Chapter Fifteen: Forgiveness
Kieran sat on the couch next to Mikayla. The glass of water he held was still full since Egan gave it to him twenty minutes ago. I stood with Egan, watching from afar and not saying anything.
“Kieran,” Egan spoke. “You should know. The detective looking into things will probably give you a call soon.”
Kieran nodded. The door opened and he looked up.
Andy walked in closely followed by Brenden. Kieran didn’t seem to have the energy to talk. Brenden circled Andy and slowly approached Kieran. He hugged him. Kieran hesitantly hugged back. The hug was broken when Benji bolted through the door and leapt onto the couch, licking Kieran. Kieran laughed and pet the puppy. “Who’s this?” he asked.
“This is Benji,” Brenden introduced.
Kieran looked up at Brenden. “When did you get a dog?”
“Yesterday,” Brenden replied with a smile.
Kieran raised his eyebrows. “And you didn’t have him on a leash on the way here?”
“He won’t leave Brenden alone,” Andy answered. “He doesn’t even like being in a different room.”
Mikayla turned to Andy. “He’s a good guard dog.”
Brenden smiled and nodded. “Are you okay?” he asked, turning back to Kieran.
Kieran looked down at his glass. “I’ll be okay,” he muttered.
Brenden bobbed his head.
“What I want to know is what actually happened,” Kieran said.
“It was suicide, Kieran,” Samuel told him. “That’s what the Detective will conclude, anyway. It’ll be put down to depression caused by a violent relationship. I’m sorry.”
“I just don’t understand how anyone could...” Kieran shifted back on the couch.
Mikayla smiled sadly. “I’ve spent half my life trying to work that out Kieran.”
“You guys fight demons and things, right?”
“Yes,” Mikayla confirmed.
“So, do you know what happens after we die?”
“Each of us has different beliefs, Kieran,” Mikayla answered. “None of us really know for sure.”
“Well, what do you think?” Kieran asked.
Mikayla shrugged. “I believe in reincarnation, Egan believes in Heaven and Hell.”
“Suicide’s not really good for either of those, is it?”
“That also depends on your beliefs.”
Kieran sighed.
“Kieran, in the end it’s what you believe in that matters. Not what anyone else believes or tells you to believe.”
Kieran nodded. “I think I owe all of you an apology. I told you guys you were insane and then you turned around and probably saved my life. I mean, if you hadn’t been there I would’ve had to face that thing alone with Ashleigh. Knowing me I wouldn’t admit it was anything unnatural and gotten myself killed.
“Did any of you actually take anything I said to heart?”
“Brenden wasn’t too good with it,” Mikayla answered. “But the rest of us were okay.”
“Really? You know I made up everything I said, right?”
Brenden grimaced. “Doesn’t make it any less true.”
Kieran’s mouth dropped, “You... are you actually...”
“Yes, I have a thing for Andy.”
“See Kieran, I have sex appeal for gay guys,” Andy grinned.
“Bisexual,” Brenden corrected.
“I’m not sure whether to call you two disgusting or brave.”
“What?” Brenden looked shocked.
“I couldn’t have made it easy for you,” Kieran said. “I mean, I don’t like it, but I know how hard it must be to come out. Especially to tell Andy. Are you two a couple now?”
“No, I’m still straight,” Andy replied.
Kieran nodded. “But you’re okay with him...”
“We deal with it,” Andy replied with a smile.
“And you two are together now,” Kieran observed, watching Egan and I.
“Yeah,” Egan answered. “Though I’m still not sure it’s a good idea.”
“Of course it’s a good idea,” Mikayla replied.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Kieran asked.
“Egan is rather overprotective,” Mikayla answered.
Kieran looked at Egan.
“I’ve hunted demons my whole life. It would be too easy for her to get hurt.”
“I thought Ailia kicked the demons butt the other night,” Kieran said thoughtfully.
“And God knows how she did it,” Egan said. “But it’s not just the demons I’m worried about.”
Kieran was still thinking about Egan’s statement when Michael walked in. “Hey guys,” he greeted the others before walking up to me. “I’m getting the feeling I don’t have a lot of time left in Scotland. Are you feeling up to working?”
“Always,” I replied with a smile. “What were you thinking of doing?”
“Teaching you to control astral projection,” Michael answered. “As long as you understand that I don’t want you doing it unless you really have to and never with a demon around. I’m only showing you this so it’ll be easier for you if you get dragged into it again.”
“Okay.”
“Does that mean we get to watch you two throw invisible things at each other again?” Andy asked.
“No,” Egan replied. “You’re probably going to find this very boring, actually.”
“Okay, forgive me for being a little bit out of the loop, but...” said Kieran.
“Ailia’s brother,” Samuel answered Kieran’s question before it was asked. “Michael’s been teaching Ailia to use her magic.”
“What?”
“Ailia’s a witch,” Egan told Kieran.
“Oh, I see,” Kieran nodded. He turned to face the other direction, but once Egan’s words sank in he swiftly turned back. “Did you just say witch?”
Egan laughed.
“Sit down,” Michael instructed me.
I sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. Michael sat next to me.
“Samuel, will I be able to contact you from the astral plane?”
Samuel nodded.
“Okay. Egan, probably best to avoid touching Ailia unless I tell you to. I’ll get the message to you through Samuel.”
“Sure,” Egan nodded.
“Okay,” Michael turned to me. “You’ll need to start off with meditation. Make sure you’re really relaxed.”
After a few minutes of sitting with my eyes closed, Michael spoke again. “Make sure you don’t move. Eventually you should feel tingling or vibrations. Just go with the flow.”
I sat for what seemed like a very long time before my body began to tingle. The sensation became stronger until my whole being was vibrating. When the shaking stopped, I opened my eyes. Michael was standing in front of me. He held out his hand, pulling me up. “Welcome to the astral plane,” he grinned. I turned around. Both our bodies were still on the ground.
“That’s it?” I asked.
“Pretty much. I expected you to take longer than that though.”
“Yeah, well. I guess doing it before makes it easier.” I shrugged.
“You can walk around here the way you’d walk around any place, but you’re pretty much a ghost. You can walk through walls and you can’t pick up objects.”
“And they can’t see me?” I looked towards the cluster of people sitting in the lounge room.
Michael shook his head. “Only I can see you. Although you might come across a ghost or two.”
I raised an eyebrow.
He shrugged, “Ghosts like to hang out on the astral plane. They can watch their family.”
I looked back at the others, who were watching our bodies curiously. I moved out of the way so I didn’t feel as though they were staring at me.
“And if they touch my body, I won’t be able to feel them.”
“Nope. Just Egan.”
I looked behind me. Brenden was staring directly at me. Knowing he couldn??
?t see me, I dropped the thought.
“Can they hear us?” I asked.
“No. We can hear and see them, but they can’t hear or see us.”
“Huh.” I looked back at Brenden, who was still looking at me. He stared at me for a while before turning his head and looking back to my body. “So you’re saying,” I kept my voice low. “That no one at all can see or hear me right now.”
“Well, there’s the odd gifted person. I’m surprised Samuel can’t do it, actually.”
“Brenden!” I called loudly. Brenden swiftly looked towards me, wide eyed. I waved. Brenden shook his head and looked back.
“Did he just...?”
“Yes he did,” I smiled. “How do I get back to my body?”
“Just think about it. You’re always connected to your body so just feel yourself falling into it.”
A strong falling sensation overcame me and I opened my eyes.
“Ailia,” Egan crouched beside me. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I replied, placing a hand on his arm. “I’m a bit worried about Brenden, though.”
“Why?” Egan looked at Brenden.
I pushed down on Egan’s arm, which he lifted to help me up.
“Be careful,” Michael warned, waking next to me. “You might be a little bit dizzy.”
“You could see us,” I directed my voice at Brenden.
“Of course I couldn’t see you,” he replied, looking away.
“You could hear us as well.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered.
“Brenden,” Andy turned Brenden’s face towards him. “What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing,” Brenden told him, turning away.
“Brenden, I know that look. Talk to us.”
“You’ll never believe me.”
“Brenden, you’re talking to a bunch of demon hunters and witches. I’m sure they will believe you.”
“I might not,” Kieran admitted.
“Please don’t laugh?” Brenden asked.
“Why would we laugh?” Andy gazed quizzically at Brenden.
“Brenden, if you don’t tell them, I will,” Samuel told him.
Brenden sighed. “When I was eight years old, my Grandfather came to my house. We played in the garden.”
“You’ve told me about it before. Playing with your Grandfather,” Andy said.
“This was different. Half way through play time, my Mum called me inside. She asked who I was playing with. When I told her, she burst into tears.” Brenden looked up at me, “She told me my Grandfather died the night before.”
“You see ghosts,” Michael concluded.
“Ever since then I’ve seen people no one else could see. I thought they were all ghosts, but…”
“Then you saw me and Ailia.”
“I managed to ignore all of them eventually. With practice I could cut them out; pretend they didn’t even exist. I nearly forgot about them.”
“Then,” Mikayla looked to Brenden. “We told you about the demons. And it all became real again.”
Brenden nodded. “But this time the ghosts... they were different. Some of them were okay but others... there are dark ones. They try to hurt people and I can’t...”
“Poltergeists,” Michael stated.
“Makes sense,” Egan nodded.
“Brenden, have you been carrying this around for all these years?”
He shrugged. “My Mum taught me about it. She did some research and found out about the astral plane and that ghosts like to hang around in it. She said I could see things on that plane. I never spoke to anyone else about it. No one would believe me.”
“So a group of demon hunters wouldn’t believe that you can see ghosts?”
Brenden looked at us and sadly shook his head. “I don’t know. It was easier just to go on pretending.”
“Brenden, your nightmares...”
“They’re not always nightmares.” Brenden looked at Andy. “Half the time they’re real.”
Andy pulled Brenden into a hug.
“I have to ask,” Kieran turned around on the couch to get a better look at us. “Do I have a friend who doesn’t have superpowers of some sort?”
“I don’t have superpowers,” Egan replied. “I’m just brilliant.”
Kieran rolled his eyes. “Don’t know how to cook though.”
“I know how to cook, I just can’t do it.”
Andy let go of Brenden. “Brenden, do dead people just start talking to you?” Andy asked.
Brenden nodded. “I ignore them most of the time. They’re not very nice. Sometimes I try to stop them from doing evil things, but I never can. They try to hurt me. Benji likes to scare them away, though. It’s a bit better.” He looked at Egan. “And your Mum’s okay.”
Egan stared at him, “You speak to my Mum?”
“Sometimes. She likes to talk.”
“What does she say?” Egan croaked out.
“She says that she’s proud of you.” Brenden replied. “And that you should stop being so protective of Ailia. She says that even in a battle, Ailia’s safest with you.”
Egan stared at Brenden, completely speechless. I took his hand.
“Excuse me for being overly sceptical, but how do we know he’s not making this up?” Kieran asked.
Egan turned to him. “Kieran, did you know that my mother was dead?”
“No,” he replied.
“Nobody in this room did,” Egan replied. “Except for Ailia. Did you tell Brenden?” he asked me.
“No, I haven’t told anyone,” I replied. Kieran looked at Samuel.
“I had no idea,” Samuel shrugged. “I can’t get a thing from Egan. He’s not trusting enough for that.”
“So does anyone else have a secret identity we should know about?” Kieran asked.
“Does this mean you believe me?” Brenden asked.
“I don’t completely believe you,” Kieran answered. “But I’ll try.”
Brenden nodded. “That’s good enough for me.”
“Brenden, if there’s another poltergeist, let us know. We can get rid of it,” Mikayla offered.
“I thought you hunted demons.”
“Poltergeists are a form of demon.”
Brenden nodded. “Is it dangerous?” he asked. “I mean, is it dangerous to talk to them?”
“You have a gift Brenden,” Michael spoke. “Maybe not a good one at times, but you can learn to control it. Understand the dangers and you’ll be fine.”
“How hard will it be to control?”
“Not too hard. I’ll see if I can help you get in contact with your spirit guide. He’ll be able to teach you,” Michael offered.
Brenden smiled. “Thank you.”
“Does this mean you’re turning into a ghost whisperer?” Andy asked.
“I’ve always been a ghost whisperer, Andy,” Brenden sighed. “Now I’m just learning to control it.”
“We’ll make a medium of you,” Michael grinned.
Brenden groaned.
“It won’t be that bad,” Michael told him with a smile.
“Maybe not,” Brenden agreed.
“Egan,” I called, searching the house for him. He snuck away while the others were leaving. I entered the bedroom and found him sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a photo. I sat next to him, looking over his shoulder at the picture. It was a young green-eyed boy, grinning between two smiling adults.
“Are those your parents?” I asked.
He nodded. “This is the only picture I have.”
“They look like nice people.”
Egan nodded. He placed the picture on the bedside table. “I didn’t think they’d still be around.”
“Sounds like your Mum likes to watch over you.”
“Yeah, but twenty-three years is a long time to watch over someone.”
“When you love someone it’s probably worth every minute.”
Eg
an lay back on the bed. “I was with them when they died,” he said sadly. “It was a car crash. I was in the car.”
I lay down next to him and he looked at me.
“How come they died and I didn’t?”
“The world works in weird ways, Egan. If they hadn’t died, you would be a completely different person right now.”
“Like if your Mum loved you, you might still be in Ireland?”
“Yes,” I replied. “All the stuff that happens to us takes us places. The bad stuff or the good.”
Egan sighed. “It’s all I really wanted. A family. People underestimate it; to have a loving family with you. I always saw it as the best thing anyone could have. I guess people always want things they can’t have, don’t they?”
“You can have that,” I took his hand. “One day, you could get married and have kids. Have those little things that people take for granted.”
Egan shook his head. “That can never be me, Ailia. Not anymore. I’m a hunter. It’s something that doesn’t change easily. I have to protect people. Having a family wouldn’t protect them; it would be putting them in danger.”
“Egan, I know you. If you want something badly enough, you’ll find a way to have it.”
“But I can’t have it, Ailia, it’s not safe. How am I meant to raise a kid when I’m busy fighting all the time?”
“You’ll find something.”
“I already did,” Egan whispered. He rolled onto his side and placed his hand on my cheek. I closed my eyes, indulging in the sensation of Egan touching me gently; the smell of him was intoxicating when he was close. Then there was the feel of his mouth softly capturing mine and the knowledge that between all the different sides of Egan – the teacher, the hunter and the genius, there was this Egan – my Egan.