Neither Light Nor Dark: Destiny Awaits (Beyond the Gates Book 1)

by Lynn McCain

  I wished for a moment that I had never even kissed Henry. I wished that Calev’s lips were the only lips I would ever know and then it happened, my breath was taken. Two souls joining together as one, my lips upon his, his hands holding my face within them, his lips exploring every inch of mine until I no longer knew where mine began and where his ended. Every part of me, even the depths of my soul, cried out for that moment never to cease; and I wasn’t disappointed, even though he slowly pulled away, that moment, that kiss was forever etched in my memory.

  Still holding me in his arms, we stood quietly embracing. What was happening? Why did I enjoy his arms around me so much? I could not process it. What about Henry? Would I ever even see him again? I was infinitely confused.

  “I went back you know, to the woods. I never stopped going back. I used to watch you in the garden, he stopped, like he had said something wrong.

  “What about Levona?” I asked.

  He turned his face to the ground, “Levona, huh, she was, well, she was there for me when I couldn’t find you. I had lost you, but I found her in the woods of Sector 8 almost beaten to death three years ago and nursed her back to health. She had no memory of her former life, didn’t know where she came from. She didn’t even have the markings of the Sectors, so Maleke swore she came from the heavens,” he laughed. “I’m afraid for her, I didn’t protect her and now she’s, she’s gone.”

  I saw a tear form within his lid. Jealousy swam throughout my veins, but I wondered, should I tell him about Henry, the small fact that I was indeed engaged to marry him. Yet that life, the one in Eden, seemed like a distant memory, one I would never get back to.

  We spent the rest of that night asleep in the hammock. Just before dawn Shim stood beside us, shaking Calev’s arm causing him to jump to his feet, nearly knocking me onto the ground. Maleke and the others had not returned home, so we had to leave without them, hoping they had seen the fairies.

  A fierce rain descended upon us as we made our way out beyond the Sector. My skin and hair became streaked so badly I thought I must look like a zebra. By the time we were into the forest surrounding the mountain, all the color had washed away. As we approached the edge of the mountain, it looked like a mass exodus, for there were people and every kind of animal and beast quietly making their way beyond the border of the forest. Tizipporah stood with large wings stretched out behind her. She was the protector of the covenant, guardian of the mountain. She called me forward out of the crowd.

  For the first time since I had entered Arcadia and learned of my place within the Kingdom, I walked with boldness, truly believing I was Lily, infused with all of Eden and all of Arcadia, granddaughter of the great King Channon, savior to the people. Well, as bold as one can be standing before a crowd of people looking much like a drenched poodle.

  I spoke of removing the borders of the Sectors and reuniting family members that were separated after the capture of my father. I asked them to fight with me against the powers of darkness, against Reficul and his armies. As I spoke, the Dark Winds roared beyond the borders of the mountain, yet again, we could not be found by them. All in attendance swore that when the sun rose in three days’ time, each one in their own Sector would overtake the Assemblies and acquire all the weapons within its walls to defeat the soldiers. Then as the fourth sun rose, each Sector would surround the area belonging to Reficul and prepare for battle. Tizipporah followed up with a speech about doing so in honor of King Channon, who escaped to protect the pure one so that the prophecy would be fulfilled.

  The three of us faced the crowds from upon a large rock at the base of the mountain. As Tizipporah spoke, Calev noticed Maleke and the others had not made it back, so as soon as she finished we found Shim and quickly made our way through the crowd. The sun was already up, and my skin was shining underneath it. The rain had completely removed the stain from my skin and hair. Shim knew of a way along the edge of the forest that would bring us close to his friend’s bakery just beyond the walls of Sector 5. While Shim went into town to gather some clothes to cover my body, Calev stayed back with me.

  “Your speech was inspiring. You did it, Lily. They have promised to follow you,” he said as if he still did not believe it.

  Just as he was about to speak again, I doubled over in pain. As he grabbed for me, I pulled him to the ground. I knew something was wrong; something bad was going to happen. Shim appeared right in the middle of the episode and ran to my side. In a moment, the pain was gone, and I was able to walk again. After Shim draped me with all types of clothing, they snuck me back in to Sector 5.

  We walked to a small bakery that sat at the edge of town. As we walked through the door, the scent welcomed us almost like a person, warm and inviting. A woman stood in the entrance to the kitchen. She wore a white apron with tiny red flowers all over it. Her smile stretched across her entire face, revealing dimples as big as cherries. She wore her dark hair braided to one side with small curls falling around her cheeks. Her eyelashes seemed to extend to her brow.

  Immediately she began wiping her hands off on her apron and reached out to grab my hand. After giving me a hug around my neck, as if we were old friends, she called to her husband excitedly. Her eyes filled with tears as she handed me off to him. He also wrapped his arms around me squeezing tightly and then pulled away so he could get a good look at me. Thin streaks of grey highlighted his hair just around his temples, and his face was gentle, friendly almost.

  As Calev, Shim, and I were all wondering why they seemed to know me so intimately, the man, whose name was Jonathan, commented to his wife, Adina.

  “Can you believe how much she looks like Elizabeth?”

  Elizabeth is my mother’s name. Adina had been my mother’s best friend. She and her husband were very close with both my parents.

  Shim and Calev watched, as if they were witnesses to some miracle.

  “Small world,” Shim laughed.

  Indeed it was. I embraced both of them again. I was thrilled that they had known Father.

  I immediately began asking questions, “What was he like? Did he like rainy days like me? Did he love Mother entirely and completely? Did he eat with his right or his left hand?”

  I did not know where all the questions were coming from but like a calf let out of the stall, I could not quit. Just then, the door to the bakery opened. Adina pulled me into the kitchen and up the stairs into their flat that sat above the bakery, leaving all the others standing around, looking out of place. Jonathan quickly returned to his position behind the counter. I spied out the window, as the man soon left with his small cake. I could only see his right side, but swore he favored Mr. Emsworth. I quickly shook the idea, believing it was impossible. That night Shim went out searching for Maleke and the boys, only to return hours later without them.

  Late into the evening, I decided to take a shower and wash the stickiness from off my skin that the stain had left upon me. Once in the washroom, I removed the lenses from my eyes that Shim had given me to turn them brown. It felt amazing to finally look like myself again. After bathing, I walked toward the guest room that Adina had prepared for me. Shim lay asleep on the sofa, his little legs barely reaching the middle of it. Calev had fallen asleep on the bed in the guest room waiting on me. The fire flashed a small, red flame from the lamp that sat on the bedside table. Walking over to the window, I gazed up at the moon, now high in the sky. Just below, there was a man standing under the street light, looking up into my window. He was wearing a hat, so I could not tell a thing about his appearance, but as soon as my eyes were on him the sharp pain I had been getting doubled me over again. Quickly pulling the curtains closed, I glanced back, making sure I had not woken Calev. Once I could stand again, I slowly pushed the curtains aside, just enough to peek through. The man was gone, only darkness filled the street below with the exception of the lights placed along its edge. Around each one, shadows danced about creating a frightening display.

  A bit shaken and feeling rather lonely, I walked
over to Calev, pulled the blanket over his chest, and crawled up beside him in the bed. Without waking, he just rolled over and wrapped his arms around me as if I were his favorite stuffed animal. In spite of my confusion about Calev, that night I could think of nothing better than being in his arms. I cuddled up even closer and drifted off to sleep.

  The next morning I woke to Calev staring at me, his black eyes piercing even the secret places within me. He leaned over, kissing me softly and passionately, as if he had been watching and waiting all night for me to wake up, as if it were going to be the last kiss we would ever share. His lips knew me, and I wanted to be known by them. Soon, we were interrupted by a commotion that came from just outside the bakery. We were jolted back into reality and jumped to our feet.

  Just beneath us, a man was being dragged through the streets by soldiers. They would pull him through the entire Sector ringing a bell to let everyone know they had to come for the Punishment. Entire businesses had to be shut down, lives put on hold. Anyone caught not attending the Punishment were themselves, sentenced to death. Realizing I was not wearing the stain, Calev pulled me back from the window, but I pushed past him. The man dropped to his knees and looked right up into the window, our eyes looking directly into one another’s. I could tell from even the window, it was Henry.

  “Henry,” I whispered.

  “Who?” Calev questioned.

  Without even thinking, I just started out down the stairs with Calev racing behind me. I knew the only reason Henry was there was for me. I could not let them hurt him. I could not let him die. I raced out of the bakery screaming for them to stop with my blonde hair blowing in the wind behind me, and my blue eyes reflecting all the light of the sun. Jonathan grabbed Calev just before he ran out of the door after me. Pulling him away from the window, he assured him that he would be of no help to me if he too were captured.

  Calev thrashed about trying to get away but by then Shim was there helping Jonathan hold him back. So, he watched the entire thing from behind the glass; he watched the girl who had his heart be taken away, surly to be killed by Reficul. I have often imagined how difficult that must have been.

  My mind went blank. I thought of nothing but saving Henry. As I raced toward him, I remembered the last time we were together, him chasing me through the woods. It felt surreal, like I was still in that moment, like I was in slow motion, and the noise from the crowd echoed in my ears. Once close enough, I wrapped my arms around Henry, pleading for them to let him go. His expression was twisted with grief. The crowd stepped back, as if they had rehearsed it, all at the same time. It was then that I realized I was exposed, like standing naked in front of a crowd. Before I could protest, the soldiers had their guns upon me.

  They began yelling, “Treason, Treason!”

  I fought with all my might yet was unable to defend myself. Looking back on it now, I see what an absurd act it was, yet one’s heart sometimes causes it to act beyond its control.

  They threw us both in the back of an enclosed truck, used for prisoners. Henry, still in chains, scooted closer to me. Sighing, he leaned over and gently kissed my forehead, leaving me utterly confused. I had thought I would never see Henry again and now here we were, on our way to die. He looked as if he had been beaten severely, his once chiseled jaw now swollen and bruised. I tried to dress his wounds the best I could with the fabric from my gown. I could see out of the sides of the truck, small openings only big enough to let in a small amount of air were placed along the middle of each side. As we drove away, I saw Calev standing in front of the bakery with Shim and Jonathan on either side. The pit of my stomach almost dropped out. I felt as if someone had died, desperate and scared.

  After driving a short time in silence, the truck came to a quick stop throwing us both on to the floor. For some reason, it seemed Henry had no words for me. He just held me tightly in his arms. We heard talking and then two doors opened and slammed shut. The doors to the back opened slowly, and what I saw next still gives me nightmares to this day.

  It was Mr. Emsworth. He quickly released Henry from his chains, and I thought briefly we had been rescued, yet my hopes quickly vanished as Henry reluctantly turned and chained me to the truck. I still was confused as to what was happening when he turned toward me, grabbed my face in his hands, and stared intently into my eyes before sadly dropping his head to the ground. Just as I was about to speak, Levona walked up between him and Mr. Emsworth, looking as sinful as ever, and handed Henry the coat worn by Reficul’s soldiers. Without taking his eyes off of me, he slid each arm into the sleeves of the coat. Levona too wore the symbol of the horned goat upon her shirt. She grabbed Henry’s hand and began leading him away; all the while, he kept his eyes fixed upon me. His gaze was as sharp as a knife through my delicate skin.

  You see, Mr. Emsworth was Reficul’s son; Henry his grandson. They had followed Calev on his trips to meet Grandfather in the woods and devised a plan to get me, the pure one, to enter their world, so Reficul could have me. They had Grandfather killed in order to gain entrance into the home, in order to get to me. They summoned the Dark Winds to call out to me, to entice me to come to them.

  My whole life had been a lie, one so big, so elaborate that it took my entire family to keep it going. I wondered why, why had they not just told me, prepared me for this injustice that was to be my life. I could have chosen my own destiny, made my own way in the world, a world where animals did not talk and people are who they say they are.

  I could do nothing but cry, for I realized I had taken their bait. I had allowed myself to be trapped like a helpless animal. Henry had tricked me, and Mr. Emsworth had tricked Mother. Levona had deceived Calev. They had all been part of a plan to destroy me all along. I became frantic at the thought of Mother. I demanded to know where she was, what they had done with her. Ignoring my pleas, they slammed the door shut to the truck leaving me alone, chained, and disheartened. I had let Calev down, I had let Grandfather down, and I had let all of Arcadia down. I felt as if my life was over, or was it? I soon realized it was just beginning.

  Chapter 9

  On the journey to Reficul’s domain, something within me tightened. That’s the only way I know how to describe it. Much like you would imagine a corset sucking all the breath out of you, as its strings were pulled securely around your waist, a hardness began to take over my body. I could feel it moving slowly through my veins, making its way to my heart. I was angry, mental hospital crazy. I wanted to kill them all. Murder them one by one very slowly and painfully. I wanted them to bleed, as I stood by engulfed in the sounds of their screams. I wanted them to suffer like I was. They had taken everything from me. I could feel myself suffocating beneath the weight of it all.

  Just as my raged peaked, the truck came to an abrupt stop. Throwing me to the floor, I received a large gash in my head. I heard shouting and what sounded like fighting going on just outside. I promptly jumped to my feet grabbing for my head and peered out of the small openings in the side of the truck. There before me, I saw Calev, my knight in shining armor, holding a gun toward the driver’s side of the vehicle. Before I knew it, the sound of keys thrashing violently at the back doors captured my attention and just like that, they were open. Shim, my dear Shim, stood before me. Quickly leaping into the back of the truck, he freed me from my chains. The four men we had met at the restaurant only days earlier were positioned outside the door. They stood firm and unbreakable like a steel wall, my heroes.

  Blood flowed from my head turning my hair as crimson as a morning horizon that issues warning to the seamen. It blew in the wind behind me resembling a flag from a warship, red in color, as if announcing I would show no mercy to my enemies. My intentions made known to all. I would fight, and I would win.

  My heart skipped a beat as we hurried toward the getaway car waiting just behind us. Calev now had Mr. Emsworth on his knees before him with the gun pointed at his head. A feeling of pity ran through my veins for only a brief moment before it was castrated by the rev
enge that now lay in wait within me, ready to pounce on its prey. I hated the evil that was in Mr. Emsworth. Death itself seemed like it was too good for him, his life ending so quickly without having to suffer for his evil deeds.

  As my mind raced, we all screamed for Calev to hurry and then I saw it, that sad look in his eyes. He had seen Levona and for a brief moment became distracted. Taking advantage, Mr. Emsworth kicked the gun out of his hands and jumped back in to the truck which seemed to take off like a rocket. Dropping to his knees, Calev banged his fists against the ground. I could feel the heaviness begin to seep out of my skin and watched it float toward him like smoke to an open window. As it reached him, it seemed to penetrate every part of his body as a living thing. He arose to his feet with a new look in his eyes, one I recognized immediately, rage.

  Our plan to wait three days to overtake the Assembly was now void. We had to fight and fight now. Henry and his father would be at Reficul’s lair preparing for battle before the sun set. We drove quickly through the streets winding around the Sector getting back to Shim’s to get my satchel. The four men who accompanied us sat motionless in the back seat like statues, never speaking a word.