Predestined (Existence Trilogy #2)(7)

Getting out of bed I brushed my hair and stood at my window studying the old oak tree. It felt like there was another memory attached to that tree but I couldn’t quite remember it. I put the brush down and slipped on my flip flops and made my way outside. I wanted to go out there. It was almost as if the tree suddenly had some sort of invisible pull to it.

The cool morning air caused me to shiver as I walked down the porch steps and across the damp grass. A jacket would have been a wise decision but I’d been too anxious to come see this tree.

Scanning the yard for anything odd or strange, I walked over to the tree. It was the same as it had always been. Never really changed. Except maybe that bottom branch was now easier to reach. I studied the spot on the tree I remember reaching before I fell and calculated how far I actually fell. Could a boy actually catch me and not fall down himself from the impact? That just seemed highly unlikely.

Dank

She was scared. I could feel it even though I was a continent away. Glancing back at Gee I frowned because we weren’t finished. I still had eight hundred more souls to collect before I could call it a day.

“We need to hurry,” I snapped turning to leave the stubborn soul who wasn’t willing to leave.

“Wait, aren’t you going to help me convince this one to go? I mean, come on lover boy, I know you want to get back to your woman and all but we have a job to do.”

“And this one is being stubborn. Let it wander the earth for eternity if that’s what it wants. I’ve tried.”

Gee frowned and closed the distance between us, “Is she okay? I can go. You can summon someone else to --”

“No. She needs me. Let’s go. This one is a lost cause.”

“UGH! You’re so freaking impatient,” Gee fired back at me.

“I don’t have time for this. Take the soul or leave it. I don’t care.” The need to get to Pagan was consuming me. I couldn’t concentrate. “Do what you can with this one. I’ll meet you at the next stop. I’ve got to check on her.” I didn’t wait for Gee’s reply.

She stood outside in her back yard staring up at an old oak tree. Her hair was hanging down her back in soft freshly brushed waves which looked out of place with her pajama bottoms and tank top.

“You okay?” I asked closing in behind her to wrap her up in my arms. She didn’t even startle anymore. My appearing out of nowhere had become normal for her. The thought made me smile but her worry wiped the smile off my face quickly. Something was bothering her.

“Why are you outside so early looking at a tree?” I asked resting my chin on the top of her head.

“I had a dream. It wasn’t the first one. I think... I think they have something to do with that voice.”

Tightening my hold on her I scanned the yard in the early morning light. Nothing was out here but the two of us. She was safe, I reminded myself.

“Tell me about the dreams,” I encouraged.

She lay her hands over mine and let her head fall back on my shoulder.

“They’re all memories from my childhood. Memories I’ve forgotten. In each one there is this boy. The same one. He always helps me. I didn’t remember him until the dreams started but now I think they’re real memories. Not just dreams. I can remember them so clearly it’s as if I’m there,” she paused and pointed to the tree in front of us. “That tree, I climbed it once. I was mad because Wyatt said I couldn’t do it because I was a girl. I wanted to prove him wrong. I climbed it but I, I fell... and he caught me.”

“Wyatt?”

She shook her head, “No. The boy. He helped me find my mother in a crowd when I got lost and there are other times. I’ve seen him. I know him.”

The angry jealous snarl escaped me before I could stop it.

Pagan jerked around in my arms to frown up at me, “ what?”

I shook my head and took a deep breath. This wasn’t an emotion I was good with just yet. I was beginning to wonder if I ever would be. I was selfish and possessive. Pagan was mine.

“You believe he’s real?” I managed to ask. I needed to keep focused on the issue at hand. I hated knowing someone else had saved her as a child. It didn’t set well with me. Something was off. She’d forgotten and now the memories were back. The voice. I needed to find this voice.

“Yes. I think the boy is the voice in my ear,” she squeezed my arms, “stop snarling Dank. You’re not an animal. Jeez.”

She was right of course. But I was angry. The possessive need to claim her as mine was overwhelming. This voice was too close to her if he was getting in her dreams. It was the night time while I was away that he got close to her. I’d have to change that. No more dreams. I would just need to be gone more during the day. I hated being away from her when she was awake. But I was left without much of a choice. This... this thing was too close to her.

“I’m not going to leave you at night anymore. Not until I’ve ended this.”

Pagan frowned and shook her head, “No. I don’t want you to be gone during the day. I’ll miss you.”

I’d miss her too. “I don’t like him being that close to you. He’s getting in your head at night because I’m not there to feel him. To stop him.”

She chewed on her bottom lip and studied my chest a moment then finally looked back up at me.