Emanate: Insight Series ((Insight) Web of Hearts and Souls) (11 page)

“Donalt will invoke the living to cause strife,” I warned.

“Not if you and Drake give them what they want.”

“I don’t know what Drake’s court or people want; only what mine want.”

“That’s all you need to worry about.”

“Easier said than done.” I glanced to the distance, to where I knew the borders of Chara were. “Where will this spell you and Draven are going to have to face occur?”

“Here, round about. I assume
, anyway. Not entirely sure I will be side by side with Draven. I just know where the scent of the Escort that I vow to end is.”

“With the energy Willow and I will put off
, we will cause a ripple here. Drake’s world is on the other side. If what he has to contend with happens at the same time, which is what our current streak of luck promises—there will be nothing left of this place.”

“This is the V
eil. You will be on the Earthly plane.”

“You don’t understand the power that will be released.”

“Yes, I do. As well as the fact that I understand that whatever you are fighting is well aware of the caution you will exercise. That is why you will exercise none because you trust me.”

I gave a
weak grin. “That, I do.” I glanced around and told myself he was right about where I needed to be, then looked back at him. “I’m going to head home. Willow should be waking up soon. You keep me updated on this conflict. I have to know that all of you are all right.”

“Will do.”

Chapter
Six

~
Willow ~

The intoxicated couple behind the wall next to us became silent, and when my imagination kicked in my skin began to crawl. I have been through hell and back again over the last few months, but I have never once had a freak out. That was about to change. I could not breathe. I could feel my heart racing. I was hot. There was no air. I was sure of it.

I was lost in a mental spiral de
scent when a husky man’s voice from the other side of the curtain slammed into my thoughts.

“That prince will fall before the week is out, so
will his little green-eyed girl. I packed the explosives myself.”

Wide
-eyed, I moved my stare to Justus, who was listening intently to the conversation that was occurring a few feet from our enclosure. He raised his finger to his lips in an effort to tell me to be quiet, but my freak out was instantly replaced with rage. I knew the voice of the man that was responding to that man.

“I will handle the girl. Just as I always have. You do your part. You fail
, and your bloodline will end immediately.” That was Alamos. I would know his voice anywhere.

The heated fu
ry laced with betrayal lunged me forward. I was prepared to attack—make a fool of the man that had played the innocent servant for the sake of me, Perodine, and Drake.

Right as I opened that iron curtain
, everything turned blindingly white; the glow was more intense than the string could ever hope to be.

There was silence. Emptiness. I searched in every direction
, looking for Justus. Looking for a way out. My mind could not comprehend how I went from a sour, filthy enclosed booth to this serene light.

The brightness began to lose some of its power, lowering itself to a glow that I could see through without squinting my eyes.

Standing a few feet away from me was a figure. Taking in her build at first, I thought it was my image again. But this woman was taller, built differently. She was fit from one end to the other. In her silhouette, I could see long, lean muscles that silently screamed one thing: do not cross me.

She stepped closer
, and as she did her image became clear. Her hair was long and auburn, but she was not the woman my image had shown me before. Sisters, maybe. This girl had long dreads, pristine ivory skin, and eyes that I could swear were one shade away from a deep red.

“Who are you?” I demanded
.

“Mazing
,” she answered blankly as her eyes gave me a once over.

The sound of her voice spiked familia
rity, as did her image, but I didn’t know this girl. What kind of a name was Mazing anyway?

“Where am I?”

“Home. Yet you cannot stay here.”

“Fantastic. Can you pleas
e show me the way to the string?”

“And if I did, where would you cho
ose to go? Back to the filth I just pulled you from?”

“I have karma to deliver.”

“That is not your war.”

“So says who
?”

“Your sovereign.”

There was that word again. The one Justus loved to call me. At least she was saying I was ruled by someone and not bowing down to me—even though no one ruled me.

“Your
Majesty,” I said in a mocking tone. “Release me.”

Mazing smirked. “I am not a sovereign. I am a First.”

My eyes grew wide. I got it now. I was in my head again. I must have opened that door and been struck, that or Justus knocked me out. Either way, this was in a twisted dream, like the one I was in with Aella. I knew one thing for sure: I was not fond of my subconscious. It always managed to tell me exactly what I didn’t want to hear.

“Awesome. You must be proud. Met another First today. A risen dead man. He seems misplaced
. Maybe you should be lurking in his head, and not mine.”

“We are not in your thoughts. If we were
, you would be in listening mode only. This is reality; therefore, I’m forced to hear your meaningless banter.”

I let a bold glare ease over her. “Let’s
just get to the bottom of this. What do you want? What am I doing wrong? What have I vastly misunderstood? Go on. I’ve played this game before.”

Her scowl was almost amusing. She gave me the same look Justus had supplied
, the one that made me feel like a wayward toddler.

“Your
sovereign wishes to be here now. She is watching closely.”

“Which direction do I
wave in?” I mocked.

“She wishes to come to you
, but she cannot claim you—for if she does, your life will be at greater risk.”

“Seriously
? That threat is beyond old. Didn’t you get the memo? I’ve already died. Recently. And beyond that, I have faced far greater fears than death itself.”

Mazing su
cked in a deep breath. She was clearly holding a fury deep within herself, though I had no notion of that feeling vibrating my soul. Man. I loved this new life of mine.

“You are near your end. Donalt is weak.”

I smirked. It was almost as if she were reading from a script. The look in those near red eyes told me that she wanted to rip me in two, at least give me a piece of her mind. But she kept right on saying what she was obviously supposed to be saying.

“He was a looker when I saw hi
m last,” I said with a sly grin.

“You will fail at the end if you do not
let your ego diminish.”

“Ah, you and Justus
with that same song and dance. You guys have been hanging out in the First Club, haven’t you?”

“Let your soul out
, Willow,” she commanded.

“All soul, girl
,” I said with a wave of my hands over my body.

“No
, you are pure ego. You’re self-absorbed, and when you are not, you are hunting drama to drown yourself in. You, as the ego, know your end is near; therefore, you are grasping any and every distraction you can.”

“This argument is old
, too. Just tell me who’s at risk this go around and how to save them. Might as well tell me the lesson I’m supposed to learn while you’re at it so we can save some more time.”

I literally could see the rage rippling off her. I could not feel it for the life of me
, but I swear I could see it. Mazing glanced upward, and the glow around us seemed to embrace her for a mere instant, taking that wrath away.

“You’re the risk. You’
re precious. And it is time to come forth.”

Her eyes. They were not looking at me
; they were looking deep within me, as if she were trying to speak to someone beyond me.

Deep inside
, I felt a warm tingle. But I didn’t trust it. Instantly, my arm grasped my gut. The memory of Donalt touching me there, sending that cold through me, was fluent. If I ever needed to protect myself, now was the time.

“You know
, don’t you? You’re aware that no Earthly form can be created now. You’re aware that your soul will rise.”

“I’m aware of no such thing
,” I bit out. I mean, how many times could one person curse another? Wasn’t there some rule book that Donalt had to wait until the first curse was over before he could strike me again?

“It is of no consequence. Donalt
took nothing from you. You will rise before that point.”

“Rise to what
?” I said with contempt, not really caring to hear the answer. I had already had a pretty crappy day. I didn’t care for her to add to it.

“To
assume Donalt’s reign.”

“Were you in some kind of First’s
slumber? I found Madison. Any rule in the dimension of Esterious has nothing to do with me.”

There was that rage again.
“You are not a mortal ruler.”

I shrugged. “Well, then. I don’t care for the way wings look on me. I’m too short for them to look anything but foolish. Thanks for the offer. But mortal or immortal
, Donalt can have his reign.”

“Wings
,” she said with a leer. “That was most unimpressive. I suppose he thought you would relate that manifestation to something powerful.”

“So I can
ditch the wings and still be a queen?” I mocked.

She was losing patience with me
, but I didn’t care; it was my subconscious I was fighting with, now wasn’t it?

“Your
sovereign is taking your shield of wrath away.”

I felt a ripping
sensation deep inside me. An unmistakable pain. It was as if my soul and mind were at war. I wasn’t sure whose side to take on the matter, but I did know that I could have gone all day long without hearing that revelation.

“So what is she going to do
? Give me fairy wings and a wand? Have me fly around spreading bliss made of pixie dust?” It was a dry threat. I was trying to figure out if my energy was powerful enough to block the hostile siege that I was about to experience.

“Not
amused.” Her eyes moved above us again. I could almost swear I could feel her arguing with someone, and whoever it was, I could only hope they were on my side because if this girl decided to go head-to-head with me, I wasn’t entirely sure who would walk away from the fight.

I tensed
, ready to charge her with wit or power, whatever came first.

A leer came to the edges of her lips as she dominantly walked forward. I stood still
, waiting for a reason to strike her. When Mazing reached me, she slowly circled me. She was only a few inches taller than me, but that glare made me feel all of two feet tall.

“You are
angry,” she said as she moved beside me. “Wrathful,” she said against the back of my neck. “Weak,” she said as she emerged on my other side. “A disgrace to the energy that bore you.”

Right as those last words left her mouth
, her entire body tensed as if someone had shocked her. She let out a small grunt. “Your ego, that is,” she said as she stood before me.

“You cannot b
ear anger and fight fear.”

I glared forward as I spoke.
“Fear is a weakness. Anger is power. Anger brings forth change.”

Her red eyes looked deep into mine. “Every emotion only has the power it is given by the
host. You are designed to relieve an emotion when it is in excess.”

I went to argue that I had all I could take of every emotion in the book
, but she raised her hand to stop me. “Yet you can’t relieve an emotion unless you have mastered it.”

“I’ve mastered fear. Have you been not paying attention from
your box seats in the heavens?”

“You have
not faced fear. You have never understood fear. You have hidden layers deep behind shields. You should have come forth long before this point. Your soul is needed to take this reign.”

“Are you calling me soulless? I have more soul in one hand than you do in your entire body
—”

I stopped my
verbal thrashing short. A pain seized me. Every muscle was on fire. I could swear I felt pain in every cell of my body.

“You are weak. I am not even trying to bring you harm.”

Whatever grip she had on me ended, and I all but collapsed forward. I braced my arms on my knees as I glared up at her.

“Your light has protected you for far t
oo long. Now he dares to think you are lost forever. The ego must fall. The soul will rise.”

“I’m not going back to being some naïve little girl. I’m done
playing games.”

“Are you done living?
”

I stood up straight and pulled my shoulders back. “I told you before
, I fear no death.”

“For you believe you have another life. You believe that i
n some form you will be forevermore with the light that has so honorably claimed you.”

“Are yo
u threatening Landen?” I seethed.

“No.
You
are. This cycle of eternity is over. If you do not release your soul and join with his, you will be forevermore lost. You have been chosen to rule for an eternity of eternities—to save all those that will face the emotion you have conquered—but you have stayed too sheltered for too long. Time is up. This is your harsh lesson. Anger is leaving you now.”

“Whatever.” I didn’t care if she was God
himself. No one could stifle the anger I had in my soul. I was over all of this.

“You will feel fear. You will find humbleness. And you will see how limited
your breathing days are.”

When I didn’t argue or show fear
, she went on. “Until such time that you have mastered fear and how to be humble, you are banned from the dimension of Esterious.”