Perilous Light

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

  “We should listen to the young man.” Ollis stood and nodded in my direction. “He is genuine.”

  “You are only saying that because he could match your drinking.” A tall woman with a snake wrapped around her spoke for the first time. “Alexander may well be right. What do we know of this boy?”

  “I know a true man when I meet one. I do not need years to form my opinion.” Ollis’s hulking form was formidable. I gave the snake lady credit for even questioning him.

  “Kevin is determined to rid Energo of Blake. What else do you need to know?” Naomi challenged.

  “He suddenly showed up after eighteen years. Does no one else find that suspect?” Clearly, Alexander wasn’t finished attacking me.

  My frustration grew. “I didn’t even know anything existed beyond my own world until last year.”

  “Your world? See? He still views himself as of the lost world. That proves my point.” When I heard the murmurs of agreement, I recognized that I was in trouble.

  Bry rose to his feet. “It is evident that this meeting is getting nowhere. You have already decided to vote against our cause and are merely trying to rally more support for yourself. There is sufficient evidence to warrant a public hearing. We should reconvene in one day’s time for the hearing and a vote.” When I saw Naomi push back her chair, I did the same.

  Alexander stood up, knocking his chair over in the process. “I will agree to it, but I want the record to reflect that I do not believe this needs a public hearing or a vote.”

  “Duly noted, Alexander, but there will be both a hearing and a vote.” Marquis did not appear to be much of an Alexander fan either. “We meet in one day’s time to put this issue to rest. Session dismissed.”

  Bry and Naomi waited for me outside the room. Their faces were unreadable, so I couldn’t figure out if they thought the meeting went well.

  “Are you ready?” Naomi asked before she took off down the hallway. We pushed through the sea of people in the streets and walked back in silence. We found Samantha and Henry waiting in the lobby, and Naomi filled them in while we headed back to our room.

  “What do we do now?” Even though afraid of the answer, I had to ask.

  “You become a great orator.” Bry sounded so serious that I tried not to laugh.

  “An orator? Like a speaker?”

  “Yes. You have to convince the counsel to fight with us. Alexander has a lot of sway, but I would like to think that the council will see reason in your words if they would only listen.”

  “At least we know you do not suffer from stage fright.” Henry smiled.

  “We do?”

  “Come on, Kevin. You play basketball in front of thousands of people every week, and I have seen one of your interviews on TV.” Henry stifled a yawn.

  “That’s completely different.”

  “Why?” Samantha and Henry asked simultaneously.

  “Basketball and everything about it comes naturally. Making pro-war speeches, not so much.”

  Naomi sat up, leaning up against the wall. “The reason sports come easy to you is that it is in your blood to be athletic. It is the same with being a good speaker. You just have to trust in yourself.”

  “You guys keep talking about it being in my blood, but I don’t have quite that much faith.”

  “Yes, you do. Stop playing dumb.” Samantha’s tone was sharp, but I was too distracted from watching her do leg stretches. Man, I had it bad. I was glad Marcus wasn’t there to see me; he would never have let me live it down.

  I snapped out of it long enough to answer, “I’m not playing dumb.”

  “Think about it, Kevin. You are a Guardian and the brother of the Essence, which means you were born to be a leader.” Henry’s tone was reassuring, and I tried to soak up some of his optimism.

  “All right, so all I need to do is channel my inner strength as a leader and come up with a speech worthy of convincing a bunch of people to sacrifice their lives, right?”

  “Exactly. Glad to see you get it.” Bry paused for a beat before breaking into a smile.

  I let out a deep breath. One day had never seemed so short.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Charlotte

  Everything after the checkpoint blended together. The endless prairie, spotted with small sections of forest, became monotonous. It didn’t help that the farther north we moved, the colder it got. I kept motivated by thinking of how amazing it would be to see my mom again. Still, I couldn’t vanquish thoughts of Calvin. The surge of excitement over the thought of seeing him had disappeared. All that remained was hurt.

  I lost track of time as the day moved from morning into afternoon, and was unprepared when we heard the sound of a horse approaching.

  “Get her out of here!” James screamed.

  Liam picked me up and dove with me into the underbrush at the edge of the woods. Liam silenced my protest by putting a finger to his lips, signaling for me to keep quiet. It seemed strange and almost rehearsed to interact with Liam that way, making the threat seem more real.

  The sound of hooves grew closer as I lay in the woods with Liam, both of us tense and silent.

  A clear voice carried across the previously silent landscape. “I know she is in there. There is no point trying to hide her.” Although I didn’t immediately recognize the voice, I had my suspicions.

  Monty asked, “What business do you have with the Essence?”

  “You speak as though you have authority over the Essence. The only one in that position is her Gerard, and I seek the Essence to give her a message from him.”

  My suspicions proved accurate when I heard William’s words. I jumped to my feet, ready to give away my location.

  Liam grabbed my arm, holding me back. “It could be a trap.”

  “It’s not a trap.” Even though I had started to doubt my intuition because of my weird feelings about James, I knew William wasn’t going to kidnap me. Liam loosened his hold, and I moved toward the path.

  “May I have the message?” I asked, nearing William’s horse.

  James jumped in front of me reaching for the sheet of paper William held in his hand. “Give me the message. I will pass it to her.”

  “No, James. I’ll take it myself.” I had no idea what the note would say, but I didn’t want James reading it.

  William leapt off his horse and handed the note to me. As I took it from his hand, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him. “I can take you to Calvin. Will you come with me?”

  “Let go of her!” Liam and James yelled simultaneously.

  William released my wrist when I grimaced. “So will you accompany me?”

  “I will read his message, but I can’t come.” I rubbed my wrist, turning to walk away from William before I could change my mind.

  “As you wish,” William said bitterly. I heard gravel fly as he took off down the road.

  I sensed all eyes on me as I opened the letter. The off-white paper felt more like canvas, and the beautiful script inside surprised me. For someone relatively uneducated, Calvin had better penmanship than I did.

  My Dearest Charlotte,

  It has been months since we were last together, and I deeply regret the way events played out. Not a single day has passed when I have not longed to see you. A promise made to myself has prevented me from seeking you out. I wanted to allow you to make your own decisions and to return to me on your own terms, but I can no longer wait. You were right. I will not say more in this letter for fear of it being intercepted, but know that the wedge keeping us apart is gone.

  I am sending this note with William, and you should receive it in a day’s time. Please meet with me tonight. All I ask is that you speak with me once. I will not keep you against your will. I swear that to you. It is urgent that we speak. I will come for you. I know that you will feel my presence and be able to find me.

  Know that I love you and will forever.

  Calvin

  I knew I’d have to meet him. It had been far too
long to resist the urge to see him, even if only for a moment. I could trust him. If he planned to kidnap me, he wouldn’t have bothered with a letter.

  “What did it say, Charlotte?” Monty didn’t even try to beat around the bush.

  “It’s private.” I didn’t want to hide the truth from him, but there was no way he would ever let me meet with Calvin alone.

  Liam flinched, and I felt a little guilty. I didn’t know if the movement was because of what I said or because he knew I was hiding something. I tried not to worry about it. Instead, I began obsessing over what it would be like to see Calvin again.

  ***

  The rain started unexpectedly. As the storm worsened, we took shelter in a small cave buried deep in the woods. I spent most of the late afternoon glued to the fire. By nightfall, the storm had passed, but we decided to stay put for the night. As glad as I was that we had found the cave, I worried Calvin wouldn’t be able to find us so far off of the usual path. I hoped he was right and we could sense one another.

  We all went to sleep early, and James agreed to take the first watch. I pretended to sleep, while really waiting for my chance to slip out. My eyes grew heavy, and several times, I almost fell asleep. If I wanted to see Calvin, I would have to use my abilities. I remembered seeing an old tree leaning close to the side of the cave. Closing my eyes, I pictured the tree and willed it to bend until it snapped.

  “What the…?” James jumped up from his spot by the fire and hurried outside. Quickly pulling on my boots and wrapping my cloak around me, I didn’t waste any time. I stuffed my pillow and extra blanket into my sleeping bag, hoping James wouldn’t notice me missing in the dim firelight. I headed for the cave entrance, praying James would still be out searching for the cause of the noise. Glancing back momentarily, I thought I saw Liam stir, but I kept moving. He didn’t call out, so I assumed that he had fallen back to sleep. The cold hit me when I walked out into the open air, and my cloak did little to help. I pulled the fabric closer around me, but the wind still tore in. The ground was wet, almost saturated, and I was glad that my Energo wardrobe included boots. I moved away from the cave without running into James.

  Before I could even reach out to Calvin’s presence, he had his arms around me. I started to speak, but a hand gently covered my mouth. Even in the pitch black, I knew the hand belonged to Calvin. I instantly recognized the feel of his arms, his smell, and the way it felt to be pressed against him. My body almost went limp, I was so relieved to be near him again. It was as if I could finally let go of all of the stress and fear I had bottled inside over the past year. As I let him lead me further away, I wondered if he felt the same way. A small part of me knew I should be fearful. I could very well be walking into a trap, but I just knew I was safe.

  We walked further in silence; Calvin tucked me perfectly against his side. Eventually, I noticed a faint light, and realized it came from a lantern on the ground next to a horse. Calvin helped me up before mounting in front of me. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I held on tight as we rode through the night. I probably held on tighter than I needed, afraid that if I loosened my hold he would disappear. The only other time I had been on a horse had been with James when he first took me to Bellgard. The contrast of the experiences was extreme.

  Calvin stopped the horse suddenly, and I squinted in the darkness to see where we were. When Calvin held up the lantern, I realized that we were in front of a single stable next to a small house. He helped me down, tied up the horse, and swept me off my feet without warning to carry me inside. The house was one large room, but I barely took in the surroundings. In the low light of the single lantern, we watched each other for a moment before he kissed me. It was like the first time all over again; I was overwhelmed. My hands moved up and twisted themselves in his thick black hair, pulling him closer to me. All of my anger melted away, and it was only us. Calvin lightly put me down on the bed and lay down next to me. I made myself pull away so I could look at him, but his kiss had left me breathless, and after a moment, I rested my head.

  “Charlotte,” Calvin breathed, positioning himself on one elbow so he could look down at me. He played with my hair as he smiled, seemingly at a loss for words.

  “Calvin,” I said slowly when my breathing had calmed enough to speak.

  “You came.”

  “Did you doubt it?”

  “I feared you were still too angry to see me. After you left me… Charlotte, I do not know how much more I can take.”

  “I love you, Calvin. I have thought of you almost constantly this past year. I didn’t want to leave you, but I had to.” All plans of yelling at him had disappeared the moment I found myself back in his arms. I didn’t know how much time we had together, and I wasn’t willing to waste it.

  “Your loyalty to your family is admirable.” Calvin sounded so formal. By the expression on his face, I gathered he would rather we not have to use words at all. His eyes told such a different story, filled with happiness, relief, and even lust.

  “It’s not just to my family.” I didn’t want to discuss politics, but my decision to leave had been the best decision for all of Energo.

  “I will not pretend to fully understand what made you decide to leave, but I believe you are right about Blake.” Calvin’s gaze never left my face. His eyes pleaded with me to believe him.

  “You do?” I struggled to sit up, and Calvin helped me, letting me lean back into him.

  “Blake refuses to abdicate authority. I thought at first it was my inexperience with Bellgard policies, but I can tell now he has no intention of turning Energo over to us.” Calvin emphasized the last word. He made me realize that, with all of my doubts, the bond between us had never been questioned; we were a couple whether physically together or not.

  Still leaning against him, I picked up his hand and traced designs across it. Even though Calvin had not worked in a field for well over a year, his hands were still calloused. It would have been so easy to lose myself in the moment, but we had to finish our conversation, even if Blake was the last thing in the world I wanted to discuss.

  “Calvin, he’s planning to attack the Resistance, we have to stop him.”

  “I know, and I will do all I can. But I have to be careful.” Calvin pulled me tighter to him.

  Although Calvin’s letter had suggested he was on our side, hearing him say it was incredible. Not only would it be wonderful to be close to Calvin again, it also meant a strengthening of my power.

  “You’ll come back with me, then? Maybe if we can get my mom, we can find a way to stop Blake.” My excitement intensified.

  “I want to stay by your side more than anything, but I will be of greater use if I can maintain the guise of supporting Blake.” Calvin turned me around so I faced him.

  My heart dropped. “I don’t want to be separated from you again.” I could feel the tears starting, and didn’t try to fight them. I didn’t care if Calvin saw how much the thought of leaving him hurt. I had done enough pretending over the past year to last a lifetime.

  “I will not be far from you, Charlotte. Even if I wanted to, I could not allow you to be so far away again. We have barely been reunited, but I can feel our bond growing. It is going to hurt even more when we separate this time.” Calvin’s eyes locked with mine, and I couldn’t have looked away if I tried. His eyes were once again so expressive I could have drowned in them.

  “I can’t imagine it hurting any worse. I don’t think I would have made it through this year without my friends and family.” I didn’t want to hurt him, but I wanted to tell him the truth. I wanted him to know everything about me.

  “Then I am glad you had them.” He paused for a moment. “All of them.” He watched me intently.

  Maybe it was his expression or the oppressive feel of the air between us, but in that pause I realized that he knew about the kiss with James. I must have been right about William.

  “It meant nothing, you know. He was just—”

  “Shh… I know. I never
doubted you. Of course, I still want to hurt James for touching you, but you should feel no guilt. I know that you belong to me.” He shifted nervously, probably because the last time he told me I belonged to him, I freaked out and told him he didn’t own me.

  “As you belong to me.” He appeared surprised at my words, but I wasn’t. The year apart had made me realize the intensity of our bond, and that belonging to someone had more meanings than one.

  “That I do. I have belonged to you since the first moment we met.” I could see the excitement in his eyes, and it felt good to be the cause of his happiness.

  “So what now? Do we really go our separate ways again? I mean, I know it’s not a choice, but—”

  “You need to continue your journey to find your mother. You need her help and guidance. I will assist as possible, but I cannot raise suspicion yet.” He paused. “I will not let anything happen to you. I promise I will protect you, even if from a distance. But right now, we enjoy our time together. I need to get you back before anyone in your party realizes that you are gone, but we still have a few hours. I do not plan to waste a minute of it.”

  I settled into Calvin’s arms and lost myself in his presence.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Kevin

  It felt as though we had just arrived back at the hotel before we were leaving again. The night disappeared in the blink of an eye, and right after breakfast, we headed out the door. Bry and I were the only ones going, and I kind of wished Samantha, Henry, or Naomi were going, too. Bry seemed like a cool guy, and he helped a lot in the council chambers, but I still didn’t know him enough to want to spend the afternoon with him. When he told me he knew a place where I could get help preparing my speech, I agreed to go with him immediately, but my enthusiasm wavered when I found out we were going to see a tree.

  “You are the one who claimed to need help. I am bringing you to the one thing that can help you,” Bry tried to reassure me as we climbed the steep, rocky terrain. The Alak wilds, as Bry called it, weren’t very far from the city limits.