Another howl and a scream assaulted my ears as the bright light filled the night sky again. The slightly green tint was different.
I looked over at Samantha. “We should get changed.”
“Are you now glad I grabbed our packs?”
Another piercing scream caused me to run outside without thinking. I stopped midway through the parking lot and reached behind me, knowing Samantha wouldn’t have waited in the office. The snow stung my bare skin, but I didn’t care. We had to find them. Part of me kept expecting to run smack into Dad or Monty, but I also feared that we’d run into a dead body.
Samantha tugged on my arm. I forced my head up into the wind, and my chest tightened. Despite the storm, the splash of crimson in the white snow piling up on the road was impossible to miss. Blood.
Samantha leaned in to speak into my ear. “This does not mean anything.”
I nodded. Samantha led me back in the direction of the motel, where I noticed another splash of red in the parking lot. We moved toward it, and I spotted an object sticking out of the puddle of blood. I bent down to see what it was.
“Car keys.” I picked them up, doing my best to ignore the fact that they were covered with someone’s blood. “My dad left the keys for us.”
We walked back to the snow-covered parking lot. We’d never changed, so I was still shirtless. I was too overwhelmed by the situation to reach into my pack for more clothes. Most of the vehicles were trucks, so it didn’t take long to find Dad’s Yukon. I clicked the Unlock button on the key fob before using my hand to dig out the driver-side door.
“We have a vehicle. We can do this.” Samantha’s confident words were more necessary than ever.
I opened the door for Samantha. She climbed over the console to get to the passenger seat, and I got in to sit behind the wheel.
When I closed the door, she said, “You cannot drive in this weather, so let us take some time to plan.”
“What’s there to plan? We’re screwed.”
“Not necessarily. Don’t you know how to use the equipment?” She gestured to the back of the SUV where we’d stowed the gear.
“The gear! You’re right. We never brought in any gear, so we have it all.”
“All we have to do is find the Onyx and the gate home.”
“All we have to do? I wouldn’t make it sound that easy, but theoretically, it’s possible.”
Samantha slapped me.
I brought a hand up to my cheek. “What the hell?”
“Snap out of this. Man up. Whatever it is you call it. Where is the confident man you usually are?”
“I’m sorry, but this is pretty crazy stuff to snap out of. You do realize who might be behind all of this?”
“I never should have told you about my dream.”
I turned to look at her. “You needed to. I still can’t believe Uncle Monty had anything to do with it, but—”
“How else did they find us?” She touched my arm gently. I could have sworn she had multiple personalities sometimes. A second ago, she’d slapped me. “We were so careful.”
I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. If Monty wasn’t the man I thought he was, if he wasn’t good, then how could I believe anything? How could I trust anything or anyone again? I thought of how much trust we’d placed in him over the years—and then the worst thought came to me. Charlotte! What if he’d put her in danger, too? I hoped like hell that Calvin could protect her as well as he thought he could.
“He was not the one to suggest the Onyx. It was Tomas, your mother, and Charlotte thought it sounded right, too.”
“Charlotte also trusted Monty.”
“And he might be good. Besides, I think the Essence’s judgment could be off when it comes to family. That is why your mother would not have known.”
“I can understand that. Could Charlotte ever believe I was bad?”
She pretended to mull it over, but then she smiled. “No.”
I looked out through the small cleared space in the snow I’d made on the window. “I think it’s finally slowing down out there.”
“You need to rest.”
“Rest? Now?”
“We both do, but I can sleep as we drive. Close your eyes, and I will look through the gear as best I can.”
“We don’t have time. Plus, do you really think you can figure out a GPS?”
“Fine, but you will have to stop eventually.” She crossed her arms. “And what is a GPS?”
“My point exactly.” I climbed into the back and pulled out a duffel bag of stuff Dad already had before we went shopping. I returned to the front and rifled through the bag. “Here.” The GPS was a far cry from the one I used in my car back home, but as long as Dad had already programmed in the coordinates, we’d be fine.
“I really do not think you can drive yet. Just rest while we wait.”
“All right, but I’m sure I won’t fall asleep.” I closed my eyes and thought over the events of the past few days. We all knew it could be a dangerous trip, but knowing and experiencing are two different things.
We needed to find the Onyx, but how were we going to do it alone? And what role did Monty play in everything? I still couldn’t accept that my uncle was bad. Nothing made sense, and I wished I could just step back and plan for a while. Time was never a luxury I had when I needed it.
Chapter Fourteen
Charlotte
I snuggled into Calvin’s side, breathing in his scent. He’d found a clear path to the base of the mountains, and we’d climbed an hour before stopping for the night. Calvin used blankets to make us a bed a small distance from the others. He’d taken the first watch, while I just stayed awake staring at the sky. I refused to even look over at where Liam slept. The hurt on his face was too much for me to handle. When Calvin had slipped in next to me, I sighed with relief. His touch removed all my doubts and confusion.
“Are you still up?” He brushed several stands of my hair away from my face. I’d never put it back up after the swim.
“I couldn’t sleep without you.”
He sighed contentedly. “As happy as I am to hear you missed me, you need your sleep.”
“So do you.”
His lips skimmed my cheek. “The last thing I want to do right now is sleep.”
“Whatever it is you’re thinking, it’s not happening.”
It was too dark to see, but I was almost positive he was grinning. “You test my resistance. Having your body pressed against mine when I cannot truly touch you is nearly a form of torture.”
“You never had a problem with it before last night.”
His lips grazed my ear. “We both know that last night changed things. It is one thing to wonder if paradise is as sweet as I had imagined. It is something else to know for sure.”
“Well, you’ll just have to settle for cuddling tonight.”
“I know. Soon we will be home in our own bed in Bellgard. There we can enjoy our nights any way we see fit,” he whispered.
I giggled. “Everything you say sounds even sexier than if someone else said it.”
“Why?” He rolled over onto his side, leaning his face in close to mine.
“Your way of talking. It’s so formal. You make everything sound almost naughty.”
He laughed deeply. “Naughty, huh? What do you know of naughty?”
“You would be surprised,” I teased.
He rolled me on top of him. “Were you holding back on me last night? Is there even more waiting for me?”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about anymore,” I admitted.
“Sure you do. How should I put it? Do you have a more adventurous side than I imagined?”
I was so glad it was dark. This was not the kind of conversation I could have if he could actually see my face. “Not really. I was just saying your voice made everything sound really sexy, and it was like it oozed sex.”
“Oozed sex? I suppose that is a good thing.”
“A very good thing.” For th
e first time, I really felt as if we were from different worlds. Usually, I was too overwhelmed with feelings to notice. But finally sleeping with him had mellowed my thoughts, made everything clearer. “I might be more adventurous with you… later on.”
He moved his lips to my ear. “I look forward to that, my Essence.”
“Mmmm.” I moaned.
“But now is not the time. We both need sleep.” He pulled the blanket up around us, and I rested my head on his chest. “Good night, my love.”
“Good night,” I mumbled before falling asleep.
***
“Charlotte, wake up.” Calvin’s words were soft, and his hand on my side was even softer.
“Not yet,” I mumbled. I’d struggled to find sleep all night, and I wasn’t ready to get up.
“I am sorry, love, but we need to move.”
“I know.” I groaned before forcing myself to sit up.
“It will not be too difficult of a day. We just need to get through the mountains.”
“Just get through the mountains?” Somehow that didn’t sound easy.
“I found a clear route. It should be fine. Besides, you know I will carry you if you tire.”
“You make it sound easy. You would really lug me over a mountain?”
“Do you doubt me?” His tone hinted at a challenge.
“Not that you’d want to, but I’m not that light.”
He grinned, and I knew what was coming. He scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder. “See? This is one advantage to you not wearing a dress. I do not have to worry so much.”
I pushed him on his back. “Put me down.”
“Are you sure? I told you I would carry you.”
I laughed. “Point made. Put me down.”
He moved me to his front, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. “I get it. You’re strong.”
He smiled. “And I am willing to do anything for you.”
“As I am for you.” That was why what happened with Liam was so bad—the last thing I wanted to do was to hurt Calvin.
He slowly lowered me back to the ground. “Are you ready?”
“Yes. Especially if the journey is going to be as easy as you claim it will be.”
“It will be, but it also means leaving the horses.”
I spun on him. “What? We can’t do that!”
“We have to. They cannot make the trip. Even the easy path is too steep.”
“But they’ll die!”
Henry walked over. “Since when are you the horse lover?”
He looked surprisingly refreshed from having only slept part of the night. I wished they’d let me take one of the watches. Liam claimed it was because I got grumpy when I didn’t sleep. I knew that wasn’t the real reason, but at least he’d made me laugh.
“Shut up. We are not leaving horses to die out here.”
“She is the Essence. It is natural she cares for all living things.” Calvin turned to me. “But you need not worry. I have already sent word back. They will be fine by the river until riders arrive.”
“Sent word?”
Calvin smiled. “Do you think you are the only one who has a kinship with animals?”
Liam shook his head. “He sent a letter with a bird. I guess they have their own version of carrier pigeons here.”
“So someone is really going to come for them?” I stared Calvin right in the eye. I needed an honest answer.
“Yes. Does that mean you are ready?”
“Why not?”
***
The trip through the mountains took less than a day, exactly as Calvin had promised. I’d almost had to take him up on the offer to carry me, not because I was tired, but because Henry kept freaking me out about snakes. I might have been attuned to animals, but snakes still terrified me. Something about the way they moved and hid in the brush freaked me out more than a much larger animal would.
The sun was high in the sky, but the heat lessened the further we got from the desert. I started to understand the appeal of hiking. The walking was relaxing when I let go of everything else.
I gaped as we came to the exit of the mountain pass. On the other side lay swamps that went on for miles, a bayou with cypress trees and moss. Houses seemed to float on the murky water.
We walked closer, and I got a better look. The village consisted of at least a dozen pieces of land floating on the surface of the giant swamp. Nothing connected them. “What is this place?”
“The Bashan Swamp. The only swamp I know of here at least,” Henry replied.
“Are you ready to tell us what Ruth told you about the scroll?” Liam asked, his first words to me all day.
“Just that it was a scroll that wasn’t really a scroll.”
“A scroll that is not a scroll?” Henry adjusted the straps of his pack. “What does that even mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“In other words, we don’t know what we’re searching for?” Liam’s tone was surprisingly nice.
“Not a clue.”
Liam laughed. “This is never going to be easy, is it?” I wondered if he meant defeating Blake, or us.
“What in life is easy?” Calvin took my hand, gently rubbing his thumb over mine. “Do you have any suggestion of where we should start?”
“No, but maybe this is one of those times that it’s worth just asking for help.”
Henry bent to tie his boot. “Asking who?”
“There have to be people here. Maybe they know.” I squinted, hoping to catch sight of someone near one of the homes.
Liam shrugged. “I guess anything is worth a try.”
Henry wrinkled his brow. “The Bashani people are known to be reclusive. They are rarely seen outside of their swamp.”
I brushed off his concern. “That just means they know the swamp well.” Then I saw another problem. “But how do we get there?” There were no bridges as far as I could see, and although I’d made an ice bridge before, I wasn’t sure how to make a bridge in a swamp. An algae bridge didn’t sound particularly strong.
Calvin squeezed my hand. “We swim.”
“No way.” I shuddered. The algae bridge sounded better than getting in that swamp. “Have you looked at that water?” Swimming was fine and all, but not in that. The dark brown water had who knew what lurking beneath the surface.
Calvin put his arm around my shoulders. “It is not ideal, but I do not see another solution. We have come too far to give up.”
“She wasn’t suggesting we give up.” Liam smiled. Speaking to me and smiling? Maybe he didn’t hate me as much as I thought.
“Let’s get this over with.” I stepped toward the edge of the murky water. “Do you think there are alligators in there?”
“There are far worse things than alligators,” Henry said offhandedly.
“Excuse me? Worse than alligators?”
“He’s only trying to rile you up. Right, Henry?” Liam nudged Henry’s arm.
“Yeah. Right.” Henry was anything but convincing, but stalling wasn’t going to make it any better.
I let out a deep breath. “I can do this. I’m the Essence. Dealing with a swamp shouldn’t faze me.”
Calvin chuckled. “That is the spirit.”
“All right.” I towed Calvin along as I stepped into the water. “Ick.” The water quickly penetrated my boots and pants.
“With that resounding response, I’m ready for this.” Liam came over to my other side.
“I am coming.” Henry remained one step behind us as we continued to wade into the waist-deep water.
Green floating algae clung to my clothes, as I tried to avoid the plants that I might become tangled in. The only saving grace was that the water was luke-warm. I’d been afraid it would be cold. We moved forward slowly, trying not to lose our balance on the uneven ground. All my relief over the temperature disappeared moments later.
“Ack!” I grabbed Calvin’s arm with both hands.
Enduring Light Page 10
