Perilous Light

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

  “We don’t.” James’s face was emotionless.

  “I thought you were one of her Guardians. How could you knowingly lead her to danger?” Liam yelled.

  “I am not going to let her get hurt. Besides, Charlotte wants to do this. It is a risk she is willing to take.”

  “You act like she’s expendable. That’s bull!” Liam yelled. I had never heard him so impassioned.

  “Liam, no one is going to let anything happen to Charlotte. You know I would never put her in danger,” Monty said.

  “Even if it meant saving your sister?” Liam’s words were thick with implications.

  “I am not even going to answer that, Liam. Charlotte is my niece; I love her like my own daughter. I promised Emma I would always protect her children, and I have done my best.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I don’t like this.” Liam wrung his hands and paced.

  Watching Liam so distraught pushed me into action. I was done feeling sorry for myself; I had a job to do. “Okay. That’s enough discussion on my safety; we’re doing this. We’ve come too far to turn back. Besides, if we want the opportunity to defeat Blake, we have to get my mom.”

  We came to the crest of a hill, and everyone fell silent. A wall that appeared to be made completely of ice loomed in the distance. We walked further, the others surrounding me protectively, and I shivered just looking at it. When we finally reached the giant wall, I realized that a thick layer of ice coated it.

  “Is this Icentris?” I asked, even though aware that it couldn’t be anything else.

  “It must be,” James said evenly before closing the distance between us and the wall.

  Liam pointed to a tall archway. “So do we just walk through that arch? There has to be a catch, right?” The archway appeared out of place between the large stone walls, as though it should hold a gate.

  “I’d say we should scale the wall, but it is twice the height of the one at Bellgard, and even that one proved difficult.” Monty touched the icy wall, as if to see if it were actually solid.

  “If it is a trap, we are already caught. We are at risk out here in the open. We might as well enter.” Lawson spoke with conviction, giving me some optimism.

  “Let’s do it.” I started to walk through the arch, but James pushed me behind him.

  “Now is not the time to play hero, Charlotte.”

  I expected the arch to open directly into a courtyard, like at Bellgard, but it led into a cave. From the entrance, I could see a faint source of light in the distance. Large icicles dangled from the ceiling, some nearly touching the guys’ heads. I started to panic. Something felt incredibly wrong, but I couldn’t figure out where the sensation originated. In the near darkness, I jumped when someone touched me, but it was only Monty trying to pull me closer. We had almost reached the light ahead when James and Liam suddenly stopped in front of me. Monty’s arm tightened and Lawson walked into me.

  “What’s going on?” I whispered, unable to see around Liam and James.

  “Stay back!” James and Liam yelled in unison.

  I wanted to complain, but the words stuck in my throat when I heard an angry growl. Every inch of me turned cold.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Charlotte

  Lawson pushed into me again, with more momentum. Monty gripped my arm as we followed Liam and James out of the darkness. I still had no idea what had made the growling noise and was terrified to find out. I had faced some scary things in Energo, but no animal had ever frightened me as much.

  Searching the area in front of me once we entered the light, I didn’t see anything. Then I squinted and realized that the snow almost completely camouflaged two white wolves. Liam stepped back and took my other arm, a panicked expression on his face. I followed his gaze and spotted more wolves. We were surrounded.

  “They must be Arcos,” Lawson said timidly, a voice that seemed wrong coming out of him.

  James’s shoulders slumped. “Yes, but I thought they were all gone.”

  “Is an Arco somehow worse than any other giant wolf?” Liam asked, still holding my arm firmly.

  “You spent time with Naomi the last time you were in Energo, did you not?” Lawson’s voice came from directly behind me.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Well, you know how she can turn into a cat? The Arcos can shift form as well,” Lawson explained.

  “So these are pretty much arctic werewolves?” I should have expected more shifters were around, but I hadn’t contemplated anything as frightening as the creatures in front of me.

  “Yes, except they do not depend on phases of the moon.” Monty moved beside me and pulled out his sword. I realized the others had theirs out, too. James’s Guardian sword glowed green, reflecting eerily off of the snow and ice.

  “Do we actually have a chance against these things?” Liam asked.

  “No, not at all,” Monty said tersely.

  “Will one of you shift so we can speak to you?” It took me a moment to realize James was talking to the wolves.

  Nothing happened, and the tension mounted. Then, the air shimmered, and a man stood where one of the wolves had been. My jaw dropped, but not purely because of the transformation. The man, who couldn’t have been much older than Kevin, was completely naked. I must have made a sound of shock because Monty covered my eyes. When Monty removed his hand, the man had a blanket draped around his waist and a very amused smile on his face.

  “You do not get out much do you?” the man asked, still smiling. “I am Talen, and who, may I ask, are you?

  I could feel the blood flood to my face, probably turning it bright red.

  “Do you dare speak to the Essence in such a manner?” Lawson shrugged off the last of his apprehension and moved forward as if to challenge the man.

  “The Essence? Do you expect me to believe that the Essence is this far out in the snow? Next thing one of you is going to claim to be the new Gerard.” He laughed. My embarrassment dissipating, I really looked at him. His hair was completely white, like the fur of the wolves. He was of about average height, but his thick build made him intimidating. He smiled, catching me examining him, and I blushed again.

  “My Gerard is not here, but I assure you, I’m the Essence.” The fear and embarrassment must have pumped up my adrenalin because I was actually ready to argue with him.

  “Prove it.”

  “You do not have to prove anything, Charlotte. Let us take care of it,” Monty said.

  I ignored him and closed my eyes, picturing the wind picking up and a large snowstorm.

  “Stop! I believe you.”

  The loud exclamation made me open my eyes before the storm fully matured. I sighed with relief. I wanted to prove my identity, but I was freezing and didn’t need to make it worse.

  James laughed. “Are you satisfied?”

  “So she is the Essence. That does not change anything. What are you doing here?” Talen asked warily.

  “We are here for Emma, the previous Essence,” Monty said.

  “Why would you come to Icentris to look for her? Everyone knows she is in the lost world. It is only us and our prisoner here. Not that I mind your visit.” He looked directly at me as he said the last words. Both Monty and Liam tensed beside me.

  “Who is your prisoner?” Monty asked.

  “We have been trusted with guarding Macon, the cat who killed the former Gerard.”

  My anger swelled. “It wasn’t a Zatamanian who killed him!”

  “Then who did?” Talen challenged.

  “Blake,” James said.

  “And how would you know that?” Talen asked.

  “Because he is my father.”

  Talen blanched. “You are openly accusing your father of murder?”

  “I am not accusing. I am stating a fact. And now, if you are done with the twenty questions, we need to retrieve Emma.”

  “She is not here.”

  “Yes, she is. Most likely, she is being held where you think Macon is. Have you ac
tually seen him?” Monty’s impatience showed in his voice, and I could tell he was trying to hold his temper.

  “No. I have not seen him because it is impossible. There is no entry or exit.”

  “What? Then how is she being fed?” I felt sick and appreciated having Liam to lean on.

  James turned to face me. “She is in a deep sleep, Charlotte. She does not need to eat.” He may have sounded calm, but the anxiety intensified the exhaustion on his face, making him seem fragile somehow.

  “Why are you here? Even if you think the killer was a Zatamanian, why are you doing Blake’s bidding?” Lawson asked.

  Talen bowed his head. “We had no choice. After the Essence left, we lost everything. Our lands were barren, and our people were hungry. Blake gave us two options. We could work for him and he would pay us, or he would destroy what remained of our nation. It was an easy decision.”

  “So even with this knowledge, you still doubt us?” Monty asked.

  “Whether I trust your honesty or not matters little since there is no way for us to find out.”

  “There has to be a way. We did not come all this way to give up. We’re finding my mom!” I got as close to Talen as I dared. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed several wolves moving closer as if to protect Talen. He waved them off.

  “Your mother? You are born of an Essence?” Talen asked incredulously. I had almost forgotten how rare it was for an Essence to be the daughter of another Essence. It had only happened once before.

  “Yes. Now, please help us,” I pleaded, unwilling to give up no matter how little hope remained.

  “I will allow you to try to open the prison box. If you are successful and are right about the prisoner, then we will assist you. If you are wrong, and it is indeed a Zatamanian, then I have no choice but to turn all of you over to Blake.”

  “It is the best offer we are going to get. We should get moving.” James once again took charge, and I wondered if I had imagined any weakness.

  “Is that the prison box?” Lawson asked, pointing in the distance. I squinted and realized he was pointing to some sort of box situated atop a large cylindered tower. From where I stood, the box and the cylinder appeared to me made entirely of ice, but I assumed it was made of some sort of metal or stone.

  “How do we get up there?” Liam asked.

  “As I told you, there is no way to reach it.” Talen watched me carefully as he spoke. I suspected he felt bad about crushing my hope.

  “It can’t be impossible.” I stomped around like a toddler having a temper tantrum. Failing was not an option. We had to rescue her.

  “I have an idea.” Lawson walked purposely toward the wall opposite the prison tower. One large wolf followed closely behind him. He pulled off his pack, placed it on the ground, and started rummaging through it. “We cannot climb directly up to the prison box because there is no platform, but if we can get up this wall, maybe we can find a way across. Here, let us hope this works,” Lawson said removing an item from his bag.

  I pulled away from Liam, trying to get a better look at what Lawson held. Liam pulled me back against him as another wolf nearly brushed against me. “What are those?” I asked.

  “Just watch.” Lawson picked up an ice-covered rock and proceeded to hammer a metal spike into the frozen wall followed by another one higher up.

  “Perfect. Good thinking, Lawson.” Monty rushed over to the wall. “Let me help.”

  Lawson stepped up onto the first tent spike and took another spike from Monty’s outstretched hand before continuing. He repeated the process, moving up another spike, like climbing a ladder.

  “Well, aren’t you a regular MacGyver, using tent spikes as rungs.” Liam laughed, easing some of the tension that still hung in the air. Lawson was already out of earshot, but the rest of us appreciated it.

  “Are we all going to have to climb up that way?” I asked hesitantly.

  “It is pointless. Even if you reach the top, it will be impossible to reach the prison,” Talen said from behind me.

  I jumped, startled by his closeness. James stood on my other side. Evidently, he no longer viewed Talen as a risk to my safety. I couldn’t get a read from Talen on whether he could be trusted.

  “You forget we have an Essence with us,” James said.

  “James, you should go next with Charlotte behind you. I will follow.” Monty spoke without turning his attention from the wall.

  I waited my turn, watching James easily move up the spikes. “I can do this.” I tried to psyche myself up, glad that even if I wasn’t as athletic as my brother, at least I had a good sense of balance.

  The first step was the hardest. I easily placed one foot on the spike, but the next spike froze my hand through the glove, making me let go and nearly fall backward. Liam and Monty caught me, and I tried again. After that, I moved up carefully, watching James’s boots above me and listening to Monty’s reassurances from below. Finally, I reached the top, relieved that the wall was wider than I originally thought. Monty, Liam, and Talen arrived, and we all turned our attention toward the prison box. The box stood directly across from us, but still hundreds of feet away with the snow-covered ground far below.

  “Now what?” Lawson asked.

  “No more brilliant ideas?” Liam asked.

  “No. I got us up here. Now it is someone else’s turn.”

  “Should I try to shoot an arrow, see if we can send a line over?” Liam reached behind him to pull his crossbow and an arrow from his pack.

  Monty let out a deep breath. “It is worth a try, but I doubt it will do any good.”

  I heard the ping of the arrow as it bounced off the prison box. “All right, so that box is solid.” Liam carefully replaced his crossbow in his bag.

  Monty said, “It is all up to Charlotte now.”

  “Great, no pressure at all.” I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to clear my head.

  “You ready, Charlotte?” James asked impatiently.

  “What do you expect me to do, build a bridge?”

  “Yeah, that would work.”

  “What is there to even use? There are no trees or anything. Oh, wait. Ice. Ice is frozen water. I should be able to use it.” I heard a laugh as I tried to pump myself up. I glared at Talen.

  “Sorry.” Talen shook his head. “It is humorous to listen to you think out loud. You are not what I expected of an Essence.”

  “Leave her alone and let her do her job. Go on, Charlotte,” Monty instructed.

  I closed my eyes, picturing the ice. I tried to pull the ice free from the walls. I felt the ice hanging off another area of the wall loosen and separate, but it took so much energy, I had to let go. I opened my eyes as I heard it smash to the ground. “Darn it.”

  “Calm down. Try again,” James urged.

  I closed my eyes again, bracing myself for the heat I knew would come. The ice moved easily, and I willed it to reach the box. Reaching out, I repeated the process several times until I could picture a weaving of ice forming a bridge.

  “Incredible. Absolutely incredible.” I recognized Talen’s voice immediately. Once I opened my eyes, I gave him a smug smile before examining my handiwork. So it wasn’t the Brooklyn Bridge, but it was something.

  “It is sufficient, Charlotte, but you really need to learn to work faster. We will not always have time for you to try more than once, and you cannot hesitate so much.” I could have punched James; his antagonism was not what I needed.

  Before anyone could come to my defense, I said, “Shut up, James.”

  “I’ll go first.” Monty volunteered, and I could almost feel his excitement. We were so close to Mom.

  After tying a rope around his waist and handing the other end to Lawson, Monty carefully stepped onto the bridge. It seemed like an eternity before Monty reached the edge of the bridge. He untied the rope, and Lawson pulled it back toward us.

  “Who’s next?” Lawson asked.

  “Why don’t Charlotte and I go together?” Liam’s su
ggestion eased some of my nerves, but I still had to cross the ice. If only my abilities included flight.

  “Be careful, Liam.” Lawson’s response seemed like a cue. I nodded, and before I knew it, Liam was tying the rope around us.

  “We’ll take it slow. It will be okay.” Liam didn’t wait for my response before he moved us onto my bridge.

  It wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it would be, probably because I refused to look down. Still, it took me a few minutes to regain my composure once we joined Monty to wait for the others.

  “I still cannot fathom a way in.” Monty sounded worried, but not defeated.

  When the others arrived, Monty told James, “Let’s try your sword.”

  James repeatedly tried to cut into the box with his sword. “It did not even make a dent.” Monty sighed after James gave up.

  “Ouch!” I felt an intense heat against the skin of my chest. I pulled open my cloak and reached down into my dress to pull out my necklace. I yelled again when I put my hand on it. The rose pendant glowed brightly and felt as though it were on fire. I dropped it against my cloak and reached down to touch the ice, trying to cool the mild burn on my fingers.

  “Are you okay, Charlotte?” Monty asked as he came up beside me. He shielded his eyes from the bright light. “What is happening to your pendant? Did it burn you? How is it emanating heat?”

  A light bulb went off in my head—heat.

  Walking up to the box, I placed my hand on the surface. I winced as my burned hand touched the cold metal. I closed my eyes, picturing heat. The heat continued to build, but it wasn’t enough. Focusing harder, I used every ounce of energy available. I felt a surge, as if the earth were shifting. Pushing my hand more firmly against the side, I no longer noticed the cold. I fought to keep going, but it was too much. Strong arms caught me as I slid down to the cold platform, exhausted.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Calvin

  I could not believe the scene before me when I reached the top of the icy wall. Before I could get to her, Charlotte collapsed into the arms of a man I did not know. Racing across the icy bridge, I barely noticed where I stepped. Allowing my instincts to take over, I grabbed Charlotte and cradled her against my chest.