Beckoning Light (21 page)

“Your powers are strong, Charlotte, but they are dangerous if you cannot control them. If I had not been here, you could have drowned,” Ruth warned. I looked at her, waiting for further instructions. “Close your eyes; you will know what to do.”

I closed my eyes and instantly visualized water draining. I opened my eyes moments later to see that the floor was still slightly damp, but all of the standing water was gone.

“Well done, Charlotte!” the voice from the other cell said enthusiastically.

Now that the water was gone, my curiosity was piqued. “Who is that?”

“Your uncle Theodore.” Ruth watched me. I was confused. Why was my uncle down here?

“I realized my mistake too late,” Theodore said before I could give my question much thought. “I believed Blake and turned my back on my own sister. But then several years ago, I felt that she was further away. At first I assumed she had just journeyed far from our world, lessening the bond, but then I just knew Emma was gone. At the same time, word got out that Blake had been looking for a new Essence, and he lashed out when he found out my daughter was not the one. I instantly knew he had something to do with Emma’s death, and I confronted him. I was not strong enough to fight against the other guardians, and he threw me down here. I have heard nothing of my wife, daughter, or son; I can only hope he spared them.”

“How old is your daughter?” I got the feeling that I may have met her already.

“She would be fifteen now.” He confirmed my suspicions.

“Is her name Tara?” I asked, hoping I was right.

“Yes, have you heard of my Tara?”

“More than heard of her, she’s a servant for them. She was assigned to me.”

Theodore sighed with relief and asked questions about her. I assured him that she looked well. For a moment, I thought I heard him crying, but the sound disappeared quickly. When he asked about his son and wife, I had nothing to tell him. I wished I had better news. After talking to Theodore through the wall for several moments, it finally dawned on me that Tara was my cousin! Monty wasn’t married and dad was an only child, so I never really contemplated what it would be like to have cousins, but it was exciting.

Ruth brought me back to reality when she told me that I had to continue to practice. “Last time you closed your eyes, you wielded water, so you clearly have a connection to water.  Let us try growth. I would assume you have this one. Charlotte, concentrate on that vine up there.”

I looked up to where Ruth was pointing. High up at a small window next to the ceiling, vines intertwined with the bars. I closed my eyes and visualized the vine growing longer and longer until it moved down the wall. I heard a gasp and opened my eyes.

“Such strength so early,” Ruth whispered. I looked around and saw that the vine had moved all the way down the wall. 

“Okay, Charlotte, now reverse it.”

I closed my eyes, expecting to instantly visualize the vine retreating, but instead I visualized wood from the door splintering. I heard a loud cracking sound, but kept my eyes closed tightly.

“Charlotte!” Ruth cried.  I immediately opened my eyes.

“You are splintering the wood in the door. It is unbelievable, but the vines are still there,” Ruth said, her voice full of surprise.

“I know. I just pictured the wood instead; I couldn’t control it,” I admitted.

“You are going to have to practice, as I said; these powers are dangerous without control. Try again,” she commanded.

This time when I closed my eyes, I mentally tried to shift my mind toward the vine. Immediately, I pictured the vines retreating. By the time I opened my eyes, no sign of the vine even appeared in the window.

“Now the door, we need to repair it before a guard comes down,” Ruth instructed.

I closed my eyes and made myself think of the door. I heard a sharp crackling, and when I opened my eyes, the splinter was fixed.

“How am I doing this, Ruth?” I asked in awe.

“An Essence is the human form of the earth’s powers. In theory, an Essence should be able to wield almost any natural power. However, in practice, I have never heard of an Essence that had them all. Theodore mentioned the importance of you being born of an Essence. It has only happened once before, over six hundred years ago. Energo was invaded by the Sutonti nation. A rogue guard forced the hand of a Guardian, making him use his sword on the Essence. The Essence was young, probably only a few years older than you. She had already had children, and her eldest daughter began showing signs of the Essence very young. By the time of her ceremony, she had already exhibited several abilities, but even she never mastered them all.”  

Ruth was silent for a few minutes, and my thoughts returned to Calvin, making my heart ache. I decided to ask Ruth about her Gerard. She told me that she hadn’t even met him before the ceremony, but the feeling was instantaneous. I told her about my fear that the love I felt for Calvin wasn’t real, and she immediately became serious.

“Charlotte, you should not underestimate the bond between you and your Gerard. To do so could be your downfall. I know it is especially hard for you, because you are being told not to trust him, but the second you forget the power of your bond is the second that you lose your advantage. Please remember that no matter what happens, that bond will exist for the rest of your life, and his. Even if you are fighting on different sides, you are tied together.”

“Do you still love your Gerard?” I asked Ruth quietly.

“Yes, the love changes over time, becoming something even stronger.” I could tell that Ruth was thinking about her Gerard, and I wondered where he was, if he was even still alive. 

I knew that my time with Ruth might be limited, so I asked her about her own abilities. I learned that Ruth could use water, fire, wind, growth, and temperature. I instantly remembered the water at the waterfall when she mentioned temperature. Ruth imagined I would have all of her abilities and more. She told me that she hoped to help me discover all of mine, but that if she were unable, I would have to do it on my own, like I had with the wood. She explained that the splintering of the wood was a type of manipulation, and that in theory, I should be able to do it with any natural material.

As the sun set, we sat in darkness. The cell was cold and still damp from the water. I tried to figure out how long I had been at Bellgard and began to count the days. I started to laugh.  Ruth immediately asked me what I was thinking.

“Today’s my birthday. I just spent my entire sixteenth birthday in a dungeon.” I wasn’t entirely sure why I was laughing. I guessed it was because most girls had sweet sixteen parties or got fancy presents, and I had purposely had myself thrown into a dungeon. It was too dark to see, but I could sense that Ruth was smiling.

I tried to sleep, but I was cold and uncomfortable. I would have thought that nearly four years in Alaska would have better prepared me for this cold, but I had weathered the Alaska winters in warm clothes and heated buildings. I closed my eyes thinking of the snow drifts in Alaska.  I opened my eyes as Ruth shook me. 

“What are you picturing, Charlotte?” she asked anxiously.

“Just the snow.” I noticed that the wind had picked up outside, and it had become colder.

“Well, I guess we know you can control the weather,” Ruth said. “And that is an ability that may just come in handy.”

Eventually, I must have fallen asleep because I awakened to a sound that turned out to be a tray being slid under the door. Ruth took the tray and handed me a piece of bread. We listened as the guard retreated. We sat there in a comfortable silence for some time, before we heard footsteps moving down the corridor again. Confused, I looked at Ruth. Why would the guard be coming back? Ruth took my hand and warned me to stay calm and play along.

“Charlotte?” an unfamiliar voice said from outside the door. I stood and looked through the metal bars that provided the only visual vantage point outside of the cell. I immediately caught the eye of one of my Guardians, William. 

“Charlotte, what is this all about?” he asked, as soon as he saw me looking.

“What is all of what about?” I asked innocently. That only annoyed him.

“Why are you doing this to Calvin? You know that you belong by his side. Why are you down here?” William leaned one hand against the door.

“Why don’t you ask Calvin why I’m down here,” I said as calmly as I could. “He’s the one who issued the order.”

“He only issued that order because you provoked him. What did you expect to happen when you accused him of keeping you a prisoner, when you refused even the most minimal contact? You are
Calvin’s
Essence; you owe him more respect,” William said angrily. I couldn’t help but notice that he had emphasized Calvin’s name before the word
Essence
.

“I wasn’t aware that the Essence was supposed to answer to anyone,” I said with an edge to my voice. I had no idea where this was all coming from, but I knew what I had to say.

“The Essence should be wise enough to realize that her Gerard only has her best interests in mind and should understand that she must trust her Gerard without question.” Even in the dim light, I could see that he was looking at me attentively.

“Maybe you’re right.” I felt that was what Ruth wanted me to say.

“Did I hear you right?”

“I should be with my Gerard. I am sure we can come to an understanding,” I added, trying to make my change of heart more believable. “Could you please send Calvin down to me?”

“I will call him immediately,” William said excitedly. “I am so glad that you have come to your senses,” he added, as he turned to hurry down the corridor. 

Chapter Twenty-Five

Kevin

The training only intensified once we got our sword and crossbow. I found it exhilarating to use my new sword. It was like I was somehow more powerful by holding it. It made me wonder what Guardian training usually entailed because so much of it seemed intuitive. It was like my natural strengths were just enhanced. Holding my sword also made me feel closer to Charlotte. I never asked Monty or Percy about it, but I was convinced that there was something of Charlotte in the sword. I wanted to ask Monty if Guardians who were also brothers of the Essence had a stronger bond than usual, but I was afraid that it would only upset him more by making him think about my mom.

Monty sure knew how to use a sword. He fought against Tomas, demonstrating maneuvers, and he moved with such ease that it gave me more confidence in myself.  Since becoming a Guardian I had felt stronger, and I assumed that I would be able to match Monty’s abilities eventually. I only hoped I could catch up fast. Although Liam primarily used a crossbow, Percy also showed him how to use a sword in case he needed to engage in hand-to-hand combat. Liam took to it easily, but I could tell that he was as nervous as I was about an actual fight. Samantha switched back and forth between a sword and a bow, clearly comfortable with both. It seemed like nothing ever fazed her. If she was nervous about our journey to Bellgard, she didn’t show it.

Liam must have noticed that I had been looking at Samantha a lot because he called me on it. “Do you always go for the girls you can’t have?” he asked, smiling just a little.

“Like you should talk, Liam. You’re the one who thinks my sister is gorgeous. Yeah, I think that there might be some competition.” 

Liam didn’t respond, so clearly he got the message. I hadn’t given him too hard a time about it yet, but he had pretty much asked for it.

As we were packing up our gear, Percy introduced us to a woman named Naomi. After my experiences with Samantha, I didn’t doubt it for a second when he assured us she was an incredible warrior. I did almost choke when I watched her change into a cat. So far, everything else had seemed somewhat normal, but that blew my mind.

After leaving the cave, the seven of us moved in silence for a short time, each lost in our own thoughts. I was trying to process everything I had learned in the past days. Charlotte was a prisoner, but also powerful and might be so in love with some guy I hadn’t met that she would rather stay with him than come with us. I tried to stay positive, though. Naomi told us that Charlotte had been successful in her mission, which made me hopeful that she would leave willingly. Percy and Monty seemed surprised by Naomi’s news. Percy explained that it was especially difficult in the beginning for an Essence and her Gerard to separate. I had to give it to Charlotte; she seemed to know how to take care of herself. It also made me nervous to see how surprised Percy was, considering he had told us that our success largely depended on her. 

I thought Monty was going to be sick when he found out that Charlotte was in a dungeon. Monty had always been protective of her, maybe even more than I was, more like Dad. Or really, he was protective in a different way. I couldn’t picture Charlotte in a dungeon, and clearly Liam couldn’t either. He just kept repeating how it didn’t seem possible that a guy who loved Charlotte could lock her up. I didn’t have anything to say because the idea seemed so foreign to me, too.

Ever since Percy had told us that he had been a Gerard, I had been trying to picture it. It made sense; it was why Monty thought he was our best hope. The crazy part was that, out of nowhere, Percy started to look stronger. He still looked old, but he could move easier, and he didn’t seem nearly as decrepit. He said that Charlotte must have given some of her power to his Essence. The whole Essence/Gerard relationship was beyond me; I figured I would understand it better if I saw Charlotte with hers, although I wasn’t looking forward to seeing them together.

On top of the fear I had for my sister and the battle I was about to enter, I also had to deal with my feelings for Samantha. Even with everything going on, I just couldn’t get her out of my head. She was so different from all of the other girls I knew, not interested in me in the slightest, but that just made me want her more. I knew this was hardly the time, but I swore that if I somehow survived this battle and got Charlotte back, I would find a way to impress Samantha someday. I didn’t want Samantha to think I was weak, so I tried to hide how terrified I was. I could see that Liam was nervous. He kept looking over at me, but I really didn’t know what to say. I was glad that he was there, and I knew more than ever that he was a loyal friend, even if I was pretty convinced that he was into my sister.