The Glass Secret (Chain of Secrets) (3 page)

The footnote read:
These stories are not real events.
I stared at the print, blank minded.

“Well, dear, can I have my paper back?” she asked.

“Yes...I just thought...I mean, it said. Never mind.” I handed her the newspaper.

“It’s okay.
Our eyes can play tricks on us sometimes,” the old woman said. “You should be glad it wasn’t your name?” Her tone turned serious. “See, Brielle, what you did years ago changed the lives of many little girls.”

“What?” I shook my head, as chills tingled over my flesh. “How do you know my name? I never told you—and—”

“Sure you did. Don’t you remember?”

“No, I didn’t.”

She shrugged. “Hmmmm, I thought you did. By the way, my name is Mary.” She reached out her hand to shake mine. I reached back, only grazing the edge of her fingertips. A tinge of electricity entered into my body. “Did you feel that?” she laughed. “Osmosis! Wow, we’re connected, huh?”

I stared at her, hard. Her words were shocking and incomprehensible. “I don’t know what’s going on here. To be honest I don’t think—” I paused.

She stuck out her bottom lip and tilted her head. “I got the third eye.” The train jerked. Her arms dramatically flailed into the air, then grabbed onto the back of the chair. “Weee...that was fun. You should lighten up and have some fun. Enjoy the ride.”

“Yeah...okay, lady—but what did you mean by what I did years ago?”

Why was she messing with me?

“Gods, to go,” she said in a jovial pitch. “I mean gots to go. Things to do.” She turned on her heels and exited into the connecting train. I turned and watched her as she disappeared into the crowd of people.

What the fuck was that all about?

I sank into my seat, trying to make sense of what had just happened. My heart raced in my chest. She was just a crazy old lady. Pulling my thoughts together, I diverted my attention to my sticking fingers. It was nothing a little hand sanitizer couldn’t fix. I viewed the contents of my purse, eyeing the small container, something felt off. “Wait!” I panicked. “Where’s my credit card?” My eyes scanned the seat around me, then the floor beneath me. Nothing. It was gone. “Excuse me,” I turned to the man that was rude to me earlier. My nerves faded into being pissed off. “You know that sweet little old lady that you thought I was bullying...well, she stole my credit card.” He only shrugged and pursed his lips.

That’s how she knew my name.

“Whatever. I’ll cancel it.” I growled to myself. I felt like everyone on the train was staring at me. Nosey jerks.

“Please, watch your step when disembarking the train,”
the automated announcer called out; however, it was in French, but I knew what it meant. Half the crowd pushed up into the aisle.

“Excusez moi, Mademoiselle,” a distinguished man said as he gathered his satchel and business jacket into his arms.

“Sure...sorry—désolé,” I replied, tilting my knees in the opposite direction, allowing him to bypass.

Quickly, I brushed the donut crumbs off my lap, and pushed up into the mass of people.

“Hey lady, I got something for you.” The man that was sitting behind me called out to me. I didn’t really need his crap right now. When I turned toward him, my credit card was dangling in his outstretched hand. “It was laying on your seat under you. I guess you owe her an apology.”

Without a thought, I rolled my eyes and snatched the card. “Maybe, but really you have no idea what she did to me. The crazy lady was messing with my mind.”

“She’s a firecracker that’s for sure. She knows things and will talk your ear off.” He laughed. I wasn’t amused. “Everyone knows Mary. She wouldn’t harm a fly. She’s an angel, you can ask anyone.” 

Defeated, I shrugged and smiled. “Of course, she is,” I quipped then exited the train.

When my heels hit the platform, the solid ground of the subway erupted beneath my feet, causing me to scream.

It was beginning...

I had been afraid of this moment all day long. Little Mary, Mary quite contrary...the supposed angel sure did a great job distracting me from my pending fate.

ζ



A dark cloud mixed with a fierce wind swarmed around me. I flashed at the crowd of people behind me to see their reaction. Before my eyes they had vanished, fragmented as digital pixels, one by one, scattering into the vapor. A loud boom thundered in the distance.

“What the hell was that?” I shrieked.

My heart stopped, yet my legs raced against my evitable destiny. I gripped my necklace, begging for guidance, I cried, “Please, not yet, let me get home first.”

I ran from the metro as fast as my flimsy stupid high-heels would carry me, up the cemented stairs, short cutting through the back alley and down through the city. Every so often, I flashed over my shoulders into the woeful darkness.

There was something approaching from behind me, fiercely, moving forward, and pulling me backwards. I couldn’t believe what my mind was registering. The lights of the city powered off one by one in the path behind me. Inexplicably, the buildings were changing shape. This sent my heart rolling down into the pit of my stomach, which was telling me to run, run—
run faster!

A thick dark fog encroached on the back of my heels, changing the world that I once knew right before my eyes. The distance grew between me and where I had been. Still, I was losing precious time, looking back out of curiosity was no longer an option. I hastened my movements, cautiously forging into the grayness. Fear ran through me. What is happening? My eyes peered upward. The skies turned over from gray to black liquid, dripping over the city like an oil painting, gone bad.

I careened around the last corner, just short of my destination, pausing for one more glimpse of the city that I grew to love. The Eiffel Tower lights flickered to black. My heart nearly stopped. There was no time to delay. Just a stride away from the old brownstone, even in my high heels, I was reluctant to slow down.

I flew up the weathered steps and keyed in my entry code with no regard, 4-4-4. A simple pass-code that I wouldn’t have to give any thought to remembering. I pushed through the front doors, slamming out the past, racing towards the dark stairwell. My heart pounded with anticipation. I was certain he would have been long gone by the time I had returned.

Panting and out of breath, I yelled up into the vacant stairwell, “Hello! Are you here?” There were no lights on, so I paused for a fraction of a moment, listening for a response. I stood there wondering if I should risk going into the dark. Why was he not answering me?

Without a sense of sight, I could feel his presence as I often did. He was, in fact, there, in the dark waiting for me.

In my mind’s eye, I could see his prophetic eyes burning, smoking hot like a flame, and the way his dimple deepened when he curled his lips into a smile. His flawless features were engraved into every cell of my mind. Although he wasn’t a pretty-boy type, on the contrary, he was dark, tall and ultra masculine.

He wore his jet-black hair styled long, carelessly swept off his face, exposing his chiseled jawline. His bone structure would have been a sculptor’s dream to recreate into a fine work of art. Those strong muscles that traced along his jawbone would tighten naturally, alerting him whenever a negative energy was looming nearby.

He had a prominent nose, perfectly positioned and straight as a blade. When he laughed out loud, I could swear the end of his nose moved ever so slightly. He said that was impossible. I had my doubts, for I had seen it with my own eyes. Either way it did not take away from his rugged features.

His lips were full and highly kissable, but his eyes—his eyes were the window to his soul and more! They were ineffable, beyond words: gray-hooded bedroom eyes infused with flecks of smoky midnight blues. His ominous pupils cast penetrating stares. Thick dark brows and long, wispy lashes accentuated those wide-set eyes, signifying a trait of superior intelligence. That he was.

Sometimes his left eye fluttered, resembling the damnedest wink. It was actually devilishly sexy. I grew to know every detail, flicker, and emotion that splayed on his face. He was a man of many layers, confident, mysterious, impassive, and quietly dominating. He had a subtle emotional side that he was not afraid to hide from me. There was not a single trait that deflated his male prowess.

As for me, I was far more emotional than him and showed it when I probably should have refrained. Hey, after all I am human. In my book, he was far from human.

I was carelessly sensitive, outspoken, argumentative, and insecure sometimes. I hid most of my negative traits and wore an armor of confidence as many people do. He would push my buttons just to arouse me. He thought it was amusing when my temper flared, but he knew how to handle me with kid gloves. A time or two, he even threatened to spank me when my short fuse got the best of me. I told him if he could catch me I would grin and bear it. The truth was I knew he could move faster than the speed of light.

He was the entire package of all the greatest men rolled into one. Any woman would have fallen for him, and I fell. He possessed patience, trustworthiness, humor, and love...shall I go on? Okay... his voice was cultured and smooth with a deep raspy tone that caused my heart to stop beating.

It was almost unnerving that one man could have inherited the best of the best qualities. In short, he surpassed an image of a god...pure male perfection at its best.

“Can you come down? We need to talk. I have so much to tell you...you’re not going to believe what happened!” My voice rang out, echoing against the domed ceiling. I waited for his reply, but he didn’t answer. I would have to climb the steps in the dark, alone.

It was imperative that I had the time, precious moments, to tell him what I had discovered. Although he may have already known what happened, I wanted to tell him in my own words. However, I sensed there would be no time for words, and our eyes would have to do the talking.

The click-clacks of my heels echoed in the darkness, up one stair at a time. Instantly, his vivid signature scent enveloped me. In one fortifying breath, I inhaled the sweet alluring scent of his powerful pheromones interfering with my synapses. Staying focused would be my greatest challenge if I weren’t too late. All I wanted to do was see him again.

Everything about him was light years ahead of most men. In the short time-period of knowing him, he was one man who had made the greatest impact on my life. His fingers, hands and arms, all particles of him reached toward me. Yet, he was out of my reach in every way.

Something was wrong, dreadfully wrong, interrupting my train of thought. My keen sense of hearing detected a faint sound of fingernails tapping against the wall, setting off alarms in my head. Someone was on the flight above me in the dark.

“Hello? Who’s there?” I continued to climb the stairs, feeling my way to the second landing. I had to get to the third floor. “Is that you? This isn’t funny. Why would you scare me like this?” I called out with uncertainty in my voice of who was there. He would never frighten me, not intentionally. I knew that all too well. What if the creep he had fought against, on my behalf, had returned and brought some friends? There was no way he’d come alone. He was the real coward.

I pulled my cell-phone from my purse to use the backlight as a flashlight, and when doing so my small bag dropped to the landing below.
Crap! I’ll get it later.

I put a death grip on my cell and hit the faceplate. The dim light helped, barely. I made it to the top of the second landing when a large shadow crossed the opposite wall above me.

Heavy-footed, the sound of absolute footsteps struck against the floorboards of the fourth balcony. They were heading in my direction.

“Who’s there?” Chills tingled across my extremities. I stood there unable to proceed.

A sense of static electricity jolted through me as a dense mist encircled my ankles and trailed up along my body, hindering my vision. Suddenly, a foul odor of sulfur—
no
, more like a mephitic scent, invaded my olfactory senses. It was as if the demons of Hell swarmed around me then dissipated. Thank God!

When the footsteps grew closer, I detected a distinct smell of opium. The overwhelming copious notes encircled me and wafted into my nostrils. I swallowed down the balmy aroma that collected in the back of my throat. My eyes stung. I began gingerly backtracking my way down the stairwell, one precarious step at a time.

Three steps down, in fear of being seen from the light of my phone, I shoved it into my back pocket and crouched against the wall. It was pitch black. I couldn’t see anyone, but it felt as if someone had touched me.

“Get away!” I screamed, slapping my hands at the subtle presence. That was the wrong choice. I lost my balance, swaying dangerously into the fray.

My fingers grasped for something substantial to hold on to. All of a sudden, I couldn’t move, my high-heel was wedged in the small hole on the step. I panicked when I couldn’t take a step forward. A hand grappled my shoulder and my foot released. Riddled with fear, in an instant, my body snapped like a rubber band into the air. A dull thump throbbed in my ears as my tailbone hit the edge of the first stair. The noise terrified me so did the following sound: a crack of bone splitting. My head felt like a bowling ball as I rolled over every step backwards.