Mom was kneeling in front of me, saying something, but I couldn’t hear her. A pain was creeping through my body. Everything hurt. I felt like I was being torn apart. I desperately tried to see my passage so I could follow Landen, but it was gone. I was still holding tight to Libby, and she was holding just as tight to me.
“Willow, what happened?” My mother’s words finally reached me. When I didn’t respond, she fumbled with her phone, finally dialing a number. When the other person answered, she said, “They’re in the string—all of them. Willow made a passage in the center of the cabin, but she won’t tell me what happened…is that safe...are you sure?”
There was a pause.
“Okay, okay, okay.” She hung up. “Willow, I need you to calm down. You’re scaring me. They know what they’re doing. He can’t hurt them. I promise.”
I knew I was scaring her, but I couldn’t calm down. As the seconds passed by, the pain intensified.
When I could think all my friends flashed before my eyes, and a different kind of pain settled in my soul.
The cabin door opened, and there stood a beautiful woman, the same age as my mother. Sympathy filled her face, and she ran to where my mother was holding me in the center on the cabin floor.
“Did you see them on your way here?” mom asked. The woman shook her head no.
“Is it safe for Clarissa to be in there?” mom asked.
She had to be Landen’s mom.
“She’s fine. Her soul mate can see in the string. It’s like he was born to travel through them. She went back for him. Brady will be here any minute.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. I don’t know if I was talking to her or everyone who was up in arms or hurt because of me.
I laid my head on my knees and rocked myself, trying to focus. Aubrey brushed my hair out of my eyes. “You’re so beautiful,” she said, smiling as if nothing was wrong.
My mother took her phone outside, leaving Aubrey to watch me. Libby was still sitting next to me. I tried to focus on her. Wondering what had her so upset, why I could see her before.
My emotion was still overpowering everyone else’s, but my eyes found a solution to my agony: someone was on the porch. A rush of excitement came through me.
“Landen!” I said breathlessly.
Aubrey followed my eyes and pulled me close to her. “No, sweetie, that’s Brady.”
He opened the door, and when the sunlight hit his face, I could see that she was right. Brady’s resemblance was remarkable. He had the same build and wavy dark brown hair, but his eyes couldn’t begin to compare to Landen’s. He smiled at me, and I saw his dimples come to life. He narrowed his stare disbelief as he walked closer.
“Now there are those eyes my baby brother told me about,” he said, looking down at me.
“Did you see them?” Aubrey asked.
“I didn’t expect to. The storm is blowing the other way,” Brady answered, still staring at me.
“Will you tell me what happened so I can help Landen and the others if they need me?” he asked.
I nodded quickly. “I made a passage from a town down the street to Franklin. Drake has taken people from there. When we were in the string, Drake showed up, then the string roared and the current erupted. Landen and I pushed through. He’s hurt. His arm is burned really bad.” I said it so fast that my words collided together.
“It’s going to be fine,” Brady said confidently.
My words and reason were slowly coming back to me. “What is taking so long? You two traveled in just moments?”
“They’d have had to find Drake first. The storm could’ve taken Drake anywhere.”
Brady moved me to the couch. My mind was replaying what had happened in the string, as well as how confident Drake was. What did he mean, ‘our destiny was threaded together’?
The cabin door opened. I didn’t bothering turning; it wasn’t Landen. Brady was talking to someone. I heard a beautiful girl’s voice. It had to be Clarissa and her soul mate.
“Willow,” I heard my name from a familiar voice, one that didn’t belong there.
My mind had to be playing tricks on me, and my eyes joined in. Before me stood an old friend, the one I’d always shared a kinship with: Dane. Behind him stood a girl our age with olive skin, short dark brown hair, and pale green eyes like Aubrey’s. She was dressed in a black dress. A red belt gave shape to her petite figure, and long gold necklaces tangled around her. Why was she there with Dane? He was in Franklin, not New York.
“Willow, are you okay?” Dane asked me in an alarming tone.
I just stared back and forth between Dane and Clarissa. “How…how did you…you went to New York?” was all I managed.
Dane glanced up at Clarissa. That one glance told me everything I needed to know, the emotion between them was remarkable. Soul mates. I was too freaked out with all that was going on to realize how ironic that was.
Too fast...my Infante raised morals screamed in my thoughts.
“I told you I knew if I stayed close to you, I’d find what I was looking for. After you left, all I could think about was New York. I flew there the next morning and found your hotel. I knocked on your door, Clarissa answered, and...”
“Do you know where Drake took Willow’s friends?” Brady asked.
“I know they were all talking about going to Florida to sail on his boat,” Dane said, looking at me. “Monica was trying to convince everyone to go.”
“Who is ‘everyone’?” I asked, realizing I didn’t know who was missing.
“Chase, Josh, Jessica, Hannah…and Olivia,” Dane said, feeling guilty. “I’m sorry, Willow, I didn’t think she’d go.”
“I’m the one that left…I’m the one he really wants,” I said through my teeth, trying to block out the pain I was feeling.
“This is not your fault,” Aubrey said, squeezing her arm around me.
Mom came back in and sat down next to me.
“Did you find anything out?” Aubrey asked.
“Sharon said she panicked when Monica didn’t call. No one will help her. They keep telling her it’s summer love and that she’ll come home in a few days.”
“I bet they’re still here, at least some of them,” Brady said. “There’s no way he could have carried that many people through the string within a seventy-two hour window, not with as bad as the storms have been across the last few hours.”
Clarissa nodded in agreement. I stood quickly, thinking that if I moved, the pain would go away. I could deal with this, think clearly, if I didn’t have to deal with ripping pain.
“Do you know where he would have taken them?” I asked.
Brady and Dane shadowed me, thinking I was going to fall. I started to pace the floor—or run, either way they didn’t trust me.
“If they’re right about him, he’d need to use a large passage, and the only one down there would be the Great Barrier Reef,” Clarissa said eyeing me.
A chill rippled through me. I knew we were all over the string yesterday, and we could have crossed him at any moment. How did we not see him?
“Are you going to look?” mom asked Brady.
“I’m not going anywhere until Landen is back. He’d kill me if I left her unprotected.”
“Could he still come here?” Dane asked, looking across me at Brady.
“He could if he lost them. It’s a long shot, but I’m not going to risk it. I’d want Landen to do the same if the situation were reversed,” Brady said.
I remembered that Brady had someone at home, not to mention a baby on the way.
Their voices faded into the background, and I went somewhere inside myself, looking for answers, wondering what I ever could have done to deserve this pain. I began to regain my balance. Brady stepped back, trusting me more. Dane stayed close. I turned my eyes slowly to the last place I’d seen Landen. The air was clear, and there was no evidence that it had ever happened. The absence of the string began to fill me with hopelessness, but then I remembered the first lesson La
nden had taught me—I had to ‘remember what is natural to me.’
I let what I thought the passage should be like run through my mind. I imagined the way it would feel as I passed through; the hum I would hear inside the string. Essentially, I let myself feel as if I’d already seen it.
The room faded, and all I heard was utter silence. Before me, the air was divided by a thin glow of light. Suddenly, a pull of energy came over me. I’d found my passage. I knew Landen was in the string, and I wanted to find him, to find my friends. I couldn’t stand there any longer and play the part of the damsel in distress. Feeling someone grasp my elbow, I stepped forward with confidence.
The white light passed through me with a soothing vibration of energy. I sighed, feeling a tinge of relief from the agonizing pain that I’d felt everywhere; I felt closer to Landen. The grip on my elbow tightened, and I looked back to see Dane in the string with me.
“Willow, take us back,” he said calmly.
I shook my head in defiance. “I have to find him. I have to find all of them,” I said, choking on my words.
“Don’t cry.”
“Cry? Are you kidding me?”
“Most people would’ve lost their minds by now. Hell, I’m still having a hard time—I keep thinking I’m gonna to wake up and this is some wild dream. That Clarissa’s not real.”
He glanced nervously down the string. “You need to calm down. Get us back.
I squinted as pain licked through my body; it was milder in the sting, but still hurt. “It hurts. I don’t get what hurts or why but its better in here. If I find Landen it’ll stop. I’ll be able to think and find our friends.”
“It’s not safe,” he said, struggling to keep his cool.
“Not safe?” Was he serious? “I have a darkness hunting me. I’m not going to sit there in pain and just wait.”
He lifted his chin in stubborn defiance. “You and me, we’re breaking all the rules again.”
His one phrase brought me right back ‘round. For a split second I was who I was a week a go, a southern girl doing her thing, hiding her weirdness. Dane and me were not troublemakers, by any means. But we didn’t follow the obvious path. If we had, we would’ve hooked up years ago. He’d be plotting to take over his families business and I’d be determined to honor my mothers name by becoming a creative legend. We had it all in front of us, and left it on the table. We waited for what felt right. Turns out, our right—was out of this freaking world.
“I shouldn’t be able to see in this string,” Dane said. “I should’ve never been able to follow you through impossible paths you made. That’s just me—to hear ‘em talk you and Landen are starring in an ancient prophecy. This is the wrong kinda magic to taunt. You gotta play it smart. It’s a came of wits, not strength.”
He was making sense, too much freaking sense.
“Your Dad—hell, Landen thinks you’re safe here. If they come back and you’re gone...nothing good is gonna come of it. They’ll be looking for you while our town is torn upside down. Families are going to be devastated.”
I blankly stared forward, not knowing what to do. “I have to help,” I said knowing myself, knowing this urge I felt swelling inside me. It was like sensing a thousand images calling out to me and ignoring them. It wasn’t in me to sit on the sidelines.
“If Landen is half as good as they’ve told me he is—he’s got this. Game of wits, Willow. Game of wits.”
I closed my eyes trying to regain my composure.
“Take us back,” he whispered.
Fine, I’d give this a few hours, nothing more.
I ticked my head telling him to step aside. My green haze was behind him. I reached my hand back and held his. One step later, we were in the center of the cabin. The pain roared through my body, so violently I nearly fainted.
“Told you so,” Libby said. She was sitting on the couch. Mom and Aubrey were standing in front of her. They followed Libby’s eyes and found Dane and me standing in the cabin. Aubrey ran to the door and swung it open. “Clarissa, Brady, they’re back!” she called toward the river.
I glanced out the window; in the distance Clarissa and Brady were at the opening of the string. When they heard Aubrey the vibe of relief booming form them and the cabin itself was my own personal pain reliever.
Too bad it didn’t last long.
Grimacing I moved tensely to the couch to sit with Libby. Dane stayed inches behind me, sitting on the coffee table and guarding me from the string.
Aubrey sat next to me while Mom fidgeted in place. Seconds later, Clarissa and Brady breathlessly rushed through the door.
I pulled my legs as close as I could to my body, pushing the thought of the pain away. Brady prowled closer, having a hard time hiding his suspicion and admiration. I took him as a guy who didn’t really like things that didn’t fit inside clean lines.
“Did you know she could do that?” Brady asked Dane.
Dane nodded.
“How?” Brady asked mystified.
Dane shrugged his shoulders. “All I know is she gets a look in her eyes, then she’s gone before she ever really leaves. I started holding on when I was eight.”
“Has Landen seen you do that?” Brady asked me.
I waited for the wave of pain I was breathing quietly through to leave before I answered. “He taught me to control it...started to, anyway.”
Brady arched a brow as he crossed his arms. His curiosity, disbelief, and hope entangled around dread pretty much made me feel like I was mystical being who’d just stepped out of the pages of ancient lore. These people needed to get over thinking I was some kind of remake. I was an original soul, this much I knew.
Everyone fell silently into the background as I drifted into dark thoughts.
I never thought I was hurting anyone when I dealt with my issues on my own, and if I was, it was only me. Now I know my entire family, maybe even Landen’s, had felt my burdens. Even worse, if I had asked, if I had learned anything about who they thought I was, or where I was from, my friends would be safe. I would’ve recognized Drake as a threat and left before he had a chance to see who mattered to me. For all I knew, I could’ve been in Chara, been there for years, if I had just asked for help—just asked someone to help me understand what was going on inside of me.
The day aged. The sun had set long ago. Libby never left me, even when Mom begged her to eat. She was sleeping on my lap now. Even though she was warm, I trembled.
Why didn’t I tell Landen about the other nightmares? Did he even know that’s what Drake meant?
“What was Libby upset about earlier when I saw her?” I asked Mom who was at my side. Aubrey was at the other.
Mom glanced at Libby and ran her hand across her forehead. “We’d just gotten back, and I was about to fix lunch for everyone. She was dancing around and playing with Ashten and Marc, then...fear filled her eyes. Like she was watching a horrible accident. We tried to talk to her to bring her out of whatever trance she was in, then after three or four minutes she started screaming your name. She told your dad he had to go get you, that you were lost in a field. Then you appeared out of nowhere.”
A chill slithered down my spine. God please don’t let Libby see my hells, please...let her be a kid.
“Willow,” Clarissa said “I bet your friends don’t even know they’re in danger.”
Offense flooded my expression. I liked her vibe. I did. But to be real, she was hooking up with my best friend. I got soul mates. I believed in them. Insta-love was another gig all together. It was different from how Landen and me were. We had years—every night of our lives—they had days. Until I could think again, she was going to be at arms length. Dane was family. Dane had been my sanity for years. Only the best would do for him.
Her telling me my friends were just chilling somewhere was not a good start. Clarissa read my expression and went on to explain. “It just seems that if they were scared, you would’ve seen them.”
Okay. Smart
and logical, she was back to winning my trust again.
Mom’s phone rang. Brady and Dane came back in from the porch while
“Hello? Hey, is there good news?” Mom said cheerfully.
Hope speared the vibe in the cabin, but as Mom listened, I could feel her heart breaking.
“I—I need to talk to Jason…I’ll call you back…I’m fine…I promise,” she said, fighting back tears. She hung up and stared at her phone.
“Are they okay, Mom?”
Nothing.
“MOM!” I yelled.
“I don’t know…she didn’t say.”
“What do you mean? She said something.”
“There was…well, there’s some kind of a fire at our house…they’re working on it.”
Mom was shattered. That house was all she had left of my grandparents. Inside of it was every relic her family had, stretching back to before America was home, to when the mystic land of Romania sprouted our roots.
I think Brady said something to her, pulled her to another room. I wasn’t really locked on to reality. When I focused again only Brady and Dane were downstairs with me, the others were shuffling around upstairs.
Landen wouldn’t have been gone this long unless something had happened. Perodine’s words circled in my mind. I wondered what price my choice would cost, and who would pay it.
I wanted answers.
“Do you know who Perodine is?”
My question astounded Brady. “Do you?” he asked bleakly.
She was real...just as real as Drake and Landen. Aubrey was standing on the balcony that overlooked the living room when I’d asked.
Brady glanced up, then walked to the window and stared out at the passageway to the string.
After a moment of thought Aubrey came back down the stairs. Mom and Clarissa were not far behind her.
“Where are they?” I asked.
When no one answered me, I stood and started to pace.
“Willow, I think you should sit back down; you don’t look so good,” Mom said.
Considering I was in so much pain I couldn’t even feel it anymore, I didn’t doubt her. Moving felt better. Moving made me feel like I was still capable.
Mom went on. “You need some food. You really look pale.”
“How are you so calm? All of you,” I said glancing to Brady and Aubrey. “You’re all separated from them…does it not hurt? You don’t feel it? ”
Confusion dancing in the unstable vibe of emotions clearly told me I’d just publicly highlighted a weird trait. The embarrassed feeling I had—the one I felt wash down my crimson cheeks reminded me why I’d kept my oddities to myself.
“We have to go in the string and find them. Something could’ve happened,” I said before they could analyze how weird I really was.
I swayed. Brady moved to my side, waiting to catch me if I fell or tried to leave—whichever came first.
Out of nowhere, a rush of vigorous vim came through the room. I glanced to all of them then finally settled my stare on Libby.
A second later, Libby shot up from the couch and ran up the stairs.
Mom walked over to the stairs and yelled Libby’s name. When she didn’t answer, my mom started to go up the stairs at the same time Libby was coming down them. She had taken off her bathing suit and put on her favorite little pink sundress and sandals, and she was holding the rabbit that she’d slept with her whole life. A smile was brightly lit across her face. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she screamed, “Come on, Willow, it’s time to go to Landen’s castle!”
“Libby, do you see them?” I said, feeling life seeping into me.
“Come on, Willow,” she said, holding me by the hand and pulling me to the door.
I wasn’t going to ask any more questions. I followed her out the door and down the steps. I could feel the confusion coming from everyone behind me. I didn’t care, though; Libby had to have seen something.
My eyes were weak, my whole body was. I wanted to run faster, but I didn’t have the strength.
I felt him.
“Landen? Landen, are you here?”
He didn’t answer.
I closed my eyes and fell to my knees but before I could fall any further, I felt his hands on my face. When I opened my eyes and saw him, a lazy smile came to my face. The pain was going away. Sweet relief was humming through the shredded paths inside my body
“I know... I know it hurt, but it’s over now.
My body fell limp. I was drifting away.
Landen yelled behind him, “Jason, something’s wrong with Willow!”
“Willow, speak to me.” I wanted to, but I couldn’t.
“She’s fine,” Dad said. “Get her home, you’re the medicine.”
“Can you carry her?” I heard Ashten say.
“Brady, get Libby,” Landen said.
“Willow, baby, hold on. I’ll carry you home.”
I fell into a deep sleep, dreamless at first.
When I opened my eyes I saw a canopy above me.
I’d made it to my home again.
When I reached next to me, Landen wasn’t there, but I could feel him just outside the doorway that led to the porch. I felt his turmoil. I was sure he was still lost in the worst day we’d lived through so far.
Rising from the bed, I noticed that I was wearing a white night gown that barely reached my thighs. The straps were a beautiful lace. It looked like nothing that I’d ever owned. I loved the way it felt against my skin.
Where had I fallen asleep? Where did this come from? The thoughts were dangerous; at least they were if I wanted to stay asleep. I’d learned to never question a dream, to float on its current and work out all the whys later.
I walked slowly toward where Landen was, feeling the pain in my sore muscles with each step. I had to be in serious agony in my waking life for it to follow me to the dream state.
No, there was no way I wanted to wake up yet. I needed to heal.
Landen was gazing out at the crescent moon. His arms were spread wide across the banister. The gleam from the night sky highlighted every lean muscle in his back.
The site of him rushed my heart. It pumped good adrenaline through me—the kind that makes the bad in life bearable, the kind that was created to highlight unforgettable moments. Moments that write a story on our soul.
My dad had treated his wound; a wide white bandage was wrapped around his arm, and another was on his shoulder. When I reached him I wrapped my arms around him.
Relief filled him.
He felt so real, more real than he had in any dream I’d ever had before. He kissed my hands softly before slowly turning around. When I saw his eyes, I could see how troubled and tired they were. I reached up and ran my fingers over them. He drew my chin up and kissed me tenderly as his hands moved down my sides, and mine eased up his chest.
Each temperate movement of his hands across my gown left me breathless.
His kiss gained power. His long arms reached down and grasped my legs, lifting me so that I fell perfectly around him.
The closer I was to him the less I hurt, the less I felt like I had a care in the world. I was weightless, eternal, part of everything.
A heartbeat later he carried me through the doors to our bed. His hunting blue eyes slowly traveled over every inch of me as he carefully laid me down.
I reached for his face wanting to feel his lips against mine.
An insane tingling sensation encased my soul as when he leaned forward and stared at me just before our lips touched. Kiss by kiss, touch by touch I realized we were not new lovers. We were old lovers welcoming the other home after a long absence.
A euphoric high came over me. I found myself losing my breath—the sound my heart thrashing in my chest deafening. I couldn’t believe how real it all seemed to be.
He whispered, “I love you,” just beneath my ear.
No, this wasn’t a dream.
It was real.
; We were home.
We were together, both embracing this sacred, breathless first.