Chereads / SPHINX: A CHASE FOR THE SOUL / Chapter 26 - CHAPTER 25: I SEE THE GHOST

Chapter 26 - CHAPTER 25: I SEE THE GHOST

Gabriel moves around like the wind, invincible and yet present. The situation seems to have gotten worse since his death and he begins to wonder if he is really worth the trouble.

If they fail, he and Samuel will be gone for good.

Even if they succeed there is no guarantee that he will come back to life since he is now a mortal soul.

The plan to return his soul to his body is simply a gamble, there have been sphinxes who died and never came back. There are those who tried to manipulate the natural order of things and ended up being slaves to the underworld.

But he has never heard of a sphinx who became a human and regained his powers.

He doesn't know what their fates will be but they will try to control it nonetheless.

He follows Rachael as she walks to the room. He tries to cup a feel of her hair in his hands but he simply phases through.

He wants to hold her one more time even if it is his last but at this point it seems like a far fetched dream.

I wish we stayed away from her, I wish she didn't have to feel this pain for me.

Rachael enters the bathroom and cleans herself up. She made a call to Mary so it shouldn't take long for her to meet them, hopefully she will be able to help.

She holds the dagger, Nightmare, in her hand. She imagines herself driving the dagger into Alucard's chest, ending his existence like she did his father. Everything looks like a circle of vengeance, Dracula kills her father, she kills Dracula and now his son comes to kill the ones she love.

Is this what happens when a human enters the world of the supernatural?

Will it always be like this?

The idea of running away from such a life sprouts like a little plant in it's early stages of germination.

She puts the dagger in her pants and folds them before changing into a black bum short and a grey top.

She may be the only one here who can hold the dagger but she still as to keep it safe.

After all, it is the only real weapon she has against the creatures of the dark.

She comes out of the bathroom and stops in her tracks as her eyes catches a shadow on the door.

There is no one else in the room just her so why is there a shadow on the door?

Her heart beat rises as the shadow gets thicker and darker. It begins to materialize and a shirt begins to come into view.

His thick neck appears and the lights in the room illuminate his face.

"Gabriel," she mumbles as the ghost stares in awe.

"You can see me?" his voice is clear and deep. She is shocked at the sight of him. She nods slowly as she wonders if her mind has finally broken or she really heard him.

Now she has seen it all.

Rachael's eyes water with joy at the sight of Gabriel. He leans against the door in his black long sleeve shirt.

His biceps threatening to tear the sleeves as his eyes stay trained on Rachael. Her heart beats like bass and her breath is heavy as she can't tell if he is really here or if she has lost her mind.

Her brown eyes flicker with perplexed excitement. The paradoxical feeling grips her so tightly she stands still like a statue, waiting for him to move. Waiting to know if he is a figment of her imagination, after all, she saw him die before her eyes.

He takes two steps forward and her heart skips a beat as she stares at him like a ghost.

Is it really him? Is he really here?

She never had time to really process his death and quickly began to search for a way to get back at Alucard.

"Are you really here or I'm I just crazy?" she asks hoping for an answer and she gets one.

"It's me Rachael. I am here," Gabriel says.

"How are you here?" "Love, I guess. I just really wanted to see you and I came here," he says with a smile.

"But you are dead," she says, "I am but I am here. I am with you," he says.

His words sound like the morning song of a bird to her ears. Mad and yet, beautiful. She walks to him and tries to hug him but almost falls as she phases through his body.

"I don't have a body. I'm simply a ghost," "We will bring you back," "I know," "I miss you. I miss your touch, your laughter and even your jealousy," Rachael says.

Gabriel smiles, "It will be alright Rachael,".

Samuel leans against the door. He hears what happens at the door and his heart shrinks under the weight of jealousy and sadness.

Rachael isn't the goal, his brother's soul is. But he knows that he wants her for himself even though he is torn between his guilt and his desire.

He frowns at the thought of losing her even when she isn't his. How can a dead man still have a grip on the woman he desires? He can hypnotize her but that would take away her free will and her love.

He clenches his fists as he sees this journey as a means to an end.

His ears pick up on the knock at the front door and he swallows his reluctance to move from his position and walks away. Every step closer to finding Gabriel's body now becomes a step closer to losing Rachael to him but what options does he have?

Their lives are now tied together and the only way to be free is to break the link between himself and Gabriel but is it worth it?

Will he let his brother die so he can be with Rachael?

No, our lives are tied together now.

Elma welcomes Mary into the apartment and her eyes catches his. The last time she saw him he looked quite charming and corny which was cute but now she can clearly see the distraught in his eyes.

His eyelids are dark and if he wasn't the old immortal he is she would think he had been crying for hours.

It must really hurt to lose his brother.

"Hey, sorry about your brother," she says as she embraces him, she can smell the foul stench of alcohol on his breath.

He thanks her and walks to the table where a glass and a bottle of bourbon awaits him.

"What can I do for you?" she asks.

On a normal day the leather pants the witch wears will be some thing for him to admire but his spirits are down and the alcohol seems to be his only sustenance.

"We need you to help us find Gabriel's killer" Amanda says.

"Do you have something of his?" "No, there is no way we can get something from someone we haven't met," his voice almost turns to a snarl.

His rage fills his heart with toxic thoughts and his voice deepens while the air thickens in his lungs.

He takes a deep breath, holding it in for as long as he can before exhaling and forcing himself into a tranquil state.

"He is not in the right frame of mind," Amanda defends his attitude.

"I need something of his before my spell can work. Something I can link him to," Mary says, "What about blood?" Samuel asks, "What do you mean?" "He has Gabriel's body, if you can use my blood to track his body we can find the killer," he says.

"Yes, that is true but location by blood can only work with a living person. There is someone that can help, a Shaman of sorts. They can use blood and the connection between souls to find his body," Mary says.

"That way we find Alucard," Amanda says.

"Alucard?" Mary furrows her brows, "You guys are going after Alucard?" "You've heard of him," "Yes. We witches tend to remember those who have been a thorn to our side.

Alucard is bad news," Mary says.

"Well he should be prepared. This time I am the bad news," Samuel grunts and sits on one of the chairs.

"They call him the Golden Lion. I don't know why but there are rumors that he walks for one of the supernatural bodies to maintain the checks and balances of our world.

He has hunted down witches and wolves for his organization, he is dangerous," she says.

"Everyone is dangerous until they are dying, love, and he will die," Elma says.

"And that is a fact," Samuel supports.

"The best shaman in town is Ororo. She is the only one I know that can locate a corpse through the blood of a relative," "We just came from there. Fuck," Samuel laments.

"Look, er...since I'm not needed here I have a coven to take over. I'm truly sorry about Gabriel, I hope you bring him back" she pats Samuel on the shoulder before going to give Rachael a hug.

"See y'all around," Mary waves at them as she walks out of the apartment.