The Reverence of One: Book Three of the Shadow Series (20 page)

The room began to shake. The empty chairs that sat around the table began to dance across the
stone
floor
, one of which immediately caught in a joint and fell to its back,
and the cabinet doors shook on their hinges.

“Stop it, you two,” said Maggie sternly, watching as the back of the chair next to Test appeared to blur.

Ignoring Maggie’s order, Lauren continued. “Well, lover boy? You gonna answer the question?”

Suddenly Alyssa exploded from her chair and pushed Lauren away from Test. “It wasn’t his fault!” she shouted. “He had a bad dream!”

Lauren glared at Alyssa with hatred in her eyes, but
had no idea of what the young spirit was shouting about. Her line of questioning to Test had become nothing more than a game to her, trying to see how far she could push him. She never expected anything more to actually be confessed. She turned to Test and asked, “What is she talking about?”

Test’s teeth were clinched tight
, the muscles in his jaws
straining beneath his flesh. From behind him, he felt a hand rest on each of his shoulders and instantly knew that it was his mother. Without flinching, he remained focused on Lauren until he heard his mother whisper into his ear.

“Relax, Test. It’s okay.” She gently turned him away from Lauren so that he would face her. “Look at me. Listen to the room. Look at what is happening. You have got to calm down.” Her words were calm and to the point.

Test looked at the chair that his mother had just stood from and watched it bounce across the floor. It made him think of the salt and pepper shaker at the restaurant in
Wyoming
, the night that Enrique had taken him out with Alyssa and her Aunt Julie. The line of thought continued until he remembered the conclusion.

Closing his eyes, he took a series of deep breaths. Maggie massaged his shoulders and neck, trying to help him calm down. From behind, he felt another set of hands begin to rub his back. It was this set of hands that would instantly bring his mind peace. He opened his eyes and turned into Alyssa’s arms. She held him gently and continued to stroke his back with her open palm.

“It’s okay,” she said softly
as she kissed his chest
.

Lauren watched the three of them with mixed emotions. She knew she hadn’t handled the situation
well
, but worse than being angry at herself, she found that Maggie’s disapproval was devastating.
Her
eyes connected
with Maggie’s,
and
she
could see the disappointment within. Unable to deal with the situation,
she
phased to the other side, disappearing from the room
in a climactic flash of light
.

“Why does she have to be such a bitch?” asked Test, his voice tense and broken.

“She’s trying, hon,” replied Maggie, walking toward the window overlooking the back yard. “I should probably go and talk to her,” she said as she peered out the window.

“No,” replied Alyssa. “Let me go.”

Maggie turned with a skeptical look on her face. “I don’t know if that’s…
.
”

“Please?” Alyssa
pleaded
. “I’ll be nice. I promise.”

“Why do you want to go?” asked Test as he leaned back, looking down to Alyssa’s face.

“I’m not sure, but I thought about her a lot last night while you were asleep. I think I understand why she is the way she is.” She glanced to Maggie. “I think I can help her.”

As though it was against her better judgment, Maggie
hesitated
. “
I
f you really want to, go on ahead. I’ll stay here with Test and clean up.”

Alyssa looked into Test’s eyes and saw the pain and anger that he held within. She ran the palm of her hand softly across his cheek, and then pulled his chin down so their lips could meet. She tasted his lips three times before they parted and, as she
watched
, she
could see
the tension on his face slowly melt away.

“You take it easy,” she said playfully while patting his chest. “I’ll be back in a little while.”

She kissed him one last time and then vanished from his arms.

Lauren had left her home and raced deep into the forest. Several miles in was a spot that she had found not long after moving
to
Washington
. It was a tranquil
and serene place,
a place where she was able to think and recharge both mentally and physically.

The sounds of the forest blanketed her in a subtle white hiss
that
occasionally succumb
ed
to the sound of a bird in a nearby tree. She laid on her back and watched the tops of the trees sway high above while there was no hint of a breeze on the floor below. She allowed her breath to match the rhythmic sway of the tree tops and tried to force herself to relax, a goal that was rarely achieved.

“Ah, damn,” she said to herself as she dug her fingers into the soft earth at her side. “What are you doing? These people are the closest thing that you’ve had to a family since…
.
” She paused and lifted her back from the ground, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. “I don’t want to be alone again.”

“You don’t have to be.”

The
voice came from beside her and came as a whisper, as though someone’s lips were placed to her ear. S
he instantly became aware of Alyssa’s presence. Initially upset because she
’d
let her guard down, something she’d just lectured Test about, she quickly let it go simply because she no longer had the strength
to be angry
.

“What do you want?” asked Lauren as she looked to her right with tears running from the corners of her eyes.

Again the whisper
ed
voice entered her ear. She could feel the
ethereal
chill of
Alyssa’s
presence
.

“To help.”

Resting her forehead on her knees, Lauren held her gaze to her right and released a weak pulse for Alyssa to use. It wasn’t enough to bring her to a solid form, but enough to see and hear her more clearly. Alyssa’s face was long and her eyes were filled with pity.

“You think you can help me, huh?” asked Lauren, her voice weak and mournful.

“Maybe?” replied Alyssa. “Would you like to talk?”

Lauren sniffed and exhaled deeply. “About what?”

“Well, I…
,
” began Alyssa, looking past Lauren into the distance.

             
Waiting through a few moments of silence, Lauren spoke. “What is it? Spit it out.”

Alyssa glanced nervously at Lauren, opening and closing her mouth several times before she was able to speak her mind.

“Why don’t you like me?” she asked.

Lauren giggled as she rolled back on her behind
with her arms still holding her knees to her chest and
star
ed
up into the sky. “It’s not that I don’t like you.” She released her knees
,
placed her
palms to the ground behind her, and stared silently at the
earth
beside her.

“What is it then?” asked Alyssa.

Lauren found Alyssa’s eyes and tried to speak as her bottom lip quivered. “
The honest truth is that I don’t know why I say some of the things I say. Everything is so confusing now. It was easy when…
.
”

“You were a Reaper—a killer?” interrupted Alyssa.

Lauren’s head snapped to attention, her eyes widening slightly. “Yes,” she conceded. “That’s right.”

Alyssa couldn’t help but grin at Lauren’s false politeness. “It’s okay,” she giggled. “You can be a bitch if you want. I’m not going anywhere.” She watched as the corners of Lauren’s lips turned up slightly.

In the exchange of a smile everything had suddenly changed. A bond had been created and both of them felt it.

“It sucks, you know,” said Lauren as she wiped her eyes. “It’s like getting what you want, but not knowing how to deal with it once you’ve got it.” The tears began to stream from her eyes. “You guys are
the family that
I need and want, but I
just don’t know how..
.
.
” She stopped mid-sentence and began to sob heavily.

“Don’t know how to what?” asked Alyssa. “Save someone’s life? Yes, you do. Don’t know how to show compassion? Maggie told me about you and that Marcy girl, so I think you’re fine there.”

Her breathing unsteady from the outpouring of emotion, Lauren took a deep, cleansing breath.

“Come on, you know what I mean,” she replied.

Alyssa rocked her head side to side like a pendulum, staring into the distance to find the words. “Look, it’ll get easier. Really,” she said. “All brothers and sisters fight and argue.”

This brought a larger smile to Lauren’s face. “Sister, huh?” she said, her voice becoming slightly more upbeat.

Alyssa stood and held out her hand. “Come on. What do you say we go back home.”

Lauren released a larger pulse, allowing Alyssa to take solid form, and took the spirit’s hand into hers.

Alyssa kept Lauren’s hand in hers as they walked. At first, this made Lauren uncomfortable, but then Alyssa spoke.

“I wonder if Mom saved any breakfast for you?”

An overwhelming feeling of warmth radiated throughout Lauren’s body and
,
as they walked
peacefully through the underbrush,
she gripped her sister’s hand
a little
tighter.
Hesitant to break the tranquility of the moment, she felt compelled to ask about the incident with Test the night before.

“So what happened with Test last night? How bad was it?”

Alyssa looked briefly to her and felt her heart rate increase with the onset of her reply.

“You haven’t gone into the living room yet, have you?” asked Alyssa
, cringing as she waited for Lauren’s reaction
.

Her jaw tensing slightly, Lauren made a conscious effort to stay calm.
“No,” she replied. “I don’t really care about the house
, but
I do need to know how severe his outburst was.”

“
You might not think that when you see your floor,”
Alyssa thought to herself before responding. “It was pretty bad,”
she answered
with her head hanging low. “I’ve never seen him like that before. His eyes…
.
” she paused
and made eye contact with Lauren
. “His eyes were one of the most frightening things I’d ever seen.”

Lauren stopped and the two of them faced each other.

“How do you mean?” asked Lauren, her jaw steadily becoming more tense and rigid.

Alyssa thought about it for a moment. She could still see
his eyes
when she clos
ed her
s, but the words to describe it were difficult for her to find. “
His pupils—it was like they were on fire—a fiery red light that moved like liquid where his pupils were.”

Lauren stared into her eyes intently, hanging on every word.

“Inside the fire were tiny points of white light,” continued Alyssa. “They almost seemed to be…
.
” she stopped, unable to describe what she saw.

“What?” asked Lauren.

Alyssa’s face twisted as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back in thought. “The white lights almost looked like bubbles that were coming from the bottom of a pan of boiling water, but they were very small
,
almost pin point.”

Alyssa watched Lauren’s expression become more distant. Though their eyes met, it was as though Lauren was staring through her.

“Lauren?” asked Alyssa.

Lauren blinked once and seemed to return
from thought, though she remained silent.

“Is everything okay?” asked Alyssa, knowing full well that something was terribly wrong.

Lauren turned her head slightly and peered over Alyssa’s shoulder. “I don’t think so,” she replied. “I’ve never heard of anything like that before.”

“Like what?” asked Alyssa
naively
.

“Test’s eyes—I’ve never heard of
,
or seen
,
anything like what you’ve described.”

A knot suddenly appeared in Alyssa’s throat. “What does it mean?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Lauren made eye contact once again, and with a low, firm voice, spoke ominously.
“It means
it may already be too late.
”
She turned her body slowly to her right in the direction of her home, and felt the push of a Shadow’s energy.

Alyssa watched Lauren staring through the trees. “What is it? What do you see?” she asked.

Lauren placed her index finger to her lips, signaling Alyssa to be quiet. “I don’t see them, but I can feel them.” She turned her focus back to the forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of who it was she was feeling. “I’m going to have to let you go,” she said to Alyssa, though keeping he
r line of sight straight ahead.

Instantly knowing what she meant, Alyssa nodded and released Lauren’s energy, disappearing from sight before Lauren stopped the pulses herself.

Lauren began walking as carefully and qui
etly as the terrain would allow,
each step seeming painfully slow and loud.
After what seemed like an eternity,
she came to a point where t
w
o trees crossed each other
, forming a triangle just large enough for her to crouch through
.
S
he felt Alyssa quickly pass in front of her. In that same instant, the push of the unseen Shadow faded—regaining strength only when Alyssa stepped to the side. The event stopped Lauren mid-step, and she thought about what it could mean.
“Later,” she whispered to herself, bending low and passing through the crossed trees.

As she stood tall, she heard a twig snap in the distance. Had she not felt the push of the Shadow’s energy growing stronger with each step, she would have thought the sound inconsequential. In the moment, the sound told her that she was close.

She crouched back down, planting a hand on the ground to steady herself, and watched carefully for any sign of movement. It was then that she realized how close she was to home. Through a small fractured line of space through the trees, she could see a piece of her ho
use
. Suddenly the void was filled by a form
. A
s if someone passed by a window
, the light illuminating the small portion of the house disappeared
. She involuntarily held her breath as
her eyes traced the
intruder’s
shoulders and head
.
She could feel the surge of energy inside of her wanting to be released as her adrenaline sent her blood racing through her veins.

In her mind, she quickly developed a plan of attack and, turning towards Alyssa’s pull, whispered her instructions.

“Go to the house and tell Test to be ready, but go wide and go quickly. Tell him not to come outside until he hears me.”

Lauren waited for the pull of Alyssa’s spirit to disappear from her side, but it remained. Void of patience and out of time, she gritted her teeth and seethed the words.

“Go, damn it.”

After a moment of hesitation, Lauren felt Alyssa leave her. She knew that Alyssa would already be in the house before she could even think it, so now all that was left
was to
act.

With a deep breath, she phased to the other side and raced towards the intruder. In an instant she was feet away from him and was shocked to see that he’d already turned to defend. She phased mid-step
and immediately through her right hand forward, releasing a pulse that sent the intruder flying backward along with
several trees
that stood on either side of him.

She stepped out of the tree line towards the intruder, her arms and torso blazing with color; her anger and rage blinding any ounce of rational thought. As he rolled over, Lauren could see the red pulses of energy beginning to race down his arms, confirming what she already knew; he was a Shadow.