The Gathering (19 page)

Stephan smiled and put his arm around his son's shoulders.

"The ways of the Lord are mysterious indeed, but we must follow Christ's teachings and they say that idolatry is an insult to God.
 
She must be saved.
 
They all must."

Elian moved away from his father and crossed his arms in front of him.

"I agree, Father, but I believe God wants you to put the flock before the sheep.
 
For instance, if the shepherd leaves to gather one sheep and the flock is left unattended, then he may lose all but that one sheep."

Stephan nodded and smiled at his son.

"You are indeed wise, Elian.
 
I will do as you request and forego my mission…for the time being."

Elian smiled at his father.
 
Stephan walked slowly around the room, unaware that his youngest, Albion, had entered.
 
He stood off in a corner where his father and brother couldn’t see him and watched.

"You know, my Son, one day you will make a grand leader."

"Thank you, Father."

They shook hands as another knock came on the door.

"Yes."

Standing in the doorway was Tawny Roberts.
 
She had removed most of her garish make-up and was now wearing a gold dress that looked like a long roman toga, with her hair piled high on her head.

"Brother Stephan, we missed you at the evening ceremonies.
 
Are you feeling alright?"

"Indeed, I just felt the need to find comfort in the Book."

Tawny's face became concerned.

"Nothing serious, I hope."

"No, Sister.
 
Just memories."

Tawny’s face eased and she nodded.

"We all miss Anne.
 
She was a fine woman and she gave her life to God, but now is a time of celebration.
 
The first cake competition is almost underway.
 
Chancellor Shorely will be trying her hardest to win, but Jesus is on our side."

Stephan and Elian smiled.
 
In the background, Albion wiped a tear from his cheek at the mention of his mother.

"You're right of course, Tawny.
 
Let's go and enjoy the festivities."

Stephan laid his bible on the table and ushered everyone out of the room, closing the door behind him.
 
Albion moved into the center of the room and stared quietly at the door that barred him from the outside world.

He felt hot tears on his face as he thought about his mother.
 
Anne Merganser had gone out into the berry fields next to Crystal Shade with several other women.
 
It was believed that rogues from the south had attacked them, but no one saw what happened.
 
All Albion knew was that two of the women were dead and the others were gone.
 
A search party went to look for them, but they only returned with a few scraps of clothing and a necklace that his mother never removed.
 
He knew then that she must be dead.
 
He was alone.
 
His father and brother had moved on so quickly, and as usual they never thought of Albion.
 
He had no friends and no dreams.
 
He merely floated through life trying not to drown.
 
He walked towards the door and exited, wiping his face and locking the door behind him.

When Tawny, Stephan and Elian walked outside, Elian excused himself and made his way towards the main stage.
 
He clapped his hands together, certain that Sara Stark was waiting for him.

As he rounded the corner, he made his way through the crowd and positioned himself at the end of the same deck that the other young men were still on, oblivious of their intentions.

The music faded and Sara stepped up to the microphone.

"Well, for some of us, this will be our last song, but don’t worry, Mr. Tippen will continue to have some of our finer musicians play for you.
 
And for our last song, my sister, Coeli, will be singing."

Coeli stood before the microphone and closed her long thin fingers around the top.
 
The electric instruments began, led by a drum kit, and in that moment her confidence was higher than it had ever been.
 
She closed her eyes and felt her body sway to the music, then she opened her mouth.
 
Her voice was clear and pure.

Sam felt his heart beat faster and in that moment he knew.
 
He heard his grandmother's voice.

"The voice of an angel."

"She's got a great voice," said Scott.

"Yeah."

Sam nodded at the remark, staring straight at Coeli.
 
He could barely breathe.
 
She was the one.
 
Scott and Vance had been right.
 
All these years he had been waiting for Coeli, waiting for both of them to be ready.
 
His heart beat faster and faster with every note she sang.
 
He had to fight the urge to run up on stage, sweep her into his arms and kiss her.
 
He just wanted to be near her.

When the last note had faded, Sam downed the rest of his ale and slipped under the railing to the ground, followed by Scott, Vance and Ian.
 
Sam headed directly for Coeli and when he reached the stage, he hoisted himself up.
 
Coeli turned around and almost fell over.
 
He reached for her and took her hand, which made her almost fall again.

“Sorry.”

Coeli shook her head.

“No, that’s ok, you just surprised me.”

Sam took her other hand and stared into her eyes.
 
His intensity made her forget to breathe.

“Would you like to dance?”

Coeli managed to nod and allowed Sam to lead her to the edge of the stage.
 
Sam let go of her hands and jumped off the stage.
 
Turning around he put his hands up to lift Coeli down.
 
Vance was watching as he helped Alisha off the stage, causing her to look as well.
 
She waved to Kaley, who looked over and smiled.

Elian was unaware of their movement and was momentarily stopped from going up to Sara by a crowd of older ladies from the Southern Baptist camp.
 
He smiled patiently, but cursed them silently for deterring him from getting to Sara before her Squad members did.

When he walked closer, he found Scott Forrester holding up his arms and lifting Sara down from the stage.
 
Elian walked forward and as he reached the stage, Scott had just set Sara on the ground and kissed one of her hands.

Elian frowned at this and slipped his own hand into her empty one and lifted it to also kiss the back of it.
 
Scott let go of Sara's hand and took a step backwards, putting his hands on his hips with raised eyebrows.

Sara turned to see Elian and was obviously taken aback, but nervously let him continue.

"I'm sorry I haven't come over before now to offer my greetings, Sara.
 
I was busy helping Brother Justin and my father."

Sara smiled and nodded.

"Hello, Elian."

"May I have this dance?"

Sara's eyes got big and she looked at Coeli who was standing with Sam not far away and then turned to Scott who was watching with mild amusement.
 
She looked at him imploringly.

As if on cue, Scott moved forward and took back Sara's other hand.

"Sorry, El, I've already booked her for tonight.
 
Maybe tomorrow."

Elian raised his hand to protest, but the music began to swell and Scott gently pulled Sara to the dance area, leaving Elian fuming and embarrassed.
 
Sam followed Scott, also gently pulling Coeli, who was looking at Elian until he stormed off.
 
Coeli turned to Sam who tossed his hair off his shoulder and pushed his hand through the top.

"That guy is so weird."

"I don’t like him,” Coeli replied.
 
“He follows Sara around at every Gathering, like he owns her."

Sam was now looking at Coeli.
 
He slid his arm around her waist and lifted her slender hand in his own.
 
She marveled at how strong his hands were.

"Don't worry about Sara, Scott would never let anything happen to her."

Coeli looked into Sam's blue eyes and felt her knees go weak.
 
He smiled.
 
Their eyes not leaving the other’s until their cheeks were resting against one another, only then did Coeli close her eyes.
 
She could smell the musky sandalwood in his hair as it brushed against her face and the outline of the muscles in his back and shoulder as she moved her hand to the back of his neck.
 
She again had to force herself to breathe as her heart beat faster and faster.

Sam could feel her gentle fingers against his neck, softly twirling his hair around her fingers and he pulled her closer and moved slowly, closing his eyes as well.

Not far away, Scott was looking into Sara's eyes.
 
They were so bright, and he couldn't believe how light she was.
 
He was always so practical, but tonight he just wanted to let go.
 
He knew Sara Stark.
 

He had been watching her for the last two years.
 
She didn't care about the boys who followed her, but she pretended to so she wouldn't have to worry about having a relationship.
 
She was always writing, but no one seemed to notice.

He just wanted to hold her and protect her.
 
He looked down at her and she looked at him and smiled.

"Thank you for saving me."

"Anytime."

With that he spun her out and back, catching her in a dip where he pretended he was going to kiss her, which made her gasp, but then he brought her back up at the last minute.

All the while Alia had been watching from the pub.
 
Her girls were growing up.
 
She felt a hand on her shoulder and a kiss on her cheek as Ellen Turner rested her head against Alia's shoulder.
 
She and Alia stood and watched their children, knowing they weren't children anymore.

24

In the darkness of the Mojave Desert, illuminated only by stars, moonlight and the lights of the village, St. Viviana's glowed invitingly alone among the cacti and sand.

The colony had been built much like Lia Fail and the other villages, with high walls and sentries on duty but the Catholics at St. Viviana's were always ready to take in those that needed assistance.

An unusually warm breeze blew through the camp as a warder looked out over the landscape.
 
There in the distance he saw a large group traveling by horseback from the south.
 
He looked through his eyeglass and saw that they were moving slowly, probably lagging due to thirst and hunger.
 
He shook his head, as this always happened during the Gathering.