9 Chapter 9

--Gabriel--

The crash course wasn't exactly the correct term for the way my father chewed my mind up and spat it out nearly every day for four days. I couldn't fight him, the first day had left me with a raging headache, bloody nose, and sore ego. He had assumed I would quit, but I went back to the hospital and took one look at Harper then walked straight back to his house. It took me almost two days to get used to letting my mind find another. It wasn't the most natural of feelings. The harder I seemed to try the farther away the skill seemed to get. My father paced the length of his study, and it was there, I'm sure it was. It had been easier when I was younger and didn't exactly know how to use it, I used it all the time to get my parents to understand me. But it was muscle so weak, and undeveloped it didn't want to work. My father looked at me and he wasn't angry, he was calculating how to get the power to present itself. I looked at him and he was putting on his coat. I got up outraged, we weren't done with the lesson. We were done when I said we were done.

"Come on, we need a change of scenery, grab your coat." I snagged it from the back of my chair and followed him out of the study, passing Miles as he was getting up. He had been suspended for the attack, but not expelled. That was the weight of my father for you, he wouldn't allow Vivian's child to be expelled which is probably part of the reason she stayed with him. Miles got the best of everything if they just dropped his name. He was the best guardian of his generation. He worked hard to get his reputation and it served him well. And at first, I wasn't interested in being a guardian, I wanted to be anything else but a guardian. But I came along when I saw him in action, then my entire life plan shifted. And the teachers were kind of excited to see his offspring. To see if I took after him, he was vicious on the battlefield, and I was too when I was younger. But slowly my thirst for fighting died and my need to protect those smaller, weaker than me became more pressing. It became more of an obligation and I didn't rush to a fight. Miles looked at me and then to my father. He was confused about why I was here so early in the morning. I followed him on the route to the hospital, and we walked straight into Harper's room, and I skirted around him to block his path to her. No, he wasn't going to sail on her. I refused to let that happen, he looked at me and shut the door. Throwing the lock across, I would protect her and he knew that. He was depending on that, I looked at my mom through the window and she looked between us worried. I turned my eyes back to him and he was removing his coat. I threw mine on the chair behind me and he looked to Harper.

"She is the quite stunning son. I'm proud of you." I frowned. I never wanted his approval, especially of Harper. But knowing that he was proud of me, made a weird kind of joy spread through me. I hated it. He moved forward and I stepped up to block his path. And he rose an eyebrow at me.

"I won't let you sail on her," He smiled slightly.

"I know you won't." His eyes shifted from me to her, and I felt his mind shift into Sailing and I threw my mind into him, he needed to focus on me. Not her, his mind was like a steel trap waiting for me. Catching me and still advancing on Harper. No, no, no. Not him. He wasn't allowed in her mind. No. It was like an explosion inside my body, warmth flood my muscles like it did before a fight and my vision became so clear, I could see the lines to his mind, and I could move them. Manipulate the memories, make him focus on me, make him remember my first birthday, when I was running around. I dove deeper, tearing him away from Harper. He was never supposed to touch her, everything he touched fell apart. He stumbled back and his eyes glazed over and he couldn't catch a hold of me. He couldn't make me stop this power surged through me, with the need to protect her. I pulled back and I nearly collapsed on the end of her bed. But he caught my shoulders.

"I knew you had it in you, you're very strong Gabriel. You are my son." I looked at him and then to Harper.

"Don't tear into her mind like you do mine, it will not bring her back." He sat me down in the chair and I looked at him worried, I wouldn't be able to bring her back, but he didn't have a single doubt in his head.

"You're ready. We have to do this now, we are almost out of time, it might be a couple of tries, she is deep." I looked at him.

"I took a peek while you were still asleep, I needed to know if I should stop you from this endeavor if you couldn't reach her, but she withdrew from me, I believe she will run to you with open arms. She knows a lot, and there as somethings in her mind that shouldn't be there. Memories that aren't hers. Don't be angry at me for checking on her mental state, I know what it means for you to want to learn to Sail for her." He looked to her and I looked at him then to her. I took a deep breath and pulled my chair to the side of her bed, reclining back, and resting my hand on top of hers. More for me, to steady my nerves. Here we go, angel. I laid my head back and closed my eyes. I reached for her mind and it was surrounded by a wall. I was sure she was trying to defend herself from my father. I relaxed and soothed her nerves and it was like a switch, a single thought crossed her mind.

Gabe. And the wall fell down, her mind was like a glass lake. It was smooth clear but reflective. I looked down under the ice and saw her moving. I needed to get to her, I needed to break through the glass without breaking her mind. I watched as she walked along the hallway of what looked like some kind of castle, and disappear down a flight of steps. I searched the surface.

"Its glass on top, I can't get through. I don't want to break her mind--"

"It's the superficial layer, it needs to be broken before you can reach her, it won't hurt her. It's keeping her down, once you break it find her and you have to escape where you broke through before it heals. This is important Gabriel, she will trap you inside her mind if you don't get out in time." Breakthrough, right. Breakthrough. I refocused on her mind, and I heard her start to scream. And it was instinct to get through. I pushed at the surface testing it's strength, it was flexible. I pushed a little harder and it bent. Almost like pushing a needle through the surface of the skin. It flexed as much as it could before it allowed me to slide through, but when I slid through it caused a crack in the surface, it nearly shattered, it looked like safety glass in a car after an accident. Some pieces fell into nothing and left other places for us to escape. I landed in the center of the hallway, and her screams didn't stop. I rushed down the hall, but it seemed to take forever, and I slowed my own fear, my own worry. It wouldn't help the situation, the more stress I felt the longer the hallway would be. That is how dreams worked. This wasn't my mind, I walked down the hall taking in every detail of the stone structure. It was crumbling, but half-burnt paintings hung on the walls. Carpet that was probably at one time very plush and expensive, waterlogged, and rotten. Mice scurried away under doors and into walls. It was hard to actually put my finger on this place, but it did seem familiar in a certain kind of way. I reached the door she had gotten to, I pushed it open and started down the spiral stone steps. I moved down and some stones were missing, crumbling away, moss grew on the walls. Water dripped down splattering on my shoulder. I continued down into a basement of sorts, and her screaming got closer. I moved down the hall, the doors rattling, but I was focused on my objective. The glass was starting to heal, sounding almost like cracking ice. I saw the red door at the end of the hall, I wanted to run to her. But the more I rushed the longer it would take me to get to the door. Slow and steady wins the race. The door was in front of me, and I pushed on it. Inside the smell of death and decay hung like curtains, the mice here weren't as afraid as the ones upstairs, they hissed and clung to their pieces of meat, that I was almost certain was human. I heard the rattling of chains, and noticed her screaming had stopped she was huddled in a far corner, her hands over her ears and her eyes shut. She sobbed into her knees, and I walked over to her and knelt down in front of her. I looked up as a rare flash of light showed me something that rocked me back on my heels. It was me, strung across hooks. A memory of my own flashed to my mind. When she touched my wing in the bedroom. This was her night terror, she was afraid of me being hurt.

Harper. Don't be afraid. Her sobbing quieted and she released her ears. But didn't open her eyes. Her mind was in turmoil. Another creak came from above, as part of her mind healed the surface. I looked back down at her. Reaching out and brushing her hair from her face. Her head turned not wanting to lose the touch of comfort. I brushed away the traces of her tears.

Come with me, we will fix this. I took her hands and led her away from the room. Calmly slowly, like I had come. It was the quickest way to go. If she opened her eyes she would get upset and we didn't have time for a long run through a hallway.

Keep your eyes shut, don't look. I would never lead you astray. Trust me, I would never hurt you. She knew that it was a simple thought. I would never hurt her, she trusted me. It sent warmth to my heart, to know she trusted me. I kept one eye on the ceiling as it healed, only a few moments left. We exited the stairway, and I wrapped my arms around her tightly, pulling her upward with me. And it was like she was glued. I opened my wings and pushed down and she clung to me. Her body heavy, like lifting a stone, but slowly with a lot of effort, she came up toward the surface. I pushed and pushed, we didn't have time to try again tomorrow. For her, there wouldn't be a tomorrow, and I refused to leave her here.

Fly Harper, spread those beautiful white wings and fly. And she did, she thought of me, and she spread her white wings and helped me push off the ground. We rose towards the surface as it healed, and it was hard not to panic, to think we weren't going to make it, with both of us pushing against the ground we had plenty of time. I pulled her after me, and we snapped through the last crack before it shut. I came up out of my chair, trying to catch my breath, my entire body trembled from exhaustion, and a half-second later she began to move in the bed. I reached over and yanked on the nurse cord, and they came in a flurry. Before they could figure out what was wrong, she was gagging on the breathing tube, they removed it and checked her over. Assessing her body which never even saw any harm. My father was gone, and I felt a surge of disappointment that he wasn't here to see me succeed. He was never there to see the outcome. I moved out of the healer's way and she was put through almost every test they could come up with. After two hours of questions and medicine, she lay in her bed, propped up by pillows. She looked comfortable, she kept her eyes trained on me. I moved closer to the bed, unsure if she remembered my involvement. She held her hand out to me, and I took it, settling beside her in bed. She laid her head on my chest.

"Dream Sailor." She accused in a joking tone. I smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She remembered of course she remembered. I pulled her hair away from her shoulder running my fingertip along the exposed skin.

"It's not a skill I am proud of...but at this moment I'm glad I have." She didn't say anything for a while.

"Why didn't you tell me your father was a demon?"

--Harper--

My head felt like it was being squeezed by vice, but my entire body was relaxed. I wasn't angry he didn't tell me, although it was a bit of a shock to know he was a Dream sailor. That wasn't exactly a common skill. It was rare and powerful. Something that would make him a very good guardian one day. I laid on the hospital bed realizing eventually the healer would allow me to leave and we would have to return to school.

"Does it bother you?" I looked up at him, his green eyes confused, and a little hurt. I ran my hand along the line of his jaw.

"No, it doesn't bother me. I just didn't know, that's all." He kissed my forehead and it loosened my headache's grip on my mind.

"Your night terrors, are they what you were dreaming about?" I sighed knowing he was going to ask, and having him in my mind might have been a shock but I couldn't make him not remember what he saw. I know I could never forget it, I didn't exactly know how to explain it to him.

"Yes...I know it's not like someone is going to actually string you up on hooks, but you were taken, and then you were hurt...the worst thoughts crossed my mind when I couldn't find you." I looked at him reaching up and running my fingers through his hair. There wasn't any mark or scar from where he had hit his head.

"I think with all things considered I did a pretty good job." He shook head at me.

"Never again, I never want you to do that again. Do you understand me? I can't stand almost losing you. You've become my best friend." I nodded and rested my back down on his chest. I closed my eyes and let the sound of his heart put me to sleep. A dreamless restful sleep.