Insight (12 page)

“Thought.”
I pointed out.

“It’s more than clear that you and I are both older than our given ages …”
his words faded as he thought over something. I watched as he shook his head obviously squashing an internal argument he was having with himself.

I settled in next to Landen, struggling to keep my eyes open. The gentle caress of his fingertips was coaxing me into a calm that I’d never felt before.

I studied every feature on his face, assuring myself that he was still real.
“How come we need so many travelers to get us home?”

“I think my father and I can do it. You and your dad can travel, and Libby is close enough she wouldn’t need a lot of help, so that only leaves your mother. We’re really just waiting on the storms to settle.”

“What causes the storms?”

He grinned as I set the intent to fight sleep just so I could hear his voice in my thoughts.
“It’s a disruption in the energy near the strings. They say the storms have only happened in the last two generations. One theory is that all the technology is disrupting the natural energy around us.”

“Are they dangerous?”
I asked. I was having second thoughts about taking Libby through something like that.

“They’re more confusing than dangerous. It’s like being out in open water—then all of a sudden a mass of waves turns you, and you lose your direction.”

“How did you get hurt?”

“I thought there was a passage where there wasn’t one, and I pushed through with my shoulder. I was just in a hurry to get here.”

We lay in absolute silence, studying each other, lost in our own thoughts. I felt my eyes close against my will, and without hesitation, Landen was there beside me as we stood at the doorway to our home.

He smiled down at me, then wistfully picked me up and carried me across the threshold, kissing me gently as he sat me down inside. I walked through our home with him at my side. All the rooms seemed so vast; the windows reached from the floor to the ceiling, letting in the sunlight.

We walked up the wide staircase into a large room, our room. A gentle breeze flowed through the long white curtains, framing the wide double doors; the sun glided over them, making them seem as if they were satin. We then passed through the open doors and stared into a field of beautiful flowers, the sun dancing across them. I truly did feel like I was home. Home was at his side.

Chapter Six

The sunlight peeked through the open window, warming my face. I smiled serenely before I opened my eyes. When I reached for Landen, though, I didn’t find him. Libby’s small frame was under my hand. I opened my eyes to see her tiny sleeping head on my pillow. I hesitated, searching my memory. Then I rose quickly, thinking it was all a dream. A sinking feeling absorbed me.

I reached out with all my senses, finally finding the boy that made my soul pulse: Landen. I could sense the peace of his soul from were I lay. Relief swept through me, realizing that he was only downstairs. I also sensed that there were four people down there with him.

Their emotions giving me no alarm, I lay back down and traced Libby’s small features as she slept at my side. I couldn’t recall when she’d come in there. Hoping that she hadn’t had a nightmare, I shuddered as I remembered mine once again. Whatever the case, Libby seemed calm enough now, so I decided to get ready for whatever the day held for me.

When I returned to my room, Libby was sitting up in my bed. A smile filled my face; her hair was nothing less than a savage nest, though she did look well rested.

“Good morning, sleepy head.”

She smiled a sleepy smile at me.

“When did you come in here?”

She looked around the room, seeming shocked to find herself there.

“I don’t remember.”

“Were you sleepwalking?” I asked, teasing her. Libby hadn’t been a bed jumper since she was really little. Back then, she would rotate through the night between her bed, mine, and then Mom and Dad’s.

“Are you hungry?”

She nodded.

“Then let’s get you dressed. I think we have company downstairs.”

I was brushing out her hair, a difficult task, when she looked at me. “I like Livingston. He’s nice just like the others,” she said, looking back in my direction.

I suddenly realized she was doing it again because I hadn’t even met him. I’d assumed that he was the one downstairs, but she already knew him. I wondered how difficult this would be, for her to live life constantly ahead of everyone else. I could only pray that she would find a way to embrace her gift, as I had mine. At least she wouldn’t have to hide her insight.

When we walked downstairs, we heard laughter coming from the kitchen. The sensation of joy was illuminating the room.

“Ah, there they are,” my father said proudly.

They were all at the table—Ashten, Landen, and a man I assumed was Livingston, all dressed in black.

“Good morning,”
Landen thought, smiling at me as he got up from his chair and walked toward me with my favorite playful grin. Kissing me softly, he sent a tingle through my soul. I blushed. He was still real…everything was still real.

“You left me,”
I thought teasingly.

He shook his head, showing a playful pout. “
Never.”

I could feel everyone watching our wordless communication with a sense of admiration.

Livingston raised his brow as a grin spread across his face. He was slightly older than my Dad and Ashten, and he had dark brown hair with a hint of silver tracing through it. He also shared their same trait of dimples and deep blue eyes.

“Willow, Libby, this is Livingston,” my father said proudly.

I could only imagine how great it must be for him to be reunited with his lost friends.

“Have a seat, girls. I have your breakfast ready,” Mom said warmly.

Everyone else had already eaten, making me wonder how much of the day Libby and I had spent sleeping. Libby asked if she could have her breakfast in front of the TV. Normally, that would have gotten an instant no, but sensing the direction of the conversation, my mother agreed.

“So, Willow,” Livingston began when Libby was successfully distracted. “They tell me you can sense emotions. Do you mind me asking, are they simple emotions or enhanced ones?”

I’d never thought of defining what I did. Emotions always seemed to be a good way to sum it up for me, but Livingston caused me to reflect on what I felt when people were around me.

“Umm, I’m not sure. I mean, some things I feel are more like a mood, as well as an emotion.”

“Fascinating. So how would you describe me?” Livingston pressed.

His tone was complacent, and he didn’t hold any real expression in his face. One might say he was calm. I smiled at him. “Nervous,” I said, sure of myself.

Livingston shifted uneasily in his seat and looked cautiously at my father and Ashten. Landen noticed the exchange and stared at Livingston with his piercing blue eyes, judging his every move.

“Fascinating,” Livingston finally said.

I tried to explain it more clearly. “The people that I’m around the most, I can sum up in one word. I could tell you that my dad is almost always peaceful, and my mother and Libby have an energetic emotion constantly coming from them. I can feel the calm coming from Ashten and Landen. At the same time, I could tell you if they felt sad, scared, or even prideful.”

“That does seem like more than just emotion, and it complements Landen’s insight,” Livingston said.

I smiled at Landen, losing myself in his blue eyes. For a moment, I forgot I was in the middle of a serious conversation.

“So, explain to us from your point of view how you travel,” Livingston asked.

“I don’t know…I mean, I see people who look like they need help, I feel a gentle pull, I touch them, and then I’m there. But after seeing what Landen did yesterday with the string, I don’t think I’m all the way there. You see, they don’t see me, and when I let go, I’m home again.”

My father was grinning at me, a strong sense of pride coming from him. He tried to help me explain it more clearly. “I’ve followed Willow before. She makes a path where one doesn’t exist. I was able to see the way back. If she were taught how we travel, she’d be able to see it, too.”

“How far does she go?” asked Livingston.

“Mostly she stays here, but she’s gone as far as Olecence before. More recently, she’s gone further than I’d care for,” he said, winking at me.

I wondered how many dimensions there really were. So far, I knew of four.

“Wait, what do you mean I ‘stay here’? You can jump around in one dimension?” I asked.

The room erupted into laughter. It must have been a funny question to those in the room who
could
travel, the normal way, but my mother and I seemed to think it was a valid question.

“I’m going to show you the strings today. You’ll see that Livingston is just in awe of you…they’re only laughing because you have no idea the kind of the power you hold.”

I smiled, but I was blushing.

“Willow, I don’t mean to upset you, but your mother told me something that I find just as fascinating. She said you couldn’t feel anything coming from Drake. You told her he was a void,” Livingston said, leaning forward in his seat.

Landen gave me a curious look, beaming with relief.

“No, there was nothing there. I think that’s why I felt so uncomfortable around him. I knew it wasn’t me because I could still feel everyone else.”

Landen reached his arm around me. With that statement, I knew that I’d made everyone a little nervous. “Willow,” my father said in his trademark peaceful tone. “Have you ever felt anything close to…evil?”

Livingston closed his eyes, sighing softly. I sensed a profound remorse coming from him.

My eyes grew wide, and my mouth opened. I had to admit, I hadn’t. I’d felt anger, but evil was not a word I could ever find to describe anyone I’d ever met. I shook my head slowly no.

“That’s good. I don’t want you to ever have to,” my dad said.

I couldn’t help but stare at Livingston. His emotions didn’t match the room or the circumstance. He was broken, lost.

“Are you ready? I think we both need air,”
Landen thought, glancing at me.

“Is it safe?”
I asked, feeling nervous.

“We’re going to stay close. I’m going to show you my way, and then you’re going to show me yours.”

“I bet my way is cooler,”
I said slyly.

I was sure it wasn’t, but I wanted to make him laugh, and it worked: he laughed out loud, and once again they all stared at us in wonder.

“I want to go, too, Willow,” Libby said as she walked into the kitchen. Everyone looked at her with bemusement.

“Well, Jason, Ashten,” Livingston said, sighing and staring at Libby. “I would have to say that you two have a very talented bunch on your hands.”

Like my father and Ashten, Livingston was holding something back from Landen and me.

Landen saw it, too. He gave his father a daring look as we left the cabin. As we walked along the river’s path, he tried to prepare me for what I would see in the string.

“Have you ever swum in open water?” Landen asked.

I’d lived in a landlocked state my whole life. The few times that we had vacationed at the beach, I never went in any further than my knees. “Not exactly…do I need to be a good swimmer or something?” I asked, unable to hide how anxious I really was.

He laughed at himself and searched for a different analogy. When he couldn’t find one, he began again. “When you’re in the string, it’s like swimming in natural water. You’re going to feel something like a gentle current. It’s easy to walk through, but I don’t want it to scare you.” He glanced down at me. I could tell he was judging my response. “Everything but the passages are going to be white,” he finished.

When we finally reached the place where I’d found him, I breathed in deeply, feeling my unease and his excitement. “Can you see the string?” he asked.

I could, but I still couldn’t figure out why they called it a string. It looked like a ripple in the air, and you could see everything behind it. It reminded me of a glare coming off a scalding hot road in the summer’s sun. I nodded, he took my hand, and we stepped into the ripple, the string.

It was so beautiful. Everything was a glowing light, and there was no depth or height. I could feel solid ground beneath me, though the ground shared the same white glow. I felt the gentle current. It didn’t scare me; it was very relaxing. The air wasn’t cold or warm—it was perfect. I could hear a mesmerizing humming sound. I let a childlike smile ease across my face.

Landen reached to trace my bottom lip, grinning at the excitement he saw in me.

“You are so beautiful.”

“No, I’m just happy.”

He leaned down and gave me the most innocent kiss, but the string, the energy behind the current, enhanced everything. I felt his lips hum against mine and gasped ever so slightly. When his hands moved down my sides I forgot to breathe for a second.

As if he could read my mind he thought.
“That’s not my touch, that’s your soul reaching for mine.”

I grinned slyly.
“Trust me, it’s your touch.”

His eyes glinted with a shared desire.
“I can’t wait to show you the universe.”
He took my hand and we began to walk. As we moved, the scenery never changed.

“How do you know where you’re going? Do you visualize it, like my dad?”

Landen stopped, looked down at me, and grinned. The string had highlighted his eyes. It was like a light was shining through from behind. I’d never seen anything so absorbing.

“I follow intent. I can feel it through the string. When it changes, I know I’m either entering another part of the dimension that I’m near or approaching a different one. Can you feel emotions from here?”
he asked as his eyes searched over my face.

I was so distracted by the beauty of the string that I hadn’t noticed. I could feel Landen’s love as the most powerful emotion around me, but in the background I could feel others. They were common emotions: worry, happiness, and sadness. I nodded.

“I think that when you learn the cultures of the dimensions, you’ll be able to use your insight of emotion to help you navigate.”

“How do Clarissa and Brady navigate?”

“Brady has a lot of Aquarius in his birth chart. He can hear music through the string. He says that every dimension has its own rhythm. Clarissa is dominant in Taurus, and she’s known for her voice. She says that she listens to the tones of the voices through the string.”

My eyes widened. I was beginning to see that they relied heavily on the Zodiac in the dimension of Chara.

“What’s a birth chart?”

“It’s just a map of the heavens at the exact moment that you were born. When the planets align a certain way, they can highlight a dominant trait.”

“Does the dimension Esterious study the Zodiac like Chara does?”

Disdain shimmered across his stare before he nodded once to answer me. No doubt, he was not a fan of Esterious.

“Chara looks to the heavens to find a positive way to impact the world around us. Esterious looks to the heavens to find a way to control others.”

“Drake knows I’m a Scorpio,”
I thought, remembering that my father had said the people in Esterious had predicted my birth.