My thoughts had pulled me into in a daze. A mile before Draven’s house, Silas appeared in front of my car. I slammed on my brakes, but my car drove right through him. With a pounding heart, I looked in my mirror to try and find him, but he had vanished. I slammed my hands on the steering wheel again; furious that in the middle of this he was still trying to stand between me and Draven. I hit the gas and drove as fast as I could to Draven’s, then pulled around the back of the house and parked behind the garage. I pulled the keys out and leaned my head against the seat and closed my eyes.
“He wasn’t trying to stop you,” I heard Monroe say innocently.
I opened my eyes and glanced at my side. “Really?” I said with little interest.
“He was trying to tell you he was sorry, that he would answer the questions you were thinking about.”
I raised my eyebrows. “What are you saying? He can read my thoughts?” Please. Please. Say no.
“Selectively.”
“What does that mean?”
“If you are thinking about him and you ask a question, he can hear it.”
“So he decides to give me a heart attack? Do undead people not use cell phones?”
Monroe could not hold back a grin. “They do, just a different kind.”
In dismay I moved my head side to side. “Listen, I need to think for a second. Why don’t you go in and get Nana to get you some dinner?”
She glanced at the clock on the dashboard, then looked back at me. “Will you make sure you are in the studio at ten fifty-five?”
I furrowed my eyebrows. It was almost nine. “I can. Do I have a date or something?”
She didn’t answer me; instead, she got out and walked into the house. I moved my head from side to side as I watched her go in. I didn’t get that little girl. If I could see the future, I would tell everyone. I would not rest until all danger was out of the way. I didn’t understand why she was calm, how she just witnessed all of this and did not show any fear.
I closed my eyes and began to remember Egypt. That night, I spoke with Willow all alone. I let my senses slowly recreate that night. I didn’t want to miss a single detail. I opened my eyes and found myself there, a witness to a conversation that happened so long ago.
The moon was full, encasing the sky. There were more stars than I had ever seen in this life above us. Willow and I walked side by side along a waterway. I could see the awe in my eyes for this woman. Willow was at least forty then; she seemed so calm, wise. Even though I’d lived long past forty years, I was still a child, a young soul. One that craved an open conversation with a mother figure.
“How did you know about us?” I asked her.
“A dream.”
“Did you dream of Isis?” I asked, wondering if she sent Willow to me.
“I dreamed of you.”
Befuddled, I muttered, “Why me?”
“When you seek answers, you find them. I was seeking you, and I found you in this life.”
“Did you know me in another?”
“No, but I will know you in a life after this, but before that point, you will serve as a catalyst.”
“How do you know that?”
She was quiet for a moment. She looped her arm though mine and smiled slightly. “Every life is different. Vastly different. In this life, I have been given a gift. I have been able to see where I was and where I will be. I am able to see how beautifully we are all weaved together.”
“Why do you need me if you already know what will happen?”
“Because a life like this, a life that is this aware, will not come again for me. Many things could change what I believe will happen. When I die, this time I will be reborn blind. I will have no knowledge of any past, or fate, but I will feel it, I will feel called to it; that will happen at least ten times before we meet again.”
“And you need me because I will remember. You need me to remind you of what you desire today.”
We halted by the water, and she turned in to face me. “I want to prepare you, but I have my doubts that my words will alter any fate of yours.” Her eyes grew sad. “Your choices will be difficult, and you are so tired at this moment.”
“Prepare me?” I asked, mystified, sure that I was prepared for anything. “I will help you. I admit I am tired, that I envy death, but if I am going to live, then I am going to fight. I will honor the charge given to me by Isis. Altering the fate of others is my destiny. I already know that.”
Willow nodded once. She glanced at the water, then back to me. “You see how this water flows, how it does not argue with the path it is given? You know that it will flow into the ocean, and at some point it will be absorbed into the air and return to the earth. Though its path may take it to several other lands, it may serve as nourishment, or home for nature, but one day it will find its way here again and flow once more down the same path.”
I watched myself, trying to understand her parable. When she saw me struggle with her words, she smiled. “Life is like that. We follow a path, we play many roles over the course of time, but eventually we will return to our beginning. What we do when we return decides if that path will be repeated endlessly or if we’ll forever more be changed, changed into something that would bring peace to our souls, to the world around us.”
“Where are you on that path?” I asked.
“Somewhere in the sky, aware that I will rain down on the earth. I can see each life before me. I know that if the wind blows ever so slightly in a new direction that my course will change. Right now, I am trying to change my course. I’m trying to ensure that when I return to my beginning that I will not flow gently with the current, but that I will swim against it. I will become a wave and cleanse away all that brings suffering. I will find balance, restore this world to what it was meant to be.”
My chest swelled with pride. “Tell me what you see, and I will know what to say to you when you return. I will help you become the wave.”
She gazed at the reflection of the moon on the flowing water; her wise eyes seemed contempt and weary. “My course is mine to understand. The emotions and trials I will face will be what I need to change. I cannot allow you to rob me from that.”
“So, what do you need me to do? Continue to fight what I am fighting?”
Her eyes found mine again. “It does not matter what I need you to do. All that matters is what your soul is telling you. I have sought you out because I know without a doubt I will see you again. Now, whether you are awake and Julia or you are in a new life will be your choice, and right now the wind can blow in any direction.”
“Are you saying I can die? How? I have not sought a way, I assure you, but I can say with certainty that no death can come to me.”
“It can,” she said calmly. “You have to choose to fall.”
“Fall?” I asked curiously.
“Listen,” she said as she looked in the distance. “The man at my side is my soul. We are one, but in life, at times, you must learn from others. I have loved another, and so has he.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked, blushing with shame.
“Because on the path before you, you will have a choice. One that will tempt your heart.”
“Another man?” I asked, clearly not believing her.
Her eyes told me yes.
“I love Silas. He was given to me. I cannot leave him.”
She looked down. “I would say the same today, but I would be lying to myself. I know without a doubt that in the very next life I live, I will be in the arms of another.”
“Are you telling me to make that choice? Is that what this is about? Is that why you wanted to talk to me alone?” Anger and betrayal filled my eyes.
“I don’t know what choice you are going to make; a thousand paths are before you.”
“Then what are you saying? What is the point of this?”
She was silent for a moment as she gazed at the moon, then she looked back at me. “I have loved many souls, some dearly.” She looke
d down. “A dear friend of mine…his life is your hands.”
“Is he going to be bad?” I asked with wide eyes.
“Julia, no one is truly bad or good; they have just forgotten.”
“Are you asking me to spare his life? Are you asking me to die for him?”
“No,” she whispered. “Those choices will be yours when the time comes. He will be passionate and fearless, but the only person that will be able to see him for who he really is, the one person that will be able to pull him from the sleep he is in, is you.”
“Me?”
“When he first lays eyes on you, he will hear my voice, his older brothers. He will fight with the ghost of our memory, but eventually he will wake, he will remember who we needed him to be.”
“So I am to save him. I must make sure I see him so he will wake.”
“When you see him, you will feel a pull, an awakening to your soul. You’re not tired today, but you will be then. You will find hope within him.”
“Are you saying I will...love him?”
“You are meant to love everyone; we all are. Listen to me, your actions and thoughts have already assured your path to him. You will save him, and because you’ve made that choice already, you have assured that we will meet again. By saving him, you will prove that all souls can wake, that the war between darkness and light need not exist, but that is not the choice you will struggle with.”
“I will struggle with loving him,” I said as my face blushed with fear and embarrassment.
She nodded once. “When he wakes, he will be taken from your side, tested and punished by the darkness that seeks souls with the fearless passion he has. You will have two choices: to follow him, or to stay and watch from a distance. I assure you that either course will not change the fact that we meet again.”
“If it doesn’t matter, then what is the point in telling me?”
Her wise eyes danced across my face. “I don’t think anyone can be prepared for a broken heart, or a heart that is big enough to love more than one. I struggled with betrayal in this life. I felt guilt for not always loving the same man, and I will feel it again. At first when I felt that I needed to tell you all of this, I thought it was so I could ask you to tell me when we meet again that my heart is big enough, for you to tell me to love them both and fight for both innocence and darkness, but as I watched you tonight, I knew that was not why I felt called to you. I felt called because what my heart fights, yours will fight. So tonight I am telling you that your heart can love two, that you never really say goodbye to any soul; you simply trust that you will see that soul again, that in the end we are all one.”
“I still don’t understand. Where will I follow your friend? I cannot die.”
“That will be the moment that you will know if you truly love him. If the universe perceives that love to be real, unbreakable, then the gods above wish this path for you, and you will follow him into another life.”
“So if I choose death, if I find some way to die and follow him, then that means he’s who I am meant to be with?”
“Do you not feel commanded to love Silas? Do you not feel that you are obeying by staying at his side?”
“No, I love him.”
“But if you were to ever leave him, would Isis not cross your mind?”
I looked away from her, knowing that she would.
“What I am telling you right now is that if you desire to follow my friend, and you die, then you know that you have not shamed any promise or prayer, but that your soul has followed its counterpart, and that path will be blessed.
“What about Silas? I can’t leave him alone. I could never do that to anyone, especially him. I love him.”
“Silas is a warrior. He is fearless and absolute. I know he will fight at my side in a future that is yet to be written, but I cannot see where his heart will lead him. The only reason I saw yours was because it weaves deeply into my family of souls.”
“Family of souls?”
She nodded once. “Lovers remain lovers, but fathers become sons, daughters become mothers, friends become sisters, brothers, and so on. My friend has played many roles. He has saved me and been the voice of reason time and again. Now the course of life has changed, and I will have to repay him for those acts. When we meet again we will save each other and stand as a voice of reason when our hearts and emotions tempt us to make hasty decisions.”
“Sounds like a great family,” I muttered sadly.
In the eyes of my image, I could see how I envied that, how I missed my family.
“You’re a part of that family now. Regardless of whether you fall or not, you are a part of my path, and I am a part of yours.”
“So if I don’t fall, if I just save him and we meet again, what do you want me to say to you?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Not at first. You may reassure me of who I was over time, even tell me that I found balance with my heart, but who I am now will not be the issue. Who my friend is in that life will not be. Our course will collide just as I dare to become the wave of change, just as we all dare to become that change.”
“Is there anyone else I need to watch over for you? Any more people you want to add to this family?”
“Everyone who chooses to be there will be; have no fear of that.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “Silas will be there. Even if you choose to fall, he will be with us, a part of this.”
“Then what now?”
“Now I will show how powerful you are; you have much to learn.”
At that moment, the world began to shake, and I heard a loud knock that invoked enough fear in me to wake from that memory.
Chapter Nine
Wide-eyed and startled, I found myself back in my car outside of Draven’s house. I glanced to my side and saw that Aden had knocked on the window. I ran my hands across my face, trying to bring myself into focus. I could not believe that I knew her then. That she literally predicted where I would be today. Willow knew I would love Draven. The guilt I had after leaving Silas that night intensified. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I must have ripped his soul in two when I fell, but I also knew that there was no way that the love I had for Draven was shallow or even habit; it was real, real enough to kill me.
I let out a sigh and opened my door and climbed out. Aden was leaning against the side of my car with his arm crossed, looking less than happy to see me.
“What did I do now?” I asked as I closed my door.
He tightened his jaw as the muscles in his arms flexed with frustration. “What is happening to us, Charlie?”
“Like I know,” I said as I leaned against the car beside him.
“That’s not what I mean,” he said in a forced tranquil tone. “You know I get that you and Draven are going through some stuff, that he’s changing and you’re doing your best to hold on to him, but I don’t get why you’re shutting me out. How we’ve lost our trust.”
“What are you talking about? I trust you.”
“Then why are we working against each other?”
“Why do you think we are?” I asked, angling my eyes at him, not sure where this was going.
“I told you to tell me when you talked to Silas. You’ve lied to me about him from day one. Why would you do that? Should I be worried about picking my brother’s heart up off the floor after you break it into a thousand pieces?”
Anger engulfed every part of me as I stood in front of him and glared up at him. “How dare you say that to me? You shut me out. You let him shut me out. Do you really think that I would leave him? That I have something going on with Silas?!”
“How am I supposed to know if you do?! Charlie, he appeared out of nowhere today and kissed you in front of Draven, then had the audacity to tell Draven that he was going to kill him, that if one thought crossed his mind to take your energy that death would come. Did he care that that demon had just force fed him a part of your light, that at that moment every part of Draven’s
soul was at war, that he was fighting with everything he was to push that out of him to do whatever he had to do in order to love you, save you from all of this? No he didn’t, and what did you do? You woke up; you left us there with him, you left us behind. What was your plan, to just love the one that survived? Now what are you going to do, because both of them are still breathing?”
I couldn't stop myself. I reached out and slapped him as hard as I could. Aden held his face where my blow hit him as his eyes blazed with anger.
“You might want to get your story straight before you decide to accuse me of anything,” I said through gritted teeth. “Open your eyes,” I demanded as I let the wall I hid behind in my mind fall and stared at him.
I let my entire day play out for him. I showed him every minute, every escape from death, that demon, what Draven and I said to each other, what Silas said, the words of Willow that still echoed in my mind.
I stared at him for countless minutes and watched a sea of emotions wave across his body. When his pupils returned to their normal shape, I crossed my arms and tilted my head and waited for him to have the nerve to accuse me of doing anything wrong.
Aden let his crossed arms fall. “I’m sorry,” he whispered as he pulled me to his chest. I let an angry tear fall before I pulled away from him.
“Have you convinced him to leave?” I asked.
“No,” he answered quietly. “Charlie, what are we going to do about Madison and Monroe?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that I’m not going to let anyone hurt them.”
“Do you really think Madison hasn’t seen any of this? How can she not with the dreams she has?”
“I don’t know. Monroe said it was just too much for her.”
“At least I now know why Winston is having a hard time picking what team to play for,” he said as he sighed deeply.
My eyes questioned him.
“If his dad’s a demon, that has to be in him.”
“That’s where I’m confused. I think Monroe needs to be in Chara, but I don’t want to bring any demons to their doorstep -- if that’s even the case, that ghost might just be after them for some other reason.”