I didn't want to hear any more. I returned to the bed, sitting on the edge and cradling my head in my hands. If I couldn't complete training, my parents might pay with their lives. I had to do it. Had to.
A knock sounded at the door. Alec stepped inside, came over to the bed, and sat by me.
I let all my frustration pour out. "I can't get Nate out of my head. And I keep seeing scary demons trying to kill me every time I close my eyes. I can't clear my mind. No matter how hard I try, there's Nate. Or Ms. Neal with her creepy eyes. Or prom night. Or whatever."
"After all you've been through, that's not surprising."
"But what if I can't get this training done in time? What will happen to my parents?" Anxiety coursed through me.
"Crystal." He paused for a moment. "I believe in you, and you need to believe in yourself. You can do this."
"You really think so?"
"Yes, I do. I have complete faith that you'll be able to learn to use your Light. No doubt at all." He gazed at me, and a volcano of nerves erupted in my stomach.
"Okay." His belief in me gave me confidence. "I'll figure out a way to shut it all out."
He nodded. "I know you will."
"Thank you for believing in me."
He stood. "I'll be right outside if you need me." He smiled then left.
Looking around the room, I spotted some paper and a couple of pens on the small nightstand. An idea popped into my head—something that might possibly work. Hopefully.
When we lived in Louisiana, a girl I knew showed me a Worry Box from her grandmother. It was a little wooden box painted pink and decorated with stickers and jewels. Any time she was worried about something, she wrote the problem on a piece of paper and stuck it in that box. Then she didn't have to hold the worry in her mind anymore. Her grandmother said that the Worry Box would do all the worrying for her so she didn't have to.
I didn't have a box, so I had to come up with something else. I decided I'd have a Memory/Fear Drawer in the nightstand. Dad always says that desperation is the mother of invention. Or something like that. I snatched a few papers and a pen and started writing down all the distracting memories. I wrote a simple sentence for each memory. One by one.
Nate. Prom. Ms. Neal's corpse eyes. Losing my part in the play. Coming home and finding my parents gone. Erin. Everything I could think of.
I also wrote a sentence for each fear I had. I might fail. My parents might die. I have to face demons. Demons want to kill me. I'm not smart enough to pull this off. I can't take on a demon army. I have no power.
I listed every memory that had been distracting me. Every fear. After I finished, I read them out loud. And then I read them again and again. Each time I said what I'd written down, it diluted the power of the memory or the fear. After I read them the fifth time, I folded the papers, opened the drawer of the nightstand and put the papers inside.
"They're yours now," I said, shutting the drawer.
I lay on the bed, breathing in and out. In and out. I thought about my parents and a place where we'd had fun. Several locations shot into my mind, but I settled on a time we'd visited the beach in California when I was about ten years old. I remembered the salty air, the warmth of the sand beneath my feet, the cool water tickling my toes and the taste of seawater on my tongue. I remembered building a sandcastle with my dad, hunting for shells with my mom and listening to the gentle waves lap against the shore.
The door to the bedroom opened and pulled me from my thoughts. Melinda stood in the doorway. "Would you like to try again?"
I nodded, hoping my mind would be clear enough to concentrate this time.
Melinda closed the door and sat on the chair next to the bed. She told me, once again, to take some deep breaths and find a peaceful place in my head.
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, expecting to go right back to the beach. Instead, a stray memory of Nate giving me that stupid ring popped into my head.
No. Stop it. I put you in the drawer. Leave me alone.
"Crystal, you must—"
"I know. Give me a second." Think of the beach. Only the beach.
"Perhaps this will not work after all." Her voice was kind, but disappointed.
I opened my eyes and gazed at her. "Please. Let's keep trying. I can do this."
"I—"
"Try again." I touched her on the arm. "Please."
"Very well. Let the peace and happiness of your safe place envelop you."
I concentrated all of my effort. Everything I had in me. I wanted this to work more than anything.
Focus, Crystal. See the beach. Feel it.
And then I was there—at the beach. My parents' laughter sounded in the background, while the sun warmed my shoulders and the soft breeze stroked my face.
"Focus on this place and let your body relax." Her voice resembled musical notes, lulling me into her song.
My muscles began to loosen.
"Now take a deep, cleansing breath."
I followed her directions, inhaling as much air as possible and holding it, making my lungs into balloons.
"Let it out slowly."
My muscles felt like spaghetti noodles as I exhaled.
"Breathe in and out. In and out." Her words echoed my breathing pattern. "Feel yourself let go."
Her voice was distant, wispy.
"You can now feel a deep sense of relaxation overcoming your body. Surrender to it. As you listen to me, you will become more and more relaxed, falling into a deeper and deeper relaxation. But you will remember everything that happens. Everything that you learn."
My thoughts melted away. I felt like I was floating.
"You have the power, deep within, to fight these demons. Find that power. Harness it. You will then be able to use it."
I focused on the beach, the waves breaking in rhythm, and searching deep within myself for the power. The Light.
"Find the Light. It's there for you. It's your Light."
I kept searching, but I couldn't find it. No Light. Not anywhere.
"Find the Light, Crystal."
Again, I hunted for the Light, but I didn't see it. Frustration and fear seeped into my mind and I began to feel dark. Lost. Why can't I find my Light?
"Do not give up. The Light is within you."
Determined to find my Light, I refused to give in to the fear or the frustration. I refused to be distracted from what I needed to do. I drew in a deep breath, as if I were about to dive to the bottom of a pool, and went in pursuit of my Light.
Suddenly, my mind filled with brightness, as if the sun were rising in my head. So bright. So beautiful. So wonderful and inviting.
"You found it?" Melinda's voice filtered in.
"Yes."
"Wrap yourself with your Light. Concentrate on it. Feel it grow. Let it consume you."
Her words flitted around the edges of my ears. A calm, peaceful, floating feeling encircled me. It softly wound around me, starting at my feet and inching up my body all the way to my head. I was cocooned within the Light. It penetrated every particle of my body, strengthening me and making me weightless. It was as if I were the Light.
Almost dreamlike, Melinda's voice slid into my ears. "Hang on to the Light. Imagine yourself capturing it."
In my mind, I gazed at my hands. They were holding Light, which radiated from my palms, sending rays outward. Warm, glowing, peaceful Light. In my hands.
"Do you have it?"
"Yes. It's beautiful."
"You have found your Light. It belongs to you, and you may use it as you see fit."
I didn't want to let go of my Light. I wanted to stay there, holding it, reveling in its warmth and peace.
"You are now in a deep state of relaxation, but I am going to bring you back. By the time I count to five, you will awaken, and you will remember everything."
She began to count. I wanted to tell her to stop, to let me stay there suspended with my Light, but my parents needed me. By the time she reached four, the Light had dissolved from my
hands. It sent glimmers of warmth throughout my body. I opened my eyelids and tried to understand everything that had just happened.
Melinda smiled. "You did it."
Still lying down, and overcome by the emotional experience, uncontrollable tears slid down the sides of my face.
"Thank you," Melinda said.
I wiped at my eyes and sat up, feeling a bit embarrassed by my outburst of tears. "For what?"
"For having the courage to do this." She reached out and grasped my hand. "You are remarkable."
My cheeks flushed.
The door opened and Luke stepped inside. "We need to talk. Now."
Vincent tapped his foot on the floor of the jet as it landed. He glanced at his Rolex. Almost 6:00. It had taken far too long to arrive in Colorado. He had no patience for mistakes and planned to prevent it from happening again by replacing his jet crew when he returned to Vegas.
A few minutes later, he stepped onto the tarmac of the small airport and inhaled the fresh, crisp air laced with pine. Purple mountains rose to the north. So much open space unnerved him.
He strode through the building and out the front doors of the airport, where he found a black SUV. Jack jumped out of the vehicle.
"Get back in, Jack," Vincent told him. "Brief me while we drive." He set his carryon in the backseat then slid into the front leather seat.
Jack revved the engine, and they took off down a two-lane road lined on either side by natural brush with no buildings in sight. Why would anyone choose to live in such a remote area? Small-town life certainly wasn't for him. He needed the throbbing pulse of a big city. The action. The excitement. The power.
"We have the prisoners in an abandoned school outside the city limits."
"All is secure?"
"Yes, sir. We have our people surrounding the building and keeping watch."
Vincent gave a slight nod.
"The superintendent offered the school to us. He said no one uses it, and that he'd tell anyone who asked that the district hired some contractors to evaluate the work needed on the building to bring it up to code."
Vincent chuckled. "Very good." Those who allowed habitation became cunning quickly. "Do the parents know where she is?"
"They refuse to say anything."
"Have you used proper motivation?" Vincent felt a flash of nostalgia, missing the days when he was an underling and could use physical and mental tactics on a regular basis to force someone into submission. He'd relished the pleas for mercy, intoxicated by the power that came from holding someone's life in his hands.
"The father is a preacher—"
"Ah, martyrs. Willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good." Both Vincent and Jack laughed. "I can't waste much time here. I have details to settle for the summit next week."
"We should wrap it up quickly, sir. We're confident we'll find the girl, and since we have her parents—"
"She'll be willing to do whatever is necessary to save them. Yes, yes, I'm familiar with the type. Do we have any idea where she is?"
"Not yet."
The girl needed to be neutralized, and The Covenant destroyed, both of which should be easy. While the members of The Covenant had been a nuisance and an annoyance, they had neither the skill nor the intelligence to battle him personally. He'd soon have this problem solved and be on his way back to preparing for the summit. Even better, he'd never have to worry about The Covenant interfering in his business again. Two birds with one stone—delicious. His thoughts shifted. "Do you have any information on your other assignment?"
"No, sir. I've been digging, but still no trail on him. Seems he's disappeared."
Vincent slammed his hand on the console between them. "He cannot simply evaporate into thin air. It is imperative that we find him. She has kept him from me for far too long. It is time for him to take his rightful place beside me."
"Yes, sir." Jack gripped the steering wheel. "I have others investigating. We'll turn something up."
Vincent checked his watch. "How long until we arrive?"
"Twenty minutes."
Jack's phone rang, and he answered it. "Yes . . . he's in the car with me . . . Let me check." Jack removed the phone from his ear and said, "Sir, should we send out more associates to search for the girl?"
"Yes. Deploy as many as possible to locate her."
"And if they find her?"
"When they find her, bring her to the school." Vincent glanced out the window, looking forward to savoring the moment when she begged for her parents' lives. He'd agree. Eventually. Her Light in exchange for her parents' lives. Once he harnessed her Light, he'd have no need for them. But he'd keep her as a trophy—a testament of his power, and proof that no one could withstand him, not even someone with so much Light.
As for The Covenant, he'd destroy the lot of them when they tried to stop him. Yes, everything would fall into place. Vincent couldn't help but smile, sure of the sweet victory that lay ahead.
The minutes slowly ticked by on my phone. I'd been sitting at the table waiting for Melinda to return for what seemed like hours. I wanted to run out the door, hijack one of the cars, and go back to Silver City to find my parents, but I knew I wouldn't get far. Of course, how I would actually go about finding them and then freeing them was still a mystery—a huge mystery. I needed Melinda's help. And Alec's. Maybe even that jerky Luke's. I drummed my fingers on the table, waiting and waiting and waiting.
The door swung open and Alec stepped inside. "How was your training?"
"Good, I think."
"You seem hesitant." He sat in a chair next to me.
"I don't know. I thought it'd be different."
"Like what?"
"Like I'd have something tangible to use against the demons. You know, like a Light saber." I laughed at my joke.
He stared at me as if I had turned into an alien. Or my face had fallen off.
"My dad, he's a big Star Wars fan and . . . never mind." How could someone not know about Star Wars?
"So tell me about your training."
I shared how completely safe and peaceful I felt encased in the Light. "I just hope I'll be able to use it at the right time."
"You will." He put his hand on mine, and tiny jolts of energy shot up my arm. "Remember, I believe in you. Completely." My heart melted into a puddle, and for a moment, I wished he'd kiss me. Wished he'd wrap his strong arms around me and hold me close. So close I'd lose myself in his embrace, thinking only about how his warm lips would feel against mine and forgetting about everything else but kissing him. Would his kiss taste like the spearmint gum he always chewed?
Wait, what? What am I thinking? So not the time for this.
I mentally shouted at myself for thinking about kissing him instead of saving my parents.
"Where is everyone?" I asked. "Where's your mom? We need to get going."
Alec stood. "Hang on. We can't go into this unprepared."
"I have to find my parents before it's too late." Do not look at him. Or his lips. And definitely do not think about kissing him. Again.
"I know you're anxious, but we have a lot of things to put into place. And . . ." He stopped for a second then added, "We don't know where they're holding your parents."
"If I go back, one of them can contact me, and then we'll know." Not that I was overly eager to talk to any demons, or meet them, or have anything to do with them, but they had my parents, so I had no choice. I had to suck it up and be brave. Be strong—trust in my training and in my Light.
"Are you sure you're ready for what might happen? It could get . . ."
"What?"
"Very bad very fast."
I looked at him, my thoughts about kissing him finally under control.
"This isn't some game," Alec said. "It's serious business. Vincent Crandall is ruthless. He doesn't care about anyone or anything except how he can get more power. I don't want you getting hurt."
The door opened again, and Melinda and Luke walked in, deep in conversation. T
hey stopped when they noticed us.
Melinda said, "We still aren't certain where they are holding your parents—"
"Then let me go back."
"Is she ready?" Luke asked.
"As ready as she can be at this point. I didn't have much time to train her, but she successfully found her Light. There isn't much more I can do. It's up to her to magnify it."
"When do we leave?" I stood so fast it knocked the chair over. Hesitation might make me change my mind.
"You must be very careful, Crystal," Melinda said. "I cannot emphasize enough how dangerous this is." She held my hand in hers. "You can use your Light, but you have had very little experience with it."
I swallowed back my fear and anxiety. "No matter how dangerous it is, I have to go back and try. I'm the only one that can save them, right?"
"Not necessarily," Luke said. "We can initiate a rescue without you. We've been doing just fine up to now without you." He obviously didn't think I could pull it off. "Saving your parents is a secondary objective." Luke narrowed his eyes at me. "Destroying the demon army is our priority. In fact—"
"Luke, that's enough," Melinda said over her shoulder.
Alec turned and scowled at Luke. "What is your problem?"
"I'll tell you my problem. We know Vincent is in the area, and we finally have a chance at getting rid of him and his minions. This know-nothing girl is going to blow that chance. You and your mother, of all people, know how long we've been after Vincent."
Alec's face hardened. "I know exactly how long we've been hunting him, Luke, and I know exactly what's at stake here. I don't—"
"Want your little girlfriend hurt in the crossfire?" His voiced dripped with sarcasm. If I hadn't been so distressed, I might have liked what he said, but I was too occupied trying to convince the rest of me I could do this.
"Luke," Melinda said in a strong voice.
He turned to Melinda, towering over her. "You said yourself he's been distracted ever since he first saw her. We can't trust him. And she knows nothing about any of this."
"But she is the key. With her Light . . ." She didn't finish her sentence.
"You aren't hoping—"
"Luke, stop it. I have no hopes of anything but fighting this army and winning." Melinda turned away from Luke.
Aura Page 15