by K. D. Worth
“Britany always said my hugs were like magic,” Kody said, a small smile tugging at his lips. “I forgot that till just now.”
“Because even then you were healing people. As a reaper, the exchange is far more powerful,” Slade said.
“That’s a lot to wrap my head around,” Kody said, letting out a heavy breath. His Adam’s apple bobbed several times as he swallowed nervously.
I felt a rush of power leaving me.
“It’s gonna be okay, babe,” I assured Kody in his mind, feeling stronger the more energy he took. We weren’t even touching!
“It is going to be okay,” Slade assured both of us with a smile. “See how Max’s love and devotion refuels you? Working as a team like this will be vital when you start helping the shades.”
A spike of fear went through me, then on the heels of it, guilt. Kody and I exchanged glances. Wait, I don’t feel guilty about…. Oh!
It struck me that Kody and I must be feeling each other’s emotions just now.
Was I an empath too?
“Nope,” Slade answered in my head. “Kody’s reading your emotions and projecting his own guilt onto you. Two sides to one coin, remember? Twin souls.”
Without skipping a beat, Slade smiled warmly at Kody. “You know the shades at the hospice facility weren’t there to hurt you.”
“I know,” Kody whispered, looking at his hands balled in his lap. “I should have helped them, right?”
He’d told me he felt guilty about not helping them, and now I could feel just how much.
“No,” Slade answered. “You weren’t ready, but you will be. That’s why we’re here.”
Kody tipped his head to the side. “Then I’ll have to learn to help the wraiths too.”
Slade nodded softly.
I almost jumped to my feet, but Kody took my hand, his gaze imploring. “I have to, Max. Otherwise they’ll just stay lost forever, making new wraiths.” He faced Slade, expression calm but earnest. “Right?”
“Right.”
Heart pounding, I looked back and forth between the two calm faces. I wanted to have faith, and I prayed that I could, but this conversation scared me. As those fears worked through my body like adrenaline, I recalled the wraith who killed Zack and stabbed Britany, ultimately hastening Meegan’s departure. But Kody turned the wraith into a Victorian woman. She hadn’t been evil. She’d been scared and crying out for a lost baby.
“Deserving of forgiveness, wouldn’t you say?” Slade answered my thought.
“Why is God so willing to forgive them after the evil they did?” I demanded, not wanting to grant anyone quarter who hurt Kody.
“Do you know the story of Jonah?”
“Yeah,” I said, not in the mood for Storytime with Slade. “He got swallowed by the whale.”
Slade nodded. “Do you remember why the whale swallowed him?”
“Uh….” I didn’t know we’d be having a Sunday school test.
“To teach him to obey God,” Kody chimed in.
Slade quirked his brows. “Tell me the story, Kody.”
“Well, God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach to the people and get them to repent from their wicked ways or God would destroy them,” he began. “But the Ninevites were violent, and Jonah was scared. He didn’t trust God, so he got on a ship and went to Tarshish, which is in the opposite direction.”
My brows went up, impressed with Kody’s memory and Biblical knowledge.
“Then storms came, and Jonah realized it was God punishing him for running away and disobeying,” Kody continued. “So the ship’s crew threw him overboard and the storm stopped. A whale swallowed him, and he sat in there for three days and thought about how he’d disobeyed God. When he finally realized that he should trust God, no matter how scared he was, the whale spit him out.”
While he’d been talking, something moving behind Slade caught my attention. The cherry blossom tree silhouettes began growing in 3-D right before my eyes. Beautiful pink blooms appeared on dark curvy branches, reaching into the room, the flowers opening fully and filling the air with their sweet scent.
“Wow,” Kody muttered.
Slade smiled, not with pride or smugness, only pleasure that we liked the tree. “Beautiful, right?”
“I’m impressed,” I said, recalling how Meegan could conjure things and wondering if I could do it too.
“We all have our own gifts, Max,” Slade said. Then he looked at Kody. “And what was the moral of the story of Jonah?”
“That you need to obey God or face the consequences,” Kody said at once.
“So if Kody and I don’t trust God, we might get swallowed by a whale?” I clarified. “Or will something worse happen?”
Though I couldn’t imagine much worse than sloshing around in a whale’s stomach with half-digested fish. Gross!
Slade frowned. “Wow, that’s a pretty harsh way of thinking about our loving creator.” He gestured at the cherry blossoms, a few delicate petals falling and dancing like snow on the air. “Would a god who created such beautiful things be as demanding and cruel as that?”
We stammered for a reply, both of us unsure where Slade was going with this.
“Neither of you have a clue as to why that story was included in the Bible, do you?” Slade shook his head. “Max, you make it sound like God is all, ‘Obey me or die,’” he said in a gruff voice before staring at Kody. “And you tell the story and make it all about obedience or else too. Just what kinda black-and-white church did you go to?”
Slade’s irritation made me defensive, especially when I saw Kody shrink in on himself. “Well, Jonah did get swallowed by a whale,” I countered. “What other reason was that story in the Bible other than to remind us to trust God and be obedient?”
Slade looked back and forth between us, waiting for us to figure out whatever mystery he was trying to teach us. Maybe he was trying to make us squirm. I couldn’t be sure.
Kody studied the cherry blossoms, and I wondered where his thoughts wandered. The church he’d attended, his parents—especially his mom—and that damnable camp had preached obedience at any cost. Even at the cost of my beloved boyfriend’s sanity and very life. My living years had included Sunday school and holiday church visits, so I hadn’t been raised nearly as religious as Kody had been—which often made me wonder why God had picked me at all. He must’ve seen something in me, if he made me Kody’s protector. I knew exactly the qualities God saw in Kody—generosity, empathy, kindness, compassion.
I had to work on those myself, but Kody had an innate sense of goodness that came as naturally to him as breathing. It was why I loved him so.
But I still didn’t understand why Slade was talking to us about Jonah and the whale. Jonah disobeyed a direct order and got punished until he changed his way of thinking. I had disobeyed God when I saved Kody, and I had to write lines on a chalkboard, which was a sight better than being stuck in a stinky old whale gut, for sure. But overall, neither punishment was capital.
Kody had been punished too, though his punishers had believed they were saving him. Forcing obedience no matter what.
Yes, it was mankind who preached obedience and doled out cruel punishments. On this side of death, I knew there was no hell, other than the suffering existence of shades and wraiths.
God didn’t punish cruelly, humans did.
So what really was the point of Jonah’s story? There had to be more.
“There is,” Slade said, smiling as if he’d been following along with my “hamster in a wheel” thoughts. I wondered if he could follow more than one stream of consciousness at the same time.
Probably—he had some mad skills.
“Thanks.” Slade waggled his eyebrows.
“Don’t mention it,” I said wryly. I crossed my arms and sat back, waiting for him to finish his latest Slecture.
Slade looked directly at me. “Slecture? As in a Slade lecture?”
My face flamed.
“I like it,” Slade muse
d.
Kody looked back and forth between us and then gave a dismissive shake of his head. He knew as well as I did, the times it seemed Slade was talking in circles, often he was just answering something one of us was thinking.
Sometimes it was impossible to keep up if he wasn’t answering your unspoken questions.
“Honestly, Slade,” Kody began, “I have no idea what point you’re getting at. They used the story of Jonah all the time at Camp Purity. They compared the gay lifestyle to being in a whale’s belly, being unclean and living in darkness and solitude.”
I reached out and took Kody’s hand, squeezing it tight. Rarely did he mention that stupid conversion camp, and when he did, it broke my heart. I funneled my strength into him, and he met my gaze.
“Thank you,” he whispered in my mind.
“I love you,” I whispered back.
“Those men were misguided and very, very wrong,” Slade stated. “Many Christians twist the Bible stories to scare children. But that’s not anything new, and we don’t need to keep beating a dead horse. You know your worth to the Big Guy, Kody. You can’t allow those former things to be called to mind.”
I squeezed Kody’s hand tighter, and he squeezed back.
“I brought up Jonah because, of all the Bible stories, his is often twisted into a cautionary tale to obey or else. But in truth, the greater meaning of his tale is forgiveness.”
“It is?” Kody scrunched his face.
“Yes, forgiveness. You got the gist of the story right, Kody, but there’s a lot more to the story. Remember the Ninevites?”
“The people Jonah was scared of,” I reiterated.
“Yes, and why was he scared of them?” Slade asked.
“Because they were wicked and violent,” Kody answered.
“Yes, and when Jonah got out of the whale, he followed God’s original command and went to preach to them, telling them to repent or God would destroy them.”
“Yeah,” I said, looking to Kody for assurances, since I didn’t remember much of the story beyond the whale part.
Kody nodded at me.
“As he preached, Jonah’s faith and determination grew,” Slade told us. “He courageously told the Ninevites God would destroy them if they did not repent. For forty days he did this. Then, on the final day, just one day before God planned to destroy them, do you know what happened?”
“They repented,” Kody answered. “Jonah’s preaching worked.”
“Exactly,” Slade said, impressed.
I still didn’t get the point or how it connected to our situation.
“God forgave them. He forgave a wicked, cruel nation at the last minute,” Slade went on. “The story of Jonah is about God’s grace, His love. Not a cautionary tale to obey Him. Rather, it’s an example of how loving and welcoming God is. How everyone can earn His grace, even the most wicked. Even in the final hour.”
“Even the wraiths,” Kody whispered.
A light went off above my head and the pieces of the puzzle fitted together at last.
“So even the wraiths deserve a second chance?” I said, though I wasn’t sure I had it in me to forgive them. Look what they did to Britany and her friend Zack.
“Jonah wasn’t buying into it either, Max,” Slade said, lacing his fingers in his lap. “He was so angry he went through all that shit for nothing. The storms at sea, the whale’s belly, then days of hard preaching to people who mocked him, only for God to turn around and forgive them all. He was pissed.”
“He was?” I might’ve had to agree with Jonah. All that drama for nothing.
“Yeah,” Slade said. “He went out into the wilderness in a big huff, sat down, and pouted about it.”
Kody and I shared a look, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to laugh or not.
“God made a bottle gourd tree grow beside him so he could have some shade while he had his little pout.” Slade sat back with a smile, and I wondered at the casual way he talked about Jonah, if he’d actually met the man. I didn’t know how long Slade had been alive.
“Jonah enjoyed the shade of the tree while he stewed. And then,” Slade said, pausing for emphasis, “God killed it.”
Slade slapped his hands together and instantly the cherry blossom tree behind him withered and turned brown. Leaves fell to the floor and the petals landed in crumbled, dead heaps.
“Hey!” I cried, outraged.
“What did you do that for?” Kody said, as shocked and annoyed as me.
Slade grinned and pointed at us both. “That’s exactly how Jonah reacted. He was so upset that God would kill a perfectly good tree. But God turned it back on him. Jonah was mad about a tree dying, yet he couldn’t show the same compassion for the Ninevites. Jonah was pouting because God didn’t kill them, yet he rose to the defense of a tree.”
Slade stared back and forth between both of us, the breeze fluttering and blowing the dead petals away.
“Jonah needed to learn compassion and forgiveness,” Slade went on. “He needed to be godlike and kind. That’s the lesson of the story.”
We pondered that for a moment, and then Kody spoke. “So Jonah needed to have faith and trust God would make sure it all worked out. To embrace God’s forgiving spirit. Just like Max and I need to have faith that, though our job might be scary, we’re fulfilling God’s will. And these lost souls, both shades and wraiths, are deserving of forgiveness, right?”
I was wildly impressed with my boyfriend’s intuitiveness.
But I had a feeling I was the Jonah of our story—I wanted nothing more than to run away to our pavilion and take Kody with me.
I sure hoped God didn’t send whales to swallow up His wayward followers anymore.
God,
I’m scared. So very scared for Kody, but I promised You I would protect him, and I promised to have faith and trust Your plan for us. I might be afraid, but I am going to trust You. I will not run away.
Amen
Determined to support Kody, I looked at my boyfriend, my partner, the boy I loved. My heart swelled when he smiled softly at me. He’d felt my prayer, I knew that, and he seemed happy I’d prayed. Perhaps he felt the same as me, frightened but wanting to have faith.
Who was I kidding?
Kody had faith as strong as an oak tree, always had, always would.
Slade looked at Kody, face calm and sincere. “Like Jonah, will you run, or will you face your fears and trust God, Kody?”
I knew his answer before he said it.
“I’ll trust God.”
“Good.” Slade smiled, and then he slapped his thighs and smirked at me. “Storytime with Slade is over. Time to get to work.”
MAX—Chapter 8
“WE’RE GOING to practice you making a force field around Kody,” Slade said. “This shield will do more than just shield him from wraiths.”
“Please don’t tell me there’s something out there worse than evil spirits possessing bodies,” Kody all but moaned.
“There is,” Slade said. “But you don’t have to worry about any of that.”
“You kidding me?” I said, mouth gaping.
The way Slade grinned, I wasn’t sure if he was pulling our legs or not.
More than likely not.
“Have you been practicing, Max?” Slade asked
“Yes,” I said, leaning forward and eager to get to work. I was a man of action, and as much as I valued Slade’s wisdom—not that I would say so aloud—I felt better when we were actively working on a plan.
“Hold out both hands,” Slade instructed. “Make a shield.”
After quick eye contact with Kody, I released his hand and did as I was told.
Connecting my fingertips, I concentrated on the power within, heating me and filling me with the light of love I felt for Kody. The light radiated between the connection of my hands, and as I drew them apart, the shimmering force field grew until it was roughly two feet wide.
“That is so cool,” Kody breathed, his blue eyes sparkling in the li
ght.
“Stretch it out as far as you can, Max,” Slade encouraged. “But concentrate this time.”
Careful to hold on to it, as if it were molten glass that might shatter or dough ready to tear, I widened my hands. Inside me, the heat swelled. I raised my hands, the light larger now, like a small umbrella over my head.
I grinned madly at the glowing light above me. “I’m doing it!”
“Yes, you are,” Slade said calmly. “Now stretch it back in four points to make a shield. Wrap it around both of you.”
I looked at my boyfriend and saw the pride in his face, the reflection of my love glowing brighter as it swelled within me. The luminescent umbrella widened, enlarging as if on its own.
All my desire to keep Kody safe, to lock him away and to protect him, filled me. I wanted nothing and no one to ever hurt him.
It widened farther still.
Our eyes met, and he mouthed the words I love you.
My heart swelled with passion and gratitude. I didn’t know what I did to deserve Kody’s love, but I would never forsake him.
The light flowed from my hands, a shimmering watery cataract, cascading around us and glimmering with rainbowlike beauty. As it wrapped around us, I forgot about Slade, the temple, our training, everything.
It was just me and Kody cocooned in a glorious sparkling net of light and love.
“I love you, Kody,” I said in his mind.
“I know,” he returned, his eyes bright with affection. He looked up and all around, blue eyes wide in awe. “You did it. It’s so warm in here….”
It was magic, and not just my regular reaper skills—it was something else. I could feel Kody inside the dome, as if we were one. Just like I felt his fear during our last crossover, real and tangible, right now I sensed his pride and happiness. Or was it my own emotions?
Perhaps our hearts were sharing what they felt too?
Two sides to one coin. Twin flames… twin souls, Slade had called us a few moments ago.
Whatever was happening, inside my bubble, our connection strengthened and everything felt so very intimate. Like when we held each other close or made love, yet different.