Garda - Welcome to the Realm (16 page)

We watched her every step, concerned that she would become emotional, concerned that she would overstep the bounds and somehow cross over to the next level.

What a scene it would cause to have her materialize out of the blue into the middle of her own funeral. An eerie shiver raced down my spine at the thought.

I focused on her feelings, knowing that she felt the pain, but amazed that she instantly knew how to push her love out to others.

We all saw the effect she had on her parents. Montgomery and I shared a quick concerned glance while David vocalized our thoughts. None of us had an answer.

As she stood behind Mitch, I feared she would reach out to him, so afraid that she would connect to him from this side. I ground my teeth tightly.

“Keep it up and you’ll be visiting a dentist in the living arena,” Montgomery mumbled from my side.

“She was able to connect with her parents, so I have no doubt she will be able to connect with any Earth body that she comes in contact with. I just don’t want it to be him. It won’t make matters any better.”

“Brock, you have to allow her to do this. If this is her assignment, then she is going to need to connect with him to complete it,” he whispered softly to me.

“But what if she goes about it wrong? She has had no training. What if she steps over? We can’t protect her there.”

Montgomery shook his head and watched the officers stand to move back to the casket. Coralenna stood stiffly staring over the shiny wooden box at Joe. Tension filled her frame, and the expression on his face was mocking. We all phased to her side.

Once they walked past us, her shoulders dropped, and she started to follow them. Her pain was so obvious to all of us, and David gave her another chance to leave.

“I have never run from anything before, I’m not going to run away now. I need to be here for them, I need to see it,” she turned her dark blue stormy glare to me, “if only to know that my life really is over.”

So much grief rolled through her. She instantly phased, and David gasped beside me.

“How does she do that?” his face was filled with awe, and I shrugged, following her to her new location with David and Montgomery right behind me.

She stood silently beside the hole in the Earth, staring down into the depths. Anguish tore through me as I saw her knees tremble.

“Go to her, Brock,” Montgomery said quietly beside me.

“I can’t, not here, not now.”

“She needs your strength.” I saw the stern glare he gave me from the corner of my eye.

“I can’t give her that right now,” I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“You fool,” he muttered and walked to her, resting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her to his chest.

“I can’t believe my body goes into that.” She didn’t need to explain anything else. The grimness of her face explained it all.

He squeezed her gently, “Don’t think about that. It is just a body, your soul is what is important and it is right here.”

She nodded as the first of the procession pulled into the cemetery. When she moved away from the edge, I walked to stand near her.

Hundreds of cars pulled in and wound around. People walked from all sides of the cemetery. They would sneak glances at the grave, but quickly turn away.

A sea of dark blue filed around three sides of the grave, the fourth side left for the people not in law enforcement. The bagpipes continued to play an eerie tune while everyone lined up and prepared to say the final goodbye.

Mitch and the others carried her slowly over the soft ground. The pounding of the drums vibrated in my ears, every face somber, every face but Joe’s. He stared at Coralenna, almost salivating at her presence. David put his hand on my shoulder as a low growl vibrated in my chest.

Coralenna took it all in. She scanned around the vast group of people but always went back to Mitch or her parents.

As the ceremony started, the bagpipes grew quiet, the drums went silent, and only the muted sound of the breeze and the voice of the pastor filled the air.

Coralenna focused on me, and her sorrow stuck me like a physical blow. My hands and arms hummed at the need to pull her to me and support her as these final moments moved forward. I crossed my arms over my chest, hands fisted close to my body.

The shots were fired, and I could almost feel the whip of the wind around me as the helicopters flew overhead. As the last words were said, I watched her face, watched the emotion roll over her. Unshed tears filled her eyes as her call number was called and put out of service.

She stood in front of him, and I found myself coiled tighter than a snake ready to strike. David stood beside as if guarding me, and we watched her hand reach out to him. He knew she was there, he could feel her. The love the two of them shared crossed over the boundaries of the two worlds. I didn’t have a chance in hell, I thought as I tried to breathe calmly.

We all felt her summons, yet she was so connected to Mitch that she didn’t realize it. Once we interrupted her, she was pulled to the Maker. David and Montgomery phased back, and I stood and watched Mitch leave the cemetery.

I followed him home and then rode with him to the bar where he met up with Joe. Joe and I stared at each other over the dark bar where they sat. When Mitch got up to use the bathroom, Joe turned to me.

“Why are you here?”

I spoke to him from where I stood on the other side, “None of your damn business.”

“It is my business, especially if it’s damned. You might have gotten her, but he’s coming to our side.”

“Don’t be so sure about that, Joe. If you think she’s going to allow that, you’re very wrong.”

He threw his head back and laughed, “She’s a young one, and there is nothing she can do to stop it. It will be years before she has the strength to fight my power, by then I will own his willpower.”

I smiled, and his face lost some of its humor. “If that’s what you think,” I mocked. “In my opinion, I think you are about to have a run for your money.”

~ Corey ~

The vibration was like nothing else I had ever felt and instantaneously I had the urge to follow it. I phased without trying and found myself in a bright area, not a room but more of an open space. Whiteness surrounded me so brightly that I blinked a few times to adjust to the light.

I explored the area visually, but I saw nothing but light. Peace floated around me, and I embraced the feeling after the emotions of the funeral.

A voice neither male nor female filled the area around me: “Welcome, my dear child.”

“Thank you,” I spoke softly even though I knew I would be heard without words.

“Normally, the Gardaí are not allowed the rein that you have been allowed. I am finding it interesting to see what you are already capable of.”

“Why is that? Is that because of what everyone believes I am, special?”

A sound similar to a laugh bounced around me, making me glance over my shoulder. “You could say that. You appear to have abilities that many do not, but you must now focus on them and learn to use them to the best advantage. You will not be allowed to move down to the living arena again until you are ready. Then you will be assigned to your chosen ones.”

“I thought I had already been assigned,” I said, momentarily confused.

“There will be no more questions. For now, you will stay within the Realm and finish your training.”

I nodded, not sure how to respond. Suddenly, anxiety washed through me at not being able to see Mitch. A rushing sensation flowed over me, and I was standing in my quarters alone.

The peace that I had absorbed only moments ago dissipated, and I found myself agitated. My feet paced the room restlessly. I felt like a cornered animal and wrung my hands in front of me.

If I couldn’t leave the Realm, how was I going to see Mitch? Was he my charge? Maybe he wasn’t the one I would be assigned to guide and protect. What if he wasn’t and I never got to see him again?

~ Mitchell ~

I went back to work two days later. I had tied one on after the funeral and spent a major part of the next day sleeping it off.

Back in the car after several days off, I felt like my life might get back to normal. If I could keep any thoughts of her out of my mind, then I might just make it through the day.

Driving around answering my calls one after another became habit for me. I stayed to myself and just did my time. I wasn’t interested in the normal banter and gossip that the other guys on the squad did on break times or between calls. I forced myself to focus on my job and tried to block everything else out.

Four weeks after the funeral, I found myself driving my motorcycle. I had no destination in mind and was surprised when I rolled up to the gates of the cemetery.

I stared up at the tall black metal doors standing open and welcoming on each side of the road for a long time. With both my feet planted on the ground, I gazed beyond the gates and tried to gather the strength to enter. Many times over the last month I had wanted to visit her grave, but I just couldn’t find the willpower to do so.

With a deep cleansing breath, I lifted one foot off the ground to the foot peg and started to move through.

I had no problem finding her plot. The location would forever be ingrained in my head. I slowed and came to a stop at the closest location.

After turning the key off, the silence that met my eardrums was deafening. I sat staring up the hill. My glance fell on her small piece of land. Her gravestone had been delivered.

With a shake in my knees, I made the walk to her final resting place. I focused on the large gray marble marker. An angel statue was carved into the top of the stone, very fitting. The sod was now knitting itself back together.

“I never knew your name was Coralenna,” I said softly. “I guess there were a lot of things I didn’t know about you.”

I gently placed my hand on the cold marble. The chill traveled through my fingertips, up my arm, and right to my heart.

I sank down to the ground, pulling my knees up slightly and resting my arms over them.

“You have a nice view from here.” Her plot stood near the top of a hill and looked out over the vast area where marker after marker popped up from the land. Tall trees ran around the area, protecting the souls from the outside world.

“I miss you, Corey. Every day, I miss you so much. I can’t seem to move on. I feel like I am frozen inside, like life has no meaning anymore.” I turned back to the gravestone.

“No one seems to understand, especially Beth. She pesters me on a daily basis to talk to her, to open up and let out the emotions. She even suggested I go talk to a shrink.” A blunt burst of laughter left my lips.

“She has no idea that no matter how much talking I do, I’ll never get over you. I don’t even know if I can stay with her, not after everything, not after you.” I bowed my head.

“Why you, Corey? Why couldn’t it have been me?” I whispered.

There was no answer, no feelings of her presence like there had been at her funeral. There was only silence, the soul-jarring echo of my own pain that I now lived with every day.

~ C
orey ~

Tension spread through me so tightly that I felt I would explode. I phased down to the martial arts locker room. Inside my locker, I pulled out my dobok and dressed quickly. I needed something to focus on, some way to let out the frustration that filled me.

Walking into the dojang, I bowed at the flags before I stepped onto the floor and started to stretch. Images from the funeral plagued my mind with painful pictures. The expression on Mitch’s face, the pain he felt, the tears he shed, and the words we spoke rattled around in my mind as I bent over and tried to loosen my legs.

I worked through my routines as soon as I felt limber enough and forced all thoughts out of my mind as I concentrated with all my energy on my forms. Over and over again I did them, moving slowly then faster, keeping my movements precise each time, holding the position longer than normal just to feel it deep within—but the memories kept barging through.

I moved on to work with the weight bag. Kick after kick landed on the bag. If I were still on Earth, my feet would have been swollen and red from the abuse they took. I punched hard, spun and landed one kick, then slid back and jumped forward to deliver another combination, one after another into the large black bag until my energy was depleted, and I could barely stand.

With my hands resting on my knees, I gasped for breath and wiped the sweat from my forehead with my sleeve.

“Feel better?”

I wasn’t surprised that Brock was here. I had felt his presence a while ago and had ignored him. It had felt good to ignore him.

“Not really.” I stood and put my hands on my hips, still trying to get my breathing under control.

“Let’s take a walk on the beach,” his voice was soft, and I studied him as he leaned back against the muted white wall as if he had no cares in the world.

I shook my head and turned away from him, “Not in the mood.” I started toward the locker room.

“I’m not giving you an invitation, Coralenna,” his voice deepened. I spun around to face him, immediately phasing to stand in front of him. His eyes enlarged, and his shoulders shifted back in surprise at my movement. His jaw clenched, and I realized he didn’t like to be surprised. Score one for me.

“Stop calling me Coralenna. My name is Corey, and I don’t want to go for a walk with you.” I stared him down, anger blazing on my face. I wanted to take my frustration out on someone, and he had showed up just in time to take the brunt of it whether he liked it or not.

The chuckle that escaped his chest infuriated me, and I was tempted to push him. With his arms crossed over his chest, he leaned in close to me. My line of sight was automatically drawn to his mouth, and I watched as his soft full lips parted the closer they got to me.

Four inches separated our mouths, the soft grazing of his breath flowed over my face as he spoke, “I don’t care what you want right now, Corey.” The way he said my name was a caress similar to the way his soft breath washed over my heated skin.