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Chapter 6
Cal gritted her teeth. The cheap strobe light that flashed in one corner of the room sent pinpricks of pain behind her eyes. She should’ve never let Maggie and some other friends talk her into coming to this house party. But it was Friday, and she’d made it through the week without any strange occurrences. Well, except for the bracelet that wouldn’t come off, no matter what she tried or used on it. A blowtorch probably wouldn’t harm a hair on its head. She smiled wryly. That wasn’t an option she’d exercised yet. She’d tried many others, much to her detriment.
Once the shock of the bracelet’s appearance had worn off, anger had won out over any guilt. She’d attacked the offending piece of jewelry with scissors, only to become furious when they failed to make a cut. In her fervor she accidentally nicked her wrist more than once before finally admitting defeat, at least for the time being. She’d had to leave it alone since she didn’t want to injure herself beyond repair.
She fingered the bracelet through the long-sleeve shirt she wore to cover up the scratches. Frowning, she yanked her hand away. If only she could tear her thoughts away so easily. While dreams didn’t haunt her as before, her mind definitely flouted her control. She thought about him all the time. Damn, had she been naive enough to think she could come and celebrate her “normal” week when she wasn’t normal at all? Not that she was into the party scene, but she—like any red-blooded girl—enjoyed the attentions of good-looking young men. Never had so many shown an interest in her before, but she couldn’t muster up the slightest bit of interest in any of them. They weren’t...Relian. How messed up was that?
She fought off another set of persistent hands, but the guy couldn’t seem to get a clue.
The blond smirked at her. “Hey, baby, wanna go upstairs?”
Balling her hands into fists, she prepared herself to attack. “Um, no. Let me go before I scream the house down.”
Fortunately, the threat worked, and Mr. Pushy let her go.
God, she needed to go home, with or without Maggie. The lights, the music, the guys – her nerves were cracking. When she’d freed herself, she stalked through the throng of people. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Maggie’s light golden-brown hair.
Turning to go in that direction, Cal stumbled to a stop.
Just ahead of her, slightly off to the left in a corner, was a familiar, soft mist. Like a marionette on a string, she drifted toward it. When she neared, just discernible were tumultuous gray eyes and a pinched face.
Cal shook her head at the accusation in his gaze. “I didn’t ask for this.” She didn’t know if she meant the party and the over-eager guys, or him and his crazy world of dreams and mists.
“I’m sorry.” Her apology came out strangled. Turning, she shoved through the crowd toward the exit. Maggie called after her. Thankfully, her friend must’ve gotten caught in the crush of bodies because she didn’t follow.
After she left the party, it didn’t take long before she arrived at the apartment. She closeted herself in her room and sawed away at the bracelet, but it did no good. With a scream, Cal threw the scissors across the room. They bounced off the wall, leaving a nasty dent before they clattered onto a table.
As she rubbed her left wrist, tears coursed down her cheeks. Damn it, she wanted no part of...whatever this was. Relian and everything else related to him needed to go back to fantasyland. Her breath hitched. But running wouldn’t tell her why she’d been medicated for most of her life, why she’d seen things nobody else had. Flames ignited in her chest. Her childhood had been ruined by him, by that mist. He owed her some answers.
“Cal,” Maggie called softly.
She started and looked up as Maggie interrupted her righteous plan for justice.
“Please tell me what’s wrong.”
Cal ignored the plea. As Maggie walked closer, she focused her gaze on Cal’s wrist, which was red and raw in places. She grabbed Cal’s hand to still her movements over the inflamed area. “What did you do?” Her voice rose in pitch.
“Nothing! The blasted thing won’t come off, and I cut myself instead of it.” Cal yanked on the bracelet to give credence to her words. The truth was about to tear her up inside. Who better to tell than her best friend? Maggie might not think her too crazy.
“What do you mean—it won’t come off?”
Disbelief colored her voice. Cal couldn’t blame her. Maggie gave her a frown before standing up and grabbing another pair of scissors from Cal’s desk. “So that’s where all the scissors in the apartment went.”
Maggie brought them back to the bed. “See, this is how we cut things. By opening the scissors like this, you can make a nice, big cut.” She demonstrated this for Cal, showing her how they opened and closed. “And now we line it up like so.” Demonstrating, she opened the scissors and placed the bracelet between the blades. “Now we make that nice, big cut like....” As she attempted a cut, her words trailed off, and her eyes widened.
Nothing happened. No surprise there.
Maggie tried again to cut the cord of hair and silver thread, her hands shaking. “Does this baby need a chainsaw or what?” She threw down the scissors and examined the bracelet for a cut. “Not even a nick?”
“See, I told you.” Cal offered her a wavering smile.
Maggie choked out, “What? How?”
“I don’t know.” Cal shook her head. “All I have are suspicions. And before you ask about what,” she said, cutting Maggie off, “I’ll explain, but please let me tell you this...story without interruption. Otherwise, I might lose the courage to finish.”
Maggie mutely nodded. An expression of shocked numbness covered her face, and Cal hadn’t even begun her tale yet.
“Okay.” Cal let out a breath she hadn’t been aware she’d held. Starting at the beginning with the dreams and visions she’d experienced since she was a young child, she then related how she’d seen the “Fair Folk” when she was twelve. Then came the latest tale of the mist and meeting Relian.
