by K. R. Bowman
The dark mist had evaporated.
I stepped off the porch and onto the grass. As the sun hit my skin, the light bounced off and shimmered like tiny stars embedded into my arms and hands. I lifted my hands up to the sky and twirled. My heartfelt light and self-assured. I had never felt such weightlessness. I felt like I could fly and never touch the ground again.
A bright light, brighter than the sun, appeared in the sky. It seemed to be the sun, but the light moved closer and closer. The brightness of the light blinded me. The light hit me. It drove through me, searing my soul.
I burned from the inside out.
Unexplainable pain tore through me. The smell of dirt enveloped my senses as I tried to catch my breath. I turned my head to the side as the house wavered. I tried to block the pain. Tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes, my hands grappled at the ground grasping at the grass and twigs while the house crumbled away.
People yelling made me aware that I was in a different place. I opened my eyes to find I was on the floor again. A few feet from me, curled into a fetal position, was Samantha. Her eye make-up was smeared all over her face, along with her red lipstick.
The whole bar huddled around us. Ashlen knelt beside me with a damp towel and wiped at my face and neck.
“Sloane? Are you okay? Sloane?” her face creased with fear and concern. “Sloane? Talk to me,” her voice shook as she spoke.
I felt my head. “Yeah, I’m okay, I think.”
“I’m so sorry. I was trying to get you away from stress. Instead, you got deeper in it.”
I limply flicked my hand at her, “It’s alright. Don’t worry about it. I blacked out again.”
People watched and whispered. I quickly shielded my face and turned away from them.
Ashlen stood, “Okay, people, the show is over. Move it.”
Slowly, they filtered out. A small group stayed around Samantha. She wasn’t responding.
Ashlen knelt back down, “After you and Samantha touched, we couldn’t separate you. Rory screamed about Samantha’s powers. Apparently, part of her powers is inflicting pain when she touches someone, but,” Ashlen turned to Samantha, “it seems her power backfired.” She gave me a sly smile, implying the bitch deserved it. I tended to agree.
“Yeah, when our hands met, I was teleported, metaphysically, to some world I have never seen before.” I rubbed my temples, “It was weird. The place was destroyed one moment, and when I blinked, it changed. I guess, at the same time you separated us, that’s when I saw this huge light high up in the sky. It careened down and struck me, tearing through me like it was setting my insides on fire, then I woke up here.” I rubbed my arms like I could feel the light burning. Ashlen studied me.
“Move. Get out of my way.” Callum pushed through the crowd around me. He stopped, looking me over.
“You okay?” His voice wasn’t kind. His eyes were blank and void of emotion.
I nodded, “Yes, I’m fine, thank you,” my voice was level, and I made sure to keep as much emotion out of it as I could.
“Come on, let’s get you back.” He moved forward like he was going to help get me up, but I got up before he could touch me.
“It’s okay. I got it.” I grabbed Ashlen’s arm and pulled her through the crowd to the outside, not even glancing at Samantha.
We trudged up the hill to the main building. The buildings along the way were mostly dark, with only a couple of windows bright with candlelight. It had to be close to midnight by now. The streets were deserted. Most people were either asleep, out at the bar, or up at the main building.
Ashlen squeezed my arm, “I’m sorry.”
“Ash, it’s okay, I promise. Don’t worry about it.” I patted her hand. “It was great to get out.”
She laughed.
I could feel Callum’s presence behind us, but I refused to acknowledge him. Ashlen and I walked into the main building. A lot of the people were in the dining hall dancing, discussing, or eating; it was definitely time for me to go to bed. Ashlen and I threaded through the people in the direction of our room.
“Sloane,” he spoke without trying to raise his voice over all the noise.
I stopped in the middle of the floor with people bumping into me and yelling all around. Ashlen apparently didn’t hear him because she kept winding through the crowd to the hallway. I saw her stop and search for me. She finally spotted me and started to make her way back, but I waved her to stop. She frowned for a moment. I saw her gaze shift behind me. Her eyes moved back to me, and she nodded once, spinning on her heel, and continuing on down the hall.
I took a deep breath and slowly faced Callum.
His hair fell in his eyes, so I could barely see them, and he towered over me. His mouth was set into a straight line. The lines of his face were hard. I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin up. I passed by him and back to the outside. I walked steadily toward the barn but stopped at a fallen tree to sit down. I guessed it was around nine or ten at night. Callum was a few yards behind and stopped in front of me. He crossed his arms across his chest, but his eyes didn’t meet mine.
“Alright, say what you want to say. Let’s just get this over with.” I crossed my arms across my chest and glared up at him. What in the world does he have to say to me?
Callum stood very still, this time he looked straight at me, “I need you to understand…”
I lifted an eyebrow and waited.
His arms fell to his sides, and he took a deep breath. He ran his hands through his hair.
He was nervous. My anger subsided, and confusion took its place.
“Why is it so hard to talk to you?” His eyes were filled with anger and frustration. “You have got to be the most infuriating…” he clenched his teeth, “person.”
I stood to give myself more height, “Hey, you do not get to be mad at me, because I have done absolutely nothing to deserve it.” I almost jabbed my finger in his chest but refrained. “Don’t you remember? You’re the one who keeps yo-yoing.”
He made an exasperated noise then ran both hands through his hair.
“I’ve lost my whole family,” he almost whispered.
Rushing through my mind had been choices of words that I thought of yelling at him, those words suddenly crashed. Replaced with a prominent question mark.
He slowly faced me. His eyes landed on mine for a split second then darted away.
“I didn’t tell you that to get you to pity me. I told you, so maybe you can better understand my reasoning behind my actions toward you.” His hands were balled into fists at his sides, but his voice was steady.
“I like you …” he seemed startled by his own confession. “I consider you to be my friend. I don’t know why I like you, but whenever I’m around you, some of the weight on my shoulders seems to lift.” His mouth slowly curled at the edges, and his eyes met mine more steadily, “I’ve liked you ever since I saw you walking through the forest in your pajamas. I don’t know, something told me I needed to take care of you.” His eyes studied me for a reaction, which I tried my best not to give him.
“As I’m sure you’ve noticed, I’m not a very social person. Honestly, I think you are the only person who consistently stays around. At the risk of sounding like an emotional twat. You mean a lot to me...”
I stopped breathing.
He paused, “I don’t have many I can rely on. But you make me feel like I belong.”
The air that had been thick with hostility was now lighter.
I studied him for a moment, and my heartbeat again, “So, that’s why you’ve been acting weird?”
He nodded slowly, “I wanted to make sure you weren’t leaving. You make it hard for me to watch out for you.” His hands were loose at his sides now.
I wasn’t sure what to say or how to react. Why was everything so complicated?
“So, friends?” I extended my hand out to him with a slight smile on my face.
He watched me, a small chuckle escaped his lips, and he shook his
head like he was laughing at me. He took my hand in his.
“Friends.”
Was it weird my stomach did some somersaults at that moment? Maybe tinged with sadness at being called a friend by a hot man? I can’t ever win in my head.
“And Sloane, you shouldn’t be afraid because you’re different. Embrace it. Besides, the white eyes look good on you.” One corner of his mouth lifted, and his eyes laughed at me.
I scoffed and rolled my eyes, “Thanks, I guess.”
Callum tilted his head like he heard something, then someone shouted off in the distance. My hand released his, dropping to my side. I turned in the direction of the noise.
We silently moved toward the noise. The yelling came from the front gate, so we hurried down the path as fast as we could. About forty or more people were gathered near the gate.
Callum made a path to see about the commotion. I followed on his heels. The people gave way a bit, and we stumbled into the middle of the gathering. Graham and a few of the warriors he had left with were gathered together in the center of the group. My eyes immediately sought him. A small group of what appeared to be Watchers were covered in mud and grime.
The small group was being hugged and given pats on the backs by all the others gathered around us. People were laughing and crying. Graham and the other warriors were being greeted by their family and friends. Graham’s eyes locked onto mine, but when I smiled at him, he did not return it. My smile faltered, and I turned my attention back to the Watchers.
There was something different about Graham. Something in his eyes. They were hollow.
The Watchers looked spent, but relieved. They had tired smiles on their dirty faces.
We eventually moved toward the main building. I vaguely remembered Callum walking around the perimeter of the group like he was keeping watch. I could almost feel Callum watching my reaction to Graham. As we moved toward the main door, I saw Graham and his friends separate from the main group and disappear around a corner. He never looked back at me.
My group went on into the main building where Chuck had arranged for the seven Watchers to get washed up for a party. The group consisted of five girls and two boys. I did recognize the faces, but I didn’t know them personally. They disappeared to the second floor to get cleaned up.
Chuck had food brought out for all. A welcome home party for them that I’m sure they would never forget ensued. Dancing, singing, and eating were the main goals for the night. The seven survivors were seated at a table in the middle of the room. My table was to the right of where they sat, so I had a clear view of them. Ashlen, Raleigh, and Harris were seated at the table with me.
Callum stood at the survivors’ table talking to the two guys, getting information from them about their journey.
Graham led the seven back to Kingston, so twelve of his warriors traveled on to the camp to see what they could find. Graham would travel back to the camp later to meet up with the rest of the group.
I kept scanning the crowd for Graham, but he never showed. Maybe they were setting up their plans for the return journey to the camp.
Callum was laughing with the two guys, Caleb and Evan. He made no sense whatsoever. This whole time I’ve never seen him laugh like that except when I was hitting him. What was his deal? I couldn’t help but watch him interact with the two guys.
“You okay?” Ashlen leaned over, her arms on the table and a concerned expression on her face.
I flicked my eyes over to Callum again, “I’m fine, just thinking.” I smiled.
Ashlen had followed my glance. She nodded knowingly, “He seems to make you think a lot. You know I think I’m going to have to change what I had first said about him,” she ran a finger along the stained wood table and started tapping her fingers, “I think he’s a good guy, slightly misunderstood sometimes, but overall a good guy. He cares a lot about what he does, and he seems to always be watching out for you too.”
She leaned back in her chair, “Graham though,” her smile widened, “he’s a great guy. I mean, his biceps surely make up for any faults.”
I rolled my eyes and gently pushed the leg of her chair to make her have to catch herself from falling backwards. “Be quiet. They are both just friends. That is all. Even Callum told me that he pretty much thinks of me as a sister or a best friend. As for Graham, he’s ignoring me.”
Ashlen spoke eagerly, “Really? Callum told you all that? Why would Graham ignore you?” A line formed between her eyebrows and her head tilted.
I shrugged and glanced at Callum, “I don’t know. Callum and I had a conversation,” she raised her eyebrows to that and bit back a smile. “And I haven’t been able to talk to Graham, so I don’t know what’s with him.”
Her eyes grew larger, and her voice was anxious, “Well, what exactly did Callum say?”
I smiled and shook my head. “Just that he felt like he needed to protect me, and he’s always liked me from the moment we met, even in my silly pjs, and I am his only friend.” The more I thought about Callum, warmth spread across my face.
Ashlen laughed. Her eyes sparkled with laughter, and her head went back as she laughed.
“Why is that funny?”
She laughed some more, then covered her mouth with her hand, trying to stifle her laughter, which didn’t really work. She answered, “I’m sorry, girl, what are you doing?”
My eyebrows in surprise. “What?”
“Sloane, he likes you. He didn’t say anything about you being his sister.” She studied me some more. “Obviously, you don’t know much about guys.”
I shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, not really. I’m not used to the attention.”
She nodded.
I looked back over to see what Callum was doing now. Our eyes met. I know my face immediately showed surprise, but I smiled, trying to cover up my embarrassment. He studied me for a moment then smiled back. He continued speaking to the guys.
Raleigh, who had been sitting at the end of the table, stood, and disappeared through the crowd of people dancing on the floor. Harris leaned over and whispered to Ashlen. She glanced at me with a smile.
“Hey, did you hear if that Samantha girl was okay?”
Ashlen frowned for a moment in thought, “Oh yeah, the pain girl. She’s okay though she will have to stay in the infirmary for a few nights.”
“Oh, wow, okay.”
“She’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” Harris whispered in her ear again, making her giggle, “We will discuss this topic later.” She patted my back as she and Harris both got up, holding hands leaving the table.
My eyes grew heavy, so I got up and headed in the direction of my room for some sleep. It had been such a long day. Ashlen and Harris were on the dance floor having a great time, so I didn’t bother them. I scanned over the crowd one more time, hoping to see Graham, but of course, he wasn’t there. I couldn’t find Raleigh at all, so I went to the room by myself. My feet were lead as I forced myself up the stairs, not passing a soul. I tumbled straight into bed, falling on top of the sheets without changing my clothes, and fell right to sleep.
The darkened creature that was once a man stalked across the room to stare out the window. His fingers, now razor-sharp claws, dug into the wooden window sill. The light was about to make its brief appearance. As the hazy light crept in, he pulled the shutters and thick draperies across the window to extinguish the light. He turned back to what was his bed, torn parts of cloth, dirt, and shavings, and sat down.
The mission was a failure.
They had been close and, yet, he fell through their grasp. The creature hadn’t expected the realmer to be that fast, but maybe he got the message. Maybe the realmer will try to find them.
The creature needed him.
The Nightlins needed him to be a part of their family. He has to become one of the Nights. There must be a way to capture him, the dark ones say he is one of the best, but the realmer had to have seen the sign, to recognize it.
The realmer will come. He wo
n’t be able to stay away. If he saw the sign, the creature knew the realmer couldn’t have missed it, then he would find them.
14
I awoke with a jolt.
“Training!” I gritted my teeth, throwing the covers off of me in the process. I jumped out of bed and ran around the room, throwing on clothes and armor, stuffing food in my mouth. The room was empty, so the girls were already down at practice. Why didn’t they wake me?
My armor rubbed and bumped as I ran down the hallway. I kept running all the way to the main gate and out to the field. They fought in their circles, each hitting and blocking, the metal clanging as they moved.
Callum and Irene were on the sidelines of the fighting rings, giving advice and encouragement.
Callum was the first to see me. He stopped when he caught sight of me and wasn’t very happy. He said something to Irene, who noticed me. She nodded and continued speaking to the others. Callum moved around the circle and toward my direction.
His dark hair hung across his forehead and into his eyes. He had on lighter armor, which fit close to his toned body. He moved with grace and confidence of a jungle cat. His eyes stayed on mine the entire time it took for him to reach me.
For some reason, I felt cognizant, like maybe I should have taken more time to look in a mirror.
“I should have known you wouldn’t stay away.” He crossed his arms across his chest and pinned me with his eyes, they were accusing.
My defenses went up, “Why would I stay away?”
“Sloane, you’ve had a draining past few days both physically and mentally, which literally knocked you out and, on your ass, twice. I told the girls to let you rest for a little while, so maybe you can get fully charged.” His eyes were measuring me again.