by M. K. Easley
Celes’s jaw worked, but he nodded once again. Fine. But this is the last time I'll ever have anything to do with your family.
Oceana nodded back, knowing she couldn't ask for more than that.
Chapter 36
Beckett was barely hanging onto consciousness. His whole body throbbed with pain, his shoulder was on fire, and he was having trouble understanding what he'd stumbled into. He was ashamed that he'd followed Tristan and her family, but he hadn't realized what an egregious mistake he'd made until he'd been accosted by a bunch of men in cloaks, like something out of American Horror Story, in the pitch black bayou. They'd asked him all sorts of weird questions that he couldn't answer, and when he'd tried to fight them off, one of them had stabbed him in the shoulder with a spear or something. Stabbed him! They'd beaten him too, after that, but he hadn't stopped pleading with them to let him find Tristan, who he knew was in danger with her grandfather.
It had been when Beckett had mentioned Umbris that the guard called Entros, who was now lying dead at his feet, had halted the attack by his minions. They'd hauled Beckett off to the place where he stood now, stared down by a bunch of scared, panicky faces in a sea of black, and confronted with a glowing blue ball in which actual people were somehow trapped.
Nothing made sense. What was an Elder? What was a commoner? Was this a hardcore group of fantasy role players he'd discovered? Was Tristan embarrassed by how seriously they took themselves, and that's why she'd lied about them? What community was everyone talking about? Had Mr. Wallace just said he would wipe Beckett's memory? Was Tristan a prisoner of some weird, delusional cult, and she'd lied to protect Beckett from them?
“You.”
Beckett looked up to find the hulking guy who'd interrupted his first attempt at kissing Tristan back in December addressing him.
“Do you love her?”
“What?”
“Trinity. Do you love her?”
Beckett looked at the guy -- what was his name? Cameron? -- wondering what his motives were, wondering if he would kill him before the deranged, power drunk senior citizen that everyone kept referring to as Elder Orion got to it. What did it matter, though? Beckett was sure he wasn't getting out of this bizarre wormhole he'd fallen into, anyway; if he wasn't killed, surely he was going to bleed to death. He was already weak, and growing weaker by the minute.
“Yes, I do.”
“And does she love you?”
Beckett looked at Cameron, and then deliberately at everyone else, who seemed oblivious to their conversation.
“Is this really what we're gonna focus on right now?”
“They can't see or hear us. Answer me. Does Trinity love you?”
Beckett still couldn't determine his motives, but there was a familiar expression of pain on Cameron’s face that Beckett himself had known all too well since the day before, which compelled him to answer.
“Yes. She does.”
Cameron nodded, looking at Tristan, who was still in a standoff with Orion, for a long moment.
“Unbelievable. A commoner. It never would have worked anyway, though, I guess. The curse of the destiny connection.”
“What?” Beckett wondered if he'd reached the point of no return with his blood loss; Cameron had said words in order, but they were nonsensical.
“Listen to me carefully,” Cameron got right up in Beckett's face, leaving him no choice. “If Trinity tells you to run, do not hesitate. Do not wait for her. Run. I know you're weak. I know there's a good chance you'll die from your injuries anyway, making this whole goddamned thing a suicide mission, but do it anyway. Do you understand? If Trinity or anyone tells you to run, run like your life depends on it, because it does.”
“I'll try.”
“No,” Cameron said ferociously, leaning even closer. “You will.”
“Alright, alright, I will.”
“He’s of no use to you,” Tristan’s voice broke into Beckett's ears at full volume, startling him. He hadn't realized that all sounds had dimmed while Cameron had been bossing him around. “And there is no need to use him against me. Tell me what you want. Tell me why you’ve been after me, and if you promise to let him go, I promise to do whatever you want.”
“Trinity, no!” Olivia cried, but Tristan ignored her.
This was how it had to be, Tristan knew it now. Orion would not let Beckett live if Tristan chose him, if she chose not to join the community. If she could end this tonight, if she could be the one to tell Umbris to wipe Beckett’s memory back to September herself instead of him doing it behind her back, she could change the course of her premonition in that way. She could remove the guilt that would compel Umbris to restore Beckett’s memories, leading to their affair that would lead to her execution. It was the only way out of Beckett’s and her certain deaths.
Orion approached, stopping uncomfortably close to her. He looked deeply into her eyes, and, in an experience she’d never had before and hoped she’d never have again, Tristan’s brain actually began to burn. She gritted her teeth, holding his stare, while the white-hot pain in her head increased until she was seeing spots. Still, she made no noise other than her labored breathing, and she did not look away -- she would give him what he wanted, but he would not break her in the process.
Just when Tristan had started to doubt her resolve, Orion smiled, taking a step back, and the pain immediately stopped. He looked over to the crowd, his smile growing bigger, and Tristan breathlessly followed his gaze to Sol, who had returned from wherever she’d gone.
“You never told her.”
Tristan looked between Orion and Sol, who she’d never seen angrier in her entire life.
“Told me what?”
“Told you that you are the one in the bloodline who can restore the old way of governing the community.”
This was no big revelation for Tristan, who had no idea what Orion was talking about. The older members of the community, however, and Sol and Umbris, certainly seemed to know, as the murmuring escalated to a dull roar.
“Shameful you’ve told her nothing.” Orion shook his head at Sol and Umbris. He turned to Tristan. “This community was founded by my many greats-ago grandfather and his wife, Orion and Estelle Beltremieux. They governed solely and efficiently until there was a growing discord amongst their people. Cornered and facing the risk of an overthrowing, they agreed to establish a committee of Elders to more fairly oversee the community, which resulted in the first iteration of what you are familiar with today. There was a catch, however, that once the committee had been established, they decided to banish Orion and Estelle from the community, for its safety.
Not to be fully stripped of their dignity, Orion and Estelle warned the Elders and the community that there would come a day where a child would be born into the Beltremieux bloodline who would be more powerful than any of them or their successors, and who would restore the community and its governances to its former glory. You, Trinity, are that child. The deliverance of what ended up being their last act of revenge, as in the eleventh hour they were sentenced to execution instead of banishment.”
Tristan stared at Orion, agape, and then looked at her parents, who looked grim.
“That’s not possible. I don’t use my abilities, I haven’t since the age of ten, and I’ve known just as long that the community life is not the life for me. Surely if I were as powerful as you say, none of that would be true.”
Orion sneered.
“Laziness, suppression, and silly notions that can be broken out of you. It is so. Your parents know it as well as I, so don't just take my word for it. Sol, darling, why don’t you tell her how you discovered she was the one?”
Sol clenched her jaw, her hands balling into fists.
“No. Trinity will be free to make her own choices, not swayed by false burdens.”
“So you’d rather her make her choice without knowing all the pertinent facts to her unique situation? Are you trying to sway her in a certain direction by withholding this fr
om her, Sol?”
Sol glared at him with fire in her eyes.
“Of course not.”
“No matter.” Orion waved his hand, a gesture Tristan was coming to hate. “I’ll tell her. You were not yet two, Trinity, and your siblings were infants. Your Mom had been trying to get them to nap for the better part of an hour, and it had been quiet for a few minutes when one of them began to fuss. Not wanting one to wake the other, your Mom left you alone in your bedroom for just a few minutes. Your bedroom, of course, was right up the hall from the twins’ room, and the stairs were gated off, so your Mom figured you’d be OK. Imagine her terror, then, when there was a loud crash from your bedroom. She put down the fussing twin and ran to you, just to find you had opened all of the drawers of your dresser and it had fallen on top of you, crushing your tiny body.
Imagine her relief, and her subsequent shock, when you looked up at her with a smile and pushed the dresser into an upright position, and then stood up, unscathed. Such a heavy piece of furniture should have been no match for a powerless toddler, and as we know, community children do not start displaying their abilities until the age of five. She knew then, what you are. I knew, too, though I was terribly sick and didn’t know how the next hour would go, let alone the next day. The scene came to me while I slept, and it turned into the lifeline that pulled me through my illness. Just in time for you to accept into the community and fulfill your bloodline.”
A chill ran through Tristan. Fulfill her bloodline. The same thing Eva had said in the clearing the morning Tristan and Beckett had been camping.
“Yes, you’ve heard me say that before. I must admit, posing as a classmate of yours was one of my better ideas, though you and your sister are of stronger will than I had anticipated, and that plan fell flat in the end.” Orion’s lip curled in disgust, and Tristan felt a fury creeping into her bones and muscles that she could only remember having felt a couple of times before.
“What did you do to Eva?”
“Eva? There was no Eva, not really. There was a Bella Revet, married to a John Revet, but they lost their daughter, Eva, in infancy. It was a terrible shame when she showed up eighteen years later and they went insane. They’re now the newest residents of The Winston Friends Psychiatric Institute.”
“You were posing as Eva?” Beckett spoke from behind Tristan and she jumped, having temporarily forgotten he was there. His voice was filled with revulsion, and Tristan’s eyes widened, remembering Eva and Beckett’s brief interlude.
Orion blew him a kiss.
“Enough,” Tristan said sternly, moving in front of Beckett. The rage was still coursing through her body, but Tristan kept outwardly cool. She knew her brain and her body were preparing for battle with no effort by her, but also knew she couldn’t show her hand or it would be over before it began. “I’ve heard enough. Say you’ll let Beckett go, and I will join you. I will fulfill my bloodline.”
“Tristan--” Beckett’s voice behind her was faint, and her courage briefly faltered.
Tristan heard Beckett drop to the ground like a bag of potatoes, and every cell within her told her to turn around, to say fuck it all and pick him up so they could make a gamble for their lives together, against Orion, but Tristan knew that would be the end. Even if Beckett wasn’t injured, wasn’t dying, neither of them would stand a chance. Orion would delight in executing them both, maybe even her whole family after that, and who knew what would become of the community then? At least if she agreed to what Orion was asking, agreed to fulfill her bloodline in whatever manner he had in mind, she would have some control over the safety of the community. Over the safety of her family.
Orion is not going to let him go. Oceana's voice entered Celes’s head again, and he looked at her, irritated at the intrusion. He’s going to give Trinity his word, but he’s going to lie. She will join him, and he’ll tell his guards to execute Beckett anyway. Right over there, behind you, his personal guards have just arrived. Celes, this is it. When he orders Beckett’s execution, you need to do the manipulation and not hesitate. There is no way in hell I am letting Trinity sell her soul to Orion.
Celes scowled at Oceana. I think I know better than you what to do and how to do it.
Good. So don’t let your feelings fuck it up, Oceana shot back, her eyes sending daggers at him from where they stood, less than eight feet from each other.
What makes you think he isn’t listening to this conversation right now? What makes you think this will work at all?
I was paying attention once when you talked about how to close off a connection so it’s impenetrable to even the Elders. It’s one of the luxuries we’ll lose, I’m sure, if Orion gets his way and governance is taken from the committee and placed in his and Trinity’s hands. For now, I’m using it to my advantage.
Celes actually looked surprised at that, and Oceana raised her eyebrows, stiffly inclining her head to the Tristan and Orion standoff unfolding before them in the clearing.
“Trinity, I’m not letting you do this.” Sol stepped forward, but a guard advanced on her and she stopped. “The Beltremieux’s Revenge is a myth, a fable. There are no documents indicating Orion and Estelle had ever placed any such curse before they were executed; community members kept meticulous records back then and were just as vigilant about preserving those records. Yes, you displayed abilities at a very, very young age, but your path since then has been clear. You have always known which direction you would take, and my only regret is not helping you cultivate that path sooner.”
“Such lies,” Orion hissed, but Sol merely looked at him.
Tristan walked around the guard and took Sol’s hands in hers. They were warm, where Tristan’s felt like blocks of ice.
“This is the only way. It’s the only way I can guarantee your safety, and Beckett’s safety.”
“No it isn’t.” Sol looked at Orion again, her jaw setting. “There’s always another way.”
“I would listen to Trinity, dear Sol. She’s the one who’s been having the premonitions, after all. You see, your darling daughter is as smart as I’d always heard she was -- she has examined every possible way around and through this, and she has come to the realization that this ends one of two ways. One, in her, the commoner’s, and your family’s execution. Or two, in her taking her rightful place beside me in exchange for your safety. Trinity has learned what has taken you your whole life to learn, if you have at all -- I am far too powerful to be challenged, even when I’m weakened. You can try whatever you’re plotting, and I won’t waste my time trying to figure out what it is or stop you before you do. Just know that you will fail.”
“You have to get Beckett out of here,” Tristan told Sol urgently. “Please. I don’t know how much time he has left. You have to get him to the hospital before it’s too late. I’ll be OK. No matter what happens… I’ll be OK.”
“Trinity, you don’t--”
“Mom, there isn’t time!” Tristan exclaimed, her tone bordering on hysterical. She spun around to look at Orion. “Say it. Say you’ll let Beckett go unharmed.”
“I’ll let Beckett go unharmed.” Orion looked bored, but he waved off the guards, who had been lingering around Beckett.
Tristan turned to Sol again.
“I love you. Go, please.”
“Tristan.” Beckett, from his place on the ground, curled up on his left side, called to her.
Tristan dropped to her knees and pulled Beckett’s head into her lap. She smoothed back his hair, her hands trembling.
“I love you. Listen to me. We’ll find each other again. But now you have to go, you have to let my family take you out of here and to the hospital. You’ve lost so much blood--”
“No. I’m not leaving you.” Beckett struggled to sit up, but collapsed again, his eyes closing briefly. “I’m not leaving you. I’ll die here, I don’t care. I walked away from you once and it was clearly the worst mistake I’ve ever made. I’m not doing it again.”
“Beckett please,” Tristan’
s voice shook, but she couldn’t cry. She had to wrap her insides in steel, had to shove down her emotions or she’d never get through this. “Please go. This is the only way I can keep you safe.”
“Trinity.” Orion spoke her name, and Tristan kissed Beckett, gently placing his head back on the ground.
“Tristan, no!” Beckett said more forcefully, but Tristan walked away without turning around.
“When he’s out of the clearing, I’ll follow you wherever you want me to go.”
“You’ll follow me now.” Orion gripped Tristan’s wrist, the burning in her head immediately returning, and she cried out. Orion smiled cruelly, looking over at his personal guards. “Execute the boy.”
“No! NO!” Tristan screamed trying desperately to pull away from Orion, but the agony in her head, now accompanied by a loud, awful hum, was taking over. It obscured her vision, all of her senses, until she couldn’t see, couldn't hear, couldn't even think straight.
Chapter 37
Tristan felt a hard pull, and suddenly she was standing beside Sol, who was helping a sobbing Beckett to his feet, her voice soothing as she encouraged him on. Umbris had his other arm, and Olivia stood nearby, her arms wrapped around herself. Tristan turned, seeing herself still held captive by Orion, still desperately fighting him, screaming her head off. Feet away, another Beckett was being dragged off by Orion’s guards. The community members who remained were cowering at the far end of the clearing, afraid to move, afraid to stay. Another Sol, Umbris, Olivia, and Evander were standing in front of the group, hands linked, shielding them from whatever may come next.
“What--”
“Trinity, go!” Olivia cried. “Celes is buying you as much time as he can, but you need to go now!”
Tristan’s head swiveled to Celes, who was standing in the crowd with his eyes laser focused on Orion and other Tristan. Real Tristan? Who was that? Who was she?
“Trinity!” Olivia screamed.
Tristan sprang into action, helping Sol and Umbris help Beckett stand, and Beckett fell into her, holding her as tightly as he could.