Insight (8 page)

Inside was a large photo album, and on the front of it was an abstract painting of the five of us that Jessica had done. The photos started when we were all in diapers, and they went all the way through graduation night. The album was full of birthdays and summers. Everything we’d ever shared. I grinned as the flashbacks flew through my memory.

“I could not have asked for a better gift. This means the world to me. I will cherish it forever.” I said with a crack in my voice. I was going to miss them so much.

“Just don’t forget us when you’re famous, deal?” Jessica said.

I nodded, then stood, pulled all of them together, and hugged them.

When Dane was through in the shower, he loaded my mother’s car with our luggage and drove us to the airport. He even went in with us, not leaving until we reached the security gates. My mother and Libby walked on, giving us a chance to say goodbye. I stared forward at the gate, then back at Dane.

I was so scared.

“You can’t be afraid of the next step, Willow. We all have to grow.”

“That’s pretty deep,” I teased.

“Maybe one day I will listen to my own advice,” Dane said, laughing at himself.

“You will,” I promised.

Holding back my tears, I reached up and hugged him. I didn’t understand why growing had to hurt so badly. After I let go of him, I kept my eyes down. I could feel his sorrow. It was ripping me apart. I never saw my life without Dane in it. I walked away, waving behind me.

Chapter Four

The flight was close to two hours long, so I decided to try and fall asleep. After all, I wanted to know if the blue-eyed boy had read my note. A sinful smirk emerged as I closed my eyes. I wanted to feel his kiss. I was yearning to feel that once more.

I didn’t find my way to that beautiful world or to the horrible nightmare. Instead, all I saw was a Blue Moon, which was full and filled the entire sky. I gazed at its detail and felt the energy that came from it. Slowly, it started to rise. In the gleam of blue light, I saw Drake to my right, and to my left I saw the boy I was searching for. The dream was wickedly surreal.

The landing gear hit the ground and I awoke with a start.

Libby had fallen asleep, too, so I carried her through the airport and cradled her as my mother rented us a car. My mother drove through the last hours of daylight. I took over at nightfall. As I drove, I searched the sky, looking for the moon and wondering what the dream could have meant.

My mother took over again at daybreak. Since she had been to Ashten’s home before and knew the way, she needed to drive as we got closer. I gladly closed my eyes, hoping I’d find my direction from the one I was about to seek.

The weight that I always felt on my chest was immediate. My sense of emotion was stripped from me again. This time the people around me could see me. They gawked in my direction. The room I was in was more beautiful than any other room I had visited in these nightmares. The ceilings were high and the walls were decorated with beautiful paintings. For some reason, though, I could not focus on the images that they reflected. There was no furniture in this room. The floor was a red velvet carpet, and doors that stretched from the floor to the ceiling were centered on every wall. One of them led outside, into sunlight.

Women were lining the walls, dressed in royal colors for a formal occasion; others made adjustments to what I was wearing. They had dressed me in a gown, much like a wedding dress, with lace and flowers woven into the design.

The wooden doors in front of me opened, and I could sense someone. They were not afraid like the ones I always felt here. Instead, they were content. My heartbeat grew louder as I gasped for breath under the pressure on my chest. I wanted so badly to wake, to help whoever needed me and leave. Through the doorway, I could hear whispering.

A beautiful woman of age with mesmerizing green eyes glided over to me. Her hair was placed perfectly on her head, and jewels decorated her neck. When she reached me, the ones around me scurried away. She took my hand, and as her smooth skin touched mine, the room vanished and I was surrounded by a white glow. In that moment, the weight on my chest was released. The woman smiled at me as the relief was apparent on my face. I could feel her intensely now. She was compassionate. It was as if she loved me.

“You know you have been quite difficult to find, my dear,” she said in a motherly tone.

“Who are you?” I asked softly.

She circled me, smiling proudly, her green eyes glinting.

“I am Perodine. You have known me from your first heartbeat.”

“What do you want?” I asked, nervously, looking around.

“My dear, I want you. I have waited well over four million years to see you this way.”

“What? Why?” I asked, trying to understand.

Perodine had stopped in front of me and was beaming with excitement.

“You are very gifted, my dear, and I have loved very few…” She tilted her head, placed her hands on my shoulders, and captured my gaze. “I have loved you…you must listen to me. Your heart is the power, the one who sees must have it.”

Sees what?

“Why do you take my gift? Why do you bring me pain?”

“It has never been my intention to bring you pain. I have protected you, given you the power.”

“I don’t understand.” I couldn’t hide the tremble in my voice.

“I cannot undo what was once said, when the Blue Moon rises, you will choose.”

“Choose what?”

Perodine went to speak, and as she did, I could feel pain through her. With her eyes closed, she inhaled deeply and said in a hushed voice, “Our time now is over.”

The room flashed back, and the others in the room gasped. The pain on my chest intensified. I panted for breath, trying to push the pain out of my body. Before I could even focus on what was happening, Perodine was taken away by men in long black robes. She glanced over her shoulder at me as if she could feel my pain and wanted nothing more than to take it away.

I could feel someone’s warm breath on my neck, then a mesmerizing hum swarmed every part of my body as their lips touched my skin. I turned and saw Drake, who grinned and wrapped his arm around me, paralyzing any response I could have tried to make.

“They are waiting,” Drake said, smiling adoringly.

The glass doors opened, the roar of a crowd erupted, and I walked unwittingly with Drake to the balcony. The sky was a beautiful blue, and the sunlight warmed my face. The crowd grew louder as they saw us standing side by side. Looking down, I saw a sea of color surrounding the people who cheered below.

My eyes peered up at Drake, watching his coal black eyes smile at me. He was pulling me in, trapping my gaze, and my willpower was losing a battle that any other girl would have lost the first time that she saw him. Then, above the crowd, I heard the sweetest voice.

“Willow…”

I turned to look back in the room and saw Libby standing there. I could not feel her, but I could see the fear in her eyes. Not hesitating, I ran to where she was, but she vanished before my eyes, the roar of the crowd grew silent, and the sky turned gray.

“You’re mine,” Drake said unsympathetically.

I turned back to where he was and raised my arms to block a light I was sure would come. As I moved my hand, I saw that my wrist was bare and that the Ankh was gone. I fell to my knees, gasping as I tried to understand why it was gone.

Drake grinned down at me, clearly enjoying my agony. As chants echoed against the walls, I closed my eyes and found the image of the one who always made me feel safe: my blue eyes. The room shook, and the paintings crashed to the floor. The noise shocked my body, causing me to wake with a scream. My mother was so frightened that she veered off the road.

“Willow? Are you okay?” she was yelling at me.

I felt my eyes focus as I looked down at my wrist: the tattoo of the Ankh and one lonely star was still there. I was safe, at least for now.

I had dreamed with Drake more times than I could count. Something was off about him in that last one…it was like I knew someone was playing his part, someone cold and deceitful. The question was how was any one of them getting into my head in the first place.

“Just a bad dream. I’m fine.”

“We got you some breakfast, well, lunch. You were sleeping so soundly that I didn’t want to wake you. I wish that I had now.”

“How close are we?” I asked, looking at the secluded highway.

“Only an hour away. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, Mom, just a dream,” I shuddered as it flashed into my memory.

As I calmed down, my eyes raced over the dream. This was bigger than me.

I knew then that I was going to make my father let me find the blue-eyed boy. I didn’t care how old I was. I didn’t want to choose anything on my own. I sat back slowly and turned my head to see Libby sleeping soundly in her seat. I watched her chest slowly rise and fall, assuring myself that she wasn’t having a nightmare. Looking at her, I knew that she was a part of this, too, and I had to protect her.

My mother turned off onto a small road where a picturesque mountain played the role of a breathtaking background. We then turned off onto a less traveled path. Without warning, a beautiful, massive log home nestled next to a magnificent river came into view.

I could sense the excitement and relief coming from the two people on the porch of the cabin. As we got closer, I could see my father standing next to an attractive man whom I assumed was Ashten. He was smiling and patting my father on the back. Strangely, he looked familiar to me.

I woke Libby up as we stopped. My mother was already in my father’s arms. Libby and I followed her lead. When we got to the porch, my father introduced Libby and me to his lifelong friend, Ashten Chambers.

“Jason, your girls are beautiful. You’re a lucky man,” Ashten said, looking curiously into my eyes, then to my father.

I could feel an overwhelming anxiety and anticipation coming from them. My father told us that the others should be there soon. He then escorted us into the beautiful cabin. The entire front room, from floor to ceiling, was made of a glossy wood. The ceiling was angled into an A-frame with wide beams that stretched across the room. All the furniture seemed to complement the mountain setting. The smell of pine lingered in the air. I unloaded my tote on the counter and picked up Libby’s bag to carry it upstairs.

Libby and I found our rooms. The cabin had six bedrooms, so Libby got her own room, which made her happy. I brushed her hair and listened to her tell me of all the fun she was going to have in her new home. My mother had told her that we would have to travel very far before we could reach our new house and that all her new friends would be there. It really didn’t take much to build excitement in my baby sister.

I decided to take a hot shower. All the traveling had given me jet lag, but the last thing I wanted to do was close my eyes again. When I got back to my room and started to dress, I could not find my brush anywhere. Libby then walked in and handed it to me. I stood stunned, holding it. Libby did not often go out of her way to help me out since she was used to us taking care of her.

“I couldn’t find your sandals,” she said sadly.

“Why were you looking for them?”

She looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. “Cause you told me you needed your brush and asked if I had your sandals.”

“When did I say that?”   Had I finally flipped the crazy switch?

“Just now. Mom wants you to come downstairs,” she said, crossing her little arms.

My mother topped the stairs, looked in my direction, and said, “Willow, can you please come downstairs?”

Wide-eyed, I looked from my mother back to Libby, convinced I was now delusional.

“Mom, did you send Libby to tell me that?”

Now she was looking at me as if I were crazy. Slowly, she shook her head no. I walked over to Libby, knelt down in front of her, and said, “Libby how did you know about the brush and Mom?”

I was making her angry. “You told me to get your brush. I heard Mom ask you to come downstairs.”

I felt the shock come from my mother, but it couldn’t compare to mine. It was like watching Libby take her first steps all over again. She had found her insight, but I knew she didn’t understand it. She didn’t even realize what she was doing.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I just forgot. I’m pretty tired from our trip,” I said, straightening her shirt.

Libby hugged me tightly and said, “I guess it’s okay that you’re acting weird…just don’t give me your cooties.”

My mother turned on her heels and went downstairs in shock. I rushed to follow her.

Ashten and my father were sitting on the couches in the center of the room. Their conversation quiet halted when my father saw the look on my mother’s face. She walked over to my dad and said in a low tone, “I think Libby has a gift, Jason.”

A surge of fear and denial came over my father and Ashten.

“What is it?” Ashten asked quickly.

My mother glanced in my direction. I guess she thought it would sound more believable coming from me.

Her reasoning made no sense, but I explained anyway. “It’s like she has a window in front of her. She can see what’s coming. Just now, she brought me my brush just as I began to look for it, and she told me Mom wanted me before Mom came upstairs. She doesn’t even know that she’s doing it.”

My father glanced warily back at Ashten then forced a smile as he looked at the concern on my mother’s face.

“We just need to watch her. We can’t confuse her. The insight is just now showing itself. It could grow stronger or leave her all together if we provoke her to use it,” he explained carefully.

I saw Ashten nod in agreement. I knew that they were right. I had to find my own way of understanding what I did. I think if I had known what it actually was, I would have feared it. Instead, I grew to depend on it. Then again, it would’ve been nice to have some kind of heads up that I did not fit the common mold. I promised myself I would figure out a way to make it to where Libby felt like she could ask about anything odd she felt or saw.

“Willow, I told your father that you had another nightmare,” my mother said, changing the subject. “Could you please tell us what it was about?”

I felt my stomach turn. “It was nothing,” I muttered, looking away.

Libby. Let’s talk about Libby, not Willow’s slow fall into insanity.

“Was it the same as the other nightmares?” my father asked.

I hesitated, wanting to take on the emotion of it on my own, but then I felt his genuine concern. I began in a hushed tone, “I dreamed I was in a huge home, like a palace. Libby was there, and so was Drake. There was a large crowd that cheered as we stood side by side. It was just a product of the last few days. Nothing to worry about.”