Dark Spirits (20 page)

The power of Solomon’s ring resided in Paige. The power and Solomon’s incantations together, controlled the dark spirits. Therefore, the two were connected. Was it possible the power of the incantations was calling to Paige through those visions, guiding her? But why hadn’t this happened years ago?

Then a soft voice rolled through my head, answering my question:
She wasn’t aware of it inside her, and now she is. Solomon’s spell to keep the two separated has been broken.

My heart raced.

Excited at the prospect this could actually be true, I jumped up and hurried into the kitchen to write it down. Afterwards, I went to go tell Paige. I knew she was done with her shower because I’d heard her blow drying her hair, but what I saw when I entered my room was something I hadn’t expected. All thoughts about the answered question evaporated. My excitement didn’t disappear, though. Instead, it morphed into a heated one.

Paige was lying under the teal comforter, looking like a goddess with her dark red hair fanned out on the pillow, and her bright green eyes filled with hunger.

 “I thought maybe we could resume what we had started earlier,” her sultry voice said.

“God, you look beautiful.” I kicked off my shoes and shed my clothes. “You drive me crazy.” I slipped under the covers and braced myself above her.

She raised her hand and trailed her fingers down the length of my chest. A rush of heat flooded my veins. “It’s my job to drive you insane,” she breathlessly said and moaned when my fingers teased her.

 I lowered my mouth to hers. She held my face, her feverish lips fierce on mine. And then she released it and grabbed the underside of my headboard. She arched her back off the bed, offering herself to me. She drove me mad by the way she kissed, the sounds she made, the way she moved her body and how she smelled. And although the primordial part of me wanted to take her right there, I didn’t. I wanted to please her and enjoy her breathtaking body.

So I did.

Chapter Twenty

Paige

My body felt relaxed and all tingly while I lay in Nathan’s arms. The room was cast in a dull glow from the golden light pouring through the open door. I could hear a
tap, tap, tap
on the windows and leaves rustling in the wind. I wondered how hard it was going to rain. I’d never thought about this before, but I bet Nathan’s property turned into a soupy, muddy mess afterwards. He should build a garage and attach it to the house so we could avoid it all together.

“What are you thinking?”

 “Nothing really,” I said. “I was just wishing you had a garage, maybe with a covered walk way.”

“Actually, before we met, I was going to have one built.” He kissed my cheek. “But then I saw you and all was forgotten,” he whispered in my ear, his warm breath raising goose bumps on my arms.

I closed my eyes and made a pleasing sound. It seemed so long ago since we’d first met, but really it had been less than a year. If I could go back and tell myself what was in store for me, I knew I would have laughed at my future self. It was crazy how things could change so quickly and how each day could be a surprise. One never knew what a day might bring. A poor guy could have the winning lottery ticket.

I placed my arm around Nathan’s waist.
I totally won the lottery here.

Nathan’s hand softly brushed the side of my face. “How are you feeling?”

I let out a contented sigh and tangled my legs with his. “I feel wonderful. Why?”

“I have something to tell you.” He sounded excited.

“What?”

He turned on his side, facing me, and propped himself on his elbow. “I know why you’re having those visions.”

I wondered how he could know that, but before I could ask, he continued.

“The power of Solomon’s ring dwells inside you”–he poked my chest– “and it’s impotent without the incantations.”

“Yeah, so?” We already knew that, but the look on his face told me there was more. My heart did a hopeful leap at the possibility he might have discovered something useful to us. I thought about what Anwar had once told me. He said my premonitions came to me in a cryptic form because it was teaching me a skill I would need in the future. Was it now I would need it?

“Don’t you see?” he asked. “They’re connected, and I think the incantations are calling to you. They
want
you to find them.”

I gave him a doubtful look. Then I saw it on his arm and screamed. Jerking away from him, I snatched a handful of sheet and pulled it off the bed with me, pointing at his arm as I stood at a safe distance. At first his eyes were wide with confusion, but when he looked at his arm and saw the spider, he sighed, annoyed. He slapped his arm, smashing the spider against his skin. I stuck my tongue out, squishing my face in disgust.

“Jesus Christ,
Paige, you scared the hell out of me. It’s just a damn spider. It can’t hurt you.” He hopped out of bed and went into the bathroom. The door clicked behind him.

For a second I stood frozen in my spot, staring at the messy bed. An image of the spider hung in my mind like a creepy picture taken by an arachnologist. I wondered if there were any more lurking around. When I heard the water running, I got dressed, making sure there weren’t any on me. Then I made the bed, checking it as well. I thought about what he’d said about the incantations wanting me to find them and rolled my eyes at how ridiculous it was. As if the incantations were sentient beings. Yeah, right. Sure, the visions might be connected to it, but . . . underneath the foot of the bed, a piece of paper caught my eyes. I kicked Nathan’s discarded clothes aside and picked it up. I recognized his perfect penmanship–all loopy and fancy.

“What do you think?” Nathan asked, startling me because I was too focused on what he had written that I hadn’t heard him enter the room. He had on a white T-shirt and jeans. His short dark brown hair was damp, the blond tips sticking up.

“I wonder if it’s true,” I said. I read it again. Solomon’s magic to keep the two separated had been broken. Was it possible because I was now aware of the power inside me, his spell had been lifted?

Nathan gathered his clothes and dumped them in a brown wicker basket with the rest of his dirty laundry. He went to his bureau and pulled out a burnt-orange hooded sweatshirt. When he slipped his arms through the sleeves and tugged it over his head, the bottom of his T-shirt rose, exposing the hard ridges in his stomach. I couldn’t help but stare.

“I think it is, and I’ll show you why. Follow me.” He headed out the room, too distracted to have noticed my eyes. I was sure they were brighter than normal. I blinked and forced myself to focus on our current situation.

Without saying a word, I followed him into the kitchen. To my surprise, he lifted the trapdoor and gestured for me to go down the stairs. I wondered what could be there that I hadn’t seen earlier, and what was he going to show me? When I pressed my foot on the first step, pinhole lights automatically came on each one, illuminating my way down into the dark room. Nathan was close behind, and when he entered the room after me, he flipped the light switch on, flooding it with bright, artificial light. A low humming came from above, as if the florescent bulbs were meditating, just like the last time I was down here.

He walked by me with a sense of purpose in his stride. I matched his pace until we stopped in front of a huge black metal cabinet nestled against the center of the back wall. The double doors groaned in protest when he opened them. They swung out, causing me to step back. A stale, moldy smell soured the air. I leaned forward and peered inside. It looked like a coat closet full of jackets and clothes.

What did a closet have to do with anything?

Nathan lifted the end of the rod the coats hung on, swung it out and attached it to a metal hook inside the door. He flashed me a clandestine smile. I raised an eyebrow, intrigued and a bit perturbed he hadn’t shown me this before. His expression then changed into an apologetic one.

“I’m sorry. I know I should have told you a long time ago about this room and what I’m about to show you. I just thought it wasn’t the right time, and I didn’t want Anwar to discover it.”

“I wouldn’t have told Anwar.” My words came out defensively.

He reached out and touched my arm. “I know. I wasn’t worried about you slipping up. I was more concerned about myself being careless around you and Anwar walking in and finding us down here.” His hand moved to the side of my face, cradling my cheek. “I hope you know you’re the only person in this world I trust completely.” His thumb slowly skimmed across my parted lips, and my stomach did a silly flip. I stared at him, my mind jumbled with incomprehensible thoughts. “I’d promised I would share everything about myself with you. Well, this is something I’d been meaning to share.”

“Okay,” was all I could say.

He reached inside the cabinet and pushed on the black metal wall, sliding it aside. He disappeared into the darkness. I followed him, feeling like Lucy stepping in the wardrobe, straight into Narnia. Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t.

When Nathan turned the light on, I was confronted by a comfortable looking room with a brown couch and matching chair. On the south side, a sturdy, cherry wood bookcase stood, half filled with books. There was also a cherry desk with what looked like a Tiffany lamp on it. In the corner stood a globe in the clutches of a black iron claw. Beside it was an old oak trunk that could have been Francis Drakes’, a pirate who had sailed the Oregon coast. I imagined it filled with gold coins and sparkling gem stones.

Nathan kicked at the edge of a round burgundy rug. “Can you move off of this?”

I stepped back and watched him roll it up like a taquito. Beneath it was a black pentagram, painted perfectly on the concrete floor. There were also weird but cool symbols inside the points of the star. They looked like ancient Rune symbols.

“That’s cool, but why do you have a pentagram on the floor?” I wondered.

Nathan went to the trunk. “It’s kind of a long story.” He pulled out a black handled knife and angled the silver blade so I could see it. The light glanced off the shiny surface, winking at me. “Do you know what this is?”

I rolled my eyes. “Uh, a knife.”

“It’s an Athame. I made it myself.”

“What’s that?”

He placed it in my hand, and my palm began to tingle. “It’s a witch’s knife. It’s used to cast a circle and help channel and direct psychic energy. It’s also used to call the four corners, the elemental guardians.”

Wow. I’d never known something like this even existed. Stupid me should have looked witchcraft up on the internet after my grandmother paid me a visit. I wondered if Carrie knew what an Athame was. I’d have to ask her and maybe have her do research on witchcraft for me.

“Can we cast a circle now?” I was curious to see what would happen and suddenly felt anxious to do it.

Nathan took the knife from me. “I don’t think it’s a good idea since what happened the other night with Ameerah. I think you should wait at least a couple days before you use any of your psychic energy.”

“Aw, c’mon, Nathan.” I threw him a pleading look, and when he stubbornly shook his head, I sighed and flopped on the couch. “You’re no fun.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, putting the knife away, “and I wish you could now because I want you to perform the rite of consciousness in this--”

I jumped to my feet. “That’s a good idea because it probably would be much more powerful if we did it within this pentagram.” I stepped inside the round area and sat in the middle of the star. I swear it felt much warmer inside it. “What else do you have in the trunk?” His back blocked my view, so I couldn’t see.

He made clinking noises as he moved stuff around in it. “There are candles, homemade incense, a chalice, a goblet, a bottle of water, salt, a bag of dirt and some matches.” He closed the lid and turned to me. “Why are you sitting there?”

I gave him a taunting smile. “Does it make you nervous?”

“Actually”–he rested his elbow on his forearm, folding his hand under his chin– “it looks like you belong there.” He sounded both surprised and intrigued.

“Well, I feel very comfortable in here.” I didn’t want to say I felt more than comfortable, I felt at home. It would be just too weird. Reluctantly, I stepped out of the pentagram, feeling an instant change in temperature. So I was right. It was much warmer in the circle. Huh. “What are all these books?” I craned my neck to see the highest shelf.

“They’re grimoires.” Nathan reached above me and pulled one down. “They’re basically textbooks of magic. I’ve been collecting them throughout the years.”

“Are all those books like that one?” There had to be at least thirty on the shelf.

He shook his head and handed me one. “I only have seven. The rest are miscellaneous books and journals.” As I opened the grimoire, he reached above me again. “I do have a
Book of Shadows,
though.”

“What’s a--”

“It’s an instructional book for magical rituals.”

I glanced up when he showed me a black cover with a pentagram. He handed it to me, and I stacked it on top of the other book and sat on the couch. I opened it again, and read the directions on how to invoke demons. There was a penciled illustration of a guy standing in a circle with his hands above his head. Outside it stood a hooded figure. A chill crawled up my spine. I flipped to the next page. There were more instructions on demons and a similar illustration as the last one, but this time several hooded figures stood outside the ring. I fanned the pages and stopped on one titled:
Invoking the Pentagram.
It spoke of calling up the four corners and the lords of the watchtowers. Boreas was the lord of the earth and guardian of the northern portals.

I looked at Nathan and pointed to the page. “Have you ever tried this stuff?”

He sat beside me, his leg touching mine. “I’ve cast a circle before so I could safely create my incantations.”

I set the book in my lap, holding it open and turned to him. “What do you mean?”

He flipped to the next page in the book and pointed to a hand-drawn picture of a circle with four flaming tapered candles, each one placed in its desired location: north, east, south, west. There was also an Athame lying inside it and three small bowls resting on the curved line. One of the bowls had a wisp of smoke rising from it.

“When you conjure a ring of power,” he explained, “you create a shield against all wickedness and evil–a boundary between the world of men and the realms of the mighty ones. You bless and consecrate it in the names of Cernunos and Aradia. You then summon the lords of the watchtowers to bear witness of your rites and to guard the area inside.”

“What happened when you did it?” A vision appeared in my mind of guardians materializing in front of him, clad in armor, like a gallant cavalier.

“There was a shift of energy in the room.” He paused and lowered his eyes, then peeked at me with a crooked smile. “I know this may sound crazy, but I felt a presence aiding me as I methodically created my incantations.”

 “That’s not crazy. It’s awesome,” I gushed.

“It was,” he admitted. “But to be honest, it took a lot out of me. I slept for days afterwards. It was worth it, though.”