by G. P. Ching
“What? But we just saw—”
“He’s inside my head!” Dane yelled. Everything sounded muffled by the throbbing pain in his cranium. “Cheveyo is trapped inside my head.”
The corners of Ethan’s mouth tugged downward into a grimace. “You’re slurring your words.”
No time to think about that. Dane listed sideways. Ethan lurched forward, catching him in his arms before his head could hit the floor.
“Dane? Dane!”
He couldn’t answer. He closed his eyes against the pain and allowed Ethan to carry him from the room.
* * * * *
Dane awoke staring at the stained ceiling of a motel room. His head didn’t hurt as terribly anymore, although his mind fogged over like he’d overdosed on cold medicine. He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.
Through the closed door, Ethan’s muffled voice filtered in, barely audible. “Grace, you gotta come now. Pull everyone in. We’ve seen the Watcher. Yeah, I know...Yeah, I know. But we think we’ve found Cheveyo...No, I can’t...Grace, something has happened to Dane. Just trust me, all right? Come back to the motel room.”
In his just-woken state, relaxed and renewed, the door inside his mind was easier to see. Well, not see so much as sense. Mentally, he pulled the heavy steel back. “Are you still in my head?” Dane said out loud.
Yes.
“Who are you?”
My name is Cheveyo Kikmongwi. The voice sounded tired, resigned.
“We’ve been looking all over for you, Cheveyo. We’re going to help you.”
Please don’t hurt me.
“I’m not going to hurt you. We’ve been trying to find you, to bring you home.”
What are you talking about?
“You’re a Soulkeeper. I should let Grace explain. She’s better at this than I am. While we wait for her, care to clarify how you ended up in my head?”
Not supposed to be this way, Cheveyo sobbed. She’s going to hurt me if she finds out.
“How was it supposed to be?”
No answer.
“Cheveyo?”
She warned me about you.
“What are you talking about? Warned you? About what?”
The boy retreated deeper into Dane’s mind. Why was he so afraid?
“What were you doing with Auriel, anyway?”
Auriel?
“The Watcher you were with.”
She’s a Kachina, a spirit of the underworld.
“You say tomato, I say to-mah-to. She’s a Watcher. A demon. Certifiably evil.”
Cheveyo twisted at the back of his skull.
“Judging by the way Auriel let us go, I’m guessing you were supposed to be in control instead of trapped inside my head.”
No answer, but the slippery twist stilled.
“Don’t clam up now. We are literally in this together, dude.”
With a click of the key turning in the lock, the door opened, and Ethan entered. “Hey, how are you feeling? You passed out.”
“Crowded. Cheveyo is inside my head. Auriel must’ve poisoned his mind; he said she warned him about me. I think he was supposed to possess me, but instead, somehow, I’m in control. He might be influenced or something. He doesn’t know he’s a Soulkeeper.”
Ethan grimaced.
“You don’t believe me?”
“No, I do. I can smell it. You smell different...like a Soulkeeper.”
“I didn’t know Soulkeepers had a smell.” Dane cautiously sat up, surprised his head didn’t get any worse from the change in position.
“Yeah. You know how Watchers smell like sulfur when they’re not masked in illusion?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Soulkeepers smell like sunlight and honey. You’ve never noticed before?”
Now that he stopped to think about it, yeah, he had noticed. But the Soulkeepers were his friends and, in Eden, sunshine came with the territory. The aroma was something he took for granted.
“I just thought it was you.” Dane smirked.
A hint of a smile teased Ethan’s lips, then grew into an infectious laugh. “Yeah, it’s my sunlight and honey bodywash.”
Suddenly uncomfortable, Dane changed the subject. “Is Grace coming?”
“She’s on her way.”
“Good.”
“So what’s he saying, anyway? Why’d he try to possess you?”
“I’m not sure. He won’t talk to me. He’s fighting me.”
“Why? Did you tell him he’s a Soulkeeper?”
“Yeah, but he’s confused, and like I said, maybe influenced.”
The metal on metal clack of the lock opening heralded Grace’s arrival. Light washed over the room, carving out her ample silhouette in the opening door. “What’s happened? There are policemen downstairs. They’ve cordoned off one of the motel rooms.”
They motioned for her to sit down and told her everything, from Dane’s capture to his rescue, his possession, and Auriel’s smoky departure. Her frown grew more pronounced with every word. Wringing her hands, she stood and paced the room.
“Ethan, did you touch anything? Any fingerprints?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“Dane?”
“Just the dead boy and Auriel. Nothing in the room.”
“Excellent.”
“Did you find out the dead boy’s name?”
Dane rubbed a hand over his face. “It never crossed my mind to ask.” He closed his eyes, concentrating on the wisp in his head that was Cheveyo. “Do you know who the boy was?” he asked forcibly as if he were shaking the soul at the back of his brain.
His name was Jaden. He worked as a busboy at the Prickly Pear Diner. I didn’t mean to kill him. She never told me the risks. I didn’t know until it was too late.
Ethan looked at Grace and then back at Dane. “Was that him? Cheveyo?”
Dane opened his eyes. “You heard that?”
“Yeah, and in his voice too.”
Grace rubbed her chin. “Amazing. So Cheveyo possessed this Jaden, but when he tried to take possession of you, Dane, he became trapped inside of you.”
“Yes.”
“And now you’ve channeled him. His voice came out of you like a medium.”
“I guess. I mean, I can feel him in there. I’ve never had anything like this happen to me before.”
“You smell of Soulkeeper.”
Ethan nodded. “I noticed earlier. It’s how I knew he wasn’t delusional about Cheveyo being inside his head.
Grace stood and approached Dane cautiously. She placed her hands on his head and closed her eyes. A smile stretched across her pale face. Removing her hands, she crouched down in front of him. “You’re a Soulkeeper, Dane. I can sense you.”
“Are you sure the vibes aren’t coming off Cheveyo?” Dane mumbled. Even after his conversation with Malini, he couldn’t believe. He was afraid to have his hopes dashed once again.
“All Helpers have the ability to sense other Soulkeepers. It’s how we find the people we’re supposed to help in this big, bad world.” She pushed up off her knees and returned to the chair next to the bed. “I don’t know if I ever told you, but I sensed Bonnie first. I had no idea what I was sensing of course. We learned together, from the last Healer. But it wasn’t until Samantha changed that we knew what they could do together. Before that Bonnie had no power, just the signature of a Soulkeeper, a fingerprint of sunlight and honey. You have it, Dane. Oh, I can sense him too. You might say you have layers, but I sense you the strongest.”
“It can’t be, can it? All of a sudden? Like this?” Ethan shook his head, eyes narrowed.
Dane reflexively lifted his hand to the stone around his neck, rubbing the smooth surface between his fingers. “Malini thought this might happen. She told me last Friday. She knew I had the potential.”
Ethan’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“I think that’s why Malini sent me here, to see if I’d trigger the gene.”
A sourceless gust
blew back Dane’s hair. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Ethan paced the room. With a high-pitched scrape, the heavy lamp inched across the end table in the mounting interior tornado. “I thought we were friends, and you keep this from me?”
“Ethan, calm down,” Grace snapped. She placed her body in front of Dane, breaking Ethan’s eye contact. The swirling wind settled, retracting into Ethan.
“I’m sorry,” Dane said. “I never really believed it could be true.” He reached around Grace and grabbed Ethan’s wrist. “I didn’t think I was supposed to tell anyone.”
Grace looked at him over her shoulder, her red curls framing her quintessential-mom stare. “Well, now we’re certain Malini was right. You have power over souls. You’ve captured another Soulkeeper inside of yourself. I’ve never even heard of such a thing.”
The air conditioning clicked on, the hum of the unit filling the room as each of them processed this new reality. Ethan’s furious glare made it obvious he wasn’t happy with this turn of events, but Dane couldn’t be sure why. Was it because of the way he found out? Or that he was a Soulkeeper now? Or something else?
Hooking her arm into Ethan’s, Grace pulled him toward the door. “You rest. We’re going to gather the others. We need to get you back to Eden. Malini will know what to do about Cheveyo.”
Chapter 16
Stoned
Malini would know what to do, and Dane didn’t have to wait for Eden to reach her. He lifted the leather strap over his head and dangled the red stone in front of his face. What exactly was he supposed to do? In the jungle, Malini had said to look into the stone and try to clear his mind. Difficult, considering he had another person inside of it.
For the moment, Cheveyo’s presence was hardly noticeable, and he planned to take advantage. He plumped the pillows against the headboard and nestled into them. When he was as comfortable and relaxed as possible, he held the red disc between his thumb and forefinger, closed one eye, and peered through the gem like a monocle. The smooth outside of the stone housed a complex matrix of facets surrounding a darker heart, a rectangle of deep forest green. At the center, something moved. He brought his face closer to the stone, to get a better look.
Red glass shingled itself around him, and he tumbled into a dark void. A moment of blackness preceded the reconstruction of his reality, square by square. The surroundings assembled themselves, starting with a pristine blue sky, and followed by rolling green hills. Wood planks fashioned a deck under his feet and then a stable with a roof that shaded the walkway where he stood. He blinked once and found the stable full of horses, palominos and thoroughbreds that whinnied when he looked their way.
Footsteps on the floorboards heralded the arrival of a cowboy from the boots up. With skin like tanned leather, he adjusted his pale Stetson. “Welcome. Nice place you brought here.”
“I brought here?”
“You created this place. Your subconscious decided this would be the perfect environment to talk.” One of the horses nuzzled the man’s shoulder, and he scratched the mare behind her spotted ear. “Care to introduce me to your friend?”
“Friend?”
“He means me.”
Dane whirled around to face a Native American boy, about fifteen, with an eyebrow piercing. “Cheveyo?”
“Yeah.” The boy crossed his arms over his t-shirt and leaned against the entryway to the stable.
Desperate for answers, Dane charged, forearm smacking into the boy’s chest, and pressing Cheveyo into the wood frame. “Why were you helping Auriel? What were you trying to do to me?”
“She told me about you,” Cheveyo said. “How I needed to stop you.” He wriggled sideways and shoved Dane away, freeing himself.
“Stop me from what?” Dane backed off, hoping the gesture would encourage the kid to talk.
“She didn’t say exactly. She said you were a member of an evil faction called the Soulkeepers.”
“You’re a Soulkeeper! She’s a Watcher. You can’t believe what she says. She’s working for the devil, Lucifer.”
Cheveyo shook his head. “She’s a spirit of my people sent to punish me.”
Dane’s shoulders slumped. “Seriously? You believe that? She stole your body. She killed the boy from the motel.”
“She didn’t kill Jaden. I think...I did.” Cheveyo scrubbed his face with his hands. “I’m so confused. What’s going on?”
“You said you didn’t mean to kill him. She tricked you. Because she’s evil.”
Cheveyo pressed his eyes closed like his head hurt. “Everything made sense before, but now, I don’t know what to believe.”
“Hold up, partner. I can shed some light on the subject,” the cowboy drawled. “Watcher influence is powerless in the In Between. Here, your thoughts are your own.”
“How did he get out of my head, anyway?” Dane asked.
“In this place, consciousness is reality.” He pointed at Cheveyo. “Separate consciousness, separate reality. In the physical world, all is as you left it.”
Disappointment evident, Cheveyo’s brown eyes locked onto Dane’s. Obviously, he didn’t have a clue what to believe. Then again, Dane used the stone for exactly the same reason.
“Do you know where I can find Malini?” Dane asked the man in the Stetson.
The cowboy waved one gloved hand.
“Huh?” Dane scowled.
“I am an echo of the Healer’s wisdom in the form you have chosen. You may ask me questions, and I will give you answers.”
“Healer?” Cheveyo interrupted. “Like a medicine woman?”
“Exactly like a medicine woman,” the cowboy said through a tight smile.
“So I can ask you anything?” Dane glanced at Cheveyo. “We need answers, fast.”
“You can. However, I can only answer questions about the future as it stands at this moment. The future is always changing. Every decision is a fork in the road. I can tell you only where the road leads today. Mind yourself, knowledge of the future is a dangerous thing.”
“Yeah, okay. I think I understand,” Dane said.
“Then follow me.” The cowboy led them to a knoll outside the pasture and lowered himself to the grass. He motioned for Dane and Cheveyo to do the same.
“Hold up,” Cheveyo said. “What, we lie on our backs in the grass, and this guy answers our questions? What is this?”
“The In Between,” the cowboy said. “Your soul is in a metaphysical reality between Heaven and Earth.”
Cheveyo narrowed his eyes.
The man folded his gloved hands across his chest, looking up at Dane and Cheveyo expectantly. He sighed heavily when the boys didn’t move. “Think of the universe as a football field. The Earth is on the 50-yard line. Heaven is one goal and Hell is the other. The In Between is on the 25-yard line, Heaven’s side.”
Dane lowered himself next to the cowboy. “Take a load off, Cheveyo,” he said. “We need answers. Both of us.”
With a deep sigh, the boy lowered himself to the grass. On their backs in the soft pasture, they had a clear view of puffy white clouds floating like fat sheep across the blue expanse. “Ask your first question, Dane.”
“Am I really a Soulkeeper?”
“That’s a question about the present.”
Dane rubbed his chin. “When we return to Eden, will I be a Soulkeeper?”
The cowboy waved a gloved hand in a wide arc across their field of vision. The clouds shifted, rearranging themselves into symbols then separating again. “Yes.”
“So, is this my gift, then? I take souls?”
The cowboy blinked at Dane impassively.
Frustrated, Dane gritted his teeth. How could he learn what he needed to when he had to focus on a future that might or might not happen?
He blew out a deep breath. “How will I help the Soulkeepers?”
Again, the clouds rearranged themselves for the man in the Stetson.
“You will go where they cannot and sacrifice yourself for the greater good. Your power will
come from your humility, your deep-seated belief that life is not all about you. But it will be, Dane. Soon the balance of things will depend on you.”
Sacrifice yourself for the greater good... Dane didn’t like the sound of that. He would, of course, if he needed to. If he were honest with himself, sometimes he wondered if he had much to lose. His family hated him, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do when he graduated, and Ethan...Ethan was the source of something Dane couldn’t accept. Yes. It would be better this way, to go out the hero if that was what it took.
Cheveyo slapped the grass and cleared his throat. “Can I ask a question?”
“Yes, Soulkeeper.”
“Will...Auriel...or whatever she is, ever give me my body back?”
The clouds moved quickly, as if a storm was moving in. “No. Auriel will never give you your body back. She’s using you, as is Lucifer. They expect you will die, and if you don’t, they will kill you or worse.”
Cheveyo rolled to his feet and paced. “Don’t sugarcoat it or anything.”
“You’ve been duped,” Dane fumed, sitting up. “I don’t know who you thought she was—”
“I told you. A Kachina! A Hopi spirit of the underworld. In my culture, winged serpents are extremely powerful, and she came during the Snake Dance, when we open the way to the underworld.”
The cowboy cleared his throat. “Did she arrive in the area purified for your ceremony?”
Cheveyo hesitated. “No. She was near a tree down the mesa.”
Next to Dane, the Stetson bobbed with the cowboy’s knowing nod.
“She took the form that would make you most vulnerable,” Dane explained. “She probably couldn’t have entered your ceremonial space.”
As if the truth hurt, Cheveyo pressed his eyes closed for a moment. “Raine knew. She tried to warn me something was wrong, that the snake woman couldn’t be one of our spirits.”
“It’s not your fault. This is what Watchers do. They are masters of illusion.”
“So, if I don’t get my body back, how do I get out of his head?” Cheveyo asked the cowboy.
Clouds danced. The cowboy leaned back and adjusted his Stetson on his head. “Your fate is bound to Dane’s. His future is your future. More than one road winds before you. One way or another, you will separate.”