Sorry for this long delay in updating this chapter but I'm having a major wroter's block. I'm not leaving this story though so don't loose hope! Hopefully, the next chapter will come sooner since I'm finally free from any exams. Enjoy!

P.S. If you have ideas about what you want to happen next on the story you are free to share!

Chapter 6: When he learned

Jason's sky-blue Audi stopped in front of the Mclean's enormous house. The metal gates opened before he could step out of the car and he drove in slowly, drinking in the view.

The house was really big. The porch was circling the whole building making it seem a lot more open. It was painted in a faded yellow color, making it look like it was some country house. It looked like a nice place for living.

Jason climbed the three steps to the front door and rung the bell. Seconds later a nice looking woman, around thirty opened the door and smiled politely at him.

''Uhm, I'm looking for Piper?'' he said a little nervous.

He tried to ignore the woman's thoughts but despite that he understood where Piper was before the answer came out.

''She's in the living room. Right this way.'' The woman showed him inside still smiling.

Jason didn't have the time to look around before they reached their destination. Surprisingly for him, Piper wasn't alone. A guy, probably a few years older than her, was also there. They were joking around and laughing like crazy, not noticing Jason's presence at all. Or at least that's what he thought.

Piper suddenly turned to the door where Jason was waiting along with the woman (probably the housekeeper or a servant). She beamed even more than before and nodded at the woman behind Jason.

''Thanks Mellie.''

''Call me if you need anything.'' She nodded and left the room.

Piper motioned for Jason to join them on the couch and he sat there still feeling uncomfortable.

''Wow, he's definitely new.'' The guy commented and Jason turned to look at him with stern eyes.

He was definitely older, maybe even in college. His skin tone was darker than Piper's but they had some resemblance. His ember eyes matched his black hair that was a little too long for Jason's liking; it reached his shoulders. He reminded Jason of the Native Americans he had seen before.

Piper caught his look and waved towards the guy.

''Jason this is the friend I told you about, Kellan. Kellan, this is Jason.''

Kellan extended his hand and Jason reluctantly shook it. Surprisingly, he couldn't hear anything. He was only left with the misty feeling of friendship and curiosity in his mind.

''You weren't at school today.'' Jason then remarked, turning to Piper.

''I had to meet Kellan when he arrived from Miami this morning. Did I miss anything?'' she asked him, turning in her seat to see him better.

''No, not really. Dylan searched for you though but I managed to avoid the questioning he had prepared.'' He smirked, remembering the said guy's angry thoughts.

''Ugh, he deserves it. One day in the nearest future I'm going to kick his ass so bad that my shoe will poke through his mouth.'' She sighed threateningly, making Jason chuckle.

''I get that you dislike him then.''

''Dislike is not strong enough but that's not the point. He's not worth the time. We have some work here, right?'' she said and turned to the third person in the room again.

''Right. Do you mind?'' Kellan directed his question towards Jason with extended hand.

Jason nodded, still not fully trusting the guy but not having a choice.

'He will help, don't worry.' Piper's voice sounded in his head and he turned to her. She nodded reassuringly and he captured the other guy's hand.

Kellan closed his eyes, concentrating deeply while the rest stayed silent. Nothing happened for a while. Jason was starting to wonder if he was doing anything at all when Kellan opened his dark eyes and satisfyingly smiled at both of them.

''Well, he is definitely like you Piper. Though, he was a little closer to death than you. You almost crossed the bridge, didn't you?''

The dark-haired guy turned to Jason who was gaping at him with knitted brows. How had he found out about the bridge?

''How do you know about the bridge?''

''I saw it in your memories. Your mind showed it to me more likely.'' Kellan explained to him.

''What?''

The other guy arranged himself so now he was standing properly in front of Jason.

''The first thing you have to remember is that mind is a mysterious thing. You can never use its full potential, no matter what powers you have. However, you can use more of it if you know what to do. I used a technique, a sort of meditation, to reach your memory, searching for memories from the other land.''

''The other land?'' Jason asked again, feeling even more confused.

''Yes, the land where spirits go, the place between life and death.'' Piper explained calmly, eyeing him carefully. ''Once your soul reaches that place it usually doesn't come back to our world. You either get stuck in there forever or cross the bridge.''

''The bridge to the…Underworld? Death?'' he guessed, trying to believe their words but feeling slightly confused.

''Pretty much yeah, depending on what you believe in. It's called differently in the different cultures but we're talking about the same thing. And once you cross the bridge, there is no turning back. You die.'' She stated simply.

''And while to return back when you cross the bridge is completely impossible, returning from the other land is possible. Very rare but still.'' Kellan shrugged. ''That's where you two have been. But you have been nearer to crossing the bridge than Piper. I found the image in your memory.''

Jason abruptly stood up and started pacing around, trying to proceed the new information.

''I was dead. They told me that my heart stopped on the operation table for thirty seconds. I was actually dead for thirty seconds.'' He muttered under his breath, remembering how he followed his mom but something made him turn back and the next time he looked at her again, she was gone. So was the bridge. He was standing alone in an enormous field of grass, lighted and warmed by the sun, without a single cloud on the sky. He thought that it was beautiful and peaceful. But he didn't want to stay there; he wanted to go back to reality. He wanted to live.

''I wasn't that close to the bridge. I didn't come near it; it kind of scared me, made me edgy. But I spent a lot of time at the field. During this time, I was in coma and they didn't know if I'll wake up.'' Piper explained while walking up to him and standing close, not touching him.

He kind of wanted to touch her, to be sure that this was real and not some wicked dream. Because these things sounded very unrealistic and he found it difficult to believe. As if she had heard him (and she probably had) she grabbed his hand gently and led him to sit again, not once letting him go.

''So if you were in coma while your … soul was at the field…why are you like this? I mean, no offence but a lot of people wake up from coma after weeks, months, even years. What's the difference?'' he finally asked, a little calmer than before.

''Every person is different. If you are going to be affected by the place or not depends on the person's…let's say adjustment. Somehow, if your mind is ready to take all of this in, you see the field as you two had seen it. This gave you knowledge about things we can't completely understand. It's like your soul becomes more powerful after leaving the body and once it's back in it, it opens the mind.'' Kellan explained and Jason had the feeling that this guy was into these kinds of philosophical things.

Piper laughed suddenly, making both boys look at her.

''He's studying just that in the University of Miami.'' She explained to Jason and he chuckled uneasily. Could she hear every thought in his mind? Was she listening now?

One glance at her proved him right. She was avoiding his eyes as if she hadn't heard a thing but the blush on her cheeks was giving her away.

'I'm tuning you out, sorry. It's just easier to understand you that way...'

Jason chuckled.

''So…to sum it up: the world is more complicated than I thought and the knowledge we have is limited. But once you reach that other world and return back from it, you get more and your mind and spirit become more powerful, yeah?'' he summed up finally, trying to sort out his jumbled thoughts.

''Yeah, I think these are the basics. And now, for the topic that you're more interested in. Protection.'' Kellan sighed and went to grab a backpack Jason hadn't noticed before. ''Piper said she explained you about charms?'' he asked and hummed approvingly after Jason nodded in confirmation. ''Okay then, so basically it can be anything: a specific mineral, a symbol, anything. There are ones that work, others that don't work, some that work partly but only one kind of charm works perfectly for a person.'' He said while rummaging through his backpack. ''Piper, I suggest you start the basic mediations and rituals. I'll just watch from the distance, without interfering.''

''And this is going to help how?'' Jason asked while Piper pulled him to sit on the floor and motioned for him to get comfortable on the plush carpet.

''He will watch the way your mind and aura react towards the ritual, their shapes and colors and by this he'll try to find your charm.'' Piper explained while pulling her legs underneath her. ''I don't get it either but it works so don't worry.''

''Aren't you supposed to sit Indian style?'' he asked again and Piper chuckled while Kellan rolled his eyes.

''Only in India Jason. And in movies. For meditation to work, you have to be relaxed and completely in harmony with yourself. This can't happen if you're uncomfortably seated.'' Kellan explained while pulling out a small book with leather covers. ''Now concentrate.''

Jason turned back to Piper and mimicked her position. It was quite comfortable actually.

''Now, you have to close your eyes and imagine a place that makes you peaceful. You are there alone.'' Piper instructed her voice calming like she was lulling a child to sleep.

Jason closed his eyes and tried to think of a place where he was calm. For some reason, he ticked off the idea of a beach. He liked to swim but he was sure that this place wasn't what he needed. He needed a place where he could breathe, where he could be free, not limited, where there were no people around to cloud his mind with thoughts. An image of a field with wheat appeared in his head. It was one of those fields that were shown in movies, far away from any civilization. Perfect.

He imagined himself sitting there instead of in Piper's house. He could almost feel the wind ruffling his hair and that brought a smile on his face.

''Good, now let the air pass through you. Breathe in and out freely, feel the world around you with every sense. Finally emphasize on the thing that affects you in a positive way the most. Let it control you.'' She continued in the same voice and Jason found himself getting lost in that imaginary world.

He let the wind sweep around him, carrying away his worries, lifting up the heaviness from his shoulders. He heard the rustling of the golden ears of wheat around him, smelled the typical smell that came with it. He concentrated on the wind that hugged him like a blanket. It was entertaining, feeling it play with you and not knowing what it will decide to do on the next minute. Jason had always liked the wind in his hair.

It was strange how relaxed he felt. It felt as if he had left his worries somewhere far away and nothing else mattered. He felt somehow…calm and at ease with himself.

''Do you feel it?'' Piper's voice reached him and he was almost sure that she was speaking in his mind.

''Yeah, I feel it. It's…amazing.''

Her chuckle sounded lightly through the open space.

''Now, imagine a ray of pure sunlight shining only on you, warming you from head to toe, giving you strength, healing you.''

This time Jason did it easily. The light was forming a cage around him, protecting him from the other world and making it even easier for him to relax. He thought that he could fall asleep like that.

''The light is your source of strength. Imagine it slowly surrounding you until it's like a second skin. When you think you're ready open your eyes but try to keep up the wall of light.'' Piper concluded and Jason hummed in response, unable to concentrate on his words.

Controlling the light was a bit difficult but he managed to make it stick around him without having any week spots. He felt perfectly protected so he slowly opened his eyes.

At first he was surprised that he was in Piper's living room. The sudden change of view made him disoriented for a while but soon his mind caught up with his senses and he relaxed. The second thing he noticed is that the wall was struggling, trying to vanish in the air. He scrunched his eyebrows for a while, trying to keep it in place. He managed but it wasn't without difficulty. The third thing he noticed is that everything around him was quieter. He tried to concentrate on Kellan's thoughts which had been like a murmur before and now were like a whisper, barely noticeable. He tried to find Mellie's mind and felt the wall struggle even more so he refocused on keeping it up. He couldn't locate Mellie but her whispering mind was weaker than the guy's.

''Wow.'' Jason said out loud and finally met Piper's eyes again.

''Yeah.'' She chuckled lightly, clearly pleased with their meditation. ''I must admit that you did very well, brilliant even for your first time. I know keeping up the wall even now is difficult but it will become easier with practice. And while we're on that, you have to do this every morning. No exceptions.''

''Gladly. It's…refreshing, though the wall is slipping already.'' He answered frowning a little as he tried to keep it up.

''Don't worry, it'll get even better.'' She beamed at him, making him smile too, before looking at Kellan. ''Well, did you learn something?''

The other guy turned enthusiastically towards Jason:

''Quite a bit actually. That is, if you want to hear it.''

A\N: Well, that is for today. I hope that you liked it and that it makes sense…kind of. Anyway, if someone has questions PM me and I'll gladly answer. Also, thanks to the reviewers, favorites and followers, you make my day! Please continue! Until next time! :))