Page 77 of Whispered Warnings: Part One

The next interaction I had with them was when I called them, so that doesn’t count. Then Winston showed up in the clearing after I died. I’m not quite sure what he did since I was entirely in the Darkness for everything until I woke up, but I’m goingto assume that he told Ransom to put the golden bubble thing up around us. The following interaction was when we were still in the woods, but it was with Wallace who showed up and stopped me from collapsing. He also gave Raiden some sort of information that helped me and prevented me from dying again so soon after I had already died from being stabbed in the heart when I saved Reed.

I still don’t know what that was, and it’s niggling at me. Especially since if I really concentrate, I can feel Raiden’s magic. It’s a nice feeling. I like it, and it makes me feel closer to him, which is kind of nice, but I want to know why it’s there and what it means. Maybe I will bring it up when we have our library date. The worst thing that he’s going to do is tell me no. I can handle that.

I have managed to distract myself again, I force my mind to go back to thinking about the spirit guides and when they show up, trying to find the link. Pushing through my bedroom door, finally, I grin. They show up when I’m very nearly dying or just after I have died. Which means that either someone dropped the ball when I got attacked by kelpies, or I wasn’t really at any risk of being killed again.

So, if they show up and I haven’t called them, then we can assume that the situation is really fucking bad.

Although they show up in those situations, they don’t really do anything except offer advice and guidance. I guess that’s the whole point of spirit guides, I mean it’s in the name, they guide. But my point is they only seem to help stop the second deaths from happening. Winston didn’t stop me from throwing myself between the knife and Reed, but Wallace spoke to me and supported me when I nearly died again in the parking lot and gave Raiden some advice that clearly saved me from dying again.

I frown, my tired brain beginning to hurt, although I think that I am finally starting to understand the way that the spirit guides might work.

“What are you thinking so hard about?” Winston asks, his voice making me jump. I glance up from the floor and see him lounging on my bed again.

I smile, “You guys, actually. I’m trying to figure out when and why you show up because you didn’t when I almost got eaten by kelpies.”

He tilts his head to the side and studies me, “We don’t interfere unless we really have to.” He levels me with a dry look, “We really have to with you, a lot.”

I wince, “Yeah, I’m sorry about that.” His eyes twinkle as he gives me a little raccoon smile and nods. I figure that’s all he’s going to say on the matter, so I decide to try my luck and ask, “Is this a social visit, or are you feeling up to answering some questions?”

Winston levels me with a look that says, ‘nice try’, and then becomes serious, “The path ahead is difficult.”

I shrug, and barely contain my eyeroll, “So everyone keeps implying, although no one is willing to tell me why.”

“That is because most of us are unsure why,” Winston replies. “All we know is that it is going to be difficult and incredibly dangerous. It’s going to stretch you to the edge of what you think you are capable of and then push you far beyond it.”

“Great,” I reply snarkily. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be snappy with you, it’s just I’m getting a little bit fed up with all the non-answers. No one can even tell me what the fuck I am!”

Sympathy flashes through Winston’s eyes and my shoulders slump. I know that he’s not about to fill me in on what I am and give me an answer that I so desperately want. The thing is, until I actually hear the words or have solid proof, I still don’t believe that it's real and that I am, in fact, a supernatural. I justkeep thinking that they have the wrong person. That all of these people think that I am someone that I’m not and that when they find out who I really am, they are all going to abandon me.

Whoa, okay, there was some proper deep truth in that thought, and like a grown adult, I’m going to pretend that I didn’t think that and instead file it away for my therapist, the one that I don’t have but should really probably invest in.

Winston sighs and gives me a look that makes me think that he may have just heard all of my inner ramblings. His look is so knowing that I can’t help but do a quick check of my mental shields to make sure that they are still up, and I only end up making myself feel confused when I realize that they are. The only things that are in my head are the voices buzzing away like they usually do.

“Neith, no one is telling you what kind of supernatural you are because we don’t know,” Winston says, finally giving me some truth and shocking the shit out of me at the same time.

“How can you not know what I am?” I ask, and then immediately follow it up with another question, “I thought you all knew my parents?”

“Technically, yes, the situation is extremely complicated, and I have already shared more than I should have with you,” Winston tells me.

I pinch my nose, trying to contain the sudden burst of anger that tries to make me say shit that I do not mean.

“Thank you for telling me. Once again, though, I am left with more questions than answers,” I reply.

“Your parents loved you,” Winston tells me.

It seems like a really odd thing to say, and I’m at a loss as to how to respond. Fortunately, the decision is taken out of my hands when Winston’s eyes land on something behind me.

Glancing over my shoulder, I ask, “What is it?” turning back toward him, I add, “Oh my fuckery is it a spider? I would rathergo back to the kelpies than fight off a spider right now. I have very definitely reached my limit for what the fuck I can handle today.”

Winston doesn’t even smile at my completely inane ramblings, which makes me worry even more that he is seeing something that I’m clearly not; all I can see is Betty and my sword. So, it did come back after it helped me with the kelpies, and it is once again spotlessly clean. That is so fucking cool. I really need a name for it. It has saved my life twice now, and it deserves a name.

“Where did you get that sword?” Winston asks me, ignoring absolutely everything that I have said and hopping off of the bed as he moves toward the sword.

I frown, “I thought I told you. Although you did just suddenly disappear, so maybe I didn’t. You know I told you about that realm that the imps sent me to do that weird test? Well, I got it there. That’s how I was able to kill the backward knee creature thing. I found it under a bush. It’s enchanted and a bit grumpy, so I wouldn’t recommend touching it. It zapped Reed, and I had to tell it to behave before he could touch it.”

Winston’s eyes are still on the sword, but he’s stopped about half a meter away from it and is just staring at it. I move so that I can see his expression. Before I can ask him why he looks so shocked, he speaks.

His voice is full of awe as he mutters, “No. No, it can’t be?”

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