Insight (Web of Hearts and Souls #1)(46)

I remembered that Brady had someone at home, not to mention a baby on the way.

Their voices faded into the background, and I went somewhere inside myself, looking for answers, wondering what I ever could have done to deserve this pain. I began to regain my balance, and Brady and Clarissa stepped back, trusting me more. Dane, though, stayed close. I turned my eyes slowly to the last place I’d seen Landen. The air was clear, and there was no evidence that it had ever happened. The absence of the string began to fill me with hopelessness, but then I remembered the first lesson Landen had taught me—I had to ‘remember what is natural to me.’

I let what I thought the passage should be like run through my mind. I imagined the way it would feel as I passed through; the hum I would hear inside the string. Essentially, I let myself feel as if I’d already seen it.

The room faded, and all I heard was utter silence. Before me, the air was divided by a thin glow of light. Suddenly, a pull of energy came over me. I’d found my passage. I knew Landen was in the string, and I wanted to find him, to find my friends. I couldn’t stand there any longer and play the part of the damsel in distress. Feeling someone grasp my elbow, I stepped forward with confidence.

The white light passed through me with a soothing vibration of energy. I sighed, feeling a tinge of relief from the agonizing pain that I’d felt everywhere; I felt closer to Landen. The grip on my elbow tightened, and I looked back to see Dane in the string with me.

“Willow, take us back,” he said calmly.

I shook my head in defiance. “I have to find him. I have to find all of them,” I said, choking on my words.

“Don’t cry,” he said with sympathy.

“Cry? Are you kidding me?”

“Willow, I think most people would have lost their minds by now. I know this is a lot, but you’re going to have to calm down,” Dane said, putting his hands on my shoulders.

“It hurts, Dane. I have to find Landen to make it stop.”

“It’s not safe,” he said, looking side to side, struggling to remain calm.

“Not safe?” I mocked. “You don’t have any idea. I have a devil chasing me. He’s taken our friends and now he’s taken Landen. I’m not going to sit there in pain and just wait,” I said, poking my finger vigorously at his chest.

He pushed my hand down and looked at me like I was fool. “You’re playing Drake’s game. Who wins if you get lost in here?” he said in a more assertive tone.

He was making sense. I hadn’t assumed that I’d get lost. It was like I thought I could feel my way to Landen.

“Landen thinks you’re safe here, so imagine how he’d feel if he came back and you were gone,” he continued, seeing that he was getting through to me.

I stared forward blankly, not knowing what to do. “I have to help him,” I said, almost to myself, not wanting to look at Dane.

“If Landen is half as good as they’ve told me he is, then I know he’ll be fine. Clarissa told me he spoke of you every day, and you’ve found each other now. Don’t make the mistake of losing yourself in here. Neither of you deserve to be apart any longer,” Dane said with a degree of certainty.

“I can’t do this, Dane. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do. All of this is insane!” I blurted out, showing the frustration I was feeling.

“You are strong enough,” he said.

I closed my eyes and nodded, then rubbed my hands across my face, trying to regain my composure.

“Take us back,” he whispered.

I nodded, and he stepped aside. My green haze was behind him. I reached my hand back and held his. One step later, we were in the center of the cabin, and the pain I felt grew more intense.

“Told you so,” Libby said.

She was sitting calmly on the couch, and my mother and Aubrey were standing in front of her. They followed Libby’s eyes and found me and Dane standing in the cabin. Aubrey then ran through the door on to the porch.

“Clarissa, Brady, they’re back!” she called toward the river.

I looked out the window and in the distance I could see Clarissa and Brady at the opening of the string through which I’d first traveled. They heard Aubrey, and their emotion of relief was so strong, I felt it from where I stood.

I felt horrible. I never considered how my actions would affect them. I held my head low and walked tensely to the couch to sit with Libby. Dane stayed inches behind me, sitting on the coffee table and guarding me from the string.

Surprisingly, no one was angry with me. Instead, I felt their sympathy. Aubrey sat next to me while my mother fidgeted in place, wordless. Seconds later, Clarissa and Brady rushed through the door, breathless.

I felt an admiration coming from them, but for what, I couldn’t comprehend. I pulled my legs as close as I could to my body, pushing the thought of the pain away. Clarissa rushed to Dane and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He reached up and kissed her, not losing his guard position. Brady walked closer, looking at me and then Dane shaking his head in disbelief.

“Did you know she could do that?” Brady asked Dane.

Dane nodded.

“How?” Brady asked.

Dane shrugged his shoulders. “All I know is, she gets a look in her eyes, then she’s gone before she ever really leaves. I started holding on when I was eight.”