I awoke to a throbbing pain in my head and a disgusting taste in my mouth. My body felt stiff from laying sprawled on the floor before the open liquor cabinet.
Somehow I had ended up curled in a ball clutching the empty vodka bottle like a child clutching a beloved stuffed animal. I slowly sat up, allowing the bottle to roll away. It stopped against the cabinet with a dull thunk.
The sky outside was still dark so I knew it hadn't been long since I passed out but my head was throbbing so painfully I didn't feel like figuring out exactly how long I'd been unconscious. I must have been really drunk. That was one crazy dream.
I somehow managed to stand up while clutching my head and stagger to the bathroom to brush my teeth and take an hour long shower.
I stood in front of the mirror attempting to smear toothpaste on the brush with shaking hands and squinted eyes when a glint from around my neck caught my attention. It was a beautiful pyramid shaped diamond clutched within a silver root like setting hanging from a delicate silver chain.
I stared at it for a moment clutching my instruments of dental care trying to remember when I got such a beautiful necklace when suddenly it all came back. I accidentally squeezed the toothpaste, causing it too miss the brush and shoot onto the counter.
"It... It wasn't a dream!" I shouted at my reflection.
"Are you alright dear?" Asked the gentle voice of Kadee, "Ivan shouldn't have taken over your body like that. The bonding is already disorienting on its own and now you have a hangover as well. We are truly sorry. He has been punished with silence for a few weeks. He can't hear us and we cannot hear him."
I jumped and fumbled my utensils. I stared wide eyed at the diamond reflecting in the mirror.
"Take over my body? You guys can ta-take over my body?" I clutched my head and crouched down. This couldn't be happening. It was supposed to be a dream. Why wasn't it just a dream?
"It's not that bad. We can only borrow your body when you're asleep. We could borrow when you're awake but we would need your permission. Another part of Ivan's punishment is that he is not allowed to do either while enduring the silent treatment." Kadee sounded a bit worried, probably because I had started giggling quietly.
"Ha ha ha this can't be happening. I am an intelligent and logical human being. Supernatural occurrences like this don't happen. I must still be dreaming. Wow this is my first lucid dream ever. So amazing. Yeah, really amazing." I was mumbling to myself. Still kneeling and clutching my head.
"Ah man did she break? Are we gonna have another crazy one?" Piped in Troy with his southern drawl.
Brightly added his two cents as well, "Please be silent you barbaric man. Miss Wit is in shock. She only needs a few moments to calm down."
They continued to bicker as I pinched myself in an attempt to wake up. Of course it didn't work. Maybe a shower would help. Is it even possible to take showers in dreams? It felt a little odd to get naked when I have several males bickering in my head., but if this is a dream it shouldn't matter. With that thought I turned the cold water on, not bothering with the hot. I threw off all my clothes and jumped into the biting cold stream.
I yelped when the water touched my skin but still stuck my face in the water. It was so cold that it hurt, and I was still here. I didn't wake up. Which must mean I'm already awake. It's reality that I've been soul bound to a cursed diamond necklace. I sat on my bed wearing my most comfortable pajamas, afraid to go to sleep. "Kadee, are you...there?" I asked hesitantly.
"Of course I am dear." I flinched slightly at the sound of her soft voice in my head.
"I'm a little worried." I twiddled my fingers nervously, "If I go to sleep, will I be possessed by one of you?"
"I'm afraid so. We are always stuck in the gem you see. To finally have a chance to escape even if only temporarily, there's no way we would miss it. I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable but you will understand when you become one of us."
The twinkling lights of the city spilled through my window. I could see the soft light of the moon and barely visible scattered clouds in the sky. Truly a beautiful sight. I guess I could empathize with them a bit. But still, to have someone steal my body...
"Will I be aware?" I asked.
"Only if you are awake and give us permission to take over. At that time your spirit will vacate your body but stay conscious. You will float around your body as whoever has control goes about their business. You will be able to see and speak. But the only one who will be able to see and speak to you is us." That sounds interesting. It's like astral projection.
"Who will take over tonight?"
"According to the rotation, since Ivan was out earlier it should be Tomo's turn." She replied, "After that would be Brightly, V, then Finn."
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I wanted to try being conscious first as I'm understandably a little scared to just blindly pass my body off to some stranger. It's the only one I have after all. "Who's Tomo?"
"It's me." A deep male voice resounded through my head. Calm, but sharp like a knife. It was the man with the Asian accent I heard when I first put on the diamond. Just how many souls are actually stuck in this diamond? I asked my question aloud. Brightly is the one who answered.
"Too many to count, my lady. But very few are sentient like us. And even fewer are able to speak to you and possess you. It depends on the mental acuity of the host. Miss Wit your mental faculties are admirably acute. Thus the weaker of us are unable to possess you. Only 9 of the thousands of spirits within the gem have that power. If you had less willpower and intelligence then even the weak spirits might be able to take over your body."
I nodded absently, my mind occupied with Brightly's explanation. I wonder if I should be flattered? I fiddled with the diamond, spinning it and rubbing it with my thumb. I attempted to lift it over my head but it wouldn't move, as if it was hooked into something somewhere around my chin. I viciously tugged it upward and for some reason I felt an agonizing pain in my lower abdomen. It felt as if I'd been stabbed .
"Please don't try that again miss. Your body would become vegetative and you would still be stuck in the diamond. I would never wish to scare you my lady, but the last time someone forcefully removed the diamond their body went into a coma and the screams of his spirit resounded through the void for days."
I dropped the necklace and shuddered. "Thank you for the warning Brightly." I whispered quietly. My voice shook slightly.
"It's my pleasure. I do not wish for you to go insane." His sonorous voice sounded concerned.
I smiled wryly. "I'll be fine. It'll take a lot more than having my everlasting soul forever bound to a cursed diamond and having my body forcefully possessed by spirits to break me."
I heard a few chuckles from the voices in my head. I'm at least glad that none of my permanent guests seem to be mean people. Except maybe Ivan, damn him.
"Um... Tomo...was it?" I asked tentatively.
"Yes." The male Asian voice replied. Okay, so he's not really the gregarious type I guess.
"What do you plan to do when you take over tonight?" I was really curious.
"Train. Your body is beyond pathetic." A terse reply but I could only grin from the truth of the statement. My last visit to the gym was when I was in high school p.e. and I love donuts far too much.
"And after you train me to an acceptable level?"
"Take jobs." Another terse reply.
" What kind?"
"The covert kind."
Geez, getting answers from this guy is like trying to pull good healthy teeth from the mouth of a uncooperative mouse.
A new voice abruptly interjected into our conversation, "Tomo was a ninja when he was alive! It's so cool, he told me a story once! It was awesome! He killed guys like bam! And infiltrated places like woosh!" This voice sounded high and clear like a child's.
"Who are you?" I sighed in my heart. I've counted at least 7 different voices now. I might develop a migraine problem if this continues.
"I'm V-2-30! But everyone just calls me V! I'm a super uber mega genius computer hacker! When it's my turn to walk I'm gonna beep boop the crud outta some idiots." The kid laughed happily.
"It's a pleasure to meet you V...did you say...beep boop?" I wasn't scared to ask or anything...really.
"It's how I say I'm gonna hack into something. Ha ha! That's how Dr. Dorothy said it. She said it was a code so the other doctors wouldn't know what we were talking about. She told me I was made to beep boop." He giggled.
"V...may I ask how old you are?"
"I am exactly 7 years old!" He said with pride, "Or at least I was when I died. I'm actually somewhere around 10 now I guess? I was the host before you, and the others say it took the diamond a lot longer than usual to find a new host. I wonder why that is?" His voice sounded surprisingly cheerful and bright for a child that died well before his time.
"I-I see. Well it's good to meet you." I needed to change the subject. Just talking to this kid was depressing me. And what kind of name is V-2-30? I think it would be rude to ask so I opted instead to continue my conversation with Tomo. "Tomo...I'm really nervous about tonight. I would like to be aware when you...um, take over."
"It makes no difference to me. Do you grant me permission?" Asked Tomo indifferently.
I gulped nervously. My hands had practically worn a hole through my shirt with all the anxious twisting I'd put it through. I can do this. I'm handing over my body semi-willingly. It's going to be fine. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Y-yes. I grant you permission."