“Exactly,” I said. “You’re one third of the true Higher Power. I’m pretty sure you have the gifts that all of us do.”
“Jennifer can,” Chamuel stated. “Why do you want her to harbor me?”
I glanced up at the ghost who I had wanted to destroy more than I wanted to breathe only an hour ago. Times had changed. Fast. “If you go into Jennifer, I can do a double mind dive. I’ll dive into Shitty Ritchie’s and Jennifer’s mind at the same time. Then… we can have a chat with Hemah.”
Chamuel was intrigued and perplexed. “The small, strange Higher Power gave safe haven to Hemah?”
“Kind of,” I hedged. It had not been the beautiful scene that we’d just witnessed in any way shape or form.
The small, strange Higher Power chimed in with great pride. “Shitty Ritchie ate the fucker!”
Chamuel’s ghostly eyes grew wide and there was a hint of a smile on Its transparent lips. “YouateHemah?”
Shitty Ritchie took a bow. “Yes. Because I am the MAN!”
I wasn’t sure if Chamuel wanted more details on the cannibalistic showdown, but we didn’t have time for a play by play. My daughter was in danger and that took top priority.
“Suffice it to say, Hemah is inside Shitty Ritchie,” I explained quickly. “I’ve talked to him once in Shitty Ritchie’s mind and I need to try and do it again with your help. That’s why I want Jennifer to harbor you.”
“As you wish, Angel of Mercy/ Death Counselor,” Chamuel said as It quietly slipped inside Jennifer and disappeared from sight.
“Is Chamuel in there?” I asked Jennifer.
She smiled and nodded. “Safe and sound.”
“Friend, do you think all of you will end up in the same place when going into two minds at once?” Tim asked.
It was a fine question and I didn’t have the definitive answer. When I’d gone into my Angel siblings’ minds by accident, we’d all ended up together in the same floorless room in the Darkness. I wasn’t sure how I’d done it, but I’d done it. I’d simply do it again.
I hoped.
“Only one way to find out,” I said with a grin. “Shitty Richie and Jennifer, it’s group hug time. You ready?”
“Shitty Ritchie is ready because I’m the MAN!”
“I’m ready!” Jennifer said.
“Hug me,” I instructed. “We’re taking a little trip.” I turned to the others. “We’ll be gone for five minutes.”
We hugged.
We left.
And we’d never be quite the same again.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The cold.The cold went all the way to my bones and tore through my body like sharp, frozen daggers made of ice. Trying to catch my breath, I gasped for air. In the past I’d always screamed. It hadn’t helped. I knew the drill and did my best to stay calm and go with it. I just hoped Jennifer, Shitty Ritchie, Chamuel and I landed in the same place.
My head pounded violently, and every single cell in my body screamed for oxygen. I knew exactly what was happening, and I knew the soul-deep torture would eventually end. It was the same each and every time.
From the looks of it, I’d entered Shitty Ritchie’s mind again. The little dude was with me. Thankfully, Jennifer and Chamuel showed up seconds later. The slight buckling of my knees was involuntary and my sigh of relief was loud.
“Welcome to my mind!” Shitty Ritchie said with a giggle. “Enjoy your stay!”
My little group floated on air in the vast nothingness. There were no walls or floor to speak of. It was a familiar place to me and Shitty Ritchie. Jennifer and Chamuel looked around in curiosity and awe.
Chamuel, as with all the dead I visited in the mind, no longer appeared dead or ghost-like. The being wasn’t transparent or floating in the air above us. It looked one-hundred-percent alive and whole. I knew It wasn’t, but to anyone else it would be a difficult call.
