Kallie walked away, and I looked to Oberi. “Did you see anything, girl?”
Glimpses and pieces of the past, she replied.But nothing that would help us, as far as I could tell.
“Shit.” I sighed. “I wish this was easier. I want to find the rest of the keys and get this over with.”
You two think your quest is the hard part? This is merely the final step,Oberi said.You’ve been chasing keys throughout the millennia, spending decades, sometimes even your whole lives, to locate and hide these keys, only for you to find them at the proper moment at this shred of time.
“Were there any past lives for you to examine?” Charlie asked.
From what I can piece together, I don’t reallyhavea past life, because I’ve never truly died— it’s just one long continuation of this current life that I don’t fully grasp. I kept bouncing between Earth and the spiritual lands in your various lifetimes,Oberi replied.When you were Elementai, I came here to be with you on Earth, then once you died, and transitioned into new supernatural forms, I remained in the spiritual realm until you summoned me again as your Familiar. The constant go-between from one place to another has completely altered my memory. I can hardly tell what is real and what may have been made up. It is why I cannot give you any clear answers.
Oberi paused to contemplate.If I recall correctly, I went into a deep sleep before the two of you were born into your current lives on this Earth, and I didn’t awaken until it was time for Charlie to bond with me. Now we know why I was not thereto defend you when you were children. I am very sorry, my beloved.
“Did someone put you into this sleep, or did you do it to yourself?” I asked.
I don’t remember anything about it, save for that I agreed to it. It must’ve been important.Oberi shook her head.
“What happened to us as kids isn’t your fault,” Charlie said kindly, and he stroked her feathers back. “There’s a bigger meaning to all of this.”
Though I may agree, it does not dull the sorrow.Oberi flew onto Charlie’s shoulder and began preening his hair.
Charlie pushed me out of the training arena, and I gave a giggle. “We had some fun when we were a couple of horny vampires, screwing within five minutes of meeting each other,” I cracked.
“In that lifetime, maybe, but we’ve been together forever,” Charlie said. “It doesn’t take long for the two parts of our soul to recognize each other.”
My insides softened into goo. “We reallyhavebeen together forever, haven’t we?”
Centuries, even,Oberi said.We cannot be aware of the time when our soul fragmented into two. We assumed it was at Charlie’s birth, but clearly, it was not. You two have loved each other throughout time.
If that didn’t make me all warm and fuzzy to think about.
“I’ve gotten to love you through multiple lifetimes, and in a million different ways,” Charlie commented. “It’s incredible, really.”
I reached over my shoulder to touch his hand. “Well, no matter how long it’s been, I’m still your pidge.”
“I guess part of me from back then bled over into this life.” Charlie gave a laugh. “Thankfully, that was the only corny slang I still took with me.”
“You’ve called me a dame before.”
“Yeah, I have.” Charlie brought me to a stop before we got to his suite. “Do you think we should check on Marcus? He ran off after the meditation.”
“Probably. He was freaking out. Maybe if we talk to him, he can tell us what he saw,” I said.
We returned to our quarters and headed toward Marcus’ room. I heard a crashing noise long before we got to the door. The sound of things being smashed and torn apart echoed through the walls. My heart dropped.
“Marcus?” I asked. I put a hand on his suite door. My spirit tore as I took in the sight of the destroyed room. Paintings were laying all around the room with holes in them, the canvases shattered and torn in half. It was a complete mess. My voice became still. I was unable to speak as I watched Marcus stomp one of his paintings underneath his shoe, and punch a fist through the canvas of another.
He’d been doing nothing but painting since we’d gotten to Ilamanthe, because it seemed to be the only thing that soothed him. Now Marcus was turning his treasured works into fragments, destroying everything he’d created.
“Marcus, stop!” I cried. My shout mingled with Rishi’s yowls. The cat seemed to be pleading with his warlock to take a moment to think. “You’re destroying your paintings!”
“It doesn't matter! It’s all garbage anyway!” Marcus raged. “My work sucks! It’s trash, just like I am!”
“Marcus, calm down.” Charlie hurried forward and grabbed Marcus, holding him in place. Marcus tried to fight back, but Charlie was stronger than he was, so Marcus was forced to stand there and take deep breaths in the remnants of his self-created disaster.
Charlie kept his voice even. “Marcus, why did you do this? You worked so hard.”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me!” Marcus replied tearfully, and he shoved Charlie away. “Why don’t you just give up on me, huh? Why do you bother being my friend?”
