Quest for Immortality Read online

  Chapter Two

  Justin woke up in the middle of the woods, and his whole body was sore. He felt like he had been dropped from a roof onto concrete. Everything hurt.

  He had no recollection, for a moment, of why he was there. It took him a minute to start remembering the day before and then the surprise when he had seen his reflection. Or rather, the reflection of an animal where he was supposed to be. It didn't make any sense. Nor did the dream he had had. Or even the fact that he had had a dream. Justin had gone through his whole life without having a single one.

  Then he remembered that he had been shot and he pulled his shirt off. It was already in tatters because of the fight before. He could still hear men screaming in his head, and he knew that he had done something horrible to them. Or rather, the beast that he had turned into had done something horrible to those people. He also remembered Linda’s words about how everything was going to be okay in the morning. She was wrong about that. It was morning, and nothing felt okay.

  There wasn’t a shot in his shoulder any longer. There wasn't even a mark. There was a bit of soreness when he touched the area, but that could have been in his head. Justin did not know what to think, and he decided that the only place he could go was back to the house he’d come from. He had to see for himself if what he remembered from the night before was true.

  It took him a while to get there. He had run off when his adrenaline was high. It had taken no time at all, and at some point, he had passed out.

  It took almost an hour to get back to the house from the night before. His car was still parked out front, and for one reason or another, he had to go inside. He had to see for himself if what he remembered was true. Justin would have given anything for it not to be true. He did not want to believe that he could have done such a thing to anybody. But what greeted him when he got inside the house was far more than he could have imagined.

  There was blood everywhere, and he knew that he had done this. He had torn those people apart. He was sent there to give them a warning, but then something had happened. His rage had taken over, and he had transformed.

  As he drove back to the orphanage, Justin knew that there was no other place for him to go. His anger in that house had basically ended his whole life. The Aunts, the ones that had sent him to do such a thing, were the only people that cared about him. How could he go anywhere else?

  When he got to the orphanage, there was a strange aura, and he could feel it. That wasn't usually something that he paid much attention to, but it was hard not to notice. There was electricity in the air, and it was buzzing all around him.

  When he got close to the door, he noticed there were some young women in the living room. He did not recognize any of them, but when they started to talk, understanding dawned. Linda, who was not Linda. She was much younger, and at the moment, they were holding hands and repeating words that he didn't quite understand. It was a rhythmic chant, and he felt the buzzing in the air increase.

  The words of the men that were screaming the night before came back to his mind. They had mentioned witches. His Aunts were certainly not the people that he thought they were.

  When something in the house started to levitate, and then one of the younger women did too, he backed away from the window. He was starting to get flashes in his mind and since he couldn't trust himself at the moment, he decided to get away as quickly as he possibly could.

  Something was wrong, very wrong, and he didn't want to be there.

  Justin got back in his car and he went down to the bank. He had been collecting money from a family trust for years, but he didn't want for anything. He had offered the funds to the Aunts at one point, but they said they had no need for money. Considering the state of the house that they lived in, Justin had always wondered why they wouldn't take anything.

  Now he was thankful for it. Now he would be able to use it to get away, although he still wasn't sure what he was getting away from. He just had to get away from the Aunts and away from the place that he had called home his whole life.

  The bank was in the middle of the town, and for one reason or another, he was paranoid even to be there. He kept looking over his shoulder, and before too long, Justin realized that the best thing he could do was get out of town. He needed some time to think and to figure things out. He needed some space, and he needed to be somewhere that he didn't feel like he was going to be attacked.

  When he was grabbing his money, he saw a couple of papers on the bulletin board. One was for a local position at the deli, and there were a couple that were for some houses for sale. One in particular was in his price range, and he got the address. It was far enough away, almost fifty miles, but not too far. Justin had a feeling that he was going to have to stay close if he wanted answers, and even though he was unsure and looking over his shoulder, it didn't mean that he wasn't desperate for answers.

  He called the number when he got outside of the bank. The cash was in his pocket, and he was feeling a little bit safer, or at least more in control.

  It was a man that answered, and he said that he would be around the property that day if Justin wanted to look at it. It was out of the way, and when he drove up and realized that it was deep in the woods, it felt to Justin like he was being drawn there. Or maybe there was a feeling that this was exactly where he is supposed to be.

  When he got out of the car, there was somebody waiting for him, and he shook their hand. Justin was still feeling a little discombobulated from the night before, but it felt right to be there. The house was rather large for a single man, but he knew right off the bat that it was the house that he was supposed to buy.

  After doing a little wheeling and dealing with the owner, he had the paperwork drawn up, and he was the proud owner of a three-bedroom, two-story house in the middle of the woods. He didn’t know why he felt like he had to run, just that he had to. Until he figured out who the Aunts were, or rather what they were, Justin knew that he had to stay away.

  His mind was still spinning with everything, but he went into town and picked up some supplies. He wanted to get a handle on what was going on but he needed things first. Justin wasn’t paying attention when he about ran into a small woman that barely came up to his chest.

  She smiled up at him, and there was familiarity in her eyes. They were purple in color, but not quite the same as Linda’s. Though it was close enough to throw him back and make him stop in his tracks.

  “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t see you because I was reading the back of the box. No gluten, but it’s brownies. How can they make it without flour, right?”

  He had no idea what she was going on about, but Justin found himself agreeing anyway. She had a sing-song sound to her voice that he found very pleasant. Another smile, and then the woman was gone. He was left standing there wondering who she was and why he had this feeling coming over him so quickly. It was like he’d seen her before, but where?

  Chapter Three

  The woman was older, about the age of Justin’s mother. He didn’t know why he felt so strongly about it, but he was sure that the woman was someone that he knew. Or rather, someone that he was supposed to know. She looked a lot like the woman in the photograph.

  The photograph had come from a newspaper clipping. It was printed on one of the anniversaries of his parents’ death. The small town still managed to write something about it each year, and one year they had put a large picture of the two getting married. It was the only thing that Justin ever had to go off of. That was his family, whether he liked it or not.

  Justin knew that he was in a dream. It was an awareness that was somewhat surprising, but he knew that the woman in front of him wasn't real. She was there to tell him something, and nothing more. It made Justin sit up a little bit more and focus on her words.

  “You are in danger.”

  It wasn't like the woman that looked like his mother, nearly translucent in front of him, was actually speaking the words. It was instead, a feeling that came over him when s
he looked at him. Justin didn't know how, but all of the feelings and thoughts that were popping into his head were because of her.

  He could talk, though. He asked her what he was in danger from. He asked her who she was, but he didn't get an answer. All he got was a feeling that he was loved, and for a moment, that was enough for him.

  Then another picture popped into his head, and this time, it was the woman that he had seen earlier in the store.

  “What about her?”

  “You must help her, protect her.”

  That didn't make sense. He couldn't see why his mother, of all people, would come to him in a dream and try to get him to help somebody he’d never met but once.

  Justin was in the middle of the dream. It was the only thing that made any sense to him.

  Before he could ask the apparition anything else, his mind went blank, and he opened his eyes. He found himself on the mattress on the floor of his new house, and he stared at the ceiling for several moments. It was only when he realized that he had been awakened by someone at the door that he started to get up and go towards it. No one knew he was there, so immediately, his hackles were raised. Was it the Aunts?

  Justin did not doubt that they would in fact find him, but he was hoping for a little bit more time. It seemed like there was never much time anymore. Even in his dreams, he was in a rush. The woman that he’d seen before was gone, and only his mother was there.

  “Go to her, son.”

  He wasn’t asleep now but the vision was still there. He closed his eyes again, and when he reopened them, she was gone. He was sweating, and he knew that wasn’t a normal dream or vision.

  The knock was back, and he cursed to himself. He wasn’t ready to get up, and he certainly wasn’t prepared to face the day. The day was going to be a long one, just like the one before was. It also seemed the longer he was away from the witches that he’d grown up with, the more he was getting flashes that he thought were memories. None of them were pleasant.

  His mind was whirling when he walked to the door. There was no way to see who it was, so he just pulled the door open quickly. Justin took a step back and tried to figure out what to say. It was the woman from his vision, and the purple eyes were glowing back at him. Again, he thought he was seeing things, questioning if she was really standing there in front of him.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Yes, I was looking for the owner of this place.”

  “The owner? Well, I guess that would be me. What are you selling?”

  She smiled at him and shook her head. “No, it’s nothing like that. I, um, I don’t know how to say this.”

  “Well, come in, and you can tell me all about it. What is your name?”

  Justin felt an immediate attraction to the woman that called herself Dahlia. She had a smile that was hard to ignore, and he was quickly smiling back at her. She passed by him going in, and there was a smell of sweet flowers that followed her. It was like he knew her, but he wasn’t sure how.

  “I feel like I know you.”

  “You don’t. I think I would remember you…”

  “Justin.”

  “Justin, I think I would remember you, though you do look familiar. Maybe I have seen you in my dreams or something.”

  She was just joking, Dahlia even giggled, but it felt like she knew more than she was letting on. That, or he was just that worried about it. “So, what is it that you need from me, Dahlia?”

  “Well, I actually used to live in this house a long time ago, and I was wondering if there is any way I could retrieve something that I left here.”

  “You left something here?”

  “Yes, in one of the back bedrooms. It would not take but a minute for me to get it.”

  He was immediately intrigued, and he had to know what it was that she had left behind. What was so important that she would come all this way to get it?

  “It is hard to explain. Let's just say that it's something that has been in my family for a very long time, and it’s my responsibility to make sure that it is safe.”

  “Then why are you just now getting it? I mean, if it that was that important to you, why are you waiting until now?”

  He did not want to be suspicious of the woman, but he couldn't help himself. Justin's whole life had had the bottom drop out of it, and he didn't know how to deal with it. Now this woman was here, playing with his emotions, without really even saying a word.

  “As I said, it's a long story. Let's just say that I have been unable to get here for a while. I don't know how long I have, but I would like to go into that room to the left of the hallway and retrieve it. I will pay you for your time or any problems that it causes.”

  There was almost a desperation in her expression, and it made him even more curious as to why it was so important. What was it that could make her so stressed out?

  “I am just curious. When a beautiful woman comes to my door and asks to come in and get something of hers that was left, it's just hard not to wonder. You’re more than welcome to retrieve whatever it is that you left here. I just moved in last night and barely have anything here as it is. Come in and get what you need.”

  She smiled at him, and again he had this weird feeling go over him. She reminded him far too much of Linda. He didn't feel like she knew her or was in cahoots with her, but there was something about Dahlia that he was familiar with.

  “Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.”

  Chapter Four

  As much as Dahlia had worried about everything, she was thankful that she didn't have to go to any extremes to get what she needed. Dahlia needed the potion, the one that she had been taken for. It was the only reason that she was even in the wooded town of Turner. It wasn’t a place that she wanted to stay for long. Nothing good happened in that town. She’d lost everything there.

  A wave of sadness went over her, and it was hard to take it all in stride. She felt her eyes getting wet, and Dahlia hated the fact that she couldn’t hold herself together. It wasn’t something that she was proud of. When the handsome shifter asked her if she was okay, Dahlia didn’t know how to respond. She looked into his green eyes and told him that she was fine.

  “You don’t look fine.”

  “Looks can be deceiving.”

  He was saddened for a moment, the pain rushing through his eyes and then gone again. She wanted to ask him what had him feeling so down, but Dahlia knew not to meddle. She was lucky that he didn’t seem to know what she was. If he knew, Dahlia had a feeling that he wouldn’t have let her in. His kind didn’t usually like her kind all that well. It also seemed strange that he bought an old magical witch house. Did he not have full use of his instincts yet?

  There were a lot of questions that Dahlia had, but the only thing that mattered at the moment was getting her hands on the potion and getting away, as far away as she possibly could.

  “Yes, they can. If I wouldn’t have talked to you, I would have thought that you were a gruff sort of gentlemen.”

  “Why?”

  She giggled and then stopped herself. What was wrong with her today?

  “Why, because you’re huge. You know, that right?”

  He didn’t seem to see what she was going on about and he just kind of shrugged. “I guess I am bigger than usual.”

  “And I bet you get even bigger.”

  Again, he looked at her like he was confused, and that made her question his confusion. It was like he had no idea what she was talking about and she started to think that maybe he didn’t.

  “Anyway, I'm very thankful that you let me come in. I had no idea who owned this now, and I didn't figure it would be this easy to get it back.”

  “What would you have done if I said no?”

  He was just joking with her. She could see it in his face, but at the same time, a very bad thought came over her. She didn't want to think about what would have happened if he would have said no. Dahlia did not like to do things against people, but she certainly knew ho
w to make it happen.

  “Let's just say that I would have had to use my feminine wiles on you.”

  “Doesn't sound like such a bad idea.”

  There was a moment where his need showed through, and she took a step back from him. He was a bit overwhelming in size and temperament.

  “So where was it that you said it was?”

  “It's in the room down the hallway. Did you really just move in?”

  She started towards the room that she was looking for and was rather surprised to find that there was barely any furniture. It looked like he had just stayed the night and just grabbed a few things at the local store. Where did he come from?

  Dahlia had a strange feeling come over her, and she asked him where he moved from. The way he acted and the fact that he didn't want to answer told Dahlia that she wasn't the only person that was hiding from something.

  “So, where did you say you moved from again?”

  “A little town about a hundred miles from here. I doubt that you know it.”

  Dahlia didn’t agree or disagree. She had been around the area for a while but she wasn’t going to press that particular topic.

  “So, what made you come here?”

  “I don't know. The house. I saw a flyer for it, and it was in my price range. And then I came out here, and I really liked it. It just called to me, you know?”

  She wondered why the house was calling to him. What did he have to do with anything?

  “Sometimes that's the way it happens. Is it just you living here?”

  Dahlia knew she was asking a lot of questions, but she knew that a lot of it had to do with her nervousness more than curiosity.

  The man was towering over her, and it was hard to handle. He was very handsome and had the sort of presence that made Dahlia look his way. She had not felt like that in a very long time, and she wasn't sure how to deal with it.