Secret Spirit
Guardians by C.A. Masterson
Exclusive excerpt for Bewitching Book Tours
The low lighting
lent a cozy atmosphere to the Third Street Brewery. A popular pub, apparently,
but not so packed that I grew claustrophobic. The number of people who greeted
Javi with wide smiles and slaps to his back gave testament to his community
standing. I only hoped I could eventually earn the same respect as my cousin.
Their appraising looks seemed to give initial approval, but I stayed close
behind Javi as the crowd made way for him.
Then he stopped
abruptly. “Hey, man. Glad you’re here.” He swept an arm around my shoulder and
scooped me forward. “You finally get to meet my cousin, Marissa. Mar, this is
Ray.”
The name
vibrated through me, turning my muscles to stone but bristling every nerve to
attention.
As Javi’s good
friend, Ray featured heavily in my cousin’s social media photos, usually with a
beautiful woman or two draped around his neck. Beach-boy handsome, except that
altar-boy smile hid a deep secret. And now he was aiming that megawatt smile at
me.
I managed to
dredge up a pleasant persona. “Hey, Ray.”
Ray’s smile lit
up his face like sunshine. “Hey yourself. Welcome back to Santa Fe.”
Javi touched my
shoulder. “I’m going for a beer. What do you want?”
“Whatever you’re
having.” I watched my cousin shuffle through the crowd, then grinned at Ray,
who still stared at me. “I guess Javi warned you I was coming.”
“He did.”
Sheepish, Ray
ducked his head. “I remember you. We were in the same kindergarten
class.”
A laugh burst
out. “Oh, come on. You do not remember me from kindergarten.”
“Sure, I do. You
were the cute girl with long black hair and big brown eyes.”
“Like half the
girls in the class.” That was the illusion my parents hoped for, anyway.
Marissa Tahy, the girl who was just like everyone else. It worked well enough
for the adults, but not the kids. It took all of two seconds for schoolmates to
single me out as different.
Ray turned sly.
“Yeah, but you had a tongue that could cut down anyone with one swipe.”
I wrinkled my
nose at him. “Was I mean to you? Sorry.”
The wattage of
his sunshine smile dimmed. “Guess I didn’t make the same impression on you.”
Javi returned
and handed me a beer.
“I don’t
remember much from then.” I tilted the bottle to my lips. The things I did
remember, I wished I could forget.
“Not even outrunning most of the other kids? You were faster than everyone, racing around on your banana seat bike. It was purple and had those pom-pom things hanging from the handlebars. Usually they pointed straight back because you pedaled like the wind.”
Never as fast as
my brother Michael. I’d had to pedal hard just to keep him in sight.
Not a memory I
wanted to share. “Sounds like the usual kid stuff.”
To his credit,
Ray let the subject drop, and instead engaged Javi in work talk.
I let my gaze
wander and caught sight of a guy, only a glimpse, as he passed behind some
people near the entrance. An aura of shadows surrounded him, but enough light
fell across his face to outline his arresting features. An unforgettable face,
but I couldn’t place him. Another long-lost schoolmate? Doubtful. Something
about him unsettled me. “Will you excuse me? I need to find the rest room.”
“Course.” Ray
gestured. “They’re that way.”
As I walked
away, the noise in the room washed together in a blur. So did the people. All
but one. The man I’d glimpsed earlier stood watching me. He was so still, yet
he didn’t fit in with the scenery.
The same icy
fingers reaching into my heart propelled an urge to run. I pushed open the rest
room door and bumped into a woman leaving the bathroom.
“Sorry.” My
quick apology earned only a cursed response, so I took greater care on the way
out.
Still unnerved,
I was relieved to see the stranger had gone.
“Ready for
another?” Javi asked.
“Not yet.” I
must have downed the last one too fast. My head buzzed, and a dull ache began
to throb at my temples.
Movement in my peripheral vision made me turn. I froze. He was there again. Still watching me. I wanted to look away but couldn’t. The buzz in my head grew louder. Everything around me fell away. There was only me and him. Then he laughed, and the sound reached deep inside, rattling my bones. The longer he stared into my eyes, the more urgent it became for me to get away. I gripped the edge of the bar, wanting to push away, to run, but my muscles had turned to rusted iron, immovable.
The need to flee grew more intense when the man moved from the back of the bar toward me. He approached without discernible steps or obvious motion. Yet somehow, he closed the distance between us. My heart jumped into my throat. Adrenaline coursed through me, the pressure built until my skin wanted to explode.
I hoped Javi and
Ray would notice my silent distress, but I couldn’t make myself turn toward
them.
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