Vanessa hurried outside as Martin’s McLaren 570GT pulled up in front of the grand estate house. She stopped, briefly, to admire the expensive sports car before babbling about the cold breezes in the house when it was all closed up.
“You’re right about this place,” she said to Alison as Martin helped her from the car. “It’s super creepy. I’m ready to leave.”
“You can’t leave me,” Alison practically screeched as she pulled away from Martin’s light embrace and firmly grabbed Vanessa’s upper arms. “Please, not yet. In two days Martin will be leaving for his retreat thing and I’ll be all alone.”
“You’ll have Wilma here,” Vanessa said.
“That’s not the same and you know it,” Alison said.
“I have to go back tonight, or I’ll lose my job,” Vanessa said apologetically. “I told
Nick paced the palace hall as he waited for his turn to go before King Rufus. He’d rehearsed what he was going to say so many times it sounded ‘canned’ to him. He only hoped he’d chosen the correct words to get the king to understand his request. He needed to get back to Alison; not just for her safely, but to keep Martin from doing any more damage to the elder’s plan of having him be the one to be with Alison.The summons came, and he took a deep breath. It all rested on the plea he’d formulated. His palms were wet with sweat, as was his torso, as he second guessed his choice of words. After all, he wasn’t trained in public speaking. He thought how Martin would address the king. He’d be suave and convincing. Nick had no doubt that Martin’s request would be granted without a second thought. Nick knew he couldn’t be as articulate as Martin, but he hoped his efforts would be good eno
Martin paced the drive of Alison’s estate while he waited for them to return from their joyride. It was hours since they left, and he was getting concerned. If he was able to discover who she was and why she was there, then others could too. With Nick’s mundane body lying inert in her bedroom and his shadow self not available to defend it, he held that responsibility; as well as keeping watch for rogue shadow walkers wanting to destroy Alison before she could take the throne; as well as their mundane counterparts who knew about the shadow walkers and wanted to see them destroyed. There was also the recruiters for the darkness to consider. Getting their hands on someone of Alison’s station would be an enormous feather in their cap.***They were too young to get served in a bar, but the fake I.D. Vanessa produced was good enough to fool the young clerk at the liquor store i
Nick waited for Martin to leave before approaching Alison’s sleeping body. He knew very well what Martin’s plans were and he had to stop it. Placing his lips close to her ear, he called her name several times, but she was too drunk to respond. He willed himself upstairs to Wilma’s apartment and vigorously knocked on the door. Although he’d put great effort into knocking, he was barely able to manage a few thumps. Fortunately, Wilma was still awake and heard it. She opened the door and peered into the hallway.“I’m over here,” Nick whispered. “I didn’t want to just pop in there and frighten you.”“Why are you whispering?” Wilma whispered back.“I don’t want Martin to know I’m here,” he explained.“I thought you’d die if you stayed,” Wilma said worriedly.“I petitioned the king to let me come back. He h
Alison couldn’t remember when she’d ever had a head that hurt as bad as hers did when she opened her eyes the following morning. She struggled to move, but found herself weighted down by something. Still disoriented, she stretched her hand out and felt Nick’s inert body next to her. Its coolness was enough to shock her into wakefulness.Memories of her lovemaking with Nick’s shadow self were fuzzy, but there. She reached up to touch his shadow body as he lay stretched across her in a possessive manner. “Nick, wake up. Are you alive? Please be alive.”Nick nuzzled his face into her neck. “Good morning, my love.”“My head feels like tiny firecrackers are being shot off inside of it and I have to pee,” she moaned.He rolled off her and said, “Go pee.” As she inched off the bed in a way that implicated her entire body was in pain he asked, “
Martin struggled to focus on his surroundings. His head hurt from an enormous bump he’d received from an unknown source. The last thing he remembered was letting Jasper out of the car at the house he’d indicated was his.It was dark and dank. From what he could tell, he was in a basement. His wrists and ankles were tied together. His back hurt and his bottom was moist from sitting on the damp earthen floor. His first inclination was to shadow walk out of his mundane body, but he was afraid to leave it in case he’d been captured by the local mundane group that sought to annihilate the shadow walkers off the face of the earth. If he didn’t find out where he was and how to get free soon, he’d be in big trouble. In less than twenty-four hours he would have to retreat to the shadow world to rejuvenate. Failure to do it would bind him to his mundane body and he would no longer be a shadow walker with an elongated life span
Nick did his best to fold his large, semi-opaque body into the back seat of Alison’s Mini-Cooper. He would have preferred they take his SUV, but Vanessa still hadn’t fully recovered from her drunken fest, Alison didn’t know how to manipulate a standard clutch, and the great aunt’s old Cadillac wouldn’t start. Wilma was following them in her car. Unfortunately, it was a small Volkswagen Beetle that wouldn’t fit them in it and still allow for Nick to lay low in the back so that he wouldn’t be seen. Wilma’s back seat was roomier than Alison’s, but, since neither of the girls were familiar with the area, he needed to ride with them to act as a guide.For the first time since he’d returned, he was sorry for the fact that he could be seen by the naked eye.Both he and Wilma heard rumors about a house a few miles into the valley that acted as a meeting place for the mundane who sought to annih
Alison cuddled with Nick on the settee in the parlor while she watched the clock with sadness. She was amazed at how close they’d gotten in such a short period of time. It was as if they’d known each other all their lives instead of one week. She would have thought it was the magic placed on them by the magicians in the shadow world, but Nick assured her that they’d removed it. He reiterated his belief that when soul mates met up with each other, they needed no time to recognize their love. He had only five more minutes before he’d have to leave her for the shadow world. She knew he’d be returning in forty-eight hours, but it didn’t make parting any easier.After Dennis and his friends moved Nick’s body to safety, they spent a few hours sharing bits and pieces about the shadow world with her. She found it fascinating. Frustration with her parent’s decision to keep her from it rose more than once before th
Day one without Nick proved uneventful. Alison convinced Vanessa to call in sick for a few more days. Since she had no desire to abandon her friend after such a harrowing weekend, Vanessa agreed.They occupied their day finishing their exploration of the attic. Wilma was scheduled to take time off. She offered to stay with them, but Alison knew she was still concerned about her sister, so she insisted she go.They ate leftover barbeque for lunch and decided to grab a pizza and a movie to help them get through the evening.“It’s funny,” Vanessa said as she lowered the top of her convertible so that they could enjoy the starry night. “I can actually feel the absence of all those guys who were here yesterday. It’s like the world is emptier.”“I was thinking the same thing. It’s weird, isn’t it?” Alison said as she slid into the passenger’s seat of the