The Spirit Who Loved Me: Spirit Whispers Book One (19 page)

Focus, Krystal.

My first few steps were heavy, my feet like lead. I felt him all around me as he lifted my weight, so I was only doing half the work to get my body across the drive and up the steps.

Clumsily, I opened the front door, and sure enough, my mom was in the kitchen, wringing her hands in an old dish towel.

“That was an awful long time to sweep up some leaves. I was just about to call you.”

I pulled a chair out from the kitchen table, my mom cringing as it scraped loudly on the linoleum. I laid my head on the cool wood. “I don’t feel so good, mom,” my words jumbled.

She walked over and placed her palm against my brow. “You don’t feel feverish. Would you like some cool water?”

“Sure, Mom. That’d be great.” I closed my eyes. I could hear her opening up the cabinet to get me a glass, the faucet running. When I heard her place my glass on the table with a gentle thud, I opened my eyes again and forced myself to sit up. The cool water felt lovely going down my parched throat. “Thanks, mom. Do we have any leftovers?”

“You regret skipping dinner now, don’t ya?”

“Maybe that’s why I’m not feeling so good,” I offered. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten come to think of it.

Within minutes, compliment of my mother and a microwave, a plate of warm chicken, green beans, and potatoes were sitting in front of me. I started to tear up as I looked up into my mother’s face, overwhelmed with love and gratitude for her. “I love you, mom.” She leaned down, kissing me on the crown of my head.

“What’s gotten into you today?” She laughed, walking back into the kitchen, no doubt to put the rest of the leftovers back in the fridge. “I love you too.”

I ate what I could, which regrettably wasn’t much. I felt guilty about wasting the food, so I wrapped it up with plastic wrap, and going through the motions, placed my plate in the fridge for later.

“Mama,” I called down the hallway. “I’m going to my room to lay down, ‘kay?” I couldn’t quite make out her answer, but it sounded close enough to an affirmative.

My room was stuffy and laced with heaviness. I figured fresh air might help and went to open my window, but it wouldn’t give way. “Damn it,” I swore under my breath as I tried to muster the strength to unstick that bitch.

Let me help you.
And before I could even say “get lost,” the window slid open like a hot knife through butter.

“Fine, thanks, I guess.” I looked around trying to figure out where he was. “I’m no damsel in distress, and I don’t want your help all the time ya know. If I want it, I’ll ask.”

I laid on my bed, and just as I zoned out on the popcorn ceiling, I felt the mattress sag under Abel’s weight as he sat down on the corner of my bed. I rolled my eyes.

Well done in front of your mother.

“Okay. Abel, I think I need some time alone.”

I don’t believe we concluded our conversation from earlier.

“Oh, that.” I ran my fingers over my faded quilt to steel my nerves in an effort to force out my words. “I love you, Abel. I can’t help myself. But it hurts, too.” I placed my hands over my heart, every beat causing my chest to ache. “When I’m with you, all I want is to be with you, but I can’t help but feel that I’m sacrificing a chance at really living. And it hurts even worse knowing you’d be okay with me being with someone else. It just seems, so, so, well, just freaking nuts.”

“You want me to be jealous?”
His whisper came in my ear, not my mind, and shivers licked up my spine at the sound of his voice.

I bit my lip. “God damn it, yes! Yes, I’d want you to be jealous.” I could feel the rush of heat rising in my cheeks. “I wish you could want me the way I do you.”

“SSshhhhh.”
He stroked my hair from around my face. I always want you.
I always love you. My soul’s greatest joy is to be in your presence.

“But this is just all wrong. You say that, but yet, you’d still be okay with me being,” I cut myself off, the flush of my cheeks glowing deeper, “intimate with others.” I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the thought.

Be happy. What you need to do is allow yourself to be open.
He leaned over me, my breath catching deep in my throat, and he tapped the middle of my forehead.
Humans are judgmental by nature, allow your ideas and thoughts to come from a higher state of being.

“Abel, why don’t you go now?” I looked at him through the curtain of my eyelashes, saw his uncertainty.

Care if I join the party?
Spiral sauntered into my room from out of nowhere.

I propped myself up on my elbows. “Don’t any of you know how to knock?”

Forgive me, my sweet,
Spiral smiled, bowing slightly in my direction. I noticed his lip curl slightly when he looked over Abel, as if he couldn’t help himself.
Did you fill her in yet?

I just getting around to telling her.

Sure you are.
Spiral looked from me to Abel, who sat back down, finally resting his eyes on me.
Happy to have the old man back?
Spiral asked.

I raised my brows, but chose not to answer.

Well, you’re welcome. Let’s hope I don’t have to go bothering Metatron about this, he gestured between Abel and I, twin flame gibberish again, hmmmm?

“No worries here,” I grumbled. I forced my mouth into a line and motioned to Abel. “What were you supposed to tell me?”

We need you to be present for the Halloween party you’ve been invited to, and it would be in your best interests to have your friends come as well, if possible.

“That might be a problem since I haven’t been invited to…”

The bonfire at the Tramping Ground,
Spiral interrupted.
I would certainly consider
that
a party.

I made myself wait to speak, I just didn’t trust myself not to, well, blow-up. I counted in my head, one, one thousand, two, one thousand, and so on, up to ten.

Cute.
For a man so regal, Spiral looked like he was about to choke as he held back his laughter, and he winked at Abel.
Isn’t she cute when she gets mad?

“Cute? There’s nothing cute about it. I’m pissed. And don’t ya’ll even try and pressure me into doing anything for ya’ll ever.”

Trouble in paradise, eh?
Spiral sent to Abel.

Abel gave Spiral a pointed look of warning.
Not now. Krystal,
he pleaded.
I know you don’t understand, but this is of utmost importance. Please hear us out.”

Closing my eyes tight, I plopped back onto my pillow. “I said I was done with all this. I told them. Doesn’t anyone hear a thing I say?” I lamented to my ceiling.

Abel patted my leg.
I know you don’t want to do this, Krystal. I understand, but there is no time to find another to replace you. If it were not for this, perhaps Metatron would have agreed to release you from your contract.

“I thought he didn’t release me because of my grandmother.”

That is part of it. I am sure if circumstances were different, Metatron could have been swayed.

A moment of silence, mental and physical followed. I kept my eyes closed. Deny, deny, deny, I thought, yep that’s my card to play. I’ll ignore them, and they’ll go away and leave me alone.

I’m sorry, that’s not how it works, my love.

I shook my head, but kept my eyes shut. “Well, tell me what you came to say, damn it, and leave me the hell alone.”

We need your help to ensure the portal isn’t inadvertently opened during the party.
I cracked open one eye, and peered at Abel and Spiral in turn.
The Tramping Ground was once a portal to the Lesser Levels. When Abigail came into power, she sealed it shut. However with all of the recent activity, the seal has weakened. There is great concern that your classmates will succeed in reopening the portal as the veil is ever thinner on Hallow’s Eve. They have been conducting readings from a Satanic Bible…

“Wait,” I put my hands out. “Hold on.” I sat up, held my head in my hands. I took a deep breath in and looked them each in the eye. “A portal? A Satanic Bible? I thought you said Hell didn’t exist?” I accused Abel.

I said the Lesser Levels are akin to Hell as those beings are of lower vibrations. The higher your vibration the closer to God you are. No soul is destined to stay in the Lesser Levels for an eternity, each life guarantees them an opportunity to raise themselves ever higher. The Satanic Bible is demonic in nature; demons are the lowest of the low entities, parasites if you will, feeding on the energies of discord.

A shiver ran through me, and I hugged my arms around me. “Even if I was interested in working with ya’ll, I would never be comfortable with devil worship stuff.”

The children aren’t really trying to worship the devil, they are rebelling as many young ones do at this age. They aren’t aware of the true danger they’re in.
Abel put his arm around my shoulders, warming me from the inside out.
Krystal, there is only so much we can do if these young ones are set on exerting their free will. All we need you and your friends to do is, perhaps, misplace the Satanic Bible so it cannot be used.

No, Abel, she needs to go one step further.
My heart stopped at the fierceness of Spiral’s gaze.
Burn it, Krystal. If you get your hands on it, throw it in the fire, and don’t look back.

Chapter 24

Is she in shock?

In between the fluttering of my eyelashes, I caught glimpses of Spiral Spider staring curiously down at me.

Ah, she’s coming to.
Someone was gently slapping my cheeks.

For the life of me, I couldn’t remember lying down, or anything as a matter of fact, not after Spiral said to throw it in the fire and not to look back. My brain felt fuzzy, my ears stuffed with puffs of cotton balls. What was it? I tried to remember and just when it seemed within my grasp, the thought flitted just out of my reach.

“Wh-wh-what happened?” I stuttered.

You passed out.
Abel sat at the end of my bed, my feet in his lap as he massaged them.

“That feels nice.” I lifted my head from my pillow hoping to catch a look at my clock, but the room started to spin and giving up, I put my head back down. “What time is it?” I asked in a whisper.

A little after one in the morning. Your mom checked on you before retiring for the evening,
Abel continued.
She thought you were sleeping.

“I’ve been out that long? Wow.” I rubbed my fingertips along my lips, lost in thought. “So is something wrong with me?”

No,
Spiral answered.
An acute case of being overwhelmed I would say.

I looked Spiral dead in the face. “Why?”

You can’t remember?

“I think you said something about running? Burning something or other?” I snuggled deeper into my warm bed. “I’m so just so sleepy. Can’t I talk to you guys in the morning?”

Abel and Spiral exchanged a long look, much longer and it would have bordered on inappropriate.

“What’s got ya’lls panties all in a wad?” I joked. “Or whatever it is that you wear?”

Krystal, why don’t you drink some water?
Abel picked up a glass on my nightstand and held it to my lips. I was thirstier than I’d thought and drank down the whole glass. He pulled my blankets up to rest underneath my chin.
Why don’t you rest now?
He kissed me softly on the lips, and I sighed, staring happily into his hazel eyes. He chuckled and placed another kiss on my forehead.

Let’s see how you fare in the morning. I always love you,
rang through my head as I fell blissfully asleep.

I woke with
a start. “Abel,” I growled, my memory returned. I fumbled among the mess on my nightstand, anything to silence the alarm blaring from my cell phone. Finally successful, I sat up on my bed enjoying a few moments of quiet, contemplating my situation before reality was going to force me to get ready for a day of school. Last thing I wanted to do was see Malcom and Tammy. I knew I would have to tell them—no way could I send them in blind at the Devil’s Tramping Ground. But, God, I didn’t even want to do it. But I felt, what was the right word? Obligated. I huffed through my nose. I knew if I didn’t do it, and something bad happened to anybody, I’d feel, what was the right word? Guilty. And I’d probably feel guilty for the rest of my life.

“Damn obligation and damn guilt,” I pointed my finger up at the ceiling. “I know ya’ll can hear me, and damn you too, for putting me in this situation.” I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t get an answer. Smart of them to lay low, I reckon, but I muttered, “Cowards,” under my breath anyway.

I got up and stood in the middle of my room, my eyes fixed ever upward, hands on my nearly nonexistent hips. “Just so you know, I’m not doing this for any of you. I’m doing this for….”
 
I thought for a second, “for my community.” Because despite the fact I’d always felt like an outsider to some degree, I’d be damned before I’d let anyone or anything hurt a member of Settler’s Cross. I thought about my peers—Jett and even Tara’s prissy ass, my friends, their friends, and I knew I had to be there to look out for them.

“Let’s be clear—when this is over, and it will be over. I am done. Done with a capital “D.” Got it?” The answering quiet was a louder testament than any other answer they could have possibly given. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

As I turned towards my tiny closet, I flipped a nice gesture up into the air, and I felt better already.