Flight of Life (Essence Series #1) (23 page)

“
So there is no
affiliation with Fresno University?” Breccan asked.

“
Yes and No,” she said.
“The owner of the university is the founder of this
organization—that’s why this building is on his property—and all
the members are students of the university. That’s how we are
recruited. But obviously the president and owner of the university
would be dismissed if the public knew of his involvement in this
group—not everyone is aware of the battle for mortality—and our
affairs are kept secret.”

“
What are the other
buildings?” Calloway asked.

“
Some of them are housing
for the students and some are extra storage space. Most of the
delegation and affairs occur in this building—the White
Wing.”

“
And what do you do?”
Calloway asked.

“
Did I not make that
clear?” Weston smiled.

Calloway laughed. “I understand the
purpose of this organization. How do you work against the
Hara-Kirs? How do you plan to stop them?”

She shrugged. “That is classified
information.”

“
Can we join?” Calloway
asked.

Weston shook her head. “No,” she said.
“You have to be a legal adult before you can work with us—it’s one
of the rules.”

“
So when we graduate high
school we can become a member of your league?” Easton
asked.

“
We’ll see,” she said.
“I’m the leader of this organization but I can’t make all the
decisions. Admission decisions are put to the Quorum as approved by
the Official.”

“
Who is the Official?”
Breccan asked.

“
The founder of the
University and the White Wing,” Weston answered.

“
Even if we can’t be a
member of this organization, can we still help?” Calloway asked.
“There must be something we can do that isn’t
dangerous.”

“
Well.” Weston sighed. “I
guess I could give you research to do but that would require me to
supplement you with information.”

“
We’re going to figure it
out anyway,” Easton said. “You may as well tell us.”

Weston leaned over the table and tucked
her hair behind her ear. Calloway watched her pull the strands away
and he lost his train of thought for a moment. “You already know
what the Hara-Kirs are—demonic beings that wish to destroy this
life as well as their own—they want everything to end.”

“
We already know this,”
Easton snapped.

Weston ignored her sister. “Their
purpose in existence is to strip ours away, and when they are
successful they take our essence—our soul—and somehow use that to
achieve their goals. They exist in another world that is separate
from the one we live in. These two worlds have been segregated
since the span of time but now the portal is open and the Hara-Kirs
are traveling to our side. We aren’t sure why the portal opened or
how, but it’s evident that a breach exists.”

“
Why would they wait so
long?” Calloway asked. “How else did they take our essence if they
weren’t physically here to do it?”

“
They waited for the
humans to do it themselves. When a person becomes so lost in their
despair their essence will eventually die and evaporate.
Eventually, when the world lacks a unified purpose, it will cease
to exist—the Hara-Kirs win.

“
While humans become
depressed naturally it isn’t enough to kill the essence. We believe
that’s why the portal has been opened and they are traveling to our
side, taking the essence by will or manipulating humans to give it
up voluntarily, because we aren’t losing enough essence on our
own.”

“
Why would anyone do
that?” Breccan asked. “Why would someone give away their
essence?”

“
I don’t understand it
either but I know it’s possible,” Weston said. “Some people embrace
the Anti-Life—they want this repetitive life to end.”

“
Will you lose your
essence to them if you kill yourself?” Calloway asked.

Weston stared at him. “Why are you
asking?”

Calloway was thinking of his father but
he didn’t want to admit the truth. “I’m just curious,” he said. “If
someone is upset enough to claim their own life, don’t the
Hara-Kirs gain that essence?”

“
I’m not sure,” Weston
said. “That’s something you can research.”

“
What else do you want us
to investigate?” Easton asked.

“
We know the portal is
opened but we don’t where it is,” Weston said. “And we don’t know
how many exist. The three of you could research that.”

“
I don’t even know how to
start,” Breccan said.

Weston looked around the library.
“Well, you have this room full of all our knowledge in addition to
your experience fighting the Hara-Kirs. You might find
something.”

Easton rolled her eyes. “This is a
bogus assignment. You just want to keep us entertained so we stay
out of the way. You don’t expect us to be successful.”

Weston smiled at her sister. “Then
prove me wrong.”

“
You are annoying,” Easton
said.

“
That makes two of us.”
She smiled.

“
Are we allowed to return
to the White Wing whenever we wish?” Calloway asked.

“
Only under my direct
supervision,” Weston said. “I don’t want you walking around here
without my knowledge. You need to let me know when you decide to
return.”

“
Okay.” Calloway
nodded.

Weston stood from her seat. “I think
I’ve showed you enough for one day,” she said. The three of them
rose from the table and followed her out of the room. Calloway
stared at the lobby as they descended the staircase and wished he
didn’t have to leave—it was so warm and cozy. He wondered if he
could live in the White Wing if he was admitted to the
university.

They left the building and Weston
walked them to their car.

“
What are you going to
tell Mom?” Easton asked.

Weston shrugged. “That you’re seeing a
boy.”

“
Don’t be stupid,” she
said. “What are you going to say?”

“
I’ll tell her you study
in the library all day—it’s true,” Weston answered.

“
Okay,” Easton said. She
walked to the front of the car and got inside the driver’s seat.
Calloway moved to the door when Weston touched his arm.

“
So, Friday night?” she
asked.

Calloway stared at her. “Excuse
me?”

“
That’s the night of the
formal, isn’t it? Are we still going together?”

“
Of course,” he said
quickly. “If you still want to accompany me.”

“
Yes,” she said with a
smile. “It’ll be fun. We can pick on my sister all
night.”

Calloway laughed. “Breccan will join in
so we’ll just be ganging up on her.”

“
Even better,” Weston
said.

“
Sounds good.” Calloway
laughed again.

“
I was going to wear a
blue dress,” she said. “Is that okay?”

Calloway shrugged. “Sure,” he said. He
didn’t care what she wore. He was certain she would look beautiful
in a gorilla costume.

“
I wasn’t sure if you
wanted to match or something,” she said. “I don’t care either
way.”

“
I wasn’t planning on it,”
Calloway said.

“
Okay,” she said. “I guess
Easton and I will pick you up before the dance.”

Calloway nodded. “That sounds
good.”

“
Good night,” she said as
she walked away. “I’ll see you later.”

“
Good night,” Calloway
said as he got inside the car.

Breccan immediately looked at him.
“What did she say?” he asked. Easton backed out of the dirt road
and started to drive toward the main road.

“
She just wanted to
finalize our plans for formal,” Calloway answered.

“
That’s it?” he asked
sadly. “Does it sound like a date?”

“
I’m more than certain
it
isn’t
a date,”
he said. “Weston isn’t interested in me. She already made it clear
she’s going with me out of pity.”

“
That doesn’t mean you
can’t change that,” Breccan said.

Easton sighed. “Calloway is smart,” she
said. “He knows my sister isn’t interested in him at all. And he’s
right—she’s just going with him because she feels bad for him.
Don’t make Calloway believe my sister is sending him signals when
she isn’t. She doesn’t like Calloway in a romantic way—he gets
that.”

Breccan faced the road and shook his
head. “If Weston was my date I would do everything I could to keep
her.”

“
And that’s why you’ll
never have a girlfriend,” Easton said.

“
I have courage,” he said.
“Girls like that.”

“
Breccan’s right,”
Calloway said. “But I don’t think these rules apply to Weston.
She’s like a bird—she’ll fly away if you chase her. You have to sit
on a park bench and wait for her to come to you.”

“
How did you know that?”
Easton asked.

“
It’s obvious,” Calloway
said. “Look at Weston’s friend, Scott. He shows interest in her
then she leaves. I think she’s overwhelmed with the attention. What
she needs is friendship—a platonic friendship—a place to feel safe.
I’m willing to be her friend if she’ll have me. Besides, she’s
doing me a favor by attending this dance with me and I wouldn’t
want to make her uncomfortable—chase her away.

Payday

Breccan stuffed the sandwich into his
mouth without any repercussions from the librarian, who was staring
at him from across the room. She tore her gaze away and started to
organize the books on the counter.

“
This is awesome,” he said
as he wiped the crumbs on his jeans. “The librarian doesn’t care at
all.”

“
Nancy
,” Easton said. “Her name is Nancy.” She skimmed through the
book and sighed in frustration.

“
What?” Breccan
asked.

“
This is taking forever,”
she said sadly. “I’m never going to finish it.”

“
Is there something we
could do to help?” Calloway asked.

She shook her head. “No,” she said. “I
need a decoder.”

“
How can we get one?”
Breccan asked.

“
Well, I’m certain that
the White Wing Library contains a decoder but its off limits,”
Easton said.

“
Why not?” Calloway asked.
“Weston said we could return whenever we wanted.”

“
My sister will watch us
the whole time,” Easton said. “If I grab a decoder she’ll know I
have an ancient text—there would be no other explanation. We would
have to steal it.”

“
Weston is too suspicious
to trick,” Breccan said. “We would never get past her.”

Easton sighed again. “I’m so angry with
her. If she just trusted us and didn’t treat us like children, we
would have access to it. We wouldn’t have to hide the Kirin Book
and we wouldn’t be in the dark.” She slammed the book closed. “I’m
so frustrated.”

Calloway didn’t know what to say. He
was equally frustrated by the situation. When he offered his aid
freely Weston rejected it, claiming his help was unneeded. Calloway
wanted to know why his father possessed the gifts but it was
obvious he wouldn’t find the truth. The decoder was essential to
unlocking the secrets of the Hara-Kirs—they were practically blind
without it.

Breccan stared at her for a moment,
watching the forlorn expression on Easton’s face, and then grabbed
the other half of his sandwich. He handed it to her. “Are you
hungry?”

Easton smiled at him. “No, thank
you.”

Calloway was amazed at the sight. It
was the first time he’d seen them be nice to each other—genuinely
nice. The lack of an argument astounded him. And the fact that
Breccan offered his hoard of food was even more
shocking.

“
I’m frustrated, too,”
Breccan said. “But we’ll figure it out.”

“
I hope so,” Easton said.
“I just don’t understand how we can kill two Hara-Kirs and still
not be trustworthy. I think that proves our valor and
determination. And if she likes us enough to attend a high school
formal, she should get us in.”

“
I think she just wants to
protect you,” Breccan said. “She’s your older sister.”

Easton rolled her eyes. “She’s a year
older than me—that’s it—and I can take care of myself.”

Breccan leaned back in his chair. “I
was just pointing that out,” he said with a sigh.

“
How does she expect us to
find the portal location without any resources?” Calloway asked.
“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“
That’s how I know it’s a
bogus assignment,” Easton said. “We don’t have any books to
investigate—other than the Kirin Book—which we can’t even
read.”

“
I guess we could ask the
students at the White Wing,” Calloway suggested. “They might know
something.”

Easton shook her head. “If they already
knew where the portal was, they wouldn’t need us to find
it.”