Insight: Web of Hearts and Souls #1 (Insight series 1)

by Jamie Magee

  Chapter Fifteen

  Landen drove us home. Feeling the exhaustion come over us, we laid our bodies down, clinging to one another. Sleep came immediately. Rising in synch, we drifted onto the porch and rested on one of the couches as we watched the sun rise over the hill.

  As the night’s events raced over and over in our minds, we didn’t speak. Landen played with my hands, studying my fingertips, and the ring that still gleamed as if it were brand new. I tried remembering how many times I’d concentrated on a memory to help others, wondering if they’d seen what I was thinking. The only difference I could find was the connection that Olivia had to her aunt.

  Olivia was the mirror image of her mother. It was as if, for the first time, her aunt had let her sister go, passing the grief that she carried as she raised Olivia. Thinking of Olivia, I wondered, not doubting anything at that point, if Olivia’s mother had somehow helped me that night…if she were the light that came out of Olivia’s aunt.

  We watched as Aubrey pulled up. She reached for a basket in the front seat of the car and made her way to the door. Aubrey then peered through the window, and not seeing anyone, she set the basket on the porch and turned to leave. She hesitated and looked slowly toward the couch where we were laying, and her eyes searched, not focusing on anything. She walked back on the porch toward us.

  We glanced at each other, wondering if she could see us. Aubrey went to speak, and, holding her hand out, she hesitated, checking her words before she began. Smiling at herself, she then looked in our direction.

  “Landen…I’m sorry. We both are. But you have to understand, you’re our little boy…you’re so much like your father, ready to risk your life everyday to bring someone else safely home.” She smiled at herself, looking down the empty road.

  “Truth is, I dreamed of Willow, too. I could see you with her. I remember keeping you awake at night so you could sleep through the day, to see her longer while she slept in her time…you needed to have a childhood…so did she…that was our intent. We failed to see that you never carried the soul of a child. You were born for the task before you, and the way you feel about Willow is not only your reward, but also your weapon. I don’t want you to be upset. Being angry at the mistakes made by the heart will only leave you bitter. The time taken from you will be repaid beyond your imagination. Your father understands why you’ve built these walls, everyone does, I promise. He’ll wait for you to come to him. No more lectures. You’re a man now, and we’re all waiting for you to teach us, to tell us how to help you fill your purpose.” Aubrey looked down at her feet. I could feel her remorse.

  “Please just forgive us, trust us,” Aubrey said with tears pooling in her eyes.

  Landen couldn’t take another word. He woke himself up and ran down the stairs, almost tripping on the basket in the threshold. Running to her, he scooped her up, and happy tears flowed out of her pale green eyes. Giving him a moment, I woke and stayed in our bed, feeling him change her mood.

  After a shower, I found my sketchbook. The first sketch I drew was of the room Olivia was in, struggling to call back every detail. Taking a deep breath, I faced my demons, literally. Landen came in the room, breakfast in hand; hesitating as he saw the outline of the hospital room, he didn’t stop me. He simply sat down and calmly watched as the demons came to life in black and white.

  August knocked softly on the front door; we felt him coming and were waiting for him. Landen led August to the kitchen table. He was carrying what looked to be a large scroll. I followed shyly behind them.

  “Interesting night,” he commented as he sat down. We both smiled warily and settled at the table with August.

  “What is this?” Landen asked, looking at the scroll.

  “This is what you haven’t been told,” August said, smiling widely. My stomach turned. Landen reached over to hold my hand.

  August unrolled the scroll, revealing a large circle with lions, fish, rams, scales, twins and scorpions, there were other symbols that lined the outer edge as well. I couldn’t conceive what they might be. Dots were arranged under strange symbols.

  “Landen, this is your birth chart. Your sun is in Pisces.” Landen nodded. “Your moon is in Virgo, that’s what gives you your ability to see truth,” August continued.

  “I’ve heard that before,” Landen commented. Grinning, he glanced at me.

  August nodded, then rolled out a second scroll. “Willow, this is yours. Your sun is in Scorpio, and your moon is in Leo, which gives you a powerful impact on emotions, both yours and others.”

  My eyes widened. Moon…I’d never heard of a moon sign. “I don’t understand, how do you know that?”

  “When we’re born, each planet is aligned in a position, and their positions outline our characteristics. The alignments are not repeated exactly for 4,320,000 years. This means that there is not another person that shares your traits on Earth.”

  I noticed he still had two scrolls that he hadn’t unrolled. August smiled, his excitement growing as he unrolled the last two. They were much older than the ones he’d just shown us; the cloth the charts were on was frail and faded.

  He removed the vase from the table and arranged the four scrolls. The old ones were next to the new ones, and the markings were identical.

  “How is that possible?” Landen asked, clearly understanding the charts more than I did.

  “This is Aliyanna’s,” August said, pointing to the one that matched mine. “And this is Guardian’s,” he said, pointing to the one that mirrored Landen’s. I still didn’t understand. I looked at Landen, and his eyes were glazed over. His emotion was basked in disbelief, clearly denying whatever August was trying to tell us.

  “Who are they again?” I asked.

  “They were the first. Priests attempted to contain them, but instead they were pushed into the string.”

  “So, um, that’s why we can do what they could do?” My voice was timid. August smiled, and his eyes encouraged me to move past my first impressions.

  Landen closed his eyes and said, “You think we’re them…that we’re back?”

  August smiled at Landen and moved his hand to his shoulder. “I do.”

  “Wait, four million years…were dinosaurs even around then? That makes no sense to me,” I argued.

  Landen leaned back in his chair and looked at August, wanting him to teach me. August smiled and placed his hand on mine, then stared into my eyes. “First of all, to think that time can be measured is unwise. Second, I can see how you perceive this, Willow. The dimension you were raised in is still in its infancy. Most dimensions are not divided into countries, nor have one specific leader. In fact, beyond Infante and Esterious, there is only one other. Esterious is thought to be one of the first, they had passed the prehistoric times before Infante was ever conceived.”

  “How can you not have a leader?” I asked.

  “People lead people just like we live here. We can divide ourselves any way we wish, but we are still, in fact, a part of humanity. In most dimensions, one person doesn’t have a say over many. That’s seen as a form of judgment. ”

  Landen never looked in my direction. I felt a wall building between us, and I didn’t understand why.

  “What do you know about them? How do Drake and Perodine play into this?” asked Landen. August’s eyes questioned why Landen had said Perodine’s name.

  “Willow dreamed of her, too,” Landen offered.

  August smiled at me. “That makes sense. She is, or was, your mother.”

  Landen buried his face in his hands, shaking his head. August went on, “Perodine is a strong woman, but in her younger years she was subservient to her husband, Donalt. Perodine turned to the universe. She planned her child by the planets. She then developed powers to protect her and her child, Aliyanna, and those powers unwittingly suspended her life.”

  August’s eyes fell to the charm around my neck. He smiled warmly as he looked back in my eyes. “Perodine had a medallion made—a sun filled with black
glass to represent the darkness the world was in. A crescent moon was carved in the center to represent the rebirth of life. The star was placed on the back to show that the supremacy of man would always fall behind the universe—God. All the power that Perodine had found was placed inside the charm.

  “Aliyanna was promised to a man in the court, a man her father had chosen for her, but her heart loved another: Guardian, a man of the common people. Donalt instructed his priest to remove Aliyanna’s power and to kill her and Guardian. The charm served its purpose, though, and protected both Aliyanna and Guardian,” August explained.

  “So, let me get this straight. You think that we’re those people? That this whole scenario is being played out again? Are you saying that Drake has been chosen for me by Donalt?” I clarified.

  I felt a deep rage and jealousy rise inside Landen. August could see it, too. He looked at Landen and put his hand on his shoulder. “I know that Drake has Donalt’s favor,” he said quietly. “I know lore can never be counted on to speak the entire truth, only the flavor of such.”

  My eyes raced back and forth as I tried to understand why any of this mattered. I wanted to take it all away, to undo what had been done then, but then I remembered my dream with Perodine. “When I dreamed of Perodine, she told me she couldn’t undo what was done. What did she mean? Is that true, or can I fix this?” I asked.

  Landen looked at me quickly. I had never told him the details of the dream.

  August glanced in my direction. I could feel a deep respect inside of him. “Once a spell is spoken, it cannot be undone…it has to be resolved. I would say that she meant that whatever was said over you then still holds true today. The only prediction I know beyond your births is that ‘the innocent will lead you, and you will lead the innocent,’” August answered.

  My emotion moved to fear as Libby’s face flashed before me, and Landen felt the same way. We had no way to protect her; we both felt helpless and lost.

  “What happened after Guardian and Aliyanna landed in the string?” I asked, hoping that we’d done something to help Esterious.

  August looked down and traced the grain in the wood table. He sighed, regretting his words as he spoke them. “Aliyanna had the power to go back, but…” August looked into my eyes. “You chose to stay, which left Esterious in the state it’s in today according to some.” His tone was sympathetic. Landen’s anger grew as August spoke. He looked at August and said, “If Aliyanna had never met Guardian, would the people in Esterious be at peace now? Would the threat of war be the only way to bring them peace?”

  I looked sharply at Landen. What was he saying—that he wished we’d never met? I felt my insides fall, and all the color left my face.

  August leaned forward and put his hand on Landen’s shoulder. “You were made for each other, don’t let this story cause you to forget that. This a war of this plane, nothing compared to the war of the heavens,” he said with deep concern in his voice. “The answers rest in you. Do not rely on the stories written by those who were not there.”

  Landen broke his gaze with August and stared at the table. “I need to know how to heal her friends and stop those demons,” he said, standing, not wanting to look at the charts. “That’s my problem now, not old myths and superstitions... of any world or plane.”

  August didn’t seem surprised by Landen’s obvious rebellion to what he was hearing. “The only difference between black magic and white magic is the intent. You’re going to have to find the counterpart to what was spoken over them.”

  “Will these rings help, or the medallion?” Landen asked, staring out the window.

  “Only you truly know the power of those rings; they belonged to you then.”

  “How serious is it that they have the star?” Landen asked.

  “Willow is the power—the star has part of her energy from the past. Any part of Willow gives them a source of power that is undeserved.”

  I could feel people coming, our family, and so could Landen. Our time alone with August was coming to an end, and we still had so many questions.

  “You will find your way and finish what you left undone. I’m sure of it,” August said.

  August saw Ashten through the window walking toward our home. He was across the field, and he wasn’t alone; my father, Marc, Chrispin, Brady, Dane, and Clarissa were all with him. August smiled at Landen and bowed his head. We knew that this conversation was over, at least for now. August gathered the scrolls and moved the vase back to the table.

  Landen walked over to where I sat, pulled me up, and wrapped his arms around my waist. He then leaned his head against mine. His eyes were closed; he was blocking them all out, putting us in our own world. August walked outside to meet the others, giving us our privacy.

  “What do you want me to do?” he asked me.

  “All I can see are the demons.”

  “Do you want me to bring your friends here for now?” he thought quietly.

  I didn’t answer Landen’s thoughts. He kissed my forehead and pulled my hand toward the door.

  “Let’s go get them,” he said under his breath.

  We walked out to the porch where they were all waiting, and the quiet whispers stopped when they saw us. Landen looked at his dad first, then at each of them in the eye, one by one.

  “We need to bring those girls back here until we can stop the demons. Does anyone have any objections to that?” Landen asked.

  Ashten glanced at August, then they looked at my father. My father cleared his throat. “We’ve brought family here before. Olivia seems to be fine,” he answered, looking up at Landen.

  “What is he talking about?” I asked Landen.

  “There’s an old myth that you must be loved by someone who lives here to survive in Chara.”

  “You tell us what you need us to do,” Ashten said.

  “What’s your plan?” Marc asked.

  Landen looked down then out to the others. Their anticipation and excitement frightened him. He didn’t want them involved in this at all. “Jason, we heard the mothers talk about you last night. They respect your medical opinion. Do you think you could convince them to let the girls come with you?”

  “I’m sure I could think of something,” my father said, certain of himself.

  “Dane, your mother is expecting you any day now. I say we go to Franklin with Dane. Jason, you can run into one of the parents and convince them that you have to take them away somewhere,” Landen planned out. The others nodded in agreement.

  “All right then. We need to go, it’s almost night time there,” my dad said.

  August decided to stay behind. I reasoned he didn’t want to place himself between Ashten and Landen. We waited as Ashten and my father called home. Brady and Chrispin didn’t have to go far to say goodbye to Felicity and Olivia. They were in the field by our house, picking flowers. Olivia’s emotion elevated as she heard Chrispin’s voice…the emotion was undeniable. “Has he told her yet?” I asked, knowing how they both felt about each other and that Olivia would never have the nerve to say it first.

  Landen smiled as he watched them. “He’s waiting. He thinks she needs to see his face,” Landen answered. The smirk on his face made me smile, but we were both too stressed to find the energy to laugh.

  In the string, I lingered near the back with Clarissa. I thought Landen needed space. I didn’t feel comfortable with the way he was acting…he had changed since he’d seen the charts. He was aloof and trying desperately not to seem that way to me. Brady and Marc took the time to try and show Dane the passages. He was able to feel them, but the colors escaped him.

  “So, do you think I am going to like Franklin?” Clarissa asked me.

  Like any other time I’d seen Clarissa, she resembled a runway model: a unique beauty that could capture anyone’s attention.

  “I think Franklin is really going to like you,” I muttered, smiling faintly.

  Clarissa grinned, staring at Dane. “He never really talks about anyone
from there, except you and his family.”

  I smiled, remembering how oddly Dane and I fit into Franklin. “For us, it was like a waiting room. We’ve always known that we were meant to be somewhere else,” I offered as I realized that my soul seemed to know way more than my mind.

  As Infante came into view, green passages illuminated the walls. Landen glanced back in my direction, smiled slightly, and then walked on. A moment later, the walls seemed to turn completely green, and you couldn’t see one passage from another. Landen stopped and looked at the wall cautiously. The others watched him carefully. To them, it was solid white.

  “What is it, Landen?” Ashten asked.

  “I’m trying to remember which one is Willow’s house. That’s the best place we could all appear out of nowhere without being noticed,” Landen said, debating now on one area of the wall.

  The admiration coming from the others was intensified in the string. Landen held his hand up, telling us all to stay put then he stepped inside the haze. Everyone in the string tensed, expecting Landen to feel the burn as he walked through the wall. I saw Ashten look at my father and shake his head in disbelief.

  Seconds passed, and Landen didn’t come back. I felt my heart rate rise. Pain was seeping into my veins, the same way it did when he left me before. I held my breath, trying to block it out, but with each second that passed it intensified. I saw spots in my vision, and my head started to spin. I fell back without warning. Brady, who was standing beside me, caught me.

  “Jason, what’s going on here?” Brady yelled.

  My father quickly turned and saw my condition. I felt his panic, along with everyone else’s. It wasn’t helping me at all—it was draining me.

  “It’s happening again. Their bodies can’t be separated by the string,” my father said, trying to remain calm. My head was so heavy it fell back.

  “What do we do?” Brady said, picking me up. “Do I walk through the wall?”

  Suddenly, I felt life come back into me—I felt Landen again.

  “No,” I heard Landen say.

  He emerged several feet from where he’d disappeared, walked quickly to Brady, and took me from his arms. With his touch, the pain left, leaving a tingle in its wake. I was weak. It had taken my energy, but when Landen kissed my lips, it sent a rush of energy through me. He squeezed me in his arms, and it was as if nothing ever happened.

  “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Are you okay?” he thought.

  I nodded. Hating that I looked weak. Feeling that emotion he slowly put me down.

  “Is something wrong? Why didn’t you come back?” Marc asked, ready for a fight.

  “No, that goes to their house, but there are a ton of people there, cleaning up after the fire.” I couldn’t just disappear. I had to find another opening.

  “Let me look at you,” my father said. He circled Landen and me, shaking his head. “I don’t understand why you can’t be apart. I mean, you were apart for eighteen years.”

  “Maybe that’s their bodies way of saying that they should have never been kept apart in the first place,” Brady bit out, still upset with Ashten for hiding me from Landen.

  Clarissa saw the potential disagreement and added a more positive note. “Or maybe it symbolizes that they are now joined forever,” she said, glancing at Brady. “We can’t change the past. We’ve all made mistakes in judgment.”

  Landen squeezed me tighter and kissed the top of my head. I could sense turmoil inside him. He didn’t want his family to fight over any of this. My father nodded in Clarissa’s direction and let the matter go.

  The current in the string began to flow more aggressively, and the hum grew a little bit louder. Landen looked at my father. “You don’t have long to convince them to come. The storm will pass here in less than six hours,” he warned.

  “I don’t think it’s going to be hard. Grace told me that both Jessica and Hannah’s parents wanted the girls to go with Willow to Paris,” my father said.

  Landen held me tight and led us forward. Everyone lined up behind us, and we passed through the green wall together. The passage led to a wooded area just fifty yards from my house. I could still smell the smoke in the air.

  We causally walked to the road, and in the distance I could hear hammers and saws. As we approached the house, trucks lined the street in front of the shell of a home that was left. People were rushing in every direction.

  We walked into the front yard, and I looked up at the home in which I was raised, the one in which my mother was raised, the brick remained in place. The roof was gone, and so were all the windows.

  It didn’t take long for someone to notice us. On the front porch was Josh’s father, Mr. Campbell. He owned a very successful construction company. Mr. Campbell saw my father and grinned from ear to ear.

  “Well, now, I didn’t expect to see you back so soon,” he said to my father, once he reached our side.

  “We’re just passing through. Grace wanted me and Willow to see if there was anything that could be saved before we went overseas,” my father said, clearly not comfortable lying.

  “Now, Jason, I told you the night it burned that I was going to fix this for you, and I meant it,” Mr. Campbell said looking over his shoulder, then back at my father, feeling proud of what he’d accomplished in such a short time.

  “Really, it’s not necessary,” my father said, raising his hands.

  “Look, Jason, I had doctor after doctor tell me I needed open heart surgery, but you took one look at me and told me how to heal myself. I vowed then to repay you. All these people here, they don’t work for me. They’re volunteers, your patients, Grace’s friends, and Willow’s friends. I’ve never known a man as good as you before, none of us have. This is our way of saying thank you.”

  “I really do appreciate this. This town will always be a part of me and Grace,” my father said humbly.

  “Well, there isn’t a lot that can be salvaged. We have a few storage containers in the back of the house. Anything that we think you’d still want or use, we put in there,” Mr. Campbell said, looking at all of the people my father had with him. His eyes landed on Dane. “Son, your mother is going to be happy to see you.” He then looked around at the trucks lining the street. “How did all of you get here?”

  “Cab,” my father said quickly. “We’re actually on a layover, and we don’t have very long before our next flight,” he continued, getting better at lying.

  Mr. Campbell nodded as my father talked; that was a trait about him that I’d always found funny. “Well, I’ll tell you what,” he said, pulling his keys out of his pocket. “Dane, take my truck go and introduce that pretty thing you have with you to your mother.”

  Clarissa blushed, not knowing how to respond to Mr. Campbell. Smiling, Dane took the keys then glanced back at Landen and me before he left; it was clear he was amused by how blunt Mr. Campbell was.

  “I tell you what, Jason. They’ve been hoping you would show up. Seems two girls showed up at the hospital, and they don’t know what to make of what’s wrong with them,” Mr. Campbell said.

  “Are they still at the hospital?” my father asked.

  “No, I believe they sent them home,” Mr. Campbell answered, waving his son, Josh, over to us. Josh walked over to all of us and looked at Landen and Brady, confusion all over his face.

  “Are you a doctor, too?” Mr. Campbell asked Ashten.

  I felt my father’s embarrassment as he looked back at us, realizing he hadn’t introduced anyone. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me. This is Ashten. Yes, he’s a doctor; he taught me everything I know,” he said.

  Mr. Campbell reached over and shook Ashten’s hand. Everyone else was trying not to laugh at the idea of Ashten being a doctor.

  “And these are his sons, Brady and Landen, and his nephews, Chrispin and Marc,” my father said.

  Mr. Campbell shook everyone’s hands, saving Landen’s for last. It was not hard to see that we were a couple. Since the pain in the string, L
anden had made sure that one part of him was always touching me.

  “You must be a lucky man,” Mr. Campbell said to Landen. “I told my son Josh here that girls like Willow are rare.” Mr. Campbell looked back at Josh, shaking his head in a teasing manner. “Maybe next time he’ll listen to me.”

  Josh rolled his eyes at his father then nodded in Landen’s direction, still confused.

  “Josh, let Jason take your truck. He needs to go and check on those girls,” Mr. Campbell said. Josh complied without complaint.

  “I want to stay here to see what’s in storage,” I said to Landen and my father.

  “Dad, just go with Jason. I’ll stay here with them,” Brady said to Ashten.

  Mr. Campbell waved then turned to go back to the house. Josh looked at Landen one more time then followed his dad.

  “Maybe your herb didn’t work that well on him,” I thought, Landen shrugged his shoulders, not really caring what Josh thought of him.

  “We’ll be back in a little bit,” my father said over his shoulder.

  Brady and Chrispin walked toward the house, and Mr. Campbell gave them hard hats before he allowed them in. Landen, Marc, and I walked around the house. Looking up at the damage, I felt an overwhelming grief. I wondered how many people I would bring destruction to before this conflict with Drake was over. I tried to hide my emotion from Landen, but he felt it.

  “I’m sorry, Willow,” he thought, filling with remorse.

  Though we never lost touch, I could feel his mind drifting somewhere else. If I could turn back time, I wouldn’t have allowed him to look at those birth charts. They’d changed him.

  We walked around the house along the fence. Volunteers had laid out paintings that could be saved. Most of them were mine, a few were my mother’s. I walked by them slowly. Remembering the images, I wondered if I’d really helped them, or if I’d only sustained them for the moment.

  “Are all of these yours?” Marc asked.

  “The ones of the people are,” I answered.

  My mother was more of a still art painter. Marc leaned closer to get a better look. “I think I know this girl,” he said, looking at one of the paintings. It was one I had done of a young girl almost a year ago. I remembered how lonely she felt.

  “Landen, this looks like that girl we helped bring home a while back—for umm… what was his name? Austin, wasn’t it?” Marc said, not feeling sure of himself.

  Landen looked closer at the painting. “It does look like her,” he said. “Was she lonely?” he asked me.

  I nodded, astonished that it could be the same girl. “You know her?”

  “Maybe. We’ve carried so many home, it’s hard to say for sure. I only remember her because she had no family or belongings. Austin found her living in a shelter; a storm had taken everything from her. It was like she breathed for the first time when she stepped through the gates of Chara.

  I smiled, hoping it was the same girl. I wanted all the people that I’d helped to be happy.

  In the center of the backyard, there were two large containers. Inside them were more paintings, books, and small knick-knacks. I walked in and started going through the things, making a pile for us to carry home to my mother. I knew it would make her feel better.

  The sun was setting, and the volunteers were leaving one by one. Brady and Chrispin came over to us. We all leaned against the fence, waiting for my father. Mr. Campbell waved at us as he climbed in the passenger seat of another truck. I was sure he was going to Gina’s Diner to retrieve his truck. Josh and Chase came around the house with handfuls of bottled water, then they walked over and passed them out to us.

  “Thank you,” Landen said, taking two bottles, one for me and one for him.

  Josh had yet to lose his confused expression. He must have said something to Chase because now they both looked confused. “It’s Livingston, right?” Josh said to Landen. Marc and Chrispin were in mid-drink when they heard Josh. They both stopped and stared at him while Landen tilted his head and pulled his brows together, questioning Josh.

  “Landen,” Landen said finally. I could feel the tension building.

  “Sorry. My fault,” Josh said, glancing from Landen to Chase.

  “Do you know a Livingston?” Chase asked Landen.

  Landen’s lips turned into a sinful smile. “I think I may have met one before. Why do you ask?”

  Chase and Josh shook their heads and laughed at themselves. “It’s nothing,” Chase said.

  “Chase,” I said sternly, knowing that he knew something. Landen put his hand on my shoulder, trying to calm me down before I lost my temper.

  “All right,” Chase said, raising his hands, knowing that I’d rip him apart if he didn’t come clean. “Remember your friend, Drake?” I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, anyway, he asked Josh and me if we’d ever seen a guy named Livingston with you or your dad. He said he was tall, dark, wavy hair and unmistakable dimples. We thought he was talking about an older man, but I don’t know,” Chase said, looking at Landen. “You kind of fit the profile. We just thought it was weird that you showed up after he said that.”

  Landen turned his head slightly to look at Marc and get his take on what Chase had said. Josh followed Landen’s eyes to Marc. “Hey, do you know Drake?” he asked.

  “Should I?” Marc asked, trying not to look baffled.

  “I don’t know. You just look like him,” Josh said defensively.

  Everyone turned and stared at Marc. It was clear the comparison made him uncomfortable. Josh had a point, though. Both Drake and Marc were built the same way, with a dominant profile I hadn’t noticed before. I think it was the eyes that threw me off. Marc’s are light brown with a sparkle in them, but Drake’s are as dark as the night, with a degree of magnetism that pulls you in.

  Headlights beamed around the side of the house, breaking the tension; it was Gina’s truck. I could feel Clarissa and Dane. Landen held my hand and led us to the front of the house. Another van pulled in behind Gina’s. I felt Hannah and Jessica with my father and Ashten. My father must have had success.

  Dane and Clarissa got out of the truck and walked over to the van where the girls were. Olivia’s aunt was driving, and my father was in the passenger seat. He rolled down the window. “Willow, I have good news for you,” he said. “It seems Jessica and Hannah are in need of some relaxation to relieve some stress they’re under, so I invited them to come to Paris with us for a week.” I smiled, not having to try hard to seem surprised. Olivia’s aunt leaned forward, looking at all of us grinning, but her eyes hesitated on Chrispin for a moment. That’s when I remembered showing her Olivia dancing with Chrispin.

  Landen remembered, too, and he quickly stepped in front of Chrispin. “You guys split up. They’re going to take us to the airport,” my father said. Landen nodded, then turned and pushed Chrispin and Brady in the direction of Gina’s truck. Chrispin looked back at Landen like he’d lost his mind. Landen nodded his head, telling Chrispin to go. Once out of sight, we climbed in the van with Jessica and Hannah. My father had given them something to help them relax, and it was clear it was already taking effect by the peace I felt within them and the smiles on their faces.

  After we were dropped off at the airport, we waited for a few moments, then hailed a cab to take us back to the passages near my house. Inside the string, the current was flowing more aggressively than before, causing us to rush through the passage. Landen and I stayed on the outside, ready to pull everyone through if the storm erupted before we reached Chara.

  Once home in Chara, we took Hannah and Jessica to my father’s house. I could sense how nervous my father was about having them here. I’d never thought my father believed in myths, but then again, I never imagined that he was from another dimension either. It seemed everyone except Marc had someone to see, to tell that they were home safely. Marc, Dane, and Clarissa followed us back to our house, and we all gathered in the living room.

  “You don’t think I look like Drake, do you?” Marc
asked Landen.

  “Does it matter if you do?” Landen retorted, falling back into one of the large chairs and staring at the ceiling.

  Marc was immediately irritated by Landen’s short tone. Landen was being distant with everyone, but I’m sure it hurt me more than them.

  “I just want to know how he knew Dad’s name,” Marc argued.

  “He’s always in Esterious,” Clarissa answered, trying to give Landen a break from always having to have the answers.

  “So am I. So are you. Did he say our name? No.”

  Landen sat up and looked at me, then at Marc.

  “Where is your dad anyway?” Landen asked.

  Marc stopped pacing and looked back at Landen; a singe of fear hit him. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since your celebration…Ashten said he went to Esterious to find a way in the palace.”

  “He should be back by now, don’t you think?” Landen said.

  Marc had been so distracted by everything that had happened that he hadn’t noticed. Guilt came to him immediately.

  “You know, you’re right,” Marc answered. Fear coursed through the room. Marc rushed to the kitchen to call Ashten.

  Aubrey told him that he was already on his way to our house. We waited, watching Marc get more upset, pacing across the room.

  Ashten and my father came through the back door at the same time. As they came into the room, their concern grew as they saw Marc in his freaked state.

  “What’s going on?” asked Ashten.

  “Where’s Dad? Shouldn’t he back by now?”

  “Well, not really. He was intent on staying until all this was worked out,” answered Ashten.

  “Did he go into the palace?” Marc asked as his anxiety grew.

  “I don’t think he’d try anything that would put himself in danger,” Ashten promised.

  I glanced in Landen’s direction. I could tell Ashten didn’t believe his own words.

  “We need to get him, he needs to know what we know!” Marc yelled.

  “What do we know? What did you guys figure out?” Ashten demanded realizing that they were missing something.

  “Drake asked Willow’s friends if they knew a Livingston,” Landen explained.

  My father and Ashten looked at each other. I clearly felt their confusion and frustration.

  Ashten looked back at Marc. “I can see why that would bother you, but I’m sure there’s a reason,” Ashten stated in a forced calm tone as if he knew Marc was seconds away from doing something foolish.

  “Yeah and I’m going to find out right now,” Marc bit out, walking to the door.

  Ashten moved to block Marc’s exit. “You’re not going to find him tonight. Curfew has already set in—he won’t be out, and you’re sure to be killed if they see you on the streets,” he said as Marc’s face fell. “Look, he’s fine. We’ll all go in the morning, well, Jason and I will go with you.”

  Ashten glanced in Landen’s direction, then at me.

  “We’re not afraid of him. We’re going to have to face him sooner or later,” Landen said shortly.

  “Later sounds better to me,” retorted Clarissa, reminding Landen that this affected all of them, not just us.

  Landen closed his eyes and shook his head, avoiding a sarcastic remark that he would regret as soon as he said it.

  “Look, let’s just argue about this tomorrow. You all need your rest, especially if we’re going to Esterious tomorrow,” Ashten said, defusing the situation.

  Marc charged toward the door, anger coursing through him. He had every intent of going to Esterious that night.

  “Marc,” Landen said, halting him. “Rest…I know where you sleep.”

  Marc’s face fell then he turned and walked slowly out the door. He knew we could see his intent, as well as the fact that if we wanted to we could watch him sleep without him ever seeing us.

  The blunt prediction and threat that Landen had given left the room stunned; the power that we’d built using each other had escaped their attention until now.

  “So, am I to presume that you two will not need me tonight?” my father asked.

  “No, we’ll stay here,” Landen answered, staring at the ground.

  Dane and Clarissa quietly walked out after Marc. Before leaving, my father walked over to where I sat and kissed my forehead. Ashten hesitated, then followed.

  We were now completely alone, and for the first time in my life, that was something I didn’t want. I could feel the tension between us. The pressure of everything that was happening to us made itself known.