Into the Light

129

"It means that I'm going to be teaching you a few things tonight, as well," Ash responded, with a gentle smile. "You are going to be taking a crash course in how to summon the spirits that are around us. Right now, you should be able to see a room full of people, if you so choose. Can you do that?" She looked around the room, hesitantly, like she was scared of actually seeing what he spoke of. "Concentrate," Ash replied, watching her intently. She nodded, bit her lip, and closed her eyes. She almost looked constipated with the expression that crossed her face, but I knew to keep that thought to myself. She opened her eyes again and looked around. "Sorry, no, I don't see anyone but us," she sighed. "That's okay. That's why we need to work on this tonight. You can do it. Don't worry," he encouraged her. The fact that he had said that there were ghosts all around us was kind of freaky, but I tried to push it out of my mind. I had worse things to worry about. "We'll start with you guys, since your part is...easier, for lack of a better term," he claimed, looking from me to Sam. "Come on, stand up." We did as he said and stood there awkwardly. "Come on girls, you too. I need the couch pushed back against the walls so that we have more room to work with." The girls stood and Sam and I helped Ash push the couch and chair out of the way. This left the room with a wide open floor. Plenty of room to practice killing a witch. What was my life? "Okay, this will be pretty simple, if you guys concentrate. You have a strong bond, between the two of you. You know this," he said, standing in front of us. Sam and I nodded at his affirmation. This was nothing new. Both of us knew that we were blessed to have each other. Most people didn't remain as close as we were for as long as we had. We were brothers. "Anna and I will reach out to the spirit world and see how many spirits would be willing to stand with us. She won't be able to see them, unless they want her too. So, it'll be unexpected. Granted, that's why she wants Anna, and myself actually, because we have that powerful side to us and can call on more spirits for her to feast on. However, she is very one minded, so this is not something that she will be expecting. She expects Colby to be fighting for Anna, not for Anna to be fighting for him." I reached out and took her hand in mine, and gave her a little smile. The small grin that I receive was enough to make my heart do flips inside my chest. "Wait," Anna said. "I thought that I still had a connection to her, even though I-" her eyes flicked to me again, and she blushed. I knew she was thinking about our night together. "Yes, you do still have a connection to her, even though you did what you could weaken it," Ash replied. "From what I can gather, the connection exists because she has fed on your soul for so long. A little  piece of her has been transferred to you, because she kept mixing your soul with her own. She doesn't know why your soul is so strong, or why it keeps sustaining her, because she doesn't know that you are a Dream Walker. Your soul is strong enough to connect with, and even allow souls to pass through you to the Spirit realm. You can help them find peace. This will actually be a great asset to us. Now, not to rush this along, but we really don't have much time. Are there anymore questions before we get down to business?" I met Sam's gaze and shrugged. I didn't because I was still so lost with the entire thing. Wait... "Ash, when and how am I supposed to...woo her?" That was such an old fashioned term and it felt weird coming from my lips. Ash smiled, like a cat who knew that they were going to get that canary. "As soon as she shows up. It will catch her off guard and give Anna and myself enough time to make sure we are grounded in the Spirit Realm. We will call the spirits before she arrives, and speak with them, but we  have to make sure that we are grounded enough to hold the connection. It can be rather draining, so I'm hoping you boys move fast. Or think fast. You know what I mean. I need you to just imagine that she is any other girl that you like. Any other girl that you might want to flirt with. Make her feel good about herself and convince her that she has you in her grip. Whatever it takes." I met Anna's gave and saw the conflicted expression in her eyes. She wasn't really okay with this part of the plan, but what choice did we have. Like Ash had said, anything that could help weaken her needed to be done. "Okay, then what?" I asked. "You must kiss her," he replied, matter of factly. "I'm sorry, what?" I asked, in surprise. "You never said anything about that!" "Well, now I am. You must kiss her, Colby. Just once. When that happens, her own soul will weaken just a bit, leaving her vulnerable. The kiss will drain her, as long as you hold it. So, the longer, then better, for all of us. "Shit," I muttered. I felt nauseous just thinking about my lips touching hers. Yuck. I shivered in disgust. "Come on, Colby," Sam replied, clapping me on the back. "It's one kiss. You've kissed other girls that you weren't really into. Just close your eyes and imagine that she's Anna or something." I took a deep breath and met Anna's gaze again. She gave me a timid smile. I could still see the uncertainty in her eyes, but she had steeled herself against it. She was willing to do whatever it took to defeat the Darkness. I would too. I would do this for her. So that the Darkness could never hurt her again. "And while I making out with the enemy, what's everyone else going to do?" I asked, shaking the disgusting image from my mind. "Anna and I will send the willing souls at her. When the first one hits, you will feel it, but there's no way around that. Her soul has to be open to feel the hit and the only way that will happen is during the kiss. Be prepared for an intense pressure and probably some pain."