The Mouse and The Wolf | Gay BxB |

41. Cedric

I had never been in her home before, and it surprised me to see how ridiculously small it was. There was a bathroom on our right when we stepped in, and the kitchen immediately on our left. A few steps brought us into the living room. I peered in through a door on our right just after the bathroom and saw a tiny bedroom. That was it. The whole house.

There wasn't enough room for all five of us in the living room. There was only one couch for three people to sit on, and an arm chair in the corner right next to the kitchen. There was no wall between the kitchen and the living room, just a big archway. Everything in the house was decorated with green and brown, and everything the Bundts owned were old and worn-down. Even the TV looked older than me.

Mrs. Bundt went to close the curtains in a hurry, while the rest of us tried to squeeze into the living room. Then, she turned to look at us again.

"I'll explain everything, but first we need to take care of that Echo," she spoke, and stepped in front of me, but she looked at Jaden. "I believe it's yours."

"What?" Jaden frowned.

"Let's see..." she muttered and turned to look at me again. She lifted her hand in front of me, like she expected me to give her something. I stared at her hand and then at her face, but before I could say anything, a tiny ball of blue light emerged out of my chest and landed on her hand. Suddenly I felt cold and emptier inside, and for some reason, I wanted that tiny light back.

"This is what he wanted," Mrs. Bundt said quietly. "This is called an Echo, a part of someone's spirit."

"What would he do with such a small thing?" I whispered, staring at the beautiful light. I could see tiny, golden sparkles flickering around it.

"Terrible things," Mrs. Bundt said quietly. The tiny light jumped off her hand, and it looked like it was trying to get back to me, but Mrs. Bundt grabbed it gently in midair. "Now now, you need to go back to your spirit, little one."

She stepped in front of Jaden, and placed the light against his chest, and it vanished in him. Then, she stepped back and waited for a moment, before she smiled. "I was right. It was your Echo."

"Why would Jack want it?" I asked, and the expression on her face turned sour.

She turned to look at Jaden. "First, I need to return all your Echoes back to you," she spoke to him. "That boy seemed determined to get a hold of one of them and I'm afraid he will try to find another one."

She carefully placed her hand on Jaden's chest again, closed her eyes, and muttered something under her breath. A few seconds later, I saw two Echoes leaving Arch and Tilly's bodies, and going in Jaden.

"I don't like this," Jaden said with a dark voice.

"I know," Mrs. Bundt said. "But it must be done."

"Could someone explain what Echoes are exactly?" I said, watching as a new Echo appeared through the wall, and went straight into Jaden.

"Echoes are quite literally echoes of our spirits. We leave them in places and people we love and care about," Mrs. Bundt spoke. "The things we miss the most, like home or best friend or a loved one," she said.

"And what does Jack want to do with it?" I asked.

"Let's sit down," Mrs. Bundt said and went to get a chair for herself.

I looked at Jaden, who was avoiding my gaze for some reason, and it horrified me to realize that I didn't know why. "I can't feel what you feel anymore," I whispered as we sat down on the couch with Tilly.

"You don't have his Echo anymore," Mrs. Bundt said apologetically.

"But what does that mean?! What is going on?" I asked a little too loudly, turning to look at her. "I'm so confused! What is a Spirit Walker? What were those smoke things? How could Jack possess my friends? What does he want with Jaden's Echo and why did you take it away from me?!"