Dark Spirits (6 page)

“How am I supposed to learn if you keep sheltering me?” I snapped before jumping out of the truck and slamming the door. I stomped across the sidewalk, straight into the store, without glancing back at him.

***

While Nathan was upstairs changing his clothes, I contacted Carrie and Tree to give them my new cell phone number. I didn’t mention Brayden. The urgent need I had earlier to see him had ebbed. Besides, I knew I’d see him eventually anyway and left it up to fate on what recourse I should take when it came to the sticky situation regarding Nathan’s overprotectiveness.

After I bought my cell phone, I’d decided not to fight with him anymore. It wasn’t worth it. So I swallowed my hurt and frustrated feelings and apologized for snapping at him. Truthfully, I wasn’t sorry, but I hated being mad at him. I mean, he was doing what he felt was right, and I imagined my almost dying played a huge role in his behavior. However, I needed to do what I felt was right too.

 I didn’t realized until last night Nathan’s intentions on keeping me locked away while he took care of business. I also didn’t realize he had been associating with a dark spirit, which stung me pretty hard. And with my heightened emotions I was still learning to control, it stood to reason why I’d been reacting this way. But now that I was aware of it, I felt better about things.

Yeah, I’d leave it up to fate and would go along with Nathan’s suggestions until I knew what I had to do for me.

“Are you going to do the rite of consciousness tonight?” Nathan asked, entering the living room, dressed in black, looking hot with his short sleeve black T-shirt that accentuated his chiseled form.

I was lying on the couch texting Tree about Nathan going out and laid my cell beside me. “I haven’t really thought about it,” I replied. “Actually, Tree is working in his dad’s garage. I’m thinking about going there to visit with him and Carrie.”

Nathan shot me a wary look, which instantly made me bristle. “I rather you not go anywhere. It’s too dangerous for you, Paige.”

I sat up, and without thinking I blurted, “You’re not my boss!” As soon as the words flew out of my mouth, I bit my lip, reminding myself to control my emotions and not fight with him.

He sat next to me. “You’re right. I’m not your boss, but eventually we’re going to get married, so you need to learn to obey me now.” The corners of his mouth twitched, and we both burst out in laughter.

I clutched his knee and shook it. “That’s a good one,” I said, still laughing.

“I thought so.” He smiled. “But seriously, can’t you invite them over instead?”

I shook my head. “Tree is on a deadline and can’t stop what he’s doing. Carrie is even helping him. In fact, she’s doing an oil change right now.”

Nathan lifted his eyebrows, clearly impressed. “Really?”

I smiled. “I know. She’s becoming a grease monkey herself and doesn’t seem to mind it.”

Carrie, the girl who used to dress up like Snow White for Halloween when we were kids, then traded in her desire to be a princess for a Gothic punk style, and now was becoming a grease monkey. I always thought Carrie had a cute style with her shoulder length dark hair and dark red tips and punk clothes.

Nathan placed his hands together in prayer and moved them back and forth. “Then can you please stay home tonight?
Please,
Paige, for me?”

He was so damn cute. I couldn’t deny his plea. I playfully rolled my eyes and pretended to ponder it.

He stretched across my lap and looked up at me with those dark blue eyes. “
Please,
” he said again.

I leaned over and softly kissed his lips. “All right, I’ll stay home.”

He smiled and nudged my head down so he could have another kiss. I teased his bottom lip with my teeth, knowing it drove him crazy. A moan whispered out of him. I then snaked my hand up his T-shirt and ran my fingers over the smooth contours of his abdomen. He bolted up, rose to his feet, and pointed at me. His eyes were bright.

A crooked smile formed on his face. “You’re bad.”

I feigned disbelief. “Who me?”

He laughed. “You’re a gorgeous siren who could lure anybody into your arms. But I must go before I deliciously fall under your spell.” He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. “I’ll call you before I leave, but I shouldn’t be too long.”

“Okay,” I said, pulling the orange and white afghan off the back of the brown couch. I covered myself and lay back down, grabbing the remote control. “I think I’ll channel surf for a while.”

“I’ll see ya later.”

I lifted my hand out of the afghan and did a pageant wave.

A half hour or so later, I awoke with a start. A show about aliens and Roswell blared from the TV. I must’ve fallen asleep at the beginning of it because it was almost over. My cell kept vibrating on my stomach, the very thing that had startled me. I wondered if it was Nathan, telling me he’d be home soon. Pushing the afghan back, I lifted my cell, and squinted at it. When I saw who it was, my heart raced.

 Brayden.

 I dropped the phone beside me and took a deep breath.

“You knew he’d get a hold of you,”
the little voice in my head said.
“He’s one of your best friends and new to immortality like yourself. He might even know things you don’t know about.”

 “Yeah, but he’s my ex-boyfriend and is still in love with me,”
I told the annoying voice.

“So,”
The soft voice said.
“It’s not like you’re cheating on Nathan.”

For several minutes, the duality inside my head raged until finally I couldn’t take it any longer.

“Aw, hell,” I said aloud, lifting the cell to my face to read the message and was surprised how the two words he’d typed instantly brought back a flood of fond memories.

I grinned.

Chapter Six

Tree house.

My heart swelled with a warmth only friendship and love could bring. Immediately, my mind flipped through a catalog of memories associated with that one word.

When we were eleven, Carrie, Brayden, Tree, and I decided to build a tree house deep in the woods behind my house. Mom used to babysit them, so we were almost always together, playing outside my home. So one summer morning, all four of us sat at my kitchen table and designed it together. Naturally, there were squabbling between the girls and boys, like the boys wanted to build a pirate’s ship into the tree. And then, they started talking and acting like pirates, which was totally annoying. Carrie and I rolled our eyes and had told them if we didn’t build a house, then we weren’t building it at all. Finally, they’d agreed, and we went to work on the design.

Brayden always wanted to be an architect and contractor, and I have to admit, even at the age of eleven, he was a genius. We told him what we wanted, and he drew it out. Then we got the materials and began building it. Of course, we had some help from the adults, but we’d built most of it ourselves. Brayden’s dad did what was called a girder system, which were beams that supported the house and deck. His dad was cool until he ditched Brayden’s mom for his skanky, ho bag coworker, but that was something I tried not to think about because of the devastation it had caused both Brayden, and his mom. Anyway, our house was amazing when we finished it, and it resembled the picture Brayden had drawn.

Now, as I texted Brayden to let him know I was coming, I thought about how long it had been since I’d visited our special little hide-away. It had to have been at least a year. I then realized, I’d never told Nathan about it.

Weird.

I wondered why that was. Maybe because deep down, I wanted to keep that part of my past to myself. I didn’t really know, but that thought quickly shifted to another one, to when I told Nathan I’d stay home. Technically, though, I rationalized, I was home. Besides, the tree house wasn’t that far. But then one word tugged at the edges of my thoughts.

Reckless.

Perhaps, but the thought of being with Brayden in
our
tree like old times when things were “normal” made my chest feel light and bubbly with excitement. I so needed that right now, to feel a sense of normalcy. Even if it was just for twenty minutes. And I was confident I’d be okay.

Before heading outside, I glanced at myself in the gilded wall mirror in the living room. I combed my fingers through my tangled hair. My dark green eyes looked sleepy, and I had pillow marks on the side of my face.

Lovely.

Hurrying to the bathroom, I brushed my teeth and hair and splashed cold water on my face. Afterwards, I went to the kitchen and out the sliding glass doors into the night.

The dark sky was like a black tarp above me. The crescent moon and stars were shiny, reminding me of polished gold and silver against a dull dark surface. A cool breeze stirred the hair around my face, and the leaves clinging to the trees rustled around me. The air had a woodsy scent. I thought about Nathan and how he smelled like wood smoke in the cold mountain air. I breathed in, loving that smell.

Then I took off.

One of the many things I loved about being immortal was the speed. When I ran, it was like flying a few inches above the ground. All my muscles naturally responded in complete harmony with one another, easily dodging the obstacles in my path. I never had to think about it. All I needed to consider about was where I wanted to go; then my body did the rest. And the feeling I got when I ran was beyond exhilarating. I felt weightless, powerful, and unencumbered, with a natural high that brought on a giddiness. The only thing I could compare it with would be a lead guitarist who just nailed a solo part on stage in front of thousands of screaming, adoring fans. The rush he’d get from the energy of the music and fans would make the hair on the back of his neck stand up. If you took that feeling times a trillion, that was how I felt when I ran.

As I approached the tree house, I saw a golden light flickering beyond the open window shutter. I noticed the plexiglass in the porthole window on the pitched roof was still intact. That was good. With some of the crazy storms we got, one could never tell if the weather would damage our handiwork.

I stopped when something swinging beneath the floor caught my eyes. I giggled when I realized Brayden had dropped the rope-n-rung ladder for me to climb. I could’ve jumped onto the deck and entered by opening the round wooden door, but for nostalgic reasons, I climbed the rope, feeling like a human child again.

When I poked my head through the hole, I saw the yellow flame flickering in the gas lantern we always kept on a small wooden table in the corner. Then a masculine hand blocked my view. I took it and was lifted off my feet, straight into Brayden’s arms. I didn’t pause or push him away. I welcomed his warm embrace and was surprised when I heard myself whisper that I’d missed him. He stroked the back of my head and rocked me back and forth. He smelled so good, spicy and musky, with a hint of the ocean in the mix. I breathed him in, but then realized I was doing the same thing I did with Nathan.

“I missed you too,” Brayden said as I released my arms and stepped back, feeling guilty. His gaze moved up my body and hesitated on my breasts, causing me to look down. The top three small buttons on my tank top were open, revealing part of my black lace bra.

Oops.

I could feel the heat in my cheeks and quickly zipped up my hoodie. When his eyes reached mine, I noticed they were turning bright green.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Brayden,” I said, trying not to notice how good he looked with his short, dark hair, messy on top and his daring, handsome face. “If this is going to be a repeat of the last time we saw each other, I’m leaving.”

He closed his eyes and breathed through his nose several times. Nathan used to do that when we first got together. At the time I didn’t understand why, but now I knew. It was a way to take control of one’s physical desires.

“I’m sorry, Paige,” he said, opening his eyes. They were no longer bright. “It’s just immortality was good to you.” He paused and smiled when I gave him a weird look. “What I mean is immortality has totally enhanced your beauty. You were always beautiful, but now” –he let out a slow whistle, making me blush– “you’re a goddess.”

I laughed. “Yeah. Whatever. First Nathan tells me I’m a siren who can lure anybody into my arms, and now you’re calling me a goddess. I think you both are on crack.”

Brayden’s smile faded. His expression suddenly became serious. “I’m sorry for the way I behaved the last time we were together. That was wrong of me to do. I hope you know that I’d never hurt you.”

We stared at each other for what seemed like eternity when really it must have been half a minute. Regret and sadness etched his face. I finally looked away, trying not to feel bad for something I shouldn’t feel bad about. I told myself he had crossed the line that night, but in all honesty, I couldn’t help the relief I felt from his genuine apology.

“I know,” I said, breaking the awkward silence, “and thanks.” I cleared my throat and looked at him. “How are you?”

He sat on the crimson futon couch across from the door and patted the seat next to him. I sat beside him, and he rested his arm on the back of the couch, turning to me.

“Actually, I’m still stunned that you’re immortal as well. When my mentor told me you were, I didn’t believe her. I thought she was joking. And truthfully, I didn’t fully believe it until a few minutes ago.”

“I know what you mean,” I said, curling my leg under me. “When Anwar told me you were marked for immortality, I was totally shocked. But then I remembered you mentioning seeing a cat like Zeruel beside your garage, and I knew then it was true.” Zeruel was a house protector for those mortals marked for immortality. None of the dark spirits would go near him because inside that cat resided the light of creation, and the dark spirits were afraid of getting trapped inside it.

“I bet that didn’t go over well with Nathan,” Brayden said, smiling.

“No, he wasn’t happy,” I admitted, staring at my lap, recalling how furious Nathan was.

“Carrie told me Nathan is hiding things from you. Is that true?”

I looked up and saw a hint of annoyance in his eyes. I knew he and Nathan disliked each other, and I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire; however, I couldn’t lie to him either. I shrugged. “He doesn’t want me to tag along because he’s afraid I’ll get hurt.” I could hear the sadness in my voice and was sure Brayden could too, so I tried to compensate by adding, “I can understand why since Aosoth almost killed me, and both her and the ‘old one’ plans to kidnap me.”

“That’s bullshit,” Brayden barked, startling me.

“What?”

“You’re in a partnership, which means all decisions should be considered by both parties, not just one. It’s understandable he wants to keep you safe. I can’t blame him for that.” He paused, and when he spoke again his voice had a biting edge. “But how’s an infant going to learn how to walk on its own if Daddy keeps encouraging it to crawl instead, all because he’s afraid the infant will fall down and get hurt?”

I didn’t like his analogy because it implied Nathan was my
daddy,
and I was the infant. Yeah, technically Nathan was old, but he certainly wasn’t my daddy. I could feel my face getting hot, and it must have been turning red because Brayden quickly backpedaled.

He raised his hands in a halting manner. “I didn’t mean the way it came out. What I meant was, how can you learn to stand on your own two feet in this new life if Nathan won’t let you?”

I took a deep breath, feeling the heat from my face subside. “I agree.”

We fell into a comfortable silence, and I wandered to the window overlooking the deck. I held onto the wooden sill, allowing the cool breeze to stir my hair about. In the distance an elk bugled. I closed my eyes, loving that magnificent sound. It pulsed through me, and a longing followed it I didn’t quite understand. But it felt ancient, where there was not one God but many. Reaching out with my keen sense of hearing, I heard critters scurrying in the woods, a chorus of crickets serenading each other, and the trees whispering across the vast forest.

“I know what’s going on,” Brayden softly said, his voice low and careful.

My heart stopped, and I opened my eyes. He couldn’t possibly know what was really going on. Or, could he? I turned around. “What do you know?”

He leaned forward on his knees, folding his hands between them. “I know the ‘old one’ has the ring and wants you to find the incantations for him. I know about Aosoth and what Nathan did to her, which I commend him for. And I know you have witches’ blood running through your veins.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Anything else?”

A small painful smile twisted his lips. “There are dark spirits who want you dead.”

I swallowed hard. “How do you know--”

“My mentor, Cassondra, told me.”

“How does she know?”

By the look on his face, if he had glasses he’d be looking over its rim at me, as if I just asked a ridiculous question, like what color the sky was. “Everybody in our world knows.”

“Then why won’t they help me?”

“I asked her the same thing, and she told me because they’re in their own battle with the dark spirits. She thinks the dark spirits are keeping the others occupied, so they won’t get involved in this matter.”

I looked away. “Oh,” was all I could say because an overwhelming feeling of total loneliness engulfed me. But then Brayden was suddenly in front of me, standing so close, I could feel his body heat.

I didn’t move.

“But I’m here,” he quietly said. “I
won’t
abandon you, and together we can figure this out.”

A lump formed in my throat, and the corner of my eyes prickled. Why couldn’t Nathan be like this? And what Brayden had just said was like a slap on the forehead.

Duh!

The core reason for my hurt feelings wasn’t only because I felt like Nathan didn’t believe in me but because I felt abandoned by him too. But Brayden said he wouldn’t do that, and when he said it, my heart clenched because it should’ve been Nathan saying it, not Brayden. Regardless, though, it meant everything to me, and the way he’d said it, with such passion and determination . . .

 I bit my bottom lip to keep it from trembling and bowed my head, willing myself not to cry.

Before I became immortal, I’d cried a lot because everything I’d kept buried inside me for years had been exposed. But I’d dealt with those issues, I reminded myself, and now knew my parents had loved me all along, and I wasn’t a freak. However, I wondered if a person would ever recover from issues that she or he had for most of a lifetime. A person could be mindful of it, like I was doing right now, but when a certain event occurred, prying up those undesirable feelings, one could not deny its existence. So my issues of abandonment were still there, covertly loitering beneath the layers of everyday, household feelings.

As my mind skillfully rifled through those thoughts, I became keenly aware of how sharp and focused they were, unlike when I was mortal when they were sluggish. I then came to the quick realization if I were to enable my issues with abandonment, it would nourish it and diminish my self-worth. Sure, it seemed like Nathan had abandoned me in his conquest to avenge me, but now that I thought about it, he hadn’t. He was just doing what he felt was right, although, I still thought it was wrong for him to exclude me in his venture. However, my self-worth wasn’t dependent on his actions, and as that thought kept rolling in my head, a strength rose inside me. I could feel the sadness lifting and my confidence growing.