Synergy (See #3)(16)

“Dad a little squeamish when it comes to his own baby being born?” I teased.

Madison smiled. “Maybe, but the story I was told was that I was breach or something and the other doctor knew how to save me without having to have a C-section. I guess it could have killed my mom because they were snowed in at the time.”

“Have dinner with them,” I said, feeling guilty that more than likely when Madison’s birthday did roll around, we wouldn’t be here.

“I told her I would. It’s only eleven. Dinner’s at eight, so let’s figure out what Monroe knows.”

“It’s only eleven? Man, it’s been a long day,” I said as I clipped my phone to my side before I got out of the car.

I heard my father’s guitar blaring an angry tune before I reached my back door. My stomach dropped. There was nothing worse than being scolded for something I had no control over.

The house was oddly dim. Through the kitchen I could see the open entry hall by the front door. Monroe had pulled back the Oriental rug that covered most of the hardwood floor. She was on her knees, doing something to the floor.

I glanced at Madison as I let my bag fall to the floor; she seemed just as nervous as I was to see what Monroe was up to.

With each step I took toward her, the guitar sound dwindled a little, which was confusing. I wasn’t sure if I was still in trouble or if Monroe was or if he just wanted me to hurry up and come in to see what she was doing.

At the threshold to the living room, I could see what she was doing, and it took my breath away. My heart pounded in my ears as I reached to grip Madison’s arm.

With what looked like white chalk, Monroe had recreated the devil’s trap that Madison had drawn minutes ago. The scorpion was perfect, and there wasn’t a flaw in the circle or the pentagram. The perfection in the image was not as terrifying as seeing this little girl kneeling in the center of it. The only light in the room was from candles that she’d placed around points of the pentagram.

“Monroe,” I said hoarsely. She didn’t look up until she finished the word she was writing. I walked slowly to her side and knelt down. “Why did you draw this?”

She looked around the room, then back at me. “I don’t want my dad to hurt yours.”

I swallowed hard and glanced around the room, looking for any sign of my dad, but he wasn’t there. The sound of the guitar was still aggressive, but not loud enough that I couldn’t hear Monroe’s innocent voice.

“Do you know what this is?” I asked.

She nodded.

“Is your dad coming here?” I asked.

“He’s going to follow you here.”

“Why?”

“To stop you.”

I looked over my shoulder at Madison to see her pacing back and forth, trying to remain as calm as possible.

“What does he want to stop me from?”

“Helping,” she whispered.

“Who? You? Others?” I asked.

“Everyone.”

“And this will trap him? Because of this, he won’t hurt us?” I asked.

“He can’t hurt your dad here.”

“Can he hurt me?” I asked in a shaky voice.

She reached for my arm. With her touch, I was pulled into The Realm. The stage that Draven and the others played on was in flames. The image flashed, and I saw thousands of shadows overtaking Draven as Bianca watched at a distance. My fear and anger caused me to lose my grip on that vision, and I found myself breathless in the center of the devil’s trap in my house.

“Charlie?” Madison asked.

I stood up quickly. “We have to see our way to The Realm. They’re being attacked!”

Monroe stood and reached for Madison. I thought she was going to show her, too, but instead she pulled her arm so she was in the circle with me.

“Stand here,” Monroe said quietly.

Madison nervously reached for my hand and squeezed it. I didn’t wait for my father to stop me, to play his song louder, to appear for any reason to stop me from saving Draven.

In an instant, we were there. This Realm was like a canvas. Nothing was ever permanent, and when you first enter it again, you see how you left it. So, I wasn’t surprised to find myself off to the side of a massive stage. I was surprised to find it empty and intact, though.

“What are we looking for?” Madison asked.

“The stage was burning in the vision.”

With my words, the stage erupted into flames and we ran away from it as fast as we could. Breathless, we stopped a half-mile away.

“There’s no way for us know if that happened on its own or if you did it with your thoughts,” Madison breathed out. “Don’t tell me what happened next because you’ll guarantee that it happens.”

I didn’t respond. I was so scared. I kept thinking about how mean I was to Draven the last time I saw him, how I refused to even kiss him goodbye.

Madison gripped my shoulders and shook me once. “Charlie, stop it. Clear your head. We have to witness or we’ll be trapped in your nightmare.”

I nodded once and focused on her eyes. The burning stage in the distance vanished, and we were in a field. The sky was a deep gray, and the blades of grass were long and orange. The wind was whistling by us.

“Nothing,” I whispered, frustrated. This was like the first layer of The Realm, what you saw if you had no intention.