Excerpt: Psyche Realities

I turned into an alley before I realized it wouldn't lead me back to the inn. But the footsteps I heard clapping against the wooden walkway prevented me from turning back. I hoped he or she would pass on by, whoever followed me.

Instead I heard the footsteps padding onto the dirt not far behind me. I hurried my steps, nearly breaking into a run. Sweat beaded on my forehead and I felt a jerky nervousness in my body.

Then my nightmare turned real as I came to a dead end. I spun around to see a man in ratty clothing, a hat torn on the end, and an unkempt beard. He staggered toward me. The moon light revealed a grin and eager eyes peering at me.

"Where you going, honey?" He reached out his hands toward me.

I pushed myself up against the rock wall. I told my hand to grab my sword, but they refused to respond. Instead, I felt frozen in place. Unable to move, unable to fight back, but the memories readily attacked me of a similar event at twelve years of age.

He reached out a hand toward my breast as he licked his lips. I turned my head and closed my eyes, shaking over my body, wanting to run, to shout, to do anything but what I was doing.

"Kaylee!" I heard Nathan's voice ring out in the distance.

The man grabbed me, my body became rigid. Whether from the contact or the sound of Nathan's voice, I gained the strength to respond.

"Nathan! Help!"

The man paused in surprise, glanced over his shoulder, then turned back toward me. He untied my tunic with his left hand as his right squeezed. "Come on, Sweetie. Give an old man something to enjoy in his lonely life."

Nathan's form appeared from the shadows. "If you know what's best for you, you'll leave that woman alone." He drew his sword and stepped toward the man.

The man threw his hands up. "Why don't you young 'uns let us have some of the fun. Always taking all the women for yourselves. I found her first."

Nathan shook his head. "No, I found her first. She's my sister."

The man backed away from me. "Sure, sure. Take what you want. Dang selfish is what I call it."

Nathan jabbed at him. He tripped as he stepped back and landed on the ground before he crawled to his feet.

"I'm going, I'm going!" He stumbled back down the alley.

Tears burst forth and my chest heaved as I slid down the wall until I sat on the ground with my head between my knees. I shook over my body in waves. Anger filled me, not only at the man, but also at myself. I had frozen. All the feeling that I could now protect myself had deserted me, and I felt more vulnerable than I had for a long time.

Nathan sat beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. He didn't say anything, but rubbed me and held me tightly until I had slowed my sobs and regained a measure of composure.

He stood and reached out a hand. "Come on, Sis. Let's get back to the inn."

I reached up and he pulled me onto my shaking feet. He held me up as we worked our way back.

I kept thinking, now what? How do I deal with this now?

#

Nathan sat a cup of coffee in front of me, local brew from the kitchen. My tears had dried but my legs still felt weak. The scenes kept rolling over in my mind, both past and what had just happened.

Nathan sipped his coffee; the mug clicked on the wooden table as he sat it down. "Kaylee, I felt you were in trouble."

I attempted a smile, trying to hide the churning fear inside. "Brother, sister link, I guess."

"No, more than that. I felt it, could almost see it. I think it is the bracelets. They link us together. Especially when you put yours on, I can sense where you are all the time. But even when yours isn't on, I can still sense you, feel your fear when it became strong. That's why I came running."

I glanced at his bracelet on his wrist. "Makes sense. If you lose the ability to be a winged horse five miles beyond me, you'd better know where I am when you're flying around."

He smiled. "I guess so." He pointed at the ring on my finger. "How come the ring didn't protect you, though?"

I held it up. The candle-light flickered off the gold surface, highlighting the Hebrew inscription, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Memories of Dad flashed through me, and his joy when he left us for Paradise. Thinking about it calmed me.

"It prevents anyone from taking it, or killing me, but it doesn't mean it will prevent me from experiencing any bad things."

I breathed deep and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry Nathan, I forgot to say thank you."

He leaned back in his chair. "No need, Sis. I'm glad I was there to help."

I rested my head between my hands. "What most distrubs me about what just happened, is I couldn't defend myself. All those hours of training with a sword so I could feel protected from such scum, and I froze. Like I did when I was twelve." I met his eyes. "I thought Joel had helped me get over this fear, but it's still there. I'm back where I started."

Nathan shook his head. "No, I wouldn't say that. Before, you wouldn't talk about it at all. You kept it buried."

I sat up as I stared into his eyes. "You're right. I wouldn't have talked about it before." The sick feeling subsided and my breathing smoothed out. I took a sip of coffee and the warmth spread over me. "But what do I do if it happens again?"

"I'll be around."

"Not forever."

"By then, you'll be married and a husband will look after you."

I couldn't help but crack a smile. "Yeah, sure. Can you see me married?"

He winked. "Could happen. But if I were you, I'd avoid dark alleys."

I sat up straighter. "Oh, I almost forgot. I discovered some news about Crystal."

His eyes widened. "Really? What?"

"I described her to the bartender in the tavern, and he recalls seeing a girl like that, and a man with her called her Crystal. But she had an odd look about her."

"An odd look?"

"That's all he said about it. Oh, and that he remembers the man saying something about heading to Paradise."

He wrinkled his brow. "Paradise?"

"A town named Paradise, not the real thing."

"Oh." A smile creased his lips. "Great, that's good news for both of us. Tomorrow we'll leave Spinard behind us and head toward Paradise. I hope this lead turns out to be her."

"Me too. I'll be glad when we've found her and know she's safe."

He rose from his chair. "Then I suggest we get some sleep. We'll head out first thing in the morning. Right after we find out where Paradise is."

My legs felt firm as I stood up. "Paradise is just one quick blow of my sword away, Brother."

He chuckled. "But you'd have to get past my sword first."