Rafael was focused on his breathing. With each inhalation, he felt a flow of spiritual energy enter him. With each exhale, all his muscles relaxed and he felt a depression somewhere in his solar plexus, like a void. Alek said that this was where his core was located.

He welcomed this parasitic thought and let it go away. Inhale. Exhale. For a moment, he turned his mind toward the connection he had with the plant spirit, just long enough to feel the flavor of its essence. He then returned to his inner observation. Yes, he could see where the dispersion was occurring.

The energy flow in his body wasn't smooth. In his center, near his core, everything seemed to be going well. As far as he understood it, anyway. On the surface, however, the spiritual energy was not moving properly along the fine meridians beneath his skin. It tended to dissipate outward.

Rafael stretched his will and tried to force the energy to flow the way he felt it should. Nothing happened. He tried again, focusing only on his right arm. It began to sluggishly move inside the conduits.

Even if it wasn't perfect, he had figured out the trick. He wanted to do it again, but couldn't tell the difference between spiritual and vital energy anymore. Inhale. Exhale. Rafael came back to his spirit, immersed himself in his essence for a moment, and tried again.

It worked. The circulation had improved and the energy dissipated was no more than a small fraction of the total. Inhale. Exhale. Careful not to lose his concentration, Rafael opened his eyes and looked at the shaman.

"That's good," Alek said without looking up from his book. "Now both arms at once."

Rafael lost his concentration and the spiritual energy began to leak from the surface of his arm again. He let out a sigh and then looked up at the clock, 2:30 p.m. He had been working on this for over an hour now.

Honestly, he didn't think it would be this hard. He was struggling to differentiate the energies as much as to manipulate them. Alek was doing it with disconcerting ease though. For God's sake, he had directly used the spiritual energy flowing through Rafael's own body to show him how to circulate it...

Rafael still thought it shouldn't have been possible for Alek to do this. The shaman had told him it was only because he didn't know how to control his own energy, but still. He felt like he had no talent. At least, he wasn't in danger of getting a big head.

Rafael was also beginning to realize just how serious this aura thing was. A shaman who let his energy disperse freely could easily manipulate people or cause a riot! It was not very discreet to say the least, a very good way to get the secret services to come knocking at one's door.

Yes, I have to be wary for the authorities now. They probably have a list of people they keep a close eye on, I'd rather not be on it.

He tried to return to his meditation exercise but his thoughts drifted again. Ilona must have been affected by his aura when he had seen her earlier, like Sarah, and like the saleswoman at the supermarket. That's why she had been so nice, and probably also why she had apologized...

Or maybe I'm being unfair, maybe she really wanted to see me like she said.

Alek told him that the effect wore off when you were out of sight. And Ilona had decided to come to him long before she could be affected by the aura… The shaman turned his page and let out a grunt. Rafael shuddered and returned to his task. Keeping his concentration this long wasn't easy, especially since he was starting to get hungry again.

"What are you reading Alek?" asked Rafael.

"It's none of your business, you should work on your spiritual energy. You have a long way to go."

"I could use a little break," countered Rafael. "Can you tell me more about shamanic powers? How can they help me find Leonard?"

The shaman sighed, placed a bookmark in his book, then closed it. Rafael took the opportunity to read the title: "Computer for senior Dummies". Hmm, this must have been all very new to Alek indeed... like spirits to him.

"It's very simple," said Alek. "Shamanic powers depend on the spirit you are bonded with and it is by harmonizing with it that you can use them. What a shaman needs to work on to increase his power comes down to three things.

First of all the control of spiritual energy, it's what you are currently learning to do. Without control, any small shamanic act drains all your energy reserves and in the end, you can't do much.

Secondly, the development of spiritual affinity. This is the knowledge of the specific characteristics of your spirit. The better you know and understand them, the more effectively you will be able to use its blessings.

Lastly, the cultivation of the mind. It is your willpower that allows you to dominate your spirit to make it do what you want. It is also your will that allows you to resist the side effects of the bond on your personality.”

Rafael winced. "Dominate my spirit? Can't we just work together?"

"Bullshit," shouted Alek. "What kind of world do you think we live in? Do you think the Russians had such considerations when they annihilated my tribe?"

We don't have to be as evil as them, Rafael thought disapprovingly.

However, he could see that this was a sensitive point for the shaman, and he did not want to offend him. He would have been just as traumatized if something similar had happened to him! It's not as if he was forced to dominate his dryad just because Alek said so anyway.

Seeing that the shaman had calmed down he took the opportunity to return to the original topic, "How can I find Leonard then?"

"I never got a blessing from a plant spirit," said Alek haughtily. "I suppose you can connect with the plants around you? Communicate with them?"

"Yes," nodded Rafael.

"Then you just track him. You inspect the different places he might be and ask the plants if they smell his scent."

"Is it possible to do that?"

Alek shrugged. "Normally not, but Leonard is your uncle which makes it easier. Spirits have a special sensitivity to blood ties, so the plants will know his scent by comparison to yours."

Wait for me uncle, thought Rafael. I'll come for you!

December 30, 8:45 a.m. Rafael's home.

Rafael opened his eyes to the sound of birds singing. The sun had just risen and the sky was getting lighter by the second. He pumped the sap in his veins to get out of his night lethargy. He had to take advantage of this beautiful morning light to photosynthesize. He was starving.

Rafael went down to the ground floor and headed toward the garden. When he opened the back door he stopped, confused. He suddenly realized what he was about to do and changed his mind, heading for the kitchen instead. Yesterday had been an exhausting day. All his afternoon was spent learning to control his aura at the nursing home. He had finally succeeded at the cost of constant attention. Alek said he would eventually get used to it but, for now, it was a real chore.

Alfred, his father, was already at the kitchen table, sitting in front a hearty breakfast that made Rafael salivate.

"Hi Dad, aren't you working at the construction site today?" he asked.

His father shook his head. "I took a few days off for the New Year. What's up? You're particularly handsome today."

Rafael shivered all over his body, got up, and went to lock himself in the bathroom. There, he did his best to calm down. Girls he could handle... but not men, not his father! Damn aura! How does it even work like this?

He closed his eyes, concentrated on his breathing, and stretched his will to circulate his spiritual energy. Rafael was surprised to find the maneuver much easier than the day before. Either his training had already paid off, or the peak effect of the ritual bonding had passed.

Thirty minutes later, taking care not to let his attention wander, Rafael returned to the kitchen. Tiffany and Alice, Rafael's mother, had come to join Alfred. His parents had almost finished eating, while his cousin was playing with her food, apparently lost in thought.

"Are you okay?" his father asked. "You were in quite a rush earlier!"

"Nothing serious," Rafael said as he took his seat. "Any news about Leonard?" he inquired hopefully.

Alfred shook his head disheartened. "I called the police station yesterday, no news. I think they dropped the case. Too much work with the new year coming up and not enough staff."

I suspected as much.

In a gloomy mood, Alfred got up to clear his stuff. Soon Alice did the same and they both went about their business. After a while, Tiffany looked up from her plate, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Rafael," she said sheepishly.

He looked at her with surprise. "For what?" he asked.

"I know it didn't go well with Ilona yesterday. You told me you didn't want to talk to her, but I told her where she could find you anyway..."

The incident of the day before came back to Rafael's mind. With all that had been going on with spiritual energy and auras, he had completely forgotten it! Actually, it had been almost a day since he had thought about Ilona for the last time, a first since their breakup.

He didn't know if he should feel relieved or guilty.

"It's not a big deal Tiffany, but why did you do it?" Rafael was surprised by his cousin's attitude, she wasn't used to being involved in this kind of quarrel.

"She was so insistent," Tiffany justified herself. "She seemed sincere too, and..."

Tiffany paused, getting annoyed with herself, then whispered, "Actually, it was mostly to keep her as my friend. It hasn't been easy for me the last few years. I don't have anyone anymore."

Rafael winced inwardly. He understood his cousin but he would have preferred that she could be friends with someone else. Then he began to think that, if what Tiffany had said was true, Ilona probably meant everything she had said to him. And it wasn't his aura that had caused her to apologize.

That troubled him more than he cared to admit.

Tiffany squirmed on her chair as the silence continued. She tried to change the subject: "You haven't been home much lately, what do you do all day?"

"Ah," Rafael frowned. It was his turn to feel uneasy. He was afraid that Tiffany would laugh at him if he told her about the shamanism stuff. Besides, a part of him wanted to keep this secret to himself. He had the strange feeling that things would become less magical if he started talking about it.

"I've indeed been away a lot," Rafael agreed. "I would have liked us to spend more time together, but I've had to deal with unforeseen circumstances... with the motorcycle and all."

That's not really a lie, he consoled himself a little hypocritically.

"Things should settle down in a few days," he promised. "We can plan a meet-up if you want."

"I'd like that," Tiffany replied.

Feeling much better about each other, they finished their breakfast in silence. Rafael was eager to get out. He wasn't going to run in the park today, he was going to attempt to use his shamanic powers to find Leonard and solve the mystery of his disappearance!

December 30, 10:42 a.m. in front of Leonard's building.

Rafael had parked his motorcycle not far from his uncle's apartment, near a small square with some greenery. A few trees and bushes, a flowerbed empty at this time of the year, and two benches to sit on. Starting at this place should count towards spiritual affinity right?

People were walking on the street but few of them passed by the square, so it would be quiet enough for his experimentation. Rafael sat down on a bench and closed his eyes.

All he had to do was send a thought and the dryad manifested itself next to him. It wasn't really necessary since its essence was flowing into his body, but Rafael figured that the spirit would enjoy participating in the experience and that it might make the process easier. No one else could see it anyway.

The next step, the spiritual connection to all the surrounding plants, was very easy. Rafael could perceive all their sensations, from the tips of their leaves to the deepest roots. The problem was not so much to access the sensations as to prevent them from overwhelming him!

In the middle of the city, there weren't that many plants. Therefore, things were much easier for Rafael than in the park. This meant that he was able to manage the influx of sensation from an area of about one square kilometer. It seemed huge to him. Did the spirit's power have a limit or was it just a matter of what he could handle?

Holding back this question for the moment, Rafael concentrated and dove deeper into the spirit's node. What he needed to do now was to use of the blood tie he had with his uncle. First of all, he tried to perceive himself through the senses of the plants and use them to identify his own scent. It was quite easy, but weird as hell. He had the impression to examine a stranger.

Now came the hard part, he was supposed to use his scent as a reference to ask plants to look for someone with the same blood as him. The transmission of the request over such a large area made him feel like he was becoming schizophrenic. It also used up a lot of his spiritual energy. Probably much more than was necessary, he was not nearly as effective as his mentor Alek.

Five minutes later he had received all the feedback. Rafael finally released the connection, exhausted by the effort of having maintained it for so long. The result of his research was unfortunately negative. Leonard must not have gone anywhere near his house in the last few days, otherwise, there would be traces.

Rafael had expected this result and didn't let it get him. In the worst case he could search the whole city, neighborhood by neighborhood, but before doing so he wanted to try to inspect some specific places.

He headed first for the nursing home. Alek, like Sarah the hostess, had said that Leonard had not come, but he could still be around. However, like the first time, his shamanic search turned up nothing.

Next stop, the university. Here again, Leonard was not supposed to have come. Rafael had decided to try his luck anyway. In police investigations the culprit was often someone close to the victim... in the same way, there was surely a clue to his uncle's location in the places he usually frequented.

There were several green spaces around the university, which complicated Rafael's task. He had to reduce the connection area to 600 square meters and carry out two shamanic searches at both ends of the complex instead of one. All this was for nothing because the results were once again negative.

Rafael wasn't sure where to go next. He didn't know Paulina's address. Going to Laser Quest seemed like a long shot... He thought maybe he should have started his search from his home actually. That's where he was last seen. Although, on second thought, it was probably a bad idea. The search would have been disrupted by the presence of his parents and cousin.

Then a memory suddenly came back to him. The flyer for the Christmas charity! Rafael got back on his motorcycle right away. He knew the address of the church, his grandparents had taken him there several times when he was a child. Perhaps Leonard still attended it?

It didn't take him long to get to the building and park. It was a beautiful Gothic church built on a basilica plan. It was relatively undecorated on the outside, except for the wooden doors that were carved, but it had beautiful, large stained glass windows that must have looked magnificent from the inside.

Rafael walked away from the entrance to one of the trees that adorned the street. He leaned against one of them and closed his eyes. The dryad appeared and he connected to the surrounding plants, the maneuver was almost easy now that he was used to it. He held the flow of sensations at bay, stirred his spiritual energy and called upon his blood ties to search for Leonard. This time the verdict was not long in coming. The plants near him vibrated with joy as they sent him the answer he was waiting for.

The scent was strong. He had finally found a lead.

Rafael's eyelids opened again revealing his bright eyes. He had done it! With his newfound shamanic powers, he would solve his uncle's disappearance. He felt powerful, capable of meeting any challenge. Full of renewed confidence, the young man strode to the church, opened the door, and stepped inside.

The nave was plunged into darkness. Rafael had to blink several times to get used to the change of brightness. On the other hand, the back of the church seemed to be very well lit. Affected by the grandeur and solemnity of the place, Rafael slowed his pace. There was something sacred here, as if the countless people who had come to pray in the church over the ages had left a part of themselves there.

The place lit up as he walked up the aisle. There were more and more candles on the side. Further on, the stained glass windows let in streaks of light that seemed to come directly from heaven. And near the choir, there were statues of saints illuminated by powerful spotlights.

Rafael had almost forgotten why he was here, amazed by the holy beauty of the place. His feet took the direction of the choir by themselves. He felt attracted by all the light, as if he were a moth. Suddenly, an imperious form appeared against the light and a cavernous voice thundered:

"What do you seek in the house of God?"