Image (Insight #3)(15)
I walked to the bed and slid off my shoes; before laying down, Landen followed. Once by my side, he hooked his arm around my waist and pulled me to him so our eyes were just inches apart. He then reached up and gently outlined the frame of my cheek; his touch sent a peace through me that froze time and took away all my worries. We drifted and awoke next to our bodies, laying there with silent thoughts. Landen let his hand rest inside of mine. We knew that was as far as we could go here. I focused on the sensation there and let my thoughts leave me for the moment.
As the sun rose hours later, we woke and lay in silence for a while. We could feel the determination coming from Perodine, and the peace of sleep coming from August, Marc, and Dane. We were sure Perodine was still devouring the information on the scroll. If she was right, then tomorrow at seven nineteen we would face Donalt. When we faced the moon and Mercury I remembered wishing that time would freeze, that I’d be able just to live in the bliss of Landen’s love, but this time was different. We were away from our family, and they were making sacrifices to keep us safe. I would never want anyone to be frozen the way we were now; I just wanted it over.
“What are you thinking?” I asked Landen.
He rolled on his side so he could see into my eyes. “That this will be over before we know it, and we’ll be home in Chara with the ones we love the most,” he thought.
“How can you be so confident?” I asked, tracing his eyes.
He smiled. “I don’t mean to be, at least not in a bad way. I don’t want to do any of this, but I have to realize that we managed to bring back your friend’s sight and hearing - that just a week ago, we relieved this city from the torment that they’d been under for millions of years...I just think we’ve come too far to lose now...we’ve been tested, and we’ve passed.”
I sighed and nodded. He was right; it was hard to think that there was anything that was impossible. I looked to the dark shadows of the room, then back to Landen.
“I don’t see how him consuming you will bring him power. I cannot - I will not - live without your soul on this earth,” I thought. As tears came to the corners of my eyes, he pulled me closer, and we both felt a grief - a grief we had to suppress before it consumed us both.
“I don’t care what his plan is; he will not take me from you - I promise,” Landen thought.
I knew he believed what he said, and I took shelter behind his words. When he kissed my forehead and rose, I knew his intent was to find our bags and shower for the day. I lay in the bed and looked to the window. The sound of the workers building throughout the night had never halted; the wall was close to three feet high now, and from where I lay it looked like it almost completely surrounded Delen. I could feel the sadness from a majority of the people in Delen; they weren’t sad that they were being built in, they were sad that the rest of the world was still held by a darkness, a darkness that made them forget who they were. I shared in their sadness; it just didn’t make any sense to suffer when there was so much life to live.
Landen came back into the room, with our bags, then took out his clothes and made his way to the doorway next to our bed.
Chapter Four
While I waited for my turn to shower, I daydreamed that I was home, celebrating the passing of another year, hearing the stories of every minute of mother’s labour, what she thought, how happy she was to have me as her own. I barely noticed when Landen opened the door ,now fully clothed in his black slacks and button down black shirt; though I’d grown weary of the all black attire months ago, I couldn’t help but love the way his dark locks of hair and crystal blue eyes complemented the shade.
“I’ll wait for you,” he said, pulling back my covers. “I want to explore today,” he said, handing me my bag.
I smiled and shook my head. I didn’t really care to. It was too eerie; even with every light burning on a sunny day, the shadows seemed to dominate the rooms.
The bathroom was very stunning; the tub, sinks, and showers were all made of beautiful marble. Three of the walls had mirrors that centered them, and they were framed with drapes. I tilted my head, questioning why they would do that; I mean, it looked good, but it just didn’t make any sense. I turned the water in the shower on as hot as it would go, then pulled out everything I needed before undressing.
As the water came over me, I felt a numbing calm ease through me, and I turned so every part of my body would be surrounded by the heat of the water. Then, suddenly my ring and necklace began to burn my skin. I turned the water down, but the heat in the metal intensified, I felt a rush of wind, and the water that was falling all around me turned to blood. I could smell it, and I felt it coursing over me. I screamed as loud as I could and charged out of the shower, noticing that the mirrors didn’t reflect me; instead, they showed Chara, my home, immersed in fire.
Landen busted through the door. “Willow - what? What’s wrong?!”
“BLOOD! BLOOD! It’s all over me!” I screamed, jumping in place and crying breathlessly.
“There is no blood Willow...Willow, look at me...there is no blood!” Landen yelled back at me, wrapping a large towel around me.
I opened my eyes and looked down; I was just wet; I looked in the shower: the water had no trace of blood. My eyes rushed back and forth, and my heart pounded in my chest; I shook my head from side-to-side, then I looked to the mirror; I could still see Chara burning...I could even feel the heat from the flames. Landen’s eyes followed mine, then I felt the horror come from him as well. People were rushing in every direction, then we saw Libby; she was running with the crowd. She saw us and reached for us, and Landen didn’t hesitate. He reached for her, and I watched as her arm came from the mirror and Landen grasped it.