Dark Spirits (4 page)

I picked up my plate and went to the sink, deciding I wasn’t going to tell him about my visions until he filled me in on everything.

 “Yes, I did.”

“And.”

“And, I found out some disturbing information.”

“What?” In a flash he stood next to me.

“I’m not going to tell you.” I walked out of the kitchen with self-determined steps, leaving him standing there staring after me.

“Why?” he asked, his voice raised.

“Why should I? You don’t tell me anything or include me in your plans. You didn’t even wake me last night to tell me what happened.” As I headed for the stairs, a gust of air brushed against my cheek. When I turned to the staircase, I came face to face with Nathan. “Get out of my way.”

He cupped his hands on my shoulders. “Listen to me, Paige. You mean more to me than anything, and I’ll do everything in my power to protect you. Even if that means you being pissed-off at me.” He lolled his head back and let out a heavy sigh, and then looked at me. “Now with that being said, I didn’t wake you last night because I was exhausted. However, I planned on telling you what happened this morning.”

“Oh,” is all I could say, feeling a little embarrassed about my antics and allowing my emotions to run haywire.

“Let’s go back into the kitchen and finish our coffee,” he said.

 I followed him, and we sat at the table. He took a drink of his coffee, eyeing me over the rim. Reluctance filled his eyes, and I thought maybe he had changed his mind. But then he spoke:

“Since we just got back three days ago, I don’t have much to tell you.” He paused and set his mug down. “Ameerah is a dark spirit. Last night was the first time I’ve met her. She heard what Aosoth had done and knew I’d do everything in my power to make her pay for trying to kill you. Ameerah knows Aosoth and detests her. She also knows Aosoth is right now in the--”

“Sahara Desert,” I said, enjoying the shocked look on his face.

“How did you--”

“I’ll tell you in a minute.” I gestured for him to continue.

 “Anyway,” he said, his gaze still holding mine, “she made a vow to herself to get Aosoth back for killing her girlfriend.”

“But she’s a dark spirit,” I said, hearing the protest in my voice. I rested my elbows on the table and wrapped my hands around the back of my neck, narrowing my eyes.

 “I know, but not all dark spirits are evil or want to claim earth as their own. Yes, they’re hedonistic and mischievous but when one of their kind betrays them, they’ll stop at nothing to make that entity suffer.”

“How do you know you can trust her?” I wasn’t sure about this and hoped he knew what he was doing. I mean, what if she was in league with Aosoth, but pretended otherwise, just to trap Nathan and get him out of the way?

A confident smile formed on his face. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. I’ve been observing dark spirits for a very long time. Not all of them believe in the same thing. Therefore, they cluster with the ones who share the same ideals. Ameerah, may be a dark spirit, but she’s not as dark as most of them and neither are her friends.”

“Do her friends know about this?”

“No, but I did warn her if she betrays me, I’d bring hell’s fury down upon her.”

“What did she do when you said that?”

The corner of his mouth turned up. “Her face became pale, and sweat broke out across her forehead. She assured me she’d never violate my trust or cause you any harm. Then she confided if her friends knew about her dealings with me, they’d try to keep her away.”

“Because they’re scared of you?”

“Right.” He smiled.

I remembered what he told me months ago that if he had to, he could be just as conniving as the dark spirits. And with the knowledge he gained through ancient writings, and his homemade incantations, a lot of the dark spirits stayed clear of him. But there were some who hated him and would like to see him suffer.

“What’s your plan then?”

“Ameerah is going to keep an eye on Aosoth. When Aosoth fully regains her energy, Ameerah will call me. Then she’ll let me know when Aosoth is alone.”

“What are you going to do?” I took a sip of my coffee, hoping he would let me in on his plan.

“I’m still working the details out on that one.” He leaned forward, and my breath caught in my throat when an intense expression suddenly entered his face. Slowly I set my mug down. “But when the time comes, I prefer you didn’t see it.”

I looked away, wondering what he would do to her, and felt a little disappointed he hadn’t devised a plan yet. He had all summer to think about it. Unless, he had but didn’t want to share it with me . . .

I didn’t know what to think but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. When we were on the island, we were in a different frame of mind and didn’t have time to plot revenge let alone discuss about Solomon’s ring and incantations. I did learn Nathan knew Morse Code, which I did too. He was impressed when I told him that, but before I could show or tell him how I knew it, Anwar interrupted us. From then on, Anwar monopolized most of my time, and Nathan was right there with us, pretending to be my opponent so I could practice my fighting skills on someone. Anwar would stand there, instructing me on how to do things like how to strike and drive my elbow into Nathan’s torso. “You must rotate your hips,” he’d say, “to throw Nathaniel back and to the ground.” He’d wave me aside and would have Nathan demonstrate the move on him. Of course, Nathan did it flawlessly. Show off. And then Anwar would have me try it again until I perfected the move. Afterwards, we’d move onto something else like defensive ground fighting. So of course Nathan wouldn’t have time to plan out Aosoth’s demise.

“Now, tell me about what you saw last night,” Nathan said, folding his hands on the table, cutting into my thoughts.

I told him everything, including the fuzzy vision I couldn’t make out. Like me, he was surprised at the clarity of my second vision since I only had tried the ritual of consciousness once with no real success. Now if only I could do the same thing but choose whom to eavesdrop on. Yet when he told me that, I couldn’t help but feel a pinch of doubt. I mean, what if last night happened to be a onetime thing? Nathan thought otherwise and wanted me to try again tonight. If only his belief in me extended outside protective walls, I’d feel much better.

***

On the way to Carrie’s mom’s antique store, Nathan told me he’d go see Ameerah tonight to find out if she knew anything about the dark spirits in the barn. It concerned him because he didn’t think they’d be able to get the ring away from the “old one,” which left one other option. Kill me.

“That’s a good idea,” I told him. “I’d like to meet her.”

 “Not tonight, okay?” He parked his truck next to a vintage white VW bug with colorful peace signs and flower designs painted on it.

“Are you serious?” He didn’t answer, but the tight line in his lips said it all. I ground my teeth. “Ya know. We’re supposed to be a team. I’m not some damn princess you can lock up in a tower.” I hopped out of the truck before he could respond and slammed the door.

“Paige.” He tried to take my hand, but I shoved it in my pocket and kept walking. He snatched my arm, stopping me, and leveled his eyes with mine. “I promise, I’ll tell you everything, but I will not risk you getting hurt. If you were to come with me, there would be a good chance of that happening. Do you understand?”

I nodded, even though I still disagreed. I mean, I understood his intentions; however, this had to do with me, and he shouldn’t be calling all the shots. And yeah, he was way more experienced than I am, but how would I ever get good at protecting myself if he wouldn’t allow me the chance to do so?

He gave me a nervous smile, and I wondered if the realization had hit him his actions could save me, but in the end, they could also easily break us up. Without saying another word, we headed across the parking lot with a chasm of unsettled feelings between us.

A bell jingled when we entered the antique store, and Carrie hurried to me. The store smelled like the pages in an old book. I loved that ancient, rich, dusty smell. There were display cabinets filled with antique jewelry, old coins, trading cards, comic books still in the plastic wrapper, and other odds and ends. To the right of the entrance, porcelain dolls sat in a glass cabinet along the pale yellow wall. In the far corner to the left were wooden bookshelves filled with classical books. Past that were a couple rooms packed with antique furniture and clothes.

“Nathan, I need to steal Paige for a minute,” Carrie said, laying the pricing machine beside the cash register on the half moon counter.

“Hi, Paige. Hi, Nathan,” Caroline said, walking up the aisle toward us, her arms filled with plates. Nathan immediately came to her assistance.

I smiled and waved as Carrie pulled me past her mom. She returned my smile, her chocolate eyes soft and warm on my face. “Nice seeing you, Paige,” she said with a teasing lilt in her voice.

Carrie rolled her eyes, still pulling me with her. “I won’t be long, Mom.”

We stepped into a room at the back of the store. Carrie moved behind a buffet table and an old wooden ice box. She smashed her back in the corner and knelt, digging in the pocket of her black capri pants.

“Carrie, what’s going on?” I kneeled in front of her, my heart racing. She was totally acting paranoid.

She pulled her cell phone out and looked up. “Is Nathan nearby?” she whispered.

I listened and could hear Nathan talking to Caroline about how I was doing. “He’s still talking to your mom,” I whispered back. “What’s wrong?”

She handed me her phone and tapped her black fingernail on the screen to read it. I read the text from Tree, and my mouth dropped.

I knew it!

Brayden was in town and planned on seeing me. He told Tree he’d been marked for immortality and had taken it. He also knew Nathan and I were immortal as well, but he didn’t say how he knew. This wasn’t good because the last time Brayden was here, Nathan wanted to kill him. I groaned and shook my head.

“I didn’t want to tell you in front of Nathan because of how he feels about Brayden,” Carrie whispered. “I know it was wrong for Brayden to touch you like he had, but I thought you should know. And for the record, he is deeply sorry about that.”

“Thanks.” I handed her phone back, torn on what to do. I could tell Nathan that Brayden was back in town, but what good would that do? Nathan already had too much to worry about. I thought about him not allowing me to go with him to see Ameerah tonight, and an idea came to me.

 “What are you going to do?”

I leaned next to her ear and whispered, “I’m sure he’ll come to see me when Nathan isn’t around, and if he does . . . ” I paused, and flashed her a mischievous smile. “I may ask him for his help.”

Chapter Four

I sat back on my heels, watching what I’d just said register on Carrie’s face, uncertainty clouding her eyes. I could tell by her expression she was struggling with her loyalty to both parties, unsure which side to take. On the one hand, Brayden was our best friend, and we’d known him most of our lives. However, Nathan was also our best friend. He’d not only saved me from death more than once but Carrie and Tree as well. Carrie dropped her gaze and slowly shook her head. I knew then she was wavering to Nathan’s side.

“Listen, Carrie,” I whispered, before she could object. “Nathan has been keeping things from me.”

She lifted her eyes, a bit startled. “But I thought he never kept anything from you,” she said, half-whispering, looking like I just told her he cheated on me.

“Normally he doesn’t, but he’s afraid to get me involved in fear I’ll get hurt.”

“But you can take care of yourself now.”

I smiled, knowing I totally had her vote now. “He’s also concerned I’d allow my emotions get in the way and--”

She made a weird face. “Emotions?”

I forgot I’d never told her or Tree about this part of immortality. Well, now was as good as time as ever to tell her, and at least it would get her to understand both sides of the story.

“Immortals’ emotions are like a live wire. We feel a trillion times more than humans, and Nathan thinks I need to learn to control my emotions before he feels comfortable with me getting involved in any of this. Or, whatever.” I shrugged.

 “That’s silly,” Carrie said. “Although, last night, you were a bit snippy with us, but I have to admit, I loved what you did to Tree.”

I grinned. “Yeah, I had fun putting him in his place.”

She scratched her head and looked past me. The bell jingled in the front of the store, and I heard Caroline greeting the customers. But then she continued her conversation with Nathan. They were talking about antique furniture, comparing it to how poorly furniture was made today.

“I can see why Nathan feels that way,” Carrie said almost apologetically. “You have been hypersensitive since you’ve been back, but I also know you.” She smiled and then quickly amended that statement. “Not that Nathan doesn’t
know
you.”

“I get what you mean,” I said.

“But I’m sure if you were in a situation where you had to keep your emotions in check, you would. You’d make a conscious effort not to ruin it.”

“Exactly,” I said. “And I hate to say this, but Brayden would feel the same way as you.”

“You’re right. He would,” she agreed. “So, what are you going to tell Nathan if he asks you about what we were talking about?”

My lips quivered into a snicker. “I’ll tell him you think you’re pregnant.” I covered my mouth with both hands, trying not to laugh out loud when a horrified look entered her face.

“Omigod. Don’t say that!” she exclaimed, the panic rising in her voice. “You might jinx me.”

I raised a finger to my lips, and she pointed harshly at me, mouthing “You better not, Paige!”

I hugged my arms around my stomach and bent over in quiet laughter, not because the idea of her being pregnant was funny, but because of her reaction. Red-faced, she violently shook her head.

I took a couple deep breaths. “I’m only joking. I’ll tell him it was girl stuff, but I don’t think he’ll ask me anyway.”

Carrie sighed and slumped to her knees. She glanced at her phone and placed it in my hand. I had a message from Brayden:

hi, paige. it’s, brayden. I’m so sorry 4 what I did. Pls forgive me. I miss u. see u soon.

I stared at the text, not realizing until now, how much I’d missed him. Yeah, what he had done the last time I saw him was wrong, but his apology seemed genuine. Not to mention, we had a history together. And honestly, every time I thought about that night and his deplorable behavior, fond childhood memories of us being together far outweighed that one mishap of his.

 My chest ached, and I didn’t know whether to answer him or not. What would I say? Just saying “hi” would be too cold. If I were to say I missed him too, it would just lead him on, and I didn’t want to do that. I read his words again, and for some strange reason my stomach did a roller coaster dip. I bit my lip and handed Carrie her phone. And then we emerged from our hiding spot, back to Nathan and her mom.

***

“Caroline told me Carrie plans on going to beauty school in Portland,” Nathan said on the way to Astoria’s Sunday Market. “She also mentioned Tree would be going to Portland with her to get his auto mechanic’s degree.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” I said, zipping up my plush purple hoodie. Even though it was a dry day for coastal Oregon, the gray and cloudy sky made it a bit chilly. “Tree was basically born with a wrench in his hand and grew up working in his father’s garage. As for Carrie, well, she loves working with hair.”

Nathan braked at a four-way stop sign and looked at me while he waited for the two cars ahead to pass. “Did you know both Carrie and Tree delayed their plans to go to school this fall until next year?”

I didn’t know that, and in the pit of my stomach I had a sinking feeling on why that was.

“No, I didn’t,” I said, wanting to strangle them both. They were so frickin’ stubborn. I wanted to scream. I bet Brayden had something to do with it. A surge of anger whipped through me. Didn’t Brayden care about the lives of our two best friends? Didn’t he realize what could happen? In that brief moment I didn’t care whether Nathan knew about Brayden being here or if Nathan had too much on his plate, because if Brayden was going to be careless, I didn’t want to be around him. But when I opened my mouth to confess about Brayden’s arrival, Nathan spoke first.

“Caroline told me they had decided this back in April. I’m guessing right after you became immortal,” he said, driving through a parking lot packed with rows of vehicles. “They told her they wanted to take a year off of school, but you and I both know their motives behind that decision.” He stopped and waited for a black Toyota to back out.

A sense of relief washed over me. During that time Brayden was dealing with being marked for immortality, so he had no part in their decision. My earlier desire to see him turned into a keen sense of urgency when the realization came that I had no idea what he knew or how he felt about everything.

I had to see him.

Like, soon.

“Paige?”

I turned to Nathan, not realizing I’d been zoning out the side window, oblivious to his presence. He parked, then placed his hand over my heart. I could feel its warmth through my clothes, and it brought me back to him. His touch, soft and intimate, caused me to lose my train of thought, and I stared into his deep blue eyes.

“Your heart is racing,” he murmured, his voice smooth like a river of melted caramel.

He was right. I could hear my heart pounding and the blood rushing through the valves. He lowered his eyes and peeked at me through his long eyelashes. When I stopped breathing, the corner of his mouth curled into a slow, lopsided smile, making my heart thud even faster.

“You mustn’t worry,” he whispered, cradling the side of my face with his other hand. “What you did to Tree last night, which by the way was very clever, I think had put the whole thing into perspective for him.” He lifted his hand off my heart and cradled the other side of my face. The electrifying energy between us sparked in the air, charging it with the sweet nectar of love and desire.

 He studied my face, waiting for a response, his thumbs gently rubbing my cheeks in slow circles. Gabbing voices floated through my open window. There were a couple of women discussing the handmade necklaces they’d bought, wondering if they should give it as Christmas presents as they’d intended, or keep it for themselves. I looked down when they approached the car beside ours, my hair curtaining my face, their shadows moving across us. I came to my senses, feeling crappy that Nathan’s assumption was wrong. My anxiety had to do with Brayden, not Tree and Carrie.

“It’ll be fine,” he assured me when I didn’t respond. He lifted my chin and kissed me softly on the lips. When he pulled back, I tried to smile, but my guilt made it impossible to do. I turned away and coughed in my hand, deflecting what could have been a romantic moment.

This was so wrong. I should tell Nathan about Brayden’s arrival, and that I wanted to visit with him. Sure, Nathan had a lot to deal with right now, and I’d hate to add to it, but he’d want to know about Brayden being in town, right?

“Nathan, I have something to--” I started to say when he lifted my hair off my shoulder, but then the theme song to
The Exorcist
came to life between us. Surprised, my gaze fell on his tan cargo pants.

“It’s Ameerah,” he said.

“You programmed a song for her into your phone?” I said, not liking that one bit.

“Yes, so I know it’s Ameerah calling.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. “Hello.”

I snatched my purse off the floor and stepped out of the truck. I had to admit, using that song to identify a dark spirit possessing a human was comical; however, it still irked me. I mean, Nathan seemed numb to how it affected me, like my feelings didn’t matter to him. He made me feel like he was team captain and didn’t choose me to be a part of his team. Yeah, I understood his concern about my well-being, but still . . . Brayden would have never excluded me from his plans. And ya know what? I no longer felt bad about not mentioning Brayden’s arrival to him.

Nope.

Not one bit.

Now if he’d asked me if I knew where Brayden was, I’d tell him. I wouldn’t lie about it, but what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

“Aosoth is slowly starting to crawl across the desert,” Nathan told me, intertwining his fingers with mine. We walked across the parking lot, toward the sounds of people and folk music. “Which means she’ll be on her feet soon.”

“Then what?” I asked, imaging a black figure crawling on all fours through the hot sand. The creepiness of it made me shiver.

“Then it’ll be a matter of days for her energy to be restored to its full potential.”

“Are you still seeing Ameerah tonight?”

 “Yes, I’m supposed to meet her at eight.”

“Where?”

He hung his head and sighed. “Somewhere that’s not a safe place for you to go.”

I bit my tongue, deciding not to argue about it. I mean, what would be the point? It would just be a circular argument that would get us nowhere.

“What were you about to tell me before Ameerah called?” Nathan asked, jumping at the chance to change the subject.

“Oh,” I said, thinking on my feet. “I want to get a cell phone after we leave here.” Which was true because I had planned on doing that once I found out Brayden was in town. So I wasn’t totally lying to him.

“We can do that,” he said, smiling as we approached one of the three blocks that were closed off to all vehicles.

 There were rows of white tents that filled the street. Some vendors offered homegrown fruits and vegetables, while others displayed bake goods. The air had a fried, sweet smell to it of kettle corn and . . .

Omigod! They had funnel cakes. I adored fried bread with honey and cinnamon sugar on it. It was so fattening, but one of the cool parts about being immortal was I could eat and eat and eat and not gain weight.

Yeah, it rocked.

“Do you want a funnel cake?” Nathan asked, noticing me breathing in and the heavenly look on my face as I stared at the women making them. There was an endeared amusement in the tone of his voice.

I pulled him across the street through the crowd of people, straight to a food cart with a red and white striped awning over it. A plump woman stood inside it. She had dark hair with big loopy curls that fell to her shoulders. Her smile reached her hazel eyes.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

Written on the right side of the cart in bold black letters was a list of foods they made and the drinks they served. Nathan scanned the list.

“What do you want?” I asked, pulling money out of my purse.

“I got this,” he said, taking a half step ahead of me. “Do you want anything else? A drink maybe?”

“No, just a funnel cake with some honey and cinnamon sugar.” I stepped beside him, and the lady’s gaze shifted on Nathan.

“I’ll have one of your cream cheese-filled pretzels and a Coke.” He retrieved his wallet from his back pocket and paid the lady.

Across from us, beside a tent selling incense and candles, was a hippy-looking guy with long brown hair, sitting cross-legged on the ground. He wore a suede fringe vest and was bent over his acoustic guitar, playing the folk music I’d heard earlier. Some of the people who walked by tossed coins and crumpled bills into his open guitar case.

After the lady handed Nathan his change, I followed him to the window where we were supposed to wait for our food. My eyes lit up when they fell on the food cart beside this one.

“Where are you going?”

I pointed to the smoothie cart. He knew my penchant for smoothies and knowingly raised his eyebrows in a “ah, of course” fashion.