JESSIE
I sit on top of Sebby's car, a blue Mini Cooper, with my legs crossed and my eyes closed. I am supposed to connect with the ancient Gods or something like that, so before I do that, I have to let nature whisper into my ear like I'm Pocahontas or something.
I don't complain, I do as I'm told because if I want to know how to fight demons in the best way possible, then this is what I have to do. Who am I to complain when I have the Nytheris on my side to guide me?
I've been in this car with my legs crossed and eyes closed for the past hour. And I've got to say it has been very therapeutic. I have erased everything from my mind, and I am more focused on listening to the sound of the trees. It's hot, but being under the shade of many trees makes it a bit cool.
I can't believe I'm still here. The plan was to leave New Orleans after I buried my dad, but I'm still here, and I don't think I'm going back to New York any time soon. But the thing is, I really don't mind.
The number one reason I left New Orleans was because of my father, but now that he's gone, there's no reason for me to run anymore, and also thanks to Lucinda, my therapist, I can identify certain triggers and traumas and assess them with ease. So, do I even have to go back to New York?
What am I saying? I built a new life over there, and I have Jeremy, so… I don't know what I'm thinking right now.
In fact, I shouldn't even be thinking. I'm supposed to be meditating right now, thinking about nature. It's the only way to be able to tap into my full potential.
Meow. I hear and then I open my eyes to see the same cat that I saw back at the cafe, the same cat who led me to that dybbuk.
My spirit guide.
"Oh, nice seeing you again," I say with a smile, because it is really nice to have a spirit guide. I feel safe around this gorgeous cat.
The cat meows and then runs away, expecting me to follow him.
"Oh, okay," I say, getting out of the car. Does it want to lead me to a demon to kill, someone to save? I am in!
I follow the cat out of my own free will. The cat runs, heading straight toward the lake, and I follow him, dodging a few trees and jumping over rocks and logs. I am this eager to know where this cat is taking me.
I have never been this eager to do something as strange as follow a cat so he'll lead me to danger.
Well, I never in my life thought I would encounter demons to fight in the first place. This has been a weird past couple of days.
The cat leads me to the lake, lets out a final meow and disappears like he always does when he shows me what he's been dying to show me.
I look around for the human who is in danger and the demon causing this danger.
I'm actually quite happy. I feel disgusted when someone mentions demons or when I see one. For a second there, when I saw that I wasn't disgusted around the veyraths like how the nytheri are. I was scared that I would have empathy toward demons.
Now, if that were the case, the council would have killed me on the spot. I'm glad I don't have empathy toward those demons because that will reveal that there is something wrong with me indeed.
But I do not have empathy toward demons. In fact, I am out here by the lake looking for a demon to destroy. Who are we dealing with today? A dybbuk? A nocturne? They should come out of their hiding.
I look hard to see if there's any demon in sight, and I fix my ears in a way that makes me hear if there's anyone who needs help from afar. But there's literally nothing. No one's here, I don't understand. Should I keep looking around the woods, see if I'll spot someone, anyone?
Oh, on second thought, there is someone here, and that is Sebby. He just stands by the lake with her arms folded, lost in thought. I really wish I knew what he was thinking.
I walk over to him, and as soon as I do, I pat his back. He turns around, sees it's me, then proceeds to blush like an idiot.
"Oh, hi," he says.
"Hi."
We're both looking at the water together. I'm hit with flashbacks of when we used to come here; sometimes we'd just sit by the water and stare at it in silence. We didn't care if we weren't saying anything. Being quiet with the right people is calming enough.
"So what are you thinking about?" I ask him. Then he turns to face me with a smirk on his face.
"You," he says.
"Me?"
"I know you think about me too, Jezzy and don't you lie to me because I can hear your thoughts."
I know that, that is the reason why I've been trying so hard to hide my thoughts. But like I said, it's really hard to because I'm standing next to someone who has a major effect on me.
Has had this effect on me since I was a kid.
"Okay, fine." I finally admit. "Fine, I can't stop thinking about you, and I still have feelings for you. Are you happy? I say it straight out, I say it like there won't be any consequences. But what consequences will there be? We are two people who love each other. There's an invisible string that ties us back to each other.
The universe has to be on our side.
He grabs me and then plants a kiss on my lips. I don't fight it, I don't push him back, I just let him take over. And I kiss him back because he's my soulmate and we're meant to be.
Just as I thought, I knew that the universe would be on our side because we're surrounded by fireflies. I don't know where they came from, but they're here to cheer us on for finding each other.
But this isn't real, is it? Because how did it go from day to night already?
"JESSIE!" I wake up as soon as I hear my name over and over. I find myself lying next to the lake. I came here to read the text that Pilar gave me, and I fell asleep, and I had that dream.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
Not again, I'm pretty sure Sebby saw it. Or is that how this works? Does he have to sleep to see my dreams?
I rise to my feet and I scramble for the books to go meet Sebby and Pilar. God, they probably think that I've done a lot of reading. Actually, no, Sebby will be able to sense that my mind was quiet. Or is that how this works? I don't even know because I don't know how these things even work.
I make a run for it while I carry these heavy-looking books. They're just light. As soon as I get to the space, I will leave Sebby and Pilar. I hear laughter, and there are more voices here than there were before.
I see Sebby play-fighting with someone, a guy, but then I see a woman standing next to Pilar. She has short brown hair, wears a brown tank top, jean shorts, and sneakers, and she has a butterfly tattoo on her left hand.
Oh my God.
"Jessie!?" The woman says enthusiastically, and she walks over to me with her arms stretched, getting ready for a hug.
"Oh, Jessie," the guy who was wrestling with Sebby says. They've stopped cosplaying as wrestlers.
This one has bronze skin, round lips, more muscular than the last time I saw him, brown eyes, and he wears a white shirt, jean pants and sneakers.
Serena Gonzalez and Michael Jones. Sebby's close friends.
"How have you been? Long time no see." Serena hugs me.
"I've been good."
"I'm sorry about your loss." She says, and I nod my head.
"Thank you."
"Come here, buddy," Michael says, crushing me in a hug. And I feel like I'm losing my breath. Holy cow, I thought I would be free from the pain of Michael's hugging. Unless…
He puts me down, and I try to catch my breath, but then I look at both Michael and Serena, and I flash my eyes.
Both Michael and Serena look at each other, then back at me, and they flash theirs.
I guessed right, they're Nytheri.
"Wow, how many people do I know are nytheri?" I ask.
"Just us," Sebby says. "Except there are some people you know who are Veyraths," he says.
"Are Sofia and Elsa Nytheri or Veyraths?"
Serena chuckles. "Neither," she says.
"And they can't be veyraths cause if they were, I wouldn't have gotten along with them," Sebby says.
I forgot, that is totally true.
"Alright, that's enough lessons for today!" Michael yells out, then wraps his hand around Sebby's shoulder. "Time to get some beer and get you laid," he mutters to him, and Sebby looks at me with nervous eyes, and I pretend not to hear anything.
He can do whatever he wants; it's his life.
Honestly, I do need a drink.
I just hope Sebby doesn't know about the dream that I had.