Don't Eat the Girl Scout Cookies: Pt 3

`````````I moan as I come to. My head is on fire, my throat is dry, and the harsh light hurts my eyes. I blink and the world focuses. I’m in the gas station again. How did…?
I begin to breathe more consciously. Someone has wrapped their arms around me. Their touch is familiar and warm. I shiver involuntarily; their grip tightens.
         I know who is holding me. I know who is keeping me warm. I know and I want him, but I can’t. I cannot want him. He loves me, but I cannot love him. He was right. I need to be with humans, mortals.
         But I cannot convince myself that not loving him is what I want. I do not want a mortal; I do not want a normal human life. Not anymore. I want him, my immortal.
         I look up into his eyes, his gorgeous brown eyes, and my heart twinges with an ache and a giddiness. I am in love with him. It burns and it hurts, but I love him. It twists my heart, and I writhe in pain. But he heals me as fast as he kills me. I look into his eyes, and I am whole. I smell the sweetness of his tanned white chocolaty skin, and I realize that I can breathe again. My lungs do not have to grasp at air; it comes so easily. I see him, and I know: I love him, I need him, I cannot live without him.
         “Amanda,” Trevor smiles in relief.
         I reach up and touch his angel face. The soft skin stretched across his statuesque build flushes as my fingertips slide across his face.
         “Trevor,” I say. My voice cracks. My lips are parched, throat dry from screaming.
         “Yes?” He asks, worry furrowing his brow.
         I sit up so that I am face-to-face with him, my eyes right before his eyes. He puts his hands against the dirty tile floor of the Quik Trip. He looks at me anxiously.
         Suddenly, I am too nervous to say anything. I swallow, my dry throat choking on the saliva.
         “What?” He asks softly.
         I look down and bite my lip. Why is it so hard to tell him three little words?
         The door jingles, and a pair of feet scuff the floor. I look up. It’s Joel.
         Joel looks at me worriedly. “Are you alright?” He asks me.
         I smile at him and nod. “Yeah, thanks. Oh!” I say, “Here’s your jacket.” I slip out of his jacket, “Thanks for letting me borrow it.”
         Joel takes the jacket but doesn’t look at me. He is staring at Trevor. “Anytime.” He glances at me for a brief second. “If you need anything, just give me a shout. My number is on the board in the back room.”
         I smile at him. “Okay. Thanks again, Joel.”
         Joel nods, ducks his head, and leaves the Quik Trip.
         “What was that all about?” Trevor asks me.
         I shrug. “We’re coworkers. Joel’s a good guy.”
         “Good kisser?”
         My head snaps up. “You saw that?!”
         Trevor half-smiles and says, “I’m your guardian. I can see everything.”
         I close my eyes in embarrassment.
         “So was he?”
         I turn my face away, ashamed. “Yes.”
         Cool, slender fingers turn my chin so I am facing him again. “Amanda…”
         Heavy-hearted, I look up into his brown eyes. They are giving me a peculiar look, studious and ponderous. We stare at one another for a moment. Then, to my surprise, he kisses me.

````````Kissing Trevor is as mind-boggling- if not more than- as seeing him shirtless. First, he tilts my chin to his, bringing our lips closer together. He lets me smell his sweetness for just a moment. Then he looks me in the eyes. Simultaneously, we close our eyes, and our lips touch.
         At first, his lips are tentative and soft, but, as I taste his sweetness and crave more, his lips harden and mold around mine. I open my mouth to gasp in air, in order to calm my racing heart, and his lips part. Before I know it, our tongues are sliding across one another. His sharp teeth are cool and have a refreshing tinge. His tongue, at first, dips in my mouth but soon slides past my lips without hesitation.
         His fingers tuck my hair behind my ears and stroke my cheeks, which flush at his touch. My fingers slide through his hair while my palm cradles his jaw. He breaks off the kiss and presses his lips to my palm. I open my eyes. His lips curve into a smile in my cupped hand.
         “How was it?” he murmurs softly, tickling my skin.
         I can barely breathe. I draw in a ragged breath, “Why’d you stop?”
         He chuckles lightly. “I did well?”
         I swallow. “Trevor…that was the best kiss of my life. Way better than Joel.”
         “Good.” He says. He kisses my hand and starts up my arm.
         “Why wouldn’t it be good?” I ask, inwardly unraveling and losing focus at ever kiss.
         He pauses and gives me an embarrassed look. “I’ve never kissed a mortal- or an immortal, for that matter.”
         “Really?” I ask, incredulously.
         He nods. “You are my first kiss.”
         “Well,” I praise, “you did a fantastic job.”
         He closes his eyes and twines his fingers through mine. “I’m sorry, Amanda, for all the pain I caused you. I was too afraid of my love but not anymore. And that’s why I’ll never leave you again. I’m sure of my love.”
         I use my free hand to touch his face. “As am I.”
         He blinks. “What?” He asks, as if confused.
         I smile and pull his ear to my lips. “I love you.”
         He turns his head and kisses my jaw. “I know.”
         I frown and trace the features of his face. “How do you know?”
         “You let me kiss you.” He says matter-of-factly. He pulls me closer to him with his free hand. “How’s your head?” He kisses my forehead, as if he has a healing touch.
         I smile. “Doesn’t hurt so much anymore.”
         He smiles. “That’s good. I hope my self-mindsertion doesn’t bother you. I didn’t mess with anything or go through your stashed secrets.”
         I shrug. “You touched my soul.”
         He looks me directly in the eyes. “But I did not break it.”
         “No,” I shake my head, “You broke my heart.”
         He leans down to kiss me. “And I am truly sorry.”
         He kisses me again.

`````````We stand up, and I go behind the counter. Trevor hops up onto the counter and swings his legs over.
         “What an exciting day, huh?” he asks.
         I rub my left eye. “You could say that.” I say with a smile on my lips.
         “What did you do after I left?” Trevor asks conversationally.
         I shrug and smile. “Sleep. You?”
         Trevor grins widely. “Now…you can’t freak out, alright?”
         I nod. “Okay.”
         “Well,” He chuckles, “I did some research, you see. After a good friend of mine pointed out that I love you- I was too blind to see it myself- anyway, after he left, I went to go see my mentor. She is teaching me how to master dark magic, so she knows all the ins-and-outs of dark magic as well as all the written and unwritten rules and boundaries. Well, I told her that I love my human, and she was delighted. She said she’s only seen this happen a handful of times but that the situations turned out well.” He pauses to make sure I am following him. I nod encouragingly at him. “I asked her how they turned out, and…Amanda, you get to become immortal.”
         My jaw drops. I am too shocked to say a word.
         Trevor takes my stunned look as a bad thing. He bites his lip nervously. “I asked…I talked to her- my mentor…Yeah, she said…Well, she said that it takes dark magic. In essence, we’ll be performing a transformation spell- a very, very complex one.”
         I blink. “I…I can be immortal?”
         Trevor nods. “Yes, Amanda, you can be immortal. You can be immortal, just like me, and we can live in the Cold Place for eternity. Amanda, we’ll be together forever.” He takes my hand. “You’ll get to be mine forever.”
         I draw in a ragged breath. “Immortal. Me.”
         Trevor waits nervously, unsure when to speak again.
         I curl my fingers around his hands. “Immortal. With you.” I tighten my grip. “Forever.”
         I look into his brown eyes. “Forever forever?”
         Trevor smiles and nods. “Yeah, Amanda, forever.”
         I feel a smile part my lips. My heart begins to race as realization dawns on me. Forever in love with Trevor! Forever with Trevor! I throw my arms around Trevor and kiss his lips, his jaw, his neck- him. Taken aback, Trevor wraps his arms around me and laughs. When I finally get a grip on myself, I lean into him and inhale his sweetness.
         “Thank you.” I whisper into his neck.
         Trevor strokes my back. “For immortality?”
         I giggle. “No, for a life.”
         Trevor bursts into a fit of laughter. “What? You don’t like working at Quik Trip? You don’t like going to college? You don’t like being human?”
         I join in his laughter. “Not anymore. Why have less when you can have more and still pay the same price?”
         Trevor frowns and looks down at me. “What do you mean?”
         “If I stay human, I lose you. If I become immortal, I lose my family.” I pause. “But, I suppose I will eventually see my family again one day when He returns, huh?”
         Trevor nods. “That’s the spirit! Optimism!”
         I chuckle. “Yeah.” I sigh and gaze at the glare on the window.
         “What?” Trevor asks, “What’s wrong?”
         “It’s been a long day, Trevor,” I say, “and now I no longer know what my future has in store for me. Everything was routine until you came into my life, and it will never be routine again. That’s a big change.”
         Trevor rocks me back and forth. “Is it too much? You need a good…days’ sleep?” His face twists as he thinks about my backward schedule. I laugh at the beautiful yet disastrous sight. “Nevertheless, sleep will help.” Trevor says, lightly touching my nose as I giggle.
         “Now, that you mention it,” I yawn, “I am tired.”
         Trevor smiles. “When does your shift end? Three?”
         I yawn again and shake my head. “Four-thirty.”
         Trevor picks me up and places me next to him on the counter. He puts an arm around me. “If any customer comes along, I’ll wake you up. I have no idea how your money system works here.”
         I am puzzled at this statement, but I am too tired to dissect it. “You have a money system in the Cold Place?”
         “Well,” Trevor says, his voice lulling me further and further away from him and the Quik Trip, “in the Cold Place, we do have a mock money system, but it is mainly a barter system…”

********Trevor pauses in his dialogue. Amanda has fallen silent. He looks down at her sleeping figure. She is beautiful, especially when she sleeps. He smiles. She is tired. He presses his lips to her forehead.
         Trevor sighs. He wishes that he could sleep just so that he could pass the time. He hates not having Amanda to talk to. I suppose I could self-mindsert, Trevor speculates, but that would be violating her privacy. Trevor sighs again and stares at the glare he had seen Amanda looking at so often. He looks into this glare and beyond, past the window. He sees a car sitting under the broken streetlamp. It is parked in the parking lot of the closed Burger King next door. Trevor looks into the windshield and recognizes the driver. It is Joel. Trevor’s jaw clenches. He grinds his sharp teeth together and thinks: He is sitting there, waiting for me to leave, wanting Amanda. Well, let it be known to him as well as the rest of the universe that Amanda is mine; I will never let her go.
         Trevor ponders whether he should go talk to Joel or just sit here and watch him. Amanda sighs in her sleep, and Trevor throws the idea of leaving out of his mind. He turns his mind instead to a new task: What to do with Amanda? He can’t let her sleep on the counter like this. Trevor carefully hops off the counter and picks Amanda up. He cradles her in his arms and cautiously wanders the gas station. Trevor starts down the employee only hallway, unsure of what he will find. At the end of the short hallway is another door for employees only. Trevor opens the door and finds a cramped lounge. There is a couch against one wall and a water tank in an opposing corner. In the middle of the room, there is a coffee table.
         Trevor gently places Amanda on the couch. She shivers on the couch. Trevor purses his lips. He debates whether to keep Amanda warm himself or just drape his hoodie over her. He wants to sit here and keep her warm, gazing into her soft, mortal beauty, but he knows that if anyone were to come in, he wouldn’t be able to get up quickly. Trevor disappointedly takes his hoodie off, sliding it over his head, and lays it on Amanda’s shivering frame. After a couple of minutes, she stops shivering and settles into the couch. When she inhales the scent of his hoodie and sighs, Trevor smiles. How did he end up in love with such a creature? A creature easily amused, easily satisfied, easily loved. Trevor’s smile fades. So easy and yet so hard: she is weak, so fragile, too easy to break, too easy to kill.
         Deep within him, a small ache wells up. Trevor clutches at his chest and gasps. It burns. He looks at Amanda. She is in pain. Her knuckles are white, grasping at his hoodie. Trevor goes to her side, kneeling at the couch. He places a hand on her forehead. She is feverish. He presses his lips against her check, and the pain subsides. He chuckles. A kiss is all it takes to wipe away a nightmare. Silly girl, he thinks.
         A jingle jolts Trevor. His head snaps up at the sound. In less than a millisecond, he is crouched, posed for a fight. He stretches himself back out and goes to see who came in the gas station. He shakes his head at his over reactionary instincts. Silly boy, he could hear Amanda say.
         Trevor steps out from the hallway and goes behind the counter. He sees Joel standing at the counter. “May I help you?” Trevor asks indifferently.
         Joel snarls. “Where is she?”
         Trevor responds, “She is in the back room sleeping.”
         Joel crosses his arms. “I don’t know who you are or who you think you are, but not too long ago, Amanda was afraid and running from a customer. I come back and find you here with her and the customer gone. Now, I don’t know what’s going on, but something is going on.”
         Trevor cocks his head. How to say this without giving away his immortality. “Joel,” Trevor begins slowly, “I know Amanda. She…is…” Trevor searches for a kind way to say it. “We’re together, Joel, and I took care of the customer.”
         Joel’s face falls. “But she said that she didn’t have a boyfriend.”
         “Well…I’m…I’m not her boyfriend.”
         “What are you?”
         Trevor blinks. What am I? Trevor licks his lips. I’m an immortal demon who is in love with my human, Amanda, and it is my job to protect her at all costs. But he couldn’t just say that. Trevor clears his throat. “Joel…”
         Joel clucks his tongue impatiently. “And how do you know my name? What is yours?”
         Trevor sighs. “My name is Trevor, and Amanda told me about you.”
         Joel smirks. “What did she say?”
         “That you’re a good kisser.”
         Joel smiles. “She’s right, you know.”
         Trevor bristles. “She told me I am better.”
         Joel’s face freezes, with that haughty smile plastered on it.
         Trevor continues, “But of course I’m better. I’m better than all you humans.”
         Trevor jumps over the counter and seizes Joel. “Don’t kid yourself, Joel. You are just a human- nothing more.”
         Joel’s nostrils flare and he says menacingly, “You are more then? You are more than human? If you’re so much better…”
         Trevor single-handedly picks up Joel off the ground. “I am not human.”
         Joel clutches at Trevor’s grip. “But are you more? Are you truly so much better?”
         Trevor feels his chest burn. He feels a hatred swell up inside him. He grunts and suspends Joel in the air with a simple levitation spell. Joel lets out an astonished cry as Trevor dissolves into the air around them. He surrounds Joel in a cloud and whispers in Joel’s ear, “I am stronger than a human.” Trevor’s hand materializes and punches Joel in the stomach. “I am faster than a human.” Suddenly, Joel was against the wall, being pinned by the cloud. “You are helpless and weak. You are human.”
         “TREVOR!” Another voice calls threateningly.
         Trevor materializes, and Joel hits the floor, dazed and breathless. Trevor crouches and bares his sharp teeth. Another figure appears, another male. Trevor snarls, “David.”
         The figure, David, strides toward Joel and Trevor. “Trevor, any reason why you’re trying to kill my human?”
         Trevor growls, “I wasn’t going to kill him. He questioned me. He didn’t believe that I am better than he is.”
         David gives Trevor a quizzical look. “I’m afraid I don’t understand, Trevor. What’s wrong?”
         Trevor narrows his eyes at David. Why didn’t he understand?
         That was when he felt it: the burn. It was eating him alive, deep down in his chest. Trevor gasps and clutches at the invisible pain. He rubs at his skin, trying to dig the fire out. He struggles but to no avail. It is useless. He is going to be consumed by the imaginary fire. He turns an afflicted gaze to David. “Help me.”
         David places a hand on Trevor’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
         “Inside…inside, it burns. There’s a fire.” Trevor claws at his chest and screams in agony. “GET IT OUT!”
         David studies Trevor’s behavior for a moment. “Trevor,” he says calmly, “where is your human?”
         Trevor has difficulty focusing his vision. “There,” He points down the hallway, “in the back room. She’s on the couch.”
         Trevor howls in pain and doubles over, attempting to squelch the inextinguishable fire. David leaves Trevor momentarily to rush down the hall. Within a minute, he is back with Amanda in his arms. “Trevor!” David exclaims.
         Trevor looks up at David with fire in his eyes.
         David places Amanda beside Trevor. “Trevor, she’s been poisoned.”
         “No.” Trevor grunts. “It can’t be.”
         David gives Trevor a grim look. “Do you see her, Trev?”
         Trevor forces himself to look at her. Her skin is snow white. Her eyelids are spider webbed with purple-blue veins. Her lips are pale pink. “No.”
“          Feel her. Her blood is almost frozen.”
         Trevor reaches out a tentative hand and presses it against her body. It is like sticking a hand in the freezer. Her body cools the fire within Trevor. Trevor wraps himself around his frozen girl and is met with relief. It is like an ice bath. Amanda continues to be frozen and lifeless. “No.” Trevor repeats. “I can’t let her die.”
         David places a hand on Trevor’s shoulder. “Trev, you need to take her to the Healer, quickly.”
         Trevor looks up at David. “David, she’s a mortal! She wouldn’t last one minute outside Earth!”
         “Seeing the Healer is the only way to save her.”
         Trevor shakes his head. “There has to be some other way.” He turns dead serious eyes to David. “I will not let her die.”
         “Keeping her from the Healer will kill her!”
         Trevor sits back and rubs his temples. There must be some other way. He closes his eyes. Some way to fake being mortal…What if…? Trevor’s eyes open. “David.”
         David looks at Trevor and sees a demon with a slightly crazed expression on his face. “What are you thinking?”
         “What if I self-mindsert and perform a transformation spell- give her part of myself. Then she would have immortality within her-”
         “And when she leaves Earth,” David continues Trevor’s thought, “the mortal part will perish, but the immortal part will survive. Then she could go to the Healer and be healed.” David nods and frowns, thinking furiously. “It should work, but…”
         Trevor waits for David to finish his thought. “But what?” He prompts.
         “But it’ll be extremely dangerous for both of you, and seeing how she can’t finish the transformation…I don’t know what will happen to her.” David gives Trevor a sympathetic look. “I don’t know if she’ll survive, Trev.”
         Trevor grinds his teeth. “We have to try. After all, seeing the Healer is her only hope.”
         David nods. “Do you want Chase to help you? My human is starting to realize what is going on.”
         Trevor stands up and picks up Amanda, cradling her icicle body with his fiery arms. “Yes, please-” David turns to ghostly vapor. “David?”
         “Yeah?” David asks.
         “Thank you for your help. I’m sorry I almost killed your human. I wasn’t thinking straight.”
         The cloud chuckles. “No problem, Trevor. I’m just glad that I’m not the one with the poisoned human. I’ll get Chase. Good luck, Trev.”
         “I’ll need it.” Trevor replies. The David cloud blows away, following the wind currents.
         Joel moans and holds his head. Trevor hesitates but decides that leaving before Joel is completely conscious of what is going on would be better- less mess that way. Trevor takes off for the parking lot. He runs past Amanda’s car- it will be quicker on foot. A blur to humans, Trevor takes off for Amanda’s apartment building. He would just transport himself and Amanda to her apartment, but, because mortals can’t take part in immortal powers, merely be subject to them, he goes on foot. But there isn’t much of a disadvantage. A drive that takes close to thirty minutes is a five minute run for Trevor. Using the keys in Amanda’s back pocket, Trevor unlocks her apartment door. He rushes Amanda to her bed and gently lays her on the tidy comforter. Trevor backs out of the room. He doesn’t want to leave her al0ne, but if he stays with her too much longer, she is going to freeze his arms. Trevor looks for the thermostat to make the apartment warmer, but when he finds it and attempts to make it work, he realizes that it is broken. The apartment is as warm as it is going to get.
         Trevor collapses in a chair around Amanda’s little table, exhausted and confused. How was she poisoned? He had watched her, hadn’t he? He had expelled Raven from her, hadn’t he? She was safe and protected. What happened?
         Trevor peers through the dark apartment at his surroundings, looking for a change, a difference, something that could poison her. Trevor focuses on the table in front of him. He presses his nose to the table and smells it. The hair on the back of his neck stand up. Cookie crumbs. Trevor groans and goes to the trash can. Right on top is an empty box of assorted girl scout cookies. He picks up the box and sniffs at it. His nose wrinkles and he recoils from the smell. These cookies were poisoned. Hadn’t he warned Amanda not to accept any more cookies? He frowns. She wouldn’t be that careless. Unless Raven had snuck in again and replaced the old box of regular cookies with the new box of poisoned cookies. It is possible, he thinks.
         Trevor closes his eyes. If only he hadn’t left her, then this mess wouldn’t exist. Trevor throws the box back in the trash can and grits his teeth. How could he have been so stupid? He grips the counter. This is entirely his fault.
         “Trev?” Chase’s voice calls out in the darkness.
         Trevor feels relief flow through him. “Chase? Thank God you’re here.”
         Chase steps into the kitchen. “What’s wrong, Trev? David didn’t give me the details just that I needed to come right away.”
         Trevor nods. “Amanda’s been poisoned.”
         Chase’s eyes widen. “No.”
         Trevor nods again.
         “Are you alright?” Chase looks Trevor over. “Man, you look good for being poisoned.”
         Trevor shrugs. “I had to carry her for a couple minutes. She is as frozen as an icicle, Chase. She cooled me off. It’s not too bad, anymore.”
         “But still…poisoned? What do you need me to do? I mean, there’s not much we can do.”
         Trevor bites his lip.
         “Oh, man, you’ve got a plan.”
         Trevor frowns. “What makes you think so?”
         “You always bite your lip whenever you are about to tell me something huge. Seeing as a plan is the only huge thing for you at the moment…”
         Trevor studies Chase for a moment. “So observant…”
         “Anyway, the plan?”
         “Right,” Trevor explains, “I’m going to self-mindsert into Amanda and, using a transformation spell, give part of myself to her. Then, I’m going to exit her mind, and we’ll go to the Healer. There, the Healer will treat her for the poison. The only thing is: we don’t know if she’ll live. Dark magic doesn’t get any more dangerous than this, Chase- messing with mortality? I could kill her, Chase.”
         Chase looks at Trevor’s heartbroken expression and sighs. “It’s hard, Trev, but, as always, I’m here to support and help you.”
         Trevor places a hand on Chase’s shoulder. “Thanks, Chase. If I’m not out of her mind within thirty minutes, take us directly to the Healer, no questions, got it?”
         Chase nods. “Thirty minutes- to the Healer. Got it.”
         Trevor nods. He motions to Chase, and they go into the bedroom. Trevor gets on the bed beside Amanda. He places his fingers against her temples and is sucked into her mind.

********Trevor is familiar with the house now. He runs up the stairs to Amanda’s closet. He disregards the oozing walls and the shaky structure. On his way down the hallway, he notices that some of the rooms have already collapsed in. Amanda is dying. Trevor pushes himself faster. When he reaches the end of the hallway, he tugs at the door to Amanda’s room. The handle is locked. Trevor draws in a breath. He knocks. “Amanda?” He calls. “It’s me, Trevor. Let me in.”
         Trevor presses his ear against the door. He hears nothing. “Amanda?” He calls again. Again, no response.
         Trevor uses his shoulder to beat the door in. On impact, the whole house shudders, and Trevor can hear the walls caving in.
         In Amanda’s room, it is chaotic. Words are floating freely through the air, running into each other, getting tangled in one another. At the same time, visuals are flashing and zigzagging around the room. Some are motion pictures, reels of memories. Others are just still-lives, memories captured in photographs. Trevor ducks and dodges Amanda’s precious memories and approaches her closet. He taps on the door. He waits a couple seconds and taps again.
         Slowly, the door swing open. A disheveled and tired Amanda stumbles out. Trevor catches her in his arms. “Amanda,” He says, smiling.
         Amanda looks up into his face. “I knew you would come for me.”
         Trevor looks at his love. Her hair is matted to her forehead and tangled around her neck with sweat. Her pretty green eyes have trouble focusing and flit around the room at the loose memories. “Amanda,” Trevor repeats, “Amanda, love, can you hear me?”
         Amanda focuses on his face. “Of course, I can hear you, Trev…Do you see this mess? I’m so sorry…” Her gaze slides away again.
         “Amanda, I need you to focus on me for a second.”
         Amanda looks at Trevor. “What’s wrong?”
         “Amanda, you’ve been poisoned. Those girl scout cookies you ate? They were poisoned.”
         Amanda scrunches up her cute little nose. “I didn’t mean to eat them all.” She giggles. “It was an accident, and I was so mad at you. But I’m not any more, Trev…I love you now.” She wraps her arms around Trevor. “I love you, Trevor.”
         Trevor looks into her eyes. His heart is troubled.
         “It’s not just the cookies,” Amanda says, “What is it, Trev? Huh? You can tell me.”
         Trevor bites his lip. “Amanda, we have to do something dangerous. Both of us could die.”
         Amanda’s eyes turn sharp and confident. “I’m ready.”
         Trevor buries his face in her sweaty hair and wishes he could cry. “That’s good, Amanda, that’s a good girl.”
         Amanda pats his head. “It’ll be alright, Trevor.”
         Trevor rubs his nose up and down her throat. He kisses the tender skin. Amanda stiffens and grasps his chin in her hand. She tilts his head so that she can look into his eyes. “Trevor, just how serious are we talking?”
         Trevor closes his eyes. “Very. Amanda, I said both of us could die.”
         Amanda giggles. “Trevor, we cannot die. We are invincible.”
         Trevor shakes his head and opens his eyes. “No, Amanda, we’re not invincible.”
         Amanda frowns. “I don’t understand.”
         Trevor tightens his grip on Amanda. Time was running out. “Amanda, you are dying now. And as you die, I die. Remember? If one of us dies, the other dies?”
         Amanda nods. “It’s a package deal.”
         Trevor nods grimly. “But I…I don’t want to lose you, Amanda. I will not let you die.”
         Amanda traces Trevor’s facial features. “And I won’t let you die either. What do we need to do?”
         Trevor quickly explains his plan to her, all the while kissing her hair, her jaw, her neck- her. Amanda is somber and understands. “Trevor?” She asks.
         “Yes, love?” Trevor asks, tenderly kissing her cheek.
         “What will happen to you? The you you leave behind. What does he do?”
         Trevor sighs. “He will protect you, love.”
         “And if I die?”
         “He will take over.”
         “And I will be immortal?”
         “Yes.”
         “But my soul- me- I’ll be gone.”
         “You, you are Amanda’s soul, and yes, you will be gone, but the part of me that I leave behind will become your soul and you will be immortal, love. We’ll be together forever.”
         Amanda falls silent.
         Trevor kisses her.
         Amanda looks up at him. “Trevor, I don’t want to die.”
         At that moment, Trevor feels his heart break. His throat closes up. “I don’t want you to die either, Amanda.”
         Amanda turns frightened eyes up at him. “Trevor?”
         “Yes, love?” He asks.
         “Will you kiss me?”
         Trevor looks at Amanda- the real Amanda. Hadn’t he been kissing her?
         Amanda sees his confused look and corrects herself, “Kiss me, like you kissed Amanda- your first kiss. Kiss me, her soul.”
         Trevor purses his lips.
         “Of course.”
         Just like the first time, Trevor takes her chin in between his fingers. He tilts her face up to his and pauses a moment, taking one last gaze at his love’s soul. With his free hand, he strokes her cheek. He closes his eyes, knowing that she is doing likewise, and touches his lips to hers. Just like Amanda had done, her soul gasps in pleasurable surprise, and he takes this opportunity to hesitantly dip his tongue in her mouth. Her mouth tastes like frosting. He feels his chest swell with a passion and thrusts his tongue in her mouth this time with more vigor. With equal desire, she kisses him back, her fingers spread through his hair, her body wound around his. He kisses her again and again and strokes her cheeks and brushes away her tears. He lets one hand run down her body, reassuring her of his love with every caress. Finally, with one last kiss, he breaks it off. He opens his eyes, out of breath and out of emotion.
         Amanda is giving him a new look. “Trevor…” She says.
         Trevor smoothes back her hair. “Yes?”
         “That was better than the first time.”
         Trevor smiles at her.
         “How are you so good? First kisses are always so awkward.”
         Trevor shrugs. “I’m a demon, a darkly magical creature. Some things we are just born with.”
         Amanda sighs and says, “That’s not fair. My first kiss was so embarrassing.”
         Trevor grins. “You’re human, love.”
         Amanda smiles. “True.”
         “Now…are we ready?” Trevor asks Amanda’s soul.
         Amanda nods.
         Trevor focuses inwardly. He mentally grasps his soul. Using the split charm he had only read about and never tried- for obvious reasons being he had no reason to split his soul- Trevor takes his soul and carves a little part off. He uses a projection spell to take the soul-bit out of his mind and into Amanda’s. With a gasp, Trevor heaves and doubles over as if he’s going to throw up. A third figure appears in Amanda’s room. Trevor looks up and sees himself standing next to Amanda’s soul. Trevor collapses on the floor, fighting to stay conscious. He has to get out.
         Amanda takes Trevor’s soul’s hand. She smiles at him, and he smiles back.
         Trevor could feel a brainache starting. Splitting himself and then seeing himself at the same time is a little much even for an immortal’s brain. He forces himself to stand and look himself and Amanda in the eyes. “Good luck, you two.” With that, he exited Amanda’s mind.

********Trevor is on Amanda’s bed beside Amanda’s figure again. He is clutching his head and gasping for unnecessary air.
         Chase approaches him. “Trev, you alright?
         Trevor gingerly scoot Amanda over and flips onto his back. “Chase, I’ve got the worse brainache.”
         Chase chuckles. “No kidding. So it worked?”
         Trevor covers his eyes with his left arm. “So far, so good.”
         Chase nods in the dark. “We gonna go to the Healer now?”
         Trevor sighs. “Yeah.”
         “You okay?”
         “Just tired that’s all.”
         Chase hesitates. “I don’t know…”
         Trevor stands up. “Are you kidding me, Chase? I’m f-” Trevor’s voice fades away as he passes out, narrowly missing the bed and collapsing on the floor instead.

*********Trevor opens his eyes. Whoa. It is bright. Where was he? He blinks against the harsh light and someone’s voice says quietly, “He’s awake.”
         Trevor groans. Massive brainache.
         “That was some hit you took there, Trevor.”
         Trevor looks up. It is the Healer. She smiles calmly at him. “But you will be fine.”
         Trevor’s eyes roam around the room, open but not seeing. Where was Amanda?
         “You have a visitor.” The Healer says.
         Trevor smiles. Is it Amanda?
         A murky figure enters his field of vision. Trevor focuses on the figure. It is not Amanda- but his visitor is still welcome. “Hey, Chase, glad to see you.”
         “Trev! Oh, Trev! I was afraid you weren’t gonna make it!” Chase exclaims.
         Trevor rolls his eyes. “Chase, don’t be so dramatic.”
         The Healer quietly corrects him, “Trevor, you were in great danger. Chase is right, but he also brought you in time. I was able to save you.”
         Trevor sits up. “So, Chase brought me and Amanda here?” Trevor looks at his          friend. “I owe you, Chase.”
         Chase nods vigorously. “Maybe you can watch Evan one of these nights for me. He has a girlfriend now. He likes to push the envelope. It wouldn’t surprise me if he tried to screw the poor girl.”
         Trevor chuckles. “I could do that. As long as I can keep an eye-” Trevor stops, right there, in his sentence.
         The Healer and Chase exchange glances then look back at Trevor.
         “Where is Amanda?” He asks them. “Where is she?”
         Chase gives him a small smile. The Healer places a cool hand on Trevor’s shoulder. “Relax, Trevor. You’re alive, and so is she.”
         Trevor visually relaxes, but inwardly he remains uptight. Nothing will be right until he sees her again, alive and well.
         The Healer smiles. “Actually, she’s quite lucky. If it weren’t for your crazy scheme, she would be dead.”
         Trevor gave Chase a look of disbelief. “It worked? Our plan worked?”
         The Healer nods. “Yes, and like a charm, I might add. She is fine, unconscious, but fine.”
         “How did it work so well? It was bound to go wrong.”
         “Trevor, you underestimate the Power of the Conjoined. When the bond between mortal and immortal is this strong, magically and through other elements, the harder it is to break it.” The Healer continues, “I performed a non-invasive mindsertion to check how extensive the damage is, and to my surprise, the damage is not permanent and completely manageable. I also found your soul-bit and Amanda’s soul. Yours had created a shield, and Amanda was teaching him how to play Mao, a human game. They were in her closet. I was concerned about the chaotic bedroom, but I’ve been checking on her everyday since the antidote has cleansed her system. She’s putting herself back together. She’ll be fine.”
         Trevor smiles at the news. “Thank you, Healer, thank you so much.”
         She smiles. “Anything for His will, as you know, Trevor.”
         Trevor nods. “Of course. I do have one question though- you said days? How long have we been here?”
         Chase speaks up first. “Seventeen.”
         “Seventeen!?” Trevor exclaims. “Good grief!”
         The Healer chuckles. “Poison and soul-splitting have the longest recovery times, Trevor.”
         Trevor shakes his head. “Figures. At least we’re alright. Thank you again.”
         She smiles. “You’re welcome. I suppose you wish to see Amanda?”
         Trevor hops off the examination table he had been laying on for the past seventeen days. “Wish to? I need to!”
         The Healer chuckles and Chase rolls his eyes. “Love,” He mutters.
         “Follow me.” The Healer says.