Salem Moon (11 page)

Her black hair was long, straight and shiny, with a slight bluish tint to it which made her eyes all the more memorable.

And
those eyes, they would haunt him forever, even if he
’
d only seen them in the dream. The blue of them was more beautiful than the most majestic sky
. They
tilted
up
ever so slightly, much like a cats. Her lips were plump, pink and flawless. He could see the small hollow of her throat moving in and out with each hard breath she took as she tried to compose herself and look upon this Good Samaritan.

She was dressed in the fashion of this time, in a sky blue colored tank top and a pair of jean shorts, and sand colored, bejeweled sandals, revealing her per
fect breasts, her slender physique
, and her toes painted the same color as her tank top. She was for lack of a better word, stunning.

Then,
it came to him from the realm of dreams
,
her words to him as her long fingers had gently embraced his face
“
I
’
ve been waiting a long time for you…
”

“
She is magnificent, is she not?
”
said Lucien;
his voice laced with lust.

Gabriel was brought out of his reverie immediately. Oh, how he wished Lucien
would go
away
.
He didn
’
t want
to share this pinnacle moment with him
.

Lily boldly stared at him. Was it recognition he saw in her eyes? She parted her lips as if to speak, but did not.

At once, another face appeared in front of him, belligerent and ugly. The face of the boy called Trevor.

“
So, what
’
s it to you
,
dude?
”
Trevor asked sarcastically, pushing Gabriel in the chest.

“
This is none of your fuckin
’
business, pal. Just…walk away.
”

“
I will not
.
”
Gabriel
stood
his ground, determined not to let Trevor or the other boy who he learned was called Nick bully him or these girls.

“
Then, I guess we
’
ll just have to
make
yah walk away,
”
Trevor said.
“
Or, maybe you
’
ll end up crawlin
’
away when we
’
re done with you
.
”
He
laughed.

“
Yeah, let
’
s do him so he has to crawl away!
”
Nick said.

“
Turn your back to them, Gabriel
,
so the girls do not see what I am about to do,
”
Lucien instructed.

“
No, Lucien. I will handle this matter on my own
.
”
Gabriel did not have to speak this aloud, as Lucien was of course able to read his thoughts.

“
You cannot win this, Gabriel. I
command
you to turn away.
”

Gabriel felt what he had that day in the woods
, not only
the power, but the will to harm, to
maim
and yes, even kill these two boys and enjoy doing it. He became aware that
Lucien
’
s will
was rising to the surface, melding with his own and he watched as the smug belligerence on the two boys
’
faces quickly turned to surprise and finally to sheer terror!

Gabriel
’
s eyes changed to
those
of the blood rimmed pupils of the wolf. When he opened his mouth to speak, long, canine teeth, dripping with saliva appeared.

“
No!
”
Gabriel shouted. The two girls looked at him peculiarly.

The vision lasted only mere seconds, but that was enough.

“
Oh…my…God!
”
Trevor
backed
away from Gabriel in fear, tripping over the curb and into the street where he fell, landing face first, causing a vehicle to jam on its breaks and come to a screeching halt.

Nick, speechless ran away as fast as his legs would carry him.

****

When Trevor was able to gain his balance, he stood up to the sound of the motorist calling him a
“
clumsy idiot
”
as he stuck up his middle finger and sped away. He dared to look at Gabriel once more and saw nothing out of the ordinary, but his face was still threatening. The pale violet eyes fixed intently on his. Obviously this outsider was in good shape, judging by his muscular physique.  Trevor was unsure if his mind had played tricks on him. However, whether an illusion or not, Trevor would be no match for Gabriel in a fight.

Perhaps, Lily and Lilac—the
“
witches
”
—
used a spell to create what he and Nick and seen. Whatever the case, he did not look at Gabriel, Lily
,
or Lilac again, but instead ran in the same direction as Nick and was gone.

L
ily openly stared at Gabriel. Her heart raced as her mind filled with more thoughts and emotions than she could possibly process.
The intensity of
her stare
made him uneasy.

Lilac
,
on the other hand
,
was looking him over and found him quite pleasing to the eye. God, he
’
s
hot
, was her first thought, followed closely by, who the hell
is
he?

The silence was unbearable to Lilac. She rolled her eyes at them both.

“
Oh, brother, will someone
say
something? No? Alrighty then, I guess I
’
ll talk.
”

“
What
’
s your name?
”
she asked.

“
Gabriel.
”

“
Gabriel what?
”

“
Gabriel Blackstone.
”

“
Hmmm, so you
’
re the distant relative staying with the
Blackstones
?
”

“
Yes, I guess I am. And what would your name be?
”
Gabriel asked, stealing glances at Lily who stood next to her friend, arms crossed tightly across her chest, revealing a quite impressive cleavage.

Gabriel had to make a conscious effort not to look at
it
. His face was flushed with the effort as well as the disgust he felt at himself for thinking of her in such a disrespectful way.

“
My name is Lilac Johnson and this is my friend, Lily Snow.
”

He
’
s a Blackstone!
Lily thought. I cannot allow myself to feel anything for him, although she knew that she was lying to herself, she did feel something for him. She couldn
’
t define exactly what it was
because she was wrapped up
in a mêlée of emotions. And at the very corner of her mind, something was nagging at her, a feeling of recognition. But how could that be? Before today she
’
d
never laid eyes on him.

Lily Snow
?
My God, s
he
must be a
descendant of the
Snow family
, sworn
enemies to the Blackstone
s
many centuries ago
.
Were they
still enemies some 300
years later? He did not know.

“
Read her thoughts, Gabriel,
”
Lucien whispered.

“
I cannot.
”

“
Of your own accord, you cannot. But
I
can.
”

“
I will not intrude on her privacy, to do so would be dishonorable
.
I will not do it, Lucien!
”

“
Oh, but I will. You mean to control that which you cannot or
will
not control. I grow in power each day Gabriel and I will know what this lovely
girl
thinks of you. I know that you love her and have dreamt of her and I feel something for her as well, whether it is love or desire, I do not know. I am unsure if there is any difference between the two.
”

“
I warn you, Lucien, leave Lily alone! What about the other girl, Lilac? What are your intentions toward her?
”
Gabriel was attempting to divert Lucien
’
s thoughts away from Lily.

“
She means nothing to either one of us, but ah she is impish, is she not? I shall have her just for the fun of it. She will be my first taste of the flesh in this decadent century. This girl
’
s hunger may match my own desire. I am ravenous for it even and I shall do with her as I please.
”

“
We
’
re headed down to the beach at Salem Willows. Wanna come with?
”
Lilac asked, pulling him back to the conversation with the girls; away from Lucien
’
s assault on his mind.

Still, Gabriel had yet to hear Lily speak and when she finally did, his heart beat even faster than it already was for her voice was as a soft melody to his ears.

“
Yes, please join us. I mean…if you want to or do you have…other plans?
”
Lily stammered.

“
No, I have no other plans.
”

Lily noticed that Gabriel had a slight accent that sounded like that of an Englishman, although less pronounced
,
as if he had come from England at an early age and been in America ever since. She liked the tone of his voice, the accent and
t
he
way he
spoke with the grace of a true gentleman.

“
He
’
s gorgeous. How would it feel to kiss those lips and touch that head of hair and his arms, so muscular and bronzed from the sun? What would it be like to have them wrapped around me?
He was at least a head taller than her and she
’
d
be
completely
enveloped
in those arms
.
I cannot help myself, Blackstone or not, I am attracted to him as I have never been to anyone else.
”
These were the thoughts Lucien read from Lily
’
s mind, making Gabriel a witness to them, like it or not. As they walked, Gabriel repeatedly stole glances at her and every time he did, she was looking at him too
. Meanwhile,
Lilac chattered away unceasingly, although neither one of them heard a word she said.

The paperwork Lily was supposed to pick up at the museum was forgotten that day and for a long time after; paperwork that possessed information that would have been of great importance to Gabriel.

“
S
o, what did you say to Trevor and Nick to make them run off like that? I swear they were sooo scared, it was great!
”
Lilac exclaimed as they continued walking toward Salem Willows.

“
I do not know what frightened them so, but does it really matter? They stopped bothering you and left.
”

“
Yeah, for now anyway
,
”
Lily
sighed
.

“
What do you mean, for now?
”

“
Oh, just that they, along with others in this town who think just because we were raised Wiccan that we
’
re
witches,
”
Lily said.
“
I converted to Christianity recently, but still there are many that won
’
t let it go. Lilac, she
’
s still Wiccan.
”