Branded (6 page)

I always felt sure I knew terror as no other person did but the terror I felt now could not even compare to what I had before experienced.

It was completely dark, wherever it was I might be. It hid things from my eyes and it seemed to be in alliance with the voices I heard. It unmercifully veiled them in its impenetrable folds.

The laughter was maddening as the voices heckled, rising in volume and dementia with each passing moment.

Cold clammy hands reached out at me, tracing fingers along my cheek, down the back of my neck, across my thigh, grasping my ankles. The feeling of the condemned pressing closer in on me, nothing but hands touching, was beyond petrifying.

Through all these sensations a new one began. The feeling that a more solid and lucid being was standing directly before me, cloaked cruelly in the darkness. A new distinctive set of hands reached forth, ever frigid and clammy as the others but more deliberate, more powerful.

They placed themselves on either side of my face and I felt my insides chill as I had the feeling eyes were boring into my own. Those hands slid slowly down to my shoulders, down my arms and I felt myself being pulled closer to the unseen being. The arms that started to wrap around me were just as cold as the hands attached to them.

I wanted to run, to disappear, to die but could do nothing as those arms forced me into an arctic embrace.

I sensed rather than heard as the thing seemed to be inhaling my scent and felt as if death had finally found me when a pair of lips brushed my ear.

“You shall be mine,” a voice clear and sharp as ice whispered.

As soon as the words were spoken I was released by the mass of cold hands and felt instead that my body was being shaken violently, the air around me warming quickly.

“You shall be mine,” the voice again whispered into the darkness. It was followed by a chilling low chuckle.

“Jessica?” the voice was quiet but frantic.

I realized the shaking was coming from a pair of large hands on my shoulders. My heart was pounding and I felt like my body was trembling violently. I had to get my eyes open. I had to escape from the cold.

“Jessica?” the voice called again, this time a little louder.

The muscles in my eyelids finally started working again and I opened my eyes just slightly and gasped when a pair of blue eyes seemed to be only inches away from my own.

“You’re awake!” Alex cried as he gathered me up in his arms and crushed me to his chest.

“Can’t breathe,” I gasped as the air was forced out of my lungs.

“Sorry,” he said as he immediately lay me back down.

“Are you alright? Do you want me to take you to the hospital? I nearly called 911!”

As his questions registered I had to think if I
was
actually alright. My scar burned as if it had been freshly branded but the rest of me felt only slightly shaky.

“No,” I said after only a moment of hesitation. “I’m fine.” Doctors were to be avoided at all costs. They would ask questions I had no logical answers to when they saw my bare back.

“Are you sure?” I could see the genuine concern in his eyes as he looked closely at my face. “I’m pretty sure my truck could make it through the snow if it has to.”

“I’m fine, Alex,” I said again as I struggled to sit up.

A thick quilt fell off me and with a horrified gasp I realized I was wearing nothing but my underwear and bra.

“Alex!” I shrieked as I pulled the blanket back up to cover me. “Did you do this?”

“Ya,” he said, no embarrassment in his voice. “After you passed out you started shaking like crazy, your teeth were chattering even. Your clothes were pretty well soaked, so when I brought you inside I thought it best to get them off before you froze to death.”

His explanation, however embarrassing it was, made sense. I registered that he himself was down to one pair of partially wet jeans and a tee-shirt.

“Oh, well, thanks, I guess,” I said as I realized I was in the living room on the couch. I noticed it had been pushed in front of the fireplace and a fire was roaring in it. Even though I knew the temperature had to be at least ten degrees above the normal of the house, it felt wonderful on my skin as the shaking started to die down.

“What happened?” he asked as he took a seat on the couch down by my feet.

I hadn’t thought up an explanation as to what had indeed occurred. I didn’t even know. So I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I got a little light headed all the sudden. I’m not really sure.”

He looked at me sternly for a long moment but seemed to accept my answer after a moment.

“How long was I out?” I couldn’t even begin to guess, it could have been seconds or hours as far as I could tell.

“Only about five minutes or so,” he answered as he stood. He walked to the kitchen and a moment later walked back with a tall glass of water and a pink, heart-shaped box.

“Drink this,” he said as he handed me the glass and sat back down. “I was going to wait till later to give this to you.

I didn’t think it would actually be benefiting your health,” he said with a chuckle and handed me the small box that I knew would contain chocolate. Mercifully it didn’t have any chubby-cheeked cherubs on it.

“If your blood-sugar was low, this will help,” he explained when I gave him a confused look. “Though that seems unlikely since we had just eaten. That could be the reason you passed out.”

“Thanks,” I said before I downed half the glass in one breath. I tried to ignore the intuitive way Alex was staring at me as I opened the box and popped a chocolate in my mouth. I extended the box toward him and, never breaking his stare, he took one.

“Alex,” I sighed as I leaned back on the couch. “I’m fine, really. I’m not sure why I passed out all the sudden but I promise I’m ok.”

“You gave me a scare there. We were just goofing off and then you looked at me and got this terrified expression on your face and collapsed, out cold.”

Crap. I was hoping the terror I irrationally felt had not shown on my face. Apparently I wasn’t so lucky.

“I think I’d feel better if you went and laid down for a while. You should get some rest.”

My brand burned as I shook my head. “I’m fine.

Really.”

Alex shook his head and that mischievous grin spread on his face. Before I realized what was happening, he had scooped me into his arms, thankfully keeping me covered with the quilt, and slung me up onto his shoulder.

“Put me down!” I shrieked as he started his descent down the stairs. “Alex!”

“Don’t argue with me, Jessica,” he said and I could tell there was a smile on his lips. He was enjoying this. “You passed out for no good reason. You really need to take it easy for the rest of the day. Or at least a few hours.” Seeing that my pounding on his back wasn’t getting me anywhere, I fell limp and let him carry me. He ducked as he walked through the door to my apartment and again into my bedroom. He set me gently down on my bed, pausing for just a slight moment to stare into my face again.

This time however, it was not a stare of unbelieving, searching for signs of my ill health. There was true concern there and I was surprised by the emotions that played across his face. First and foremost was the concern, but there was a hint of curiosity, and perhaps my mind was seeing things it wanted to, longing.

After a moment that seemed to stretch on for several mixed emotional minutes, I realized I had become partially uncovered and quickly rearranged the blankets to become appropriate. As I did so, a terrifying thought hit me like a semi truck.

“How much did you see?” I asked with a shaking voice. “When you were taking my wet things off?” If the answer to this question had not been so important I would have regretted asking it instantly by the hurt that spread on Alex’s face.

“I like to think of myself as a gentleman, Jessica,” he said as he straightened and stood, a stiffness filling him that didn’t fit. “I didn’t look anymore than I had to. I respect you as a woman. I didn’t do anything inappropriate.”

“Alex, no, I didn’t…” I trailed off realizing that I could not explain why I was suddenly so afraid he might have seen the brand or the impossible wings raised in my skin. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

He relaxed slightly but the offended expression was still too present on his face. “Just a second,” he said as he slipped out the door. I heard him rummaging through some things in the family room and he came back in after just a minute.

I was glad to see the hard expression was gone when he came back, replaced by that half smile that knew so well how to send my heart into a pathetic flutter.

“If you need anything,” he said as he extended something to me. I rolled my eyes and laughed when I reached out and found it was a bell. “Just ring this and I’ll come running.”

I couldn’t help but smile as I looked at it, shaking my head. “Thank you, Alex,” I said as I looked back up at him, meeting his dazzling smile.

“You’re welcome,” he said and headed toward the window, pulling the drapes shut. He then walked to the door.

“Get some rest,” he said as he looked back at me.

“Please.”

“I’ll try,” I said, truly wishing I could do as he asked.

He gave a weak smile and just before he closed the door a thought occurred to me.

“Alex?” Had I just imagined he snapped his head to look back at me just a little too fast? “Will you check on Sal for me? I just realized I haven’t gone to see her today.” Alex nodded his head with a soft smile then left.

Now alone with my thoughts, I had to consider the terrifying thing that had just occurred. It would seem that I had passed out but instead of being thrown into a trial, something else had happened. I had no explanation for what occurred; I wasn’t even sure what happened. But
that
had
never
happened before.

If there was any comfort in this terrifying curse I couldn’t escape it was that it was always the same. The final verdict may vary but the trial itself was predictable in its events and order. The fact that there was a new factor in all of this was just as terrifying as the dream itself, or whatever that was.

After a few hours of mulling over what happened I had pretty well convinced myself not to think too much of it. It was just something my mind made up, a nightmare of my own making, a simple response to my fear of seeing Alex with wings a few moments before. And besides, no matter what it was, dreams weren’t real.

If only I didn’t know better.

The hours passed slowly as I knew I had to stay in my bed or have Alex carry me back down here. Twice he peeked his head through my door and I pretended to be asleep for his benefit. It was easier than arguing with him.

In a way it was endearing. It was nice to have someone watching out for me for a change.

At four o’clock I decided I’d rested enough. I climbed in the shower and stood under the stream till the water ran cold. The contrast in heat felt refreshing but I pulled on my warmest sweater and put a pair of long johns on under my jeans.

When I found the basement empty I made my way upstairs, a delicious smell wafting through the house.

“Am I allowed to come out now?” I said, trying to keep my face serious as I stood at the top of the stairs.

Alex was in the kitchen again, that same silly pink and white checkered apron covering his front.

He looked up from whatever he was stirring in a giant pot and smiled. “Ya, I guess.”

He put a lid on the pot and wiped his hands on the apron before turning to something on a cutting board. “I hope you don’t mind having dinner a little early tonight. I was getting a kind of bored I’m afraid. I don’t much like being trapped in the house and it’s been a little too quiet for me.”

“It didn’t have to be so quiet,” I said as I took a seat at the table to watch him.

“Jessica,” he growled. He turned his attention to something in the oven. “I hope you don’t mind but I invited Sal to join us for dinner.”

“And she accepted?” I took no cares to hide the shock in my voice. I had never known Sal to leave her house.

“Yep,” he said, adding a few herbs to another pot.

“Wow,” I muttered. “She must really like you.”

“I was just nice to her. It took a little convincing but she didn’t give me too much trouble. Speaking of which,” he said as he glanced at the clock over the sink. “If you really are feeling better would you mind going over there and getting her? This will be done in just a minute.”

“Sure,” I said and jumped up to retrieve my boots and coat.

I couldn’t help but smile as I walked out the front door and saw a path had been shoveled from our door straight to Sal’s. He’d planned ahead.

I knocked and waited for a few seconds before letting myself into Sal’s house.

“Oh boy,” I breathed as I took the front room in.

I had seen it worse but the place was a mess. It looked as if Sal had brought everything from all the cupboards and shelves and strewn it across the floor. Pots, pans, ancient looking phonebooks, CD cases, everything.

“Sal?” I called as I began the search for her.

“Ah ha!” I must have jumped two feet in the air when I heard her shout from the dining room. “Found you.” I rushed into the room just in time to see her tip over a vase and see two shiny things fall into her waiting hand.

After setting the very expensive glass vase down, she slid the things into her ears and I realized they were earrings.

“I’ve been looking for these for the last hour,” Sal said as she looked up at me.

I was shocked by Sal’s appearance. Her hair was combed and even slightly curled. There were traces of makeup on her face and her clothes matched and looked like she had ironed them. I had never seen her look so put together.

“You look very nice, Sal,” I said as I followed her out into the living room.

“Thank you, Jessica,” she said as she began searching around in the mess. After a second she stooped and picked up a pair of shiny black dress shoes. “Is it time to go then?” I still had not gotten over the shock of how normal Sal looked as I nodded it was. Without hesitation she walked to and out the front door.