As the souls moved out of Patrick’s home,
time began to slow. The people on the streets all stopped their
endless routines and stared at us, and the silent streets filled
with a howl of wind and a clap of thunder. Olivia stepped to my
left, Dane stepped to Landen’s right, and they smiled at us and
began to lead the others through the crowd. As each person was
touched and moved through, their Auras moved into a beautiful
yellow - as bright as the sun.
Men in hoods began to approach us, but
Landen reached out his hand and moved them all at once - sending
them to the rooftops of the city around us. Like a powerful
waterfall, we pushed through the streets, bringing the memory of
the love that they were made of to them. The sky above us turned
black and began to spin, and the wind picked up. Silently, what
looked like ashes began to fall all around us.
The palace was just ahead of us. Along the
gate walls, men in hoods stood shoulder-to-shoulder, guarding us
from passing. As Landen looked at me, I nodded, and we both raised
our hands and pushed their gray energy away. They then scattered
into the air and fell somewhere in the distance.
Landen squeezed my hand, and we stepped
through the gate. Our family and the others stayed behind to move
the people of the city. Before we had a chance to move them
ourselves, the men that were standing along the roof of the palace
scattered. In the center of the court, my willow tree stood; even
though the wind swirled around us, its branches remained still. The
ashes that were falling from the sky avoided the pure white glow of
energy that surrounded the lush green branches.
As we climbed the wide stone staircase, the
doors opened before us, and all we could see was darkness. Without
hesitation, we walked through. Landen’s eyes moved to the top of a
banister that crossed above us. He felt Drake there; his anger told
me so. As my eyes moved to see him, I swallowed hard, and the
tension in the room rose; the sharpest knife in the world wouldn’t
be able to pass through it.
“I see you’ve found your way home again,”
Drake said, looking in my eyes. I felt a chill course through me as
every time he’d ever touched me suddenly raced through my memory; I
could see the pain in his eyes and felt so guilty.
“
Willow, he’s counting on your guilt; he
thinks he reached you when you were with him.”
“
He didn’t reach me; he just showed me
all of this through his eyes,”
I thought, staring at the pain
in Drake’s eyes.
“I have,” I said, wrapping my arm around
Landen and pulling him closer to me.
Landen wrapped his arm around my shoulder,
and our rings hummed against our skin, causing my charm to warm the
spot where it lay on my chest; to me, home was in Landen’s
arms.
Drake looked away, as if the sight of Landen
touching me was too much to bear. In front of us, I saw shadows
move in the darkness beneath him...Landen raised his hand, placing
us in a shield of clear energy – and waves spread across it as a
force that couldn’t be seen crashed against it. Our confidence rose
as we stepped forward. Drake walked quickly to his left, and we
climbed the staircase after him. When we reached the top of the
stairs, Landen threw our shield behind us, blocking the men in the
shadows from following us.
The banister opened into a large room. It
looked like the room I’d dreamed of before: tall doors lined every
wall, and one led out onto a gray balcony. Landen let my hand fall
and stepped forward. Drake was in the center of room, and he raised
his hand and sent a force to Landen.
Landen blocked the energy that was coming at
him and pushed it back to Drake. With both their hands raised, a
force that looked like pure water stood between them. Drake
chuckled under his breath, and Landen smiled back at him with eyes
that were as cold as ice. Landen stepped forward, pushing Drake
back.
“It’s taking everything I have not to end
your life...submit to me before you fall,” Landen said through his
teeth.
Drake smiled as he heard Landen’s words,
then breathed in and stepped forward. Landen held his ground
against the energy between them. “Unfortunately, I do not have the
same restraint that you have,” Drake said through a locked jaw.
The force between them erupted, knocking me
to the ground. I stood quickly, trying to get my bearings. Landen
was in the air, and he pushed his weight down to the ground and
reached in front of him for Drake’s energy. Suddenly, the two of
them flew through the air; they moved back and forth so quickly, I
had a hard time seeing who was who in the darkness.
Fearing I’d hurt Landen if I guessed wrong,
I threw a divide between them. The wall of energy I sent divided
the room, and they both fell to the ground - then stood breathless,
staring at one another.
Drake regained his composure, then looked at
me, sighed, and turned and walked to the doorway that led out of
the room. I ran to Landen and wrapped my arms around him; he held
me tight.
He smiled, then pulled me to the door
through which we’d seen Drake pass. It led to another hallway, and
in the distance we saw Drake pass through another door. We ran
after him, hoping he would somehow lead us to the looking
glass.
When we reached the end of the hall, Landen
charged through the dark doorway where we’d seen since Drake
disappear. The room had a ceiling over twenty feet high; the light
coming from the large fireplace along the back wall could barely
reach it. There was a book case on the right side of the room that
was pushed back slightly; it was a secret passage. We ran in that
direction, and just as we reached it the light in the room shifted.
We turned our heads slowly to the fireplace to find that we weren’t
alone.
Rolling slowly toward us in a wheelchair was
a very old man. His skin was gray, and the hair on his head was
thin and sporadic. He had three deep wrinkles in his forehead,
which made his dark eyes seem even more demonic. A long black cloak
was draped around his frail body, and in a slithery, evil voice, he
said, “You! Gaudian! Do you really think that you are the one to
take my rein?”
Landen pushed me behind him, then took a
dominant step toward whom we could only assume was Donalt. Time had
not been kind to him; as he rolled forward, the light shined behind
him - and the only color he had around him was black.
“You’re already defeated,” Landen said
confidently to him.
Donalt let out a deep, eerie chuckle. “Come,
let me teach you - for I have ruled longer than your first breath,”
he said, tilting his head and smiling, mocking Landen.
“What you know is the last thing I care to
learn,” Landen said, leaning forward to show Donalt how small he
was to him. The anger in Landen had caused his Aura to turn
scarlet. “Your death will be celebrated through time,” he
added.
Donalt shifted in his seat, still holding
his mocking grin. “Do you think I’m afraid of dying? That when this
body is ash you have won? You are mistaken if you do. I promise
you, friend: that will only be the beginning. I will fight you for
the power of her heart until your last breath.”
Landen rolled his eyes and turned in my
direction, tired of playing games. “Stand in line,” he said in a
hard voice. I stepped back in the direction of the bookcase.
Donalt rolled forward again, trying to
continue the conversation. “Ahh...so you do enjoy having Drake as
an adversary...the one I have chosen to defend the way of life I
have established.”
“’Life,’” Landen mocked, turning to look
down at Donalt again.
“Yes, life. Everyone here has what they need
- and I have what I need.”
“You took their energy, and I will give it
back,” Landen said in a demanding voice, now walking briskly toward
me and the bookcase.
Donalt laughed again. “And you think they
will worship you if they have their energy back?” he yelled in our
direction.
Reaching for my hand and pushing the
bookcase back, Landen looked blankly through the dark passage, then
back at Donalt. “No, I don’t wish to rule over anyone - beyond my
own soul,” he said in a confident tone.
“You fool!” Donalt shouted.
Landen smiled and looked down at Donalt.
“Every king will fall - and today your time has come.”
Landen turned back to the passage, then
squeezed my hand and led us though the darkness. I felt the damp
stones around us, and in the distance we could see a dim light and
hear a low hummer.
“
He’s in there,”
Landen thought.
I held my breath and closed my hand around
my ring, afraid that I wouldn’t remember how to call its power
forward. Landen’s steps were broad; he was confident, angry, and
determined. We stopped at the end of the passage and took in the
vast room.
In the center of the room were three large
rings, circling rapidly above what looked to be a black pool of
water. Pure white sparks of light rained down from the rings onto
the water. The flames didn’t sizzle; instead, they floated, making
the water look like a star light sky. There was a broad white glow
all around the rings, which was the only light in the room. In the
shadows to the left of the room, Drake was standing. A few feet
away from him was someone I could feel.
It was a beautiful young woman. Her hair was
long and dark, and her eyes were a breathtaking green. Her Aura was
a beautiful light blue and white, and her emotion was of pure,
unconditional love. Drake held his eyes down, but the woman was
locked in a stare with Landen, who – suddenly stunned – let go of
my hand and walked slowly to the woman.
“Landen, what are you doing?” I asked,
confused. He didn’t answer me.
“Landen?”
I thought. He
didn’t respond. As I started to follow him, my eyes raced back and
forth between the woman and Drake. The woman acted as if the only
thing she could see was Landen - like I didn’t exist.
Landen stopped inches from the woman, and I
walked to their side and looked up at him.
“What are you doing?” I asked him.
“Who are you?” I asked, turning to the
woman. They both ignored me.
As I watched Landen’s eyes search her face
in utter devotion, I felt a surge of love burst from him - a love
that had only belonged to me. I felt sick, like someone had divided
me in half.
“Landen,” I said in a softer tone. I slowly
reached for his shoulder, looking for a response - but before my
hand could touch him I was blocked by an invisible shield
surrounding Landen and the woman.
I turned sharply to Drake. “Let him go!” I
screamed at him.
Drake shrugged his shoulders and looked down
at his hands in his pockets. “Landen put that shield up - not me,”
he said, raising one eyebrow with a straight face.
I turned back to Landen; he had his hand on
the woman’s face, and her eyes closed slightly as she felt his
touch. I raised my ring and tried to move the shield myself.
“
Landen! Landen!”
I screamed through
my thoughts.
Without hesitation, Landen slowly pulled the
woman to him with his other arm and kissed her tenderly, his love
for this nameless woman intensifying. I couldn’t watch; I felt
sick, dizzy. I closed my eyes and walked backwards, wishing this
nightmare away. I realized that I’d gotten what I deserved; I had
held Drake, and now I’d have to bear witness as Landen held
another.
Suddenly, I couldn’t feel their love for
each other. Thinking the illusion had passed, I opened my eyes –
only to see that I couldn’t be more wrong: Landen’s lips were
inches from hers as he gazed in her eyes. I turned to see that I
was standing just in front of Drake, my void. He looked down at me
and furrowed his eyebrows as if he were in some kind of pain. “I
see… not being able to feel me...now has a valuable purpose,” he
said in a whisper.
I looked at him in disbelief. “How can you
be so cruel?” I asked with angry tears in the corners of my
eyes.
“Cruel? You were the one who vanished -
without even a simple ‘goodbye.’ I took care of you; I took your
pain,” Drake said, tightening his jaw.
I shook my head in disbelief. “You kept me a
prisoner, shielded me from who I was, and the moment you thought
you’d lose me you took Stella from me - and you wanted me to tell
you...‘goodbye?’” I asked bleakly, numb from the pain that Landen
had sent through me.
“I never lied to you...I told you what your
mind and body could comprehend...did I not?”
My chest started to pound. He was right; he
told me everything – only it was his perspective. Looking into his
dark eyes, I felt a guilt like no other. He had every reason to
believe that I could love him; in Evylen’s body, my soul led him
on.
“You took Stella away,” I whispered, looking
for a flaw in him.
Compassion filled his perfect face. “Stella
was taken as a diversion.”
“A diversion? You locked her inside
herself,” I said, countering his words.
“I didn’t do anything. She tried to escape,
one of my priests inflected her, and I retaliated. I ordered the
others to bring her back, which they were trying to do when
Perodine arrived.”
I remembered then that when I saw Stella
lying on the table, there was a man on floor; I thought he was
dead. My eyes raced back and forth as I replayed the scene. Drake
cautiously raised his hands to my shoulders; his touch still sent a
warm, tingling sensation through me, but my mind was somewhere
else. I looked over my shoulder at Landen to see him still holding
the beautiful woman close.
“
Landen,”
I thought. He didn’t
respond.
I turned back and looked at the ground,
fighting a swarm of emotions; I was heartbroken, angry, vengeful,
and scared. Drake slowly reached for my chin and raised my head. He
then moved his other arm around me. I secretly hoped that if Landen
saw Drake touch me, he’d remember that he loved me - not that
girl.