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  “Willow, you did understand what that little girl said – right ?” Brady asked .

  I nodded.

  “What did we just bring here?” he asked , fearing the choices we ’d made.

  “They need us, we need them . For all we k now , having them here will make the ghost of Donalt weaker. He didn’t even bother to look at us.” That or give me another reason to destroy him. Talk about worst father of the year award.

  “What are you saying? That you ’re using them as a distraction?” Brady asked , not believing I would do something that desperate.

  “No,” I said firmly. “I’m saying there may be a way to redeem everyone here, even the demons. I saw the way he looked at that little girl. I’ve seen that look in Alamos ’ eyes when he looks at me . I f she is his child , he loves her just as much as he fears her , and that may be what we need to banish the darkness from the energy of that evil angel.”

  And no, Brady, I’m not a cold hearted, vindictive girl who would sacrifice souls for my soul mate. We would just die and move on. Simple as that. If he heard the thoughts in my head it would do nothing but cause him to trust me less. But those were the cold hard facts. No one was dying for us. When the clock runs out. It runs out. Vengeance will be ours at some point. Maybe not this life. But it would be ours.

  “Willow,” Brady said calmly , “w hat if it makes it harder for you to destroy him ? What if she’s a weakness to you?”

  I glanced up at him. His blue eyes were serious. He wanted to ensure that Donalt’s death warrant was still in play. And it was. For now.

  “I think i t’s obvious I can’t destroy him. Not alone. Not without Landen and Drake , ” I said , reflecting on the fact that I sent everything I had at the demon , and I barely made him notice me. I moved my head from side to side , trying to hold on to the idea that there was a reason for everything, that everyone was in my life for a reason, and to trust that idea. “If she ’s a weakness , then so is Preston, Libby….and Allie. She f eels like them – peaceful, calm. Preston would have stopped us from bringing her here if that was the case , ” I finally concluded.

  I felt a longing in Brady as I said his daughter ’s name , and it made me feel so guilty. “I promise I won’t do anything foolish if you want to go home and see her , ” I said quietly.

  “Let’s just end this , Willow , and w e’ll all go home , ” h e said under his breath.

  I felt Chrispin and other peaceful people I assumed were travelers close, down another hall I would soon pass. “Chrispin is down there , ” I said to Olivia , nodding to the hall.

  She picked up her pace and had turned down that hall long before I passed it. I took in a deep breath as I felt the emotions waiting on me in the room ahead, anger , fear, and sadness.

  Chapter Eight

  When I reached the bedroom where I ’d left Landen and Drake , I saw Perodine at the table behind the sitting area. My father was at Landen’s side , and Alamos was at Drake’s. Marc was pacing the floor. His hair was disheveled where he had run his hands through it over and over. The sleeves on his button up black shirt were rolled up , as i f Drake’s clothes w ere suffocating him.

  He saw me and took two domina n t steps toward me and gripped my shoulders . “Are you insane?!” he bellowed . Obviously furious that I left without telling them, without protection, but I didn’t feel obligated to explain or defend myself. Landen had not only sent me to these new found souls, but he was protecting me becau se his soul was within in mine. A nd if Landen ever figured out how harsh Marc was with me right now it would not end well for either of them.

  Before I could even conceive a thought to push him away , Brady ’s energy had pushed him back three feet , then he walked dominantly to him. “Are you ?! Do you have a death wish?!” Brady roared .

  Marc pulled at his shirt , breaking the top button. “Obviously , I do!” he bellowed , crossing his arms , trying to calm himself down. “I’m him – I’m him , and that means that I ’m living in his hell. I have no idea who ’s on my side and who ’s not. I have no idea if I ’ll live longer than this hour , i f some traitor will come from so me secret passage and kill me. Do you know what that feels like?!” he shouted .

  His words left me speechless. I knew Drake’s life wasn ’t peaceful, but I had no idea how dangerous being a king was, how deadly it was.

  “You’re n ot going to die,” Brady swore , “n either will he. You know she wouldn’t have left if she didn’t have a damn good reason . I t’s almost over.”

  I felt the stares of my father, Alamos, and Perodine. I swallowed , nodding to Marc , trying to let my pride apologize without uttering a word. I glanced to my side at the floor by Perodine. “Your Taurus twins – the Libra – and several othe rs are down the hall. The song we heard , t he one that stop ped the demon , was created by them. The lyrics are ‘an angel fallen , a devil risen , our fate is calling , this world will not be our prison.’” I locked stares with Marc. “They ’ll show me how to get t o The Realm. How to bring Landen and Drake back.” I forced myself to look at my d ad, to Landen’s body as I walked slowly there. “How are they?” I mumbled.

  “Weak,” m y father said sadly. “But the sound of your voice has made them stronger.”

  I reached in my pocket and pulled out the iPod. I unplugged the headphones and moved the track back to the beginning of that song and hit repeat just before I turned it up as loud as it would go. I held my father’s stare as I walked around the bed to where the canopy drapes were pulled back. My father’s eyes fell to Landen’s body , and mine followed.

  He looked so weak, pale. His skin was glistening , and I wasn’t sure if it was from sweat or the water from the basin by the bed. I sat down next to him and let my fingers run th rough his locks of curls. He took in a deep breath with my touch. It made me smile , but tears glassed over my eyes . I sat the iPod between them and let the music reach their thoughts, a place where I could not go yet.

  “I don’t know where you went , Willow , h ow you weathered the pain and came back looking stronger…but I beg you not to do that again…at least not without explanation , ” m y father said quietly. I nodded as my fingertips traced Landen’s face and settled where his dimples would be if he smiled for me. “He told me to , Dad . He was right ; he’s always right.”

  My father put his hand on my shoulder before he walked away. Alamos had already gone to Brady’s side. He was quietly telling them what we’d done , w ho we ’d brought back. There was just as much hope as th ere were concerns. My family didn’t think Charlie and the others were dangerous. They assumed now that they had more to look after, to guide. I felt Brady’s intent to hold off on telling them what Mo nroe had said to Donalt’s ghost. It was a wise decision . We didn’t n eed to focus on that demon now. No – right now , I was hunting the one they c all ed Bianca.

  Their quiet whispers halted just as I felt Aden and Draven’s energy enter the room, their fearless , determined emotion. Brady made the introductions. I looked over my shoulder to find both Aden and Draven sta ring intently in my direction. Draven walked slowly to my side , catching glimpses of Landen and Drake’s bodies through the drapes that were open slightly on each side of the massive bed. Aden stayed back. I saw his attention move to Perodine and felt his awe as he must have seen her lifetime, one that stretched over four million years.

  Once Draven was at my side , I peered hopefully up into his eyes, but he wasn’t paying any attention to me ; he was staring at Landen. His green eyes laced in black changed to the color of coal. A second later , they were green , and his stare moved to Drake . Once again , the green was washed away , and his eyes turned black. I weighed every emotion I felt him have ; he was angry, sad – determined.

  Brady grew curious and came to our side just as Draven’s eyes turned to green and met mine.

  “Well?” Brady asked in a quiet whisper as he held on to the hope we ’d returned with, yet doubting it just the same. Draven leaned closer to me , and against my ear he whispe
red , “Make them all leave. We need to be alone.”

  My eye s questioned him. Draven glanced at Brady. “If we ’re going to do this – work together , y ou’re going to have to trust me. Leave us alone right now. All of you. Just for a few minutes.”

  Brady looked at me with the intent to not move until I told him to. I stared back at him , feeling Draven’s honest intent to help me , then I nodded once at Brady. Without a moment of hesitation , he left our side and said something quietly to the others. They all left, and the moment the door was closed , Draven whispered, “They’re weak.”

  “What do you mean? Are we too late?” I asked as anguish pierced through my soul . I twirled my ring as fast as I could.

  He moved his head from side to side and pulled his finger to his lips to tell me to be quiet. “No,” he said as sympathy filled him. “Listen. They ’re deep. Hidden in their mind , and they ’re struggling to hold on to sanity, to understand what ’s happened.” He looked at each of them as if he w ere trying to weigh his options. Find the fastest way to solve this. “When – if -- I teach you to go there , you ’re going to face illusions – ones that will reflect your deepest fear. To prove to yourself that you ’re looking at an illusion , you ’re going to have to ask them something only they would know. When we finally reach them , you may to have to prove to them that you ’re real – that you aren ’t an i llusion.” He captured my gaze . “Right now , we need to do two things at once : we have to make them stronger , and we have to find something that can be said that will make both you and them believe the other is real.”

  “How are we going to do that?” I asked breathlessly .

  He was quiet for a second , and I swear his eyes turned darker for an instant, almost as if he w ere searching for something in his though ts – his memories. “First kiss. The first time you perceived that they were both real , ” h e mumbled.

  “What?” I asked .

  “Your first kiss. The first time you kissed Lan den. The first time you saw Drake in real life – it was on the same day. It’s a p owerful memory for all of you. That one day. All of yo u agreed to the path you were o n. You knew they were real , and they knew that you were.”

  I guess he was right . Seeing Drake that da y gave me hope that Landen was more than a lucid dream . More hope than I ’d ever had. “Yeah , that happened. How is that important?”

  “That ’s a memory we can go back to . When you see an illusion that ’s meant to be Drake , ask about those moments at the lake . When you see an illusion of Landen , you ask , ‘Where was our first kiss ?’ A sk what you were wearing , things like that. That ’s a memory or thought that Bianca wouldn ’t have thought to study. She focuses on passion , not innocen ce .”

  “How do you know?” I mumbled , feeling how c er t a in he was.

  The anger that rose inside of him told me that he ’d witnessed this. “She ’s taken my memories. Memories of Charlie, and recreated them with her in Charlie’s place. She dwells deep in your mind and finds moments t o embed herself in. Moments that she doesn’t belong in , ” he said with a disgusted heav iness in his tone.

  “How did you fight it?” I asked as a sick jealousy seeped into my mind. I didn’t want her to recreate any moment with either of them.

  Draven smiled sardonically , and I felt a deep , passionate love rise and blossom throughout his soul. “When a man loves a woman – really loves her … it is not the moment o f passion he remembers clearly. I t’s the moments of innocen ce . The moments when we ’re the most v ul nerable. When we say how we really feel.” His cheeks blushed slightly in the dim room. “Charlie and I have a passion that I can ’t create with any sound, but even in those moments I feel her innocen ce . I hear myself telling her how I feel about her, but I could never bring myself to say that to those illusions recreated for me because I knew there was no innocen ce , that she wasn ’t Charlie. It was easy for me to see through her ploy, to turn her game on her.”

  “Because you could see . See into her existence. Landen and Drake can’t see like that – they may not know. She might --.” I had to slice my nail into my finger and demand that the rattling cage in my soul held fast to the raging emotions that wanted their freedom.

  Draven reached for my hand. Saw the blood under my ring. “You’ve got this.” He ran hi s fingertip across my raw skin. “You won ’t hurt us.” He swore .

  Hearing that truth in his rhythmic voice. Knowing that he trusted me gave me reason to take the first deep , calming breath that I’d taken in days. Landen shifted his body ever so slightly. Draven nodded once toward his closed eyelids. Landen wasn’t even awake and he was showing Draven gratitude. No one understood me as deeply as Landen, but Draven had recognized my demons and offered me unshielded assurance that I was stronger than I thought.

  “They know .” Draven said quietly. “From what I’ve witness ed between the three of you – from each of your viewpoints. They know. Your soul may be fierce, but you love innocently.”

  I took in a jagged breath , fighting the embarrassment of knowing that Draven, someone I barely knew, had seen so much of my life – moments that should only be shared with one other. I told myself it was a blessing and right now he was not some stranger peering into my thoughts ; he was my gateway to Landen, and he needed to know everything. He needed to know my past so he could steer my future. “What do I have to say to make them realize I’m real?”

  “Your question will be enough. We need another one , though . There is a chance that she ’ll catch on to you . A chance that she ’ll have the time to find the answer you ’re seeking and fool you . When you get a correct answer , you ’re going to have to ask another one quickly – one that ’s powerfu l enough to wake them up in The Realm . One that will give them the power to leave whatever damage she ’s done to them there. You don’t want them coming back with anything of The Realm in their soul. Trust me.”

  Draven’s disdain came back to life , and I wondered for a moment if he had not managed to leav e it all behind. I f that was the reason I felt tension between him and the others. Even though I wasn’t focusing on them clearly , I knew there was something off – a sadness or even defeat in all of them. They wanted to help me simply so I wouldn ’t have to fight the battles they were in, so Bianca wouldn ’t do this to anyone else. I wanted to ask him how I could help him – how I could undo what had happened to him , but I realized that Charlie was already doing the most powerful thing that could be done : she was loving him.

  With that thought , I realized how powerful that word was, how deeply both Drake and Landen felt about it. I kne w if I had them say that word it would be enough. Enough to not only wake them up , but also help them find the power we ’d need to end that girl. The question now was how would I get them to say it. Not in the obvious way , but in a way that would make them remember our reality. Our past. A ll that we ’ve conquered.

  I thought over the moments I heard them say that word: l ove. It was the name Drake always called me, the name he said he ’d called me in every life. It was the word that Lan den told me his world stood for. A wor d that was shallow in comparison to the emotion I felt between us. A word I doubted I deserved to hear at times.

  “That’ll do , ” Draven said as if he ’d read my thoughts. “An Escort can ’t utter that word . I t ’s poison to them . Get them to say that word , and you ’ll know that they aren ’t an illusion. It will be powerful enough to wake them up and see how real you are. That word will change the game for us there. It will p ut us in charge of the illusion . She ’ll never b e able to take your image again, because at that point they will recognize her energy as false . Evil. You will have awakened them to her malevolent powers. If she seduces them , it has to be with her image … neither of them could possibly fall for that child’s play.”

  “I assume this has happened to you as well? You found a way to control her illusions?” I asked , feeling his disdain for each time Bianca’s name was mentioned.

  He looked dow
n , and I felt a sadness build in him. “I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone this , ” h e mumbled .

  “You don’t have to tell me anything , ” I said quickly , not liki ng the anger I could feel in his soul , wrapped with regret.

  He moved his head from side to side as his eyes rose to meet mine. “In the beginning , I would have dreams of Charlie. They were so real. So blissful. Then all at once , my daydreams, the ones I had while I play music, the ones I might have at any given moment , started to come to life around me, all of Charlie. It was like we were locked in our own world . A lways one. Quickly , I noticed how empty her embrace in my dreams felt compared to real life , h ow Charlie seemed to lack a soul when I dreamed of her . The second night. I n my dream , I asked Charlie to tell me that she loved me . Her image formed into Bianca instantly.”

  I felt a disgust rise in his energy , and I reached for his arm and thought of what peace I could remember in my life , trying to bri ng him some calm. Forgiveness. “It was just a dream, not real , ” I promised.

  His jaw tightened. “The moment I saw Bianca was the moment I grasp ed the tangibility of The Realm. It was the moment I realize d where I was on the scale of good and evi l. That I was more dange rous to Charlie than I was good. Sometimes . Sometimes I think the illusion was better than that reality.”

  “How are you dangerous?” I asked , knowing I couldn ’t feel anything that would lead me to believe that.

  His eyes moved to Drake’s body , then slowly back to mine. “I pull from her . She ’s light , and I ’m darkness … if I take to o much – if I lose control , I could destroy the beautiful light she is … and if that wasn’t horrible enough , there ’s someone out there that ’s waiting for me to do that. Waiting for me to make that incompr ehensi ble mistake. He will end my existence before I have the chance to hurt h er. I don’t hate him for that. I hate him because I envy him. I envy him because he is who she truly belongs with.”