N. Walters: Howl of the Wolf

“Move your purse, Jess.” The deep, throaty voice was the kind that could have made a small fortune selling phone sex. Jessica dropped her purse onto the floor, making room for Tilly to set a large café mocha in front of Jessica and a plate with three cherry-cheese Danishes in the center of the table. Tilly settled into her seat, sipped the peppermint tea she always drank in the morning and sighed. “What brings you here this early? More dreams?”

Sabrina could see the worry in both her friends’ eyes and hated it, hated that she thought they had reason to be concerned. “Yeah.”

“Was it the same as the last one?” Jessica snagged one of the pastries and took a big bite. She might be little, but she could pack away the food.

Was it the same? “Sort of, but different.” Deciding a Danish was just what she needed this morning, Sabrina helped herself to one and took a bite. The pastry was light and flaky, the filling the right combination of sweet and tart. Delicious. In the light of day, eating such a tasty treat and drinking strong, black coffee, it would be easy to dismiss her dream as the product of nothing more than an overactive imagination. But that would be like burying her head in the sand, and she was too smart to do that.

Her Granny Esmeralda had raised her better than that. She, of all people, knew that there was more in the world than what could be understood with the five senses. Just as she knew that truth, she knew her dreams were more than simply dreams.

Tilly glanced over at the counter, but her morning staff had the crowd well under control. “What do you mean?”

Sabrina let herself drift back into her dream, letting the memory flow over her. “The first part was very…erotic.”

Jessica scooted to the edge of her chair. “He was back?”

She’d told both women about her mystery dream lover. “Yes.” This was her third dream featuring him.

“Did you get a better look at him?” That was the difference between her two friends. Jessica was the romantic, while Tilly was down-to-earth practical.

“Yes, but I still didn’t see his entire face. His hair is shaggy and I think dark. And he has a strong jawline.” She didn’t mention his thin but extremely kissable lips.

“Hmm.” Tilly sipped her tea and stared into space, which really meant she was thinking. A split second later, her gaze refocused and her eyes narrowed. “Then what happened?”

Heat skated up Sabrina’s legs and down her arms to pool at her breasts and between her thighs. She shrugged, all the while hoping her nipples weren’t visible from beneath the sleeveless cotton tunic she wore, even though she suspected they were. “He touched me, but before things went too far, the dream changed.” She shivered in spite of the early morning heat.

Jessica popped the last bite of her treat into her mouth, chewed and swallowed. “Then what?” Sabrina saw her friend eyeing the half pastry she had left and pushed it toward her. Jessica nodded her thanks and helped herself.

Sabrina wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she’d worn a light sweater. In spite of the warmth of the morning, she felt cold to the bone. “Then it got scary. I heard the voice again.” That’s how she referred to it. The voice . It was smooth, sophisticated and made her skin crawl.

“This all started when you went away to that conference in North Dakota. I knew you shouldn’t have gone.” Tilly scowled and shook her head. “Bad vibes. I told you that.”

Yes, she had. Sabrina had felt uneasy about it too, but the pay had been too good to pass up. “If it seems too good to be true,” she muttered beneath her breath, but both women heard her.

“It usually is,” Tilly finished.

She took a sip of coffee and tried to order her thoughts. They might be distracting her sleep, but ultimately they were only dreams. They didn’t hurt her and couldn’t. “I’m probably overreacting.” It was easy in the dead of the night to believe there was more to her dreams than her imagination taking flight.

“No, you’re not.” Jessica finished off the last of Sabrina’s cherry-cheese Danish and wiped her mouth with the corner of her napkin. “Never discount your instincts. If you feel threatened, you need to take some precautions.”

“I agree with Jessica.” Tilly pushed her chair back and rose. “I have to get back to work, but we should really do something about this. Maybe see Granny Ledet about a protection amulet or spell or something.” Tilly’s grandmother was a practitioner of voodoo and well respected in her community, but Sabrina didn’t want to drag anyone else into her problems. She had a really bad feeling that something nasty was going to happen, and soon.

“No, leave your Granny out of this. The fewer who are involved the better.”

Tilly’s gaze sharpened like a razor. “What are you feeling?”

Sabrina loved the fact that both of her friends accepted that she had feelings or premonitions. It hadn’t always been the case. Her own parents hadn’t believed her. Only Granny Esmeralda had. Her mother’s mother had raised her after her parents had been killed in a car accident when Sabrina was only ten, an accident she’d warned them about. But they’d ignored her warning and gone on the trip anyway. A semi had veered into their lane, hitting them dead on and killing them both instantly.

“Evil.” It was the first word that popped out of her mouth and it wasn’t quite accurate. “But not just evil. There’s good too. Strength.” She rubbed her forehead, wishing she understood what was happening to her.

“Hey. It will all work itself out.” Jessica offered an encouraging smile. “But right now, we have to get to work.” She stood and waited as Sabrina pushed out of her chair.

“I’ll call my granny later today and ask if there is anything we can do. Drop back later for lunch if you can. I’ve got both chicken and rice and vegetable soup on the menu.” Tilly gave them each a quick hug before heading back behind the counter to help with the increasing crowd.

“Let’s get out of here.” Sabrina suddenly needed to be away from the crowd and outside where she could breathe more easily, needed to feel the warmth of the sun on her face and arms. She strode toward the main entrance, her calf-length skirt flowing around her legs, the bangles on her arm jingling. She stopped long enough to collect her large portfolio bag, easel and stool from behind the counter and waited while Jessica collected her oversized tote and a folding stool.

With a quick wave to Tilly, they were both out the door and on their way to Jackson Square.

“There are things you can do to protect yourself.” Jessica’s purse and tote looked too big for her, but she handled both easily.

“Like what?” Her friend was Wiccan, and Sabrina knew she cast spells on a regular basis. All the jewelry she made was blessed as well and served various purposes, such as to help bring prosperity, health, love or whatever else the person buying it might be interested in.

The dark-blue dress Jessica was wearing left a lot of leg showing and was attracting attention from male passersby. Not that her friend noticed. Jessica seemed oblivious when it came to men. Sabrina often wondered if there was a man back in Kansas who’d broken Jessica’s heart. She’d never mentioned it and Sabrina had never asked, sensing her friend didn’t want to talk about her past. It struck her suddenly how little she actually knew about Jessica.

“You okay?”

Sabrina realized Jessica had been talking to her. “Yeah. Sorry. What were you saying?” She hefted her portfolio over her shoulder, wishing she’d had another coffee. It was going to be a long day.

“You need to cleanse your space by burning sage. Then you can sprinkle some blessed salt around the perimeter of the rooms to keep evil out.”