Insight (Web of Hearts and Souls #1)(11)

“Ahh, come on. You’re not scared, are you?” Dane taunted.

Just then, the back porch light kicked on and my father opened the door. I felt a little anxiety rise inside of Dane. He respected my father as much as anyone else in town. My father stared in our direction. A surge of confusion came from him. Dane then stood and held my hand as he walked me to the patio. He hugged me then politely nodded to my father before he left.

I kept my eyes down and passed by my father. I made it halfway up the stairs before he said anything.

“Willow.”

I stopped mid-stride, then turned to look at him standing at the bottom of the stairs. I could not understand what he was so confused about.

“You can feel the way I feel about your mother and the way she feels about me, right?”

I nodded.

“Do you feel that way about Dane?”

“Yeah, right, not even close, Dad,” I answered as I started to climb the stairs again.

“Are you sure? If you did, that would change everything,” he said, climbing the stairs after me.

I froze and looked down. It would be so easy to lie right now and say that I did, but would they let me stay here, where I knew it was safe?

“How?” I asked.

“I told you that our dimension believes you are supposed to be with your soul mate. If you feel that way about Dane, then he is your soul mate, and we were wrong about you,” he explained.

I sat down on the step where I was standing. The emotion between my parents is beautiful. It’s a love that’s unconditional, timeless. I knew without a doubt that I felt that way about the blue-eyed boy I’d dreamed of. I would even say that I loved him more, but then I realized that my father had let something slip.

“Who was wrong about me? What am I?” I demanded as my body tensed.

My father sighed, realizing he had misspoken. He climbed the few steps between us and sat down next to me.

“I’m going to tell you a story,” he said.

I felt a sense of trepidation wash over him. I turned on the step, facing him, wanting to know everything.

“Every dimension has different beliefs, rulers, and ways of living. There is one dimension, Esterious, which is very dark.”

My heart began to hammer as my nightmares flashed in my thoughts. He sighed seeing my expression, then went on with his story.

“This entire dimension is ruled by the Blakeshire court. The ruler of that court is a man named Donalt, who has ruled that dimension for longer than anyone can remember. He has a very large palace where the priests and their families live. They make up the court,” he explained, glancing at me to make sure I was following him.

I nodded tensely, telling him to go on.

“When I was young, I traveled. I was one of the ones that helped others find their way back. We had taken numerous people to that dimension before.” His eyes drifted to distant memories. “It always felt like a rescue mission rather than a love story.”

He paused and looked over at me, and I could sense grief coming from him.

Clearing his throat and looking forward again, he continued. “We had never once brought home someone who lived in the court, but one day a good friend of mine, Justus, came to me and told me it was his time to find his soul mate. He wanted my help, so I went with him. I was shocked when he led me into Esterious.”

My father’s eyes turned green as he smiled, remembering his friend.

“Justus walked right to the gate of the palace, as if he didn’t have a fear in the universe. There, on the inside walking by, was a young, beautiful girl. Justus looked at me and said ‘That’s her…’”

He paused. I felt his emotion turn to sorrow.

“Long story short, she came home with Justus. Her name was Adonia, and her father was Alamos, Donalt’s highest and most trusted priest.”

My father stopped and stared down at his wedding band. I could sense his regret growing, so I put my hand on his. He sighed, then continued.

“Now shortly after this I left to find your mother so what I know was told to me by Ashten Chambers. It seems that every time Adonia would go home to see her father, they would ask her and Justus questions about our blood lines—how we traveled, where we went, things like that. Justus became convinced that Donalt and Alamos were plotting to take on other dimensions, so he forbade Adonia from going home again. But she missed her father, so she convinced another traveler, Livingston, to take her home. When she got there, the court held her captive. Livingston rushed home to tell Justus, and Justus, Livingston, and Beth, Livingston’s soul mate, then went to bring Adonia home.”

My father’s grief intensified, so I knew it ended badly. He stared at the floor as he continued, “When it was over, Livingston carried Justus’s body home. No one really knows what happened to Adonia or Beth. Ashten said that it’s been very difficult for Livingston since that day.”

My father hesitated as he thought back. I could feel his guilt. It was as if he were carrying a burden that was more than he could handle.

“A few years later, a little boy was seen alone in the strings. Livingston warned the people in Chara that Donalt and his priest, Alamos, were controlling this child. I assume the little boy was Justus’. I don’t know any other way he’d be able to travel the strings.”

My father looked to his side at me, and his eyes searched over my face carefully. “Livingston told Ashten that the child was looking for a girl that was born in the eleventh month and could feel the souls of others.”