All the efforts I’d made to find someone who might be willing to teach me how to spirit travel had finally paid off. The Blindfolded Hermit, a former monk from Spain who had fled Europe to escape the gallows, was the only person who agreed to guide me on this perilous journey.
The dangers of traveling to the Spirit World were too numerous to mention. Originally, I’d thought the worst thing that could happen involved getting stranded out there like our Wolf Ancestor, the Great Chief Taha Aki, had done hundreds of years ago.
But the hermit had warned me about yet another threat I hadn’t even considered: the disembodied predators who lurked in the darkest depths of the Spirit World. According to him, these evil entities were attracted to the traveler’s inner demons.
In other words, the more repressed fears and unresolved conflicts the travelers carried in their psyche, the more likely they were to become a target for spiritual predators.
I knew I had plenty of repressed rage myself, not to mention how much I feared that the hybrid vampire who’d come out of the woodwork to terrorize Dr. Cullen’s clan might turn Nessie to the dark side.
Still, considering everything that had happened in the last few days, I saw spirit traveling as the only choice I had to save my people. And when I said “my people,” I also meant the Cullens, for the great love that bound me to Bella and Nessie meant the world to me. They were my family, and I simply couldn’t live without them.
It didn’t matter just how much Dr. Cullen may have tried to talk me into dissolving the alliance between his clan and the Quileutes. Maybe I was in serious denial and had deliberately made myself immune to the warnings everyone kept giving me.
All I knew at this point was that nothing could possibly stand in my way. The only thing I was focused on was my mission to take the talisman away from the hybrid, for I believed it was my last shot at stopping her. And, in my mind, I felt truly convinced that no one else could help me succeed in my quest other than the Spirit Warriors. They would surely have all the answers I’d been looking for, so I needed to consult with them at any cost.
The moment the sinister creature had murdered Sam, I knew there was no turning back for me. She’d gone too far, and I’d made a vow that his death wouldn’t be in vain. I had no intention of giving up, no matter the consequences.
Now, here I was at the mercy of the hermit, buried up to my face in the mud after a grueling hike into the most impenetrable regions of the Hoh Rain Forest. Desperate to reach my goal, I’d agreed to become the apprentice of a centuries-old alchemist whom I’d met only a couple of days ago. All in exchange for learning the secret behind a practice long banned by my Wolf ancestors.
I’d entrusted the hermit with the task of looking after my body while, in the mean time, my spirit had crossed over to the beyond, well past the point of no return.
Everything seemed to be going according to plan once I started feeling the effects of the power plants the hermit had given me. I started seeing the luminous energy he’d described as my spirit floated upwards and left my body behind, buried in the consecrated ground where the hermit was keeping watch.
All the fear and anxiety plaguing me had instantly dissipated when my mind’s eye opened. I was captivated by the glowing auras that shone around the edges of the trees, rocks and every single creature in that forest.
A spectacle of shimmering lights of vibrant colors stretched for miles below me as I flew freely, enjoying the fascinating sense of weightlessness that came with not having a physical body.
I was too naive to realize that this state of bliss wouldn’t last long. Before I knew it, a black vortex started opening like a whirlwind amidst all the luminescence, expanding fast in front of me.
At first, I wasn’t sure if I should worry about it, until I felt the strong magnetic pull that started forcing me straight towards its center. And that’s when I heard Bella’s voice echoing around me, calling my name with a sense of urgency.
It was then that I began to understand the downside of spirit traveling. Since I didn’t have a body, I didn’t have vocal cords to speak with. I tried to answer Bella’s call, searching desperately for the same vision of her that I’d seen earlier. But the pull of the vortex was growing stronger by the second, and I had to focus all my energy on resisting it.
As I struggled to find the source of her voice, all I could hear were my thoughts. Bella, where are you? Is it really you calling me?
By then, I knew I didn’t stand a fighting chance against this current. Whatever it was, its force was going to end up swallowing me, and I hadn’t the slightest idea where I was going to end up. Without my arms, I couldn’t grab on to anything. Plus, I’d already flown way too far above the canopy to even think of holding on to a tree.
In all the stories I’d heard my dad telling about the Spirit Warriors, I’d never heard of any of them encountering such a thing. The hermit hadn’t mentioned anything about this mysterious dark energy either. I was out here alone, without my body, and completely defenseless against this force trying to engulf me.
So much for saving Nessie or avenging Sam’s death. I was probably being sucked down into the lower realms the hermit had warned me about. The depths of hell, where all the predators waited in ambush, were probably going to be my final resting place.
Just as I was ready to accept my doom, I finally figured out where Bella’s voice was coming from. Surprisingly enough, it was inside the vortex. Her spirit must be trapped in there, I thought, and, without hesitation, I surrendered to the force, allowing it to pull me in completely.
The moment my spirit began its journey down the black tunnel, everything happened so fast that I didn’t have much time to think. My awareness couldn’t keep up with what was going on around me, so, for a while there, it felt like I’d gotten lost in some kind of limbo. Or maybe I was suspended in time, caught in a loop, so to speak. I wasn’t entirely sure just what the heck I’d gotten myself into.
Words couldn’t quite describe the overwhelming feeling of dread that came over me as my whole being suddenly spiraled out of control. A horrible spinning sensation grabbed hold of me and made me feel completely disoriented. I started to wonder if I might be losing my sanity. Judging by the sounds I could hear in the darkness, I knew I must be entering a place of suffering and damnation.
I was worried sick about Bella and hoped to God that the voice I’d thought to be hers wouldn’t turn out to be the predators’ way of luring me into this hellhole.
All sorts of disturbing noises accosted me as if I’d been tricked into someone else’s nightmare. The worst part were the scratching sounds, like fingernails desperately trying to claw their way out of burial caskets, and the blood-curdling screams echoing in the distance. It was unmistakable that what I was hearing were human moans and cries of agony, probably souls tortured by guilt and remorse, or maybe the thoughts of people who didn’t want to confront their own deaths.
There was also glass breaking, stabbing noises, bones crunching, and the stench of death and brimstone spreading everywhere. This was surely a different dimension, because all the majestic glow of the trees and the forest had disappeared along with the peace I’d felt when I first left my body. I couldn’t figure out where I was exactly, but the one thing I knew for sure was that I wasn’t in the Hoh Rain Forest anymore.
Over and over again, I failed in my attempts to find Bella’s voice in the midst of all the chaos. I could feel my energy draining fast and, several times, I caught myself drifting off into unconsciousness. Even though I didn’t have a physical body, I somehow knew my spirit needed energy to survive, so I struggled to block whatever entities were stealing my life force.
That’s when I remembered what the hermit had told me about spiritual predators. He said my fear and anger would attract them to me like a magnet, so I immediately started focusing on stopping my thoughts. This required for me to empty my mind completely of all worries, even if it meant setting aside the very purpose of my journey here.
I had to let my intuition guide me, and, right now, the only way I could think of protecting myself against the predators was by doing what Sam had taught me. I had to meditate and stop my internal dialogue.
It was really hard at first, since all my mind wanted to do was call out to Bella, but eventually I succeeded.
My mind went blank, and, soon after that, something shifted within me. All of a sudden, I saw my spirit light up, and, before I knew it, I was a cocoon made up of luminous fibers, each of them moving and vibrating very much like live electrical wires.
Now I understood what the hermit meant when he’d talked about light and energy being the same thing. My spirit had real substance, and that substance was weaved together by threads of light. I was a luminous being who didn’t need eyes to see in the dark. I could generate my own light, using my spiritual energy.
The feeling of joy that pervaded all throughout me was such, that, for a few seconds, I didn’t notice my surroundings. I was enthralled by the magic of seeing my own spirit for the first time ever and I simply couldn’t bring myself to look away.
Just then, I heard Bella calling me again, and this time, it was not a whisper. Jake!, Bella screamed. Jake, help me please! The desperation in her voice startled me.
Bella, where are you? I replied, searching for her.
Now that I was able to see in the darkness, the harsh reality of my situation finally hit me. Now I could see where I was, and I could no longer deny what I’d suspected all along. I was in a different dimension, an awful place that looked like a demons’ lair. Death and decay were everywhere.
I was in hell.
Beneath me was a huge void with no bottom in sight, and, on the walls of the cave to my left, I could make out vague shapes moving. Slowly, I found myself floating in their direction, hoping it might be Bella. I was so desperate to find answers that I couldn’t stop myself. I had to see what those shapes were.
Bella, is that you? I asked and then listened intently, but there was no answer.
All I could hear was a shuffling in the shadows, so I drew closer. The moment I shone my light on the wall where I’d seen the shapes moving, I froze in shock.
All of a sudden, I found myself just inches away from a sea of faces and body parts, each of them mangled and bloodstained, scattered across the cave walls, jutting out here and there like the whole wall was plastered with shallow graves. No nightmare I’d ever had in my life could compare to this hideousness.
As I moved away from them, I noticed they were clinging to the cave wall to avoid falling into the abyss below. I figured they must be the astral shells of the dead, refusing to let go, as if that were going to give them back their lives.
Once again, I heard the screams and the scratching from earlier. They were the ones making those horrible noises as they struggled to hang on to their lost lives, but their lights had gone out. It was too late for them.
One by one, they would lose their grip on the cave walls and fall into the abyss. I knew then that, eventually, they would all end up falling.
That was the difference between the spirits of the living and the spirits of the dead. Living spirits like mine were luminous and could float without having to cling to the walls. But the spirits of the dead looked like smoke. They were gray and translucent, their forms only memories of what they used to be when they were alive.
As I floated there, transfixed by the vision of sorrow before me, I started feeling drained again. They were stealing my life force, and this time I could see who was doing it. It was them, the astral shells who wanted their lives back and didn’t want to fall into the abyss. Their smoky shapes began closing in on me fast, reaching out to grab me, so I knew I had to do something to repel them if I wanted to make it out of there alive.
I was just about to go into my meditative state, when a strong force pulled me towards the wall. I struggled to free myself from its grasp until I realized that its pull was different from the others. This force didn’t feel threatening. It wasn’t trying to steal my vital energy. When I came into contact with it, I felt a strange sense of warmth, and it wasn’t long before I understood why.
It was Bella’s spirit who had pulled me out of there just in the nick of time.
You’re safe here, Jake, she said.
But her shape was gray and smoky just like the others. She was dead, too.
Deep inside me, I really wanted to believe that I’d be safe there with her, but my surroundings told me otherwise. This hideout of hers was disturbing to say the least, especially because I knew it was built out of her sheer denial to confront the truth.
She’d brought damnation upon herself when she chose the path of the vampire, and this appeared to be the reason why her spirit was stuck in this realm, lost in everlasting darkness and isolation.
The room we were in resembled the little cottage where she and Edward had moved into after their wedding. That “fairytale” cottage she’d told me about, where she planned to live out her happily ever after with her new vampire family. Only this place was but a grey shadow of the cottage, a grunge version of it, to be exact.
The lace wallpaper was torn up in different sections, as were the velvet curtains. There were cobwebs all over the armchair, the lamps, the desk and the bed. A ghostly place, indeed. Not in the least bit safe from the death and decay that lurked in every corner outside.
But the saddest part was the crib next to the bed. Still wearing her wedding gown, Bella’s spirit floated towards the crib, humming a lullaby, and, then, the most heart-wrenching smile spread across her lips. I could tell it was an attempt at a blissful, motherly smile. Instead, it was the kind of smile you’d see in a patient at an insane asylum, a smile of denial and utter madness.
This is Renesmee, Bella said as her spectral hand rocked the crib. Isn’t she beautiful, Jake?
Filled with dread, I moved towards the baby to have a closer look. Nessie’s spirit couldn’t be there. I knew that for sure. She’d been born a half vampire, so part of her was human, and, therefore, alive. Unlike Bella, Nessie hadn’t chosen to be changed, at least not yet, I hoped.
Just as I’d suspected, Nessie’s spirit wasn’t there. What Bella thought to be her baby was, in fact, a hideous old doll. Its face was cracked, and one of its eyes wouldn’t open.
I cringed at the sight and had to look away immediately. The last thing I wanted to do was shake Bella out of her denial. I had to save her somehow, set her spirit free from this ghastly prison. But this required the help of an expert. I didn’t know how I was going to accomplish this, but the one thing I knew for sure was that I wasn’t going to leave this place without her.
I had to bring Bella with me to see the Spirit Warriors.
The dangers of traveling to the Spirit World were too numerous to mention. Originally, I’d thought the worst thing that could happen involved getting stranded out there like our Wolf Ancestor, the Great Chief Taha Aki, had done hundreds of years ago.
But the hermit had warned me about yet another threat I hadn’t even considered: the disembodied predators who lurked in the darkest depths of the Spirit World. According to him, these evil entities were attracted to the traveler’s inner demons.
In other words, the more repressed fears and unresolved conflicts the travelers carried in their psyche, the more likely they were to become a target for spiritual predators.
I knew I had plenty of repressed rage myself, not to mention how much I feared that the hybrid vampire who’d come out of the woodwork to terrorize Dr. Cullen’s clan might turn Nessie to the dark side.
Still, considering everything that had happened in the last few days, I saw spirit traveling as the only choice I had to save my people. And when I said “my people,” I also meant the Cullens, for the great love that bound me to Bella and Nessie meant the world to me. They were my family, and I simply couldn’t live without them.
It didn’t matter just how much Dr. Cullen may have tried to talk me into dissolving the alliance between his clan and the Quileutes. Maybe I was in serious denial and had deliberately made myself immune to the warnings everyone kept giving me.
All I knew at this point was that nothing could possibly stand in my way. The only thing I was focused on was my mission to take the talisman away from the hybrid, for I believed it was my last shot at stopping her. And, in my mind, I felt truly convinced that no one else could help me succeed in my quest other than the Spirit Warriors. They would surely have all the answers I’d been looking for, so I needed to consult with them at any cost.
The moment the sinister creature had murdered Sam, I knew there was no turning back for me. She’d gone too far, and I’d made a vow that his death wouldn’t be in vain. I had no intention of giving up, no matter the consequences.
Now, here I was at the mercy of the hermit, buried up to my face in the mud after a grueling hike into the most impenetrable regions of the Hoh Rain Forest. Desperate to reach my goal, I’d agreed to become the apprentice of a centuries-old alchemist whom I’d met only a couple of days ago. All in exchange for learning the secret behind a practice long banned by my Wolf ancestors.
I’d entrusted the hermit with the task of looking after my body while, in the mean time, my spirit had crossed over to the beyond, well past the point of no return.
Everything seemed to be going according to plan once I started feeling the effects of the power plants the hermit had given me. I started seeing the luminous energy he’d described as my spirit floated upwards and left my body behind, buried in the consecrated ground where the hermit was keeping watch.
All the fear and anxiety plaguing me had instantly dissipated when my mind’s eye opened. I was captivated by the glowing auras that shone around the edges of the trees, rocks and every single creature in that forest.
A spectacle of shimmering lights of vibrant colors stretched for miles below me as I flew freely, enjoying the fascinating sense of weightlessness that came with not having a physical body.
I was too naive to realize that this state of bliss wouldn’t last long. Before I knew it, a black vortex started opening like a whirlwind amidst all the luminescence, expanding fast in front of me.
At first, I wasn’t sure if I should worry about it, until I felt the strong magnetic pull that started forcing me straight towards its center. And that’s when I heard Bella’s voice echoing around me, calling my name with a sense of urgency.
It was then that I began to understand the downside of spirit traveling. Since I didn’t have a body, I didn’t have vocal cords to speak with. I tried to answer Bella’s call, searching desperately for the same vision of her that I’d seen earlier. But the pull of the vortex was growing stronger by the second, and I had to focus all my energy on resisting it.
As I struggled to find the source of her voice, all I could hear were my thoughts. Bella, where are you? Is it really you calling me?
By then, I knew I didn’t stand a fighting chance against this current. Whatever it was, its force was going to end up swallowing me, and I hadn’t the slightest idea where I was going to end up. Without my arms, I couldn’t grab on to anything. Plus, I’d already flown way too far above the canopy to even think of holding on to a tree.
In all the stories I’d heard my dad telling about the Spirit Warriors, I’d never heard of any of them encountering such a thing. The hermit hadn’t mentioned anything about this mysterious dark energy either. I was out here alone, without my body, and completely defenseless against this force trying to engulf me.
So much for saving Nessie or avenging Sam’s death. I was probably being sucked down into the lower realms the hermit had warned me about. The depths of hell, where all the predators waited in ambush, were probably going to be my final resting place.
Just as I was ready to accept my doom, I finally figured out where Bella’s voice was coming from. Surprisingly enough, it was inside the vortex. Her spirit must be trapped in there, I thought, and, without hesitation, I surrendered to the force, allowing it to pull me in completely.
The moment my spirit began its journey down the black tunnel, everything happened so fast that I didn’t have much time to think. My awareness couldn’t keep up with what was going on around me, so, for a while there, it felt like I’d gotten lost in some kind of limbo. Or maybe I was suspended in time, caught in a loop, so to speak. I wasn’t entirely sure just what the heck I’d gotten myself into.
Words couldn’t quite describe the overwhelming feeling of dread that came over me as my whole being suddenly spiraled out of control. A horrible spinning sensation grabbed hold of me and made me feel completely disoriented. I started to wonder if I might be losing my sanity. Judging by the sounds I could hear in the darkness, I knew I must be entering a place of suffering and damnation.
I was worried sick about Bella and hoped to God that the voice I’d thought to be hers wouldn’t turn out to be the predators’ way of luring me into this hellhole.
All sorts of disturbing noises accosted me as if I’d been tricked into someone else’s nightmare. The worst part were the scratching sounds, like fingernails desperately trying to claw their way out of burial caskets, and the blood-curdling screams echoing in the distance. It was unmistakable that what I was hearing were human moans and cries of agony, probably souls tortured by guilt and remorse, or maybe the thoughts of people who didn’t want to confront their own deaths.
There was also glass breaking, stabbing noises, bones crunching, and the stench of death and brimstone spreading everywhere. This was surely a different dimension, because all the majestic glow of the trees and the forest had disappeared along with the peace I’d felt when I first left my body. I couldn’t figure out where I was exactly, but the one thing I knew for sure was that I wasn’t in the Hoh Rain Forest anymore.
Over and over again, I failed in my attempts to find Bella’s voice in the midst of all the chaos. I could feel my energy draining fast and, several times, I caught myself drifting off into unconsciousness. Even though I didn’t have a physical body, I somehow knew my spirit needed energy to survive, so I struggled to block whatever entities were stealing my life force.
That’s when I remembered what the hermit had told me about spiritual predators. He said my fear and anger would attract them to me like a magnet, so I immediately started focusing on stopping my thoughts. This required for me to empty my mind completely of all worries, even if it meant setting aside the very purpose of my journey here.
I had to let my intuition guide me, and, right now, the only way I could think of protecting myself against the predators was by doing what Sam had taught me. I had to meditate and stop my internal dialogue.
It was really hard at first, since all my mind wanted to do was call out to Bella, but eventually I succeeded.
My mind went blank, and, soon after that, something shifted within me. All of a sudden, I saw my spirit light up, and, before I knew it, I was a cocoon made up of luminous fibers, each of them moving and vibrating very much like live electrical wires.
Now I understood what the hermit meant when he’d talked about light and energy being the same thing. My spirit had real substance, and that substance was weaved together by threads of light. I was a luminous being who didn’t need eyes to see in the dark. I could generate my own light, using my spiritual energy.
The feeling of joy that pervaded all throughout me was such, that, for a few seconds, I didn’t notice my surroundings. I was enthralled by the magic of seeing my own spirit for the first time ever and I simply couldn’t bring myself to look away.
Just then, I heard Bella calling me again, and this time, it was not a whisper. Jake!, Bella screamed. Jake, help me please! The desperation in her voice startled me.
Bella, where are you? I replied, searching for her.
Now that I was able to see in the darkness, the harsh reality of my situation finally hit me. Now I could see where I was, and I could no longer deny what I’d suspected all along. I was in a different dimension, an awful place that looked like a demons’ lair. Death and decay were everywhere.
I was in hell.
Beneath me was a huge void with no bottom in sight, and, on the walls of the cave to my left, I could make out vague shapes moving. Slowly, I found myself floating in their direction, hoping it might be Bella. I was so desperate to find answers that I couldn’t stop myself. I had to see what those shapes were.
Bella, is that you? I asked and then listened intently, but there was no answer.
All I could hear was a shuffling in the shadows, so I drew closer. The moment I shone my light on the wall where I’d seen the shapes moving, I froze in shock.
All of a sudden, I found myself just inches away from a sea of faces and body parts, each of them mangled and bloodstained, scattered across the cave walls, jutting out here and there like the whole wall was plastered with shallow graves. No nightmare I’d ever had in my life could compare to this hideousness.
As I moved away from them, I noticed they were clinging to the cave wall to avoid falling into the abyss below. I figured they must be the astral shells of the dead, refusing to let go, as if that were going to give them back their lives.
Once again, I heard the screams and the scratching from earlier. They were the ones making those horrible noises as they struggled to hang on to their lost lives, but their lights had gone out. It was too late for them.
One by one, they would lose their grip on the cave walls and fall into the abyss. I knew then that, eventually, they would all end up falling.
That was the difference between the spirits of the living and the spirits of the dead. Living spirits like mine were luminous and could float without having to cling to the walls. But the spirits of the dead looked like smoke. They were gray and translucent, their forms only memories of what they used to be when they were alive.
As I floated there, transfixed by the vision of sorrow before me, I started feeling drained again. They were stealing my life force, and this time I could see who was doing it. It was them, the astral shells who wanted their lives back and didn’t want to fall into the abyss. Their smoky shapes began closing in on me fast, reaching out to grab me, so I knew I had to do something to repel them if I wanted to make it out of there alive.
I was just about to go into my meditative state, when a strong force pulled me towards the wall. I struggled to free myself from its grasp until I realized that its pull was different from the others. This force didn’t feel threatening. It wasn’t trying to steal my vital energy. When I came into contact with it, I felt a strange sense of warmth, and it wasn’t long before I understood why.
It was Bella’s spirit who had pulled me out of there just in the nick of time.
You’re safe here, Jake, she said.
But her shape was gray and smoky just like the others. She was dead, too.
Deep inside me, I really wanted to believe that I’d be safe there with her, but my surroundings told me otherwise. This hideout of hers was disturbing to say the least, especially because I knew it was built out of her sheer denial to confront the truth.
She’d brought damnation upon herself when she chose the path of the vampire, and this appeared to be the reason why her spirit was stuck in this realm, lost in everlasting darkness and isolation.
The room we were in resembled the little cottage where she and Edward had moved into after their wedding. That “fairytale” cottage she’d told me about, where she planned to live out her happily ever after with her new vampire family. Only this place was but a grey shadow of the cottage, a grunge version of it, to be exact.
The lace wallpaper was torn up in different sections, as were the velvet curtains. There were cobwebs all over the armchair, the lamps, the desk and the bed. A ghostly place, indeed. Not in the least bit safe from the death and decay that lurked in every corner outside.
But the saddest part was the crib next to the bed. Still wearing her wedding gown, Bella’s spirit floated towards the crib, humming a lullaby, and, then, the most heart-wrenching smile spread across her lips. I could tell it was an attempt at a blissful, motherly smile. Instead, it was the kind of smile you’d see in a patient at an insane asylum, a smile of denial and utter madness.
This is Renesmee, Bella said as her spectral hand rocked the crib. Isn’t she beautiful, Jake?
Filled with dread, I moved towards the baby to have a closer look. Nessie’s spirit couldn’t be there. I knew that for sure. She’d been born a half vampire, so part of her was human, and, therefore, alive. Unlike Bella, Nessie hadn’t chosen to be changed, at least not yet, I hoped.
Just as I’d suspected, Nessie’s spirit wasn’t there. What Bella thought to be her baby was, in fact, a hideous old doll. Its face was cracked, and one of its eyes wouldn’t open.
I cringed at the sight and had to look away immediately. The last thing I wanted to do was shake Bella out of her denial. I had to save her somehow, set her spirit free from this ghastly prison. But this required the help of an expert. I didn’t know how I was going to accomplish this, but the one thing I knew for sure was that I wasn’t going to leave this place without her.
I had to bring Bella with me to see the Spirit Warriors.
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