Fates Intertwined

59. | Ghosts

Evelyn burst through the doors to Aurora's bedroom, Esme and Angel hot on her heels. She rushed to Aurora's side, glancing up as she asked, "You found her like this?"

Madison and Zyran nodded. "I thought it was one of your bodies, but we found her unconscious on the floor." Madison explained.

"She smells like the outdoors." Evelyn murmured. Then pulled away.

"Wait," Esme stepped up beside Evelyn, grabbing Aurora's hand. "She has blood on her hands."

"She killed someone?" Zyran asked.

"It's a possibility, given she is a vampire." Angel commented.

"Talk about a twisted rewriting of Sleeping Beauty." Evelyn murmured.

"Do you know if there's a possibility she'll wake?" Zyran asked, brows furrowed in concern.

Evelyn sighed. "Her heart is still beating, so she's still alive. She could either be in a really deep sleep, or her spirit is in limbo."

"Limbo?"

"It's the other side." Madison explained from beside him. "It's where ghosts who couldn't cross over remain. No one can see them except mediums."

"Mediums?"

"You ask a lot of questions." Angel stated.

"Angel," Esme warned.

"I'm stating a fact, Esme. He does." She shrugged.

She sighed, then turned back to Zyran. "Mediums are those who can see the other side. There are even some who are able to manipulate the other side into doing what they ask. They can be dangerous, but thankfully, it's a rare ability to have." Esme explained.

"They exist?" His brows furrowed.

"Of course, they exist." Angel snorted, receiving a glare from Esme. "Most things exist, but especially ghosts."

"I've been one before." Evelyn admitted. "It can happen after using a lot of power."

"Uh, guys?" Madison spoke, but her gaze was glued onto something else. They turned to the bed where Aurora lay sleeping, but the veins appearing from her temples changed from black to white to black again.

"What's happening to her?" Zyran questioned, looking around, concerned.

"Maddi, you said Eclectic witches balance between light and dark, right?" Evelyn asked. Madison nodded. "I think that's what's happening."

"That her body is trying to find the balance?"

Angel stepped forward. "Not her body. Her magic. Her body is simply a host." She murmured.

"It's like two different sides of her are at war, trying to overpower the other. The dark and the light. The good and the bad." Evelyn added.

"But why?" Madison found herself asking. She had never known that her magic was capable of that. But she had never been in a coma deep enough to find out.

"Aurora used light more than the dark. But because she's no longer conscious, her magic is trying to balance itself with good or evil. Light or dark, like Evelyn said." Esme explained.

"What happens if one side wins over the other?" Zyran asked, almost scared to learn the answer.

Before they could answer, Angel cut in, "We better hope to god neither side wins. Otherwise, the Aurora that comes back won't be the same."

***

Aurora didn't wake as a week flew by. Zyran didn't leave her side, no matter who told him to. At least not until Evelyn compelled him to.

Eric slept, tossing and turning in his bed. It was a nightmare; something he was all too familiar with.

"Eric." A voice whispered, his face scrunching. Almost in pain. Eric flopped over onto his side. "Eric." The voice repeated, firmer.

He flipped back onto his back, twisting his head. His face was still holding the same pain as his nightmare progressed.

"Eric!" He snapped awake, panting with sweat dotting his brow. He looked around, only to jerk his head back as his eyes landed on the figure standing at the end of his bed.

Aurora glitched and Eric's brows furrowed. But then she was speaking.

"Tell them." She vanished only to reappear next to his bed. He flinched, burrowing under the covers. "You have to tell them!"

With a final glitch, she disappeared, leaving Eric with his pounding heart.