* * *
A while later, we were in Nathan’s pickup, heading to his house. I still had no idea where he lived and was taken aback when we drove along the coastline. The jagged cone-shaped rocks jetted from the misty ocean in the far distance, like a mythical sea serpent’s horns. Beyond that, a high double-peaked mountain stood majestic above the hills. Evening was encroaching upon us, and the dark gray sky added to the ghostly scenery.
Nathan turned on a narrow paved road lined with spruce trees, piquing my curiosity. I’d never really thought about where he lived, but now I began to wonder.
“We’re almost there,” he said, having fun with me not knowing.
He turned left onto a dirt path that was between a row of trees at the base of a mountain. It snaked upwards for about half a mile. Rocks crunched beneath the tires. He turned onto another dirt road that led through the mouth of the forest. The thick woods gradually thinned, eventually opening up into a huge clearing. Lights automatically came on around an A-frame house constructed of wood and stone. The house had a broad outdoor deck that hugged its girth, and the tall tinted windows covered the entire front, reflecting Nathan’s pickup and the forest back at us. A stone chimney poked out of the roof, like a spire in an old gothic church. For a second I thought we magically entered Mother Goose land.
I was in total awe.
Wide-eyed, I turned to him. “This is where you live?”
“Do you like it?” He kept a straight face, but his lips were twitching, fighting a smile. I could tell he enjoyed my reaction.
I looked at him as if he were insane. “Are you kidding me? I frickin’ love it!”
He couldn’t contain his smile any longer. “C’mon, I’ll show you inside.”
He dashed out of the pickup, and before I had the seatbelt off, he opened my door. I took his hand, and as we approached his house, I noticed how good we looked together in the glass. It was an arrogant thought, but so what.
When we stepped inside, I breathed in the heady smell of pine, savoring the aroma. Nathan hugged his arms around me from behind, and rested his chin on top of my head while I looked around in wonderment.
The first thing that captured my eyes was a rustic staircase that spiraled up to a wide-open loft, fashioned into a library with books adorning the whole back wall. A couch and a couple matching chairs in a deep, burgundy color, were grouped together in an intimate half circle near the books. Across from them, on the far wall, stood a mahogany desk with a laptop computer and a tall chair tucked inside its nook. The wooden railings bordering the room with its perfect scroll design, looked handmade.
The rest of the house was equally breathtaking with its stone fireplace, soaring ceilings, U-shaped kitchen and rich trappings. It was a place of intellect and comfort, a place I could lose myself in for quite a while.
After Nathan gave me the tour, he told me to make myself at home while he took a shower. I decided to check out his library and found a lot of old books on philosophy and religion. I had my hand on PLATO Complete Works when I spotted a leather bound book sticking out two shelves above it. Reaching up, I pulled it down. The brown cover was blank, but when I opened it to the first page, a hand-drawn picture of two interlaced triangles within a circle with weird symbols between the gaps filled the page.
With interest, I sat on the couch and flipped to the next page. There was another hand-drawn picture, but of an upright star inside a circle.
A pentagram.
I knew what that was from doing research on my premonitions. It symbolized the four elements: earth, air, water, and fire. And the upright star represented our spirit while the circle meant eternity.
On top of the next page–written in perfect black calligraphy–it said: The Seal of Solomon. Beneath it was a carefully drawn picture of two rings. One had the two interlaced triangles on it, and the next had the pentagram. But there were four jewels drawn on each ring next to the symbols. Spooky.
“Paige,” Nathan called from downstairs.
“I’m up here.” I didn’t move and kept the book open.
Within seconds he was standing in front of me, looking incredibly cute, wearing a dark blue sweater that complimented his eyes. He tilted his head to see what book I had.
“What’s The Seal of Solomon?” I pointed at the page.
His eyes darted to the book, then to me. An expression of shock and humor crossed his face. He hung his head and shook it.
“What’s so funny?”
He lifted his head halfway, the humor now in his partly squinted eyes. “I planned on telling you about this, but not for a long while since you have a lot to think about right now. And I think it’s comical you discovered something of vast importance to my kind, the dark spirits, and to a handful of humans on your first visit here.”
I scooted to the edge of the couch, excitement surging through me. I loved a good historical mystery. “Okay, you have to tell me now, or I’ll have to torture you.”
His head snapped up. “Oh, really,” he said with a wicked grin, “and how would you do that?”
I said the first thing that came to mind:
“I’ll confront the ‘old one.’”
His face instantly became hard.
“That’s not funny, Paige. He could kill you, so you better not even–”
“Nathan,” I said, “it’s all right.”
“No, it’s not,” he said harshly. “I don’t want you to even entertain the idea of confronting him. He knows you’ve been marked, and your life is already in danger.”
“He didn’t see Mr. Kitty,” I pointed out. “That night when he picked me up, he was too busy messing with his stereo to notice.”
“That doesn’t matter. Remember, what that dark spirit told me?”
My voice rose in frustration. “Yeah, but why hasn’t he tried killing me then?” My words came out shrill, but I didn’t care. This was a stupid argument.
He ran a hand through his hair and sat next to me, his eyes eager for me to get his point.
“For one, those two dark spirits were going to kill you. And two, he’s interested in you for some reason, so he’s hanging back for now.”
My heart raced at the thought of those two dark spirits Nathan took care of. It didn’t hit me until now they wanted to kill me.
He leaned forward, his arms on his knees. “I hate to say this, but I’m glad you’re scared because it tells me I’m getting through to you on how serious this is.”
I blinked in surprise. “How do you know I’m scared?”
He pointed to my chest. “I can hear your heart.” And when he saw the baffled look on my face, he continued. “Extreme hearing is one of the many gifts of immortality.”
“What other gifts are there?” Now I was intrigued. It never occurred to me to ask him if he had any other preternatural abilities other than speed, agility, and strength.
“Extreme eyesight and a sharper mind. You’ll find out if you decide to become immortal, which you need to make that decision soon.”
I moved closer to him, our legs touching. “What if I asked you to do it tonight?”
“I’d tell you to have Anwar do it. I’ve never done it before, and I don’t trust anyone else.”
“But I want you to do it,” I said, hearing the whine in my voice.
“I’m sorry, but I will not risk losing you.”
I didn’t want to talk about this anymore and asked again about the book in my lap.
“The Seal of Solomon,” he began, taking the book, running his fingers over the pictures, “was or is a magical signet ring, which gives the person who wears it the power to control the dark spirits. Legend calls them demons, but they’re really dark spirits masquerading as demons. There are two pictures of different rings here because we’re not sure which one it is. We do know it’s made out of part brass and part iron and has four jewels.”
“So whoever gets a hold of the ring can control the dark spirits?”
“Yes. That’s why we’re tryin
g to find it, so we can destroy it. But the good thing is, the ring is ineffective without the incantations, which are lost and can’t be found without the ring.”
“Do the dark spirits want the ring destroyed too?”
He closed the book and stuck it back on the shelf.
“They say they do, but we don’t trust them. Imagine if a dark spirit in human form possessed the ring and found the incantations. He or she would be able to control all the other dark spirits.”
“How do you know if this ring even exists?” The hairs on my arms stood up, and I hoped he’d say it didn’t exist, even though my gut was saying otherwise.
“To be honest, we don’t know, but we have reason to believe through documentation and research that there’s a possibility it does.” He sat next to me and held my hand. “We can’t afford to let something like this go. Even if in the end we discover it’s only a legend.”
“I understand,” I said. “But who is Solomon?”
“Solomon ruled Israel from about 968 to 928 B.C. and there’s a legend a temple he erected was actually built by the dark spirits he controlled.”
“That’s freaky.” A chill skittered up my spine when an image of dark spirits building a temple filled my mind.
“It is, but we don’t know if it’s true. So it’s up to us to figure out the truth. And if there is a ring, to find and destroy it.”
“How many years have you searched for the ring?”
He touched his chest. “Me, personally, off and on since I’ve been immortal.” He stood, and I followed him downstairs. “Anwar has done a lot of research on it but hasn’t found anything except for legends about Solomon,” he added.
“Does Anwar think what the dark spirits think about me?”
We stepped outside. The bright yellow moon shimmered in the black sky, and the chirping sound of crickets surrounded us. The crisp air had a clean smell, and the cool breeze felt good on my face.
“Yes, he does.” Nathan opened the passenger’s door for me, and I threw him a doubtful look. He continued when he got behind the wheel. “And he’s going to be here as soon as he can get away from what he’s doing now.”
I asked him what he was doing and wondered if he really did believe that about me, then why wasn’t he here? Nathan glanced at me and said Anwar was in Kenya when he came across a dark spirit and followed him to England. This dark spirit might be leading a terrorist cell which could be planning on blowing up the British Embassy.
I curled an arm around my rolling stomach, remembering 911. I was little when it happened, but could still recall the horror and devastation of that day.
“Why doesn’t he cast this spirit out?” My hand fluttered to my forehead when a wave of nausea hit me. I wiped the dampness off. Gross.
“He will, but right now there’s a nest of them, so he has to ambush each one individually. Once he takes care of that, he’ll be here.”
We were on the coastline now. The moonlight glistened off the black water–a glittery gold tail, trailing along the oily surface. In the distance were a couple fishing vessels looking like they were heading to port. I pushed on the side window button, opening it part way, allowing the cool, salty air in. I closed my eyes and inhaled through my nose, hoping to settle my stomach. Nathan touched my arm. I looked at him and could see the concern in his eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, not wanting him to worry. “But you know what?”
“What?”
“I think you should go help Anwar.” I couldn’t believe what flew out of my mouth. Why would I say that when the very thought of him not being in my life depressed me? But I knew why. Protecting the innocent was more important than my happiness.
He shook his head in fierce disagreement. “No way. I’m not leaving you, and Anwar understands.” His jaw was adamantly set, telling me there was no room for debate.
I decided to change the subject and asked him where we were going. The tightness in his face broke, and he smiled.
“You said you wanted to take me out to dinner, so we’re going to a burger joint.”
I frowned. “I can afford to take us to a better place than that. You don’t have to settle for fast food.” I was a little insulted and would much rather go somewhere else.
“I’m not,” he said.
“You swear?” I scrutinized his face, not really believing him.
“Yes. I have a serious craving for those sweet onion rings at Burger World.”
“Okay then, Burger World it is.”