Eternal Island (Book 1 in the Eternal Series) (16 page)

Ariana stood there looking at the smoking ashes of the palm tree. At first it was just a giggle, and then another. Soon Ariana was laughing so hard, tears were streaming from her eyes.

“Did you see that, Abe?”

Ariana turned around to see Abe with his mouth agape and his eyes wide.

“H-o-l-y… Shit!” Abe said as he ran his hands through his hair. “How the hell did you do that?”

“Just like you told me to. I pictured it happening, I gathered my emotions, and then I told it what to do. Pretty neat, huh? You’d make a good teacher.”

“Yeah, pretty neat. I’m just glad we weren’t in my Hummer. You’re going to be a kick ass witch, and I wouldn’t mind being your teacher at all, if I actually knew what I was doing, which I don’t. I think, for now, the park is definitely the best place for you to practice. Don’t do any fire or water tricks in the palace, okay? Not yet.”

They started laughing. Abe opened the passenger door and helped Ariana in. When he got in, Ariana was beaming at him.

“What?” Abe asked smiling.

“Nothing. I mean, thank you. I feel like I can try anything now. As long as it’s outside. I couldn’t have done it without you.” Ariana quickly leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and then straightened up and buckled her seatbelt.

Abe couldn’t move for a moment. He took a deep breath and turned his mind to thoughts of bunny rabbits and bugs so she didn’t catch what was really going through his head. If he ever did get the chance to kiss Ariana, he was going to have to be careful not to hurt her, he wanted her that bad.

He concentrated on starting the engine and drove slower than usual to the palace. Every now and then his thoughts kept slipping to the feel of her lips on his cheek, his neck, his lips. God, make it stop.

“Ariana, please think of something to talk about. I’m dying over here.”

Abe’s voice breaking the silence made Ariana jump. She had been in the middle of another try at turning her mind off. They were closer to the palace and the voices were getting louder.

“Are you okay?”

Ariana opened her mind to him at the same time he was thinking of running his fingers through her hair; he was kissing her so deeply that she almost didn’t block it out.

“Um, okay. How ’bout we talk about your kind for a change? Do vampires breed? I mean, can you have babies? Oh, God, this isn’t the best topic, is it?”

Abe was starring out the driver’s side window with his elbow on the door and his chin propped on his fist, counting each tree as they went by.

“I’m really sorry, Abe, I shouldn’t have…”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” he snapped. “Do you have any idea how many seconds are in a day? Do you? There are eighty-six thousand four hundred fucking seconds in a day. I have been awake for almost
five
twenty-four hour days. I can’t sleep. I think about you every second of every minute of every hour of every day. I can’t help it. Do you want to know how many times I have thought about kissing you? Different ways I could kiss you? I wanted our first kiss to be sweet, really special, fucking hot!” he said and slapped the steering wheel with his palm as he forced himself to look out the window again.

Ariana crossed her arms over her chest and looked out the window. Abe peeked at her as she was wiping a tear off her face. “Ah, crap! Ariana, please… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. Shit… I’m an asshole.” He sighed. “Please don’t cry. I’m not strong enough to watch you cry.”

Abe pulled into his parking spot in garage number three and Ariana hopped out without waiting for his help. She turned to him when she got to the elevator; Abe was right on her heels.

“That was a moment we had. That was a happy moment. The first really good moment I’ve had since I realized I lost my husband in an accident and then my best friend because I chose to come here. I’m sorry, too, Abe. For thinking you were a nice guy. But if you won’t even try… Good night, Abe.” Ariana closed her eyes, cutting his view into her soul, and she pushed the elevator button.

C
HAPTER 21

A hot bath was just what Ariana needed. She would just wash the stress down the drain.

She put her hair up in a clippie, left her clothes in a heap on the floor and got in the oversized Jacuzzi while the water was still running. The tub had a built-in headrest, perfect for laying back and relaxing without getting a cramp in her neck.

She laid back and, when the water was deep enough, she turned the faucet off with her toes and pushed the button to get the jets going. The voices were still going through her head, but they weren’t as loud, for some reason. Maybe when she used her power earlier to make fire and water, it took enough magic out of her to dull the mind reading thing. She did feel tired, like she didn’t have any energy.

As she laid there in the tub, soaking, her mind couldn’t help but go back over the choices she’d made. It settled on her best friend, Janie.

Ariana closed her eyes and said in a soft whisper, “Take me to Janie’s dreams.”

She really didn’t think anything would happen, but her heart rate slowed down and everything went black. She tried to open her eyes, but there was nothing. She could see nothing. She could hear a heartbeat, hers or someone else’s; she wasn’t sure. And then her surroundings began to grow brighter. It was Mel’s Bar and Grill. Janie was taping something to the door. Ariana realized there were stacks and stacks of flyers with her picture and HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GIRL? in large bold letters on them. Janie had already stuck eight flyers on that one door. A little extreme, Janie, don’t you think? Ariana thought. When Janie turned to stick flyers on the window, she saw her.

“Will you help me, please? I’ve been putting these flyers up everywhere. I went door to door, asking people if they’ve seen my best friend, but no one has seen her. If you’ll help me we can get a lot more done.” Janie sniffed and wiped at a tear that was rolling down her face.

“Janie. It’s me, Ariana. I know you’re dreaming, but I’m really here, in your dream, with you. I have a lot of things to tell you that aren’t going to make a whole lot of sense, but you have to believe me.”

Janie walked a little closer to Ariana. “You sound like Ariana, but I can’t see your face. You’re blurry. If you’re really my best friend, then what’s my favorite snack?”

“Celery, peanut butter and raisins. You call it ants on a log. I think it’s freaking gross to even think about eating a bug,” Ariana said as she made her best ‘eww, gross’ face and scrunched her nose.

“Ariana? Is it really you?” Janie said as she cupped her hands over her mouth.

“Yes, and I want you to know that I am fine and you can quit with the flyers. I’m alive and well, just not able to come and see you right now. Except in your dreams.”

“Where are you?” Janie grabbed Ariana and pulled her into a bear hug. “I miss you so much. I have been so worried. The only reason I’m asleep now is because Mrs. Lochalan gave me one of her nerve pills and it knocked me right out.”

“I miss you, too, Janie bug. I can’t tell you exactly where I am, because I don’t really know, for one thing. All I know is that it’s a big island that humans can’t see.”

“How can you see it, then?” Janie let go of Ariana and crossed her arms.

“I’m not human, Janie. I’m a witch. This island is full of witches and… and vampires. They’re not bad, nothing scary. Well, except for a few of them.” Now she understood what Rainey meant when she tried to explain it to her. Eternal Island was a hard thing to explain.

“These dreams just keep getting crazier and crazier; maybe they need to put me in a mental hospital and then I can move to an island with fairies and leprechauns,” Janie said as she put another flyer up.

“Look, I know you don’t believe me, but how else would I be able to be in your dream? Part of my magic is that I can dream walk. I’m a really powerful witch and I haven’t even began to learn anything yet. I can read minds, too, but that is really just a big headache. Listen, you don’t have to believe in witches and vampires. Just believe that I’m okay, and that I’m not where anyone can find me. Stop looking for me before you drive yourself crazy.”

“Lance is not going to believe this.”

“Maybe I’ll visit his dreams, too. I’ll come and see you again, but I have to go now.” Ariana gave Janie a quick hug. “I feel like I’m being pulled by something. I love you and I will see you soon, now that I know how this works. If you don’t want everyone and their dog to think you’re crazy, just wait until Lance brings the subject up. I’ll visit him tomorrow night, if I can.” Ariana felt something jerk her backwards. “Bye, Janie.”

Ariana woke up to Becky shaking her. She had already turned the jets off and was now yelling in her face to wake up.

“I’m awake, what’s wrong?”

“You, girl! I’ve been trying to get you to wake up for five minutes now. You don’t need to be napping in there; you could drown,” Becky said as she went to get Ariana a towel.

“I figured it out,” Ariana said as Becky handed her the towel and she stepped out of the tub.

“You figured what out? How crazy you are for falling asleep in a tub the size of a swimming pool?”

“No, I can dream walk. You’ve just pulled me out of Janie’s dream. It’s okay, though. I got to talk to her for a little while. I told her I was fine and to stop looking for me.”

Ariana looked at her wrinkled hands. “Eww. I must have talked with her for a long while; I’m waterlogged. And, hey, when Abe and I were on our way back, we stopped beside the park and I made fire come out of my hands. I did manage to set a tree on fire, but then I made water come out of thin air and put the fire out. I wish you had been there, it was so freaking cool. And scary. Scary and cool.”

“Yeah, I heard,” Becky said, tucking the corner of her bottom lip in between her teeth.

“How…? Abe,” Ariana said, gritting her teeth in irritation.

“Uh-huh. And he is so depressed, girl. What is your deal? He is hot, and head over heels in love with you. Not to mention that he is the King of this here island.”

“And spoiled like a two year-old. Ugh, I don’t even want to think about him right now.”

“Fine. But Rainey wants to see you first thing in the morning. She said to tell you to not even brush your hair or put your make-up on, just get your ass in her lair pronto. I think you could probably brush your teeth. I imagine she would appreciate that.”

“Great. So now I’m in trouble because I’m mad at Prince Charming! It’s not my fault things aren’t going as planned. They should have thought about every outcome. Like, for example, that I may not even want to be with that arrogant-egotistical-overbearing baboon.”

Becky smiled. “No, I don’t think it has to do with Abe, if he is the baboon you’re referring to, but I’m sure Rainey will cover that, too, while you’re there.”

“I’m sure she will.” Ariana turned her bedside lamp out and crawled into bed. Tomorrow has got to be better, she thought as she yawned and drifted off to sleep.

C
HAPTER 22

The room was dimmed. Only a single candle burned as Julia gathered the ingredients for her spell. She had to be extra careful with her thoughts now that there was a new mind-reading little witch, with more power than she could fathom, on the island. This spell should put her on her toes. Abe won’t be too happy about it, either, Julia thought as she made her circle and went to the center to add asafetida gum and mayweed to her bowl. She was running low on her live-forever leaves, but she had plenty of them to do what she needed to do now. She added a few of them and an ounce of holy water that she had confiscated from the church after she’d said her ‘Hail Mary’s’ and before joining Abe and his friends at the club. Her going to confession was just an excuse to get the holy water; she didn’t have anything to be sorry for.

Once all the ingredients were combined, she stirred it three times to the left and then three times to the right. She placed the jar with the salamander to the left of the bowl and the dagger to the right. She positioned the last and most valuable ingredient in front of her. Julia closed her eyes and recited the spell she had memorized earlier. She felt like she was a better witch when she didn’t have to refer to the spell book during a spell.

“Hail to the Guardians of the Watchtowers of the North, East, South and West. Hear me. I come in purpose. Hear me. I offer you my blood,” Julia said as she cut her palm with the dagger and let a few drops fall into the bowl. And I offer you a sacrifice for your service. Hear me!”

Thunder roared and a thick black cloud settled over the palace as she began her spell.

“I bring you back unconditionally,

To find what you have lost.

A lost soul, taken of time too soon,

Your life was the cost.

Come to me in spirit,

Let the world see.

Bring yourself to the here and now,

So mote it be.”

Julia opened the jar and stabbed the salamander. She poured the dying creature into the bowl. She then opened the zip-lock bag with the last item to add to her concoction. The bag also contained a note.

Dear Ariana,

I know that you would want to have something of Michael’s, so I cut a lock of his hair during the funeral viewing. I put it in this locket so you can wear it as a necklace and keep him close to your heart.

I’ll love you always, Janie

“Oh, how sweet. Too bad Ariana never found the locket you got her, Janie,” Julia said as she opened the locket and dropped the hair in the potion. She was sure glad that Ariana hadn’t had the chance to go through the few things Janie had packed in her little hospital bag, or she might have had to knock the little bitch out and get it from around her neck. So silly of Becky Smith to leave her door unlocked when she went out. Julia cackled.

The mixture started to bubble and a thick smoke filled the room briefly. Julia waited patiently to see the outcome of her enchantment. As the smoke began to clear she could see a silhouette of a man with an athletic build, and she smiled as his features come into full view. Well, well, well… Ariana sure had good taste in men.