Demon Mine (Karmic Lust) (7 page)

"I have been having the strangest dreams, Samael." Liliana looked at him as they sat at a table at the all-night diner they often frequented after a night out dancing. He looked up from putting creamer in his coffee as they sat in the quiet booth, and he hoped his face was neutral and she wouldn't be able to see anything was up.

"Talk to me,"
h
e said.

Her hands cupped her latte, and she looked nervous. She took a sip before continuing.

"Well, perhaps I have just been thinking of our situation too much because now it has manifested into dreams. In the dream, I was this other person. An individual who I knew was me but didn't look like me." She paused, and he waited for her to carry on.

"You were there as well. I knew you as this other person, and I loved you then, too." When her words came to a halt for a moment, he spoke up.

"Tell me why you think the dreams are odd."

"I guess it's because I have always felt we have known each other before. From the very beginning, that is how I've felt, and the dreams seem to validate that feeling.”

"Yes, you've said that plenty of times." He wanted her to feel comfortable and to remember without him having to add to it. He took a sip of his coffee as she fidgeted with her drink. She watched him for a moment and then nodded.

"I just find it strange that the dreams I am having aren't in the present time. A particular one I just had last night was in the 1920s. I know because in this dream I was wearing a flapper dress and my name was Lila Flynn. I was a redhead and white. I knew it was me—I just looked different. I knew you as well, and in fact, you ran the Speakeasy where I worked. But you looked like yourself, though of course your clothing was period." She heaved a sigh and then went on. "You were just as handsome as ever and just as devilish." She chuckled at that small joke. He grinned and gave her a wink.

"And these dreams bother you because it seems familiar? Or because of...?"

"The dreams seem so real, Samael. I know I’m dreaming, but it feels like it is real, or that it was a real point in some other lifetime. I mean, I felt as if it had truly happened! I guess the dreams don’t really bother me on a level of fear, but it is a level of why in the hell am I now dreaming about this constantly, night after night. I have also started daydreaming about the dreams. No matter where I am, the dreams have been constant in my thoughts. It feels like Déjà vu all over again and instead of a dream, this feels like a vision."

"Are the dreams interfering with your everyday life so much that they are a problem?"

"No. They aren't that bad, though I find myself wishing for something that I can't define every morning when I wake up. I feel as if I am searching for another part of me. I actually can't wait to go to bed so I can dream to see who I am next and where you are. I just feel like this is important for some reason and that I need to figure it out."

He reached across the table and grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "What does Eva say about the dreams?"

"Eva?" She rolled her eyes. "Eva is nowhere to be found lately as she is so sprung over Clay and has been spending time with him every chance she gets. Her attraction to him is obvious, but if you ask her, she can't stand the man." She laughed gently. "So, no, I haven't talked to her about it. Besides, it seems silly to do so."

"It isn't silly, baby. Not silly at all, in fact, I am happy you came to me with it." It was good to hear that Clay was keeping Eva occupied as he said he would. He really didn't need Eva coming in and stopping the progress that was happening with Liliana's memories.

He brought her fingers up to his mouth, kissed the tips softly, and watched as she smiled brightly.

"It's just strange, Samael. I mean the dreams seem to flow right after each other in sequence. I can go about my day, but once I close my eyes and start dreaming again, it's as if I'm watching scenes from a movie. It feels like snapshots out of my life."

"Then I'd say don't worry about the dreams. Keep on dreaming and see where it leads. Who knows, through them, you may find some things out about yourself that you never knew.”

"You're right. Nothing at all to worry over, I will just see where this goes. I may go to a person who interprets dreams. It would great to see why I am dreaming what I am dreaming."

"How about we have a slice of your favorite cheesecake and a refill of your latte to celebrate that epiphany you just had?"

"Mmm, you sure know how to tempt a girl." He chuckled and raised his hand for the server to come over so he could order. After they'd ordered a slice of cheesecake and a refill for the drinks, Liliana got up, moved to his side of the booth, and cuddled close, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Samael, is there no way to lift the curse that you're under?" He was taken aback by her question, and he didn't answer her at first. So consequently, she held her peace and didn't say anything more, allowing him to have time before he spoke.

"I am working on a way, Lili.
T
hat is all I can say on it."

"Is there nothing I can do to help, Samael?"

Their talk was interrupted for a moment as the server came back, placing a thick slice of New York Cheesecake with chocolate drizzled all over it and a cherry on top in between them. She smiled over at Samael as she picked up her fork.

"Just how I like it.
Y
ou're going to share with me, right?" She picked up the other fork and handed it to him.

"Of course," he said. Taking the fork from her, he slid it down and into the cheesecake, waiting for her to do the same. She sighed as she took a bit of the cheesecake and put it in her mouth. Her eyes closed in pleasure as she ate the cheesecake. He remembered her having told him the taste of her favorite dessert was like hearing a symphony as it melted on her tongue and exploded against her taste buds.

"Mmm, I swear cheesecake heals all ills." The twinkle in her eyes was endearing. He loved seeing her happy even if it was something as simple as enjoying a piece of dessert she loved with him.

He laughed. "If only." She laughed with him, but then her look turned serious as she asked once more if there was anything she could do to help with lifting the curse.

"As far as the curse goes, Lili, you help me every night when I am in your arms. In your embrace, I feel loved and safe. Other than that, there is nothing that can be done directly by you." He could not reveal more to her, even though it was on the tip of his tongue to do so. To tell all would be to risk all, and he wasn't about to risk the love they had for one another just to get one up on Eva.

"Promise me that you will continue to work on finding a way out from under the curse. I need to be with you, and that need grows day by day." The fear in her eyes made his teeth clench reflexively.
H
is hand moved under the table, and he gave her knee a squeeze to reassure her. He smiled as her hand covered his and the fear he saw in her eyes eased.

"I promise you, baby. I will do all that I can to make sure that happens." Some promises were hard to keep, but the promise he had made Liliana several nights ago was one that he didn't plan to renege on.

The dreams had intensified and left Liliana feeling that she was supposed to figure something out. Why else would she be having these dreams night after night? It was a puzzle, and she was damned if she was going to not follow through and see where it led. The dreams had Samael in them and even Eva at times. The conclusion she'd reached from that was everything was connected. They were all connected. At first, she'd chalked it up to her just worrying over the small amount of time she had with Samael, but it had to be more than that. She could sense it.

In order to remember everything, she was now journaling it. What better way to make sure she didn't forget the smallest detail? She'd always loved writing down her thoughts and dreams and had been doing so since a young age. Why not continue doing so, especially if it helped her figure out what was happening. The reason she'd stopped was vague to her now.

Settled in the bay window of her living room that looked out to a gorgeous park across the street, she held the black leather bound journal in her lap as she continued to fill the pages with last night’s vision. Her pen moved swiftly across the pages as light from the sun filtered in and placed its life-giving rays along the parchment-like pages. She smiled, turning to glance out the window as she heard several of the neighborhood children run by as they played in the early afternoon heat. Turning back, she began to reread what she had written over the last few days and frowned.

The common elements in her dreams were Eva and Samael along with herself. At first she thought it was just her and Samael throughout history together. Then there was Eva having shown up in almost all of the dreams recently. No matter what name she went by in the story or how she looked, it was Eva. The universal theme with the Evas in those different lives was always that Samael was no good for her. It was seriously like a recording, playing repeatedly. The more she had the dreams, the more she knew this was past lives coming into effect. Her past life, right along with Samael's and Eva's, was in question.

What she didn't get was why she was having the dreams now and what significance they played in the present. What was she to conclude from all of this? She got the fact that it meant she and Samael were connected and had been for a long time. Subsequently, that would also mean the same thing for the relationship with Eva. It all had ties to his curse, she was sure of it.

She let out a breath, closing her eyes tightly. There was no way around it, and the more she thought about it, the more a sickening feeling filled her stomach. Her conclusion led her to believe that Eva was inexplicably involved in the curse. She wanted to consider that Eva had no clue about what was happening. In fact, she had to believe that.

The issue was that she wasn't sure if she should say anything to Eva or if she even wanted to. It felt like she would be opening up an assortment of problems, and she might find out something she didn't want to know. There was the old adage to be careful what one looked for and for some strange reason that is exactly what this felt like. If she looked further, would she find out something she didn't want to learn? The one thing she did know was that the curse had to end. She wanted Samael happy, and he wasn't as content as he could be without the curse in existence.

Her eyes opened slowly.
S
he knew there was no way around it. She would have to find out the truth. Good or bad, she needed to know what it all meant. Who was she? Most importantly, who had she been? She knew what she had to do; she would speak with Eva. That at least would be a starting point. She picked up her cell phone and dialed Eva's number.

"What do you mean you want me to come over right now?"

"What does it sound like I mean, Eva? Right now means right this moment." In her annoyance, she bit the inside of her cheek to hold back from showing her sister how irritated she was. That would only make Eva dig her heels in more and refuse to come over. With the cell phone between her ear and shoulder, she moved about her small home picking up this and that to straighten up. Her older sister loved to nitpick if things weren't cleaned to her specifications.

"Ugh! I am supposed to be meeting up with Clay."

"Um, the very same Clay that you said you couldn't stand?"

"Yes, the very same Clay. Don't you dare say something smartass, Liliana, or I will not come over there." Liliana had to stifle the laugh she felt bubbling up, as she didn’t want to irritate her sister any more than she already sounded.

"Lili, is this truly that important? Clay is going to take me to a Puerto Rican restaurant tonight. I want to try Arroz con Pollo and a few other dishes."

"What time is he coming over to get you?"

"He's supposed to be here at seven."

"Okay, well, it's only four at the moment. That gives us about 2 hours. If you come with your clothing and have him pick you up here, we will have a bit longer. Please, E, I need to talk with you." She pleaded, trying to play on her sister’s sympathies. There was silence on the other end and then she heard her sister sigh, and she knew she would agree to come over.

"Fine, Lili. I'll be over in a few. You'd better be prepared to talk while I get dressed. I don't want to be late; Clay hates it when I keep him waiting."

She grinned from ear to ear even though her sister couldn't see it. Eva really was sprung on Clay, but she wasn't willing to say anything about it. "Thank you, I promise, E. I will talk while you do what you need to do." They’d said their goodbyes and then hung up. Liliana slipped the phone into the pocket of her jeans, and with one last glance around the room, she looked to see if everything looked tidy enough for Eva's standards. Satisfied that it was as good as it was going to get, she went to freshen up before Eva arrived.

****

She'd thought long and hard about what she'd say to Eva as she readied herself. One thing she knew she couldn't do was mention anything about the curse. First, she didn't want to sound crazy, and she knew she'd sound loony if she even mentioned a curse. Next thing she wouldn't mention was the fact that Samael was a demon. It was probably going to sound crazy enough that she was talking reincarnation.