Synergy (See #3)(95)

Willow approached us with two others. One of them I’d seen in my thoughts before Marc, Drake’s brother. The woman I’d only seen vaguely, but I knew she was Drake’s mom, Beth.

Beth gazed at Madison, then bowed once. She then looked at Marc and said, “I want to change before we go home.” From her thoughts, I could see that Chara was Beth’s home -- at least that’s where she and her late husband had lived before evil called them. I had to look away from this woman; her heartache was tearing into me.

Marc told us he would bring Beth, Stella - his soul mate - and Drake home. I felt Madison tense again and reached for her arm.

Landen looked at all of us as Marc and Beth walked away. “Can I assume that you can see in the string? I believe Austin mentioned that to me.”

“Seeing is a blessing and a curse for us,” Aden answered.

“Tell me about it,” Landen said under his breath as he reached for Willow’s hand and led us into the string, giving the simple direction to just stay in the center.

A few seconds after we entered the string, Willow hesitated as she looked behind her. I glanced over my shoulder to see three images approaching us. As they became clearer, I saw Clarissa. A tall, well-built boy was with her, as was Winston. Aden and I looked at each other, then to where Winston was. What was he doing with them? He was supposed to be in Chara.

Madison’s focus was on Willow. “Are you alright?” she asked.

We knew in a matter of seconds that they were going to figure out that those two were now just like Silas: undead. If they didn’t tell Willow and Landen, Winston surely would; he was just that cold.

“No,” Willow said, glancing behind her to make sure Landen had felt whatever she was feeling. “Landen.”

Landen was already coming to Willow’s side. Draven noticed the images for the first time. “What the hell?” he mumbled.

“What do we have here?” Landen asked the boy I hadn’t met. It didn’t take me long to discover his name: Dane. He was Clarissa’s soul mate and Willow’s best friend from childhood.

“You look better,” Dane said, smiling slightly at Landen.

“Just your everyday brush with death. No big deal,” Landen said in a dense tone.

Dane and Clarissa broke eye contact with both Landen and Willow, and I braced myself for the moment when they’d tell them that they didn’t have a brush with death. They died.

“What’s going on?” Willow asked as her eyes moved across them, clearly noticing that they weren’t acting like themselves.

“We found your little friend. Looks like he lost his way,” Dane said, looking at Landen.

“Whatever, man,” Winston said, rolling his eyes and pulling free from them, then walking to Aden. When he got there, he received a slap on the back of the head from Aden.

“Quit being a tool,” Aden said through his teeth. “Where were you? Where’s everyone else?”

“Ask them,” Winston said, crossing his arms, refusing to answer.

“He was looking for his daddy,” Dane said with heavy disgust.

“Were you?” Willow said sarcastically, raising her eyebrows.

“You guys weren’t in Esterious. I didn’t feel you there,” Landen said in a mystified tone. I admit I didn’t know him that well, but it was clear to me that he was using all of his insights as he tried to understand what had happened while he was in The Realm.

“Bingo. This man gets a prize,” Winston said, only to get another slap on the back of the head, from Draven this time.

“Where were you?” Willow asked Dane and Clarissa. “I haven’t seen you in days.”

“Infante,” Clarissa answered, “looking into this Escort thing.”

“That’s not where you found me,” Winston said as he dodged another smack from Aden. “Where were we, chaps? Tell them, why don’t you?”

“A guy named Silas brought him to us. Told us that you knew him, that he needed to be with you,” Clarissa answered.

My stomach fell. If he was going to say it, he needed to say it; this was killing me. I wasn’t ready to watch Landen and Willow fall apart again.

“He just walked up to you and said, ‘Here, take this kid’?” Willow asked disbelievingly.

“Something like that,” Clarissa said, unable to look Willow in the eye.

“Listen,” Dane said, “we have to get back. Just keep him under control.”

“Where are you going?” Landen asked. “Mom’s cooking dinner. Everyone’s going to be there. We need to relax, think things through.”

“They don’t know how to rest in peace,” Winston said as a wicked grin came across his face.

“What is going on?” Willow asked, looking from Winston to Dane and Clarissa.

“Nothing,” Dane promised. “We’re not trying to be rude – not at all. We’ve met a few people who understand The Realm, and we need time to work through it. We’re fine. I swear.”

“We’ll work through it with you,” Willow said in a concerned tone.

“I know you will, but if I don’t understand it enough to explain what I know simply to you, then I need more time,” Dane said, looking down at Willow, pleading for space with his eyes.