Who is Mackie Spence? (23 page)

“That was on the boat deck, after I hauled you out of the water. I thought you were dead. Really. Mackie, you felt so cold, and your skin had turned blue. It was bad.”

This time, she pats my hand.

“I'm sorry I scared you,” she says. “I wanted to see you again and thank you. I could hear my voice calling your name, but you didn't come. It kept happening before I woke up in the hospital. That was when I felt your hands on my arms, like you would pick me up. You brought me out of the coma. You saved me. Twice.”

She holds both my hands, tightly, and I see tears on her cheeks through my own tears. I don't know what to say. All the details of her story make sense, but no sense. I lean over the table and run my hands up over her arms, and then back down to her hands. When I stop, she turns her palms up and I place my hands over hers. Our skin temperatures match.
How do I know that?

“So why do you think Brody did it? Why did he want to hurt you?”

She gives me a quick grin, like she still has a secret. “You remember I told you that I feel like I know Brody. Better than I know just about anyone.” She pauses and frowns. “He's fascinating in a bad way. Like a scary déjà vu. Maybe Brody fits into the reincarnation picture. Do you feel like you know him, too?”

Her explanation makes no scientific sense. I don't trust myself to respond, but shake my head.
No.
I want to bring her back to reality.

“Brody's a crazy dude. That's what I know about him. Can you tell me what it's like to be in a coma?” I ask.

“It's not like being asleep. I couldn't make my body move, but I felt something all the time, and I heard everything people said when they came to visit me. I was so happy the day you came in with Wes.”

She pauses, and takes in a deep breath.

“I think there are energy fields around us. Animals use them all the time with each other. It seems to be how they connect with me, too. When I needed you, when I was in the coma, I tried to bring you there, because that's where I was. In an energy field.”

“Wow. That's cool. What does that feel like? The energy?”

“There's this light vibration against my skin, like a tugging sensation could start at any minute. It feels good.”

I stare at her. The tugging sensation she's described feels like what's been happening to me.
Cool, but
weird.

“I have another question. Why didn't you call me after Brody told you he had your phone? I would have gone to pick it up.”

She stiffens a little. “You've done a lot for me already. You shouldn't fight my fights. And Brody feels like a really old fight.”

It sounds so reasonable. She's her own person and has always done things for herself. She doesn't want to be a bother. But he tried to hurt her and I would never have let him do that. I'm about to reassure her there is nothing I wouldn't do for her, when Noelle bursts into the kitchen.

“I'm supposed to ask if you're okay,” she announces.

“I'm okay,” Mackie replies. “We're fine. You don't have to wait. 'Bye,” she says, with a shooing motion of her hands.

Noelle turns like a dancer on the ball of her foot, and leaves. Mackie and I stand and she hugs me. The hug goes into my body, and leaves an imprint after she steps away.

“Everything you said, about Akeso and what happened on the boat, I need to think about it. I mean, you're here and that's what's important,” I say. I can't tell her how unbelievable her story sounds to me. In fact, it's bizarre and worrisome.
Is Mackie a little crazy?

She hugs me again. “Okay. But we're good, right?”

“Right.”

When she lifts her face for a kiss, I want us to never leave the kitchen, never leave the kiss, and I want to never be without her.

Mackie was right about the new volunteers at the shelter. It didn't take long before one of them decided working a four-hour shift every weekend was not for him. Olivia put Mackie and me back together as the 2:00–6:00
P.M.
Sunday crew.

On Sunday, after our shift ends, we walk to my house, eat a lasagna dinner with Mom, Dad, and Justin, and then sit in front of our wood stove reciting our French assignment. Since studying together, my French grammar and pronunciation have improved. But I really want to ask her a question.

“Pardonez, mademoiselle mais, voulez-vous accompagner moi à le Steve Un, s'il vous plaît?”
I ask, not looking up from my screen.

She gives her notebook a double take, and then tries to look at my screen. Of course, those words aren't on my screen because I've made them up. Her eyes twinkle as she laughs.

“Mais oui. Certainement,”
she says. And that is how Mackenzie Allison Spence agrees to go with me to Steve One, our school's 1960s-themed dance where the boys ask the girls.

Sure, there is still unresolved drama over the whole thing with Brody, who hasn't returned to school. On the plus side, Captain Evans made a sworn statement that I had no blood on any of my clothes except for the bottoms of my shoes. That was completely consistent with my statement of what happened when I was on the boat. Eventually, I hope to be ruled out as a suspect.

There's something else, too: My connection with Mackie. I'm getting used to feeling a tug at my skin just before she sends a message or calls. And the idea of energy fields that can be entered fascinates me. From what I've found online, ancient cultures described something similar. And like Mackie, early humans were very tuned into animals. Yeah, maybe there is something to her story. I look forward to exploring that, along with everything else about her.

Of course, I still have loads of questions. Is Mackie a genetic variant, able to survive extreme conditions and connect on an unseen plane with animals? Is she the mythological reincarnation of Akeso, daughter of Asclepius, granddaughter of Apollo, born to heal the sick and wounded? Or is she my childhood friend who trusts me with her innermost secrets, and has more to tell? Maybe she's all of those things.

And if Mackie is Akeso reborn, am I Aleksander, her protector? Will I have memories, someday, of our past lives? I want to believe Mackie, even if I can't prove everything she tells me. To believe her, I have to trust her. One thing I do know: I love her and want to be with her.

So who is Mackie Spence? There's a very good chance we'll figure that out, together.

Cool breezes partnered the ascending sun as a young girl ran a maze of uneven dirt trails away from her village. Her destination: a nearby cliff overlooking the Aegean Sea.

The girl had never ventured up the embankment. Nor had she ever dived from the ledge. Today was different. She had to save two dolphins floating in a growing ring of blood.

Gathering courage, she paced back for a running start. Her strong arms pumped as her legs pushed off against the uneven ground. Stones sprayed from the impact of her feet. Black hair flying, she spread her arms like wings as she leapt, diving headfirst. Near the water, she pulled her hands together, and slipped into the waves.

Shocked by the coldness of the water, she kicked to the surface, and found the dolphins.

But they did not respond to her presence. She'd healed animals before, though none this large. The girl worried their wounds were beyond her curative abilities, yet saving them was her mission.

She approached the first dolphin and wrapped her arms around its head. His eyes flickered open, then closed, then opened wide as if he recognized her. Hugging him, she stroked the smooth, soft surface of his sides. As she felt her energy flow to him, her breath came faster and her arms grew tired. After several minutes, he began taking in air through his blowhole. The bleeding under his beak ceased. Their gazes held until he bobbed his head. Then she swam to the second dolphin.

The small female lay flat on the water's surface, her blowhole exposed, but she didn't breathe. The girl followed the same process that she'd used to heal the male.

The small dolphin didn't respond. The girl placed her hands on the skin above the dolphin's eyes and gently lifted. A shudder went through the mammal. The girl treaded water, knowing that hugging this dolphin for support would be too much of a burden. Her gaze never left the dolphin's eyes.

The second healing took longer than the first. By the time the dolphins swam, the girl's hands could no longer push through the water, and she tasted saltwater sliding down her throat. Her energy exhausted, she floated on her back, knowing the tide would carry her away. The dolphins dove around her, welcoming the girl into their family. What of her own father, mother, brothers, and sisters? Would they miss her? Would they be sad when she didn't return home that afternoon? But she had saved the dolphins. There would be honor in her dying. Honor that was worth death.

Poseidon, god of the sea, rose in magnificence through the water. Bubbles shed from his surface like jewels rolling in sunlight. His eyes narrowed as he viewed the two dolphins leaping joyfully. In the center of their activity floated a girl. With squeals and short staccato bursts of song, the duo lauded her bravery and healing powers. They could save their song. Poseidon knew what had occurred. A rogue shark had attacked the dolphins. The girl had risked her own life to heal his treasures, keeping them from death. And for that, he was determined she would live.

“Apollo,” he called out. “Apollo, by all that is good and right, where are you? You have given the world a healer, but she doesn't come equipped with the power to survive. Come, and make this right.”

In a flash, the god of prophecy appeared above Poseidon. His eyes shone with irritation at what he interpreted as criticism from the god of the sea.

“Why have you called me here, and in such a lofty tone?” Apollo replied.

“I mean you no offense. Look at her. She is young, a child still. She healed my dolphins at her own risk. That kind of love is rare. Apollo, you have created something brilliant but not finished the job. I'm told that she heals on earth, in the sky, and on the water. Her value to us is already spoken of with regard. Will you not give her aid?”

Apollo looked down at the girl's body. She floated on her back, arms and legs forming an X. Her dark hair fanned in and out around her face, like a sea anemone. The dolphins prodded her with their beaks, trying to keep their healer alive.

As Apollo gazed at the scene, his heart softened. She was lovely. She had her grandmother Coronis' flawless skin and hair. Coronis, the mortal he had loved.

Yes, Apollo knew a part of him was in this divine child. Her ability to heal was a birthright that flowed from him to his son, Asclepius, her father. The girl had inherited her grandfather's healing energy.

“Poseidon, once in a great while you are right,” Apollo said. “I shall have to do something, but you know there will be a price down the line. Still, I think I will help her.”

As Poseidon nodded his agreement, Apollo looked upon the shore and saw a young boy walking with his dog. The god raised his hand and spoke.

“Protector, you are needed.” No sooner did Apollo make this proclamation than the boy began running to the shoreline. The girl's protector was on his way.

She felt his hands on her shoulders before she saw him. “Don't be afraid,” he said. “I saw you in the water. It didn't look like you would make it out by yourself.”

They were on the beach of the cove, under the warm rays of the afternoon sun. He sat in front of her, frowning his concern.

“Aleksander,” she whispered, willing her eyes to fully open. He lived in her village and they had played together as young children. But lately he attended school with his older brothers. This year, she had seen him only when she walked on the beach with her family.

“I must thank you,” she said, struggling from weakness to get the words out. He waved a hand. It was nothing.

“What made you go out so far?” he asked.

This time she searched his curiosity-filled eyes before answering. How much had he seen? His calmness suggested he knew nothing of the dolphins and the healing. She relaxed.

“I misjudged my strength,” she said. “How long has it been since you pulled me out of the water?”

“Not long, maybe a half hour. You were turning blue.”

“May I ask how you saw me in the water?”

“Oh, I was walking with Archer,” he nodded to his dog. “I saw you right away. I thought you had already drowned. But what if you were still alive? Perhaps it was both our fates to be here today.”

“Then I am the lucky one, for your fate held mine. Please, would you help me up?”

Aleksander stood and held his hand out to her.

“I must return home. And you will have questions, too, from your family if you are late.”

“Oh, don't worry. My parents are used to me losing track of time. I love the beach. There is so much to do here. I thought you were a sea goddess,” he smiled and his white teeth flashed against his bronze skin.

She froze and looked so shocked that he laughed. “Well, I can dream, can't I?” he said as they started up the winding path leading away from the beach.

The girl had been summoned to the porch of her home. She stood before her father, Asclepius, wise god of medicine.

“Daughter,” he greeted her, as he moved among his pots of rosemary, thyme, frankincense, coriander, and mandrake. “Let us sit and speak of your latest healing, of which I have heard glowing reports.”

She looked up at him. Until that moment, she had worried about his response to her healing animals instead of humans.

“I understand that your grandfather has given you a protector, to keep you from harm when you overspend your energies. That is quite an honor. You must have greatly impressed him.”

“Father, I am humbled. My skills are not so great. I was able to heal two dolphins, but couldn't return to shore by myself. I did not know my rescue today was Apollo's will.”