“At the time, we didn’t have a daughter, and I didn’t need any of the information it contained. But when you started talking about the locket and your own history, it jogged my memory. I remembered seeing this book when I was a kid. It’s a journal written by my great grandmother’s great-great grandmother. Say that three times fast.” He chuckled. “She was a gypsy healer,” he finished softly.
Cindy took the book and opened it carefully. It was old and felt as though it might fall to pieces if she handled it too roughly. She began to gently turn the pages and paused when she came to a drawing of Sally’s locket. She looked at the page next to it and began to read out loud. “The Healer’s Locket, or Luna’s Locket, as it has sometimes come to be called, was blessed at its creation by the Great Luna. It has been passed down through generations of gypsy healers. No one knows what the jewelry’s exact purpose is or what power it holds. And it has not always stayed in the same family. Certain healers throughout history are meant to possess it, and the locket always finds a way to them. Make no mistake, the locket was created for a reason, and such a time is coming when it’s power will be revealed.”
“Isn’t that vague and less than helpful,” Chris said dryly.
“Not entirely,” she said as she continued to flip the pages. “We know it’s important, and it is supposed to be with Sally. With everything that has happened to her, I think it is a good sign she has ended up with it.”
“Why didn’t it protect her?” he said in a voice filled with the pain of a father who couldn’t protect his daughter.
“We don’t know that it didn’t, my love,” she said as she reached for his hand. “Who knows what might have happened to her mind had she not had the locket in her possession? We must trust the Great Luna, and we must be willing to stand against the Order’s plans.
“I’m afraid the peaceful life we have had for so long has come to an end. But, on an incredibly positive note…” She grinned. “We have a grandson. And that, dear husband, is worth any battle we will face.”
“Not again,” Sally said through gritted teeth. She knew she was dreaming, and that made her even angrier because she had no ability to make it stop.
“I’ll always be here, brown eyes.” Jericho’s voice had her head spinning around so fast she nearly fell over, if her dream self could fall over.
He was sitting on the edge of the bed. He was shirtless, but, thanks her subconscious mind, he was wearing pants.
“You’re dead,” she snarled. “You aren’t real. My mate tore you to pieces.”
Jericho’s lips lifted in a lazy smile. “Maybe, but you keep me alive.”
She shook her head. “No. You’re dead to me. Dead in every way.”
“Then why can’t you stop thinking about me? You miss me, don’t you? You don’t have to. You can come climb into bed with me and let me hold you, let me love you.”
Sally tried hard not to gag. Throwing up in a dream was nearly as gross as throwing up in reality. Hell would freeze over and Jen would kiss Decebel’s butt before Sally would ever crawl into bed with Jericho. Not even in a dream.
“Brown eyes.” He sang the nickname, which was now tainted to her. “Look down at your wrist, baby. You miss me so badly you’ll even pretend it was the bracelet that made you give yourself to me.”
Sally glanced down at her arm. Sure enough, the damn bracelet he had given her was there. She pushed at it furiously, attempting to get the offending thing off of her wrist, but it wouldn’t budge. “I didn’t give myself to you, you stupid flea bag! You took what wasn’t yours. You… you are to blame.”
“I don’t remember it that way. Should I remind you? I remember you saying my name, making sounds that drove me crazy. I remember you quite enjoying yourself.” He sounded smug, and she wanted to smack that haughtiness out of him with a brick bat.
“I wish Costin could rip you apart again,” she said as angry tears fell.
“But he can’t, Sally. I’m yours, safe and protected in your beautiful mind. You will never be rid of me. You became one with me. That is an unbreakable bond. You’re mine, brown eyes, and I am yours.”
“NO!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. Her hands were balled into fist at her sides, and she shook her head hard, as if that would make the word truer. “No, no, I am Costin’s.”
“You are mine first, child.”
Sally’s eyes snapped open, and she fell to her knees in relief. “Great Luna.” She breathed out the name as a prayer. Sally bowed her head, and her shoulders shook as her body responded to the adrenaline seeping from her system.
“What is the truth, Sally? You must compare the things that confuse you to what you know to be true.”
“But it is true that making love to someone is to become one with them,” she blubbered out like a broken child.
“Did you give yourself freely to Jericho, the deceiver?”
“It feels like I did.”
“The truth, Sally. No more lies. Did you knowingly, and of your own free will, give yourself to him?”
“No,” she answered and wished she could say it with more conviction.
“You did not. He took what was not his to take. You were not one flesh with him because your spirit and body weren’t truly willing to be joined with him. Hear me now, Sally Miklos. You have to stand firm. You cannot believe the lies that evil wants you to believe. Shine the light into the darkness, and reveal the deception that has been planted in your mind.”
“Great Luna,” Sally said, “I can’t do this without you.”
“You are correct.”
“Will you be with me? With me and Costin?”
“I will. Stand firm against the enemy’s schemes and lies. I will not let them have you. For you are my child. And your time on this earth is not done.” Sally felt warmth flow over her. “Peace be still, Sally. Rest this night.”
There were no more dreams. Simply sleep. Deep, restorative sleep.
Chapter Eight
“There is no greater battle than the ones we face in our own minds. To be your own worst enemy, to be unable to escape, retreat, or surrender, is a form of hell. But when we arise victorious by winning that battle, by refusing to bow down to the lies that plague us, there is no greater victory.” ~Sally
“It has been too long since you have visited us, Cindira,” the forest sprite queen said in a surprisingly warm voice.
“I apologize I have not come sooner,” Cindy said as she bowed her head to the queen of her people.
“I will admit I was disappointed when you left. But, then, we all do strange things in the name of love. How is your human mate and your offspring?”
“My husband is well, thank you for asking. My daughter, however, is the reason I have come. She is far from well and in great need of help. I’ve come to petition you and ask that you allow any luminous sprite willing to help to do so.”
“You are a healer, and for our kind, quite powerful. Why do you need the luminous?” the queen asked as she rested her elbows on the arms of her chair and steepled her hands beneath her chin.