Twenty-Two

Ihelped Janis paint the symbols all over Jordan's upper body. She knew how worried I was, and if this made his journey a little safer, I would be more than willing to do all I could. "Do you think this really will help?" he asked.

"It will give you a little more protection and it'll help Bran not be quite so stressed out because it will give us a direct connection to you," Janis said with a wink.

His eyes met mine and even though I forced a smile, I knew I wasn't fooling him. "Can we have a moment before we start?"

"Of course, just let me know when you're ready. Come on, Buddy," Janis said, as easy as though she were talking to any other dog and not a spirit brought by a friend.

Jordan and I stared at each other a moment before we both laughed. "Are you ready?" I asked.

"Yeah, as ready as I can be. Don't worry, Bran. I swear I won't do anything stupid."

Ignoring all the markings on his face I memorized every detail, and hoped he'd return soon. "Baby, just come back to me. I know you can't control it all but when you're there, remember how much I love you. My love will always be with you even when I'm not." We kissed then, and I poured every emotion he made me feel into that kiss and hoped he felt it all. Janis walked back out of her house just as we'd finished, like she knew the exact moment it would all be easier.

"Jordan, I know you've been practicing, so where do you want to wait while your spirit is on its quest?" Janis asked.

"Maybe over there?" He pointed at a lounger she had on the patio. He moved over to it and after making sure he was comfortable, he started to slip into the deep relaxation that it would take for him to allow his spirit to slip away from his body. I held his hand and watched his face as his breathing slowed down the same as it was when he'd been pulled out of his body at his parents' house. But this was different, this time it was his choice.

"Should I send Buddy?" I asked Janis without looking away from Jordan.

"He'll call him if he needs him. He's your familiar but he also is very connected to Jordan. It's a very emotional connection."

"They're together a lot. Jordan loves having Buddy next to him at work, and Buddy likes his warmth." I didn't need to explain it to her because she already knew, but it felt good to say it. "Janis, what do you think of Jordan being a seer?" I took my eyes off him just long enough to glance at her. She was lighting some incense and purifying the area even more than she already had.

"I think he's the perfect person. He's very sympathetic to everyone's feelings, but he's cautious. He's not blinded by his empathy. That alone will serve him well. You know as well as I do how the spirits like to use our emotions to get what they want."

"I was worried when he was with Edith that she'd somehow convince him to stay there." Putting my fear into words didn't make me feel one iota better, but I knew if anyone understood it would be Janis.

"She gave you no reason to trust her. If what she told Jordan is true, then it does explain her not being able to communicate. Did you look into her history?"

"Jordan did, he found where her partner had died, and she was left alone. She had no other family. You and I both know a seer with no one on this side to anchor them here isn't a good thing," I said, and stroked Jordan's hand. Buddy stood on the other side of him, and Jordan was his complete focus. Suddenly a faint glow shown on Jordan's waist.

"He's entering the other side. The tether we've created is there for him, and he's safe. If anything happens to him, we can bring him back here with it. Where's Justice?" Janis asked, and glanced around the area.

"He stayed at the morgue. I didn't want to chance that his spirit could be caught up in anything and either drawn into a space he couldn't escape, or worse." Justice may have been bonded to me, but he was also a friend, and I didn't want to risk anything happening to him.

"Jordan is strong. The fact he was able to find his way back without any help says a lot. Not many seers could have done that. The love you two share is very powerful." It wasn't said as a question, it was said very matter of fact, and I realized it was very strong and it gave us both the strength to overcome many things we couldn't have done alone.

"What if we're wrong and the wraith is waiting for him?" I'd thought about this possibility about a million times in the past few hours, but I hadn't wanted to say anything to worry Jordan more than I knew he already was. He was trying so hard to be brave and do what he knew he was made to do, and I didn't want him to worry about things that may not happen.

"Trust him. The other seer will be there, she won't let him face any of this alone," Janis said, and started to lay a circle of salt around the two of us. Once it was sealed, she placed a few crystals and other stones on his forehead and chest. Janis knew so many ways to protect us. Some were familiar but others were not. At this point I didn't care what it was as long as it kept him safe. "The marks we painted on him will connect him to you while he's there. If you try, your mark will enable you to hear each other's thoughts, and of course you'll have the tether which will enable you to pull him from the barrier back to this side."

"Are you sure?" I asked because so far, the mark on my back had done nothing.

"Oh, I'm quite sure. Your connection is very emotionally strong. You should have no trouble with a mental connection. Have you studied what your mark means?"

"Not really. I know you said it's Metatron's cube, and I did look online to find out a little bit of information on it." I regretted all the times I pushed aside learning more about my abilities, and the mark I'd been left with the last time we'd met the wraith and promised myself right then that I'd start learning more.

"After all, part of the meaning of your mark is it helps you form a bridge between this world and the other. Try it," she encouraged, and watched as I tried to embrace the part of myself I knew was there, but I refused to use.

I sat right next to Jordan and held his hand in mine as my eyes slid shut. I focused on him, and everything I'd want to say to him, but mostly I focused on how much I loved him.

"Bran? How can I hear you?" Jordan asked, but when I opened my eyes his were still closed. Janis smiled that knowing smile and continued wafting more sage around the area.

"Just in case something else is listening," she said.