Nana picked up the blades at the same time that I felt a surge of energy spill into the room. She pulled them closer, examining them, then joined the two blades side by side. The odd-shaped handles fit together like a puzzle piece.
“In Latin, it reads ‘power as one - power as many’,” she said in a tone that was laced with sorrow.
As the rest of us - with the exception of Monroe - hung our heads, Evan left the room immediately, unable to handle the wicked truth that was in front of us. The silence was heartbreaking, building the rage I felt in my soul.
“Monroe,” I said flatly, “right or wrong, tell me now.” My eyes slowly moved across the red Oriental rug until they rose to hers. There, all I saw were the same images Aden had in his mind. She let us all see that.
“We agreed,” Draven said finally. “We agreed that if we had a way out, we would do this. The blades apart will join us. The blades together at the hand of a Witness will divide us.”
“You agreed,” I said, rising to my feet, barely noticing that it took every ounce of my strength to do so.
I left the room without another word, pushing through the images in the open hall and finally running to the door, down the porch, and toward the tree outline of the driveway. With each step, it became harder to breathe.
I knew Draven wouldn’t follow me. He knew me. He knew he needed to let me get over this shock. I had no doubt that Madison wanted to come to my side, but the pain of emotions would be near deadly for her.
Before I knew it, I was standing just before a family plot of headstones. The only sound beyond the distant testing of sound equipment was the wind and a few breaths of nature.
I cried. I let it all out, every tear that I’d held back over the last few months, every emotion. I let every angry, fearful tear fall. I don’t know how long it took until the last one had fallen, but I knew the sun was setting behind me, that the moss dangling from the trees was shadowing its rays, making it look as if I were standing in a glass prism of nature.
I tried to take myself out of this moment, to rise above it all and see the big picture, but I couldn’t find the will. I tried to understand what I could have done that was so horrible that the universe found it righteous to punish me. I mean how odd is it to have both of your parents, your friends, and the boy you love at the same time? Why us? Why did I have to choose, sacrifice? Why were the people I loved so willing to lay down everything without so much as a promise in return?
Somehow, I found my way to a numb feeling, one that gave me distance from every negative emotion. I could hear words of wisdom that Nana had spoken over us when we were just kids, words that taught us how to understand the darkness that haunted us. She would always say, ‘I know it’s terrifying to hear them, see them, but just imagine how afraid they are - and once you help them, walk away with the simple lesson that sometimes you have to lose it all in order to find your way to peace. Your abilities are a gift, not a curse. You see the span of humanity, and you will never have to wonder if it’s all worth it because you already know. You know each time you bring peace to the damned. You know in the end there is peace for everyone.’
With that thought in mind, I tried to find my own assurance. If that blade could divide Draven and Aden again, I wanted a Witness that I trusted to do it. I had no reason not to trust Clarissa or her soul mate Dane. Everything I saw about them through their family was honorable, peaceful – even in their darkest moments – but I didn’t know them. Not like I knew Silas.
I covered my mouth, trying to subdue the nauseous feeling I felt creeping up my throat. What kind of girl would look him in the eye and ask him to save the boy that took her away from him? What kind of person could use another soul, their heart, for nothing more than their own personal gain? I didn’t want to be that girl, but I had no choice. If he agreed to help me with this, then I would have no reason to argue about it anymore, no reason to be afraid.
Even though he thought I was taken from him or that I broke his heart, I knew Silas was wise, strong, balanced, that he was not cold enough to watch someone die just because he could. The memories of me convincing him not to kill Britain all those years ago gave me that impression. Under the fearless guardian, Silas was a peaceful soul who only fought when he had a reason.
I knew that a few days ago in The Realm – or any other time – he could have found a way to permanently separate Draven and me once and for all, but he didn’t. He was waiting on a reason, a point where his hand would be forced.
I told myself that his hand would not be forced tonight, that saving them, dividing them would bring me and him to a more balanced friendship. If he refused to, then I would do everything in my power to forget he existed until the end of my time.
“Silas,” I whispered.
Nothing happened.
“Silas, please,” I said again, refusing to let another tear fall.
The wind picked up, and I turned, expecting to see him. But it wasn’t him that heard my call.
Chapter Eighteen
I’d never seen Clarissa in a peaceful moment, so until this point I hadn’t realized how beautiful she was. I could clearly see the resemblance of her brothers, Landen and Brady, in her. Her eyes were green, whereas theirs were blue - but her features were sculpted perfectly in place, just as theirs were. A calm, worldly energy encased her essence. It wasn’t the life of a Witness that brought out that beauty. She’s always had it - only now, wisdom embraced all that she was.
“He can’t hear you,” she said gently to me.
“He promised me that all I had to do was call him. Monroe told me he could hear my thoughts if I was speaking to him. He can hear me; he’s just ignoring me.” I made no effort to hide the sting of anger in my tone.
“He’s really deep, Charlie. The only way he would be able to sense you would be if your life, his, were in danger.”
“What do you mean, ‘deep’?”
“Every enemy knows that Silas is your shield, your guardian. Silas is a brilliant warrior, leader. He’s led the enemy to the farthest point away from you that he could. We have masked your path to this place, your energy. I have no doubt that not long after you enter The Realm, every warrior of darkness will be sent to where you are. The plan now is to at least give you a chance to enter - to at least try.”
“Try to what? To lose my boyfriend, open a door, or bring these corporeal souls their lost loved ones? Or am I to try and do that all at once?!” I hated being harsh with her, but she was the one standing in front of me.
“In the beginning, our intent was to drain the power this city is creating - not even this city; just this plot of land. Everything else was brought to the table by you, and we will not stand in your way.”
“Whose ‘we’? Silas?”
“My family.”
“So Silas doesn’t know about any of this? The blades?”
“Silas doesn’t use many words. I have no idea. I would guess that he did, but I’m the last person whose opinion you should take on that matter.”
“And who’s the first?”
“Yours.”
“Mine?” I mocked.
She nodded once. “My family will not tell you what to do or when simply because we have no way of knowing what is going on inside of you, any of you. We know your souls are older, that you are balance.”
“Let me know when you find my soul’s birth certificate so I can believe all that crap. I don’t know anything beyond the fact that every day things get worse, not better.”
“Really?” she said as her eyes glided over me. “So you’ve never wanted to run away with Draven and save the damned souls?”
“I’ve always wanted to do that.”
A smile flashed in her eyes. “And you never thought that nights like tonight would come across your path? Did you think that the course of your life would be peaceful? That you would walk hand-in-hand down the street and whisper sweet nothings to the shadows, then go home and cuddle, maybe play a little music?”
&n
bsp; “Throw in a deserted beach and you got it,” I answered sarcastically, even though she was right. We always knew that tampering with the dead was dangerous; that at one point we would save too many, that someone would come for us. But I liked it better when the thought of that day was years away, not today.
“What is your biggest fear about the choice Draven and Aden have made? Is it me?”
“Listen, no offense, but I was told that a Witness could divide them. Not which one. For all I know, this is simple and I’m making it out to be more than it is, but I’m not deciding what outfit I’m wearing tonight, this is life and death - and it’s not just me that will suffer. This will kill their father if it goes bad. Those boys are his life. They are Nana’s, life, too. Their family lost enough when their mom died. I want a percentage. I want someone to lay out the chances for me - and they better be more than fifty-fifty.”
“I can’t promise you that me or Dane holding a blade will bring the boys you love back.”
“My point exactly.”
“But I do know someone who has the power to turn back time, to move back to a point before recent tragedy occurred.”
“Who would that be?”
“Willow.”
I really hated that it was so hard to see a Witness because I wanted to know how much truth there was to this.
“If she had that power, why did she come for me? Why did she not turn back time to before Bianca took Drake and Landen? Why has she not turned back time on any of this?!”
“When that happened, the power was new to her, uncharted. Your family has helped her find balance with her insights, and that power is growing.”
“She’s used it?’
“Only for simple moments. The risk of bending time could be horrific, or nothing at all, but she will take them for you.”
“Why me? Us?”
“It is strongly believed that if one of us falls, we all do.”
“So if you fail, she will undo this? We start this night over?”
“It’s a possibility.”
I knew then that this was not a plan they had considered. She was just comforting me.
“How is Willow even going to get into The Realm? She’s here. Is Perodine?”
“I taught her.”
I let out a heavy sigh as my eyes fell to the ground.
“Charlie, every outcome has been reasoned, along with the risk, but the path is never as clear as we think it is.”
“Can you get into the veil?” I asked as I clenched my fist.
“I can. Why?”
“I want my brother. I want him to tell me this is legit.”
“Your brother?”
“You heard me. I found him after the kids knocked me out. He’s helped me understand a lot of this madness, even helped me and Draven overcome barriers that were put up between us.” I glanced away. “I know I’m from the other reality, that I was sent here to heal this dimension, but I cannot trust that my perception is not altered right now, not when days ago my boyfriend was afraid of me and last night he shared his soul with me.”
A sweet smile came to her face when she heard that last part. It was like they already knew that Draven and I could do that, that there was never a risk of him ending me - which made no sense if she were now standing and fighting with Silas, the one soul who swore that Draven would hurt me.
“When was the last time you saw him?” she asked.
“Last night. He said he was going to watch Silas so Draven and I could be alone, that he could get to him because Silas was connected to me.”
She seemed perplexed. “I was with Silas last night, and I did not see or sense anyone beyond Witnesses with us.”
Fear took over my emotions, but somehow she managed to calm me down with a glance.
“I will search for him. Charlie, if you feel this is wrong, then it is. If you don’t, then it’s not. Do what your soul is telling you to do, and let others do what theirs is telling them to do.”
“I don’t have an argument for that,” I grumbled as I walked past her toward the house.
Masses of people were mingling near the back of the plantation home. I tripped over the large salt ring that was on the edge of the grass. Not wanting to take any chances, I turned to ensure that the line was still solid before continuing on my path to the front porch.
As I walked up the steps, the ghostly images started to speak, describing people they were looking for in a haunting tone that reflected absolute loss. I kept my head low, not wanting to promise them anything. In my mind, all I could see were those images in my head: seven stairways leading to a point above an ocean of fire, blood slowly flowing. I guess my soul was saying this had to happen. I had to let Draven and Aden do this, and while they did, I was going to help these lost souls before me now.
In the great room I found Draven and Aden, along with two other men who were fitting them for sound packs, ear phones. When they saw me everyone left except Draven.
I couldn’t look at him. I pushed my hands in my back pockets as I stared off to the side of the room. I wanted to look at him. I wanted to beg him to think about this, to just wait for another day. But I had no words to argue with. I knew if I did convince him not to do anything rash I would forever be haunted by the chance we never took.
Every part of my skin blushed. My heart thundered as he stepped closer to me; the intensity of his energy took my breath away. Even when his hands were on my waist I couldn't force myself to raise my gaze to meet his. It was just easier to be mad about this, not to let my fear show. Anger was a shield I was hiding behind, one that would not let me look him in the eye, that would not let my mind tell me it would be the last time I saw my Draven.
I felt his lips against my forehead and my mind was instantly flooded with images of the night we’d just shared. I felt the power between us, the unconditional, imperfect love we shared. I told myself that no matter what, this could never die or be separated – at least not for long.
“I will always love you. Never forget that,” he whispered as he let me go.
Before I could find the will to say something, anything - at least a ‘Be careful’ or ‘I love you’ – he left the room, leaving me frozen in place. Everything inside of me fell. I was so dizzy I couldn’t move. It hurt to breathe.
A second later, I felt a hand on my shoulder and glanced to see Madison at my side. The pain of my emotions was in her eyes, in her tense expression.
“I’m sorry,” I uttered as I tried to push them down.
She swallowed the pain she was obviously fighting. “Charlie, one way or the other we will end with peace,” she said, echoing the lesson Nana had instilled in us all.
I pulled her to me and hugged her as tightly as I could. As she swayed me from side to side, for a second we were ten again, little girls that were terrified but knew that we were strong enough to take what was coming at us. We were strong because we were together.
A warm hum of energy flowed over me. At first I thought she was gaining strength and learning to control the agony of emotions that were terrorizing her. When I opened my eyes slightly, though, I saw Drake leaning in the doorway. I breathed in deeply, taking in his energy, which reminded me so much of Draven.
I felt Madison’s grip loosen as she turned to see him.
“You came.”
“I promised I would,” he said as his gaze melted into her.
“I don’t suppose you have some kind of inside information that will stop all of this, like telling us that that Xavier man is already dead?” I said weakly.
His mesmerizing stare drifted to me. “No,” he answered quietly. “I’m here to balance the circle of light and dark.” He stood up slowly from his casual lean. “I’m here because I told someone that ‘real’ was all I wanted.”
I felt every part of Madison’s body freeze in place next to mine. What I could only assume was nervousness was tingling the energy in the room. I felt like I was invading a private moment between them.
“A
re you going to play?” I asked, understanding that because we didn’t have Winston and Grayson we were missing a part of that balanced circle we used the last time this song was played live.
His grin could stop anyone’s heartbeat. I was sure of it.
“No, music is not in my soul. I always drifted more toward art, admiring it at least,” he stated warmly. “I understand this circle needs high energy and a certain place in the circle, between two lights.”
“That means we’re still short one dark person, which means we can’t do this,” I said as breath came to me. Drake had just delivered me the perfect argument.
The sorrow in his stare told me I was wrong. “Willow will stand where Grayson stood. She seems positive that she is as dark as he is...”
“Always trying to find proof,” Madison said as she pushed that nervousness down and the familiar sting of jealousy invaded the energy around me.
“Well,” Drake said as his eyes intimately washed over Madison, “there’s this girl who’s trying to show me that there is life outside of the palace walls. She’s always looking for proof, too. You see, she has these tests she puts people through in order to find that proof. What can I say? She has a way of influencing me with a glance.”
An eruption of music bellowed through the halls of the home. It wasn’t Draven. It must have been an opening song or something.
I sighed as I looked down. “If we survive this, teach me that glance thing,” I said to Madison as I walked forward.
When I got to Drake’s side in the doorway, I looked down the hall, standing on my tiptoes to see past the ghostly images. Aden was looking back at me. He pointed his drumsticks toward the right and mouthed ‘Walk around’ to me. I responded by whispering, “Good Luck.” Even though he couldn’t hear me, I figured he could read my lips. He nodded once before he turned to the crowd of people that were around him and Draven.
As I walked down the hall I looked into each phantom, asking who they were looking for in my mind. They replied instantly as images of masses of people who’d died hundreds of years ago flooded my mind. I tried to hold on to them all, store them away somewhere so I could call upon them when I was in The Realm.