He held out his ethereal arms, a dazzling light, shining in shades of flame, flowing from his hands. “Fuse with me, Amber.”
14
“Yes!” The word fought to escape from my thoughts, the dangerous word thumping with my heartbeats like a caged bird eager to fly.
How I wanted to fly with Gabe! I couldn’t imagine anything better than the euphoria already soaring through me, and I was curious to know and experience more. Desire thrilled through me. What else would I learn from Gabe? He’d already shown me so much, and to hell with the risks. The promise of power whet my appetite — like tasting only a small bite of the sweetest chocolate in the universe and longing for more.
Yet something held me back. I hesitated, racked with uncertainty. But why? Nothing had changed on the outside … it was deep inside … a whisper from my own heart.
And just like that, I thought of Eli.
I flashed back to our first conversation, at Jessica Bradley’s party, when I was feeling alone and suddenly there he was. Although we’d met briefly in school, that moment at the chocolate buffet would always be our First Meeting. In the week after that he’d shown loyalty and friendship. I loved the way his mouth tilted crookedly when he smiled, his romantic text saying his music was for me, and how he’d traveled hundreds of miles just to give me a small book. He didn’t teach me secrets of the universe, but he had his own kind of power.
“No,” I told Gabe, pulling away.
Gabe’s eyes darkened like storm clouds. “What do you mean,
“I–I just can’t. There’s Eli … my boyfriend … ”
“This has nothing to do with him.”
“Maybe … but it would feel wrong, and I don’t want to hurt him. Besides, Alyce’s mother may need me so I shouldn’t stay any longer.”
“But I could teach you so much more!”
“I know, and I really appreciate it. I’m just ready to leave.”
Then I backed away from him, the heat fading and a chill settling over me. Was I making the right choice? Refusing knowledge that could help Alyce, her mother, and maybe others, too?
Here goes another wrong turn in my misdirectional life, I thought wryly.
Gabe had pulled away too, his energy hard to read. But I understood enough now to concentrate and tap into my energy. If focusing inward had worked to lift me out of a body, then it should work to bring me back. So I visualized happy things like my family and friends. Mostly I thought of Eli, and that seemed to work.
There was no shock of landing this time, only a mild thump.
Blinking, I looked around the semi-dark fish shop. Gabe was beside me but not moving, his expression dazed, then slowly changing. Color rushed back into his face and an electric sizzle cracked the air around him.
He seemed weakened, which made me feel guilty. Had he used up too much energy to help me?
“Are you all right?” I asked softly.
“I’m fine.” He straightened his shoulders and turned away from me to pick up the discarded candy wrapper from the floor. Crumpling it into a ball, he tossed it into the trash.
He said no more as he locked up Wet Pets and led me back to his car. It was late and the road was nearly deserted, swallowing us in darkness. I tried to talk to him a few times, but he ignored me. His expression was a mask, hiding the anger I sensed. I wished he would turn on the radio or say something — or at least look at me.
“Are you angry?” I asked as he turned onto Alyce’s street and parked in the shadows under a tree.
Gabe glanced out the window, then turned to me, frowning. “It’s not anger.”
“Then what?”
“Disappointment. We stopped too soon.” He let out a weary breath. “You didn’t learn how to detoxify and will need my help if you want travel by soul transit again. Unfortunately, there isn’t much time for another lesson. I’ll be gone soon.”
“I’ll be okay,” I told him, touched by his concern for me. He seemed weary, too, which made me feel guilty. “Besides, you don’t have to leave for a few more days.”
“You’ll meet with me again?” he asked eagerly.
“That’s not what I meant—”
“But will you?”
I thought of all the powers he promised and how useful I could be as a Temp Lifer. My self-help books often advised being bold and unafraid in reaching for what you wanted. And what I wanted most was to help my best friend.
So I nodded. “All right.”
“Excellent! We’ll plan for tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” I bit my lip. “That’s so soon … I don’t know … I’ll call you.”
“I’ll be waiting.” His eyes softened, lingering on me.
I knew this wasn’t the face he’d been born into, yet his eyes remained his own, shining with the power of an undercurrent that pulled me closer. I felt a little dizzy and I found myself reluctant to step out of the car, thinking back to the incredible feeling we’d shared while out of body. It had been so freeing, honest, and ethereal. Not like going out with a human guy, but something beautifully spiritual.
As I left the car, I glanced back into his compelling sea eyes and wondered what he’d teach me at our next lesson. I wanted to learn how to heal injured souls like Alyce and travel in soul again. I was so grateful to Gabe for teaching and sharing this with me.
And I wanted to experience it again.
Fusing together?
Maybe.
* * *
Alyce’s mother slept through the night but I hardly slept at all. There was just too much to think about, and now that I knew about Alyce’s lost little sister, many things started to make sense. Like how my GEM kept telling me to look for “the lost.”
So the first thing I did, after making sure Alyce’s mother was safe, was to pull out my GEM and fire off questions.
“Is Alyce’s baby sister dead?”
Although I suspected this answer, sorrow tightened in my chest.
“How did she die?”
“So it was a natural death?” I guessed.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Oh, don’t bother. Just tell me where she’s buried.”
“Well, duh. But where exactly?”
I resisted heaving the GEM against a wall and asked which cemetery. But the GEM wouldn’t give me an answer. The only thing this stupid book was giving me was a headache. I closed the book and tossed it into Monkey Bag.
Then I sorted through the facts I did know. Alyce’s mother had disappeared shortly before Baby Sam was due. She’d had some kind of mental breakdown, and when she returned, no more baby. Somehow the child had
