Chapter Fourteen
Doc
Thankfully, the bear seems to agree with my respectful silence, because he simply nods and turns his attention back to Neith.
“You will let us know if there is anything that we can do to help with finding this creature at the other house?” She asks him immediately.
“We will, but you are walking your own troubled path. We can walk this one,” he replies.
Well, that’s somewhat concerning and vague.
Why is it that any time that we have a conversation with the spirit guides, I end up feeling a sense of foreboding dread?
We all know that they know more things than they are telling us.
Which makes sense because, as far as I understand it, that’s their job, they know things and guide whoever it is that they’re looking after.
I know that most of the time they can’t share what they know, but it is worrying when they say things like Ezzy just did.
How bad has it got to be for a spirit guide to say that we have a troubled path to walk?
“Do you know what the creature is?” Raiden asks. “We did try to ask Wallace and Winston, but they disappeared before giving us an answer.”
Ezzy chuckles, “Yes, those two would much rather keep you guessing than admit that we don’t know.”
“You don’t?” Reed questions with surprise.
“We have a vague idea, but it shouldn’t be possible. That’s why it’s taking so long to hunt it, we want to capture it and not destroy it. It requires more delicacy,” the bear replies.
“Understood,” Van replies this time. “It is always more work to capture something than it is to simply hunt it.”
“Is it confined to the grounds of the house?” Neith asks. “Is it stuck inside the wards?”
“That is our best guess, yes,” Ezzy replies. “If it weren’t, then it wouldn’t make any sense as to why it’s still on the grounds and why it hasn’t disappeared back to wherever it came from.”
“So the people in the town are safe from it?” Neith clarifies.
It hadn’t even occurred to me to ask about the safety of them, but of course, Neith remembered.
“They are all safe,” he replies with warmth in his tone.
“Thank you. I might just send a message to Kar and Neera to tell them to be safe. Not that I don’t think that you guys have this handled, but I would rather be safe than sorry.
My experience is that if you’re dealing with something that shouldn’t exist or shouldn’t still exist, whichever the case may be, then you can never really be too careful,” she explains as she pulls out her phone.
She’s going to send the text anyway, regardless of whether the bear agrees. There is no way that she would leave people she cares about in potential danger.
Neith
I understand that he’s an all-powerful spirit guide, but I wasn’t asking him if it was okay if I sent Neera and Kar a text message to let them know that they need to be on high alert, I was simply informing him what was happening.
Fortunately for me, he doesn’t seem to mind. I’m not really sure what I would have done if he had minded, because I’d still do, and that could have gotten complicated.
“That is understandable, and I appreciate your desire to protect those that you care about. It is an admirable quality,” Ezzy replies.
“Thanks. It would have been super awkward if you told me not to and I did it anyway,” I reply honestly, and the guys groan.
“Neith, you really shouldn’t talk to the spirit guides like that,” Raiden mutters quietly, a worried expression clouding his features.
I know that he’s only saying it because he cares about me and he doesn’t want them to hurt me. Not because he’s telling me what to do, which I’m not great with. I tend to do the opposite.
“Do not worry, it is actually rather refreshing the way that Neith chooses to converse with us. I know that the other spirit guides appreciate it as well. We were, after all, chosen to be Neith’s spirit guides for a reason.
It wouldn’t make sense for us to get offended at the way she talks,” Ezzy reassures a worrying Raiden.
“That’s true,” I grin. “You would spend more time being frustrated or offended by what I’m saying than actually doing the spirit guiding stuff.”
“Exactly.” He replies, his eyes smiling. “Now I must go, I need to help the others.”
“Of course,” I reply, and then just like that, he’s gone.
“That is one scary motherfucker,” Ransom mutters, and the other guys all nod in agreement.
“Nah, he’s not scary, he’s just a big, cuddly teddy bear,” I grin.
“You’ve tried to pet wild bears before, haven’t you?” Coen asks with his eyebrows raised knowingly.
“I may have,” I reply. She smirks, “If not friend, why friend-shaped?”
The guys groan.
“Oh god, new fear unlocked. Neith petting something dangerous just because it’s cute and dying because of it,” River groans.
“To be fair, that is probably one of the more likely ways I’m going to go out,” I agree.
“Nene, that is so not helping,” Van sighs, although he does look slightly amused.
“Who said I was trying to help?” I retort.
My response makes them all chuckle.
“So it’s agreed? From now on, we also keep an eye on Neith around anything dangerous that she potentially may want to pet or snuggle,” River asks, looking at the guys who all nod in agreement.
I raise my eyebrow, “So I can’t pet or snuggle any of you then? Because you’re all dangerous.”
“Smart ass,” Coen grins as he pulls me into his arms. “Apart from us. We’re the exception.”
“Obviously,” Griff grins.
“Glad we cleared that up,” I smirk. “What smells so good?”
Coen kisses my neck and then stands up with me still in his arms, “That would be dinner that should be done by now.”
We all head into the kitchen to find it already dished up.
“House and Ethel are fucking awesome,” River grins as he takes his seat.
“Why, thank you, dear. Now eat up, Coen has made something delicious for you all, and you all need your strength for tomorrow. I expect you all to be down here and at the table having breakfast before you head to your job tomorrow,” Ethel tells us in her no-nonsense way.
“Understood, Ethel,” I reply. “I would never miss one of your breakfasts anyway.”
“Good, now eat up. You need to get some rest,” she orders again.
“Yes, Ma’am,” several of the guys reply, making me smile as we all tuck in to the delicious food the Coen has made.
He really can cook, and I can tell by the look of pride on his face that he really enjoys it too.
I’m glad that Ethel didn’t mind him taking over the kitchen, and that we even have the stuff to cook with.
I’ve never really looked for anything since Ethel and/or House always have the food prepared for us.
House has already proved to be amazing and knows us surprisingly well, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it made sure that everything was here, knowing that Coen is going to want to cook.
Dinner is relatively silent, and by the end of it, I make my excuses to head upstairs and go over the file that I should have gone over earlier in the day. I do not want to be misinformed and end up making a mistake because of it.
As soon as I’ve said goodnight to the guys, I head up to my room, get some comfy clothes on, and sprawl out on my bed, the sound of the TV in the background as I read over the files because, unlike most people, I cannot concentrate in silence.
I know that I need to get some sleep too, but it shouldn’t take me too long to go over the file and take notes on anything that I think is important.
I’m a quick reader.
∞∞∞
I don’t know where I am, but I do know that I shouldn’t be here.
I’m pretty sure that I’m dreaming, but I’m not entirely sure so that’s not confusing at all.
All I know is that I’m in the forest. Surrounded by trees and plants, some of them I recognize and some I don’t. I’m reasonably good at identifying plants and trees, so I’m pretty certain that wherever I am, I’m not in the Earth Realm anymore.
I could be wrong, but my instincts are also backing me up.
Following those instincts, I slowly move forward, keeping my footsteps light, my boots barely making a sound on the undergrowth scattered across the forest floor.
Any doubt that I might not be dreaming vanishes. It must be a dream because I sure as hell didn’t go to sleep in my boots and battle gear.
At least I’m reasonably certain that I didn’t. I shake my head.
Of course I didn’t, why would I?
The Voices interrupt my argument with myself as they remind me to focus.
They’re right, of course, they usually are. Something about this dream feels different, and that means that I need to pay attention.
A sound up ahead has me pausing, as I take a moment to listen and discern what exactly it is that I’m hearing.
I quickly realize that it’s the sound of people talking.
They sound frantic and stressed, and I’m not sure having a stranger approach them in the middle of the forest is going to help with that, so instead I decide to avoid them and carry on further into the trees.
That is, until I hear the first clang of metal on metal, and the troubled voices become panicked shouts.
Asael appears in my hand as I swiftly but silently make my way toward the sounds of the fight.
This is a stupid idea.
This is a really stupid fucking idea.
I don’t know what I’m up against, I don’t know what realm I’m in, and I don’t know what the supernaturals or creatures of this realm are capable of.
But I don’t stop. I can’t consciously let innocent people be hurt and probably killed when I can do something to help.
Of course, I do need to figure out which side is innocent and which side is not.
The sounds of fighting get louder, and I slow down, approaching cautiously so I can assess the situation and see whose side I need to be on.
Peering around a tree, it’s abundantly clear who needs to be ended. There is a group of supernaturals, all with a blank-eyed stare, all in uniform, mercilessly killing. The body of a child no older than ten is at the feet of one of them, which solidifies my decision.
The uniformed soldiers need to die. There is absolutely no excuse to kill a child.