by Dana Davis
“Yeah?” she said as she crossed back to the fridge and filled Noah’s glass with water.
“You want more tea? This is cold.”
Daisy turned to him and saw that he held a cup in his hand, the one she’d put on the coffee table after her swim. He placed it on the bar.
“Thanks.” So, that part wasn’t a dream, either. She took the cup, poured the remaining tea into the sink, and replaced it with filtered water. Though Daisy wasn’t a big drinker, she was beginning to crave something stronger. She handed over his water and said, “You sure you weren’t home around six-thirty?”
Noah chuckled and gave her a hungry look that had nothing to do with food. “No.” He sat. “Wish I was. Sounds like we had a hellofa romp.” He stuffed a bite of lasagna into his mouth and grinned.
She gave a nervous laugh, snatched up the popcorn and her cup, then padded around the bar and sat across the dining table from him. They spent the rest of the evening chatting and watching TV, while Daisy tried her best not to dwell on the odd dreams she’d had lately. She decided not to tell Noah about the shadow man just yet. Not until she had an explanation. He could have been a neighbor. Though her gut told her differently.
Before they went to sleep, she adjusted the large Native dream catcher that hung over their bed, a wedding present from her Aunt Marge, then checked and double-checked the locks on every door and window.
Chapter 2
Phantom Hands
Noah fell asleep almost immediately but Daisy lay with her eyes open, wondering how she could’ve fallen asleep, had sex with her husband who was still on a plane at that time, and thought it was actually happening. Not even an inherent witch could magickally clone her husband. And astral projection wasn’t in a witch’s repertoire of spells. Only mediums could send their consciousness outside their bodies. Paranormals had limits, just like anyone. It had to have been a dream. But, damn, it felt real. After a while, she drifted off to those uneasy thoughts.
A hand caressed her buttocks as she slept and she rolled onto her back, expecting to see morning light through the shutters. When she opened her eyes, it was still dark out. Noah slept beside her, snoring lightly, and she glanced at her bedside clock. Two-thirty. She decided she’d been dreaming again and turned onto her side to hug her pillow.
As soon as she began to drift off, someone caressed her again. She lay still, listening to Noah’s snores, then slowly turned her head to see—absolutely no one.
What the shit? I’m not asleep, dammit.
Her heart sprinted and her ears pulsed with adrenaline. She slipped from the bed in her oversized t-shirt and panties and padded around the house, moving quickly with the frigid tile against her bare feet. She checked locks and glanced out windows. Perky followed. The dog hadn’t barked at anything. In fact, he’d been asleep on his pillow in the family room.
She didn’t usually walk around barefoot in the dark in case she had a confrontation with a scorpion or centipede, but the little, poisonous creatures didn’t usually venture into the house in winter. She couldn’t keep a magickal barrier around the place, since it couldn’t distinguish between a wild critter and a dog. The one time she’d tried, poor Perky, then just a pup, ran smack into the patio door, whining and yipping in an attempt to get away from the unpleasant sensations.
The night was still and dark, except for the single light on the corner, which added an eerie orange glow to the street. Once she began shivering, Daisy made her way back to the bedroom and slipped under the covers, careful not to disturb her husband. Perky took a spot on the reading chair in the corner. He wasn’t allowed on the bed.
As sleep began to take Daisy, someone caressed her again. Breathing caught her ears and she tried to pull from drowsiness but her muscles didn’t respond. Weight pressed down on her. Her breath quickened. A whisper found her left ear. She strained to make out the words but couldn’t. The weight lifted and she opened her eyes. Noah still slept. Daisy lay hugging her pillow for several minutes. She remained awake for a while but drifted back to sleep when nothing else happened.
“Morning, honey,” Noah said. A kiss pressed against Daisy’s cheek.
She pulled from slumber and opened her eyes, weary from the interrupted sleep last night. Sunlight streamed in through the large windows that gave them southern exposure to the desert sun and made last night’s incidents seem much less frightening now, dreamlike. Noah had opened the shutters and Daisy lay staring at the light, willing tired eyes to focus. They felt gritty and she rubbed.
If not for the sunscreens, double-paned windows and ceiling fan, this room would be uncomfortably warm in summer, even with the a/c on. In winter, like now, the master suite was quite cool, chilly in fact, so she pulled the covers up.
“What time is it?” she said through a yawn.
Noah sat on the edge of the bed and kissed her forehead. “Eight.”
“Shit. You’re late for work.” She started to bolt up but Noah held her with a firm hand.
“Relax,” he said. “I took the day off, remember?”
“Oh, right.” He’d told her that before he left for his business trip three days ago. Noah didn’t travel often, but this time of year, he took a trip or two to attend conventions. “It’s Friday.”
“Yep. Three-day weekend. Unless you need to work today.”
“No. I sent everything out yesterday morning. I won’t auction anything else until Monday.”
She filled her days with local swap meets and estate sales, purchasing stuff she could resell at online auctions for decent profit. In her spare time, she practiced the more intricate spells she’d located in her mother’s old books. There were so many and they took so long to memorize, she wasn’t sure she’d live long enough to learn them all.
“Good,” Noah said as he ran a hand down her body and over her curves. “How ‘bout we laze around here today, maybe take a hike.”
She gave a tired grin. “Sounds wonderful.” Noah looked particularly handsome this morning, with his disheveled hair and unshaven cheeks. Like a rugged model. She wanted to forget about her disturbing dreams and lose herself in her husband’s embrace. “So does something else.”
It didn’t take him long to figure out what she wanted, even if she didn’t think her seduction skills that great. Noah put the dog out into the hall and shut the door. Daisy had tried to push away the unsettling images and feelings from her recent dreams, and Noah made that possible now. He wasn’t forceful and she cherished that about him. He would never press her to do anything she didn’t like or want. She breathed in the smell of him as they rolled so she could be on top, in control. She set the rhythm, slow and sensual, placing certain body parts where his tongue could get at them with ease. Teasing him until he moaned with frustration then pulling back.
“You’re cruel, Daisy Rhiannon.” His voice now held a husky quality and she loved that he still lusted after her.
She gave him a wicked smile and moved her breasts in front of his face. He lifted his head but couldn’t quite reach with her weight on top of him.
“Wench,” he chided. He gave a huge grin and slapped her bottom.
The shock forced her closer to him and he trapped a nipple in his mouth. “No fair,” she said, followed by a gasp. She opened up and pressed down, taking his full length into her body, hips meeting in long-practiced rhythm.
It didn’t take long for her to bring Noah to climax. She came just after he did, his seed trickling out of her as she rolled off him. She lay in her husband’s arms and caressed his chest hairs, feeling quite protected just now.
Being an inherent witch had advantages, like not having to worry about birth control. Daisy had complete command of her reproductive organs, unlike mortal women, and she took full advantage of that. She and Noah weren’t ready for the pitter-patter of tiny feet just yet, unless they belonged to Perky. She left her menses alone, of course, since a witch’s power was said to be linked to the moon cycle, but she knew exactly when to expect it. As a kid, sh
e’d felt sorry for girls who got unpredictable periods and had to call home for a change of clothes.
“Better than caffeine,” she uttered as her fingers trailed across Noah’s chest and grazed a hair-encased nipple. He laughed and she chuckled at the resonation of his chest against her ear.
The secure feeling was shattered when something shimmered in Daisy’s corner vision. She bolted upright and prepared a trussing spell for a man who appeared near the closet.
Chapter 3
Things That Go Bump in the Desert
The spell never made it to her lips because the intruder disappeared. She had only caught a glimpse, but he looked a lot like the man she’d spotted in the wash.
“What is it? Daisy?”
“I—I saw a man standing there.” She pointed.
Noah gave a laugh. “Having fantasies about two men in your bed, my little witchy wife?”
“Oh, stop it.” She gave him a playful slap on the arm. “I’m serious. I saw a man. And last night when I was in the pool, I saw someone in the wash. When I got out, he was gone.” No sense keeping that a secret anymore. I saw this guy. Didn’t I?
Noah got up, jiggling the mattress as he went, and retrieved his clothes. “Maybe I need to monitor what you’re reading.” He held up a horror novel that lay on the antique trunk at the foot of their bed. “Or do all witches see strange men when they’re having sex with their husbands?”
“Very funny. But the news is the only thing that scares the shit out of me.” Usually.
She thought about last night and the invisible hand that had caressed her. It was just a dream, she kept telling herself. But was it? Had she been awake last night, like she thought? Her memories seemed a bit muddled but a nagging feeling that she’d forgotten something pricked at her subconscious.
Noah stood by the bed, dressed in sweats, and gazed down on her. “You sure you’re okay?” He seemed to be saying that a lot lately.
The worry on his face caused guilt in Daisy. Why frighten him when she wasn’t even certain about these dreams and apparitions? Perhaps she was just more tired than she thought.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Thankful it was daylight now and Noah was home, she pushed away her doubts. Their lovemaking was fresh in her mind, and she clung to that thought as she and Noah attended to their bathroom rituals. When she opened the bedroom door to the hall, Perky stared up at her, tail wagging. The house popped twice from the warming sun.
“Hi, little Perky-poo,” she crooned. She cradled him under one arm and scratched his head. “Ready for breakfast?” He answered with a lick to her hand.
“I’ll get the paper if you start coffee,” Noah said.
He rubbed her cheek with his freshly shaven one and she giggled, taking in a long breath of the pleasant scent his shaving lotion left behind. “Deal.” She stole a look behind her but the stranger was nowhere. Everything looked normal. She felt silly now.
* * * *
After they’d eaten breakfast and read the paper, Daisy avoiding the more disturbing news stories, they had decided to take a walk. The crisp desert air refreshed her as she and Noah strode hand in hand along the cement trail that stretched toward the mountains. Towering saguaros, desert sentries as her mother had always called them, dominated this part of Arizona. Green arms covered with spiny needles reached skyward or twisted this way and that from years of monsoon winds. Daisy couldn’t imagine living anyplace else, though the summers did seem hotter and longer than when she was a kid.
A hawk cried out from the brilliant and cloudless sky and Perky barked from the end of his leash. Daisy craned her head upwards for a moment. Birds twittered and clucked all around, from trees, from saguaro tops, from nearby rooftops and block wall fences.
They took the longer trail today, the one that wound up past the multi-million dollar homes closer to the mountains, giving them a spectacular view of the valley. Stucco and tile-roofed homes and desert flora went on as far as Daisy could see. Various mountain ranges stood out across the valley. The prominent summit of Piestewa Peak caught her attention, though the smog-induced haze blurred the view a bit. Saguaro, many with arms, dotted the hills and washes around her, erupting between Palo Verde trees, spiny ocotillo and prolific brittlebush to reach for the brilliant sky. Now, the brittlebush looked like bare weeds from their recent winter drop, quite a contrast to the silver leaves and yellow flowers they presented in the spring and summer months. But this was home, brutal summers, poisonous creatures, smog, droughts and all.
“I love winter,” she said. A woodpecker tapping on a nearby house punctuated her words and she smiled.
Noah smiled. “Me too.”
He pulled her close for a quick peck then released her just as two giggling girls on bicycles whizzed past them from behind, catching them off-guard. He barely had time to snatch Perky out of the way of the skinny tires. The dog yipped and wriggled to get down so he could give chase.
“They really should put bells on kids,” Daisy uttered as she steadied her nerves. She’d become too damn jumpy lately. She reached over to pet Perky’s head.
Noah laughed and set the dog down. “Like cats. So you know they’re coming for you.”
“Exactly.” Of course, no sane person would let a pet cat out in the desert. Not if they wanted it to stay alive. Coyotes, hawks, bobcats and owls fed on just about any small animal they could catch.
A desert hare, with its long ears and cotton-like tail, raced across the sidewalk and Perky tried to go after it.
“No you don’t, boy,” Noah chided as he pulled gently on the leash to keep the dog from straying off the path and into a prickly pear. Or into something more sinister hidden in the wild grasses or under the rocks, like a rattler.
“That reminds me,” Daisy said as they began walking again. “I want to pick up more prickly pear candy for Opal.” The elderly widow often watched Perky, since her dog was about the same size, too small to be outside alone. A backyard block wall was no deterrent for a hungry predator. Hell, even a coyote could leap an eight-foot fence without much effort.
“And a box for yourself?” Noah said. He smirked and his eyebrows lifted above his sunglasses.
Daisy laughed. “You know me too well.” She loved the chewy candies made from the paddle-shaped and succulent cacti pads, and her mouth watered just thinking about them. “They’re not just for tourists, you know.” She grinned when Noah laughed.
Opal refused money for her services, saying that she was happy her dog had a playmate, so Daisy brought her gifts. Some homemade, some bought, but she always tried to find unique items for the woman. Opal loved the native candy as much as Daisy did.
Noah stopped her with a touch and pointed off to one side of the broad wash. He quickly scooped up Perky and held the dog’s muzzle shut with his fingers. Daisy remained still as they watched two coyotes make their way noiselessly toward the mountain. When one stopped to look at her, she smiled and silently bid the animal hello. Local Indians had all kinds of coyote tales, mostly portraying him as a trickster. But Daisy liked these stealthy animals, enjoyed having them around, despite the fact that they considered small dogs like Perky a snack food. For some reason, these two didn’t alarm her. In fact, she felt quietly reassured, though she wasn’t stupid enough to move closer.
Once the coyote pair disappeared, Noah put Perky down. The dog growled in the direction of the animals, sniffed a patch of weeds near a baby saguaro, and lifted his leg to leave his mark.
That’s when a turkey vulture landed on one of the taller saguaros. Its red face turned toward Daisy and those tiny black eyes sent shivers racing up her spine. The fact that the Wright Brothers designed their first plane after this creature didn’t endear it to Daisy just now. That familiar nagging in the back of her mind tugged at her thoughts again but she couldn’t quite get at the memory. It had something to do with this vulture. And the owl she’d seen the previous evening in the backyard. But what?
Before she could think on it anymore, the vulture let
out a piercing shriek and flapped toward the heavens. Its wingspan must have been at least five feet in diameter. Daisy watched until it soared across the sun then she drew her gaze away for fear of ruining her sight. Noah studied her and she gave him a tiny smile, glad he couldn’t see her worried eyes behind her dark glasses.
They’d finished half of their bottled water by the time they were nearing home. Noah wore his sweatshirt tied around his waist now, as did Daisy, and both strode down the trail in t-shirts and sweatpants. The desert sun, even in winter, could warm a moving body to the point of sweating, and today was no exception.
Perky trotted along at the end of his leash. He sniffed at things only his sensitive nose could perceive and chased sunning lizards across the sidewalk. Noah was careful to keep him away from the cholla. For some reason, the cacti, which had numerous tiny needles that gave it a fuzzy appearance, seemed to entice the dog, despite his past and painful encounter with one. Cholla needles had flattened many bicycle tires when Daisy was a kid too.
They continued down the cement trail, followed it under the street bridge and into the wash on the other side, the one that ran behind their home. Just as they emerged from the short tunnel, a shadow moved in Daisy’s corner vision. She snapped her head to see a man, wearing a brown suit and hat reminiscent of the 1960s, standing next to a saguaro.
“Hello,” she said in her neighborly voice.
“What?” Noah said.
“I was just saying hi to that man over—” When she looked again, the strange man was gone. The only tall thing in that spot was a saguaro, a juvenile since it had no arms. “I’m not hallucinating,” she uttered.
“You sure you’re all right, babe?”
She glanced down at Perky, whose interest was on a cactus wren that sang from a nesting hole in another saguaro. The dog didn’t seem to notice the intruder. “I’m either being haunted or else I’m stark raving mad.”
