“Hence the car. And the phone. And …” He turned around the room. Shanna mustered a pale smile, watching him arrive at his conclusions. No microwave, a gas stove, no TV—those usually had a lifespan of about two weeks with her—a house that was a complete antithesis to the CEO of one of the world's biggest tech companies.
Simon leaned back on the counter, closing his eyes. “All right. I’ll just have to physically plant myself at our headquarters, then. That should make them believe me. Could I get a car in town?”
She nodded. “At Joey’s Garage. But it might take a day or two to get one ready.”
“I’ll go ask them right away—I mean, if you could—”
She was on the verge of offering to drive him again, but stopped herself.Pitiful. He doesn’t want you as his wife anymore, so you’re going to be his chauffeur?No, she’d better get it in her head that Simon was leaving, and the sooner she started separating herself from him, the better.
“You can go.” She tossed him the car keys. “It’s down the road from Ralph’s. If you get lost, ask around. Everyone in town is very friendly.”
“Thanks.” He deliberated for a moment, then waved an awkward greeting and left.
So this was it, then. Simon would be gone tomorrow, and in a span of a few days to a few weeks, he’d forget her once more. Shanna sat down and rested her chin on one hand, absently petting Jinx who, for some reason, didn’t choose to follow his new best friend.
“At least you’ll never forget me,” she murmured to the dog.
Jinx yanked on her wrist.
“Hey!” She pulled her hand away, but there were no signs of teeth, and besides, Jinx never bit. Instead, a faint brown marking of a tattoo appeared on her skin. It went around her wrist, like a painted bracelet resembling a twisted rope. An invisible force yanked her wrist again—precisely where the tattoo was—and the markings became clearer and darker, turning from brown to black.
The front door burst open as Simon held up his right hand. “What the hell is this?” The same kind of tattoo had appeared on his wrist.
The yanking stopped, so Shanna approached him. “I don’t know. It appeared on my skin, too.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t do some ‘ritual’ thing again?”
“No!” She threw her hands up. “Maybe it’s protection left over from the ritual that returned you to your body.”
Simon sighed. She couldn’t blame him for being fed up with all the weirdness. “I suppose we can figure it out later.” He headed back to the car, started it, and drove off.
At least for a few yards—and then Shanna’s wrist yanked again. Toward the car. It was so strong she nearly lost her balance; similar to when Jinx yanked on a leash when speeding after a bird spotted on a walk.
The car stopped. Simon got out. They stared at each other, motionless, like two cowboys at high noon.
Slowly, Simon took a step further away from her.
She got yanked again. In his direction.
“What in the…”My turn.Now she stepped back, almost to the door. Simon was yanked toward her. Her new tattoo still shone a clear black.
“I can’t get further away from you.” Simon marched toward her, bristling. “What is this?”
Ritual. Protection.The words repeated in her head until they settled into an answer. She’d never experienced it before, never done it for anyone else either, but she’d heard of such things. Not a ritual, not a spell.
“It’s a bond.”
Chapter 4
“It’s skewed.”
Simon looked over his shoulder. From a few paces away, Everett waved at him with a bottle of champagne.
Simon jumped the two feet down the ladder and approached, looking at the Aries Tech sign he’d fixed over the door of his new—his first—company quarters. “No, it’s not!”
Everett laughed. “I’m messing with you, boy. It looks great.”
It looked amateur, and the entrance was in a back alley no decent person would come to, but it was something. It was a start.
