Free Redemption by Denise Grover Swank

curious enough to keep me around and frightened enough to not tell Aiden this is our second meeting. Aiden doesn’t like secrets.”
    Jake did his best to turn his irritation into a glare.
    “Continue to play with the shadows. Gain their trust, but be careful. Many men have thought they could harness the energy of the shadows. All were deadly wrong. But if the shadows accept you, they’ll show you what to do.” Marcus stood. “I will return in a few days.”
    “I don’t want to see you again.”
    “I’ll tell you about your mother.”
    Jake froze.
    Chuckling, Marcus moved toward the window. “Maybe I’ll even bring back a message.”
    And then he was gone.
     
    ***
     
    Even though Jake knew he was in a dream, it felt so real. Like the dream when he had Will save Mommy.
    The air was cool and crisp, and he smelled the musty earth. He was in a valley surrounded by mountains and his bare feet sunk into sand. The sky was dark on one side with more stars than he had ever seen filling the sky, but a hint of pink lined the other side. The sun was getting ready to come up.
    Spinning around, Jake found himself alone and a hum of fear filled his chest. He knew something bad was coming.
    Two big overlapping circles outlined in black covered the hard ground, forming a sort of oval with an almond shape in the middle. His sight blurred, the image in front of him shifted, like when the cable went out and the picture stopped and jolted in a new place. The circles had been empty and then there were people in them. But not just people—Jake saw Aiden, Raphael and Alex in a circle on one end and Water, Will and Mommy were on the other. Jake’s breath caught. Mommy .
    Without moving on his own, Jake now stood in the middle, where the circles overlapped, his feet firmly rooted even though he wanted to run to his mother.
    “ It has begun .” A voice echoed around him, bouncing off the mountains and vibrating through his body. “ Four shall fight, two shall remain . This is the rule set by Fire, but the rules are not complete.”
    Jake looked around at the others. Aiden was furious. Alex and Raphael seemed nervous. Water smiled, but Will and Mommy looked worried.
    “Each element must be represented in the fight. The words of transfer are in effect.”
    What were the words of transfer? Jake wasn’t sure but Aiden’s grin widened.
    Raphael looked like he was about to throw up.
    “ All will fight. Two will survive.”
    Mommy released a small cry.
    “The book contains the rules. The end will occur within two weeks’ time, but Fire may determine the place and the time.”
    Tears streamed down Mommy’s face. Anger filled Will’s eyes as he stared at Jake.
    Jake sucked in a breath. Why was Will angry with him?
    The image shifted. Mommy was there and then she wasn’t, then she was back again. She reached for him, her mouth forming his name, but no sound came out.
    Everyone disappeared and Jake stood alone in the almond shape, the sky still dark on one side, but getting pinker on the other. And then everything went black.
     
    ***
     
    Will woke to Emma bolting upright in bed, morning sunlight streaming through the blinds.
    “Emma?”
    “Oh, God. I had a terrible dream.” She looked down at him. Tears wet her pale face. “We were in a desert and all of us were there—Aiden, Marcus, Raphael and Alex. And Jake. A voice from nowhere gave us new rules.”
    Will’s eyes sank closed in horror. “I had the same dream.”
    She jerked away from him. “ What ?”
    He sat up. “I had the same dream, Emma. It was real.”
    “No! No, it can’t be real!” She jumped out of bed and began to pace. “Oh, God.”
    Will followed her and tried to pull her into his arms, but she shrugged him off.
    Her chest rose and fell, and she brought her hand to her forehead, closing her eyes. “Think, Emma. Think.”
    “You don’t have to do this alone anymore, Emma. I’m here now. We’ll figure this out together.”
    Her hand dropped, her eyes