Beckoning Light (18 page)

“How did you get up here?” I asked the small creature, momentarily distracted from my search for an exit.

“You did not really expect them to let you leave, did you?” A low, melodic voice asked.  I spun, wondering who had entered my room.

The voice continued, “I assumed you were intelligent.”

I felt insulted, and then realized with significant surprise that the voice was coming from the cat. “How? What? But you’re a cat!” I started to wonder if I was losing my mind. I had been through a lot in the past few days; maybe I had finally snapped.

“If I show you my true form, you better not scream.”

“Okay.” I had no idea what I was agreeing to and hoped that I hadn’t lost my sanity completely.

The cat started to tremor, and then suddenly there was a beautiful woman standing in front of me with warm brown skin, black hair, and gray eyes. The woman was dressed in clothing I would describe as ‘warrior princess.’ I quickly learned that my impression was not so far off.

“I am Naomi, a princess from Zataman, and I have been sent into Energo to stop your people from waging more war,” the woman said eloquently. Having fallen backward after watching her transformation, I was just peeling myself off the floor when she introduced herself.  Sometimes it was easy to forget that Energo was a different world, but watching a cat turn into a woman made it all too clear.

“Waging war?” I didn’t bother asking who
my
people were; I already knew.

“You really do not know what they are up to, do you?” Naomi sized me up.

“Up to?”

“They want to use you, Charlotte, use you like they used your mother to conquer other nations.” I felt a shiver go up my spine again when I thought about someone using my mother. What exactly would that entail?

I remembered that Blake had never explained why my mother had left. “My mother?”

“Yes, why do you think she ran into your world? She did not want to be part of such destruction and violence. She hated to leave her home, but she refused to be part of such activities.”

“Did Blake have anything to do with my mom’s death?” I wanted to confirm my suspicions, but was terrified of the implications. 

“Quite likely,” Naomi said coolly.

“But… he wouldn’t kill her, right? He couldn’t have! How could her Gerard do that?” I gasped, suddenly beginning to question my unwavering trust in Calvin.

“Charlotte, you have much to learn, which is why what I tell you is so important.”

I shivered.  Even though I had just met her, I knew in every grain of my being that she was speaking the truth. I wondered if the ceremony had anything to do with the new perception.

“Is Calvin involved in this?” I asked hesitantly, not really sure if I wanted to hear the answer.

“I do not know, but I know that he follows orders.”

“But isn’t he in charge now? Why would he follow orders?” I asked, trying to understand what would make him listen to Blake.

Naomi looked at me seriously as though trying to decide how to phrase her next statement. “Calvin is uncertain and willing to cede authority to Blake.”

Somehow, knowing that I couldn’t completely trust Calvin made it easier to move ahead. Without hesitation, I asked Naomi what I could do. 

“You need to get into the dungeon,” Naomi said without any hint of humor.

“Excuse me? The dungeon? How does that help?”

Before she could answer, there was a knock at the door. We both moved behind the door as it opened slightly. “Miss, is everything okay?” the guard asked from outside. 

“Yes, everything is fine,” I said as calmly as I could.

“I thought I heard you talking to someone,” the guard pressed.

“No, I was just talking to myself.” 

“Oh. If you need any assistance, you need only knock,” he said, as he closed the door. 

As soon as the door closed, Naomi pulled me toward the balcony door. She opened it, and we walked out into the cold night. I looked around, and even in the darkness, I could make out men moving heavy equipment. 

“Do those look like the actions of a nation at peace?” Naomi asked.

“One of my guardians told me that Energo was just protecting its borders,” I said quietly, though I no longer believed it.

“You have a lot to learn, Charlotte,” she said, as we walked back inside. “The reason you must get to the dungeon is that there is someone there who you need to meet. I cannot tell you who, in case they get it out of you before you reach the dungeon, but it is of the greatest importance that you make it there.”

“How do I get down there?” I knew that I would do what she told me, yet wondered what she meant when she suggested that someone might get information out of me.

“You have to get put down there.”

“Like as a prisoner?”

“Exactly. The hardest part of achieving that will be getting Calvin to agree. He is not going to part with you easily or want to sit by while you suffer. I have been told that only you will know how to upset him enough to get him to assent.”

Even though the same feeling that told me to trust my Guardians flared around Naomi, and I knew unequivocally that Naomi was telling the truth, something still bothered me. “Naomi, how do you know so much about Energo and me?” I hoped I would like the answer.

“All I can tell you is that I have warned your family, and they are on their way to get you.  I will report back to them on your progress,” Naomi clearly held back most of the information.

Frustrated by how little I knew, I wanted to continue to press Naomi, but her expression told me that she wasn’t going to be offering more. I made one last attempt, trying to learn more about Blake, but she just urged me to get down to the dungeon as soon as possible. I reluctantly thanked her for her help and watched in awe as the woman I was talking to quickly morphed back into a cat. I didn’t know much about people who could shift into animals, but I expected there to be more, like maybe smoke or a strange noise. However, it happened so fast that I saw nothing. She waited for me to open the balcony door, and I watched her slip out into the night. For a second, I was nervous she wouldn’t make it to the bottom, but I figured that anyone who could shape shift like that probably had other hidden talents. I closed the door and began to plan.

I knew that an easy way to show Blake and Calvin that I was resisting would be to wear my regular clothes. I had a feeling they wouldn’t take well to my walking around in jeans. The rest of my plan was more complicated and would be more painful. I would have to hurt Calvin, and it upset me just to think about it.

Chapter Twenty-One

Charlotte

I couldn’t sleep the night of the ceremony. I just couldn’t wrap my head around how much had changed in my life over the past few days. I tried to make sense of what Naomi had told me, but mainly I felt torn between my love for Calvin and the knowledge that I had to hurt him in order to do what my conscience told me was necessary. I thought about how Blake had presumably taken my mother’s life. If Blake was able to do that as the Gerard, how could I ever really trust Calvin? On a deeper level, I knew that Calvin’s words of love were true; I just couldn’t understand where it fit into the larger plan. I tried to reconcile my vision of Calvin with one that would follow Blake so blindly. 

I put on my nightgown before Tara arrived to fill my bath. I tried to enjoy it because I knew that it was likely my last bath for a while. Afterward, I put on my jeans and even pulled my hair up into the same hair band that I arrived with.

When Tara returned, she appeared shocked by my appearance. “Charlotte, I really do not think that is an appropriate outfit,” she said quietly.

“Who cares?” I said with an edge to my voice that I immediately regretted when I saw her face. “Tara,” I added, suddenly worried about her getting in trouble for any of this. “I would stay far away from me today.”

She looked both upset and confused. “But why?”

“Just trust me.” I sounded too much like James for comfort.

“I do,” Tara said quietly.

I walked over to the door and pushed it open. Another Bravado guard stood there, and he looked even more shocked by my appearance than Tara. I walked past him without a second glance and went downstairs. When I walked into the dining room, I saw that only Blake and Calvin were seated at the table. Both men stood when I entered the room, and neither hid their surprise at how I was dressed.

“Charlotte, were the dresses provided to you unsatisfactory?” My wardrobe choice had its intended result; Blake was already angry. “No, they were fine.”
              Blake didn’t hide his annoyance. “Then I kindly ask you to change. Your clothing is simply not appropriate for the Essence.”

“Who cares?” I asked.

Mouth hanging open, Calvin stared at me. Realizing I might not be eating much in the coming days, I grabbed a pastry from the tray, but I remained standing.

“Charlotte, please join us?” Calvin gestured to an empty chair.

“No.” 

“Why not?” he asked with concern.

“I choose not to dine with a murderer.” I hadn’t planned on using the word, but it just came out.

“Murderer?” Blake and Calvin said simultaneously.

“What did you do to my mother? How could you murder her?” I screamed at Blake.

“Charlotte, your mother decided her own fate. That man she chose to be with is the one to blame. He should have protected her.” Blake spat the words. 

“That man? You mean her husband, my father? My father is a good man. And don’t you get it? I wouldn’t be here if she hadn’t married him.” I seethed with anger.

“Charlotte, calm down. You do not know what you are saying.” Calvin moved away from the table and toward me. He tried to touch my arm, but I pulled it away. This was the beginning of the hard part, and I knew it. It was going to get much worse. It hurt me to treat Calvin that way even though I knew I had to.

“Charlotte?”  He reached for me again.

“Don’t touch me!” I said fiercely.

“Charlotte, please, calm down,” Calvin pleaded, his eyes full of pain.

“I’ll calm down if you get Blake to explain what happened to my mom.” I looked past Calvin to where Blake stood.

“Calvin, she is out of her mind. I have done nothing to her mother. She chose to run away and take our power, our light. Anything that happened afterward has nothing to do with us,” Blake said, as though reading from a script.

Calvin nodded and once again tried to touch my arm. I flinched away again.  

“Let me leave immediately!” I yelled at Blake.

Blake took a step closer to me. “As I told you last night, you cannot leave.”

“Charlotte, you want to leave? You want to leave me?” Calvin cried. I had expected this to be hard, but the pain was so much worse than I had imagined. He sounded too wounded, and my own heart hurt as I jabbed at his. I ignored him as best I could, trying to avoid his pained face.

“Why not? Why can’t I leave?”

“You are needed here,” Blake said evenly.

“To do what?” I asked, not caring about the answer.

“Protect your people.”

“Protect my people? You mean pillage other nations?” I said harshly, trying to control my rage and hurt.

Calvin looked over at Blake. “Can I please speak with her alone?”

“Of course.” Blake shot me an icy stare. “You need to get her into line.”

Once Blake left, Calvin tried to move closer to me again, so I moved back. This continued until I was backed against the wall. I tried to look away, but I knew it was no use.

“Charlotte, why are you doing this? Do you not see that we can have everything; we can be together and have it all. You belong here with me.” He tried to soothe me with his words.

“But my family, Calvin.” I was angry at myself for letting tears fall from my eyes.

I tried to turn my head as he wiped away some of my tears, but once he had touched my face, it was hard to move.

“If it’s family you want, we can start one right away. I know that where you come from you would be young, but here it is what is expected.”

“Start a family?” I spat, shocked. “Are you crazy? I’m sixteen, and I’m still in high school!”

“None of that matters. What matters is that we want to be together. I have dreamed of us spending our life together from the moment I met you. We will be able to give our family everything, without ever worrying about supporting them. Is that not what you want?” Calvin asked softly, willing me to give him the answer he wanted to hear.

“Calvin, I’m not ready for any of that yet.” I had been unprepared for this conversation, and it was only making me more uncomfortable.

“You will be, and I will wait if I have to, wait if you need me to, but please calm down.” Calvin put his hand under my chin and kissed me hard on the mouth, a very different kind of kiss from his previous ones. I immediately pushed him away.

“I cannot touch you? I cannot kiss you? Charlotte, I know you love me as I love you. What is going on?” Calvin asked with the first hint of anger in his voice.

“Love me?  Calvin, this is not a natural love; it’s some crazy chemical imbalance or something. How do we even know it’s real?” I knew that each word would feel like daggers to him.

“Not natural? This is the most natural thing ever. You and I are meant to be together. I am meant to protect you.” He tried to kiss me again. I slapped his face, almost reflexively, and the action surprised both of us.

He touched his face where I had hit him. Although he was clearly not physically hurt, the slap had the intended effect. “Charlotte, we have to do our duty.” His voice was colder than I had ever heard it. 

“Why are you just going along with Blake blindly? Have you thought that maybe he’s wrong?” I asked, because I felt I needed to at least give him a chance, no matter what Naomi had said.

“Wrong?  Blake is the only reason we even found you. Other nations are going to attack; we need to be ready to defend ourselves.”

I finally allowed him to look into my eyes. “So it’s just defense then, no invasion?”

“Well, we may have to preemptively strike—”