262 Perfection Needs Sacrifices (2)
(Tom’s PoV)
“Right. I haven’t settled the score with you for jinxing me last time.” Jane glared at him and put on her angry look.
My inner fan boy danced in excitement seeing her adorable look. I coughed into my fist lightly to ease the thumping in my chest. I had promised myself not to touch her before we officially and legally were together. I didn’t want any impurities to affect our connection and power as Master and General and led to our own destruction.
“Okay, it’s enough. Putra, you should stop saying that word.” I warned him softly. “Can you stand up? I’ve bought some food for us.”
Jane thought for a bit, but then she nodded. Even though still with my help, she was considered to have recovered quite well. In no time, we have sat around the dining table with various food served on it. Putra was still with his usual half grumpy face -there was no excitement on his face seeing that much food. It was the exact opposite with Jane’s expression.
Her eyes were practically shining after seeing the table full of delicacies. Most of it was her favorites.
“Were you awake when you bought this?” She asked me in disbelief.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“Of course. I was fully aware of what I did.” I replied gently.
“But, you bought a lot!”
.....
“Yes, so what about it?”
Jane shook her head, as if she was snapping out of something. “No. It’s not really a problem. You’re a man, of course you would eat a lot. But, this is just too much. It’s as if you knew that I was going to wake up.”
“Well, I had a hunch. I thought that maybe you would wake up before lunch. So, I bought a lot. Come, stop asking and eat.” I put some in her plate and urged her to eat.
Jane squinted her eyes at me, her eyes still had some doubts in them. However, she stopped asking and feeding herself slowly. Our lunch went smooth and gradually the plates were swept clean by us. After having lunch, I helped her to sit in the living room. Putra accompanied her while I busied myself in the kitchen to wash the dishes.
After that, I went to living room with three bowl of desserts on the tray. Jane was meditating and Putra was keeping a watch on her while flicking the fake flower in the vase. The atmosphere was pretty serene. I was hesitated a bit; should I interrupt this harmonious mood?
As if sensing my hesitation, both of them looked at my direction almost at the same time. Since they had noticed my arrival, I continued my steps and put the tray on the table. Putra didn’t even need my invitation; he shot out from his seat and took his share.
I ignored him and took Jane’s share and gave it to her. We ate our dessert, had small talk, and passed our afternoon peacefully.
We didn’t talk about ghost or anything related to it. It was as if we were just old couple, enjoying our normal days. After that, she went back to her meditation and Putra flipped through a magazine on the table, pretended that he could read any of human’s letters. Of course, being a good husband, I cleaned up the bowls and tray and headed to the kitchen.
She didn’t ask about Sanji at all which was a bit strange. But, I thought she might be tired after waking up from deep slumber, so I didn’t mention anything about Sanji either.
Just like that, our night passed by without anyone mentioning about Sanji or any ghosts appeared around us. For the first time, I slept in my own room, not joining Jane in her bed. I could see the confusion in her eyes, but she didn’t ask anything. After closing the door and turning off the lamp, instead of sleeping, I meditated in my room with Putra sitting in front of me, also meditating.
Before the sun arose in the next morning, I got up to clean myself and did light jogging. Putra stayed back to keep an eye to Jane’s situation and the house. I jogged around the villa complex and down to the nearest town to buy some supplies and fresh ingredients. I had been doing it since two days after I moved Jane into the villa. Since the sun was not out yet, the street lamps were the only source of light I could get. I passed by some small alleys where I saw countless pairs of eyes were watching me, or some empty houses which didn’t look empty at all.
I even met some who were haunting some spots on the road. Of course, I ignored them. They must know that I could see them and they might want to talk to me, but I left them behind calmly. Some of them were brave enough to catch up to me with different purposes; scaring me, asking for help, or playing with me. However, with just a bit of spiritual power seeping through my pores, they screamed and escaped in fright. I also noticed something else.
I had always known that Jane’s presence could make any astral creatures ran away. It was like there was a big halo outside the house, as if protecting the house from something. However, as days passed by, the light was getting dimmer and dimmer. When I arrived at home, the protective halo outside had completely disappeared, but it wasn’t completely gone. I could still sense it, it was there, but I couldn’t see it.
Our daily routines were simple since Jane was still in recovering stage. My routines was including the morning jogging before everyone woke up. On the third day after Jane woke up from her deep slumber, the protective halo only had little presence. It was close to nothing at all.
How did she do it?
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmI confronted her about it. What did she do to control her own power to that extent?
“Nothing. It’s my first time hearing this protective barrier. Are you sure it came from me?”
I nodded firmly. Jane looked at her hand, flipped it over as if she could see the thing I was talking about. How silly of her!
“What does this protective barrier do?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I haven’t seen the difference so far.”
“Well, you’re about to. Soon. I’m heading back now.” Putra said before he disappeared, returning to where he was supposed to be.
I blinked my eyes in confusion. From her gaze, I knew that Jane was feeling the same. What did he mean by ‘soon’?
But, it was ‘soon’ indeed. As soon as we snapped out of it, we smelled something that didn’t belong to the house. It was the first time that we smelled it during our stay here. The thick smell of rotten meat and blood started to fill the house. The atmosphere turned heavy in instant. The supposedly comfortable warm room felt a bit hotter to our liking. The originally peaceful mood changed to depressing one. There were shadows lurking outside the window and I heard some noises in the attic.
“So, that’s the difference?” I arched my eyebrows.
“I still need some explanation. Maybe I’ll ask Siji. But...” She looked around then her eyes fell onto me. “You or me?” She asked.
“I’ll do it. Just sit down and relax.” I put my hands on her shoulders and pushed myself to stand up. Walking towards the source of smell, I thought to myself that it had been quite a time for us to face this kind of ghost. We had been focusing in fighting Shadows, or even low level demons. Usually the usual ghost would stay away from us, but maybe the disappearance of the bright halo made them feeling attracted to this villa.
Well, since they came to play, I would show them some game.