Dark Spirits by Rebekkah Ford Page A

most of a lifetime. A person could be mindful of it, like I was doing right now, but when a certain event occurred, prying up those undesirable feelings, one could not deny its existence. So my issues of abandonment were still there, covertly loitering beneath the layers of everyday, household feelings.
    As my mind skillfully rifled through those thoughts, I became keenly aware of how sharp and focused they were, unlike when I was mortal when they were sluggish. I then came to the quick realization if I were to enable my issues with abandonment, it would nourish it and diminish my self-worth. Sure, it seemed like Nathan had abandoned me in his conquest to avenge me, but now that I thought about it, he hadn’t. He was just doing what he felt was right, although, I still thought it was wrong for him to exclude me in his venture. However, my self-worth wasn’t dependent on his actions, and as that thought kept rolling in my head, a strength rose inside me. I could feel the sadness lifting and my confidence growing.
    “Hey,” Brayden hushed, encircling his arms around me. My hair curtained my face, so he mistakenly thought I needed comfort when really I didn’t, but I hugged him anyway. “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do. I’m not going anywhere.”
    “Thanks. I appreciate it,” I said.
    He pulled back but kept his arms around me. “Are you okay?” And then, before I could respond, he quickly answered his own question. “No need to respond. It’s plain on your face that you’re fine.”
    I took his hand and pulled him back to the couch. I wanted to know what he learned since he became immortal, but I decided to tell him about my experiences first. I told him everything, except for the power of the ring being inside me now. I told him about seeing my dad when I had played my tin whistle and then seeing both my parents when I’d almost died. I told him about my grandma’s spirit visiting me and hearing Mom’s voice just yesterday. I talked to him about Anwar and what he had taught me. And then, Brayden shared with me everything that had happened to him, and what type of training he’d received. Before I knew it, we burned through a couple of hours.
    “So Cassondra took me to a hot spot where the dark spirits hangout and had me cast one out,” Brayden said.
    “Are you serious?” It astonished me she allowed him to do that, and I could hear the amazement in my voice. “What was it like for you?” I wished Anwar had trained me like that, and I began to think Cassondra was a better mentor than Anwar.
    “It was awe--”
    My cell vibrated, cutting Brayden off. I fished it out of my pocket. It was Nathan. I texted him back, then shoved the cell in my pocket. “Nathan is on his way home. I better get back to the house.” I rose to my feet. “But we need to continue this conversation later.”
    “Of course,” Brayden said, putting out the flame in the gas lantern, “just let me know when we can meet again. In the meantime, I’ll see what we can do.”
    “Okay. Text me if you discover anything, and I’ll do the same.” I went outside and leaped over the railing, landing soundlessly on my feet.
    Brayden followed suit and stood beside me with a grin. “I love that we can do this stuff. It’s like being a superhero.”
    I laughed. “You sound like Tree.”
    He laughed with me. “It’s true though, except we can’t fly or have x-ray vision, which would rock.”
    “Tree once told me he and Carrie wanted to be my sidekicks, and I called him a dork. I told him this wasn’t make-believe like when we were kids. I also let him know there was no way I’d let him and Carrie get involved in any of this.”
    “Do you mind if I walk you to your back porch?”
    “No, that’s fine.” I shook my head, thinking Nathan shouldn’t be home by then and appreciated Brayden asking me.
    “I agree with you,” he said, as we headed toward my house. “Tree and Carrie shouldn’t be involved in this. They’re