She smiled to say thank you.
Austin took over the driver’s seat, and Monroe climbed to the front so she could sit between him and Madison. Draven held the door open for me to climb in the middle, between him and Aden. I hesitated, though, as I locked eyes with Cashton.
“I’m heading to the veil, to a warm fire and a simple guitar. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Cashton said as his eyes reflected how tired he was.
“You said that yesterday, and it didn’t pan out,” I said as I tried to figure out how to get him in the Jeep.
“If you poke a stick in a hornets’ nest, you’re going to get stung. I went after that girl trying to figure out if she was worth the kill. She wasn’t, by the way. I shouldn’t have done it until I was out for good and strong again.”
“You’re strong. Wit takes you further than strength, sometimes.”
“That it does, little one,” he said with a wink as he vanished.
Draven just smirked as he nodded for me to climb in. Once he was in, he held his arm out, inviting me to come closer to him. His hand gently caressed my side.
“Still burning?” he whispered.
I nodded to confirm, not sure how badly we’d hurt ourselves tonight. I glanced up at him to see that his eyes had turned dark. He was analyzing Austin, everything he’d seen on his side of the story - no doubt trying to figure out how we went so wrong.
I closed my eyes as I lay against his chest and imagined my mother in some peaceful sanctuary in another universe. I knew I would never be completely convinced that she was okay until I saw her with my own eyes, but I also knew that finding her would be the end of this curse - a day that I would fight to reach.
No one bothered to utter a word as we made our way back to the restaurant, to the passage of the string.
“Are you sure we don’t need to help them?” Draven asked Austin as he ushered us by the gray passages of Esterious.
He glanced back at Draven and me, at the slow stagger we were forced to walk in simply because our sides were burning.
“They want you guys to rest. I’m supposed to take you to the beach house. It is safe there. I’m afraid if you fought anymore tonight, we’d surely lose you.”
“That is a one-bedroom house. We can go back to Nyla and August’s,” I said, glancing at Madison and Monroe. Even though I was told not to push Madison, I wanted to keep a close eye on her, on Monroe.
“I’ll stay with them,” Aden said, nudging me.
Aden knew me too well. He knew I would not let Madison rest tonight, that I plotted to figure out how to turn back time, to undo this.
The string became crowded when we came closer to Chara. It was like watching the second wave of soldiers falling into battle. As they passed and I saw them, I realized they were not rushing to Esterious to fight; they were rushing there to bring peace.
Before we reached the passage that held Willow and Landen’s home, a tall boy dressed in black charged through the passage, in the direction of the gray passages. I recognized the fury in his energy and tried to see him as he rushed past us, but all I could see was Alamos. That boy was determined to face him, and the Alamos he knew was not the one I knew. No, the one that boy knew was evil.
Panic for Drake and everyone else came to me. We had all halted, and Austin froze in place, doubting that he had really seen that boy. A second later, Ashten, Landen’s father, charged through the passage, followed by Jason, Willow’s father, both obviously chasing that boy.
“Was that -” Austin yelled after them.
“YES! Get them in Chara – NOW!” Ashten yelled at Austin.
August and Rose came through the passage next. August took off in a sprint, but Rose stopped when she saw Madison and Monroe - all of us.
“Oh my,” she said as her eyes raked over Madison. I knew she had the sixth sense of emotion that she would agree that Madison was more wounded than we were acknowledging. “Come,” she said, putting her arm around Monroe and carefully directing Madison with a glance.
“Stay with them,” Draven said to Aden.
“You’re going to rest, right?” Aden asked, clearly not agreeing to babysit while we figured out what Ashten and August were so upset about.
“He has no choice,” Rose said, reaching for Aden to guide him into Chara. Madison and Monroe had already gone in, only offering a glance to us as a goodbye.
“What’s going on?” Draven asked.
Austin raised his brow. “The dead are rising.”
“What?!” the three of us said at the same time.
“Calm down. We thought your mom meant that in the message she left. I guess we didn’t understand it to be so literal.”
“I don’t understand...”
“You don’t understand because you’re tired, weak. Come,” Austin said, urging Aden into the passage.
Draven nodded to the next passage, telling Aden that that was where we were. Once he knew for sure that we were going there, he went after Monroe and Madison.
Austin stepped back a few feet, urging us to go in. “Rest. I’ll be back in the morning.”
“You get me if you need me. You tell them that,” Draven ordered.
“I will - they will,” he promised.
Draven gripped my hand and pulled me through the passage. The sound of the ocean and the smell of salt in the air instantly gave me my breath. I let the tension in my shoulders release.
Once we reached the beach house and turned on a few lights, Draven reached for the rim of my shirt, wanting to know if he could see what was burning me.
“Let me see yours, too,” I said, stopping him.
He seemed frustrated that I was concerned about his wound, but he let go of my shirt anyway and lifted the rim of his as I lifted mine.
I lost the ability to breathe - to think at that moment: now branded on our stomachs were torches. I must have held the knife differently from Draven because his was upside down.
Draven pulled me to the couch. I curled myself up in a ball next to him. He let out a long, deep breath.
“When we started this day, this right here was the end I wanted. We’re doing something right,” Draven said in his trademark hypnotic tone.
“And what was lost for us to be here? I’m not a thousand percent sure my parents are okay. We still don’t have Grayson or Winston back. Monroe and Aden may be okay for now, but Madison isn’t.”
“And you gained Cashton. Count the wins, Charlie.”
“The win is that you are holding me without your guard up,” I said as I reached to caress the side of his face and my stare fell into the green I loved so much.
His arm tightened around me. “We got free matching tattoos, too,” he said in a teasing manner.
He moved his legs to the couch, stretching out beside me, making sure that neither of our burns were pressed against anything that would hurt them.
“I think...I think right now...we don’t need to think...we need our strength back.”
I lifted my eyes to meet his. “Agree.”
“You...agree?” he said as a sinful grin slowly spread across his face.
“I love you,” I said, failing to hold back my grin as I reached to let my lips touch his.
We both knew we had more problems than solutions, and that tomorrow would bring more challenges than we were more than likely ready to handle. But we also knew that in the end, we all find peace.
Peace was in his arms, in this moment.
Acknowledgments
I am still eternally grateful for every soul that encouraged me to write/ publish my debut novel Insight.... thank you once again.
I also want to thank my husband, Lem, for listening to my random thoughts and ideas as each of these stories came to life, he is not only the love of my life but the man who keeps me sane on this insane adventure. I want thank my children who inspire me to become more than I am today with a simple glance, and the echo of laughter and joy that surrounds me constantly.
I want to thank Jan Galloway for
being the first Beta, for her valuable input and edits. Sabrina Poe Wells, and Michelle Stepp, and Steffini Walker for being best Beta an author could ask for. Kimi Farley for her outstanding copyedits.
Marek Purzycki has got to be the most patient, talented graphic artist I have every met, thank you for giving my series a face.
Most of all I want to thank every-single reader for sharing this adventure with me! I love you all and I am eternally grateful for your time and support :)!
About the Author
Jamie Magee has always believed that each of us have a defining gift that sets us apart from the rest of the world, she has always envied those who have known from their first breath what their gift was. Not knowing hers, she began a career in the fast paced world of business. Raising a young family, and competing to rise higher in that field would drive some to the point of insanity, but she always found a moment of escape in a passing daydream. Her imagination would take her to places she’d never been, introduce her to people she’s never known. Insight, her debuting novel, is a result of that powerful imagination. Today, she is grateful that not knowing what defined her, led her on a path of discovery that would always be a part of her.
The fun Bio: I’m an obsessive daydreamer. Lover of loud alternative music. Addicted to Red Bull. I love to laugh until it hurts. Fall is my favorite season. Black is my favorite ‘shade.’ Strong believer in the saying: there is a reason for everything, therefore I search for ‘marked moments’ every moment of everyday...and I find them. Life is beautiful!
Jamie Magee, Redefined
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