Enduring Light (7 page)

***

I did a double take when I walked downstairs and found Samantha in the den. “Samantha? What are you doing up?”

She barely glanced up from where she sat cross-legged on the couch with her chin resting in the palms of her hands. “Oh, I could not sleep.”

Something felt off. Samantha never looked so down. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, just a bad dream.”

“Oh, anything you want to talk about?”

She stood and walked to the back hallway. “No. I am fine. You can go back to bed. I will take the next watch.”

I followed her. “I’m up anyway. We can do it together.”

“No. I am more than capable of doing it myself.” The steely tone in her voice had me nodding my head.

“Okay. See ya later.” I slumped down on the couch, completely confused. Girls were usually easy enough to understand, but Samantha wasn’t like any girl I’d met before.

Chapter Eight

Charlotte

“Ruth?” I whispered. Calvin was right outside the door, and I didn’t want him to think I was crazy. “I thought you were dead.”

This message is only for an Essence. If you can hear it, then it is for you.

Her voice was clear, yet it sounded old somehow—dated.

The scroll is not a scroll. Look to the swamps for the answer. Fighting darkness takes light, and light can only be wielded when an Essence lets in her other half.

“What?” I waited for more but heard nothing.

I slumped down to the hard wood floor and replayed the words in my head. The scroll wasn’t a scroll, so what were we looking for? We had to find a swamp, and I had to let in my other half. That had to mean Calvin. Did she mean to literally let him in? I buried my face in my hands. What did that have to do with wielding light? It was all really weird, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

 
“Thanks for the clear and precise advice,” I said, even though I knew very well Ruth wasn’t there to hear it.

“Charlotte?” Calvin asked from outside the room.

“I’m coming.” I got up, dusting off my pants before walking into the hall.

“Did you find anything?” His eyes searched my face.

I tried my best to hide my emotions, but I knew that even more than Liam, Calvin could see through me. “Nothing physical, but she left me a message. Do you know where we’d find swamps around here?”

“Around here? No. The only swamps I know of are on the other side of the mountains.”

“We need to go there to find the scroll.” At least that part of the message had been clear.

“Are you sure?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“That is what we will do then. But I just spoke with Liam and Henry. Do you think you can hold that fog overnight?”

“Yes. Absolutely.” I’d managed to balance the fog while listening to the weird version of Ruth. My confidence in my abilities was at an all-time high. I had almost forgotten I was still holding it, and I couldn’t wait to tell my mom.

He took my hand. “Good.”

“Are we staying here tonight then?”

“There is an inn on the other side of this street. We can take a few rooms.”

“Oh, good. I wouldn’t feel right about staying in someone’s house, considering everything.” My words didn’t match my thoughts. Ruth’s message about opening myself up to my Gerard ran through my mind, and I could feel blood rushing to my face. I’d been thinking about sleeping with Calvin more than I should have been, considering the danger we were in, and I had finally made up my mind. What was the point of waiting when I wanted to be with him? We were already married in the eyes of Energo, and if finally sleeping together could potentially help us find the scroll, then holding back was definitely a mistake.

“Are you okay, Charlotte?”

I smiled. “Yes.”

“Good.” He led me to the stairs.

***

“There are three rooms, so whoever comes off watch will take the room of the man relieving him.” Liam tossed his stuff down in the hall on the second floor of the inn.

The two-story building had only three guest rooms. The majority of the first floor was taken up with a large bar. Back home, we probably would have called it a tavern.

“That will not be necessary. You and Henry will each have your own.” Calvin took both of our packs into the room farthest from the others.

Liam glanced at Calvin. “What? You don’t think Charlotte is safe in her own room?”

Calvin looked slightly uncomfortable. “That is not it at all. We will be spending our nights together from now on.”

“Is that okay with you, Char? You don’t have to, you know. I don’t care what united BS he throws at you, you don’t owe him anything.” Liam’s eyes implored me to walk away.

“I know I don’t owe him anything! I want to share a room with Calvin.” I tried to hide how flustered Liam made me, but I was way past embarrassed.

“Can I talk to you, Charlotte?” Liam shifted uncomfortably.

“For a second.” I headed down the stairs, knowing he would follow.

“Don’t do something stupid. Just because we’re in Energo doesn’t mean you have to follow their rules. Be yourself.”

“I’m not doing anything to follow rules. I want to share a room with Calvin.” I refused to look at Liam’s face. I didn’t want to see his expression. Instead, I walked back up the stairs. I could feel Liam right behind me.
 
I stopped at Calvin’s side and put my hand in his.

“So… I’m going to take first watch.” Henry started to walk down the stairs.

“No. I’m taking it.” Liam looked at me in a way that got me right in the heart. His expression was equal parts hurt and anger. Neither felt good.

I struggled to swallow before walking into the room Calvin had selected for us. I took a few steps into the dark room, the only light coming from the lantern Calvin held, and a tiny bit of moonlight slipping in between the curtains.

“Ah, goodnight,” Henry said to our backs.

Calvin shut the door behind us. “I can speak with him if you would like. He should not talk so freely with you.”

“No. It’s okay.” The thought of Calvin confronting Liam scared me. It was bad enough we were all traveling together.

Calvin placed the candle on a small nightstand beside the double bed. It was going to be a snug fit considering Calvin’s size, but I didn’t mind. I wanted to be close to him.
 

He pulled me into his arms. “I have waited so long for this.”

“Me too.” I had, although I’d been a nervous wreck about it. We’d spent nights next to each other together, but definitely not with the intent of doing what I knew was about to happen. I knew unequivocally that my virgin status was about to come to an end. I had no doubts, and it wasn’t because of the message from Ruth. Calvin and I had been denying the urge, but the natural pull was too strong to ignore any longer.
 

He put a hand under my chin and lifted my face. “I love you, Charlotte.”

I let out a deep breath. “I love you.” Even though I knew I wanted to be with him, I couldn’t avoid the nerves.

He pulled off his shirt, tossing it onto a chair next to the bed. I reached out to touch his muscular chest. I was still amazed at how strong he was. Years spent working on his father’s farm followed by over a year of Guardian training had made his physique flawless.

He slipped a hand under the bottom of my shirt. “I always imagined you would be in a dress.”

“Does it really matter?”

“No. I would prefer this moment to any imagining I have had, whether awake or asleep.” He moved his hand to run it over my stomach, before using both hands to pull my shirt over my head.

I lifted up my arms to make it easier. His eyes widened as he dropped my shirt on top of his. He reached to remove my bra, hesitating for a second. I had a pretty good idea he’d never seen that kind of bra before—or when I really thought about it, any bra.

“Is this your first time, too?” I asked.

He nodded. “Of course. Who else… why would you ask that?”

I looked down. “I just wanted to know.”
 

“Do not look away. I wanted to make sure you were not of the wrong impression of who I am.”

“I know who you are.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling his lips down to mine.

He quickly responded to the kiss, groaning as he moved his hands to fiddle with my bra.

“It clasps in the back.”

He found the clasp and unhooked it. I dropped my arms, letting the bra fall to the floor. I refused to get embarrassed when his eyes zeroed in on my chest.

 
He moved a hand to my breast while continuing to kiss me. I moaned, loving the feel of his hand on me. I’d been craving his touch since I’d met him, and I couldn’t believe it was actually happening. Without breaking the kiss, he untied my pants. As I stepped out of my pants and underwear, he brushed his hand against my leg. The touch sent chills down my entire body.

He stepped back, devouring every inch of me with his eyes. “Beautiful. You are perfection.”

His hands moved next to his own pants, and it was my turn to have wide eyes. Evidently, underwear wasn’t the thing for men in Energo. He stepped toward me, taking my hand to lead me over to the bed.

After pulling back the sheets, he helped me in before slipping in beside me. “I promise to cherish you always.”

Chapter Nine

Samantha

Charlotte owned a lot of short dresses. At first, I ignored those and concentrated on the four or five pairs of stiff blue pants that Kevin seemed to prefer, but a deep red dress caught my attention, and I had to try it on. The long sleeves seemed appropriate for the time of year. I found a pair of black leggings in her drawer that I assumed would go with the dress. I trusted that Charlotte was right that I could get away with wearing my boots. I packed a pair of the pants and a few shirts in my pack before going downstairs to meet the men.

Kevin gawked at me. “Wow. You look incredible.”

“Thanks. Charlotte told me I could borrow anything of hers.”

“Of course. Charlotte wouldn’t mind at all,” Monty was quick to reassure me.

I did not need the reassurance—especially not from him. I forced myself to stop thinking about the troubling dream I’d had.

Talen walked into the room. “Is everyone ready?” He was dressed head to toe in white. With his snow white hair, he was quite the sight.

“Way to blend in, man.” Kevin really had a problem with the Arco. I wondered where the bad blood stemmed from.

Monty approached the issue more tactfully. “Talen, didn’t you see the extra clothes I laid out for you?”

Talen leaned a hand on the counter. “I prefer to wear my own.”

Kevin rolled his eyes.

Monty shrugged. “I’d prefer it if you changed, but we don’t have time to argue. The car’s in the driveway.”

We walked out the side door. A bright red conveyance sat on four wheels on the rock portion of the front yard, what I assumed Monty had meant by “driveway.”

Kevin turned to Monty. “Umm, when did you get a new car?”

Monty locked the door behind us. “It’s bad enough someone saw us in this house. We don’t need them tracing us to the airport.”

“Okay.” Kevin opened one of the doors of the red vehicle for me.

I tried to act as if I had a clue what I was doing, but I had never been in such a contraption. I took a seat and waited for Kevin to close me in.

“You need your seatbelt.” He pointed to a strap attached to the inner wall of the car.

“Oh. I see.”

He must have noticed my confusion because he took the seatbelt and reached over me to snap it into some sort of buckle. His hand lingered on my lap as he pulled the strap slightly away from my body. He was evidently trying to adjust it.

I smiled, trying to hide my embarrassment. I had a hunch I would be feeling that emotion a lot that day. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem.” He closed the door, opened another in the back and got in to sit in the seat behind me. I did not need to look to know he was not providing the same service to Talen.

Monty started the vehicle, and loud music blared from all sides of me. Monty quickly turned it down.

He glanced at me. “Sorry about that.”

“Not a problem.” I repeated the phrase Kevin used so often. I liked it.

Kevin chuckled from behind me. “Glad I’m rubbing off on you.”

“I find your speech amusing.” I grabbed a handle attached to the roof of the vehicle as Monty pulled out onto the road. I had seen many modern things, especially in Alak, but I had never imagined anything like the form of travel we were using.

“Is this how all your people travel?” Talen asked. It was nice that I was not the only one new to the experience.

Kevin answered, “Mostly, but we have mass transportation like buses and trains, too. And you’ll find out what planes are like pretty soon.”

“And boats,” I added. I had seen boats on the water, and Kevin did not seem unaccustomed to them.

 
“Interesting.” Talen stared out the window, and I did the same.

We passed many houses as large as Kevin’s, but we also went through areas that were not quite as nice. My hunch that Kevin was from a high family in his world seemed correct. Not everyone lived as he did. Monty turned several times, and I lost all sense of our direction.

“I have identification for everyone,” Monty said. “You need to take care to use only these names. If Kevin and I are taken in for questioning by the authorities, we will never make it back in time.”

I hadn’t considered such an event. “Why would you be questioned? Can you not travel freely here?”

“We can, but we’re missing persons,” Kevin said. “They’ve been expending resources searching for us, so we’d be in trouble if they found out we orchestrated it all. Plus Charlotte, Henry, and Liam are missing too. They’d want to know where to find them. They’d also want to make sure we didn’t hurt them or anything.”

I moved my pack to the side in order to make more room for my legs. “Oh. I suppose that makes sense. So the authorities are here for your protection as well as to keep the peace?”

Monty nodded. “In theory.”

“How far is the airport?” It was strange how quickly I got used to using such foreign terms. I had only heard the word for the first time that morning.

Monty fidgeted with a dial midway between our seats. “We’ll be there in just a few minutes. I timed it up so we’ll have just enough time to check in, get through security, and reach our gate. Any excess time in the airport is dangerous—especially so close to home.”

“Security?” Talen asked.

“You have to prove you aren’t carrying weapons or anything.”

“But I am carrying weapons.”

I turned just in time to see Talen pull out a knife.

“You can’t take that on the plane.” Kevin sat forward and rested a hand on the top of my seat.

Talen shifted in his seat. He still did not wear the seatbelt. “They would try to stop me? Surely I can overpower most men of your world.”

“Putting the number of men aside, we can’t draw attention to ourselves. It’s bad enough you look like you’re ready to paint a house, or you’re a member of a boy band.” Monty turned the car into a lot filled with cars and lined spaces.

Kevin laughed. “A boy band? I don’t know about that.”

“What is a boy band?” I asked.

“Nothing you need to know about.” Monty pulled into a space. “Get your game faces on.”

“Let’s do this.” Kevin opened his door and got out. Next, he opened my door and pointed to the buckle of the strap. “Just press that red button to release the belt.”

He was definitely enjoying his position of greater knowledge. I decided to let him for the moment, but he was not getting away with it for the whole trip. I grabbed my pack from the floor and climbed out of the car.

Monty placed a small flimsy card in my hand. “This is your ID. Show it to anyone who asks.”

I examined the card. “Mary?” Luckily, we used the same written language. Otherwise, I would have really been at a loss.

“It’s a common name here. Not like Brutus.” Kevin held up his card. “Where the hell did that come from?”

Monty smiled. “I didn’t pick the names.”

“Who are you?” Kevin craned his neck to peek at Monty’s card. “Marshall. Who’s Talen?”

“Bobby.” Monty got serious. “All right, that’s enough name talk. Get yours memorized, and let’s go.”

We crossed the paved lot and entered the building. Monty walked up to some sort of electronic box that shot out slips of paper.

He handed me one with the same name from the card. “This is your ticket.”

Monty led the way to what looked to be an endless line. For the first time, I really looked at the clothes people were wearing. Charlotte was right; my clothes would have stood out. Talen was getting a lot of attention—but not as much as Kevin. Two girls were openly ogling him.
Really? In public?

I inched closer to Kevin.

He leaned down. “You doing all right, Mary?” His eyes twinkled.

“Yes, Brutus.”

“Oh, man! I love it. I sound like a villain from an eighties video game.”

“Video game?”

“I’ll show you sometime.”

“Okay.”

Eventually, we reached a high desk, and as Monty predicted, I was asked to show my ID.

The man at the desk smiled at me when he handed back the card. “Enjoy your trip, ma’am.”

“Thank you.”

Kevin placed his bag on a moving belt. He stepped through a small arch. I went next, and we each grabbed our packs from the other end of the belt. Monty joined us as we waited for Talen.

A man in uniform pointed at Talen. “Sir, please step over here.”

Talen stopped short. “Excuse me?”

“Sir, you’ve been selected for a more thorough search.”

“A more thorough search?”

“Yes. If you’d just raise your arms above your head.”

“Are you out of your wits? Why would I do that?”

Monty walked over to intervene. “Just do it, Bobby.”

Talen turned purple. “Not a chance. Why am I the only one who needs to?”

“Sir, I assure you it was a random selection.”

“Random?” Talen glared at the uniformed man. “Not likely.”

“Sir, would you please step to the side? You’re holding up the other passengers.”

“As I should. No one should be subjected to such treatment.”

The man pulled a small device from of his pocket, and I got a bad feeling. Someone needed to intervene.

I took Talen’s arm and smiled at him. “Please, just do as the man asked.” Growing up with many men around, I’d learned the art of calming them.

His expression softened. “Fine.” He stepped to the side with the uniformed man.

Thoroughly searched, Talen was waved forward, and we walked to our gate.

I adjusted my pack. “We have multiple flights today. Will we have to do that every time?”