Whispers of the Damned: See Series Book 1

  Chapter Nine

  It was dusk. The time of day I hated. The time of day when shadows ruled the world. I sped through the winding roads, ignoring the shadows as they reached out for my car. As the whispers continued to taunt, growing into an evil hissing noise, I hummed louder.

  I was so focused on fighting the darkness that I didn’t even have the chance to get nervous as I turned into Draven’s driveway. No less than twenty feet in silence came, I slowed down and stopped. As I glanced over my shoulder to the edge of the driveway, I could see shadowed figures standing. I didn’t understand their boundaries. I was just glad they were in place.

  I turned in my seat and pulled forward. I knew that for the next few hours, Draven would be a distraction from everything.

  The clock on my dash said five-forty as I pulled up in front of his house. There wasn’t a car in sight. I was sure there was a garage around back, but I didn’t feel comfortable enough to go in through the back door.

  I stared down at my phones resting on the top of my bag. I hated being forced to hide like a coward. To be safe I sent Kara a text telling her I was turning my phone off, to call Draven if she needed me, then I shut down my connection to the outside world.

  I stared up at Draven’s house as I got out of the car. The brown stones were uneven, adding to the castle image. The windows were all huge and angled in an arch at the top. It was absolutely beautiful. I slowly climbed the wide front stone steps, trying to get my mind here and nowhere else.

  With trembling fingers, I rang the bell. As I waited for someone to come to the door, I glanced at a large Ash tree beside the entrance. A few feet from the ground, carved in its trunk were the initials ‘C’ and ‘M.’ I leaned closer to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. There were other initials beneath them, a ‘D’ and an ‘M.’ I remembered watching Draven carve this. I remembered the lecture from his dad, telling him we’d hurt the tree, that it was alive. We were just kids.

  That memory was not fleeting, a fog that felt like a dream a petrified person could overlook.

  At that moment, the wide wooden door that arched at the top opened. I turned and found Nana peering out at me.

  She was my height with silver hair. Age had been good to her. Her eyes were so blue that they looked like water. As she reached her arms out to hug me, an excited smile came across her face.

  “There she is,” she said.

  One embrace and she came flooding to the surface of my mind. I still wasn’t chill with her, though. I knew I’d done something wrong, broken values she’d taught us. Like with my mom, it was shame that kept me locked inside, waiting to take her cues on where we stood, and how we could get back to where we were.

  I blushed and tried to smile. I looked behind her as I heard the electrifying sound of a guitar and the explosion of drums fill the air.

  When I glanced back to her, she was reviewing me the same way the others had. I tilted my head letting the details of my memories flutter, and then take root.

  We called it ‘seeing’ we never said we were soothsayers, clairvoyants, or sensitives. We could see what was, what is, but not what will be. Human intent can change any predicted path. Those who thought they could see the future were only reading the forecast of the skies, judging your known patterns.

  “I’m blind,” I managed to say as I my lip trembled and cold reality slapped me. I’d lost more than I imagined.

  Nana’s grin was patient. “Nothing can hurt you here…come,” she said as her eyes fell into mine again and her smile grew once more.

  As I crossed the threshold, a warm sensation absorbed me. Calm. I felt really calm all at once. No stress.

  Nana circled me as she nodded at the thin air around me. With that gesture, the warm sensation faded, and in its wake I felt numb.

  My eyes shifted around me. The energy in my house was male, dominant and protective. Here I felt a female presence, protective in a different way.

  “There you go,” Nana said. “It is not with these eyes you see,” she said reaching to caress the base of my dark eyes.

  “It’s alright to be scared. We all need to be reminded of boundaries at times, to understand invincibility is a state of mind.” She squared her shoulders. “If we have them, so do they. Now you know to look past the noise.”

  I focused on the music playing upstairs it chilled my crazy thoughts. “That sounds really good.”

  Her grin grew. “They got some idea an hour or so ago and have been up there going at it ever since. I’ll let you get them when dinner is ready. Come,” she said drawing me toward the kitchen.

  The entire kitchen was a gray and black stone. The walls were jagged, but the counters and floor were smooth. As I sat my bag down in the corner, I could see she had all kinds of pots boiling at once.

  “Slice the fruit,” she said, pulling out a stool that was tucked under the island in the center of the kitchen. I rinsed my hands and took a seat, then started to slice strawberries.

  “Considering all things, your mom looked great when I saw her yesterday,” Nana said, looking over her shoulder as she stirred her pots at the stove. “I did tell her she was working too hard, though. No need for the overkill.”

  “It fell on deaf ears, I’m sure,” I said, reaching for the grapes so I could pull them from the vine.

  “My sweet girl, your mother does what she does to protect you. Foundation, independence, a sanctuary...you needed all these things.”

  “Still do.”

  Nana set the pot of vegetables down, then glanced to my side and smiled at the thin air. I couldn’t see anything, but I knew someone was there.

  I started to move to the music I was listening to, Nana did as well. It was really cool to see a woman her age understand the sound so perfectly. I finished making the fruit bowl then helped her slice the bread. We worked in silence, but it wasn’t awkward. It was peaceful. It was peaceful because I could remember doing this a thousand times over with her. It wasn’t crystal clear, but I knew where everything was in this kitchen. I knew how to work at her side.

  “Almost done,” she said, tossing the creamy sauce over her pasta and vegetables. She then looked at the ceiling and said, “Sounds like they are, too.”

  I focused on the sound. The drums had stopped, but the guitar played on.

  “You want to get the glasses ready?” she asked as she put pitchers of tea on the counter.

  As I pulled them out, I heard Aden say, “Oh no, you have her working? We would’ve helped.”

  I glanced over my shoulder to see him kissing Nana’s forehead, as he grinned at me. “I heard you rocked out today—good job,” Aden said, taking plates out of the cabinet.

  “Thanks, but he was lying.”

  “Will you go and get Draven?” she asked me refusing to let me slide back into ‘I’m new’ vibe I retreated to now and again.

  “Follow the sound,” Aden said, rolling down the middle with me. I wasn’t new, but I wasn’t me yet.

  When I reached the door, I glanced back to see them smiling at each other and shaking their heads. I bit my bottom lip and turned to follow the sound of Draven’s guitar. I walked through the open front hall to the stairs, which were wide and circled as they climbed to the next floor. Along the walls, there were portraits of Draven and Aden growing up.

  At the top of the stairs, there was a wide hallway, and on the wall in front of me there was a beautiful portrait of Draven’s mom.

  There was a narrow table under the portrait, and I leaned down to look at each picture. A few of them were old. I recognized my mom with Draven’s, so young, carefree, and innocent. As I looked at the last picture on the right of the table, I froze. It was one of Draven, Aden, Madison, and…me. I tried so hard to remember that day, but the fog was still blocking me.

  All at once, I felt a warm sensation all around me, like an embrace. I didn’t hear or see anything but I got the message. My crew needed me. We had plans, and they couldn’t be broken.

/>   “Not sure how ready we are, even without...” I stopped before I could point out my failure, how I’d been benched from my own life.

  Another message resonated as I heard Draven’s guitar scream out. Simply stated it said: then get ready.

  I took in a deep breath, then turned to the left and walked down the hall. At the end of that hall, there were stone stairs. I climbed them, knowing the sound of his guitar was up there. It almost sounded like the music was saying ‘hold fast to the dream you think you never had’...I smiled, knowing I was probably right.

  At the top of the stairs, I found a musician’s dream. There were more guitars and amps than I could count in one glance, three sets of drums, and one keyboard. There was a brown suede couch and chair angled in the center of the large oval room. A massive window was on the left side of this room, and Draven was in front of it, playing his guitar as he looked out. I walked softly up behind him.

  Over his shoulder on the hilltop in the distance, I could see my house. I could see the studio, the black leather couch, and the stand with all of the guitars. I tapped his shoulder; he glanced back at me, almost as if he were expecting to see me standing there. I let a shy smile touch my lips as he finished the chord he was playing.

  “I must’ve left that light on,” I teased, keeping it light as long as I could.

  As his eyes moved to the window, mine followed. The light turned off.

  He arched his brow as a sexy grin settled on the edge of his lips.

  “We see.” My expression did its best to hide the rocky emotions inside. “But now I’m blind.”

  He slowly moved the strap of his guitar from around him and set it down inside the stand under the window. His eyes never left mine. “No...you’re not.”

  I swayed my head but his hands caught my face and pulled my lips to his. My body melted against him as the fire of his kiss electrified me. He was healing me. Every kiss, every push, and every time he relaxed a bit he was bringing me back. He drew his lips away and leaned his forehead to mine. “You don’t need to see it right now. Deal with you. You gotta come at ‘em strong.”

  I closed my eyes as the memory of the shadows pushed my panic button. I fought my way passed it. I gave the darkness faces. I gave them lives. I saw them as a pool of water that needed to be reminded how deep it was.

  “Hungry?” he asked, sliding his hands down my body as he took my hand.

  “You’re always trying to get me to eat.”

  “No, not at all. I just know we have about thirty seconds before Nana comes after us,” he said, winking at me.

  “Right.” I breathed. “I just want to be alone with you.”

  He gently reached his arms around me once more and pulled me to him. In the silent room, he swayed us back and forth. I breathed in the addictive aroma of his cologne and let myself pretend for a moment that my life could be this simple—that I could feel this calm all the time.

  Downstairs, we found Aden and Nana in the kitchen. They’d set the food on the table in the little breakfast nook.

  “There they are,” Nana said, setting a plate of bread on the table. “I thought about eating in the dining room, but those chairs are just too far apart. This is cozy,” she said, reaching her arm out for me to come to her at the table.

  Draven tightened his fingers around mine and didn’t let go until he pulled out my chair. Nana smiled and nodded at him as if to say good job. I looked back to see him blushing.

  We ate in silence for a moment. Everything tasted so perfect. My mom’s housekeeper, Rosa, would cook for me, but it didn’t taste like this. It was like I could feel the love that went into the meal.

  “That sounded good,” Nana said, referring to what they were playing before.

  “Ideas come from everywhere,” Draven said, glancing to his side at me, there was a shy smile there that made my heart melt.

  “Did either of you talk to your dad today?” Nana asked.

  They both shook their head no.

  “His flight landed safe. He wanted to know if either of you had said anything else about your set last night,” Nana said.

  “He gotta twenty on some paranormal hunters or something?” Draven asked.

  Aden pushed his empty bowl away and leaned forward on the table. He glanced at Nana, then at me. “I didn’t realize we were already talking about the dark side.”

  “What is your dad doing?” I asked losing any reminisces of shyness.

  “Looking for ancient lore.”

  “Because of me?” I asked passing a guarded stare at all of them.

  “He’s always lookin’,” Aden said.

  “Was this a planned trip?”

  They glanced to the thin air.

  “They never are,” Nana said.

  “What lead is he following?” I pushed. I was positive that why they were all cradling me with one hand, the other was poking a demon better left alone.

  “The one you told him about,” Draven said. “You think there are others like us.”

  I wasn’t buying this easy claim. There were more ‘others’ like us, lots of people had a thing for hunting the unknown, and even more didn’t have a choice in the matter.

  Nana, reached for my hand. “You’re not afraid to ask questions. Evan is following up on an answer you found.”

  I held my breath and lost all expression on my face. What did I send him to do? At that moment, thunder clapped in the air. I jumped at the sound of it. Draven reached his arm around me, then gave Nana a warning glance.

  “It doesn’t have to do with what you got clouding you,” Aden said. “Not directly. Dad knows what he’s doing.”

  Thunder rumbled again. Aden got up to help Nana clear away the table. I felt foolish just sitting there, so I started to help, too. Once we had the kitchen cleaned, Nana stretched her arms.

  “This old lady is going to bed,” she said.

  She reached up and kissed both Draven and Aden on the cheek, then walked over to me and hugged me tightly. “I’ll see you soon.”

  Once she left the room, I looked back at them. Aden was moving his hands against the counter like he was playing a mass of chords. “Do you wanna play some more, or would you rather I just disappear and leave you guys alone?” Aden asked, tilting his head and letting his eyes move between the two of us.

  I wasn’t going to move. I didn’t want to give any hidden message in my body language. Draven studied my face for a second. “Let’s play. I’ll tell you when to go,” he said, punching Aden in the arm.

  “That’s what I wanted to hear,” Aden said, grinning as he walked out of the kitchen.

  Draven put his arm around me. “Maybe you’ll be able to see my favorite audience,” he whispered.

  I tensed. He let his hand slide down my arm and looped his fingers through mine. “To see…you’re going to have to stop that. You’re blocking everything,” he said looking into my eyes for some kind of understanding.

  “I can’t help it. The idea of seeing something that is blind to others is terrifying.”

  “You once told me we were chosen to see what we see for a reason.”

  The warm vibe in his house came back. Calm came back.

  Draven’s eyes looked all around me, he smiled confidently at something or someone I couldn’t see, then pulled me forward again. The sense of calm stayed with me. By the time we’d reached their studio, I took ownership of it.

  Aden was sitting behind a massive set of drums, twirling the sticks.

  I let go of Draven’s hand and settled on the couch to watch. Draven went to his guitar. The sight of him stepping up intoxicated me. Owning his God given gift, doing something like that, was more terrifying than any darkness. Like the meaning of any song, no one sees our life the way we do. They don’t hear the call inside. It’s too easy to listen to what others say we should or should not do and ignore the truth we know.

  I rocked with the rhythm as they played. The air electrified as the music swarmed around me. It
felt like the world was listening with me—they could all see Jacob’s Ladder. At least, I wanted it to feel that way. I knew if it was possible for me to find a release in the state of mind I was in, then anyone could. I wanted to show them how. I wanted to give it to them.

  Four straight songs later, Aden’s beat slowed to a whisper, then Draven’s guitar began to cry an almost silent note. He nodded for me to come to him. I can’t explain it, but I almost felt pushed to him. Not in a bad, suffocating way, more like someone was nudging me in the direction I needed to go.

  I stood up slowly and stared into his eyes as I crossed the room. In that breath, the room was empty and silent… we were the only souls in this world. Once I reached his side, his guitar bellowed one final note, so hard that I felt it tremble through me. His eyes slowly broke away from mine and glanced to the window. I followed his stare and watched as the lights in my father’s studio turned on and off again—twice. I stared calmly at the room as the light remained on.

  “Do you see anything else in this room?” he asked in a voice just above a whisper.

  “I can’t see past you,” I whispered.

  A boyish smile spread across his face. “I can handle that.”

  I glanced back at Aden, but he wasn’t paying any attention to us. He was on his phone.

  “I’m sure this would be a good time for you to tell me to go, but Austin just texted me and said that he’s at the door and asked should he use that one or another one,” Aden said with a sly smirk on his face.

  Draven’s eyes moved to me, then he quickly sat his guitar down and ran down the stairs.

  “Should I go?” I asked.

  He shook his head “Draven just wanted to make sure he used the front door.”

  Thunder and lightning erupted all around the house. I jumped at the sound of it.

  “It’s getting too bad for you to drive anyways,” Aden said looking up at me.

  I glanced out the window and watched the trees fight the wind. I was terrified of what I’d face on my drive home. The shadows were furious with me for coming here. I could only imagine what price I’d pay for staying this long.

  “Charlie,” Aden said.

  I jumped out of the thought I was in and looked at him. He stood from behind his drums and walked to me. “Don’t worry about what’s outside. It can’t hurt you unless you let it, and it knows that.”

  I tried to smile and act like I knew what he was talking about, to pretend that I wasn’t fighting this war on my own, but it was clear that he could see the emptiness behind my expression.

  “I hope you’re right. It sounds dangerous,” I said as the thunder crashed again.

  “Listen…I don’t agree with the slow roll path Draven is trying to take to reach you—if it were me, I wouldn’t have the patience. Me and him can’t see past the moment we left that night. We’re looking at the same void, feeling it the way you do. ” He ticked his head toward me. “You made the choice to keep us out before someone made a helluva lot choices for you. The faster you let us see it, the more prepared we’ll be.”

  “I want to see why I held it back in the first place. There might be a justifiable reason I chose to fight it alone.”

  “It’s not safe for you to be alone.”

  “I’m still standing,” I rebutted.

  “Charlie, you have no idea how terrified we were that night. Getting that call from your mom.” His eyes raced across mine. “Whatever happened, it happened to all of us.” His head dipped so he could see deeper into my eyes. “We deserve to know.”

  Draven came in the door at that moment. He looked sternly at Aden to judge what he was talking to me about. Aden raised his hand to silently say he knew his boundaries, then made his way to the couch.

  With Draven was a guy, maybe twenty-two. He was dressed in black from head to toe. The color seemed to bring out his angelic hazel eyes.

  “Austin, this is…Charlie,” Draven said, nodding in my direction.

  Austin smiled oddly as if to say hello. I stared back at him as flashes of forgotten conversations came to me. It was rapid and confusing, the kind of memories I knew I would have to dwell on just because of how wild they were—but I knew the bottom line.

  Austin was as human as they came, but he could travel to other dimensions. He found us by accident. For a long time, we’d thought he was our way out. He knew people who were experts on lore, not lore of one world, but all of them. He’d always believed our sight took us beyond the borders of the world we knew.

  This was as exciting as it was terrifying. You can go anywhere and find someone who believes in ghosts, evil—you’ll find someone who knows someone who crossed a medium or a practicing witch. Finding someone who believes there are pathways to other dimensions and you can break free from the one you’re in along with its curses...you won’t find someone like that. Not in the mainstream nonfiction section of life, at least.

  I heard the swirling arguments. What if we contaminated wherever we went? Could we really leave our families behind? Was running right or wrong?

  I rocked back as this awareness slammed into me. My life just got a whole lot more complicated than a few nasty haunts.

  I gave Austin a shallow detached nod as I slid back into myself, trying to keep it cool as I unraveled my latest reality check.

  Austin’s smile fell we he saw my delayed awareness. “Pleasure is mine.”

  “We just saw Wesley. He looked happy—are they leaving with you?” Aden asked Austin.

  Draven nodded for me to take a seat in the chair. When I did, he sat on the arm next to me.

  Austin’s eyes shifted back and forth between Draven and me as he sat next to Aden. “No, not yet, I,” he looked at Draven, “I need to talk to you so I can make sure I know my boundaries,” he said looking over me. “I don’t want to mess you up.”

  Aden smirked. “She was the only one that believed you the first time around—even though we all saw you just appear.” He almost sneered. “Might be good for her to speed this up.”

  I drew back as the memory slammed into me. I even looked to the spot I knew Austin had appeared years before while we were all playing.

  After a hard glance at Aden, Draven said. “I’ll stop you if it’s too much. It’s not as bad as Aden thinks.”

  “The hell,” Aden muttered.

  Austin leaned forward before Aden or Draven had a chance to cross any more words.

  “I have people from Chara with me, Charlie…they’re eager to meet all of you.”

  My gaze grew a little wider.

  Chara was his home. A home that he told us was full of peace, bliss.

  “You’re a traveler,” I said a bit boldly.

  Austin lifted his chin, daring me to go on.

  “You move through dimensions, through something called a string. A glowing light that has storms of energy in it. A storm brought you to us by accident, but your world does not believe in accidents. It believes in fate. You’re supposed to help us figure out why we can do what we can do.”

  I leaned forward in my chair resting my elbows on my knees. “I don’t know what Pandora’s Box I’ve opened...bringing a curse to your world is not a fear, it’s a likelihood.

  Austin lowered his head then raised his hazel eyes to look at me. “What can I do to help? I’m not good with knowing someone struck you.”

  I swayed my head. “I just need time.”

  Austin eyed the ring I was spinning then glanced up to Draven. “I have more of those.”

  I glanced between them as Austin stood and pulled more clear crystals out of his pocket. “Chara magic?” I quipped dryly.

  “Magic is the belief you put in something,” Austin said. “These simply cleanse your vibe.” He said handing them to me. “I’ll be back in a few weeks to check on Wesley. Sooner if I can.”

  Draven glanced up at him and said, “Travel safe.”

  “Always,” Austin said then he looked at me. “It was good to see you.”

&nbs
p; I smiled faintly and nodded.

  “See ya, Aden,” Austin said, waving behind him as he left.

  Aden waved as he stood and stretched. “I think I’m gonna disappear now.”

  “Maybe I should go—it’s late,” this was the lamest thing I could possibly say after what just happened, but I was on auto pilot clicking through what I knew as I gripped the stones in my hand.

  The thunder clapped again, and the wind charged against the house. “If you really wanna go I’ll have to take you. It’s not safe,” Draven said.

  My eyes drifted up to his. “I’d like that.”

  I wanted to be alone with him. I wanted to understand why I had plotted to escape this world—how that was even freaking possible. I had to know how badly I messed up what we had put in place.

  “I’ll see you soon,” Aden said as we left the room.

  Draven looped his fingers through mine as he guided me down the steps.

  “Do you need anything out of your car?” he asked.

  “Just my phone. I’ll get it,” I said, letting go of his hand before he could volunteer. I didn’t want to explain to him why I had two phones.

  I opened the door just as lightning illuminated the sky. I ran as fast as I could, getting completely soaked. I had to search in the dark for where I threw them earlier. Once I found them, I tucked them under my shirt and ran back inside.

  “Sure you wanna go?” he asked.

  I glanced around his place. It felt safe, but here I was stimulated to remember. At home I knew my space. I could think about what I already uncovered.

  He opened a small closet door in the entry hall and reached in and grabbed the black hoodie with a Celtic cross, then slowly reached to take the one that was drenched off me. A warm chill danced down my spine.

  “This one’s dry,” he whispered, holding it out for me to put my arms through.

  As I pulled it around myself, I smelled the addictive aroma of his cologne and smiled. It made me feel safe and warm. As he looped his fingers through mine and pulled me through the hall to the kitchen, then into the garage.

  His Hummer was backed in next to another one that was solid black. He opened the passenger door and helped me climb in. As I waited for him to walk around to the driver’s side, I told myself to just breathe—it was just one short drive home. I wasn’t driving, and I was strong enough to ignore the shadows and whispers no matter how violent they were.

  Draven slid in and pulled his belt around himself then gave me a once over as he pressed the button to open the garage door.

  “Did Aden say something to you while I was talking to Austin? Or did what you remember about Austin freak you out?”

  I hesitated before I answered. “Aden...he just wants to get a peek at my horror show.”

  He put the Hummer in drive. I looked forward into the darkness at the wind and rain thrashing in every direction. I reached for the radio just as he did. He smiled slightly as he turned it up then reached for my hand as he drove to the edge of his driveway.

  “Maybe I should just stay here until the storm passes.”

  He let go of my hand long enough to flip a switch on his dash. Lights beamed so brightly from the Hummer it was hard to see the night. “We’re not prisoners of the darkness,” he said, glancing at me.

  I almost told him about what happened in the school hallway, or even on my first drive in my car, but I held that back. I’d rather believe I’d overreacted.

  I focused on the music that was playing as he pulled forward. As we got closer to my house, I let go of Draven’s hand and reached for the radio to turn it down. I closed my eyes and focused on every sound I could hear. The whispers were faint, but I could make out words. I could swear I heard, “Draven, Charlie” and the word “Come” overlapping with one another.

  All at once, they stopped. I opened my eyes to see us pulling into my garage.

  “Safe,” Draven said under his breath as he looked at me.

  Lightning illuminated behind the garage as thunder crashed above us.

  “The problem we have now is that I have no way of making sure you are…” I said as I watched the wind punishing the trees with a raging force. “I think you should stay here until this blows over.”

  His eyes softened as he put the Hummer in park. “You really want me to stay with you?”

  My heart started to pound in my chest. “I—I just don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

  “You’re worth the pain. Trust me.” He reached for my hand and laced his fingers through mine, his thumb started to trace small circles on my skin.

  “When you do that, I feel your skin hum.” I said quietly, watching his thumb move and remembering how magically his hands seemed when he played.

  He leaned closer to me; his entrancing jade eyes were just inches away. “Your skin hums, too.”

  He held my gaze and leaned closer to me.

  “Breathe,” he whispered.

  I did more than breathe. I slammed my lips against his. There was no shock or hesitation that came from him. He leaned to my side deepening our kiss but I was already drunk on him and pushed against him, he let me.

  I crawled across the console onto his lap. I leaned my head back as I felt his lips move to my neck, his hands glided from my thighs to my hips, as my fingers threaded through his hair.

  This was some kind of wicked power we had. It took next to nothing to draw us into euphoria. I hunted the slightest reaction from him then played on it; it was the same with him. We were proving to each other that there was something we could not see that was binding us. We may be young, wild, and on fire, but our vibe was ancient.

  We could’ve been a thousand people in just as many lives. We both might be blindly reborn with weapons we didn’t understand and enemies that lurked in the shadows. None of those insane, deep thoughts mattered. This rich, invigorating sensation between us promised we were immortal. One way or another, we’d find our way to these moments that made every hell worth it.

  Thunder exploded in the sky making me jump forward in his arms. His held me tighter. His head was buried in my neck, his hot breath cascaded down my chest.

  “I feel all of you here,” he whispered. “No divide.”

  I cradled him in my arms and swayed us back and forth to the rhythm of the wind.