“So, if Amelia agrees to it, we’ll travel back when we sleep, do what we did before, but we won’t remember it either side?”
That chuckle came from Moron again. “Don’t sound so enthusiastic.”
I laughed with him, going nearer to the glass and watching the scenes play out. “It’s not that. It will be odd not having to do this. It was an adventure. Although I moaned, the more I think about it, it was a challenge. It was exciting.”
The realisation made me smile. I had always cursed my curse. Yet, it probably made me who I was. The challenge of having to wing it when I reached another lifetime was a rush of adrenaline. Where would I get that now?
“You won’t have time to worry about that soon. You know you’re going to be famous, so don’t harp on about it.”
Shaking my head, I ran my hand over my head. The tattoos on my arm caught my eye. “No more tattoos?”
“You’ll find out, won’t you? First, you need to go back one last time to get Amelia’s consent.”
Knowing that she would agree, I approached the glass. There was no doubt in my mind that it was the freedom she craved. From me, from this type of life.
“Leo, good luck.” Moron patted my shoulder.
As he went to take his hand away, I grabbed it. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome…oh, and by the way…my name is not Moron.”
He pushed me straight into the glass. The last image I saw of him was the hood shaking as he laughed at the shock on my face. He had obviously been able to read my mind all that time. How wrong I felt for calling him a moron.
Chapter Fourteen
“Leo! Quick, get up.” A hand grabbed my arm.
My eyes shot open at the urgency in Amelia’s tone. No, her name was Emarelda in this lifetime.
The sound of heavy hooves, or something similar, was coming closer. Jumping to my feet, I grabbed Amelia by the waist, hoisted her over my shoulder and started to run.
The sand was kicked up behind me as I ran full pelt over the desert. A small wooden shack was in front of us, its door standing open. Our home.
“Keep going,” Emarelda shouted. “They’re catching up.”
I didn’t dare turn to look at what was following us, it would only slow me down. There was only one option. Get into the house and bolt the door. It wasn’t completely safe, but the law made it hard for attackers to come inside. Not that they often cared about the law.
“Quick.” Emarelda’s squeak was followed by a gunshot, too close for comfort.
Bolting forward, I thrust inside the house, instantly dropping her to her feet. Spinning, I shoved the door closed and locked it. A bullet lodged into the other side of the wood just as I stepped back.
“What’s going on?” My mind was preoccupied by my conversation with Moron.
There had been no time to catch up on what life I was in. Glancing around the room, I checked that the windows were locked. It all started coming back to me as Emarelda got her breath back.
We were still in cowboy land, but a hundred years later. A new lifetime. We weren’t married, yet, we had run away from our families. And, the people outside were bounty hunters. After me.
“There’s no chance to escape. What are we going to do?”
For so long I had run from them. Every day, I looked over my shoulder, ready to be dragged in. That’s exactly why we had built our own house in the middle of nowhere. It took a day’s ride for me to get to a town to buy supplies. And, steal the money to buy them with.
“Emarelda, I need you to be Amelia for a moment.”
The woman, who was very pretty indeed, shook her head. “What are you talking about?”
Where was she? Why hadn’t Amelia joined me in this lifetime? By the looks of it, I didn’t have long to talk to her before I would be taken in.
“Wait, you called me Leo earlier.”
“Of course I did, that’s your name, baby. What’s wrong with you? Who’s Amelia?”
Taking hold of the top of her shoulders, I looked into her eyes. It was the same person, but it wasn’t the future soul.
“Leo Murphy, you better come out here, boy!” One of the men shouted.
There were three of them. Which one would catch me first? If there was danger to innocent life, they were not allowed to force entry into a home. They had to wait outside for me to come out. They would be waiting a long time.
“Leo!” Emarelda smacked my arm. “What’s going on? Why are men shouting outside?”
Amelia. Her tone had changed, her eyes were lighter, bluer. Releasing my breath, I impulsively dragged her to me and hugged her tight. My whole body shook with adrenaline as her arms came around my waist.
“Are you okay?” Her whispered words sank into my skin and for the first time ever, I felt the love for her that Leo in this lifetime felt. Was that part of the uniting?
“I spoke to Moron.”
She pulled away from me, her grin almost splitting her face. “I love that you call him that.”
“Murphy, stop procrastinating. It’s time to meet your fate,” another of the bounty hunters shouted.
Amelia’s eyes widened as she remembered what was going on. She grabbed hold of my arm, squeezing tight.
“It’s okay, listen…”
“No, we have to try and get away.” She went to move away, but I grabbed her back.
Putting my hand on her chin, I pulled it up to face me. Her eyes searched mine, her eyebrows lowered. She felt it too. The difference. The…union.
“Amelia, Emarelda, whatever…I will not risk you losing your life. I’m going to give myself up.”
Her sharp intake of breath made me pause. She cared for me enough to be distraught. That was a first in the lifetime. Not that she didn’t act it well when we had been in the past before, but that distance of complete emotion had always been there. Maybe the emotional disconnect had helped us to right the past.
“Listen to me, we don’t have much time. Forget about this lifetime and think about the future. Moron said that there’s a way we can make it work.”
Amelia’s eyes widened, her furrowed brow clearing of creases. “There is?”
“Yes. If we both agree, we can still do this, but in our dreams. When we get here, we won’t remember that we’ve come from the future. When we get back, we won’t remember we’ve been to the past. The work we do here ensures that we’re united, but we don’t have to be together in 2016.”
A banging on the door made us both jump. They wouldn’t dare to come inside, not with a woman at risk. The last thing they wanted was a bounty on their head for harming or killing an innocent.
“Really? We can do that? Will we forget each other?”
Shaking my head, I cupped her cheek. Her eyes were so hopeful, I almost felt bitter about it. Especially as in that exact moment all I felt was overwhelming love for her.
“No, we’ll remember everything up until this point. I’m assuming we’ll start forgetting our trips after we get back from this one. And, you can be happy with Freddie. You are happy with him, aren’t you?”
My chest squeezed as she nodded, her eyes tearing up as she admitted the truth. I swallowed hard, trying not to let her confession get to me. Trying to stay disconnected from the emotion of the past was harder than it had ever been. I had to remember the real Leo, from 2016, to be able to let go of the pain that engulfed me.
“I can feel it…the…” Amelia gestured between us, looking into my eyes. Reaching up, she ran a hand through my hair, stroking the back of my neck.
“I think we’ve…united…in soul…or whatever.”
She laughed, flicking my ear gently. “You never could stay serious for long.”
Grinning, I leant down and kissed her forehead. A burst of emotion I had never felt before brought tears to my eyes.
“Next lifetime, I promise we’ll have an easy time,” I said, ignoring the shouting and gunfire from outside.
The men were just trying to scare me out. It was okay, they
wouldn’t have to wait long.
“Leo…the way things are going, there won’t be a next lifetime. This is the most success you’ve had. The Zodiac’s have never managed to unite six people in the space of time you have.”
I almost choked as I gripped her shoulders. “So, this is our last lifetime? Yet, we’re not spending it together?”
Placing her hands over my heart, she looked deep into my gaze. “This will be the only lifetime we are truly united without destroying our love. The love we feel for each other will live on, but it will be unconditional. It will just be there, bolstering our lives, not bringing us down. The fight…the fight will be over. Finally.”
The relief in her face was evident with the relaxing of her features. A look of peace descended over my twin flame soulmate as she felt my heartbeat. Pushing softly, she released one hand and took mine, guiding it to cover her chest.
“You’re putting me first, Leo. And, I’ll love you for eternity for that.”
For the first time that I could remember, I let the tears fall as Amelia folded into my embrace. I buried my face into her neck, bending down to be able to be as close as possible for the moments we had left. My tears dropped off my cheeks, landing on her hair.
“I do love you, don’t ever doubt that. Just know that we’re united in soul, no matter what happens in the future.”
“I feel like this could be the last time I see you,” I said.
She shook her head, nudging me in the chin. Pulling away, I moved my face close to hers. As she blinked away the tears that also lined her cheeks, I wiped them away.
“No, this is not the last time you’ll see me. We’ll see each other in our dreams. And, when we get back to 2016, you won’t feel this anymore.” She pointed to my heart, jabbing me gently.
I nodded, smiling to myself as an image of packed out arenas and groupies came to mind. No, I would no longer feel the intensity that vibrated through me at this moment.
“Good luck, Amelia. I hope you have a happy life. If you ever need me, come and find me.”
Her throat moved as she took my face in her hands and went on her tip toes. Her lips touched mine in a gentle soft kiss, barely a whisper. I was tempted to pull her to me to deepen it, but I didn’t.
“Good bye, Leo, and thank you. Thank you for our freedom.”
Chapter Fifteen
“I can’t talk about this right now,” I said to Virgo as I looked in the mirror a month later.
She tutted, flicking her long thin hair behind her shoulder. The lights around the mirror showed me the image of myself. Spiked blond hair, bulging tattooed arms, and clothes that suited a rock star. The jeans had somehow become tighter since our manager had insisted I show off my leg muscles. Pulling them away from my butt for the hundredth time, I turned to face my sister’s scowling face.
“Just because you’re famous, doesn’t mean you get away with not telling us about your twin flame. Who is she? I know you said you’d sorted it and you do seem…different…but, I want to know details.”
Rolling my eyes, I slung my arm around her shoulder as I headed towards the door. “Let’s just say, she’s not a groupie. Or, a model. Although, I did meet one of those last night, if you know what I mean?”
Virgo scoffed in disgust as she slipped out from under my arm. “I don’t want to know. I hope you’re wearing protection. Sexually transmitted-”
“Okay, yes, stop!” I exclaimed, not needing the STI lecture, yet again. “Of course I’m careful. Anyway, enough about me…for the moment.” I winked at her when she refused to laugh.
“You’ll never change, will you?” she sighed dramatically.
Walking into the corridor, I suddenly froze. Nick stood by himself in the middle of the walkway. The fans cried in the background, enjoying our support act. Our first big show was the highlight of my life. Never had we been asked to play at one of the smaller music venues. The academy was eagerly awaiting our performance.
“What do you want?” I asked our enemy as Virgo clung to my arm.
Nick tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrowing on me. I unconsciously rubbed the new tattoo on the inside of my wrist. I didn’t look down at it, in case Nick took interest. The newest picture had been there when I woke up from the last past life trip that I remembered. A small red heart had appeared between two flashes of fire. I knew it was the symbolism of the union with my twin flame soulmate.
“I hear you’ve decided to abandon your mission. That makes life a little easier for me.” Nick’s hair was getting greyer by the moment. Did he feel the stress of trying to stop us? Was it getting harder for the man to stay stuck in his negativity?
“Don’t you ever want to let it all go?” I asked him, crunching my knuckles in warning when he stepped forward.
His chuckle echoed down the corridor. “Your obsession with your music…You know, that deep longing? Deep need to produce those songs? That. That’s the feeling I get when I think of you all. Destroying you is the only thing that keeps me going.”
It was my turn to laugh. Virgo joined in. Nick’s eyebrows creased as he missed the joke. He thought I would resonate with him, but I didn’t. Not in the slightest.
“You have no idea how hard it is for you, do you? We don’t find what we do hard, Nick. We love to love.” I grinned at my own cheesiness. “My songs aren’t exactly preaching love and light, but they serve a purpose.”
“And, what’s that?” he spat.
Virgo still clung to my arm. I took her and squeezed it before letting go. Moving forward, I kept my shoulders high as Nick levelled his gaze on my face. He was evil. It was evident in the grey of his eyes. They were almost dead, no life behind them.
“To show the people who feel the negativity and pain that you and your men send out that it doesn’t have to be that way…not if they choose to change it.”
Nick scoffed, taking a step back as I kept moving forward. His demeanour was weakening every time I saw him. Some of my siblings had speculated that maybe he lost power when one of us united. He believed that I had abandoned my mission. I wasn’t going to correct him. Especially if it made him less of who he was.
“You’ll never rid this world of evil. When you see that, you’ll understand what I’m fighting for.”
Virgo rushed up beside me, almost getting in Nick’s face. “It’s not about ridding evil from the world, it’s about stopping you from consuming the world with it. Taking love down in its wake. That won’t ever happen.”
“If you say so, healer.”
We both blinked at his pet name for my sister. Although Virgo was a healer, it sounded odd as our enemy said it so…kindly.
“I do say so. You have no chance, so you may as well give up. You probably have all these plans to take over the world, yet, we’re constantly getting in your way. It must be wearing you down. Is it?”
I let Virgo take over. Time was getting on. I would have to be onstage very soon. I really couldn’t do with the distraction of Nick. In fact, I was tempted to burp up some fire, just to get rid of him.
“Good luck…with your own union. Leo, I came to thank you for giving up.”
My grin was genuine as I nodded at him. “I’m too busy being famous for all that, now bugger off.”
Nick bowed as he backed away, glancing at Virgo as he went. She stared after him, her teeth biting on her lips.
“Are you okay?” What he said had obviously bothered her.
The shout of my name made me turn towards backstage. Virgo pushed me gently, urging me to get ready to go on.
“No, I’m not going anywhere yet. You asked me for help a while ago. I’m sorry, I got so wrapped up…you know how unreliable I can be. Do you still need help?”
Virgo’s cheeks heated pink as she looked around me. No one was with us, we were totally alone. Whatever she had to say, she didn’t want anyone else to know.
“I shouldn’t bother you with this as you’re about to go on stage. Please, I’ll tell you after.”
T
aking her hands, I made her face me. “No, I promised you all that I would be there for you, even after all this…I’m not going back on that promise.”
Virgo took a deep breath, nodding as she looked up at me. “Okay, but you can’t judge me.”
Frowning, I tried to think of why I would judge her. Everything Virgo did was pretty well thought out. She was intensely analytical. She would think everything through before acting, or if she didn’t, she would quickly correct it.
“I’m attracted to women,” she blurted.
I blinked. The corner of my lip sunk into my cheek as I tried to hold back a smile. Virgo was gay?
“Why are you smiling? It’s not funny.”
Shaking my head, I cleared my face. “Virgo, I don’t understand why you need my help?”
Gary, the drummer from my band, rushed around the corner. “There you are! Will you get a move on? We’re on in ten minutes.”
Waving him away, I kept my attention on Virgo. It seemed she had a secret as big as mine.
“I don’t know what to do about it. Can I be a twin flame soulmate with a woman? I just don’t know what to do. How to tell the others.”
Pulling her to me in a quick hug, I released her and tugged her towards the backstage with me. “You have nothing to worry about. Trust me, I know that uniting isn’t easy, but I got round it. And, I’m not even with my twin flame. The universe will have a way for you to work it out. I don’t know the answer about being able to unite with the same sex, but it does all somehow fall into place.”
Virgo stared at me as we neared the others. They hung around talking, acting serious as they discussed the set.
“Please, don’t tell anyone.” Virgo quickly grabbed me back.
Frowning, I paused. “Okay, I won’t say a word. But, don’t hold back on telling anyone. I know what it’s like to keep a secret. It’s not worth it with something like this. We love you for who you are.”
The tears that sprung to Virgo’s eyes were quickly wiped away before anyone could see them. It was time for her to accept who she was and share it with the world. I couldn’t see why she was so worried. We had all accepted each other a long time ago. Many people were gay, so why shouldn’t one of us be?
Leo Page 15
