5. Sapphire

CHAPTER 5

Sapphire

T he road is eerily quiet, such a juxtaposition to the rest of town that is so full of life. And eyes. So many eyes. So many eyes on me, everywhere!

It’s like I’m an alien around here, which I understand. If these people haven’t seen a new face in twenty years it makes sense. Doesn’t mean I like it. Thank goodness for Orla for rescuing me earlier. If only I could take her with me the rest of the day to help me ward everyone off.

I glance at my phone and wait for the service bars to appear. They don’t. I’ve been struggling with service the whole day. My message never got through to Amethyst as have none of my calls, but I’m nothing if not determined. There must be a spot in this town with service.

Although I’ve been looking all evening and still nothing. Which leaves me with one choice. I take another step forward and another until I see the back of the town sign and the road around me turns dirtier and more overgrown.

I hold my breath with every step, hoping to see at least a bar on the top right corner of my screen until…

I hit my head.

A screech escapes my lips and my phone almost slips out of my hands. I rub the spot on my forehead and look ahead but there’s nothing there. Nothing but the open road I followed that led me to this town.

Weird.

I try to take another step but my foot meets resistance mid-air.

“What the hell?” I try my other leg, my hands, hell even my head and it’s like there’s an invisible wall blocking my path.

“I’m afraid She doesn’t want you to leave.”

This time my phone flies out of my hand and I almost jump out of my own skin.

“What—” I turn toward the source of the voice and find a short, plump woman with curly hair that seems to move as if independently of the rest of her. She smiles at me and raises her hand in greeting.

“I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m sorry.”

Her voice is soothing, almost melodic in a way but it still takes me a couple of breaths before I can tame my racing heart and approach her.

“Who are you?”

“Sylvia Haasenfrau, I’m the mayor of Beastly Falls! You must be Sapphire Nightingale.”

I grimace.

“You know me?”

If she does, does that mean she knows Grams? That she knows where I can find her?

“The whole town is abuzz with news of your arrival.”

Oh. Of course. How could I forget being the talk of the town?

“What are you doing here?”

Sylvia glances behind me, at the invisible barrier I couldn’t cross and purses her lips.

“Came to check in on you. Make sure She’s treating you well.”

“She?”

“The town.” Her eyes narrow as she stares into my eyes. “I see She won’t let you leave.”

I let out a sigh.

“I thought the rule was just for you guys.”

“Seems like it’s not. You’re the?—”

“The first, yeah, yeah. I know. But I’m not even trying to leave. I just want to get some cell service.”

“Ah, right. I’m afraid that’s not possible. We don’t have any communication with the outside world.”

“Oh great. So I can’t even let my sister know I’m okay.”

“It’s awful, but She must have Her reasons for doing what She does.”

“She’s being cruel is what She is.” I huff and turn to pick up my phone off the ground.

A row of trees shake and their leaves fall from the heavens like a torrential rain for a few seconds. I frown.

“Seriously? What are you? Five?” I shout at the trees hoping She hears me.

Sylvia laughs.

“It might seem that way sometimes, but believe me, there’s a higher purpose in everything She does.”

“Got it. Town is a secretive bitch .” I emphasize the last word hoping She’ll want to kick me out Herself but this time there’s no reaction from the nature around me.

I guess She’s not that petty.

“Anyway, I guess it’s my job as mayor to welcome you into town and give you a tour.”

“Thanks, you don’t really have to,” I tell her as we walk back into town.

“I insist. I haven’t had the pleasure in so long, I’m kinda giddy about it.”

“Sure then. By all means. Tour me away.”

“Would you like some tea?”

I nod and Sylvia grabs me by the arm and leads me through town, introducing me to people, locations, their history until we eventually retreat into a small establishment called Midnight Brew.

The strong, herbal smells make my chest warmer and my head lighter. I can’t help but look around at every patron immersed into their own blend and try to decipher what they’re having. I’m not even a big tea girl but if it tastes as good as it smells, I can be won over.

We take a seat at a booth and we’re introduced to the hefty menu and its unlimited options. In the end, I go for a recommendation because I’m way too overwhelmed to pick something and Sylvia orders the same as me.

“Hm…Celestite? No, I’ve never heard the name around here.”

I shrug.

“Maybe she’s not here. I wish this thing would work. It’s what led me here.” I show her the compass, still going awry, and take a sip of my water.

I hope she’s wrong, otherwise why would this fucking thing bring me here? Why would it draw me into a cursed town that’s been out of touch with reality for twenty years, the same amount of time Grams has been missing?

Unless the guy who sold it to me tricked me and this magical compass is nothing but an old useless trinket.

“I think they all do that around here,” Sylvia says as she studies the compass before handing it back to me.

“So wait. No phones, no internet and no compasses? Is the town trying to take you back to neolithic times or something?”

Sylvia chuckles but she doesn’t reply. Does that mean I’m right? Or that my question is so stupid it doesn’t warrant an answer?

“Ladies,” a tall man with a tray approaches us and smirks.

He’s rather pale, gray even, with shapely features and long hair darker than midnight, dressed in clothes that wouldn’t be out of place in a period movie.

As he places my teacup in front of me he pauses and inhales deeply.

What the fuck?

“New blood,” he groans as his lips quirk into a grin.

“Did you just sniff me?”

“I can do more than that,” he hums, biting his lip with a large, sharp incisor that could glass, let alone skin.

He’s a vampire. There’s no denying it.

“What would your name be, you sweet thing, and would you like to be my next dessert?” The vampire traces my face in the air with his fingers but I can feel their coolness tickling my skin even if they never touch me.

“Rook!” Sylvia exclaims.

“Don’t worry Sylvia, I can still make room for you, but newcomers have priority,” he answers, barely glancing at the mayor’s way.

“Take a hike Rook or I’ll make you,” says a man behind us and he makes everyone turn to him.

To Asa.

What’s he doing here? And why does it feel as if all the air has left my body?

I can’t look away, even if I wanted to. His chiseled face is even more angular as he’s frowning at the vampire next to me and his muscles flex all over his arms and chest, making the shadows of his marbled body even darker, and as a result, even more jacked.

He’s literally a work of art, a body to be admired, studied and explored. I wonder if those marble jeans come off and even more importantly what would happen to me if they did.

It’s my turn to bite my lip, if only to control the sinful thoughts racing through my dirty mind and the heat through my body.

“Hey, Asa. Relax, my friend,” Rook, the vampire, says and puts his hands up. “I was just greeting our newbie.”

Asa takes a step forward and I have to cover my mouth when I feel my soaked panties.

Fuck!

What the hell?

“You can greet her with your words,” he rumbles, sending shivers of desire right to my core.

I cross my legs and hold my breath hoping to goddess I don’t look as disheveled as I feel.

“Okay. Okay. Don’t bite, friend,” Rooke says and takes a step backward. “Enjoy your tea, ladies. Let me know?—”

Asa growls at him and it only makes Rook’s retreat faster.

“What’s up with you, Mr. Graywing?” Sylvia asks the gargoyle when he comes to a stop in front of our booth.

And just like that, whatever grumpiness was there a moment ago, is gone, replaced by the smile of the gentle giant I met last night.

“Sapphire,” my name rolls off his tongue with a warble that reverberates through me and makes my clit throb like never before.

“Can we help you, Asa?” Sylvia asks but Asa pays her no mind.

“I hope my townfolk’s curiosity hasn’t scared you,” he says and at that moment I don’t care if Sylvia is there either. All I can see is Asa.

I shake my head and he smirks.

“Good. Or they’d have to deal with me.”

“Oh really?”

“You know it.”

What’s wrong with me? He isn’t acting any better than the vampire and yet I don’t find him creepy, not in the slightest. I don’t know what’s happening to me but it’s like I’ve lost all my human senses in his presence. And other ones, that have been seemingly dormant that awaken under his gaze.

“You two have met I suppose?” Sylvia mumbles and I can barely nod at the mayor. “Would you like to join us?”

Asa grabs a chair from the next table and plants himself on it, sitting on it the wrong way around to allow his wings free movement.

We stare into each other’s eyes for what seems like an eternity when Sylvia excuses herself and approaches another table leaving us alone.

“What are you doing to me?” I finally find the strength to say because it’s true. I’m weak. I’m weak and helpless around him.

“I’m not doing anything to you.”

I beg to differ but I’ll keep that to myself.

“Are you stalking me?”

He hesitates for a second before he answers. “Of course not.”

“Sounds like you are.”

“It’s complicated.” He shrugs.

“Really? How so?”

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”

I put my hands around my tea cup and blow on the hot liquid, using it as a barrier between us in an effort to gain control of my own mind again.

“Try me,” I say.

“Okay.” He glances around him and leans slightly forward making the lid on the teapot rattle. “I know you, Sapphire.”

I grimace.

“I know you know me. We met yesterday, remember?”

He shakes his head.

“I…I’ve known you longer than that.”

“Impossible. I’ve never seen you in my life until yesterday.”

He takes a breath and furrows his brows.

“But I have. Every day. In my dreams.”

Did he just…

“Oh my goddess. That’s the worst pickup line ever!” And just like that I’m like myself again. I tut at him and set my cup down.

“It’s not…I’m telling the truth. Every day when I turn to stone and go to sleep you’re there. We’ve built a life. Together.”

Okay, this is turning from funny to creepy real fast.

“I don’t know what you think you’re achieving with this crap?—”

“Your last name is Nightingale, you come from a long line of witches, you have four sisters and one brother and you’re all named after gemstones and crystals.”

I gawk at him and process everything.

“What is that?” I ask.

“Proof.”

I chuckle.

“You could have literally found that out about me or deduced it from observation. Besides, I think half the town knows these things by now.”

The waitress approaches the table and I’m ready to ask for the check when Asa turns to her.

“We’ll have two hot cocoas and two slices of your coconut cake. Thank you.”

I purse my lips and wait for the waitress to leave before I speak again.

“What was that about?”

“Your favorites.” He shrugs.

I scoff. “Please!”

“Are you saying they’re not?”

“Who doesn’t love hot cocoa and coconut cake?”

“A lot of people hate coconut cake,” Asa says and I hiss.

I really don’t get people who don’t like coconut.

“Yeah, and they’re?—”

“Coconuts,” he finishes for me and a shiver breezes through me.

“Okay, this is scary, mister.”

Asa puts his hands up as if in surrender and his smirk drops.

“I’m sorry. I…that’s the last thing I wanted to do. It’s just…I feel like I’ve spent a lifetime with you so you can imagine my surprise when you turn up in town and you’re literally the same person.”

“I doubt it.”

“Everything I know about you, I know because I’ve spent years with you. I thought it was all a dream too, until I met you last night. Now…I’m starting to think they were a vision of the future.”

I laugh and turn away from him, from his intense gaze and presence and look out the window.

The waitress returns to the table with the coconut cakes and I distract myself by tasting it.

“Damn, this is heaven,” I moan.

To be fair, I’ve yet to meet a coconut cake that let me down. I know I’m weird, my sisters tell me all the time, but it truly is my favorite.

“If only you could make them yourself you’d never stop eating them, right?”

I pause and glare at him.

“How do you know I can’t make it?”

“Because you’re a terrible cook and an even worse baker.”

I gasp.

“Are you using demon magic to read my mind or something?”

“No, you’re simply the girl of my dreams. Literally. And I think you meant to say ‘how dare you insult me’?”

“Uhm, yes, that too.”

“I also know you have a birthmark on your left shoulder, the mark of a Graywing mate.”

Crap. That’s a lot of details about me to guess. Maybe he’s telling the truth. Although I’m still not convinced he’s not using some demon magic or something.

“Okay. Let’s say I believe you.” I focus on him and not the mess in my head and sit back. “How did we meet in your dream?”

He opens his mouth and stops. His gaze lowers and his eyes shift from side to side.

“What’s wrong?” I ask him.

“I…I don’t remember. Everything else is so…vivid and fresh as if it just happened but I don’t remember how we met.”

“Right.” I say. “If you ask me, I think your mind is playing tricks on you. Or you have an overactive imagination. Or both. So I’m sorry, but I’m not interested.”

Goddess, I’m such a liar but what else can I do? I’m here for a reason, not to play house with a big statue.

“I’ve got work to do so if you don’t mind,” I start to get up but before I can leave him, he grabs me by the wrist.

“Yes, to find your Book of Shadows, right?”

Fuck. He knows that too?

“So?” I ask him, expression turning hard and unwelcoming. Maybe that will send him the message that I don’t have time to waste humoring his crap.

“I can help you find it.”

“What? You can?” I grab him by both shoulders and almost bury my face in his. “How?”

So much for not humoring him.

But if he can help me find the Book of Shadows, I guess I can tolerate his company a little longer.