Synergy (29 page)

“The Great Who?” Chrispin asked, looking down the hall as they stepped into the study with us.

“Madison, are you sure?” I asked in the calmest tone I could manage, thinking maybe she was overreacting.
Definitely hoping that she was.

She nodded frantically. “But when she showed me her, she was in, like, a ball gown or someth
ing. The older woman in black. T
hat’s her, I’m sure of it.”

“What are we talking about here?” Olivia asked carefully as she stepped closer to us.

I looked around the room for some kind of escape. This was a massive study. Three couches outlined a fireplace that was at least ten feet wide, books were on shelves that reached a hundred feet in the air, and there was an open space behind the couches. I knew for sure there should be a table there. There were two other doorways, and one that led to a different hallway, and one that led to stairs. I wasn’t sure leaving that way would be safe; I didn’t know where one wing ended and one began, and I didn’t want to run from this woman only to find ourselves in more danger somewhere else.

“Listen,” I said, pushing Madison behind me, “I don’t have time to see you, to get the answers I need. Tell me right now: are you planning to use Madison as a sacrifice?”

“What?
!” Olivia gasped
, trying
to hold in a laugh as she glanced
at Chrispin, who was completely perplexed.

“This morning - or yesterday; I don’t even know what day it is anymore - a Witch stopped us on the street. She told us that the Goddess of Mother Nature was seeking us, that the Great Witch had sent her to tell us that. Then Willow just appears - needing us. I think I have a right to question all of your motives.”
I demanded.

Olivia’s smile fell as she tilted her head to look down the hall, then to Chrispin. It was like they were figuring out something for the first time. “OK, I can see how scary all of th
is is to you,” she said, catching my defensive stare.

“I’m not scared. I won’t let it happen if it’s true. It’s as simple as that.”
I boldly stated.

“No one is getting hurt,” Chrispin promised, reaching to close one of the study doors. “Willow would kill anyone who thought of it.”

“Why does Willow care about me if I’m not a sacrifice?” Madison asked.

“Because,” Olivia said slowly. I stared at her with pleading eyes. If she were going to say it, she needed to be quick about it. She must have noticed how drastically my demeanor changed because she he
sitated before she said, “Um...
Willow has always been certain that there was more to this curse we’re fighting, that there was a missing piece...all of you are that missing piece. She isn’t a Goddess; she’s a normal girl who can do extraordinary things.”

“What about the Witch?” Madison asked, trying to remain as calm as she could while still hugging the wall behind her.

Chrispin let out a laugh. “Perodine is not a witch.”

“She might be,” Olivia countered.

“What?!” I said, not finding any of this funny.

Olivia looked over my confused expression and went on to
explain. “She’s Willow’s mom,
but not from this life.”

Ok, what? What the hell had I gotten myself into?
“What do you mean?” I
probed
.

“She means Perodine never died. She’s Willow’s mother from her first life. She’s over four million years old,” Chrispin explained.

“She ages well,” Madison said, sliding down against the wall.

“Trust me, she’s an ally. She won’t hurt you,” Olivia promised.

“Easy for you to say. She w
asn’t seeking you,” Madison bit out
, breathing in and out slowly.

“I’m sure she was try
ing to help Willow,” Olivia assured
, kneeling down and touching Madison’s arm in an effort to comfort her.

“Help her with what?” I
questioned
.

Olivia and Chrispin looked at each other, then to me. Olivia hesitated before she said, “Willow is known for her one-track mind. She wanted all members of this family to be accounted for. Until we were all here, she wasn’t going to move forward.”

That kinda made sense. Wait, no. It didn’t. Not with this much dark energy around you.
“You know about the family of souls?” I asked, trying to see my answers.

“The family of what?” Chrispin asked.

“Never mind,” I said, sighing. “Is August here?”

“You kno
w August?” Chrispin muttered in disbelief.

“Not yet,” Madison said, rising to her feet. Olivia cautiously stood with her like she was waiting for Madison to faint or something.
Smart girl.

“Take me to him,” I demanded.

“We may have to pass the Great Witch to get there,” Chrispin said.

“Are you mocking me?” I asked, not really caring if he were.

“Not at all,” he said, smiling slightly. “I like you; you get to the point.”

Before I could say another word, a man walked into the room from the doorway on the other side of the study, and I was almost positive he was August. He was older, his skin was darker than the others,
and I saw wisdom in his eyes. F
elt peace all around him.

“August,” Madison said breathlessly.

His wise eyes were captivated by her image as a calm smile spread across his face. “I’m at a disadvantage,” he said as he slowly approached us.

“Her name is Madison,” I said. “I’m Charlie, and I need your help.”

“Anything,” he said as he beamed with gratitude.

Madison smiled slightly as the tension left her body. “You believe i
n rising above dualities. Y
ou believe that we don’t
all perceive life the same way. T
hat we create it as we go and that one way or another we’re all right. We’re a part of something that our minds aren’t prepared to perceive as real.”

“Are you sure you don’t know him?” Chrispin asked as shock consumed his innocent expression.

“We see,” I mumbled, seeing what Madison had already discovered. I saw him with the children. I saw the respect he had for their power, how he had no fear where others did. “How true is the myth that you have to be loved to be taken to Chara?”

“Sadly, very, but have no fear; we love you, you’re family now,” August said humbly, almost bowing to Madison, which made her tense again.

“Not us,” I said to get his attention. “There’s a fifteen-year-old girl with us. She’s just li
ke Preston, Libby, and Allie. W
ell, almost like them. I have to get her out of here. Her father haunts this palace. He ruled it at one time - and if he
traps her, this will be over.
I mean
really
over.”

“I heard,” August said.

“Heard?”
I questioned.

“I saw what happened when you arrived.”

I had no idea what he meant by that and didn’t have time to figure it out. “Can you help me? I promise I’ll help your grandson no matter what, but when she’s safe, we can all focus.”

His sardonic smile managed to hold a peaceful calm as he spoke. “I’m confident
that you’ll help
both
my grandsons,” August sa
id as his eyes fell into mine.
That’s when I saw it, when I understood: both Drake and Landen were his grandsons. Willow’s love triangle
center
ed
around this family. I felt even more sorry for her; at least I never had to worry about Silas and Draven sitting around the same Thanksgiving table.

“But...?” I asked.

“But nothing. I’ll take them to Chara myself.”

“But you just said the myth was true,” I argued.

“I did,” he said, reaching for my shoulders. “I’ve only slept two hours over the past two days, and when I did, I saw my great grandson Preston tell me over and over again that he loved everyone, that both he and Libby loved everyone. They love Monroe and her brothers, and they’ll be protected from any myth by that love.”

“How sure are you?”

“If they show any signs of rejection, if they become sick in any way, we’ll get them out of there,” August
swore
.

“Will you stay with them in Chara?” I asked, trusting him.

“I’ll gladly take them, but my place is here. I assure you, our family there will care for them well.”

I looked deep into him, asking who his family was. I saw his soul mate, Landen’s mom, Willow’s mom in this life. I even saw Brady’s soul mate. There were more, but I was having enough trouble
keeping up with who was who. I nodded, telling him I
was agreeing with that.

“Gather some travelers so we can
guide
them home,” August said to Chrispin.

He left without question. Madison looked calmer, more like herself. I knew she was glad we were making some kind of headway with this crazy situation. “What time is it?” she asked.

“Dawn broke an hour before you arrived,” August answered.

“How long have the two of you been awake?” Olivia asked.

I glanced at Madison, wondering how big the time difference was there. I saw her eyes expand and knew she was seeing.

“If the time is the same, twenty-four hours,” I mumbled, making sure I wasn’t blocking anything from Madison. I was hoping that whatever block she had was fading and that she would see what was coming at her before it erupted all around us. A second later, two energy drinks appeared in her hand. Normally, I would have turned it down (I was high enough on adrenaline), but I wanted to be as alert as possible.

“Did you steal these?” I asked, popping the lid on mine.

“Yeah, from your fridge,” Madison said, finding me accusing her of stealing anything absurd.

“Did you see Mom?” I asked.

“Looks the same as we left it.”

I nodded once as I looked down. I couldn’t help wondering how she was really handling me being gone, if the reality had set in.

“Wait,” Olivia said. “How did you do that? Did you just see your way somewhere and bring something back?”

Madison nodded once, then said, “I’ll make a deal with you: I’ll teach you how to do that if you teach me how to use my energy as a weapon.”

“Deal,” Olivia said, completely captivated by us.

“May I ask who’s been mentoring you? Was it the child?” August asked.

“Not on how to do that,” I said, finishing my drink. “We stumbled onto t
hat just like we stumbled onto The R
ealm.”

“Just like we stumble onto everything,” Madison added.

August nodded for us to move forward into the study. We sat down on one of the side couches by the fireplace, and he and Olivia sat on the one that faced the fireplace.

“So you’re seers?” August said.

I moved my head from side to side. “No, at least I don’t think so. Monroe, the girl with us, is a seer. She se
es what will come; we see what
happened,” I answered.

August nodded once as his eyes sparkled. “I’m honored. It’s been years since I’ve been in the presence of your kind.”

“Our kind?” Madison asked.

He folded his hands together as he leaned forward. He had all of our attention, especially Olivia’s; it was clear he was the one they looked to for counseling. “There are many words in many languages, but the closest name that would make any sense to you is a ‘living witness’.”

I glanced at my side at Madison, then to August. “Have you ever heard of an undead witness?”

“I have. They’re fierce. Most lore refers to them as archangels, or something close to that. They’re souls that are given a divine charge. At one time they were human, and their acts of bravery and integrity spared them from death and allowed them to become warriors for the lost, for the broken,” August explained.

I looked down as my
nightmare;
my past in Pompeii came to me. I doubted that my integrity gave me that charge; it was more like a punishment for being selfish, for not having the patience to let my life work itself out.

“I take it you’ve heard of them as well?” August said humbly.

“Yeah,” I said, reaching to squeeze Madison’s hand. “At one time, that was us; we were undead,” I said, not wanting to explain that not only did I know an undead witness, he was very in tune with this family.

August glanced
to his side at Olivia, then to us with intriguing eyes. “You fell? All of you?”

I let out a gasp and a slight smile. It felt good to talk to someone that knew something about all of this, but I just didn’t have the time to explain all that had happened to us at that point.

“Not all of us,” I said, looking away.

“Do you have any idea how powerful that makes you?” August asked, leaning further forward.

“Not powerful; more like cursed,” I said, looking over my shoulder. Aden had found us; Brady had led him there. Brady nodded at us, then left the room. “Is everything OK?” I asked Aden. His eyes expanded, letting me in.