Pucker Up (A Damsels of Distress Novel) (23 page)

by the dangerous whip of a tail.

“I thought I told you we're not

keeping it.”

“Maybe you should tell him

that.” She scratched the top of the little

dragon's head while Garren glared at it.

Its tail swayed back and forth in

enjoyment, narrowly hitting Garren, who

made the mistake of swatting it away

with his hand. Sparky spun around and

bared his teeth. He let out a low, gargley

growl that made his whole body vibrate.

She patted his back, trying to

calm him down. Though she wasn't

happy with Garren at the moment, she

didn't want him barbequed in Athena's

rental. “It's all right, boy. He's just mad

because he isn't getting his way.”

The little creature continued

growling, his little pointed ears lying

back flat against his head.

Garren leaned into his side of the

car. “Just keep that thing away from

me.”

She finally got the dragon to

relax and lay back down on her lap. The

sun dipped below the horizon and the

stars brightened into view, one by one.

The air on the highway was too cold to

have the top down, but Athena loved it,

and left the others to suffer through it.

Sparky kept Ivy's legs warm, but she still

shivered without her sweatshirt. She

packed it in her bag earlier when it was

warmer.

She didn't realize she was

leaning until she bumped into Garren's

shoulder. Normally, she would've sat

upright again, but his body heat warmed

her bare arm, so she stayed where she

was. Either he didn't notice or he didn't

mind, for which she was grateful.

She gazed out into the night sky,

identifying constellations, when her

body shifted and something started

rubbing her other arm. It was Garren's

hand. He had wrapped his arm around

her shoulders. She was just beginning to

think he wasn't so bad, when she noticed

him staring off with a coy smile on his

face. When she followed his gaze, she

saw Athena watching him through the

mirror.

The comment about being 'stuck'

with her slammed into her chest like an

icepick to the heart. She bolted away

and shook his arm from her shoulders.

He tore his eyes away from the

hopeless flirt up front to glance at her.

“You were shivering.”

She tried to give him a

reassuring smile, but she didn't have it in

her. “I'm fine. Go back to your

gawking.” She leaned away from him

and ignored the dirty looks he threw her

way.

What is wrong with me?
Why do

I care if he likes her?
Her carefully

constructed

walls

kept

crumbling

whenever she was near him for any

length of time. She was starting to turn

into one of those drooling robot girls that

fawned all over him at school.

I'd rather die.
Promising herself

to keep her distance from him didn't

make the ache fade away when he

returned his attention to Athena. Instead

of dwelling on that unwelcome reaction,

she distracted herself by picturing Prince

Sebastian’s face from the drawing. The

more she thought of his full lips and

piercing eyes, the more handsome he

became. A fantasy of the prince waking

from her kiss and whisking her away to

his castle played out in her head as they

drove along the California highway.

They finally pulled into the

parking lot of a motel, just outside of

town. The 'L' was burned out in the neon

sign that buzzed loudly as they passed

by. Athena went to pay for the room

while the others unloaded the car. Her

three large suitcases were so heavy she

probably decided to relocate to warmer

climates. That thought brought a smile to

Ivy's lips.

“All right, spill,” Athena said as

the door clicked shut behind her.

Ivy plopped her bags down on

one of the two king sized beds. “Spill

what?” She walked into the small

bathroom and filled the chipped sink

with water. Sparky flew up and perched

on the edge to drink.

“Don't play me for a fool, Ivy. I

know you're not visiting an old friend.”

Athena sat on the edge bed, crossed her

legs and waited.

Thane and Garren were no help

as they sat silently at the table by the

front door. “Well, the person we're

visiting isn't actually a friend, since none

of us have met him before.” She was

going for the minimalist approach, but by

the expression on Athena's face, it wasn't

working.

“So, why are you visiting?”

Ivy drew in a long, slow breath.

“Because he might be able to help us.”

“With what?” Athena wasn't

missing a beat.

“With the failing wards around

Salmagundi.”

Athena's eyes widened. “What's

this guy's name?”

The three answered at once.

“Charlie.”

“Bob.”

“Sebastian.”

Now, they want to talk.

Being as perceptive as she was,

Athena picked up on Thane's answer.

“Sebastian? As in Prince Sebastian? The

wizard who set the wards in the first

place and is currently frozen in time

from a curse?
That
Sebastian?”

Ivy glared at Thane.
Big-mouth.

He shrugged and turned away to

hide the blush creeping up his neck.

“Yeah.”

Athena sat silent as her gaze

wandered from one person to another.

Then, she burst out laughing. And not the

usual tittering she did around most guys,

but a full-fledged, body convulsing

laugh. This continued for a good five

minutes, at the end of which her face

was wet and she was clutching her

sides. She took a moment to catch her

breath.

“And you three think you're going

to break the curse?”

They nodded, which sent her

right back into hysterics. Exhausted, Ivy

ignored the laughing hyena and grabbed

her bag to get ready for bed. She

showered then dressed in a big t-shirt

and climbed into the nearest bed.

Athena had finally calmed down

and was talking closely with Garren on

the worn-out couch while Thane ran

through the channels on the TV. She

hoped things would be better after a

good night's sleep. As she settled down,

obsidian eyes gazed at her with

appreciation and desire. At least her

dreams promised to be pleasant.

Chapter 13

“What did you do?” An accusing

voice from Ivy’s past echoed all around

her. A chill ran along her skin as she

recognized where she was, and more

importantly, when.

No, not again.

This memory hadn’t haunted her

dreams in months. And even though she

knew the sequence by heart, fear still

gripped her heart as the events of that

night played on.

Her body trembled as she

squeezed her eyes shut and wished to

turn the moonlit clearing in the woods to

somewhere safe, bright, real. The stench

of earth and blood churned her stomach.

It wasn’t working.

Footsteps stomped closer. Her

eyes snapped open to see the angry mob

forming a circle around her.

Do something! Run. Fight.

Anything different.
The same fear that

froze her that night over a year ago

incapacitated her again. Knowing that

she shouldn’t, she couldn’t help but peek

over to see the figure of a woman lying

on the grass. The moonlight glinted off

her curly hair.

Mom.

“No!” she screamed as she ran to

reach her, only to be shoved back into

the center of the circle. She landed on

her butt, crying out in pain. Tears fell

silently down her cheeks as she watched

another woman close her mother's eyes

with a brush of her hand.

Wake up, damn it!

She struggled to stand on shaking

legs to protect herself. A moan from the

tree line caught her attention. She

staggered closer, but stayed within her

bounds, to see another person down.

Two men tried to revive the girl lying

unconscious on the ground. They

wouldn’t succeed.

Guilt burned in her belly, hot

bile rising in her throat. She was going

to throw up. She pressed her hands to

her head, trying to focus beyond the

nightmare to her sleeping self.

This isn’t real anymore. You

don’t need to be here. Wake up!

One of the men next to the girl

stood up and stalked toward her, fire in

his eyes. “What did you do?” he shouted.

She shook her head, not knowing

what else to do. It wasn’t her fault. She

didn’t mean to do it, didn’t know she

could. Panic consumed her as the circle

of people enclosed tighter and tighter

around her.

“Wake up,” the wind seemed to

whisper.

I’m trying
. She searched for a

weakness in the chain of angry mob

surrounding her.

“Wake up!” The voice drifting in

the air grew louder, more insistent.

The encroaching people shouted,

“What did you do?”

“You did this!”

“Witch!” They held their knives

and stakes high as they attacked.

“No!” She screamed as the first

dagger came down. The voice boomed

right before it could plunge into her

chest.

“Wake up, Ivy!”

Air rushed into her lungs when

she woke from the nightmare. She

opened her eyes and gasped at the

change in scenery. A pair of blue eyes

stared into hers.

Garren was in her face, an iron

grip on her arms, yelling at her. “Wake

up!”

She latched onto his shoulders,

needing an anchor to reality.

Concern swam in his eyes.

“Deep breaths, Ivy. In through your nose,

out through your mouth,” he instructed.

She followed his lead, willing

her body to relax. Her thundering heart

beat slower and slower until it settled

into its normal rhythm. That was the first

time she’d come close to being hurt in

the nightmare. Could the consequences

of one consciousness bleed into the next

because of her magic? Can her dreams

really kill her? Hopefully, she’d never

find out.

Loosening her grip on Garren’s

shoulders, she let them slide over his

arms until they landed on her lap. His

mere presence was calming.

Suddenly, a loud crash like a

thunderclap boomed all around her,

shaking the bed. She jumped and pressed

a hand to her chest, as if she could

physically push her pounding heart

down.

Garren let out a whooshing

breath. “Are you all right now?”

Probably not.
She nodded.

Don't tell me it happened

again?
Breaking eye contact, she

ventured to survey the room. They were

in the motel room Athena rented last

night, and it was a mess. Clothes were

strewn all over, hanging off lamps and

chairs. All of their belongings and

weapons lay haphazard over the floor

and beds.

This is worse than before.

Only Garren was with her in the

room. He still held her shoulders, his

thumbs rubbing small circles on her

arms. Fear that she hurt someone, like in

the nightmare, swelled inside her.

“What did I do?” she asked

softly.

“Good question. Athena woke

me up because you were whimpering in

your sleep and wouldn't wake up. Then,

everything not nailed down started flying

through the room.” He gazed around at

the mess and sighed.

“Where are Thane and Athena?

Did I hurt them?” Panic rose again, like

icy fingers crawling up her spine.

Garren shook his head and

stroked the goose bump flesh on her

arms. “They're outside, waiting for the

storm to pass.” The crooked little smile

he wore made her chest swell with