JESSIE
"YOU SAW YOUR SPIRIT GUIDE!?" Sebby and Pilar both shout in unison. We're in Sebby's car, and they're dropping me off after dropping that poor woman who was almost killed by that demon.
I had just told them why I was in the cemetery in the first place. I told them about the cat that led me there, and that's what led them to freak out.
"What is a spirit guide?" I ask them both.
"All Nytheris have spirit guides. They're the wild cats inside of us. Like the spirit of a tiger, lion, leopard, cheetah, all of that."
"Okay? If I'm a nytheri, why are you guys acting shocked that I have a spirit animal?"
"That's because you're a nytherkin. Nytherkins aren't supposed to have spirit animals." Pilar says.
"I told you, I told you he was meant to be one of us," Sebby says, acting like a little kid who can't wait to have candy.
I can't help but smile at his excitement.
"Wow, Jessie. You are not Nytherkin but a full-on Nytheri, I guess." Pilar says. "But how tho, there has to be an explanation to this because we have been taught all our lives that humans who get turned to nytheri are bad news because the fact that they have one leg in the land of the dead and the other in the land of the living will cause them to spiral and cause harm to people."
"And I don't want to do that," I say.
"Don't worry, you won't." Says Sebby, sounding so sure of himself, but I know for sure he's just speaking through emotion and not fact.
"We don't know that," Pilar says, the logical one, and honestly, I prefer her response to Sebby's. Sebastian is smart, but Pilar has always been the intelligent and reasonable one. She is the eldest, so of course she is.
"Why do you think Victor says he will be keeping an eye on him?" Pilar says, and Sebby stays quiet. God, I so badly want to know what he's thinking right now. I want to know what's in his head.
Why the fuck does this thing only work one way? Why can't I see into his thoughts? It's not fair.
But at the same time, I don't want to see into his thoughts. He doesn't keep things to himself externally, which makes me think he'll try to keep things to himself internally.
I don't want to have mixed emotions. I have been trying my best to keep my thoughts at bay. Right now, I'm thinking of the cat that led me to save that woman.
I feel pretty heroic. I want to do it again. Save people, kill demons. This is so cool, it feels like I'm in a Marvel or DC movie.
I smile to myself because I've always wanted to help people through my writing, but now I get to help people with my skills.
The car pulls up at my house, and I am hungry as fuck. I get out of the car.
"Thanks, guys," I say.
"Oh, and Jessie, don't forget to be at the woods tomorrow morning so we can introduce you to everything you need to know about being a nytheri. This time I'll be there to avoid any distractions." Pilar says, looking at Sebby.
"I'm really sorry, Jezzy," he says, sounding apologetic. I smile at him. I don't need to read his mind to know that he is sorry.
"It's okay, I know you didn't mean it," I say, and we both linger around each other's gaze. I'm the first to avert my eyes. "Goodnight, guys," I say, and they both say goodnight to me. I turn around and I head straight for my house.
I'm pretty excited for tomorrow.
The next day, I get a text from Elsa asking if I want to hang out. I sent her a text back saying I'm busy right now, but I will also check my schedule to know when I'm free. I really do want to hang out with Elsa and Sofia, but I have to understand this supernatural business first.
The old me died...literally, and I'm a new person. Learning about this new version of myself is going to feel like learning about my ABCs and 123s for the first time.
But this isn't ABCs or 123s, it's all supernatural. And it's very crucial.
So I take my dad's pickup truck to the woods, the place where they say I should meet them, but before I get there, I take note of people's aura. Some gold and some dark, some a mix of dark and gold.
I think not everyone who has darkness surrounding them means they're bad people. It could mean they're good people. But they're cursed, or they're heartbroken or depressed.
I feel bad for them. I know what depression is like, and I don't ever want to experience anything like that again.
I pull up to the place where Sebby and I met those veryths. I kinda want to see that girl again. Talk more about Taylor. I'm sure she went to the eras tour. I did, and it was epic.
There are no veryraths here, just two hot nytheris.
"Morning, guys."
"Good morning, sweets," Pilar says to me, walking over.
"Good morning," Sebby says, and we linger on each other, then I quickly look away. Maybe the first step to not allowing Sebastian back into my heart in that way is to stop looking into those pretty eyes of his.
Oh, and I have to do my best not to think of anything, so Sebby doesn't have any material to look at. He's a trickster.
"Alright, where do we start? You're going to teach me how to fight demons and identify demons. Use my abilities in the best way possible?"
Pilar and Sebby lock eyes, and they smile to themselves.
"We are not going to be doing all that just yet," Sebby says.
"Okay? So what are we going to do?" I ask, confused because I thought the whole point about being a Nytheri was fighting demons.
"Visualisation and journeying. Temple silence, sacred postures and movements, Ka/Ba work and Sesh Medu Neter." Pilar says proudly.
I think I got the rest, but… "What the hell is a sesh medu notor?"
"Neter." Pilar corrects. "And it's reciting sacred texts, chants or mantras, aligning the mind with Ma'at. It balances the mind, and that's the first stage into tapping into the animal instincts."
"Animal instincts."
"Connecting with your spirit animal on a deeper level and also… Sebby tells me you don't find veyraths disgusting. How is that possible?" Pilar asks in a grimace.
"- I-I don't know, I just don't."
She just stares at me with the same grimace on her face. She looks like she smells dogshit, and she's surprised that I'm not disgusted by its smell.
"Huh, even Nytherkins found veyraths annoying." She relaxes her face. Then her face gets back to normal fully. "Okay, I'll go get the texts so you'll finally get started," she turns around and heads straight for the car.
Sebby gets closer, and he smells like he always does, like cologne and mint.
"She's been researching your situation last night." He shakes his head.
"Well, she is a scientist. That's what she does. And also, how does she mix science with the supernatural?"
"They're actually very connected," he says.
Huh.
I stay quiet; my brain is quiet as well. I can't afford to let him in there.
"Also, I'm sorry if I overstepped yesterday. I shouldn't have crossed a line. You're with someone else, and you deserve to be happy.
I nod my head.
"Thank you, Seb."
Why don't I believe him? It's Sebby after all.
"Got them," she says, holding a large pile of books in her hands.
All those years seeing the De La Rosas pick heavy stuff up with ease. I've always been surprised and intrigued by it.
Now I know it's because they naturally have super strength.
I have it too because I expect to fall when Pilar puts the pile of books in my hands, but I don't. They're not even that heavy.
"Alright, chop chop. You have a lot to learn." Pilar claps her hands.
I look at the books in my hand, and I sigh. I have a lot to learn, indeed.