Tears formed in his eyes. “Celine,” he murmured, cupping her face in his hands, “don’t do this.”
“I’m sorry, Gray. It is done.”
“Undo it, Celine. We can fight him.”
“It cannot be undone, Gray. We cannot continue like this. Marcus is too large a threat. I cannot allow his attacks on your family to endure.”
“Celine, this isn’t your fault…”
“Gray, it is. And it must stop. I must be the one to stop it.”
“Celine, please,” Gray answered, his voice quivering. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. And that is why I must do this,” Celine responded, tears spilling onto her cheeks as regret consumed her. She took his hand, kissing him as her tears continued to fall. She glanced to her hand, spinning the wedding ring on her finger. She slid it off, placing it in his hand.
“No, Celine,” he cried.
She closed his hand around the ring, unable to speak. She turned away from him. Gray grabbed her arm, pulling her back. “Don’t go, Celine, please.”
“Please don’t make this harder than it already is, Gray. I must do this. I must protect you.”
“Promise me you’ll come back.”
Celine sniffled, choking out the words. “I can’t.”
Alexander approached. “Celine, no,” he uttered.
Celine grasped his hand, squeezing it. “Look after him,” she requested of Alexander.
“Of course, Celine. But I hope and pray we’ll see you again.”
Celine nodded to him, stepping backward. Gray clung to her hand in a desperate attempt to stop her from leaving. She tugged it away. He lunged toward her, but Alexander prevented him from reaching her. “Let me go!” Gray shouted at him.
“Gray, you must let her go. Believe she will come back,” Alexander advised.
“Celine!” Gray called to her again as she reached the adjudicator. The creature wrapped its wing around Celine, launching skyward from the beach. “CELINE!” Gray shouted as they disappeared through the clouds.
His pained voice rang through Celine’s mind as she laid on the cold, stone floor weeping. She elected to leave him for twenty-five years to keep him safe. She would not lose him again. She vowed the surrender of her wedding ring would only be temporary. This was not a goodbye. She would rejoin Gray and her family.
Her tears ceased. She dried her cheeks as she allowed the emotion to pass. She would be home soon, she assured herself. She had a plan, a way to communicate. She closed her eyes, forming Damien’s image in her mind. She called to him, allowing herself to slip away into Shadow World.
Celine stood with her arms wrapped around her, protection against the bitter chill of the harsh realm. She waited in the grove of trees. She called to Damien over and over, however he did not respond. She could not see him; he did not appear in the realm. Celine waited longer than she should have, the cold beginning to affect her. When she could wait no longer, she allowed herself to slip back to her world.
She awoke from her meditation, rising to pace the floor. She had not reached Damien. Where had he been? Had something happened to him following the last encounter he’d experienced in Shadow World? Had she been too late to save him from the ill effects of the realm? Worry consumed her. She would try again tomorrow. For now, she would be left to console herself with memories of her family in happier times.
Chapter 7
Damien awoke late the next morning, still groggy from the sedative. Gray sat in the armchair, gazing out the window. Damien’s mind still felt numb. He cursed needing the medication. Without it, Gray and Alexander feared he may slip into Shadow World too often and wind up hurt or worse. Damien understood their concern. He shared it, although he trusted Celine. However, one slight miscalculation on her part could lead to disaster, according to the Buckleys. If he became unable to travel to Shadow World, their connection with Celine would be lost. They could not afford to lose that connection. It provided their only means of finding her.
Damien laid in bed, allowing his mind to recover. The extreme exhaustion he experienced waned. He had recovered some of his energy from the long, restful sleep induced by the sedative. Good, he mused. He would be ready for another communication with Celine in the severe environment.
After twenty minutes, he climbed from bed. “Good morning,” Gray said. “How do you feel?”
“Good morning,” Damien answered. “Pretty good, a little groggy. I slept, and I did not have any encounters with Celine.”
“No,” Gray confirmed, “you didn’t slip into Shadow World over night. We monitored you all night.”
He was anxious to determine the next steps in the plan. “Mind if we head out for some coffee?” he asked, pulling on his shoes. He and Gray navigated downstairs, finding Alexander, Michael and Millie in the sitting room.
“Good morning!” Alexander greeted him. “Coffee?”
“Please,” Damien groaned.
“Did you sleep?” Michael asked Damien.
“I did, yes. No encounters, just rest. Still a little groggy, but overall, I feel rested.”
“Any side effects, Damien?” Millie asked, grasping his wrist to take his pulse. “Nightmares? Unsteadiness when you arose? Inability to fully awaken?”
“No. None of those,” Damien answered.
“Good. This dosage should work well for now. We’ll adjust if it becomes too much after multiple uses. Let me know if you experience even slight side effects so we can adjust it before they become a problem.”
“I will.”
“Can’t afford to get off-track now, buddy,” Michael said to Damien.
“Yeah, right,” Damien admitted, sipping his coffee as he sunk onto the couch.
“You okay?” Michael asked.
“Yeah. Just a little anxious about Celine contacting me again.”
“I bet. That place sounds awful,” Michael agreed.
“It’s not the place. I just… what if she tried overnight, and I wasn’t there? When will she try again? What if she can only contact me at night? And I keep taking the sedative and she tries and tries and I’m never there.”
“If Celine doesn’t make contact in the next day or so, we’ll switch your sleeping schedule,” Gray suggested. “Let
