Chapter Three
Celine couldn’t believe how she was acting. It was silly really. Floating on a cloud because of a few words Atticus had spoken to her. Not that the thought stopped her.
It was one of the few times his behavior toward her matched the feelings and vibe she got from him.
By the time five rolled around, Celine was ready to head home to her nice, warm bed, where she could at least pretend that she’d get a good night’s sleep for a change. She held out some small hope the kindness from Atticus might be enough to counteract whatever was leading to her having nightmares.
Celine groaned as she thought about what she would make for dinner that night. Unless she wanted to have another evening of cereal, she would need to stop by the store. Maybe a couple single-serve dinners would be perfect. No cooking and no mess. Not really the best tasting but who cared?
She stepped into the doorway of Allison's office and smiled when her friend looked up from the mound of paperwork there. People acted like being the mayor was a glamourous job, but it seemed the job was more paperwork than anything else.
"Headed out?" Allison asked.
Celine nodded. "Think I'll stop by the store on my way home."
Allison smiled at her. "Tell Grace to get out one of the pumpkin pies from the back." She grinned.
Celine laughed. Even though it had been years since Allison worked at the old grocery store, she still seemed to know the inner workings of everything there, especially now that her sister was in charge of the whole place.
"Don't work too late," Celine said, and nodded to the stack of papers.
Allison huffed loudly. “I swear some of these assholes are just submitting things to make more work.”
Celine shrugged. It might actually be the case. The election for mayor had been highly contested, and many weren’t so thrilled a woman had won, especially one so outspoken.
“Maybe you should start losing some of that work.” Celine grinned.
Allison laughed loudly but shook her head. “Last thing I want to do is give them more fuel.”
Celine smiled. That was why she loved working for her. Because no matter what they threw her way, Allison only used that as a chance to prove them wrong.
The mayor glanced down at her watch. "I’d better hurry, or Quintus is going to be here before I’m finished. He might toss me over his shoulder and drag me back to his house," she mumbled. A blush spread across her face as she realized what she had just said out loud.
Celine laughed and gave her friend a wink. "I'm sure he would."
She stepped out of the office doorway and over to the coat rack. There she slipped the tweed coat over her soft blue blouse. She frowned when she noticed just how off her shirt had been. Somehow she'd miscalculated and missed the top button totally, leaving an ample view of the swell of her breasts.
"Shit," Celine mumbled, and righted the issue.
It wasn’t her finest hour. The loafers she was wearing only made her feel as short as she actually was. The black pants did nothing for her figure. But this morning hadn’t been about what would make her look hot. It was about what she could wear that she wouldn’t trip in.
It seemed like a good idea at the time. If she had known that today was the day Atticus had decided to pay her any attention, she would have worn the sexy black pencil skirt with the low-cut white blouse.
“Of course,” she mumbled.
Just her luck. Though at least maybe he’d been able to appreciate her breasts.
Her face heated at the thought. It could be he thought she was being too forward and leaving her shirt unbuttoned on purpose.
She shook her head. There was no reason to sit there and worry.
Celine picked up her purse and slung it over her shoulder before heading into the hall and then outside.
In their neck of the woods, once the sun dipped below the mountain, a chill swept over the land. She shivered and pulled the neck of her coat up around her face.
The store was right on the corner across from the office building. It seemed silly for her to climb into her car and drive just around the corner. Instead she decided to shop lightly and hoof it over.
There was just something about the feel of the old grocery store that she couldn't quite get in the big box stores. She liked the way the front door swung open instead of slid open. Like it had when she was just a little kid and hopped on the mat to see it swing.
There was always someone there to greet her when she came in. At least, normally there was.
Celine frowned slightly. No one was there.
Maybe today was just off though. The store seemed to be empty as she stepped in. Not a sound at all.
Her heart kicked up as her sleep-deprived, overactive imagination kicked into high gear. A robbery? A bear?
A bear robber? She snickered, realizing just how tired she must be to even be thinking of something like that.
Celine picked up a basket and slowly made her way to the produce section.
She was surprised to find Grace on the floor slapping stickers on the melons there but her thoughts about a million miles away. A small blush spread across Grace’s cheeks, and Celine wondered what the quiet woman must be thinking.
It always struck her how'd different Grace and Allison were from one another. Allison always seemed like a force to be reckoned with where Grace was more like a gentle breeze.
She was a slight woman, although you might not know it from the oversized sweater and broomstick skirt she chose to wear. Celine couldn't exactly say she had the best taste in clothing, but she beat Grace out every time.
“Hey there,” Celine said quietly.
Grace jumped at the intrusion into her silence.
“Holy Moley,” Grace said. She placed a hand against her chest. “You scared the heck out of me.”
“Sorry,” Celine said sheepishly. “It seemed like you were deep in thought.”
Grace blushed again and stood. “I didn’t hear you come in,” she said quietly. “I’ve been a bit tired, and it’s been an… unusual day.”
Everything in Celine wanted to press the other woman on what exactly she classified as unusual, but it was clear she wasn’t keen on talking about it. She could only hope it meant unusual in the male variety.
"Allison said I should talk to you about one of your famous pumpkin pies from the back," Celine said, grinning at the other woman.
Grace waved a hand dismissively. "They really aren't famous." She sighed.
Celine laughed at her modesty. "Pretty sure everyone in Eagle Ridge knows how good your pies are. Pretty sure that makes you famous in our book."
A blush spread across Grace’s face before a giant yawn ripped from her.
Celine's eyes went wide. Grace was the sort that went to bed exactly on time every night. She was not a person to get tired early.
“Boy, you weren’t kidding about being tired. I didn’t think that was possible for you.”
"Sorry," Grace said, and sighed. "I haven't been sleeping very well recently. I keep having these terrible nightmares with creepy dark shadows." She stared off into the distance as if she were remembering the horrible dream and shivered.
"The Shadow Man?" Celine said, before slapping her hand over her mouth. She couldn't say why she said it, but it just seemed right.
Grace snapped her head toward Celine to stare in shock. "How did you know that?"
Celine leaned in a little, feeling far more self-conscious than she had originally.
"I’m the same," she said. "It started a couple weeks ago. At first, it was just a feeling. Each night it gets worse though. Some nights I'm afraid to even go to sleep, so I just lay there."
She sighed and rubbed her temples. Maybe it was somehow related to Grace and the dreams, or maybe it was a big coincidence. Though, at that moment, it didn’t feel like that.
"He visits those he courts,” a creepy voice hissed out of nowhere.
The two women turned and were surprised to find a brown-cloaked man standing nearby,
Celine had seen his people before. They lived up out of town. They were a strange group that sometimes came down to recruit women into their cult. They claimed to worship the Atlanteans and their god, Atlas. They called themselves the Azilians, and no one in town put much stock in their ramblings. For the most part, they seemed harmless, if creepy.
Still, it creeped her out that not only had he heard what they said but talked as if he understood. She didn’t get a hostile vibe from him, but it wasn’t what she’d call normal either.
"I'm sorry?" Celine frowned at the man.
He stepped closer to them, his eyes wide with fear.
"He comes to you at night. He comes in the darkness that dwells in our hearts. Through the breach that was created. He seeks the power of the stone." He raised a finger and shook it. “He who lives in the shadows.”
Celine stepped back away from the man, his increasingly strange words setting her on edge. There was something ominous about the way he spoke. As if his words had taken root inside of her and spoke to the fear that had been building there.
"You must speak with Anassa," he said, and pulled out a pamphlet to shove in their hands. "Only Anassa can save you."
Grace and Celine watched as he walked away. A chill swept over Celine.
"Told those creeps to stop coming in here," Grace grumbled. “They’re bad for business.”
Celine turned and raised a brow. It wasn't often she heard Grace speak like that about anyone.
"What?" Grace said. “It’s true.”
Celine shook her head. It seemed silly for her to voice her worries about what the man had said. If only because she was afraid the more she thought about it, the more likely she was to believe what he said.
"You do your shopping, and I'll grab that pie," Grace said, and gave her a soft smile. It seemed like she wasn’t interested in continuing the dream conversation for the moment. Maybe that was for the best.
Celine wandered the store as she thought. She glanced down at the pamphlet in her hands. Anassa was who he said could help her. A part of her wondered just what that meant. She was tired of the dreams and wanted to understand. However, a healthy fear of being chopped up into little pieces also helped her to keep her distance.
She made her way back to the checkout and grabbed a few chocolate bars once she realized she’d gotten nothing else to eat. Dinner of champions. If she were lucky enough, maybe she'd be home in time to order pizza.
Grace frowned at the chocolate bars and pie. "Is that it?"
Celine nodded. The door to the front opened, and she watched as a mother stepped in with her small child, the little boy doing what she had also remembered doing so long ago on the mat.
When the mother and child had moved into the store, she leaned forward as Grace placed her pie and candy bars in the bag.
Celine couldn’t let it go. Two people having the same weird dream?
"What if he's right?" Celine said.
Grace shook her head. "He's just some crazy from that cult. He probably just overheard us and started saying all that to trick us into joining their cult.” She held up the sack and Celine took it.
"But we dreamed the same thing," Celine said. "That has to mean something."
Grace glanced around, clearly uncomfortable talking about it any more. "Coincidence," she said, her voice giving way to the worry that lay under. "We’re both likely overworked, and this animal business is getting to the two of us."
Celine nodded. It sounded logical enough, but she still didn’t buy it.
Something scratched at the back of her mind. A nagging thought that she just couldn’t seem to shake.
What about the blue eyes?
"Have a good night," Grace said, shaking her from her thoughts.
Celine nodded and made her way back to her car. She placed the chocolate bars in her pockets and set the bag on the seat next to her. For a moment, she stared at the pamphlet before starting the engine.
This was a bad idea, but she was out of options. She needed answers.