Insight (16 page)

It had been dancing through my thoughts all morning. I wanted to ask him if everything was really that perfect in our home.

I grinned slyly as I thought of his every touch the night before.

“
Is it really there?”
I thought.
His eyes told me it was. “
Where did you get it from?”

“Your grandmother, Rose, gave it to me almost two years ago. She told me when she saw it, all she could think about was me. I thought it was strange then. Looking back, I think she was trying to give me an advantage.”

I could not wait to meet Rose. I already felt connected to her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone. It was Monica’s mother, Sharon, and she was hysterical. I felt a panic rush through me. Something was wrong. Why would she be in Montana? Then I felt a pull come across me, and a sinking feeling fell through my stomach as my eyes raced over her. I knew without a doubt Sharon was an image.

“What’s wrong, Willow? Willow?” Landen said, trying to follow my gaze.

“Sharon is an image,”
I thought with a shaking voice.

“
Who is Sharon?”
he asked, growing more concerned about me.

“Sharon lives in Franklin. I’m friends with her daughter, Monica. Remember I told you about her yesterday? She’s the outspoken friend of mine.”

“
Are you sure she’s an image? What does she look like?”
He’d followed my stare and was searching for her.

“
She has on a black dress. Long blonde hair. She’s crying, screaming.”
I knew he couldn’t see her. There was no way not to feel sympathy for her.

“I have to help her, Landen.”

Landen’s gift of intent was working. He knew that’s what I was planning to do, and he was ready to argue his point of view.
“It could be
a trap. She’s in Franklin. If Drake is anywhere near her, he’ll see you.”

“Landen, I have to help her! Something has to be really wrong—what if he’s hurting them?”
I felt a sick feeling rise and settle in my throat.

It would be my fault, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.

“
What if you just call and see?”
He knew he was fighting a battle that I wasn’t going to let him win.

“Landen, I have to help her,”
I thought in a pleading tone. “
You’ll be there, and you can pull me back into the string if he’s there. I’ll even let you take me all the way home if he tries anything.”
I felt confident in my words. I knew the others would get Libby and my mother to me, or that Landen could even go back for them if need be.

Landen clenched his jaw. I could feel the turmoil stirring inside him. I felt his pain. He knew I was going to go, and I knew he was trying to think of ways to stop me. He knew if he tried by force, I’d just find another way.

“Okay, let’s just compromise. You can’t stay, no matter what you see. If it’s bad, we’ll get the others and we’ll all help,”
he thought.

I could handle that compromise. I didn’t want to put myself in danger. I just wanted to help her. I had to help her. No choice in the matter.

We walked to where Sharon was. She wasn’t screaming anymore, and she looked like she was calming down. Landen held my hand as we passed through the crowd.

“
Willow, don’t say anything to her. You have to keep your concentration. You can’t do anything differently than you normally do. I don’t know what could happen if you do.”

I was having doubts.
What if I put Landen in danger?
I argued with myself. I had to help, though.

When we reached Sharon, Landen stood behind me and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist. His anxiety was growing stronger by the second. Putting him through this was torture. Taking in a deep breath, we reached for Sharon, and the string pulled us through with a rush of energy.

We were in the police station. Sharon was not alone. Other parents were there, in fact, all the parents of my friends were in the room with her. Using all my strength, bringing her a feeling of safety was all I could do. Her tears stopped, but she didn’t smile. I knew I was only giving her temporary peace. Deciding that was the most that we could do, we let go.

Stopping in the string,
I could still feel Landen’s arms around me. His anxiety was replaced by sorrow. When I turned to face him, his face held the same emotion. He pulled me closer to him. He saw more than I did. He knew what was wrong, why they were so upset.

“What happened?”
I asked.

I knew my thoughts were as pleading as my face. Landen hesitated, just like he always did when he didn’t want to tell me something.

“
Landen.
”

He breathed in. “
There are six missing.”
I heard his words, but I couldn’t process them at first.

“He took her,”
I thought, remembering how Monica had wanted to go with Drake to the beach to go out on his boat.

“I don’t know how. He’d have had to take them one by one. Esterious is two dimensions from here.”

He was rocking me back and forth, trying to clam me down. The humming and gentle current of the string was helping him. All at once, Landen stopped. His whole body went stiff. I could feel rage coursing through him. Then I heard who was making him angry.

“Well, well…what do we have here?” It was Drake’s deep, charismatic voice.

Landen moved, shielding me with his body.

“Have you hand delivered my queen to me?” Drake said, laughing.

My adrenaline rushed to my defense. I was infuriated with Drake. He had now crossed the line. Landen’s rage rose to meet mine.

“You know, I’d expected to have to deal with her father, or maybe her little boyfriend, Dane. But you, my friend,” Drake paused while looking Landen up and down, “are a worthy opponent.” He began to circle us. “Mmm…yes…a degree of chivalry always makes for a good story.” Drake tilted his head, smiling arrogantly and winking at me. “It will be a good one to tell our son, when I tell him how I won you and every dimension.” As he stopped in front of us, his eyes moved from me to Landen. They were locked in a dead stare, and both of them had their jaws clenched. The rage I felt between them was so powerful that it took my breath away.

“She’s not leaving with you,” Landen growled through his teeth.

“You would think that a man of Chara would want the color to return to Esterious,” Drake said, folding his arms across his chest.

“You don’t need Willow to release those people. It’s you and your beloved Donalt that holds them captive,” Landen said in a harsh tone full of disgust for Drake.

“Willow’s destiny is threaded through mine,” Drake said, glancing at the tattoo of the dragon on his arm, then to my Ankh.

I lunged at him, pushing him into the wall of the string. I could hear the singe of his clothes as he quickly stepped forward. The rage in the string intensified. Every muscle in my body hardened, trying to block out the sheer force of the emotions coursing through the string.

Drake didn’t scream in pain. Instead, a proud grin filled his face, and he chuckled under his breath.

“Where are they?” I screamed at him as Landen pulled me behind him and blocked Drake, who was stepping toward us.

Drake looked at Landen with an arrogant sneer. “She’s always belonged to me…I’ve been with her more nights than you could ever imagine,” Drake said, clearly enticed by my outburst. “Willow, are you going to make this easy or hard on yourself?” he said, glaring at Landen.

Before I could answer or manage to pull a thought forward, a rush of energy with an unbearable force plowed through my back, knocking me into Landen. The flow intensified, and Landen pushed into Drake, then turned and pulled me close to him. We were both watching the sides of the string. The hazes were rushing by so fast, there was no way to be sure where the passages were. The hum suddenly rose to a roar. I felt every part of my body vibrate violently.

“Let me go first. It won’t burn me,”
I thought, feeling my confidence build. I pulled Landen’s arm and stepped through the moving wall into an open field.

“
Do you know where we are?”
I asked, shaking.

I looked back at him. The string had burned his arm—there was a large hole in sleeve of his shirt, blood oozing out. “You’re hurt again!” I gasped.

Landen looked down at his arm, then around to find our place. My body was so weak from the storm it started to tremble.

“It’s all right. It’ll be all right. I promise,”
Landen said as he picked me up and held me as tight as he could. Over his shoulder, I saw Libby. I blinked a few times, thinking the stress had caused me to hallucinate. She seemed frantic. I felt a pull reach for me.

“Libby!” I gasped. “It’s Libby—she’s scared!” I screamed.

We ran the twenty yard distance between her and us.

“Landen, hold on to me!” I yelled, reaching for his hand as I reached for Libby.

When my hand touched her, I screamed her name. When she looked at me, all the fear vanished from her face. I’d brought us back to the cabin. Everyone was there with her.

Landen shouted toward Ashten. “Drake is in the string! Willow’s friends are in danger!”

Without hesitation, Ashten, Marc, Livingston, and my father stepped through the passage I’d made. Landen was still holding my hand.

“Stay here. I love you. Stay here.” He let go, and my passage was gone.

“LANDEN!” I screamed.

He had vanished.

Chapter Eight

My mother was kneeling in front of me. She was speaking, but I couldn’t hear her. A pain was creeping through every part of my body. Everything hurt. I felt like I was being torn apart. I desperately tried to see my passage so I could follow Landen, but it was gone. I was still holding tight to Libby, and she was holding just as tight to me.

“Willow, what happened?” My mother’s words finally reached me. When I didn’t respond, she ran to the phone. When the other person answered, she said, “They’re in the string—all of them. Willow made a passage in the center of the cabin, but she won’t tell me what happened…is that safe...are you sure?”

There was a pause.

“Okay, okay, okay.” She then hung up the phone and was back at my side again.

“Willow, I need you to calm down. You’re scaring me. They know what they’re doing. He can’t hurt them. I promise.”

I knew I was scaring her, but I couldn’t calm down. As the seconds passed by, the pain intensified. I was worried about the people Drake had taken. All my friends flashed before my eyes.

Excruciating pain was taking over every one of my muscles. It was so hot, it turned cold sending trembles through me. I literally felt like half my soul was ripped from my body.

The cabin door opened, and there stood a beautiful woman, the same age as my mother. She had a small frame, long dark hair, and eyes that were a beautiful pale green. Sympathy filled her face, and she ran to where my mother was holding me in the center on the cabin floor, still kneeling where Landen left me—telling me to stay there.

“Did you see them on your way here?” my mother asked. The woman shook her head no.

“Is it safe for Clarissa to be in there?” my mother asked.

I had not registered who this woman was. She had to be Landen’s mom.

“She’s fine. Her soul mate can see in the string. It’s like he was born to travel through them. She went back for him. Brady will be here any minute.”

Looking into her eyes, I was overcome with grief. Landen would always have to fight to protect me.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, not only to her, but also to the image of Landen that was resting in my mind.

I laid my head on my knees and rocked myself, trying to focus. Aubrey brushed my hair out of my eyes. “You are so beautiful,” she said, smiling as if nothing was wrong.

My mother took her phone outside, leaving Aubrey to watch me. Libby was still sitting next to me. I tried to focus on her. Wondering what had her so upset, why I could see her before.

My emotion was still overpowering everyone else’s, but my eyes found a solution to my agony: someone was on the porch. A rush of excitement came through me.

“Landen!” I said breathlessly.

Aubrey followed my eyes and pulled me close to her. “No, sweetie, that’s Brady.”

He opened the door, and when the sunlight hit his face, I could see that she was right. Brady’s resemblance was remarkable. He had the same build and wavy dark brown hair, but his eyes couldn’t begin to compare to Landen’s. He smiled at me, and I saw his dimples come to life. He shook his head in disbelief as he walked closer.

“Now there are those eyes my baby brother told me about,” he said, looking down at me.

“Did you see them?” Aubrey asked.

“I didn’t expect to. The storm is blowing the other way,” Brady answered, still staring at me.

“Do you think you could try and tell me what happened so I can help Landen and the others if they need me?” he asked.

I nodded quickly. “I made a passage from a town down the street to Franklin. Drake has taken people from there. When we were in the string, Drake showed up, then the string roared and the current erupted. Landen and I pushed through. He’s hurt. His arm is burned really bad.” I said it so fast that my words collided together.

“It’s going to be fine,” Brady said, smiling confidently.

He had a way of making me feel a little better. It could have been his resemblance to his brother. My words and reason were slowly coming back to me.

“What is taking so long? You two traveled in just moments?”

“They’d have had to find them first, and that storm could have taken Drake and your friends anywhere.”

Brady moved me to the couch. My mind was replaying what had happened in the string, as well as how confident Drake was. What did he mean, ‘our destiny was threaded together’?

The cabin door opened. I didn’t bothering turning; it wasn’t Landen. Brady was talking to someone. I heard a beautiful girl’s voice. It had to be Clarissa and her soul mate.

“Willow,” I heard my name from a familiar voice, one that didn’t belong there.

My mind had to be playing tricks on me, and my eyes joined in. Before me stood an old friend, the one I’d always shared a kinship with: Dane. Behind him stood a beautiful young woman with olive skin, short dark brown hair, and beautiful pale green eyes like Aubrey. She was smiling at me, dressed in a black dress. A red belt gave shape to her petite figure, and long gold necklaces tangled around her. Why was she there with Dane? He was in Franklin, not New York.

“Willow, are you okay?” Dane asked me in an alarming tone.

I just stared back and forth between Dane and Clarissa. “How…how did you…you went to New York?” was all I managed.

Dane glanced up at Clarissa. That one glance told me everything I needed to know, the emotion between them was remarkable. Soul mates. I was too freaked out with all that was going on to realize how ironic that was.

“I told you I knew if I stayed close to you, I’d find what I was looking for. After you left, all I could think about was New York. So I flew there the next morning and found your hotel. I knocked on your door, Clarissa answered, and everything suddenly made sense for the first time in my life.”

“Everything happens for a reason,” I whispered as my mind raced back and forth, realizing that some things are planned out to perfection by the heavens above.

“Do you know where he took Willow’s friends?” Brady asked.

“I know they were all talking about going to Florida to sail on his boat,” Dane replied, looking at me. “Monica was trying to convince everyone to go.”

“Who is ‘everyone’?” I asked, realizing I didn’t know who was missing.

“Chase, Josh, Jessica, Hannah…and Olivia,” Dane said, feeling guilty. “I’m sorry, Willow, I didn’t think she would go,” he said, looking at me with regret.

I had asked him to watch over Olivia. I was her closest friend, and with me gone, I could see her latching on to Hannah and the others.

“I’m the one that left…I’m the one he really wants,” I said through my teeth, trying to block out the pain I was feeling.

Aubrey and Clarissa flocked around me.

“This is not your fault,” Aubrey said, squeezing her arm around me. I nodded just to give them peace, but nothing would change the way I felt.

My mother came back in and sat down next to me.

“Did you find anything out?” asked Aubrey.

“Sharon said she panicked when Monica didn’t call. No one will help her. They keep telling her it’s summer love and that she’ll come home in a few days.”

“I bet they’re still here, at least some of them,” Brady said. “There’s no way he could have carried that many people through the string within a seventy-two hour window, not with as bad as the storms have been across the last few hours.”

Clarissa nodded in agreement. I stood quickly, thinking that if I moved, the pain would go away. I could deal with this, think clearly, if I didn’t have to deal with ripping pain.

“Do you know where he would have taken them?” I asked, almost pleading.

Brady and Dane shadowed me, thinking I was going to fall. I started to pace the floor.

“If they’re right about him, he’d need to use a large passage, and the only one down there would be the Great Barrier Reef,” Clarissa said, walking backwards in front of me. I must have looked really weak.

A chill rippled through me. I knew we were all over the string yesterday, and we could have crossed him at any moment. How did we not see him?

“Are you going to look?” my mother asked Brady.

“I’m not going anywhere until Landen is back. He’d kill me if I left her unprotected.”

“Could he still come here?” Dane asked, looking across me at Brady.

“He could if he lost them. It’s a long shot, but I’m not going to risk it. I’d want Landen to do the same if the situation were reversed,” Brady said.

I remembered that Brady had someone at home, not to mention a baby on the way.

Their voices faded into the background, and I went somewhere inside myself, looking for answers, wondering what I ever could have done to deserve this pain. I began to regain my balance, and Brady and Clarissa stepped back, trusting me more. Dane, though, stayed close. I turned my eyes slowly to the last place I’d seen Landen. The air was clear, and there was no evidence that it had ever happened. The absence of the string began to fill me with hopelessness, but then I remembered the first lesson Landen had taught me—I had to ‘remember what is natural to me.’

I let what I thought the passage should be like run through my mind. I imagined the way it would feel as I passed through; the hum I would hear inside the string. Essentially, I let myself feel as if I’d already seen it.

The room faded, and all I heard was utter silence. Before me, the air was divided by a thin glow of light. Suddenly, a pull of energy came over me. I’d found my passage. I knew Landen was in the string, and I wanted to find him, to find my friends. I couldn’t stand there any longer and play the part of the damsel in distress. Feeling someone grasp my elbow, I stepped forward with confidence.

The white light passed through me with a soothing vibration of energy. I sighed, feeling a tinge of relief from the agonizing pain that I’d felt everywhere; I felt closer to Landen. The grip on my elbow tightened, and I looked back to see Dane in the string with me.

“Willow, take us back,” he said calmly.

I shook my head in defiance. “I have to find him. I have to find all of them,” I said, choking on my words.

“Don’t cry,” he said with sympathy.

“Cry? Are you kidding me?”

“Willow, I think most people would have lost their minds by now. I know this is a lot, but you’re going to have to calm down,” Dane said, putting his hands on my shoulders.

“It hurts, Dane. I have to find Landen to make it stop.”

“It’s not safe,” he said, looking side to side, struggling to remain calm.

“Not safe?” I mocked. “You don’t have any idea. I have a devil chasing me. He’s taken our friends and now he’s taken Landen. I’m not going to sit there in pain and just wait,” I said, poking my finger vigorously at his chest.

He pushed my hand down and looked at me like I was fool. “You’re playing Drake’s game. Who wins if you get lost in here?” he said in a more assertive tone.

He was making sense. I hadn’t assumed that I’d get lost. It was like I thought I could feel my way to Landen.

“Landen thinks you’re safe here, so imagine how he’d feel if he came back and you were gone,” he continued, seeing that he was getting through to me.

I stared forward blankly, not knowing what to do. “I have to help him,” I said, almost to myself, not wanting to look at Dane.

“If Landen is half as good as they’ve told me he is, then I know he’ll be fine. Clarissa told me he spoke of you every day, and you’ve found each other now. Don’t make the mistake of losing yourself in here. Neither of you deserve to be apart any longer,” Dane said with a degree of certainty.

“I can’t do this, Dane. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do. All of this is insane!” I blurted out, showing the frustration I was feeling.

“You
are
strong enough,” he said.

I closed my eyes and nodded, then rubbed my hands across my face, trying to regain my composure.

“Take us back,” he whispered.

I nodded, and he stepped aside. My green haze was behind him. I reached my hand back and held his. One step later, we were in the center of the cabin, and the pain I felt grew more intense.

“Told you so,” Libby said.

She was sitting calmly on the couch, and my mother and Aubrey were standing in front of her. They followed Libby’s eyes and found me and Dane standing in the cabin. Aubrey then ran through the door on to the porch.

“Clarissa, Brady, they’re back!” she called toward the river.

I looked out the window and in the distance I could see Clarissa and Brady at the opening of the string through which I’d first traveled. They heard Aubrey, and their emotion of relief was so strong, I felt it from where I stood.

I felt horrible. I never considered how my actions would affect them. I held my head low and walked tensely to the couch to sit with Libby. Dane stayed inches behind me, sitting on the coffee table and guarding me from the string.

Surprisingly, no one was angry with me. Instead, I felt their sympathy. Aubrey sat next to me while my mother fidgeted in place, wordless. Seconds later, Clarissa and Brady rushed through the door, breathless.