The Concealed (The Lakewood Series Book 1)

by Sarah Kleck

  “That will kill him!” Colin cried, full of anger, and raised his sword, causing the damnati closest to him to retreat timidly.

  “Well, there’s always a catch with these things, isn’t there?” Morgana said with a sarcastic smile.

  Jared looked into my clouded eyes, while I pleaded with him not to accept Morgana’s treacherous offer—but no words passed through my lips.

  “All right,” he finally consented without looking away from me.

  No! No! No! No! Don’t do it! Jared, please, don’t do it!

  “Excellent,” Morgana said, clapping her hands. “But surely you understand that I won’t rely on your word alone.”

  Jared’s eyes filled with tears as he looked at me intently.

  No, Jared, no! Please!

  “We’ll have to conclude a little covenant,” she said. At these words, I was overcome with such hatred that I began to tremble inside. All my emotions—sadness, anger, desperation, and, above all, my limitless love for Jared—bundled into a ball at my center, thrust through the fog, and led me out of the darkness.

  “No!” I cried, infinitely relieved to hear the word aloud. I tried to get up, but every movement felt as if I were struggling against an incredible wind.

  All eyes turned to me. Morgana looked at me, startled, and even Karen, who was only now catching her breath, tried to raise her head. Jared rushed toward me, took me into his arms, and pressed his lips on mine.

  “I told you to be silent!” Morgana said menacingly, and darkness again encroached on me. I strove against her, tried with all my strength to remain in the light, and clung with every ounce of my strength to Jared.

  “No,” I repeated again, tormented.

  “Silence!” Morgana yelled, full of rage, clenching her fists and distorting her face to an angry scowl. Then darkness overcame me like a mighty avalanche, overpowered me, and pulled me deeper and deeper until it swallowed me up.

  In this terrible place, neither time nor space existed. Nothing but darkness and silence, which pulled on me and drew me ever deeper into a whirlpool of night and emptiness. I was a prisoner. Imprisoned in cruel black nothingness that sucked every last remnant of happiness from me, leaving me an empty husk. I was a shadow of myself, lost in all eternity, buried by the blackness that mercilessly pressed upon me and destroyed everything that once was.

  But . . . what was that strange feeling? A feeling . . . that something was returning to me . . . something that once belonged to me and had been taken from me . . . a faint shimmer in the darkness . . . a light . . . a . . . a . . . Just what was it?

  Then it hit me. A purple light rushed in on me, penetrated my body with force, and filled me with an energetic feeling. Then the other colors returned. One after another they streamed into me: dark blue, sky blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. Each color flowed with unrestrained vigor into me, filled me with life, and warmed me from the ends of my hair to the tips of my toes. I sucked in air as if in a fit. It felt like the very first breath of my entire life.

  “Evelyn,” Jared’s voice broke through the darkness. First, hearing returned to me, then my vision, and then, one after another, my other senses.

  “You have five minutes,” Morgana said.

  What? Five minutes for what? Suddenly, I grasped the terrible truth. No! No! No! That could not be. I opened my eyes and looked into Jared’s angelic face.

  “Oh Jared,” I said, anguished. “What have you done?”

  He enclosed me in his arms.

  “No,” I shook my head. “No, please don’t go! Please!” I asked desperately.

  Jared pressed firmly against me, then took my face into his hands and looked straight into my eyes. “I love you. With everything I am.”

  “No, no, please!” Tears flowed over my cheeks. I felt his mouth on mine. He kissed me, full of longing. Full of need. Full of love. Then he gently placed his hand over my eyes. “Sleep now, my darling,” he whispered into my ear—loving and pain-filled at the same time—then I felt his magic flow through my arteries. A soothing warmth made my lids drop and led me into a deep, deep sleep.

  CHAPTER 22

  I dreamed of a beautiful place. A place full of love. A place full of magic. Although I knew it was only a dream, I wanted to stay: I was happy in this place. In vain, I tried to push back the light of the dawning day, which—muted to a red glow—penetrated my eyelids, but my dream inescapably neared its end. Struggling against it was futile. I began to feel my body bit by bit. It felt well. Everything was filled with a wonderful tingling, a beautiful, though unfamiliar, sensation. I’d only felt it once before—that morning when I woke from the magical sleep into which Jared . . .

  I rose with a start and opened my eyes. Jared!

  “She’s awake,” I heard someone say and looked around in a panic. I lay in my room in the Order’s headquarters. Irvin Martin sat at the foot of the bed.

  “Jared!” I cried as the memories flooded in on me, threatening to shatter me.

  “Calm down, Evelyn,” Irvin gently said. He took my shoulders and looked at me.

  “Jared!” I cried again. “No! No! Jared!”

  “Evelyn, look at me!” Irvin said, shaking me vigorously.

  A cry escaped my lips, and tears shot from my eyes. I began to hyperventilate.

  “Quick, get Enid!” Irvin said, then spoke to soothe me again, held me, and forced me to look into his eyes. A moment later the door was pushed open. Somebody rolled up my sleeve, and a second later, I felt a prick in my arm. A hypodermic?

  “Calm down,” Irvin repeated. “Calm down.”

  Gradually, I recovered my breath, but the tears wouldn’t stop.

  “Jared, no, please don’t. Jared . . . ,” I desperately mumbled to myself.

  “Evelyn, look at me. Look at me,” Irvin said again. He had also cried, as had Enid, who sat next to him on the bed. Colin, who stood at the foot of the bed, wiped the tears from his face. He looked at me for a moment, then turned away, walked to the window, and looked outside.

  “Jared, no, no. Please don’t . . . ,” I cried, shaking my head back and forth. Finally, my eyes came to rest on Colin, whose heart must have been as broken as mine. He, too, had loved Jared—had loved him like a brother, like . . .

  Suddenly, the expression in Colin’s face changed, became angry. “Jared cannot be dead,” he said with clenched teeth. “That’s impossible. No, he simply cannot be dead,” he repeated, slamming his fist on the windowsill.

  There was a moment of silence in the room.

  “Jared is not dead yet,” Irvin said.

  I listened closely. “What did you say?” I asked.

  “Morgana won’t simply kill him,” Irvin said, hesitating for a moment. “She’ll want to practice an elaborate ritual on him.” He was barely able to pronounce the words. “And I’m sure she’ll be better prepared this time than on her last two attempts.”

  “How much time do we have?” I asked. My voice sounded firm and full of resolve.

  “Difficult to say.”

  “Take a guess,” I impatiently urged him to answer my question.

  “Two days, maybe three,” he finally said.

  “Three days,” I repeated, already forging plans in my head. What if there was a way to save Jared? What if he wasn’t lost yet? I’d do anything to get him back.

  “Evelyn,” Irvin said in a quiet but forceful tone. “It’s hopeless. We don’t have the slightest chance against Morgana—”

  “So you just want to let him die?” Colin screamed.

  “No, of course not, but—”

  “We’ve got at least two days and you don’t want to do anything?” Colin said. He had taken up position beside me so that we formed a front against Irvin and Enid.

  “Colin, Evelyn . . . please understand,” Irvin started. “Jared made a covenant with Morgana. A magical covenant
, an oath—”

  “We still have two days, damn it. I’m not just going to let Jared die!” Colin was almost boiling over with rage.

  Suddenly I thought of something. Why hadn’t it occurred to me sooner?

  “I know someone who may be able to help us,” I said excitedly. “Her name is Ruth. Ruth Hayman.”

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Many thanks to my husband, Holger, for his unconditional love and support—no matter how addlebrained my plans are. I also thank Corina, Karina, Laura, and Jessi for their enthusiasm and criticism. As well as, of course, my editors, Elizabeth, Jonathan, and Ben; my translators, Michael Osmann and Audrey Deyman (AAD Abies), who brought out the best in the narrative; and Laura Klynstra for that beautiful cover. And not to forget Nina, AmazonCrossing, and my wonderful readers for making my dream come true.

  Last but not least, a heartfelt thank-you to these wonderful musicians who are blessed with the gift of turning sounds into feelings: Coldplay, Silbermond, Yiruma, Anna Nalick, 2Cellos, Florence and the Machine, Lykke Li, TOS, Clueso, Einaudi, Philipp Poisel, and many more.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Sarah Kleck, born in 1984, studied education, psychology, and sociology at the University of Augsburg. Currently, she’s working as a human resources officer and lives with her husband and a newborn in Germany, near Lake Constance. The Concealed is her first novel.