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on a vacation you never meant to take.”  She slowly shifted so their eyes
met.  “You’d be seeing lots of things, doing lots of things, but nothing would
be in your control.”
    “That really doesn’t sound so
great.”  He slowly stood and folded his arms across his chest.  “So why do I
feel like this, as though my body is all bruised inside?”  He stretched
slightly, trying not to let the pain he felt show on his face.  “It’s like I’ve
been in a wreck or something.”
    She made her way to him.  “In a
manner of speaking, you were.  At least two different spirits fought over you,
which means you were really lucky there’s not enough room in humans for
multiple souls, and three is usually enough to destroy the body.”
    Stepping up to him, she settled her
hand on his chest.  At first, he flinched, but she offered a smile.  “Easy—I’m
just trying to help, and your soul is safe with me.”
    “Yeah, I knew that,” he said, trying
not to tense up.  “It’s just after the attack, I’m a little unsettled.”
    She nodded, the only way to let him
know she understood what he felt.  “Close your eyes.”
    “Why?” 
    Her face was inches from his, and he
couldn’t break away from the blue of her eyes. 
    “Because when I help you get that
pain under control, there’s going to be another flash of bright light.  Because
the pain is caused by something supernatural, the healing is going to cause
that light to be blinding, and I think you really want to keep your sight.”
    Griffin reluctantly closed his eyes. 
“Knock yourself out.”
    “This might be a little warm.”
    A smile touched his lips.  “Then
you’d best get to it.”
    Even with his eyes closed, he saw the
brilliance behind his lids, and Celia had been right: had his eyes been open,
he probably would have been blinded.  Then he felt the warmth, mild at first
but quickly surging to a searing, nearly unbearable heat.  He winced and pulled
away, but Celia gripped his arm, holding him in place.
    “Almost done.  Have patience.”
    Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he
quickly found himself gasping for air.  “It’s hot,” he gasped.
    Suddenly the brilliance flared to a
harsher level before fading, leaving him in darkness.  He felt himself falling,
but Celia held onto him, maintaining his balance.
    “Focus on your breathing.  You’ll be
fine.”
    He reached out, grasping for her free
hand, and felt relieved when she took hold of him, keeping him close. 
    “Can I open my eyes?”
    “Of course.”
    He took a deep breath. The first
thing he saw was Celia standing before him.  Their gazes locked, and he inhaled
deeply, waiting for the pain to grab him, but it never came.  All he could feel
was his heart beat quicken as he stared at her beautiful face--timeless,
haunting, and glorious.
    “Celia,” he stared.  “I know you
don’t want to talk—”
    Immediately she put a finger to his
lips, silencing him.  “We can’t.  You know we can’t.  We’ve both seen how
things like this end up.”
    He gently moved her hand.  “It
doesn’t mean we will turn out like that.”
    “It doesn’t mean we won’t.”  She
quickly leaned toward him and pecked his cheek before withdrawing.  “Besides,
we’ve got more trouble than we bargained for if the dybbuks are
traveling in packs.”       
    “I don’t understand.”  He shoved his hands
into his pocket.
    “ Dybbuks are solitary
creatures, Griffin, and the fact that they’re giving up that solitude for
something…other…means one very dangerous thing.”  She pushed the hair from her
eyes and looked up at the ceiling, praying.  Her lips moved, but he couldn’t
tell what she said, which while in some ways he found troubling in others he
wondered whether he might be better off not knowing.  Still, he couldn’t
refrain from asking.
    “Which is?”
    “That someone or something is
summoning and controlling