Vindicate

  “How many minutes apart, Jason?” Alamos asked urgently .

  “Seconds. Minutes . No one was looking at the clock. We were in an emergency situation.”

  I had heard this story before . Every year on my birthday. I knew about the snow – about another woman. I heard my mother tease him that he could handle anything but delivering his own child. I had no idea he was saving another life.

  “How is your father?” m y dad asked .

  “Busy,” Madison said , as she stared at him . “Thank – thank you,” she said humbly.

  My father nodded once as he smiled. “I lost touch with Joh n years back.” He looked at me. “I guess I’m regretting that now.”

  “Seconds or minutes?” Alamos asked again .

  “Willow was born fi rst. John cleared her airway and made her cry just as Madison was born. I t was not the same second , ” m y father said to reassure him.

  “Sixty -seven seconds apart , ” Draven answered.

  “How c er t a in are you?” Alamos asked .

  “Very – clock on the wall , ” Draven answered , showing us all how vividly he could see our past.

  “That’s close enough for them to be perceived celestial twins. You realize that , right?” Alamos asked my dad.

  “What does that mean?” I asked quickly.

  “Celestial twins are born at the same moment – life events occur simultaneously - including death , ” Alamos answered .

  “It has to be the same moment. The y’re a m inute and seven seconds apart. That’s a lifetime , ” m y father said to calm the room.

  “Regardless – we have no choice but to protect her life if we are going to protect Willow’s , ” Alamos argued .

  “And wh y would my life be in danger?” Madison asked shortly.

  “Let’s just say that looking like Willow does not serve you well when it comes to the enemies that are in the court , ” Alamos said as he looked to the doorway. “Which reminds me , w e have a meeting with them now. Where is Marc?”

  “Coming down the hall , ” I said as I focused on his emotion of frustration and disdain.

  “You need to cancel that meeting,” Draven said , looking over Alamos.

  “You again , ” Alamos said in disgust.

  He smirked , finding joy in irritating him. “Drake never had plans to speak with anyone – they’re tricking you. You show up , and they will know you are mocking a life that we are fighting for.”

  “Why should I believe you? I have no idea what Drake did or said when I was not around.”

  “I do,” Draven said confidently. “He never speaks to anyone without you at his side –he just stares at them coldly. Looking fearless.”

  “He’s speaking the truth,” I said to Alamos , knowing that Draven had just stopped us from walking into a trap.

  “Well,” Alamos said , letting out a deep breath. “That will make Marc happy.”

  “What will?” Marc said as he walked into the room hearing his name.

  Madison turned at the sound of a new voice. Marc stared at her with wide eyes , then looked at me. On instinct , my father stepped forward just as Madison’s knees buckled beneath her. I was instantly at her side , and my father turned her so he could see her. “Breath e...focus on my voice , ” m y father said as he began to count slowly.

  I put my hands on Madison and thought of each time a numbing calm had been given to me. She took in a deep breath and locked her green eyes with mine. “It’s not him…he’s not the one in your dreams , ” I whispered.

  Madison gained her balance , then stood and looked at the bed covered in drapes , then to Draven , who was staring intently at her – expecting her to be angry.

  “This –t his is what you are hiding ? This is why I can’t see them?! You led me blindly here!” she yelled in his direction.

  “Charlie told you to stay , ” Draven said remorsefully .

  “Like I would have stayed! You could have told me!” s he said coldly as she ran from the room , p ushing past Marc , refusing to look at him again.

  “What did I do?” Marc ask ed , in a bemused tone .

  “You look like your brother,” I said as I chased after Madison.

  She ran down th e hallway toward the study. Charlie and Aden were walking our way with Brady just behind them. Charlie tried to stop Madison , but she pushed past them.

  “Let me handle this , ” I said to Charlie.

  She had the immediate intent to ignore me and follow Madison , but Aden held her back. I ran past th em as she struggled against him . Brady was right at my side.

  “Leave us alone , Brady. Figure out how to see!” I yelled over my shoulder.

  Madison ran all the way through the study ; instead of going down the steps that were just outside the hallway , she ran to the observatory. I assumed she would turn back when she discovered the dead end she’d found herself in , but she didn’t. I ran the last few steps between us , and when I reached the observatory , I found her on h er knees , staring into thin air.

  Chapter Ten

  The conversation I feared most was about to begin. I’d often thought of what I would say to the girl that Drake was destined to love. What I would apologize for. What I would say to make her see that nothing between us was as powerful as how they would feel for each other. I had fears, too. Ones that told me she could be the ‘bad’ soul mate for Landen – ones that told me that I could not undo the damage that w as already done. That this fate of choice we were all fighting had led us blindly in the wrong direction.

  I walked quietly to her side and knelt down by her. I reached my arm around her and offered as much peace and calm that I could afford.

  We didn ’t speak for countless minutes then she took a deep breath and glanced to her side at me.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  “For what?” she said, pulling slightly away, causing my arm to fall from around her.

  “For whatever I’v e done to make you not like me. Trust me.”

  “I trust you. Like you,” she said as she rubbed her hands across her face. “But I don’t trust this place. I want to end this and go home.”

  I stared back at her for countless seconds, looking for the perfect words. “What if this is your home now?” I asked quietly.

  “I can’t survive here,” she mumbled.

  “The emotions?” I asked.

  She moved her head from side to side. “The reality…it’s suffocating.”

  “I understand. I come from Infante . I lived in your reality. I know what it feels like to grasp the idea of another dimension – to grasp a fate you would not choose for yourself…but I’m happy you’re here. Happy that I’ve met you.” I hesitated. “I wish I could have met you long before today.”

  Her green eyes met mine. “I’m going to tell you what I told Charlie. I refuse to be anyone’s second choice.”

  With that statement, I knew we w ere both ignoring the obvious. “That is not a fair statement. I t’s not like you were standing next to anyone and were chosen second. You cann ot blame anyone for their past. For the decisions they made when they followed the path they were told to take.”

  She smiled faintly as she furrowed her e yebrows. “I’ve dreamed of you. I was standing next to you... and I was chosen second. Not you or anyone else in your life follows a path they were told to take; all of you follow your heart.”

  “You dreamed of me?” I asked in shock.

  “Often,” she said as she looked around the observatory. “Recently – you’ve become violent.”

  “And before?”

  “Before – before, I thought you were a mirror image, a reflection of who I would become.” Her emerald green eyes grew dim. “Then on the last blue m oon I understood you were not a mirror image. I was finally certain of it .” Anger and jealous was now reflecting in her gaze. “You were the other woman. You hurt him.”

  A sick feeling settled in my stomach, and the open ceiling of the observatory reflected a gray sky that
grew so dim that you would have thought dusk was approaching. “I didn’t mean to, and I am not the other woman.”

  “He loves you,” she said in a deep whisper as her eyes focused on me.

  I held my breath, fight ing to sustain a calm emotion. One that would not cause th e skies to reflect how I felt. How horribly guilty I felt. “Maybe so, but not in the way Landen loves me…not in the way he will love you,” I promised. I looked over her carefully. “Have you dreamed of Landen?” I asked, trying to hide the jealousy I felt building inside of me.

  She moved her head from side to side. “Why?”

  “Hard to explain…I guess I’m just trying to see if you are his bad soul mate – trying to find a way for me not to hate you if that were true. Even though I have no right to feel that way.”

  “Bad soul mate?” she asked with a smirk, falling from her knees and crossing her legs in front of her.

  “Yeah,” I said, mocking her stance. “It’s how Alamos and Perodine explain the difference between Landen and Drake to me.” I let a sardonic smile echo on the corners of my lips. “They say one gives undyin g love and ones gives passion. That in our past lives, I have loved them and they have loved another. I always assumed it was the same person - that who brings Drake love will inspire passion in Landen. I dread that.”

  “And you believe them?” she asked in a voice that was full of doubt.

  “Why would I not?”

  “Because they are human and they are ruled by emotions, and emotions change our perspective and shape our opinions of the truth; of all people, you should know that.”

  Well, now, that was something I’d never considered. And now that I had it felt like a weight had been lifted from shoulders. “Point taken,” I said as I stu died her features. “But there has t o be some truth there, some basis for that insight … I can’t feel Drake.”

  “Drake. The tall, strong, regal boy with magnetic dark eyes,” she said as she looked to the stone floor.

  I nodded to confirm. “He is a good man, and he needs a queen.”

  “I’m not her,” Madison said sharply , locking eyes with me.

  Oh, yes you are I thought to myself. “How do you know for sure?”

  “I told you, I refuse to be his second choice. I will not allow any man to ‘settle’ for me. I don’t deserve that; no girl does.”

  “How can you blame him for something he has not done? It’s not fair th at he did not know you before. They toyed with his mind . Invoked dreams of me. Told him over and over I would rule with him , but that was all a cruel ploy. That evil angel did that so it could take over his life the m oment I coincided to love him. You should be furious at that ghost that cam e after your friends. Not him. It’s not his fault.”

  I could see that she had no idea what Drake had endured by her eyes that widened for a split second. But she regained her distant stance.

  “I am furious with th at ghost for more reasons than you could imagine.” She sighed heavily, obviously looking for the right words to say to me. “Willow, I think yo ur perspective has been blinded. Evil does not live here.” She said with a glance around the stone room. “What is here is the damage left in its wake. I go to the place where it’s bred. I’ve fought there a nd will continue to fight there.” She leaned slightly forward to capitalize her next point. “I will never stay in any palace and have countless people wait on me as long days drift by. I will never rule with anyone because no one should rule another.”

  I smirked. “I’ve said the same thing,” I mumbled. “Listen,” I said weakly. “I don’t have ti me to convince you to love him. I t’s not my place to do that anyway ... but I can’t be two people in The Realm, at least I don’t think I can . You may have to face him there .” I captured her distrustful stare. “– can you handle that? Will you help me save his life?”

  “Once again, I will tell you what I t old Charlie. I would stand at your side with or without your permiss ion and save whomever I need to. Not because of some love you think I should have, but becaus e that is what I do. I save damn ed souls whether they deserve it or not.”

  “He’s not damned.”

  “If he’s where I think he is – he’s damned.”

  Fear shot through me as I leaned forward. “What are you saying? Landen is there. Is he damned?”

  “Do you think Draven is?” she asked curiously, weighing my reaction.

  “He’s not damned – he’s made a choice to love Charlie. I don ’t even think it was a choice. She is the air he breathes.”

  “Then there is hope for your Landen – Drake.”

  “What are you not saying?” I asked impatiently.

  She signed deeply. “Listen, Draven has always been closer to the edge than the rest of us. We all see or perceive the da mn ed differently. Aden sees lost dreams, I see emotions – Charlie somehow sees it all, but Draven has only seen the darkest parts of those souls’ lives…we knew he was different; we just didn’t realize how different he was until a few months back. More so in the last few weeks.”

  “What happened? Why do I see fear in your eyes?”

  She looked down, hiding that emotion from me. “Charlie help ed an image – it warned her of Escorts, of Bianca. We thought we were ready for her. Thought we would fight her in our reality the way all girls fight – with words and wit – but she took him to The Realm . He was tested on the night h e first played that song live. I n that test, he had a choice to either fall back into the numb absence of pain The Realm has – or step forward and face all the deeds he had done in this life and every life before.”

  “He’s here . So I guess I know what choice he made,” I said, telling her I was hanging on to her every word.

  “Yup. That album cover – that is what Charlie – all of us witnessed. We thought that it was over, that at this point we just needed to find a way to save the damned, but life is never simple. Draven has not been the same. He has always had an edge to his personality. That self-loathing bite to his temper that all creative artists have, but it’s more defined now. He and Charlie are fighting with each other more. He doesn’t think he deserves her – deserves to be fighting at our side.”

  “Is it because of that other guy? The one he thinks will kill him if he hurts her?”

  Her stare told me yes. “Yup. Silas. And if Draven isn’t careful – he will drive her right into his arms.”

  “Did that world do something to him? Did that test do something to him?”

  Madison leaned back on her arms and gazed at me for a moment – obviously finding trust for me. “Some might think stepping forward and facing your deeds is an easy thing to do . Something you do once, and your debt is paid, but it’s not. Draven has memories of all of those lives he le d. A ll of the evil in his past . One word can spark a memory – an emotion . He has to make the choice to face his deeds every moment of his life … Charlie has to make him focus on this life. The way he feels with her right now to stop him from spiraling out of control.”

  “You think Landen and Drake will be ‘tested’? That they will have to face the choices they made in past lives?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know . None of us do. I think that test is onl y for those bred by that evil, but all of us are different . The more time we spend there, the more – the more – I don’t know how to say it – we perceive life differently . We don’t fear death or feel that an y choice we make is permanent. Who we bring hom e for you may not be the same. I t just depe nds on what was done to them. What past they were shown.”

  “I don’t think either of them led an evil past life. A t least not by choice,” I said, defending both Landen and Drake.

  She smirked. “Have you ever said something and regretted it – hurt someone with words or choices – felt the guilty agony?”

  “All the time,” I said, firmly holding back the urge to bring up Drake again.

  “They didn’t have to be evil to have bad deeds. They just had to be human. That world amplifies those memor
ies in its victims. I t does that to draw out the energy of all those that come there.”

  “And what regrets have you faced . How altered is your perception now?” I asked, wondering if that world had managed to place a divide between her and Drake before they ever had the chance to meet.

  She raised one eyebrow as a sly smile came across her face. “Listen, I’m a Scorpio . I think deep, and my th oughts make no sense sometimes. They just create more questions.”

  “Well, so am I,” I said, encouraging her to tell me what was mustering in her mind.

  “Alright,” she said, stretching her legs out in front of her. “How do you know this is reality? How do you know that this world – this place – you – me – Landen is nothing more than a projection of your thoughts? How do you know that everything you are fighting is not in some way – you? What is it that makes something evil? Something good? How do you know that talking to me right now or breathing in a certain direction has not somehow caused a chain reaction and caused some kind of natural disaster? Are you really making a difference in this place – or are you just a hamster spinning in a wheel – looking like a fool to the heavens above? What is truth? What is a lie? What you believe today – will you believe it tomorrow? How powerful are your thoughts, really? Your dreams? Is there a heaven ? A hell? How is it that some suffer and some are blessed? Why am I wide-awake and aware of all the energy around me, and others shift through mundane lives waiting for death – just to find some kind of escape? Why is it human nature to find a fight – to find a common enemy? Why is peace so seemingly boring?”