Page 9 of Witch's Dawn
A pang of guilt hit me as I saw how many people stretched from the cash register to the front door. Nona had been essentially working by herself while I dozed off in la-laland.
Or should I say DevilLand.
"Yeah totally, Nona," I said, springing from my seat. "I'm so sorry. Be rightback."
I hustled to the storage area in the back of my tea shop as quickly as I could, but my eyelids were heavy and my limbs felt likelead.
I barely slept at all last night. After scurrying away from those guys at the party I felt like a damn fool. My stupid Christian instincts kicked in again after picking up the insinuation that they were devil worshippers. By the time I realized they were most likely joking, I was too embarrassed to talk to them again. As such was my luck withmen.
But when I got home and fell into bed, my dreams were plagued by visions and creatures I'd never seen or heard of before. They were as vivid as my own hand in front of my face and yet sosurreal.
In my dream, I saw the ruins of an ancient city still burning. Through the smoke, I saw a figure walking toward me. As he got closer I could make out breastplate armor, gauntlets, and a shield that looked like gladiator armor. When his head finally cleared the smoke, it wasn't a human face but the head of a lion that roared atme.
Suddenly, I was in a dark forest and heard a raven cawing. The large black bird jumped from branch to branch on a tree in front of me, cawing and flapping its wings as if taunting me. A shiny diamond ring gleamed in its beak. I blinked and instead of a raven, there stood Raum holding the ring out tome.
And the most disturbing vision of all which kept me from going back to sleep, I saw Ash naked. Oh, I wouldn't deny the human parts of him lookedexquisite. His physique looked carved from marble and his head carried a heavy jeweled crown. He would have looked normal and delicious if it weren't for the massive, black feathered wings on his back and the biggest snake I'd ever seen coiled around his arm andshoulders.
But what absolutely terrified me was the thing he rodeon.
It looked like a bat with one of those really ugly faces, only it walked on all fours like a dog. But it still had large, leathery wings and a long scaly tail like the snake wrapped around hisshoulders.
I woke up in a cold sweat at three in the morning. I'd only been asleep for two hours and didn't dare close my eyesagain.
Now during the lunch rush the next day, the lack of sleep was catching up tome.
I wonder if I need a therapist or something,I thought as I rummaged through the cooler for the bag of Earl Grey. Surely a stupid tarot reading and three guys joking about the devil wouldn't affect a normal person thismuch.
By the time my bleary eyes found the tea and my feet stumbled me back to the front counter, Nona had already rang up everyone inline.
Saving my ass again. I knew she wassuperhuman.
"Thanks for being on top of everything," I groaned, leaning my elbows on the counter and rubbing my eyes. "I don't know why I'm so out ofit."
"You can't be that hungover from one drink," Nona proclaimed as she wiped downteacups.
"I'm not," I insisted. "I just couldn'tsleep."
She flicked a dish rag over her shoulder and gave me a curiouslook.
"So what did those guys say that made you high-tail it out ofthere?"
"Something stupid that I totally overreacted to." I dipped a clean tablespoon into a canister of Irish Breakfast, eager for morecaffeine.
"Like what, did they suggest a crazy, drunk orgy? Because you should have sent me their way if theydid."
"What? Jesus,no!"
"See, that's your issue. Too much Jesus in your life," she teased, poking me in theribs.
"I'm already aware," Imuttered.
"Speak of the devil," she said under herbreath.
"You know, I'm getting a little tired of the D-word," I snapped more crabbily than Iintended.
"And what word isthat?"
I looked up to the source of the deep, throaty voice and nearly dropped the canister of tea I washolding.
