Image (Insight #3)(22)

His lips hesitated, and he leaned back, then looked at me like it was the first time he noticed me. I watched him try to focus on where he was, then he stepped back - releasing me. I watched his whole body tense, then he fell to his knees and screamed a horrible roar. Suddenly, from deep within him - from his eyes, mouth, and ears - I saw darkness leave; it rushed to the shadows, vanishing from sight. Drake fell forward, coughing and spitting on the ground. The large doors then banged open, and Landen, Dane, and Marc rushed toward me. I could feel August’s urgency to find us in the distance; he must have heard the commotion.

“What are you doing here?” Dane yelled at Drake, who was trying to stand.

Landen wrapped his arms around me and tried to get me to look at him, but I was still, frozen in place. “What did he do? Tell me,” he thought.

“It wasn’t him; whatever it was is in the shadows,” I thought, replaying the image in my mind.

“You’re bleeding, Willow,” Landen thought as he frantically looked over me.

“No, it’s him.”

Drake stood just as August came to the hallway. He stared at me in absolute disbelief, then looked around as if he was realizing where he was for the first time.

“How did you get here?” Landen asked Drake.

Drake focused on Landen, then tilted his head and reached for the wound on his neck. He pulled his hand away and looked at the blood, then back at Landen. “You brought me here,” he said.

“He was with us,” Marc argued, stepping closer to Landen.

“You would defend him - brother,” Drake said shortly, making a face as if he had a horrible taste in his mouth.

Landen had an amused smirk across his face. “We may not agree with one another, but the likelihood of me locking you in a room with Willow is impossible,” he said to Drake as he looked over his wound.

Drake looked down, then around the room again; he was confused, there was no doubt about it. August stepped forward and cautiously put his hand on Drake’s shoulder, his eyes warily searching over him. Drake returned the stare; it was a seminal moment: August was saying hello to the grandson he never knew. I could feel a remorse coming from August. “Is your mouth bitter?” he asked. Drake nodded. “Marc, get him some water,” August ordered.

“I’m not leaving Landen,” Marc argued.

“Dane will be strong enough to keep him away for a few moments. Hurry,” August said, looking over Drake.

Marc looked at Landen, who nodded for him to go. Dane stepped closer to us.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” August asked.

Drake looked at me; I could see the familiar pain there. He sighed and looked back at August. “I was asleep, dreaming. Then I was awakened by a sharp pain in my neck.” He looked at Landen and said, “You pulled me to the string.” He then looked at me and said, “And then you whispered my name. I couldn’t move. I felt so heavy, I had to push a weight away from me; it felt like it tore me in two as it left my body,” he concluded, looking back at August.

Marc returned with a glass of water and handed it to Drake. As he stared into Marc’s eyes, a crooked smile came across Drake’s face, and I felt anger surface inside of Marc. Landen reached his hand to Marc’s shoulder to calm him before he lost control. Drake turned the glass of water up and drank every drop, but it didn’t look like it brought him any relief; he made a face as he swallowed.

“It was Donalt, Drake; he’s using you,” August said.

Drake looked at him and shook his head; with his jaw locked, the pain I saw in his eyes turned to anger. “I’ve heard that before; like father, like son - I suppose,” he said with a smirk. The night he lost his life, Livingston had told Drake those same words.

“He’s telling the truth,” I said, stepping forward. Landen and Dane mirrored me, and Marc blocked me completely from seeing Drake.

“Well, this is a little unfair - three against one,” Drake said in a causal tone, tilting his head so I could see his dark eyes.

“No, it’s all of us against Donalt,” August corrected. “He’s counting on all of you being divided. We cannot make this easy for him; you need to stay here with us,” he said.

At that moment, I felt a rush of panic consume me, and I reached for Landen. He looked back at me, and I could tell that he felt it, too; it was too strong to come from one, or even a few - it was coming from a mass of people. Perodine swiftly came through the doorway; she didn’t seem to be surprised to see Drake; in fact, she walked right up to him. “You must stop this,” she said to him.

“I haven’t done anything,” Drake said coldly.

“Alamos just announced that Landen kidnapped you; they’re charging the wall!” she yelled at him.

“Well, he did - so I guess this little redemption is over,” Drake said, pulling back his shoulders.

“You fool, this is what he wants; you’re playing into his web. He will consume you if you do not stop this...let us help you,” Perodine said in a lower tone.

“He’ll use the energy from the anger to make him stronger,” August warned.

“Let me talk to him,” I thought. Landen looked back at me before slowly stepping aside.

“Drake...make time stand still,” I whispered.

I’d seen Drake stop time on the streets of New York, and Landen and I had never quite figured out how he managed to do it. Drake looked at me as if the others in the room had vanished, then raised his hands and effortlessly stopped time. While the others stood frozen around us, Drake stepped closer to me, his eyes full of pain, searching over me carefully. “Is it their life you fear for - or mine?” he asked in a low, deep tone.