Authors: Rebekkah Ford
“We need to keep this between us,” I continued. “Otherwise, Paige is--”
“Done for.” Paige made a horrible choking sound, slapped a hand over her mouth, and disappeared. The toilet seat banged, and in one loud strangling sound, she got sick.
In an instant, I was behind her, holding her hair back as she got sick several more times. I could hear Tree and Carrie’s hurried steps moving toward us, and then the power came back on. Light from the hall flooded into the dark bathroom.
“Are you okay?” Carrie asked, stepping beside Paige.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw Tree standing in the doorframe looking green. Our eyes locked. He frowned and left the room.
Paige spat in the toilet. “Uh. No. I’m not okay.” When she rose, I let go of her hair and stepped back. She flushed the toilet and grabbed some mouthwash off the shelf beside the sink. After she rinsed her mouth, she sank to the floor. Pulling her knees up, she leaned her face against them and rocked. I sat beside her and pulled her into my arms. “Why me? I don’t want this.”
I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Ignore it then.” She stopped rocking and looked at me. Knowing I had her attention, I quickly went on before her mind drifted backward. “We don’t know anything about it, you don’t know how to use it, so we’ll pretend you don’t have the capability to unlock those doors.”
“Good idea,” Carrie said, surprising me. “Tree and I will never mention it. Right, Tree?” Her gaze swept to the open doorway.
“Right.” Tree came in view, his huge shadow swallowing the tiny bathroom.
I cradled Paige’s face, seeing a glimmer of hope in her dark green eyes. “See? It’ll be all right, and once we take care of the current situation, we can start building a life together.”
She smiled. It was weak, but I’d take it over a frown any day. I brushed my lips against hers and rose. I offered my hand. She took it, and we went back to our places in the living room. The rain quieted, drizzling at a lazy pace. Damp cool air, seeped through the cracks, kicking on the heat. A rush of air blew through the heating vents. An easy conversation followed with Tree initiating it, about the ethereal plane, dark spirits, and doing what Kora had told us. Paige thanked Tree for bringing it up to Kora, admitting she would have probably forgotten if it weren’t for him. I could tell by the bright smile on his face Paige’s
what-would-I-do-without-you
, tone flattered him. Carrie stared at her lap the whole time, her lips in a tight line. Something was going on with her, and I wasn’t about to let her little pissy attitude sabotage the rest of my night. I’d be damned if I would walk on eggshells whenever she was present.“Carrie, can I talk to you in the kitchen?”
Paige raised her eyebrows at me when I stood, and I squeezed her hand before exiting the room. I could hear Carrie following behind me, her feet dragging on the floor. As soon as we entered the kitchen, I faced her. “What’s going on?”
She blinked and feigned ignorance. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Now I was pissed and could feel my ears getting warm. The attitude was one thing, but to take me as a fool and lie straight to my face was another. I’d never had a problem with Carrie except for her occasionally annoying me when she acted juvenile, which I ignored, but this I could not.
I ran a hand through my hair and squinted at her. “You know exactly what I mean. Let’s start with the attitude you have with me and throwing Brayden in my face. Does that jar your memory or are you going to keep pretending you have no idea what I’m talking about?”
She crossed her arms and glared. “Fine. I’m mad because you didn’t call me when Paige had disappeared.”
Interesting. I could understand why she’d be upset, but in my opinion she was being overly dramatic about it. She knew the situation. I’d already told her and Tree about what happened, and she’d seemed fine at the time. I thought she understood, but I guess I was wrong.
“I apologize, Carrie,” I said. “I wanted to call you, but I knew Paige wouldn’t have approved because she didn’t want you or Tree involved in any of this.”
She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “But if you called me right away, I could have told you Paige was at Cannon Beach, and since you didn’t, Paige went through all that unnecessary pain, and Bael now knows Solomon’s power is inside her. So what’s going to happen to her since he knows? Is he going to put a hit on her or kill her himself?”
“You think what happened to Paige is my fault.” It wasn’t a question, just a statement hanging in the air between us. My tone was flat, emotionless, and I felt like she just kicked me in the stomach.
Carrie jutted her chin out. “Yes, I do.”
In a flash, Paige stood at my side. “How can you say that, Carrie? Nathan did the right thing. He knew I didn’t want you two involved.”
Carrie raised her hands in defeat. “I’m sorry. I’m just scared. Okay?” She didn’t sound regretful. She sounded more irritated than anything. She turned to Tree. “Let’s go. I’m tired.”
“Wait.” Paige snatched Carrie’s arm and voiced my thoughts. “You don’t sound sorry.” Carrie tried to yank her arm back, but Paige was too strong. “What’s your problem?”
“Let go of my arm, Paige,” Carrie said, trying to break free. When Paige wouldn’t let go, Carrie finally relaxed. She looked exhausted. “I’m tired, and Aosoth’s memories keep haunting me and sometimes I don’t feel like myself. I’m afraid I’m becoming like her because there are times when I feel like her memories are actually mine.” Her brown eyes were wide with fear, brimming with tears.
I felt like shit, remembering telling her how rarely a human possessed by a dark spirit will obtain some of its memories and either go mad or become a recluse. I should have never mentioned it to her because now the fear had rooted inside her.
Paige embraced her, but when Carrie squeezed her arms around Paige’s back, Paige released a small painful cry. Carrie apologized and placed her arms around Paige’s shoulders, her somber eyes meeting mine.
“I’m sorry, Nathan,” she said. “I don’t hate you.” Her lip trembled, and she burst into tears. “I really don’t blame you for what happened to Paige. I do wish you would have called me, but I understand why you didn’t.” She clung to Paige tighter. “I-I don’t feel like myself. Wh-what if I’m going crazy?”
My heart went out to her, and I made a silent oath to save her from this madness. I had thought because she was aware of what was going on, she’d be able to distinguish her memories from Aosoth’s, but I’d underestimated the human mind and the raging emotions of a teen. I could see clearly now on what her problem was. Mind, body, and spirit, weak with exhaustion, therefore allowing Aosoth’s memories to pour in and mingle with her own, confusing the mind and altering her moods. Thus, the mood swings and her irrational behavior. If it continued, we’d lose Carrie.
“I can help you,” I said, thinking of a good friend I hadn’t spoken to or seen in over a decade. I’d have to track him down, but it wouldn’t be hard to do. He owed me a favor and now was a good time to collect.
Hope flooded into her eyes. “You can?”
“Yes,” I said.
“How can you help her?” Paige asked, turning to me.
“Awesome,” Tree said, relief crossing his face. “Can you do it now?”
“I have to track down an old friend,” I told them and quickly added when their faces fell. “It won’t take me long. I have an idea where he is. I’ll start on it right away tomorrow. I promise.”
“Who?” Paige wanted to know. “How can he help?”
“His name is Pippins. He’s eccentric, but he’s skilled at the workings of the human mind and can remove Aosoth’s memories through hypnosis.”
Carrie’s face lit up. “That would be great!” She yawned and flashed me a tired smile. “Thanks, Nathan.”
I gave her shoulder a squeeze in an attempt to comfort her. “I’ll give you an update tomorrow, and hopefully we can do it within a couple days.”
She nodded and slipped her hand in Tree’s. “C’mon. I need to get some sleep.”
After they left, I made Paige and me bacon, eggs, and toast while she threw a load of laundry in the washer and did some light cleaning around the house. I was going to suggest we hop on the internet and start researching the caves in Africa, but I had the feeling she didn’t want to deal with it tonight, so I didn’t mention it.
The past couple of days had been more difficult than usual, and I knew she needed a reprieve from it, for which I couldn’t blame her. I felt the same. But despite all my efforts of ignoring the dark cloud hovering over us, I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through Bael’s head.
As we were eating, Paige wanted to know more about Pippins. Pip was what I called him. I told her everything I knew about him, like how he was a loner and scoffed at the idea of ridding this world of dark spirits. How he agreed we immortals needed to police them. However, if we could exterminate them, it would throw off the balance, like having no night only day. I used to love chatting with him for hours over a nice glass of fine brandy about philosophy and religion. I always thought the genius in him was what made him odd to others because his eyes and mind were wide open, whereas a lot of people sleepwalked through life.
“I didn’t know you drank,” Paige said while loading the dishwasher. “I mean, except for when you were going through a hard time in your life.”
“I like to have a glass of good brandy or wine once in a while,” I admitted. “It’s the culture behind it I find alluring, I think. It reminds me of a classier time when individuals would sit and chat for hours about meaningful things to feed and grow their minds.” I stopped, suddenly feeling silly for some reason, thinking maybe she had to have been in those times to understand the concept behind it. After all, she was born in the age of technology.
“I can understand that,” she said, surprising me. “I wish I was born in those times. In fact,”–she leaned forward and cupped the side of her mouth with her hand, like she was going to tell me a deep, dark secret. I leaned toward her, and she whispered–“I’m secretly a Humphrey Bogart fan.” When I raised my eyebrows, shocked and pleased she even watched classic movies, she continued. “I’ve seen all his movies, and
Casablanca
is one of my favorites.”
The corner of my mouth lifted, and I peeked at her sideways. “Did you have a thing for Mr. Bogart?”
Holding my eyes she shook her head. Her cheeks flushed, turning cherry red. “Ingrid Bergman was who I had a crush on because of her beauty. I used to wish I looked like her.”
“What about Marilyn Monroe?”
“Her, too,” she said, still embarrassed. “I feel bad for Marilyn, though, because she seemed so lonely and had a childlike sadness to her.”
“Well,” I said, sitting on the kitchen chair and pulling her onto my lap, “I love knowing this about you, and I think you’re way sexier than Ingrid and Marilyn.”
Paige swung and agile leg and straddled me. “Such sweet things you say,” she said before planting her mouth on mine.
Her lips were hot, and I kissed her long and deep, my tongue flicking against hers. She pulled at my shirt, her short breaths coming faster now, her bright green eyes on mine. I took it off and tossed it aside. She followed suit, and I was pleased to see she wasn’t wearing a bra. A deep involuntary sound vibrated in my throat, almost primal. My lips made a trail down her neck, and she leaned back on her hands, arching her back. She softly moaned when my fingers found their way down her pants. I discovered she was naked down there and made a pleasing sound against her breast. My fingers slipped inside her, and she moaned louder, rocking against my hand, driving me crazy.
I had to have her.
Now.
We stripped our pants and made passionate love with her legs bracketing my lap on the kitchen chair. It was erotic, mind blowing, and intense. All I could think about was Paige. Us. Nothing else crossed my mind. It was a wonderful release from the world oppressing us, and we took full advantage of it because deep down we didn’t know when would be the next time we’d be able to do this again.
***
The morning after we ate and took our showers, I made a few phone calls to track Pip. I knew he wouldn’t be listed in the phone book because he valued his privacy. I thought about taking a trip to where he used to reside, which was surprisingly nearby in Washington, but I didn’t want to be away from Paige for long. Pip would have to come here, since it wasn’t safe for Paige to leave the house. I got a few leads and was about to act on one when my phone rang. Paige looked up from the magazine she was reading and eyed my phone next to my coffee cup.
“Maybe it’s Pip,” she guessed, reaching for her coffee, taking a sip.
I wasn’t so sure, but then again Pip and I were good friends. And even if he didn’t owe me a favor, I had no doubt he’d be there for me.
I picked up the phone half expecting to hear Pip’s British accent he had managed to hang onto for more than four hundred years, but I heard Tree’s tearful voice call my name instead. Paige sat up, worried eyes boring into mine. My heart did a nosedive.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“C-Carrie,” Tree choked out.
Paige jumped up, knocking the chair back. It fell with a loud bang. Her face went stark white. “What happened?” she yelled, knowing Tree could hear her.
“Sh-she was in a car accident this morning,” Tree said, his voice unsteady.
“Oh, God!” Paige wailed, slapping her hands on top of her head, staring at the ceiling.
A burning pain stabbed my eyes as anger and sorrow swelled inside me. Paige had lost her mother in a car accident less than a year ago. She couldn’t go through this again.
Why?
Why was this happening?
Tree took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “She’s alive but in I.C.U.”
A loud, spine-chilling buzzer went off, and I heard somebody yell, “Code Red!”
And then the phone line went dead.
Chapter Four
Paige
I pulled Nathan with me through the hospital lobby, through the maze of halls, dodging nurses, patients in wheelchairs, patients gripping their IV poles, shuffling along, straight to the intensive care unit. I knew this hospital well. Before my mom decided to be a traveling nurse, she used to work here with Tree’s mom, Tori, a lifetime ago it seemed.