Embody (9 page)

Brady looked at Landen with an awkward grin
spread across his face. “Mediate, huh? That’s a little odd for
someone like you.”

Landen shook his head, then leaned back and
looked across to me.

“Your mom said the colors stayed with you,”
Rose said, looking at me.

I nodded.

“Faintly. I wish the rest had stayed, too,”
Landen said, looking out at the night sky.

“The more you do it, the more you’ll hold
onto it,” August said, assuring Landen. “What color do you see
around me?” he asked.

“Blue, white,” I answered. Landen nodded in
agreement.

Brady looked back and forth between Landen
and me like we were crazy.

“OK. Rose, do you see the same?” August
asked.

Rose shook her head slowly no.

“I see more of green,” Rose said, not
surprised that she didn’t see the same as Landen and I did.

“You see?” August said. “When you see an
Aura, you’re looking through your own, so you can’t always judge a
person by what color you see.”

“You still need to rely on your natural
gifts,” Rose added.

“So the colors don’t mean anything?” Landen
asked.

“No, they have meaning,” Rose said, holding
her hand up. “Alright, white is in every color; it usually means
purity, calm when it is dominant. Red can be both passion and
anger. Yellow is optimism. Green is growing compassion. Blue is
quiet, calm. Purple is unique; it usually means strong, important
dream activity.”

I looked at Landen. Purple was the color
we’d seen around Olivia; maybe there was more to her dream. An odd
mix of excitement and dread rose inside of me. Her dream reflected
color in Esterious, but I knew that it wouldn’t come without a
sacrifice from me.

“What color am I?” Brady asked
curiously.

“Orange,” Landen answered first.

Rose and August nodded in agreement.

“Is that bad?” Brady asked, looking at
August.

“No. Orange shows warmth, courage, joy. In
truth, there aren’t any bad colors, and they can change in an
instant,” August answered.

“The only time you should be concerned with
an Aura is when it’s cloudy or has an odd shape,” Rose added. “You
won’t find any of those colors around here; you’ll need to go to
another dimension.”

I looked at Landen, eager to find an excuse
to go to Esteroius – either awake or asleep. I just wanted to help.
He let his eyes fall to the floor and shook his head no as he felt
my intent. I buried the frustration that wanted to surface.

Rose felt the tension between us and sat
forward. “There are plenty of dimensions that you can safely
practice judging the auras. It’s just hard in a really happy place
or a really sad place to see the energy move between people. Why
don’t we all travel together tomorrow?”

Landen finally looked up at me and could see
my day trip to Paris disappearing quickly.

“We’re going to go to Paris,” Landen said,
looking at me.

Brady looked sternly at Landen, showing his
disapproval. “That’s a little dangerous, don’t you think?” His tone
was definite.

“Can you go another day? I think we should
take Preston and Libby, and that’s a little far from home for
them,” August asked.

Landen stared back at me, leaving the
decision up to me. I wanted to go with Olivia, but I had a stronger
craving to help the people in Esterious. I knew that if we became
stronger, Landen wouldn’t give me a hard time when I asked to go
again. I nodded, letting him know I was OK with it.

“What time?” Landen asked, still looking at
me.

“After breakfast should fine. I’ll call
Ashten and Jason; I’m sure they won’t mind letting the kids come
with us,” August said, standing up.

Rose stood as well, then leaned down and
hugged me.“I can feel you getting stronger,” she whispered into my
ear.

“See you in the morning,” August said over
his shoulder.

Brady looked at Landen as they drove
away.

“This is never going to be over, is it?”
Brady asked.

“There are eight beyond the sun and the
moon,” Landen said, leaning back.

“I should go with you tomorrow; I don’t like
the idea of you guys being in the string,” Brady said.

“You have a family. You need to stay here
and be with Felicity,” Landen said in a frustrated tone.

“Yeah, I do have a family, and I have a
responsibility to all of them,” Brady said, looking intently at
Landen.

I could almost see the bond between them; it
was obvious that they were closer to each other than the
others.

“We’re going to be fine tomorrow; we’ll go
somewhere safe,” Landen said, looking at me.

“I don’t have to wear yellow, do I ?” I
asked, a little worried.

Brady belted into laughter. “You took her
there?”

Landen grinned profusely and nodded, trying
to hold in his laughter.

“You ought to see Dad when he goes there,”
Brady said, still laughing.

I smiled, imagining Ashten in a bright
yellow outfit.

“I think we’ll go to Olence,” Landen said,
looking at me to see if I remembered it.

I did. It was the first dimension he took me
to, the one that shielded their children.

“We’re taking Libby and Preston,” I reminded
him.

“Yeah, but if August is with us, it’ll be
fine; children are allowed to go out with an elder,” Landen
said.

Brady nodded in agreement.

“Alright. I guess it’s safe enough. Hey,
thanks for helping last night,” Brady said.

“Can we help again?” I asked, excited.

Brady smiled at me.“Yeah. Do you guys want
to just stay the night? Felicity misses you,” he said, looking at
me.

I smiled.

“We’ll get our bag and be over in little
bit,” Landen said, looking at me.

Brady nodded, then stood and stretched.
“Good. That’ll make me look good. Mom told me I had to be sensitive
to Felicity’s needs right now, something like if I say or do the
wrong thing, Felicity will most likely kill me...hormones,” Brady
said, looking at Landen - almost warning him.

Landen nodded, hiding the impish grin that
wanted to surface.

“Yeah...you know...you picked a Scorpio,”
Brady said in a teasing manner.

“You’re just jealous because you’re an
Aquarius,” I retorted quickly.

“You’re right; it is a cool sign,” Brady
said, playfully punching Landen in the arm, then slowly walking off
the porch toward his house.

I looked at Landen. “So, what warnings did
Aubrey give you about me?” I asked

Landen smiled, then came to my side and
pulled me close to him.“She told me I was blessed and would live in
admiration as I watched your mind work. She said it never
stops.”

“That’s all?” I questioned with a grin.

“Well, there is that temper, and the
stubbornness...no big deal for a patient Pieces like

me,” Landen teased.

“I guess I get to call Olivia and break the
bad news,” I said grudgingly.

Landen let out a breath. “They’ll
understand. We’ll make it up to them,” he promised.

I nodded and got up slowly, working out my
excuse in my head before I called her.

Olivia proved to be more understanding than
I’d given her credit for; Chrispin seemed to take it harder. He
missed being around Landen and Marc all the time.

We packed an overnight bag and a change of
clothes for the next day, then closed up the house. We took
Landen’s jeep; Brady’s house was a good walk from here, and we were
getting tired.

As the headlights of the jeep flashed across
the field, I felt a shock come over Landen. I looked up to see what
he was looking at and saw a ghostly image of a young girl on her
knees, crying.

“Who is she?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Landen said, turning the
jeep slowly around to flash the lights on the girl again. She
didn’t look up when the lights landed on her. I felt her
overwhelming sorrow. I opened the door and walked cautiously to her
side. The young woman was small and frail, and her skin was as pale
as winter. She was dressed in a long black coat, like the ones they
wore in Esterious.

Landen stepped protectively in front of me.
“Are you alright?” he asked the girl. She didn’t acknowledge us.
Landen reached his arm out to touch her, and I reached up and held
him back.

“I think she’s an image,” I whispered.

Landen looked back at me. “I can’t see
images.”

“You don’t know that. Why would you not have
that gift of mine? I have two of yours,” I said, circling the
woman.

Feeling a pull of energy begin to reach for
me, I looked at Landen and saw that he could feel it, too. She was
an image; I couldn’t see or hear anything around her.

“Then this could be a trap; it’s obvious
that she’s from Esterious,” Landen cautioned.

I shook my head no. “He can’t reach us here.
She’s calling for us; those people are connected to us,” I said,
sure of myself.

Landen reached for my hand. “Don’t let go of
me - no matter what happens,” he said sternly.

At the same time, we reached for the girl.
Suddenly, we were taken to a small room. It looked a lot like
Patrick’s room; everything was simple, basic gray. The girl was on
her knees, crying and looking up at a dark gray sky. I could feel
someone else here. I looked across the

room and saw another young girl asleep on a
narrow couch. She was so beautiful; her long dark hair framed
perfect features. I looked back to the girl that we were trying to
help; she looked so frail. Landen had been focusing on her, pushing
calm and peace through her. I focused and began to help him calm
her. The girl’s sobs began to slow, then she looked around the room
through Landen and me, and her eyes landed on the sleeping
girl.

“She’s my baby sister. I’m all she has. Come
for her; she needs to be taken care of,” the young woman whispered
into the room.

Landen looked at me, then back to the girl
on the couch. Both of us were in shock.
Was she talking to
us?
We pushed as much peace and calm as we could through her,
but it wasn’t until we focused on love that her tears stopped. The
woman nodded blankly into the room. We let go and found ourselves
back in the field, standing in the gleam of the vacant
headlights.

“I’ve never had an image talk to me before;
it was like she knew we were there,” I said to Landen as I watched
his eyes replay what we’d just seen.

“I’m sure there are rumors of you; we did
manage to put a Willow tree in center court,” Landen said, pulling
me slowly back to the Jeep. We climbed in and stared at the empty
head lights.

“They’re not praying to us or anything, are
they? We are not gods,” I said, breaking the silence.

“No...they believe in one God. They think
Donalt talks to him and that they’re being punished because they’re
not worthy. I think she just attracted us,” Landen said, looking at
me to see my take on his conclusion.

“How?”

“I don’t know, but have you ever thought
about someone - and they just showed up?” he asked. I nodded. “I
think you attract that person. I would bet she was just thinking
about us, hoping the rumors of us were true.”

“Do you know where we were? Was it
Delen?”

“No, it wasn’t Delen. I have no idea where
she was,” Landen said, upset with himself.

“So, how are we going to help her sister?” I
asked.

“Her sister looked fine; she was the one who
looked weak.”

“So what now?” I asked

Landen shrugged his shoulders, feeling
helpless.

“What if I painted them? Could we ask
someone to go there and look for them?”

“I think your efforts would be in vain.
Esterious is the largest dimension; it would take someone years to
find someone that wasn’t their soul mate,” Landen said, reaching
across to put his hand on my leg. I looked down, defeated.

“She called us once; she’ll be able to call
us again,” Landen said, turning the wheel for us to leave.

I looked across the field again and said a
little prayer that I’d find that girl again. I knew she needed
me...they both did.

Chapter Six

When we pulled up at Brady’s house, we could
see him outside, working on his jeep. I reached for our bag and
jumped down. Landen walked over and started to help Brady. As I
passed by them, I shook my head in admiration at the bond they
shared.

I knew Felicity and the baby were the only
ones inside, and I followed their emotions up the stairs. I took
our bag to the guest room, then tiptoed into Felicity’s room. She
was so peaceful; I wasn’t sure if she was awake or asleep. From the
doorway, I could see her light blue Aura beaming in the dim room.
She must have felt me coming because she turned, and a smile beamed
across her face.

“There you are. I was starting to think you
were avoiding me,” she said softly.

Allie was lying in her cradle, staring up at
her mobile; a pure white light surrounded her.

“She’s been awake almost all day. She’ll
sleep most of the night,” Felicity said, reaching to caress
Allie.

“I swear, she acts a lot older than she is.
I don’t think she should be able to focus that well,” I said, a
little afraid of what these children may be preparing for.

“I don’t either. Rose said that a lot of the
babies born recently are just as advanced; it’s like she already
knows what she’s supposed to do and is forcing her body to catch up
with her mind,” Felicity said, looking me over. “I heard you had an
interesting day.”

I wasn’t sure what part of my day she was
referring to, so I questioned her with my eyes.

“Libby and Preston came by; I’ve been
bribing them to keep me updated on you,” she said, smiling.

“With what?” I asked, amused.

“Cookies and milk. Sugar cookies buy more
info than chocolate chip,” Felicity said, proud of herself.
“But...I’ve yet to get out of them what Olivia and Clarissa are
keeping from me; I know the three of you know something and are
keeping me out of it.”