Sky Watcher: Between The Shadows (#3)

“Charlotte! Charlotte! Are you all right? Can you hear me?”

I heard my name, a female voice that sounded familiar. I felt air on my face. My mind was swimming. There was no sense or reason, just a loud swishing in my ears that interfered with the surrounding voices. I couldn’t pull myself out.

“Charlotte?” I heard Ben’s groggy voice. With his mouth at my ear, he said, “Come back to me, Moxie. Come on, you can do it. Try to open your eyes.” I tried, but it took some work. Ben spoke again, “. . . maybe a cool drink and something for her head . . . Thanks.” I felt him pick me up and lay me down on something softer. It took several minutes to open my eyes, but I couldn’t make sense of what I was seeing.

“She’s very pale, Ben. Will she be all right?”

He didn’t turn to look at her. He kept his eyes on mine, smiling as I looked around. “She’ll be fine; she only needs a little time.” The swishing had yet to stop. “Try to remember, Charlotte . . . Today is July 8th. Last night was the new moon.”

“Charlotte, you scared the shit out of me!” the female said. “You fainted or something. You were getting up to get our towels, do you remember? You’ve probably got a bump on your head where you hit the bricks when you fell.”

I turned toward Ben as I reached for the bump she’d mentioned. His smile was slow and steady. “What is she talking about, Benny?” He helped me sit up. “The last thing I remember was walking down the road with you after speaking to John Gray . . . then I felt dizzy.” There was a familiar sensation, like waves.

Oh, my God!