On My Way - Eve Langlais Page 0,25

just tell her what he suggested. Surely, she’d believe me.

She turned away and held up her hands. “I’m sorry. I do not know what is wrong with her. I think the divorce made her a little crazy.”

“I am not crazy.” Was I? Had a misunderstood him?

I saw Winnie at the door, apologetic, and Jude appearing harmless. Could it be my mind playing tricks again?

Perhaps I should invite him in and give him a chance.

My cat let out a strident meow. The kind that raised all the hairs on the body. I looked away from Jude and Winnie to see Grisou racing around the living room, and I might have thought his movements odd and jerky if I didn’t notice him leaping from symbol to symbol etched on the floor. Round and round. He pounced the bisected circles so fast I got dizzy and closed my eyes.

The air felt as if it vibrated, and I knew I wasn’t alone in feeling it, as Wendy muttered, “What the ever-loving fuck is happening?”

I didn’t know, but it ended with a crash that startled me enough my lids flashed open. My cat sat calmly amidst a pile of dirt and a quickly shriveling plant, licking a paw.

“No more catnip for you,” Winnie exclaimed.

Whereas I vowed to get more because, lo and behold, the cold air was gone. But even better, so was Jude. A glance showed a puzzled Winnie looking out the empty doorway. “Where did he go?”

“Your boyfriend left? For real?” A peek over her shoulder showed no strange car parked. No creepy guy on my step or in the yard. I kept my elation to myself.

Poor Winnie’s lips turned down. “I don’t understand. Why would he have left like that? Without saying goodbye.”

I didn’t care. Good riddance.

Now if only I had a plan to handle him if he ever came back.

7

I dreamed of the lake monster again that night, the three heads rising from the deep in a nimbus of green light. A sickly color with a tinge of yellow.

As before, I froze, terrified by the mighty beast. I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable result, but this time, instead of eating me, those heads lay on the bank and closed their eyes, the nostrils huffing loudly. Its posture defeated.

I almost felt sorry for it. Rather than run, I approached the head in the middle and held out a hand, hesitating over the scaly skin.

Just a dream

I placed it on the moist flesh and found it softer than expected, but cold. The beast trembled. I stroked it lightly, and it slitted its eyes to watch me, still breathing noisily, a chilly huff of air. I ran my hand from the top of its head down to the neck and paused at a hard ridge. A closer inspection showed a ring of scarred flesh around its neck. A glance at the other two heads showed the same marks. As if someone had put collars on it.

“Did someone keep you locked up?” I asked. Stupid, really. As if a monster could answer me.

A flurry of images suddenly bombarded me, and I reeled from the beast, staggering on the beach as I caught rapid-fire glimpses. The inside of the mill by the dock I’d seen during my visit. Underwater, the waving fronds of plants bending at the passage of something big. A tumble of rocks, some of them pushed aside. Suddenly illuminated by a bright light, so bright I blinked, and when I opened my eyes…

I woke up.

Beep. Beep. My alarm gave off its strident cry, and it almost went flying. I didn’t want to get up. My bed was so comfy and warm. I’d really much rather stay in it, and yet I’d set the alarm for a reason. I had a plan for today, concocted the night before because I couldn’t stop thinking of that pottery wheel and Darryl’s suggestion.

After Jude’s abrupt departure, I ate delicious spaghetti sauce with cheese, no pasta, while listening to Winnie whine about how inconsiderate her new boyfriend was. Since I couldn’t exactly say good riddance, I’d changed the subject.

“Darryl brought me a present today.”

Winnie paused to eye me. “If it involved his sausage, I don’t want to hear about it.”

“Ew! No.” I blushed. “He gave me a pottery wheel.”

“Oh.” She frowned. “And that is a good thing?”

“Maybe. He suggested I use the lake’s mud to make things. Bowls, vases, stuff.”

“To feed into the hype that might arise once it’s discovered the mud has healing properties.” Winnie’s