Read Online Beautiful Warrior by Sheri Whitefeather - Free Book Online Page B

A man’s voice came out of the shadows.
    I blinked my weighty lashes again. Was it the warrior? Was he calling out to me from Room 105?
    I attempted to speak, to tell him I was listening, but my vocal cords wouldn’t cooperate.
    “Vanessa.”  He repeated my name, his voice soft . “I don’t know what to do.”
    He didn’t know what to do ? If I could’ve laughed, I would’ve cackled like a loon. Or more than likely, I would’ve cried.
    “Should I call your doctor?” he asked, just as quietly . “Should I dial 9-1-1?”
    Suddenly, my reality became clear . I wasn’t in a hospital. I was with Duncan in the hotel room we’d rented. It was his voice I was hearing.
    Duncan .
    I squinted, trying to force my vision to clear, desperate to see him . But nothing happened.
    Nothing . Nothing.
    Then …
    One of the shadows took the glorious shape of a man, and there he was . My friend, my real-life lover, with his shiny dark hair, deep-set eyes, and perfect cheekbones.
    The most beautiful warrior of all.
    We were in a queen-size bed, facing each other, surrounded by polished wood furniture. The blinds were open.  It was dark outside, but the lights were on.
    “Don’t call anyone,” I managed to say, the plea scratching my throat. “I can talk now.” 
    “Oh, Christ,” he responded and wrapped his arms around me . “Sweet Christ.”
    Grateful for his embrace, I savored the feeling of being held by him . He was everything to me, so much more than any hallucination could ever be.
    When he released me, I took a curious glance at mysel f, peeking down at my clothes. My fluffy white dress was gone. I was back in my original top and jeans.
    “I was so scared,” he said . “So damned scared you wouldn’t come out of the state you were in. Jack was never catatonic. I’ve never seen anyone like that before. You were like that for almost an hour.”
    I lifted my hand to his jaw . He was even more confused than I was. “I’ve been gone for days.”
    “No, baby, it’s only been about an hour . Believe me, I know. I’ve been watching the clock and wondering what the hell I should do.”
    I dropped my hand, arguing my case . “But I spent the night in the past realm on the first day, and on the second day, I went to the present and future realms.”
    “It must have been playing in your head like a movie, where things happen at a quicker pace.”
    A movie like Oz ? “I met three different versions of you.”  I spouted off my tale, sounding like Dorothy after she was back in Kansas, only my story was much racier than hers. “I got attached to all of them. I even had sex with one of them.”
    “I don’t care if you slept with the Man on the Moon, as long as you’re all right . Please, don’t ever ask me to help you go to Room 105 again. I couldn’t take it.”
    “I don’t think I could handle it, either.”  Nor could I bring myself to tell him that I’d had fantasies about becoming the third warrior’s bride or that he’d asked me to marry him .
    “Do you need anything?” he asked . “Can I get you a soda? Or some food?” 
    “I’ll take some water.”  My mouth was horribly dry .
    He got out of bed and grabbed a plastic bottle from the mini fridge . Not many guys would be able to deal with someone like me. But Duncan’s experiences with Jack gave him an understanding of schizophrenia that most people would never have. I worried that he would get burned out from it, though, and I would become too much for him.
    He twisted the cap and handed me the bottle, and I thought about the rainbow-colored wine I’d drunk in the future realm.
    “It’s so strange to be back in this world,” I said.
    “Just as long as you stay here, everything will be fine.”
    “No, it won’t.”  I sipped the water . It was bland compared to the wine. “The magic I’m supposed to use to break the curse is in my mind. All I’m supposed to do is believe that you won’t die by next year, and you won’t.”
    He sat