Fated Under the Moon Read online

  Not wanting to stop and stare, I kept running. Eventually, it seemed like the town had just stopped. There was a vast cornfield, the likes of which I'd never seen. The corn was already about five feet tall, which in itself was slightly remarkable because driving here, most corn was only three feet or so high. What made it so different from the nine million other cornfields in Ohio was that it seemed to go on for miles. There were no trees that I could see, only what looked like miles and miles of corn.

  The most astonishing thing began to happen, and I had to stop my run to stare. The sun started to set over the corn. Purples, pinks, oranges, and yellows covered the sky. I'd seen beautiful sunsets over the Puget Sound, but this had its own intense beauty. I stood mesmerized, and as the colors began to fade, the most strikingly beautiful show began to play out in front of me. Millions of fireflies lit the sky over the cornfield.

  I wish I had brought my phone just to take a picture of it, but then again, I wasn't sure I could capture its beauty. I heard a thrum from the summer June bugs, and in the distance, listened to what I thought sounded like a coyote howl.

  No one was around me, and I wasn't sure how something this spectacular didn't draw crowds. I stood for another minute, getting lost in the breath-taking beauty of it all, and decided I needed to head back. I didn't want to run in the pitch black in a town I'd never really explored before. I know Mindy said there wasn't crime here, but I wasn't naive enough to think that crime didn't exist everywhere.

  I heard another howl in the distance, and this time I wasn't so sure that it was a coyote. But it had to be, right? What else could it be in the middle of flatlands-Ohio? I swore I heard a return howl that pitched differently than the first, and this was my cue to get the hell out of there, so I ran as fast as I could, which was pretty darn fast. My record for a mile was four minutes and fifty-one seconds. I was damn proud of that time. I may have gotten a few hoots and hollers as I ran past the bars, but I didn't care. I knew when it was time to get out of Dodge.

  The downtown area was pretty vacant. Tomorrow, I would try to figure out where the Valdere Estate was because I thought I would've seen it by now.

  I made it back to my place in what felt like record time. Ryker wasn't on the porch any longer, which made me feel like I could take a minute to pant because, hot damn, that was fast! I caught my breath then stretched out my calves.

  I went inside, unlocked the door, and knew I needed a shower. The sun might've been down, but who knew Ohio got this freaking hot! It wasn't even the Fourth of July yet!

  I locked the door behind me because I didn't trust that easily. I turned on the water for the shower and didn't wait for it to warm up. Cold was fine with me. I quickly undressed and stood under the spray seeing tiny little stars in my vision as I did. Whoa! Where did those come from? The room began to feel like it was spinning, and suddenly everything went dark.

  Chapter Two

  A battle played out before my eyes, and I got a distinct impression that I was dreaming. Who knew they were dreaming in a dream? Swords clashed as two behemoth men went at each other. One man resembled Ryker. He was tall and had a metal breastplate covering his chest. Dirt smeared across his face, and I could tell he'd been at this for a while. His sword clanged against another man's, who moved quicker than I would've thought possible. But the Ryker-look-alike was fast too. I watched as he dodged the sword, bent low, stuck out his foot, and swiped the man's legs out from under him. He knocked him to the ground, then impaled him with his sword. What in the heck was happening?

  Suddenly, the man disappeared! Holy shitballs, this dream was crazy. He took his sword out, and it appeared that he was looking for someone. His gaze raked the battlefield, where there was more carnage than I could've ever possibly dreamed up.

  There was blood everywhere. People on his side were bleeding and cut, but the other side was also injured. I saw deep gashes, and I swore I saw one person with a bone protruding.

  Three things happened next that freaked me the hell out. First, as the Ryker-look-a-like scanned the field for whatever he was looking for, somehow, his eyes seemed to settle on me. Surprise flashed across his face as he recognized me. The next odd thing was that as I began to breathe in and out, it felt like each breath was filled with tiny icicles. As I exhaled, it was like you could see shards of sparkling crystals form and fall to the ground in front of me. But as the crystals hit the ground, they began to spread and travel through the battlefield dividing the sides, and nearly every person battling it out stopped what they were doing in shock and awe.

  The clangs of the swords came to an end, and besides the wails of a few injured soldiers, it became eerily quiet.

  The last thing that happened was that it appeared whoever the man had been looking for seemed to find him as well. He was on a horse. At least it looked like a horse, but it had shiny black armor that covered it, and I swore it had red eyes.

  This was the only horse I saw out there, and this man looked like he had one thing in mind: to kill the Ryker-look-alike. I could tell this man, even from his steed, was powerful. He was tall and muscular, not as muscular as his adversary, but he was still powerful-looking. He also wore armor, but it seemed to cover all of his body and matched the horse. He had a helmet on that reminded me of some type of modern knight apparel. It was sleek black metal covering his head and the bridge of his nose, but the underside of his jaw was visible. His eyes, holy-shitoli, appeared red like his horse. It was then I noticed that there was blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

  I was worried that the Ryker-looking guy was still too focused on me, so I screamed, "Watch out!" He turned to see why I was screaming, and as I yelled, more frost came from my mouth. It hurt, and I felt nothing but pain and terror.

  "Ariel! Are you okay? Ariel?"

  I blinked; the bright light made me wince. I was so cold. Where was I? What was happening? It felt like icy shards were hitting my skin, and my teeth began to chatter. I blinked, and it looked like I was in a shower?

  "Ariel, hang on. You're freezing." I was being lifted, then suddenly it wasn't as bright.

  "So... cold," I chattered out.

  "I got you."

  "Ryker?" I mumbled, confused.

  He laid me down on my bed. I was completely out of it. A sheet was thrown over me, then I heard him rustle around my room. I heard a zip of plastic, then felt the warmth of a heavy blanket over me.

  My teeth still chattered violently, but after a few minutes, I started to become more coherent. "Did you take something? Are you on anything? What's happening?" Ryker asked question after question. Did I take anything? What the heck?

  "How are you here? Wha... what happened?" I chattered out, confused.

  "I got a call from Lara May, the other tenant upstairs, that there was no water pressure. It's happened a few times before when too much water was being used for too long. It depletes the water pressure. I left work, came here, knocked, heard a muffled scream, so I came in to find you passed out in the shower."

  "You... you saw me naked?" I questioned, feeling embarrassed

  "It wasn't really a priority to check you out. You were ice cold. You're still shivering. So, I have to ask, are you high? Did you take something?"

  "No," I got out but still felt my teeth chatter.

  Even though my room was dark, I could see his eyes squint on me, like he didn't believe me.

  "I'm going to call Doc. It's late, but I'm sure he'll come down."

  "Late?" I questioned. "I... I got in the show...er after my run, just after the suns...et." I stuttered out.

  "It's almost two," he bit out.

  "Two?" I began to try to sit up but felt dizzy as I did. Still, the jarring movements made my boob plop free from the covers. "Fuck," I hissed, trying to cover myself.

  I looked at Ryker, who looked away then quickly moved into my closet. He came back with a long-sleeved shirt and hurriedly pulled it over my head. I moved my arms into the holes, and admittedly, it was a struggle.

  Once I had the shirt on, he said, "I'm going to make that call."

  I clung to the blankets, still cold and beyond tired. I was trying to go over what happened and struggled to make sense of it. I vaguely had images of an odd dream where I blew out icicles for breath, and maybe that made sense since I was freezing in the real world.

  This was by far one of the strangest things that had ever happened to me, and I felt myself fighting sleep while I waited on Ryker to return. My eyes grew heavier and heavier, and once they finally closed, fear like I'd never felt rushed through me. The man from my dream with the helmet and glowing, red eyes was there waiting for me. This time we weren't on a battlefield.

  This time it was just the two of us. It felt like we were in a void. Nothing but blackness surrounded us. "There you are." A thick, accented voice said.

  He apprised me, walking around me as if taking every inch of me in. I didn't like the way he made me feel. It was unnerving, and all I wanted to do was wake up. "I've been waiting for you, Ariel," he said, and I kid you not; he suddenly had fangs coming straight for me.

  Chapter Three

  I came to screaming.

  "Shh. You're okay." Someone swept my hair off of my forehead in a comforting way. I had no idea what was going on.

  "Jesus. Have you ever seen anything like this?"

  "Not as a doctor. It has traces of magic all over it."

  Magic! What in the actual what was happening?

  I thrashed, and I felt Ryker's warm hands against my arms, holding me still.

  "Hey, now. This is Doc. Remember, I said I was calling him."

  I blinked my eyes in confusion. "Ryker?" I questioned, seeing the bulking man tower over me. He stood next to an older man who was at least a foot shorter than him, rounded at t
he waist, and his receding hairline went to the middle of his head, and beyond the baldness was long white hair that hit his shoulders. It was sort of like God's version of a natural mullet.

  "Yes, It's me."

  I began to try and sit up. My head felt fuzzy. "Wha... what happened?"

  Ryker sighed, "I got a call from a tenant that there was no water, and I came back to find you frozen and passed out in the shower. I brought you to your bed, covered you up, then went to call Doc, and when we came back, you were screaming."

  I tried to see if I could remember any of that. Flashes went through my mind. "A battle?" Shit, did I say that out loud? They'll think I'm crazy.

  "What did you say?" Ryker asked.

  "Sorry?" I asked, trying to play off my awkwardness.

  "Do you know your name?" Doc asked.

  "Elle."

  "The month?"

  "June," I answered.

  "Can you follow the light with your eyes?" he asked, shining a penlight in my eyes.

  I followed it the way he directed.

  "Pupils look good. It doesn't look like she's on anything."

  "I'm not on anything!"

  "Relax, Dear, I just need to be sure. You were passed out for hours under the spray."

  "I was?"

  "Yes, now, let me get a good listen to your heart and lungs. Bend forward, please."

  I did as he said while he listened to my heart and lungs.

  "Do you have a history of epilepsy? Has anything like this ever happened to you before? Have you had any recent brain injuries?

  "Nothing like that."

  "How about your mental health? Have you ever been institutionalized? Are you on any medication?"

  "I'm not crazy."

  "No, of course not. What about food? Have you eaten? How are you sleeping?"

  Apprehension rolled through me. I didn't want to talk about my shitty sleeping habits with Ryker here. I didn't want to go over how I tried to exhaust myself at night to avoid dreaming about my dad. Tonight's dreams were just bizarre. It felt so real. Suddenly, I felt like Dorothy Gale. I wanted to say, "But it wasn't a dream. It was a place. And you and you and you... and you were there", but that certainly wasn't Oz, and that version of Ryker seemed different than the real version of him.

  Ryker placed his arm on my shoulder, "I can leave if you need to talk with the doctor about anything in private."

  I shook my head. I just moved in. I didn't want him to think that I was a druggie or anything. "I got pizza earlier with his sister. Sleep has been a bit weird for me. I guess I don't sleep that great in new places, and since I just traveled across the country, my sleep hasn't been awesome."

  "I can prescribe you a sleeping pill if you think that will help?"

  "No," I was adamant. I didn't want to get stuck in my dreams. I didn't want to dream. Period.

  I saw concern flash over Ryker's face.

  "Well, everything else seems good. Your pulse is good, heart and lungs sound good. My guess is you are exhausted and need sleep. I would like you to follow up with me, but it seems like this was most likely a one-time thing. Try and get some rest. Here's my card. Call me tomorrow to follow up."

  "Okay," I agreed, still very confused by everything that happened. I tried to remember Ryker finding me in the shower. He'd seen me naked and dressed me! I had to put that out of my mind because it was all too much.

  Ryker said goodbye to the doctor, and I laid in bed, wishing I had my dad nearby. He would move heaven and hell to get to me if I needed him. I had the sudden urge to feel closer to my dad. Without thinking of the fact that Ryker was still here, I reached for the box and rummaged through it until I found his ring, then clasped it in my hand.

  Peace blazed through me as I held the ring. It was a one-eighty from how I felt just seconds before. I smiled, thinking about my dad and how he always wore this ring although he never wore a watch or any other jewelry. It was too big for my hand, but the way it made me feel so incredibly calm made me instantly decide that I would put it on a necklace. Maybe it was all just exhaustion like the doctor suggested? Maybe I need to see a shrink? Perhaps I was missing him, and the move had caused everything that just happened to happen.

  I was lost in my thoughts about what occurred that I barely registered that Ryker was still standing in my bedroom watching me curiously.

  "What do you have there?" he asked, sniffing the air. What the heck was with the smelling the air thing—again?

  "What's with the go-go-gadget nose?"

  "The what?"

  "You know... do-da-do-da-dodo."

  "Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" he asked.

  "All right, not a fan of a little Inspector Gadget, aye?"

  Aye? Why was I suddenly saying, Aye? Kill me now. I slapped my hand to my forehead.

  "Who is Inspector Gadget?"

  "Kids TV show. Then Matthew Broderick. Nothing. Whatever, it doesn't matter."

  "What's in your hand?" he asked again.

  I squeezed my hand around the ring, not wanting to show him. I didn't want to share about my dad, and the ring was private. He was being nice. I knew I should let my guard down, but I was still so raw from losing him.

  "Just something that makes me feel a little grounded."

  "What is it?" he asked, getting closer and trying to peer into my box.

  "Just some personal items," I replied, closing the lid.

  He raised an eyebrow as if he was both curious and thought that my inability to share was childish.

  "So...um," I was trying to find words but failing.

  "So, um?"

  "Thanks all for getting the doc."

  "It's just Doc," he cut me off. "His name—we call him Doc, not the Doc. I don't even know that anyone knows what his real name is. Look at his card."

  I shifted then grabbed his card. Yep, it said Doc Jones. It was on the tip of my tongue to say something about Back to the Future, but the concern on his face made me ask a more serious question. "What time is it anyway?"

  He walked to the window, pulled back the curtains, looked up at the sky, then said, "It's probably a little after three."

  "That's how you tell time around here? Let me guess, you got a sundial in your back pocket?"

  "No, smart ass. But seeing as you already know, the cell service is shit here; I left the bar in a hurry. I was doing dishes and took off my watch and left it at the bar to come and check on you."

  He was right. I was throwing sass and had no idea why either. Yes, he was a little stand-offish at first, okay, maybe more than a little, but he did just take care of me, and he did just see me naked.

  "About that."

  "About?" he prompted.

  "You saw me naked."

  "I barely looked. Promise."

  It wasn't that I was really freaked out about nudity. It was that I wondered if Ryker would bring it up. Surely, he would've questioned me on it already. Could he have missed it? Anyone who'd ever seen it was shocked.

  I shook off those thoughts. If Ryker wasn't going to ask, I wasn't going to hand that information over. I clasped Dad's ring tighter and squeezed my eyes shut.

  "Hey, I mean it." He touched my arm to comfort me, and I was shocked by the sensation it brought. It felt like an electric current. Not like those, ooh, butterflies and electricity first love-kind of currents. This was literally like a small zap of electricity, followed by a mental image of him on the battlefield staring at me.

  What the hell!

  "Sorry. It must've been static electricity."

  "That felt like a little more than static."

  "What can I say. I'm six-four. I got a big conductor."

  My eyes grew wide. Did he just say that?

  "Relax. I'm teasing you. Are you good? If I leave here and go to bed, are you going to wake me up in twenty minutes screaming your head off?"

  My face fell. "I have no idea why that happened. I had the strangest dreams too." I was about to tell him about it when the dream became fleeting, and I couldn't quite grasp the images to explain what happened.