Symbiosis (Scintillate Series Book 2)

by Karen Tjebben

  Serenity filled me as Mr. Parker drove off, away from the house of horrors. We’d done it. We’d found Sammy and freed Trevor from the Dolum. I gave Alex’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I have some questions,” I said. “Why wasn’t Sammy afraid of Trevor? Trevor kidnapped him. He should have been terrified.”

  Alex smiled. “Sammy is still very young and innocent. When he was taken from his home, he didn’t see Trevor. He saw a monster, not Trevor. When the police talk with Sammy, they will think that fear clouded his judgment, blocked him from processing what he saw. He’ll probably even tell them about the beautiful angel that helped rescue him.”

  I looked into the heavens. Many stars twinkled brightly in the night sky. However, sporadic clouds blocked my view of some of the stars. Obviously the stars were still there even though I couldn’t see them. Whether we can see something doesn’t change the truth about that thing’s existence. Dolums and Asteri exist regardless of someone’s belief in their existence. But now I couldn’t help but wonder if Sammy’s belief in angels would remain, or would he mature and loose his faith in what he believed so easily as a child? Would the realities of life prohibit Sammy from seeing the mysteries of faith?

  I swallowed hard and looked over my shoulder at the farmhouse. “Does Trevor remember killing those animals?” I asked. “Will he remember kidnapping Sammy? Will he carry that burden?”

  “No, the Dolum was in control. When you cast out the Dolum, Trevor was afraid the man who took him would come back. That was because he didn’t know what happened. That time is completely lost to Trevor. He will never get it back. He won’t remember the terrible things that he did.”

  Relief at Alex’s words brought tears to my eyes. “You mean Trevor won’t have to live with that guilt?” I rubbed my fingers along the edges of my eyes and moistened my fingertips with my tears.

  “That’s right,” Alex said. “Trevor didn’t do those things. The Dolum did. Trevor was just a pawn, another victim in the Dolum’s game. Witnesses saw Trevor get kidnapped. The police will probably think Trevor was drugged during his confinement and that’s why he can’t recall what happened during his black out.”

  I sat on the ground, leaned my back against a tree, and brought my knees up to my chest. “That’s wonderful,” I murmured. “I didn’t want him to suffer for something he had no control over.” I wrapped my hands around my legs. “But I have one more question. Why didn’t you just mind-control him into submission like you did with Ramel after the football game?”

  “Ha,” Nick chuckled, “That’s a great question. Remember when he said, ‘Nice try.’? He blocked me out. Some Nephilim have learned how to shut us out.”

  “Now I have a question for you.” Alex knelt beside me, and his eyes stared into mine. “How did you know the powder would hurt the Dolum?”

  “I didn’t know what it would do,” I said. “But I knew he didn’t want to touch it. He squeezed the sphere without letting any of the powder touch him. So I figured, let’s see what happens when he gets a taste of his own medicine.” I chuckled softly.

  “That was good thinking,” Alex said. “It must have been fire powder.”

  “What would have happened if it had gotten on me?”

  “Remember that day on the other side when we saw that beautiful flower that I told you not to touch?” Alex said.

  I nodded. “The fire flower?”

  “That’s right,” Alex said. “It would have burned your skin terribly and stripped you of your powers for a short time. If this powder had gotten on you, you would’ve been easy prey for him.”

  “So, not only do I have to keep from getting sliced up as I’m hunted by crazies, but I have to make sure no one blows or squirts me with some magical powder that will render me powerless.”

  “Sounds fun, doesn’t it?” Nick said.

  I rolled my eyes. “Why didn’t this fire powder hurt Trevor?”

  Alex pulled a blade of grass out of the ground. “Fire powder is harvested from the fire flower that grows on the other side. So obviously it’s from the other dimension. Therefore, it only affects beings from the other dimension or half-breeds like us.”

  I pulled the long blade of grass from Alex’s fingers and wrapped it around my own. “So that’s our weakness?”

  “We have many weaknesses,” he replied soberly.

  “Hmm. Weakness comes in many forms, doesn’t it?” I separated my fingers and broke the connection I’d made with the long blade of grass.

  “Yes.” Alex stood and offered me his hand. “Sometimes it can also be our greatest strength.” I placed my hand in Alex’s and his hold tightened before he lifted me. “Come on. Let’s get you home,” he said.

  17. The Truth Shall Set You Free

  I ran the brush through my hair a final time as I finished getting ready for school. Never before had I been more thankful for Friday or ready for the weekend. There was so much to talk about with Alex and Nick. I thought I’d come so far in my transition, and they acted like I was doing great, but last night showed me that I still had so much more to learn. What other weaknesses did I have to watch out for? What skills had I not even tapped into yet?

  I jogged down the stairs and entered the kitchen. When I stole a glance at the television, Trevor’s and Sammy’s pictures covered the screen.

  “Look!” Mom stood at the island. Her face glowed with delight as she poured orange juice into her glass. “They escaped last night. They’ve been reunited with their families.”

  Reese sat at the kitchen table. He smiled as he spread cream cheese on his bagel. “They’re calling Trevor a hero,” he chuckled. “He carried Sammy out of some farmhouse. They’re saying that place had dead animals everywhere. The news wouldn’t even show the inside of the house because it was so gruesome.” Reese tore off a huge chunk of bagel and stuffed it into his mouth.

  “That’s incredible,” I said. My nails dug into the sides of my bagel as I held it on the cutting board. “Did the news say how they got away?” I sliced through the middle of the bagel with the bread knife.

  Mom’s chair screeched as she sat at the table beside Reese. “The kidnapper left for some reason,” Mom said. “Maybe he left to go kill something else. Who knows? But while he was gone, Trevor came out of his drug induced state and helped that little boy escape.”

  I dropped my bagel into the toaster. “Did they find the kidnapper?”

  “No,” Mom shook her head. “They’re still searching for him.”

  Yeah, good luck with that. He’s right where he belonged — dead — on the other side.

  “Hopefully they’ll find him soon,” Reese said, “before he hurts someone else. A psycho like that won’t stop.”

  “The police say they have a few good leads,” Mom added.

  “That’s great,” I said. My bagel popped up. Its warmth spread through my fingers as I took it out of the toaster. Were the police lying to calm the public, or did they actually think they had leads? I scooted in beside Reese at the table. He was right about one thing. That type didn’t stop. They were programmed to maximize pain and suffering in those around them. It seemed that no matter how long Nick and Alex fought evil, there was always another monster ready to fill the void. We killed Ramel and a few weeks later we were fighting a Dolum. This cycle didn’t seem to end. What was waiting for us around the corner?

  After breakfast I met Alex as he was coming out of his house. “You ready for school?” he asked as he headed towards his SUV.

  “Yeah.” I opened the door and hopped in. “Is Zoe coming with us?” I threw my bag in the backseat and dropped my backpack on the floor mats by my feet.

  “No, she’s driving herself.” Alex snapped his seat belt into the buckle.

  “Oh.” So Zoe’s giving us some alone time. Was that her idea or his? Nerves bubbled up inside me as the butterflies awakened to life.

  “Did you see the news?” he asked.

  “Yeah, that’s great about Trevor and Sammy. I’m sure their parents are
thrilled.

  “Yes.” Alex chuckled as he started the SUV. “And I wonder what their leads are.”

  “I was thinking the same thing.”

  “Just because it’s on the news doesn’t make it true. Remember that,” he said with a wink.

  “The spin-doctors are alive and well,” I tossed back.

  “Well, think about it. How much of the truth are your parents able to handle? How much of the truth do you want to tell your friends? Do you think Rylee would love the idea of other-worldly monsters coming after her?”

  “No.” I stared at the beautiful homes we passed that sheltered families from the ugly realities that we dealt with.

  “Do you want to explain to your mom that her seventeen-year-old daughter, who she believes is precious and innocent, is a dangerous killer?”

  “No.”

  “A lie is wrong when it’s about protecting yourself. It’s not wrong when it’s about protecting the innocent. That’s how you know if you can justify your lie.”

  “It sounds like those waters can get murky real fast,” I said.

  “We live in gray.” Alex looked over at me as we idled at the stop sign. “More people live in gray than they realize. Black and white is easy. That’s how you know it’s a façade. Reality is never easy.” The engine purred as the SUV accelerated.

  “Let’s skip school again today. We could hang out. Plus we have more important things to do. I brought my work-out clothes.” I pointed to the backseat.

  “Absolutely not.” Alex shook his head. “You have school.”

  “What! Don’t you think we’ve earned a vacation day?”

  “We don’t take vacations?”

  “You can make them think I’m there. We won’t get caught.” I wiggled my eyebrows at him.

  “That’s not the point. You have things to learn,” Alex continued, “academics, discipline, and perseverance are just a few.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I need to learn that mind-control trick. Would it work on Alex and Nick? I rested my head on my hand and stared at him until we arrived at school.

  The day passed quickly. It was great to see my friends and not worry about the Dolum or Trevor. Life finally felt like it was returning to normal. But at the same time, even while I was with them, I felt isolated because none of them had any idea what I was dealing with. I missed the innocence that they had. A few short months ago, I had that innocence. There was no danger coming for me. No danger attempting to harm my friends or family. Now it seemed that supernatural forces were everywhere. I’d been raised in a religious family. How had I missed so many of the signs? How had I not realized that the supernatural could cross dimensions and wreak havoc in our lives?

  After school I met Alex at his SUV. “You ready to head to the lake?” he asked.

  “I was ready about seven hours ago.” Our doors slammed shut and I buckled myself in. “You might find this hard to believe, but one of the hardest things about all of this is the lying. I have to lie to my parents. I have to lie to my friends. Everything I thought I knew about myself was a lie.”

  “You mean you never imagined that you were an angel/human hybrid?” Alex teased.

  I gave him a crooked smile. “No, that thought never crossed my mind until you guys filled me in on that tiny detail. Everything used to be simple. I knew what to expect. I knew who I was.”

  “Believe it or not, you’re still you.” The SUV accelerated as Alex’s words became firmer. “You are Katherine Archer. You bravely wear your heart on your sleeve and show compassion towards those around you. You’re confused because you’re at a transition point where you decide the path that your life will take. Right now, you’re adding to the definition of Kate Archer, not changing the definition of Kate Archer.

  “Hmm, if only it were that easy. There’s more to it, and you know it. Am I going to be an Avenger like Nick or…”

  Alex interrupted, “a Guardian like me?”

  I nodded and bit my lip. “Yeah. What’s the difference?”

  “Avengers hunt down the trouble-makers. They attempt to protect all of mankind by exterminating the Nephilim or other demonic forces, while Guardians can be assigned an individual or a small group of people. Our jobs have some similarities, but Avengers are offensive. They bring the fight to the wicked. Guardians, on the other hand, are defensive. We fight when we must, but we do our best to maneuver our charge into the safest situation possible.” Alex accelerated onto highway 751.

  “Do I actually get to choose? Avenger or Guardian?”

  “In a way.” Alex’s eyes quickly met mine, and then he focused on the road again. “You will feel pulled to one or the other. You can either follow that path or fight it and go the other way.”

  I nodded and looked ahead at the winding road. I thought about the responsibilities of Avengers and Guardians. Even though they had similarities, they also had a major difference. The Avengers were more prone to seek out violence, whereas the Guardians were more likely to retreat from violence. In this way they seemed to be opposites, just like Nick and Alex were opposites, yet they seemed to easily navigate their life together. Perhaps that was because there were benefits in both of their roles. Sometimes, wickedness just needs to be dealt with, but other times, keeping people out of trouble can be a great solution. Why fight a battle when manipulating situations and removing the need for a battle is an option? I let out a sigh as I decided I wasn’t ready to make a decision concerning which path I would take. Right now, I still had the side-effects of my necklace to deal with. And even though the necklace rested lightly on my skin, its weight pressed into me − changing me, redefining me. “These dreams about Sarah are affecting me.” My eyes met Alex’s.

  “How so?” Alex moved his hands into different positions on the steering wheel.

  “Every time I close my eyes… fall asleep, she’s there. Something from her past forces its way into my life. Alex, I really don’t want to know this stuff.” She’s making me fall for you.

  The trees blurred past us as we raced along highway 751. “It’s not all bad is it?”

  “No.” My heart raced as images of their good times played through my mind. “It’s just,” I shrugged, “not my information to know.”

  “I see.” He gave me a half-smile. “You feel like you’re spying on friends.”

  “Yes, and there’s already too much of that. It’s creepy.”

  “Maybe these dreams will pass. Maybe you’re getting something from them that you don’t realize.”

  “Yeah, maybe.” That didn’t seem very likely, but I didn’t know what else to say. Alex was pretty confident that the dreams were for my benefit, but I wasn’t so sure. I just didn’t want to be manipulated by them. Could I be manipulated by dreams? Aren’t dreams supposed to reveal thoughts and feelings from your subconscious mind?

  We parked deep in the woods. I quickly changed in the SUV, and then we walked in silence along the trail we’d worn into the dirt and grass. Once we arrived at the lake, Alex pulled his shirt over his head. His body hadn’t changed much from the past, from the body I touched in my dreams. “We’ll swim first,” he said. He smiled when he caught me checking him out. I diverted my eyes and gripped the bottom of my sweatshirt. “Then, if we have time, we can go for a run,” he added.

  “Sounds good.” I pulled my sweatshirt over my head and dropped it onto my backpack. I stepped out of my shoes and headed towards the portal.

  “Wait,” Alex called out. “The portal is a doorway between dimensions. This weakens the area around the portal. Today you’re going to cross over by using the weakened area instead of the portal.”

  “O-kay,” I said slowly. The portal shimmered before me. I stepped away from the shimmer and focused on the space in front of me. Suddenly, new vertical lines shimmered and floated in the space around me. “I see it. I see the weakness,” I said, and then I stepped through the droplets of warmth.

  Alex stepped next to me. “Very good.” He took my hand and ga
ve it a squeeze. The butterflies in my stomach fluttered at his touch, and I couldn’t help but smile. “Before you know it, you’ll be able to cross over at will. You’re very powerful.”

  “Why do you think I’m so powerful?”

  Alex’s green eyes searched deep within my soul. “There’s no telling.”

  “That’s a lie.” I released his hand and marched towards the lake. “That’s a cop-out, and you know it. You sound like Nick,” I shouted over my shoulder. “You know something, but you won’t tell me.”

  “No, I’ve already told you.” Alex grabbed my shoulder. “Honestly, I think that somehow you have your Asteri power and Sarah’s.”

  My eyebrows knit together as I studied him. Alex truly believed Sarah was influencing me even when Nick hadn’t. Nick had maintained his skepticism concerning Sarah for so long, but did he now think her rebirth was possible because of my dreams? Did that explain why Nick walked away from our relationship? Did he walk away so Alex could have his chance? I stepped away, breaking Alex’s hold on me. “It always comes back to Sarah, doesn’t it? I’m not Sarah!”

  “You asked me for the truth.”

  I would never escape her. Sarah’s ghost followed me everywhere. She destroyed my relationship with Nick, and now her memory would destroy my friendship with Alex. “I need some time. I’m swimming to the island.”

  I raced into the water and dove under. The coolness kissed my skin and refreshed every part of my body. What was I supposed to do with all of this information and emotion? How was I supposed to handle this? When I trusted Nick with the truth about the dreams, he walked out on me. Alex hoped the dreams would reunite him with his lost love. And even though Alex and Nick are part of my new family, my Asteri family, I still feel overwhelmed. Isn’t that normal, to feel overwhelmed when your world has turned upside-down?

  Beautiful fish darted about as I cut through the water. A giant turtle plodded near the bottom of the lake and a manta ray seemed to fly by. I glanced over my shoulder when I came up for air and noticed Alex’s arms as they sliced through the water. I dove under again, in an attempt to lose myself in the beauty of the serene water world.