Touched (13 page)

Finally, she spoke. “My name is Philomena,” the woman said. “You’ve been waiting for me for a long time.”

Keira’s eyes filled with tears. She could hardly keep them from falling.

“Cry all you like dear,” Philomena said. “Tears are beautiful, tears heal.”

Instinctively, Keira knew that the woman held many answers she had been searching for. What’s become of Cooper?  she wanted to ask her. Where is he now?

“You want to know where Cooper is,” the woman spoke languorously, without holding back. “You’ve suffered enough. You deserve to know.”

Keira’s eyes widened.

“And I would love to answer all of your questions. Only I am not permitted to. There are some things I can tell you and the rest you have to find out for yourself.”

“I have to find out myself about Cooper?” Keira asked.

“You have to find out about your own life,” said Philomena. “There are junctures in the road when the veils part and direct guidance is given. It comes when it is needed, when all seems to have been lost. It comes when we are sure that it has been earned and will be used wisely.”

“This is one of those junctures?” Keira asked.

“Yes,” said Philomena, nodding her head slowly. “You have been brave. But, most importantly, you have been kind.”

Kind? Keira never thought of herself as kind.

“You have cared about others, sacrificed for their good.”

“Thank you,” mumbled Keira.

“And still, you have no idea who you are.”

Keira’s heart pounded. She hungered for the answer.

Philomena, seeing her desire, leaned closer to her. “You deserve to know. In the beginning, you were seemingly born into a usual family, a twin.”

Keira nodded.

“That was only the apparency, dear. Originally, you were born an Indigo Child.”

Keira shivered. What was that?

“But that was only the beginning. You have evolved immensely since your birth. More than most of us expected. We watch our Indigo Children carefully.”

“What are the Indigo Children?” Keira felt foolish asking, but she deeply needed to know.

“For thousands of years, special souls have been born into the human race. These souls have extra gifts and abilities. They are here to help the humans awaken, to evolve to what they can one day become. The Indigos never fit into the communities they are born into. They are too advanced, too sensitive.”

Keira took a deep breath. There were others like her, then, somewhere.

“Indigos have many possibilities open to them. Not all use them fully. You did. You have.”

Keira was amazed.

“And you’ve evolved beyond that already, even beyond the Crystal children. Now you’ve entered a whole different sphere.”

“What?” Keira breathed. “Who am I?”

“Your relationship with Cooper facilitated your growth. It sped things up. You learned to love.”

Keira’s heart clenched at those words. “I more than loved him,” she exclaimed.

“More than love is not necessary,” said Philomena. “When love becomes too deep, too embedded, it becomes dangerous. It can stop your growth, make you think you can’t live without him, cause you to forget the reason you came to this earth.”

Keira couldn’t bear the anguish that gripped her as she thought of how much she had loved Cooper.

“You told me you wanted to know who
you
were. No matter how much you love another, you must remain who you are. Do you follow?”

Keira nodded.

“You cannot get lost in another, or your mission will be defeated.”

Keira took a deep, sharp, icy breath in. She recognized what Philomena was saying to be true. She’d had similar thoughts herself.

“What is my mission?” she asked again, stronger now. “Who am I?”

“Those are sacred questions,” Philomena said. “I can answer in part, I can lead you in a direction, but the rest is for you to find out.”

Keira shivered. “Tell me what you can.”

“Your tribe is rooted on an island off of Lake Michigan, not so far from here.”

Keira gasped. “Am I a Vampire as well?

“No, I said your tribe. As you have evolved to this degree, your true family is situated on that lake. They are aware of you. They are waiting for you. You need to meet them. They have much to give to you. And you to them.”

“My true family?” Keira mouthed the words slowly, tasting every one of them. They felt wonderful on her tongue.

Then Keira thought of Cooper. Would he ever know her true family? Could he ever come and join them?

“Your love for Cooper is touching,” Philomena said. “But it can become an obstacle in the route you are destined to take. There may be someone else waiting.”

Keira’s heart clenched when Philomena said that. She did not want anyone else. Not ever.

Philomena threw her head back and looked at Keira from the bottom of her eyes. “Your loyalty is admirable, Keira. But useless right now. The universe is at the cusp of disaster. All the forces of light must bond with their tribes and overwhelm the darkness that is spreading everywhere. And what about Cooper? Think of that.”

Think of what? Was Philomena asking her to think about Tua? That Cooper had found someone else to love? And found her so quickly?

Philomena walked over to her. She stood beside Keira and put her arms around her.

“I never want to hurt you, Keira,” she said. “I only want to strengthen you in the truth.”

Keira felt the love and kindness in this woman. She put her head down on her shoulder, and cried.

After she stopped crying, Keira shook her head back. Enough of that. More than enough. She was ready for the next step. She had received such a huge gift, meeting woman.

Keira snapped to, filled with fresh energy. “Where do I go from here?”

Philomena smiled broadly. “That’s the spirit. That’s what we all love so much about you.” 

Then she pulled out a paper from her pocket. On it, was a map.

“I’m giving this map to you,” she said. “There are two steps to your journey. First you will rest at Beaver Island in Lake Michigan. Beaver Island consists of an archipelago in Charlevoix County. We’ve prepared a stopping place for you there, hidden in a grove of trees. It’s a healing place to recoup yourself in. You need a few days to absorb the new energy and re-group before moving forward to your tribe. At the north end of Beaver, the St. James Harbor Light, sometimes called Whiskey Point Light, guards the entrance to Paradise Bay. It is one of the oldest lighthouses on the Great Lakes.”

Keira held her hand up for Philomena to stop. It was overwhelming. She’d been used to being in hiding. “It a lot to take in.”

“You have to get used to being part of the world again, in a new way,” Philomena said. Keira felt shaken. It would be hard to do all this alone.

“After you have rested, exactly three days later, you’ll take a ferry to The Gull Islands. There is a wildlife preserve there, owned by Leelanau Conservatory, dedicated to protecting the Herring Gull Colony that nest on Lake Michigan. This is where your family’s tribe is located. It is hidden behind a cove of trees. They know you’re coming and are preparing meet you. I’ve written down the directions carefully and will give them to you.”

Keira could not help thinking how much more wonderful it would have been to share all this with Cooper. She could not resist asking one more time, “And what about Cooper? Will I ever see him again? Can he ever join me?”

“Destiny is destiny,” Philomena said slowly.

That wasn’t enough for Keira. She felt her eyes flashing powerful light at Philomena. She wanted more. Was there hope for the two of them?

Philomena smiled. “At times, intense desire can break through the strands of destiny and even rearrange them. Unexpected meetings take place. New children are born, permutations. The magnetic fields of the planet shift. Intense desire, fuelled by love, can sometimes make it happen. Not often. Very rare. That’s all I can say.”

Overjoyed Keira hugged Philomena as hard as she could.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Keira murmured.

“I’m not promising you anything,” Philomena said.

“I know,” said Keira. “And will I see you again, ever?”

Philomena laughed, making a gurgling sound. “We all see one another exactly when we’re intended to. Not a moment later, not a moment before.”

Keira was happy, satisfied for the moment. “I’m ready,” she said.

“Yes,” said Philomena, “I know you are.”

The two of them got up off the bench then and walked, arm in arm, along the lake. Keira felt as if they were old companions, had travelled this road many times in the past.

They stopped for a moment and Keira looked up. The incredible spread of stars that had come out brought dazzling light. It was as if they had come out just for her, had all kinds of secrets to share. Keira stared at the stars, fascinated by them, losing all sense of time. When she finally looked back down to see if Philomena was enjoying them as well, to Keira’s amazement, Philomena was gone.

Keira spun around, and looked off into the distance, wondering where she was. As she did, she fleetingly saw the trail of Philomena’s dress disappearing in the distance, along the lakeside.

CHAPTER 17

Percy ran his long, white hand through his pitch black, shiny hair. He’d missed nabbing Keira by a few minutes and that upset him. But at least he knew she was close to Amanda. They were in touch. There’d be another chance, soon. He’d stay real close to Amanda too, hear everything about what was going on. Everything was on track. He had no intention of letting go.

Percy knew Amanda adored him, didn’t have a bit of doubt. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. Even though he hadn’t gotten Keira, these past few days with Amanda had been perfect. He’d never had a target like her before. She was different from the other girls. There was something about her that made him feel different too-- she was more alive. And no one else ever seemed to need him the way she did. Being with her was exciting in a whole new way. Usually these humans created all kinds of problems for themselves-- they fell apart at the least little thing. Percy grimaced. Amanda wasn’t that way.

He looked at his watch. He’d been waiting for her at school, and she was a few minutes late. It was not like her. Usually she was right on time. Just as he began to feel restless though, he saw her round the corner, and come running up to him.

“Oh my God, Percy,” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. Something she hadn’t done out in the open before.

He caught his breath, and held her, feeling her heart pounding next to him. It felt intoxicating.

“What happened? he asked, uneasy.

Her beautiful eyes filled with tears.

Percy’s heart started beating harder. What the hell was going on? His heart never beat that way, either.

“Let’s go sit down inside,” he said. “You’ll tell me everything.”

She put her head down and nestled it on his shoulder right there. He felt her warm tears all wet on his neck. It felt fantastic. This was something he didn’t understand.

“You comfort me so much,” Amanda whispered to him, her head still buried in his shoulder.

Tentatively, he lifted his hand and stroked her long, golden hair. He stroked it softly, tenderly.

“I love you, Percy,” he heard her say, ever so faintly.

His entire body stiffened and clenched. This wasn’t what he was here for. Love was never part of the equation. His mission was to seduce her, get her in bed, find out about the sister. Girls never said they loved him unless they were out of their mind with pleasure. And, of course, it was never him that they loved. It was the way he made them feel. He was never confused about that.

Percy leaned down, picked up her head, and looked into her eyes. They were glazed over, like pools of water, sad and happy at the same time. Percy didn’t want to hear another word. She was falling for him and he couldn’t take it. Every bone in his body wanted to run away. But time was short and he knew it. They hadn’t opened the door when he went to her house and banged on it. Probably they were all too upset. But he needed to find her sister. His future depended on it. This was his first urgent mission and he couldn’t blow it. The sister was a force to reckon with. The Shadows had to take her out. He didn’t have the luxury of escaping from a human girl.

“What would I do if you weren’t here?” Amanda said in a voice that ripped him in half. What the hell was going on? Who was the one being conquered here?

Percy put his shield up even further, trying to drown out any human feeling that was coming upon him. He remembered hearing it could be dangerous to do the mission he was on. It was possible that a girl could get to you, make you feel things you didn’t want to feel, weaken you. But it was very rare. And he’d had plenty of girls before. It had never ever happened. He was proud of his record and so were the Shadows. That’s why they chose him for this mission.

He swallowed hard then. “What happened at home?”

“I had a rough time with my sister,” she said.

HER SISTER?  Alarms went off inside his mind. He calmed himself before he spoke again.

“Did your sister return to your home?”

Amanda looked up at him surprised. “Yes, of course. I thought you knew. You were there in the admissions office when she ran back home.”

“I know about that time,” he said quickly. “But did she come back again?”

Amanda looked at him strangely for a moment. “No, not again,” she said.

“What kind of trouble did you have with her?” he asked then calmly, stifling any sense of urgency, not wanting to alert Amanda to what was going on.

“Remember I told you that after the accident, my mother went crazy?” Amanda said to him.

He nodded.

“Well now, it’s my sister too. She returned home the day before yesterday from nowhere. Just walked in as though nothing were wrong.”

Every nerve in Percy was on edge, he listened with every cell of his being, alert.

“She expected everyone to be happy to see her and just welcome her home. Well, my parents didn’t. I did. We even had a nice talk that night in her room.” Amanda paused and started crying.