Synergy

by Jamie Magee

  Madison grinned slyly as she reached to hold his image. “Do you honestly think that I don’t know what your energy feels like? That your kiss could hide who you are? I didn’t fail...I walked right into your arms. Now tell me where they are so I can end this and come home to you.”

  As Drake smiled, the image of Britain appeared in his place. “Well played,” Britain said quietly as he stole another kiss from her. He reached carefully for her side, where the knife had cut into her. “I told you, didn’t I?”

  Madison didn’t argue with him.

  “I’m ending this now,” he said. And with that, he vanished.

  The willow trees fell into the ground, and the field was there again, but only for a moment; in the distance, a stone gazebo appeared. It was medieval enough to make me think that maybe we were close to Landen and Drake.

  The three of us stepped forward. As we walked, the ground turned into rose petals, the air grew frigid, and a gentle snow began to whisk through the air. When we came closer, I saw two images in the center of gazebo: one boy and one girl. I hoped against all hope that it was the ones Silas had told me were guarding Landen.

  I watched as the shadowed figures reached for each other. A poetic piano began to play all around us, and the rose petals lifted from the ground and floated angelically to the heavens above. It was beautiful enough to bring a tear to anyone’s eye. I felt horrible for interrupting this couple, for stealing this moment, but I needed to know where to go next.

  There were five wide stone steps that led up to where the couple was standing. As I stood on the top step, I found myself mesmerized by the sound of the piano. The snow mixed with the rising petals was breathtaking from this vantage point. I felt Madison grip my arm, and I focused on what I was doing. The girl’s back was to us, and the man’s head was leaning against her forehead.

  Their image wasn’t what had caused Madison to steal my attention. Bianca was in the shadows. Slowly, she crept toward the couple, but they never looked up. I was almost sure they were an illusion and not the guards I was hoping to find. Bianca reached for the boy’s shoulder, and when she did, Aden’s knees buckled beneath him, causing him to fall at my side; it was clear that image and him were somehow connected.

  On instinct, I charged toward Bianca, but Madison held me back. She thought it was a trap, and she had every right to; there was no way to know what Bianca was up to. She let her hand fall from the man, and when she did, Aden found his strength and was at my side instantly.

  Bianca looked at me, then winked and whispered, “Wake” to the boy beside her. She vanished as the boy looked up, and that’s when we saw Aden’s image holding the girl. The image looked down at her as we moved closer, wide-eyed.

  “What is it?” the girl said.

  I heard my voice coming from her and moved around and saw my image in his arms.

  “Nothing,” the image of Aden said as he pulled my image closer.

  “This is over now,” Madison said, and with that, the beautiful display vanished and we were in a field.

  “ADEN, wake!” I said, gripping his arm.

  “I’m not leaving you here; that’s what she wants,” he argued, displaying fierceness in his green eyes.

  “She wants to drive a divide - we can’t do that. She’s putting these images in your head to mess with Draven. Don’t give her that edge,” I argued.

  “I’m not giving her anything. Let’s end this.”

  “Aden, seriously,” Madison argued, but before she could go on with whatever speech she had, the flawless men in black appeared all around us. Panic caused me to freeze in place, to forget how to fight them, but Aden didn’t hesitate. He reached for the man next to him and pulled the darkness out; he’d fought three of them before I came to my senses.

  A man standing before me raised his hand and pulled his fingers forward; as if I were under his command, ghostly images of butterflies began to escape from my chest. At first it didn’t phase me, but after a few had left, I felt myself growing colder.

  I balled my hands into a fist, pushing the ring into my skin, finding the power to push my emotions back into the dormant place that had given me the courage to come this far. I focused on the music, the song we’d recreated. I felt the energy of the music in my hands, throughout every part of my body. I held my hands out, wanting to end this man with the power Monroe had showed me, but something - maybe the command in his stone cold eyes - wouldn’t let me take a step forward. I couldn't even get close enough to pull the darkness out. I was losing before I even began to fight.

  Aden came out of nowhere and pulled the darkness out of the man, causing him to fall to the ground. Others were appearing, and Madison was fierce, fighting just as many of them as Aden did.

  “Stay behind me!” Aden yelled.

  He was in front of me, and Madison was behind me, but my pride wouldn’t let me be the weak link. I tried again to push light with music at the men’s head, but I couldn’t get close enough. The sheer number of men that were appearing pulled Madison and Aden away from me. I gave up on what Monroe had told me to do and just began to reach into them. It was disgusting; I would forget to focus on pulling all of it out and feel slimy worms. As soon as I focused, I felt the rock and pulled, but more than one had managed to call my light - in the form of butterflies - out of me. I was growing weak; we all were.

  Then I felt someone’s hand on my wrist as I reached back to push into a man that was attacking me. The man in front of me was frozen in place now. My first thought was that it was Silas coming to the rescue, but the hand I felt holding my wrist was too delicate, and slightly cold.

  “You were told how to end this,” I heard a girl say. It was a voice I didn’t know. She put her other hand on my waist. “Close your eyes.” I did as she said, feeling calm and breath coming back to me. “See your energy - see your power all around you.” I nodded to tell her that I was holding that illusion in my mind, that I felt myself growing stronger. “Now focus it on your hands. Feel the power you feel when you play.”

  In my mind, I saw this white, glowing energy. I saw it all around me, then I called it to my hands, using the image Monroe had shown me.

  “Done,” I said breathlessly.

  I felt her grip my wrist. “Open your eyes,” she said.

  I did as she said. She pushed my hand forward at the man. “Now send it. Push the light - the music!”

  I did as she said, and I saw a light come from my hands. I could hear the song as it rushed toward the man that was in front of me. The energy circled him, pulling black ash from every part of his body. Blood spilled from his ears as he fell to the ground and erupted into flames. The girl turned me and held my hand out toward another man, and the same powerful thing happened: the light, the music reached the man and pulled black ash out of him. The girl moved me again, pushing the light at men that were even further away, then finally to the men that Madison and Aden were fighting. Within a minute, they were all gone.

  With a racing heart, I turned to see who had helped me and saw a beautiful girl with pale green eyes that were glowing slightly. She was small like me, with short dark hair and beautiful olive skin.

  “Who are you?” I asked as she gently let go of me.

  Aden and Madison had cautiously come to my side. The girl looked over each of us carefully.

  “Clarissa,” she said quietly.

  “You’re ... you’re not his sister, right?” Aden asked with a tone that was full of dread.

  I looked up at him quickly. I hadn’t had the time to see as deeply as he had into this family, and I was really bad with names. I had no idea who he was talking about.

  “Whose?” I asked instantly

  Clarissa nodded. “Landen’s.”

  Instantly, I felt sick to my stomach. I knew without a doubt that this family wouldn’t be prepared for this; they loved each other too much. Even though she was undead and they could still see her if they wanted to, it would be too much for them to accept.

 
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I tried to tell him to stop it,” I said as anger for Silas came to me.

  “He couldn’t have. If Silas wasn't there, it would have been a goodbye forever. Now I can protect them,” Clarissa promised.

  Fantastic. She had obvious respect for Silas. “So what? He’s mad at me because of some illusion Bianca showed him, so now you’re going to protect us? Thanks, by the way. How did you know to do that?” I said.

  “He’s fighting for you,” she said as she nodded to the horizon.

  I turned to see a mass of dark ash rising to the orange sky in the distance. I couldn’t clearly make out Silas in the shadowed images, but I felt him.

  “We need to help him,” I said, turning back to her, prepared to use this new gift she’d shown me.

  “You need to wake Landen. We’re holding them off. These men were the ones that broke through the barricade Silas and others have made for you ... Landen’s there,” she said as the large Estate I’d seen before appeared half a mile from us.

  “Come with us,” I said, reaching for her. “He’ll wake if he sees you.”

  She moved her from head side to side as what looked like sadness came over her. “He has seen me; that’s why he’s close enough for you to wake him now. You have to hurry. There were some memories I couldn’t correct, and they’ve begun to move, change places. The longer they sleep, the more irreversible it becomes.”

  She stepped cautiously toward Aden, and her eyes filled with respect and remorse. She bowed her head slightly. “I’m afraid that your hidden soul, purpose, is now known. I cannot prepare you for what you’ll see, but I’m going to tell you how to protect yourself. Hopefully, it won’t be as painful as I think it will be when the wall you’re behind finally crumbles.”

  “The past isn’t what matters,” Aden said, locking eyes with me. “Even...even if that had any truth to it, it wouldn't matter.”

  “Spoken like a true blind man,” Clarissa said under her breath. “Close your eyes.”

  Aden refused.

  “Stop fighting. I’m trying to help you!” Clarissa demanded.

  I nudged Aden, and he grudgingly closed his eyes.

  “Feel the energy of your soul,” she said.

  After a second or two, he nodded.

  “Feel it all around you, your aura...find a shield,” Clarissa ordered.

  As she said the words, I saw a faint white haze appear around him; it was a lot like what I saw Willow standing in when I first arrived in Esterious.

  “We are more than a body. We are a soul, moving energy. Never see yourself as someone who’s imprisoned in flesh; your energy is your shield, your weapon,” Clarissa said confidently.

  Aden opened his eyes slowly, and the energy I saw around him remained.

  “You knew that from before, when you were alive,” I said quietly. “How did you know how to help me, what Monroe had told me?”

  Clarissa’s eyes met mine. “The awareness I feel now is too new for me to explain it clearly to you. I’m still grieving for my life. My family will help you open your mind to the power that lies within all souls, and you’ll help them see, see all that they’ve been blind to - that is, if we survive this. Go,” she said, nodding toward the Estate. Her eyes moved to Madison, to her side where the wound was. “I wish you the best of luck.” At that second, she vanished.

  “Aden, we’ll figure this out. I won’t let anything hurt you,” I promised, reaching for his strong arm and glancing at Madison. It was easy to see that he feared that we’d led Madison to her death.

  He ignored me. “Let’s go.”

  I reached for Madison, an in that instant we were at the doorstep of the Estate.

  “How are we going to find them? This place is massive,” I said as l looked at the mountain of a task in front of us.

  “I can feel them,” Madison said under her breath. She pushed the door open, and we stepped into a massive entry hall. “Top of the stairs,” she said, and instantly we were there. The stairway was wide and divided into two different directions. Madison silently nodded in the direction we needed to go. This place was just a smaller version of the place we were really standing in. It didn’t seem very stable to me. Every once in a while, I could hear the echoes of a vicious storm. It was like this place knew it didn’t exist anymore; the air was cold and dark.

  As Madison led us down a hall on the third level, I could see the nervousness in her eyes. “There,” she said, nodding to an open door.

  My heart began to hammer in my chest. I kept waiting for Bianca to show herself or more men to appear, even that evil angel. I knew something was bound to be in our way.

  Cautiously, we stepped forward. Inside the door, I saw the image Draven had shown me before, the one that Madison and I had stumbled on the last time we saw Landen and Drake in The Realm.

  Landen was lying across the floor. Drake was slouched against the wall, but he wasn’t alone; Bianca was holding him gently, smiling cunningly at us.

  “Sorry, Madison. This one’s taken,” Bianca said innocently.

  Madison nodded. “You couldn’t be more right.”

  I reached my hand toward Bianca and watched as light soared in her direction. As it hit her, the image of her flashed, like it was a hologram or something. She vanished at that moment.

  “I don’t think she’s really here,” I grunted in frustration.

  At that moment, thunder exploded, shaking the weak Estate and causing a fierce wind to blow through the damaged walls.

  “Come on,” Aden said, pulling me toward Landen’s body.

  When we reached him, I fell to my knees and grasped his face. He was out cold, barely showing signs of life. I let my energy rush to my hands. The music in my soul caused my skin to glow against his, but I got no response as my hands moved across his face. He was gone. They were both gone. Too much of their souls had been divided throughout The Realm.

  “Freaking A.” Aden bit out.

  “This is tragic.” I mumbled, gently moving Landen’s face from side to side. He looked so innocent, but at the same time he looked like a fearless warrior. The sight of him brought Silas to mind. I could see how they’d formed a friendship thousands of years ago; their energy was the same.

  I heard a crash, then Aden said, “They’re here.”

  I looked up to see Willow, Brady, Olivia, and Draven. Willow began to rush toward us, but Brady held her back. “Take off your hoodies,” he demanded.

  I thought he was insane. This room was freezing, and it was growing colder by the second. Madison locked eyes with me, and that’s when it hit me: they were making sure we weren’t an illusion, and the tattoo was our only defense at this moment.

  With shaking hands, I pulled my hoodie off, which left me wearing only a black tank top. Chill bumps covered every inch of me. I glanced at Aden, wondering how he was going to prove he was real. That was when I saw him and Draven locked in a stare, no doubt sharing what they’d been through. Pain, anger, and confusion were in Draven’s eyes. Not good. Aden could have waited a minute or two. Considering all hell was about to break loose. Landen’s death would not be received well. I didn’t even know the guy and I felt sick to my stomach.

  Willow and Olivia took off their hoodies, too, showing their tattoos. Even if this were working now, showing them that we were all real, I doubted it would work again if we didn’t hurry up and get out of there. Bianca would manifest the tattoo on her image the next chance she got.

  A marker appeared in Willow’s hand. She wrote one word ‘love’ under her ankh, then handed the marker to Olivia, who did the same. It was a brilliant idea. Escorts like Bianca couldn’t say or be near that word; it was poison to them. Olivia threw the marker at us, and both Madison and I wrote the word on our skin. I glanced at Madison. “Let’s make this the last image that comes to life,” I said under my breath. She had sketched this moment, too. I kept telling myself that the lifeless girl had already happened, but a sick feeling in my stomach told me I was lying
to myself.

  Brady and Draven carried Drake’s body to where Landen’s was. As soon as Willow knew we weren’t an illusion, she was on her knees next to Landen. She kissed his lips, getting no response; I could literally feel the frustration coming off her. Greif. An emotion I prayed I would never live to feel.

  “Why can’t I wake him?!” she yelled.

  I couldn’t say it. None of us could. Draven must have known Willow would not stop fighting. Not yet. “Britain said they were here, but your victory was where your existence began,” Draven offered weakly.

  My eyes grew wide. If they’d faced Britain and were still standing, that could only mean Britain was either dead or in some serious pain right now.

  “Britain?” Madison said with an echo of agony, as she stared at Willow.

  “I didn’t hurt him. I keep my promises,” Willow replied still to distracted to think rationally.

  “So do I,” Madison said as her eyes fell to Drake’s unresponsive body.

  “The observatory,” Olivia said. “That’s where my dream was.”

  Olivia and Madison were both remorsefully staring at each other. I knew they both agreed that their nightmare was about to begin.

  “Create it,” Aden ordered, knowing we couldn't.

  Instantly, the broken room disappeared and we were on a stone floor. The room had an open ceiling, and a massive pool of water was in the center of it.

  Willow rushed to the water and dipped her hands in it, then took the water to Landen. The second it reached his skin he took in a gasping breathe. Holy crap. I guess she did know what she was doing. He wasn’t out of the woods yet. Not by a long shot. How were we ever going to find the rest of his soul?

  Madison and I followed her lead and managed to get a few handfuls of water on Drake before we heard Olivia scream out in agony. I turned to see that the pool of water had frozen with Olivia’s hands still inside of it.

  I don’t know how Willow did it, but she focused her eyes on the water, and a beaming ray of sun came through the ceiling, melting the ice around Olivia’s hands, releasing her. I ran to her to see how damaged her hand was, but before I could get to her, hundreds of images of us appeared in the room. Everywhere I looked, I saw Willow and Madison and Olivia’s image. Mine wasn’t multiplied as much, but it was still eerie to see yourself, to know that an image of you was now programmed to kill you.