Witness: See Series (Volume 1)(46)

He nodded slightly. “That’s them; definitely a more approachable name.”

“What do you call them?”

“The enemy.”

I slid further away from him. Fear was all I could feel; fear for Draven. I was right last night: Silas is some kind of vigilante. I was terrified that he wouldn’t see that Draven was good and fighting to stay that way.

“Don’t hurt him…please don’t hurt him,” I plea-fully whispered.

His eyes grew solemn. “I won’t…not until he gives me a reason to.”

“What reason?” I asked, knowing I would do everything in my power to keep Draven from crossing that line.

Silas stood in front of me and looked down compassionately at me. “Hurting you would be my only reason.”

I moved my head from side to side. “He would never hurt me…he loves me.”

My words dimmed the glow behind his hazel eyes. “That thought process led us here – trapped you in this life, this darkness. I promised you that I would never let anyone hurt you…and I will not break that promise.”

I stood slowly, holding his gaze. “Promise me you’ll never hurt him. It’s not his fault that he sees the way he does – that this darkness is calling him. He’ll fight it; I know he will.”

Silas looked down as he reached for my hand. I didn’t pull it away. I wanted to feel his peace – the calm that was emanating from him. “You have said these words before…you followed him here – to protect him. Now, we will see who was right or wrong…I couldn’t care less because I know that even though you have given this body to him – your soul is one with mine…that I will not let anyone hurt you…if he even poses the thought of taking your light for his own power – I will end him and every one of the enemies we share.”

I opened my mouth to argue my point, but before I could utter a word he leaned forward and let his lips rest on mine. As I felt his warm skin against mine, the flashes of light, the echoes of a past - they all began to invade my thoughts once again. I felt his hand fall from mine, then the warmth of his lips vanished. I opened my eyes to find him gone…he had vanished. I stepped forward, trying to see if I could follow the calm that was always around him, but it was if I were standing in the center of it.

The visions and voices began to intensify, and I felt my knees begin to buckle. I stepped back and let myself fall onto the step as I started forward and tried to understand the images I was seeing, the voices I was hearing. As I sat there, I witnessed countless battles between the darkness and light. I watched as Silas defeated innumerable escorts – his enemies. I watched as I helped him, as I encouraged him to do just that. They were hurting the world, dimming the light, pulling darkness into a living nightmare, breeding compliance – hatred for a life that, in essence, was meant to be loved.

I watched as the battles began to weigh on my soul, and I began to see how we were not making a lasting difference. I began to question who and what the escorts were, if they could be saved, too. Just as I understood that desire, the vision of what I was seeing - they began to fade, and the voices became quiet. I stared forward, replaying what I saw over and over. I don’t remember when the calm I felt left me…anxiety and fear were emotions that were common to me, so to have them return at full force wasn’t alarming.

The day had aged, and the sun was beginning its descent. I thought about making my way back to my car, but I couldn’t make my legs move. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to go to Draven – for him to see what had happened to me today, to see Silas. I didn’t want to go home and listen to Kara tell me that mom was working hard and dealing with what was happening to me the best she could. That was a lie...she knew...she knew all along that this fate was coming for me. I didn’t want to face Madison; I knew she’d want to help me understand who or what Silas was, but I knew that was impossible…he didn’t fall into the world I lived in. I thought about finding a way to get Austin’s attention, to have him come back for us so we could run – run from all of this. I simply couldn’t hold a thought long enough to figure out who I needed to be angry at, who I needed to be afraid of, who I needed to ask for help. There were too many variables to consider. I felt like if I made one wrong move, said one wrong word, life as I knew it would crumble around me…I couldn’t let that happen.

In front of me, walking slowly around the large gothic headstones, I saw a small figure approaching. As it came closer, I felt a horrible guilt absorb me. I didn’t move a muscle, halfway hoping that the dusk of this aged graveyard would hide me.





Chapter Ten


Monroe moved silently around the stones as she stepped closer to me. I pushed my hands into my hoodie, realizing for the first time that I was freezing. Reality was coming back to me, and all at once it felt like those moments alone with Silas were nothing more than a dream. The desire to help Monroe and Madison find their place, to save the dammed, and most of all protect Draven from this world of dreams – all of it became my focus, and with that focus a newfound hatred and vow for revenge surfaced as Bianca’s memory came to me.

Monroe sat down next to me and looped her arm through mine.

“How did you find me?” I whispered weakly. She remained silent. “Sorry I didn’t come back for you like I promised…I was distracted.”