02 Awaken-The Soulkeepers (17 page)

“It’s just … I don’t know. I think—”

“Aw, no, dude, don’t think. Leave that space. You gotta unwrap your thoughts. Go into your body and search for yourself. Expand the heart, open yourself up, welcome the power of
being
. Allow it in. You gotta let it come. It’s gonna erupt and flow like lava; I know. And it’s righteous and pure.”

Don’t think. Unwrap your thoughts. Expand the heart
. It sounds wonderful and exactly how I feel when I’m with Michael. Everything makes sense when we’re together, and my heart expands with love. But I can’t tell Rama that the source of me begins in another. He wouldn’t understand a love like ours. He wouldn’t understand that Michael’s heart beats inside my chest, too, and when we’re at odds nothing feels … righteous or pure.

My cell phone rings, jerking me out of my head. I roll over and search for it, spotting it under my desk where I flung it. I crawl to it and tap the screen. It’s a text from
Raph, and I spring up.

“Ow!” I hit my head on the desk and scoot out. I stare at the screen while Rama tells me to return to position. I can’t. I’m too excited. I tap the screen and the message appears.

“Meet me at the barn.”

“Holy crap!” I look at Rama, my eyes bugging out. “They’re here. I mean, I think the demon hunters have arrived.” I show him the text. He reads and then gives me his disapproval frown.

“Gotta lot to do here,” he says, shaking his head.

“Please! I should at least go and meet them! It’d be rude if I don’t. Please!” He is still shaking his head. He is stubborn. He is unmoving. “You can come, too.”

“Cool.” He spins around on his butt and then climbs to his feet. “Heard a lot about the
Sanctus Horreum
. Totally stoked to take a tour.”

And just like that, we’re on our way. Of course, I pack on the winter paraphernalia then sneak downstairs while Rama steps into the closet and reappears in the passenger seat of my jeep. He is a big shaggy dog ready for the park well ahead of time.

The only way I know to get to the barn is through Michael’s property. I take extra precautions to avoid being spotted by his parents, and park on a side road in the woods. I bundle up and off we go, plodding along and making tracks in the deep snow. Before long, I see the red barn in the dim light. I was here with Michael on our sleigh ride but didn’t bother much with the barn. Now I see that it’s really old, with no windows and one door. Light is glowing from around the door frame, and I wonder who is waiting inside. I’m a little disappointed to be trained in a crappy old wood heap like this; I was hoping for something a bit more modern and, well, sturdy.
Please let it be warm inside
.

“Hey there.” Raph steps from the shadows and I startle. After a quick introduction to Rama—Raph: “Hey, heard a lot about you”; Rama: “Off the Richter to be here”—we go to the door. Raph pauses and gives me a grave look. “Tell me what you see the moment you step inside. Okay?” I wring my hands and nod. I’m so cold and excited I can’t unclench my jaw to speak.

He pulls open the door and we walk inside. I’m immediately hit with a combination of warmth, soothing scents, and brilliant colors. It smells of rich earth and honeysuckle, and all around is a sprawling, serene meadow with trees, a waterfall, and a meandering stream. I feel like I’ve walked into a dream. It’s awe-inspiring.

“Well, Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.” I smile at Raph, who is closely watching me and practically beaming. He seems as excited as I am. I spot Milvi at the same time I hear her squeal with delight. She rushes across a tiny bridge and envelopes
me as though we were separated at birth. We almost fall over laughing.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” she cries. “You don’t know what it’s like to have someone else here. I mean, someone outside the family. And you can see it? Can’t you?” We turn and gaze out across the vast, picturesque countryside.

“Of course I can. It’s beautiful.”

Raph and Milvi seemed relieved but not altogether surprised. We take a moment to watch Rama meander and mumble and pick flowers.

“He’s not going to try to smoke those, is he?” Milvi asks, and we laugh.

After a quick tour of the glorious meadow—Milvi points out the stone balcony and the rooms beyond it, and the hidden chambers behind draping vines—I see that we’re not alone. Gabe and the demon hunters emerge from another hidden room behind the waterfall. Raph tells me it’s the weapons chamber, and we walk across the bridge to meet them in a grassy area beneath a sprawling tree.

The guy called Kanati seems to fit right in with the raw countryside; he is tall and tan, with high cheekbones that could have been cut with glass. He has long black hair tied with a piece of leather from which dangles an eagle feather. His eyes are brown, hawkish, alert. He wears soft leather pants and a matching ribbon shirt with the image of a deer branded over his heart. A flat, clublike weapon hangs across his back and a single knife at his hip. Kanati is barefoot and moves with the lithe, airless quality of an Indian warrior as though he’s not touching the ground.

Chang`e is a stunning contrast, an Asian beauty in a long cape with a high collar over red shorts and a white shirt. The cape is bedecked with brilliant blue, pink, purple, and gold colors suitable for a festival or a palace. Her face is porcelain and her black hair is swept into a spiral bun and impaled with two dangerous-looking chopsticks. I can just make out the emblem across her shirt above the heart—a long, narrow rabbit stretched as though it’s running. As far as I can see, her weapons include a long dagger on one curvaceous hip and a silk ribbon coiled like a whip on the other. She is tall and graceful and moves like a breeze.

Gabe makes the introductions while I smile nervously.

Kanati says,
“O si yo,”
and I say, “Uh …,” because I’m lost in translation. He laughs. His voice is warm and smooth like the suede he wears. “Means hello,” he explains, and I blush.

“Oh. Hello.”

Chang`e gives a slight bow and says,
“Nǐ hǎo.”

“Oh, I know that one.” I perk up; there is hope for me yet. I return the gesture and say, “
Nǐ hǎo
. Hello. That’s right, isn’t it?”

She smiles and nods. “
Tā hěn kù
. It’s cool.” She shrugs casually and I instantly like her. I repeat,
“Tā hěn kù,”
and file that one away for Bailey.

Kanati and Chang`e start talking about exercise and strategies but all I can think of is their titles: demon hunters. They are skilled at tracking down and killing demons. If Dante was here, they would be compelled to kill him. Somehow, the idea is unsettling. I have watched Michael and his brothers destroy Dante, Vaughn, and Wolfgang, but I’ve come to understand the difference. Guardians are not made to hunt demons, so when they fight them, it’s in defense of a soul, otherwise guardians cannot attack. They don’t have first strike. But if they do kill a demon, it’s a temporary death. Demons can regenerate in time. On the other hand, demon hunters are made for it and their kills last longer; they can and will attack without provocation. They are the real deal.

“Thanks for coming, for helping me,” I say as we stroll around the meadow, chatting and getting to know each other.

Kanati smiles and says, “Anything for the Patronus brothers.” Chang`e matches my slow, meandering stride. She smells of something light and airy, of moonlight and powder. It’s comforting. She asks me personal questions in a voice made of silk. She sounds too sweet and young to be lethal, to be a killer.

“Yes, I lost my mother several years ago. It’s just Dad and me.”

I wait for the customary condolences but she just nods. Perhaps she lives too close to death to feel the loss. Kanati asks what training I’ve had so far, and we stop and look over at Rama. I’m not sure, but I think he’s engrossed in a deep conversation with a tree.

“Nothing in the self-defense area,” I admit with a heavy sigh. Kanati tells me not to worry; we will start from the beginning.

And so we do.

We take a moment to shed the fifty extra pounds I’m wearing until I’m down to my sweats, hoodie, and bare feet. Kanati removes his shirt and Chang`e her lovely capelike thingy. We move into the grassy area beneath the tree while Raph, Milvi and Gabe step away to watch at a distance. Milvi sees that I’m nervous and taps an iPod on a recessed stone shelf. As my instructions begin, soothing music rises from hidden speakers, or maybe it’s coming straight from Heaven. I relax and maintain a clear focus.

For two hours, I watch their examples and follow as best as I can. The demon hunters are true masters of their art, their bodies quick, efficient, responsive. I struggle with my own, wishing I’d spent more time on kickboxing and less on homework. We are working without weapons, but after a while I’m given a long cane pole to whirl over my head. It’s heavy and slick from my sweaty palms. Two minutes of spinning it in one direction and then two minutes in the opposite. My arms are aching and trembling
something awful. When I grow tired, the cane dips, knocking me in the head. I howl and drop it and rub the spot.

Chang`e corrects my stance and helps me maintain my balance. It’s hard; these are not muscles I’m used to using. My muscle group is of the sit, stand, and lay down variety. At Kanati’s command, I whip the cane pole down and jab hard at imaginary evil. I forget to extend my right foot, stumble, and pitch forward, almost falling.

I’m as bad as I feared, and all I can do is apologize.

“Sorry, but as you can see, I suck at this kind of stuff.” I hope they aren’t too disappointed. I hope they don’t find me a lost cause and go back to wherever they came from.

Kanati hasn’t broken a sweat in the three hours of working out. He is methodical and patient. “Never apologize for what you do not know. It’s called an Awakening for a reason. The spirit, as well as the body that houses it, will be brought to life. You are as a newborn who must learn everything for the first time.”

This makes sense because that is exactly how I feel, new and ungainly.

Chang`e provides new instructions. They are relentless; but this is what I wanted, right?

She demonstrates climbing a tree in swift, nimble motions, up and over and dancing along thin branches to the top where she plucks a red ribbon. Then she sails down, grazing along the boughs, barely moving the leaves.

My turn.

Hoisting the cane pole over my head again, I continue, spinning it and gaining speed. It teeters lopsided, and I labor to hold it up. Then Chang`e yells a command, and I’m off and running. I drop the cane and climb the tree. I would like to think I scamper along like a sure-footed monkey but I don’t. I’m awkward, grunting my way in and around. I’m exhausted and lumber up the tree without direction. My stupid foot breaks through a thin branch, and I flop forward, roll, and fall, hanging upside down by the stupid foot.

A burst of frigid air hits me in the face, and I see that the barn door is open and Michael is standing in the doorway. Of course, he’s upside down in my vision, but I know it’s him.

“Michael!” I wave, and then slip and fall from the branch, landing on my head. I roll over, groaning, and eventually sit up. The blood rushing to my head takes an immediate U-turn, and I’m light-headed.

Michael stares dumfounded. Apparently, this is the last place he expected to find me. Raph, Gabe, and Milvi come over and explain things. Michael frowns and sweeps the
area. Kanati and Chang`e are standing by, and Rama is playing Ferdinand in a flower bed.

“
That’s
your brilliant plan?” Michael yells at Raph. “You said you found a way to keep her from getting hurt! I thought you were stopping her from becoming a spirit walker, not bringing in demon hunters to train her!”

I feel my head clear and my temper rise. If Michael won’t let us talk this out in private, we’ll have to take it public.

I gingerly climb to my feet, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of rubbing my aching head, which I really want to do. “I think it
is
a brilliant plan. Unless you don’t think Kanati and Chang`e are good enough to help me?” I cross my arms and give him a challenging look.

“Of course they’re good enough!” Michael snaps. “They’re the best! That’s not the point!”

“We all want to make sure she’s safe,” Raph says. “That
is
your main concern, right?” There is a hostile challenge in his question, and Michael’s face darkens.

“Of course it is,” Michael says tightly. He assesses the situation and then forces himself to relax. I wonder how long he can control things before he explodes all over someone.

He walks over to greet Kanati and Chang`e. They are friendly enough but their voices drop to quiet undertones, and I’m dying to know what they’re saying. I look desperately at Raph.
Michael won’t talk them out of helping, right?

Raph steps over and wraps an arm around my shoulders. He tells me not to worry. We wait while Michael confers with the demon hunters, and I feel sick as though I’m dividing the family. I don’t want to cause trouble between Michael and Raph.

The demon hunters gather their things and wave their good-byes. My second heartbeat is fluttering like a humming bird, and I feel Raph grip my shoulder. Michael’s eyes are blank as they slide from Raph to me.

“You have to go now,” he says, and all the air leaves me.

“I can’t believe you sent her away,” Raph said, following Michael as he marched across the meadow, headed for the weapons chamber. All the way over, he berated his older brother for his controlling and callous behavior. “Tell me why you don’t want Sophia to be a spirit walker. Why you are so possessive of her.”

Michael whirled around. “Why I’m
what?
” he snapped

Raph flinched and for a moment had the good sense not to respond. But it faded and he stood his ground. “You heard me. We all know how she feels about you.
That
has been obvious for weeks now. Months, even. And you’ve done nothing to discourage her feelings. As you should have. But what I don’t get, is why you’re acting like the overprotective boyfriend. You know your guardian vow and the consequences of breaking it more than anyone. You know what’s at stake here, Michael, so why …” His eyes narrowed suspiciously as an idea occurred to him. “You … haven’t
touched
her, have you?”