Dark Spirits (10 page)

“Okay, well, I’m going to go--” I stopped when he gently nudged my chin so I had to look at him.

“I need you to promise me something,” he said, suddenly serious. “I need you to promise me when we’re outside these walls, you’ll trust me and do what I say. In exchange, I’ll fill you in on everything. Fair enough?”

I nodded and honestly felt like it was a good compromise.

He smiled and planted a warm, sweet kiss on my lips. “Good. While you get ready, I’ll make us something to eat, and then we’ll get busy.”

***

After my shower, I threw on a pair of camo woodland pattern cargo pants and a white T-shirt with Sid Vicious’ face on it. I let my hair hang down my back and added a little makeup to give my face some color. Slipping into my white Skecher shoes, I headed downstairs, following the yummy smell of fresh coffee and toasted bread.

“Oh, good. You have your computer out,” I said when I entered the kitchen and saw Nathan’s open laptop on the Formica table. He was at the counter pouring coffee into two mugs. I smiled when he added cream into mine, appreciating we were close enough to know each other’s likes and dislikes. “I want to research auras because last night I wondered if Anwar could tell by my energy if I was being truthful with him or not.” I sat in front of the computer and typed a-u-r-a-s into the search engine.

“I think he can,” Nathan said, setting my coffee beside the computer. “I never gave it much thought, but now that I do, he probably had known since the day you two first met about us hiding things from him.”

I looked at him and watched him spread cream cheese on a bagel. The scraping sounds magnified in my ears. I blocked the sound and flared my nostrils to smell what type of bread was beneath the cheese. Jalapeno and chipotle cheddar. And even though his back disrupted my view, I could smell the cured, fermented, spicy smell of hard salami. My stomach growled.

“That’s not good,” I said, turning to the computer, selecting a website on aura colors and their meanings. I skimmed through the list until black caught my attention.

My stomach dropped.

It said black could mean hiding something or keeping secrets, but generally it meant shielding yourself from outside forces. I swallowed against the dryness in my throat as my eyes darted down the list of colors and stopped on light green.

“Crap,” I blurted.

“What?” Nathan put the plates on the table and looked over my shoulder. “Light green means mistrust,” he read aloud. He took a chair and sat beside me.

 “What are we going to do? There’s something not right about Anwar, and if he can tell we don’t trust him or we’re lying . . . ” I trailed off, remembering what Ayperos had said to us about Anwar having his own agenda and not being as noble as we thought. Was Ayperos telling us the truth? “You know, when Zeruel told me not to trust Anwar, an image of Anakin Skywalker turning into Darth Vader came to me.”

Nathan was in the middle of chewing. He stopped and stared at me, stunned by this piece of information.

 “Yeah, I know it’s crazy,” I said, taking a bite of my sandwich.

“That message could only mean one thing,” Nathan said, disappointment clouding his face. “He’s no longer on our side. And the question is . . . how long has he been deceiving us?”

Chapter Ten

I felt sick to my stomach. I mean, why would Anwar deceive us? Nathan and Anwar had been good friends since the 1800s. Even my father had trusted him. At least the video my father made for me before he died made it seem that way. He’d given the video to Anwar and instructed him to give it to me if I were marked for immortality like he had dreamed. So I took it as him trusting Anwar. Not to mention, on the video my father told me Anwar would be there for me.

I just didn’t get it.

Nathan and I stared at each other, trapped in our own thoughts. And then, bit by bit, pieces started falling into place, like a game of Scrabble where the letters you had didn’t make sense, but then as the game progressed they formed a word.

Deception.

Okay, so this was what the pieces spelled out in my mind, and when they did I spoke freely to Nathan about them: “Anwar knew all along my father was marked for immortality; however, he didn’t tell you about my father until
you
told him about Aosoth threatening me and
her
mentioning my father was marked for immortality but didn’t take it.”

Nathan’s expression turned dark. “He wouldn’t tell me anything else because he said I was too close to you, and he didn’t seem to care about the turmoil it had caused you.” He paused and clinched his jaw. “I should’ve caught on then something wasn’t right.”

“Well, you were too pissed off to think it through, but afterwards you did have trust issues with him,” I pointed out, then continued because I didn’t want to get entangled in Nathan’s frustration. “The next thing was the video he had of my father. Why didn’t he mention it to you when you first called him about me?” Before he could respond, I pushed on and answered the question myself. “He said it was because I needed to work through my heartache to clear my energy and to teach me to be a stronger person. Otherwise, if he were to have told me, it would’ve hindered my growth.”

“To be honest, Paige, when he said that I thought it was a bunch of shit,” Nathan said, still frustrated.

“I did too,” I agreed. “But in a way it does make sense because I had to deal with the baggage of my mortal life before I could enter into my immortal state.”

Nathan shook his head, anger blazing in his eyes. “I disagree. What he put you through is unforgivable in my book.” In a short, stiff, gesture, he took a sip of his coffee.

“Yeah, I know.” I clicked out of the aura website and logged off. “Did you notice last night he said my grandmother’s name?”

“Yes, which means he knew about her all along.”

I took another bite of my sandwich, using the opportunity to think things through. Something was going on with Anwar, but what? Why did he hide things from us? And what got me was since the day we met, he’d been so nice and fatherly. Was it just an act? But I’d seen a gentleness in his soulful eyes, and he seemed to genuinely care about me. I then thought about Zeruel.

“I wonder why Zeruel is communicating with me,” I said.

“I don’t know. I checked earlier and didn’t see him outside, but it doesn’t mean he’s not around.”

“It’s cool he’s back.” I smiled. “But I’m curious if he’s still communicating with Anwar, or what he knows.” I paused, and then a thought came to me. “Do you think he’d tell me?”

Nathan rose. “I don’t think Zeruel would know very much because he’s too busy at what he does.” I followed him to the sink, taking our plates and handing them to him. He rinsed them off and stuck them in the dishwasher. “But it wouldn’t hurt to ask him, just to see what would happen.”

“Hey,” I said, heading out the kitchen, “maybe he could tell us about Anwar.” I was suddenly excited at the possibility of having an actual conversation with Zeruel, but when I stepped outside and looked about, my excitement deflated. He was nowhere to be seen. I jumped off the porch and circled the house with Nathan by my side. I breathed in the hint of fall in the air, savoring the crisp smell of leaves and earth. The clouds passed in front of the sun, throwing shadows across the ground. One minute it would be bright sunlight and the next it would be dark.

“Maybe you should--”

“Zeruel!” I called, cutting Nathan off. I scanned the tree lines and still no sign of him. “Zeruel!” I hollered again.

“C’mon, Paige, let’s go inside.” Nathan took my arm and steered me toward the house. I noticed his body was stiff, and his eyes were trained on the forest across the street from us.

“What’s wrong?” I whispered.

“I think we’re being watched,” he said out the corner of his mouth.

“Dark spirit?”

“I’m not sure.”

We went back inside, and my phone was vibrating on the end table. I picked it up and smiled when I saw it was Brayden. I could feel Nathan’s eyes on my face.

“It’s Brayden, wanting to know how I’m doing,” I said while I texted him back saying I was wonderful. A thrill went through me when I thought about last night and how Brayden and I took care of those dark spirits. I hated to admit it, but truth be told, Brayden and I always made a great team.

“Tell him we’re working together, and I apologized to you last night,” Nathan said, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket.

“I’m doing it right now.” I frowned. “Who are you texting?”

“Ameerah,” he said, not looking up. “I want to know if she’s spoken to Volac yet.”

I sat on the edge of the couch and read Brayden’s response:
u and I would make a better team.

Weird. I was just thinking that. I didn’t respond because he was right, not that Nathan and I didn’t make a good pair. We did. However, Brayden and I grew up together and dated for almost two years. We knew each other’s habits, moods, body language, and so forth. My relationship with Nathan was deep in a soulful way, which connected us beyond anything, but we were still learning things about each other. If I’d done what I did last night when Anwar was here with Brayden instead of Nathan, Brayden would’ve caught on and known my game plan. But then again, it worked out perfectly with Nathan because Nathan played into it, and his reactions weren’t contrived like they might have been if he knew what I was doing.

r u there?

I sighed and typed:
yes

Tapping my foot on the floor, I waited for his reply. Nathan pocketed his cell and answered my questioning eyes.

“She wants to meet in the woods by Gnat Creek tonight at ten. She told me Volac has nothing personal against you, but he still plans on destroying you because he won’t risk becoming a slave to the ‘old one’ or anybody for that matter.”

“What about his followers?” I asked, wringing my hands in my lap.

Nathan ran a hand through his hair, and when he spoke his voice sounded rough. “At first they were split down the middle, but Volac is a charismatic leader and had won them over with his speech last night.”

I tried to swallow, but my throat was too dry. I glanced around for my coffee cup and realized it was still on the kitchen table. “How many are there?” I managed to squeak out. I seriously needed a drink and rose. Nathan followed me into the kitchen.

“According to Ameerah, about a dozen. He used to have a lot more, but they dispersed centuries ago when Volac became a wanderer and wanted to be left alone–until now. I think she has respect for him which concerns me.”

I took a drink of my coffee and made a face.

Blah! It was cold.

I popped it in the microwave for a minute and told Nathan above the droning noise it made that maybe some of Volac’s followers would be too afraid to hurt me because of their fear of him.

 “Ameerah said the same thing,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “She thinks Volac will be the one who’ll try to destroy you.”

The microwave beeped. I pulled my mug out and blew on the steam before I took a sip. The strong, dark, French roast flavor tasted wonderful. And then my cell vibrated on the counter where I had set it. I picked it up, and my stomach clenched when I read the message:
call carrie. she needs u now.

“Oh, no,” I breathed.

“What is it?”

“Carrie needs me.” I quickly thumbed her cell phone number.

“What fo--”

I raised my hand when I heard Carrie sniffling, my heart racing.

“Carrie. It’s Paige. What’s wrong?”

“It’s Odell,” her scratchy voice said, “something is seriously wrong with him.”

Odell was her basset hound. She had him since we were ten, and she loved that dog. Actually, I did too. She used to take him everywhere, until he got old and lazy.

“Who’s Odell?” Nathan asked, looking confused.

“Her dog,” I said, watching relief wash across his face. “Why won’t you take him to a vet?” I asked Carrie.

“I can’t,” her teary voice said. “My parents are at an antique show for a couple of days, and I have to man the store. I’d ask Tree to take him, but I can’t leave Odell’s side, Paige. I mean, what if he dies!” she choked out, half hysterical.

“It’s going to be okay, Carrie,” I soothed, trying to calm her. “This is what we’re going to do. I’ve helped out plenty of times at your mom’s store. I know how to run the cash register and take care of things.”

“You’re going to watch the store for me?” She let out a couple wet hiccups.

“Yeah. I’ll be there shortly, so you should call Odell’s vet and let her know you’ll be coming.”

“You’re the greatest best friend ever,” Carrie cried.

“Thank you, Paige,” Tree said, which at first surprised me because I didn’t realize she had handed the phone to him.

I smiled. “No problem. Odell is my buddy, and I love him too.” I hesitated, thinking about Brayden, knowing Nathan would be coming along with me. “Hey, Tree, is Brayden there with you?”

“Yes, and don’t worry,” he said, knowing me well enough to understand what I was fretting about. “Brayden will be gone by the time you and Nathan show up.”

“Okay. I’ll see ya soon.”

I took a few sips of my coffee, ignoring Nathan’s pressing eyes, and snatched my purse off the kitchen table.

“Are you coming with me?” I asked when he just stood there staring at me with a blank look on his face.

“Paige,” he finally said, frowning. “This isn’t a good idea. There’s too much going on, and we need to stay on top of it. I also think somebody was watching us when we were outside earlier.”

“I understand,” I said, digging in my purse for my car keys. Nathan usually drove, so my car keys stayed in my purse, along with my house key. “But Carrie needs my help, and it’ll only be for an hour or so.”

“Why won’t she just close the store for an hour?”

“Her mom would freak if she did that. They never close the store and with the way the economy is, she doesn’t want to lose a sale.”

“Let’s go then,” he said, sighing, knowing I’d never bail on Carrie.

***

“Where is he?” I asked, ignoring the jingling bell when I rushed into Carrie’s mom’s store with Nathan tailing me. Carrie stood behind the half moon counter to my right. Her eyes were red and swollen, and the brilliant, artificial lights reflected the tears on her face, making her cheeks look shiny. She was in no condition to be running the store. I glanced at the antique grandfather clock against the rear wall. It was almost 2:30, and the store didn’t close until five.

“He’s over here,” I heard Tree’s voice say on the other side of the counter at the same time Carrie turned and pointed downward. I hesitated and listened for customers in the store. There were none, which was a good thing. I didn’t want our personal crisis displayed in public.

I moved around the counter, and my gaze immediately went to Tree. He sat on the wooden floor, slowly petting Odell who was curled on the red and green plaid dog bed they always kept in the store for him. He looked miserable, and when his sad, droopy eyes looked up at me, he slowly wagged his tail and whimpered as if to say “help me.” My heart squeezed, and I dropped to my knees. My hand automatically went to the side of his face, and then something extraordinary happened.

“See what I mean?” Carrie said, sniffing. “I don’t kno--”

“Hold on,” I said, giving her a “be quiet” look.

Nathan kneeled beside me, and Carrie followed suit on the other side of me next to Tree.

 Bright, colorful pictures filled my mind, reminding me of a movie theater screen. I closed my eyes. The first picture was of Odell’s abdomen and flames were engulfing it.

“His belly hurts like it’s on fire,” I said with my eyes still closed.

“What?” Carrie said in surprise and disbelief.

I peeked at Nathan, and he was staring at me with his mouth agape.

“No way,” Tree said, sounding both awed and shocked.

The pictures kept flashing in my mind. I closed my eyes again and silently told Odell to slow down. The pictures halted, and then one by one, like clicking one picture at a time on a computer, he showed me what was wrong.

Again, he showed me his stomach on fire. I saw him vomiting small amounts of blood in Carrie’s kitchen and bathroom.