Perilous Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #2)(9)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

“I brought it just in case. Besides, even if I didn’t, Charlotte has hers.”

Charlotte pulled her necklace out from under her sweatshirt as Monty gestured to her.

“Like how you brought the swords with you?” Liam laughed.

Monty ignored us and inserted the key into a lock that looked as though it was just part of the wall. He paused, turning to look at me. “You know, Kevin, you might not make it back for your next game.”

I let his words sink in, realizing that he was talking about more than just one game, but there was no way I was turning back. “I know. Let’s do this.”

Monty pushed against the door, and suddenly, we were no longer in the old building.

Chapter Five

Charlotte

The air was oppressively hot, but I still felt better than I had all year the moment we stepped into Energo. The heaviness in my chest lessened, and with every breath, I became more relaxed. As much as I might have wanted to deny it, at least in some way, Energo was home. My thoughts immediately turned to Calvin. I understood that I wasn’t going to Bellgard to see him, but I knew he was close, and that was enough to set my heart racing.

“Oh, my god. It’s hot.” Kevin unzipped his sweatshirt dramatically.

“Your observations are always so astute, Kevin.” James couldn’t give up an opportunity to razz my brother.

I didn’t voice the feeling out loud, but it was kind of fun to watch someone giving Kevin a taste of his own medicine. Still, I didn’t want it to go too far. Kevin tensed, and I jumped in before it could become a full-fledged argument. “So aside from the heat, do we know anything about where we are?”

“We are in the Sutuni desert. It’s always hot. I told you the gate didn’t open to the best place.” Monty started to walk, and we all followed while pulling off our sweatshirts and jackets.

“You know, Charlotte, you could get rid of this heat for us.” Henry’s suggestion made me freeze.

“Umm, I haven’t tried my abilities since we left last year.” I had considered the idea, but being so out of practice, I was terrified to try. Even though returning to Energo had made me feel better, the fear of failure was still on my mind.

James nudged me. “You’re the Essence. It should come naturally.” I had somewhat forgiven him for kissing me, maybe part of being the Essence meant not holding grudges, but my annoyance started to resurface.

“At least try. It’s as hot as Hades.” Kevin wasn’t one to complain, so I figured the least I could do was try.

I closed my eyes and attempted to focus on colder weather. I had lots of memories to work with, considering my three years living in Alaska, but my mind kept wandering to Calvin. No matter what I focused on, thoughts of him usually pervaded. Of course, thinking about Calvin started to make me hurt, so with a sigh, I gave up.

I opened my eyes to some very wet and upset boys. Instead of altering the temperature, I had created a torrential rainstorm. I hadn’t realized that my emotions could mess up my abilities so much. Closing my eyes, I pictured the rain stopping, and thankfully, it worked. The rain did help lower the temperature a little, but the ground had become a muddy mess. Lovely.

“So maybe introducing rain into a barren desert won’t completely upset the ecosystem.” James’s sarcasm was probably his worst trait, and he had some bad ones. I glared at him.

“Stop it, everyone. Let’s keep moving.” Monty said.

Trying to brush off my humiliation, I followed Monty. If I couldn’t master the simple act of changing the temperature, how could I possibly be of any use to the Resistance? I struggled to hold back tears as we walked, hoping the rain would be a good enough excuse for my wet face.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Personally, I like the rain, so you did well in my book.” Liam caught my eye and smiled.

“Ha! I’m out of practice.” I tried to sound calm and unbothered, but I was sure Liam could see through it.

“It happens to all of us. I mean the being out of practice thing. You wouldn’t want to see me try to play basketball right now.”

I laughed. “I’m sure you’re still great.”

“I appreciate your confidence. But maybe try to have some for yourself.”

“I’ll try. Thanks.” I watched Liam as he squeezed water out of his T-shirt, and I couldn’t help but smile. Sometimes it seemed like he was the only one who really understood me.

We walked through the desert in near silence. No one gave me any more trouble about the rain, but I could tell they were tired of the mud. I hoped they were at least relieved that the temperature had dropped.

It felt like we had been walking for hours when Monty started handing out snacks and water bottles from his backpack. He thought of everything. I ate my energy bar and caught up to Kevin. I’d missed him more than I expected and looked forward to spending time with him, even if it wasn’t in the best setting.

“How’re you feeling?” Kevin asked after downing his entire bottle of water.

I shrugged. “I’m doing all right. It feels great to be back, but I’m also scared, you know?”

“I feel the same way.”

I stopped in my tracks. “Wait, did you seriously just admit to being scared?”

“Yeah, I’m only human, after all.” Kevin nudged me to get me to start walking again.

“Only human? As compared to what? And you better not say me.”

Kevin laughed. “All right, I won’t say it.”

“Whatever, you’re lucky I’ve missed you,” I said brazenly.

“I’m so relieved; I can’t imagine what you would have done to me otherwise.”

“Hey, as you pointed out, I’m more than human. Don’t test me.” I grinned as Kevin tensed, probably realizing that I might be more of a threat than I used to be.

***

The desert seemed to go on forever. The mud had eventually lessened, and I got tired of wading through the sand. Pretending that we were on a beach helped at first, but the lack of a breeze made it difficult to keep up the illusion. As soon as I considered asking Monty if we could take a break, trees came into view—lots of trees.

The jungle was still humid, but the shade of the canopy came as a welcome relief. We pushed our way through the thick foliage, occasionally becoming tangled in the vines. Before long, we reached the fern grotto that housed the Cason caves. Crackling branches made me jump. We were being followed.

“Nice of you to stop by, brother,” said an unfamiliar voice.