Synergy (See #3)(42)

“Yeah, well, you may have given her a few books, maybe even had a few chats with her, but I’m her best friend. She may not be in love with him right now, but she’s falling for him. If all of this hadn’t happened, if we weren’t leaving, she would fall for him.”

“But we are. One way or another, we will leave. There are no coincidences; we are leaving now because she’s not supposed to love him.”

“You’re just saying that because you hate him. How am I going to tell her to leave and not tell her that when she see’s Willow that she’ll be looking into a freaking mirror, that somewhere down the line, she’ll see that boy in her dreams?”

“She saw him today in The Realm, and she still wants to leave.” He argued.

“I couldn't even see him clearly in there; and besides that, we were a little distracted.”

“Right, the demon.”

“Maybe Draven’s right. We should just stay here and find them in The Realm. After that, then we can figure out if we even need to go.”

“We’ve tried all afternoon. No luck.”

“You guys went back.”

He nodded once. “I always knew The Realm was more complex than what meets the eye, but I never imagined it was this bad.”

“What do you mean?” I asked as my eyes grew wide.

“We have come so close to them, at least Draven has, but when he finds them, they’re asleep or the world around them collapses. We’ve even seen them fighting each other on the horizon, but when we got too close they vanished.”

“They were fighting? Should we even be trying to save both of them?”

He sighed. “We all agree that it’s an illusion. You know just as well as I do that The Realm brings your fears to life with a simple thought. I’m more than sure that Bianca is toying with their hidden fears.”

“So they’re asleep inside a nightmare? I wonder how deep they are.” I mused.

“I think they’re slipping, but Draven thinks he’s getting through to them.”

“Why does he think that?”

“Because he got them to repeat the lyrics ‘an angel fallen a devil has risen, our fate is calling.’ When they hear that song, they almost wake up, but then something pulls them deeper. It’s almost like they want to be there, like they want this war to end in The Realm.”

“That wouldn't be a bad thing,” I said, seeing how I would play this the same way if I had the choice.

“If they knew what they were doing, but I don’t think they do. If they did, they would be changing the world around them, using their minds as a weapon, but they’re not; they just play into what’s around them. They’re basically facing a test like what Draven went through, but only it’s in slow motion, and I don’t know what lives they lived before or what bad things they could have done, but I know that what they’re seeing is in some way a reflection of that.”

“A reflection?”

He nodded. “They get too upset for it not to have been real at some point.”

“If they are being tested, does that mean they’re Escorts?”

“Maybe, or maybe the darkness is just toying with their minds.”

This was not good. Not good at all. “Either way, they aren’t going to come back the same; Draven didn’t,” I said as I perceived the endless battle before us.

“That’s why I want to wake them up there. What’s weird is that earlier I saw one of them act out the life of the other.”

“How can you know that for sure?”

“The names they called themselves. It was like they were switching places, but I don’t know what they would gain from that, or even what Bianca could.”

I tried to weigh all of the reasons anyone would want to switch places with another. I couldn't find a reason to be hopeful. Even if they were doing that to themselves, it was something they shouldn't toy with. They needed to live out the lives they were born into. “The longer she’s alone with them, the worse off they are. I want to go back with you guys, like now.”

“I think we need to find their bodies; if we can see our way there from their perspective, then we could wake them up in The Realm, ensure that Landen is Landen and the other guy is the other guy. The only way we can do that is if we leave. So, you’ve got some convincing to do. Draven still wants to send you and the girls and stay behind.”

“Alright,” I said, turning to walk in.

Aden reached for my arm. “I really am sorry I accused you of that. I just feel torn. I love you both, and...and if he loses you...then I lose you.”

“He’s not,” I said, reaching to squeeze his arm. “I love both of you, and I’m not going anywhere.” I handed him my keys. “Our bags are in the car. I can’t go home.”

His eyes filled with grief, and I turned to walk away.

Inside, I found Grayson and Monroe sitting at the table in the nook. They were staring at each other, and I could only imagine what was playing in their minds. I tried to focus on them, but Nana broke my concentration.

“How come every time I see you, I have to make you eat?” she asked.

I blinked and noticed her and Evan sitting around the island that centers the kitchen.

“Where’s Draven?”