Synergy (See #3)(57)

“OK, let’s go,” Willow said, nodding to Nana, then walking toward the entry hall.

I locked eyes with Nana. I knew if this was a bad idea she would stop me. She didn’t.

“Any advice?” I asked hoarsely.

Nana’s eyes moved to Madison. “You have a hard road in front of you.”

“I can handle it,” Madison said, dropping her eyes.

“Listen to me,” Nana said, commanding her to look her in the eye again. “That girl needs you, and you need her.”

“I don’t need her,” Madison argued.

“Yes, you do. She loves blindly, and you avoid it. You need to teach her to see what she’s really fighting, to remember who she was a few months ago, and she can teach you to trust fate.”

“She doesn’t look like she’s trusting fate to me,” Madison said, holding on to her sarcasm as a defense.

“She trusts that she’ll always be with the one she loves, no matter what,” Nana countered.

“Sounds suicidal to me,” Madison said, only to get a dirty look from Nana and an elbow from me. “Fine,” she said, throwing her hands in the air. “I’m sorry, but seriously, I’m a little uneasy that a girl that looks just like me is fighting some kind of darkness - obviously poorly. I have enough enemies without worrying about hers.”

“You’re all in this together now,” Nana said, reaching for her arm. She then looked at me and said, “You’re fighting for the dead, and they’re fighting for the living. You take every opportunity you have to learn from them, and you take every opportunity you have to teach them. If you don’t plan on doing that, then don’t leave here, don’t play into a web of darkness.”

“I’ll teach them what I know,” I said quietly. “I have to go, I have to get Monroe to a safe place.”

“That’s my girl,” Nana said, reaching to hug both me and Madison. I kept my head down and avoided her eyes as Madison and I made our way to the stairs.

When we got to the studio, Willow was holding Evan’s arm and staring into his eyes. I didn’t know what she was doing, but she seemed to be calming him down. I walked to Draven’s side. I wanted him to know what Silas had said about Monroe, how upset and scared Madison was, but I cut the vision short; I didn’t want him to see Silas kiss my forehead or him tell me that I would love him again once this was all over. I didn’t want to give Draven any excuse to be angry right now. His eyes grew sad as he looked behind him at Monroe, who was sitting with Grayson and Winston on the couch.

I knew he wanted to ask me what happened after what I showed him, but he didn’t; instead, he leaned closer to me. “Where’s your phone?” he whispered. I looked at him curiously and pulled it out of my pocket. “Headphones?” he asked. I shrugged my shoulders, knowing I had no idea where they were. He reached in the bag that was at his feet, next to his guitar case, and pulled a set out, then plugged them into my phone and moved the track to one of his songs. He looked up at me. “It’s going to be loud, and they’re going to come right at you. Are you ready for that?” he asked as his eyes met mine. I saw fear there; not for that place, but for me.

I nodded and took my phone and put it in my pocket. I looked away, knowing that if I kept his stare, I’d lose my nerve. I would stay here, where I knew what my demons looked like.

I heard Brady say, “Alright then, let’s go,” then l looked up and saw the room divide and a light reach out for us. My heart started to race, and I felt sick to my stomach. Willow reached back and grabbed my hand, and the instant she touched me all the fear vanished; it was like Silas was standing next to me. I felt calm, balanced, sure of myself. It was easy for me to follow her into the glowing light of the string, into the unknown.

The string felt different than it did when Austin had taken us in there. It still hummed, but the flow of energy wasn’t as aggressive; it was almost still, which I thought was terrifying. I knew it would take something powerful to alter energy this pure.

Willow didn’t let my arm go at first; she was purposely keeping me in the back with her. I wasn’t sure I was ready for a private conversation with her. I was a horrible liar, and if she asked me anything about a past life or what I could see, I would have to tell her - and I doubted she really wanted to hear what I had to say.

That Olivia girl was walking next to Madison, talking to her quietly. I could only hope that Madison would keep a lid on the sarcasm she typically used as a defense. Draven glanced back at me, noticing that I was side by side with Willow. He smiled faintly, then nudged Grayson. As I saw his eyes expand, I had no doubt they were talking about Monroe, at least sharing information.

“So,” Willow said, “I met Draven’s mom.”

I think my heart stopped beating for a second. In my mind she was some kind of mother figure, older friend in a past life, but then I realized she was talking about Autumn; she must have seen her ghost, and she didn’t seem shocked by that, which gave me hope that she wouldn’t be surprised about everything else I knew when she figured it out.

“How did that go?” I managed to say as I pushed the conversation I had about Egypt out of my mind.

“Well...seems you’re the leader of this group, the one who saw reason in the madness that surrounded you.”

“I don’t know if I’d say that,” I said quietly as my eyes found Draven again. He seemed upset. I wondered what Grayson had showed him. I wondered how scared I needed to be for Monroe.