Nayla turned to Cal. “It requires your focus. You’ll have to learn to balance your spiritual center. Starla has done well, thus far. Keeping others from entering your sacred space is tricky. You can block them by setting up a barrier surrounding your astral self. Imagine a bullet proof square box around you. You choose, who you let in. When you block out an enemy, they bounce off the box.”
“Are there exceptions?”
“Always. Rare, though,” she answered.
“Why does Cal, fade in and out as a fox?” I inquired.
“Technically, it’s not fading. Cal’s body won’t stay shifted. It’s extremely painful,” commented Nayla.
Cal cringed, “ My whiskers come out, then my fur, and for a few minutes I’m able to sustain it. Afterward, I begin to change back into my human form. It’s an argument between my emotional and physical self. It has to do with a disassociation of my fox being.”
“Yes. We’re going to work on that.”
“Um, can we get this ball rolling,” I said, fidgeting in my spot on the floor.”
“Do you have somewhere to be,” asked Nayla.
Cal gave me a inquisitive look.
“Math class. I can’t miss it, or I’m out. It’s not my best subject. Molly’s been tutoring me.”
Nayla began to pace. “I see. OK, I didn’t realize I was under time constraints today.” She stopped and sat beside me looking me in the eyes. “I wouldn’t want to upset Tri. Not after she has agreed to meet with us, finally.”
I attempted to smile. It would be comforting to have my mother near. The pressure though for her to be here. I hoped it wouldn’t force a wedge between us. So far what had happened to me brought us closer together. Would she accept her identity as I had? Or would she push it away due to fear? She seemed to be coming around.
“I’m going to lead you together in a short meditation. We’ll take five minutes to relax, go into deep breathing, and attempt to meet in the field. Cal, you will try to find Starla Araina’s astral form. You’ll follow her in yours. This exercise should last no more than twenty minutes. If you get lost, back out, come back here. Wait for Starla and me to return.”
“What about blocking baddies?” I asked.
Nayla shook her head in disgust. “You’ll imagine the bulletproof box, put it up in your mind as your entering the meditation. Both of you,” she said firmly.
I moved into the cross-legged position, bent my head forward closing my eyes. My hands rested on my legs. Breathing commenced. I heard nothing around me, Cal and Nayla must have also begun. The first few moments I worked on controlling my breathing, making it steady and staying calm.
Then slowly brought up an image of a box around myself. Nayla hadn’t said to change into fox form, so I stayed in my human body.
A rush of air surrounded me. Was I being levitated off the floor? A whirring sound blasted in my ears, before landing roughly on the ground. Where was I? Was this the field? I opened my eyes and stood up.
“Starla, come to the meadow. Cal should be here, find her!”
I heard Nayla speaking, but could not see her. Don’t panic! I took a deep breath in and let it out. I looked around me at the gold wheat.
Afterward, I gazed further on searching for Cal. Then took off sprinting in circles to find her. Had she been able to enter? If not, why?
Moving forward through the tall golden wheat, I saw nothing. Amare? Are you here? I waited for a moment. No, not even my spirit guide. I halted ready to sit down. Then considered heading back as Nayla had instructed us if we became separated.
“Starla, Where’s Nayla?”
“Cal, Where are you? Nayla has to be here somewhere.” I sniffed the air to see if I could locate her using her scent. I'd never done it before, but hey, it might work. Then bent down and put my hands into the earth. I brought up the soil and took a good whiff. Well, it smelled like earth. The dirt fell from my hands onto the ground. I turned to my right. There, facing me was a big black wolf! I stood up, backing up into something and stumbled.
“Cal, put up your shield! Run, don’t let anything in!” A whooshing sound erupted around me. A wind storm, perhaps? I crashed onto a rock, so much for my astral form. I’d traveled pushing my solid matter into this hemisphere. From there I stumbled onto the ground. “Help me up!”
“OK, alright. You told me to run.”
Cal stood, brushing off her jeans. She grabbed my hand helping me up. “How was I supposed to know you were behind this rock. I’ve never run so fast in my life! Did you see that wolf? Where did it come from?”
“Beats me, we’re not in the middle of a thriller video. Let’s hope it didn’t attack Nayla.”
“Thriller?”
“Never mind. Mom and her VH1 obsession,” I chuckled. “We’ve got to find Nayla or go back without her. The last thing we need is to get stuck here. If I do, my mother will never forgive me, for failing out of college because of math...
I backed up...
“Starla?”
“I see it again, the black wolf. Don’t you see it? It’s right behind you!”
“There’s nothing there.”
Out of the field, Nayla came trotting up to us. “Why didn’t you two come further out? I’ve tried several times mentally connecting with you.”
“There was a black wolf. I don’t know where it came from, who it was, or if it wanted to attack me,” I sputtered.
“Well, I never...”
“Nayla, come on. I saw it too, once. Then the second time I... I... think you were in shock,” Cal said, giving me a strange look.
“You said, enemies can get in. Have you ever seen one?”
“A black wolf? Not here,” Nayla answered. She turned and trotted forward. Cal and I followed. We stopped in the middle of the field.
“Sit as you are presently back in the Reflection room.”
Cal and I took our positions.
“Now, as before, continue, let yourself go. Visualize yourselves back in the room. You’re relaxed. Nothing can harm you. Guide your spirit back an open your eyes.”
I felt a rush, then a whoosh, in between hemispheres. My body hit the floor in an abrupt manner. I hoped Nayla hadn't noticed. I shuddered, opening my eyes. During the transfer, I'd wrapped my arms around my chest. I’d been hugging myself. I released my arms, letting them rest on my thighs. Then waited for Nayla and Cal to return. Cal was the first. I saw her aura enter her body. Gradually she began to move. Then blinked her eyes. She jumped up from her seated position.
“Where am I?”
I stood up, and walked to Cal. “You’re fine. We’re back in the meditation room. Stay calm. We can’t disrupt Nayla’s return.”
She nodded. We both sat down. In silence, we waited and watched.
Nayla shook, her eyes fluttered, then opened. She stood up on all fours stretching her torso forward, then back before sitting. “Starla, you were supposed to travel in astral form. Please, next time make sure you do so.”
“Of course. I'm not sure, how it happened,” I stammered.
“Alright and Cal, your ability to touch Starla using astral projection is impressive.
“While you have shown your ability to adapt, this mission was unsuccessful. I'm happy no harm came to anyone, and we made it back. It's the first time something has severed or stopped my arrival. Thank goodness I found you both. Generally, we’d arrive at the same place.”
“What should I do about the wolf?”
Nayla held up her paw. “Be leary, watch your back. Cal, you and Starla should spend more time together. The bandits trial is Friday. We can only presume it's under control. Cal, Nuria is coming to get you.”
“I should find my dad. I need to stop by my house to pick up school work,” I said, standing up.
“We’ll must meet again, before Friday. Your dad will prepare Jenson. He’ll want Owl there too. Have you discussed anything with Molly yet?”
“You want us there for the trial?”
“Only in case, we
need you to verify, what happened.”
“I have to go,” I said, moving towards the door.
“OK, I’ll contact you then. Don’t let Denny’s get in the way of this,” Nayla warned.
“It’s a job. I’ll most likely be switching to weekends only,” I responded, pushing the door open.
Chapter 22
(Dan)
Rushing out of the Reflection room my daughter bumped into me! She stepped back.
“Dad, can we get out of here?”
“Is everything alright? What happened?” I asked.
“I’m a bit shaken up. Can we talk about it on the way to the apartment? I need to get my knapsack.”
“OK, do you mind waiting out here? I need to speak with Nayla before we go.”
Starla shrugged.
“Are you mad at her?” I asked.
“I’m not sure she believes what I saw.”
“Catch me up to speed as you kids say.”
“Dad, just go talk to her I’ll wait.” Starla leaned up against the wall.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?”
“If Nayla doesn’t tell you first,” she said, glaring at me.
I pushed open the door to the meditation room. Cal and Nayla sat in the middle of it.
“Come on in. Where’s Starla?”
“Waiting in the hall. Did everything go alright?” I asked.
“It was a mess. We all ended up at different edges of the wheat field. It’s not often we get separated. Not to that extent. Cal, you and Starla handled it well.”
“She seemed upset by something,” I commented.
“A black wolf, she only saw it for a moment. I know because she screamed for me to run. I saw it the first time. The second, nothing,” Cal answered.
“I’ve no clue how it got in. We’ve never had one in the field before,” Nayla responded.
I tapped my foot on the floor, then brought my hand to my chin. “Hmmm, well it could be anything.”
“I told her to be cautious. I want to meet with her again. She and Cal need training. The trial is Friday.”
“Well, I’ve got to get Starla home, then to class. She’s insisting we pick up Molly.”
“OK, make sure she’s not working too much. We need her here Dan.”
“Yes, but be careful,” I said, raising an eyebrow.
“Tri,” said Nayla.
“Yeah, you don’t want her to believe you’re monopolizing Starla’s time.”
“That, and I don’t want to push her away. I’d like her back.”
“Me too,” I answered, turning towards the door.
“Dan, you’ll get through this.”
I nodded, then twisted the door handle to open it.
Cal sat watching us both.”We have to,” she chimed in.
“We will,” I answered, shutting the door behind me.
“Dad, I’m not prepared for this,” said Starla.
“Why? Nayla has faith in you. You rescued Cal from Thunder Head Bay.”
“That wolf, not being able to find Cal. I guess it freaked me out,” she answered, waving her hands in the air.
I kept my eyes on the road ahead. “You know you could take on fewer hours at the diner. I’d help your mom out with your schooling,” I advised.
Starla slouched back in her seat, keeping her eyes on the scenery outside. I reached over to turn on the radio.
“No, it won’t solve my insecurities with the clan,” she answered.
Hungry like the wolf drifted out of the radio speakers.
“Great,” Starla said, pointing to the radio. “Even Duran Duran has it out for me.”
“You know who they are?”
“Dad. Mom plays the oldies station all the time,” she sassed, folding her arms a crossed her chest.
“Why don’t you, and Jenson, do some recon on the wolf you saw. Find out if it holds any meaning?”
“Not sure what it would indicate. It didn’t exactly try to attack us, yet.”
I turned onto the street of the apartment complex. Starla unfolded her arms and adjusted herself in the seat. I was unsure of what to say to help her believe things would be alright. Nayla would make sure she was safe.
There was no way in hell Tri would let anything happen to her. If it did, the whole Starla and clan-emersion would be over. She’d run. I knew my wife.
“Dad, you OK?”
“Yeah, I’m just thinking.”
“Are you worried too?”
“I’m a dad. That’s my job,” I admitted, glancing at her. Then turned my attention back to the road while I pulled into the parking lot.
Starla smiled. I circled the lot trying to find a place to park. The complex was pretty full.
“Is someone, having a party?” I asked.
Starla shrugged, “Who knows. Anyway, dad recon is a good idea. Owl will be able to help us. Jones has us studying wolf legends. That man is always one step ahead of us. Psychic or something.”
“He’s just doing his job,” I said, opening the car door. “Come on, go get your things. I should talk to your mom before we head out again.”
Standing in the middle of the kitchen, I eyed the coffee maker. Tri had apparently just made a pot. It smelled pretty amazing. “Hey there, mind if I grab a cup of coffee to go?” I asked.
“Sure,” said Tri, standing in the middle of the kitchen. “Where’s Starla?”
“Oh, she went to get her things. Math class. Molly mentioned she’d tank if she didn’t show up. Whatever that means.”
“Fail Dan,” she said setting her coffee cup down on the counter. “So how did the meeting with the clan go? Is she alright?”
I sighed. Then went over to get some coffee.
“Here, let me get it for you.” Tri grabbed a cup off of the counter and poured some brown liquid into it, then handed it to me.
“Thanks,” I said, taking a drink. I tried to steady my shaking hands. I hadn’t realized they were until now.
“Starla’s a bit spooked. During the meditation, they were separated. A large black wolf appeared to her. Nayla had been attempting to coach them to block out spirits. She’s never had this happen before. We’re not certain if it was in fact there or what. Starla assumes Jones holds the key to some of this. Says he’s having them study wolf legends.” I shrugged.
Tri's eyes grew wide, “That’s a possibility. It didn't attack them. Did it?”
“No, she only observed it. Nayla’s concerned, it will return. I advised Starla to look into it.”
“Good idea, I’d like to help. I can research at the library. You said it was black.”
“Yeah. The trials Friday.”
Tri raised her eyebrows at me, “That’s pushing it.”
“Everyone wants me to question them. I don’t see a way out. Jones will cross-examine them.”
“You’ll do fine,” she said, taking my empty cup from me, and setting it on the counter.
“Come here.”
I stood inches away from her. Tri placed her hands on my shoulders, leaning into me. Her warm lips brushed mine. She pulled away. I stood staring into her eyes. She brought her hand up and stroked my face with her fingertips. We parted.
Megan peered into the room from the hallway. “Dad, are you and mom done now?”
“Yes, come here and give your dad a hug.”
She rushed over to me, almost knocking me over. It's difficult to admit she's in eighth grade. She's almost, as tall as me, I reflected. I felt her wrap her arms around me. Then gave her a soft bear hug.
“It’s good to know you’re not too old to cuddle your dad.”
“Never, just not in front of my friends,” she sassed.
I tousled her hair. “Okay,” I said as she backed out of my arms.
“Dad, are we ready,” asked Starla glowering at me from the hallway.
I let go of Megan. Tri leaned against the counter, then brushed her strawberry blonde hair behind her ears. A small smile spread on her lips.
“Dan, I’ve been contemplating things. Although, we don't have everything figured out yet. I'd like you to come home.
My heart raced, she wanted me home. I wanted to be home. I probably looked like a deer blinded by headlights. Yes, she loved me, but there were unsettled issues. I’d have to be patient.
She put her arm around my middle and pulled me close. “I’m serious. It would be good for me, and the girls. I don’t want to wait any longer.”
I pulled her into me and held her. “OK, I’ll have to get my things together. Let the landlord know. How soon?” I asked, dumbfounded.
“As soon as possible!” Megan chimed in standing off to the side.
“As happy as I am for you both. If we don’t go I’ll be late for class,” Starla grumbled.
“Alright,” I said, pulling away from Tri.
“So I’ll see you tonight. For dinner?”
“Um, I’ll have to check in. I do need time to pack,” I admitted.
She nodded and turned to the dishes in the sink.
“I’ll have to remember we both have priorities.”
“You are one of them,” I replied, opening the back door for Starla.
“Bye mom, see ya after class?”
“Okay, bye.” Tri turned to me, “Are you bringing her home?”
“Starla?” I asked.
“Um, I’ll catch a ride with Mrs. Fretner.”
“Fair enough. Call if you need anything, both of you,” said Tri.
I grabbed her hand, squeezed it, and smiled at Megan before closing the door behind us.
Chapter 23
(Starla)
Standing outside of the classroom, I stared in. Mrs. Price was at her desk. Fingering my assignments, I decided it was time to face the music. I’d had to turn in a few of them via her mailbox. I had attended classes and then skipped out again. Big mistake. Molly stood up from her seat and turned. She noticed me standing in the doorway.
“Don’t be chicken,” she mouthed.
Still, I was. I pushed open the door. It made a loud creaking noise. At any rate, no one else had arrived, yet. Mrs. Price looked up from her desk a frown scrawled a crossed her face. She set aside a several papers. “Well, come in,” she instructed.
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