Redefined (20 page)

“Even Mom talked about how she and Dad fought with this – how it hurt Dad.”

“On a stage, little one,” he muttered as his concerned gaze seemed to understand volumes more than I did.

“They shouldn’t have been on a stage for their own daughter,” I bit out. “Some part of what you are saying has to be wrong. You have no idea how he struggles around me, around anyone with light.”

His lips became a straight line as his eyes playfully narrowed in my direction.

“Seriously, Mum could have found a second to tell you this before she made her way home,” he said as he moved his head from side to side, as if he were arguing with his thoughts.

“You are giving me a headache.”

“Me? You have no idea what is going on in my head right now. Downright criminal,” he grunted. “Who gave you the birds and the bees talk?”

I only smiled because he turned crimson and it was the first time he didn’t look cocky.

“Nana, Draven’s grandmother. I was visiting them when...well, when nature reared its ugly head.”

“Stop!” he said, raising his hands. “Geez. I guess a brother is better than your boyfriend’s grandmother. When we see Mum again, I am going to give her hell about this. Wait. No. I’m not. Because we are
never
going to discuss this again.”

“Will you just spit it out already?”

He sucked in a deep breath, moved his fingers wildly, then brought them to his eyes as he squinted them closed.

“Okay, I’m sure you know all about how to...well, you know how to express love with your vessel.”

I started to laugh just because he looked ridiculous.

“You have no idea how hard this is,” he said as he dropped his arms and tried to hide a smile behind a scowl. “You’re supposed to do that with your soul,” he said so fast that I didn’t quite catch it at first.

“All soul with us.”

“I doubt it.” Before I could take offense, he rambled on. “Before this hour, you didn’t see energy. Tell me your soul has been out of that vessel,” he said as those eyes gave me a once over.

“Umm...kinda attached to it, so no.”

“You need to get out of your vessel. He does, too. Then...” he brought his fists together, “then one.”

“You’ve been in the veil too long.”

“Apparently, you have been in the real world too long. He would not pull if he already had it. Your soul is his, half anyways. You are starving the man. No wonder he is always mad.”

I don’t know why, but I just kept laughing.

“I’m totally serious. Soul-to-soul. It is not like anything you two knuckleheads have dared to try before.”

“He will never agree to this,” I said as I stifled my laugh. “He’s scared of me. He thinks we are wrong for each other.”

“Are you telling me that I need to kick his ass?”

I shrugged. “I don’t believe it. Opposites attract. I even told him that Dad was an Escort and that he and Mom found a way.”

“Okay, so lying to the man is not a good idea.”

“It’s not a lie.”

“Is Dad’s energy darker than Mum’s? Yup, but he has never been a part of the lines that you are fighting.”

“That’s not what I heard.”

“And I told you they were on stage, fooling whoever was watching. But there was a lesson there. Use them as an example if you want. Honestly, opposites do attract. You need some of his dark energy in you, too, so you will be a more aggressive peacemaker.”

“That is an oxymoron, right?”

“You need to balance each other. I’ll talk to him.”

“I’m sure he would enjoy the show,” I teased, knowing how hard it was for him to try and tell me this.

“Tonight, you are going to meditate so deep that your soul detaches. And once it does you are going to stop starving each other.”

“So now I’m starved, too?”

“Fraid so.”

Just the idea of this was giving me butterflies, causing a warm sensation to ease through me.

“I don’t know how to meditate that deep,” I stated blankly.

“Yeah, you do. I taught you that, too. Look at me.”

I did as he asked. “Can you see?”

“Not in the way that you do.”

I didn’t have to try hard to see him. Even though his own mind was somewhat vague to him, he had held on to the memories that mattered. I was even sure that I could dig deep enough and figure out what his forgotten charge was, what he needed to do once he was free from the veil. I remembered Mom telling me that helping people see their past was part of what I was meant to do. I just didn’t know she was talking about my own brother.

In his mind I could see us meditating on the den floor. We chased that meditation by listening to music, music that was within us. At first it took me by surprise to see my soul rise, but as I gazed into my own image I was able to hold that experience in my mind.

“Unreal,” I breathed.

“Natural. Every time you dream, you send your soul somewhere else. You just do this awake.”

“I swear to you, he almost killed me. I have seen dark energy pour into him in The Realm. The idea of this terrifies me.”

“That stuff is evil. No soul. And if or when it seeps into him in that place it will off-center his senses, make him very thirsty for your energy, for he knows it will cleanse him. At least his soul knows that.”

“So if this is natural, needed, then why did Bianca - the demon I’m hunting - force my light into him? Why did Britain act as if I was food?” I asked as I crossed my arms and raised my brow.

“I’m not sure who this girl is you’re hunting, but that Britain boy comes from a bad line. In that line they are born starved and pull the way you say Draven thinks he will. Something is off about that Britain guy, but I can assure you that the rest of the line he comes from has not been claimed either. Their master has left them on their own. They are like a pack of wild dogs. They have no idea what their heritage is, and at this point they wouldn’t care. They have been groomed to be as lethal as you say they are.”

“I watched them force my light into Draven and he screamed in agony.”

Cashton tapped his temple. “It’s in his head. He thought he would be like them if he did. I’m sure. If his scent carried the aroma of almost any other line I would still tell you to do this - but with caution, like just touching souls, so you could wean him off his addiction. But his line is regal. The master of it must believe that he is strong, that you will protect him.”

If this were even the slightest bit true, then Cashton just took the weight of the world off my shoulders.

“We need to wait until Silas is over his temper tantrum before we do this. I can’t put Aden at an even greater risk.”

“I can get to Silas, make sure he’s legit while you do what you need to do. That boy is putting a wall up between you. Knock it down. You need him just as much as he needs you,” he said as he glanced to my necklace, then into my eyes.

At that moment, the back door opened and a redhead stepped out. I was confused because the images in my mind were telling me that it was Olivia, but it didn’t look like her. The color of red was deep, almost plum, and her eyes were dark as night, not green.

“There you are. Come on. You have to leave in, like, an hour and a half,” the girl said.

“Olivia?” I asked, squinting my eyes as I walked closer to her.

She blushed slightly, raising her hands to her hair. “Like it? I figured there were enough green-eyed brunettes around here,” she said, winking at me, surely thinking of Madison and Willow. “Besides, I want to make sure I’m at your side tonight. Me and Chrispin had to alter our appearances for that fact alone.”

“I like it,” I said, daring to smile. “Original.”

“Come on. It’s time to bring out your royal side.”

“Where is Madison?”

“Felicity is already working on her.”

“I’m going to have a chat with Draven,” Cashton said as he vanished from my side.

I sucked in a deep breath and made my way to the porch. When Olivia opened the back door I heard a screaming guitar.

“I...um...sorry about that,” I said over it, apologizing for the sound Draven was obviously making. At home it would be fitting, but here I wasn’t sure how much they cared for it.

Olivia smirked. “Are you kidding? Please. Make him mad more often. It’s very entertaining.”

“Don’t worry. I’m good at that.”

“Not tonight, you’re not. Tonight you are his counterpart, and you are madly in love.”

“Every night,” I said under my breath as I followed her through the house.

Just before we went up the stairs, I spotted Draven and Brady, along with Chrispin, in the den that was in the front of the house. Draven’s back was to me. I decided to just let him play for now. Hopefully, Cashton could figure out how to get through to him. If Draven figured out that half of my soul was his maybe he would stop thinking of doing foolish things.

The upstairs room I had been in for three days had been invaded. The gowns were across the bed. The bathroom’s long vanity was covered with curling irons and cosmetics. I cringed at the sight of it.

Felicity was in there working on Madison’s hair. Madison looked less than thrilled about the experience. Olivia sat me down in the vanity chair and went to work on me. I just closed my eyes and thought deeply about all that had happened to me today.

I kept reflecting on a past with Cashton. I felt so guilty to notice this, but I knew in a few hours’ time he had become closer to me than Kara. I could see that he was my first best friend. A protective older brother no doubt, but still my first best friend. I just liked how clear he was, how he was able to sum up everything and take away my worries. I really hoped he was right about the energy thing. I loved Draven to my core, but I didn’t know how many more times I could take his silent rejections, the guard he always had up. It wasn’t supposed to be like that.

A tight pull on my hair caused my eyes to fly open.

“Sorry,” Olivia said.

“You’re fine. I’m thick-headed,” I assured her.

“Oh, I meant the meditation. I pulled you out of it. I thought you were going to step out of your body for a second.”

I smirked. I guess that was a common thing.

“What are we supposed to do tonight? How many people are going to be there? Do I have to talk to anyone?” I asked, realizing that my hair was now done and my makeup was almost done. This night was coming faster than I wanted it to.

With the mention of tonight, Madison went rigid. I’d never seen her so nervous. I unfocused my eyes, then thought of a peaceful energy and eased it toward her. She sighed when it reached her and nodded once at me.

“Details,” Olivia said, stepping out of her jeans and into an extremely elegant black gown that highlighted her small, lean figure. “At least six hundred people. But half of them will be from Chara. In Esterious, the women always walk before the men, so when we leave the boat you and Madison will be side by side, Draven just behind you.”

“So the women are human shields?” Madison asked sarcastically.

“No,” Olivia said with a smile. “That dimension may not have much respect for women, but they do realize that women are life and that without us they would not have a heartbeat to begin with. We are the symbol of power and beauty.”

I pushed more of the calm energy toward Madison, but she was choosing to be miserable instead. Typical.

“We’ll be greeted by Drake, Alamos, and Perodine at the palace entrance. The greeting you will give anyone is a slight bow, followed by ‘Your Grace.’ Perodine will guide you through the open hall and the members of the court will line up to meet you. Then you will be taken to a formal dinner table. Dancing will come during and around dinner.”

Olivia walked over to where Madison was and began to undo her hair.

“After dinner, Drake, out of custom, will ask Draven if he can have dessert and a private conference with his sister. Draven will say yes, then Madison will be escorted to a balcony table. Once their dessert is over, we will be led to our rooms.”

“We’re staying there?!” I asked.

“A private dessert?!” Madison said at the same time.

They laughed at us.

“No, Charlie, and yes, Madison,” Olivia answered. “Don’t worry, Madison. If you have no emotions for him it won’t be a big deal. And you get cake. What could be wrong with that?” There was an obvious sarcasm in her tone. She must have figured out that was the one language Madison spoke well.

“I’ll look like an idiot because I’ll be so mad I’ll be nervous,” Madison complained.

“I think we are counting on that. Nervousness looks a lot like new love,” assured Olivia.

“Let me set you straight,” Madison said, standing up. “I am not a puppet, and I’ve had a pretty bad day. If this is some kind of twisted ploy on his part to get me alone - or on your part to set me up - I’m not going through with this.”

“Are you done?” Olivia asked. Then with a nod her energy pushed Madison back into her chair. “You’re the one that volunteered. They announced Donalt’s death. We have no choice but to move forward now.”