Chapter Twenty-four
Tingles ran up Melinda’s back as she waited for the security gate arm to rise in the lab parking lot. Being so close to that man drove her crazy. He smelled so good all she wanted was to lick him from forehead to feet. With a pause somewhere in the middle area. Her stomach lurched. Was that a scared or happy thing? Shit, she wasn’t sure. Maybe both.
It’d been so long since she had physical human contact of any kind. That was no way to live. People needed touch as much as food and water. People needed sex, too, but thanks to her toy, she had been able to go without for two years. And now with the possibility so close and so good-looking, so tight, so hard, she really didn’t want to say no. But good girls didn’t do that kind of thing.
Good god. That was her parents talking—always telling her what good girls did. She was an adult. She could do anything she wanted. Who cared if she slept with someone? It wasn’t like he was the twentieth person in two years; he would be the first. That had to count for something.
Decision made, maybe, a full body shake came on. Giddiness crept into her heart. One thing she was not was giddy. What was this man doing to her? She took a deep breath to get her emotions under control. He was doing nothing to her. She couldn’t allow her heart to get involved. For all she knew Hamel was like James Bond—a new girl each assignment. Never doing one twice.
It would just be sex. That’s what she had to tell herself. He was going back to the States. There could be nothing between her and Hamel. But she felt so good in his arms, so secure.
She made it home and parked her car in its designated spot. She unlocked her front door, hoping all the mess was a dream; it was perfectly clean and nothing was wrong. The door popped open, and her heart fell. Still a complete disaster. Well, it could friggin’ wait until tomorrow.
She dropped her purse on a chair and saw the balcony doors. They were off-kilter. How did he know? She had to have told him. God, she was losing it. Couldn’t even remember what she said during the day.
She thought back to Walog. Demon-possessed. That’s what it had to be, right? The man had red eyes, a weird set of voices—not like the one she’d heard from him before—and that smoke. Plus, he was old, skinny, and weak. So how had he shoved a big, buff Hamel across the room without batting an eye?
Her instinct told her there was more at play there than things she could understand with facts. Demons. Fuck. If she believed that then she might as well believe in the tooth fairy and vampires. She could hear Hamel in her head. Stop trying to understand everything. Sometimes you need to just accept things. Nope. Not unless she had further proof. And she needed to stop imagining his voice in her head. It was messing with her mind.
Propping a balcony door up and open, she let the soft breeze into the house. It felt so good to take a breath and relax. She wondered about her guardian jaguar. Was he out there, watching, keeping her safe?
Letting her guard down for a second, she opened herself to the night. Welcomed anything directed her way. Her conscience reached out, begging for what she desperately needed. And she found it, connected with it. She felt something inside her snap, and unknown peace and love flowed into her. It was so powerful, it brought her to her knees.
Where was this coming from? She had to have it. Her emptiness inside was filling, slowly disappearing. Someone loved her with so much of themselves, they had enough to share. The small ache in the middle of her chest was gone. She hadn’t even known it was there. It’d become a part of her waking hours.
Then she realized what she was doing. She was opening herself to ridicule and making herself vulnerable again. She’d spent so long closing off her feelings, determined to not let the past happen again. But the love felt so good. She’d forgotten how good. Who was gifting her with such compassion?
Only one new life, except Hamel who didn’t count, had come into hers. The jaguar. Was it silly to think she could feel emotions from an animal? Maybe she wanted to be loved so badly that she projected onto the beautiful creature what she wanted most. Maybe she was giving herself permission to love again. Maybe she bonded with this animal. She sighed. Maybe she should just go to bed.
Mate.
***
Just like her sex dream with gorgeous Ham—Beach man—she knew right away she was in a dream world.
She stood at the edge of a small village, a village so far from civilization they probably didn’t know modern people existed. Several straw-and-mud huts laid out in a circle surrounded a barely flaming bonfire. No sounds reached her ears, which was weird. Usually crickets, critters, and birds were always chatting, mating, or calling to a mate. She felt like she was in an episode of The Twilight Zone. Creepy.
A thatched door to one of the huts opened by itself. Great, this was a nightmare. Like in every other horror movie she’d seen, she walked toward the hut with the intent of going inside. She could hear the audience screaming, “Don’t go in there!”
She pulled the door open wider and peeked inside. She wasn’t dumb enough to just walk in without looking. To her surprise, the space was large and like a snow lodge high in the mountains. What the hell?
From an entryway across the room, Buga the medical technician’s grandfather walked in, holding a tray of food.
“Good afternoon, Melinda.”
“Good afternoon to you, sir.”
“Call me Sefu. Come in, come in. Close the door behind you.” She did as told, but didn’t move too far. “Melinda, this is a dream. You cannot be physically harmed in a dream. Please, have a seat.” He gestured to a large saddle-brown leather chair. “We don’t have much time.”
“Time for what?” she found herself saying. Inching forward, her eyes darted to all corners, looking for anything dangerous.
“Your training, child. You must learn the chant.”
“What chant?” Now she was curious to know what Sefu meant. He was dressed the same as he had been in the medical facility. A witch doctor didn’t come to mind.
“And that’s how I want it,” he said. “‘Witch doctor’ has a bad connotation these days, and I wish to be no part of that. I work with white magic. But at times, that white dips to gray. That time comes soon. This is why you must learn quickly.”
The tray he placed on the coffee table between the leather sofa and chair was filled with homemade chocolate-chip cookies. Her favorite. Her mouth watered. They smelled so good.
“Have some, child. Obviously they are meant for you. I don’t eat such sweets.”
“It’s only a dream,” Melinda said.
“It is,” he said. “But the mind is a powerful tool. The brain controls the body’s functions, but the mind controls reality. Your mind is saying those cookies are real. Your brain is telling you that you smell cookies. The part of your brain that controls smell is kicking in as you dream, even though no cookies are in your real surroundings.”
“That’s quite interesting. So I can’t be physically harmed in this dream state because in ‘real life,’ my body is lying in bed. I’m totally in my head. Cool. But what has that got to do with this dream, though?” she asked.
“Patience, young one. Patience.” He sat on the sofa catty-corner to her. She huffed at his scolding and grabbed several cookies, then sat back in her chair.
“I won’t be talking down to you, as you put it. I will be teaching you what you need to survive where you are going.”
“Where am I going?” Alarm-fueled adrenaline rushed through her. She didn’t want to go anywhere. She was happy where she was.
“You don’t have a choice. You will go as fate has dictated.” Melinda noted he answered her unspoken words rather than her direct question. It was a dream; why not throw in mind reading?
The old man smiled. “Yes, now you are understanding.”
“Understanding what?”
His smile turned to a frown and he shook his head. “Child, things are going to happen that will rock your little world. It’s important you be accepting and take all at face value. Don’t analyze it to death. Just believe.”
Now she frowned. “I don’t believe blindly. I get the facts then make a decision.”
He raised his brows and stared at her deeply. “What do you do when there are no facts?”
“What do you mean? How can there be no facts about something?”
He sighed. “This will be most difficult for you. We do not have time to argue semantics. Close your eyes and listen. Learn.” The old man began chanting. His voice was smooth, warm, comforting. It put her at ease. Her eyes closed and her body relaxed into the soft leather chair.
Huenda sisi kujiunga ukweli wetu kweli.
Kuziba ulimwengu huu milele kwa yake mwenyewe.
The phrase repeated over and over in her head. What it meant or what it was for, she didn’t know. But it was her dream, so what the hell? A sharp sting burned on the underside of her wrist. She snapped her arm up and rubbed the area. Black lines emerged from under her skin as if coming to the surface.
When the pain stopped, a pretty curlicue design with intertwining vine-like lines decorated the skin below her hand. It reminded her of a tattoo. She rubbed her finger over it. Nothing smeared.
This would help trap the demons, she heard in her head.