Gypsy Magic - J.R. Rain Page 0,17

arm, sharp and sudden. I felt my mouth drop open as I stared at the thing before me. And then I saw the glinting of a jewel hanging around its neck—something blood red. A ruby.

The same one I’d given my wife.

His wife… so that meant his wife had probably killed him.

My heart was going a mile a minute, black spots danced across my vision. I choked, unable to draw in air and then...

I bolted upright in bed, hands flying to my throat as if to pry loose an invisible stranglehold. It took my body a moment to realize it could breathe. That my heart wasn’t actually seizing up. I tugged my knees up to my chest, wrapping my shaking arms around them.

I lost control of the dream again, I said to myself, shaking my head. I lost control again! That wasn’t supposed to happen. Not again. I knew how to take control and pull myself out! So, why hadn’t I?

My body was slicked with sweat. A chill that had nothing to do with the temperature of the house made goosebumps rise on my arms, once again. I glanced over and saw Finn sound asleep, which was a relief.

But it was the only relief.

I should never have had the nightmare twice, I reminded myself. I should have been able to wake myself up—I knew I was dreaming. I should have been able to take control… but, instead, the nightmare had taken control of me. Again.

Unless it wasn’t actually a nightmare...

I was starting to believe the dream was less of a nightmare and more of a vision. Visions were different to dreams. Dreams were entirely dependent on your subconscious. Visions, however, were like short and pithy vignettes depicting something from the past or the future. And while dreams were random, visions weren’t always. Sure, you might randomly receive a vision in a psychic moment, but more often than not, visions were sent. They were specific and they were intended.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to stabilize my breathing and the thundering of my heart.

If this truly was a vision, that meant that somewhere, at some point, what I’d seen in the nightmare had actually happened. Something awful had come for this person. And whatever the creature was, I was fairly sure it had killed him. A fatal night terror? Maybe. But I wasn’t so sure...

Because I’d seen that creature before. In the graveyard and in my nightmare just one night earlier.

Monsters aren’t real, Poppy! I reminded myself.

There was that. So maybe whatever this entity was, it was just presenting itself as a horrendous beast? That was possible. If entities were strong enough, they could present themselves however they wanted to. And, clearly, this one intended to bully the man into submission. What better way to do so than scaring him half to death? Or… all the way to death?

Yes, I was convinced I was receiving this nightmare purposely. That is to say, someone was trying to reach me. But who? And why? I wasn’t sure. Maybe it was the man, himself?

The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if maybe whatever had happened to the man had happened in this house? Was this place truly haunted, as Finn feared? I hadn’t sensed anything other than a few cold spots when we’d first moved in, but that didn’t mean anything. Sometimes spirits took their time manifesting.

What if I’d moved us into a home where another violent murder had occurred? This one by some sort of… creature?

Monsters aren’t real, I had to tell myself… again.

I know, but…

No buts! Monsters aren’t real!

Then what was that thing? And why did I keep dreaming about it? And why had I seen it in the graveyard?

It’s just an entity presenting itself as a monster. It’s nothing more than negative energy festering, growing stronger.

There aren’t any such things as monsters.

I curled up in my bed and tried to get back to sleep. I had to get a grip. If there was a spirit in this house, I would find a way to banish it, just like I’d done to the last one.

“I’ve done it before, I can do it again,” I whispered to myself.

But the pit of dread in my stomach refused to budge. It wasn’t convinced.

At the sound of buzzing, I reached over to see my phone lighting up from where it sat on my side table. Unlocking it, I realized I had a text from Marty.

Poppy! It read. Just wanted to