Designed with a Destiny (21 page)

“Let me make something very clear,
Callahan—you don’t negotiate with the Sirdar. He gives the order to
kill, maim, or castrate for no reason or any reason,” Zane warns,
and Cat involuntarily shutters causing me to reflexively tighten my
arm around her waist.

“Can’t you use your abilities to remotely
travel and rough him up a bit like you did Robert Johnson or at
least get information on where he’s keeping your family?” Bernie
asks in desperation.

“I can’t remote view or travel unless I have
a specific destination in mind and right now, we don’t have any
idea where these guys may be—or do we?” I turn to Harrington and he
shakes his head no.

“My dad kept me out of the loop when it came
to dealing with anyone at the top—something that used to drive me
crazy, but now I can’t help wondering if it was his way of
protecting me.”

“Claire,” Cat suddenly blurts out, and all
eyes turn to the six-year-old who’s huddled next to Elizabeth on
the couch. Cat hurries over and kneels down next to her. “Claire do
you remember when we were in Uncle Karl’s office and you were
telling him how he killed Auntie Grace? How did you know that?” The
question catches Claire off guard and after the surprise wears off,
she looks at Cat with trepidation, clearly debating on whether or
not to share. I recall that day very well—the look on Karl’s face
when Claire threw the accusation at him, describing in detail where
he murdered his wife and buried the body. Funny that Cat would
bring that up now after all this time.

“Claire, we’re all family—you can tell us
anything,” Elizabeth gently reassures her, always saying the right
thing at the right time.

“Auntie Grace told me,” she finally blurts
out. It makes perfect sense now why she’d be reluctant to admit
such a thing. Cat handles the news beautifully—careful to not
discredit her little sister who I learned is especially sensitive
to being questioned.

“Really? Do you talk to Auntie Grace very
often?” she casually asks as if communicating with the dead is
perfectly normal.

“Not anymore,” Claire says looking a little
sad.

“Wait—she communicated with a murdered
aunt?” Natalie asks with just enough skepticism that Claire juts
her jaw out defensively. Natalie starts to say something else and
is silenced by one look from Cat.

“That’s incredible—how?” Kenneth asks with a
genuine level of enthusiasm that counteracts Natalie’s disbelief
making Claire feel special instead of crazy. He puffs lightly on
his pipe waiting for Claire’s explanation, and when the smoke
drifts near Alisha, Jason gently tugs on her arm, moving her to the
opposite side of the room.

“She came to me and wanted me to pass a
message on to mommy about how she died, but I never got the
chance,” she says to Cat. “She wanted mom to know that she was at
peace but she was getting ready to move on to a place where she
wouldn’t be able to talk to me again.”

“Claire, do you think you could communicate
with others who have died?” Zane asks with an eagerness that leads
me to assume he wants to use her to contact his deceased mother or
father, and I fight hard to control my temper.

“You’re sick Harrington—leave her the hell
alone,” I respond through clenched teeth.

“Wait—hold on, Callahan,” he says putting
both hands up defensively. “I believe my father would have
knowledge about where your family members are being held. He must
know where to find the leader of this operation.. If we could
contact him, I think he would give us this information. If Claire
is willing, it may be worth a shot…what do you say?” Claire shrugs
her shoulders and says, “Sure,” not at all intimidated by the
idea.

“Are you suggesting we perform some sort of
séance?” Bernie utters in total disgust. Nobody readily answers and
she gets up shaking her finger at us. “This is crossing the line
and there’s no way I’m participating in some sort of black magic
ceremony.” She turns to leave, running right into Lawrence who
returns from his outdoor meditation looking far more serene than
when he left. He raises a questioning eyebrow at us when she stomps
past him muttering something about witchcraft.

“What was that all about?” he asks scanning
the room taking in our somewhat solemn faces. Bernie means well but
she has a way of making us feel guilty, especially Cat who shares
some of her religious views. I certainly think a séance sounds
better than a terrorist attack or relinquishing Lawrence’s secret
DNA technology for someone to do likewise, but I’m not the one who
gets to decide on whether or not Claire is allowed to participate.
I look over at Cat and we lock eyes. There’s a transfer of
information that doesn’t involve words per se, but I sense her
decision before she responds to Lawrence.

“We’re thinking about trying to contact
Zane’s dad from the spiritual realm to help us find our family,”
she answers matter-of-factly confirming my perceptions. Lawrence
folds his arms across his chest.

“Really? How are you going to go about doing
that?” he asks calmly and with genuine interest.

“Well—Claire’s been able to communicate with
my aunt who was murdered a few years ago, so we think she might
have a connection to the spirit world. If not, then maybe we could
get an Ouija board or something,” she says tentatively, watching
his reaction carefully. He studies her thoughtfully for a moment,
then clears his throat, and we all lean forward in anticipation of
hearing his viewpoint on the matter. It makes me wonder how we ever
got along without the opinions of the wise old sage.

There were very few things that my parents
discouraged us from trying while growing up, but messing around in
occult activities was one they vehemently warned us against. In
some ways, I’m hoping Lawrence will have the same reaction as
Bernie, making it easy to abandon the idea completely, but it’s
becoming increasingly clear that he prefers a more laissez-faire
approach, supporting us with resources and advice, but ultimately
leaving the final decisions for us to make.

“Bernie’s rightfully justified to be
concerned about summoning dead spirits,” he begins in a serious
tone. “It’s one thing to use and influence energies in our physical
world where the laws of physics can be applied to predict outcomes,
but extreme caution must be used when summoning energies from
different realms. While I myself have not attempted contact with
spirits, I’ve known plenty of scientists who have in the name of
research, and the consequences for some have been devastating.”

“Let me guess, they were helplessly
possessed by evil demons,” Alisha says rolling her eyes, and he
smiles tolerantly at her.

“When we open the portal to other realms and
give permission for entities to enter our physical world, we have
no control over whom or what enters. Once they come through, it can
be difficult to get them to leave, and yes—there have been
instances where they’ve been able to seize control of a human’s
body,” he says somberly, glancing in Alisha’s direction. “By the
very nature of energy and vibrations we can assume that the
entities most likely waiting to access our physical world, are
those with slow and low vibrational frequencies—essentially the
grays in the lower Astral planes, which some may refer to as
demonic.” He pauses and the room is deathly quiet as we consider
everything he’s said. As predicted, he’s allowing us to come to our
own decision, but not without one final piece of advice. “If you
choose to go through with this, then I would strongly advise that
children, pregnant women, and anyone without the ability to
influence energy waves be excluded.”

Jason murmurs, “Thank you” and places a
protective arm around Alisha who has her jaw set in such a way that
I foresee a potential lover’s quarrel before it’s decided for
sure.

“But we can’t exclude Claire, what if she’s
the only one that has the ability to receive messages from
spirits?” Zane questions. It’s the first thing that crossed my mind
too when Lawrence mentioned no kids, but I wasn’t about to bring it
up in front of her. Of course now that he did, she sees herself as
indispensable to the success of the mission, and immediately
defends her participation.

“Actually, you’re not the only one. It’s
been a while, but I definitely qualify,” Liz says coming forward.
Everyone’s silent waiting for her to give us details, but she
brushes the story off as unimportant.

“They’re my parents and brother too—I’m
staying,” Claire says decisively, and I can’t help but wonder if
it’s innate or by design that every single one of us has the same
quality of stubbornness.

“You have to admit, she’s not your average
six-year-old,” Ronan softly reminds me while winking at Claire. The
two have a way of looking out for each other and it’s hard to
imagine that evil spirits could be any more dangerous than what
she’s already faced. I give in and nod, catching Lawrence’s eye. He
says that fear is an emotion that keeps us from reaching our full
potential, yet in the depths of his blue-gray eyes I’m almost sure
I see a hint of misgiving that for him says a lot. “Let’s get this
over with,” I sigh, committing to it before I have a chance to
change my mind.

***

I should have known that Lawrence’s idea of
preparing us for a face-to-face confrontation with potentially
destructive spirits would include measures to raise our own
vibrational frequency. He tells me nature breathing is one of the
most effective ways any human can boost their vibrational frequency
and is so convinced of its power that he and Kenneth refuse to
allow us to start the meeting without proper preparation. For as
much as I protested delaying our plans, I’m a little embarrassed to
admit now that I’m glad we did. The red rock formations that make
up the Garden of the Gods have an undeniable dynamic energy that
just by the simple act of observing, enhances our own. I feel a
lightness within—a sort of buoyancy, and sense it in everyone else
as well. While Lawrence says he prefers old growth forests for
nature breathing, he pleases Kenneth and Lena by acknowledging the
Garden of the Gods as a place of equal value.

“We can thank the native Ute tribes who
lived here hundreds of years ago for the way they cherished and
honored the land. Their spiritual connection to this site
contributed a positive energy that to this day is still contained
within these rocks,” Kenneth says proudly.

“It’s stunning,” Bernie murmurs in awe, for
once not disputing the connection between energy and spirituality.
There’s no doubt that the ability to see energy fields contributes
tremendously to a person’s belief in the interconnectedness of all
things. As we follow the Williams back to their house after thirty
minutes of quiet meditation, there’s a unity amongst us that wasn’t
so obvious before. Even Ronan seems unbothered when Zane takes
Claire’s other hand and joins her and Elizabeth ahead of us. For
once, we’re all in synch, all previous resentments momentarily set
aside. I look up at Ronan, and my heart does a little cartwheel for
no reason. He smiles knowingly, somehow picking up on my
involuntary expression of admiration. “I love you too,” he murmurs
confidently, suddenly stopping and pulling me close to him, letting
everyone else dodge around us as we block the pathway. For a long
time, neither of us says a word as we stand there embracing. How he
can be everything that I need and don’t need at the same time is a
mystery to me. I don’t really need strong, protective arms
surrounding me to give me a sense of security but his arms feel
like a sanctuary when they’re holding me tight. It’s not necessary
for him to reassure me that everything’s going to work out, but
when he says it will, I believe him and instantly feel encouraged.
I don’t need his love to be happy, but when he kisses me deeply,
with such tenderness, I am overcome with emotion. I’m confident
that I’d be just fine without him, but I can’t imagine a life apart
from him—ever.

I realize we’re a minority when it comes to
young love, but I’m convinced we’ll be together forever as long as
our vibrational frequencies remain synchronized—and that’s what I’m
shooting for—a perfect vibrational match for as long as we’re both
alive.

He reluctantly lets me go, long after
everyone’s out of sight and we laugh like kids, taking off in a
sprint to catch up. To my delight Lawrence didn’t really skimp on
feline DNA—it just took a little longer to fully develop, and no
one is more surprised than I am when I reach a top speed that makes
him have to work to stay by my side.

***

Elizabeth is adamant about being the medium
for spirit communication and the way she begins the experiment by
saying a prayer for protection makes me wonder what’s really
involved in the story she’s withheld from us. Lawrence sits on her
left and Zane sits on her right holding pen and paper with a list
of written questions we helped compile before getting started.
Although not quite as judgmental as before our walk, Bernie still
opposes us messing around with the occult. Rather than argue, she
chooses to accompany Alisha, Jason, and the Williams on an
impromptu shopping spree which was decided on as the consolation
prize after Jason won the argument barring Alisha's participation.
She’s less concerned about being caught than being anywhere near
the house during a séance. Everyone else is present and seated on
the floor of Kenneth’s science lab. It took less than ten minutes
for us to move the heavy furnishings against the walls thanks to a
combination of telekinetic energy and extraordinary Designer
strength, and now there’s enough space for all of us to spread out
in a circle, holding hands. The candles in the center of the circle
are the flameless versions with LED lights but they look completely
realistic with a flickering flame that moves and dances like the
real thing—even emitting a lavender fragrance. I’m glad that Lena
insisted on us using them now that Lawrence has the blinds closed
on all the windows—not because they’re necessarily needed for us to
see, but I find the soft glow of light somehow comforting.