Page 103

He walked over closer to her, then took a breath like he was going to tell her something but froze.

“I’m sorry. I know what I’m going to say is going to sound crazy.”

“I just told you I have visions, and you didn’t even blink. Trust me, I’m hard to freak out.”

He closed his eyes and nodded.

“I was at that store in Charleston because the woman there makes an elixir for me.”

Sunny cocked her head to the side. That didn’t seem that weird. “What kind of elixir?”

A pained look crossed his face as his eyes scrunched shut, and he gave his head a little shake as he took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“That night in the woods . . . I’ve played that night over and over in my head so many times. I’m not sure how I came to be in the woods.”

“You were lost?”

“Yes, and quite frankly, although this does feel like home now, in some sense, I’m still lost.”

She nodded and waited for him to continue.

His hand ran through his neat blonde hair, leaving it rumpled. “Okay, fuck!”

She pulled back a little. He was the most soft-spoken guy she’d met, and that surprised her.

“This is going to sound actually insane. I’ve never said it out loud before, but here goes . . . I’m not from here.”

“Like the area?”

“No, like, here,” he said, gesturing to the world around him.

“What do you mean? Are you like an alien or something?”

“No . . . at least not in the gray-man-spaceship kind of way.”

“Okay . . .”

“I grew up in a place that looked much the same as this one . . . only different.”

Sunny cocked her head.

“You know there is something special about that mountain . . .”

“Oh, there is. Believe me—I know. That’s why the Blacks have always protected it.”

“They protect the mountain? Do you know why?”

She shook her head. She wouldn’t tell him, and even if she did, that was their secret to tell, but they’d just had this discussion the other day. The knowledge of what they spend their lives protecting had been lost to the years, but maybe he could help them figure it out.

“Okay, well. One night, I was exploring the woods where my family is from. I saw this glowing light, and I couldn’t seem to resist it. I was drawn to the light. Before I knew what was happening, I was falling and landed in a cave . . . here . . . on the mountain.”

Sunny gawked at him, trying to understand.

“I know that must sound so strange . . . but it’s the truth.”

“I believe you.”

“You do?” he asked, sounding shocked. “I barely believe myself.”