Crescent Bound (70 page)

I lean my body against him,
“
I
can
’
t sleep...
.
”

“
You should have woken me up
.
”
H
e turns me around so that I can see him
.
“
You know I love you, if you ever need me all you have to do is ask, tell me why you can
’
t sleep Alyss, is it Naomi?
”
N
ow he has a troubling look that washes over him.

“
No, I just feel a bit restless
.  M
aybe I feel haunted by
that place, maybe I always will
I don
’
t know for sure, all I know is I feel different now.
”
 

Marc leans his head down closer an
d his voice deepens,
“
Different,
w
hat
do you mean different... with me?
”
I study his
face;
did he actually think I
am
trying to tell him I don
’
t love him anymore?

Leaning into his bare chest,
“
No, not with you, I just want to go
home and put all this behind us
.
”
H
is arms wrap around me as our essence merges together,
and
we shift back to the bed.

He picks me up and lies me down
gently;
he crawls in next to me.
“
I
’
m here, and I
’
m not going to let anything happen to you Alyssa.
”
He softly caresses my face and before I know it my eyes grow heavy, letting them close I drift off to a dreamless sleep.

Chapter 46

Telling Lisa about the other world and Naomi was one thing, telling my dad is going to be an entirely different story.  I awake with Marc
’
s soft voice,
“
Morning, I
’m
gonn
a go get us something to eat.
”
I stretch out and nod
at him and he
leaves without another word. 

My father shifts into a chair beside my bed in the next instant.
“
So, Lisa tells me you have experienced the other world, would you like to elaborate on the matter?
”
  I sigh and grudgingly go through the details of what I had
undergone
.

“
Alyssa, I just got off my cell with David.  He tells me that it appears Naomi committed suicide just hours after your car accident, and she was definitely the cause of it.  What we haven
’
t pinned down yet, is that she had help.
”
  Dad leans over in his chair resting each elbow on his knees watching my face for signs that this is the wrong time to discuss Naomi.

“
What exactly did they find,
Dad
?
”

“
Are you sure
you
’
re
up to this, Alyss?  It
’
s a bit graphic.
”
  I nod
and
Dad
continues.

He tells me,
“
David
,
and the others found her soaking in her own blood in a clawfoot bathtub, inside the remnants
of
her recently burned out home.  Her parents are dead also. 

“
Let me guess, burned in the fire
,
”
I
add as a puzzling look appears in his eyes.

Dad nods,
“
I
ncinerated in what appears to be more of an explosion than an actual house fire. Naomi
’
s younger brother, Daniel, was only seventeen and they found him in a nearby tree, hung, not
to
o
far from the home.
”

My heart sinks as my dad tells me of the sick, hideous torture Naomi did to her family.  He tells me David
,
and Megan as well
,
the others are on their way back. So apparently the scenes that I endured were real, but I was dealing with Naomi
’
s spirit world. 

“
Dad, there is something else, I met Ash, and he gave me my ring back.
”

“
Ash
?
”
He looks utterly bewildered.

“
Yes, the Fay you once spoke of in my stories when I was just a child?
”
and again his expression seems less convinced.
“
The Blue Stone.
.. my ring? I had dropped it...
somewhere within the forest and I found this creature which was an image of a white cat...Ash, you use to tell me stories from our past of a being with yellow skin and dark eyes.  It was him father.
”
  He intertwines his fingers with my own as he asks me a list of question
s
about my interaction with Ash.

“
He taught me the meaning of the
Cimaruta
, and how my powers would come back once the full moon arose.
”
He didn
’
t seem as distraught as he once was, but fully attained the idea that I was blessed by the Fay kind.
“
He
called me
the
G
atekeeper between worlds.
”

His smile beams
like a rising sun.
“
And that you are, Alyssa.
”

Marc shifts back into the room with steaming homemade waffles and a hot chamomile and citrus tea.  My
d
ad gently kisses my forehead before he leaves and shifts out of the bedroom.
“
I was told I
’
m on a strict liquid diet.
”
Marc feeds me a bite
anyway.

“
You are such a rebel, breaking the orders of a healer can be very bad, you know
,
”
I mumble through the mouthful of
the
succulent
homemade
waffle. 

On my fifth day
,
I
’
m able to move around on my own without any help. The tenderness in my rib area never really subsides, but I am fully capable of showering myself as well as dressing.  I really detest the help of anyone, I suppose I enjoy the fact that I was and still am independent. I soon realize the only thing I lack is true sleep.  A slight issue I assume I will resolve once I
’
m home.

Velain steps through the doorway wanting to check my bandages. Use to the procedure
,
I begin to roll up my shirt and lean over for her examination.
“
Hey, I
’
m gonna go make a few
calls;
think you can handle
a minute without me?
”
Marc paces
backwards
,
watching me with
a narrow glare and
grin
s
;
I
shake my head at his antics.
“I think I’ll survive.” I tease.

Velain begins to
soothingly
rub an ointment over my sore
and
aching body
.
“
Your mother use to treat her patients with this long ago.
”

Having difficulty with keeping my eyes open I vaguely ask her in a drifting mumble,
“
W
hat
’
s in it?
”

She softly chuckles,
“
Ah yes, let me think for a moment, its been quite sometime making so ma
n
y
magick
al salves, that it
’
s hard for an old one such as myself to remember...Balm of Gilead, Juniper tips, dandelion
roots, chamomile, and toadflax,
”
she says a
s her fingers knead the remedy through my upper left shoulder
.
I hear her voice lower to a whisper,
“
One must have guidance as one crosses over the threshold of the underworlds, Alyssa.
”

Her hand reaches out to touch
my eye which still ho
ld
s
the mark from Naomi land. I urgently grip her hand,
“
Don
’
t touch it.
”

I am deathly afraid, if anyone is to ever touch it they may embed the evil upon themselves, even if it
’
s a minuscule amount, I don
’
t want that for anyone.

Velain actually chuckles lightly,
“
You know, Alyssa...it is only a vestige of the otherworld, some may call it Summerland, the place for souls to cross over.
”
 

I close my eyes tightly and suck in a deep breath, resigning to listen to her reasoning tone,
“
I can heal the mark away, if only you wish,
and Naomi
’
s
otherworld you were pulled into is only her vision. Perhaps
,
in time the restrains on her will allow her soul to progress
toward
a better and untainted life. You need to and must release this negative
energy;
it
’
s the only way for one to move onward, not only to save her, but yourself as well my child.
”

Still with my eyes concealed, and
my
voice quivering,
“
No, no...I
’
m sure with time it will heal on its own, thank you Velain, for your offer though.
”
Realizing I
’
m still clutching her hand, I quickly release it.

Marc
’
s silvery e
ssence floats through the room
and
stands beside
me;
“
Is everything
okay
in here?
”
his voice flows with a hint of apprehension.

“
Everything is
fine;
I believe Velain was
just leaving.
”
  Without a second thought she smiles over to me and vanishes into thin air, leaving behind a robust scents of rosemary and hints of hazelnut.

Later in the night I hear Megan and David
’
s voices talking quietly in the other room, my
father asks
them to check back with me tomorrow because he wants me to rest.
Little did anyone know that
’
s the last thing I want
,
is to
slip off into a deep sleep and suddenly finding myself in a dreamseer
realm.

Apparently dreams are dreams where I can use my natural abilities, but in the seer dreams I
’
m stripped from any powers that reside within me. The seer
’
s dream allows me to pass through the other worlds, see things that I have yet to learn.  And it absolutely terrifies me, because I do not know how to tap into the worlds when I wish to, so, each time I sleep is anyone
’
s guess of where I might find myself drawn into,
dream
or is it the
Seer
’
s dream
.

Hours lag by, turning so I can see the clock beside the bed,
1:15
a.m
.
it reads. Groaning inside I finally have
enough of just lying here, slipp
ing out from under Marc
’
s arm I lightly walk to the deck outside. Glancing up to the sky, a few stars are shining down and a waning moon welcomes me.

Tonight, I
’
m in another slightly oversized silk gown which doesn
’
t give me much warmth in the cool night air.  I brace my arms around myself and lean against the rail of the wooden post.
“
Can
’
t sleep?
”
A
deep voice speaks from behind me, turning around, I find sitting in a
n
old wicker chair, my father.