Chapter 28
A strange feeling comes over Murphy as he's waiting for his dad to return. It's like he's being watched but he can't sense anyone else there aside from him and his dad. He looks up at the statue curiously and he swears the eyes seem to glow causing him to get lost in their stare. Before he knows it he's no longer in the temple ruins but a beautifully moonlit room with a boy that looks just like Bellamy standing in the center of it. The boy doesn't seem to see him at first and its as if he's in a trance of some kind. Murphy reaches out and touches his arm, startling him out of whatever was keeping him transfixed causing the boy to look at him in shock like he's just seen a ghost before he smiles reassuringly at him.
"You look so much like him and I'm sure I look like someone you know as well. Anyways, I'm sure you have questions and I'll answer as many as I can but know that you shouldn't be afraid of what you can do. Your magic is special John as are you and some day you will meet someone equally as special and the two of you will be perfect for each other."
"But I've already met him and he looks just like you. His name is Bellamy and he's my best friend. He's the only one except for Mbege that knows about my shadow magic aside from my parents of course. How do you know my name?"
"I know a lot about you but I can't really explain how just yet. It's a bit confusing even for me. Bellamy is more than just your best friend, isn't he?"
"I don't...I see him in my dreams sometimes but it's mostly glimpses. He never stays around long and if I try to touch him he disappears. I just want him to stay because everything is so much better and easier when he's around. I told his dad that Bellamy was my soul mate and that it feels like we're two parts of the same soul and he said that I should hold on to him because something like that doesn't come along very often. But when I told my mom the same thing she said I was crazy and that I needed to stop being so dramatic about things. I guess she was really worried about it because my dad brought me to this temple. I mean I think this is the same temple because even though the one that we went to is ruins they look sorta like this. Where am I?"
"You're still in the temple just not the same time period. This is when the temple was a refuge for wayward children who were having issues with their magic before it was destroyed and forgotten."
"This was your home, wasn't it?"
"For a time, yes but that was long ago."
"Are you dead?"
"Not exactly, no. My body is long gone but my soul still lives on."
"Why haven't you found the peace you need to move on?"
"Did anyone ever tell you that you're pretty damn smart for a kid your age? You remember when I said you look like someone? Well that person is the other half of my soul and until we're reunited neither of us can completely move on."
"Will you be stuck like that forever or is there a way that you can find each other again so you can move on?"
"There's a way but it's complicated and I'm not sure I could do something like that to someone as innocent as you."
"No one is ever truly innocent and I want to help. What do I need to do?"
"Are you absolutely certain that this Bellamy is the other half of your soul? There can be no doubt. Not even a shred of it. Do you understand?"
"I understand and he is. I know it's strange to be so young and so sure of something like this but its true. Everything about him feels right and when we're together it's like the world makes sense. Maybe I am overdramatic."
"Trust me, you're not. I felt the same way about Talon. In fact I still feel that way. Things just feel off without him around and it's almost like I'm lost in a fog that I can't seem to find my way out of but he's that light that breaks through it and finds me every time. Do you really want to do this? Do you really want to help us move on?"
"Yes. What do I have to do?"
"There will come a time when your magic is going to try and overtake you but you must remember that you are stronger and won't let it. The magic doesn't control you, you control it. It needs you to do what it wants but you can't let it. There is a spell that you must say when this happens. I know this is vague and I will try and give you some more clarification if I can. There will be a lake and a boy who threatens you which causes you to lose control long enough to kill him. Bellamy will be there to stop you but it'll be too late and this spell must be said exactly as I say it."
"What will it do?"
"It will make Bellamy forget all about you but it won't be permanent. He will remember you in time but it's necessary in order for us to move on. I'm sorry for what will happen to you until Bellamy begins to remember but you are strong enough to deal with it."
"How do you know that I'm strong enough?"
"Because you are the only child that hasn't run away or tried to find a way out of here. You listened to me and you're willing to help which makes you far stronger than you realize. Now there's one more spell I need you to remember and this one must be said as soon as you are in the presence of Bellamy. This is the one that will allow us to use your bodies to find each other and move on."
"What do you mean by use us to find each other?"
"Our souls need vessels. People that we can inhabit until we are able to reunite with each other. You will feel us there every now and then but for the most part you'll never even know we're there. Sometimes there will be a pull in a certain direction or a feeling that something is wrong or right or you'll see a memory from our lives in a dream and that will be us guiding you in the direction you need to go. You will still be you and we can't take over you completely. We'll just be hitching a ride so to speak until it's our time to get off. If there was another way to do this I'd do it but unfortunately this is the only way that we can be reunited with each other. I'll understand if you don't want to continue. I know its asking a..."
"I still wanna help. I can't imagine not being able to be with Bellamy. If this is what it takes for your souls to become one again then I'll do it."
"Thank you, John. Listen very carefully to the words of these spells because if even one word is off, it will never work. Okay?"
He waits for Murphy to nod in understanding before telling him the words to each spell. He then lightly touches Murphy's face and says in a pained whisper "I really hope this works this time. I've waited so long to find him again and I'm not sure how much longer I can do this. He was always so much stronger than me but he never saw himself as anything but weak. You're so much like him John, it's scary. No matter what happens and no matter how much you feel like you wanna give up, don't. You are stronger than the things that will try to pull you down. Trust yourself and your feelings because neither will lead you astray. You're dad will be returning soon so I have to let you go back now but remember everything I've said and don't forget the words. I have faith in you John Murphy and I know you won't let me down."
The moonlit room slowly fades away and Murphy is once again staring into the eyes of the statue in the ruins of the temple. He blinks his eyes to try and adjust them to the change in light when he hears his dad yell his name. He slowly and cautiously makes his way from behind the statue to see his dad with a slight look of disbelief on his face.
"Is something wrong, dad?"
"No son, everything's fine. Come on lets get home before your mother starts to worry."
"Am I okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"I know I'm not normal but you brought me here because something I did or said scared you, didn't it?"
"You always were too smart for your own good. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, John. You are prefect just the way you are and anyone who tries to tell you different doesn't really know you at all. I love you and no matter what happens that will always be true and hopefully some day you will find someone who loves you no matter what. Maybe it'll even be Bellamy."
Murphy smiled up at him so excitedly and began to tell him about the boy he'd seen while waiting for him in the temple. He told his father all about how the boy said that he looked just like someone named Talon that he used to know and that him and Bellamy were two parts of the same soul just like him and Talon were once and that he was gonna help them find each other again. Murphy was so wrapped up in the story he was telling that he didn't notice the sad look on his father's face because while Murphy had been talking to the statute, his father had been talking to someone else. It seemed that the temple wasn't as empty as they had thought when they entered and that Murphy had actually seen a person standing in the center of the room near the statue because this person or monk showed Alex things about his son that scared him greatly. But what scared him the most about all of them was the fact that he wouldn't be around to help his son through them and that no amount of spells or potions or anything could prevent him from leaving his son at the mercy of a grieving mother who was lost without him a well.
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Everyone is silent when Murphy finishes telling them what happened in the temple and although Bellamy's hand never stopped running through Murphy's hair in comfort, the silence was making him panic. Bellamy feels Murphy's neck muscles tensing and somehow knows that he's on the verge of a panic attack. He stops running his fingers through Murphy's hair, grabs his face with both hands and touches their foreheads together.
"Breathe with me Murph. Follow my rhythm. Slow and steady, in and out." He says just above a whisper.
Murphy does what he says but it's not helping because the silence in the room is making him think things that he knows aren't true but can't stop. Sensing things are getting worse, Bellamy places a hand over Murphy's heart, puts Murphy's hand over his and with their foreheads still touching says "match my heartbeat."
It works for a bit but when Roan touches Murphy's hand in a gesture of comfort it sends him over the edge. He immediately starts hyperventilating and even though he can feel Bellamy's heartbeat slow and steady, he can't calm down enough to match it. When Murphy tries to pull away from Bellamy, he begins to let him go at first but something tells him not too and just as Murphy is about to get up to leave the room, Bellamy pulls him into a kiss. The kiss is short but as Bellamy pulls away he notices Murphy's breathing is returning to normal. He places Murphy's hand over his heart again but keeps his hand covering Murphy's. A few minutes later Murphy leans in to lay his head beside their hands on Bellamy's chest and closes his eyes.
"You good?" Bellamy asks as he wraps his arm around Murphy and lays his head against Murphy's.
"Yeah. How did you know what to do?" He asks never moving away from Bellamy.
"Rayce told me. Apparently Talon got them sometimes and when they got really bad the only thing that calmed him was a kiss. Something about holding your breath causes your body to start breathing normally again."
"I'm sorry I agreed to help Rayce and Talon without talking to you about it first. I should have told you what was happening since my decision impacted more lives than just my own but he was so sad Bellamy and I couldn't just walk away. At least not back then. I just wanted to help and I..."
"It's okay, Murphy. None of this is your fault. Rayce and Talon have been inhabiting people ever since their deaths in an attempt to reunite without success. I think the fact that you and Bellamy look exactly like them isn't a coincidence. I think it was destiny." Roan says.
"What do you mean? Destiny and fate aren't real things."
"Life isn't just a series of mishaps or coincidences Bellamy. There is a purpose to it. The things that happen to us to shape our lives are leading us to a certain outcome. Now maybe things aren't predestined but there's no doubt that you and Murphy were made for each other."
"Lincoln's right. I never said anything to anyone about this because most people already thought I was a little off to begin with but the day we met almost didn't happen."
"What do you mean? We met in school." Bellamy says confused.
"We met on the playground before school started and I almost wasn't there. I didn't want to go to school and my parents weren't going to send me because we were afraid of me losing my temper and my shadow magic hurting someone but the night before I had a dream that changed my mind. It was a memory of Talon's, I'm sure of that now but it was from when he first met you. He was so happy to find someone like him in Rayce that it made him comfortable with who he was for the first time in his life and I wanted that too. I begged my parents to let me go to school because I just knew that if I did I'd meet someone who would make me feel like Rayce made Talon. I think that before I ever went to the temple and met Rayce that him and Talon felt us. I think they knew we were the ones and they made sure things worked so that we met." Murphy explains.
"So does that mean that we never would of met otherwise?"
"You would have met no matter what but it would have been much later and you probably would have hated each other at first. You would have met here for the first time when I brought you to him to help get your friends back." Roan states.
"But would that still have happened?" Lincoln asks.
"The Key was always here and The Elite are the most powerful Elementals that there have been since Talon and Rayce so their presence is what drew The Key out of hiding, not Talon and Rayce's presence in Murphy and Bellamy. The Key had been waiting for the most powerful elementals to be born so that it could rise to power again. The Key was coming with or without Talon and Rayce but I believe that their presence in you two will allow us to vanquish The Key once and for all." Roan informs them.
"How can you be so sure? Evil is always present and something like The Key doesn't need much to get a foothold in the world. Even if we do manage to vanquish it what's to stop it from coming back again?" Lincoln asks.
"I can't but what kept it away before was the fact that shadow magic wasn't ignored and dream walkers were identified along with shadow warriors. The tests and processes that The Order and The Temple of Elders set in place when they were first created needs to be brought back because it worked to unite shadow warriors with their dream walkers and keep the darkness at bay. They had kept a balance for centuries that has been forgotten and in order to keep evil away that balance needs to be forged again."
"If you don't learn from the past you're doomed to repeat it and we've been digging ourselves deeper and deeper into the ground instead of using the shovels to help get us out." Murphy says quietly into Bellamy's chest.
"Exactly. We have the tools necessary to help us vanquish A.L.I.E. we just need to us them." Bellamy says.
"So let's get our friends back and send that bitch in the red dress back to darkness she came from." Lincoln says.
"Roan, what do we do?" Murphy asks finally pulling away from Bellamy to look at Roan expectantly.
"I'm still working on that but hopefully this book will shed some light on things." Roan says holding up the journal that the monk had given him.