Chapter 2

Amy Whitehouse lived on the shady side of town, not far from the building where I’d been mugged.  Memories of that night and the fact that it brought Killian into my life rambled through my head as I read off the address to Nora.

“Isn’t this the area where you were attacked?” she asked as she slowed the car down to a crawl and leaned close to the steering wheel while studying the street numbers.

“We passed it a few blocks back,” I replied.

She glanced at me through the corner of her eye.  “It seems so long ago and, in retrospect, not all that big a deal in comparison to everything else that’s happened.”

“Yes,” I said with a nod.

As if suddenly realizing what she’d said, Nora’s eyes went wide.  “I didn’t mean that it was trivial.  Being mugged and left for dead is not trivial.  Nor is what Jason did to you while you were in the hospital.  I just mean that…”

I quickly waived my hand in dismissal.  “I know what you meant and I completely agree.”  Heaving a huge sigh, I added, “Life has changed so drastically since meeting Lance.”

She took her eyes off the road and gave me an odd look.  “Do you blame him for what’s happened?”

The sound of a horn honking a warning brought her attention back to the task of driving.  She’d allowed the car to wander dangerously close to the opposite lane.  The startling warning caused her to quickly pull it back where it belonged.

“Be careful, Nora.  Pay attention to the road,” I scolded.

Ignoring my rebuke, she focused on driving, but asked me once more.  “Do you?  Do you really blame him?”

I shrugged.  “I don’t know who to blame or if anyone at all should be blamed.  I’m just pointing out that, since I was introduced to the world of magic and the supernatural by Lance, my life has not been the same.”

She nodded, “Nor has mine.”  After a moment of silence, she added, “It hasn’t all been bad though…”

I vigorously shook my head.  “No, it hasn’t.  Simply different.   In some ways it’s been spectacular, but, in many ways, more difficult.”

Nora grinned as she turned the car onto a side street. “I would have given anything to have a rich, handsome, and sexy soulmate search for me and take me back in time to marry him like Lance did with you.  It’s so romantic.  Not to mention that you got to experience, firsthand, life back then.  What a phenomenal opportunity.”

I leaned against the window as the memories of my time spent back then floated through my head.  “Other than the fact that Lilith tried to kill me and Jason impersonated Lance in my bed, it was a wonderful experience.  Plus, I met my true parents.”

“Don’t forget your sexy cousin, Anton,” she giggled.

“Him too,” I chuckled.

She gave a wistful sigh.  “So much romance…”

“Mixed in with peril and drama,” I sternly offered.

“You need to try to see the glass half full, my negative friend,” she said with a scowl. “You’re too young to have such an attitude.  Young people are supposed to be resilient.”

I studied her for a moment before saying, “You certainly seem to have bounced back from your ordeal.”

“Better than you,” she said with a nod. “Although, I think that more happened with you or to you than you’re telling me.  I don’t believe it was just about opening and closing portals for that devil.” Then, pointing to a small bungalow she eagerly said, “We’re here.” 

Since I had no desire or intention of admitting my sex fest with Jason to anyone, I was grateful for the reprieve from our conversation as she pulled the car onto the short, narrow driveway that looked like it had once possessed a thick layer of gravel but was now mainly dirt with tufts of grass dispersed sporadically throughout it.  It didn’t matter that I wasn’t really a willing partner.  I knew in my heart of hearts that I could have and should have done something to stop him from using me in such a way.  The fact of the matter was that I thought I’d been cheated by Lance and I’d lost all desire for life.  When Jason informed me that Marduke had basically given me to him as a sexual plaything for some type of recompense as long as he didn’t syphon my shine, I simply gave up.  Had I not been on a mission to save Nora, I probably would have laid down and died. 

I didn’t want to admit that to Nora who I knew would ignore the fact that I didn’t resist like I should have and would have taken it upon herself to feel guilty that I’d submitted all of that time while I looked for a way to rescue her.

We sat in silent thought while we studied the small house’s weather battered exterior.  Sadly in need of paint and new gutters, it was clear that the resident was not affluent.

I peered inside the thin folder that Nora had presented to me after I’d entered the vehicle while I mentally questioned if the woman could afford our fees.

“What is the case again?” I muttered as I focused on the information in the file.

Nora chuckled with disbelief as she asked, “Are you so eager to get back to work that you took a case without finding out what it was?”

“We haven’t actually taken the case,” I said with a hint of defensiveness. “Besides, I figured that it was something we dealt with.”  I gave a sheepish grin.  “It’s probably paranormal.”

She nodded.  “I think it is.”

“You don’t know either?” I gasped with amused disbelief.  If Nora was anything, she was thorough.  For her not to know the facts of a case before taking it was very unusual.  I don’t know why, but I found it to be a bit humorous. “You’re the one who collected the information when she called.  That’s not like you.”

“The client is being harassed at night by something, but she isn’t sure if it is a person or a thing.  She’s called the police with no luck so she turned to us,” my friend and business partner patiently explained.

“So, it’s paranormal,” I sighed.

“Possibly,” Nora mused. “There is the fact that she recently broke up with a longtime boyfriend who sounds like a scumbag.  He wants to come back, but she’s come to her senses.  It could be him harassing her out of spite.”

“That would be nice,” I said with a wistful smile.

“Essa!” she blurted before giggling.

I shrugged.  “It would just be nice to have it be a simple case of ex harassing ex.  That’s all.  I’ve had enough of the abnormal.”

“An ex harassing an ex is normal?” she asked with a chuckle of disbelief.

“You know what I mean,” I said as I opened the door to get out.  “Let’s go.  I see a woman peeking out of the window.  We’re probably creeping her out by sitting in the driveway like this.”