Vital (30 page)

“Willow,” he said aloud.

I halted, feeling his solid intent not to move another foot until we talked. I slowly turned to him, our eyes locked; he stepped forward, closing the gap between us, then raised his hand to gently cradle my face. His perfect blue eyes danced over my solemn expression, searching for a way to say what he knew would infuriate me.

“For the first time,” he whispered, “I can see you starting to -”

“You think I’m falling apart,” I said in a shaky voice, feeling the tears pool in the corners of my eyes.

“No,” he said, leaning in to kiss my lips. He slowly pulled away but let his forehead rest against mine, then raised his hands to my face, catching my wandering tears.

“I need you to stay away from Dane,” he whispered.

I hesitated before I stepped out of his embrace. I knew his intent all along, but to hear it now made it impossible to ignore.

“No,” I said, looking blankly up at him, prepared to argue my point. From the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow coming forth in the string. The lack of emotion I felt told me it was Drake, and I knew he wasn’t coming to see Livingston; they were about to team up against me. Landen had told Marc to send Drake here, and the fact that Landen would ask Drake to help him argue his point could only mean that his mind was made up - and that he wasn’t going to change it.

“I’m not falling apart – you are. You’re turning on our family,” I said coldly, “and why? I’ll tell you why,” I said, catching Drake’s mesmerizing eyes as they emerged from the glow in the string. “Because he told you to. Is that what he meant before when he told you that he had no problem killing someone who would hurt me?!”

Landen’s eyes blazed with anger as he gripped my arms. “I don’t want to kill him, Willow. I don’t want to look at the grief in your eyes. Stay away from him; don’t put me in that position.”

“He’s giving you a choice that I’d never give you,” Drake said firmly.

I pushed away from Landen and glared at the two of them.

“Both of you need to remember that for eighteen years, you were only in my dreams. Dane was at my side; he was the one who faced every image with me, not caring that we may never come back from where my touch would take us.”

I looked at Drake. “He was the one who held me when I didn’t understand the dreams we shared. He let me show him - and only him - my fear.”

I looked at Landen. “And he was the one that held me when the distance between you and me was too far.” You could hear the tears in my voice. “You knew the string existed, that soul mates found each other every day, but I didn’t. I had to fight my doubt, go to school and portray the life of a normal girl. He allowed me to be myself. As days went by, my heart broke, and my mind told me that you couldn’t be real – but when there was the possibility that you were, he was the one that put me on the plane to find you, the one who told me that I couldn’t be afraid of what this life held for me.”

Landen stepped forward, put his hands on my shoulders, and tried to capture me with his breathtaking stare, but I refused to look at him; instead, I stared at the blinding glow of the string. “I know the Dane you’re talking about. I respect him, love him, and owe him everything for watching over you – but that Dane is gone.”

I pushed Landen’s arms off my shoulders. “He’s not gone; he’s sitting in Esterious right now.”

I felt Drake grip my arm, and his addictive touch seemed to hum more fiercely than ever before; I imagined his anger was fueling it. He swung me into his arms and raised my chin, forcing me to look in his dark eyes. “He’s the reason she’s there...why can’t you see that?”

“Get your hands off her!” Landen yelled, putting himself between me and Drake.

“You’re the one that told me to come,” Drake bellowed, pulling his shoulders back.

“I told you to come so we could tell her what we both know - not so you could put your hands on her. It’s bad enough you won’t stay out of her dreams!”

“What’s wrong, Landen? Is she finally starting to remember? Do you now have competition?!” Drake said through gritted teeth.

“Stop it!” I screamed, breaking their glaring stares with each other. “I don’t care what you both think you know! Have either of you two ever heard of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? What if it was Libby or Preston that Olivia went to talk to – would you doubt them? No, you wouldn’t. Both of you are just looking for a reason to hate him – based on what, a past that none of us can remember?”

“I can remember clearly,” Drake said, tilting his head, showing an unbelievable amount of confidence.

I felt like there was no way to win between the two of them, and the anger was beginning to suffocate me. “You don’t remember; you’re relying on dreams, dreams that you told me shifted forward and backwards.”

“Trust me, love, my memories of what he’s capable of are more terrifying than anything you’ve ever seen,” Drake assured, raising his eyebrows.

“I don’t believe you,” I said, returning his piercing stare.

He's telling the truth, Willow
,
Landen thought.

I looked at Landen; I knew he was telling me the truth, but I couldn’t believe that the one in Drake’s memories was Dane.

“Tell me that you have no resentment toward Dane for what he and Clarissa are going through right now.”

Landen’s jaw locked, and I felt the anger he had for Dane rise inside of him. “I’m human, Willow. She’s my sister, and he hurt her, but that has nothing to do with what we’re talking about right now.”

“It has
everything
to do with it! You don’t trust him anymore, which is why it’s so easy for you to believe he could be bad. I’m not gonna let you push him out of my life; we have bigger issues.”

“We don’t need him to save her. If there was anyone we needed – and I doubt we do need them - it would be the twin the scroll mentioned,” Landen said in a tone of forced calm.

“That’s my point: instead of looking for her, the two of you are too busy banishing people from my life!”

“Her?” Drake said, sighing under his breath.

“Yes, her - the one that’ll end this jacked up love triangle we’ve managed to create!”

As Drake’s jaw tightened, he tensed, and I could see frustration in every part of his body. He stepped forward and stared intently down at me. “I don’t care if you manage to find someone who looks just like you. You act like I’m in love with your body...if that were true, would I have not found love in Olivia that night at the lake when we first met? Or when I pulled her from the angry sea that seemed determined to end her life? I love your
soul
, Willow.”

Landen put his hand on Drake’s chest, pushing him away from me.

“You aren’t going anywhere near Dane!” Drake yelled, ignoring Landen.

Landen looked at me. “Willow, this is my last warning: if he makes one false move, I will kill him. If you don’t want that, stay away from him.” His tone was firm and final, which infuriated me.

I glared at them. “There’s no way to win with the two of you, and I’m done arguing. I’m going to Dane’s side. When the two of you overcome this uncalled-for hatred, you’ll know where to find me.”

I looked deep in Landen’s eyes, wanting him to stop me from walking away. I felt his intent grow stronger; he was more determined than ever to find a way to banish Dane from my life. Disbelief consumed me as I turned and walked away.

He didn’t follow me – and that act tore my soul in two. I walked faster, fighting angry tears, determined to suppress any emotion that would show how weak I felt at that point, fighting to prove him wrong. I wasn’t falling apart – he was. I was the only one thinking straight right now.

My brisk walk turned into a jog. I was so mad at the two of them; I couldn’t understand how Landen could turn so quickly on Dane or how Drake could be so cold. I could feel how angry Landen was with me, but I didn’t care; I was going to Dane. I was almost sure the devil himself had brainwashed Dane, and I wasn’t going to let the devil win; I was going to break through whatever mind warp Dane was in – and bring our family back together again.

I told myself that when they saw how determined I was to protect Dane, they’d find a way to see his innocence, and whatever issues Dane and Clarissa had would work out; all couples have rough patches they must face.

The string began to hum, then a vibration of energy coursed through my body. As I came to a halt, I tried to focus on Landen, to find his emotion, but I was too far away. Panic was starting to consume me. I looked forward, then behind me. I couldn’t see the yellow passages of Pelhan’s world behind me, or Landen and Drake, and I wasn’t sure how far away I was from Esterious.

As the vibration intensified, I stepped cautiously forward, daring to brave what could only be a storm. I inched closer to the wall, prepared to step through if the energy threatened to sweep me away. The thought of the pain that would course through me if the string separated me and Landen made me cringe. I told myself that the wave of energy had reached where we were standing and that Landen was on his way to protect me. I wanted to stand still, but I knew that would only cause me to lose my bearings. Slowly moving forward was my only option.

From out of nowhere, a bolt of energy rushed past me, knocking me to the ground. I heard a growl vibrate against the glowing white walls of the string, and I knew I wasn’t alone anymore. I hid behind the expression of anger, but I was terrified. I tried to stand, but a vacant force thrust me back down. I shielded my energy around me and watched as blow after blow vibrated my diminishing shield. As I grew weaker with each blast, I knew in a matter of seconds that I would have no defense against the force that was haunting me. I took a deep breath and slid my body through the wall of the string. Once the tingle of energy passed by, the excruciating pain began; my muscles felt as if they were being pulled apart one by one.

I looked up to find myself in the middle of a desert. The sun was beating down, and it felt like it was a thousand degrees – so hot, I couldn’t breathe. My heart raced as my body tried to cope with the panic and pain it was experiencing all at once. My eyes raced across the open space, looking for an opening to the string - but the heat from the sun caused all of the air to move, making it impossible to know what part was my passage.

I closed my eyes and tried to think of a way out of the mess I’d gotten myself into. A cool breeze began to crawl against my skin, drying the sweat that was pouring from me. I opened my eyes, hoping that it had somehow cooled the air enough for me to see my way out. When I focused, all I could see were the beautiful white butterflies. Relief swept through me; I knew they were there to give me a second chance. As I rose up on my knees, I could only hope they’d lead me back to the moment I’d walked away from Landen. I let the guilt of letting my temper control me consume me; I hated how stubborn I was, and now I was paying the price for that weakness.

The butterflies gathered themselves before me. I crawled forward, feeling agonizing pain with each move I made. They were inches away, but I couldn’t move any further. They seemed to know and glided closer to me. As they fluttered over my body, I felt the heat of the desert leave. I closed my eyes and fell to the ground, expecting to find myself at Landen’s feet. The pain didn’t leave; it intensified. The sand I was lying on turned into smooth stone. I tried to focus on the room I was in, but the pain wouldn’t allow my mind to use my insights.

I felt someone’s hands on my shoulder and turned defensively to see who it was. A young boy with eyes as clear as water was standing over me. His expression held utter confusion. He brushed his wavy blond hair out of his innocent face and knelt down to me.

“Aella, what’s wrong? Why are you lying on the floor?” he asked, dismayed.

Flashes of the time I was trapped inside Evelyn came to me. I couldn’t have made the same mistake again. I knew I hadn’t stepped inside of anyone. The pain caused me to scream, and I pulled myself into a ball on the floor.

“Aella, what’s wrong?!” he screamed.

“I don’t know who Aella is! I need to find my passage - help me!” I screamed through my teeth as I tried to focus.

I watched as shock came across his face. He slowly stood, then ran from the room. I started to take slow breaths. I thought if I could calm myself down, I’d be able to feel the emotions and intent of this place and know if I were safe or in danger; the pain, however, wouldn’t allow any of my insights to surface. A tearing sensation came through my chest. It was as if my heart were trying to escape my body – as if it were going to find its way to Landen one way or another.

The boy returned with two older women dressed in stunning white gowns that flowed to the ground. The young boy rushed to my side as the other two walked cautiously to me, studying my every feature.

“Tell me your name,” the boy said to me.

“Tell me yours,” I said, more harshly than I intended.

“Nathaniel,” he said, reaching for my hand.

I squeezed his hand, using it as an outlet for the pain.

“Willow,” I said, breathing out.

“We’re going to take your pain, Willow – but you need to be calm for it to work. Do you understand?” Nathaniel asked me.

“The only way to stop this pain is to return me to my soul mate. Can you do that?” I asked with pleading eyes as I tried to sit up.