Dark Possession (2 page)

When they were in their seats, she prodded
him. "So…you saw ghosts or something?"

He laughed at her. "No. We
were sitting on this bench looking out over the water when three
people showed up
in
the water. Just…they weren't there, then they were there. A
woman and two men. One of the guys looked bad—had all these nasty
gashes down his back and his shirt was ripped to hell."

"What? Where did they come from? Did they
fall off a boat?"

"I don't know. One of my friends called an
ambulance—had to bring in a second one for the bigger guy. The girl
looked shaken but she wasn't hurt far as we could tell. They were
all pale but alive. We hung around until the ambulances left and
the police asked us questions."

"You didn't get in trouble for drinking in
the cemetery?"

"Drinking? Oh…" he laughed.
"No we weren't drinking alcohol. I had a
Yoohoo
and most everyone else had
energy drinks. I don't drink alcohol."

Rhonda's heart skipped. "You don't drink?
Ever?"

He pulled to the side of his seat and looked
at her. "Is that a problem?"

"No! I think it's wonderful! My dad was an
alcoholic." Then she sobered. "Wait…you're not a born-again
anything are you?"

Remi laughed out loud and gathered a few
looks. "Oh hell no. I was raised Baptist but I haven't really been
a great church goer. And besides, about the cemetery, we knew the
cops and they knew us. They were more curious how those three ended
up in the marsh. They assumed a gator got hold of that one
guy."

"Did he live?"

"I don't know. We stayed in the cemetery
after hours," Remi said as he frowned. "And then we woke up there
the next morning. It was kinda weird. We were so wiped out most of
us slept all day Saturday. We went out again last night to grab
wings and watch some TV in a local sports bar." He turned a
confused face to her. "But we weren't hungry. I'm still not that
hungry."

Rhonda grinned as she slid the popcorn into
her lap. "Then you won't mind if I finish this up, huh?"

Remi smiled and put a finger under her chin.
"You are amazing, Rhonda Orly."

And she knew he meant it. He really, really
meant it.

February 25th

Dear Uncle,

I'm getting a little worried about Remi. He
hasn't been eating right since he got back from Savannah. And
unlike most guys, he did go to the doctor. Doctor didn't find any
cause for his lack of appetite. Just a warning he was getting
dehydrated and he'd lost nearly 10 pounds. He's already tall and
thin enough.

He's missed a few days of work. Luckily he's
off on Monday but Tuesday he didn't go in. Wednesday he did and
then called me to see if I could pick him up. He was too dizzy to
drive. My boss is the best and let me have the day off. I picked
Remi up and took him straight to the emergency room.

Nine hours later and $50 poorer, we didn't
know anything.

I let him stay with me and he insisted he
sleep on the couch. And that's where he's been. It's like he's just
wasting away. I want him to take an AIDs test and he's agreed, but
something tells me that's not it. I don't want to think this is
somehow…well…magically related to the world I left. And if I still
had my power I'd be very tempted to check him out.

I just don't know. I sort of want to
introduce him to Nona, but I don't want that world intruding on my
new life. And though I really care and respect her, she represents
a pretty big chunk of it.

I really, really wish you were here to tell
me what I should do. Though I'm pretty sure you'd suggest the
Society House. Sorry, but I'm on a self-imposed ban from that
place. I…I don't think I could handle the stares and daggers thrown
at me if I showed back up. Too many people blame me for so much…it
doesn't matter I was possessed, or influenced, or whatever that
Dominion did to me. It's still me.

And they still don't
trust
me
.

Gotta move away from those thoughts. It's
Wednesday evening and I'm heading out to get some Chinese food.
Hoping it'll tempt Remi to eat. He does want to watch a movie so
I'm picking something up at Redbox too.

I just wish I knew what kind of bug he has.
I don't want to lose him.

To Rhonda's delight, Remi ate the Chinese
with gusto. And he drank a few glasses of Gatorade. He was also
alert and watched the movie. Though she couldn't remember what it
was. Rhonda was just happy to see Remi responding again. They
rested together on the couch, arm in arm, with her back against
this chest.

After the movie ended he switched the
channel back to cable and found a sitcom. "Rhonda…"

"Mmhmm?"

"Have you ever been unhappy with your
life?"

That was an alarming question coming from
Remi. She pushed herself up and faced him. He remained reclined,
his back on the cushions of the armrest. "What do you mean? Are you
having suicidal thoughts?"

"Oh no. Nothing like that. I am having
thoughts but I'm not sure where they're coming from. I mean, like,
just during the movie, there was a running commentary in my head. I
don't think it was my self-conscious. You know how you always have
a voice talking but it's you, thinking those things you shouldn't
say out loud?"

"Yeah. I know the voice. And this voice
wasn't the one during the movie?"

"No. And I'm hearing it all the time, ever
since I woke up in the cemetery."

"So…what's it saying?"

"Well," Remi said as he shifted his position
on the couch. "Right now, it wants me to talk to you. It wanted me
to ask you that question. The one about you being happy with your
life."

Rhonda pursed her lips. "So
this voice you're hearing…wants to know if I'm happy with
my
life?" It was a weird
question, mostly because he asked it outwardly, not inwardly. As
far as she knew, the inner voice usually asked about it self. Not
other people.

"Yeah."

"Yes I am."

"Well, it also wants me to tell you
something I don't understand. And it's getting insistent."

"What?" She watched him and noticed he was
restless. He picked at the blanket she placed over him, at the edge
of the couch where the seams had started to fray, and he constantly
ran his hands through his hair. "What does it want you to tell
me?"

"That…oh man this makes no sense. It wants
me to tell you that you have the blood of the God Mother. Nothing
can be taken from you that you can't get back."

Rhonda blinked.

Remi made an apologetic face. "I told you it
wouldn't make sense."

"I don't even know what that
means." Rhonda smiled though it was forced. God Mother? Remi said
it as if were
two
words, not like a Godmother in fairytales.
What did it mean? Nothing could be taken that I can't get
back?
The only thing physically taken had
been her magic, but that was gone. She'd tried for weeks to make it
work, but where her magic lived inside of her was now just a hole.
A blank spot of nothing.

It was gone.

"Is there anything else to that?"

Remi shook his head. "No. It's gone now. But
it kept saying that all through the movie." He put his hand to his
forehead. "Wow…now I have a major headache. Maybe I shouldn't have
eaten so much."

She leaned over and kissed his nose. He
shifted and touched his lips to hers and the two locked into a
long, passionate kiss. After a few minutes, she pulled back with a
gasp as Remi's hand slid along her crotch.

You know you want it…

"Rhonda?"

Remi's hands were on her
shoulder and face, not where she
thought
he'd touched her. She looked
down to see her
own
hand—

Rhonda stood up.

"Hey babe…what's wrong?"

"I—I don't know. It might be I'm tired too.
Do you want to sleep here or did you want to come to the bedroom?"
The room felt warm. Something pressed itself against her chest as
her body continued to react in very sexual way. It took a great
deal of control to keep her hands from her pants and fold her arms
over her chest.

His expression went blank as if no thought
were there, then he smiled. "No. I think I should stay out here in
case I do have something. I don't want to give it to you. But I
think I'll be okay to fix pancakes in the morning if you want."

Rhonda felt herself smile, but the blank
look in his face wasn't completely gone. "Yeah…that would be great.
Or you could use the spare bedroom?"

"I'll be fine." He pushed himself down into
the blanket. "Good night, Rhonda. I'll clean up the mess in the
morning."

She nodded and hurried out of the room. Once
she was in her own bedroom she shut the door without slamming it,
but she wanted to. She wanted to yell out because she didn't
understand what was happening. Yeah, she'd been sexually turned on
before. In fact she stayed that way with Darren because she loved
making love to him.

But this was different. This
was something she hadn't thought of with Remi until now. And the
need…the
desire
to
please
herself
was
the most intense she could remember experiencing. This was
uncontrollable. It was suffocating and sweet, pleasurable but
painful. It wanted and it needed fulfillment.

It wanted…

Excitement
.

But this wasn't her. Rhonda
was sure this couldn't be
her
.

Or was it? Was this what real sexual desire
was when it wasn't influenced by magic? Was this what it was like
to be kissed and want to make love with someone?

It didn't feel right…but it
didn't fell wrong either. It was just…
different
.

Rhonda took a long, cold shower before she
crawled into bed. Her shift at the grocery didn't start before ten,
so she had some time. And she would help make the pancakes in the
morning. And maybe…

Maybe more?

February
26th

Dear Uncle,

I had a weird morning.

I woke up and Remi was in my bed.

Then I realized no…I was on the couch with
Remi. And we were…

Damn this is so hard to
write, and telling you face to face would be even harder. But… I
woke up and we were making love. I don't remember how I got there,
if he took off my clothes or I did, but there I was on on top of
him! And it was slow and good and everything I'd always wanted love
making to be. He watched me the whole time, and when he did, I
could have sworn someone
else
was watching too. Someone that lusted after me,
after what I had, after what I…
was
.

I heard a voice in my head
as Remi and I moved together. It whispered my name, my
real
name, and it told me
what would feel good. It told me what I should do to make Remi feel
even better. When Remi moaned, so did the voice. When a sigh
escaped my lips, the voice wrapped itself around my body and pulled
tight, as if trying to feel what I felt, as if trying to get inside
of me.

I know how ridiculous this sounds. But what
was even more ridiculous was that I woke up in my own bed!

I was never
in
the living room with
Remi. Remi was at the door. He'd made pancakes and then wanted to
know if I was okay because I was sweating.

Uncle, I'm not sure what's going on, but I
know it's not normal. And I know it's not Remi. But there's
something wrong and I need to talk to someone. I just don't know
who. Nona is there, and I know she'll be honest. But I think I need
to find someone who doesn't know me or my past.

Remi called Rhonda several times during the
day to check on her while she worked. The sentiment was kind, but
she didn't want to think about what she'd dreamed, or what had
seemed so damn real. He looked better while they ate breakfast and
she felt…tired. As if she really had just finished a sex
marathon.

His eyes were brighter and for the first
time since returning from Savannah, he wasn't pale. In fact his
skin glowed. As he stood at the breakfast bar in her kitchen, a
pair of tongs poised over sizzling bacon, he looked like what she
imagined Puck would look. Sensual, alluring… beautiful.

Rhonda always thought of him as good looking
in a sort of feminine way. Which was why most people believed he
was gay. Tall, lithe, he could play an elf in a Peter Jackson
movie. But he was also suddenly full of brazen sexuality. He kept
his shirt off and sweat pants pulled down just above…well…her
imagination wasn't wanting when she looked at him. And did he
always have such a pronounced six pack for someone so thin?

He packed her a lunch as well and told her
he planned on heading back to his place for the day, but he'd be
ready for a night in if she was.

When she got home, Remi had pulled her
mattress in front of the fireplace, covered it in blankets and
quilts, bought Champaign, strawberries, chocolate, cheese and
crackers, and rented a movie that made her blush just looking at
the cover.

It looked like a fun evening…but it also
made her uneasy. This just wasn't like Remi.

But then what did she know about him? She'd
known him two weeks maybe? Was there a sexual deviancy about him
that he kept hidden?

He took her things from her and guided her
to the living room before he poured two glasses. When he offered
her one, she took it but said, "I thought you didn't drink?"