“You need to wake up or, at the very least, get back into your body. I need to get you out of here.” He persisted. “We don’t have much time before they come back. I would like this to be the lifetime we defeat our fate and break the curse if that is even possible.”
“Did you call an ambulance? I need to go to the hospital.” I barely pushed the words out through my quivering voice. “Wait! You said ‘they’. What do ‘they’ want from me?”
“After you’ve been through this as many times as I have, you don’t need a hospital. Besides, they’ll look for you there. Come on, we are out of time. Close your eyes and concentrate.”
I did as he commanded and felt myself become heavy with a sense of reality. The air was thick and suffocating. I could feel painful bruising from head to toe. A warm liquid was running down my arm.
I opened my eyes, feeling disoriented and pain everywhere. I looked around the room in search of his sweet face. My head was throbbing. I pressed my hand against IT to try to stop the pain.
“Can you move your arms and legs?” Demien asked.
I moved my body. It hurt like hell, but I could do it. “Yes, barely.” My voice was ragged and hoarse. “What’s going on?”
He ignored my question. “What do you remember?” He placed one arm under my legs and the other under my shoulders as he carefully lifted me from the ground.
I tried to make sense of the jumbled mess in my head. “Umm… Myra and I were hanging out, watching TV. There was a knocking at the door, so I went to answer it. After I opened the door, everything became hazy. I seem to recall knowing the person at my door, but I’m not sure. I can’t remember clearly. I was thrown in the air, hitting the far back wall. I remember seeing Myra approach the door. Oh, no!” I clasped my hands over my mouth and bursted into tears, “Myra? Where is she?”
“Myra is fine,” he said, too calmly. “That girl can take care of herself.” He noticed the fear that had my face frozen. “Trust me.”
My vision was threatening to darken. I focused on his face, but my eyes were blinking. “I’m tired.”
“Don’t close your eyes. Keep focused on me. I’ll have you out of here in a second.”
Everything went black.
“Zanj,” I could hear his voice from somewhere far away. “Love, stay with me.”
I must have been somewhat conscious because I was aware of him talking to me, but everything was black. I felt confused and out of it. Then nothing… His voice was gone.
Twenty-Three
“Where am I?” I asked as I rubbed my head, then my arms and all the way to my toes. Everything hurt.
“In the Hummer… Shhh, save your energy. You’ll need it later.”
“What?” I looked at him. I couldn’t remember what had happened.
“Just get your rest.” He gently reached his right hand behind my head and touched the back of my head and then my neck. He was numbing the pain some. His touch took the edge off the pain throughout my entire body. It was unreal. I was too tired to fight any longer. I went to sleep.
My dream was strange. Myra was running through a forest in her tiny jean skirt and the top she had bought last time we were out shopping. She was running way too fast for her… for any human. Myra jumped half way up the side of a tree or higher when obstacles were in her way. She was like a ninja but much quicker and more efficient. She was loaded down with guns, samurai swords, and other stuff that I didn’t recognize. I thought I saw a bow and arrows? What was she doing?
Myra jumped from the top of one tree to the other, then alongside the trunk, in her stilettos. Her eyes were darting around, but her head wasn’t moving. She seemed to be using other senses along with her vision. Jumping from the tree and onto the ground below, she landed in a defensive crouch as if she were ready to attack. I looked around too but didn’t see anything.
She drew a sword as someone approached. She looked at his face and then straightened her stance, but the sword stayed pointed against his heart. “Long time no see, Eric.”
He held up both hands to show her he meant no harm. “I’m here to help,” he said. His voice was familiar. I couldn’t get a good look at his face. I was staring at his back.
“You don’t help; you hinder. What are you really doing here?” Myra replied. Her eyes were cold.
“What can I say? I was sent to be of help.”
Myra nervously shifted, wondering if she was walking into a trap.
“There is an army headed this way now. You can let me help you or you can face them alone. The latter suits me best. How ‘bout you?” That voice… It was so familiar, but I couldn’t place it.
Myra gulped, trying to swallow the lump. She turned to face west, still holding the sword to his chest. She seemed like she was listening for something. Her features hardened, showing no emotion. “How many?”
“Twenty… er, maybe, thirty,” Eric answered.
She glowered at him for a few moments. “Fine, but you cross
