Insight (Web of Hearts and Souls #1)(53)

I reached for his hand. “Landen, tell me…is it really that bad? What did he do?”

Landen adjusted himself in his seat then looked out past the fields and back at me, replaying the day in his mind. I could feel the anger and remorse as well as the same pain that I had rush through him.

“When we got into the string, we split up. Your father and Marc went back to Franklin so they’d know whom he’d taken. Livingston and my father went with me to find Drake.”

Landen stood and started to walk back and forth in front of me. I could feel his rage.

“When we finally found him, he’d almost made it back to Esterouis. I was so livid. I wanted to throw him off the nearest cliff. He kept taunting me, wanting me to follow him into his world.”

I walked to where Landen was pacing to calm him down. He was so furious, you’d have thought Drake was standing there at that very moment.

“Livingston told me that if I did, I’d never see you again. Drake then hit Livingston, and I pulled them apart and threw Drake through his passage.”

“Did you find the others?” I asked.

As Landen’s remorse grew, my stomach turned. It was bad. I could feel it through him.

“Marc and your dad had gone to a passage that Livingston told them to search…they …they…found what was left of a boat.”

“What do you mean, ‘left?”’ I asked. I could barely hear him over my heartbeat.

“It was wrecked. There were survivors…two.”

“Two? Where are the rest? Does he have them?” I said, covering my mouth in disbelief. The pain in Landen’s eyes was ripping me apart.

“The two guys, Josh and Chase, saw Drake take three girls, Hannah, Jessica and…Olivia,” Landen said as his eyes judged every inch of my body, looking for an emotional break.

My eyes raced back and forth, trying to process and count the names that he’d said, and I suddenly realized he didn’t say Monica’s name. She was there—it was her idea—why didn’t he say her name?

“Monica?” I asked hoarsely, looking up at Landen.

Tears were pooling in a film over my eyes. Landen looked down at the ground, then back up at me through his dark lashes. I could feel his remorse, and I knew she was gone.

“Josh and Chase said they couldn’t reach her before she…drowned,” he said slowly.

Feeling like I was going to be physically sick, I walked to the side of the porch, trying to hide my failing composure from Landen. I couldn’t breathe. Monica’s face was rolling through my memory. Landen came to my side and caressed my back, grieving with me. Days ago, I’d told him who she was and that I’d spent my childhood at her side. “Where are the others?” I said in an angry whisper.

“With Drake.”

“How…how are we going to get them back? Why is he doing this to us? What do we not know?” I asked, looking down and wanting to escape from the pain.

Landen didn’t answer my questions. I turned to look at him when I felt his anger building, and I knew his resentment was aimed at our family. Suddenly, it felt like he and I were all alone, no matter what dimension we were in.

“Was Dad in Franklin when our house was burning? Did he see it happen?”

Landen looked down at me, reached his hand to my face, and, bracing himself for my response, searched for how to answer me. “We burned the house,” he said finally.

I stepped back quickly and stared at him in disbelief, causing him to lose his touch. That hurt him, but I was so angry. I remembered the look on my mother’s face when Sharon had called her, how grief had filled her.

“What? Why?” I raged.

“We couldn’t leave anything of yours for Drake to have,” he said as he pulled me back to him, giving me no other choice but to look into his piercing blue eyes.

“Why does it matter? It’s just stuff. It’s not me. That house meant the world to my mother.”

Landen pulled my face closer to his, trying to make me understand. I could see the urgency in his expression. He needed me to listen to him.

“There are a lot of things that cannot be explained, in any dimension. Esterious is known for the dark things that people believe. They use spells and magic to control the world around them. Livingston and our fathers believed that the priest would be able to use your family’s belongings to hurt you,” he explained in an almost painful tone. He didn’t want me anywhere near any of this.

“I don’t understand,” I said, almost to myself.

“The answers will come when they’re supposed to. I’m sure of it.”

I could feel how unsure he was and how he was attempting to hide that from me.

“Can we bring my friends home before Drake decides to hurt them?” Landen nodded as he pulled me to him and rested his chin on my head. “How?” I asked.

“They’ll call you. You’re connected to them.”

“What if they’re under some spell or something? Can we not just go get them? They may not even know they’re in danger?” I squinted my eyes closed not believing I said those words, days ago I was sketching in my backyard without a real fear, and now this madness. Now Monica is gone. I would completely lose my mind if something happened to Olivia. Besides Dane, she was my closest friend. Someone I never saw my life without. I should have stuffed her in my suitcase. I should have told my father that was my only demand. He could have easily convinced her aunt to let her come. I know he could have. Olivia had spent more time at our house than theirs.