Astral

A chapter from my work in progress.

He was calling again.  It was a pull, a force she couldn't deny.  She didn't exactly hear his voice, she felt it.  The surge of the blood within her veins, the breath being expelled from her lungs- all of it told her to go to him. So, she did.

She was there in an instant, standing in the middle of a dark room she'd grown familiar with despite having never been there physically. Before she saw him, she smelled him.  It was always the same scent- light, crisp, yet entirely masculine.  If she had to describe it, she'd say she was in the middle of a forest of cedar trees late at night when the smoke from the campfires still clung to the air.  It made her feel safe.

While she approached, she drank in his energy as it swirled around her- enveloped her. When it reacted to hers, the feeling it elicited was powerful.  The man who'd called her sat in a massive, stately chair in the middle of the room.  It was an antique, circa fifteenth or sixteenth century, with ornate details- the kind of thing you sat in to intimidate someone.  Obsidian Nyte was not intimidated.  He sat there meditating in complete darkness except for three red candles that burned on the table beside him.  His eyes were closed.

He didn't speak to her, but the ghost of a smile that graced his lips let her know that he sensed her presence.  She continued to drink in his energy.  The heat of it gave her a kind of high, though that was an inadequate word for the euphoria that flooded her body and soul.  He relaxed after several minutes, so she approached him in order to surround him with her comforting aura.  His face, normally so alert and in command of his surroundings, softened.

She knew he was feeling the same kind of euphoria as he shifted further back into the chair.  They stayed that way for an hour until the candles flickered and reached their end.  He'd fallen asleep, so she reached inside his mind as gently as she could and coaxed him awake.  He opened his eyes and thanked her, though she knew he couldn't see her.  

It was rare that he spoke out loud when they were interacting.  It wasn't necessary since most of their communication was through some kind of telepathy. When he did, it melted her.  She followed him into the kitchen, knowing what the next phase of the routine would be.

"It's a good thing there aren't restraining orders for people like us."

The voice came from the living room, but it took her a moment to see him.  He was the same as her, a skilled astral traveler- not really there in a physical sense, but to her heightened senses, he was as solid as the man in the kitchen brewing tea.  He wore a trenchcoat and a black mask that covered the upper half of his face.  The energy he projected was like none she'd ever seen or felt, and it rolled through the room in undulating waves.

"Hello, Obsidian.  My name is Tobias Vale.  I'm the director of an organization known as the Agency for Astral Freedom.  You're going to need to come with me."  The expression on his face, though hard to read in the dim light and with the mask, said he wasn't up for negotiation.  

Questions flooded her mind.  How did he know her name, and how to find her?  Was that what people like her were known as, astrals?  The handsome man, carrying two cups of tea upstairs to the master suite, was the only other person she'd met that vibrated on her frequency.

This little ambush by Mr. Faceless, Tobias Vale, was ridiculous.  She followed closely behind Aleq.  Last time she checked this was America.  She wasn't just obeying this guy because he looked intimidating.

Faceless wasn't far behind, his footsteps as loud as someone with heavy boots on.  Someone that was physically here.  He was demonstrating how skilled he was at interacting with the environment.  Aleq paused once but kept going.  He was more than used to strange noises and energies.  For people like them, everywhere they lived seemed 'haunted'.

He placed a cup of tea on each of the night tables beside his king-sized bed and headed to the adjoining bathroom, stripping his clothes as he went.  For a moment, Obsidian was distracted, before she remembered the intruder in her personal heaven.  Aleq's home was the one place she could be herself and feel free of the dull torment that her life had become.

"I'm not going anywhere with you.  Just because you're different, like us, doesn't mean I'm going to trust you automatically.  My body isn't really here and either is yours.  It's not like you can make me."

"There's that California valley girl sass."

Tobias had taken up vigil just inside the doorway to Aleq's bedroom, the light from the hallway illuminating the back of him, making his height and stature seem even more impressive.  The steam from Aleq's shower wafted in from the bathroom.  She could smell his energy as it floated through the humid air.  Again, she was in his forest.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?  Not surprising, given your history."

She had the distinct feeling Tobias chose his words carefully, and her interest peaked, despite her suspicions.  Ever since that first night, when Aleq had subconsciously summoned her, she'd been intensely aware of the connection they shared.  It was clear from his energy signature and aura that he was different, like her, yet hadn't awakened to the full potential of his abilities, but that was as far as her information went.  The question of whether or not she loved him, she'd rather not address.  Love never ended well for people like them.  Images of her parents and their unhappy home life flashed through her mind.  

Obsidian sat down on 'her' side of the bed with her back to Tobias, running her hand across the smooth, gray, oriental cotton.  The texture comforted her.  Aleq's dog, Lilly, came scampering in and jumped onto the bed beside her.  She stroked her fur.

"I don't see how any of this is your business."  Tobias came towards her.

"Your relationship with Aleq Noctivagans is not only my business but my responsibility.  I'm also the only one who has the information that curious mind of yours has been searching for."

He touched the side of her head, once again demonstrating the skilled way he interacted with the physical environment.  The gesture bothered her.  Normally, when she was in astral form, no one could invade her space unless she initiated the contact. 

"Who said I was curious?" Even to her, the words sounded like a childish lie.  More than anything, she wanted to know why Aleq had this power over her.  No one had ever been able to call to her the way he did.  She cherished these light night visits when they exchanged their energy.  Being with him made her both more aware of her strangeness, as well as giving her a glimpse of what it might be to be 'normal'.

She loved that she was the only one who seemed able to ease his considerable burden.  He worked so intensely without ever stopping.  Even if he never touched her or even saw her physical body, to be the one who made it even a little bit easier, would still fulfill her.

"Obsidian, or shall I call you Sid?  That is your name now, isn't it?" She ignored him.  "We've been tracking you.  Every night that Aleq has been home, and even some when he was on the road, you've been with him.  We know it's been going on for over three months."

He waited for the words to sink in.  "Nothing says curious like routine visits to a strange man's house in astral form."

Aleq was toweling off and pulling on pajama pants and that soft, heather gray t-shirt she loved.  She knew what it felt like against her cheek.  Even in astral form, she could feel him.  That's how strong their connection was.  It was true that she'd grown deeply affectionate for him in a short time, and she spent a lot of time here.  He'd invited her in, asked for her to come to him, instinctively.  Even if he did think she was a spirit of some kind or a ghost, both of their intentions were still genuine.

He hesitated as he passed where Tobias/faceless stood and looked back.  His senses were attuned to any subtle shift in energy both due to his natural born abilities and his many years of paranormal investigations.  Aleq pushed past the feeling, exhaustion winning over.  He climbed into bed, the left side, as always, and reached for his tea.  Some of the tension had returned to his face.  Sleeping wasn't always a peaceful thing for people like them.

"I left you a cup, sweetheart."  He motioned to the other night table.  She still hadn't managed to pick up the cup without it spilling, but she was getting there.  It was such a special gesture- brewing her a cup and leaving it as an offering to say his thanks.

"As much as I hate to break up this romantic ritual, we need to talk. Now."  Tobias vanished and Obsidian could sense him back in the living room.  Very reluctantly, she followed.  Even though the way he'd ambushed her and was keeping tabs on them was mildly creepy, her intuition was pushing her to hear him out.  And her intuition was never wrong.  Her mother had been a celebrity psychic, after all.

Once she was in front of him in the living room, Tobias, faceless no more, removed his mask.  Only the moonlight from the panoramic windows overlooking the Las Vegas skyline lit his face.  It was rugged, but still evident he'd been a handsome man, and still was to a certain extent.  Without the mask (which was reminiscent of the classic Guy Fawkes design, but black) he had even more of a presence.  He was much older than she'd assumed.  Old enough to be her father.

"I don't know why I'm okay with this...invasion."

"That's pretty rich coming from the woman having a love affair with a man who thinks she's a ghost.  Aren't you intruding as well, Obsidian?"

She winced at the use of her full name.  He'd said it so many times.  No one used it anymore.  She'd officially changed it years ago, tired of the way it categorized her as some hippie chick, as soon as she'd turned eighteen.  It had deeply hurt her mother.  Even now, ten years after her death, she still felt guilty about it.

"I'm not intruding.  He called me here.  I don't even understand how he does, or even how he knew of me, but I felt him summon me and I was just...here.  We must've known each other in one of our past lives, but even though I try to recall a lot of them, when I search for him in my memories, there's this obvious blank spot."  Why was she telling him all of this?

"How do you know so much about us?"  She crossed her arms and took a step back.  Spilling her guts like that to him had made her feel defensive.

Tobias Vale replaced his mask, and the outline of his form shimmered for a moment- meaning it was solid, not an energy projection like their bodies.  How did he manage that?  She'd never been able to transport something solid astrally.

"I'll explain everything after we're safely at Valhalla."  He was next to her suddenly, grabbing her by the arm.  There was a rush of energy, like being pulled through a powerful vortex, then everything went black.