by Dinia Steel
When they pulled up to the house, Harry came out to help them bring in their luggage. After they were settled in, they joined James and Reggie in the family room where James kept a pleasant fire burning in the huge hearth.
Reggie was still not completely present. She’d managed to gain a little weight, but there was still that vacantness in her expression. The doctor who was looking after her had been there Friday morning and was a little more encouraging. He still couldn’t understand how Reggie was able to function at the capacity that she was. He informed James a paper was being prepared to be presented at the next medical conference he was to attend. He was extremely proud of Reggie’s progress and James knew he was going to take credit for her miraculous recovery. James didn’t intend to tell the good doctor anything, knowing the doctor would never believe it anyway.
“Reggie’s looking so much better James! Any idea when she’ll be fully back with us? I’d love to be able to talk to her once again. Her answers on the inner planes are so non-conversational, if you know what I mean.” Josephine had just hugged Reggie who of course, didn’t respond to the action.
“I’m not sure. I was informed that this type of ‘recovery’ could possibly take up to a year, but I hope not. I just want my love back.” James rubbed Reggie’s arm lovingly. “And I think we’re going to need all of us for what I feel is coming,” James replied not looking at Josephine.
“I’ve seen us all standing outside together and there is snow on the ground. But that’s all I know. I have no idea when it’ll be,” Josephine said looking at James now.
Suzanne and Leo followed Josephine in hugging Reggie. This had become a small ritual after she’d finally come to life on the inner planes. They didn’t make any comment because Josephine had already said everything they wanted to. It was just easier to let Josephine be their spokesperson.
After a light luncheon, they all separated again to rest from their trip and to gather themselves to prepare the pathwork for tonight.
At about four that afternoon, Josephine let out a scream which made everyone rush to her and Leo’s room.
“Josephine! What’s wrong?” It appeared that Josephine had collapsed on the floor. Leo was crying and on his knees beginning to pick her up by the time, James and Harry got to their room.
“What happened Leo?” James asked.
“I don’t know. We were just talking. She’d gotten up and was heading for the bathroom when she stopped in mid step, grabbed her head, screamed and collapsed. She didn’t say anything James...” Leo started to weep.
James opened his mind, and reeled back, as if he’d been punched in the gut. He managed to cough out, “Harry, put up your shield!”
Almost at that same moment, James was able to straighten up and Josephine opened her eyes. “They’re coming! They’ll be here any minute now. They aren’t far away!”
Without being told who ‘they’ were, the five of them headed for the library and formed their circle immediately.
“Wait, what about Reggie?” Suzanne asked. Her compassion for Reggie had grown since the night she’d realized what Oscar had been up to nine months ago.
“She’ll be fine, if we can maintain. Now let’s get to work,” James said hurriedly.
Within moments, they’d achieved the proper state and found themselves in the small white marble open Keeper temple on the hill.
The scene forming outside of the temple was one right out of a horror movie. There were about twenty hooded figures in dark robes surrounding the temple. There were other things with them that were not fully visible as of yet. The hooded figures were each carrying something that looked like torches but there was no fire, only a black oily smoke billowing from them.
The sun that normally shone brightly down upon the temple was obscured from sight. The warmth usually present was gone and it felt as cold as it was on the physical plane.
The hooded figures approached closer and closer as did the snarling and howling things that walked with those figures.
Normal people would have been terrified of what was approaching, but these were Keepers of the Flame. They had that Inner Flame to protect for the generations to come. As if it was their own child and they would give up their lives to protect it.
Suzanne was the first to falter; she fainted. Josephine was holding her head in her hands as if she had an excruciating headache. Leo dropped to his knees. Only James and Harry remained standing.
The hooded figures were now standing on the steps leading into the temple about to enter into it. James was furious and with a burst of energy, there was a brilliant flash of light…it set the figures back a few paces. James staggered back and Harry was beginning to fall.
Suddenly, there was another burst of brilliant diamond white light. It didn’t come from within the Temple, but from behind where the hooded figures stood. There was a calliope of sounds.
James knew the things that prowled behind their unwanted guests were now gone. He put forth another burst of energy and when it combined with the other, the hooded figures fell. They began to smoke and disappear.
There, standing in the returned sunlight, was Reggie.
She was glowing with a fierce inner light which almost put the sun to shame. She continued to walk around the Temple and her presence caused the fallen figures to vaporize. When the last vestiges of unwanted beings were gone, Reggie entered the temple and took her place beside James.
The temple slowly faded and the five companions found themselves once again, back in the library in James’ house. The big difference was that they’d just been attacked and almost overcome by forces of the Dark, but Reggie’s appearance added what was needed to defeat those forces.
James jumped up. “Oh, my God! Reggie!” He reached the door and threw it open. There in the hall just outside the door, was Reggie laying in a heap on the floor.
The woman who was her regular nurse was just coming out of Reggie’s room to find James and tell him that Reggie wasn’t in there. She rushed to the spot and knelt next to the unconscious woman. “Oh Mr. Franklin, I just stepped out to go to the restroom and get myself a book. When I came back, she was gone.” Tonia wrung her hands together. “I’m so, so sorry.”
James wasn’t paying attention to the unhappy nurse, he only had eyes for Reggie. She’d risen to the call and was ‘present’ enough to know to come to them in their need. He looked over at Josephine.
She nodded.
James picked Reggie up, carried her into the library and laid her on the overstuffed couch. He smoothed her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead sweetly.
One of Reggie’s hands reached up and stroked James’ cheek. “James, is that you?”
~o0o~
Chapter 52
Just as James was about to send someone to get a cup of hot tea for Reggie, they heard sirens blaring in the front yard. Harry ran out of the room to see what was going on. James couldn’t be pried away from his love.
Harry came running back into the library shouting for them to all come see what was going on. The nurse told James she would stay with Reggie, so he could go see what Harry seemed so concerned about.
When they all were out on the front porch, they could see heaps of something strewn around the yard...bodies still smoking laying on the ground.
Bodies?
Once human beings?
The stench in the air was unmistakable.
James knew at once, what had happened.
The Die Zauberei wanted to burn his house down and kill everyone inside. They thought they’d catch the Keepers unprepared. Those black hooded figures were in fact very physical humans carrying torches with which to burn his house down.
As above. So, below.
Tonight, on the inner planes, James barely managed to hold them at bay, but when Reggie arrived, their combined force/power had been enough to disable, even kill the intruders. Had she not come back, James shuddered to think about what would have happened.
This was the way they w
ere destined to be together when they worked the inner planes…A strong defensive unit able to take on the strongest forces of Darkness. Reggie and James were always meant to be the ones who would defend the other Keepers. This was the first time they’d been able to operate in that intended capacity, but James didn’t want to have to do this ever again.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when Josephine’s voice reached him.
“But who called the police?” Josephine wondered. “And why didn’t I see this coming?”
James smiled and answered, “Joyce the new cook must have, the nurse would have said something.”
Joyce was talking to a sheriff, who looked like he was taking a report, must have heard what he said. She turned her head toward James and nodded, then came over to James and his friends. “I’m sorry, I guess I should have warned you, but you were all locked in the library and you’d told me not to disturb you when you were in there.” Joyce Williams was the daughter of the Chief of the Native American Indians whose reservation adjoined James’ land.
Chief Williams had hear James was looking for a new cook/housekeeper and his daughter needed a job. James read her mind; she wasn’t a member of the Die Zauberei, or one of their plants, but she was an “aware” human. So, he hired her on the spot and now, he was very glad he did. It might have appeared as a coincidence to the casual observer, but James knew better.
Joyce told them she’d been standing at the kitchen sink just looking outside because something felt weird to her. She saw figures approaching the house carrying blazing torches.
Instinctively, she knew what they were planning to do and she didn’t want her new employer’s house burned to the ground, so she called the County Sheriff and the Tribal Police.
It was the Tribal Police that reached the scene first. What they saw was something out of a horror story, but they’d seen far stranger things. However, they knew that many people carrying lighted torches were up to no good, so they radioed in a request for back up as they got out of their patrol cars, since James’ land was not their jurisdiction.
The intruders seemed totally unaware of the arrival of the Tribal Police as they appeared to just collapse and burst into flames. A few of them even seemed to explode just as they hit the ground.
The police were unable to reach any of them with fire extinguishers. None of the police seemed to be too broken up about it either. One of the police officers was heard mumbling something like, “Karma’s a bitch...”
~o0o~
About two hours later when all the law enforcement officers as well as all the EMT trucks and fire department vehicles had left the property, James and his friends went back into the house. The sight that greeted them had James smiling from ear to ear.
Reggie was sitting at the breakfast bar eating soup and crackers.
James just stood there drinking in the sight of Reggie eating all by herself.
It’s not polite to stare James, Reggie thought, come sit by me and let’s talk. I think we have a great deal to catch up on. She turned her head toward James and smiled. “I love you too.”
~o0o~
Chapter 53
Veronica shakily stood up from her armchair. All of the candles had been snuffed out by a blast of hot wind which had blown through the room. Sweat had her hair matted to her forehead and her body was coated in a layer of it also.
Fucking. Franklin. Dreck!
How did they manage to pull it off, again? I did everything I was instructed to do. I don’t understand how they managed to not only defeat us on the Inner Planes, but they managed to kill off most of my best operatives.
Veronica wasn’t at all used to defeat, and such a sound defeat at that.
It would take her years to rebuild what she’d lost tonight. How the hell was it accomplished? Well, she would have to start recruiting in the morning. Turning on the table lamp within her reach, Veronica made for her liquor cabinet and poured herself a stiff drink of Scotch, neat. Her red lacquered nails drummed on the side of the glass containing the strong liquor.
We’re not done Franklin. Not by a long shot. You’ve only won round two. The next one will be ours! Enjoy your respite. We’ll be back again. I’m not surrendering. While you’re at it, enjoy being reunited. It won’t last long if I can help it!
~o0o~
Part Three
Carrying the Torch
~o0o~
Chapter 54
Every living organism has an electromagnetic field surrounding it. Earth has one that can be seen when certain conditions are right. When we humans see it, it's referred to as the Aurora Borealis and it’s quite a sight to behold.
Every human has a similar field of electrical current emanating from their body. Unfortunately, the majority of us are unable to see this remarkable sight for ourselves. However, if someone is a gifted psychic, they might be able to see this for themselves, or if lacking that, there is a technique called kirlian photography that can allow us to see auras.
If we could see auras, we would be able to witness its behavior alone as well as interacting with others. For instance, when two humans have a simple conversation their auras reach out and touch forming what's called a rapport. Depending upon the "depth" of the conversation, the more intermingled the auras become.
Just imagine what it would look like if we were able to observe two individuals having sex/making love, and we were gifted with this remarkable vision. When two normals have sex without any emotion, it feels great physically, but it can leave one, if not both, emotionally lacking, because there is no great bonding of their auras. If those same two people are emotionally as well as physically involved, the blending of their auras is greater and the feeling is more intense.
If the same two individuals feel love for each other, as well as have an intellectual bond, make love rather than just have sex, the world can feel as if it comes to a stop and explodes. A bond is formed between those humans’ auras that is reinforced each time they come together. This bond will last until there is no more emotional rapport involved. Their auras become entwined and a good deal of each other stay blended together even after the physical bodies separate. This represents just a small portion of the level of the aura of human which would be the physical, the etheric, the emotional and intellectual.
Esoteric philosophy tells us there are seven layers that represent the levels of consciousness and states of being to the human aura.
Now, just imagine what that would look and feel like, if the couple about to have sex were mated upon all the levels possible. Can you imagine what that might be like?
It would be the blending of every level of a highly developed human, up through the blending of their individual souls and a result, if sustained, it would in effect be the reuniting of the two halves forming a more complete whole. This is what a marriage should be.
Now, on with the third and final part of Carrying the Torch...
~o0o~
Chapter 55
The night when the Die Zauberei came to burn them out and murder them, was the first time Reggie and James held each other with sharing, tender affection. They held each other that way for the entire night.
To say that Reggie and James had a great deal to catch up on, would be very much an understatement.
They had hundreds of years to catch up on.
Being in each other’s presence began a type of cascading effect of opening up their individual memories, as well as their minds.
Sadly, they hadn’t been in each other lives more than a handful of times since the destruction of Atlantis. Not one of those times had been a wonderful experience, though they had still been drawn to each other by their bond. This bond was still strong from the original joining of their auras formed so long ago. Now, when they were again in tune with each other, there was a rapid increase of both of their abilities.
Getting to know each other’s personalities in this lifetime was the first order of business. Over the following weeks, they learned once again how to sl
ip in and out of each other’s minds and share with the other. Finally, the time arrived where they began the act of physical love.
To ordinary humans, sex was strong and overpowering but to a pair of telepaths it would literally mind shattering and expanding.
Imagine emotion taking on a physical form and shape and this form moving in and out between and through you and your partner; winding its way literally through you until you become not two individuals, but one whole being. It was like a river flowing and moving between them, through them, around them. They were surrounded with all the colors of their auras being woven into one brilliant tapestry.
It was strong enough to be felt by everyone else who came into contact with them.
The colors of the rainbow present in their auras, shone about them, wove in and through them. Each emotion and thought had its own color, its own vibration, its own shape. Their individual bodies responded to those singularly and combined together.
James
They never got around to physical love that first night. There was no need. Their very beings were penetrated with all the love and longing they experienced. They were quite literally bound to each other, forever.
What did occur however, was a mating of six layers of their Auras. This was what the old priesthood was able to do for a couple as they wove the various levels of the auras until there was only one aura left shared by two living beings.
This was a marriage.
Reggie lay within the circle of his arms with her head resting on his chest. “James?”
Reggie’s voice rang bell like, in his mind. Hmmm? He felt too content to move physically, so he looked mentally into her mind. Yes… Love?
“I think we need to eat something. This is the first time I’ve really felt hungry.” Reggie’s voice sounded amused.