by A. P. Jensen
“This is the temple?” Jordan asked.
“The temple is where people in the city come to meditate and release their power,” Mr. Parker said and ushered her forward and nodded at her boots. “Toss them on the side. You won’t need them.”
They all kicked off their shoes and started up the purple colored steps. Mr. Parker pulled a curtain to the side and motioned them all through. Jordan entered and took it all in.
The temple was a lot bigger than she’d first thought. It could easily fit over two hundred people at once. The roof was the only illumination in the temple and it changed colors like the aurora borealis. Sheer white drapes divided the temple into four sections. As Jordan peered through the curtains she saw that each section was filled with people all doing the same thing in their area. The air crackled with energy and Jordan felt her power respond by warming her body from head to toe.
The section that she stood in was deathly silent and still. She was surrounded by blonde haired, violet eyed people wearing shawls. They sat in the lotus position on the ground; legs folded neatly, palms up. There were two levels of people in this position. Half sat on the ground and five feet above them, more rows of Thishe floated. Each person ranged from teens to adults in their nineties with their backs straight, eyes closed and even their breathing was synchronized. Levi and Cibrian flanked Jordan.
What the hell is this? Levi asked.
No idea. It’s creepy.
Mr. Parker moved across the room and pulled back the sheer curtain to let them pass into another section. Here the brown haired, green eyed people moved in a strange exercise/dance. The Eliten’s steps were deliberate and the hand motions that went with their movements were fluid and powerful.
Looks like tai chi, Levi observed.
I like this one better than the Thishe.
They watched for a minute before they moved to the third section of the temple. In this room, there was no synchronization, no order. The blue eyed, red haired people danced as if they were in a nightclub but no music played. Jordan stared with wide eyes, alarmed as she witnessed several near accidents. Some people danced as if they were listening to hip hop while others danced like master ballerinas. This room was a mash of bodies in motion. A woman staggered towards them, clothes soaked with sweat. She leaned down to pick up her discarded jacket, winked at Levi and ducked beneath the heavy curtain to exit the temple.
The fourth section was responsible for the chanting. Jordan watched the Darsana, all of whom had dark skin, orange eyes and muscular bodies. They stood side by side, slapping their thighs, shouting at the tops of their lungs. Their feet stomped the floor in a rhythm that pulled at something in Jordan. Men and women’s faces were expressive and animated as they chanted in an unfamiliar language. Heath passed Jordan and fit himself into the group seamlessly. He bent his knees, tilted his head back and yelled with the rest of the Darsana. The cords in his neck stood out as he spoke and the floor trembled beneath their feet.
Mr. Parker stood before the intrigued teens and spread his hands. “This is what people in the city do to release their power. In Texas we have the land and water and other things to channel our power into without harming anyone. Those that live in populated areas don’t have a choice. There are four methods that you can choose, ways to center yourself and strengthen your mind.”
He raised his voice and gestured to the Darsana. “Darsana ask for guidance from their ancestors to control their power, to harness it. Darsana are demonstrative people and their form of channeling their power out has been taught to them since the beginning of time.”
Mr. Parker turned and they all looked through the curtains at the Undala dancers. “Undala express themselves through movement, not sound like the Darsana. They agree that they are all different and don’t believe in uniformity while Grounding themselves.”
They crossed into the Eliten area and watched, captivated by the precise movements of the people.
“Eliten are drawn to the earth so they channel their energy into their hands and feet and release it into the ground. Their form of Grounding is in precise movements and actions. It’s also an effective method of fighting if you speed up the process,” Mr. Parker said and turned. “Last but not least, the Thishe believe they can control body and mind through deep meditation and absolute stillness.”
Mr. Parker raised his brows. “So? All of you need to meditate. Which form pulls at you?”
They all looked at one another.
“Dancing suits me fine,” Cibrian said with a grin.
“Off you go, then. No exiting the temple without one of us,” Mr. Parker said and Cibrian ducked through the curtain and was instantly lost in the crowd of writhing Undala bodies.
“Levi?” Mr. Parker prompted.
Levi pointed to the Eliten. Mr. Parker didn’t look surprised. He nodded and Levi watched for several minutes, taking note of the feet and hand movements before joining in. Jordan watched, astonished, as he picked up the rhythm as if he’d been doing it his whole life.
When Mr. Parker turned to Jordan she tensed. The Undala and Darsana methods of meditation appealed to her more but she was too self-conscious to join in. After all, the Darsana spoke in a different language and their movements were aggressive and bold. And the Undala were so graceful, so confident in who they were that they didn’t care how they looked. Had she ever danced before in her life? That would be a definite negative.
Mr. Parker watched her closely. When Jordan gestured at the Thishe he nodded. Jordan moved to the back of the room to a secluded area where she felt she could breathe in this too quiet section of the temple. She sat with her right side inches from one of the curtains that led outside. Jordan examined the crowd and copied the lotus position which was uncomfortable. She jumped when Mr. Parker settled beside her. He leaned towards her.
“Where’s your necklace?”
Jordan blinked. “I took it off when I bathed.”
“I figured. From now on, don’t go anywhere without it. If I’m not around, it’s the only thing that’ll stop you from losing control.”
“I’m fine,” Jordan hissed.
She folded her arms and made sure her palms were face up. For some reason, the position felt as if she was sacrificing herself and she didn’t like it. She turned her head slightly to look at the Eliten moving in their steady dance and picked out Levi who had his eyes closed, totally immersed in the exercise. Mr. Parker nudged Jordan and she forced herself to look away and stare straight ahead at the Darsana. The thump of their feet on the floor echoed in their quiet wing of the temple. Her heartbeat sped up to match the energy and power they projected.
“You’re breathing too fast,” Mr. Parker murmured. “Release your power into the air. Let it drift out of you like smoke.”
Jordan closed her eyes and forced herself to focus on breathing. Why was it so hard for her to sit still? She’d been a zombie for two years in a tiny room that would have made most people go mad. She’d been drugged or in pain most of the time so that didn’t count… Was she supposed to be saying a prayer or thinking about rainbows and puppies or something?
“Let your power envelope your body, feel it flow through your veins. Acknowledge your power and then let it disperse, let it drift away like wind,” Mr. Parker whispered.
Jordan turned her head to glare at him. Could he read minds? Levi couldn’t read her thoughts, could only communicate mind to mind with her. Mr. Parker didn’t even know her so how could he sense what she was feeling, thinking? Even as she glared at Mr. Parker she felt something pass over her, like a cold mist and she stiffened. Was that his power being released?
Determined to commit to the practice she’d chosen, she closed her eyes. She breathed evenly in and out. She could feel her calves cramping and she eased her position the tiniest bit. She felt like a pretzel. She resisted the urge to leave this freakishly quiet place and go crazy in the Undala section. How long was she supposed to stay here?
Time stretched. She wasn’t sure if m
inutes or hours passed. She sat tense and not the least bit relaxed. Every once in a while she would feel a cold draft and knew someone was releasing their power in the right way. Mr. Parker seemed to have turned into a statue beside her. She closed her eyes against the Darsana because every time she watched them, she responded to their dominant call. Thishe stood silently and left while more ushered in and sighed in relaxation as they sat in the lotus position.
Jordan could feel power heating her body, straining to be set free but she didn’t have the faintest idea how to release it. William had shown her what she was capable of when she lost control. Her heart beat sped up but she forced her breathing to continue evenly. She didn’t want Mr. Parker hissing at her again. She thought of William’s face melting and the smell of his skin burning turned her stomach. Her breath caught and she sensed Mr. Parker turn his head to look at her. She forced her features to relax and it was damn hard but she was an expert at feigning that everything was fine when it wasn’t. She tensed up again when she knew he’d turned away.
In an effort to take her mind off the images forming in her mind, she opened her eyes. She didn’t look at the Darsana, she stared at the backs of the blonde and shawl covered heads surrounding her. Why were they all blonde? How could they believe that this was a way to rid yourself of power? Her power was a burning sensation in her chest, a gnawing hunger pain that refused to be willed away. Sitting motionless was amplifying her power and it burned within her.
Sucking in a breath to control the flames building within, she turned her head to the right and saw the white curtains that led outside. Fresh air. That’s what she needed. She reached out slowly and pulled the curtain to the right. A break in the curtains appeared and cold air caressed her face and distracted her from the claustrophobia creeping up on her.
People walked around the temple, listening to the sound of the Darsana or waiting for those that needed to Ground themselves. Most people seemed content to admire the detailed ice sculptures in reverent silence. Jordan’s eyes moved over the crowd and settled on a blue sculpture of a wave creating a funnel for the tiny figure of a surfer. The wave was beautiful and done in several shades of blue that made it seem very real. Even as she stared at it, a figure came out from behind the wave and leaned against it. The blue lights revealed a man in a black coat buttoned up to his throat and an all too familiar face. Jordan’s heart stopped.
“Jordan!” Mr. Parker’s hand gripped her left arm.
Jordan lost her hold on the curtain as Mr. Parker turned her to face him in the temple. She couldn’t speak. She stared up at his furious face as he shook her, hard. She was dimly aware of Thishe running. For a moment she thought it was raining in the temple before she realized the roof was melting
“Channel your power into me,” Mr. Parker said.
Jordan shook her head but he shook her again, harder. The roof cracked and several pieces dropped like bombs.
“We don’t have time. Just do it,” he shouted.
Even as Jordan shook her head again, Mr. Parker jerked his glove off and placed a bare hand on her throat to make contact with her skin. His whole body jerked and his eyes flared wide with pain. Jordan desperately reached for control but found it out of her grasp. She was torturing Mr. Parker the same way William had to her in the past. She couldn’t bear it. She tried to get away from him but he wouldn’t let her move. His body convulsed as he absorbed her power which rammed into him. When he couldn’t take anymore he reeled back from her, shaking
As soon as he let go of her Jordan thrust herself through the curtain. People rushed up the steps, alarmed and scared for their loved ones in the temple. Jordan pushed her way through the crowd and rushed towards the wave sculpture. She walked around the sculpture but there was no one there. She went on tiptoes to see over the crowd and saw the man in the black coat with blonde hair walking slowly, calmly down a path that curved out of sight. She tore after him, heart nearly pounding out of her chest with terror but she didn’t care. She shoved her way through the crowds all heading towards the temple. Her feet skidded on the ice as she tried to run faster. She had to know. She rounded the curve and came to a stop.
The path ended at an apple grove. Apples colored red, pink and green lay scattered beneath the trees. Jordan’s breathing was ragged and she could hear nothing over the pounding of her heart. Her body shook with the aftereffects of her power being set free. She remembered the agony on Mr. Parker’s face and shook her head. Was she responsible for the deaths in Wal-Mart that day? Had her panic and terror made her lose control and kill innocent people?
She stepped into the grove and moved cautiously around the trees but there was no sign of the man she’d seen. Tears filled her eyes and she sank to her knees, hands clutching her head. Was she going crazy?
“Jordan!”
Levi tore around the corner and rushed to her. He fell to his knees beside her and ran his hands over her to make sure she was okay.
“What happened? Are you okay? What are you doing here?”
Jordan clutched handfuls of his jacket. “I saw him. He was here.”
“Who?”
“William. I saw him. He’s alive.”
Mr. Parker came forward and Jordan noticed he moved stiffly. Guilt and shame filled her. She let go of Levi and backed away, afraid she would lose control and hurt him.
“William is dead,” Mr. Parker said firmly.
Jordan couldn’t meet his eyes. “I saw him.”
Heath and Cibrian came around the corner. Both of them were drenched with water.
“Is everybody okay?” Jordan asked and forced herself to stand on wobbly legs.
“Thanks to Donovan. Who knows what you would have done otherwise,” Heath said.
Jordan’s stomach turned and she looked away from his accusing eyes.
“What was that all about anyway?” Heath demanded.
“She thinks she saw William,” Mr. Parker said.
She knew everyone was staring at her, wondering if she was sane or not. Was she losing her mind? She watched William’s eyes film over with death but she saw him standing there, watching her, hadn’t she?
There was a long silence. When Jordan didn’t speak, Mr. Parker took charge.
“Heath, take them back to the hotel,” Mr. Parker said and turned away from her.
Chapter Twenty Two
Jordan sat utterly motionless in the corner of the bathing chamber. She stared straight ahead and struggled against the urge to hunt for William. His face had been in shadow but… the hair, the height… She knew the way he stood. How could she forget? What were the chances that a man who looked like William would show up to taunt her? She couldn’t settle knowing he could be walking around the city.
Her heart threatened to beat out of her chest and the temperature in the room dropped. He should be dead, she thought. Her breath billowed out of her mouth in a white gust and a thin layer of ice covered the pool several feet away. She remembered the feel of his blood splashing over her. She let out a strangled sound and shook her head. Was he so powerful that he could come back from the grave?
She gripped fistfuls of hair to stop herself from doing a dozen things at once. She wanted to stand up and scream with fear and rage. She wanted to beat Mr. Parker to a pulp for staring at her as if she were crazy. She wanted to shake him until he believed her but what would that prove? She needed the Ever After pill more than she needed to breathe. She rose and was halfway to her bedroom before she forced herself to a standstill. She thought of the shock and agony in Mr. Parker’s eyes as he absorbed the tide of her power. She took a step forward, two back. She thought of the way Heath and Cibrian looked at her and stopped. Mr. Parker hadn’t returned to the hotel. Even Levi eyed her like a ticking bomb.
She went back to her corner in the bathing chamber and wrapped her arms around her knees. Adrenaline rushed through her, demanding she do something, anything and yet she sat, wracked with indecision. Had she hurt anyone in the temple? Was she any better than Wi
lliam? She was capable of hurting people without even meaning to. She thought of the expression on Mr. Parker’s face in the apple grove when he turned from her. Jordan cringed and buried her face against her knees. Had she really seen William or had she conjured up an image of her worst nightmare?
Knight hissed as he entered the frigid room. He ambled up to her and stretched out beside her. She dove a hand into his fur and let his heat wash away the chill. She thought of the Ever After pill Mr. Parker carried and wished she could take it without his knowledge. She grabbed a fistful of Knight’s fur to stop the compulsion to rush to the kitchen and look for pills, anything to numb out.
So many thoughts passed through her mind. Had she really thought she could be normal? Star couldn’t break out of her drug addiction to be a mother and Mr. Parker hadn’t cared enough to stay around. Had he known about her? He hadn’t come out and said so but… how could he not know? Her body shook, trying to keep her power and emotions contained. She didn’t belong here. She should leave. Knight clamped his mouth around her thigh and squeezed lightly. The pain made her raise her head. The water in the bathing pool bubbled and frothed over the tiles.
Jordan felt as if she were drowning, her throat felt scorched by the fire in her throat. Jordan scrambled towards the bench where she left the necklace and reached with frantic hands for the glass pendant. Her hands closed around the small circle. She closed her eyes and focused the last of her shaky control. Instantly, her power drained away. That awful, clawing need for destruction faded, replaced with a cleansing emptiness. Relief coursed through her and she slumped to the floor with the circle clutched in her hand. The pendant filled with red liquid that looked eerily like blood. Knight nudged her with his head, concerned.
Jordan rolled on her back and looked up at the dark skylight. If she wasn’t chosen to go into a school Mr. Parker would let her go. He never wanted her anyway. Even as she lay there, her power slithered to life once more. Dread curled her stomach into knots. It was beginning again. Today she received a small trickle of power but it was building again into that unstoppable force that made her drown herself in pills. She could feel threads of William’s power weaving through her own, making it less hers and all his. Had he changed her power when he created the soul tie? She could see his face as he whispered, “You will never be free of me.” Jordan got to her feet. She needed air.
