Vindicate

Vindicate

By

Jamie Magee

“
The loss of a loved one is one of the most tragic and devastating things a person could endure.
”
Author unknown

For every soul this daydream was meant to find…

They say that those who walk among angel s will prevail with the angels. M
eaning if you never intended harm, then no harm will come to you.
I find this to be BS. I walked among angels. I walked w ith Landen.
I walked with Drake. Harm has come to us. D
eath is at our doorstep.

Two hours ago , a demon . A seductive evil witch that I will destroy took them from me . I don’t know how she did it. What words she said. W
hat mind games she used. All I know is that they’re gone . T
heir bodies may be here, but she has trapped them somewhere. F
or the first time in my life , I cannot feel Landen.
I am isolated .

Marc and Brady carried them here to the palace, to a room that is several doors down from Perodine’s study. They laid their bodies on the bed. O
ne that was large enough to sleep four grown adults. I keep star ing at the space between them. Wanting to lie there.
Wanting to pull Landen’s s eemingly lifeless body to me. W
anting more than anything to feel his energy, but I can ’t. I can’t because my father, Alamos, August , and Perodine have not stopped working on both Landen and Drake .

Outside , a storm is raging. It’s violent and angry. Dangerous. J
ust like me. Tears have n ot stopped pouring from my eyes. N
o sound , just tears. I was gripping the post of the bed that held a massive canop y over them. Sound had stopped. T
ime had stopped. I couldn’t hear the calming words Beth and Rose were saying to me as they caressed my hair and my back.
I couldn’t hear the words Alamos was speaking over their lifeless bodies.
I couldn’t hear my father, August, an d Perodine discuss their state.
I couldn ’t hear the others, Brady, Marc, and Dane. I’m not sure when Dane came here or how long h e and C
l arissa had been trying to get my attention.

August must have called Brady to his side because I saw him rush to Landen and him. Marc was right behind him. Brady nodded as August spoke. Alamos didn’t seem to agree with everything he said , at least not the part that involved Marc. Brady left the room with Dane and Clarissa flank ing him. T
hey had the intent to go to Pelh a n’s to seek his advice or medicine perhaps.

Marc paced the floor next to the bed , feeling trapped. My gaze fell on h im. His pace – his deep thought , his pure soul reminded me of Landen. H
is fierce eyes, broad shoulders , and determination emanated the shadow of his brother, Drake.
The tears began to flow more fiercely from my eyes , and the windowpane behind M
arc mocked the flow of my tears. T
he storm was growing quieter. A s if it w ere exhausted, as exhausted as I was.

I was trapped just like Marc.
I had to stay here . I could not chase this demon. N
ot wi thout Landen. N
ot unless that d emon was in this dimension, and I had my doubts that she was.

The echo of that music. T
hose electrifying guitars I heard just before she vanishe d were the only comfort I had. T
hat sound led me to believe that there was a way to defeat that demon.
That sound was holding me together, giving me what little strength I had. It was giving me the strength to stand. T
o hold this end post and gaze at the body of the man I loved .

Alamos slammed the book he was reading closed and rushed from the room as if he had some kind of epiphany. Beth took his place at Drake’s side. I kept watching for breaths . S
ome kind of life from him . F
rom Landen . A ll I saw was their skin becoming paler and paler. I ignored the blue tint tha t was forming around their lips. T
heir beautiful faces.
I ignored it because it was the sign that told me they were really fading. That Landen was really leaving me.
It was the sign that said that my death was only moments away .
I ignored it because I was to o mad to die. Rage. A craving for revenge was the air that was seething through my lungs. It was my survival.

A cold blade against the back of my neck pulled me from my thoughts. I heard sawing and defensively turned to my side to see Alamos holding a knife and a lock of my hair. His old wise eyes , full of fear , stared into me as he wrapped my hair around his hand , then wiped my face dry. L
eaving my lock of hair drenched in my tears that had fallen for each of them.

Alamos took th e knife and sliced the lock in two . He handed one to Perodine , who was beside Landen , then leaned over Drake , and at the same time they took my locks of hair and traced Landen and Drake’s brow, their nose, and lips, whispering a chant. All at once , breath seeped into their bodies. The breath Landen took was deep and lasting ; his chest continued to fill with air , then slowly let it out. The breath Drake took was weak , and though he was taking in air , it wasn’t half the amount that Landen was.

I felt the eyes of the room on me. I felt them question if my tears were strong enough to br ing Landen back but not Drake. Q
uestion if because I didn’t love Drake as much or in the same way that I could not save him , too. The mixed questions and intent infuriated me.

“OUT!” I said to the room.

They all looked at me like I was insane , freezing in place. “I said OUT
, all of you!” Just as I rai sed my hands to argue my point , and to block their impending points of view they left , each of them. I stood still until I heard the door close , u ntil I was sure I was alone with the bodies of Landen and Drake.

I tried to think like Landen. L
ike Drake. T
o ask myself what would they do if this were reversed. My mind was invaded ; cruel memories of each time they had to do this taunted my thoughts . O
f each tim e they watched my lifeless body. Th ere was on ly one thing that gave us power. M
y heart. M
y energy.

I w alked slowly to Landen’s body.
My tears washed down my face. I let my hand rest on his chest. I smiled faintly as I felt his powerful breaths. I leaned in , closing my eyes and let ting my lips rest on his. T
he lack of response, the lack of life, tore into me. I leaned back and closed my eyes as I focused on my energy. I watched my soul move from my frail , weak body and linger next to Landen. I let my hand rest on his chest , then slowly I let my hand fall into him.

His back bowed with the thrust of energy. A beaming light erupted between us , mocking the light n ing that seemed to aim at the palace itself. His skin was no longer pale . Weak. H
e looked as if he were sleeping .
N
ot peacefully . H
e looked as if he w ere trapped in a nightmare. O
ne that I could not pull him from. I waited for him to open his eyes. T
o hear his voice in my thoughts, but the silence reined on. I moved my other hand to his chest , ca using another thrust of energy, another beam of light. This time , his eyes opened slightly. O
nly he wasn’t there. A t least not all the way. I could see a glimmer, a spa rkle in the center of his eyes.
I could see his soul fighting.

“An angel fallen , a devil has ri -”

His thoughts faded , a nd my soul went numb with shock.
“
Landen!
”
I screamed in my thoughts. The sparkle in his eye seemed to dwindle ever so slightly as he turned his head toward Drake and his lips mocked the words , ‘
A n angel fallen , a devil has risen .
’
W
hen his eyes saw Drake’s lifeless body , fear came over him along with the intent to turn back and save Drake from somethin g ominous . I screamed for him to change his intent , to stay with me , to not go back through my thoughts , but he didn’t listen ; i nstead, his eyes closed , and he slipped further away. Everyt hing I’d given him was useless. I t was useless because he was fighting something on a l evel that I could not perceive. A level I could not reach. He wasn’t letting me bring him back for a reason. H
e was turning back to save Drake. T
o end this.

Panic came over me. It was like they were fighting the devil in H
ell itself. T
hat the only way they could fight him was to stand on death ’
s door.
Landen had refused to lead me there. T
o let me follow him. He was intending on ending this war once and for all.

I moved to Drake , knowing that if I found a way to bring him back , Landen would come back.
Landen would come back b ecause he knew Drake was safe.
Landen had chosen to fight for Drake. T
o not leave him in the hell that had captured them. He must be fighting for him because he knew we needed hi m . Fighting because his soul was more pure than mine. H
e didn ’t have the heart to run away. H
e was fighting at Drake’s side in some wicked place.

I placed my hands on Drake’s chest and pushed my energy through him. I felt his hypnotically addictive energy eas e through my soul. He was not rea cting the same way Landen had. It was like he was further away. L
ike the demon had had more time to blind his soul. I needed my voice if I w ere really going to reach him. I moved my soul to my body , then climbed across the bed to Drake’s side. I cupped my hand s around his face and spoke his name. H
is skin was humming ever so slightly. “Drake , ” I pleaded . “Come back to me.”
His lips began to move . H
e was responding . “Drake , ” I said louder as I moved my ear so I could hear him.
“
W
ill not be our prison , ”
h e whispered.

“What?” I said louder.

“Fate is calling ; this world will not be our prison , ”
h e said faintly .

I looked into his closed eyes and waited for something , anything that w ould explain why he said that. W
here they were. “An angel?!”
I yelled .
“A Demon?! What prison?! Where are you ?
!
”
I yelled as I pushed against his chest , then moved to try and get another response out of Landen.

I felt the intent of the others . Perodine. M
y father , they were coming to sedate me. T
hey though t I was going mad with grief. H
urting Landen and Drake .
When the door opened , I flung my hand behind me , throwing a wall of energy around the half of the room with the bed. I stared coldly at them, my dad, Perodine, Alamos and August , who were pushing in behind them. The thunder roared , and the wind crashed against the palace. I crawled to the edge of the bed , then to the floor , daring one of them to try and calm me down. T
o make me relax .
I had to find Landen. G
o to wherever he was in his mind , and I wasn’t going to let whatever drugs they intended to give me prevent that from happening.

One by one , they left. I refused to let my wall of energy fall. I had encased the three of us.

I stared over their bodies , watching for any sign of where their minds were. Their s kin was no longer pale. It was full of color. A lmost red with anger. Their breaths would speed up , then slow down. I watched as the muscles in Landen’s long , strong arms would flex , then relax. Drake’s entire body seemed to tense often. I’d seen them both make gestures like this before. I could almost visualize the moments they were fighting and the moments they w ere finding rest in their minds. I t was as if they we re living in a different word. O
ne that I was blind to.
I wanted to see it.
I didn’t c are how twisted or dark it was.
I wanted to be fighting at their side.

The door to the bedroom opened again. This time it was Brady, and he was alone. I still wasn’t going to let my guard down, my wall of energy. He vigorously walked toward me , ignoring the barricade I had when he passed through it without effort. I defensively threw my arms up , but he caught them , t hen walked forward , pushing me against the wall - pinning my arms to my side . I glared back at him , trying to hold my rage in. T
rying because he looked too much like Landen , and hurting him or anyone el se was not what I wanted to do. N
o , I wanted to save my rage for the demon that had stolen Landen .