The Elementalist (7 page)

22

~First Contact~

Alisa

There had to be a way to communicate with Claire since we shared a body. But if she was asleep while I was awake and vice versa, I wasn’t sure how to accomplish that. It was high time I figured it out though. One of the things Raphael had drilled into me was that I had power—immeasurable power, if I only learned how to harness it. All people had this ability, he claimed, and all we had to do was tap into that reservoir. Well, I was going to start tapping.

Down in the basement—because I’d finally figured out it was the only quiet place in Claire’s house where I wouldn’t be disturbed—I sat on a pile of blankets with candles lit all around me. Not because I wanted a hauntingly cool ambiance, but because I wanted as much light as possible down here in this dismal room. I hated the dark. Ergo… lots of lights.

I sat with my knees tucked beneath me, my hands clasped together. I was about to call Claire—metaphysically speaking—and all she had to do was pick up the other line, if that was possible. Closing my eyes, I took slow, deep breaths, saying Claire’s name softly, over and over. I imagined she was hiding out inside our head, her mind deeply asleep, but not unreachable.

“Claire,” I whispered. “Wake up. You need to wake up. Claire, wake up.”

After a moment, I stopped, waiting to detect her inside me. Nothing. I did it again, this time imagining a sharp stick in my hand. I walked through this dark maze of
her,
poking and prodding, hoping one of the hunched shadows I imagined, was her.

Nothing.

In frustration, I opened my eyes and stared at the wall. How should I do this? Taking another deep breath, I closed my eyes again and waited. At that moment, pain sliced through my head, like an axe being driven through my skull, over my left ear. I grabbed my head and fell moaning to the blankets, my eyes scrunched against a light that seemed too bright. I couldn’t stop the pain or the constant heat drilling through my head.

I didn’t know how long I lay there, tears seeping from my eyes, but slowly, my agony lessened to a dull throb, and then I sensed someone else in the room with me. They were quiet, not making a sound, not even breathing, but their presence was so strong I forced myself to sit up and look around. I stared in confusion at the empty room, frowning. I felt them so powerfully. I
knew
they were there. Hiding?

“Hello?” I heard a weak voice ask. “Who’s there?”

I stayed quiet, waiting, scared. It was another spirit, but I couldn’t see them. This terrified me more than anything, not knowing who I was up against.

Again, the voice called out, stronger the second time. “Hello? Are you there?”

They
must
be talking to me, so I answered. “I’m here.”

I heard a sigh of relief. “Who are you?”

This time, I didn’t hesitate. “Alisa Callahan,” I answered. “Come out, so I can see you.” I was
sure
it was a spirit now. I felt the energy of another soul surrounding me so powerfully that it couldn’t be denied. They could probably see me even though I couldn’t see them. That was how it usually worked. Maybe it was a guardian sent to help me.

“I… I’m not sure where I am,” the voice said. “Keep talking so I can find you.”

“I’m in the center of the room,” I said, turning in a slow circle, waiting, searching.

“So am I… I think.”

It was quiet for a moment, and then I heard the voice say, “Hey. You said your name was Alisa? Alisa Callahan?”

I paused. “Ye—es.”

“You’re in
my
body!” the voice screamed with rage. It echoed inside my mind, and the throbbing pain began again.

“Claire?” I gasped, holding my aching head.

“Yes, I’m Claire! And you’re in my body!”

“I know,” I answered, in terrible pain, but I was relieved to be in contact at last. “I don’t know how it happened, but… but maybe if you try to get back in your body, I’ll be kicked out, and then everything will go back to normal.”

“I can’t
get
in,” she said. “I’m
already
in. I’ve been here all along. You would have known that if you were an intelligent spirit. You’ve taken over my body, but don’t worry. I
will
kick you out. You weren’t supposed to do this. You weren’t supposed to take possession of me.”

“I didn’t. I don’t know what happened.” I didn’t have a good feeling anymore, nor was I excited to be stuck in this body
with
her. She was furious and felt very strong.

“I know just what to do with you,” she said.

“You do?”

“Oh, yes,” she answered with a growl. “I’m an Elementalist. I know who and what you are, and I know how to get you out… so get ready. This is going to hurt.”

23

~Failed Experiment~

Alisa

It only took Claire a moment to seize control, and I was too surprised to stop her. Within moments, I could do nothing physically, but she could. She stood, and like a floppy doll, I bounced around inside of her.

In the back corner of the basement, she slid a wood panel back, exposing a hole in the brick wall. No one would ever notice such a spot if you weren’t looking for it, which made me wonder if Claire’s mom knew it was there.

Claire reached in and pulled out a crate of vials, chemistry burners, and all sorts of weird science stuff. She carried the crate to the area of the room where I’d been sitting, moving a bunch of candles out of the way.

“What are you doing?” I asked inside our head. I suspected she was the only one who could hear me since her mouth didn’t move when I spoke. Like I said, zero control. “What is all this stuff?”

She ignored me, just stood and walked up the stairs, locking the door from our side.

“You know, it isn’t safe to have the door locked. What if there were an emergency?”

Again, she didn’t answer.

Proceeding to set a burner on the bench, she lit it. She had little handles that clamped around the beaker so her fingers wouldn’t burn. She began to add all sorts of things to the beaker: purified water, tinctures, and herbs, some of which had a very distasteful odor. When all was complete, she sat back and inhaled deeply, her eyes closed.

When she started to chant, I got worried, trying to decide if I should continue hiding behind the curtain. This didn’t feel right. If she wanted to cast me out of her body, that was fine, because at this point, I was happy to leave, but I didn’t think we had the same idea of how to make that happen.

The darkness in the room seemed to grow, and I became gripped with fear… and dread. “Claire? Can you hear me?”

She didn’t answer. I didn’t really expect her to because she seemed really into whatever she was doing, but I tried again. “Claire? You need to stop this. Something isn’t right. I have a really bad feeling, and will you please open your eyes so I can see?”

She stopped chanting and took a deep breath. “Shut up, you vile demon. I know you don’t want to be cast out, but it will happen nevertheless. So stop talking.”

Figuratively, I took a step back. She thought
I
was evil? Couldn’t she feel the ambiance she had created? Was she so far gone that it didn’t touch her? There was nothing I could do but wait and watch, my mind filled with doubt. But I couldn’t think like that. I had to have faith. I had to have hope. I couldn’t lose those qualities that made me a good guardian.

After a few minutes of chanting, Claire took the vial from the flame and held it with her metal clasp, pouring it into an antique pewter cup that was etched with strange markings around the outside. There was one rune I recognized. I remembered seeing it with a bunch of other unrecognizable symbols in the Book of Death that Lamia had read from so long ago, but I didn’t know what it signified.

An icy chill slithered through me at the recognition, and the memory of that night came back in full color. The terrifying sacrifice, how they had murdered Brecken, how they probably would have murdered my brother. I needed to do something before this went any further.

“Claire. Seriously. You need to stop. There’s a bad feeling here, and I have experience with this sort of—”

“Will you shut up? I can’t concentrate with you yammering inside my head!”

Her outburst silenced me… but for only a moment, because I realized if I could disrupt her concentration, maybe I could stop whatever she was about to do. However, instead of continuing her chant, she picked up the pewter cup and drank the entire contents down.

Just like that.

Even though I was not in control of her physical movements, I still tasted the vile, feces-like potion that slid down our collective throat. Not that I’d ever eaten poop, but this was how I imagined it tasting.

Nothing happened at first, and I heaved a sigh of relief. Good. It didn’t work. But then, after a moment, I felt something begin to burn deep in our belly. An ache that turned into a terrible cramp, like I’d eaten something really bad, and then the feeling morphed into excruciating pain and Claire doubled over, sweat beading our brow.

I felt everything she did.

And it
felt
like I was dying. Up and down the length of our body, molten lava—like a flooding, volcanic river—coursed through our veins. I begged God to let me die. Claire’s breath hitched as she gasped for air. Tears poured from her eyes. Razor blades sliced through her esophagus with each breath we took. I pulled back with all my might, trying to detach from this body, from this agony. If there was anything in the world that could make me leave, it was this noxious poison she’d purposefully ingested.

Try as I might though, I couldn’t escape. I resorted to imploring Raphael, Gram, and even Natty, to set me free, to release me from this torment, which seemed to go on forever. But I remained. I
remained
, enduring the entirety of this torture.

After an indeterminate amount of time—which felt eternal—we lay on the floor, Claire’s mouth against the chill cement floor as she gasped for air. She didn’t even care that it was dirty and neither did I. It just felt so good to have cold oxygen filling Claire’s lungs. The pain had retreated to a manageable degree, which was still terrible, but nowhere near what it was. Claire gripped her belly, and I yearned to make her grip it tighter, but she began to relax, and I realized it was almost over.

I didn’t talk. I couldn’t. Inside her mind, I was spent, and if I were to hazard a guess, I’d say nearly dead.

She began to cry. “It didn’t work.” Tears fell from Claire’s eyes. Not tears from pain, but from acute failure. I felt her disappointment as though it were my own. “I can’t believe it.” She wiped her mouth and rolled over, the tears sliding down the sides of her face and into her hair. “This spell should have driven out any kind of demon.”

“I told you, I’m not a demon. And I’m not ready to die.”

“You’re already dead,” she howled. “And the spell isn’t supposed to kill you, just kick you out.” She rolled over the other way, brought her knees to her chest, and cried. I almost felt sorry for her, but what she’d done to us… she had to have known she would feel it too.

“Don’t worry,” I said to reassure her. “It will all work out. I’m not supposed to be here, so I’m sure someone will come to help.”

She shook her head slowly as she lay there on the old, mussed blankets. “No. I did this. I called you here… on purpose. You can’t leave until I break the bond, the seal, or whatever it is, and I don’t know how to do that.”

24

~Obstacles~

Alisa

I was stunned, unable to even speak. I couldn’t get out of Claire’s body until
she
figured out how to do it? That couldn’t be right. I could be trapped in here forever!
No
. I would not accept this. I was done being passive. I’d been passive my whole life, and if there was one thing I’d learned from my experience guarding Brecken, it was that I was strong!

Concentrating, I pictured myself plowing my way through Claire’s mind to stand forefront at the helm, controlling our body. It didn’t work. Nothing ever seemed to work for me the first time.

Not wanting to wait a second longer, I jumped to where it seemed brightest in Claire’s mind, bursting through the barriers she had put up. I didn’t even realize I was in control until I made our body stand. She screamed out and a blinding headache bloomed, but I gritted my teeth and pushed past it. Stumbling up the stairs to the kitchen, I kept one arm wrapped around my belly. I felt like I’d thrown up all night.

I pushed through the front door. The sun was barely climbing above the hills to the east, and a pink flush breathed into the valley. It was so beautiful that I stopped in amazement to soak it in, feeling even more motivated to fix this mess. There was a reason for everything. A purpose for everything.

After a moment of inhaling the fresh, moist air my heart rate slowed, my breathing evened out, and my headache began to dissipate. I was feeling very zen by the time I got back to Claire’s bedroom, all the while listening to her curse and rail against me.

I showered and quietly ate breakfast as Claire’s shrieks continued. Her mom commented about the day’s coming events and she reminded me she wouldn’t be home until late that night. I nodded, but didn’t say much. I was trying to focus. Once I was out of the door, I finally let loose.

“Be quiet!” My hands covered my ears even though her voice was inside my head. “You’re so annoying!”

“I don’t care,” she yelled back. “This is
my
body! You have no right to do this! Get out!”

I was so glad no one else could hear her, and I wished I couldn’t either. What I wouldn’t have given to be back in Elysium, basking in its beauty and peacefulness. How I wished I could talk with Natty or Gram. I didn’t realize until that very moment how lucky I’d been to be up there at all, that I’d been given a second chance. How I wished I could go back right now. Why was it that I never appreciated where I was in life until I wasn’t there anymore?

“You okay?” a voice said from behind me.

I whirled around to see that really cute guy from across the street. The one who could kiss like… well, incredibly. “Um…”

“Jamie!” Claire breathed inside our head.

Relief. Now I knew his name. “Um, Jamie?”

“Yeah?” He frowned. “I heard you yell. You look like you have a headache. I can run home and grab some—”

“No! It’s fine.” I tried to sound reassuring as I patted his arm. “Really.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I’m sure.” I felt a blush creep up Claire’s creamy-white neck to her face.

“Hey,” he said more cheerfully. “Can I get a ride with you to school? I was trying to catch you early… before you left.”

“No,” Claire said inside our mind. “You and I have things to talk about, demon.”

“Sure!” I told him as I clicked the remote to unlock the doors. Before Claire could respond, we were in her car and out of the driveway. I babbled, trying to drown out her majorly irritating voice. I didn’t even realize what I was doing until Jamie said, “Where are you going? School’s that way.” He pointed south.

“Huh?”
Oh no
. I’d missed the turn. I was headed to Ocean Side High. Not Hill Valley High. Oops.

“Claire,” he said, laughing. “Are you trying to ditch school? I could if you want, but I have a ton of important classes.”

Cute and smart. Lucky Claire. “Oh, right. I was daydreaming.” I flipped a U-turn and turned back. My mind raced through ways to get rid of Jamie once we got there, but before I could say anything, he slammed me with, “So, did you study for the test in first period? You better have since you’ve missed the last few days of school. Were you sick? You didn’t seem sick last night,” he said, a silly slyness in his voice.

I glanced over at him, and he was smiling so big, so cheery, so boy next door. I couldn’t help but smile back. He was so nice. A really good guy.

Claire had been silent since my U-turn, but she picked this moment to pipe up. “Where were you going before you turned around?”

I ignored her. “Let’s not worry about that. So, Jamie, tell me more about you.”

He laughed and shook his head, glancing out of the window, but his gaze came back, like he couldn’t get enough of me. I loved that feeling… at least when Brecken looked at me that way. I blushed when Jamie met my gaze, because I knew that expression. He liked Claire—a lot. More than a lot.

“You already know everything about me. We’ve known each other since kindergarten.”

“Yes, I do,” Claire answered.

“Well,” I said, “tell me something I
don’t
know.” I gave him a smile I knew he couldn’t resist.

“Stop leading him on!” Claire said. “I don’t like him that way.”

Uh oh. She was going to be pissed when I told her about the passionate kiss they’d shared last night. “Well, you should!” I answered back, annoyed.

“I should?” Jamie’s eyebrows pulled together, and he cocked his head to the side. “Okay, well, my biggest secret is out. I don’t have to tell you that now…” He looked away, bashful, blushing.

“What?” Claire screamed. “What is he talking about?”

I just drove… and smiled.