by S S Bazinet
“I think we can forget that one,” Kevin said irritably. “I was six.”
Ninety
AS AREL MADE his way to Kevin’s room, he noticed that he wasn’t the only one who was being observant. People were checking him out too. Heads turned in his direction as he passed. People’s energy fields sparked with brighter colors. It took a little while to understand the reason, but a polished chrome surface and his reflection explained what was going on.
Oh hell, look at my hair. And I didn’t shave.
No wonder Peggy tried to make him more presentable. His dark mane was wilder than ever. A five o’clock shadow surrounded his beard and added to his untamed look. When he examined his eyes, they’d never looked more intense. After Michael’s helpful boost, they blazed with an eerie, golden glow. All in all, some would say that he exhibited an air of danger, but a couple of passing nurses seemed to approve of what they saw. They each gave him a generous smile. With embarrassment, he smiled back. When he did, one of them giggled and the other girl said something about how cute he was.
I’m cute? That’s a new one.
Still, he did feel rather special. When he looked in their direction, more women lit up and grinned back. He was also getting comfortable with seeing auras, noting that when people were happy, they were brighter and rather beautiful to observe.
By the time he reached Kevin’s room, he felt better about his hospital visit. He was even smiling to himself when Kevin saw him at the door and gave him a small wave.
Tim noticed him too. “There he is. Come in, Arel. Join the party.”
A party? Arel’s spirit spiked a little more. When he walked into the room, he was sure his own aura was glowing. He’d never seen so many people smile at him when he was out in public. Maybe a hospital wasn’t so bad after all. “Hi everyone!” he sang out enthusiastically. The group responded with greetings, but after about thirty seconds he knew that Tim had lied. The mood was definitely not festive.
No party going on here.
He glanced around at the unhappy faces that surrounded Kevin’s bed. It wasn’t easy, but he tried to ignore them and turned to Kevin instead. For a moment, he stalled, trying to find the right words for the young man. “You’re a little banged up, but you look like you’re in good spirits, Kevin.” It was an open faced lie, but what else could he do? Kevin looked like hell, like he’d been dragged through the streets by an irate mob. An aura scan was more damning. Kevin’s color scheme was the worst he’d seen that morning.
No, not true, there was that guy they were wheeling around on the stretcher.
Muddied red, muddied pink, muddied green. Every bit of energy around Kevin was corrupted and heavy. Masses of dark gray areas covered his solar plexus and chest, making a light bulb moment go off in Arel’s brain.
All this time, Michael has talked about shields. The thick, gray areas are what he’s talking about.
He could also feel the misery behind the aura horror show. It reminded him of when Kevin was violently sick and throwing up. He hadn’t seen his aura then, but he’d sensed its dark, ugly qualities.
I can’t go there! I don’t want to think about cleaning up that mess again.
He suddenly wished that one of the giggly nurses had asked him to coffee. He wouldn’t drink it, but he could sit across from her and admire her sparkling, rainbow colors and sweet demeanor.
“Arel, are you alright?” Carol asked. “You look kind of dazed.”
“What?” He glanced at Carol, hoping for a little sparkle. He had to look away after only a brief inspection. Generous amounts of dark, clearly unhappy blues and greys surrounded the young woman. Her aura was bleak enough to inspire a dozen melancholy songs of woe. Carol was almost as dismal as Kevin.
When his scan traveled to Peggy, he knew he’d hit the jackpot of volatile activity. Dark, red energy mixed with heavy browns swirled like a small funnel cloud around the petite woman’s body. Tim was the only person in the room who was stable and fairly clear.
Pulling back from the group, he wished Michael was around. He’d give the angel a full report on his new diagnostic ability. The report would be brief and to the point. “Dammit, Michael, this so-called tool sucks!”
“Arel, are you still with us?” Peggy snapped her fingers, trying to get his attention.
He came up with the first lie he could think of. “Sorry, I was wondering if I left the stove on at home.”
Peggy ignored his concern. “Arel, can you explain to me why my brother is sitting here looking like meat from the butcher’s? He was your coach. What did he teach you about cars?”
Kevin protested at once, raising his voice. “Aw, don’t drag Arel into this!”
Peggy put her hands on her hips in a fast, impatient jerk. “Somebody needs to get through to you! You can’t act like a kid forever!”
Kevin’s damaged face got even redder. “You never let up for a minute, do you? Maybe I wouldn’t be like this if you’d butt out of my life.”
Peggy looked just as incensed. “I have to keep an eye on you! You can’t even cross the street safely!”
“You think you know everything, Peg, but you don’t! So leave me alone!” Kevin yelled.
Peggy added more fury, more smoldering flames to her fired aura. “I’d love to do just that! Do you think I like having to babysit you?”
As the shouting continued, Carol and Tim tried to intervene, but neither could get a word in. Arel pulled back, cringing at how caustic brother and sister were with each other. He literally saw the sparks fly between the two of them. It might have been an interesting display if it weren’t so loud and abusive. Peggy had always been sweet with him, but her voice was shrill and bullying when she spoke to Kevin. And the young man was fighting back as if he faced a hostile enemy instead of his sibling. As their energy flared out in greater volume, it filled the room with its darkness, and left Arel with a feeling of doom.
“Stop it!” He came alive with his own wrathful shout, one that came from a deep down fear that his small, secure world was coming apart. “What’s wrong with the two of you? Why do you want to destroy everything that I love about this family? Is this what siblings do, hurt each other?”
The group froze. Their eyes became those of innocents as they stared at him.
Arel felt their confusion, and he had one more thought.
If only I could fix them all.
It was the only thought that was needed to set off his gut. It did a replay of the Faine intervention. Again, the internal switch was flipped, the vortex was activated and ready for action.
“What the—” After his talk with Michael, he’d told himself that he wouldn’t let himself interfere, but obviously his decision had been overridden by his emotional angst.
Oh hell, I’m out of control again!
His observation was barely acknowledged when he began drawing everyone’s energies towards him. Great waves of fiery reds, stagnant blues, and a kaleidoscope of murky colors were being pulled inward. In a panic, he tried to stop the deluge of energy, but he couldn’t hold back what was coming his way. All that was discordant, all that was blistering and revolting in his loved ones’ energy fields was headed towards his gut. The barrage created a loathsome nausea as Kevin’s anger, loneliness and confusion mixed with Peggy’s worries and need to control. Carol’s helplessness and resentment were additional appalling ingredients.
Oh god, what have I done this time?
He shut his eyes, knowing that he was doomed. He wouldn’t go up in flames. He’d probably explode like a balloon stretched to the max and beyond. He’d be done in by his friends and their depressing energies.
Family, I should have known it would kill me in the end!
As he prepared himself for the worst, everything stopped. A circuit breaker shut down his power. The circuit breaker was Michael. In his magnificent and powerful angelic form, he stepped in front of Arel and put a stop to the energy exchange.
* * * * *
Michael never saw an
yone siphon off energy at the rate that Arel had demonstrated. When the man decided that his family’s happiness was at stake, his power jumped to a new level. Michael and the other angels present had acted at once. As soon as Arel turned himself into a human vacuum, they all went into protection mode. Their charges were saved from being sucked dry, but the group didn’t escape totally unscathed. They all looked pale and drained after only a few moments with Arel. Happily, Michael was quickly able to give him instructions on how to return their energy.
“What happened?” Glory asked afterwards. The situation had been rectified, but she remained in front of Peggy in her full, armored attire.
“He went kind of crazy, didn’t he?” Fred commented as he relaxed the shields he had around Kevin.
Kell stood close to Tim, looking more understanding. “I think Arel was actually trying to help. On the plus side, no one is fighting anymore.”
Michael nodded in agreement. “Arel’s become very powerful, and he hasn’t quite learned how to control it.”
“Do you regret giving him your gift?” Glory asked.
“No, he gets confused, but all and all, he’s doing very well.”
Grace let out a little huff of disapproval. “I’m sorry, Michael, but Arel almost had my Carol’s life-force for breakfast. I thought that you said his vampire days were over.”
Michael gave her an apologetic smile, but little else. What could he say? He still wasn’t sure about where Arel’s transformation was headed, only that Arel’s heart was in the right place. In the meantime, Arel still had to deal with his fears and weaknesses.
Ninety-One
ON THE RIDE home from the hospital, everyone in the car had remained silent. Hardly a word had been uttered. Tim finally spoke up as he pulled the car into Arel’s driveway. “Here we are, Arel.”
Arel opened the door to get out and hesitated. “Again, I’m sorry about my outburst earlier—”
“And I told you that there’s no need,” Peggy said quickly. “My behavior was horrible. You were right, Kevin is really hurting, and I hurt him even more.”
Arel climbed out and looked back at her. “I don’t know if this is an appropriate time, but could I talk to you about something?”
Peggy returned a look of confusion and surprise. “Now?”
“Yes, if it wouldn’t be too inconvenient.”
She glanced at Tim. “I’ll be home in a bit.”
Tim nodded. “I’ll get some brunch started.”
* * * * *
Arel sat down in a recliner in the living room. Peggy sat across from him on the sofa. Thankfully, his normal perception was back. His interaction with Peggy was going to be strictly friend to friend. Still, he didn’t like the way she was fidgeting nervously. “I didn’t mean to spring this meeting on you.”
Peggy frowned. “I don’t know why I feel so anxious. It seems silly. We talk all the time in the mornings.”
“I know what you mean.” Arel looked down at his hand as he ran it back and forth over the arm of the chair. “In fact, I think I know how you feel when you have those visions about the past.”
Peggy’s eyes flared. “Those were awful times. I wish I could forget them.”
“Maybe that’s why we never really discussed them.”
“Maybe we don’t need to.”
Arel’s hand stilled. “That’s true, but I think you’ll agree that the past is still affecting our lives. And recently, more information has come to light about why that is.” He didn’t tell her where he got the information. He’d been privy to a lot of personal data when he gobbled up everyone’s energy at the hospital.
Peggy’s nervousness was immediately tempered by her curiosity. “What are you trying to tell me?”
“This part isn’t so much about you and me, so I don’t know if it’s my business to talk about it.”
“If there’s something that you think I need to know, tell me.”
“In that life together, we were tortured and burned.”
Peggy looked down. It was her turn to focus her attention on upholstery fabric. She started picking at the nap on the sofa cushion. “I haven’t let myself think about it very much.”
“And I hate bringing it up. I can’t bear to remember how you suffered.”
She cut in. “It’s the same for me. When I remember details—” She paused. “What they did to you, I know that it was all my fault.”
Arel quickly got out of the chair and came over. He sat down next to her. “No, no, it wasn’t. We talked about this before. You didn’t do anything wrong. No one could fight what they did to us. After that life, we were both left with scars. I think our fears carried over.”
“Our fear of the people who hurt us? Is that what you mean?”
“Yes, we feared the men who had the power to torture, who had the power over life and death.”
“What difference does that make now?”
Arel put his hand on Peggy’s, hoping that he could explain the insight that he’d had on the way home from the hospital. “You’ve always fought against the bullies, haven’t you?”
She shrugged. “Yes, but I wasn’t alone. I had help. Kevin was there.”
“He took care of you.”
“I never gave him much credit for it. I guess I expected it from him.” She looked down again. “As I’ve told you, I was pretty tough on him. I guess I still am.”
“Think about it, he was the one man that you could order around. When you were around Kevin, you could be in charge. You had the power. You were in control.”
* * * * *
Tears, shame, and guilt half blinded Peggy as she stumbled across Arel’s front lawn. Maybe she’d known this day of reckoning was coming. Hadn’t she felt guilty about Kevin for a long time? But that didn’t stop her from badgering him at the hospital, telling him what he was doing wrong. She’d used the excuse that it was for his own good, but was it? Was Arel right? Did she need to be the powerful woman who could dominate a man?
When she got to her front porch, she stopped and swiped at her face. She didn’t want Tim to see her upset. He’d insist on comforting her.
That’s my MO, isn’t it? I boss Kevin around. I tell him to be responsible, but look at me. I have to have Tim there when I’m the needy one.
Was she really tough? Or was she simply able to push her brother around, to use his brawn when hers failed? She couldn’t face the answer or the chill, gusting wind that whipped her hair around in a wild frenzy. The weather was getting colder by the day. She shivered as she quickly let herself in to the house. She shut the front door quietly behind her.
I told Kevin to grow up, now I better do the same!
The sound of Tim unloading the dishwasher made her want to cry again. She didn’t feel grown up. She wanted to be the four-year-old, running into daddy’s arms. She wanted to forget about people being hurt, but Kevin’s raw-faced image came to mind.
“Honey, is that you?” Tim called to her. A moment later, he came out to the hall to greet her. His welcoming smile quickly turned into a frown. “What’s wrong?”
She shrugged back hopelessly.
“Was it Arel? Did he say something to upset you? I know that he was a little harsh at the hospital—”
“No, it’s not him,” she said, speaking in a repentant, miserable voice. “It’s me. I’m a terrible person!”
Tim’s eyes narrowed. “It’s not true. You’re sweet—”
“I’m a first class tyrant! You’ve seen me around Kevin! I’m horrible.”
“Peg, that’s ridiculous.” Tim came over and tried to reach out, but she pulled away.
“I know what I know! There’s nothing more to be said.”
Tim paused, squared his jaw, and started for the door. “I’m going to see Arel and find out what the hell he said to make you feel like this.”
“No!” She backed up, putting herself between Tim and the exit. “I’m doing what I always do. I’m shooting off my mouth and making you think you need to prote
ct me. But the only thing that sweet man next door did was show me the truth.”
A hard knock on the door made them both pause.
“Can I come in?” Arel called out from the other side. “Please!”
Peggy turned and undid the lock. As soon as she opened the door, Arel came forward. He tried to reach out to her, but Tim intervened and pulled her towards him.
“What’s going on?” Tim asked, raising his voice. “Peggy is upset as hell, and I want to know what you said to her.”
“Stop shouting at him!” Peggy pulled away from Tim’s embrace. “I told you that he didn’t do anything.”
Tim’s brows froze in confusion. “So why are you acting like this?”
Arel started to answer for her. “I was trying to explain some things to Peggy—”
Peggy cut in. “We were discussing the time, the lifetime, when we were burned . . . burned at the stake.” She paused. “You remember, Tim. I told you about it.”
“Yes, but what does that have to do with you being a terrible person?”
“Is that what you still think, Peggy?” Arel asked. “It’s the last thing that I wanted for you. I was just trying to explain how that lifetime has affected this one, how it’s affected all of us. But you ran out before I could finish.”
Peggy looked down. “What he means is that ever since that life, after what I experienced, I’ve been scared of powerful men.”
Tim came over and stood close to her. “Go on.”
When she refused to answer, Arel put his hand on Peggy’s arm. “It’s natural to want to control a situation after we’ve lost control.”
Peggy bit her lip. “But I took all my need, my desire to be some kind of little dictator, out on Kevin. I guess I knew that I could. That’s not right.”
“No, it’s not,” Tim said, “but from what I’ve just heard, you didn’t do it consciously.”
Arel moved closer to her. “Tim’s right. What you did came from a deep down fear. You weren’t even aware of it, were you?”