Free Vindicate by Jamie Magee Page A

the screen. There was a shadowed image of a boy. A ball of fire was around him. A massive snake that was half - woman circled him – on the woman’s neck , I saw the birthmark I’d grown to hate : a broken heart.
    I pulled the image closer , taking in all the details . I t was clear that no a mateur had created this . B ehind the fire , I saw images of others ; they were ci rcling the boy. T hey seemed frozen in place. T errified and furious at the same time. There was an image of another girl . S he was crouched down , preparing to pull the snake away from the boy. The artwork was full of every emotion and literally caused you to stand still. I didn’t think the artist was twisted or demonic. I t was more like they were reflecting – coping with something they’d faced , s omething I ’ d done more times than I could remember.
    “Where did you get this?” I asked breathlessly.
    “It took me forever. I found it on the W eb. The song and artwork were free. I t s had over two million downloads in the past two weeks.”
    “Who ’ s the band?’
    “Anonymous.”
    “They have that many downloads , and they’re anonymous?”
    “Yes and no . T hat ’ s the name of the band , ‘Anonymous , ’ but at the same time there are n’t any photos of them . I think th ey’re indie. I found a few forums talking about how they have pop up concerts in the UK and in the north of the US.”
    “That ’ s a lot of ground to cover , ” I murmured , thinking that without Austin , we would never find these twins. I f this was even them . E ither way , I needed to find the people who created this song . I knew now without a doubt they were linked to me. L inked to that demon.
    “Right . Dane and Clarissa are searching for th em. Others are across the north. W e’ll find them.” She vowed.
    As she spoke , m y dream flashed before my eyes. Preston. T he passage he led me to. “I know where they are , ” I whispered as I turned to walk to the passage of the string.
    I ’ d reached the wave of energy before Olivia put her hand on my shoulder to stop me. “Willow , tell me where , and we’ll go . Y ou can’t. You have to stay. I t will hurt , ” s he assumed , looking down to my chest.
    I raised my hand to where I’d seen that flower in my dream. “If it hurts , I’ll turn back – if not , then I know I’m suppose d to go . I should have already gone. T he second I woke up from that dream , ” I said , hating myself for not be ing able to hold one thought long enough to have seen that before . I should ha ve woke from that dream and ran. R an like hell until I found them.
    “What dream?”
    I didn’t answer her until I ’ d tucked my shirt into my jeans and straightened my hair with my fingers. “It was Landen . He knows I’m safe. Preston told me where to go. Who we needed . I’ve seen visions of these people ; I’m sure of it.”
    Her eyes grew wide. “O K – O K - l et’s get Chrispin. Brady.”
    “You get them , ” I said as I stepped into the string. Once there , I hesitated , waiting for the pain to come. I t didn’t , and when it didn’t , I found a reason to smile. Not because I was no long er attached by force to Landen, but because I wasn ’ t helpless – defenseless without them. It was an empowering moment that nearly took my breath away. I could swear I co uld feel Landen smiling at me. I c ould feel him pushing me to go. T o walk. F eel him guiding me.
    Oliv ia had followed me in. “Willow. Willow. L ook at me , ” s he said , trying to get my attention. “How bad does it hurt?”
    “It doesn’t , ” I swore. I pulled down the collar of my long sleeve black shirt. “Do you see anything here?” I asked.
    Her awe and the astonished look in her glowing green eye s told me she did. “How? When? W here did that come from ?” she stuttered.
    “I don’t know . W hen I was in that coma , I dreamed about it. This mark took my pain away in that dream . Landen saw it , to o. I t ’ s