Beckoning Light (25 page)

“Charlotte, please,” Calvin begged.

“So what do you say, Calvin? Do we leave, or do I kill the girl?” James glared at Calvin.

“You can leave. I know she will be back.” Calvin addressed Charlotte as much as James. “Taking her away now will not keep her from me. She belongs here with me and her people. I will come for you, Charlotte, I promise.”

“Don’t come for me until you are ready to see Blake for what he really is,” Charlotte said resolutely.
Wow, Charlotte!
I thought. I was shocked by the way she held her ground against this guy. I even had a hard time talking back to him.

Calvin looked at Charlotte sadly and nodded. “Raise the gates!” The gates opened, and James backed up, sword still to Charlotte’s throat. We all started to follow them out. I quickly moved behind James in case someone tried to grab him. Once we were outside the gates with the crowd of released prisoners, the gates started to fall again. I looked back and realized that Percy might not make it out before they closed.

Percy started walking toward us, but he paused. “Blake, you will be stopped. We know you for what you are.”

Suddenly, Blake lunged at Percy, knocking Percy’s sword from his grasp. I watched in horror as Blake plunged his sword through Percy’s chest. Even though Blake was no longer a Guardian, he had a black sword that seemed just as strong as ours, maybe even stronger. An old woman jumped on Blake from behind. Dropping his sword, Blake reached behind himself, pulling her forward. He took both of her wrists in his hand and threw her clear across the room. She fell to the ground in a heap and didn’t move. The strength he exhibited in just one hand seemed superhuman. We all stared, desperately wanting to help, but there was nothing we could do. Percy and the woman, who must have been his Essence, were gone. It had all happened so fast that we couldn’t respond. I saw Calvin looking as dumbstruck as we probably did, surprised by Blake’s quick movements. As we stood there staring, the gate slammed to the ground. We had succeeded in rescuing Charlotte, but at a heavy cost. Hesitantly, we turned and headed through the village toward the outer wall. As we walked out, I heard Calvin cry, “Charlotte!” with more agony than I had ever heard in my life. As soon as we had moved outside the walls, James dropped the sword and told her to create a mist to make it hard for us to be pursued. Charlotte closed her eyes, and I watched mesmerized as a thick fog formed. I ran to Charlotte and pulled her into the biggest hug ever, not wanting to let go.

“Charlotte, I am so glad you are okay,” I whispered, as I held her.

When I finally let go, she smiled. “It’s good to see you, too, Kevin.” Even though she was smiling, I could tell she was trying to hold back tears.

Monty pulled her into a hug next, swinging her around the way he always did, like she was still a little girl. “I am so proud of you, Charlotte. I am so proud.” She smiled weakly; clearly her reserve was failing.

Next, Liam took his turn. Charlotte fell into his arms and started to cry. Then she seemed to notice the blood on his shirt and touched her hand to the spot. Liam made a face, and Charlotte leaned into him suddenly as though tired. Liam smiled, and the look of pain was gone. 

The group was hurrying ahead, so Liam let her cry on his shoulder as he moved her forward. Liam looked over at me, as though he wanted to make sure it was okay to be so close to her, and I nodded. I had never been so grateful to have Liam as a friend, and I think Charlotte was feeling the same way.

We walked back to the Cason Caves, stopping only to eat and rest briefly. I still couldn’t get over how different Charlotte seemed. She had been through an experience I could never imagine, yet here she was strong and marching on. She looked incredibly sad, and I knew without her telling me that leaving Calvin had been harder than she had let on. As much as she didn’t want to, I knew that she loved him. Once I made sure that Charlotte was all right, flanked by Liam and Monty, I went to find Samantha.

“Good fight, Kevin. You did better than I expected,” she said, as I fell into a stride beside her. “You held your ground and managed to come out alive.”

“You, too, Samantha. You’re a seriously strong fighter, you know that?” Naomi had filled me in on how Samantha was able to take on two men at once.

“So I have been told.” She paused, and her face got serious. “Listen, I am glad your sister is free. I know she means a lot to you. I have no siblings, but I can only imagine how scared you must have been.”

“Yeah, it was scary,” I admitted, no longer quite as afraid to let Samantha know how terrified I had been.

“She is lucky to have you,” Samantha said quietly.

Samantha and I walked next to each other in silence for a while, and I thought about a lot of things. Even though we had Charlotte, I knew that this was far from over. We were in far too deep to pretend that nothing had ever happened. It was hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, my biggest concern was that Charlotte was going to become a total social outcast once I went to college. Reality finally dawned on me when I realized how much harder it would be now to leave Charlotte when I went away to college. How would I ever feel comfortable leaving? I had come so close to losing my sister, and I never wanted to feel that horrible and vulnerable again.

I also found it hard to believe that Percy was dead. I had barely known the man, but I understood that we wouldn’t have Charlotte back without him. I would never forget his sacrifice and the training that he gave me, but I tried to look ahead and enjoy the moment. Charlotte was safe, Liam wasn’t dead, and presumably, we were going home. It was time to take a deep breath and try to relax.

Chapter Thirty:

Charlotte

I had entered Energo with James, and I was leaving with him again. At first, everyone had argued, especially Kevin.

Kevin looked at me like I was crazy. “Why would we take this jerk back with us? He tried to kill you.”             

“He was only doing that to get us out. He wouldn’t have killed me.” I felt completely confident in my words.

“Calvin sure thought he would.” I froze when Kevin said the name; no one had mentioned it since we left Bellgard. It hurt to think of Calvin. As relieved as I was to be reunited with my family, my heart ached for him and the pain I had caused him. In my head, I knew that I had made the right decision, but my heart thought otherwise. 

Kevin probably noticed a change in my expression. “Oh. Sorry, Charlotte.”

“It’s fine; I don’t care.” I tried to sound convincing, but had trouble hiding the hurt. “James is on our side. Trust me; I can tell.”

“If she says he can be trusted, he can be,” Monty said. “Besides, we have no idea when Calvin is going to come for Charlotte; she needs as many Guardians with her as possible.”

“Then why don’t we move far away?” Kevin suggested. “I mean, why leave her where she can be found?”

“She needs to stay close to avoid losing her powers, and we need to be ready to return,” Monty said seriously.

“I can give you all another reason why you want to take me back with you,” James suddenly broke in. He had been unusually quiet since we left Bellgard.

“And what’s that?” Kevin sounded skeptical.

“I am the only one who knows how to find Emma,” James said offhandedly. Everyone stopped talking immediately.

“Find her? You mean, Mom’s alive?” Kevin asked before I could get the words out. I was stunned and couldn’t quite process what he was saying. “But that’s not possible. We went to her funeral; I saw the casket.”

“Actually, we never found a body. The police eventually abandoned the search; they accepted that her body was washed away in the river somewhere. Your father and I decided to bury an empty casket to give you some closure.”

I stared, having trouble believing the words coming out of Monty’s mouth. Was it really possible that my mom was still alive? Was there a chance I would get to ask her all of the questions I had about who she really was, and maybe even more, who
I
really was?

“Yes. She is being held prisoner. She is weak, but Charlotte might be able to give her enough energy to get her out.” James looked at me.

“But how?” Samantha asked. “How could another Essence have been born so quickly if she is alive?

James’s serious expression didn’t falter. “I do not know for sure, but I do know she is alive.”

“I had always hoped it was true,” Monty said suddenly. “I always felt that she was still here somewhere, but I wouldn’t let myself believe it. Where is she, James?”

“I will tell you when the time comes,” James said carefully. “But we cannot free her now; we need to make many preparations first.”

“James, do you promise to take us to her?” I asked.

“Yes.” There was no hesitation in his voice.

“Why the sudden change of heart, James?” Liam asked the question we had all wanted to ask.

“I saw that I was on the losing team, and I decided to get off the proverbial sinking ship. Besides, as I told my father, Charlotte has too much potential to just lock her away. I have seen just how strong Charlotte is, and I think we actually have a chance,” James said, while everyone watched him intently.

When we reached the cave, I looked over at Liam. He appeared tired, worn, and in desperate need of a shave, but his eyes still held the hint of a smile. I could tell when I touched his wound that he had been badly injured, yet he showed no signs of it now. Liam had to be one of the strongest people I had ever met. I wondered if that kind of strength was transferable because I knew I could use it. 

We said our goodbyes and left the caves at nightfall. I looked around at our group. There was Monty, Kevin, and Liam, my family who had come after me, and James and Henry, two of my Guardians who I figured I would get to know much better over the coming months. Henry seemed really excited about leaving Energo. I had let him listen to my music when he agreed to help me, and he was really eager to hear more. He was also excited when we told him about video games, and that he would get to spend time with girls his age. Somehow, I knew he would fit in just fine back home.

As I looked at the people around me, I thought about those who wouldn’t be with me. Calvin wouldn’t be coming, and I was only beginning to understand my grief for Ruth. In a short period of time, she had become important to me, and I felt the loss deeply. Saying goodbye to Tara had been tough. We had both cried a little, but I knew I would see her again soon. I was just so glad that she was reunited with her father. Theodore was going to build a resistance with Samantha as his second in command. Although I didn’t know too much about Samantha, I could tell my brother respected her, and that said a lot. Kevin appeared to be having a hard time saying goodbye to Samantha, but she seemed nonplussed.

“You better keep training, so you are ready when we need you,” Samantha told Kevin as we turned to leave.

“I’ll be ready.” He gave her a half-wave goodbye. I could tell that he wanted to say more, but something had kept him quiet. It was strange to see my brother at a loss for words; I had never seen him as anything but confident. 

We walked in silence until we were almost home.

“So where is Henry going to live?” Kevin asked, as we neared the gate.

“I suppose with us, we can say he’s an exchange student.” Monty smiled because no one would realize just how big of an exchange it would be.

“Wow, having three teenagers under your roof, you’re going to be the uncle of the year.” Liam laughed.

“Yeah, and when you consider how often you are over, Liam, it’s more like four teenagers.” It was so good to see Monty laugh. I had seen the pain on his face when I first ran over to him; I knew he had really worried that he would never see me again.

“What do you think Dad will say, though? Do we even tell him?” I asked hesitantly. I had thought of my dad infrequently over the past few days, but thoughts of returning to Charleston made me think of him instantly.

“We have to tell him about Henry,” Monty said, looking at me.

“Why?” I asked, confused.

“With everything else going on, I never mentioned it, but your dad is coming to visit next week. He wants to be the one to take you to your road test.” Monty smiled.

“My road test?” I was suddenly nervous. I had forgotten all about the fact that I was finally old enough to get my license. My previous life seemed like a distant memory even, though it had been less than a week since I had left home.

“Oh, come on, Charlotte! You can’t seriously be nervous about a road test after all of that.” Kevin gestured behind us.

“I’m not; I’m just surprised.”

“By the way, happy belated birthday. We’ll celebrate when we get home,” Monty said lightly.

“Thanks, but I don’t really want to celebrate,” I told him honestly.

Monty let everyone walk a little bit ahead of us. “I know it’s hard, Charlotte. I know that you miss Calvin, and it must have been nearly impossible to leave him.”

“It’s all fake, Monty. I know that,” I told him, trying to make myself to believe it.

“Fake? Charlotte, it is not fake; your feelings are real,” Monty said gently.

“You sound like Ruth.” I teared up at the thought of never seeing her again.

“I was there when your mother found her Gerard. I have seen how true that love is. I also see it in you.” He looked over at me as we walked.

I didn’t want to talk about Calvin anymore. “Well, there’s nothing I can do about it now.”

“No, I suppose there’s not. But if you ever want to talk…”

“Yeah, I know.”

We caught up with everyone else as we neared the gate. I pulled out my necklace and inserted the crystal key. I pushed the door open, and we walked through into the early morning light of a beautiful Charleston day. I decided to ask the question I had been mulling for a while. It certainly wasn’t the most important thing to think about, but I was still curious.

“So do my eyes still look really bright?”  

“Yes,” everyone said in unison.

“Do you think anyone will notice?”

“If you mean people in Charleston, probably not. It will be harder for people from outside of Energo to see the changes in you,” Monty answered.