I tried to move to her, but the shadows I’d called were blocking me, growing denser. I had to get them to go away so I could get to Madison. I mumbled a few words, but then I realized I wasn’t entirely sure what language I was speaking, and I didn’t want to say the wrong words, so I just let my shield fall, then showed them my love for Draven. They became silent, then they exploded into light, giving me a path to my best friend as she lay dying on the floor.
Olivia was at Madison’s side, and Willow was standing in the center of the hall, full of what could only be rage. With a thought, she picked the man up that had hurt Madison and flung him against the wall next to the other man. The force of that man’s body, along with an eruption of thunder, caused the music down the hall to stop.
I dove across the floor to Madison, begging her to look at me. Her eyes were glassed over; she was slipping away. I felt someone pull me away; it was Draven. I struggled against him as Willow’s father and Aden went to her side. “He can help her! He can help her, baby!” Draven kept saying to me. I couldn't figure out why he wouldn't let me go to her, why he was keeping his distance, locking me in his arms.
Willow showed no mercy with those men. She was crushing them with her thoughts and would have killed them if Brady hadn’t pulled her away. I don’t know what he said to her, but he calmed her down. The hallway was filling with people, people I felt I could trust. Tears were streaming down my face; my best friend was dying feet from me, and I couldn't go to her. I led her there, knowing that it was dangerous, that she looked so much like Willow.
Olivia stood and ran from Madison’s side as Willow knelt down next to her. I could only hope that Olivia was going to get something for Jason, Willow’s father, something that could stop the pain I could see in Madison’s eyes. Sweat was pouring from her. Jason ripped her shirt open, and that was when I saw how bad it was. That man had stabbed her, just under her ribs. Blood was gushing from her body, and she was gasping for breath.
Willow asked how bad it was, and her father said she needed surgery, that a lung had been punctured. I knew he was a doctor or something, but I couldn’t understand how he knew that much about what was wrong with Madison; all I could see was blood.
What happened next seemed to occur in slow motion. Willow’s eyes grew distant, as if she were taking in some kind of lesson; I swear I saw her begin to glow. I stopped my struggle against Draven. I was now just as terrified for him as I was for Madison. I didn’t think he could handle seeing this. I pushed him behind me, but he refused to move. His body was as hard as a rock as his eyes stared at Willow and Madison.
Willow reached her hands for the wound; a second later, the glow I thought I saw around Willow intensified. Madison began to glow; it was like Willow was pushing a part of herself inside of Madison. It was terrifying and beautiful at the same time.
All at once, Madison gasped and sat up. The wound was gone. Blood still stained her skin, but that was the only evidence left. I felt Draven let out a deep breath. I turned to look at him; he was in a cold stare. I reached for his face and pulled him to look at me. “Draven!” He blinked and swallowed the hunger I saw in his eyes. “You’re OK,” I said. He nodded once, then let the hold he had on me go. As soon as I was free, I dove across the floor to Madison’s side.
Willow and Madison were embracing each other; Madison was whispering something to her that Willow clearly didn’t agree with. I broke them apart and embraced Madison as tightly as I could. “Don’t ever scare me like that again,” I said over and over.
She squeezed me tight. “I felt what you fight for. I felt how soul mates feel,” she whispered to me.
I looked at her curiously as I helped her up. “I’m sure it’ll feel even better when it’s your love you feel.”
“I think a part of him is inside me,” she whispered as she blushed slightly. “His energy.”
I glanced at Willow, who was talking to Draven and Aden. Draven was keeping his distance, but the hunger in his eyes was fading. I knew I could see more of Willow’s life than Madison, that I was almost sure that Willow, Drake, and Landen had somehow shared their power, their energy with each other - and Willow had just pushed some of that into Madison to heal her.
“I’m gonna give it back,” Madison promised quietly.
“No. No, you’re not. It saved your life,” I said as fear came to me.
She nodded, but I knew that whatever ideas she had in her head weren’t changed. I tried to see what she went through, what Willow said, or how she did what she did, but all I saw was a blinding light.
Perodine and the man I saw in a cloak earlier were in the hall now. His name was Alamos, and from what I could see in a glimpse, he was just as old, just as powerful as Perodine. Those bad men had been carried off, and now everyone was just trying to catch their breath.
“Step away from the walls,” Perodine said to everyone.
Perodine and Alamos walked side by side down the hall, chanting words. With their words, a light blue glow spread across the walls, then down the hall; it was like they were sealing it with some kind of energy. Those men had come from behind a painting; that was the noise I’d heard before we were attacked. I guess they thought they could seal this hall, protect us from evil people.
“And that’s why they call her the Great Witch,” Madison mumbled.
Willow turned to look at her. “It’s not magic. It’s a focused thought. Her willpower is creating that. She’s lived a long life. Lot of will power.”
“Where I come from, they call that a witch,” Madison said slyly. “I’m gonna change, then I’ll be ready. Are you?”
Willow nodded.
Madison turned to go to the room our stuff was in. I followed her, but she turned to stop me. “Go talk to him.”
“Who?”
“What do you mean, ‘who’? I’m sure that almost killed Draven. Make sure he’s still on our team before we start this war.”
“Why would he not be?” I asked I was numb from the adrenaline rushing through my body.
She rubbed her side, obviously still in shock herself. “Charlie, you can deny that he’s broken all you want, but he’s hungry, and me and Willow just laid a feast before him. I’m sure in some way he’s in pain. Talk to him. Be angry, be sympathetic, be whatever you have to be to make sure he doesn’t slip, not after what I just went through for these people.”
I nodded blankly and glanced over my shoulder. Draven was staring right at me. I waved for him to follow me.
I opened the closest door to me. It was a little kitchen area that I was sure servants used to take care of whoever was on this floor. Draven followed me in and closed the door behind him.
“Look at me,” I said, noticing he was purposely avoiding my eyes. It looked like it took everything he had, but his eyes met mine.
“Why did you hold me back? Why would you not let me help her?”
He didn’t answer me.
“Draven!”
“Charlie.” He let out a tense sigh. “I had to protect you. Someone tried to kill you, and I didn’t know if more were coming and I couldn’t get any closer to Madison...I had to hold you back.”
“Why could you not get closer to our dying best friend?”
He stepped boldly closer to me and glared into my eyes. “Because light was pouring out of her! Because her energy was screaming my name, begging me to take it in.”
“Haven’t we talked about this?” I asked firmly.
“Charlie, do you think you can tell me to pull from myself, then all of a sudden I’m healed from this curse?” he asked as anger blazed though his eyes. “I did what I had to do. I protected you; they were taking care of her.”
“Draven we are one, all of us. These people may be a little off course, but one thing is for sure: they work as a team; they would never leave anyone behind. You’re on our team, one of us - so you can’t leave anyone behind. You’re strong enough to do this. I know you are.”
His eyes were filled with agony. It was kil
ling me to see him hurt this way. “That makes one of us. Charlie, the only reason I’m going after those boys is because I know they’ll be able to protect you. That their intentions aren’t ruled by a broken heart like Silas.”
“Able to protect me, huh? Yet you - the man I love more than the air I breath - is the one that’s saving them. Seems to me that you’re the one with the power. Not them. If you go in The Realm, you’re not going in there for me; you’re going in there because you’re prepared to look this curse in the eye and tell it to go to hell and stand at my side, all of our sides.”
He stepped forward abruptly and pulled me to him, then leaned in to kiss me, but he hesitated; it was like he was fighting something. I reached up and pulled his lips to mine. I didn’t hold anything back as every emotion from anger to passion seeped through my lips. He needed to know that I needed him and that I wasn’t going to walk away from him. I wasn’t going to let him walk away from us. My eager hands moving across his chest and shoulders, expressing more than the words I could have used as an argument at that moment.
A knock on the door stopped us from losing control. He pulled away first. “Let’s end this,” he said breathlessly as his eager hands rushed down my sides once more.
I nodded, even though I knew it wasn’t an end; it was a beginning.
Madison was the one on the other side of the door. She looked between us. “OK there, buddy?” she asked.
He nodded once. “I’m gonna make sure Willow knows what to expect when we step in there,” he said, then walked away before I could say another word.
“Well?” Madison asked. I opened my mind up and let her see what I said to him.
She moved her head from side to side. “You’re going to have to get meaner than that.”
“What?!”
“Charlie, you know him better than I do, so I don’t know how you can’t see this. Anger fuels that hunger, but all you manage to do is make him turn it into passion, an angry passion, and I’m sure that’s exhilarating and all - but it’s not helping.”
“What do you want me to do?” I asked, blushing, wishing I’d cut off what I showed her earlier.
“Next time he acts like that, get mad. Mad as hell. Make him mad. As soon as he figures out he can be mad and not pull away from you, then he’ll trust himself.”
“What if he does pull? What if it happens in The Realm and Silas shows up and kills him? What then? I think I’d rather stick with the angry passion.” Who could complain about that? Seriously? My heart was still racing.
She moved her head from side to side. “I don’t care what Silas says, killing Draven would ensure that you’d never love him again. Draven has more leeway than he thinks. Silas would hold back until he had no other choice.”
“Fine,” I said as a sick feeling came over me. I hated fighting with Draven, even it was for his own good.
I felt the stares of others and glanced over my shoulder and saw Perodine and Jason watching at us.
“Let’s go figure out what that’s all about,” Madison mumbled, urging me to go.
Chapter Fifteen
As I was walked over to them, I focused on Jason, trying to figure out with a glance how he knew what was wrong with Madison. It didn’t take me long to understand that I was right before, that he wasn’t an ordinary doctor; apparently, he had some kind of sixth sense that allowed him to see all that was wrong inside of someone, like some kind of X-ray vision. Knowing that I wasn’t thrilled with the way he was looking at Madison, I saw a concern in his eyes.
“Thanks again,” Madison said, trying to act casual toward him, acting as if she’d known him her entire life.
“How are you feeling?” Jason asked Madison.
“You tell me,” she said, noticing how concerned he looked.
“Do you want me to be blunt?” he asked.
She nodded.
“You should be dead. That knife went right through your lung.”
“But I’m not,” Madison said, raising her eyebrows.
“Right. There’s a dam around that wound now.”
“A dam? What are you saying? She’s not healed?” I asked frantically.
“She’s fine,” Jason assured me. “But Willow has never healed before, and though I’m amazed by what she did, I’m not sure how permanent it is.”
“So what do we do? Are there hospitals here?” I asked.
“No,” Jason said. “Looking at you now, there’s no sign of any damage, even if there was a place to take you to. I’m only telling you this so you can exercise caution.”
“So she doesn't need to go in The Realm?” I clarified.
“I’m going,” Madison said firmly.
Perodine cleared her throat. “I think what Jason is trying to say is that the two of you need to find Landen, and quickly.”
“Why? For Willow?” I asked, not grasping this one-track mind they all seemed to have.
“No, for Madison,” Jason corrected. “Landen is a healer, and I mean he is a divine healer; he heals so deeply that he erases it. If anything happens, if any one of you get hurt, you make sure you get to him as fast as you can.”
“He’s asleep in there. You realize that, right?” I asked.
“I’m just saying if you have a choice, wake him first. Even if he isn’t completely focused, he would be able to heal, better than my daughter did,” Jason said in a calm tone.
“So as a doctor, you’re OK’ing Madison going into this battle zone,” I clarified.
“As a doctor, yes; as a father, no. But if I can’t stop my own daughter, I doubt I can stop her,” Jason said as he casually looked over Madison once again.
“Divide and conquer, wake the healer, that’s what you need to do,” Perodine said to me.
I nodded and looked at Madison, noticing how overly confident she was.
“Can we speak with Madison alone?” Jason asked.
“Why?”
“We just want to explain the risk to her, and I think I’d have better luck if she wasn’t looking you in the eye,” Perodine said to me.
“I’m going regardless,” Madison promised.
“I’m sure you are, but I’m not letting you go without explaining the risk clearly,” Perodine said firmly.
Madison and I both stared at the woman, but all I could see was the image of Drake when I looked at her. Madison nudged me to go into the room. I didn’t argue with her; I was numb at this point and ready to get this over with. I would make it my personal mission to wake Landen up. I was confident that I could reach him rather quickly, or at least trick Bianca into showing me where he was.
Inside the room, Aden, Draven, and Brady were talking to Willow. People were walking in and out, setting up an altar at the foot of the bed. There was already a ring of salt around the bed; at least it looked like salt.
I felt someone touch my shoulder, and I turned to see Olivia. “Hey,” I said quietly. “Monroe get to Chara?”
“She did. She told me to give you this,” Olivia said, handing me a ring. I recognized it; Monroe wore it on her thumb, it looked like a vine. I slid it on my finger, and I swear at that second I felt calm, very calm.
“Did she say anything, like point out a color or something?” I asked, thinking of the night of Draven’s test, the night I found him in the color of purple as Monroe had casually mentioned.
Olivia looked curiously at me. “I asked her if this would be over when we found Landen and Drake’s bodies in there, and she said ... she said it wouldn't begin to be over until we found Bianca’s. Have you ever seen her there?”
I focused my eyes on Olivia as I analyzed every one of her words. “First of all, Monroe spoke to you; that must mean she trusts you. I’ve seen Bianca in The Realm more times than I care to recount, but I’ve never been able to kill her.”
Olivia glanced at the bed, then to me. “Are you sure you’re fighting her? What if she’s really laying in a bed somewhere, and you’re killing an illusion or something?”
“Inter
esting,” I mumbled. “Feels good to try, though. Besides, if you die there, you die here, so... I guess if that were to be true, she’d have to be an illusion inside of one. As crazy as that sounds.”
“When we get these boys back, we’ll figure her out,” Olivia said confidently.
I twirled the ring on my finger, noticing that even though I should have a thousand emotions coursing through me, I was calm enough to see clearly. Even though I recognized the seriousness of what was about to happen, I had no fear of it, of anything. “Dreaming what you’ve dreamed - do you really think there’s going to be a tomorrow?” I asked, expecting my death with no emotion.
Olivia glanced at Willow. “She’s more balanced than she looks. When I first had that dream, I would’ve told you no, but now that you’re here...I’m going to say yes.”
I nodded and gave her a faint smile, telling her without words that I didn’t share her confidence. I then walked across the room to Draven. I didn’t know if this ring I was wearing was doing something to me, or if the adrenaline had just exhausted itself from my body, but I felt so calm. Aden glanced over me, noticing my fingers twirling the ring in place. His eyes questioned me, but I had no answers to give him, so I looked away from his intense stare laced in reasonable fear.
I kept glancing into the hall at Madison with Perodine and Jason. I didn’t know what they were saying to her, but it was clear that Madison was growing more and more determined to end this as quickly as possible. Every time she stepped toward us, Perodine would either say something to halt her or reach for her arm.
Willow was standing with Draven and Aden. “Are you alright?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I mumbled, still trying to understand the calm I was feeling. As I reached Draven’s side, he put his arm around me and I leaned into him, feeling his magnetic energy; it was making me even calmer. He glanced down at me with alarm in his eyes.
“What?” I whispered.
He leaned into me and whispered. “You’re dim.”