Page 108 of Ghost
Warm hands pressed over my cheeks. I had an instant to focus on the sensation before my head was forced up, causing me to meet the eyes of the man in front of me. There was something familiar about him. His striking, grey eyes were smoldering with concern. I couldn’t look away…
A second later, clarity slammed into me, and a cloak pulled from my consciousness.
“Damen…” My vision blurred, my nightmare being chased away by his presence. From him, and the reassuring sight of the two boys behind him.
Julian appeared to be overwhelmed with concern. As soon as I spoke, he nudged Damen to the side and took his place in front of me. “Are you alright?” Even though his voice was tight with worry, his eyes held mine steadily. “What happened?”
I missed the warm feeling of Damen’s hands, but Julian’s gentle touch filled the hollow feeling left behind. Miles was frowning deeply, a steady presence in the background as he watched my face.
Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, it registered I could see the boys clearly—it was daybreak.
“Bianca?” My focus returned to Julian, who was gazing at me with acute appraisal. His blue eyes shimmered with concern. “What happened?”
I wasn’t sure how to respond, mostly because I had no idea what to say. My head felt fuzzy and my mouth dry. I tried to lick my lips, but was unable to muster up even enough moisture for that.
“I… I…”
Feelings, remnants of sensations that were not my own, still hovered on the edge of my awareness. I couldn’t think.
“What do you mean?” Damen glanced at Julian. “Wasn’t that a nightmare?”
Miles had disappeared from the room. But I didn’t have a moment to wonder where he might have gone, because Julian’s hands brushed back my bangs as his eyes held mine.
“No, that wasn’t a nightmare,” Julian answered Damen, his face grave. “That was a leak. I can still feel the residue,” he said, pulling the blanket around my shoulders and smoothing the edges down.
Miles returned with a glass of water, handing it to me. I accepted, giving him an appreciative smile, but he didn’t seem to notice. His focus was already on Damen. “The wards are still intact, nothing new has gotten in. This is one of the spirits we’ve already encountered.”
“They’re still up?” Damen shot a perplexed glance at Miles. “But… Julian, are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Julian replied, his voice emotionless. But if I wasn’t mistaken, I could have sworn there was a hint of panic in the depths of his eyes.
But then his gaze calmed, and he spoke to me. Between his soothing voice, and the water, I began to feel like myself again. “Leaking is a rare talent that people in the Wood element possess. Only Brayden and a handful of others can do it; not even Bryce has that ability. A person must be especially emphatic to be able to see the memories of a spirit.”
“Bryce can’t do it?” Bryce couldn’t do something that I could do? This made it worth the fear. I must master this skill. “How do I do it again?”
“Why do you hate him so much?” Julian asked, disapproving. But he moved on before I could respond. “Besides that, don’t try it. There’s nothing that you can do to cause it to happen. It generally appears on its own when the spirit and the empath share a physical connection.”
That distracted me.
“Physical connection?” I hadn’t touched a dead body.
“It could be the mark on your leg, if the spirits who made them are related. A physical intermediary of some sort is needed to transfer memories. Usually they are stored in the body itself, as strong memories are written within a person’s DNA. That’s one reason why effects of traumatic events can be passed through generations. That’s also how memories can be lost, destroyed by illnesses or injury,” Julian explained.
I had so many questions about those statements, but there was one thing that stood out. A passing thought that the girl in my dream had stated. “Isn’t reading memoriesyourability?”
The repercussions of what this might mean raced through my mind. Could Julian see my memories? The thought was a little bit disturbing, to be honest. There were things I was not ready to share now… or ever.
I had known Julian could affect physical aspects of mine, such as breathing. That was obvious. But this was a level of closeness I was not ready for.
“Not entirely.” Julian moved his hands away from my face, rocking back onto his heels. As if he was afraid to touch me any longer.
The loss of his touch sparked something, overriding my discomfort. There were things I would rather never have the boys find out about me. I would want to die first. But if it came down to it, dying was preferable than never having Julian touch me again.
“What—”
“Not all events are strong enough to make an impression on that level,” Julian replied, looking at his knees. “And it’s different when someone like Brayden does it, than me. Brayden has to have a connection with the spirit and he can’t control what he sees. However, when I do it I can see more, but everything about the ability is intentional.”
He could control it.I immediately felt guilty—Julian wouldn’t look into my memories without permission. He wasn’t that kind of person.
