Monday Madness

I have a case of Monday Madness, I have entirely too many things to do, but I think I'm not going to do any of them. I think what I'm really going to do is take my little monster to the water park. My character's are yelling at me, because they have things they want to say, but it's way too nice out to be chained to my computer.

Because I'm feeling nice today, I'm going to post a sneak peak from Mark of the Witch.....happy reading. Leave me a comment and tell me what you think.



Jilly woke up to the smell of coffee and pancakes wafting up the stairs. She rolled over and glanced at the clock, 8:30 A.M., too early to be up, she thought as she pushed herself out of bed. Snagging her robe from the hook next to the door, she walked out into the hall. By the time she was in the kitchen, she was a little more alert.

Caroline was sitting at the table with a plate of bacon, eggs, and pancakes in front of her, and a steaming cup of coffee in her hand as she read the paper. When she heard Jilly come in, she glanced up and smiled. “Thanks for last night Jill, I really needed to just let it out. Did you want me to make you a plate?”

“No, I’ll get it, you enjoy your breakfast,” She said as she was walking over to the stove. She grabbed a plate out of the cupboard and loaded up her plate. As she headed to the table she grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee and cream, and sat next to her sister. “So how did you sleep?” She asked her between bites.

“Like the dead,” Caroline said with a laugh. “I think I was just so emotionally spent, it’s been a long few days for me.”

“I bet, I don’t know how I would deal with that if I were in your shoes. So what’s your plan for today? Do you want to go to the shop and get your hair done?”

“Yeah, I think I would actually, I think I’m ready for a change.” Caroline said as she ran her fingers through her long auburn hair. “Maybe I’ll go shorter, what do you think?”

Jilly sat back in her chair and studied her sister’s face for a minute before saying “yeah, I think shorter would be really cute, maybe shoulder length with a ton of layers? And put in some chunky blonde highlights too, that would look amazing with your blue eyes.”

“Ok, can you call and set it up for me for maybe 2:30? I have a few errands to run before I go over. Is there anything you need while I’m out? I can stop by the store and grab stuff for dinner before I come home if you want.”

“Oh my gosh, I totally forgot about William coming over tonight. He’s supposed to be over around six,” Jilly said in a rush of words.

“Who’s William?” she asked with an eyebrow raised in question and a knowing smile.

“It’s not what you think,” Jilly said quickly obviously flustered, “or maybe it is, I’m not sure yet. Do you mind if he joins us for dinner, or should I meet him somewhere?”

“No, don’t change your plans on my account, I don’t want to disrupt your life any more then I have to,” she said as she cleaned off her plate and stuck it in the dishwasher. “Do you have any preferences for dinner? Or should I just pick up whatever?”

“Just get what you want, I’m sure whatever you make will be fine.” Jilly said absently.

“Ok, well, I’m going to go out for a run, I should be back in an hour or so,” she said as she tied her shoelaces and headed out the door.

Jilly was sitting at her desk in the den, she had just set up her sister’s appointment at the salon, and she was contemplating calling William. She hadn’t heard back from him after she texted him last night, and she was unsure if she should call or not. She must have dialed his number five times before actually getting the nerve to let the call go through.

He answered on the second ring “good morning Jilly,” he said before she could say hello.

“Good morning to you too,” she blurted. ” Did you get my text last night?”

He was quiet for a moment, “yes, but I was not sure how I wanted to handle it. Sabine is a very complicated person. Why did you ask about her? I am sure I have never mentioned her to you, or anyone for that matter.” His tone wary.

“I had a dream about her last night, or rather I was her in a dream and Sabine is the name you called me. We were in London, I’m not sure of the year, but I’m guessing late 1700’s by the fashion of the clothing.”

“Yes, it was London; I was there in the 1790’s for a decade or so before Sabine found me again. There are those of my kind who would use their power to hurt or enslave the human race. Sabine is one such person. We met in France in the early 1700’s; we were at a ball held for the king’s cousin. She knew me for what I was the second she laid eyes on me. I was younger than her by about five hundred years, and I was enraptured by her. She was the first of my kind I had met and she captivated me by the sheer novelty of being with another like myself. I had many questions for her, but she had few answers to give me. She only knew that there were more of us scattered around the world.

“I stayed with her for two years, more out of need for companionship then actual feeling for her. After the first six months, I began to see her for what she was, a monster. She was truly an evil person, and she liked to inflict pain and suffering on others around her. Her servants lived in fear of her, and her house had an air of darkness surrounding it. I guess you become a bit jaded, and lose your humanity after being alive for so long, and I vowed I would never become what she was no matter how long I lived. I stayed far longer then I should have, I was afraid of being alone. I thought I loved her, but that was a young man’s foolish fantasy. Sabine is not capable of love, or kindness. She only knows cruelty and possession, that’s all I was to her, another thing she thought she owned. I had been alone for ten years before I met Sabine, and her company however dark was still a comfort to me. But, my conscience got the better of me, so I fled France and traveled around Europe for nearly eighty years before I returned to England. That is where she found me, sitting in the back room of a small tavern I owned. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. We went outside in the street and argued until we started to draw a crowd. She was trying to convince me to join with her and a few others of our kind in an endeavor to gain power in France. I refused of course, and she was livid. She told me that I would regret defying her one day. I’m not sure if they succeeded or not, we tend to not make ourselves known too often in history, if we were to take credit for our accomplishments, there would be too many questions about us raised. So we stay in the background of history.
I’ve only seen her one other time since then, in 1978, she was boarding a plane as I was exiting one on the same tarmac. She looked the same of course, and when she saw me, she smiled that same horrible smile that sucks all the warmth out of your bones, and she was gone. I had not thought of her since then until you asked who she was. It makes me wonder, since I know it was not myself who sent you back, was it her?”

Jilly could hear him pacing around wherever he was, and it made her nervous. “Ok” she said, “well, I’m not sure where to go from here, do we look for Sabine? Or was it maybe Liza and Mary who sent me?”

“I don’t think it could have been Liza or Mary for that matter, since neither of them were there to have that memory. It had to be Sabine, which begs the question of how close she is to you, and what does she want?”

“We can talk more about this tonight when you come over. My sister is in town, she just came in last night and surprised me, and so she’ll be joining us for dinner. We can talk afterwards in my office if you like.”

“I shall see you at 6:00 then Jilly. Be careful,” he said before he said good-bye.

Jilly hung up the phone and sat back in the chair. She still had a few hours to kill before Emily came over, so she decided to go for a quick run. Apparently a passion for running in the outdoors was a family trait. Just as she was leaving, Caroline was coming back from her run, her face flushed red, and her hair flying wildly around her face.

“Its cold out there, so don’t stay out too long,” she said as Jilly passed her on the stairs.

After a quick five minutes of stretching Jilly took off through the small wooded area between her house and the house about five miles from her. It felt great to be outdoors in the wind, with her ponytail streaming behind her like a red flag. She cleared her mind of everything and just ran. She stopped and turned around when she had run two miles and made it back to the house without incident. She climbed the stairs in the back of the house that led to the porch and made her way into the kitchen. She found Caroline there getting ready to leave.

“Oh good.” Caroline said, “I’m glad you got back before I left. I’m going to go run my errands, and then get my hair done, I’ll see you around 5:30. Thanks again for treating me to a makeover.” She waved good-bye on her way out and Jilly was once again alone with her thoughts.