Beckoning Light (11 page)

“I have a key, same as you.” He held up a crystal key almost identical to my own. I was speechless.

He pocketed his key. “I was hoping you would get the nerve to come in if you saw the light, and I see that I was right.” 

“How did you know I would see it?” I didn’t quite understand what was happening.

“I didn’t. But I also knew you were home alone and would be more likely to come tonight rather than another night. I realized you had found the key when I saw that chain.” James reached over and pulled out my necklace, startling me with his touch. I couldn’t believe he had noticed the necklace when Monty and Kevin hadn’t.

“There’s no reason to hide that necklace here,” he said lightly, sounding very different from the James I was used to.

“Here? What do you mean? Do you know where we are?” I asked, not sure how much about my previous trips through the gate I should admit to.

“This is where I’m from, and where you’re from.” His expression was full of pride.

“I’m from Charleston,” I said slowly, starting to back toward the gate, while wondering if he had lost his mind.              

“Not your mother.” He took a step forward to match my movement.

“What do you know of my mother?” I asked, feeling the urge to believe him. On some level, I already knew that my mom had to have some connection to this place because she was the one who had owned the key.

“I know a lot.”

“Like what?” I took a step forward again.

“Come with me, Charlotte, and you’ll learn everything you need to know.” He held out his hand.

“Come where?” 

“To my home, Bellgard. Trust me, you will not regret it.” He smiled, and I could tell he was trying his best to put me at ease. The usual comforting feeling of being through the gate had set in, but I was still nervous, surprised by his presence.

When I heard the name Bellgard, I knew I had to go with James. To be near Calvin again would be a dream. I tried to picture Calvin’s reaction when he saw me and realized I had followed him. Surely, he wouldn’t mind that I came to find him. Then, I thought about Kevin and Monty; I hadn’t left a note.

James seemed to read my mind. “We’ll leave the gate open, and Monty will figure it out,” he said softly.

“How? Is Monty from Bellgard, too?” Then, understanding dawned.

“Of course, your mother’s whole family is from there.”

“Her whole family?” My mom had never told me anything about anyone other than Monty; all I knew was that my grandparents on that side had died before I was born.

“Yes, Charlotte. Your family and my family have lived in Bellgard for generations,” he said, reaching for my hand again even though I hadn’t accepted his offer last time.

“But then, why was I told never to come back here? Why are you telling me this now? You could have told me the other night after the party. Why wait until now?”

“I wanted to wait until you came through the gate. I wanted the decision to be your own,” he told me quietly. “Charlotte, please trust me,” he continued. “If we’re to make it to Bellgard before midday, we need to leave now.” He was almost pleading.

“By midday? How far away is Bellgard?”

“The ride will take several hours, so we need to leave now.”

My brain told me that it was a bad idea, but my heart said otherwise. I needed to see Calvin; I needed to learn more about my mother. I followed James through the garden, where I saw a horse waiting with a black canvas bag on the ground next to it.

“We aren’t riding that, are we?” I pointed at the horse. I don’t know what I thought he meant when he said ride, but it wasn’t that.

“Wait a second. Have you never ridden a horse before?” James asked skeptically. He didn’t wait for my answer. “Wow, who would have thought?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just that riding a horse is in your blood.”

“My blood?”

“Forget it, let’s go.” I stood there frozen for a moment, then he proceeded to help me into the saddle before mounting the horse himself, slinging the bag up with him. He was obviously comfortable with horses.

“Hold on,” he instructed.

“Okay.” I was still in disbelief that I was actually about to ride a horse to a place I knew almost nothing about. I kept telling myself it was all to see Calvin, but I knew that I was doing it for other reasons, too. Something inside me told me to go, told me that this was a chance I needed to take. I couldn’t resist pointing out the obvious. “And you said I didn’t take chances.”

“I guess we’re all proven wrong sometimes.” He laughed, and then we were off.

Both terrified and excited, I held onto him as we rode through the early morning light. The morning was warm but with the faintest of breezes. Although I had never been on a horse, nothing could have felt more natural. We rode through forests and clearings, the landscape a blur as we passed.

James slowed the horse suddenly and pulled a black fur-lined cloak out of the canvas bag. He handed it to me and told me to put it on, including the hood.

“Why?” I asked, even though I was putting the cloak on as I spoke. “It isn’t cold.”

“So you’re not recognized and because, trust me, it will get colder.” I couldn’t help but notice that this was the third time that he had asked for my trust.

“But who would recognize me?”

“Just do it, Charlotte, please.” Once again, he sounded as if he was pleading. I was too nervous to argue, so I secured the cloak, pulling up the hood. The cloak was warm and soft, luxurious really, a lot nicer than I had originally thought when he first handed it to me. I was happy to have it when we approached Bellgard. Snow fell lightly as we neared the city walls, and the temperature drop had been sudden. Through the snowy sky, I saw the city before we reached it.  It looked like a giant fortress set into a huge mountainside. A castle dominated the landscape.

The sun was in the middle of the sky as we rode through the castle walls, which were enormous, old, and imposing. I tried to look back as the gate closed behind us, but I could see nothing but dense trees. The reality of what I was doing finally hit me, and I realized in that moment that there was no turning back.

Chapter Eleven

Charlotte

“Welcome to Bellgard,” James said, as he helped me down from the horse. He looked excited and was obviously eager to get inside. I tried to take in the surroundings as we walked toward the main castle. I saw a couple of large Ws carved into the exterior walls and asked James about them.

“The W stands for Winthrop.” He watched as I made sense of his explanation.

“Wait, like Monty’s last name?”

“And your mother’s maiden name,” he added. “Your mother and uncle grew up here. This is the Winthrop castle.”

“What? They grew up in a castle?” I asked, shocked.

“I told you that you would find a lot of answers here.” He smiled at me as we walked. “Welcome home.”

I stayed close to his side as we walked through two tall doors and into a large open room. I couldn’t take my eyes off the swords and armor lining the walls high above me. I had never been in such a big room before, or such an old one. Growing up in an historic house, I was used to old buildings, but this was something else altogether. I suddenly felt nervous.

“James, I got word that you were spotted,” a male voice said, pulling my attention from the architecture. “And I see you are not alone.”

“Hi, Father. I brought someone you will be happy to meet, Charlotte Calloway.” James addressed a man who shared the same dirty-blond hair and tall build, but that appeared just a bit too young to be his father. The man looked over at me with a wordless expression and, without warning, James pulled the hood off my head.

The man exhaled audibly. “A spitting image of her mother. I would know those eyes anywhere.”

I took a step back, startled at the mention of my mother. James had told me my mother was from here, but hearing her mentioned so soon surprised me. After a moment, the man composed himself and held out his hand.

“Hello, Charlotte. I am Blake Mendel, James’s father. It is a pleasure to have you here.”

“Hi,” I replied timidly, shaking his hand. I looked over to James for some encouragement. James nodded, giving me a reassuring smile.

Blake seemed to sense my hesitation. “I am sure you must be confused and overwhelmed right now. I’m not sure how much James has told you.” Blake led us into a library that seemed completely out of place in the old castle. Walls and walls of books lined the room, reaching from floor to ceiling. I had seen libraries similar to this before, but not in rooms of this size. Blake smiled when he saw me admiring the room. “A lover of books?”

“Yes, I mean, absolutely,” I told him quietly.

“Charlotte, there is nothing to fear. I know you are frightened, but you are safe here. I assure you, you are safer here than anywhere else.”

I was alarmed to hear Blake talking about my safety as though it were an issue. “What do you mean?”

“You really know nothing of who you are, do you?” He looked at me seriously.

“Of course I know who I am. Charlotte Calloway.” I felt even more confused.

“And what of your family?”

“My family? I’m the daughter of Stan and Emma Calloway.”

“Charlotte, please have a seat. We have a lot to talk about.” Blake gestured toward a large table in the center of the room. I sat down, getting more nervous as time passed. James took a seat next to me with Blake on my other side. “Charlotte, you are in Energo. We are a world not completely different than the world in which you were raised. The thing that makes us distinct is that we are the people of the Source.”

“The Source?” Blake had said it as though it cleared everything up, but it did nothing to illuminate me.

Blake continued, “I speak of the source of nature and the elements. Charlotte, throughout time, there have been women with unique abilities to share and wield the natural powers. These women are called Essences, and each Essence ages slowly until a new Essence comes of age, usually three or four generations removed from the one before. The Essences have always come through one family, and only become an Essence once they have reached maturity. Signs may be revealed when an Essence is as young as twelve or thirteen, but never before.” 

I struggled to understand where this fit in my understanding of the world. “But where does this power come from?”

“We do not know for sure, but we understand its importance. Whenever there is an absence of an Essence, we have gone through a dark age of poor harvests and disease. If a dark age continues for too long we become completely exposed and defenseless,” Blake said soberly.

I suddenly remembered that the conversation had started as one about my family. “What does all of this have to do with me?”

“Have you not figured it out?” Blake asked, surprise in his voice.

“No,” I said nervously.

“Charlotte, you are our new Essence.” Blake looked at me intently.

“What?” I must have heard him wrong, or he had the wrong girl. This was crazy. I heard James laugh lightly, but ignored him, too confused to care.

“You are our Essence, Charlotte,” Blake repeated. Looking at him, I realized where James had gotten his intense eye-contact habit. “You are an Essence born of an Essence, incredibly rare,” Blake added.

“You’re crazy. I’m just an average teenage girl. A girl that should be going home. James, can we go now?” I looked over at him expectantly. Things were getting too weird. I felt a shiver go up my spine.

“Charlotte, you
are
home,” James said more gently than he had ever talked to me before. “Don’t you see that?”

“I really think there’s been some kind of mistake. I’m sorry for wasting your time, but really, I need to get home.” I started to get up from my chair.

“Charlotte, please. I am sure you are exhausted and need to clean up after your journey. I will have someone take you to your room. I had it prepared in anticipation of James’s return. Tonight you will meet your Guard.” Blake gestured for me to take my seat again. 

“My Guard?” I asked, even more alarmed. What else could possibly happen? I started to have a strange feeling that maybe this wasn’t a case of mistaken identity. Blake had recognized that I looked like my mom, hadn’t he?

“For as long as there has been an Essence, there have been Guardians of the Essence. The Guardians, the natural protectors of the Essence, are tied to her. These men age with the Essence and lose power only as she loses power,” Blake said in his rhythmic voice.

“Is James one of these Guardians?” I asked, though I had already guessed the answer. Somehow it seemed like a small consolation if he would be sticking nearby. At least it was someone I knew.

“Yes,” Blake said immediately, smiling. “We have identified eight men, and there should be ten. I understand you have a brother, he is likely one of the missing Guardians,” Blake continued.

“Kevin?” I asked, surprised.

“Charlotte, we just told you that you are the Essence, and you are surprised that Kevin might actually be part of this world, too?” James looked at me with humor in his eyes.

“You’re right. I guess it just still seems too weird that my family isn’t from Charleston. I mean, I thought we had been there since before the revolution,” I admitted.

“Maybe your father’s family has been.”

I realized that no one had even mentioned my father yet. “Wait, so my dad isn’t from here?”

“No, your mother left. But that is a story for another day.” Blake made it clear the conversation was over by rising from his seat.

“James, please notify both the new and old Guards that there will be a meeting this evening.” James smiled at me lightly then left the room.

“New and old Guards?” I asked, feeling more nervous now that James had left.

“Your mother had a Guard as well. They still remain.” Blake didn’t show any impatience with my questions.

“Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say; it was all too much. Of course, my mother had been an Essence. Blake had said I was an Essence born of an Essence, but it still took me a minute to process. I wanted my mom so much at that moment, yet I was also angry at her for not telling me any of this before she died. It started to feel like I had never really known her, and that hurt.