by C J Benjamin
“This is going nowhere. We’re supposed to be looking for Pillars, not arguing over who you all know at the Troian Center. I wish the Book of Secrets listed names for the Pillars. Even just family names would be useful. Can we go back to the section about the Pillars again Eja? There has to be something we can use there.”
“We can definitely revisit it, my Eva, but it’s clear that the names of the Pillars aren’t listed for their protection and because their powers change hands so often—being passed down through the generations.”
I sighed in frustration. The Book of Secrets was nothing but a riddle. It gave us names for people who didn’t use them and element characteristics for people who had names.
“How do we even know the Pillars are here on Hullabee Island?” Remi asked.
“That part we know, because the Ravinori are here searching for them as well. Their sole purpose is to find them and use them to bring Ravin back. They wouldn’t be here on our island if the Pillars weren’t here. Let me just find that passage . . .” Eja trailed off, flipping through the pages. “Ah here it is. ‘ . . . it is power they seek, so those that possess the most will risk the most. There are four individuals the Ravinori covet the most to create and control the four Pillars of this world. Earth, wind, water and fire. It is said that those who control these elements can control the world.’”
The humid forest air hung heavy above us. It was laced with silence and somberness after Eja finished reading. I looked around at my friends. Each of their faces set with a stern expression. My eyes finally rested on Nova. It was clear to me that he was fire. Everything about him screamed it, even before I had seen him produce his flame in the forest that fateful night. Even without the chief comparing him to Kull. Nova’s bright emerald eyes always had a glow about them, as if lit from within by some mysterious internal inferno. His combustible personality, the way I could so quickly ignite his temper, the way he made my skin flush with heat when he was near, the spark I felt whenever he touched me, the way his golden hair curled in sections, like flames, licking his forehead. There was no doubt in my mind that Nova was the fire Pillar. And I could tell when his gaze met mine that he knew it too. The reality of the situation made our feuding seem trivial. All I wanted to do now, was protect him.
47
We ended our meeting without any new direction. We would focus our search on the Pillars as planned. Once they were safe, I knew I would focus on rescuing the rest of the Johns and Janes at the Troian Center. I wouldn’t rest until every last one of them was freed of the evil institution that had imprisoned us.
Everyone seemed ready to divide and conquer. Sparrow and Jemma would seek water, Remi and I would search for wind and Journey and Nova would look for earth. In an unspoken agreement, we all seemed to know that searching for fire was futile since Nova seemed to fit the bill. While we were wrapping up the last of the details, I saw Nova slip away and I couldn’t help worrying about him, so I excused myself and went after him.
“Nova, wait up,” I called, jogging to catch up.
When I got to his side I could see that he was wiping away the remains of tears from his glimmering green eyes. I was so taken aback I didn’t know what to say. Nova was always so strong, so brave. To see him cry stunned me, so I did the only thing that felt right. I closed the space between us and hugged him tight. It felt so good to feel his warm chest against me again. He hugged me back and I felt a new conviction to fight the Ravinori. It would be over my dead body that I’d let anyone hurt this boy.
“Nova, it’s going to be all right. We’re going to find the others and we’re going to get you all away from here and hide you from the Ravinori. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Tippy, it’s not that.”
I looked up at him. “It’s not?” I said confused.
He smiled down at me. “Well okay, it’s a little of that. But something else too.”
I continued looking at him, waiting for him to elaborate. He let our embrace end and sat down on a mossy trunk, patting it for me to join him.
“After hearing all those names in there, it made me think of my sister.”
“Ivy,” I said solemnly, remembering Eja rattling that name off of the list of dozens of others in the Book of Secrets.
“Yes. It made me think that maybe she’s still alive and I’m paralyzed by the hope that she is. I mean what if she’s somewhere out there, Tippy? What if she needs my help?”
I looked at the sadness in his eyes and could feel his pain.
“I’ve been talking to Jemma about this. I mean Jemma thought you were dead and you had no recollection of her at all because you were so young. My sister was your age when the Flood hit. You survived. Maybe she did too!” he said sounding hopeful.
“Is that why you’ve been spending so much time with Jemma?”
“Yeah. That and trying to help her manage all your powers, which is kind of impossible since we can’t actually use them,” he groaned. “Why else?”
My heart soared. Could all of my jealousy be completely misconstrued?
“I thought . . .” I paused when the image of them in the hammock popped back into my mind.
“Tippy, if there’s a chance that my sister could be out there, I have to try . . .”
“Nova . . .” I started, softly placing my hand on his.
“Don’t, Tippy. Don’t say that it’s not possible.”
“I wasn’t going too. It’s just that I don’t think you should focus on that right now. We need to focus on getting back to the Troian Center safely and finding the other Pillars before the Ravinori do. Then, we have to try to get you all somewhere safe.”
“I know,” he sighed, sounding resigned.
It made my heart ache to see him this way.
“After we do all of that, I promise I’ll help you find out about Ivy.”
He smiled at me and finally squeezed my hand back.
We returned back to camp to find everyone starting to prepare for our long trek to the Troian Center. Eja went to meet with Jaka one last time, while Journey and Nova caught up with Mali and Talon and the rest of the scouts for their final reconnaissance mission. The rest of us stayed behind with the daunting job of packing.
I tried to focus on packing, but it was useless. My mind kept wandering; swirling with terrifying visions where Nova was consumed by fire and I could do nothing to save him. It went on and on, each vision worse than the last, until I shook myself from my last trepidation and gave up on packing.
The day was still young and I was determined to enjoy what might be my last day of happiness in the forest I’d come to love. I walked over to where Jovi and Vida were bundling our rations.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” I offered.
“I was just getting ready to go gather some ingredients for Mom,” Jovi replied. “Do you want to come with me?”
“Jovi, our Eva has more important things to do than scour the forest for fruit and berries with you, darling.”
“Nonsense. I’d love to help,” I said with a wink at Jovi. “I bet I could get Sparrow and Jemma to help us too and then we’d probably be back in time to have some fun. How does that sound?”
“Uh, you’re supposed to stay here, Geneva,” Remi called over his shoulder as he rolled up a blanket.
“Says who?”
“Nova and the scouts.”
“Well, I say I’m more useful helping Jovi gather food for our trip. The Eva can’t let her people starve now can she?” I said, turning stubbornly away from him and grabbing a basket.
Jovi, followed suit and we marched into the forest, stopping briefly to convince Sparrow and Jemma to join us.
48
Jovi and I were having the best time foraging in the forest. Her enthusiasm was contagious and she turned the task into a game. We were running and laughing as we competed to see who could find the most fruit. We took turns hiding and springing on each other too. I got Jovi so good on one occasion that she shrieked and thr
ew her entire basket of berries into the air. We spent the next twenty minutes or so collecting them off the forest floor.
I loved that it was impossible to be in a sour mood when I was with Jovi. I found myself drawn to her for that very reason. The stress of my role as Eva, my feelings for Remi and Nova, my distrust of Jemma; it all seemed to take a backseat when Jovi and I spent time together.
She had so many questions for me. It felt strange to seem worldly to someone. After all, I had only ever known the Troian Center as my home. I got to go to Lux once a year for the New Year Gala, but besides that, I really hadn’t been anywhere. But to Jovi, who’d never left the forest, I guess my stories of the locker and Lux sounded like fairytales.
“Do you think someday I’ll get to go to Lux?” Jovi asked.
“Yes. I know you will.”
“How?” she asked wide-eyed.
“Well, I’m the Eva. I’m here to make sure that we all have the right to go to Lux or anywhere we want.”
“So I won’t have to hide in the forest forever?”
“Exactly.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Eeek!” Jovi squeezed her arms around me. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! Do you think Quin can come to Lux?”
“Well, if you can get her to mind her manners, I don’t see why not.”
“Qu-in! Qu-in!” Jovi called in her sing-songy voice as she darted away from me in search of her wex. “Did you hear that, Quin? We’re going to get to go to Lux someday!”
I shook my head and laughed as I watched Jovi’s head bouncing by, barely visible above the thick undergrowth.
“Not too far, all right, Jovi?” I called after her.
“I know the way,” she called back.
“I don’t!” I hollered.
The forest always got me turned around. We moved so often that I never had a chance to get my bearings. If I used my powers I knew I could find my way back, but the chief had forbidden it since that’s how the Ravinori were tracking us.
“Sorry,” Jovi said, instantly back at my side. “I can’t find Quin though.”
“I’m sure she’s fine. She knows the way.”
We pressed on, loading our baskets with mangos, avocados and berries.
“So, what shall I wear when I go to Lux?” Jovi asked.
“Anything you want.”
“I heard everyone dresses in white and they wear flowers in their hair. Is that true?
“Yes, Lux is very beautiful. Did you know some of the women even dye their hair elegant pastel shades? And they all wear stunning jewelry!”
She stopped walking and bit her lip.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t have anything beautiful to wear,” Jovi pouted.
I smiled and knelt down to her level.
“Jovi, you are beautiful no matter what you wear. You’re a beautiful person on the inside and that’s where it matters most. Besides, with all the goodies you have collected, I’m sure we can make you look wonderful, you little pack-rat!”
She giggled. “You’re right.”
“Good, now come on. I think we’ve collected enough. Let’s go find Sparrow and Jemma and head back.”
She sighed, but resigned to head back to camp.
“What did you wear when you went to Lux?” she asked after we walked a short while.
“Well, I was with the other orphans from the Troian Center. We all wore the same thing. Our white uniforms.”
“And your hair?”
“Sparrow helped me braid my hair. She has a way of mending things and making them pretty.” I smiled, remembering how astonished I’d been when I saw my refection for the first time on the way to the last Gala.
Jovi was staring at my hair, as if trying to figure out what it would look like when it wasn’t a tangled blonde mess of curls.
“What’s got you so interested in Lux?”
“Well, I was saying that I’d never seen anyone look more beautiful than you did at the Eva ceremony but then Remi said you looked even more beautiful when you were at Lux for the New Year Gala last year.” She blushed. “I want someone to say that about me.”
“Remi said that?”
“Yes,” she giggled. “He has a crush on you.”
“I wouldn’t say that. Remi is my best friend. We just say nice things about each other.”
“No, he definitely has a crush. He talks about you all the time. I overheard him talking about you to Sparrow just yesterday. Do you have a crush on him too?” she asked excitedly.
“Jovi, it’s not kind to eavesdrop on people or to ask them such personal questions,” I scolded.
“Sorry,” she said, dipping her head in shame. “I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s all right. Let’s just find the girls and get back. It’ll be dark soon.”
We walked in silence the rest of the way. I was lost in thought about Remi after what Jovi said. Did he really still have feelings for me? I thought we agreed to just be friends? It’s true that after what happened in the cave, I’d opened my eyes to Remi more. I had never thought of him as anything other than my best friend and I think I was scared of taking a chance that he could be anything more. If I messed it up—and with my track record, I’m sure I would—I didn’t want to risk losing his friendship. But it appeared that not making a decision might cause me to lose his friendship, along with a few others.
I wished he would stop talking about how much he liked me to Sparrow! I suspected she had a crush on him and that had to make her miserable to listen to him drone on about me. It’s how I felt anytime Nova uttered my sister’s name. Not to mention, I’m pretty sure that Journey is madly in love with Sparrow, and he’d probably be uncontrollable if he lost her to Remi. And, then there’s the way Remi and Nova have been fighting. The two of them can’t agree that the sky is blue. They’d been at each other’s throats lately and I’d been doing my best to ignore it, but I could feel it making everyone uncomfortable.
The whole thing was a royal mess, but I didn’t know what to do about it. Should I just confront them and hash it out already? I was sure we’d all walk away a bit wounded, but maybe that’d be better than the tension we were feeling. At least it would give us a chance to heal and move on before we started our quest to the Troian Center together.
I was so deep in thought that a branch Jovi pushed out of her path came back at me harshly across the face, snapping me back to reality. And not a moment too soon. I heard the snap of the twig echo through the entirely too quiet forest. There should be birds chirping, monkeys calling, but there was nothing. The forest was still. My hunter powers burst into high alert as I swiftly grabbed Jovi’s shoulders and pulled her to the forest floor.
“Geneva,” she protested, but when her eyes locked with mine, they grew large with fear as she saw the urgency of my expression.
I lifted a single shaking finger to my lips. Jovi swallowed hard and nodded back at me.
49
“Where’s Geneva?” Nova asked as soon as he found Remi back at camp.
“I don’t know, I’m not her keeper.”
“That’s exactly what you are!” Nova growled. “I told you to stay behind and look after her while Journey and I went with the scouts.”
“Well Nova, if you knew anything about Geneva at all, you’d know she doesn’t like to be told what to do. It pretty much makes her do the opposite of what you want her to do.”
“So what’d you tell her to do?”
“Stay here with me and pack, while the girls went out to gather fruit.”
Nova exchanged a nervous glance with Journey and took off toward the bustling center of camp where dinner was being prepared.
“What’s going on?” Remi asked, matching stride with Journey as he headed in the same direction as Nova.
“We found evidence we’re being followed and whoever it is, is nearby.”
By the time Remi and Journey caught up with Nova again, he’d joined Talon and
Mali. They all looked rattled as they discussed the situation.
“The girls haven’t returned from gathering?” Nova asked.
“No, and they should have been back by now,” Talon replied.
“They might be in trouble. Come on, Journey, we have to go find them,” Nova barked as he laced a leather vest over his chest and collected spears for himself and Journey.
“We’ll come with you,” Talon said, motioning to Mali. “I know Jovi’s habits.”
Nova nodded gladly.
“I’m coming too,” Remi said.
“No, you’re not. You’ll just slow us down. We don’t have time to babysit you in the forest. Their lives might be at stake,” Nova snarled
Remi didn’t back down. “You’re not the only one who cares about her, you know?”
Nova was already walking away, but he turned abruptly to face Remi. The sudden face off caught him off guard and he stumbled backwards. He would’ve fallen if Nova didn’t catch him by his shirt collar.
“Do you ever notice, that when I leave her with you, these kinds of things happen? The cave, the pond and now this. I’m always cleaning up after you and I’m glad to, because I love her. I would go into hell to save her. Would you?” he challenged.
Remi was stunned by the venom in Nova’s tone, and hurt by the truth in his accusations. He was coming right out and saying it, drawing lines in the sand—Nova loved her and thought he was better for Geneva. Remi’s voice was caught in his throat. He’d never heard Nova say anything so plainly, not laced with sarcasm and insults. His honesty stung, because deep down, Remi thought he was right.
“That’s what I thought,” Nova said, shaking his head in disgust. He let go of Remi. “You can barely stay on your own two feet, let alone rescue anyone.”
Nova turned and stormed away into the forest to catch up with Journey and the others.
I held Jovi’s hand tightly and closed my eyes, willing my hunter’s mind to stretch to encompass my surroundings. I could hear faint voices of men in the distance. From the sound of their footfall, I could tell there were six of them and from the weight of their steps they seemed to be heavily armed. That meant they weren’t Betos and probably not even Grifts. They didn’t normally carry weapons. I could hear the clanking of steel and mesh armor and smell the putrid scent of gunpowder.
