by Diana Nixon
“Remember those two tickets to France?”
“Oh, it was her birthday present, right?”
“Yeah. She will be staying there for three more weeks and she wants me to go to Paris. But I don’t think I can go anywhere now.”
“Didn’t Patrick say that he and Amelia were going to France too?” Tara asked. “Why not go with them? Eileen could see her mom and help Patrick to find something useful.”
“I think it’s a good idea.” I nodded. “Eileen, do you mind if I use one of those tickets too? ‘Cause there’s no way I would let you go there without me.”
“Sounds like a lost battle for me,” she said, giving up without any argument.
“Great! So it’s time to pack our things!”
“Shall we tell Patrick about our decision?”
“Of course, but not today. It’s late and he and Amelia need some rest too.”
“Actually, we all need it,” Amanda said, inhaling deeply. “Let’s call it a night.”
“Don’t you have a late date with Lucas?” Usually he came to kiss her good night.
“He left for a few days to visit his parents. So there is nothing else to do but to enjoy your company, my dear friend,” Amanda said. “Just try not to snore your head off, Evan. You make me jump out of my bed every night. It sounds like a bomb exploding in the middle of our room,” she complained.
“I don’t snore, Amanda, so do not exaggerate. Though sometimes you wake me up with your own snoring. And I’m glad you enjoy my company, sweetheart.”
Amanda gave me one of those evil glances in response, but said nothing. A second later her pillow hit my back.
“Oh, I know you are crazy about me!” I said, turning around and catching it half way to the floor. “And you are flirting with me! Wanna play, babe?” I teased her with a lazy smile. “I like throwing pillows. I can imagine you and me, fighting in a downy sea. Sounds tempting, huh? That would be a hilarious night!”
She knew I wasn’t serious and despite her bad mood and exhaustion she laughed genuinely and said, “In your dreams, Evan, in your dreams.”
“Well, I think it’s time for me to go,” Tara said, heading for the door. “I’m not in a mood for throwing pillows.” She smiled. “And I have to find a spare room to stay in.”
“Do you want me to accompany you?” I suggested hesitantly.
She stopped, her hand already on the doorknob. “Thanks, Evan, but I remember where the guest rooms are.”
“Looks like someone has just been brushed off.” Amanda giggled from under her blanket.
“I would really appreciate if you’d just go to sleep and stay silent,” I hissed, settling myself to sleep on a rented couch. “By the way, I think it’s yours,” I added, tossing her a pillow I was still holding in my hands.
She didn’t say anything else, but out of the corner of my eye I saw her diabolic grin. Eileen meanwhile was watching our sweet talk thoughtfully. She knew much more about my story with Tara. Some time ago she and I visited her in Gloster and after that meeting I told Eileen about our failed relationship. So if it wasn’t for Amanda I would definitely be questioned backward and forward. But Eileen went to bed without saying a word.
That night I couldn’t fall asleep. It was already a norm for all of my nights, but nevertheless I felt awful. This time Eileen was dreaming about her family. I knew how much she missed her mother and grandma Stephanie. Maybe the idea of going to France wasn’t that bad after all. She needed to see loving people around her. Of course, we all loved her, but after Christian’s disappearance she always seemed to be so sad and lost.
My own mood wasn’t any better and Tara’s arrival wasn’t improving it at all, as well as my brother’s unexpected visit. Anyway, I still hoped that their combined efforts would help us to find Christian. Unfortunately, I had to keep all the complaints to myself as at that very moment there were too many other people who needed my strength and support even more than I did myself. And I wasn’t a selfish geek, I couldn’t let anyone of them down.
Chapter 2. Voices
Eileen
Now I realize how wonderful it is to have true friends. And I’m really lucky to have some. Despite the fact that their over protectiveness drives me up the walls, I’m happy to see them around. If it wasn’t for their support I would have lost my mind a long time ago.
Sometimes I lose my hold on reality; I lose myself in my own helplessness and despair, and an endless emptiness I feel inside me is simply killing. It is tearing me apart without a chance of finding myself again.
Since the moment I found out about Christian’s kidnapping I can’t stop blaming myself for losing him. I can’t feel him but I still hope that he is all right. At least this thought is something still making me live and pray for the moment I can see him again.
Our bond doesn’t work anymore, but I still feel the presence of his power in my orchid-shaped medallion that he gave me once just in case he wasn’t there to protect me. Now his present is always on my neck and it gives me the strength I need so much.
I can’t give up; I have to be strong. For him, for myself, for us. Every night I fall asleep and wake up the next morning with those thoughts in my head and every day I try to reassure myself that the next sunrise I won’t be alone….
***
The room was dark and silent. I needed some fresh air, so getting up from my bed and making sure I hadn’t awakened Amanda and Evan, I tiptoed to the window. I had a non-stop torturing headache. It seemed that it didn’t leave me even in all those beautiful dreams that Evan was sending me every night. Though the thought of him digging in my head with his magic tricks didn’t make me happy.
I smiled, seeing him snoring quietly on our couch. He was our rescuer and he always helped those who needed his help. I don’t know how he managed to be so strong and active all the time. Yet sometimes I could see traces of fatigue even on his usually perfect face.
“I wish I knew what your dream is about,” I whispered, adjusting his half fallen blanket. “Is that Tara you are smiling so happily at?” I could only imagine how hard it was for him to see her in Dever again. There was no doubt about his feelings for that girl and I was more than sure that his love was still there – buried somewhere deep down in his heart. I felt sorry about their breakup, because it looked like Tara was sharing his feelings too. And you didn’t have to possess any extraordinary abilities to see it. Her eyes lightened every time she saw him and her aura filled with bright pink sparkles that she didn’t manage to hide in his presence.
With those thoughts in my head I came to the window. I was trying to open it when a strong blast of wind made me almost jump out of my skin. I wasn’t scared by its force, rather by the effect it had on me. I could barely stand the wild headache. I pressed my fingers to my temples, trying to stop it, but nothing worked. It felt as if thousands of foreign languages were shouting in my head, tearing my brain apart. Cruelly.
I couldn’t decipher a single word. But the more I was listening to my feelings the faster my headache was leaving. I turned around to make sure that everyone was still asleep and taking a deep breath I sat on the floor pulling up my legs to my chin. A few minutes of silence were just enough for me to calm down. Those strange words were still sounding in my head. And suddenly I realized that I knew them. They seemed so familiar… now I could repeat every word, coming from my mind. Someone was singing quietly:
"With every breath I touch your face,
I’m trying to keep you in my soul;
I wish I could have you in my embrace,
But I’m lost among the darkness and cold.…
You are my hope, you are my light,
You are everything that keeps me alive,
The day you find me in my night
Will be the fist day of my new life.
Just save me, my love, the music of my heart,
Set me free and make me feel again,
Give me your hand and let me feel your warmth,
Take me s
omewhere we would never be apart.
“It can’t be possible,” I whispered, stunned, my eyes wide-open. Those words seemed to be familiar not because of the fact that I’d heard them before, rather because of the way they were said – by Christian’s voice. I could recognize it among millions of other voices. Though at that moment I wished someone was awake, because I desperately needed to hear that I still had it all together.
As far as I knew, only madmen could hear strange voices. And I wasn’t too excited about the idea of adding myself to their list. But I decided not to hurry to tell my friends about that incident and to try to understand first what a freaky mess was going on in my head.
“Is it just my imagination playing tricks on me?” I said quietly to myself, still trembling from recent terror. “Can I still hear Christian due to our bond? But how….”
“Eileen, what are you doing?” Amanda murmured drowsily, seeing me on the floor. The sound of her voice made my hair stand on end. I turned around abruptly. “Are you okay?” she asked, watching me in confusion.
“Yes,” I replied, trying to seem normal. Not that I really felt normal, of course. “Just wanted to breathe some fresh air,” I said, getting up.
“Actually, it looks like you’ve just fallen out of the window,” Amanda said, watching me suspiciously. “Are you sure you are all right?”
“Positive.” I nodded. “I should probably go back to my bed,” I said dryly, turning away from her. I tried not to look at Amanda, but I could feel her intense gaze on my back.
Maybe I was still acting a little crazy, but I surely wasn’t ready to discuss my sanity.
The rest of the night turned out to be a total disaster. I didn’t sleep at all and Christian’s voice never left me until the morning. Sometimes it repeated the very song I had already heard and sometimes there were just quiet words, whispered into my ear. My love, my soul, my life….
The weirdest thing was that all those strange whispers made me feel myself stronger, as if Christian was still by my side, giving me his power and energy. I was also surprised by his choice of the song. It wasn’t just a song, it was our song – the one we were dancing to at my greeting party a few weeks ago.
Suddenly I wanted to see that memory again. I took the box, decorated with multicolored shining stones, opened it and sank into my memories about that unforgettable night, Christian’s warmth and the depth of his beautiful eyes, watching me with endless love and tenderness. Nothing else mattered – just the two of us, in each others’ embrace, alone in the Universe.
I saw his smile, I heard his sweet voice, whispering something into my ear, I felt his heart beating under my palm. I felt the radiance of our fiery love lines….
A few tears rolled down my cheeks, but I swept them away. No, the memories of him should make me stronger. They shouldn’t upset me even more, I thought. So I closed the box, put it back into my bedside table, turned to the wall and tried to fall asleep again.
The next morning I was awakened by the rustle near my bed. I opened my eyes and saw Evan’s silhouette, standing there. Wait a minute….
That wasn’t Evan! Being scared half to death, I jumped out of my bed and took a few steps to the door, tripping over something on the way. I didn’t bother to see what it was, though now my ankle hurt like hell.
“Who are you?” I asked sharply, rubbing my arms nervously. The stranger’s face looked very familiar. And he definitely reminded me of Evan. However, I was quite sure that he wasn’t him.
The young man grinned, giving me his snow-white perfect smile in response. “Sorry, I didn’t want to scare you,” he said. “I’m Kevin, Evan’s elder brother.”
“Great, you almost succeeded in not scaring me,” I replied. His stare made my flesh creep. “Do you always do this?” I asked, watching him cautiously.
“Do what?” he asked, puzzled.
“Creep up on sleeping girls.”
Suddenly Kevin laughed, confirming my assumptions about his eerie method of making my acquaintance. He reminded me of a wolf ready to sink his sharp teeth into a rabbit’s fur.
“No, just sometimes, when sleeping beauties are really beautiful,” he said, still smiling.
“So I thought,” I muttered, shaking off the image of him killing an innocent animal. “Where is everyone, by the way?” It was already the second time in two days that Evan let me stay without his close supervision and I wondered why. Was the world standing on the threshold of another war or something?
“They went to talk to Patrick about your trip,” Kevin replied through clenched teeth.
“You don’t sound happy saying it.” I went to the mirror and flinched, seeing my reflection. Gee, I looked like a scared, fuzzy cat. “You don’t think it’s a good idea, do you?” I asked, brushing my hair. It didn’t help matters. I still looked as if I had been dragged through a hedge backwards.
“That’s exactly my point. I think it’s the stupidest thing that you have ever come up with. It’s a waste of time. And it’s very dangerous.”
“Evan is coming with us,” I said, looking at him through the mirror.
“Do you think his presence is enough to make you safe?” he asked with a sneer in his voice.
“Even more than enough.” I nodded without turning around.
Kevin didn’t add anything else, but his doubts about Evan’s abilities seemed strange. Was he jealous about his brother’s powers? It was hardly believable, because as far as I knew he was very strong too. Apparently, he wasn’t Evan’s number one fan, but I would have never imagined that he almost hated him. Poor Evan! Tara’s arrival was already too much for him, but now, in addition to this problem, he would have to see his beloved brother every day.
“So, did you come to help us find Christian?” I asked him, wondering about the real reason of his unexpected visit. Somehow I doubted he came here voluntarily.
“Yup. I was one of those people that Patrick asked for help.”
“Sure, but you were not the only one. I saw Tara yesterday,” I said, waiting for his reaction. I knew that he and Tara used to date a couple of years ago, but I didn’t know how he felt about her presence now. I didn’t like Kevin and every inch of my body and mind screamed to stay away from him.
“She shouldn’t have come,” he said, turning to the window. Was he trying to hide his emotions? “Her presence only gets on Evan’s nerves,” he added with his back towards me.
“Whose presence?” Evan asked, entering my room.
I didn’t bother to answer. Instead I said, “Morning! Why didn’t you tell me about Kevin’s arrival?”
Evan kept a watchful eye on his brother. “Sorry, I didn’t have a chance to tell you,” he said, turning to me. “Nice hairdo.“ He pointed to my messy curls. “Patrick wants to see you.”
“Sure. Give me a few minutes,” I said before heading for the bathroom.
The mutual grudge of the Murray brothers was too obvious. Their auras were burning with dark-red flames and it looked like they were about to wring each other’s necks. I didn’t want to be in the center of their cross-fire.
I used to think that Evan was the only person in the world who would take all the problems with great ease. But I was definitely wrong. Now he was dead serious, while Kevin seemed very calm and self-confident. I think I knew the name of their silent war. And that name was Tara.
So as not to hypercharge the tension between the two brothers, I brushed my teeth hurriedly, washed my face and went back to the room.
Just as I expected, my guests were standing against the opposite walls of the room, arms crossed. But as it was also Evan’s room now, he probably was the last person who could be called guest there. A lazy smile was playing on Kevin’s lips, while Evan pretended not to notice him at all.
“Ready?” he asked, obviously glad to see me back so soon. I nodded.
“What about you, Kevin? Are you going to stay here?” I asked my new friend.
“No, thanks. I have some more interesting things to d
o,” he said. “But I promise to come and say goodbye before you leave. It was nice to meet you, Eileen,” he added, bending his head to kiss my cheek.
Evan’s expression vividly showed his anger and wild desire to tear his brother’s head off for the thought of him touching me. His cheekbones were tensed and he barely managed to hide his fists into his pockets to restrain himself from smashing Kevin’s happy face.
“See you later, Bro," Kevin said, passing by.
As soon as he was out of our view Evan sighed with relief.
“Hey, easy there,” I said, squeezing his hand.
“I can barely stand his presence!”
“Yeah, I can see that,” I said. “Don’t you see that he’s just pushing the buttons? Don’t let him get you down! I’ll stick up for you if necessary,” I added, smiling.
“Good to hear that, sweetie,” my friend said humourless.
Evan was still angry about his brother’s behavior, so he kept silent until we reached Patrick’s apartment. When we entered, Amelia hugged us both and led us to the living room, where Amanda and Lucas were already waiting.
“What are you guys doing here?” I asked, surprised to see them. “Aren’t you supposed to have classes now?”
“Lucas’ parents are here, so we came to meet them,” Amanda replied, twisting the arm of her sweater nervously.
“Your parents?” I looked at Lucas curiously.
“Well, yeah. The thing is that my grandparents live in France and they thought you could stay with them. That’s why Mom and Dad arrived here to discuss your trip.”
“Jaclyn and Ethan are very nice people,” Patrick said, coming to us. “You will like them, Eileen. Besides, they know a lot about the magic of dreams.”
I knew that Lucas’ mother was one of the Meridin family, the experts in dreams’ interpretation, so I wasn’t surprised to hear that we were going to meet her parents.
Just a few moments later the doorbell rang and Patrick went to open it, leaving us alone.
