by Jamie Magee
“I’m not talking about the freaking hallway,” I said in a harsh whisper. “I told you to stay at home. I’m not going to sugar coat this for you anymore. You have a huge awakening coming.”
“What does that mean?”
Ok fine keep acting like you don’t know what’s going on. Fine. Whatever. “Does this feel like it could be your home?” I asked, still finding it hard to find the blunt words I needed.
“Nope,” she said shortly.
I rolled my eyes. She had to know. The man that ruled this palace now was the same man who ruled her dreams.
“But I can definitely see why our dear friend Bianca wants these boys: this place reeks of power.”
The hallway was ending, and before us was a large double doorway that led to a room I was sure was the study where everyone usually gathered when they were here. As I went to step in, Olivia stepped out with a guy at her side. He was rather tall and had sandy blond hair that was curly. He had an innocence about him, but he also carried that same protective energy that I felt around all of Willow’s family.
“So, this is Chrispin,” Madison said, noticing that his eyes were wide with shock as he stared at her. Madison looked at me and explained, “Olivia’s soul mate. They all seem to have one; goes well with that blind spot they have.”
I elbowed Madison, telling her to put a lid on the sarcasm. She was starting to get on my nerves and no doubt looked like someone she wasn’t to these people.
Chrispin let a shy smile come to his lips. He was clearly mesmerized by Madison’s resemblance to Willow.
“What -- what are you guys doing?” Olivia asked, obviously concerned that she’d found us wondering the palace. “Where’s everyone else?” she asked, looking behind us down the hall.
“Helping,” I said, glancing over my shoulder and seeing that Aden, along with others, were leaving the room that the bodies were in. They were far enough away from us that none of them noticed us at the far end of the hall.
Madison had glanced over her shoulder. She gripped my arm, then pulled me into the study, almost knocking down Chrispin and Olivia.
“What is it?” I asked her, seeing that she was petrified.
“The Great Witch,” Madison said, daring to look around the corner.
I peeked around the side of the door but didn’t see anyone that looked like a witch. Brady and Aden were down there, so were two older people. The man had a black cloak on, but the woman was in black slacks and a button up black shirt. There was another man, too, but he wasn’t as old as the others. I asked the instant question of who they were and saw that the older man’s name was Jason. He was Willow’s father, a doctor from what it looked like. The older couple was to hard to see because they were so vast, like they’d lived forever, but I didn’t see any harm in them; it seemed like they were helping, or at least trying to, but I wasn’t going to let my guard down until I was close enough to see deeper into all of them. I knew Aden was doing just that as he lingered near them. I assumed that Draven and Willow were still in that room.
“The Great Who?” Chrispin asked, looking down the hall as they stepped into the study with us.
“Madison, are you sure?” I asked in the calmest tone I could manage, thinking maybe she was overreacting. Definitely hoping that she was.
She nodded frantically. “But when she showed me her, she was in, like, a ball gown or something. The older woman in black. That’s her, I’m sure of it.”
“What are we talking about here?” Olivia asked carefully as she stepped closer to us.
I looked around the room for some kind of escape. This was a massive study. Three couches outlined a fireplace that was at least ten feet wide, books were on shelves that reached a hundred feet in the air, and there was an open space behind the couches. I knew for sure there should be a table there. There were two other doorways, and one that led to a different hallway, and one that led to stairs. I wasn’t sure leaving that way would be safe; I didn’t know where one wing ended and one began, and I didn’t want to run from this woman only to find ourselves in more danger somewhere else.
“Listen,” I said, pushing Madison behind me, “I don’t have time to see you, to get the answers I need. Tell me right now: are you planning to use Madison as a sacrifice?”
“What?!” Olivia gasped, trying to hold in a laugh as she glanced at Chrispin, who was completely perplexed.
“This morning - or yesterday; I don’t even know what day it is anymore - a Witch stopped us on the street. She told us that the Goddess of Mother Nature was seeking us, that the Great Witch had sent her to tell us that. Then Willow just appears - needing us. I think I have a right to question all of your motives.” I demanded.
Olivia’s smile fell as she tilted her head to look down the hall, then to Chrispin. It was like they were figuring out something for the first time. “OK, I can see how scary all of this is to you,” she said, catching my defensive stare.
“I’m not scared. I won’t let it happen if it’s true. It’s as simple as that.” I boldly stated.
“No one is getting hurt,” Chrispin promised, reaching to close one of the study doors. “Willow would kill anyone who thought of it.”
“Why does Willow care about me if I’m not a sacrifice?” Madison asked.
“Because,” Olivia said slowly. I stared at her with pleading eyes. If she were going to say it, she needed to be quick about it. She must have noticed how drastically my demeanor changed because she hesitated before she said, “Um...Willow has always been certain that there was more to this curse we’re fighting, that there was a missing piece...all of you are that missing piece. She isn’t a Goddess; she’s a normal girl who can do extraordinary things.”
“What about the Witch?” Madison asked, trying to remain as calm as she could while still hugging the wall behind her.
Chrispin let out a laugh. “Perodine is not a witch.”
“She might be,” Olivia countered.
“What?!” I said, not finding any of this funny.
Olivia looked over my confused expression and went on to explain. “She’s Willow’s mom, but not from this life.”
Ok, what? What the hell had I gotten myself into? “What do you mean?” I probed.
“She means Perodine never died. She’s Willow’s mother from her first life. She’s over four million years old,” Chrispin explained.
“She ages well,” Madison said, sliding down against the wall.
“Trust me, she’s an ally. She won’t hurt you,” Olivia promised.
“Easy for you to say. She wasn’t seeking you,” Madison bit out, breathing in and out slowly.
“I’m sure she was trying to help Willow,” Olivia assured, kneeling down and touching Madison’s arm in an effort to comfort her.
“Help her with what?” I questioned.
Olivia and Chrispin looked at each other, then to me. Olivia hesitated before she said, “Willow is known for her one-track mind. She wanted all members of this family to be accounted for. Until we were all here, she wasn’t going to move forward.”
That kinda made sense. Wait, no. It didn’t. Not with this much dark energy around you. “You know about the family of souls?” I asked, trying to see my answers.
“The family of what?” Chrispin asked.
“Never mind,” I said, sighing. “Is August here?”
“You know August?” Chrispin muttered in disbelief.
“Not yet,” Madison said, rising to her feet. Olivia cautiously stood with her like she was waiting for Madison to faint or something. Smart girl.
“Take me to him,” I demanded.
“We may have to pass the Great Witch to get there,” Chrispin said.
“Are you mocking me?” I asked, not really caring if he were.
“Not at all,” he said, smiling slightly. “I like you; you get to the point.”
Before I could say another word, a man walked into the room from the doorway on the other side of the study, and I was almost posit
ive he was August. He was older, his skin was darker than the others, and I saw wisdom in his eyes. Felt peace all around him.
“August,” Madison said breathlessly.
His wise eyes were captivated by her image as a calm smile spread across his face. “I’m at a disadvantage,” he said as he slowly approached us.
“Her name is Madison,” I said. “I’m Charlie, and I need your help.”
“Anything,” he said as he beamed with gratitude.
Madison smiled slightly as the tension left her body. “You believe in rising above dualities. You believe that we don’t all perceive life the same way. That we create it as we go and that one way or another we’re all right. We’re a part of something that our minds aren’t prepared to perceive as real.”
“Are you sure you don’t know him?” Chrispin asked as shock consumed his innocent expression.
“We see,” I mumbled, seeing what Madison had already discovered. I saw him with the children. I saw the respect he had for their power, how he had no fear where others did. “How true is the myth that you have to be loved to be taken to Chara?”
“Sadly, very, but have no fear; we love you, you’re family now,” August said humbly, almost bowing to Madison, which made her tense again.
“Not us,” I said to get his attention. “There’s a fifteen-year-old girl with us. She’s just like Preston, Libby, and Allie. Well, almost like them. I have to get her out of here. Her father haunts this palace. He ruled it at one time - and if he traps her, this will be over. I mean really over.”
“I heard,” August said.
“Heard?” I questioned.
“I saw what happened when you arrived.”
I had no idea what he meant by that and didn’t have time to figure it out. “Can you help me? I promise I’ll help your grandson no matter what, but when she’s safe, we can all focus.”
His sardonic smile managed to hold a peaceful calm as he spoke. “I’m confident that you’ll help both my grandsons,” August said as his eyes fell into mine. That’s when I saw it, when I understood: both Drake and Landen were his grandsons. Willow’s love triangle centered around this family. I felt even more sorry for her; at least I never had to worry about Silas and Draven sitting around the same Thanksgiving table.
“But...?” I asked.
“But nothing. I’ll take them to Chara myself.”
“But you just said the myth was true,” I argued.
“I did,” he said, reaching for my shoulders. “I’ve only slept two hours over the past two days, and when I did, I saw my great grandson Preston tell me over and over again that he loved everyone, that both he and Libby loved everyone. They love Monroe and her brothers, and they’ll be protected from any myth by that love.”
“How sure are you?”
“If they show any signs of rejection, if they become sick in any way, we’ll get them out of there,” August swore.
“Will you stay with them in Chara?” I asked, trusting him.
“I’ll gladly take them, but my place is here. I assure you, our family there will care for them well.”
I looked deep into him, asking who his family was. I saw his soul mate, Landen’s mom, Willow’s mom in this life. I even saw Brady’s soul mate. There were more, but I was having enough trouble keeping up with who was who. I nodded, telling him I was agreeing with that.
“Gather some travelers so we can guide them home,” August said to Chrispin.
He left without question. Madison looked calmer, more like herself. I knew she was glad we were making some kind of headway with this crazy situation. “What time is it?” she asked.
“Dawn broke an hour before you arrived,” August answered.
“How long have the two of you been awake?” Olivia asked.
I glanced at Madison, wondering how big the time difference was there. I saw her eyes expand and knew she was seeing.
“If the time is the same, twenty-four hours,” I mumbled, making sure I wasn’t blocking anything from Madison. I was hoping that whatever block she had was fading and that she would see what was coming at her before it erupted all around us. A second later, two energy drinks appeared in her hand. Normally, I would have turned it down (I was high enough on adrenaline), but I wanted to be as alert as possible.
“Did you steal these?” I asked, popping the lid on mine.
“Yeah, from your fridge,” Madison said, finding me accusing her of stealing anything absurd.
“Did you see Mom?” I asked.
“Looks the same as we left it.”
I nodded once as I looked down. I couldn’t help wondering how she was really handling me being gone, if the reality had set in.
“Wait,” Olivia said. “How did you do that? Did you just see your way somewhere and bring something back?”
Madison nodded once, then said, “I’ll make a deal with you: I’ll teach you how to do that if you teach me how to use my energy as a weapon.”
“Deal,” Olivia said, completely captivated by us.
“May I ask who’s been mentoring you? Was it the child?” August asked.
“Not on how to do that,” I said, finishing my drink. “We stumbled onto that just like we stumbled onto The Realm.”
“Just like we stumble onto everything,” Madison added.
August nodded for us to move forward into the study. We sat down on one of the side couches by the fireplace, and he and Olivia sat on the one that faced the fireplace.
“So you’re seers?” August said.
I moved my head from side to side. “No, at least I don’t think so. Monroe, the girl with us, is a seer. She sees what will come; we see what happened,” I answered.
August nodded once as his eyes sparkled. “I’m honored. It’s been years since I’ve been in the presence of your kind.”
“Our kind?” Madison asked.
He folded his hands together as he leaned forward. He had all of our attention, especially Olivia’s; it was clear he was the one they looked to for counseling. “There are many words in many languages, but the closest name that would make any sense to you is a ‘living witness’.”
I glanced at my side at Madison, then to August. “Have you ever heard of an undead witness?”
“I have. They’re fierce. Most lore refers to them as archangels, or something close to that. They’re souls that are given a divine charge. At one time they were human, and their acts of bravery and integrity spared them from death and allowed them to become warriors for the lost, for the broken,” August explained.
I looked down as my nightmare; my past in Pompeii came to me. I doubted that my integrity gave me that charge; it was more like a punishment for being selfish, for not having the patience to let my life work itself out.
“I take it you’ve heard of them as well?” August said humbly.
“Yeah,” I said, reaching to squeeze Madison’s hand. “At one time, that was us; we were undead,” I said, not wanting to explain that not only did I know an undead witness, he was very in tune with this family.
August glanced to his side at Olivia, then to us with intriguing eyes. “You fell? All of you?”
I let out a gasp and a slight smile. It felt good to talk to someone that knew something about all of this, but I just didn’t have the time to explain all that had happened to us at that point.
“Not all of us,” I said, looking away.
“Do you have any idea how powerful that makes you?” August asked, leaning further forward.
“Not powerful; more like cursed,” I said, looking over my shoulder. Aden had found us; Brady had led him there. Brady nodded at us, then left the room. “Is everything OK?” I asked Aden. His eyes expanded, letting me in.
I saw him step into that room. I saw the bodies of Landen and Drake lying side by side in a large bed. I watched as Aden looked into them; they were deep. They weren’t asleep inside of a nightmare; they were asleep inside of a nightmare’s nightmare. They were growing weaker, but Draven seemed to
know how to pull them out. He asked everyone to leave the room so he could talk to Willow alone. I asked “Why?” in my mind, then I saw what Draven had shown Aden before he left the room.
Apparently, even though Willow’s soul loved Landen, the three of them had shared energy with each other. Draven knew that if Willow gave them energy, it would pull them closer to us, at least out of one layer. I didn’t understand how that worked, or how the rest of this family seemed oblivious to fact that the three of them shared that bond.
From my perspective, it looked like they just touched each other. There had to be more to it, though; something I couldn't see or feel that they went through. I was intrigued by this ‘energy and aura’ thing this family had. It was like they had supernatural powers, but at the same time they were completely natural, almost like they were more awake or aware than us - which made me believe that we could teach them how to see and that they could teach us how they did what they did.
It seemed like Draven had whatever was going on down the hall under control. Aden and Brady had stopped in the room our stuff was in, had a few words with Winston, then Aden found his way here.
I nodded to Aden, telling him I understood where we were, then I showed him what had happened to me so far, where I was with my current conversation.
He looked at Madison to ensure that she’d seen what he knew about Perodine now. Aden had looked deep into the great witch. She was just as old as everyone had implied, and she seemed well versed in astrology and the history of this world. I didn’t see her as a threat - well, as least not as big of one. She was seeking Madison for Willow, simply to fill a void she had, to show Willow that there was someone that looked like her, that had shared lives with them before.
But that Great Witch - or whatever she was - knew just like we did that you can’t force fate, put two people in a room and expect them to fall in love based on an outward image. The only reason I’d see this Perodine woman as a threat now was that Willow was her daughter and she’d do anything for her; I was certain she had the power to stop anyone from really hurting her.
“Why was she looking for me then? You still have blind spots,” Madison said.
