I won’t lie: the idea of them being together as couple was starting to invade my imagination. Maybe that was a good idea; I mean, who could stop two people that wanted to be together?
The fact that Evan and everyone else had alluded to the fact that Draven and Britain were just like my dad made me think that I was right all along: that I could save Britain. I actually thought if that happened, then maybe we’d be stronger with him on our side - but I knew that if that were to ever happen, there would be hell to pay with Draven and Aden. I didn’t care, though; my only worry at that moment was Bianca, specifically what I’d say to her when I found her. I was gonna make her pay for the thought of even taking Draven away from me…I just didn’t know how.
Once my hair was dry, I pulled on my favorite jeans and layered on a few long tanks and a long sleeve T-shirt before sidling my arms through my hoodie; it was Draven’s black one with a Celtic cross on the chest. I never gave it back to him, and now he smiled every time he saw me wear it. I grabbed my shoes, phone, and my bag and raced down the stairs.
I found Monroe at the kitchen table with a lady I’d never met; I assumed it was her tutor. Kara was baking something that filled the house with the aroma of pumpkin and cinnamon. When I walked in the room, hopping on one foot from putting my shoes on, Monroe stood up quickly with wide eyes.
“Morning. How’s school?” I said in a calm tone.
Of course, she didn’t answer me; all she did was stare. “That good, huh?” I said with a smirk. “Listen, I have a few things to do – but I’ll be back later.”
Monroe took a step closer to me and slightly shook her head no. I stared back at her, feeling the tutor and Kara watching us closely. As I peered into her eyes, I asked just one question: what are you afraid of? As I finished the thought, I was no longer standing in the kitchen; I was in a field. It was dark, and I felt the wind blowing my hair back. Lightning was crashing above me, and thunder was rumbling. Before me stood my worst enemy: Bianca. I was staring at her so intently that I barely noticed Draven to my right and Britain to my left; they were facing each other, and all of us were standing in a perfect square. I didn’t have to look at either of them to feel the anger seething from them.
Then all of a sudden, I felt a calm – but it didn’t belong to me; it belonged to strong arms that were gently pushing me back. It took all I had to break my stare with Bianca to see who it was. I was expecting to see my father, but I couldn’t have been more wrong: it was Silas. My eyes grew wide as I looked up at his captivating profile: strong shoulders, lean body. Why was he here? Then all at once, the thunder crashed above and lightning brought the darkness to its knees. In that light, I watched as Draven and Britain turned to face me; it was as if the three of them were against me and Silas was my only line of defense.
I lost my focus, and as the world around me crumbled, I found myself staring at Monroe in my kitchen. I let out a short breath as I let my shoulders fall.
“Well…,” I finally said, “it’s daylight - and the sun is shining...no worries.” I reached to tighten my bag that was across me as Monroe stepped forward and reached for my arm.
“Listen…I’ll make a deal with you: you sit down and do your school work, and the moment you’re done, text me and I’ll come back for you. I’m not gonna be far – promise.”
Monroe’s tutor stood quietly and walked to Monroe to guide her back to the table. Monroe didn’t fight with her; she did as I asked. I felt Kara’s eyes on me and nodded for her to follow me outside.
When I stepped into the garage, I heard something odd: silence. I furrowed my eyebrows as I searched for my keys. “Have you seen Madison?” I asked half-heartedly. As I said that, I saw Madison pacing behind the garage, talking on her phone. “Never mind,” I said as I looked back at Kara. “What about mom? Have you talked to her?”
Kara was staring at me with that ‘proud of you’ look she was famous for. “What?” I asked
“It’s fun being the big sister, isn’t it?” Kara said.
“I’ve known her for a total of one day – not a sister; just a very…complex girl that I get.”
“I think that it’s good for the both of you.”
“Maybe. Have you talked to mom?” I asked again.
“Yeah, she’s getting ready for a merger. She might have to go to Japan soon.”
“That’s a new one,” I said in the most sarcastic tone I could manage. Mom could hide behind being busy all she wanted, but I knew what she was doing: trying to make the final separation between me and her easier. For her or me, I don’t know, but I took it personally and thought that if she knew there was a chance I was going to leave and not come back for a while - or even at all - that she should spend as much time as possible around me. At least, that’s what I would do.
“Stop, Charlie. She’s dealing with everything that’s happening around you the best she can.”
“Is she coming here before she flies over there?”
“I’m sure she will. The meetings she has today will decide if and when she needs to go....and for how long.”
“She’s going,” I mumbled.
“Becoming psychic?” Kara asked in the light-hearted tone she could manage.
“If you only knew what I could do now,” I answered with a smirk.
Concern filled her expression. “We need to slow Draven down – not speed up his addiction to that world.”
“I’m not an object – a piece you can play in a game. All of you should have told me about this – and don’t say it was my fault for hiding out in my room.”
“Fair,” she said as her eyes searched my face. “Just think for yourself, Charlie. If something feels wrong, don’t do it – stay safe.”
I nodded and smiled shyly to agree. I didn’t matter how mean I was to her…she was always good to me.
I walked down the steps to my car. I got in and honked the horn to get Madison’s attention. I was plugging in my phone when she climbed into the passenger seat.
“Who are you talking to?” I asked, glancing at her. When she didn’t answer, I stared at her and asked the question in my mind once again - and when I did, I heard her side of the conversation with Britain. She told him that she didn’t care what he thought – he was wrong. Then she listened to him speak, and her face fell and fear washed over her. I’d seen that look before – almost every time a boy made a move for her heart.
“I guess I don’t have to worry about Mr. Britain anymore – he’s moved on.”
Madison bit her lip and shook her head. “I swear, I hate him. Why is he in my dreams?”
I shrugged my shoulders as I put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway. “What happens in your dreams?” I asked gently, knowing if I pushed her she’d shut me out.
“Insanity,” she answered, rolling her eyes.
“Explain.”
“I don’t know…” she said as she slouched in her seat. “Half the time I spend saving Britain, then the other I’m saving another guy – and the whole time I’m thinking about you.”
“If you’re dreaming about two guys, I don’t know if I wanna be in that one,” I said, halfway joking, trying to keep the conversation light.
She just shook her head from side to side.
“What’s with the ankhs?” I asked when I turned out on the main road.
“I was gonna talk to you about that. This weekend, do you wanna get a tattoo?”
“What?! This weekend?” I asked as I tried not to burst into laughter over that absurd request. I mean, sure we’d joked around about getting tattoos for a while, but never seriously considering it – at least, I was never serious.
“Yeah. You’ll finally be eighteen, an adult like the rest of us.”
I smirked. I was almost two years younger than Draven and Aden and a year younger than Madison, yet I was always the leader of the pack. Well, at least I used to be before all of this. “Right. But an Ankh?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. It seemed more fitting for her than me.
“Eternal life.”
I nodded, seeing how that would be a pretty cool tattoo; how it kinda stood for what we not only believed, but knew to be true: life is eternal.
“Is that symbol still in your dreams?” I asked curiously, wondering why all of a sudden she was sketching Ankhs like they were going out of style or something.
“You could say that,” she said quietly as she glanced out the window, refusing to look at me.
“Why won’t you tell me about them? Why do I have to pull every word out of you?” I asked as I reached the end of my street.
“I’ll tell you when I understand.”
“I can help you understand,” I promised.
“You have your own problems.”
“Nope – you just took the one with Britain. Now all I have to do is figure out this dream world – oh, and kill Bianca.” I made a confused face. “Not really kill her, but you know what I mean.”
“I didn’t take anything away – I’m a backup plan. He thinks I’m too stupid to know that.”
“I would clarify that before you run off like you always do.”
“Why are you trying to hook me up with him? You realize Draven would go insane at the thought – that everyone would.”
“I don’t care what they think. I want you to be happy. I know my memory sucks, but if I really thought Britain was a bad guy – not someone who needed my help – I’d have run home…not tried to save him.”
“You knew something was off about him – just like I do. He’s looking for power; apparently, next to you I’m the best thing.”
“That’s crap, and you know it. What is it with this power thing, anyway?”
“Draven didn’t tell you? Britain was all too eager to explain it to me.”
I looked to my side at her with my mouth wide open. “Should I pull over and read my texts, or will you explain?”
“Drive.”
“Where am I going – town?”
“Yeah, there’s a studio on the corner of Main Street. We’re already late – go,” she said, pointing for me to speed up. I’d slowed the car down, determined to figure out what Britain had said.
“I’m listening.”
She slouched in her seat as she shook her head slowly from side to side. “It’s crazy…apparently, being awake….aware…builds your energy, and when you can control your energy – use it. You have power in that world.”
“Yeah, but isn’t it like a dream? Everyone has power.”
“It’s like a nightmare – but you know, some nightmares don’t even look like nightmares until it’s too late to be afraid.”
“Deep. I still don’t get it.”
“There’s a dense energy there, one that can only survive in the darkness - but when darkness finds a counterpart that’s willing to collide as one...or even just share power - it becomes sustained, balanced, able to live in our reality…a power that’s undefinable is created.”
“So is the darkness – Bianca – trying to ‘collide’ with Draven?”
Madison looked to her side at me. “Draven is the darkness.”
“What?!”
“Yeah…I didn’t think he would tell you that,” she said in a short tone.
“Explain, or I’m pulling over.”
“Fine. Draven. Britain. Your Dad. Winston. Grayson. More than likely Monroe. They’re all dark. The only thing that separates Britain from them is that he submitted – thousands of years ago.”
“What?! You’ve lost your mind. Next thing you’re gonna tell me is that he’s a vampire or something.”
“No. He lives and dies – he just remembers every life. So when he begins to live again, he’s already way ahead of the game. Not to mention the fact that he’s born into the same bloodline over and over again, and they know what he is.”
“I thought you said that his family line didn’t turn ‘bad’ until, like, a few generations ago?”
“Yeah. That was false. A dead trail. I found at least four more family lines. I think it was put there to throw anyone who cared to check into them off.”
“When did you figure that out?”
“When I went to the UK with Evan. That’s why I came home – moved in with you.”
“Yeah. But you didn’t think to tell me that?”
“I would have when I figured it out.”
“Bad idea.”
“Right.”
“So the escort deal – was that wrong, too? What about that image I saw – what Bianca did to that woman?” That image was the one that set this whole ordeal in play. I tried to help this shadow in the library one night, and instead of helping her, she gave me a warning – one that told me Bianca was coming. When I saw Britain with her, I assumed he was my distraction, meant to keep me quiet while she had her way with Draven…now I don’t know what to think.”
Madison moved her head slowly from side to side. I knew she was furious – furious because she couldn’t figure out how or what was going on. She’s always been a master at knowing what’s going on, and the unknown of what was happening to us was driving her mad.
“So far, that’s real. Apparently, the reason they exist is to subdue a light in this world; when they do that, it’s a double-edged sword. They gain power from the light they live by, the one they blind, and they also manage to create more darkness that gives them power in that world.”
“But they can’t do that to us – or use us – right?”
“Right. We’re very different.”
“Explain,” I said shortly. I wasn’t going to pull this out of her; I needed her to spill it – everything she knew – right now.