Vindicate (2 page)

“You need to calm down,” Brady said through gritted teeth.

“I am calm,” I seethed , struggling to move my arms but finding it harder than I should.

“Willow , you’re killing people. D
o you understand me?!” His blue eyes blaze d as he leaned down into my face.

“I haven’t killed anyone yet!”
I screamed as I scowled .

“Oh yeah?”
h e said in a firm tone. “
How many people do you think died when the Estate collapsed ? H
ow many people do you think survived the storm that ripped through that town?”

“
How many were traitors?!” I bellowed as rage engulfed in me. S
omeone let that girl into Drake’s chambers ; someone betrayed him. T
ook him and Landen from me.

“Not all of them, Willow,” he said , squeezing my wrist. “This town is flooding. The winds are deadly. D
o you want to kill them ? D
o you ? Y
our followers?!”

Tears burned my eye s as I realized he was right. I was dangerous. M
y emotions we re controlling the atmosphere. T
he people in this world were be ing attacked by my wrath . M
y grief.

“I didn’t mean to,” I whispered tearfully as my body went limp.

Brady’s eyes grew tender , and he pulled me to his chest. He held me as tight as he could , and I squeezed him back , imagining for a brief second that he was Landen. Brady leaned my head back and wiped my tears away. “I’m goi ng to ask you to do something. S
omething that will be far more d ifficult than taking your life. F
ar greater than facing any demon.” My eyes questioned him , eager to do anything if it w ould bring them back. “Control.
I need you to take what you are feeling and control it . T
he devil is using your r age to murder this dimension. You don’t want that.
I know you don’t.”

I moved my head from side to side as I wiped away more tears.

“I’ll make a deal with you,” he said, as his eyes grew sincere. “I will help you hunt her down , watch you end her life. P
r otect you. B
ring them back to you if you just learn control.”

“I can’t…” I said as m y eyes moved to Landen .

“Pelhan said you would say that , ” Brady taunted , calling my attention back to him.

“What else did he say?” I asked with a fleeting hope.

“That there is an e qual reaction to every action. T
hat right now you n eeded someone to react to you. T
o help you control your new power.”

“Who?” I asked , begging for them to come.

“He only had time to teach me.
I was the one that understood first.”

“Teach you what?” I asked .

“How to cause a reaction to your power. Willow , I can walk though any wall of energy you put up with one focused , clear thought. W
ith an honest intent , b ut I cannot stop this weather. T
his destruction . Not without your help.
I don’t have the mind power. N
one of us do.”

I breathed in deeply and called a calm to me. The only way it would come was by thinking about Landen. H
is touch. At first , the memory was painful be cause it was wrapped in grief. I n the idea that I would never feel it again, but I moved pas t that and thought of every perfect word he ever said to me. H
is calm energy. When I felt it ease through me, when I felt myself grasping control , I looked at Brady.

“You do have the power. The power of words. Just t alk to me like you would talk to Landen.
Be blunt.
”

He knew I was fighting guilt now. He was very blunt with me before, and now I knew that I may have hurt or killed innocent people in the moments I lost control.
I couldn’t let that happen again.

“I doubt you hurt anyone that didn’t deserve it , ” he mumbled , finding both encouragement and grief in the fact that he had said the words that made m e realize how dangerous I was.

“How can you be sure?” I ask with a tremble as I thought of the innocents that must have been in that city.

“Because everything happens for a reason. E
ven this.”

I knew he didn’t believe his own words, but for right now I was going to live in his lie. I had no other choice.

“You sound like Landen,” I mum bled . I could hear the rain washing down the windows in response to the stabbing pain I felt in my heart .

Brady cupped his hands around my face. “Willow , I will be your air. I will help you think. T
ell you when you are out of control. Y
ou have to trust me. We will bring him back.
Or die trying.
I promise you that.”

That was the truth.

I looked into his blue eyes , which mirrored his brother ’
s. I wanted to tell him to leave me alone.
To take care of his daughter. T
o take our family from this dimension and never look back, b ut I’d learned my lesson just a few days ago .
I promised myself that I would let them chase whatever fate was calling them. N
ot tell my family what to do or how to do it. I tried to grasp the idea that everyon e was in my life for a reason. T
hat whe n they felt called to help me that meant they were supposed to. That they were my survival.
I just didn’t want to be their death.

I breathed in a nd wiped my last tear from my eyes, then began to pace as I took in calm , slow breaths. I focused on every time I’d laughed , every positive emotion I could. I heard echoes of each time Landen had told me he loved me. My lips turned into a vague smile.

When I first met him , he told me that his world believe d those words to be a promise. A symbol of gratitude toward the universe for allowing them to feel that emotion. It seemed we had used them as if they were a common goodbye, o r words to fill an empty moment.
I regretted not putting more emo tion behind those three precious words.
I regretted saying them out of habit , even though I didn’t feel that way, my lack of intensity – how freely I said them made me feel as if they had lost their meaning. Thunder crashed with the anger I had with myself.

Brady gripped my arm , causing my pace to stop. “I told you I would be your air. W
hen you feel those emotions , you look into my eyes. Y
ou find peace, calm, and determination there.
Do you hear me?!” he yelled over the rumbling thunder.

“You’re not him!” I bellowed as light n ing collided against the palace.

“Right now I’m all you’ve got. Like it or not. I’m the only one not afraid of you. The only one who knows you will not break.
I know y ou have no choice but to be strong. And you will be.
”

I let out a jag ged breath and stared into him. He was telling the truth. They feared me. My family thought this was our end. I gritted my teeth as I swallowed the emotions that told me they were right, Brady was wrong. Then I vowed to prove them all wrong. I would be damned if I let one evil wench stop me from my fate.

O
nce I took ownership of that determination , the rain stopped, the thunder grew silent , and the dark room became brighter. T
he skies behind the window were not bright ; they were gray, but gr ay was better than a storm. B
etter than the destruction I’d already brought.

“You got this ,” he said quietly as he pulled me to him and hugged me as tightly as he could. I could hear his pounding heart. Feel his rage. U
nd erstood that his intent was set. H
e was going to stand at my side and bring back his baby brother one way or another. He had no choice ; not only did he love us, but he knew that without us the fate of his an d Felicity’s daughter, Allie, was undermined , that her path , whatever it may be , would be tragic , that she would face the battles we faced to reach peace.

“Who was she ?
” I mumbled into his chest.

He let his arms fall fr om me and sighed. “I don’t know.
I’m more interest ed in figuring out that sound. Where it came from. W
hy it was able to bring her pain. S
top her.”

I tried to clear my mind. To think of the conversations Landen and I had just hours ago. He knew something . H
e’d grasped something from what I showed him . T
hose girls Preston had met in the field outside my house. I recognize d that look in his eyes. That uncanny certainty, but he didn’t h ave time to tell me what it was. R
ight now he was more than likely holding the missing piece to this puzzle in his thoughts.

“You have to find Austin. T
hose twins , ” I mumbled as I sat on the edge of the bed. The weight of my body -
- the way the bed moved caused both Landen and Drake to flinch. Brady pulled me up. “I don’t think we need to disturb them. N
ot their bodies.”

“Where are they?” I asked , as a wave of dizziness came over me .

“We’ll figure it out , ”
h e promised. “Come to the study so we can talk this out as a family.”

I shook my head no. “Tell them to come in here , ” I said , glancing at the sitting area that th e bedroom had on the other side. There were three couches outlining a massive coffee table that sat in front of the fireplace , even more chairs in front of the window . This room was as large as my entire dow nstairs at my home in Chara. A home I doubted I would ever see again.

The door opened slowly at that moment. It was Marc. “Are you OK?” he asked , looking between me and Brady and the bodies of Landen and Drake.

“If they want to talk , tell them to come in here , ” Brady said to Marc. He nodded , then pushed the door open.

Brady put his hand on the small of my back and le d me to the couch that faced the window. I felt his intent ; h e wanted me to see the weather. H
e wanted me to see the effect I was having on the world outside this palace. He didn’t sit down by me ; instead , he sat in front of me so I would have no choice but to look into his blue eyes when my emotions fought to take control.

Rose was the first one that came in. She sat on the arm of the couch beside me and wrapped her arms around me , trying to emanate as much calm as she possibl y could . I needed more than she could give me.
I needed Preston.

“Where are Preston and Libby ?” I said as my eyes moved to Brady.

“Home , ”
h e said calmly. “Do you want them here?”

“The question is , do they want to be here ? I f they did , they would be , ” I said , quietly taking in calm breaths.

My father had come in the room and walked to the bed so he could look over Landen and Drake. I tried to ignore him , to pretend they we re just in another part of palace , talking about me. F
inding a way to protect me. I felt my father’s astonishment and looked to him before I could stop myself. When he felt my stare , he looked over his shoulder at me ; his eyes were hazel, full of the worry I felt in him. “I don’t know what you did , baby. B
ut it helped.
Their lungs are taking in air. T
heir heart s are beating. T
heir souls are on fire.”

“But they’re not here , ” I replied as I stared at my father with pleading eyes. He left Landen’s side and came to mine , studying every part of me , looking for damage.

“Don ’
t be mad at me about before,” my father said steadily . “I wanted to calm you down for your health . W
e needed to calm you down to save this town from destruction.”

I stared forward into Brady’s eyes .
“I’m calm.
I w on’
t take anything.
I have to figure out where they are.”

“You might find them with sleep,” I heard Perodine say behind me.

I turned to see both bedroom doors open and Marc and Ashten , along with a few servants , moving her table in here. The t able that had the scroll on it along random books.

“No . T
ell me what you know first , ” I said firmly.

Alamos and August came in behind them , both pushing water basins. I assumed it was the water from the observatory. Alamos took his to Drake’s side , and August took his to Landen’s. I watched as the y dipped their fingertips into the water , then traced the brow, nose , and lips of both Landen and Drake.

They both took in a breath . O
ne that was deep and powerful. All at once they balled their hands into a fist as if they had found a new source of energy to fight whatever they were facing.

Once Ashten had se t the table beside the couches , he walked slowly to edge of the bed. He hadn’t said a word the en tire time Landen had been gone. He didn’t scream in agony. H
e didn’t argue or de mand that we all hide in Chara. N
ot one wor d. His grief had silenced him. H
is grief was echoing in my soul. As I felt that emotion start to take control , I looked back to Brady’s waiting eyes and found an undeserved calm.

Perodine stood at end of the couches as Alamos an d August came to her side. “Now.
I need each of you to tell us what happened. W
hat you saw .
H
eard . W
hat was said to them .”