Remember. I can’t see it, Stefan said, so tell me what you feel.
Anger, frustration, pain, mostly frustration though. He wants something from her, and he can’t get it.
Right, Stefan said. Can you figure out what that is?
No, Richard said. He quickly dropped the energy. Jesus, it feels dirty, like I want to get up and have a shower right now.
And you can bet it gives her an icky feeling every single day of her life. It’s probably been there for a fairly long time.
And she wouldn’t have noticed?
Have you noticed that it’s now around your ankle?
Richard stared down and swore. He reached down with both hands, ripping it off, tossing it to the ground.
Rather than tossing it to the ground, Stefan said, wrap it up in white light.
He immediately threw a white blanket on it, tucked it up in his mind, and said, Well, now that I have a blanket with this bloody black energy, what do I do with it?
Don’t give it back to her. You’ve already got that imagery, so send it out the window. Send it back to its owner.
He got out of bed, needing the visual of the window, and going over, opened up the window, and then ordered the energy out the window and back to the owner.
Now what would be an interesting test right now, Stefan said, is to watch where that blanket goes.
He froze. You’re telling me this image and this conversation I’m having with you could lead to the person who put that black energy around her ankle?
Stefan chuckled. Absolutely.
He watched as this figment of his imagination sailed across the city, heading over toward the far north, where the Olympic Coast was. You know how bizarre this is? he asked.
Stefan chuckled. Most of my world is bizarre, he said. I use all kinds of methods to find serial killers and pedophiles, all the sludge of the earth. But more than that, we have people who can use energy to help us.
The criminals also use energy to help them find all this?
Yes, Stefan said. Think about it. If they had the ability to slide under a door, unlock a door, and get into where somebody was sleeping, how would you feel as a cop?
As the women who are likely the targets, very violated, he said. How come we never hear about this?
Because you don’t want to, Stefan said simply. It’s bad enough that I have to deal with it, and I step in when the cops can’t do something. Sometimes I can’t do anything. Sometimes I can’t help at all. Those cases are when I get very frustrated. I put all my time and effort into connecting with a killer or pedophile, and I can’t find him. Those are the cases that drive me nuts. It’s also why I don’t have a 100 percent record. And why some cops don’t believe in me. But, when I do find the criminals, and I do bring them down, it’s a satisfaction that’s hard to explain.
No, not at all, Richard said quietly. Because that’s what I do all the time.
Imagine if you were doing that, Stefan said, but on an energy level as well.
So, can I use any of this in my day-to-day work?
Absolutely, he said. If nothing else, it helps you to understand your suspects and your witnesses.
By looking at the energy on their system?
Absolutely.
Like the gold and the red?
Yes, Stefan said. And often, with battered women, you’ll see a lot of black. Their partners will often have tentacles that go deep into their chakras, and they’re so emotionally frozen and paralyzed by the abuse that they can’t get out of their relationship. It’s only when they’re severed by death that the women are freed.
God, that seems like a jail cell.
Well, isn’t it? Look at that black energy from Cayce’s ankle. The bottom line is, there’s a reason that’s around the ankle. It’s exactly like a ball and chain.
Richard turned to look at Cayce still in bed. She looks more at peace.
That’s the black darkness that you pulled from her brain. Her fears, her thoughts, her worries about her other models.
Right, to be expected. He walked back over, crawled into bed, and said, Now what?
Now, Stefan said with a smile, you get to sleep.
And, just like that, he disappeared from Richard’s mind. With a smile on his face, Richard wrapped an arm around Cayce’s waist, tucked her up closer, listening. Immediately she snuggled backward, until they were spooning from knee to chest, and, with that same smile on his face, he fell asleep.
*
“It wasn’t working. It’s never working.”
“Forget about it,” she said in a firm voice.
He glared at her.
She shook her head. “Stop. This will just drive you crazy.”
“I’m already crazy,” he said.
“I don’t want you to think that your talent is gone,” she said. “I just don’t feel like you’re in the right space.”
“Is that how you view it? As my talent being gone?” He slowly straightened and stared at her in full awareness.
She shook her head immediately. “Of course not. I don’t know that this medium is the right one for you now.” She walked back into the kitchen, put on coffee, and said, “Come on. Let’s have a cup of coffee and sit down and relax.”
He wasn’t sure if she was mollifying him or what, but it was pissing him off. He strode into the kitchen. “Do you believe my talent is gone?” he snapped.
She stared at him, turned her back as she ground up the coffee beans, and said, “As I’ve told you time and time again, no.”
He grabbed her shoulders, spun her around roughly, and pinned her against the counter. “Say it,” he said. “Say it.”
“No,” she said. “I won’t say it. I’m not getting sucked into that.”
“What’s wrong with me?” he asked, sinking down on the nearest kitchen chair. She didn’t say anything, and he wished she would. He wished she
