Landen took his place behind me, and Brady and Dane held on to him. I felt a pull come over me. When I reached my trembling hands out, the charm on my chest hummed, and the sensation brought a calm over me.
Olivia was in the middle. I laid my head on her back, then wrapped my arms around Hannah and Jessica. When the green haze passed, taking the tingle with it, I moved my arms around Olivia’s small frame. The room they were in was dark and damp, and the only light came from an open ceiling, with a gray sky as a canopy, adding a degree of eeriness. An altar was centered in the room, and un-lit candles lined the table. Black roses served as a centerpiece. Chants could be heard from all around the room. Assuring myself that the other two were secure, I pushed back the haze of green, and a warm tingle rushed passed me.
The forest replaced the dark room again. Chrispin took possession of Olivia the moment we came into sight. In the blink of an eye, we’d passed through the forest and were in the string again. Jessica was screaming. I pleaded with her to calm down, but she screamed louder.
“Willow, is that you?” asked Olivia.
“Yeah, you’re fine, I promise. Is Jessica hurt? Why is she screaming?”
Tears streamed down Olivia’s face as she leaned into Crispin’s chest, not caring that she didn’t know him. “She can’t hear you. They took it.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, panicking.
“Jessica can’t hear, Hannah can’t talk, and I can’t see.”
I looked at Hannah. She was afraid. In here, she couldn’t see or talk.
“Hannah you can still see. It’s just dark in here. You’ll see in just a few minutes.”
I reached for Jessica. I had to help her, so I concentrated as hard as I could to take away her fear and give her peace. After a moment, her screaming stopped, and she laid her head on Brady’s chest and fell asleep.
“You changed it,”
thought Landen.
“I don’t know if I did or not. She may have just given up.”
“I felt it,”
he assured me.
Others were beginning to come into view. We were close to Chara. People shot us concerned looks as we passed, and someone in the crowd called out to Landen as we got closer.
“You kids all right?” It was an older man with a long gray beard.
“We’re fine. If you see Jason Haywood, will you tell him we need him at my house?”
The man nodded and pushed past the others, going into the passage. Our passage was just a few minutes past the large entrance. As we left the string, Hannah’s eyes brightened as she realized she could see. Dane sat her down to let her walk. Jessica still lay sleeping in Brady’s arms. Knowing that Olivia couldn’t see, Chrispin carried her to the jeep. He was whispering to her. I couldn’t hear him, but I knew that whatever he was saying was making her feel happy and at ease.
The Jeeps rushed through the field; adrenaline was still coursing through all of us. When we reached our house, we all filed in one-by-one. The girls were laid on the couches in the living room. When Chrispin tried to step away from Olivia, she pulled him back to her. He didn’t falter and sat by her side.
“Did you see that? Where they were?” Landen asked Brady. Brady looked at me. It was easy to see that he had.
“What was that?” asked Brady.
“I don’t know, but it was pure evil,” Landen said, looking at me and trying to hide his fear.
Clarissa had gotten a warm towel and was wiping away the streaks of Hannah’s mascara, telling her she was fine.
“Do you know where you were?” I asked Olivia.
Olivia stared blankly into the room, then said, “I remember being on the boat. There was a really bad storm that came out of nowhere. I woke in a chamber that looked as if I’d stepped into a movie set in medieval times. The walls were made of stone, and large tapestries hung from the ceiling to the floor. It had three large beds, two massive fireplaces, and chairs circled the fire. No windows. When the fire went out, darkness filled the room. Once a day, we’d find a large cart of food and water. I noticed that after we ate, I would fall into a deep, blissful sleep. Dreams would consume my mind, giving me a numbing feeling. I knew I was losing touch with reality and any hope of an escape, so I convinced Hannah and Jessica not to eat.”
Tears drizzled down her face, then she continued, “We pretended to sleep, and after an hour or so the fireplace slid aside. The room was filled with people wearing long black robes, and shadows covered any signs of their faces. They lined the room. When I foolishly opened my eyes wider to focus, I lost my sight, Jessica screamed as the chants began, and Hannah started to pray out loud. That is when she lost her voice.
“We were carried into another room,” Olivia’s voice quivered.
I touched her hand, concentrating again, hoping to help her, too. Olivia leaned in closer to Chrispin, hiding as much of herself as she could behind him.
“They...they stripped our clothes and washed our bodies. They dressed us, prodding us for hours. Then we walked. It was cold, and the ground was uneven. It felt like we were going uphill. The air became damp. We stopped and the chants began again then you came like they said you would.”
Everyone was hanging on Olivia’s every word, and now the fear she felt was filling the room.
“Who said she would come?” Chrispin asked softly, being gentler than anyone else was capable of being.
“When they were dressing us, I focused on the people talking. I heard Drake talking to a man with a husky voice. Drake was angry with him, telling him ‘Now you’ve done it. Willow is sure to feel this, and the moon is not full.’ The husky voice just laughed, saying there were always more people to be taken if need be. I prayed you would come, Willow. I didn’t know what you could possibly do to help, but it was easy to see that at least Drake was afraid of what you could do.”
I stood and tried to hide my fear, my anger. Drake would keep taking people I loved, tormenting us all. Hannah had been nodding along as Olivia spoke, she motioned to me; she wanted something to write on. Dane left the room swiftly and retuned with one of my sketchbooks. I tore out a clean sheet and handed it to her. On the top of the page, she wrote ‘this is the man who had the husky voice.’ Hannah began trying to sketch a picture, she’d taken lessons with my mother before. She had talent, but no desire to become an artist. Hannah drew a stalky man in his late sixties with large eyes, and she made a point to draw a necklace wrapped around his hand. It had a star, and she shadowed it to make it look like it was glowing. She then drew arrows pointing to it.
“Did that star do something?” Brady asked.
Hannah nodded and drew what looked like a small tornado on the back of the page.
“Okay, Okay. Just calm down. We’ll figure it out,” I promised her, halfway trying to convince myself.
Hannah leaned back and put her hand on her throat. Jessica turned on her side, still asleep. Olivia was still hiding behind Chrispin. I sensed my father and Ashten’s panic. I glanced to the window and saw them pulling up in front of my house.
Brady looked at Landen. “Are you ready for this?” he asked. Landen shrugged. It was clear the last thing he was going to worry about was if they were upset with us. We met them on the front porch, and my father’s eyes danced over Landen and me.
“What happened?” Ashten shouted, trying to look behind us. My father quickly looked us both over again.
“They’re fine,” my father said to Ashten.
I spoke up first, knowing they wouldn’t be as angry with me. I told them what had happened. Knowing that we’d been in the strings alone was almost more than the two of them could handle. I quickly moved past that part and explained to my father that the girls needed help.
My father walked in the house. Ashten went to speak, but Landen raised his hand, stopping him. Ashten then stopped himself and mumbled. Everyone filed outside one-by-one when my father went in to see the girls. Almost fifteen minutes passed before Landen and I went back in, hoping he’d figure out what was wrong.
My father was still looking over Jessica as she lay sleeping. Hannah’s confusion was apparent. She couldn’t understand why Dane, my father, and I were all there. My father smiled warmly back at her.
“Listen, we’re going to make you all better, okay. You just need to calm down.”
He then led us into the kitchen. My father was pacing, confusion coursing through him.
“There’s nothing wrong with them—they just think that they can’t see, hear, or speak.”
“What do you mean?” I asked quietly.
“I can see that they’ve been given narcotics or something close to that, but beyond that they’re fine.”
Brady had been arguing on Landen’s behalf with his father. Wanting to escape he found us in the kitchen. After hearing that nothing was physically wrong with the girls, and seeing our defeated expressions, he offered his opinion.
“I think they’re under some kind of spell. You heard the chants, didn’t you, Landen?”
My father promptly stood at attention. I seemed to have left that small detail out earlier.
“Chants?” he repeated, making sure he wasn’t mistaken.
Fearing he would now have to argue with my father, Brady answered. “They…umm…were in a room with an altar and chants, but they were sick before that,” Brady said, looking guiltily in our direction. We weren’t upset that he’d said something, we just wanted the girls better.
My father slid to the floor against the cabinets, bowing his head to his knees. We all rushed to his side. Landen and I could feel how distraught he was, almost to the point of grief. He looked up slowly, reaching for my face and leaning his head toward mine.
“Dad, it’s okay. What’s wrong?” I asked.
He stared forward for a moment before he spoke. “If I’d brought you home, the two of you would have had enough time to prepare yourself. We could have all helped, but now you two are almost defenseless.”
Landen and I glanced at one another. We knew that we weren’t completely defenseless; our gifts were merging. Not to mention we could leave our bodies as they slept. Telling my father may have brought him some comfort, but we weren’t sure if it would also bring him more worry.
“We’re going to be fine, all of us,” Landen said with a degree of authority that made us all believe he spoke the truth.
My mother tapped lightly on the back door, causing us all to rise. She was genuinely concerned when she saw my father and his composure, but she listened as he gave us instructions. “You need to see if they want to go home now, or if they want to wait until they’re better. If they want to stay, you need to find a way to tell their parents that they’re okay.”
Landen, Brady, and I left the room, giving my father time to explain everything in his own way to my mother. When Brady passed through the entry hall and went back outside, Landen stopped me before we walked into the living room.
“Listen, if we take them back, I want to give them the herb Realm. I don’t want them to have to remember that place,”
Landen thought.
“If they forget the chants would break the spell?”
“I don’t know,”
Landen thought softly.
I nodded and walked into the living room, holding Landen’s hand. Jessica was awake now, and Hannah was writing her notes to explain what had happened and that she was safe. They all looked up as I walked into the room, staring at me for some kind of explanation.
“Listen, I don’t know how to explain any of this to you. I can’t tell you when you’ll be better. If you want to go home to your parents, we’ll take you there. If you want to stay here a while longer, you’re more than welcome.”
Hannah threw her hands in the air with complete disgust at my bleak explanation. She then turned the page in the sketchbook she was holding and wrote “HOME PLEASE.” Jessica looked at her, then back at me for some kind of understanding. Landen walked over, gently took the pad from Hannah, and wrote what I said for Jessica to read. Feeling the anger coming from Hannah, he wanted to explain it more gently to her. Jessica wrote the words “Which way will make us better faster?”
I shook my head softly and said, “We don’t know. Dad says that there’s nothing physically wrong that he can see. It’s unexplainable.”
Olivia leaned forward, reaching for my arm. “Do they want to go home?” she asked, I whispered yes, then she turned to where she knew they were sitting and said, “I’m going to stay here. I feel at peace here. With or without my sight, I’ve never felt better.”
Hannah looked at Olivia, tears coming down her face. Hannah’s family had tried so hard to make Olivia a part of their family after her parents had died suddenly, but instead she turned inward to books and movies, hiding from life. I was the only one she felt connected to, I was almost positive she would have asked to stay no matter what. Olivia was truly at peace, a peace that I’d never felt from her before.
Hannah walked over and hugged Olivia, rocking her back and forth. Jessica picked up the pad and wrote, “I want to go home. I do not belong here.”
“Olivia, they want to go home. Are you sure you want to stay here?” I asked softly.
She nodded. Landen then left the room to tell the others what the girls had decided, and I slid down in one of the big chairs in the room, trying to comprehend what was happening all around me.
Sensing that I was the only one in the room, Olivia asked, “Willow, where are we? Who are these people who are trying to help us?”
I glanced in her direction, Hannah was waiting for my answer, too. “They’re my family.”
Their curiosity intensified. Leaning closer, making sure she could hear me, Olivia said, “I didn’t know you had any other family. You never talked about anyone. I thought your family was alone, like me?” Hannah looked sharply at Olivia. Though Olivia couldn’t see it, I was sure she could feel it.
“This is my father’s family. They live far away. We haven’t visited much,” I finally answered.
Jessica tried to speak, but not being able to hear her voice, she was rather loud. “Drake knows that guy with you. He asked if we’d met him yet.”
I stood up quickly. “Landen? He knows Landen?” My rush of fear caused Landen to look in the window at me.
“Come in here.”
Seeing my surprise, Jessica went on. “He just described him. He thought you two were together.”
Landen came in, hearing the last part of what Jessica said, Olivia spoke up. “I remember what Jessica’s talking about, Monica insisted that you and Dane were together. He must have asked all of us several times about the other guy.”
“Did he say anything else about us?” I asked.
“He asked a lot about you, Willow. He wanted to know what you painted, why you have that tattoo, if you ever talked about your dreams or nightmares, and what made you scared or happy,” answered Olivia.
“What did you tell him?” I asked, disgusted with Drake.
I could sense the confusion coming from them, like I was missing some big picture. Olivia then leaned forward further and tilted her head as if to tell me a sad story. “Willow, besides Dane, I’m probably the closest person to you. I told him you’d never tell us something that would make you appear weak. I have to be honest, you were, or are, a very solemn person. I mean, I can’t remember a time when you laughed out loud or were full of energy. You gave the impression that you weren’t afraid of anything.”
Landen and I were locked in a stare. It was easy to see that Drake had an advantage. He knew that Landen and I were meant to be together, and he was searching for information about me.
I felt Aubrey and Felicity approaching the house. Overwhelmed I fell into one of the large chairs. Landen slid in beside me. My mother and Felicity gave the girls food and changed them out of the dresses they were in. Aubrey tried to play the peacemaker between Ashten and her boys, but she was only able to maintain the truce for a moment. Landen’s struggle for independence and Ashten’s growing concern for our safety seemed to collide over and over again.