As Drake made his threat, everyone looked at Landen, only to find him unconcerned about the well-being of Dane. Drake turned to Alamos and pointed to his podium, telling him to get to work. Perodine and August looked at each other, then made their way to the study. Drake let his body release some of the tension that had bound him before he walked back to my body’s side.
“I don’t know what to do,” Marc said, looking at Brady.
Landen never looked up when he answered. “Make sure everyone else is still safe. Find Chrispin, bring him here.”
Brady walked over to Landen and let his hand rest on his shoulder to offer some comfort before he and Marc left. Alamos was now the only one left with Drake and Landen, and he began scrambling through the pages of his tattered book, speaking random phrases in an array of different languages.
Nathaniel and I had now reached the cave, and the only difference in the reflection I was seeing was the darkness from the open ceiling of the observatory. I looked up at him and said, “The present isn’t any better. I need to go. How do I go?”
Nathaniel looked at the water, then back to me. “I don’t think your time is here yet.”
His lack of concern for the pain I was bringing to my family infuriated me. “Do you not see what I’ve done?!” I shouted.
His sympathy immediately rose. “No, I cannot see your life. We only see our own, but it’s not time.”
I looked at the water again, to my ghostly, pale body, to the glass sure to encase me. “Would you tell me if it was already too late?” I asked, prepared to judge his intent and emotion, desperately trying to grasp reality - fearing I’d gone mad.
Suddenly, I felt every emotion I was feeling rushing back to me, then I heard, “It’s never too late to begin again,” from an angelic voice.
As I slowly looked to the opening of the cave, rage and jealousy immediately consumed me. The night we destroyed the original looking glass, the night I faced the worst image I’d ever seen suddenly came rushing back to me. The beautiful girl, the one who pulled Landen’s lips to hers, was standing there. My emotion was reflected in the atmosphere as the wind howled and thunder crashed.
“You,” I said with an angry growl. “You’ve trapped me here so you can take Landen!” I stepped forward and threw a wall of energy at her, but she blocked the force and pushed it back to me. We then both stepped closer, holding a calm expression, both feeling uncontrollable rage and jealousy.
“You’re the devil!” I screamed. As the images of the people who were trapped came to me, lightning exploded in the opening behind her.
“I am not the devil – I’m you!” she yelled over the roaring thunder.
I furrowed my eyebrows as rage came across my face. “You locked him in a shield and made him think I was you – how dare you put us through that?!”
She stepped forward, showing strength equal to mine. “ I saved him,” she said calmly.
I felt her trying to calm both me and her, but the image of her kissing Landen was too strong in my mind, “You couldn’t have just stood there? No, you had to kiss him, look adoringly at him while I watched!”
She looked at the water, then to me. She tilted her head slightly. “How many times have you kissed another?” she asked.
As guilt washed over me, I let my energy fall. “That’s not fair. Most of the times, I didn’t even know who I was – and the others, they never meant anything. I only love one.”
“As do I,” she said, letting her wall of energy fall.
Confusion consumed me. This couldn’t be Aella; she didn’t look like me at all. “Who are you?”
Nathaniel stepped cautiously between us and faced me. “ Aella,” he answered.
I shook my head no. “Do twins not look alike?” I asked as I glanced at the water, to Landen laying his head at my side; at that moment, I couldn’t care less about discovering that I was right, that there was another that should love Drake.
“Likeness is in the eye of the beholder,” Nathaniel said quietly.
“He’ll never believe you,” I whispered, thinking of Drake, feeling hopeless. As I took in that emotion, the air grew frigid and snow drifted through the opening of the cave.
“When his time comes, when he stands before his soul mate, no one will need to convince him. For now, you must fill that void,” Nathaniel said with sympathy.
“When? Are you crazy? The time is now!” I yelled with the thunder that roared with my emotions.
Aella shook her head no.
“What more do you want?! Have you not been watching? Do you not understand?” I said as angry tears washed down my face.
“I understand that I’m a reflection of what you need to see right now. I understand that you’re blind to the power within your soul – at war with your mind,” Aella said.
“You know what? Forget it. I’m going now. I can’t stand here and know that I’m hurting them this way,” I said, turning to go to the water.
Instantly, Nathaniel’s fear grew, and he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me. “It’s not time,” he whispered.
“You said you couldn’t see what I see; tell me how you know,” I demanded through gritted teeth, knowing he believed the emotion he was portraying.
“Trust me,” Nathaniel said as he struggled against my energy.
I looked over my shoulder to find him staring at the water as if he were taking in a silent message. I turned back to the water, but all I saw was my body, with Drake and Landen grieving at my side. Alamos had retreated to the study, hoping to find answers in the scroll with Perodine.
“I don’t understand,” I said, falling to my knees.
Aella knelt at my side. “It’s just not safe...not yet,” she whispered. As she wrapped her arm around me, my exhausted soul leaned into her. We sat in a numbing silence as I tried to comprehend what was happening to me.
As Brady and Marc returned with Chrispin, Drake and Landen didn’t bother to look up. Chrispin walked to Landen’s side; I could feel his sorrow for everything Landen was going through, what Olivia was going through - but at the same time, I felt an odd calm.
“Chrispin found a way onto the island. Will you mediate so he can show you?” Marc asked Landen.
Landen didn’t answer. I could feel how lost he was, and it was tearing me in two.
“It’ll only take a minute. The two of you need to see what you’re up against, and bringing those priests down might help bring her back,” Brady said to Landen.
Drake looked up, “I’ll go. I’ll try anything.”
Landen looked across my body at Drake’s dark, waiting eyes and nodded. They then stood from their stools, and the five of them sat in a circle in the center of the room. Seconds went by, then each of their souls rose and went to the stairway that led to the roof.
“I wanna see what they see,” I said, raising from Aella’s shoulder.
“We can’t; we can only see where your body is,” Aella said, reaching to tuck a lock of my hair behind my ear.
I looked at her with utter confusion. “Where’s your body? I don’t understand.”
Aella looked at Nathaniel for some kind of guidance, but he simply shook his head no once.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Dane in the threshold. I turned to the water. I felt so bad for him. With me gone, there was no one to there to defend him. Aella looked at me as if I were insane. I edged closer to the water, and as I did, Dane fearlessly walked to my body. As he leaned closer to me, his image consumed the reflection in the pool I was gazing into. I found a degree of comfort in his face, just like I always have. Nathaniel and Aella both stood at my side. I could feel rage building in the both of them, and I didn’t understand why.
At that moment, the image of Dane rose in the water. His body towered over us, reaching the roof of the cave. I fell back on my arms, too stunned to know what to do. The watery image of Dane held an expression of hatred, then leaned forward - and in a voice I’d never heard before - said, “Stay here or you
will watch them die!”
My soul was vibrated by the pure evil I saw before me. Nathaniel and Aella raised their hands and pushed their energy at the watery image of Dane; as their energy met the image, thunder crashed and lighting flashed. Beneath the image of Dane, I saw the flawless evil angel I was at war with, then all at once the image fell back into the water. I struggled to catch my breath as Nathaniel and Aella came to my side.
Once I realized that both Landen and Drake were right, anger engulfed me. I warily leaned closer to the water. The guys were back from their mediation, and Dane had been caught, red-handed, hovering over me. Landen was the first to his feet. He pulled Dane away from me and flung him to the wall, Drake quickly followed, holding him feet from the ground. I was terrified for Landen; I knew he had no idea what he was really fighting: a demon. “What did you say to her?” Landen demanded through his teeth.
“Calm down, Landen!” Brady screamed.
Drake was at his side. “You’re a dead man!”
“What did you say?!” Landen demanded again.
“I told her to stay,” Dane said under the pressure of Landen’s forceful energy.
“Stay?!” Drake repeated. “You want her to stay like this?!”
Dane’s eyes moved to my body. “She knew what I meant.”
“Move, Landen,” Drake said, trying to break Landen’s hold on Dane.
“If you kill me, she’ll never forgive you – in this life or the next!” Dane shouted into the room.
Landen let his energy fall, then reached his arm out to block Drake. “We have more to worry about than this.”
The moment Dane was free from Landen and Drake’s attention, Marc rushed him from the room.
“Oh my God...they were right,” I moaned. “How did I not know all these years?”
Aella pulled me to her. “It hasn’t been years,” she said, caressing my hair, “only days...”
“What?” I said, leaning back to look in her calm blue eyes.
“The darkness doesn’t reside in one place at one time. When you were distracted by Venus, fighting for your life, Dane was consumed; his soul was ushered away.”
My eyes raced back and forth as I replayed those dark moments. I was distracted, and the last time I remembered Dane acting like himself was right before I saw the evil angel.
“He’s gone?” I asked as grief for my best friend set in.
“No, just trapped,” Nathaniel promised.
“Are you telling me that my Dane is trapped somewhere? Can I get him back? They have no idea he’s gone...they think he ‘s evil...I promise you, they’ll make no attempt to save him,” I said in a rushed panic.
“There’s hope. When the devil’s needs are met, or when you pass this trial, the evil should leave his image once again,” Nathaniel promised.
I was frozen in place, struggling to understand what this place was. I felt panic begin to seep through my veins. “Again? This has happened before?” I choked out.
“A few times,” Nathaniel answered.
“How do we stop it from happening again?” I asked, knowing that must be why Drake remembered a dark past.
“Many are tested before they’re chosen to rise. Dane has been tested more severely than all of you; if he survives this, it will be his last test.”
“He’s surviving - mark my words. Tell me what to do,” I said desperately.
“When you pass this trial, when you have a victory, ash will fall once again and the image of this dark soul will vanish.”
“What’s with the ash? Can I not just end this? Do I have to face all these stupid planets?” My questions rushed out of me as the eagerness to end this battle surfaced.
“The ash represents the part of the fire you put out. The only way to end this would be to face the trials of each planet at once, and you aren’t that strong – yet,” Aella answered.
“I’m not, but the four of us would be,” I rebutted.
“It’s going to take more than four,” Nathaniel muttered.
The rest of my family suddenly came to mind, and I knew then that there was no way to protect them; I needed them to defeat this demon.
“Four is a start,” I said, looking to my side at Aella. “You’re coming back with me.”
Her eyes reflected no. “I told you, I’m a mirror image of what you need to see right now – not your solution.”
“I wasn’t asking. I need you to be with Drake, to take that burden away from me - whether you like it or not.”
“He’s not a burden to you,” she said as she fearlessly held my stare. For a second, it did feel like I was looking into my own soul, fighting with my wandering thoughts. “I know how you feel about Drake; you can hide that from Landen, but not me,” she said firmly.
“How I feel?” I said sarcastically. “You mean guilty, right?! Guilty because he deserves to feel love, guilty because he remembers a time when I did love him - and I can’t.” I stopped my rant and tilted my head, toying with the idea that I’d been right all along. “Was that even me?” I asked.
“The time he speaks of was with you,” she answered, then reached for my chest. “It’s all there – everything. You’re so consumed with your body that you’ve hindered your soul’s memory. If you would allow yourself to meditate on your battles, you’d find the answer.”
“Right now, you need to focus on control,” Nathaniel said firmly.
I didn’t understand why he was so concerned over me controlling my emotions. This power to move the atmosphere with that energy didn’t belong to me; although, I had to admit that spending time around Aella had shown me the power behind emotions, just how fierce they could be.
I grew too tired to argue with either of them and began to focus on the images in the water. I’d become fearful for their lives, afraid that whoever Dane was could hurt them. I could feel the distant emotions of everyone. I watched as Beth, Stella, and Rose came to see me. I heard their whispers of strength and saw each of them try to comfort Landen and Drake; sadly, it didn’t make a difference.
My father, Alamos, and even Perodine would come in from moment to moment. Each time Perodine or Alamos would come near my body, they’d soak their hands in the pool, then slowly move their wet fingertips across my face.
“Should I do that more often?” Landen asked Perodine in a hoarse voice as he watched her let the water run over my brow.
“This is enough,” she answered quietly.
“Is it helping?” he asked solemnly.
“This water has her energy within it. I would like to think that it’s building her strength. She’s coming to an understanding, a clarity...she will come back to you.” She looked at Drake. “To the both of you.”
“The question is, will we still be here?” Drake said quietly.
“Do not let Alamos’ fears hinder you. If the two of you hold fast to the faith that you’ll prevail, this will pass.”
“How can you be so sure?” Drake asked her with unbelieving eyes laced with anger.
She put her hand on his shoulder. “I’m merely certain that this is nothing compared to what will be. She needs this; she’s growing stronger.” Then she silently walked back to her study.
Drake shook his head and reached for my pale hand. Landen leaned forward and laid his head against my shoulder, struggling with his emotions as he sought the faith that Perodine told him to find.
Chapter Sixteen
As the night moved forward, the skin on my body began to grow even paler. The grief I could feel from Landen was unbearable; I could just barely hear his thoughts as he tried to speak to me. I leaned closer to the pool, wanting to hear him.
Tell me you’re OK...come back to me...give me a sign, he thought in a tender tone.
Tears streamed down my face. “I was so mean to him...if I had just listened,” I said, glancing to my side at Aella.
“What is he saying to you?” she asked tenderly.
“He wants me to tell him that I’m OK. How much longer are you gonna
make me wait?”
She leaned forward. “Let’s tell him you are.”
Hope began to rise in me. “It’s time?”
She moved her head from side to side. “Dane’s watching. If you go back now, he’ll find a different way to stop you. We have control of this trial now.”
“I’m going back before they leave for the ceremony. He hasn’t stopped me; if anything, he’s helped me. I know you’re real now,” I argued.
Her eyes moved to Nathaniel, whose young eyes grew serious. “The devil didn’t send you here; the looking glass did. He assumed you’d die, or at least be consumed with agony. Now he has no doubt that you have control of the looking glass’ power - and the devil is infuriated.”
“Can he destroy it?” I asked, realizing he was telling me the truth.
He nodded. “All he has to do is take control of one of you.”
“Will it do more harm than good if I use it?”
“I don’t know. I just know the devil doesn’t want you to have it.”
Nathaniel leaned closer to the water as if he were listening again.
“Do you see what I see now?” I asked.
He didn’t answer me. Aella leaned closer to me. “He can only see his life,” she whispered quietly.
A moment later, he looked at Aella and nodded once, then sat down again.
“If you want to give Landen comfort now is the time.”
I furrowed my eyebrows as I tried to understand the two of them, where I was, if any of this was real. “How can I talk to Landen? Can he hear my thoughts?”
“No, but he can feel the wind,” she answered, smiling slightly.
“Watch Drake,” she said quietly.
As she leaned forward and blew air gently from her lips, I watched as it turned to ember and raced into the water; a moment later, I saw the warm, red air circle Drake as if it were gently embracing him. Drake looked up, then at my body, his eyes widening as he gripped my hand.
“You have to do that to Landen...that’s not fair,” I demanded knowing that whatever she did had reached Drake.