Page 43 of Calling Quarters

“Probably. If I wanted to.”

An idea rolled around in my head then. I considered whether or not I should even voice it to him. I still hadn’t revealed much to Remy about myself or what I’d found while researching my family. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him, per se. I just didn’t know what he would do if he knew I was a Counter. Eventually, I just threw it out there. “And you can ask them how they really died?”

He shook his head, his face holding that serious mask it always had as he thought of how to explain it to me. “It's not really like that. Souls that have passed into the spirit world don't dwell on their time here in the physical world. To them, we’re just the meat suits that they use to evolve into the next level of vibrations.”

Meat suits. That was a disturbing thought.

“Oh,” I said dejectedly. “So, they aren’t really around me like everyone always says?” I felt like a child being told Santa Clause isn't real. Of course, they didn’t watch over me.

“No, it's not like that. They know what they signed up for when they came into our world—even their untimely deaths. Each lifetime that a soul chooses to take on is meant to teach them a valuable lesson and help them grow.”

When that didn’t appear to make me feel any better, he went on.

“For example, if a soul needs to work on their ability to forgive, then they'll spend a physical lifetime being wronged over and over. But when they get back into the spirit world, they let go of all that negativity because they know it served a purpose and brought them closer to the gods. The spirit world is filled with love and light. They know that your journey is different from theirs and they still miss you. They just know you'll return soon enough.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I don't know. I've spent a lot of time there.”

I’d originally taken offense to the term he used to describe us—meat suits. But now, I could see what he meant. Some of the people in Beacon Grove truly lived up to the disgusting concept of being a meat suit. Those were the ones that didn’t appreciate the amazing souls they were sharing their existence with.

The sheep.

“Thank you.” Blaire’s voice pulled me from the memory, thick with emotion. “I know you don’t really like it here, but I’m so grateful you stumbled into our little town.”

My arms pulled her into a hug, squeezing tight so she knew exactly how much her words meant to me. I never imagined that on the path to finding out more about my family, I’d find a true friend.

Chapter 25

Storie

Beacon Grove was having yet another town meeting. I was under the impression when I first arrived that these meetings were only held once a month, but it appeared the townspeople couldn't seem to get enough of each other. That, and everyone wanted to get their opinions voiced about the incidents that occurred over the past few weeks.

As a business owner, Tabitha was obligated to attend. She griped and grumbled the whole way there, making no effort to keep down her insults about the people she shared a home with in Beacon Grove.

Blaire had been more than willing to attend, and I had nothing better to do since I'd hit a dead end on finding any more information about my family. Besides, any opportunity to learn more about Rayner and his agenda with the Movement was more than enough of an excuse for me.

“Young women don't just disappear without a trace. Someone is hunting them, and I think we all know who.”

A few people rolled their eyes at Rayner's dramatics, while others looked terrified at his words.

“Rayner,” the mayor warned in an exasperated sigh.

His forehead now rested on one chubby hand, the other holding the gavel that had proven to be useless in silencing the crowd. It took all of ten minutes for him to lose control of the meeting.

Officer Kyle stood to his right with his hand firmly planted on his gun. I assumed he was there to discourage the crowd from getting too aggressive, but they ignored him just as easily as they had the mayor.

“Mayor Douglas, don't you think the families of these young women deserve to have every possibility explored?”

“Of course, I do. That doesn't mean we can accuse those boys of a crime when there's no evidence pointing to them.”

“Come on, Mayor. Mabon proved that their powers are weakening, and their families are searching for the Counters responsible.”

The room boomed with conflicting thoughts, half agreeing with Rayner and the other half defending the Quarters.

“We should find the Counters ourselves and eliminate the problem at the source,” I heard one man grumble. His words gave me pause and stopped my heart from skipping a beat, especially when the few around him mumbled their agreements.

I knew the Quarters were a danger to Counters—trained in eliminating the threat that they believed Counters were to them. But I hadn't considered the possibility of their followers being willing to do the work for them.

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