Cougar's Eve (5 page)

Thunder rumbled from miles away, and the radio crackled with static as I assembled my dinner. I was not a cook. I didn’t make anything from scratch and didn’t create anything new. I was an assembler of food. I tossed salad, heated up items in the microwave and cut veggies. This was the extent of my so-called innovative cooking, with one exception—steak.

I had never been more thankful to my grandfather for teaching me the art of perfecting a grilled steak than I was tonight. Tonight, I was cooking filet minion and preparing salad with snap peas, radish slices, cucumbers, tomatoes and bits of onions. Also on the menu were my specially baked potatoes with all of the extras.

I’d showered and changed into a deep purple sundress that came to just above my knees, nicely showing off my legs and making the green of my eyes pop. On my feet, I wore nude sandals with a slight heel, which were a nice change from my usually flat shoes. Since I was nearly six feet tall, heels weren’t something I needed, though I did own one set of black spikes just for kicks and giggles. An antique clip with an amethyst in the center held back my hair, while the rest of my locks flowed loosely around my shoulders.

Not a big fan of perfume because the scent could be overwhelming, I preferred a light floral body spray—shimmering, of course. I looked in the mirror one last time and was actually pleased with the woman staring back at me. I wasn’t exactly petite and had battled with my weight my entire life. Running, even light jogging, was out of the question because no one made a sports bra that had the ability to keep my large breasts in place, which, let me tell you, is maddening.

My abs were non-existent under my soft middle, and I made sure to wear clothes that weren’t skin-tight. Add in my sensitive abilities, and the reason I was a shy, reclusive woman was pretty obvious. Tonight, I’d be a different woman, and I was more than excited about it.

I wanted this night was to be perfect, but just in case, I had worked out a plan with Karisma. My friend had been elated that I had dinner plans with someone other than her, Bud or my grandpa and had been immensely impressed I had asked the man out in the first place. A bit wary for me, Karisma had insisted she’d call me around nine o’clock to make sure everything was going well. If something wasn’t right, I’d say, “I’m looking forward to our picnic tomorrow,” and she’d show up with the police in tow.

The table was set and dinner was ready, but I had one more thing to do before my guest arrived. When I had spoken with Bud earlier, he’d mentioned I should get a dog to alert me of intruders. What he didn’t realize was that I already had a means to alert me to trespassers. Granted, I couldn’t actually
do
anything to a person if he was trespassing, but it did give me an advantage.

With enough light left in the sky to see the ground clearly, I decided to go outside and make sure my security alert system, also known as my wrought-iron fence, was working properly. It surrounded my house, yard, and garage and also crossed my driveway. The fence was approximately four and a half feet tall, and though it couldn’t prevent a person from simply jumping over it or opening the gate, it had another special use: my magic.

In order to protect myself, I possessed personal magic I could send into inanimate objects, such as my wrought-iron fence, to block annoying ghosts from barging onto my property and into my house. By touching the fence, I could put up a static barrier that allowed me to sense when something crossed it, whether it was a spirit or tangible being.

In order for a ghost to come onto my property, I’d have to remove the magic barrier to allow it to cross over the fence or leave the iron gate wide open; otherwise, it would be unable to come into my yard. There were always stray ghosts floating around my fence because they were drawn to my energy. The iron fence was a safeguard that had become a necessity when my powers were first discovered as a child. In addition to tutoring his granddaughter on shielding herself from spirits, my grandpa had also wanted me to be able to have time to relax and to let my shields rest. The iron fence did just that for me by continuously preventing the average spirit from crossing onto my land. My magic was the extra punch needed to alert me of trespassing people, which didn’t happen very often. I simply prefer to know if I have a visitor before he rings the doorbell.

The air was heavy, and it was eerily still, the scent of rain already present. Not a bird sang nor a cicada chirped, indicating the storm would arrive at any second. It was rare for there to be a void of sound entirely, especially since I lived so close to the bluffs. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and once again, I felt as though I was being watched. Goosebumps sprang up on my arms despite the humid heat, and I held my breath as I searched the foliage with my eyes. I wanted to ask who was there, but who in their right mind would respond?

The conversation I’d had with Bud crossed my mind. Where had the hunters gone after they’d left my property? Were they watching me right now? I shook my head, deciding I was over-thinking the situation, though I still kept my guard up and glanced around nervously.

Thunder rumbled loudly, prompting me to get moving before I was soaking wet. I knew I needed to quickly complete my magic work since I’d be a dead woman if I was touching metal and lightning struck it.

Placing my hands on the cool iron, I opened my third eye, revealing the power the fence truly contained. The black fence instantly glowed like a blue light saber. Even in its weakened state, the intensity of it always amazed me. Light shot up about one hundred feet from each bar, making it look as if I was surrounded by a tall prison. Instead of keeping me in, it kept malicious spirit entities out.

My magic was easy, although pretty limited. I’d think about what I wanted it to do then send the energy into the object. In this case, I wanted the fence to guard, protect and alert me if something physical or spiritual smacked into my magic while attempting to cross the barrier—or if something successfully crossed it. I had to recharge the fence every day for the spell to remain intact.

As far as I was aware, the only people resistant to my powers were other Sensitives, like my grandpa, who had warded themselves against magic. Some people had a will that was so strong, it could null my magic, but that was definitely the exception, not the rule.

A thrill of energy rushed from my head to my toes and fingers, and I watched as my magic made the blue light so bright it almost hurt to look at it. Closing my third eye, I relaxed and watched as the blue light faded, the fence appearing to return to its black color.

With my magical task completed, I walked back across the lawn and over the threshold of my home. I put a hand on the walls to either side of the door to complete the circuit of magic, so to speak, and again thought about the threshold protecting, guarding and alerting me to intruders.

Most people don’t realize the strength a threshold holds. A happy home filled with love is incredibly difficult for a spirit to enter, even if the people living there have no idea about wards or magic barriers. A home doesn’t require
two
people to be a happy love-filled home. Case-in-point, my home was one such place with just Murrlin and me. Homes that contained anger, jealousy and discord practically lay out a welcome mat for malicious spirits.

Neither the fence nor the door would alert me to intruders until I physically closed them, sealing the magical energy barrier. In order to keep something out or for me to be alerted that something crossed it, the spell had to be completed
before
anyone came into my yard or home. If the spirit or being had already crossed over the magical field, the alarm was useless and I’d be out of luck. After Vale arrived, I would close the gate as well as my front door to complete the magical circuit and my powers would passively go to work.

Satisfied, I returned to the kitchen and waited. The rain began to pour, and I was glad I’d gone outside when I’d had the opportunity.

Three hours passed, and still, there was no sign of Vale. The lights flickered, and I was thankful to have a gas-powered generator that would kick on if I lost electricity for longer than thirty minutes, but at this point, I really didn’t care.

When I first realized I’d been stood up, I was furious with Vale then I was furious with myself. I felt sick to my stomach then I binged on the dinner I’d prepared with such care and threw in some chocolate ice cream to boot. Hating myself as usual after eating so much, I couldn’t believe I’d been such a dumbass. Tears streamed down my face as I lamented the idiotic choices I’d made earlier in the day.

I felt so stupid and embarrassed. How could I have entertained the thought that a gorgeous hunk of man like Vale would even consider dating me? I had put him in a terrible position by asking him out in the first place. What was he supposed to say? No thanks on the date, but I’ll finish repairing your roof so I can get paid? God help me, I was such a damned fool.

The worst part was his false sincerity and that I’d been so terribly wrong about him.
How
was it possible I had read him so incorrectly? My ability to sense people was always spot-on, even if the person was an awesome liar. I always knew a person’s true intentions. Had my attraction for the man clouded my Sensitive abilities that much? Guess there was a first time for everything.

Realizing it was nearly nine o’clock and that Karisma would call soon per our earlier agreement, I fired off a text to her.
Dinner off. Will call you tomorrow
.

I turned off my phone after the text was sent because I knew she would want details. I was too embarrassed and hurt to talk about it right now; besides, I’d be a blubbering mess and unable to speak anyway.

The final nail in the coffin came when I secured the gate to the iron fence and closed my front door. Sobbing, I ran to my bedroom and threw myself onto the bed. After crying myself to sleep, I woke up hours later, took off my dress and removed my makeup.

Murrlin, of course, had been hiding under my bed since the rain had begun and had been no comfort, though I understood the reason. I peeked under my comforter to make sure he was indeed there and all right—well, as all right as he would be during a storm. I changed into a T-shirt and cotton shorts for PJs then got into bed. Sleep came easier this time as I listened to the thunder gently rumble and the rain fall softly on my roof.

Chapter Five

Most of the time, I sleep right through the heaviest of thunderstorms, provided the noise is consistent with the usual ebb and flow of Illinois weather. As the storm became stronger, the thunder seemed to boom with an inconsistent staccato. There was no steady rhythm of rumbles followed by thunderous booms. Instead there would be one loud detonation then silence then another explosion of thunder and another, jolting me out of my slumber each time. Sleeping soundly was simply out of the question when storms were like this.

I stared at the ceiling while lying in bed and couldn’t shake my feeling of uneasiness. I turned on my side and looked at the Venetian blinds covering the sliding glass windows in my bedroom. For some reason, I was absolutely positive if I peeked between them, I’d see a sinister being standing on the other side. The rain now pounded on the tin roof of my house, making it sound as if I had thousands of little elves stomping from foot to foot as quickly as possible above my head. If it began to hail, I’d forgo sleep altogether because the sound would be deafening.

With my curiosity getting the better of me, I decided to end the suspense and go look out the sliding window to see if I was just unnerved from the earlier run-in with the two hunters. Considering all that had happened to me that day, my feelings were still pretty raw, and it wouldn’t be too surprising if I was misreading everything right now.

Since it was pointless to turn on a light then attempt to look outside and actually see anything, I carefully walked over to draw the blinds in the dark. I reached up to pull the cord and ever-so-slightly separate one vertical blind from another as another round of lightning crackled in the sky.

The cord pulled with ease, and I looked out onto the deck. My patio furniture had been turned over by the wind, and pots with plants had rolled into one corner of the deck. Luckily, I’d closed the umbrella that shaded my picnic table, though it was fighting to stand upright as the little pieces of fringe whipped around in the storm.

Thunder boomed and lightning flashed once again, and I saw the eyes. Two large, green saucer-shaped orbs stared at me from the top railing of the deck. At first, my mind reacted normally and tried to label the source as a known phenomenon. It was similar to people seeing Superman—it’s a bird, plane, etc.

Without a doubt, sitting nearly ten feet from my door was a black cougar. He looked as surprised to see me as I was to see him, and for a moment, we just stared at each other. His eyes showed an intelligence I wasn’t used to seeing in felines, not that I’d encountered many big cats, but his eyes revealed a carefully thinking brain behind them. For years, I’d heard about panthers to the west in the counties of Calhoun and Pike, but it had never crossed my mind to think of one in my own Greene County.

The big cat cocked his head to the side as though assessing me or maybe considering its next move. Then with graceful fluidity, it leapt off the deck and raced into the woods that sloped onto the bluffs behind my house. As the feline crossed my magic barrier, I felt the slight tingle of a push, pull and release, similar to a rubber band flexing then returning to its original shape. I almost pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I had just seen a real, live, breathing cougar on my patio and in my backyard! Had it not been four in the morning, I would have called Karisma and shared the exciting news with her.

Another realization hit me right after the excitement. I’d felt the cougar leave, but I hadn’t felt it cross over my magical barrier when it jumped into my yard earlier today. This meant it had already been in my yard without my knowing it while I’d set the magical wards on the fence. Yikes! The cougar and I had been in my yard
at the same time!
Had it seen me or been watching me? Had it been hiding behind my garage or house?