Blood of the Rainbow (42 page)

Sara followed Nadine out, and they sat in the two-seater swing. Sara sipped her drink, expecting it to be tea, but it wasn’t. It tasted more like eggnog, but it was sweet and pleasant. “What is this? It tastes kind of like eggnog.”

Nadine chuckled. “It’s called goan. It’s made from dried chamomile blossom, coconut milk, a touch of honey, a drop or two of vanilla flavoring, and a hint of freshly ground nutmeg. You heat it up and add a teaspoon of fresh butter. Then, swirl that around with a spoon, and let it melt. I like to sprinkle a little grated cinnamon on top. Jared likes his frothed up on top before you add the cinnamon. I have a cup at night when I’m restless,” she said. “It helps me relax so I can sleep.”

Sara sighed. “I could have used some of that last night. I’ve never had such a crazy nightmare in all my life.”

Nadine eyed Sara over the top of her cup. “I don’t suppose you’d like to tell me about it,” she prompted.

Sara sighed. “Nada, it’s so jumbled up. It didn’t make any sense. I’m not even sure if I can remember it all.”

“In that case, why don’t you just tell me what you
can
remember,” Nadine said, narrowing her eyes in concentration.

Sara shuddered, already feeling a chill up her spine. “Here goes,” she began. “I was in my bedroom. I was wearing my silk strapless nightgown – the one I wore last night. I could see lightning flashing. I walked to the window. A thunderstorm was brewing, just over the horizon. I wanted to get a closer look at it, so I went out back.”

Nadine studied Sara’s eyes. “In your silk nightgown?”

“Yes,” Sara replied. “I stepped out onto the patio. The view was magnificent. I heard a noise behind me, so I turned to see what it was. There was nothing there, but when I turned back toward the desert, it was gone too. Like one of Jared’s sketches, with just me and the house drawn in.”

“Was anybody there with you?”

“No. I was alone. I walked to the edge and looked down. The ground was covered in what looked like snow. I touched it with my toe. It was cold, freezing, but it wasn’t snow. It was sand. I could feel the individual grains between my toes as I stepped off the edge of the patio.”

“You said there was nothing in front of you. What happened to the storm?”

Sara chuckled. “Like everything else, it was gone too. I told you it didn’t make any sense.”

Nadine smiled. “It does sound strange Sara, but dreams are often like that. What happened then?”

“I started walking, and I began to see the outline of a tall object, far off in the distance. It was as if someone was sketching my dream as it went along. As I got closer, I could tell that the object was some kind of totem pole, but it was different to the ones I’d seen in the past.”

“What do you mean by different?”

“Well, totem poles normally have images of different animals and events – right?”

“Yes, normally. On rare occasions, an animal or image might be repeated, but it’s usually different in some way.”

“Yes, but the only images I could see on this totem pole were wolves.”

“Wolves? That’s interesting. Were they all the same?”

“Not totally. They were different colors and ages. When I walked closer to the pole, the ground changed again.”

“In what way?”

“It started getting warmer. From that point on, each step I took, the sand kept getting hotter until it was burning my feet like fire.”

“Were you in pain? Was the sand physically burning your feet? What could you see now?”

“Yes. The sand was burning my feet. I turned to go back, thinking the sand would be cooler, but it wasn’t. No matter which way I turned, the only thing I could see was the strange totem pole. My feet were hurting. I couldn’t stand in the same place for very long, but I was driven by an insatiable curiosity to get closer. I got this really uneasy feeling, and the closer I got to the totem pole, the worse it got, and so did the burning. By this time, it was blazingly hot. I screamed and dropped to my knees.”

“Didn’t the sand burn your knees as well?”

“No, just my feet, that was the odd part. As long as the soles of my feet weren’t touching the ground, it didn’t burn me anywhere else, at least not in the beginning. When I knelt down, I heard a low growling, coming from the direction of the totem pole, just a few short feet in front of me.”

“Did you see where the growling was coming from, or what was making it?”

“It was coming from one of the wolves on the totem pole. I looked up, in time to see the symbol at the top of the pole starting to change. I got back on my feet, and despite the pain from the burning sand, I started backing away from the pole. The symbol separated itself from the top of the pole and jumped to the ground. It wasn’t real. It was made of wood.”

“Are you certain it was made of wood? What did the wolf do?”

“Because when it snarled at me, I could see what looked like fire, burning behind its wall of jagged wooden teeth.” Sara sipped her drink, and then continued.

“I took a few more steps back. I figured if I broke and ran it would chase after me. Then another one of the symbols changed and dropped down on the opposite side of the pole. I guess I started to think a little more logically, at that point. I reasoned if the second symbol changed because I stepped closer, if I went back, that should prevent another symbol from changing.”

“That does sound logical,” Nadine nodded. Were you right? Did it stop the third symbol from changing?”

“No, I was wrong, it didn’t.” Another chill went down Sara’s spine, and she shivered again.

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Myra finished her studies, and decided to come down stairs. When she couldn’t find anyone in the kitchen, she decided to look out on the patio.

Myra took Nadine’s cup. “Can I join you?”

Myra scared Sara. Sara scared Myra, and both of them screamed. Nadine laughed. “Holy Geez Sara!” Myra gasped, nearly dropping Nadine’s cup. Like Jared, Myra had the uncanny knack of sneaking up on someone without making a sound. “If you keep doing that, I’m going to need more than a sip of this stuff,” she said, passing the cup back to her Mother.

“Would you like me to make you a cup?”

Myra patted her mother on the shoulder and settled on the porch, her back propped against one of the posts. She smiled. “I’d love one, Mother.”

“I’ll be right back, Sara, and then you can finish your story.

Myra studied Sara’s eyes. “Story – what story? What have I missed?”

Nadine stood. “Sara was telling me about a nightmare she had last night. Sara, Honey, would you like another cup too?”

Sara passed Nadine her cup. “Yes, please. It’s very pleasant and relaxing. You’ll have to write the recipe down for me before we leave.”

Myra seemed surprised. “You mean Jared hasn’t made it for you already?”

Sara sighed. “No, he hasn’t.”

Myra leaned her head back and looked up at the sky. “This is why I love this place. Come have a look, Sara.”

Sara walked to the edge of the porch and looked up. The sky looked as if someone had dusted it with silver glitter, and was shining a spotlight on it. Sara watched a shooting star fall toward the western horizon. “Is it always like this at night?”

Myra nodded. “Sometimes, you can even see stars during a thunderstorm.”

“How can that be? Thunderstorms normally come with rain.”

Myra laughed. “Not in Arizona. We get violent lightning and thunderstorms but seldom the rain. We could get as little as two inches the whole summer.”

“Wow that is dry! Louisiana was dry during the summer months, but not that dry. In fact, sometimes during the summer we had flash floods.  How long is the summer season, here?”

“It depends. Sometimes it can run from late April up to mid-September. It starts getting cooler then. Because the days can be so hot and dry, it’s not uncommon to see a gigantic thunderhead covering the western skies, and have stars glittering everywhere else.”

“Wow!” Was all Sara could think to say.

“Here, Dear,” Nadine said as she handed Sara and Myra their goan. Nadine sat beside Sara. “Now, let’s hear the rest of that story,” she said anxiously.

Sara drew in a large sigh and began again. “Let’s see, where was I…?”

“You were talking about how you thought by stepping closer to the pole, that it might make the symbols go back where they were,” Nadine prompted.

“Oh yes,” Sara sighed and continued. “As I stepped closer, instead of going back on the pole, the wolf took a couple of steps to the side, and the third one dropped in its place. It continued to do that until all the symbols had changed, and were now staring at me with their flaming red eyes and mouths full of fire. Each time, right before a new one would fall; the one next to the pole would step sideways, leaving a space for the new one.”

“No wonder you were screaming at Jared when he tried to wake you,” Myra said drawing her brows together. “I would have been screaming too!”

“Anyway,” Sara sighed again. “The wolves started ambling towards me. You’ll never know how much I wanted to turn and run, or even scream for help.”

“Why didn’t you?” Myra asked with wide eyes.

“I couldn’t. I was frozen to the spot, and every time I tried to scream for help my throat was too dry. The air around me had changed. Like the desert night, it was hot and dry. Each labored breath I took, burned from my throat, all the way down to my lungs. I needed fresh air, but there wasn’t any. It was filled with the strange bittersweet taste of sulfur.

I managed to glance over my shoulder, and I saw a pool of fresh water. Well, at least I assumed it was fresh. It might have been boiling for all I knew, but it was water and the only solution I saw. So, I started focusing all my strength on moving. Finally, I managed to break the trance, and start running toward the pool of water. The wolves,
all of them
, started in a run after me. I thought, if I could just make it to the water, I could get a drink, and then maybe my throat would be moist enough I could scream for help.”

Myra gasped. “And the wolves wouldn’t let you get to the pool of water?”

“No. The nearer I ran to the pool of water, the further away it got. The wolves were almost on my ankles at this point. I knew I didn’t have a lot of time left, but my strength was spent from the hot air I’d been forcing down my lungs. I fell on my face, but I didn’t give up. I kept struggling and crawling toward the water. But, no matter what I did, or how far I stretched, I couldn’t even touch the water with the tips of my fingers. I rolled over on my back. Just below my feet were the wolves, growling and snarling at me.”

Myra leaned forward. “You couldn’t find anything to throw at them? A rock or piece of wood – anything?”

“There wasn’t anything. The desert was gone. The huge wolf, the first one to change, jumped at me, and I thought I was going to die. He grabbed me. I could feel his splintery teeth cutting in my throat, and blood running down my neck. I knew I couldn’t last long, so I summoned my last breath, and screamed as loud as I could manage. When I woke up, Jared was shaking me and trying to talk to me, but when I opened my eyes, he looked exactly like the wolf in my dream. Not the real one but the wooden one. I must have scared you all to death,” Sara sighed.

“You gave us quite a scare, that’s for sure, especially Jared. He was so worried, that he wouldn’t leave your side,” Nadine said.

Sara smiled. “I know. He was there when I woke up.”

Nadine stood. “Well, girls, I think I’m going to bed. Jared and his father may be out there for hours.”

“I think I’ll go up too,” Sara added.

“Well, if both of you are going to bed, I might as well go back to bed myself. I hope I can sleep after Sara’s dream. Sara that sounded really scary. I hope you sleep better tonight.” She grinned wryly. “I have a feeling you will.”

Nadine glanced at Myra and smiled knowingly. “I’ll see you in the morning Sara.”

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Sara took out her red, satin teddy and put it on. She put on some extra perfume, took her hair down, and brushed it out. Then she pulled the covers back and crawled between the sheets. She stayed that way for a while, but it was too hot, so she folded the covers back, and lay on top. She read for maybe half an hour, and then shut out the light, leaving the two candles on the dresser, next to the mirror, burning. Their reflections in the mirror cast a soft, warm glow. Sara soon dozed off.

When she woke, Jared was lounging in the doorway, looking at her. “How long have you been standing there?” she asked sleepily.

“Not long,” Jared replied in a low, husky voice, stepping through and closing the door behind him. “God, you’re beautiful, Sara,” he said, walking slowly to the bed. Sara blushed. “Now your face matches your teddy.” Jared lay on the bed beside Sara, propped on one elbow, looking down at her. He caressed her face with the back of his index finger, tracing the outline of her jaw and down the side of her neck. He bent down to kiss it, and then kissed his way up to her ear. “I love you Sara,” he breathed in her ear. “This time, we’ll do this how it was supposed to be done,” he said as his lips came down on hers.

By the time Jared finally made love to Sara, every inch of her body had been throbbing with desire for him. Sara thought it was Paradise the first time he’d made love to her, but what was happening to her now, must surely be Heaven.

Jared took his time with her, savoring and enjoying the moment as if it were their last. Sara didn’t know how many times he made love to her. She lost count after three. Sometime during the night, or morning, Sara wasn’t sure which; among the damp and tangled sheets, entwined in each other’s arms, they’d fallen asleep.

------------

Myra was right, Sara did sleep better, and the first sight she saw when she woke up was Jared’s smiling face, looking down at her. Jared kissed Sara passionately.

“Good morning, my Angel,” he whispered, and kissed her again. “Hungry?”

“Starved,” Sara replied, honestly.

Jared sat on the side of the bed and reached for his robe. “Good, because from the smell of things, Mother has made breakfast,” he said, slipping into his robe and tossing Sara hers.

“Morning,” Jared said, as they approached the breakfast table. “Looks like we’re not too late?” he said, pulling a chair out for Sara. He bent down and kissed her, and then sat beside her.