Wind and Shadow by Tori L. Ridgewood

Author:Tori L. Ridgewood
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: vampires, revenge, detective, witches, wicca, wiccan, lost love, photographer, misadventures, tori l ridgewood, malevolent vampire, mist and midnight, natural witch, running from her past
Publisher: Melange Books LLC

“No!”

“Rayvin, it’s okay, you’re safe! It’s Grant! Michaels, it’s Michaels, I’m here!”

She opened her eyes. Michaels was holding her upper arms, leaning over her, his eyes filled with concern. She looked at her fists and relaxed her fingers. Her chest was heaving. Her pajamas were sweaty; she had kicked off her blankets like a three-year-old. The teacup she had brought upstairs was lying on the floor in pieces.

“I was dreaming.”

“I know, I heard you.”

“I had some tea, I fell asleep, and I had a dream.”

“I woke up when your cup fell, and I heard you crying.” Michaels released her arms and leaned down to pick up the sharp pieces of china. “That must have been some nightmare.”

“Oh, Goddess,” she cried, covering her face with her hands. Her shoulders shook as she struggled to control herself. Michaels put the remains of her cup on the table, and then sat on the bed beside her to rub her back. The basic human kindness dissolved what was left of her reserve, and she collapsed into him, letting the tears flow. Michaels wrapped his arms around her and rocked her, making soothing sounds and stroking her hair.

When her sobs subsided, he let go of her long enough to get a roll of toilet paper from the bathroom. She laughed through a hiccupping breath as he held out the tissue. “You don’t have any kleenex,” he apologized. Rayvin shook her head, accepting it gratefully. “It’s on my shopping list. I just moved in yesterday, remember?”

Michaels stood uncertainly next to the bed, his thumbs looped in the pockets of his jeans. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She wadded up a handful of soft paper. “No. Yes. I don’t want to, but I should.” Her voice sounded so small to her ears. She blew her nose and scrubbed her eyes, throwing the used tissue on the floor.

Michaels stepped back with an amused expression. “It used to drive my mom crazy when I didn’t use a garbage can.”

“I haven’t unpacked a waste basket yet,” Rayvin sniffed. She gave him a watery smile. “Andrea would yell at me, too.” Fresh tears welled up once more.

“I may not be your friend, but you can talk to me, if you want,” Michaels offered.

Rayvin looked up at him, his bandages stained with her poultice and the tape hanging off of him like shedding skin, reading the sincerity in his eyes. Blowing her nose again, she wiggled a little to make room for him on the bed.

Michaels sat.

He leaned gingerly against the headboard, following the trajectory as she tossed another snotty kleenex over the edge of the bed. “I don’t know why you don’t just snap your fingers and make it disappear,” he commented.

“I don’t use it for everything,” she sighed. “Just when I need it, or when it’s not quite under my control.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Okay, then.”

“I dreamed that Jason could walk, that he was in Andrea’s house with her and with the vampire, and they were . . .” Rayvin couldn’t say it.

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