“Because in the beginning, you would have done the same for me,” she said, stepping back and then placing both of her hands on Chamuel’s tearstained cheeks. “You were never giventhe opportunity to be the beautiful person you were meant to me. Hemah and Uriel stole that from you.”
“It’s too late now,” Chamuel said hollowly.
Jennifer nodded. “Yes. It is.”
Chamuel placed Its hands over Jennifer’s and closed Its eyes. “So tired,” It whispered. “So sad.”
Jennifer pressed her forehead to Chamuel’s just like her father had done to her only minutes ago. “I love you. It’s time to let go now, Chamuel. You can stay with me forever, but it’s time to let go.”
Chamuel took a step back from Jennifer, then bowed Its head in respect. When It raised Its chin, the deranged look was gone. The blood, the dried foam, the wild eyes… gone. Chamuel was stunningly beautiful again.
It smiled at Jennifer and extended Its hands. “Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure and always will be, Chamuel,” Jennifer answered, taking Its hands in hers. “I love you now and I will love you forever.”
“I will love you forever as well, Jennifer… true Higher Power.” Chamuel kissed both of Jennifer’s cheeks then got on Its knees before her. “I’m ready.”
I had no idea what I was watching but I knew it was the rarest of rare. There was some compassion left inside Chamuel. It was buried deep, but Jennifer had drawn it out. The power of love and compassion was so much stronger than hate.
My dear buddy got down on her knees in front of her counterpart. She whispered words she had no way of knowing. They were melodic and ancient. Jennifer swayed back and forth. Chamuel joined her. Their movement was a ballet of indescribable magic. Jennifer leaned in and without any prompting, compassion of old and compassion of new embraced each other. As the hug continued, glowing crystals in every color of the rainbow burst in the air around them and floatedto the ground covering every surface in the cave. Jennifer grew brighter as Chamuel began to grow transparent.
“Holy fuck,” Candy Vargo whispered. “Holy fuckin’ fuck.”
I couldn’t have agreed more. Chamuel was fading away moving on to the other side. No pain. No death. Just an agreement between two of the most compassionate beings in the Universe.
When Chamuel had completely disappeared in a cascade of shimmering golden magic, Jennifer cried. Sobs wracked her small body as she lovingly placed her hands on the ground where Chamuel had been only moments ago.
Tim moved quickly to his daughter’s side. The rest of us followed. A heartfelt group hug ensued. There wasn’t a dry eye. What we had witnessed was glorious. After a good five minutes, Jennifer’s sobs subsided. She peeked up at us and smiled. It was a weary smile, but it was a real smile.
“I think you owe me five million bucks, Candy Vargo,” she said with a small giggle.
Candy threw her head back and cackled. “I’ll get you a fuckin’ cashier’s check when we get home. Best five mill I’ve ever spent.”
We all looked at each other for a long beat. There was more to do, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it. Alana Catherine was still missing. Losing her wasn’t an option.
I glanced over at Gideon. “Do you think the motorcycles will take us to Uriel and Alana Catherine?”
The love of my life had a strange look on his face. It was like he’d seen a ghost.
Turned out he had…
I whipped around in the direction Gideon was staring and gasped. Chamuel was dead, but not gone. It had come back in ghost form and was floating above us while staying close to Jennifer.
“I think I know the way to Uriel’s cage,” Chamuel told us. “Hemah is the only one who knows with certainty, but he’s not here.”
“Actually,” I said, eyeing Shitty Ritchie. “He is.”
My idea was crazy, but crazy was turning out to be my new middle name. Gideon caught on before I said another word. His dramatic sigh gave him away.
I turned to him. “It’s about Alana Catherine.”
He nodded. “Do it.”
“Do what?” Jennifer asked.
I pointed at Chamuel then turned to Jennifer. “Can you take Chamuel into you?”
Jennifer tilted her head. “You mean like Missy can do? Harbor the dead like a Soul Keeper?”
