Vital

  I stopped just inches in front of him. My heart grew cold as I thought of the flawless image of the evil angel. Snow began to fall through the open ceiling. I felt Drake and Landen behind me, as well as the utter confusion from the ones around us.

  “I have something for you,” I said to Dane, tilting my head, mocking a taunting smile.

  His eyes grew darker, and a growl came from his chest. “There is only one thing I want of yours,” his voiced mocked the demon I knew was within. He looked to my chest, and an evil laugh came from within him, echoing against the stone walls.

  “To want something powerful, you must understand what it feels like to carry it,” I responded, unshaken by his demonic display.

  I could feel Landen fighting the desire to push me away from him and end this battle, but he felt my confidence and simply stepped closer to me. I reached my hands for Dane’s chest, and as they touched him I pushed the terror I felt from those small children through him, the grief I felt from Clarissa, the pain I’d felt when Landen and I were separated. I felt the vibration of the energy, and smoke began to seep from beneath my hands. The devil in Dane just smiled as the emotion swarmed through him; I knew then he was enjoying the agony we’d felt .

  A sly smile spread across my face as I began to show him just how insignificant those emotions were. Sunlight beamed through the open ceiling, and the warmth that love always gives consumed the room. I began to push the emotion of utter devotion that I felt from Landen, the devotion I felt between every soul mate – every innocent child. Dane’s body began to breathe in and out heavily, and his arrogant smile left. Suddenly, an angry roar filled the room, and from behind him the powerful wings that I’d captured in my art before broke out from the black shirt he was wearing. He placed his hands on mine, trying to stop me, but I smiled and focused harder on the bliss I was determined to bring to this world. His roar grew louder, then my skin began to burn, and the force pushed me back. I could see the burns I’d placed on his chest. He looked down, then up at me. The illusion of Dane’s body vanished, and the evil angel rose higher, expanding his wings across the entire span of the observatory.

  As the image of the evil angel became more defined, my fury for everything he’d put me through grew, and with that emotion thunder roared and lightning bolts charged into his image.

  At that point, Drake and Landen wouldn’t allow me to engage him any further. Landen pulled me behind him, then he and Drake stepped forward. Drake pushed a force of energy at the demon, which repelled against him on contact, making the wind blow back at us. Landen then thrust his energy, only to receive the same response. I stepped forward between them, and the three of us forced everything we had at it. As it reached the core of his body, it screamed out in protest, then rose and suspended in the air. A cloud of grey ash swirled around the massive wings, then encased the body of the devil.

  We let our hands fall, sure that we’d brought destruction. As a violent wind swarmed through the room, Landen reached for me and pulled me to his chest, sealing us in his energy. A moment later, the room grew silent. I looked up from Landen’s chest; in the doorway laid a pile of ash. Landen placed his hands on my face and pulled my lips to him, kissing me passionately. His emotion begged me for forgiveness.

  No...I was wrong... I thought, holding him tighter.

  He pulled my face away and looked intently in my eyes.

  I let you walk away...I could have found another way, he thought. “I love you,” he said aloud.

  Everyone flocked around us, searching for answers.

  “Did we just lose Dane? Is this over? Is the devil defeated?” Brady asked, begging for Landen’s attention.

  The heavy weight of grief consumed us all. I looked to the ash to see Alamos and Perodine studying the remains carefully. My father gently pulled me from Landen’s arms to look over my body, and I felt his pride rise when he saw that I was not only alive, but stronger than I’ve ever been. Drake turned me and wrapped his arms around me. I felt his hum and smiled.

  “Did you see her? Feel her?” I whispered into his neck.

  He leaned back and let his eyes race over my joyous smile. “Who?”

  “Aella, your soul mate. I found her,” I said as the hope in my expression faded.

  The light in his eyes left, and I could see sadness take its place. “I felt you, love,” he whispered.

  From the study, a deep, painful groan called out. I froze as I felt the emotion of my best friend once again. Drake looked over my shoulder at Landen, then let his hands fall from my waist.

  Landen reached for my hand and cautiously guided me to the study. I couldn’t control the amount of hope that was beaming from me; daylight seemed to beam through the palace. Perodine and Alamos stepped aside, allowing us to pass. I looked down at the pile of ash as I stepped over, feeling the victory that was owed to me.

  As the groans grew louder, I felt my father behind us, eager to help whoever was in pain. Inside the study, we couldn’t see anyone at first. Landen pushed me behind him as we stepped in, and Drake advanced to his side. I closed my eyes, wanting so badly to know for sure that it was Dane, that I’d redeemed him.

  Landen’s emotion shifted to excitement encased in terror. He let go of my hand and rushed forward, then dove on the floor. Dane’s body was lying in the center of the room, in the last place I knew him to be real. He’d pulled his body into a ball and was groaning in pain. My father pushed past me and went to Dane’s side.

  “Stretch out, Dane!” Landen yelled at him. “Tell me where to heal!” he demanded in my father’s direction.

  I rushed to Dane, pulling his head onto my lap, offering him any comfort I could. My father’s eyes raced over his body.

  “It’s everywhere, Landen,” my father said. “It’s as if he’s been frozen.”

  Landen put his hands on Dane’s face, then let them slide down to his shoulders, arms, chest, and legs. As the energy moved through Dane, his eyes began to focus, and you could see the relief there and feel the gratitude from him. As he realized I was holding him, shock came over him.

  “Is it over? Did Venus pass? Are you OK?!” he said, reaching up for me.

  I held his hand against my cheek.

  “Venus has passed,” I said through happy tears.

  I felt his utter confusion. Landen looked at my father and asked, “Better? Anywhere else?”

  “Much better,” my father answered. He looked up at Ashten. “You should bring Clarissa here; that will help the most – to see her.”

  Ashten nodded and ran from the room.

  Dane sat up in protest. “Wait - no, I don’t want her here. It’s too dangerous! Where’s that ghost?” he said, looking at all of us.

  Landen helped him sit up and pushed calm through him. “I’m afraid you were our next trial, and right now Clarissa needs to know that you’re back.”

  “What?!” Dane said, looking back at me.

  “The devil led us to believe that he was you. He caused a divide between us, and he broke Clarissa’s heart. But it’s over now, and we’re stronger,” I explained.

  “He hurt Clarissa?!” Dane said as anger engulfed him.

  Landen and I both let our hands rest on him, trying to calm him.

  “She just didn’t understand why she couldn’t feel your love anymore...none of us could,” Landen explained.

  Confusion and exhaustion were apparent in his unfocussed demeanor.

  “Move him to the couch. He needs to rest,” my father said.

  Drake stood in front of Dane and reached his hand out to help him up. He and Dane locked eyes, and for the first time they found a truce. Dane took his hand, and Landen helped him stand. They then led him to the couch and let him lie down.

  Chapter Seventeen

  A stunned emotion consumed everyone but me. I was confident; I’d found a new power - I’d found Aella. After Landen and my dad had led Dane to the couch, he looked over his shoulder at Marc and Brady. “Go see if everyone is safe, if I need to h
eal anyone.”

  August, Stella, and Rose followed them, eagerly wanting to help anyone they could. Olivia walked slowly to my side, and I reached my arms around her. “Are you OK?” I whispered.

  “I knew this was nothing...the trial has yet to come,” she said, leaning back. In her eyes, I saw the sorrow I felt in her heart.

  I reached for her wrist to see her Ankh tattoo. “You’re safe...remember?”

  Her eyes grew sad. “I have to find that song...figure out who or what my mother was talking about.”

  “I think I know how we can find them. We’ll do this together tomorrow. For now, rest for me; go home to Chara.”

  She shook her head in resistance and put forth the intent of leaving for Infante, not caring that it was the dead of night. Chrispin came to her side and wrapped his arms around her, then whispered into her ear. I felt a calm, a patience come to her. She nodded once, then laid on his chest, pulling him closer.

  Chrispin looked over her head at me and nodded. “We’re going home.”

  He looked behind me at Landen and nodded once before they turned and left.

  The room grew silent, and I felt everyone’s eyes on me. Perodine walked to me and Landen and looked carefully over me before glancing over her shoulder at Alamos, then back to me. “You can now call forth the power of the atmosphere,” she said quietly.

  Shock and denial consumed my father as he tried to understand what I was slowly becoming, the power I was learning to control. I searched the room for Drake and found him just behind me with Preston at his side. “Aella taught me.”

  “Who?” Landen asked, turning me so he could see in my eyes.

  “Aella, my twin. I found her...she’s real.”

  I expected a sea of questions, or even a celebration, but the room was still. Silence took over for a moment. “I watched everything that happened around me from the river of life. I can tell you everything you said around me. I was in Utopia.”

  My father cautiously came to my side. His eyes studied my every feature as he searched for a way to say the words that wouldn’t upset me. “Willow...it was a dream. It’s not uncommon for those who are in a coma to hear what’s said around them. Whatever you saw was a product of your subconscious; your mind was at rest, so you were able to untangle your thoughts – and sometimes our minds give us what we want. You’re safe, stronger...so is everyone else.”

  I had to find a way to make them believe me. I turned to Preston, then walked to him and knelt down. “You know that’s not true. You know Nathaniel – he’s your twin. Tell them they’re real. Do you know when they’ll come?”

  Preston didn’t answer me; instead, he reached his tiny arms around me and hugged me. I let my head fall, then frustration took over. I stood, catching Drake’s dark eyes before I turned to look at the others in the room. “I didn’t just fall asleep and learn how to control the weather. Preston told me before this that if I didn’t want to be alone, I wouldn’t be – and he said that because he knew his twin would be there. They let me see all of this from a distance. I was right: Aella is real. The scroll said there was a twin, and the letters A and D are there.” I argued.

  “Willow,” Perodine said quietly, “the word ‘Aella’ is Latin. It means ‘whirlwinds’, and in most languages it represents weather. That word is on the scroll - you’ve seen it - but it doesn’t represent the letters that referred to the twins on the scroll; the twins written on the scroll are male. They mock darkness and light, and they stand in a perfect circle of balance among others. You must have heard us speak of them when you were sleeping on the couch with Drake before this began. We were expecting you to find this new insight. Your mind played out what it needed to for you to grasp this power. It allowed you to understand the battles you’ve buried, and more than likely you’ve found peace within. That’s vital.” She sighed. “ We need to bring others into our quest, you’re right about that - but you haven’t found them yet.”

  I stared at her in disbelief, then looked to my father. I heard echoes of them in my mind, telling me I needed to rest before. I relayed the words I heard Nathaniel say. I couldn’t comprehend if it was a dream or not, and I didn’t want to; I wanted to believe that I’d found her...I wanted to believe that Drake would be happy soon.

  At that moment, I felt Clarissa running through the palace. I looked to Dane; he’d drifted to sleep, his body completely exhausted. I walked to him and nudged his shoulder, and he opened his eyes slightly. “Clarissa’s coming. She may not believe you were lost at first...give her time.”

  As he furrowed his eyebrows and tried to pull himself up, Clarissa charged through the door with Ashten right behind her. She didn’t look at the rest of us or ask for an explanation; instead, she rushed to Dane and wrapped her arms around him. “You’re back!” she said over and over again as she kissed his face.

  “Let’s go home,” Dane said, trying to stand.

  Ashten and my dad came to his side to help him. As I watched them leave, I almost forgot my confusion, the desire to make them believe me.

  I looked at Perodine. “ Dream or not, there is someone for Drake. I won’t worry about Mars or those male twins that balance light and darkness until you help me discover who that is; for all you know, she needs us as much as we need her...she has to be on that scroll somewhere.”

  She didn’t answer me; instead, she looked past me at Landen. I turned to see him and Drake locked in a stare. Landen nodded once, then looked down at me. “I’m going to make sure we aren’t needed – then I’m going to take you home.”

  He leaned in and kissed my forehead before he left. I felt Drake’s hand grip my arm, his warm sensation easing through my body. As he pulled me to the opposite doorway, I looked over my shoulder at Alamos and Perodine with pleading eyes, wanting them to help me find this elusive girl; I could feel Perodine’s determination to help me find every answer I was seeking. She nodded as we left the room.

  Drake didn’t say anything as he led me down the hall to the room that had the passage to the string. As we walked, my body grew tense, anger came over me, and I heard thunder echo against the palace walls. I was prepared to argue my truth to make him believe that she was real, that finding her was the most important thing we needed to do.

  As we entered the room, I pulled my arm away from him and stared up into his dark eyes. “You may not believe me, but she’s real – and I will find her.”

  His perfect face grew fierce as he shook his head and stepped closer to me. “Why do you have to believe she’s real? What more do I have to say - or do - to make you understand that what’s between us is real?”

  “It’s not real; it’s a misunderstanding. If you never had your dreams, you never would have given me a second look.”

  “The dreams give images to the emotions I’ve felt in my heart. Did you not feel what was between us in the dream that we shared on the couch just days ago? Are you telling me that you were able to see and remember something that didn’t happen to you?”

  I looked down as frustration consumed me. “I do love you. There’s a passion between us that’s as real as the air in my lungs now - but it’s shallow in comparison to what this girl will make you feel.”

  As I said the words, both joy and anger filled his dark eyes. “Willow, do what you need to do. You can lead my heart to anyone you wish – but no power you possess will make me love another; that’s the one emotion that can’t be forced. And I’ll tell you this: if I ever meet a soul that I could love more than you, I’ll be humbled by that emotion simply because she’d have to be someone beyond what my imagination could create, someone beyond what I feel for you...you are the only one I see right now.”

  My eyes peered up at him. “Prepare to be humbled.” Before I could argue my point any further, he pulled me to him and kissed me. As his lips moved across mine, the dream I had of us together invaded my mind...I felt the passion, love, and urgency in the moment...it was like we feared every embrace would be our last, and the idea of that w
as too much to bear, so we held each other tighter.

  A sickening guilt came over me, and I pushed away and stepped back, trying to catch my breath. “Don’t ever do that again,” I said breathlessly

  “Why?” he asked bleakly. “Am I getting through to you? Do you have any idea how many times in lives we’ve led before you told me that? How many times I’ve had to show you that we’re meant to be? How many lives I’ve laid down my life for you?”

  “Love isn’t meant to be that hard. This life is different; Landen is here.”

  “Love is hard; if it was easy, the world would be at constant peace.”

  “It will be,” I argued.

  He shook his head as he locked his jaw. I saw his determination to make me fall for him. I’d only made this worse. I told him I loved him; I told him I believed we had a past. The anger I had for myself caused a crash of thunder to echo through the palace. “Why are you making this so hard? Why are you determined to take the balance I found away? Why can you not at least conceive the idea that she’s real – that I’m right?”

  He stepped closer to me and looked down compassionately at me. “Believe what you want, love. Find your balance, your peace; I found mine: in these moments, the ones that I feel our passion...it’s what I live for.”

  “If you loved me, you would find a way to believe me,” I whispered.

  “Because I love you, I cannot believe you...”

  At that moment, Alamos appeared at the doorway. Drake glanced away from me to him.

  “We need to go home. It’s too dark to see if there are any survivors from the island. We have to tell them something, that it wasn’t Willow; it was the devil, and you’re still searching for her,” Alamos said.

  “I plan to tell them that evil always finds defeat, that it’s clear that there are traitors among us,” Drake said, then looked down at me. “Keep your balance; everything seems to be getting harder.”