Image (Insight #3)(49)

I knew then that if I submitted to the cold darkness that was pulling me, my last act would be a selfish one. Yes, I’d have Landen now and always, but my family would feel as if they’d failed, the path before Libby, Preston, and Allie would be too steep, and Drake...Drake would never find her, the one who looks just like me, the one who completes him. The darkness that had tormented all of our lives would win, and hell would make itself known on earth.

It took every ounce of energy that I possessed in my soul, but I fought against the weight that I was feeling. The pain that I felt intensified, and I found myself above my body; as I looked down, I saw that I was lying in a pool of my own blood. Drake had pulled the knife from my chest and was holding my head in his lap; I felt a crushing grief from him. Landen was on his knees, and I could see the darkness moving in and out of him - torturing him.

“Don’t leave! I love you!” Drake said over and over again as he rocked me back and forth.

Something caused him to look up, to look into my soul, which was hovering over my body. A sensation of power came over him, and he laid my head gently down and reached for Landen’s hands, then put them over the wound on my heart.

A growl surfaced inside Landen’s chest, and the evil angel reached to pull him away - then I saw Landen’s body pull forward.

“You’ve lost! You can’t live in him; he loves her too much! You can’t live in me; I love her too much!” Drake screamed at Landen’s body.

Landen’s body tensed, and sweat beaded across his brow. As he forced the darkness from within himself, his jaw locked and his soul screamed. The demon scowled, then lunged its dark cloud at Landen again - but Drake instinctively shielded his energy around the three of us. Landen’s energy was so depleted, I could barely see his Aura. He took a deep breath and focused on my open wound, and a white glow hummed under his hands, then pushed through my skin. I felt like I was being pulled through a tight vacuum; my soul screamed in pain as it took full ownership of the damage that I’d brought to my body. What Landen had left, he pushed through me, and the pain was so unbearable that I tried desperately to escape the prison of my body - but my mind wouldn’t submit. I breathed in and out as slowly as I could, feeling the healing power of Landen and the hum of Drake’s touch. Somehow, I found calm and began to drift.

Somewhere, somehow, Landen’s soul appeared before me; I could feel his exhaustion, his pain. He leaned in slowly, resting his lips gently on mine, then he pulled me into him – and we joined as one, submitting to one another. It was if we’d taken this amazing feeling for granted before; we’d never acknowledged the degree of separation that death could bring. That would never happen again; this was a perfect moment, a moment that easily could have escaped us.

I felt deep concern and someone squeezing my hand, and I opened my eyes to see Beth on her knees at my side. I was lying in the center of the room between Drake and Landen. I looked slowly back and forth, assuring myself that they were only sleeping. I carefully pulled myself up and surveyed the room. Across the floor, I could see Alamos, Perodine, Marc, and Dane lying still, sleeping. I looked back at Beth, dazed and confused.

“What happened? Why was Drake holding the knife?” she asked, raising the diamond blade into my view.

I looked to my side and watched as Drake’s chest rose and fell. My eyes moved to his perfect face; I felt the burn as tears welled in my eyes.

“He pulled it from me,” I whispered, reaching to hold his hand, to feel his touch.

Beth’s trembling hands covered her mouth, trying to hide the shock she was feeling. Everyone began to stir. Landen and Drake sat up at the same time, and a terror came over Landen as he replayed his last memories. He laid me back down gently and pulled down my shirt to assure himself that I was healed. Drake leaned over me, searching with Landen for a wound that didn’t exist; a simple white line was all that remained.

“You did it,” Drake whispered.

“We both did,” Landen said, pulling me up slowly and embracing me as tightly as he could.

Drake slid closer to me and took my hand to get my attention. “Why?” he asked in a cracked voice.

The others had surrounded us. “I’m the blood of Jayda; the children stayed, and the twins changed places,” I said, taking in a deep breath and feeling myself grow stronger.

I felt the astonishment and disbelief in the room; everyone was realizing that they weren’t as certain as they’d thought they were.

“How did you know?” Landen asked, leaning me back so he could see me.

“I saw them, Alyianna, Jayda; they stood at my side and showed me the life I lived then.”

Landen looked at Drake, who shook his head no.

“We didn’t see them,” Landen said.

“Did you see Libby and Preston?” I asked, bewildered.

They both looked blankly at each other, and I knew then that they hadn’t. The charm on my neck began to hum against my skin; it felt as light as a feather. All of a sudden, a light burst from it, then room around us was filled with images of me. Drake moved protectively closer to me and Landen as the images floated through the room. Paintings that we’d burned came from the ash and hung in their place, and the mirrors unveiled themselves, showing no sign of ever shattering. The shadows of the corners vanished, and the room instantly lost any eerie feeling it may have once held. The images of me joined as one and flowed angelically back into my charm, and in their wake beside us was a small pile of gray ash. Drake carefully reached for the pile and let the ash slide through his fingers. Marc was kneeling at Landen’s side.