Page 13

If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t ever have known pure and unconditional love. Not once did I feel the need to perform for him or change who I was.

Holding the picture in my mind of the love I wanted, I lit the red candle and sat back down on my legs, staring at the flame and clearing my head. When I was ready, I visualized someone accepting me just as I was. They would be affectionate, protective, and of course, hot, too. The perfect package.

Gradually, the charged atmosphere dissipated, and I took a deep breath before blowing out the candle. I couldn’t remember what you were supposed to do with your tool when you were finished, but I didn’t feel like looking it up either. Too tired to do anything else, I moistened my fingers and pressed them against the wick before shoving everything back in the carton.

After I washed my makeup off, I climbed into bed. I still felt a bit strange, but I didn’t know if it was because I hadn’t messed with magic for so long or if it was because of the ridiculous tarot reading at the club with Vance.

Pulling my blanket over my shoulder, I thought of all the things that woman, Natalie, said. She’d made it sound like I was going to have a miserable, terrifying life. I did like dark things though, and daggers are pretty cool.

The whole bit about the “devil” was creepy and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how it would apply to me. The card’s meaning reflected things like obsession, secrecy, depression, addiction, and bondage. Twice, tonight, that card popped up.

Truth be told, I was obsessed with finding my inheritance from my grandpa. Trekking through the woods was an addiction and it could be seen as secret since I went by myself. It was certainly depressing how I couldn’t find what I was looking for, and there was no way I would stop searching.

It felt like it was all I had in this world, and it was out of my reach. Was that bondage? Maybe, but I wasn’t going to complain when I’d keep going until I was successful.

As a matter of fact, as soon as I woke up, I was heading back out to the woods. I hadn’t planned anything but that for this weekend.

Speaking of sleep—I needed it, and I rolled over onto my side and entered a deep slumber.

Rather than facing the annoying sliver of sun in my eyes that my curtain didn’t seem to be able to restrain, I found myself on my side in the leaves. My head was on a flat rock like it was a pillow, and something tickled my ankle.

Somehow, I woke up in my dreams again. That had to be what this was. It looked like I was in the same area as last time, although I wasn’t positive. My guess was based entirely on speculation, not anything definitive.

There was no way I was sleepwalking, which I’d considered last time. Without a doubt, I knew I’d gone to bed. No one else was around, and I would have felt it if somebody picked me up and dumped me in the forest.

The only difference between this time and the last was the fog. There was more of it, and the wispy tendrils wrapped themselves around trees as if they were vines winding their way up to the sky.

Moonlight flickered through the canopy as clouds scuttled along, making it hard to focus on any possible landmark that would tell me where I was. The air held almost a mystical, surreal quality. It may have frightened me if I hadn’t known I was asleep, since this was all unexpected.

Everything was silent other than the chirping of crickets. The way the clouds moved overhead suggested there was a breeze, but the air was perfectly still. After I dusted myself off, I turned in a circle, trying to decide which way to go. If I was dreaming, I might as well take advantage and see what happened.

Then I remembered it didn’t matter which way I went. Nothing would happen to me because none of this was real. The worst thing that could was I’d wake up because I got scared. You always wake up right before the monster eats you.

There didn’t appear to be a path, so I started walking in the direction I was facing. Brushing past low branches and stepping carefully over rocks, I pushed through. Nothing changed until I found myself facing the same barrier wall as my last dream adventure.

This time, there was a gap in the bricks with thick, square stone columns standing on either side of an opening. From the positioning of the home on the other side, I could tell I was still at the rear of the property.

Why I woke up again in this same spot was beyond me. It was weird, but I wasn’t going to complain. The place held a fascination for me for a couple of different reasons, but primarily the potential contents hidden inside.

The other reason was the enigmatic, well-dressed man I had met the first time I found the property. Granted, I was awake then. I’d almost expected to see him at the club the other night, but there hadn’t been anyone nearly as classy as him.

As I approached the gap in the bricks, I thought about that man some more and wondered if I could conjure him since I was dreaming. I’d never even gotten his name or found out what he’d been doing in the house. Most likely, he was doing the same thing as me, poking around, but I wanted to know what he was looking for. I had the feeling that whatever it was, it was interesting.

I just hoped whoever, or whatever, had messed with me last time I dreamed about the house wouldn’t show up again.

The brick columns towered over me as I passed them, and I marveled at how they’d randomly appeared. Not that I expected dreams to stay consistent; it was just cool how it’d happened, saving me the trouble of having to climb over the wall. The dreams had progressed from a staircase to a grand entryway, for my convenience.

The door was unlocked, as I expected it to be, and I shoved my hand in my pants pocket only to come up empty. I was reaching for my cell phone, or perhaps a flashlight, but it seemed not everything worked out in my favor, so I stepped into darkness.

The ambient moonlight only went so far, and I paused, hoping to suddenly acquire night vision. My eyes adjusted and I could make out faint forms, but nothing that looked like a lamp or a candle was within reach.

Tentatively, I moved forward, keeping my arms outstretched, aiming for where I thought the table was. Once I reached it, I would hopefully find something to use as a light.

The piece of furniture came much sooner than I expected, and I bumped into it softly. That didn’t stop things from falling and rolling across the floor. The noise was jarring and it echoed through the spacious building.

Light flared behind me.

I turned around to see what was going on.