FANNING AN OLD FLAME
Nathaniel
Before my motorcycle fully skidded to a stop in the garage, I ripped off my helmet. I put the kickstand down and paced the driveway. None of my daredevil distractions kept Maryah out of my mind.
I’d been so insistent about moving away. Dylan and Amber refused to let me go alone, so they packed up their life and also moved to Colorado. I’d never live it down if they knew how badly I wanted to go back.
Both of their cars were gone. They’d never know if I made one quick trip to Sedona.
Over the last several lifetimes, I’d mastered my ability to traverse, so the process took merely the length of one breath. I opened every cell in my body so the ions could flow through me. Borrowing a surge of energy from the ionosphere, I prepared to let the flux of a stellar flare form a bridge to my destination.
I resurfaced atop Cathedral Rock, staring across the desert at the house—our house.
She chose to return to our home.
Maryah and her choices: they’d be the death of me.
Waves of adrenaline shot across my chest. I pictured her walking down our hallways, standing in our kitchen, entering our bedroom, gazing out the windows at a land she used to be so in love with.
Could she be looking out a window right now? Looking in my direction? From the far distance, I’d only be a silhouette of a hiker—a stranger—standing on the cliffs. God, how I ached to see her again. I squinted, trying to detect any movement in the house, but the sun hung too low in the sky, creating a blinding glare against the windows.
Throughout this lifetime I had occasionally checked in on her, but only from afar. Once, I sat behind her on the bleachers at a football game. My knees rested inches from her back. Even then, she felt miles away. Now, she and Krista were in our home, surrounded by people Maryah assumed were strangers. Almost a mile of desert separated us, but this was the closest I’d felt to her in nearly two decades.
The strong urge to traverse inside the house made my skin prickle. I wanted to see her, talk to her, and make sure she was okay. But seeing her would only reopen my wounds. She had demoted me to a stranger, and I couldn’t bear seeing that truth every time she looked at me. Not after hundreds of years together.
I’d follow my original plan and stay away from her. I had to for my own sanity.
My cell phone rang and Dylan’s name appeared on the screen. I sent it to voicemail. He and Amber placed bets on how long it would take me to visit Maryah. Technically, the bet was still on, but I didn’t want to admit I had come to Sedona.
My phone rang again. Louise. Perhaps she had an update on Maryah.
“Hello, Louise.”
“Plan on stopping by to say hello to your mother?”
“Come again?”
“Nathan, don’t play dumb. I see you over at Cathedral Rock.”
I glanced at the house then turned my back. It’s not like Louise had preternatural sight. “It must be someone who looks like me. I’m in Colorado.”
“Have you forgotten who you’re talking to? I’d know your aura anywhere.”
Bollocks. She did have super-powered vision when it came to seeing a soul’s energy. My unique color pattern of light would be like a blinking beacon on top of the cliffs. That should have occurred to me before coming here. Acting like a stalker, ignoring Dylan, and caught lying to Louise: not the most righteous day of my existence.
“Forgive me, Louise. This situation has me acting crazy. I’m not myself lately.”
She sighed. “Lately? You haven’t been yourself this whole cycle of life. But no one can fault you for that.”
Silence ensued. We’d had this conversation so many times that I stopped responding long ago. Numerous times I wished I could trade this life for the one I lived two lifetimes ago. Granted, I had been deaf, but in hindsight it had been one of my best go-rounds. I had lived a long, comfortable life in England, technology hadn’t taken over the world, and my soul mate was still by my side.
“Nathan, come visit. Having you here might trigger something.”
I shut my eyes so tightly that I saw stars. “The only thing it will trigger is more anguish for me.”
“But what if—”
“No. Please understand. I can’t—not yet. I’m still trying to recover from her attack. If she would have died …” The thought made my heart implode.
“I know, but she’s still with us.”
If Maryah had died, she would’ve been severed from me and our kindrily for eternity. Between every life, we made our choice: erase or retain. As Elements, my kindrily and I were allotted a different set of rules than average humans. We chose when we’d return to our next life, and to whom we’d be born, allowing us to continuously retain our memories and ensure we stayed connected forever.
No member had ever erased—until this lifetime.
If Maryah died not knowing about us, she would have most likely erased her memory again. This time we’d have no way of knowing when or where she’d be reborn. Last go-round she had a plan and she stuck with it—all except the erasure. We had agreed that nothing could ever be so terrible that we would erase, so how and why did it happen? The burden of that unanswered question was mine to carry for at least another lifetime.
“Nathan, Edgar confirmed our suspicions. The Nefariouns were the ones that attacked Maryah and her family. They’ve been aggressively targeting Elements and building an army.”
“An army for what? What upstanding Element would ever join their cause?”
“Edgar hasn’t figured that out yet, but Dedrick is acting as leader.”
Elements who didn’t follow universal laws and exploited their gifts were outcasted and had their abilities taken away from them. A few continued to perpetually reincarnate, and their desire to regain supernatural abilities strengthened over time. Most of them resorted to sorcery or witchcraft to obtain power, and they had harmed and killed people along the way. Dedrick’s ruthlessness had escalated over the last couple decades.
“So Dedrick doesn’t know Maryah erased. If he assumes she has her gift, he may still be hunting her.”
“It’s a possibility. And he might come after more of us. Abilities such as Anthony’s, Edgar’s, or Dylan’s would be extremely valuable to him.”
My stomach seethed. “Mark my words, if he hurts anyone in our kindrily I will—”
“Hush.” Louise’s tone changed drastically. Through the phone I heard bamboo wind chimes clanging together. She was in the backyard.
“Help!” Krista’s faraway scream sent chills through me. My exceptional hearing wasn’t a gift in situations such as this.
The trickling pond grew louder at an alarming rate. Louise was running through the backyard. My pulse beat double time. “What’s wrong?”
Her bracelets jingled as her footsteps thudded faster.
I whipped around and scanned the house. It looked peaceful, but Louise’s panic radiated through the phone. “What’s wrong?”
In a labored breath, she answered, “Something’s burning.”
In that instant, I knew Maryah was in danger. And I reacted on instinct.
