Page 5 of Come Back To Me
“Have you ever practiced magic before?”
“No.” I swallow hard.
She swipes the book from my hands and places it back on the shelf, giving me a stiff smile. “Then I’m afraid that book isn’t for you. Come.” She steers me toward a table in the back. “I was told to expect you. Something bad is coming and you still have time to stop it.”
I sit in the chair she pulls out, and she sits across from me as soon as I lower myself into the seat. She lays her hand on the table, palm facing upward. “Give me your hand.”
Doing as she asks, I slowly slide my hand over hers and she flips it around, pressing a thumb into the center of my palm while twisting my wrist as she moves my hand from side to side.
“You just lost someone dear to you.”
“Yes.”
“He . . . he was someone you really loved.”
“Yeah.” My heart squeezes. “Very much. He was my husband.”
“He loved you too but not in the same way.”
My head tilts.
“There was someone else,” she says sharply, eyes piercing mine.
“No. What? I think you’re mistaken.”
She tugs my hand closer. “A man you know well. Dark hair and eyes.” Her eyes squint. “They wanted to run away together but the other man was hesitant.” She shakes her head. “No. Your husband was the one who was second guessing it. He wasn’t sure he was ready to walk away from what you two had.”
My heart feels like it’s stopping. “No.” I tug away from her, making the bottom of the chair scrape against the floor when I do. “That . . . you don’t know what you’re talking about. I would have known. All he did was work and then come home to me.”
“It’s hard to see the truth whenever we’re blinded by something much more consuming. Love made you blind to what was right in front of you. It’s often the reason for us making bad choices. Don’t let it be this time.”
“What?”
“There’s something dark latching itself onto you. It could have come from anywhere. Graveyards are common grounds where many spirits wait around for the perfect victim. They’re attracted to sadness and desperation.”
“Yeah, that’s enough of that.” Leo steps in, yanking me from my seat. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. This lady doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
She quickly stands up with me, walking after us as I’m pulled toward the exit. “Wait. Please. At least take this. It’ll protect you.” She lifts a satchel of some kind of herb.
“No. We don’t want anything you’re selling, lady. Leave us alone,” Leo warns, placing himself between us. I look into her eyes one last time before closing the door behind me. There’s so much fear there. Why would she say all that about my husband? Why would she say something’s attached itself to me?
The shop door opens when we’re halfway down the street and I whip my head back around. The gray-haired woman steps out,a hand pressed to her chest. “Don’t listen to the dreams. Don’t listen to what it’s promising you. It’s not your husband.”
A chill runs up my spine and a car passes between us, honking its horn. When it’s gone, so is she. The door is shut and something else is pushing at my body alongside my friend. It’s just the wind. Spirits aren’t real. Leo is right. The woman is clearly off her rocker and probably only said all those things to make a sale.
Leo’s hand squeezes around mine as we reach the parking lot where his car is. “I’m sorry I took you there.”
“It’s okay. Was a lot scarier than any haunted house we could have gone to, that’s for sure.”
He laughs. “Touché.”
We get in the car and I look back at the shop as we pass it, thinking about the book I’d picked up. Thinking about the spell that said it could bring someone back from the dead. Then I quickly shake off the silly thought, sitting back in my seat. When we arrive back at my house and I step out first, I swear I can hear the wind around me whispering, “Turn back around. Go back.”
Three
Riley
It’s been days since we were in that shop and I still can’t get that book out of my head. I can’t get that owner’s voice out of my head either. Gareth was wanting to leave me . . . Or he’d at least thought about it. Leo says it was nothing but nonsense and not to listen, but it’s hard to ignore what was said.
