Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
In the night outside, the invisible observer hovered in the soft light from a bedroom window.
Gleeful in its discovery, it floated toward the pane of glass to find a point of entry, a crack in the frame where it could push its way through.
Drifting along, it found what it was looking for and slipped inside unnoticed.
Brushing past the curtains, it made its way toward the familiar figure in the large bed.
Haven’s breath froze in her chest when a familiar warm tingle slid over her. Goosebumps rose unbidden, and the tiny hairs on the back of her neck followed suit. Something unseen invaded her space, and she had a pretty good idea what it was.
The watch had found her and touched her with its power. Despite the warmth radiating across her, her bones thrilled with shivers, and the blood slowed in her veins.
A soft, unintelligible whispering rose to her ears, tickling her lobes like prickling exhalations. Tilting her head, she struggled to understand the words.
“I don’t understand you.” she whispered, and flinched when she remembered she wasn’t alone in the room. She glanced at the door, and found Mrs. Roomer asleep at her post.
She lowered her shoulders, and she sighed. “What the hell did you do to me? Where am I?” She swallowed and just stopped herself from rubbing her forehead.
Goddamn wound.
Her eyes burned with unshed tears, and her throat with unspoken profanities.
The whispers murmured into her ear again, but this time she could make out a single word. “Come….”
“Come? Come where? How? I'm stuck here.”
Once the words left her mouth, the whispers faded until the only sounds left in the room were the crackling and popping of the fire, and the rhythmic snoring of the housekeeper.
The longer she lay in the bed, the more comfortable she felt. Her eyes were like desert wastelands in her sockets. She needed sleep. Too much had happened, and she just wanted to sink into night-night land and forget everything.
Settling into the pillows, she pulled the comforter up to her chin and closed her eyes. She tried not to think but still struggled to shut down her brain.
As she listened to the sounds of the dying fire, her battered body grew heavy, her breathing slowed, and she slept.
From its perch on the mantle, the spirit from within the golden watch peered at its sleeping pawn, watching until they could move forward along the path destiny paved for them. May the Three Goddesses be pleased with his choices, and may they grant him mercy.
The days ahead offered none.