"About what?" said Mick. "I was just about to walk into the Hall. Can't it wait till later? I think it can. We'll talk when I get back."
I looked at him defiantly. "No Mick. We will talk now."
Mick froze. His eyes told me he knew something bad was coming. "Okay," he said and threw both arms in the air resignedly. "If you insist on completely ruining this evening for me, then by all means let's talk."
"Did you take those pages in my file, the book of my life?"
Mick froze completely. Then he shook his head fast while his eyes avoided mine. "Of course I didn't. Where do you get those ideas from? Is it that Abhik again? I told you to stay away from him. He puts all these thoughts in you and then I have to get rid of them afterwards. I tell you, I can't wait till we get out of here and we don't have to see him again. I don't even understand why he is still here. I'll have to have a talk with Salathiel and tell him that he is bad news, that he is constantly trying to destroy our lives, that he ..."
"Stop!" I said. "Stop it right now, Mick. Abhik is not the issue here. You are. You and all your lies. Tell me again, did you or did you not remove those pages from my book?"
Mick's eyes became big and wide. There was a battle going on inside of his mind, I could tell. I just hoped that the right guy would win, the one who chose to be honest with me.
Mick didn't say anything; he just kept staring at me. He didn't need to speak; I knew it just from his look.
"You did it," I said my voice shaking in anger and on the verge of breaking. I couldn't believe it; I didn't want to believe it. "Why, Mick?" I asked with thick voice. "Why would you do such a thing to me?"
He was biting his lip. "I was afraid," he said. "I was afraid of how you'd react once you realized that I had known you since you were a child. I was afraid of how you'd react." He gestured resignedly. "There you have it. I was scared, okay? So I removed the pages, all memory you had of me and you."
I shook my head slowly. "I don't believe you," I said. "There is more to the story. There is more you're not telling me, isn't there?"
Mick reached out to grab me, but I pulled away. "No. I promise you it's the truth," he said.
"Why did she say I came unexpectedly?"
Mick shook his head in confusion. "What? Why did who say what? I don't understand."
"When I died," I said through gritted teeth. "Mrs. Higgins was there. She told me I had come a little 'unexpectedly.' "
Mick lifted his eyebrows. "How am I supposed to know that? You're not making any sense here, Meghan. I think you might need to rest a little ..."
"No, I have never been clearer in my head," I said. "I wasn't supposed to die, was I? It wasn't in my book; it wasn't part of my destiny."
Mick moved his hands nervously. "What do you mean? I was sent to get you, you know that. Meghan let's forget about it all and just go back ..." Mick reached out and tried to grab my hand, but I lifted my arm to stop him. I looked him directly in the eyes.
"You killed me."
Startled Mick stared at me trying to look surprised. "What are you talking about? I didn't ..."
"It all makes sense," I continued. "How come I didn't think of it before? It all adds up. That's why you needed to erase my memory, because I would see that it was you. You brought me there; you brought me to the Colorado Mountains a place I had never been before, where my parents hadn't even been before. A place so far away from my home that it was unnatural for me to be there. But not if I had flown there with you. Yes, you liked to do that, didn't you? You took me places. You took me on trips far away from my home and showed me the world. Now I suddenly remember everything," I said while the flashes of memories suddenly rushed through my mind. Pictures, people, events swirling like a whirlpool through my mind. It felt like a huge wave rushing in over me and I stumbled backwards. "I remember, Mick, I remember!"
"But that's not possible," Mick exclaimed. "I was told it was erased for eternity, gone and could never return!"
The flashes suddenly stopped when I reached almost the end of my life. Then I turned and looked at Mick. "You told me we were going on a trip; you knew how much I loved going on trips with you. I adored you, Mick. I loved being with you. But this time you put me down in the middle of the forest. You left me there. You ... you ..." I gasped. "You hit me so I fell and scraped my knees. That's why Rosey told me I was bleeding. That's how she ended up with my blood and DNA on her, which ultimately convicted her. That's why there was blood on the ground in my dreams. How did you know she was there, Mick?"
"I didn't. I tried to kill you myself, but I couldn't. I wasn't strong enough. I left you there hoping you would die out there on your own with no food or shelter in the mountains. But then you found the cabin and I thought all was lost. So I helped Rosey a little. I encouraged her to kill you."
"How Mick? How did you encourage her?"
Mick exhaled. "Well if you must know, then I had someone help me learn how to possess a human, so I took over her body and strangled you. She never felt anything, but saw herself do it without being able to stop it. There you go. I said it."
I stared into his eyes with the feeling of betrayal rushing through my veins and mind. I shook my head slowly. "But why, Mick? I thought you loved me?"
Mick moved towards me. "I do love you, more than you'll ever know. That's why I did it; you'll have to believe me. I did it so we could be together. After I saved your father I couldn't stop thinking about you. I think I loved you from the moment I saw you pray on your knees in the hospital. I was drawn to you. I wanted desperately to see you again. So I kept coming back. For years I came to you when you were only a child, but then suddenly you were all grown up. Suddenly you had become this beautiful grown woman that I adored so dearly. We had spent years seeing each other so seldom it was hurting me so the last year of your life I began to come several times a week, since I couldn't bear to be without you. I loved you as a child, but as a grown woman I desired you in a whole different way. I longed for the moments we could spend together. I was so sick with love and longing for you and to be close to you. I wanted us to be able to be together every day, all the time and never have to part. I knew you'd lose your memory once you got here so I thought I had at least three years to win your love again, but luckily it didn't even take that long. At least I was near you every day now."
"That's crazy, Mick. Can't you hear how crazy that is? You killed me. You deprived me of my life on Earth and caused so much sorrow for my parents, just for what? So that you could be close to me? So we could be together? Is that your idea of love?"
"Yes," he said like it was the most natural thing in the universe. "Yes. That is my idea of eternal love."
I stared at him feeling completely numb. I wasn't angry, I wasn't even sad anymore. I exhaled deeply. "I think we have very different ideas as to what love is," I said.
Mick forced a smile. "Does that matter? As long as we love each other?"
"I don't think I love you anymore, Mick. I don't think I'm capable of loving you any longer."
Mick's eyes flared in desperation. "No, don't say that," he said. He reached out to grab me around my waist. "You're just tired. It has been a long day for you. You need to rest."
I pulled his hands off me and pushed him away. "You don't tell me what to do anymore," I said. Then I grabbed my wedding ring and pulled it off my finger. I handed it to him. "Here take it back. I don't want it anymore."
"But Meghan, my love ..."
"No! Don't ever call me that again," I said loudly. "You have no right to call me that ever again."
"Please, Meghan, don't say that. I ..."
"No, Mick. Stop. Listen to what I'm saying and try to understand for once. This is important. I'm leaving you, Mick."
"No! No!" Mick screamed. Then he stormed towards me and grabbed me and held me in his arms while crying hysterically. "No. Don't do this to me Meghan. You can't do this to me. I love you. I can't live without you. You're everything to me. You're my life." He lifted his head and tried to kiss me. I pu
shed him away. He was thrown backwards into the air.
When he looked at me again I saw the flames were back in his eyes. A shield of anger enclosed him and he looked like he was on fire. Knowing his temper I backed up slowly towards the door.
"Mick. Don't ... I ...
I barely got to finish the sentence before he stormed towards me and pushed me up against the wall so hard I was torn into beads with a penetrating scream. I watched as my body dissolved and the beads were floating into the air. Some of them returned on their own while I tried to catch my breath desperately hoping that nothing had happened to my baby. Meanwhile other beads kept floating around in the room. Mick picked some of them up and started throwing them against the wall instead of giving them to me. He kicked my parts and threw them in anger causing them to dissolve further. The remains of me tried to regenerate, but all my strength had been knocked out of me and suddenly Mick was standing in front of my face or what was left of it. I screamed in pain as he lifted his foot and kicked me in my face causing it to split into two halves. Mick hissed and yelled, and lifted his foot again in order to kick me when suddenly he was attacked and thrown across the room.
"No!" I heard a voice yell and then Mick was pushed again. While some of my parts slowly returned to my body I watched as Mick stormed back towards the person who had pushed him and attacked him. Now they were floating in the air while hitting each other, punching and beating each other's bodies. Soon my arm was restored and I managed to reach out for the other half of my face and as soon as it was back on I could see properly what was going on. The two of them were fighting and turning in the air and as they came around I could see who had entered the kitchen at just the right time. I let out a small gasp when I saw his face.
It was Jason.
CHAPTER 29
MICK AND JASON were groaning and moaning, then yelling and screaming. I fought hard to piece myself back together one bead at the time. It took a while for the body to absorb the pieces and make me whole again. I moved my fingers, arms and legs and took in a sigh of great relief, happy to see that nothing was missing
Mick managed to throw Jason into the air and I looked up with a gasp. Jason hit the ceiling but wasn't hurt. Like a spider he crawled across the ceiling and then bounced off it and landed just in front of Mick. They were growling like animals, circling each other. Jason took a step forward causing Mick to punch out to hit him, but he missed. Mick lunged at Jason once again, but again Jason was too fast and moved before Mick's fist could hit him. I watched them as they danced in circles around each other. Mick fuming with anger and the desire to wipe out the man he hated more than anything.
I couldn't bear to watch it. "Please stop," I said.
"Meghan, stay out of this," Mick snarled.
"Please stop," I pleaded again. "I don't want anyone to get hurt."
Jason looked at me and for a second our eyes locked. In that instant it was like he saw me again, like he saw me back then in his room when I had visited him, back when I had taken him outside and pulled him into the air with me, back when we had shared a kiss, our first and only. I felt a warmth spread inside of my body and I couldn't help smiling.
Out of the corner of my eye I suddenly saw Mick come towards Jason with high speed, then leap through the air and land on Jason, forcing him down to the floor. Mick's eyes were flaming as he punched Jason over and over again. I screamed and floated towards them. I grabbed Mick and tried to pull him away but he was too strong. The anger in him made his fluid body burning hot and I could hardly touch him. It was burning Jason too when Mick punched him. It sounded like he was being stigmatized, like every time Mick's fist touched Jason's skin it left a burn. Jason was screaming in pain. Tears streamed down my face while I punched Mick in the back, only to burn my fists.
"STOP! STOP!" was all I could manage to yell.
But Mick had no intentions of stopping. He kept burning his fists into Jason's body and tearing beads out of him. Jason was screaming, his screams penetrating my body like needles. I kept trying to grab Mick and pull him away and burning myself when suddenly I realized I was going about this all wrong. Jason screamed again and I cried while trying to find peace within myself. I tried to calm myself down in the midst of my fear. I closed my eyes and blocked everything out. Mick, Jason, the school, all my worries. I blocked them out of my thoughts. Then I rubbed my hands together and thought about water. Lots of water. Tons of water. A few seconds later it was pouring out of the palm of my hands. I gasped when I saw it. I hadn't been able to do any magic right for a long time. The water kept coming stronger and stronger and soon it was like a river flowing from the palms of my hands. I was shaking all over. Jason screamed again when I lifted up my hands and poured all the water over Mick. When the water hit him it sounded like putting out a bonfire with a bucket of water. The fire in him was extinguished and the water was forcefully pulling him off Jason's body and flushing him far away from me. The river of water kept flowing and Mick was fighting it with a scream when suddenly someone came into the room through the walls.
"What is going on in here?"
It was Headmaster Salathiel. I stopped the water by closing my hands and didn't open them until the gurgling sound was gone. Mick fell to the ground with a thud. I ran to Jason. He was moaning and trying to get up.
"Stay down," I whispered. "You're hurt."
Quickly I scanned his face and body and realized he was missing an ear and some hair and an elbow. I found the pieces floating close to him and helped him get back together again. Salathiel stared at me while Mick was groaning from the corner of the room.
"We need to get them both to the hospital tower," I said.
Salathiel nodded with a serious face, when Rahmiel entered the room as well. She looked at Salathiel and I could tell they spoke to each other in their minds. Salathiel nodded, then flew towards Mick and lifted him up from the floor. He was barely conscious when Salathiel carried him out of the room. Rahmiel then looked at me with concerned eyes and approached.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
I shook my head. "I'm not sure. I'll tell you everything once we're in the hospital."
CHAPTER 30
I HAD TO spend the night in the hospital tower for observation since they wanted to be sure nothing had happened to me or the baby when I had been torn into beads. Luckily nothing seemed to have happened to the baby, they told me. Abhik slept in a chair next to me, holding my hand. Neither of us got much sleep that night. The next morning Rahmiel came to me.
"How is Jason?" I asked before she had hardly entered the room.
"He's better. You can see him later today."
I was filled with relief.
"You look better too," she said and caressed my cheek.
"They say I'm fine and that the baby is fine too."
"You are very strong, Meghan. Your baby will probably be too."
"But I feel exhausted," I said.
"Well you've been through a lot emotionally lately. That taxes your strength more than you know. The water you flushed out of your hands took its toll on your body as well. It's not an easy thing to do, what you did. It's going to take a few days before you can make any magic again. Your body is tired."
"Well hopefully I don't have to."
"What's going to happen next?" Abhik asked. "With Mick I mean."
"Mick just woke up a few moments ago," Rahmiel told us. "He is being detained by guards of Angels that I sent for yesterday. The coming days we will try and sort out exactly what has been going on with him and get his story straightened out. I still have hope for him that we might be able to get him back on the right track, but he has to want it. He has been a dear friend to this school and we all love him profoundly, but only time will tell if we can get our Mick back the way we knew and loved him."
"So you're not going to throw him out?" Abhik asked upset. "After all he has done to Meghan?"
"He will receive a proper punishment, but what it will be is not up to me. That is for Sal
athiel to decide. "
"What about the marriage?" Abhik asked. "Is Meghan still married to him?"
"If she wants to she can get it annulled. It's just a technicality. In this world we don't care about titles or anything like that. It's all very human and earthly. It doesn't matter here or even in Heaven. Love is all that matters. It's up to you Meghan."
I exhaled deeply. "I think I need it to be annulled," I said. "I feel I hardly even know who Mick is anymore. There is no future for us." I felt tears pressing behind my eyes then reached down and touched the bump on my stomach. The baby returned my gesture by kicking me several times. I chuckled lightly. "The baby and I will be fine on our own."
"Then that's settled," Rahmiel said. "I'll tell Mick when I speak to him later today, that you are no longer his wife."
I was discharged from the hospital a few hours later. Abhik floated next to me as I said goodbye to the nurses.
"We'll probably see you again soon," one of them said and caressed my stomach. "Won't be long now."
"Well at least it'll be under more joyful circumstances," I said.
Abhik held my hand as we flew down the corridor.
"I want to see Jason before we leave," I said.
Abhik smiled. "Of course. I'll ask a nurse where to find him."
Abhik left and came back a few minutes later. "He's in room two-thirteen," he said and pointed. "It's right in there."
"I'd like to go in alone," I said as I put my hand on the door.
"I'll be right out here," Abhik said with a smile.
"Thanks."
I put both of my hands on the door and pushed myself through. Jason lifted his head from the bed when he saw me come through the door.
Then he smiled. I smiled back remembering how much I loved his boyish smile. Remembering how much I had once cared for him.
"Meghan," he said and reached out his hand towards me.
I took it.
"How are you?" I asked and held his hand tight in mine.