The Last Revenant (Book 1): The Crash

by J. S. Carter

  I wasn't sure what to say. I felt bad for blaming Olivia before as it was becoming increasingly apparent that she hadn't been at fault for the military's absence. If anything, she had probably tried her best to fight against it. I stared down at Ellie and her soft cheeks while her chest continued to rise and fall rhythmically with the air that passed through her lungs. Hopefully I would look as cute as her when I would be dead enough to finally stop moving—or whenever I would be asleep—whatever. Whichever came first.

  The conversation needed to change gears. I wanted to see the proposed article in Olivia's point of view, but it still felt wrong. Even if I only pulled from true experiences that I had gained while training with Chris, I would still end up neglecting all the negative consequences that I had gleamed while working with him. To cherry pick information, just like choosing not to tell anyone about his death, would be misleading. It wouldn't be right.

  Maybe it would help to understand what had happened to cause the divide amongst the people of Tent City in the first place. I asked Olivia about the source of it all in the most simple way I could think of and she didn't seem sure of what to say.

  “It's... complicated. And obnoxiously straightforward at the same time.”

  Okay...

  I matched her perplexed expression. “Should I pick one first or what?”

  She took a breath, and it took me a moment to realize that I was witnessing a new part of Olivia that I had just seen for the first time; she was embarrassed, but she crossed her arms and eventually fought it through. “Someone threw an egg at the secretary.”

  Holy shit.

  And I thought my problems were bad.

  Hard-boiled or raw?

  I almost thought she couldn't have been serious. “Please tell me that's the straightforward reason everyone's pissed at each other...”

  She gave me a face. “Yes. I mean, she was fine—obviously. She's not made of cake batter. Someone was pissed off enough to through food at her, but one of our own men brought up the idea that if they could get that close to her, then what would there be to stop them from attacking her with a knife? Or a gun? Hayes probably just took it one step further and gave herself a security detail. She's overreacting. People are gonna see her walking around with her own personal bodyguards and they're gonna think that she sees them as a threat. If nothing else changes, then it can only get worse. They're inevitably gonna fill the role because she's already given them the precedence to do so. She's literally setting up her own battles ahead of time.”

  Hot damn.

  And to think that one egg could be so powerful. “So then what's the complicated part?”

  “The complicated part is that not everyone thinks that we should all be in this together. Hayes only got assigned to gather intel, not to help anyone or even make contact. The higher-ups probably only saw it as a liability. We're strictly a recon element and nothing else. We're not equipped for any of this.”

  That one was at least news for me to hear. “So Hayes is letting everyone come along because she wants to...”

  “Pretty much. She might not be able to think four or five steps ahead, but she wants to help people. Lately we've gotten taxed more than some think we can handle, and they're not wrong. It's hard enough to provide for each other when you're on the move, but it doesn't exactly scale up the way you'd like the more that join in. It was pretty unanimous between everyone to keep Arrino out of the loop when Ellie showed up. They decided they'd rather look out for themselves than to take the higher risk, but Hayes wouldn't go for it. She was the one to give the order for us to lead 'em here. To say it wasn't a very popular move among the rest of us would be kind of an understatement.”

  Huh. Go figure.

  So maybe Hayes wasn't the sharpest woman in the world, but at least her heart was set in the right place. It also just so happened to be that the long lasting consequences of her soul-filled actions could end up spelling conflict and maybe even death for hundreds—no biggie. But what about Olivia? “What would you have done?”

  She gazed at Ellie for a moment. “I'm a Knight and a member of the Order. I've sworn to protect the innocent no matter how much it takes—even if it takes everything.” Her focus fell back onto me. “Hayes was somewhat sheltered thanks to her job. Most politicians don't know what it's like to experience the consequences of their actions first hand, but they know that someone is always going to disagree with them no matter what they do. Part of being a leader is picking the best choice when you don't have any good options to choose from. Given what would have happened to the people of Arrino without us, I think she did the right thing.”

  Interesting.

  Giving credit to where it was due—that sounded like a real leader to me. I bent my legs and remembered I had more things in my pockets before pulling out Ellie's ring and playing with it against my fingers. It had been interesting to learn that even non-Paranormals could create artifacts. I made a mental note to ask Olivia how that worked later, as something else caught my attention. It had been somewhat widely known that Paranormals had varying degrees of strength, and I was betting that was why I had been able to see Emma's memories through her artifact so clearly, but it also made sense to me to think that the Knights had played a large role in those designations as well.

  I rolled the piece of silver around a finger and tried to come up with the most acceptable way I could phrase my thoughts. “So, let’s say—hypothetically speaking—something happened to Hayes and she couldn't tell people what to do.” I looked back up at Olivia, curious as to how she would react. “Would you do it?”

  “Would I lead? She shrugged. “Sure, if the situation called for it. Knights are trained in a wide variety of aspects. If something happened to Hayes and nothing else changed, I would probably be in the best position to do so.”

  Hmmm.

  That seemed too easy. “What if she was giving bad orders and you had to fight against her and some of her soldiers? Could you do it then?”

  She eyed me suspiciously for a few seconds and I thought I might have gone too far. “What does this have to do with anything?”

  “Nothing.” I pretended to stare at Ellie again and hoped Olivia wouldn't delve any further. It would have been embarrassing to admit that I had been trying to indirectly gauge how strong of a Paranormal she really was. Instead, I thought I might have come across as questioning her loyalty, which didn't look very good either.

  “How old are you, Tess?”

  I had to think about it for a moment.

  Twenty?

  “Twenty-two.”

  I think...

  To be completely fair, knowing my age up until that point comprised of remembering a number for at least a few thousands days without a break in between and it changed after every consecutive three-hundred-and-sixty-fifth day, so there was that. Plus college—so, brain damage.

  Olivia leaned back. “This might not seem as important to you now, but as an elected official, Hayes represents a lot of people. It's important that nobody interferes with that process.”

  Sure, I could guess how important it was, but I often opted not to. “So then what if I elected you to take her place?”

  “That would make you a co-conspirator. And you probably don't wanna go there.”

  Darn.

  She kept going, still mindful, but I could tell she was somewhat serious as well. “Look, I'm gonna assume you're pretty much just thinking out loud here, but you really shouldn't be joking around with stuff like that. People take it pretty seriously with regards to Knights and regular Paranormals in positions of power. As a general rule of thumb, we're not allowed to tell civilians what to do. Knights are trained and can hold rank in the military, but at the end of the day, it's just temporary. Were here to help, first and foremost.”

  I had heard the stories the same as anyone else and I had somewhat listened to the news, so why did it feel like I was hearing about this for the first time? “I've never heard about any Knights abusing their powe
r before.”

  “That's because it almost never happens. It's kind of a touchy subject. Most people are afraid to even bring it up in public, but it's taken extremely seriously in the Order.” She pursed her lips. “You're probably gonna hear it a lot more now than you have before.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, the man who pretended to be Knox fed his anti-Paranormal agenda. He didn't go as far as attacking the Order itself, but... it's not impossible.”

  It was strange. She had just said it for the second time, yet I hadn't bothered to notice until now. I clocked my hand like a windmill, trying to get the words out. “You keep talking about the guy who started the whole Sed thing, but you always mention him as the man who pretended to be Knox. Why not just call him, Knox, like everyone else?”

  Back when it had all started, Knox had never been identified, but Ryan and Kyle had made it perfectly clear that he existed when I had overhead their conversation just outside of Arrino. They had said he had been looking for Paranormals and for some reason me in particular. I hadn't taken it as something super personal, but instead as an omen of a shitty existence. To be sought out by someone of his caliber didn't bare as many questions as it did fears. After everything that had happened since then, I had almost forgotten about it until now.

  Olivia took a moment to think about it, only driving me closer. “Not many people know that the real Knox was a strong Paranormal, but she died a long time ago. Amelia Knox founded the Order and ordained the first Knights. She was ruthless. She practically committed genocide and formed her own cult. Her closest followers worshiped her like a God.”

  Seriously?

  I had been going to school for who knew how long and I had the internet to boot, yet I had never heard of anything remotely close to what Olivia had just told me. “I had no idea.”

  She frowned. “That's the idea. Keeping it a secret has probably been the Order's biggest accomplishment since its creation.”

  “Why didn't they tell anyone?”

  “It's not exactly something you'd want on a resume, much less anything you'd pin onto the history of an organization that tries to help people.”

  Right...

  Dumb question. I leaned back and let the thought sink in. It was hard to believe that even something as grand as the Order held a skeleton as dark and sizable as Knox, but that still didn't make any sense. “So if the real Knox was a Paranormal, then why would someone want to kill other Paranormals in her name?” Wouldn't they have done the opposite? “And why now?”

  Olivia only stared me down, completely serious. I thought she might have glitched out before she finally let me at it. “I was actually hoping you could explain that to me.”

  Why would I know?

  I shifted in my seat and opened my mouth just as Ellie began to stir. I must have accidentally woken her up. I gazed back at Olivia, but she still wouldn't budge. I thought she might have been messing with me. I had never seen her so still even during our first conversation. I hadn't been expecting her to stay so committed to act the part. What I didn't know was what I didn't understand—she was serious, and she only had to say three little words to let me know.

  “Amelia Emma Knox.”

  I could feel the tension in my muscles slowly melt away as the full meaning began to bore into my chest.

  “She's still alive, isn't she?”

  Oh, Emma

  “Tess?”

  I could barely hear Ellie call my name as the thoughts continued to wash through my brain. I couldn't think. I had to force it. I had to find a way to prioritize before I exploded in front of everyone. I slowly turned towards Ellie and watched her blink past watery eyes before taking her hand and stuffing her ring back into her palm. “I'm glad you're okay...” The words had come out hollow, but it was all I could muster. I stood up without bothering to wait for anything else and stumbled through the tent until I made it back outside, only to stop dead in my tracks and lose myself in it all.

  I had seen the witch's memories. She had called herself Emma. She had created Juno to come after me, but she had already existed everywhere at once. She had surrounded me in the thoughts of millions for months at a time. She had been Knox the whole time. Why had I not let myself see it before?

  I could feel a soft prick itch against the back of my mind and I instantly recognized who it belonged to. I could feel her familiar presence press against my own before I even turned around to see Olivia stand in front the tent's entrance. Why was she following me? Had she come to rub it in my face? She took a step towards me but stopped when I held my hand up. The anger began to take control again.

  I could feel the warmth automatically seep into my body and onto the ground around us. It flowed over onto the tents, onto her arms and legs and poured itself into her joints, and at that moment, I wanted nothing more than to unleash a tidal wave against her and fling her back into the air until she was miles away from me.

  “You don't wanna do that.”

  Or what?

  I eyed the pistol on her hip. Even if she had been unarmed, I was sure that she wouldn't be defenseless. I had wanted to see how strong she was. There would be no better test than to see it for myself. I held my breath and could feel the energy choke itself up in my lungs as she slowly got close enough to gently lower my arm back down. She never took her eyes off of me. Even as I finally let the force harmlessly evaporate through my skin and let the pent up air escape out in a controlled stream, she showed no sign of defending herself.

  Olivia had seen my memories through my artifact. She must have known all along that I had met Knox when I had almost died in the middle of Arrino, yet she had never said anything until now. She had kept the truth hidden from me. “You lied...”

  She slowly shook her head. “No—”

  “That's bullshit.” I let her have it in front of her own face. How the fuck was lying by omission any better than flat out altering the truth? “You didn't tell me about Emma.”

  “Why?”

  What?

  The thought cut into my rhythm like a piece of steel and she still persisted.

  “Why didn't I tell you, Tess?”

  How the fuck should I know?

  It pissed me off even more when she wouldn't answer her own question. I didn't want to be anywhere near her. “Stay away from me.” I began to walk away and she called after me, prompting us to stare at each other for a moment. I thought I might have seen some of the pain in her eyes. It was enough to make me question it, but I didn't understand. Was she as stupid as I was for caring about a complete stranger? And what could I possibly have learned within the short amount of time that I had spent with her? The words escaped me faster than I could think about them. “I don't know you.”

  She tensed at that, and I thought I could have struck a nerve.

  “Just—leave me alone.” I turned my back on her without hesitation and stormed past a line of tents, quickly cutting her off from view. I didn't know where I was going. I didn't care. I only put one foot in front of the other to match the pulsing rhythm in my ears. Olivia had been nothing but patient with me, but she should have known that she had gone too far by keeping the truth about Knox from me. I wanted to hold everything there was to know about Emma. I needed to. The thought of someone keeping me apart from the witch that lived in my dreams was unbearable.

  I continued my directionless march through lines of tents and trampled, dead grass until I practically ran into someone face first as soon as I crossed a corner. I looked up to see a middle aged, heavyset man with unkempt hair pull a younger woman by the arms while she begged for him to stop. They fought against each other, but he easily over powered her and practically dragged her across the grass in between tents. The idea of a confrontation silently drew my body closer like the odorless scent of a pheromone.

  A few curious eyes pattered around to look, but nobody did anything. All they did was watch. I couldn't understand how they could all stand so idle while others struggled right in
front of them. It pissed me off even more. The words fell out louder than they should have. “What are you doing?” I could see heads start to turn my way, but the asshole barely paid me any attention.

  “We're fine.” He continued to pull the woman along and I could make out the soft blemishes of spent makeup just above her cheeks as she passed. She had been crying.

  “HEY.” I got in front of their way again, this time already deciding a split second in advance that I wouldn't be moving. “She doesn't look fine.”

  They both took a second to look at me, one scared and the other angry. The latter made it worse for himself. “Mind your own goddamn business.” He put a hand against my shoulder to push me away and I immediately flung my fist straight up into his face as hard as I could. A subtle crack rolled across my knuckles and he backpedaled while putting a hand up to his mouth. I had either broken his nose or did something else that would have explained the pain in my hand, but I didn't bother to look.

  He set off a steady string of curses while blood began to pour over his fingers, his words nasally and muffled underneath his hands. “You bitch! What the fuck is wrong with you?”

  Me?

  I could barely believe he had the audacity to ask something so hypocritical. I took a step closer even as he showed no sign of advancing and the woman tried pulling me away. I pawed at him and instantly felt like I was stepping up to Kyle again. “Leave her the fuck alone.” I tried to get closer when the woman got in the way and shouted at me in between the streams that ran down her face. I couldn't believe she was defending him.

  I pushed her away and she tripped over her own feet to fall ass first onto the ground. As soon as I had turned back, the man stepped forward and somehow straightened his back so that I was looking up at him again.

  He took his hand off his nose and I could just make out a small indentation amongst the blood. He was pissed. He was in pain and he wanted to hit me, but one quick glance at the formulating crowd around us made him think twice about it.