever practiced yoga?”

  “Only for exercise. I could not get into the whole breathing thing, the clearing of the mind. My brain is always working.”

  “Yes, I know.” Harley replied blandly, fixing me with her jade eyes. I shrugged. I was what I was, couldn’t really change that.

  “Anyway, you concentrate on throwing up a wall, and Teagan will start trying to get into your head.”

  “Oh that’s easy” Teagan said cheerfully, grinning from ear to ear.

  “I haven’t had time to visualize yet, thanks.”

  We all shut our eyes, and I tried repeatedly to throw up a wall, lock a door, visualized Fort Knox, but Teagan kept coming through. As she broke through barriers, she would narrate what she saw.

  “She’s thinking about what to wear to work”, followed by “now she’s wondering if she forgot to turn off her computer.” It was getting on my nerves, so the next time I could sense her breaking through, I threw something in for kicks.

  “Oh God! I so didn’t need to see that!” she howled, rubbing at her eyes as if to clear a vision from them.

  “What? What did you see?” Harley asked, but I think she knew anyway. I was dying from laughter, tears spouting from my eyes.