Vindicate (Insight #5)(7)
My eyes glassed over , but I kept my control. I may not a finger when this is all over. But I was keeping my control with each spin of my ring. “I’ll have to thank him for that , ” I said as I looked to Drake’s body.
“Time has been frozen here countless times . He has stopped it and weighed every decision he could. I’m more than sure that Landen has done the same in Chara.” Alamos added.
Brady nodded once. “He has . He admitted it to me . He told me if he could figure out how to keep all of the innocent people in motion and stop the rest of the world from calling the devil into battle , he would. I t w as only a minute here and there. Barely noticeable.”
I breathed in as Landen’s reasoning came to me. He never once took an y of his insights for granted. He always thought they had a deeper meaning than he could perceive. He was always looking for a way for us to live in peace.
“It would only take a sec ond to throw the calendar off. To move our perception as a whole , ” Alamos said.
“What are you saying ? That we have to face Venus again ? That we aren ’t as far as we thought ? That what we’ve been thr ough was for nothing?!” My nail stabbed the skin under my ring as I felt a sharp pain in my core. Those emotions wanted out. They wanted vengeance. That wasn’t going to happen. I control this body. Along with any annoying insights that may accompany it.
Alamos glanced at Perodine , then went to the table and started studying the scrolls.
Perodine looked down as she spoke. “No , child . Those victories are yours. What he meant w as that now we have no calendar. We can just interpret what will happen, what tools you will need.”
“I don’t understand . I thought all o f this had to do with planets. What the sky said ?”
“It does,” Perodine promised as her eyes rose to mine. “But. Now we have fallen deeper into the devil ’s web. What w e fight now is our perception. Our realm of reality, and unfortunately , that realm is now different from the rest the world.”
“Realm? Dimension? What’s the difference ?” I could not be the only one that was not grasping this illogical play on words.
“There is a big one , ” s he said to me as she glanced at my side to Rose. “A dimension is a place . A realm is what ’s in that place.”
“That makes no sense.” I scoffed. Really?
Perodine tried to smile , but she couldn ’t find the strength to. “Everyone you ask will give you a different perspective of the word ‘realm ,’ and all of them have solid reason behind them . The only way I can explain this to you is that right now , all o f us are in each other’s world. We all have the same goal. And though our energy may be on different levels , we share this realm. The re st of the world is in their own. Though they are subject to your victories and defeats , they are indeed in their own realm. Facing their own wars , whether they be small or large.”
“This isn’t helping me now . I need to know where they are.” I muttered with as I spun the ring more slowly now.
“In e very sense of the word , they are right here, but in reality , they are fighting in a different realm. A nother place that we have to determine how to reach.”
“Determine , ” I said shortly , nodding my head toward the table. She didn’t move ; she kept her stare with me. “Tell me about the dream world you were in yesterday, Willow. How dangerous was it?”
“It wasn’t , ” I said firmly. “It was peaceful. Mostly , anyway . The weather was unpredictable , ” I said with a sense of sarcasm , which brought a smirk to Brady’s face. No one else got the joke. Figures.
Marc, who had been pacing back and forth behind me , spoke up. “How can they both be having the same dream?”
“The same way Willow and Landen shared their dreams , ” Rose said with a peaceful voice. “Our dreams can easily intertwine with another , especially if the other person has a common goal . Willow and Landen’s was to find each other , and even though they didn’t know it then , it was to redeem this dimension. Drake and Landen have a common goal : to protect Willow . They are fighting for her right now.”
“More than me , ” I mumbled as I looked to Landen’s body , trying to feel an emotion from him. Above all , I felt his anger , but underneath all the negative emotions , I felt his love for me. I didn’t know what I wou ld do if I felt fear within him. Madness would be my only choice. “I brought Landen back. When he saw Drake next to him , he slipped away. He went back for him.”
Tension filled the room , and all eyes were on me. Alamos left the table and came to August and Marc’s side. Perodine stood in front of them all , waiting for me to tell them how. Brady squeezed my hands , calling my a ttention to to his eyes. “How ?” he asked quietly.
“My energy . I gave it -” I stopped myself , remembering that none of them knew that I ’d g iven my energy to Drake before. That I had saved his life with that power. That because I’d done that , Landen and Drake both carried the strength of my heart. “I gave it to Landen. I t brought him back , but only for an instant.”
“Did he say anything?” Brady asked , holding my stare.
“‘An angel fallen , a devil risen.’” I felt the confused stares from them all. “Drake said , ‘Fate is calling , this world will not be our prison.’” I bit my lip as I spun the ring vigorously. Maybe I should try giving them my energy again. Maybe I should just completely collide my soul with Landen’s. Would that get me to where he is? God knows it would help me. I felt so weak. Like dizzy weak.