Read Online Viator (The Viator Chronicles Book 1) by Jane Ralston-Brooks - Free Book Online Page B

thinks it was because she felt too much pressure with school and sports. She didn’t even want to go to sleep anymore she was so afraid. And not getting enough sleep made the stress worse, too. But then you popped into her dream and made the monster go away.” Hannah laughed.
    Erin felt shivery and a little weak. “That’s a strange dream.”
    Hannah touched Erin’s arm. “What is it?”
    Erin kept her eyes on the sidewalk. She shook her head as if trying to shake her thoughts away, but a brief memory of Carolyn on a cliff-face flashed through her mind. “Nothing. It just made me think of my own dreams. They’ve been waking me more often lately. And I can’t get back to sleep. I’ve been so tired I even fell asleep this morning in the shop.”
    “This has been going on for a long time.”
    Erin looked out over the boats in the marina toward the water and the horizon. A bench was nearby, and she walked to it and sat down. “These dreams started right after the car accident.”
    Hannah sat down, too. “That’s right.”
    “The vision or dream I had in the hospital before I woke up—where I followed William across the river and tried to bring him back.” Erin’s voice dropped to a whisper. “There was a dark, evil shape that tried to hurt me.” Her whole body shook, and she felt icy cold. Fine drops of sweat broke out on her face.
    Hannah looked at her, concern in her eyes. “Erin, it’s all right. It wasn’t real.”
    She wiped her face with her arm and shook her head. “Of course not. It was so frightening, though. And even after all this time—just the memory is so scary—it’s as if I saw that creature just last night.” She shivered again and whispered. “Maybe that’s what my nightmares are about.”
    “Oh, I hope not,” Hannah said, but Erin saw that Hannah was thinking the same thing.
    Erin took a deep breath and stood up. “We’d better head back.”
    “You’re right. I’ve got to get started on that cake.”
    *****
    “I could use some water. Let’s stop here,” Michael said as he and Bruce turned back toward his house on the last leg of their run.
    “Got cash?” Bruce asked.
    “A little.”
    They stopped outside an ice cream and candy shop and paused to catch their breath. The wind picked up again, and some heavy raindrops splattered on the sidewalk. The two men went inside.
    “Water and a rocky road cone, please—one scoop,” Michael asked the clerk behind the counter.
    “Make mine two scoops of rocky road,” Bruce said.
    Michael shook his head as he grinned at his brother. “You always try to outdo me, don’t you?”
    “Always.”
    “You’ll never be able to.”
    “Hah!”
    They sat down at a table by the window to eat their ice cream and watch the people outside as they rushed to get out of the rain.
    “There’s the two women you noticed by the water,” said Bruce. “They just walked past.”
    “Yes,” Michael said.
    “What struck you about them?”
    “The brown-haired one looks familiar. I think I’ve met her before, but I can’t place where,” Michael said with a shrug.
    “She doesn’t look familiar to me.” Bruce stood up. “Ready to go?”
    “Yeah,” Michael drained his cup. “Let’s go.”
    They ran out the door into the rain.
    Bruce said, “There they are again—in the next block.”
    The brothers slowed to a jog and watched as one of the women called out goodbye and went into a music store. The blond kept walking. As they ran past, Michael wondered where he had seen the woman. Small. Dark hair. Something about her tickled his memory, and he couldn’t get her out of his mind.

Chapter 10
    Erin closed and locked the music store’s door and walked the short distance to her car. The clouds had rolled away, sunshine warmed her face and hair, and the breeze smelled like the salty Puget Sound. She breathed deeply and felt a surge of contentment. Tomorrow would be a sunny day, and Matthew was going to have a wonderful birthday. She headed