by CJ England
Patrick rose, his handsome face grim. He motioned at the Ethereals that moved around the room in unceasing motions. “They have nowhere else to go. Someone or something has shut The Gates of Life."
Danolas and Gallegar went very still.
Kira searched their minds, but their shock was such they had blocked out all conscious thought.
"Who could have done such a thing?” Danolas stood upright, dismay filling his face. His sapphire eyes shone with some unreadable emotion.
"What are the Gates of Life?” Lucas couldn't read Gallegar and Danolas either. He figured it must be another special magical thing, since he had never heard of them.
"They are the gates to the other world,” Gallegar said quietly, his voice very thoughtful. “The gates to Heaven and to Hell."
Kira looked up at Patrick. “Someone has closed the gates where people go through to heaven or hell?"
"Not people,” he corrected. “Spirits. My kind.” His brown eyes glistened with feeling. “When a human dies, their body sloughs away and only their essence, their spirit, is left. Some of my people move immediately through the gates to the next life, others remain here for a time to complete something they started in their human existence."
"Who chooses who goes and where they go?” Lucas asked curiously.
"Whatever power made the gates does the choosing. I believe it is God. He makes the choice as to who goes through the gate of Hell or the one to Heaven. Most Ethereals know as soon as they die if they are to go or to stay for a while."
"What about you?” Kira asked softly. “You stayed."
"I was murdered in my old life.” Patrick's voice was steady, but there was a faraway look in his eyes. “He was never caught and punished, but died in a car accident a week after my own death. He went straight through the gate."
Patrick's satisfied expression and tone gave no doubt which gate he meant. “Because I never received justice in my old life, I look for justice here now."
"How long have the gates been closed?” Gallegar looked around the room at the sorrowful spirits.
Patrick closed his eyes as if in pain. “Almost ten years. Ten years we have filled the city with Ethereal dead. Nothing we have done has changed anything. Sebastian even went to a local wizard for help."
He threw a glance at Danolas, who asked, “What happened?"
"He never returned.” Patrick's voice was stark. “I tried to find him, but the wizard wouldn't admit to even seeing him. He just disappeared.” He shuddered, as he remembered the cold feeling of nothingness the death words inspired. “I took over after that. I even tried to ship people to other cities to use their gates, but the gates rejected them. We can only leave through the gates of the city in which we died."
"I must help your people, Patrick. I know the Power has sent me to right the wrong that has been done. She looked at Gallegar, Danolas and Lucas. “We must help them. The agony in their hearts can not be ignored."
"We will help them, A Ghra ... but we must find out exactly what happened first. We may be tampering with powers as strong as our own."
Danolas nodded. “A little research will be necessary. Your safety is our prime consideration."
"Yes,” Patrick agreed suddenly. “You must be kept safe. I have seen y'all's powers, and know in my soul you are the ones to fix the gates. I will do whatever I can to help you."
Kira offered her hand to him, and he helped her out of Lucas’ lap. With a disgruntled look, Lucas rose also.
"The best way you can help is to join with me. Become part of our circle. Together we can help your people, and prepare for the storm that is coming.” She moved to him, and unselfconsciously, put her arms around him.
Startled, Patrick just stood there for a moment before cautiously returning the embrace.
"Please, Patrick.” She spoke softly, looking up at him. “We need you and your people. Who else is better informed in the supernatural world? Who else has a plethora of spies we can use in the coming days? You are as necessary to this mission as we are. Please say you will join with me."
Patrick stared down into her large eyes. He could see she meant everything she was saying to him. He felt an invisible burden lift from his shoulders. He wasn't going to have to do everything himself. He was so damn tired of being the only one who cared. Maybe having a little back-up wouldn't be a bad idea.
He looked at the three men. A vampire, whose eyes softened like a lover's whenever he looked at Kira. A witch, who treated her like a sister, yet touched her like a sweetheart. A shapeshifter, who acted so possessive of the woman, that Patrick was afraid to even smile at her. Somehow they were blending together into a unit, a family. A very strange family, but there it was.
Patrick smiled. Adding a shade to the mix might be just right. He looked at the three other men. He wasn't sure they were too happy about this, but he had been chosen ... right? He looked down at Kira.
"Sugar, you're just what the doctor ordered. I'd be pleased to join with you."
Chapter 10
Not long after his announcement, he led Kira into a chamber on the second floor. It had been refurbished with period furniture, and was the most comfortable place in the old mansion. Because it was one of the places the public was shown, the dust was kept down to a minimum.
Patrick grinned as he thought of Gallegar's parting shot. Gallegar had been grim as he watched Kira lead Patrick through the ballroom door. The other two men had stood next to him, their faces impassive, but their body language wishing him straight to hell.
"Ethereal...” Gallegar's stern voice had stopped him in his tracks. “When you are done with ... our Lady...” The emphasis was on the pronoun. “We will speak about removing your people from all of our domains. There is the question of trust between us.” The vampire raised an eyebrow to make his point.
Patrick grinned again. If this joining thing went as planned, he wouldn't need spirits in their places. He would know what was going on just by a thought.
Kira walked slowly around the room taking it all in. “This is really quite lovely, Patrick."
Patrick stepped over to the fireplace and deliberately tilted a picture that hung above it. He saw Kira's questioning look, and shrugged, embarrassed.
"The people from the city bring tours up here. I try to move something out of place now and again. Makes them happy. Keeps the tourists coming back."
Kira giggled. “It must be fun to watch them."
"Yeah, I've put together a group in charge of making spooky things happen during a tour. Coldness in a room. Touching someone's arm. Breathing down someone's neck. That sort of thing.” He chuckled. “It does have its moments."
"And it provides money to keep a roof above your heads."
Patrick frowned. “Such as it is."
Kira walked over to him. “Maybe we can work on getting your house fixed up a little too."
"What are ya talking about?"
"I am not exactly sure. But I would like to make sure this beautiful old mansion stays in one piece."
"It will take money to do that, sugar. Unfortunately, I am fresh out!"
"You are not alone any longer, Patrick. That is why we are here, standing in this room. We are to join."
Patrick moved away from her, suddenly nervous. He felt like a guy on his first date with the most popular girl in school. “So, how do we do this joining?"
Kira smiled at him. “Each joining was different. What I felt with one was completely different than the others. So will it be with you. The joining chooses the how ... and the why."
Patrick watched as she walked toward him, her hands held up in front of her. He met them with his own, palm to palm. His skin tingled. It was still a rush, touching real flesh again after all these years.
"Join with me, Patrick. Do not be afraid. Sense all that I am, all that I will be. Become a part of me now."
Patrick closed his eyes. He felt almost sleepy. His fingers intertwined carefully with Kira's. Slowly he relaxed.
; He started to speak, but was cut off by the rush of pictures that suddenly flowed through his head. He saw himself as a baby, his father rocking him in his arms. He saw his mother as she helped him blow out the candles on his fourth birthday cake. He watched himself wreck the go-cart he had struggled to build when he was twelve. Time moved inexorably ahead, and he saw himself at his high school prom and when he graduated from college.
His heart broke again, as he watched himself weep over the woman he had lost in a freak riding accident before he could make her his wife. He then saw himself on that fateful night, when he heard the sound of the bullet and felt the sharp pain rip through his chest. The cold of death as it enveloped his body. The silence of the grave as he was buried.
He heard a gasp and realized Kira was sharing his thoughts with him.
Kira watched the pictures change, as Patrick rapidly lived again through the first years of being a spirit. She sobbed. So much pain, so much loss, it was overwhelming. Again and again he had wondered ... why did it have to be him?
Learning the tricks of his new existence and the politics of getting along with other shades. Jumping ahead through fifteen years of ghostly life, to when he took over the reins of leadership with the disappearance of the old Ethereal Leader, Sebastian.
She shared his struggle as he fought to build the Ethereals back into a cohesive people. The emotions pummeled through him. She felt his frustration, his anger and his sorrow as he tried to work with his people as their new leader.
Patrick felt terribly exposed. He knew Kira had seen everything that had flashed through his mind. No private thought or feeling had gone unnoticed. He felt naked before her. Her cries mingled with his own.
"Dear, Patrick...” Her words were like a gentle kiss. “You have shared yourself with me. Come now, see all of my uncertainties."
He watched as a blue light formed in his mind. A shape came into view. It was his turn to gasp as he recognized Kira lying naked and still on a bare table. He realized he was watching her birth ... her awakening. Her memories flowed over him. From her first awareness, the meeting of her creator, to her vision of the mission she had been sent on.
He relived her first meeting with Gallegar, and while the details of the joining were shielded, he could feel the deep love they shared. He saw her meeting with Elijah and felt her pain at his refusal to allow Lucas to join with her. The agony of incompleteness. He watched as her time with Danolas gave her strength and helped her go on.
Patrick jerked in surprise when he saw Lucas and Kira later come together in joining. That brave son-of-a-bitch. The shapeshifter had ignored orders and done it anyway.
He could feel her joy at it, and the deep fear he would be discovered and punished. He sensed the need for secrecy. Without thinking, he promised never to speak of it. Her timeline flowed into his own as pictures of their first meeting came through. The last was of them standing in this room, their hands pressed together.
Patrick felt the power that lived within his essence stir. Kira's power was summoning it, calling it gently. The two powers came together.
Kira laughed softly. The powers joined together not with a bang, but with a sigh. Deep contentment came over the both of them.
Patrick's soul filled with the hope that things would turn out all right. Kira was given the belief if she just had faith in herself and her joined ones, her mission would succeed. They both had tears running down their faces when they opened their eyes.
"One last thing,” Kira whispered as she unlaced her fingers and cupped one hand around the back of Patrick's neck.
Patrick knew immediately what was happening and listening quietly, heard the voice that told him to touch the copper bracelet he wore to Kira's right wrist. He felt her pulse quicken beneath his fingers.
"Hope can make your burden light,” she murmured. “That is why I brand the back of your shoulders."
"Faith is what keeps you going. Like the pulse of life beneath my band."
"Join with me, dearest Patrick. Enter the circle."
"I give you hope. You give me faith. Together these virtues will triumph."
Patrick felt the power between them grow stronger. He repeated the magical words back to her.
"You give me hope. I give you faith. Together these virtues will triumph."
In a shattering burst, the power sang through them. Patrick shouted in surprise. He hadn't expected pain. Ethereals rarely felt it.
Kira sobbed out a choked moan. The scent of their seared flesh filled the room. They dropped together to their knees and he cradled her to his chest, his teeth gritted against the pain on his neck.
"Just ... a ... second...” Kira managed. She took a deep breath. “Listen closely to my words, so you too may use them.” She spoke the healing spell.
He was astonished when the pain vanished, stretching his neck carefully. He sensed Kira had branded him with the letter “K.” He smoothed his hand over the burn on her wrist. It looked like a star, the same design as on his bracelet.
"I hope I do this right.” Patrick repeated the spell, watching her anxiously. Her sigh of relief was his answer.
"Danolas taught us the spell. Gallegar's and my brands ached for hours until I joined with him. He healed us.” Kira rested against him.
He moved, so they were sitting more comfortably.
"And so now you can heal everyone?"
She shook her head. “No, we can heal. You received part of Danolas’ magick when you joined with me. You will get more when the link is complete."
Patrick raised his eyebrows. “I don't think the shapeshifter is looking forward to that."
Kira gave a little giggle. “Lucas was given his brand in an ... interesting spot. He is embarrassed.” She sent a picture to him, and Patrick broke into a huge grin. “We had to make sure it was in a place not readily seen."
He took her hands in his, his face serious. “I owe you an apology, sugar. You were right, now we're joined, I can feel you were honest with me."
She pressed a kiss to his whiskered cheek. “Trusting in words is difficult, but seeing the truth of the heart, that makes one sure."
Patrick leaned back, looking down at her curiously. “And just what is in your heart, sugar?” Kira's face showed her confusion.
"I am just a good ol’ boy from Louisiana, but I knew coming into this thing, you have a pretty strange relationship with those guys."
"I love them ... as I love you."
"An hour ago I didn't think I'd be saying this...” Patrick's smile was sheepish. “But I love you too.” He touched her lightly on the cheek. “Somehow though, I am pretty sure my feelings for you are in a different ballpark than theirs."
She frowned, uncomfortable with the conversation. “I love you in a special way ... like a..."
"Maybe like a friend,” he finished for her, his face knowing.
She thought about that for a while. Her feelings for Patrick did not have the depth she felt with Gallegar, or the security she knew with Lucas. Or the teasing comfort as she did with Danolas. But she did feel an intimacy with him, like a close friend, one she could share secrets with.
He watched the emotions sweep across her face. A question that had occurred to him earlier came to his mind. “Do you love the vampire?"
Kira felt the heat as her cheeks flushed. “Yes, he is my first. My soul and his are one."
"More than the others?"
"Each is different.” Her tone was stubborn.
"Look, sugar, I am just trying to understand where I fit in here. Those boys didn't want me anywhere near you. If they had had their choice, I would have been cheerfully tossed out the window."
"When you link with them, you will understand better."
Patrick shook his head at her. “I understand a lot now. At least joining with you showed me I wasn't crazy. I thought the shapeshifter was a little too intense for a bystander. Y'all may want to work on his presentation."
"You can mention it to him.” She smiled in amusement. �
�As far as my feelings ... I love each of you. It is part of being joined. Each love is different and necessary. Things are more intense between Gallegar and I because he was the first I loved and I was sent to be with him."
"And Lucas?"
Kira's eyes showed her pain. “I do love him, but...” She got up from where they had been sitting.
"I do not know. I feel something for Lucas...” The thought trailed off into a sigh.
He rose also and gave her a hug. “Well, mine is just a friendly type love. I think you got enough of the other kind hanging ‘round you!"
She hugged him back. “I am going to like having you around, dearest Patrick. You make me smile."
"Well, maybe this will make you smile even more."
"What?"
"When we joined, I saw you were given something by each of the others. Kind of a remembrance of what was done."
She nodded. “Yes, Gallegar gave me this ring.” She showed off the silver band. “Danolas gave me this necklace.” She lifted her chin so the gem was easily seen.
Patrick touched it gently. “It looks like living crystal."
"It is."
"And Lucas?"
Kira pulled back her sleeve to reveal the intricately woven armband. “This was a part of him, when he first changed."
"Interesting. Makes mine pale in comparison."
She frowned at him. “Whatever you give to me will be special."
He grinned. “These are special all right.” He closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly two bright lights appeared next to him. They flickered as they moved around his head.
"What are they?” Her eyes widened with amazement.
"Will-o-wisps. They are special lights only a few can see, and even fewer control. I give them to you to wear.” He pointed at Kira and the two lights dove toward her, each attaching to an ear lobe.
She squealed as she felt the warmth of the twinkling lights.
He caught her chin in his hand and looked them both over. “Very nice."
She rushed to the mirror on the wall. “They glow like fireflies!"