by Elana Brooks
He gave her the address of the office. She climbed into her car and entered it in her GPS. His car pulled out of the parking lot, and she followed.
When they reached the downtown building, she followed him into the parking garage. The attendant waved away her payment. “No charge for people here on official HBQ business.”
“All right. Thank you.” Rosalia drove into the nearly deserted garage and parked next to Steve. They both climbed out of their cars and he led her to the entrance.
He unlocked the door and let her in. The lobby was dim and deserted. Steve waved to the security guard at the front desk. “Hey, Sam. Rosalia’s a candidate, so I’m showing her around. We’ll be upstairs in the garden. There wouldn’t happen to be any guardians on duty, would there?”
“You’re in luck. Sing-lao stayed late because Julian is taking his trainee on a long trip. She should be in at least until midnight.”
Steve brightened. “Excellent.” He headed toward a bank of elevators. “Come on, Rosalia. You’re going to like this.” A door opened and Rosalia followed him inside. He punched the button for the tenth floor. “What do you know about astral projection?”
“I’ve heard of it, of course.”
“Did your grandmother teach you how to leave your body?”
“No.” Rosalia’s pulse quickened. “You mean it’s possible?”
“It sure is. In fact, it’s the basis for all other psychic abilities. The astral plane is where the energy for telekinesis comes from. Thoughts travel through it when we communicate telepathically. Visions of the future move through it into our minds. The reason we have psychic powers is because we were born with a stronger than normal connection to the astral realm, and a weaker connection to our physical bodies.”
Rosalia’s head swam. “I don’t understand.”
“It will make a lot more sense when I show you how to do it. I probably ought to leave the first lesson to your trainer, but you’ve got so much experience with psychic powers, it should be easy for you to separate.” He grinned as if he’d found out she’d never tasted chocolate before and was about to offer her a bite. He gave her a sidelong glance. “If you want me to teach you.”
A new psychic ability? Rosalia certainly wasn’t going to turn that down. “Sure. I’m game.”
The doors opened onto a tropical paradise. Moonlight flooded through floor to ceiling windows. Trees and bushes crowded the space. Narrow paths wound between banks of flowers. A few sleepy birds called, disturbed by their entrance.
Rosalia wandered down the nearest path, taking branches at random. “This is beautiful. Better than the Arboretum. Although I’ve never been there at night.”
The sound of falling water led her to a fountain that splashed into a pool bordered by smooth stones. She sat down on the edge and trailed her fingers in the cool water.
Steve came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. “We come here to meditate. It’s a safe place to leave our bodies when we travel astrally.” He indicated several cots tucked among the greenery, then pointed to a row of dark windows high in one wall. “The cots have sensors that monitor our vital signs and transmit them to guardians. They can come to the rescue if anything goes wrong while our spirits are away. I’ll let Sing-lao know we’re here, and then we can get started.” He looked up at the windows and his eyes unfocused.
Rosalia moved to study one of the cots. She ran her hands along it until she located a metal spot about the size of a dime near one end. Another like it was at the other. Whichever way she lay down, one would be under her head. She sat on the cot, swung her legs up, and settled back. The sensor felt smooth and cool on the nape of her neck.
Steve sat down on the cot next to hers. “You’ve got the right idea. Now it’s just a matter of shifting into a state of consciousness where you can let go of the connections between your astral and physical self. Do I remember you saying you taught yoga?”
She was surprised such a small detail had stuck with him. “Yes. I still practice, but it’s been a long time since I’ve taught a class.”
“Good, then you know the principle. We use yoga to teach trainees how to reach the proper state of mind. I need you to relax like you do at the end of a session.”
“Savasana,” Rosalia said.
“Yeah, I think that’s what it’s called. I’ll give you a few minutes to settle in.”
He fell silent. Rosalia closed her eyes and started the sequence of tensed and released muscles designed to put her body and mind into a state of deep relaxation. It was harder without a full workout to exhaust her muscles and calm her thoughts, but she’d done it so many times it only took a few minutes before all the tension drained from her body and her mind drifted, empty and open.
Steve’s voice slipped into her awareness, so gently it didn’t disturb her calm. Imagine your astral hand floating up, weightless, leaving your flesh behind.
It was easy. She could clearly picture what he described. Her imaginary fingers glowed slightly, translucent against the darkness.
His soft voice continued, guiding her through releasing the rest of her arm, then each of her other limbs. She followed his directions, relaxed and dreamy, feeling wonderfully light. Her body pressed upward, eager to escape. Finally his patient, thorough instructions reached her torso, then her head, and she was free.
Slowly she drifted upward, like a soap bubble on an air current. She could happily stay like this for hours. No wonder Steve had been so eager to introduce her to this delightful experience.
Now open your eyes.
She let her lids slide open. Unsurprised, she saw that her imagination had accurately captured reality. She floated among the branches of the trees, a shining ghost. She moved her limbs experimentally, and they responded to her will just as always. She rolled over. Several feet below, her body rested on the cot, a serene look on its face. A thick, glowing cord led from the center of its chest to a point between her ghostly breasts.
“That’s your tether,” Steve told her quietly. He floated next to her, as translucent and bright as she was. “It can stretch to whatever length you need.”
She tested his words by moving across the garden. Sure enough, the cord lengthened to accommodate her movement, without any sensation she could feel. Her astral body moved wherever she willed it with very little effort. She flew around the garden, rolling and tumbling, getting a feel for this amazing new world and her place in it.
Steve let her play as long as she liked. But before long, Rosalia swooped back to him. “How far can we go?”
“Your range depends on your psychic strength. You’re certainly strong enough to go anywhere on Earth, and probably well into space. Solomon tells me I should be able to reach Saturn without trouble.”
She gaped at him. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. But for your first venture, we’d better stay pretty close.”
“Inside the building?” Rosalia drifted to a window. Outside, the sky was clear, speckled with the handful of stars bright enough to shine through the hazy orange glow of the city and the cold white light of the nearly full moon.
“I think it’s safe to go outside.” Steve passed through the glass of the window as if it wasn’t there. He extended a hand to Rosalia. “Your astral body can interact with the physical world as much or as little as you choose. Try it. Touch the glass, and then move through it.”
Rosalia followed his instructions. She laid her palm flat against the cool glass. It felt exactly as she would expect. She looked at Steve’s arm passing through the clear plane and imagined hers doing the same. The solid substance melted away, and she moved forward, sliding through the window easily to Steve’s side.
They hovered together, ten stories above the street. Steve took her hand. “Anywhere in particular you’d like to visit?”
She thought about taking him to her elegant loft near her office. Or to Abuela’s shop, or to the modest apartment where she’d grown up and where her parents still lived. But all of tho
se seemed far too personal. “How about the beach?”
“Perfect.” He soared over the city, Rosalia in tow. Los Angeles was beautiful at night, with thousands of lights tracing the roads and buildings. From above it looked like a magical fairyland, all the dirt and smells and human cruelty Rosalia knew all too well concealed by distance and dazzling lights.
Even so late there were tourists at the most popular beaches, so Rosalia and Steve flew along the coast until they came to a deserted stretch of shore. Rosalia settled onto the sand. The ground was solid under her feet if she wanted it to be. She fumbled with her shoes, wanting to feel the wet grains between her toes.
She paused, staring at the expensive high-heeled pump in her hand. “How are we wearing clothes, if we’re only spirits?”
“They’re actually part of our astral flesh. Our subconscious minds project an image of whatever we look like when we leave our bodies, including clothes. But you can change your appearance if you concentrate.” He gestured to his feet. Rosalia watched his loafers fade to nothingness along with his socks, leaving bare feet. His dress pants morphed into surf trunks, his button-down dress shirt into a t-shirt. “Try it.”
Rosalia dropped the shoe. It vanished. She thought the other one gone as well. She dug her toes into the damp sand. It felt just as good as she’d anticipated.
She glanced at Steve, who was wading into the surf. A moment of concentration transformed her skirt and jacket into her favorite bathing suit, a one-piece racerback designed for serious swimming. She ran into the crashing surf, the water only moderately chilly after a long day beneath the baking summer sun, and dove under a breaking wave.
She surfaced, looking for Steve. He wasn’t there. When long seconds passed and he still didn’t emerge from the water, she got worried. “Steve? Where are you?”
Down here. Come join me.
She dove again, opening her eyes to search the gloom. Steve’s astral form glowed much further out from shore than Rosalia was comfortable going, so deep her heart raced in fear. What the hell do you think you’re doing? You’re going to drown.
No, I’m not. Our astral forms don’t really breathe. The motion and sensation are only more projections of our subconscious minds. Try it.
He was crazy. The water pressed cold and salty on Rosalia’s face, just like it always did when she was swimming. But she remembered how she’d changed the window from solid to ephemeral with a thought. If you’re playing a trick on me, you’re going to be sorry. She focused very hard on making the water insubstantial and took a tentative breath.
It felt exactly like breathing air. Rosalia relaxed and took several more deep breaths. Suddenly the depths held no terror at all. This is amazing. She swam down to meet him.
It’s the same in space. Our astral forms don’t need air. You could hold your breath for hours without any trouble. But it’s easier not to think about it and let your subconscious have its way.
She’d always wanted to experience the ocean like this. Like a seal or dolphin, flying through the water. Except mammals had to return to the surface for air. She was like a fish, breathing its native element, with no need to ever emerge. She rolled and tumbled as she had in the air. This was better, because she could feel the water sliding against her skin, touching every inch of her with soft, caressing hands.
Steve glided up beside her. Like it?
I love it. She closed the distance between them and brushed against his body. The warmth of his skin made a delightful contrast to the chill of the water. She ran her hands over his arms and bare chest. A thought changed her suit to a bikini. She pressed herself to him, savoring the sensation of his body on hers. It might only be astral flesh, but it felt real. And her astral form was reacting just as her physical body would.
His hands roamed her shoulders and torso. She made the bikini top go away so her breasts could fully enjoy his touch. And the bottom, so the water and his hands could caress her butt, equally delicious. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, clinging to him as they tumbled together through the ocean. Every inch of her body was touched by cold water or hot flesh. She’d never imagined anything could feel so wonderful.
She sought his mouth, so her lips and tongue could be touched, too. His mind opened to hers, and she was feeling his sensations as well, cold water and hot skin enveloping them both. The hot hard ridge along her belly proved that his astral body shared his physical body’s anatomy and reactions. She shifted and he slid inside her. They moved together, drunk on sensation, touched completely inside and out. She lost track of where her body ended and his began, whose pleasure she was feeling, where the explosions of sweet fire originated or how many burst through them.
Finally, sated, she let herself drift. Water parted before her face, and she floated on the surface of the ocean, gazing up at the stars.
Steve floated beside her, fingers tangled in hers. Their minds twined together as casually as their bodies. His thoughts were as dazed and sluggish as hers, sliding into a lovely sleepy doze, wrapped in perfect trust, all fear a distant memory fading into oblivion.
The vision that seeped into her mind was as beautiful and joyous as their union. Human children and baby dragons frolicked together in a crystal blue ocean glittering with sunlight. Steve and Rosalia looked on, fondly indulgent, hand in hand, wrinkled faces and white hair testifying to a shared lifetime. Rosalia’s sense of time confirmed that this idyllic scene lay far in the future. It wasn’t certain to happen; no future ever was. But it was possible enough to send the vision echoing through time until it found a home in her precognitive gift.
As the vision faded she opened her eyes to find Steve smiling at her. “Time to head back,” he said.
She nodded mute agreement and rose into the sky at his side. Together they flew over the city to the building where their bodies waited. They passed through the window and walked across the garden to the cots next to the fountain. Steve paused by Rosalia’s recumbent body. “Lie down and let yourself sink back inside your physical self. Take as long as you need for the bonds to re-form. When you’re ready, sit up slowly, letting your body and soul get used to being whole again.”
She followed his directions. Her astral form resisted her efforts to push it back into her physical form. It wanted to keep floating free, with no worries or responsibilities. But finally, when she relaxed enough to let the instincts of a lifetime take over, it clicked back into place.
What an amazing dream she’d had. She could remember it in far more complete detail than most dreams, but it had the unmistakable soft, fuzzy quality of the imaginary. She almost wished it had really happened. She hadn’t thought of Steve in ages. Maybe she should look him up and take a chance on a reunion. If it was half as good as her dream had been, it would be worth forgiving his rude behavior. Too bad the Covenant in her dream didn’t actually exist. But at least neither did the invading aliens. What an imagination her brain had. She’d better rouse the rest of the way and get up, or she’d be late for work.
Abruptly Rosalia became aware that she wasn’t snuggled under warm covers in her soft bed, but lying fully dressed on a bare cot. She opened her eyes to see green branches lit by dim moonlight above. Somewhere nearby water splashed softly.
She sat bolt upright. Her head spun. Ignoring the disorientation, she jerked around to find Steve sitting up on a cot near hers. Shock and embarrassment flooded her. “That was real?”
He nodded. His smile was rueful, his eyes tender. “What happens in your astral form always feels a little dreamlike after you come back into your body. You get used to it.”
“But we—I didn’t even think about using a condom, or any sort of—I never make that sort of stupid mistake.” She was on birth control pills, so a pregnancy was unlikely, but she’d always been so careful to protect herself from disease. Not that she thought Steve had anything she could catch, but you could never know for sure. How could she have forgotten herself so much as to take the risk without even a moment’s thought for the
consequences?
Steve’s smile faded a bit. “It’s all right. Our physical bodies didn’t have sex. Only our astral selves. No fluids exchanged, so no chance of the complications that can arise when they are.” He was trying to sound casually humorous, but telepathically she sensed hurt and coolness.
“Oh.” She stood up, shaking her head when it swam and her balance wavered. She looked down at herself, and over at him. They were both still wearing the clothes they’d come here in. Her racing heart slowed. “That’s good.”
Steve walked over to her and took her arm. “Transitioning back to your body can be a little rough the first few times. It gets easier with practice.” He looked at her carefully. “Are you sorry?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t intend for that to happen. I just—I didn’t even think. It was like I was acting on pure instinct, like a mindless—” She broke off at the unhappiness in his eyes. “I don’t mean I didn’t want to. It was wonderful.”
“Yes.” But he was systematically withdrawing his mind from hers, setting in place shields much too strong for her to breach.
She put her hand on his arm. “What do you want?”
He didn’t flinch away, but he didn’t make any move to touch her in return, either. “I’d like to get to know you better. I think you and I could have a relationship that’s more than just mindless sex, if we give it a chance. Maybe a lot more.”
Her heart thundered in her chest. What he offered was both tempting and terrifying. She’d always carefully chosen lovers with whom she could enjoy a physical relationship without risking her heart. She valued her independence too much to ever consider giving it up. No man was worth losing herself.
Which was exactly the danger Steve posed. Around him she abandoned all self-control. Priorities that had always seemed clear and unambiguous dissolved into chaos. Her body and her emotions ruled her mind. She turned into the sort of woman she’d always sworn she’d never be. Obsessed with a man beyond all reason, abasing herself to him, throwing away her own future for his sake.
