Mesmerized (19 page)

Sensitivity to light, enhanced hearing so I can’t sleep without noise cancellation headphones, aversion to fish, crave meat and broccoli, nails growing faster, HEADACHES, HEADACHES, HEADACHES, stuffy nose, addiction to peanut butter, weight loss, general weakness …

The strange symptoms went on for three pages. She read the list until panic stirred in her breast. Claustrophobic in the dark cave that had become her home, she grabbed her coat and purse and set out into the cold, brisk evening. She didn’t want to die, and she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life without ever seeing the sun again like Brad Pitt in Interview with the Vampire.

She joined crowds of people milling through downtown Crystal City to see the Christmas displays and shop. The sight of such normalcy calmed her, until someone brushed against her.

A man’s face, a woman in the hospital on her death bed, their children surrounding them.

“I’m so sorry!” someone said, steadying her as she staggered under the impact of the sudden image. Her vision cleared, and she looked into the face of the man from her vision, though he was much younger standing before her.

“I’m okay,” she said, forcing a smile. “Thanks.”

He continued on his way, holding out his hand to the woman awaiting him. The same woman who would die in twenty-three years from ovarian cancer.

More hallucinations. Nothing more,
she told herself. Sofia shrugged the sense of foreboding away and stuffed her hands into her pockets. Her fingers brushed the folded paper Jake had given her. She pulled it free, once again compelled to stare at the name written there. She made her way to a coffee shop and sat at a table in the darker end of the shop, hot cocoa in hand. Someone careened into her as she pried her cell from her pocket.

“Cody, watch where you’re going!” a mother scolded the little boy sprawled on the floor.

Sofia reached for him, helping him to his feet.

Cody, sprawled in the middle of the street after being hit by a car, blood trickling from his skull into a nearby storm drain. His dark eyes open and staring.

“Sorry about that,” the young mother said, flashing a smile.

“No problem.” Sofia blinked out of her stupor. Yet another symptom of her illness: insanity! She looked again at the name on the paper and dialed.

“This is Sondra. How may I direct your call?” a pleasant voice answered.

“Um, hi, I, uh, found this number on Dr. Bylun’s blog. I’m not sure he can help me, but I would really like to speak to him.”

“We have a Mr. Bylun, but he doesn’t have a blog. Perhaps you have the wrong number?”

“Okay, I admit someone else said they found this on his blog and said I should call,” Sofia said. There was a moment of silence, and she could almost see Sondra assessing what to do.

“Why don’t you leave me your name, and if Mr. Bylun believes it in his best interest, he’ll return your call.” The cryptic response made her hesitate. Sofia sighed and raked a hand through her hair.

“Why not. I don’t have anything to lose. My name is Sofia Fast from Crystal City, Virginia.”

“And what is your call regarding?” Sondra asked.

“I’m sick. I have some sort of disease no one can diagnose, and one of my coworkers gave me this number to try.”

“Who referred you?”

“Jake Hampton.” She heard the secretary typing.

“I’m afraid he’s not in my system,” Sondra said. “I’ll deliver your message. Please don’t be surprised if Mr. Bylun opts not to return your call.”

Sofia hung up and stared at the number on the paper, wondering if Jake had lied to her or if he flat out screwed up the number. He really wasn’t a man of detail, which was why she was so surprised to see him working as a financial planner. She’d definitely never trust her money to him. Her cell rang, and she recognized her doctor’s number.

“Ms. Fast, this is Linda from Dr. Mallard’s office,” an older woman’s voice said.

“Hi Linda.”

“Dr. Mallard wanted me to give you a call and schedule an appointment for tomorrow morning, first thing.”

“Oh, God, what’s wrong now?” Sofia exclaimed and balled up her free hand into a fist until her nails bit into flesh.

“The specialist he flew in from Zurich arrives tonight. He’s apparently really interested in meeting you.”

“Really? I’d love to come in. What time do you open?”

“Seven. I’ll schedule you for seven-fifteen so Dr. Mallard can get his first cup of coffee,” Linda said.

“That’s awesome, Linda. Thank you so much for calling!”

“No problem. We’ll see you tomorrow at seven-fifteen.”

Hopeful, Sofia crumpled up the paper with Dr. Bylun’s information. If Dr. Mallard’s international guest was that anxious to see her, he must know what was going on! She sipped her cocoa, cheered by the thought of soon knowing what was wrong with her.

The sound of screeching tires and a scream drew the patrons from the coffee shop to the window. Sofia stuffed Dr. Bylun’s paper into her empty cup, tossed it, and joined the onlookers lining the street. Somewhere a few blocks away, an ambulance wailed. A drunk man staggered from a dark blue BMW. She walked up the street to a better vantage point, curious to see what he hit. 

She froze at the sight straight out of her vision—the little boy, Cody, spread-eagled in the street near the storm drain. His mother was hysterical, screaming at once at the driver and her dead son. Coldness seeped through her as she watched the familiar scene before her. In the distance, she heard her cell phone ring. It ceased and began to ring again. As if in a dream, she pulled it free and answered.

“Ms. Fast?” The deep baritone voice pierced her thoughts. “This is Damian Bylun. You left a message with my receptionist?”

Her world was beginning to spin as she realized her vision had come true. Her legs felt weak, and she sat heavily on the curb, struggling to control her breathing so she didn’t pass out.

God, what’s wrong with me? I saw him die …

“Pardon?”

Realizing she clenched the phone in her hand, she locked the screen and sat staring at the asphalt. Someone touched her, and visions flared across her mind.
A pretty brunette, mugged in a back alley, raped and killed.

“Hey, are you all right?” someone else asked. As the man took her arm to help her stand, his haggard face appeared in yet another vision.
An older man with dementia left to rot and finally die in an old folks’ home.

“Get away from me!” she cried, tearing her arm away. She fled, staggering as she bumped into more people and more visions flashed. She ran until the cold air burned her lungs and the people were far behind her. She retreated to her apartment, breathing raggedly, with cold tears stiffening her cheeks.

She closed and locked the door behind her. She froze when she saw the disaster that was her apartment. Everything was overturned or shredded, from the furniture to the bookshelves to the TV lying on its face. The windows were open and the apartment cold.

Her headache was now a migraine, and she shielded her eyes against the light from the street that filtered past her honeycomb blinds. She all but staggered into her bathroom. She wrenched open the medicine cabinet for the most powerful of the drugs Dr. Mallard prescribed for her and slammed the cabinet shut.

Her eyes were fully silver, swirling and glowing in the dark bathroom.

“What is wrong with me?”
she screamed, slamming her fists against the mirror.

Her blood spattered on the wall, and buzzing filled her ears. She sank to the floor. Her phone began to ring again as she slid into a dead faint.

Damian’s Oracle is available from:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Damians-Oracle-War-Gods-ebook/dp/B004JN0KHM/

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/damians-oracle-lizzy-ford/1029664032

iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/damians-oracle/id416014301?mt=11

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/35499

The War of Gods series

Damian’s Oracle (October 2011)

Damian’s Assassin (November 2011)

Damian’s Immortal (02 December 2011)

The Grey God (May 2012)

About Lizzy Ford

Lizzy Ford is the hyper-prolific author of the "Rhyn Trilogy" and "War of Gods" series, both launched in 2011, as well as multiple single title young adult fantasy and paranormal romances. Lizzy's books have reached into the bestseller lists on both Amazon US and Amazon UK in multiple categories. Lizzy is considered by most to be the ultimate writing freak of nature for her ability to write and epublish a new book every 30-45 days. She is also an active member of a small guild of nine passionate, talented writers, the Indie Eclective.  Lizzy's books are available from Amazon, BN, Smashwords, iBooks/iTunes, and all other eReader libraries. Find Lizzy online:

Website: http://www.guerrillawordfare.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LizzyFordBooks/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/LizzyFord2010

Table of Contents

Mesmerized

By Julia Crane and Talia Jager

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Epilogue

More About the Authors

“Damian’s Oracle”

Sofia dropped her purse on the desk in her cube without removing her sunglasses. The early December sun couldn’t set fast enough to prevent her pounding headache from growing worse on her drive to work. To ease her exposure to the sun, she’d volunteered for the evening shift to support the West Coast customers. Unfortunately, the commute to work every day was still excruciating.

“So … did the doc say you’re turning into a vampire?” Jake, her ex-boyfriend from college and current coworker, appeared in the doorway of her cube as soon as she sat down. She ignored the hunk, hoping he’d take the hint. “I brought you something. You can pretend it’s blood.” He held out a bottle of red water.

“You have five minutes to leave my cube, or I’ll bite your neck!” she retorted.

“Really, what’d the doc say?” Jake grew serious and sat in the spare chair in her cube.

Sofia rubbed her temples. She was better off pulling a random diagnosis out of a hat.

“No brain tumors,” she replied. “Probably not the neurological issue they thought. They’re looking at other ideas.”

“Do they know what makes you allergic to light and eat raw steaks covered in peanut butter for every meal?”

“They’re not raw, and I only eat them for dinner.”

“Did the doc explain your mood swings, too?”

She gritted her teeth. She’d known Jake since her junior year of college. They dated in college, parted ways mutually, and ended up working for the same financial planning firm in Virginia. Normally, she felt privileged that he still gave her the time of day, what with the way he’d turned out—formed like a Greek god with hazel eyes so pretty their boss swooned every time she spoke to him. But today, she didn’t want to be reminded that she’d changed from a normal human being into a sunlight intolerant, moody bitch in the two months since her twenty-fourth birthday.

“Think you can talk the boss into letting me come in an hour or two later?” she asked.

“Yeah, easy. I just smile pretty. Doesn’t work on you, but it does on her.”

“Thanks, Jake. The headaches are getting worse.”

“Sofi, I’m worried,” he said, softening. “What’s going on?”’

“The doctors don’t know,” she said with a sigh. “They’re flying in a specialist from overseas. They said it might be some sort of rare blood disorder.”

“What the hell does that mean? That they really don’t have a clue?”