Page 34 of Possessed By Shadows

“Yes,” she agreed. “Training will be good. Centering yourself. More focus inward.”

“I’m already a lot in my head,” I admitted. Probably not as much as Micah when he went on his ADHD tangents of fabrics and crafts to soothe his overworked brain.

“That is not a bad thing. Makes you self-aware. Easier to train. Think of it as creating a bubble, not of personal space as much as personal energy?”

That sounded like a good thing. “Will it keep the shadows away?”

“This will make you more aware of your surrounds, and better able to decipher where the spirits are that might touch you,” she offered.

That was a start, right? “I’m sold. Sign me up. Even if I only get a nap like this every time I come in.”

She smiled and reached out to pat my arm. “Time and practice, my friend.”

“That easy?” It was more than a little sarcasm.

“All good things…”

Yeah, I knew that phrase, and hadn’t expected magical instant healing, but could dream right? Sky rolled up her mat, put it away and crouched nearby. “Let’s work on your bracelet. Dion can help you charge it.”

That all sounded very odd and new age-y to me, but Sky pulled the kit out of my bag and began separating out the pieces. She handed the stone to me. “Hold it and pour the light into it.”

I took the stone and held it, feeling it cold in my grasp, but closed my eyes and tried to move light or whatever. Evidently, I dozed again. That easily falling into sleep even while sitting up, because it was a light kiss on my cheek that woke me. I blinked into Micah’s face, and he had sleep lines on his cheek. But he was so beautiful I couldn’t help but smile, which made him smile back.

He pressed his forehead to mine, and I breathed him in for a minute. “Did you have a good nap?” I asked him.

“I did. Did you?”

“Yes. If all else fails, this class is worth the nap.” I felt the stone in my grasp and opened my hand to look at it. Still just a rock, but it was pretty. “What do I do with this now that it’s charged?” I wasn’t sure it was charged, but hey, if napping with it didn’t help, maybe I’d try wearing it during sex and see if that gave it energy.

“Let’s create a band. You want a bracelet?”

“Sure,” I agreed. Sky and Dion were across the room chatting with others. “Do I need some of my hair?”

Micah nodded, and he carefully broke a few strands of his own, before taking a couple longer bits out of my braid, and tying them to the hemp, then wrapping them around the strand. I let him do all the work, as the fine crafting of jewelry had eluded me. Sky donated a few strands of her hair as well, promising it would add strength to the band. Once it was complete, Dion actually provided us with metal endings as clips, so it would not have to be tied to my wrist, but clipped. Since the band was almost an inch thick, I thought that was probably a good idea.

I put it on and admired Micah’s handiwork. “You’re so talented,” I told him.

He accepted my praise and stretched. “Let’s go home and get some food.”

My gaze met Dion’s. “Wow, thanks. This has been…”

She nodded, like she knew. “I’ll see you for another class soon.”

And she would, because wow. I got up, rolled up the mat, and let Micah drag me toward home. He kept his arm around my waist even as I felt sort of drunk with relaxation. “Do you feel this way?” I asked him as we headed down Royal. “Like you’ve just had a super nap?”

“A little,” Micah agreed. “It’s how I know the yoganidrahelps for sleep. Feels a lot like that, only deeper? A mental rest.”

Yeah, that was how I felt.

He dialed someone on his phone. Frowned as it seemed no one answered. Then hung up and dialed again.

“Who are you calling?” I asked as we reached our street. I couldn’t wait to get home. Maybe make a sandwich and relax with Micah for a movie or something.

“Lukas was supposed to check in an hour ago. But I didn’t get a text or a message. No missed calls.”

I dug my phone out of my messenger bag and opened it to see if I’d gotten anything. Nope. I dialed my dad. He answered on the second ring. “Have you heard from Lukas?” I asked.

“No,” he said.

Well, that couldn’t be good news.