Vindicate (Insight #5)(72)

“All three of us will be restored. Correct? And you mean I will be able to kill her.”

His eyes narrowed as the y sparkled. “I should have spoken to you long before today.” He was clearly entertained by me . “I doubt that you will have time to find her body and kill her. You need to leave The Realm immediately. There will be damage. I cannot undo a set fate . But rest assured your adored’s heritage will burn through what was meant to harm him, and in turn he will rec over the reminder of his energy … wherever it may rest at that moment.”

Burn? What did that mean? “All you want from me is to stand up for Escorts? To defend those that bring no harm.” This made no sense to me. Why could he not do that? Why did he need my voice?

“For now. We’ll see where the tide leads us.”

“Are you evil?” I dared to ask.

“Not on purpose.”

When I didn’t smile he did. “I’m not harming you or anyone you care for. This is my olive branch. When I need you to remember tonight, you will. I truly hope that you are the person you have presented to me.”

“Why can I not remember it now?”

“I believe you have enough to concern yourself with at the current moment. Your life and perspective will be foreve r more changed shortly. For now…f inish what you began.”

Just before he raised his hand he locked gazes with me. “I can only redeem you r soul once tonight. Finish this and leave.” He glanced at Bianca. “This child will have no memory of this either. I’m placing her across the r oom from you.” His eyes shimmered once more. “I bid you good luck.” With a wink he majestically said, “Until we meet again.”

A flash of light exploded across the obser vatory. It was so bright I had to shield my arms across my face.

Rage, grief, every horrible emotion was pulsing through my veins. What was I doing? What is going on? Why did I feel hope again? Why was I sure that I would save Landen. That he was not lost. And why in the hell did I smell like peppermint all of the sudden?

The images of me were all around me. I could hear Bianca’s mocking laugh. I scanned the room trying to find the source.

I felt someone grasp my shoulde r and turned to destroy the image, but I saw the tattoo. I saw the word ‘love’ - that’s when I saw the real Charlie. She laced her arm through mine. “Show yourself!” she yelled.

Instantly, sha dows from every corner appeared. Charlie began to speak Latin. Promising words in a dead language.

An image reached for her, and jus t when I prepared to strike it I saw the tattoo , the word. The real Madison. I held my anger back and watched the two of them use the dead as a weapon – a s they commanded the dead to siege Bianca.

The ice in the pool was gone now. The water was boiling. I t was spil ling over onto the stone floor. The steam from the cold floor and the hot water connecting made seeing anything even more difficult.

The water was rising on the floor, s o much so that I feared for Landen and Drake. I let go of Charlie and splashed through the water to where I’d left them.

An image was holding Drake’s body. Her lips were on his, and from my perspective it looked as if she wa s pulling the life out of him. Rage absorbed me, but just as I focused my thought, the image raised h er hand and I saw the tattoo. I saw Olivia .

“Willow! Willow!” she said, raising her arm . “Love! Love! Love! I’m real. He was drowning!”

“Guess what? I’m real, too,” I hea rd Bianca say against my neck. My anger thrust her back, and as I turned to bring more harm, the shadows that Charlie had called into existence consumed her.

The room was silent. The images were gone. Really? Shadows? That was all it took to end her? For some reason I had a gut feeling that told me she was more deadly than that. Before I could search for her I felt something. I felt Landen. His energy was like a beacon in this room. How was that possible? How come he felt stronger now than he has in days?

I turned to see Brady and Draven at Landen’s side and Olivia and Aden at Drake’s. Was this real? Or was this Realm toying with me. He was gone. They both were. I know they were. Gratitude for Charlie and her curse of dark whispers consumed me. They must have restored them, brought their essence back.

Brady had managed to hold Land en’s head above the water, but I guess Aden and Olivia were a moment too late.

The water was subsiding, and Aden held Drake’s head back as Olivia continued to give him CPR.

I ran to Drake’s side and hel ped her push against his chest. No. We are not dying again tonight. There are no third chances. That is what my thoughts were screaming. I knew I had to get out of here. I had to wake them up and get out of here. The urgency was suffocating .

“Breathe for him!” Olivia yelled.

“This is him? You’re sure?” I said, looki ng over my shoulder at Draven. I w as sure Landen was next to him, but I couldn’t feel Drake, so I h ad no way of knowing for sure. No way of knowing if he was someh ow deeper in this Realm.

“Wake him up, and we’ll find out,” Draven said, admitting that he had no idea.

I tilted Drake’s head back and breathed into him on the counts that Olivia was yelling at me. Two counts in, I felt the hum of his lips; I felt his arm move around my waist. I leaned back and found his eyes slightly open.

“Say my name!” I screamed at him.