Love and Beyond Part 3 Read online

  “I thought visitation was tomorrow,” Bobby said.

  She did her best to hold back her emotions. “It is. But some old friends are coming to say goodbye. They are not the most sociable people you will ever meet. So I arranged a private viewing just for them.”

  “You go, Gloria. I will make sure everything remains calm around here,” William said.

  Gloria smiled weakly. “Thank you, William,” she said as she walked out the door. Gloria hated to leave Bobby and Britney, but these friends would definitely draw attention, the kind she didn’t want in her life. Off in the distance, she heard a familiar howl. She swallowed back tears as best she could. The scream of a panther sounded in the night. She wept out loud, not able to hold in the pain any longer. The more she realized Stanley was gone, the more her will to live left her. The pain was so strong until her knees felt weak. She screamed, “Why him, God, why him?” She started to fall. Before she was on the ground, an arm grabbed her. She was lifted into the air and she felt the hot, furry flesh on her back. She wept louder. “I’m sorry. I can’t help it; he was everything to me.” A loud howl filled the night air. The howl was mournful, followed by a very vicious growl. Off in the distance, but not nearly as far as they once were, mournful howls returned the sorrowed howl.

  The furry arms lowered her down and she turned in to the body. “Gordon, oh God, it hurts.” As she hugged it, its claws swiped at the air behind her. The sound of a vigorous growl calmed it. Gloria turned and ran to the large grey wolf. “Sophie, it is so nice to see you again. I wish it was better circumstances.” As she hugged the six-foot-tall wolf, several men walked up wearing very little clothes. “Xzavier,” she said as she held out her hand. The tall, muscular man took her hand and pulled her to him. She wrapped her arms around him.

  “Go change,” he said as he looked at the tall beast and the wolf.

  Gloria stood holding him in silence for a long moment. She walked over to the door. “I’ve arranged for several hours of undisturbed time with him.”

  There was a soft rage to his voice as Xzavier said, “The one who did this. Did they catch him?”

  Gloria nodded. “George killed him.”

  A woman walked over to Gloria and grabbed her and gave her a hug. “The southern pack loved him and loves you. If you need to get away, you are more than welcome to come to our retreat,” she said with a soft and gentle voice.

  “I would love to, but that life isn’t for me, thank you.” Gloria talked to many friends and acquaintances she hadn’t seen in years. It was near sunrise when Gloria went back into the house.

  Bobby called Brenda and Patrick. He told them a lot about what was going on and what had happened. When they arrived at General, Patrick was furious. He got out of the car and walked into the funeral home. Britney saw him and ran as fast as she could to him. She grabbed him and was crying. Her body was shaking as he held her close. All the anger he had inside left as his heart broke at seeing her in so much pain.

  He had no idea that she cared so much for Stanley. Most of the people there were in shock to discover that she had been seeing him. After services were over, his body was flown to California, where he was laid to rest beside his mother and father. That was the only thing Gloria made sure happened.

  Later, Britney told her parents just before the show that she and Stanley had sex. It was possible she was pregnant. She knew she had to cover up what she had done at the hospital. That was the best way she knew that no one would question.

  Patrick sat at a booth at Rosey’s. Brenda was beside him. “Girl, I know this isn’t the best time to say such things, but I am disappointed in you sneaking around seeing this man,” Patrick said, holding back his temper.

  “Why didn’t you tell us?” Brenda said as she reached over and touched Britney’s hand.

  Britney shook her head. “Because you wouldn’t understand. You would’ve said he’s too old, I’m too young, I don’t know what love is. The list goes on and on, Momma.”

  Patrick looked away. “Most of that is important facts, girl. Now you are stuck raising a baby all alone.”

  “I don’t have to struggle. Gloria has made sure of that. When the baby is born, Cody, Rachel, and Catrina are adding it to the company bylaws as part owner. They are going to treat it equal to them and one of Stanley’s children,” Britney said.

  “Okay, so you got things lined up for the future. We can discuss this at better time. Let’s go get your things. The camper is small, but it will do until I can get a house.”

  Britney shook her head. “I’m not leaving, Dad. I am finishing school online. I have the house Stanley was living in. I will be eighteen in a few months. This is my home and I am staying.”

  “You can’t stay here by yourself,” Brenda said with a concerned voice.

  “I won’t be alone. Bobby will be with me and Gloria will be here also.”

  Patrick looked back at her. “Bobby should have told us. I am just as angry at him as I am you. You can come with us, and when you turn eighteen, come back.”

  Britney stood. “No, Dad, this is my home and the home of my child. I’m not leaving. I know the doctors around here and going to be setting up the nursery for my baby. The schools are good, and all my friends live here. I love you and I’m sorry things turned out the way they did. But that is the past and I have the future to think about. I am not leaving. I love you.” She kissed her mother and then her father and walked away. Later that day after talking to Rebecca, Patrick and Brenda left to go back to Oklahoma City.

  Later in the week, Gloria woke up with Bobby holding her, his hand firmly on her breast. It was the first night since Stanley had died that she didn’t have a nightmare. She could feel Bobby getting hard next to her. ‘It won’t be long,’ she thought. Shortly, he started grinding his hips next to her. She smiled at the thought of her fussing and accusing him of dreaming of another woman. It was the same every morning. Many mornings, she and he would make love. She didn’t feel like having sex, so she moved away from him slightly. She tapped him on the arm. “Bobby,” she said softly.

  A smile came to her face as he answered her sleepily. “Yes, Momma.”

  Gloria let out a soft sigh. “Britney hasn’t come out her room since the funeral. Today, I am going into Memphis to give the two of you some time alone. I’ll stay the night in a hotel, see if you can get her to come out and do something. It isn’t good for her and the baby for her to stay cooped up in that room all the time.”

  Bobby nodded and stretched as Gloria got up and walked to the shower. She grabbed her bag and went into her room, gathered some clothes, and walked out after kissing him goodbye. She checked into the hotel, went inside, closed and locked the dead bolt, lay down on the bed, and started crying. She wouldn’t dare to let Britney see her break down. It was hard enough not to break down when she heard her crying in her room. After crying herself to sleep and waking up, Gloria went out. Street life wasn’t her life anymore. But the years she spent on them taught her where to look and what to look for. It wasn’t long until she had what she really had gone to Memphis for. She walked into the hotel room, called and ordered delivery. After eating, she pulled the syringe from her purse, stuck her arm, and injected what she called her fix into her arm. Her body went numb, and after a moment, she felt relaxed.

  Brenda swallowed hard as she looked in her phone book and called a number in it. “Yeah,” the cold, rough voice said.

  Her voice trembled slightly as she could swear her heart was in her throat. “Jake.”

  His voice got more serious. “Bren, is that you?”

  She held back the tears. “I didn’t call you, Jake. You hear me? I didn’t call you.”

  “Okay, you didn’t call me,” he said, knowing something was wrong.

  “Britney said she could be pregnant. The man she was with was shot and killed. They said the person that killed him was shot. But now th
ey have armed men in town. Strangers, Jake. They say there is no danger to her, but if there is no danger, then why do they have armed men watching my baby?”

  “Slow down, Brenda. Who has armed men?”

  “I’m not sure. The woman Bobby is with is a millionaire. The man that was killed was also a millionaire. From what I gathered, he left Britney a couple million when he died. There is a very rich man with bodyguards always surrounding him. I think his name is William Chandler. I think my daughter is in trouble. If she knew I called you, then she would be very mad at me. She wouldn’t ever talk to me again. I don’t know what to do.”

  “This will stay between you and me, Bren. I leave in a few hours to go home. No one will know I am there and I will take a look around. Meanwhile, if you hear anything, anything at all that you think sounds out of place, you call me. No matter how small or useless you think the information may be, call me.”

  “I will, Jake,” she said as she hung up the call.

  Gloria walked out of the shower water still dripping and rolling down her body. She looked in the mirror. ‘What is going on?’ She picked up her phone and called Bobby.

  “Hello,” Bobby answered.

  “Baby, I’m going to take a trip. I will be back in a few days.”

  “Where are you going?” he asked curiously.

  “I just need a little time, honey. I’ll be home in a few days, don’t worry.”

  “Okay, baby, see you in a few days.”

  Gloria hung up the phone and looked at herself in the mirror, ‘It should’ve been me. Why would you die, Stanley? Be honest; what is there about me that would be worth dying for? Breasts, they look nice and firm. But every woman has them. Much better women than me. Britney is prettier than me. Far more a lady than I could ever hope to be. I woke up from a dream, condoms lying all around the room, and it didn’t faze me. I’m not sure if it was from one man or if I had several men. I just got off the phone with Bobby and I love him so much. He deserves better than me. In many ways, he is the younger version of Stanley. Stanley held me together and now look at me. But one thing is for certain. I just took my fix and now I am stone sober. I am going to find out what is going on. I love you, Stanley. Come back to me. Please come back to me.’

  “The answer to that is simple, my little wild child.”

  Gloria turned with a confused look on her face. “Sabrina,” she said as she saw the woman with a medium build and long, sandy-brown hair. She looked just the way she did when Gloria first moved in with her. “But, but, you’re dead!” Gloria stuttered out.

  Sabrina smiled as she approached. “Yes I am, very much so. Karina Antonio’s grandmother was a very powerful witch, a level one being one of the strongest of her kind, in fact. I knew when you were very small you were both not as weak as you thought yourself to be but not as strong as you think you are. I know that makes no sense, but it is the truth. Before she died, I bound myself to you so that in your life I could come to you once in a time of great need.”

  “Blood magic,” Gloria whispered.

  Sabrina nodded. “This is a time of great sorrow for you. You are right and wrong about Stanly’s death being your fault. But not solely.” Sabrina touched her face. “My child, my beautiful baby girl. No woman could love a child more than I love you. I may not have birthed you, but I loved you as if I had. I will not and cannot be sympathetic to your feelings this time, my child. How did you get here?”

  Gloria stood in silence for several long moments. “I don’t know. I didn’t take a flight to California. I know I didn’t drive. I don’t know.”

  Sabrina sighed. “You can remember the rest when you wake up, Gloria, for more is going on than you could possibly know. How many times have I warned you, once you start down the path of the supernatural, it will forever follow you and many cases it will dominate your life. If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times in your life.”

  “But I haven’t done anything remotely close to magic,” Gloria defended herself.

  Sabrina shook her head. “My child, if you hadn’t done anything, then it wouldn’t be here. The books are being written, Gloria. You should accept things the way they were.” Sabrina waved her hand and they appeared in a hotel room. Gloria saw herself moving up and down on a man moaning while she sucked another man’s dick, stroking a third man’s cock. “This is where your body is. That is what you are doing. You came to Memphis for a getaway, bought some drugs, and got high, knowing damn well what you were like on that shit. You blacked out, woke up still stoned, went back for more, and invited them to your room. You’re still stoned, looking into the mirror. I took your mind to this place in time.” Sabrina waved her hand again and they appeared back in the studio in California. “I cannot interfere. The afterthought is where I came in. That was why you thought what you did. I am in your subconscious mind and you are dreaming. But, my child, you will feel as if you are living it. Gloria, from the moment you left the hospital, you have been doing drugs. You know what they do to you. The years you lost and now you’re making the same mistake as you once did. You keep asking why did he have to die. I will answer that question.”

  Chapter 2

  The Vision

  Sabrina spoke in a soft and concerned tone. “Gloriana, I shouldn’t have taught you as much as I did. Now you see the deeds that you brought upon yourself.” Sabrina waved her hand and they appeared in Paris, France. “While Britney was spending time at the hospital, you left not telling anyone where you went, remember?”

  Gloria shook her head. “No, I don’t recall ever leaving the hospital.”

  “That is because the god erased your memory. Gloriana, people think the gods fear those of great power. It is true gods do respect great power. Fear it, no. They can be defeated, or most can, I should say. The eternal gods do not. They are truly immortal. If you were Dunkar himself, that would make a difference, but you are not Dunkar. Something was already taking place when you did what you did, and it caused a chain effect. Now things are worse. You will watch hear and feel everything as it unfolds before your eyes.” She waved her hand and they appeared at a door.

  Gloria raised her hand and knocked on the door. The door opened up. Elizabeth stood looking at her with a surprised look upon her face. “If you came to tell me that my brother was shot, I already know. It was on the news and my nephew called me,” she said with a hint of bitterness in her voice.

  “I didn’t come to tell you anything at all about Stanley, Elizabeth. Our dislike of each other remains intact. You may have had your dislikes about your brother, but I know deep inside you care for him. And you know I am the only one that can help him. Let us put our differences aside for a short time and work on a mutual solution.”

  Elizabeth’s voice was sad. “I do care for my brother.” She stepped aside. “Come in.”

  Gloria walked past her, and Elizabeth closed the door. “You want my help, we go dark because I have a great idea what you want to request of me.”

  Gloria stopped, looked down at the floor for a moment, and reached into her purse. She pulled out her cellphone, powered it down, then held it out. Elizabeth took it and placed it in a safe. Then she walked to a room, turned the power breaker off, and the house went dark. She walked over and unplugged the phone cord from the wall.

  “Let’s adjourn to the kitchen. I have a gas stove and I can make us some coffee.” Gloria nodded, and they walked to the kitchen. Elizabeth put some coffee in a metal coffee pot, put some water in it, and turned the stove on. She turned to look at Gloria and said, “How can I help you?”

  Gloria sat at the table looking at it her hands clasped together on it. She didn’t look up. “Stanley was shot. He isn’t dead yet.”

  Elizabeth nodded. “His body is alive, but by a machine, Gloria. Do you know for certain if his soul and spirit are still trapped within the body? Or have they accepted death and fled from it?”

&n
bsp; “I don’t know,” she said as tears started to well up in her eyes

  Elizabeth exhaled loudly. “Gloria, everything inside me said tell you to get over it and leave.” Elizabeth walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I am so mad at Stanley for ever telling you what he did about me.”

  “I need answers,” Gloria said sorrowfully.

  Elizabeth said in a low voice, “Gloria, the only thing that can help Stanley now are the gods. We both know how the God of the Dance feels about those under him. He is the only one that can arrange for Hades to see your dance. Going to a god has nearly never worked out for those that sought them. Most of the time, you don’t get what you want and always end up in debt to them. Only those that find favor with the gods actually come out ahead,” she said in a whisper. “This is beyond you. If you are smart, you will let it go.”

  Elizabeth walked back towards the stove. “Would he let it go?” Gloria quipped.

  Elizabeth started pulling cups from the cabinet. “Probably so. He would come to me like you have. But he never was one to rush into anything. He always stepped back and took a look at the big picture. Have you done that?”

  Elizabeth set the cups on the table and moved to get the creamer out of the fridge. “A little yes,” Gloria said. “But time isn’t really on my side and I would like to think he wouldn’t hesitate to do the same for me.”

  Elizabeth walked back with the creamer. “I suppose that much is true. These dances bring great magic but at an even greater price. Gloria, you have a daughter and a son. You’re engaged to get married. It’s not that I don’t love my brother. It’s not that I don’t like you. Or I should say because I don’t like you. In the end, it could hurt you more than you are hurting now. I know my brother wouldn’t want that.”