Felicity stood and went in the house. She
returned moments later with a carrier for Allie. I laid her down
gently, and the four of us gathered in the front yard next to
Marc.
“Do you think you can do this?” I asked
Felicity.
She smiled. “Ashten and Aubrey have already
taught me and Brady. We even know how to join our energy to
strengthen us,” Felicity answered, blushing a little.
I looked at Olivia and Clarissa. “Did you
guys figure it out?” I asked, almost amused. They both laughed.
“It didn’t take us long,” Clarissa said,
looking behind me at Dane, who was being held in the air by
Landen.
I shook my head, smiling, glad that others
could feel how amazing it was when the energy of two soul mates
combined.
We settled, clearing our mind. I was the
first to rise. Olivia was a moment behind me, and Clarissa and
Felicity appeared at the same time. They drifted in the direction
of Landen and the others. Meanwhile, I gazed at the heavens, which
were a sea of pearls, full of color. I walked in my own direction
to the center of the lush green field and breathtaking flowers. I
let my soul settle there, watching the white glow open and settle
around me as I lay down and watched the heavens flow above me.
I questioned every step I’d taken in my life
since mid-August. Just a few months ago, I was ordinary, lost in
the routine of life, watching the clock tick by; within one breath,
though, it seemed like my universe had moved. I found Landen, a
purpose for my gifts, and lives that I’d lived before were told to
me as if they were read from a moving novel, separate from the
ordinary person that I was.
I’d made mistakes. It seemed like every time
I took ownership of my gifts, someone suffered; now, I’d not only
have to take ownership of my gifts, I’d have to lead at Landen’s
side - innocents to save innocents. I let each person I loved pass
through my thoughts, asking this beautiful sky - not to take them
from me. I asked that it be I and I alone to bear whatever burden
was to come.
I felt a peace come over me, more powerful
that what man himself could have in his soul. It was as
breathtaking as the energy I felt when I helped someone, and it was
beautiful as the love Landen gave me. It was there that I found the
courage I needed to lead, to take the path that I’d chosen.
The light behind the sky seemed to be
dimming into dusk. I rose and drifted back to my home. Marc’s body
was still sitting in the front yard; I knew he needed to move. I
made my way inside my home to where Marc and Stella were lying on
my couch, and I fell into their energy; The love I felt from them
was incredible.
“Marc, I need you to wake so we can move you
inside; you have to take care of your body if you want to keep your
strength,” I said into the darkness.
I could feel his resistance, and so could
Stella. “Go, Marc; you’ll come back to me...I know you will,”
Stella said in a voice of pure innocence.
I rose, giving them a chance to say goodbye.
When I opened my eyes, I was back in my body. The others had left;
only Marc and I remained. I could feel Landen close; he was leaning
against the rail of the porch, patiently waiting for me. Seconds
later, Marc’s eyes opened, and his Aura was almost completely
yellow.
Landen stepped down off the porch to help us
both up. “You need to eat before you meditate again,” he said to
Marc.
We could both feel Marc’s anticipation to
return to Stella. I took Landen’s hand, and we made our way into
the house.
In the kitchen, our counter was full of
every kind of food you could imagine. I smiled up at Landen. “What
army do they think we’re feeding?” I teased.
Marc looked at Landen, then to me. “The
strongest army that’s ever existed,” he said, sure of himself.
Landen helped me fix plates for all of us as
Marc melted into a chair at the table. Landen then placed Marc’s
plate in front of him as we took a seat next to him. Marc looked
down at his plate, then up at us. “What are we going to do?” he
asked.
Landen slid Marc’s plate closer to him,
encouraging him to eat. “You need your strength,” he said
softly.
“I need to know that we can help her,” Marc
argued.
Landen sighed. “Tonight when the moon rises,
we’re going to meet Perodine next to the waterfall. We have high
hopes that she’ll be able to tell us what must be said or done to
bring Stella back,” he explained.
“How is she going to meet you? That
waterfall is not in her dimension.”
“Preston said she’d be at the gate. Dad and
Jason are going to step through and bring her to us.”
“Ashten and Jason?” Marc questioned, “I
should go. Brady, Chrispin, we should go in there - you know what
happened last time,” Marc argued.
“Yeah, we do. They won’t see Jason or Dad as
a threat; the rest of us will be alongside the string, and if
something goes wrong we’ll all step in,” Landen said, looking at
me.
“I’m going,” Marc said.
“No, Stella needs you,” I said with a sense
of finality.
Marc looked at me, trying to smile before he
began eating his food. We all ate in silence. When we were through,
I cleared away the plates. Marc leaned back in his chair, and his
eyes drifted between me and Landen. “Am I the only one that
realizes how weird this is? I mean, think about it: you saw Stella
before I ever did, and if you hadn’t been trapped inside Evelyn, it
would have taken me forever to find her. I’d walked over the
streets that she worked under over and over again; I felt her, I
just couldn’t see her. I just don’t understand why it had to be so
complicated, why the two of you had to suffer for me to find her?”
Marc said, feeling guilty.
Landen reached his arms out for me to come
to him, and I walked over to him and settled in his lap. He looked
at me intently before turning to answer Marc. “I wouldn’t want to
relive one second of being away from Willow again, but it’s hard
for me to regret those moments, knowing the reward we’ve
received.”
I wrapped my arms around Landen’s neck and
pulled him closer to me, hiding my face. I was overjoyed that
Stella and Marc had found one another, but I regretted everything
that had happened - and like Marc, I didn’t understand why Landen
and I had to pay such a high price for something that already
belonged to Stella and Marc.
I heard Marc slide his chair back, and I
looked up. “Do I need to go outside again?” he asked us.
I stood, allowing Landen to stand. “I’d
rather you stayed inside the house; it’s important that your body
remains undisturbed while you’re with Stella,” Landen said.
Marc nodded and made his way to the living
room. We followed him, willing to help give him peace if he needed
it. Marc settled next to Stella on the couch, and I grabbed a
blanket and covered them both. Marc closed his eyes, and we felt
his peace come over him. Moments later, we watched as his energy
moved from his body to Stella’s.
“
Where is everyone?”
I
questioned.
Landen smiled at me and reached for my hand,
then gently pulled me from the living room to the stairs.
“They’ve gone to strengthen themselves before tonight,”
Landen thought.
We both smiled and felt the anticipation as
we climbed the stairs. In our room, we settled across our bed and
rose together. The sun had just fallen, and we knew we only had a
few hours before we had to leave to meet Perodine. Not knowing what
the night would hold, we took full advantage of the strength that
we’d need and let the rush consume us both.
Chapter Eighteen
As we felt others approaching our house, we
brought ourselves back. I then changed into the familiar black
attire that we all wore when we traveled through the string while
Landen watched me silently, lost in his thoughts. We were both
nervous, unsure of ourselves; it seemed that what we’d asked for -
to help the people in Esterious - was being given to us. Who would
have thought, though, that getting what you wanted could be so
terrifying?
“If Donalt grows weaker as you grow
stronger, would that not mean that Perodine is growing weaker? Does
that mean that she’s dying?” I asked Landen in a cracked voice. I
didn’t want to lose Perodine before I had a chance to know her
again.
Landen walked over to me and pulled me close
to him. “Perodine is not Donalt; she’ll leave this life when she
chooses, and I don’t think she’s ready to leave. She wants to see
us help, and she waited for us to come again,” he said, moving his
hands to my face as he searched deep in my eyes.
“I love you, Landen,” I whispered.
He moved his lips to mine.
“I love
you,”
he thought as he took my breath away.
On our porch, our fathers, Brady, Chrispin,
Olivia, Dane, and Clarissa were waiting patiently. It was clear to
see that each of them had grown stronger; the white line that
surrounded them was wide and bright.
Silently, we all walked to the passage in
the field. Landen wrapped his arm around me, and I twirled the ring
on my finger, wanting it to protect all of us for what lie ahead.
We stepped through the passage first; it had been days since my
body had felt the hum and current that flowed through this amazing
part of nature...once again, I felt at peace.
As we walked closer to Esterious, the
current intensified. Landen led us all through the passage to the
waterfall, which was just before the passage that led to Patrick’s
home, our allies in that world. The air was humid, and the
waterfall roared, making its raw energy known. We passed it slowly,
gazing at the glow of white that hummed around the power of the
water. In the darkness of the covered forest, I could see the
passage that I’d made a few months ago.
“Can you see the passage?” Landen asked his
father.
Ashten looked at my father, Jason; it was
clear that they didn’t.
Brady stepped in front of us all. “This is
the passage I used to find Perodine. You have to do what Dane does;
you have to feel it first, then it will come to you,” he
explained.
I looked at Dane. He was smiling at me; his
gift of seeing the string gave me hope that every soul would one
day be able to see it - as they should.
My father stepped closer to where Brady was
standing. With Ashten at his side, they reached their hands out to
the thin air. A moment later, I saw the passage open up wider and
felt the awe coming from my father and Ashten, who could see it
now.
“Be careful,” I said to them.
My father looked back at me and smiled,
promising me that he would. As they vanished into the passage, I
felt my heart sink.
“How long are we going to give them?”
Chrispin asked, feeling the same anxiety that I did.
“Just a few seconds,” Landen answered,
staring at the passage.
Seconds later, they immerged with Perodine,
and my eyes met hers as relief came over me. She smiled warmly at
me, and in the darkness I could see her Aura grow as the light
green captured her eyes. My father and Ashten left her side and led
the others away, giving me time alone with Perodine.
“
I’m going to go with the others,”
Landen thought, kissing my forehead, then turning to follow them to
the opening near the waterfall. I looked up at him, worried,
knowing that whatever she had to say we both needed to hear.
“She’ll tell me what I need to know, but right now she wants a
moment with you that isn’t rushed - and I owe her that.”
I nodded and smiled, then watched him walk
away. I looked back to Perodine, who was smiling at me, then walked
closer to her and gently hugged her. As she wrapped her arms around
me, I felt how much she loved me.
“You’ve recovered well,” she said, extending
her arms so she could look me over.
“I’m a fool,” I said, looking down,
ashamed.
“You’re not a fool; we all must face our
adversaries at one point,” Perodine said, smiling.
I looked up into her eyes. “He thinks that
fate brought me there; I know that even though I left, he still
doesn’t understand that I can’t love him,” I said.
Perodine looped her arm around me, and we
slowly began to walk through the forest. “I’ve lived over four
million years with a man that I did love at one time but have never
once been in love with. Drake was raised to believe that your heart
belongs to him, and the memories he has have empowered what he was
told. It will take more than you telling him that you don’t love
him to hinder his desire for you.”
“What is it going to take?” I asked, not
wanting to hurt Drake any more.
I felt Perdoine tense up as an overwhelming
sense of grief came from her; I didn’t know if it was for me or
someone else. “I don’t have an answer for you...I know where you
are; I’ve walked your path,” Perodine said, studying my face.
I felt like she wanted to tell me something
but didn’t think I was ready. In my current state of mind, I
trusted her judgment.
“I can tell you the passion Drake could give
you is undeniable, but passion is for the body; the love that
Landen gives you is for your soul...it moves from life to life and
beyond.”
I looked to Perodine and began to feel sorry
for her; she was alone, and she had been for millions of years.
“Have you never found your soulmate?” I asked.
Perodine smiled fondly. “I found him in
another life, and I will join him again one day. You have to
understand that the universe does not acknowledge time; four
million years can pass as quickly as the blink of an eye. When I’m
with the one who completes me again, it will seem as if we never
parted,” she said.
I shook my head and sighed. “I just want to
know the end; I want all of this to be over, to be able to look
back and see the work behind me - not ahead of me.”
As she heard my words, Perodine’s slow pace
halted, and she turned and looked deep into my eyes. “We live for
the pain. The end is not the reward; the path you take, the
emotions that course through you as you grasp life – that is the
reward. Do not wish to take such a profound gift from yourself. You
have learned in months what has taken you years in past
lives...take pride in that,” she said proudly.