Touched Read Free

only did they share similar feelings, they knew just what the other felt and thought.
    “I was thinking about my father,” she said.
    “I know,” said Cooper.
    “It’s hard,” Keira said, as a tear fell from the edge of her eye.
    Cooper leaned over and brushed the tear away. “I’m sorry, Keira.”
     “I know you need to find your mother, too,” she said.
    “Will I?” he asked softly then.
    “You will,” said Keira, certain of it.
    He laughed, and then suddenly there was a loud noise in the sky. They looked and saw a group of long, dark birds, flying together across the lake. They were beautiful, strong, fearless in their journey through the sky. Keira looked at them in awe. This is a sign, she thought: they were accompanying them.
    But it was more than that and Keira knew it. Every pore of her body turned into listening. She became open to any thought and sound, didn’t want to miss the slightest whisper or sound. These birds were guiding them to their next stop.
    “We’re very close”, she said. “These birds will guide us right to the cottage.”
    The birds swirled together, looped around and flew in the direction of a cluster of pine trees. Then they disappeared from sight.
     “That way,” Keira pointed. “Through those pine trees. The understanding came to her in waves.
    Cooper turned the car to where she pointed, following her every word. She knew he trusted her now. But it wasn’t he r he was trusting. He was trusting the universe, who was using her as a messenger. A beloved messenger.
    *
    Cooper drove along a road that led to an opening in the woods, surrounded by pine trees and bramble. They parked got out and walked into the cluster of trees and saw what looked like an old broken down shack sitting in the middle of a field behind them. It was made of old bricks, filled with weeds and thistle. Behind that there were two narrow paths that intersected.
    Cooper stopped and stared. “This is not so different from the place I was raised in, where the Shadow Vampires live,” he murmured.
    Keira didn’t know they lived anywhere. “Lived?” she asked.
    “Root in,” he corrected himself. “I mean the place they gather in, return to. The place they raise the young Shadow Vampires in. Of course they’re spread across the world, but the main coven in this country is hidden behind pine trees and rocks. I used to love the smell of pine trees as a kid, growing up.”
    Keira was startled for a moment. She had a hard time picturing Cooper growing up among the Shadow Vampires. After her encounter with them, she wanted to get as far away from them as possible now. “Were they rooted on Lake Michigan?” she said.
    “No,” Cooper said. “Closer to Chicago. Near a lake there, too. And, of course they swarmed into the city, regularly. It wasn’t so far from Everstock.”
    “Not good to think about the Shadows now,” she said. Keira felt herself receiving a new power now, she was more and more able to sense directions. This new power amazed her, thrilled and excited her. The world was opening up before her like a huge flower blooming at dawn. When she remembered how confused and clouded the world used to seem, she wondered how she ever was able to live that way. “Let’s focus on where we are,” she said. “Look at this cottage. I think it’s it.”
    The tiny, wood thatched cottage sat in a clearing. A streak of sunlight led them to it. If you didn’t know it was there, it would be very easy to miss .The clearing was surrounded by thick trees and two large boulders stood in front of the door.
    Cooper hit one of the boulders with his fist. “Blocked!” he scowled, “wouldn’t you know it.”
    But Keira was delighted. She felt at home in this spot, tremendously close to Cooper here and protected from any harm. She was eager to get inside. Keira walked up to the boulders. She took them in, sensed their energy and in a flash realized that she was larger than they were, stronger than any