Icarians: Poisoned Dreams (2 page)

Mercedes went very pale, but when she spoke her voice was steady and calm. They both dreaded their hideous uncle. He was a well known killer in their world.
"Can you see him?" she asked.
"No I lost him a long time ago. But I can feel him. I know he has returned. I’m upset with you because this is all beginning and I want keep you safe. In order for me to do that I need you to trust me and listen to me."

"I’m sorry, you should have told me what you were feeling. I probably would have still got involved, but I promise I will not do anything without letting you know and I do trust you, you know that." She said, “but I feel I have to warn you she’s gorgeous."
He took a deep breath. He always knew she would be. She was such a sweet little girl. Back then he felt a very strong connection to her, but that was impossible, he was wrong. He wouldn’t make the same mistake this time. He looked over at his sister.
"I’ll be fine." He got up and turned away from her so she couldn’t see the pain of that mistake. He has been paying for it ever since, and he would never forgive himself, for what that mistake cost everyone. He was too young then.
"So when are we supposed to meet her?" He asked.
"I told her to call me, but I don’t know if she will. Lets give her a few days." Mercedes answered.
"Sure, that’s fine.” He said trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible. “I’m going to the shop for a while. I’ll be back tonight."
He grabbed his keys and without looking back at his sister he left. She hated to see him like this. She smiled to herself as she thought about the other part of her plan.

Jaxon drove into town. His mechanics shop was located on the corner of main street in the middle of town. It was a fairly good sized shiny metal building and it served his purpose, which was normalcy. He loved working on cars. He never charged much, just enough to keep people in town from questioning him and his sister. His parents left them quite a bit of money so he didn't have to work, but it kept him busy. The more normal they looked and acted the better.

He pulled into the small parking lot and got out of his black Dodge short wide truck. He went inside through the side entrance and into his office. He sat down in his chair and closed his eyes. He couldn't help but think of her, he didn't know why but he was so drawn to her. Sometimes it was so strong it woke him up at night. He couldn't explain it, but he could and would fight it. He had been fighting it since the first time he saw her fifteen years ago. Everything had to go perfectly. Out of nowhere he heard someone speak.
"Now, why so glum?"
Jaxon jumped up, and looked around. Suddenly he saw Mason Lane standing in front of his desk.
"Well, Well! How the hell are you?" Jaxon asked his long time friend, as he came around his desk to shake his hand.
"I'm good, a lot better than you I might say. You look like shit old friend." Mason replied with a friendly smile. Mason was a few years older than Jaxon, but they had been friends most of their lives. Mason was tall and lean, with sandy brown hair and brown eyes. Jaxon noticed a few light wrinkles around his eyes that weren't there the last time he had seen him.
"So what brings you to this part of the country?" He asked him.
"You of course. I have been hearing some pretty strange rumors and I thought you could use my help. More importantly I heard little Analeigh was back in town, is that right?" Mason asked frankly.
"Yeah. She's back.” Quickly changing the subject of Analeigh, “Its really good that your here, I'm almost positive that Victor is back, and if I am right, he came back for her. We can use all the help we can get on our side right now." Jaxon answered.
"So buddy how can I help?" Mason asked.
"Well you can start by buying me a beer.” Jaxon laughed.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about! Where’s a good place to raise hell around here?" Mason asked.
"Harry’s of course, I know you've been gone a while but not that long. I'm driving." Jaxon said as he grabbed his keys and walked out the front.
He turned around and locked the door when Mason stepped through. It was about an hour before dark. He loved the summer evenings, the sun still warm and low in the sky, but at the same time the cool night air started to creep in illuminating the smell of the different flowers that were blooming in the area. He turned toward his truck and stopped. Suddenly everything became very slow.

She was here, somewhere. He looked around all his senses working hard. He spotted her. She was across the street from them. As she walked, she had an odd sort of grin on her face. As if he willed it, she stopped and looked at him. For a split second it was as if nothing else existed when their eyes connected. All he could do was stare. Her smile faded as she look at him. Frowning slightly she finally turned away but he couldn't move, it was like his eyes were trying to make up for the last fifteen years of not seeing her. He watched her walk away and around the corner.

From somewhere far away he heard Mason calling his name. He had to drag himself away from his weakness and turn to acknowledge Mason. "Hey where the hell did you go man?" Mason asked slightly annoyed.
He felt a little light headed from finally seeing the girl that had invaded his dreams for so long. He walked to his truck and got in, he waited for Mason to get in before he started it. Once they were on their way to Harry's, Mason sighed.
"Better make that beer a scotch."
Once they were in the bar and had their drinks Mason finally asked, "You want to tell me what’s going on? What that was all about?"
Jaxon shrugged, "I just wasn't expecting to see her that’s all."
"No that’s not all. I have a right to know what’s going on, I'm in this the same as you!" Mason demanded.
Jaxon rubbed his hand over his face and sighed.
"I don't know what the hell is wrong with me, since the first moment I saw her, I can't get her out of my head. I feel drawn to her and I have no idea why."
"Well damn, I was hoping it was something I could help you with!" Mason joked.
Jaxon laughed, "Hey lets just forget about all this for the time being and you tell me what you have been doing the past few years."
"Sounds good to me." Mason replied.

Mason had left three years ago, he had always wanted to travel around a bit.

“
I just did some traveling, went looking for others.” Mason answered.

Jaxon saw a change in his friend, something deep and sorrowful. Jaxon was almost too afraid to ask the question that had to be asked, “What did you find?”

Mason sighed and studied his drink as he answered. “What I found was iniquity. Very few of them are like us.” Jaxon weighed his friends answer.
He had guessed as much already but it was still alarming to hear it out loud.
Analeigh spent the rest of the day in town buying groceries and cleaning supplies. She was putting her purchases into the trunk of her car when she spotted a shop called Gooseberry Boutique. She saw through the window that they had the most beautiful crystal wind chimes hanging up inside. She decided to go inside and take a look.

Once inside she was greeted by the owner.
"Hello, my name is Pearl Donovan, take a look around and let me know if there is anything I can help you with."
"Thank you, I will." Analeigh replied.
The shop was beautifully decorated in warm pastels and earth tones. She walked over to the wind chimes, they were all so beautiful. She picked one with lilies on it. As she looked around, she found some short vanilla scented candles with the holders. She picked up two. She walked over and put her things on the counter as she smiled at the older woman, who was somewhere in her late sixties Analeigh guessed.
"Are you ready dear?"
"Yes, I think I am."
Pearl started to ring up her items when suddenly she stopped and looked at Analeigh.
"Forgive me, but your Analeigh Evans, Eleanor’s granddaughter right?"
"Yes that’s right."
"Well I was a good friend of your grandmothers dear."
"Really? Its nice to meet you." Analeigh said sincerely.
"Oh your grandmother was something else, always so kind and happy. She could be so funny!"
Analeigh smiled as she remembered her grandmother playing dress up with her, in her grandmother‘s huge attic. Pearl continued, "If you ask me this small community hasn’t been the same without her."
"Thank you, that means a lot to me."
"If you need anything child, you let me know." Pearl offered.
Analeigh paid for her things and said as she walked out the door, "It was nice meeting you, and thanks again."
She was still smiling at the memory of her grandmother as she walked back to her car. A strange feeling made her stop and she looked around. Across the street she caught herself staring into the eyes of the most stunning man she had ever seen, and he was staring at her. He had jet black hair, and was very tan. She guessed that he was about six foot two maybe six feet three. He had a strong jaw and an incredibly full sexy mouth. His gaze was so intense she had to look away. If he had wanted something he would have called out right? She thought to herself.

She calmly walked back to her car trying not to look back, even though she could still feel his gaze on her. By the time she got back to her car she was out of breath. He seemed very familiar, She thought as she started her car.

“
Your not here to get involved with anyone no matter how gorgeous they are!” She told herself as she pulled out of her parking spot. She drove home ready to unpack and get settled in for the night.
Analeigh lay in bed that night struggling to go sleep. When she finally did sleep, she dreamed.

'She was walking through a huge field of buttercups, smiling and laughing, she put her arms out and spun around and around in the warm sunlight. She dropped down and laid on her back, looking up into the sky. Suddenly the sky turned black and she could hear awful screams coming from the woods around her, screams of the dead. Analeigh could smell their rotting flesh. She jumped up crying and realized she was lost, maybe forever.

She looked around trying to figure out how she got there, how to get back. The screams were getting louder as they came closer to her. She didn't have a lot of time to get away. She started to run. The earth, having turned to ice, crunched beneath her feet. They were closing in on her. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a man walking toward her. He was a very large man. She couldn't see his face even though he stopped right in front of her almost close enough to touch her. She couldn't run or scream, suddenly she realized that the screams had stopped.

Now there was no sound at all, just the deafening silence. She looked up to try to see his face, there was nothing, just blood dripping where a face should be. He reached out and touched her chest. She felt nothing but fire and sadness. She couldn't breath. She was sure that any moment her chest would explode. The man opened his huge mouth and screamed a horrible scream and he let her drop to the ground. She sat up immediately in time to see the large man turn into a panther and run away.'

Analeigh sat straight up in bed, sweaty and breathing hard. She looked over at the alarm clock beside the bed, it read three forty-five am. "Damn it." she muttered to herself as she threw back her covers and went to the bathroom to wash her face. What a dream, she thought.

She went back to her bedroom and sat down with a glass of water. She had never had a dream that horrible before. It seemed so real. finally she relaxed enough to lay back down and tried to sleep.

Chapter 3

Analeigh woke around seven still feeling very groggy. She reluctantly got out of bed and went down stairs. While she was making coffee she remembered her dream from the night before. She wondered why she had such a horrible dream, it made her wonder if it was such a good idea to come here after all. Suddenly her cell phone rang scaring her. She walked over to where she had put it on the charger the night before, she yawned as she answered.
"I told you to never call me this early!" She said to her best friend jokingly.
"Well you should have been expecting it, you knew I wouldn't be able to wait any longer to find out what the house is like." Nicole Clark said laughing into the phone. "So sleepy head how is it?" She added.
"Its good, I have a lot of cleaning to do and I have to find someone to do the yard work and a few other things, but other than that its really something." Analeigh answered.
She and Nicole had been best friends since the first day of grade school, now they went to the same college together.
"I wish I could come down and help you, I would love to see it." She said sincerely.
"I know, maybe after your summer internship is over you'll have enough time before school starts." Analeigh suggested.
"Yeah that’s what I'm hoping, I still can't believe you are staying there all summer by yourself!"
"I'm fine with it really, its going to be great. I have so much to do that the time will fly by." Analeigh said as she fixed herself a cup of coffee. She took it onto the back patio and sat down on one of her grandmothers ancient bench seats. "Besides you wouldn't believe the weather here, its so wonderful." She added.
"I truly envy you, maybe my grandma will leave me some huge mysterious house, but probably not considering she lives in a tiny apartment!" Nicole giggled.
"Well anyway I better let you go, I have to be at work by six-thirty this morning. If I'm late again I won't have an internship."
"Alright, Nickie thanks for calling and I'll call you in a day or so.”
"OK, you be careful out there by yourself.” She warned.
"Of course I will."
She hung up and smiled thinking about Nicole, she was so energetic and bright. She was the type of person that you just knew would accomplish anything they set out to do.
Analeigh got up and went back inside, rinsed out her empty coffee cup and went back upstairs to shower and dress. By the time she came back down stairs her thick curly hair was pulled back in a pony tail and she was dressed in an old pair of jean shorts and a light pink tank top.

She started with the front porch with a mop and bucket. Once she had the old stained wood scrubbed down she went to an old tool shed at the back of the house and found a hose, she hooked it up at the side of the house and started spraying down the porch. She was just finishing up when Mercedes car pulled up and behind it came a black dodge truck. She let the hose fall to the ground and went to turn off the water.