See Me Read online

  “That’s what I am afraid of,” she admitted as she slipped into a slinky nightgown, hoping for a fun sort of distraction from all this. She turned as Aedan hummed deep in his throat as he saw what she was wearing. She smiled and bent over on purpose so he could see her breasts as her nipples rubbed against the rough lace, getting hard.

  “You planning something tonight babe?” Aedan asked huskily.

  She smiled at the tone in his voice and knew she was going to get exactly what she wanted. “I think Ronnie is borderline suicidal,” she mentioned.

  “Wait, what?” Aedan demanded, shocked.

  “He imagined his face on that punching bag, and he kept hitting until he passed out,” she told him, walking to the bathroom swaying her hips seductively. She glanced back to see if he was watching her, and she was happy to see his eyes were glued to her ass.

  “Ronnie will be okay,” Aedan said distractedly, and started pulling off his clothes as fast as he could.

  Mags loved watching him undress, his body was like priceless art. Sculpted muscles, narrow hips, tanned skin, selective inkwork, and just a light brown smattering of hair for his happy trail. One she would happily follow with her mouth in a few minutes. She looked back at her reflection in the mirror and brushed her teeth, and then her hair.

  Mags was blonde and fair skinned to Aedan’s tan skin tone, and light brown hair. Her eyes a royal blue color and Aedan’s a mesmerizing hazel. She was lean, where he was a muscled Adonis. His voice had a gentle timber to it, and her voice was a more high-pitched tone. He was calm, but had an edge, while she was higher strung, but soft.

  She smoothed the scented lotion he liked over her arms and legs and watched as he slowly stroked himself as he watched her. No more waiting, she needed him, needed the release, needed the distraction. She knew he needed it too, probably more than she did.

  She sashayed back over to him, the silky gown hugging her body in a way she knew drove him crazy. “Nothing but us for the rest of the night, okay babe?” she told him, her voice thick with need. All he could do was nod his acceptance as he watched her trail her tongue down his body, his hands fisted in the sheets next to his hips and she took him in her mouth. Yep, they both needed this. Mags sighed around him as he trembled below her.

  Care to fill me in on why we are headed to the river you just came from and why I looked up a Catholic church?” I questioned Winnie.

  “Um, well, I told you about the area feeling like it was tainted, so you know that. But as I was getting ready to leave, our buddy the raccoon came back. He had the same taint,” Winnie explained softly.

  Tears immediately sprung to my eyes at the thought of the poor animal feeling that disgusting energy. I had poisoned the area with that release. The pieces started falling together. “We are going back so I can pull the energy out of the earth and the animals, and the church is where you want me to release it?”

  “It was the best idea I could come up with,” Winnie admitted.

  “I’ve only ever released in nature, I’m not sure I can in a church,” I muttered. “You can bet your ass that I will try though. No way am I letting innocent creatures or that beautiful land be host to that shit,” I said angrily. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.”

  “I honestly thought that releasing in the water would take care of it,” Winnie defended, “but maybe the raccoon was in the water when you did it? I don’t know. I just know whatever this is, it’s very invasive.”

  “I remember,” I replied, shuddering. “I can’t hold it too long or I think it will try to take root in me. This is new for me, so I can’t be sure of anything. By the way, whoever you had me text wrote back with a name of some talent agency.”

  “Can you take the rest of the week off work?” Winnie asked.

  “I’d rather not, but I have some sick leave I could use I guess,” I hated calling in. I’d have to remember to try and text one of my co-workers to see if they could cover the office for me. “I’m the only one that works in that office, so it’s not as easy as just calling in. I need to try to find someone to be there. You will probably have to remind me, because once that energy is in me, I need to stay super focused on it.”

  “Okay, I’m sorry,” Winnie said weakly. “I’ve turned your whole life upside down and I feel awful about it.”

  “Don’t dwell on it, I’m good with change,” I muttered. I pulled off the road and slammed my car door and damn near ran until I felt the energy of that darkness. Stopping, I opened all my senses, dropped all my walls and invited the energy into me. I felt for that dark strand with my mind, and I pulled as hard as I could. I felt sick as tendrils of darkness wove in me, over me, through me.

  “The land is clear Airy, pull back,” Winnie warned. “We aren’t alone.”

  I snapped my walls back in place but left my senses open, searching for the little raccoon, or any creatures that got tainted by this oily evil shit. Feeling a pull, I let it lead me for a ways and then I stopped. I figured I was close enough to grab the tendrils and pull them in. “Can I drop my walls Winnie?”

  “Do it fast,” she told me.

  I dropped and pulled hard, not being gentle and sent a little message of sorry out to the universe. I felt it wrap around me deeper, and then I felt more, and pulled as many of the strands that were appearing as I could. I was starting to feel heavy and overwhelmed.

  “Airy, pull some of the pure energy too, and do it fast, your glow is changing colors,” Winnie said frantically.

  I didn’t know how much more capacity I had, but I mentally searched for the good energy and pulled it into me until I felt like my soul was battling with itself. The raccoon appeared in front of me, and I cried because of the hurt I caused the poor little guy. He came right up to me and put his cute little face up close to mine and then licked my nose. I smiled through my tears at his little thank you and waited until he moved before I got up.

  “Walls Airy,” Winnie warned again.

  Feeling restless I snapped them back into place. “Is the area clear? Did I get it all?” I asked weakly.

  “Yes, you have it,” Winnie said sadly. “It’s affecting you.”

  “Then let’s not waste any time,” I snapped, grabbing my cell phone and pulling up the address for the church and ran back to my car, my chest heaving at the unexpected exercise. I wasn’t a runner; my boobs were too big for that. Hell, I was too big for that.

  Back in the car I followed the GPS to the church and hoped like hell someone was in there. “I don’t know what to do Winnie, I’ve never done this before.”

  “Can you open up and see if you feel anything? My thought was it should be hallowed ground, but when I thought of a cemetery, I didn’t want zombie spirits created by that evil energy invading their resting place,” Winnie said hurriedly.

  “Nope, don’t want that. Horrifying thought. I don’t even want to know if zombies are real, so let’s move on, shall we?” I opened my senses and searched for energy. I didn’t feel any of the earth energy here, but I felt a sense of peace and worried about what a release here would do to that.

  “Probably a little late to ask this, but what are your religious beliefs?” Winnie asked.

  “I was baptized roman catholic, so they can’t turn me away, but I don’t practice or conform to any religion. I just consider myself spiritual, I guess. I believe in God, but don’t believe he needs a church or rules to be praised,” I clarified.

  “Maybe a priest will be in there that can help us,” Winnie suggested.

  “You want me to tell a priest I am full up of evil energy that I pulled from a ghost and released into the earth, which then tainted the land and the poor little animals, so I had to go pull it back again and now I’m here to release it?” I asked dumbfounded as I got out of the car.

  Winnie let out a belly laugh. “Maybe not all that much. I’m the ghost and hearing that sounds crazy to me!” She kept laughing.

  I chuckled darkly, “I’d probably find that funny too if I wasn
’t harboring this shit in me.”

  Winnie stopped laughing and we headed inside the church as she said deadpanned, “I hope lightning doesn’t strike you as you walk in.”

  “Not funny Winnie,” I told her with a glare. Though at this point, it wouldn’t surprise me if I did get struck by lightning. I pushed the doors open, and only paused for a moment before continuing as I heard Winnie laughing quietly next to me. “Ass,” I whispered to her.

  As we entered though I felt the darkness inside me start swirling around like it was frantic and it was making me sick to my stomach. I stumbled and heard Winnie cry out, “Airy!” I caught myself on a pedestal and in the back of my mind I realized it was holy water. In desperation I plunged my hand in it and immediately recoiled at the pain that tore through my body, bile rising in my throat.

  “Over here!” Winnie shouted and l looked around and saw a garbage can and stumbled over to it, barely in time to empty the entire contents of my stomach and pain slammed through every nerve in my body. I could feel a cold sweat dripping down my face. Not good.

  “My senses are open; how do I get rid of this shit before it kills me?” I whispered to Winne, mentally cringing at the cuss word in a church, I should know better than that.

  “I don’t know, what did the holy water do?” She asked me gently. I could feel her cool hand on my head and noted the relief it brought at her touch.

  “It hurt, like, everything, my whole body,” I told her. “It’s tearing me up inside.”

  I heard footsteps approaching me, then a soft voice, “Are you okay, my child?” I looked up to see a man in black with a priest’s collar. No clerical robes, but it had been so long since I had been to a service I didn’t know if they wore those all the time or not.

  “Not feeling my best at the moment, father,” I told him. My stomach turning again as he placed his hand on my arm. He pulled it back fast and gave me a quizzical look.

  “You’ve been touched,” he said in amazement.

  I wasn’t sure how to take that. Even Winnie was silent, which I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not, but I was here, so I was going to just go with it. “I need help father,” I beseeched him.

  “I see,” he said, standing up, “are you well enough to walk?” he asked indicating the garbage can. I nodded weakly though I still felt unsettled. I grabbed the can and stood with it in hand. With a nod of his head he said, “Follow me.”

  Like an obedient puppy I followed along and heard Winnie whisper next to me, “Walls.” I didn’t even know I had dropped them. I snapped them back in place with a slight nod of my head and saw her relax. Guess we weren’t alone here either. What was happening?

  The priest went through some doors on the side of the altar and I followed meekly, feeling revulsion when I looked at the religious items around me. I knew immediately that was the energy in me reacting and I fought to control it, my head beading up with sweat again. We were in some sort of office and the priest reached into the desk in the room and handed me a handkerchief. Grateful for the consideration, I smiled and thanked him.

  “Airy, your glow is getting dark, something needs to happen soon,” she said with fear.

  “Father, in your experience what is the best way to get rid of evil energy that is attacking you?” I asked him bluntly.

  “In your case, I am not sure. You are different because you’ve been touched. I don’t think it can take over you,” he said watching me closely. “Would you like to try drinking holy water?”

  Winnie gasped next to me. “It might hurt you Airy.”

  “Will it hurt me?” I asked the priest.

  “It’s just water that has been blessed in the church,” he said, his eyebrows furrowing together. “Physically, I do not know how it will react with the energy.”

  “Well, it’s worth a shot, I feel like it’s killing me, so might as well,” I said resigned. Pain was nothing new to me.

  The priest held out his hand for me to take, reminding myself to just go along with this, I gave him my hand and the energy in me jolted violently making me shake. I grasped on to the garbage can with my other hand in case of an emergency projectile situation. “It can’t beat you, child,” he said softly, his eyes slightly out of focus.

  “I’m thirty-four, hardly a child,” I told him, my patience wearing thin. “What do you mean it can’t beat me?”

  “We are all God’s children, but you are young enough to be my child, though if it bothers you, kindly tell me your name and that is what I shall call you,” the priest said sternly, but not unkindly.

  “I apologize father, I don’t take offense. Just feeling a little on edge, and maybe names aren’t a good thing in this situation,” I hemmed.

  Ignoring my statement, he continued, “It can’t hurt you because of the blessing you have on your soul. Put plainly, you are stronger than what is trying to kill you.”

  “How do I beat it?” I asked, my curiosity now peaked despite the painfully violent tremors running through me.

  “Well, let’s start with the holy water for the moment, it would be the quickest way I believe. Beyond that, I am not sure. I’m not well versed in things like this, but I do have the sight,” he said, standing up and reaching for a jug behind him.

  “The sight?” I repeated, sounding dumb.

  “I can see the blessings bestowed by angels,” he said matter of fact.

  Biting back a curse, I shot a warning look at Winnie silently telling her to keep her mouth shut about the angel shit. “So when you said I was touched, you were referring to an angel? I was touched by an angel? Isn’t that a TV show?” I said, unable to hold back the sarcasm.

  The priest chuckled, at least he had a sense of humor. “It was a TV show,” he said as he poured some water into a cup and then performed the holy rites to bless it. The words he was mumbling over the water making my insides quake and I leaned over and hurled again into the garbage can. I didn’t see how anything else could be inside me and this was embarrassing.

  “You have been touched by God himself,” the priest said. Several inappropriate comments sprung into my head and I had to literally bite my tongue to keep the verbal diarrhea from flying out. “As for what gifts you have, they will reveal themselves when it’s time. I think it’s just important for you to remember that you are stronger than this evil is. Hold on to that thought and it will help see you through your journey.”

  Oh yay, more cryptic messages delivered by an elderly priest this time. He handed me the cup of water and I lifted it up in a salute and said, “Bottom’s up.” I drank it down like I was dying of thirst and gripped the rapidly filling garbage can in case it came back up. Throwing it up would have been easier.

  Pain slammed through every fiber of my being as the energy fought back. I fell out of the chair, the garbage can falling from my grip, thankfully upright, because, well, eeeww. I think it was me that cried out as it felt like something was trying to physically rip my nerves from my body, and all the hair on my body stood on end. I felt the priest lay his hand on my forehead, the contact burning my skin like I was on fire. The lightning strike comment came to mind and I could only hope my skin wouldn’t burn the holy man trying to help me.

  I heard Winnie somewhere in the background of the screaming that was filling my ears say, “Hold on Airy!” I felt her cool touch on my leg. The screaming in my ears got so loud that it drowned out all rational thought from my head until all I heard was “You are stronger than this.” Then I blacked out.

  Not sure how long I was out, but there was now a pillow under my head and a blanket over me and I felt soaked. I cracked open one eye to see the lights had been dimmed, and I was grateful for that. I opened both eyes and saw Winnie hovering over me, fear etched into her face. “Oh my God, I thought you died,” she cried out. “You were here on my side of things.”

  “Nope, not dead,” I replied, my voice scratchy and rough.

  I heard the priest chuckle, “No child, you are certainly not dead at the mom
ent. Are you okay?”

  Shit, I forgot where I was for a moment. I shot a glare at Winnie and she got the hint and went silent. “Define okay,” I said. “If by okay you mean did I survive some evil energy trying to kill me after I found out God touched me,” I couldn’t help the snicker that escaped there, “and an old priest made me drink holy water that scorched my insides, then yeah, I’m okay.”

  “Well child, I can say you certainly made this old priest’s heart race. That has to have been the scariest thing I have ever witnessed in my life. I’m eternally grateful for my position in this holy war against evil in this quiet church. Well, quiet before tonight that is,” the priest said, chuckling. “You’ve got quite a set of lungs on you.”

  Surprised, I sat up, then grimaced as my body revolted against the movement. “The screams I heard were mine?”

  Winnie was nodding her head frantically, her eyes wide. “Most certainly were,” the priest told me. “Might I suggest carrying around a blessed object with you?”

  “Why not? I just drank holy water, something I didn’t think was ever going to happen,” I said dryly.

  “While you were, um, out, I ran out to lock the church doors, well I didn’t run, but I walked as briskly as I could. I dropped an old rosary I had in here in the holy water out front. If you will excuse me for a moment, I would like to go get it and bless it at the altar. Just sit here and rest. There is water in the jug on my desk if you need it.”

  I looked at him sideways before eyeballing the jug of water, remembering what happened last time I drank water that came from the jug. The priest suddenly burst out laughing. “You, my child, are precious. The look on your face was one that will carry me through any dark times I have headed my way. The water in the jug is not blessed, it’s just plain water,” he said still laughing as he stood up. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

  I glanced over at Winnie who was also trying to hide the fact that she was laughing. Jerks. They wouldn’t be laughing if they had gone through that shit! I thought about it for a moment, and then laughter overtook me as well. This was just north of crazy, past the border of insanity and around the corner from what the fuck just happened.