Beckoning Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #1)(51)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

Suddenly, I heard bellowing cries as a large mass of people entered the large hall. I saw both men and women, dirty, dressed in what appeared to be rags, and wielding weapons. I watched as they approached Calvin and his men, but just as quickly, reinforcements of Bravado men appeared.

Calvin turned to face the ensuing crowd, and I took my chance to unsheathe my sword. The blade glowed brightly. I was instantly grateful that Calvin had been so confident that he didn’t think he needed to disarm us. I looked around. I was ready to go after Calvin, but my way was blocked by James, who had a frightening smile on his face. James held his sword, an exact replica of my own, and we began to fight. I held my ground as best I could, but I had to hand it to him, the kid could fight.

“This is not the basketball court, Kevin; you have no chance,” James mocked. I said nothing, locking my sword against his.

In the chaos, I spotted Calvin, who towered over everyone else in the room. Monty was trying to fight him but without directly engaging him. I was suddenly relieved to have found James first. If Monty couldn’t fight Calvin directly, I probably didn’t have too great of a chance. I was distracted and, before I knew it, I was on the ground, James’s sword to my chest.

“Are you having fun, Kevin?” James looked down at me.

“Just go on and kill me already.” If I was going to die, I wanted it over with.

James gazed at me with a cruel smile. “I am not going to kill you. You are a Guardian; you have value. You just need to understand what side you should be on.”

I heard a loud cry and looked to my left. Liam was on the floor bleeding from his chest. I felt sick as I saw that the sword that had caused the injury had belonged to a Guardian. Percy had told us that even a shallow wound was potentially deadly. I tried to get up, but James still had me pinned down. What else was there to do? How could I let my best friend die on the floor of this castle alone? Luckily, James looked away momentarily, and I was able to use my foot to push his sword to the side and stand up. His surprise didn’t last long. He had his sword ready, and we were at it again. Suddenly, the room went quiet. I looked around trying to figure out what had changed. And then I saw why. A blond man who, based on his striking resemblance to James, I deduced was Blake, had Charlotte by the arm, dragging her into the room. She was wearing some sort of metal cloak, and her face was pale; she looked like she was in terrible agony. I looked over to Monty, who had stopped fighting. Calvin was staring at her, too, while moving toward the front of the room. I dared to look over to where Liam had been, but he was gone. I couldn’t worry about that now.

“You are all putting on a good fight, I give you that, but you are not getting out of here. You need her to do that and, as you can see, she is not up to it.” Blake gestured to Charlotte, who I could tell could barely stand upright.

“Blake, what is the meaning of this? She looks to be in pain. Stop it!” Calvin screamed.

“Calm down, Calvin. This cloak will cause no serious injury. Besides, you told me to do anything necessary to keep her here, did you not? If it were not for me, she would be fleeing now with her family, forever lost to you.” Blake looked directly at Calvin. No one else moved or spoke.

“But she is in pain. Take that off, or I will do it myself,” Calvin bellowed, taking another step toward Charlotte. Charlotte looked at Calvin, her eyes pleading.

“You underestimate your Essence’s power, Calvin,” Blake said calmly.

“But look at her. She is so weak. What could she do?” Calvin asked.

“He is right, Father,” James said, as he walked to the front of the room. “She is too weak, is she not?” I watched with shock as James walked over to Blake and pulled Charlotte from his grasp. Blake looked surprised, but didn’t argue.

“Look at her. If I let go she would fall to the ground, completely powerless. I guess that is what you wanted, huh, Calvin?” James asked mockingly.

“No, of course not,” Calvin replied, clearly fighting internally over what action to take.

Blake eyed his son warily. “James, I do not know what you are going on about. This is just as much for you.”

“For me?” James laughed. “For me?” he repeated. “My entire life I have done everything you have ever asked. I even found the Essence and brought her here, and for what? To be pushed aside when I was not the Gerard? To be replaced by this farmer?” James sneered at Calvin.

Calvin looked concerned, and James used the opportunity to pull Charlotte to his chest and put his sword to her neck. I felt helpless; I wanted to help her, but I couldn’t think of one logical move. I looked over at Monty, who looked equally as distraught.

“James, hand her over,” Blake boomed.

“No,” James said levelly. I breathed in, trying to comprehend what was happening.

“You have no right to touch her, James. Release her to me immediately,” Calvin thundered.

James laughed and moved his sword swiftly; it was back at her neck in moments, but the metal cloak had fallen. Immediately, Charlotte had some color back, and her eyes shone bright blue.

“Let us go, or I kill your Essence.” James looked only at Calvin.

“Let you go, James?” Blake looked confused.

“Yes. I want out. If I cannot be the Gerard, I will not follow another’s command. As little as I care for this girl, why should I leave her here to be tortured? Such wasted potential.” James still had the sword to her neck.

“He is bluffing, Calvin. He would not hurt her,” Blake said.

“I am not. I would rather see another era of darkness than watch what you have planned.” It shocked me how calm James could be, considering the circumstances.

“Tortured? I would never torture her,” Calvin said, as though it hurt to even say the words.

“What do you call this?” James kicked the metal cloak with his boot. “You were willing to allow my father to put her through agony just to keep her here.”

“That will never be used again,” Calvin said seriously. “Let her go, James. It does not have to be like this. I know you expected to be the Gerard, but Charlotte did not choose you. You need to accept it.”

“I am warning you,” James said, as he pulled Charlotte even closer to his chest. She gave a gasp like she could hardly breathe. Why was he doing this to her? James must have heard the gasp because he loosened his hold.

Charlotte spoke, and everyone froze. “Calvin, why don’t you understand that there is no reason to listen to Blake? You are right; I did choose you as my Gerard, and that had to be for a reason. You are the one in charge. You can change things.”