Read Online Dancing With Monsters by M.M. Gavillet - Free Book Online

don’t like coffee,
I have tea inside.” He took a sip from his cup. “Good thing I put a
secure lid on it.” I gingerly took the white Styrofoam cup from
him. “Hurry and drink it before it gets cold. The Java Hut makes
the best coffee I’ve ever tasted.”
    “ You…How…” I shook my
head.
    “ April, we both know I can
move fast. You shouldn’t be so amazed,” he said in a teasing
voice.
    “ I know, I know, but it’s
not that.” I glanced all around. “Something was here.”
    Ben looked around and then took in a
deep breath. “There is nothing here but you and me. The protection
spell is strong, I can sense it.”
    “ No,” I pressed my
concern. “Something was here, and I felt it.”
    Ben wasn’t as shaken up as me, and
that bothered me. He was use to and understood the things that have
haunted me since I could retain memories. The things that went bump
in the night didn’t faze him, but they still made goose bumps run
up and down my arms.
    “ You may have sensed
something, but the demons can’t get you through the spell.” He took
the last sip of his coffee. “I know what you need.” Ben pointed his
finger at me and went inside the house.
    “ What?” I asked following
him. “How do you know and what is it?”
    Ben opened the closet and pulled out a
wicker basket filled with hats and gloves.
    “ You’ll need these to
protect your skin from the air.” He tossed me a black ski mask and
a pair of leather gloves. “Yolanda left those gloves here last
time, and I keep forgetting to give them back to her.” He motioned
with his eyes at the soft, black, leather gloves.
    They were feather-light, and soft,
like a baby’s blanket.
    “ I’ve become accustomed to
the extremities of temperature when traveling as efficiently as I
do.” Ben smiled. “It’s important for you to keep all of your skin
covered for now.”
    “ You mean I can run as
fast as you?”
    He laughed as we went out the door.
“Well, you can kick like a mule so we’ll see what you can do, but,”
he locked the door, “any monster can develop any of their abilities
with a little instruction and a lot of practice.”
     
    We went to a barren field nestled
between tree-lined gullies. It was covered in short grass and
outlined with a hotwired fence. The field was on a hill and
overlooked the blue-grey waters of the Mississippi.
    “ Is this your ground or
are we trespassing?” I asked pointing to the sign that clearly
stated no trespassing and all who do would be
prosecuted.
    Ben glanced at the sign that hung
crookedly on the tall hedge post, and was weathered with red
letters turned pink and black ones turned grey. But it was still
readable, and I didn’t want to get caught by the owner.
    “ No, this isn’t my land,
but the person who owns it won’t even know we are here.” He grinned
with a raise of his eyebrows. “We’ll be moving too fast for anyone
to see us, and besides, no one is out here this time of
year.”
    Ben had me do short sprints to warm up
as a light rain began to fall and mist clouded the tops of the
trees. The temperature was dropping making me shiver. But Ben
didn’t stop; he didn’t seem bothered by the cold.
    “ How am I supposed to run
as fast as you?” I spat through chattering teeth. “There is no way
I can possibly run like that.”
    Ben stepped in front of me with the
grey sky framed behind him. Rain delicately hit the ground in large
drops as he gently lifted my arm and exposed my mark.
    “ This says otherwise.” I
looked at it then at Ben. “You are making your own obstacles, April
Snow. You shouldn’t do that. They will only get in the
way.”
    I gave him a confused look.
    “ Making my own obstacles?”
I questioned.
    “ Come on, our lesson isn’t
over.”
    Ben sprinted up a steep hill with me
panting behind him. Rain began to steadily fall from the sky and my
breath fogged in front of me. I was soaked, cold, and
miserable.
    “ To help you out,” he
said, gazing down the slope