Page 34 of Dima's Vision
Mama tilts her head in his direction. “You hear dis fore’?”
Dima clears his throat, gripping me tighter. “Maybe.” He pauses. “Where I come from, we have a belief that a soul leaves the body at the last sigh. Not in one long breath, but in echoes. If you call the name as the echo fades it will come to you. That is how power is claimed, not inherited.”
“And how a fragment of the soul can lie with the deceased,” Gabe murmurs.
“De soul fracture,” Mama adds quietly.
We sit in silence, with our thoughts. I thought my side quest was just getting rid of some evil bastards, cleaning them out of the family. Not fight half the soul of my late foster brother. You couldn’t make this shit up.
“How do we reunite Maddigan’s soul and lay him to rest, Mama?” Gabe asks.
He looks pale, ill at ease and I know that this will be causing him physical pain. It’s how his gift works. He helps souls rest. Brings them peace. When he can’t it causes him stomach complaints and headaches. I bet the thought that his brother of the heart is lying with only part of his soul is paining him.
He shifts awkwardly in his seat, moving around as if struggling to get comfortable.
“De soul painin’ ya?” Mama asks, eyeing Gabe.
“Just, my joints are aching like crazy. I’ve never felt this unwell with a restless soul before,” he mumbles, worry crossing his face.
Mama closes her eyes and tilts her head back. Her lips move but we’re met with silence, as if the words are meant for the ears of those no longer with us. We sit in the silence, the loud ticking of the clock on the wall drawing my attention to the date. October 29th. Great. This shit would happen at Halloween wouldn’t it?
Mama nods at Gabe’s words. “We gon’ finish dis, an’ when we do, yo’ pain gonna ease.” She leans over patting his leg before turning to me. “Kristiana, you need to fight dem shadows, de puppets Maddigan’s soul still holdin’ on to. Dima, you stand by her, be de shield she lean on.”
“Always,” Dima’s low voice rumbles over my shoulder.
“So, I just kill whoever has the shitty part of Maddigan’s soul?”
Mama’s eyes darken and she scowls. “I don’t care what you do wit’ dat thing dat stole yo’ brother’s soul. Jus’ bring Maddigan home, let him rest easy. Save yo’ brother, save de innocents.”
I dip my chin. Souls are not in my wheel house, but bringing death? That I can do.
Chapter 14
Dima
I’ve watched Kristie pace back and forth since we came home from Mama’s with Gabe in tow. The man is a behemoth and yet he lets his tiny little sister bully him into coming home with us so she can keep an eye on him. From what I can work out, Gabe is not only a gentle giant, but he’s sensitive to the pain of the dead. Communing with Maddigan and only part of his soul seems to be taking a physical toll on him.
Kristie reaches the end of my living room, pauses, gazing out the window for a moment, before spinning and pacing back the other way. I’m not complaining. Every time she has her back to me I get an eyeful of her perfect, round ass in her spray on black jeans. Then when she turns, I get to watch her perfect tits jiggle my way. The little crease between her brows is adorable too. Everything about this woman does it for me, I’m absolutely gone for her. She’s gone for me too, I can feel it. She brings me peace, and I know when I look into her big hazel eyes that she’s at peace too. But she’ll never admit it. She’s stubborn like that.
“Argh!” she growls, stopping in the middle of the room, fists on hips.
“Can I help?”
She purses her lips to the side. “Maybe. I’m not sure. Can you do your vision thing at will?”
“Yes and no. If it’s something I’ve seen before, I can go back in, tease out new details. I can’t just conjure someone or something up unless the fates allow it.”
She nods absently. “Can you go back in, and maybe take a look around, see how many people are there other than you, me, Imposter Maddigan and whoever or whatever the hell the thing that looks like me is?”
I nod, relaxing back into the couch. Tipping my head back, I stare at the ceiling. The couch dips next to me and I roll my head to find Kristie’s large almost luminous eyes on mine. Her full lips tip up slightly, her eyes darting down to her lap. Angling my head to follow her gaze, I see her open palm, face up, on her lap in invitation. I place my much larger hand in hers, and smile as her tiny fingers lace through mine.
She leans her head back. “I’ll be here the whole time.”
I close my eyes for a beat, opening them to stare at the lush gardens and cast iron fencing surrounding the mansion property. The huge columns are once again at my back, and Fake Kristie runs past, her white nightgown blowing in the fading sunset.
“Dima,” a whisper hits me, pulling my attention to my right.
Kristie,myKristie is there, black boots, jeans and jacket looking a stark contrast compared to the Kristie dressed in white.
