“I want to feel clean; maybe a shower and some food, then I need to talk to you and Reese. Help me stand, please?”
Relieved to be of some use, she helps Katie rise and assists her into the shower. Fresh clothes appear in the bathroom, and towels.
“I’ll get you some food, and we will talk soon. If you need me, call.” Ariana says hurrying out to find Reese.
Alone, at last, Katie turns on the shower in the all-white bathroom and fills the room with steam. She drops her clothes and steps into the scalding hot water, hoping to burn the memories away. She leans her head on the shower wall and sobs, wishing for her Grandmother. Her mind is trying frantically to make sense of the images she took from his mind, but her soul cannot take the violent acts he committed. She stays that way, sorting images until the water turns cold.
Outside the bathroom, Morgan paces, he feels her pain, hears her tears and stands with his head bowed outside the bathroom door. His large bronze wings droop and he grips the door frame crushing the wood with his massive hands. He fights the urge to rip the door open and hold her. Instead, he seeks solace on the balcony.
Katie towels dry and wipes the steam from the mirror. In her reflection, she sees the same Kathleen O’Haley she has always seen. Long wavy blond hair, blue eyes, dimple in her chin. She knows looking into the eyes that have seen pure evil, that her soul will never be the same. Her hair dries slowly in long blonde curls and she tries to find the courage to face them. What will they say when she tells them what she has seen?
When she opens the door, she finds the room empty. Relieved to have a few more moments, she looks around and finds to her astonishment she is in a bedroom, with a view of the ocean. There is a balcony and the pounding of the waves draw her close. She slides open the door and steps out onto a large balcony overlooking white sandy beaches. The sun is warm, and she can smell the salty sea air. Katie inhales the ocean deep into her soul and sighs, as she absorbs the peace of the moment.
Morgan watches from the corner of the balcony, careful not to alert her to his presence. The wind blows her hair back and she lifts her face to the sun, he smiles. Beautiful, he thinks.
“Thank you,” she whispers looking at the corner where he stands.
Morgan shimmers to solid form keeping his wings hidden. He is astonished that she could read him so easily. “I apologize if I frightened you, I will leave you in peace.” He says and turns to go.
“You don’t have to go. It was you that saved me, then?” she asks quietly looking at the beautiful man before her. He is larger than Reese, larger than most men; muscular if you like mountains with tan skin, dark hair, and brown eyes. She smiles, thinking of Anya.
“I am Morgan. Reese and Ariana saved you, I simply brought you to safety.” He says softly stepping into the sun.
“Are you Fae, then?” she asks looking at him she wonders at the glow around him.
“Not quite.” He answers evasively, glancing at the ocean.
“Alright then, Morgan, I thank you for whisking me to safety.” She rubs her forehead as her head begins to pound. The memories crowd in, with the screaming voices of the dead and she squeezes her temples in an effort to dull the throbbing.
Morgan senses her pain and immediately moves to help. He places two fingers on each temple and softly rubs. She feels warmth seeping from the tips of his fingers into her skull and the noise dims. Katie sighs and steps into the heat of his body. As he rubs, she leans her forehead on his chest and her hands creep up to his waist. She clutches at his hips, praying he will not stop. “Thank you, Morgan. That helps. It is too much at once. I can’t sort the images.” She looks up into his eyes and smiles.
His eyes drop to her pink lips and he watches her tongue dart out nervously. “You are welcome,” he says slowly. She steps back from his heat and immediately the chaos in her mind returns. “I can do more if you will let me?” he offers.
“I want to keep my memories, is it possible to sort the memories, from the intentions?” Katie asks.
“It should be, let me try,” he says stepping close, causing her to back up to the railing in fear.
Katie tries to mask the fear in her eyes when he steps close, but she reacts instinctively to his presence. “Nooo,” her mind yells.
Morgan stops, hearing her soul react. “I will get Reese; maybe it would be best if he helped you, Kathleen.”
“I’m sorry, Morgan. I just need a minute. I am fractured,” she whispers. “I followed the thread of Colin’s mind, and took images and memories he did not intend, but they are scrambled. I trust you because Reese does. Please don’t take offense. I’m trying to not let the fear win,” she tells him softly as a tear slips free.
Morgan reaches out and catches her tear on his fingertip; with a soft puff of air, he freezes her tear turning it into a grain of sand.
“Each tear is a gift, Kathleen, whether shed in joy or shed in pain, it shall join its brothers, never forgotten. For those that sow in tears, shall reap in joy.”
He drops it off the side of the railing and it joins the others below.
Katie watches in awe, “What are you?” she asks.
When
