Enflame (Insight #6)(7)

“You are in a very old city. Tragedy has claimed many lives for several reasons. The souls with you now are waiting for someone to open a door and set the ones they lost free. They will not move on until their family of souls is one again.”

“What door?”

“I don’t know. They are chanting Charlie and Draven’s name. Aden and Madison are lingered in their words as well, but the call to Charlie and you is the loudest.”

“They’re calling me?”

“My French is weak, if that is even what they are speaking, but they are telling you that their family is trapped, their energy. Someone pulled the souls of the ones they lost away.”

“The Realm?”

“I understand it to be.”

Her words ushered me into silence once again. I couldn’t keep still. My legs were dancing in place, waiting for her to speak again. The tension in the room was easing. It was as if the energy holding me in here was at peace because someone was listening to them.

“Okay, Willow. They keep saying something like rivers and dams. They are trying to tell me their energy, their families, is feeding something. They feel if you help them, it will stop something bigger, or at least begin to stop it.”

I fell back into my seat. I’d always thought Esterious was a feeding ground for evil. I hadn’t had time to contemplate if there were other avenues of the darkness I was fighting. Meeting Charlie, learning what The Realm was, had caused lingering thoughts to emerge in my mind.

Draven had no connection to Esterious, yet he found his way there. Escorts were also there, which led me to believe there may be truth to what these ghosts were saying to Nana. If I could dam the power going into that realm, into Esterious, would that weaken Donalt? All those who worship him?

“How do I help them?” I asked as my knees came to a halt. I was intently waiting for my directions, more than willing to negotiate this. All I could think was ‘show me the door that will lead to Donalt’s death.’

“I don’t think you can alone. You need my grandsons, and Charlie. They have to pull the energy back to this plane so you can fight the core.”

“They’re not here. Before I called you, my issue was getting out of this room to stop Landen from doing something stupid. I have...I have...I have to figure out if my friends are dead or not. Why Silas let them die or raised them.”

“Sage,” she murmured. “They say sage will stop it. Do you see that herb anywhere?

“They mean Saige. That’s the name of the witch.”

“I see,” Nana said quietly.

Silence fell again. Then I heard a roar of an engine, men talking to Nana and Evan.

“Okay, Willow. Saige is a guardian for them. She seeks those who can help them. They’re calling her a weaver. Saige is going to link you and Landen to who you need to help you. She’s going to expand your reach in this war.”

“That’s great. But listen, Landen is going to kill Silas. I know Charlie loves your grandson, but she is going to be hurt by that. Trust me, when you’re hurt, you’re weak. Tell them to let me out of this room so I can stop that so Charlie can help them.”

“They hear you, and they disagree.”

“Why?” I yelled, losing the hold on my wall in my mind, which caused the house to rumble with thunder again.

“Because you can’t kill a dead man. Silas can only die if Charlie doesn’t love him. You’ve assured them in some way that she does, that she cares about him.”

“What are you—” I stopped short, remembering the argument I had with Landen about Charlie loving him. “But I didn’t mean that kind of love. I meant like friend love, like old love that can never be again love.”

“Right. I told you they feed off your thoughts. When I met you, Willow, you were fighting to save two boys. You love them both, but the definition of that love was different for each. It appears Charlie feels the same about the boys in her life, and because she does, Landen cannot kill him.”

“What if he hurts Landen?”

“They seem to feel that he can’t.”

“Seem to? That’s not solid enough for me.”

“Listening to the room around you, I hear a play-by-play. Landen is in a graveyard not far from you. He and Silas are circling each other, not saying much, but Landen is learning that Silas did not allow his sister to die. He did raise her, he was present, aware that it would happen.”

“In Landen’s mind, that is still going to make it his fault.”

“Agreed. But it sounds as if Landen is more focused on the why right now. His sister’s spirit is there. She is calming him down.”

“Spirit? So she is a ghost,” I said as a sick feeling rose in my throat.

“I’m not clear on that. It appears she’s in transition. Not as solid as she could be on this plane, the strongest in The Realm. Landen is more focused on whether she should move on or become a Witness.”

“What is Landen’s opinion?” I whispered, not having the slightest clue. I knew he would not want to say goodbye to her, but he would not want her trapped for his benefit, for the benefit of his family not to grieve.

“His opinion does not matter. Hers does.”

I cringed, knowing that was one of the many underlying arguments we had, our family feeling called. If Clarissa was saying she had to stay a Witness to help him, it would only make this worse.