Madison’s focus was on Willow. “Are you alright?” she asked.
We knew in a matter of seconds that they were going to figure out that those two were now just like Silas: undead. If they didn’t tell Willow and Landen, Winston surely would; he was just that cold.
“No,” Willow said, glancing behind her to make sure Landen had felt whatever she was feeling. “Landen.”
Landen was already coming to Willow’s side. Draven noticed the images for the first time. “What the hell?” he mumbled.
“What do we have here?” Landen asked the boy I hadn’t met. It didn’t take me long to discover his name: Dane. He was Clarissa’s soul mate and Willow’s best friend from childhood.
“You look better,” Dane said, smiling slightly at Landen.
“Just your everyday brush with death. No big deal,” Landen said in a dense tone.
Dane and Clarissa broke eye contact with both Landen and Willow, and I braced myself for the moment when they’d tell them that they didn’t have a brush with death. They died.
“What’s going on?” Willow asked as her eyes moved across them, clearly noticing that they weren’t acting like themselves.
“We found your little friend. Looks like he lost his way,” Dane said, looking at Landen.
“Whatever, man,” Winston said, rolling his eyes and pulling free from them, then walking to Aden. When he got there, he received a slap on the back of the head from Aden.
“Quit being a tool,” Aden said through his teeth. “Where were you? Where’s everyone else?”
“Ask them,” Winston said, crossing his arms, refusing to answer.
“He was looking for his daddy,” Dane said with heavy disgust.
“Were you?” Willow said sarcastically, raising her eyebrows.
“You guys weren’t in Esterious. I didn’t feel you there,” Landen said in a mystified tone. I admit I didn’t know him that well, but it was clear to me that he was using all of his insights as he tried to understand what had happened while he was in The Realm.
“Bingo. This man gets a prize,” Winston said, only to get another slap on the back of the head, from Draven this time.
“Where were you?” Willow asked Dane and Clarissa. “I haven’t seen you in days.”
“Infante,” Clarissa answered, “looking into this Escort thing.”
“That’s not where you found me,” Winston said as he dodged another smack from Aden. “Where were we, chaps? Tell them, why don’t you?”
“A guy named Silas brought him to us. Told us that you knew him, that he needed to be with you,” Clarissa answered.
My stomach fell. If he was going to say it, he needed to say it; this was killing me. I wasn’t ready to watch Landen and Willow fall apart again.
“He just walked up to you and said, ‘Here, take this kid’?” Willow asked disbelievingly.
“Something like that,” Clarissa said, unable to look Willow in the eye.
“Listen,” Dane said, “we have to get back. Just keep him under control.”
“Where are you going?” Landen asked. “Mom’s cooking dinner. Everyone’s going to be there. We need to relax, think things through.”
“They don’t know how to rest in peace,” Winston said as a wicked grin came across his face.
“What is going on?” Willow asked, looking from Winston to Dane and Clarissa.
“Nothing,” Dane promised. “We’re not trying to be rude – not at all. We’ve met a few people who understand The Realm, and we need time to work through it. We’re fine. I swear.”
“We’ll work through it with you,” Willow said in a concerned tone.
“I know you will, but if I don’t understand it enough to explain what I know simply to you, then I need more time,” Dane said, looking down at Willow, pleading for space with his eyes.
“Alright. Space. It’s yours,” Willow mumbled.
“Where are you staying so I can find you?” Landen asked.
“New Orleans. One of Austin’s houses,” Dane answered.
“Is that where you’ve been?” Willow asked.
“Spent a lot of time in the French Quarter,” Clarissa said as she tried to smile.
Dane reached his arm around Clarissa. “We’re going to get back.”
They turned to leave, but Clarissa hesitated, then looked over her shoulder. “Landen, tell Mom I love her. Tell Dad, too...I love all of you.”
Landen’s eyes grew wide as he saw her tears. He stepped forward, but she held her hand out to stop him. “I’m fine. I swear. I’m fine. I just don’t tell you that I love you enough, and I want you to know that I’ve always felt like the luckiest girl in the world. I have the best family in the world. The best brothers.”
She leaned against Dane, and he pulled her close as they disappeared into the glow.
Landen turned around and grabbed Winston by the back of the arm. Draven took his other arm, then they led him on through the string. I was staring at Willow, waiting for her to piece it all together. “Tell her,” Madison whispered to me, then she and Aden walked forward, leaving me in the back with Willow. Thanks guys. No worries. I got this. Not. Madison was the one that could gauge auras, not me. Draven had formed a bond with her. Not me. Yet, I was the one left to explain Silas. Great.
After a second or two, Willow glanced at me. “Why would Silas take Winston to them, and not us? Not you. Not Chara?”
I shrugged my shoulders, finding no words to explain to her what Landen’s sister and her best friend now were. Dead. “He’s unpredictable.”
“What are you not saying to me?” Willow asked.
Am I really that obvious? “I don’t know how to say it,” I mumbled.
“Try,” she said as she all but stopped.
I gritted my teeth and balled my fist. Madison looked over her shoulder and raised her eyebrows, telling me to spill it.
“Silas. Silas isn’t real,” I finally said.
“He looked real to me,” Willow argued.
I rubbed my hands across my face, then let out a deep breath. “I mean, he’s not alive, but he’s not dead. He’s undead.”
“What?!” Willow whispered harshly.
“He’s, like, immortal. Like some kind of archangel or something. He can appear and disappear like a ghost, but there are some places he doesn’t go – or can’t go. He spends a lot of his time in The Realm. A lot of time killing Escorts.”
“So he’s a ghost,” Willow said, clearly not finding that very shocking. I was starting to think that they’d handle this better than I thought.
I moved my head from side to side. “No. My dad is a ghost and he’s not flesh; he’s like Draven’s mom. Silas is different; he’s made of flesh. I don’t know what to call him besides ‘undead.’”
“I still don’t understand why he would take Winston to them.”
I grimaced. “I don’t know. I know that he made a promise to Winston’s mom, to Monroe, that he would protect them, not let The Realm take them. Their dad take them.”
“When did he do that?”
“I don’t know. After Monroe was born. Silas is, like, thousands of years old. That’s my problem: he remembers who I was before, and apparently I was what he was: undead.”
“But you’re not dead now,” Willow said, trying to understand me.
“What is dead anyway? No one is ever really dead. Silas has this whole story. All these unspoken rules. Apparently, when I was what he was, I tried to change Escorts, stop the source of darkness, and...” I said, glancing at Draven, “...it only worked with Draven. He fell in love with me and changed, but when he changed, he became dead, sent into another life. According to Silas, I followed Draven to protect him, and the only way I could do that was to become alive – not undead – and to change again, I must die. There’s more to it, but that’s the gist,” I explained, not wanting to tell her that she was the one that had prepared me for this in another life. I knew she needed rest, a chance to take a breath before she took in all
that I knew.
“Is he dangerous, Charlie?”
I moved my head from side to side. “No. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s helping your friends. I’m sure he’s recounting where we are with the battle of light and darkness.”
“Why wouldn’t he share it with us?” Willow asked.
I couldn’t figure out how, with all senses she had, she hadn’t figured this out yet; that told me that she wasn't ready to hear it, and I wasn’t going to lay it all out for her.
“I’m sure he will. When he’s ready. When he thinks you’re ready.”
We had reached Chara at this point, and I couldn’t be more eager to end this conversation.
Willow nodded for me to step through the passage. Draven was waiting on me on the other side.
Even though I had been to Chara almost every day through seeing, standing in the presence of this peace in the flesh was near numbing.
The sun was setting, which made the lush green fields even more breathtaking. Draven leaned down and gently kissed my lips. This was our victory, even if it only lasted a few hours; we had finally reached the place we’d dreamed about for so long.
“That book isn’t at my house. I looked,” he said quietly to me.
“It’s at mine, under Madison’s bed. At least that’s where I left it.”
He glanced to where Madison was. Preston and Libby, Willow’s baby sister, had met us in the field. Draven’s pupils expanded. “Still there,” he mumbled.
I stood at his side, waiting for it to appear in his hand. I expected it to happen instantly, but it didn’t. I guess he was making sure everything was legit at my house. I was kinda sad. I wanted to go, but I knew my mom had told me not to return until she told me to. Draven knew that, too. I guess that’s why he was going before I had the chance.
Brady pulled up in a Jeep. They had all of our bags loaded before Draven’s eyes returned to green and the black book appeared in his hand. Something was wrong; I could feel it. I couldn't get him to look at me. He put his hand on the small of my back and urged me into the back of the Jeep.
Five minutes. I was able to enjoy the bliss of Chara for all of five minutes. Now, I felt dread. I felt like I was in trouble. Like I was still standing in The Realm. In that wicked forest.
Draven kept his stare with the open fields, refusing to look at any of us. Madison and Aden noticed instantly, but Draven wasn’t letting any of us see him at the moment. This was not good, not good at all.
I nodded along as Landen and Brady talked about Chara and their family, whom we were about to meet. They took us to Willow’s house. August was on the front porch with a host of other people. Draven held my hand as we walked up the steps. He handed the book to August and whispered something to him. August’s eyes grew concerned, then he introduced us to everyone: Willow’s parents, Landen’s, their grandparents, and Brady’s soul mate. I could barely grasp the names; I was too focused on the way Draven was acting.
August nodded for me and Draven to follow him up the stairs. He opened the door to the second room. “Take all the time you need,” August said to us, then he left the room.
Draven let our bags fall to the floor as he closed the door.
“Why do we need time, Draven?” I asked as I glanced around at the guest bedroom we were in, to the balcony doors, which were slightly ajar.
He turned around slowly and urged me to sit on the bed. He then knelt down in front of me and looked at up at me with sorrow in his eyes.
“I love you, Charlie.”
“Love you,” I said as a sick feeling came to me.
“Do you remember how I told you when we were just kids that I would always take care of you? That together we could figure anything out? That we were our own family?”
“Draven,” I said as I clenched my hands on the edge of the bed. He was terrifying me. I didn’t see a goodbye in his eyes, but I saw sorrow; I saw him bracing himself for my heart to break.
He reached gently to hold the side of my face. “She’s missing.”
“Who?!”
“Your mom,” Draven said as he swallowed hard.
“What? How? How do you know that? You were only there for a few minutes. We left, like, yesterday.”
“You know I was there longer than that, baby. Nana was at your house with the police. Your mom hasn't been seen in seventy-two hours.”
“I saw her two days ago, Draven. She saw her way to me.”
“You saw her; no one else has. Charlie...your dad isn’t at the house either.”
“Then he’s either looking for her or with her. He’s always with her.”
Draven moved his head from side to side as his eyes glassed over. “Charlie...they disappeared the hour we came face to face with that evil angel.”
“So this our fault?!” I said as I stood. “We have to find them.”
Draven reached to pull me to him. “Wherever they are, they’re together -- and they chose to be there.”
“How do you know that?!” I argued as I pushed him away and leaned forward on my knees. I felt so sick.
He pulled me up and forced me to look him in the eye. “Charlie, I’ve analyzed everything you showed me about your parents. I tried to get you to talk to me about it before we even left for here – remember?”
I nodded once as tears glassed over my eyes. I was so stupid; all I cared about when he’d asked me why they told me goodbye like that was leaving, getting him and Monroe to people that could help them.
His thumb caught the tears that spilled out of my eyes and brushed them away. “Your mother is brilliant; so is your father. She chose every word carefully when she told you goodbye. They knew this was coming.”
“So what are they, some kind of sacrifice? Ransom? Is that what you’re saying?!”
“I’m saying that there are no goodbyes, and if they’re being held against their will – we’ll find them, Charlie. We’ll figure this out together.”
“We’re figuring it out now,” I said firmly.
He moved his head from side to side. “Nana saw me, and she nodded to a calendar written on it was ‘Kids leave for Paris’ on the date that we left. They’ve constructed a cover story. We need to lay low for a few hours. Then we’ll go figure out what Nana knows. We’ll get these people to help us.”
“I’m not going to sit here and lay low when something is wrong with my parents. What about Kara? I’m sure she’s insane at this point.”
He moved his head from side to side. “Charlie, if I hadn’t told you this, you would have had no that clue something was wrong -- right?”
I nodded. “But I know now.”
“Do you not think you would have known if they were in pain? Would you not have felt it?”
“I’ve been a little distracted...I feel it now,” I argued.
“You feel it because I told you. I know you well enough to know that you would have picked up on something, and that gut feeling -- that pain in your stomach that you always get when you’re in trouble would have come. They’re fine, and we will find them again.”
“What about Kara?” I said, hating that he was right. I didn’t feel that they were in danger, but not knowing that they were safe was more than I could handle.
“I don’t think she knows. I heard Nana tell the officers that she was in flight and that it would be at least a day until they were close to a phone. Honestly, the police didn’t sound that concerned. Apparently, your mom cancelled every meeting she had and told her assistant that she was taking a vacation. The only reason they’re following up is because her office can’t get in touch with her, and she’s never gone this long without contacting with them. We need to let this die down, let Nana and Dad put their cover story in place, then figure this out.”
I swallow his reasoning. I couldn’t comprehend this. “This is to much. I – I can’t handle this.”
He pulled me to his chest. “This evil can’t break us; we love too deeply. Your parents loved too deeply. We’ll find our peace when our
purpose is filled. For now, we fight. Now we love fearlessly because that’s what our family wants us to do -- what we have to do to survive.”
I pulled him closer. I was squeezing him with every ounce of my strength. Fearing that he would vanish, too. That the evil I felt in that forest would torment my soul until I conceded to its victory. I kept hearing my mother’s voice, the promises she forced me to make -- the ones that said I would never concede. She had to have known I would be standing here now. Why couldn’t she just tell me? Why was I forced to learn every lesson first hand?
Draven began to sway me gently from side-to-side. A moment later, he began to hum the first song he wrote for me, my lullaby. Feeling the innocence in his voice, I closed my eyes and let images of my parents come to mind. I was going to find them. I had to know that they were safe, that they were meant to be where they are. That they were not revenge for the evil I fought.
My father had taught me long ago that there were no goodbyes. My mother had taught me to find my own path. Silas had taught me that life is more than the flesh. Monroe had taught me that not knowing what is clearly coming at you is sometimes best, and Aden and Madison had taught me that there’s nothing that I can’t do with them at my side.
And Draven. Draven had taught me that passion is power, that anger fuels desire, that no matter how dark it is -- love would overcome all.
We would overcome this and whatever else was in our path.
I whispered, “I love you,” and he held me tighter, locking us in this surreal moment. He was never going to let me go, and right now that was all that was holding me together.
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.