Chapter 11
The room smelled different. It looked different—larger. Dylan’s perspective skewed. He wasn’t sure what was happening. Wondering if he had fallen, he looked up to his mother, a surprise in itself considering he was at least a foot taller than her. The shock and fear written on her face did nothing to assuage his concern.
“Dylan.” His grandmother’s voice was soft behind him. He turned to face her, noticing that she was kneeling down just outside the circle. His clothes puddled on the floor, surrounding him.
He tried to speak. Thousands of questions swirled. In his mind, he heard words coming from his mouth, but his ears heard the barking of a dog instead. He turned to face Tinah and glimpsed a tail in the corner of his vision. A flash drew his attention as she took a picture with her phone, smiling.
“Dylan!” His grandmother’s voice was developing an edge. Was it concern? He didn’t know. “Shit. Honey. Just sit down. I don’t know anything about this, but we’ll figure it out together.”
He did as he was told, sitting back on his haunches with a whine. He looked into his grandmother’s face, his head cocking to the side.
Her mouth curved into a soft smile. “You look just like Rex. You loved that mutt when you were little.” She closed her eyes. “Listen to me. I know you don’t know anything about this. Neither do I, but maybe you could try to concentrate on changing back. On being yourself.”
He huffed. A piercing buzz filled his ears. He didn’t recognize the sound, but his head jerked to face it. His jeans shook slightly with each buzz. He yelped. It was probably Gabriel texting him, ready to meet. His heart raced. He yelled ‘shit’ but all that came out was a sorrow-filled howl.
Merrin said, “Dylan. Try to concentrate. We’ll deal with this, but we need you human again first.”
Dylan whined and tried to concentrate. In his mind’s eye, he thought about that morning. Getting out of the shower. Looking in the mirror, seeing how his dark hair poked in every direction. The water dripping down his skin, cold air over his flesh.
“Dylan. Worked, but you’re butt-ass naked. Get some clothes on!”
His eyes flew open at Tinah’s words, and the circle felt smaller. Before he could react, there was a knock at the door. Tinah rushed from the room to answer the door.
Dylan hurried to get dressed, and before he could check his phone for the message he was expecting, Tinah’s voice called from downstairs. “Dylan, Gabriel’s here. I told him you’d come down in a second.”
Dylan looked at his phone, opening the message.
Got off work early so I’ll just swing by the house.
“Shit.” Dylan said, under his breath.
A wail of sirens swelled in the distance, moving towards them and into town. His eyes met his grandmother’s gaze. Her brow furrowed, she yelled. “Tinah. See if your good-for-nothing ex can tell us what’s going on. Dylan’s helping me with something. I’m sure Mr. Coinin can have a seat in the living room.”
Dylan raised an eyebrow.
She lowered her voice. “You had the sight like me when you were a kid. Apparently stronger than I realized, given recent events.” She didn’t have to elaborate. He knew she was talking about Derek and Ronnie. He huffed, trying to reply when a bright ethereal flash blinded him. The hard wood of the floor sent a sharp pain through his knee as he collapsed.
In his mind’s eye, he was standing in front of Peggy’s. The building glowed with a dark aura, as if consumed by night, though everywhere else was bright. Midday. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and his grandmother was standing beside him. As she spoke, he realized her mouth wasn’t moving, her eyes wide and her voice trembling. “Dylan, I didn’t know this was possible. You’re inside the vision, and you’ve pulled me into it with you.”
A police car pulled in, and an officer he didn’t recognize ran inside. Another siren approached in the distance.
“What is that?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know, but I don’t like it.”
Another flash of light filled his vision. He wasn’t sure, but this seemed to be a different time—possibly a different day. The police car was gone. He saw Gabriel walking down the street, and a man he didn’t recognize stepped out of the shadows and raised a metal bar of some kind, bringing it down on Gabriel’s head. Dylan yelled, wanting to move, but frozen in place. The man looked at him and started running faster than any man he’d ever seen before. Straight toward him. His grandmother yelled. “Take us back. Now!”
He opened his mouth to say he didn’t know how, but as the man approached, he knew he wanted to be anywhere else. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he was standing in the circle again.
“What the fuck just happened?” His mother’s question seemed to be directed at her mother rather than him, which he felt was a good thing. He had no idea.
Tinah walked in. “I just got off the phone. Apparently, the guy who owns Peggy’s now was in the kitchen doing something and his nose and eyes started bleeding. Blood got everywhere, so they had to close. That’s also why Gabriel got off early. One of the waitresses works at the store too and is desperate for extra hours, so she offered to work the rest of his shift. Sounds like Peggy’s is going to be closed for a little while.”
“Who was the responding officer?”
“I’m not sure what his name is, but it’s that new guy they just hired that moved here from Florida.”
His grandmother nodded and looked at Merrin. “Then it sounds like your son just had a vision of the present and the future. One so intense he was in it and drug me into it with him. I heard stories of my great grandmother being able to pull people in… but Jesus, it was so… real. ” She sighed. “I think the new owner at Peggy’s is who was attacking me, and I’d bet the power transfer into Dylan is what caused his nosebleed and pushed that fucker out of my brain.”
“So, Peggy’s is enemy territory. Got it.” his mother rolled her eyes.
“It would seem like it. Not only that, but I think they’re going to try to get Gabriel to get to me. Everyone under this roof right now is in danger.” Dylan rubbed his temple. “And I’m not the most clueless one in it. I wish I could keep him out of… whatever this is.” His arms moved in frantic, swirling gestures. “But I think it’s too late for that now. All we can do is protect him while we figure out what the fuck is going on and I try not to turn into random pets we’ve had over the years.”
Tinah cleared his throat. “You shifted, and you had a vision. It sounds like you’ve inherited multiple powers. What if it doesn’t just stop there? You need to read that journal. Now.”