When I looked back at the others again, Landen was staring at me, no longer listening as everyone pleaded their case to him at once.
“What is it? Do you see something?”
“I feel something, this way.”
Landen pushed through the others and made his way to me. I could feel it through him as he moved closer.
“I bet there’s an image in there,” I thought, looking into the dense darkness.
The others came to where we were. Landen glanced back and said. “She’s hunting an emotion, kept yours in check.”
We made our way into the forest. We could hear the sound of rain on the canopy of leaves that shielded the ground. When the darkness was all around us, three figures came into my view—Hannah, Olivia, and Jessica. They were all dressed in white gowns, and their hair was up and decorated with jewels. Lines of mascara streaked down each of their faces. They trembled as they gripped each other. Hannah was the only one not screaming. It was hard not to rush to help them.
“I found them,” I said, swallowing hard and feeling the nauseating sensation of guilt overcome me.
The others stared into the darkness, trying to see what I saw.
“How’s this going to work?” Chrispin asked. “I mean, if they’re in the string, won’t Willow pass by them?”
“I don’t think they’re in the string. I can feel the intent of several people,” Landen said.
“Can you see around them?” Clarissa asked.
“Not until I touch them,” I said.
“Regardless, she has to touch them, at least one of them. Two of us can grab the others,” Landen said. “We’re not going to have time to lead them. We have to carry them.”
“To where?” Marc asked.
“We can’t take them to their home, not in this condition. Jason is going to need to look them over,” Landen said.
“So who wants to go with us? We need two of you.” No indecision came from any of them. They all stepped forward, even Dane. Seeing their eagerness, Landen decided for them.
“Okay. Brady and Dane, flank Willow and me. When we’re back here, Chrispin, you grab the girl Willow is holding. Clarissa, Marc, you lead us back to the string. Dane and Willow are the only ones that need to talk. If they struggle, we’ll never make it back to Chara.”
I circled them, feeling the pull of energy draw me in; I stopped just behind my friend’s. I wasn’t brave enough to look them in the eye yet. Landen took his place behind me, and Brady and Dane held on to him. I felt a pull come over me. When I reached my trembling hands out, the charm on my chest hummed, and the sensation brought a calm over me.
Olivia was in the middle. I laid my head on her back, then wrapped my arms around Hannah and Jessica. When the green haze passed, taking the tingle with it, I moved my arms around Olivia’s small frame. The room they were in was dark and damp, and the only light came from an open ceiling, with a gray sky as a canopy, adding a degree of eeriness. An altar centered in the room and un-lit candles lined the table. Black roses served as a centerpiece. Chants echoed in the air.
Assuring myself that the other two were secure, I pushed back the haze of green, and a warm tingle rushed passed me.
The forest replaced the dark chamber again. Chrispin took possession of Olivia the moment we came into sight. In the blink of an eye, we’d passed through the forest and were in the string again. Jessica was screaming. I pleaded with her to calm down. She screamed louder.
“Willow, is that you?” Olivia asked.
“Yeah, you’re fine, I promise. Is Jessica hurt? Why is she screaming?”
Tears streamed down Olivia’s face as she leaned into Crispin’s chest, not caring that she didn’t know him. “She can’t hear you. They took it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Jessica can’t hear, Hannah can’t talk, and I can’t see.”
I looked at Hannah. She was afraid. In here, she couldn’t see or talk.
“Hannah you can still see. It’s just dark in here. You’ll see in just a few minutes.”
I reached for Jessica. I had to help her, so I concentrated as hard as I could on taking away her fear and giving her peace. After a moment, her screaming stopped, and she laid her head on Brady’s chest and fell asleep.
“You changed it,” thought Landen.
“I don’t know if I did or not. She may have just given up.”
“I felt it,” he assured me.
Others were beginning to come into view. We were close to Chara. People shot us concerned looks as we passed. Someone in the crowd called out to Landen as we got closer, “You kids all right?” It was an older man with a long gray beard.
“We’re okay. If you see Jason Haywood, will you tell him we need him at my house?”
The man nodded and pushed past the others, going into the passage. Our passage was just a few minutes past the large entrance. As we left the string, Hannah’s eyes brightened as she realized she could see. Dane sat her down to let her walk. Jessica still lay sleeping in Brady’s arms. Knowing that Olivia couldn’t see, Chrispin carried her to the jeep. He was whispering to her. I couldn’t hear him, but I knew that whatever he was saying was making her feel happy and at ease.
Chapter Thirteen
“A bond between souls is ancient - older than the planet.”- Dianna Hardy, The Witching Pen
We put the girls on the couches in the living room when we reached our house. When Chrispin went to step away from Olivia, she pulled him back to her. He didn’t falter and sat by her side.
“What was that? That place, what they were doing?” Brady asked.
“Evil,” Landen said.
Clarissa had gotten a warm towel and was wiping away the streaks of Hannah’s mascara, telling her she was fine.
“Do you know where you were?” I asked Olivia as I hovered over her.
Olivia stared blankly into the room, then said, “I remember being on the boat. I woke in a chamber. A massive bed was there, and chairs around a fireplace. The walls were stone. No windows. When the fire went out, darkness filled the room. Once a day, we’d find a large cart of food and water. After we ate, we’d fall into a deep sleep—so drugged. I convinced Hannah and Jessica not to eat.”
Tears drizzled down her face, “We pretended to sleep, and after an hour or so the fireplace slid aside. The room filled with people wearing black robes. Shadows covered their faces. They lined the room. When I opened my eyes, I lost my sight. Jessica screamed as the chants began, and Hannah started to pray out loud. That is when she lost her voice.” She pressed her lips together and pulled her shoulders back. “We were carried into another room...”
She tried to speak a few times before she got the story to come out. “They...they stripped our clothes and washed our bodies. Dressed us. Then we walked. It was cold, and the ground was uneven, uphill. The air was damp. We stopped. The chants began again then you came like they said you would.”
Everyone was hanging on Olivia’s every word, and now the fear she felt was filling the room.
“Who said she would come?” Chrispin asked, being gentler than anyone else was capable of being.
“When they were dressing us I focused on the people talking. I heard Drake talking to a man with a husky voice. Drake was angry with him, telling him, "Now you’ve done it. Willow sense this--the moon is not full." The husky voice laughed, saying they'd take more people you care about. I prayed you’d come, Willow. I didn’t know what you could do to help, but it was easy to see that Drake was afraid of what you could do.”
Hannah had been nodding along as Olivia spoke, she motioned to me; she wanted something to write on. Dane left the room then returned with one of my sketchbooks. I tore out a clean sheet and handed it to her.
Hannah began trying to sketch. She drew a necklace it had a star, and she shadowed it to make it look like it was glowing. She then drew arrows pointing to it. Then wrote: old man had it.
“Did that star do something?” Brady asked.
Hanna
h nodded and drew what looked like a small tornado on the back of the page.
“Okay, Okay. Calm down. We’ll figure it out,” I promised, halfway trying to convince myself.
I sensed my father and Ashten’s panic. I glanced at the window and saw them pulling up in front of my house.
Brady glanced to Landen. “Are you ready for this?” he asked. Landen shrugged.
We met them on the front porch. My father’s eyes danced over Landen and me.
“What happened?” Ashten shouted, trying to look behind us. My dad looked us both over again. “They’re fine,” he said to Ashten.
I spoke up first, telling them what had happened.
Dad walked in the house. Ashten went to talk, but Landen raised his hand, stopping him. Right then everyone filed outside giving my dad room to work. Almost fifteen minutes passed before Landen, and I went back in, hoping he’d figured out what was wrong.
My father was still looking over Jessica as she lay sleeping. Hannah’s confusion was all over her face. She couldn’t understand why Dane, my dad, and I were all there.
My father smiled back at her. “Listen, we’re going to make you all better, okay. You need to calm down.”
He led us into the kitchen and paced before he spoke. “There’s nothing wrong with them—they just think that they can’t see, hear, or speak.”
“What do you mean?” I whispered.
“I can see that they were given narcotics or something close to that, but beyond that, they're all right.”
Brady had stepped in the kitchen as Dad was talking. “I bet they’re under some spell,” he said. “You heard the chants, didn’t you, Landen?”
My father stood at attention. I seemed to have left that small detail out earlier.
“Chants?” he repeated.
“They…um…were in a room with an altar and chants. But they were sick before that,” Brady said.
Dad slid down to the floor against the cabinets, bowing his head to his knees. We all rushed to his side. Landen and I could feel how distraught he was, almost to the point of grief. He looked up.
“Dad, it’s okay. What’s wrong?” I asked.
He stared forward for a moment before he spoke. “If I’d brought you home, the two of you would have had enough time to prepare yourself. We could have all helped, but now you’re defenseless.”
Landen and I glanced at one another. We knew that we weren’t completely defenseless; our gifts were merging. Not to mention we could leave our bodies as they slept.
“We’re going to be fine, all of us,” Landen said.
My mother tapped lightly on the back door, causing us all to rise. She was concerned when she saw my father and his composure, but she listened as he gave us instructions. “You need to see if they want to go home now or if they want to wait until they’re better. If they want to stay, you need to find a way to tell their parents that they’re okay.”
Landen, Brady, and I left the room, giving my father time to explain everything in his way to my mother. Brady passed through the entry hall and went back outside. Landen stopped me before we walked into the living room.
“Listen, if we take them back, I want to give them the herb to help them forget. I don’t want them to have to remember that place,” Landen thought.
“If they forget the chants would it break the spell?”
“I don’t know.”
I nodded and walked into the living room. The girls all looked up as I walked into the room, staring at me, looking for some explanation.
“Listen, I don’t know how to explain any of this to you. I can’t tell you when you’ll be better. If you want to go home to your parents, we’ll take you there. If you want to stay here a while longer, you can.”
Hannah turned the page in the sketchbook she was holding and wrote: “HOME PLEASE.”
Jessica glanced at her, then back at me. Landen walked over, took the pad from Hannah, and wrote what I said for Jessica to read.
Jessica wrote the words Which way will make us better faster?
I swayed my head, “We don’t know. Dad says that there’s nothing physically wrong that he can see. It’s unexplainable.”
Olivia leaned forward. “Do they want to go home?” she asked, I whispered yes. She turned to where she knew they were sitting and said, “I’m going to stay here...it feels right.”
I felt like I had won a battle. I wanted to stuff Olivia in my suitcase days ago.
“Are you sure you want to stay here?” I asked.
Olivia grinned. “You get me. I get your crazy. The vibe is right here,” she said glancing blinding around.
Landen then left the room to tell the others what the girls had decided. I slid down in one of the big chairs trying to plot my next move. I had my friends back, but I knew this wasn't over. I wasn't that lucky.
Olivia asked, “Willow, where are we? Who are these people who are trying to help us?”
“My family.”
Jessica tried to speak, but not being able to hear her voice, she was rather loud. “Drake knows that guy with you. He asked if we’d met him yet.”
“Landen? He knows Landen?” My rush of fear caused Landen to look in the window at me.
I thought back to when Drake and Landen were face-to-face. I couldn’t figure out if they acted like they knew each other or not.
Seeing my surprise, Jessica went on. “He described him. He thought you two were together.”
Landen came in, hearing the last part of what Jessica said.
“Did he say anything else about us?” I asked.
“He asked a lot about you. He wanted to know what you painted, why you have that tattoo if you ever talked about your dreams. What made you scared or happy,” Olivia said.
Landen locked stares with me. He was defensive; I was afraid.
Aubrey and Felicity arrived. My mom and Felicity gave the girls food and changed them out of the dresses. Brady and Marc took the clothes and jewels the girls were wearing and burned them in one of the side fields. Chrispin hovered near Olivia every chance he could. He seemed to have a goal to make her laugh and succeeded with only a few whispered words.
“Are you getting the same vibe I am,” I asked when I realized Landen was watching them too. Landen smirked. “Yeah...I was going to say something to you.”
I glanced up.
“Chrispin saw his beacon right before I made him go into the one with the waterfall. When we came back out, he looked back, and it was gone.”
“He doesn’t think that...”
Landen shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t believe he’s had a chance to think anything. I know you’re still having a hard time with Dane and Carissa. Another friend of yours having a soul mate here might be too weird, even for us.”
“Not a hard time,” I said grimacing. “I’m not that lucky. When I do find luck, there’s always a consequence.”
His furrowed brow
“If I could’ve only taken two friend’s it would’ve been them. We run with a circle, but...I don’t know. We were different. Waiting or something.” I tilted my head as I promised myself the worse was behind us. “I just don’t want them hurt. Anyone hurt.”
Rose arrived at the house. She motioned for us to come to her. We followed her through the kitchen, off the porch, and into the backfield. Coming to a stop, she turned and crossed her arms, looking at us over her small square glasses.
“Libby mentioned that she saw the two of you in her room last night,” Rose said. She had a proud smile on her face as she measured our response. We looked at each other with guilty smiles on our faces until the realization struck. We wanted to keep that insight a secret, it took Rose less than a day to figure it out.
“It’s your gift. All I want to do is help you with it. I'm not telling anyone, that is your place.”
“Do you know how she could see us?” I asked.
“The only visions Libby has directly involved the two of you or your surroundings. It makes sense that she can se
e you when others can’t.”
I stared at Landen. Both of us had grave anxiety about this. We felt protective over Libby. We didn’t want her to see anything as dark as we’d seen that day.
“When your father told me of the way you dream, I was sure that you did meet soul-to-soul. Your bodies are only vessels,” Rose said. “That’s why I agreed with the decision to keep Willow in Infante. I knew you two were never apart.” Her eyes looked over Landen and me. “Have you learned to use each other’s insight as one yet?”
“If you mean that I can feel emotions and she can see intent, then yes.”
Rose gave off an emotion of surprise, meaning that wasn’t what she meant.
“You now have both,” she said, trying to hold down her excitement.
“We’re learning our new ones.”
“You both should try to intensify your primary gift.”
“How do you mean?” Landen asked.
“Try seeing intent further away or changing emotions with a touch to those that are here. Don’t push it, or you could hinder your progress. Let it come to you.”
“Can you change emotions?” I asked.
Landen looked at me, astonished, then back to Rose. “No wonder you always understood me,” Landen muttered under his breath.
Rose grinned. “We all have the power to change the emotions of the ones around us. A kind word could make someone’s day, just as a harsh one will bring the worst. The secret is to know your energy and use it to fill the room around you. By being connected the way the two of you are, I can only imagine the energy you could find as one.”
It was afternoon in our dimension, and it had already been a long day. I explained to Olivia that she needed to tell her aunt and uncle that she was safe. She agreed, and we handed her a blank page. She told them that she’d met someone and was going to see the world before she went to school. Explaining that the line was busy each time she’d tried to call. We enclosed a snapshot of Chrispin and Olivia.
My father gave Jessica and Hannah the herb that would take their short-term memory away. It would soon take effect. The girls hugged Olivia goodbye.