Vindicate (9 page)

“This will happen. I n a few hours , I assume. I t is the ceremony that brings silence to the priest. I t ’
s meant to rel ease the dead into another form.
Marc will fill his role perfectly. F
ool them once again , ”
s he said with a hint of pride in her emotion.

“This is the future? How far can you look?” I asked , focusing my eyes on the water.

“Not far enough,” she said as she moved her hands across the water.

The rings began to tilt , and when they did I could see other parts of the palace. I could see priest -
men who I didn’t know or could feel were roaming the halls silently. I could see guards blocking this wing. I saw Chrispin and men that I knew were travelers from Chara , along with Ashten , stopping a nyone from coming in our wing.
I saw them capturing those who were attempting to use secret passages to reach Perodine’s quarters .
I couldn’t feel their intent in this reflection , but I had no doubt they were won dering what Perodine was hiding .
They knew. T
he y knew that their King was lost. A t least for now.

“At least we can see them coming , ” I mumbled , fighting a wave of wooziness that swept through me.

“I can see. You can see, but so far no one else can see these reflections , ”
s he said , raising her hand as if she w ere calling someone to her.

At that moment , a young man, one I recognized from Chara , stepped out of the shadowed doorway to the right of the room. When he reached Stella’s side , she said , “West wing – second floor – behind the large painting , there is a passage. T
wo men.”

The traveler nodded , then left, and another young man came to the shadow of the doorway a second later with the intent of waiting on another message Stella would need delivered.

“Can you move it forward? E
ven a day or so ? H
ow long wi ll this last?”

“After the ceremony of silence Marc will give in the morning – a few hours after that – everything turns dark.”

I swallowed hard. F
earin g the end in just a few hours. F
earing the death of Landen and Drake. T
hat would be dar kness. C
omplete darkness.
“I thought this was going to help me turn back time ?
” I whispered.

She reached her hand for mine and squeezed it so tightly that for an instant I qu estioned her strength. “It will. W
hen the time is right.”

“It’s right now , ” I said , gripping my sides and feeling a sharp pain, and a sick , dizzy feeling.

She hesitated before she spoke. “I don’t think it is.”

“Show me the darkness you see. I s it that demon?”

Her eyes told me no as she raised her hands and the rings moved agai n. I saw the passage I use to come and go to the string. Olivia and I appeared in the passage , then all at once everything turned murky .

“That didn’t help,” I mumbled.

“I’ll let you know when I can see past that point. T
hat darkness , ”
s he promised , t elling me in her own way that that wouldn ’
t be the end.

“Where’s August?”

She nodded her head toward a dark doorway to the left. “I made him sleep.”

“Could you not have found a nicer room?” I said with a hint of disdain.

“I tried , but that is a s far as he would go.”

“Do you need anything?” I asked .

She moved her head from side to side , then moved her hands over the water once more. She saw something there and called the traveler over to her. I put my hand on her back, offering a silent thank you just before I left the room.

I wandered aimlessly through the open halls , fighting a shaky feeling as I gazed at the paintings , trying to clear my mind – find the answers I needed – hold a thought and find a direction.

When I felt Olivia I broke my stare with the painting of an angel wrapped in black silk I’d found outside the doorway to the room where the passage to th e string was.
I saw her speed walking toward me with the intent not to rest until she found me.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you , ”
s he said when she reached my side.

“Found , ” I said with little enthusiasm.

She was wearing jeans and a black ho o die and combat boots that were untied. “You look like hom e. W
ell , our old home , ” I said as flashes of a time when my life was simple came to me.

“Yeah . B
een trying to fit in . T
his is from home , to o, ”
s he said as she reached in her pocket and pulled out an iPod with headphones wrapped around it.

“Did you find the song you were looking for?” I asked , peeking with hope.

She raised one eyebrow. “I hope it’s the song we ’
re both looking for.”

I took the headphones from her , and as I put them in my ears , she turned the volume all the way up. I knew in stantly it was the right song. T
he guitars – the drums were identical. I started to say something , but she raised her finger , telling me to listen. When the voice began , I recognized it. It was the one from my dream. I t was strong, commanding, yet poetic at the same time. I started to say something again , b ut she held her finger up , telling me to listen. That’s when I heard it for the first time : ‘
an angel fallen , a devil risen , our fate is calling , this world will not be our prison.
’

My eyes grew wide , and every part of me froze. This song.
Landen and Drake weren ’
t telling me some twisted myth ; they were telling me the lyrics to this song. I pulled the headphones out as I swallowed hard.

“Where did you find this? Who are they ? A re they bad people?”

She handed me the iPod so I could see the image on the screen. There was a shadowed image of a boy. A ball of fire was around him. A massive snake that was half -
woman circled him – on the woman’s neck , I saw the birthmark I’d grown to hate : a broken heart.

I pulled the image closer , taking in all the details . I t was clear that no a mateur had created this . B
ehind the fire , I saw images of others ; they were ci rcling the boy. T
hey seemed frozen in place. T
errified and furious at the same time. There was an image of another girl . S
he was crouched down , preparing to pull the snake away from the boy. The artwork was full of every emotion and literally caused you to stand still. I didn’t think the artist was twisted or demonic. I t was more like they were reflecting – coping with something they’d faced , s omething I ’
d done more times than I could remember.

“Where did you get this?” I asked breathlessly.

“It took me forever.
I found it on the W
eb. The song and artwork were free.
I t s had over two million downloads in the past two weeks.”

“Who ’
s the band?’

“Anonymous.”

“They have that many downloads , and they’re anonymous?”

“Yes and no . T
hat ’
s the name of the band , ‘Anonymous , ’ but at the same time there are n’t any photos of them .
I think th ey’re indie. I found a few forums talking about how they have pop up concerts in the UK and in the north of the US.”

“That ’
s a lot of ground to cover , ” I murmured , thinking that without Austin , we would never find these twins. I f this was even them . E
ither way , I needed to find the people who created this song .
I knew now without a doubt they were linked to me. L
inked to that demon.

“Right .
Dane and Clarissa are searching for th em. Others are across the north. W
e’ll find them.”
She vowed.

As she spoke , m y dream flashed before my eyes. Preston. T
he passage he led me to. “I know where they are , ” I whispered as I turned to walk to the passage of the string.

I ’
d reached the wave of energy before Olivia put her hand on my shoulder to stop me. “Willow , tell me where , and we’ll go . Y
ou can’t. You have to stay. I t will hurt , ”
s he assumed , looking down to my chest.

I raised my hand to where I’d seen that flower in my dream. “If it hurts , I’ll turn back – if not , then I know I’m suppose d to go .
I should have already gone. T
he second I woke up from that dream , ” I said , hating myself for not be ing able to hold one thought long enough to have seen that before .
I should ha ve woke from that dream and ran. R
an like hell until I found them.

“What dream?”

I didn’t answer her until I ’
d tucked my shirt into my jeans and straightened my hair with my fingers. “It was Landen . He knows I’m safe.
Preston told me where to go. Who we needed .
I’ve seen visions of these people ; I’m sure of it.”

Her eyes grew wide. “O
K
– O
K
-
l et’s get Chrispin.
Brady.”

“You get them , ” I said as I stepped into the string. Once there , I hesitated , waiting for the pain to come. I t didn’t , and when it didn’t , I found a reason to smile. Not because I was no long er attached by force to Landen, but because I wasn ’
t helpless – defenseless without them. It was an empowering moment that nearly took my breath away. I could swear I co uld feel Landen smiling at me.
I c ould feel him pushing me to go. T
o walk. F
eel him guiding me.

Oliv ia had followed me in. “Willow. Willow. L
ook at me , ”
s he said , trying to get my attention. “How bad does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t , ” I swore.
I pulled down the collar of my long sleeve black shirt. “Do you see anything here?” I asked.

Her awe and the astonished look in her glowing green eye s told me she did. “How?
When?
W
here did that come from ?” she stuttered.

“I don’t know . W
hen I was in that coma , I dreamed about it. This mark took my pain away in that dream .
Landen saw it , to o. I t ’
s there , so I can fight for them. S
o I won’t be trapped in Esterious.”

“Good –g ood,” she said nervously .
“Let’s get Chrispin.”

I ignored her as I began to speed walk toward Infante. Other travelers were walking toward me, two young men. I felt their confusion as they passed by me and nodded.
I also felt their intent to ask someone if I should be in there .
I knew I didn’t have much time before someone would come looking for us. I didn’t care if anyone caught up with me ; I just didn’t have the time to turn back for them.
I’d already wasted precious hours talking to Perodine and Stella – roaming the halls.

“Willow?” Olivia said , keeping pace with me. “Seriously , do you know where you ’
re going?”

“I do.”

“Good . L
et’s go get Chrispin . W
e don’t know these people. W
e don’t need to go there alone.”

“Are you serious?!” I said , halting to glare at her. “You think I’m scared of them? Do you really think they could hurt me?
Go get Chrispin if you want to.
I’m going now . F
or all I know , every second counts. I have to help them.
I have to get them away from that girl.” Then I began to walk forward at a brisk pace again.

“So much for altering your future,” she mumbled as she kept pace with me.

“What’s that suppose d to mean?” I asked sarcastically .
I mean what did they expect? For me to sit at Landen’s side and cry endlessly? No, I was going to fix this. If they were looking for a damsel in distressed they had another thing coming. I twirled my ring, slicing my skin with my nail just as the caged anger in my core started to grumble.

“I don’t get why I dream things if I can’t change them.”
Olivia hastily stated.

“You dreamed this?”

“I knew we ’
d be alone when we met them , ”
s he said shortly.

“Did you see them?”

“Not clearly. D
on’t worry , though, Brady will be right behind us.”

I glanced back in the direction of the travelers that had passed us. “Yeah . T
hey were going to tell them we were in here.”

“He’s going to be mad . Ju st saying.”

“Do you think I care?” I asked , glancing at her.

“Yes and no . W
hen they come for us , don’t be mad . It will scare these people. M
aybe we can at least avoid that.”

I felt the slightest bit guilty , but that passed w hen my determination to save Landen and Drake came over me. “Dream anything else?”