Eternity (Circle of Light) (11 page)

CHAPTER 7

Carolyn walked past me and out the door.  I watched her walk down the sidewalk to her car; her actions were more deliberate now.  She grabbed the door of her car and bowed her head like she was saying a prayer.  I knew it was wrong, but I listened in.  I couldn’t help myself.

God. Please forgive me for what I’m about to do.  I have to protect my baby.  He is sick and he‘ll neve
r quit if I don’t stop him.  There has been enough pain as the result of his actions.  Nothing will stop him except this.  We have tried everything else. Forgive me.

Her head lifted, she got in her car, and backed out of the driveway. When she was out of sight I tried to calm the sickened feeling that I had of knowing what was about to happen to her.  I couldn’t cause Katrina any more pain, so I kept my mouth shut about what I had learned.  She had enough to deal with already.  I could not put her through any more.

She was an absolute wreck.  Her clothes looked like she had been thrown in them.  She had blood in her hair and it was starting to dry, leaving awful looking clumps that made her hair look like it was in knots.              

I wasn’t sure how the police officers missed her busted lip and the blood, or the fact that she was crying and hysterical,
but I guess all that doesn’t matter now.

I took Katrina to my room.   “A hot shower will make you feel better.”  I said trying to draw her attention to something else.  That was what I thought she needed.  A break.

“You’re right.  I do feel sort of… nasty.” she whispered as she dropped her head. When she began holding herself tightly the emotions I felt from it stunned me. The one very important time in my life that I needed to say something and I can’t seem to force any hint of a word out of my mouth. 

“I’
ll get you some fresh clothes.”  I told her. Acting like I was going through the closet, I imagined a new bra and a pair of panties that was exactly her size.  When they appeared in my hands, I looked them over and realized that I had forgotten to add sales tags to them for authenticity.  I thought about the tags and they appeared on each of the items. I pulled a pair of jeans and a shirt from the closet and laid them on the bed. Times like these make me thankful for the gifts I had received. However unbelievable they may be.

“Both doors lock if you would feel better that way. 
Take all the time you need.  We’ll be downstairs if you need anything. Just give us a shout.”  I said as I went out and closed the door behind me.

Eric was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.  Tears streamed down my face before I got to him.  He held me tightly and let me cry.  The tears burned at my face.  So many of them had fallen on my face that my skin was starting to crack from all the extra moisture.

Realizing that I needed to find Carolyn, I buried my head in Eric’s chest.  I searched for her and quickly found her, but, unfortunately, not quick enough.  She had already pulled the trigger and shot her brother just when I focused in on her.  I could see the horror on her face as she watched him bleed onto the floor.

She kneeled down beside him and it was hard not to see the regret in her eyes for what she had done to him.  “I have always loved you.”  She whispered to him.  “But you should have known better than to put your hands on my baby.  May God have mercy on you because I can’t
do it myself.”

I knew when I had been
upstairs with Katrina that I was wasting time, but could I really have done something to stop her from doing this?  After all Katrina has been through, now she was going to lose her mother too.

My head was clouded with all the questions.  I wanted more than anything to be able to go back and change all this, but I knew I couldn’t.
There was absolutely no way the police was going to believe that he had killed himself.  Carolyn shot him in the chest.  Who shoots themselves in the chest?

I c
ouldn’t let Katrina lose her.  She has suffered enough pain already.  More than enough.  More than any human should bear.

I gathered all the strength I had left and imagined his body had disappeared and I watched the blood stains on the floor shimmer until they were gone. All the evidence was gone.
Something inside me screamed that I was doing something wrong, but I ignored everything. This is something I have to do. It’s the only way I am going to be able to help Kat.

“He's gone now.  You can move on without worry.”  I whispered to her with my mind.

Carolyn was visibly frightened as she looked around the room, searching for where my voice had come from. When she had finally decided to stop looking she thanked me as she cried over the spot where her brother had died. 

“Go to Katrina.  She needs you.”

As I pulled myself back, I saw her drop to the floor and pray.  I couldn’t bear to hear a single word of it.  I broke the connection instantly. 

I wasn’t
sure I had done the right thing.  He had tried to hurt an innocent person, but did he deserve to die for it?  Does any one person truly deserve to die?  I saw true evil in his soul.  Was that enough to justify her taking his life? I had allowed Carolyn to murder her brother. The images are burned forever in my mind. In my soul.

Carolyn was protecting her daughter and every other girl out there from him.  If I could only talk to the Queens.  They would be able to reason with my confused mind.

“You did the right thing.”  Eric’s voice jerked me back into reality. 

The utter disbelief shocked me.  Had he really said what I thought he said?  That
’s not possible.  There was no way he could do that.  Was there? 

“Yes.  I said you did the right thing.”  He repeated.   “I know you don’t think so, but you did.”  

I took a step back from him. I know I hadn’t said a word out loud.

“I didn’t say anything.” I said to him.

“You didn’t say anything out loud, but you said it all the same.” He said hesitantly.  It hit me just exactly what he meant.  He was trying to say he had heard what I was thinking without freaking me out.  It’s a little late now because I am absolutely, undeniably freaked out. 

I started to say something to him, but I stopped because Katrina was coming down the stairs. 

She hugged me and thanked me for the clothes and I have to say that she looks a lot better than she did. We talked for a while about music, movies, and other things just to keep our minds off the events that had happened earlier.

It wasn’t long after that Carolyn returned.  I could see the horror still on her face. It was the same expression that was on her face as she had begun to pray.
She was trying so hard to hide it, but I don’t think something like that is ever going to be easily hidden.

“Thank you Bailey.” She said. 

“There’s no need to thank me.” I replied to her. Carolyn stood there looking like she had seen a ghost.

“Are you ok?”  I asked her. 

“Your voice, it was you!” She exclaimed. 

“What are you talking about?” I said, trying
to act as innocent as I could, but she wasn’t giving in.  She knew it was me that had made her brother’s body and all the evidence of her little crime disappear. She was sure it was me that had spoken to her in her house.  There was no way I was going to be able to change her mind about it either.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.” She said as she looked at me in awe.  She hugged me and whispered, “It’s our little secret.”

“Yes it is.” I paused for only a second. “Because only we know each other’s secret and I intend for it to stay that way.” I whispered back to her with the authority of my Queens in my voice.

I couldn’t help but wonder if she would tell anyone what I had done.  It’s really not like anyone would believe her anyway. They would laugh and call her crazy.

I hugged Katrina and told her to try to forget all about the terrible thing that had happened today.  She looked at me with the remnants of fear still in her eyes.  “It’s all going to be ok.  It’s just going to take some time.”  I said as I released her from the hug. 

Eric stood by the door quietly.  He gave both Carolyn and Katrina quick hugs and said goodbye to them as the left. 

I really needed a minute or two to collect myself.  So much had happened in such a short time that my brain hasn’t had the time to absorb all of it.  And I was frightened.  Not only because of what I witnessed, but the realization that Eric could hear my thoughts. Not to mention the guilt I was feeling because of what I had done.

I knew I had to talk to him about it eventually.  I just didn’t know how or what I was going to say him.  I tried to come up with an easy way to start the conversation.  Every single way I thought to begin was a total bust.  I suppose there’s really no easy way to do it but just to come right out and say what I needed to say.

“How did you know what I was thinking?” I asked as I stared at the floor.

“We are connected.” Eric replied.

“I don’t understand Eric.”

“You will in time.”

Anger filled me as he tried to avoid answering my question.  It was a simple question, but he refused.  After everything that had happened today, all I wanted was straight forward answer.  How hard could that be? 

“Please don’t be angry with me.” He said with a torn look on his face.

“Just answer the damn question Eric!”  I demanded.

“I know who you are.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, maybe that wasn’t the right way to say that.  I know what you are, I should have said.”

“What am I then? That is, since you seem to know so much.” My hands balled into fists while my teeth grinded. I’ve had enough.

“Yes, Princess.”

Everything suddenly surfaced in my memory.  I remembered the Queens calling me Princess.  No one ever called me that, not even my mother. That is until Eric showed up anyway.

But how could he know?  The memory of them telling me I had a mate emerged.  I slowly began to understand what was happening.  Was he my mate?  Could this even be happening?

My head started spinning from all the drama.  I took a deep breath to calm myself, but it didn’t help much at all. 

“So you can read my mind?”  I asked.

“As well as you can read mine.”  Eric replied softly.

“But… how?”

Eric walked closer to me and took my hands.   “Close your eyes.”

I closed my eyes and waited for him to say something.  He was obviously trying to help me to relax and it was working. I wasn’t thinking about anything when his face popped into my head. 

“This is all happening because I am your mate Princess.”

I heard him telling me this, but not with my ears.  I heard him with my mind.  I was so shocked that I couldn’t help opening my eyes.  Tears streamed down my cheeks.

He opened his eyes and I saw a single tear slip out of the corner of his eye.  Seeing the tear come from his beautiful blue eyes hit me like a truck.  I felt pain, but it wasn’t mine to feel.  Every emotion he was having, I could feel.  The overwhelming sensation that I had to comfort him rocked the very essence of my soul.

I could feel my skin start to tingle and power rushed through my body as it did before when I was with the Queens.  Eric was looking a little peculiar as well. 

I took a step back as his skin started glowing.  At first it almost looked pink, but it soon turned into a very striking color of red.  Blood red, to be exact.

I hadn't noticed that I was glowing too, but I was.  I had been more concerned about him to realize what was going on.  A blue light ha
d begun to entwine with the red. 

Both our powers had begun to weave themselves together before our eyes.  The lights flowed around us as if they were binding us to each other.

“What is going on Eric?”

“I’m not sure.”   

It was apparent that he was as lost about the whole situation as I was.  We stood there, watching our very essence swirl around us.  The amazing sight of it was over as soon as it had begun.  I had an extraordinary feeling of being bonded to Eric.  The pull of it was so strong that I was unable to stop what was happening.

“Do you feel that?”  I asked him almost afraid that he would say no.

“Yeah, I do.” he replied.

He stood there in silence for a moment, looking like he was trying to think of something to say.  I heard him inhale softly as he said, “I have never felt anything like that in my life.  The power that coursed through my body was indescribable.”

  I had also felt that power.  It was still running through my body as he spoke.  The power had been as remarkable as he was describing it to be. Pulling, tugging and binding my soul with his.

I felt like I was untouchable, powerful beyond imagination.  I began to think of everything I could do to change the world.  There are millions of starving people in the world that I could feed.  Children that are sick with terrible diseases that I could heal.  There is just so much that I could to.  I could truly change the world I thought to myself.

“Balance is the key to everything.” Eric said.