by Mandi Casey
I stood in the bathroom and examined my neck in the mirror. A soft knock sounded on the door. “Sydney, I made a paste for you to put on that wound. It will take some of the pain away, honey.”
Aunt Judith came into the bathroom. I sat on the sink counter to give her a better look at my neck. She took the cotton ball from the bowl and globbed on some of her paste. It felt cool and soothing against my hot flesh.
“Aunt Judith, what is going on? That man wasn’t human. I think we should call someone and tell them there’s a lunatic running around attacking people.”
She made shushing sounds before saying, “My dear, there are things in this world that won’t make much sense to you right now. But trust me, calling the police is the last thing we should do. We’ll talk more about it in the morning.” She finished applying the paste and made a dressing out of the gauze and tape she’d brought in with her. “Tomorrow morning, I want you to shower and let warm water run over your neck, then put some more of this paste on and re-dress it just like I’ve done now.”
Still baffled by her strange behavior, I headed for my bedroom. Unfortunately, sleep proved elusive. Who could sleep in that old house, the branches of the leafless oak tree scratching against the window of my room like a B-rated horror movie? Who knew what was lurking out there in the dark?
I did.
I knew.
And now it knew me.
Chapter 2
The following morning, the thought of work made me climb out of bed with a groan. The hot sting of the water pelting my back in the shower was a soothing balm against the nightmare of last night. Zombies probably felt better than me when they woke up in the morning.
I took the stairs down to the kitchen one by one, slowly and carefully, every muscle in my body screaming. Aunt Judith had scheduled me to open and close Morning Sun. That left just enough time to grab a banana nut muffin and a caramel coffee before having to turn on the neon OPEN sign at the store.
Taking a deep breath in, the smell of Aunt Judith’s tea triggered warm and comforting memories of a long time ago. She used the same herbs to make her tea that Grandma used to use.
Before opening the kitchen door, I heard Aunt Judith talking to someone on the phone. When she spoke, it was in a hushed voice. I stopped at the door to listen.
“I’m telling you, Meredith, we didn’t expect it to happen so soon. I knew my sister should have prepared her for this, we all should have. No one could have predicted the attack.”
After hearing whatever Meredith had to say, she hung up the phone.
I took a minute to gain my composure. She was keeping something from me, and the weight of betrayal hung heavy in my chest. That’s why she hadn’t freaked out when I came home with my neck torn open. Tears threatened to fall. I took a deep breath, not wanting my face to get red and exposing my deliberate eavesdropping.
When I opened the kitchen door to say goodbye, Aunt Judith was sitting at the kitchen table paging through a book. She looked up and smiled, the expression not quite reaching her eyes.
I walked halfway into the room. “Good morning, Aunt Judith.” I figured since she didn’t make a big deal about me getting my neck chewed on by a feral human-like man, there was no reason for me to do so. It didn’t seem as important to her as it did to me.
I moved my head to the side, testing the strength of the bandage I’d concocted from the medical supplies in the bathroom cabinet. I grimaced as stabbing pain shot through the torn skin. At least it had stopped bleeding overnight.
“Good morning, dear.”
The phone hanging on the wall rang. I hesitated, then crossed the room to pick it up.
I mumbled a pain-racked, “Hello.”
“This is Jenkins.”
My delivery guy. I started to get a bad feeling about this.
“Uh, my truck broke down. I have a call in to be towed.”
I couldn’t believe this was happening. “Keep me posted.” My tone came out sharper than I’d intended, but how was a girl supposed to run a business and prove herself with no stock to put on the store shelves?
I restrained myself from slamming the phone onto the receiver, then turned to face Aunt Judith.
She took a deep breath and looked me in the eyes, visibly struggling with what she wanted to say. When she finally spoke, her voice quivered with trepidation.
“I have something you need to see, something that you should have seen a long time ago. Your mother and grandmother wanted to save you from this. They wanted to keep you safe for as long as possible. You being attacked tells me they were wrong. We were all wrong, and I’m very sorry. We kept you in the dark your whole life, leaving you completely unaware of what you are, to try and protect you. But we only put you in more danger. Things are going to be different for you now.”
My stomach burned with anxiety. What the heck was she talking about? I wasn’t sure finding out was a good idea, considering her serious demeanor. It was rare for Aunt Judith to not be smiling.
“What do you mean my entire life is going to be different? What have my mother and Grandma kept from me?”
Aunt Judith grabbed the book she’d been paging through and handed it to me.
“This is a journal, Sydney. Your grandmother’s journal. Read it, and you’ll understand why you were attacked. It may even explain why a few strange things have already happened to you. You’ll learn things about why we live here, why you specifically have been brought back to Kenosha. Take this book and read it. When you’re done, come talk to me, and I’ll answer any questions you may have.”
She left me standing there, holding the journal in my hands. The kitchen door softly closed behind her.
There were things my family had kept from me. Obviously, from Aunt Judith’s expression, it was something serious. Whatever it was, she knew about it and didn’t tell me herself, until now. The clock on the wall ticked loudly as the minutes went by, while I stood there in an emotional meltdown.
Finally able to free myself from the shock that locked my body in place, I shoved the journal in my bag and grabbed my keys. There wasn’t enough time to think about the family secrets. That would have to be dealt with later. I had work to do and a store to run.
While driving, thoughts whirled in my head. Coming to Kenosha was supposed to help me get my life together. Running the store was to prove I could handle the pressure to get my parents off my back. It’s where I was supposed to show myself capable of being an independent adult, able to take care of myself.
Maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe Kenosha wasn’t as simple a town as I assumed. Chicago was known to be more dangerous than some small, out-of-the-way town. I would never have thought I’d have to worry about dangerous people hiding around building corners here.
I pulled my car to the curb in front of my favorite coffee shop and went in.
Leaving Mountain Bean, I returned to my car clutching the hot steamy coffee with caramel drizzled on top. After securing the delicious coffee in the cup holder, I headed to the store.
While driving down the street, I looked from one side of the car to the other for any sign of the man from last night.
Having another encounter with a crazy guy with long pointy teeth, rotten breath, and scary glowing eyes was not on my to-do-list. Once was definitely enough for me. The odd thing was, Aunt Judith didn’t even seem surprised. I was worried she might question my sanity, or tell me to call the police. She didn’t even suggest that we call my mother to tell her what had happened.
My face flushed with anger, and the tips of my ears started to burn. Shouldn’t she have been hysterical? Her lack of a reaction was hard to swallow. Was it possible she’d somehow expected something like that to happen to me, not so much an if, but when?
Entering the store, I turned on the OPEN sign, and headed over to the big counter toward the back of the building. Frustrated that my family had thought I could have been hurt, or even killed, made me feel totally, and utterly, alone. Tears formed at the corners of my
eyes. How could they do this to me? Why didn’t they care enough to tell me what was really going on?
Glancing over at the clock, I waited for the computer to warm up. There was only a minute to spare before the store was supposed to be opened. Not bad timing. The door chimes sounded just as I finished stowing my things under the counter. My first customer of the day had arrived. Meredith, a store regular who was also Aunt Judith’s best friend, strolled in and waved her hand to me in greeting.
I couldn’t help but feel betrayed by everyone. It was obvious from what Aunt Judith was saying on the phone that Meredith knew what was going on, too.
“How are you doing, dear?”
I pasted a fake smile on my face. “I’m fine, Meredith. Is there anything you need help finding?”
“Oh, your aunt had ordered some ingredients for me. I’m making a special remedy for my sister to try. She has terrible gout, and the medication from her doctor just isn’t taking care of the pain. Something more natural, made from the herbs of our dear planet may give her some relief. She’s suffering so much.”
“Let me go in the back and see if Aunt Judith left your delivery somewhere. You might as well have a look around while you’re here.”
She was almost like family. Meredith had been coming over to Aunt Judith’s house for as far back as my memories went. She even helped my aunt with the store before my arrival to Kenosha.
Behind the counter was a storeroom where we put all the excess books, ingredients, and other items waiting to be priced and shelved. A nondescript white bag sat on the bottom shelf against the south wall of the storeroom. I read Meredith’s name, written in my aunt’s curly penmanship, along with an order sheet stapled to the inside. Aunt Judith always emphasized the importance of keeping the privacy of our customers.
There were people who didn’t approve of those who believed in homemade remedies using symbols, elements, and charms to help with their ailments. There were people that felt using such items was a form of witchcraft and blasphemy. I just figured to each their own. No one had the right to judge or push their ideals on anyone else.
I grabbed the bag and headed out to the store common area to ring up the sale. I always enjoyed when customers were in the store. It made me feel good to help people. Making money to pay the bills didn’t hurt. But right now, I needed to be alone.
Meredith stood by the register, glaring at a new customer that must have come in while I was in the storeroom. The door chimes hadn’t sounded, so it was a surprise that anyone else had entered. I’d never seen my aunt’s dearest friend stare at someone else with such obvious disgust.
Focusing on Meredith and holding up her package, I asked, “Will that be all?”
Hopefully she didn’t notice the sharp edge to my voice. She didn’t deserve to be on the receiving end of my anger. It probably wasn’t her place to tell me whatever the big secret was.
Meredith stared at the newcomer for a moment, then finally turned her attention to me. She set her purse on the counter and hurriedly dug around for her debit card.
“Yes, Sydney, that will be all.”
The new customer circled around the cardholder, reading the different recipes on the cards. He didn’t seem crazy. He appeared to be in his mid thirties, well built, and from the side view was ruggedly good-looking. Why was Meredith so wigged out?
Though, there was something off about him. His essence wasn’t quite normal. It’s hard to explain what made him different. Judging people’s auras wasn’t my specialty. I just knew that he was.
Meredith’s hand shook as she held the debit card up, waiting for me to slide it through the credit card reader next to the register.
Her anxiety put me even more on edge.
“Are you all right, Meredith? Is there something wrong?”
Glancing once more at the other customer, who didn’t seem to be aware of what was happening at the counter, she looked back at me, her eyes pinning mine as if she were trying to tell me something. I was sure it had something to do with what they were talking about on the phone and whatever was in that book.
Finally, Meredith gave up and broke eye contact. “I’m okay, Sydney, you take care.” She put her hand on mine and squeezed, smiling a half-smile, then walked quickly, almost running, out the front door.
When she exited, I hustled over to the new customer.
“Hi, is there something specific you need help finding?”
The man turned and looked at me, his eyes slowly roaming over me from head to toe. My entire body began to burn, and flames of lust licked hot over my flesh. The kind only he could extinguish. Or a cold shower. I’d take the latter, thank you. I’d never indulged in one-night-stands, and now wasn’t the time to start. Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of opportunities for that sort of thing down in Chicago’s nightlife scene. It was just never for me.
My physical reaction to his heated stare could only be described as primal. No man had ever made me feel like that with just a look. His dark brown eyes melted every moral, good girl quality I claimed as mine. My body defiantly began to react. Rebellious thoughts raced through my mind about what it would be like to have him kiss me. Touch me.
He undressed me with his eyes. His dark pink tongue flicked out and moistened his lower lip. The man moved so fast, he went the entire distance around my person in the blink of an eye. The quick motion created a breeze, and my hair was still settling back into place after the man had returned to his original stance.
He moved with inhuman speed. The man that attacked me last night was not all human. My chest tightened, making it almost impossible to breathe. My brain was telling me to run. My body refused to cooperate and wouldn’t move an inch.
The man inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. When he was done sniffing the air, he reopened his eyes and looked directly into mine.
“You are Sydney, first granddaughter of Maria Sky.” He stated that as a fact, not a question.
That was when it hit me. The man wasn’t wearing a coat. The temperature outside was just above freezing, and the snow had yet to stop its descent on our little slice of a town. Normal people didn’t go around not wearing a coat.
My mind went whirling. What if your car broke down, or you went sliding in a ditch somewhere from slipping on black ice? What if you were left to suffer the elements until someone came to help you? Frostbite was a serious problem. People lost body parts if they weren’t careful.
I slowly backed away from him, one small step at a time. There might be a connection to my attacker from last night and the man standing before me. After taking two steps backwards, understanding reflected in his eyes.
Where would I run to? I was stumped, but somehow it was clear it was in my best interest to get away from him.
I hadn’t realized he moved at all until I felt the grip of his hand on my arm.
“Wait. Don’t be afraid of me. We need to talk.”
I didn’t agree. “No, I’m pretty sure we don’t have anything to talk about. We don’t know each other, and there’s no reason to get to know each other.”
I yanked on my arm to loosen his grip. He clamped his hand tighter, making it impossible to escape.
He didn’t hurt me, not exactly, but he scared the heck out of me. The more distance between us the better.
He scowled. “Yes, we do have a lot to talk about. You know who and what you are, so you know what that makes me.”
“The only thing clear is that it was a big mistake moving here. What you are is a big scary guy that thinks for some weird reason you can manhandle me when you feel like it.”
“What time do you get off work? You need to see Morris, our pack leader. He wants to meet you and explain things. Clearly you are unaware of what is going on around you. You are more ignorant than we feared.” He nodded his head like he was listening to something I couldn’t hear, and that he agreed with whatever the voices were saying.
“Well, clearly my level of understanding is perfectly fine, and there’s n
o need for me to become more aware of whatever it is you’re talking about. So you can just take yourself right out of my store and don’t bother ever coming back. Whatever it is that you want from me isn’t available.”
His gaze held mine for several mesmerizing seconds before he finally released my arm and turned to leave. I stood still, shaken by the depth of determination I’d read in his eyes. Was that a flash of lust before his dark lashes shut me off? He reached the front door, gripped the door lever, and turned half his body. To my shame, I couldn’t help noticing how the movement showed off the ripples of muscle underneath his snug T-shirt.
“Sydney, we know who you are, we know what you can do. The smell of immense power emanates from your body. You can’t hide from your destiny forever. There are things we can help you with. We will see each other again. Soon.”
He opened the door and left.
My composure began to crumble, tears threatening to fall. What was with this town? Was it totally coincidental, my relocation and the attack? How could a completely random, freakish event like last night have any impact on my future? Aunt Judith said there were things for me to learn, secrets to unlock about my past. The gorgeous crazy guy, who affected me in ways that would make my loose friend Susie blush and who wanted me to meet his pack leader, had said the exact same thing.
The journal! I’d completely forgotten Grandmother Maria’s journal was under the register. Going back behind the large wooden counter with the clear glass top, I tugged my bag out from where I’d stashed it. I felt angry and frustrated. What the hell was going on? The temptation to turn off the front store sign and hide in the back storeroom pulled at me. But business was how we paid the bills.
I dug through my bag, grabbed the journal, and set it on the counter. I grimaced when the door chimes sounded again. For a weekday, the store was seeing a lot more business than usual this early in the morning. Couldn’t a girl get a moment alone?
