“Hmm, bummer.” Emma looked at the angel again and then frowned. “Why’s he here? Is my destiny to die?”
The angel smiled at her and it was radiant. “I am merely keeping Brudair company; he is having a bit of a rough week.”
Emma thought about this and then smiled with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “Is it because of the girl from my dream? Serenity, I think is what she told me her name was. She looked like she was going to be, what my mama called, a tough cookie to crack.”
The angel burst into a belly laugh while Dair frowned at both of them.
“She is proving to be one of my more difficult assignments,” he agreed.
There was a moment of awkward silence and then Dair spoke again. “Why are you here, Emma?”
She tried not to flinch at the thought of her parents, but the pain was still so very raw. DHS had suggested that she talk with a counselor, and she had tried but she didn’t know what to say. She was sad but she didn’t think it had really set in that they were gone.
“My parents were killed. They were shot at a gas station,” she told him as she climbed up on the bed. Emma still wasn’t ready to talk about it, not even with an angel and the Sandman. “I guess I should go to sleep so you can do your job.”
“I am sorry for your loss, little one,” the angel said as he reached out a hand and placed it on her forehead. Emma felt power rush into her and then peace―like she had not known since before her parents' death―flowed through her.
“Thank you,” she told him, unable to think of anything else that would be adequate for the gift he’d just given her. For the moment the pain was at bay and she might actually get some sleep. Emma was asleep as soon as her head hit the dusty pillow.
Dair stared down at the sleeping child and was surprised at how very young she looked. When she was awake her mature vocabulary and confidence made her seem like a much older child, but in sleep all that was stripped away, and she looked like the innocent eight-year-old that she was.
“She has been through much,” Raphael said quietly.
“I’m afraid that she will go through worse before her life gets any better.” Dair’s jaw clenched as he looked around the room for the first time and saw the living conditions that she would be forced to endure. “This woman is not fit to raise a child.”
Raphael laid his hand on Dair’s shoulder. “We cannot interfere, you know that. The consequences for that is banishment.”
“I know. But that doesn’t mean it makes it easy to watch.” Dair stepped forward and closed his eyes. He gathered his power and allowed Emma’s dream to take form and then he gently entered her mind. The dream didn’t seem very significant to him. It showed Emma going to the library, and he recognized it as the Marion County Library, where Serenity’s aunt worked. That was all and as his part in the dream was concluded, he pulled out of her mind.
“I’ve made sure she will sleep peacefully,” Raphael told him.
“What happened to not interfering?”
“Granting a little child a small measure of peace will not change the course of history or interfere with her free will.”
“I know Serenity’s and Emma’s fates are tied together somehow,” Dair spoke up the thoughts that had been in his mind since he realized Emma was his assignment. “And for some reason it doesn’t feel like that’s a good thing.”
“You must let their destiny unfold, regardless of whether or not you agree or like the way it feels.” Raphael’s words were not meant to be unkind; he was simply reminding Dair that he had no place in the human realm, not really. He was simply a messenger.
“What if I can’t?” Dair asked.
“Then you must leave, for good.”
Serenity looked into her bathroom mirror after having washed her face. The air hitting her wet skin was cool and she shivered. She looked tired. The dark circles under her eyes did nothing for her already pale skin, and she was pretty sure she might have lost a few pounds, but she didn’t typically pay attention to the scales.
“Longest…week…ever,” she told her reflection. She was frustrated with herself even though she had done what Glory had told her. She’d gone on living. She hadn’t sulked in her bedroom or curled up in a ball and rocked back and forth as though she’d lost touch with reality. She had gone to school, talked to friends, gone to work, helped at the library, and had dinner with her Aunt Darla and Uncle Wayne who was home for the week. She’d lived, darn it. But the one thing she hadn’t done much of was sleep. She kept thinking that he would come when she slept, or maybe she’d just been hoping. Serenity hadn’t felt depressed as she lay in her bed at night with sleep refusing to take her under. Rather, she just couldn’t stop her mind from racing with thoughts about the mysterious Dair. As much as she tried, she just couldn’t push him out of her mind. She wondered what he looked like, what he did during the day when he wasn’t weaving dreams for people, and where he lived, or if he lived anywhere. Did he eat or sleep or have any of the normal human body needs and functions? She hadn’t dwelt on that too long because, well, she didn’t exactly know him well enough to be concerned with those things. So sleep had eluded her while her mind created hazy images of a mystery guy with an alluring voice.
Serenity brushed her teeth and then headed to the living room to tell her aunt and uncle goodnight.
“I’m going to turn in; I’m so tired,” she told them.
“You look a little rough around the edges,” Uncle Wayne told her, never one to mince words.
“Thank you for that, oh fish whisperer,” she said dryly.
“Do you work at the vet tomorrow?” Darla asked.
Serenity nodded. “Yep, I’ve got to be there by 7:00 a.m. to let the dogs outside.” She looked over at Wayne. “Any more hunting expeditions planned?”
“Hope not, we found the den of the mountain lion and waited until she came back from hunting. It was freezing but we got her. Hopefully, the Thompson’s won’t lose any more goats.” Serenity nodded and then turned back to go to her room. In her mind she counted, three, two, one.
“I got a new one for you,” her Uncle Wayne hollered just before she reached her door. She smiled to herself, knowing what was coming.
“Okay,” she said as she walked back into the living room. “Let’s hear it.” Aunt Darla was already shaking her head.
“Relax, Darla, it’s not that bad,” Wayne told his wife.
“I’ve heard that before,” she retorted.
“Why do squirrels swim on their backs?” He paused for effect and then chuckled as he answered. “To keep their nuts dry.”
Serenity couldn’t help but crack a smile, though Darla told her laughing at his jokes only encouraged him. Serenity disagreed. She always responded, I think if we didn’t laugh at them then he would just tell more because he would be determined to get a laugh out of us.
“You’re right, Uncle Wayne, compared to your other material that wasn’t too bad.” Serenity waved goodnight and headed for her room.
She set her alarm on her phone, just in case she actually got some sleep. Being late to work was not something she made a habit of, especially when she knew those poor dogs were waiting to go outside to do their business. Serenity flipped off her light and then pulled back the covers of her bed and climbed in. But just like the other nights, tired as she was, she couldn’t sleep. She stared up at the ceiling counting the fan rotations. Nearly a half hour later the blades on the fan began to grow darker. She thought perhaps her eyelids were finally getting heavy, but she quickly realized that she still wasn’t the least bit sleepy. He was back.
Serenity shot up and she realized how comical she must have looked but she pushed away her embarrassment. She had more important things to worry about besides being self-conscious.
“Dair?” she nearly whispered into the now completely pitch black room.
“Yes.” His voice was every bit as potent as it had been the first time he’d spoken to her. Serenity shook off the effects. Focus Sarah, sh
e told herself.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d come back,” she admitted.
“I told you I would.”
She couldn’t tell anything by his tone of voice. It wasn’t betraying any emotion and it frustrated her. Was he irritated with her for doubting him? Had he been thinking about her all week and worrying about what she was going to say to him?
“How was your week?” he asked.
“Long,” she blurted out before she had time to censor herself. He chuckled and, by all that was delicious in this world, that chuckle should be outlawed. Any woman who heard that would want to crawl up in his lap and purr.
“As was mine.”
“Really?” Serenity thought she detected a little sadness in his voice.
“It was not my choice to be separated from you, Serenity. Why are you surprised that I would dislike being away?” He wasn’t being mean, just stating the facts.
“I guess I’m a little leery. You claim to have intense emotions for me, but you don’t even know me.”
Again with the chuckle.
“Could you please not do that?” she asked almost breathlessly.
“Do what?” His voice rumbled.
He knew exactly what she was talking about but she answered him anyways. “That little laugh. Could you refrain from it please?”
“I will do my best if you tell me why you don’t want me to laugh.”
Seriously! she mentally huffed. “It’s disarming.”
“Hmm, good to know,” he muttered and it seemed it was more to himself than an answer for her. “In response to your concerns,” he continued in a less flirty tone, which Serenity’s dignity appreciated. “We have established that I am not human.”
“Definitely established,” she agreed.
“And because I’m not human I don’t think and feel as a human does. My emotions are much, much more intense. They are not fleeting nor are they given freely to just anyone. My life is much too long to squander such precious things like love, trust, respect, and adoration. I am not meant to have a mate. Perhaps, that also is why my feelings are so strong, because being drawn to you cannot be either of our fates. It cannot be because the Creator never intended the Sandman to have a companion. My existence was to solely be about my task. And I had accepted that. But then you were my next assignment and I was intrigued by the selflessness in you. So I watched you, I listened, and I do apologize if that sounds a little like I was stalking you.”
Serenity laughed because he was right, it was pretty freaking creepy. But she could hear in his voice that he wasn’t watching her in a creepy way. He was curious. He wanted to understand her.
“And so because of the things you observed about me, you began to care for me?” she asked.
“I was attracted to you the minute I saw you. But it grew into something more when I got to see beyond your beautiful face.”
If he was trying to get brownie points he was doing a good job. Serenity felt her face heat up at the compliment. She’d never been good at taking compliments.
“Your skin is lovely when you blush.”
His words took her by surprised and she sucked in a sharp breath. “You can see me?” She was looking around as if that was going to somehow help her see him. Stop being a moron, Sarah, you can’t even see your hand in front of your face, Serenity chastised herself and then sat still.
“I am the Sandman, the Dream Weaver, the Enticer of Slumber. The night is mine. The darkness is my cloak and obeys my commands. If I do not want to be seen, I can prevent it.”
“The girl in my dream, Emma, has seen you,” she pointed out.
“Yes.” There was a smile in his voice, and Serenity wished so much that she could see that smile. “Children are very perceptive, much more so than adults. Emma saw me when I was on another assignment and she interrogated me. She is quite impressive for an eight-year-old.”
“I thought the same thing.”
They were both silent for a few minutes. Serenity wasn’t sure what to say next. Should she just jump in with, hey please stay and hang out so we can see where this goes? Could he stay, even if he wanted to? There were just so many questions, so many what ifs. She didn’t know where to start so instead she stayed silent.
“Have you decided whether you want me to leave or not?” he asked, proving that he was indeed braver than she.
“I talked about it with my best friend.” She waited to see if he would freak out over the fact that she’d told someone about him.
“She believed you?” He sounded completely skeptical. Silly immortal.
“Not all adults are closed minded. Glory knows I wouldn’t lie. So yes, she believed me.”
“What did she say?”
Serenity thought back to the many times her best friend had asked if Dair was hot and then about her description of what his voice induced. She decided he didn’t really need to know much of what Glory said. “She thought I should give you a chance.”
His silence indicated to her that he was surprised by her best friend’s reaction.
“And what are your thoughts?”
“I,” she took a deep breath and let it out before she finished, “agree.”
Suddenly the darkness began to grow lighter until she could see though her light was still off. She blinked and let her eyes adjust before looking up. When she finally did, she found herself having to tilt her head up and up and up until she finally saw the face of the very tall, inhumanly handsome immortal before her.
Her throat suddenly felt as if she’d been drinking sand all day and the hinges in her jaw seemed to be broken because her mouth would not close. No matter how much she screamed in her mind for her brain to close her gaping jaws, it just wouldn’t happen. As Serenity stared up into eyes so black and clear that she could nearly see her reflection, a brief thought flew through her mind; I could stare into those eyes for eternity.
When he cleared his throat it seemed to make something inside her click and her synapses started firing again. She was able to look away from the mesmerizing eyes to the rest of his face. He was beautiful―masculine, no doubt, but beautiful as well. He had black hair, shiny and long on top, sweeping to the side. His skin appeared as smooth as marble and his jaw was strong and defined. His nose was straight and perfectly proportioned for his face and his lips. My, my, Serenity purred to herself. His lips, plump without being feminine, curved up in that moment to one side in a little smirk. Her eyes snapped back up to his and the gleam in them said he completely understood that she was basically just checking him out, like looking over a piece of fruit in a grocery store. And much to her chagrin, her next thought was whether or not he’d taste as sweet as the fruit looked. It was one of those moments when she really wanted to smack herself.
“I had the same reaction the first time I saw you,” Dair said wrapping her in the warmth of his deep voice again.
It took some work but Serenity finally managed to swallow down the sand. “I, uh, I don’t know what you mean.” Playing dumb was a good way to go, right? She couldn’t very well fess up to mentally drooling over him.
“So you don’t find me attractive?” His brow pinched together giving him a boyish cuteness.
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you didn’t say you did either.”
“Do you start all your conversations with how attractive you find the other person?”
There was that laugh again. The heat rushed up her neck until Serenity was sure she must be as red as Santa’s butt.
“Alright, you win,” he conceded. “I will refrain from making any more assumptions because I don’t believe I could keep up with your witty banter.” He held out his hand then and leaned forward just a bit. “I’m Brudair, and it’s an honor to meet you.”
Coming from any other man on planet earth that would have been the cheesiest thing she’d ever seen. But from Dair, it was so natural and sincere that instead of laughing she wanted to sigh. Was she pathetic? Definitely. Did she care at that moment?
Not even a tiny bit. Serenity reached out her hand and placed it in his larger one. The contact with his cool skin made her want to sigh. “I’m Serenity, but you already know that. It’s nice to meet you as well.” She expected him to release her hand but instead he simply held it firmly in his own. He straightened and took another step towards her. She felt so small sitting on the bed while Dair stood looming over her. “Would you like to sit?” She nodded to the end of her bed. He nodded in return and stepped to the side, and, in moves that seemed too graceful for such a large person, he sat, barely jarring her at all. He had yet to let go of her hand, not that she minded.
“So what now?” Serenity asked him trying very hard not to squirm under his intense gaze.
“I’m not sure. I’ve never been in this situation before. What have you done in past relationships?”
Serenity didn’t miss the tightening of his lips as he asked her about other boyfriends. He needn’t have worried. Looking away from him, suddenly feeling inadequate she answered, “I’ve never been in this situation either. I’ve never dated anyone.”
“Then once again you are not like the other humans. I will not deny that I am happy to hear that there have been none before me. I would hate to have to compete with memories.”
She looked back at him, thankful that he didn’t think her strange for being eighteen and a virgin in more ways than just the biblical sense. She’d never held a guy’s hand, not romantically. She’d never kissed anyone or been held in strong arms by a guy who cared for her. “Maybe we could start by getting to know each other a little better. Where did you come from? Where do you live? How long will you be here? Just for a start.” She smiled sheepishly as his eyes widened at her sudden rapid fire questions.
“I was hoping I could win you over by my charm, charisma, and good looks before I had to tell you things that might scare you off.” Despite the light sound in his voice, in his eyes Serenity could see real worry.
“If you are worried that I will be shocked by what you are going to tell me, then you’re right, I might be. But I’m not a coward. I don’t run from something just because it’s different from me.”