by S L Dearing
"You know, my Son, one day you will make a grand leader."
"Thank you, Father."
They shook hands as another knock came on the door.
"Yes."
Standing in the doorway was Tawny Roberts. She had removed most of her garish make-up and was now wearing a gold dress that looked like a long roman toga, with her hair piled high on her head.
"Brother Stephan, we missed you at the evening ceremonies. Are you feeling alright?"
"Indeed, I just felt the need to find comfort in the Book."
Tawny's face became concerned.
"Nothing serious, I hope."
"No, Sister. Just memories."
Tawny’s face eased and she nodded.
"We all miss Anne. She was a fine woman and she gave her life to God, but now is a time of celebration. The first cake competition is almost underway. Chancellor Shorely will be trying her hardest to win, but Jesus is on our side."
Stephan and Elian smiled. In the background, Albion wiped a tear from his cheek at the mention of his mother.
"You're right of course, Tawny. Let's go and enjoy the festivities."
Stephan laid his bible on the table and ushered everyone out of the room, closing the door behind him. Albion moved into the center of the room and stared quietly at the door that barred him from the outside world.
He felt hot tears on his face as he thought about his mother. Anne Merganser had gone out into the berry fields next to Crystal Shade with several other women. It was believed that rogues from the south had attacked them, but no one saw what happened. All Albion knew was that two of the women were dead and the others were gone. A search party went to look for them, but they only returned with a few scraps of clothing and a necklace that his mother never removed. He knew then that she must be dead. He was alone. His father and brother had moved on so quickly, and as usual they never thought of Albion. He had no friends and no dreams. He merely floated through life trying not to drown. He walked towards the door and exited, wiping his face and locking the door behind him.
When Tawny, Stephan and Elian walked outside, Elian excused himself and made his way towards the main stage. He clapped his hands together, certain that Sara Stark was waiting for him.
As he rounded the corner, he made his way through the crowd and positioned himself at the end of the same deck that the other young men were still on, oblivious of their intentions.
The music faded and Sara stepped up to the microphone.
"Well, for some of us, this will be our last song, but don’t worry, Mr. Tippen will continue to have some of our finer musicians play for you. And for our last song, my sister, Coeli, will be singing."
Coeli stood before the microphone and closed her long thin fingers around the top. The electric instruments began, led by a drum kit, and in that moment her confidence was higher than it had ever been. She closed her eyes and felt her body sway to the music, then she opened her mouth. Her voice was clear and pure.
Sam felt his heart beat faster and in that moment he knew. He heard his grandmother's voice.
"The voice of an angel."
"She's got a great voice," said Scott.
"Yeah."
Sam nodded at the remark, staring straight at Coeli. He could barely breathe. She was the one. Scott and Vance had been right. All these years he had been waiting for Coeli, waiting for both of them to be ready. His heart beat faster and faster with every note she sang. He had to fight the urge to run up on stage, sweep her into his arms and kiss her. He just wanted to be near her.
When the last note had faded, Sam downed the rest of his ale and slipped under the railing to the ground, followed by Scott, Vance and Ian. Sam headed directly for Coeli and when he reached the stage, he hoisted himself up. Coeli turned around and almost fell over. He reached for her and took her hand, which made her almost fall again.
“Sorry.”
Coeli shook her head.
“No, that’s ok, you just surprised me.”
Sam took her other hand and stared into her eyes. His intensity made her forget to breathe.
“Would you like to dance?”
Coeli managed to nod and allowed Sam to lead her to the edge of the stage. Sam let go of her hands and jumped off the stage. Turning around he put his hands up to lift Coeli down. Vance was watching as he helped Alisha off the stage, causing her to look as well. She waved to Kaley, who looked over and smiled.
Elian was unaware of their movement and was momentarily stopped from going up to Sara by a crowd of older ladies from the Southern Baptist camp. He smiled patiently, but cursed them silently for deterring him from getting to Sara before her Squad members did.
When he walked closer, he found Scott Forrester holding up his arms and lifting Sara down from the stage. Elian walked forward and as he reached the stage, Scott had just set Sara on the ground and kissed one of her hands.
Elian frowned at this and slipped his own hand into her empty one and lifted it to also kiss the back of it. Scott let go of Sara's hand and took a step backwards, putting his hands on his hips with raised eyebrows.
Sara turned to see Elian and was obviously taken aback, but nervously let him continue.
"I'm sorry I haven't come over before now to offer my greetings, Sara. I was busy helping Brother Justin and my father."
Sara smiled and nodded.
"Hello, Elian."
"May I have this dance?"
Sara's eyes got big and she looked at Coeli who was standing with Sam not far away and then turned to Scott who was watching with mild amusement. She looked at him imploringly.
As if on cue, Scott moved forward and took back Sara's other hand.
"Sorry, El, I've already booked her for tonight. Maybe tomorrow."
Elian raised his hand to protest, but the music began to swell and Scott gently pulled Sara to the dance area, leaving Elian fuming and embarrassed. Sam followed Scott, also gently pulling Coeli, who was looking at Elian until he stormed off. Coeli turned to Sam who tossed his hair off his shoulder and pushed his hand through the top.
"That guy is so weird."
"I don’t like him,” Coeli replied. “He follows Sara around at every Gathering, like he owns her."
Sam was now looking at Coeli. He slid his arm around her waist and lifted her slender hand in his own. She marveled at how strong his hands were.
"Don't worry about Sara, Scott would never let anything happen to her."
Coeli looked into Sam's blue eyes and felt her knees go weak. He smiled. Their eyes not leaving the other’s until their cheeks were resting against one another, only then did Coeli close her eyes. She could smell the musky sandalwood in his hair as it brushed against her face and the outline of the muscles in his back and shoulder as she moved her hand to the back of his neck. She again had to force herself to breathe as her heart beat faster and faster.
Sam could feel her gentle fingers against his neck, softly twirling his hair around her fingers and he pulled her closer and moved slowly, closing his eyes as well.
Not far away, Scott was looking into Sara's eyes. They were so bright, and he couldn't believe how light she was. He was always so practical, but tonight he just wanted to let go. He knew Sara Stark.
He had been watching her for the last two years. She didn't care about the boys who followed her, but she pretended to so she wouldn't have to worry about having a relationship. She was always writing, but no one seemed to notice.
He just wanted to hold her and protect her. He looked down at her and she looked at him and smiled.
"Thank you for saving me."
"Anytime."
With that he spun her out and back, catching her in a dip where he pretended he was going to kiss her, which made her gasp, but then he brought her back up at the last minute.
All the while Alia had been watching from the pub. Her girls were growing up. She felt a hand on her shoulder and a kiss on her cheek as Ellen Turner rested her head against Alia's shoulder. She and Alia stoo
d and watched their children, knowing they weren't children anymore.
24
In the darkness of the Mojave Desert, illuminated only by stars, moonlight and the lights of the village, St. Viviana's glowed invitingly alone among the cacti and sand.
The colony had been built much like Lia Fail and the other villages, with high walls and sentries on duty but the Catholics at St. Viviana's were always ready to take in those that needed assistance.
An unusually warm breeze blew through the camp as a warder looked out over the landscape. There in the distance he saw a large group traveling by horseback from the south. He looked through his eyeglass and saw that they were moving slowly, probably lagging due to thirst and hunger. He shook his head, as this always happened during the Gathering.
"We've got travelers. They look thirsty."
As the lower guards started to pull open the gates, Father Leon and Sister Margaret Cecilia walked out of the church doors. They were discussing the eminent arrival of the people from Salt Lake II who had radioed that they would arrive sometime in the morning. They stopped and looked over at the gate then walked towards the guards.
"Hello, Philip. Who's coming to our home this late in the evening?"
The guard turned and bowed.
"We're not sure, Father, but they looked in need of rest and water, possibly food."
Father Leon smiled. He was a rather fit-looking man in his early fifties with a fine head of hair that was just starting to turn gray.
"Well, I’ll tell Monsignor. I'm sure he’d like to welcome our new guests."
Father Leon started to turn, but remembered.
"Philip, the Mormons will be here tomorrow. They believed sometime in the late morning."
"Thank you, Father."
As Father Leon walked hurriedly towards the rectory, Sister Margaret Cecilia had already gone to the kitchen and asked them to prepare food for the visitors.
Slowly through the gates of St. Viviana's came the many men on horseback. The guards didn’t remember ever seeing these men before. They all wore black leather pants, boots and shirts and they all wore swords and shields and daggers.
St. Viviana's was a small camp of maybe four hundred in total and the traveling horsemen were about one hundred. Father Leon had now emerged with Monsignor Klaus. The Monsignor was in his early sixties, but looked a bit younger, although his hair had long ago turned white. He had a bit of a belly and very red cheeks. They walked forward through the horsemen, who looked down on them without smiling as the men bade them welcome.
They finally rested in front of the rider who wore silver bands on his arms and had a larger helmet and steed than the others.
Monsignor extended his hand, but the rider just looked at it, then at his nearest companion, a large man with a white scar that ran down his face.
"Welcome to St. Viviana's. You are most welcome. I am Monsignor Klaus and this is Father Leon. We’re preparing food and drink. You must be weary."
The rider then smiled and dismounted. He took off his helmet and walked around the priests.
"My name is Thomas Blaylock. We were… hunting when we lost our way."
Monsignor looked around and laughed nervously. He was taken aback by the appearance of the rider. He had long brown hair that hung past his midriff, but the top had been shaved on both sides. His eyes were a cold icy blue that made the priest's blood freeze and he stood at just over six feet, but to the monsignor, he could have been ten feet tall. The uniform he wore accentuated his muscles and the Monsignor could not help but notice the number of swords and daggers he had strapped to his legs, arms and mount.
"Quite a large hunt," Monsignor replied.
Blaylock smiled and put his arm around the Monsignor, forcing him to walk with him through the riders in black, who were now dismounting their horses.
"Please don't let my friends alarm you, Monsignor. They aren't very good at meeting new people."
Monsignor nodded with concern.
"I see."
Several young women came out of the building to their right and placed trays of food along a large table in the middle of the quad, nervously looking over their shoulders. Blaylock reached over and took a tomato off of a plate and brought it to his lips, but stopped just short of eating it. Instead he offered it to Monsignor, who smiled and shook his head.
Blaylock shrugged and popped the tomato in his mouth. His men didn’t move to get any food, but stood by their horses, which caused Monsignor and Father Leon to become increasingly nervous. The gates of St. Viviana's began to close and Monsignor felt as if his collar was tightening around his throat.
Blaylock sat in a chair and put his feet up on the table, while he ogled one of the young girls who were laying out the food. She was no more than sixteen, a lovely girl with pale skin and long brown hair, tied back in a ponytail. He continued to stare at her as he spoke.
"I must thank you and your people for being so…kind as to let us in and offer us food and rest. We are definitely in need."
As Monsignor Klaus smiled and stepped forward, Blaylock looked away from the girl towards the priest.
"Well, perhaps I can show you and your men to your sleeping quarters?"
Blaylock smiled and then laughed. The gates slammed shut and the bar was laid in the cradle.
"That won't be necessary, Monsignor."
Blaylock snapped his fingers and his men began to spread out across the small village, drawing their swords and daggers. Monsignor Klaus spun in all directions, watching as the men began to knock down doors and walk into dwellings, and then the screaming began.
"What is this?!"
Blaylock got up and pushed the priests towards several of his waiting men.
"Party time, Gentlemen."
Blaylock winked at Father Leon as his men grabbed the priests and took them off screaming. Blaylock turned his head towards the young women and smiled. Some were screaming and others were crying, but the young girl, with the pale skin and long brown hair, stared in terror. He moved towards her. The other girls ran as he came closer, but she was unable to move, his eyes fixed on her. She knew what he wanted, but she couldn't move. Her legs felt heavy, like lead.
He grabbed her arms and lifted her up to his face, her feet now dangling in the air. He brought her in to his face and smelled her hair; she pulled her face as far away from him as she could. He ran his mouth next to her cheek then he stuck out his tongue and licked her. He put his mouth to her ear.
"You are ripe, aren't you?"
She began to cry, which made him laugh. He dropped her to the ground, and held one of her arms, but she shook and tried to wrench her arm away. He snapped it back and brought her face to his.
"I wouldn't if I were you."
He then marched towards the building dragging her with him. She started to scream and grab at the table and walls, but he was much stronger and tossed her through the door like a rag doll.
He turned to one of his men eyeing another girl.
"When you finish, you get the spoils, not before! Understand? But remember, they want the rest of them undamaged."
The soldier nodded and reluctantly went on other pursuits. Blaylock stepped through the door and slammed it behind him. The girl's screams were drowned in a sea of violence.
From the top of the steeple, a raven watched.
25
Ian and Kaley sat at a table in Donagan's Pub, not far from their parents. Kaley stared at her drink. She didn't remember it being this difficult six months ago. They talked endlessly about everything. Why was it so hard? Why wasn’t he talking to her? Finally, Ian leaned forward.
"Let's get out of here."
He grabbed Kaley's drink and jumped off his stool. Kaley looked after him, perplexed, and then followed, shaking her head. She got outside the pub and looked around, but Ian wasn't there.
"Ian?"
She walked through the crowd of dancers and tried jumping up to see over everyone's heads. She stopped and put her hands on her
hips, obviously irritated that he had left, when she suddenly felt a hand on her waist.
Ian twirled her into his arms, but she wasn't smiling.
"If you're trying to impress me, you're failing miserably."
She pushed him away from her and walked out of the crowd. Ian stood confused.
"I'm sorry, what?"
Kaley was furious. What was he thinking? Why didn't he just talk to her? How would dancing fix their inability to speak to one another?
Ian ran after her and was now walking next to her trying to redeem himself.
"Look, we weren't talking in there and I had also asked you if you wanted to dance, so I thought…"
Kaley stopped, so quickly that Ian had to jog back to talk face to face.
"You thought you would do a little dance and that I would get swept off my feet at the thought of your biceps and chest and…stuff and forget that we couldn't carry on a conversation? Did you think I would swoon and forget that we have obviously forgotten how to talk to one another?"
Ian looked around and then back at Kaley with a baffled look on his face.
"Uh, well, I haven't forgotten how to talk, but you were sure having a hard time."
"I'm sorry, but did I miss something?"
"Obviously."
Kaley started to stammer.
"Are you saying that I wasn't talking to you?"
Ian's demeanor now changed to anger as he crossed his arms in front of him. He had his tongue in his cheek.
"Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Every time I asked you a question about what you've been doing for the last six months, I get a one or two word answer. The last time we met, our conversations were effortless, but tonight you act like you don't want to be around me."
"No, no, it's been me that asked you and you aren't giving me any answers."
