have a few friends I go out with on the weekends, and I see and talk to my two sisters on a weekly basis, but my mother left us a decade ago. I have never met my father and my only other living relative, my grandmother, traipses around the planet digging up things and sending them to me.
To be honest, I only joined this website because my sister Jane kept setting me up with the strangest men and we came to an agreement that if I joined an online dating service, she would stop. Up until your note and profile, I was sure the universe was filled with losers. Now, I might possibly change my mind.
I look forward to your next note,
Arwen
Taking a deep breath, she pushed the send button, hoping she didn’t come across as, as much of an idiot as she usually did with men she was interested in.
For some reason, she felt exhausted, as though reading and writing the message had taken everything out of her. Shutting down her computer, she changed into pajamas and went to bed. Maybe an early night would help. The instant her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep, two pairs of eyes watching her in her dreams. One pair was dark, intelligent, caring. The other was intense, sinister, evil. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake either of them. Four times, she awoke in a sweat calling out for a person she had never met.
“I must be going crazy,” she murmured the fourth time she woke up. Her ankle tingled as if to agree, and she slipped once again into sleep.
Chapter Five - The Shift Bracelet
Tapping her fingers on her leg, Ari stared out her living room window at the mountains outside. She hadn’t slept well the night before and was feeling jumpy. Added to that, she had agreed when Jane asked to come over with her three youngest children for brunch. Glancing over toward her computer, which she had studiously ignored all morning, her eyes caught sight of the three ugly stuffed pigs she got at the zoo. Hopefully, her nieces would like them.
Glancing at the clock ticking madly away on the wall, she was disgruntled to see only two minutes had passed since the fifteen or so since she last looked at it. Jane was not set to arrive for another thirteen minutes, and knowing her sister, it would be more likely to be thirty. Given she had thirty minutes, her eyes slid back over to her computer. Would Terrian have replied already?
“No,” she quickly said, taking a deep breath. She was not going to be one of those girls who waited with baited breath, or other such nonsense, for some guy to contact her. Leaning over, it took a moment before she realized she was rubbing her ankle again.
Groaning, she leaned back. Ever since she had put the anklet on, she always seemed to be touching it. To her embarrassment, even though she would not admit it to anyone else, she had not removed it since she put it on. She tried once and had a tiny panic attack. So far, it hadn’t tarnished at all, so she assumed getting the metal wet was not hurting it in any way.
Glancing up again at the clock, she grimaced. “Someone has slowed down time.”
A knock on her door surprised her. For one thing, Jane was never early; for another, she would have expected to hear Jane’s three children as they came up to her place. They were not exactly quiet. Walking quickly to her door, she opened it with a smile on her face, ready to greet her nieces, but there was no one there.
Surprised, she placed her hands on the door jamb and leaned forward looking both ways. Not a person was in sight. “Hello?” she called. No answer. As she pulled back to close the door, something caught her eye. Looking down, she was surprised to see a flower wrapped in tissue paper lying at her doorstep. At least she thought it was a flower. She had never seen anything quite like it.
Leaning forward, she picked it up, a loud cry leaving her lips as her ankle flared with pain. “Crap!” she hissed, hopping back on her good ankle while shutting the door. “What is with my ankle?
To be honest, I only joined this website because my sister Jane kept setting me up with the strangest men and we came to an agreement that if I joined an online dating service, she would stop. Up until your note and profile, I was sure the universe was filled with losers. Now, I might possibly change my mind.
I look forward to your next note,
Arwen
Taking a deep breath, she pushed the send button, hoping she didn’t come across as, as much of an idiot as she usually did with men she was interested in.
For some reason, she felt exhausted, as though reading and writing the message had taken everything out of her. Shutting down her computer, she changed into pajamas and went to bed. Maybe an early night would help. The instant her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep, two pairs of eyes watching her in her dreams. One pair was dark, intelligent, caring. The other was intense, sinister, evil. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake either of them. Four times, she awoke in a sweat calling out for a person she had never met.
“I must be going crazy,” she murmured the fourth time she woke up. Her ankle tingled as if to agree, and she slipped once again into sleep.
Chapter Five - The Shift Bracelet
Tapping her fingers on her leg, Ari stared out her living room window at the mountains outside. She hadn’t slept well the night before and was feeling jumpy. Added to that, she had agreed when Jane asked to come over with her three youngest children for brunch. Glancing over toward her computer, which she had studiously ignored all morning, her eyes caught sight of the three ugly stuffed pigs she got at the zoo. Hopefully, her nieces would like them.
Glancing at the clock ticking madly away on the wall, she was disgruntled to see only two minutes had passed since the fifteen or so since she last looked at it. Jane was not set to arrive for another thirteen minutes, and knowing her sister, it would be more likely to be thirty. Given she had thirty minutes, her eyes slid back over to her computer. Would Terrian have replied already?
“No,” she quickly said, taking a deep breath. She was not going to be one of those girls who waited with baited breath, or other such nonsense, for some guy to contact her. Leaning over, it took a moment before she realized she was rubbing her ankle again.
Groaning, she leaned back. Ever since she had put the anklet on, she always seemed to be touching it. To her embarrassment, even though she would not admit it to anyone else, she had not removed it since she put it on. She tried once and had a tiny panic attack. So far, it hadn’t tarnished at all, so she assumed getting the metal wet was not hurting it in any way.
Glancing up again at the clock, she grimaced. “Someone has slowed down time.”
A knock on her door surprised her. For one thing, Jane was never early; for another, she would have expected to hear Jane’s three children as they came up to her place. They were not exactly quiet. Walking quickly to her door, she opened it with a smile on her face, ready to greet her nieces, but there was no one there.
Surprised, she placed her hands on the door jamb and leaned forward looking both ways. Not a person was in sight. “Hello?” she called. No answer. As she pulled back to close the door, something caught her eye. Looking down, she was surprised to see a flower wrapped in tissue paper lying at her doorstep. At least she thought it was a flower. She had never seen anything quite like it.
Leaning forward, she picked it up, a loud cry leaving her lips as her ankle flared with pain. “Crap!” she hissed, hopping back on her good ankle while shutting the door. “What is with my ankle?
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