The Healer: A Young Adult Romantic Fantasy (The Healer Series Book 1) (33 page)

“What happens if your interference isn’t successful?”

Her eyes took on a haunted look, and I suddenly understood her dark periods so much better.

“Do you remember that time about a year ago when I had you come stay at my house and you were there with me for the whole week?”

I nodded. “It was right around the time that awful kitchen fire took out Rosarita’s Mexican restaurant and killed Rosarita and five other employees…” I gasped as I realized what she was getting at. The anguish in Angie’s eyes made me cringe.

“I bumped into her at the grocery store earlier that day and received a vision of her dying in a fire, but I thought it was going to happen at her house. When I get these visions I see a person’s death through their eyes. I can only see what they will see, and the picture just wasn’t as forthcoming as I needed it to be. There was so much smoke. I didn’t know the fire would start in the restaurant. By the time I realized my mistake, left Rosarita’s house, and arrived at the restaurant, the building was already burning to the ground, and firemen were carrying out the people who didn’t make it.”

I swallowed hard and prayed that she would believe me as I said, “Angie, it wasn’t your fault.” I doubted she would accept that affirmation. I never accepted death with my own gift even when I knew there was nothing I could do to save people who were meant to die, but the guilt remained either way.

“Six people died that night, Hope. I could have warned them if I’d read the vision right. That’s on me. It was completely senseless, and that’s on me.”

For years, Angie and I had been fighting to save people with our different talents, experiencing devastation when we failed and satisfaction when we were able to intercede on someone’s behalf. If we had confided in one another we might have helped each other. We could have saved more lives working together than apart. What were the odds that Angie and I both possessed different abilities that allowed us to thwart death? I didn’t believe it could be a coincidence.

“No more guilt, and no more living with these powers on our own,” I said “From now on we help each other save lives and we tell each other everything.”

“Agreed.”

“I have to ask this, Angie. Why didn’t you ever have a problem touching me?”

The corners of her mouth turned up into a soft smile. “When I touch you, all I ever see is light. There’s a blank space in the place of your death. I suppose that means you’re never meant to die seeing as how you’ll eventually become immortal, but up until Tie and Victor came along, I’d never encountered anyone else I couldn’t get a read on. You’re the only person I can be around without worrying about the time, date, and circumstances surrounding your death. You’ve been my rock, Hope. I wouldn’t have survived all of my visions without you.”

“You’ve been mine too. I certainly wouldn’t have survived high school without you.”

We both laughed at that.

“I can’t believe you saved my life and didn’t have the decency to tell me about it.” She straightened up and wiped the dripping mascara from under her eyes. “Do you have any idea the kind of mileage you could have had with that ‘I saved your life’ card? Do you have any idea how pissed I am that you made me miss my junior prom last year instead of healing me from that awful flu bug I caught?”

I felt a little bit lighter knowing I could talk to her about these things.

“For the record, you didn’t have the flu. You had a very serious case of pneumonia which I partly healed so you wouldn’t end up in the hospital.”

“I had pneumonia? That’s awful. Was it so serious that healing me completely would have weakened you?”

“Not really. I just didn’t want you to go to the prom with Jathan Cox. That guy was an idiot and wholly undeserving of you.” My grin was naughty.

She gave me an appraising look.

“You know, Hope. You’re much more devious than you’ve ever let on. I think I like this side of you.”

“Even if it comes with human sized cats, demon gods, and your best friend having lived one thousand years before you were born?”

“We get to hang out with two hot deities. The glass is half full in my opinion,” she replied. “Speaking of which, how soon are you and Victor tying the knot?”

Her excitement sounded forced.

“Angie…”

“As your best friend and soon to be maid of honor, I need to know these things. Finding the perfect dress, while evading an army of killer felines is going to be quite stressful. I’ll be needing details ASAP.”

“I’m not having this conversation with you.” I rolled onto my comfy twin bed and pulled the covers over myself. I felt the bed sink down to my right as Angie snuggled up next to me.

“He did kiss you, you know. It may not have been the most private first kiss ever, but it looked to me like you were enjoying it.”

“I didn’t enjoy it,” I said defensively.

“You didn’t put up much of a fight,” she accused.

“That’s because he caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting him to kiss me. We don’t even know each other.” My confusion had returned tenfold. I decided not to mention my second kiss with Victor. With Angie, more really was more.

“Well, according to Ms. Mori, you guys know each other. Or your spirits do, anyway.” She pulled the covers off me. “Do you realize you were born a thousand years ago? Maybe that’s why you’ve always been so responsible. You’re like an old person trapped inside a teenager’s body. I bet it felt good to lecture me every time I did something crazy and stupid.”

“You mean potentially suicidal?”

“Whatever.” Angie waved her hand in the air like she was swatting an obnoxious fly. “I’m just saying, Victor knew you and clearly loved you in your first life, and based on what I was seeing tonight, I don’t think time has changed that, even if you aren’t some gorgeous looking Japanese princess.”

“Gee thanks, Ang.”

“You know what I mean. That kiss he gave you was heavy.” She sounded wistful, and studied my features carefully. “I noticed it, and so did someone else.”

“What are you talking about?”

Angie studied her cuticles like she didn’t have a care in the world.

“It was just interesting to watch Tie’s reaction, that’s all. One minute you’ve saved each other’s lives, and you’re staring into each other’s eyes like no one else is in the room, and the next minute Victor’s got you wrapped up in a passionate exchange. For a second there, I thought Tie was going to take that rather nasty looking sword of his and plunge it through Victor’s heart.”

“You did? I mean…he looked bothered watching Victor kiss me?”

I wanted to pretend that her answer wasn’t particularly important to me. I wasn’t interested in Tie, and I certainly wasn’t going to marry Victor, but Angie was reading me like the open book that I was. She knew exactly how much her response would mean to me.

“He looked like his whole world had bottomed out. Not the reaction I was expecting from a guy so wholly indifferent to everyone and everything around him. I tell you what, though, he’s got a mean poker face, and he managed to slide it back into place before you finished lip locking with Victor.” She rose from the bed and ran across the room, diving under her own covers and then letting out an obnoxious snoring sound.

“Angie! Is that it? Is that all you noticed? Is that all you’re going to tell me?” I was desperate to know more.

“Ah ha!” she cried out happily. “I knew you wanted Tie. I’ve known it from the moment you two argued in mythology class.”

I felt transparent and vulnerable. I was so used to this conversation being reversed. I was always the one talking about Angie’s latest love interest. Okay, so I was always talking her out of her latest love interest, but I had never been the boy crazy one. I didn’t feel strongly one way or the other about most of the guys I met. Discussing this with Angie made me feel like I had this large open wound where my heart should’ve been, and it was exposed for anyone and everyone to see. It was horrendous. I couldn’t believe people wanted to feel this way.

“Okay, so maybe I like Tie,” I said carefully. Angie let out a loud, disbelieving snort, which I chose to ignore. “He’s slightly attractive, his brooding bad guy persona has managed to pique my interest, and he can be witty when he’s not pissing me off.”

“Yeah, and he threw himself in between you and a sword forged from the land of the dead,” she added. “I guess we can add selfless and self-sacrificing to his rather short list of endearing qualities.”

“He just did that because of the veil. If I die, there’s nobody else around to heal the stupid thing.” I spoke more forcefully than I intended.

“Do I detect a hint of bitterness regarding Tie’s true motives?” Angie appeared more pleased with herself with every passing minute.

“I’m not bitter. I’m simply stating a fact here. Tie needs me in the same way every other kami needs me. I may be slightly interested in him, but his interest in me goes as far as my involvement with the veil, and how often he can use me to get to Victor.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

I decided to share with Angie the story Victor had told me. I didn’t see why I should hide it from her. It really wasn’t a secret, and she needed to be aware of the conflict between Tie and Victor as much as I did. When I finished, she looked more disturbed than I thought she would.

“Angie, are you okay?’

She shrugged her shoulders and gave me a crumbly smile.

“Sorry, I just feel a bit weird. Sounds familiar in an odd sort of way,” she said.

“You’ve heard the story before?”

Angie didn’t answer, but continued to stare straight ahead, looking troubled and confused. She shook her head and made eye contact with me again.

“So you think Tie is using you to hurt your boyfriend?” she asked.

I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering if I should press her further about what was bothering her. Her closed expression gave me pause. Just because we’d had one hell of a serious moment together, didn’t mean Angie could automatically jump into the habit of confiding in me.

“Victor is not my boyfriend, and yes, Tie is using me…I think. Wouldn’t you? He lost the only woman he’s ever loved. Victor’s intentions may have been honorable, but his methods were the exact opposite. A lot of time has passed, though. Tie needs to forgive him already.”

“Edana, isn’t the only woman Tie has ever loved,” Angie said.

“Stop. I know what you’re going to say, and it simply isn’t true.”

“You know what I think? I think you’re extremely uncomfortable with the idea of Tie having feelings for you.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Well, if you have feelings for Tie, and he has feelings for you, something could actually happen here. It’s the perfect recipe for a potential relationship.”

“There’s about as much potential for that relationship to come about as there is for an actual marriage to take place with Victor,” I argued.

“Ooooh! And wouldn’t that be an interesting group dynamic? You and Tie fighting this mounting attraction for one another, knowing you’re meant for Victor, while Victor continues on, completely intent on having you for himself.”

I couldn’t stop the eye rolling. I’d been doing it so often during this particular topic of conversation I was actually getting dizzy.

“And to top it all off, our heroine is faced with a heart-wrenching dilemma. Fulfill her destiny and save the world by taking her place at Victor’s side or turn her back on it all by choosing love, one of the most powerful forces in the known universe,” she ended dramatically. “Merciful heavens, this is good stuff! I’m wasting my time attending high school, I tell ya. I should be a highly paid author.”

“Angie, I’m going to go to bed now. I’m going to pretend this conversation never took place and do my very best to become unconscious as quickly as humanly possible.”

“According to Ms. Mori you’re only half human. Hope, the demigoddess.” She shook her head like she was trying to wrap her brain around the idea. “Life is stranger than fiction. There’s no way I could’ve made this stuff up.”

I rolled over in my bed, turning my back to Angie and praying that sleep would carry me away before she was able to bring up any other subjects I wasn’t ready or willing to face just yet. Fortunately for me, it did.

* * *

This time around I knew I was dreaming. My white silk kimono felt familiar and welcoming. The cherry blossoms raining lightly down upon me were just as I remembered. The path before me would guide me to Tie, and then Victor would stand directly behind me. I stepped forward eagerly, anxious to reach Tie before my dream ended the way it had last time, but as I moved forward I felt drawn in a different direction.

I left my path completely and entered a heavily wooded area. The tall, oppressive trees shut out most of the sunlight and made it feel like it was much later in the day than it really was. Of course, who knew what time it was? This was a dream, after all.

There may not have been much light to guide my steps, but the strange pull on my heart gave me all the guidance I needed. After what seemed like hours, I finally stumbled into an open field covered in green grass. On the other side of this field stood Tie. His white formal wear was now black. I broke into a run, feeling an intense sense of urgency. Tie must have sensed it too because he met me halfway and pulled me to him.