by Wendy Knight
Next to him, Charity jumped forward, shoving her way through the crowd. "Will?" Shane heard her gasp. He followed her line of sight just in time to see Will's black and red head above all the others. But he was on the move, blending and weaving through the crowd as Charity shoved her way forward. Shane and Hunter followed, but they couldn't find him, and there was no sign of Ari.
"Look! There he is!" Charity cried, and Shane looked up to see Will again, much closer this time. His face was battered and bruised and one side was burned, but before Shane could open his mouth, Will was gone.
"He went this way!" Hunter raced toward the path to the pond. Some of the teachers were trying to do a roll call, but no one was listening and they were able to slip away during the commotion.
"We'll look all night if we have to," Shane said as he jogged down the road. It took him a while before he realized that neither Hunter nor Charity were following him. He stopped and turned to see them standing at the foot of the trail. Charity had silent tears soaking her cheeks, and Hunter stood tall and dark, his arms folded across his powerful chest, scowling fiercely.
"What are you doing? Help me look!" Shane yelled.
"I'm not going to help you kill her, Shane. I'll protect you, because I've sworn to, but I won't help you kill her," Hunter said flatly.
Charity cried harder.
"Kill her? What are you talking about?" Shane bellowed in disbelief. "I don't want to kill her! I want to save her, you idiot!"
"You want to… but you're supposed to…" Hunter stuttered, confused, his hands dropping to his sides.
Charity put a fist to her mouth, trying to stifle her sobs.
"She's hurt, Hunter. We have to find her." Shane’s voice broke as he neared his best friend, his eyes pleading desperately. He knew he couldn't find her in time without their help.
"I'll look that way. You try the road." Hunter shoved Shane in the opposite direction as he took off up the path. Shane felt relief surge through him as he again fought his way through the crowd of students, trying to get to the road, almost getting hit by a fire truck on his way.
Charity ran in another direction, her silver eyes glowing dimly in the night.
Chapter Nineteen
Ari could feel them trying to save her. She could feel her body fighting them. And she could hear Will begging her to let them heal her. But her heart shied away from the pain, physical and emotional, that being awake brought. Giving up was so much less painful than trying to fight.
"Please Ari, help them heal you!" Will pleaded, his voice breaking, and even in her half-conscious state she could hear his panic and the raw pain in his words. She couldn't bear to hear that pain in his voice.
"Will? How did you find me?" She hated the weakness in her voice and the way it shook with effort.
"Ari! She's awake! Keep healing, keep healing!" he begged, jumping up out of her field of vision.
Ari winced at the noise. "It's okay Ari girl. You're going to be okay," he said, back where she could see him, touching his forehead to hers. The hands on her strengthened their efforts, but Ari knew it wasn't going to help. There was no healing this wound from the Carules Prodigy's hand. The prophesy would win. The Carules would win. She closed her eyes.
****
Ari wasn’t sure how long it had been when she woke up again. A minute? A year? She wasn’t in as much pain as before, but she could still feel the spell there, eating away, slowly killing her. At least she was a little more comfortable, if she didn't move. Or breathe. Eating was probably out too.
She opened her eyes, waited for them to focus. Will's pale face hovered above hers, his eyes strained and bloodshot.
"Will." She sighed, trying to lift her head.
"Don't. Don't move. Just rest." He placed a cold, shaking hand against her skin. She shivered, pain shooting through her body.
"What happened? How did you find me?" she asked. Every word felt like it was ripping more of her life away.
"I’m… uh… not sure, exactly. I… just followed this feeling. It’s hard to explain." He shrugged, settling himself on the couch next to her, careful not to jostle her at all.
She was too tired to be confused, so she let it go. "You came to my school?" she asked instead.
"I'll explain, but you have to promise not to move. Or speak. Just rest." Ari wondered if his voice was ever going to be steady again. He was so worried.
She licked her cracked lips and nodded. Not moving sounded good.
"We have a spy in the colony, Ari." His voice hardened, and Ari could understand his betrayal. The colony was like family. Twice now family had turned on Will. Ari's heart hurt for him. Family had turned on him, but he had still saved her.
"I guess when I started asking about Shane and Hunter, the spy realized where you were and sent the Carules. Whoever it was… didn't want me to get hurt… so they tried to trap me here.” He closed his eyes, as if reliving it was painful. “When I realized the Carules were after you, I called Mom.” Ari blinked, confused. He had called Vivian? Had Vivian even known he was alive? Will continued, oblivious to her bewilderment, “She sent the Edren warriors to protect you." At this, Will gave her a rueful smile. "No, we will never realize you don't need saving. So don't ask."
Ari would have smiled in return if she didn't hurt so badly.
"I thought everything was over and you were safe. And then… I got a message from Mom." Ari's eyes widened, surprised again. Not only did her mother know Will was alive, apparently, but she also knew how to reach him.
Will just nodded as he continued, "She said they had rescued an Edren soldier who had been captured by the Carules and used as bait to lure you into a trap. He told us everything. So I… uh…” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. “I fought my way out and went after you, and followed the — the feeling. Then I brought you here." He stroked her hair away from her face, his hand still shaking. She closed her eyes.
It took her several minutes to find the energy to talk. "I'm dying, Will," she said, forcing her eyes open to meet his gaze.
“No you aren’t. We’ll fix this,” he said firmly, but the panic in his eyes made it plain that he didn’t believe it, either.
****
“It’s been three weeks, Char. Do you think they’re going to find her?” Nev’s voice, more sad and mellow than Shane had ever heard it, came through the speaker on Charity’s phone. There was constant sniffling in the background, and Shane knew Livi was there, too. We’re probably on speaker, too, he thought numbly.
“I don’t know, Nev. I don’t. We’ve been going nuts trying to find her. Shane hasn’t slept at all. He looks horrible. You wouldn’t even recognize him.” Charity sighed.
“Shane did like her, huh?” Livi sniffed.
“I think he’s in love with her,” Charity said. He felt her eyes on him, but he didn’t look up from the map he was studying. It had taken him hours to make, marking all the Edren attacks he knew of, marking everywhere they knew Ari had ever been.
“Well, the whole school is in mourning. We’ve searched the mountains and trails around the school a billion times. There’s just no sign of her,” Nev said.
“Umm, Charity, not to add more stress or anything, but if you guys don’t come back soon, they aren’t going to let you graduate,” Livi said, and Shane pictured her nibbling on a nail like she always did when she was uncomfortable.
“I think graduating is the least of our worries right now,” Charity answered. The thought bothered all three of them, but not as much as the constant replay of Ari, big, tough Ari, bleeding and hurting so much she couldn’t even stand up straight. Of the pain and betrayal in Ari’s eyes.
Charity, Shane, and Hunter hadn't returned since the night of the battle. They spent every waking moment looking for Ari and hiding from the Council.
The Council was after them to come in and give their report on the battle, but so far Hunter had held them off by telling them Shane was injured from the fight and needed to heal. And Shane kne
w if they saw him they would believe it. Charity was worrying herself to death about his gaunt face and the circles so dark they looked like bruises under both his eyes. She hadn’t mentioned it, but he knew she could feel the black horror chasing itself through his heart, the same as it did hers.
It had been three weeks, and they were out of options. None of them knew where to look anymore, and they had been living out of Hunter's truck for so long all three of them hardly remembered what a real bed felt like. Charity had sent Will email after email hoping he could tell them where Ari was. She had explained what had happened over and over, but he hadn't responded, and none of them expected him too. After all, Shane and Hunter had tried to kill his baby sister.
****
"Shane, the Council is demanding we come in. We have to tell them something." Hunter hung up his phone with a sigh just as Charity walked up, more depressed than ever after her phone call to Nev. They sat at a park, watching little kids play while mothers tried, mostly in vain, to keep up with them.
Shane had his head in his hands, staring at the map lying on the ground in front of him. "I don't care what we tell them. It doesn't matter anymore," he mumbled around his fingers.
Charity sent an alarmed glace at Hunter, who looked just as hopeless. "Maybe… maybe the Council will help us. If we tell them what happened, maybe they can help us find her. And maybe they'll stop fighting, without you and Ari killing each other," Charity said, quiet desperation threading through her words. She bit her lip, easing down on the bench next to Shane, afraid to jostle him at all. He was like a loose cannon. Not that she blamed him.
"There’s a good chance Ari's already dead, Charity. You saw how wounded she was." Hunter's voice broke with bitterness. He stared over their heads, seeing nothing, exhaustion written across his face as he stood with arms crossed over his broad chest. Shane jerked as if he’d been hit.
"So then the war would be over. But it isn't. The Council said the Edrens are fighting harder than ever, trying to avenge Ari," Charity argued, desperate.
"Why are they trying to avenge her if she isn't dead?" Shane asked, his voice hollow.
"Because we hurt her. But they would know. Surely, if she was dead the Family would have told them. Her mother is out there fighting now. She would know…" Charity's voice trailed off as Shane sat up quickly. She was always startled at the look of him, despite the fact that she hadn’t left his side in weeks.
"Her mother? Her mother has never fought before," Shane said.
"We wouldn't know, would we? We didn't know who Ari was before, so we wouldn't know if her mother was out there," Hunter said.
"They know she hasn't fought before because she's powerful. Nearly as devastating as Ari, and she looks just like her, too. Except she's tiny," Charity told them, studying her fingernails.
"Charity, how do you know all this?" Hunter asked slowly, coming around to face her.
“I saw it.” She looked away, over at the kids playing. Carefree, laughing and smiling and chasing each other all over. Had Ari ever had a chance to be a child? They knew the Prodigy had been fighting since Shane was about seven. And Ari was younger than Shane by three weeks. Shane felt his heart go cold. Ari had never had a chance to play. She had always been a warrior. And yet, she had known who they were and she hadn't even fought back when they tried to kill her. She had kept them safe during the battle at their school.
Charity started sobbing, her thin shoulders shaking. Hunter reached over and pulled her against him, letting her cry while his hands stroked her hair. After a long moment, Shane said, still staring at the ground, "Ari thought you guys were together. She said you were amazing together. How'd she see it when we didn't?" Hunter froze. Charity choked on a sob, and both of them jerked apart.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hunter asked gruffly, standing so fast he tipped sideways and had to catch himself on the bench.
"Shut up, Hunter. I lost Ari before I ever told her I loved her. Do you want that to happen to you too" Shane tried to sound stern, but there was no vehemence in his tone.
Charity looked over at Hunter, a blush rising to her cheeks. "I'm sorry. He's just so worn out…"
"He's right," Hunter said, startling her. Shane felt like he should get up and move, but he didn’t have the energy.
"What? Look, Hunter, I know how you feel about Ari. About — about this competition you two had going." Charity choked on the words, trying to make it sound like they weren’t ripping her soul in two.
“Why won’t anyone listen to me?” Hunter bellowed. Charity jumped in alarm, eyes wide.
Shane nearly fell off the bench. “I’m going… over here.” He grabbed his maps and moved to another bench.
“Yeah, okay, I thought I liked her. For like two minutes. But then I realized that every time she did anything, I was comparing her to you. She was never the one I wanted. You were!”
Charity just stared at him, her mouth hanging open.
"Come on, Charity. We always have to put Shane and this stupid war first. But what if he's right? What if—”
Charity snapped her mouth shut and her silver eyes flared with rage. She doubled up her small fist and slugged him in the shoulder.
"Ow!" Hunter looked at her, shocked and confused.
"Hunter Millen! Don't you dare!" she yelled at him.
Shane looked up. He was sure he had never heard her be so loud before. "What?" Hunter started, but Charity, obviously furious, interrupted him again.
"I have waited years for you to wake up and realize we should be together. I watched you fight with Shane over Ari for the past six months. You are not going to tell me you love me now just because Shane told you to! Aarrgghh!" she screeched, stomping her foot.
Hunter's mouth fell open and he stumbled backward away from her wrath. She ignored him.
"This didn't happen. When you want to tell me you love me, do it right." She glared ferociously. "And this, Hunter, is not right." She turned and stormed away. Hunter turned to Shane. “What just happened?”
“I’m… not… I don’t know. But I’m pretty sure it was bad. And it’s your fault,” Shane answered.
****
Shane found her, brushing angry tears away with the back of her fist. She was sitting on a concrete bench in the shade, as far away from Hunter as she could get. "Didn't go well, huh?" he asked mildly, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Shut up, Shane," she said. Shane raised an eyebrow, but let it go.
"Charity, remember when we… when we…” he choked on the word, "attacked Ari?"
Charity looked away and nodded, a tremble passing through her thin shoulders.
"I can't get it out of my head. It's stuck on repeat, over and over," Shane mumbled.
"Shane." She sighed, but he just shook his head at her.
"The thing is, I realized something. You kept saying something wasn't right. And then right before I threw that spell, you screamed no. Why did you do that, Charity?" His voice was still mild, but for the first time in several weeks, his metallic eyes were piercing and focused as he studied her face, waiting for her answer.
Charity shrugged. "I didn't think you should do it."
"No. You knew it was Ari. You saw her, didn't you?" Shane leaned forward, his face inches from hers, his hands on either side of her on the bench. Behind him, Hunter walked up, eyeing Charity warily. "You were having a vision right before she got there, and you saw the Prodigy coming. No Seer is supposed to be able to do that, Char, but you did." Charity just stared at him, her mouth open but no sound coming out. Hunter stopped next to them, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, but Shane never took his eyes from Charity's face. "Char, I need you to find her. No one else in the world can do it but you." His voice was low and desperate, his eyes pleading.
Charity was already shaking her head. “Find Ari? Shane, I’m not even a good Seer. The Council says I’m worthless. Their favorite Seer can't find the Prodigy. How can you expect me to?”
"Charity, you can do thi
s." Hunter squatted down next to her and took her hand.
She glared at him, but her heart wasn't in it. “Hunter, I don’t know…” Shane could practically see her thoughts racing. She looked at Shane, and he read the question in her eyes: Can I…? She closed her eyes. “I think…” she trailed off as her eyes began to glow. And abruptly died. She jerked away and shook her head. "I can't!" But her eyes opened and Shane was right there. He didn’t even try to hide the crushed disappointment from his face.
She took a deep breath, tried again. “Charity, you can do this,” Hunter murmured again.
Shane held her hand, letting his healing flames soak into Charity’s blood, hoping it would take some of his power with it — anything to help her. He focused on Ari, on that wild black and red hair, the dark brown eyes. Her kind smile when she thought no one was looking. Her sarcasm and the pain she hid behind it.
Charity’s eyes started to glow. It felt like she was rapidly getting a fever, her skin hot to touch. “I can see her,” Charity murmured. Shane sucked in a breath. Please be okay.
“She’s lying on a couch with a multi-colored afghan thrown over her. She’s so still and gray.”
Charity took a deep breath, tried to expand the scene. “Will stands behind Ari, staring down at his sister, and he… he looks as bad as Shane. He’s so worried. Standing near him are several… wait! Are those Carules healers? They are!”
In her shock, she lost the vision. She blinked, trying to get her blurry gaze to focus. Shane stared at her, unsure what to say. Her silver gaze leaped to Hunter’s scowl and back to Shane.
"She's alive. That's what's important, right?" Charity asked lamely.
Hunter's frown deepened. "How do the Edrens have Carules healers? Were the Healers held against their will?”
"No, I don't think so." Charity shook her head.
Shane sat back on his heels, studying her as if he could reach into her mind and pull out the answers.
"Well, before the war, Edrens were the warriors, the offense. Carules were the defense. That's why we're better healers, better at saldepement spells and wards. And that's why Ari and Will are so powerful with kill spells, and why Ari can move so fast. She comes from a long line of warriors," Hunter said, rubbing the back of his neck like it hurt.
