by Paige Stone
“Okay, let’s go again!” More determined than ever, she fiercely positioned her feet in the grainy earth beneath her. With her knees slightly bent, Emily focused entirely on the ball of energy she knew was headed in her direction.
While concentrating intently, a sudden and thrilling burst of power rushed through her. Intuitively Emily clapped her hands together then swiftly pushed her right arm out straight in front of her. She not only blocked the ball of energy but sent it shooting right back at the doctor.
“Outstanding!” Jake was obscenely pleased with Emily’s determination.
“Did you see that?” She nearly screamed with excitement. “How did you know I would be able to do that?” She was curious to understand what Jake saw in her that others had not, especially after her own family’s attempts had all proven unsuccessful.
“I knew you had memories just below the surface. Let’s just say it was intuition.” His smile made her insides melt as he continued to move closer.
“So now we know you can not only dodge but also deflect and throw energy back.” He eyed her carefully. “Now let’s see if you can create some of your own.” Jake motioned for Emily to follow him back to the other side of the room.
“Close your eyes,” he said once they were standing in front the tall open window that allowed the sun to fill the room. “I want you to bask in the sunlight for a moment,” Jake spoke softly, “and feel its warmth.” His words were like a gentle caress over her skin; so soft and inviting it gave her goose bumps.
“I need you to stand in your power.” He became more commanding. “I want you to feel the energy in your body meshing with the energy outside...it’s all one. Can you feel it?”
Emily kept her eyes closed as she concentrated. She took a deep breath, then another. A mischievous smile lit up her face as she nodded. Yes, she could feel the energy! She could sense something coursing through her veins like electricity. Vague recollections came sputtering back. She had no clear pictures but she felt something, something familiar.
“Alright, now I want you to keep your focus on that energy and with your eyes still closed, reach your hands towards the open window,” Jake explained carefully, “now focus deeply and create your own ball of energy then try and throw it towards me. I’m going to walk backwards, slowly, while you concentrate.” His words were soft and even as he pulled away from her.
“Whenever you feel ready,” he said easily. “Just focus and concentrate on that energy,” he repeated as he brought his awareness to his own energy. He wanted so badly for this to work for Emily, but he needed to ensure he wasn’t throwing his energy into the mix. It needed to be authentically hers. He didn’t want to cheat her out of the experience.
Jake watched as she twisted to the right, reached through the open window and grabbed a handful of sunshine. With her hands around the energy and the intense focus still clearly etched on her face, Emily lifted her arms and threw the ball towards Jake.
Standing on the opposite side of the room, he easily plucked the energy orb out of the air and held it in his hands. He nodded his head and smiled as he made his way towards her.
“How did that feel?” He asked as he walked through the sand towards Emily.
“Are you kidding?” She shook her head in astonishment. “That was amazing! Something just clicked...” She was at a loss to explain how it happened.
“I just don’t understand how I can come here and suddenly my skills are at my fingertips, literally. My family has been working so hard to try and help me, but with no success.” She was perplexed. She had already received far more than she could have imagined.
“I think it’s entirely possible you were simply trying too hard.” Jake stood beside Emily, resisting the urge to touch her. “When you put too much pressure on yourself it has the opposite effect. You need to relax and believe.”
She nodded in agreement, not entirely trusting her voice as she found herself getting lost in his dark eyes once again. Jake had created an unbelievable energy in the long room that was more than just relaxing, it was enticing. She felt herself getting drawn into the warmth of her surroundings and the invitation of the sand.
“I think that’s probably more than enough for today. Aside from your obvious abilities, did any memories come back?” Jake found himself holding his breath, caring a little too deeply about her answer.
“You know,” she tilted her head as she studied him, “I wouldn’t really say I have memories but I do feel like a fog is lifting.”
“Good. That’s a great start.” He was thrilled with how Emily had responded to the exercises, but knew they needed to do more work together.
“Do you have some time tomorrow? I have an opening in the afternoon, and I think we should try and build on the progress you’ve made.” He really did have a full schedule the following day, but wanted to move quickly to continue Emily’s healing.
“Sounds good.” She nodded, already looking forward to spending more time with the doctor. “You have no idea what it’s like spending nearly two weeks at my mother’s house.” She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “I mean I love her, don’t get me wrong. But I miss my place. In fact I’m going over there this evening for the first time since the accident. I can’t wait.” She beamed.
Emily didn’t know why she was sharing so much information with Jake. There was something very comfortable about him, something that made her want to open up. And then there was the part of her that just wanted to rip his clothes off. Later. Maybe. Hopefully.
He handed Emily his card, but was careful not to actually touch her. “So can you make it back here tomorrow afternoon?”
He was hoping that between Lochlan and the others they would have any loose ends wrapped up by the end of tomorrow. He couldn’t believe those two rogue witches still eluded them.
“Tomorrow afternoon it is. I’ll book an appointment with Nancy.” Emily’s heart did a little jump in her chest when she brushed against his arm as she picked up her shoes.
“I’m already looking forward to tomorrow.” She quickly turned away from Jake and made her way out of the room and down the hall towards Nancy’s desk. She couldn’t believe how different she already felt.
She smiled. Tomorrow was suddenly filled with possibility.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Fear had the tiny hairs on the back of her neck standing on end as she pushed open the front door of her small townhouse. A cool energy swept through her, erasing her eager thoughts of working with Jake.
The dagger was visible as soon as she opened the door. It was embedded in the wall, right at eye level in her entrance. There was no way to miss the punctured note that hung on the wall like the threat it was. Someone was obviously trying to scare her and unfortunately it was working.
Emily took one more step inside so she could read the note.
WARN ISISA AND BURN IN HELL
WE ARE WATCHING
Warn Isisa about what? A shiver ran up her spine as she slammed the door closed. Anger swallowed the last of her fear as Emily grabbed the dagger’s handle and pulled it from the wall. She crumpled the note and ground it into her pocket.
She was tired of having no memory, tired of trying to piece together her life as though it were some kind of jigsaw puzzle! She had managed to put some pieces together with her mom’s help...but what would I have to warn my aunt about?
Emily stared at the hole left behind in her wall and tried once again to pull something, anything, about the accident or the convention from the depths of her mind.
Nothing. Flooded with disappointment, she shook her head and reached in her pocket for Jake’s card. When her fingers touched the balled up note she became overwhelmed with frustration. Now more than ever Emily knew she needed to remember the events leading up to the accident. And she knew Jake was the only person who could help her. She’d call her mom later, right now she’d only be hysterical.
Why is this happening? She cried silently to herself as she punched Jake’s number int
o her phone. Why?
Jake answered almost immediately. “Hey there, it’s Emily.” She tried to sound casual but her voice sounded shaky even to her. “I was going to call my mom, but, um, someone has been at my place...they, uh, left me a note...”
He cut her off; he didn’t even let her finish the sentence. “Come back to my office immediately.” It stopped just short of a command, but Emily didn’t even bother to argue.
“Okay.” She hung up, spun on her heel and almost ran out the door.
The drive to his office was faster this time because she knew exactly how to get there. Jake was waiting for her at the front door.
“Come in. Quickly.” He locked the door behind her and escorted her down the hall and back into his office where someone else appeared to be waiting for them.
“Emily this is Lochlan.” Jake introduced the two of them. “He’s the best bounty hunter in the business and I’m hoping he can help us out.” Jake did his best to explain. “Please sit,” he motioned towards the chair beside Lochlan.
“A bounty hunter? How exactly can you help?” She sat on the edge of her seat, every nerve ending on high alert.
Confused, Emily watched as the two men exchanged glances. Jake paced the small office and tousled his already messy hair. His eyed darted between Emily and Lochlan before he leaned against his desk and started talking.
“I was really hoping you would regain some of your memory this afternoon, especially of your time in Santa Monica.” He pushed his own thoughts of them together out of his mind. “I’m going to tell you some information, but I need you to remain calm.”
She nodded her head, although she felt anything but.
“You were in Santa Monica to attend a conference, the International Code of Conduct for Witches to be exact.” He studied her closely, watching her eyes. “We met there.”
Emily furrowed her brow but said nothing, so he continued. “I got called away on business. You stayed at the convention, but that’s when you were in the accident.” Jake pushed himself away from the desk and started pacing again. “Does any of this sound familiar?”
Emily shook her head slowly, although a few pieces of the puzzle seemed to fall into place; but it was slow, like a kaleidoscope of fuzzy pictures. Unfortunately her thoughts remained scattered and confused. “Keep going.” She urged, imploring Jake to continue.
“When we initially met, there were two young men who seemed to be giving you a bit of a hard time. Do you remember anything about them?”
Emily sat back in the chair, closed her eyes and tried to recall any details of the convention. The sage that Jake had left burning in a small caldron filled the office. She made an attempt to temper the wild range of emotions shooting through her and concentrate only on Santa Monica.
“Just relax and slowly go back to the conference room in the hotel.” Jake’s words were soft and hypnotic. Emily felt the tension slip away from her shoulders.
“You are in the room,” Jake said quietly. “You just walked by two men, but they are following you. Can you see their name tags?”
Emily was trying to get her mind to drift back in time, but she saw nothing but blackness.
“Just relax and take a deep breath,” Jake urged. “Take your time, there is no rush.” Jake’s soothing words washed over and through her.
She followed his direction, took a deep breath and melted further into the chair. She saw a speck of color, like a shooting star floating across the blank screen in her mind. It was like watching a movie; suddenly out of the blackness there was a picture and she could see the room.
Then she saw him, she saw Jake. Emily also saw her very own hands planted against his chest! She flushed immediately as a fire erupted in the pit of her stomach and stretched down the length of her. Emily’s heart fluttered in anticipation. He was asking her a question; there in the conference room of her mind, Jake was talking to her.
Emily could hear his words, “Friends of yours?” Intuitively she knew he was referring to the two young men.
She tried to go back a little further in her mind. She was walking by a table, and overheard the two men talking about...mowarts? She didn’t know what that meant. She tried to pay closer attention as her darted to their nametags.
“George Belson,” she whispered as she read his nametag, “and Brian March.” Emily’s eyes flew open and locked on Jake. “Oh my God, I remember!”
Lochlan jumped up from his chair and ran out of the office leaving Emily staring at Jake as an onslaught of memories ambushed her. “I remember.” She could barely believe her own words.
In the midst of the chaos screaming through her mind, Emily smiled. “I remember Santa Monica,” she whispered as the memories continued to explode their way to the surface.
Jake moved closer and hunched down in front of her. He put his hand in hers and smiled back. “Do you remember the pier?” His eyes stabbed through any fog that remained and flooded her with warmth.
“I do.” She squeezed Jake’s hand. “I remember it all.” Emily closed her eyes as the missing pieces of her life began to fall back into place.
Lochlan barged into the office, “We need to head back to your place.”
Emily shot Lochlan a quizzical look. “Um, really? I don’t know.” The fear had made a swift, unwelcomed return to her chest.
Jake squeezed her hand. As much as he didn’t like the idea any more than Emily did, he trusted Lochlan and knew he’d never steer him into danger.
Lochlan nodded and tried to be compassionate. He still needed work in that area. “I have a buddy I work with occasionally and from what we’ve gathered, those two are planning to return to your place. I think they intend to wait you out.” Lochlan’s hard eyes darted over to Jake. “Let’s be ready for them, shall we?”
Jake reluctantly agreed with his friend. “Let’s go,” he said, still clutching Emily’s hand.
“Follow me in your car,” Lochlan yelled to Jake as they left the building. “Just stay right behind me.” He repeated as he disappeared into his vehicle.
Emily sat calmly in the front seat of Jake’s car, her hands folded in her lap while she desperately tried to slow down the flow of adrenaline that surged through her.
He reached for her hand. “When we get there I want you to go in and just try and act like everything is normal. I’m going to be right behind you. I’m going to scope out the back when you go in, but I’ll be right there.” He did his best to try and make her feel safe.
Emily just nodded. A calming energy had started to wind its way through her body. She had done this before, she was sure of it. As one by one, her memories returned, she knew she had been through something like this before. She simply needed to locate that set of skills. Emily glanced over at Jake and hoped she’d be ready. Fast.
They followed close behind while Lochlan made a few strange turns in an effort to ensure no one was following.
Jake gently touched Emily’s hand, “Are you alright?”
“I’m good.” And she meant it. With memories settling back into place and Jake helping her to rediscover her magical abilities, she was actually beginning to feel powerful once again. She was ready. Well, almost ready.
“Okay,” he gave her hand a final squeeze. “Just leave your door unlocked. I’ll be less than a minute behind you.”
She gave a quick nod then walked the familiar path to her building. Every cell in her body was on alert and ready to act. Her skin actually tingled. She would have celebrated having these sensations back if it weren’t for the fact that someone seemed very interested in hunting her down.
Her senses still heightened, she reached into her purse, grabbed the keys and willed herself to remain calm as she unlocked her door. She turned on the light and scanned the living room. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. There were no daggers in the wall. She closed the door behind her but left it unlocked for Jake.
Emily took a deep breath then dropped her purse on a small side table in the living room. W
hen the door opened she smiled and turned to face Jake. But it wasn’t Jake who was blocking her doorway.
“Nice to see you home.” His dark eyes were unblinking; his words dipped in venom. Thanks to Jake, Emily was able to recognize him from the conference. It was Brian, the taller more evil looking of the two.
“We were beginning to wonder if you were ever going to return.” Brian closed the door and offered Emily a disgusting smile before lunging towards her.
Somehow she had anticipated his move and quickly darted out of his reach. Immeasurably grateful at being able to tune into her intuition, Emily’s confidence started to build.
“You think you are going to just waltz into my home and threaten me?” Emily asked incredulously. She felt her anger building as it devoured her fear.
“You are not welcome in my home!” The words bellowed from somewhere deep inside as she gathered an angry ball of energy and hurled it towards him.
“So you want to play a little first do you?” Brian’s voice was taunting as he leered at her. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”
In two steps he was at her side, but Emily spun around and threw another ball of energy, this one just missing his head. “You little . . .”
His words were cut short as Jake stormed through the door. In one swift movement he was across the room and had Brian pinned against the wall.
Brian was no match for Jake’s fury. “If only I didn’t have to keep you nicely preserved for the High Priestess,” Jake spat the words through gritted teeth as he pushed his arm against Brian’s throat.
“Did you think Isisa wouldn’t find out about you?” Jake didn’t wait for a response; instead he turned around to make sure Emily was alright. She couldn’t speak just yet, so she nodded in response to his questioning look.
“Lochlan, nice to see you,” Jake said as his friend casually walked in. “Where have you been?”
“Oh, I just had a little run in with this guy’s partner around the corner.” Lochlan slipped his thumbs through his belt loops as he assessed the situation.
