Enduring Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #3)(35)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

“It is us!” I jumped down and called to the men. “It is just us!”

“Samantha?” Lawson took a few steps toward me. “Where did you get such beasts?” He eyed the dragons skeptically, as though waiting for them to attack.

Kevin hopped down and joined me. “Oh, you know, we just picked them up along the way.”

“Kevin!” Emma ran over and embraced her son. Tears spilled down her face.

“Hey, Mom. Where’s Charlotte?” Kevin looked over his mother’s shoulder.

“She isn’t back yet.” She didn’t bother to hide her nerves. We all expected Charlotte to beat us back by several days. She was only traveling a short distance.

Kevin placed a hand on his mother’s arm. “Have you heard from them at all?”

“They sent a message to have someone pick up their horses a few days ago. They’d left them in the Sutani desert.”

Kevin took a single step back from his mother. Any signs of his good humor were gone. “What were they doing there? That’s completely out of the way.”

“We don’t know. Calvin sent only a brief note. He was probably afraid the message would get intercepted.”

Kevin inhaled deeply. I could tell he was desperately trying to hold it together.

I walked over and took his hand. “She is with three Guardians. They are keeping her safe.”

He gripped my hand tightly. “But she should be back.”

“Not if they went through the desert. Whatever she found at Ruth’s led them somewhere else.”

“So what now? We can’t just wait here.”

“I do not see another choice.” I wished I had more soothing words to offer him, but I was at a loss. Charlotte getting held up was a possibility we had not seriously considered.

Emma looked over at where the dragons stood waiting. “Where are the others? Monty, your father, Talen?”

Kevin blanched.

I was not sure if he could answer, so I said, “We do not know.”

“What does that mean?” Emma looked me straight in the eyes. “Did you get separated out there?”

I glanced at Kevin. I knew holding back any of the truth would only make things worse. “There was an incident. We were caught in a storm, and Kevin and I were separate from the rest. They were taken.”

“Taken? By whom?”

“Do you think we know?” Kevin snapped. That was out of character for him. He was usually so polite to his mother.

“I can’t imagine they would be easy to take. And why weren’t you with them. Where were you?”

I swallowed. “We could only get a few motel rooms. We were upstairs.”

“Together? You were in a motel room together?”

Any other time, I might have been embarrassed by the insinuation, but it was nothing compared to the greater problems we faced. “Yes. I felt safer with Kevin at my side.”

Emma suddenly smiled. “I’m glad my son makes you feel safe. I hope he treated you like the gentleman he was raised to be.”

Kevin groaned. “Mom.”

“I’m just saying… but that’s beside the point. You have no idea where they were taken?”

“We found blood.” Kevin looked down at the ground.

“Blood? Whose?”

“We don’t know, but Dad left his car keys with it.”

“If he left his keys, he still had his faculties. We have to assume they’re okay.” She sounded as though she was trying to convince herself.

“I’ve been tricked before. I’m not believing anyone’s dead unless I see a body.” Kevin appeared to regret the words as soon as he said them. It was not his mother’s fault he had suffered such a traumatic experience. “Kevin, we need to tell her about the dreams.”

“Dreams?” Emma crossed her arms over her chest. I am sure she was chilled by the news that her loved ones were missing.

“Yes. Maybe you can help. You are the former Essence.”

“Let’s talk.” She gestured for me to walk inside the cave with her. “Kevin, please take care of the animals.”

“Uh, sure.” He looked at me to make sure I was okay with the arrangement. I nodded.

I followed Emma inside, and we sat at the one large table.

She turned her chair to look at me. “Please tell me about the dreams.”

“I started feeling different when I entered the lost world. It was like déjà vu. I was drawn to Charlotte’s cello, and I remembered your back garden somehow. I also had this recurring dream that felt like a flashback.”

“Your father loved the cello.”

“My father?”

“Yes. Did you know he was from the lost world?”

My chest clenched. “What? No. He was of Energo.”

She shook her head. “No, he wasn’t. But that isn’t a bad thing.”

“How is that possible? What brought him here then?”

She took my hand. “Love.”

“My mom?”

“Yes. I knew your mother well. She was my tutor. She loved exploring, and she was the one who showed me the gateway to the lost world for the first time. That’s how I knew where to go.” She paused for a moment as if lost in thought. “Your father worked with my husband’s father. He was basically an apprentice in his law firm.”

I nodded, needing to hear more. Percy had told me almost nothing about my parents.

“Stan’s father was convinced something lay beyond the old gate in his yard, and after finding a key, he ventured through it. He nearly drove himself mad trying to figure out Energo. That’s why Stan was so quick to believe me when we met.” She smiled.

“But my dad? Stan’s father took him in?”

“Yes. He met your mother, and that was it. He never returned. He’s the one who gave me the key. That’s how I was able to escape.”

“Is that why… is that why Blake singled them out?”

She squeezed my hand. “Your parents were good people. Wonderful people. I assume your memories were triggered because part of your father is in you. The Source has a way of doing that sometimes.”

“This is a lot to take in.”

“Do you think you might tell me what you dreamed?”

I braced myself. “This will not be easy for you.”

“That is fine. I need to hear it.”

“It was of your Gerard’s death.”

She inhaled sharply.

I decided to push on with the narration. It would do no one good to drag it out. “I watched it happen. There were two other men there, not just one.”