02 Awaken-The Soulkeepers (34 page)

So for the next two hours, Bailey, Ka, and I explore options of how best to make this work. It’s pretty easy because Ka already knows what we’re up to. I need to be with Rama and the demon hunters as much as possible, and Ka needs to attend every class and do all the grunt work; basically take up where I’m leaving off. Bailey throws out random questions, testing Ka’s memories. She nails them, even going back to my first day in Haven Hurst—where I met Bailey and Rachel, and what kind of bread the McCarthy twins baked for me. And she knows that J.D. asked me to the dance and that I accepted.

“Just like him as a friend though,” Ka says, making a point to me. I freeze.
Ka knows about Michael and me
.

Why hadn’t it occurred to me that she would know my deepest secret? I feel naive and caught off guard. I don’t like someone else knowing what Michael is, and what he means to me. Even if it is
me
.

She doesn’t say more, and I know she understands; this is something we don’t share with Bailey. With anyone. But she has an impish grin that worries me. Bailey starts talking about Dante and Vaughn, and Ka listens patiently. I’m staring at her, trying to sense her emotions the way Michael does. I wonder if she knows something about Dante that I don’t. I wonder if she got the past-life memories that he’s been talking about.

“Stop it,” Ka says to me, and Bailey stops talking. “You can’t tell what I’m thinking any more than I can tell what you’re thinking.”

“Then how did you know what I was doing?” I ask.

“ ’Cause that’s what I would be doing, if I were you. But see, I am you, and I’m not. I’m perfectly fine with what we’re doing, whereas you’re uptight and all”—she waves her hands—“ ‘Don’t shake my Magic 8 Ball! You can’t know what I’m up to.’ ”

“What the hell!” I snap, and Bailey bursts out laughing. Ka smiles. She’s mocking me, and I feel like a third wheel.

“Wow, Soph,” Bailey scoffs. “Some DoOver. She nailed you.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Ka snuggles under the covers so we do, too. It’s late, almost four in the morning, and I’m exhausted.
We
are exhausted.

We negotiate ourselves until we’re comfy. It’s a tight fit with me and Bailey on the ends and Ka in the middle. Bailey tells Ka not to be late for the café in the mornings like I always am. I set the alarm, and then we drift into sleep with me occasionally
mumbling comments and Ka grumbling answers.

“Don’t forget to feed Sundance in the morning.”

“I know.”

“And don’t forget to hand in the English essay.”

“I won’t.”

“Don’t wear my new running shoes ’cause I need them.”

She smacks me in the head to shut me up, and I don’t say another word. It’s exactly what I would’ve done.

* * *

Rama and I are standing at my bedroom window watching Bailey and Ka walk across the square to the café. It’s cold and white out, and they’re bundled up.

“Well, there I go. Off on my first day of school.”

“Howzit being two?”

“Strange but okay. I feel … lighter. Less burdened.”

He nods like he understands. We fall silent as Dante and Vaughn join Ka and Bailey on the sidewalk. Everyone hugs hello, and I feel myself growing tense. I don’t like the way Ka wrapped her arms around Dante’s neck. She shouldn’t be doing this in public. Now that Dante and Vaughn are attending school again, Michael and his brothers will surely know they’ve returned. But Ka shouldn’t be too affectionate with Dante. I have no choice but to trust her to stick to the plan. She has to tell Dante we performed the memory spell, and that it’s slow to work. No memories have emerged yet. He must be patient.

I ask Rama if he thinks Dante will be able to detect the difference between me and Ka. He says no. All necessary vitals are still functioning in Ka. No one will know that she is not me or that I’m not her.

Dad has some appointments today so we wait for him to leave, and then I hurry down for a quick breakfast. I pack in some energy and protein, and then we begin my first session without the distractions of school or Dante.
Or Michael
.

I squeeze my eyes shut and force Michael from my mind. I can’t let the pain of our breakup continue to haunt me. I have to let go of the unanswered questions. Apparently, he’s moved on and so should I.

We’re situated on the floor and beginning our meditation. Rama asks, “What name have you given this day?” and I say, “Enlightenment. This is a day for true
enlightenment.” He nods his approval and smiles. Then he tells me to sit on the bed, so I start to unwind and get up.

“No,” he says, stopping me. “Continue on as you are,
and sit on the bed
.” He gives me a meaningful look, and I take a moment to consider.
Ah. I get it
. He wants me to levitate myself onto the bed.

A smile breaks across my face.
This is gonna be so cool!

Okay, smile gone and I’m serious, wiggling back into position. I close my eyes and focus on breathing. I settle into my sitting bones and inhale deeply, filling myself up to my collarbones, and then expelling it all in a slow, easy exhalation. Rama says to search for the light within me, and I find it quickly now. I no longer need to sift through burdens and distractions. The emotional disorder has dissipated and I easily create harmony. I can draw from the sacred spaces between my organs and cells, my muscles and ligaments. The body’s consciousness becomes the spirit’s, and there is nothing but light within me. Pale blue light of a higher dimension. I’m overwhelmed with compassion and wisdom. Unconditional love flows through me.

Rama says to search for the white triangles; they will interlock and overlap before my eyes: They are creational geometry. The moment I see them, they begin to spin and I feel a lightness of being. The spinning morphs their shape, and they bloom into a geometric flower whose pattern makes up the patterns of my cells. We are one and the same. I rotate with the effect and hear ringing in my ears.

The spaces within me vibrate and my vision splits: a dark place of submission against a bright, active, dominant force. They are opposites that push and pull within me, and I feel my consciousness elevate into another dimension, and then another. An aura of colors surrounds me as I climb into the fifth dimension and out again, rising beyond what is known and understood. I’m bathed in a rainbow of colors, the eyes of my imagination seeing it all, in and around solids, through liquids and darkness. I am beyond the conscious self and gliding through the gateway to glimpse into the spirit realm.

It’s a vaguely familiar sensation, bringing to mind my time with Mom at the Borderland. Only, this time my body is in control and not left behind. I am the master of me and I come with the knowledge to help others. I’m in a field of light, and then Rama appears before me. We move together on the fringe of the spirit world as he continues his teachings, guiding me toward the understanding I will need. Harmonic concordance. He says,
To hear the needs of lost souls. Be in tune to their pleas
. I nod. I hear them and it sounds like confection in the air …

Rama is proud and tells me so five times as we make our way to the barn. I’m exceeding all his expectations. Not only did I move past the fifth dimension, we walked on the fringe of the spirit world while my body was levitating over the bed. Something none of his former students have achieved. He says it’s a duality of the consciousness. I call it multitasking.

I finally heard confection in the air and I know I’m on my way. Perhaps the next time I hear it, it will be the pleas of real souls asking for my help
.

When I tell Rama I come from a long line of spirit walkers, he doesn’t doubt me. “There is greatness inside you. I believe you were truly born to it.”

I had better be because I’m giving up a lot for this
.

I walk into the barn with the feeling that something has changed within me. I’m no longer the lost girl searching for what I’m supposed to be doing. It’s an unearned sense of confidence; every part of me is aware of certain things I must accomplish now. My muscles no longer hesitate with indecision. They’ll do what’s required. The body is willing to rise to the demands of the mind. Now I must make those demands. And much more.

Kanati and Chang`e are waiting for us. As far as they know, I’m skipping school to focus on my training. Still, they don’t look pleased.

“What’s up?” I ask, stripping down to my blue shorts and white tank top.

Kanati says, “There is unbalanced energy in this town. We thought perhaps you would know something about that?”

“I don’t even know what that means.”

“A certain measure of Forgiven souls. A certain measure of guardian energy. And an excessive amount of lesser demons in the area.”

Ah.

For some reason, this doesn’t bother me as it would have yesterday. I consider things with a vague curiosity and then start my stretches. Chang`e approaches when I shrug without answering.

“Sophia, when last we met, Kanati and I both sensed a distinct … demonic
fragrance on you. Burnt cinnamon? Have you any reason to smell like burnt cinnamon?”

Ordinarily, a lie would pop into my head, anything to avoid this topic and get on with the important task of turning me into something lethal. But things have changed, and I’m without concern this morning. I tell them about Dante and Vaughn. I explain about Lord Brutus knowing of my Awakening and sending lesser demons to turn me dark the moment it happens.

They are not happy. They say it’s common for lesser demons to sense an Awakening, if they happen to be within range. But to have them dispatched by the leader of The Order of Reapers with the specific task of turning someone dark is not common. I must’ve done something to anger Lord Brutus.

“So if you guys are demon hunters, why haven’t you gone after the lesser demons? After Dante and Vaughn?”

They regard me with grave expressions. Chang`e says they would be grossly outnumbered, plus, they have committed their efforts to me. “But we have alerted our fellow hunters. I wouldn’t be surprised to find them in Haven Hurst before the week’s end.”

Kanati takes my hands, turning them palms up. There is nothing new or different but he wraps his hands tightly around mine, bringing us palm against palm. Then he closes his eyes, concentrating. I look at Rama. He shrugs and tucks a flower behind his ear. A gentle tingle begins in my right palm. It’s fluttering with gradual strength. Soon it swirls and spreads into a warm sensation. I expect to see a pale blue light seep between our hands but there is nothing except heat. Kanati opens his eyes and releases me.

“You have made significant progress today, haven’t you? Achieved the highest level without aid from the Chelsea Light? When it comes, you must be ready. You must have every skill necessary to defend yourself and the souls you will protect. So let us begin. One-to-one combat.”

I recheck my palm. Still nothing, but I could sense it rising to the surface as though Kanati was pulling it. And that alone makes my adrenaline spike.
I am so close
.

Kanati assumes the position and I eagerly prepare for his attack. He comes at me and I block and roll away, facing him on the turn. Again, he initiates the attack, and we grapple and I flip him onto the ground. I have no weapons so I brace my foot against his rib cage and twist his arm back. And we begin again.

Less than an hour later, we’ve wrestled and flipped and tossed and slammed until we’re huffing and sweating. He’s pushing me to my physical limits but I’m not fading. I feel energized and centered. Chang`e takes her turn with the cane poles, and I spin and whip them around without hesitation. I envision my movements before I act on them—
mind and body in complete synchronization. Then I take a fighting stick in each hand, sparing and driving her to the edge of the bank. The war inside me has turned and I am balanced. I am in command of me.

“Well done!” Kanati says, beating his fist against his heart and tipping his head foreword in salute. Chang`e presses her hands together and gives me a slight bow, and I blossom inside. I’ve impressed my demon hunters
and
myself. The girl from yesterday would be jumping and flailing the happy dance, but I have nothing but a sense of harmony within me. I’m settling into this feeling with mature confidence.

They invite me to a table where an array of strange-looking weapons is spread in neat rows. They are sleek and mystical, made of silver or crystal or gold, everything glittering with supernatural light. Chang`e says I must choose the weapons that speak to me. The ones that call to my hands. Every spirit walker selects their own weapons and the weapons will answer to their call. She gives me a meaningful look, and I lock her words inside my head.
The weapons will answer to my call
.

Kanati runs down the list: the
tamahaac
or tomahawk. The stryker, much like the traditional hawk but with a smaller blade. The long knife and gunstock war club of the
Okichitaw
warrior. The
francisca
, a throwing axe that looks heavy. Silver throwing stars. A
mambele
, the South African throwing dagger with a curved blade. Long-range weapons such as the hurlbat, the sling, darts, and javelin. A crystal dagger and a pair of small pistol crossbows no bigger than handguns.

I survey them all, one by one, and then back away from the table. I close my eyes and inhale deeply, bringing my mind and body to a peaceful state. Then I narrow my thoughts and call to the first weapon. Within moments, the weapon rises from the table and flies toward me. My left hand shoots up just as it slams into my palm. I grip the hilt and open my eyes; the crystal dagger. I smile and then hand it to Chang`e so that I can continue. I have my mind set on two more, and they are spinning through the air before I even close my eyes. The pistol crossbows land in my hands, loaded and ready to fire. I inspect them, checking their balance and weight. They are light and graceful. The grips fit perfectly, as though made for my hands.

“Are there more arrows?” I ask, looking for a secret storage compartment inside the grips.