Vindicate (Insight #5)(87)

I was mystified by this idea. That this girl was somehow in love with someone who was not ‘real,” as she called it, but I was too focused on the mistr ust I had for this Winston kid. On why Dane and Clarissa were not acting like themselves. “I still don’t understand why he would take Winston to them?”

“I don’t know. I know that he m ade a promise to Winston’s mom, and to Monroe that he would protect the m. Not let The Realm take them. Their Dad take them.”

“When did he do that?”

“I don’t know. After Monroe was born. Silas is , like, thousands of years old. That’s my problem; he remembers who I was before, and apparently I was what he was. Undead.”

“But you’re not dead now,” I said to clarify. This girl was making my head spin.

“What is dead anywa y? No one is ever really dead. Silas has this whole story . A ll these unspoken rules. A pparently, when I was what he was, I tried to change Escorts. Stop the source of darkness, and...” she said, looking at Drave n, “it only worked with Draven. He fe ll in love with me and changed, but when he changed he became de ad, sent into another life. A ccording to Silas, I followed Draven to protect him. A nd the only way I could do that was to become alive – not undead – a nd to change again, I must die. There is more to it, but that’s the gist.”

“Is he dangerous, Charlie?” I asked as I remembered Silas’s actions in The Realm.

She moved her head from side to side. “No. If I had to guess, I would say he’s helping your fr iends. I’m sure he’s recounting where we are with the battle of light and darkness.”

“Why wouldn’t he share it with us?”

“I’m sure he will. When he’s ready. When he thinks you’re ready.”

Before I could ask any more questions, we had reached Chara. Everyone else had entered, and Landen was waiting on me.

I nodded for Charlie to step in, then we followed her . The sun was setting, and day must have been warm; I could still feel the sun’s energy in the coming night’s chill.

Through the dusk, a small shado w ran toward us. Libby. She crashed into Landen, who picked her up and spun her around as she laughed out loud.

“Is she yours?” Madison asked with wide eyes.

“Not in this life. She’s my sister.”

A second later, Preston ran from the dusk, and instead of coming to me, he ran to Madison. She froze in place as his tiny arms went a round her waist. “You’re home. Now you know me.”

Madison looked at me, then down at him. “Just visiting, buddy,” she said, hugging him back. He laughed. “You’re home.” He hugged he r once more, then ran to Libby. Landen was pretending to race her to our house, and Preston joined in, running faster than any child that young should be able to.

I felt everyone at my house and smiled.

“This is beautiful,” Aden said, gazing at me.

“It’s home. I t’s where I come after I face hell. I t’s what gives me reason to face it again.”

“I can see why.”

Brady pulled up a moment later and opened the back of his Jeep for all of the bags everyone was carrying. I let the others pile in and decided to wal k the rest of the way . A ll alone.

I had awful feeling that I was missing something. More than one thing. The Realm had toyed with my thoughts. I was sure of it. Perodine was trying to tell me something that I couldn’t grasp. And something was up with Dane and Clarissa. This was not over. This wasn’t even a lull. I had to find a moment to talk to Landen alone. To assure myself he was Ok. That the hum of his skin and fire on his lips just felt that way now because his soul had been distant from h is body for a few days. I had to figure out how to get this odious foreboding to go away.

I walked in my open front door, smelling a home cooked meal in the air. Hearing the chatter of everyone I loved. Rose was the first to walk up to me. “I sent Landen to take a shower. How are you?”

“Good, home now,” I said, beaming . She clearly didn’t believe me, but chose not to push the point.

My mom came up behind her and hugged me but decided not to say anything. She could see how I was trying to work everything out on the inside.

Felicity walked out of the kitchen, holding a stack of plates. “Do you want to help me with this?” she asked.

I took a few from her. “Where are we going?” I questioned .

“Side porch. I set a table up that will hold twenty. I doubt that is enough room, but there are enough swings and chairs for everyone.”

When we got on the porch, she shivered. “Why don’t you turn up the sun? It’s cold,” she said, mocking me, but I decided to listen to her and let the emotion of pure joy come over me. The warmth of the setting sun grew brighter, and the chill of the night was gone.

“Show off,” she said, laughing.

“You asked,” I said as I helped her set the plates on the elegant table that only Felicity could create on a porch.

“Well, I’m not going to ask if you’re OK – because you’re not. What else do you want to talk about?” she asked.

I smirked. “What do you think of our guest s ?”

“Well, I know I like those twins becaus e they got Brady to play again, and I can’t wait to hear that. When Madison came in, I thought s he was you. Charlie seems nervous, but who wouldn’t be with all of us welcoming her at once?”