Enduring Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #3)(30)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

She shrugged. “Maybe only a Winthrop can open it. That would be a smart precaution. Maybe that is why you had to be the one to retrieve it.”

I nodded. “I guess so.” I glanced back down at the open box in my hands. “This is it?” I picked up the round black stone, roughly the size of a golf ball, and turned it over in my hand. For its size, the rock seemed heavy. The smooth stone didn’t appear any different from a thousand other rocks I’d seen.

“Yes. It is smaller than I expected, but we should not let that fool us. It is still powerful.”

“I wonder what it does.”

“We can talk about that later. Right now, we have to get you warm, Kevin.”

“Body heat?” I asked through chattering teeth.

She smiled slightly. “The gate should be just beyond those trees. Can you make it?”

I followed her gaze to a clump of evergreen trees probably a half mile away. “Only if you promise me body heat.”

“Now is not the time to joke.”

“I’m going to be okay. The dry suit helped.”

“You still need warmth. We must go.”

We grabbed our gear, and I carefully stowed the Onyx in my coat pocket. The box was too bulky, so I put that in my pack. I didn’t love the extra weight, but I figured it might be useful later.

We slowly pushed through the snow. Between the cold and the ache in my leg, I desperately wanted to find someplace warm and dry. Samantha kept her eyes straight ahead. She was so tough and determined.

“Over there.” I could barely make out the snow-covered structure in the distance. It was the only thing that could possibly be the gate. We used our gloved hands to brush off the snow from the frozen metal gate.

I paused. “Let’s hope this key works.”

I inserted the key and twisted. At first, the key wouldn’t budge, but with a bit more effort, I was able to turn it. I pushed on the gate, letting the door swing wide open before leaning in to investigate. All I could see were trees, so I took a tentative step through the opening with Samantha right behind me.

I looked up at the sun, loving the way it felt on my chilled body. “Wow! that feels good.” If I couldn’t get naked snuggling with Samantha, the sun was the second best way to warm up. “So this is Kenset, huh?” The only thing we had to go by was Monty’s map. I assumed they at least got the nation right. I didn’t see anything that distinguished the landscape from my own world. We were in a grove of tall trees, and the rest of the vegetation looked familiar, too. The only thing that seemed off was how quiet it was. Usually a forest would be full of all sorts of noises. Maybe there weren’t any animals.

“I assume so. I have no idea how we get from here to Energo, but I trust we will find someone who knows.”

“We need to find Ollis.” I thought about my friend on the Pact council. I’d earned his respect by holding my liquor—but I think it went beyond that. There was a true camaraderie there that I hoped I could rely on.

“You make it sound easy. He is the representative for the Pact. He could be anywhere.”

“Is there a capital?” I scoured my memory for any hints Ollis might have given. If I’d known how important he’d be, I would have at least feigned interest in his nation.

“Yes. Maldin. I think it is in the western section of Kenset.”

I pulled out my compass. The needle spiraled without settling on a direction. “Yeah, so this obviously doesn’t work here. Any idea where west would be?”

She pointed toward a thick growth of trees. “It is that way.”

“What makes you say that?”

“The sun.”

“Okay. You can teach me later.”

We walked toward the forest. The trees were denser than I expected, blocking out almost all sunlight. Samantha moved closer to my side. It was nice how she viewed me as protection, whether she’d ever admit it or not.

“What was that?” she whispered.

“I didn’t see anything.”

“I saw a blur. Someone is following us.”

“Really?” I glanced around, seeing nothing but trees.

“It is certain. The question is whether they are friend or foe.” Samantha kept her eyes moving. “When in doubt, always assume foe.”

I nodded. “Healthy attitude.”

“It is called survival instinct.”

Bright light let us know we were almost out of the trees, but we didn’t know what that meant for being followed. Either we were both literally and figuratively out of the woods, or we were up a creek. A nagging feeling told me to move the Onyx to its box. I yanked out the box and set the small stone inside it.

“Shit.” I saw the guys before they jumped on us. They grabbed my arms, but I got in a couple of good kicks.

“I would stop that if I were you. That is, if you have any care for your companion,” the man holding my arms said.

I noticed the way several ox-like men leered at Samantha. “Don’t touch her.”

“Do not give us a reason to.”

I nodded, taking my first good look at our captors. The men were large, their tight shirts showing off every inch of their muscles. If they were human, I would have questioned whether they took steroids. I was pretty sure their physique came naturally.

“Listen,” I said. “We are just trying to—”

“We know what you are doing,” the guy holding me interjected.

“You do?”

“You are working for Blake. You wish to turn more of our men into slaves.”

“No. You have it wrong.” Samantha struggled against the man who had her.

I wanted to tell her to stop; it would only get her hurt.

“Oh do we?” The same one laughed.

I fought down my anger as best I could. “Take us to Ollis. He knows us.”

“Ollis? As though he would bother with you.”

“We were on the Pact council together. I’m Kevin Callow… Winthrop, brother of the Essence.”

He started to pat me down, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before he found the Onyx. I was unbelievably grateful I’d moved it back into the box so he couldn’t get to the stone. The box barely fit, but I’d managed to zip it into an inside pocket of my coat.

He yanked out the box, ripping my jacket in the process. “What is this?”

I went with honesty. “Our only chance of defeating Blake. Please take us to Ollis. He’ll explain it all.”

“He could be telling the truth,” the younger man said. “Either way, what harm would it do to take him to Ollis? If he lies, we can kill them both there.”