The Others

Chap. 4 Protection.

My heart started pumping painfully. I sensed so much danger and hatred and something else I couldn't put my finger on, causing the hairs on my arms to raise.

"Who are you?" I whispered. The deadly silence was deafening.

"You shall find out soon enough, my dear" she said in an eerie voice. And then she disappeared. Yep, just like that, disappeared into thin air. Why must my life be so filled with illusions. Just then I heard the front door open and a familiar voice. I peeked out the door frame and saw Denise. Hopefully it's the real Denise this time. I slowly walked down the stairs. Denise seemed to noticed me because her eyes popped open with surprise

"What are you doing here, Jade? And where's Jamie?"

"Well, it's quite a long story..." I twisted a strand of my long black hair nervously. "Where have you been?"

"I have been out of the country. I needed time to cope..." Denise had lost her husband of four years not that long ago. Poor girl she was only 26 and she had to deal with that type of pain. Nobody knows how he died. I didn't have details about it but all I know is that it was an unsolved murder case. Deep lacerations were left on his body, leaving it drained of blood.

"Well, are you going to just stand there and look stupid or are you going to tell me what you're doing here?" she snapped, tapping her foot impatiently. Sheesh alright. "Well you might want to sit down" I warned her. She reluctantly went to sit on her black leather couch with me following her.

I sighed. "Okay well..."

I told her everything that happened these last two days. From Jamie killing our guardian, to meeting that weird guy Phoenix, and to her doppelgänger that looked like she was about to eat me, I explained calmly and thorough. I trusted Denise. I finished explaining and she was just looking at me with a dumb expression on her face. After 20 incredibly long and painful seconds, her full lips trembled and her pupils dilated.

"This is not a good sign" she whispered. Before I had the chance to ask her what the hell that meant, she hopped up and practically sprinted towards her kitchen, her straight blond hair disappearing behind the corner. I frowned. She came back dragging with her a big, and I mean BIG, bag of salt.

I followed her out the front door, she was walking so fast I almost tripped a couple of times trying to keep up. Curse my clumsiness.

I saw her pouring the bag of salt in a big, perfectly round circle around the house. Is she kidding me? A circle of salt? I shook my head and walked towards her, careful not to step on her petunias.

"Um...Denise? What's this circle for?" I asked with disapproval.

"We do not know what could be that is after you or your brother. We must take all precautions necessary. This circle of salt will protect you from most beings. Especially those with pure evil in their hearts." Wait what? Has she gone fucking crazy!?

"What do you mean we don't know what's after me? What precautions? What's the deal with this evil nonsense? The only evil I know is high school evil. Are you okay?" I touched her forehead to see if she had a fever. Denise slapped my hand away and frowned at me.

With her strong, clear voice she began to chant the words:

With this sacred salt

I cast a circle

To protect this household

From all that is bad

Protect thee and guide

For nothing is always seen with the naked eye

I could see a light blue barrier being formed around the house exactly where the salt had been. I couldn't believe my eyes as the light blue turned clear, and the salt was sucked into the grass like water. I gaped.

"Well, now that that is settled, there's so much more to attend to" and with that she scurried into the house again. I have never seen Denise so stressed or speedy since her husband died. I turned around and walked to the end of the barrier. I raised my arm to put my hand through it, and my arm went completely through. Isn't this supposed to be a barrier? I thought to myself.

I heard a deep chuckle to my right and it sent shivers down my spine. I slowly turned and saw him.

"You..."

He smiled a crooked smile. "Ah yes, it is I. Pleasure to see you again little Jade. Your arm goes straight through the barrier because it only blocks bad spirits. And believe me, I can sense your spirit is the purest of them all." He took a few steps and ended up right in front of me, on the other side of the barrier. This must have been an extremely thin barrier, because I could smell his scent. He smelled like sweet lavender. I shook my head. The hell was wrong with me?

"Dazzled, my sweet Jade?" his voice broke my trance and I looked up into his eyes. They were a piercing Onyx color, just like his messy hair, and easy to get lost in. Something about him intrigued me.

"Phoenix..." his name felt right leaving my lips. He smiled.

"Farewell, until we meet again." And then he disappeared.