The Locket

“I’ve been having visions of the past and the future. Is that what you’re talking about?” I asked.

“The visions are part of it but there is so much more. Your ability to control the minds of others will grow, and you’ll discover its power and how to control it. It is important you wait until your ability is strong or it will not work on Kace. He knows you are the chosen one, designed to return him to The Realm. Kace will do anything to stop you. Make no mistake about it, Claire. Kace will kill you if you’re not ready for him,” Omni warned, again stressing the need to develop my ability.

“How will I know when I’m ready?”

“You’ll feel it, Claire. Brent and Reese will help you. They were designed to complement you. Whatever you do, you must stay together,” Omni concluded, disappearing behind the glass.

Where were we supposed to go?

Immediately, I was overcome with a vision verifying the truth to Omni’s words. I saw the three of us together, strong, sensing the bond we shared. I wanted to see more, but light surrounded most of the vision, blinding the landscape. The vision melted away, leaving me unfulfilled.

Brent looked at me tenderly, trying to measure my mood. He laced his fingers in mine.

“Are you okay?”

“I have a brother,” I croaked, pulling in my bottom lip to fight off tears.

Brent nodded, brushing his thumb across the knuckles on my hand. “We need to go,” he told me, before pulling me close and winding his arms around me. I buried my head in his chest, clinging to him tightly, and absorbing the comfort that came with being wrapped in his warm embrace.

He held me for a few minutes before releasing me.

“I have to talk to Reese first.” I said with urgency in my voice.

Brent responded. “I know you do. Maybe we should go somewhere safe. You heard Omni. If Kace finds us now, it won’t end well.”

As Brent seemed the only one capable of making a rational decision at the moment, I nodded in agreement.

We went downstairs to find Reese sitting in Maggie’s chair, his face buried pitifully in his hands.

My brother.

He glanced up and met my eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Claire.” His apology was genuine. He had so much to deal with, and whether or not I forgave him, he was going to be crushed.

Unable to string together any words that didn’t involve telling Reese everything, thereby prolonging our departure, I simply shrugged.

Brent stepped in front of me and spoke to Reese.

“We have to go now.” Brent placed his hand on Reese’s shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze. I smiled at the small expression of reassurance.

“You’re going to let me come with you after what I did?” Reese peered over Brent’s shoulder, looking for my approval.

“Just get in the car, Reese,” Brent told him, “before we change our mind.”

He stood and started walking towards me, but thought better of it, and kept his head down as he made his way out of the door, to the car. With a heavy heart, I followed, stopping briefly to look around my home.

Looking in at Maggie’s favorite chair, I held back tears, remembering how I always teased her about it looking like old curtains. More than once, I tried to convince her to have it reupholstered. She had laughed and told me it had character. She had done so much for me, and I felt like I was robbed of the chance to tell her how grateful I was. It would have been so much more difficult these past few months without her. Silently, I made a promise to always tell the people in my life how much they meant to me, and that I loved them. I had to start with my brother. Maggie’s home seemed so empty now. I closed the door, softly whispering, “goodbye, Maggie.”

CHAPTER 12

“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” – Emily Brontë

As we pulled away from Maggie’s house, I had no idea where we would go, but it was evident by Brent’s determination, he had a plan. I didn’t ask, trusting my faith in him, submitting to his control over the situation. Reese remained silent, afraid to say anything. I think he believed I would dump him on the side of the road if he opened his mouth again. Given the situation, that might have been a possibility. Brent pulled into the bank ATM and withdrew cash.

“Where are we going?” I finally decided to ask, speaking for the first time since we got in the car.

“I think a hotel is best. We’ll keep moving for now and hopefully that will throw Kace off until we’re ready.” He wrapped our fingers together, and pulled my hand to his lips, kissing it softly.