Insight (28 page)

“Olivia! Olivia, I need you to wake up!” I said, trying to catch my breath.

Landen stopped Brady at the door, and Felicity peered in under his arm as they stared, wide-eyed.

Startled awake, Olivia sat up defensively.

“Have you had a nightmare?” I said through the tears that were catching up with me, the demons’ eyes staring through my memory.

“What? Willow, are you okay? What happened?”

“Have you had a nightmare!” I yelled.

“No, not since I was little—why?” she asked, reaching for me.

I pushed away before she could touch me, charging my way out of the room and back down the stairs. I needed air. I was gasping, not wanting to cry, not wanting to succumb to the terror that had chased me through childhood.

Landen was right behind me. He grabbed my arm and swung me into his arms as I reached the porch. I buried my face in his chest. Letting it all go, I cried breathlessly. The images that I’d helped, the pain I endured each time, the fear I’d overcome—it all flashed through my eyes.

I felt Rose and my father approach as the others looked out at us. Landen waved them all away and let me cry. Holding me tighter as the minutes passed the tears ran dry. Light was starting to peak over the hill. When the tears finally dried on my face we went in the house.

They were all in the living room; Felicity and Olivia had fallen asleep toe–to-toe on the couch, and Brady, Rose, and my father were sitting, tensely waiting for us.

Brady raised his hands to question what was going on; looking at my father and Rose, it was clear they hadn’t told Brady about watching our bodies. Landen slid in one of the oversized chairs and nestled me against him. I laid on his chest, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone.

“We went to check on Hannah and Jessica. We…” Landen stopped, looking at my father, then down at me. “We saw these things, demonic monkey-looking things, sitting on their chests. They were being tortured with nightmares.”

“Sitting?” my father repeated.

Landen nodded. “Like a heavy weight,” he bit out. Anger coursed through him as he squeezed me tighter.

Brady stood, rubbing his arms nervously. As he began pacing the floor, fear and confusion overcame him. “Landen, are you serious? Demons—seriously!” he said in a harsh whisper, looking back to make sure Felicity was still sleeping.

Landen’s angry blank stare told Brady we were very serious.

“What did you do? I mean, how do you come back from something like that?” asked Brady.

“Garlic salt,” Rose said, realizing Libby had given us the weapon that saved us.

Brady raised his hands in the air protesting the foolishness he heard. “I don’t think I want to know,” he said, sitting back down. “Does Dad know?” he stood again, ready to defend Landen’s point of view if his father came charging in the door. He looked at my father, trying to measure his perspective.

Landen shook his head. “Not yet. Libby told Rose, and we needed Jason to watch our bodies as we slept.”

“What did you mean, ‘bodies’?” Brady said, looking at Rose and Jason.

“We can control where we go when we sleep,” Landen answered.

Brady sat back in his chair and stared blankly. I felt him arguing with his emotions; he wanted to be proud of us, but he was too terrified.

“What did you see?” Brady asked my father.

Landen and I looked curiously in his direction to see if he could see the rush we’d felt helping Connie.

“Their adrenaline levels rose repeatedly, elevating their heartbeats. We didn’t start waking them until Rose could feel their fear,” my father answered.

Brady looked awestruck at Rose; it seemed everyone would now know that she had always had the insight of emotion.

“I think we may know why Landen never had nightmares: this world can’t be found that way either,” Rose said.

Hearing her words, I sat up slowly, staring into Landen’s eyes as relief came over him. He realized that Drake couldn’t reach me there, that I was sheltered from the nightmares, but Jessica and Hannah now bore the horror that had tormented me for so many years. Landen’s relief was only a small reward. I wouldn’t rest until I stopped Drake from hurting
anyone
—not just the ones I cared for.

The phone rang, and Brady dove across the room, answering it on the first ring; it was my mother, looking for my father. My father took the phone, whispering and promising my mother that we were all safe. I wondered how many houses she’d called, looking for us, how many knew now what we could do.

Brady coaxed a sleepy Felicity to her room. As she glanced back at me, I whispered, “I’m sorry.”

She smiled, understanding the chaos. Rose guided Olivia back to the guest room. My father went to speak. Not finding the words, his lips hesitated. Landen then answered the unasked question. “Tell him, and the others. Right now, our bodies need rest,” he said, standing. I stood, too, and held him tightly. My father nodded and hugged me before we left, clearly relieved that Landen was cool with him telling his father about this night.

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 kill 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. Each time she had a child, he would take their lives, fearing that they would take his power. Perodine turned to the universe. She planned her next child by the planets. She then developed powers to protect her and her child, Aliyanna, and those powers unwittingly suspended both Perodine and Donalt’s lives. Perodine’s plan was to never allow just one to rule—there must always be at least two. So she planned to give the power to Aliyanna and the man she loved.”

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 man in the court, a man her father had chosen for her, but her heart loved another: Guardian, a man of the common people. When Donalt learned of the charm and its power, he was furious, and his fury was intensified when he discovered his power would be shifted to a man of common standings. 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.

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 wooded 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.” 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. “Both Aliyanna and Guardian were wise people. They never would have hurt anyone intentionally. You were made for each other, don’t let this story cause you to forget that,” he said with deep concern in his voice. “You were there, we were not, the stories shifted over time, they always do. What you began then will be completed now, not a doubt in my mind, son.”

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.”

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.