Vindicate

by Jamie Magee

  I felt cold all of the sudden. I glanced at her arms an d remembered agony. But she never laid a hand on me. So that didn’t make any sense at all.

  “End you,” Charlie said coldly.

  Bianca tilted her head and smiled at her. “My best friend. Why could n’t you just stay on your side? Why couldn’t you just let them go? Why did you have to seek out more?”

  “More of what?” I asked, holding my arm out, not letting Brady or Olivia come face to face with her.

  “I don ’t even know what to call you. A plague that is stopping evolution.”

  “Evolution to what?” I asked in a disgusted tone.

  Bianca stepped forward and took in a deep breath. “You are a little too late to the party. A few million years late. Everything is in motion. My kind will overtake the universe – asunder: that is your future. Pieces , not whole lights; that is what will be left.”

  “You are a disgrace to your race,” I said smugly. I had no idea what I meant by that but I knew it was true. She was meaningless in the scheme of things. A servant. A disposable soul in the eyes of her kind. “I’m going to figure out where the real you is. And when I do. I’m going to kill you slowly.”

  “Stand in line.” Charlie seethed.

  “OOOO...I’m terrified,” Bianca said as she laughed. “Listen. I’m a distraction . Bravo you do have one brain cell that helped you figure that out. But what you will never understand with your infantile mind is what I’m a distraction fro m. You’ve been marked. You crossed the line.”

  “What line is that?” Charlie fumed .

  “You’re holding the heirs of the darkes t Escort that has ever existed. His only fleshly little children. He wants them back and he always gets what he wants.”

  “Wake!” Draven yelled behind us and before I could ignore that word, I was back. I was pulled out of The Realm.

  The pain that brought me was nothing compared to what brought me out. I leaned forward, bracing my hands on my knees, taking deep breat hs. I heard Perodine say, “They’re ba --” I looked up to see why she had stopped short and saw Drake and Landen sitting up i n bed, staring at one another. One of them had stopped time.

  I took in a few more deep breaths and stood up straigh t. “Alamos is going to be mad. We have to be more careful with that. You have no idea how jacked up time is right now.”

  They both climbed to the edge of the bed, taking in the fact that their shirts were ripped. That they were soaked with water and sweat.

  Drake looked at me. “Love, you have some explaining to do.”

  I looked all around me. Madison and Aden were on the couch. Aden was consoling her. Draven had his arm around Charlie. Both Brady and Olivia were leaned forward, trying to cope with the pain of leaving. I t was odd because it didn’t hurt them going in.

  Perodine and Alamos were in front of the bed as if they were staring at us. Waiting f or us to come back. My father, Chrispin , and Marc were standing in the doorway watching patiently.

  It had only been two days, but so much had happened. I didn’t know where to start. I wanted to start with the latest re velation that Bianca had given, but I noticed that Madison had captured their attention.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The alt a r – the salt around where he way lying , caused Landen immediate alarm. He jumped over the outline around the bed and considered each expression on everyone’s frozen faces as Drake followed his lead.

  I stepped around Draven and Charlie and met them by the window, whose drapes were pulled, making the room nearly dark.

  “What happened after – after…”? Landen asked.

  “I went crazy,” I said, feeling a little guilty for my emotions.

  “After what? What about before? What are you talking about some girl came into my room?” Drake probed .

  I sighed . “Yeah, we saw Alamos and Beth in the string. They said you weren’t letting anyone in. That there were rumors that you and I were together. That they had seen you and me in the window of your chambers. We went in and that’s when all hell broke loose.”

  Drake moved his head from side to side. “I don’t remember any of that. I didn’t let a girl in.” Then his eyes grew wide and he brought his hand to his stomach, which must have been starvin g. “A maid brought me food. I remember that. Nothing after that.”

  “Well, i t wasn’t a maid I saw you with. She was all over you. I felt seduction,” I said as a sick feeling came to me and I glanced up at Landen.

  “You felt me?” Drake asked, as his eyes grew wide .

  Landen threw a glare at him, cl early stating no. “It was her. You were gone. Long gone.”

  “And what did you feel?” I asked, looking up at him. “How did she make you fall?”

  “Not that,” Landen vowed . “I don’t know what I felt. I just remember falling.”

  I could feel his emotions raging in every direction; he felt off balance, almost as if he didn’t trust that this was reality. I reached for his waist and pulled him to me. Noticing a slight hum that still lingered in his embrace.

  “Who are these people?” Drake asked, looking around.

  “It’s a really, really long story . I don’t know where to start. There was a bad storm that was a ll my fault. Then the mourning. Then I found them. Then I went to The Realm. Then Bianca just now – who is not dead, by the way, told me t hat I was harboring fugitives, or heirs of Donalt’s . How in the hell does Donalt have children in another dimension?”

  Landen’s arm tightened around me . I thought it was to calm me, but then I understood. He just wanted me to show him. To show him what occurred in every moment that he was gone.

  “Good idea,” I mumbled, reaching for Drake’s hand, too. “Just try to focus. I’ll try to remember it how it happened.”

  Drake squeezed my hand, and I closed my eyes and called forth the emotions I felt over the past few day s. I started at the beginning. Walking into Drake’s chambers -- them falling to the ground. My rage rippin g apart the Estate. Brady saving both of them with not a second to spare – the words and chants Perodine and Alamos said over their bodies. The moments I tried to wake them. The words they said. The mourning that Marc was directed to begin. Stella with the looking glass that refused to work the way we were told it would. Discovering that I was not bound to Landen any longer. My daring escape that led to Draven and the others – to that Nana lady that helped me rememb er that I had their power, Landen’s love inside of me, and I could call on it at any ti me. The argument with Madison. Where she showed me her perspective. Where she called me blind. I really focused on that moment for Drake’s benefit, not mine. He needed to know who that girl was. I remembered Olivia’s speech about how I was a myth. The fight in the hall. How I healed. The cere mony with the energy and blood. Everyone I faced in The Realm. Focusing once again on Britain for Drake’s benefit so he would understand that there was someone after her. Then I remembered the last conversation I had with Bianca. How she promised she was no thing more than a distraction. That Donalt had marked us. That really wasn’t anything new, but the reason was.

  As I shifted through those memories, I felt Landen’s emotions spiral; he was furious one minute – proud the next –under it all, he was concerned. Very concerned.

  I let go of Drake’s hand and opened my eyes as I felt Landen’s grip on me gro w stronger. That hum gre w stronger . I was pretty posi tive I was not imagining it any more. “Well, are we on the same page now?” I asked.

  “They invoked mourning!” Drake said in a ha rsh whisper, glaring at Alamos’ frozen image.

  “Out of everything I just showed you, that is what you are worr ied about?” I said as I glanced behind me at Madison’s frozen image.

  Drake glared in my direction. “What did I tell you, Willow?”

  “What, that besides the fact that I didn’t have a twin? And by the way, you were wrong about that.”

  “Think, Love. What have I s aid over and over?” Drake urged as his magnetic dark eyes began to pu
ll me into him.

  “Enlighten me,” I said coldly.

  “It – would – not – matter - if – you – found – someone – who – looked – just – like – you,” he bit out sarcastically slow.

  With one glance, Landen had pushed Drake a few feet back; his body was tense , his piercing blue eyes daring Drake to make a move.

  I moved myself between them, staring up at Drake. “I found some one who you share dreams with. The fact that she l ooks like me is a coincidence. I wasn’t even looking for her; I was looking for a song. So that makes it fate. Not forced.” Seriously? He was still going to argue with me about this?

  He pointed his fi nger at his chest. “My dreams. I would know who is in my dreams, not you. Not her.”

  I glanced up at Landen, who’d pulled me against him again . His body was on fire, and I could not figure out why. “Do you think she looks like me? In a dream, would you be able to tell the difference?”

  Landen took in a deep breath, trying to stop himself from saying something he would regret.

  “Answer m e,” I said, looking up at him begging him to take my side on this.

  “Willow, I don’t see what is on the outside in our dreams, I never have. I see your soul, and no, her soul is not yours. She is young, confused, and slightly reckless. Does she have bre athtaking eyes –beautiful skin? Does she reflect your outer image? Yes…yes , she does.”

  “Very diplomatic,” I said, sighing. Seeing he’d stopped himself from saying something that would cause a fight between him and Drake.

  “Very right,” Drake said f latly. “It’s your soul, Willow. Not the way you look. Like it or not, we’re bound toget her and you are not going to turn this triangle into a square,” Drake said flatly.

  “Whatever…I guess she was right,” I said, squeezing La nden’s arms that were around me , pushing as much calm as I could through him.

  “About?” Drake asked. “What did you not show me?” he asked, looking from her to me.

  “I showed you everything. I f you were listening, you would have heard her. How she thinks love is a weakness. That it blinds you to the big picture. That we are running in circles, looking like fools to the heavens above.”

  “So she’s a hypocrite,” Drake said coolly .

  I slapped his face before I could think not to. “Sorry – you made me mad,” I said with instant regret as Landen pulled me back, returning my calm to me.

  Drake held his face where I hit him, then tilte d his head. “Love. I’m al ready fighting for your heart. I’m not going to fi ght some Britain guy for hers. She loves him. She can deny it to you all she wants. But she loves him.”

  Ah, so he was jealous. That was why he refused to admit that I was right. “She is hiding behind that and I couldn’t get that guy to say he loved her. She’s confused.”

  “Aren’t we all?” Drake said, looking at me with wonder. “What did you want to happen? For me to wake up look into her eyes, and fall madly in love. Forget everything. Us . How fair would that be to her? For her to know that I lo ve you. For her to feel that?”

  My eyes rushed rapidly over his a ddictive image. “You’re right. So is eve ryone else. I’m dropping this. You know where I stand. Where you stand, and ap parently where she stands. I’ll never say another word about it.”

  “Thank you,” he said as he let out a deep breath.

  We stood in silence for a moment, taking it all in. Landen had begun to pace; he would glance over Drake, then clench his jaw as he tried to calm himself down.

  “Are you alright?” I thought.

  “Just getting flashes. Memories, I don’t think they’re all mine, ” he thought in an exhausted tone.

  “Are they bad?”

  “Depends on how you look at them.” He thought with disdain.

  He set the intent to drop the subject, block out what he was seeing, and focus on what was wrong right now. He glanced at Drake. “Why were you so worried about the mourning?”

  Drake pulled the drape back a half or inch or so. Enough that I was sure he could see the black cloths around the courtyard. He let out a sigh and closed it tight. “Because now I have to face Donalt’s death.”

  “I don’t get that,” I said, crossing my a rms. “I thought this was done. You were ruling.”

  Drake glanced at me. “Look, it ’s easy to control two cities. Even if they ar e on opposite ends of the world. Controlling this entire dimension is a completely new game. Donalt rule d for over four million years. When power changes hands, the people change. When power that has been in place for this long changes, you have epic consequences. Do you have any idea how many times Donalt was ‘killed’? How many times someone dared to take his life over the years? How much planning and plotting that is in place for when this moment came ? I didn’t have time for that. Not with these trials that rock our world every few days.”

  “They are not mourning him. I f that makes a difference; they are mourning the priest.”

  “You don’t get it – I – Marc – whatever, invoked the mourning. The only way Donalt would have no t done that was if he were DEAD. They have to know by now. I can only imagine what is going on underground.”

  “Yeah, I heard about them,” I muttered. “I can’t keep up, though it seems like no matter what, they want one of us dead.”

  “Right,” Drake breathed as he looked at Alamos. “No matter what, someone will die.”

  “Ther e has to be a way around that. Why can’t you just say you’re a king and make up some new rules? Like rules that would not kill people?”

  “You don’t understand. A king does not rule his people. The people rule him. These people are too superstitious. Too much change will cause a collapse . I’m already changing more rules than I ever planned to.”

  “Wh at do you need to become king? I s that what you even want?” Landen asked Drake.

  “The impossible,” Drake said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

  “Which is?” I pushed.

  “My mother.”

  “What does Beth have to do with this?” Landen questioned .

  “Look, I have spent every minute that I am not wit h you trying to figure this out. The groups for and against Don alt’s rule vary in sizes…but under it all, they still fear Do nalt.” Drake glanced at Alamos’ frozen images, then back to us. “Alamos is wise and has been plotting such an event for a while. The only way I can take over the rule of this world is for my mother to swear before God that she was a surrogate . That I am the ch ild of both Donalt and Perodine. I f she commits to that, Alamos has a creed signed by Donalt nineteen years ago stating that he would not be take n to the next life with Donalt , that he would serve me. Alamos only signed it on the condition that Perodine would remain as well -- to serve as a guiding light of wisdom to her son.”

  “So not everyone dies?” I asked. As long as the three of them were safe, I didn’t care about the other members of the court.

  “I’m trying to remake the laws and av oid using that creed. The creed is spelled. I t is written that as it burns, the words of Donalt will echo. That when the people hear the voice of their former king, they will obey.”

  “Who put the spell on it?” Landen asked.

  “Alamos – and another priest, Xavier .”

  Every part of Landen tensed, and I couldn’t figure out why.

  “So they could break it?” I asked. “At least mock a voice?”

  Drake grinned. “Love, the only problem with that is that Xavier do esn’t want to break the spell. He wants to rule. If everyone is executed – including me as a fraud -- he stands in line to rule by right of birth.”

  “What if he dies?” I asked coldly.

  “What have they done to you?” Drake asked, offering a sardonic grin.

  “Just done with all of this,” I muttered.

  “We can’t kill him until we know how to break the creed. Until we know the words he spoke but let me be clear…finding his words – even forcing him
to help us is nothing compared to convincing my mother t o say that I am not her child. That Livingston is not my father.”

  “I’ll tell you what,” I said all too calmly. “I’ll handle Beth. You find these words. When the kingdom is yours, we will worry about the next step.”

  “How long do we have with this mourning that is in place?” Landen asked.

  “I think they said a month,” I answered.

  “At the speed of these trials, that may be enough time,” Drake mumbled.

  “Why do the trials matter?” I asked.

  “How can they not matter? Being a king is a full-time job – twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year. Every trial pulls me away – one way or another, it distracts me, and I can’t do both.”

  “But we’ve got Marc,” I argued.

  “Are you serious?” Drake said, looking at the frozen image of Marc in the doorway. “Do you not see the look of disdain on his face – the absolute disgust for the role he was asked to fill?”

  “Yeah, it looks familiar,” I said as I stared into his dark eyes. “Look, Stella is pr etty much here full-time. That lo oking glass has her attention. He won’t go far from her and standing in your place allows him to not feel useless. If you asked him h e would do it.”

  Landen nodded to agree.

  “I’m not going to ask him to die for me – for him to take the chance that someone would kill him, thinking he was me,” Drake argued.

  “I think he has come to terms with that if not, he would have found a way out of that suit by now,” I maintained .

  Drake lost himself as he stared at Marc. I wish I could feel him. Feel the gratitude I was sure he was feeling.

  “So, that gives us a plan of action on what’s going on here, but what’s going on there?” Landen asked, looking to Draven and the others.

  “You know what? I don’t know. I don’t clearly understand this Escort thing or how they attract the dead…but they need help with that. They need people who are used to the supernatural.”