Chapter Seven

"When you got the glow, your body's gold.
So don't let go of the power of elevation."
-Victoria Monet

March 22, 2008
2 Years Later…

"Settle down!" Dr. Elliot yelled over the loud voices of the high school students. She grabbed her attendance book and peered over the top of the thin-rimmed glasses that sat on the lower end of her nose. She was no-nonsense, and they all knew it. It never took much to get on her bad side.

A girl with ginger hair bumped into the classroom door with her back facing the window. She wasn't alone. Vince Steadman, her boyfriend of almost one year, was towering over her with both arms on the side of her. He shot her a mega smile before whispering something into her ear and brushing his lips alongside her neck.

"Vince, stop!" The girl giggled. But not before running a trail down his chest to the center of his abdomen and gazing into his brown eyes. She placed her arms around the taller boy's neck and gave him a gentle kiss before spinning on her heel, obviously happy to be dating the carbon copy of the teenaged Morris Chestnut.

They made him sick.

Huey Freeman and the rest of the class stared as Dr. Elliot stopped calling attendance and looked over at her least favorite student say something else to Vince. She got up, grabbed the silver door handle, and promptly yanked it open, causing the girl leaning on the other side of it to stumble inside.

"Jazmine and Vince." Dr. Elliot shot them both a stern look. "Every single day, the two of you are playing some sort of horizontal hokey pokey on my door." She ignored the gradual blush creeping across Jazmine's face and turned her attention to Vince. "I believe you should be headed to Geometry class." She flicked her hands toward him in a shooing motion. "Quickly."

Their teacher turned her attention over to Jazmine and stared for a long moment. Jazmine began to tug at her shirt awkwardly, obviously embarrassed, until Dr. Elliot grabbed her gradebook and aggressively scribbled something in her attendance book next to the girl's name. "Not good, Dubois." She motioned to the empty seat at the front of the class. "Sit."

The class snickered quietly as Jazmine crashed into her seat and tied her hair into a slightly less distracting puffball. She smoothly draped her backpack over her chair and pulled out a binder with a green notebook inside of it before proceeding to take out a pen to scribble something inside it.

As Dr. Elliot began to drone on about their upcoming out of town trip to Salem, Oregon, Jazmine continued scribbling, her eyes intently focused on something outside of their teacher's directions. Oddly enough, she wasn't even looking at the paper. Her eyes were focused on an empty spot in the classroom. It was like she was in a daze.

"Dubois." The woman snatched the notebook up and scanned its contents. "I'm not sure what is so important about catering to whoever 'The Innocents' are." She tossed the book onto Jazmine's desk and then walked over to the whiteboard. "But I would presume that even you are interested in learning about the special accommodations the airport has put into place for our trip." She gave the girl another intense glare. "Correct?"

Jazmine softly closed the notebook and nodded her head. "Right."

"Why are we going to Salem, Oregon anyway?" Huey looked over at his girlfriend, Arielle, as she swung her fresh Havana twists over her shoulder. She was speaking in a low tone so that their teacher wouldn't hear. "Weren't most of the women who were burned in Salem white anyways?"

He snorted before lifting his palm and pointing at it.

"Even though we're going for obvious reasons." He looked down at a text from Caesar. He was shot asking him to meet up with him after school. "It is actually speculated that several of the victims in the 1600s Salem Witch-Hunts were black women."

"Wait. You mean to tell me that black women were burned at the stake too?" Arielle shot him a look before sinking further into her seat and leaning back into it. "I mean- I guess I shouldn't be surprised. We're always getting erased from history."

"Yup." Huey nodded. "The first woman to be burned at the stake was Tituba Indian." He made sure to glance up at Dr. Elliot and study her for a moment before glancing down and turning his attention back to his girlfriend. "She was owned by the Parris family. When the niece and the daughter of the God-fearing minister fell ill, the doctor suggested to Tituba that she make a cake of dog urine and rye meal to expose the culprit. She baked the cake, and –"

Arielle rolled her eyes upward and gave Huey a knowing look. "Spoiler alert." It was her turn to stare up at Dr. Elliot, who was still going on and on about airport safety protocol. "They burned her at the stake." She shook her own head before pulling out her phone to research more. "I can't believe I never heard about her before."

"Oh, it gets better." Huey took a survey of the room. Once he confirmed that nobody else was paying attention to their conversation, he leaned in, a smirk on his face. "While the other two women vehemently denied any involvement with witchcraft, Tituba decided it was best to confess and gave a long testimony where she claimed the devil himself had appeared to her as some sort of hybrid animal walking on two legs."

"No." Arielle gasped. Her right hand was resting underneath her cheek as she turned over to her boyfriend.

"Yes." He continued. "What's even crazier is that they had an assortment of books." He let out a quiet laugh. "If they mentioned the book, she could describe it." He stopped laughing and then playfully went silent, his voice lowering. "And if they mentioned a disguise of the devil from the good book-"

"She knew that too!" Arielle shook her head grinning. "Man, I bet she knew that they were gonna kill her anyways." She fought the urge to laugh. The woman had lost her life after all. "They were probably more scared that she'd been reading than anything else." She flipped her hair again. "She was going to die either way."

"Bingo." Huey pointed at the smiling girl. "Of course, later on, they ended up grilling her some more because the devil seemed to fit the description of a white man." He shrugged. "And then she recanted her story, saying that her master pressured her, but it was too late." He picked up his pen and copied down some notes that Dr. Elliot had begun writing on the board. "They put her in jail for five years, and she ended up escaping, never to be heard from again." He covered his mouth and yawned. "They used the details from her confession to try and burn the rest, who are also speculated to be mainly black women and single, attractive white women."

"That's fucked up." Arielle shook her head. Her eyes widened. "So basically, Salem was like a racist's wet dream."

Huey zipped up his backpack. "Probably still is."

The bell rang, and they walked out of the door, hands intertwined. He turned over and softly brushed his lips over hers. He gestured towards his phone, ignoring her look of fake disappointment. "I've got to catch up with Caesar." He gave her a small nod before turning around. "I'll text you later."

She laughed. "Tell Caesar to come to me as a woman. I'm tired of sharing you!"

Life was good.

Life was rough.

Innocents were the most aggravating individuals known to man. Katherine had often teased that she was becoming more and more like her guardian, Leilani. Maybe if Katherine had seen some of the crazy things that her Innocents got her into, she would understand their frustrations.

Just the other day, Jazmine had to help out an elderly man who had sold his soul to a demon for a hot dog. A hot dog! And it didn't get much better from there, unfortunately. She had ended up getting a job at the record store with an Innocent for weeks, just to stake out for a demon that had eventually showed up and blasted her straight through the glass entrance of the building. It had taken weeks for the scratches to heal even with her having supernatural abilities, and she'd had to fake the flu, pneumonia, and bronchitis to keep her friends and boyfriend from asking too many questions.

To the credit of the Innocents, they weren't all bad. Being able to remote view allowed her to help people who needed it without them even knowing. She would make sure to stress the syllables on certain street names or objects, so that they could find something that they were looking for. Hell, she'd even be able to save a woman from being wrapped up in an abusive relationship where she would've been the first to be murdered at his hands. Then, she sent in an anonymous tip to the Woodcrest Police Department, to describe some of the rooms he'd built in a newly constructed subdivision that would have allowed him to murder several men and women in the area without ever being caught.

That wasn't all.

There were ghosts, spirit guides, ancestors that surrounded people. Jazmine didn't mind dealing with them from time to time, no. Some Innocents needed confirmation, and being able to provide information from a source on the other side without having to exert so much of her energy was a plus. It gave them comfort, and it increased her credibility, which was a win-win.

The only thing about speaking with beings on the other side was that there was no way to verify what they were saying without doing extensive research. They could be as reliable as a Wikipedia page. Not to mention that some beings were extremely tricky and enjoyed passing off incorrect information to work mortals up and frustrate them, or even worst, to use them to carry out some sick, evil agenda of their own. It required a lot of patience and a lot more discernment than Jazmine had available sometimes.

But she still did it. She told a sad widowed man that his wife loved that he sang their anniversary song at her grave every holiday. She handed a small dog's chew toy to its tearful owner, an elderly woman who hadn't noticed that it had gotten out into the street while chasing the toy that had tumbled out of the front door. She had even done her parents before. Her grandfather, Sam, had been insistent on her father finding a letter that he had left for him in Oklahoma. He had insisted that she convince her father to return to his childhood home with his family for a week.

It had required a lot of brainstorming on Jazmine's part, but she believed that it had ultimately saved the marriage of her parents. Her father had returned home with a strong boost of confidence, and he seemed much happier and lighter than he'd been in years.

Now that she was close to turning sixteen, she felt the air around her coming to life. It was like she could sense the vibrations in everything. Nothing on Earth lacked awareness. Everything just was.

She couldn't explain the feeling that washed over her, nor could she explain the odd feeling of pride over the powerful gifts that would be bestowed upon her tomorrow. All that she knew was that she felt ready to face the challenges ahead.

She arrived at the locker number that had been flashing in her mind since she'd been making out with Vince before class. Locker 159. She looked around and shoved a piece of paper through the slits of the metal compartment and kept walking. Somebody needed to tell Rita Daniels that Sebastian was cheating on her with half the school and supplying them all with STDs. She'd even provided a few locations and times where she could catch him in the act. It was all for the greater good.

"Psssst."

Jazmine looked over to find Leilani and gave her a small grin. After what had happened with Huey, Leilani had softened a lot towards her, and even though she got on her nerves often, she would always hold her in high regard. She had been there for her when Huey had died in the original war, and she was surprisingly helpful in giving her advice on how to move forward without the support of her friends.

"I'm happy to see you." Jazmine nodded, falling into stride with the spirit as they walked the empty halls. "Is this about my sixteenth birthday? The enhanced abilities?"

Leilani shot her an odd look. Her face grim. "This is your first and final warning." Jazmine blinked as she watched the woman slowly fade away. "Everything is not as It seems."

Jazmine froze for a moment.

"What does that even mean?" She moved her backpack straps inward and held the heavy object in place before walking off to class. "Damn spirit world always talking in riddles." She pulled the backpack tightly against her shoulders, muttering to herself. "I'm always specific with my Innocents. They could at least be more detailed."

She didn't notice the spirit watching her from a distance with curious eyes.

"Perfect." Thaddeus chuckled as he looked over at Bartholomew, nodding his head. "We're finally going to be able to set you all free." He looked at the man and frowned, his eyes cast downwards. "It's a shame what happened to you all so many centuries ago." He whistled at the other man's grief-stricken expression. "So many lost souls. Some never to be found again."

Jazmine felt the chill. The feeling of a spirit, a softer, motherly presence.

She whipped around. "Who's there?"

A beautiful woman with red shoulder length hair stepped forward. Her green eyes were beautifully expressive, and she had light brown freckles spread across her tanned nose. She wore a kind, soft, smile on her lips, and she wore a beautiful pastel pink sundress. To Jazmine's pleasant surprise, she was able to smell her, a mix of apple cinnamon and vanilla. She found that there was something comforting about being in her presence.

"How can I help you?" Jazmine smiled at the ghost, enjoying a change of pace from the deceptive spirits that she ran across. "Do you have a message for someone?"

The woman seemed apprehensive. She nodded and stepped forward before reaching out and softly touching the spot on Jazmine's forehead between her eyebrows, "I'm Dina." Her voice was a bit shaky, a bit shy, and a bit sweet. "Dina Arceneaux." The woman took a deep jagged breath before making her grand announcement. "I'm your mother."

Jazmine gasped as the images rushed into her brain before she could even think to reject the oncoming premonition. It was almost as if she'd been there watching it all unfold herself.

"Just one more push, honey!" A handsome, caramel complected man had his hand in Dina's as she struggled to move her body upwards and push the child out. There was sweat on her brows, the pain unimaginable.

She'd thought that people were exaggerating about the feeling of childbirth, but they hadn't been descriptive enough. Maybe there were no words for feeling like your insides would tear apart if you moved too far or not at all. She squeezed Julian's hand and took a breath before trying again, falling back onto the bed when a stabbing pain formed at the bottom part of her belly and shot up to the tip of her abdomen.

The baby was right there. She could feel it.

"C'mon momma." The nurse's voice was comforting. Motivating. "She needs you."

Something about that statement gave Dina the strength that she needed. She held the rails next to her and slowly pulled herself upward, grunting as a few more twinges of pain shot around her inner thighs. Her lower region felt like it was being pounded with an intense throbbing sensation. She tried to focus on the sweat dripping down her face, the AC's gentle hum, and the fact that her little girl needed her.

"There you go, baby!" Julian grinned excitedly as the nurse placed her hands underneath the gown. "That's the head." He lifted his hand to gently cradle Dina's head, holding her back with his other arm before leaning into her. "One more. I got ya."

Before she could even protest, he pushed her forward, sending a strong explosion of sensations from her nether regions to the tips of her shoulders. "Ahhhhhhh!" She let out a scream before tossing her head back onto the arm of her husband and twisting her body away from the pain.

"Ah wahhhhhhh."

They both looked at each other and then at the beaming nurse, looking at them with expectant eyes. Dina felt all the pain melt away as they wiped the child down and swaddled her. The nurse walked over slowly, cradling the newborn before gently placing her into the new mother's arms.

"Congratulations, Dina and Julian." The nurse smiled again. "You have a healthy baby girl."

Dina gasped as she stared at the child. She looked like a doll. Her tiny eyes were closed, and her little hands were clinched into small fists while she made small little noises. She and Julian watched, transfixed by the baby's breathing. They stared at their baby's chest, rising and falling before she wriggled slightly, making another sighing sound.

"She's perfect." Dina said to no one in particular.

They sat like that for a while. Jazmine in Dina's arms. Dina in Julian's.

There was nowhere else they'd rather be.

Jazmine simply stared at the ghost blankly before walking away and turning on her heel.

"Jazmine!" Dina called after her. "Jazmine!"

She walked faster and faster, past the girl's restroom, and continued walking away from where her next class was being held. She pushed open the double doors once she reached the exit, ignoring Katherine, who had appeared just as she was greeted by the sun peeking through the cloudy sky. She could hear the woman calling her, running after her. The woman whose name she had just scrawled into her book at the beginning of her last class.

Dina Arceneaux – Spirit with a message for her daughter.

Leilani had been right.

Things truly weren't what they seemed.

Huey glanced over at Caesar talking to his latest conquest, Danielle Gaines, a senior two grades ahead of them. For the entirety of their brief high school career, Caesar had made it his mission to take the girl out, and each day he swore that he was closer and closer to wearing her down.

It seemed that today was the day that it had worked.

The dreadheaded teenager happily ran over to his best friend, a discreet grin on his face.

"Missing out on that school trip is gonna be so worth it." He grabbed his car keys and slowly jogged beside Huey. "I can't believe Danielle is going out with me."

"Neither can I." Huey snorted before shooting Caesar a look. "Are you sure she's not inebriated?" When Caesar stopped to glare at him, Huey smirked and kept walking towards the courtyard. "Maybe she's on one of those new pills." He let out a chuckle when his friend shot him another glare. "You know half our classmates have to be on them."

"Man, shut up!" Laughed Caesar before sitting down on the table behind him and looking around. "So you, Airielle, alone in Salem, Oregon for three days." He wiggled his shoulders and clapped his hands together. "Are you two, well, y'know…"

"Are you asking if we're having sex?" Huey raised a brow at his friend.

Caesar nodded vigorously. "I am, yes." He shot the boy a look. "I mean, ya'll have a good thing going." He turned to look at him. "But I never know with you so…"

"Yeah." Huey nodded slightly. He seemed almost embarrassed to say it aloud. "We are." He shot Caesar a murderous glare. "And you'd better not say anything to anybody about it." He leaned in towards his friend, his voice low and serious. "Or I will kill you."

Caesar winced at his friend's words. "Oh-kaayyyy." He pushed himself to the opposite end of the table. "No need for that." He gave the boy a sideways glance. "I just wanted to ask my best friend of ten years a question that most normal teenage boys with a billion hormones ask." He leaned back to gaze at some guys shooting paper balls into the garbage cans on the other end of the high school. "Especially since said friend is insanely private. I just wanted to check in. See how things are going. Is that so wrong?"

Huey let out a quiet sigh before shaking his head. "No, I guess not." He rubbed his shoulder. "I just don't…" He paused and lowered his eyes. "I don't talk about this stuff a lot, man."

Caesar nodded. "Yeah, most of us don't." He grinned. "But that's why I'm here." He stood up and raised his arms like he was in the middle of the stage on Broadway. "To be there to talk about it with you." He snorted. "It's not like I'm a virgin."

"Trust me." Huey nodded. "We know."

"Damn! You make it seem like I'm a gigolo or something!" Michael Caesar feigned innocence and clutched his chest. "That hurts, Huey."

"Shit, I dunno man." Huey retorted, teasing smirk on his face. "You might be." He looked over at Danielle. "That's probably why she's taking you out for a spin this weekend." He stood up. "Word's out about your services."

"Oh, like Arielle was your first." Caesar shot him a smug look. "I know you've gotten some looks from some pretty good-looking girls in this school, Freeman." The dread head walked closer to the revolutionary, lowering his tone. "And I'd be very surprised if you didn't dabble into the intriguing world of sex before dating Arielle this past summer."

"Alright, fine." Huey grumbled. "If you must know." He rolled his eyes upwards and folded his arms over his chest. "I lost it last fall, to Delilah."

"You lost your virginity to fine ass Delilah in our grade?" Caesar's eyes widened. "Delilah with the perfect everything Delilah? More than once?"

"Yes, yes, and yes."

"And you, didn't fall in love with her?" Caesar's eyes got even wider.

"No."

"And you slept with someone after her." Caesar said it as if in a trance. "And before Arielle."

"Yes." Huey shot him yet another look. "And that was it." He got up and snatched his bookbag off the table. "Now can we stop talking about my sexual history?" He looked over at his friend. "Seriously, what do you want next, an STD panel?"

"Alright," Caesar threw up his hands in surrender. "I'll drop it. Honest." They continued walking. "But just so you know, I've only ever slept with one girl."

Huey's eyes widened, "What?" He nearly choked on his spit. "Who?"

"Fine ass Linda from middle school." Caesar nodded emphatically before looking off into the distance to reminisce on the experience. "She was beautiful. I'm glad we shared that experience, and that she was able to trust me with that." He got quiet. "It wasn't love, but it was special."

"I get it." Huey said after a long moment of silence between them. "Letting someone see that part of you takes some level of intimacy." He kept his eyes forward as they walked towards the student parking lot. "I guess you never forget that feeling."

"Yeah, man." Caesar said softly. He reached out his arm to pat Huey's shoulder then playfully slammed it down. "Guess that makes you the gigolo."

"Man, shut up!" Huey laughed, watching as Caesar hopped into his car. "Drive safe!"

After Caesar pulled off, he noticed Jazmine hopping into her parent's car. It looked like Tom and Sarah had managed to patch things up, which he supposed was good. He noted the deep frown etched onto the teenage girl's face. She appeared to be in deep thought about something and pulled out her phone, seemingly distracted. At first, he'd rolled his eyes. He'd thought that she was reappearing at school after skipping class to avoid having angry parents chastise her.

But then, something caught his attention.

There was a woman beside the car yelling at Jazmine.

"Jazmine, please!" The woman cried out, obviously in distress. "Honey, come back! I have to talk to you. It's important. You have to find out before your birthday!"

She was transparent.

And she wasn't the only one. Outside of Sarah sitting in the front seat with Tom, there was another woman in the backseat with Jazmine. This other transparent thing, ghost woman was elderly with calm eyes. She seemed similar in disposition to his childhood friend, and he was trying to talk to her despite Jazmine clearly ignoring her. Which could only mean one thing.

Jazmine also saw ghosts.

Huey had interacted with spirits from time to time. He'd been able to do it for as long as he could remember. Even at a young age, he'd seen ghosts when they desperately wanted to be seen. But something about this felt different. He couldn't quite put a name to what it was, but he knew that something was off. His daily meditations hadn't done this.

Another ghost in a soldier's uniform approached him. His eyes calm and oddly familiar to the young teenager.

"Hello, Huey." The taller transparent man didn't seem threatening. Huey looked at him, studying the man's face. "I'm Bartholomew. I'm from the 15th century." The spirit glanced around as if telling a secret.

"And I need your help."

Author's Note:

Yes, there were actual black victims in the Salem Witch Trials. It's really interesting.

Jazmine is about to go on a wild ride, obviously. This story is going to be on the longer side. I promise to do my best to make that ride a great experience.

To Chels29, my sole reviewer outside of one guest, thank you for reading my junk. You make me feel important!

To CuriousMind58 and KaralettVAddict, thank you both for following my story.

I hope you enjoy.

-MissAceThankYou