“How do I help them?” I asked as my knees came to a halt. I was intently waiting for my directions, more than willing to negotiate this. All I could think was ‘show me the door that will lead to Donalt’s death.’
“I don’t think you can alone. You need my grandsons, and Charlie. They have to pull the energy back to this plane so you can fight the core.”
“They’re not here. Before I called you, my issue was getting out of this room to stop Landen from doing something stupid. I have...I have...I have to figure out if my friends are dead or not. Why Silas let them die or raised them.”
“Sage,” she murmured. “They say sage will stop it. Do you see that herb anywhere?
“They mean Saige. That’s the name of the witch.”
“I see,” Nana said quietly.
Silence fell again. Then I heard a roar of an engine, men talking to Nana and Evan.
“Okay, Willow. Saige is a guardian for them. She seeks those who can help them. They’re calling her a weaver. Saige is going to link you and Landen to who you need to help you. She’s going to expand your reach in this war.”
“That’s great. But listen, Landen is going to kill Silas. I know Charlie loves your grandson, but she is going to be hurt by that. Trust me, when you’re hurt, you’re weak. Tell them to let me out of this room so I can stop that so Charlie can help them.”
“They hear you, and they disagree.”
“Why?” I yelled, losing the hold on my wall in my mind, which caused the house to rumble with thunder again.
“Because you can’t kill a dead man. Silas can only die if Charlie doesn’t love him. You’ve assured them in some way that she does, that she cares about him.”
“What are you—” I stopped short, remembering the argument I had with Landen about Charlie loving him. “But I didn’t mean that kind of love. I meant like friend love, like old love that can never be again love.”
“Right. I told you they feed off your thoughts. When I met you, Willow, you were fighting to save two boys. You love them both, but the definition of that love was different for each. It appears Charlie feels the same about the boys in her life, and because she does, Landen cannot kill him.”
“What if he hurts Landen?”
“They seem to feel that he can’t.”
“Seem to? That’s not solid enough for me.”
“Listening to the room around you, I hear a play-by-play. Landen is in a graveyard not far from you. He and Silas are circling each other, not saying much, but Landen is learning that Silas did not allow his sister to die. He did raise her, he was present, aware that it would happen.”
“In Landen’s mind, that is still going to make it his fault.”
“Agreed. But it sounds as if Landen is more focused on the why right now. His sister’s spirit is there. She is calming him down.”
“Spirit? So she is a ghost,” I said as a sick feeling rose in my throat.
“I’m not clear on that. It appears she’s in transition. Not as solid as she could be on this plane, the strongest in The Realm. Landen is more focused on whether she should move on or become a Witness.”
“What is Landen’s opinion?” I whispered, not having the slightest clue. I knew he would not want to say goodbye to her, but he would not want her trapped for his benefit, for the benefit of his family not to grieve.
“His opinion does not matter. Hers does.”
I cringed, knowing that was one of the many underlying arguments we had, our family feeling called. If Clarissa was saying she had to stay a Witness to help him, it would only make this worse.
“They are not hurting each other? You’re sure?”
“Words can be more painful than blows, so I can’t tell you that. His sister is trying to explain to him what happened in The Realm.”
“She knows they did something to him that he’s not the same,” I breathed.
“It appears. I don’t think anything was done per se in The Realm. He was opened in some way, and all that he was is now flooding to the surface. Clarissa is telling him to let it rise, but he disagrees because...”
“Because why?”
“Crossed energy.”
I leaned back in my seat as a piercing pain struck my temple and I smelled mint for no reason. Something was telling me not to worry about crossed energy, but I couldn’t figure out what that was. As I struggled to open dormant memories, Nana spoke again.
“Clarissa is arguing that we are all one, that the energy that is in Landen was not Drake’s soul, not even an essence. She’s comparing it to healing, to family.”
“He’s not buying it, is he?”
“No,” she mumbled. “Landen claims that letting him out was planned that Donalt was trying to move his soul or Drake’s so he would have a host. He’s yelling that he will make them regret letting him survive.”
“He’s not off-base. That sounds like something Donalt would do.”
“Donalt is one ghost. What you’re fighting is more than that,” she offered, as if Donalt was nothing more than a nuisance.
“One ghost that has condemned an entire dimension. One ghost that wants to take over Drake’s body, but he can’t do it without the power in my heart, or something like that.”
“One ghost, one dimension. You have been consumed with one Escort’s playground. He’s not alone. That is what these near corporeal ghosts are telling you. You need to expand your horizons. I almost feel that if you see a bigger picture, you will find a way to stop this Donalt Escort.”
“One problem: he is the picture. I have trials to face, lives out of balance. He’s keeping me on this playground. It wasn’t my choice to play here.”
“Think outside the box. Maybe he’s distracting you for a reason. I want you to think about all the souls in this universe.”
“I know there’s a lot,” I grumbled.
“Now think about all the dead ones, the ones that have lived before—that’s a lot. A lot of power. Don’t focus on this one dead Escort. Focus on what you are called to do.”
“Sure. What was that again?”
I heard her smirk. “I see Charlie and Madison are rubbing off on you.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled, realizing how sarcastic I sounded.
“I have to get off the phone so we can take off. I will be there in a few hours. We’ll figure out why they are calling Charlie and Draven.”
“Wait—wait—I need out of this room.”
“I understand, but they don’t. Let Landen and his sister work this out. No one is dying tonight.”
“K...but I don’t know how to tell you where I am.”
“I know where you are. I traced the line.”
Seriously? “K.”
“Until I get there, practice using that wall, Willow. You have to get control. The spirits with you are upset that you are not using your powers wisely.”
“Wisely?”
“Apparently. I’ll see you soon.”
I hung up the phone and leaned back into my seat. My first thought was to forget about the wall, fall into meditation, rise from my body, and walk out of this room, but with that thought the ice in the hall grew thicker, the air grew tense, and I knew that would be a bad idea.
The candles on the altar in front of the desk shook in place. I grew still, wondering if I’d done that. Then the flames grew larger and the chalice began to move forward, gracefully easing around the candles.
I stood abruptly. I don’t know how I knew, but I knew that someone or something was about to take that chalice, and I didn’t want them to. I was going to make them manifest and explain to me what they wanted with Charlie, what power I was misusing.
I eased around the altar. With a steady hand, I cupped the base of the chalice to urge it back, but I might as well have been trying to push a mountain. I grimaced as I used all my energy to push it back, the same energy that had knocked grown men down, moved massive ships, raised children hundreds of feet in the air; the same energy that made Donalt tremble.
br /> With the power I was enforcing, the chalice shook violently in place. I felt like I was pushing two magnets against one another. Then what was in the chalice began to spin. It wasn’t liquid. At first I thought it was herbs, but as it rose from the cup, I recognized it to be ashes. The ashes spun in place, making a small tornado.
I wasn’t alone in this room anymore. I felt a fire of energy behind me. Daring me to stand in its way any longer.
Chapter Three
Now illuminating the room with a soft glow were flames burning in the once dark fireplace. I could smell cedar burning, hear the wood popping in protest of not only the flames, but also the electrifying energy searing through the room. The tiny hairs on my arms stood at attention as I held my breath and prepared for a fight. Slowly, on one heel, I turned to face my opponent.
The breath I was holding escaped slowly as I gazed at the flawless creature before me. He was tall. Broad shoulders gave way to a fit body dressed in dark jeans and a tight black T-shirt, but my eyes did not travel down him. They were locked in his.
At first I thought that the flames in the fireplace were reflecting in his fierce glare, but as I stared, I saw that I was wrong. Though the base of his eyes were a deep gray, the centers were golden, near orange. His strong jawline clenched. He slanted his head ever so slightly, allowing a lock of his dark auburn hair to fall over his high cheekbones.
Though I looked calm, reserved, I was freaked. I couldn’t feel a single thing from him. No emotion, nor intent nor truth. The only thing I felt was his dominant, predatory energy. My fear exploded into thunder, rattling the house and causing the candles on Saige’s altar to extinguish.
Holding my gaze, with one slide of his boot he stepped closer to me. A force of energy held me in place as he raised his hand. His fingertips beckoned the air. At first I thought he was calling me closer, but when I saw the ash fly by me and into his waiting hand, I knew it was not me he was calling to him.
A sly smile came across his tantalizing image as one more slide of his boot brought him closer to me. Now only inches away, peering down at me as if I were his next meal, he clenched the fist with the ashes in them, then leaned forward.
“You tell Skylynn that if she toys with me again, I will rip her little shadowed soul into tiny pieces and feed it to the bloody devil’s hounds.”
I nodded my head in an attempt to jolt him back with my energy. Beyond another rumble from the heavens, nothing happened.
“I don’t know who Skylynn is, but you need to get out of my face before I rip you into shreds.”
At first his stare held, fierce and commanding, but then he burst into laughter as he stepped back and began to circle me.
“You? I should fear you?”
I couldn’t figure him out. He didn’t look any older than me, but the aged, regal power emanating from him told me he’d lived well beyond my lifetime.
“Give me a reason,” I dared as I backed away and began to match his circling stride with a waiting stare.
“Oh, my lady,” he moaned in a seductive whisper. “I could give you a thousand if I wanted to,” he winked, “but I decline.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I’ve never hurt a woman, and I’m not going to start now.” He smirked. “Besides, you’re terrified right now, trembling.”
“No. I’m not,” I seethed through gritted teeth. My dangerous expression was backed up by a fierce wind pounding the glass pane windows, but it was all an act. I was terrified.
“You need to find a new teacher. Saige has done a wretched job with you. Poorest excuse for a witch that I have ever seen.”
“I don’t know Saige. I’m not a witch.”
He stopped his circling and glanced at the altar, then to the iced hallway, before returning his gaze to me.
“Why do you have my ashes? Why did you call me here? Where is Skylynn?”
“I didn’t call you. I don’t know who your girl is. Leave.”
“I’m not leaving,” he whispered sarcastically with another wink. “I want the rest of my ashes.” His eyes traveled down my body once. “I want them now.”
Ash only made me think of one person: Donalt. I couldn’t feel this person, which led me to believe he was evil, too.
“In my life, ashes are victory. If you lost them, you deserved to.”
His stare found mine. “Victory,” he mused, almost to himself as his eyes drifted over my furious expression. As he began to circle again, I matched his turn. “They’re more than victory to me. I don’t care to be toyed with.”
“That we have in common. Now leave.”
“What is that look?”
“What look?” I snapped.
“Beyond the sickening fear you’re leaking all over me, I see that look in your eyes, the one that is painting me as evil.”
“Self-conscious? My stare speaks truth.”
“Does it?” His eyes raked over me once more. “You call me evil? Ironic...why are you here?”
“I’m trapped here.” I cringed as I said the words, knowing that was the last thing I should have said to him.
He glanced to the icy hallway, then back to me. “What did Saige tell you about me?”
“Nothing.”
“Truth,” he said to himself. “Then why do you see me as evil?”
“You’re blank.”
“Blank?”
“There is nothing there.”
A mischievous smile echoed on the corner of his lips. His eyes locked on mine. The fire I saw in them grew wilder, then he nodded his head ever so slightly. A sensation of warm energy began at the crown of my head, and like a slow rippling waterfall it eased down my body. When it reached my core I gasped as every muscle in my body flexed, then relaxed. I felt the quiver fall down my legs to the tips of my toes.
“Feel me now?” he asked in a sultry tone.
“Back away,” I gasped.
“I never touched you. Now tell me, why would you assume I was evil by not being able to feel me?”
“I never feel evil. They’re a void to me.”
A grin that would melt any soul slowly eased across his face. “That means we are one and the same. You can call it evil. I call it real.”
“What does that mean?”
He crossed his arms and let the tips of his long fingers slowly caress his bottom lip, studying me with those alluring eyes before he answered.
“Souls are not voids unless they are cut from the same cloth.”
“You’re trying to say that I’m darkness?”
Raising one brow, he said, “No, you are.”
“I fight darkness.”
“Don’t we all?” That phrase brought a sardonic grin to the corner of his lips.
“Stop toying with me. Leave.”
He let his fingertips fall from his lip and crossed his arms, pulling back his broad shoulders.
“How old is your soul?”
“Old.”
“Yet you’re not immortal,” he mused.
“No one ever really dies.”
He smirked. “Wise words. But some are foolish enough to erase their mind and start again for nothing more than kicks and giggles.”
“Natural order. We die, we begin again.”
“Natural order.” He grinned as he spoke those words. “I know you. I don’t know how I know you, but I do. You and I are one and the same. What I don’t know is why Skylynn gave you my ashes, what game she’s playing.”
“What’s with the ashes? You have them. Move on.”
“I don’t have all of them. You see, Skylynn is too prideful to ask for help, so she manipulates me for her gain.”
“Like I said, I don’t know her. I can’t feel you, so I don’t know if you’re telling me the truth. I have bigger issues. I want you to leave. Don’t make me ask again.”
“Is that a dare? Do you want to feel me again?” I stepped back, which caused a seductive laugh to echo within him. “I’ll take that as a no.” He glanced at the hallway. “Fo
r God’s sake, back off the ice, mate.” A second later, the icy walls in the hallway returned to normal. “Who is she? Why are you guarding her?” he asked no one.
But he must have heard something because a sense of recognition washed over his face. Before he could say another word, the room began to shake. The candles fell over and plants hit the floor. Chairs flipped backwards.
He took me in his arms and turned me to face the room that was falling apart.
“All right, mate, calm down,” he said with an ease that was beyond terrifying.
“Who are you talking to?” I said through clenched teeth, trying to break away, but his body, which was pressed firmly against my back, was as solid as iron, a wall that I could not find the power to move.
“He claims he was your mate, though I don’t believe him.”
My heart began to beat violently. All I could think about was Landen. Had something happened to him? What was this boy saying?
Lightning brought the room to a white haze for a second, then the thunder that followed caused the room to shake viciously.
“Enough,” the boy holding me said firmly. “She can’t see you or hear you.”
“Who are you talking to?” I yelled.
“Someone who wants your attention,” he mumbled.
“I get that. Who?”
“Trying to figure that out.” He held me tighter. “Clear out, leave him here with us,” he said to the room.
“I can’t see anyone.”
“That’s an issue.” He leaned down, then against my neck he whispered, “Willow...is that your name?”
A sensation twice as strong as the one before eased down my spine. “Tell me yours, and I’ll tell you mine.” I meant for that to sound sarcastic, but I was almost sure the gasp in my breath lent the wrong impression to my tone.
He raised his head ever so slightly so his lips were just below my ear. “Phoenix.”
“Let me go,” I whispered, staring at the room before us. The ice was gone, but I felt a lashing of energy coming in our direction. I wanted out of this house.
His grip on me tightened. “We have a deal. Confirm your name.”