Risen (Haunted Series Book 22)

of the girls.  They were way out of control.”
“No, it’s that his intellect is developing faster than his physicality and common sense.  He’s impatient and talkative…”
“He’s like Ted then,” Sabine said.
“Well, I guess so.”
“Ted grew out of it,” she reasoned.
“Well…” Cid fought for words, “not really.”
This made Dieter laugh.  “My dad’s rather unique.”
“As are you,” Sabine reminded him.  “I think that this excursion to Wyoming will be a learning experience for all concerned.”
“Look at you, always finding the silver lining,” Cid said, refilling her mug of coffee and pushing the milk pitcher and the sugar bowl closer to Sabine.
“I’ve always been this way.  Except when I was on that boat.  I became mean and ill.”
“Sounds like you and Uncle Mike share a problem.  He gets sick around evil.  Mia taught him how to protect himself once he becomes aware of the situation, but it does send him running to the bathroom,” Dieter told her.
“Poor guy,” Sabine sympathized.  “How about one of you telling me what’s going on, and why am I here and not on that boat?”
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
“I remember hearing Komal calling for me in my sleep.  That’s it.”
“Evidently, he took control of you to keep the demon from entering your mind house,” Cid said.
“He must be very powerful to do that from Lake Michigan,” Dieter said.  “I met him when Mia exiled us to his island. He’s so gentle and kind.  His soul is bright orange.”
“He has learned how to draw from the power under his island and send his thoughts through the ley lines and, sometimes, through dimensional portals.  I suspect Judge Roumain helps him to do that.”
“Mia says they are good friends,” Cid said.  “Like Ted and I.”
Sabine nodded.  “It’s good Komal has a friend.  It can be a lonely existence to be a soul without a body to rest in.”
“Roumain is a very complex entity,” Dieter pointed out.  “I’ve been on both sides of his wrath.  We’ve all been used by him.  Okay, maybe not you, Sabine.”
“I’ve never met him.”
“Don’t, if you can help it.  He’s not…”
“I think Dieter is trying to say that Mia doesn’t trust him.  He has hurt her and Ted with his interference.  He’s the self-proclaimed king of Purgatory and should be respected for that.  I wouldn’t seek out any other kind of relationship with him.”
“Honestly, I’m touched.  I don’t think you’re telling me this because you think that I’m weak and frail.”
“Oh no.  Mia’s told us how powerful and strong you are,” Dieter said.
“Most people, Gerald and, I suspect, Patrick included, think I’m vulnerable because I’m so drifty.  You see, it’s very hard for me to stay in this realm.  Something keeps pulling me away.  I have to concentrate on each moment to stay here.”
Cid studied Sabine’s face.  She wasn’t teasing.  He sensed that she had just told Dieter and him something she probably had never told anyone before.
“My husband Brian understood this.  He once said that there are two Sabines: the one being pulled away in front of him and the one who rested more comfortably in his heart.  He’s right.  There really isn’t a category for what I am.  Maybe a dual-vessel sensitive comes close.  I’m an independent soul who needs this body to exist.  I know that sounds confusing.  You see, I’m not one with my body.  I don’t own my cells; I just control them.  It was very difficult to carry my babies within me.  At any time, their souls could have taken over me, pushing me out, and possibly leaving me out in the cold.  But one of the three, Maisha Violet, understood this and kept the others inside their little bodies.  She held all of us together.”
“So how have you existed all this time not joined with your body?” Cid asked.
“Concentration.  Babies born of magical beings rarely live long because their souls wander too far away from their vessels.  Sometimes they are taken over by strong spirits of the departed, who some people call soul jumpers.”
“I know your mother is a sensitive.  So, your father is what?” Dieter asked.
“Was.  He died of a wasting disease.”
“I’m sorry.”
Sabine waved off the sympathy.  “I never knew him.  My father, Guillaume Bouché, was a very powerful magician, a wizard if you will.  I guess if he had been born centuries ago, he would have rivaled Merlin.  Fortunately, he was a laidback man with too many passions to enjoy.  Otherwise, his power could have affected the balance.  My mother, Beverly, you know.  She is a powerful sensitive.  Her parentage is unknown.  Anyway, when I was born, I frightened and angered her.  She abandoned me.  Gerald Shem found me and held me together until he could find the right woman to raise me.”
“You’re so nice to her now,” Cid said.
“Life is too short to hold the weak accountable for their actions.  It’s better to find a way to like each person you meet, love those who need love, and direct those who need help to the right people,” Sabine said.
“I think you had a religious upbringing,” Dieter suspected.
“The woman who held me in her arms was raised in a multicultural house, and she gave me an isolated childhood.  But in retrospect, it was much kinder than your mother’s, but still, it wasn’t ideal.  I’ll tell you about it one day when I can come to grips with it myself.  In the meanwhile, you have a breakfast to finish, and I have to contact Angelo…”
“Is that wise?” Cid asked.
“I don’t know.  All I know is he should have been the one to rescue me, but he didn’t.  He has some explaining to do.”
~
Mia prepared herself to disembark the small craft.  She, Patrick, Mason, and Murphy held on as the boat bounced over the waves.  Bob had