Page 13

Chapter Thirteen

A cold shiver made Erin tremble, and she crossed both arms over her chest. When a second wave came, she stood from the sofa and went to a large wicker basket where she kept plush throws. Throwing one over her shoulders, she finished drinking her morning coffee.

This was not the time to get sick, there was so much to get done. It had to be that her flat was chilly. Despite all the upgrades and modernization of the old building, it remained cool. Although extremely well built, the solid structure had not been built to maintain warmth, but to withstand the elements.

There was much to do today. After yoga classes, she and Aubrey were returning to the castle. Dreams had invaded her sleep every night, to the point it felt as if she was living two lives. In her dreams she lived in the alter-world, in a stone fortress. Most of the time, in her dreams, she went about ordinary tasks, but then each night it ended with sounds of men screaming, beasts roaring and the booms of huge boulders hitting the walls.

Unlike what she would do in real life, in the dream she raced to a window and looked out to a surreal scene. Fire-breathing dragons battled against immense horned beasts. Men who were half horses shot arrows at warriors.

Catapults tossed enormous stones into the fray, crushing both man and beast.

Erin screamed in horror, recognizing the warriors in battle. They were the five knights, the men they’d been fighting so hard to save. In her dream, they fought a fruitless battle against formidable opponents.

Just thinking about it sent another shiver through her. What if her dream was a warning, a foretelling of what was to come? If so, it was probably best she talk them out of going back to the alter-realm. Although she always woke up before the battle ended, Erin was positive every single odd was against the men battling in her dream.

The first yoga class ended, and Erin walked to the front of the studio. The attendees followed discussing plans for the day.

Her mother had not arrived, which was unusual since the one thing everyone could count on no matter what was her mother’s punctuality. She’d agreed to cover for Erin for the afternoon, another reason she’d thought her mother would be at the studio by now.

The late morning class was Erin’s favorite, and she couldn’t keep from smiling as a plume of smoke announced Evalyn’s presence just as the woman paced across the front of the studio. Cigarette in one hand and cell phone in the other, pressed against her ear.

The harried Jane came into view. She waved both hands in the air fanning the smoke away and said something to Evalyn, who showed her the cell phone and returned to her conversation.

Chimes sounded as Jane hurried inside and gave Erin a weary look. “That woman is unbelievable. She’s on the phone with her GP, arguing about not wanting to take medication for her high blood pressure, because it’s bad for her kidneys while puffing on a cigarette.”

Erin nodded. “I don’t think any of us will ever understand Evalyn. She is one of a kind.”

“Thank goodness for that,” Jane said looking around. “Where’s Terra?”

“She hasn’t arrived yet,” Erin replied. “Did you see my mother outside?”

Jane nodded. “Yes, she and Joe are having a very animated discussion about bee keeping.”

“Oh no,” Erin thought. Her mother was an activist for bee conservation and expansion of wildflower gardens, whilst Joe was deathly allergic to the little creatures.

Just then her mother entered, Joe behind. “Hello darling. I am glad to see that you are at least wearing tinted lip gloss today.”

Joe walked past and directly into the studio without a word.

“Mother, you shouldn’t argue with Joe,” Erin scolded. “He has a legitimate reason for his fear of bees. How did you even get to that particular topic?”

“He shuddered when he saw the bees on my dress.” She motioned to the floral print that was interspersed with cute bees. “I suppose you’re right,” her mother continued, waving her hand dismissively. “However, whether he has an allergy or not, if the bees are eradicated, he will die with the rest of us.”

Evalyn walked in, the smell of cigarette clinging to her. “I am fully booked for the rest of the month,” she announced grinning at Erin. “All thanks to you.”

“What did Erin do?” her mother asked with a confused expression.

If possible, Evalyn’s grin grew wider. “She came for a séance and a spirit possessed me. I hear he made deadly threats. So very exciting.”

Her mother’s eyes grew round. “Who was it? Who did it threaten?”

“You have to come back. Whatever the entity is may have more to say,” Evalyn exclaimed with glee.

“Time to start class.” Erin grabbed Evalyn’s arm and pulled her into the studio.

“We’ll talk after,” Evalyn called out to her mother.

On the way to the castle, Erin described her dreams to Aubrey, having to stop mid-sentence, every so often to answer her cousin’s questions.

“It seems to me that, since no details change each time, there could be clues that we need to pull from. A hidden message maybe?” Aubrey practically jumped in her seat with excitement. “Or it might be that you will be the hero who saves them all. Especially since you just said you are at the window looking down at all that is happening.”

Erin had not considered herself to be any part of the battle, instead of relegated to a role of witness or observer. “There isn’t anything I can do to save anyone. The battle seems one-sided against the men. I mean there are dragons and huge beasts fighting against them.”

“This is all so interesting, I must admit,” Aubrey said. “I still have a hard time believing those hunky men are from medieval times. I mean, they have nice teeth and are pretty clean.”

Erin gave her cousin a droll look. “Probably because they became more informed about personal grooming over the years.”

“So Padriag ... does he manscape?” Aubrey gave her a mischievous look. “Is he circumcised?”

“Will you stop.” Erin couldn’t stop the laugher that erupted. “I have no way of knowing.”

“Right.” Aubrey blew out a breath. “You had that ‘just got shagged’ look for days after the last time you saw him.”

“Look, no mists today,” Erin said with too much enthusiasm as the castle came into view.

When she pulled into the narrow road that lead to the front of the castle, Erin stopped the car and let out a long breath. “I have a strange feeling that a lot is about to happen.”

Aubrey crossed her arms and shook her head, curls bouncing. “Oh boy.”