Perilous Light (7 page)

“
He would not dare. Even James Mendel would not steal the Essence’s honor.” Easily blocking William, I knocked his sword out of his hand. My limited traditional training did not prevent me from defeating any man I sparred with.
William was no exception. Being the Gerard imbued me with a strength and skill that only continued to grow.

William retrieved his sword before retreating to lean against a column. “What do you mean to do, then?”

“
I will continue to wait. She will return one day, and when she does, I will appeal to her and try to win back her trust.” What I did not tell William was that I would not be above groveling at her feet to regain her favor.

“
I only say this for your own good. It is unwise for you to delay reuniting with Charlotte much longer. Your power will be substantially greater when you join together.”

I knew that he spoke truthfully. I needed her and could not handle much more time apart. The Gerard and Essence were never meant to be separated; every part of me craved her. It had been more than a year’s time and still not a single night had gone by without me dreaming of having her back. Thinking of our short time together, I frequently felt bitter regret for wasting so much of it with her locked in the dungeon.

I had begun making mistakes the night of our ceremony. That was supposed to be our night; we were supposed to spend it in each other’s arms, reveling in each other. The ceremony constituted a union. We were officially bonded with no need for any other formalities. Instead, I had brushed away my concern over her sudden change in demeanor after speaking to Blake, and blindly let her return to her room with no explanation.

William liked to remind me of it. “From the beginning you have let her make all of the decisions. Is it not time for you to take over?” He stared at me with a stony expression.

I had thought about going to her room after leaving the celebration. I even got close enough that the guard offered me admission, but at the last second, I decided not to disturb her sleep. Everything was so new to Charlotte, and I did not want her to think that my appearing in her room so late at night implied any expectation for her to do anything she was not ready for. I understood that she was not prepared for a physical relationship, and I was patient.

“
William, as much as I desire to see Charlotte, she will not be taken as a prisoner. I will wait for her to come to me.” I just did not know how much longer I could wait. As if in answer, a sensation of heat flowed through me. I stopped speaking and let my sword fall to the ground.

“
Calvin? Are you ill?” William asked with genuine concern, his frustration from earlier slipping away.

Looking up at William, I was almost unable to speak the words. “She is back.”

“
Speak again? Charlotte is back in Energo?”

“
Yes, I can feel it.” My entire body reacted. It was as though a part of me long dormant had been turned back on. An image of Charlotte flashed before my eyes. In the momentary glimpse, I noticed her long brown hair was pulled back, and the sadness on her face was unmistakable. My body jolted. I could also sense where she was. When I had given Charlotte the rose pendant the night after she was released from the dungeon, I had not expected to need it so soon. I never imagined she would leave my side. The rose allowed me to track her within Energo. All Gerards gave similar tokens to their Essences. I had felt some guilt when I realized she did not understand its significance, but it had to be done.

The time apart made my physical reaction to Charlotte’s return incredibly strong. I never anticipated it would be so clear. I often fantasized that the power of the crystal rose failed, and Charlotte would walk through the doors of the castle to find me. Shaking off my thoughts, I let myself breathe in the realization that Charlotte had returned.

“
Do you want me to bring her to you?” William asked.

“
Not yet, but soon.” As tempting as it was to have him leave immediately, I reminded myself of the words I had spoken to him earlier. It had to be Charlotte’s will.

I recognized that Charlotte was back in Energo for reasons other than a reunion with me. She had returned to help the Resistance. Blake had consulted with me on a plan to take out the Resistance, since he had discovered their base. I did not like to think about the kind of death toll that would bring to my people. Even though I refused to bring Charlotte to me against her will, I needed to see her. If for no other purpose, I had to make sure she was safe.

“
Tell me when, but once again, I stress you should not wait long.”

“
I understand your view, William.” I struggled to keep my voice steady, but the thought of how close Charlotte was unnerved me. “Do you not have other work to attend to?”

“
Of course.”

After I sent William on his way, I allowed myself a moment to close my eyes and imagine what it would be like to be with Charlotte again. I could almost feel her body in my arms, the taste of her lips. I could picture the way she looked at me as though I were the only man alive. As hard as it was to pull myself out of my imaginings, there was work to be done. I put my thoughts of Charlotte away until the evening, when I could be with her in my dreams.

Chapter Seven

Kevin

We left the caves at dawn. I didn’t look forward to the journey, and I was exhausted before we left. It was difficult to say goodbye to Charlotte, after only one day together, we were going our separate ways. For years, it had just been us. Up in Alaska, Dad had never been around, and as much as we got on each other’s nerves, we were close. Leaving her to go away to school was hard enough; walking away from her knowing that she could be captured at any time was terrifying.

Samantha caught up to me as we headed to the shores of the Lenia Ocean after a long morning of hiking. “She is going to be fine. She can take care of herself; she is the Essence.”

“
I know she’s the Essence, but she doesn’t understand her abilities, and neither do I.” No matter what anyone called her, Charlotte was still my little sister, and I wanted to protect her.

“
Whether she understands or not, the power is within her. Hopefully, she will find your mother and get proper instruction. But that is not what is really bothering you, is it?”

“
What do you mean?” I searched Samantha’s face, looking for a clue as to what she was implying.

“
You do not want anyone else doing your job. But the truth is that Monty, Liam, Lawson, and James can protect her as well as you can.”

“
That’s not it…” I started to argue, but then stopped. When I thought about it, Samantha was dead on.

“
Do not even try to deny it; I am always right. You will figure that out one day.” I thought she was being serious for a second, until she laughed. I had never heard Samantha really laugh. I liked it.

“
So what was your year like? Did you really train recruits the whole time?” I struggled to make conversation, a new experience I didn’t enjoy.

“
It kept me busy, and I was glad to help. This is the first time I have been away from the caves since you left.” Samantha fidgeted with the straps of her pack. It was such a normal action that it made her seem less intimidating somehow.

“
So you didn’t mind staying put the whole time?”

“
No. Not really. I have spent most of my life at the caves. I know that I am good at teaching combat, and I did my job well. When you believe in the cause, no sacrifice is too much.” Back in my world, hearing a gorgeous girl make a comment like that would seem off, but it seemed so natural coming from Samantha that it didn’t surprise me. In a world full of traditional women, I’d managed to fall for a warrior chick, maybe because I liked a good fight.

Henry caught up with us. He had fallen behind for a while, probably trying to give us space. “We are getting close. We need to veer right.” We were supposed to meet up with Naomi at the shoreline. She had gone ahead to make sure the path was safe and to find us a boat. Having someone in your group who could shift into a cat came in handy when you wanted to stay under the radar.

“
Great, we are making good time.” Samantha picked up her pace, and Henry and I matched her.

“
So is the place we’re going like Energo?” I asked.

Henry laughed. “Not exactly.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
Just wait and see.”

***

The smell of salt let me know that we were almost there.
Some people hated the smell of the ocean, but I’d always loved it. Even from a distance, I could hear the waves lapping at the shore as birds that looked and sounded a lot like seagulls flew overhead. The Lenia Ocean appeared as endless as the Atlantic Ocean I grow up around, and I was momentarily overwhelmed when we reached the shore. The bright green water reminded me that I wasn’t home. The colors in Energo were intense.

Naomi appeared bored as she lounged against a single-sail boat docked at the marina. The small sailboat looked tiny squeezed between two massive steamships.

Naomi straightened as we approached. “Nice of you to show up.”

“
Does everything look all right?" Samantha asked.

“
Yes. And as you can see, I found a vessel.” Naomi gestured to the boat behind her. On closer inspection, it wasn’t quite as small as I originally thought. There were several lower levels below deck. I noticed that the hull looked worn, and I couldn’t help but feel apprehensive about boarding it.

Samantha eyed Naomi suspiciously. “I see that. Is it ours alone?”

“
Not exactly.”

As if on cue, a short round man in a red pinstripe suit with a matching hat walked onto the dock. “Captain Everling at your service. Welcome aboard the Ulta Storm.” The man bowed so low I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to get back up.

“
Could you excuse us for a second?” Samantha asked.

“
Of course. Come aboard when you are ready.”

As soon as the man disappeared onto the boat, Samantha grabbed Naomi’s arm. “You hired a
misa
?”

“
There were no other options.”

“
What’s a
misa
? And are you sure this thing isn’t going to sink?” I didn’t like Samantha’s uneasiness.

“
A
misa
is a kind of water taxi, but the passengers do some of the work,” Henry supplied.

“
Okay, so why is Samantha upset?”

“
Why am I upset? Who knows what other passengers it will take on? It could be a trap. Blake already wants you dead, Kevin. You have a target on your back.” I had never seen Samantha so keyed up.

“
So you’re worried about my safety now?” I couldn’t resist the jab.

“
I am worried about beating Blake, and we need you alive if we are going to win.” Samantha closed her eyes for a second and let out a deep breath. “Naomi, did you really think it wise to hire a
misa
?”

“
Why do you think I picked this one? Is anyone really going to search for a Winthrop on a boat that is falling apart?”

“
Fair enough, but we need to be careful.”

Captain Everling wobbled out and gestured for us to join him. “If you are coming aboard, you need to come now.”

As we boarded the Ulta Storm, the floorboards creaked, making me even more leery of its seaworthiness. Realizing I didn’t really have a choice, I decided not to worry about it.

“
It has been a long time, Naomi.” Two blue figures moved toward us as we walked onto the deck. My first thought was of the Blue Man Group. I half expected them to pull out drumsticks, and I was prepared to see paint flying everywhere. Beyond the color, they looked human. Though the guy and girl were around my age, which made me a bit more comfortable, their color was hard to take in. I attempted to hide my surprise, but evidently, I wasn’t successful.

“
Watch your reactions, Kevin, or we are in real trouble with the Pact,” Henry whispered. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught both Samantha and Naomi glaring at me.

Before I had time to react, I was shaking hands with the large blue guy. “I’m Bry. I take it you are the Winthrop?”

I contemplated explaining that my last name was Calloway, but it didn’t seem worth it. “Yeah, I’m Kevin. Nice to meet you.” Bry held my hand a moment longer than necessary, his strong grip growing uncomfortable.

“
Same to you, this is my sister Ada.” I looked over at the tiny girl and realized that despite her color, she was actually really pretty. I gave her a small smile.

Bry moved on to introduce himself to Samantha and Henry, and I was peeved by the way he kissed Samantha’s hand. I knew she wasn’t with me or anything, but my territorial side was definitely coming out.

“
Bry has the Cardian seat on the council. We are lucky they are making the trip with us. Bry has agreed to be our guide and an advocate with the council.” Naomi watched me intently. I had never heard of a Cardian before, but I guessed it referred to the nation Bry and Ada were from.

“
Our people have always supported the Essence, but even we cannot stand back as mutes while Blake destroys innocent lives,” Bry declared.

“
The Essence is not working with Blake. She hates him.” Henry joined the conversation without warning. “She is pure and good. Do not doubt her.” It was nice to hear Henry defend Charlotte. I hated hearing someone connect her to Blake.