Emanate: Insight Series ((Insight) Web of Hearts and Souls)

  Drake shot me a cool, dark glare. One thing we had in common was that when someone told us we could not do something, our response would always be the same: you just watch me.

  However, there may be some truth to my father’s reasoning. The lore and curse could intertwine. I may need the belief of this world behind me to deliver a lethal strike. The intent of Chara at this moment, their certainty that I was sure to ascend at any moment, was suffusing my soul with raw power. The kind of power that one would need to strike a God and have a chance at survival. Willow and I could kill that bastard on our own. I knew we could. The right spell, the right alignment of a few supernatural souls, and we could. I didn’t want my dimension in the middle of it, even though, apparently, that was the plan all along.

  Drake and I had discussed the lore of our worlds at length when we were boys. We knew then that our worlds were predicted to go to war. That Donalt planned to consume Chara, and then move on to other dimensions. Like a fool, I assumed that when I took down the looking glass early on, I stopped that threat, fortified the idea that I could stop a predicted fate.

  The marks on me and Willow should never appear, for we would not need to protect our world from war. Furthermore, even though Drake and I were at each other’s throat back then, I knew if he were crowned he would never wage war on Chara. He knew that I would never strike the innocent souls of his world. Problem. Solved.

  Silently, we had decided to fight this war man-to-man instead of army-to-army.

  “Flames…” Drake mused to himself.

  Semantics. Most people understand that soul mates are one soul made of two, but in truth, Twin Flames are made of one soul. Soul mates are a family of souls that are joined in a path of life, meant to always surface around each other.

  My world knew the difference, but no one could call themselves ‘Twin Flames’ until the original Flames became one once again. Until they ascended. Shed their human ways and took up the crowns of sovereignty once more.

  My world saw that as beautiful, a testimony of love, a path they all yearned to take: to be one again. But after only nineteen years of life, I saw it as death. Life, no matter how blissful or agonizing, was going to be over for me and Willow. We would become something I could not begin to fathom at this moment—or so says the lore.

  Most think we will become more like the Greek Gods or something. Call me crazy, but I’d rather not be an experiment. I’d rather not play with a power I don’t understand.

  I rubbed the heel of my palm over my chest, feeling that burn again. I cursed under my breath as the pain dulled. If it weren’t for this stupid mark, I’d be dimensions away with Willow, Phoenix, and more than likely Draven, plotting an attack instead of lurking behind my rampart preparing for one.

  “I thought you said there was a transition period?” Drake said.

  Half the reason he knew the ins and outs of this was that because back when we were boys, he was trying to reason what Donalt was promising him. Donalt had told him that he would ascend, that he would rule beyond one dimension, beyond one reality. That he needed to accept the power as it slowly claimed him. Drake asked me if when my insights grew in strength I felt sick, if I felt dread, a natural desire to fight them. It was a question he’d asked again as a man not long ago. That was when I really began to see how twisted Alamos and Donalt had made him.

  I told him no, that as the power grew you became more aware. You craved it, felt the urge to test it, play with it…your mind ran wild with ways to use it for protection, to use it to help others.

  In his case, he always felt stripped, pulled, cold, and sick. The second he told me that, I started to help him.

  It didn’t take much for either of us to understand the other. He’d taught me to stop time with just a phrase. I’d taught him to use his energy in the same way. At first it was hard on him. He’d clench his jaw and offer me a cold glare, simply because I was basically repeating words his father, whom he had killed, had spoken over him from day one.

  “Lore says there is.”

  Lore said that we would gain immense power as we joined once again, that the power would flood the dimension, causing everyone that was a true Flame to rise, that we would overcome our dark enemy and begin a new cycle of life. Most theologians, like my grandfather August, believe that we will be here on Earth during that transition and then rise, leaving bliss and beauty behind.

  That’s all well and good, and for all I know, that task will allow me and Willow countless years. But at the same time, no one knows. I can’t see risking not solving what I set out to do: relinquishing fear from the souls of all realms, with only a sliver of hope that the lore will hold true.

  Taking down Donalt, freeing his dimension, was a valiant start, but what about all those that follow him? All the Escorts in his line? What about Drake and all the others that have been and will be pulled into this?

  “Then tell them the transition would weaken you against the next planets and you will do that after this is done.”

  “They state the time is now…the marks are present,” I said as I unconsciously rubbed my chest where the burn was.

  He glanced to my chest, then met my stare. “Just as Alamos stated over and over that the time to kill you was now. I didn’t back down, and if you are still who I think you are, you will not either.”

  “I don’t know how to explain this to her, and if I don’t figure out how, my family is going to take the liberty. They will make it seem whimsical. Hide the reality of it.”

  “You must find a way to tell her, then. She trusts you more than them,” he said with one raised brow to mark his point.

  “She trusts herself,” I said quietly.

  We had both witnessed how stubborn Willow could be. She never listens to anyone, which is one of the countless things I love about her.

  Drake shifted in his seat, letting his scathing glance meet mine. “Blue eyes.”

  “Don’t go there.” I was still furious at him for putting the illusion of that blue-eyed girl before me when we faced Mercury. He swore it wasn’t him, but he was the only soul in the universe, beyond Phoenix, that knew of that secret. That night had saturated Willow with raging jealously—that night made Willow meeting Skylynn worse than it should have been.

  I never lied. I told Willow when I met her in our dreams that I only saw her soul. That was the truth. What I left out was that at one time her soul carried blue eyes.

  Not long ago, Drake and I had an argument only feet from Willow through harsh whispers—he wanted me to tell Willow about the blue eyes, tell her that she was obviously holding back her soul and that she needed to be strong for what we were facing then. I didn’t. She was nowhere near over the illusion he swore he didn’t create.

  When Drake saw Skylynn for the first time, he couldn’t help gawking at me with questioning eyes. I only glared, clearly telling him it was nothing more than a coincidence. By then, Madison had surfaced and he knew I was always telling the truth about Willow. That she was mine. That no matter how deep within that breathtaking vessel of hers she was buried—we were made of one.

  “I’ve never lied to Willow.”

  “You never let her know the real you either.” He smirked. “All sweet and cuddly, saying the perfect words. No one can be perfect all the time, Landen. Bet that little lavender blonde gave you an unwanted reality check—bet that girl knew the warrior you are.”

  My whole body tensed. “Back off, Blakeshire. She has nothing to do with this; that is an entirely different ordeal.”

  “She’s cute. I can see the appeal. Why you were drawn there.”

  A glare from me sent a wave of energy thundering at him. Of course, he met my play and the inside of the Jeep all but ripped apart. We both backed off before my Jeep was torn in two.

  “I will answer for that soon enough. And you can tease me all you want about being sweet and cuddly with Willow. Lest you forget, I can read your intent. You have plans to do the same with Madison.”

  At t
hat, he laughed. “Maybe. But seriously. I didn’t cause that illusion of Willow having blue eyes. I know Donalt and Alamos didn’t either. So it came from you or Willow. Considering you were imprisoned by it, I’m going out on a limb here and I’m going to say Willow created that. That somehow she knows that she is trapped inside. Try telling her that. Try explaining why you do not want to do this ceremony, at least not yet. If you don’t come out with this now, when she hears it, her jealousy is going to shred you. If she does not link the blue eyes with Skylynn, then she will link them with some other phantom girl. Explain yourself before she reads it all over your face. Demand that she stops hiding.”

  Sure, Drake. Willow responds awesomely to demands. Not to mention that I didn’t think it mattered if we chose to participate or not, this flame deal was going to happen—and when it fails, when neither she nor I ascend, more than four million years of beliefs will go up in flames as we wage war with Donalt, with Esterious. A world that is divided has no chance at victory.

  “Look, man,” Drake said, adjusting himself in his seat. “I don’t get this any more than you, but the way I see it, we’re both in the same boat. We both have kingdoms that are expecting us to rise up and redeem them, both fighting evil for that to occur, and at the same time we know that the ones we share our souls with, the souls around us in this supernatural war, have a purpose that is even more impossible than the one our people expect of us.”

  I nodded once.

  He stared at me for a second before he went on. “The thing is, you and I know this ascension Chara wants to occur will not happen the way they want it to. I know you. I know that whoever you were back then did not create Chara for the sole purpose of ruling it, then taking over Esterious. You created it to be an example. Some supernatural power may be pulling you to fortify this dimension, but all in all I know we are meant for more.”

  “Some kind of universal rule,” I said without thought.

  He nodded, which oddly shocked me. “I doubt that we would have been put through the hell we have endured over lifetimes for the sake of an Earthly kingdom.” He moved his stoic stare over me. “You don’t want to be a king, never have wanted to be one. Willow doesn’t want to be a queen. The two of you need to get over that. One way or another, you are going to lead people. In some way, you already are, albeit without some formal title.”

  “Do you understand how any of this connects? Do you understand that Donalt ruled more than a dark kingdom? That he in fact ruled the emotion of fear? That in The Realm he is basically seen as a dark God? That he has legions of Escorts under his command? That in your palace there is only a trace of the ones that honor him?”

  One nod.

  “Who told you?”

  “Mostly my gut. It’s always been clear to me what you wanted to free souls from. Meeting Draven, seeing him go head-to-head with Xavier, knowing that man relishes in shocking souls…hearing Madison tell me of childhood dreams. All of that combined with what I saw and felt in The Realm when my soul was turned inside out—it all told me that we are meant for more. That these Earthly games are just that.”

  “It’s not all Earthly, though. I have a supernatural mark on my chest. Willow does, too.”

  “And your people will see it the way they want to see it. Doesn’t mean you have to agree.”

  I didn’t respond.

  “What risk do you see with this ceremony?”

  “Lack of knowledge. No text that we know of stated how it would happen or what would happen. What was clear was that our cycle would be complete. The thing is, on a spiritual level we are nowhere near where the lore says we should be…every trial pushed her deeper inside.”

  “Trials Donalt put in place. He put her in that cage. You need to get her out.”

  I knew that, so I didn’t bother to respond.

  “You know what? I seriously doubt Donalt thought we would have made it alive and well to this point in the trials. He thought you were going down with the Blue Moon, that my past with Willow was strong enough to do that which means that at this point in this cruel game, he imagined himself consuming me with Willow at my side, he imagined this heavenly lineup of Saturn and Neptune occurring completely differently than it will—he saw this lineup as Willow seizing Chara from my side.”

  I raised my brow at this train of thought. It made sense. It also fit the lore of Chara, that Esterious would breach us and the Flames would rise to defend us. Donalt knew that lore, and he would have tried to take a vital piece of that ceremony away: Willow. In a way, he already has with the state she’s in, but there’s still hope. I’m still standing. Drake is still standing.

  “But Willow rocked his boat with every trial. She chose you,” he said, clearing his throat, clearly not over the heartache that caused us all when it occurred. “And to top it all off, she went hunting for my soul mate—and now my dimension has laid eyes on Madison Marie.”

  “So you think since you’re not attacking Chara, because we are allies, that the ceremony of Chara will not happen the way they think it will?” He was delusional if that were true, and I was ready to show him the mark that was already forming on my chest to prove my point.

  “Donalt is already assaulting you. He’s put your queen in peril, added a few locks to the prison she walked herself into. You need to deal with that. You want peace to stop war. Take it. The only way you can do that is to free her. Be with her. Decide what the pair of you want, and ignore the rest; none of it will hold if there is no foundation of you and her.”

  He wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know. The how was still a mystery though.

  “He’s going to do whatever he can to distract you. Don’t let him.”

  “Put your dimension in peril again,” I agreed.

  “It has never left peril. If I were him, though, I would kick up enough dust to cause you to come to Esterious and leave behind Chara.”

  “You know just as well as I do that neither Willow nor I can sit back and watch your people suffer.”

  “I do. I just think that with this trial we need to try something different. Instead of coming together and fighting one evil God, we should go to our respective corners and deal with the evil Gods that are challenging us, whether that challenge is an open one or silent one.”

  “Draven have something going on with Xavier right now?”

  “More than likely. That’s what I meant, though. You, me, Draven, and your Phoenix buddy all coming to my palace to fight some conflict that is not clear yet—how do we know that is not a distraction? That we think we are standing together to take down Donalt, or even Xavier, but in reality they’re hurting us on some other level? Maybe even an eternal one.”

  “Sounds like you’re telling me to stay at home and rise to be the king of Chara.”

  He smirked. “I’m not. I’m just telling you that we need to do the opposite of what we have in the past. Stop letting them corral us with all these dramas that keep popping up. Fight for what matters and ignore the illusions of conflicts that are nothing more than distractions.”

  “You realize this trial is supposed to be Saturn, right?”

  “My sources say that Saturn is entangled with Neptune.” He glanced to the house, then back at me. “Which is why I’m saying what I’m saying. If Neptune is in this mix, then there are going to be illusions and Saturn is going to ground us at the same time. I’m not letting this trial twist me, and I don’t want it to twist you. I think your only problem right now is what is going on between you and Willow.”

  “Man, for the life of me I can’t figure out why we would be having so many issues,” I said, angling my eyes at him, only halfway joking.

  “Landen, I love her. I can’t tell you or Madison that I don’t. We had a past, several of them. I believed she was the solution my world needed. In some way, I still believe that, but you can’t blame me for this lack of connection you think you have.” He stared me down for a second or two. “Not this go around. We both have amends to make.”


  “And kingdoms asking for our full attention. A supernatural war looking for heroes to be leaders among them.”

  His dark eyes narrowed on me. “We can’t rule anything without being whole, without coming to terms with our past mistakes and all.”

  I thought about telling him of the lore on the seven souls that were to rise and take out the evil Gods in place now, that I had a theory that Madison may very well be one of them, that I was unclear on what that role would ask of her or him, but I let it set for now. No sense in bringing up something I didn’t understand, something Phoenix and I were still mulling over.

  “Well, then, I guess I need to go and check my borders, make sure we are safe and sound for the time being.”

  “That’s what you got out of all that? Go make sure your borders are safe?”

  I nearly laughed. “She’s asleep. I get what you’re saying, I do.” As I stepped out of the Jeep, he followed. “I’m going to leave this here if you need it.”

  “You’re getting fond of zapping around, aren’t you?”

  “Faster when moving to different planes and such. I think I can teach you how to do this.”

  He shook his head. “Already working on it.”

  “Really?”

  One nod.

  I went to leave, but then I hesitated. “You need me, you call me. Don’t let pride stop you.”

  “Same,” he said to me.

  There was more to say, more to analyze, more to prepare for, but words were not coming now. I doubted either of us would be in a position to debate or plot a future until we knew our girls were all right.

  For now, we could only hope that sleep was healing them.

  Chapter Four

  ~ Willow ~

  This boy was moving entirely too fast to have been dead a day ago. His powerful stride flexed every muscle in his long, lean, warrior body and had him moving so fast that the only way I could track him was by moving my body at mach speed. I was beyond grateful that Pelhan had bothered to mention to me and Landen that we could move our bodies from place to place with a mere thought. It was draining me, no doubt. I felt all too mortal as I chased him to the gates of the string, then within the passages.