See (30 page)

The sound of the guitar erupted, as if to encourage me. Draven looked around himself, then grinned slightly as he stood. I reached for his hand. He nodded once, then gently pulled me to the stairs.

Kara was on the phone in the kitchen. I could tell she was talking to her husband because everything she was saying was at the speed of light, describing some creative flow she must have had today. Her husband, Robert, was the only one that seemed to understand her when she talked like that. I used to think it was because he was a writer, too, but now I’m not so sure. She asked him to hold on, then looked at us as we walked in the kitchen.

“
Did you talk to mom?” she asked.

“
I just got off the phone with her,” I answered.

“
Good,” she said, smiling. “Be careful; it’s getting bad out there again.”

I stared at her for a second and let my eyes say thank you for not telling mom or Draven about Bianca. I think she understood what I wasn’t saying because she nodded, then waved us to go on.

Draven nodded at her, then led me to the backdoor; as soon as we stepped on the steps, the guitar faded, and for a second I heard silence. Draven gripped my hand and led me past my car to his Hummer, which was just outside of the garage. I studied the shadows of the trees across the pavement, then I heard the whispers begin. At first, I was sure they weren’t in English, but then I heard: “...Come, Charlie…take us.” They hissed in overlapping taunts.

I shook my head and glared at the thin air around me. Draven opened the door for me. Once I climbed in, he reached over me and turned the key, causing the music to come on. He looked at me as he climbed down. “No one’s taking you – that’s not what they mean.”

Shock came over my face as he closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side. My heart was beating violently against my chest. I was terrified that these demons could tear us apart – that they could tell him that Britain existed – I told myself that he’d never believe them over and over as he climbed in and pulled his belt across himself.

As he reached for my hand, I took his and squeezed it. “Promise?” I whispered.

He brought my hand to his lips “Promise,” he said against my skin.

“
When you teach me to see – when I see them – will I be able to handle it?” I asked in a shaky voice.

He turned the radio down slightly and looked at me. “They’re more afraid of what we are than you are of them.”

“
What are we?” I asked timidly.

“
Wide awake,” he answered in a serious tone.

“
Is that bad?”

“
No – the beauty we see is just as powerful as the darkness.”

“
How do we fight this? I mean, are we supposed to run – hide behind music and fool ourselves into thinking it’s not real?”

“
We face it – it’s a war of souls – the only strength you need is your mind.”

I looked through the windshield at the shadows that were lingering around the driveway. I felt hopeless and full of dread.

“
How can you face something you can’t see? There are so many – I can’t even make out what they’re all saying most of the time.”

“
They’re fooling you, Charlie – there are never as many as you think – they play off your fears – they read every part of you…out of all of us. You’ve been able to protect your mind the best – you hide behind a song you hear – the song that’s playing inside your house right now…when you feel the darkness trying to invade, you remember it – you see yourself playing it, and that causes a wall to come up – from behind the music, you can still see what you need to fight, but you’re protected.”

“
I don’t get it…I have no memory of playing that song.”

“
I don’t think you’ve played in real life…you said it was too sacred…but maybe you should.”

I glided my head from side to side as I looked at him. I knew he was asking too much of me. Out of everything I needed to remember – playing was the last thing on my list.

“
Can you remember it clearly now?” he asked, looking through the windshield.

I nodded.

“
Alright…,” he said as he unfastened his belt. “Focus on that – we’re about to make this soul remember who he is,” he said, reaching for his door.

I lunged across the seat and grabbed his arm. “Wait - are you crazy?! I don’t wanna see this – I’m not ready – I don’t even know how!”

He let go of the handle and looked at me calmly. “Yes, you do…” he reached for my hand, and his fingertips began to circle across my skin. “It doesn’t matter who you meet - dead or alive – you have the power to see everything that’s brought them to that point. All you have to do is listen.”

“
Listen? Draven – I don’t want to do this!” I said in a panicked tone, reaching to turn the radio up just to reassure myself that I couldn’t hear the whispers.

He turned it down, then let out a breath. “You can do this…you taught me….before you figured it out, we just hid. When you listen – you see. You won’t be standing in this driveway – you’ll be standing in the center of every single memory this soul has.”

I shook my head as tears started to glass over my eyes. I was terrified.

He leaned closer to me and stared intently into my eyes.

“
Breathe,” he whispered.

I let out a breath that I had been holding, but every part of me grew tense.

“
All you have to do is search the memories…find a point before they lost their way…say one word - the name of a loved one, pet, a place, a toy – something that will cause them to remember the emotion they had at that point – if you pick the right emotion - they’ll be flooded with peace – they’ll see how and when they took the wrong path, and with… free will…they’ll change their course…I can’t tell you how many souls you’ve helped – dead and alive.”

“
Dead?” I said breathlessly.

“
You’ve helped more of the dead than the alive…they’re easier to save.”

“
How?” I asked breathlessly as horrible images of demons raced through my imagination.

“
You can see deeper into the dead – they have no secrets. The living…,” he paused as his eyes slowly moved across my face, “we do…and we hide things from ourselves – from others.” He tilted his head slightly as his eyes stared deep into mine.“There’s a soul behind what you hear…that’s what you said to me…you convinced all of us that we were gifted – not cursed. Because of you…so many have found their way. Listen…what is your soul telling you? Do you not feel pulled to help – to protect?”

Down deep – I mean really deep inside, I felt this pull – this desire to fight – to end darkness, but everywhere else I was horrified. I didn’t want to do this. “What if I can’t see? What if they just attack? They’ve been violent before.”

“
It’s all in your mind. Charlie – they’ve been violent because you’re scared and they can see that – they sense it – and they reflected the emotion you had - all you have to do to see is …listen.”

“
I can’t,” I said again.

He reached for his door and climbed out. My heart was beating violently against my chest – I thought I was going to be sick from all of the adrenaline racing through my body. Draven opened my door and reached for my hand.

“
I will never let anything hurt you – right now, I have no idea what you’re hiding from me – but I have to know that you can defend your mind – your soul.”

I could see his eyes pleading with me to tell him what I knew – who I was fighting, but I couldn’t find the courage – right now, I’d rather look a demon in the eye than confess.

I took his hand and slid down. The whispers laughed and mocked, “Come, Charlie.”

Draven took my hand and pulled me to a part of the driveway that was shadowed by the trees. He stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist as tight as he could and whispered, “Breathe,” in my ear.

I let another breath out as I watched the shadows slither across the pavement.

“
Play the song in your mind,” he whispered against my neck. “Do you hear it?”

I nodded, feeling the warm sensation of his breath.

Draven squeezed his arms around me, then in a demanding tone he said, “Show yourself.”

I held in my breath as I saw the shadows across the ground begin to move together; within an instant, they were mocking the image of a man. I couldn’t see any of his features; it was just dark. Behind this image, I could hear the mocking laugh and annoying hiss.

“
Listen,” Draven whispered into my ear. “Look past the darkness and listen – who was he – how did he get here?”

“
Charlie…,” the image hissed at me.

I focused on the music in my mind – my song. I felt a protection and confidence – I felt like I was looking through glass – like I had a shield. As soon I felt that, I stood up straighter and found my breath. I listened and stared forward - all of a sudden, I didn’t feel Draven’s arms around me...I didn’t see the driveway or the image...it was like I was standing in glow and a life that didn’t belong to me was sliding before me.

This man had lived hundreds of years ago…somewhere in the east. He had been on his own most of his life - never had a wife – a child – he couldn’t clearly recall his parents – in his mind, they had left him. He lived his life in anger, full of hate…always struggling to survive. As I searched deeper in his life, I could see an older woman rocking him to sleep as a child. I listened to what she said and repeated it slowly: ‘je vous amie ma beaute douce.’

I said the words over and over again as I watched the woman rock this little boy. I pulled myself out of that illusion and focused on the figure in front of me. It was no longer a dark shadow - it was man, and his whispers were silent. He gazed into my eyes, as if to beg me to say the words again. ‘je vous amie ma beaute douce,’ I repeated. The man before me began to grow younger, and before my eyes he turned into the child I saw the woman rocking in my vision. This child smiled slightly at me, then turned to leave; he vanished at that moment.

I stood in shock as I listened to the silence. I felt Draven’s arms loosen as he stepped in front of me. I looked into his eyes to find a pride that I didn’t think I deserved.

“
What did I say?” I asked in daze as I replayed what had happened in my mind.

“’
I love you, my sweet beauty’…you made him remember the only woman that ever really loved him: his grandmother.”

“
Do I speak French?” I asked, mystified.

“
Not well,” he said, an impish grin spreading across his face.

I looked all around us. “It’s quiet,” I mumbled.

“
For now…more will come – you just lashed out at the darkness – it will send more… and then more.”

“
French?” I questioned, wondering if that was why, at times, I couldn’t understand what the whispers were saying.

“
We see images from all over the world – when they speak our language, they’re only repeating the fears we have…they’re under the command of something dark – all we have to do is make them realize that they don’t have to be.”

“
Madison said you see something darker than me – how?” I asked as I grew more terrified for him.

He reached his arms for my waist and pulled me closer to him. “I see all the dark moments they lived through…their nightmares…I step into the darkest part of their life....but you helped me understand how to help them through what I saw – I take their fears and give them a reason to find a way out.”

“
How dangerous is this? I mean, where do we go – are we here, or is this only in our mind?”

“
It can be dangerous if we forget that it’s not our life – if we try to change it for them. They have to change – just like with the living – free will of the soul is the only thing that can save them.”

“
I can’t let anything happen to you,” I whispered as I gazed up into his eyes.

“
I know when to get out – when to look away. I never let their nightmares consume me…I promise.”

I looked down. “You could literally spend all day doing this – there has to be countless souls,” I said as grief absorbed me and I felt an indescribable desire to fight for redemption.

He nodded. “There are. You have to understand that sometimes….sometimes, walking through the mind of another can be painful – dangerous…we don’t help everyone….we have to protect ourselves. We’ve been trying to spend more time helping those that are still here….it hasn’t worked out so well, though.”

“
I can do that with everyone? You can see everything? All my fears - memories?” I asked as panic came over me. I knew if that were true, he already knew about Britain.

“
No…not everything,” he said quietly. “I told you it was easier to see into the mind of the dead - in the living, you see life around them. Madison calls it their aura– I don’t see it that way, though; it looks like a cloud of energy and inside that energy you can see what’s happening in their life, but – if someone has refused to acknowledge what has happened to them – or if…or if they‘ve made it a point to hide something deep inside –then it stays that way. All we can do is look at the world around them and interrupt their circumstances – honestly, after a while it’s as easy as noticing the color of someone’s eyes.”

All at once, my mind was flooded with memories. I remembered doing this over and over again. I knew…I knew around a year ago – there were too many for me to help – that as I help one dark soul, countless others would taunt me – I felt outnumbered, so I simply hid behind my music. The only time I tried to face them was when I was with Draven, Aden, and Madison. I could even remember how we were helping the ones that were still here.