Page 44 of Stalked

“Caleb,” I cried, pressing against his chest slightly to move him back.

He stood at the side of my bed, looking down at me in complete horror.

“Where did you just go?” he asked.

“I saw something!” I said. “A … a vision.” My voice trembled as our connection somehow pulled memories from my past life. Seeing myself in another world that wasn’t truly mine anymore.

“When I kissed you?” Caleb asked, looking surprised by that.

I nodded. My fear and surprise slowly ebbed, and I let myself move closer to him.

“Kiss me again.” My fingers gripped his shirt to pull myself up for another kiss.

Once our lips touched, my mind traveled back to the village. I recognized one of the old buildings from Salem, but many shops that should have been there?—weren’t. Suddenly, I realized what I was seeing. It really was a memory of my previous life.

“Behind you!” Caleb tossed me the stick, carved out like a stake. I turned around and plunged it into a man’s chest, hearing him bellow out a gurgling cry.

The vision disappeared again, and I pushed Caleb away completely that time. “What the fuck was that?” My voice wavered, hysteria clawing at the edges of my rational mind.

“Mercy, relax,” he said, even though his own voice was tinged with panic. “It’s okay.”

“What did I do?” I jumped to my feet, moving away from him and to the back wall, pulling my nightgown back up over my chest. “I just watched myself slaughter a man!”

I panicked, panting as I pressed my back into the wall, clutching my fingers at my chest.

“Relax, Mercy,” he said. “Please. I can explain it.”

“You helped me kill someone. Oh, my God, Caleb.” I turned, bolting toward the door, but he pressed his hand against it so I couldn’t pull it open.

“It’s okay, Mercy,” he said, sounding completely out of breath. “You’re not a murderer. What you saw yourself killing wasn’t human.”

I heard Lily running down the hallway before she burst into the bedroom. She cast her eyes around the room, immediately landing on half-naked Caleb, then me, and the underwear on the floor.

“Mercy, are you okay?” She ran her hands all over me, looking to see if I was injured anywhere.

I shook my head.

Lily’s eyes turned back to Caleb. “Get the fuck out of my house. Now!” She moved to stand between us. “I said, get out or I’ll call the police!”

Caleb held up his hands in defeat. “It’s not what you think, Lily,” he said, then turned back to me. “Mercy, fucking help me out here!”

“Lily,” I started, my voice trembling so much I couldn’t find the words. “He … he didn’t do anything,” I explained, “I just need him out of this house.”

Caleb scowled at Lily before putting his hands down and pulling on his T-shirt. “Fine,” he said, but turned to me. “Pick up your phone tomorrow when I call.”

As Caleb stormed out of my bedroom, Lily pulled me toward her and held me tightly to her chest. After we heard the door slam shut downstairs, Lily quickly ran through the house, closing and locking every window there was—not that it would stop Caleb from using his magic to get inside.

After checking on me one last time to ensure I was okay, she returned to her room. I didn’t tell her about my vision, only that Caleb wouldn’t leave when I asked him to. As freaked out as I was, everything I had done with him until that vision was my choice. Caleb wouldn’t hurt me like that.

Once I laid my head on my pillow, I tossed and turned for several hours, replaying the moment I had murdered someone over and over until the sun rose above the horizon.

CHAPTER 13

“I’M GUESSING YOUdidn’t sleep much last night, either,” Lily said as she made her way into the kitchen, tightening her robe around her. “I wasn’t able to fall back to sleep.”

“Lily,” I said. I watched as she paused, her eyes narrowed in on me, with a look that told me she already knew something was wrong.

She carefully took me by the elbow to help me to the couch. I realized at that moment that the secrets I had cursed Caleb about keeping from me, I was now doing the same to her.

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