Insight

Chapter Ten

"I have to say, you two look a lot better today. You had me worried, little one," Marc said to me as he reached the porch and hugged me.

"Can I see your arm?" Chrispin asked as he got closer.

Landen looked at Marc, then down to his arm. I felt the shock come from Marc, but Landen just shrugged his shoulders. Marc then looked back at Chrispin and shook his head, letting him know to drop the subject. I felt the confusion coming from Chrispin as he looked nervously back and forth between Landen and me.

I followed Landen's lead, and we walked off the porch to the fields that surrounded the house. Along the way, we passed a large windmill about a mile away from our house. "We're going to take a shortcut to another dimension, Olence. It has towns like yours."

"I'm worried my insight won't work outside of Infante," I thought.

"I know it will. When we were in the string yesterday, I could see your paths everywhere. You've gone farther than your father thought."

"Did that upset him?"

"I don't think he saw them. It seems that they're only really clear to you and me." I looked at him with an astonished expression on my face. "I know, weird."

Just before we reached the windmill, I could see the string come into view. Brady stepped in first, but Landen held me back; he was waiting for something. Brady then reached his arm out and waved us in. The string was calm. The hum was a low murmur, and you could barely feel the current.

"Are there any storms close?" I thought nervously, remembering how painful the last one had been.

"Storms never occur close to Chara," Landen promised. "We don't encounter them until we pass Esterious."

I smiled faintly and took his hand for my own personal comfort. I began to take in the beauty of the string.

"So what do you think about Dane being able to see in here?" Brady asked Landen.

Landen raised his brow, and pressed his lips together. I could feel a tinge of jealousy coming from him. "I knew there was something else I wanted to ask you about."

"Dane is the brother I never had," I explained.

I watched as a grin came across Landen's face. He then wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head. "I know. He told me about that night at the lake. I've already thanked him for keeping you safe when I couldn't."

We came to the passage that they'd chosen. It was a light blue haze. I was the last to step through. I didn't know what to expect, having no idea what this world would be like. The passage was behind a large building, next to a generator.

We walked around the front to the streets, and much to my surprise, it looked the same as my world did. We were in a small town, the buildings were all made of brick, and the roads were made of what looked liked pea gravel. The people seemed ordinary enough, and the clothes even seemed to be the same as they were in my hometown. I reached out with my sense of emotion to see if this place were truly as safe as I thought it was, and I could feel that the mood was ordinary—the common stress, pride, and energy that I would have felt at home.

I did find it odd, though, that I didn't see any children anywhere. There wasn't a stroller in sight. I didn't even see a dog on a leash. I noticed a few admiring feelings aimed at my escorts, and it was easy to see that they all went unnoticed by them.

"Where are the children?" I asked.

"Here, the children are the most precious assets. They keep them safely at home until they're young adults, for fear that if they mingle with any adult beyond their family, their ambition will be altered."