by M. K. Easley
“I thought I lost you. I thought I lost you.” Beckett was mumbling into her hair, Tristan was weeping, and Olivia was panicking.
Evander -- another Evander? -- suddenly appeared beside them, gesturing to Beckett.
“Get on my back.”
“I’m too heavy.”
He was very heavy. Tristan could attest to this, as Beckett was currently leaning all of his weight on her.
“You’re not. Help him on,” Evander directed Umbris, who awkwardly maneuvered Beckett onto Evander’s back.
“Oceana and I will stay here. We’re going to help Celes hold Orion off if he needs it. Dad will go with you and Evander and Beckett, get you out of here and get Beckett home.” Sol spoke so quickly that Tristan, whose mind was still reeling from seeing two of her doing two very different things at once, was having trouble following. “Dad will wipe his memory once he gets him home and patched up, and he’ll plant a false memory of what happened tonight.”
Fear seized Tristan’s heart, and she shook her head.
“Let me stay. Let me stay and help Oceana and Celes. I need you to go with Dad.”
“Trinity, if Orion finds out what’s happening--”
“I’ll handle it.” Tristan cast a nervous look at Umbris, who was not paying attention to her, and she turned so her back was to him. In a low voice, she spoke as quickly as Sol had just been speaking to her. “Mom, I know I keep saying this, but I don’t have time to explain everything just now. I know, I know, you believe Dad would never betray you and break his vow about not forcing us to choose the community, but if you send him alone or just with Evander with Beckett, Dad is going to wipe Beckett’s memory back to September. He’s going to decide on the way that all of this was too risky and then he will tell you I agreed that his way was the best way, and that will start an irreversible snowball effect that will end in my… my…”
Tristan was having trouble saying it. Gods, it was so horrible, to have to tell Sol that her husband would be responsible for Tristan meeting her end the same way Adara had if Sol refused to go, but Evander had started towards the entrance of the clearing and Tristan knew it was now or never.
“My execution. I promise to explain everything to you when this is over. Please just go with Dad. And be the one to wipe Beckett’s memory if you can.”
“Trinity--”
“Mom.”
For a moment, Sol and Tristan stared at each other, Tristan willing her to take her at her word. She knew she was asking the near impossible, knew Sol did not believe that Umbris would do something so underhanded, but Tristan also knew that Sol trusted her and her judgment, and in the end she relented. Together, Sol and Tristan jogged over to Evander, Umbris, and Beckett. Beckett slid off of Evander’s shoulders, and Tristan pulled him close.
“I’ll find you when this is all over, I promise,” Tristan whispered. “Tomorrow you’ll wake up and I’ll be there.”
“I don’t want to leave you. I can’t leave you. I feel like if I go, if you stay behind, I’ll never see you again.”
“No,” Tristan said fiercely, shaking her head and letting out a small sob. “This isn’t the end. It isn’t goodbye for us, Beckett, not yet, but if you stay it could be, this time. Your shoulder… you’re running out of time. You have to go.”
“I love you.” Beckett, summoning strength Tristan didn’t know how he could possibly have left, took her chin in his hand, forcing her eyes to meet his. “I love you more than anything or anyone. If something happens to you, there will be no more me. It won’t matter about my shoulder. Tristan--”
“You need to go. I love you, too, but please, please go. Please trust me that no matter what happens or when, we’ll find each other again.”
Beckett kissed her, a kiss that reached in and wrapped gently around her very soul, and Tristan kissed him back through her tears. Letting him go, letting Umbris hoist him up onto Evander’s back and watching them all run out of the clearing, was more painful than anything else she’d endured so far.
***
“I think you owe me some answers,” Beckett said, his cheek flat against Evander’s back as they ran through the woods. Rain assailed his face, splashing into his eyes, but he barely felt it. “What the fuck is going on? Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Wallace.”
Umbris merely grunted, and Sol ignored him entirely.
“The short version is that my family… Well, we all have certain abilities, of the supernatural variety. Oceana, she is a healer, an influencer, a mind-reader. I read auras and am freakishly strong. Trinity can’t do anything. OK, she can borrow energy and get a basic reading on someone, and she can seal, which means none of us can read her thoughts, but that’s it. She used to be able to move things with her mind, but she gave it up when she was ten. My Mom and Dad can do everything we can and more.”
“What… the fuck?” Beckett said again. “So you guys are witches?”
Evander scoffed.
“Witches don’t exist. No. We just happen to have tapped into the energy of the universe, whereas most people, common people, can’t. We’re enlightened, and it’s a birthright, it’s not something you can just pick up or become. Anyway, there’s a ritual that used to be a law, but that law was abolished after Orion had his own daughter, my Mom’s sister, executed. The law had said that upon graduating high school the children in the community had to be sealed in, had to join, and the eldest children were entered into arranged marriages to breed the next generation of uncommon kids. Adara, my Mom’s sister, deflected and Orion had her killed. The Elders did away with the law immediately and it’s been optional ever since, but it's still an expectation in the families. Orion disappeared for a while, but now he’s back to fuck things up again -- sorry Mom.”
Neither Sol nor Umbris were paying attention, too busy swiveling their heads from side to side to make sure they were still in the clear.
“So then Tristan was supposed to be sealed into your secret society and marry Cameron.”
“Canton. Celes. Yes. He was chosen for her when she was ten.”
“That’s gross.”
“I agree. Anyway, we’re pretty sure Orion has been trying to have the original law restored before next month, because he’s been stalking Trinity and he knew she was planning on not joining once she graduates. He failed, and since he froze the rest of the Elders tonight, I am guessing he won’t succeed at all, let alone before next month. There’s more to the story, but that’s the gist.”
“And Tristan telling me that no matter what happens this time, or when, we’ll find each other again… did that mean something?”
Evander wasn’t even winded, and Beckett would have hated him if he wasn’t currently trying to save his life.
“Oh, yeah. There’s that too. You and Trin have a destiny connection.”
“A destiny connection? Cameron said something about that.”
“Canton,” Evander corrected, sounding exasperated. “Who goes by Celes anyway.”
“Sorry. Celes. He said those words.”
Evander nodded.
“So… what is it?” Beckett closed his eyes, so tired, the rhythm of Evander’s running lulling him to sleep.
Evander gave him a violent shake, and Beckett jumped, scowling.
“What the hell!”
“No sleeping!” Evander snapped. He ran a bit faster, his boots squelching heavily in the mud. “A destiny connection is basically a fated relationship. Not ill-fated, not star-crossed, just fated. Basically, because you and Trin have one, you can break up and date and even marry other people, but the universe has one job and one job only and that is to put you back together as many times as it needs to until it sticks. No regard for anyone else who may be involved or their feelings.”
“That sounds like a load of crap.”
“I would suggest you test it to see for yourself, but Trinity will kill me and I don’t think you want to put her or anyone else through that.”
“It’s kind of nice though. And no man, I don’
t want to test it. I want to be with Tristan until I die, which I hope isn’t tonight. I love her.”
“Talk about gross,” Evander muttered.
Very suddenly, Evander came to a halt.
“What?” Beckett slurred, not having the energy to lift his head.
“My parents are gone.”
“What?”
“They had our sides and now they’re gone.”
“Maybe we should ke--”
The woods in front of them rustled, branches cracking beneath someone’s feet, and Evander stood stockstill as Thera Crenshaw stepped out of the shadows.
“Mrs. Crenshaw?” Evander frowned.
“He’s not going to make it,” Thera said, approaching Evander, her eyes on Beckett from beneath the hood she had pulled up to shield her face from the rain.
“That’s why I’m trying--”
“No. Your running is accelerating his blood loss since no one bothered to wrap his shoulder. He’s not going to make it to your destination.”
“Where are my parents?” Evander asked suspiciously.
“They’re not far behind. They stopped to check in on what’s happening in the clearing since it was getting loud; they are going to meet you at the car.”
Evander squinted past her, the river just up ahead. He assumed Thera Crenshaw was harmless, but then tonight had proven that nothing and no one could be trusted, not really, and it was suspect as hell that she had appeared now, so close to freedom.
“I’m not here to hurt either of you,” Thera snapped, annoyed. She placed her hand on Beckett’s shoulder. Beckett, who was not moving.
“Hey!” Evander shook Beckett, yelling loudly, but Beckett didn’t stir.
“Stay still,” Thera snapped again, then muttered something to herself that Evander did not catch.
After a few minutes, Thera nodded, stepping away from the boys.
“That should last him about two hours, tops. Two hours if he's lucky, Ember. I know your parents want to take him to his house and get him cleaned up and modify his memory, but he has lost too much blood, so tell them to improvise.”
Thera looked behind him, her mouth setting in a hard line.
“Go.”
Evander didn’t wait to find out what she was looking at -- he took off running once again, jumping into the boat that he cursed for being so slow to cross the small river. He could feel Beckett breathing, even and deep, on his back, which he took as a good sign that Thera had not double-crossed them and stealthily killed Beckett while she distracted Evander.
Evander had just stepped onto the opposing bank when he heard Olivia scream in a way that made his knees go weak. His instinct was to go to her -- to leave Beckett on the riverbank and get back to his twin -- but he couldn't. He couldn’t have brought Beckett this far just to leave him alone, exposed and dying. Godsdamnit it all, Trinity, Evander thought.
“Hurry up!” Evander bellowed into the darkness, wondering where Sol and Umbris were, what was taking them so long.
The good news was that he did not have to wait long; Sol and Umbris appeared practically seconds later, jumping into the boat just as he had minutes ago. The bad news was that their faces were devoid of color, panicked in a way he’d never seen and hoped he’d never see again.
“What’s happening?” Evander asked, as they joined him on the bank.
“Orion knows,” Umbris said shortly.
“I have to go back. Take him.” Evander gently hoisted Beckett into Umbris’s arms.
“No, Ember. You stay with us.”
“I am not leaving Oceana and Trinity to fight Orion alone. Hell no. Take him and go now. Thera Crenshaw did something to keep him alive for the next two-ish hours, and told me to tell you to take him to the hospital. She said to improvise on the memory thing, but not to take him home because he won’t make it.”
Evander didn’t wait for them to respond. He started to take off once again, but Sol’s voice stopped him.
“Ember!”
Evander paused, turning to look at his Mom.
“Tell Trinity he died.”
“What?” Evander’s mouth fell open.
“You have to tell Trinity that Beckett died. It’s your only hope of defeating Orion.”
“Mom--”
“Ember.” Sol suddenly looked nervous, but she lifted her chin. “What Orion said tonight is correct. Trinity is the product of the Beltremieux’s revenge. She doesn’t know it, because her path diverted in spite of that mark, but she has an incredible power reserve that she will only be able to access tonight if she thinks she has nothing left to lose. Lie now, apologize later. You must.”
Evander nodded, knowing this was it, knowing by Olivia’s screaming that the end was coming and so far it wasn’t coming in his siblings’ favor. Sol nodded as well, knowing he understood, and Evander cleared the river in one leap, flying back to the gathering.
Chapter 38
Evander arrived to a horror show. Bodies littered the clearing, and Olivia was on the ground, convulsing as she screamed. Celes was nowhere to be found, and Tristan was several feet from Olivia, at the edge of the clearing, motionless. Her left thigh was bleeding steadily, a small crimson pool already forming on the ground beneath her. The Elders were still frozen in their blue snow globe. Some of the older community members had begun fighting Orion and his guards, and Evander used this to his advantage, skirting around the outer edge in a low run until he reached Tristan. He dragged her almost completely out of sight and then conjured ice cold water that poured on her until she came to, gasping and sputtering.
“Wha-- Ember?” Tristan looked momentarily dazed, but then panic set in, clearing the clouds from her eyes. “Ember! He has Oceana! Where's Mom and Dad? Did they get Beckett to the hospital?”
Ember briefly closed his eyes, hoping fervently Tristan would forgive him for this someday. Tristan shook his arm, her voice rising with her anxiety.
“Ember!”
“Mom--" Evander had to clear his throat to get his voice to stop sticking to the sides. “Mom and Dad got back to the car but…”
“But what?”
Tristan was already shaking her head, already starting to hyperventilate. Evander looked sick and was avoiding her eyes. She began to quake from head to toe, her complexion waxy.
“But what?” Tristan whispered, squeezing his arm tight enough to cut off the circulation.
“He didn't make it.” Evander’s voice broke, and so did Tristan. From far away, she heard him continue. “Beckett. He lost too much blood. By the time…”
Everything went black.
***
When Tristan opened her eyes again, everything was so vivid, it hurt. She squinted. It was the middle of the night, she was certain, but she could see the clearing like it was the middle of the day. The rain had stopped, the colors of the island were vibrant, more vibrant than she'd ever known they were, and the heady smell of wet earth filled her nostrils. Evander was gone, and Tristan stood, her body feeling limber, like she'd spent some time warming up her muscles and was now totally pliable. She flexed her arms, her fingers, finding them painless, just like her head. Hadn't they been hurting just a bit ago, along with the rest of her body? Hadn't there been a gnarly wound on her left leg that had been bleeding fairly steadily? Tristan looked down. Her legs were fine. Great, even, ensconced in her muddy black jeggings. Her body was familiar and foreign all at once, a mildly disconcerting but overall unsurprising feeling.
She tilted her head, listening to the sounds of fighting in the clearing straight ahead. She thought of Beckett, of the great chasm the news of his death had opened inside of her, but even that felt like someone else's memory now. She stepped through the trees and into the clearing, spotting Olivia first. She was still and silent, but Tristan could see her chest moving. She was alive. Tristan wanted to know where Evander was, and in an instant she saw him in the woods with Celes. Specifically, Evander was running Celes through the woods on his back, away from the gathering. Celes�
�s manipulation, which had allowed Beckett to get away, though all for naught, had made him enemy number one. He was smart to be fleeing.
Tristan wove her hand through the air, transporting Evander and Celes to the Crenshaw’s residence in New Orleans. No sense in them sticking around if they didn't have to. Next, she waved her hand over Olivia, sending her home to Umbris and Sol. Tristan didn't know how she knew how to do these things -- this type of ability was unheard of -- but her brain seemed to be working independently of the rest of her, moving intuitively with one goal in mind: clear the obstacles in order to kill Orion.
Tristan also swept her hands over the wounded she passed, including Monse Telarie de Maragon, who was reaching weakly for the hand of her sister, Mortua, who was dead. Her other sister, Mora, and their parents, Terminus and Noxis, were nowhere to be found. Ventis Dearing was another one who had died, the sight leaving her reeling just slightly, but Tristan kept on, moving her hand continuously as she walked, over both casualties and survivors. They would be protected now. Briefly, she thought about releasing the Elders, but her brain gave her a hard no on that one. They were safest where they were, suspended in their ball in the clearing, oblivious to Orion's rampage.
Tristan had never known a day without fear, but as she approached Orion, whose back was to her, she realized she was experiencing it now. In losing Beckett for the remainder of this lifetime, despite making every effort to protect him, Tristan had lost the only thing that had kept her standing, that had kept the ground firm beneath her feet. With her family secure now, there was nothing more Orion could take from her. Nothing more he could do to her.
Tristan had taken down his guards before they ever saw her coming, which left her and Orion alone, facing each other in their final showdown.
They raised their arms at the same time, and Orion’s eyes glowed as white as Tristan was sure hers glowed black. A bitterly cold wind, colder than anything Tristan had ever felt, colder than she was sure any human could withstand, swept towards her, and she stumbled back a bit before planting her feet and bending her knees just slightly. She ground her teeth and pushed the gust back at Orion, the air biting at her hands and face, freezing them immediately. The glacial wind was excruciating, and she began to shake violently. Her head pounded with the effort of her concentration, and she felt one of her teeth crack as she kept her jaw clenched, but she persisted, Beckett’s face in the forefront of her mind, and gradually she felt Orion start to retreat.