Free Embody by Jamie Magee Page A

Olivia gathered their dishes.
    “You think we should leave around seven?”
Chrispin asked Landen.
    “Yeah, that’ll be good. It won’t take us
long to get there,” Landen answered. I hugged Olivia goodbye and
watched them leave.
    “Have you ever been to Paris?” Landen asked
me.
    “No. I’ve always wanted to go, though,” I
said with a longing in my voice.
    “Well, when this Mercury thing is over, we
should go there for a month or so. I can see you happy there,”
Landen said, wrapping his arm around me.
    “So what should we do now?” I asked, seeing
that the night had come.
    “Give it a minute. I’m sure we’ll have more
company,” Landen said, looking out the door. A second later, the
phone rang. “Told you so,” he said, winking at me.
    “And you thought I was crazy when I grabbed
our travel bags and ran a few weeks ago,” I said, tilting my
head.
    “Not crazy...a little hormonal, maybe,” he
said, teasing me.
    I pushed him back playfully. He reached for
the phone, catching it on its fourth ring. I walked through the
front of the house to the front porch and waited for whoever was
calling to come over.

Chapter Five
    Landen came out the front door with four
glasses and a picture of tea. “So who’s coming?” I asked, getting
up to help him.
    “Your mother called Rose, asking her if she
knew anything about Auras, then Rose called August. They want to
come over and teach us what they mean.”
    “Everybody’s coming?” I asked, looking down
at the four glasses and wondering how many more I would need.
    “Just August and Rose. Karsten and Nyla are
staying home,” Landen said, sitting down and reaching for me to
come to his side.
    “I feel like I don’t even know Karsten or
Nyla; it would be nice to visit with them,” I said, sitting down
next to him.
    Karsten was my grandfather, Rose’s soul
mate, and Nyla was Landen’s grandmother, August’s soul mate.
    “You know them,” Landen said, playing with
my long dark hair. “They’re kinda like our moms. They were raised
in another dimension. They respect what we do and try not to
interfere. Even though Nyla and Karsten have seen almost every
dimension, they’d prefer to just live here in their own personal
world and leave the adventure to the rest of us,” he said, grinning
mischievously.
    I sighed, seeing their point of view. They
weren’t doing anything different from the rest of the universe;
most people preferred to live in their own space. I smiled,
realizing how shocked the universe would be if they realized we
were all connected. August and Rose pulled up in front of our
house. We stood to greet them.
    Rose had three dishes in her hand. “Did you
guys eat? I brought you some food,” she said to me.
    Landen couldn’t hold back his laughter as he
saw my mouth drop open.
    “What did I say?” Rose asked, confused.
Landen took the dishes from her hand and walked in the house.
    “Nothing. You’re just the third person to
bring us food. Landen thinks it’s funny that you guys think I can’t
cook,” I said, pouring her a glass of tea.
    “We know you can cook. You have enough on
your plate without having to keep up with an appetite of a man.
Besides that, there’s no need for all of us to cook every night,
not when we live so close,” Rose said, taking a seat next to me and
hugging me.
    “Well, I’m glad I forgot to bring the cake
Nyla made,” August said, leaning in to kiss my cheek before he took
a seat in one of the wicker chairs.
    Landen came back out on the porch and sat
across from me on the long couch, still smiling profusely.
    “So, did you guys learn a lot today?” August
asked
    Landen nodded. “It was the most amazing
thing we’ve ever seen.”
    I looked over my shoulder; I could feel
Brady coming.
    “I wonder what he’s doing?” Landen said,
noticing it, too.
    “Getting air, I’m sure,” August said,
grinning.
    Brady stepped up on the porch, walked over,
and took a seat next to Landen. It still amazed