Witness: See Series (Volume 1)(88)

In that instant, shadows came to his eyes, then poured out of his body. He began to scream in pain, and in a natural instinct he began to pull them back to him. I fell to my knees next to him and held his face in my hands. “The pain is temporary – I am eternal...set them free.”

He gasped in pain, then all at once every ounce of darkness escaped his body, and the night sky turned to daylight. His people, his servants were restored; all that was taken from them was retuned, and the light of their souls beamed around us.

I knew what we were seeing was temporary and that at some point after this moment, he would be thrown out of that life - punished by the devil himself for releasing the darkness. I didn’t want him to see that.

“Draven,” I whispered again, calling us out of that illusion into the hell that was all around us. I took his hand and put it on the center of my chest, then placed mine on his. “Release them...live with me in eternity.”

In his image, I saw a glow beaming from me. I didn’t want it to be too tempting to him – to make this harder on him. I thought of my butterflies, and instantly they all appeared, surrounding us; it was as if at that moment, they were a perfect combination of both of our powers – both light and darkness…it was a balance that couldn’t tempt either of us.

At that moment, he screamed in pain, and shadows seeped from every part of him. The rocks around us fell, and the butterflies pulled the darkness from him and into the sky above; they were leading them to their escape – a way out of this realm.

He wrapped his arms around me, holding me for dear life. Over his shoulder, I saw Madison fling Bianca over the edge of the mountain.

“Finish the song, baby,” I whispered into his neck.

I felt my soul jolt, and all at once I was back on that balcony. The lights were on Draven as he began to sing the chorus again: ‘A devil risen - an angel fallen - this world will not be our prison – fate is calling.’

I turned and ran for the stairs. Madison was right behind me

“Did you kill her?!” I yelled over the music as we raced down the stairs.

“No, not yet; she’s just begun to torment us. But I will – I promise you that!” she answered.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I ran down the hall, looking for an entrance to the stage. I saw Evan ahead, holding a door open for me, and I raced past him, finding myself on the stage just as Draven played the last chord of the song. I didn’t care that there were thousands of people watching; I ran to him. He pushed his guitar behind him and held his arms out for me. When I reached him, he squeezed me as tight as he could and spun us around in circles as Aden finished the last beat of the drums. The crowd roared, and the energy in the room was pulsing through us.

He sat me down gently, leaned his forehead to mine, and let his hands rise to my face. “Eternity!” he yelled over the crowd.

“Promise!” I yelled as I reached up and let my lips rest on his. Our embrace just made the crowd grow even wilder. Our lips slowed, and he whispered into my ear, “Do you hear that?”

I nodded. “They love you.”

He shook his head. “Listen.”

With questioning eyes, I stared at him and listened; the crowd wasn’t making all the noise...my whispers were back – and they were fierce, screaming our names. I looked out at the crowd to see the confetti falling from the ceiling. Shadows mocking the dark images of lost souls were in every dark corner of this place...we’d done it: they were back.





Chapter Nineteen


Draven and the others bowed to the crowd, then with his arm around me we left the stage. His father was waiting for him with a proud smile.

“Proud of you, son,” Evan said.

Draven held my hand tightly as the other band members flocked around him. One of the lead vocalists from the band that played before him patted Draven’s chest and said, “Man, those were some wicked roars near the end of that song – your throat must be killing you!”

Draven half-heartedly smiled and squeezed my hand as we both remembered what had caused those roars. As others flocked around us, I felt arms around my waist and looked up to see Aden holding me. In my ear, he whispered, “You’re fearless – I couldn’t have touched that snake,” in a teasing manner.

“Yeah, right,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I saw how badly you wanted to move.” He nodded his head and smiled, revealing his trademark dimples, then handed me his drumsticks before pushing his way through the crowd. There were so many people, I couldn’t breathe.

“I’m gonna get air,” I said to Draven as I let his hand go. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn’t want me to leave him, but he could see that I couldn’t breathe, so he let my hand go.

I pushed through the crowd, hearing “Happy Birthday, Charlie!” over and over. I couldn’t tell where it was coming from, so I just said “Thank you” over and over. Madison was on her phone by the door. I handed her Aden’s drumsticks, then nodded to the door, telling her I needed air. She took them as she nodded and held up one finger.

I felt the cool October air rush by me as I stepped outside, and I heard something devious that made me smile: my sinister whispers - they were back, and I was ready to help them now, to find a way to their light…I just had to figure out how.

I took in a deep breath, then let another one out. I tried to process what had just happened; it all seemed unreal, like a nightmare that had come and gone, leaving me peacefully in my reality. People were pushing past me, so I walked away from the door and down the sidewalk, feeling my breaths slowly come back to me.