Perilous Light

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

  He looked up as I reached the table. “Can I help you, child?”

  “We need to talk.”

  “So talk.”

  “Alone.”

  “There is nothing you could possibly want to discuss that cannot be said in front of my advisors,” Alexander challenged.

  “It’s about my mother.” I hoped the mention would be enough.

  “Your mother is dead.” His voice sounded cold, and I started to doubt Bry’s belief that Alexander would help if he knew the truth.

  “Maybe not,” I said offhandedly.

  Without warning, he jumped out of his seat, grabbed my arm, and dragged me over to an empty table in the corner of the pub. Too surprised to protest, I stared at him as he pushed me down into a chair. “Talk, boy.”

  My previous fear of Alexander had not been from his physical strength, but I started to reevaluate it. There weren’t too many men who dared push me around like that. As much as I wanted to regain some self-respect and simply walk away, I knew I couldn’t. “Blake kidnapped her and has been keeping her in some weird catatonic state. With my Mom close to death, a new Essence was chosen, my sister.”

  “Where is she? We leave now.” He stood abruptly.

  “Suddenly Blake doesn’t seem like the man of the year, huh?” I instantly regretted my comment.

  Alexander grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. “I asked you where she is.”

  “I don’t know exactly. I think it’s called Icentris. Blake’s son is supposed to be taking my sister there now.”

  “Icentris? The prison holding Macon? And why is Blake’s son with your sister?”

  “He’s one of her Guardians. She claims we can trust him.”

  “Why would Blake want to imprison her? It makes no sense.” Alexander returned to his seat with a far-off expression.

  “He’s power hungry and wanted her out of the way.” I didn’t actually know his motivations, but those seemed logical.

  Pure rage flashed across Alexander’s face. “That snake! I should kill him for hurting Emma!”

  “So does this mean that we have the support of the Nordicos?” I attempted to keep my optimism at a reasonable level.

  “No. You do not.”

  “But—”

  “Let me rephrase it. You do not have our support. We do, however, support getting revenge for what happened to Emma. Now if your goals and our goal happen to coincide, then so be it.” I could have sworn there was a faint smile behind Alexander’s eyes, but I pretended not to notice.

  “Okay, then.” I didn’t want to push my luck, so I let it slide.

  “I must prepare my men.” Alexander shot out of his chair and was across the room before I even registered his words.

  By the time I got to my feet, he had started walking out the door of the pub with his advisors on his heels.

  Bry strolled over with a grin. “I take it he is on board?”

  “Yeah, he’s on board.”

  “Okay, now it is time to start planning.” Bry never ran out of energy.

  Samantha appeared beside me. “I think he deserves the rest of the night off.”

  “Fair enough.” Bry returned to the others. It surprised me how easily he gave in. Maybe he had planned it that way all along.

  “Come on. Let’s get out of here,” she said.

  I followed Samantha outside in a bit of a daze. Between getting too much information about men interested in my mom and the stress of how we were going to fight off Blake, I really needed a break.

  ***

  Samantha led us through the winding streets of Alak. We didn’t talk, but it was a comfortable silence. When we’d first arrived in the city, it seemed like an endless row of buildings and canals, but Samantha showed me an amazing park in the middle of the city.

  After following a winding path lined with white trees, we ended up sitting on a rock overlooking a small pond. A wooden bridge spanned the length of the pond, lit up by twinkling lights. With the skyline as a backdrop, the view was incredible, and we were far enough in the park that the sounds of the city had faded into a dull hum. The night was warm, but a slight breeze kept blowing Samantha’s hair into my face.

  “If my hair is bothering you, I will put it back up.” Samantha shrugged, and I couldn’t tell if she meant it as a joke. “I wanted to get the smoky smell out of my hair.”

  “It’s not bothering me at all. It’s pretty.” I went with honesty. Even if it did smell like smoke I wouldn’t have cared. Man, I had it bad.

  As we sat on the rock, I couldn’t help myself. Before I knew it, I was running my fingers through her hair. I usually went for brunettes, so it surprised me how much I liked her nearly white hair.

  “Thank you.” She smiled awkwardly as though she wasn’t used to compliments.

  “So, are you strict about the ‘no physical contact’ rule?” Mortification engulfed me as the words tumbled out of my mouth. They sounded fine floating around my head, but not so much when I heard them out loud.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I mean, I heard that things are pretty strict in Energo, and I didn’t want to get in trouble.” God, I was seriously making things worse. I decided to just take a chance. I leaned toward her, gently cradling her head in my hand. I’d kissed plenty of girls, but I’d never been as nervous as I felt in that moment. At first, she didn’t respond, and I wanted to kick myself. Then, her hands were in my hair, and she was kissing me back. It felt so good to feel her body pressed against mine. The kiss was perfection. We were both a little breathless afterward, looking at each other with amazement.

  “I guess you don’t follow that rule,” I said with a chuckle.

  “I never had a reason to worry about it before.” She smiled, and I realized that it had probably been her first kiss.

  “Wow. I’ve been waiting a long time for that.”

  “I bet you were,” Samantha joked.

  “Can you blame me?” I figured two could play that game.

  “I admit I was wrong about you, Kevin.”

  “Wait. You’re admitting you were wrong?” Something told me that was a rare occurrence.

  “Don’t get used to it. It won’t happen again.”

  I panicked for a second, thinking she meant the kiss, but then she leaned over and kissed me again. The second kiss didn’t get quite as intense as the first, but it was still unreal.

  “So what changed your mind? I mean, in what way were you wrong about me?”

  “I thought you were weak.” She paused. “But no weak man could have handled what you have in the last few days, nor manage a kiss like that.”

  “You thought I was weak?”

  “Not physically weak, Kevin. Although I did easily take you down the first time we met.” I cringed at the memory of her knocking me around. “I mean weak in other ways. I honestly did not know whether you had it in you to be a true leader. I was wrong.”

  “I’m glad you think so.”

  “I know so. We are going to pull through this.”

  “You think?” I was feeling a heck of a lot more confident after kissing her, so I was really asking rhetorically.

  “Yes. But for now, let us focus on something else.”

  “Like what?”

  “On us.” We both leaned in at the same time. I knew it was going to be a good night.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Charlotte

  It felt like pushing through a fog when I opened my eyes to find myself in Calvin’s arms. “You’re still here.” It took so much effort to get the words out.

  “Yes, I am with you now and always.” Calvin smiled, readjusting me so I could sit up.

  I tried to forget everything else for a moment and simply enjoy being close to him. As the fog cleared, I felt alert, the exhaustion of earlier having melted away. Memories from Icentris flooded me, and I wondered how long I had been out.

  I looked around and right into Liam’s eyes.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay.” Liam smiled as he s
tood up. “When you feel strong enough, your mom is over there.” Liam pointed behind him.

  I got my first sight of my mother, and a wave of emotion hit me. She looked older and weaker, but otherwise she looked like Mom. I wriggled out of Calvin’s arms. He resisted at first, but when he realized where I wanted to go, he loosened his hold.

  I walked over to my mother, looking at Monty briefly to make sure it was okay. He nodded. “Mom?” I touched the side of her face with my palm, afraid I would somehow break her if I wasn’t careful. She looked as though she were sleeping, but I knew it was something more. I hoped my touch would cure her, as it had helped Ruth, but my touch did nothing. Mom needed more energy. I closed my eyes and tried to picture my energy flowing into her. I began to feel lightheaded and weak, as though I might faint, but Calvin’s familiar arms steadied me from behind.

  “Charlotte?” Mom’s blue eyes fluttered open, and she looked at me with confusion. She tried to sit up, but after struggling for a moment gave up and remained lying down.

  “Relax, Emma. Take it slow.” Monty’s face glowed.

  “Monty? What’s going on?” Mom struggled again, so Monty helped her sit up. She looked around her nervously.

  “Where are we? Are we…? Wait, but how…?” My mom put her palms to the side of my face. “Charlotte? But you are all grown up. And your eyes…”

  “Emma, you have been out for a long time.”

  Mom dropped her hands at Monty’s words. “How long? How can Charlotte be the Essence? It is too soon. And is that your Gerard? My little Charlotte has a Gerard?” Mom looked as if she might pass out.

  James ambled over to us. “My father kidnapped you and had you in a coma for about four years. You were held captive at Icentris. I brought Charlotte into Energo a year ago and helped her find you.”

  “Your father?” Mom blinked. “So you are Blake’s son?”

  “I know what you are thinking. Let me explain. I helped Charlotte escape. I am one of her Guardians, and I am loyal to my job.”

  My mother considered Lawson quizzically. “Are you another Guardian?”

  “No. My younger brother is, though. He is with your son.”

  “My son? Kevin? Where is Kevin?” Mom frantically looked around again, as though she expected to find him in the cave.

  “Theodore sent Kevin to meet with the Pact council to get support for the resistance against Blake,” Monty said.

  “Defeat Blake? Why would we need the Pact?” Mom looked over my head at Calvin. “Are you not in charge now?”

  “Unfortunately, I did not put enough faith in my Essence and allowed Blake to maintain control.” I could tell how hard it was for Calvin to tell my mother that.

  “Blake has become so powerful that we have no chance of defeating him without the Pact?” Mom asked alarmed.“But why are you here to begin with? How did Charlotte and Kevin even get involved?”

  “I met James when we moved back home—”

  She interrupted, “Back home? When did you leave home?”

  “We spent three years in Alaska,” I said quietly.

  Her brow wrinkled in confusion. “Why Alaska?”

  “Stan took the kids there to do research after you… went missing.” Monty fidgeted uncomfortably.

  “Did you not realize where I went? I mean, Stan knew that I did not…” Panic crossed Mom’s face. It was just like her to worry more about the effect something had on everyone else rather than on what she went through herself.

  “We assumed. The kids thought you…” Monty started.

  “That I what?” she asked.

  “We thought you died.” It was easier to say it while sitting next to her, but thinking about it still brought back the painful memories of loss.

  “Oh, my goodness.” Mom pulled me toward her, and I relaxed into her embrace. Calvin backed up, giving us the space we needed. It felt so good to be held by her again. Tears started to slide down my face, but I didn’t try to stop them. “I am so sorry, Charlotte. That must have been so hard for you. I never warned you. We never thought… we were only trying to protect you.”

  “I know, Mom.” Being with my mom again was amazing, and I didn’t want to ruin it.

  Mom noticed Liam. “Liam? What are you doing here?”

  “Well, that’s an interesting story—” Liam started.

  Monty interrupted, “Liam is another one of Charlotte’s Guardians.” He grinned.

  “What? How?” My mother and I spoke simultaneously, our voices almost identical. In the seconds it took for Liam to respond, I convinced myself that I had misheard Monty.

  Liam answered, “I don’t really know. I just found out myself when I picked up a Guardian sword. But to answer your first question, I’m here to protect Charlotte and help in any way I can.” Liam watched me as he spoke, and I was sure my mouth was hanging open. Liam, a Guardian? It didn’t make any sense. He wasn’t from Energo, nor was his family, as far as I knew.

  “Monty, how is this possible?” Mom sounded as lost as I was. That didn’t seem like a good sign.

  “I am not sure, but I have a hunch.”

  “Let’s hear it,” Liam said.

  “Did you two ever… well, did you two ever have any physical contact?” Monty looked from Liam to me.

  “Physical contact?” Oh, my gosh. I peered at Liam and could tell he was thinking the same thing I was—the kiss. Blushing, I looked down at the ground. Calvin’s arms tightened around me.

  “Yes, do I really need to elaborate?” Monty asked.

  Without looking up, I answered, “Well, we kissed once. Or really, I kissed him right before we left for Alaska. I don’t know what came over me; it was supernatural or something.” I heard James laugh somewhere behind me.

  “Well, that explains it.” Monty said almost to himself.

  “Care to enlighten us?” Liam asked.

  “Nothing to worry about right now.”

  I opened my mouth to argue, but after one glance at my mother’s tired eyes, I decided to let it go for the time being.

  ***

  Hours later, I still hadn’t gotten used to all of the new information. I was shocked to discover that Liam was a Guardian, but on some level, it made perfect sense. Liam had already protected me fiercely before finding out he was a member of my Guard. I didn’t think anyone would have guessed that the last Guardian had been with us all along. All I knew was that there was no one I wanted on my Guard more.

  Monty joined me as we finished packing up our gear. “You doing all right?”

  I shrugged. “Yeah. Just a little shell-shocked.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, I can understand that.”

  “Things are never going to go back to normal, are they?”

  “Define normal.”

  “I guess I don’t know anymore.”

  “Neither do I, kid, neither do I.” Monty playfully tapped me on the shoulder before walking off.

  I finished packing my stuff and headed to the mouth of the cave. We couldn’t spend much more time in the same spot, but I wasn’t ready to return to the Resistance. I hoped Mom would be able to train me in time. I didn’t know how much more I could take of potentially passing out if I used my abilities too much.

  Mom walked beside me as we headed out. I shared as much energy with her as I could, but she was still weak.

  “You are going to be a good Essence, sweetheart.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “Positive. You just need guidance. I am amazed at how well you are doing without any training.” Mom smiled warmly, making me feel at ease.

  “Well, I had some help from Ruth.”

  “Ruth was such a wonderful woman. I am so glad you had the opportunity to meet her.” A cloud of sadness passed over her face. Ruth’s death was one of the things that had shaken Mom hardest when Monty filled her in on what she had missed the last few years.

  “Yes, she was. I know we don’t have time now, but will you tell me more about her later?”

  �
�Of course. We will have plenty of time for that.” Mom sounded so confident that it was contagious. I had forgotten how she had that effect on me.

  We headed back through the prairie. Although the landscape was as flat and endless as before, it felt so different traveling it with Mom and Calvin. Instead of focusing on how much I wanted to see them, I was able to just enjoy their company. I felt complete somehow. We planned to spend the night at an old house my mother remembered. Calvin didn’t leave my side, and I noticed Liam glancing over at us a few times. Calvin seemed ambivalent about Liam’s revelation.

  I peeked up at Calvin tentatively. “You’re not mad, are you?”

  “Why would I be angry?” He squeezed my hand.

  “About the kiss.”

  “Which kiss? It seems they keep adding up.”

  “But you said you understood about the kiss with James; I already told you it wasn’t my fault.”

  “But the one with Liam was?” Calvin’s face relaxed, and I realized he was joking. “It is all right, Charlotte. I understand you were still a child. Of course, I would have preferred to be your first kiss, but we cannot change that now.”

  “Thanks for understanding.”

  “We are lucky that Liam is now one of your Guardians. We have so few with us.” Although he didn’t say it, I knew he was thinking of William. I also noticed him giving Liam a sidelong glance as he said it. I had a feeling my friendship with Liam bothered him more than he admitted.

  “Yeah, very lucky.” I figured telling Calvin I was ecstatic might be pushing it too far.

  Calvin put his arm around my shoulders, holding my pack in his other hand. We walked in silence for a while, listening to the chatter of the others in the group. I gazed at the trees, amazed by the gorgeous hues of the foliage. Leaves in bright reds, purples and blues colored the landscape.

  “So how far away is this house?” I called to my mother, who walked holding onto Monty’s arm.

  “Not too much further.” Mom smiled and waited for me to catch up. It was surreal walking next to her. I reached out to touch her, needing to prove to myself that she was real.

  “I am really here, sweetheart.”