Enflame (Insight #6)(54)

“You were in the other reality?”

“Briefly.” She smiled shyly. “Aden saved me, he saved Guardian, too. They were friends then. Which makes what Guardian and I did all the more wretched.”

“Landen knew that?”

“I don’t think so. I wasn’t exactly clear on the matter either. But the more time I spent around Guardian, the clearer my visions became. I knew he would lead me to Aden. He was a life line I lost when he died to find you.”

I let out a shuddering breath. Realizing this was more than a web of spells we were fighting. It was a web of hearts and souls.

“Aden is fighting the same war, though. He’s fighting for his brother and his friends. You would have found him without Landen.”

“I didn’t know that until today, and I’m still not clear on how he is.”

“I don’t know either. I know he sees the damned, speaks words to them to make them remember love, but I think he’s been focused on saving his twin lately. They didn’t know he was dark.”

“How did he know how to get into The Realm?”

“Not sure. Something to do with a song. It opened for his brother. They followed.”

“A song,” she repeated.

“Right. Music runs through all of them, even Charlie, his brother’s girl. Her father was a musician, died before she was born.”

Skylynn stood and stared at me with wide eyes. “Charlie Myers?”

“You know her?”

“I know him. Her father.” She reached her hands for her head, gripped her lavender hair, and let out a growl of frustration. She then let her hands fall as determination crossed her face, and she vanished.

Phoenix appeared at my side at that moment. I moved my head from side to side.

“Do you ever walk?”

“Are you calling me lazy? It takes more energy to appear than to walk.”

“Interesting,” I mumbled.

“What did you say to her?”

“Nothing, really. I think she knows the father of a friend of mine. He’s connected to that boy she’s looking for.”

“Name?”

“Charlie.”

Phoenix raised one brow, as if in shock.

“Friend of yours?”

“I’ve heard of him.”

“In a good way or a bad way?”

“Depends on the side you’re on. He backed away from what he was, fell in love with a light, then refused to take the power. Some think he made that act look far too easy to have truly been an Escort.”

“Really?” I said as my eyes raced across his image. There was more to what he said, but he wasn’t in the mood to explain it to me.

“What else did you say?”

“If you wanted to know, why didn’t you just come over here before?”

“Because girls talk. She wouldn’t have said anything if we were here.”

“Well, she didn’t say much.” My eyes rapidly moved across his image, trying to figure him out. “Skylynn was in the other reality.” I said in more of a question form.

He looked at me as if I were insane, which led me to question if that story Skylynn just laid on me had any truth.

“Bloody Hell,” he muttered as a look of shock came over him.

“You all right?”

“Sunshine. I’ve been on this side for a while. Its hard to call back details of the other side sometimes.”

“Was she from there?”

“No.” he glanced at Landen. “She was a victim. There was a bloke on that side that made sure Guardian got here the first time, when he was pulled back by someone who was clearly trying to hurt him, that bloke saved him. He’s saved Skylynn days before.” Phoenix became tense. “We were, are, Falcons on that side. We took in damaged souls, souls the rest of the world saw as a plague. We healed them. My family planned to take in Skylynn, we even brought her to the manor, but she vanished after one night. I’m pretty sure all hell broke lose not long after that.”

“You’re just now remembering that?”

“I told you details fade after time. I’ve been trying to figure out why Skylynn did what she did, why she cared so much. You just enlightened me.”

“What did she do? I thought you were mad at her?”

“Oh, I’m mad. Trust me.” He said with a shake of his head. “But the thing is, sometimes the best intentions lead you down the wrong path, sometimes they hurt people. That is what Skylynn and I have to contend with on top of all of this.”

Scarf girl. I’d bet my house that she was in the middle of what was going on with those two. I’d bet money she was Phoenix’s.

“Phoenix. Trust me when I tell you that it only feels like hell when you are alone. When you are with the one made of your soul, it’s still scary, but you know it’s worth it. If you don’t need to be here, then don’t be.”

“Sunshine. I need to be everywhere right now. That’s what I’m doing.” He shook off whatever thoughts he was arguing with and focused on me.

“What else? Why did she leave like that?”

“The Charlie part made her leave like that, before that I told her how Landen got into The Realm, how a mirror took him.”