Soul Stone

by Gladden, DelSheree

  “Sure,” I say, hoping my voice doesn’t sound as unsteady as I feel.

  Tanner grabs my bag of clothes and takes my hand. In his mind, everything is as it should be. I am as confused as ever.

  Chapter Five

  After enduring a whole slew of questions and Dani’s never ending apologies, everyone eventually gets back to the party and forgets about my face. Bas never misses a beat. He walks around soaking up the attention everyone gives him, joking and laughing, being the guy everyone loves. Personally, I avoid him as much as possible. Somehow, he still ends up plopping himself down on the blanket next to mine and Tanner’s when it’s time for the movie.

  “Hey, Arra,” Tanner says before leaning down to kiss me, “do you need anything before the movie starts?”

  “No, I’m good. Thanks.” I pull him down next to me and snuggle up against him. My non-injured cheek rests on his shoulder with my arm draped across his chest. Tanner pulls me against him more tightly as he settles in for the show.

  I hadn’t been sure, at first, what Dani was talking about when she said we were going to watch a movie outside. The portable screen set up on the lawn is much smaller than a drive-in theater, but still twice the size of the flat screen in my living room at home. A projector was set up on a table behind us and Dani is working to get it started.

  While they work, my eyes scan the gathered teens for Sibeal. When I don’t see her, I look over at Bas. “Hey, where’s Sibeal?” I ask.

  Bas shrugs. “Haven’t seen her in a while.”

  “Dude, isn’t she supposed to be your date,” Tanner mocks. “Maybe you should go find her.”

  “She’s not my date. I just gave her a ride.”

  Worry begins to creep into my mind. The house Sibeal and her mom are renting is on the outskirts of town. If she decided to leave early, that’s a two mile walk from here in the dark. “Maybe I should go find her.”

  I start to sit back up, but Tanner pushes me down. “Bas, go find Sibeal.”

  Bas shrugs and gets up. He disappears into the house and I lose sight of him. Every minute he doesn’t reappear causes my anxiety to increase. I’m not sure why I’m so concerned about Sibeal, but a strange sense of danger is quickly pooling around me. I am about to jump up and go find her when she and Bas step out of the house. Relief flashes through me to see Sibeal smiling at Bas, but the weird feeling persists.

  “Found her,” Bas announces. “Now are we going to watch a movie, or what?”

  “Sorry,” Dani calls out. “It’s almost ready.”

  A few seconds later, images start dancing across the screen. Sound comes a bit later after someone switches the audio plugs from IN to OUT. Everyone claps when the movie is finally playing the way it’s supposed to be. I settle back against Tanner’s shoulder and try to block out the strange vibes I seem to be getting from Sibeal. The exhaustion of today eventually wins out over everything else and I feel myself drifting off to sleep.

  ***

  Her long, curly blonde hair bounces on her shoulders as she strolls along the dirt path. The world around her is covered in green, soft and inviting. The emerald grass bends to her every footstep. As if begging to go with her, the leaves on the trees sway as she passes by. The meadow she walks through seems eager for her visit.

  She stops at the edge of the lake, her eyes darting around as if looking for something. When she finds herself alone, her lips pull up into a small smile. For a moment, she stands very still and breathes in the air around her. The flutter of small wings opens her eyes. She watches the little bird flit by her as it chirps. Content with her surroundings, she sits down and gazes at the water.

  It is not the sound of the quiet footsteps that alerts her, but a change in the feel of the valley. The calm peace that had been there mere seconds ago is now filled with a sense of charged excitement. Her head turns toward the source and she smiles.

  Tall, solidly built, the young man smiles when she sees him. His deep brown hair stirs as the wind passes across the lake. She stands slowly and waits for him to approach her. Each of his steps are slow, languid. Each one builds up the charge in the air. Everything responds to their impending meeting. The birds quiet. The wind stills. The flowers and trees seem to lean in, watching, anticipating.

  There is such innocence in her eyes as they finally meet. Her smile is genuine and warm. His fingertips brush against her cheek, making her body tremble. Her fingers want to reach out to him, but she is frightened to take such a bold step. Not until his other hand curls around her waist does she gather enough courage to touch him.

  Her movements are hesitant, shy. She reaches first for his shoulder. Her hand barely brushes the fabric before pulling back. She tries again, this time resting her hand for a brief second on his arm. When she pulls back once more, he tightens his hold on her. The distance between them closes and she doesn’t resist when their bodies press together.

  The red glow that spreads through her cheeks only makes her more alluring to him. His smile is kind, yet filled with desire. Her eyes are no less lost in the passion growing between them. One small movement brings his lips closer to hers. She stops breathing entirely.

  The whole valley quiets as he leans forward and brushes his lips against hers. Their contact brings everything around them back to life. So pure and innocent, the kiss draws a peaceful smile onto her face. All hesitation has disappeared as she lays her head gently against this chest.

  When her head lifts, the valley has disappeared. The flowers and trees have faded into the background, and taken with them the peaceful atmosphere. In their place, damp cobblestones and weathered brick buildings come into view, bringing with them a new sensation. The static crackling of malicious intentions poisons the air around her. She steps under the sallow light filtering through the high window of a nearby business and reveals the seductive sneer that has twisted her expression.

  Clothes not made for hiking stretch across her body. Her golden spirals dance around her face, half hiding it from those around her. Every curve she possesses is displayed and she enjoys the attention her outfit garners from the young men that surround her when she steps into the seedy, cramped bar. There is no hesitation, no fear as she saunters through the room touching and teasing the men she meets.

  One takes her hand and guides her away from the others. Another follows, not ready to lose sight of her just yet. She laughs, enjoying the game. Her body and hands twist and glide around the men, charging the air with a different kind of excitement than before. There is no purity in her intentions. Her actions gather a thick, cloying sensation that sticks to everything it touches. Neither one seems to notice the changing feel of the room. Their focus is locked on her as she leads them away from the crowd, away from safety.

  ***

  My body jumps back to consciousness. The quick convulsion is there and gone in a second, but it startles Tanner into looking down. His eyes leave the movie screen and peer at me as he chuckles.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, uh, sure. I’m fine,” I say quickly, trying to shake off the dream.

  Tanner looks at me a little more closely. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. Just a weird dream.”

  His eyes flick over to Sibeal. “About her?”

  I know lying to him will be pointless, so I nod my head slowly.

  “What happened in the dream?” Tanner asks, the movie forgotten completely. He keeps his voice down as he speaks.

  “I don’t know. It was strange, just like the last one.”

  I describe the two different scenes in the dream and try to make some kind of sense of them. It’s difficult, though, because nothing seems to connect. One minute, Sibeal is this pure, sweet girl experiencing her first kiss, and the next second she’s this skanky temptress luring men out of clubs for who knows what. I mean, sex would be the obvious guess, but there was something more sinister in her expression that makes me think her intentions went somewhere other than seduction.

  “Sounds to m
e like she is really unstable,” Tanner whispers. “Maybe she’s hiding her real personality. There’s something off about Sibeal. I think I was right about staying away from her.”

  “How am I supposed to do that now?” I ask. “All that would do is draw attention to the fact that we suspect something. If…and it seems like a really big if, she is actually dangerous or something, tipping her off that we know probably wouldn’t be a wise idea.”

  “Giving her plenty of opportunities to do something to you isn’t a great plan either.” The heat rising in Tanner’s voice makes me tense.

  “Please keep your voice down,” I whisper.

  I glance back at Sibeal and Bas. Sibeal is lying on her stomach, eyes glued to the screen. Bas seems bored. He shifts from sitting to lying back with his elbows propping him up. Maybe his movement brings me into his field of view, or perhaps he could just sense that I am staring at him like a weirdo. Whatever the reason, he turns and meets my eyes. One of his grins starts to develop, but something stops him. His eyebrows knit together in concern. The worry in his eyes is disconcerting. I turn back to Tanner quickly.

  “We still don’t know what these stupid dreams mean,” I say, forgetting Bas. “Maybe Sibeal just had a weird, rebellious phase and now she’s back to the shy, timid girl we know. It could still be nothing.”

  “Why would someone be sending you these dreams if they didn’t mean anything?”

  I shake my head at that suggestion. “Who says anyone is sending me anything? This isn’t like last time. Who would be sending them, anyway? If Sibeal had done something wrong, she certainly wouldn’t want me to know about it.”

  “I doubt it’s Sibeal sending the dreams. It took a god to do it last time.”

  That is what I assumed while the dreams of Kivera were happening, but the more I thought about it, the less that made sense. Tlaloc was punishing Kivera. I think he would have been happy for it to go on forever. He wasn’t trying to warn me.

  “The dreams came from Kivera,” I say quietly. “She wanted someone to stop what was happening. It wasn’t Tlaloc.”

  Tanner thinks about that for a moment. “Okay, so it was a ghost.”

  “But not a regular ghost. She was dead, but she was also trapped in this half-life, somewhere in between life and death.”

  The feel of Tanner’s fingers combing through my hair attempts to soothe me. I appreciate the effort, but I don’t think anything can calm me down after the day I’ve had. Tanner’s hands suddenly stop moving. He looks down at me with concern edging on fear.

  “Arra, what if it’s a ghost this time, too. What if Sibeal did something to someone?”

  Deep down, I know there’s the slim possibility that he’s right, but as I look over at Sibeal quietly watching the movie, I shake my head. “I just can’t imagine it, Tanner.”

  “Well, sure, maybe not the Sibeal we know, but what about the weird, rebellious Sibeal in the last half of your dream? Maybe something happened and that’s what made her go back. Maybe that’s why she’s living out here in the middle of nowhere instead of in Boston with her dad.”

  The memory of the twisted Sibeal from my dream makes it hard to argue with him. We both look over at her. What Tanner is saying makes as much sense as it possibly can, but something just isn’t meshing for me. The desire to cause harm that I saw in the crazy Sibeal’s eyes isn’t something I’ve ever seen in the real Sibeal. How could she hide it that well?

  “I’m not saying you’re wrong, Tanner, but let’s not pass judgment just yet, okay?” I sigh and push him back down to the blanket. “I still have no clue what is going on with these dreams. Before this summer, nothing like this had ever happened before. I don’t know why I would get dreams now that have nothing to do with Kivera.”

  “Maybe the thing with Kivera unlocked something in you.” Tanner kisses my temple and starts running his hand up and down my arm.

  A shiver runs through me at his words. “Ugh, like this could keep happening?” I groan and turn into his chest. “That really had better not be the case or I’m going to find my way back to the weird in between place and give Kivera a piece of my mind. This is not cool.”

  Tanner laughs. “Can I go with you? I’d love to see you lay into someone, Miss Sweet and Charming.”

  “All you have to do is hang around until Bas gets me into trouble for something I didn’t do if all you want is to see me get mad at someone.”

  “Seriously,” Tanner says, “what do you have against Bas?”

  I look up at him with a curious expression. “Are you complaining? Would you rather I fawn over him like every other girl around?”

  Tanner holds a hand up in defense. “Not complaining, just curious.”

  After a week to think about my first introduction to Bas, I know I may have overreacted at least a little bit, but an entire week of him pulling pranks and hounding me every second he gets, tells me I was right not to instantly fall all over him like everyone else. I’m about to tell Tanner about Bas giving me a lump on my head the first day we met and everything he’s done his week, but thoughts of how he held me through the stitches earlier tonight and didn’t make fun of me crowd into my mind. Yes, Bas is frustrating and annoying, but he can be kind and gentle when he wants to be. Suddenly, I don’t feel like pointing out all of Bas’s faults to Tanner. He deserves some credit for the nice things he does too.

  “Sometimes you just meet a person who rubs you the wrong way,” I say instead of what I had been planning to say.

  Clearly not eager to talk me into liking Bas, Tanner drops the conversation for now. I am happy to do the same until my thoughts turn back to my threat to have it out with Kivera if she is the cause of this possible newfound ability. Curiosity, rather than anger, pulls my mind back to the temple mesa where I first met Kivera. I wonder about the truth of that place.

  Was it purely a creation of Tlaloc for his punishment, or could I one day figure out how to get back there? If I did find my way back, what would I find there? My mind becomes so fixated on the idea of going back, I miss the rest of the movie and carry my musings all the way home and into bed.

  Chapter Six

  Dreams plague me all night, making me toss and turn until my blankets are twisted around my entire body. In frustration, I throw them all off and sit cross-legged in the center of my bed as I beg for sleep. Even as I wish for sleep, though, I fear finding it and having to face any more dreams.

  The dreams that have been tormenting me are not the kind I fear. Images of Sibeal mix with dreams of Kivera. Disappointment at not seeing David this weekend mixes in as memories of our childhood morph into scenes where they don’t belong. Even Bas and his annoying grin make an appearance. I want to shake them all out of my head and drop into a dark pool of nothingness. The best I can find is the quiet darkness of my room at two in the morning. My mind refuses to be quiet and turn off.

  Flopping back onto my pillow out of frustration, I bolt back up a second later when the sound of my phone vibrating on the dresser scares me half to death. I snatch it up off the nightstand and take a deep breath. My racing heart slowly returns to normal as I tell myself how ridiculous I’m being. Eventually, I manage to calm myself down enough to look at my phone.

  I was expecting it to be a text from an equally sleepless Tanner, but instead I see Bas’s number highlighted in my message list. I start to toss the phone back onto the nightstand, sure it’s just him trying to pester me. The preview of his message makes me reconsider and I slide my finger across the screen.

  How’s your face?

  I’m not sure how long I sit there staring at his message, but the delay sure doesn’t help me come up with an intelligent response.

  Why are you texting me at 2 in the morning? I send back. Then a moment later I add, Why are you texting me at all?

  I was worried about you, is his reply.

  That only makes me shake my head in confusion. Why?

  Because.

  Because why?

  I can almos
t see the irritation sent back with his next message.

  Because U got hurt! Why is it so hard to believe I’d B worried?

  Well, because…he’s never seemed to care before. He didn’t even apologize for knocking my head into the desk. Why now? Even after he helped me get through the stitches at the hospital, I’m surprised he’d bother to worry about me. I’m not sure what to make of this, but I decide to give him the benefit of doubt and answer.

  My face is fine. Hurts a little, but mostly just itchy.

  Good, he answers back.

  I wonder for a minute whether he was talking about my face not hurting too much or it being itchy. I decide to leave it alone and not give him the chance to tease me.

  Why are you still awake? I ask.

  Can’t sleep. Bad dreams.

  Me too, I admit.

  Tanner has mentioned that you get bad dreams, so I thought you might be up still. Glad I didn’t wake you.

  I’m a little surprised Tanner mentioned my dreams to Bas, even if he didn’t tell him any more than that. I guess it speaks to how close they are, which is oddly comforting. I’m glad Bas doesn’t ask what my bad dreams are about, and I don’t ask him about his. I think an understanding exists between us. It’s easy for both of us to understand why we wouldn’t want to talk about it.

  What R U doing your history project on? Bas asks.

  His question throws me for a minute, since I thought he was only texting to make sure I was alright. I suspect that maybe he is as reluctant to fall back into his dreams as I am and decide that maybe a little distraction could help us both.

  Typewriter. How about U?

  Dynamite.

  Really? I ask. I would have thought that was discovered before the civil war.

  Yep, discovered 1867.