Chapter 64

I couldn’t believe my eyes, despite what was in front of me. Asher, or rather, an apparition of him, partially see-through and glowing.

“How is this possible?” I whispered, as if speaking too loudly would make him disappear. “Asher?”

“It’s not the real him,” Lilith said. “This is merely a projection we’ve created with his appearance.”

Lilith’s ability was rare indeed. I’d never heard of a wolf that could create an image like this. At once I was both grateful and apprehensive.

Not only was I in danger for being able to summon my wolf so soon, but now that she had such a special ability, I was even more at risk. Doctors would want to experiment on me either way, but now others might want to use me for this power.

I shook the thoughts away. I was safe here, for now. And even if the truth were to come out, Asher would never let anyone hurt me. At least, not intentionally.

“This is only the minimum of what we can achieve,” Lilith said in my mind. “With practice, we can learn to create apparitions of anyone, even those imagined. And then, we can speak through them.”

I was amazed. To have such a powerful ability inside of me? It felt like a mistake.

But I knew it wasn’t. If I concentrated, as sure as I felt Lilith’s presence, I too could sense the hum of this power beginning to grow.

“Teach me,” I said.

So Lilith did.

We spent the next hour perfecting the hazy image of Asher, bringing him into crisper focus. He was still translucent, and might always be. Despite Lilith’s best effort to train me, I couldn’t manage to shade his glow.

When I tried, I only made him shine brighter.

Lilith laughed softly in the edges of my thoughts. “You are incapable of hiding your true feelings for Asher, even in this.”

I wasn’t sure what she meant. Asher and I were just friends! Yet still, heated flooded into my cheeks.

“Maybe we should try to project someone else,” I said half-heartedly. Truthfully, the image of Asher was a reassuring comfort against the fear threatening to bubble within me.

“Asher is easiest because you think of him so much,” Lilith said.

My blush spread to my ears and down my neck. I felt hot all over.

“But we can try someone else, if you would like. Eventually we will need to, if we are to convince Brent to seek atonement.”

“Okay.” Like cutting a string with my thoughts, I released the apparition of Asher. The room immediately dimmed.

I thought of someone else I knew, to use for practice.

Nicole was my only friend. At least, I hoped we were still friends. I couldn’t think of that now.

Bringing her image to the forefront of my thoughts, I attempted to summon her image as I had Asher’s.

For a moment, she appeared, flickering and faint.

“Hold it,” Lilith instructed.

I tried, imagining Nicole’s dark makeup and cool fashion sense. Dark skull motifs. Fishnets. Black lipstick and heavy eyeliner.

She started to come together, as if she was slowly stepping out from a vat of steam. But before I could make out her distinct features, she vanished.

A headache brewed in my mind.

“It’s alright. It takes time.”

“We don’t have time,” I said. “I want to try again.”

“Rest, now,” Lilith said. “It will only be more difficult if you overexert yourself.”

Sensing the truth of her words, I sighed, releasing the tension from my body. “We’ll practice more tomorrow though, okay?”

“Of course.”

With Lilith’s reassurance, I fell into bed, exhausted.

Later the next day, after cheerleading practice, I joined Coach in his office to help him file paperwork, as I’d been doing for punishment since we returned from the competition trip.

It wasn’t much of a punishment, though. I didn’t mind filing, and after everything Coach had done to help keep my secret, I was happy to help him. And help he needed.

Some of these errant files were from several years ago, before Coach even had this job!

Coach was an agreeable person to work with. He was kindhearted and nice. He always asked me about my day and the baby. He shared few things about himself, but was eager to talk about the weather or the newest shows on stream.

We had developed a friendly rapport, so I felt brave enough to ask him, “Coach, has Nicole seemed off to you lately?”

He lowered the papers he was looking at down to the desk and regarded me instead. “Not that I’ve noticed. Did something happen?”

I told him about our encounter in the library. “She said there are rumors about me, but she wouldn’t tell me what they were. They seemed to almost… embarrass her. I don’t know.”

“Rumors about you?” Coach lifted his eyes like he was trying to remember something. “Nothing new. Elena likes to have her fun about you and Asher, but… I feel like you know about that.”

I did. “These rumors might also be about Asher, but I‘m not sure. Nicole didn’t mention him. I wish I knew what it was, so I could fix it if I did something.”

“It might not be about something you actually did,” Coach said. “Sometimes these girls let their imaginations get away from them. I think they live for drama.”

They definitely did. A bit of excitement was always welcomed, at least when it wasn’t at their own expense.

“I can try speaking to her?” Coach offered.

Trepidation flared through me. That was the worst thing he could do!

If poor Nicole wouldn’t share the rumors with me, it seemed distinctly impossible that she would want to talk to Coach about it. Especially if she hadn’t approached him on her own.

“I appreciate it, Coach, but I think it’s better to let it go for now,” I said.

He nodded. “Well, I’ll keep my ears open anyway. If I hear so much as a peep of what it could be, I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks, Coach.”

We continued working, changing the topic of our discussion to something much safer – plans for the next cheer competition.

It wasn’t for a good long while yet. So far in the future, in fact, that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to participate. But it was nice to hear Coach ramble about something so passionately.

He truly loved what he did.

“Dance is an art form,” he’d told me once, when I had first joined the team. “And through cheering, you can share that art with the world.”

He was an inspiration, and I was so grateful he was in my life.

When the time came for me to leave, Asher appeared in the doorway, surprising me.

Coach just smiled at us both. “You have fun now,” he said, ushering me from the room.

I grabbed my purse on the way, and walked with Asher further into the gymnasium.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him. I tried to avoid thinking about the adoring apparition of him I had created the night before, but a blush still found its way to my cheeks.

Asher watched me curiously, but didn’t comment on my sudden, inexplicable embarrassment. Or the way I kept glancing at his mouth.

Our night following Brent was another thing I tried not to think about. Though that one was much more difficult to suppress, especially with the real warm-blooded man I’d been necking right in front of me.

He watched me stew in my embarrassment for a good long while, almost-smiling like he was enjoying the view. Then, finally, he spoke.

“Come with me. There’s somewhere I want to take you.”