The Second Time Around Ch. 08

"What's happening with the papers?" Adriano asked his mother. A month had passed with no news and sometimes no news was not good news.

"Brigitte was right. He keeps sending them back. So I had a friend of mine subpoena him to court for the divorce. He can't not answer to one of those, right?"

"Mamma, you're an angel."

She smiled at her little pride and joy, pinching his cheek before heading out the door. The woman had more of a social life than all three of her children put together.

"Any word from Corey?" he asked upon Gina's arrival.

"No, but I've come to the realization that I don't need him. I'm just as capable of figuring this out on my own as much as I can with his help."

"Brigitte has been worrying her head off because of all of this divorce nonsense."

"I know. It looks like she's lost a lot of weight from the stress. The other day I took her to this great Italian restaurant and she barely touched her plate. She was too busy staring off into space to eat."

"I'm just as worried about her as you are."

"Speaking of Brigitte, she's taking an awfully long time in the shower..."Gina said as she retraced her steps towards the stairs. They were supposed to be going shopping just to spend some time as girls and getting to know each other. It was something that they had agreed upon after her arrival.

Recently, however, she had begun to feel an increase of spiritual pressure within the neighborhood. It wasn't odd for a certain location to be filled with supernatural activity, but to have said activity manifest in as little over a week...that had to be a bad sign. She trudged up the stairs with Caid on her heels, reaching for the door knob to his room.

Grabbing her shoulder, Caid hindered Gina's entrance. "Hold on. Something doesn't feel right." He pushed the door open as a cold tingle sliced up his spine, noticing the dense amount of smoke leaking from underneath the doorway of the bathroom. "Stay here." Three long strides took him to the bathroom door, his hand touched the searing metal yet he didn't pull away from the burn, instead he mustered enough energy to push against whatever blockade was preventing him from entering.

"Brigitte?"

Caid turned to Gina with a frown on his face, "Didn't I tell you to stay put in the hall?"

"I'm stubborn?" she provided with a simple shrug, pressing on the door to open it further. A blast of coal smelling smoke emanated from the bathroom and flooded its way into the bedroom, clearing out the space to leave a statue still Brigitte regarding her reflection in the mirror. She seemed entranced by herself, unable to break her eyes away from her own image as she leaned closer to the glass with a curious hand caressing her cheek.

"Brigitte?" Gina called watching as her voice went unheard.

"Brigitte!" Caid said with firmness in his tone. Her eyes lifted to gaze at him, but they weren't her normal brown hue. Reddish gold irises and dilated, cat like pupils stared back at him innocently before her lovely face contorted in anger and a quick fist smashed into the mirror, shattering the reflection of her image to pieces. She turned angrily in their direction, hair lifting on end as a sudden dim yet yellow aura radiated about her body, and extended a brown arm that sent a blast of energy strong enough to drop Caid to his knees and send Gina slamming into the wall. What the hell was happening?

He made to stand to his feet yet felt his body being slammed against the hard tile of his bathroom floor then gritted his teeth strong enough to break his jaw as he forced his suppressed limps to move, pushing with all of his might until he was standing and proceeding against the horrendous pressure seeping out of Brigitte and crashing against him.

"Get out!" she said. Her voice sounded like a mixture of darkness, death, and evil. This wasn't his Brigitte. It was as if someone was controlling her body. A woman who rarely ever lost her cool was now staring at him with anger in her eyes ready to kill him. What could make her possibly react in such a manner? And then he saw it, the bracelet around her wrist eerily projecting forth negative power, feeding her with hatred.

Caid struggled until he was standing directly in her path, fought with his arms to lift against the pressure and grabbed a hold of her wrist to snatch the bracelet away, but the damn thing felt like a part of her skin making Brigitte cry out in pain as he ripped it away from her body. Then, as suddenly as it had started, it ended. The energy. The smoke. The evil. It all disappeared as she collapsed into a heap at his feet.

"Are you okay?" Gina asked gingerly rubbing her back. She had felt as if she was meant to go through the wall instead of being plastered against it.

"Yeah. You?"

"I'm not going to lie I think I might have pissed my pants. I've never experienced anything like this before," she admitted looking down at the still glowing bracelet that was steadily dimming. "Mind if I take a look at that thing?"

"Be my guest. I just don't want it anywhere near Brigitte again." Caid bent against the stiffness in his limbs to lift Brigitte's crumpled frame into his arms. She whimpered in agony, sweat covering her brow as he laid her against his cool bedding.

"Caid, how did you know that it was the bracelet?" Gina asked still in the bathroom staring down at it in consternation.

"I can't explain. I felt the evil it was emitting and when I looked at it, it started to glow," he said walking past her to wet a washcloth with cool water. He placed it on Brigitte's head hoping to calm her shivering except became befuddled when it increased instead.

"We need to get her out of this room. Bring her downstairs and rest her on the couch. I don't want either of you sleeping in here again until I can figure out just what in the hell happened."

Caid didn't have to be told twice. He scooped Brigitte up and did as Gina instructed him to, releasing a sigh of relief when she began to calm down now that she was downstairs. "What now?" he asked looking at Gina for further instruction.

"I'm going back inside of the room. Don't allow anyone to disturb me and definitely do not come looking for me. I'll come out when I'm ready. In the meantime keep an eye on Brigitte. She'll need some fluids and ibuprofen when she wakes up. Something tells me that she'll be in a world of pain."

"Why?"

"Wouldn't you be as well if you used powers that you yet to know that you possessed and haven't had the chance to hone?" she asked and saw him nod his head in understanding. "I'll be back...eventually."

He nodded his head again then sat down beside Brigitte after grabbing a bottle full of ibuprofen and a large glass of water. He waited for her to open her eyes becoming worried when an hour passed yet Brigitte remained asleep. He gently caressed her brow then clasped her hand to plant a soft kiss to the back of it.

His breathing stopped and just like in the movies when someone is high on drugs, his body felt jumpy, his blood ran hot, vague background noises faded and his pupils dilated. His eyes fixated upon the air as if he could make out every single molecule and with a start he was gulping in air as he became overly aware of his surroundings. He could suddenly see through walls, see rays of light zooming by, and there directly before his eyes was Gina sitting inside of his room Indian style with her eyes closed. She looked so serene, but he could feel the tension radiating from her body.

It's funny how when one experiences supernatural activity that it's similar to an out of body experience. Caid could feel his head turning back in Brigitte's direction yet at that same time it was as if he was already out of his body looking down at the both of them until his mind's eyes was seeing into her mind. She was dreaming, but it wasn't the peaceful kind. She was actually fighting, running through mirrors and open doorways that slammed shut quickly behind her rapidly advancing footsteps except she wasn't the only one running. Echoes of claws rasping against tile tingled his eardrums and a wave of hot air zoomed by his body as something or things scuttled past him on her trail.

His feet lifted to move and in the blink of an eye he was by her side, grabbing her hand and squeezing it tightly as he led her in the right direction. He couldn't necessarily explain how he knew in which direction to go, but Caid could have sworn that a small voice was guiding them through the labyrinth of doors and mirrors until they were smashing through glass and falling into an abyss. Shards sliced at his arms as he wrapped them tightly about Brigitte to protect her from the fall then he became surprised when they landed into cool waters. He hoisted her against him, swimming against the waves as his lungs burned for oxygen; nonetheless, he pressed on not allowing himself to stop until they were gasping for air on what appeared to be a river bank.

Although he now knew for sure that he had infiltrated her dream, Caid could still hear Brigitte's whimpers of distress as if he was only sitting by her side in the living room. His body jumped as he felt the unknown presence drawing near, he quickly assessed their surroundings then pulled her towards the sand somewhat dragging her behind because she protested, mouthing that there was nowhere else to go. He didn't listen, pulling until their feet were at the edge of a cliff leaving them staring into another deep abyss and this time, without thinking, Caid looked deeply into Brigitte's eyes to calm her riled emotions before taking her into his arms and free falling over the edge just as the invisible force reached to consume them.

It was dark just like the day that he died, but this time instead of floating in open air, his body slammed into what he could only surmise was a brick wall as he jumped "awake" to look down at a heavily breathing Brigitte whose eyes were staring back at him in alarm. Her lips trembled and he reached for her, holding her tightly as he rained kisses on her sweat covered forehead and reassured her that everything would be all right. They were back inside of his living room under the protection of his roof.

"Was it a dream?" she finally asked after calming herself.

"I don't know, but if it makes you feel any better I had the same one," he said with a smile then grabbed his side to wince in pain.

"What is it?" Brigitte asked concerned.

"My ribs are on fire." She lifted his shirt and gasped as she stared back at one of the biggest bruises she had ever seen in her life. "What happened?"

Caid examined his torso then shrugged as if he was used to having an orange and red contusion the side of a head on his side. "I landed on my ribs."

"We need to get you some ice," Brigitte told him jumping to her feet only to fall back to the seat as she too winced. Her entire body was raging against her efforts to move.

"Yeah, about that," Caid said as he picked up the bottle of ibuprofen and the water. "You'll be needing these."

"What happened to me?" she asked confused.

"You wouldn't believe me if I tried to explain," he replied.

"Adriano..."

"You're fine and that's all that matters. You need to get some more rest."

Brigitte looked ready to protest, but she bit her tongue and nodded her head as she lay back down on the sofa. "My head is pounding and it feels as if I've been spinning inside of a kaleidoscope. Not to mention every single muscle of my body is tight. I don't understand what's going on."

Adriano lifted his dark blue eyes to look at her as he too tried to piece together what had transpired that morning. "When you woke up, how did you feel?"

"Great...considering the way I came to..." Brigitte mumbled bashfully as her cheeks burned. Despite her unease, her body was responding to how Adriano's deft fingers had stirred her kitty to excitement until she was having wet dreams. That was a great wake up call. She lifted her brown eyes to catch a red tinge on his handsome face and smiled.

"I meant...afterwards."

She couldn't help chuckling. This was the first time that she had seen him so timid. "It's so strange, Adriano. I remember you leaving the shower before me and I remember getting dressed, but then I went to brush my teeth and...I don't know anymore. I woke up on the couch with you right beside me. Speaking of that, what am I doing downstairs? And why does my head hurt so much."

"Here, take these and relax," Adriano replied as he extended a well toned arm.

Brigitte reached for the ibuprofen and water then gasped when she saw blood trickling down his sleeve. "Oh my goodness. You're hurt! What happened to you?"

The sting from his wounds didn't become apparent until after she had pointed it out. He winced, reaching an aching arm up to touch the deep cut wounds along his arm. It was pulsating against his fingers as blood slowly oozed from the incision, making Adriano's stomach churn. "What in the hell? How did this happen?" Then he remembered Brigitte's dream when they plunged through the mirror and his body took the brunt of the impact to protect her. That would definitely explain the large bruise on his flank.

"What's going on?" Brigitte asked fearfully.

"I don't know, mio cuore." He heard the words echo from his lips yet somehow, Adrian...no, Caid, already knew the answer. Spiritual warfare. Someone was targeting them, but who?

"Why don't you take a nap," he suggested smiling when Brigitte's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"And have another one of those dreams? I think not. I need to drink some coffee."

"You hate coffee," he reminded her and watched her frown in consternation.

"Look, Adriano, I'm still a bit freaked out about that nightmare that I just had and the fact that you automatically knew about it."

"Knew about it? Brigitte, I was there."

She huffed her disbelief and shook her head. "That's not possible. Have you ever heard of someone infiltrating someone else's dream before? I haven't. Adriano, I know that you're trying to comfort me, but you don't have to treat me like a baby. Everyone has nightmares," she told him.

"Brigitte, you saw me in your dream didn't you?" he asked seriously waiting for a response. She nodded her head slowly even though it was clear that she wasn't ready to accept the idea. "And you know that we jumped off of that cliff, didn't you?"

"Yes, but, if that were the case...your wounds...would they also have been from my dream? How do you explain that you all of a sudden have bruises and lesions that you can't account for? We must be going through some kind of haunting or poltergeist because shit like this doesn't just happen every day....excuse my language," she added afterwards.

Shit. He hadn't thought about that. She was right. And he could tell from looking at her that she was in slight shock from it all. It was best to pretend as if he was only pulling her leg until he understood what was going on himself. Adriano gave Brigitte a big grin, "I thought that I had you, but you're one damn smart chick...shame."

"You asshole," Brigitte quipped back with a playful smile before it disappeared when she glanced at her lover's body once more. "Seriously, Adriano, how did you get those?"

"Oh, Dante and I were rough housing a bit this morning and things got messy."

"I hope it wasn't with blades or anything."

"Nah, just broken...glass....and...beer bottles..." he lied horribly, one thing that he was never and would never be good at. "Yeah, it was fun," he said nodding his head adamantly while Brigitte looked at him as if he had lost his marbles.

"Ok," she replied uncertainly. "Do you guys do this often?"

"Mamma always tells them that they're going to kill each other, but do they listen?" Gina interrupted descending the stairs slowly. She caught the immense look of appreciation Caid was sending her and almost bursted into laughter. "Adriano, why don't you let me take a look at those wounds?"

"I'll be right there," he said jumping to his tired feet and following behind his sister.

"Hey, how did I get downstairs," Brigitte called after them.

"I owe you a big one."

"Tell me about it," Gina replied. "Broken glass and beer bottles were all that you could come up with?"

"Look, I lived an honest life when I was Caid Harrison and just because I'm in all of this sexy, Italian flesh doesn't mean that I let it all go down the drain."

"Don't ever say that again," Gina said giving him the side eye while shaking her head.

"Don't worry, I never will," Caid agreed lifting his shirt off of his body to take a look at the damage.

"Damn!"

"I know," he agreed as he watched his wounds fester and boil. They weren't ordinary cuts. In fact, they were burning as if someone had injected his flesh with liquid fire. He wasn't sure if normal medicine would be able to do anything for him.

"How did you get these?"

"This might sound terribly strange or cliché, but I rescued Brigitte from her nightmare."

"What?" Gina asked skeptically.

"It's true," Caid insisted. "She was lying on the couch and I touched her. Suddenly every single nerve in my body was on end. I literally saw the speed of light and if someone was talking, I probably would have been able to see the speed of sound, Gina. I assure you that whatever happened was meant to take place."

"Then what happened?" Gina asked as they stared into each other's eyes in the mirror.

"I was inside of her subconscious. There she was running and I arrived in time, as if I was meant to...infiltrate her reverie, and I was guiding her to safety. I didn't believe it myself until when I came to and saw the proof of our little adventure all over my body," Caid said. "These," he told her pointing to his arms, "were from breaking through a mirror. And this," he said turning to show her his bruise, "was from when we were falling and I landed on my side to keep Brigitte from getting hurt."

"I've never heard of this happening before," Gina told him befuddled. "I don't know how to explain this."

"I do," Caid said leaning against the sink.

"How? What is it?"

"Spiritual warfare."

"Spiritual warfare?" Gina echoed like a parrot. "What's that?"

"What does it look like? It is when your enemy attacks from a supernatural standpoint. There is no physical face to face combat; however, he has the ability to penetrate one's subconscious whether through dreams, fantasies, thoughts...you name it and it is possible. Normally, some kind of physical or emotional connection must be made to have such strong contact. If not, this...person must be exponentially powerful in order to accomplish such a feat without said connection.

In spiritual warfare, any wounds acquired will always manifest in the natural with severe side effects. Such is the case with my lesions. Normally, I should not be able to intervene, but when a Collaborator is at his/her peak spiritual stress level, their fellow Collaborator is capable of harnessing their power and diverting it to another source. If not, the spiritual build up could cause a fissure in the time warp thus enabling negative energy to seep through the protective barriers, preparing the way for demonic invasion."

Gina looked at him in amazement, "how did you know all of this?"

Caid blinked several times in an effort to understand his quick responses, "I do not know...I think that my past self is starting to awaken. I know that you said that it is not possible for me to ever regain my lost abilities, but I think that this attack upon Brigitte has at least brought back my ancient knowledge."

"Wow," Gina replied at a loss for words. "But if this is as you say, it means that our situation is worse than I thought. Caid, someone is attacking us...w-well, you...guys," Gina said as she reached for gauze to clean his wounds. "I want to make sure to tell you before I forget that that bracelet isn't some kind of ordinary piece of jewelry."