When the Spirit Calls (When the Spirit... series - Book 2)

by Thomas DePrima

  "How long have I been here?"

  "You just arrived."

  "How much time has passed on Earth?"

  "Time has no relevance here, sister. A century on Earth can happen in the blink of an eye."

  "Why are there no other people here?"

  "There have never been people here— at least not as you would define them. There are only souls. But we can appear in whatever form we wish."

  "That's what I meant. I expected to see other— souls. I actually expected it would be quite— crowded."

  Aleela giggled. "Each soul decides how large their space is, how it appears, and how they appear to others. You can change it at any time. You can visit others, and they can visit you. Your space can be as crowded as the Tokyo of Arlene Watson's time or as desolate as the Antarctic. Since I suspected you'd be a little— disoriented— when you awoke, I established your original appearance for you. The setting was identical to the land where we were raised and died."

  "Uh, is Jeremy here?"

  "No, Amelia Westfield's husband is not here."

  "I realize he's not here with us now. How can I see him?"

  "He's not here in— the immortal world."

  Arlene was instantly alarmed. "His was a wonderful soul. He couldn't have been dragged down to the Underworld."

  "He came here after he passed. He then watched over you with me until the mortal body of Amelia Westfield expired. When you had safely returned to the body of Arlene Watson, he went back to the mortal world for another life, just as you've done so often. I've never understood that. It's so wonderful here. Why would anyone ever wish to return to Earth with all its miseries? At times I've doubted the Underworld could be very much worse."

  "You've never gone back?"

  "One time on the mortal plane was quite enough for me. I'm content to watch over you now, share your happiness during the good times, and commiserate with the bad."

  "Watch over me?"

  "Of course. I've always been with you, sister."

  "You— you're my spirit guide?"

  "In the flesh, so to speak. I've rarely left your side through the millennia, although you can't seem to hear me until you reach your mid-teens. I guess it takes that long for your human mind to mature enough to understand that I'm not simply a part of your vivid imagination."

  "That explains a lot," Arlene said as she ruminated over her experiences with her Tarot deck. "What happened when we were pulled back to 1883? You left me for awhile."

  "When that spirit pulled your souls from your bodies, I lost track of you. I knew where your body was, but your soul wasn't in it. I searched everywhere but couldn't find you. I even searched on this side of the boundary. I knew you wouldn't be in the Underworld, but you were nowhere to be found. Then suddenly, I felt a ripple through time and discovered your soul was in the body of another person."

  "I wondered if it might be something like that. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to once again feel your presence when I handled the tarot cards at the Westfield mansion."

  "No less than my relief at finding you, I imagine. You can blame your last husband for that one."

  "My last husband?"

  "It was Jeremy's spirit who carried your souls through time after his father pulled them from your bodies. Without working in close concert, they could never have done it. When you first awoke in the Westfield mansion in 1883, who was holding you?"

  Arlene smiled warmly. "Jeremy. I've often wondered who the spirit was that assisted Grandfather Westfield. It makes sense that it was Jeremy. He knew I had come from the future, and without his participation in the transfer, we might never have met and married. I would love to see him."

  "I can direct you to him on Earth, but you wouldn't recognize him in his present form. Nor would he have any memory of you or your past lives together if you revealed yourself to him."

  "I suppose it would be better to wait until we can be together here."

  "Does that mean your days of returning to Earth are about over?"

  "Perhaps."

  "What about your other husbands?"

  "Other husbands?"

  "You don't think you could live hundreds of other lives without having married, do you?"

  "I suppose not. Um, how many are there?"

  Aleela smiled mischievously. "I think it would be better if you discovered that for yourself."

  "But how can I? I don't have your memories."

  "You will again have the memories of every marriage, every husband, and every family member when your soul returns at the end of your current corporeal existence."

  "If my other bodies were as fertile as Amelia, I'll probably need my own sports stadium for a family reunion."

  "My sister, were it not for the fact that space here is unlimited, you would need your own planet."

  Arlene giggled and was quickly joined by Aleela.

  "I feel in the mood for a cup of tea, Aleela. Is that possible?"

  Aleela waved her arms and they were instantly in Arlene's study— or at least what appeared to be her study. A steaming pot of tea sat on the coffee table, accompanied by a small decanter containing milk, a jar of honey, and two teacups. Arlene took her customary seat on the sofa and poured two cups of tea while looking out at the magnificent gardens in the rear yard. When both women had added milk and honey, they sat back to relax and talk further.

  "This really is heaven," Arlene said after taking a sip from her cup, "but not what I anticipated. I guess I expected billowing clouds or something. That's the way they always seem to portray it on television or in the movies."

  "We can have billowing clouds, if that would make you happier. We can even enjoy our tea while we sail through space riding on the tail of a comet, if you like."

  Arlene giggled and said, "This is fine, thank you. Have you never wished to have a family of your own, Aleela?"

  "I have an enormous family. I haven't personally experienced childbirth, but I've been there through all of your numerous deliveries, sister. Your progeny seem almost like my own children. I always greet them when they finally arrive here and help them get oriented, and I continue to visit them when I have a chance. They all call me Auntie Aleela, and that has been enough. Since the day I was killed, I've never wanted to be mortal again. You were always the adventurous one— never able to sit still, always wondering what was going on over the next hill. Each time you've come home you've sought out family and friends, but once you've visited everyone, you start thinking about Earth. And before I know it, you've been reborn and I have to wait fifteen years before I can speak to you again. Except for that one time."

  "What time?"

  "You were born into the French Aristocracy and were just eight years old when your family was arrested and sent to Le Guillotine. Your family wasn't that politically significant or particularly evil; they were just conveniently there for a peasantry gone crazy with bloodlust. After killing your parents and siblings, they strapped you down on a bloody table and slid it beneath the blade. Your head fell into a basket that already held that of an older brother." Aleela drew a deep breath, then released it. "And you wonder why I don't want to be mortal again. It's said that those taken to the Underworld must constantly relive the worst times of their lives. I picture Robespierre being dragged to the Guillotine over and over, and reliving the terror of the hours when he himself was denounced and finally beheaded, or the eternal agony felt by all suicide bombers as they forever relive the split second they detonated their bombs and their bodies were ripped apart."

  "I can't speak for my other lives since I presently don't recall them, but I can say that my last eighty-seven years have been wonderful. It's true that I experienced great sadness when loved ones died— even knowing I would see them again one day— but I wouldn't trade those years for anything."

  "I've been content to accompany you on your journeys, sharing your times of happiness and supporting you through the times of sadness."

  "You said this is the first time I'v
e managed to cross over while my mortal body still lives?"

  "Yes. It's no easy feat. Since time immemorial, only a handful of souls have accomplished the deed, although a great many mortals have falsely claimed to have done it in order to impress their friends and acquaintances."

  "I wish I knew how I accomplished it, so I might do it again."

  "What were you thinking when you fought with Kamet?"

  "I— was thinking of my friends, and how I had to stop Kamet before he could harm them. And I was thinking about my own mortality. I knew I might die, and I knew my family would grieve, but the prospect didn't bother me as much as it should because I thought I would be with Jeremy again. I guess perhaps I wanted to be with Jeremy even more than I wanted to survive, although I would never take my own life. As the struggle with Kamet ended, I believed I was dying and thought only of ascending to the immortal world."

  "That's how you did it. You wanted to come here, and you focused with such intensity that you were able to make the crossing. For a very long time you have been powerful enough to do it whenever you wished. You only needed to concentrate properly, and it would happen. A warning though— the trip will drain your Earth-bound body just as a spirit who answers your summons is drained while visiting there. Being mortal allows you to recover faster, but for perhaps a full day after you return, you will need to sleep."

  "You talked of my being very powerful. Is that why Kamet never attempted to kill me before the night we gathered to send him back to the Underworld?"

  "Yes. He knew you were far too powerful for him to kill easily and without risk. He tried to convince you to run away so he wouldn't have to fight you. But you were too stubborn, as always."

  Arlene smiled. "I guess that's my worst trait."

  "Or your best, sister."

  "Where is my mortal body now?"

  "It stands where you left it."

  "Stands?"

  "It will fall, as time there permits. On Earth, time is linear, but as I've told you, time has no relevance here. What has always seemed like an eternity to you as a mortal would not have passed in the time it takes your mortal body to blink its eyes."

  "You're saying that every second here seems like an eternity?"

  Aleela laughed lightly. "Can an existence of bliss, delight, and peace seem like eternity, or does it pass with such rapidity that you wonder if it might one day end?"

  "I'm sorry. I guess I didn't phrase that properly. I didn't mean to imply that existence here is tedious."

  "But perhaps you feel that way. Maybe that's why you continue to return to the mortal world again and again. Perhaps others feel that way also, at first. It might be why so many return to mortal existence at least once. But by their second death, most accept that what we have here is far better than anything they could possibly find among the mortals."

  "Perhaps. Tell me, Aleela, was I ever as happy in any of my marriages as I was with Jeremy?"

  "At first you were. But as time progressed, that changed. With some you grew despondent, and with others you were merely contented. Happiness persisted until the end with but a very few, and never to the extent I sensed you had with Jeremy."

  "Throughout our years together, my love for Jeremy never diminished. If it's possible, I loved him even more during our final years together."

  "Perhaps that's what drove him to return to the mortal world."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Perhaps even our existence here couldn't compete with the bliss he enjoyed in a lifetime with you. He might have returned in the belief that he could only experience such happiness as a mortal. I doubt he'll find it again. So very few do."

  Arlene reached up and touched her cheek below her right eye. Pulling her hand away she looked at her finger. It was wet.

  "Can souls cry?" Arlene asked.

  "Only a soul can cry, sister. Without a soul, a mortal body would never shed tears of grief or happiness. The body you see and sense here is merely an apparition— but it reflects what you're feeling. I have wept with you many times, my sister, when you've experienced heartbreak as a mortal. When we cross over, we bring all the love we felt as mortals, and we feel unrestrained joy at being reunited with all those we've loved when we meet again. How can being mortal possibly compete with that?"

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  It seemed like weeks had passed when Arlene finally said, "I think it's time I returned to Earth, sister."

  "So soon?"

  "I've enjoyed every moment I've shared with you and the many others I've known as a mortal during my two lives. I hope to come again, but there are issues I must attend to in the mortal world."

  "Oh, very well," Aleela said, unable to completely hide the disappointment in her voice.

  "One thing we haven't discussed is the situation in Lake Georgina. I suppose I've been avoiding it."

  "Order will be restored."

  "Kamet is really gone and will never return?"

  "You were successful in your efforts to send him back to the Underworld. In the same instant you were traveling here, he was being dragged down to resume his previous place there. But I cannot promise he will never return to the mortal world. We shall just have to hope he is never freed again."

  "Amen."

  "There are two souls who have requested to see you before you leave," Aleela said.

  "Who?"

  Aleela waved her arms, and they were instantly standing in the field where Arlene had fought Kamet. It was daytime, and the field was empty except for Aleela and two other women.

  "Madam Elana?" Arlene said to the first. "You're here? Your hair!"

  Madam Elana smiled and nodded. "Brown was my true color. It turned white during my first contact with Kamet so many years ago. Perhaps he did it as a warning or to show me his power."

  "You've made the transition to the immortal world as I have?"

  "Not exactly. When Kamet took over my body, my consciousness was pushed aside. But, unlike his other victims, I remained aware of what was going on. Perhaps it was because he was so focused on you. He underestimated you. He knew you were very powerful, but you turned out to be far more powerful than he first thought when he raced up the hill. At one point he was supremely confident he would defeat you, but then Simona entered your body and gave you all her strength and her ethereal connection. When he realized he couldn't beat the two of you and would eventually be defeated, he tried to absorb my mortal existence. Although he would lose his demonic powers and not be able to leave my body while it lived, he believed it would at least allow him to remain on Earth and continue his killing. I knew I had to do something that robbed him of a place to hide. I could sense he was already too weak to jump to Gisela or Oculara, so while I still had some control, I managed to stop my heart. With the death of my mortal body, both our spirits were expelled. He was dragged down to the Underworld, and I was left to wander in the field, only able to look on as a spectator while matters were sorted out."

  "And Simona," Arlene said to the other soul, "you've crossed over at last."

  "My reasons for remaining on Earth have been resolved. Kamet is banished and my daughter will be well cared for. From the immortal world, I can stretch out and function as her spirit guide as her powers develop. She is of an age to understand now."

  "Thank you for lending me your strength," Arlene said. "I was afraid for a time that Kamet would win. But before we go any further, please start at the beginning and tell me everything that happened on the knoll."

  After the banishment of Kamet had been discussed to everyone's satisfaction, Arlene said to Simona, "Can you tell me now in whose body Kamet resided when you were killed?"

  Simona hesitated, then said, "I know you'll never reveal this to the authorities. It was the body of my wonderful friend, Gisela. But I certainly don't blame her or any of the coven. As Madam Elana has said, my mortal body might have been safe if I hadn't panicked and run away."

  "And Gisela knows she was the instrument of K
amet in your death?"

  "She does, but she knows in her heart that she would never have hurt me if she had been aware of what was happening. Rather than dwelling in remorse over what she couldn't control, she has devoted herself to looking after Oculara."

  "I assume Gisela will be her legal guardian now?"

  "I have left such a request in my will," Madam Elana said. "Half of my estate will be held in trust for her until she reaches twenty-one. The other half goes to Gisela. They will be partners in the shop. I'd appreciate it if you would see that my wishes are honored should anyone seek to contest my will."

  "I'll do whatever is necessary," Arlene said.

  "Thank you, Madam Arlene. Thank you for everything you've done to help me correct the problems I caused."

  "Yes, thank you," Simona said. "Thank you for everything. I'm sorry for the grief I caused you when I plagued your sleep with my nightmare."

  "I'm delighted I was able to help return Kamet to where he belonged. I only hope I don't experience problems returning to where I belong."

  "I will assist you, sister," Aleela said. "Close your eyes, concentrate on your existence in the mortal world and that you wish to return there."

  "That's all?"

  "Yes, that's all you have to do."

  "Can I return here again?"

  "To return here before your mortal death, simply ensure your body cannot be damaged in a fall when you leave it, then close your eyes and focus on thoughts of me."

  "What if someone happens upon my body while I'm here? What will they think?"

  "When you later return to the mortal world, less time than it takes to blink your eyes will have passed, but you may be unable to prevent your body from falling because you'll be so weak."

  "It sounds so simple. Madam Elana had said she could introduce me to someone who could teach me to cross over. I expected it to be complicated."

  "That was before you came here for the first time," Madam Elana said. "You had no point of reference for the crossing. Now that you've made the crossing once, you can easily come again. But remember that your mortal body will always be exhausted when you return to it, and you must allow time for it to recover upon your return."