Image (Insight #3)(46)
I closed my eyes and felt the burn as more tears streamed silently down my face. I then nodded and took a deep breath. As he pulled me to his chest and held me as close as he could, I saw his Aura grow so bright that it was near blinding.
Drake walked to Marc, who pulled his shoulders back, prepared to defend himself if need be. “To prevent war,” he said to Marc in a solemn tone, “you’ll stand in the shadows of my balcony and speak to the people. Don’t give them any reason to doubt that you’re me; that will buy all of you enough time to find another solution.” He then looked to Alamos and said, “My last request is that you help them in any manner they need. Don’t let this city fall – or I’ll haunt you myself.” Finally, he looked in my direction and said in a tender tone, “Does that ease your fears, Love?”
I shook my head from side to side and buried my face in Landen’s chest. I felt the sympathy and anxiety of the room. Landen pulled my chin up so I’d look at him, then he leaned in and kissed me.
“I love you; be strong for me,” he thought.
“I love you.”
He smiled slightly, then stepped back from me. Perodine was at my side, and she slowly slid the knife into my hand - but I refused to look at it. I stared at her, begging for a way out of this, but she just looked away as her tears began to fall.
“It could come at any moment,” August said quietly.
I caught his sympathetic stare, then looked to Marc and Dane. They felt helpless; grief had already consumed them. Alamos walked to Perodine’s side to console her. Landen and Drake were locked in a stare; I could feel Landen’s frustration and assumed Drake’s intent was still death.
“Are you ready to dance with the devil?” Drake asked Landen. Landen nodded. “Don’t you dare look at her,” Drake said firmly.
I could see the breath leaving my body. The room had turned cold - painfully cold - and the walls and windows began to tremble. All the light left; it was so dark, I felt blind.
I focused on the emotions around me, and the only one I could feel was Landen. The only sound was my beating heart as it raced in my chest. Cracks of light began to emerge in the floor, then they slowly stretched out as far as I could see; it looked as if I were standing on a star-lit sky.
In the glow in front of me, I could see Landen and Drake; the others had vanished. I looked down in my trembling hand and assured myself that the knife was there. I had to tell myself to hold it tighter; my fear was so strong, I lost the emotion of Landen, and trying to find it just scared me more.
I heard a low growl surround us. I stepped in Landen’s direction, but he held his hands out, telling me to stay. His eyes looked away; I knew he was trying to protect me, but I felt so alone.
The space between Drake and Landen turned black, and I felt the presence that had haunted us before. Suddenly, a light blue glow appeared around Drake and Landen; it gave me hope that Drake was at least attempting to protect himself. The dark shadow began to turn the color of ash, and the color brought forth the image of man with a perfectly sculpted body, a beautiful, flawless face, and eyes as dark as coal. Breathtaking wings stretched from its back, extending well over Landen and Drake; it was a vivid, evil, angel.
As it stared intently at me, it reached its arms out to touch Landen and Drake, its hands reaching through the blue glow as if it didn’t exist. Their faces showed the agony that they were feeling; they were frozen, unable to move. I gripped the knife in my hand and stared back into its coal eyes, fighting back a flood of tears. Darkness came from its chest and moved inside of Drake - but before I could step forward, it crossed into Landen. The evil angel grinned deceitfully at me, and I felt my body go numb when I realized that if I struck Drake and was wrong, it would have no choice but to enter Landen – and we’d all die that night.
Out of the silence, I heard beautiful laughter. As the laughter grew louder, the dark eyes I was staring into scowled. I knew the laughs; they belonged to Libby and Preston. Suddenly, an undeniable peace came to me, and the air grew warmer. In front of Landen, an image of Libby appeared, and Preston appeared before Drake. They smiled innocently up at me, unshaken by my appearance of terror. Libby looked beside me, and I slowly turned my head and saw an image of myself. I was smiling, and in my eyes I could see an adventurous sprit that I’d never seen before. The image reached for my shoulder, and memories that didn’t belong to me rushed through my mind: I felt a youth that I’d never felt before, full of curiosity and invincibility...I saw myself growing up in the Palace with Landen...our life once we reached Chara...the determination to redeem Esterious was more powerful than I’d felt in this lifetime.
The image gently released me, and I looked back at Libby. She and Preston were looking to my other side, and my eyes followed - only to find another image of myself. These eyes, they still had spirit - but they’d aged. This image reached for my shoulder, and as she touched me a flash of another life came to me: I was standing in a beautiful garden, playing with my children. My sister, Samilya, rushed to me with her children at her side, and she cried as she told me that something had taken over Oba. The memories flashed to a dining room: I was setting the food on the table when soldiers rushed in and carried me and Samilya’s children back to Oba. I knew I loved Oba, but I still grieved; Oba’s heirs would live with him, and my children would be in the care of Samilya; I told myself I was protecting them, that if the darkness returned we’d all die. I spent the rest of my life trying to find a way to defeat the darkness that took me from my children.