Threads of Fate

Weaving Fate's Threads

Nikki Wilbur

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 Copyright © 2024 Nikki Wilbur

All rights reserved

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and
not intended by the author.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

ISBN-13: 9781234567890
ISBN-10: 1477123456

Cover design by: Art Painter

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309
Printed in the United States of America

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 Contents

Title Page
Copyright
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26

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 Prologue
“Hey Hank.” I say with a sigh, throwing my backpack on the floor.
I flop onto the couch and groan. I toss my head back and look at the ceiling.
Contemplating my fucking life. Why? Why do I get to be the town pariah?
“I hate teenagers. They are the downward spiral of society.” I say, turning
my head towards my living room window.
Hank just stands there; I can see that he is breathing. His chest
slightly expanding, a slight movement in his feet. I always wonder what he
looked like. Was he young when he died? Did he have shaggy blonde hair?
Or silver behind his ears? Does he have green eyes? Or brown? Was he a
good guy or maybe the villain?
I have looked up who had lived here previously, and I don’t think
any of them fit the bill. I wish I could see more than shadow. I wish he
would talk. Since he can't or won't, I talk for him. I named him Hank when
I was about seven. I had made up many names before that, but I didn’t like
any of the names I thought up for him. For some reason ‘Hank’ stuck.
My mother knew about him, but she never saw him. Would she see
him anyways? No one can see what I can. It’s a fucking curse to be honest.
He seemed to only be here when she was gone at work. Then, he
would leave when she got home. Maybe he’s my guardian angel? Making
sure I don’t burn the house down?
“You know Hank,” I say as I stand up, walking toward him, “I
wonder all the time who you were, what you did for work and what you
looked like. Did you have a family? Are you attached to this apartment
because you lived here or you spent time here?” I cross my arms and
inspect him from head to toe. “You're literally a shadow Hank. Can you not
form like other ghosts?” I turn around and walk to the kitchen to rummage
through the cupboards. I grab some tortilla chips, “I’d ask you if you want
something but you know…you’re dead and all.” I swear I can see his
shoulders shake, like he’s laughing…or crying.
Fuck.
 “I’m sorry Hank. That was careless of me, I wasn't thinking.” I
open the fridge, looking for salsa, “I would blame it on my day but that’s no
excuse. I’m just a 17 year old asshole.” I grab the salsa and close the fridge.
I walk back to the couch and put the food on the coffee table.
“So, Hank, were you hot? I mean like, six pack and shoulders to
die for? Could you toss me around? Or do you have a dad bod? Those are
hot too, don't get me wrong. I just wonder. Did you work as a butcher or an
accountant?” I stuff some chips slathered in salsa in my mouth. I chew for a
minute and look at Hank. He’s now sitting down. Looks like he's crossing
his legs in front of him. “Were you a serial killer?” I whisper
conspiratorially. I eat some more chips in the ever growing silence.
“I wish you would show yourself. What if I give you my energy?
You just have to grab my arm.” I grab another chip, “Hold on, let me eat
some more chips and you can siphon my energy.” I munch down on some
more chips and salsa. I am sure I look like a godsdamn starving hyena right
now but gods, I want to see what this man looks like. Maybe a woman, but
there's no curves to their body. That's why I assume it’s a man. I shovel a
few more chips in my mouth and walk over to Hank.
“Okay, grab my arm.” I hold my arm out toward him. He doesn’t
stand or even move for that matter. I sit down and hold out my arm.
“Please? I just want to see you. I know that’s weird and I may be asking a
lot but you have been watching me for years. I asked my mom if she has
ever seen you but she hasn’t so I know it’s only me.” I hold my arm out and
shake it. “Unless you have a side piece I don’t know about?” I raise a brow,
still holding my arm out.
Hank shakes his head.
Shakes. His. Head.
“Hank! I knew you could understand me. Grab my godsdamn
hand!” He shakes his head again. My arm drops down, dejected. I don’t
know why I feel like I need to know what he looks like. I just do. He’s been
a part of my life for years. Always there. He listens to everything but never
says anything back. I tell him about the nightmares I can never remember
but I can remember the fear.
Tears well up in my eyes. I just want to see him, just once.
I lay back and stare at the ceiling, wiping my eyes.
“I’m sorry Hank. It’s just been a shit day for the ‘Spaz’ of Plains,
New York. I’m so tired of this shit but I love this town. I’m attached to it.
The homes, the small town, the architecture. I’m drawn to it. I love it but
the people suck.” I punctuate that with a sob. I wipe my eyes and sit back
up.
“Well, there’s no point in crying about it. I only have a year left and
then I can go do whatever I want. I won't have to be stuck in close quarters
with the pond scum of Plains.” I nod decisively. Like that’s was all I needed
to do to end my subpar attitude.
“Hank, it’s been real. Thank you for listening to a pathetic teenage
girl cry. I’ve got some homework to do. Then mom will be home. Noah
might come over for dinner too.” Ugh, Noah, dirty blonde hair, dreamy
brown eyes, baseball player, smart and popular. Why the fuck he’s friends
with me is a mystery. The guy has eaten with me at lunch, walked me to my
classes and drives me wherever I want. He has come over for dinner many,
many times and stayed the night. Well, only once but that is another story.
He goes to the movies with me and stands up for me.
He is my rock and I tell him everything. He has saved me from the
ghosts more times than I can count. Now, he is a man every boy should look
up to. He’s the only decent human in this town other than my mother.
“You could join us? I know you can’t eat but you can sit with us?”
He shakes his head. “Okay.”
I get up and grab my backpack and pull out my homework.
Algebra, I really suck at it. I don’t understand it either. Since I plan to be a
barber I don’t need math but I do need to pass for a diploma. I toss it on the
coffee table and sit on the floor. I sift through my backpack for my pencil
pouch.
The next couple of hours are just of me doing homework and trying
to talk Hank into becoming more than a shadow. When mom comes home
Hank is gone like usual. I don’t know why it hurts so much today that he is
gone but it does. Twists like a knife to the chest. Maybe I have just grown
too attached to him.
Whatever it is, the ache lingers a little longer today.

2 Years Later
“She died, Hank.” I sit on the living room floor, staring at Hank’s
spot. Willing him to show up. I haven't seen him in months. Sometimes he’s
gone for a couple weeks, or even a month. The longest was 6 weeks. I
thought he had moved on. Then he was waiting for me one day after school.
He’s been gone for about six months now and I think he’s gone for good.
“I just–” I choke on a sob. “I just wanted to talk to you. You always
just listen and now you're not here.” I wipe my eyes angrily. “Why did you
leave?” I scream at the wall. I sigh, “I’m sorry, you don’t deserve that.” I
think about what I’m going to say next before I get angry again at someone
who doesn’t deserve it. Not that anyone is here to listen to my anger.
“She was driving home and she slid into a ditch. I don’t understand
how sliding into a ditch can kill someone. Maybe she was speeding. It was
raining too but I still don’t understand it.” I pick at the carpets. I look up at
the wall and Hank still isn’t there. I look back down. “Her body was
covered in black marks. Said it was oil.” I trail off thinking about how my
mother looked. I know something isn’t right about them. Noah and I are
trying to figure it out but so far we keep getting the runaround.
“I have to cremate her. It was in her will.” I tear at the carpet harder,
tears are streaming down my face. “She wants her body burned. I don’t
know how I feel about that. I don’t like the idea of a burial either. At least, I
will always have her with me. Maybe I’ll take her ashes with me on a road
trip with Noah. We can spread her ashes up and down the coast.” I curl up
on the floor, facing the wall. I lay silent for a while. Thinking about how
much my life has changed.
“I miss you. That’s weird to think about when we’ve never even
been formally introduced. Gods, I’m talking to a wall.” I roll onto my back
and throw my arm over my eyes. I have lost my fucking mind. I move my
arm a bit and look at the wall again. I sigh and wipe the tears from my face.
I get up, I dust off my pants and stare at the wall for what feels like the
hundredth time in the last day. That pain in my chest twists some more
when I don’t see him.
“I wish you were here.”

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 Chapter 1
Dana
It started with the rocking chair and not so much the chair but its
occupant. An occupant who looks rather inclined to stay. She’s a gaunt, old
lady and dressed in 19th century attire and she slowly rocks back and forth
looking out at nothing. Her head twitches slightly while focusing on the
fields out past my house. She’s definitely a new one that I haven't seen in
this town. She must have been stuck in that house and to that chair. I
shudder at the thought of how long she has been sitting in that chair. Alone.
In the dark because that house has been vacant for some time. It was just
bought by a young couple not too long ago.
I try to just ignore her and get into my car but my new neighbor
comes rushing out.
“Hey! I happened to see you leaving and was wondering if you may
want the rocking chair? We found it in the attic and we don't need it. Just
clearing out the attic to make it into…”, the neighbor, Tanner, starts in on
how he's turning the attic into some something or another as I walk over but
at this point the old lady has rooted her stare on me and I can't seem to
focus on what the new neighbor is saying. The old lady starts to open her
mouth in a grotesque wide opening, a deep scream starting to erupt. The
hairs on my arms start to rise and my heart starts to beat faster.
“Dana! Hi! How are you?” Tanner's wife shouts running down the
front stairs waving frantically. I pull my eyes off the ghost for just a
moment to glance at Tanner's wife. Then look back at the old lady who is
back to staring at the fields. What the hell was that?
I turn back to them and try to focus on what they are saying, not
wanting to be rude but this new development in my sight has creeped me
out more than any other ghost ever has.
Let’s see how long it takes to spook the neighbors because I am
nothing if not honest.
 “Oh god, Tanner! You’re not trying to give that creepy ass chair to
Dana are you?” She looks back at me, “Don't take that chair. I had Tanner
bring it out as soon as I laid eyes on it last night. It gives me the creeps.”
She glances quickly at the chair with a small grimace.
“I bet, there's a very creepy old lady sitting in it.” Maybe, I could
have been less blunt about it but better they know. At least they were
warned, right? I personally would rather know.
“An old lady?” She side eyes the chair. “I told you Tanner! I’m not
crazy! Just take it to the dump! Burn it! I don't care how it gets gone, just
get it gone!” Tanner just stares between his wife and I, completely confused
about the whole conversation.
“Babe, it’s just a chair. I don't feel anything off about the chair...” he
notices the scowl on her face and quickly adds, “I’ll get it taken care of
right now.”
“Don’t put her back in your house.” I look over at the old woman
who is still staring into the fields. “She's not right. I think it's because she
hasn't moved on like she's supposed to.” I glance at my phone to check the
time and realize I need to leave now if I don't want to be late to coffee with
Noah. “If you burn it she may latch onto something else and I don’t want to
wake up to your specter floating around your yard.” That may have been
rude. “Uhh, please.”
“I have questions…like a lot of questions. I’ll supply the booze if
you can explain…this?” Mischa asks hopefully. I think her name is Mischa
but at this point it would be weird if I asked her name again.
“Uhh, yes, that's fine. I actually don't have work today and I'm just
going to brunch. I can come by after? Probably in a couple hours.”
“Yes! That would be great! Thank you!” Mischa says to me as I
walk backwards to my car. I give a little salute and turn around as I hear
“See I told you Tanner, you never-” I can't hear her as I get to my car and
unlock it but I'm sure it's along the lines of ‘You never believe me’.
I drop into my car; a small little car but it gets me from point A to
point B and that's all I need. The fact that it was paid for in cash is also nice.
Having more money to put towards the house is what I really want. I turn
the car over and head to Corner Cafe. Cheesy since it's literally on a corner
but it does make it easy for visitors to find. I back out of my driveway and
see Tanner throwing the rocking chair into the back of his pickup truck. I
giggle a little at the look on his wife’s face. I’m surprised they didn’t laugh
me off their driveway. Maybe it’s because they are new to town? Who
knows. I reach my hand over and turn up the music while I trek down the
roads I have driven a million times before. The trees are starting to yellow
and turn vibrant reds. The nights are getting cooler. The mornings however
are tricky. It starts out cold but then by mid morning you'll be sweating in
that long sleeve and cardigan you put on.
I pull up to the cafe and park along the street right in front of the
cafe. I’m surprised I found a spot so easily. Usually it's pretty packed by
now and you have to park down the street or around the block. I get out and
double check my pockets for my wallet and turn towards the cafe and take
in the beautiful 19th century building style. I've always loved this town for
it. When they ‘update’ buildings they keep true to the Victorian era and they
do it well. It's like walking back in time. A lot of buildings even still have
the ‘crown glass’ which is mostly on the top floors but still nice to see.
I walk up onto the sidewalk and pull open the door. I instantly spot
Noah waiting with a coffee in hand reading something on his phone. I walk
up to the counter, put in my order and plop down next to him. Noah jumps
and almost spills his coffee everywhere.
“Dana! Jesus and his disciples! Stop doing that!” He admonished,
while slurping coffee off his thumb.
I give a sly smile “But why would I ever do that? It's too much fun
spooking you, plus gives you a taste of what these specters do to me
everyday. And not to mention you deserve it.”
“For what? I have been a good boy.” He wiggles his brows and
winks. Ugh, if he only knew what that does to me. Before I can start
squirming in my chair he speaks. “How are you? I haven’t seen you in a
week.”
“I've been good. Strange dreams and got to see a creepy new old
lady in my neighbors driveway,” the waitress calls my name to come grab
my coffee and breakfast sandwich. “Hold on.” I tell Noah and walk up to
grab it. As I walk back I get a whole body shiver, gooseflesh spreading
down the entirety of my back. I come to a stop and look around. I see
nothing out of the ordinary except a bunch of people staring at me
wondering what new weird thing I may unimpress them with today. I shake
it off and head back to the table. Noah gives me that “what just happened’
look. I sit down and shake my head.
 “I don’t know, I just got the shivers. This morning was strange too. I
walked out of my house and the neighbors had a rocking chair that was
inhabited by an old lady. A dead old lady. A little old lady that obviously
hasn't moved on. She was wearing a 19th century dress and she just stared
off into space.” I pause for a drink. This is the only place that can make a
caramel coffee taste like coffee and not just caramel and sugar “Anyways,
the neighbor came out asking if I wanted it and I of course said ‘no’ but the
weird thing was when the old lady snapped her attention to me. Her mouth
got hugely wide and this low creepy moan…scream? Came out but
suddenly stopped before it started when the wife came out.” I took another
sip and pondered it. I've had ghosts reach for me but never anything like
that. Sometimes they try to talk to me and they will latch on and drain my
dry of all energy. It’s awful. I hope things aren’t changing. I can barely deal
with what I already have. What if they start talking to me? Then again,
maybe, if they can talk to me on their own they wouldn’t drain me.
“Well, I hope you told them to get rid of the damn thing. You told
them–”
“Not to burn it. Yes and yes, all of the above.” Noah gave me a look
that told me he did not appreciate me cutting him off. If there's one thing to
know about him it's that he hates being interrupted and lateness. Sometimes
his personality doesn't match his look. He's clean shaven and dresses in
jeans, shit kickers and t-shirts. He’s got sandy blonde hair that has unruly
waves and curls everywhere. His dark brown eyes are framed with thick
lashes. Perfect eyebrows to match. Always looking like a lumberjack but he
looks so good; if the stares he gets are any indication.
I used to have a crush, well, still have a crush on him but after years
of pining for him silently, I gave up on that. Mostly. At this point I just don't
want to ruin the only friendship I have. Especially one this important to me.
There was one drunken evening not too long ago when we kissed and boy
did we kiss but nothing ever happened after that. Neither of us talked about
it and that was the end of that. It hurt but I chalked it up to drunken
mistakes. I also can't say much because I never said anything about it either.
I never brought it up, probably would have made things weird. Yes, it was
for the better. I can't imagine him and his witty banter missing from my life.
He's been my rock since my mom passed and before that in school when I
was the social outcast.
 “Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt.” I say with a giggle and a bite of
my sandwich. Noah rolled his eyes and drank his coffee.
“So tell me more about this chair. I need to know what they plan to
do with it.”
“I told them to just take it to the dump. He did throw it into the bed
of his truck when I was leaving to come here. It’d be nice if there was a
priest here that actually believed me…or some who believed in the
paranormal. They could cleanse the damn thing but that old lady may need
more than a cleanse. The weird scream, growl, moan thing she did freaked
me the fuck out. How her jaw basically unhinged, pulling on her facial
skin.” I shudder at the memory. “I'm actually headed over to their house
after this to speak with Tanner's wife.”
“Tanner? I don't know a Tanner. Did they just move here and why
here of all places?”
“They did just move here. Maybe a month ago, into the house across
the street from me. I couldn't tell you why they did but you're more than
welcome to join me on this journey to discover how fast it takes them to
kick me out of their house and bar the doors.” I say with a laugh. Noah just
frowns at me and shakes his head.
“Of course I want to come and then after we can work on your
house.” I give him a smile and nod my head as I finish off my sandwich.
We grab our drinks and throw our trash away. I throw some change into the
tip jar on our way out.
“I've gotta stop and get some groceries, you want to come with? Or
meet me at my house? You can head over now if you want. I left the door
unlocked but I should really just give you a key huh?”
“Yeah, you should! I’m hurt that you haven't yet. I thought I was
your favorite human too.” He says with a fake pout. He starts laughing and
pats me on the shoulder. Oof, if there ever was a friend zone hand pat, that
was it. “I'll meet you at your house, it'll give me a minute to snoop and see
what our next project should be.” He starts to walk down the street to his
old beat up pickup while I just stand there for a second.
I shake my head and push my escaping feelings back down. Deep,
deep down. I walk to my car and get in. I sit for a second and make sure I
have my wallet and phone in my pockets. I connect my phone via Bluetooth
and start playing my ‘can’t decide’ playlist. My playlist has everything and
I mean everything, Noah has judged my playlist heavily before. Says he
doesn't know if he should stand in a salt circle or break out the tissues.
First on my list, is to stop at the grocery store. It’s a small store but
you can get your commercially bought food here, ones that go in the toaster
or microwave. Most of the bigger stores around here are a ‘fill your own
container’ idea. It’s less waste I guess, saves the planet. It’s actually a really
cool idea, but I like to eat frozen foods that I can pop in the toaster and be
out the door.
I pull into the parking lot and there aren't many cars. Thank the gods
because I am not a fan of crowds. Well, not a fan of people who live in this
town. They are all very judgy. My reputation is not something to be proud
of around here. Maybe, in another city I would be the weird quirky cool
girl. The girl who can see ghosts; feel them. Here, I’m just a person to
ridicule. The small town mentality is something else. Generations of people
teaching kids shitty behavior and passing it down the family tree. Being
stuck in a bubble with little outside interference continues the cycle.
In high school I had a few tormentors, ‘Spaz’ was a very dull and
unimaginative nickname I earned when some kids saw what happens when
ghosts sneak up on me, or try to touch me. It has stuck…even years later.
The old people are the worst. Good lord, you would think since they were
closer to meeting their maker they would try to get right with their god.
Nope. I don't understand how my ‘sight’ has spread to the older community.
It’s not like many of them have seen it. It’s like one old heifer saw
something and spread the rumor at her next bingo meet. It’s wild to think
about. I have just learned to ignore what everyone says and do what I want.
When I want and how I want. Within reason, of course.
The store is practically desolate when I grab a cart and go down the
isles. I grab the necessities; bread, milk, eggs, vodka and some juice. I grab
other things while I wander the isles. I really should leave before I put more
in this basket and end up having to give the cashier a kidney. I pull up to the
cashier and he gives me a friendly nod. I bag my items as he rings me up. I
get everything in the cart and pay the guy. Cash. No kidneys needed this
time.
I walk out to the car and pack my stuff up and head over to the
hardware store. I think I will get him the most obnoxious key I can find.
“Hey! Welcome in, can I help you with anything?” A gangly
teenager asks from behind the counter.
 “Yeah, I need a key and I need it to be pink; sparkles if you have it.”
“Yeah, let's take a look at the options over here.” The kid leads me to
a spinning tower of keys and find exactly what I’m looking for and it’s even
one of those big keys with a huge square handle bit. I hand over my house
key and the kid gets to work. I wander around the store and find some other
things I may need. I know I’m going to be peeling wallpaper if we do the
downstairs powder room. I grab some spray bottles, a jug of vinegar and
some paint swatches. I bring the items to the counter and pay for everything
including the key. I walk out and stuff everything in the trunk of the car. I
plop into the front seat and freeze.
The hairs on the back of my neck raise and I have to force myself to
look into the backseat from the rearview mirror. I see nothing but there is
something there watching me. I can feel it. I turn around and see something
trying to flicker into existence. At first I think it’s Hank but then it flickers
again like a bad TV signal. I get out of the car and stand at the back of my
car watching. The ghost flickers a few more times. Turning around to look
at me. Then it completely disappears. I wait a few moments to see if it’s
going to try and come back but it doesn’t.
I cautiously get back into my car. Keeping an eye on my rearview
mirror and checking the back seat often. I’m torn between speeding home
and keeping an eye on the back. When I do make it to my street a few
minutes later I’m practically hyperventilating.
When I get home I see Noah's Chevy sitting in the driveway...parked
crooked. I roll my eyes, knowing there's a reason for his mayhem. Probably
pay back for scaring him. He’s a spiteful being. I take a moment to calm
myself as I park along the street. I gather my wits and hope out of the car.
As I'm grabbing bags the neighbor Tanner is pulling into the driveway, the
driveway is also devoid of the creepy rocking chair and old lady. I give him
a wave and I turn around filled from elbows to wrist with bags. When I turn
around Noah is standing right behind me. I scream and stumble back. Noah
laughs as he lunges forward to grab and steady me.
“Gods! Noah! What is wrong with you?” This just makes him laugh
harder. He grabs some bags from me.
“See? Sucks, doesn't it? Getting jump scares suck.” He says while
turning around to walk up to the house.
“You know, you could have been a decent human and parked like a
normal human being, and let me park in my own damn driveway.” I say
hurrying up behind him. We walk through the house and place all the
groceries on the counter.
“I could have but how else would I get back at you for not giving me
a key to your house? What if you fall and can’t get up? What if the sole
ambulance in this blasted town is busy? Who would pick your ass up? Also,
you scared me and interrupted me today. Call it penance for your crimes.”
“That was dramatic and,” I hand him the hardware bag and he digs
in, “now you have to park like a normal human and not like a degenerate.”
“Why in the hell is it pink? Dana…” he sighs my name like he’s
reached the limit of his patience, “really? And it sparkles! It's never going
on my keyring.” I shrug.
“Sounds like a ‘you’ problem and that's all they had.” I lie like a rug
as I finish putting away groceries. Noah glares at me like he can sniff out
the lie, while he pockets the key, proving he won't put it on his key ring.
Then he swiftly steals the vodka out of the bag. He turns around to
rummage through my fridge looking for a mixer I assume.
“First off, it's barely 11am.” I lean against the counter and cross my
arms. “Secondly, don't lose that key. It is your most prized possession now.
Thirdly, it's barely 11am! I bought that for later!”
“You said that twice.” He points out while grabbing a glass. Mixing
himself a healthy dose of vodka and seltzer. I roll my eyes and grab seltzer
from the fridge. “It’s five o’clock somewhere. At least that’s what Alan tells
me.”
“I know exactly what I said. Just making sure your ears are hearing
me. I mean, you can't even park right today so, I'm left with the impression
your head is only ornamental. It's a good thing it’s pretty.”
“I am pretty aren't I?” He wags his eyebrows at me and starts
laughing. “Also, that was rude. Come on, let's go meet these new neighbors
who harbor creepy old ladies.” Noah exaggerates a shiver.
“Mischa, I think her name is, wants me to wander her house. Make
sure ghosts aren’t lurking around corners with bad intentions. Tanner, her
husband, is not a believer. He thought we were a couple crazies earlier.” I
drink some more of my seltzer, I stare at the can considering a splash of
vodka but think better of it. I want a clear head at Mischa’s and don't want
to make a fool of myself. I do that well enough without alcohol.

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 Chapter 2
Dana

We walk outside and I have to admire this street. It’s quiet and I
don’t have many neighbors. The houses have character and the gardens are
beautiful. The few houses on this street have flower gardens and vegetable
gardens. Some houses even have chicken and pigs and sometimes they
accidentally become free range. I have had to coax a pig a time or two out
of my yard.
This road ends right after my neighbor's house. Well, it turns into a
dirt road. The road leads out to a small lake that is jam packed with fish.
You can catch trout all day long. Noah and I used to fish damn near every
weekend out there during high school. Blew my mind that he actually
wanted to hang out for a long time after I met him.
He was the popular boy in school, well, not the most popular but
definitely could hang out with the ‘cool’ crowds. I however hung out by
myself, sometimes with other people but they slowly drifted away from me,
succumbing to the peer pressures of school. Not wanting to look ‘uncool’.
Noah played baseball and some football. He knows dang near
everyone in town. Between his extracurriculars in high school and his
parents farming connections. We started hanging out in middle school when
kids were the meanest. I think I was like a project to him at the time but
then he started to notice the weird shit that happened around me and to me.
Like the ‘random’ startled gasps and shrieks. Occasionally, my hair or loose
shirts would float around on a nonexistent wind. Sometimes I had red
handprints or fingerprints around my arms or wrists. Thankfully, those
happened very few and far between. Ghosts who had been sticking around
well past their death were more violent and left marks.
There aren’t a whole lot of ghosts that stay who have died recently. I
find that a bit strange. My only thought on that is that way back when we
couldn’t really be who and what we wanted to be. We couldn’t love who we
wanted and couldn’t have the job that we wanted. I feel like it may have left
a lot of resentment and that followed them into death. Where they still want
to have what they want but now they can’t and they are angry over it. I
can’t blame them. We may be more accepting in this day and age but there
are still many bigots and unhappy people who just love to take it out on
everyone else. Hence my pariah status in Plains, New York.
Yippee.
My thought is that the older ghosts, the ones dressed in 19th century
garb, tend to lose their memory or maybe humanity and go ‘feral’ for lack
of a better term. Not all of them do though. There are a few in this town but
none so terrifying as the old woman this morning. I can’t remember a time a
ghost has done that to me. Or the ghost that flickered in and out of existence
in my car.
The feral ghosts made for good hotel stays or bar hopping. Or even
camping. I don't understand that hype, screams Blair Witch reboot to me.
Ghosts are what gives our town publicity and what also funds our
town's obsession of staying in line with 19th century architecture. I mean
our town sign says ‘Plains the spiritual realm’. Cringy is not a good enough
word for it. We are a tourist destination for ghost fanatics and hunters.
This town has many ghosts, mostly all from a century earlier.
There’s ‘The Lady’ up in the Reiner Hotel who likes to throw glasses at
patrons. Occasionally, she stalks the halls at night rattling door knobs and
shrieking. Not many people have actually seen ‘The Lady’ but many
claimed to have felt her. Some who have seen her say that they noticed dark
bruising around her neck. No one knows her name, so we don't know her
story. It's such a hit though, with tourists that the hotel will probably stay in
business until the apocalypse. They bring in so much revenue from guests
that it’s been completely renovated.
The Lady is elusive, I have never even seen her. Which I guess I’m
grateful for because I’m sure she would drain me. That is my least favorite
thing about being able to see ghosts.
“Spacing off again?” Noah asks.
“I guess so.”
I shake my head from my thoughts and continue onto Tanner and
Mischa’s with our drinks in hand.
I knock on the door and Mischa answers with a drink and a smile.
 “Thank you so much for coming over! I appreciate it! Is this your
husband? Boyfriend?”
I flush scarlet with an awkward smile. “No, this handsome stud is
my friend Noah.” I shove his shoulder slightly. Then, I internally berate
myself for ‘handsome stud’.
Why am I the way that I am?
Noah sticks his hand out to shake hers. “I think I shall like to be
referred to as ‘handsome stud’ from now on.’’
She chuckles. “Alright, well I’m Mischa and my husband, who is
floating around here somewhere, his name is Tanner.” She steers us toward
the kitchen and pulls out some bar stools. This house has definitely been
updated. But it still has the old charm. The counters are quartz and there is
an island with a huge farmhouse sink. The cabinets look to be the same 19th
century era with a dark finish on them. I can see they kept the butler pantry
as well. I mean, who would give that up? “I see you have drinks but if you
want something else let me know. I have wine, water, and juice. Well, all
the things but,” She drags out the word. “I am more interested in the things
you can do.” Mischa drags her finger around the top of her glass looking
bashful.
I squirm, uncomfortable with all eyes on me. When I start to speak
Tanner walks in. He heads to the sink to clean up some dishes and pretends
to not listen into the conversation.
I start my spiel off with a shrug and a sip of my drink. “I just have
always seen things other people cannot. I don't know why. No one in my
family could do this from what my mother told me. At least, my moms side
couldn’t. I don't know my father so I can't ask him. Anyways, the old lady
in that rocking chair must have been here for quite some time because she
was haggard looking and dressed like she fell out of a Victorian fashion
magazine.” I opt out of telling her about the scream. One, I don't even know
how to explain that and two, by the look on her face she is rethinking all her
life choices. “I’ve noticed the ghosts around town that are still in the
Victorian era clothes tend to be meaner. There are some newer souls but
they usually leave me alone.” I take a sip of my drink hoping that the little
speech will be enough.
“Could I–” She pauses, “Could I get you to wander my house? Just
to give me peace of mind. Every time I hear a noise I freak out a little and I
don't think I’m going to be able to sleep a wink after you confirmed my
fears this morning.” She sighs and scratches her head. “It always felt like
someone was watching me and this one,” she tosses her head towards her
husband, “thought I was nuts.”
“I didn’t think you were nuts just…over-reacting…” Tanner winces,
“That was worse huh?”
I nod with a wince. Mischa’s eye twitches. Ignoring Tanner she
continues.
“Anyways…now I know it was probably an angry old lady
wondering what the hell I was doing to her house.” She says with a
chuckle.
“I did take the chair to the dump.” Tanner intervenes. “Strangest
reason to ever have to go to the dump. I bet it’ll be a fun story for our
friends back in the city.” He says with a shake of his head and chuckle. He
stands behind his wife. “I’ll be around just cleaning up the garage. Shout if
you need me.” He says as he gives Mischa a kiss on the cheek and walks
towards the garage door. We watch in silence. When the door closes we
look back at each other.
“Uhm, so yeah, I can look around, it’s no problem but where was the
chair again? Do you still feel like someone is watching you?”
“Up in the attic. I'll take you guys up there.” She gets up, grabbing
her drink as we follow suit. “I haven’t felt weird since we took the chair out
of the house but just knowing that there was a reason…” She trails off while
she leads us down the hall. I take in the history and the character of the
home. Original crown molding and beautiful hardwood floors. When we get
to the top of the stairs, there is already a set of rickety drop stairs pulled
down for us at the end of the hall leading up to the attic. Looking into the
open space from the ground, it always looks ominous. I don't know what it
is about the basement and attic doors in houses but they are creepy…every
time. There's never an exception.
I walk forward and start to climb the attic stairs not waiting for an
invitation. I look below me as I feel a rattle and find Noah climbing up
behind me not wanting to wait another minute. He probably wants to scope
out all the old oddities packed away up here. I finish ascending the ladder
with a huff and start swinging my hands wildly when I walk into a drifting
cobweb. Noah starts laughing at my karate moves and helps remove the
cobweb.
 “Thank you.” I say, stepping farther into the attic. I start to look
around searching for anything otherworldly.
“Is everything okay up there?” Mischa hollers.
“Yeah, I'm not seeing anything. It's safe to come up if you'd like.” I
yell back. I start walking around some more, climbing over some old boxes.
I hear Mischa climb the ladder and look to see her tentatively peek over the
top of the stairs. When she deems the space okay herself; she finishes
climbing into the attic.
“We haven't really gone through up here. I could never get up the
stairs, a visceral fear would just come over me. I had to have Tanner come
up here first and then when I followed him up the chair just looked
menacing.” She shakes her head. Like she is trying to rid herself of the
memory. “I’ve been wanting to go through this attic. I bet there is some
really cool stuff in these boxes.”
We both turn towards Noah, who has already sat down to start rifling
through some very old, crumbling boxes.
“Sorry, I should have asked.” He says with a sheepish face.
“No, it’s totally fine. Look to your heart's content.”
“Noah has a thing for old things. Not so much keeping and selling
the items. Just finding them. Like a pirate on a treasure hunt.” I laugh and
walk through the space more.
“Same, it’s fun and exciting to see things of old.” Mischa says,
looking around taking in the space.
Noah started pulling out some old clothes, dresses and bloomers.
He holds the bloomers up, shaking them in my direction with a very
suggestive eyebrow wiggle. I huff and roll my eyes. Ain’t no way I’d ever
willingly put on those clothes. The amount of clothes women had to wear
back in the day must have been stifling, sweaty and uncomfortable. I feel
like one wrong step on the pier or around a lake and you would sink like a
rock. I choose life, thank you.
Noah has moved onto another box when I find where the rocker had
been. You can see where the dust settled around the chair over time. Two
thin lines of bare wood surrounded by dust. It sits directly in front of the old
window. Like an eerie reminder of what used to be. I can't feel or see
anything up here that would warrant concern. No creepy little old ladies
either. I think the old lady was only attached to that chair. I turn to Noah
and Mischa.
 “I can't see or feel anything. I think she was just attached to that
chair. If you want me to go though your house I can but I just want to say
I'm not a medium, I can't tell you who they are or what they are doing here.
I can tell you if they look wrong but that's the extent of it. Most of it for me
is just a guessing game. Anything I find on the internet I take with a grain of
salt.”
“You said something like that downstairs, what do you mean
‘wrong’?”
“Sometimes ghosts, I assume–don't quote me, don't want to leave for
whatever reason they may have and if they stay around for too long they
turn what I call ‘feral’ for lack of a better term. They are the ones that really
hurt me when they are trying to talk to me. Ghosts from this century have
also hurt me too so this is not an exact science.” I look over at Noah who is
going through box number five; nods his head at my comment…I think.
Maybe it’s the baubles in his hand? I look around the rafters of the attic.
There are some things that have been hung up; like an old lasso and a
couple window frames. There’s an old metal bed frame leaning against the
wall. It looks like almost everything in the boxes so far is clothes and some
tchotchkes. It’s a treasure trove for collectors. I turn back to Mischa, “I can't
talk to them. They have tried before but it drains all of my energy when
they touch me. They use me as their energy source I guess. Sometimes they
can get a word out and that’s it and the word comes out garbled. Sometimes
they can leave hand prints but that's not often.”
I don’t know the reason for half this shit. The internet can't be
trusted for reliable sources and this town doesn't have any others that can
see ghosts. That I'm aware of anyways. If there is, they probably hide it. For
good reason. I should go into the city and ask around. Maybe stop at a
library or two there. An occult store would be a good stop too. I just haven’t
had a reason to do so. Although, after today I probably should. Maybe I can
get Noah to come with me.
I carefully walk back over to Noah and start looking over his
shoulder. He's found a box of letters, cards and pictures. Most of them are
hand drawn pictures of landscapes and some of my house, probably from
when it was first built. I walk back over to the small window trying to look
outside past the warped world the crown glass creates. One of the drawings
looks like it was sketched at this vantage point. The artist did a good job
considering the window they must have been looking through.
 “So how do you like the town?” I ask Mischa who has also walked
over to look in the box. “I don’t think I ever want to move. I love the
architecture and the homey feeling this town exudes.” I walk back toward
the window. “You should definitely keep these windows.”
“So far this town is lovely. We bought this house on a whim after
everything went to shit when Covid hit. Our jobs luckily were able to go
one hundred percent remote. Well, we do have to drive into the city every
once in a great while. But we couldn’t pass up on this beauty. A little elbow
grease and she’ll shine like new.” She looked wistfully around, “I want to
turn this into a giant office space for Tanner and me. The stairs will also be
a nice workout every day. The window is definitely staying. I like it but
maybe add some sky lights.” She ponders staring at the ceiling.
I laugh at the thought of going up and down all these stairs multiple
times a day. “Yes, this would be a wonderful office space. No great lighting
though the skylights shou-”
‘Dana…’
I look around and start to feel dizzy. “Noah.” Is all I can get out
before I stumble and then everything goes black.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 3
Dana

I wake with a start, shooting up in bed. It takes me a long moment

to figure out why I'm in my bed. Then I remember fainting in Mischa’s attic
and hearing my name. Why the hell did I pass out? I need to eat better I
guess. Maybe drink more water? I don't know but that’s another
embarrassing moment to add to the list of shit. I take stock of my body.
There’s no noticeable wounds. I check my head and it feels fine. No goose
eggs to be felt. I do notice I’m tired. Not so tired I want to hole up in my
bed for the next week, more like I need a good long nap. I look out the
window and there’s still daylight so hopefully I wasn’t out long.
I look around and see Noah dozing in my reading chair next to my
bed. I scoot to the edge of the bed to wake him up. His ankle is crossed over
a knee so I gently grab his calf and gently shake his leg. His eyes pop open
and he just stares at me. Looking startled and letting out a big huff. He leans
forward and grabs my face and says “Could you not do that again? That’d
be great, thank you” He looks me over, lifting my arms and tilting my face
side to side. I try to shake him off but his grip on my chin gets stronger.
“You scared the shit out of me. I didn't know if I should have called 911 or
just brought you home. We checked your breathing and your pulse.
Everything was normal so I decided home should be fine. I checked your
head and there wasn’t any blood. But damn-”
“How long was I out?” I ask, interrupting him.
“Two days Dana.” I jump out of my bed and go into panic mode.
That’s not right, this is bad. At least I think it’s bad. This can’t be normal.
“Fuck Noah. Two days?! That can’t be right. I should go to the
hospital, I could have a concussion. Or, what if something is changing! No,
no, no. I don’t even like the little bit of ghost action I get now. I-”
“Ghost action?” Noah starts laughing so hard he’s doubling over.
 “I’m glad my impending doom is funny, Noah!” I stomp over to him
and help him fall out of the chair with a shove. Noah stands up and
continues laughing. He collects himself a second later.
“I’m kidding Dana, it’s been like 30 minutes.” He must see
something comical on my face because he starts laughing again and I punch
him in the chest.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” he says, backing up away from my swinging
fists. “It was too easy but really, are you good? Everything is fine?”
“You switch characters so well it’s eerie. Were you even worried? Or
were you just getting yourself in character to torture me?” I huff out
crossing my arms, putting on a good show of having some hurt feelings.
“Dana, I really am sorry.” Now he looks like a wounded puppy. I
chuckle.
“I’m fine. Just another weird thing to add to today's list. I’m gonna
go to the bathroom real quick though.”
“I swear Dana. You’re such a shithead.”
I scoff and leave the room. “Be right back!” I shout as I walk down
the hall. I get to my bathroom and do my business. I wash my hands and
check my head for bruises. I had to have hit my head. They couldn’t have
caught me in time. I must have lucked out this time with no bumps or
bruises. I leave the bathroom and head back to my room. Noah is sitting
back in the chair focused on his phone.
“You good? I’m gonna find something to eat.” I say to him as I walk
into the room.
Noah puts his phone in his pocket as he stands up. “Yeah, let’s eat
since you obviously need it and then we can find a new project to start.”
Every project has turned into him doing the hard work and I do the
directing and the easy stuff. If you consider peeling wallpaper easy, that is. I
do like to swing the sledgehammer around. Really lets me get out all my
pent up childhood rage. I give him a smile. “Yes. Let's do that.” I start
walking out the door when I turn around. “You know I heard someone call
my name. It was so faint like an echo but it sounded so strange like he was
also right next to me.” Noah gives me a concerned look as I turn around to
head down the stairs before he can say anything. I don't know why I thought
that would stop him though because he’ll say his piece anyway. He stomps
his way down the stairs after me. Whether I want to hear it or not I know
I’m going to get an earful.
 “You heard what? Your name? Dana! That's never happened before.
We should talk about this.” He gently grabs my shoulder as I turn the corner
to the kitchen. I look up at him, confused on what there is to talk about. We
have nothing to compare this to. It’s literally just another thing to add to the
list. “Right? It's never happened before?” He asks earnestly.
“No, it hasn't happened before. But what is there to talk about? I
heard my name and passed out. There's not a whole lot to go on there.” I
say swinging my arms up. Exasperated already. A new record. “I mean, yes,
there's the fact it's never happened before but I also feel fine right now.
Nothing has changed in the last…” I look at the nonexistent watch on my
wrist, making a show of it.
“Hour.” Noah supplies drolly.
“Hour.” I nod my head once aggressively. As if that will assure his
unassured brain. “If something changes you will be the first to know. Like
always Noah.” I grin, thinking of something to hopefully lighten the mood.
“It's a good thing you had your key, huh? Couldn’t have saved the day
without it.” I say wagging my eyebrows with a shit eating grin. Knowing
damn well the door was unlocked.
Noah rolls his eyes, “The door was unlocked, you ass and you know
it.”
I snigger and finish heading to the kitchen for a drink and snacks.
While I make a little snack tray of meat, cheese and veggies, Noah just
stares at me. Looking like he's trying to solve a puzzle he just can't quite
figure out.
“You know I care about you. I can't lose you and sometimes this
‘WooWoo’ business scares the shit out of me.” He says that with spirit
fingers and I give him a confused look. “It always has. Even if I act cavalier
about it. Not to mention the weird shit this morning with the old hag.”
“I know I'm your best friend. What would you ever do without me?”
I say with a smile and all the smug confidence in the world. He gives me an
exasperated look and I cave a little. “Look, Noah, I really do appreciate the
concern but there isn't much to worry about right now. You know I will
always come to you if something is wrong.” I give him a pleading look to
drop the subject. I don't exactly want to process the weirdness of this day
yet. He seems to catch the meaning behind the look and gives a small nod.
“Okay, but I'm staying the night.” Now it's my turn to give him an
exasperated look. “In the guest room of course. I just wanna make sure you
haven't been possessed and try to murdle the neighbors.” He says with a
wink.
“Uh huh…now! Let me show you the next project.” I bounced out of
the kitchen. Forgetting about my food and heading straight for the powder
room. I open the door and grimace. The wallpaper is torn and ruined. The
wainscotting looks great though so that is a bonus. The sink, however, has
so many cracks it needs to be replaced. The flooring also needs to be peeled
back and to check and see if the original hardwood is salvable. Gods, I hope
it is. That would save me a bundle. Hopefully there isn’t any molding either.
I bought this house a couple months after my mom died when I was
19. So I have been here for a little over two years. I penny pinch all day
long to afford the renovation projects in this house. I don't want to dip into
my savings unless it’s absolutely necessary. Everything so far has been
something Noah or I can handle. But I know there will come a time when
I’ll have to call an electrician and I’m not looking forward to that. I fling
the door all the way open and say “This!” with an exaggerated flourish
“I knew it.” He rubs his hands together, “Alright, let's git ‘r done!
We spend the rest of the afternoon peeling wallpaper, which is
awful. Pulling linoleum is just as terrible but easier than the stupid
wallpaper. Luckily there are only a few layers of both. After a while I check
the time and realize it’s way past time for dinner and we have been at this
for hours. We got a lot done though. The flooring is peeled back and the
wallpaper is gone. The sink and toilet disconnected. We have everything
swept up and put into the trash bins to be picked up.
“Dinner? I have some pizza?”
“That sounds great.”
I ran into the kitchen to throw the frozen pizzas in the oven and
then went upstairs to get changed into some pajamas. I washed my face in
the bathroom and then headed to the couch. When I sit down I watch Noah
leave out the front only to come back a minute later with a bag. Did he plan
on staying the night before the incident earlier? He doesn’t sleep over often
and when he does it’s because he’s drunk more than what's good for his
liver. He stalks up the stairs. When he comes back down a moment later
he's in sweats and a henley shirt. He plops down next to me and steals the
remote.
“Hey! I was looking for something!”
 “Were you? You’ve been sifting through all of the shows for the last
5 minutes. Obviously nothing is catching your fancy.” He starts scrolling
through some of the new shows or ones we just haven't watched anyway.
“We’re going to have to remove the sink and the toilet. The sink
because it's damaged and the toilet because I want to check the seal and for
molding.” He says.
“I know. I was thinking the same. I didn't think that little room
would take so long just getting wallpaper off and linoleum removed.” I toss
my head on the back of the couch. “I hate wallpaper.” I mumble.
“Me too. But at least we haven't found any mold yet.” I nod at that.
Grateful for it.
He continues scrolling trying to find something we haven’t watched
a hundred times. He picks a new series we've never watched and tosses the
remote on the coffee table. We are one show in when the timer goes off for
the pizzas. I hop up and he grabs my hand and pulls me back down and
whacks a pillow into my stomach. He laughs and gets up, shooting into the
kitchen. I hear some fumbling and several drawers opening and closing. He
must find the pizza cutter because it goes silent. He comes back in the room
moments later with two plates filled with pizza.
“How much pizza do you think I'm going to eat exactly?” I ask,
taking the plate.
“Hopefully more than what you had for breakfast. Or ‘lunch’. You
and your damn nibble trays. You eat like a toddler and you didn’t even eat
your ‘snack tray’, just like a toddler.”
“HEY!” I smack him in the chest with the back of my hand. “I’ll
have you know that I eat just fine. It may not be as much as you but I eat!” I
confirm my statement by taking a huge bite out of the pepperoni pizza. It's
way too hot and now I'm mouth breathing with a mouth full of piping hot
pizza while Noah chuckles at my stupidity.
“Sure you do” is all he says while devouring his four slices. Like,
where does it go? Does he chew? Did he just unhinge his jaw while I wasn't
looking and swallow it whole? I've barely finished one and he is getting up
for more. The show continues on while I eat two slices. Absolutely stuffed
to the brim. I curl up with the pillow and then promptly pass out.
I wake up to my body swaying around. I clutch at the body carrying
me. “Relax, it's okay.” I snuggle deeper into the warmth and then I’m gently
laid down in my bed.
OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 4
Dana

A low, deep, eerie noise jolts me awake. I start panting like I ran a
marathon and I have a sheen of sweat clinging to my body. I hear the deep
noise again and I start to panic. I grip my sheets not knowing if I should
hide or run. I guess that fight or flight saying also has a ‘stay rooted to the
spot’ option because I don’t move a muscle. I start to hear whispers. Fuck
the whispers. I have seen this particular horror movie. I jump out of my bed
and tear across the floor to my door. The door is locked and I know damn
well I didn't lock it. I never do. I scramble to turn it to the unlock position
but when I go for the knob it already is. I didn't think I could panic more
than I already was. I start pounding on the door yelling for Noah.
Tears start streaming down my face and I realize I need to see what's
behind me. That’s where the threat is. I turn around while still yelling for
Noah and pounding on the door with my palms down by my sides. I see
shadows gathering on one of my walls and not the gentle one I always saw
as a kid and teenager. These were misty, like static or like a bad TV
antenna. They almost seem to cut in and out. Is this the same thing from the
car earlier? The shadows were plaguing my bedroom wall now. I can spot
what looks like a dozen writhing around like they are trying to escape
invisible confines. The whispers are the same as before and none of it
makes sense. Then there is the moaning. It’s a deep baritone and a steady
background noise to the whispers. My breathing is sawing in and out of my
chest at a rapid pace. My pulse is pounding in my neck. Just as I think I’m
going to be pulled to some other realm or murdered by shadows, I hear
Noah pounding up the stairs. When he gets to my door he struggles to get it
open.
“DANA! DANA! UNLOCK THE DOOR!” He continues to pound
into the door while the shadows writhe on the walls yelling at me in
whispers. I slide down the door and pull my hands to my ears trying to
block out the torrent of noise. Suddenly, I’m pushed forward by a force
from behind. My palms scrape the floor and pain shoots up my arms. At the
same time I'm being pulled backward. I claw at the hardwood screaming for
Noah trying to get away from whatever the hell these shadows are. I feel
arms grab me and turn me around. I keep my eyes closed terrified of what
I'll find when I hear my name being called and warm hands on my face.
“DANA! Look at me! Come on! Look at me!” I suck in a breath and
open my eyes to see Noah holding me, his chest heaving and his eyes wild.
I suck in some breaths and clutch onto him. Relief pours through me,
knowing I'm not alone. I bury my face into his neck trying to steady my
breathing. He stands up with me in his arms and quickly leaves the room.
“The shadows Noah. Did you see them?”
“I wasn’t paying attention. I’m too worried about you. I’m guessing
it wasn’t a bad dream?” He starts to back up to look in my room.
“No! Let’s just go downstairs. I don’t want to see my room right
now.”
“Okay, let’s go sit down and relax. You can tell me what the hell just
happened.” Noah walks down the stairs with me still in his arms.
“You can put me down.”
“No.”
Alright then.
When we get downstairs Noah sets me on the couch and wraps a
blanket around me. He sits on the coffee table directly across from me. He
rests his elbows on his knees and leans forward. “Tell me.” He demanded.
“I woke up to a low moaning sound. I started to instantly panic.
There were shadows on the walls. It was dark so maybe they weren’t
shadows at all. Maybe they were like the ghost in my car earlier? Whatever
it was it was whispering and whispering got louder and louder. I couldn’t
get the door open. How did you get the door open?”
“I don't know. I shook the handle and it wouldn't budge. Like it was
locked. I kicked the door a couple times and when that didn’t work I tried
the handle again and it turned. It may have been stuck. We should leave. Go
to my house and what do you mean ‘ghost like this morning’?” Noah
reaches for my hands. I hiss out a breath when he does. Noah jerks his
hands back and then slowly grabs my wrists to inspect them.
 “Damn, let's get you cleaned up.” Noah helps me to my feet and I
shuck the blanket. We walked down the short hallway to the kitchen. I
slowly enter, scared to run into more shadowy ghosts. Noah leans over and
flicks the lights on. My body is prepared to haul ass out the door and down
the street but there is nothing darkening the walls. I walk over to the sink
and turn the water on but Noah moves me out of the way.
“ I don't want to leave. I know that is very ‘crazy white girl’ of me
but I’m not going to be kicked out of my house by a bunch of shadows or
ghosts. Whatever they are.” I look down at my hands which are covered in
splinters. “The ghost was after coffee. I got into my car and I just felt
something was wrong. I looked in the rearview but there was nothing but
when I turned to look at the backseat there was some weird ghost thing that
was having trouble staying here. It kept flickering. I don’t know. I just got
out of the car and it vanished.” I shrug my shoulders and Noah gives me a
look. “You're more than welcome to leave Noah. It's fine.”
“I’m not leaving you but any more weird shit tonight and I’m
dragging you out. Willing or not. Sit.” He pats the counter. I give him a
droll look. Noah stands in front of me and lifts me up onto the counter
under my armpits quite like a toddler. Once he has me situated he turns the
faucet on and grabs some paper towels. I hold my hands out waiting for the
doctoring to commence. Never interrupt Noah on a mission.
Noah hisses out a breath.
“Shit baby. I-” He stops what he’s saying and quickly flicks his
eyes up to mine. I raise an eyebrow and get real curious, real fast. He clears
his throat and looks back down at my hands. I follow his eyes. My hands
are pretty bad. The heels of my palms are beat red. Blood streaks my hands
as well from where a few very large splinters entered and a dozen small
ones. Honestly, it didn’t hurt until I looked at it. Fuck, those splinters are
going to hurt coming out.
“I told you we should have rented that sander and fixed the floors.”
He steps away to grab one of the many first aid kits that litter my house. I
get injured a lot fixing this house. We have a love-hate relationship. “I am
sorry I hurt you. I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to get to you.”
“It’s more than fine. I’ll take this over whatever those shadows
would have done.”
“Yet, you still want to stay here.”
 When Noah steps back in front of me I cringe. He sets the kit on
the counter and rummages through it. He pulls out tweezers. He holds my
left hand in his and starts picking out the large splinters. I flinch at every
one. Once they are pulled out he grabs my right.
“Stop being a big baby. Their just small-”
“Twigs Noah. Branches if you will. I feel like there is a whole ass
oak tree in my hand.”
“Meh. It’s only about half.” He punctuated his words by ripping one
out and taking some flesh with it. It’s almost like these twigs are barbed.
Like, this house wants to know how much it hates my color scheme. When
he gets the last branch out he puts the tweezers down and grabs the rubbing
alcohol.
“You’re a real dick. You know that?”
“I haven’t done anything yet. So I resent that statement and I’d like
to think I’m a real charmer.” He pulls my hands over the sink.
“You’re a charmer alri-” I let out a loud hiss when the alcohol
touched me.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you over the hissing toddler.”
“You're lucky my hands are incapable of forming fists right now or
you'd be chewing on them.” Hmm. That sounds more painful for me than
him.
“I think you should learn better comebacks.” It’s like he can read my
mind and I hate it. But now is my time to ruffle his feathers. I need answers
before my heart flutters away.
“So…” I drag out the word. “You gonna talk about that weird slip a
minute ago?” I look at him and he turns beet red. He gives an awkward
laugh and scrubs a hand down his face.
“Uh, well…” He starts rubbing the back of his neck and a faint smile
playing on his lips. Then he starts pacing while I still sit on the counter
watching him wear a trail on my kitchen floor. Well, I have ruffled his
feathers greatly. “I…god, why is this so difficult.” He stops to look at me. A
look of longing, a look I have dreamed about deep, deep down. My stomach
swoops down and I start breathing faster.
He walks up to me and grabs my face, pauses for half a second like
he’s questioning himself. “Fuck it.” he growls and pulls my lips to his.
I sit for just a moment, stunned. He moves his hands down my neck
and around my back. Pulling me closer, stepping in between my legs. My
hands moved to his shoulders, then his neck, forgetting the pain and I lose
myself in the kiss for a moment before I push him back. My brain and heart
are warring with each other. I want him but I don't want to lose him. Noah
steps back father and I can see him working his jaw in frustration, whether
at himself or me remains to be seen.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn't have. I should have kept this strictly friends
only.” He backs away quickly and leaves the kitchen. Leaving me to ponder
what the fuck just happened.
I jump off the counter and walk out of the kitchen. I round into the
living room and find him walking back and forth in front of the TV. Then,
he sits in one of the arm chairs but only for a second before he’s up pacing
the floor again.
“Since when Noah?” He looks up quickly and pulls his hand down
from his lip. “Not that that wasn't the best kiss of my life.” He smirks at
that. “But what I would like to know is what you are feeling. Because the
last time this happened you were drunk and you never said anything about it
ever again. I thought you thought it was a mistake or you didn’t remember.”
He frowns at that.
“Last time?” He asks, looking very confused. I roll my eyes. Of
course he was that wasted.
“Yes, the last time we had drinks, a few months ago. You ended up
staying the night because you had one too many. But you kissed me, damn
near the same spot as just a few minutes ago.” I say swinging my hand back
towards the kitchen.
“Jesus and his disciples.” He groaned. “I'm sorry I don't remember
that. But I’m not surprised. I’ve been trying to ignore these feelings for
years thinking you only wanted friendship. You never hinted that you
wanted something like…that from me and I didn’t want to lose you. I need
you in my life in any way I can get you.” He puts his hands through his hair
and starts to burn a trail in my floor again. “It would just make me happier
if it was under me.” My eyebrows shoot to my hair line and wonder what
alternate universe I fell into. Noah snaps his head up to me realizing he said
that last part out loud. “Uhh, fuck. I’m sorry. What the hell is wrong with
me?” He says the last part to himself.
“Well, god damn, we could have saved both ourselves the trouble
years ago then.” I say with a laugh. Throwing my arms in the air. Which
turned into a cackle, which turned into me crying. This day was too much,
clearly. Crazy old dead coots, ghosts in my car, passing out, creepy shadows
and now a lovers confession. I walk to the couch while trying to calm the
mental breakdown swirling around my head. Noah sits next to me and pulls
a blanket around my shoulders.
“Dana, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have sprung this on you. I know you
have had a shit day.” He kisses the crown of my head like he has a hundred
times before and pulls me in closer.
“It’s not that. I mean it's part of it but today has just been
overwhelming. I don't know what to say about this recent development but
know that I don't hate it.” I wiped the tears from my face. “I have liked you
more than just a friend for a very long time. But I figured you weren’t
feeling the same way so I never acted on it.” He lays us down on the couch.
My back is pressed up against the back of the couch and he lays in front of
me, so I'm guarded on all sides. “Can we talk about this in the morning? I’m
so tired.” He nods his head as I close my eyes and he gives my forehead a
kiss. He pulls me down so my head is nestled against his neck.
“Do you think it’s safe to stay here?” I ask, my face pressed into his
neck.
“I haven’t heard or seen anything. I’ll keep an eye out. You sleep.”
“Okay.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 5
Noah

God forbid this woman do something that may be good for her. The
only reason I am in this house is because she wants to be. Why? I have no
idea. She really is mildly crazy and this cements it. Who the hell would stay
in a house that is haunted by weird glitching ghosts? If I hear one sound,
we’re out. I’m going to throw her over my shoulder and toss her in my
damn truck. She is the most stubborn being on this planet.
I wouldn't have her any other way though. I have been in love with
her type of crazy for years. The way she still laughs even when people have
judged her all her life, always whispering behind her back. Her snarky
attitude. The way she doesn’t let anyone push her around. Clearly not even
a ghost can push her around.
How she still finds joy in a town that has shunned her on more than
one occasion. All because she sees ghosts. She could have probably hid that
fact if the ghosts didn't torment her throughout our school years. Making it
hard for her to keep that part of herself hidden.
She always acts as if it was never bad but I remember the red marks
on her arms and wrists. Bruises on her arms like someone tried to hold her
in place while she tried to escape. Ghosts trying to tell her something but
never getting more than a word out and that word was always
unintelligible.
Those moments left her drained and tired. She missed lots of school
recouping. I always brought her homework over to her apartment and
helped her get it done. I wasn’t the best tutor but we both passed.
Some of the ‘feral’ ghosts, as she calls them, have hurt her the
worst. Leaving a mark more than physical, something that lingers in her
mind. She still flinches when we walk past the alleyway beside the theater. I
remember that like yesterday. That moment seared into me like a core
memory.
“I will never watch that movie again. What the fuck was that?!”
Dana yells at me while laughing. I chuckle and grab her hand, heading
towards the movie theater exit.
We came to see a new horror movie that is clearly not sitting well
with her. I laugh at her tirade as we leave. People give us strange looks as
we maneuver through the crowds.
“That could be a very real documentary about me in the near future.
‘The possession of Dana Greenback’. I can’t with you right now. Thank you
for sending me on my next spiral. You are a gem, Noah.” She whisper yells
at me. Failing spectacularly when several heads turn our direction.
“You are being dramatic. It wasn’t even that bad. She just got
chased around-”
“By a demon possessed body!”
“Dramatic.” I chuckle as I push the door open. I’m still holding her
hand. She hasn’t pulled away and I’m not about to let go either. I know she
is clinging to me solely because she’s being a chicken shit right now but I
will enjoy it while it lasts. We turn left heading down the street to the
parking lot to hop in her car.
“Should we get some Corner Cafe? Some real grub sounds good.
My stomach is hating me for the amount of popcorn I just inhaled.” I rub
my stomach with my free hand. “I have regrets and nausea.”
“Yeah, that sounds good. I think I still have some antacids in your
glove box for you.” I turn my head to her.
“You do not!” I scoff at her.
“Oh, I do. How many times have you eaten too much and made
yourself sick? Or inhaled the large bucket of popcorn?” She raises her
brows at me. Waiting for an answer.
We reach the end of the theater building when Dana is suddenly
jerked back. I stumble slightly and whip around wondering who is messing
with us. What I see though firmly cements that Dana is never safe. Her arm
is pulled straight out and I can see indents of a hand on her forearm. She
tries to pull back but whoever has her, has a steel grip. Dana starts yelling,
panicking.
 “Let go! Let go! I can’t help you!” I try to pull her arm below the
elbow trying to break the spirits grip. I can see the drain it’s having on her.
I can see her pulls are getting harder, almost lethargic.
People are starting to gather. Gawking at her. Maybe thinking she’s
doing it to get attention. Well, this will be hot gossip for months. Nobody
comes to help. The small crowd was just watching the second act.
I put my arms around Dana’s waist and yank her. Breaking the hold
and probably hurting her at the same time.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” I say pulling her up into my arms. I ignore
the talk around me and get her to my truck. I put her in on the passenger
side and ran to the driver side. As soon as we leave the parking lot she
scoots across the bench seat and curls up under my arm.
“Do you want me to drop you off or do you want me to stay?”
“Stay, please.” She chokes out, gripping the side of my shirt.
I stayed with her that night. I helped wrap her wrist and ice it. I sat
in her chair at the foot of her bed. When her mother came home and
checked in on Dana, I had never seen anyone move so fast in my life. She
had her hands wrapped around my neck ready to strangle me. I threw my
hands up showing I was not a threat. When she realized it was me, I saw her
deflate slowly. Putting away whatever crazy momma bear strength she had.
She obviously wasn’t expecting a boy to be sitting in her daughter's room. I
didn’t blame her but I did get up, leading her out into the hallway. When I
explained what happened, Naomi's face went from murderous to fearful that
night. She abruptly excused herself, letting me know I could stay the rest of
the night. She left the hallway and hurried to her room. I sat back down in
Dana’s chair and watched her all night without sleeping a wink.
I still wonder how she had never run into that ghost before. We had
walked that same path a hundred times at least. We went to the movies
often. That next day the rumor had spread wide. It was all over town. The
amount of people who exaggerated the details was sickening. Saying she
was floating, she was chanting, her eyes were black. The rumors were wild.
The crowd around us was small, maybe seven people and by the next day
basically the whole town knew some version of what had happened. I
corrected the people who tried to embellish the details at school.
Classmates never understood my friendship with her but it wasn’t
their job to understand. It was their job to mind their own business. That
never happened though. Small town mentality is a thing. It’s exhausting. I
only stay because I plan to take over the ranch when my parents decide to
retire.
I wasn’t popular but I had a lot of ears. It was most likely because
of my parents. Our ranch is very well known around here as it has been in
the family before Plains was even a town. It was just a couple of farms
before it became more populated.
People listened to me except when it came to Dana. She was the hot
gossip. Always. I tried to curb the rumors. Correct things that happened.
Some people would listen, others would not. Dana and I just figured those
people were bored and had nothing else to do with their lives.
Naomi was the reason Dana learned to just ignore people and their
small minds. Naomi helped Dana pick herself up and move on with life.
She would always tell her to take what she wants when she wants it.
Reminded her she was her own knight on a white stead. That she couldn’t
rely on someone else to save her. Naomi had a way about her, you really
listened to what she had to say. She was always wiser than her years I
think.
When Naomi died it broke Dana. How does one die by sliding into a
shallow ditch? It never made sense to me. I saw the black marks across her
body. “It’s just oil streaks” they kept saying. I never believed it, not for a
second. Someone was hiding something and it made zero sense as to why.
Naomi was just a regular woman and mother. At least, I don't think she was
into anything shady or nefarious.
The coroner was the only one that tried to say something wasn’t
right but we were ushered out of his office by the police officer before he
could tell us anything worthwhile. We tried to meet up with the coroner the
next day but he was gone. “Traveling coroner” they said. At every turn we
were red taped. We both know that the truth was covered up.
When we were able to get all the cremation details done, when we
got the odds and ends put together as specified in Naomi's will, we found
Naomi had left Dana a lot of money. Enough money that made me question
why they were living in a small apartment. Between the will and notes on
how she wanted her body handled. How she left Dana a ridiculous amount
of money, everything made less sense to me and firmly cemented in me that
Naomi's death was never just an accident.
 When Dana got the money, she put the down payment on this house.
It had been sitting for years and the owner wanted it sold. This is the house
she has always wanted. She always said she had a pull to this house.
Something about it called to her. This is the only house in the whole town
she wanted. Couldn’t be swayed otherwise.
So, I helped Dana pack up the apartment, it didn't take long but she
had a hard time leaving it that last time. I waited with her, standing in the
entryway. While she silently reminisced. She had tears streaming down her
face and I just held her hand in moral support.
This was where she and her mother spent almost two decades
together. Every trial, every lesson to be learned, every time she came home
happy or sad. Every scraped knee that needed a bandage and every bad day
that needed a hug. All her happy memories with her mother, the one family
member she had were in that apartment.
She knew her mother would have wanted her out of the apartment
and into the house of her dreams. We both knew it. So, we closed the door
and moved onto the next part of her life.
I wake up to Dana trying to escape my hold and I grip around her
tighter. I’m so warm but I am uncomfortable. Hanging onto this couch by a
thread. She smacks my arm and practically pushes me off the couch.
“Dammit Noah I have to pee!” I relent and she scrambles over me,
sliding ungracefully over my side and onto the floor. I hear her hurried
footsteps and a door closing. I sit up and scrub my face of sleep. I stretch
out my arms and stand up. There's most definitely a kink in my neck that I
try stretching out.
After effectively hurting myself more, I turn to go into the kitchen
but jump when I see Dana standing there just watching me.
“Jesus and his disciples Dana! How are you so damn quiet?
Especially in a house that's 200 years old?” She shrugs and bites her lip
turning around to go into the kitchen. Oh boy, we’re going to be awkward.
Alright, we're gonna have to fix this.
I walk into the kitchen intent on getting coffee brewing while I think
about what I want to say to Dana. How do we start this conversation? I
scoop some coffee grounds into the filter and fill up the water tank. It
should be an easy conversation right? We’ve been friends for a decade.
Maybe, that’s the issue though. Crossing that boundary without messing up
this friendship. That’s definitely where I struggled to cross that boundary
before.
“Who are you?” Dana asks. I turn around, confused. She’s not
looking at me, she's searching the room, looking confused.
“What?”
“Not you Noah.” She huffs and continues her perusal. “Sorry.” She
puts her head in her hands, elbows on the table. “That was rude. I heard my
name being called again. Maybe it’s a chance of auditory hallucinations?”
She chuckles a bit, sounding more dismayed than anything. I rub the back
of my head. I don’t know how to deal with this. I mean, I will help her
anyway I can but I don’t even know where we would start. As if she read
my mind she starts speaking. “It’s the same voice. It’s a faint whisper. It’s
definitely a man.” She rubs her hands together and starts picking at her
nails. I don’t ever really see this side of her. Definitely not for the last
couple years. She’s unsure of herself right now and I hate it. She continues
some more while I stand at the counter. Not sure if I should give her the
space she likes while processing or go sit next to her.
“I want to research this house. When I tell you that this house called
to me; I meant it.” I look back at the coffee pot. The coffee was brewed
enough for a couple cups so I pulled down some mugs. I brought the mugs
over to the table. She grabs hers and takes a quick sip. “I remember riding
my bike out here and I saw this house and I just felt this tug, this pull to this
house. I couldn't tell you why. I just did and maybe that has something to do
with what is happening now.” I nod letting her know I'm still listening. “I
also don't think this will stop if I leave this house. I think I should stay here.
I know yesterday you said we could go to your house but I don't want to
bring something that might be deadly into your house, much less anyone
else's. I don't think I even want you to be here. I don’t want you to get
hurt.”
I shake my head, frustrated that she thinks she can push me away.
Just a friend or not, she should know that I would never leave her to deal
with this alone. I haven't before and I’m not going to stop now. “I don't
know if you hit your head that hard yesterday but you can not really believe
I will just walk out to my truck and leave you here, by yourself after
everything you went through yesterday.” I sit back in my chair and stare her
down. Irritation written across my face I’m sure. She stares at me for a
moment and then I can practically see the fumes pouring out of her ears.
 She calmly places her coffee mug down and places her hands flat on
the table. That’s when I know I done fucked up. “Well…excuse the fuck out
of me for caring about what happens to you.” She abruptly stands up, grabs
her coffee and storms out of the kitchen. I’m about to slump into my chair
and give her some space, when Iast night comes to the forefront of my
brain. I stand up, chair sliding across the floor and I'm running out of the
kitchen after her and following her upstairs. She gives an irritated grunt and
continues into her room when she hears me pounding up the stairs after her.
She pulls open her drawers, pulling out clothes and slamming them closed.
She huffs past me and into the bathroom. I follow closely behind. I slam my
hand onto the door before it closes all the way. “What do you think you are
doing Noah?” She asks, if looks could kill. The police would be drawing
my chalk outline right now.
“Just…” I let out a long breath, “don't lock the door. I don't want
something to happen and it takes me longer than necessary to get to you.” I
tell her, pleading with her to listen. She nods and shuts the door. I listen to
the shower turn on and slide down the door, thinking about how much I
pissed her off. This is not at all what I had planned this morning.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 6
Dana

I swear to the gods this man. I aggressively scrub my hair and think
about what he said ‘I don't know if you hit your head that hard…’. I didn't
hit my head hard but what's wrong with wanting to protect the special
people in your life? The ones you love and care for. I have no idea what
these shadows or this voice are capable of. Now that things have escalated I
have the right to be concerned. I finish rinsing my hair and move on
scrubbing my body. Do I love him? I mean, as a friend most definitely but
as something more? I don't know. I mean he just told me his feelings. Sort
of. What if yesterday’s kiss was a once off and he's actually a terrible
kisser? Or what if he can't handle where my life is going right now? Cause
my life took a hard left yesterday. I don’t even want to handle it.
I finish scrubbing up and shaving. While I ponder where my life is
right now and how much I hope it doesn't continue to spiral downward. I
have an inkling though, that this isn’t even the beginning. I finish up my
shower and turn it off. I pull my towel around me and step out of the
shower. I finish drying off my legs and wrap my hair in my towel.
I start towards the counter for my brush and I hear the moan again. I
stand still and side eye my left and right not seeing anything. The moan
vibrates through the bathroom like a haunting melody. My eyes flick back
to the mirror and I see a ghost trying to flicker to life behind me. There is
color to them but they look like a bad TV signal. Cutting in and out. I stare
for a moment transfixed but then the face contorts, still flickering in and
out, just like the old lady in the rocking chair.
“Oh! No, no, no, no!” I yell, scrambling to get out of the bathroom. I
get the door open and run directly into Noah who loses his balance and we
topple over. I land directly on him and I land hard. He lets out a wheeze but
clings to me as I start to get up and try to run.
 “Hey. Hey! Hey!” He tries to grab my attention while trying to hold
onto me. But I am scared and nothing is going to stop me from getting the
fuck away from whatever the hell that was. I scramble off him only to lose
my footing again. My towel falls out of my hair as I flip over and scuttle
back up against the wall breathing hard and looking around everywhere
trying to find the unseen threat.
I see Noah as he grabs my towel, bringing it over to me. He holds a
hand out to help me up. I look down at myself and wince. I slowly stand up
and reach for the towel. I can see Noah gulp and try to not look at me,
trying to just stare at the ceiling. I grab the towel from his hands and I wrap
the towel around me. I turn and finish the walk to my room. I drop the
towel after kicking the door closed but not all the way. I hear a hiss behind
me. I guess he wasn't expecting to see my naked backside as well. I also
wasn't expecting him to just follow me in. He had to know I’d be getting
dressed in here. Seems like a ‘him’ problem.
I rifle through the dresser and pull out some clothes. I refuse to go
back in that bathroom right now and get the other set I pulled out that is
sitting on the sink. I pull my clothes on and turn around. Noah is sitting in
my reading chair with his head in his hands. I walk over and sit on my bed
across from him. He lifts his head and gives me a concerned look. Probably
wondering what lit a fire under my ass.
“What happened?” He asks, leaning forward. He scoots father to the
edge of the chair and waits.
“I got out of the shower and I heard that fucking moan again and
then there was a ghost trying to flicker into the real world. What the hell
kind of ghosts are these? They aren’t like anything I have seen before.” I
say checking over my body but realize I would not find evidence of being
tired…physically. “I’m not tired but then again they haven’t touched me,
yet.” Noah grabs my hands and pulls on me slowly toward him. Giving me
time to pull away. He continues to pull me into his lap so that I'm straddling
him. I put my hands on his shoulders and he leans his forehead against
mine. I just let myself relax for a moment even if I should be hightailing it
out of this damn house.
“What has changed? Why is my ability different now?” I sigh,
knowing he wont have the answer but it would be nice if someone did.
“They flicker in and out like a bad TV signal. That’s the only way I know
how to describe it. They also look like every other ghost out there that I
have seen but they sure as hell don't act like it.”
“So, the plan is to research this house. Maybe if we find a list of the
previous owners we can research them and maybe find a clue as to what is
going on.” Noah lifts me off his lap to stand. “We should start at the
library?”
“Yeah. That sounds good. Maybe I should do some online research.
Maybe find an occult shop in the city. I could maybe talk to someone there?
It may take a while to root around for an actual person who knows what
they are talking about.” I say to myself walking back and forth in my room.
My finger pinching my lip and brow furrowed in concentration. I look up at
Noah. “We also need to talk about that,” I say to him, pointing at the chair.
He turns his head to the chair and then back to me and his neck starts to turn
a lovely shade of red.
“Yeah, we definitely should. Ghosts take precedence though. Don’t
you think?” I squint at him.
“Seems like they would both be important, Noah.”
“Yes, they are. I just want to make sure you're safe. You literally
came scrambling out of the bathroom, naked.” Noah steps towards me. “I
don’t want to fight about this.”
“And I don’t either. I just need to know where we stand. I need one
problem fixed. I need one stable thing in my life. I can’t have so many
things that are chaotic in my life. No one can, Noah. This is the one thing I
know that can be sorted,” Noah grabs my arms and pulls me in a hug,
“without researching books and finding witches.” I look up at him.
“Okay, I get it. That over there,” He says swinging us both to face
the chair, “was me trying to comfort you. It was me trying to comfort me. I
also just wanted to hold you. I’ve never gotten to do that before, like that
anyways. I want to hug you, kiss you,” his lips move toward me ear, “fuck
you.” I shiver at the words, my pussy suddenly aching. A heady need
overwhelms me. “I want to play with you, edge you. I want you in my bed,
in my truck, on my couch and against the wall.” Where the hell did this
Noah come from? “I want to wake up next to you every morning. I want to
make breakfast with you in our pajamas. I want to cuddle by the fire. I want
it all Dana.”
Godsdamn.
 “Okay,” I croak out. “I think I have an idea of where this is
headed.” My voice is breathy and I’m trying to shove the need boiling over
in me down. This is not the time. I look up at Noah, he’s staring right back
at me. His unruly hair falling to his forehead. I take in his strong chin,
straight nose. I look at his lips for a moment and then his lips are on mine.
Kissing me roughly. His hands cup my face, putting me right where he
wants me. He sucks my bottom lip into his mouth and drags his teeth along
it as he groans. Sending heat straight to my center. He pulls back and stares
into my eyes. ‘Fuck’ is all he says before he descends again. Wild and
hurried. I let him dominate my mouth. Following his lead. Then, he slows,
running his lips up my chin. I realize my hands are clutching to his shirt like
he’s the only thing keeping me from floating off. I release him and move
my hands around his neck. He tangles one hand into my hair while the other
caresses down my back. Pulling me closer. He kisses down my neck,
nipping at the sensitive skin as he goes. He pulls my head back and to the
side. Giving himself the full length of my neck. I’m lost to oblivion. Letting
him do as he pleases as I run my hands up into his hair making him growl.
I open my eyes when I sense being watched. It takes me a moment
to realize there is a hoard of shadows on my walls. I try to scramble out of
Noah’s hold. When he shakes himself out of his lust filled daze, he looks
confused. These shadows aren’t like the rest though. They are static or
flickering in and out. They are like a normal shadow.
“Shadows.” I say. Noah turns around to see then looks back at me.
His eyes wide and the color is draining from his face. I grab his hand and
we book it out of the house. We get to the truck and my breaths are coming
in heavy pants. Noah is behind me stroking my back but I can feel the
tremble in his hands.
Why the fuck is this happening!?
“What the fuck was that?” Noah says a slight shake to his voice.
I gently bang my head against the driver window and then rest my
head against it. Noah wraps his arms around me and rests his head on my
shoulder. I drag in deep breaths and slowly let them out. Trying to get a
hold of the rising panic that is threatening to consume me.
“Those were shadows. Those were different from everything else I
have been seeing.” I quietly say.
“Jesus. It just looked like chaos. Well, now we have another thing to
research.”
 I turn my head enough to look up at my house to search the windows
for a lurking shadow or really anything that would explain the shadows.
There’s nothing. My house just sits there like it always had. Looking warm
and inviting. Unassuming. Even if she needs a paint job.
“How about we go to the library and see what old newspaper articles
we can dig up about this house and we stay the night at my house? You
don't have work till tomorrow, correct?” I nod my head. “Good, it's still
morning, let's go back inside, pack you a bag as quickly as we can. We need
to get out of this house. Let’s also get some Corner Cafe coffee and maybe
some breakfast? My treat.” He sways us back and forth slightly. Always my
rock even when he himself is probably terrified. The movement soothes me
long enough to get my nerves together for the trek back into the nightmare I
now live.
I turn around towards my house, grab Noah’s hand and walk back
into the house. We hurry up the stairs and peek into my room. I don’t see
any shadows so I walk quickly into my room and start throwing some
clothes onto the bed. I throw a bag on the bed and speed walk to the
bathroom to grab my shower things. I quickly grab the door handle and
fling the door open, hitting the wall. Right now I don't care about holes.
I grab what I need and the extra set of clothes on the counter. I
practically sprint to the room and throw my clothes in the bag. I notice
Noah has thrown everything else in there. I zip the bag and throw it over
my shoulder. I start to hear whispers.
“I hear whispers.” Tears well up in my eyes. I don't know if they are
from frustration or because I’m scared. Probably both to be honest. Noah
nods and grabs my hand and we jog downstairs and out of the house. Noah
opens the passenger door and helps me into the truck. When he climbs into
the driver seat he starts the truck and backs out of the driveway. When we
get down the street he puts his hand on my thigh and gives my leg a gentle
squeeze. I unbuckle and move into the middle seat so I can rest my head on
his shoulder. I put my hand on his thigh while he shifts down to stop at the
stop sign at the end of my street.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” He asks.
“For getting me out of there, for not running for the hills, for always
being my rock. For not thinking I’m crazy. For comforting me. For even
taking me to bed last night. For many, many things.” I keep my head on his
shoulder looking out the windshield. I feel his body rise with his breaths
and I start to think I said too much.
“You don’t have to thank me. Ever. I do it because I want to because
I would do just about anything for you.” He shakes his head. “Nope
definitely everything and anything. Always.” I let a small smile cross over
my face as we made our way through the town. When we make it to Corner
Cafe, we have to park around the corner and down the street. He hops out
and pulls me out through the driver door.
I stand up and blow out a huge breath. Relieved to be out of the
house and in a bright open space. I look up at Noah and smile. He grabs my
hand and pulls me toward the cafe. We stand in line for a few moments
waiting to get our order in. I keep looking around waiting for the ghosts or I
guess shadows now too. Maybe, I don't need to be scared of them. They are
just shadows and ghosts after all. Or, maybe, that's just me hoping they are
harmless creepy shadows.
‘Wish in one hand and shit in the other. See what happens first’ my
mom would say. Didn't know I would ever truly relate to that saying. I need
to know what the hell is happening and why? Does this run on my dads side
of the family? My mom always told me no one in her family could do what
I do.
Although, finding my father seems like it would be impossible
because it was just a one night stand as she said. That was always her
answer. She did let slip that he was the most attractive person she had ever
met and that he was up for a couple days checking out the haunted hotels.
She met him the last night he was here and that was that. I didn't need to
know more than that and definitely didn't want to know more than that.
Ew.
“Hi Dana! Do you want your usual? We're out of the chorizo
sandwich though.” Jessie says with a frown. “The sausage biscuit is
delicious.”
“Yeah that will be fine but can you make my coffee a large? I’d take
a gallon if I could.”
“Of course!” Jessie says, turning to Noah “What about you Noah?
The usual?”
“Yeah. That’ll be fine.” Noah hands her his debit card.
“Okay, I’ll have that out in a minute.” She hands back his card and
we go find a table.
 We sit down and I automatically start scanning the walls again.
“Dana, it’s going to be fine. We will figure this out. I swear it." He
grabs my hand and kisses my knuckles. I know we are going to figure this
out. We have to because I can not, and I repeat, can not live the rest of my
life like this. It’s exhausting and I’m only on day one. I dramatically and
internally cry at that thought. Looking at Noah I nod and let out a breath.
So, we will drink our coffee when it gets here and I’ll pull up my big
girl pants. Then we will head to the library. “There has to be something. But
it’s also two hundred years worth of newspapers. That’s a newspaper every
week for two hundred years. That’s like fifty two times two hundred. Which
is like twenty thousand-”
“Like ten thousand. That's even if there was a newspaper and if there
was even anything to put in said paper. I’m willing to bet there wasn’t.” I
give him a glare for the interruption and the reminder of my math skills. He
shrugs, “It’s only fair. You did it to me.”
“No, you just wanted to remind me how bad I am at math. Don't
gotta lie to kick it. That is why I'm not an accountant or something equally
mathy.”
“Yes, we will go search for some articles. Maybe we will start a
couple years after that house was built and go from there.” Jessie came by
with our drinks and food. I dig into the sausage biscuit and coffee.
Everything is always better with a full stomach and coffee. Or so they say
but I'm pretty sure I’ll be stepping in the same shit I was walking in before I
ventured into this cafe. But at least if I’m dragged off to hell, I’ll have a full
stomach.
Silver linings and all.
“Are you ready?” Noah asks as I pop the last bite into my mouth. I
chew carefully as Noah watches me. His eyes dipped to my mouth. Is he
reliving that kiss? Because I am now. I flush red and swallow my bite.
“No, but I guess fate wants to fuck me. So that means I should fuck
it back. Yeah?” I wiggle my brows and I get an eye roll for my efforts. We
get up and toss our trash and head back to the truck.
“Dana”
I hear my name again as soon as we make it into the truck. The man
calling my name doesn’t scare me. His voice is deep and calming. It’s like
having Hank around all over again. I sit up straighter at that thought.
Maybe…
 No. I dismissed it as quickly as it came on. Hank has been moved on
for years. He’s never coming back.
I sit back and watch the world pass us by as we make our way to the
library. Noah pulls into the parking lot and it is practically empty. Not many
people spend time in a library anymore when you have the internet.
When you walk into this gaudy building you're met with huge
filigree outlined doors at the front and then there are large black and white
tiles throughout the whole building. The crown molding here is very
intricate and makes me wonder how long it took to make it. How much did
it cost? The shelves are all dark wood with ladders that run across them to
get to the top shelves. There's a second story that looks down into the first.
That's where all the historical books and newspapers are kept. We pass the
front desk which is empty and head up to the second story. When we get to
the top I just stare at the insane amount of books there are. Where the heck
do we even start? I’m getting overwhelmed just by looking at it all.
“Well, it looks like the newspapers are all over there,” Noah points
to his left, “so we can start there? Or we can go through the books?” Noah
goes right, toward the books. He shuffles through some books.
“The paperwork said 1833 when I was signing on the dotted line.” I
answer and start walking over to some of the leather bound books. Some
have years and I pull out 1830-1835. It’s an old leather bound book, its
companions sitting along the shelves marked for every five years. I open it
up listening to the crackle of the spine. It’s interesting for sure but it’s only
a weather almanac. I put it back and scan the shelves some more.
“Hey, I found this. Looks like a very nosey list of who was born and
who died.” I grab it from Noah with a ‘thanks’. I continue looking around
to see if I can find something that would tell me who had lived in the house
previously. I pulled out another book but this one is from 1830-1840 and it
says ‘Census’ on it with gold filigree dusting. Fancy. I pull that one down
and walk over to an empty table.
Noah follows me over and pulls out a chair for me. “I’m going to
keep looking,” he says before wandering away.
I start flipping through the ‘Census’ book to get to 1833 and find
Micheal Debrough, his wife and child living there as well. I flipped to 1834
and then to the next year. I noticed they were still living there but the child
wasn't listed in 1835.
 I realize I need a pen to write these people down. I get up and
wander down stairs to the front desk. I wish I didn’t. Lisa Vander is sitting
behind the desk. Your typical mean girl. She was just a hot shot rich girl in
high school and she really made life miserable. She never backed off me,
always calling me ‘Spaz’ like it was a hurtful insult. Childish and pathetic
since that is all she could come up with. I hardly even spoke to the girl but
she happened to see what happens when ghosts get a hold of me and she
just ran with it.
Middle school was worse. Probably because of all those new fresh
hormones pumping through our veins and making us all assholes. But some
kids in high school thought it would be cool to make life miserable even
after their hormones should have been somewhat leveled out. Maybe it was
to make themselves feel better about their sad lives.
“Well hello Spaz.” If I rolled my eyes any harder they would be
stuck looking at my brain, watching the brain cells die off listening to her.
She is in her twenties and she still acts like a child.
“We’re still rolling with Spaz, huh? It’s a pity to see that your shitty
personality never grew out of age 15.” I say, why other with niceties if she’s
not? “I need a pencil and paper. Where would I find those? Or should I find
someone else?” I start rapping my nails on the counter, incredibly irritated.
Lisa just stares at me.
“Looks like someone grew a backbone-”
“Look, Lisa, this has been a gas! But I would like to get back to
what I’m doing and I am already over this conversation. Point me in the
right direction and I’ll go from there.” Her eyes flick behind me as I feel
arms wrap around my waist and a kiss on my neck.
“What are we doing here baby?” He asked me. He presses into my
back and my legs turn Jello.
“Hey Noah.” She smiles at him, sitting up straighter, poking her
chest out. I have to hold back a laugh at the blatant peacocking on her part.
“How have you been? It’s been so long since I have seen you around.”
Noah tightens his grip on me.
“I don’t feel like playing whatever ‘I peaked in high school’ game
you are trying to play. Could you do your job and point us…” I feel him
shake his head, “never mind we will just go buy some down the street.”
Lisa’s face falls at the obvious dig. She scrambles to think of something to
say.
 “Noah-” she starts to say but I cut her off as Noah dragged me
backward by my belt loop.
“Have the day you deserve.” I turn around with a mock salute at her
and follow Noah to the front door. He grabbed my hand as he pushed open
the door.
“Well, well, well Noah Turner. Turning your back on the cool crowd
huh?” I tease him.
“I was never really part of the ‘cool’ crowd and you know it.”
“Well, I appreciate that you stuck up for me but I had it handled.”
We are almost to the pharmacy that is only a couple buildings down from
the library.
“I know you can. She just pissed me off. She was being a…not nice
person.”
“A ‘not nice person’” I laugh at his way of calling Lisa a bitch.
“That she was. We would have probably only found scrap paper anyway
and those weird half pencils.”
Noah pulls open the pharmacy door and guides me in. We wander
for a moment trying to find the paper and maybe some pencils.
“Looks like pens it is because I don't see a sharpened pencil
anywhere or even a mechanical pencil. Must be out of stock. School did just
start up again.” I say as I grab a couple notebooks and some pens.
Noah grunts and starts walking toward the register. I put the
notebook and pens down waiting for the cashier to come back. Noah starts
throwing candy bars and gum up on the counter.
“What am I? Your sugar mama?” I laugh at his candy selection.
“And what are you? An eleven year old boy?”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures.” He says before the
cashier comes back. “And who said you were paying?”
As the cashier is ringing up our items everything seems to go
unnaturally quiet. Like when crickets and birds go silent in the forest, when
they can sense a predator near. My back stiffens and even Noah grabs onto
my waist and pulls me closer. The cashier finishes ringing up the last item.
Oblivious to what is happening around us.
“Twenty six fifty two.” The cashier says as Noah whips his card out
before I can.
“Dana…”
 I don't know if Noah hears it too or not but I’m instantly on alert.
Hearing my name doesn't worry me. It’s the unnatural silence. I feel a
creeping sensation along my back. Like someone is watching me. I look
around and behind me. I see nothing but that doesn’t mean anything.
Noah takes back his card and grabs our bag. He steers me towards
the doors and wraps and arm around my waist.
That's like the third time I have heard my name in the same voice.
Deep and raspy. Otherworldly. It sends a chill down my spine but I’m not
sure if it’s from being scared or not. What will it take to figure out who is
calling me? Do I even want to know? Then, there's the ghosts and now
shadows. Fucksake, next there will be aliens.
Beam me up now.
“So….” Noah says. Trying to regroup I guess as we make our way
back to the library.
“Yeah, did you hear it too? Or is it still just me.?”
“I only noticed the quiet. What did you hear?”
“My name but it was the same man.” I look away from Noah and
suddenly there is a woman there. I know she is dead though. She looks like
she was beaten to death. Bruises everywhere. She is wearing a current style
of clothing though. She’s flickering in and out.
I have never seen her before. Noah is talking to me but I wave a
hand at him and slow down. I take in the ghost debating if she is going to
hurt me. She is looking up at the buildings but when I take a step closer her
head snaps to me. She squints at me and her face starts to contort. The skin
stretching around her mouth as that low moaning sound starts vibrating
around us.
“Dana! What is going on?” Noah grabs my hand and looks
panicked.
“Ghost.” Is all I say and squeeze his hand.
The ghost and I are in a standoff. Her face is still stretched out and
the sound continues. Then suddenly it all stops. Her mouth closes and the
sound stops. I take an uneasy breath.
“Dana, something doesn’t feel right. We need to leave.” I barely hear
Noah as I watch the ghost's mouth turn into a smile. It’s all wrong, too big
and too many teeth. I back up a step taking Noah with me and the ghost
follows one step forward. I stop and she stops.
 “We’re going to get you.” She sing-songs.. Her eyes turn completely
black and then she starts running for me.
“Oh fuck.” I turn and sprint with Noah in hand into the street. Nearly
getting hit by a car. The ghost is not so fortunate. I watch the car run right
through her. Dispersing her into mist.
“What the fuck?” I whisper.
“Dana, tell me what the hell is going on.”
“She started chasing us. Then she just got hit by that car and POOF
she just disappeared. This is ridiculous. What the hell did I do in a past life
to deserve this?”
“Okay, well, I don’t think your house has much to do with whatever
is going on if shit like this,” he swings his arms out, encapsulating the
whole area, “is happening.”
“Let’s go back to the library, write down the names and then we can
leave. I want food and I need a nap. I’m going to need a stiff drink too.” I
say walking back across the street towards the library, “Why can’t I just
have a normal boring life?”
“You were just meant for more exciting things.” I scoff as we reach
the library doors.
“Clearly.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 7
Dana

Noah’s family farm is a few miles outside of town. It only takes

minutes to get there but with the smell of the burgers, these minutes stretch
on. My mouth is watering profusely. When we finally hit gravel, the last
stretch to his home, we passed his house. Then, the cow fields and the
chicken barn.
“Where are we going? I’m gonna start eating in your truck. I’m
starved.”
“Does this truck look like it has never been eaten in before?” He
asks while looking over at me with a quirked brow. I shrug and grab my
burger but as I open the wrapper Noah stops in front of one of the old ranch
hand houses. “Alright, out you go.” He grabs the sodas and notebooks. I
grab the bag of food, placing my burger back in it.
“Is this yours now?” I ask shutting the truck door behind me. “Or are
we just hiding out? Cause imma tell you right now, I'm not down with
eating next to widows and mice. I would rather eat at the house or in the
truck.” I say stepping up to the door. He opens it up and steps back.
Guess I won't be eating with the widows. The little house has been
cleaned up and looking rather nice. The small kitchen to the left is cleaned
up and painted. New flooring throughout. To the right is the living room
with a small leather couch and a couple arm chairs. I watch as Noah walks
through the living room to squat down by the fireplace. He starts throwing
in some kindling and then places some larger logs on top. I move to stand
behind the couch.
“My parents and a few of the ranch hands spruced up the place for
me. It was a ‘he's too old to be living at home’ present but we still need him
to muck the stalls.” He stands up, smiles and laughs as he continues, “I
didn't know they were doing it for me. I even helped move out some of the
old furniture. Helped lay this flooring too.” He chuckles and I have a good
laugh over that. That is exactly something his parents would do just to mess
with him. “My dad is probably writing up plans to turn my old room into a
gym. Maybe an office.” He walks over to the small kitchen table and sits
down. He puts my burger and fries on the table and then sifts through the
bag for his.
“Hey! I wanted to eat in bed.” I say with all the drama I can muster.
“Well, then, let’s go do that.” He walks over to the ottoman in the
living room and grabs the tray off it. He then loads it up with all our food
and I follow him to the bedroom. The room is pretty large considering this
is a pretty small house. He has a king size bed, a couple night stands and a
TV hanging on the wall. There's a small pellet stove off to the corner. He
hands me the tray while he throws his sheets up on the bed. I place the tray
on the end of the bed and sit down. I dig into my burger while he turns the
pellet stove on. “Do you want me to turn something on?”
I shrug while I work on devouring my food. “So you don’t think it’s
the house? Just me?”
“I don’t know. I just feel like if it’s happening outside of the house
and things are getting progressively worse, it’s probably not directly related
to the house or it would have started a while ago. I would think anyway.”
“I just don't get it. Seeing the ghosts was one thing but these new
flickering ghosts and their moans. Then, the shadows from earlier. Seems
random, why would things be changing and why this much?”
“Can you understand what they are saying? The whispers?”
“No. It just sounds like a bunch of garbled nonsense.” I shake my
head finishing off my burger. “The ghosts always use me, steal my energy
and then can only get one garbled word out. Leaving me in bed drained and
feeling like shit. But the ghost earlier told me ‘We’re going to get you’ and
then chased after me. I don't feel drained though. She didn’t even touch me
to say that either. So what the fuck are they?” I groan and fall back on the
bed.
“She said she was going to get you?” Noah looks panicked.
“Yeah. It was weird, to say the least. I don’t know how to go about
this. I think I’ll have to go to the city and find someone that can help. What
do you think?”
“I don’t know. I have zero answers. I’m practically just an emotional
support animal at this point. Maybe also a research assistant.” He slurps
down some of his soda and hops off his bed while I laugh quietly at his self
ridicule. “I’m gonna grab your bag.” He starts heading toward the door and
I freeze. Looking around the room. “Do you want to come with me?” I nod,
flinging myself towards the door. We step outside and I stand on one of the
chairs by the door while Noah grabs my bag. I stare off into the fields.
When Noah slams his truck door closed I nearly jump out of my skin.
“Sorry,” he says quietly as he passes me. He opens the door and we head
back in. “Here's the bathroom if you need it.” He says as we head toward
his room.
“Okay, I’m going to change into jammies.” He nods and continues
walking to his room. I step into the bathroom and turn the light on. Wow,
it’s rather clean in here for this being a bachelor pad. I dig through my bag
and notice I did not bring any pajamas. But I did bring lots of underwear
and leggings and shirts. Guess you’ll miss stuff when your running amuck
trying to get the fuck out of a shit situation. I pull on some boy shorts and a
longer shirt. This will have to do because I plan on burrowing deep in
Noah's bed and not coming out till tomorrow. I stuff my clothes back in my
bag and walk into the room. I toss the bag at the end of the bed and jump
into the sheets to warm up. It’s not quite winter yet but it's still rather chilly.
Especially since there hasn't been anyone to warm this house up for a day or
so. I look over at Noah and he is just staring at me.
“A no pants party huh?” he says laughing.
“Well, when you're fighting for your life while packing you forget
things like jammies. Besides, I hate wearing pants to bed. Makes me itchy.”
I laugh sitting up and grabbing my phone. I need to start my research even
if I would rather sleep for the next forty eight hours instead. I want to
burrow down into these sheets and never come out. I grab the notebook off
the bed where it was thrown and start flipping through it. I start with the
‘Alexander Debrough’ with the year they moved in.
I put my head in my hands and I rub my eyes viciously. My mother
would scold me for it. ‘You’re going to give yourself wrinkles miss mam.’
Gods, I wish I had her right now. I have never needed my mother more. She
always had the best advice. Whether it was about the immature asshats I
went to school with or my first sort of boyfriend. Can’t really call him a
boyfriend, pretty sure he just wanted to say he fucked the weird girl. Fool
me once and all. I shake my head of those thoughts and lean back in the
bed. Noah pulls me over to him.
 “You know, it’s okay to forget your pajamas. To feel out of control
or scared. You have too much on your mind. I don't know how you're not
freaking out more. I mean, you have ghosts following you. It’s fucking
terrifying. Yet, you wanted to sleep in the same house they stalked you in.
You know that thing people say about white people? You’re that people,
Gumdrop.” I start laughing because it’s true.
“That is true. It’s a particular talent of mine.” Wait… “Gumdrop?
That better not be your pet name. I veto. Immediately.”
“Thought I’d try. I’ll find one.”
“You’re ridiculous,” I roll my eyes and smirk at Noah, “but I’m
going to sit on the couch. The fire sounds nice and I want to get through
these names. If I lay here anymore I’ll continue thinking about sleep.” I hop
off the bed grabbing the notebook. I head out to the living room and hear
Noah following. I drag a chair over to the fire and start my research, setting
the notebook on the arm of the chair.
When I look up the first family, the Debroughs, I only come up with
the sons death. There were no other articles about them. I may have to look
through some news articles. That would take forever though. When I look
up the Boggess’ and the Keeney’s nothing pops up. The house was vacant
for years until Tash. There were a couple articles about his appliance repair
shop when it opened. Then back to a whole lot of nothing on Bosley, the
man who owned the house before me. Maybe I’m looking at this from the
wrong angle or maybe something happened while it was vacant? We're
definitely going to have to go through newspapers. I groan at the thought of
it. I look over at Noah and he is engrossed with his phone. Hopefully he is
having more luck than me.
“I have not found much, other than Tash owned an appliance repair
shop and that was big news for weeks. There isn't anything, other than
census information. We're going to have to go through the newspapers at
the library.” I get up and sit next to him since he is still completely invested
in whatever has captured his attention. When I plop next to him he finally
looks at me.
“Did you know there was a whole ‘satanic cult’ scare here in the
forties into the fifties? I mean they never actually caught anyone but they
would find dead goats in abandoned houses. They also found a couple dead
bodies out in the fields behind your house. The bodies were never identified
though.” I stare at him and then his phone. “Hold on, I’m still reading this.”
He scans some more of the article and I start reading with him.
‘...said that there were a couple bodies found in the fields out by the
old house off Thorn Point Ln. The house in question was built in 1833 and
has only seen a few owners. There are several houses on Thorn Point Ln.
now but back in the 40’s there were only 3 homes.
Cops were called on several occasions about noise complaints,
which you can find in ‘Plains Weekly’. Most of the articles I found were in
1944, from August of that year into the middle of 1945. That seems to be
when most of the calls were made.
An Agnes Peters who lived across the street on Thorn Point ln. made
most of the calls. Old police files say that she called about people sneaking
in and out of the house and not through the front door. That it looked like
they were crawling down into the basement through cellar doors. She said
she also saw candles lit on the first and second floor. This night in
particular she heard an altercation, or what seemed like an altercation. By
the time the cops did a drive by there were no candles and no one was
found. A couple weeks later some loose dogs were reported to have brought
human bones back home. There was an investigation in the fields where a
male body was found, left decomposing for what was weeks according to
the coroner at the time. There looked to be stab wounds but the body was in
bad shape when brought to the coroners.
The John Doe’s body was never claimed. The investigation turned up
another dead body a few weeks later of a young female that had been
stabbed by an unknown weapon and buried in a shallow grave. The coroner
says this body had been out there for months. That body was also never
claimed.
The sheriff and FBI labeled this all as ‘Satanic cult’ killings which
caused quite the panic in little old Plains. Families stayed locked inside
after the sun went down and…’
I lean back into the couch and start laughing. “What in the actual
fuck is life right now? I swear if I'm being haunted by demons I will lose
my shit.” I stop laughing and look at Noah. “Did Agnes say a cellar door?”
“Yeah, looks like it.” He says looking back at his phone. “This
article was not written for the paper. This is just a blog of sorts that I
stumbled across. It could all be fake or exaggerated. The article definitely
isn’t well written. Maybe it’s a younger kid but…”
 “It’s something to go on. Going through the owners did nothing. I
don't have a cellar door though. I mean, I have a basement but it's small and
it’s not much room for a party. I could only fit some boxes down there with
my washer and dryer. Well, you know! You helped build that shelving. Oh
gods….I can't live there ever again. What if the reason I’m attached to this
house is because a ghost somehow clung to me and I’m just feeling his
emotions or some weird shit. What if I never actually wanted that place. It
was some ghostly feeling. Maybe I have never seen them because they are
stuck in a wall or something. God, this is turning into a horror movie.”
“Well, first let's go through articles from 1944 and 1945 tomorrow
and then when you get off we can scour your basement for a false wall.” He
grabs my phone and sets it on the ottoman. He then pulls me over onto his
lap so I’m straddling him. “Or would you like to go to the library now?” He
rubs my back up and down and I shake my head.
“We can do more research from our phones. Lets see if we can find
anything else on our phones and whatever we can't find we can look into at
the library. We will have to check out my basement. We should do that
today? It would put me at ease. I also want to email that blogger. Can you
send me the link to that site?”
“Of course,” he looks at his phone again and then I hear mine ping,
“let's get your pants on and then we can head out and check your basement.
We still have plenty of daylight.” He starts to get up but I hold onto the
back of the couch to keep him sitting. He sits back and gives me a
questioning look.
I have some shit to get off my chest. This is the one good thing
happening to me right now. I learned to grasp what I want, when I want it. I
don’t bother with listening to other people's judgment. My mother always
told me to take the opportunity. Never pass up life. I know going to my
house is probably the wiser and more adult decision right now but all my
problems will still be there after I have a conversation with him.
“Can I just kiss you? Just for a minute. We could have been doing
this the whole time. And we haven't even talked about last night and I just…
” I trail off and put my hands through his hair. “Why did neither of us say
anything?” I whisper, placing my forehead on his. “Now shadows, creepy
ghosts and possible death are in the way. We have terrible timing.” I huff. I
lean back and look at him. “I never wanted to ruin our friendship and it
killed me to see you with other girls in high school and so I just bottled all
those feelings up. You were all I had other than my mother. The one thing I
never wanted to fuck up. Being friends was better than not having you at
all.” One of his hands curls into the back of my shirt between my shoulder
blades and the other is on my lower back pulling me into him.
“I never wanted to lose you. I was terrified of it. I have always felt
an attachment to you. I guess my thoughts were the same. I didn’t know
how you felt so I never brought it up. Not wanting to ruin things between us
by making our friendship awkward. In high school I was just being an idiot.
I thought if I could find an attachment with someone else I could forget the
raging feelings I had for you. I was foolish.” He sighs heavily. “It may be
terrible timing but fuck am I happy that I slipped up.” He smashes his lips to
mine and pulls me so close we are practically fused together. My hands
slide to his face and his hands roam under my shirt grabbing at my sides.
Dragging his fingers down my back roughly. This is what I need. I just need
him and his rough hands on me.
I grab the bottom of his shirt and pull it up, breaking our kiss as I
pull it over his head and chuck the shirt to the side. I stare and run my hands
down his chest and arms. I would say chiseled by the gods but years of
throwing hay bales would do the trick too. He grips my shirt and looks into
my eyes. Asking. I answer by lifting my arms up. He pulls my shirt over my
head and lets out a groan. He stares at me, running his finger across the
swell of my breast. He reaches behind me to undo my bralette’s clip with
one hand. Then he trails both hands up my back, hooking his fingers into
the straps and pulling them down my arms while his eyes are pursuing
every bit of my bare skin. I sit silently, except for my heavy, nervous
breathing. I watch everything he is doing to my body, how his fingers trail
over my skin. His fingers leave a wake of shivers. I let out a soft sigh and
my core is aching and needing him. Noah pushes his hand into my hair
pulling my head to bare my neck to him. He rushes in kissing and biting
down my neck to my chest. He leaves nothing untouched. He sucks a nipple
into his mouth and I let out a moan, rocking against him needing
everything.
He lets my nipple go with an audible pop. “I need words, Dana. Is
this what you want right now? I don't want to stop but I will if you say the
words.” He rests his head against my chest. “We will get dressed and do
what we should be doing.” He grips my back waiting for my answer.
 “Yes,” I breathe out, “yes, I want this. Everything else can wait.” He
grabs my ass and stands up abruptly. I quickly wrap my legs around his
waist. He takes us back to his room while I leave a trail of kisses and love
bites down his neck. We haven’t even made it back to his room before he
aggressively pushes my back up against the wall next to his bedroom door.
He grips my neck with one hand and forces me to look at him. “I
fucking want you more than anything in my life. Never forget that.” He
whispers across my jaw and towards my ear. “I have fantasized about this
for years. Exactly this. My lips on you…” He bites my chin and pulls me
away from the wall. He steps into the room and he throws me onto the bed.
I lay there legs splayed and breasts bouncing from the fall. I push up onto
my elbows and watch him undo his belt, with one fucking hand. God damn,
who knew that could be so sexually appealing? He puts the belt on the bed.
He slowly undoes the buttons and zipper. All while staring at me, taking in
all of my bared skin. He pushes his jeans down and I start breathing harder.
I can see the outline of his cock and it sends heat coursing through my
body. He steps out of his jeans and I sit up farther when he climbs on the
bed crawling over me. He kisses me hard and pulls back. He kneels in
between my legs and then grabs my underwear to yank them off. He throws
them behind his back and just stares at my body. Eyes roaming
everywhere.
“See something you like?” I ask, sitting up farther, reaching to pull
his boxers down. I should not be the only naked one right now. He helps me
remove his boxers, tossing them to the ground.
“You’re so fuckin pretty,” he growls, he reaches forward and presses
down between my breasts, pushing me back into the bed. His eyes take on a
feral gleam. God, has he always been like this? Dominating and
demanding? With me he has always been so sweet, calm and collected.
Always there to brighten the day. I did not know this lurked beneath. I
mean, I did get a hint of it earlier but godsdamn, it's like a whole other
Noah has taken over.
He lays his body over mine and starts trailing kisses down my neck,
towards my chest and lower. I start panting and push up on my elbows. I
stare at him roaming lower and lower. Heat floods between my thighs in
anticipation. I have one sexual experience and already it was subpar to this
moment alone.
 My breathing is sawing in and out of my chest in short quick
breaths. I feel his lips kiss the inside of my thigh, nipping and sucking. He
coasts over my pussy, only feeling his hot breath and does the same to the
other thigh. I give a small whine of frustration and Noah just huffs out a
small laugh.
“Patience.” Is all he says as he continues on his goal of driving me
absolutely crazy with need. He then places his hands on my thighs and
spreads my thighs wide open for him. Baring everything. My breath stutters
when I feel his warm breath on my clit. Then, he drags the wide flat of his
tongue from opening to clit. Fucking finally. My moan spurs him on and he
continues to run the flat of his tongue on my clit and it doesn't take long to
put me on edge. I grab his hair and he then switches to biting and sucking
everywhere else I need him.
“Oh god. Noah. Fuck. Please.” I moan. I grab my breasts and start
pinching and tugging my nipples, he looks up at me with teeth full of my
thigh. “Don't tease me.”
“Oh baby, but that’s the plan.” He slides his tongue up my clit again
and then continues the motion back with the flat of his tongue. He continues
his onslaught while he pushes his finger into me. I’m so close. “You're so
close aren’t you? Do you want to come?” I just nod, gasping for breath.
Rocking my hips up and down his face. Then he stops again.
“Fuck.” I drag the word out on a very unsatisfied groan.
“I asked you a question and you didn’t answer me.” His voice is
commanding.
Fuck.
Me.
“Yes, I want to come. Make me come, please.” He watches me tug at
my nipples and rock my hips up and down. He slides a finger down my slit,
then slowly circles my clit. I can see a smirk playing on his glistening lips.
“You look so pretty when you beg, but I think I’ll tease you some
more. I enjoy watching you squirm. Desperate to be filled with my cock.
My fingers.” He punctuates that by circling my entrance. “Your cum
dripping out of you.” His dirty fucking mouth is doing things for me. He
stops circling my clit.
Slap!
I stop teasing my breasts. Did he just span-
Slap!
 Oh damn.
Then, he sucks my clit into his mouth and moves his tongue back
and forth over me. I fall back unable to hold myself up. I put my hands in
his hair keeping him right where I want him. He works me back up into my
orgasm and I prepare myself for him to stop. To edge me some more.
“Noah, please don’t stop.” My breaths stutter, sitting right on the
edge of bliss.
He sticks two fingers in my pussy, massaging me slowly working
my g-spot. My orgasm hurtles through my body like a freight train. My
back arches and my legs clamp tight around his head. The moan that came
out of me would be embarrassing but I can’t seem to care with Noah
between my legs. Noah continues to lick me through my orgasm until I’m a
twitchy wet mess.
I fall back against the bed when Noah crawls up my body. He wipes
his chin and kisses me. Deep and long. Tasting myself on him. I wrap my
legs around his waist and pull him towards me.
“Condom?” he breathes out.
“I’m on birth control. If that’s okay with you.” My breathing is still
heavy.
“Thank god.” He reaches down and places himself at my opening
and slowly, deliciously slowly, pushes himself in. He bottoms out and waits
a second, feeling my pussy pulse around him. Gods I feel so perfectly full.
“Fuck Dana.” He says with a rasp. He slowly flexes his hips moving
just enough to feel tingles down to my toes. He pulls out and slams back in,
heaving a loud moan out of me. My hands cling to his back and I let him
have his way with me. Slamming in and out of me.
He stops for a second and pulls a leg up into the crook of his elbow,
giving a whole new sensation. He pulls me as close as I can get. Kissing
me. Groaning in my ear and hearing him sends a thrill through me. I drag
my nails down his back and grab his ass. Pulling him deeper into me. I feel
myself tightening around him. Noah pulls out and sits back on his knees,
placing both hands on the back of my thighs, pushing my thighs into my
chest. He pushes his cock back in me and starts slamming into me. I fling
my hands back into the headboard. Holding onto it, finding some purchase
against it. He takes in everything my body is doing. Every moan, every eye
roll of ecstasy and my breasts bouncing up and down. My orgasm rockets
through me, I convulse around him with his name on my lips.
 Noah keeps my thighs pinned to my chest as he continues to piston
in and out of me. Dragging my orgasm out. He lets my legs drop and leans
down to pull me close to him. One hand runs across the back of my neck,
tangling in my hair. The other caresses up my side fitting his hand between
me and the bed, holding himself tightly to me. I wrap my legs tightly
around him and run my hands into his hair pulling his lips to mine. Kissing
him with everything I have. His hips stutter and he holds himself in me,
thrusting shallowly into me.
“Fuck Dana.” He moans out. His head drops to my shoulder. “I don't
want to leave your body. “
“Then don't.” I say, closing my eyes. I keep my legs wrapped around
him. Enjoying the weight of him against my body. Reveling in the peace I
feel. I’m so content. I haven't felt this good in…I don't know how long.
I don't want to move from this bed or this moment. Noah gives a
kiss to my shoulder and pulls out. Leaving me cold and floating off without
his weight. He walks out the door and I hear the bathroom faucet turn on. I
get up and follow him into the bathroom and turn on the shower.
“I was going to provide the aftercare but I think I like this better.”
He turns the faucet off and tosses the hand towel into the sink. He pulls out
a towel from the cupboard for me as I climb into the shower. I close my
eyes and stand under the water, pushing my hair and the water out of my
face. I hear the curtain open again and a ‘fuck yes’ as Noah climbs in. He
stops right in front of me, my breasts pressing against his chest. He leans in
to kiss me. He grabs my face in both of his hands tilting my head back
farther. He pulls back and I have to break the magic that is this moment.
“We should go to my house. Get back on track. Figure out if there's
anything in that basement. I have a feeling this is going to get so much
worse.” I sigh and start to soap up my body regretting breaking this one
peaceful moment with Noah.
“I know, but I wish we didn’t.” He whispers. “We could stay in bed
and watch TV. Do absolutely nothing but learn each other's bodies.” He
wiggles his dark brown brows and gives me a panty melting smile. “But I
guess this does take priority. Let's get showered and then we can hop in the
truck. We’ll see if we can find anything.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 8
Dana

My stomach is in knots and I’m on a downward spiral of anxiety.

What am I going to find? I hope it’s not bodies. Please, please, please don't
let it be bodies. I’ll take a rabbit hole, I’ll even take more ghosts. If I have
been living on top of a crypt I will hurl.
We are still sitting in his truck looking at my house from the
driveway. My fingers fidget in my lap. I guess we will start in the basement
and go from there. That’s all I have to go on anyways. We, or at least I need
to find some kind of clue because so far nothing makes sense and
everything is freaking me out.
“Alright. Let’s just go straight to the basement and see if there’s like
a false wall or something. Then we can go from there.” I hop out of the
truck with false bravado and head to my front door. Noah follows behind.
“Hey Dana! How are you?” I hear Mischa shout from her driveway.
When I turn around she is dragging her trash cans at the curb.
“I’m…alright I guess. It’s been a weird twenty four hours.”
“I bet. I hope you didn't hit your head too badly with that fall.” She
walks over to meet me in my driveway. “I came over earlier to see if you
were fine but you weren't here.”
“No, we ended up going to the library and then went back to his
house for a while.” I say pointing to Noah. “I’ll talk to you later, I’ve gotta
get some stuff done and get some research done as well..” I say politely
trying to end the conversation before I lose my nerve to go into my house.
“Yeah! Yeah! No problem. I just wanted to check in. I’ll let you go!
Have a good night!” Mischa says cheerfully walking back to her house.
“Oh! You should come over for drinks! Any day after four is fine. Just come
on over! You can bring the ‘handsome stud’ too!”
 “Thank you! I’ll definitely take you up on that.” I say as cheerfully
as my soul can muster and turn back around and head straight to my front
door swinging it open. “Okay,” I say, nodding my head and looking behind
me to make sure Noah is with me. I grab his hand. “Let’s do this.”
I march us towards the kitchen and to the basement door. Fear starts
to squeeze at me. I shake my head, open the door and flick on the light.
There's no shadows, no ghosts and no sounds. We walk down the stairs into
the small area. The room is only about ten feet wide and fifteen feet deep.
Practically the size of a small bedroom. All I have down here is my washer
and dryer and some boxes from my old apartment with mom. They sit on a
metal shelving unit that Noah helped me put together. The rest of it is fairly
empty.
One day I will have the courage to go through them but in my mind
it just finalizes it I guess and let’s be honest, I’m not ready for that.
Noah walks the last few steps down the stairs past me. He heads
straight to the back wall and taps his knuckles against the walls in various
places.. I take my time walking down the stairs. Also, very, very glad that
these stairs are the kind that a hand can not just reach through the back of
the stairs and grab your ankles like you're a B rated actress in a D rated
horror film. The down side is someone could be hiding under them. We’re
not going to think about that though but at least the murderer couldn't grab
my ankles.
Silver linings.
I get to the bottom and look directly ahead at my washer and dryer.
The wall doesn't look like it's false. The wall is also concrete, so there’s no
wallpaper to peel back to reveal pentagrams and Latin. Or some Enochian.
Not that I would even know what that looks like.
Noah’s voice pulls me out of my musings. “Hey, Dana, come help
me move this shelf please?”
I walk over and grab the other end and help shuffle it out from the
wall. Noah turns back towards the wall. He starts banging his fist against it
and I hear it. Dread pools in my belly and my uterus shrivels up.
Hollow.
“Fuck.’ I trudge up the stairs without another word and out to the
garage. I grab the sledge hammers and a couple pairs of goggles. Who knew
the renovation tools would come in handy for something other than
renovating. Like finding a murder room. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What's the
chances the previous owner just wanted a smaller footprint of the
basement?
None.
I know it. I wish I didn’t.
I walk into the kitchen and Noah is walking towards me. He reaches
out for a sledge hammer and a pair of the glasses.
“Let’s put a hole in that wall and see what we find.” We go back
down into the basement and start swinging. Noah on the right and I’m on
the left. First swing and we have created a giant hole. Drywall.
Drywall that was covered in concrete to match the rest of the
original basement. Ugh. We continue to make a hole big enough for us to
peek through. I let the sledgehammer hang from my hand and walk up to
the wall to peel back some drywall bits.
The first thing I see is cobwebs. Like a haunted mansion, horror
movie cobwebs. Thick and everywhere. I look around some more and find
what look like books and a chair. I pull back and let Noah look through.
“Well, do you want to check it out?” I nod and backup more so we
can start swinging. I have to go in there. I don't exactly have a choice. I
have no one I can turn to that knows what is happening and I don't feel like
being dragged to hell. We finish up, knocking out a doorway sized path into
the room. I drop the sledgehammer to the side and tuck the glasses into my
shirt.
I step through the hole, careful not to break a leg. I have to grab my
phone for light. I point the light swinging it from wall to wall. Taking
everything in. Lots of dusty books, a couple of chairs. The floors is too
dusty to see what’s written on it but I don’t think I want to know what the
fuck is drawn on there. There's a small wooden table pushed against the
wall. When I turn around back towards the hole we made in the wall there
are quite a few boxes on either side. Why in the hell did someone board this
up? Why not just get rid of this shit? How long has it been here? Did the
previous owner know it was here and boarded it up? It seems like a real
dumb idea to be honest. I would have tossed this shit and cleaned it up.
Painted over the fuckery on the floor and called it a day.
“This is creepy as fuck. Why did they just board this up? I was
expecting bodies or something equally as horrific.” I chuckle.
“I was just asking myself the same thing.” I grab a book off one of
the piles and wipe the dust off. The cover is a large smokey circle and a
bunch of glyphs in the center. I open it up and the whole book is written the
same but instead of horizontal rows of glyphs they are vertical. I flip
through the pages for a moment and then place it down. I grabbed another
and this one has pictures of different beasts. The book is written in another
language but there are notes scrawled everywhere in the margins in
English.
I look up to check with Noah. He’s shuffling through boxes pulling
items wrapped in cloth out and placing them all on the ground. I turn back
to the book and decide to place it outside the hole along with the first one so
I can take it upstairs. Maybe it’ll will tell me what the fuck I’m being
haunted by.
I go through some more books, a lot of them have English scribbled
in the margins. I stack them all up next to the walkway. I turn back to Noah
and see he has uncovered armor, so I walk over and sit down. I pull a piece
into my lap and see it's some kind of very light metal. So thin it looks like it
can bend if you blow on it the wrong way, so I tested it. Standing up I place
one under my foot and push down. To my surprise it doesn’t even budge.
“What in the hell are you doing Dana?” Noah looks appalled.
“I wanted to test their durability and wouldn't you know, this tin foil
is sturdy.” I shrug. “They looked like they were for decoration. I did it for
science.” I wink. Noah shakes his head at me and goes back to pulling items
out of the boxes and mumbles something about bratty women.
I picked up the piece I was stepping on and examined it. The metal
is black and smooth; the edges of the piece have a scaled design. It’s a
beautiful piece and I would be more excited if this didn't make me dread
life more right now. I look at several more pieces before I get up and start
opening boxes on the other side of this storage unit for psychos. I pull the
first box down. It’s long and pretty thin. My brain knows what this is, if this
happens to be a recurring theme.
A sword. I leave it in the box to examine it. Beautiful. Light weight.
Feminine but not in a frilly, floral way. It is thin and has a scale design
along the handle. There's a very interesting gem at the end of the pommel
too. It’s a swirl of blues, teals and purples. Not like any gem I have ever
seen. I pull the sword out and test its weight.
“Dana…”
I look around. It’s the same voice I've been hearing. I don't feel the
need to panic but I am unsettled. Why can’t I see him? If it’s a ghost I
should be able to see him right? I look over at Noah and it’s like he can feel
my stare and turns to look at me.
“You okay Pumpkin?” He asks.
I snort, “Pumpkin?”
“Trying to see what works. Everyone says babe or baby. I want
something that's just us.” That sweet talking farm boy. I swear. I shake my
head and then turn back to the boxes.
I have to keep my head, I need to find some information, some
clues, something to explain something. I look at the sword, the blade has
some glyphs on it as well from pommel to tip. I set the sword back in the
box and pull down another box. This box has more books. I put those and
the sword out by the others I’m taking.
I keep going though the other boxes, most have more armor in them.
Some have some gauzy clothing. I look around and my eyes catch on the
ceiling. I walk farther towards the center of the room and shine the light in
it. The ceiling is painted with triangles. I count them, altogether there are
ten triangles painted within each other at different angles. The places in
between the triangles have symbols. I look down and see the same thing but
this one is slightly turned at a different angle than the one on the ceiling. I
swipe my foot along the symbols trying to clear some dust.
Noah walks up next to me, looking up and then down again and
again trying to take the weird triangle pentagram in. “What the fuck is
this?” He almost looks like a dog following a piece of cheese.
“I couldn't tell you but I think I'm ready to go back upstairs and look
through some of those books.” I gesture to the stack by the walkway.
“Maybe make some dinner?”
“Do you want to stay here?” He asks curling his lip. “We can grab
this stuff and take it to my house.” I nod and agree. “I just want you to be
able to sleep tonight.”
“Yeah, that sounds great. Let me just take a picture of this and
maybe we can find out what it is? A portal? Maybe a Ouija board of sorts?”
I say stepping back to take a picture, “Maybe a way to summon
Beelzebub?” I snap a few pictures and put my phone away. I turn around
and start picking up the books. Noah grabs a couple pieces of armor and we
head back upstairs. I walk straight to the truck and put the books in the cab
before waiting for Noah as he puts the armor pieces in the bed of the truck.
 When we get back down stairs everything looks the same but
something feels off.
“Do you feel that Dana?”
“Yeah. Let’s grab this shit and go.” I run and grab the books and the
sword. I look into the dark, open space past the hole we made and see
smoke. Black smoke just dancing around on a phantom breeze. I stare at it
for a moment, completely transfixed and horrified about what I'm seeing.
Noah comes up behind me and pulls me back.
“Back away, run up those stairs and get in the truck now.” Noah
pulls on my belt loop, tugging me backward. I can’t take my eyes off
whatever I'm seeing. The smoke starts to take shape and Noah pulls me
harder, shoving me up the stairs, running us through the house and out the
front door. We get to the truck and yank the doors open. We both hop in and
when I look over at him I start laughing, hysterically. He joins in the
hysterics with his own laughter while he puts the truck in reverse and we
get out of there. Our laughter subsides a moment later. The adrenaline rush
is wearing down now.
“You could see the smoke just now?” I ask, rubbing my hands up
and down my thighs. Trying to process everything. “And you could see the
shadows.” I say more to myself.
“Yeah, I did. Do you think it’s the same thing from this morning?”
“Fuckin’ a cotton.” I lean my head against the window. “I don’t
know if it makes me feel better that you saw it or not.” I scrub a hand down
my face. “Let’s just get back home and go through these books.” I look over
at him. Trying to judge his emotions.
“So, we have ghosts, which I can not see. Then, we have shadows,
which I can see. What if your abilities are changing? With the ghosts I mean
and the shadows just happen to be something from another world? Or
realm. Whatever you want to call it.”
“That…is a lot to think about.” I sit up straight and look at him.
“Another world?” I question him. “That doesn’t explain the ghost this
morning though. Are my abilities changing and why would they?” I turn a
little more towards him as he shifts into higher gears as we start getting out
of town.
“I don’t know but watching that shadow appear in the same spot
that image was. The triangle reminds me of portals you would read about in
books. As for the ghosts,” he looks over to me, “I don't have the answers to
that.” I didn’t know he read that much. Much less fantasies. Because that’s
what this is a fantasy. There’s no way this is the reason behind the shadows.
But on the other hand, and I hate to say it, it makes sense. I
internally weep at the thought. “I just, gods, that hurts my brain. Like when
you sit and actually think about how vast space is. It’s mind boggling.” I
mean, Noah has never seen the ghosts that I have when we are together. I
have seen him walk through some without a thought. I know he doesn't see
them.
I sit and stew on it until we hit the dirt road that heads to his house.
It’s dark out now and past dinner. I didn’t realize how long we spent at my
house. I guess we just got lost in finding bizarre and curious things that
make no sense right now. I say that, like it will make sense at some point. I
hope the books I grabbed are going to help but unless someone can explain
the language in the books to me; I feel like we are just going to hit another
dead end. Which is already frustrating me.
“Do you want to make dinner at my house or would you like to see
if mom and dad have left overs? I know they want to see you but it can wait
till morning.”
“Let’s see them tomorrow. After I get off work we can go over and
visit or maybe have dinner with them? I want to go through those books.”
He nods and passes his parents house following the road out to his. He
parks the truck in front of the porch and turns the truck off. He leans his
head against the headrest staring at the ceiling, probably contemplating his
whole life right now. Or just life in general. I grab his hand and he turns his
head to me.
“If…if this is to much I will understand if you don't-”
“Don’t even finish that sentence.” He says, squeezing my hand and
leaning over to peck my lips. He smiles softly. “I’m happy about this. Well,
not the ghosts but about us and I will always be here for you. This will be
an adventure if anything. Dubious shadows and all.”
“Dubious?” I bark a laugh.
Noah raises an eyebrow, ignoring me and continuing on. “Hopefully,
those books will at least give us one answer.” He sits up and grabs some of
the books that were thrown haphazardly onto the seat and floor. “Let’s get
inside and do some reading.” I nod and grab some of the books at my feet. I
climb out of the truck and head for the porch, opening the door. I let the
door swing open before I peek in looking for shadows, ghosts, maybe aliens
at this point. I reach for the light and glance around one more time before
deeming it safe. I set the books on the kitchen counter and head back to the
truck to help grab the armor out of the truck bed.
Noah and I finish grabbing things out of the truck bed. We set the
armor in the living room and the rest of the books on the counter.
“So, would you like to look through the books and I’ll make dinner.
You probably know what you’re looking for more than me.”
“Yes, I’ll do the brain work and I want you barefoot in the kitchen.”
I say with a sly smile. I start to head over and grab the books but don’t get
far when Noah grabs my hand and roughly pulls me back to him.
“Hmm, is that so?” He runs the back of his knuckles along my
jawline, sending shivers down my neck. He lowers his head until his mouth
is next to my ear. “I think you’ll need to be bare for me later…in the
kitchen” Then he just lets me go, walking towards the fridge while I stand
there adrift for a moment. Thinking about what kinds of things he’ll be
doing to me in this kitchen. I shake my head and grab the books, heading to
the dining table. I need to research. Not get laid. Well, not right now
anyways.
I sit at the table placing the books to the side and pick up the first
book on top. I opened it up, shocked at the detailed artwork of the animals
portrayed on the pages. This whole book looks like a really eccentric work
of fiction. Giant spider creatures and cute little rabbits. Beasts that look like
large cats, teeth like razors, but have horns like goats. I stop to look at the
notes scribbled in the margins.
‘Looks like a lion or tiger of earth but agility is unmatched’
‘Run in packs, hunt in packs’
‘Incredibly intelligent’
‘Top of the food chain in Varella’
I shiver just thinking about having to live with animals like this.
How did the people of Varella live? Where would it be safe? I look through
some more of the book and see pictures of treehouses. But large tree
houses. The trees themselves also look like they are absolutely enormous. I
study the picture a little longer before I close the book and grab the next
one.
 I can hear Noah moving around the kitchen cutting something up
and turning the sink on as I look at the cover of the book. I run my hand
down it. It’s the first book I picked up in the basement; with the smokey
circle and glyphs. I open it, the spine crackling like an ominous warning. I
flip through it page by page taking in the artwork and penmanship that it
took to create this book. It is beautiful. I haven't come across any notes
scribbled in the margins but it would ruin this beautifully handwritten book.
I find pictures of different people but they have whisps surrounding them
and I also see pictures of what looks like a ball of smoke. I can’t understand
any of this book but I set it aside because it's the closest thing that depicts
what I have seen. I start to rummage through more books when some papers
slide out of the one I'm holding. I open up the folded papers and see a bunch
of glyphs and English letters. A cipher. My heart races as I reach for the
book I was just going through. I flip the flip through the pages and land on
the picture with the ball of smoke. I start glancing back and forth between
the glyphs trying to find matches between the book and the symbols on the
paper.
“YES!” I scream jumping up. The chair scraping across the wood
floor. Noah turns around holding his chest.
“Jesus and his Disciples Dana. What the hell! You scared the shit out
of me.” I just hold the cipher up and shake it around.
“I found a cipher, Noah!

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 9
Noah
I start making dinner as Dana sits at the table. Laser focused on the
books in front of her. I can't wait to sit and take a closer look at the armor I
grabbed. And look through the books she grabbed. As I'm frying up the
chicken and sauteing the vegetables, I become so focused on cooking and
thinking about what we found in the basement Dana shrieks.
“YES!” I startle and jump. Spinning around at the sudden squeal of
her voice. Her chair obnoxiously scrapes across the floor.
“Jesus and his Disciples Dana. What the hell! You scared the shit out
of me.” My heart starts settling to a steady rhythm. She has this uncanny
ability to scare me and with all the chaos lately I’m more on edge.
Definitely made me more jumpy and I’m already a jumpy person by nature.
“I found a cipher, Noah!” She’s got a huge smile and eyes glittering
with relief and hope. This is amazing, we might be able to find some
answers. I smile at her as I walk over to see what she found.
“That’s great sunshine.” She wrinkles her nose at the nickname, I’ll
find one. “Maybe we will find something that will make this shit make
sense.” I kiss her temple and walk back over to the stove. I look back at her
and she has her nose buried deep into the code and one of the books. I turn
back to the chicken, flipping it. “Dinner is almost done. Do you want
something to drink?” When I don’t hear anything I look at her and she still
has her nose buried deep in the book, I don't think she even heard me.
“Dana?” Still nothing. I laugh and pull some plates down to plate the food
and pour her some ice tea. When I bring the plates over she looks up at me.
“What? Sorry. I heard you but it just went in one ear and out the
other.”
“It’s fine. I chose a drink for you.” I smile down at her and go back
for the tea. I take a seat and start digging into the food. I’m halfway through
when I notice that she still hasn't even touched it except to grab a green
bean to munch on. I quickly finish my food and push my plate away. “Let
me help you. Show me where you're at and I will do this while you eat.” I
start pulling the book over to me.
“Okay, right now I'm just making sure these glyphs match what's on
the code key. I haven't found a whole lot. Hopefully there's more in the
basement because this looks incomplete.” She holds up the cipher and
sighs. She pushed the cipher in front of me and grabbed her plate. She starts
eating and I look over the glyphs. “I have work tomorrow, if you can take
me to Oleanders around ten tomorrow morning would be great.” She
finishes her bite, “Mmm, maybe just take me home so I can grab my car
would be easiest. Then, we don't have to worry about chauffeuring. I may
have some walk-ins.” Dana loves her job as a barber, and she’s really good
at it. She had some long weeks in the city but she made it through and got
the job at Oleanders. She has a few customers who are very loyal but her
reputation, I think puts a damper on her clientele list. I can say I haven’t had
my hair cut by anyone else in years, even before she went to school for it.
She continues to shovel food in her mouth and I continue looking
between the book and the cipher. A lot of the symbols in the book are
documented on the code key but it looks like there are missing ones. Each
glyph is a letter or a combination of two. What I’m seeing just from the first
page, a lot of this is about another world with shadow people and magic.
This book may very well be our answer. I guess according to this book,
barring it is not a giant hoax, I’m not far off from thinking we’re dealing
with another realm. With how that shadow appeared right in the drawn
triangle, it really isn't a far fetch. It looked like a summoning circle you
would find in a movie or book.
I scrub a hand down my face. Am I really considering other worldly
things? What the fuck is life right now? You don’t prepare for this growing
up. The people who talk about this stuff are heavily medicated and put in a
rubber room. Or they are your weird internet conspiracy theorists. This shit
isn't supposed to be real. Well, Dana has always seen ghosts and I believe
her. Is this much different? I start looking back at the code and the book.
Dana gets up and grabs her plate, taking it to the sink. I get up and
follow suit. We rinse our plates and put the dishes in the dishwasher. We
clean up the kitchen in perfect sync. Like we have always been doing this.
We have had dinner together before but it was either with my parents or at
her house. We never did this though. At my parents, she would help my
mother clean up while dad and I planned what needs to be done around the
farm or house.
Dana leans against the counter facing me. “I feel like we’re being
too cavalier about this. Don’t you think? Or maybe it just hasn’t hit us yet?
Shouldn’t we be panicking?”
“Everyone reacts to things differently. I don’t think it's strange
you’re not running and hiding or acting like the sky is falling. I think it
makes you look strong and capable. Also, we did panic, remember? Your
room this morning and then an hour ago in your basement.” I say matter of
factly. “Besides, what is panicking going to do for us?”
“That’s true. I guess I’m just comparing real life to movie life.”
Shrugging she bounces over to the table and grabs the books. “Let’s go sit
on the couch and do this. There are a few pages I really wanted to look at.”
I grab some books and follow behind her to the couch.
“We should go back to your house tomorrow and grab some more
books and see if there’s any more codes or journals. Maybe a giant sign that
says ‘this is an elaborate hoax’.” She scoffs, tucking her hair behind her
ear.
“That would be the best outcome.” Dana says, looking back down at
the book. “But I feel in the very depths of my soul something is going to
happen…” she trails off looking up at me.
I grab her chin. “Don’t fret over things that haven’t even happened
or haven't even been glimpsed on the horizon.” She nods once and goes
back to the book. She flips through a couple pages and stops on one with a
black misty ball. She looks at the cipher and back at the book. I see her
notebook on the chair. I get up and grab and sit back down. I pull the pen
out of the spiral binding.
“How about I write down the letters as you look through the
symbols?” Dana looks back up at me with a grin.
“Yeah, that would be nice and this is the closest thing to what I have
been seeing,” she says but sounds more like doubt, “that is pictured in the
books I have looked through.”
“What makes you uncertain?”
“Well, the shadows I– we have been seeing have some kind of form.
These are just balls of smoke. I’m sure there may be something else but at
least this is a start.” She shrugs.
 “The shadows did have a form huh? They looked human. Not this
misty blob. Maybe these can change forms though?
“True.”
She turns back to the book. “U-m-b-r-a-s, is the first few glyphs,
then there's a space between this last glyph and the next one,” I write them
down and we continue for a while. Dana starts to memorize a lot of the
glyphs along the way. This woman is smart. She is just adapting to the issue
at hand, learning what she can to fix it. I have seen her do this many times
before. With the ghosts, bullying, her mothers death and lots more. She just
adapts to it all. It amazes me. How in the hell this woman wants to be with a
plain old farmer amazes me.
“Okay, what do we have so far?” She asks.
“Umbras, believed to be the damned souls of Aelore; working for
the living to pay for their sins. They do rudimentary tasks and household
chores for those they serve. Umbras are a black mist, permeable but not
transparent. Umbras are not known to change shapes or become completely
solidified. They have been known to serve multiple generations of a single
family before they just vanish.” I look up to Dana, who is picking her lip
and looking disappointed.
“I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up.” Sighing heavily, she puts the
book on the coffee table. “I’ll look through some other book and see if I can
find anything else that fits the bill.”
“Okay, I will look online again. Maybe I can find another blogger
that has more detail on the satanic killings, or maybe something on shadow
people? Maybe, even something about these ghosts?”
“Yeah, sounds good. Do you remember Hank?” She asks. It takes
me a minute to figure out who she's talking about.
“You mean that shadow you always talked about?”
“Yeah, gods I haven't seen him in years. He used to always be in the
apartment just watching. He never scared me. It was like he was watching
over me. Protecting me. You know? I always figured he was a ghost who
couldn’t keep form and had somehow been attached to that apartment.
Anyways, he made me feel safe. Like I wasn’t alone. With the shadows we
saw, do you think that they are the same?” She chews on her lip, lost in her
thoughts. She hasn't talked about Hank in years. Not since he disappeared,
which was right before her mother died. She always said he would stand
sentry near her living room window. Sometimes he would look like he was
sitting on his butt. He never said anything to her but she named him Hank
and had her one way conversations with him. Not that we knew it was a he
we just assumed.
“I don't know Dana. He hasn’t been around for years. Do you think
he would just come back? Maybe, he moved on.”
“What if he wasn’t a ghost though?”
“I don’t know Dumplin’.” She suddenly looks like she smelt
something pungent. Alright, that’s not the one. I continue on, “Like I said
I’m more of an emotional support animal.” I reach for her leg and squeeze.
“I don’t have answers but I will help any way I can and answer what I can
to the best of my knowledge. I am just a farmer, you know.” I smile wryly.
Wishing not for the first time that I did have the answers. “I’m going to try
and find some articles or blogs that can help us. Do you need me to grab
anything?” She shakes her head. I lean back and start searching my phone
for whatever I can find. While she goes back to the books, trying to find
something that relates to the ghosts or the shadows.
The results vary. There are some bloggers who write about alternate
universes or planes of existence that are right along us, we just can’t see
them. I go back to the bloggers page from earlier and scroll through their
archives. I came across a title that piqued my interest. ‘Ley Lines and Other
Worlds’, I click on the article and pictures along the margins of this blog
screams eleven year old who got crazy with clipart. There are spaceships
and aliens all along the margins, the background is black with bright green
font. I squint at the page and put my phone down.
“I’m gonna grab my laptop, do you want anything?”
“Can you grab my tea? And a couple of the other books please?”
I head to the kitchen and grab the books and her tea and bring it right
back. Then, I go back to my room and grab my laptop. I sat back down next
to Dana. I found the blog on my laptop and the article is much easier to read
on a bigger screen which is what I was hoping for but god damn. What were
they thinking? I start to skim through the article and it’s all about how
intersecting ley lines make world traveling easier. Spells and ruins create
the portal but you have to make sure you know what ruins you want to use
and you have to make sure they are correct. Incorrect ruins can cause a
catastrophe. I scroll on not caring about portals at the moment.
“‘Rumor is that there is a coalition between the great nations of the
world working to find these new worlds. In the 1700’s explorers around the
world were finding old leather and some human skin bound-’” Dana cuts
me off.
“That is fucking foul. Skin? Human skin bound books?” She gags,
her eyes widen and she abruptly turns to the dining room table. “Oh gods.
You don't think…”
“No, I think those are all leather and cloth bound. Can you even tell
the difference between leather and skin?” I ask dubiously
“Yeah! One is going to look like a good leather bound book and the
other is going to look like it was made from your back!” She shrieks. I
shake my head and chuckle.
“Let's...put a pin in this and let me read more of this article before
you have an existential crisis.” I look back at the laptop. “‘The books were
found in many countries and for years the books were kept secret.
Archaeologists, linguists and cartographers poured over the books trying to
figure out what they meant and how to read them. It’s said that what was
supposed to stay secret, did not stay secret. Which is pretty on par for
humankind am I right?’” I roll my eyes…really? I continued on.
“‘After quite a few years when all the books finally came under one
roof, so to say. The specialists were able to make sense of some of the
books. A lot of them were written in ancient, dead languages like Latin,
Gothic, Sanskrit, Numidian and more. Some have not been deciphered
because of how unknown some languages are.’” I stop and scan over the
rest of the page which is not long at all. Just more of the same, they came
together and deciphered as many of the books they could. Dana pushes
herself up against my side and peers over to skim over the article as well.
We reach the final paragraph.
“‘Intersecting ley lines, many intersecting lines, will be best for
making portals according to these books. From my research in ley lines,
there is one on the southern west coast and one on the northern east
coast.’” I mumble out loud.
“How does this person even know this? Is this maybe someone who
is related to one of these archaeologists or a linguist? If one person knows
this outside of the original group and whomever else was brought in over
the years, how is this not a huge conspiracy theory? Like the other ones out
there? Like flat earth and celebrities replaced by reptilians?” She flops back
with a huff. “My brain hurts.”
 I close my laptop and lean back. “My brain hurts too. The only way
we're going to get answers I think is if we can somehow talk to one of these
shadows or one of the ghosts.”
“The ghost earlier said that they were going to ‘get me’.” She uses
air quotes. “Get me for what?”
“I don't know Nix. This is insane. I’m not letting you out of my
sight.”
“Nix?”
“Yeah, like phoenix. It just popped into my head.”
“I like that. A lot actually.”
“I do too. You will rise from this.” I say with a wink.
“Gods, you're cheesy. Also, you're going to have to let me out of
your sight. I have work tomorrow and so do you.”
“That is true. I just don’t want you alone. What if what that ghost
said is true? What if they are after you? With everything changing with your
ability I am just erring on the side of caution. Just please don’t allow
yourself to be alone. I can meet you at Oleanders when you're off work.”
She shakes her head.
“No, just meet me at my house. Nothing is going to happen to me in
my car. It’s a two minute drive.” She waves me off like I’m over reacting. I
feel the familiar irritation rising up in my chest like earlier. I decide that
starting an argument right now is not in our best interest. I will just have to
force myself to know that she will be fine. Even if I want to chain her to my
side and never let her out of my sight. I take a deep breath and push all my
caveman tendencies to the side.
“Let’s try to relax and pick this up again tomorrow?” I lean forward
to place my laptop on the ottoman. “Maybe take showers and wash the
stress away. It’s getting pretty late as is.”
“Late, huh? You’re such an old man. It’s like nine.” She gets up
putting the books on the coffee table and then gets up.
“I get up at four in the morning you brat.”
“Mhmm, excuses, excuses.” She starts to saunter away. “I’m going
to go shower and steal a shirt and lay in bed. Then I’m going to watch TV
until I pass out.” I watch her walk towards the bathroom and I lean back on
the couch. This has got to be the weirdest twenty four hours.
It doesn't even feel like it's only been a day. It feels like it's been
longer. So much longer. When did this become life? I’m a farmer;
interstellar travel and witchcraft is not in my resume. It’s so far out of the
realm of possibilities of what I am capable of. I worry I wont be enough for
Dana. What if I’m not smart enough for this? What if this is all real and is
not some elaborate hoax. Let’s be real; I know it’s not but I’m still holding
out with a sliver of hope. What if it isn't something as simple as ghosts? I
wish it was just ghosts. I’ll take ghosts over other dimensions, worlds and
shadows. I feel like ghosts would be a lot easier to deal with. Ghost hunters
are a dime a dozen. I could talk to all or any of them to find a solution.
Only, there are ghosts who want to take her that I can’t see and now
shadows that I can see. Portals in basements and books on things I am
having a hard time wrapping my head around. I’m not cut out for this.
I think this is the first time I have ever felt not good enough for her.
That feeling alone makes my chest hurt. Can I do this? Can I help her in any
way she needs help? Or am I hindering her? I can’t even help with most of
the research she did tonight because I can’t even see the ghosts. There’s a
point in every person's life that you have to buck up and push through and I
guess this is my moment. I need to stop playing the pity party and do
everything I can to help her. Just as I always have. This is just a new curve
ball.
I stand up and throw another log on the fire and replace the grate in
front. I wander towards my bedroom and hear when Dana steps into the
shower. I keep walking to my bedroom wanting to give her a minute alone
to come to terms about everything we looked though and seen today. Shit, I
need to come to terms about what I have seen and read today. I saw that
smoke gathering in her basement, smoke that was forming into something
more solid. Would it have harmed us? How often has it showed up in her
basement? Has she been in danger longer than she thinks?
I start pulling out a shirt for Dana and some fresh boxers for me. I
take them to the bathroom. Knocking on the door and cracking it open.
“I brought you a shirt. I’m setting it on the counter. Do you need
anything else? I’m going to pick up the mess.”
“You could join me, if you wanted.” She pulls the curtain back to
peek around it.
I give her a smile. “I do…but are you sure you don’t want some time
alone? You have been through a bunch of shit, in such a short amount of
time. I don’t want to overwhelm you or add to your already full,
overflowing plate.”
 “You do realize this is happening to you too? I mean, if you're going
to stick around and be my boyfriend. Shit…” She looks down and bites her
lip. I walk into the bathroom and tilt her head back up.
“Do you want to be my girlfriend?” I say quietly and she looks up at
me with uncertainty written all over her face. I didn’t think we would have
to talk about labels. I figured what I wanted was clear as day. I thought her
feelings were clear as day but maybe she just needs the absolute certainty of
at least one thing in her life right now because everything else seems to be
shifting on its axis. “Cause that is exactly what I want.”
She smiles so big and pushes the curtain open more and pulls me
into the shower. Boots and all. She kisses me, keeping that smile on her
face. I wrap my arms around her laughing at the predicament I’m now in
because wet boots and jeans are the worst. I’m also a hundred present sure
that my boots could double as a fish tank right now. I pick her up by her
waist and she wraps her naked wet legs around me. I press her back into the
cold tile and kiss her. She opens her mouth and I take that invitation. I
caress my tongue against hers. I kiss her hard, grabbing at her skin like she
might disappear. I pull back slightly, my lips hovering over hers.
“I’m going to need you to remove my boots, Sugar.” Her eyes light
up and she nods and unwraps her legs from my waist. My cock is hard as a
rock and incredibly uncomfortable in these wet clothes that are sticking to
me like wet glue. There's just something about Dana's impulsiveness and
her inability to shy away from what she wants that makes me want her
more. She gets down on her knees and looks up at me, water running down
her face, dripping down her full lips. Nipples pebbled, begging for
attention.
This image of her dripping wet and on her knees before me will be
seared in my brain till the day I die. I lift one foot and she pulls the boot off,
laughing at the amount of water that pours out of it before she sets it outside
the tub. She takes off the other boot and works on taking off my socks. She
wrings them out and places them all on the tile floor before returning to her
knees in front of me. Waiting patiently for her next instructions. I never
thought Dana would be submissive but this side of her is satisfying a part of
me I never thought I had.
“Good girl. Now, I want you to run your hands up my legs, slowly
and undo my jeans. Also, don’t look away from me Sugar.” She lets out a
breathy sigh and bites her lip. She slowly drags her hands up my legs and
firmly grasps the button. She doesn’t look away from me once. My breaths
are coming out heavier. The anticipation is killing me but I’m going to
make us both work for it. She slowly, so very fucking slowly, undoes the
button and zipper. I know she’s going so slow on purpose, showing me she
has me by the balls as well. She winces and adjusts her legs so she is
squatting, sitting on the balls of her feet.
Fuck.
Now, I want her to bounce on my cock just like that. Balancing her
hands on my chest. Hearing her moans and watching my cock slip in and
out of her. When I snap out of my little daydream she is staring at me.
Waiting for her next instructions.
“I want you to remove my shirt next.” Dana stands up and hooks the
hem between her thumb and first fingers. Dragging her hands up my waist.
Leaving a trail of shivers. I don't think I can prolong this much longer. I
need to feel her, taste her and please her. I need to be inside her. She throws
the shirt with a wet slap behind me.
“Jeans.” Is all I say before she's tugging my jeans down. It’s a bit of
a struggle but manages. Throwing them towards the shirt. Before I can give
her any more orders she runs her hands up my thighs and over my cock and
then she licks me through my boxers and that’s when I decide I’ve reached
my limit. I stand her up and turn her around. Placing her palms on the tile. I
grab her hips and tilt her hips up. Arching her back in a long, elegant, sexy
line. I stand back and just look at her. Her sopping wet hair hangs over her
shoulder. Her pussy on display, long toned legs squeezing together like it
will give her the relief she's craving. I strip out of my boxers and pump my
cock with my hand as I step toward her. She looks over her shoulder at me.
“Fuck.” She moans out. “Please, Noah.”
I run the head of my cock over her clit. She presses back into me and
I step back. A grunt of annoyance leaves her.
“Wait.” Is all I say before I step forward again and press the head of
my cock into her clit. Rubbing myself up and down her slit. She holds still
this time, her breathing is heavy, small moans spilling past her lips and I
haven't even filled her yet.
“Good girl.” I push the head of my cock into her opening and wait.
Her breaths come out heavy and her fingers clench the wall.
“Noah. Please.”
 “You beg so pretty.” I run my hands over her ass and up her back. I
grab a fistful of hair and angle her head so I can see more of her face. “I
want you to push back on my cock. Only a little bit until I tell you
otherwise.” She pushes back on me, a groan rumbling out of my chest. She
pushes back a few times before I grab her hips to stop her. “Take more.” Is
all I tell her and she slowly sinks all the way back on me. I reach around
and slowly rub her clit up and down. Losing my focus a couple of times.
Lost in the feeling of her wrapped around me.
Her moans become louder and she pushes back harder onto me. I
grip her hip and meet her thrusts with my own. Pumping into her while
rubbing her clit. Her body tenses and a low guttural moan leaves her. That
moan was the sexiest thing I have ever heard. I grip her hips with both
hands and start pounding into her, chasing my release. She pushes back on
me with loud moans, everything tense on her. Muscles tight with over
stimulation. I come with a groan, my head falling back between my
shoulders. I look back down and pump in and out of her. Watching how her
body takes me. I pull out of her and I slowly lick up her spine and bite her
neck. Pulling her up against my chest and pulling her under the warm water.
I hold her against me with a hand pressed to her stomach and the other pulls
her hair to the side so I can kiss her shoulder.
“Are you okay, Sugar?” She turns her head to the side to look at me.
“Oh, I am very, very good.” I reach over and grab my soap. I rub it
into my hands and start to wash her back. Massaging as I go. I reach around
and wash her neck, breasts and then her stomach. I kneel down, turning her
around. I wash her legs and feet. I look up at her and she has a smile on her
face.
“I’ll wash my very sensitive bits thank you.” I huff and stand up. I
wash my body while she finishes up washing herself and her hair. We get
out, fighting for space in this small bathroom trying to dry off. Next time I
will dry off in the bath before getting elbowed by her pointy ass bones
again. Dana shivers when she hangs the towel up and quickly throws the
shirt I pulled out for her on. She then darts out of the bathroom, turning
towards the room.
I grab my wet clothes and hang them up on the shower rod. I stare at
my boots. Those are going to need sun and prayers. I place them in the tub,
I’ll wait for tomorrow to deal with them. I head out of the bathroom and
into my room.
 Dana is turning on the TV and flipping through the shows. Deciding
on the one we started at her house. After I get some briefs on I snuggle into
her neck, breathing her in.
“Is Sugar my sex name?” Dana chuckles quietly.
“Mmm, I think so.”
I’m suddenly and incredibly tired. I have to get up early and feed the
animals and drive the fence perimeters to check for broken posts or holes.
That means I have got to get up before the sun does. I pull her tighter
against me and fall to sleep.

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 Chapter 10
Dana
I woke up with more energy than I have had in a long time. I also
slept well, which I didn't think would happen. I swing my legs out of bed
knowing Noah is already gone. Feeding cows or whatever morning chores
he has this morning. At least he didn’t have to drive from my house. I
wonder how he got out of chores yesterday? Maybe he called his parents?
Maybe a ranch hand? I don’t know but I have shit to do today. I stand up
and stretch out my body. I found my bag so I can get dressed. I pull out my
gray shirt and jeans for work. There’s no uniform for work but there is a bit
of a dress code. No holes in the pants, no revealing shirts. Must wear a shirt,
pants and shoes. Nothing out of the ordinary which is nice. The owner
wanted to make us all wear matching uniforms which we all quickly shut
down. She thought it would be ‘fun’. I honestly can’t think of many more
things that would be less fun than matching my co-workers while standing
on my feet all day.
I walk out to the kitchen and see some coffee has already been
brewed. Noah really is a dream boat. I sit at the table and sip my coffee
while slowly looking through the books. All these books seem to be from
different places. They all look like different languages. Maybe different
worlds? Or different regions of the same world? Oh gods, I’m really buying
into this. There’s not much to buy and trying to not face this for what it is, is
just going to set me back. I put the book back in the pile and lean in the
chair. Closing my eyes and scrubbing my face.
Maybe, I can just move and this issue won't be mine anymore? I
haven’t seen a ghost here. Maybe I can find another place that doesn't as
well. Then again, I had never seen that ghost from yesterday before.
Besides selling my house when there is a portal in the basement, shadows
and misty beings infesting it seems a bit rude.
 “Ugh.” I grunt and stand up and head outside. Why must I have a
conscious? I open the door and it is crisp outside. I grab one of Noah's
jackets from the coat rack and head outside with my coffee. I check my
phone and realize I have to be at work soon and I still need to grab my car. I
sit down on the chair by the door and debate if I should call Noah or if I
should wait a little bit. I choose the latter and enjoy the silence, the crisp air,
the early birds swooping into the tall grass for bugs and I just relax into the
chair. The view is beautiful with the main house in the distance, fields and
meadows as far as the eye can see. There is a small wooded area farther
behind the house. It’s nice to wander and find all kinds of creatures roaming
about.
Just as I’m thinking to call Noah I hear his truck rumbling up the dirt
road. I stand up and lean against the railing, still sipping from my coffee.
He pulls up and hops out of the truck. With a pep in his step and a soft smile
on his face. He stares me down with a predatory gaze as he walks up the
porch. When he reaches me he grabs the side of my neck and tilts my head
up with his thumb. He stares at me for a moment before he leans down to
kiss me. He kisses slowly and sweetly and then pulls back.
“Do you have to go to work?”
“Did you?” I smile at him. He shakes his head and plants a kiss on
my temple.
“Yes, my dad would have killed me otherwise. I already asked for
yesterday off.”
“Ahh, I was wondering about that this morning and you dad would
never. Your parents love you more than literally anything.”
Noah steps back and heads toward the front door. “Hmm, maybe
but I don't want them to ground me.”
I laugh and follow him inside.
“You about ready to go pick up your car? Are you staying here
again?”
“I’m ready when you are and yes, I would definitely like to stay
again. I haven't slept so well in the longest time.” I walk over to the kitchen
and place my cup in the sink. “After work I’m going to stop at the house
and grab more clothes and my makeup.”
“I don’t want you going to the house by yourself. What time is your
last appointment? I’ll meet you. I’m almost done for the day.”
 “My last appointment is at three. So, I should be at the house before
four.”
“Okay, I’ll be there waiting.”
“Okay.” I walk over to him and press a kiss to his lips. “We should
go though. So I’m not late. My first guy is particular and doesn't like
tardiness.” I head to the truck, hopping down the porch steps to the truck. I
hop in and buckle up. Noah slides in and starts the truck.
The drive was fast. Faster than usual, probably because I didn’t want
to leave Noah. I look up at my house. It doesn’t look foreboding.
“I gotta grab keys. Wanna come with?”
“Of course, Doll.”
“Doll?”
“Still trying to find the right name.” He says getting out of the truck.
I get out too and round the front of it. Heading towards the front door.
“You’ve been through like 6 names in the last day. If even that. I
liked Nix.”
“Did you? I do too but is it really us?” We reach the door and he
opens it. A sense of foreboding surrounds me. Maybe it’s just my anxiety
about being in my own house now? Or maybe something is lying in wait.
Either way I run to the key holder, grab my keys and run back out. I close
the door and run down the stairs to my car bypassing Noah. I turn around
and Noah is making his way towards me with a large smile. He’s laughing
at me. The asshat.
“Gods, you know that feeling you get when you turn off the lights in
your house and it's dark and your brain conjures monsters that are chasing
you down? The panic and your back cramps up and you have the urge to
flee? That is the feeling.” I walk to the driver's side of my car.
“I do know that feeling.” He nods at his own statement, “We’re
going to figure this out I promise.”
“You can’t promise that Noah. No, one can.” I shift my eyes to look
at my house. Looking bleak and haunted. Or maybe that’s just my
pessimism about this whole situation. “Anyways, I need to get to work. I
will meet you here after I get off.” I unlock my car and hop in. Noah bends
down, holding the door open and gives me a kiss.
“See you later Munchkin.”
“No, no, absolutely not.” He just laughs deeply and shuts my door. I
start the car and head off towards work.
 I’ll grab some more books from the basement too while I’m at the
house like Noah suggested. Maybe I’ll find more information or codes.
Something, anything would be nice. If I could just talk to someone who
knows about this, that would be amazing but the thought of trying to find
whoever started this portal in my house sounds like a bad idea. Involving
crazy zealots or the government or whomever is behind this is always a bad
idea. It also sounds like it would take longer than I have and nearly
impossible.
When I get to work I have enough time to set up my station and
make sure it’s clean. Just as I’m wiping down the seat my first client comes
in. He’s an older gentleman. Kind but particular.
“Hey, Frank. Come on over, I can get you started.” He nods and sits
in the chair. “The usual Frank?”
“Yes, please Dana. How are you doing?”
“I’m doing well, nothing exciting around here.” I lie like a rug but
what am I supposed to tell him? ‘I have been seeing ghosts who want to kill
me and shadows that scare me and life is a general shitshow?’ I think not.
“How are you? I hope all is well.” I start shaving the sides of his head and
make sure I go around his ears just like how he wants. This is where I
fucked up the first time he came to me. He had no problem telling how he
wanted it done.
“Everything has been good. My daughter got another promotion.
Huge raise. Which is good for her and her family. They need a bigger
house; four kids and a three bedroom house makes the house feel smaller
than it is. And her husband's auto shop is doing really well as well.”
“I could not imagine six people in three bedrooms. Especially with
four of them being children. They are slobs.” I laugh pondering such a full
house.
“You’re right about that. Kid toys everywhere. Poor girl can't keep
up.” The conversion lulls as I finish up shaving the sides of his head. When
I grab my scissors to trim the top he speaks again. “I was told you were
walking arm in arm with Noah Turner yesterday by the library.” I stop and
look at him while I have fingers full of his hair. I laugh a bit.
“You know, even though I have lived in this town my whole life it
still blows my mind how quickly information spreads, whether it is true or
not.” I go back to trimming his hair before I speak again. A smile playing on
my lips. “But yes, we are dating.”
 “Finally.” I stop and look at him again. “You have been through so
much in this town and you deserve to be happy. Truly happy. Even though I
only see you once a month I know you're not the ‘Spaz’ or weirdo that
people portray you to be. I think they are all jealous or scared because
you’re different.”
Tears start up in my eyes and I have to work the lump out of my
throat before I speak. “Thank you, Frank.” I croak out. I blink quickly and a
tear falls down my face. He has no idea how nice it was to hear that. To not
be judged harshly. Even if he doesn't understand me, he hopes for the best
to happen to me. I clear my throat and wipe the tear away. Frank nods at me
and I continue to finish up his hair. When I’m done I brush the hair off his
neck and make sure he likes it.
“Still thirty?”
“Yeah.” I say as I shake out the cape and place it on the back of the
chair. He hands me the money plus his normal tip.
“I mean it Dana. You deserve it. He better treat you well and I would
say don’t listen to these Chatty Cathy's around here but that’s easier said
than done.” He gives me a smile and leaves. He has zero idea how much his
words meant to me. I really needed that. I grab the broom and start
sweeping up the hair.
The rest of my day goes smoothly. All men’s haircuts. I specialize in
men’s and pixie cuts. Not that I do many pixies around here but I wanted to
be great at it. They are the cutest haircuts I think. I haven’t done it myself. I
want to but I also want long hair to braid or throw up in a bun. I always
think that I can cut my hair into a pixie and then wear wigs when I want to
have it long. Who am I kidding though? There’s no way I would do that.
Putting wigs on correctly just looks like pain and a process I do not want to
undertake.
When my last client leaves I clean up and sit down in my chair. I
spin around in it for a moment and make a mental note of the things I need
to grab from my house. When I make another turn I swear I see a man
standing at the far wall but when I quickly glance back after coming to an
abrupt halt he’s gone. I take that as my que to get going. I get up and gather
my wallet and phone.
“Dana.”
Really? Well, at least he waited for the end of my day. I could have
cut someone's eyebrows off. I shake the voice away and head out to my car,
saying bye to Jordan. I drop into my car and crank my music after throwing
my things in the passenger seat. I drive off to my house but make a small
detour for fries. If Noah found out I didn’t eat lunch and had only coffee for
breakfast he would have more ammo to chastise my eating habits. Knowing
him he would show up at my work with a three course meal everyday just
to make sure I have eaten.
I pull up to the intercom and order fries for myself and Noah. I am
not into sharing fries. Potatoes are life. I grab my fries and drop the bag into
my lap when a strange warmth pulses out from my chest down my arms and
legs. Enveloping me in pulsing waves of heat. It’s not painful but
concerning nonetheless. I look over to the cashier who gives me a
questioning brow. I shake my head and head to a parking spot. I put the
fries in the passenger seat while I rested my head on the steering wheel. The
strange warmth suddenly stops leaving me feeling cold.
“What in the ever lovin’ fuck is happening to me?” I whisper to
myself. I need to get home. Noah is going to have a heart attack if I’m any
later. I throw my car in reverse, putting what just happened away until I get
home.
I find Noah waiting for me in my driveway, parked like a decent
human. Good for him. I pull up next to him as he jumps out of his truck. He
runs over and pulls my door open.
“What are you doing?”
“What do you mean?” He asks while I step out. I kiss his cheek.
“Are you peacocking? Showing me all the moves you got? Making
sure I don’t stray?”
“Damn, you’ve caught on.” I roll my eyes at him and give him the
bag of fries and he grabs my hand pulling toward my house.
“Something weird happened to me picking up fries.” I say as he
opens my front door. My train of thought is cut off. Something isn’t right
and we can both feel it. We walked slowly into the foyer and I put my keys
between my fingers. Ready to strike a painful punch. We walk into the
living room and there is nothing unusual. I hear something shuffle in the
kitchen and I can feel the blood draining from my face. We slowly walked
toward the kitchen.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 11
Dana
“No need for trying to sneak Dana, you were never good at it.” The
person is unknown but the voice is very familiar. An anger takes over and I
lose my sense of self preservation. I drop Noah’s hand and storm into the
kitchen. Noah is right on my heels. Whispering angrily at me. I ignore him,
on a mission. As soon as I walk into the kitchen I stop dead in my tracks
realizing a few things.
One, there’s a man sitting at my table.
Two, what the hell am I doing? Self preservation much?
Three, now I have a face to connect to the voice I keep hearing. Tall,
like, way tall over six foot six tall. He looks way too big for my chairs. It
looks like he's slender but I can see the muscles through his loose linen
shirt. His jaw could cut glass. Black hair, so black it's almost blue. He’s
clean shaven and has tattoos crawling up his neck and down his arms. His
eyes are silver. Molten silver. They stand starkly against his dark skin. I can
see them swirling in his iris. He looks between Noah and me.
“I…” I don’t even know where to start. “Wh…” I shake my head.
“Who are you? What the fuck are you doing in my house?” I demand once
I get my fumbling brain working on a minimal level.
“You need to leave.” Noah asserts. Staring at the man, rage written
across his face.
“Dana, you have nothing to fear from me. Call your dog off.”
“Ex-” I cut Noah off.
“Your a stranger in my fucking house. Please do tell me why I do
not need to ‘fear’ you.”
“I’m General Harrow but you’ll remember me as ‘Hank’” He says
and rolls his eyes when he says the name. My brain comes to another
screeching halt. A disbelieving chuckle is all I can get out. My mouth drops
open and I walk out of the kitchen to the living room. I hear footsteps
behind me moving quickly. I swing around. Facing Noah and Hank.
“Hank? You can not possibly be Hank? Who the fuck told you about
that? Noah?!” I swing my gaze toward him. I know Noah wouldn’t but I
guess I’m just trying to make sense of this. Hank, I mean General Harrow,
makes himself comfortable in my arm chair. I glare at him.
“I have never told anyone that stuff! I don't make it a habit of
running my mouth and telling secrets and I don’t even know him!” He yells
incredulously.
“Dana, don’t be mad at your dog.” Noah and I snap our attention
back to Harrow.
“Do not call me dog you fucking creep.”
“He is not a dog. Who the fuck are you and why are you here?
Answers now. Or you can get the fuck out. Immediately.”
“Like I said, I’m General Harrow. I have been looking after you for
years. You would greet me as Hank whenever you saw me. Which by the
way, Hank?” He says with a grimace.
I don’t listen to half of what he is saying. I’m still reeling that this is
possibly Hank. “Hank…” I scrutinize him, squinting at him as if that will
help me determine a lie. “Yes, Hank. I guess you should have spoken up
and I wouldn’t have named you myself. Also, I was like six!”
He squints his eyes back at me, “Anyways,” He says with
annoyance, “I have always watched you. Since you were little. I was tasked
to keep an eye on you. I also had to keep an eye on greedy humans who
think they can take anything they want.” He glares between Noah and I.
“Imagine my surprise when I found the wall knocked down in this very
house's basement. What have you been doing little one?” He says, steepling
his fingers under his chin. I notice his eyes swirling more and realize this
man is not human.
“What are you?”
“I’m a Shade. From the shadow realm as you humans have
eloquently named it.”
“A Shade? What the fuck is a shade?” Noah’s tone is disbelieving
bordering on murderous. He does not take his eyes off Harrow as he moves
around the couch to stand opposite the intruder. I move back farther towards
Noah. Putting more space between the general and me.
“A Shade is a being of the shadow realm.”
 “...and?” I ask when he leaves it at that. Like we are just supposed to
know. Harrow then stands up and releases shadows like a protective bubble
and moves towards me slowly, keeping eye contact searching for
something. Noah stands up and puts me behind him. Harrow’s shadows are
pitch black, writhing around him.
“I am not going to hurt you, I never would Dana. But if your dog-”
“His name is Noah. Call him dog one more time and I will shove my
foot so far up your ass you’ll taste my toes.” I side step Noah and stare
Harrow down. His response is to smile and let out a small laugh. It was
more like an aggressive huff than anything. Harrow runs his hand through
his hair. I notice his fingers are adorned with silver rings of all shapes and
sizes on every finger. Tattoos cover all over his fingers and the back of his
hands.
“Like I said, I won't hurt you. I never would. Nor could I if I wanted
to but I need answers about the basement Dana. That will not slide.” He
says sternly.
“What do you mean ‘couldn’t’ if you wanted to? And I need answers
first. The last twenty four hours have been a shit show to say the least. What
have you been doing to me? Have you been so bored that you want to scare
the helpless girl with your shadows? Maybe send some creepy ghosts to
cart me off to hell?” I ask, flinging an arm in his direction. My eyebrows
raised.
“Shadows? Ghosts?” He furrows his brows and looks genuinely
confused.
“Yes, shadows. Creeping on my walls and ghosts stalking me
wanting to ‘find me’ and YOU!” I yell pointing a finger at him, “I have
been hearing your disembodied voice for what feels like too long.” I swing
my hand out.
“That,” he points at me with a small lift of his lips, “you hearing me,
is not something I can fix. That is my soul calling to you.”
“What?” Noah and I both say in unison.
“Soul bond. Soulmate as Earth calls it or Mate as some other worlds
call it.” I continue to stare at him. Then, I nod, one brow raised, the corners
of my mouth pulled down. “Our souls will always look after one another.
Sometimes they call each other just for the gentle reassurance and other
times to warn their counterpart of danger.”
 This man has to be nuts. I have a psychopath in my living room right
now with…shadows that billow around him like sheets in the wind.
Fuckin a’ cotton.
Nope. I need a drink. I slowly make my way to the kitchen and
absentmindedly grab a drink from the fridge and sit at the table. I crack
open the seltzer and take a long sip.
What the fuck? Soul bond? Wouldn’t I feel that? In all the books I
have read everyone feels a tug or they just know. Like fireworks. Maybe the
books are wrong. I mean, that’s fantasy and this is real life. Real life? How
in the hell is this real life?
Why am I even considering what he is saying? He could be lying.
He could be the psycho that is trying to drag me to hell and he has decided
he’s going to sweet talk me into it.
I look up when a chair scrapes across the tile. Both Noah and
Harrow are looking at me. Then, they look at each other with disdain and sit
in their perspective chairs. Noah sits right next to me and grabs my hand.
“If you're Hank. Prove it.” I say.
“How would you like me to do that?” He asks.
“Tell me something only I would know.” I straighten in my seat.
“Everything you would only know.” He says leveling me with a
look. He sighs, “You used to make up a life for me. Sometimes I was the
strapping young man who slept with the whole town, other times I was a
serial killer.” He says with a pointed look at me. “You always wondered
what I looked like. On many, many occasions you tried to force me to hold
your hand to make me more…visible.”
“Yeah, well, it was killing me that you watched over me day in and
day out but I never knew your name or what you looked like. You never
spoke. You only ever shook your head. Or nodded. It was killing me not
knowing who you were. You were a steady and constant presence in my
life. One of three so, of course I was curious. Knowing this whole time you
could have said ‘Hey, I’m Harrow’ really stings.”
“I’m sorry Dana. I didn’t want to mess up your routine. You seemed
happy even without knowing more about me. I also had orders.”
“Ha! Orders? You spent years watching me. You could have said
‘Hi’ one time.”
“But it wouldn't have been one time. Would it? You would have
wanted more and more. I can’t give you that.” Aavin stares at me with
pleading eyes, trying to make me understand.
“Duly noted.” I mumble, a little heart broken. “So who are the
shadows and why are they running amuck in my house?”
“I don’t know what you mean by shadows. I’m the only one in this
realm from my world.” He crosses his arm over his chest, drawing my eye
to his chest. I catch myself checking him out from head to waistline. I shake
myself out of it.
“Don’t want to rain on your parade but there are indeed some
whispy shadow fuckers that are haunting me.”
“She was locked in her room by them the other night and she was
scared shitless before I could get to her. It could have been ghosts though. It
was dark. Hard for her to tell.” Noah states.
Harrow has a furrow between his brows and he pulls his hand up to
his chin, scratching it. “I don’t know what your talking about but I would
like to know why the basement is torn to fuck.”
“We were looking for answers.” Noah says.
“I was asking Dana. I don’t need you to talk for her.” Noah is about
to lose his shit, so I speak before he can.
“We were looking for answers and it led us back here. That’s all. If
you didn't want us going through shit, maybe, don't leave your shit in my
basement.” I raise an eyebrow at him and place my hands on the table and
lean back in my chair. “Now, explain to me why you even shadowed me
Hank.” I want to know why he was even in my apartment in my younger
years. I could understand him being here, if we were in my old apartment,
sort of. But we’re not. We’re here in my house. So he has some explaining
to do.
“Your father needed you protected. He–”
I sputter, “Father?”
“Yes, are you going to let me finish? You interrupt a lot and you
don't wait for answers. It’s rather infuriating.”
“Well, stop dropping bombs on me!” I fling my hands in the air.
Harrow rolls his eyes and leans forward rubbing his hands together. He
catches my gaze and his smoke billows angrily around him. His glare
rooted on me.
“Your father found you years after you were born. We were on a
mission when he felt a pull.” I give him a confused look and before I can
interrupt he continues “We can feel our familial ties. Just like I can feel that
you are my soul bond. We come here on rotations. He and I were needed in
other realms so we had not been on Earth in quite some time.”
I can feel Noah stiffen at the words Soul Bond. I grab his hand and
squeeze trying to convey my love for him but I have more important things
to worry about than a pissing contest over me.
“What are you to each other? This is a new development. One that I
am not fond of.” Harrow questions. I instantly roll my eyes knowing
Harrow provoking Noah on purpose and it’s working.
“Alright, I have fuckin’ had it you fuckin’ wisp. She is not yours-”
Harrow levels a glare at Noah. “She is. Whether you like it or not.”
Noah stands up and reaches across the table grabbing Harrow by the neck
of his shirt. I sit ramrod straight in my chair. Worried about the outcome of
this.
“If she is anyone’s, she is mine!” Noah practically spits the words in
Harrow's face. Pulling Harrow closer to his face. Harrow just watches him.
Not making a move which makes me more nervous. I’m on the edge of my
seat ready to spring into action. “I have been there to wipe her tears, walk
with her, drive her around aimlessly to get her mind off the ghosts. I have
done everything to protect her. I am the one that has been here. I’m the one
who has loved her at every moment. Where the fuck have you been?
Standing sentry in the living room? Watching her from afar? Never holding
her hand telling her everything is going to be okay? Were you there to help
pack up her life when her mother died?” Harrow shifts his eyes to me
looking confused. “No! It. Was. Me.” Noah releases Harrow with a shove.
Noah then walks out of the kitchen and I can hear the front door open and
shut. Harrow and I stare at each other for a moment. Then, immediately the
front door opens and shuts again. Noah stomps back into the house and into
the kitchen. “I can’t leave you in here with him alone.” I reach for his hand
and stand up.
“We will be back in just a second.” Harrow nods at me but looks
irritated. I lead Noah outside and breathe in my first real breath. “Noah, he’s
not going to take me from you. I would never leave you. You’re mine and I
am yours. Don’t let what he says get to you. He could be lying for all we
know. About everything.”
Noah starts pacing and runs his hands through his hair. “Fuck. I
know!” He yells. He winces and looks back at me. “I’m sorry. I know.” He
says again softly. Noah shakes off the last of his anger. “Let’s go back in
there and see what else this douche canoe has to say.” He stamps a kiss on
my forehead and drags me back inside.
When we get back inside, Harrow is still sitting in the same chair.
Waiting patiently. I don’t know if that eases my mind or makes me more
uneasy. Is he waiting for an opportune moment to kill us? I sit down and
eye him wearily.
“Now, where were we?” I ask by way of telling him to move the
fuck on.
“Your father.” Harrow says, linking his fingers together sitting up
straight. “As I was saying, he felt a pull. We aren’t supposed to have
relations with humans. Considering your people are scheming assholes.” I
start to interrupt him and he silences me with a glare. “We had to wait until
we were on our own, for the rest of our company to branch off and shadow
walk to various states and countries. When he followed the pull, he found
your mother playing with you. We watched you guys for a moment and
debated whether to take you or not.”
“Excuse me? Take me?” He ignores my interruption again.
“We thought of taking you so you could learn your abilities, if you
even had them. With your half human heritage we weren’t sure. We were
going to but Kanes watched you guys eat dinner and you were talking about
your day. You were thrilled about some art project you were doing in class.”
I was hanging on every word he said. He had a soft smile playing on his lips
like he was reliving the memory. “Your mother was nodding along with
your excitement and smiling. Laughing with you. We only watched for a
few more moments before we had to finish our part of the mission. After
that we both checked in often. Making sure that you weren't manifesting
any abilities.”
“Why didn’t my father ever introduce himself? Tell me what I was?
Why did he ignore me all this time? Why didn’t you tell me? Why the
secrecy? Why did you leave too? I haven’t seen you in years. I have spent
so much time thinking about you. Wondering where you were. Wondering if
you crossed over. I thought you were a fucking ghost. This whole fucking
time you could have said something. I have bared my gods damned soul to
you time and time again. You know way too much about me. You couldn't
even give me the respect of telling me who I was?” I spit questions and
venom rapid fire. My brain is working a million miles an hour. I have so
many more questions I don't even know where to start. I scan his face for
any hint of lies. I wish I could smell a lie like a werewolf or a fae in the
books I have read. “Why is there a portal thing in my basement? Is it related
to your world? Is that why I was so adamant to buy this house? Are you the
reason? Can you-” Noah grabs my hand stopping my descent into madness.
I huff and start breathing faster and faster. Suddenly the room shifts and I’m
looking at Noah, I focus on his lips. I can hear him talking to me but
nothing makes sense. It’s all garbled. All I can hear are my racing thoughts
and my heavy breathing.
What the fuck is happening? I knew, I knew, it was going to be more
than seeing ghosts but to actually come face to face with it. To learn I have
a father. I mean, I knew I had a father but to actually hear the words ‘your
father’ hit like a ton of bricks. It makes him real and makes me hurt because
he didn’t want anything to do with me on a personal level. To learn there
are other worlds out there. I have a soul bond. What the fuck? I have an
honest to gods portal in my basement. Oh, god those animals in those books
are, probably, totally real. Real life beasts. I feel cool hands on my neck and
then a sense of calm. The hands start to massage my neck, relaxing me
farther. I open my eyes and focus on the world around me. Slowly, I notice
Noah.
Noah is glaring over my head, practically shooting daggers. That’s
when I realize that his hands are on my thighs, gripping them so tightly his
hands are mottled red and white. The veins in his arms are popping out.
Leaving trails from hand to bicep. Then I notice the pain in my thighs. I pull
his hands away and hold onto his hands. I realize that means the hands on
my neck are Harrows. I tense up, dropping Noah’s hands and grab the arms
of my chair. I don't know whether to sink into the feeling or run away. Why
is my fight or flight so…flighty?
“Thank you, I’m calm now.” I turn my neck out of his hands and I
hear him sigh deeply. His hands drift away and he walks back to his chair.
When he sits back down I stand up, nearly knocking my chair over in the
process and head towards the fridge. “Anyone want a drink? I need a
drink.” My voice has taken on a very hysterical edge. I pull out some
seltzers and juice. “I may need a whole fish bowl.” I pull out three cups
even though they haven’t answered me. I then grab my vodka and start
pouring healthy amounts of vodka into each cup. When I'm done with that I
look up at them. They are just watching me like hawks. Maybe to make sure
I don't lose my shit again? It is possible it will happen again. Soon, even.
Very soon. I turn to grab the ice. I finish making the drinks and they are still
just sitting there, watching me. Silently. What the fuck? Why are they just
watching? Have they even blinked? This is now making me uncomfortable.
“What?!” I snap.
“Sorry, I just don't know what to say right now. I’m just trying to
comprehend what is going on.” Noah says, scrubbing his face and adjusting
himself in his chair. He stares at Harrow, keeping an eye on him like he may
disappear or butcher us at any second. I grab the glasses and bring them to
the table. Setting the drinks in front of them. I sit down and take a long pull
from mine. I take a long look around the table weighing my options right
now. Do we continue? We most definitely should. Do I need a break? Yes.
This is a lot to choke down.
“I think I need to pause this conversation for a minute. I need to
compartmentalize and then I can finish this conversation.” I get up, grab my
drink and head to the living room. I head for the fireplace. I slowly start the
fire, placing kindling down at a snail's pace. My father is a Shade, my
mother human. I may have powers and I apparently have a soul bond. I grab
some larger logs placing them on the kindling. I continue focusing on
getting the fire started and hear both men walk into the room. I look up and
watch Harrow, who has pulled his smoke in, sit in the armchair next to the
fire and Noah sits on the couch. I grab the torch and set the blaze and stare
into the fire. Getting lost in it. When I come out of my trance Noah and
Harrow are still quiet. I turn to Harrow.
“What’s your first name Harrow? Or do you just go by Harrow?” I
ask as I lay down in front of the fireplace, staring at the ceiling.
“Aavin.” I lean up on my elbows.
“Aavin. I like that better than Harrow. Less intimidating. Harrow
sounds like a general of war.”
“I am a general of war.”
“Shit, that’s right.” I lay back down and look over at Noah who is
barely sitting on the couch with his elbows resting on his knees. He looks
ready to pounce at any moment. I can tell he doesn't want to get
comfortable.
“I need to ask why you bought this house, why did you knock the
basement wall down. I need answers Dana.” I look over at Aavin. Then I
look at Noah who just continues staring at Aavin.
 “We knocked down the wall because that’s where our answers led
us. It started when I passed out at the neighbors, then I was attacked by
ghosts who looked like they couldn’t quite stay in this world and I saw
shadows the next morning. I was also hearing your…soul. This has all
happened in a twenty four hour time frame. Anyways, we decided to go to
the library to see what we could find about this house. None of this started
happening until a few days ago. As for why I bought it, I just felt a pull to it.
I don’t know. It’s weird.”
Aavin looks contemplatively at me. “Maybe a binding but continue
please.”
“We found the previous owners but nothing really came of that.
Then, Noah happened upon a blog that was talking about some murders in
1944 that happened here. In this house we think or at least around it. It led
us to believe there used to be much more room in the basement than I’ve
been living with. Apparently there was a satanic cult or some shit and they
decided to play ‘Let's summon Satan’ here. The complaint was lodged by a
lady who lived in the house across the street. She said there were people
going in and out of the house but they were using a cellar door. I don’t have
one of those. Anyways, that is how the wall got torn down. I was just trying
to find out what was scaring me. I also wanted to see if there was
information on why the ghosts have changed tactics.” I turn onto my
stomach to warm my back. My cheek is laying on my hand, still looking at
Aavin who hasn't moved at all. “I just want to sleep without ghosts or
shadows trying to kill me. Also, if your soul could stop yelling at me.
That’d be great.” Aavin’s lip ever so slightly twitches up before he regains
his stoic glare.
“I’m sorry. I knew you were my soul bond years ago. I was never
planning to act on it.” He looks over to Noah for a moment before looking
back at me. “You were young and we are of two different worlds. You're
still young and we’re still from two different worlds. I can't do anything
about my soul calling out to you. While I'm alive it reaches for you. I hear
yours often.” He holds his hands out in supplication. “It’s quieter when we
are together. Do you not feel it? My soul must have been calling you for
years and you're only now hearing it?”
“The bond? I don't think so. What's it supposed to feel like?” I sit up
and cross my legs. “I didn’t hear you until a couple days ago. I thought the
voice and the ghosts were related.” Aavin considers my questions. Maybe
trying to find a way on how to explain it to me.
“It feels like a pull, like I said before. I can calm you with my touch
which you learned earlier. Other times you may feel…” He trails off
looking at Noah. “Well, you’ll just feel a pull.” I frown at him and then look
at Noah who rolls his eyes and shakes his head.
“He means horny, Dana. You’ll feel horny.” Noah scoffs and stands
up, walking into the kitchen. Leaving Aavin and I alone.
“I think you have a binding on you that is falling apart or it has run
its course. I’m not sure who would have done it though. Your father and I
didn’t put one on you because we wanted to know if you would manifest
abilities. Are you sure your mother was human?”
“You can’t be serious.”
“As death.”
“I–” I rub my forehead, “I think so.” My voice goes squeaky with
uncertainty. “There is a bunch of stuff I didn’t go through when my mom
died. I just threw everything in a box and I haven’t had the will to go
through them.”
Noah stalks back into the room with a drink. I scoot closer to him.
“I’m not leaving you Noah. Also, I don't even know him. He could
be a psycho. He could be a bad kisser.” Aavin scoffs. “He could be the
worst at sex.” I whisper to Noah, chuckling. Finally, this drink is hitting the
spot.
“What’s sex?” Both Noah and I snap our heads around so fast we
could have given ourselves whiplash. Our mouths drop open and Aavin
looks incredibly confused.
“Oh…oh. You, you can’t-”
“You’ve never fucked?” Noah blurts out. That’s when Aavin starts
laughing.
“Gods, you guys are gullible. Of course I know what it is.” I roll my
eyes. “Regardless, I’m not here to steal Dana. I’m not going to throw her
over my shoulder and have my way with her. That's not how soul bonds
work. We have a pull but it’s not something that is going to override my
common sense. I also genuinely don't think it would ever work out.” I
frown at that.
“So then, why are you here? You have checked on Dana, she’s fine.
As you can see. We would like to have dinner and sleep.”
 “Aavin, would you like to stay for dinner?” I blurt out without
thinking, “I mean, I can ask you about these shadows. Maybe you’ll even
see one. Or the ghosts.” I look at Noah who looks really irritated right now.
Oops.
I look over at Aavin waiting for an answer.
Aavin looks at Noah and Noah groans. Clearly he’s butt hurt and
thinks I’m going to let myself get whisked away by a strange man I have
never met. I look back at Noah and roll my eyes at him.
“I can stay. It would be nice to see what you're talking about when
you say shadows.”
“Okay! That settles that!” I jump my feet and wobble a little. I may
have put way too much vodka in this thing.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 12
Noah
I don't want to hear another word about how horny my girlfriend,
the one woman who has my heart in a vice grip, will be for another dude. I
let out a defeated sigh and chugged the last of my drink. Fucking Christ.
Soul bond? Am I butthurt? Absolutely. Yes I am, but I’m going push that
away for now and I get off the couch. I need another drink and dinner.
I get up and head to the kitchen. I grab down the vodka and start
pouring it in my cup. Dana walks in after me and starts to rummage through
the fridge. It sounds like chaos. What is happening? I walk over to see what
she is struggling with. She did have a strong drink and she’s thin enough to
be blown away by a mediocre gust of wind. She also has zero tolerance.
Just as I reach the fridge door she turns around, holding some vegetables
and the chicken she bought the other day. I reach in after her and grab the
juice. Pouring a little to just mask the vodka in my drink. I need something
to help me along with this fuckin night because right now I just want to
throw punches and rage.
I’m gonna stew on it for a moment. Of fucking course as soon as I
make my feelings known something get’s in the way. A soul bond, of all
things. Really? How unlucky does a person have to be? I thought she was
meant for me. We have always been connected. She is the moon to my stars.
She always has been. I have been there for her as she has been there for me.
I have helped her through all the chaos that was high school. I was there
even after her first boyfriend and I managed to not even strangle the guy at
her request. I was there when her mother died. I was the only one there. She
slept in my room, in my bed while I slept in my chair. I helped her pack up
her life and move her into this house. I helped her through high school. I put
a squash on rumors the best I could, I still do whenever I hear them. I may
sound like a selfish asshole but it was me. All of it. Now fate wants to take
her from me? No. Absolutel-
 “Noah!” I snap my head to Dana. “Jesus. I have been calling your
name for a hot minute. I need you to move. So I can get this shit started.”
She waves the vegetables in my face and has chicken in the other. I put my
drink down and grab the items from her hands.
“How about I cook so you don’t burn yourself?” She scoffs at me.
“That was one time Noah and I was drinking.”
“And you're drinking now.” She smiles and pushes up on her toes to
kiss me. I still have to lean down. It’s a sweet short kiss but it's exactly what
I needed to cool my jets for at least a moment. I look into her eyes, hers
flick back and forth between mine. I smile and kiss her forehead. “Now,
what were you thinking? For dinner, that is?”
“Stir Fry?” She leans back against the counter. She crosses her arms.
“Are you okay? I have never seen you so mad.” Then she rolls her eyes, at
herself I assume. “I mean, I know you are having a panic attack over this
whole soul bond thing but I don’t feel anything. I don't feel like I need to
jump his bones and I still feel everything for you.” She grabs the chicken
out of my hand and places it on the counter and grabs my now empty hand.
“Please, Noah.” I can see her worry. I nod about to say something when I
see Aavin walk in.
“That's because it doesn't make you a mindless idiot.” Aavin says.
He sits at the table, arms crossed, leaned back in the chair. His smoke is
floating around him calmly.
“Yes, well, thank god for that.” She snarks. “Maybe you're wrong
about the ‘soul bond’ thing.” Finger quoting soul bond. “Also, why is your
smoke out again?”
I turn back to the vegetables and grab a cutting board and knife. I
start chopping them into slices while I listen to their conversation.
“It’s not really smoke. It’s my magic. I can only contain it for so
long before it gets exhausting. I mean, I can hold it in longer but I’d rather
not.”
“Oh, is everyone’s black?”
“Varying shades of gray and black. The darker the shadow the
stronger their magic is.” I shake my head, how do we know anything he
tells us is the truth? “Your father is exceptionally strong too.” I turn around
and eye Dana. Gauging if she’s good or not. She starts picking her at her
cuticles. She’s thinking. Probably about what she should ask.
 “Can you tell me about him? I mean, if he wants me to know about
him. If not, it’s fine.” She looks like she has a brave face but her voice
wavers. I turn back to the vegetables.
“He is…or was a lord of the ninth territory. Right now his advisor
has taken over.”
“Was?” Her voice is small. She already lost her mother, now she’s
preparing herself to lose another parent. Even if she has never met him.
Fuck. She can’t catch a break.
“He’s been missing for several years. When he went missing is
when I stopped coming to watch over you. Trying to find him has led me
from territory to territory. World to world. I was pushing my duties here
onto my lieutenants; duties that I did not want to include you. I did not trust
anyone else to watch over you. I also knew you were safe. I knew your
mother and Noah,” saying my name sounded like it hurt him, I smiled,
cutting up the rest of the vegetables, “were taking care of you. I also did not
want anyone to ask questions about you. Questions I did not want to have to
answer.” I finish the vegetables and move onto the chicken.
“So, you guys only continued to watch her so you could know how
she was doing in school and in life?” I ask reaching over to turn the stove
on. “I just don’t understand why he wouldn’t just introduce himself. Her
mother would have remembered him. She never forgot him.”
Aavin furrows his brows, “When did she pass?” Dana walks over
to the table to sit.
“A couple months after I turned 19. Car accident.” She said, “She
slid into a ditch. You know, I waited for you. I talked to the wall, hoping
you would show up and you never did.” I stop prepping dinner and turn
around. Danas back is to me. “I just sat there, crying about my mother.
Telling you that I missed you. You were such a big part of my life.” She
trails off for a moment. “The things I told you. Oh my gods, how
embarrassing.” She groans, putting her head into her hands.
“I’m sorry to hear about your mother. That is awful to hear. She was
a good woman and a great mother to you.” Dana nods and takes a swig of
her drink. “I remember probably every conversation you and I had.” He
smiles. Ugh, I hate this. Dana shakes her head, her shoulders shaking a bit
and I can hear her chuckling.
“As you can see I do have shoulders to die for.” He laughs loudly
and Dana groans just as loudly. I turn around just in time to see her sink into
her chair in shame.
Fuck, I really hate this. Am I going to be replaced? This bond, if it's
true, is just gonna snap in place and I’m going to be left in the dust? I turn
back to the food and finish chopping up the vegetables and starting on the
chicken. My jealousy alone, over a man I just met, is making me mad. Why
am I so mad about this? She even said she feels nothing.
“So, about my dad. Why is he missing? I mean do you have any
leads?”
“I’m not sure why he is missing. I have been just following leads.
Word of mouth. He is–was a busy man. He looked after many things that
required him to travel many places and realms. It’s been unsuccessful,
obviously. I’m sorry I haven’t found him.”
“I mean, I don't know what to say to that. Thank you?” Dana says
awkwardly.
I finish cutting up the chicken and throw it into the pan. I grab
some rice from the cupboard and a pot and get that going. I go back to the
fridge and look for sauces and then some seasonings. I think back to when
Naomi passed away. I still can't believe they passed off sliding into a ditch
killing her. Dana and I saw the black slashes across her body. It was no car
accident that killed her.
She was a lovely woman. She made me feel like a son. I was always
welcome. When she was home she would make the best dinners for us. We
would sit around the table and just talk about everything and anything.
I realize the kitchen has gone quiet and the only noise is the
sizzling coming from the pan. I turn around and Dana is just staring off into
space. Aavin is staring at her. Puzzling her out. She gets like this when she
talks about her mother. She doesn't cry about it much anymore but she gets
this far off look like she is remembering every moment her and her mother
had. I always let her have these moments though. To reminisce.
I turn back to the food and stir it, throwing the vegetables in also.
Along with more sauce and pepper. I toss in some smoked paprika because
you can never go wrong with it. The kitchen stays silent, while I wait for
dinner to finish up. I turn around and lean back on the counter next to the
stove.
“So, dinner will be ready soon.” As a way to start a conversation.
Dana snaps out of her thinking and turns to me. She nods and grabs some
plates and silverware, setting them down at the table. Pull the pots from the
stove and bring them over to the table.
“Are you all good?” I say looking between the both of them “It’s just
very quiet now.”
“Yeah, just thinking.” Dana says, taking a huge scoop of rice.
“You gonna actually eat all that?” Aavin asks, smiling. He heaps rice
and stir fry on his plate.
Dana looks up at him and then me and scowls and shoves a forkful
of food into her mouth.
“I bet you don't even eat half of it.” Aavin says.
“I bet less than that.” I quickly look up at Aavin and find him staring
at me. I look back down at my plate. Are we really going to become buddy-
buddy over Dana’s eating habits? I really don't want to be friends with him.
“She has always eaten like a bird.” Aavin says and I smile at that.
“She eats like a toddler. I told her just the other day.”
“Okay! Enough bonding over my eating habits.” She takes another
bite. “It’s uncomfy. I think I liked it better when you were both growly
about whom I belonged to.” She quips. I huff a laugh at her and notice
Aavin does too. God damn it. I sigh and shovel food into my mouth. We
finish dinner in peace. Well, almost all of us finished dinner. Dana still has
over half her plate full.
“I told you.” I say as I collect Aavins plate and mine. “You gonna
finish that?” I ask Dana. Raising a brow with a shit eating grin. She glares
at me and swallows her food. Then, she goes back in for more. She’s going
to make herself sick. I shake my head and turn to the sink to rinse the bowls
and throw them in the dishwasher. I’m not going to deep dive into that. That
is a trip wire to a larger explosion. She’s had quite the shitshow the last two
days, it’s bound to happen.
“Dana, we all know your stomach can’t handle anything else. Unless
your appetite has changed over the years. Which I guess is possible.” I stare
at him stunned. Does he know when to shut up? “You don’t have to be
stubborn.” No, no he doesn’t.
Dana gently places her fork down and finishes her bite. She squares
her shoulders.
“Look, Aavin, I know you're new around here but let’s not start off
with telling me what I can and cannot do. Also, men only call women
stubborn when we don't bend to a man's will.” She raises a brow at him.
“You wouldn't call a man stubborn for continuing to eat his meal. You
would probably root him on until he puked on your lap.”
“I’m just trying to save you from puking or being uncomfortable all
night.” Double yikes. I should take his shovel away. Then again maybe this
will solve my problem. I shrug and decide to let it play out.
“Dana–”
“Dude, just leave it, man.” Didn’t I just say I'd let it play out? I
internally smack myself. I clap my hands together. “Okay! Let’s talk about
something else.” That earns me a glare. I wince in her direction. “Sorry
Boo-”
“No.” Is all she has to say. “You should find a nickname that is fit
for, like, a warrior. Or a bertha. Or a woman who has been scrutinized since
middle school. ‘Spaz’ seems to be a continued favorite.” She says.
“Spaz? Why Spaz?” Aavin looks at her.
“Because I can see ghosts.” She says it like she’s telling him the
weather.
“That is stupid. What does Spaz even mean?” Aavin questions.
“It apparently embodies someone who dodges invisible objects and
happens to have weird things happen to her.”
She stands up with her bowl and sets it on the counter. I pull the
drawer open next to me and hand her the plastic wrap as she turns around to
do just the same. She gives me a glare and takes it from me. She
meticulously wraps her bowl and places it in the fridge. It'll never get eaten.
I grab my drink and follow her out to the living room. She sits on the
couch and grabs her blanket. I sit next to her on the couch. I should do the
rest of the dishes but that just sounds like a bad time.
“So, what else would you like to talk about?” Aavin asks as he walks
in and takes a seat in the same arm chair.
“I’d like to marinate on the fact that you are technically an alien,
who is soul bonded to me. I feel like I should be freaking out more. I mean
you are a strange man in my house that I have never met before and I didn't
even call the cops. That says something about my mental state right now.
My mother is rolling in her urn.”
“You feel safe because your soul recognizes mine. I would hope that
if some random man that came in here that wasn’t bound to you, you would
have, at the very least, run out the door.”
“I feel like I should throw something at you right now.”
 “What’s an urn by the way?” Aavin asks. Dana walks over to the
shelf that holds Naomi's urn and presents it to him.
“Your mother is in that?” He gets up to walk over to the urn. “Why
is there a lid? Does it keep her soul trapped in here? How does she find
peace in the Eather?” He picks it up, “Or afterlife? Or whatever you guys
call it here? If I open this lid will her soul wander this house?” He asks
looking up at Dana. She loses it, she is laughing so hard that she has
doubled over. I haven't seen her laugh this hard since I fell through the
ceiling fixing beams in the attic a couple weeks ago. Jealousy slithers
through me again. She’s taking great heaving breaths and snorting. Aavin
looks bamboozled.
“It-” She can’t even get words out. “Ashes!” She stands up and she’s
trying to hold her laughs in. Wiping her eyes. She gets to Aavin and slowly
takes the jar from him. Sobering instantly. She caresses the lid. “I had her
cremated like she wanted. Which means they burned her body. Then, they
scooped her up and dumped her in a plain box to be given to me. I bought
the urn…” She traces the lines of the flowers. “I had a local guy engrave the
flowers. Daisies. Her favorite. ‘They are just simple and beautiful. It goes to
show you don't have to be glamorous or complicated to be beautiful’. I try
to remember those words every time I feel like shit. Which seems to be a lot
lately.” I get up and walk over to her. Hugging her from behind. “I miss her.
Everyday.” She sets the urn back on the shelf. “Her soul will not escape if
you open the urn.” She huffs a laugh and sniffs. “Thank you. Aavin, even if
you didn’t mean to make me laugh. I needed it.” She takes his hand and my
stomach drops. She jolts and snaps her head back up to him. “What the hell
was that?”
“Soul bond.” I cringe and rest my forehead on her shoulder. Inhale.
Exhale. I don’t know how I’m going to get around this. I feel like my heart
is being ripped out of my body every time ‘soul bond’ is brought up.
Maybe…maybe, I’m thinking about this too much. Maybe, I don’t even
need to be worried about it. Aavin did say he is not pursuing and Dana said
she doesn’t feel it.
“Oh. Strange.” Is all she says, still holding his hand. Still staring at
each other. Like I’m not even here. Just as I think that Aavin looks over at
me, furrows his brow and then looks back at Dana.
“How about a movie?” I ask. Trying to break the moment they are
having like the jealous bastard I’m being right now.
 “Movie? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one. I’ve seen plays back home
but never have had the chance to watch a movie here.” I raise my brows at
him. Didn’t he say that he’s been on multiple missions and spent a lot of
time watching over Dana?
“Really? Even when watching me?”
“You make it sound salacious and like I was a pervert.”
“I didn’t mean that.” Dana laughs. She steps out of my arms and
heads back over to the couch to find the remote. I follow her over and sit
down. She grabs the remote and I grab her hips sitting her down next to me.
Aavin sits in the chair he has seemed to claim. Watching us for a moment
before turning toward the TV. We surf the shows and movies in silence until
we pick one out we can both mildly agree on. Were about thirty minutes in
before Dana fell asleep. Leaning on my shoulder with my arm wrapped
around her.
“I’m not going to take her from you.” I hear Aavin say. I look over at
him and really look at him.
“I don’t think you’ll have a choice in the end. Soul bonds sound
pretty serious.” I say, trying to be nonchalant, trying not to show how
fucked up I am over it.
“It’s not something that will make us lose our minds. No one I have
ever known has and I have been around for a long time. The bond just links
us, they are our perfect match in every way. She would be soft to my hard,
calm to my chaos. That is how it is for every other soul bond. Do I want the
bond? Yes.” I stare at him, waiting for him to continue. Grinding my teeth
into dust at this point. “But I don't think it will ever happen. One, she
doesn’t even feel it. That may change with time but I have never heard of
someone not feeling their soul bond, when the other certainly does. Second,
my people hate Earth. You guys aren’t known for being a peaceful species.
You know, we have never warred with our own people. Yes, we have some
crime but we don't war over oil, land and religious beliefs. We have only
warred with other realms and worlds that have tried to invade us. One of the
most backstabbing moments my world has ever experienced was with
Earth.” Aavin shakes his head. “I mean to say, I don’t want to bring her into
that. Where people might hate her for where she was raised. Regardless of
bloodlines. It seems she has enough on her plate right now. I don’t want to
add to it. I will say though, and I am just telling you, so that if it does
happen ever, the only time I would be possessive would be when the bond
first snaps into place.”
“And that is by sex I assume?” I ask
“That or if something were to happen that would take her from me.
Like death. Her soul and my soul would reach for each other and I would
share my soul, my life with her. I would be forced but she would live
through whatever happened. Soul bonds share life spans. One cannot live
without the other. They die of a broken heart. Ones who have survived their
other half dying, lead a half life. Sometimes couples who have children can
hold on better, if the kids are still of rearing age.” He pauses, “I have heard
of couples on Earth who have been together for decades and when one
passes the other follows. That’s how it is for us.” He smiles sadly, staring
off into the fire.
“What if she wants it? Would you give it to her?”
“I don’t know. I’m not a good male, no matter how you think this
conversation may make me look to you.” He raises his brow at me, like he’s
trying to drive a point home. “To be honest, I’m not someone who deserves
the love of a soul bond. I have killed hundreds over my many years. I have
done terrible things to ensure the safety of my people and I will continue to
do so. I’m an angry and selfish being. I’m only a little different around her.”
He nods towards Dana’s sleeping form. “I have killed men here, like
Bogess. I ripped his spine out of him. Traitorous bastard.” Bogess, that
sounds familiar. Then it dawns on me.
“Bogess…the old owner?” I scoff, “Of this house? We were in the
process of figuring out what happened in this house and who lived in it. He
was on the list.”
“Ye-”
“Wait…his spine?!” I yell, I immediately look down when Dana
stirs. “His spine?!” I whisper yell.
Aavin opens his mouth and closes it, looking to see if I’ll interrupt
him again. “Yes. One of the old owners. Also, yes his spine.” He talks about
it like it is a normal occurrence.
“Wow, that gives a whole new meaning of ‘I’ll rip out your spine
and shit down your neck’.”
“That is foul. Why would someone shit down their neck?” Aavin
looks thoroughly disgusted.
 “It’s just a saying, a gross saying but a saying nonetheless.” I look
down at Dana. Her neck looks incredibly uncomfortable.
“You should take her to bed. So she doesn't get a neck cramp and
you look like shit. You should sleep as well.”
I scoff, “Thanks for that. I should get her to bed though.” I start to
shuffle her around.
“Good, cause I don’t want to have to invade your body again to get
her to bed, You sleep like a fucking rock. Oblivious to the world around
you.” I stop and sit back. I look at him, mouth falling open.
“I thought she hallucinated, taking herself to bed the other night or
dreamt that I did. She said thank you for-” I shake my headband then gape
at him. “What the fuck dude! Invade my body? What the hell do you
mean?”
“Magic.” He said, letting his magic surround him. Like that is
supposed to explain everything. I raise my eyebrows, telling him to
continue. “I hadn’t invaded a body in a while. It seemed like some good
practice. I would also like to say you would not wake up to anything. I
wasn’t kidding about the rock thing.” I glower at him. “Anyway, I just used
my magic to reach into your body; moved your muscles around. It’s the
main part of my magic. Being able to manipulate people. I really only use
that part of my magic to search minds, which is monotonous. A lot of
memories are the same. Washing dishes, driving to work and so on. I have
to file through all of those to find what I want. It gets really tedious really
fast. You provided some muscle work. Thank you.” He inclines his head to
me.
“Well, I’m glad you got to flex a muscle in my body.” I say
sarcastically. “Why didn’t you just take her?” He shrugs, that’s it, shrugs
like he didn’t just admit to stealing my body. “I don't even know what else
to say to that. How about next time, you don’t?” I shake my head and scrub
my free hand up and down my face. “I’m gonna go to bed and hopefully not
dream of body snatchers. Are you staying the night? Or are you going to go
back to your world?”
“I will stay for a little longer, make sure everything is safe. Dana
saying shadows and ghosts are following her concerns me. Nothing should
be haunting her or following her from my world. I will stay for a while to
keep an ear and eye out. I will be back tomorrow to investigate as well. She
is not known by anyone in my world except by me and her father Kanes.” I
nod to him and start to get up. “I mean it Noah, I’m not here to whisk her
away. I may be an asshole but I draw the line at hurting her.” I nod at him,
picking up Dana and heading to the stairs.
When I get to her room I look around for shadows. When I see
nothing, I lay her in bed and close the curtains on the windows. I walk back
over and take off her shoes and socks. Then wiggle her pants off her. She
wakes up and helps me take off her pants the rest of the way. She gets up to
crawl under the blankets. Then snuggles down deep. Promptly falling back
to sleep. I love this woman. I chuck my clothes off and lay them on the
chair. I get in bed and pull her to me. Practically fusing us together.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 13
Aavin

I watch Noah take Dana up to bed. I rub my hands along the chairs
arms for a moment. Just staring at nothing, lost in thought. I shake my head
and I get up to wander the living room for a moment. I stop to look at
Naomi’s urn. Such a strange custom to burn the body. I knew of the burying
which I find worse than the burning. This world is so populated they may
have to start burying bodies on top of bodies. Maybe that’s why they have
taken to being burned instead. When Shades die our magic returns to the
ether and our bodies basically disintegrate. We turn to dust and follow the
winds.
I sit back in the chair and stare into the fire. I have many questions
that I need to ask her about. Firstly, the shadows and then there are the
ghosts. She’s always been able to see them and they usually left her alone
except for a few that I know of over the years. Now, the ghosts are trying to
kill her? Take her?
It's a strange ability to see the dead. Maybe something to do with her
mixed heritage? I wonder if she could see ghosts in our realm? I mean we
have the Umbras but everyone can see them. Well, all us shades can. Maybe
a human could not see the Umbras? Our whole philosophy about them is
that they are souls who are damned to pay their penance in the shadow
realm. I shake my head. ‘Shadow realm’, I’ve heard it so much that even
I’m calling my world that instead of Aelore. Though most of the other
worlds call us ‘The Shadow Realm’. I guess it makes sense; we have
‘shadows’ billowing around us and then there are the Umbras, who are just
floating balls of magic and soul. Those are the only shadowy things in our
world though. Aelore is a bright, vibrant place. Meadows for miles, flowers
of every color. Trees hundreds of feet tall and so big around you could carve
entire homes into the trunks.
 It’s a funny coincidence that Naomi loved daisies. We have a little
white flower as well that looks just like Earths but the pollen center is a
vibrant blue. The petals are an iridescent white. They are very common but
like Naomi said they are a simple beauty. My mother also used to keep a
small vase of them by the front door. Sometimes on the dining table too. I
would pick her small bouquets of them when I was just a young boy.
I think about my life, about my mother and father. They were soul
bonded and when my mother died my father followed shortly after. They
were old, older than most parents with kids my age. They struggled for ages
to have a child, then I came along. They were the best parents and I had a
close relationship with both of them.
I’m not sure how much time passes before I start hearing a whisper.
I go absolutely still and crane my head to the side. Holding my breath, I
reach my magic out. Searching for intruders. I get up and start going up the
stairs. The whispers quiet down. It sounds like they are all talking over one
another.
I haven’t been up here but there aren't many doors to choose from. I
open the first door I come to on the right. The door creaks slightly. I look
around and find nothing but office space. I back out and close the door
again. I proceed down the hall. There is a door to the left and as soon as I
try to open it, it’s locked. I press my ear up against the door, listening for
anything. I hear Dana scream and I start pushing the handle down to open
it. Locked.
“What the fuck!” I hear Noah yell. I try the handle again, then
throw my shoulder into it. It doesn’t budge. I send my magic in the key hole
and under the door trying to find out what is in there with them.
“Noah, this door is locked!” I yell. I hear feet pounding across the
floor. Then someone pounds on the door.
“Fucking gods! I’m so tired of this shit!” Screamed Dana. I work
my magic harder on the door.
“Back up! I’m going to throw my magic into the door!” I hear
Noah say “shit” and some shuffling. Assuming that they are out of the way I
throw my magic at the door. I try again and again. The door is not budging.
I can hear Dana groaning in pain and Noah is trying to console her. I can
hear the panic in his voice though. I can also hear absolute chaos on the
other side of the door. So many people talking at once.
 “Too loud.” She moans. “Shut up! Leave me the fuck alone!” Dana
starts yelling.
I summon my shadow ax and hack at the door. Finally, something
is working. I hack at the door handle and around it. The door tilts open a
little bit and I throw it the rest of the way open. I search for a light along the
door. I flipped the light on and stomped into the room. I see shadows and
flickering ghosts. The ghosts and shadows are fighting each other. It’s loud
in here. It’s like having a whole battlefield of noise in one small room.
“Silence!” I yell. Cutting my hand through the air. Blasting them all
with my magic. The ghosts seem to disappear immediately. The shadows
linger. What are they waiting for? I keep my eye on them while I slowly
walk backwards to Noah and Dana. I squat down near them. “I assume
this,” I wave a hand at her shadow covered walls, “this is what you mean by
shadows?” I ask quietly. The shadows are silent and still.
“What the fuck is happening Aavin? Are these of your world?”
Dana asks, scooting closer to me while still wrapped up in Noah.
“This is not something we can do…I don’t think anyway. I have
never seen a Shade work this kind of magic. We’re also peaceful. We
wouldn’t be scaring you or trying to grab you. I don't understand what they
even are.” I look back at the shadows and then to Dana. Dana suddenly
looks determined.
“What do you want with me?” She slowly stands up. Waiting for an
answer. She shifts from foot to foot. Noah and I stand up beside her. The
whispers start again. They get louder and louder. She immediately puts her
hands to her ears. I wonder why it is hurting her, I can hear them too but it’s
not hurting my head at all. I turn to Noah.
“Can you hear them? And see them?”
He looks back at me, tearing his eyes from the shadowy chaos
rippling along the walls again. “Yes, but it doesn’t hurt me. I can’t
understand what they are saying. They are all talking at once.” I turn back
to Dana who has stepped forward a couple of steps. Noah and I both step
forward to grab her but she turns around and puts a hand up to stop us.
“Wait.” Is all she says and steps forward more. “I can’t understand
you. What are you trying to say?” The whispers get more frantic. Streams
of shadow reach out toward her. Noah and I again move forward and Dana
throws a hand over her shoulder to stop us again. This woman is infuriating.
Stepping closer to an unknown and possible threat? She has a death wish. “I
can’t understand you if you’re all going to talk at once. Just one of you
speak please.” The shadows slowly disperse. Then, there is only one.
“Naomi Greenback is needed home. Immediately. Where is she?”
The shadow pauses and seems to hone in on Dana.
“What?” Dana snaps her gaze to him. “What of her?” She walks
toward him.
“Naomi Greenback of Plains, is your mother correct?” Dana stops
dead in her tracks.
“Who the hell are you and what is with the theatrics?” She steps
forward and we step with her.
“Naomi is the daughter of our King Furden and Queen Li-ana. We
need Naomi back, and by extension you. The portal has been fixed, she
can-”
“Nah, you have definitely got the wrong girl. My mothers name was
Naomi but she died almost three years ago.”
The shadow went quiet for a long moment. Then there was a pulsing
wave of shadow and magic. Suddenly there was a man standing there.
Taller than me and he is huge, built like a damn bear. Long red hair and
strong features. Scars bisect on his right cheek. “What do you mean died?”
Dana stepped back before catching herself. A strange look comes over her
face and she glances down at her body. She shakes her head as straightens
up.
“I mean she died. D-I-E-D. Died. She was driving and crashed into a
ditch almost 3 years ago. You must have the wrong family because my
mother would have told me about this.” She swings her arms out violently.
“There’s no way she would have gone my whole life without telling me she
was the princess of some other world. Besides, I have enough shit going
on.” She starts to turn around and walk away but she turns back, finger on
her lips. “Actually, you have solved at least one real big problem which was
‘Who the fuck is haunting me with shadows.’ So, thank you. Leave me
alone and go away. Wasn’t nice to meet you.” She stalks out of the room
and down the hall. We can hear her going to the stairs before any of us
move a muscle. Red moves forward to follow her but Noah and I both stand
in front of the door, arms crossed.
“Like hell you are going down there with her. Now wisp your way
back from whence you came.” Noah says, sizing the new guy up. I give him
a droll look, he really likes that word ‘wisp’.
 “You don’t understand. This is important. If Naomi is really dead
this bodes for bigger issues than previously thought. I need to bring Dana to
her grandparents.” Noah and I glance at each other and have no intention of
moving. Red shakes his head and holds his hand out. A saber materializes
out of thin air and in his hand. I shadow my axes in both hands, spin them
and then raise my arms out. Noah looks back and forth between us.
“Dude-”
“Go downstairs with Dana, I will take care of him.” I watch Noah
nod and back away out of the door and down the hall. Red shakes his head,
and moves swiftly, bringing his saber up and down over my head. I lift my
axes over my head and stop his blade. I throw my arms to the side, forcing
him to sway just a bit.
“A warrior? Or just luck?” He taunts. I swing my right ax at his face,
swinging all the way around while dropping to my knees and swinging both
my axes for his legs. He ducks and jumps back in the nick of time. I roll out
of his range and jump back up onto my feet. He swings towards my neck, I
hold up one ax to stop the swing and kick him in the chest. Sending him
flying back into a wall.
“Dana asked you to leave, you need to leave. I do not want to spill
blood on her floors.” Red chuckles.
“I will not be leaving until I can speak with her. It is important. My
people need her. Naomi had obligations that Dana is probably going to have
to take over and Naomi’s parents will want to know of their grandchild.
Naomi’s siblings will want to know their niece. We need to know what
information Naomi gathered about this world.” He points his sword at me.
“You will not-”
“What in the fuck is going on in here?!” I turn to Dana while still
keeping Red in my peripheral. “I told you to leave.” She points to Red.
Noah is running up after her. Out of breath.
“Dana! You cant just run into a fuckin sword fight!” Noah yells at
her. She turns a baleful glance at him.
“My name is Kreed. I need to talk to you. Please, it is important. If
what you say is true then Bathaile has bigger problems than we could
foresee.” Dana looks Kreed up and down. I can see the moment she gives
in.
“Alright, if it will get you out of my house. You can come down
stairs and explain what the fuck you’re in my house for. Then, you will
leave.” She turns around and leaves the room. “Let’s just throw a party for
all the fucking weirdo’s that portal into my fucking house.” She yells, at no
one in particular as she walks down the hall.
This woman I swear to the gods. Would it kill her to just let me kill
him? I rub my hand across my forehead, cursing this night. I swing my arm
towards the door, ax still in hand. Noah steps to the side and Kreed walks
through the door. I follow behind Kreed with Noah walking behind me.
Kreed stops at the bottom of the stairs and looks around like he’s cataloging
everything. I push my ax into his back.
“Move.” I demand. Kreed looks over his shoulder and nods. He
turns left towards the kitchen. Dana is sitting at the table with a bottle of
vodka and four cups. Kreed sits across from Dana, she eyes him and takes a
swig of vodka straight from the bottle. I guess this moment does call for a
‘straight from the bottle swig’.
“Speak.” Is all Dana says while grimacing from the vodka. Noah and
I take the seats next to her.
“My name is Kreed Gallen. I am King Furden’s right hand man. He
has entrusted me to find his daughter Naomi Greenback. That was her alias
while she was here. She came over here thirty years ago on a mission.
Governments of Earth were trying to breach our portals and we needed to
know why. The Allway has always been…touchy. We needed to know how
they were focusing the Allway on us. When we have been having trouble
with it. Then, the Allway just stopped. Leaving Naomi stranded here. ”
“The Allway…that’s the portal?” I ask.
“Yes.” Kreed nods to me. “Anyways, we were skeptical about
sending Naomi over here when she had volunteered. She may be third in
line for the throne but she is still very important. Not only to the country but
to her family. She has been missed. We haven’t had communications with
her since she left. We tried to cross the Allway but it had completely
stopped operating. Not even to throw us into a world of its own choosing.
We spent years trying to fix it but it was a greater issue than any of us could
have speculated. It wasn’t until about two years ago that we were able to
determine the issue.” He shifts around in his chair. “I was sent here to find
Naomi. To try and find a trail. Which I did, it started in California like we
had planned before she left. Then I went to Canada and back through the
United States. It’s taken a few years to get to the end of her trail. Now you
tell me she is dead. So that leaves you.” He says pointedly at Dana.
 Dana shakes her head, “How do you know I’m the right person
you're looking for?”
“You look like her and your magic has her same signature. The
pap–”
“I’m going to stop you right there. I have no magic, not even an
inkling. You don’t have the right person. I will keep your secrets with me. I
will tell no one but you will leave now and never come back here. My life is
already a three ring circus.”
“Yes, you do. I can feel it. I can feel her magic radiating through this
whole house and so is yours. It’s everywhere.” Dana stares at him
unbelieving. Tonight is going to be a long night. I grab the bottle of vodka
and take a swig.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 14
Dana

Magic? Ha! I have none. I knew this guy had the wrong person.
The name must be coincidental. Extremely coincidental. I see Aavin take a
swig of vodka from the bottle and pour himself a small glass. Then, he
pushes it over to Noah.
I throw my hands up. “There is no magic buddy. I have lived long
enough that I know that I don’t. I’m sure whatever you think I am, is not
what I am.”
“Not necessarily. Your mother could have put a block on you so
that no weird unexplainable incidents happened in front of human eyes.
Your magic could be buried deep. You may not even realize you have it
because you had no idea it even existed.”
“He has a point.” Aavin says. I slowly turn my neck to look at him.
“You’re agreeing with this guy? We don’t even know him. Matter of
fact; I don’t even know you!” I toss my hands toward him. “
The only one I know is Noah,” I point to him, “and he doesn’t know
what the fuck is happening either!” I heave a breath, “I have had now, two
strange people show up in my house within twenty four hours of each other.
I have had ghosts haunting and threatening me. I have had shadows stalking
me.” I say with a pointed look at Kreed. “I have had a strange pulsing
warmth running through my body sporadically–”
“That–that right there Dana. When did that start?” asks Kreed.
Taken aback, I fumble, “I–I don’t know. First this afternoon when I
was in the drive thru for fries. That was the worst of it and then again when
you and I first started talking. It didn’t hurt. It was just unsettling.”
“That is a disintegrating block. A shield or binding. Whatever you
want to call it.”
 “No, no. It was probably just stress. These last two days have been
hell. It’s just a weird symptom of anxiety. All I can do magical wise is see
ghosts. Nothing more. My mother worked two jobs, she made dinner like
any other human, cleaned like any other human. She was just a human.”
“Naomi was anything but ordinary Dana. She had a way about her.
Anyone who even just passed her on a street would have felt it radiating off
her. I’m not just talking about her magic but her soul.”
His words hit me like a sack of rocks. He’s right. She has always had
a way to her. Always flowed with life, never tried to force things.
Everything just seemed to just settle around her. Or maybe, she settled with
it. She found beauty in everything.
“Okay, well, if we continue talking about my mother, I will start
crying hysterically so let’s move on to something I can handle. Tell me
about your shadows and why the hell you were trying to scare me.”
“I did not mean for the shadow guards to get so out of hand. They
are still a new concept to me. A new magic that still needs some kinks
worked out. The other day I was trying to reel them back but something
about this area makes my magic haywire. I apologize for that. It will not
happen again.”
“Ley lines.” Noah mutters.
“A new magic?” Aavin asks with a quizzical look on his face.
“Yes, it’s like an extension of myself. Usually, I only let out three or
four but something about this area makes my magic harder to control and
they started replicating themselves. Which, I guess was a good thing with
whatever the hell was in that room with us. I couldn’t see what my shadows
were fighting though. That is concerning. Then, after they disappeared I
was trying to reel them back again. Something about this area makes my
magic harder to control but you noticed me, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I noticed you stood out from the rest. Thank you for trying to
kill, maim or push away whatever the fuck those ghosts are. They have
been terrorizing me for the last two days.” I think back to yesterday. “What
about yesterday morning?”
“The same. I was trying to gather intel but obviously things went a
little haywire. I needed to know who you were and if you were
trustworthy.”
“How did you notice though, Dana? That there was one shadow
different from the rest.” Kreed asked.
 I placed my palms on the table and looked between Noah and Aavin.
Both were looking at me with furrowed brows.
“I just did.” I shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s how I see the
ghosts?” Kreed lays his hand out across the table. I eye it wearily. Then I
look back up at him.
“Can I? Touch your hand that is. It can help me get a better read on
your magic.”
I look over at Noah who shrugs and gives me a ‘I don’t fucking
know’ face. I look at Aavin who is staring at Kreed's hand like it's a snake
ready to strike. I look back at Kreed and nod my head. I reach my hand out
tentatively. Staring him in the eye. Looking for a change in his demeanor.
My hand gets close to his and I pause for a moment. Looking back at Noah
and then Aavin. Looking to see if they will stop me. I look back at Kreed
and he is just waiting for me to close the distance. My fingers slide across
his palm and I watch as shivers crawl up his arm. I rest my hand on his and
his pupils blow wide. A gentle humming started to vibrate around us. I look
at Kreed with wide eyes. Kreed looks at me with something I can’t place
until I feel a warmth seeping from his palm into mine. Not unlike what I felt
earlier but this is almost softer. He looks down at our palms. Then quickly
looks back at me.
“What is going on?” I vaguely hear Noah say, I feel palms touch
both of my thighs.
As soon as they do, Kreed's demeanor changes. Anger. He snarls at
Noah and then turns his head to Aavin. He jumps up and slides over the
table grabbing Aavin by the throat, slamming him into the floor. Aavin
makes a choked noise as I get up and grab Kreed by the collar pulling him
up enough to punch him in the temple with my other hand. Kreed falls over
a bit before he jumps up and grabs me around the waist. I scream and punch
him in the chest. Aavin gets up and puts his hands up.
Aavin chuckles. Though it’s a deep menacing sound. “Oh, Dana,
darling. Look at you just collecting males from all the worlds.” I stop
hitting Kreed's chest and try to look at Aavin. Hanging in Kreed’s grip.
“Kreed put her down. No need to act uncivilized. Your mate is just fine.”
“What?” I ask sharply. “Oh, no. No, no, no. Look here buddy. Noah
is mine. He is the only mine I will have. Put me down before I find a way to
peel the skin from your fucking body.” I seethe. I turn my body as much as
I can to look over at Noah who is undeniably angry and hurt. He rubs his
fingers viciously across his eyebrow before he chuckles wryly, shakes his
head and storms out of the kitchen.
“Noah. Noah, please!” I kick and try to push out of Kreed's arms.
“Let. Me. Go.”
“No. You are my tether.” Is all the big oaf says.
“No? No!?” I have never felt fury like this. I pull both my hands
back and slam them into his chest, palms connecting with his black shirt.
Dark green smoke billows from under my palms. I can feel it seeping from
my body. A cold refreshing caress. I heady feeling rushes through my body.
One I want to latch onto, feeling the rush of endorphins screaming through
my body. Kreed let's go with a hiss of pain. I stumbled back but caught my
footing. He grabs his chest and winces. “Shit! I-I’m sorry. Oh, my gods.” I
step over to him, pulling his ruined shirt up and over his head. “I didn’t
know. I didn’t mean to.” I get his shirt over his head and gasp at the marks
left behind. I back away quickly. Staring at the perfect red, blistered
handprints. “I’m sorry. Let me get something.” I rush to the kitchen to grab
my first aid kit. I don't think I have anything in there though for whatever
the fuck I just did to him. I walk back over to him and set the kit on the
table, scouring for something that will possibly help the pain, the scarring
or maybe blistering.
Fuck, Noah. Gods dammit. There is too much going on at the same
time. I look over to see if Aavin is still in here. He’s looking at me with a
furrowed brow.
“Can you get Noah back in here?” I growl at myself, “Fuck I should
do it. He’s already having trouble with the knowledge of you and you don’t
even want me.” I put my hand to my forehead and pull back all the
emotions that are rampaging through me right now.
“It’s not a matter of wanting you or not Dana.” He says softly, the
complete opposite of his menace minutes ago. “I will go make sure Noah is
safe.” Without another word he walks out of the kitchen and then I hear the
front door open and shut. I let out a sigh and look up at Kreed who is just
staring at me with longing? Wonder? Maybe constipation? He looks mildly
annoyed. I grab the burn cream, placing some on my finger. He jerks back
before I can even get my hand near him. “I’m sorry. I’m not going to hurt
you again.”
“Will this heal it?”
 “I don’t know. It just soothes burns. But I don’t know what I did to
you so I am just assuming this may work.”
He gently grabs my wrist, holding my arm in place. “I would rather
you not.” Oh. He doesn’t trust me. I get it. I don’t trust myself at the
moment either. I hand him the cream.
“Just put a thin coat-”
“No. You don’t understand. I want the scar.” Yeah, I don’t
understand. I look at him like he’s lost his mind. “You are mine and a
warrior, clearly. It would be an honor to carry these scars. We carry our
scars proudly in Bathaile.” I give him a questioning look.
“Bathaile is our world. We enter it through Bermuda as humans have
named it. That is where the Allway is located.”
Bermuda?
“I’m sorry...Bermuda? Like the triangle?” A disbelieving laugh
comes out of me. He doesn’t say anything, just nods. “Fuck. Really? That’s
the portal? Is that why so many people have disappeared?”
“I don’t know about the disappearances, well, we have had a few
humans fall into our gateway. None recently though and the ones who had
have already passed away. The Allway goes to many places. Not just to
Bathaile. So humans could have been falling into other worlds.”
“Huh. I mean, there’s some huge conspiracy theories about the
Bermuda Triangle. Many people have died and also have disappeared there.
Airplanes, jets, boats and ships.”
“The portal is southeast of what you humans call Florida.”
“Yeah, that sounds right.” I shake my head slowly. Realizing the
theorists weren’t far off.
“Now that the Allway is stabilized there shouldn't be random
disappearances. It was absolute chaos. Opening and shutting at random.
Then, it just stopped. Now that it has been stabilized it will open only at
command. No more random disappearances”
“Well, that’s good.” I nod my head once in affirmation and then I sit
silently for a second. “So, I won't be leaving Noah. Like I told Aavin, you
will leave me alone or all of you are going to have to get real cool being in
a harem.” Kreed's face screws up in anger. “Look, buddy, Noah is
everything to me. He has been here for me through everything. He has
protected me through so much. I will not let him go. He is mine. So either
tuck tail and leave or get real cool with sharing. That will be the end of this
discussion unless it’s you asking where you fit in mine and Noah's life. Got
it?”
“Noah is human.”
“...and? I’m human.” Kreed nods, waiting for me to continue and it
dawns on me. “I’m not human. Fuck. I’m not human!” I pace the floor and
pull my hair. What the fuck? Why didn't my mom tell me anything! This is
pretty fucking important. I thought she would tell me everything!
I turn to Kreed. “Why didn’t she tell me? She had so many
opportunities. Anytime would have been fine. It’s a bomb that should be
given to me by my mother. Not two strangers who know nothing about me!
I shouldn't be blindsided by two soul bonds, tethers…ugh! Whatever.” I
take a deep breath in. “I shouldn’t be blindsided that my mother is not
human and neither is my father! A crown! Other fucking worlds,” A manic
laugh escapes me, “that I knew nothing about. Please tell me you don’t
expect me to go back and lead in my mother’s stead? Please tell me you
have the wrong fucking person.” Anger burns through my veins. What the
fresh hell was my mother thinking?
“You are needed home because your grandparents want to step down
and your oldest aunt cannot take over and your youngest does not want the
crown.”
“Wonderful.” I say sarcastically.
“Who is your father?” Way to change the subject.
“Lord Kanes of the shadow realm I guess. I’ve never met him and he
is missing.” Kreed starts pacing.
Noah and Aavin walk back in. I walk over to Noah. He walks toward
me and I hurry to wrap myself around him. I hold him tightly and huff
angrily into his shirt. I look up at him and grab his neck to pull him to me.
Our lips meet and my arms wrap around his neck. He lifts me up with one
arm banded around my waist, the other in my hair, pulling me into him. I
can faintly hear a growl but I ignore it. I know it’s Kreed. Noah continues to
kiss me and then he puts his forehead against mine.
“I want to say I’m never going to give up but I don’t know how
many more soul bonds I can take.” I hold his face in my hands.
“I know-” I start to say but I’m cut off by Kreed.
“Tether,” Kreed corrects, “and I will not be leaving.” I look back at
Kreed, my mouth gaping, “I have been waiting for centuries to find my
tether and I won't be letting her go.” Centuries? Fucking hell, how many old
dudes are attached to me? Kreed is being blocked by Aavin, who has an arm
out towards him. He’s standing sideways keeping an eye on all of us. “And
you! How can you just be nonchalant about your soul bond kissing a
human!” He says, swinging an arm out towards us.
Noah starts to step forward and open his mouth but is interrupted.
“Let’s relax for a minute. Yeah? We have some shit to figure out.
Like why you're trying to take Dana back to Bathaile.” Aavin looks between
us. Eyebrows raised. Waiting for an answer but were all just glaring at each
other.
“They wanted Naomi to take the crown. Apparently I am the next
best option. A woman who has no actual idea of who she is, who is on the
edge of hysteria and knows absolutely nothing about running a country.” I
say matter of factly. I don’t think anyone in this room realizes how close I
am to losing my mind.
I have so much thrashing about in my brain it feels like a five man
metal band in there playing a song out of tune and out of rhythm. A mother
who was not human, a father who is not human and missing. My mother
was a princess and now I have to take her place? What the hell was my
mother thinking? Not telling me about this? She has me second guessing
everything she has ever told me. I have magic? I have ghosts threatening
me. Let’s not forget the two soul mates I can’t feel and one angry Noah who
looks ready to raise hell.
What am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to follow Kreed to
Bathaile and become whatever they wanted me to become? Would my
mother want that for me? Maybe she didn’t and that’s why she never told
me. Did she know that my father was not human? Did she know he was a
shade? Did he know she was not human? If Kreed and Aavin can feel who I
am and what I am capable of by touch, by sensing magic. How could my
parents not feel each other's magic? Maybe they didn’t care and then
regretted it later and that’s why my father never introduced himself but felt
compelled to make sure I was safe. Thus, having Aavin shadow me.
I stare at Kreed and Aavin. I don’t feel a pull to either of them but
they say they do. With Aavin it's his calling me but I feel nothing else. With
Kreed it’s whatever the hell that was at the table. I feel nothing else though.
“How do you know I’m your tether?” Kreed snaps his head to me.
“If I would have held your hand instead of losing my temper the
tether would have connected, solidified. You would have felt it tighten in
place.”
“And you lost your temper…” I trailed off letting him fill in the
blanks.
“I could feel both of them with you. Part of your soul.” Noah lets out
a shocked laugh. At least I think it’s a laugh.
“So you're mad that there are two men who are also attached to
me?” Kreed gives a quick nod and then continues to stare at me. Then he
continues, “There’s no ‘sharing’ in Bathaile, everyone has their one tether.
This is…new.” I nod, understanding his frustration but I’m not backing
down, Noah is mine and will always be mine. I can’t deal with all this
nonsense right now. I need to talk to Noah and I need sleep. In the morning
we can talk about all this shit and get at least one of my many problems
solved.
“I need to go to bed. I’m tired and my brain is fried. I also have
work tomorrow. We will discuss this more sometime tomorrow night. Y’all
can stay here and sleep on the couch or the spare room.” I grab Noah’s
hand, “Goodnight. Don't kill each other. I don't want to have to scrub blood
out of my floors.” I drag Noah out of the kitchen before more can be said.
We trudge up the stairs and I walk through my bedroom door. I fling
myself onto the bed. I pull the blankets from under my legs and burrow into
the sheets. It’s at this moment I realize I have been wearing nothing but a
shirt and underwear. I sigh and lay my head back onto the pillow. Whatever,
the shirt is long..ish.
I look over and find Noah just standing by the door, staring at me. A
small, sad smile on his face. I sit up and lean against the headboard.
“This last twenty four hours couldn’t get any weirder could it.” I
ask.
“Don’t say that, you may bring another man to your doorstep.” He
says it with a smile but I can see the hurt in his eyes. He walks slowly to the
end of the bed. He looks like he’s deciding if he’s staying or not.
“Noah-” I stop abruptly when I see a tear run down his face. Fuck.
My eyes welled up with tears instantly. I toss the covers off and crawl over
the mattress to him. I reach my hands up his neck to cup his face and I wipe
away the tear with my thumb. “Noah, I’m never leaving you. You-”
“You don't know that. I thought I could deal with one but two? I
can’t compete with that. I have no abilities other than how to farm. I’m not
good with weapons. I don’t have magic. What happens when you feel this
tether? Or soul bond? Whatever the fuck it is. What happens when you feel
it and you only feel the pull to them? Where am I left in this? Gods, I love
you, more than anything. I would follow you to worlds and realms and
everywhere in between but what if I am supposed to be a stepping stone in
your life? I was there for you as we grew up, I tried to help every way I
could. I made sure, to the best of my ability, that you were happy.
Hopefully, your mother and I helped you feel strong enough to take on
whatever comes next. What if this next part is about you and not about us?
What if this next part, I’m supposed to let you go, to become what you were
always meant to be?”
“Are you trying to break up with me, Noah Turner?” I pull my hands
away and wipe the tears now streaming down my face. I sit back on my
heels with my hands in my lap, crestfallen. How could the one man, the one
person I have, the one who has always been there and has loved me through
everything, not want me anymore? How could he believe that I would leave
him behind? “Kreed said he felt both of you in my soul. You and Aavin.
You're there Noah.” I slap my hand over my heart. I take a shuddering
breath, Noah stares at me, unbelieving. “You always have been. We are
written in the stars, we are supposed to be together, I know it Noah.” He
can’t be doing this right now. He can’t be giving up this soon. My breath
starts coming faster. My vision tunneling. I feel the bed dip and Noah sits
behind me, wrapping his arms around me. His legs on either side of my
body.
“Breathe Dana.” He places his head next to my ear, so I can hear
him breathe in and out. He rubs his hands up and down my arms. I fight my
way back, to breathe fully. I listen intently to his own breathing. Pacing my
breaths with his.
“Please don’t do this Noah. Please. I don’t want to go the rest of my
life without you. I need you. I need your steady hand to help me through
this. I need you always and forever. Nothing will change that. Gods, I know
it's selfish but I am going to be selfish about you.” Noah kisses my
shoulder.
“Let’s lay down, yeah? It’s been a shit day for us both. Let’s talk
with clearer heads in the morning.” He pulls the blankets down letting me
climb under. He lays down next to me and pulls the blankets over us. He
pulls me close to him.
 I know this is it. I had a feeling he would leave. That he wouldn’t
want to wade through the chaos I have been stuck with. I can’t blame him
but I let my deeply harbored feelings come to the surface. I let my love for
him out and I will never be the same after this. How do you let someone go
when you want to be selfish? When they don’t want to stick around? He
shouldn’t have too. He should be able to find a woman that he can have a
normal loving life with. Someone who knows who she is and doesn’t have
chaos surrounding her.
I soaked in this last cuddle. This last loving moment. This last reason
to breathe. This last moment to feel safe. I won't hate him for this. I will let
him go and I will always keep him in my heart and hope he finds what he’s
looking for.
“I love you Dana, always.”
“I love you Noah, forever.”
I knew that was goodbye and I silently cried myself to sleep.
Waking up alone gives a different kind of pain.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 15
Dana

I packed my bags full of my clothes a week later along with the

sword I found and my bathroom things too. I packed my life into 4 bags.
One backpack, two duffle bags and one rolling piece of crap. I grabbed my
charger and threw it in my backpack. Do I even need a charger?
The ghosts have left me alone this week. Probably because Kreed's
shadows have covered every square inch of this house since the night he
showed up. Aavin’s shadows also scoured the house for anything that may
have been lurking. He also set up wards around the house before he left.
“You ready?” I turn and look at Kreed leaning against my bedroom
door. He’s been a saint since Noah left. He has let me drown my sorrows in
vodka when I needed it and left me alone when I asked. He’s listened to me
spew vitriol at him. Then, cry and apologize to him. He’s listened to me
lose my temper when something simple didn’t go my way. Something as
little as the powder room sink not cooperating when I tried to remove it.
There was a lot of raging and now there are holes to patch in the powder
room. Kreed has seen the absolute worst of me and yet he stays. It makes
me feel something for him. Something more than just ‘just acquaintances’.
Kreed had asked me why he left. Baffled that someone who claimed
to love me could just leave me. Especially with men we hardly know. I
defended him, of course. I said ‘He probably thought since we are tethered,
you were safe’. Kreed just huffed and ended that conversation and went
outside to take his frustrations out on my unchopped wood rounds. Two
cords are now chopped and stacked in my woodshed beside my backdoor.
It’s frustrating that I can see everyone's point of view. I know why
Noah left. I know why Kreed is upset at Noah and why he is also cranky at
my other bonds. Magical or not. I know why Aavin doesn’t want to
complete our bond. I get it. Just…sometimes I wish I could be stuck in my
own way and not have to see everyone's point of view. It’s exhausting. I
guess that would be narcissism though.
Kreed and I decided it was time to go to Bathaile. To get some
fresh air. A change of scenery and to meet my family. I guess he can feel the
hurt and anger through what little bond we have. He seems to think this will
help to get my mind off Noah.
I tried calling Noah a hundred times. I have driven to his house
several times a day trying to catch him. I called his mother and she said he’s
just gone. She told me he asked for time off and watched him pack a bag,
throw it in his truck and leave. ‘He had tears in eyes honey, I don't know
what happened between you two but he’s broken.’ her words stirred more
tears at the time. I thanked her for telling me what she could and told her to
call me when she sees him.
I wrote a letter for him and left it on my kitchen counter. I also
texted him a novel this morning, explaining that I was leaving for Bathaile.
I also had his name put on the deed to the house. Aavin came back for a
night a couple days ago to check on me. When Aavin and Kreed decided I
was leaving, we had to do something about the house so it didn’t fall into
foreclosure.
Apparently, I would be leaving for a while. Aavin shadowed into the
bank one night and rifled through the computers to find what he was
looking for. It took him a couple hours to figure out what he was doing but
he got it handled. The man looked so frustrated when he got back.
Mumbling things about overpopulation and too much bullshit. I printed
copies of it and placed that with the letter.
Aavin is also coming back tomorrow to pay off the house so the
bank doesn’t foreclose. I tried to talk him out of it but we had settled on me
paying him back later. I think he just knew I needed to get out of this town,
just as Kreed does and out of this house. Aavin didn’t want anything to hold
me back, house, job or otherwise. He made it so I had zero excuses to not
leave.
Noah left something broken in me so irreparable that I have no clue
how to fight back to myself right now. He’s been everything to me for
years. He’s my person.
Now, I’m staring at Kreed wondering if I’m making the right choice.
To go across worlds with a man I don't know. Aavin said he trusted Kreed,
that he wouldn't harm me as I am his tether and if it's anything like our soul
bond, Kreed could not hurt me. Much less want to. Can I trust Aavin
though? I don’t know him either. I have never felt more stupid and
vulnerable in my life but I’m doing it. I need answers and if this leads to my
imminent demise, I guess I’ll just be another cautionary tale.
“Yeah, yeah I think I’m ready.” Kreed walks in and grabs a duffle
from my hand. Then grabs the other. Holding onto both with his left. He
looks at me, uncertain. He lifts his right hand slowly, like I will spook. I
stood still, curious about what he’s doing. He’s been a perfect gentleman
since Noah left. He runs his hand along my chin and steps forward. He
leans down and places a soft kiss on my forehead. He steps back to look at
me.
“It’s going to be dizzying getting there. Think of it as folding a piece
of paper. You are on one end and where we want to go on the other. Fold the
paper till the two places are touching.”
“Like the wormhole theory or warp speed in TV shows. Sounds
nauseating.”
“It can be. Especially for those who are new to it. You also need to
keep a tight hold on your things because if they fall we will never find
them.” I nod and step back.
“I just want to say goodbye to my mother.”
“Uhh, actually I thought we may bring her. So your grandparents can
see…her.” I nod. I had debated if I should take her or not. I never really
came to an answer. Not wanting to leave her but not wanting to lose her
traveling to Bathaile. I didn’t want her taken from me either by
grandparents I don’t know.
So, I’m glad Kreed just made the decision for me.
“Okay, let me put her ashes in a bag and then back in the urn. I don't
want her to spill everywhere.” I pull the backpack onto my back and walk
over to grab my roller case. It’s large, clunky and old but I just need it to get
to Bathaile. Then, I may just burn the stupid thing. I start out the door with
Kreed on my heels. I listen to my case go down the stairs.
Thunk.
Thunk.
Thunk.
Like it's the steady soundtrack to my last moments in this house. I
walk over to mom and pull her down. Leaving the roller case behind. I walk
into the kitchen and fish a bag out of the kitchen drawer. I open the urn and
giggle.
“Mom, I never thought I would be putting you in a plastic bag.” I
laugh a little harder and cry. I have been walking a knifes edge and this
moment is so fucking weird. Kreed stands next to me and grabs the bag to
open it. I slowly shake my mother into her plastic coffin. “Add some
chicken and we can have some shake and bake.” I laugh harder, wiping my
tears on my shoulder. I look up at Kreed who is looking at me in confusion.
The man has no idea what shake and bake is. I calm down and get mom
poured into the bag and put her back into the urn. I pull the end drawer open
and grab out the packing tape. I pull a few strips and tape the lid down to
itself. “Okay. I’m ready, Kreed. Hopefully, this is the right decision and
you’re not going to murder me.”
Kreed stifles a laugh, “If I wanted to kill you I would have already.
No point in drawing it out.”
“Gee, that makes me feel swell, Kreed.” He gives me a half smile.
Then, he looks at me with a concerned face. “Yes?”
“I know you don’t want to complete the bond but it may happen
while we are traveling. Tethers kind of pick and choose when they want to
complete. I know I have hugged you and just gave you a kiss but we would
be able to pull away from that. On the journey there,” he trails off for a
moment as I connect the dots. “I won't be able to let you go.” He shuffles
from side to side. Clearly not wanting to make me uncomfortable or mad.
For someone who is so big and menacing looking, he looks very boyish
right now. It’s quite endearing.
“Shit. Okay yeah. Uh-What–How does the bond work?”
“The hand holding, hugs, basically skin on skin will pull us together
but then there is a place we will have to go to solidify the bond. We pulled
away the first time so it’ll choose when to do it again but I think it also
takes in the person's wants and needs. It’s alive in its own way.”
“Oh, well, it’s inevitable right? No time like the present.” I step into
him and I can see the pulse in his neck skyrocket. My heart is thudding in
my chest. He steps back and I frown.
“Dana, I want this. I have wanted my tether for centuries but you do
not. I’m not going to force this on you. I don't want to be your consolation
prize.”
 “Oh gods, Kreed. That's not what I meant, I’m sorry. My head isn’t
screwed on right. I don't think you're a consolation prize but I’m guessing
this is inevitable. I didn’t want it to happen while we were teleporting or
whatever you call it and scare me and I let go and I end up falling through
space and time. That would be a real grand way to end my real shit week.”
Kreed steps forward and hugs me. I huff and puff into his chest. “I’m so
sorry Kreed. I’m such a bitch.” Kreed rubs my back.
“It’s fine, Dana. I get it.”
“No, it’s really not. I shouldn’t have said that. You have been
nothing but the perfect gentleman.”
“People say things they don't mean when they are hurting. It doesn’t
mean it didn’t hurt me but I get it. Now, let’s put mom in your backpack and
we can lock the front and back doors. We can come back in a few weeks if
you would like but I would like to get you out of here for a while. Okay?”
“Yeah.” I think about all the things I have. Am I missing anything?
Do I need to lock up anything else or grab something? I was fired from my
job, I guess being a no show opens space for someone else. I did pack my
scissors and clippers. In case I wanted to shave my head.
You know, have a crisis and all.
“Wait, do we have a minute? I want to go through my mom’s
boxes.”
“Yeah, do you want some company?”
“Yeah, that would be nice.” I grabbed his hand and headed towards
the basement door. “This is where Noah and I found out there were other
worlds. I was hoping it was an elaborate hoax.” I laugh at the memory.
Then sober quickly when I get down the stairs. I have lost so much. Two of
the only people who have been in my life have gone. One willingly and one
not.
Suck it buttercup, we’re gonna change our life starting now.
I walk over to the few boxes I have of my mother's things. I didn’t
go through them when I packed it. I just grabbed all the things that looked
important and stuffed them in boxes. Too distraught to deal with what life
handed me at the time. I pull one down and Kreed is right there to grab it
from me.
“Let me. I'll pull them down, you do the sifting.” I nod and smile at
him. I pop a squat on the floor and tear the box top open. I pull out her
favorite scarf and her favorite brightly striped sweater. She wore this on her
days off in the colder months. Sitting at her chair by the window reading
her favorite fantasy novels I’m surprised it’s not full of holes. I can’t believe
I just blindly packed this stuff and it’s been sitting here in a dark basement
for years now.
I hold it close to my face and breathe in deep. It still smells faintly
like her. Before I start crying uncontrollably I fold it and put it to the side.
Meanwhile, Kreed has pulled down the last three boxes. I sift through more
of her stuff. There’s only nicknacks and cd’s. I push that box to the side and
pull another in front of me.
This one had her books. Her favorite fantasies with action and a
badass heroine. She probably liked the fantasies because she missed home.
Was she one of those badass heroines? Was she good with a sword? Or
axes? Maybe something different. A whip or bow and arrow? I always
hoped to be a little like her favorite heroines. They always walked with their
heads held high, no room for bullshit and could sever the head of a fly with
one swipe of their sword. I think I will aim to be a little more like my mom.
Strong. Unbreakable.
I sort through the books and came across a journal. I set the journal
on top of the sweater to take with me. I keep sorting through and find a
rectangle box. The top slides open and there are probably one hundred
envelopes in it. I pull one out and it is addressed to me. What? I picked out
another one that's also addressed to me. And the next one. And the next one.
I put the envelopes back in the little box and set them to the side, by the
journal.
I push that box aside and when I see it is just more books. I pull the
next one. This one is full of bank statements and small velvet bags full of
gold coins, silver coins, uncut gems. Fuck. I’ve been sitting on a gold mine.
Why in the hell did we live in such a tiny apartment? Maybe this was just in
case shit hit the fan? Did I not pay attention to what I was packing when I
packed? Did I throw away important papers? Or heirlooms? Fuck, that
makes me queasy that something important to her might be rotting in a
landfill.
I hold a few of the gold coins up to get a better look in the pitiful
lighting. Kreed comes to sit next to me. “These are the currencies of
Bathaile. We sent her with plenty of gold, silver and gems to keep her
afloat. While she sought the information we needed.” I look over at him.
This close I can see the multitude of different greens in his eyes, it’s
unnatural. Well, for Earth anyway. The white scars on his cheek stand out
against his freckles. His nose is slightly crooked with a little bump on the
bridge. I shake myself out of my thoughts.
“It’s funny to see this,” I say with a wave of my hand over the
spilled gems, “when she worked two jobs and we lived in a small upstairs
apartment all my life. Till the day she died.”
“Maybe she saved it, so if you guys needed to leave or escape you
could. Since she couldn't portal back and we couldn’t bring her more
money. Gods, it hurts my soul knowing she was stuck here. How many
times did she try to come back? We practically grew up together, she was
family. We weren’t that far apart in age. We hung out in the same social
circles.” He pulls more out of the box and finds a couple of thin, square
boxes. I take one and he takes the other. I open the box and I’m blown away
by the delicate tiara laying in it. Gold, with woven vines all along the band.
Five little spears each with an uncut dark green gem topping it. The gems
have veins of gold swirling through them.
“Woah, is this my mothers?” I ask, turning toward him. He looks at
me and then down at the tiara.
“Yeah, it is. She loved this one. She has many back home but this is
the one she always wore. Li-ana still has tiaras commissioned for Naomi.
She still does every couple of years.” We go silent for a moment while I
look at every detail of this tiara. “I-I think this one is yours.” He hands over
a tiara that is almost the same as the one in my hands. This one is silver and
the spears all have an uncut dark blue topaz. The middle spear has a black
diamond. The headband is identical to my mothers.
“How do you know it’s mine?” I ask, looking at the tiara.
He hands the box over to me and engraved on the bottom left corner
says ‘Dana’. I shoot an exasperated look at Kreed, “I don't understand why
she never told me Kreed. Gods, I sound like a broken record. I was starting
to think she had amnesia and just didn’t remember who she was.” I turned
back to the tiara and placed it back in the box. “But she literally had a
crown made for me that I would have never worn because she never told
me!”
“Take the tiaras. I know she would want you to have them. You’ll
need them at court anyways. Wear them like armor. Maybe they will bring
some good luck”
 “Will you be there with me? I mean, when I have to prance around
or whatever it is that princess does?” Kreed smiles at me. A wide grin I
haven’t seen. Luna moths must be taking flight in my stomach right at this
very moment.
“If that is what you wish.” I smile and nod. I place the tiara boxes on
the pile of more things I will be bringing. I push the box out of my way and
pull the last one in front of me. I tear it open while Kreed stands up with
grace even with all the bulk he has carrying around. He’s like a very fit and
graceful bear. He starts folding the box tops and placing them back on the
shelves.
When I open the box I find two boxes that are about a foot wide and
a foot tall. I pull them out and push the box back. I try to open the box and I
can't even find a seam. It is a solid looking square. I pick it up and it is
heavy. Just when I think I packed away some giant blocks I hear something
moving around in it. I shake it again and Kreed comes over.
“It’s a containment box. These can hold a multitude of large things.
We should probably open these back at my house.” His eyes shoot to mine,
“I mean, wherever you want to stay is fine. I can come visit. Wherever you
want to stay is fine. I didn’t mean-”
I chuckle, “It’s fine. I figured I was staying with you or with my
grandparents and even then I figured you lived in the palace or whatever
you call them there.”
“We don't have palaces. At least in our country. The king and queen
have their own manor. It’s huge but court hearings and other important
issues are held at a separate residence. We don’t like to mix business and
pleasure so to say.” I nod understanding and liking that court isn't
something people live for.
“Okay, I would like to stay with you. If that’s okay with you?” I look
down at the box in my hands. Unable to take his gaze. “Maybe separate
rooms if possible, I’m not ready to share a bed with you.” Kreed’s hand
came into my field of vision and lifted my chin up. A tingling feeling spread
from where his hand touched me spreading down my neck and shoulders
making me shiver.
“That is fine S’rella. We take this at your speed. I don’t expect you
to jump in my bed.”
“Thank you. You really have been amazing.” I give him a smile and
stand up. I dust my backside off and look down in the last box, checking for
other things to go through. I see nothing else that I want or need to take
with me.
“Let's get this upstairs and I’ll try to stuff it all into my case.” Kreed
nods his agreement as he picks up the last box and places it back on the self
next to the others. I grab everything except the boxes. Kreed grabs those for
me and nods his head towards the stairs. I take the hint and start moving
toward the stairs.
“So, you gonna explain why there’s an ominous looking hole in the
wall with a gateway? With dusty books and armor strewn about?” Kreed
asks as he follows me up the stairs.
“I did say this is how we found out about other worlds. It all started
because of the ghosts. A creepy old lady in a rocking chair. Then, your
shadows scaring the shit out of me. I thought I was being haunted by
something more than what I usually see. Then, we researched my house in
case it had something to do with a soul stuck here and it led us to me
possibly having a much bigger basement than what I thought I had. Noah
and I knocked down the false wall and found that.” I gesture down the
stairs. “I also kept hearing my name. Which I guess will always happen as
Aavin does not want to finish the bond.” I say as I push open the kitchen
door.
“Tell me about the ghosts.” Kreed demands, stopping on the stairs.
“I have always been able to see ghosts but something changed a few
days ago. A lot has changed and a few days ago, before this chaos, I would
see ghosts milling around town. Sometimes they would try to touch me,
drain me of my energy so they could speak. When they did speak it was
unclear and it was only like one garbled word. Then, I would be laid up in
bed for a few days gathering my strength back. The other day a ghost in a
rocking chair yelled at me and really looked at me. It freaked me out. I have
been seeing ghosts since. One of them told me they were ‘gonna get me’.” I
shake my head at the memory. “They cut out like bad reception though.
Like they have a hard time staying here. So, I don't think they are normal
ghosts. That worries me.” When I look up at Kreed he is looking down at
me. He looks at me like he is trying to figure out a particularly hard puzzle.
“Why are you just saying something now? I know Aavin knew a bit
but this is way worse than I think either of us thought.”
“I’ll keep it in mind, Kreed. I have only had Noah and my mother to
confide in and now I have neither.”
 “Aavin and I are here for you. No matter the problem. He or I will
figure it out. Even if I dislike the fact that he is your bond. You always
come first.”
“Okay. I can do that.” I say quietly.
“So, Aavin calls your name?”
“His soul calls for me.” I say wistfully, “I don't feel either bond
between you two. I just hear his soul calling to me and whatever happened
at the dining table last night between us. So I don't know what I’m
supposed to feel. It’s frustrating really.” I say as I walk down the hall to the
living room where I left my case. I sit on the floor and start to rearrange my
suitcase. Kreed comes in with my backpack that I left on the counter with
my mother in hand and sits next to me. I try to rearrange my suitcase 3
times before I get frustrated and pick things to leave here. I can always
come back but why does it feel like I’m not? That I won't see this house or
Noah ever again. That is enough to start my water works again.
“Gods! I’m so tired of crying, it’s fucking useless. I keep telling
myself that I’m going to be strong but everything sets me off!” I flop myself
backward and lay on the floor. “Sorry.” I say wiping my face. Kreed leans
over me.
“I can take you shopping when we get to Bathaile? Or I can portal
back when we get to my house and grab your items that don't fit? I’d invite
you to come back with me but I know you're going to hate this next part.”
“I probably should have clothes that are more of the Bathaile
fashion, huh?” I wipe my face.
“Meh, we’re an accepting people. We won’t judge you for what you
want to wear. I want you to be comfortable.” I give him a small smile. I lift
my hand and run my fingers along his jaw. He takes a deep breath. That’s
when I get a flash of something new. A deep seated feeling of rightness. I
sat up so fast that I nearly headbutt him.
“Woah, what the fuck was that? Was that the tether?” I look at him,
breathless at the feeling.
“What did you feel?”
“A rightness, like I was safe.” Kreed smiles.
“Yeah, something like that.” He pulls me up so I am sitting up all the
way, I look at my suitcase and start to rearrange and pull the clothes I don't
really need out. I flip the lid closed and zip it up. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s
get this show on the road.” I get up and put the clothes I’m leaving behind
on the coffee table.
“Okay, I'll grab the duffels and you hold your backpack. Do you
need me to hold the suitcase?” I nod, this thing is heavy.
“I’ll take the duffels and hold your hand.” I say reaching for them. I
cross them over my body and then I stuff mom in my backpack. “Sorry
mom. I won't make a habit of this.” Then swing the back pack over my
shoulders. I feel like I look ridiculous. Kreed starts laughing. “What?”
“You look like you have a hunchback. Let me have the backpack.”
He reaches for it. I step back and almost fall backwards from the weight.
Kreed reaches out to steady me.
“But mom is in there. What if you lose her? I would never forgive
you. If I lose her-”
“And you’ll never forgive yourself if you lose her and I’m not going
to let you live with that. Also, you’re tipping over. That’s not very portal
safe.” I laugh at that.
“Portal safe? Sounds like you're the ride operator at an amusement
park.”
“It’s going to be worse than that.” He deadpans and now I’m really
concerned. What am I getting myself into?
“Okay.” I say warily and let him take the bag. He swings it onto his
back and loosens the straps a bit. He grabs the handle on the roller case then
reaches out his hand.
Fuck. This is it. This is where I make a decision that would make
every mother out there cringe. He’s practically a stranger and I’m going to
hop worlds with him? Fuck, I’m dumb as shit.
Here goes nothing.
I grab his hand and my shoulders rise up and my face pinches.
Preparing for some unseen beating.
“Relax, S’rella.” I look over at him and he winks at me. Then, I’m
being battered by wind.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 16
Dana

What. The. Fuck. Colors whip past me at supersonic speeds. Blues

and greens. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that the green is trees
and the blue is water or maybe sky. I feel like I'm being stretched and
condensed at the same time. The scream I let out gets ripped from me by the
wild stream of wind going past us. I grip Kreed's hand with all I have. I
don’t dare try to move my head to look at him. I’m afraid the wind will
snap my head clean off. It’s only a few seconds and we are suddenly
standing. My brain thinks we're still moving but my body knows we've
stopped. I immediately turn my head and vomit. Kreed holds me and the
bags all while keeping my hair back.
What a man, he can multitask.
I dry heave a few times before I stand up and wipe my mouth with
the back of my hand. I shake off the last of the nausea and I take the bags
off. Then, I step toward the bluest water I have ever seen. It laps lazily at
the shoreline. I can see small colorful fish floating on the currents. As soon
as I scoop some water in my hands they scatter. I slurp up some water and
swish my mouth out. Salt water over vomit any day.
I look up at Kreed and glare at him. “That was way worse than what
you said. Gods damn, I don’t want to ever do that again.” I say as I look
away from Kreed and take in the island. “Where exactly are we?” I can see
we are on a very small island. I mean, it's like maybe the size of a football
field.
“This is the Allway. This is probably where things went wrong when
someone was flying or boating. They had to have been in the wrong place at
the wrong time. The portal happened to be opening to an unknown world
and someone happened to fall in. Men volunteered to try and come here, to
search for Naomi but none of them ever returned. We stopped sending men
after a while. Fearing that most of the men had died by ending up on
unforgiving worlds.”
“It makes me highly uncomfortable that I am standing in the
infamous Bermuda Triangle. I don’t know what I was expecting but I can
tell you, it was not this.” I walk past him and put my hand up over my eyes,
I squint looking from end to end. I stare up at the endless blue sky. I start to
notice a moving, swaying iridescent sheen over the whole island, like a
giant bubble covering the island. “Is that a shield of some sort?” I ask,
pointing to the sky, “Is that what keeps the island hidden? ” I ask and turn
around to face him. He gives me a strange look. “What?”
“You can see the shield?”
“Yes…” I drag the word out unsure if I like where this is going.
“And you see ghosts?” I look at him and wait for him to continue. “I
think that’s part of your power and you just weren’t able to correlate what it
was and therefore just assumed you could only see the dead.”
“Maybe.” I say while grabbing the duffels.
“Okay, so this won't be as terrible but still terrible.” Kreed does
some strange hand gesture and says something in a language I can't even
begin to pick apart. I feel a huge woosh of air and I instantly brace myself. I
watch as Kreed throws the roller case and my mother into sand and they
just disappear. Swallowed up by the Earth.
“What!?” I yell “Why would you do that!”
“They are fine. Naomi is fine. I promise”
I glare at him. “Next time, warn me Kreed.”
“Then how would I get to see that adorable spiteful look?”
I glare at him some more as Kreed drags me forward. Then he
moves to stand in front of me. He pulls me into his arms and I hold onto
him like my life depends on it. It probably does, honestly. He backs up a
couple more steps and just falls back. Only we don't hit sand like my brain
expects but I also know I wont. My stomach swoops down and I scream and
I suddenly have to pee. Everything is a blur as we fall and fall. Kreed is
laughing and whooping like this is the best ride of his life. Gods, he’s
fucking crazy. I grip him tighter and put my nose in his neck. Just as I feel
myself coming to terms with imminent demise, we come to a halt. I look
around and we are just hovering, in mid air, with me on top of him.
I sit up and put my hands on his chest. I look around and see the
bags off to the side. I start to feel his hands slide up the thighs and to my
hips before whatever is holding us stops. I crack my knees into the stone
floor. I let out a pained grunt while poor Kreed let out a wheeze. I quickly
scramble off him and try to help him up. He shakes his head at me and rolls
to his side, struggling to bring air into his lungs. I start laughing at him
which I know isn't nice but this is hilarious. My scrawny ass knocked the
wind out of this burly ass redhead. I would have thought there was too
much muscle surrounding his lungs to do such a thing.
I’m still laughing when Kreed is able to get up. He cracks his neck
before he slowly turns to me. The look on his face screams retribution. I
squeak and my giggles sober up.
“I, uh, apologize for that-” He heads toward me, like a predator
stalking his prey. His wicked smile makes my heart trip over itself. I back
up while talking, “unfortunate turn of events. Just know, I’m glad it was
you and not me.” I hit the wall and laughed loudly. Kreed lunges for me and
I dart to the side trying to hold my giggles in. I can hear Kreed chuckling as
he chases me. I see a door and I book it outside. I come to a screeching halt.
Kreed skids to a stop, almost pushing me over. He wraps his arm
around my waist to stop me from falling forward.
“The tree’s are blue.” I look around, stunned. “Kreed, the leaves are
blue and teal but the trunks look like birch.” Kreed snickers behind me. I
hold tightly to his arm that is wrapped around me.
“Yes, S’rella. This world is very colorful. You should see the animals
and marine life. It’ll blow your mind.”
“Why?”
“Why what? See the animals?”
“No, the color. This is beautiful and amazing.” I pull away from him
and spin around in circles. Taking in everything. Like a kid at Disneyland.
“Magic I guess. We’re not sure why but that’s the running
consensus.” I walk around and stare in wonder. I see some birds flying
around that are vibrant greens and pinks. Like flying neon signs. “Come
S’rella let’s drop your bags off at my house.”
“How does the portal know to pull the bags to the side?”
“Magic.” He states like that explains everything. “Making the
portals is a complicated process but think of it like a…” He scratches his
brow thinking of how he can explain it to me, “a code on Earth computers.
There is the portal to send you wherever but it has a subcode for certain
specifics. Like is it alive? Or is it an inanimate object? The magic sorts it
and places the object where it needs to go. Just like how we didn’t fall to
our death. Usually you just step into the gateway and you land on your
feet.”
“Right.” I drag out, sort of understanding his comparison. “And why
didn’t we jump feet first?” Kreed slowly tilts his head to me, a devious
smile on his face and then just shrugs. Shrugs. I roll my eyes and start our
journey to wherever we are going. Kreed waves his hand around and a
breeze flows around us. Then I notice my roller case and backpack floating
on the breeze toward us. He grabs the backpack and throws it over a
shoulder and grabs the large case by the handle. Just holding it like it
weighs nothing.
I follow Kreed down the cobbled path. Why is the portal not in
town? Trees surround either side; blues and teals take over. The green
coloring the grass is almost black. The colors and contrasts are mind
boggling. Small birds of bright green, pink and yellow flutter through. The
sky is blue so that’s familiar. I notice red mushrooms hanging out in the
shade of the trees. Rabbits with little antlers. The bugs are enormous. I
watched a butterfly flutter by and it was the size of a dinner plate.
What in the rabbit hole did I fall into? Large fluffy bumble bees
bumbled around the meadow we passed through. It was gorgeous. Taking in
all these new plants and animals was dizzying. I look over at Kreed and I
find him watching me. I beam a smile at him.
“This is amazing, Kreed. Beautiful. I don't think there’s a word good
enough to explain the beauty of this place.”
“It is gorgeous. I’m glad you approve. It’ll make your stay bearable
at least.” He says. I roll my eyes.
“This is not a hardship so far Kreed. Unless you plan to kill me.
Then, that will be problematic.” He shakes his head and grabs my hand. He
seems much more comfortable around me than he has all week. Maybe it’s
because he is home after being gone for years. Though, I think it’s because
we are finally out of my house. A house that I spent all week crying in and
being a complete psychopath.
The path took us to a small town. Rolling green hills sat in the
background. The houses were made of gray and tan stones. Some with
thatched roofs and others with tile. They sat behind on either side of what
looked like the main street and shops. Cobbled streets lined with flowers of
every color. Wide sidewalks were placed along the other side of the flowers,
pushed up against the stores. Then the shops, so many little shops. All of
them with doors wide open, the smell of bread and cookies. Some stores
had clothing racks sitting outside with dresses and flowing pants. Other
racks held leathers. There was so much to take in. My head darted from
store to store taking in everything I could. People wandered up and down
the sidewalks. Kids played Jacks. Jacks! On the sidewalks. Maybe waiting
for their parents to finish shopping?
Kreed brought us to a stop in front of an open topped carriage. That
was floating and it looked like it was floating on hopes and dreams. He
slides the roller case in and climbs up. He turns around and holds out his
hand.
“What happened to ‘ladies first’?” I ask, grabbing his hand. He
heaves me up and into the carriage.
“I figured you would appreciate a pull up rather than me pushing
you up the stairs by your rear. Your bags are heavy and figured you would,
maybe, need help.” I nod while starting to remove the bags from my back. I
set them on the seat and groaned, stretching my neck. Kreed taps the front
of the carriage a couple times, saying ‘Gallen Manor’ and it jerks into
motion.
“Come here.” Kreed says, tapping the seat next to him. I look
between him and the seat.
What does he want?
I move over and Kreed turns my body away from him. Then, he
starts massaging my neck. Oh, gods, this is amazing. I stare at the view,
taking in all the colors. I have never seen so much color in one place. Or
maybe I have but this is new? Or more vibrant? Different?
“Is this your carriage? Or did we just steal one?”
“It’s like a taxi. There are several of them around. You just tell them
where to go. When they arrive at their destination they just linger. If one
wasn’t near, I would have called for one. We were lucky.”
“Huh.” Magic is hard to wrap my head around. “Is the whole world
like this? Vibrant and beautiful.” I ask and a soft moan of appreciation
escapes me. Kreed grunts and pauses his attack on my neck and shoulders.
He continues again when he starts talking.
“Everywhere I have been. There's only a few islands of Bathaile I
haven't been to.” He digs his thumbs along the muscles of my neck. “There
is much color and life. Peace. Well, until some world decides to try and
conquer us. They haven’t learned that the grass isn’t always greener on the
other side. They just need to cultivate their grass into what they want.” I
turned to him.
“Like Earth? They tried the same thing with the shadow realm, at
least that’s what Aavin says.”
“Yes, your world is young. You all still war over everything.
Religion, land, oil. All of those aren’t worthy of death, for mothers to lose
their sons and daughters. In the few years I was there to find you I came
across so much fighting and anger.” I nod at that, people don't really know
peace. We’re all stuck in a rat race. “People fighting over religion is
barbaric. Why can’t one believe what they want? Or why do other countries
fight over oil when you have other options like those weird electric cars?
But both those options are detrimental to your world. One pollutes and the
other creates giant holes in the Earth. Wounding her. I don’t understand
such hatred and the need to kill your world. I can say without a doubt I will
never visit, unless I must or you want to.”
“Is it all young worlds that go straight for the fight? Trying to
become top dog so to say?” I glance around. There are farms as far as the
eye can see now.
“No, there are also some very old worlds that I think are just bored
and want to pick a fight. I have seen all kinds of war, all of them wanting to
conquer us. They come here wanting the lay of the land and then march
over here thinking they can best us. But our world fights back. She protects
herself. That is what has saved us many times before.”
“So Bathaile is alive?” I look at him incredulously.
“Aren’t all worlds, in some way?” he raises a brow, “Nature is alive,
your plants and animals. Your animals feed from the plants, the plants feed
from the sun and nutrients from the ground. There is a whole circle of life
on Earth. If one is disrupted it could be the end to dozens of other species. I
spent a lot of time learning about Earth, I guarantee you there used to be
magic there and humans destroyed it. It may not have been magic like this.”
He waves his hand and wind sweeps around my neck and through my hair.
Sending shivers down my spine and my hair everywhere. “But there was,
there is no way your early ancestors were feeding and gifting to the Earth
for no reason. They felt it, felt her.”
I stare at him and ponder life on Earth. It is true we are a greedy
species. We are never happy with what we have, always wanting what the
other has. Constant wars. Earth can be beautiful but she gets lost in the way
we use her. We don’t ever stop to appreciate what she has given.
I stare out to the horizon and notice a large house in the distance.
“So, where are we going?” I ask, turning around and resting my
arms on the edge of the carriage. I lay my head on my arm.
“I figured my home and then I can send a bird to the king and
queen? We can meet them where they would like. Does that sound okay? I
figured you would want to put your bags down and freshen up.”
I turn so I can see him. “Yeah, that sounds great.” I turn back to stare
at the house in the distance. “This is your house? Well, manor?” I scrunch
my nose. This place is huge. It reminds me of a mansion you would find in
Bali. We pull up to the gates which are open. We pull up the long drive and
all around us there are tons of flora and fauna. All colorful. Vibrant. Gods,
this place is wild. The carriage stops at the walkway that leads to the house.
“This is mine, it’s been in my family for generations. Thousands of
years of Gallens walked these halls. Now I’m the last one.” He sounded
pained by that statement. He stands up and grabs the roller case, he still has
the backpack on him. “Let’s get you settled in your room?” He walks down
the steps and places the case on the ground. He steps back in for the
duffels.
“I can get that.” I start to reach for the bags. Kreed gives me a look
that says ‘no, you won't’. I step back and let him do his thing. He pulls the
bags down and then reaches back. Holding his hand out for me. I smile at
him and take his hand. Kreed gives a soft smile and helps me down.
“Lord Kreed! You’re back! It is so good to see you!” A man not
much older looking than Kreed is jogging down the walk way. “It’s been
too long.” When the man approaches he sticks his hand out for a shake but
they grab each other's elbows and pull in for a hug. I notice he has gray
peppering his brown hair and some of his beard. He has crows feet and
smile lines. His eyes are a brilliant gold.
“It has been too long, Erikson. How are you?” They step back from
each other.
“I’m well. I just finished the taxes for the year for your properties. I
have held the fort down but I am ready for a vacation.” They both laugh.
Kreed steps back next to me and Erikson finally sees me. “Who is this
delightful looking creature?”
 I hold my hand out, “Dana Greenback.” I smile when he takes my
hand. He shakes it vigorously. Nearly shaking my whole body.
“You are beautiful, did Kreed finally snag a good woman?” He looks
between us. A huge smile on his face. I don't know what to say.
“I-”
“Something like that, Erikson.” Kreed laughs, saving me from trying
to find words. “Dana is tired though, could you help with the bags and then
we can sort out your vacation. I think working two years straight deserves
that much.”
“Of course Lord Kreed, which rooms?” He asks while picking up
the duffels and grabbing the roller case handle.
“I think the suite across from my own rooms will do.” Suites?
“Please stop calling me lord while you're at it.” Erikson only raises a brow,
clearly not going to stop calling him lord.
“Kreed, I don't think I need anything that-” he cuts me off with
another one of those looks. “Alright, a suite it is.” Kreed grabs my case
while Erikson grabs the duffels.
We amble down the walkway. Kreed reaches for my hand and I link
our fingers together and look up at him. He stares ahead like a man on a
mission. The house looks like it’s all one level and spread out length wise.
The double doors swing open with a flick of Erikson's wrist. These doors
are absolutely enormous. They are floor to ceiling. The ceilings themselves
are fifteen feet or more. I look around at all the decor in the entryway. It’s
simple, not ostentatious like I thought it would be looking from the outside.
The entryway has wooden tables along the walls that are a few shades
darker than the wood floors. The walls are a cream color, it’s a smooth
stucco. There are some pieces of art hanging on the walls. Along with some
framed blueprints.
We walk down the hall and enter what looks like a cigar room with
all the leather chairs and wooden tables. The theme seems to be woody,
natural and dark. I don't see any polished metal or plastic furniture. Shelves
on the wall are live edge planks of wood and there are displayed paintings
and weapons. There’s a large bar to the left.
We walk through the cigar room as I have now dubbed it and we
head straight back, turning left down a hall. There are floor to ceiling
windows on the right giving an amazing view of the gardens and fields
behind the house. I can see through the windows into another room which
also has floor to ceiling windows along two walls. The windows in the hall
turn into the cream stucco again before we come to a tall door. Erikson
opens it and waits for us to follow in. He places my bags on the bench that
sits at the end of the bed.
“This is mine?” I turn to Kreed. He nods and walks over to the
windows.
“I thought you may like the view. The sun sets practically right in
front of this window, I’ll have the windows along the hall closed up so no
one can see into your room.” I start to protest and he holds up a hand,
“There are intricately detailed wooden art pieces that a previous family
member had made for those windows so when someone was staying in this
room, its tenant could enjoy the view and have privacy. When there is no
one in this room they are left open.”
“Oh, why would someone put windows in this room like this, when
there are windows like that over there that look directly into here. Seems
weird, even if there is a stunning view.”
“For a woman of course.” I look up at Erikson, who has a dreamy
smile on his face. “This room has been here for centuries. Way longer than
Kreed has been around. His great grandfather built this room as an add on
for his wife just because she loved the view. It was a sewing room, art room
and a place for the ladies to hang out and swoon over the shirtless males
working in the gardens but after she passed it was turned into a guest room
of sorts. Before this room was here it was a gazebo surrounded by a large
flower garden. I think there is an art piece around here somewhere depicting
it.” I stare out the window and give an appreciative nod.
“Wow, your grandfather knows how to give a present.” I take in the
room, the bed sits opposite the windows, a huge four poster bed, dark green
velvet duvet on top. More pillows than I know what to do with. Dark wood
shelves and bookcases full of books. I notice there are no lights, no lamps,
nothing on the side tables or the small desk pushed up against the windows.
“Lights? Or lanterns? Is there electricity? Oh my god, please tell me there is
plumbing.” I do not want to shit in a bucket.
Kreed laughs and walks up behind me. He points to the wall, “You
see those veins in the walls?” I follow his finger and I notice long looking
cracks in the walls. They go all around the room. Some are up high and
some low to the ground. “Around dusk you will see them start to glow,
there are some words I will teach you to turn them off or dim them.” I give
him an absurd look. Who the hell is powering the cracks if there's no
electricity? “It’s magic, well, there is a fable or tale about where it comes
from. Though we have no idea if it’s true or not. I will tell you about it
later.
“Shall I take my leave Lord Kreed?” Kreed and I look over at
Erikson who is standing by the door still.
“Yes, but don’t go far, I have a vacation to send you and your wife
on.” Eirkson nods his head and leaves.
“Bathroom? Closet?” I ask Kreed, I start for a door to the left of the
bed.
“That’s the closet, I hope it is large enough for you.” I chuckle when
I peer inside.
“It’s the size of my bedroom at home. I think It will be plenty big for
my meager clothing selection.” I grab my duffle bags, tossing them in the
closet. Kreed stands and watches me, enraptured with what I have no idea
because I'm just throwing things around. I leave the backpack on the bench.
I step in front of Kreed. “Bathroom?” Kreed snaps out of his trance and
nods to the right. Oh thank god, a bathroom in the bedroom. I don't know
why that’s so important but it makes life easier I guess. Convenience is
nice. I open the door and gape at the bathroom. I turn to Kreed.
“This is huge. Goodness, Kreed, who were you planning on staying
here? A football team?” There is an inset spa that is big enough to
practically swim in. I walk in farther, next to the spa is a walk-in shower, no
glass doors or curtains. It’s like a cave, you just walk in and your
surrounded. The tiled bench stretches across the whole length of the shower.
I could do cartwheels in here. There are two rainfall showers overhead.
Baskets of soaps and hand towels are on the bench on either end. I walk
back out and look at Kreed watching me intently. There's a door to the right
of the sink. When I open it I find the toilet. A toilet! No shit buckets!
“Yes! No, Victorian shit bucket!” I say loudly, letting out a huge sigh
of relief. Kreed chuckles.
“A what?”
“Well, we didn’t have plumbing way back when and people would
shit in buckets in England and throw the contents of said buckets into a
cesspool under their house or outside.” I say cheerfully. Kreed's face takes
on a look of horror.
 “What is wrong with humans? At the very least take it outside
away…far, far away from the house. Those people must have always been
sick. How often were their waters contaminated? Gods, that is foul.” He
shivers dramatically. I laugh as I walk toward him.
“Okay, so what now? I have a room and I know there’s no shit
bucket. I’m good to go.”
“Let me send King Furden a letter and I want to get Erikson on his
way. You should shower or bathe or rest.”
“Yeah, I can do that. Wait, do I need to learn some magic words or
anything?” I ask trailing off feeling a little embarrassed.
“No, it’s all real plumbing. I promise.” I grab his hand. Running my
thumb back and forth across his skin.
“Thank you, Kreed. For everything. I would have still been crying in
my room if it wasn’t for you.”
“Anything for you S’rella.” Kreed nods and leaves me to it.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 17
Kreed

I leave Dana to bathe or whatever she chooses to do. The brittle

tether between us seems a little lighter at the moment. Feeling the hurt Dana
is going through because of Noah, is heartbreaking. Like she was being torn
apart. It’s like they are mates in every sense of the word. Which is strange
because I didn't know humans could have mates in that sense. When I felt
Aavin and Noah’s connection to her, I was pissed. I still am. My people
only have one tether for our whole life. In other worlds out there; I have
seen women as the center of many men and men the center of many
women. Seems like a lot of work and a lot of headaches. So if Aavin and
Noah were to get their shit together we have a lot to talk about.
I shake my head at the thoughts of Noah. I can’t believe he left her.
How do you love someone and leave them? I even told him that he was
attached to her soul. It’s not rocket science as humans would say. He is
etched into her. I guarantee he is in so much agony right now. Not having
her near and I don't feel the least bit sorry for him. Dana may not feel our
bond but I can. I think the only thing that is holding her together even a
little is Aavin and I. That’s the problem with soul bonds or tethers, they are
literally tethered to your soul. When one leaves, whether in death or anger,
the other feels as though part of them is missing. Like a severed limb. It’s
painful. I have never been through it but I have watched my mother struggle
to survive since father died.
I walk into my room which is just down the hall on the left. Earth
has nothing on my creature comforts here. I missed my bed and my sheets.
My clothes. There’s nothing like coming home from a long journey.
Although my journey might well have been more of a move than a trip. I
strip off my clothes and put on a pair of loose pants and a short sleeve shirt.
I need to get Erikson squared away for a vacation.
 After all this time, I appreciate Erikson more than he probably
knows. I didn’t realize I would be gone this long but since the gateway was
erratic for so long we lost track of Naomi. She started on the west coast of
America when she came over. It took me forever to finally get a lead.
Which led me to another and then another and so on and so forth.
I walk out of my room and head down the hall. I open the door to
my office and find Erikson sitting in one of the chairs, opposite my desk,
reading a book. He turns his head, closing the book and setting it on the end
table between the chairs.
“Well, Lord Kreed, did you finally find Naomi? I see her daughter
looks just like her.” I nod, walking into my office.
“I did and stop calling me ‘lord’. Sounds pretentious.” I say as I
walk over to my desk and take my seat. I missed this chair. Soft leather.
Perfect back support. I take in the room I haven’t set foot in for two years.
Bookcases lining both walls on either side of me, filled with books,
weapons and small trinkets. Nothing has changed. The rug is still on the
floor, faded from the years. I rub my hands down the arms of the chair and
look at Erikson. “Dana is my tether.” Erikson’s eyes bulged out of his head.
He sits up so fast he nearly topples out of the chair. He grabs onto the arm
and scoots back a hair.
“Your tether?” He sputters for a moment, “Well, Kreed, that is
fantastic. After all this time!” He leans back again in the chair. “Wow.” He
looks off into the distance. Erikson has been with me for centuries. We
thought that I just didn’t have a tether, after all this time and no one was the
one. There have been women but none that I wanted to stay with. That
sounds terrible but I just couldn’t deal with the relationship. There was
always fighting and jealousy. Whoever I was dating would be unbearable
around other women. The women I dated knew they weren’t the one and
they took it out on other women, afraid I would come across my tether.
Jealousy was a constant rift. They also did not want to lose the position it
came with being with me. I told Dana that we don’t mix business and
pleasure but some fae are still…ambitious. Some will scheme and lie their
way to the top. That goes for men and women. A woman is just more
stealthy. Men just throw their weight around.
“It is very exciting. I’m trying to be easy on her. She is new to all of
this.” Erikson furrows his brow at that. “Naomi never told her anything.”
 “Well, she should start now. Did Naomi go straight to her parents? I
feel like Dana should-”
“Naomi passed away a couple years ago.” That statement changes
the atmosphere in the room immediately. Erikson jumps to his feet.
“What?!” He shouts, “How? How do you kill a fae on Earth? There
isn’t a way…unless someone followed her? No earthling can kill a fae! We
heal too quickly.” I nod, agreeing.
“A car accident. She drove into a ditch when it was raining.” Erikson
scoffs.
“No. I am one hundred percent sure that is not how she died.
Someone made it look like that. This is,” He sits back down with a thump,
resting his head in his hands which are supported by his knees. I hear a
sniffle. I sigh, knowing this hurts for him. Probably as much as it will
Naomi's parents. He was practically her uncle. I am older than Naomi but
we were friends, we went to the same parties and gatherings. We both went
to the same meetings with the king and queen. I was not extremely close
with her but I feel the loss all the same. Erikson though, he watched her
grow up, taught her the sword, ran with her, trained with her everyday. I
remember the man having tea parties with Naomi when she was a girl.
I get up and round the desk. I sit down in the chair and watch him
grieve. He picks his head up and wipes his face.
“When?” He asks, “When did she pass? Is she buried over there on
Earth?” His gold eyes are bloodshot and his skin is pale.
“Dana had her cremated. Per Naomi's wishes. Dana brought her
ashes. I figured we could set her free. If that is what Dana wants.” Erikson
nods and wipes his eyes one more time.
“I guess Furden and Li-ana are not aware?” I shake my head.
“After I get you set up and on your way, I’ll be sending them a bird
to meet.”
“Yes,” He runs his hands down his pants. “Okay, I have to get home.
My wife will be excited that I’m home for more than a couple days. I also
have mu-” He chokes on the word, “much to tell her.” He clears his throat
and gets up to pace the floor.
“If you would like, I can just give you some money and you can
choose a place when you're ready? Or you can go to my vacation house? On
Elini Island?”
 “I think I would just like to go home right now. I need to prepare an
altar for Naomi. I need to tell Marian.”
“That’s fine Erikson. Take your time. I know this was terrible news.
I didn't break it well either. I’m sorry, I’m not good with this stuff.” I stand
up uncomfortable, not knowing what to do. Dealing with deaths I’m not
close to is one thing but when it’s personal it’s a whole new territory. I have
never grieved death like everyone else. It hurts me but I move on and keep
going. Some people think it makes me cold. Some have said I don't feel.
Which is wrong, I do. I just don’t feel the need to air it. When my father
passed I did much the same I am now. Passive. I felt the pain but I moved
past the hurt. I tried comforting my mother but I think I was terrible at it. I
don't know how to deal with the crying. What should I say? Sorry? That
isn’t helpful. I don’t see the point in grieving the dead. Nothing will change
the fact they are dead. I think of my father often and I think that’s the best
way to ‘grieve’ the dead. Not with tears but with memories. Remember
them and celebrate them. I have shown Dana more comfort than I have ever
shown anyone. It feels natural with her. Maybe it's the tether. It knows what
she needs. That’s all I can think of that is helping me not flounder with the
Noah business. It’s not really the same though. Noah isn’t dead, he’s just a
fucking kredar.
Erikson gives me a wry smile, “It was terrible news no matter how
you say it. Nothing can soften the blow of a niece…of a daughter dying.
Blood or not.” I see his eyes fill with tears again. “I’m going to take my
leave. I have everything straightened out for you. Just give me a couple
days and I will be around if you need me.”
“No, you will be at home with Marian. Grieving or on vacation.
Take as long as you need.” He nods and heads swiftly out the door. I turned
back to my desk and let out a deep sigh. I scrubbed my hands down my face
and sat down. I grabbed ink and paper to start my letter to the king. I make
it simple and to the point. I open my window behind my desk. I lean out
and whistle. Greer, my hawk swoops in. She is brightly colored. Orange and
peach tones. She’s been with me for the last twenty years. The most loyal
bird I have ever had and oldest. She squawks at me and nuzzles my hand.
“Hey Greer, I have missed you.” She screeches and puffs her
feathers out. “I need you to take this to King Furden please. It’s urgent.” I
hand her some treats from the dish on the window sill. She waits for me to
tie the note to her foot. Greer takes the treats and flies off.
 I lean onto the window sill and look out at the fields. Nothing beats
this view, this place and this air. I take a deep breath. It’s fresh and clean.
Untainted. I get comfortable watching the birds fly around when I feel a
sharp pain in my chest. I grimace and rub my sternum.
Fucking Noah.
I swear. I will strangle him if I ever see him again. Or better yet, I
should drag his sorry ass back here to beg for forgiveness like the worm he
is. I think I could rein in my jealousy for her. Just to watch him grovel. It
would bring me immense happiness.
Yes, I could do it. The pain sharpens, do I let her grieve? Do I go and
check on her? I don’t want to make the wrong move and make her
uncomfortable. I wonder what to do for a few more minutes before I can’t
take it anymore. Our brittle tether pulls me to find her. I push back from the
window sill and head out the door. I walk to her room and knock. When I
don't hear her moving around in there I open it. She must be in the
bathroom. I stand outside the bathroom door and knock.
“Dana?” I wait a minute but don’t hear anything but the water
running. I knock again and hear a soft sob when I strain my ears. I start to
open the door, “Dana?” I call again when I have the door cracked.
“Sorry, am I taking too long? I’ll be out in a minute!” I hear her
sniff and clear her throat.
“No, take your time. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Yeah, of course, everything i-is fine.”
“Okay, do you need anything? I’m done with everything I need to
do. I’m just waiting on Furden to send a message back.” She takes a minute
to think about it.
“A drink? A strong one. I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Okay, meet me at the bar we passed coming in, whenever you're
ready.”
“Okay.”
I nod and close the door. I leave her room and head down the hall
to the living space. I sit at the bar and wait for her. I look over all the spirits
I have. Some are so old they are before my time. I’m not a big drinker. I do
have a social drink but I like to be alert and ready.
I trace my hands along the edge of the bar, thinking about all the
drinks I had here with my father. I bet we would be having a drink to
celebrate finding Dana. Clinking glasses and planning a party. I would not
want a party. Maybe an intimate gathering but my parents never did
anything small. Every time I made another turn around the sun, they made
sure there was a huge party. Only for my early years though. We live so
long it's ridiculous to keep track of our age or have a party every year but
they always came up with a reason to have a gathering. Anniversaries,
centennials, solstice, literally anything.
I can still feel the pain lingering in my chest. I should go find Noah
and bring his ass here so I can knock some sense into him. What a prick.
Maybe, I’ll give it a couple weeks then drag his ass here. I should have
Aavin help. Then again, no Noah, no need to share. That makes me wonder
if Aavin is actually ever going to act on the soul bond. Sounded like he
didn’t want to. For reasons unknown to me.
Aavin left the day Noah disappeared. Not his best timing but Dana
seemed to understand. He did come back a couple days later but then had to
leave again. He said he would travel here. Which is good because I think we
all need to get to know each other. Whether we like it or not we are bonded
to the same woman, one way or another.
My thoughts come to a halt when I hear footsteps coming down the
hall. I straighten up and wait. I can hear Dana’s footsteps slow. Then, they
speed up again.
She walks in wearing skinny jeans, a plain black shirt and wearing
a pair of chunky boots that lace up. She stands in the hallway, looking very
unsure of herself. She’s holding her hands in front of her, looking around
awkwardly.
“Dana, you don’t have to be so uns-” I stop realizing I’m going to
sound like a jackass if I continue. “Come sit. I’ll make you a drink.” I get
up and pull a chair out for her and motion for her to sit. She nods and walks
over.
“Thank you Kreed.” I nod and push her in after she sits. I walk
behind the bar and grab a leather strap from off the counter, putting my
back to Dana. I pull my hair up when I suddenly hear.
“Oh wow.”
“What? Are you okay?” I ask turning around. Dana is just staring at
me with her mouth gaping and wide eyes. “Did I do something?”
“Uh, no. Sorry. I just- How did I not notice your ears? How did I
not notice anyone’s ears in town?” I finished putting my hair in a top knot,
chuckling.
 “Well, you’ve only seen me with my hair down and you have had
other…things on your mind.” I lean over the bar, getting closer to her. “We
haven't talked about us or anything. Maybe we can do that over a drink?
While we wait for Greer to come back with a letter?”
Dana brows furrow. “Who’s Greer?”
“My hawk. She delivers letters for me from time to time.”
“Oh. That’s cool.” She gets more comfortable in her chair. “And
yes to the drink and getting to know each other.” I nod and push off the bar.
“What shall it be? Our spirits are like yours. We have whiskey,
bourbon, and vodka. The vodka here tastes much better and is much
smoother. It also doesn't taste like the smell of your gasoline.” I cringe at
the memories of having a shot of earth vodka. Foul. “Then there are Fae
spirits which will probably leave you feeling great but a little too great.
Probably not a smart option if we see Furden and Li-ana today.” I turn
around to see if there’s anything I forgot.
“I’ll just have some whiskey. Do you have a mixer? Actually, just
straight please.” My eyebrows shoot up to my hairline. “I think I deserve a
strong drink. Don’t you?”
I nod, “That you do.” I grab an ice bucket from under the counter,
placing it on top. I turn the water on and manipulate the air to sweep the
water into the air and then freeze it. I push the ice with the air over the
bucket and drop the ice in. Then, I grab glasses and scoop some ice into
them. I turn around and grab the whiskey. I pour and notice the look of
wonder on Dana’s face.
“So, I’m Fae, that explains my pointy ears.” I say tapping them.
“That is our people here. There are also Kobolds and Gnomes. Most Fae
have a random assortment of abilities and powers. From elemental to mind
control. Gnomes mostly manipulate earth and water. Kobolds, air and fire
mostly. There are mermaids and no, they are not nice. There’s trolls and a
slew of other beings here.” I pass her glass to her and walk around the bar
to sit next to her. “I’m, I think anyway, three hundred fifty something.”
“Why am I attached to all these old dudes?” She whispers while
taking a swig of her drink.
“Old? I’m far from old well, I guess compared to you I am.”
“I guess I’m wondering what a man…Fae?” I nod my head,
“Would want with a 21 year old girl? I’m not worldly or sophisticated. I
don’t socialize, I’ve spent my life as the town pariah and I have a penchant
for being an asshole. I don’t take orders and I won't bend to anyone's will.”
“I would hope my woman had fire. There’s no fun in a pushover
and I for one love to fight. Whether in the ring or in the bed.” I give her a
wink when her neck flushes scarlet. “As for the age gap, I’m not sure. We
complete each other in ways we may not understand now, regardless of age.
It also helps with our abilities. Helps bolster them. We could share energy
and strength.”
“I don’t have abilities though…other than seeing ghosts.”
“Say that to my chest.” I smirk at her. Her eyes widened.
“Oh my gods! How did I forget about that? Are you okay? Did you
heal?” She asks as she scrambles to pull my shirt up. She must realize what
she is doing because she abruptly stops. “I’m so sorry. Boundaries Dana!
What is wrong with you?” She whispers that last part to herself harshly.
Turning back to her drink, taking another sip.
Chuckling, I pick up my glass and take a drink. “It’s fine, Dana.
Really. Both my chest and you trying to strip me. I assume by your face
when it happened that was something new?”
She nods, turning back to me. “Yeah, I’ve never done that before. I
have always seen ghosts but I do have to say, the couple days before you
showed up had been strange. Stranger than usual anyways.” She spreads her
legs on the barstool and places her hands in the chair between her legs. I
wait for her to gather her thoughts. “A couple days ago, on my way to see
Noah, I walked outside and there was an old woman sitting in a rocking
chair. The rocking chair was in my neighbors driveway. He had called me
over to see if I wanted it and I told him no. She must have lived in their
house previously. Anyways, the old woman's eyes snapped to me and her
mouth opened obscenely wide and she started to scream but it was this deep
moaning scream. It scared the shit out of me. It had never happened before.
Then there was the ghost outside the library and the ones on my walls. So
much has changed in a week. Then the green smokey magic.” I think about
what she is saying. Maybe her abilities are developing?
“I truly think that warmth you felt last week was your bindings
falling apart. Either your mother had a time frame or something happened
to break them. I expect to see more abilities come from you. As fae our
magic develops over time. Although, my shadow magic is definitely past
the normal time of magical development.”
 “I still don’t understand why my mother would have never told me
these things. Seems like a mistake on her part.”
“There had to be a reason. Naomi didn’t do anything without
reasons. Your sight does remind me of a fae I met a long time ago though.”
Dana perks up at that information.
“Really? Could I meet them?”
“I’ll try to find them again. I’ll ask King Furden if he remembers
anything about Serron. I believe that is his name.” I say scratching my chin,
“We tried to get him to stay on with the king and queen but he wanted
nothing to do with politics. He liked his quiet and solitary life.” I take
another sip of my drink and stare at Dana. She really is quite stunning.
Long dark brown hair and big green eyes. There are brown and gold specks
in them near the pupil. She has freckles across her nose. Her nose is small
and pert. The opposite of mine that has seen the end of a fist a time or two.
Or the pommel of a sword. Her lips are full and a pale pink. Her chin comes
to a soft point.
“See something you like, Kreed? I hear pictures last longer.” She
laughs, amused with my gawking.
“I apologize. Anyways, what else is there to tell you that is
important?”
“Wow, you are a lady killer.” Dana rolls her eyes and downs the
rest of her whiskey. “I bought my house because I felt drawn to it. I do
wonder if it has to do with the portal down there or the gateway. Whatever
you call it. Portal sounds too much like science fiction to me.” She hops off
the stool and starts to wander around the space. “Is your whole house like
the inside of a cigar shop that was built into a tree?” She runs her hand
along the back of one of the chairs.
“I don’t know what that means but if you mean leather and wood,
yes. Most homes around here will be natural. We build things to last. My
father actually remodeled this room before he passed.”
“How did your father pass if you don’t mind me asking.”
“He was killed fighting in the last war. It’s hard to kill us, we heal
too quickly to succumb to wounds most times but whatever they had laced
their blades with, impeded our ability to heal. He and many others perished.
Many were wounded.”
“Aavin tells me that if he and I were to be bonded, I would lead a
half-life if he died, or I would die with him. Is that how it would be with
you too?” I nod.
“Yes, well, not the death part. If I died you would feel as if a part of
your soul is missing. My mother has not been the same since my father’s
passing. She stays in one of our homes down south. She tries to keep herself
busy, but she always feels that ache. Some try to move on and date others.
They work but there’s nothing like having your tether.” I shake my head
sadly and then finish off my drink. There’s so much to discuss with her but I
don’t even know where to start. I think of what important things she needs
to know. The list is growing endless.
“My mother and I had the best relationship. She was always there
for me, always a steady rock. I’m having a hard time reconciling the mom I
knew with the mom I have now. I wonder why she gave up and settled in
Plains. Did she just assume that she would never get back and decided to
start a life? Seems like she should have been trying to fix the gateway to get
home.” She slides into a chair near the hearth. She kicks her legs over the
arm and rests her head on the other. She is opposite me. She seems carefree
and takes everything in stride. I think she’s doing well for having her entire
world turned upside down in under a week. She’s also bold. Well, from
what I had seen as a shadow last week. Even though she has much on her
plate, she still seems to find joy. I wish I had the same demeanor.
“I think you may find lots of those answers in the items you found
in those boxes.” I raise a brow at her. Reminding her to go through the
boxes. “Naomi was a wonderful woman, she was probably fifty years or so
younger than me but we hung out often.”
“Fifty? She was three hundred years old? Gosh, I hope I look like
her at even sixty.”
“Well, you are half Fae and half Shade. I’m willing to bet you'll be
just as beautiful in a hundred years as you are now.” Her eyes widened
comically. I think she just realized she is going to get old, real old.
“Oh, gods.” She breathes out. “I’ll put that in the box of ‘deal with
that later’.” She suddenly chokes on air. “You guys never….” She raises her
eyebrows at me and widens her eyes. It takes me a minute to understand
where her question was headed.
I bark out a laugh. “No.”
“I just had to make sure. Because that would get really weird.” She
looks back up at the ceiling laughing quietly. “So where did you guys hang
out?”
 “At parties and such. She had a gift. She was always happy. Fae
gravitated toward her to bask in her aura of happiness. She also could put a
grown man in his place if needed and she was mildly terrifying. She worked
hard too. Felt that she needed to be her best if she was to lead. Her ability
was foresight.” Dana’s head snaps to me. “She could see the future. It
wasn’t always correct as our path is not a straight line. Naomi tried her best
to use that ability for the good of Bathaile.”
“Bathaile.” Dana sketches a disbelieving laugh. “It’s so ridiculous
and it seems so unbelievable. If someone told me there was another world
on the other side of the Bermuda triangle. I would have pointed them to the
nearest psych ward. Yet, here I am, sitting in a leather chair on Bathaile.
Talking with a fae. Tethered to a fae. What the hell is life?” She sighs
dramatically and stares at the ceiling. “What am I to do here? How am I to
learn my abilities?” She then practically shoots off the chair, “Can I learn to
fight? Swing a sword? Something? Can you teach me?”
“Of course. I can teach you or I can find someone else if that makes
you more comfortable?”
“You’re always so clinical. Please tell me you're not emotionally
constipated? I can’t handle that. There’s a fun guy in there right? I thought I
saw a bit of humanity in you this last week.”
I look down at my hands and think about all the times people have
called my clinal, uncaring, stiff. “I’ll try my best not to be emotionally
constipated.” I look up at her. She shakes her head and giggles.
“Oh gods, how is this going to work? You seem so opposite to me.”
“You seem rather positive for someone that was a pariah her whole
life. Also, don’t opposites attract?” I say with a wink and a smile.
“Well, well, well, you do know how to flirt a little.” She winks
back and turns her head back to the ceiling. “And you're right I am, happy I
mean, for a while I hated everyone and everything but I finally started
taking my mothers words to heart. I learned to pick myself up and shake it
off. I learned that since no one was going to help me, other than my mother,
I would have to take it myself. When Noah and I became friends I thought I
was just a project to him. Then, things changed later on and I realized he
actually cared.” Sighing she turns back to me, “When my mom died I
learned that life is too short to not do what I wanted. The only thing I never
pushed for was Noah. For fear that he didn’t feel the same and I didn’t want
to lose him. It was,” she pauses sucking in a breath, “it was better to have
his friendship than nothing at all.” A sharp pain blasts through my chest. I
growl low and angry.
“I’m going to find that fucker and bring him here. Knock some
sense into that asshole.” I drag my chair to sit directly in front of her. “I felt
him in your soul, how did he not understand that? I said it out loud. I know
he heard me.”
“He thinks you're wrong about him and it’s someone else. Humans
don't have soul bonds, mates or tethers. He said it couldn’t be him.”
I shake my head and grab her hands in mine. “He’s an idiot. I
guarantee you that he is hurting.” I lean down to capture her eyes with
mine.
“See, you do have emotions. Mostly anger though.”
I grimace. “I do. I also feel lots of emotions. I just don’t voice all
my emotions out loud, often. Nor do I really want to. I also don't usually get
irrationally angry like I did in your kitchen.”
“Well, at least you don’t have to share me. One doesn’t want to
bond with me and the other tucked tail and ran. You got off easy, Kreed.”
She looks at me with a wry smile.
“It’s not easy when I can feel your pain and we’re not even fully
tethered. I can’t imagine what it’s like in your head right now.”
“Yeah, well, it’s time to dust myself off and move on.” Dana sits up
and swings her body over the arm of the chair jumping to her feet. “I hate
being sad, I have been crying and moping for a week.” She walks towards
the front door. “Where do you train? Show me around this place while we
wait for word from the king and queen?” She asks but sounds more like a
demand.
I remove myself from the couch and show her around her new
home.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 18
Dana

I stand by the bar waiting for Kreed to take the lead. He really is
stiff. Like he’s never had fun or a day of just relaxing. I should change that.
“Where would you like to start?” He asks while walking toward
me. “Maybe I should show you where my room and office is? We can start
down that hall and then the kitchens?”
“Kitchens? Seems like a bit much for one guy.” I say but
immediately regret it when his face falls a fraction. “What’s wrong? Did I
say something?”
Kreed shakes his head and shuffles from foot to foot. A strange
thing for a man like him to be doing. “No. You didn’t S’rella, it’s fine. It’s
just a really big kitchen. We always just called it ‘the kitchens’.” Shaking
my head I step closer to him.
“If there’s a reason you get that look on your face then obviously it
is something. I would like to know so I can stop putting my foot in my
mouth when it comes to you. I seem to be doing that a lot.”
“Let’s walk and talk.” I nod and grab his hand linking our fingers
together. He gives mine a small squeeze. “So this is the parlor but it’s more
of the living room these days. This is where I conduct all my meetings that
have to be here.” He walks us to the hallway and we walk to a room farther
down from mine on the left. “This is my room, if you need me, anytime.
Just walk in.” He opens the door and pushes it open. Black silk sheets cover
the massive bed. The head board is extremely tall, with intricate carvings of
swirls and shapes. It’s taller than Kreed. Large windows on the far wall.
There’s a desk and armoire. I see a couple doors and assume those go to the
bathroom and closet.
“This is amazing, Kreed.” I walk closer to the bed and take in the
details of the headboard. I run my hand along it admiring the beauty of it.
When I touch it small glittery sparks spark around my hand. I snatch my
hand back and I look back at Kreed. His shoulders shaking from his quiet
laughter.
“It’s spelled. I bet you could see it.”
I nod. “Yeah, when I touched it, it was like fireworks.” I look
between Kreed and the bed, baffled.
“It’s spelled so no one can sleep in it but a Gallen and his or her
Tether.” I nod. That’s actually pretty cool.
“I like that.” I drag my hand down the head board one more time.
Watching the tiny fireworks explode in my wake. “What else is there?”
Kreed takes my hand and we head back down the hall to a door on
the right. We walk in and I take in the book shelves and desk. It’s a fairly
large room with minimal furniture. Shelves line the walls and are packed
with rolled papers and books. There are hand drawn pictures and weapons
littering the shelves as well. The chair behind the desk looks ancient and so
does the rug under the desk. The desk itself is enormous, solid and dark.
Not much lies on the top except a small metal container, a fountain pen and
a small stack of papers.
“This is my office.” I turn to him and he’s leaning against the door
frame.
“Why is your office so close to your rooms? Thought you didn’t
mix business and pleasure?”
“I would never but…” He stalks toward me and I gulp. I back up a
couple steps and he has me trapped between the desk and his body. “I could
mix business and pleasure if it's you…” he looks me over, sending shivers
cascading down my body, “and on this desk.” I let out a harsh breath and
my need skyrockets. I can feel the blush crawling up my neck and my core
starts to ache. Kreed leans in closely, running his nose up my neck making
me shiver. “I think you like that idea.”
“Maybe.” I breathe out.
“Don’t lie, Dana. I can smell it.” He whispers along the shell of my
ear. I choke on my next breath.
“Smell it?” I look up at him, feeling a bit awkward.
“Pheromones and us fae have excellent senses.” He says tapping
his nose and laughs. I scoff and choke out a laugh. Stepping out of his
space. Wow, I was definitely wrong about the clinical and unfun part of
him.
 “Well,” I clear my throat, gathering all the confidence I can, “at
least I won't have to play coy when I want sex.” Kreed nods with a wicked
grin and leans his hip against his desk. “What’s next?” I ask flustered.
“You seem flustered.” He states as he holds his hand out for me to
take. I can’t tell if he’s concerned or enjoying making me squirm.
He shows me down the hall to the other guest rooms and bathrooms.
I was right. This house is all one level and spread out lengthwise. We make
it back to the parlor and we head straight across and go through a door. This
room is more like a living room. Couches and throw pillows, coffee tables
with games and stacks of cards. Then there is a huge dining room and a
wide open space behind it.
“This is where the family would gather. My great grandfather always
had guests but they weren’t family. He wanted to have his home life and
work life separate. So, when he redesigned this house he made sure that the
parlor was the first thing people saw from the main front door. He also
wanted the guest rooms easily accessible to guests. He moved the main
bedroom and the kids rooms to this side of the house. The design is to keep
the unavoidable court gatherings to one side of the house. Keeping courtiers
out of his family’s life.”
“How come your room is on the other side then?”
“I don’t have a family. All I have is a mother who can’t stand to be
in this house anymore and some family members that live around but they
have their own lives to lead. We do get together and have dinners every
once in a while. Their kids play over there,” he points to the empty space
behind the dining table, “that space was made for kids. There used to be
toys everywhere but now they are grown and don’t really play with toys
anymore. It is mostly for them to fight and beat each other up now.”
“You want kids. A family.” I state. That’s why he was upset. He
shoves his hands in his pockets. He continues on like he didn’t hear me.
“Through those double doors is the kitchen. Come, let me show
you.” He reaches back to grab my hand but when he pulls forward I don’t
budge. I can feel the longing through our tether. Kreed starts talking but
continues looking at the kitchen doors. “Dana, this isn’t a conversation for
us just yet. I’m not going to put my wants and needs on your shoulders.
This is something to talk about at a much later date, much later and that’s if
you even want the tether.”
 “Kreed, I would like to know about these things so I don’t say
something that will upset you. You're right, this is something to talk about at
a much later date. I have never thought about kids–” a sharp pain rips
through my chest. I put my hand to my chest and choke on the pain.
“Kreed, that doesn't mean I wouldn’t want them. It also doesn’t mean that I
don't want the tether.” I yank him toward me. He stumbles into me. “If this
is gonna work, you’re going to have to talk to me. You know? Family is a
sore subject. I understand.” He nods and I pull his head to mine. He rests
his forehead on mine. “Now I know what you mean by feeling strong
emotions.” I run both my hands up and down his neck and into his hair.
Kreed wraps his arms around me. He pulls me up when he’s tired of
stooping. I squeal at the sudden shift.
“I will learn to voice my…grievances. I can’t say that the change
will be immediate. I have never really had to voice these things.” He says.
“That’s all I ask. For such a big, intimidating man you are very…
sweet.” I feel like I’m being sucked into his orbit. I want to be closer and
closer to him. I have known the man for a week. Maybe he wasn’t lying
about how a tether is your perfect opposite.
“I can say for certainty I have never been called sweet.” Kreed says.
“Probably because you give off menacing grizzly bear vibes. Now,
show me more.” Kreed places me back on the ground and takes my hand.
He heads towards the doors and I am suddenly immersed in a huge kitchen.
There's two of everything in here. Two stoves, two deep sinks, two islands.
This is the biggest kitchen I have ever seen. I look around in awe. Wooden
cupboards line the walls, open spice racks sit under the cupboards. The
counters are butcher block and the cabinets are all open or just wooden
shelves.
“We used to have a ton of family over or there were gatherings. This
kitchen would be filled with all kinds of noise. Fae cooking, cleaning and
preparing. I remember coming in here to ‘taste test’ everything. We had a
chef and his team in here for lunches and dinners. I had many brothers and
several sisters. Then their kids were here and it was absolute chaos.”
“Where are your siblings now?”
“Most of them died in the last war.” His voice is hushed. “Lots of
my nieces and nephews died as well. I have a few brothers and a sister still
around. I also have a few aunts and uncles that come to visit but mostly I go
to them.” I look around the kitchen, digesting his words.
 “Gods, Kreed, I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything. It’s not your fault. We can only hope that the
Dreggars don’t come back. Hopefully we knocked them down enough that
they don’t come back.” Kreed lets out a deep breath. “Anyways, let’s get
out of here and I’ll show you the training grounds.”
We walk back to the living area and exit the large glass doors onto a
large, covered patio. Blue trees everywhere and yellow flowers. There’s
another giant butterfly on a flower suckling the nectar. We walk across the
patio and onto the grass.
Kreed steps onto the grass and wiggles his toes letting out what can
only be a sigh of relief. I sit down and start untying my boots. Kreed kneels
down and starts untying my other boot. I stopped untying the boot in hand
and stared at him. The man is removing my shoe. I think he can feel me
staring at him because he slowly looks up at me. While holding my foot in
his hands, keeping eye contact he puts my foot down and grabs my other
foot. He starts to finish where I left off. How does this feel like foreplay?
What is he doing to me?
My breaths come out shallow and Kreed gives me a soft smile. He
knows what he’s doing to me. He pulls my sock off and stuffs it in my boot
like he did the other.
“There.” Is all he says before standing up and holding out his hand. I
shake my head of the lust filled daze I’m in and grab his hand. He pulls me
up and into the sunshine. I wiggle my toes in the grass just like Kreed and
let a soft moan of appreciation out. It’s like feathers caressing your feet.
With the sun on my back and a bikini I would be set.
“So, how do you know so much about Earth? You talk about it like
you have lived there all your life.”
“I made it a priority to learn what I could while I was there. When I
wasn’t hunting down Naomi, I learned. Libraries and the internet. Some
things caught my attention more than others. I was impressed with your
internet and how you communicate. I was also very interested in your
Earth's past. I’m a quick study. I did excel in all my studies growing up.”
He says matter of factly. “Well, except art. That was not my best subject.”
He grimaces. “Hopefully, my mother never kept any of those art projects.”
Oh, I hope she did.
I hear a loud screech and a shadow falls over us. I look up and a
bright orange hawk is barreling towards us. I stumble back just at the last
second. The hawk pulls her wings back and slows down landing on Kreed's
outstretched arm.
“Greer. That was rude,” he gives Greer a ‘stop being a brat look’,
“and stop digging your claws in so hard.” Greer cocks her head at him and
poofs all her feathers out. Including the ones on her head. She looks
adorable. I take a tentative step closer. Kreed looks back at me. “My
apologies, this is Greer and she is an asshole when it suits her. Ow!” Greer
pecks Kreed's shoulder harshly. “See?” I stifle my laughter and walk closer
to Greer.
“It’s nice to meet you, Greer. I’m Dana. If I ever need an eye pecked
out, can I count on you?” Greer shuffles down Kreed’s arm closer to me and
poofs all her feathers out again. I reach my hand up and she places her head
in my hand. Allowing me to pet her.
“Traitor.” Kreed declares riling up Greer again. She starts squawking
at him, flinging her wings around like she’s scolding him and I’m laughing
with tears in my eyes. Greer lifts her little clawed foot and waits for Kreed
to unhook the metal tube connected to her. She takes off with a huff. “She’s
a handful.” He chuckles and opens the tube shaking out the item inside. He
unwraps the note as I see Greer headed straight for him from behind. I step
to the side nonchalantly and continue watching her glide at top speeds
straight for Kreed’s head.
“The–” Greer lets out a loud screech as soon as she sweeps over his
head, whacking him with a wing. Kreed nearly falls over, his eyes wide and
a small scream escapes his throat. “Greer!” He shouts. I double over
laughing as I hear Greer cawing which sounds suspiciously like bird
laughter. Kreed looks between me and Greer's disappearing body. “You saw
the whole thing and didn’t think to warn me?” I shake my head no. I
continue laughing.
“You scream like a girl.” I clutch my stomach. “Is that your battle
cry? Oh, fuck, my stomach hurts.” I try to calm down, because it really does
hurt. Kreed shakes his finger at me. He is trying really hard to hold back his
laughter. He has his lips sucked into his mouth and his shoulders are
shaking slightly.
“I’m really gonna have to watch out for you both aren’t I? You two
are going to be trouble.” He walks up close to me. “There will be
retribution.”
 “I count on it.” I shake off the last of my laughter and stand up
straight. “Alright, what does the letter say?”
“They would like to have a late lunch with you at their house. In
about an hour.”
“Okay, I can do that. I can do this.” I don’t think I can do this. I’m
not princess material. I say inappropriate things. I cuss way too much to be
allowed around children much less royalty.
“You’ll be fine, Dana. They aren’t pompous people. They are very
easy-going. It’s just lunch between you guys. It’s not a coronation.”
“I know. It’s just–I have only known my mom as my only family
and now I have grandparents and aunts and uncles. Who are royal. I don’t
know how to handle that. Wait, you’ll be there, right?” I grab his hand and
give his hand a squeeze. “Please, Kreed.”
“Of course. Besides, I don't want to leave you.” He says while
rubbing the back of his neck. “Nor would I throw you into something where
you’re not comfortable.”
“Thank you, Kreed. You are really a great man– I mean fae. You
have put up with a lot from me in the last week. Stuff you shouldn't have
had to.” I look down at our hands, noticing the veins and scars that run
along his hands. I ran my fingers along the palm of his hand, feeling the
calluses on his palms. “I also blamed you for Noah. I should never have
done that. It was Noah’s own insecurities. Nothing to do with you.” I look
back up at him. Realizing I do have some romantic feelings for him.
Whether that is because of the tether or how he has handled me and my
attitude this last week. I think it may be a mixture though. He really did
stick with me and he also has done what he could to make me happy. Even
by bringing me to his home to get away from it all. He has shown me more
kindness and care than anyone other than Noah and my mom have.
I let go of his hand and reached around his neck to pull him down
closer to me. If I don’t do this, he won't. I know he’s giving me my space
and time to come to terms with everything, but I really want to know what
it’s like to kiss him.
Kreed puts his hands on my back, right below my shoulder blades.
His eyes bounce between mine, dipping down to my lips. I give him a soft
smile and close the distance. His lips are gentle on mine but I want more. I
want to know what he’s capable of. I run my tongue along his bottom lip
and he takes the hint, opening up for me. Kreed tightens his hold on me and
he stands up straight, taking me with him. I wrap my arms around his neck
and bury my fingers into his hair, ruining his top knot. He moves one hand
to my ass and lifts me up higher and I wrap my legs around him. I pull him
closer and run my tongue along his, fusing us together. A moan crawls up
my throat and it spurs Kreed on. He walks forward and pushes me up
against a pillar. His hands roam my sides, sliding under my shirt. I whimper
when Kreed pulls back. We’re both breathing heavily as we stare at each
other.
Kreed rests his forehead on mine. “We should get ready S’rella.”
I nod, opening my eyes. “Yeah.” I say breathlessly. I don’t think I
want to meet my grandparents right now. I want to get to know his lips
more intimately. Or the rest of his body. Gods, I don’t even think that is the
tether talking. Kreed sets me on my feet and I let out a sigh of
disappointment and I hear his deep chuckle. I stare up at him and his
flushed neck and big smile. Gods, he really is handsome. I clear my throat
and try clearing my head of all the lusty thoughts. “Yeah, I should find
something more becoming of a princess. Yes?”
“I think you can wear whatever you would like. Like I said they
don't judge. I, however, am not going to wear my house clothes to dinner.”
He grabs my hand and we head back inside. My head is still in the clouds
thinking of how his mouth felt against mine. When we get back through the
door I get my head back on right. I look down at my jeans and bare feet.
“Hold on. I gotta grab my shoes.” I run outside and pick up my
boots. I take a moment to take in the scenery. I notice small shadowy spots
in the distance, the only problem is there is nothing to create the shadows.
“Hey Kreed.” I say, but it comes out more as a question. I keep my eyes on
the shadows. They aren’t moving. I feel Kreed stop next to me. “Do you see
those shadows?” I point out into the distance. “There’s nothing to create the
shadow. Is that normal around here?” Kreed steps forward and takes in the
landscape. He steps forward again and I follow. I look up at Kreed and see
him squinting, looking everywhere and not focusing on where I’m
pointing.
“You don't see it do you?” He shakes his head and looks down at
me.
“I don't but I'll have some soldiers go out there and check it out.
Maybe we will go with them so you can point out what you're seeing. For
now let's get ready and head to Furdens and Li-ana’s. I'll speak to them
about it while we're there.” I nod and turn back towards the glass doors.
Before I walk in the house I turn around and look back at the shadows,
making sure I didn’t imagine them. They remind me of heat mirages but I
can see the shadow dome pushing up from the horizon and it doesn't have
that wave effect that a heat mirage does, the movement is just in the space
of the dome. It doesn’t fade into the sky. I sigh and turn around, walking
into the house. I sit on one of the armchairs to pull my socks and boots on.
When I’m done I get up and wander around the living area. It’s
strange there isn’t a single family picture or painting. Although, it may be
strange to them that humans plaster their lives all over our homes. I run my
hands along the backs of the couches and I head towards the door to the
parlor. It opens just as I get there and Kreed stands in the doorway looking
like every fae male I have ever read about. Leather pants, boots that crawl
up his shins. A loose cotton shirt with a loose leather tie hangs from neck to
chest. He fixed his topknot.
Oh. Fuck.
“Fuck, you’re pretty.” I blurt out. I widen my eyes in embarrassment
and slap a hand to my forehead while Kreed barks a laugh.
“Thank you S’rella. I wasn’t even trying. I grabbed Naomi too. I
hope you don’t mind.” He says holding the urn up. I shake my head,
looking down at myself to straighten my shirt. “You, however,” Kreed runs
his nose along my chin when he gets to my ear he whispers, “are stunning.”
Kreed grabs my hand and pulls me through the parlor before I can even
think about what he just did.
Maybe, he’s coming out of his shell because he doesn’t have two
other men to compete with or it’s because I gave him the green light.
Kreed helps me up the carriage steps and follows behind me. He taps
the carriage and says ‘Faylor Manor’. Then we start gliding into motion. I
stare out into the distance taking in all the scenery. There are so many
colorful trees; blues, teals and greens. The rolling dark green hills and
snowy mountains in the background. Bright blue skies and the sounds of
chirping birds. It’s picturesque, is what it is. The bugs though… are
enormous, I’m glad I have not seen a spider yet or an ant. I hope they don't
exist here. “Is it spring here? Or do you have seasons like we do on Earth?”
I ask.
“Right now it is like your spring. But it never gets truly hot here like
the states. It does get incredibly cold though, after Samhain though. It
snows and there are strong winds. One year the winds knocked over a lot of
the trees around our house. It was a pain in the ass to clean it all up.” My
head snaps back to him when he says ‘our’ house and I smile softly at the
thought. “Well, there are strong winds all year long but when it gets cold it
makes the winds feel worse.”
We spend the rest of the carriage ride comparing Earth to Bathaile so
that I have a general idea of what this world is like. Even their animals are
mostly the same. The only differences seem to be the colors and horns on
animals that don’t on earth.
“Are there creepy, eight legged bugs around here?” I ask with hope
that there is not.
“Spiders? Yes and I hope you never run into one.” He grimaces.
That’s enough to make me never want to cross one.
“How about snakes? I bet they are so pretty.” I say. I have always
loved snakes. The way they are fierce but look like nothing more than an
overgrown noodle.
“Yes…” Kreed eyes me warily.
“Can I have one?”
“Not while I’m alive.” I huff and fall back in my seat like a scolded
toddler.
“Fun sucker.”
We pull up to a large gate with guards standing watch. They nod at
Kreed and let us through without so much as us slowing down. We pull
around a giant fountain in the front surrounded by flowers and trees. I look
over to the house, it’s not much bigger than Kreeds. Much like his, this
house has trees, bushes and flowers everywhere. It doesn’t look manicured.
Everything is wild and free. The birds sing happily from the trees and what
can only a lavender squirrel jump from tree to tree.
“Why is everything here so colorful? It’s absolutely wild. A purple
squirrel and the rabbit with antlers earlier?” I can’t get over it. It’s amazing.
It’s new.
“This is a whole other world S’rella. It could be evolution or it
could be the gods or magic. Or maybe a combination of all of them.” Kreed
says, stepping down from the carriage. He turns around and holds a hand
out. Ever the gentleman, I take his hand and make my way down the steps. I
smooth out my clothes and run my fingers through my hair. I look up
towards the pathway and all the breath leaves me. I choke on a sob and try
to swallow the painful lump in my throat.
“Mom?” I whisper. I look back at Kreed and he has what looks like
guilt in his eyes.
“I should have told you the resemblance. I should have warned
you. I’m sorry S’rella.” Kreed whispers to me. “I haven’t told them.” I try
harder to suck in my tears and calm myself. All I want to do right now is
fling myself at the woman who looks like my mother. Kreed grabs the urn
out of the carriage and that makes calming myself so much harder.
Knowing that my mother is in that urn but I can see her face right in front of
me. Kreed steps down the carriage steps and holds his hand out for me to
grab.
Li-ana and Furden walk towards us. Li-ana stops a few steps from
me. Taking in my face with a furrowed brow. Likely making the connection
or feeling my mothers magic.
“Kreed. It’s good to see you.” Furden looks at me and gets the
same furrow in his brow.
“I’m Li-ana and this is Furden.” She holds her hand out for me to
shake I assume. I reach for her hand as Kreed speaks up. Since I can’t stop
looking at Li-ana’s face.
“This is Dana…” Kreed takes a deep breath, “Naomi’s daughter.”
Li-ana’s eyes widen and she chokes out a laugh. Suddenly I’m being
yanked into a tight hug.
“Oh sweet girl. I knew my old eyes weren’t deceiving me. I knew I
felt her magic.” She pushes away from me still holding my arms with her
hands. “Gods, you look so much like her. You must take after your father
though.”
“I– uh, thank you. I need to tell you.” I choke on my words. I reach
over and grab the urn from Kreed. Li-ana gets a concerned look on her face
and Furden’s face drains of all color. He knows and I haven’t even said
anything. “My mom, uh,” I choke back a sob, “Naomi died a couple years
ago.”
Li-ana drops to the ground with a heart wrenching sob and Furden
stands absolutely still. I don’t think he even knows his wife has collapsed. I
hand the urn back to Kreed. I get down on my knees and grab Li-ana. I
don’t know how to deal with death but this is the one death I can grieve
with her. I sit next to Li-ana and pull her to me. She clutches to me,
babbling, praying to gods I do not know. It breaks my heart all over again
because this is exactly how I grieved mom. I was a babbling mess,
bargaining with a devil who wouldn’t listen to bring her back. I watch
Kreed walk over to Furden who is still standing like a statue. Kreed grabs
his arm and pulls Furden into a hug. That snaps him out of his state. Furden
hugs Kreed back
“I’m sorry I was too late.” Kreeds whispered words ring in my ears
like gong.
“It’s not your fault Kreed. I would never put that blame on you.”
Furden says. He turns to Li-ana and me. His eyes are red and he looks
absolutely devastated. He leans down and grabs his wife's hand. “Come my
love. Let’s get inside.” She nods and pushes away from me. I stand up and
give her a hand. She nods her thanks.
“Come on sweet thing. I think we have lots to talk about.” Li-ana
grabs my hand and pulls me close to her. This woman doesn’t even know
me and she’s already treating me like family. I could be a psycho for all she
knows. I look back at Kreed, he stifles a laugh at the ‘deer in headlights’
look I know I have to be sporting.
The doors to this house are incredibly tall. They look like solid wood
and have intricate carvings in them of the flora and fauna you would find
just from standing in the yard. Furden opens the doors with a swish of his
hands. Their house has tall ceilings and great huge windows, letting in tons
of light. The walls are a pale green stucco and floors are dark wood. Like
Kreed’s house there is not a whole lot of decor or show of wealth.
Everything is simple. Live edge wooden shelves line the walls with
knickknacks and some paintings. There are some paintings that look like
they may have been painted by children. We walk into a formal sitting room
and there is a full bar to the left. Li-ana walks me over to a loveseat and
pulls me down with her. Furden sits in a chair next to Li-ana and Kreed sits
next to me in a chair.
“Here you go S’rella.” Kreed hands my mothers urn to me. I pull her
into my lap and turn to my grandparents. They are looking between Kreed
and I with raised brows.
“S’rella?” Furden says, eyeing Kreed and then me. I look back at
Kreed, giving him a confused look. “That’s a hell of a name to give my
granddaughter Kreed. You want to explain?” I look between Kreed and my
grandfather. What the hell is going on? I look Li-ana and she winks at me.
 “That’s a new development, Sir…uh King Furden.” I start giggling
at Kreed’s nervous demeanor. I think I’m going to watch him flounder.
“King Furden, huh? Must be serious.” Furden replies. I think he is
also getting a kick out of Kreed flailing.
“Dana is my tether. We found–” Furden jumps up with a ‘whoop!’.
“Bless the light! Finally!” Furden roars. “You have waited too long
son. I am so happy for you.” He grabs Kreed's shoulders and pulls him in
for a hug. Kreed nods his thanks and they both sit back down. Kreed still
has a smile on his face but also looks uncomfortable with all eyes on him.
Li-ana gives me a hug and kisses my temple.
“He is a great man, Dana. Danalia couldn’t have chosen a better
match.” She sits back and eyes the urn in my lap. Everything sobers up
immediately. I hand her the urn. With shaky hands she takes it. Holding it
with reverence.
“She promised she would be safe. I have prayed to gods every day
for her safe return. To see her again.” Li-ana wipes her eyes. “I guess in a
way she gave me that, in you,” She looks at me putting her free hand to my
cheek. “You really do have her eyes and her mouth. You stand tall and
strong as she did.” She looks down at the urn. “How did it happen?” She
asks sadly. “It is no easy task to kill a fae.”
“It was a car accident.” Memories of that night assault me. I have a
carefully constructed box to put those memories in. To never open them
again after everything that happened. It was just easier on me, “She crashed
into a ditch when it was raining.”
“That is what I don't understand. It shouldn’t have killed her.” Li-
ana’s and Furden’s eyes both snap to Kreed. Unease trickles through my
body. Kreed gives me a sad look.
“I’m sorry Dana, I should have explained to you that it makes no
sense that your mother died in a car accident. I’m making a mess with you.”
He sighs and rubs his brow. “I don’t think that’s how she was killed. I
meant to tell you earlier but everything got side tracked and I didn’t want to
tell you last week because you were already so heart broken.” He trails off
looking guilty as all hell.
“I don’t blame you for forgetting or not wanting to make my shit
week even more so. Please do explain though.” I told him, “The police
became cagey during the investigation. Eventually, Noah and I hit a stand
still and there was nothing else we could do. I threw several fits at the
police station after I saw my mothers body. The black marks on her didn’t
make any fucking sense. They just said it was all a misunderstanding and
wouldn’t let me speak to anyone that responded to the accident first.”
“Can you tell us what happened? Do you remember that day?” Li-
ana asks, grabbing my hand and squeezing gently. I breathe out and close
my eyes, trying to remember everything that happened that day and the
following weeks.
“I got the call on a Thursday night, it was pouring rain. They told me
my mother was in an accident and didn’t make it. I remember being
stunned, knowing they had to have the wrong number. I thought it was a
cruel joke which was par for the course in my life. I hung up and called my
mom but her phone went straight to voicemail. I called Noah after and he
came over immediately. We tried my moms phone again and again. We
called the diner she worked at and they said she left a little earlier than
usual. Saying she had a meeting. I had thought that was strange. Then, we
went down to the hospital as a last resort. I didn’t want to believe it, this
was my mother. The only person I had in my life except for Noah. I
couldn’t believe the fates would be that cruel. When they–” I choked on a
sob, I opened my eyes when I felt hands pull me up off the couch. Kreed
was standing right there, he kissed my hands and pushed me over towards
Li-ana more. He sat down next to me on my other side and rubbed my back.
I gave him a weak smile and continued. “They needed me to identify her
body. When they pulled back the sheet, she…she had these black slashes all
over her torso and face. She had them along her arms like she was trying to
protect herself.” I took a moment to pull myself together to get the rest of
the memory out. “The police told me it was grease and oil. The coroner said
he had no idea what it was. When I went back later to speak with him, to
see if he figured out what it was, he was gone. The staff said he was a
traveling coroner. That he wasn't here anymore. That was a red flag but
what could I do? I tried to go every route I could think of. I remember Noah
throwing an absolute fit over it, he knew it wasn’t oil but no one would
listen to him. Eventually they blocked every route we tried to take. I knew it
didn’t make sense but that was when I knew nothing about these other
worlds.” I look at everyone and take a deep breath.
“The day after she died I found her will. I didn’t even know she had
one. She never talked about being cremated or death ever. In fact, she never
told me about you guys, this world or gateways. None of it. Why?” I
breathe that last word out with frustration. I look between my grandparents,
looking for answers I know I will not find. “Gods, she even had a small
treasure trove I just found. There are letters and journals!”
“Sweet thing, I don’t know why she never told you anything. I know
that she must have had her reasons. Maybe she thought she would never get
back here.” Li-ana quiets down. She gets a look on her that screams shock.
She swings her head back to Furden.
“She knew.” Is all he says for a moment, “She knew and didn’t want
to give you hopes of a family when she probably knew you’d never meet
us. She probably knew she would never come back, even before she left.”
Furden tears stir my own. “She must have known.”
“She was a seer.” I say to myself more than anyone else. “Why
would she go to Earth then? Possibly knowing of her death? Or being
stranded there?”
“You.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 19
Dana

‘You’ bounced around my head the whole carriage ride and Kreed
kept me tucked into his side the whole way home.
I had sat on the couch for a little while longer with Li-ana hugging
me. Li-ana told me small stories of my mother when she was young while
we waited for Kreed and Furden. She didn’t tell me anything that was
important, probably knowing I wasn’t really taking anything in.
Kreed and Furden had both agreed it would be best to send a team
out immediately to see what I was talking about. They also agreed that we
would go with them. So they could just follow me out to where I saw the
shadow domes. I don't have high hopes that anything will come of it. Since
I am the only one that can see them.
When the carriage stopped Kreed swept me into his arms and carried
me into the house. He stopped in front of my door, pushed it open and
carried me to my bed.
Did she know she would die? Did she know that she would have me?
Why? Those three questions ran relentlessly through my head.
Kreed starts taking off my shoes. “I can do that Kreed.” He looks at
me and shakes his head. He finishes taking off my boots while I try to
understand why this man is willing to take my damn shoes off all the time.
It’s only been twice but that’s twice more than it has ever happened in my
life.
“Do you have some pajamas? Or I can grab you a shirt from my
room?” I nod my head and get up to search through my bag. I started
getting frustrated with my bags. I don’t remember what bag they are in and
they are stuffed full. Kreed sees my frustration and grabs my hands pulling
me away. He then lets them go and pulls the shirt off his back and hands it
to me. I reach out and grab it slowly. I hold onto it with both hands and nod
my thanks.
“I’ll let you rest. I will be down the hall in my room. If you need
anything and I mean anything you can just walk right in. Okay?” He lifts
my chin with a finger and plants a lingering kiss on my forehead.
“Thank you.” I say and press up to give him a kiss.
“If you need anything,” he says, leaving those words hanging in the
air again before leaving the room.
I pull my pants off and my shirt and sit on the bed for a moment just
sitting in my underwear. I drop the shirt into my lap and undo my bra. It
feels incredibly satisfying taking it off, it’s the only good feeling I have
right now and right now I feel like utter shit. I pull the shirt on and stand up.
I take off my underwear and toss them on my pants. I sit back down on the
bed. I roll my head toward my bags. Do I really want to try and find boy
shorts? I think about that for all of a half a second.
No.
I turn and crawl up the bed. This velvet duvet feels like heaven on
my skin. I pull it down and crawl under it. I pull the blankets up to my neck
and look out the window. The sun is setting. It has been the longest day
ever. I thought it was midnight but the sun is just now setting. I look over to
the hallway and see the carvings have been put up. Who put them up? I
didn’t see a single soul here. I relax into bed and my mind whirls and swirls
some more.
I try closing my eyes and counting sheep. I try deep breathing and I
stretch my legs and back in bed. Nothing is helping my tired yet
continuously thinking brain to stop. Or sleep, which I guess is normal. The
sun hasn’t even lowered in the sky. I throw my hands down to my sides and
huff. I swing my legs out of bed and sit for a moment. I look at my roller
case full of my mother’s things. Do I want to go through that right now?
What if I find something else, I’m not ready to see or read or hear?
I don't. I really don’t. I’m not ready to know more truths. I get up
and stalk to my door. I open it and walk towards the parlor. I stop at the bar
and pour myself something clear. I slam it back and pour another. I slam it
and pour another. I slide the bottle and the glass to the other side of the bar
and walk around to sit on a stool. I counted the bottles. Seventy three of
them. I pop off the barstool and walk into the kitchen to find something to
eat since we never got around to the lunch part with my grandparents.
 I walk over to a door that I assume is a pantry. I open it and walk
into the most organized space I have ever seen. Everything is in a glass jar.
With black labels and chalk writing. There are drawers and more cupboards.
The countertops have small appliances. Where does the electricity come
from because I don’t see an outlet anywhere. Must be a magic thing.
I start looking through the drawers. Most contain onions, potatoes
and garlic. Some have a variation of noodles. So much organization. It’d
give any influencer a run for their money on Earth. I walk out of the pantry
and eyeball what looks like a fridge. It has the same face coverings as the
cabinets but the long vertical handles tell me ‘edible food may be here’. I
walk across the kitchen and open it up. I see all kinds of fruits and
vegetables. Also, a bunch of things that look different, contained in glass
jars. I’ll ask Kreed about it tomorrow. I grab some fruit out. Maybe it’s
vegetables? Assuming I won't be finding a pizza I can heat up. I put the
strange fruits on the counter and grabbed a violet one. I take a bite out of it
and moan. God this is delicious. I put my elbows on the counter and took
another bite.
“Fuck this is good.” I say to myself. I stand back up and rummage
through the cabinets. Oh boy. I found the motherload. I see what looks like
cookies, chips, crackers and candies. I turn to the other cabinets and get an
idea.
A few moments later I have a tray full of snacks headed to Kreed's
room. I don’t want to be alone. I also have just enough booze in me to give
me confidence to ask him to stay with me and not feel like a weirdo. I just
want to talk with him and not be alone but my nerves are shot. I turn around
and open his door with my elbow. I push in looking for a table to set this
tray on and walk toward his nightstand and place it down. I look around for
Kreed but I don’t see him. I see two doors just like in my room. One on the
left and one on the right directly across from his bed. I open the one on the
left and it's a closet. I didn’t know a man could own so much leather. I walk
through the closet running my hand along all of the leather pants and cotton
shirts. He has sweaters, I couldn’t picture the man in a knit sweater ever.
I hear the door open and just as I turn around to announce my
presence Kreed drops his towel.
My plans have suddenly been derailed.
“Fuck me.” I whisper. There is so much muscle. I don’t even know
where to start. His arms, that is definitely where I start when Kreed jumps.
 “Dana! Fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t–” He keeps talking but I'm not
listening. I’m too busy staring at him. His arms, his pecks. His poor chest
marred with my handprints. They have scarred over but he is marked by me
forever. Fuck his thighs are like tree trunks. And his stomach, it is tight and
rippled with muscle. The things this male could do to me. The things I want
to do to him. When I get to his cock, he has it covered with his hands, well,
sort of covered by his hands.
Fuck.
“Gods you’re pretty.” I say and Kreed must realize I’m not listening
to a single word he has to say. He turns around to grab his towel off the
floor and gives me a glorious view of his backside. “Would it be bad
manners to ask you fuck me?” His jaw drops and his eyebrows raise to his
hairline. I don’t even care that I have some seriously bad manners at the
moment. I fucking want him. All over me. I want his weight pressed into
my body, I want to feel his cock between my thighs.
“I–uh, I don’t–” Even the way he is stuttering and looking shy has
me turned on.
I look him in the eye. “I do.” I walk closer to him and ask again,
“Would it be bad manners to ask you to fuck me?”
He clears his throat a couple times.
I pull my shirt, well, his shirt over my head and toss it to the side. “I
can even say please.” I give him my best attempt at a coy smile. Let’s face
it, I have zero sexual prowess. I’m a newbie but I want him.
Those two shots really gave me more confidence than I needed.
Kreed’s neck is flushed red. He keeps clearing his throat and can’t even get
a whole word out. His eyes are locked onto my body. I walk past him and
out of the closet straight toward the bed. I climb up the bed from the foot of
it and crawl across it. I hear a very animalistic growl and footsteps. I smile.
Finally.
I crawl farther up the bed. Ass in the air. I turn my head and look
over my shoulder. Kreed looks like he is not sure what he should do. His
hands clench and unclench at his sides. I finish climbing up the bed and
grab a fruit off the tray. I take a bite. Some of the juice drips down my chin
and onto my breasts. I sit up on my knees and hold the fruit out to him. He
walks alongside the bed and sets one knee down onto it, putting himself
right in front of me.
 “If we do this the tether may tighten in place S’rella,” He says
gruffly and I nod, “I don’t think your in the right frame of mind right now
to make these choices.” I shake my head.
“I want you. I want to feel your body on mine, I need it Kreed. I
want to focus on you. Yes, I have had a shit day and a couple shots,” Kreed
raises a brow, “but it’s not enough to fuck with my state of mind other than
calm my racing thoughts and give me the confidence to be here. Naked. In
front of you. I was just going to talk with you over snacks I pilfered from
your kitchen but then you dropped your towel and my plan made a left
turn.” I punctuate that with a bite of the fruit. Another drip slides down my
chin and onto my breasts. “Or maybe a right turn?”
Kreed chuckles and leans into my space like he’s going to kiss me
but he puts his hands on my hips and dips his head down to my nipple,
immediately sucking it into his mouth. I nearly choke on my fruit, trying to
swallow it down. Kreed reaches up and grabs the fruit from my hand,
flinging it behind him. My sticky hands delve into his wet loose hair. My
breaths become heavy as he trails his tongue up my breast, licking the fruit
juice off my chest. He nips up my neck making me moan. He licks up my
chin and I dip down to suck his tongue into my mouth. My hands stay
tangled in his hair as we pull each other closer. My chest is smashed against
his body as he grabs my hair and pulls it down forcing my head up.
Stretching my neck. Bending me to his will. I feel his cock harden between
my thighs. I run a hand down his chest, pinching his nipple as I go further
down. Wanting to feel all of him. I run my hand over his pecks, his abs and
lower.
Just as I’m about to get lower he picks me up from behind my thighs
and drops me onto the bed. Kreed grabs my knees and forces them apart,
nearly touching the bed.
“You are beautiful.” He says, staring at every inch of my body. “This
flush,” he says, dragging a hand up the inside of my thigh and up my
stomach, “does a lot of things for me.” He grabs my breast. Kneading it and
pulling my nipple. I let out a low, whiny groan.
“Kreed. Please, I need you.”
“What do you want?”
“Your cock. Now.” I demand, my following moan is a juxtaposition
of my demanding tone.
 “Mmm, you would like that wouldn’t you. Maybe I should tease
you. Maybe I want to lick this little clit of yours.” He lowers himself
between my thighs. He nips a lip, pulling the skin with him. “Maybe, I
should tease you.” He licks up my pussy but to the side of my clit.
“Kreed.” I whine. The deep chuckle that follows lets me know he is
having too much fun with me to give me what I want.
“Look at this pussy,” He lightly drags a finger around my opening.
“She’s clenching around nothing, Dana. Should I fill her?” He slowly
pushes one finger into me.
“Yes Kreed. Please!” I can’t fucking take the teasing right now. I
need him. I need him like I need my next breath. Kreed suddenly pulls his
finger out and licks me from opening to clit. Then he sucks my clit into his
mouth and rubs his tongue along it. In slow measured strokes. My orgasm is
already tingling up my spine. How the hell does he know my body so well?
“Kreed. Fuck, I’m gonna come.” I run my hands through his long red hair
and pull him closer to me. Grinding on his face, chasing my high. Just as
I'm coming Kreed pushes his fingers into me. Adding to the pleasure
already spiraling up my spine and down to my toes. Bliss spears me from
head to my toes and my body buzzes from the relentless pulsing of pleasure
ripping through me. My legs clamp around his neck but he presses my
knees back down into the bed.
Kreed lets my clit go but continues to lick me leisurely. Like he has
all the time in the world. My body is twitching every time he runs over my
sensitive clit. Instead of stopping he continues. I push up on my elbows to
watch him. His eyes find mine and it turns me on so much more watching
him and him watching me. I can feel another orgasm threatening to level
me.
“Kreed!” I yell it, moaning and pushing my pussy up into his mouth,
I grip the sheets not willing to take my eyes off him and his ministrations.
“Kreed, fuck.” Right before I come he gets to his knees, yanks me closer to
him, with his hands wrapped around my thighs, pulling me off my elbows.
His cock slides right into me. We both moan at the pleasure of it. He pauses
to let me adjust to him. He’s breathing heavily while he slowly inches out of
me and back in.
“S’rella. Fuck.” His neck is strained like he’s trying to hold himself
back. His fingers dig into my legs. I can feel my orgasm right beneath the
surface.
 “I need you to move Kreed.” I place my hands on his thighs and dig
my nails in, prompting him to move. The sensation of him moving in and
out of my body sets my body aflame. My orgasm creeping back up my
spine. His muscles flex and ripple with every move.
“Harder.” It's all I have to say and I'm being flipped onto my hands
and knees and Kreed is slamming back into me. He pulls my hips up higher
and I put my chest to the bed. I turn my head enough to see Kreed behind
me. He has one foot braced by my left hip while he pummels himself into
me. Every stroke hits that spot in me. It doesn't take long and I’m coming
so hard my whole body tenses up. Kreed grabs my hair and puts one hand
to my chest, pulling me up to him. My back to his chest. He keeps stroking
into me. He’s groaning into my ear, the heat from his breath sending chills
down my neck and shoulder. Euphoria courses through my veins in never
ending waves as he keeps his relentless pace. My head falls to his shoulder
as I become boneless. I let him use my body to please himself. His hand
massages my breasts and the other grips my throat squeezing tightly. I reach
one hand to grip his ass while the other finds its way to the back of his neck
and into his hair.
“Where do you want me, S’rella? Do you want me in you or on
you?” His words low growl and his hips start to stutter.
“In me.” He bends me back over my ass straight in the air. He
pushes me down between my shoulder blades roughly, pinning me to the
bed and the other hand squeezing my hip. The sounds coming out of me are
more animal than human as he roughly drives himself into me. His leg is
planted near my hip again giving him more leverage. Kreed moans with
every stroke as he uses me to chase his high. He comes with a long, low
groan. The hand on my hip squeezes tightly. Almost bruising. His hand at
my shoulders digging into my skin roughly. He holds himself in me as deep
as he can get for a moment, flexing in and out slowly. Kreed pulls himself
out but he leans over me, kissing and licking down my spine. When he gets
to my ass he bites me. Eliciting a squeak out of me. I jump forward,
giggling. Kreed grabs my ankle and yanks me back to him. Wrapping my
body around him.
“I could get used to this.” I say. Tracing patterns around his chest
and stomach.
“Mmm, you should. I could do that every night, morning…noon.”
he pulls me closer to him. “I will have someone bring you a tonic in the
morning so you don’t swell with my child.” He kisses the top of my head.
“I’m on birth control.” I say.
“Okay. But I think you should have the tonic as well. Just in case. I
don’t want babies until your ready S’rella” I nod, my eyes getting heavy.
“You need to go pee.” My eyes snap open and I turn my head to Kreed.
“You don’t want an infection.” I groan and roll up and out of bed.
I walk to the bathroom with Kreed right behind me. I walk into the
separate toilet area and close the door. I do my business and clean myself
up. When I walk out of the bathroom, Kreed is standing there waiting for
me. While I’m washing my hands I think about what just happened, how
happy I feel right now. Content. Which is nice compared to this last week. I
look into the mirror and see Kreed watching me. A dreamy look on his face.
I fling the water off my hands and grab the hand towel that hangs by the
sink.
I turn around and run my eyes over Kreed. Taking in the muscle and
scars. He has a plethora of scars. Most are small silver lines but he does
have one that runs from one side of his chest to his stomach on the other
side. The scar isn't very wide but it didn’t look like a fun time. Every part of
this man is honed for battle, even his feet seem to be as muscular as the rest
of him. I lean back on the counter and take in his face. The scars on his
cheek, the freckles and the wild red hair that doesn’t know if it wants to be
curly or wavy. His luminous green eyes, that seem to glow. Kreed steps
closer to me, trapping me against the counter. His arms on either side of me.
His eyes roamed my face. Taking in everything. He leans in farther, running
his nose along mine.
“I have never felt so content in my life S’rella.” I run my hands up
his arms and over his shoulders. I feel content but I also feel like I’m
missing something. I know exactly what that something is. I’m not going to
voice it right now and ruin the moment.
“What does it mean, S’rella?” I run my hands up his neck and into
his hair.
“It’s from a dead language from before my time. The closest word
we can relate it to is ‘beloved’.” My heart skips a little. He can’t be telling
me he loves me right? It’s a little soon for that. “I can see the wheels turning
Dana. I’m not professing my love. Although you make it easy.” He pulls
back and picks me up, swinging me into his arms. I let out a yelp.
 “Gods, Kreed, warn a woman.” He chuckles deeply and throws me
onto the bed.
“I could but where is the fun in that?” He says laying down next to
me. We both turn on our sides to face each other. “We should talk about
earlier.”
“I know.” I trace invisible patterns on the sheets. “I should go
through those letters and the journal. It’s still early enough. I think.” I look
around for a clock or an open window.
“Yes, it's still early enough. Would you like me to come with you
and help or do you want to do this on your own?” That is a good question.
“I don't know. I feel like I need to do this on my own.” I sit up and
scoot out of bed. “Can I call for you if I need you?” I turn around waiting
for an answer.
“Of course.” Kreed jumps out of bed and heads to the closet. I
followed him over there to grab my shirt. Well, his shirt. Kreed comes back
out still naked but holding his shirt out to me. I grab it and pull it on. Kreed
helps pull the shirt down when I get it over my head. “Hmm, I don’t know
if I prefer you in my shirts or naked.” I shake my head at him.
“You’re a dirty fae. You know that?” He smirks at me and then
kisses my temple.
“Shout for me when and if you need me. Even just to sit there with
you.” I nod and walk back to my room.
Somehow the walk to my room is ominous. A foreboding to what
I’m about to find. I know deep in my gut that I am not going to like what I
find.
I open the door and the walls are lightly lit. Light trickled through
the walls like a steady stream. I take a moment to stare in wonder. It’s
amazing. There are so many veins of light that I didn’t even notice before
crawling across all the walls, high and low.
“How could you never tell me about this stuff mom?” I ask the
empty room.
I grab my bags out of the closet and place them next to my rolling
case. I sit down and unzip it, flinging the top back and stare at all the things
I brought with me. I don’t know what to start with. Maybe the journal? I
pull that out first and start flipping through it. It’s a baby book. Except
instead of a store bought one it is one she bought a journal and made it her
own. Pages filled with my weight, height and my hand and foot prints.
What I loved to eat and what I hated. She wrote about all my firsts. The first
time I crawled, rolled, walked and everything else. Every little thing I did in
my early years was written in this book. I flip to the last pages and find a
little stack of pictures. I look at them but the light is too low now with the
sun sinking behind the horizon.
“Kreed!” I holler. I set the photos down and get up. Before I am
even standing Kreed is coming through the door. “Were you just waiting
right out the door?” I ask incredulously.
“No, but I do have keen hearing and I was listening for you.” He
looks up at the walls and says ‘Aerdi’ and the walls brighten up
significantly.
“Well, that was exactly what I needed.” I say as I sit back down. “I
just went through the journal, it’s a baby book. Everything is in there down
to what foods I spit out.” I say as I look through the pictures I found. They
are all of me as a kid, each picture I get a little older. My mother had been
meticulous about this. Making sure everything I did as a baby was
preserved. I put the pictures back in the journal and set it up behind me on
the bed. I look up and realize Kreed is still standing there. “Do you want to
join? You can show me how to open these boxes.” I pull one out and set it
next to me and then I reach in for the other.
Kreed sits down next to me and crosses his legs. He pulls one box
into his lap and starts muttering in another language. I watch him, waiting
to see what's going to happen. Will a lid just appear? Will it pop open with
smoke? Will the top disappear? After a minute nothing happens. He looks at
the box with a hint of frustration. He puts that one down and grabs the
other. He starts to mutter the same words again. I pull the other into my lap
and inspect it as he mutters his words and I turn the box around in my hand.
As he finishes up, the box I’m holding starts to brighten. My eyes get wide
as I stare at the straight beam of light shining out the sides of the box near
the top. I look over at Kreed and he looks absolutely bewildered, looking
between the box and me. Suddenly the box stops and where the light was
shining there is now the seams for a lid.
“I uh–what the fuck was that?!” I shout, still holding onto the box
like it’s a lit stick of dynamite.
“I have no idea. What in the name of Haydaire did Naomi do? The
box should have just opened with the words no matter who spoke or held
them. The boxes are made for anyone. Unless she had these specially made
but for it to only open for you is a trickier magic. Also, where would she get
these done on Earth?” He reaches over to grab the box. He sets it down and
hands me the other. “Hold this, I think it’s tuned to your magic or your ties
to Naomi but how can anyone just say the words?” He questions himself
but starts his chant again and the box does the same thing. I am holding the
box upside down though. I turn it right way up and watch the light again. I
notice the lights in the room are also brightening with the box.
Is that supposed to happen?
When the light dies, the lights in the room go back to normal. I place
the box down next to the other.
“Well, now I don't know if I want to open this. This seems like a
moment where my life is flipped on its head again.” I wring my hands
together, eyeing the boxes like they are going to bite me. I look at the box
that contains all the letters. Letters I assume my mother wrote me. I look
between that box and the two we just opened. I drop my head into my hands
and shake my head.
“Alright, fuck, let’s do this.” I grab the box we just opened and pop
the lid up. I stare at the black abyss inside. “I don’t see anything, it’s just
black.” As soon as I say that though the box gets heavy. So heavy I have to
put it down. Suddenly, I see metal pieces and what looks like leather
starting to poke out of the top. I look over at Kreed and he shrugs, gesturing
to the box. I reach over, cautious and shaky. I pull on the metal piece. As I
pull it out it enlarges even more. When I get it all out and shake it out, it is a
pair of leather pants. They are thick black leather with thin metal plates
sewn in along the front of the thigh and back. The metal plates have a
darker silver swirling through the plate itself. I lay them on the bed and pull
out the other piece which is a leather top. I lay it out above the pants.
Leather boots are next and plated just like the pants and top. I stand and
stare at the armor. It is beautiful. The effort it took to make this had to be
tedious. Between the darker swirls of silver running through all the metal
armor pieces and the crushed gems that are embedded along the edges of
the metal.
The gems look really familiar though. Why do they look familiar?
Maybe something in the treasure trove Kreed and I found earlier? Then it
dawns on me. I turn around abruptly from my bed and rifle through the
case.
 “When this case is empty I would like to chuck it off the nearest cliff
if possible.” I comment as I grab the long thing box from the bottom of the
case. I turn around with the box in hand and look at Kreed.
“I guess we could find somewhere…” He trails off with a confused
look on his face.
“Good. I hate this case.”
“And throwing it off a cliff will make you happy?”
“Immensely.”
“Well, remind me to never piss you off.”
“I would never chuck you off a cliff.” I say as I open the box up. “I
would just push you into a lake. Or into a ditch.” I smile up at him and toss
the top of the box off.
Kreed stepped up beside me. “That’s Naomi’s sword. Where did you
find that?” He asks, looking back at the case I pulled it out of.
“I found this sword in my basement with all the other boxes down
there, in that murder-hole for psychopaths. When I grabbed this sword I
heard my name being called. I know it was Aavin now but it was strange
timing for sure. How in the hell did it end up in that basement?” I know
Kreed won't have the answers but I still put it out there to the universe. I
turn around and see what else I can pull out of the box. I pull out some
gauntlets that also have small pieces of the gem along the fingers. “What
are these? The gems.”
“This is a Modat stone, usually they are just a solid blue-green in
color. Rare, yes, but they aren’t translucent like this but these,” he says
pointing out the pommel of the sword, “have been imbued with a blessing
from Danalia. She is the goddess of war and love. The blessing gives the
stone the swirled colors of green, purple and blue. No stone is the same
when they have been blessed. Unless the stones have been blessed all at the
same time. These had to have been blessed at the same time because they
all have the same shades of teal and this dark purple. Which are Danalia’s
colors.” He picks up a gauntlet and runs a thumb over the stones. “Come to
think of it, I don't think I have ever seen any stones with both her colors on
it. Usually it’s one or the other or none of them. When someone brings these
stones to the temple, they have to prove they are worthy of the blessing
from Danalia.”
“What did my mother have to do?” I stare at the armor, taking in all
the intricate tooling and etching along the edges of the leather and metal
plates. Someone took an extraordinary amount of time and put a whole lot
of love into this armor.
“All she said was that she had a vision of Danalia and she had to
get the stones blessed. That it was important. Detrimental to our future.”
Kreed places the gauntlet back on the bed. “Erikson helped her pack a bag
and Furden gave her maps so she didn’t get lost up the mountains. The trails
can be treacherous and storms can ruin the pathways to the temple. She had
to find all the gems, which aren’t bountiful and walk them up the mountain
to the main temple. She was gone for weeks. When she came back she was
so dirty and so tired. She slept for almost two days. Didn’t even shower
when she got back, just plopped into her bed, that’s what Li-ana told me.”
He gets a confused look on his face for a moment. “She never wore this
armor though or used the sword. She had made it all, well before she left for
Earth too. She did however ask me my opinion on them. Asked me if the
tooling and stitching was well done. When I asked her why she decided to
make her own leathers and armor she just said, ‘that is between the goddess
and me.’, which I found strange but who am I to question her sight?”
“Between the goddess and her.” I repeat. “That’s not vague at all. I
guess I should see what else she crammed in there.” I turn back to the box
and look for anything else in there. I turned back to Kreed, “When do you
think she got these boxes made? The tiara? I mean, I feel like that's
something that can’t be done on Earth, right? At least the magical boxes.”
“I have no idea.” Kreed looks at me helplessly. I knew he wouldn’t
but worth a shot. “I would assume this was all made before she left. I don’t
know how she would have made it on earth.”
When I reach my hand in, it goes way deeper than the box looks. I
search around feeling for anything else. I run my hand over something flat.
I pull it out and find a piece of paper. Well, not paper but parchment. Sealed
with wax. The seal has a large ‘O’ pressed into it with antlers hanging from
the top of the ‘O’ on the inside of it and flowers surrounding the outside of
it at the bottom. I sit back on the bed and carefully peel the wax so as to not
break it. Kreed sits next to me. Careful to not jostle me around.
“That’s the Oriden seal. King Furden’s seal.” I pop the wax open
and open the letter. It’s in my mothers handwriting but it’s definitely not
written in modern pen or pencil. It’s written with what looks like a fountain
pen.
 Dana,
These are yours. The armor, the grieves, the gauntlets, all of it. I
know none of this makes sense and you are probably a hundred shades mad
with me. I have left you more items in the other containment box. I am
following the will of the gods my love. The will of the gods can be very
vague and filled with riddles just like in every book or movie ever written or
directed. Everything I have done is to ensure your safety.
The stones are blessed by the goddess Danalia. She came to me in a
dream and told me what I had to accomplish to ensure your safety. I made
this armor for you to always have with you. Never leave without it Dana.
Please read the letters I wrote to you. This will all make more sense
my love.
I love you,
Mama
I don’t even know how to feel right now. Anger, sadness, frustration,
love. I hand the letter to Kreed and grab the other containment box. I sit
back on the bed and open it up. I stick my hand in it and grab the first thing
I feel. It feels smooth and cold. I grab it and start pulling it up. I look at
Kreed and he stands up to help, pulling it up and out of the box. When we
got it pulled out it was a gold staff. It isn’t heavy by any means. It has to be
hollow with how light it is. I stand up and hold it. It’s slightly shorter than
me not by much though. The whole staff is engraved with a swirl design
from top to bottom and both ends come to a deadly point.
“This is a Mary Poppins bag in box form.” I laugh.
“Guess we found you a weapon to train with.”
“I guess so.” I say going back to the box. I put my hand in and reach
around for anything else. I grab something else that feels suspiciously like
an ax. Did she just load this whole thing up with weapons? I pull it out and
it is indeed an ax. I love it. I set it down and then decide to just turn the box
upside down. Lot’s of things fall out. Most of them are weapons. It was
interesting to see the crossbow fall out. It fell out of the box small but then
gradually got bigger the farther it fell from the box. I look up at Kreed and
his eyes are huge as he takes in all the weapons. He looks like a kid in a
candy store. A letter was the last thing to flutter out onto top of the massive
pile of weapons and other trinkets. There’s several pairs of regular leather
pants and lots of linen shirts. And some corsets. What the hell? I grab the
letter while Kreed organizes the weapons on the bed. I sit down and tear the
letter open carefully.

My dearest Dana,
I hope you read the letters because this box is full of weapons and
things I found useful in battle and life in general. This will make no sense
without reading the letters. As you are my daughter I know damn well you
opened the containment boxes first without reading the letters.
Tell Kreed to help you with the orbs. I’m also glad you both figured
out that these boxes are linked to you both.
Read the letters Dana Aurelia Greenback.
I love you,
Mom

“What the actual fuck is happening Kreed? She told me to have you
help me with orbs. Did she know you were my tether? Did she know we
would meet?” I shove the letter at him like he can make sense of this
nonsense.
“She may have seen it, S’rella. She was a seer.” He holds the letter
and sighs. “I want to tell you not to be angry but I am aware you have lots
to be angry about. So, I’m going to try and choose my words wisely. Let's
go through the letters before you come to any conclusions. I know that’s
easier than said but I think that would be best.” He grimaces at his words.
Probably thinking I am going to reprimand him.
“So rational Kreed.” I snort.
“It’s rational to be rational.” He says with all seriousness.
I stare at him. Bewildered. “Be still my heart.” I deadpan and roll
my eyes.
I grab the box out of the case that’s full of letters. I walk backwards
to the bed a couple steps and plop down. I grab a few and look at the dates
labeled along the top. I flip through the envelopes and find the earliest one.
September of 2008. I pull the letter out and start to read.
It’s been 6 years with you sweet thing and as much as I miss your
toddler years, watching you grow is the most amazing thing I have ever
experienced. You are the smartest girl I have ever had the joy of knowing.
Full of sass too.
I write these letters to remind myself of all the things I need to tell
you.
The gods have forbidden me to speak of our conversations to you.
Even though it frustrates me, I know the reasons.
You, my sweet Dana, are Bathalian which means you are half fae. I
do not know what your father is but I do know he had magic. If I knew more
about him I would tell you. I swear it. I came to this world knowing I would
have a baby girl. One that would be a catalyst and change the course of
history to come.
I did not know how it would happen or with whom. I felt drawn to
your father. I don’t know if he was my tether or the will of the gods. I can
tell you I have missed him every day since the first and last time I saw him.
I wanted to find him but I have to stay on this path. I would give up
anything to make sure that you become who you are supposed to be. I have
followed the gods' will to make sure you have everything you must have. I
do not say this to make you feel bad but to show you how much I love you.
To show you that even though you may not understand and you may be mad
or even hate me, I love you.
There are other things you must know though. This letter is just the
beginning.
Today is the last time Danalia will visit me. Our goddess of love and
war.
I knew I would have you. She told me before I even left for this
world.
I came here knowing I may never get to return home but you were
more important. Not only to me but to the whole of Bathaile and many other
worlds. She won't tell me why, she is not even sure, I don’t think. I knew if I
stayed in Bathaile you would not have been born and you are the catalyst to
something large my sweet girl. I can’t even fathom how you, my small little
bean pole who eats way too much popcorn could be a catalyst but yet here I
have goddesses coming to me in my dreams and in my visions telling me
exactly that.
There are two containment boxes waiting for you. I will help you
open them. I need you to open them and take out everything. You will need
everything in both of them.
 The armor I made, I found the gems and had them blessed by
Danalia, it was by her will that I did it. The engravings I did and the
tooling. It was made with lots of love and frustration. Haha! So take good
care of it little miss. It took me a long time and many blisters. I hope and
pray they serve you well for whatever the gods have in store for you.
I also had many sets of fae clothing made for you. I know you're
wondering how that's possible since I couldn't possibly know your sizes but,
I am a seer. I know all the things. All of this was made and put together
before I ever left Bathaile.
I know you are strong and together, when I can finally tell you these
things, to let you read these letters, we can figure out all that is to come. We
will stand together. We will fight anything that comes our way.
I love you sweet thing. –Mama
“She knew she may never make it home.” I stare at the shaking
letter. How deep does this go? I’m a catalyst? Why me? I get answers and
then I end up with more questions to replace the ones I just got answered.
I hope this is not the theme of my life.
I hand the letter to Kreed. He sits down on the bed and starts reading
it while I choose another letter. Should I go in order? Should I grab a
random one? There are about twenty of them. I search the dates to see if any
jump out to me. The next I grab is at random, it’s labeled March 2012
Dana,
You are giving me a run for my money. Who knew a ten year old
could be so witty. Do you know how hard it is to remain serious when you
are being a witty little shit? Even if it’s to my own detriment. I hope you
keep that fire. I think you will need it. No, I know you will.
I know life is getting hard with the ghosts. I don’t know how to help
you. I pray to the gods everyday hoping to have an answer. If I could get
back to Bathaile, I could find a priestess to bless you. Maybe, on Bathaile
the ghosts wouldn’t even bother you. I really do think it is because of this
plane of existence. I can only hope the portal straightens out. I have thought
about just hoping for the best and jumping in but I couldn’t do that to you.
What if we ended up on a hostile planet with no gateway back?
That’s the real problem, the Allway can take us anywhere but if that world
does not have a gateway on it there is no way home. You are stuck, forever
unless you can build one and have the magic to generate it. It takes
incredible skill to make one. Even small portals are finicky and those are
something you can cook up in a basement on a Friday night out of
boredom.
If I knew how to contain those specific abilities, I would. I know you
may be mad at me for this but we did, and I mean the goddess Danalia and
I, put a barrier on your magic. It’s just for now. It won't always be there. It’s
just so when your abilities do develop there won’t be the possibility of
humans seeing it. I will break it for you when you are twenty. When you
have had a chance to be a child. You won't get the chance to be a young
adult though. To party and make stupid mistakes that will embarrass you
for the rest of your life but this is how it has to be. As your mother I struggle
with the will of the gods. Should I have come here? Should I have put this
on your shoulders? Should I have stayed in Bathaile and let the cards fall
where they may? Never forget that I love you so much, I just don’t know if I
did the right thing anymore. It scares me, the unknown for your future.
What you may encounter. I don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want this
struggle but I also don’t want whatever horrors that lie in weight for our
worlds to unfold.
The goddess says you have many trials in your future.
But remember that the future is always changing.
I love you sweet thing, even your attitude.
Love, Momma
I sniff back some tears. It is so good to see her handwriting, I can
almost picture her actually sitting in front of me, saying these exact words
to me. I wipe my eyes and set the letter next to Kreed in case he wants to
read it. I contemplate another letter but do I want to continue? Should I
continue?
“I’m going to read one more and then I want to go to bed.” I look
over at Kreed who looks pensive. I can see his eyes tracing over the letter
again and again. Like he is going to find some kind of new information.
“Kreed?” He snaps out of his gaze to me.
“Yes? Sorry S’rella what did you say?”
“I’m going to choose one more letter then I want to go to bed. This
is too much. Especially that one.”
I sniff back tears. I knew this was going to go deeper than I wanted
but it is what it is. I have to make do and unravel the mystery of my life. I at
least have Kreed to help me. I feel I am going to need weapons training
immediately. I need to learn how to fight and hold my own. My mothers
letters seem so ominous and it’s setting me on edge.
“Okay. We can do that.” I nod my head and grab a letter at random
again. This one marked July 2017
Dana,
I won't be there for you sweet thing. I won’t be able to help you with
what you need to know. I won’t be there to teach you how to fight. The gods
still say I can’t tell you all the things I know. I can’t tell you that I will die.
I’m terrified Dana. Not about death. I know where I will go after my
soul has no need for this body. I’m terrified for your future. I’m terrified
about what the gods don’t know or what they aren’t telling me. There are
too many unknowns.
I tried to run.
I tried to run with you and I couldn’t even get far. Chandice saw it
and found me before I could even get you out the door.
She understood why I did it but she was mad at my lack of faith.
Dana, I don’t know what to do. How to help you. They say that everything
has to happen this way for a reason. What reasons could they have to not
give you the direction you need? Whether it is from me or the gods. Why
must we wait to train you on how to protect yourself?
The only thing that gives me comfort is that you will have three men
at your side. Three men to protect you after I am gone and if those three
men find you at the same time, your bindings will break and you will come
into your magic. Chandice tells me that it’s one of the many threads that
follow you but this one was the one thought to never come to fruition.
Strange weavings indeed. I can’t help but feel I am being lied to but I have
seen your mates. So I know they are real and true.
Your Noah is one of them. Don’t let him go. I knew in my soul he was
perfect for you. He protects you but he also lets you find your own ground.
He is soft with you yet knows when to push you. I have only ever seen that
devotion he gives you, in tethers at home.
You will be surrounded by love. It will not be easy Dana, they are
three very different men. From different worlds. Keep that in mind when you
want to strangle one of them. Keep your men close and make them work for
it. It is okay to be your own white knight like in those fairy tales I used to
read to you but it is also okay to lean on your soldiers.
I also saw Kreed. I know him. I know him pretty well too. He’s a
serious one. Nothing would make me happier than to watch my daughter
wrap that man around her finger. I wish I could be there to see it. Ask him
to train you. He is unparalleled with a sword. His hand to hand is also
something to see. I have seen him go against five other fighters in the ring
and come out victorious.
Then, I saw a man who rippled with shadows. Very handsome I must
say. I don’t know his name or where he is from, but I know he does not hail
from Earth or Bathaile. He also seemed very serious in my vision. More so
than Kreed and that is saying something.
I only got peeks of them, but I know two of them and I couldn’t be
happier for you. To know that you will always be protected and happy. I
have never really had a relationship so I cannot give you advice but I know
from what I saw with your grandparents was patience. Think before you
speak. I have seen my mom throw a knife or two at my father for things he’s
said.
I’m sorry my love. That I won’t be there for you. I can’t tell you how
sorry I am. I still wonder if it was the right thing to come here and put this
on your shoulders. I have to believe though, that this is for the greater
good. Even though now I won’t be there to help you. I have to have faith
because if I came this far and all it’s for nothing I will never move on even
after death.
Was it selfish of me? Do you hate me? I thought I would be alive to
fight at your side. I’m sorry. I am so sorry. I always thought I would be
HERE! That I would be here to train along with you. I am mad and so
devastated. I don’t know how I am going to handle this and not be able to
tell you.
Hold on to the ones you love Dana. Never let them go and go
forward with them. Listen with your heart and go with your gut.
I love you dearest daughter,
Love, mom
I finish the letter with tears dripping onto the lined paper. I handed
the paper to Kreed and burst into tears. Choking on my sobs. I fold into my
lap and scream, pulling the hair at my scalp. I scream from the depths of my
soul. The hatred I have for the gods is unfathomable. To give her little
choice in her life and then rip everything away from her. To not reach out
and help her survive whatever the fuck happened in car accident. How dare
they? How selfish can they be? Self-righteous assholes. Making me fight
for worlds and end wars when they could literally snap their forsaken
fingers and end it themselves.
They are useless.
I feel a tingling roll down my spine and I can hear Kreed talking to
me. Trying to shake me out of my torment. Without even thinking I stand
up and blast dark green smoke into the windows and walk out into the cool
air. Nothing is on my mind other than revenge and hatred for the gods. I can
hear Kreed running after me. I ignore him and continue on my warpath. My
feet don't even touch the ground even though they move as though I am
walking. I almost float across the grass. Lifted by the green smoke that
encases my body protectively. My magic billows around me violently. It
trails me in a wake of fury.
When I get far enough from Kreed's house. When I can’t take the
pressure pressing down on me anymore. I throw my head up to the skies
and scream. Sending a deadly eruption of green smokey magic spewing in
every direction. Smoke billows out in a shockwave scattering fallen leaves
and tearing the petals off every flower and leaving the trees bare. When I
can’t voice my hate, I fall to the ground. Vaguely aware of strong arms
surrounding me. Warm legs encase mine and I just cry. I cry for my life. I
cry for my mothers and I cry with hatred for the gods.
When there is nothing left to cry a sag against Kreed. Needing his
strength. We sit there for long moments. After a while Kreed speaks.
“Tell me what you S’rella. Anything.” He’s silent for a moment
waiting for my answer. “That was a lot of magic S’rella. I know you need
something. Tell me. I will make it happen.”
I take a few deep breaths, feeling the exhaustion deep into my
bones.
“Bed. That’s all I need right now. I need to sleep on this. I will sort
out my feelings tomorrow.” I smile at him and he gives me a concerned
look but decides to keep any further comments to himself.
“Okay. Do you–”
“Can I sleep with you?” I ask before he can finish whatever he is
going to say.
 “Of course.” He stands up with me tucked into his arms.
“Thank you.” I say before sleep takes over.

**********
I’m not awake. I know I’m not but I’m also not sleeping. In dreams
everything is hazy. This is not hazy, this is like being awake and aware.
I take in my surroundings. I’m in a small hunting cabin from what I
can tell. When I say small I mean there’s enough room for a small chair and
table, a small sink, stove and a small counter. There is a cot set up and a
sleeping bag on top of it. Some animal furs lay folded in a corner. A deer
head sits above the only door. It’s dark out from what I can see through the
window. I have no clue as to where I’m at.
Just as I start for the door it opens. A tall man covered in a large
jacket, scarf and a beanie. He shakes snow off himself. While holding
several logs. He looks up and we both audibly suck in a breath.
Noah drops the wood to the side. He rips off his beanie and tugs at
the scarf, nearly strangling himself in the process. His gloves are removed
next. He throws them to the side. He steps towards me, not a word has left
either of our mouths. He shakes off his coat letting it fall to the floor. He
takes a step closer and my arm swings back, I don’t pull the punch. I strike
him on his cheekbone. Noah grunts in pain as his head snaps back from the
impact.
“You!” I step forward, not giving him a moment to get himself
together. I shove a finger in his chest, “Selfish piece of shit! What the fuck
is wrong with you? You left me. You left me with men I did not know. You
told me you would never leave me. Yet you did Noah! You were all I had
left and you left me. Fuck, I let all those godsdamn feelings I held down for
years bubble back up in a matter of days and you got scared and left! You
fucking pussy! No, not a pussy, pussies are strong. You sir are a godsdamn
ball sack. You weak, saggy, ball-butter asshole!” I suck a breath in and
swing again. Hitting him in the same spot. Noah grunts in pain holding his
face. I shove my finger harder into his chest pushing him back. I hope it
bruises like his face.
Noah lets his head fall and I can hear him sniffle. Fuck, I can’t with
men and tears. It makes me weak. He falls to his knees in front of me, head
still bowed. “I’m sorry.” He chokes out as he starts to sob. How the hell am
I supposed to keep my anger when he’s crying? “I messed up so bad Dana. I
was selfish, so fucking selfish. I didn’t even try. I just tucked tail and ran. I
have no good excuse other than I'm a piece of shit. A selfish one at that.
God Dana, I wish you could feel how fucking sorry I am.” He lifts his head
to look at me. He moves forward and places his hands on my calves. He
rests his forehead on my stomach. He sobs harder, great heaving sobs of a
broken man. His hands slowly slide up my calves and up the outside of my
thighs, I can feel his hands shaking. He finally wraps his arms around my
waist. His head pressed tightly to my stomach. “I love you, Dana. I love
you so fucking much and there is nothing I regret more than leaving you.” I
lift my hands debating on placing them on his shoulders. I grunt in
frustration. My heart says yes but my brain wants to punch him again. I let
out a deep breath and put my hands on his shoulders.
“You hurt me Noah, broke me.” He fists my shirt, I can feel his tears
soaking through my shirt.
“Anything Dana, I will do anything to atone. Name it.” I can't help
myself, I run one hand up through his hair and another down the neck of his
shirt.
“I cried for a week. I called you a hundred times. I drove to your
house several times a day. I called your parents. I screamed. I yelled terrible
things to Kreed. Poor Kreed who did nothing but comfort me all week. I
yelled terrible things to Aavin before he had to leave. I blamed them for
your insecurities. I blamed them for your selfishness.” I sigh, “I need to sit.”
Noah stands up quickly and grabs the sole chair in the room, sliding it
behind me before laying a fur on it. He gestures for me to sit.
“Do you want some tea or a sweater? You have to be cold. How did
you get here? Why are you wearing only a shirt?” He spits rapid fire at me.
I sink into the chair.
“I don’t know Noah, I laid down and then I woke up here. I don’t
know if I’m really even here.” I say looking at my body. Noah drapes a
blanket over my legs and kneels down at my feet again. “I don’t know if
I’m going to wake up and disappear from here. Is this a dream?” I ask,
squinting at him.
He shakes his head, “No, I just went out to grab firewood. I haven't
gone to sleep yet.”
“Well, I’m going to use this time wisely then. Have you been home
yet?” He shakes his head again. “Well, I left you a letter and a novel of a
text. Kreed took me to Bathaile. Aavin changed the deed to the house, you
are on it now.”
“I–”
“Let me finish. I had the deed put in your name. The house is also
paid off. You can keep it or sell it, whatever you want. But, I found some
very interesting things out today. One of them is that you are my soul mate
and you are also a fucking idiot.” I say sharply. Noah falls back on his ass.
“I don’t know why you thought what we had was not real but you need to
think about what you want. I have two other soul mates. My mother saw it,
saw us happy. Whether you believe it or not, I am capable of loving more
than one person. Of caring for more than one. I can understand the jealousy
and that there will be bumps in the road but I will not be left behind again.
Ever. This last week has been awful. I don’t even have words for it.” My
eyes well with tears. I knock them away aggressively before they can get to
my cheek. I have cried enough over him. I have much more to think about
now.
“Anything. I will do anything for you. To be with you. In any way
you deem me worthy.” He says squeezing my thighs.
“I want to believe that, I just–”
I blink and I’m surrounded by darkness. I notice I’m also being
jostled.
“S’rella? Hey, are you okay?” I shoot up and rub my eyes.
“What the fuck was that?” I ask myself.
“What? What happened? You were talking in your sleep and
swinging punches.” Kreed says as he sits up and hovers over me.
“I was just with Noah, in a hunting cabin.” I scrunch my brows.
Remembering everything clearly like it was not a dream at all. “It was so
real. He was crying and apologizing. On his knees.” I look up at Kreed. “He
looked so broken.”
“Good.” Kreed nods decisively. “He could use some time to dwell
on his stupidity. Kredar.” Kreed lays back down with a huff and pulls the
sheets back up to his chest. I bark out a laugh at his nonchalant attitude
about my dream and how droll he is about Noah's mental state. I throw
Kreed’s arm up, smacking them into the headboard. Scooching myself into
his side.
“I think they are broken Dana.” He complains. Leave it to the bear
of a man to complain like a toddler.
 “Shh, this is my community service to get into heaven.” I run my
finger from the top of his head down his face, over his lips and to his chin.
Just to annoy him. I slide my leg over his waist and feel his hardening cock.
“Mmm, I didn’t even know I needed this but I want it now. I didn’t even
have to work hard for it.” Kreed's hands grab my waist and he pulls my hips
along the thick length of himself. A small moan crawls up my throat as I
pull my shirt over my head. I throw it to the side and grind down on Kreed.
I grab Kreed's hands and force them to my breasts. Showing him what I
want, squeezing roughly.
“S’rella…” He groans. “Are you sure? Because a lot of shit things
have come to light. You can use me however you want. I just don’t want
you to regret this.” His eyes roll into the back of his head as I grind down
harder on him and force his hands to squeeze my breasts harder.
“I could never regret you. I do want to use you, make me feel good.
Please.”
Kreed pulls his hands from mine and pulls his boxers off leaving
nothing between us. I grind down on him again and then crawl down his
body. I plant my hands on his thighs and lick up his cock from base to tip.
Kreeds thighs tense and a shuddering sigh falls from his lips.
“I thought I needed to make you forget?”
“Mmm, yes, so I’d like you to fuck my face.” Kreed chokes on his
next breath. Bold words coming from me who has never really done this. I
lift my face from licking his cock. “Knees.” I demand of him. I can’t see
him very well in the dark but I can feel his hesitation. “Now.” I demand
again. He complies and gets on his knees in front of me. I grab the base of
his cock and lick around his head. Sucking the head of his cock into my
mouth. He’s large. Quite large. I pull back for a moment. “I am going to be
honest I haven't really ever done this but I know I want you to tell me what
you want and I want to do it.” I pump him with my hand and rub my thumb
over the head. I sucked him into my mouth without waiting for direction. I
take him to the back of my throat and gag around him. His hands find my
hair and he pulls out and pushes himself back in. Forcing my mouth to
stretch around him. I groan around him when he pushes back, deep into my
throat. I force myself to swallow around him. Letting my only thoughts be
of Kreed and his pleasure.
“Put your tongue over your teeth Dana.” He says in a commanding
tone that makes me clench around nothing. I obey and work my hand in
tandem with my mouth up and down his shaft. He pumps in and out of my
mouth a few more times before he groans.
“I want to fuck you Dana.” Without any warning he rips me off his
cock. Pulling up to kiss me roughly. Shoving his tongue in my mouth,
tangling with mine. Kreed pushes me down, throwing me back into the bed.
He grunts as he grabs my thighs and flips me over onto my stomach. I
immediately presented my ass to him. Pushing my chest into the bed and
pulling my ass as far as I can up into the air for him.
“Aerdi.” He breathes. The lights in the walls brighten just enough to
see around ourselves. I can feel him press against my thighs. His cock
resting heavily over my ass. He pulls back and forth, making me whimper.
My breaths come heavily and quickly. Kreed's hands grip my hips and I
dare not speak. Something about the atmosphere tells me he wants silence. I
reach my hand under me and try to rub my clit. My efforts are thwarted
when I feel Kreed lean over me and growl angrily. He takes hold of both
my hands and pins them to my back with one of his. I gulp, feeling my
come drip down my thighs needing him to use me however he deems
worthy. I mew and rub my ass up against the length of him.
“Please.” I beg.
Kreed’s dark chuckle should probably scare me but I can’t be
bothered. Suddenly a harsh sting lands across my ass.
“Fuck!” I yell.
“Count them.”
“One.” I whimper.
Smack.
“Two.”
Smack.
He continues to spank me while writhe and count my spankings. The
spanks suddenly stop and I feel something wet slide down the crack of my
ass. Then his fingers circle my ass pressing in slightly. My fingers curl and I
groan loudly.
“You like that S’rella?”
“Yes.” I moan out. His hand leaves my ass and slides up my inner
thigh collecting all the come sliding down my thighs and then rubs those
fingers around my ass again, pushing into me again. “Please Kreed. Fuck
me. I can’t take this anymore. Use me however you want.” I back into him
as much as I can. He slides his cock under me. Rubbing himself back and
forth across my clit.
“Do you want this S’rella?” I nod. Unable to form words. Panting
with need. “ You need me to fuck all those thoughts from your pretty little
head? Hmm?”
“Yes!”
“Then I want to hear you scream.” He says as he slams into me. He
pistons in and out of me, making me scream just like he wanted. Sounds I
have never made before erupt from my throat. I can’t move, only able to
take what he gives me. Pleasure and pain with every thrust. He pistons
himself into my cervix with every push. I’m abruptly being flipped onto my
back and Kreed's warm body presses into mine. My leg is hooked over his
elbow as he continues his assault. My hands roam across his body. One
under his arm grabbing at the muscles of his back and the other over his
shoulder and into his hair, pulling it roughly. He growls and pushes me
deeper into the bed. I pull my other leg farther up his body and grab his ass,
pulling him into me. He slows down but presses himself deeper into me.
“Fuck, Kreed!” I yell. He grinds himself into my clit and my orgasm
crashes into me. My nails dig into his ass and my other hand pulls his hair
as my back bows. I blink tears from my eyes. The endorphins hurtled
through me. “On me Kreed. Wherever you want.” I pant. Hanging onto
consciousness by a thread.
“I want your mouth S’rella.” He drops my leg and crawls up my
body while he pumps himself roughly. I prop myself up on my elbows and
he shoves the head of his cock into my mouth while continuing to pump
himself pumping himself. I stare up at him. Watching his pleasure falls
across his face. His head tilts back and his groan sends shivers across my
body as the salty taste of him hits my tongue. I groan and suck on the head
of him. He falls back on to my thighs, panting heavily. I can see the sweat
glistening on his body.
Suddenly, tears start falling from my eyes. I wipe them away quickly
unsure of why they are happening again. Kreed takes notice and hops off
my legs. He pulls me up and cradles me.
“It’s not you, I promise. I don’t know why I’m crying. Maybe I just
had so much pleasure that my brain doesn’t know how to function now.”
Kreed scoffs and pulls us to lay down. He pushes me onto my stomach and
drags his fingers up and down my back. Leaving shivers in his wake. I can
feel him kissing my shoulders softly before sleep takes me over.

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 Chapter 20
Noah

I stare dumbly at the space Dana was occupying. Still sitting on my

ass. Confused as fuck.
What in the actual fuck is wrong with me? I am a selfish fucking
moron. She should have hit me again.
She left this planet to get away from the pain I caused. How many
people can say they were hurt so bad they left this planet, the world? This
universe.
There's a joke in there somewhere.
I jump up and start throwing my things into my bag. I clean the
dishes quickly and dry them. I put them away in a flurry. I fold up all the
blankets and straighten up the meager furniture in here. I make my way
outside and throw my bag in the cab of my truck and start the engine to
warm it up. I gather up the jacket, scarf and beanie I threw to the floor and
hang them up on the hooks behind the door. I sweep the floor, opening the
door and sweeping the dirt right back outside. I place the broom back in the
tiny closet behind the door. I pull the curtains and lock the windows. I hurry
back to my truck after I lock the door.
It’s snowing but it's not sticking and it’s just drifting down. I slowly
make my way down the mountain, making sure I get to Dana’s house in one
piece. The urgency to get to her though is overwhelming. I can’t die now
though, because I have an awful lot of groveling to do.
I spent the last week in this hunting cabin. Doing nothing but being
pathetic and hating myself. Half of me wanted to run back to Dana and the
other half was mad and jealous that I was not the only one.
I make it down the mountain without getting stuck in the mud holes
or falling off into the ravine. This was not my brightest idea to come down
at night but I need to get to her. I don’t know how I’m getting to her but I
have to try. I have to be ready. I need to talk to my parents. I need to pack
my clothes and whatever else I may need. I take the side roads to the
highway. The snow has dried up this far down the mountain but the roads
are splotched with wet spots from rain earlier. It’s not cold enough for ice
though. When I make it to the highway I feel a bit of stress leave my body. I
grip my wheel, a plan coming to mind.
It’s late when I make it to my dirt road. I pull up to the front of my
parents house. I see their bedroom light turn on as I turn off the engine and
step out of the truck. I walk up to the porch and my mother is waiting for
me already at the door. I walk up to her and give her a hug.
“What’s wrong baby?”
“We need to talk, mama.” I step away from my mom and see my
father standing behind her.
“Hey son. Come in, get warm. Do you want something to drink? Are
you okay?” I shake my head and step inside after mama. We head into our
living room and sit around in the chairs and couches.
“There’s a lot I need to tell you guys. I can tell you right now I am
not crazy. Please do not put me in a nuthouse.” Mama gets a real concerned
look to her face and Dad is just as confused.
“Shit–”
“Noah turner!” My mom scolds me.
“Sorry Mama. I just don't know how to start this whole insane
story.” I look at both of them and my father nods his head with raised brows
as if to say ‘hurry up, it’s too early’. “Dana is not human, her mother and
father aren't either…obviously.” I shake my head at myself. “I did
something terrible and she left…” I wince at the words. “To another world.”
“What did you do Noah–”
“Charlotte let the boy talk.” I look between my parents and they
haven't even batted an eye yet.
“I made a mistake that I need to atone for. She is my soulmate and I
left her. I left her with men she didn’t know. They claimed to be her mates.
Well, Kreed says tether and Aavin says soul bond. I was jealous and hurt
because–” I stare at my parents some more, other than my mother looking
like she may strangle me with no qualms, there's no other emotion. “Why
aren’t you guys laughing me back to my house or calling a psych ward?” I
look between them at a rapid pace.
 “You know my granddad and my grandma always had wild stories.”
My dad starts, “They always said this town was haunted but it wasn’t just
ghosts that passed through or stayed, shadows as he called them did too. He
said he had seen these shadow men, his dad before him said the same.” My
dad trails off. “Son, this farm has been here before this town was even a
town. This was the second farm here. The first one is no longer around,
went under years and years ago. This family has a history of housing the
shadow men and women. The journals your pappy left are chalk full of
stories about who was housed and when.” I shake my head in disbelief.
They are yankin my leg. They have to be.
“If that’s true how come you have never told me about this? Or
showed me this journal?”
Dad leaves the room and I’m left with Mama.
“Baby, we didn’t lie to you. They just haven't been around in
decades. We figured they were never coming back. There was nothing to
tell.” She sighs. “Maybe we should have told you just for the fun of it.” She
throws her hands up and then slaps them down into her lap. “The journals
are quite convincing honestly. I thought your father was trying to pull a fast
one on me. You know how gullible I am. My name is right there in the
dictionary next to ‘Gullible’.” She smiles at her joke, “Not a whole lot
surprises us after many years of seeing ufos out there. You have even seen
things that are not explainable. Reading that journal, I believe a lot more
than you would think. I also like to think we aren't the only ones in the
universe. If we were, that would be depressin’. It’s too lonely. Now, tell me
what is going to happen. Tell me how you plan to grovel at Dana’s feet
because I tell you son if she is hurt because of your stupidity I will bring
hell down on your head.”
I nod, understanding. I will bring hell down on my own head.
“I have to go to her house and go through the books we found in her
basement. Try to find how to get to her or maybe she will show up again
like tonight.”
“What?” My dad asks, walking back into the room.
“How? If she’s not here?” My mom asks at the same time.
“I think her abilities are changing.”
“What do you mean? How?” Concern coats their faces. They have
always been accepting of her ability. Never wary and they always ask her
about it or let her vent her frustrations about it. My mother and Dana have a
game of trying to figure out who some of the ghosts used to be. They have
had many nights staying up late coming up with stories about the dead. I
think it was my mothers way of soothing Dana, showing her that they are
indeed just ghosts. Though, lately, I am not so sure.
“I was at the hunting cabin, the one out in the middle of literal
nowhere,” I look up to my dad and he nods. That’s his thinking spot as well,
“and she was just standing there in the cabin in a long shirt when I walked
back in from getting wood. She looked like she just crawled out of bed and
looked just as confused as I’m sure I did. Dana said she went to bed and
then she was standing there in the cabin, not knowing how she got there.
She was there for only a short time but she greeted me with a mean right
hook. Two of them actually.” I run my fingers over my eye feeling the
tenderness.
“Good.” My dad nods decisively. “Next time don’t be an asshole,
son. I can’t believe you left her with men she didn’t even know. What the
fuck were you thinking!” My dad starts to raise his voice.
“Jed.” My mom says quietly. As if to pacify him.
“No, Charlotte, he left Dana with strangers. Male strangers. What
the fuck was he thinking?” My dad yells. My dad is the most relaxed
person. He hardly ever raises his voice. I was waiting for this to be honest
but I’m already feeling like the scum of the earth.
“I wasn't!” I jump up, raising my voice. “I was hurting. It felt like
my heart was being ripped out of my fucking chest! All I could think about
was getting away from the pain and knowing that I wasn’t it for her! I don’t
have the answers for her. I have never felt like such a failure in her eyes. I
have always been there for her and when her mother died I was the only one
there for her. I always had the answers and now I have fucked up! I was
selfish. So damn selfish.” I sigh heavily. “I fucked up so bad. I need to
make it up to her. I need to grovel or be her punching bag. I need to make
this up to her in any way I can.” I fell back into my seat. I hang my head
between my shoulders with my elbows on my knees. I hear someone
moving and then a journal pops into my field of vision. I look up and take it
from my dad.
“While you are trying to figure out how to get to Dana. You should
read this.” He takes a step back. “You may find some of the entries rather
enlightening. If I had known that the shadow people would come back after
all this time I would have told you everything I knew and gave you this
journal. I can tell you that the shadow people have been coming here for
many years. I think in the 1840’s, maybe the fifties, our government tried to
occupy their world. The Shades, that’s what they are called in the journal,
killed one of the men responsible. Maybe they killed more but I think only
one death is mentioned in this journal. After that happened, the shades came
regularly to keep an eye on things. To make sure we weren’t trying to
regroup and start over. You’ll find all the information that was given to my
grandfather and his father in this journal.”
“Why would they give us that information? And also, why did we
house them? How did that even come about?” I asked. “Why us?”
“Well, in the early 1870’s great, great grandpappy Otto ran into a
man at an old diner that used to be around here. At the time this was barely
a town, there was nowhere to stay unless you could stay at someone's
house. He was asking around for the nearest inn. Grandpappy overheard the
conversation and offered one of the ranch hand houses on the farm. The
shade always came back asking to stay. They created somewhat of a
friendship and the Shade told him all kinds of information. You would have
to look back in the journal though. I always forget the name. It starts with
an ‘A’ I think.”
“Aavin?” I ask.
My dad furrows his brow, looking at the ceiling, thinking. “I–” he
drops his gaze to me. “Yeah. How do–”
“That’s Dana’s soul bond. Her father is General Kanes from Aelore.
She is half Shade and half…whatever Bathaile is.” I shake my head at how
strange all of this is. “This is a hell of a full circle.” I stand up, ready to
pack my shit and get to Dana’s. “I need to pack some stuff. I’ll still come in
the mornings to do the morning chores and I can do whatever else you need.
Like usual. I’ll just go back to Dana's so maybe I can catch her or Aavin. I
will let you know if I can get to her.”
“Son, I want you to be happy but do you really think this is how to
go about it? What happens if you leave and we never see you again?” My
mother asks. “I want Dana back but I also want my son. I can’t just say
‘Okay! Bye!’. You are my only baby.” She looks at my father, looking for
backup. Her face drops when she realizes dad isn’t going to back her up.
“Char–” He starts
“No! This is my baby. I may be okay knowing about Dana not being
human, I may be okay with knowing there are other worlds and I may be
okay with her being bonded to two other men but Noah doesn't know what
the outcome will be if he leaves. What if he never comes back, Jed! I’m not
losing him. We lost so many Jed. I can’t lose Noah.” My mother starts
crying. My heart breaks for her. I knew she had many miscarriages trying to
have a baby. She will always carry those babies in her heart. She always
thinks about them and the what-if’s. I feel like an asshole but I know I have
to find Dana.
“I’ll come back mama. I’m not leaving for forever. I don’t know
what’s going to happen but maybe she will want to come back.” I say
walking over to her.
“And if she doesn’t?” Mama asks through her tears.
“That’s something we will have to figure out when that time comes.
I don’t have the answers but I would never just up and leave you Mama.” I
grab her hands and pull her up so I can hug her. “I’ll always come back but
this is something I have to do.” I say hoping she understands. She nods into
my shoulder. I feel my dad pat my shoulder and give it a squeeze.
“Alright Charlotte, let the poor boy go. You will see him tomorrow
morning. He’s got animals to feed and shit to shovel.” He says smirking at
me.
“Who’s gonna shovel shit when I’m off trying to earn my
forgiveness?”
“Your father.” Mom says matter of factly.
“I don’t think dad knows how to. He hasn't shoveled shit since he
put the shovel in my hands.”
My dad makes a sound of disbelief. “I’ll have you know I have
shoveled shit, I did it all week.” I gave him a look. “Alright I delegated that
task to Danny.” He says sheepishly.
“Mhmm. That’s what I thought.”
“Oh you boys. Always know how to lighten up a room.” Mom sniffs
her tears back and straightens up. “Alright baby, you go get packed and I
will see you bright and early. Stop in before you hit the barns. I’ll have
breakfast for you and some coffee.”
“Alright Mama. I’ll see you in the morning.” I give her another
squeeze and kiss her cheek. I give my dad a pat on the back. I start out the
door and my dad follows me to the truck. He’s quiet until we make it to the
truck.
 “Son, I am sorry for not telling you about the Shades but I really
thought we would never see them again. I also didn’t think this would
happen. This was not even a thought.” I nod.
“I’m not mad. Just surprised is all.”
“Be careful son. Please. Your mama would never recover. You’re
grown now and I know there isn’t anything I can say to change your mind
but be careful and you better tell us when you’re leaving. You better also let
us know when you get back. Otherwise, I’ll see you in the morning. The
shovel will be waiting.”
I laugh at his last comment. “Of course it will be. I will also be
careful and let you know everything that I know.” I give him a hug and hop
in the truck. I see him walk back up the porch and into the house. I turn
down the road to my little house.
When I walk in, everything is just how I left it. Not a thing out of
place. I walk back to my room and see Dana’s bag still on the floor and I
throw it on my bed. I’ll bring it with the rest of my things.
I have to fix this. I need to show her that I can be worthy of her, that
I wont just run off again. I won’t leave her alone. Not again.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 21
Dana

I wake up wrapped in warmth. A heavy arm wrapped around me.

The sheets lay at my waist. I turn around and even though I was not gentle
with my movements, he is still sleeping. I smile, I wish I could sleep like
that. A leaf could be blown across the lawn and I’ll wake up.
He is a sweet fae. Strong where it counts. At least for me he is.
Would it stay like this if Noah was around? Or would he become a caveman
again and try to keep me from him? Would he do the same with Aavin? Am
I ever going to actually see either of them again?
Seeing Noah last night was strange. If it wasn’t a dream, how the
hell was I there? He could touch me. I could feel it. I could feel the warmth
around my waist, I could feel the pressure of how hard he was holding me
but I still woke up in this bed. Next to Kreed. Is this part of my abilities? I
have to assume it is. A change in them. Maybe I could–
“Why are you thinking so hard this early in the morning S’rella?”
Kreed’s scratchy voice pulls me from my thoughts.
“Lot’s of things.” I say evasively. I don't want to start an argument
this early in the morning.
“Like?” He drags the word out. Well, I have never held back before.
Why would I start now? Might as well as get this all out.
“Like…seeing Noah last night. If I will ever see him or Aavin again.
If I did, would you act like a caveman? I’m also thinking I may need anger
management classes. If last night's event was anything to go by.”
Kreed takes a moment to think about it. “After reading your mothers
letters last night I think I would have to get along with them. They are yours
as much as I am yours and you are mine. I’m not going to say it will be easy
though. I will most definitely be cranky about it. I will, though, make an
effort for you, for Aavin. Noah, however, I’m going to have to, as you say
on Earth ‘fuck him up’ before I will consider being friendly.”
“Can you not? I know he fucked up, he knows he fucked up.
Besides, I don’t want him in a hospital for the foreseeable future when you
inevitably break his very handsome face.” I really don't want Noah more
broken than he already is. He already feels less than. I don’t want that
compounded with getting his ass beat by a giant of a fae.
“You don’t need anger management,” he starts, completely changing
the subject, “but I will say you are absolutely terrifying and there is a metric
ton of unstable magic coursing through your body. We have to train you.
Starting today.”
“Okay, that–that sounds like a really good plan.” I push my hair out
of my face. “But you will leave Noah alone. I will deal with it.”
“No.”
“Are you serious? Right now?” I say sitting up blankets forgotten. If
smoke could pour out my ears, it would be.
Actually, it probably could.
Kreed drops his eyes from mine and looks down. A salacious smile
crosses his face. I look down and my boobs are on display. He yanks me
toward him. We’re nose to nose.
“If you think I will forgive a man easily, for leaving his soulmate in
the hands of another man who could have been anyone and lying about
being your tether. You're mistaken S’rella.” I scoff at him.
“If you wanted–”He cuts me off. Now I don’t like being interrupted.
I should probably learn from this experience.
“Wanted to kill you. I would have the moment I found you. What if I
wanted to play the long game? What if I wanted to bring you here for
nefarious reasons?”
“And what nefarious reasons would that be Kreed?” I whisper across
his lips and he pulls me closer. Letting his lips graze mine.
“Mmm, S’rella many, many things. Maybe I’ll start right here.” He
moves in and sucks my bottom lip into his mouth and bites. I let out a
whimper as he let it go.
“You don’t play fair Kreed.”
“Why would I play fair?” He bites my chin and then moves to my
ear. He moves farther down my neck leaving bites as he goes. “You have no
idea the nefarious things I want to do to you Dana.” I let my head fall back
and grab around his neck as he pulls me into his lap and I let my legs fall to
his sides.
“I think I would like to know.” I grind down on his hard cock. I run
my fingers through hair and pull the strands, making him look up at me. I
kiss him roughly and he returns the bruising kiss.
We hear a loud pounding on a door. Fuck. I’m supposed to show the
soldiers where the shadows are.
Ugh.
“We are being summoned, Kreed.” He leans his head against mine
and softly chuckles.
“That we are. You get dressed and I will answer.” Kreed climbs out
of bed and heads straight for the door.
“Like that?” I ask incredulously. I mean, the man is stark naked
sporting a very large and stiff cock.
“At least they will know what they interrupted and I hope it makes
them feel bad for being on time.”
“Aren’t they supposed to be on time?”
“Not today.” He says as he walks his naked ass out the door. I smile
and start laughing. For such a serious man he does have his endearing and
hilarious moments. I shake my head and throw the covers off of me. I climb
out of bed and head towards my room to change.
I look at the leather pants on my bed. Should I wear these? Or my
normal clothes? Should I wear the armor my mother made? That would
probably be the smarter option. Right? I pull the armored pants and top
toward me. I turn and grab underwear out of my bag. I hear a knock.
“Who is it?” I yell.
“Kreed.”
“Come in.” I hear the door open and close.
“Gods.” He breathes out. I turn around completely naked. He is also
still naked.
“You haven’t put on clothes? Kreed!” He looks down at himself and
then to me.
“I will. But I think I need to dress you first?” He walks towards me,
his cock swelling as he takes me in.
“Kreed. We have things to do. Save those dirty thoughts for later and
put him away.” I say looking down at his stiff cock. “He’s distracting.”
Kreed gives me a smirk. “Now. How does fae fashion work? What do I
wear? Is this normal or is this more of fighting gear? Should I wear my
mothers armor?”
Kreed looked me up from head to toe. Lingering on my bare chest.
He clears his throat and shakes himself out of his stupor. I grin.
“Your armor would be best.” I look down at the armor while I bend
over to put my underwear on. Kreed steps up behind me and then hugs me
from behind.
“I feel like an imposter.” I whisper, feeling weird, like I am a girl
playing dress up.
“It’s not impersonating when it’s supposed to protect you here.” He
whispers in my ear, and places his hand on my upper thighs, “and here,” he
drags his hands up to my breasts, massaging them, “and here.” He runs
along the edge of my underwear and moves his fingers under them and
through my slit, finding my clit. I reach my hands up around his neck and
sag back into his chest.
“I don‘t remember metal plates on the crotch of my leathers, my
dear.” I moan ruining the sass I tried to summon.
“I like that,” he circles my clit faster, “‘my dear’ is that what you’ll
call me?” One of his hands grabbed my breast, massaging and pulling the
nipple.
“Maybe.” I roll my hips into his fingers when he dips inside me. “I
haven’t thought–fuck.” He adds another finger, slowly torturing me.
“Name.” Nothing makes sense coming out my mouth and I get closer to my
orgasm. Kreed suddenly spins me around and picks me up. Throwing my
legs around him. He backs me into a wall and then grabs under my ass,
pushing me up, up, up. Until my legs are resting on his shoulders, pushing
my underwear to the side and buries his face in my cunt. He presses his
fingers back inside me and ravages my clit. I grip his hair tightly. The fear
of falling and the pleasure he brings me clashing together in a symphony.
My moans become louder and louder.
I hope the guards are nowhere near my room.
Kreed pushes a third finger in me and sucks my clit into his mouth,
setting my orgasm off like a bomb. I pull at the strands of his hair and buck
my hips into his face. The stimulation becomes too much.
“Kreed! Fuck Kreed!” I yell. He pulls back slightly.
“Let them hear you scream.”
 “Dirty fuckin fae.” I say and yank his head back farther. To stare
down at him. “Put. Me. Down, my dear, before I blue ball you.” Kreed
chuckles and slowly lets me down. Kissing my body as I go. We stare at
each other for a moment. Getting lost in each other. Kreed sweeps a hand
past my ear and presses his lips to mine.
“You make it so easy S’rella.” He whispers and steps back abruptly.
“The men are here to look for the shadows you were talking about
yesterday. Can you give me a timeline of when you’ll be ready?”
The sexual deviant is suddenly gone and the military male returns.
I smirk at him. “Give me ten. I think but I have never put armor on
before.”
“I can help you if you want.” I nod and we get busy putting on the
armor. They slid over my legs and arms like butter. Fitting exactly perfectly.
When I have the armor on, the last thing is shoes. Kreed steps over to the
bed and grabs the pair of leather boots. He sits me on the bed and puts my
boots on for me.
Always the shoes with him.
“Okay.” He pulls me up and drinks me in, from head to toe. He
grunts and turns abruptly. Showing me his magnificent backside. His ass
was made by the gods. There’s an indent on the sides of his ass cheeks and
it’s perfectly round and biteable. I watched his ass all the way back to his
room. I hear murmurs from people sitting in the parlor before I walk
through his bedroom door. Dammit. I roll my eyes and suck it up. At least
they know I get it good I guess.
I sit on the bed while Kreed gets ready. I stare at the head board and
then down to the footboard.
I wonder how many women have tried to sit on this bed. How many
has he brought home? What’s his body count?
“Please tell me you are not thinking about how many women have
been in this bed S’rella.” I snap out of my thoughts.
“Nope.” I pop the ‘p’. Clearly I have been thinking about it.
“None have been in this bed. The bed would have zapped their
asses.” He stalks toward me. “And mine.” While I glare a hole into his face.
“I never brought a woman into this room.” He says pulling his shirt over his
head. “However, I have slept with other women. I have also dated. Not that
any of them worked out but I will not lie to you. If you want to know more I
will tell you. If not, this will be the last I will say.” He grabs my arms and
pulls me up like a rag doll. “I’d say don’t be mad but you have that look.”
“I knew you had to have had other women. I just hope they all had
bad manners and sucked in bed.” I state with a huff.
“You have no idea S’rella. You really do outshine them all.” I roll
my eyes at him.
“I better. Now, let's figure this shadow business out and then I want
to start training.”
“Yes. Let’s get this sorted.” Kreed grabs my hand and I follow along
out the door and into the parlor. I push the hair from my face and come face
to face with about twenty men and women standing around and sitting in
various couches and chairs. All of them dressed in black or gray leathers.
Some have swords at their hips. There is one fae that has a staff on his back.
Some have bows leaning against their legs. They all have their hair tied
back with braids or topknots. Some have the sides of their heads shaved
with a long braided mohawk down the back of their skull.
“This is Dana, she is the one that has seen the shadows. I can not see
what she is talking about but she is able to see things others can not. Dana
and I will lead. You guys will follow. I want to make sure this is not a
threat. If you notice anything out of place please speak up immediately.”
Everyone’s nods their assent and stands. “We will go through the back
doors where Dana saw them and go from there.” Kreed pulls me forward
and I nod and give smiles to the fae I pass. We pass through the doors with
the fae in trail. When we get onto the covered patio I look out into the
distance to make sure I can still see the dome. I catch one in my sight and
start walking toward it, letting go of Kreed's hand.
I see a shadow swoop over me and hear a screech. I look up and see
Greer swooping down around the soldiers and over Kreed's head.
“You little shit.” Kreed says. I turn back around and look off into the
distance. Giggling quietly to myself.
“I see a shadowed dome out that way,” I say pointing into the
distance, “maybe a football field or a little more out there. It’s not big. I
don't see anything else other than a few of those domes spread around. They
look like heat mirages but that usually looks like water on the roads with
steam drifting up. I see the steam part but the dome doesn’t make any
sense.” I turn around and jump a little when I notice they have all moved up
behind and beside me. “Uh, shall we?” I look at Kreed who is standing off
to the side watching me. He nods and I start walking out to the dome. Greer
flies with us, swooping down at unknowing heads. Screeching as she passes
an ear.
“She really is an asshole.” I comment to Kreed.
“I told you.”
“She must like me more because she hasn’t done it to me yet.”
Gloating isn’t a good trait but it suits me right now.
“Mmm.” Kreed grunts, annoyed I’m sure.
“What’s it like being traded in by Greer for a cuter, younger model,
Kreed?” I turned to the man who voiced the question. He has dark hair and
a boyish face. He carries a staff on his back and there are daggers stored in
his shirt sleeves.
Kreed raises a slow brow at him. “Did you just call my tether cute,
Ferrick?” Ferrick’s eyes go huge and look back at me. I suck my lips into
my mouth trying to hold in my laugh.
“I uh–sorry. I didn’t know. I swear I would never–”
“It’s fine. Ferrick? Is it?” I ask. Ferrick nods. “Kreed has no business
being jealous or possessive when I’m sure his body count is more than I am
old.” Kreed widens his eyes and his lips pursed.
“Body count?” Another asks.
“Yes, how many people he’s fucked.” I annunciate. “That’s how
some people phrase it on Earth.”
“S’rella.” Kreed says with some irritation.
“He does have a reputation.” One woman says. Kreed whips his
head over to her and glares. She ducks her head and moves away, her
shoulders shaking with mirth.
“With an ass like his, I don't doubt it but since my body count is
much, much lower he can keep his jealousy of other men thinking I’m ‘cute’
to himself.” I quip. I step over a log and look at Kreed again who looks like
he just ate a lemon. “Oh, Kreed, don’t be a sourpuss. I still like you. Very,
very much.” I say with a wink.
Kreed moves in closer to me. “If I didn’t know better you're trying
to rile me up.”
“Hmm.” Is all I say as we keep moving.
We’re almost there. The closer I get the more confused I am. It’s
literally just a shadow in the shape of a dome. When we get close I stop and
stare up at it, holding my hand up over my eyes. There’s no doors, or a
window, no opening of any sort. It is just a solid shadow dome. The ‘steam’
is an iridescent sheen covering the whole outside of it, moving and swaying
along the outside of it.
“Are we here?” I look over at Ferrick. I sigh; they can’t see it. I step
forward and reach my hand out and I’m suddenly yanked back. I whip my
head around and see Kreed and another soldier pulling their arms away
from me. The soldier looks guilty, Kreed just looks like an overbearing
asshat.
“Excuse me? Who else is going to touch it if they can’t see it?” I say
to Kreed, while flinging my arm out. Several hands go up. I look around.
“Dana, let one of us at least try to touch whatever it is you're seeing
first before you do.” The woman who commented on Kreed’s reputation
says. I quirk my lips to the side and nod.
“Okay. There is a big shadowy dome literally ten feet in front of us.
There are also a few more out that way,” I point to the left, “and that way.” I
point to the right. The fae who pulled me back steps forward, walking past
me and towards the dome. He continues forward. He turns around.
“Am I in it?”
“Yeah…” I draw out and walk toward him. I look at his face and see
streaks of gray spreading across his face. My eyes widen in horror and I run
forward and several things happen at once. I grab his arm and swing him
out stepping into the shadow as he stumbles to the ground outside the
shadow. Kreed is running towards me with fear and I start to feel electricity
tingle across my skin. “STOP!” I yell at him. “Please!” I start walking
towards the edge of the dome but I can’t get out. I look down with my
brows drawn. I push a boot against the edge and I can’t budge past the line.
I snap my head up to Kreed. “I can’t get out.” I whisper. “NO! Kreed.
Stop!” I yell at him again when he almost reaches the barrier. “We can
figure this out but you can not cross this boundary. He,” I point to the fae
who is now standing and very confused, “has veins of gray all over his face
now. I could see them crawling around his skin before I pulled him out.”
The man in question looks horrified and starts patting his face.
Another female grabs his chin and yanks his head around. Searching for the
streaks.
“I see nothing Pharoah, relax.” She looks back at me. “Are you lying
to us human?”
“Excuse me?” I raise a brow. Kreed steps in before I can say more.
 “Lyra, you need to stop. She has no reason to lie. She has seen all
kinds of things no one else can see. You comment again you will be put on
leave for the foreseeable future.” I laugh at that.
“Kreed, don’t fight my battles for me. She can spout whatever
bullshit she wants and if that bullshit is being a bitch, it’s fine, it just proves
to me all life forms are exactly the same.” I slid my eyes her way. “No
better than any human I have ever met.” Lyra looks at me with a glare and
steps back with the rest of the soldiers.
“Pharaoh, you have gray veins all along your neck and a bit over
your chin. They look blurred. What did you feel when you stepped in
here?” He shakes his head.
“Nothing. I feel fine too. I don’t understand.”
“I feel like electricity is running over my skin. Like thousands of
little shocks. I also can’t get past this fucking boundary.” I kick the line,
frustrated. I grunt in pain because it was like kicking a brick wall. I fall
back on my ass and grab my foot. I sit there in pain, holding my breath.
“Don’t, Kreed. I just stubbed my fucking toe. Let me cry about it and then
we can figure out how to get me out of this thing.” Kreed squats down so
he’s eye level with me.
“Okay. I can do that.”
“I better get the best sex of my life tonight because of this.” Several
chuckles sound out. “Also, I think it’s broken.” I lay back on the ground. “I
wanted to train today. To whoop someone's ass with that staff my mom
made me.”
“We will put Naomi’s gifts to use. I promise.” Murmurs spread
throughout the group, as I sit up the murmurs get louder.
“I knew you looked familiar. Your eyes.” says Pharoah.
“Naomi has a daughter?”
“Is Naomi back?”
All sound off at once. Yeah, I want to know why she’s not here too.
“Why hasn’t anyone announced she was back?” Asks Lyra, with an
irritated tone. Like I’m lying about her being my mother too.
“Because she’s dead.” I say flatly, glaring at Lyra. She has the good
sense to shut up and step back. That confession brings up more murmurings
and more questions. Questions I don’t want to answer right now. I look to
Kreed who looks just as frustrated and sad as I am. I quickly wiped away a
few tears. I am tired of crying. Seems to be a go to emotion these days.
 “Quiet. All of you. Naomi may be our princess but Naomi is her
mother. Have some respect. Now, we need to figure out how to get her out.
If you have an idea, say it. Otherwise, sit down and shut up.” I nod him my
thanks. “What about the thing you did to my chest? Can you get mad
enough to blast it?” I see a few confused looks.
“I don’t know. I can try. I don't even know what I did. You just
pissed me off.” I put my hands on the shield and tried to summon that same
dark green smoke. I furrow my brows in concentration.
“Kreed has a laundry list of women he slept with.” I snap my eyes
up to see who is talking. It’s Pharoah. I squint my eyes at him and then over
to Kreed who looks about ready to kill him. “The women he dated were
even worse. Nasty creatures. Jealous.” This is not helping. This is just
pissing me off. I shoot daggers at Kreed. I wish I could throw one at him
right now. It’s not like I didn’t think he had a million women before me but
I don’t need to know about it. I can feel a warmth coursing down my arms.
“He used to date this one girl. What was her name?” Pharaoh looks around
for someone to fill it in. He spots Kreed stalking towards him, shadow ax in
hand. Pharaoh's eyes widen and he starts to walk around evasively. “Lydia?
Lana? Lana, that’s it. She was a piece of work. Your worst ever.” He dodges
around some other soldiers. Meanwhile my blood is boiling. The warmth is
searing into my palms. I grunt softly, trying to force the magic out. “She
was so possessive. One wagon wheel short of a carriage. We all told him,
Dana. He never listened. She even threatened Lyra! Oh, Fuck!” Pharaoh
ducks and rolls away from Kreed’s swinging ax.
“And to think I called you friend you pompous ass!” Kreed yells,
swinging his ax again. He’s gonna kill him.
Suddenly, green smoke comes pouring out from my palms. It keeps
filling the dome, everything is turning to a deep green, fogging everything
up. The last thing I see is Kreed staring at me either in horror or surprise.
Maybe both. Then the whole dome filled with green smoke.
Let me out. Let me out. I chant to my inner self. Get me out of this
godsforsaken dome. I press harder into the dome. I hear a creaking, like old
doors, then it turns to a cracking. I can see my arms light up iridescent and
flow to my fingertips.
“Press your palms together Dana.” A male voice says.
“Fuck, okay. I can do that.” I pull my hands from the dome and
place my palms together. The light starts gathering into my palm and it
starts looking like a ball. What the hell do I do with this? “Okay…what
now? Oh, dubious voice?”
“Turn around and throw the energy at the dome. Throw it away from
your tether and your friends.”
“Alright. I wouldn’t say they were my friends but I’ll bite.”
Listening to a strange voice may be my lowest point yet. I turn around and
aim for the opposite side of the dome.
“Your lowest point will be dying of starvation in this dome if you
don’t listen.” The voice snaps back.
“Gods, you’re sassy.”
“Throw it, Dana.”
I pull the orb up over my head with both hands and force my arms
forward. Hurtling the orb into the dome. Bright iridescent light spiderwebs
along the dome. Spreading out and around the whole thing. Then the dome
just falls apart. Shatters and falls to the ground like glass. My smoke
dissipates now that it has somewhere to go. I turn around and look at the
ground. There are pieces of shadow laying in a circle like broken glass. I
jump over the shadows and search for Kreed. Before I can even make sense
of where everyone is, I get swept up in a pair of hulking arms.
“Thank Haydaire, you’re okay.”
“I’m fine. Do you see those?” I ask pointing at the ground. When I
do, Kreed practically drops me on my ass.
“What is this?” Kreed asks.
“I don’t know. This is new to me. I’m not a world hopper. That's
you.” I answer Kreed while soldiers are gathering around the circle
inspecting the shadow glass. Then it starts to disappear, until it’s nothing.
“What is life right now?” I sit down on the ground and cross my legs.
“Pharaoh, we need to tell the king and queen now. Grab a few
soldiers and head to their house.” Pharoah nods and grabs a few soldiers on
his way out of the circle.
I hear a screech and a flap of wings. I look up and see Greer gliding
down to me. She gently came to a stop on my knee. I stroke her head and
look up at Kreed who is in deep conversation with Lyra and another fae.
Greer gets my attention with a small screech. I continue petting her
head as she looks between Kreed and I. She squawks louder this time
gaining Kreed’s attention. Kreed looks at the other fae and tells them to
head back and brief the rest of the soldiers. They nod and walk off taking
everyone else with them.
“Are you okay Dana?” He asks while sitting next to me.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I place my palm on his cheek. “Really. A random
sassy male voice helped me.” I laugh. “I said my lowest point is listening to
a random voice and he told me and I quote ‘Your lowest point will be dying
of starvation in this dome if you don’t listen.’. He was like a mean big
brother. I can’t be too mad though, he helped me.”
“Yes…” Kreed chewed his lip for a moment. “But, the energy orb is
not something we can do. That is a god of light gift. Haydaire. Is that who
was talking to you?” I stop petting Greer who lets out a squeak of protest.
“I don’t know. He didn’t say. ” Nope, no more bombs. This is not a
gift from the gods.
“Okay, it’s just a thought but be prepared. Between the green mist
and the energy orb there will be talk. Just, try to ignore it for now until we
figure out what is going on. We do however need to get you to a seer.
Maybe they can get a read on your powers so we can work on them. We
also need to start on your weapons training. We also need to figure out this
voice. Are you sure you heard one? Maybe it was a stress hallucination?”
“I didn’t know you were down to get neutered this early in the
morning, Darling.” I hold my arm out for Greer which she accepts. Kreed
stands up and pulls me up with him. Greer flaps her wings, trying to keep
balance when I am nearly flung into Kreed with the force of his pull.
Greer gets her balance and squawks at Kreed.
“You’re a traitor.” He points at Greer and I can see her squint her
eyes at him. Like she’s glaring. “And you S’rella, are venomous.” He says
with a wicked smile.
“I’m starting to think you like it when I argue with you.”
“You have no idea.”
I laugh and shake my head. This male is a dream.
“So, question…does Greer understand us?”
“I think she does. If she could tell me to fuck off, she would. I think
she just does it without words. Like when she tried to detach my head
yesterday.” At the mention of yesterday her feathers puff out. Like she is
proud of herself. We started the walk back to his house.
“I know you said she’s a hawk but is that really what she’s called
here?”
 “No, but close. She a Hakken.” I look at him incredulously. He
glances at me when I say nothing and takes in my look. “Look, I don’t
make the rules.” He grins at me. “I think it sounds similar because our
worlds run parallel to each other, things are going to leak through. There are
a lot of similarities to our worlds. The animals are all the same but they
have slight variations.” I think back to the rabbit and the squirrel.
“I see what you're saying. Like the rabbit but he had antlers.” He
nods.
“When I got to Earth I was blown away by how green it was. It’s
beautiful. I’m used to blue. Blue everywhere. I even liked the concrete
cities. Well, most of it. There’s a lot of areas where humans seem to not care
what it looks like. Some do not take pride in their homes or business’. I
loved the old towns though. Like Plains. Where you could see the history.
We are slow to change here. Probably because we live for so long and
humans shove as much as they can in their short lives. We linger. I know
with the next generation there will be change. Just like there was change
with mine.”
“That is true, there are some beautiful places on Earth. Maybe it just
looks so magical here because I am used to the green and the cities.” I sigh
as we near his back yard. “What do you think about the orb I created? Do
you really think it’s a gift from the gods?” Greer moves up to my shoulder.
Thank the gods cause she is heavy.
“It looks like it to me and the smoke is strange too. Though, I have
no idea what that is. Maybe that is something from your fathers side. We
will have to ask Aavin when he gets here.” We step onto the grass and look
at some of the soldiers who stayed behind. Probably waiting for their next
orders.
“So, what will we do now?” I look over to a young looking fae. “I
assume we need to take down the rest of whatever these domes are? When
shall we do that?” She looks between Kreed and me.
“I think you all should head back to the training grounds like usual
for now. I will have to talk with Furden to see how he would like to go
about this. Since Dana is the only one who can see them and apparently,” he
turns to me for a moment, “break them.”
“Yeah…” I drag out, feeling awkward and out of place. I hold my
hands in front of myself. I rock back and forth on my heels. I hate when all
eyes are on me. It usually ended in ridicule or future ridicule. What should I
say? Thankfully Kreed keeps talking.
“After I have spoken with Furden, we will make a plan. We will
keep not just you but the whole force updated. You’re free to go.” He nods
and everyone takes their leave.
“Training grounds?”
“Yes.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 22
Dana

“Shouldn’t we grab the weapons?” I ask as I follow Kreed to the

training grounds. Greer takes off as well bored with us I assume.
“No, we have practice weapons. Ones that will not hurt as bad when
you get whacked.” He leads me down the backside of his house and I see a
giant circle of dirt with a fence wrapped around it. Looks like a horse corral
more than anything. There are indeed weapon racks everywhere. How many
weapons does a man need? Also, can’t he summon his weapons?
“I have seen you with axes and materialize a set of swords, why do
you need all these weapons?”
“I can summon any weapon but they are sharp. I can’t dull them
down.”
“Why? If your magic is materializing them couldn’t you change the
sharpness? The color? Literally everything about them?”
“I–huh,” he stares at the training grounds looking bewildered at the
thought. Then he looks down at his hands. “I guess I could. I never thought
about it before. I’d have to work on it because the weapons I summon now
are like a reflex. I just think about them and then they are in hand.”
“That is pretty nifty. Is that something all fae can do?” We walk in
through the gate.
“No, that is why there are so many weapons here and the need for
blunted weapons. We hold training here or sometimes,” he looks back at me
with a smirk, “sometimes we hold fights. Bets are allowed of course.”
“Are we allowed to talk about fight club?” I whisper
conspiratorially.
“Yes.” I shake my head and laugh, that went over his head.
“You did not buff up on movies did you?”
 “No, I mean, I did watch some but not much. I spent most of my
time tracking Naomi down and staying in libraries.” We walk up the
weapon racks. “So, to start with training we will work on balance first.
Then one weapon at a time. We have to also throw in hand to hand combat.
The balance work is going to seem boring but it is crucial. You also need to
eat.”
Here we go.
“I do eat! Gods, why are all the men in my life up my ass about how
much I eat?!”
“It’s probably because you eat less than most offspring and you are a
grown woman. How you have such large breasts is a mystery to all.” He
sucks his lips into his mouth. He likes to do that when he is trying not to
laugh. The audacity of this man. I mean fae. I don’t pull my punch. He can
take it.
“For the love of Danalia!” He hisses. Rubbing his chest. “That
actually hurt.” I ‘humph’ at him.
“I know if I’m going to be training I will need to eat more. I just
always forget. Or I get distracted. For the titty comment you don't get to
touch them until I say you can.”
He raises a brow and moves closer to me, taking up all my space. He
dips his head down, closing in on my lips. He pauses, turning his head to
my ear, “I think I can get you to change your mind.” He nips my lobe
making me shiver. He pulls back abruptly, “Now, we stretch.” I blink at
him. How does he do that? How can he just change face so fast? I’m still
over here breathing heavily just thinking about all the ways he could get me
to change my mind.
I begrudgingly follow him farther into the ring. We go through
stretches. Every stretch I failed to touch my toes with more than the very tip
of my middle finger. We learned my hips were exceedingly tight and he
came up with all kinds of fun ways to stretch them that made me feel hot
and bothered.
“We need to see where you're at with your balance. Let's get you a
weapon and run through basic moves. You need a solid base to build on.” I
nod and follow him to the weapons rack. “I want you to choose a weapon.
Something you can whack someone with.” I nod and look at the hundred
different options.
 “What did my mother fight with?” I run my hands over the daggers
and the different swords.
“She really liked daggers and the staff. She was very good at it too.
Did a lot of the training with the new soldiers.” He grabbed the staff and
held it out to me. It’s a light colored wood, light in weight too. I can see
dents and dings all over it. I give it a test swing and jab it out. “Now, I’m
not great at the staff but I will show you the basic moves. If you find it’s
something you would like to get better at I will have Ferrick or Pharoah
teach you.”
“We have to make sure he is okay. I need to see if he still has those
veins on him.” Kreed nods.
“I’ll have Greer take him a letter to meet us here when he has a
chance. But for now,” he picks up a staff. “Let’s start.”
Kreed wasn’t kidding. We have been at this for hours and I am
exhausted. I push through though. Something about the feeling of my
muscles burning makes me feel invigorated. Tired but invigorated. Also, I
am very hungry. The sun is starting to fall in the sky which tells me it's
definitely lunch time.
“I need food.” I say state. Planting both my feet in the dirt, leaning
onto my staff. “Water too.” I have so much sweat down my back it’s unreal.
“Also, a shower.” Kreed walks up and grabs my staff and places mine and
his back on the rack. He turns back to me and holds his hand out.
“Come, S’rella. Let's get some food and a shower.” We walk hand in
hand back into the house and straight to the kitchen. “Sit.” He nods to a
couple of stools on one side of the gigantic island. I pull a stool out and
Kreed gets us both a glass of water. He places one in front of me. “What
would you like to eat? I can make a sandwich or I can make some eggs.
There may be some sausages or…bacon. It’s from a pig-like animal here.”
“Way to sell it.” I laugh. “A sandwich will be fine. We can do
something more exciting for dinner.” He nods and turns to his fridge. He
grabs sliced meat and some condiments.
“Picky?” I shake my head.
“Make it however you would.” I sit back and sip my water and
watch him make the sandwiches. “So tell me about the last war.” Kreed
pauses for a moment and looks over to me. He looks back down at the
sandwiches.
 “The last war was about fifty years ago. Your mother fought with me
and my company. The Dreggars are a foul creature. They look like those
creatures from your Lord of the Rings movies. They don’t live by a code
and they definitely don’t fight fair. They are however highly intelligent
contrary to that movie. They came here claiming to want trade. Their
government sent many of their kind over. Over the course of a year or so.
We all knew they were planning something. They just have this horrid aura
to them. We kept them at a distance but still negotiated trades, as to keep an
eye on them.
We were trying to figure out their motive. They said they found us
by accident. I found that hard to believe. I still do. It’s not easy to just
accidentally land on an occupied world. It also seemed like they knew about
us. The way they talked and seemingly knew their way around.” Kreed
hands me my sandwich and I take a bite out of it immediately.
“Anyways, we woke up one morning to warning bells sounding
from everywhere, birds were dropping letters on us. Pecking me and my
men awake. We sounded the alarm and got everyone moving. The ones who
could fly went to the farthest villages and those on foot ran to the closest.
We found hundreds of the Dreggars pulling women and children out of their
homes. Men took up any weapon they could find; hoes, kitchen knives,
brooms. Some have the ability to materialize weapons like me. Not many
though.
We won, but barely. Bathaile decided she had enough blood being
spilt on her and she took the reins and swallowed the Dreggars up. Their
weapons had been tainted with something that halted our healing. Many of
the Fae died. Many more were in hospitals for months.” He takes a few
moments to scarf his sandwich down. He swipes the crumbs into his hand
and tosses them into the trash under the sink.
“We took many prisoners, trying to figure out their reasons and what
they used to stop our healing. Nothing much came of it. They just said it
was ‘the beginning’ and refused to tell us anything. Eventually they were
killed.” Kreed leans against the counter crossing his arms facing me.
“Did you ever figure out what they meant by ‘the beginning’? Did
something else happen?”
“No. We haven't heard from them since. It’s been fifty years of
peace. No one has ‘dropped’ onto our lands. All the islands have pulled
together to make sure nothing goes unnoticed. Which is why I’m sure
Furden has informed the other islands and countries about the domes.” I
nod finishing up my sandwich. I gather my thoughts for a moment.
“Do you think the Dreggars are what is behind the domes? Or
something else?”
“Something else. The Dreggars made no show of magical abilities.
They had weapons and excellent fighters. Made even better by whatever the
hell it was that stopped our healing. No, this is something new. I wonder if
we will see who is behind the domes since you broke one. They may be
signaled and they may come check it out.” His eyes shoot to mine quickly
and pushes off the counter, stalking out of the kitchen. I jumped off the
stool to catch up with him. He heads straight for his office. He shoves the
door open and pulls out a sheet of paper.
“Whistle for Greer would you S’rella.” He points to the window. I
rush over and open it up. Kreed scribbles on the paper while I whistle for
Greer. She must have been close because in seconds she was diving into the
window. I quickly shuffled to the side letting her through. I walk over to the
desk trying to see what Kreed is writing. Before I can he rolls it up and
summons Greer closer. She holds her little clawed foot out to him and
allows him to clip the metal tube to her leg.
“Quickly Greer to Furden.” Greer shoots out of the window like a
rocket. “You stay here. Do not come out of this house until–”
“Excuse me?”
“I have to go watch where you took the dome down. I have to leave
now. I asked for Ferrick to stay with you.” He kisses the top of my head. I
nod in understanding.
“I’ll stay.” It’s not like I would be helpful. I can’t fight if it comes
down to it. I can only see things others can not. Kreed rushes out the door. I
wander to the window and look around. The sun is low in the sky and
slowly sinking towards the horizon. I watch the birds flit around and find
their way home.
I can’t just sit here. I need to do something. Literally anything. The
windows. I can watch from the windows from the hall. I can see if there is
anything unusual. With my mind made up I stalk down the hall and look at
the carvings. They are beautiful. It’s a depiction of a meadow and some
animals and lots of flowers. Fairies bathing in a small pond.
I try to lift the panel but it’s ungodly heavy. I try several times more
but I can barely budge it. Not wanting to break or damage it I decide to see
if I can watch from my room. I push the door open and grab a chair. I pull it
as far back and close to the windows. I look out and I can see a bit of the
area we were in but it would be a much better vantage point from the
hallway.
I sat there for a while watching intently. So intently I don’t notice
someone has entered the house until they are in my room. I scream when
someone makes their presence known.
“Fuckin a’ cotton!” I scream and jump up and swing my fist. I
connect with a face.
“Gods damn woman!” Ferrick holds his chin.
“Oh shit, Ferrick. I’m sorry. You scared the shit out of me and I’m
on edge.”
“At least we know you have a mean right hook.”
“Yes, I do. Don’t sneak on me, man. It’s dangerous for your health.”
“I’ll definitely keep that in mind.” He rubs his jaw some more.
Dramatic.
“Since you're here I need you to pull those carvings down so I can
see what's going on. Kreed doesn’t want me down there which I understand.
I’m useless in a fight but I can’t just sit around. That hallway has the perfect
vantage point and I can maybe see if there is something you guys can’t.”
“Okay. Let's pull them down.” I walk out the door and turn the
corner. I grab one side of the first panel. I wait for Ferrick but he just grabs
both sides and heaves it off the hook. He sets down behind him against the
wall. Then grabs the rest leaving me standing there…useless. He removed
them all with ease. When he’s done he looks out the window to see if he can
see anything. I stand next to him and look out. I can’t see Kreed. He may be
a speck or he’s laying in wait but what I’m really after is if I can see any
shadows or ghosts or whatever the hell else. I run and grab my little wooden
chair. I plop it down in the hallway and sit. Ferrick stands, watching too. We
don’t say anything to each other for a while.
“So, you come from Earth. What’s it like?”
“It’s beautiful but filled with shitty people.” I say, keeping my eye
outside. “I mean, I’m sure it’s not as a whole but the town I grew up in is
filled with judgmental people. I was ostracized for being able to see things
others couldn’t. I was either blamed for lying for attention or I was a Satan
worshiper.” I let out a wry chuckle. “Noah was the only one other than my
mother who loved me for who I was. I’m glad I had them while I did. They
will never know the depth of the love I hold for them. Just for
understanding me.” My voice cracks and I try to clear the lump in my
throat.
“Your mother was something else. That woman did not have a
mean bone in her body but could put a man on his ass easily. She always
gave kindness but she had a firm hand on those who needed it. Which was
always us young whippersnappers.” He chuckles. “She taught me how to
throw daggers and how to whoop someone's ass with a staff. I have missed
her.” He says wistfully. I can hear the love he has for her. Makes me wonder
how much love there is for her. He looks young and boyish but that says
nothing about his actual age. The conversation lulls as I think about my
mother as I keep my lookout.
“Can we get closer? I can’t really see anything. Especially since it’s
getting dark.”
“He will kill me and not in the metaphorical way. Like, maim me.
Murder.”
I shrug my shoulders. “Okay.” I get up and walk through the parlor
to the living room. I get to the glass doors before Ferrick comes running.
“Dana. No.” I turn around and glare at him.
“Did you just ‘no’ me like a dog?”
“A dog?”
“A house pet. An animal you keep in your house and feed it, love it
and take care of it. A dog.” I growl at him. “Do not make the mistake that
you can order me about. I will go and get a closer look because I do not
want anything to happen to Kreed or anyone else down there.” I turn around
and open the door and start across the patio.
“I’m sorry Dana. I didn’t mean to order you. Well, I did but not like
a dog. More like a soldier. I just don’t want to die, you know? There’s so
many foods I haven’t tried. Many women I haven’t bedded.” I roll my eyes
and keep stomping towards Kreed. “You have to understand that right?!”
He yells as he speed walks to keep up with my fast pace. I get to the log I
had to hurdle earlier and crouch down behind it. I peer out and find this is a
much better spot. I pull Ferrick down beside me.
“Shh.” Is all I say and keep my eyes out towards the broken dome.
Not there is any evidence of it now. We sit in silence for a while, the sun sits
right above the horizon. I scan the area. I can see the other two domes on
either side of the one I broke. I keep my eyes peeled when I see something
moving across the field. I squint my eyes. Maybe it’s Kreed or another fae?
“Can you see that?” I point out, towards the figure. From here I
can’t really tell if it’s shadow or fae. “Looks like someone is walking from
the dome on the left, towards the one I broke.” I see him squint out there.
He shakes his head.
“Shit, we have to tell them.” I get up and Ferrick grips my
shoulder, shoving me back down. I’m about to give him a piece of my mind
when he gets up and runs. When I say run, he is a blur. I barely even see
him. I see him slow down and drop to the ground next to Kreed. I wait, my
hands tapping my thighs as I stare out for any other shadows. I see none but
the shadow gets closer and closer. I lose my calm and start making my way
to Ferrick and Kreed, keeping low to the ground. He looks at me surprised
and then slowly turns back to Ferrick with a glare.
“You brought my tether out here? What the fuck is wrong with
you?” He whisper yells. Flinging his hand out towards me.
“Oh, please, Kreed. Stuff it. I came out here on my own. I didn’t
give him much of a choice. It was either follow me or leave me alone. He
chose life.” I scoot in closer. “There is a man walking this way. Can you see
him?” I point out at the man who is coming closer and closer.
“No.” They both say in unison. Damn, this is going to be hard.
“He’s gray, all gray. He looks fuzzy. Around the edges. Not fur but
like he isn’t contained in a certain shape. His face is hard to see right now
but it looks like it’s blank right now. He is just staring ahead. He’s not even
trying to be stealthy.”
“He must think he can’t be seen by anyone.” Ferrick says. Kreed
grunts in agreement.
I start to shift around Ferrick to move closer to the broken dome.
There isn’t anything to hide behind but since he isn’t paying attention to
what's going on around him maybe he won't notice me. Before I can move
past Ferrick, I’m being pulled backwards. I grunt when my back meets the
ground. Kreed's very angry face fills my field of vision.
“What in the gods' names do you think you're doing S’rella? Are
you looking to be punished?” I think about that for a hard minute. What
kind of punishment? A spanking? Is he gonna deny me? I shake my head
and remember why I’m on my back.
 “I was getting a closer look at the guy you twatwaffle. Why are you
manhandling me?” I hear Ferrick whisper ‘twatwaffle’ questioningly.
“No. This is fine from here.”
“Then how do you expect to see what this guy looks like from here,
when you can’t even see him. I’m trying to help. Give you a fuckin police
sketch. Godsdamn.” Kreed doesn’t look happy at all with my attempt at
help.
“And what happens when it sees you?” I sit up and look for the
shadow. I don’t have to look far. Because he’s about ten feet in front of me.
Staring down at me. A face like TV static. Darker areas show what may be
eyes and a mouth. I stiffen and crawl slowly back.
“Move. Back. Now.” I say and crawl backwards on my hands and
feet as the shadow walks closer. It bends down and walks towards me on its
feet and hands. Fear and curiosity have rendered me immobile. I look over
at Kreed and Ferrick who are looking around very confused. Not seeing this
freaking static man. I look back at the static man and it tilts its head, far to
its left. I can feel a warmth crawling down my forearms. Heat burns into my
palms. I quickly look down at my hands and back up. The static man is
right in my face. Inches from my nose. My heart comes to a stop and I
choke on my next breath. The gaping black static mouth opens wider and
the same low, moaning scream falls from its throat. One part of my brain
said “run”. The other said “catch it”. I shifted myself back out of its reach
quickly and I threw my palms towards it when it tried to reach its hands
after me. My green smoke wrapped around it, pulling it off the ground and
away from me. I pictured the smoke wrapping it up like a burrito arm and
legs pinned. I see Kreed and Ferrick stand up on either side of me. Kreed
hooks an arm under my arm and helps me up while I hold the static man.
“What in the abyss is that?” Ferric says. The static man is yelling,
drawing the attention of fae I didn’t even know that were out here. The
soldiers stand behind us watching whatever I’m holding.
“You can see him now?”
“No but I can see your magic is latched onto something.”
I’m about to tell him ‘I don’t know’ when the creature's face falls
slack.
“Use your light energy Dana. Bring him into this realm. Make the
light show you the truth.” That voice from earlier whispers.
“I don’t know how to do that.”
 “What?” Kreed asks.
I shake my head at him. “The voice.”
“Feel for it, you need to do it fast. Magic is about intent.”
“No pressure.” I think about what I want. I want the light to show
me the truth, I want to know what this creature actually looks like. I want to
know why it’s following me. That scream doesn’t happen twice by
coincidence. Light sparking with like flares of sunlight piercing through
crystal wraps down my forearms, twisting around the green smoke. When
the light reaches the static man he screams. A blood curdling scream. Then
his features shift. His body becomes more rigid. His facial features become
more apparent. Lyra walks up beside me and pulls out some chains.
“When he’s done…” She trails off trying to find a word.
“Becoming a real boy?” Kreed offers. I bark out a laugh despite the
serious nature of this moment.
“Yes,” She side eyes Kreed, “can you lower him so I can restrain
him.”
“Yes. I think. I mean, I just found out I had these abilities a few
days ago. So bare with me.”
“I’ll stand ready.” She walks a step forward ready to cuff this man
or whatever he is. I look back up at the man and he looks like a solid
person. I talk to my magic. Willing it to bring the man down to the ground.
It does, just swiftly, causing the man to hit the ground roughly. He lets out a
groan. Lyra looks at me and I give her my ‘I tried’ smile. She crouches
down by the man waiting to tie him up with the help of several other fae. I
funnel my magic back into me and dissipate the smoke.
The man looks odd. Like he’s too symmetrical. Too perfect? His
skin looks tight across his face. It looks literally poreless. His eyes are a
solid black. No whites or anything but it’s hard to tell with the sun sunk
behind the horizon. He’s tall, well built and he is mean muggin’ the shit out
of me right now.
“You will perish, Dana. I knew I had to do this myself.” Lyra kicks
his knees out forcing him to the ground.
I look at Kreed not knowing what to say or do. I just stand there
dumbly.
What is life?

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 23
Dana

Kreed takes me into the house while everyone else takes the man to
the cells under the main building they hold court and such. Kreed leads me
to his room and into his bathroom. He stands behind me, wrapping me in
his steady warmth and security.
“Perish.” I whisper to myself but Kreed hears it.
“No. You have three tethers, we will not let that happen. I will be
bringing them both here. Immediately.” When I start to protest. “We were
given to you for a reason. We all bring something to the table. There has to
be a reason Chandie granted your mother that knowledge. Tonight I will
take care of you and tomorrow we grab your soulmate and soul bond.” He
kisses my neck while he loosens the ties and buttons that line the spine of
my top. He pulls the sleeves down my arms and places the leather on the
counter. He moves his hands up and down my arms, then he reaches in front
of me to untie my pants. He unties my boots, pulling them off, along with
my pants.
“I will keep you safe. We will keep you safe. From every villainous
creature out there.” He pulls me toward the shower. He steps inside to turn
it on. Walking back out of the shower Kreed pulls his shirt over his head,
tossing it to the side. He undoes his pants while he stares at me. A look that
tells me he is going to devour my soul. I think that is exactly what I want.
He was definitely made for me. I can see that. I won’t let him go now. He
has proven to me that he can handle me at my lowest, he can handle my
petty nature and he can make me feel cherished. The banter between us is
everything to me. I love the fight he gives me. I love how he knows my
body and in such a short time.
Kreed pulls me from my thoughts when he grabs my hand and pulls
me into the shower. The hot water is an instant relief to everything. My
aches from learning to wield a staff, to the sweat clinging to my body and to
the man who told me I will be dying.
“What are you thinking?” Kreed asks as he rubs a soap bar between
his hands. He motions for me to turn around. I obey and turn to stare at the
wall. He runs his finger through my hair scraping his nails along my scalp.
Sending shivers down my back.
“I’m thinking I feel like I have been given a life raft to endure a one
hundred year storm in the middle of the North Sea. I feel like my mother
should have told me so many things a long time ago. I feel like the gods,” I
spit, “should have told me something. Prepared me. I don't know how to
fight. I don’t know how to use my magic. I am twenty fucking one for gods
sakes. A woman who thought she was human up until a week ago. What the
fresh hell were the gods thinking? Am I destined to save lives or am I
destined to die?” Kreed turns me around and rinses my hair for me.
“I have to believe the gods did not let me find my tether so late in
life just to take her from me.” He reaches over to grab another soap and
runs the bar through my hair and speaks again. “I think you, Dana Oriden,
are meant for great things. Things that none of us can even comprehend. I
do not know why they chose a twenty one year old woman but from where I
am standing you are more than you appear to be.” He puts the bar back and
grabs another to run along my body. “You are just like your mother. I can
say that with one hundred percent certainty. Even if I have only been around
you for a week. You are strong willed just like her. You do what you want,
you don’t let anyone walk all over you. You guard your heart but you have
love to give. You care for people you don’t even know. We could have all
been hurt earlier but you listened to your gut. Ignoring my caveman
tendencies.” He squats down to run the soap along my legs. “You make it
very easy to fall in love with you. With every action.” He kisses the top of
my foot and moves up kissing my shins. “With every little fight.” Then up
my thighs. “With every word.” He kisses up my hip and across my stomach.
Heat pools between my thighs. My breaths come faster, shallower. My hips
grind up towards his face. “With every touch of your skin.”
He pulls my thighs apart and dips his tongue between my thighs. His
tongue finds my clit immediately. I let out a breathy moan. I run my hands
into his hair, tugging at the strands. One of his hands grips my ass as he
uses the fingers on his other hand to run on either side of my clit. He
spreads me open, giving him all of me. I rock my hips up and down.
 My moans become louder. Kreed groans and pulls a leg over his
shoulder. I grab at his hair for balance. He shifts so his hand can grasp the
back of my thigh, spreading me wide. He removes his hand from my pussy
and pushes his fingers into me. Pumping slowly, massaging. My orgasm
rips through me.
I almost slip but Kreek stands up and holds me up. He presses my
back into the wall of the shower. He lifts me off my feet, draping a leg over
each arm. He holds onto my ass. I can feel his cock pushing against my
pussy. He slides it up and down creating tiny shockwaves that travel to my
toes. I hold onto the back of his neck.
“You really are perfect, Kreed.” He kisses me reverently, his cock
slips inside me. Pushing into me slowly, we both groan in unison. I run my
hands through his hair. I pull his lips back to mine and kiss him as he slowly
sinks in me, pushing in as far as he can before pulling out. I start to feel a
tingle spread all over my body and warmth that isn’t coming from the
shower. Then, I hear the hum.
Kreed and I look at each other at the same time. He stops moving,
still buried in me. I smile softly at him and look around as the hum gets
louder. My green mist starts to swirl around us. Then, sparks of fire and
flurries of snow spin around us. Pink blossoms and gusty winds swirl all
our magic together in a small tornado around us. A bright iridescent light
sparkles within the whirlwind.
“You want this? There’s no going back S’rella.”
“Gods yes.” I grab his face and kiss him. Kreed starts pulling out of
me to slam back in.
“Fuck. I have waited for you for so long Dana.” He kisses down my
neck and bites me. He becomes rougher, wild. His arms spread me wider. I
hold onto the back of his neck. My loud moans echoing off the tiled walls.
Kreed buries his head into my neck. He groans and heavy breaths add to my
mounting orgasm. I reach down and find my clit. I rub small tight circles.
Kreed pushes me harder into the wall and stokes into me harder. I can feel
my nipples tighten and I tighten around him when I reach my peak. I
scream as my thighs reflexively tighten around Kreed. My fingers tangle in
his hair and pull his head back, looking him in the eye. Showing him
everything. He lets out a long deep groan as his hips stutter. I can feel the
pulse of his cock in me. The humming stops and our magic disappears.
 He turns us so he is leaning against the shower wall and he slides
down. We both groan when the force of the stop pushes him deeper into me.
Sending a pulse of euphoria through me.
“I have never in my life felt so much peace.” Kreed says as he pulls
his arms from under my thighs. He runs his hands down my back.
“I feel a little more complete. I didn’t know I was missing something
like this. You know?” I say and look him over. His eyes are glazed and he
has a dopey smile on his face. My brows furrow when I see a green tint
climbing up his left peck then up his neck and under his chin and behind his
ear. I push his hair out of the way and the green darkens, and it looks like it
climbs up under his hair. I lean back.
“What the fuck? Does our tether create a tattoo?” The design
continues to darken until it's the same shade as my magic. The tattoo wraps
around the hand print. Kreed looks down at his chest.
“No.” I stand up and rinse off really quick before jumping out of the
shower. Kreed takes his time, washing his body. Nonchalant about a giant
tattoo forming on his body. When he steps out my eyes are drawn to his
chest. He dries off and steps in front of the mirror. He traces the depiction
of smoke that makes up the tattoo. If I stare at it long enough. It looks like
it’s slowly moving under his skin. “It’s your magic S’rella. I can feel it.”
“I can see that.” I say quietly. “It’s also moving, like it’s alive.” I
trace the shadows up into his hairline.
“Get your scissors. I want to see the rest of it.” I stop and look at
him.
“Are you sure? Your hair is beautiful.” I pull some strands over his
shoulder. People pay lots of money for hair like this.
“Of course I’m sure. It’s just hair and I want to see how you marked
me.” He says with a wink.
“Okay, give me a second.” I head to my room and unbury my
clippers from the roller case. I really need to unpack. It would make life
easier. When I find them I head back to his room. I stop to watch him for a
moment. He’s tracing the smoke lightly with a smile on his face.
“Well, I’m glad you like it because I think it’s there forever.” I say
as I walk into the bathroom. “You're going to need to kneel.” I have never
clipped someone's hair in a towel but there’s a first for everything I guess.
Kreed walks out of the bathroom to grab a chair. He comes back and sits in
it backwards.
 “Will this work?” He looks at me through the mirror.
“Yes but these,” I hold up the clippers, “aren’t going to work now
that I think of it.” How could I not think of that? I set them on the counter.
“Do you have a straight razor? I can use that and my scissors.”
“Top drawer there's a blade I use for shaving. Shave cream is in a
tin.” I rummage through the drawer and pull what I need out. I pull a pair of
scissors from the clipper bag and a comb.
“Okay. Let’s do this.” I brush through his hair seeing when the tattoo
ends. It wraps up behind his ear all the way to the hair line at his temple. I
separate the hair and clip it back. I take the scissors and cut through the
length, cringing as I do. I know hair grows back but his hair is so pretty. I
clip it back as far as I can, then grab the brush and shave cream. I spread it
over his head and got to work shaving the side of his head.
Kreed is quiet the whole time. Not saying a word. Just watching
intently. Trusting me to not fuck it up. It’s all dark green smoke. It moves
slowly under his skin. Like it’s waiting. For what I don’t know. Is it usable?
For him? Or is it protection? Decoration?
When I’m done, I place the blade on the sink and then undo the
clips. I take his hair and plait a chunky braid along the center of his head.
He is starting to look like a sexy ginger Viking.
“Could you shave the other side too?” I nod and get to work. When I
have both sides shaved and the center braided nicely he gets up and looks
closely in the mirror.
I realize I’m still in a towel. I throw it in the pile of other towels
that will need to be washed. I head to Kreed’s closet to rummage through
his shirts. I pull one over my head. I need to clean the hair up and find out
where the laundry room is.
Oh gods. Do they have washers? I don’t want to scrub everything by
hand. Maybe there’s a magical way? I turn around to ask Kreed but I find
him leaning against the doorway. Watching me.
“We’re making a habit of meeting in the closet.” I say, walking
towards him. With his hair braided down the back of his head and the sides
shaved he really is a ginger Viking.
“Hmm, that we do.” He wraps his arms around my back. “I love my
marking but yours is something to behold.”
My marking?
 “Huh?” Kreed leads me to the bathroom. He turns my back to the
mirror and pulls my shirt over my head. Along my whole spine is a giant
tattoo of all the elements. At the base of my neck is a vivid and fiery sun,
flames shooting off in all directions. Below that are swirls of clouds, gently
moving back and forth. Thorny and bright colored flowers and grass sit
below the clouds. Last is waves of water violently crashing into the bottom
of the flowers. The whole piece is bright and vibrant. The water and winds
slowly move back and forth on my back. Along my ribs colors speckle
along the sides of the tattoo. Yellows and oranges. Then a pearl color you
would never be able to achieve on earth. Brights pink and purple and greens
followed by blues. “Wow,” I whisper. “I always did want a tattoo but this
is–” I stare at the tattoo in complete awe, “more than I could have ever
dreamed up. This is a masterpiece.”
“Yes, you are.” I snap my eyes up to Kreed who’s gaze bores into
mine.
“Let’s go to bed S’rella we have someone to interrogate in the
morning and you need sleep.”
“Yes, sleep sounds good.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 24
Aavin

“What do you mean you're leaving for a while?” Lord Kanes

steward asks with a baleful eye. Neamon is a pain in my ass. He’s great at
what he does but if something comes up suddenly that is not what he had
planned, he makes us all suffer. Not the people of the land, just the ones
who work with him. “Who do you expect to cover you? Who is going to go
on the missions?”
Literally anyone can go on them. It just reconnaissance, making sure
the greedy realms stay on their side of the fence. There are many of them
unfortunately and it is a full time job. One that I am compensated well for
and so is my team.
“Jonie will do fine. She has proven herself time and time again. Let
her lead the team. She has been doing it for a while now anyways.”
“Then what am I paying you for?”
“My charming personality.” I quip. I love to push his buttons when
he is like this. The old man is tall and burly. When he gets mad you can see
the red crawl up his neck and onto his face. The red really offsets the black
and gray hair. Just like it is now. We have been friends for many, many
years. I sigh, “I’m sorry Neamon but I have to go. I am asking you to trust
me. Please. I can’t tell you right now what is going on because I’m not even
sure what is happening. There is someone that will need my help and it’s
not something I can ignore.” Neamon huffs but looks resigned.
“Alright, just make sure Jonie knows her duties. How long will you
be gone? Will you be able to check in?” I rub my neck and start pacing.
“I don’t know how long and I can try to check in. It may not be
often.”
“So be it. I look forward to learning what this mysterious happening
is. Hopefully, it is not brought to our doorstep either.” He raises a bushy
brow.
“That’s also why I’m going.” Neamon nods and waves me off, not
one for goodbyes. I turn on my heel and head out.
Today is a bit cloudy, not the usual bright vibrance. Other realms
may call this the ‘shadow realm’ but it’s brighter and cleaner than other
realms I have been too. Some worlds are down right dark and dreary. I nod
at fellow shades as I make my way back to my house. I need to pack and
hopefully make it to Bathaile in one piece. I have the directions but it still
makes me uneasy shadowing places across oceans without ever having been
to that specific place.
I spent the last week tying up loose ends, finding someone to watch
my house and completing everything for Dana’s house. I have everything
completed which makes going home and packing to leave easier. Getting to
Dana is the only thing on my mind now. I have this nagging feeling
something is going to happen. Whether it’s bad or good remains to be seen.
I walk up the pathway to my house. It’s nothing extravagant. There's
a porch on the front, bay windows on either side and a large door at the
front. The front yard is covered in various plants and flowers. Most yards
around here are the same. Most also have their own vegetable gardens. Fruit
trees are spread out everywhere, free to anyone.
I walk into my house and straight to my room. I pull my bag out and
toss it on the bed. I don’t know what the hell to pack for. Sun? Rain?
Magma pits? Guess I will just pack a little of everything. Gems and gold are
a common currency. I could buy clothes there if I needed to. I rummage
through my clothes and my safe. Pulling things out I may need and tossing
them on the bed.
I throw several pairs of jeans and shirts in my bag along with a
jacket. I rummage through my drawers pulling the rest of what I need.
“Aavin!” I hear my name being yelled from the front door. “Aavin
its Jonie!”
“In my room!” I holler. Guarantee she’s here to just be nosey. I hear
her boots stomping down the hall. Soon, she’s standing by my door.
“Where are you going Aavin and why have I been left to lead this
ragtag team of misfits?”
“First they aren’t misfits and two, I can’t tell you.”
“Why?” This is why Jonie is good at what she does and also is very
annoying. She is thorough and wants to know everything. Which is why
when we stopped seeing each other she drove me fucking crazy needing to
know what it was that she did. The “It’s not you it’s me” line did not work
on her. I couldn’t very well tell her I found my half-human soul bond now
could I? Not when we have a no contact rule with humans. The only
exception is when we were out in the field, trying to make sure humans
stuck to their own world.
“It’s not for you to know. That’s all I will say and nothing more.
Now, make sure the team doesn’t die while I’m gone.” I stalk into my
bathroom and grab my toiletry bag. When I return Jonie is going through
my bag. “Can I help you?” She doesn't even look guilty, just looks at me
and shrugs.
“Can you tell me where you’re going? Are you going to be checking
in? Are you coming back?”
“No, yes and yes.” I pull my bag from her with a disapproving
glance. I put everything in my bag and zip it up. I look down at what I’m
wearing. This should be good. I think. When I look back up Jonie is right in
front of me.
“How about some farewell coitus?” I bark out a laugh.
“First, no. Secondly that sounded about as enticing as a minced meat
and fish sandwich. Go lay it on thick for someone else. I have told you time
and time again, you and I will not work. We had our fun but I’m just not
into it. Not even for just sex.” Jonie takes a step back.
“Fine. Have fun, see you when you get back.” She turns on her heel
and stomps back out of the house. I sigh and rub a hand down my face.
When will she get it? Fuck. It’s getting really old. After I felt the bond with
Dana I told Jonie I was done. Dana was fifteen when it happened. That was
way too young for her. Here it’s different, if a bond manifests that early the
parents make sure the pair can see each other but with chaperones. Until
one or both are of age.
I swing the bag over my shoulder and head to grab my keys. I
double check the windows and doors as I head out the front. I make my way
down the streets to the city hall, under it are the portals. I hook my keys on
a loop in my bag so they don't get lost. When I get to city hall I push open
the doors and it’s bustling. City hall always has people coming and going. I
find my way to the stairs, accidently bumping into a few people along the
way. I jog down the stairs and find my portal. There are many guards I pass
on my way. Portals are watched all day and night, with warning bells for
intruders. There are many portals, the underground portal station is vast.
There are a few that go to Earth but there’s only one place that is always
causing trouble.
Plains has many intersecting ley lines. Making it easier for them to
make portals and many other things that hopefully, they haven’t figured out
yet. I step into the portal, just like I have a hundred times. I close my eyes
waiting for the portal to suck me through. When I materialize in Dana’s
basement I hear lots of clattering behind me.
“Fuck!” I whip around and lay my eyes on the idiot of the hour.
“What are you doing?” I ask and step out of the portal.
“Finding a way to my girlfriend. What are you doing here?” I sneer
at him. This pompous asshole.
“You,” I pointed my finger at him, “I think, lost that particular
privilege when you left her here by herself with men you hardly knew. That
she hardly knew! Kreed had to live with her crying and screaming while I
had to go back to Aelore to make arrangements to be able to stay with her.
To make sure she was well and taken care of because of you and your weak
confidence.” He at least has the decency to nod his head.
“I know. I’m a fucking moron. I need to get to her. I have to fix it.”
He goes back to his book flipping through the pages. I put my bag down.
“None of that will help you. At least I don’t think so. Pack a bag and
I can take you with me.” Noah’s head snaps up.
“Really?” I nod my head and motion to my bag. “I’m going
tomorrow morning. As long as you can suffer through shadowing you can
come. I don't really want to drive and then have to take a boat to the island.
So you're going to need to suck it up.”
“I can do that. I already have a bag packed. I’ve been staying here.”
He walks toward the hole in the wall. “Do you want something to eat? I was
going to make a sandwich.” I follow him through and up the stairs.
“That sounds fine. How long have you been here?”
“Just last night. I’ve been going through the books since Dana…
came to me. In a dream or not a dream because I was walking through my
door bringing in firewood.” Came to him? We walk into the kitchen and I
sit at the table. “What do you mean she came to you?”
He rummages through the cupboards and fridge. He takes his time to
tell me what the hell he meant. I am about to say something when he starts
talking.
 “I mean,” he says looking up at me finally, “I was coming in from
getting firewood and she was standing inside, in a shirt looking very
confused. When she realized it was me coming through the door she
punched me.”
“Good. I hope it hurts and by the bruising I’m going to guess it was
a solid hit.”
I nodded. “Then she told me how much of a shit person I was. I
agreed to everything she said. Then she told me her mother saw me as her
soul mate–”
“Kreed said as much.” I say angrily.
“I know! I know I fucked up. No one knows that more than me. Not
only do I know I fucked up by not just leaving her but I also left her with
people who could have been lying. I’m the lowest of scum. I know.” He
braces his arms on the counter and sighs. “She told me to figure out what I
want and I realized before she even showed up that I can not live without
her. I need her, more than she will ever need me. I have been in love with
this woman since I was a kid. I handled this all poorly. Feeling sorry for
myself. I should have stood by her even when you all professed your
bonds.” He finishes up making the sandwiches and throws the knife in the
sink. He puts the ingredients away and marches my sandwich to me.
“At least you know you're an asshole. That’s more progress than
most.” I take my sandwich and we sit in silence while we eat.
“When do you want to leave?” Noah asks after we clear the crumbs
and Noah throws the dishes in the dishwasher.
“When I wake up. I was going to leave tonight but if I’m taking you
I’ll need to rest up.” I walk into the living room and sit in the chair I have
claimed as mine. Noah follows in after me and sits on the couch. There’s
silence but when I look at Noah I can see he is mulling something around in
that dense brain of his.
“How well did you know Otto Turner?”
“How do you know that name?” I glare at him.
“It’s my great great…great? Grandfather. I got a blow by blow of
how your people used to stay with my grandfather. Is it true?”
Otto Turner. The man who changed my mind about humans. He was
a decent man and loving husband. He showed me that I couldn’t lump all
humans together in one group. I thank him for that. I try to keep his
memory in mind when I have had enough of having to run interference.
 “Yeah. He helped me out when I needed it and whenever I came to
Earth I always went to his ranch to stay in one of the cabins on the property.
Usually the one that was a ways down from the main house. I could still see
the house in the distance from the porch. He was a wonderful man and a
great friend. I was sad when he passed. I still miss him.” I sit back and think
about all the drinks we had shared. “I told him many things and he wrote it
all in a journal. I told him that people were going to think he was crazy.”
“Why did you stop coming to stay?”
I shrug and lean my elbows on my knees. “Things were changing.
Humans weren’t trying as hard to enter our realm. We hadn’t heard nor seen
anything in years. Then it was less work, we didn’t have to spend days
scouring the United states and several other countries every night,
infiltrating bases and government store rooms. Honestly, it’s like they forgot
all about it and judging by all the books and maps in this basement, I would
go out on a limb and assume they did. Anyways, Dana’s father disappeared
and so I spent years trying to find him.”
“Hold on.” Noah gets up and goes upstairs.
I stare at the ground. How strange is it that I am sitting in the same
room as Otto's grandson? The fates have something at work. I don’t know
what it is, but it’s big. Noah makes his way back downstairs after a moment.
He tosses a book in my lap. Not just a book. A leather wrapped journal.
The leather journal.
“You guys have kept this journal for this long?” I laugh quietly and
unwrap the book. “Gods, Otto was such a good man. I remember sitting
with him at the dining table while he wrote in this thing. Everything I told
him went in this book, ‘I want to make sure my family knows I’m not a
kook.’. I did tell him he could have made this all up and still look like a
kook.” I look up at Noah, “You do look like him. I thought you had looked
familiar but I didn’t put it together. Anyways, he also wanted to make sure
future generations of his family knew what was going on if I had showed
up. Which I did but not long enough to stay and when I found out he
passed…It didn’t feel right staying there. I did leave a bag of gold for his
wife though.” I look at Noah again, his mouth gaping like a fish.
“So…that’s how the farm was saved back in the day.” He starts
laughing and I chuckle along with him.
“I don’t know what the gold was used for but if that’s what it was for
I’m glad.” I hand the journal back to him, “Read it if you want. There may
be some fun family history there. Like the time your grandpa got me
intoxicated on that gasoline you call moonshine.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 25
Noah

Well, great grandpappy Otto had a wild streak a mile wide. It’s hard
to think of your grandparents from the 19th century as wild but fool me
once and all.
I read a lot of the journal and Aavin told me some stories about their
adventures. Aavin isn’t as tightly wound as I thought. He does have a fun
bone in there…deep, deep, deep down. We spoke about some of his travels
here and even other worlds. The universe is vast. I knew that but to hear
real world experiences is insane. He told me about different species he has
met. Molten worlds, water worlds and worlds that are governed by animals.
Worlds where the human-like species is not the top of the food chain. He
spoke of some of the wars he’s been in and spoke of Aelore. Once you get
him talking about something he is vested in, he will tell you everything.
Now, we are on our way to Bathaile and I can tell you with one
hundred percent certainty, I will never shadow walk again.
“Hold on…I gott–a” I lean over and dry heave.
“Gods, you humans have such sensitive stomachs.” I side eye him
and glare.
“We, ugh, fuck,” I dry heave some more. “I’m glad I skipped
breakfast.” I mutter.
“We…” Aavin drawls. He twirls a finger in the air impatiently
waiting for me to continue.
“Humans don’t travel like this. Some humans get carsick driving
over a hill but it doesn’t make them weak. We aren’t made for shadow
walking, you ass.” I state while trying to stand up straight. I hold out my
hand for him to grab. Aavin looks at it and raises a brow and looks back at
me.
 “Most humans can’t even drink milk so your point is moot.” He
grabs my hand and shadows us towards our next destination without
warning. I fucking hate this. It honestly feels like my body is evaporating. I
can’t even begin to describe it as anything else. At least it’s not painful. It
just feels like all my molecules are dispersing. This can’t be healthy for me.
When we reach the next destination, I hate everything. I also hate
Aavin’s smug face.
“You know I’m glad you made it through that first shadow jump. I
didn't think you would.”
“What?” I ask, while shaking my legs, hoping the Jello feel will go
away.
Aavin shrugs, “I didn’t know if we could transport people with us
when we shadow jumped. Well, people who can’t shadow jump as well. I
kind of thought you would not,” He puts a finger to his lips, “reform.”
I turned to him. Now I’m pissed off and feel like dog shit. “Are you
serious right now?” I looked between him and the trees were surrounded by.
Where are we? And how much longer?
“Yes, but I’m glad you survived. Now, I won't have to explain to
Dana how you died. She might have been mad at me for that.” He holds his
hand out. “We have maybe two more jumps. Then we have the portal.
Which from what I’m told is the best part.”
“Maybe? You're not sure?” I can do this. It’s to get to Dana. I can
suck it up. Even if it feels like my head is in a vice grip. I grab his hand and
we shadow again. This time when I looked around, we were in a swamp and
knee deep in waters I would rather not be.
“Where are we?”
“Florida. We have one more jump. Maybe. I’m going to try to make
it to the island but since I have never been there it will be hard to be
precise.”
“Yet, you have been here?” I wave my hand around.
“No, that’s why we are knee deep in a swamp somewhere on the
coast of Florida. I think this is the Everglades. Let’s go before a large
animal with sharp teeth finds us.” I have never grabbed a hand quicker.
The last jump is the worst. It also feels like it takes longer. When we
stop we’re standing on a very small sandy island. I move my duffle bag off
my shoulder for a moment and sit down. I lay on my back, enjoying the hot
sand. I hear a thump and sand sprays onto my face. I sit up and wipe my
face off. Looking over to the offending object. Aavin’s bag.
“Really? Come on man!” I glare at him as he sits down.
“Oh quiet. You’re fine.” He rests his arms on his knees and stares
out at the ocean. I lay back down and shut my eyes from the blinding sun. I
need a damn nap and some Tylenol.
“You’ve got a couple minutes to round up your brain cells and then
we need to go through that portal.” He throws a thumb over his shoulder. I
crane my neck to look behind me. What portal? There isn’t a thing here.
“Do we have to draw it?” I ask sitting up and looking around again.
“I don’t see anything.”
“You won't, we–well, I have to say some words and then we step
into it. Then, we will be there.”
I nod and rest my head in my hands. “Let’s do this. The sooner we
get there, the sooner we can see our woman.” I look over at Aavin and find
him staring at me. We really are getting closer to making those bunk beds.
“Maybe you can be forgiven.” He stands up and dusts the sand off
his pants. “Let’s do this.” He sweeps down and grabs his bag, throwing it
over his shoulder.
I stand up and do the same. We walk up the little island hill and
come to a stop at the top. This island is tiny. Aavin starts muttering words I
don't understand and I feel a wave of air.
“Woah, what the hell was that?” I look around with trepidation.
“It’s open.” Aavin steps back and then I’m shoved into the sand,
where I don't land but keep falling. Fuck.
I scream and try to slow my fall. It’s all in vain of course. There’s no
slowing a fall unless you have wings. Or, you know, a parachute. Between
my screams I can hear Aavin laughing. I’m able to flip my body in the air
and I see Aavin not far from me falling.
“If I make it out of this alive, I will kill you Aavin!” I try to push
down the overwhelming fear of my imminent death when I come to a
sudden stop. I take a moment to realize I’m floating a few inches off the
ground. That is until Aavin slams into me with a groan.
Then, immediately after whatever was holding me up let’s go. Thus,
having Aavin squash me again. I groan in pain and try to roll him off. I can
feel his body shaking from laughter.
“You thought I was going to kill you?”
 “The thought crossed my mind you fuckwad.” I punctuate that with
gathering all my strength and throwing him off my back. Aavin lets out a
“oof’’ as I push back on my knees and let my head hang back between my
shoulders. I stare at the stone ceiling and then take in the rest of the
cylindrical building. I take a couple calming breaths and stand up. Holding
a hand out for Aavin. When he grabs it I pull him up with way too much
force and practically throw him into the wall behind me.
“Now, now, Noah. Temper-tantrums don’t look good on grown
men.” Aavin chides. I’m going to strangle him. I shake my head, I can’t
strangle him. Dana will be upset. Shifting my bag on my back, I look
around for an exit and find a door. I head straight for it and come to an
abrupt halt.
Blue. So much blue. I hear Aavin walk up behind me.
“Woah, this world is definitely different.” I nod my head as a big ass
bumblebee drones by. It’s huge. Like the size of my fist. I follow it with my
eyes and see some neon birds flitting about the trees.
“What rabbit hole did we fall into?” I mutter my mouth gaping at all
the colorful and crazy animals and trees.
Is that a Jackalope?
“I’m not sure what we’ll find when we get there but he said to just
head to town.” He points down the cobbled path. I nod and head down the
path not waiting for him. The path leads down a small hill. The whole area
is heavily wooded.
When we make it into town it looks like any rustic small town I have
ever been to. Which is not many but they are all quaint, clean and quiet
places. There’s always hustle and bustle but not much and never like a city.
People mill around the streets as we walk down the last of the pathway.
Kids are playing around in the streets. I don’t see a reason for the streets
though. I don’t see a car in sight. Maybe they use carriages?
We turn down a pathway and head towards the shops. Aavin and I
look like a couple of black sheep in a flock of white. Everyone is wearing
billowy clothes. Some are brightly colored, some are neutral. While Aavin
is wearing all black and I am wearing jeans and a gray shirt. We get some
curious stares on our way to wherever Aavin is taking us. We stop in front
of a store and Aavin pulls the door open for me.
I step inside and see a couple of people behind the front desk
chatting. It abruptly stops when they spot us.
 “Get Ferrick or Lyra now.” One woman tells the man.
“Well, that sounds ominous.” I whisper to Aavin who grunts and
stalks forward.
“We’re looking for Kreed. I’m not sure of his last name but he is
with Dana Greenback if that helps.” The women behind the desk just stare
at him blankly.
“Aavin, maybe we should go somewhere else.” I tug on his arm but
the woman sitting down decides to speak.
“How about you stay here and our friends Lyra and Ferrick can help
you. Please have a seat.” She gestures to the chairs behind us. I don’t like
this. Something doesn’t feel right.
“Did Kreed tell you anything about who to talk to when we got
here?” I ask as we take a seat. What else can we do? In a foreign world and
don’t know where we are.
“He just said to go into town and ask for him. He didn’t say anything
else.” I sit back in the chair and huff.
“Of course.” I sigh and rub my face. Hopefully, we’re not killed on
the spot. I look over at the ladies behind the desk and they are unsubtly
watching us.
We sit there for a short time before there are some voices sounding
in the back of the building. I sit up straight straining my ears trying to hear
what’s going on. Aavin puts a hand across my chest and shakes his head.
When I look at him I see his smoke is slithering across the walls. It’s faint
and barely noticeable. I didn’t even realize he put his magic away when we
got here. Which was probably a good move on his part. I notice his smoke
gliding back towards him. Shortly after a woman and a man dressed in
leathers strapped in swords and throwing knives enter. The man also has a
staff strapped to his back. The woman looks mean. Wonder who pissed in
her cheerios.
“I’m Ferrick,” He places a hand to his chest. “I need to know why
you're here and how you even got here.” Ferrick stands casually with his
hands in his pockets. The woman however, is standing ready to strike us
down for any small infraction.
“As I told the people behind the desk we were invited by Kreed. He
told me how to get here about a week ago. I would have come with him but
I had business to take care of in my own world before I could come. Kreed
didn’t say much else other than to talk to someone at the constable's
office.”
“Well, we will just give you an escort up there and we can get this
all straightened out.” The woman smiles but it’s vicious. She pulls some
rope out from behind her, holding it out for us and gestures for us to turn
around.
I roll my eyes and roll my head to pierce Aavin with a glare. He
shrugs his shoulders and winks. He stands up and I follow suit. I hold my
arms out just like Aavin and wait to be hogtied.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 26
Dana

“Pay attention S’rella.”

“I’m going to shove this staff right up your ass Darling. If you tell
me to pay attention one more time.” He turns his lips down at the venomous
pet name.
“If you're tired just say so. It’s okay, Dana. You’re new to this. I
don't expect you to have the stamina.” I glare at him but he’s right. I have
too much on my mind and I’m getting tired.
“I’m sorry, I’m just nervous about talking to that guy and I miss
Noah and Aavin. I didn’t want to say anything because I know how you feel
about them.” I walk over to put my wooden staff back. “Can’t we get this
over with, with the guy? Like now?” I look back at Kreed waiting for his
answer.
“We can. If that is what you truly want.” He places his staff back.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I need to know what he has to say.” I need to know like I need
to breathe. Call it morbid curiosity or a macabre fascination but I need to
know what he means about why I am to ‘perish’. What did my mother see
and why did the gods involve themselves? Must be important if they were
trying to help my mother.
Kreed leads me out of the training yard and we head to his office. “I
just need to send a note to the guards to let them know we are on our way.”
“What about a carriage?”
“I was thinking we could portal.” My stomach instantly flops. He
must see my skin turning green because he laughs at me. “Your going to
have to get used to it S’rella. I would like you to learn how to do it. You are
fae and that means you can portal. You should probably shadow walk too.
That will have to wait though. Aavin will have to teach you that.”
 “Yes, you're right. Just be warned. I will probably throw up.”
“Not on me though right?”
“Especially you.” I walk around the desk and grab his pen from the
drawer. I hold it out to him and he takes it. “Beware your loafers.” I whisper
as I turn to open the window for Greer.
“I would never wear loafers.” He says back so seriously. Joke went
right over his head. I let out a shriek when Greer swoops in immediately.
“Jesus Greer.” I plant my hand to my chest, willing my heart to not
explode. “Give a woman some warning.” Greer flies around the room
squawking and causing absolute chaos. She finally settles on the desk. This
whole time Kreed stays bent over his desk writing, ignoring Greer. Clearly,
this is a normal occurrence.
“I should have named you after Akuhamie.” Kreed says, giving
Greer a pointed glare. She closes her eyes and points her beak up like she is
astonished he would ever compare them.
“Who is Akuhamie?” I ask.
“The god of chaos and discord.” I eye Greer.
“That would have suited her better I think.” Mistakes were made
with that comment. Greer puffs her feathers and squawks at me.
“Greer, can you take this to the guards at the city hall? It’s
important.” Greer throws her leg out at Kreed while she stared me down.
“Sorry.” I whisper to her while I cringe, considerably terrified for
my life. When Kreed gets the letter wrapped around her leg she flies out
without a backward glance. I close the window behind her.
“Okay, so when do we leave? I’m ready.”
“Well, we will leave in about ten minutes I think.” He looks me up
and down. “Now what can we accomplish in ten minutes?” He looks at me
salaciously. I walk over to him and walk my fingers up his chest.
“Hmm, I don’t know but I’d like to find out.” Kreed picks me up
around my waist and then spins me around setting me on the desk.
“These won't do.” He says as he runs his palms down the inside of
my thighs and runs his thumb right over the center of me. He says a couple
of words under his breath and then my pants disintegrate.
“What? I liked those!” He ignores me, placing my booted heels on
the edge of the desk.
“Stay.” He points at me. Then turns to grab his chair. “Now let’s see
how many times I can make this pretty pussy come.”
 “Gods, your dirty talk is something else.” I breathe hard.
“Lay your head back. Don’t look again. I want you to anticipate.”
“This sounds like it’s going to take longer than ten minute–Argh!”
He bit my thigh.
“Shh.” I’m tempted to glare at him but my thoughts fall out of my
head when his tongue lashes at my clit. I moan loudly and grab his hair. He
pushes my legs further apart, spreading me out like a buffet. He continues
his assault on me. I can feel the tingles already and an orgasm rips through
me. I clamp my legs around his head and he forces my legs apart,
continuing his assault.
“Kreed! I can’t!” I buck underneath him and pull his hair he grunts
and pulls my pussy tighter to his face. Ignoring my pleas. The over
stimulation starts to subside and I burn into another orgasm. “Oh, fuck, I
think I can.” I grind against his face. Kreed chuckles deeply. Gods, I love
that sound. This orgasm hits harder. Making my body sit straight up. Kreed
pulls me closer to him. He’s at an awkward angle but the tip of his tongue
still hits my very sensitive clit. Making me twitch uncontrollably.
“Fuck.” I draw out. “Kreed. Please.” I lay back down on the desk.
Kreed finally looks up at me and I notice his shirt is soaking.
“No, I did not.” Embarrassment crawling up my neck. Kreed smiles
triumphantly and crawls up my body.
“Oh, yes, you did.” He smiles and kisses me. “Let’s go.” He pops
up. Bouncing on his toes and I sit up.
“Oh no, you are changing that shirt, sir! And I need pants, you
disintegrated mine!” I motion to my naked legs. “At least you didn’t murder
my boots.” I must look ridiculous sitting in a shirt and chunky boots. Kreed
looks at me from toe to head and I squirm under his gaze.
“Fine. We will change.” He holds a hand out and I grab it. When my
feet are planted to the ground he turns me toward the door and slaps my ass.
I squeak and rush down the hall to my room.
I fumble around my clothes to find my pants. I find a pair of jeans
that I throw on and head back towards Kreed’s room.
“Ready!” I shout stopping into the room. I see he has a new clean
and dry shirt on. “Will we always be fucking like bunnies? I feel like we
have a lot of sex.”
He holds his hand out and waits for me. I came up short. My
stomach rolls just thinking about what happened the last time.
 “Right here?” I smooth down my shirt for my hands to do something
other than grab his hand. “I thought we would do it outside or maybe in the
living room.”
“Stop procrastinating S’rella and yes, at least for now. It’s like a
frenzy but it could also always be like this. I am hoping for the latter.” I
squint my eyes at him but I put my hand in his nonetheless. My whole body
clenches and eyes shut tight, waiting for the push and pull of the
teleporting. When nothing immediately happens I peek an eye open, wary
of what I will find.
Well, I find Kreed staring at me, with one hand to his mouth. Stifling
a laugh. Just as I’m about to reprimand him, the world turns into sand and
the winds pull at my hair. The wind steals whatever I was going to yell at
him. Within a second we are stopping though.
When I get my bearings, I throw a punch directly to his chest.
“Warn a girl would you?” I scolded him.
“She is just like her mother,” A deep voice says, making me jump. I
turn around and see Furden and Li-ana walking toward us, “and your
grandmother.” I stifle a giggle when Li-ana shoots him a glare that could
kill a man.
“Hello, my dear. I’m so happy to see you again.” Li-ana holds her
arms open and I walk into her arms giving her a tight hug.
“It’s good to see you too. What do I call you? Grandma, Li-ana?
Queen?” I ask as I step back, looking between her Furden.
They look at each other, having a silent conversation.
“Well, ahmma and ahppa are what grandparents are called here
usually but it’s really up to you darling. You can just call us by our names if
that makes you more comfortable but for the love of the gods not king or
queen.”
“Okay, ahmma and ahppa it is.”
“I like that.” Li-ana grabs my hand and Furden chuckles.
“We're here to see the man that was taken in the other day yesterday.
Are you here for the same?” Asks Kreed.
“Actually, yes we did that. Nothing came of it. He said he would
only speak with you.” He turned his gaze to me. “We also had to finish up
some stuff for Naomi’s memorial.” Furden’s eyes fill with unshed tears and
Li-ana scoots closer to him. Leaning her head on his shoulder.
 A memorial? Gods, that sounds more final than her cremation. It is
like a punch to the gut. I suck it up because I have things to do. Things
mom had set a course for or rather the gods have.
“We will leave you to it. Kreed, make sure you let us know what was
said. Dana, there are some small matters Li-ana and I would like to talk to
you about when you have a moment, okay?”
“Of course. Will tomorrow work?”
“That will be fine. Alright, we will leave you to it.” Li-ana gives me
one last hug and Furden grips my shoulder. He nods to Kreed and then they
leave us.
“When we get down there, there will be many guards. They are there
to keep us safe. He will be cuffed to a table. You are in no circumstance to
reach for him or tell him of your powers. You can ask questions but do not
give away anything about yourself.”
Who does he think I am? That I will just open up like this is a Friday
night sleepover with the girls? Gods help me. I give him a pointed look.
“Look, darling, I'm aware he is not my friend. I will not tell him
intimate details about myself or anyone else. Scouts honor.” I salute him
with all the bitchiness I can bring forth.
“Well, at least I now know anytime you call me darling, I’m in
trouble.” Kreed chuckles and leads me through a door that leads to a set of
stairs.
I follow him down the brightly lit staircase and down a hall and then
down another set of stairs. What will this man say? Anything more than
what I have read in my moms letters? Will he have an answer to why
everything just started now? Will he tell me who, exactly, wants me dead?
Did he kill my mother?
When Kreed opens the door, I realize I’m not as put together and
ready as I thought. It was like he knew I was coming. As the door opened
he immediately honed in on me. He didn’t even bother to look at Kreed.
The man stares at me with open disgust and hatred. My hackles
immediately rise.
“Little demi bitch.” He greets.
I roll my eyes, “Original. Bravo.” Kreed side eyes me. I motion for
him to take the lead.
Kreed pulls a seat out from the table the man is strapped to. He
motions for me to sit and then he takes the other next to me.
 “What is your name?” Kreed’s tone is stiff and authoritative.
“No. You don’t get to ask the questions. I want the demi goddess,”
he spits, “to ask what I know she is dying to ask.” I’m not going to ask
about my mother. I'm not ready to be in the same room as her murderer.
“Cut the bullshit. What is your name.” The man’s face carved into a
cruel smile.
“That’s not what you really want to know, now is it daughter of
Naomi.” He draws out my mothers name, making me cringe.
“Right now, that is what I want to know.” The man's eye’s flash with
anger.
“Your puny mind can’t even comprehend my name.”
“Oh, please I pulled you out of your little half form into our world.
Stop the shit. Tell me your name!” A flash of bright colorful lights shoots
down my arms and out towards the man. Wrapping him in illuminated
ropes.
The man hisses in pain. “You crafty little bitch. This is why you will
die.” I urged the ropes tighter, making him scrunch his face and scream in
pain.
“Your name!” I shout.
He yells again in frustration. My focus is solely on him. Ignoring the
rest of the room.
The next thing out of his mouth sounded like an angry garbled hiss.
“That’s your name?”
“Yes. I told you, you wouldn't be able to understand it.”
“Look, buddy. It’s just like any other fucking language I do not
know. Which is many and that's just including Earth. Give me a name or I
will think of the stupidest one I can.”
“Mordread.”
“Good. Why are you here?” I loosen the golden ropes just a smidge.
“We needed to find you and what better way than to follow your
potential mates?” He holds my gaze. Not one flinch, not one blink. Does he
need to blink?
“Why do you want me? I have done nothing to anyone. Especially
you. I have never even met you.” I say incredulously.
“The gods do bless
With light and dark
To a woman
 Who has a spark
To see what is hidden
Shadows do cover
To end a reign
And start another.” He recites.
I look back at Kreed and then to the guards surrounding us, looking
for an answer. I get nothing but blank stares. Kreed looks like he’s trying to
do a trigonometry problem in his head. I turn back to Mordread since I
won't be finding answers from them.
“And I suppose you think this person is me?”
“It is. Blessed with light and dark. You obviously have the spark. He
nods to my ropes holding him. You were meant to stop something that has
been a play for centuries and we can not let that happen.”
“What is it that I’m supposed to stop? And did it ever cross your
mind you have the wrong woman? I mean there has to be a more
experienced woman out there. Shit even a man!” I swing my arms out in
emphasis. Mordread just shakes his head and lets out a deep menacing
chuckle.
“Look, don't laugh or chuckle. It doesn’t sound right. Also, why do
you look like you are wearing a meat suit that's too small.”
“This just holds my form. I can show you what I really look like but
you have me all tied up. I guarantee you wont like it.” I raise a brow. “I
won't be the first to come for you. Now that your bindings have fallen apart,
you will be much easier to track.” He pierced me with a glare, “No matter
what world you jump too. You will not be free until you are dead. You have
seen us and felt us your entire life. The chill in the coffee shop, the old lady
in the rocking chair, the nightmares you can’t remember but you remember
the fear. We’ve tried to grab you numerous times but your mate…”
Mordread gives me an irate smirk, and huffs, “keeps saving you.”
“So you’re telling me Noah has been saving my life for years?” I can
hear Kreed grunt. I turned to him and he raised his brows. Silently telling
me to stick to the plan.
“If you only knew, Dana Greenback. Or should I say Oriden?”
“Either suits me just fine. Now…if I only knew what?” I reel my
magic back in now that he is talking but I have it simmering at my
fingertips, ready.
 “I can see those wheels turning, little goddess.” His voice becomes
scratchy and hoarse. “Wondering what it is you should know. Wondering if
I killed your mother? Wondering about all the knowledge she might have
left you in those letters? You're wondering how you're going to control all
that raging power pulsing through your veins.” His voice gets deeper and he
becomes quieter adding to the eeriness of this conversation. Goosebumps
trail down my back. “You’ll never be enough Dana, I know it and I know
many things. I know the prayers you humans like to whisper to yourselves
in the dark. Hoping simple words will put you on the right course. I know
all the idiosyncrasies of humans. The poor, sad repetitions you all complete,
day in and day out. I know about all the blasphemous gods you all speak to
and pray too. All the lies you are fed, by your own kind no less.” His deep
chuckle unnerves me. I sit perfectly still, riveted to this beings speech.
Kreed’s hand holds my thigh in a steady reassurance. “You may believe you
can make it through this completely intact. You won't. There will be death,”
he looks to Kreed for a moment, “and I hear broken bonds are,” he clicks
his tongue, “distressing.”
I look to Kreed and for the first time I feel real, true, unadulterated
fear. He gives a subtle shake of his head and squeezes my thigh. I push all
of the terror I feel away. I have more questions I have to ask.
“Who are you?”
That unstable and terrifying smile creeps across his face again. He
leans forward slowly.
“I’m not your god…I am the god.”
“Excuse me?” I scoff. I lean back in my chair, waiting for him to
continue.
“The god of your universe, your solar system.” He swirls a finger
around as high as the cuffs will allow. “I am the almighty to swing my bat
to and fro. Knock down and rewrite civilizations. I have made and
destroyed your world time and time again. Picking the aspects I want and
replaying them. You humans may have free will but you are so easily
swayed. It never takes much to push the balance.”
“If you’re the god of my solar system or universe, does that mean
there are others?”
“What does the pretty little brain of yours think?”
Holy shit. I mean it’s not far off from what humans believe. How
can I push this god to say more? We need more information to go on. There
is silence for a moment before Kreed clears his throat and speaks.
“Is this all a part of a war between the gods?”
Mordread ignores Kreed and I roll my eyes.
“Is this a gods war?”
“Maybe.”
“Why the hell am I part of it?”
“We all have rules do we not? Laws that we can not put a toe over?
How do you think those rules are bent? Use that pretty head of yours.”
“Okay, then tell me this, if you are a god, how have you not been
able to grab me via the ghosts that have attacked me in Plains? It makes
little sense to me how an ‘almighty being’ can not seem to grab lil’ ol’ me.”
“You see, it’s not really me who has grabbed you, I can not step foot
on the actual soils of my universe. I can only play from above. I send my
soldiers. Playing with you is always my favorite pleasure. The visceral fear
you felt when my soldiers grabbed you. The trepidation. The pain. Tell me,
did you bruise?” He leans forward waiting for my answer. When I give him
no indication that I will be answering he clicks his tongue.
“It was hard at first, with the magic that surrounds that town and
how you had that barrier erected around you by the goddess. That all
changed once your three mates stood on the same soil. Your bindings fell
apart. A lucky guess on my part, trying to weave the right thread to make it
happen. Fate and her many weavings for one soul. Tricky, tricky.”
“How did you weave the right thread?” I ask, my heart pumping
wildly. Deep down I think I know the answer and it kills me.
“Now, Dana, why would I tell you that? I think I’d rather you ponder
all the possibilities.” Then Mordread just evaporates. Everyone jumps and
scrambles to do what exactly? I don’t know but the man is gone.
“He could have left whenever he wanted to. He was playing with
us!” Kreed sounds more irate than I have ever heard any man before. I sigh
and stand up. Pacing the floor as I think about all Mordread said.
“Well, he’s a fucking god.” I mutter.
“Seek Chandice.” The same male voice whispers to me.
At least someone has some answers because it sure as shit isn’t me.
“We need to seek Chandice.” Kreed stops his tirade to look at me.
“He told me.” I whisper as I walk closer. I don’t know if these men know
the extent of my abilities.
 “Then we make plans. Let’s go home.” He grabs my hand and turns
to the guards. “Keep watch, anything unusual you need to report
immediately. If I am not here then directly to King Furden, Lyra and
Ferrick.” The men all nod in confirmation. Then Kreed portals us straight
back home. I stumble around the room for a moment holding back vomit.
“Gods, I’m never getting used to that.” I let out a throaty moan that
sounds more like a dry heave.
“You have to give it time S’rella. Now, let’s go to my office and we
can make a plan. We need to look over the maps and see how long the trek
will be.” Kreed steps into military mode. “We will be able to ride a carriage
for a while but then there will be a lot of hiking. We will have to pack
supplies.” He pauses for a moment thinking. “Can we use those
containment boxes?”
“Of course. I’ll meet you in the office.” I head to my room and snag
the boxes up. I place them on the bed making sure they are completely
empty.
I head to Kreed's office and stride in. I plop the boxes on the desk.
Kreed is rummaging through a shelf tossing things around.
“Can I help?” Kreed takes a moment to respond. Sighing and
grunting at the rolls of paper in his hand. He finally chooses two and brings
them to his desk. He spreads them out and places paper weights on each
corner. He drags a finger around on the map. He finds what he was looking
for and taps it.
“This is where we need to get to. The trek is smooth until we get to
the mountains. We will have to hike about fifty miles up the mountain.
There are many switch backs. Some parts of the trail are narrow and follow
along cliffs.” He looks up to me. “You will need to wear that armor your
mother made for you. It’s going to be uncomfortable. We will also need to
bring a small contingent. I want you to pick who that is. I know you are not
a fan of Lyra but she is very knowledgeable about these trails. That is all I
will give you, who you want to pick is up to you. I want you to be
comfortable.”
“Ferrick and Pharaoh for sure.” Do I want Lyra to go? Can I deal
with her apparent dislike for me? I have enough on my mind. I don’t know
if I want to be walking on eggshells around her for however long this is
going to take.
 My thoughts are interrupted with a pounding on what I assume is the
front door. I walk with Kreed to the door. When he opens it my heart stalls
in my chest.
Aavin and Noah, with their hands behind their backs. Presumably
tied up, while Lyra and Ferrick standing behind them.
“They claim to be your mates Dana.” Lyra says with disdain,
“Which is interesting because one is human,” She shoves Noah's shoulder,
“and not to mention…you should only have one.”
“Ah, but I’m not just Fae, am I? You raging twat.” I look her up and
down and decide she’s not worth my time. I pull Noah and Aavin into the
house. “Thank you Ferrick for bringing them here. You have no idea how
much I appreciate it.” I turn Noah around and try to untie the knot but my
hands are shaking too much with nervousness, happiness that they are here,
anger at Noah. The conversation with Mordread is circling my mind like a
vulture. I look up at Kreed with pleading eyes and he takes over untying
them both.
“We don’t need any more unknown creatures on our lands.” Lyra
says.
“Lyra–” Kreed starts.
“You just can’t help yourself can you? I don’t know what the fuck I
did to you in the whole whopping day I have known you but your a real
bitch. I have had enough, if you have a problem with me, out with it. Now.”
I look between Ferrick and Lyra.
“I just don't trust you.” She says, with no emotion.
“And you think being a bitch is going to get me to open up to you?
Let me tell you, I have dealt with obnoxious, self absorbed, judgmental,
shitty people my whole life. You are no different than any human I have
ever met. Take your shit attitude and opinions and shut the fuck up. I have
bigger problems to deal with.” I turn to Ferrick. “Thank you again for
bringing them here. It means the world to me.” Ferrick nods and starts to
turn and leave. “Wait! Ferrick, if you're not busy tomorrow, can you meet us
here tomorrow? I have something to ask of you. I also would like you to
train me with the staff and daggers?”
“Of course Dana. I can be here around noon?” I nod and he grabs
Lyra by the arm and drags her down the pathway. I turn back to Noah and
Aavin.
“I missed you.”
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