Beckoning Light (14 page)

“Gentleman,” Blake said suddenly, presumably addressing a group. “Tonight, we meet for a joyous occasion.” He paused dramatically. “We assumed that it would be years before a new Essence was born to us. We have been preparing for a continuation of the Dark Age, taking all necessary precautions. Several of you have served on the Guard with me for years; yet many of you have only been at Bellgard for a year or less. Now the time has come to explain why you were brought here to train. Men, you have all showed signs of becoming the next generation of Guardians.” A hush broke out through the room. Based on the excited voices that followed, I could tell that there was a crowd. My stomach really started to hurt.

Blake continued, “As any of the older Guard can tell you, being a Guardian is no easy task. It takes strong men who are required to make any necessary sacrifices to protect their Essence. This is especially true in light of the instability that awaits outside our borders. Becoming a Guardian is not a choice; it is a calling, and your very being will be connected to your role. I know that you will all take your positions seriously, especially the Guardian chosen as the Gerard, the ultimate protector.” I tried to understand what Blake was saying, but I didn’t have enough context. 

“Protecting the Essence is how our people remain in power, how our nation remains strong; the Gerard has the most important position of any in our land. As most of you know, the tie between the Gerard and his Essence is the most natural and strong bond imaginable. I expect that the Gerard might realize that he has been chosen as soon as he meets the Essence, but either way, we will know for sure after the ceremony.” 

As I listened, I started to tense up even more. I couldn’t understand what he was talking about, and the panic got worse. I was so nervous that I didn’t realize that Blake had stopped speaking. He rounded the corner, took my hand, and helped me to my feet. He tried to lead me into the main part of the room, but I resisted. From what I heard, the room was full of men, and I absolutely did not want to face them. Blake squeezed my hand gently and told me to relax, so I took a deep breath and followed him.

Walking around the screen, I understood why the room was called the
Great Hall
; it was huge. The high ceilings made for good acoustics, making our footsteps echo as we moved through the room. A number of large sconces lit the room on all sides, illuminating a long table at the center, most seats occupied, all by men who stood as we approached.

Blake addressed the men as we neared the table. “Gentleman, may I present to you, our new Essence.”

My chest tightened again, and I found myself leaning on Blake for support. He looked down at me encouragingly before he joined the other men at the table. I calmed enough to notice that one side of the table was lined with six men who were a lot older than me, at least in their thirties. I looked across the table and saw that the other side was lined with boys closer to my age; I even saw a blond-haired boy who looked younger. I took a deep breath and looked further down the row for James. I let out a gasp because there, in front of the last chair, standing next to James, was Calvin.

The same onslaught of emotions that I felt the first time I had seen him hit me as we locked eyes. Joy and surprise dominated his face, but his eyes also held a hint of something else. Before I could figure out what it was, everything went black.

***

I sat up slowly and looked around the dark room. As my eyes adjusted, I noticed that there was a single candle burning.

“Hello?” I asked tentatively, wondering if I was alone.

A figure walked out of the shadows and took a seat on a chair next to my bed. “I was beginning to think we might have to call a doctor,” James said in his typical hard-to-read tone. I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not.

“James?” I asked, surprised, still trying to remember how I had gotten back to my room. My head hurt, and I was really disoriented.

“I think we were too much for you, Charlotte. You passed out before you could even be formally introduced to your Guard.” James laughed. “I had to carry you up here.”

“Considering the circumstance, I think that’s pretty normal,” I said with an edge to my voice. I wasn’t going to let James make me feel bad when he was the reason I was even in this situation. I was also very uncomfortable about James carrying me anywhere, especially in front of Calvin. 

“True. It has been quite a day, has it not?” His voice was still thick with humor.

“So, what happens now?” I was scared that I had somehow made things even worse.

“We will have the ceremony tomorrow night as planned; the rest of your Guard will just have to wait to make your acquaintance.”

“I keep thinking this is all a dream, but then I wake up, and I’m still here,” I explained, suddenly wanting to let him know how I felt.

“I have a feeling this is not the first time you have tried to convince yourself you were having a dream when you were not.” He looked at me intently.

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused yet again.

“You know how you asked me the other day in class if we had met before?” He looked at me for agreement.  I nodded.
              “You were right. We had met before.” Once again, I was speechless, so I waited for him to continue. 

“Once my father found out where your mother went, he routinely sent Guardians to check on her. When I was twelve, I was invited to go.” I nodded again, encouraging him to continue. 

“They told me to wait in the garden while they checked out the perimeter, so I sat on the bench by the fountain. I was feeling pretty bored, regretting having made the trip, when a voice called to me from behind. I turned around, and there was a girl about my age dressed in a nightgown with her hair all wild. She asked me what I was doing in her yard, and I told her I was out for a walk and was taking a break. She told me I shouldn’t be there, so I assured her I would be leaving soon. I heard her mumble something about this being such a strange dream before turning around and walking away from me. I think we both know who that girl was.” James’s face was barely visible in the low candlelight.

Suddenly, I remembered that dream, the memory of it just below the surface of my consciousness. I knew it was a dream because there was no way I would have talked to the boy. I would have called for help instead, but if it wasn’t real, then how would James know about it? I was speechless; if possible, I felt even more overwhelmed. James must have sensed that I wasn’t going to reply because he continued talking.

“I never told anyone about meeting you, afraid that I would get in trouble, but I never forgot you. You were beautiful even then, and to a boy who had spent most of his life with only men, I was enamored. It was not until my father shared his frustrations that he could not find the new Essence that I realized just how important you would be. I expected my father to be happy with my revelation, but he lashed out at me for keeping your presence a secret from him for so long. I assured him that I could make up for it, that I would bring you here.”

“But how did you know when I would be back?” I finally began to understand James’s presence in Charleston.

“The first time I went back, I found out that you had moved away. My father was still angry, but he was hopeful. He assured me that as long as Monty lived there, you would be back one day because Monty would always watch out for Emma’s children. He set up a sentry to bring word as soon as he heard anything about your return. Last summer, we heard your uncle discussing your move, and I set up a cover in Charleston in hopes of getting close enough to you to bring you in,” James said, as though replaying events from a distant memory and not something that had happened only months ago.

I had a lot of questions, and it took me a minute to decide where to start. “But how could Monty have talked about it over the summer? We didn’t decide to move back until a few weeks ago.”

“It looks like they kept it from you,” James said lightly. I tried to put my annoyance and questions about the move aside so I could address the more pressing matters.

“But why would you have to convince me to come in? Couldn’t you have sent in people to kidnap me or something if you needed me here so bad?” I had having trouble even saying the word
kidnap
.

He readjusted his position in the chair. “We needed you to come willingly. You were no good to us if you did not consent to be here.”

James locked his hands together before continuing. “I asked around about you and found out that Liam was still friends with your family. I tried to become friendly with him so that I could get close to you when you returned. I had it all planned out, but it turned out to be pointless planning.” James smiled. “Imagine my surprise when you walked into my English class. It was perfect; I could get to know you on my own terms. I wondered if you would recognize me, and I thought that you did at first, but you really did not connect me to that dream, did you?” He paused, waiting for me to respond.

“I knew you seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place it, and then you made me feel silly about asking, so I let it go,” I admitted. 

“Do you always ignore your instincts?”

“No, but for once, I should have. I followed my instincts, and look where it got me.”

“I can assure you, Charlotte, it was not a mistake to come here.” He tried to calm me before continuing with his story. “I got confident and tried to test my cover, even talking to your uncle directly to see if he would realize who I was. I could not believe it when he consented to let me drive you to the library. I also realized that it was paramount that you come with me; the Essence needed to be better protected than that. I must say your brother impressed me, though, following up on our time together. He has already showed signs of a good Guardian, and hopefully he will take up his position here in time.”

I had many more questions, but my eyes were so heavy, I couldn’t keep them open. Before I could even say goodnight, I was asleep.

Chapter Sixteen

Charlotte

It felt like only minutes later when I woke up, hungry. I realized that I hadn’t eaten any dinner the night before; it must have been scheduled for after the meeting. Just thinking about the previous night made my stomach ache, but it also made my heart flutter as I thought about how close I was to Calvin. I had just finished brushing my teeth when Tara came in. I was once again grateful to James for the toothbrush and toothpaste. My stomach growled, and Tara told me that I would be having breakfast downstairs.

“With who?”

“Mr. Blake and Mr. James.”

I groaned. I knew that James would never let me off the hook for passing out like that. He had seemed so nice last night, but he also really made me nervous. It felt strange to know that he had been in Charleston only to get to me. I changed out of my wrinkled dress from the night before and put on a new one before reluctantly leaving my room. 

Downstairs, just as I expected, James smirked as I walked into the dining room. Clearly, he was back to his old self.  Blake was nowhere to be seen. “So, did you find out what happened after I left last night?” I asked, as I put some food on a plate. I looked at James and couldn’t help but notice how much his appearance had changed since we had arrived at Bellgard. For one thing, he was wearing the same clothes as the rest of the Guard, a black cotton uniform. It also looked like he had stopped shaving. 

“Well, it’s hard to do much when the guest of honor passes out.” James tried to hold in his laughter. “But really, it was fine. The other Guardians were still talking about how excited they were when I got back downstairs.”

“I still can’t believe I passed out,” I admitted.

“It is perfectly understandable, Charlotte,” Blake said, as he walked into the room. “You have been experiencing so many new things in the last day or so, and I am sure you are starting to feel the effects of your power. From what I understand, the onset of abilities can cause an Essence to have lapses of consciousness. There is no reason to feel embarrassed.” I didn’t know whether Blake was just saying it to be nice, but it made me feel a little less like a damsel in distress.

“Nope, no need to be embarrassed.” James laughed.

“James,” Blake said sternly.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” James grinned. It was weird to hear James reprimanded. Undoubtedly, he really cared about his father’s opinion of him and, from our conversation last night, I knew that he wanted to impress him.

“So now what?” I asked, trying to get an understanding of what the day held in store.

“We have arranged to have one of your Guardians show you around Bellgard.”

“Oh,” I replied, trying to act disinterested. I found myself excited, but also surprisingly nervous about the possibility that it would be Calvin. I couldn’t help but wonder what Calvin was thinking. I wondered why he wasn’t the one with me in my room last night. Had he gotten the wrong impression about us since James had carried me upstairs?  Had Calvin told anyone he knew me?

I was just finishing my tea when the young, blond-haired guard I had noticed the night before entered the room.

Blake gestured to me. “Are you ready?”

“Sure.” I stood and smoothed out my dress.

“This is Henry, one of your Guards.” Blake gestured to the boy. He looked nervous as he glanced at me.

“Hi, Henry. I’m Charlotte.” I gave him a small smile. 

“Should we begin the tour?”

“Sure, why not.” Wondering what a tour would entail, I followed Henry out of the room.

“So, your name is Charlotte? That is a pretty name. They never even mentioned it last night.”

“I guess I’m pretty much the Essence here, huh?” I tried to make it sound like a joke, even though it didn’t seem very funny to me.

“I guess so, but there are worse titles.” He smiled and handed me the same cloak I had worn on my way in. I took it wordlessly.

Henry led me out of the large castle doors, nodding at the two armed men on either side as we passed. Walking out into the sunlight, I realized it was the first time I had seen the outdoors since riding in with James. Now as I looked around, I was moved by the colors and faces I saw. A few people looked at me with interest, like they were trying to figure out who I was, as the dark cloak hid most of my features.