14

My encounter with the man calling himself Saffron Mulliken was still bothering me several days later. I was certain that I had not told him my middle name, yet somehow, he'd known it. I considered that perhaps he'd met my aunt or someone who knew it, but I couldn't imagine why they'd mention such a thing; and to add to it, I had not seen this man since that afternoon.

I kept racking my brain to figure out where I'd heard his name too. It sounded so familiar that it was driving me crazy. I was certain that I should know him from somewhere.

I rested my head in my arms as I sat at the library table. I was so confused now. Saffron, that dream, the image in the mirror. None of it was making sense.

I was so lost in all of those thoughts that I barely noticed Noah sitting beside me.

"Hey." he greeted me.

"Hey." I muttered, not bothering to lift my head.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I guess. I'm just really confused now." I admitted, finally raising my head to look at him.

Noah leaned over to me, "I understand. From what I'm finding out, this is probably going to be very confusing." he quietly told me.

"You got to talk to your friend?" I perked up.

"Yeah. Actually, he's more of family then friend. But he knows a lot about these kinds of things too. I did stump him a little with this one though. He's actually had to do some research, and that doesn't happen that often." Noah answered.

"And what did he say?" I pressed.

Noah let out a long breath, "Well, here goes. To start with, his name is Malakai, and yes, he has a lot of experience with things like this. So when I told him that you'd been born with this contract, it definitely caught his attention. He said that such a thing never really happens, but there is one way that it could." he explained.

"Okay. Go on."

"Alright, so here's the deal. He told me that in order for you to be born with this contract, it had to be preexisting on your soul. Basically, if your soul in a past life made this pact that was never honored, then it is possible. But the thing that has him puzzled is the fact that you're only being stalked now. He believes that there's something more going on here, considering the fact that the contract still isn't honored." Noah continued.

"Maybe my being stalked is how it's honored." I suggested.

Noah disagreed, "No. I don't think that counts to a demon. If it does, then we'll probably have a hard time figuring out all of it. But I agree with Malakai. There's something more to this. I think that it's a lot more complicated than just a simple contract now."

I took in his words. Yes, this whole contract thing would explain the weird events going on throughout my life, and ever since all of this started when Noah became my friend, I'd trusted him on it. It was as though my gut told me that he'd know what he was talking about. Noah was very special somehow, and he may have even been the one who could save me.

I pulled out my compact from my purse to study my left eye, "Hey Noah, did Malakai say why I can't see this?" I asked absently.

"Maybe you just aren't aware enough yet. The only reason that I saw it was because it reacted to me." Noah answered.

"So, can you tell me what you're supposed to be now? Are you allowed?" I went on, still looking at my eye. I only saw the same haze over my iris.

"Hmm. He didn't say." Noah sounded amused, "But I can tell you that I'm the opposite of what's following you. He really doesn't like me too much either. He just doesn't want to strike at me because he's not ready yet."

"You're serious? You mean that thing is going to go after you too now?" I moaned, laying my head down again.

Noah patted my shoulder, "Don't worry too much about it. I can handle myself." he assured me as he stood up, "Right now though, let's get out of here. I wanted to go back with you anyway and see something for myself."

I nodded, standing up with him. I probably should've been questioning what he wanted to see, but I couldn't make myself. Instead, I was still thinking about what he'd said. If that was true, then I must have had at least one past life. Could it have been that woman that I was dreaming of being and whom I saw in the mirror briefly in my place?

I wondered who she could've been, and if she did make such a deal with a demon, why did she do it? The questions were already haunting me, and I hoped I'd get answers soon.

There weren't many other cars in the parking lot as we came out. Of course, school had been out for an hour, and the only people hanging around were teachers and kids in clubs or sports.

Noah's car was parked next to mine. He'd been late that morning, so it surprised me that he'd find that parking space. Maybe he'd just been lucky.

It didn't take us long to get to my house. I parked in the driveway and felt a chill go through me. It felt like I was being watched.

Noah got out of his car and looked around, "I see. So he knew that I was coming here." he said quietly as he walked over to me.

"Who?" I asked.

"Let's just call him your companion for now." Noah responded. He took my hand and led me to the house.

I decided to just go with it. It shouldn't have surprised me that much that something was watching us. After all, it had been doing it for a long time now, and apparently, it wasn't liking Noah's presence there.

Inside was just as it always was. I felt some relief as I took off my jacket. At least it didn't feel so dark right now.

Noah glanced around as he stood beside me, "Not too bad for such a small place." he commented.

"I'm taking it you've always lived in big houses." I guessed.

"I have. All of the Renaldis tend to be a bit spoiled with that kind of stuff." Noah admitted.

He walked over and looked at the cross hanging on the wall. I decided to go over there with him and explain some of what was happening.

"I don't think that it likes that cross. It throws it off of the wall a lot. Aunt Farah tries to blame it on the trucks though. She's always been scared of all of the stuff that happens."

"I see. I'd think that it's only natural for a demon not to like anything like this. But since we're here, I did want to ask you some things. There were things that Malakai said that made me curious too, and I have a bad habit of having to find answers whenever I am." Noah told me.

"Okay." I agreed.

The two of us sat down on the nearby couch to talk. It seemed so odd to me that there was this really cute guy in there with me now. But I also couldn't ignore the subject we were talking about.

"So, what did you want to ask me about?" I asked as we sat there.

"Actually, it's the whole past life thing. With something like this, I wondered if maybe you've had glimpses of that life in your dreams. A lot of people who have had past lives tend to dream about them at least once in their present lifetime without realizing it, and with that contract, I'd imagine that you might see more of it." Noah explained.

I nodded, "You know, I've had strange dreams a lot in my life, and it's like I always see the same things. It's weird, but it's like a long time ago, and I'm someone else. I'm this woman, and there's this man who beats me, and I feel like no one believes that he hurts me. They all think I'm hurting myself and lying about him. Then I have other dreams where I'm in this hospital room. This man's there with me, and he's always with me after it seems like I'm out of that hospital. I just can't remember a lot of what I hear in those dreams." I confessed.

"It sounds like this could be the life that started everything then. It would make sense too. An abused woman perhaps looking for revenge, and if it was a long time ago, she may not have been believed about the abuse." Noah surmised, nodding his head thoughtfully.

"Maybe. But I also dream of dying." I admitted.

"Really? What do you dream of happening to you?"

"Well, I'm in this train station. I'm wearing this old fashioned pink dress, and I'm standing by the tracks. The man is there, and we're talking about something. Then, it's like something grabs me and throws me onto the tracks right in front of the oncoming train." I explained.

It was hard for me not to shiver as I spoke about that. The memory of that dream was so vivid that it still scared the hell out of me.

Noah thought it over, "Maybe that's how she died. Do you ever remember hearing anything specifically that's being said before she dies?" he probed.

"Yeah." I confirmed, "In the last dream that I had a few days ago, I did. I heard myself say the name Jade. I don't think that it was supposed to be my name though. I think that it was his. But after I heard that, it was like something cold grabbed me, and then when it threw me onto the tracks, I heard another voice say 'I'll never let you have her'."

That caught Noah's attention, "That's just what I was looking for. In that contract, I did catch the name Jade. But there was another name too; a name that I couldn't catch when I saw the little bit of it that I did. That might be the key to all of this." he told me.

"So, what are you thinking?" I asked, now feeling hopeful that we were onto something.

"I think that it's time to ask Malakai about bringing you to him. He could read that contract better than any of us, and when he does, he could probably tell us what's going on now." Noah answered.

I looked around for a moment before speaking again. I really wanted to be sure that I didn't feel that thing close by.

"Hey Noah, is Malakai really like you?" I asked softly.

"You could say that, but he's also above me. That's how he knows how to handle these kinds of things. But for right now, we need to wait things out too. I want to see what it will do now that I'm in the picture. I know that he doesn't like me here. I want to see how far I can push him now." Noah stated as he stood up.

I quickly stood with him, "Are you crazy? This thing kills people!" I protested.

"Trust me. It would take a lot for me to die." Noah assured me.

Now I getting frustrated. Why didn't he believe me about how dangerous this thing was? He couldn't have been that hard-headed.

"You're not doing anything. Just leave it alone." I ordered, although I couldn't look at him as I said it. I was frightened now, and it especially scared me that I had the distinct feeling that this thing was waiting for a challenge.

Noah was quiet for a moment, then I felt him pat my head.

"All right. I won't do anything yet if it makes you that uncomfortable. But I'm not leaving this alone either. You have to know that."

"I don't care. Just don't let it hurt you. I don't want anyone else to die because of me." I whispered.

"I know." Noah pulled me into a comforting hug. We stood like that for a few minutes before he finally spoke again, "As much as I don't want to, I probably should get back now before it gets dark. But first, take this."

He pulled out a small piece of folded paper from his pocket and handed it to me.

"What's this?"

"It's my cell number. Call me anytime you need help or just somebody to listen. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do much, but I can try."

A smile crossed my face. For the first time in my life, I felt like there was someone out there who actually wanted to care about me.

"Thanks Noah. For everything."

"Don't mention it."

That warmth remained inside of me as I watched him walk out to his car. Stuffing the number into my pocket, I made sure that the door was locked and headed upstairs. I'll admit that I was in a pretty decent mood.

But as I stepped into my room, I looked over at the mirror on the closet door and got an idea. Noah had said that it was possible for me to see the contract in my eye. What would it hurt to try now?

I stood in front of the mirror, leaning closer to look at my eye. The haze was still there, but also, I could see something just under it. Squinting my other eye, I could make out what looked like markings there. Maybe a pentagram, if I connected the lines. There was something else inside of it too. Something that looked like little dots to me.

But as I stood there looking at it, I suddenly felt the eye become warm, and I almost jumped as I saw a red glow in the mirror. But I stopped when I realized that the glow was coming from my left eye, and it was shaped just like the faint outline that I'd been seeing only moments before. Yes, it was definitely a pentagram, and inside of it, it looked like there was some kind of old writing. I couldn't even begin to read it, although I wished that I could.

But more than anything, this was the proof I'd wanted. Noah was telling the truth about the whole contract thing. It was now glowing right in front of me.

A chill suddenly came over me, and I slowly became aware of something dark appearing behind me. I closed my eyes, the fear welling up within me. It was right there. It was going to get me.

Yet what happened next was completely unexpected. I felt an arm wrap around my waist, and I was hugged against a firm yet cold body behind me. Then, there was a voice by my ear.

"Do not activate it. He will come, and I am not ready to kill you yet."

Then it was gone.

I slowly opened my eyes, seeing that everything around me was completely normal. Whatever had just held me and spoken to me had vanished. Still, the voice remained in my head.

I held my head as reality sunk in. I knew that voice. It was the same one from my dream several days before. It was the one who made the threat against Jade.

I slowly sat down on my bed, debating on whether or not I should try to call Noah and tell him about what had just happened. But somehow, I couldn't make myself. As weird as it was, I felt a bit of comfort with what had just happened. It had almost been like whoever it was had been begging me not to let it happen again.

Closing my eyes, I reached up and touched the left one, and for the first time in my life, I considered that perhaps in the end, I was indeed fated to die.