Unknown 9 by Layton Green (each kindness read aloud txt) 📕

hadn’t returned, Andie began biting her nails. Prema was nowhere to be found, leaving Andie a wired and nervous wreck by the time Rajani and Cal finally emerged from the jungle.

Cal looked unfazed by whatever had happened, while Rajani looked as if she had just completed a triathlon. Her step was dragging, her shoulders sagged, and a glaze of exhaustion coated her eyes.

Andie hurried to meet them. “Are you okay?” she asked Rajani.

The older woman waved a tired hand. “The cleansing was much more difficult than I’d imagined. The triggers were very deep . . .” She took a deep breath. “Your friend was right to send you here.”

“So he’s fine? There won’t be another . . . episode?”

“It’s impossible to be sure, but I’m fairly certain I rooted out the implanted suggestions.”

“There’s no long-term damage?”

“No,” Rajani said.

“I’m right here, by the way,” Cal said. “But I appreciate the love. How does it work?” he asked Rajani. “What did you do?”

“I reversed the procedure by taking you back to the time and location where it happened. There were barriers in place to prevent that, of course.” Her mouth compressed in a thin smile that said, And I broke right through them. “The human mind is both fragile and incredibly resilient. While it’s easy for an experienced hypnotist to plant suggestions, it’s virtually impossible to stop someone else, if they are talented in the art, from removing them.” She stared at them in turn. “You should be extremely careful around whoever did this.”

“Do you know who the Archon is?” Andie asked.

She blinked. “Who?”

Though Andie’s gut told her that Rajani was a member of the Leap Year Society, she forced herself to stay calm. Rajani was helping them, and entitled to her secrets.

On the other hand, if she was involved, then it angered Andie that she wasn’t more forthcoming.

“I’m afraid I’ve become something of a recluse,” Rajani continued.

“Don’t worry about it,” Andie muttered, though there was something else she had to ask. “Do you know Dr. James Corwin? Has he been here before?”

“I haven’t seen him for years, but I saw the news—what a terrible thing.”

“He was my mentor at school, and a close family friend.”

“I’m so sorry. He was a wonderful man.”

Andie could tell by the sad, dreamy look in Rajani’s eyes that their relationship had been intimate. “How did you meet him?”

“We met many years ago and shared mutual interests. Come, child. It’s your turn.”

“My turn? I wasn’t hypnotized.”

“Are you sure enough about that to take the risk?”

Andie faltered. She had not planned for this, and the thought of someone probing around in her mind, even with good intentions, made her nervous. When her frown deepened, Cal turned to Rajani. “Give us a sec?”

“Of course.”

Cal took Andie by the arm and walked a few paces away. “We can’t take the risk. And I don’t . . .” He took a deep breath as he trailed off. “Not only is it dangerous for us both, but I don’t want what happened to me in Kolkata to happen to you.”

After a moment, knowing he was right, she bit her lip and looked away. “Fine,” she said quietly. “Listen . . . I’m glad you’re okay.”

He squeezed her hand. “It was painless.”

Rajani led Andie down the same footpath. After the jungle enveloped them, Andie heard the gurgle of flowing water, and soon the path spilled into a mossy glade cradling a fern-lined stream. Colorful birds hopped about in the canopy.

Following Rajani’s example, Andie removed her shoes and sat cross-legged beside a shrine built atop a flat-topped boulder. A silver cloth interwoven with midnight-blue symbols had been draped across the rock. On the cloth, a yellow candle floated on a wicker raft in a bowl of water. Andie recognized a few of the symbols on the cloth as Hindu in origin.

Pink and white flower petals littered the ground around the boulder. As Andie’s toes curled into the moss, Rajani picked up a book of matches and lit the candle. The trail of curling smoke released a pleasing aroma of vanilla and spice.

“What religion is this?” Andie asked.

“What do you mean?”

Andie didn’t think it was a complicated question. “I generally associate shrines with religion.”

“Shrines and altars are but external manifestations of an inner alignment. There are no rules or restrictions. Yours should represent your personal belief system, whether religious in nature or not.”

“I’m afraid my shrine would be rather empty.”

Rajani folded her hands in her lap. “Human beings are spiritual creatures, Andie,” she said calmly. “Just as we need food and air and shelter, we require, to be fully healthy, a regular conduit to the divine universe—whatever that means to you. Keeping a personal altar is an excellent way to enhance that connection.”

Andie didn’t respond. Throughout her life, she had felt a spiritual thirst, though she had never figured out exactly who or what she believed in. The closest she had come, she supposed, was revering the mystery of the night sky.

“So you’re a . . . hypnotist then?” Andie said finally.

Rajani’s laugh was a tinkle of handbells. “I am many things, my dear. An Ayurvedic practitioner by heritage, a psychotherapist by education, a guesthouse owner by trade.”

“But you’ve obviously studied hypnosis.”

“I view myself as a humble steward of the mind.” She swept a hand around the clearing. “One of the most powerful remedies at our disposal is immersion in the natural world. Recent studies have shown what certain of us have known all along: that prolonged absence from our biological environment is detrimental to mental health.”

So is prolonged boredom in the countryside, Andie thought wryly. “So what exactly are we doing here?”

The corners of Rajani’s lips turned up. “I sense that mental relaxation does not come easily to you.”

“I’d say that’s an understatement.”

The older woman took Andie’s hands. “Breathe with me.”

“What?”

In response, Rajani took a deep breath through her nose and out through her mouth. After three more inhalations, Andie joined in, deciding to play along. “No matter how talented the hypnotist,” Rajani