Synergy (33 page)

I squinted my eyes closed, praying for a way out of this, for someone to come looking for us - then all at once the man was gone. I heard Madison scream out in agony and opened my eyes: the man that had attacked me was pinned against the wall by some invisible force, and Madison was on the floor, blood pooling all around her. The man that had attacked her was feet away; he’d been thrust down the hall.

I tried to move to her, but the shadows I’d called were blocking me, growing denser. I had to get them to go away so I could get to Madison. I mumbled a few words, but then I realized I wasn’t entirely sure what language I was speaking, and I didn’t want to say the wrong words, so I just let my shield fall, then showed them my love for Draven. They became silent, then they exploded into light, giving me a path to my best friend as she lay dying on the floor.

Olivia was at Madison’s side, and Willow was standing in the center of the hall, full of what could only be rage. With a thought, she picked the man up that had hurt Madison and flung him against the wall next to the other man. The force of that man’s body, along with an eruption of thunder, caused the music down the hall to stop.

I dove across the floor to Madison, begging her to look at me. Her eyes were glassed over; she was slipping away. I felt someone pull me away; it was Draven. I struggled against him as Willow’s father and Aden went to her side. “He can help her! He can help her, baby!” Draven kept saying to me. I couldn't figure out why he wouldn't let me go to her, why he was keeping his distance, locking me in his arms.

Willow showed no mercy with those men. She was crushing them with her thoughts and would have killed them if Brady hadn’t pulled her away. I don’t know what he said to her, but he calmed her down. The hallway was filling with people, people I felt I could trust. Tears were streaming down my face; my best friend was dying feet from me, and I couldn't go to her. I led her there, knowing that it was dangerous, that she looked so much like Willow.

Olivia stood and ran from Madison’s side as Willow knelt down next to her. I could only hope that Olivia was going to get something for Jason, Willow’s father, something that could stop the pain I could see in Madison’s eyes. Sweat was pouring from her. Jason ripped her shirt open, and that was when I saw how bad it was. That man had stabbed her, just under her ribs.  Blood was gushing from her body, and she was gasping for breath.

Willow asked how bad it was, and her father said she needed surgery, that a lung had been punctured. I knew he was a doctor or something, but I could
n
’t understand how he knew that much about what was wrong with Madison; all I could see was blood.

What happened next seemed to occur in slow motion. Willow’s eyes grew distant, as if she were taking in some kind of lesson; I swear I saw her begin to glow. I stopped my struggle against Draven. I was now just as terrified for him as I was for Madison. I didn’t think he could handle seeing this. I pushed him behind me, but he refused to move. His body was as hard as a rock as his eyes stared at Willow and Madison.

Willow reached her hands for the wound; a second later, the glow I thought I saw around Willow intensified. Madison began to glow; it was like Willow was pushing a part of herself inside of Madison. It was terrifying and beautiful at the same time.

All at once, Madison gasped and sat up. The wound was gone. Blood still stained her skin, but that was the only evidence left. I felt Draven let out a deep breath. I turned to look at him; he was in a cold stare. I reached for his face and pulled him to look at me. “Draven!” He blinked and swallowed the hunger I saw in his eyes. “You’re OK,” I said. He nodded once, then let the hold he had on me go. As soon as I was free, I dove across the floor to Madison’s side.

Willow and Madison were embracing each
other;
Madison was whispering something to her that Willow clearly didn’t agree with. I broke them apart and embraced Madison as tightly as I could. “Don’t ever scare me like that again,” I said over and over.

She squeezed me tight
. “I felt what you fight for.
I felt how soul mates feel,” she whispered to me.

I looked at her curiously as I helped her up. “I’m sure it’ll feel even better when it’s your love you feel.”

“I think a part of him is inside me,” she whispered as she blushed slightly. “His energy.”

I glanced at Willow, who was talking to Draven and Aden. Draven was keeping his distance, but the hunger in his eyes was fading. I knew
I
could see more of Willow’s life than Madison, that I was almost sure that Willow, Drake, and Landen had somehow shared their power, their energy with each other - and Willow had just pushed some of that into Madison to heal her.

“I’m gonna give it back,” Madison promised quietly.

“No. No, you’re not. It saved your life,” I said as fear came to me.

She nodded, but I knew that whatever ideas she had in her head weren’t changed. I tried to see what she went through, what Willow said, or how she did what she did, but all I saw was a blinding light.

Perodine and the man I saw in a cloak earlier were in the hall now. His name was Alamos, and from what I could see in a glimpse, he was just as old, just as powerful as Perodine. Those bad men had been carried off, and now everyone was just trying to catch their breath.

“Step away from the walls,” Perodine said to everyone.

Perodine and Alamos walked side by side down the hall, chanting words. With their words, a light blue glow spread across the walls, then down the hall; it was like they were sealing it with some kind of energy. Those men had come from behind a painting; that was the noise I’d heard before we were attacked. I guess they thought they could seal this hall, protect us from evil people.

“And that’s why they call her the Great Witch,” Madison mumbled.

Willow turned
to look at her. “It’s not magic. I
t’s a focused thought. Her will
power is creating that. She’s lived a long life. L
ot of will power.”

“Where I come from, they call that a witch,” Madison said slyly. “I’m gonna change, then I’ll be ready. Are you?”

Willow nodded.

Madison turned to go to the room our stuff was in. I followed her, but she turned to stop me. “Go talk to him.”

“Who?”

“What do you mean, ‘who’? I’m sure that almost killed Draven. Make sure he’s still on our team before we start this war.”

“Why would he not be?”
I asked I was numb from the adrenaline rushing through my body.

She rubbed her side, obviously still in shock herself.
“Charlie, you can deny that he’s broken all you want, but he’s hungry, and me and Willow just laid a feast before him. I’m sure in some way he’s in pain. Talk to him. Be angry, be sympathetic, be whatever you have to be to make sure he doesn’t slip, not after what I just went through for these people.”

I nodded blankly and glanced over my shoulder. Draven was staring right at me. I waved for him to follow me.

I opened the closest door to me. It was a litt
le kitchen area that I was sure
servants used to take care of whoever was on this floor. Draven followed me in and closed the door behind him.

“Look at me,” I said, noticing he was purposely avoiding my eyes. It looked like it took everything he had, but his eyes met mine.

“Why did you hold me back? Why would you not let me help her?”

He didn’t answer me.

“Draven!”

“Charlie.” He let out a tense sigh. “I had to protect you. Someone tried to kill you, and I didn’t know if more were coming and I couldn’t get any closer to Madison...I had to hold you back.”

“Why could you not get closer to our dying best friend?”

He stepped boldly closer to me and glared into my eyes. “Because light was pouring out of her! Because her energy was screaming my name, begging me to take it in.”

“Haven’t we talked about this?” I asked firmly.

“Charlie, do you think you can tell me to pull from myself, then all of a sudden I’m healed from this curse?” he asked as anger blazed though his eyes. “I did what I had to do. I protected you; they were taking care of her.”

“Draven we are one, all of us. These people may be a little off course, but one thing is for sure: they work as a team; they would never leave anyone behind. You’re on our team, one of us - so you can’t leave anyone behind. Y
ou’re strong enough to do this
.
I know you are.”

His eyes were filled with agony. It was killing me to see him hurt this way.
“That makes one of us. Charlie, the only reason I’m going after those boys is because I know
they’ll be able to protect you. T
hat
their
intentions aren’t ruled by a broken heart like Silas.”

“Able to protect me, huh? Yet you - the man I love more than the air I breath - is the one that’s saving them. Seems to me that you’re th
e one with the power. Not them. If you go in The R
ealm, you’re not going in there for me; you’re going in there because you’re prepared to look this curse in the eye and tell it to go to hell and stand at my side, all of our sides.”

He stepped forward abruptly and pulled me to him, then leaned in to kiss me, but he hesitated; it was like he was fighting something. I reached up and pulled his lips to mine. I didn’t hold anything back as every emotion from anger to passion seeped through my lips. He needed to know that I needed him and that I wasn’t going to walk away from him. I wasn’t going to let him walk away from us. My eager hands moving across his chest and shoulders, expressing more than the words I could have used as an argument at that moment.

A knock on the door stopped us from losing control. He pulled away first. “Let’s
end this,” he said breathlessly as his eager hands rushed down my sides once more.

I nodded, even though I knew it wasn’t an end; it was a beginning.

Madison was the one on the other side of the door. She looked between us. “OK there, buddy?” she asked.

He nodded once. “I’m gonna make sure Willow knows what to expect when we step in there,” he said, then walked away before I could say another word.

“Well?” Madison asked. I opened my mind up and let her see what I said to him.

She moved her head from side to side. “You’re going to have to get meaner than that.”

“What?!”

“Charlie, you know him better than I do, so I don’t know how you can’t see this. Anger fuels that hunger, but all you manage to do is make him turn it into passion, an angry passion, and I’m sure that’s exhilarating and all - but it’s not helping.”

“What do you want me to do?” I asked, blushing, wishing I’d cut off what I showed her earlier.

“Next
time he acts like that, get mad. Mad as hell. M
ake him mad. As soon as he figures out he can be mad and not pull away from you, then he’ll trust himself.”

“What if he does
pull? What if it happens in The R
ealm and Silas shows up and kills him? What then? I think I’d rather stick with the angry passion.”
Who could complain about that? Seriously? My heart was still racing.

She moved her head from side to side. “I don’t care what Silas says, killing Draven would ensure that you’d never love him again. Draven has more leeway than he thinks
.
Silas
would hold back until he had no other choice.”

“Fine,” I said as a sick feeling came over me. I hated fighting with Draven, even it was for his own good.

I felt the stares of others and glanced over my shoulder and saw Perodine and Jason
watching
at us.

“Let’s go figure out what that’s all about,” Madison mumbled, urging me to go.

Chapter Fifteen

As I was walked over to them, I focused on Jason, trying to figure out with a glance how he knew what was wrong with Madison. It didn’t take me long to understand that I was right before, that he wasn’t an ordinary doctor; apparently, he had some kind of sixth sense that allowed him to see all that was wrong inside of someone, like some kind of X-ray vision. Knowing that I wasn’t thrilled with the way he was l
ooking at Madison, I saw a concern
in his eyes.

“Thanks again,” Madison said, trying to act casual toward him, acting as if she’d known him her entire life.

“How are you feeling?” Jason asked Madison.

“You tell me,” she said, noticing how concerned he looked.

“Do you want me to be blunt?” he asked.

She nodded.

“You should be dead. That knife went right through your lung.”

“But I’m not,” Madison said, raising her eyebrows.

“Right. There’s a dam
around that wound now.”

“A dam
? What are you saying? She’s not healed?” I asked frantically.

“She’s fine,” Jason assured me. “But Willow has never healed before, and though I’m amazed by what she did, I’m not sure how permanent it is.”