Once we’re outside, she continues to walk until we’re in the barn. I’m sure that those men who are closing in on the house will be stabling some of their animals in the barn, so I’m not sure why Florence has brought me here.
“Close your eyes,” she demands.
I do it, unsure of where she’s going with this. Not once have I been able to conjure up any type of magic with her. It seems that I only have magic when Colt seriously upsets me, pisses me off, or makes me come. It’s ridiculous.
Everyone knows exactly what I’m feeling because of this, and I think that they’re walking on eggshells so that they don’t upset me.
Inhaling a deep breath, I keep my eyes closed and I attempt to relax. “Listen around you, Birdie. What do you hear?” Florence asks.
Pressing my lips together, I strain to hear the things around me. I hear the hooves of the horses in the distance. I hear Lonesable’s hooves crunching the hay on the ground. There is the sound of the wind as it slides through the barn causing the metal tools hanging on the wall to rattle slightly.
Then something slams into my head. Something that I don’t believe is happening, even as it happens. I hear a voice in the distance. It isn’t loud, it’s soft. It’s almost like a dream, almost as if I’m imagining it, but I know that I can’t be.
It’s Drusilla.
All of my sisters are missing now. Where is Birdie? Nobody vanishes into thin air like that. She just disappeared. Her camera was just sitting in her car. She would never leave her camera behind, no matter what. Something is really wrong here and I don’t know what to do. What do I do? I’m so lost. What the hell do I do?
Opening my eyes, I inhale a loud breath, gasping for air.
“What happened?” Florence demands.
“I heard my sister,” I whisper. Lifting my eyes, I look directly into her gaze. “My sister that is still at home, in my world.”
I almost expect Florence to turn tail and run as far away from me as possible. There is something seriously wrong with me. This isn’t normal and this is way beyond causing a little rain from crying.
This is hearing my fucking sister, who is in another fucking dimension.
Florence reaches out, taking my hands in hers and squeezing. “That is amazing. Though, your connection with her may be simply because you’re close sisters, but perhaps all part of the gods’ plans. I’m unsure, but I would like you to try to reach her some more.”
“I don’t know how I did it though,” I whisper.
She smiles, tugging me a little closer to her. “It doesn’t matter how, just that you can. You’ll do it again, concentration is key and we will get there. You have powers, Birdie. True powers.”
“My sister. I could hear her voice,” I breathe.
Florence nods her head. “The gods have gifted you this for a reason, it will aid you in the prophecy, somehow. We must try and figure out how this can work to our advantage.”
“Can we not tell Colt, yet?” I ask.
I don’t know why exactly, but I don’t feel like this is something that Colt needs to know yet. Maybe I’m thinking too much into it, but I want to have at least a working knowledge of this, whatever it is, before I boast about it to Colt.
“He will need to know,” Florence murmurs.
“And I’ll tell him, just not yet.”
Florence’s eyes narrow on me and she nods her head once. She instructs me to close my eyes again and to listen. To tell her what I hear, and I don’t know if it’s because I’m nervous or if it was all just a fluke, but I don’t hear anything.
I don’t hear anything the third time or even the tenth. Florence doesn’t even look the slightest bit disappointed, she just smiles kindly, and tells me that we’ll try again another day.
The sun is beginning to set and as we make our way back to the house I’m surprised to see that the men have now set up a whole camp around the property. Keeping my head down, I hurry toward the house and slip inside.
I don’t know who these men are and normally it wouldn’t bother me to be surrounded by so many, but this feels weird. They’re lonely soldiers, surrounding me in another dimension. I don’t know their customs or their rules. I’m one of three women in this place and I’m the only one under the age of fifty.
“They will not harm you. You’re with their leader, you are untouchable, not that they would do anything without your permission anyway,” Florence announces sensing my unease.
“They won’t?”
“They are trained, Birdie, they are always fiercely loyal. These are his elite soldiers. They will protect you with their lives.”
I think about her words. Protection. I like the sound of that, and I know that Colt has mentioned needing to keep me safe, but I don’t know if it’s for me, or more for the guilt about his wife and what happened to her when he couldn’t be there to physically protect her.
Guilt.
He does things for me out of guilt and I hate it, mainly because I am falling for him more and more each day for no other reason than because of the man that he is.
I want him to care for me because of who I am, not because he feels guilty about his dead wife and then I hate myself for feeling that way, and the cycle continues inside of my head, over and over.
COLT
Brazos is the first man to approach me, as he should be since he is in charge of leading this group of soldiers. They’re here for one purpose and one only, to protect me and in turn protect Birdie.
“We need to have a meeting,” I announce. “How are your provisions?” I need to
