Caleb went one better and opened the door.
“Are you Caleb?” she said, wanting to be sure.
“Yeah, what’s wrong?”
“Your mother’s in trouble. She tried to convince the camp that talking to the Elders was the best way forward, but they turned on her. She and a couple of others are injured and locked up, we need to go rescue them.”
Caleb didn’t even bat an eyelid.
“You drive.”
Jumping into her car, the pair of them shot off at speeds that Caleb was sure were illegal in both Italy and France. Whoever this woman was, she cared deeply enough about his Mom and those who were hurt to risk a police chase. Hell, if they attracted the attention of the police, maybe they could arrest whoever had mutinied.
They managed to make it all the way back to camp without getting arrested, so they hopped out and took cover. It had gone dark while they were driving, so that helped to hide them from anyone walking by.
The place was still bustling with people, preparing for their attack in the morning. It seemed like whatever they did now, they couldn’t stop this battle from happening. The most important thing was getting his Mom and her friends out of the camp alive so that they could live to fight another day.
“Over here,” the woman whispered, skirting around the back of a couple of tents before coming to a stop at the edge.
“See that tent over there?” she asked him.
It was obvious which one she meant as there were two guards outside.
“Yeah.”
“I’m going to circle round and get behind the guard furthest away from us. When you see me move, you take out the other one. We can’t be heard or else we won’t make it out of the camp.”
“Understood.”
The woman vanished, leaving him crouched behind the tent. He couldn’t see any outlines of people in the tent in the lamplight. All he could do was hope that they were still in there and that they managed to take down these guards silently, as the woman planned.
It took a few minutes, but finally Caleb saw her start to rise out from behind a crate, prowling like a tiger out of the long grass. He moved quickly, keeping in the guard’s blind spot as he snuck up on him and covered his mouth, restricting his arms so he couldn’t flail. Eventually, he fell unconscious.
The woman hadn’t been so gentle, electing to knock the other guard out with a blow to the head. Other than a crack, they made no noise whatsoever.
Caleb pulled open the tent’s zipper to find three very sore looking people all lying on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs and their feet bound together so they couldn’t escape. The man was unconscious, but his Mom and a young Indian girl both looked at them when they entered.
“Eshe!” the girl exclaimed but was immediately shushed by all of them.
“Caleb, thank God,” his Mom said quietly, closing her eyes for a moment.
The open wound on her head must have been throbbing.
Part of Caleb wanted to turn back around and go kick some camper ass for what they had done to these three, but he knew that wouldn’t do any of them any good. Instead, he pulled a pocket knife from his jacket and began to cut their plastic bindings.
“Aaren?” Eshe murmured as she crouched over the unconscious man, gently touching his cheek. “Aaren, wake up.”
“They beat him long after Diana blacked out. I don’t know how he’s alive,” the girl whimpered.
“We’ll get him back to our healers, he’ll be fine,” Caleb told her.
It looked like she needed to hear something hopeful in order to get her through their escape, so he decided he could do that for her.
His Mom squeezed his hand when he set her free. He reached up to get a better look at the gash at her hairline.
“I’ll be alright,” she said. “At least now we’ll have matching scars.”
Caleb would have snorted if the situation hadn’t been so serious.
“Eshe and I will get Aaren, you two make sure that the coast is clear.”
“Of course,” his Mom said, nudging the girl towards the opening.
While they were peeking outside, Caleb moved in to help Eshe get the big guy on his feet. It felt like they were trying to lift a horse.
“All right,” he grunted. “Let’s go.”
When his Mom was sure that there was no one else in sight, they made a break for the trees. They needed to be hidden as quickly as possible, as carrying Aaren wasn’t exactly inconspicuous. The man had to be at least six-foot-two and he was twice Eshe’s size, which made moving him a difficult task.
They pegged it as fast as they could, almost making there, but then they heard angry cries coming from the camp behind them.
“Move, move, move,” Caleb called out, trying to pick up the pace.
As they rounded a corner on the path, the parking lot came into view, but lights were starting to flicker from behind them as the campers gave chase.
“Someone get in the driver’s seat,” he said as he did his best lumping Aaren into the back seat.
His Mom did as he asked, the young girl waiting by the passenger seat. They managed to position Aaren so that his head was in Eshe’s lap and his feet were tucked inside before Caleb slammed the door shut. Running around to the front, he climbed into the passenger seat and pulled the girl in with him, sitting her in between his legs. He just about managed to close his door before his Mom gunned it, tyres screeching against the road as they zoomed as far away from the camp as quickly as possible.
Once they were sure that they weren’t being followed anymore, his Mom asked, “Everyone okay?”
“Just drive,” Eshe said. “I’ll do what I can to help keep him alive, but it’ll take more than just me to heal these wounds.”
Caleb hadn’t realised that Eshe was a healer, but he knew she was right. If Aaren was going to make a full recovery, then he needed all the healers they could provide.
As he twisted his head back round to focus on the road ahead, he realised the girl in front of him was shaking.
“Hey,” he said, wrapping his arms around her to comfort her. “What’s your name?”
“Priya.”
“Everything’s going to be fine, Priya.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because when we’re united, we can do anything.”
Caleb briefly looked across at his Mom and found that she was smiling.
“My son is right. Whatever happens now, we’ll get through it together.”
“Together,” Eshe agreed.
Priya leaned her head back against Caleb’s chest and whispered, “Together.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Will had never thought he would see the inside of the Citadel, not like this, not as an ally to those he had been helping to plot against. Without Hallie, he wouldn’t be here. They had taken the opportunity to catch up after Ezra and Caleb finished questioning him. It was 3am by the time they went to sleep. They had barely even scratched the surface, but it had to be enough for now.
Everything was up in the air. If all went to plan, then there would be no fight, according to Caleb. But they had to continue on preparing until they knew either way.
He had volunteered to help Kiara with whatever she was up to because he wanted the chance to talk to her properly. Hallie loved her so much, he wanted to understand why.
They had ended up in the armory, locking away all the weapons so that they couldn’t be used against them. All that was spared were stun guns, to help protect those who hadn’t been trained to fight or weren’t yet ready to take on people in hand to hand combat. Apparently, they had several new recruits come in recently who all needed extra protection. This wasn’t the sort of welcome they had been expecting.
“Here, let me take that,” Will said, pointing to the particularly big box of ammo she was about to attempt to lift. “Can’t have you blowing out your back.”
“Wouldn’t that be ironic?” she snorted.
“Ye
ah, I’ll spare you having to explain that to Master Mahmid.”
Once it was safely stowed away in the underground locker, with all the rest of the stuff that they had moved so far, he said, “Time for a break?”
“Yeah, I could do with a moment to breathe.”
The pair of them sat down on a bench near the door, passing a bottle of water between them. Kiara flapped her loose t-shirt around, trying to cool down.
“Hallie told me that you only found out that you were a Chosen back in March?”
“Yeah, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind adventure,” she said, looking up at him.
“The gala was your first mission?”
“Mmhmm. I was promised smooth and easy, it was sort of anything but.”
“No kidding.”
“I know what happened that night was awful for Caleb, but the fact that it led us here, to you being with us and his Mum possibly on her way too, I can’t help but be grateful that it happened. Family is so important.”
“I agree,” Will said. “If I hadn’t bumped into you, then I probably never would have seen Hallie again.”
“And she would have been much worse off for it,” she said. “Seriously, she’s so happy that you’re back, Will.”
“Me too,” he smiled. “But I don’t think she would have been as happy as she has been the last couple of years if she hadn’t had you around. You should hear her gush about you, you’d never stop blushing.”
“Oh, believe me, she does it when I’m around. I wasn’t very good at handling it at first, but I got used to it.”
“Why weren’t you very good at handling it?”
“I guess because it was just me and my Mum for the longest time. My Mum loved me, and I loved her, but she was never very good at showing it. I didn’t know why until I found out about all this. The secrets she felt like she had to keep put this distance between us, because she was always lying. So, when Hallie burst into my life, all hugs and kisses, I was a bit ‘whooaaa’ at first.”
“Understandable.”
“But I love it now. I’ve even got better at doing all that with other people.”
“You should try going around to Hallie’s Mum’s house on a holiday like Easter or Christmas. They get the whole family round, from all over the world. You walk in the door and it’s just hug after hug after hug. When I was a kid, I used to be all ‘bleehhh’ about it, as nine-year-old boys do. But it became my favourite part of spending time over in the US.”
“I’ll have to get Hallie to finally take me home for Christmas,” Kiara laughed.
“Do it, you won’t regret it.”
“Maybe it’ll even be the three of us?” she suggested.
“If we’re lucky,” he nodded.
“Have you talked to any of your other family since you arrived here?” she asked.
“No, not yet. I haven’t been able to work up the nerve.”
Will wasn’t sure what her response was going to be, but she looked at him sympathetically.
“I can’t tell you how they’re going to react,” she said. “When I found out that my Aunt Lily had been missing from my life all these years because of a promise she’d made to my Mum, I was angry at first. But Hallie made me see that it was better to forgive her than to not have her at all. If I was your parents, I’d want to be put out of my misery, because whatever you’ve done to them, they still love you and want you back.”
It hadn’t taken long, but Will understood now why Hallie loved Kiara. They were perfect for each other.
“You’re right,” he said.
Kiara looked pleased.
Reaching behind her, she pulled her phone from her pocket and offered it to him.
“There’s no time like the present.”
Will stared at it for a minute before taking it, clutching it in his hand.
“I’ll give you some privacy,” she said.
His eyes trailed after her as she left. It was crazy that someone so young could be so wise, but then he supposed that circumstance had made her that way. He briefly considered not doing it and just sitting there for a while, but if he could be brave enough to turn his back on Diana for Hallie, then he could certainly handle one phone call to his Dad to let him know he was okay.
With each ring, Will began to think that the man wasn’t actually going to pick up. Instead he would have to leave a message. Should he leave a message? Would he have the time to try again later?
“Hello?”
Oh.
Will’s words suddenly got caught in his throat, which meant that all his Dad heard on the other end of the line was silence.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” he asked, impatiently.
“Yeah,” Will choked. “Yes, Dad. It’s me.”
The line crackled in the absence of any speech. Waiting for a response was torturous.
“Will, is that really you?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“How do I know that this is not just another hoax?”
They’d had hoax callers? Jeez, some people were absolute shits.
“Uhhh,” he had to come up with something only him and his Dad knew. “On my eleventh birthday, we went out to Victoria Rock, just the two of us, to go camping. The last evening we were there, we lay out under the stars and you told me that having Hallie and I was the best thing that you had ever done in your life.”
A soft sob from the other end of the line made his own eyes sting with tears.
“Will, it’s you.”
“Yeah, it’s me,” he said, barely keeping it together.
“I’m so sorry, son. Whatever I said or did to make you think that you weren’t wanted, I’m so unbelievably sorry.”
“No, Dad, I’m the one that needs to apologise. I should never have disappeared like that and made you all worry. I can’t even--”
“Will, stop. It’s okay. I’m just… I’m so happy to hear your voice.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Their heavy breathing filled the quiet before his Dad spoke again.
“I don’t know where you are right now or what you’re doing, but son, come home,” he said.
“I can’t yet, I have something really important that I have to do, but as soon as it’s over, I’m on the first flight. I promise.”
“I’ll hold you to it.”
~
Hallie let out a massive sigh when she placed the last box of medical supplies down in the back corner of the infirmary. She and Lily had been shifting stuff around all afternoon in an effort to make sure everything was ready. Caleb had come by earlier to tell them about his call with his Mom, but they couldn’t take any chances. If Diana wasn’t successful, then it was likely that her camp would make a move immediately. They had to be prepared for all sorts of injuries. While those residing in the Citadel had been told to disarm, and disable if necessary, her camp wasn’t going to be fighting fair.
She hoped that the training that Alastair had been able to give her was enough. The Scot had decided not to come with them and she supported that decision. It wasn’t worth the risk. She did wish that she could talk to him though. Some of his guidance, however growly, would be welcome right now.
“You’re going to make Alastair proud, don’t worry,” Lily said.
It was hard to know when she was listening in, but Hallie didn’t mind. There wasn’t a lot that she kept private about her life and she wouldn’t hide anything from Lily.
“I don’t know. It still felt like we were only really getting started.”
“He would tell you that the best way to truly get better at this is to go out there into the field and learn on the job. If the fight goes ahead, then you’ll learn very quickly what you are capable of doing,” she said.
“I really hope it doesn’t,” Hallie said.
“I know, me too. If she and Ezra and the others can figure it all out, then it could mean exciting new things for all of us.”
“But particularly you and Caleb,” Hallie smiled.
“
Yeah,” Lily said, choosing not to be coy for once.
“You really like him, huh?”
“To be honest, I had begun to give up hope that anyone like Caleb would come into my life. I could never get serious with anyone because…” she tapped her head. “But then he walked into in my shop and bam! It was practically instantaneous. His mind was just so… beautiful.”
“I sort of know what you mean, it was like that for me and Kiara too. Cupid hit me with one of those ridiculous little heart arrows of his and suddenly all I could think about was her. What she was doing, when I was going to see her next, the way that she smiled… I’d never felt like that before and I’m not sure I’m ever going to feel like that again.”
Lily looked sad for her.
“I know that the day we lose her will be one of the hardest of our lives, but don’t count your heart out, Hallie. Maybe someday you’ll have a different love for another.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
There was a crashing sound from outside in the hallway, then a yelp, and she heard Caleb curse loudly.
“What the hell?” Hallie said, both her and Lily running over to the door.
Caleb was stumbling down the corridor trying to support a very tall man between him and a tiny, young woman. The guy was beaten and bloody, he looked like he was barely alive.
“Oh my God!”
Hallie met them halfway, taking over from the woman so that their new patient wasn’t sagging so much on the one side.
“What happened?”
“The camp turned against Diana,” the woman said between deep breaths. “Caleb had to come rescue us.”
“Jeez. Where’s your Mom?”
“She’s fine, she said she was going to find somewhere to wash up,” Caleb said.
The elevator pinged again, and another woman ran out of it, catching up with them quickly.
“How’s he doing?” she asked.
“I can barely feel anything,” Hallie said. “He’s slipping away.”
They picked up the pace, squeezing through the doorway so they could lift the man up and place him on the cot that Lily was standing by.
“You, whatever your name is, start on his chest, I’ll take his head,” the older woman ordered as she pushed everyone but Hallie back.
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