Redemption (Night Marchers #2) Written by: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels (17 page)

“Last night I was able to call a meeting with
the Night Marcher Chief. We sat down with the Elders and myself to
discuss what had just taken place with Adam. The Night Marcher
Chief listened intently to our argument that even though Kao is in
human form, he should still be considered a Night Marcher seeing as
how he had chosen his fate as a Night Marcher on his own accord.
The Chief agreed upon this fact but did make a very good point;
‘There are no witnesses to prove that Kao murdered Adam.
Unfortunately we too work on the innocent till proven guilty system
so we couldn't deny the fact that we have no evidence other than
Adam's dying words.’ The chief closed the meeting with a
declaration that he would not enforce justice without proof of the
crime.

“As I was walking away from the meeting I
felt overwhelmed with hopelessness just knowing that Kao could get
away with murder. I didn't get very far before I had the most
amazing idea come to me. I returned to the meeting place and called
the meeting back to order. I asked the Chief for a few days to
gather proof. He gave it a thought for a moment and concurred. He
told me that if Kao speaks of killing Adam out of his own free will
then he would have him put to death.

“I felt very relieved at the Chief’s
declaration, but the more I thought about it the more it became
clear. I didn’t just want Kao put to death," Eve looks up at me,
her eyes seeking justice. She says, "No, that would be the easy way
out! I want Kao to return to his Night Marcher form and wander the
earth for all of eternity. I want him to suffer as I suffer. He
took away my heart, I think the only true justice would be to take
away his freedom!"

I've never seen Eve look so tormented or
infuriated. Something inside me wanted to say, 'You go girl.' Eve
is standing up for herself; she's not cowering in defeat.

Eve takes a few slow breaths to calm down
then continues her story. "I spoke with the Chief about my request
regarding Kao and he agreed that my requested punishment would be
just. The Chief knew Kao though, so he was doubtful that I would
succeed in making Kao talk. He asked me how I could possibly make
Kao confess, but I didn’t have an answer for him at the time. I
told him I would figure it out and we agreed to meet again tonight
after I had time to think things through."

Eve grabs my hand before pleading with me.
"Don’t you see Emma? If you can lead Kao to believing you are
showing him the way to immortality, all you would have to do would
be to get him to admit to killing Adam!”

I look Eve straight in the eyes and I see the
hope. I can tell that deep down she believes that I can do this,
but I don't know how in the world I could lead someone like Kao to
confess. I can't even imagine being around Kao without trying to
beat the crap out of him for all of the crimes that I know he
committed, never the less take him on some false journey to find
immortality. I can't deny Eve though; I have to at least try to
help. There would be no one else, no one that had a connection to
Kao beside myself that would ever have a chance of getting him to
speak about Adam. I take a deep breath and right myself.

“I’ll do it,” are the words that pass through
my lips. “But, how will you know when he says it? Will the Night
Marcher Chief believe hear say again?” I mean, I have a valid point
here. What if all my efforts are fruitless, and worst of all, what
if someone else gets hurt in the process?

Eve snickers a little under her breath.
“Emma, you don’t have to worry about one thing. One of the Menehune
people will be not too far behind you at all times. As for the
Night Marcher Chief, although for them to march in the day is
extremely rare, the Chief has powers that are beyond those of his
fellow Night Marchers. While he is still in ghostly form, he is
able to walk among us at any time if he so pleases.”

I’m not sure what to say in response to what
Eve just said. It all seems a little daunting to me at the present.
I am going on a mission to turn Kao into a Night Marcher again and
a Menehune and Night Marcher Chief will be watching this whole
thing play out. No pressure... After thinking this through a
thought pops into my mind. “Eve, if Kao is pulled back into the
ranks of the Night Marchers does that mean Kai will be
released?”

"I'm not sure yet. I would assume they would
switch places again. If not, I am hoping once it is proved that Kao
committed this crime, the Chief will be willing to grant my request
to have Kai released." Eve says.

"That would be the least the Chief could do."
I pause for a second, worry sickening my stomach. "Eve, what if I
don't succeed? I mean, what if Kao doesn't confess? You said the
Menehune's would go to war with the Night Marchers, but..." I don't
know how to word what I'm thinking without it coming across as
rude.

Eve catches on to what I'm thinking. "We may
be small Emma, but the Night Marchers are smart to be afraid of us.
Our cunning ingenuity and the fact that we know this island
intimately, since we pretty much built it, makes us a force to be
reckoned with. We have the power to destroy the Night Marchers
permanently and they know this. Anyhow..."

"Kai is with them, you can
not
destroy
them!" Fear bubbles inside me and I interrupt Eve mid sentence.

She puts her hand over mine to re-assure me.
"I was going to say: anyhow, if we don't get Kao to confess this
would not make us go to war. We would only go to war if they are
unwilling to enforce the justice that is deserved. If however, Kao
doesn't confess we can't force them to enact this justice since
there is no solid evidence that they are at fault."

"The sun is beginning to rise." Paul says as
he peeks into the cave and interrupts both of us.

Eve nods to Paul and he walks out without
further comment. "It's time for Paul to take you back to camp. I
wish we had more time so I can help you think of a plan, but you
must go back."

I take a deep breath knowing that it's all on
me now. "Okay. I'm not sure if I can do this Eve, but I will sure
as heck try. I owe it to you and to Adam." My voice catches but I
recover and continue. "I have to be honest though. I'm not sure if
I will be able to find Kao. He left yesterday before I found you
and I have not seen him since."

An emotion that I can't quite read passes
over Eve's face. She says through tense lips, "Oh, he will come
back Emma."

Fear trickles up my spine and anxiety sets in
as I hug Eve and walk out of the cave to meet Paul. We walk most of
the way back towards camp in silence. Before we arrive I ask him,
"Paul, can you do me a favor?"

He stops and looks up at me. He looks years
older than the young Menehune that I met for the first time less
than a week ago. "Of course, what do you need?"

"My best friend Kaylee is with me. I need you
and the other Menehune's to watch out for her. I don't know if I
can convince her to truly stay back but maybe I can have her stay
with those of you that will be following Kao and I."

"The pretty blonde, hmm... I think I can
handle that." He says jokingly. His smile makes him resemble the
Paul I first met. "What about the man that is with you? Must he
come along too?" He doesn't sound too keen on the idea.

I hadn't even thought about what I'm going to
do about Tristan. I shrug my shoulders at Paul. Hopefully a plan
will come to me soon. "I'll figure something out. Thanks Paul for
walking me back." We are close enough to our campsite for me to see
the waterfall through the foliage. I bend down to give him a hug
and I catch him blushing as I turn to walk away.

Tristan and Kaylee are both sleeping. I yawn
and look down at my make shift pallet. I need to sleep if I'm going
to be any good today so I lay down and cover up. Before I drift off
into a heavy exhausted sleep I think of Kai. A tear drips down my
cheek as I remember him trying to kill me last night and how hard
he fought against it. When did life become such a whirlwind of one
disastrous moment after another? And how can I possibly be in love
with a man who may very well kill me?

Chapter 11

"Wake up!" I hear whispered in my ear. I open
my eyes to see Kao standing in front of me. My heart sets off into
a frantic beat. I hadn't expected to see him without having had
time to think of a plan. I look around, the sun has already risen
but the sky is filled with heavy bellied storm clouds, making it
appear earlier in the morning than it is. Just great! I think to
myself when I smell the rain in the air. As if I don't have enough
obstacles to overcome, now I'm going to have to deal with the
weather too. "Now." Kao demands.

I sit up slowly and look around me trying to
shake the sleep off. Kaylee and Tristan are still asleep. I'm not
sure if that's a good thing or not. "What?" I say a little shaky. I
hope he takes it as grogginess and doesn't read into the fear that
hitches in my voice. I have a hard time looking him in the eye,
knowing all that he has done, so I just pretend to pick at my
nails.

"We need to go." Kao says all too coolly.

With that said I look up at him. He looks
like he hasn't slept yet. There is something in his eyes, I'm not
sure if it's frustration or anxiety. He looks like he's lost it or
something. I try to stay calm at his desperate appearance. "Okay,
let me just get my friends."

"No!" He says a little too loudly. I hear
Kaylee moan behind me. She's starting to wake up. He quiets his
voice a little more and tries to feign concern. "It's best that we
leave them here. I have a plan on how to save Kai, but we don't
want to put your friends in any danger do we?" He asks in a way
that would insinuate that if anything happened to one of them it
would clearly be my fault.

I don't want them to get hurt. I also don't
have any chance of getting Kao to confess if they are around
either. I still don't know what I'm going to do to keep them at bay
though. "You’re right. But, I still need to tell them I'm leaving
otherwise this island will be swimming with Emma search
parties."

He considers it a moment then says, "Fine,
but hurry up." Thankfully he walks a good distance away and waits
for me near the tree line of the clearing.

I move over to Kaylee who is already waking
up. "Kaylee, I need to go."

She runs her hands through her hair and wipes
the sleep from her eyes. "Um, okay. Just give me a few seconds to
get ready."

"No, I need go alone. I'm sorry, but I have
to do this." I say hoping she won't put up a huge fight. She raises
her eyebrow at me in suspicion. I try to ease her worries. "Look, I
have a plan to save Kai but I have to do it alone. Some of my
Menehune friends will be not too far behind me. I asked them to
keep an eye out for you. They’ll be able to keep you updated at all
times."

Kaylee looks past me to where Kao is
standing. "You’re going with him? I don't trust that guy. He may be
hot but he seems…slimy."

She doesn't know the half of it! If she knew
that Kao is the one who murdered Adam, she would never let me leave
with him. "Don't worry, I’ll be okay. Remember, I'm a superhero." I
try to joke.

Kaylee still looks unsure. She glances over
my shoulder at Tristan who's back is turned to us. "What about
him." She says pointing back at Tristan with her thumb.

"Um, I was hoping you could help me keep him
calm. He can't come after me, it will ruin everything if he does."
I hate to put her in this position but I don't know what else to
do.

"Emma, I don't think I can do that. Tristan
loves
you. He's not going to just sit around while you go
tromping off to danger."

"I know, but Kaylee..." I haven't said it yet
so my heart flutters when the words are spoken aloud. "I love
Kai."

Her eyes widen with my spoken truth. Then she
gasps.

I look behind my shoulder to see Tristan
getting up. His hurt filled eyes lock onto mine. He turns and walks
away. It takes everything inside me not to run to him and beg him
to forgive me for breaking his heart so cruelly. I look back at
Kaylee my eyes pooled with tears.

She looks at me with a compassion that I
don't feel that I deserve right now. "Emma, he’ll be okay. I’ll
talk to him. You go get your man back... I can't believe you are
actually in love! Sensible Emma, in love." She says trying to
lighten my spirit.

I blink back the tears before any can escape
and give Kaylee a long hug like it's our last. When I pull away she
says, "You can do this."

Kaylee always knows how to encourage me. I
nod and get to my feet. "I’ll see you soon." I say hoping that what
I say is not a lie.

"Be careful." She says.

"I’ll try." It's the best I can do. I look
around to see if I spot Tristan anywhere but he's gone to I'm not
sure where. Maybe he left, now that he knows I love Kai. It's
better that way; at least I know he’ll be safe. I wish he would
take Kaylee with him though, but I trust that the Menehune's will
take care of her.

I take a moment to close my eyes and steady
myself praying that God gives me the strength to do what I need to
do. I open my eyes again; take a deep breath and head towards
Kao.

I meet Kao behind a group of trees just east
of the clearing. He has his body crouched down watching me walk
towards him. “Okay, I’m ready.” I say watching him stand to his
full height.

“What was wrong with that guy? He looked very
angry.” He points towards where Tristan stalked off into the
woods.

I stare at Kao for a moment, not sure how to
respond. What happened with Tristan just a few moments ago happened
so fast I haven’t had enough time to take it all in, nor do I want
to deal with those feelings right now. “Oh, it’s nothing. He just
needed to get more firewood before it started to rain.” I try
saying this nonchalantly hoping he doesn’t hear the hurt I’m trying
to hide in my voice.