Crown of Insight_Godly Games

  Landen kissed my lips softly causing my soul to seize with anticipation. “I always knew I’d find you,” he swore.

  I looked down at the rings again. It felt like I had seen them before, too, like they’d always been ours. “Did August tell you where he got these?”

  “He didn’t have a chance. All he said was ‘time is simply an illusion, and the gifted live on,’” Landen said, smiling. “August isn’t like the others. He isn’t quick to offer advice. He likes to watch your mind work.” He laughed a little, tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear. “He said he needed to show us something in the morning.”

  “Is he going to tell us what the others are hiding?”

  “I believe he will.”

  We changed out of our party clothes and into the all-black attire. We then laid in our bed in silence. Hoping we’d given Rose and my father time to rest, we drifted to sleep, almost simultaneously. Standing over our bodies, the addictive rush of excitement came over us again. Landen checked his pocket to make sure the garlic salt was with us then looked at me.

  “Let’s try this: think of your father’s porch.” He reached his arm around my waist and pressed his forehead to mine, concentrating on my dad’s porch.

  “We did it,” he thought. I opened my eyes to see that Landen was right. We were on the front steps. A rush of excitement came through us, more exhilarating than before. I gave him an alluring smile; this power was becoming less elusive and extremely addictive.

  I led the way through the door. All the lights were off, and I could sense peaceful sleep coming from five people. Karsten must have stayed there, too. Walking up the stairs, we stopped in the guest room. Rose was asleep in a chair with an open book resting on her lap. I was afraid to wake her and startle her. We went down the hall to my parents’ room. When we opened the door, my father raised his head and whispered into the darkness. “Willow.”

  I walked over to him and pulled back his blanket, letting him know it was us, and a rush of excitement came over him as he watched the blanket move without seeing anyone. Landen found a notepad on my mother’s side of the bed and wrote wake Rose, we are on our way now.

  Already dressed, my father slid on his shoes and walked into Rose’s room.

  “Do you want to see if we can make it to the hospital the same way?” I asked. Landen smiled, and we held each other again and focused on the roof that we’d been on earlier that day. A moment later, I heard raindrops. When we opened our eyes, we were on the roof. It was an awful looking day; the sky was so dark, it was hard to tell that it was daylight. There was thunder in the distance with increasing wind.

  Knowing the way, I took Landen’s hand, and we walked in the door and down the steps. The hospital was quiet; not much was happening there, new births being the most exciting thing.

  The maternity ward was on the fourth floor, and we passed that doorway on our way to the third floor.

  We opened the door slowly, not knowing who might be standing close to it. At the end of the hallway, we could see two women standing outside one of the doors. As we approached them, I saw it was Chase’s mom, and Gina, Dane’s mom. We listened as they talked.

  “It just doesn’t make any sense, how did they get here so fast?” Gina said.

  “At least they’re safe. The search for Monica was called off yesterday…I don’t think this town could bear losing another child,” Chase’s mom said in a sorrowful tone.

  I looked at Landen. He felt my grief and put his arm around me.

  “I wish someone could get a hold of Jason, or Grace, for that matter. Jason would know what was wrong. That man is the best doctor on this planet.”

  I felt a rush of pride all my own as they spoke of my parents.

  “How is Dane anyway? I can’t believe he ran off with Willow like that. I bet you’re happy, aren’t you?”

  Landen was shaking his head and smiling. He wasn’t angry or jealous. It was just odd how Dane and Clarissa had met.

  “He’s not with Willow. He’s—he’s seeing one of her friends, Clarissa,” answered Gina, confused by her own words.

  “Oh, I see. Do you know if Willow’s okay? Chase said that Willow and Dane were hung up on each other. That kid, Drake, made a move on Willow, and Dane showed up, saw it, and was furious. Chase said they had to stop Dane from tearing that guy apart.”

  “Remind me to tell Dane he’s awesome when we get back,” Landen thought.

  “Willow is happy, too. Grace said she’s in love with a great guy, and Grace and Jason both seem to love him. They went to school with his parents, I think,” Gina said, trying to curve the conversation.

  “So tell me about Clarissa, what’s she like?”

  “Dane called a day or so ago. He’s going to go to Paris, too. Right now, they’re in New York. He said he’d come home before he went overseas.”

  “So Dane could ask Jason to come home, too?”

  Before Gina could answer, the door opened, and Olivia’s aunt, came out, holding a pad of paper. Still studying the words on it, she looked tired and aged by the event.

  “How’s Hannah,” Gina asked.

  “She’s asleep now. I don’t know. She doesn’t remember anything about getting on a boat or going to the Keys,” Olivia’s aunt said, leaning against the wall and staring at the notes.

  “Do they know what happened to her voice or Jessica’s hearing?”

  “The doctor said the memory loss is due to trauma, but he thinks the girls will recover if they rest.”

  “What about Olivia? Does Hannah remember where she is?” asked Gina.

  “Hannah can’t even tell me if she was ever with them, to begin with.”

  Feeling their agonizing grief and confusion, I shifted my way in front of Olivia’s aunt. Landen took a protective step forward, bracing himself for anything that could happen.

  As I reached for her shoulders, my trembling hands anticipated the rush. Staring into her eyes, I concentrated on peace. I remembered how happy Olivia looked dancing with Chrispin, hearing her laughter over the music. Her eyes closed slowly then opened again, looking past the room. Gina and Chase’s mom started to yell her name, fearing she was passing out. My fingertips tingled. Just as I felt her emotion change to joy, a flash of light came across my face, causing me to lose my touch. The rush found Landen, and the sensation boomeranged between us, intensifying the high and energizing our spirit.

  Olivia’s aunt let out a gasp of air as Chase’s mom and Gina both reached for her, blocking a potential fall. At first, I thought I’d done something wrong or hurt her somehow, but she just gasped again then smiled.

  “She’s fine. Olivia’s happy; she’s found her place.”

  “What?” Gina asked, looking behind her, halfway expecting Olivia to be standing there.

  “I could see her, dancing and laughing. She’s in love. It’s in her eyes, a light I haven’t seen … since, ” Olivia’s aunt's words faded as tears surfaced in the corner of her eyes. She took a deep breath and stood up straight. Smiling, she still carried the joy I’d given her. “I think I need some coffee. Will you guys go with me?”

  Gina and Chase’s mom walked behind her, whispering and looking back through where we stood.

  “What was that? Did it hurt you?” Landen reached down, examining my fingertips.

  “No, it was incredible—exhilarating.”

  “Were you thinking of them dancing? Is that what she saw?”

  “Yeah, I don’t know how she saw them. I always think of something when I help. Did you see that light?”

  Landen nodded.

  “Where did it come from?”

  “Her, well, the both of you. A light came from your fingers, then another burst from her chest.”

  The elevator door dinged, then opened. A nurse got off as Olivia’s aunt and the others got on. We watched as the nurse checked a clipboard before going into the room across the hall. As we waited, we were walloped with terror.

  Landen grabbed my hand before going into Hann
ah’s room. It was dark. Only a little light came from the gray windows where rain sheeted across the pane. I could see Jessica’s mother sleeping on a couch under the window. All of a sudden, the terror we were feeling seemed to double. Landen saw them first – the ‘monkeys.’

  Jessica and Hannah were in beds side-by-side, asleep, and on their chests sat small demonic animals that resembled monkeys. They had short red hair, and spikes made of reddish bone lined their spines. Horns crowned their head and black collars circled their small necks. Their feet were planted firmly on the girls’ chests as they stared centimeters from their sleeping faces.

  We stared, frozen with horror.

  “We have to hide our fear,” I thought, remembering that Rose would wake us before we’d be able to help if she felt it in our bodies.

  We both pushed it aside and found anger instead. As we stared, not believing our eyes, we listened to the growling of the monkeys as they breathed. Landen reached in his pocket for the bag of garlic salt. He then opened it, grabbed a handful of it, and gave me a handful, too. We never took our eyes off the demons. The girls moaned as if they were in pain, and the chuckle of a growl filled the room.

  The terror coming from the girls was growing stronger. Not knowing if the demons could see us, we stepped cautiously in their direction. All at once, the growling halted, and the one on Jessica looked slowly over its shoulder, its red eyes glowing in the dark room. The other one sensed us and turned as well. It was clear that they could see us. As they stepped off the two girls’ chests, their terror faded as they turned restlessly. The demons sauntered toward us as the growls resumed and grew louder. Landen and I threw the handfuls of salt at them. They let out deep growls as the salt hit their faces then leaping at us they suddenly vanished. Stunned, we looked slowly at each other, allowing the fear to come out.

  A resilient pull came over us, and as we gasped for breath, we suddenly found ourselves back in our bed. My father was standing over me, and Rose was standing over Landen. They were shaking our shoulders. We jolted up, making sure we were both back. Landen dove across the bed and pulled me into his arms, burying his face in my neck. His fear was in rhythm with his heartbeat. He knew just like I did that those things had visited me often. The weight on my chest—that was them.

  “Never again, Willow. He will never do that to you again. I swear I’ll kill him—never again,” Landen said through his teeth as he rocked me back and forth.

  The fear in the room was overpowering. Rose and my father stood like statues, not sure what had happened.

  “Olivia…Landen…Olivia,” I said, pushing him back and holding his face so he would have to look at me through his rage.

  Olivia was sleeping now. The demons could be tormenting her where she lay.

  “Jason, where is Olivia?” shouted Landen, still staring at me.

  “She’s…uh…she’s with Felicity. What’s—”

  We rushed passed him then down the stairs, out the door, and into the Jeep. Landen didn’t even use the road. He tore off across the field in the darkness. Just over the second hill, a house could be seen in the moonlight. We stopped inches short of the front porch.

  Landen charged open the door not caring how loud it banged back. He raced up the stairs two at a time. I ran to keep pace with him. At the top of the stairs, he took a quick left, opening the first door. The light flicked on, and Olivia lay, sleeping peacefully. I walked breathlessly to her side to wake her, and I could hear Brady charging down the hall with Felicity close behind.

  “Olivia! Olivia, I need you to wake up!” I said, trying to catch my breath.

  Landen stopped Brady at the door, and Felicity peered in under his arm as they stared, wide-eyed.

  Startled awake, Olivia sat up defensively.

  “Have you had a nightmare?” I said through the tears that were catching up with me, the demons’ eyes staring through my memory.

  “What? Willow, are you okay? What happened?”

  “Have you had a nightmare!” I yelled.

  “No, not since I was little—why?” she asked, reaching for me.

  I pushed away before she could touch me, charging my way out of the room and back down the stairs. I needed air. I was gasping, not wanting to cry, not wanting to succumb to the terror that had chased me through childhood.

  Landen was right behind me. He grabbed my arm and swung me into his arms as I reached the porch. I buried my face in his chest. Letting it all go, I cried breathlessly. The images that I’d helped, the pain I endured each time, the fear I’d overcome—it all flashed through my eyes.

  I felt Rose and my father approach as the others looked out at us. Landen waved them all away and let me cry. Holding me tighter as the minutes passed the tears ran dry. A light was starting to peak over the hill. When the tears finally dried on my face, we went in the house.

  They were all in the living room; Felicity and Olivia had fallen asleep toe-to-toe on the couch, and Brady, Rose, and my father were sitting, tensely waiting for us.

  Brady raised his hands to question what was going on; looking at my dad and Rose; it was evident they hadn’t told Brady about watching our bodies. Landen slid in one of the oversized chairs and nestled me against him. I laid on his chest, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone.

  “We went to check on Hannah and Jessica. We…” Landen stopped, looking at my father, then down at me. “We saw these things, demonic monkey-looking things, sitting on their chests. They were being tortured with nightmares.”

  “Sitting?” my father repeated.

  Landen nodded. “Like a heavy weight,” he bit out. Anger coursed through him as he squeezed me tighter.

  Brady stood, rubbing his arms nervously. As he began pacing the floor, fear and confusion overcame him. “Landen, are you serious? Demons—seriously!” he said in a harsh whisper, looking back to make sure Felicity was still sleeping.

  Landen’s angry blank stare told Brady we were very serious.

  “What did you do? I mean, how do you come back from something like that?” asked Brady.

  “Garlic salt,” Rose said, realizing Libby had given us the weapon that saved us.

  Brady raised his hands in the air protesting the foolishness he heard. “I don’t think I want to know,” he said, sitting back down. “Does Dad know?” Brady stood again, ready to defend Landen’s point of view if his father came charging in the door. He looked at my dad, trying to measure his perspective.

  Landen swayed his head. “Not yet. Libby told Rose, and we needed Jason to watch our bodies as we slept.”

  “What do you mean, ‘bodies’?” Brady said, looking at Rose and Jason.

  “We can control where we go when we sleep,” Landen answered.

  Brady sat back in his chair and stared blankly. I felt him arguing with his emotions; he wanted to be proud of us, but he was too terrified.

  “What did you see?” Brady asked my father.

  Landen and I looked curiously in his direction to see if he could see the rush we’d felt helping Connie.

  “Their adrenaline levels were high, elevating their heartbeats. We didn’t start waking them until Rose could feel their fear,” my father answered.

  Brady looked awestruck at Rose; it seemed everyone would now know that she had always had the insight of emotion.

  “I think we may know why Landen never had nightmares: this world can’t be found that way either,” Rose said.

  Hearing her words, I sat up slowly, staring into Landen’s eyes as relief came over him. He realized that Drake couldn’t reach me there, that I was sheltered from the nightmares, but Jessica and Hannah now bore the horror that had tormented me for so many years. Landen’s relief was only a small reward. I wouldn’t rest until I stopped Drake from hurting anyone—not just the ones I cared for.

  The phone rang, and Brady dove across the room, answering it on the first ring; it was my mother, looking for my father. My dad took the phone, whispering and promising my mom that we were all safe. I wonder
ed how many houses she’d called, looking for us, how many knew now what we could do.

  Brady coaxed a sleepy Felicity to her room. As she glanced back at me, I whispered, “I’m sorry.”

  She smiled, understanding the chaos. Rose guided Olivia back to the guest room. My father went to speak. Not finding the words, his lips hesitated. Landen then answered the unasked question. “Tell him, and the others. Right now, our bodies need rest,” he said, standing setting me on my feet. My father nodded and hugged me before we left, clearly relieved that Landen was cool with him telling Ashten about this night.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times… In life after life, in age after age, forever.

  Tagor

  Landen drove us home. Feeling the exhaustion come over us, we laid our bodies down, clinging to one another. Sleep came immediately. Rising in synch, we drifted onto the porch and rested on one of the couches as we watched the sunrise over the hill.

  As the night’s events raced over and over in our minds, we didn’t speak. Landen played with my hands, studying my fingertips, and the ring that still gleamed as if it were brand new. I tried remembering how many times I’d concentrated on memory to help others, wondering if they’d seen what I was thinking. The only difference I could find was the connection that Olivia had to her aunt.

  Olivia was the mirror image of her mother. It was as if, for the first time, her aunt had let her sister go, passing the grief that she carried as she raised Olivia. Thinking of Olivia, I wondered, not doubting anything at that point, if Olivia’s mother had somehow helped me that night…if she were the light that came out of Olivia’s aunt.

  We watched as Aubrey pulled up. She reached for a basket in the front seat of the car and made her way to the door, she peered through the window, then set the basket on the porch. She went to leave, but once she glanced toward the couch we were laying on, she hesitated. Her eyes searched, not focusing on anything.

  We glanced at each other, wondering if she could see us.