Enflame (Insight #6)(33)

“I was blind. I thought he was a ghost.”

“You saw ashes fall from an Escort and there was no flash of recognition in that thick skull of yours?”

Landen’s energy lashed out at Phoenix, but an equal, expecting force met it.

“I was distracted,” Landen fumed.

Phoenix glanced at me as a heavy sigh breathed through him. “Well, I hope you are wide awake now. That bloke has an identity crisis, and no doubt he will find a way back.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning he is a Master Escort. With dark magic, he suspended his human form. When the magic wore off, he burned his body—Phoenix. It only worked twice. After that point, he could not convince the power of a Phoenix that a rebirth was what he wanted. Now he’s in the veil, waiting for one of God knows how many ways to come back. If I were him, the ashes would be my way.”

“He can come back if he gains all of his ashes?” My voice cracked for no reason.

“He doesn’t need all of them to make himself known. I don’t think that is his preferred way. The dead talk, and they say he’s been grooming a vessel that can hold him.”

Landen glanced at me.

“Oh, don’t do the ‘should-we-tell-him glance,’” Phoenix muttered. “I know. He wanted her other, but he wouldn’t take him unless she loved that vessel so he could have her energy. When that failed, he tried to move your essence into him so she would love him. Where is the other so I can burn him, too?”

“You’re not burning anyone.” I stated as coldly as could.

“Stop me, Sunshine. Apparently, your energy is rare on the market. You want to love him, so be it. But you are not going to love the mark of my brother within him.”

My energy raged against him, making him sway, but nothing else.

“She doesn’t love him. Not that way. The Realm did this. Not us. The energy that was shared to save lives.”

“Either way, what was done in The Realm has to be undone. I need to burn his energy. Call him here,” he said to me.

“I can’t just call him. He has a kingdom to run. He can’t just vanish.”

“You call that a kingdom? The word on the street is that it’s Hell’s core. Where is the twin? Are her guardians with her?”

“It is Hell. And I’m going to starve it out,” Landen stated flatly. “You know about Madison?”

“What guardians? Her friends?” I asked, fearing for my newfound friends.

“I suppose. The dead call their name. They have part of this spell. They are bound by it, bound by this fate.”

I nodded. “They are with her. I don’t think they have a spell. They were lost kids. They have no idea what they are or why they can do what they can do.”

“Yet they saved your ass,” Phoenix with a wink. “I was given a play by play by the dead that follow that crowd you found to bring Guardian out from the clutches of that mirror that stole him.” He raised his chin. “Starve the energy. You are back. Do you remember how?” he asked Landen.

“I unknowingly sent the energy there. Now I have to pull it back.”

“Right, then. All this chatter around us is calling a bloke named Draven to open the gate, but I think we should give it a tug on our own.”

Landen glanced in my direction.

“He can open the gate.” My intent was clear: I wanted to go home. I felt outnumbered here, and I wanted his family, mine. Draven was a perfect excuse to go. “There is a plot of land here that he can play on, and an audience that loves the sound is already there. Nana led me to believe it was already being set up.”

“No musician plays the same song the same way every time. If you have manipulated this in any way, it will not work,” Phoenix warned.

“I didn’t do anything. Before you so rudely showed up last night, I called an old friend for help. She heard the dead calling her grandsons and she saw the path of fate.”

“No one sees the path of fate until it’s complete,” Phoenix offered bleakly.

“Do you want me to call her so she can tell you what she knows?” I asked.

Landen’s hand fell into mine. “No. We’re going to where I know we need to be. If she is there, then I’ll ask for her help.”

“Is that your new battle cry? Charge forward and not ask anyone for help?”

“ I’m not pulling anyone into this unless the path demands it. That’s how we all stay alive.”

He pulled me forward, pushing past Phoenix, dimming the lights in the entire house before he stepped into the open hall. We found Saige holding a set of keys as she casually leaned against the wall in the entry hall. She handed them to Landen and received a thankful nod from him.

“Are you not coming?”

“It’s too hard for me to feel her and not see her. I’m sure others will be looking for you soon. Someone has to tell them where you are.”

God, I hoped she was right. If I had the time-distance right, it had been almost two days since we vanished. I would have hoped by now that someone was coming for us, at the very least to see if we were alive and well.

Beside the house, we found two trademark Jeeps that all travelers seemed to use. The keys we were given unlocked the silver one.

“A car. The slowest way on Earth to travel,” Phoenix complained.