Nightwish (An Echoes of Eternity Novel Book 1) (22 page)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

After I entered
The Antique Boutique
and flipped on the overhead fluorescent lights, I swung the door shut behind me, but I didn’t hear the lock catch, so I spun around in a fighting stance, expecting a demon, only to find Nolan holding the door in the threshold.

“Is this how you greet all of your customers?” Far from startled, he wore an amused expression. “Instead of a ‘thanks for business,’ they get a kick in the head?”

“Sorry.” My spirits lifted at the sight of him. I didn’t know how to address the situation at the club, so I said, “What’s going on?”

“Not much.” He walked toward me nonchalantly as the door closed behind him. “Saw identical twins throwing off some serious witchcraft earlier tonight.” He stopped a few feet from me, peering into my eyes. “You know: the usual.”

The manner in which he looked at me, as though demanding answers but patient enough to hear what I had to say, made me uneasy, yet scintillated me at the same time. “Same here: I tried to incinerate my sister, while she tried to freeze me into the Ice Age. So yeah, just another day.”

Dropping the air of casual pretense, Nolan said, “A witch, huh?”

“You don’t sound surprised.” He didn’t look the least bit concerned. A normal person would have freaked out. So what made him the exception?

“Because I’m not.” He turned away from me and strolled down an aisle. “Lot of worthless stuff here.” He picked up an old breadbox that had a layer of dust on it. “What does this go for?”

“I don’t know. Grams, she…recently passed away and…”

Nolan turned toward me with an empathetic look. “I’m sorry. Were you two close?”

I nodded and lowered my gaze to the ground. “We were…very close. My mother gave me up, and Grams brought me up as her own.”

“That must be
really
tough.”

“Yeah.” What else could I say? That I’d only loved one person in my life, and now that she was gone, I felt adrift in an ocean on a paddleboat without paddles?

“When did she pass?”

“Yesterday.” My voice cracked as the word barely passed my lips.

“That’s…really tough.” He stopped at the counter across from me. “If there’s anything I can do…”

His kindness made me raise my head. “Thanks.”

“We’re alike when it comes to our upbringing.”

“What do you mean?”

“My mother tried to hang herself, and by extension me, the moment she went into labor. My father called the paramedics in time to keep her alive long enough to deliver me, but they couldn’t save her. At the hospital that night, my father found a scalpel and slit his throat in a bathroom stall.”

The air had vanished from my lungs, so I sucked in a breath. “That’s horrible! Who raised you?”

“My Uncle George and Aunt Mary.”

“They’re still alive. They live in the burbs.” A smile flickered. “They’ve always been good to me. Strange how things work out. Sort of like how you’re a witch. How did that happen?”

“Apparently, I’m from a long line of witches. There are so many rules and stuff, if I explained it all we’d be here till morning.”

“That’s cool…I could brag about how we spent the night together.”

I narrowed my eyes at him in fake anger. “You wouldn’t!”

“Sure, I would! Put it all over my Facebook website. Twitter it out there on Instagram.”

I smiled at his mixed up interpretations of social media. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, do you?”

“But hey,” he continued, ignoring my question, “I’d treat for breakfast.” He offered a slight smile. “So I can’t be
that
bad, can I?”

“You’re a jerk.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.”

His amused expression told me otherwise. “Anyway, I’d rather not get into the whole witch-thing. But you’re only the third person I’ve told, so I’d appreciate it if—”

“No worries,” Nolan said, this time looking sincere. “Your secret…is
our
secret.”

I liked that he referred to us in a conspiratorial manner. It felt intimate, even a little bit special. “You don’t talk about yourself much, do you?”

“I leave that for my lyrics.”

“We have that in common. So why aren’t you afraid of me?”

He contemplated that question. “I don’t know.” His eyes twinkled. “Should I be?”

I thought about my inability to control my powers. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

Nolan wore a peculiar expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“A man was looking at you from the bar before we first met.”

It meant he’d noticed me before we met. My heart pattered at that thought. Nolan must have noticed Darius. “Oh, well, you don’t have to worry about him.”

“I don’t trust him.” His shoulders stiffened. “I think he’s dangerous.”

His conviction surprised me. “Why do you think that?”

“I didn’t see his face for more than a second, but there’s something…off about him.”

“He won’t hurt me. He’s sworn to protect me.”

“From who? Or what?”

“Demons.” Nolan didn’t respond, so I said, “And vampires.” Still no reaction. “Werewolves.” Nothing. “And shapeshifters, among others.”

He took in a deep breath and let it out. “You’re trying to scare me away, aren’t you?”

“From the band?” I asked, unsure if we should continue flirting. At least, I hope we’d been flirting. I didn’t do much of it, so I couldn’t tell for sure.

“Yeah.” He stood upright, all business. “I didn’t even get an audition with you guys, so if you’re having second thoughts, it’s no big deal.”

“I’m not,” I said, my legs weak at the insinuation of his intentions. He gazed at me, and the weight of his stare entranced me. My heartbeat quickened. My toes curled. And I couldn’t catch my breath, even though I stood perfectly still.

“But when I write music or lyrics with a partner, I need to trust and believe in that person.” He let that comment settle between us for a second. “If you’re not that person, you need to let me know.”

I shook my head, overcome by his confident tone. Every muscle in his body appeared to tense as though anticipating an argument. His confident yet detached tone enthralled me. “You can trust me.”

“You’re not going to turn me into a rat or anything?”

That made me chuckle. “I just found out about all this yesterday. And now, I’ve got these powers, and…I can hurt people.”

“But you don’t want to…”

“No. But it can happen anyway. I practically set you on fire last night.”

His serious expression softened. “I knew it! I planned to do it myself, but I couldn’t get a flame going. Then this force hit me. I thought maybe someone saw me struggling with the lighter and decided to help me out. It was perfect timing. I just needed the flames to take the crowd over the edge.”

“You don’t seem that freaked about it.”

“Should I throw a tantrum?” He flicked a few fingers at me as though he’d hit upon a great idea. “Maybe I should pout. Yeah, that would probably be more authentic.” He nodded, resolute on following that plan of action. “Just give a few minutes, okay? I might need to practice a little. Pouting is brand new for me.”

His stoic, dry sense of humor made me chuckle. After losing Grams, I needed someone like Nolan on my side: someone who trusted me and believed in me. “Why did you stop by?”

“I thought you were acting kind of strange while we were…I mean, while I was dancing with your sister. At least now I know why.”

“What was strange?” I asked, hoping to find out if he had any feelings for Alexis.

“She seemed like she had something to prove: like she needed to be the center of attention. That didn’t seem like you at all.”

“How did you feel about that?”

“No offense, but I didn’t like her. At all. That’s why I left. I wanted you. I mean, I wanted…” He looked down and shook his head, a conflicted expression on his face.

My heart melted at that. Before I knew it, I’d made my way around the counter and stood before him. “Thanks for being honest with me.”

“That’s important. Honesty.”

I took another step closer, leaving only a few inches between us. Part of me wished that he’d continue talking, so I could hear his rough yet sensitive voice. A larger part of me wanted him to be quiet, wanted him to look in my eyes, wanted him to touch me.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he said, trying but failing to avert his eyes.

“Like what?”

“We’re band members.”

“I know,” I said, unmoving. “But we haven’t even played together yet.” I hadn’t intended those words to sound so naughty, but as they echoed in my mind, and as Nolan kept looking in my eyes, I didn’t mind that they did.

“Don’t do this,” he said, giving me a sideways glance.

Once more, I saw his muscles tense. “Do what?”

“You’re too pretty, so…don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

A second later, he slipped an arm around my waist, drawing me toward him.

The spot where he touched me went numb for a moment. I felt weak in his arms, fragile.

“Don’t,” he repeated, holding me a little tighter with each passing second, staring at my lips.

“I want to,” I said, enjoying the light-headed sensation that came over me. My knees felt like they’d give out at any second.

“Yeah.” He lowered his head toward mine, lips barely an inch from mine. “Need to.”

At that moment, I recalled Grams explaining that supernatural creatures gravitated toward each other. And that might explain why Nolan didn’t seem the least bit surprised by my abilities…or that vampires and werewolves existed. I pulled away, and the moment we separated, I felt as though I’d been sitting under the hot sun all day, drained of energy.

“What do you mean?” I asked backing away from him, thinking he might be a paranormal creature. “Why do you feel that way?”

Breaking out of a daze, Nolan’s eyes looked brighter. He breathed heavily. “Huh?”

I analyzed him, watching his expression shift from shock to confusion.

“I don’t know. I said how I felt.”

“Are you like me? Do you have any special powers?”

“No.”

Relieved, I let air slip out of my lungs. I didn’t want to broach that topic and risk spooking him any more than I already had. I presumed that Nolan had already freaked out internally, while displaying an unrivaled poker face. Still, what prompted him to disregard my abilities?

Surely, no ordinary person would consider me as anything but a freak. Kendall and Brandon had known me for years and knew I wouldn’t intentionally hurt anyone, so they surely relied on our friendship to guide them in relating to me on a normal wavelength. Then again, my heritage proved that plenty of men had overlooked the gifts of my ancestors. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been born.

I extended my hand toward the counter without looking, but I obviously misjudged its distance because with nothing to grab hold of, my body tilted in that direction. My thighs felt rubbery, almost as though I’d just run a few miles, and where I would normally have pushed off on my feet and twisted my hips so I could clamp onto the counter and hold myself up, I didn’t have enough strength in my legs to turn my torso.

With unexpected reflexes, Nolan swooped in front of the counter, so rather than falling into the hard wood, I fell against his chest. To prevent me from staggering back, he clutched me tightly. Once more, I felt weariness take hold of me.

“Are you okay?” he asked, alert and eager to help. “You look pale. Have you eaten? Do you need medication for anything?”

“No.” I shook my head, but that only made me feel loopy, as though intoxicated. “You look so serious,” I said, attempting to emulate the concerned look on Nolan’s face.

“Because I’m worried.” He studied my expression. “You didn’t take anything, did you?”

“Like what?” I asked, unable to stop grinning. “Drugs? Nope, I’m a good girl.” I giggled. “Never taken drugs.” I paused and moved in closer, feigning a clandestine nature. “Why? Got some you’d like to share?”

“No, I don’t do drugs.”

I reached out, wrapped my hand around his mouth and chin, and swung it side-to-side. “You don’t look so
hot
now…do you, Mr. Marvelous?”

He smiled under my palm, placed a hand over my knuckles, and tried to pry it loose.

I chuckled. “You’re not too strong either. What do women see in you, anyway?” I felt him ever so slightly increase the pressure around my hand, but I kept it around his mouth, the effort almost making me sway to the side before I regained my balance. “Okay, fine,” I said, raising a hand to halt all conversation but mine. “I’ll admit it: I’m just like all the other girls.” I nodded. “You are
definitely
the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot of them. Every day.” I looked down at my hand and pinched my pinky finger. “On the sidewalk.” I ticked off another finger. “In restaurants.” I decided to keep picking a different finger for each location I mentioned. “On the bus. The train. Wrigley Field? They’re there, all right. Macy’s? You betcha! Listen to me, they’re all over.” I looked up at him. “Oh, don’t look so surprised, Mr. Marvelous. You know it! And those muscles,” I said, moving my free hand to his left bicep. I tried to squeeze it, but it didn’t budge. “They’re like…metal.” The play on words in correlation to the music we played made me giggle. “Like heavy metal!” I guffawed so loudly that I actually snorted. Startled, I removed my hands and teetered backwards.