Vindicate (6 page)

“You will not see one until your intent is set there.”
August assured.

“Well, right now my intent is set on bringing them back – there isn’t room for any other notion.”

August gave me a weak , sardonic smile , then slightly bowed his head before returning to Landen’s side. I didn’t know what to say or do. I thought for sure Alamos would argue the points August tried to make , but when my eyes met his , I saw a pleading – a pleading for me to listen to what August had said. Maybe under different circumstances , I would have. R
ight now , I wanted a cut and dry answer to what I was facing.

Alamos ’
eyes moved to Drake , and he kept them there , not bothering to push me to any kind of understanding.

“Marc –starting the mourning process. T
hat will stop the war?” Brady asked as his arms fell from around me ; he was starting to trust my control.

“We can hope,” Perodine said bleakly. “The thing is – this world is also superstitious. If the weather keeps up – they will not hold to the rituals of mourning ; they will begin to fight with each other. A ll the different point s of view will clash, and the result of that will be a death warrant for all of us.”
H
er eyes carefully moved over me.
“Y
ou’re going to have to stay calm. D
o not give them a reason to think that something is off. T
hat the devil i s at large.”

“He is at large . H
ow can they fear him when they willing let him rule them for millions of years – if he is their religion?” I asked in a dismayed tone , still not seeing August’s point of view.

“Willow , t hey think he is protecting them from the devil .” Rose said.
“T
hat he is their last hope . Y
ou cannot undo millions of years with in a matter of days , ” she moved to my side as she locked eyes with August. I knew then that this notion of dualities was one t hat they had discussed before. O
ne Rose agreed with.

“Mars represents war , ” Perodine added .

“What else ?
” I asked .

“You want me to be blunt ?
”
s he asked.

“Yes , ” I said as calmly as I could as I looked into her eyes.

“Sex .
”

“What?!”
I spun my ring as fast as I could as I glanced qu ickly from Landen’s body to her . I already knew what that girl that took them was capable of. I swear if she was doing that to Landen there was no hope of me reaching any duality. I felt sick.

“You heard me .
I’m not the least bit surprised that you saw a seductive girl with them . S
ex . P
ower . W
ar . H
eat . F
ire . T
hat is Mars , ” Perodine said bluntly.

“Are you saying she’s seducing them?! That they ’
re trapped in an illusion with her?!” I asked as rage crept through me. I felt Rose’s hand on my arm , and Brady resum ed his grip on my arms.

“I don’t know , ” Perodine mumbled , refusing to make me a promise she couldn ’
t.

“You better find out , ” I seethed.

“Willow , they cannot be seduced by anyone but you , ” Alamos said , defending Perodine.

“Yeah, well, I would have said the same thing about Dane a few days ago – and I would have been wrong , ” I argued.
My imagination was cruel to me. I could almost see what was very well happing to them at this moment.

“Not entirely , ” August commented as he ran water across Landen’s brow once m ore. “That wasn’t his actions. This devil can consume anyone, but I promise you , it cannot seduce their soul . W
e are preventing a war here , while they fight one in their minds . T
hough seduction may play a role –it’s the one thing you should not have to fear.”

“How can you be so sure?” I asked .
Please. Please. Someone assure me that demon was not forcing Landen to cross a sacred line.

August looked up at me.
“Because they are already in love with the most seductive sign in the zodiac : you , a Scorpio . Y
our sig n wrote the book on that power, and no one can top you in that manner.”

“Another Scorpio , ” I argued , trying not to blush. The last thing I wanted to do was speak about the private moments I had with Landen in this life.

August ’s eyes filled with sympathy .
“No. T
he darkness you fight does not carry a sign. I n fact , I would venture to say that if you did find another Scorpio , they would be more of an asset than a hindrance.”

“My twin , ” I said hopelessly .

“Another Scorpio , ” August repeated .

I moved my head from side to side as m y eyes moved across the room to all of them. “If I reach this realm – if I find them – if I discover that I cannot save Drake because this illusive twin is absent , I will never forgive myself for not arguing my point more fiercely.”

“I am tirelessly searching.” Perodine said quietly to me. I heard the truth in her voice. Knowing that she believed me was enough to let me drop the subject.

“What was the deal with the twin males? We were going to find them. Landen knew something – he had found a connection , ” I said as I ached to feel the calm that Landen always had.

“They ’
re looking for them , ” Brady murmured .

“Who?” I asked , looking behind me at him.

“Dane, Chrispin – Olivia and Clarissa , ”
h e answered .

“Why can you not find Austin?”

He winced. Clearly feeling as trapped as I did.
“We know he’s in Infante, but he leads the most people to that world. M
ost of them to the continent of the UK
.
Chrispin and Dane are searching the homes he has there, and on every continent beyond that. Olivia and Clarissa are in Franklin , trying to find that song she heard in her dreams ; she thinks it will lead to them.”

I froze in p lace. “I bet it’s the same song. I t was them. T
hey stopped that girl.”

It was clear that every one of us was overwhelmed with not only grief , but lack of direction. You never know how much you depend on someone until they ’
re no longer there. The darkness ha d proven to be a worthy adversary. We we re at war – and our leaders, our soldiers that could defend us , Landen and Drake , had been imprisoned . We didn’t have the healing , calm hands of Landen . T
hough I could perceive both intent and truth , I’d yet to master the gifts he gave me. We didn’t have the face of the King – the fi erce ruler Drake had mocked. W
e couldn’t stop time and think through our troubles.
We were lost without them, yet our lives were forced to move onward, to face not only the world around us , but to seek the realm they were trapped in.

“Let’s begin the mourning. T
hat’s all we can do while we wait for the others to return , ”
Perodine cautiously urged .

“How are we going to do that? There is no Estate left. N
o court for Marc to fool , ” I contended. In my opinion we should be sending every traveler worth their title to find Austin. Everything in my being was telling me to do that, but if I was going to be any kind of leader I had to learn the art of compromise. They sooner they figured out how to do this ceremony the better.

“There is a court ; members stretch across this world , and all have separate beliefs. That is why I told you that we had to give back Delen. T
hat we had to play into the rumors , ” Perodine carefully added.

“How do you plan on convincing the rest of this world that this city is no longer demented? How are you going to protect the ones I led here? What is going to happen if they are recognized? What then ? W
hat happens when they discover that Drake was fooling them , that he was on our side all along?”
They were going to have to prove to me that no one would be harmed with this charade.

Perodine glance at Alamos telling him to give me his word, trouble was, I would have no idea if he were lying to me or not.
“Anyone th at would recognize them is gone.
Initiating the mourning will cause every side to reflect – to try and unders tand what is really occurring. F
or all they know , Donalt is just sick .
Drake is in his place until death or he recovers . I t will be a silent argument; it will allow us to not confirm or deny any notion , ” Alamos responded bleakly.

“I told you there was a reason for everything , ” Brady murmured to me.
Well played, Brady, well played. He was offering me comfort and also ensuring I was well aware of what I was capable of. Absolute obliteration.

“This is the plan , ” Alamos said .
“Marc will stand on the balcony – unroll the black cloth to symbolize to the people that mourning has begun . O
ur only problem is that damn wall that is dividing us from the rest of the world.”

I smirked. “You have a problem with that wall ? I don’t .” I turned briskly and left the room , feeling Brady at my side and the others daring to follow at a distance. I all but ran down the hall through the study , then to the observatory. The glass box that held my body before – the stools where Landen and Drake sat , were still in place. T
here was literally no time between that trial and this one. I held in the emotions I was fighting and walked to the door that led to the roof. No one ventured to stop me.

I wasn’t a fool ; I wasn’t go ing to show myself to this world – let any traitors see me. I stopped at the top step – right when I could see the wall. Deep inside , I pulled my emotions into one source and blew wind from my lips. I imagined this wall drifting apart . T
o me , it was nothing more than A utumn leaves moving with the wind.
With my en ergy, the stones moved slowly with divine grace . T
he ground didn ’
t tremble when they fell. T
here were no screams of horror or fear. T
he stre ets were vacant . T
he souls in this city had taken cover. Obviously staying in doors until they knew the storm had ended, that it was safe once again . When every stone had fallen , I stepped back into the stairwell.
I felt a tinge of relief, like some of the energy I was caging in my core was able to escape. I swayed slightly feeling dizzy once again. I fought against that feeling. I didn’t need any of them to try and ‘help’ me, or worse, think I was too weak to survive alone.

Brad y was the only one in the stairwell with me. He witnessed my struggle but said nothing. That act allowed me to trust him . “You got this , ”
h e said determinedly .
There was almost a hint of truth in his words. He knew I was weak, exhausted, that my thoughts were scattered, that I had barley recovered from the last trial. I was grateful to have him next to me. To have someone tell me the lies I needed to hear. The ones I had to believe to find my truth, my tomorrow.

“Maybe they ’
ll think the storm did it , ” I said sorrowfully , really not knowing what I wanted anyone to believe – understanding that I was fi ghting several points of view. B
eliefs.

“They will , ”
h e promised as he placed his hand on my back and led me down the stairs. I walked as fast as I could back to the room where Landen and Drake’s bodies laid.

Alamos and Perodine were staring out the window. My father and Au gust were with Drake and Landen, while Rose was staring at me from the center of the room.

“Problem solved , ”
I said gruffly . “Let’s mourn.”

Alamos turned to look at me , raising one eyebrow. If I had to guess , I would say he both feared and respected me. Without Landen here to tell me otherwise , I was blind.

“And while you’re at it – tell someone to take those coffins out of the observatory.”

“We might -
-”

I cut Alamos off before he could finish his sentence. “We don’t need them . I f they die , I die . T
he story is over . Y
ou’re not hindering us from moving on to another life. T
o a life where we ’
ll end this.”

“It ends in this life , ” Brady vowed .

Perodine left the room to honor my request. Alamos d id nothing to stop her. I glanced up at Brady , who had managed to stay within inches of me for the last hour. “You and Rose go home. If Presto n or Libby wanted to come here, or had some advice , there is no one to tell us.”

“Do you honestly think Felicity would not find a way? S
end someone here for us?”
h e argued as his blue eyes narrowed with a dare .
His intent was set. He was not leaving my side.

“Brady , ” I said tightly.

“You and I have a deal , ”
h e said stubbornly , holding his solid intent. W
hich meant we were both trapped .
I couldn ’
t leave this world without Landen’s body , and Marc couldn ’
t leave because we ne eded his image to mock Drake’s. T
he darkness had truly hindered the fiercest of us.