Perilous Light

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

  “Did you just happen to have that key with you?” I started to wonder if he had anticipated a need to use the gate on this trip.

  “I brought it just in case. Besides, even if I didn’t, Charlotte has hers.”

  Charlotte pulled her necklace out from under her sweatshirt as Monty gestured to her.

  “Like how you brought the swords with you?” Liam laughed.

  Monty ignored us and inserted the key into a lock that looked as though it was just part of the wall. He paused, turning to look at me. “You know, Kevin, you might not make it back for your next game.”

  I let his words sink in, realizing that he was talking about more than just one game, but there was no way I was turning back. “I know. Let’s do this.”

  Monty pushed against the door, and suddenly, we were no longer in the old building.

  Chapter Five

  Charlotte

  The air was oppressively hot, but I still felt better than I had all year the moment we stepped into Energo. The heaviness in my chest lessened, and with every breath, I became more relaxed. As much as I might have wanted to deny it, at least in some way, Energo was home. My thoughts immediately turned to Calvin. I understood that I wasn’t going to Bellgard to see him, but I knew he was close, and that was enough to set my heart racing.

  “Oh, my god. It’s hot.” Kevin unzipped his sweatshirt dramatically.

  “Your observations are always so astute, Kevin.” James couldn’t give up an opportunity to razz my brother.

  I didn’t voice the feeling out loud, but it was kind of fun to watch someone giving Kevin a taste of his own medicine. Still, I didn’t want it to go too far. Kevin tensed, and I jumped in before it could become a full-fledged argument. “So aside from the heat, do we know anything about where we are?”

  “We are in the Sutuni desert. It’s always hot. I told you the gate didn’t open to the best place.” Monty started to walk, and we all followed while pulling off our sweatshirts and jackets.

  “You know, Charlotte, you could get rid of this heat for us.” Henry’s suggestion made me freeze.

  “Umm, I haven’t tried my abilities since we left last year.” I had considered the idea, but being so out of practice, I was terrified to try. Even though returning to Energo had made me feel better, the fear of failure was still on my mind.

  James nudged me. “You’re the Essence. It should come naturally.” I had somewhat forgiven him for kissing me, maybe part of being the Essence meant not holding grudges, but my annoyance started to resurface.

  “At least try. It’s as hot as Hades.” Kevin wasn’t one to complain, so I figured the least I could do was try.

  I closed my eyes and attempted to focus on colder weather. I had lots of memories to work with, considering my three years living in Alaska, but my mind kept wandering to Calvin. No matter what I focused on, thoughts of him usually pervaded. Of course, thinking about Calvin started to make me hurt, so with a sigh, I gave up.

  I opened my eyes to some very wet and upset boys. Instead of altering the temperature, I had created a torrential rainstorm. I hadn’t realized that my emotions could mess up my abilities so much. Closing my eyes, I pictured the rain stopping, and thankfully, it worked. The rain did help lower the temperature a little, but the ground had become a muddy mess. Lovely.

  “So maybe introducing rain into a barren desert won’t completely upset the ecosystem.” James’s sarcasm was probably his worst trait, and he had some bad ones. I glared at him.

  “Stop it, everyone. Let’s keep moving.” Monty said.

  Trying to brush off my humiliation, I followed Monty. If I couldn’t master the simple act of changing the temperature, how could I possibly be of any use to the Resistance? I struggled to hold back tears as we walked, hoping the rain would be a good enough excuse for my wet face.

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Personally, I like the rain, so you did well in my book.” Liam caught my eye and smiled.

  “Ha! I’m out of practice.” I tried to sound calm and unbothered, but I was sure Liam could see through it.

  “It happens to all of us. I mean the being out of practice thing. You wouldn’t want to see me try to play basketball right now.”

  I laughed. “I’m sure you’re still great.”

  “I appreciate your confidence. But maybe try to have some for yourself.”

  “I’ll try. Thanks.” I watched Liam as he squeezed water out of his T-shirt, and I couldn’t help but smile. Sometimes it seemed like he was the only one who really understood me.

  We walked through the desert in near silence. No one gave me any more trouble about the rain, but I could tell they were tired of the mud. I hoped they were at least relieved that the temperature had dropped.

  It felt like we had been walking for hours when Monty started handing out snacks and water bottles from his backpack. He thought of everything. I ate my energy bar and caught up to Kevin. I’d missed him more than I expected and looked forward to spending time with him, even if it wasn’t in the best setting.

  “How're you feeling?” Kevin asked after downing his entire bottle of water.

  I shrugged. “I’m doing all right. It feels great to be back, but I’m also scared, you know?”

  “I feel the same way.”

  I stopped in my tracks. “Wait, did you seriously just admit to being scared?”

  “Yeah, I’m only human, after all.” Kevin nudged me to get me to start walking again.

  “Only human? As compared to what? And you better not say me.”

  Kevin laughed. “All right, I won’t say it.”

  “Whatever, you’re lucky I’ve missed you,” I said brazenly.

  “I’m so relieved; I can’t imagine what you would have done to me otherwise.”

  “Hey, as you pointed out, I’m more than human. Don’t test me.” I grinned as Kevin tensed, probably realizing that I might be more of a threat than I used to be.

  ***

  The desert seemed to go on forever. The mud had eventually lessened, and I got tired of wading through the sand. Pretending that we were on a beach helped at first, but the lack of a breeze made it difficult to keep up the illusion. As soon as I considered asking Monty if we could take a break, trees came into view—lots of trees.

  The jungle was still humid, but the shade of the canopy came as a welcome relief. We pushed our way through the thick foliage, occasionally becoming tangled in the vines. Before long, we reached the fern grotto that housed the Cason caves. Crackling branches made me jump. We were being followed.

  “Nice of you to stop by, brother,” said an unfamiliar voice.

  Henry spun around searching for the source of the words. “Lawson?”

  The guys took out their weapons and surrounded me. The trees were so dense that I couldn’t see a thing. Quickly, I closed my eyes and pictured the trees cleared, allowing me to see. A mild heat flowed through me as the image grew stronger.

  “I take it you are the new Essence?”

  Opening my eyes, I watched a figure approach the circle surrounding me. The guys looked around in surprise. It took me a minute to realize that the trees had bent and moved out of the way, forming a circle of clearing. Relief flooded through me; I could still use my abilities.

  “Any particular reason you decided to scare us?” Henry asked, walking toward the speaker.

  “None really. But I was on watch and thought I would scare you a little, seeing as you took off without even telling the family.”

  “I was doing my job.” Henry took a step back and put his arm around my shoulders. “You know, as a Guardian, my job is to protect the Essence.”

  “Speaking of the Essence…” The man held out his hand to me. “I am Lawson Ashwell.”

  I accepted his firm handshake. “Henry talks about his brothers a lot; it’s nice to meet one! I’m Charlotte.”

  Kevin, Monty, and Liam stepped up and introduced themselves.

  “Nice to meet you all.” Lawson smiled, then turn
ed his attention to James. “So I hear you turned your back on your father.”

  “I was not interested in watching him hurt the Essence.” James glowered at Lawson. It was rare to see James so serious.

  Lawson frowned momentarily before turning his attention back to me. “Charlotte, tell me, has my brother done a good job on your Guard?”

  “Of course. Henry’s great!” I appreciated Lawson’s use of my name, and I warmed to him immediately.

  “Yeah, he does a great job when he is not hanging all over his girl.” James laughed.

  “You have a girl, Henry? You are pretty young to be uniting, but Mother will be thrilled.”

  Henry turned bright red.

  James smirked. “I never said he united; I said he had a girl.”

  “What?” Lawson frowned. “Please tell me you have not harmed a girl’s virtue!”

  “I wouldn’t worry too much about Rachel,” James jibed.

  “Shut up, James.” I wasn’t going to sit there and let James imply that there was anything wrong with Rachel. So she liked to make out with her boyfriend, that wasn’t a crime.

  “Besides, James, who are you to talk? You think everyone is going to be happy that you kissed the Essence?” Henry asked, dropping his arm from my shoulders.

  “What the hell is he talking about?” Kevin asked. Liam and Monty each grabbed one of Kevin’s arms, holding him back from attacking James.

  “I protected her from unwanted attention.” James winked at me. My stomach churned. I should have taken care of that guy myself, but what good was being constantly followed around by Guardians if they couldn’t take care of things like that?

  “Lawson, I am sure you have plenty of questions for Henry, but do you think we could continue to the cave? I need to speak with my brother.” Still holding Kevin’s arm, Monty cut off the conversation. Even having met Theodore, I thought it sounded strange to hear Monty refer to his brother. I understood that Monty had withheld the truth about my family in order to protect me, but it definitely strained our relationship a little. I couldn’t help but wonder what else he was keeping from me, but at the moment, I was grateful for the new subject of conversation.

  “Sure, follow me.” Lawson started off at a brisk pace.

  Walking sandwiched between Liam and Kevin, I continued through the fern grotto. After hearing about James, Kevin wasn’t about to let me out of his sight. The only other time I had been to the Cason caves was after leaving Bellgard, and I had barely registered anything that was happening. Everything seemed unfamiliar as we pushed through the heavy ferns and waited while Lawson moved some large rocks out of the way. I had expected the Resistance to grow, but I was in no way prepared for the crowd that appeared as we neared the cave entrance.

  “Wow. Theodore did some recruiting.” Kevin’s expression mirrored my surprise.

  “It’s a relief. I didn’t know what to expect.” Monty wiped his brow.

  “Hello, brother.” Theodore walked over and embraced Monty. Monty stiffened. I could practically feel the tension between the two brothers.

  Monty pulled away and addressed his brother coolly. “Theodore, we heard you needed us urgently.”

  “Yes, we have received word that Blake is planning an attack.” Theodore awkwardly let his arms fall to his sides.

  “What can we do?” Kevin took a few steps further to join Monty and Theodore.

  “I wanted to talk to Monty about this first, but we have a big job for you, Kevin.”

  Monty put a hand on Kevin’s arm. “What kind of job? Theodore, should we speak about this privately first?”

  “We cannot defeat Blake on our own. We need to get the support of the other nations. We need the Pact behind us.” Theodore ran his hands through his hair, a nervous habit he shared with Monty.

  “And you think sending Kevin is the answer?” Monty raised his voice to a level just below yelling.

  Liam nudged me. He caught my eye, silently asking me if I knew what was going on.

  “As the Essence’s brother, Kevin is technically second to the Gerard. They will at least have to give him an audience.” Theodore’s voice had risen to match Monty’s volume.

  “What you say is true. But who will accompany him on his journey? I am not leaving Charlotte’s side.” Monty started to pace. Five minutes with his brother and Monty was already talking formally.

  “Will someone please fill me in here? I’m the one you’re talking about.” Kevin was obviously getting annoyed. I understood the feeling. Few things were more frustrating than having people make decisions for you without asking for your input.

  Monty stopped pacing long enough to question Kevin. “Do you know what the Pact is?”

  “Yeah. It’s something like the United Nations. But what do I have to do with it?”

  “You need to convince the other nations to join with us, to stand against Blake.” Theodore lowered his voice after taking a few breaths to calm down.

  “And you really think I’m the one to do it?” Kevin asked.

  Theodore didn’t hesitate. “You are the only one to do it.”

  Monty nodded. My nerves kicked in. I understood that anything we did in Energo could be dangerous, but I didn’t like the idea of Kevin being sent to meet with leaders from all those other worlds. I wondered if they were all shifters like the Zatamanians, Naomi’s people.

  “I agree Kevin should do it, but you never answered my question, Theodore.” Monty’s face didn’t reveal his feelings, but I assumed he was nervous, too. “Who will accompany him? You can hardly expect him to find his way alone.”

  “Naomi has been with us, and she has agreed to escort him, as has Samantha.”

  Kevin noticeably flinched when he heard Samantha’s name. He tried to look around nonchalantly, but I noticed his response.

  Theodore laughed. “She is out training some new recruits, but she will be at dinner.” He must have figured out what the rest of us already knew; Kevin was totally into Samantha.

  “I am willing to accompany Kevin as well. I will stay with Charlotte if you think it is best, but I went to some Pact meetings with my father and may be of use.” Henry appeared excited at the prospect of joining Kevin. I would miss having him with us, but if he could help Kevin, I wanted him to go.

  “He is right. Henry used to tag along with our father frequently. He is the only one of us who showed interest in Father’s ambassador work.” It sounded as though Lawson regretted his own lack of interest in the Pact.

  “Are you all right with that, Monty? Do you think one Guardian is adequate?” Theodore asked.

  “As much as I believe Charlotte needs protection, if Kevin is going to pull this off, he needs all the help he can get.” Monty shifted his weight back and forth between his feet.

  “If I’m going to pull this off? Great way to instill confidence.” Kevin shook his head. “And I want to make sure Charlotte is safe. Liam is staying with her if I can’t.” Kevin exchanged glances with Liam.

  “Sure, that makes sense.” Liam smiled at me.

  I decided it was time to ask my questions. “So we’ve discussed what Kevin is doing. Where do I fit in?” I touched Monty’s arm to get his attention; he seemed far away.

  Theodore answered for Monty. “I thought you knew. You are to go to Icentris to retrieve Emma.” Theodore’s words sounded flat and emotionless, but the pain in his eyes suggested guilt and remorse I couldn’t imagine.

  As Theodore’s words hit me, I felt ambushed by a wave of emotions. I realized that returning to Energo meant we were going after my mother, but I hadn’t really accepted how soon we would do it. I was excited, but also nervous. James said I was the only hope of saving her, but I couldn’t shake the fear of failure.

  When I didn’t answer, Theodore continued, “How have you fared using your abilities?”

  “Not great. I mean, sometimes they work, but they aren’t very predictable.”

  An expression of horror crossed Theodore’s face. “What do you mean, ‘
they are not predictable’? You were doing so well with Ruth back at Bellgard!” I took a step back, walking right into Liam. He put his hands on my shoulders to steady me.

  Before I could say anything in my defense, Henry said, “She has had no one to teach her. Essences are usually trained by their predecessors for many years. Without Emma or Ruth, how can we expect Charlotte to master her abilities?” Henry turned to smile at me encouragingly. I’m not sure what caused it, but Henry seemed to have matured considerably in the few hours we had been back in Energo. Maybe he wanted to appear more adult in front of his brother.

  “Henry is right. It merely reinforces how important it is to retrieve Emma immediately. I want to keep our party small, and with James’s knowledge, we do not need a guide, but I would prefer one more man for our journey. Can you spare anyone?” Monty asked.

  Lawson raised his hand. “I can go with you. It would be an honor to protect the Essence.” Ruth hadn’t been kidding when she told me the Ashwells were loyal to the Essence. Even though we had just met, I was glad Lawson would be accompanying us.

  “That sounds reasonable. So it is settled. The two groups will leave in the morning,” Monty stated.

  I didn’t wait to hear how everyone responded to Theodore. Needing air, I walked out of the cave entrance without glancing back. I knew I was being followed, but I didn’t care. No one had warned me how emotional returning to Energo would make me. All of my hurt and confusion over Calvin multiplied tenfold until I felt like it could strangle me. Discussing our journey only reminded me that Calvin and I were still separated. I started running, not concerned that I was heading back into the jungle.

  James’s rough arms encircled me from behind. “Charlotte, where do you think you are going?”

  “I need a minute, okay?” I didn’t bother struggling; even if I got free, he would just catch up to me again.

  “What is wrong? We leave to go find your mom tomorrow; you should be happy.” James sounded frustrated. I turned around in time to catch Liam scowling at him.

  “Can you give us a few minutes?” Liam looked just as much to me as at James for agreement. I appreciated that.