Taken (Breaking the Darkness) by Felicia Starr Read Free Book Online Page B

may have moved around a lot, but he has always had eyes on you. He said it is your time and you should know. He believes in you. He says you will bring him what he desires most. I want nothing more than the fulfillment of his desires. That means I will make you give him what he wants. I suggest you start searching that little memory of yours and start talking!”
    Ziona reached around to her back pocket and removed something. It came flying at me, so I ducked to avoid what I thought to be some sort of weapon. As I lifted my gaze, I hardly saw her as she backed into the dark shadows. She seemed to vanish along with the small amount of light that entered the room with her.
    Feeling around on the floor for the object she tossed, I conceded to the darkness again. Touching a plastic-wrapped log, I prayed for it to be food. Opening the wrapper, my nose instantly filled with the smell of sweet chocolate. Cautiously biting down, I was ecstatic to find it was a peanut-filled candy bar. Oh sweet, delicious candy bar, how I love you. I know I should have tried to save half for later, but the grumbling in my stomach demanded I eat it all. The peanuts would help give me a boost and hold me over a little while longer.
    It was pathetic that I sat there licking the inside of a chocolate wrapper. I couldn’t help it, though. I was famished and the candy bar more sparked my appetite than silenced the hunger.
    The uncertainty of my situation weighed heavy on me. I needed answers, apparently long before I was taken. I wished there was a way I could reach out to Gram. I needed to talk to her. I was unaware of just how many secrets she’d been keeping from me all those years. Maybe connecting with her was something I could learn to do.
     

 

     
     
    “GRAM, I REALLY wish you were here! I don’t understand what’s going on. What’s happening to me? Why am I here?”
    Patience… I almost forgot. I was with her just before Ziona attacked me. I’m not completely sure what she was talking about; I guess I really didn’t give her much of a chance to explain. If, in fact, that was real, then I needed to get back to her somehow.
    If I tried to do the astral thing again, where would I need to go to find her? Maybe she would be waiting back at the coffee shop. I could try to go to The Flea and look there. It was all just so crazy—not to mention the creepy thought that someone was watching me.
    Sitting on the floor, I wrapped my arms around my legs and rested my head just between my knees. I would look like I was either sleeping or crying. I didn’t want them to have any idea I was able to have contact with the outside world.
    Sinking into my pose, I focused on my breathing. I assumed I managed to find my way out to the astral plane the last time I meditated. In and out, slow and calm. I could feel the gentle vibrations of my breath flowing through my body. A tingling sensation in my hair sent a chill down my body and created a weightless sensation. Allowing my breath to lift me from myself, I was ready to find my only ally.
    For a moment I focused my thoughts on Patience. I pictured all the times I saw her at the flea market and what she looked like in her astral form. I thought about the way she winked at me when one of Axel’s stories went on too long.
    Like the wind, I was suddenly on my way. My body, or my spirit, was moving so fast, past what I wasn’t sure. It was like traveling through a moving fog that seemed to shimmer.
    My astral self came to a halt and the shimmering fog lifted around me. I found myself standing in a kitchen that I’d never seen before. It had a rustic farmhouse quality. The walls lacked the usual cabinetry. Instead, there were shelves lined with mismatched dishes and a variety of jars filled with what appeared to be herbs and spices. Herbs hung from the ceiling to dry. It reminded me of the way Gram kept our kitchens.
    The worn-out and overused round table was tucked away in the corner by the herbs, littered