Enflame (Insight #6)(34)
“Faster than walking,” Landen countered, opening the door for me to get in.
“Not faster than appearing. Do you need more fire to see how powerful you are?”
“Trying to keep it as human as possible.”
“That has always been the problem, mate.”
“Get in,” was Landen’s firm response.
We didn’t talk much for the first few minutes. I wasn’t sure how Landen knew where to go in the first place. I noticed a few nods from Phoenix when Landen seemed to question his direction, as well as the dimming of the streetlights as we passed.
“How much do you remember?” Phoenix asked him.
“It’s all vague.”
“It can’t be vague if you are going to undo this.”
“I know enough.”
It was clear to me that he didn’t want me to know what had happened then and was sternly telling Phoenix to back off.
“Are you sure that we can use this land? That we don’t need to go to the dimension it happened in originally?”
“I’m not. But I’m sure you have already called someone who is.”
In the mirror on my side, I could see Phoenix behind me, his smirk.
“I’m sure it will be a warm reunion,” he muttered.
A sick feeling climbed in my throat. I squeezed my eyes closed, trying my best to keep the taste of blood at bay.
“Are you going to tell me what the hell you are up to? Or am I supposed to play the damsel in distress and follow you around like a lost puppy?”
I felt the glance he threw me deep in my gut, a warm humming sensation. The sinful grin that followed nearly took my breath away. Oh boy, he’d figured out a new way to use his energy. My body hummed just thinking about how powerful that fire seemed to make him.
“I’ll be damned if you are ever a damsel in distress. And I am the one that will follow you to the end of time. I don’t make mistakes twice.”
I blushed in response, hearing and feeling him apologize for a lost past once again.
“There are places in certain dimensions that mirror each other in some way, meaning that tragedy seems to be attracted to the land there. Where we did this the first time, the land is gone. Life in any form cannot exist any longer. So, I’m hoping that this dimension, this land, will have enough energy to raise us into The Realm. If it does, then The Realm will recreate the night this went wrong and allow us to do it the right way.”
“What were you trying to do that night?”
He squeezed my hand as I felt his anger and grief. “I thought it was going to be the end of our hell. I would have finally had you, and I would have released the power that Esterious was feeding on, weaken Donalt, end Donalt, and move on with our fate.”
“That didn’t happen.”
“No...Donalt has many enemies, and one of them gave us false leads. The entire night went horribly. A lot of souls were trapped that night, and I owe them their freedom. And when they have their freedom, more will follow them out, weakening Donalt—hopefully to the point where we can end this.”
“Tonight? You will free them tonight?”
“I don’t know that we can tonight, but I know what we have to do now. Stay focused. Starve Donalt. Attack.”
I let our thoughts fall silent as we drove on. Before long, we reached a wide driveway that was lined with aged willow trees and low hanging moss. Large buses and eighteen-wheelers were parked along the driveway. I knew without a doubt I was right. This was the place Nana and Evan were at, where Draven needed to play.
My hope dwindled when Landen turned off the driveway and followed a dirt path into the darkness. After a mile, he stopped and stared forward, then began to loop back across the grass. Half a mile back, the lights of an historic home came into view. Long before we reached it, the headlights flashed across ancient headstones. The sight of them caused Landen to stop the Jeep.
Hastily, I followed him out in the tall, damp grass, hearing the sound of nature scream around us.
Landen reached for my hand when I met him in front of the Jeep. I gasped when I saw a man’s figure in the distance. “Phoenix,” he thought. I glanced back at the Jeep to see that he was right. I guess walking was too overrated for him.
Before we reached him, I could swear that I saw the night air move like a wave had crossed it. In that instant, all of nature became silent.
“Willow, we’re going to step in the veil,” he thought, squeezing my hand. “I don’t want you to be afraid of what you see. No matter how terrifying the people look, they are not in pain, and they will not hurt you.”
I dug my nails into his skin and focused on the taste I needed in my mouth. When we reached Phoenix, he glanced back at us.
“After you, Brother,” he said with a mocking bow.
Landen wrapped his arm around me protectively, then stepped through the wave. Though the distance was short from one step to the next, the screams of the damned made it seem like a hundred miles. If Charlie had to deal with this on a daily basis, I had no idea how she stayed sane.
When the screams halted and silence rained, masses of gray, damned souls who carried one emotion—fear—were all around me. They looked as if they were trapped in time, in hell. Their clothes were tattered, and the marks of deaths were apparent. I could handle seeing the adults, the men, but the children, the women broke my heart and made a sick feeling settle deep in my gut.