Mesmerized (18 page)

“We haven’t had a minute to ourselves since we got back here. Maybe coming back was a big mistake. All I want to do is be with you,” Lily complained. "It's so hard to be so near you and yet unable to be alone."

“I want to be with you too,” he admitted. “It’s just going to be like this for a few days. Then we’ll be old news.”

Lily shrugged not really believing him.

“Hey.” Jake closed the space between them. He put his finger under her chin and lifted her face up. “I love you. Nothing will change that.” He pressed his lips against hers. “I’ve got an idea.”

“What?”

“Let’s go to my cabin this weekend.”

She pulled back. “Really?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a car here now. We’ll just drive there. Just the two of us and no distractions.”

Lily smiled. “I think that's just what we need.”

Jake held up his promise. They snuck out of their rooms and to his car after dark. Lily reached over and grabbed his hand. "This is nice. Sorry I was acting like a brat the other day. I got so used to having you all to myself. It's hard to share you. 

Jake smiled and rubbed his thumb on her palm. "I feel the same way. But, you have to get used to it. Until we graduate we can't always be alone. I don't want you to miss out on the normal teen stuff. It might not seem like it now, but it's important." 

"I know. I just hope we can sneak away like this once in awhile."

"You can count on it." 

Jake pulled into the driveway.  Lily smiled when she saw the cabin in the distance. “I love this place.”

“I know. This will always be our special place.” Jake led her inside. “I’m going to start a fire.”

“I’ll be right out. I have a surprise for you,” Lily said and headed into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, the bathroom door creaked just a little as Lily opened it. Jake looked back at her his heart skipped a beat. She was standing there in a long, white nightgown it looked like the dress she wore in his dreams. He'd never told her about the dress.

“It’s been so long,” she said.

Their eyes met. “It has.”

Lily walked towards him letting the dress drag behind her. She stopped a few feet from him and raised her hands to the back of her neck. As Jake watched, she slowly unclasped her necklace and held it out, dropping it to the floor. Then she took off the bracelet and tossed it aside...

More About the Authors

Julia Crane

Julia Crane is the author of Keegan’s Chronicles. She has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Julia has believed in magical creatures since the day her grandmother first told her an Irish tale. Growing up, her mother greatly encouraged reading and using your imagination. Although she’s spent most of her lie on the US east coast, she currently lives in Dubai with her husband and three children.

Connect with Julia online:

 
http://www.juliacraneauthor.com

Talia Jager

Talia Jager has been writing as far back as she can remember. As a child, her summer vacations were spent writing stories. Bedtimes were ignored when she hid under the covers with a flashlight, a notebook and a pen. At school, she kept her works-in-progress under her classwork.

She took creative writing and journalism in high school and graduated with a major in English and a minor in French. She later earned her college degree in early childhood education. Writing was pushed to the side when she fell in love and had a family.

Now, with the support of her family, she has several published books and continues to write young adult dramas.

Talia lives in Texas with her husband and five daughters. Her published works include Damaged: Natalie’s Story, Teagan’s Story: Her Battle With Epilepsy, If I Die Young, The Ultimate Sacrifice, Secret Bloodline, and Lost and Found. She hopes to have her next book, Roots and Wings, out by the end of 2011.

Connect with Talia online:

Blog –
http://taliajager.blogspot.com

Facebook –
http://www.facebook.com/taliajager

Twitter –
http://www.twitter.com/taliajager

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Heather Adkins for her wonderful editing skills. Stephanie Mooney for the beautiful cover. Lizzy Ford for beta reading. Our families for putting up with us while we write.

Stay tuned at the end of this book for a sneak peek of Lizzy Ford’s “Damian’s Oracle” War of Gods, Book 1.

Sneak Peek

“Damian’s Oracle”

War of Gods, Book 1

By Lizzy Ford

CHAPTER ONE

Sofia dropped her purse on the desk in her cube without removing her sunglasses. The early December sun couldn’t set fast enough to prevent her pounding headache from growing worse on her drive to work. To ease her exposure to the sun, she’d volunteered for the evening shift to support the West Coast customers. Unfortunately, the commute to work every day was still excruciating. 

“So … did the doc say you’re turning into a vampire?” Jake, her ex-boyfriend from college and current coworker, appeared in the doorway of her cube as soon as she sat down. She ignored the hunk, hoping he’d take the hint. “I brought you something. You can pretend it’s blood.” He held out a bottle of red water.

“You have five minutes to leave my cube, or I’ll bite your neck!” she retorted.

“Really, what’d the doc say?” Jake grew serious and sat in the spare chair in her cube.

Sofia rubbed her temples. She was better off pulling a random diagnosis out of a hat.

“No brain tumors,” she replied. “Probably not the neurological issue they thought. They’re looking at other ideas.”

“Do they know what makes you allergic to light and eat raw steaks covered in peanut butter for every meal?”

“They’re not raw, and I only eat them for dinner.”

“Did the doc explain your mood swings, too?”

She gritted her teeth. She’d known Jake since her junior year of college. They dated in college, parted ways mutually, and ended up working for the same financial planning firm in Virginia. Normally, she felt privileged that he still gave her the time of day, what with the way he’d turned out—formed like a Greek god with hazel eyes so pretty their boss swooned every time she spoke to him. But today, she didn’t want to be reminded that she’d changed from a normal human being into a sunlight intolerant, moody bitch in the two months since her twenty-fourth birthday.

“Think you can talk the boss into letting me come in an hour or two later?” she asked.

“Yeah, easy. I just smile pretty. Doesn’t work on you, but it does on her.”

“Thanks, Jake. The headaches are getting worse.”

“Sofi, I’m worried,” he said, softening. “What’s going on?”’

“The doctors don’t know,” she said with a sigh. “They’re flying in a specialist from overseas. They said it might be some sort of rare blood disorder.”

“What the hell does that mean? That they really don’t have a clue?”

“Pretty much.”

“I Googled your symptoms,” Jake said and unfolded a piece of paper. “A lot of bullshit posted by wannabe vampires and
Twilight
fans. But I found this, too.”

He waved the page in front of her.

“This is fruit punch, by the way,” he said, nudging the bottle of red water toward her. “Your favorite, right?”

“I don’t remember telling you that.”

“Anyway, among the wacko postings, I found this site.” He pointed on the page to reveal a link to a website with a single name and phone number written on it.

Damian Bylun.

“What is this?” she asked, taking the paper from him.

Jake wiped his mouth the way he did when he’d admitted to cheating on her four years ago. She lifted her sunglasses to squint at him.

“It’s a blog this doctor guy keeps. In it, he describes what you’re going through.”

“For real?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“How did you find it? I spent days surfing the net. Even Tanya tried to help.”

“Aw well, you and your best friend just aren’t as good as The Jake. She’s still a bitch, by the way,” Jake said.

Sofia rolled her eyes. He’d never gotten over her friend refusing to date him after she dumped him. Jake’s ego was as large as his size sixteen feet.

“What does he say my symptoms are from?”

“I don’t know. His blog is firewalled from here, though, so you should just call him.”

Damian Bylun
. It struck a chord deep within her, as if she should know it. Struck by something else, she removed her sunglasses and eyed Jake, saying,

“You know, you haven’t spoken to me more than to say hello in two years. I haven’t been able to get you out of my cube for the past two weeks. What’s up with that, Jake?”

 “I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching and am just trying to … be a better person,” he said with a nervous chuckle and rubbed his mouth again.

She could almost see him standing before his mirror practicing the line before going to the bars to pick up chicks. But whatever he was hiding couldn’t be that important.

“I’ll look at this later,” she said. “Go forth and leave me be, The Jake. Leave the punch.”

“Sofia, I really think you should call this guy,” he said, looking her in the eye. “Please.”

A sense of uneasiness ran through her at the gravity in his normally light tone.

“Fine, I will.”

He flashed a smile and strode from her cube. Sofia looked at the paper again. She retrieved her cell and tucked the paper into her pocket. Snatching her sunglasses, she almost made it to the door before she heard Lacy’s voice.

“Sofia, can you come see me?”

She grimaced and turned to see the tall blond striding toward her office. Lacy wore a skirt too short and tight for office wear, but when you’re the boss …

“I noticed you’ve been taking a lot of sick time lately,” Lacy said as Sofia entered the room.

“Yeah, I’m having some issues,” Sofia replied.

“Jake told me. HR passed it to upper management. I need you to bring in some sort of paperwork from your doctor stating what’s wrong.”

“They don’t know what’s wrong. I can bring you another one of the notes verifying that’s where I am when I’m missing work.”

 “What do you mean? They’re doctors,” Lacy said, looking up from the memo in her hands. “Of course they know what’s wrong. And those notes aren’t good enough.”

“They really don’t know,” Sofia said again.

“I can’t make reasonable accommodations for you if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“That makes no sense, Lacy. If I have a doctor’s note saying I’m under their care, isn’t that good enough until they figure it out?”

Lacy arched a delicate eyebrow.

“No, it’s not,” she snapped. “I need a diagnosis, and I need a treatment plan.”

“A what?”

“You deaf now, too?”

Sofia bit her tongue. She lacked Jake’s golden tongue, and her bluntness had gotten her in trouble more than once. Normally she acquiesced in favor of a paycheck, but Lacy’s demand was bizarre, even by Lacy-standards.

“Look, Lacy, I’m not trying to be difficult. I’m so frustrated right now. I just came back from a battery of tests that said nothing’s wrong with me.” The moment the words left her mouth, she knew her mistake. Lacy’s eyebrows shot up.

“What do you mean there’s nothing wrong? Are you making this up?” her boss demanded.

“No, Lacy, what I meant is that whatever is wrong—”

“So you’re a basket case. One of those aphrodisiacs or something.”

“Hypochondriac, not aphro—”

“I meant, you’re making it up!” Lacy snarled. “Aphro, hypo, who cares. They’re the same thing! You’ve been lying to me!”

“No, Lacy—”

“You’ve been lying to Jake, too. He’s been worried sick! Oh my God, what—”

“Lacy, stop!” Sofia snapped, standing. “I haven’t lied to you. They don’t know what’s wrong, and I’m not making it up!”

“You’ve always thought yourself soooo much better than the rest of us, and I’m sick of your attitude. Now you’re lying to me about being sick. You know what? Until you can prove you’ve got some damn disease, you’re on leave without pay.”

Stunned, Sofia stared at her.

“Lacy, I’m—”

“Shut up and get out!”

Surprise, then fury, lit her insides.

“Fine,” she said, wrenching the office door open. “But Lacy, everyone knows you’re screwing Jake.”

Lacy’s mouth dropped open. Dimly, Sofia knew she’d never work there again after that low blow. She snatched her bag and hurried home, not reflecting on her behavior until she tossed her coat on the bed.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!”

Her cell rang. She dug it out of her pocket. 

“Hey, Tanya,” she said, kicking off her shoes. “What’s up?”

“Hey, hon, Jake told me you quit work?”

“Jake?” she echoed.

“He’s still a dick. You’re not seeing him again, are you?”

“Tanya, I have a headache. I’ll call you later.”

Sofia hung up, frustrated. She emptied her pockets and tossed her lunch in the fridge. When she retreated to the bathroom, she flipped on the light, cringed, but forced herself to stare at her reflection in the mirror over the sink.

She was going to die. She just knew it. Whatever her disease, it had eluded the doctors for months. By the time they found out what it was, she’d probably be near dead, like stage four cancer. She stared at her reflection, caught by something else that didn’t seem right. She leaned forward, staring at her irises. Her favorite feature, her eyes, had always been a pretty shade of turquoise. But instead of a rim of darker blue surrounding her irises, they were rimmed by a thick band of iridescent silver.

“Oh my God,” she whispered. As she stared, the silver seemed to flare into a deep glow and swirl around her irises like cars around a racetrack. She closed her eyes and opened them again. The silver was still there. “Hallucinations!”

She ran to her desk and pulled out a journal, jotting down her latest symptom.