I nodded to answer the last few questions, then smiled coolly. “Days. Well, damn. I was just starting to get the hang of living,” I quipped.
“I doubt that,” he said as his tenacious eyes moved up and down me. “Doubt you have ever lived your life. That’s the issue now.”
“Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m lunch.”
He smirked.
“What?” I demanded.
He shrugged as he crossed his arms. “I suppose I didn’t expect you to be this way.”
“Which is…?”
“Dark as hell. You were right about yourself.”
“What exactly was I right about?”
“When you made me what I am. When you claimed me. You told me what I would face today.”
“When I did what?”
“You heard me, Sovereign,” he said with a mocking bow.
“Did you, like, hit your head on the casket when you climbed out or something?”
He just grinned. “This is going to be a blast.”
I didn’t know where to start with him. I went from thinking that he could hold the solution to the secrets that I was sure my family had always hastened from my view to thinking he was completely crazy, downright stark raving mad.
“Why did you say what you said about my dad—why did you say that you and him never did together what would be called friendly?”
“Wow.”
“Wow, what?”
“You really know nothing.”
“I know enough.”
“Do you know that your Earthly father is a Rampart Warrior?”
“Excuse me?”
“Which also means that you have no clue that you are the one they have been waiting on. That you will bring the end of time as you birth a new world.”
“You’re mad. Mad as hell.”
“Considering you are the one that has claimed me and you are blind as hell, then I suppose some of that could have rubbed off on me. Then again, you did tell me you would be hard to handle.”
“Exactly when did I tell you this? What life?”
“Oh, so they did tell you that you lived before?”
“I know all about the Aliyanna business. I know how Chara was created. And I know of a darker past as well. I know that I have lost my way, more than once.”
“Sovereign, you claimed me long before the life of Aliyanna.”
“Listen to me,” I said, stepping closer, restraining him with a toxic gaze. “I have an entire dimension that has all but begged me to be their queen, and I dare say they cared not for what king would stand at my side. I declined. Do not ever call me that again. I rule no one. Not now. Not ever. Are we clear?”
As if he were searching for someone, his piercing stare looked deep in my eyes. I was almost sure I sensed grief and rage coming from him, but it was too faint for me to figure out if that was just me feeling those emotions.
“You can search my eyes ‘til the end of days, and I swear to you that you will not find what you are looking for. You’re delusional.”
“I see your ego.” His tone was crass.
“Are you calling me conceited?” I bit out.
“No. I’m telling you that your ego is running the show right now and your death is within days.”
“Watch me tremble,” I said mockingly.
He let silence seize the room. I couldn’t stand it. I wanted to know where he got his insane ideas.
“Explain your thought process to me. Explain how I claimed you before I ever existed,” I stated dryly, wanting him to realize how delusional he was.
“After your creation—your birth as an individual—in the great cosmos you realized who you were, the path before you, and anxiously claimed it. That surge of energy called out to me. My soul was transitioning between lives. I am your First. I accepted your call with divine grace, thus giving you the title that you refuse to accept but will carry throughout existence.”
“Let me be clear: I’m over people telling me that I am with the wrong man. I will love no other. So get whatever ideas of me calling or claiming you in the past out of your head. First, second, third, it doesn’t matter—Landen is my last.”
A sickened look filled his eyes, as if the idea of me and him were unnatural at its core. Now I was confused.
“This is not a lesson or story for the ego to hear. I’m making no claim on your soul. The only reason I even bothered to lie to your father all those years ago was to ease his disquiet, to ensure him that you would always be fiercely protected.”
I shook off his remark and the embarrassing way I had taken his explanation. “All right, fine. I called you. Then what?”
“Then we saw this path. Then you gave me my charge. My words. Thus, the reason I am here today.”
“You are here today because of a wicked spell, one that called the dead to rise. This is unnatural, to say the least, but let me warn you—I’m under the impression that once you rise from the dead, your second life will only be in play until you complete your unfinished business.”
That was my little warning that if he still had the notion to kill Alamos the way he did the other night, he needed to drop it—that is, unless he wanted to be six feet under once more.
He leaned forward to emphasize his words. “I didn’t die. I laid dormant, as you commanded.”
“I commanded no such thing.”
A sarcastic nod was the only response he gave me.
“Fine, risen dead man. What past do you have with my father?”
“I told you. Rampart Warrior.”
“My father is no warrior. He’s a peacemaker.”
“Sure he is.”
“Why would Chara need warriors that served as barriers? No one threatens us. No one can even see us unless they were born here.”
“Is that what they told you?”
“That is a fact.”
I knew damn well that even Drake could not see his way here, and his family was from here.
“There are more ways to get into a dimension than the string.”
Now I was intrigued.
“Tell me you have explored the world you adore so much. Or have they kept you in a little box?” he taunted.
“I’ve been too busy for a guided tour.”
“Busy with Esterious,” he said with a knowing stare.
“That’s right.”
“Esterious has been invading us for generations.”
“Impossible. Even if in some far out fashion that were true, while you were dormant, we destroyed the looking glass. And Donalt.”
“If you destroyed Donalt, we would not be having this conversation, in a kitchen, Sovereign.”
“Call me that again, and I will walk you back to the grave,” I said in pure frustration. “All right. Fine. I destroyed most of him.”
“And now, under the influence of Saturn, you will see that time is not on your side when it comes to destroying the remainder of him.”
I had only heard whispers of what the influence of Saturn would bring. The other night when Landen was telling me stories of the heavens, he told me of the power of Saturn. How it was more so the personal trainer of the universe. That it would force you to shed ways that no longer served you and clearly show you how limited your time on Earth was to do your ‘work.’ I could clearly see that Landen was not looking forward to the trial that would cause Saturn to be his enemy, but at the time he was more focused on the spell before us, on his past as a Phoenix.
“Time has never been my friend. Explain to me why Chara needs warriors.”
He glanced to the windows that were bathing the room with the glow of early morning. “This dimension is reaching the mark of eternity. The anniversary of its creation is on the horizon. Chara has been preparing for this day. Warriors were trained and stationed at our borders.”
“The passageways.”
“No. The borders of our world, where the line of consciousness is vague. The point w
here the dead could easily pass our barriers.”
“The dead?”
“Why do you feel that execution is the most pronounced way of death within Esterious?”
“Because they’re sadistic.”
His grin was dark, and nearly inviting. “Any soul that showed signs of illumination was murdered at our borders—at that point, their essence was pushed into our boundaries. They were told that endless torture would come to their families if they did not return with vital information that would allow Donalt to transcend into the dimension before your second coming.”
“Second? I’ve lived far more than that.”
“The second birth under the chart you were born into. The beings we slayed were half-dead, half-alive, and zero-sum of what they were when they were alive.”
“Like zombies?”
Clearly, he didn’t understand the word because he furrowed his brow before he went on. “After some time, the barriers became weaker, weak enough that death did not have to come for you to pass. They could walk through under the influence of an enhanced high given to them by the priest.”
“There are several dimensions between that world and Chara.”
“The string is not a hallway,” he said bleakly. “The dimensions meet at several points. Surely, you are not blind to all the passages.”
I stared at him as my memory of the string swam through my thoughts. I knew there were hazes on nearly every inch of that string, but Landen had only taken me through the large doorways—through the passages that every traveler could see clearly. “Are you telling me that the dimension of Esterious is only a breath away from here?”
“How could that sound odd to you? If you are aware of Aliyanna, then clearly you know that she, rather you, left Esterious and came here to create this world. Do you truly think she passed by several worlds before finally picking a doorway to walk through?”
“I don’t like your tone—is this how you speak to everyone you call Sovereign?”
“I’m not speaking to my Sovereign. I’m speaking to her ego. And it is clear to me that my Sovereign was entirely too mild when she spoke of the condition that she would be in when our paths crossed under this alignment.”
“Is Esterious breaching our borders? Is that what you are saying? Do I need to move people? Get them to safety?”
“No. You need to get out of my way and let me do my job.” As soon as those words left his lips, he brushed past me—at least I think he did. Within the tepid breeze that passed me, I could smell warm honey and a hint of lavender.
He was not leaving me here. Not after that revelation. I charged after him.
Chapter Three
~Landen~
I had only had two reasons to take the Jeep: one, I didn’t want Justus to wake up and give Willow an unneeded guided tour of Chara; and two, I figured Drake would want a way to move around from place to place while he was here.
I wasn’t surprised to sense him here when I carried Willow home last night. The moment Perodine told him that Madison was more than likely as damaged, if not more so, than Willow, I felt devastation coming from my ascetic friend. The grief was unmatched by any emotion I’d ever felt from him, which said a lot considering I was there when he killed his own father. Not to mention each time we had watched Willow cling to life, a life that she had chosen to end on her own.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to say to him, what I wanted him to say to me, or even if I should take the time to speak to the boy that had turned from friend to foe and was now lingering, somewhere between the two.
When I pulled up in front of Chrispin’s house, I hesitated to make sure I wasn’t walking in on something I’d rather not see. My senses told me Chrispin and Olivia were not there. I suppose Marc had been slated to fill Drake’s place in the kingdom Drake belonged in, and Chrispin was playing his role as the leader of the security we had placed in the palace.
I stayed in my Jeep for a moment or two, reflecting on how insanely out of control my life had become, how it was to end before the week was out—nothing new there, right? I felt myself grinning. Sometimes there comes a point when it’s so bad, all you really can do is laugh at the insanity of it all.
My list of people I could reach out to for sound advice had all but vanished. I smirked, thinking how impractical it was that right now Drake was the only name on that short list.
I trusted my family to advise me on the strength of the planets, the dark path before me. I trusted Phoenix to tell me the harsh reality of my past and protect me from making the same horrid mistakes. I trusted Willow with my soul. But Drake was the only one I trusted to advise me on the wretched weight of ruling a billion souls. He was the only one that knew how heavy this weight really was.
I was lost in my wicked thoughts when Drake opened my passenger door and slid into the seat next to me. I didn’t even notice that he walked out the front door. Man, I was beyond jacked up at that point.
Drake wasn’t dressed like he normally was. He was wearing Chrispin’s clothes—jeans and a T-shirt. He didn’t look like a powerful king. He looked like the boy I had slugged for invading my camp years ago.
“How is she?” I asked under my breath. I wanted him to tell me Madison was fine, that Madison woke up without a trace of damage. That would give me hope that when I went home I’d find my Willow safe and sound, that perhaps Chara had inadvertently healed her.
“Withering with jealousy and rage. At least she was when she went to sleep,” he answered as he slid down in his seat, looking relaxed for the first time in years.
I did my best to hide my smug grin, the one that said, Boy, if you would have listened to me from day one we would have avoided a lot of this bullshit.
“We’re asking a lot of her,” I said in defense of Madison, daring to wonder if he was going to hold me to my childhood promise to protect his green-eyed girl. I had my doubts. His intent was set, and it was raw with determination. If he had his choice, he would never let Madison out of his sight again.
“Trusting me is asking a lot,” Drake bit out. His anger was at himself, not me, so I let it go. I could feel his inner turmoil, how confused he was. More than anything, he felt like a fool. He was never one to admit he was wrong freely. Then again, neither was I.
“A week ago, she was in another world, living out a normal life,” I offered, remembering distinctly how the reality of alternate dimensions was difficult for Willow to fathom at first, that wide gaze she would have each time we stepped into the string. How she would clutch my hand a little tighter, glance at me to question her words before she spoke them, worried she would break some cultural law she was unaware of.
Then again, from what I knew of Madison, she wasn’t afraid of much. She was fierce, at least when it came to protecting her friends. She and Charlie no doubt kept Draven and Aden in line, held that unit together as they protected Monroe. Warriors. The entire lot of them.
“Nothing about her life has ever been normal,” he replied, with obvious disdain. “Why are you here, Landen? Do you want me to tell you that you were right? To apologize?”
Even if that was what I wanted, he harbored no intention of doing either. We were both too stubborn for that. Instead, we said our ‘piece’ in silence—meaning we were not trying to kill each other anymore.
“Among other things, finding Madison has done nothing but push my family to ask the impossible of me,” I finally said as I cast a glare in the direction of my father’s house, still steaming mad that Brady, of all people, had demanded that I stand up.
“Little overzealous, aren’t they?” Drake said, matching my fury.
“I can’t believe I’ve held them off this long.”
The first private conversation I had with Jason and my father about Willow outlined what was before me. At that point, they had in their own way conceded to the idea that I was indeed Guardian and she was Aliyanna. I dismissed the thought, only to have my grandfather prove that point days later.
That first night,
two stoic Rampart Warriors made no effort to hide what was in my future. My father very bluntly told me that there was a consequence for my actions, that I yearned to speed through my life and pushed him every inch of the way, and now, in a sense, my life as I knew it was over, as was hers.
My father didn’t say it then, but I knew what he was talking about. The legend stated that when Guardian and Aliyanna were flesh-to-flesh in the world they created, the marks would appear, and once they did the end of time would commence.
My father had kept me from Willow to prolong my life. I thought he was a fool for trusting legends over his own son, and when the marks didn’t appear immediately, I knew I was right. Now, I just understood that my time scale and the universe’s are two entirely different things.
I told our family Willow was terrified—that she was in no state to claim what they thought we were. That was true.
What I didn’t tell them was that my best friend and I would surely go to war over this girl. I most definitely didn’t tell them that her skin lacked the hum and glow that justified our bond.
“So what? They think that because Madison is found that I will not fight for Willow or that Willow will have no doubt? That the next four planets are pointless to engage?” Drake said in a dark tone that was dripping with sarcasm.
I felt his clear intent. He already knew that to protect Madison within his world he would have to publicly seek Willow, and that caused him endless guilt. But now, with my revelation, he was thinking that it would in some way protect both me and Willow, as well as Madison. Drake would not only lie publicly to defend me and Willow, I had no doubt he would more than likely lay down his life if it came to that. He had before; the only thing different now is that he has a reason to live. He can clearly feel a bond to the girl that lay sleeping inside the house. He felt it at first sight. It was killing him, but he felt it.
“They never gave a damn about the spell. In their mind, at least my father’s, that was part of it. That was the climax, the reason the Flames would arise. He never thought we could take down Donalt without this power. Ever.”