by Diana Nixon
“I think it’s a good idea. I can go with you, if you want.”
“Thanks, that would be great.”
When I finished my dinner, I changed into a pair of riding breeches and high boots, and followed Christian outside, where Will and three black horses were waiting for us.
I hadn’t been riding for a long time, but sitting on a horse felt so good. It was the best thing about everything that had happened recently.
Even winning over the Dragons couldn’t be compared to what I felt with the wind embracing my body, and singing its beautiful songs to me. Will definitely knew what to do to make me feel better, and I was grateful to him for the ride and a chance to escape the reality.
I didn’t pay any attention to the surroundings, I closed my eyes and let the song of the wind take me to a place where nothing but freedom existed.
“When it feels like your world is breaking apart,
When it feels like nothing can be done,
Listen to your soul and the beating of your heart
And you will see that you are not alone.
Look around and smile to yourself,
Life goes on, no matter what.
Nothing is perfect by itself
Until you turn it into something good.
Remember there’s always a way out,
No matter how far it is.
Don’t forget about those you love,
Those you can’t live without and those you’ve missed.
Don’t be afraid to take a step,
Don’t give up your dreams and don’t look back.
Do your best to get what you want,
Love and be loved
And never say ‘I can’t’,
Because someone will always be there for you,
To support you and help you with everything you do….”
The song sounded too much like Evan’s words, but I didn’t let the pain in my heart bring me down. I was stronger than that, and I knew that Evan wanted me to be strong, to be someone whom others could rely on; to be someone that others would be proud to know; to be someone that others would remember forever….
I stopped the horse and inhaled deeply. No matter what happened next I had to help Evan to find out the truth. Even if I had to do it without him….
Yes, I was going to find Elizabeth; I was going to make her feel sorry and pay for everything that she had done to her sons. And this time I wasn’t going to let my emotions take control over me. Not now, when I knew how much I had to pay for my mistakes. And losing Evan was my mistake. Probably the biggest mistake I’d ever made….
Chapter 35. The Loss
Days went by too slowly, and nights were simply unbearable. Evan felt the same. There were no changes in his state. Neither bad, nor good. I never tried to get into his dream again. I respected his choice. And I tried my best to get myself ready for whatever was coming next. No matter how painful the thought of losing Evan forever was.
The only person that got anything good from winning over the Dragons was Melanie. Her plan worked, and she got rid of the darkness surrounding her. She was like a new page that was just about to be filled with new words and sentences. And she couldn’t wait to learn new things and develop new powers. But she still wasn’t like me. She couldn’t hear the wind.
She and William spent a lot of time together. And though I was still forbidden to cross Dever’s gates, I knew everything that was going on inside the campus.
Christian tried not to leave me for too long. He attended classes, visited Evan, even talked to him, not sure if he could hear his words. But every time he came to me, he said that everything was going to be okay.
Darcy spent most of her time with Evan. And I could only imagine how hard it was for her to see him like that.
Amanda said that Tara visited him too, and every time she came back home she spent hours locked in her room, and crying. And though she had a boyfriend, she couldn’t stop thinking about Evan. She still loved him.
Riding horses became my every day entertainment. As Will didn’t actually have classes to attend, we spent hours riding along the Black Lake’s shore, talking and listening to the songs of the wind. He said the songs we heard were different, because nature always gave us what we needed most. And our needs were different. But he knew what my songs were about.
Every time I had another nightmare, there was Christian to wake me up and comfort me. He never pushed me into talking about Evan, but every time he came back from classes I asked him about our friend. Sometimes we sat at the fireplace and shared our memories about Evan, and his ridiculous tricks. We laughed and cried, well I cried most of the times, but talking about Evan helped us to live through the days without him.
One day I found a note at my door. The envelope wasn’t signed, but I knew that the letter was for me. Because it radiated the same energy I felt while looking for my father’s medallion. It was the first time when I saw Evan’s mother, though at that very moment I thought I was seeing things. Now I knew that I wasn’t hallucinating, and the letter in my hands was written by Elizabeth Murray. I opened the envelope and started reading what was written in very beautiful handwriting.
“Dear Eileen,
I’m not sure if I should write this letter to you, but I feel like I owe you an explanation.
No shit, I thought to myself and smiled, knowing that it would be exactly what Evan would say in the same situation.
My plan failed. I knew that something was wrong with the message you sent me, but I could have never imagined that you were going to destroy the brotherhood. I didn’t manage to do it in six years, and you killed them all in half an hour.
What? She was trying to destroy the brotherhood?
Yes, I planned Dominic’s death, but I guess you already know that. I had my own reasons to do that, and this is probably the only thing I would never regret. Unlike what happened to my sons. I never wanted Kevin to become a member of the brotherhood, but he got too close to its members, and there was no way to keep him away from the Dragons. The only thing I could do to protect him, was not to let the tattoo on his back take control over him.
Bingo! So I was right about Kevin’s tattoo. Elizabeth stopped its formation, and that’s why Kevin was still with us and not dead like other Dragons.
What happened to Evan was a terrible coincidence. I didn’t know you had a spell to kill me, and I didn’t have a chance to warn you about my true intentions. I was going to use the old spell you found to destroy the Dragons, but never planned to kill my own son. I know how much he and Kevin suffered from losing me and Dominic.
Despite the fact that I hadn’t seen them for years, I always knew where they were or what they were doing. And I protected them as much as I could. And you can’t even imagine how sorry I am about everything that has happened.
Nothing will ever be able to wash away my guilt. But I know how to save Evan, and I need your help to do that.
There’s only one person who is strong enough to bring him back to life. Marion Blanche. Her blood can save Evan’s life, because she’s the strongest member of her family and no other wizard or potion will ever be able to help him. He needs a blood transfusion. And the sooner you do it, the better.
I hope it’s not too late. I would have given all I have to save my son, but I’m helpless….
Please, let the others know about the way to save Evan. Hurry, Eileen. He’s running out of time.
P.S. If you ever need to find me, ask for the way to old Jeremy’s farm.”
It felt like my tongue glued itself to the roof of my mouth. I stared at the letter in my hands. I didn’t know what to think — to be happy that someone had finally found a way to save Evan, or not to believe a word of what I had just read. Well, the last variant faded in comparison to the opportunity to help my friend. So I put on my coat and ran to the campus.
The moment I crossed the line where my connection with Evan was hard to ignore, I felt sick. My knees were trembling, and I could barely keep my bal
ance. I was just a few floors away from where Evan was, and everything he felt at the moment hit me with the force I could have never imagined he still had.
With shaking hands I took my cell phone, and dialed Christian’s number. The only words I managed to say before I passed out on the floor, were the following, “I’m in the lobby, read the letter.”
I don’t remember what happened next. There were voices somewhere near, someone’s hands touching me, and the pain in my head that I could barely stand.
When the lights turned on, I opened my eyes and blinked at the brightness of the illumination. There was a round lamp, right in front of my head, with four bulbs inside it. I felt a tickling on my arm and something small and cold touched my skin. A needle, I realized. Someone put a needle into my vein.
Everything was a blur. Faces were swimming in front of my eyes, and the words people were saying sounded like a broken tape.
When I heard my name, I closed my eyes and tried to understand where it was coming from.
Someone was talking in my head.
“Make it stop, please make it stop!” the voice said. It was too quiet to recognize. But there was only one person whom I could hear even in the state of delirium.
“Hold on, Evan,” I said. Or at least I hoped I said that loud enough to be heard. “They will help you.”
Now I knew what was going on. It wasn’t my vein that someone put a needle into. It was Evan’s. And I was Evan now. All I saw and felt, I saw through his eyes and felt through his heart. Not mine. And every time he wanted to scream, I wanted to scream too.
It felt like a new life was getting under my skin, rushing through my veins, spreading all over my body and turning me into someone I had never been.
New faces and new names filled my head. New feelings and new emotions filled my heart.
Millions of colors were sparkling around me, like a rainbow divided into shades. The radiance I saw on my palms was new too. As if someone had just put some new powers into my hands. And those powers were so much stronger than what I had ever felt.
I didn’t know how to get out of Evan’s head and be myself again. It felt like he didn’t want to let me go.
“Don’t leave me, my Angel. Don’t go,” he said, and I saw his pleading crystal-blue eyes. They were full of fear.
I stopped fighting whatever was going on, because I knew that he wanted me to be there. And I wasn’t going to leave him alone.
“I’m here,” I said, trying to force a smile. No one answered, but I knew that Evan could hear me.
It was so weird to feel relief. There was no pain and no agony. I tried to move and my muscles obeyed willingly. I lifted my head and looked around.
I wasn’t in Medellin’s hut anymore, but in Christian’s room. He was sleeping by my side, with his arm around my waist. Everything was as usual. Even the stars that I could see through the window were shining high in the sky.
“What’s wrong, Eileen?” Christian asked drowsily.
“Did they do the transfusion?”
“Yes, they did,” Christian said, rubbing his eyes.
“Did it work?”
“We don’t know. Evan’s still unconscious. We think he needs some more time to recover.”
“Okay, let’s hope it will work.” I put my head back on the pillow. Christian rose up and leaned on one elbow looking down at me.
“Where did you find that letter, Eileen?”
“It was left at my door. Do you think Elizabeth knows how to get here unseen?”
“Well, I think she can do a lot of things. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see her in Dever one day.”
“Do you know where old Jeremy’s farm is?”
“No, and no one else does. We don’t know what she meant by that.”
“Well, I guess this is what we will have to find out next.”
“Do you think Evan would like to find her?”
“Yes. I know he wants to see her. And we need to help him get the answers he deserves.”
“You are right. Let’s hope he will feel better soon. I miss that smart-ass.”
“Yeah, me too.”
I turned to Christian, and he pulled me closer to his chest, caressing my back and whispering something softly in Spanish.
I closed my eyes and when I was about to wish him sweet dreams, something happened.
I sat up abruptly in the bed and gasped, grasping at my throat. It refused to let any air in. I couldn’t breathe. It felt like I was suffocating and no one could help me. As if I were alone in the whole universe….
Christian shook me by the shoulders, but the only thing I could think about was my heartbeat, slowing down.
The blood in my veins was freezing, and I felt colder than I had ever felt before. I wanted to scream, but my voice was gone. I wanted to cry, but there were no tears in my eyes. I wanted to move, but my body felt like stone.
I knew that I was still alive, but it felt like the life inside me stopped. As if someone had stolen it from me, leaving my body cold and empty. As if my heart was still there, but my soul was gone. As if something I loved so much was broken into thousands of small pieces. As if a part of me was dying, taking away everything I ever had. And that part had a name.
Evan….
To be continued....
Acknowledgements
First of all I’d like to say thanks to my family. Only you guys know how many sleepless nights it took me to write this book. Thank you for everything, for your endless support and love.
Many thanks to my friends and readers. I would have never been able to finish this part of Love Lines without you. I’m truly blessed to have you all in my life.
A special thanks to Mona Tippins, Kristina Howells, and my editor Dawn White for their help in making this book so great!
A huge thanks to Jennifer Munswami. The cover design is simply stunning, Jen! Great job, as always.
About the author
Diana Nixon is a poet and the author of paranormal and contemporary romances. She was born in Minsk, Belarus, where she currently lives and works on her books.
In 2008 Diana graduated from Belorussian State University. She has a Master of Law degree and speaks several foreign languages, including English, Polish and Spanish.
Visit author’s website:
http://www.diananixon.blogspot.com/
More books by Diana Nixon:
Love Lines (Love Lines, # 1)
Songs of the Wind (Love Lines, # 2)
From Scratch (Love Lines, # 2.5)
The Souls of Rain (Heavens Trilogy, # 1)
The Prisoners of Dreams (Heavens Trilogy, # 1.5)
Hate at First Sight (A contemporary romance)