This chapter is the 7th in this series. For those of you following it, this one again has no sex, but helps to further define the main characters use of "the gift", and what the repercussions are if used in anger, or defense. It also introduces a new player that will show up quite a bit in future chapters. I would greatly appreciate any feedback you have as I have received very little and would like to know if you all would like me to continue the series. As usual thanks to LadyCibelle for her editing work.
Chapter 7: The Sounds of Devastation
The first few days back at work were a blur for me with many conversations with the boss, and a ton of orders to get shipped. Many of my regular customers came in, and asked how I was. A few even brought me cards. I was touched; amazed that any of these people would take the time to notice a store clerk that was missing. I was learning a lot about people these days, and I found it encouraging.
On Wednesday I was sitting at the front counter playing with the empty puzzle box when my cell phone rang. I flipped it open, and Jill's voice rang in my ear even as her deep baritone note sprang to my mind.
"Hey stranger, how is work?"
"Good actually. Did you know old lady Henderson gave me a card and flowers?" I said, waiting for the explosion.
"No way! That old crank has a soft spot? Well what is the world coming to?"
Old lady Henderson was one of the shop's best clients, but she was also a notorious bitch. Funny though, when she brought me the card I could tell she had been genuinely worried about me, though it didn't take her long to start chewing me out for her new table not being delivered yet.
"Yeah well, people will surprise you. So what's up? We doing a movie tonight?"
"Well that is why I was calling. The girls want to go out tonight. A friend of mine owns a new club that is the hot spot to go, and Wednesday night is the night all the college kids go out during the week."
"Sounds like a reason to stay home." I said with a laugh
"Oh come on you stick in the mud, come out with us. It will be fun!"
"Oh alright, but will everyone be getting naked again? Because if so I want to wear my leather thong this time." I said still chuckling. I could feel her note thrum louder in my mind, but I still held it away. I don't know what I was afraid of with her.
"Shut up! God I am still embarrassed about that." She said the last part quietly, with some hesitation.
"Don't be. You are the most beautiful of the lot. Frankly I am grateful to have seen you naked." I said this with some surprise, but I realized I really meant it. There was a long silence on the phone.
"Thanks Mike, I . . . well you're not so bad yourself."
I could feel my heart pounding, and there was a ringing in my ears that was completely natural for a change. This was getting a little to serious for a mid-day conversation.
"Thanks Jill. So where do I meet the four most beautiful and eligible woman of Boulder for our night of debauchery and fun?" Jill laughed and the tension eased.
"My place, seven as usual."
"Alright, you got it, see you then."
I sat thinking for a bit, absently playing with the puzzle box in my hands. Why was I so afraid to dig into Jill's mind? Was I afraid of what I might find, or do? How much did I care about her? She was my best friend, but. . . I was startled out of my thoughts by the tinkling of the bell hung on the front door.
The main entrance to the shop was not visible from the counter where I sat, the view being obstructed by all the furniture and the jumble of other odds and ends that filled the store. I waited patiently to see if one of my regulars would come bustling through the shop to find me, or if I would see someone slowly walking the shop looking at our menagerie for the first time.
For a few minutes I waited when I began to be aware of a note in my mind, closer then the others. I had grown used to being able to feel a persons note if they were near, but this called out to me from further away. I reached for it and it sped to me so quickly I found myself holding it back.
It is difficult to describe what I heard then, for this note rang with an intensity that I had not encountered before. It was as though it was amplified, or that it simply contained more sound then could be held. It was enthralling, and terrifying at the same time. I found myself hesitant to explore it, and the hair on the back of my neck rose. A voice drifted through my mind then.
"Careful human. . ." the genie's voice was hard, colder then I could remember it. Was it only warning, or was it fear I heard. I began to feel goose bumps on my skin, and I pushed the note away. It moved away slowly, as if I was pushing it against a current.
It was then that I saw her. She emerged from around a large cabinet walking slowly while trailing her hands along the rich wood of the things around her as if caressing it. She was small, and her skin the color of caramel, with hair the color of onyx. She was dressed in a long flowing skirt, and a blouse which hugged her small frame and shapely breasts, while falling away from her arms in gathers. There was something about her that made me think of gypsies.
She looked up at me and as our eyes met she smiled a beautiful radiant smile that sent a chill through me. It was not a chill of pleasure, but of warning. It was as if her smile had revealed rows of sharp teeth. Teeth like that of a predator. Her eyes were the kind of brown that was so dark, that you could not distinguish between the pupil and the iris.
She walked slowly toward me and as she did, suddenly I felt her note rush out of the distant noise without my call. Reflexively, I reached out and caught it, held it from my mind. I did not want to see into her music.
She stopped abruptly, and for a moment her grace faltered and she stared wide eyed at me, her pretty red lips parted slightly in surprise. Then her eyes narrowed and her mouth closed and I felt the note begin to move toward me once more, and this time I pushed it back with force.
