Henry shrugged. “Just a year.”
Calvin turned to me. “What is she like back there? Is she different?”
I selected my words carefully. “To be honest, she was miserable without you. She was only a shell of how she used to be.”
“But she relied on you. You two were close.”
Uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation, I shifted my weight. “Yeah, because she needed someone to lean on.”
“She did not lean on me the way she leaned on you.” Henry surprised me. Usually he was so careful about what he said. Maybe the seriousness of our situation made him more open.
“She came to me when she was upset, but she also felt guilty about it.” She didn’t need to. I liked being the one she turned to for support.
Calvin smiled slightly. “She did not need to feel guilty. I would never hold it against her. I love her more than anything.”
“I know.” Despite how much I wished it weren’t true, it was. That did nothing to lessen my jealousy or my need.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Charlotte
I slowly became aware of my body again as I was pulled from the water.
“Charlotte!”
“Calvin?” My mind struggled to make sense of all of the new information. I felt as though an entire textbook on being an Essence had been inserted into my brain. After a few more seconds, the sensation disappeared, and I felt normal again. “How long was I in there?”
“Not long, but it was scary enough. Did you get the information we need?”
“Kind of.”
“What does that mean?” Henry asked.
“I need to find the Source.”
“Didn’t you just talk to the Source?” Liam asked.
“It said the actual… wait. That’s it. The other Source. Calvin, where is the source of this waterfall?”
He took off his shirt and tried to use it to dry me off. “At the top of the mountain. It is not part of any other river. It starts at the top of the mountain and flows through the city. It is said the water is so connected to the Source because it comes from it directly.”
“It does.” I was positive. “I need to get up there. I have to find the source.”
Calvin nodded. “We can make it up there.”
I refused to look any of them in the eye. “I have to go alone.”
“No. Liam and I will go with you.” Calvin said it with such determination, but why would he say both him and Liam? Why not just him?
“I can do this alone.”
Calvin took both my hands in his. “This is not a matter of ability. We will not allow you to go alone.”
“I need to find Kevin first. I need to give him instructions.”
“So you know what to do with the Onyx?” Liam asked.
“I do. The challenge is going to be timing everything right.”
“We have not heard from Kevin yet, but that is good news. We feared you would run out of time.” Calvin pulled me into his arms, and I enjoyed the way his hands stroked my back.
“I need to get a message to him.”
“I can do it.” Henry sounded so adult. I guessed we all did by that point.
“We need to set up a signal. He’ll have to put the Onyx on Blake while Blake is submerged in the river. But it has to be done at exactly the right moment.”
“We do need a signal,” Liam said. “But what can carry that far?”
“Can you still do that weird bird call you used to do?” I remembered Liam annoying all the neighborhood dogs with it when we were kids.
He nodded. “Yeah, I can still do it.”
“Henry, tell Kevin what I just told you. He needs to get Blake in the river with the Onyx pressed against him. He has to wait until he hears Liam’s annoying sound. He’ll get it.”
Liam raised an eyebrow. “Annoying sound?”
“Don’t argue with me now.”
Liam smiled slightly. “Okay.”
“I will get him the message.” Henry bowed his head as though he were going off on his final mission.
I prayed he wasn’t, but I realized death was always a possibility. We had no idea what was waiting for us out there.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Kevin
We were out of time. Our swords were no match for the swarms of zombies around us. Samantha and Tomas should have been there with the dragons. We were relying on them to get Charlotte out. I didn’t have the chance to check my watch, but I knew too much time had passed.
“Where are they?” I asked Monty when he was within shouting distance.
Monty cut off two more zombie heads on his way over to me. “They’ll be here. Your parents are supposed to give them the signal.”
“What happened to you? How did you make it back?” I was definitely getting used to killing the undead when I could make conversation while doing it. Too bad every time I killed one, another stepped up to take its place.
“Blake’s men got us. We convinced them we were the only ones. Your dad was incredible. He even had a fake Onyx. Talen and his friends got us free.”
“Yeah?” I readied my sword as another wave of zombies circled us. “Talen found his buddies?”
Monty laughed. “Yes, Kevin, he found the other Arcos Stan knows.”
There was so much more to say. I wanted to ask him about witnessing the murder and hiding it from Mom, but it definitely wasn’t the right time.
Monty pointed up at the sky. “Here we go.”
I looked up to see the dragons circling. “What’s the plan?”
“We lead these undead scum outside the city walls and then let the dragons do their thing.”
A light bulb went on in my mind, and it all fit. “Fire.”
“Yes. We cannot allow them to use it within the city. They’d destroy the place.”
“Damn.” One of the zombies got in a jab while I was distracted. He hit me right in my rib cage, and from the feel of it, the wound was deep. I thanked him by cutting off his arm and head. I decided to hide the pain. If Monty knew I was injured, he might do something stupid. “How do we do it? We can’t exactly walk out through the gates, can we?”
Monty grinned. “Sure we can.”
I followed his gaze in time to see the gates to the city open. “Who?”
“Your dad.” He started walking backward, glancing over his shoulder. “Time to lead the cattle out.”
We moved toward the gate. I hoped that no one was bothering Charlotte, but I had to trust that Samantha and Tomas were monitoring that from the air. Keeping Charlotte safe was in everyone’s best interests. Eventually, we reached the gates and met up with some serious amounts of reinforcements. And not just the Resistance. Thousands of other men stood waiting for the zombies, who filed out of the city as if in a parade.
We led them out toward the plains, hoping to avoid any living casualties. When we were satisfied we were far enough from Bellgard, we took any shelter we could find while still fighting off the zombies. Finally, the dragons swooped in. Their nostrils widened as liquid fire sprayed out.
The temperature rose at least ten degrees as the entire grassy field was set ablaze. The sight, sound, and smell of burning zombies made bile rise in my throat. It was all worth it, though. We just needed to keep the rest of our people safe.
Huddled behind some rocks, I finally let myself take a look at the gash in my side. I ripped a long strip off my shirt. I just needed to slow the bleeding long enough to take care of Blake. I glanced up, hoping Samantha was okay. Who the hell knew what happened to a dragon when it breathed fire?
***
Henry found me as I made my way back toward the city. “Kevin!”
“Henry? Where’s Charlotte? Why aren’t you with her?”
“She is fine. I have a message.”
I listened as Henry explained how I was supposed to submerge Blake in water with the Onyx. I had to laugh when he mentioned Liam’s annoying sound. That was a blast from the past.
“So w
e actually need to hunt down Blake,” I said. It still felt strange that we weren’t running from him.
“I guess so. Charlotte made it sound easy, but I doubt it is going to be easy to hold Blake down.”
“Me either, but we don’t have a choice.”
Monty appeared beside me. “We can do this.”
“We’re not using Mom to lure him out again.”
“No, we’re not. But we won’t have to.”
“What makes you think that?” I asked.
“Haven’t you noticed something?”
I looked around. All the fires were out. “Wait. Blake put those out?”
“Well, it wasn’t Charlotte, and I don’t know anyone else with the power to do that.”
We walked back toward the gate. I tried to ignore the ache in my side, grateful that the wound wasn’t from a Guardian sword. That would have been far worse.
We found Blake easily. I expected him to behave like a coward, hiding behind his men, but he stood waiting for us by the gate. That couldn’t be a good thing. He’d only do that if he was feeling particularly confident.
He sneered at me. “You look just like that pathetic father of yours.”
I didn’t even give him a response.
“I have to admit you are good with a sword, though. You have Winthrop in you for sure.”
I tightened my grip on my sword. “What’s your point?”
“I have an offer.”
Monty grunted. “Don’t play these games, Blake.”
“No games. I am just going to offer him a choice.”
“A choice?” I scoffed. “I don’t want any choice you give me.”
He laughed. “Even if it means saving yourself…. and your sister?”
“There’s no way you’d do that. Charlotte and I stand in your way.”
“Not necessarily. An Essence would be handy, particularly one who was on my side.”
“You want Charlotte to be your Essence? Are you sick in the head? She’s seventeen.”
He made a face. “Do you think I care for what she can physically offer? That is nonsense. I want her power. Her pretty face will not bother me, but I do not care how little I see it other than when she works for me.”
I took a step toward him. “There’s no chance Charlotte would ever work with you.”
Monty edged up next to me. “Joke’s over, Blake.”
“Are you sure about that, Kevin? I offer you and your sister a future. You do realize what the other option is…”
“Death. Yeah, except I’m not scared of you.”
“You are not?” His lips curled into a cruel smile. “Yet you can barely stand with that wound. How do you expect to stop me?”
“I can stand fine.” I’d hoped no one had noticed.
“I do not think so.” Blake closed his eyes.
I felt a choking sensation. My eyes watered, and my hands went to my throat. Suddenly, Monty crashed into me, pushing me aside. I could breathe, but I would have traded my breath for what I saw. Sprawled on the ground, I watched Monty wriggling in agony as his body hung suspended in air.
“No!” I reached for my sword and threw it straight at Blake’s chest.
With his eyes closed, Blake wasn’t prepared for the attack, and he fell backward onto the cobblestone walkway. Monty’s body crashed to the ground.
I ran over to my uncle. I panicked when I saw his blank eyes staring up at the sky. “Monty?”
No answer.
“Monty, please.”
“He’s dead.” Henry stood immobile, watching in shock.
“No.” I shook Monty’s body, but there was still no response.
I spun around, looking for the man who had killed my uncle. Blake slowly stood, pulling my sword from his chest as if it were merely a splinter. He tossed the sword to the side and looked at me with an expression of pure satisfaction. I stepped toward him, still in shock. I grabbed Blake and slammed his head down on the rocky ground. I looked around. Hopefully, Charlotte was in place and ready to go. I dragged Blake over to the river, my anger and hurt giving me the strength I needed for the task.
Blake thrashed underneath me as I tried to keep him down in the water. He’d just killed my uncle, a man I’d loved my whole life. Monty may not have been perfect, but he had been a good man. I couldn’t let Blake go. I couldn’t let him hurt anyone else.
Blake cackled, his eyes turning a hazy gray. “You cannot do it. Even if you had the nerve, you cannot kill me.”
“Yes, I can. We know what to do.” Even as I said it, I worried. Charlotte seemed so sure of herself, so set, but she wouldn’t tell anyone what she’d learned from the scroll.
“She does not have it in her.”
“Of course she does. Charlotte can do anything.” She’d proven herself as one of the strongest people I’d ever met.
“You do not know, do you? You do not know what she is supposed to do.” He laughed louder.
I pushed him down farther into the water. He struggled, but I refused to give up. What was Blake talking about?
I waited for the signal. It felt like an eternity, but it was probably minutes. I pulled the Onyx out of my pocket and showed Blake. For the first time, I saw fear in his eyes. Finally, Liam made his call, and I pressed the Onyx onto Blake’s chest. The water turned an inky black, then a surge of light temporarily blinded me, but I held the Onyx in place. Blake stopped fighting, and his body settled limply in the river.
“No!” Charlotte’s scream broke through the air.
I let go and took off up the mountain.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Charlotte
I was ready to jump. I was ready to jump in the river and make the sacrifice the scroll had described. Giving my light to the river would cause a new Essence to be born, an Essence that could rule without the darkness of Blake.
I said my goodbyes silently, unwilling to tip off either Liam or Calvin to what I was about to do. I wanted to do more, to hold them both close to me, to tell them that they meant the world to me. I hoped that they’d understand my choice.
“Make the signal,” I ordered Liam.
Instead of making the bird call, he held me back, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist from behind. I knew in that moment what was happening. Calvin had figured it out. His eyes said it all as his hand enveloped mine. I squeezed it, unwilling to let go of the man I loved. He let go and walked to the water.
I screamed, but Liam never loosened his hold. He made the bird call as Calvin dove into the river. The blinding light told me everything I needed to know—Calvin had given his light so I wouldn’t have to give mine. The dark clouds began to part, and the water turned completely black before settling into a fluorescent hue.
I tried to follow him, but Liam still held me. He whispered something in my ear, but I didn’t hear him. His words were drowned out by the endless beating of my heart. A heart breaking into a million pieces.
I finally broke away from Liam and ran to grab Calvin’s body before it could disappear over the falls. His eyes were closed, and he almost looked as if he were sleeping.
Pain like I’d never imagined. That’s the only way I can describe how I felt as I held Calvin’s limp body in my arms. He was more than a friend, more than a lover, more than anything. He was part of me in a way I couldn’t possibly find the words to express.
I heard voices behind me, then hands gripped me, but all that mattered was the body of the man who held my heart. He was still wet from the water. Black liquid dripped down his chest and soaked into my shirt. I concentrated, convinced I could find a way to make that water fix everything. I was the Essence; I should be able to do that. I just wasn’t trying hard enough.
Eventually, the voices died down, the hands disappeared, and I was alone. I kept seeing his eyes—those beautiful green eyes that I’d do anything to see open again. How could I possibly go on without him?
It couldn’t be over. I could still feel a strong sense of wholeness I shouldn’t have fel
t. I remembered Mom telling me about when she’d lost her Gerard—about the numbness, the emptiness that never completely disappeared. I felt cold and lost, but there was still something making me feel strong. I shook him. He had to still be there.
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