“I don’t understand.” Cara said, her gray eyes searching mine. “What happened?” She asked.

“Well, you died and– ” I started, but Shawn pulled me away and grabbed her hand to comfort her.

“I brought you back to life.” He said hurriedly. His audacity, even though I should have expected it, caught me off guard.

“I died?” She asked, looking up questioningly between the two of us.

“Yes, but don’t worry. Now you’re alive and completely healed. I can show you.” Shawn explained. He pulled her to her feet and her eyes widened. He led her around my apartment, and she marveled at her ability to walk without any trouble.

Unfortunately, during my and Jascia’s mind battle, Cara’s role in our adventure was played by her subconscious. She’d most likely never realize that I was the one who did the heavy lifting. I was still concerned about her soul since Jascia was still in there. I didn’t exorcise, banish, or kill the demon; I just knocked her out. I couldn’t be sure how long that’d last. I turned to Al.

“Hey, could I talk to you for a moment?” I asked, pulling her into the kitchen while Cara stood asking Shawn questions in the living room. Leah joined us a moment later; Dale stayed in the living room to babysit Shawn.

“What’s going on?” Leah asked.

“Well, I’m not really sure.” I explained. “I didn’t actually get rid of Jascia, she’s still in there.”

“Jascia’s the demon?” Leah asked. Al looked over her shoulder to Cara and her confused expression.

“Yeah.” I responded. “Before I get into it, I guess I have to explain my abilities a bit more.”

“What do you mean?” Al asked. “We already know about your power and how it works.”

“Well, not exactly.” I said. “So yes – I can use other people’s energy, and that allows me to use elemental magic. However, I have another ability that I discovered toward the end of my time with you.”

“Oh?” Al asked, with a mix of excitement and trepidation. “What is it?”

“I can enter people’s souls.” I started, to which I got confused expressions, so I continued. “Their soul is an extension of their mind. When I enter it, their life is laid bare for me to see. Their subconscious creates a space, and I can interact with it. I might see the world from their perspective, relive traumatic events, watch their life unfold, or watch them take back a decision they regret; it could be anything really.” I explained. Al’s expression hardened. “If I want to take their energy without their express permission, I can insert myself in their story and get their subconscious to grant it instead.”

“That’s crazy.” Leah said. “So, you can pry into someone’s life and steal their soul?”

“No, no, no. It’s not like that.” I replied. “I don’t steal their soul. I just get them to share their energy. See, when I’m in there, I have to inject myself as someone in their life and it has to be believable or I’ll get rejected. Sometimes, there isn’t even a way for me to do that and I have to construct a scene that fits within their psyche and hope they take over from there.”

“Interesting…” Leah pondered. “Does that mean you can read people’s minds or use mind control?” Leah asked with a mix of excitement and concern. Al growled at that possibility.

“Once again, no.” I said, somewhat exacerbated by the questions. “I can only see a part of their soul and take energy. I can’t control people, I can’t read minds, and I can’t steal their soul. I get in and out, and that’s it. People usually can’t even tell I’ve been there since I’m interacting with their subconscious.”

“Have you looked inside my soul?” Al asked. She had a stern expression right on the edge of flying into a berserker rage. I hesitated.

“Kind of.” I replied, bracing myself.

“And what did you see?” She asked struggling to contain her anger.

“Uhh…” I stalled. I didn’t want her to know that I saw the hardships she’d endured. I also didn’t want her to know about the shadowed man she ran toward. I assumed it was her dead husband. I asked her about the ring around neck once, and that was the day I discovered I can regrow teeth. Even so, I could see the pain in her eyes. “Don’t be mad… It was how I first learned about the ability. You saw me as a baby, so I basically couldn’t do anything. However, apparently, that was enough to take energy from you. I figured out how to use the power much later.” Al tensed and looked away; her anger dispelled.

She had a soft spot for children. Whenever we came across a mother and child, she’d stare at them with a pained expression. I never saw Al as the motherly type, but a couple times a year, she’d get drunk and open up about her husband. Apparently, more than anything, he wanted to be a father, but he never got the chance. A demon killed him while he was trying to save a child. It was when they were still young, and she tormented herself for failing to make his dream a reality. As far as I know, he’s the only man she’d ever loved, and she never dated anyone after he passed. I figured it was the cause of her hatred for monsters and why she didn’t talk much about them. She calmed herself and tightened her jaw.

“…and that’s what I felt earlier when you grabbed me.” She said, finally broaching the topic we’d been avoiding.

“Yeah. Sorry, it was a reflex from being tired.” I said shamefully. I shot a look over at Shawn and his attempt to woo Cara who was still amazed at her body’s functionality. “– and angry.” I added with heat.

“So? What did you see?” Al asked accusatorily. I turned back and looked directly into her eyes. Fun fact, when someone is forcing a lie, they’ll usually stare into your eyes to emphasize that they’re being truthful.

“Nothing. I didn’t get the chance before you hit me like a runaway train.” I replied. I clenched my jaw to sell it, but truthfully, I wasn’t angry. In fact, I deserved it. She had always been guarded about her history. Seeing the loneliness she endured throughout her life, and having experienced myself, I can understand her not wanting to talk about it. I’d invaded her privacy. She sighed.

“Alright. Are there any other secret abilities we should know about?” She asked.

“No, that’s it.” I answered. I paused for everyone to get on the same page. “So, now that you know that, lets get back to the issue at hand. Jascia still exists in Cara’s soul. She has a hypnotic influence on the subconscious, and she pulled me in. Back at the house, she tried to collar me like she did to the superhuman neighbors, but she didn’t expect me to be able to defend myself. I was almost able to pull Cara into the forefront before numb-nuts over there hit everyone with lightning and burned the house down.” Al and Leah nodded, following along.

“So yeah. Just now, Jascia tried again in an attempt to appeal to me. Obviously – that failed.” I smiled proudly and waggled my head side to side like a ditzy teenage girl. Leah rolled her eyes; Al clenched her jaw in annoyance. I coughed before continuing. “Anywho – I knocked Jascia out and now Cara’s in control. However, I have no idea how long that’ll last…” I gave Al a placating smile, I could hear her teeth grinding.

“You should have killed her instead of playing mind games; that would have solved all our problems.” She said.

“You can’t just kill someone!” Leah complained.

“Sure I can. I’m really good at it.” Al replied with a sinister smile. Leah a looked horrified. “Watch.”

“Al’s not going to kill her.” I assured.

“The hell I’m not.” Al announced.

“Language!” I responded. Then, as if it were planned, we slammed our foreheads together with our teeth clenched to wordlessly voice our frustration with one another. I’d forgotten Al was Al, and her headbutt sent me into the wall next to the kitchen table. I groaned.

“There’s a demon inside her. She needs to die.” Al stated loudly. It caught the distracted trio’s attention.

“Demon? Are you talking about me?!” Cara asked. Her concern caused her to take a step back. Shawn resolutely stepped in front of her.

“No one’s going to kill you.” Shawn said fervently.

“She’s a warlock without control over her demon.” Al growled. “She needs to die.” She repeated. I extricated myself from the wall, clutching my head.

“What’s a warlock?” Leah asked. Al looked annoyed.

“A warlock is a type of mage that captures a demon and uses its power.” She explained grudgingly.

“Wait, you can use magic by capturing a demon?” Leah asked excitedly. Al whirled on her.

“Only idiots would try something like that.” She growled. “They always die in the end, and its usually by suicide. It’s impossible to fight a battle of wills against a monster trying to take control, especially while taking power from it. I’ve met a few and they’re all mad. They twist their minds with trickery to keep the demons at bay. Between the madness and the constant strain, it eventually becomes too much.” Leah paled, no longer interested in trying to use that type of magic.

A mix of emotions played across Cara’s face. I could almost read her mind. She was most likely thinking that on one hand, she was alive and had full control of her body; on the other, we were telling her that there was a demon in her head that wanted to steal it away from her. Her expression steeled. She stepped around Shawn to face Al with determination on her face.

“Teach me how to control it.” She demanded. I had to give her credit, she grasped the situation quickly and very few would be gutsy enough to stand against Al’s rage and demand something of her. To my surprise, Al smirked then hardened once more.

“No.” She said.

“Why not?” Cara asked.

“You’re not strong enough.” Al replied. “There’s no way I’m letting that creature walk out of here alive.”

“Look. I don’t know who you are or what your deal is, but I’ve been fighting my whole life.” Cara shot back. “I fought knowing that there was nothing I could do and eventually I’d die. Now – you’re telling me that I died, came back to life, and I’m completely healed. There’s no way I’m letting some demon or monster take my second chance away from me.” I crooned at her use of my term. No one seemed to notice, except Dale, who gave me a look of disapproval.

Al eyed the teenager with a newfound respect. As I’m sure you’ve realized by now, that doesn’t come easy. She looked around the room and inspected everyone’s faces before turning back to Cara.

“I can’t.” Al said.

“Why not?” Cara asked again.

“I don’t know how.” Al replied flatly and unashamedly. I smacked my forehead and sighed. There was a long pause, then I stepped forward. The spotlight was on me. This was my moment; my chance to show up Al in an awe-inspiring display of power. I was going to save the day by rescuing the princess and the damsel in distress would fall madly in love with me. But she was young and naïve. Even though I was her dashing savior and became her cherished mentor, I wouldn’t take advantage of her trust. I’d stoically let her down gently, then I’d set her free like a captive wolf so that she may run off into the sunset.

“Don’t worry.” Shawn assured Cara. “I won’t rest until I find a way to help you.” I grit my teeth until my frustration passed then I coughed, bringing the attention back on me.

“I know how.” I said. “I’ll teach you.”

“No offense, Jess.” Shawn started. “But you’re not a very good teacher.” I looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath

“One, don’t call me that.” I listed. “Two, you’re just a bad student. Three – ” Before I could listing all of my amazing qualities, we heard a loud banging on my door then a man shouted.

“Open up. This is the police.”