A compilation by Epic Music VN - 1. Falling Into Inertia (Immediate Music), 2. Memories Flooding Back (Gothic Storm), 3. In Memoriam (Noise Refinery), 4. Journey To Heaven (Silver Screen), 5. Once Upon a Time (Position Music)
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When he stepped out of the house after returning the roast pan, his skin began to tingle.
Over the rooftop, the full moon peaked out. The silver glow touched his exposed flesh, sending sparks of electricity to ripple gently through him.
The power of the moon filled him, calling forth his beast. Refusing to allow the beast full reign of the night, he drove down the urge to shift and stepped forward.
Darkness had enshrouded the land, save for the light of the moon and the dancing orange flames of the campfire.
His soulmate laid on her back next to the flickering flames—far closer than he was comfortable with. He didn't want her at such close proximity to the greedy fingers that grasped and consumed everything in its path, but the presence of the Spirit Walker next to her eased him.
The power of the moon radiated in the eyes that gripped his own. There was goodness, purity, and honor in those depths. If Stone had to trust one being with the soul of his mate, it would be him. He couldn't explain it, but he could feel it.
Holding the Spirit Walker's gaze, he strode across the property to the circle and stepped inside.
The air was lighter, the energy positive, welcoming, soothing, and above all, safe.
He inhaled the mixture of scents rising up from the campfire. Woody, spicy, floral, and slightly sweet smells filled him and any inhibitions he had fled him immediately.
The Spirit Walker motioned for him to lie behind Aubree.
His soulmate was a sight to behold. The light of the campfire illuminated her face in an ethereal glow. Long dark lashes lined her closed eyes, looking fuller with the shadows cast by the fire. Her lush lips were slightly parted as her breath entered and exited with each slow and steady rising and falling of her chest. Her hair, decorated with a few odd herbs and bits of plants, fanned out around her like a golden halo in the firelight. A thin blanket had been pulled up to her chin, the designs reflecting the Navajo traditions, peoples, and history in a vibrant array of colors and patterns.
He took a deep breath in and out as he closed his eyes and sent a silent prayer up to the Goddess.
Skirting around Aubree, he lay down on the ground, his head a few inches from hers as the Spirit Walker ordered him to do.
Following the same instructions given to Aubree, Stone closed his eyes and focused his attention on clearing his mind and breathing in a slow and steady manner.
The softness of the Spirit Walker's voice as he began his song lulled his mind as herbs were placed around him and something astringent burned next to him. He found his mind drifting. Consciousness slipped away with the crackling of the fire as the comforting embrace of darkness enveloped him.
There was a lightness that lifted him up and a faint hum that vibrated in the space around him.
What was he to do now?
Reaching out into the void around him, he saw that he was no longer a solid, tangible body, but rather translucent. Smoke-like tendrils swirled and coiled to form the shape of a hand and arm, but like smoke, it spread out and disappeared when he waved his hand in front of him. Only when he kept still did the smoke take any shape or form.
He tried to press his palms together, but the wisps swirled and curled around each other. He felt nothing. Saw nothing. Smelled nothing. Heard nothing. There was nothing before him, and nothing behind him. Nothing above, and nothing below.
He went to step forward and saw that his legs and feet were like his arms and hands. Smoke curled in the general shape of his limbs but having no ground in which to stand on meant there was no need to walk.
Where exactly was he?
[Between realms.]
The Spirit Walker's voice came out, not in front of him, nor behind him, but in his head, once again reading his thoughts.
A thin curl of smoke appeared next to him and began to grow and take some kind of human-like shape next to him. From the center of him unfurled arms and legs and a head with glowing white eyes, yet all distinguishable features remained absent.
And yet, Stone knew it was the Spirit Walker. He could sense it within him, like a psychic connection.
[I cannot let you pass into the Spirit World. You would not be able to return,] Clear Waters said.
Stone scowled. [That's reassuring.]
Laughter vibrated in the space around them, yet there was no actual sound as the spirit before him closed his bright eyes and threw his head back. [Indeed. Come, this way.]
The way smoke curls on the wind, so too did he. Although Stone wasn't sure how exactly to follow him with an intangible body, it was actually effortless. He merely leaned forward with the intent on following him, and his metaphysical body did so without hesitation.
Stone didn't know where they were going—there was nothing to see to guide him. He could feel he was getting closer, though he wasn't sure how.
Within moments he understood. The pull of her soul in the vast empty space drew him toward her.
When he could make out another being, she was spinning around in circles—at least, that was what it appeared to be. It was hard to tell when she had no solid form. Still, the tendrils of smoke swirled around like a top before pausing as he and the Spirit Walker drifted closer and she began to take on more or less a human shape.
A second form drew away and two pairs of glowing white eyes turned to watch Stone and Clear Waters' approach. They smiled and though Stone couldn't see the smiles, he could feel them within him. Warmth radiated and spread through him, coming from inside him, but also coming from them as he neared and they reached out their smoke-curling wisps.
The life-force on the left was feminine and the one on the right masculine. Though they appeared identical, the psychic connection clicked within him immediately.
[Arthur?]
Arthur's soul darted forward and collided into him with enough force to knock the air out of his lungs if he had any.
[Papaw!] he exclaimed as his soul drew away from his.
With no lips to speak and no lungs to breathe, speech was telepathic. Emotions were energy sent, received, and shared. They existed in their most simple and basic form—life-forces made of energy.
His soulmate floated over to them, and at first, Stone wasn't sure if it was Aubree or Adelaide, but when she closed her eyes and the wisps around her head touched his, a series of mental images flashed through his mind.
They were memories of him. Of her with him. Of his head bowed, eyes closed, her hand upon his cheek, and his covering hers. Looking down at his large hand in hers as their fingers entwined in the backseat of Dom's car. Of him pressing his lips to her knuckles. Of his furry wolf head between her hands. Of the pain etched on his face in the sunroom when they had nearly lost Gwen. Of him taking her hands in his and pressing his forehead to hers in the garden. Of his outstretched hand holding hers from the bed next to hers in Vincent's infirmary.
[Arthur is amazing,] she said. [He showed me his favorite memories of you, Gwen, and Gavin—even Gunner and Alistair. It looks like you all had so much fun.]
Love surrounded them in its strongest and most pure and natural form.
He wanted to touch her, and even though he couldn't, he felt the deepest connection with her than he'd ever experienced.
There were no physical barriers to hold any of them back. Their souls were connected in this empty space between realms. There was no fear, no need to hold back all that they were and all that they had been.
[I can't be too long,] Arthur said in Lykostroya. [Time here is slow compared to Earth. I just wanted to tell you that it's okay. I don't blame you for what happened, and neither did Mamaw. No one blames you.]
Aubree drifted back so Arthur could connect with his father.
Stone wanted to hold him, to hold his son in his arms once more, but couldn't.
Pain fired up within him, only to be snuffed out by Arthur.
[No, Papaw. You have to let go of what happened. You have to let go of the past.]
[I should have—]
Arthur interrupted him before he could try to pin the blame on himself—like he always did. [Stop. You couldn't have prevented it from happening, and you know it. Let it go. I forgive you, okay? I forgive you.]
Stone opened his mind and allowed his most cherished memories of Arthur flow through. The moment he discovered Adelaide was pregnant. The first time he felt Arthur kick within her. The first time he held his pup in his hands. Watched him sleep. Open his eyes. His first steps. His first howl. His first big game kill. His first shift.
[I was so scared I'd let you down. That I'd never be good enough,] Stone said.
[Papaw—]
[You showed me I could,] Stone interrupted. [Each day, you showed me something new. You gave my life new meaning. With each new step you took in your growth, you made me proud. That made me stronger. I wanted to be stronger for you. I wanted to be the example I never had growing up so you never had to experience what I had to.]
[And I lived a wonderful life,] Arthur said. [I have no regrets, and neither should you. Let go, Papaw. I'm asking you to let go.]
Stone did and Arthur drifted back.
[I love you, Papaw. Don't be afraid to love Aubree as much as you loved Mamaw.]
Arthur's soul twisted together and got smaller and smaller before it vanished.
Aubree coiled into him as if curling into his arms to offer him comfort. He missed the soothing sound of her heartbeat, but was content in the metaphysical connection they were currently sharing.
At some point, the Spirit Walker had vanished, and it was just Stone and Aubree's souls alone there in the void between realms.
The warmth within him grew as he reflected on Arthur's words and presence. He'd missed his son more than he let on and repressed that pain more than he had the pain of losing Adelaide.
With Aubree's soul intertwined with his, he wondered how Adelaide was going to come and give him a message. Was he wrong about Adelaide trying to reach him? How could she when her soul was already in Aubree?
[Perhaps I am wrong about all this,] he confessed. [How can Adelaide send me a message when her soul is in you? When you share the same soul? You are here with me now, not her.]
[Who else do you think might be trying to contact us?]
As soon as Aubree's words registered in his mind, two more souls began to materialize before them. The twin pairs of smoke twisted and coiled as they grew and took shape.
When their identities registered in his mind, he could hardly contain the emotions that burst through him.
The souls of his mother and father embraced him, and although he couldn't feel their arms around him, he could feel their love enveloping him in warmth.
Repeatedly, they apologized for not being there as he grew up, but he pushed their words from his mind and asked them to stop.
His father drew away, while his mother's soul continued to embrace his. [Amora raised you well, but we wish we could have been there for you. We know it was hard.]
[We missed you too,] his mother added. [It was so hard to watch over you and see you struggle and not be able to help.]
[Forgive us for not being able to be there for you when you needed us most. We ached at your struggle. Cried out for you. Begged the Goddess to have mercy on you. We were taken from you when you were too young. We watched over you, but couldn't be with you. Couldn't console you through the pain. Couldn't guide you down your path,] his father said, closing his glowing white eyes and hanging his head. [So many times we both blamed ourselves for not doing enough. If we could have dug faster—]
[It's fine, Papaw,] Stone interrupted. [Being a father myself, I know I would have done the same. I forgive you. Thank you. Thank you for giving me life. Thank you for reaching out to me here.]
[We are so proud of you, Sten.]
[Thank you, Papaw.]
[We love you, Steno.]
Stone smiled at the pet name he hadn't heard in eight hundred years as warmth spread within him. [I love you both and always will.]
[You have been blessed, my son,] his father said as his mother drew away and their souls began to curl up and get smaller. [She is coming to speak with you.]
She?
He wanted to ask who but was hesitant.
His parents once again told him how much they loved him before their souls curled up and disappeared entirely.
It was bittersweet, the way their love flowed over him, filled with regret, yet brimming with pride. To hear his parents' voices again, to feel their love envelop him—their departure ached him until Aubree touched his soul, easing the pain and bringing forth the love he felt for them.
[Who were they talking about?] she asked. [Who is 'she?']
While he wasn't certain, he had a guess, but he didn't want to believe it. It wasn't possible.
Before he could say anything, a bright light flashed, blinding him. Instinctively, he drew Aubree closer to him. The light didn't diminish, but Stone knew whose presence they were in and if he could kneel, he would have.
Before them hovered the Goddess.
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*Copyright Jo Lee Hunt (Joflower) 2016*