“How long can we be outside of our bodies?” Dustin asked. “You know, without actually dying?”
Your Essence being absent while your flesh heals won’t be damaging. You could be gone even after it has healed for some time without hurting your body. But to be safe, we shouldn’t keep you here more than a few weeks.”
“How long have we been here?” Dustin asked.
“Not long,” Leland said.
“We’ve had a long day and we don’t have much time. Let’s rest,” Gregory said.
Cali leaned into Dustin and let out a sigh. Cali’s mind raced and she was sure sleep wouldn’t come. Within minutes, Dustin’s breath became deep and regular. She heard quiet breaths from around the room and before long, she felt her eyelids get heavy.
Chapter Twenty-One
Cali awoke with an intense headache. The smell of bacon drew her to the kitchen where Leland cooked.
She cleared her throat and he jumped, though he tried to hide it. Her throat still felt tender from being choked with the necklace, but she could feel it healing.
“Morning,” he said in a voice thick with sleep.
Cali nodded. They were the first two up.
“I should have known making bacon would wake people.”
Cali laughed. “I think it’s the best thing to wake up to.”
“There are muffins on the counter. Coffee’s brewed. I know you prefer juice; we have some in the fridge.” The bacon sizzled as he spoke.
“How do you know what I prefer?” The words were slow.
“I’m glad I’m not the only one that didn’t remember.” Lexi’s voice at the doorway made her jump. “Morning, you two.”
“Remember what?”
“We’ve lived a ton of past lives together. You and me. Plus, Dustin and Leland.”
Cali thought about the strange scenes she’d been whisked away to while running from Blaine. “We were Mayans once.”
“Oh.” Lexi blinked. “I stand corrected. You know more than me. I promise you can trust Leland.”
Cali nodded. He did seem familiar, like she’d seen him in the past too. If Lexi trusted him, there was no reason not to. “You’re up early. You feel ok?” Cali scanned her friend for signs of the injuries she sustained. She couldn’t see any.
“I’m feeling better.”
Lexi poured a cup of coffee, mostly creamer, like always, and a glass of juice. She sat next to Cali and put the juice in front of her.
Cali looked down at her hands. Burns scrawled across her flesh. “I don’t. Why don’t you guys look like you ever fought Blaine? Lexi, you got way more hurt than me.”
Leland chuckled, but it was an uneasy sound. The room felt closed in and cold. “It’s because you’re still alive on Earth.”
Yawns sounded from the living room as the others stirred awake.
“So?” Cali pressed.
“Essences heal faster when they aren’t connected to a human body.”
“You made it sound like if we didn’t want to be hurt anymore, we wouldn’t be,” Cali argued.
“For wounds of your physical body. Injuries you sustain here will take time to heal.”
“Well, that’s not fair.” Cali dropped her hand from her neck and ran her finger around the rim of her juice glass. “I have no advantages being human.”
“You get to live,” Lexi said wistfully.
Cali bit her tongue. “You guys feel alive to me.”
“We are alive. We just aren’t human.” Leland smiled.
Dustin and Gregory shuffled into the room. Cali looked at the floor. She didn’t want to think about dying. She sipped her orange juice and closed her eyes.
“How do we stop him?” Dustin’s voice broke through Cali’s contemplations. “Can we kill him?” Dustin sounded unsure. “Is it even possible?”
“Not like you mean.” Gregory tilted his head. “He could be dispersed. I don’t know how though. It’s a choice and I don’t know how to force someone.”
“He’s found a way,” Lexi said.
“Very true. So we know it’s possible. There is only one dispersal portal and he has to expect we will try to get him there.” He paused and poured some coffee. “On the other hand, he wants to disperse all of us too, so perhaps getting him there won’t be much of a challenge.”
“There isn’t a way to just strip his powers?” Dustin asked.
Leland scooped up two plates of food and Lexi stood to grab plates and silverware for the group. She placed the stack at the center of the table as Leland set a huge plate of scrambled eggs and a plate piled with bacon on the table before sitting next to Lexi.
“Other than Blaine, no one has ever been able to take powers away from another Essence.” Gregory tapped his fork on his plate while he spoke.
Cali chewed on a piece of bacon. “What usually happens when someone is dispersed?”
“Oh, I know this one,” Lexi answered. “They create a bunch of new Essences.”
“So, what happens to their powers?” Cali asked.
“It’s all just energy. The older an Essence is, the more energy. The stronger their abilities, the more new Essences are created,” Leland explained.
Cali nodded. She envisioned everyone in the room being chopped up and broken down into new Essences. She sat the bacon down and tried to picture anything else. She couldn’t let herself be crippled by worry. She took a deep breath and tried not to look as terrified as she felt.
“Is there, like, an army or anything we can go to?” Cali asked.
“No,” Lexi answered.
“No? There are tons of people up there and none of them can help?”
“Nothing like this has ever happened. There is no one trying to protect the Cetteri. It’s never needed protecting before.” Gregory paused. “Evil has never existed there. It’s a human trait.”
“The world isn’t peaceful,” Cali said indignantly. “There is always war. There is always a cause.”
“Earth is a different world. Humanity has different rules,” Leland said. “Being an Essence isn’t like being human. We may look human, and our world may resemble Earth, but they aren’t the same.”
“What happens when anyone disagrees with something there?” Dustin raised his eyebrows.
“What would they disagree about?” Gregory was equally surprised.
“Anything. A dog barking, the wrong kind of sandwich. Anything.” Dustin said.
“Those problems just don’t exist there. There is no anger, no hostility, no hatred, no conflict.”
“How?” Dustin said in disbelief.
“It just is,” Leland answered. “The Cetteri has different rules.”
“Without things like hate, you can’t experience love,” Dustin said firmly.
“That may be true of Earth,” Leland said. “Though I’m not convinced it’s entirely the case. Even if it were, the same isn’t true in the Cetteri. When boredom stirs, we simply leave to be reborn. When an Essence chooses it, they can be dispersed. There is no pain or hate. Conflict has never been an issue before.”
“Until Blaine?” Lexi said. “What makes him so special?”
“I’m not sure,” Gregory said after a beat. “I suppose it must have always been possible. He was just the first who wanted something that doesn’t exist.”
“Well, I think it’s time to figure it out,” Lexi said.
***
Alexia chewed on the last piece of bacon she’d smuggled outside once Gregory had herded them into the backyard.
For the last hour, they’d been compiling everything they knew about Blaine. It wasn’t much.
He could become a yellow cloud.
He smelled like sulfur.
He killed them a bunch of times.
He was an asshole.
The list went on, but nowhere on it was the key to winning.
Blaine had them pinned down. They were trapped in an Ether that wasn’t meant to last. All he needed was a power like Cali’s to come crashing in. He could
find it at any time. When he found it, it was game over for her and her friends, and she knew it.
If they waited, the Ether could collapse. Cali and Dustin could die. Blaine would go on killing innocent Essences. And then what?
“Alexia?” Gregory broke her train of thought.
“Yeah?” She looked at the group. Everyone was staring at her. She plastered on a too-toothy smile. “Sorry, I was thinking.”
“’Bout what?” Cali asked.
Alexia swallowed and took a second too long to answer. “How to make a permanent Blaine-sicle,” she lied.
The look on Cali’s face told Alexia she didn’t believe her.
Gregory nodded. “I’m not sure you can do that. Not permanently, but it’s a weakness and I think we need to start there.”
“You guys are magic.” Dustin waved towards them. “I’m sure you can figure something out.”
“It’s not magic,” Leland rolled his eyes. “And you two are just as strong as us. Remember, Cali got us back here.”
“I’m not magic,” Dustin said.
“You’re just as magic as us,” Alexia said.
Leland sighed. “Ass.” He pointed to Alexia. “It’s not Magic.”
“What we need to do,” Alexia said, “is to figure out what we can do, how long we have, and what our plan is.”
“Let’s start with how long,” Gregory said. “Cali, you will have to help with this.”
“Me?” Cali took a step back.
“I can mirror you and help you open the portal. We need a window, not a doorway like before. It should be easier. It has to be fast, so he doesn’t see us.” Leland stepped toward her.
“How do I find him?”
“You don’t have to. Once we get the window open, Gregory can track him,” Leland told her.
Cali looked at Alexia with wide eyes.
“He’s a good tracker. That’s how we found you even though you were off in your past lives.” Alexia smiled.
Cali shrugged and held out her hands. Gregory and Leland stood on either side and clasped her hand.
“Some rain please,” Leland asked.
Alexia closed her eyes and focused. “On it.”
Her stomach clenched and a droplet trickled onto her face. More, she thought. It was slow, but rain started to fall.
“Lexi’s doing this,” Cali whispered.
“You saw her freeze a guy into a block of ice, Cali,” Dustin said. “But this is what surprises you.” He laughed.
“She’s amazing,” Leland whispered back to Cali so quietly, Alexia almost missed it.
She felt something tighten around her heart and pursed her lips. She kept her eyes closed. “I can save them,” she whispered to herself.
“Yes, Cali. Just like that!”
Alexia opened her eyes and was glad when the rain didn’t slow.
Blaine, blurry and from a distance, paced in front of them.
The picture shifted, zoomed in closer and focused.
He shook his head and mumbled to himself. He touched a purple spot on his wrist. His left hand was frostbitten. He put his discolored fingers to his lips.
He paced around a room with tall ceilings, gloomy tapestries. Stopping in front of a giant four-post bed, he flopped onto the mattress. Looking down at his hand, he nodded.
His eyes glazed over.
“What’s he doing?” Cali whispered.
Leland shrugged.
Blaine’s eyes opened. He stood, turned his back to them, and cracked his knuckles before flicking his fingers at the space in front of him. The air started to shimmer. An image focused, like a projector’s image floating in front of him.
It was a portal very similar looking to Cali’s.
“Shit,” Leland hissed. “He’s tracking.”
A man materialized. Through their window, they could watch over Blaine’s shoulder as he focused in closer to the man.
“Who’s that?” Dustin asked.
Before anyone could answer, Blaine pointed to the wall behind the man in Blaine’s portal.
It burst into flames.
Even with two portal windows separating them from the fire, Alexia could feel the heat. The man rushed away from the flames behind him, but too late. The entire room danced and flickered as it burned. The man fell just before the flames closed in on him.
Blaine laughed as his window flickered and vanished. He looked down at his ruined hands.
“Let’s see what we can do about this,” he said with a grin.
He strutted away, paused, and looked around the room.
“Close it,” Gregory said. “Close it now!”
The window snapped shut.
“He killed that man,” Dustin said.
“Did he see us?” Alexia asked.
Leland blinked. “He did kill him. And no, I don’t think he saw us.”
“I could feel his thoughts,” Gregory said. “Not well, but enough. He sensed something, but he doesn’t know we were there.”
“But he killed that guy,” Dustin said. “He burned him. Like he did us.”
“He’s going to disperse him,” Lexi said.
“We have to stop him.” Leland pointed to the empty space in front of him. “Cali, we need a door. We need to hurry.”
Cali nodded and clenched her fists. Her face reddened and the window was back open as fast as it had closed. Alexia reached for it, but it was a window, not a doorway. Her hand went right through the image.
“Randy.” Blaine’s voice echoed through the portal.
The man they’d just watched Blaine kill nodded and smiled at his murderer.
“You have just what I’m looking for.” Blaine smiled.
“I’m sorry?” Randy looked confused but not worried.
“Cali, hurry!” Dustin yelled.
“That’s the doorway to the dispersal portal!” Gregory pointed through the window.
A hundred feet behind Blaine and Randy stood two trees. Alexia recognized them. Between them, connected to each trunk, was a set of stairs. Up the stairs and through the trees was the doorway to the dispersal portal.
“Forget it,” Blaine told Randy. He flicked a finger towards him and Randy sagged. “Come with me.”
Cali grunted and there was a pop. The window brightened and Alexia knew it had become a doorway. She raced through it and spilled onto the ground in the Cetteri. Blaine looked over his shoulder, raised his eyebrow, and flicked a finger towards her.
“Why don’t you come with us too, Alexia?” His voice was like honey.
It was a trap.
Still, her mind got foggy and she stood and walked to him. His smile widened and he walked toward the portal with Randy slumped over his shoulder.
“Blaine, why are we here?” Randy asked.
His voice woke Alexia from her stupor. She looked behind her for her friends.
She was alone.
She turned back to the two men.
“No, Blaine!” Alexia yelled, trying her hardest to sound unafraid. Turn him to ice, she told herself. Rain started to fall, but there was no ice.
Blaine turned to her, scanned his surroundings, and looked at Randy.
“Wait here,” he said before bashing Randy’s head into the nearest tree.
Randy collapsed into a pile with blood pooling from his head.
Alexia gasped.
“You’re alone?” He took a step towards her. Something sparkled in his eyes and his smile seemed more genuine. “Did you change your mind?”
It took a second too long for Alexia to understand his question. He still wanted her to join him.
“Never!” she spat the word at him.
Randy groaned and struggled to stand. He wiped at the gash on his forehead and it closed instantly. Blaine watched and ground his teeth.
“See how useful that is?” he muttered. “Wait there for me, Randy.”
Randy sat cross-legged on the ground, next to his blood pool with a blank expression.
“You came here to tu
rn me down again?” His eyes were cold.
“Don’t kill him.”
“He’s already dead.”
“Don’t disperse him.”
He smiled. “You do it.”
Alexia felt a tingle in the back of her mind. He was trying to compel her to. She shook her head. The rain turned to hail, still, there was no ice block around Blaine.
Something flashed in his eyes. “I hate you.” His voice cracked as if the words hurt him to say.
He waved his hand toward Alexia and a lightning bolt crashed between them. She flew backward and crashed into a tree.
“I’ll be right back,” he said.
The words echoed and when she cracked her eyes open, her vision refused to focus. She was pretty sure Blaine was climbing the stairs. He was dragging something. Randy! her mind yelled at her. Her stomach clenched as she pushed out a strained breath. Cold rushed from her body and her eyes focused. Ice ran from her feet to the stairs between the trees. She jumped up and ran towards them, but Blaine was already inside.
The ice melted as soon as she touched it and she barreled into the room.
Too slow.
Blaine held Randy by his shirt and she yelled for him to stop, but he didn’t look her way. The portal turned orange. Opaque and shiny like a soap bubble. Blaine dropped Randy and flicked his newly empty hand over his shoulder. Alexia felt another cold rush burst from her chest just as a tornado flew toward her. She was sucked into the storm. Before she could see if Randy survived or Blaine was in ice, she was tossed into a wall across the room and everything went black.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cali ran up the stairs with Leland, Dustin, and Gregory in tow. The wind howled ahead of her. She rushed into a large room just as Lexi smashed into one of the dark wood-paneled walls, sliding to the floor with a crunch.
Blaine stood in front of a large swirling disc as its color faded to white. His feet were frozen in ice up to his waist and two pillars of ice on either side trapped his hands. It should have hurt, but he didn’t seem to notice. His head lolled back and he moaned in pleasure.
A line of people with blank expressions appeared one by one from the other side of the disc and filed out of the room.
“We’re too late,” Gregory said.
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