[Insight 01.0] Crown of Insight: Godly Games

by Jamie Magee

  “Justus walked to the gate of the palace like he didn’t have a fear in the universe. There, on the inside walking by, was a young, beautiful girl. Justus looked at me and said ‘That’s her.’”

  He paused.

  “Long story short, she came home with Justus. Her name was Adonia, and her father was Alamos, Donalt’s highest and most trusted priest. The rulers regent, second most powerful being.”

  My father stared down at his wedding band.

  “Shortly after this, I left to find your mother. What I know was said to me by Ashten Chambers. When Adonia went home to see her father, they'd ask her questions about our blood lines—how we traveled, where we went, things like that. Justus became convinced that old lore about Donalt was surfacing as truth. That Donalt was more than a man but a powerful evil intent to overcome other dimensions as richly as he had taken Esterious. Alamos is in his employ. Until Justus could understand the threat, he forbade Adonia from going home again. She missed her father. She convinced another traveler, Livingston, to take her home. When Adonia arrived, she retained. Livingston rushed back to tell Justus, and Justus. Livingston, and Beth, Livingston’s soul mate, went to bring Adonia home.”

  His sorrow intensified. He stared at the floor as he continued, “When it was over, Livingston carried Justus’s body home. No one knows what happened to Adonia or Beth. Ashten said that it’s been tough for Livingston since that day.”

  Dad paused swimming in a burdened guilt as he thought back over another life he had.

  “Years later, a little boy was in the strings. Livingston warned us that Donalt and Alamos were controlling this child. I assume the little boy was Justus’. I don’t know any other way he’d be able to travel the strings.”

  Dad glanced at me, his eyes searched over my face. “Livingston told Ashten that the child was looking for a girl that was born in the eleventh month. That she could feel the souls of others.”

  With those last words, my heart thudded my chest. I was born in November, and I guess you could say that I could feel the souls of others.

  “Over time, Ashten managed to learn how to navigate through the storms. He found your mother and me after your sixth birthday. We knew that you were a powerful empath. We were living in one of the largest dimensions. We assumed we hid you well.”

  My mind replayed the last nightmare I had; the memory of the suffocating pain on my chest and the burn made itself known in the tense stance my body took. It was easy for me to see this evil world. It was easy because I was sure I’d been there, often.

  “Willow, are you okay?”

  “I don’t understand why was some kid in another dimension looking for me?”

  “You’re a direct descendant of the first recorded people in our dimension. Livingston believes they’re trying to control a prophecy first made millions of years ago.”

  “What prophecy?” I asked with wide eyes.

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said. I could feel him struggling with a mix of emotions. Fear was there, and that was not helping me feel reassured at all.

  “Then why are you worried about it?”

  He grimaced. “They not only predicted your birth month, they also predicted the moment.”

  I continued to stare forward. My stomach was turning. The thought that I’d have to face that figure in real life one day was petrifying. I didn’t understand what I had done to deserve this.

  “Willow, the stars do not state our lives. I wanted to shield you from this, to give you a normal life.”

  Did he think I had a normal life?

  “You could’ve at least told me I wasn’t insane. Do you know how hard it is for me to be in a large room with everyone’s emotions hitting me like a ton of bricks? Try and imagine puberty with my friends. That was not awesome. Not to mention the fact that people would appear out of nowhere, needing my help. I thought they were ghosts until I was like eleven?”

  His expression filled with remorse. “You hid the struggle well.”

  I closed my eyes. I knew it didn’t matter how angry I was. It wouldn’t change the past.

  That was the one good thing about this sixth sense of mine. I always knew where someone meant to hurt me or not.

  “My nightmare is the reason you’re telling me this, isn’t it?” I stated, looking down at my tattoo with the star inside the loop of the Ankh.

  Dad reached over and grasped my wrist, looking intently at the star as he spoke. “It was predicted that on the Blue Moon of your eighteenth birth year, all those who seek you would find you.”

  “All?”

  He glided his finger across the star.

  “I assumed the prediction meant you’d be able to help more people. When I saw this mark, I realized that the prophecy meant that the child would finally find you.”

  “‘Blue Moon’?” I asked wondering when that was and how I could outrun it.

  He let go of my wrist and looked me in the eye.

  “A Blue Moon is the second full moon in a month. It’s not very common.” He glanced down as his anxiety grew. “We only have eleven days remaining until the Blue Moon will rise. I want you safe in Chara when that night comes.”

  Eleven days.

  As far as I knew I had eleven days to live. That was enough to kick me into shock. “What if I didn’t have that nightmare?” How long could I have hidden from that demon in my dreams?

  “At twenty it would’ve been time for you to find your soul mate. I’m sure one way or another, nature would’ve shown you what you are cable of, even if I wasn’t ready for you to know.”

  “Why is twenty the magic number?” I was not a fan of uniformity, in any form. This rule sucked. It meant another two years before I’d find my blue-eyed guy if he were even real. I had every reason to believe I would not be here then. I couldn’t see past the next eleven days.

  On the one hand, I could be happy I knew him in my dreams. On the other it would’ve been easier to make it through this not mourning him too. The boy gave new definition to unfinished business.

  “No one made a rule. That’s when most get this urge. It’s undeniable it’s all you think about,” Dad said, leaning back and smiling.

  “How do you know where to go? People can’t find each other in one dimension, much less several.”

  He stretched his legs out on the steps and looked at me.

  “Travelers can see several passages, but the others who don’t travel on a daily basis can only see one. The passage they see leads them to their soul mate. Once in the passage, they follow a feeling—whispers of the universe. The other person is usually looking for them as well. It is a beautiful thing to witness.”

  “So how does a traveler know if they can see more than one passage?”

  “For travelers, their passage is always brighter in their eyes, like a beacon.”

  “So when I go into the string, I will see a beacon leading me to my soul mate?”

  Dad’s smile lessened a little. “The ‘beacon’ will shine when it’s supposed to.”

  “Okay, then tell me what the string looks like, to begin with.”

  He tilted his head and gave me a shy smile. “Well, it’s like standing in the center of a bright light. You feel surrounded by it. As you walk, you see hazes of different colors; they are the doorways to other dimensions.”

  “Is it big? I mean, how do you know where to go?” I asked. Details, Dad, I need details.

  His eyes danced over my face as his smile widened. “Three traits that define a ‘traveler,'” he said. “Seeing the passages is only one. Another is that travelers can feel their way home. Everyone has their way of using that feeling to navigate. For me, I would picture my dimension in my mind, then visualize the paths to where I needed to go.”

  I looked at him like he was crazy. That didn’t make any sense. I knew where my house was, but that didn’t mean I’d always be able to find my way home.

  “You’ll see,” he said, laughing at my incredulous expression.

 
“What is the third trait?”

  “It’s the ability to understand every language.”

  “All of them?” I asked, astonished. That would have made the three foreign language classes I’d taken easier. Not that they were all that hard in the first place. I hated all the rules in the written part of it.

  He nodded. “That one is critical. You see, travelers do more than pass through the string. We also learn about all the cultures and help the person who is searching to abide by them.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He laughed at the eagerness in my voice. “If you take someone to a dimension, they have to understand what is customary for the time that they live there. We teach them everything they need to know, then get them settled.”

  “Settled? You don’t leave when they find someone?” I asked. That revelation was not helping my short window of time.

  “It depends. In some dimensions, a fast courtship is customary. In others, it could last years. When I knew I was coming to this dimension, Infante, I planned to stay for at least a year. If your mother had not wanted to leave, I would’ve stayed here for the rest of my life.”

  “So you would’ve left everything and everyone you loved?”

  “When you find your soul mate, you find the person that completes you. They are everything and everyone you love.” He paused. “I’m eager for you to meet your grandparents, though.”

  My mouth dropped open. I didn’t know I had any living grandparents. My mother’s parents had died before I was born, and my father had told me that his parents were in a beautiful place. I had taken that as Heaven, not another dimension.

  “Why have I not met them before?”

  “My mother, Rose, and my father, Karsten, wanted you safe. Coming here was a risk to you.”

  My dad glanced down at my tattoo, then back at me. “You’ve never told me what your nightmares involve.”

  I traced the star with my finger. “I help someone; then I see a dark figure.”

  “Every time?” he asked. I nodded. “Is this figure the only one you dream of?”

  I took my time answering, some secrets I needed to keep—I needed to believe they were a possibility. “I dream good dreams every night.”

  He didn’t push me to elaborate.

  “Are you sure you can get Libby to Chara?” I asked. “I don’t want her in danger because of me.”

  “Ashten said that they’d discovered new passages the storms have made. They’re trying to find a way home without passing the Esterious dimension.”

  I took in his confidence, tried to—I was still freaked about all of this.

  “Do you want to ask me anything else?” he asked wondering why I was so agreeable now. It was the shock, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. He already looked too worried.

  “So, Chara is only different because of the culture? Do I need to learn anything before I go there?” Seemed like an obvious question I should ask.

  He beamed with pride. “Different cultures have come together as soul mates. A blended harmony is the culture we have.” He stared at me for a second, then went on. “We have a simple faith. Life itself is a gift from above, and love is the most powerful thing in the universe.”

  “It sounds too perfect,” I said, trying to see it in my mind.

  “You’ll be happy there. I promise,” my father said. “Tomorrow ... have fun with your friends. It may be a few months before I feel safe enough for you to come visit,” he said as he stood and began to walk back down the stairs.

  Months. Good. Dad planned to get me past this Blue Moon.

  He glanced up at me. I smiled then stood to climb the stairs, trying not to think about leaving my friends. Right now, I needed to make sure that my family got to Chara. If evil was coming for me, I didn’t want them in the crossfire.

  Chapter Three

  “All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”

  ― Edgar Allan Poe

  This dream was different. It wasn’t the sweet place or even the nightmare. I was standing next to a large white windmill in the middle of a field. In the distance, I could see a beautiful home. There were gorgeous flowers of every color throughout the field. I knelt down to get a closer look and saw that the petals on the flowers were all different. Some looked like roses; others looked like daisies…it was as if they coexisted, but had no knowledge of one another.

  Next to me I found a flower more unique than the others. The petals were dark blue with emerald green tracing through the center. The colors were separate, yet one. In awe, I glanced across the field at all the flowers as they began to sway with a breeze that brushed through the field.

  I stood slowly, wanting to explore. Before I could take a step, an invisible pull of energy came from behind me.

  A rush of love, passion, and excitement absorbed my soul--only one person had ever felt that way about me. In doubt, I glanced over my shoulder; there he was--my blue-eyed guy. As our eyes connected, he stepped closer, disbelief and defensive fear filled his emotion. He reached his arms out like I was about to fall off a cliff-- like a hell was about to swallow me hole.

  I lost my focus and woke without warning.

  I cursed under my breath.

  I laid in my bed, trying to fall asleep again. I was too anxious. I sat up and grabbed my sketchpad out of the tote bag beside my bed. I sketched as fast as I could--the field, flowers, then, for the first time, his intoxicating image.

  I relaxed as I gazed into the design that was coming to life. I didn’t want to wait two years to find him. I didn’t want to face what was in front of me without him. I feared that if I didn’t sleep right here in this bed that I would never dream of him again. That hurt.

  I could hear my sister and mother giggling in the bathroom next to my room. I placed my sketchbook in my tote bag and pulled my robe on as I walked to the bathroom.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Look at this bathing suit I found for Libby,” Mom answered.

  It was bright yellow with a big smiley face on the front and a sad face on the back.

  “It makes sense: happy to see you come, sad to see ya go,” I teased.

  “I get to go swimming today, Willow!” Libby exclaimed.

  “You do? Where?”

  “I’m going over to Abby’s grandmother’s house again.”

  “I assume you’re still going to the lake with everyone today?” Mom said as she tried to gauge where I was with life in general.

  With a vacant stare, I said, “Yeah." I wasn’t ready to accept I was saying goodbye today.

  “I told everyone we were taking a trip to Paris to see the school and look for a place. They think we’ll be back in a few weeks,” mom said.

  I glanced to Libby.

  “Libby is very excited about our trip,” Mom said, as she finished pulling her hair back into a ponytail. Libby smiled up at me, then left the bathroom and went to her room to get her sandals.

  “Willow, I promise…we didn’t keep this from you to be spiteful.”

  I didn’t show any expression. The whole thing had left me confused and exhausted. Libby charged back into the bathroom, dancing in place while waiting for my mother.

  “Come here, munchkin, and give me a hug. I love you. Have lots of fun,” I said, holding her a bit tighter.

  Libby wrapped her arms around my waist. “Miss you,” she whispered.

  I went back to my room and closed the door behind me. All I wanted to do was go back to sleep, but I knew I’d have to find a way to wear myself down for that to happen. Packing, sorting out a life that was no longer mine was my go-to distraction.

  Monica called, saying she would be there around eleven instead of noon. We were going to pick up Hannah, Jessica, and Olivia. After packing my bags, I dressed for the lake, covering my burgundy bikini with a black sundress.

  Dad’s study is by the front door. I could sense him in there as I climbed down the stairs. He was nervous. I didn’t realize he was on the phone, but a
s I landed on the bottom step, I heard him say, “I agree, we’ll take those precautions. I’ll head out first thing in the morning.”

  I leaned against the doorframe leading into the study, wondering what had upset him. When he saw me, he said, “Okay, Ashten, I have to go. Willow is on her way out for the day…yeah…no…okay, tomorrow.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked when he hung up but never looked my way.

  “Nothing…um, we need to alter our story a little bit.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s nothing. I’m going to leave in the morning and tell everyone that I’m going to Washington to help an old colleague. Then we’ll say that you guys are going to wait for me in New York.”

  “Why? Where are we leaving from anyway?”

  “From Montana…look, Willow, we’re about to disappear, we kind of need to confuse our path so that no one will worry. Do me a favor, don’t be very conversational about what we’re doing. Let them assume.”

  I rolled my eyes as wry grin touched the corners of my lips. I’ve never been conversational. I liked being mysterious.

  “Yeah, that shouldn’t be too hard for you,” he said quietly.

  Hearing Monica honk her horn outside, I pulled my big, dark sunglasses over my eyes. “Let the mystery begin,” I said. When he hugged me goodbye, he seemed to ease up on his mood, but he was still nervous.

  Monica was shaking her head as I climbed into her car. She loved to wear vibrant colors--like the bright yellow dress she was sporting today. My darkness was clashing with her vibe. “Ya know we’re going to the lake, not a funeral.”

  “If you're gonna give me hell, I'll stay here, trick.”

  “Yeah, right, this is your last day. You’re not sulking. I knew you were good, but Paris—geeze. I bet you never come back from there.”

  We picked up Hannah and Olivia first. Olivia climbed into the back seat with a huge book in her hand. I had to grin. Monica and Hannah looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Olivia and I loved to drive them crazy by being unconventional.

  We picked up Jessica next. She was upset about me leaving and trying to hide it with a carefree smile, but I felt it raw. I stepped out to hug her--be both got all misty-eyed then.