Page 12 of The Night Firm
"Wonderful. We look forward to having you as part of our family. I'll send a driver for you and your belongings at 7 p.m. Anything you'd like sent to our home, please let the movers know tomorrow and it will be here waiting for you."
"Can I ask you one more thing?" I rush the words before I lose my nerve. This may be a bad idea, but what the hell. I'm full of those tonight.
"Anything," he says.
I explain to him what I need and I can hear the smile in his voice. "It would be my pleasure to assist in this."
He ends the call, and I sit staring at my phone. Have I completely lost my mind? I kind of feel like I have.
I yawn, and the adrenaline rush of seeing Sebastian and making that call crashes over me, leaving me weak and tired and ready for bed.
I abandon the second bottle of wine and retire to my bedroom, falling onto my mattress like the drunk, exhausted woman I am.
That night my dreams take me to a grove of trees near a stream. The moon is full and reflects off the water. A woman shrouded in a robe stands in front of a blazing fire, her long, dark, hair — untamed and curly — whips in the wind as she raises her arms.
"I am the woman in the wild!" she screams into the shrieking wind. As she speaks, the wind thrashes, the water becomes brackish, the fire blazes, and the trees seem to bend into her.
"I am the blood sister of the moon! I am the call of the night and her secrets. The radiance left from a star. I am all that you need and more than you know. I am the hidden that shall now be found. Tell my story. Set me free. I am the magic that you seek. I am the wild!"
As her robes fall off, she stands naked, her face covered by her hair, the flames dancing off her pale skin, moving around her. She controls the flames, sending them forward. Sending them into me in a flash of heat and searing pain.
My heart slams against my ribs as I wake with a start, gasping for breath, clutching my chest.
I lie in my bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying my dream. It felt so real. So visceral. Like I was standing in the clearing with her. I could feel the heat of the flames, the splash of the water from the stream. I could smell the wood burning and the mulch from the forest. I could feel her power flowing in and around me.
My breathing slows and I check the time. It's not even seven in the morning yet, but I know I won't be getting any more sleep.
I slide out of bed and am about to head to the shower, but I decide to take a run instead, despite my hangover, either from the bottle of wine or the headache, likely both. Still, it's been too long since I worked out. I need this.
On my way to the door, I pause outside my brother's room and take a deep breath. Some days are easier than others. All days are hard. I push it away most of the time, but when I'm home, I allow myself a moment for our memories. Just a moment.
Then I leave the building and begin running.
With music blasting in my ear, and the pounding of the pavement under my feet, I don't pay too much attention to where I'm going, so I'm a little surprised when I end up at The Night Firm.
But I'm not nearly as surprised as when I poke my head in and see it's empty. Not just no one at the front desk, but totally empty. No sign. No furniture. No cool zen decorations. No fountain overflowing.
I pull out my phone and call the office number. The creepy twin whose name I should probably learn answers. "The Night Firm."
"Derek, please, it's Eve."
She puts me on hold without a word. As usual. If I were them I'd put someone more personable up front as the first contact, but that's just me.
"Derek Night here," he says in a distracted voice.
"Hi, it's Eve," I say. "I'm um…I'm confused."
"About what, Eve?"
"I'm at the office, only The Night Firm no longer exists here. Is this some kind of scam?" I ask.
"How could this be a scam?" he asks. "I've sent you money. Isn't a scam usually the other way around?"
He's got a point there.
"So you relocated in the few hours I slept?" I ask. "How's that even possible?"
"With the right motivation, anything is possible."