Enduring Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #3)(18)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

“That is why we need the scroll, Kevin. The scroll will tell us.” Samantha had a way of making everything seem simple even when it wasn’t.

“What happens if Charlotte can’t get the scroll? We think it’s at Ruth’s, but what if Blake got it first?” I fiddled with the radio. There had to be something better than the commercials currently playing.

“The same can be said for the Onyx. All we can do is try.” Monty didn’t make things sound nearly as simple.

“So what do we do? Just head out into the wilderness?”

“First, we need to get everyone some gear.” Dad sped up to a pass a slow car.

“Careful, Stan,” Monty said. “We don’t want to attract attention.”

Dad replied, “Driving under the speed limit would attract more attention.”

I glanced out the window. “Where are we getting the gear?”

“There’s a shop I use.” Dad slowed back down to five over the speed limit. “The owner thinks I’m bringing in some new team members for my research.”

“Will they have clothing appropriate for me?” Samantha asked.

Dad smiled into the rearview mirror. “Of course. Women are routinely part of these projects.”

“Oh. That is nice to hear. Only the Resistance allows women to work in nontraditional sectors. Some nations are more open, but we are ages behind.”

“Emma was surprised by how things worked here when she first came over.” My dad had never talked about how he really met Mom. The story they always fed us was that they ran into each other on the street. The real story was that she ran into his backyard.

“Did you tell them I was your son? They’re not going to buy that we’re unrelated.” Charlotte looked a lot like our mom, but I was all Dad.

“No. If he figures it out, so be it.”

“He might think you’re a weirdo for naming me Brutus.”

“Brutus?”

“Yeah, that’s the great name on the fake Monty got me. So much better than Kevin, right?”

Dad laughed. “You can drop the name when we get back on the road. I don’t think any of the caribou are going to recognize your real name.”

The stop for gear took longer than expected. I was more than happy to grab whatever worked, but of course the shopping was much more involved than that. Not only did we need clothes, but also a back-up GPS, sleeping bags, tents, and other accessories. Hours later, Dad settled the bill, and we got back on the road heading north.

Monty took the front seat, which left me in the back with Samantha and Talen. At least Samantha was in the middle. I realized once we got going that I should have offered to take the least comfortable seat, but she didn’t seem to mind.

We rode in silence until Talen said, “It looks like a storm is coming.”

Dad glanced in the rear view mirror. “It wasn’t supposed to start yet, but you may be right.”

“I am.”

Dad chuckled. “Confident, huh?”

“I am an Arco. I know snowstorms.”

“An Arco? How did I not make that connection?” Dad sounded way more excited than I would have expected.

“Do you know of my kind?”

“Yes. I’ve met several.”

Talen sat forward in his seat with his eyes wide. “Here? There are Arcos here?”

“They fled Blake. They helped me find the approximate location of the Onyx.”

“Can you lead me to them? I had no idea any of my people were living in the lost world.”

“I think there are many, but most are afraid to come out of hiding.”

Talen sat back. “They are probably ashamed of what we did.”

“You did not have a choice,” Monty said quietly.

“You always have a choice.” Talen bowed his head. “You might not want me in your vehicle, but I was one of the Arcos guarding Emma.”

“I assumed that,” Dad said slowly, “but if you’re here you must have earned Charlotte’s trust.”

Talen smiled slightly. “Yes. The Essence can read a person’s true intentions.”

Dad caught my eye in the rearview mirror. “Doesn’t that explain a lot, Kevin?”

“Hmm? Explain what?”

“Even before we knew she was the Essence, Charlotte was always good at reading people.”

Hearing dad talk so much was weird. I was used to him being quiet all the time. “I guess. I never really thought about it.”

“Here comes the snow.” Samantha leaned over me to point out the window. Large flakes fell from the sky.

“How bad is it going to get, Talen?” Evidently, Dad was ready to trust Talen on the storm thing.

“Bad. We will need to stop.”

Dad and Monty exchanged glances. “Let’s try to get a little further. There’s a town about thirty miles from here where we may be able to stop.”

“We will see if we make it that far.” Talen looked out the window, and I had a feeling he was tuning out the rest of us. I wondered if his animal side helped him sense trouble. If so, I was freaked out. The tension rolling off him was palpable.

The heavy flakes became a steady stream until it was impossible even to see out the window. There was something foreboding about it. With everything else we were dealing with, we also had to fight a storm.

“I don’t know how much farther I can drive in this.” Dad hunched over the wheel, trying to see through the small clear spot left by the windshield wipers. His Yukon had four-wheel drive and chains on the tires, but the roads were in rough shape.

Monty pressed his face against the glass of the window. “We need to find some sort of shelter.”

I put an arm on the back of the seat behind Samantha. “Now this is when I really wish Charlotte was here.”

Talen laughed. “No kidding. Your sister has some serious power when it comes to controlling the weather.”

“I still can’t quite imagine it. Charlotte controlling weather?” Dad gripped the wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

“Believe it. She’s really something else.” Monty spoke of Charlotte with such admiration. She’d really stepped up to the challenge, and I thought we were all a little surprised by how far she’d come.

Talen tapped on his window. “Stop. I see something.”

Dad stepped on the brakes, causing the car to swerve. I instinctively reached for Samantha, pulling her against me. With only a lap belt, she was most at risk. For the second time, I regretted not offering to take that seat. Thankfully, Dad was able to bring the car to a stop safely. I still couldn’t see anything. The air was all just a whirl of white.