Insight (Web of Hearts and Souls #1)(80)

“Landen, this is your birth chart. Your sun is in Pisces.” Landen nodded. “Your moon is in Virgo, that’s what gives you your ability to see truth,” August continued.

“I’ve heard that before,” Landen commented. Grinning, he glanced at me.

August nodded, then rolled out a second scroll. “Willow, this is yours. Your sun is in Scorpio, and your moon is in Leo, which gives you a powerful impact on emotions, both yours and others.”

My eyes widened. Moon…I’d never heard of a moon sign. “I don’t understand, how do you know that?”

“When we’re born, each planet is aligned in a position, and their positions outline our characteristics. The alignments are not repeated exactly for 4,320,000 years. This means that there is not another person that shares your traits on Earth.”

I noticed he still had two scrolls that he hadn’t unrolled. August smiled, his excitement growing as he unrolled the last two. They were much older than the ones he’d just shown us; the cloth the charts were on was frail and faded.

He removed the vase from the table and arranged the four scrolls. The old ones were next to the new ones, and the markings were identical.

“How is that possible?” Landen asked, clearly understanding the charts more than I did.

“This is Aliyanna’s,” August said, pointing to the one that matched mine. “And this is Guardian’s,” he said, pointing to the one that mirrored Landen’s. I still didn’t understand. I looked at Landen, and his eyes were glazed over. His emotion was basked in disbelief, clearly denying whatever August was trying to tell us.

“Who are they again?” I asked.

“They were the first. Priests attempted to kill them, but instead they were pushed into the string.”

“So, um, that’s why we can do what they could do?” My voice was timid. August smiled, and his eyes encouraged me to move past my first impressions.

Landen closed his eyes and said, “You think we’re them…that we’re back?”

August smiled at Landen and moved his hand to his shoulder. “I do.”

“Wait, four million years…were dinosaurs even around then? That makes no sense to me,” I argued.

Landen leaned back in his chair and looked at August, wanting him to teach me. August smiled and placed his hand on mine, then stared into my eyes. “First of all, to think that time can be measured is unwise. Second, I can see how you perceive this, Willow. The dimension you were raised in is still in its infancy. Most dimensions are not divided into countries, nor have one specific leader. In fact, beyond Infante and Esterious, there is only one other. Esterious is thought to be one of the first, they had passed the prehistoric times before Infante was ever conceived.”

“How can you not have a leader?” I asked.

“People lead people just like we live here. We can divide ourselves any way we wish, but we are still, in fact, a part of humanity. In most dimensions, one person doesn’t have a say over many. That’s seen as a form of judgment. ”

Landen never looked in my direction. I felt a wall building between us, and I didn’t understand why.

“What do you know about them? How do Drake and Perodine play into this?” asked Landen. August’s eyes questioned why Landen had said Perodine’s name.

“Willow dreamed of her, too,” Landen offered.

August smiled at me. “That makes sense. She is, or was, your mother.”

Landen buried his face in his hands, shaking his head. August went on, “Perodine is a strong woman, but in her younger years she was subservient to her husband, Donalt. Each time she had a child, he would take their lives, fearing that they would take his power. Perodine turned to the universe. She planned her next child by the planets. She then developed powers to protect her and her child, Aliyanna, and those powers unwittingly suspended both Perodine and Donalt’s lives. Perodine’s plan was to never allow just one to rule—there must always be at least two. So she planned to give the power to Aliyanna and the man she loved.”

August’s eyes fell to the charm around my neck. He smiled warmly as he looked back in my eyes. “Perodine had a medallion made—a sun filled with black glass to represent the darkness the world was in. A crescent moon was carved in the center to represent the rebirth of life. The star was placed on the back to show that the supremacy of man would always fall behind the universe—God. All the power that Perodine had found was placed inside the charm.

“Aliyanna was promised to man in the court, a man her father had chosen for her, but her heart loved another: Guardian, a man of the common people. When Donalt learned of the charm and its power, he was furious, and his fury was intensified when he discovered his power would be shifted to a man of common standings. Donalt instructed his priest to remove Aliyanna’s power and to kill her and Guardian. The charm served its purpose, though, and protected both Aliyanna and Guardian,” August explained.

“So, let me get this straight. You think that we’re those people? That this whole scenario is being played out again? Are you saying that Drake has been chosen for me by Donalt?” I clarified.

I felt a deep rage and jealousy rise inside Landen. August could see it, too. He looked at Landen and put his hand on his shoulder. “I know that Drake has Donalt’s favor,” he said quietly.