Insight (Web of Hearts and Souls #1)(36)

I studied what I thought was a wall in front of me, and as I stared, I could see that the darker hazes outlined three passages. The colors of the three passages were so bright; they spilled out of their paths and joined the others. It looked like every color that existed was blended perfectly together. They flowed on the gentle current I was feeling. The glow of the white passages reflected on the hazes, looking like diamonds. I was humbled by the beauty before me.

“Three paths,” I thought softly as I stared in awe.

Landen grinned. I could sense the excitement rise inside of him. “The storms create these paths. More passages are created with each aggressive flow of energy. When our parents were young, storms were rare. They only really occurred once a year. Around the time we were born, they were so fierce that only the most experienced travelers were able to navigate through them.”

“My father said his passage to my mother closed. Is that normal?”

His eyes told me no, and I could feel his mystification. “In our entire history it’s only happened to your father. My grandfather, August, told me that everyone searched endlessly for the gifted healer.”

“That’s a little scary,” I thought.

“I just wish they would have brought you home when they did find you,” he thought with disdain.

We began to walk. I wasn’t sure, but I thought we were going back the way we had just come. I searched the glow all around us, looking at all the hazes that had been absent to me before.

There were little speckles along the sides of the walls of the string. They were all different colors. Some small as dust, others as large as a doorway. We stopped before one of the large yellow doorways.

“I told you that purple was a natural path. Why do you think the color to this one is different?” Landen asked.

It was like being in a classroom. He was making me think, teaching me.

“Well, yellow and purple are both calm colors. Could be natural, just not as strong maybe?”

Landen held his arm out, indicating that he wanted me to lead the way. My steps were cautious. He may have known where it led, but I didn’t. For all I knew, I could have been in Australia, and a big scary snake would be at my feet when the yellow haze left me.

When the haze passed, the same tingle as the last was there. The feeling was growing more familiar to me. As the haze faded, we stood on a rocky cliff overlooking a beautiful, deserted, white beach, the water was so clear. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise, and I turned to see water crashing through a hole in the rocks. As I stood in absolute astonishment, I could feel the energy leaving as the water fell.

“Do you want to stay here for a while?” he asked, laughing at my reaction.

I did, but I was hungry for more. Feeling proud of myself, I pulled Landen back into the string. Feeling the pride coming from him, I knew I had done well.

“You’re quick. It took me almost ten times before I could find the string alone.”

“I’m sure you were only a little boy. It’s not the same for me,” I assured him.

All of a sudden my smile faded. I could feel someone in the string with us. I was certain of it. They had an emotion of excitement. In the string emotions were intensified, and this person’s emotion was, too. They were as strong as a room full of people.

“Landen, someone else is here…I can feel them.”

Landen was already looking past me, and his eyes suddenly grew brighter. Whatever he had felt made him happy.

“Landen, is that you?” a deep voice said.

Out of the bright light, an image came forth. Dressed in all black was, a young, eye-catching boy. He was tall like Landen with wavy brown hair, and his eyes were so dark, but they had the same glow behind them as Landen’s did.

“It’s Marc.”

“Marc, where have you been?” Landen asked, excited to see him.

Taking stock of the fact that Landen was not alone, Marc looked at me as if he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“I don’t believe it, you found her!” Marc’s voice rang with elation. “I’m so glad Landen found you,” he said, smiling at me. I could feel his enthusiasm rise. “Do you want me to help you get home before I go and help Jason’s family?” he asked, looking back at Landen.

“This is Willow, Jason’s daughter,” Landen said, pulling me closer to him.

Marc’s eyes widened. He was completely bewildered. “That isn’t possible…that would mean you’re both from Chara,” he said, looking back and forth between us.

“Willow and I must be the exception in the history of Chara. Listen, Dad found Jason a long time ago. He only wanted to come home now because Drake Blakeshire is looking for Willow.”

“Willow is the Scorpio? Why would he be looking for her? It’s more than clear that the two of you belong to one another,” Marc argued. It wasn’t hard to tell he was not a fan of Esterious either.

“Everyone is silent when I ask questions. They’re hiding something from us,” Landen said in a tone that reflected the livid emotion his father always seemed to manifest within him.

“That must be why Ashten and Dad asked us to find a path that avoided Esterious,” Marc said, looking back and forth in the string.

“Did you find one?” Landen asked.

“Yeah, the one you told me to check. A storm is beginning to stir that way. We need to wait at least a day before we pass through it. Where are the others?”