The Locket (41 page)

I looked up to see the other versions of me fading away.

“It’s over, Brent,” I said, placing my hand gently on his shoulder so as not to startle him.

Brent turned to me and I threw my arms around his neck. “You did it. It’s over. He’s gone,” Brent said in my ear, hugging me back.

“We all did it,” I said, as Brent let me go.

The group of us exchanged hugs.

“Congratulations. I knew you could do it.” I was startled by Omni’s voice in the room. I assumed he could only show himself through Maggie’s mirror, which given everything that happened, seemed trivial.

I approached him. “Thank you for believing in me,” I said. “But it took all of us to trap Kace.”

“As we knew it would. I never doubted you,” Omni started, and then paused, looking around the room making eye contact with each one of us. “Any of you,” he finished.

As much as I didn’t want to care about Kace, I did.

“What will happen to Kace now?” I asked.

“He has finally completed his purpose. He can move on now,” Omni said, taking my hand, the warmth surprising me.

“I was his purpose?” I questioned, pulling my hand away.

Omni answered. “For as long as time has existed, there have been lost spirits haunting humans, and there have been Chasers to hunt them down and return them to The Realm. The Shadow discovered how to lock their seals and it became harder for the Chasers. They had become powerless. After some time, a new breed of Chaser’s developed. We were not sure the role they would serve. Agents allowed The Shadow to visit Kace in The Realm. Kace’s purpose was to test the new Chasers as they evolved. What we hadn’t planned for was the need for a Locket to help him complete the purpose. It is a rare birth, from two spirits – uniting at a precise moment in time – to create a child with a soul so forgiving, they can see past any wrong. We surrounded the first Locket with other Chasers but never checked their seals for compatibility. As you know from Kace, the group failed and we had to wait for another to be born. We were much more careful with you, making sure the Chasers we paired you with had seals that shared something with your own. It turned out the other possible Locket children pulled to you in a way we had not seen before.”

“So this was all a test?’ I asked.

“We needed to know if we would ever have a group of Chasers that were capable of hunting and trapping lost spirits once their seals had been locked. We decided if a group could hunt down a spirit that lost his seal to The Shadow himself, then we could be positive,” Omni explained.

I almost felt pity for Kace.

“So you used him?” I asked

“Don’t worry Claire. You unlocked Kace’s seal and he’ll see redemption because of it. This was always his purpose, Claire, to assist us in finding the ones,” he said, gesturing to the group of us. “He was correct about there being more like him, lost spirits. The group of you will hunt them and send them back to The Realm. Humans will continue to live with their shadow, allowing it to cloak their wrongs. As long as the hauntings bring darkness to humans, The Shadow will use it and control them.”

“That is a huge responsibility,” I said.

Omni smiled warmly. “Yes, it is, Claire. Some of them will go willingly, though. You have seen them.”

“The people in the cemetery?” I guessed and he nodded. “They speak to me.”

“They do, Claire. They have waited a long time for you as well. Once an apparition leaves The Realm without permission, they cannot return unless they’re trapped by a Chaser. There are many out there that escaped and have not joined The Shadow. They’re desperate to resume their lives. They return to their bodies, but are unable to reconnect. They are the truly lost, stuck in a human world without life and unable to return to The Realm.”

“That’s incredibly sad,” I whined.

“Yes, it is Claire, but you all have the power to free them. The others will not be so easy and those are the ones that pose a threat to the human world. We have faith in you. You were the right choice,” Omni praised.

When I went to say thank you, he was gone. I wasn’t sure how any of this worked or how we move forward from here – but I felt happy – my puzzle solved. I finally had my answer to why I was here.

So engrossed in the words I was reading, I didn’t notice Brent was in front of me until I felt the warmth of his skin as he touched my hand. I let the book fall to my lap. Brent took my hand, lifting me from the sofa, his lips curled into a smile but he didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. Everything he needed to tell me, he said with his eyes. I loved that we could communicate this way, and often, it was clearer than words could ever be.

I knew what was about to happen when Brent lifted me gently into his arms, kissing me tenderly and carried me up the stairs. I knew without doubt I would give myself to him fully, my heart in my hand for him to take. In this life time or the next – it was his. I was ready for this and I wanted it more than anything.

When we reached my room, he put me down and faced me. His eyes were so warm, his feelings for me on full display, and I let the feeling linger between us, filling me with love.

“I love you so much, Claire,” he whispered breathlessly, and I started to panic.

My heart stuttered reminding me I needed a minute – to breath – my own air.

“I have to pee,” I lied, knowing he would read the hesitation in my thoughts if I didn’t get out of the room soon.

Brent chuckled, released me, and took a step back. “I won’t say you spoiled the mood, Blake,” he laughed, “but I’m just a tad disappointed.”

I went into the bathroom and locked the door. Turning on the cold water in the sink, I filled my hands and splashed it on my face, attempting to remove the flush from my cheeks. I turned off the water off and looked in the mirror, frozen to my reflection, searching my own eyes for help.

I didn’t need help with the choice. I was positive I wanted this. But I was at a loss for how to get past my insecure thoughts. I had no idea how to give myself to him like that, what he would need from me or wanted me to do. My only experience in this area was hearsay from girls saying it was awkward and had changed everything for them. I didn’t want anything between us to change.

The larger crisis was trust and I was fooling myself if I thought I was past it. I was still slightly insecure about where he had taken things with Mandy and how he handled it so callously. Could he break my heart the same way if I ever upset him? My choice meant releasing all of my fears, and trusting him with all of me. I wanted to, but could I actually let it all go like that.

I had guarded my insecurities and my heart with an iron gate for eighteen years. I finally unlocked the gate when I met Brent, but the kind of intimacy that came with sex was a different thing to unlock. My family had left so many places and so many people, so often, in my life. I never made an attachment I couldn’t break. I knew the stamp between us was strong, however, I knew it could also be broken, not as easily as other attachments, but it was possible. If Brent were to ever leave me, I knew I would be heartbroken. But if I gave myself to him and he left, it would kill me.

You cannot focus on the unknown. What is meant to be will happen, and you can’t change it. You know it’s true. Go out there and surrender yourself to him. He loves you irrevocably and it’s a love you are blessed to have found.

For once, my subconscious and I agreed. Brent and I loved each other, sharing a bond others struggled to find every day of their lives. I dried my face and took a deep breath, preparing to turn over my heart and my body to Brent.

When I entered the room he was laying on the bed on his side. The room was dark other than a dim glare from the small night light in the corner. I looked at the sharp corner of his jaw searching for any signs that he was conflicted, but it was relaxed. He patted the bed next to him and I slid in, facing him. I stared at his lips, the soft perfection that they were.

We were lost in the communicative stare between us and my body filled with warmth, slowly and deeply from within. I took a long deep breath in and let the warmth roll through me, soothing away all of my fears. I had been scared but I was foolish to think I couldn’t trust him with all of me. I placed my hand over my heart, feeling the throbbing on my palm, and Brent placed his hand over mine.

“All yours,” he whispered softly.

“I love you,” I whispered back.

He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed each fingertip tenderly. “We don’t have to do this, Claire. If you’re not sure, we can wait.”

“Did you read my thoughts while I was in the bathroom?”

“Nope,” he laughed. “You lips betrayed you this time,” he informed me, lightly tugging on my chin, causing my lips to relax.

Damn pursed lips.

With his hand still on my chin, he asked, “Are you sure?”

“We were designed to be together…I’m sure, Brent.”

My words surprised me and I realized I was absolutely certain. Drawing me close, he buried his head in the crook of my neck.

“I love you,” he said. “For eternity, Claire.”

“Eternity,” I whispered, kissing him softly.

He wound his arm around my waist, sliding me underneath him. He kissed me back, just as soft. Pressing into me, Brent lowered me to the bed, never taking his lips off mine. And then his hands were under my shirt, exploring me, owning me. My body relaxed and I let go. For the first time in my life, I was ready to trust someone with all of me.

When he tugged on the bottom of my shirt, I sat up just enough and lifted my arms above my head so he could remove it. He whipped it off quickly and pinned me back to the bed, pressing his lips to mine. He laid claim to me with his mouth and I devoured him.

We were close. He was finally ready and I knew I was. I wanted him from the moment I met him – from the moment I dreamt of him.

His mouth moved to my neck, trailing kisses to my collar bone while his hands traveled under the denim fabric of my jeans. He hesitated just a second before undoing the button and easing down the zipper. I lifted my hips for him to make it easier.

“I trust you,” I whispered breathlessly.

With those words, it was decided. There would be no stopping this time.

***

I lay awake for hours, smiling, listening to Brent breathe and rain tapping against the window. I had been given an incredible gift. Not the abilities. But the one person bound to me, to complete me.

I tried to close my eyes, but I was too happy, rather wishing to freeze this exact moment in time. We had made love, and it was most definitely an emotional response to everything that happened between us.

I was comfortable lying in Brent’s warm embrace, the most content I had ever felt. Everything with Brent was as natural as breathing, the seal making it impossible to feel any other way, matched to fit together, in every way possible. All of my fears from tonight were a distant memory, and the anxiety I had spun in the bathroom was so unnecessary. He belonged to me as much as I did to him, and he showed me with the utmost tenderness.

It may have even been a way for him to show me that we belonged solely to each other and I was okay with that. Brent was hurt knowing I thought his seal was not my only match and he needed to show me it was. I had no regrets and I would cherish this moment forever because that is what we had together, in this life or the next.

Love is eternal.