Image (Insight #3)(76)

“This feels wrong,” I thought, looking away from him.

Landen turned my head gently and let his hand fall to rest on my chest. His eyes settled deep in mine.

“We’re cheating the devil; it’s the last thing that demon would expect me to ask you to do,” Landen thought.

I raised my hand to rest on his. I knew he honestly believed that we’d stumbled onto a hidden power, that with my heart I could empower the ones that would bring an end to the demon that had lived inside of Donalt for so long.

“You are the power. I fear if you don’t restore him, even if he made it back – he’d be too weak to act as they’d expect him to. I understand that this is your body, your energy, your choice; I’m only encouraging you to save lives.”

I looked down and took a deep breath. Landen gently raised my head so I’d have to look into his perfect blue eyes.

“If I have the strength, I’ll help him,“ I thought.

A small smile came to his face, just barely showing his dimples. He pulled me to him and kissed me passionately, and I held him as tight as I could and let him feel my love and passion for him. He released me slowly, then took my hand and began to lead me back to the study. As I felt the emotions of the room, I remembered the doubt Dane and Clarissa had for me.

“No one will understand why I’m doing this. It’ll only give them reason to doubt the way I feel about you,” I thought.

“They won’t know; when we stop time, that’s when you’ll help. This is a secret that’ll stay between us and Drake.”

“You trust him?” I asked.

“I’ll pull him aside, and if he gives me any reason to doubt him, I’ll tell you. He honestly wants to redeem this dimension.”

As we stepped into the study, I wrapped my arm around his waist and leaned into him. In the distance, I felt my father and Ashten. I looked up at Landen, and he was questioning why they were there as well. We stepped inside the study. Alamos and August were at the window with Drake, discussing the wall. The others had left the room. Our fathers came through the opposite doorway; I could feel they were anxious about being there. Ashten surveyed the room, then looked at Landen.

“Preston told us to come. He said you needed our help,” Ashten explained.

Drake turned at the sound of a new voice, then moved his head from side to side. “I just wish sometimes he’d tell me what he knows in the first place, save time and energy,” he said.

I smiled, slightly understanding his frustration. Alamos put his hand on Drake’s shoulder. “The children can only navigate through the choices you make. You had to decide to do this before they could send help,” Alamos explained.

My father walked in my direction. As he approached, I saw him survey my body. “Did something happen?” he asked me.

I didn’t want to lie to my father, but I didn’t want to tell him that Drake had drained me either.

“It’s just been an emotional evening,” Landen answered, protecting me from having to lie.

My father nodded. Landen looked at Drake and nodded his head, telling him to come with him; unwavering, Drake followed Landen out of the room. August then called our fathers to the table to explain our plan.

Alamos extended his arm, telling me to come to his side. When I reached him, he smiled at me, then looked to the wall. My eyes followed his. “I want you to study every part of this wall that you can see,” he said.

My eyes moved across the wall. It was just as tall as I was. The stones were close to four feet in width, and it was shaped into a half circle. It looked enormous.

“Now I want you to see it as a gray cloud, weightless, diminutive,” he said. I focused again on the wall and let my mind make the stones look like pillows, then I turned them into innocent rain clouds.

“Do you see it that way now?” Alamos asked me. I nodded. “Hold that image. Even when you step away from this window, in your mind see it in that manner.”

“How am I going to lift it? I can’t do the things Landen and Drake can; I don’t have control like they do.”

Alamos chuckled quietly. “I’d say that you’re stronger than the two of them combined,” he said, smiling proudly at me.

As I stared at the wall, I blushed slightly.

“You must see your energy as a force. When the moment comes, you’ll take your energy and push it forward with your mind. Do not release it. When it reaches the wall, you’ll then raise your energy and push back again.”

“With my mind,” I said, sighing.

“The mind is powerful; it can create or destroy anything we wish it to,” Alamos said.

“How far can we move it?”

“If you were walking on the ground, you could take it as far as you wish. For your safety, you’ll be on the roof of the palace. You should be able to move it until it leaves your sight.”

“I’m afraid it’ll crumble, hurt the ones beneath it,” I said, looking at the workers around the wall.

“Your energy will hold it together when it’s in the air. When you set it down, some stones may fall. I wouldn’t raise it more than six feet in the air. The workers will scatter as it begins to move, but I don’t think you’ll bring them any harm.”

I looked to my side at him. “Are you having a change of heart? I thought, in your opinion, that I brought destruction,” I said quietly.