Craved (14 page)

“Your cat can act as a conduit between
yourself and the spirit world, but she can not project you into the
realm of the death, which I suspect is where you were last night
and why you’re so tired today. It takes a lot of practice and
energy to walk amongst the dead. It seems you have a little spirit
walker in you, and with a little practice, I imagine you’ll find
that you can do more than you ever thought you could. Interesting…”
Ms Ozland said with awe coloring her tone.

“You’re saying that I
wasn’t in my bed last night, I was actually in what?…the ghostly
plain?” The whole thing sounded ludicrous and had me wondering if
Ms. Ozland had taken one too many potions that might be affecting
her head. I instantly regretted coming to the old woman’s cottage,
because if she were right, then my whole world was about to change.
I couldn’t say that I was excited about the news. If I were, in
fact, some kind of spirit walker, then I’d be treated like a freak
in a circus sideshow.
Step right up and
see one of the last spirit walkers.

“That gray swirling within your aura
isn’t a fluke my dear, that’s death. The dream you speak of wasn’t
a dream, you were in the realm of the spirits,” Ms. Ozland said
matter-of-factly. I noticed she was watching me with a sort of
curiosity that made me feel like a specimen under a microscope. I
rose to leave, still feeling lethargic, but Ms. Ozland held up a
hand to stop me. Without saying a word, she went to her rustic
kitchen and opened cabinets as she searched for something. I rolled
my neck, hoping to ease the tension that had settled within its
muscles

As I waited for Ms. Ozland to find
whatever she was looking for, I thought about spirit walkers and
why there weren’t many of them. It seemed odd that their gift was a
limited commodity. Every being that held magic had gotten it from
nature itself. Everything was connected with a web of energy that
we could not see. This energy somehow flowed through our veins and
allowed us to do amazing things that humans often feared. Maybe
since spirit walkers could walk from our reality into a darker
dimension, it wasn’t nature’s magic but something else, something
more sinister. Gooseflesh broke out along my arms as I had the
mental conversation with myself and when Ms. Ozland returned, she
was holding what looked like a Zip-loc baggie full of
teabags.

“Your gift isn’t to be feared, Gwen,
it’s a rare and unique magic.”

I rubbed my arms as if it would make
the goose bumps disappear. Ms. Ozland was holding the baggie out to
me and I accepted with an arched eyebrow.

“It’s an energetic potion you drink in
the form of tea. Drink it only when you return from the ghostly
plain and need to regain your energy.” I tucked the baggie inside
my purse and pulled out my wallet, fully intending to pay Ms.
Ozland for her help.

“How much do I owe you?” She waved a
hand in the air as if to erase my question.

“I’m very happy to help one of the few
spirit walkers still alive today, free of charge.” I reluctantly
tucked my wallet back in my purse and gave her a nervous smile, not
completely convinced I was what she said I was.

The drizzle had turned into a steady
rainfall and I cursed myself for not taking my car the short
distance. My hair was plastered to my face and my makeup was surely
ruined. I picked up my pace as if I could outrun the rain that
seemed hell-bent on drowning me. I stopped into Espresso Self,
hoping a large mocha and muffin would lend me some energy until I
could have a cup of Ms. Ozland’s tea.

Broomsticks was nearly empty when I
returned. I set down the coffee I’d gotten for Penny and gave her
an apologetic smile. All of the shops were closing early tonight
for the Founder’s Day Gala and the weather had kept the curious
tourists tucked in their hotel rooms. I had to wonder if a resident
of Flora wasn’t responsible for the downpour.

Penny took a sip of her coffee and I
wrapped both of my hands around my own cup to absorb all the warmth
it offered. With a smile, Penny grabbed a handheld mirror we kept
behind the counter and held it out so that my face was reflected in
it.

“Drowned rat on aisle one,” she said
with amusement. My mascara ran south and my dark hair clung against
my head in a stringy mess. I groaned at my appearance, embarrassed
I’d gone into Espresso Self in such a condition. I quickly covered
my face with both hands and concentrated on being free of any
makeup. When I removed my hands, my face didn’t hold a gram of the
stuff. I ran my hands down my hair and willed the strands to be
dry. I checked the mirror again and although I now looked like a
plain-Jane, it was better than how I looked before.

“Why didn’t you just conjure an
umbrella?” Penny asked, like it was the obvious answer.

“My mind’s been in a fog, otherwise I
would have, or taken my car like a smart person,” I told her. A man
in his forties stepped up to the register and deposited his items
on the counter. I let Penny ring him up and waited patiently while
she finished the sale. Once he paid and was on his way out, I went
to the door and locked it.

“We’re closing extra early,” I told
Penny. We normally closed at six and today stores were closing at
three to allow enough time for everyone to primp for the enormous
soiree that evening. I was only closing the shop two hours earlier
than usual; I loved being the boss.

**************

I rushed home, hoping to get a couple
hours of sleep, although I was afraid what might happen if I closed
my eyes. Would Bridget be waiting to pull me back where she waited
in that depressing farmhouse? I still wasn’t convinced that I had
anything to do with my visits from her. Wouldn’t I have had some
inkling if I were a spirit walker? Unless my ability to read
death’s memories was linked to a spirit walker. Once again, I had
too many questions and no answers.

I pulled into my normal parking spot
and quickly ran up the stairs to my apartment. I had to push a
little harder on the front door to get it to open, the moisture
causing it to stick. Surprisingly, the apartment was empty, except
for Aura who slept on the arm of the sofa. I shook off my leather
jacket and hung it on the rack by the door. There was no telling
where Fiona was, she didn’t work. Most likely she was getting
pampered at the salon for tonight. A pang of jealously stuck in my
gut but I quashed it and went to my bedroom. The party didn’t start
until eight so I could get at least two hours of sleep before I had
to primp myself.

I forced my wet jeans down and stepped
out of them and did the same with my shirt, so that I was only
wearing my underwear and bra. I climbed into the warmth of my bed
and thought I’d literally died and gone to heaven. I couldn’t
remember ever being so exhausted. It wasn’t long before my eyes
sealed shut and the many questions that floated within my brain
were dissolved into oblivion.

Flashes of memories played
through my mind, but not of the spiritual sense. Pictures of Aiden
occupied my mind, like a slide show. The flashes stopped on the day
we met, two years ago. I was sitting in a café with my laptop,
going over the store’s finances. I could feel someone watching me,
that intuitive feeling everyone possesses. I looked up and a slight
blush colored my cheeks upon noticing a man with impeccable
cheekbones, bright blue eyes, and jet black hair watching me. I
gave him a small smile and returned my attention to my computer
screen. I couldn’t concentrate on what I was doing though;, I
looked up again and saw that he was still watching me. He was, by
far, the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. He smiled at me,
revealing perfectly white teeth and in response I smiled back. It
seemed he was infectious, I couldn’t ignore him. I quickly
remembered I already had a very handsome boyfriend, so I gathered
my stuff and began to leave. Unless I wanted to walk all the way
around the café to avoid this man’s table, I had to walk right past
him.

Luckily, he didn’t say
anything to me when I walked by his table. I released a breath I
didn’t realize I’d been holding and pushed through the doors. I had
taken maybe ten steps before I heard a man’s voice say “Hey”. I
turned around to see if he was talking to me and it was the man
from the café. He walked to where I stood and silently laughed. I
looked at him sheepishly and waited to find out what he
wanted.

“My name’s Aiden. When I
saw you, I couldn’t risk not introducing myself to such a beautiful
woman,” he said, in a voice as smooth as velvet. I laughed
nervously and said,

“I’m Gwen.” I didn’t
comment on his compliment, not knowing how to respond. He held out
his hand and I looked at it before deciding it was rude to ignore
it. I clasped his hand and noticed the lukewarm temperature, he was
a vampire. It didn’t matter what he was, he was beautiful to look
at.

We held hands a little too
long and I quickly pulled free of his grasp. “It was nice to meet
you, Aiden,” I told him and then turned to leave. Once my back was
to him, a smile broke out along my lips that I couldn’t
restrain.

“Would you join me for
dinner tomorrow night?” he called from behind me. That made my
smile widen, knowing that vampires didn’t eat and that he was just
trying to see me again. I half turned to face him and his eyes
burned into me with a feeling that I couldn’t fathom.

“I’m sorry, but I’m dating
someone,” I told him. He nodded his head as if he expected that
much.

“Dinner among new friends
then?” I laughed at his persistence but shook my head. I’d only
been dating Micah for four months and didn’t want him to think I
was cheating on him, especially if he saw how hot Aiden
was.

“I don’t think so,” I
said.

“I understand, but I will
see you again,” Aiden said with certainty. I didn’t question how
he’d see me again, since I didn’t give him my phone number or
address, but turned and headed for home.

The memory faded away and
was replaced with another. In this one, Micah and I were sitting in
Smiths, a bar that set at the edge of town. Smiths was your average
sports bar, pool tables toward the back and large flat screen TVs
lining the walls, displaying almost every sporting event. Five
other of Micah’s pack members circled around the pool table as I
concentrated on making my last shot. I sunk the eight ball in the
desired pocket and jumped up and down in victory.

“I let her win,” Micah
said with a sly smile. He got a lot of crap from his pack members
for a girl beating him and, just as I was finishing rubbing in my
victory, I noticed a pair of blue eyes twinkling at me. I shifted
my head so that I could see the owner of such mesmerizing eyes and,
once the waitress moved out of the way, I saw Aiden sitting on one
of the barstools. He raised his glass toward me with an amused
smirk.

“What’s he doing here?”
Micah grumbled. It had been two months since I met Aiden in the
café. I had seen him again, just as he promised, and it didn’t seem
like he was going away. It should have bothered me more that I was
being followed by a sort of stalker but it didn’t. Aiden wasn’t
creepy or scary and it secretly made me giddy to see him in a crowd
with his eyes always on me.

“Probably having a drink,
like we are,” I told Micah, but I knew he was here for a more
personal reason. I bit my lip to stop a smile from showing on my
face and I turned my attention toward the pack members.

“Who’s next?” I called,
holding out the pool cue.

The scene faded away and
like before, another replaced it. I instantly recognized this
memory; it was when Micah broke up with me. Earlier that day, he
told me the bad news and, after telling Fiona what happened, she
suggested we have a girls’ night in. A mountainous pile of snotty
tissues was next to me while I held up a shot glass Fiona had
poured for me. I watched it with blurry eyes, and as the tears
continued to fall, I downed the whiskey. The taste didn’t even
affect me like it had the first couple of times. I was definitely
shit-faced. My eyes were red and puffy and my hair was in a messy
ponytail atop my head. The phone rang and Fiona stumbled to answer
it. I had a sudden urge to get away from everything. I got up and
told Fiona I was taking a walk. She shot me a strange look but was
too preoccupied and drunk, to care.

I stumbled down the
stairs, luckily not breaking my neck, and headed down the street.
It was midnight and most of the town was asleep, except for the
vampires. I made my way to Willow Creek Park and collapsed on a
park bench. Micah’s pack had come here often to run and I had
accompanied him many times. I was lying on my back with my knees
bent up, when a face appeared over me. Even in my plastered state,
I immediately recognized Aiden. I covered my face, not wanting him
to see me looking like the mess that I was. I just wanted to be
alone and cry, without any witness who felt sorry for me, or looked
as gorgeous as Aiden.

Aiden swooped me up into
his arms. I felt safe in that moment; I lay my head against his
chest and allowed him to carry me. I must have fallen asleep
because when I opened my eyes again; Aiden was pulling me out of
his car and carrying me again. I vaguely remembered seeing a large
home but the alcohol was making everything spin.

The next thing I saw was
me being laid onto a plush bed. Aiden brushed a stray strand of
hair out of my face and I gave him a sad smile.