Mark dove for a pen sitting on the table then turned sheet white. He stared into the empty space with scared eyes then started scribbling. His hands were definitely shaking like mine now. “Okay, okay, I’m writing it. I’ll give it to her. Please, ma’am, stay with us. She says she can’t, she must go but that you must see this and know it’s time.”
“What is it?”
“She says…” Mark shivered again. “Saraphina Proctor, you’re more important than you could know. Trust him, and you’ll get your mother and uncle back. But stop fighting us, we’re here waiting to help. Let us in.”
“Let you in?” I shrieked. My heart thundered through my veins. “Let who in? How? What does that even mean? I don’t understand.”
And then that energy vanished faster than it appeared.
She was gone. I knew it with every fiber of my being.
Come back. Please. Elizabeth come back.
“That has never happened. Not like that.” He rubbed his arms and his legs bounced under the table. His dark eyes were still latched on that empty space. “The spirits have words for you – wait, is that your name? Did that spirit know your name?”
I nodded but my whole body was trembling.
Mark cursed and jumped to his feet. He shifted his weight around then rubbed his face. “Most people talk to their deceased grandparents or something but that?” He shivered.
That cold energy was gone but my body had already turned to ice. My teeth rattled together. She said my name. She must actually know me.
He leaned down and picked up the paper he’d scribbled on then handed it to me. “Come with me.”
I jumped to my feet without hesitation. I wanted answers but I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. Mark sped through the store like it was on fire. I glanced around and my heart sank. Savannah and Gigi were nowhere in sight and Brian was talking to a few customers. I hurried after Mark even though my body felt numb.
Mark stopped just outside the store then spun to face me. He pulled a crystal necklace off of his neck then draped it over my head. “Please. Take this. It’ll protect you. I-I made it myself. Nothing in that store is going to be strong enough for you. I couldn’t give it to you inside. Please, take it.”
A strangled cry escaped my lips. What does that mean? Why do I need protection? But I couldn’t ask. My jaw was locked shut. My teeth were vibrating against each other. I felt every hair and nerve ending on my body standing tall and buzzing. Shivers rattled through me so hard I wanted to curl into a ball. Cool energy radiated out of the necklace he’d just put on me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look down at it.
“Saraphina…” Mark cursed and bounced from foot to foot. Then he shook his legs out and scrubbed his face with his hands. “That was the most real, powerful reading I have ever done. To be honest, I’m going to have nightmares about it. Please, call me if you need to talk. I don’t know who you are or what you are, but you are different and there’s clearly something coming your way.”
“M-m-mark, I-I-I—”
“I know that wasn’t half an hour but neither of us can do any more of that in one night. Good luck. I’m going to do some rituals for you when I get home. Be careful.” Then he turned and sprinted back into the store.
And I was alone.
Now was not the time to be alone. I needed my friends but I couldn’t wait for them out here in the dark by myself. Especially if they thought I was going to be in there for half an hour. And there was no way I was going back in the store. I had to go to them. I forced my feet to start walking but my mind was shutting down. Who was that spirit? Who is Elizabeth Bishop? How does she know me? Who are these people she was talking about? Who’s coming for me? What is happening? So many questions. She’d acted like she knew me. Hell, she told me she knew me. But that wasn’t possible, she’d died centuries ago. Yet she knew my name. Nothing made sense.
Then I remembered the note, the one the spirit had forced Mark to write. I uncurled my left hand and found the folded-up piece of parchment paper in my palm. It took me a second for my trembling fingers to open it but then I saw his elegant black scroll scribbled across it.
The note read: When the Angel of Tides rings his drum, Beware the time has finally come. Sides of fate must be chosen, For the bonds of peace are unwoven.”
Hot tears stung the backs of my eyes and a cry ripped up my throat. My heart was beating too fast. Too much blood rushed through my body. I tried to walk but my body was trembling too hard. I stumbled around the corner, then slammed face-first into a brick wall.
I cursed and tried to back away but my feet locked in place. I looked up and my breath left me in a rush.
Riah.
Chapter Nineteen
Saffie
Riah?
“Do you ever watch where you’re going or—” his golden eyes narrowed on my face. “What’s wrong?”
I tried to answer him but I couldn’t. I was frozen. Stuck. My body shaking.
His face hardened. The muscles in his jaw flexed and it made his cheekbones look razor sharp. He was terrifyingly beautiful, even as those sparkling gold eyes scanned me over. His long, pale hair flowed in the breeze. When his gaze returned to mine, he growled, “What. Happened?”
I opened my mouth and tried to speak yet still nothing came out. There was too much to say. It was too crazy. Too frightening. It was too much. Just too much. I was rattled down deep into my soul. My whole body trembled.
“Saraphina?” He rumbled my name with his deep voice and I desperately wanted to answer him.
Instead, I watched myself hold the little piece of paper up to him with shaking hands. “The medium…spirit…told him…tell me this…says…it’s time.”
Riah scowled and plucked the paper from my hand. He lifted it all the way up to his face and I watched his eyes scan the words as he read the note. His eyes widened just a fraction and his lips parted. His face paled like fresh fallen snow – but then it was gone faster than it appeared. His expression hardened right back up. Without saying a word, he folded the paper up into a neat little square, then reached down and slid it into the front pocket of my jeans.
I blinked quickly, trying to hold the tears in.
And then his face softened. Those sharp edges melted away and his eyes no longer felt like lasers on my face. He sighed — and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I gasped. My heart skipped beats.
He pulled me flush to his side. His long fingers squeezed my shoulder and I felt my body melt under his touch. “Let’s find your friends.”
I nodded. My heart fluttered as the heat of his skin seeped through my clothes. It was a simple touch, a platonic friendly gesture, but it was just enough to thaw the chill clinging to my soul. He took a step and to my surprise, my feet moved with him. Like they wanted to stay near him. I was shaken. I felt battered and bruised. But the heat and strength in his arm was holding me together.
We walked together, at a pace comfortable for my short legs and not his height. I saw nothing but darkness around us but that was okay. I was with Riah. In the back of my mind something questioned whether or not I should trust him…but when it came to Riah, my mind didn’t seem to hold the reins. There was something about him that I instinctively trusted.