The Second Time Around Ch. 06

"I take it that you two had a great time together?" she asked, raising a black eyebrow.

"If you must know, we did," Caid confessed as the grin started to make his face hurt. After agreeing to move in with him, he and Brigitte had enjoyed another tussle in the sack before having a third round in the shower. The only reason he had left her was to get his truck to head back and pick her and her stuff up. She told him to return within the hour which gave him plenty of time to talk Gina into breeching the subject with Dante and Mamma. So instead of waiting for her to question his every move that day, Caid decided to tell her everything and beg her for her help until she finally agreed.

"Aren't you a lucky bastard?" Gina said with a genuine smile. "I guess your luck gets better with my news." She turned over onto her back to give it equal sun exposure before sliding her shades down her nose to block her eyes from harmful UV rays.

"What kind of news would that be?"

"I spoke to Corey."

"What? You spoke to my brother? When?" Caid asked practically snatching up a lounge chair to drop his borrowed body into as he looked down at Gina in deep interest.

"Yes, I was meditating. I did some research online and studies show that meditation can help a medium communicate with the spiritual world. I'm learning how to focus my abilities."

"So? What did he say? Did he ask about me?" Caid questioned.

"I know why you're here."

"And?" he asked extremely frustrated that he had to drag answers out of her.

"I don't know if it will make sense if I explained it to you. Even I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it," Gina told him quietly.

"Just try," he gently encouraged.

Gina cleared her throat and relaxed her shoulders in preparation for her explanation. "Caid, you and Brigitte have been in existence since the dawn of time."

"What?" That was definitely not the explanation he was looking for.

"Will you shut it and let me explain?" she said cutting her grey eyes at him.

"I'm sorry, continue, oh wise one."

She smiled at his sarcasm, finding that he had a great sense of humor. Gina wasn't ashamed to admit that if the circumstances were different as in him not being fated to love another or trapped in the flesh of her brother, she would have tried her hand with him. "Your souls," she clarified. "Not the human body, but your souls have been together since damn near the beginning of existence." She held up her hand when it seemed that he was preparing to interrupt again then continued.

"If I understood everything that Corey has told me correctly, you and Brigitte were created for each other, much like soul mates in the secular world. You exist because the other breathes. You were made for each other and without the other, you die."

"What?" he asked again shaking his head in confusion.

"All right. Let me put this in terms that you will understand. Do you remember that super hero movie that Will Smith starred in?"

"I Am Legend?"

"What? No! Hancock, Caid, Hancock! Where did you live, under a rock? Don't you watch movies?" Caid shrugged impishly as he felt his cheeks blush. "I was too focused on my art to go out unless Brigitte dragged me out the house," he admitted.

"Fine, anyway, in the movie, Hancock has to live a life without his love because every time that they are together, the other is capable of dying; however, in your case, it's the complete opposite. Your soul, your being, ceases to function and exist when you are separated from Brigitte. Corey showed me the events of that awful day when you decided that it would be best to let her go because of your parents. The minute that you tried to leave, you broke the bond, or as others would call it, the red thread of fate which left you both susceptible to weakness."

"Are you saying that Brigitte and I are immortal beings that will exist forever if we never breakup?" Caid asked in an effort to understand her words.

"No, I never said that you were immortal...at least not your bodies, only your spirits. The both of you will age and you will die, but your souls will always reunite because they are destined to."

"Why? I don't understand."

Gina sat up to put back on her oversized t-shirt before she became sunburned. "From what Corey explained to me, you two are what are called Collaborators. The actual term that he used was too sophisticated for me to remember so I replaced it. Supposedly your...kind, for lack of a better word, was created with the angels when God made the earth, but opted to take on a more human life in order to keep a better eye on the earth's inhabitants. You stand as a gateway between heaven and hell and the natural and the supernatural. It's not only you two. There exist more of your kind scattered throughout the world," Gina said nodding her head.

"Let me get this straight, are you saying that I am a living, walking, talking, breathing, pissing passageway?"

"Cool it with the sarcasm and the skepticism, 'little bro,'" Gina said holding up her pointer finger. "Yes, you are. From what I understand, it's hard for a Collaborator to die or be killed because, as I've informed you before, your soul is immortal; but in the chances that the demise of said Collaborator is achieved, there would be a spiritual crack which would reflect upon the earth in the form of an earthquake or some other kind of natural disaster. This fissure would cause a full moon and during this period, every single demonic force or being or human being dabbling in the demonic arts would be able to breach our world and wreak havoc. Not to mention, whichever individual to cause said demise would become a demonic lord. If he is human, he will be able to rule in the underworld on earth, but if he is already demonic, he could demolish millions of souls within the blink of an eye. Your job as a Collaborator, is to intervene and try to save the soul before you have to snuff it out, if all else fails. So that is why you were sent to me, that and two reasons."

"What would those be?"

"The first, as I assumed in the very beginning is to help me come to terms with my abilities. I will, somehow, be beneficial in all of this. The day that your body as Caid took its last breath, it took away your ability to be a Collaborate hence the reason I will be acting in your stead."

"Why would my death result in such a rupture?"

"Because each body that you are reborn in holds a tie to the bond keeping you and Brigitte connected. Now that a part of the bond has been severed, she is left with less than half of her abilities which leaves her vulnerable, unable to recognize danger. And since you died before it was your time, you were sent back in another form to keep her safe."

"And the second?" Caid replied even though his head was begging for reprieve. He needed time to digest all of this information.

"I'm not supposed to reveal that to you. You have to figure it out yourself, at least that's what your brother told me so don't glare at me like that."

"What about Brigitte?"

"What about her? Aren't you going to pick her up? Let me handle Mamma and Dante as we previously agreed and once Mamma has understood, she'll get one of her lawyer friends to draft up an error proof divorce. Brigitte does want one, doesn't she?"

"Hell yes," Caid said without hesitation. "It's just that no matter how much she tries, Paul won't give her one."

"We will take care of that. Don't worry your pretty little head about that. Now skedaddle before you're late."