“Those are nice, aren’t they?” The sales clerk smiled from behind the counter. “Are you looking for anything in particular?”
I smiled and shook my head. “I’m just looking.”
“Go right ahead,” she said. “Let me know if you need anything.”
The shop was filled with stones from all over the world: Brazil, India, Africa, China. There was even obsidian from Oregon. Small cards sat on display for each one, explaining the name of the stone and its purpose. Raising vibrations, centering, grounding chakras, healing. In a corner, next to a table displaying a couple dozen compartments of stones, sat the biggest stone I’ve ever seen. An amethyst, the card said, a stone of healing.
“Can you explain something to me?” I turned and asked the clerk.
She glanced up from the box she had placed on the counter. “Of course. What would you like to know?”
“How can a stone do anything that these cards say they do?”
“Well,” she said, rounding the counter to stand in front of the huge amethyst. Her fingertips gently grazed the outer surface, then down the smooth inside of the gigantic stone. “It is the belief of many native tribes, ancient civilizations, as well as modern thought, that the earth is a living, breathing entity. The rocks and mountains are her bones. The lakes, rivers, and oceans are her blood. Just as a mother carries a child in her womb and she passes on characteristics to the child, the earth passes on her characteristics to the stones and crystals that she holds in her womb. And since everything has energy, they receive theirs literally from ‘mother earth.’ Stones and crystals are like batteries that store this energy. Does that make sense?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it does.”
She smiled and reached to the containers of stones on display behind me and picked out two different types. She held one in each hand, opening and closing her fingers over them as if feeling the texture and weight.
“Since different parts of the earth have different energy, these stones get their energy from their birth place, just like everyone has different energies from our own individual families. Some crystals are found in lakes and rivers, so their energies may be different than the ones from within the ground. The blue lace agate, for example,” she held up a pale blue stone, about the size of the top of my thumb, “was formed in a more calming environment and was created slowly. It had time to gather various energies around it.” She put it in my palm and closed my fingers around it. “This is a stone of communication and can help bring on stronger intuition.
“Now obsidian,” she held her palm flat, showing me a large marble-size black stone, “comes from volcanoes and is glass. It needed strength to come from the center of the earth. It was formed when the lava came in contact with water, which forced it to cool quickly and provided the shiny glassy texture. Since it needed strength for it to form in the first place, it radiates strength and protection for others.”
“Okay, I think I understand what you’re saying, but how does anyone know what these are vibrating? I mean, you say this is for calming, and that one,” I said pointing to the obsidian, “is for protection. How can anyone prove that?”
The ring of the phone—so quiet and so appropriate for the shop—stole her answer from me.
She smiled and held up her finger. “Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.” Placing the obsidian back in its box, she skirted around the table toward the front counter to answer the phone.
I turned to the other stones on the table and quickly glanced at the cards. Citrine dissipates and transmutes energy. Bloodstone centers and grounds energy of the heart. Black tourmaline can be used to repel and protect against negativity. A lot of those stones protected. Which would be the best one to protect me from the soul? Which one would protect Seth?
The woman finished her call and came back to where I stood.
“I apologize for the interruption. As for your question as to how we know which stones vibrate what...”
I nodded for her to go ahead.
“Before science, during the time of ancient civilizations, our minds were wide open to the spiritual aspects of the world around us. We used more of our brains,” she tapped her forehead, “especially the frontal lobe, when we knew less about the world around us. In our ignorance, we were more open to the unknown. In ancient times, the spiritual leaders would learn this knowledge through instinct and being aware of their spiritual guidance from the celestial. Then that knowledge was taught to the people, and those having the same instinct and openness would preserve it and pass it on to the next generation.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, we’re losing that connection. Science and the turning away from instinct and toward empirical facts have made us rely less on our natural ability to sense things and more on technology.”
“Wow,” I sighed. “That’s a lot to take in.” I supposed this was like any other piece of knowledge passed down through the centuries—in this case it was like eons. But I had nothing else to go on, so I had no choice but to trust what she was saying.
I looked around at the choices of crystals and stones lining the walls and tables. “Okay then. I need a stone for protection against dark souls. Will this work?” I pointed to the box holding the tourmaline.
She nodded and waited until I picked one up and tried to give it to her.
“Does that one feel right to you?” she asked, putting the other stones away.
I shrugged and then nodded, still holding the stone. I had no clue.
“Okay,” she said. “Now you can carry it with you loose,” she said, “or you can make it into a necklace. We have small wire casings you can use to make your own.”
Awesome. Then I’d have one like Alyx. “Do you know anything about… soul attachments by any chance?”
“Here, I’ll take that for you.” She took the wand-like stone from my hand and side stepped me on her way to the cash register. “Soul attachments, huh? I know a little bit about them. My ex had one.”
“For real?” I followed her to the counter. “Did it hurt him? How’d you get rid of it?”
She smiled. “I didn’t, and as far as I know, he still has it.”
My hope deflated like a slashed tire. I thought for sure she’d have an answer to help Seth.
She reached under the counter and pulled up a small plastic bag with a silver wire casing and chain for my stone. “I just couldn’t be around him any more and he wasn’t willing to give it up. That’s why I ended up leaving.”
I handed over some money as she rang up the sale. That was so not what I wanted to hear. I didn’t want to leave Seth. I couldn’t leave him.
“But,” she said, wrapping the stone and the casing in a small piece of tissue paper. “I lived with it for a long time.”
“How did you know for sure he had one?”
She shrugged. “I just did. I felt it. Sometimes he wouldn’t act like himself, sometimes he would just look different, you know?” She looked at me, but didn’t wait for an answer. “What got us through so many years, I think, is that I loved him so much. Love is light. And light, given with the right intent, will always chase away the dark.” She carefully folded the top of the small paper bag closed and handed it to me. “And in the meantime, this will help.”
She breathes into our mind. She will not go away. In another time, another place, if I did not have to kill her, I would have loved her, too.
~ Maksim
Chapter 26
I’d been expecting Alyx’s house to be a decrepit hovel with a cauldron and skulls in the yard, and maybe a mongrel chewing on a human bone.
I certainly hadn’t expected this! Looking down at the address I had scribbled on a piece of paper, I double-checked the house number. It was the right one.
Taking a deep breath, I pressed on the tourmaline that hung from a chain around my neck, waiting for a sense of protection it was supposed to offer. Right now, I’d take anything. As I pushed open my car door, I knew full well that I’d be stepping into a world I’d more than likely be
happier not knowing existed.
The beautifully carved front door of the house opened silently and Alyx stepped under the archway, leaning against the door frame, crossing her arms over her chest.
Her home was a sprawling, perfectly-tended, two-story brick mansion set back from the street, with a three-car garage jutting from one side of the house and a row of manicured shrubs alongside the other, secluding the property from the other mansions on the street.
“My mother is a trust-fund baby,” Alyx said.
My face heated. “I didn’t think… I mean, I wasn’t thinking…”
“Don’t worry about it.” Her expression was blank. “I’m sure it’s a surprise to you. It is to everyone.”
“It’s a beautiful house,” I said, tipping my head back to look at the windows of the second level.
“Yeah, thanks.” Alyx raised her hand in a half-hearted wave to a passing car before looking back at me. “So, are you coming in or what?”
I adjusted my backpack on my shoulder and nodded. She moved aside, waving me in. For a moment I stared at the most unusual furnishings I had ever seen. Instead of the rustic, casual décor I was used to, the house was decorated in varying shades of gray and black with shocks of color—red, yellow, orange—in the pillows, lamps, and rugs. The effect was ultra-modern and really… interesting. Not exactly relaxing, though.
“This way,” Alyx said, closing the front door behind us.
My tennis shoes were quiet against the stone floor that ran through the lower level of the house.
“Are your parents here?”
“Not until tonight,” she said over her shoulder. “They’re up in Bonners Ferry teaching a class on Reiki.” Alyx pushed open the door of her bedroom and scooped up a pair of black pants on the floor, tossing them into the closet.
A poster bed filled the room, dwarfing the small desk next to it. A small chair sat in the corner, half hidden under the mostly black clothes that were thrown over it. A sliding glass door on one wall led out to a spacious balcony overlooking the lake. Shelves lined another wall, holding a crystal ball, pendants, stones, and other objects I had never seen before.
I slipped my backpack off my shoulder and let it drop to the pale silver carpet as I crossed the room to her book shelves. Tipping my head to the side, I read the titles. There were mostly books on chakras,—and “magick,” whatever that was—some zombie stories, and a few trashy romance novels. I ran my finger along the spine of the one titled Magick Murders and stopped. There was more to Alyx than I’d thought. Taking a deep breath, I turned to face her.
“Alyx, I need your help.”
“Won’t work.”
“What won’t work?” I asked.
Alyx pointed to my necklace. “That.”
My hand flew up and grasped the stone. “Why not? Aren’t these supposed to give protection?”
She let out a short laugh. “Supposed to. But not in this case. For what we’re dealing with, that stone is just something pretty to look at. Believe me,” she said, rolling her eyes, “I know.”
What little confidence I’d had dissolved. “So what are we dealing with? How bad is it?”
“This isn’t some poltergeist that needs to be exorcised, Dani. Like I told you, it’s a living, breathing energy, trying to be the top dog.”
“Yeah, I know. I can see it. And Seth told me that it wants to hurt me.”
Her brows rose. “He told you that? When?”
“Today. After school. He said it was getting harder to control it.” I pressed my fingers to my eyes. “Then all of a sudden his eyes turned black, and I couldn’t see Seth anymore. It was like he vanished. I mean, his body was there, but Seth definitely wasn’t.”
“I have to give your boyfriend credit,” Alyx said thoughtfully. “He’s putting up a good fight. It can’t be easy.” She wandered across the room. “When did you first notice a change in him?” Alyx pulled a book from her shelf and flipped through the pages.
“I don’t know, two or three weeks ago, maybe.” I sank down onto the floor and leaned up against the bed, pressing my hands over my face. “I don’t know how long Seth has known about this, and I don’t think he’d told anyone until now.” I groaned. “It makes me sick to think he’s been dealing with this all by himself.” I uncovered my face and looked at Alyx. “What if Seth somehow could keep control,” I said slowly. “If the other soul refuses to leave, can the two co-exist?”
“Sure, it’s possible,” Alyx said, returning the book to its place. She turned and leaned against the bookshelf. “But it would be crowded—like too many rats in a cage. It would be survival of the fittest, one being the dominant one. Or it could be like—did you ever see the movie Sybil?”
I shook my head. I had heard about it, but… no. Not my style.
“That’s an extreme example, and that particular case has been completely discredited. But, it’s a good example of what can happen to someone who really does have a soul attachment. Or attachments. It could look like schizophrenia. Multiple personalities. His lowered vibration will start attracting other lower-vibrating entities. His best hope is to be on psych meds to mellow out the attachments.”
Oh, my God. Seth was strong, I knew, but I wasn’t sure his inner strength was enough to fend off one, let alone a few!
Alyx picked up her messenger bag and took out her notebook. Opening it, she scribbled something down. “What exactly did you say to Seth before the soul took over?”
“Nothing that bad, I don’t think,” I said, shuddering, remembering how his face had become so different, so angry. “I just told him we could fight this together.”
Alyx finished writing and then checked her watch. “I need to ask my parents about this. I’ve heard of an invited soul being aggressive to the host, but never this bad.”
“Ugh,” I grimaced. “You make it sound like it’s a parasite or something.”
“It is. These bad ones, once they are called to a host, tend to hang on, and some take over. The constant battle for control will eventually overwhelm the host.”
“But if Seth had invited this soul, and now he doesn’t want it anymore, why won’t it just go away? I thought it had to be mutual,” I said.
“There is a certain protocol these souls follow, but there are renegades, bad-ass types who don’t think the rules apply to them. Your boyfriend was obviously an easy target. The other soul is gaining strength somehow. What I don’t get is why it wants to hurt you. They are usually so self-serving.” She chewed on her bottom lip and shook her head.
I waited for her to go on.
“It’s almost like the soul has some ulterior motive. This is definitely not a textbook soul attachment.”
There are textbooks on this? I thought.
We dropped back into silence.
“He got a tattoo,” I said, suddenly remembering.
Alyx looked up. “Really? What is it?”
“An Egyptian symbol of power.”
“A Sekhem?” Alyx sat up straighter, her eyes widening, not much, but enough to tell me she knew what I was talking about.
“I don’t know. He didn’t say.”
I doubted she heard me, because it looked like her mind was off processing something somewhere else.
“I have to help him, Alyx. Tell me what I can do.”
“Um…” She shook her head as if to scatter her thoughts away and regain her focus. “Help him, yeah, he needs help.” She picked up a book from her desk and thumbed through the pages, stopping almost at the end. “It says here,” Alyx started, reading from the book in her hand, “that ‘any object blessed through the church or belonging to or associated with goodness and light, can be used to repel evil spirits.’” She nodded. “What Seth needs is an object of yours. Something that’s infused with goodness—your goodness,” Alyx grinned faintly. “For that matter, just being around him might help.”
“But he told me to stay away,” I said. “Remember that thing wants to hurt me.”
“O
f course he said that, or at least the soul said that. Don’t you get it? This love thing the two of you have going on gives your boyfriend strength—the one thing the soul doesn’t want him to have. You,” Alyx gestured the space around me, “your energy, coupled with his, will overcome darkness any day of the week. You’re a threat. The soul probably is using his own threats to keep that extra light out of his eyes so he can do what he intends to do.”
“Well, then me being around him is a good thing, right?”
“It can be, but on the flip side, you could very well be a reason for your boyfriend’s death,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.
“What?” I nearly choked on that.
“It’s a double-edged sword. Sure, he has strength because you love each other, but because of that, your boyfriend will keep fighting. He’ll never let the soul hurt you. That could push your boyfriend over the edge mentally and physically, unless we can find a way to get rid of it.”
“Okay, so let’s do it. How do we get rid of a soul?” I asked.
She either didn’t hear me or wouldn’t answer.
“Alyx?”
Alyx’s voice sounded deflated, with no inflection of tone, no emotion, just like her eyes. “If the soul is determined to stay, if it’s as bad as I’m guessing this one is… there’s only one way. The host has to die.”
~ ~ ~
“I do not understand.” Tears welled in Silura’s eyes, but she refused to let them fall, to show him how much she hurt. “You so willingly took… everything.”
“You so willingly gave… everything,” Maksim countered.
“I turned a blind eye to your infidelities.” Her fingernails bit into the flesh of her palm, drawing blood.
He shrugged. “You were not enough for me.”
Outrage replaced her tears, and she cried out. “I gave you everything! I adored you!”
“You grew old.” He stared at her, his eyes cold.
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