Garda - Welcome to the Realm (30 page)

“Corey, you came for me.”

~ Brock ~

Corey had asked if things would always feel strange when we were apart, and I had no idea how to answer her. There were so few connected couples in the Realm that I had never thought to ask about it. Maybe I should have taken the time to find one of them and ask them.

We could do that together.

With the sun setting in the glorious sky, I held her in my arms. The contentment we shared was quickly brushed aside when Montgomery arrived.

Since I was connected to him, I knew something was going on, and when Corey stepped away to get the glasses, he filled me in.

“What’s going on? Where is David?”

He glanced to the door before answering. “David is with Mitch, he’s watching him, but it’s not good.”

“How bad is it?” I leaned back against the railing, crossing my arms over my chest.

“He’s in a coma, and he is showing very little brain activity. He keeps coming forward and moving back. We’re not sure which way he’s going to go. It’s not time for him to come here.”

My jaw clenched. How was Corey going to react to this? She didn’t seem to recall what had transpired.

Corey came back onto the balcony, and we raised our glasses in a toast. The news that Montgomery had shared with me put a slight damper on the celebration, and the appearance of David completely dashed any further thoughts of a good time.

“You have to come now. He’s trying to cross over.” David’s face was alarmed, concern evident in his voice.

Montgomery set his glass down and turned to David, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I felt him descend back and he’s going deeper. He came around just about the time they were talking about how bad he was.”

“Who are you guys talking about?” Corey eyeballed David and Montgomery cautiously.

I dropped my head down to my chest, took a deep breath, and then lifted my chin. “Mitch.”

Confusion and fear raced across her face, piercing my heart, “What’s wrong with Mitch?”

“She doesn’t know?” David’s voice rose an octave in surprise.

As Coralenna answered, I shook my head, “Know what? Tell me what’s going on!”

Before I could answer, Montgomery stepped in front of her and took the glass out of her hand, setting it down on the table. He took both of her hands into his and stared her in the eye.

“You don’t remember the accident, Coralenna?” he questioned softly. I knew that he was trying to comfort her by touching her, but her entire body was tense, I felt it.

Her hair swished around her shoulders and she shook her head hard.

“Coralenna, Mitch was in a motorcycle accident. He’s in a very serious condition.”

The croak of her voice could barely be heard, “How serious?”

“Serious enough that he is trying to come home, but it’s not his time, and you need to stop him.”

“Oh my God,” she pulled away from Montgomery and sat down in one of the gliders. “How am I supposed to stop him?”

“Yeah, how is she supposed to stop him, he’s on a level that we can’t reach. We can’t enter a comatose person’s mind.” We all turned to David as he spoke.

Montgomery glanced at me and stepped over to Coralenna, squatting down beside her, he placed his hand on her knee. “Well, I have an idea.”

Coralenna’s face was stricken with emotion, “What?”

“David’s right. We don’t have the ability to cross over to that level, but you two might be able to.”

“What do you mean?” Coralenna flicked a glance at me then stepped in front of Montgomery.

“Now that you two have connected, you have a strength that is beyond what we normally have. I have heard of another couple who were able to use their power together to cross over for something similar to this.”

“But Mitch would freak out if he saw Brock. That might cause more trouble if he shows up with me.” Coralenna sat up straighter in her chair.

Montgomery stood back up, “He might not have to cross over with you. Just being close enough might give you the strength to move over into that level.”

Corey stood up quickly, “Then we have to try it.” She tore her gaze from Montgomery’s face and focused on me sternly. “Did you know about the accident?”

It was only a matter of time till that question was asked, I knew. “Yes, and you did too.”

“Me?” her voice rose. “How could I have known? I’ve been here, wrapped up in your arms this whole time, the whole time Mitch has been lying in a bed dying, and you knew!”

“Corey, you were at the accident scene,” I said slowly.

Her eyes started flicking back and forth in an effort to remember.

“You were riding on the back of the motorcycle with Mitch. I pulled you off right before he crashed.”

She continued to jet her eyes around and then her feet began to shuffle and she turned in circles. Her expressions were changing so quickly, I was afraid to speak again.

She sucked in a sharp breath and stopped moving, and I knew she had remembered. Her head spun around to face me. “Why did you do that? Why did you take me from him? I could have helped him!”

Her anger was understood, and I worked hard to remain calm as I replied, “Coralenna, you were in a mortal body. If you had been in that crash, you could have been injured or killed.”

“What? I’m already dead! Please explain to me how you can die again?”

With the use of my back muscles, I pushed off the railing and moved closer to her. I saw her shoulders straighten, and her jaw clamp down, but she didn’t move away.

“Sweetheart, your mortal body could have been killed, and then your soul would have not been able to return here. That’s why we have always said it was so dangerous for you in the living arena.”

“But what about Mitch?” she started to tear up. “Couldn’t you have saved him, too?”

“We can’t change destiny. We can only guide people. What happened to Mitch was meant to happen. I just couldn’t let anything happen to you.” My voice lowered as I spoke, and I lifted my hand to slide my knuckles over her cheek.

A single tear slipped out and I caught it with my thumb. “We’ll help him, Corey, I promise we will do everything we can.”

Her nod was jerky, but she circled her arms around me and put her head on my chest. For a few moments, I held her tightly. David cleared his throat behind us.

Coralenna and I pulled apart, but kept one arm around each other’s back.

“We need to go,” David said meaningfully.

“Let’s go save my brother.” I tipped Corey’s face up and kissed her lips lightly. We phased while still holding each other.

~ Corey ~

When they said Mitch had been in an accident, guilt rained down on me like a load of bricks. Here I had been happy and safe in Brock’s arms, and Mitch was fighting for his life.

How I had not remembered the accident was beyond me. When Brock mentioned it, I wracked my mind to find the pieces of the puzzle that would fit together. Using my own memories that I had tucked deep inside, and the ones that I had acquired from Brock, I relived the whole incident.

The fear that Brock had felt right before it happened and the sound of the crash around us as our bodies ignited, I had thought were from our connection.

I wanted to be angry at someone, but hearing what Brock told me about dying a second death calmed the heated threads in my head and heart. From his memory, I knew he had only pulled me to protect me, to save me. How could I fault him for that?

 As I stood against his strong chest and felt the love he had for me, I knew I had no right to be angry with him. He loved me, and he would do anything for me.

Now we had to do everything that we could to save Mitch.

We phased to his hospital room. The pale blue walls displayed shadows from the machines hooked up to him. One small light was on over his bed, reflecting towards the ceiling rather than directly on him.

His entire body was practically covered in plaster, one whole leg and half of the other one. Tubes and wires were connected to every part of his chest; nose and arms were visible around the bandages.

I choked on a sob and buried my head in Brock’s shoulder. He held my head tightly to him, and I heard him clear his throat. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and as I leaned back to wipe them off, I saw Brock wipe his own cheek.

“Where’s Montgomery?” I turned, but only David stood in the room with us. Beth sat silently in the chair beside Mitch’s bed, her eyes closed, but I knew she was not sleeping.

“I don’t know. I’m sure he’ll be here in a minute,” Brock said from beside me.

“We can’t do this without him. We don’t know what to do!” The words rushed out of my mouth.

“Relax, my dear,” Montgomery landed beside me and patted me on the arm. “I needed to make a pit stop and make sure we were doing it right.”

Relief that he had shown up was short-lived as the monitor in front of us started to beep rapidly.

“Coralenna, you need to go,” Montgomery said beside me.

“Go where? I don’t know what I’m doing?” My body shook with fear.

“You and Brock need to be touching him and holding hands yourself. You can do it from here, you don’t need to be in the living arena, but you do need to all be touching.”

We moved to Mitch’s side. I placed my hand over his shoulder while Brock touched the visible skin of his thigh.

Beth sat up in her chair and studied the monitors, alarm on her face.

“Focus, Corey, you need to focus on Mitch. Go inside his mind, find him. He’s in the dark someplace searching for the light.” The heart monitor began to slow; my hands grew damp.

“Go, Corey, find him,” Brock’s strained voice came from beside me as I focused all my energy into Mitch. It took a moment, and then I found the small piece of his mind that appeared to be working.

I contained a sob as I felt the inside of his battered body. How could he recover from his? Dear Lord, please help me, I prayed as I moved towards the single area of his mind.

~ Mitchell ~

“Corey, you came for me.”

The most beautiful sight in the world stood before me.

“Hello, Mitchell.” Her voice sounded like musical notes to my ears, tinkling in the darkness around me. I smiled and reached for her.

She slipped into my arms, and I held her. “I’m so glad you’re alright. I was worried about you.”

She pulled back so she could see into my face. “I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me. We need to worry about you, though.” She cast a glance around, “It’s so dark here, take me someplace else.”

“Let’s go into the light.” I pointed behind her and she shook her head.

“No, take me someplace nice, take me to the river.” Her smile melted my heart. I would do anything for her. The image of the river and the rocks along the banks came to mind, and there we were.

“Wow, that was kind of cool.” Birds were singing in the trees and the water was rushing over the rocks. The sun was high in the sky, but the trees blocked out the strongest of the rays. “Is this better?”

“Much better, Mitchell,” she paused and ran her fingers over my cheek. I snuggled into her palm as she cleared her throat, “Mitchell, you need to go back, you can’t stay here with me.”

Surprised that she would say that, I stared at her for a moment, “No, I’m right where I want to be, with you.” I leaned forward and put a soft kiss on her lips.

She stepped back slightly and put her hand along the side of my face, “Mitch, you can’t stay. You have to return.”

Frustration edged my voice as I countered, “I don’t want to. I want to be here with you.”

“Honey, I know you do, but it’s not your time. You have a family that needs you and a long life to live.”

 “I’m ready to leave them. I want to come up to heaven with you,” I said adamantly.

“But what about Chase? What about watching him grow up? What about Beth? Do you want to leave her all alone? I know you love her. You need to go back to your family. They need you now more than ever.”

What about Chase? I would miss watching him play baseball and all the things he accomplished in school. I’d miss his graduation and the day he would get married. Could I give up those things?

While things were better with Beth, could we fix everything and share a happy life, or would I always be wishing I was with Corey?

I turned away from her and moved to the edge of the rocks, staring into the running water.

“Mitch, time goes by so fast, and you don’t want to miss a minute of it. You have the chance to go back, to be a part of your son’s life. He needs you.”

“But he’s not my son!” I spun around on her and stared at her hard.

“Yes, he is. You have raised him. You are the only one he knows as a father. You can’t tell me that because a mistake was made all those years ago that you are going to hold that against him, or against Beth for that matter.”

I didn’t want to leave my son, and I knew that Beth loved me. Could I leave them alone? If it had been anybody other than Brock, it wouldn’t have mattered, but this was my own brother.

“Wait, you don’t want me with you because you want to be with Brock.” I stepped closer to her, the anger that had started to recede grew back threefold.

 “You don’t know the whole story about what happened with Brock and Beth. He was—”

“And I don’t want to know! I don’t care! He’s not my brother! My brother wouldn’t have done that to me.” I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling the need to protect myself.

“Mitch, you need to listen to me, please. Just listen for a moment.”

“Whatever, Corey, what?” I turned away from her again and scrutinized the water.

“Mitch, Brock was very ill. He didn’t know it at the time, but he had a brain tumor.”

My head turned slightly toward her, “He what?”

“He had a very large brain tumor.” She stood still, watching me, the sun shining down on her hair. I thought about her words for a moment before I turned back to the water.

“That’s no excuse,” I blurted out.

“No, you’re right. It’s not. He made a bad choice that night, but the tumor was large enough that it caused major problems with his personality and the way he dealt with things. Shortly after, he found out about the tumor. The tumor was inoperable, he was going to die.”