Dark Lightning Read online

  “Hello, Kristy. And why would you like to be hypnotized tonight? Is there anything about yourself you’d like to work on or modify?” Aleem intoned. “Remember, the change has to be behavior related. I can’t transform brown eyes into blue. ”

  This drew a small laugh from the crowd.

  “Actually, I would like to stop biting my—wait, you know what? See my roommate, that girl right over there?” Kristy pointed a finger at Haven. “She’s kind of psychic.”

  Haven’s mouth dropped open in shock, and she shook her head vehemently. No, Kristy…oh my God, what the hell are you doing?

  Allem’s eyebrows rose. “Psychic? How do you mean?”

  “Well, she’s got this weird ability to see things that have happened, even if she wasn’t there,” Kristy explained. “It’s totally bizarre.”

  “Really. Give me an example,” said Aleem, glancing down in Haven’s direction.

  Terror rose in Haven’s throat and she felt her eyes widen in dread. She willed her roommate to read her acidic thoughts: NO, NO, NO. You weren’t supposed to tell anyone. NOT ANYONE.

  Unbelievably, despite Haven’s death stare, her roommate went on to launch into a story. “One time, when we were at my mom’s house, Haven touched my pet guinea pig’s cage and asked if I was upset about Gaga dying—yes, I named her that—and I’m like, ‘Dying, what are you talking about, she’s right there.’ But Gaga was gone. So we go into the other room to search for her, and there’s my cat, licking blood off her paws. So then Haven said—”

  Aleem was already guiding Kristy back to the stairway. “Yes, that sounds very interesting, and now let’s talk with your psychic roommate. That is, if the young lady would oblige us?”

  Absolutely not.

  Horrified, Haven shook her head and cowered in her seat. But the audience clapped raucously, including several guys who’d obviously come straight from happy hour. Of course, they started hooting and shouting.

  “Psychic Girl!”

  “Woo-hoo!”

  “YEAH! We want the psychic cat girl!”

  “Go on, get up there, psychic girl!”

  Haven closed her eyes. This is not happening, this is NOT happening…

  Somehow, Julian goaded Haven to her feet. She shuffled grudgingly to the steps amid the chant that had spread like fire through the rest of the crowd.

  “Psy-chic Cat-Girl…Psy-chic Cat-Girl!”

  Haven glowered at the audience. You freaking bunch of jerks.

  As they passed each other at the bottom of the stairway, Haven mouthed, ‘I’m going to kill you—I mean it’ at Kristy.

  She walked quickly across the stage to a velvet upholstered chair, taking in several deep breaths. It won’t be that bad. The others were only up here for a few minutes each. What could possibly happen in three minutes? Shielding her eyes from the stage lights, she desperately wished she’d taken the time to change out of the baggy hoodie, faded jeans and UGG boots she’d pulled on to wear to her classes that morning. Not to mention that her dark blond hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, and she didn’t have on an ounce of makeup.

  “Please, sit down, and make yourself comfortable,” Aleem said.

  Comfortable? Are you kidding me? Haven grudgingly sat down in the soft chair and stared at the back of the large room, avoiding eye contact with the crowd.

  Aleem held up a hand. “I’m going to have to ask for quiet, please. Thank you.” He smiled warmly at Haven. “And your name, psychic-roommate-of-Kristy?”

  “Haven.”

  “Haven,” the hypnotist repeated. “And about how long have you had this ability, Haven?”

  “Um, I don’t really have…I mean, sometimes I get feelings about things, but—”

  “That’s all right,” he said quietly. He turned to the crowd. “Using the power of hypnosis, let’s see if we can get a small demonstration of her gift, shall we?”

  Cheers and clapping arose from the audience.

  Please just hurry up and get this bogus charade over with.

  “Does anyone have an object with them, something small that they wouldn’t mind giving to our lovely friend here to handle for a moment? Yes…you, sir, towards the middle there in the tweed jacket. Go ahead and pass it forward, if you wouldn’t mind. That’s right.”

  Haven squinted to see what was being offered, but the sea of faces blurred together in the dim light. An older man several rows back held up a round object, and her eye momentarily caught the dull glint of his gold ring. He passed the item to the woman in front of him, who handed it forward to the person in front of her.

  “Many thanks to the kind gentleman for the loan!” Aleem said as he bent down to retrieve the object from Julian. His eyebrows rose in surprise. “My goodness, is this a pocket watch? I’ve not seen one of these in a very long time.”

  He held the watch out in front of Haven. Its antique silver case gleamed under the stage lights. “This is the object we’ll be using for your reading, my beautiful friend. Is this agreeable to you?”

  “Er…sure, I guess.”

  Haven looked at the watch doubtfully. She’d never been able to have one of her strange ‘visions’ on demand before, and didn’t have much hope that being under hypnosis was going to make any difference. Fine, let’s do this so I can get the hell out of here.

  Aleem lightly touched the back of her neck with his fingertips. “Now, Haven, I want you to relax your body, starting with your feet. Let them go, feel them going limp. Next, let your legs relax.” He worked his way up her body to her head and neck, encouraging her to let her tension sink to the floor. “You feel heavy, peaceful. Every word I say to you deepens and strengthens the feeling of relaxation,” he instructed in a low voice. “You are sinking, going deeper. Deeper still. You are shutting down, sinking—going completely under into a peaceful state of hypnosis.”

  Haven closed her eyes. Her sense of anxiety ebbed completely, and she felt herself floating, carried away by the man’s soothing voice—the deep, powerful tone of his voice. She felt weird. The tension in her shoulders was completely gone. She felt as though she was no longer confined to her body, like she had become one with the velvet chair. Then, she could no longer feel the chair at all.

  She was air.

  The sound of the cheering crowd faded until she could barely hear their voices. She only heard Aleem’s soothing tones. Haven smiled. She felt peaceful, just as the hypnotist had promised. Wow, she thought, this is so nice. Almost wish I could do it every day.

  “Hold out your hand, Haven.”

  She obeyed.

  “Take hold of this…” Haven felt the watch drop gently into her upturned palm. “And tell us what you see. Take your time.”

  Haven closed her fingers around the embossed watch. It felt heavy in her hand.

  She shuddered, her peaceful state suddenly disrupted by the cascade of images crashing through her head. Then, very clearly, she saw a man dressed in costume. Or perhaps it was finely tailored clothing from another century—he wore a long, richly embroidered silk jacket and breeches, heeled shoes, and an old-fashioned gray wig.

  Haven’s eyelids fluttered over her half-closed, hazel eyes. “I…I see a man…”

  “Yes? Describe him for us, Haven,” said Aleem very softly, holding a hand up to the audience once again to demand silence.

  “He’s standing at the top of some marble stairs. There’s someone else…a girl. A servant girl. She’s coming upstairs with the laundry. He hides around the corner, waiting. He runs into her. She drops the candle she’s carrying. Hot wax flies all over the place. His shoes are ruined…he’s angry. I can’t…he’s grabbing at her now, pushing her against the wall. Er…um…”

  “Yes?” Aleem asked.

  “He…he’s kissing her roughly, she turns away from him, and…oh…”

  “What is it?”

  Haven struggled to contain her quavering voice. “She’s very young. Maybe fourteen. Or fifteen.”

  “What is the man saying, Ha
ven? Can you only see what’s happening, or are you able to hear things as well?” asked Aleem, watching her carefully.

  “I can hear him, but not very clearly. He’s switching back and forth between English and French…”

  “That’s all right. Describe whatever you can.”

  “He’s angry…wait, he’s only pretending to be angry. He’s…um…he’s touching her. He wants…he likes her hair. She has lovely golden hair.”

  The audience, except for a giggle or two, was paying rapt attention. Aleem stared at Haven intently. “Clearly this watch has a most interesting history! Please continue, Haven, tell us more of what you see.”

  Haven swallowed. “They’re moving down an impressive hallway now—they must be in a manor house or a castle, something like that. Everything is very plush, very elegant—the rugs, the chandeliers, the silk-covered chairs. Candles are everywhere to light the way. They’re…in a bedroom. A large bed with heavy curtains around it. The girl slips off her shoes, lies back on the coverlet…the man is undressing…his chest is smooth, bare, he’s…he’s, um, excited.

  Someone in the audience wolf-whistled.

  “Shhh,” Aleem admonished the crowd. “Go on,” he said to Haven.

  “The man’s picking something up from a tray. It’s a jar of honey. Um…now he’s pouring it onto her body, right here.” Haven touched the hollow at the base of her neck. “He…he’s bending down…he’s licking it off slowly and moving his hands under her skirt…”

  Haven gasped as she felt a strange gooey sensation in the back of her throat, as if she was eating the honey. “Wow…I can actually taste it…it’s sticky and sweet and warm and—”

  “YEAH, baby!” shouted one of the drunk guys from the third row. His friends sniggered in response, and a chorus of cheers and catcalls erupted from the audience.

  The vision wavered as Haven’s cheeks colored with embarrassment, and she suddenly remembered she was sitting on a stage.

  “Please, my friends,” Aleem reprimanded them. “I must ask for silence.”

  Haven frowned, trying to ignore the muffled shouts and hoots of the crowd, but the vision in the bedroom had vanished. Indistinct images flicked past her now like a DVD on fast forward.

  Then, she saw the same girl again—this time she was running through a forest. She yelped as she tripped on her skirts and fell headlong into a bank of colorful leaves. She giggled breathlessly at her own clumsiness, and turned over to face the dark-haired man who’d been chasing her. Grinning mischievously, he collapsed on top of her and they kissed passionately. Then, without warning, he swiftly pinned her arms over her head and nonchalantly drew his dagger.

  The girl’s blue eyes went wide with shock. “Monsieur! What are you doing?!” she screamed in terror.

  The man shrugged. “Don’t misunderstand, Johanna. I’m very grateful for your assistance in freeing me from my exile. But as you’re a hindrance now, I’m afraid this is goodbye, my sweet.” A split second later he reached down and swiftly drew the blade across her neck. The girl’s shriek died with a gurgle as a jet of red blood exploded over her white chemise and ran in dark streaks down her padded stays.

  “NO! Oh, God, why?!” Haven cried, squeezing her eyes shut. But the ghastly image remained burned into her memory. “Why did he do that?”

  “Do what, Haven?” asked Aleem. “What did you see?”

  Mercifully, there were other visions crowding her head now, their edges blurring together like chalk paintings in the rain. “I can’t see them anymore…” Haven breathed. “It’s all changing...”

  Groans of disappointment rippled across the room.

  “Wait,” Haven said. “Now I’m back in the bedroom…”

  “Woo!” someone yelled.

  “I see the same man, but he’s with someone else. An older, heavyset woman. He’s not wearing a wig this time; his hair is dark, long. The woman’s sleeping. He’s leaning over her. He has a…a dagger in his hand.”

  The chattering crowd suddenly grew quiet.

  “She’s wearing something around her neck, something that he desperately wants…but I can’t see what it is.”

  Haven broke out in a cold sweat. She gripped the arm of the chair with her free hand, her knuckles turning white. “He’s reaching near the woman’s neck…he…he’s using the dagger to cut something…”

  “Haven, if you would like to stop now…” the hypnotist suggested softly.

  Breathing erratically, Haven shook her head. “He didn’t, um…she’s waking up…clutching at her chest. He’s taken it.”

  “What is it? Can you see the object?”

  “It’s a key, a big black key. She wants it back. She’s screaming at him, says it’s dangerous…but he won’t give it up.

  A hush came over the audience.

  “She rushes at him, but he flings her away. She stumbles, hits her head on the bedpost. She slumps to the floor, crying loudly, howling. The man puts a pillow over her face—he’s worried about the noise. ‘For Christ’s sake—shut up, you stupid cow!’ he yells. She’s struggling…and then…oh! She’s not struggling any more. He pulls the pillow away, but it’s too late…the woman’s eyes are vacant…she’s dead.”

  Several people in the audience gasped.

  “Oh my God,” said a girl sitting behind Julian. “Look at that!”

  Haven swallowed thickly and opened her eyes. The hypnotist was staring at her, slack jawed. She looked out at the audience, her vision hazy. Despite the ban on recording devices at the show, a few people had their phones out in video mode and were filming—Julian among them.

  With the exception of a few shocked whispers, the theater was silent.

  For a moment Haven wondered what they were all gaping at, then she noticed her outstretched hand—there was bright red blood dripping from the bottom of the watch. It seeped through her tightly closed fist and ran to her wrist.

  What the hell was happening?

  She tried to open her hand, but realized she couldn’t feel her arm.

  My arm—it’s paralyzed! The hypnosis…

  Tears welled in Haven’s eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “Please…I don’t think I want to see any more…”

  “Yes, I believe we’ve heard enough. You can let go of the watch now.” The Amazing Abdul Aleem swiftly removed the watch from Haven’s hand before it fell to the stage floor. As soon as he did that, all the blood vanished.

  “Haven, I want to you to listen to my voice.” Abdul spoke quickly now, as if to spare her any more pain. “I’m going to count to five. When I reach five, you will feel wide awake. You will become fully alert. As a result of this evening’s session, you will experience changes in your life. Some you are already aware of, but others you have yet to discover along the path that is your destiny. After I count to five, you will awaken. Do you understand?”

  “Y-Yes,” Haven whimpered.

  “One, two, three, four…five.”

  Haven blinked rapidly and flexed her fingers—her hand was completely unharmed. Two-hundred startled faces stared at her from the dark of the theater, many with mouths hanging open in disbelief. She struggled to stand, not certain whether her wobbly knees would support her weight.

  The hypnotist swiftly came forward and offered Haven his hand in assistance. He leaned his head down next to hers.

  “Was that for real?” Aleem whispered.

  A bolt of anger shot through Haven and she glared at him. “I…y-yes, of course,” she stuttered. Unbelievable—did this guy really think I just made all that up on the spot?!

  He straightened, still staring at her intently. “Er, thank you for your participation, Haven…I know that must have been a little difficult for you. May I have a show of appreciation for my lovely friend here?”

  The audience broke out in a thunder of applause as Haven stumbled down the stairs, her vision blurred by fury. A little difficult? Was he out of his mind? She’d just been forced to watch a man assault a teenage girl and then smother another woma
n to death. And judging by his disturbed thoughts, the bastard had absolutely no remorse for what he’d done.

  Haven grabbed her messenger bag off the floor and stalked past her stunned roommate.

  “Haven?” Kristy called. “Hey, wait! Haven, I’m sorry!”

  Ignoring her, Haven and pushed her way through the crowd gathered at the back of the performance space.

  The hypnotist cleared his throat. “Now, where is the owner of this most…illustrious timepiece?”

  Everyone turned to look at the older gentleman in the middle of the room, but his seat was vacant.

  ***

  “Hey, look…it’s Psychic Cat Girl!”

  The group of drunk guys stood talking loudly near the door while Haven pushed her way past the glut of bodies, heading for the exit. “I’ve got a jar of honey back at my apartment with your name on it, baby!” called one, prompting a peal of laughter from the others. “What do you say, psychic girl? Wanna come over and lick it off me?”

  “Piss off,” Haven spat.

  “That horror movie thing you did with the watch was awesome!” said a boy with curly dark hair and glasses. “Did that dude, like, slip you some fake blood before the show?”

  “No, he didn’t,” Haven answered bluntly.

  The boy’s eyes grew very large and his jaw dropped. “Whoa…”

  A girl ran up to Haven and grabbed her sleeve. “Hey, could you touch my boyfriend’s cell and tell me what he did in Atlantic City last weekend?”

  “No, I can’t,” Haven hissed.

  “But I think he’s cheating on me! Please? I have to know!”

  “Sorry.” Haven shook her off, disregarding her pleading look.

  “Yo, if you’re looking for a big black key…it’s right here,” said a guy to her right, grinning and grabbing at his zipper.

  Haven shot him a look of disgust as she shoved her way past. Oh my God, the whole campus is going to know about me. In fact, the video of her reading would probably be on YouTube within a few minutes. Tremendous. Just what I need.

  Before she could squeeze out through the doorway, someone else tapped her on the shoulder from behind. “Excuse me, Haven?”