Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (157 page)

I put Max on a leash. He barked, then
hurried off into the woods, dragging me along.

Julie chased after me. “How about
after this, we grab lunch. I’m craving a big, juicy
burger.”

“
Mind if Jesse joins us?” I
asked.

Fred offered an exaggerated
eye-roll.

“
That’d be great,” Julie
said. “It’d be nice to get to know him while I’m sober.”

I laughed. “Do you remember leaning
against him and telling him how pretty his eyes are?”

She cupped her mouth. “No way! Did I
really do that?”

I nodded as she looked away in
embarrassment.

“
I’m sorry,” she said. “I
know how much you like him. I promise I’ll never do that
again.”

I laughed. “It’s okay. You were pretty
smashed, and we both knew it.”

She grabbed Fred’s arm. “I was soooo
wasted.”

He smirked.

We walked for a little ways and
enjoyed the beautiful, serene landscape. Having come from New York
City, I knew I’d never take all that natural beauty for granted.
Streams of sunshine poured down through the towering trees all
around us. Insects hummed, and birds chirped.

Max barked, then pulled so hard that I
tripped over a log and let go of the leash.

“
Max!” I wailed.

Fred offered his hand. “Are you
okay?”

“
Yeah,” I said, jumping to
my feet and peering ahead, “but where did Max go?”

He pointed. “That way. I hear him
barking.”

I shuddered, recalling the last time
Max had gotten away. “I don’t know why he does that,” I complained.
“He just takes off.”

“
He’s a dog,” Julie said.
“He’s just acting like one.”

“
Well, I’m sick of it. I
need to train him better.”

We stopped at wire fence with a “No
Trespassing” sign on it. I yelled for Max to come back, but he
refused again, just like the last time. Having no other choice, I
slipped my leg over the fence and jumped over it.

“
Wait. What are you doing?
That’s private property,” Fred scolded, pointing at the
sign.

“
He’s right,” Julie
said.

I shot her a look. “Since when do you
care?”

“
Since now,” she said,
pointing at a long line of skulls dangling from a rope stretched
from one tree to the next.

I gasped. “Are those…human?” I asked,
completely frazzled.

She walked over to more closely
inspect them. “No. Animal.”

I let out a sigh of relief. My gaze
shot to a long, horizontal rock, about ten by three feet, carved
with weird symbols and ancient writing. I traced the engraved
letters with my fingers. “What do you think this means?” I
asked.

“
I have no idea what the
symbols are, but the letters are in Latin,” Julie said, squinting
for a better look at them in the bright sunlight.

“
Latin?”

“
Yeah. Maybe it’s some kind
of memorial or something.”

“
Think it’s a headstone?” I
asked.

“
I don’t know, but this
whole place is givin’ me the creeps. I’m not going past that rock,
dog or no dog.”

I pulled out my phone and snapped a
picture. “There. Now we can Google it when we get back.”

Julie shuddered. “I wanna get out of
here.”

“
Wait here,” I said. “I
have to get Max.”

“
I’ll come with you,” Fred
said, trying to sound brave and chivalrous.

She grabbed my arm, then Fred’s. “Are
you two crazy? You guys can’t leave me here in Freddy Krueger’s
back yard all by myself!”

I sighed loudly. “Then you’ll have to
come with us. I’m not leaving my dog behind.”

“
But it’s some kind of
creepy cemetery, and—”

“
Go or stay. It’s your
choice.”

“
You expect me to wait here
by the skull collection and the hieroglyphic mummy headstone for
some chainsaw-wielding maniac to come after me?” she
said.

“
You’ve watched too many
horror flicks,” Fred said, laughing.

“
Well, maybe that’s why I’m
still alive. Consider it research.”

I sighed. “We’ll be right back. I
can’t leave Max.”

“
Let’s just wait here for a
minute. Surely he’ll come back.”

The place was strange, even more
frightening than the mountain lion, and I didn’t like the thought
of my dog running around over there. My gaze shot to the animal
skulls knocking together in the wind. My stomach was in knots.
“Look, Julie, we have no idea who owns this land. They might shoot
him on sight. Clearly, they’ve got no problem killing
animals.”

“
Fine. Let’s go get your
dog,” she said, climbing over the fence. “But if I get killed, just
know I’ll be back to haunt you.”

“
I wouldn’t have it any
other way,” I said with a smile.

We walked through the thick woods,
calling for Max. I stopped when I heard a twig snap, as if someone
was following us. I took a deep breath to settle my overactive
imagination, then pushed through some ferns that opened up like a
doorway into an Easter-grass green meadow. There, we saw Max,
barking at a fire ring made completely out of stones. I cocked a
brow, confused. “Max?”

“
He must be barking at a
little animal,” Julie said, “like a mouse or something. It’s
probably hiding behind one of those rocks.”

I gazed at all the rocks in the large
ring, guessing someone had once camped there. But then, as I looked
closer, I noticed a pile of boulders in the center, with a black
tin box sitting on top of them. I swallowed an egg-sized lump in my
throat. “Oh my gosh. Do you think this is some kind
of…altar?”

Fred glanced around. “Whoa! Do you
think they sacrifice animals out here?”

“
Or humans,” I
whispered.

Julie clutched her chest. “What if
it’s some kind of satanic cult?” She picked up the black box and
tried to open it, but it was too tightly sealed. “Won’t budge. I
wonder what’s inside. Whatever it is, they’re trying to keep it a
secret.”

“
Dude, you touched it!”
Fred said.

“
One, I’m not a dude. Two,
I’m sure it’s just an empty box,” Julie retorted.

“
You don’t know
that.”

“
It’s light as a
feather.”

“
Maybe we should just leave
it alone,” I said. “If I remember right, Julie, you didn’t even
want to come over here.”

“
I know,” Julie said with a
gleam in her eye, “but aren’t you curious?”

“
Maybe curiosity is what
killed all those cats hanging on that clothesline back there,” Fred
said.

“
Yeah, we really shouldn’t
be messing with it, Julie. I don’t wanna be cursed or
something.”

“
Do you really think it’s
witchcraft?” Fred asked.

“
Maybe it’s just teenagers
experimenting,” I said, grabbing the box. “Let’s just put it back
where we found it.” But as I held it, curiosity struck me, and I
turned the box over in my hands several times, looking at it
carefully. When the lid opened, seemingly on its own, I
jumped.

“
You did it!” she shouted.
“What’s in there?”

The box was empty, but I read the
words scrolled in dust: “You are the chosen one.”

“
What’s that supposed to
mean?” Julie asked. “Chosen for what?”

“
How would I
know?”

“
Maybe you’re the chosen
one because you opened up the box,” she said.

“
That’s silly.”

“
Maybe you’ll get
superpowers or something cool like that.”

I playfully slugged her, then set the
box down exactly where I found it. Letting out a trembling breath,
I secretly recalled that old story of Pandora’s box, and I hoped I
hadn’t unleashed some kind of evil on the world, my friends, or
myself.

Fred bit his lip and pointed down at
the rocks. “Look! The altar is surrounded by circular patches of
burnt grass.”

“
What burned it?” I
asked.

“
It looks like they were
left by a ring of torches or candles.”

“
So it
was some kind of occult ritual!” Julie said. “Man, I don’t wanna be
a
Blair Witch
sequel!”

“
Enough with the horror
movies,” I said, then glanced around and up into the trees,
overcome by the eerie feeling that we were being watched. When the
breeze stirred, I could have sworn I heard someone whisper my name,
and I froze with fear.

“
Taylor, what’s wrong?”
Julie asked.

“
I thought somebody called
for me.”

“
I didn’t hear anything but
the wind,” Fred said, looking around.

I swallowed another lump. “Yeah. I’m
sure it was just my imagination.”

All of the sudden, the wind picked up
immensely, swirling our hair around our heads and rustling the
trees violently, causing them to sway and creak.

Julie’s eyes widened. “What’s
happening?”

Next, music began to play, an ancient
melody in flutes and bells.

“
That’s weird,” Fred
said.

“
Where’s the music coming
from?” Julie asked.

I glanced around, darting my eyes in a
slow circle, but I couldn’t tell where the sound was coming from.
It was freaky, and a chill ran up my spine. I wanted to bolt, but
my feet were suddenly glued to the ground, as if some invisible
entity was holding me in place.

“
Taylor,” a soft woman’s
voice said lightly in my ear. “You’ve been marked. Know that you
are in danger from my enemies. But do not fear, for you will have
our protection until the full moon, the first day of the new year.
Know that it is your destiny to free us from our curse.”

“
Taylor!” Julie said, her
face pale.

Fred softly gripped my shoulders, and
I stared into his green eyes. “What’s wrong?” he said.

“
Breathe,” Julie said, “and
then tell me what’s happening.”

Beads of sweat rolled down my face as
I gasped for air. I couldn’t talk. All I knew was that I needed to
get away as fast as possible.

Suddenly, I could move my legs. I
bolted toward Max and grabbed his leash. My heart was beating a
million times a minute. “Let’s go!” I said between gasps, grabbing
Julie’s arm and pulling her along. I gripped Max’s leash tightly
with my other hand. We tore through the woods, past the weird rock
and animal skulls, then jumped in her truck and breathlessly locked
the doors.

“
Go, go, go!” I shouted,
glancing out the windows.

“
What’s going on, Taylor?”
she asked.

“
Just start driving! I’ll
tell you on the way!” I yelled.

“
Yeah, let’s just get outta
here,” Fred said. “That was freaky how the wind kicked up like
that. And what was with that music?”

Julie put the truck in drive, and we
sped away. No one said a word until she reached town and pulled
into the parking lot of a restaurant.

“
Taylor, what happened back
there?” Fred asked.

“
I-I don’t know. I can’t
explain it.”

“
Try.”

“
You’ll never believe
me.”

“
Sure I would. I’m very
open-minded.”

“
And so am I,” Julie chimed
in.

I glanced up. “Whoever owns that land
is obviously practicing some kind of weird ceremonies out there.
Maybe they summon spirits or something, because someone was talking
to me in that wind.”

“
Was it a really creepy
voice?” Julie asked.

“
No. It was a woman. She
just sounded…ancient.”

“
What did she say?” Fred
asked.

“
She said I’m in danger but
that she’ll protect me.”

“
Sounds like a guardian
angel to me,” Julie said. “What’s so spooky about that?”

“
She said she’ll only
protect me until the new year.”

“
What? So…after the ball
drops, you’re on your own?”

“
Yeah, I guess it’s
temporary protection,” I said.

“
What kind of danger are
you supposed to be in?” Fred asked.

I pondered for a moment, thinking long
and hard and trying to remember every word the wind-whisperer had
said. “I have no idea.”

“
Why would she want to help
you?” Julie asked.

“
I have no idea about that
either.”

“
Why didn’t you ask
her?”

“
I don’t know, Julie. Maybe
because I was a little freaked out!” I said, growing a bit
frustrated with the interrogation.

She opened her phone. “We should tell
Jesse.”

I grabbed her hand. “Please don’t! As
a matter of fact, let’s forget about lunch. I just wanna go
home.”