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Brent stepped forward, surrendering to save Brooke.
“Let her go,” Brent told him. “I’m the one you want. I’m the Trapper.”
Kace shoved Brooke to the floor. Reese rushed to her.
“No, Brent. No!” I reacted with abandon, throwing myself in front of Brent.
Pain surged through me, sparking every cell before I saw the electricity. A loud hum rang in my ears as waves of energy rolled through me. It wasn’t painful. It felt familiar – the same feeling I got when I would lay in bed at night after spending a day in the ocean, lying there completely still but feeling the waves carrying me deeper and deeper into the water. I could feel the shove as a wave crashed through me, and then pulled harshly as the next wave released the first back to the deep abyss. The waves grew more subtle. Now, I was falling, white surrounding me in streaks. Flailing my arms, I tried to find a surface to stop my fall, but there was only air. For a moment, I thought I was in the clouds, using wings to fly. I was content. It seemed like I should have hit the bottom already but my descent continued without a landing, peacefully. My direction changed and I felt like I was going up. Then I stopped, floating in my sea of white and I knew – Kace had won – I was dead.
“Claire,” Omni’s hypnotic voice surrounded me, easing my worry.
“Omni,” I called to him, but I couldn’t see anything beyond the thick white streaks around me.
“You have not completed your purpose, Claire. You must go back,” he said softly. I barely heard his words.
“I can’t do it. I failed. You have the wrong person. I was never the one to do this,” I cried.
“Believe, Claire. Use the power you reflect in others. You are the source,” he hummed.
My journey started again. This time I rose then fell. I saw Cecilia as energy and light before me.
“Bring him to me, Claire. Ben and I have missed him,” she pleaded. I noticed a man next to her that I assumed was Kace’s son. The light faded. I wanted to ask her how I was supposed to do that but she was gone.
No longer feeling like I was falling, I realized that my eyes had been closed the entire time and the cold floor was beneath me. I squeezed hard before opening my eyes. Everyone was huddled over me. Riley’s hands were on my chest. Brent was holding my hand, his eyes glossed over with tears. He let out a heavy sign when he saw my eyes gradually open.
“Oh, thank God, Claire.”
Brent may have been more right that he knew. I was fairly certain I had died. Given my second chance, I wanted to be worthy of who the spirit world wanted me to be. More importantly, I wanted to do this for Cecilia and Ben. Their faces etched in my mind pleading for the return of their loved one. Kace was monopolized by evil during a tragic time in his life. He was weak when he made his choice. It was my destiny to show him he was strong.
“You’re back, Claire. How’s Omni?” Kace sneered from behind me.
I stood and faced him more confident than ever before. “Not happy with you.”
Believing for the first time I had power beyond what I had begun to harness, I decided it was time to put it on full display. I finally reached the pinnacle of my ability to control the mind. I remembered Omni telling me that was the only way I would defeat Kace. He could not be killed or hurt – he had to be trapped – willingly. He had to be convinced and I had the gift to do it.
I willed my voice into the minds of each of my friends. When they replied, I looked at Kace to see if he was aware of our silent conversation. He seemed unfazed so I quickly filled them in on my plan.
Before we began, I spoke to Brent in his mind. I love you.
He replied in my mind. I love you too. Let’s end this.
“You know you won’t get that chance again, Claire. One redo a lifetime,” Kace interrupted the mental conversation I was having with Brent.
“Thankfully, I won’t need it, Kace,” I declared, nodding at Reese who nodded back before duplicating my presence over and over again in the room. Kace spun confused, trying to figure out which one was the real me. I mentally told Brooke to focus on me. I felt a jolt of energy within as she enhanced my powers. I had an anthem of my own that Kace was going to hear. I hoped this would work. If Kace was immune to my song, my plan would fail.
“Kace,” I called, singing. He looked at me in a very endearing way, like I possessed him. It was definitely working. He was not exempt to my tune with Brooke defining the pitch so perfectly.
“Do you want me to tell you who else I saw while I was away?” I sang the question, letting each word roll smoothly from my tongue.
I prepared myself for a blow from him or some other aggressive act but he was completely entranced, lost in my voice.
“Yes, Claire,” he answered softly, mesmerized by my words.
“I saw Cecilia and Ben. They are beautiful, Kace. They miss you much. They want you back,” I continued singing.
Kace stepped away from me. For a second I thought my record stopped. It was just a skip. “I don’t believe you,” he said, eyeing me guardedly.
I went to him and placed my hand over his heart, the hum beneath his skin surprising me. Choosing my words carefully, I spoke to him like he was broken, which I guess in a way he was. “I’m telling you the truth, Kace. Would you like me to show you?”
