The Connection (The Claudia Belle Series Book 3) Read online

  “Do you have things prepared for us? My pet is famished,” Quentin said.

  “Of course, Mighty one.” She turned to the women behind her and clapped her hands to bring forward refreshments and food.

  “The festivities will begin,” she now announced. She walked ahead into the shadows of the large wall filled with caves. The group of women greeted us now, parting a path for us to walk through, all of them staring at me with eyes of amazement, and some were whispering and pointing to my shoes and clothing.

  They were curious, following Quentin and I up to a large throne a few yards into the compound. It seemed to be the leading witch’s throne, but Quentin seated himself upon it as if it were his own. I took a seat beside him where a large stone, shaped like a tree stump, was set. The throne was made out of animal skeleton bones and skulls decorating the arms and frame. Behind the throne were the bones of a large bird whose wings spread above and around the grand seat.

  A group of witches came to stand in front of him, and as two other witches brought us refreshments, the women standing before us began to dance seductively.

  Quentin smiled; his eyes widened, and he seemed to be enjoying himself. I felt jealousy, burning jealousy as their dance became more erotic in nature. They started removing veils and parts of their gowns, exposing parts of their thin and slender legs and waists. I glanced over at Quentin as I drank deeply from the goblet that had been handed to me. He wasn’t drinking; he was too intoxicated by the women dancing before him to do so. As they slowly moved their bodies, they came inches from him, moving their delicate fingers out to brush against him.

  The fury and jealousy in me grew, and I drained the drink and at once was brought another. As I looked up at Quentin, I saw he was now clapping as the dancers motioned for him to come forward and join them. I shook my head. It was spinning now as he went to stand among the women; they were dancing around him, touching him, caressing him, and brushing upon him. And then he gazed over at me. The women moving around him came slowly towards me, motioning for me. The cup fell from my hands as everything around me began spinning, and I felt them help me to my feet and drag me towards Quentin who came closer until…

  I couldn’t move. I felt my head spinning, and my legs wouldn’t move, but somehow I was walking and now standing in front of him. He reached for me. “Awaken---Stay,” he whispered. “Stay with me forever!”

  “I want you,” he hissed with his breath heavy. “I want to make you mine!” I felt his lips upon mine again.

  I swallowed hard, unable to make sense of the words as I felt his lips kissing mine, and now I felt the delicate fabrics and soft textures and the warmth of the bed as I laid upon it with him looking down over me. He pulled back as I reached for him again.

  “Please don’t leave me,” I whispered with my head still spinning. I saw his face and then nothing but haze and double vision.

  “I can’t stay. I don’t belong here.” He smiled. “But you can come with me, and you can stay with me forever. Just tell me. Tell me that you want me. Tell me you want me, and you can stay with me forever. Tell me you want to be mine,” his lips hissed. “And I will take you away with me, and we will never be apart. Ever. Tell me!” His lips demanded, but his face began to spin before me until everything went black.

  I sat up finding myself in my bed at home. Quentin was nowhere, and the window was wide open, and the white curtain was blowing in the breeze. I slowly rose; I was trembling as I reached to close the window.

  My head was throbbing. I jumped into bed. Had it all been a dream? I wondered this until I noticed I was still wearing my shoes, and they had stained the white sheets with dirt. I took off my boots and pulled the sheet up to my neck.

  “He wants me to stay with him,” I whispered. “Forever.”

  And I knew I wanted to. I couldn’t resist him, and I wondered if it was because I loved him. I couldn’t fight him when he was near. I couldn’t think straight. Why did he have this strange effect on me?

  “The connection,” his voice seemed to whisper from somewhere in my thoughts. But I didn’t know what that meant. And the more I thought about it, the more I knew I wanted him and to be with him. But Michael, I thought, my poor guardian Michael.

  “He doesn’t matter, does he?” A voice from somewhere in my mind seemed to say, trying to almost reason with me.

  “I want you, and I know you want me too,” I heard his voice in my mind again. “Come with me! Be mine! I will give you everything. Just love me, and I will be your servant forever!” It said again.

  “…Forever?” I whispered, unable to decide, unable to understand the power and hold he had over me.

  I saw his face in the dark corner of my bedroom, his eyes staring back at me, and then his whole ghostly face smiling beautifully. “Yes but you must Awaken, my Pet-tricia.” He hissed and reached out.

  “I must return to my home soon, and I want you to come with me. Come with me.” And then his face fell back into the darkness, and he was gone.

  I dropped to my bed, looking up at the ceiling with my head throbbing and my heart hitting the inside of my head. I thought I saw him dancing over me.

  “Quentin,” I whispered, and he smiled, extending a hand out to me. I reached for it in the same matter and then closed my eyes and found him there in my dreams as well, and we danced now high into the skies over the clouds like two birds. And he kept repeating, “Come with me!”

  5

  Alex

  Two hours earlier—

  * * *

  She drove up and down the street, but Claudia was nowhere to be found. She got out of the car and began to walk up to the house, but stopped, gazing up towards Claudia’s bedroom. Could she still be there? No. She wasn’t.

  But where was she? She was supposed to wait for her to pick her up. That was the plan, to meet on the street at this time, and then they would head to the party. Alex walked back to the car; she got in and sat there for a few minutes. If Claudia wasn’t here then where was she?

  She feared the worse. Had Quinn delivered with his threats? She turned on the engine and sped off into the night, at first not knowing where to go until she decided to head towards the party.

  She arrived, and the street was already crowded with vehicles; the party was in full swing, and she got out, hoping to find Claudia, but she feared the worse. She clutched the pouch in her hands, feeling the crystals inside the bag as she walked towards the entrance of the house. Kids she knew a few from school were standing outside with drinks and cigarettes in their hands.

  As she came to the house and walked inside, she noticed it was a crowded mess of teenage faces. They were dancing, and the music was loud and overbearing. She moved along inside as the crowd moved, screaming and pushing their way past her. There was a mess of bottles and trash, stains and spilled drinks everywhere as she looked. She felt sorry for the person that had to clean up the mess. And she was happy it wasn’t her house; the house belonged to a girl named Jennifer Scotts, and her parents were out of town on some stupid European cruise or something.

  Boy, they were going to get a surprise when they returned.

  Alex made her way to the back of the house; a few kids she knew waved at her, and a boy she knew from English, Jason Thompson, came over to talk to her, but over the noise, she couldn’t hear what he was saying. She barely made out a few screamed sentences.

  “Where have you been for three days, man?” He asked. He looked drunk and out of his mind already, like most everyone in the house. Alex regretted even coming. It seemed like a slim chance that Claudia was even here, and she wanted to tell Claudia the truth and give her something that would protect her before it was too late.

  “Why aren’t you drinking?” Jason asked Alex.

  “Have you seen Claudia?” Alex asked, screaming into his ear and ignoring his question. He leaned forward again, and she repeated the same line but then added Claudia’s full name.

  Who didn’t know that name by now? She was popular but
for all the wrong reasons. Students either paid attention to her because of her grandfather or because she was pretty.

  “Claudia Belle? No, I haven’t seen her…but I’ve seen your friends. They’re over there.” Jason pointed, and when Alex looked, she noticed the others looking towards her; actually, it was really just Tina eyeballing her from the other end of the hallway.

  Tina walked away in the other direction; if anyone knew where Claudia was at this party, it’d be them. And so she followed, hoping they’d lead her to Claudia. She nearly turned the corner only to catch sight of Sean by the hall as he was coming out. He stopped near the hall mirror and then continued towards the end of the hall. He turned around, but she ducked away, her heart beating and her hands trembling.

  Where were they heading? She followed at a distance as he entered the crowded party of teenagers dancing and continued slowly through the mass of people. She looked around for the others but didn’t spot any of them. Ahead she saw him, but the crowd was thick with teenagers, and she could hardly get by the multitude. She started moving as the music grew louder, and she finally managed to get through the crowd, but she’d lost him again by then.

  She spotted Ruben and Tina, but they didn’t see her as she ducked back to avoid getting caught. They headed in the other direction as if looking for someone. She knew it was for her. She headed in the other direction and into another part of the house and up the stairs that had been off-limit. There she heard voices, and she headed to the end of the hall and into the back room. The door was open, and the voices seemed to be coming from there as she got closer. She recognized Claudia’s voice, but the second voice wasn’t Sean’s. She hesitated.

  Instead of going into the room, she headed for the back deck, hoping to get to Claudia that way. She called out, but with the loud music, she wasn’t sure if Claudia could hear her. Only when she reached the other end of the deck did she spot her three “friends” blocking her path.

  “Look who’s here,” Tina said. The other two smiled next to her.

  “Puppets,” Alex whispered, glaring into their eyes.

  “Get out of my way,” Alex angrily demanded.

  “You tried to hurt her by sending the other,” Ruben said.

  “And now you must pay for that,” Sean calmly said.

  “What? Where is she? What have you done to her?” Alex yelled.

  “She is safe. Safe from your wicked hands and the hands of the other you sent to hurt her,” Tina angrily now said.

  “Other?”

  It was then she realized Quinn’s threat, and she ran out the door towards her car, nearly in tears, dropping her keys but finally collapsing as she remembered her earlier escape. Now he had Claudia. He had her. Was she too late to save her? Had she failed her son and now her granddaughter?

  Why? She uttered. Why us? I'm here for a reason. Why can't I remember everything? But she remembered enough.

  She shuddered. A wind blew through the night, and nervously she looked about and swore she wasn’t alone. She wanted to return for Claudia, but she couldn’t. She knew Claudia would be with him, recalling her own descent into madness in the same matter. Even now she could sense Quinn calling for her. Alex grabbed at the crystal. It was still dangling around her wrist. Then realizing she must stop him, she gathered her strength and tried to rise, only to find the puppets waiting for her.

  She turned away and headed back to the car, jumping in and speeding away, watching her rearview mirror as the three figures disappeared behind her. The crystal on her wrist was glowing blue and then it finally faded.

  “Claudia,” she whispered, but she knew she was alright. Quinn had failed. Quinn had failed because there’s another. There’s another. She scolded herself for not realizing it earlier. There’s always one for another, one for each counterpart. She’s not the first one nor will she be the last.

  “Quinn,” she whispered. Quinn was calling her. Quinn was hurt, and Quinn had fled. He was the other the three spoke of, the other that tried to hurt Claudia. She knew this because Quinn knew this, because he was calling for her, because he was hurt and had fled. He warned of the other.

  Alex suddenly slammed on her brakes. She was sitting there in the car looking straight ahead at the empty road at the roll of houses on each side of the street, pretty houses, white houses, some with picket fences and beautiful yards. This was suburbia, this pie slice of America. This was modern day life, and yet she never knew it until now. She knew of the other; she knew of him because Quinn knew of him, because he was warning her. He was hurt and couldn’t come to her.

  “It’s you?” She said. “No,” she whispered.

  “Quentin…Q!” She cried. “It’s you. You’re—” She stopped herself from saying it.

  “No, I have to protect her. You will not have her!”

  Alex slammed her foot onto the gas and sped off into the night.

  6

  Claudia

  The following day as we drove into Milton, we noticed two police cars blocking the main entrance of the parking lot. At closer examination I realized why and wanted so badly to hide. I thought somehow everyone would know that it had been my fault.

  “The hole,” I let it slip from my lips, and Michael, perplexed, glanced over at me. Before he realized what I had said, he saw it.

  There was a pile of cars inside it, and I noticed the yellow tape sealing off the area where the sinkhole had appeared. There were a few city workers and two police officers standing but a distance away assessing the damage. But they didn’t appear to be any kind of city workers I had ever seen, not policemen or firemen. I don’t know why I had that eerie thought as I looked out the car window at the scene to the left of us.

  The men seemed to just be standing around appearing busy; not far from where they were, two black Lincoln SUVs with dark tinted windows sat. I couldn’t even see the driver inside of them. One of the officers stepped up to our vehicle as Michael slowed down and lowered his window. Michael’s reflection was caught in the glasses of the tall officer with blond hair. He was a very fit man, and he stepped over, lowering his shades. He gazed into our car and stared right at me for a few seconds. I looked away, feeling his eyes were searching for something in them.

  “Keep moving sir, in the other direction,” he firmly said, directing his shaded eyes over at Michael who was looking over at the damage behind them.

  “What happened here?” Michael asked the officer.

  “Nothing that concerns you sir. Please keep moving to the other end of the parking lot. We’re assessing the damage.”

  They didn’t seem to be doing much of anything but standing around; although the city workers were measuring the hole and busy typing into a laptop which sat on top of one of the black SUVs. They were all wearing dark shades, and something was very off about them; they sure didn’t look like city workers, just as the officers didn’t look like real police officers. There was something strange about their glasses.

  “But you see it does concern me.” Michael seemed to disagree. God, I wish he didn’t argue; this guy didn’t seem right with me. He made me nervous. There was something odd about him, something that made me wonder whether he was even a real officer. It was an odd thing to think, but I felt the truth tickling my skin.

  “Michael,” I said, trying to get his attention for the obvious reasons. I would have said something else, but at the moment, the officer stared back towards me, and I froze, looking straight ahead instead.

  “I work here, and I need to inform my staff if we need to evacuate the building,” Michael said again. The man was very firm. He had no expression except for that arrogant stare he had given us through the shades since we had first stopped to get information of what had happened at the Milton parking lot.

  “We will inform you and your staff if there is a need to evacuate. Now please keeping moving. You’re blocking traffic,” the officer instructed firmly.

  I put my hand on Michael’s arm, and he looked over at my worried expression
as I nodded to him. It was best we move away for now. He agreed and drove away. I cautiously looked back, finding the officer’s piercing eyes tracing our vehicle towards the other end of the parking lot. At the far end, another police officer was directing traffic at the other entrance. Michael pulled into the parking space and shut off the engine, and we both got out.

  “I hope someone inside can tell me what’s going on,” Michael said as we walked, nearing the entrance of Milton. A small crowd had gathered a few yards away, watching as the crew tried to assess the damage. Two more city trucks arrived, and a few more city workers got out, and they were no different than the others in appearance. They were all wearing the same shades on their eyes.

  What was going on? Why did I get the nervous feeling something was not right here?

  “What the hell is going on?” Even Michael asked this as we walked up the steps of the entrance of the building. I hurried into the construction, following closely behind him. This was my entire fault. Quentin and the other figure had caused the hole during their fight. But I couldn’t say that to Michael or he would know I had gone to the party.

  After Quentin had left, I had thought about what he had said to me, about his plea for me to come away with him. If Michael knew any of the things that Quentin had told me, he wouldn’t know how to react, but he definitely wouldn’t be happy.

  I looked back out the door and noticed the crew and police examining the damage to the vehicles nearby. There were things they couldn’t explain, like the damaged roof on the vehicle but a few yards away from the hole. Something else had happened, and they seemed to consider that. Who were they? Again, I found the officer’s shaded eyes staring back towards the entrance, staring right at me as he lifted his hand and waved so unnaturally at me with a single curve of his lip. Startled, I hurried inside.