I wasn’t sure what they meant. “Are we that close to Smidtle?”
Calvin straightened, moving away from me. “Close enough to the village that we should see someone.”
Liam fell in on the other side of our horse. “Do you think we’re moving into a trap?”
“I could open my mind. Try to find out.” Being an Essence was only fun when you actually got to use your powers.
“No.” Calvin tightened his hand on me. “This is not worth the risk.”
He was probably right, but I still didn’t like it.
“I’ll go ahead,” Liam volunteered. “You said the village is directly north of here?”
Calvin took a moment to respond, as if deciding whether or not to accept Liam’s offer. Then, he nodded. “At the first sign of trouble, turn back. I will not lose another Guardian if it is unnecessary.”
“I’d prefer to stay alive, too.” Liam smiled faintly. “Hold down the fort, Char.”
Henry laughed. “There is no fort. We are riding—”
“It sounded good.” Liam’s grin lit up his whole face. Despite the seriousness of our situation, he was still in a playful mood.
I wished I could be the same way. “Are we sure there’s no better way? I could at least try to open my mind—”
“No way. What if it’s Blake? He’d be able to get to you that way. ” Liam’s fear was logical, but I still had to fight the urge to argue.
“Be safe,” I whispered.
“You too.” He waved before riding off.
“He is a Guardian. He can take care of himself, Charlotte,” Calvin said.
“I know he can, but I’m still going to worry.”
“Of course you will.” Henry pulled out his water jug. “She always worries.”
Calvin rubbed my back. “There is no reason to worry. You should trust your Guardians.”
I had a feeling he also didn’t like the fact that Liam was the object of my worries. He wasn’t blind. He knew those feelings went more than one way, even if I’d never act on them. What was wrong with me? Mom made it sound normal, but how could it be? An Essence was only supposed to love her Gerard.
We moved forward at a snail’s pace, and I kept my eyes fixed ahead, watching for Liam’s return. Even if something was wrong, he’d have to see it in time to turn back.
“We should stop.” Calvin didn’t wait for Henry to respond before guiding our horse to a resting place at the edge of the woods. The sun was just disappearing beyond the horizon, and the forest had an eerie feel to it that gave me goose bumps. “He should be back by now.”
I shivered. “Do you think he’s hurt?”
Henry hopped off his horse and helped me dismount.
Calvin jumped down afterward. “I do not know. We are going to have to wait here for the night.”
I turned to Calvin. “No. We have to find Liam.”
Henry put a hand on my arm. “Calvin’s right, Charlotte. He is likely fine. Maybe he just stopped to rest.”
I shook my head. “Liam wouldn’t just rest.”
Henry tossed down his pack. “We cannot act recklessly. Without you, we are all in trouble.”
We heard a horse coming toward us.
“Liam!” I called before realizing the rider could be someone else.
The horse came into view with Liam on its back. He jumped down, and I ran into his arms.
He pulled me against him for a second. “Wow, Char. If this is the welcome I’m going to get, I’ll volunteer to be the scout more often.”
I pulled away so I could look at him. “What’s wrong? What took so long?” I searched his body for evidence of an injury. At least I could help with that.
Liam avoided my eyes. “Calvin, I need to talk to you.”
“No. You can’t discuss things without me.” I put a hand on my hip.
“He wants to leave me out, too,” Henry pointed out as though it changed anything.
Liam pleaded with his eyes. “Can’t you just give us a minute?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Fine.” Liam sighed. “If you’re going to insist.”
Calvin pulled me against him, wrapping me protectively in his arms. “What did you find?”
“A ghost town. There’s no one there—not a soul.” He glanced at me then back at Calvin. “I found only one body.”
“One body? Just one?” Calvin asked.
Liam shifted his weight from foot to foot. “This is the part I didn’t want to say in front of Charlotte.”
I struggled to swallow, dreading his next words. “Why?”
Liam looked down. “It was a girl.” He hesitated before continuing. “A girl who kind of looked like Charlotte.”
Calvin squeezed me tighter. “They were sending a message.”
“A message? They killed an innocent girl to send me a message?” I wanted to vomit, and I started to shake. We had to do something.
Calvin tried to soothe me. “It is okay. We will bring whoever did it to justice.”
“How can you be so calm? They killed a girl. They killed her because of me.”
“What good will it do to act otherwise?” Henry asked. He’d been snapping at me more and more. Maybe the stress was getting to him. “We have to concentrate and decide what to do next.”
“Do we turn back? Is there even a chance the scroll is still there?” Liam asked.
I didn’t wait for anyone to answer. “We need to check. We have to at least look.” The truth was that if the scroll wasn’t there, we were in trouble. I had no idea where else to turn.
Liam nodded. “I think we’ll be all right. I checked the town twice. It seems deserted.”
Calvin ran his hands down my arms, probably trying to calm my slight shivering, which came from shock and anger—not the cold. “It could still be under watch. We will have to be careful.”
“We could go back and get more men,” Henry suggested.
Liam said exactly what I was thinking. “What men do they have left to spare? Almost everyone’s been sent out already. Besides, we came this far. We can’t waste any more time.”
“Charlotte can use her powers if she has to. We are stronger than anyone with you two together.” Henry gestured at Calvin and me.
“I can do this,” I said softly. “I can do this,” I repeated louder. “If you guys can make sure the town is really deserted, we’ll go in, and then I’ll create a fog strong enough to keep anyone else out. It will give us enough time.”
“You will not overuse your energy? You’ll stop if you sense Blake?” Calvin asked.
“I can control it. I’ll be careful.” I moved from Calvin’s arms. I needed to stand on my own.
All three nodded. Surprisingly, no one argued.
“Are we ready then?” I asked.
“Yes.” Calvin got our horse ready and helped me mount.
We rode across the now dark prairie. The only sound was the hooves of the horses striking the ground and the low howling of the wind. The night was cool, and the wind stung my face.
“It’s right up ahead,” Liam called. The silence seemed to amplify every sound.
“I need to check it out.” Calvin stopped the horse. “I will not be long. Stay with Liam and Henry no matter what happens.”
I nodded, thinking at least he wasn’t going too far ahead. We waited tensely. I focused on how I’d create the fog rather than Calvin’s absence.
Finally, he returned. “It is clear.”
“Did you see the girl?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yes. We will move her body before we leave.”
Calvin didn’t bother to mount again; he walked the horse into the village. We stopped first at the stables, and Calvin prepared the horses for the night. As a farm boy, Calvin had grown up with horses. Once the horses were safe, Calvin looked at me.
I took in a few deep breaths. “All right, I’m ready.”
“Are you sure?” Calvin asked.
“Yes, I’m sure.” I wished he didn�
�t look so worried. If I couldn’t create a simple fog we were all in trouble.
“It helps if we touch, does it not?”
Liam coughed.
I carefully avoided Liam’s eyes. “It does.”
Calvin put his hands on my shoulders, and I closed my eyes. I reached out, searching for some easy energy to pull from. Learning how to do that was one of the biggest lessons my mom had taught me so far. It was the only way I could avoid passing out, although I still needed to be careful. The most important thing was to avoid the ready energy sources standing in front of me. If I pulled enough energy from any of the guys, I could kill them.
I pulled energy from the fields. There was a surprising amount in the tall grains. The telltale heat seeped through me, and I knew my magic was working. Picturing a thick fog radiating out from where we stood, I worked to push it out far enough that it enclosed the entire village. I tried to make it impenetrable, the kind of fog that even Rudolf couldn’t find his way through. I momentarily lost concentration as I pictured the reindeer and had to steady myself and start over. Thankfully, none of the guys bothered me. Finally, I opened my eyes.
Liam was grinning. “Nice.”
“Well done.” Calvin spun me around to face him. “As always.”
“Why were you laughing?” Henry asked.
I smiled. “Rudolf.”
“Who is he?” Calvin asked.
Liam laughed. “Don’t worry, man. He’s not more competition.”
Henry looked at us. “I still do not understand.”
“Hey,” I said, “you had a Christmas in Charleston; you should know, Henry.”
He stared at me blankly.
“He’s a reindeer,” I started to explain, “a flying reindeer with a shiny red nose that led Santa through the foggy night to save Christmas…” Then I realized it was pointless. I’d have to explain Santa next.
Calvin smiled slightly. “So it is an animal?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, you can explain more another time.”
“That’s probably a good idea.” I turned to examine the village. It seemed pretty typical for a small town in Energo: modest homes and stores, all surrounded by farmland. We were in the center of town. The cobblestone streets reminded me of downtown Charleston.
“Which house was Ruth’s?” All I knew was that the family currently living in the house had left one room untouched for her. I still thought it was funny that she’d leave the scroll in her childhood home. Maybe she thought the small village was the last place someone would look for such an important item. People would probably assume it was in Bellgard somewhere. We only knew about its location because Percy had entrusted the information to Tomas. The more I thought about it, though, the more I figured she had to have a bigger reason. Maybe she somehow knew the Essence retrieving the scroll wouldn’t be able to get into Bellgard.
“Samantha said it had a thatched roof.” Henry seemed proud of himself for remembering that detail.
“They all have thatched roofs,” Liam stated flatly.
I laughed. “Real helpful.”
“Hey. At least I asked.”
I patted Henry on the back, and he grinned. I loved how normal our friendship had become—he really was like the little brother I never had.
“Okay, so what do we do? Start checking all of the houses?” Liam asked.
“Sounds reasonable.” I started walking up the front steps of the first house.
Calvin continued down the small road. “Or we could just go into the one that says Winthrop.” Calvin waited in front of a house three down from where I stood.
“What?” I hurried over to him. Sure enough, a plaque beside the front door listed my mom’s maiden name. “That’s probably a good place to start.”
Henry walked up to the door and tried the knob. “It’s not locked.”
Calvin gestured for me to stay back while Henry and Liam checked inside the house. I understood the protectiveness, but it got old sometimes. They came out a few minutes later and gave the all-clear. I walked inside with Calvin. The downstairs was all one big room, reminding me of Calvin’s childhood home.
Goosebumps covered my skin as I looked at the half-eaten food on the table. “That table is still set for dinner.” Whatever happened had occurred suddenly. I prayed that the rest of the townspeople were still alive.
Calvin said, “They may have all run for it.”
I sighed. “I’m going to pretend I believe that.” Even though I hadn’t seen the girl, I could still picture her. I walked out of the living area and headed to the stairs. “I assume Ruth’s room would be upstairs.”
“Let me go first.” Calvin slipped past me on the stairs, stopping to squeeze my hand. “The house is clear, but you can never be too safe.”
I nodded and followed him up to the second floor. We saw two open doors. Through one, I saw a room that held a crib, and my chest clenched.
Calvin put an arm around me. “We are doing this to keep our people safe.” He moved to the closed door and tried to turn the knob, but it wouldn’t budge. “Stand back. I will have to break it down.
I put a hand on his arm. “Before you do that, let me try.”
“Okay.”
“You’re not going to try to stop me?”
“Opening locked doors is something I think an Essence would be good at.”
I smiled. “We’ll see.” I put a hand on the knob, closed my eyes, and concentrated. I pictured the knob turning, felt a little bit of heat, and then the wooden door opened slightly. The moderation exercises my mom had put me through were paying off. A month before, I would have used up all my energy and ended up pulling the door off its hinges.
“Nicely done.” Calvin surprisingly didn’t move to walk in first. “I have a feeling this is also a job made especially for you.”
“Will you wait for me here?”
“Of course. I will not move.”
“Good.” I stood on my tiptoes to kiss him on the lips. I’d gotten much more confident about showing him affection.
He put a hand on my back, pulling me closer. I knew he wanted the kiss to go a lot further, but I had work to do. “Not now.”
He released me reluctantly. “Tonight.”
I pushed open the door.
“Umm, this can’t be right.” The room was empty—absolutely and completely empty. Not a single piece of furniture remained. The only evidence of anything having been there were slight indentations in the floor. “We’re too late. Someone must have gotten here first.”
“It is okay, my love. We will find another way.” Calvin came in, and his comforting arms moved around my waist.
“Can I have a minute alone in here?” I needed to clear my head.
“Sure… should I wait in the hall?”
“Yes, please.”
“Call me if you need me.” He disappeared through the doorway, closing the door behind him.
I closed my eyes and thought of Ruth. “Please tell me this wasn’t all for nothing. Please tell me there’s something here.”
There is something here.
My heart about stopped. The answering voice was not my own.
Chapter Seven
Kevin
I needed a cold shower, but a Coke was the only thing cold I was getting. Things with Samantha had just gotten good when Talen interrupted us. The timing was highly suspicious.
“Our flight leaves late tonight. You all need to get some sleep because we will need to be fully alert.” Monty took a bite of pizza.
I’d been right that the food supply in the house was low, but Monty still had a bunch of frozen pizzas. He was addicted to them, and I didn’t mind it. Frozen pizza was heads above what we’d been eating with the Resistance. I watched as Samantha took a tentative bite of her slice. She’d opted for the vegetable pie. Monty must have bought it for Charlotte, who wasn’t the biggest pepperoni fan.
“Has anyone actually talked to my dad yet?” I refilled my glass of soda. Yet anoth
er thing I’d missed while in Energo. “Does he even know we’re coming?”
“You’re not seriously asking that question, are you?” Monty grabbed a second slice from the baking sheet.
“I take it you’ve called.”
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