Magical Tendencies (15 page)

I took a few steps away from the door as the men followed me inside.

Suddenly Von's hands were on me, grasping me fiercely to turn me around. He shook with what seemed to be anger as he asked, "How? How? What? What happened?!" He looked in my eyes as if he were panning for answers. Well, I didn't have any good ones to give him.

Solomon simply walked behind Von and removed his hands from my shoulders. "Leave the lady alone. Your answers will come," his tone was venomous.

Von shook him off and looked at me fiercely. He looked like he was going to invade my space but I simply walked over to the couch and sat back down again. I was not going to allow him to intimidate me. Not now, not ever.

Von looked around the room and saw Tisha standing by the patio window. He opened his mouth but she began by answering his question.

"It was Running Wolf, Von. He took her." Tisha turned away from the window and fixed her gaze on Von coldly. "He claims that he is her soulmate. That he is going to be her future."

My skin ran cold and clammy at that one word… soulmate. I didn't even know why that word kept popping up in general conversation like it was. There was absolutely no reason for all of this to be happening.

Solomon's voice cut through the quiet, "So, it is Running Wolf. Hmm, that is quite interesting." He walked over to the couch and sat softly beside me, lounging against the back of the couch and swinging his arm around me, touching me gently with the tips of his fingers to bring me into the safety of his chest.

I didn't fight him—I needed the comfort and Solomon's arms were the one safe place I didn't mind visiting at the moment. Von's eyebrows shot up as he took a good look at Solomon and me on the couch. His back stiffened where he stood.

"So you know him?" I looked up at Solomon.

Solomon nodded, "I know of him. He is said to be an incredible warrior with amazing speed and agility. He is a brilliant strategist and he knows over 50 different languages. He is a scholar of the highest caliber and he is a respected leader." He nodded at Von.

Von nodded back stiffly, "Yes, he has a kingdom as large as yours but has no queen and no heirs." He looked down at his feet, frowning, "A union with you would make sense. It would strengthen his control of his kingdom and widen his territory with your own."

"No, he didn't want to marry me." I shrugged. Both men looked at me inquisitively.

"Well, what could he possibly want from you then?" Von asked.

Solomon looked at me with a suspicious glare.

"A child. My child."

"What?" Solomon all of a sudden sounded slightly shocked—which was completely out of character for him since he was always unaffected by almost everything that I said.

"He wants my child." I looked at Solomon seriously, getting a kick out of his reaction. "Or at least he wants to be the father of my child. Whatever." I waved my hand as if it was just a casual subject and everyone should just blow it off.

Solomon stared at me as Von shook his head and ranted, "No way, no way that man is going to be able to sweep in here and do whatever he wants with you!"

"Well, thank you, Von. I had thoughts along the same lines… but whatever."

Solomon looked at me again, "Where did you go, Celeste? Where did he take you?"

"New York City."

"New York City?! How the heck did he get you over there?!" Von rattled the glass in their panes with his volume alone.

Solomon nodded, "How did you get back?" He asked softly.

Staring him straight in the eyes, not breaking eye contact from those beautiful pools of blue-green, I answered honestly, "I brought myself back."

Von coughed from across the room, "No one can do that." He sounded accusatory. He didn't believe in me or my abilities.

"Well, that's what happened." I snapped.

Von looked at Tisha and she stared right through him. "It is possible," she nodded, "She is stronger now."

Von looked at me and then back at Tisha.

"I thought that she was losing her powers," Solomon looked down at me gently, protectively.

"Why would you think that?" Tisha pried.

"Well, her eyes… "

"Bah! The eyes are just a tiny reflection of her power. Her color only changes when she has chosen a bonding mate." She threw her hand in the air, "Men are useless!"

I snickered in my spot and shrugged when Solomon looked down at me with a twinkle in his eyes. He was certainly kind of cute when he did that.

"She is stronger than she has ever been," Tisha snapped and pointed to my hands. "Look at her palms."

Solomon looked at me and gently took my hand into his huge palm. Turning it over, he ran his fingers lightly over the palm, allowing me to feel the coolness of his touch. We stared at each other until he released his gaze and peered down at my hand.

My hand was glowing slightly with a subtle purple hue. The light flowed back and forth beneath the skin and created a tiny light show in the darkness of the room. Solomon's eyes flicked back up to me and he gave me a broad, sexy smile.

I swallowed as I allowed him to brush his fingers over my burning palm. "So… you are more powerful. What do you think that entails?" He asked huskily.

"I… I don't know." My voice sounded small. I felt small even though it was just discussed that I was strong. My body wasn't completely convinced but I wasn't going to admit to my failings.

Solomon stared at me as Von cleared his throat across the room. My eyes drifted up to see Von staring at the two of us with accusations in his eyes. Jealousy was pouring off of him in waves but he didn't make a move to remove Solomon from the couch or me from the safety of his arms. There was something left unsaid in that unspoken conversation.

My eyes flicked back to Solomon to find him still looking at me intently. "Solomon… Solomon, what's wrong?"

"Hmmm?" His eyes penetrated mine. He was trying to read my emotions, wasn't he?

Von huffed and Tisha sighed. It was all too much for me.

"Grrrr!" I threw my hands in the air, "I have GOT to get out of here!" Pushing off of the couch, I swung by the dining table and grabbed my purse, flinging it over my shoulder. I headed straight for the door until there was a flash of movement and Von was standing in front of me.

"Where in the hell do you think
you
are going?!" Well,
he
was angry. Actually, he seemed sort of pissed off about everything if you asked me. His arms were stretched taut across his chest and his breathing was ragged.

"I'm going for a drive. I have to get out of here and… think." I shook my head as I began to walk around him.

Von's arm stretched out and held me in place, "It is not safe for you to be out there, especially by yourself." He shook his head at me as if I didn't have a say, but I always have a say.

"She will not be alone." Solomon pushed himself off of the couch. "She will be with me—her general." He came to stand close enough to me that I could feel the cool of his arm radiating into my skin. Having him next to me sent a spark between the two of us and my hairs were standing on end when I rubbed my arm. Solomon just looked down at me sideways and then back up to Von.

"She will be safe and she will be allowed to get some fresh air to clear her head."

Von considered that for a minute. It was as if he thought that he called the shots.

I let him think about it and then I answered for him, "Let's go, Solomon. I'm outta here!"

26

I drove down highway 101 until I began to get the distinct feeling of dread. Something in my body ached and told me that I had just gone a bit too far. An odd sense to say the least, like nails being scraped across a chalkboard but more subtle. My body knew something and my mind was just going to have to trust it.

Finding an exit off of the highway I turned around and began driving back. My body was on autopilot and my mind wasn't taking into consideration that Solomon was in the truck at all. He hadn't said a word and he definitely was smart enough not to complain about anything that I did. My music was not an issue—I was really pounding down the Def Tones and the Iron Maiden tunes as well as tunes from obscure indie artists that he probably didn't know anything about. It didn't matter—this time was for me.

I flicked the CD to the next tune as soon as it got into the bridge—I didn't like wasting my time on a song that didn't keep my interest the entire time. A live version of Hotel California came on and I reached for the volume but Solomon's hand grabbed mine before I could get to the console. "Please, let this song play the full length."

Smiling over at him, I noticed that he had his eyes closed, listening to the acoustic artwork of the introduction. "I was just going to raise the volume." I smiled as he released my hand. Raising the volume, I rolled the windows down a couple of inches and took a deep breath from the crisp dusk air.

My truck followed the familiar highway north until Solomon reached over my arm and pointed to a coastal home, standing just beyond a band of trees in the distance. A driveway was fast approaching and I could tell that he was pointing to that entrance. "Turn here."

I shrugged. Why not? I didn't have anything better to do than take a joyride anyway. I slowed down and turned the wheel gently to ease us on to the rocky driveway. The crunch of stone underneath my tires cried out to us as I followed the driveway up a small hill to the sweetest little coastal residence I had ever seen. There were large windows covered in heavy curtains and everything seemed to be closed up or covered.

Solomon climbed out of the truck when I stopped and walked to my side, reaching for my hand as he opened my door wide. "I thought you might want to see this." His eyes swept towards the house.

The house was covered in weathered wooden shingles but the windows were new and energy efficient—double pane. The door was painted dusty blue and the knocker on the door had a gull on it which I loved of course—it reminded me of an old favorite movie. There were planters skirting the window sills, full of fertile earth but empty of any true flowers—all of the plants within were succulents. I wasn't crazy about succulents.

Solomon took my hand and pulled me forward.

"Solomon, this must be someone's home. They will probably be back soon. We can't just go in—it's not right." My body shook with the chill in the air.

Solomon squeezed my hand lightly and rested his other hand on the doorknob. "Trust me," was all he said. The door creaked open without even requiring a key.
Had he unlocked it without my seeing?
I had no idea.

Nodding, I followed him into the house of a perfect stranger.

The room was a tiny bit stale and dusty but not small. My eyes followed the window frames that skirted the room with a full view of the road and then drifting away for a view of the ocean. The view was just the same as mine—full beach view with a perfect shot of the horizon. The similarity seemed to be odd but I shook it off.
It's just a coastal home; the view is to be expected
.

My eyes kept sweeping the room. The furniture looked like large ghosted shapes—memories of lost experiences and conversations. Why did it all look so familiar? I turned around to see a doorway next to the windows.
That must lead to the garden outside
.
Why would I think that?

My mind began to reel, making the connection—this was the house from my vision. I could feel the tendrils of energy reaching out for me from the confines of the room.

"What is this place, Solomon?" My voice was a tiny bit shaky.

"It is my beach house." He walked over to the window and looked out at the imminent twilight, pulling the curtains back to do so.

"
Your
beach house?"

"Well… I bought it for you… three years ago when you first came here." He let the curtain go and turned around to face me, squaring his shoulders by a fraction. "I followed you to Oregon and I could tell how much you loved the beach. This home seemed perfect—it had an ocean view, a staircase down to the beach, a gourmet kitchen with granite countertops. I knew it was perfect when I saw the yard." His voice trailed off. Taking a breath, "You love hydrangeas. The garden was full of them—a queen's garden. It was made to order, or so it would seem."

I could feel a line form on my forehead—worry lines as the words fell from my mouth, "You bought me a
house
?"

A simple nod was all that Solomon offered me.

I looked around with renewed interest. Walking over to one of the ghostlike sheets, I lifted it up and peeked underneath. It was a soft sky blue couch with toile pillows. Yanking the sheet away, I took it in completely—it was perfect. My eyes scanned the room to see the other pieces of furniture that were covered in protective sheets. Turning my eyes to his I smiled broadly. I couldn't help myself—this place was absolutely amazing.

Running across the room, my heart sped up to a thrilled pace. I grabbed as many sheets as I could as I made a broad sweep around the room, dragging the sheets behind me like a painter's brush. Finally I ran back to where I had originally been standing, dropping the sheets at my side, taking the room in with new eyes.

The room looked like a page out of
Coastal Living Magazine
—it was stunning and Martha Stewart would have been the only person alive able to add anything of value to the decor.
Did I just think about Martha Stewart?

Walking around the room, I ran my fingers along the backs of the chairs, feeling deeply on the couch, brushing the wood of the antique white end tables and gently touching the lamp shades. Blue and white—my favorite decorator colors. This place was my dream come true. That thought brought Solomon back to the forefront of my mind. He was still standing by the window, pensive.

"It's perfect, Solomon. Absolutely perfect." I couldn't bring myself to sit on the furniture because I didn't want to ruin the effect. A sigh escaped my lips, "But why would you
buy
me a beach house?" I began to wonder again. What was Solomon up to?

"It called to me." He shrugged, "It seemed abandoned and lonely. It was waiting for something, someone." He looked at me with an intense fire burning in his eyes. "It was waiting for you."