by Michelle Lee
“I can’t claim to understand any of this. My brain is geared for science,” Smitty said.
“Yes, but now you have seen that which others can’t. You can see the truth of it in front of you,” Taklishim pushed.
Smitty nodded numbly, his life forever changed. “She’s here for Jax?”
Taklishim shrugged, “He’s part of it, but not the whole reason. Give her more paste, she’s starting to settle,” he nodded at her body that had lowered closer to the ground. “This is very hard on her. I watched from the spirit realm as did they,” he motioned to the women. “It’s creating an imbalance, above and below.”
“Do you know how to stop it?” Smitty asked as he put more paste in her mouth.
“She’s what is stopping it,” Taklishim admitted. “Imagine if the power that she had, to give love so freely was flipped, to someone doling out that negative energy everywhere they went, infecting every person they came in contact with. Imagine what that world would look like.”
Smitty shivered involuntarily at the thought and winced as he realized that was what was in Jax. Airiella had to pull all that out of Jax. “How much more of this is in Jax?”
“I don’t know, but he’s very close to losing himself to it.”
Airiella suddenly gasped for air, her body crashing down on to the ground, her chest heaving, tears clearing a path through the blood streaked on her face, but her eyes weren’t open. Smitty clung to her hand, his own tears falling on her fingers.
“Her,” Taklishim pointed at Airiella. “She is what will save us all once she believes in herself. You saw a piece of that today. Dr. Stone is alive because of her. Jax, is alive because of her.”
“That’s a lot of pressure for one person,” Smitty said sadly.
Taklishim tapped Smitty’s chest. “You need to believe, too. I am going to go make some more of this for her to take with, as well as a few other things. I’ll label the containers and put directions on there, so she knows what they are for. She had you witness this so you understood, so you know, so you can help the others believe what is unbelievable. You are her voice of reason.”
Smitty swallowed a lump in his throat as he looked down at Airiella, still seemingly stuck in the nightmare she voluntarily threw herself in to help others. He wasn’t ashamed to say he didn’t understand any of this, but he also wasn’t afraid to admit that he had just been given a huge gift in her. He laid down on the floor next to her. “What does that mean? I’m her voice of reason?”
The priest brought over a blanket, and Smitty rolled so he could lay it on the floor, then he stripped his shirt off and pulled Airiella on top of him as gently as he could. Her blood and tear stained face resting on his bare chest as her body quieted at the contact of his skin on hers. His world had just been thrown completely off it’s axis and was spinning wildly out of control.
“Each of you that shares a connection with her brings something to the table so to speak. From what I can see, you bring her reason. The voice that shows her the path she should be on when she strays,” Tama answered him.
The priest came back with a pillow and Smitty raised his head as he wrapped his arms around Airiella, holding her tight. “Her walls are down, aren’t they?” Smitty asked the room knowing someone in there would have an answer for him.
“Yes,” Tama said quietly. “We will leave here so she doesn’t get overwhelmed. Just make sure that what you are feeling is good. She needs to feel the good.”
Smitty nodded in acknowledgement and focused all his thoughts on how many ways this one person had showed him things he would have never known about. He thought about her easy playful banter, her strength, the passion she carried within that she hid until she wanted you to see it. He thought about the connection they shared and the love she freely poured into it with no expectations of her own.
She moaned into his chest, her body tightening against him as she fought back the pain and Smitty started whispering into her hear, “I’ve got you baby girl, I’m not going anywhere. I’ve got you.” He whispered it repeatedly until she settled, her eyes never once opening.
Airy, I know you can hear me, you better damn well respond to me!” Winnie shouted at her. Airy was with her on the spirit plane. Her eyes closed, looking pretty rough.
“I’m not joking around here Airy! Open your eyes and look at me!”
Winnie paced back and forth in the same scene as the one on earth, just mirrored in the spirit plane. She got down on the ground to look in Airy’s face that was pressed against Smitty. All that showed of him on this plane was his soul color as he was still very much alive.
Winnie noticed the rolling colors as Smitty tried to focus his thoughts on love and she smiled as she saw the color finally settle. “Damn it, Airiella Raven, you are not supposed to be here! Wake your ass up and get back in your body!”
Winnie was freaking out. That darkness had the power to break her body this time. Human bodies weren’t built to withstand that much pain all at once. Winnie stroked Airy’s hair and saw her sigh. “Airy,” Winnie tried once more. “I need you to go back, you aren’t finished yet.”
Airiella blinked her eyes at Winnie. “Winnie?”
“Airy, go back to your body,” Winnie pleaded.
“It hurts too much, and I’m too tired,” Airy said weakly.
“Don’t make me do this the hard way,” Winnie said, tears pooling in her eyes.
“What?”
Winnie took a deep breath in and then shoved Airiella hard, her soul slamming back into her body violently. Winnie let the tears fall as she watched Airiella open her eyes and scream at the pain tearing through her.
