The Curse of Redwood (Ivy Grove #2) - Jaclyn Osborn Page 0,27
drinks, we sat at the table and talked. An hour passed as he talked about things he and Rich used to do while in high school, then the topic shifted to the paranormal.
“Did you know there’s a mystic shop here?” Taylor asked.
“I think I’ve seen it a few times, but I’ve never gone inside.”
“Well, I went the other day just to look around,” Taylor said, and his cheeks became a little flushed. “I got a tarot card reading.”
“Oh yeah? What did it say? A gloomy death awaits you, but if you pay two hundred dollars, they can give you the answer to escaping it?”
“Actually…” He shifted in his seat, looking a bit uncomfortable. “It said a chance encounter will change the course of my life and to look for the white raven. Kinda weird, right?”
“And cryptic. I hope you didn’t pay much.”
Taylor laughed. “Oh! Do you like ghost hunter shows?”
“Kind of. I’ll watch them if they come on TV, but I don’t seek them out. Why?”
“I found an online vlog for a group of ghost hunters who go around to the most haunted places in America and do live recordings and shit. It’s fuckin’ awesome.” He pulled out his phone and scrolled through it before handing it over. “Check that out.”
I clicked on the video he pointed to and watched as a really hot guy talked into the camera. I didn’t care what he was saying. His face alone was worth the million views the video had gotten.
“That’s when they went to the Winchester mansion,” Taylor explained. “Some freaky shit happens later on.”
“Do you subscribe to them?” I asked, handing his phone back to him. The coffee shop was too noisy to actually hear anything going on in the video.
“Yep,” Taylor answered. “Their content is top notch. Not just that overexaggerated fake shit, you know?”
We talked for a while longer, and I bought us each another coffee and pastry to share. All of that caffeine and sugar was going to make me bounce off the walls later. When we finally exited the coffeehouse, we hesitated in front of it.
“Guess I better go,” Taylor said. “I have to be at work by five. But we should hang out again soon.”
“I’d like that.” And I really would. Taylor was someone I could definitely see myself being friends with. “Have a good night at work.”
“I’ll try.” He smiled before walking across the street toward his car.
When I got home, I flopped on the couch and stared up at the ceiling fan. Remembering the book I’d borrowed from Taylor, I pulled it from my hoodie pocket and stared at the illustration on the front cover of a man with two faces; one normal while the other was disfigured and beastly.
I felt a weird tingling behind my eyes. Then, another vision hit…
“Must you read this one again?” I asked with a groan, as Ezekiel pulled the book from the inside pocket of his coat. “This is, what, the tenth time?”
“Fifteenth,” he answered, sitting on the stone bench in the garden. He patted the spot beside him. “Have a seat. Let me read you a story.”
I sighed and did as he said.
“I thought you liked this tale,” he said, frowning.
“It’s not that I dislike it. Quite the contrary. I enjoy it. However, something about it frightens me.”
“Frightens you? Why?”
I searched for the right words. “Perhaps it’s how the concept of good and evil can become twisted in one’s mind. The idea that we all have two sides of ourselves unsettles me a great deal.”
“Shall I find us something else to read?”
“No.” I placed my hand over his. “I apologize for my silliness. Please continue.”
Ezekiel patted my hand before withdrawing it and opening the book.
I listened to the musical quality of his voice and stared at the strand of pale hair that fell across his concentrated brow. As much as I desired to brush it aside, I refrained from doing so. Not while we were in public. The mansion was behind us, and anyone could see us in the garden from the multitude of windows.
“Are you listening?” he asked.
“Of course.” I smiled at him. “I was only enjoying the weather. The air is crisp this morning.”
Ezekiel closed the book and gazed upward. A leaf fell from the tree, swaying as it traveled toward the ground.
Autumn had arrived.
As the vision faded, I sucked in a breath and blinked a few times. The daydreams—hallucinations?—were getting worse. I didn’t even have to be asleep anymore for them to find me.