by K. D. Worth
Stronger even.
I’d never felt closer to Kody than I did just then. As I held my hands up, holding the force field in place around us, I could not tear my gaze from his eyes. They were bright with peace and happiness… joy. He was so beautiful, so precious to me just then, my heart actually ached.
To my left the light sparked.
I flinched as Slade slapped the shield from the outside.
Startled out of the euphoric trancelike state, I jerked and the light disappeared.
I gasped for breath. “What did you do that for?”
“What good is a shield if you’re distracted from outside forces and you can’t keep it up?” Slade countered.
I looked at Kody, and he was wiping away a tear. I tilted my head to the side, concerned. But he simply gave me a beatific smile, and I realized that he’d been caught up in the intensity of our union within the cocoon of my light and our love too.
I brushed at my own face, not surprised to feel wetness.
Slade was looking at both of us. “Let’s try it again. But this time, Kody?”
“Yes?”
“I want you to touch Max and siphon as much energy from that light as you can.”
Kody shot me a look. “Won’t that make the shield weaker?”
“You’ll see,” Slade said with a grin.
Determined, I held out my hands.
It was much easier the second time. Funny, but now that we better understood how the energy moved between us, it all felt so natural and easy, as if Kody were the yin to my yang, two hearts, one soul.
In a matter of seconds, a glistening tent encompassed us. Warmth filled the space and once more we were in the intimate center of my light.
As he’d been told, Kody reached out. “Should I touch Max or the light?” he asked Slade.
“I don’t know. Take your pick,” Slade answered, his voice muffled by my force field.
I’m making a force field! How cool is that?
Smiling, Kody hesitantly touched the light.
It sparked, and surged through me, but it did not falter.
Our eyes met, his full of wonder again. I could feel him connecting to the energy wall, drawing the power in. But it did not weaken me. In fact it made it easier to maintain. Effortless actually.
I was getting stronger the more he stayed connected.
No.
We were getting stronger.
“Take more,” I told him.
Nodding, Kody reached out with his other hand.
When it connected, I felt another surge.
And then Kody began to brighten. That was the only way to describe it. His skin put off a shimmering light. Kody, the force field, the light, me… we were all one.
He was there with me, and even if I closed my eyes, I could still see him. I saw him inside me, next to me, everywhere around me. I felt his joy. I understood his heart. Everything about me, and within me, I knew then, he was experiencing too.
“I can feel you,” I told him out loud, and I felt his laughter inside me. Warmth, desire, love, happiness. All the joy I’d ever experienced with Kody filled me now.
The fire grew hotter.
To my left I saw sparks of light. Slade tapping on the shield.
I chuckled because I knew he couldn’t break this wall.
Nothing could.
Not even a wraith.
When Kody withdrew his hands from the force field it did not falter. “You did it.”
“No,” I whispered. “We did it.”
Confident the shield would remain, I reached for both of his hands and encased them in mine. Not caring if Slade was there, I leaned in and gave Kody a gentle kiss.
It felt like the first time, the last time. Eternity and every moment in between.
When he withdrew, the shimmering wall of light sparkled around him, haloing his smiling face and heating us both up inside. I could feel my light moving into him as he absorbed it, then a changed version of that energy, cycling back into me—Kody’s “healing energy,” as Slade had called it.
The power we created intensified, and after a moment, I couldn’t tell if it was coming from me anymore or if I was tapping into something deep within Kody. Maybe both, or neither. All I knew, we were unified on a level I’d never thought possible. Kody united with me, me connected to him, the light, and our love.
“Max,” Slade said in my mind. “Lower the shield and make one just around Kody.”
Though I did not want to leave our intimate bubble—we would practice that one alone in our room tonight—I did as instructed. When I let it go, the magic dissipated in a shower of iridescent light around us.
“Good job, guys,” Slade said, beaming at us with so much pride, I didn’t think I’d ever seen him happier. “Think you can do it again? Are you tired yet?”
“Not at all.”
Slade smiled. “Good. That’s because you guys are working together.”
“Together,” I said in Kody’s mind, though I knew Slade heard. I felt triumphant, like maybe we really could do this.
No surprise, shielding Kody was the easiest of all.
I touched my fingers together, and as if I were Spider-Man creating a web, the watery light stretched between my fingertips very easily. I looked at my beloved, his smile bright and his fair skin flushed with happiness and highlighted by his red gi. I reached out to touch him.
Slade whispered in my mind, “Don’t touch. See if you can do it from afar.”
Nodding, I pursed my lips, confident I could do this.
I extended my hand, and I wasn’t touching Kody this time, but he was there, connected inside me.
Kody was the source of the flame within me. He was the fuel the flame needed to burn, and he was the heat the flame had created.
Suddenly a blanket of light glistened around Kody and covered him like a bubble, conjuring visions of the fairy godmother making a sparkly blue dress for Cinderella.
Eyes wide, Kody looked all around at the force field, touching it. It swirled like the water’s surface, sending ripples of heat and light. I threw a triumphant grin at Slade and was delighted to find a mirror image on my boss’s face.
“I want you guys to keep practicing all the time, every day.”
Kody’s eyes met mine, and I reached into the field and took hold of his hand. There was no resistance as I touched it, because it was part of me.
A part of us.
Every part of the light inside me belonged to Kody, and as long as it remained with me, I knew we would be together.
We practiced several more times, each attempt easier than the last, and each time making me feel more confident that we would be okay, and most of all, that we would never be apart.
At the end of our lesson, Slade looked back and forth between the two of us. “I have faith in the two of you. Whatever comes your way, you will be able to do this. But never forget this: You were not just random charges on the side of the road, and you know that now. You each were chosen by God Himself.”
Holding hands, we shared a smile, and I had hope that we could tackle the task before us. If God had faith in us, then we had already won the battle.
“You guys have a big task ahead of you,” Slade said. “But I’m not gonna be there for a lot of it.”
“You’re leaving again?” Kody asked, his grip on my hand tightening.
“Soon you won’t need me. We’ll have one final lesson tomorrow, and then you’ll be ready.”
“We’ll always need you,” Kody insisted. “What are you talking about, final lesson?”
“You’re ditching us again?” Memories of being left alone while I grieved Kody’s death slammed into me, ruining some of the afternoon’s perfection.
Beside me, Kody gasped.
Had he felt my pain as sharply as I did?
When I looked at his face, I knew that he had.
After being connected with my light physically, it seemed our emotions were more in sync than ever. And I would be damned
if I let a charge or a shade drain our emotions from us and weaken my Kody.
Not on my watch.
But I was worried about doing this without Slade.
Slade gave us a soft smile. “Guys, I’m not forsaking you. Never have and never will, even when it feels like it. But things are going to be changing very rapidly very soon.”
Though Slade had been saying this all along, rather than my usual apathy, I felt this news more urgently than before. But for the first time in ages, I felt prepared and confident.
Well, more confident than I had in the past. Like Jonah, I was afraid of the task at hand, but with Kody by my side, and more than a helping of faith, we had a fighting chance. We’d made a lot of progress today. And I couldn’t wait for our final lesson tomorrow.
Maybe then we would have all the tools we needed for the upcoming battle on faith.
“Go be with your friends,” Slade insisted. “Take strength in their numbers, and their support and friendship. You need to learn to trust and be open with the team. You’re going to have to work together. No longer apart.”
Kody nodded and pursed his lips, his face so serious I had visions of him as a soldier being sent off to war. Had Ed Carter looked like this when his drill sergeant sent him into the battle where he died? Did he look like this when Slade sent him back to the battlefield in a hopeless circle of saving souls and leaving shades behind?
Slade looked at me, and I sucked in a breath.
“You are soldiers, Max.” He looked back at Kody and then again to me. “Both of you are. The whole team is. Soldiers of God. And all of you guys need to stick together and be strong. Can you do that for me?”
“Yes, sir,” Kody said at the same time I said, “Of course.”
And then he grinned and slapped our shoulders, giving us a brotherly smile.
“All right, get the hell out of here. Go hang out with your friends and giggle about sucking each other off in the library or whatever new nonsense you guys are gossiping about.”
I shook my head and let out a chuckle, sharing a look with Kody.
How was it that Slade could go from an inspirational motivational speaker to that casual wiseass in the blink of an eye? I would never know.
But damn, I never wanted to be more like him than in that instant.
No doubt Slade heard me think it, and surprisingly, I was okay with that.
Then without another word or snap of fingers, Kody and I felt a fissure of magic around us, and we were suddenly standing in the kitchen of the common room. I was back in my favorite Levi’s and—strangely—a black T-shirt with Fall Out Boy written on the chest. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Slade dressing me in rock ’n’ roll T-shirts, but I did like the hip-hanging torn blue jeans he dressed Kody in and how the blue-green T-shirt brought out his eyes.
“Hey, when did you guys get in?” Sarah asked.
We turned in surprise. Sarah wore black glasses, her hair was bleached blonde, her roots black, and she was chewing on her thumbnail. Honestly, I got grunge music… um, sort of?—no, not really. But the nasty, chipped old manicure? I just couldn’t get over that! Maybe I should ask her why she didn’t fix it one day. I mean, we had magic to alter our appearance any way we wanted, so it couldn’t be an accident.
There had to be a reason.
“We were practicing with Slade,” Kody said, adding with a grin, “Together.”
“That’s cool. I’m getting pretty damn good at the crossbow,” she said, pride in her dark eyes.
I looked around the room at my friends, somewhat indignant. “So which of you have crossbows now?”
“I’d rather have lighting blasts coming out of my hands, if you must know,” Tristen said with attitude as he fiddled with the knobs on the top of his guitar.
Kelli laughed. She pointed at herself, Heather, and Jake. “We’re on swords, they got crossbows. Apparently Slade thinks we’ll do better close up in a fight.”
“Because I’m small and sneaky, I’ll be underestimated,” Heather said about herself.
“I can see that,” Kody said, appraising his friend with a nod.
I looked at our friends, then at Kody. Though I wanted nothing more than to go back to our room and practice making that protective umbrella around the two of us—naked this time—this is where we were supposed to be right now.
With our friends.
Talking openly and honestly for the first time since I’d been a reaper.
“Guys,” Kody said.
Everyone stopped talking and turned their attention to my boyfriend.
I was struck suddenly with how much he looked like a leader just then. Yes, he was taller than all of us, but until recently, he was always slouched, awkward even. But something had dramatically changed within Kody recently.
“It’s not that often we all get to hang out together,” Kody said. “We should take advantage of it. Maybe play some cards and talk. Maybe Jake could make us some of his awesome coffee. There are still cupcakes. Even some with nasty bacon on them.”
“The bacon ones were the best,” Tristen piped up.
I saw Heather roll her eyes, but she was smiling too.
Had they talked? I hoped so.
Everyone nodded as if Kody had suggested the most ingenious idea of all time. It didn’t take much coordinating, and Heather started making popcorn too. Dan and Jake made coffees for everyone. Kelli and Sarah sat around the table watching, while Tristen tried to pretend he wasn’t looking at Heather.
“Everyone seems to be getting along,” I whispered in an aside to Kody.
“Yes. Everyone’s happy. We’re all on the same page.” And then Kody looked at me, his eyes sparkling with tears. “I belong here,” he said in a quiet whisper.
The intensity of his words stole my breath and gave me chills. There was strength and conviction in his tone, though quiet as it was. I took his hand in mine and squeezed it hard. “We both do.”
MAX—Chapter 9
I LET my fingertips trail along the bindings of the books lining the shelves, straightening a few when I noticed they were out of line.
Kody was in the kitchen—per his usual—with his sous chef Heather at his side. He wanted to make Kelli apple turnovers because she still seemed depressed. Apparently, her grandmother used to make them for her when she was young.
I adored Kody’s thoughtfulness.
I smiled, gazing fondly at the books and thinking of all the time we had spent in the library together. As I wandered, I found myself in the section of books specifically designed to train reapers. Each and every one of us knew the section well, having been trained by one of our team members upon our arrival.
Kody and I had learned a few other things in this library.
A shiver went down my spine thinking about our stolen kisses and the chalky handprints. The innocent touches we had shared while we grew accustomed to each other and fell deeper in love.
Now everything was so very different.
I was very different. I’d suffered loss yet found true love.
While I’d spent all that time in this library, I’d been so anxious to get into the fight, though I never understood what it was all about. Our team was on the precipice of it, and though I felt more confident, the lingering concerns were still there, even as I prayed daily for faith. And as much as I had grown and learned, I still couldn’t let go of my fear of losing Kody.
From the beginning we’d been getting ready for something big. Now I could see it on the horizon, though I couldn’t be sure exactly what it was.
One thing I knew, Kody and I were stronger together. The way I’d made the shield, and Kody made it so effortless when he too was connected, proved that, right?
“What if I told you that you’ll lose him one day?”
No, I couldn’t allow those doubts to hold sway over my mind. I reminded myself that Slade insisted I had interpreted that question through the lens of my own insecurities.
I hoped he was right.
W
asn’t the big dummy always right?
Sniffing in amusement, I let my hand fall to my side. There were so many books in this library, but I had only fixated my attention on the ones I thought would help keep Kody safe.
In the end my love was all I needed to protect him.
After yesterday I knew our love was solid. Absolute. Even now, if I reached out, I could feel his energy, his light and power.
Even apart, we were joined.
Lost in my thoughts, I rounded the corner and almost bumped into Dan.
“Hey, Max,” Dan said, giving me a smile that did not travel to his brown eyes. He was very handsome, yet now he looked sad.
It struck me suddenly that he’d been pining after Meegan far longer than I knew her—and not once had I asked him how he was faring since she’d left.
I could all but feel the sting of Meegan’s fingernail flicking the back of my ear. “Way to go, dweeb.”
“How’s it going?” I asked.
“It’s all right.” Dan shoved his hands in the pockets of his french-cuffed Levi’s, looking like he wanted to leave. His pink IZOD polo shirt really highlighted his blond hair and tan, bringing to mind how Meegan had often called him Malibu Ken.
Though today he looked more like Depression Ken.
Like maybe he needed a friend—not that we had even been that before. Instead of glossing over things and walking away like I would’ve normally done, I asked myself, what would Kody do?
He’d be honest and kind.
“I really miss her,” I admitted.
Those brown eyes widened in shock. Then his face softened, and he nodded, pursing his lips for a moment. “Yeah, me too.”
“You wanna talk about her?”
Dan looked at me in surprise again. “Why? It won’t bring her back.”
“No, but I don’t want to forget her.”
“Me neither.”
“Did you love her?”
Dan let out an awkward chuckle, flashing even, white teeth—just like a Ken doll. “Well you just get right to the point, don’t you?”
“I’m sorry, that was none of my business,” I said at once, cursing my nosy nature.
Dan shrugged and wandered over to a pair of chairs tucked into the corner—where Kody and I had made out pretty hot and heavy several times.
