Elizabeth laughed inwardly; as if she was actually going to follow that rule. She had made up her mind back in the village—she liked Rico and Rico liked her, and as long as no one knew about it, everything would be fine.
“Why?” Jasmine asked. Though she wasn’t interested in anyone at the time, the idea of not being able to be courted by anyone made no sense to her.
“Well, Jasmine, we want you to stay focused on your training. If a boy were to get involved with your powers, as unstable as they are, we are afraid that something bad might happen. So for your safety and the safety of this place, we want to make sure that you are fully capable of controlling yourselves,” Angelo explained.
The girls nodded in agreement.
“Makes sense,” Jasmine responded. “These rules are easy.”
“And Rule Number Three: You must never leave this village,” Angelo warned.
“Why not?” Elizabeth asked sharply. That was the only rule that really got to her. She wanted so badly to find her family, and now these people were stopping her from setting out to achieve the one goal that she had made for herself.
“Because it’s too dangerous for you out there, Lizzy,” Layla said.
“Yeah, but...” Elizabeth started.
“I know you miss your father, but if you leave now, before you are strong enough to stand on your own, who knows what might happen,” Lela said. “Please just trust us. Your mother would kill us if anything were to happen to you under our care.”
Elizabeth looked down. “Whatever,” she said, out of it. “You won’t even tell me where she is, so why should I care how she would feel?” she asked dryly.
“We’ll tell you when we know you are ready to hear it,” Lela informed her.
“Of course, more rules. So where am I staying? Do I get my own place?” Elizabeth asked, though she didn’t really care.
Her aunts shook their heads. “You three will be staying with us for the time being, so we can train you and get to know you better,” Layla explained.
“I don’t get to go back to my other family?” Renee asked, hurt. It had just dawned on her that her birthday would be the last time she had breakfast with her family ever again.
“No,” Layla replied. “However, since we live in the same village, you’ll be able to see them whenever you want. Just be sure to be on time for training and always follow orders, or that could change.”
“Yes ma’am,” Jasmine and Renee replied, relieved that their mothers were so nice.
“Good. Your training starts tomorrow morning. You will train for an hour every morning and three hours before supper every night, until your aunts and mothers think you’re ready,” Angelo explained.
“Great, there goes my personal life,” Renee said sarcastically.
“I know right,” Jasmine agreed.
“If you girls follow these rules, we should get along just fine,” Angelo said. Carlos brought over a small box that he had been holding ever since they had walked into the room. Angelo opened it and inside were three necklaces: a peridot, a sapphire and a pearl. “These necklaces are to help you control your powers; you must never take them off, not until the wise man believes that you are ready,” Angelo said.
“Wise man?” Renee asked.
“You’ll meet him in a year’s time,” Angelo replied.
“Why so long?” Jasmine asked.
“That’s just how it is,” Lela informed her.
Angelo handed each girl a necklace. Renee got the peridot, Elizabeth got the pearl, and Jasmine the sapphire. They put them on and looked at them. “Beautiful,” they said.
“Why are they different?” Jasmine asked.
“So we don’t get confused,” Carlos said.
“I guess,” Renee said.
After getting their necklaces, a short, brown-skinned girl with long, brown hair walked in. She was skinny, with brown oval-shaped eyes and a pretty smile. She wore a long, pink, short-sleeved dress and carried some papers in her hand.
“Ah, Rebecca, there you are,” Angelo said with a smile. “You have the documents?” he asked.
“Of course.” She handed him the documents. Rebecca spoke with a sweet and small voice, but her demeanor was like that of a princess. She commanded authority just standing there, and it was quite clear that she was someone very important in the rebel base.
“Thank you,” Angelo said. “Ladies, this is Rebecca, Carlos’ daughter and Rico’s fiancée,” he said proudly.
The girls were shocked, and Elizabeth felt as if her heart had just been ripped out of her chest. She wanted to run out of the room, but instead just sat there, frozen and silent. He has a fiancée.
“Rebecca, could you be a dear and escort these three to Lela and Layla’s house?”
“Sure thing, sir,” she said sweetly. She took one look at the girls and felt very intimidated.
“Why can’t you take us?” Jasmine asked her mother.
“We have some more things to talk about here. We’ll see you at the house later,” Lela assured her.
“Then we can catch up,” Layla added, hugging her daughter.
“That’s fine,” Jasmine and Renee said.
“Are these your daughters?” Rebecca asked Lela and Layla.
“Yes,” They said, in unison.
“They look so much like you,” she said, staring at them and blinking uncontrollably.
“You think?” Renee blushed, though she felt sorry for her best friend. She knew that she and Rico really liked each other, and for Rico to have not said anything about his fiancée was upsetting.
“Yes, it’s kind of creepy,” Rebecca said. “Where have they been all these years?” she asked their mothers.
“Rebecca, you can question them later. Could you please show them to their house now?” Carlos said.
Rebecca smiled. “Yes father,” she said.
Is everyone related here? Renee asked Jasmine and Elizabeth.
They shrugged their shoulders and stood up.
“Rico?” Rebecca said, sweetly. She then noticed Rico standing by the door. “You’re back. I didn’t notice you,” she said as she made her way towards him. “How was the trip?” she asked, hugging him.
“Interesting,” Rico said, trying to avoid looking at Renee and Jasmine, who were both glaring at him like they were lions and he was their prey.
The only thing that Elizabeth was thinking about was how easy it would be for Rebecca to have some kind of accident on her way out of the building…
“Can you help me escort them to their home?” Rebecca asked.
“He can’t. You two can catch up later,” Angelo said.
“Is he going on another mission?” Rebecca asked.
“Please take the girls home,” her father said.
“Sure thing,” she said, sweetly. “See you later. Come along, girls.”
They walked out of the room and Rico watched from the corner of his eyes as they left, a look of disappointment flushing across his face.
Lela and Layla watched Rico curiously as he watched them. Studying his every movement, they could tell that something was up with him. He had never been the type to allow his eyes to linger on his assignments. Once his missions were over, he usually never gave any of them a second glance, let alone a look like the one he was currently giving their niece.
“I think it would be best if you kept your distance from the girls,” Lela warned. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Rico. On the contrary, she had watched him grow up into a fine young man, and he was one of her favorite people. However, he was due to wed Rebecca. And the girls needed to focus on their training—if not to help win the war, then at least to learn how to control their power. Any boy would only be a distraction.
“Of course,” Rico agreed. “My job with them is done,” he assured Lela.
“Not yet. They know you and trust you, so I think it would be best if you helped show them the ropes around here,” his father argued.
“We can do that,” Layla pr
otested.
“But you two have a lot of work to do yourselves. No, it would be best if Rico were to do it,” Angelo said.
“These are our girls, and I would feel more comfortable in doing this myself,” Lela argued.
Angelo put his arms up as if to surrender. “Okay, you win,” he said. “So what happened on the mission, Rico?” he asked, changing the subject.
“A lot,” Rico informed them.
“Explain,” Angelo ordered.
Rico bowed his head, then looked back up at his father and began to tell them all everything that had happened in the past two days, not leaving anything out. Once he had finished, they all looked at him as if he were wearing his clothes inside-out and his underwear on the outside.
“She brought you back to life?” were the first words out of Carlos’ mouth. The idea of people being resurrected from the dead had always been talked about, but none of them had ever seen it done.
Rico nodded.
“How?” Lela asked, feeling amazed but also afraid for the girls’ future at the camp, should word get out about them.
Rico shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I just remember feeling this warm light, and the next thing I knew I was looking at Elizabeth, and I felt great—better than I’ve ever felt before,” Rico said, using his hands for emphasis.
“That’s amazing,” Angelo said, excited.
“These girls are great. Just a few years of training and they should be unstoppable,” Carlos said.
“You want our daughters to be unstoppable?” Lela asked, standing up and suddenly rethinking the idea of staying with this group.
“They’re not just tools for you to use to win this war. They are our daughters first and foremost, and it would be in your best interest to try to remember that,” Layla said, aggravated.
“Apologies; I was just thinking about how good it would be for this war to finally be over,” Carlos said apologetically.
“That’s alright,” Angelo said. “Rico, you may leave. But come back at dusk; you set out again tonight.”
“Yes sir,” Rico said, then turned and walked out of the building.
“Any news from our spy in the palace?” Angelo asked.
“Just that the king has been preparing for war,” Lela said.
“Good. Then they won’t expect us,” Angelo said with a devious grin.
“Of course not; we’re too good for that,” Layla boasted.
“That’s true,” Angelo agreed. “Shall we break for supper? I know you two are looking forward to spending time with your daughters and niece,” he asked.
“Yes we are,” Lela and Layla said, in unison.
“See you at the dining hall?” Angelo asked as they stood up.
“See you then,” Lela and Layla walked out.
“This is great. We will finally be able to end this war and bring peace to the land,” Angelo said, proudly.
Carlos smiled. “This is wonderful, sir,” he said.
Angelo walked to the window and looked out at the people passing by. Some were talking happily while children ran around playing; for them it was as if there wasn’t a care in the world. “Just think about it,” he said, taking it all in, “By this time next year, the world will be at peace, and we will no longer have to hide in the darkness,” Angelo said.
Carlos smiled. “Your dreams will become reality, as long as the girls will help,” he assured Angelo.
“Of course they will,” Angelo replied. “Who wouldn’t want peace?”
“Maybe,” Carlos said.
“You worry too much, Carlos. Everything is going to work out fine; I’m sure of it,” Angelo assured him.
Carlos walked over to Angelo and put a hand on his shoulder. “If you think so, sir, then I’m sure it will,” he said.
23
Lela and Layla had one of the biggest houses in the entire camp, with eight bedrooms, three bathing rooms, a dining room, a living room, an office and a large kitchen, which, according to Rebecca, was never used for dinner on the weekends. Instead, everyone would eat in the mess hall as a way to welcome newcomers and congratulate those who had successfully completed whatever missions Angelo had sent them out on in order to build a better world. In Rico, Sam, and Will’s case, that was quite often.
Before dinner, Elizabeth found herself sitting under a huge tree in front of her new house, with her knees pulled to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Her mind was racing with thoughts of everything that had happened since her birthday. She wanted more than anything to be able to see her parents, but she couldn’t. Her father was probably in the palace dungeon being tortured, and she still had no idea where her mother was. She had family here, but she still felt lonely. At least when she’d thought she had a chance with Rico, she had felt some sense of warmth because her father had entrusted him to protect her. But now it was different; now Rebecca had Rico, and Elizabeth had no one.
“Lizzy,” she heard Rico’s voice call out to her.
She slowly raised her head and saw him looking back at her, worry and shame showing in his face. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with your fiancée?” she asked as she wiped her eyes. She was trying to seem as if she wasn’t bitter about the sudden announcement of his upcoming nuptials; however, her words came out like those of a bitter ex-girlfriend.
He sat down next to her and sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her,” he said softly. His eyes were low and focused on the ground. One of his legs was propped up with his arm resting on it, while his other leg lay flat on the ground. He looked like he was deep in thought as he spoke those words, and Elizabeth could tell that he was sincerely sorry for misleading her. But at that moment, she didn’t want to talk about it.
“It’s fine. You and I are just friends, right?” she asked, more as a question than a statement.
He looked up at her and met her gaze. No matter how hard she tried to hide her feelings, they showed in her face and in the way she had her hands clasped together as if she were holding on for dear life. “Right,” he said, suddenly looking away and back at the ground. “But…” he started.
“We are fine,” she snuffled. “You had a job to do and you did it. Now my aunts can protect me until I learn how to protect myself, and we can be good friends.” Her heart was breaking with every word she spoke, but she knew she had to do it; otherwise, she would spend her entire life obsessing over him, and she didn’t want that.
“You’re right,” he said, bitterly. “So, ‘friend,’ why were you crying?” The way he said “friend” made her feel extremely awkward; it was kind of like that hug that Ethan had given her earlier— a nice thought, but weird.
“I was just thinking of my parents. I miss my dad and I want to meet my mom,” she said, half lying. “But I can’t leave this ridiculously large ‘camp,’ as you call it.”
“Oh,” he said, disappointed.
“What?” she asked, curious.
“Nothing; it’s just that your dad is one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. If anyone could survive that kind of torture, he could. As for your mom… I’ve never met her, but your aunts tell me she’s a fire-starter.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened as her interest in meeting her mother grew. “No way,” she said, impressed.
Rico laughed. “Yes way, and so are you,” he informed her.
Elizabeth pointed to herself. “Me?”
He nodded. “How do you think Jenny’s finger caught on fire?”
Elizabeth laughed, for the first time since her birthday. “I thought that might have been me,” she admitted.
“Of course; you’re amazing,” he declared. “And once you learn how to control it, you will be even better.”
“Not scary?” she asked in a tiny voice.
He lifted his hand and rocked it slightly back and forth as if to say ‘kind of.’ She smacked his hand down and he chuckled “For now you are a little bit scary, but that is only because you lack control; soon, th
at won’t be the case.”
She smiled. “Thanks, Rico,” she said, standing up.
He stood up and looked at her. “For what?” he asked, moving closer.
“For cheering me up. I needed that,” she said, sincerely.
“You’re welcome.” His lips were inches away from hers, and even though she knew it was wrong, she couldn’t help wanting to give into temptation. Hell, he even looked like he was willing to do it… so why not? But right when she was about to let him kiss her, she heard another voice call her name, sounding like one of her aunts. They both pulled back, then looked towards the voices. Surely enough, both Lela and Layla were staring at Elizabeth and Rico, as if they were enemy combatants and it was the formers mission to destroy them. “I’ll see you later, buddy,” Rico said, trying to walk as fast as he could away from the situation.
“Walk faster,” Lela ordered, and he did, so much so that he was almost running.
Lela and Layla then turned their attention back towards Elizabeth, who was grinning from ear to ear.
“I know—him fiancée, me powerful being, nothing will come from it—so you don’t have to yell at me,” Elizabeth said as she walked away from them and towards the house.
Her aunts just shook their heads and followed her inside.
24
A few days later, Caleb’s body brushed up in a garden where some girl was picking berries. Caleb was barely conscious, but he could make out a voice.
Who is that? he wanted to say, but the words would not come out. All he could make out were the phrases, “Oh my God,” and “What happened to you?” He felt his body being pulled onto grass by someone with soft and delicate hands. As she moved him, he felt himself sink deeper and deeper into unconsciousness. He could hear his mother’s voice whispering in his ear, telling him that it was all going to be alright, and all he had to do was reach out his hand towards her. He tried to speak to her, but the words wouldn’t come. She then repeated the words, “It’s okay, just hold out your hand and open your eyes.” When he did, his mother’s shadow was gone, replaced by one of the most beautiful smiles he had ever seen, belonging to an even more beautiful young woman, who looked an awful lot like his aunt’s friend and his surrogate mother, surrounded in a beautiful, blinding light.
The Journey: The Ultimate Power Book 1 Page 21