Spirit Followers

by Lydia Redwine

  Cam sighed, leaning forward and lacing her fingers together. “I don’t know what exactly I want. I haven’t had much time to think about it with a revolt brewing and erupting around me.”

  “You seem to want your sisters, the friends you’ve made, Cole”

  “My father, you can call him my father,” Cam cut in, a small smile lifting her lips. Peter gave her one of his own.

  “And you’ll still be my assistant when the time calls?”

  Cam scoffed. “I’m pretty certain I was the one who warned the people of Mirabelle of the revolt, and you were the one who assisted me.” Cam thought of more to say but bit her tongue, rememberinghowher warningthecitizens ofMirabellewasn’t such a heroic act after all, for Apollyon had used her. She had fallen into his trap and did exactly what his intent was for her. Nevertheless, Peter smiled.

  "Fine, partners then. Partners against the evils of the world. They're coming, Cam. I can feel it." Who exactly Peter spoke of was a mystery to them both. But he didn’t say it solemnly. He was smiling, and for the first time in a long time, Cam could smile too.

  Thirty-Nine

  “What do you think about becoming our new correspondent

  between realms?” Lord Caddell inquired of his daughter. Cam turned to her father, a smile forming on her mouth. A week had passed since their departure from Gnosi. Lord Caddell stood in her temporary room in the Royalty Realm palace while Cam sat upon her bed. He nodded. “It won’t be much work but enough for your abilities. What do you say?”

  "Yes, I would like that very much, I think," Cam agreed with a nod. This position would ensure a home in the Royalty Realm with her father and other Spirit Follower friends. The responsibility would also allow her to visit her sisters when they moved into their own homes.

  Cole chuckled. "You will start next week then. Before that, though, you and I will move into our very own home. I thought you might like it better than living in the palace."

  “Yes,” Cam replied, surmising that it would be better now that her father was a Royal and she herself was quite close to being one.

  “There’s one more thing. I forgot to tell you: you are the one performing the coronation tonight.” Cam opened her mouth to object, but her father was already laughing. “You won’t have to say anything. You just have to put crowns on our heads.” He laughed again. “By the way,” he said when he reached the doorway on his way out, “Lia told me to inform you that she will help you prepare for the celebration once we arrive. We leave in minutes.” He smiled before disappearing out of sight. Her father, along with Lia and the other appointed Spirit Followers were going to be made official rulers of our nation tonight, followed by a lively bonfire and holiday tradition in Cinis Lumen.

  “What happens after this? I mean, after the celebration," Adria

  asked, handing Cam another lantern. Cam, Adria, and Mista stood in the hollowed portion of the volcano where the entrance to Cinis Lumen was located. They were assembling lanterns to be released immediately following the coronation of the new Royals. “I don’t know really. I do not know if there is a homefor you

  toreturn to.” WithFieranowapartofCinis Lumen, Adria andMista were the only sisters of Camaria’s left with no permanent home. Cam would reside in the Royalty Realm with Cole and Lia to have as company. Peter, Saffira, and Owen, however, would be far away, leading the people of their appointed realms.

  “We can return to the castle in the Medulla Realm,” suggested Mista. Cam glanced over at Adria, wondering if she was ready to revisit the place that held so many unpleasant memories.

  "Perhaps Amelia will want to go back home too since she will not be a Royal," Adria added. "I'll speak to her tonight." Cam nodded, agreeing to their plan. It was going to be strange living without her sisters, but she knew it was to happen eventually. She supposed such a thing when she learned she was a Royal months ago. She knew even before then that one day they would be all grown up and would eventually go their separate ways. This was first made clear to Cam when Fiera made her decision to leave home and join Cinis Lumen. Perhaps with the new way their nation would be run, families would not be bitter towards transferring children. There would be a need and cause for unity.

  Hours later, Lia had insisted that Cam wear a red, form fitting gown with black lace covering the back portion and open sections of the long sleeves. The dress, though close to her legs was billowy and easy to move about in.

  Camaria was compelled to weave her way through the vibrant crowd to reach Tyron who stood a far distance off near the largest of the bonfires which had been lit for the celebration. The night sky was sprinkled with stars, and sparks breezed through the calm evening air.

  “Good evening, Miss Camaria.” Cam could barely hear the greeting over the crackling fire and commotion of the thousands of Mirabelle’s citizens in attendance. Cam returned the greeting. She noticed that Tyron seemed to be happier now, even though they both knew it would be a long time before the pain of his childrens’ death subsided. He handed Cam a velvet pillow upon which rested two crowns. The other five she would receive at the time of the other coronations.

  “Let the coronation begin!” The audience hushed at these words spoken by Tyron and crowded closer to where the latter and Cam were standing.

  "Our nation was once a place of ruin, disguised as paradise. Conflict and disarray existed among the people because of our rulers' taste for power. Our lives now rest in what we believe is best for this kingdom, a parliament of persons who understand what is right for the people. We will honor these people for their brave actions and always remember those who risked and sacrificed their lives for us." He was thinking of Cassia, his old friend, Cam's mother. She crossed Cam's mind and no doubt her father's as well.

  “Lord Cole Caddell,” Tyron declared so all can hear. Thunderous applause vibrated in the air as Cam stepped towards Cole, crown in hand. Each of the seven Spirit Followers stood before her, the bonfire to their backs. He bent his head and Cam placed the silver crown among his dark hair. When he straightened himself, he offered his daughter a smile. Cam placed on the next crown upon Lia’s dark, silky head before turning to do the same to Lia’s father. There were only three former Royals in the new court. The next four were Spirit Followers Cam had recently become acquainted with, two men and two women.

  Cheers, clapping of hands, and stomping of feet rumbled the ground. “Our new rulers!” Tyron claimed. He took another few moments to recognize the Realm leaders; himself, Heiron, Saffira, Peter, and Owen.

  “Let the celebration begin!” Owen declared, raising a glass high above his head. Cheers collided with Cam’s eardrums, drawing a smile to her lips. The next instant, pounding on drums and a chorus of song in a tongue Cam did not know rung through the air. The citizens of the south circled into rings and began dancing. Those unfamiliar with the customs of Cinis Lumen celebration were pulled into the rings to learn the dance.

  Cam took to roaming through the crowd until she found Peter who was bent over on a log beside a smaller bonfire. He raised his glass to Cam as she peered down at him.

  “Owen hasn’t asked you to dance?” he asked.

  “I was hoping you would.”

  He grinned up at her and shrugged. He took her extended

  hand, and together they darted for a section of dancers which were partnered up and danced around the flames. Peter grasped Cam’s hands in his own, and they began mimicking the movements of those around them. Their feet picked up the pace that the pounding drums had set.

  Voices now sang in words Cam knew. The people sang of freedom and joy and peace and love. Their chants grew wilder as Cam’s breath became shorter, and she laughed with Peter when he swung her into his arms. He was smiling, his heart just as overflowing as hers. She wondered then what it would have been like had she not left home all those months ago. She would have never met him, and undoubtedly, he would not be alive now. A smile pressed to her lips as her eyes sparkled with the stars.

  His gleamed with firel
ight as hers glowed iridescent white. That moment could have quite possibly been the happiest of her life.

  Caleb found Fiera shortly after the coronation before flames by

  which older citizens of the south were conversing. He handed her a glass of amber liquid: Cinis Lumen’s choice celebratory beverage. “I’ll be living here now. You’ll get to see me every day,” Fiera said.

  “That’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be,” Caleb replied. “Perhaps since we’ll be in such close quarters we will be forced to be friends.”

  “Iwouldhardly callthethis place ‘closequarters,’” remarked Fiera. Caleb only smiled.

  “At least you don’t have to marry now.” Fiera nodded, feeling the now familiar trendle of thrill flickering in her heart and veins.

  “Would you dance with me?” Caleb asked suddenly.

  Fiera turned her attention to him. He was standing now, his hand outstretched. “You may as well learn how to celebrate as your own people.” She hesitated only an instant before she slipped her handintohis. “Inever toldyouthisbut, Iconsider youto bea rather decent dancer,” he remarked with a wry smile. “I think I’m a splendid dancer as well.”

  Fiera tried to glare, but her own lips turned upward.

  Over the course of several minutes, he patiently taught her the steps that the others were also taking. She only scowled a few times and didn't glare when he laughed. “For two people so different, I would have never imagined we could make such a good pair in dancing,” she remarked when they had finally fallen into rhythmic steps with one another.

  Caleb shrugged. “We have our differences, but we can overcome them.”

  At this moment, he halted and bent forward, brushing his lips softly across her cheek. He pulled away. “Mista has made me promise to dance with her during the next song.” He released Fiera’s hand and walked away.

  Fiera smiled after him, and cursed herself for the warmth surging into her chest.

  Yes, she decided they would be friends.

  Two weeks after the coronation and celebration, Camaria and her

  father had made their new living quarters within a stone house in a secluded part of the Royalty Realm. Cam was called to the palace during the day to meet with the Realm leaders and the Royals. Official restoration of the nation was to begin shortly. Cam was notified that she would leave soon for an entire two months to begin her duties as the nation's correspondent between the Royalty Realm and the other four outlying regions. Owen, Saffira, and Peter were prepared to take their positions as Realm leaders, and the Royals had already begun planning Cam's next journey through Mirabelle.

  Cam joined the group in a private dining room. They sat around a table which was covered in documents and ink. “Camaria, you will begin in Cinis Lumen and make your way through the other realms. You leave in three days’ time.” She was handed a map and list of supplies she would need to take along.

  “Do you fully understand your tasks, Camaria?” Lia’s father inquired. After assuring him that she did, he dismissed her. She departed from the room, aiming to return to her new home for a much needed rest. But Saffira was walking towards her, a smiling brightening her eyes which were golden in the shaft of light falling through the window. Cam had not spoken to her since the celebration following the coronation. And even then it had been but a brief greeting. Shehadn’t been ableto thank theyoung woman for everything.

  “Tortured, though not severely by Barak’s men.” Saffira pausedher answer to Cam’s question regardingwhat hadhappened to her following Cam and Peter’s flight, Saffira drew in a rather shaky breath. “Riah helped meescape. He also…” Saffira locked her gaze with Cam’s. “He buried your grandfather. As for the rest of what I did, you can guess.” She laughed brightly as if summoning Tyron Ardor and his army to the north was but a small feat.

  “Will you visit Riah?” Cam inquired carefully. Saffira’s face remained impassive and unreadable as she continued to gaze at the frosted grounds of the courtyard just beyond the throne room windows where they stood. “I do not know.”

  Cam did not press the subject. Instead, she asked, "I wonder how difficult it would have been to live in Gnosi and disagree with their ideals."

  Saffira smiled slightly. “I didn't completely disagree, but…” “You could not say all that you wante d to. It was a place that smothered...standing up for what you believe.”

  Saffira nodded. “I find it harder to believe half of their truth than to not believe it at all.” With a sigh she added, “But there is no better time to be bold and free than when one is young and those around them feed the false concept that truth is whatever they feel.”

  Cam felt her chest warming, a smile forming the match Saffira’s. “When do you and Peter return to Gnosi?”

  “Tomorrow. I hope I’m sufficient for what they need. I’m happy with theposition.But what about you?” Camtoldhershewas merely thankful that the revolt had been brought to an end.

  "There seems to be something missing, though," Saffira said with a shrug.

  After a long pause, Cam said, "Thank you, Saffira, for all that you did."

  Saffira smiled and her eyes glistened. "Oh, it was no problem. You know, except for the fact that I was exhausted, wounded, hungry, and cold. It needed to be done."

  Saffira had saved many lives...

  As if changing the subject she added, “I guess now all there is left to do after getting things in order is to find theCaelaeCrown.” Cam found that she had forgotten about the artifact. Saffira left the subject be. “I wonder what the lands outside of Mirabelle are like.” She wondered this almost wistfully. She turned to grin at Cam. “Now that the doves are free, maybe they can be explored.”

  “The Prince of the Infernal Cities, also called the Master by his legions as initiated two separate plans to cease the coming Savior from saving the human race. The first was to destroy the line of humans by mating with the mortal women. The second was to hunt the sixteen prophets and learn all he could of the Savior’s arrival so that he may stop it. This too has failed. And now, I fear, he is searching for the Crown of Caelae, for its prophecy he has discovered.”

  -The Scarlet Spy

  Forty

  Fourmonths later…

  Cam awoke with a sudden jerk. She sat up, straight as a wall, panting for breath. She felt as though she were on fire despite the cool, spring breeze drifting through the open windows in the darkened room. She panted as though she had run for miles. Tears covered her pillow and spilled over her cheeks. When would she cease encountering nightmares? Usually, she dreamt of being dragged into a small structure and being beaten to death. Sometimes, it was Peter who was being tortured, and Cam was forced to watch. She had dreamed a couple times about being in the Valley of the Shadow, watching her sister slip from life. But ever since arriving in the Medulla Realm for a two-week visit, her dreams had taken another turn.

  Instead, she dreamt that she had taken Terra's place and that her own parents had sold her to those who desired her for their own pleasure. When Cam awoke, she told herself such a thing wasn't reality. And it wasn't, not then, but it had been. It had been real for Terra. Cam was not crying for fear as she had when drifting through dreams of war and slaughter. She was mourning the loss of innocence. Terra was only fourteen when she was sold, and for three years she had to suffer long nights with strangers who wanted nothing more than her physical aspects. Her sister kept this secret. Only she and her parents knew. Cam's heart ached for her; for her early demise and that her childhood was cut short.

  Finally, Cam forced the dream from her mind but still felt as though a knife had been plunged into her flesh and into the very depths of her heart. Whoever drove the knife into her turned it over and over again, pushing it further, tipping her over the edge of sanity. Silva must have told Cam for a reason. She wanted Cam to know of Terra's past. Perhaps she knew that after the battle if Cam survived, she would slip into the past over and over again. She had successfully accomplished this. She had als
o fueled Cam's growing hatred for her. After such dreams, all Cam could think of was revenge. It was possible Silva had died in the war, but no one ever actually saw her body. She could be alive and vivid as she was in Cam's dreams.

  Cam thrust the covers of her bed back and swung her sweating legs over the edge, pressing her feet to the cold floor. She was in her own room, the room she had occupied all her childhood. Sweeping a mass of black hair off her neck, Cam tip-toed out of bed and into the hall. The small castle she used to call home was silent. The memories haunting the halls lurked over and under her. They suffocatedher fromallsides. Camdidn’t knowwhereshewas going, but she knew she must escape. She knew she wasn’t thinking quite clearly. She stumbled down the circular stairs and through the hall where she found the back door. She burst through it into the moonlight dipped garden.

  Above her loomed the tree of Medulla; the tree which provided their realm's magic in the form of silvery fruit and shimmering sap, full of minerals. Cam drew in a long breath of midnight air and allowed the breeze to cool her tear-stained face. She was shaking somewhat when she forced herself to sit upon the ground. The damp, prickly grass brushed against her bare legs. She stared up beyond the tree at the starry sky which looked far more brilliant in Gnosi. She had been in Gnosi not too long ago.

  "What are you doing out here?" Owen's voice sliced the silence of the night. He startled Cam to the point where she whirled her head around. He emerged from the trees, holding a blanket. He tossed it to her, and she accepted it gratefully since she was only wearing a long tunic that barely hung over her thighs. "Nightmares?" Cam nodded. "I have them too, every night." He sighed bending to sit beside Cam. Anyone who fought in the battle against Apollyon's army had them. Owen didn't have the same kind of terrible imagery in sleep that Cam did. He didn't know about Terra. At times, Cam almost told him. Owen had loved her sister. It was probable that Terra knew of Owen's feelings but refused to allow herself to love him, not with the secrets she possessed. Every time Cam was tempted to reveal her sister's past, she choked up, not desiring to bring about the truth of Terra's early adolescent years. It would hurt Owen. And that was the last thing either of them needed.