The Returning Read online

  “Maybe it was just a dream,” Kennedy suggested.

  “It wasn’t. I can’t explain how I know, but after my experience with the light . . .” He trailed off, his eyes getting lost in the memory for a moment before he refocused on the group. “It wasn’t.”

  “Let’s go, then,” Elise said.

  The rest turned to her, curious expressions on their faces.

  She pointed to Willis. “He dreams—that’s his gift. It makes sense that the light would communicate with him that way, and haven’t you all been trained to trust your instincts? What are they saying to you now? Because mine are telling me to trust Willis.”

  She held his eyes with her own and nodded. A smile broke across his face, bright enough to light the room, and she felt her head spin.

  The rest of the group took a moment to process, and Davis was the first one to speak. “Do you even know where this place is?”

  “I do,” Sam said. “There aren’t many new buildings in the Authority City, and only one that is currently under construction. If the building you saw was an active job site, I can take you to it.”

  “It means crossing the city, though,” Franklin said. The group was startled by his participation because he’d barely said a word since the incident last night. He was young, in his late teens, Elise guessed, with red hair buzzed close, hazel eyes filled with questions, and a strong chin. He caught Elise’s stare from his place across the room. “I have nothing to go back for. I was born into this world the way it is now. I didn’t know there was anything to miss until last night. I didn’t even know the light existed, and now . . .” He got choked on his own words and shook his head. “I’m just saying, I’m with you now. I don’t want this to be taken away from me.”

  He glanced at Sam, and Sam gave him a knowing nod before turning back to Elise. “We can get you there. We know all the active patrolling routes, and as long as we keep Elise covered, the other CityWatch guards won’t think anything of us traveling with the rest of you. Nobody knows your faces.”

  “Someone should stay here and try to reconnect with Trylin,” Davis said. He held up a small, handheld device that looked like a walkie-talkie. “I know I can get this contraption to work; I just need some time alone with her.”

  “Her?” Kennedy said.

  “My dad calls it Roxy, so yeah, her.”

  “We don’t have any weapons to protect ourselves,” Kane said, and Timmons nodded in agreement.

  “We don’t need weapons,” Lucy reminded them. “We are here to save these people, not hurt them.”

  “Anyway, we do have a weapon,” Kennedy said. She turned her eyes to Elise. “If anyone tries to harm us, we’ll just have Elise make their brains explode.”

  “That’s not what—” Elise started.

  Kennedy placed her hand on her sister’s arm and chuckled. “Relax; I was kidding. Kind of. You do have a great power, though, and you brought out a power in me, in all of us. Maybe Willis’s dream is right, or maybe he’s out of his mind. Either way, where you go, I go. We were brought back together for a reason; we do this together.” She looked back at the others, her hand still resting on Elise’s arm. “All of us. Let’s go try and figure out how this works.”

  Timmons was the first to stand. “Well then, what are we waiting for?”

  19

  Nicolas watched as the people of Trylin stood gathered together in the main city street. It hadn’t taken long to pull them all into one place, partly because there were not very many of them but mostly because they had all come so willingly. It was as if they’d decided as a group that they weren’t going to fight back. A few had stepped out of line, and Nicolas had ordered the soldiers to forcefully put them back in their place, but most had been easy. Too easy. As if they were eager to accept their destruction.

  All of them seemed to be following the same radical belief that filled Remko. It gnawed at Nicolas’s mind. It was fascinating to see an entire flock of sheep walk off a cliff, but the darkness in him despised their complacency. Their belief was no doubt sincere, but how far would it carry them? How far until a human’s true nature took over and the peace was shown to be just another mask?

  “You don’t have to do this,” Remko said. “We can show you another way.”

  “Your way? The path in which giving in to your enemies is the answer?” Nicolas asked.

  “Turning the other cheek so that no man controls freedom.”

  “Yet here I am.” Nicolas glanced across the gathering of Trylin people. “Controlling your freedom.”

  “Greater is the light within me than the darkness that is in the world,” Remko said. His words washed over Nicolas like hot water, burning at his skin and causing him to pause. Tic, tic.

  Nicolas took a deep, steadying breath. “Let’s see if that is true.” He grabbed Remko’s arm and escorted him toward the crowds. The people had been placed in large groups, watched carefully by the CityWatch soldiers that surrounded them. Nicolas could see their fear as he moved Remko through the horde and into the open space that had been created for the next phase. Nearly three dozen armored vans, each large enough to transport at least thirty full-grown men, had been driven inside the city gates and parked across the front of the open space, serving as the perfect backdrop.

  Nicolas tugged Remko out into the middle and led him toward the armored vans. The Seers watched the two with apprehension. Nicolas handed Remko off to two very large guards. He moved into the center of the open area. “Bring her out,” he ordered, and from behind the large group to his right, two more guards emerged, dragging a beautiful blonde from the crowd.

  Gasps and whispers ran through the gathered people. Some began to cry, while anger flashed across some of their faces.

  Carrington looked up at Nicolas, and just as before with Remko, he was taken aback by how much of Elise he saw in her. The shape of her face, her beautifully perfect skin. But more than that, it was something similar behind her eyes. Elise got her spirit from her mother’s side of the family.

  She glanced over her shoulder at Remko, and Nicolas followed her stare. He could see the muscles in Remko’s neck tightening, but he stood perfectly still, his eyes on his wife’s, his expression filled with love. Tic, tic. Nicolas shook off the sudden urge to shoot Remko between the eyes and remembered his purpose here. The bigger goal. Secure their obedience, return them as a gift to the Council, and take the throne. That was all that mattered. But first, he wanted to resolve a bit of the tension growing in his muscles. He wanted to see how deep their faith really ran.

  Carrington was brought to where the leader of this detachment stood. He was young, she thought, younger than she would have expected. He smiled at her as she approached and he almost looked normal, but she knew how deceptive a smile could be, and it was clear from the reflection in his eyes that he meant her harm. Fear coiled in her gut.

  “Carrington,” the young man said, “what a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Nicolas.”

  She said nothing in return and glanced again at Remko. Her husband’s eyes were filled with strength, but she recognized his concern as well.

  “I’ve heard a lot about you,” Nicolas said. “The girl who ran away and started a war. You really have made quite a name for yourself.”

  Still she said nothing. What was she supposed to say? All she could see was the fear she knew so well clouding her vision. All she could think about was that fear filling her mind.

  “Quiet, I see. Elise is like you in that way.”

  As if he’d stabbed her with a knife, pain exploded in her gut. She tried not to tremble, but it was nearly impossible, and she sensed her emotion welling up in tears that she fought to hold at bay. A hundred questions came with her agony. He knew Elise? Had this monster done something to her? Too many questions to calculate, and all of them shaking her resolve.

  She looked again at Remko, and his face was starting to break. They were supposed to be standing in surrender, practicing what they preached; they were
supposed to be the pillars for the others watching. If they broke, everyone would follow. But how were they supposed to hold steady in the face of this?

  “I can see how hard this is for you,” Nicolas said, “living with the knowledge that you let your daughter be taken. How much guilt you must feel.”

  The tears she had been holding fell, and it seemed as though all the air had been sucked out of the sky. He had found her open wound and he was rubbing his finger in it. She could feel Remko’s eyes on her, urging her to look to him for strength, but she couldn’t. She was breaking.

  “How do you live through the pain of what you’ve done?” Nicolas asked, pressing deeper.

  Carrington wanted to scream at him to stop. She wanted to yell that she didn’t live through it, that she wasn’t, that she hadn’t. That every day she struggled to see the light. That she was tired of struggling.

  “Let all who are weary come, and they will find rest,” someone said nearby. She glanced over to see Aaron standing several feet away, his eyes filled with warmth. She wanted to scream for him to run, but she noticed that no one else was looking at him. It was just her. He was here for her alone.

  He took a step toward her. “You don’t have to struggle anymore; you don’t have to search for the light. Let go of this shame you hold and embrace what you already know.” As Aaron’s words manifested to only her ears, the scene around her changed. The city remained, but beyond it she saw the field. The golden strands dancing in the breeze.

  She wanted to run for it, lose herself there, forget this world. Surely there she could let go of her pain and be free.

  “But you can do that here and now,” Aaron said. “Freedom is always within your grasp. You just have to remember.”

  A heavy wind washed over the gathering, moving through the people, yanking at their clothes, wrapping its fingers around Carrington’s body. Again no one seemed to notice its presence but her. It, too, had come for her alone. She let herself be taken by it; she let it douse her in perfect love.

  She knew everything Aaron said was true. She knew she could be free, but she had been holding on to her shame for so long that it felt like a part of her. Giving it up meant accepting that she wasn’t to blame. It meant forgiving herself, and she wasn’t sure if she could ever do that.

  Remember what I call you, beautiful daughter.

  The voice of the wind rumbled inside her, and another wave of tears stung behind her eyes.

  Remember who you are.

  Your identity lies in me alone, and I see you as blameless.

  Beautiful, perfect daughter.

  “Let it go,” Aaron said.

  The wind whipped around her violently, and she felt the weight she’d been carrying for so long begin to lift. Surrender, she thought; surrender. And as the word formed into actuality in her mind, the shame began to dissolve. Surrender.

  She heard the soft, warm laughter from Aaron’s throat and she gazed at him to see his head back, face pointed toward the sky, wind playing through his hair. “It’s always in the remembering that we find freedom,” he said.

  Carrington felt pure light pulse inside her, and she closed her eyes to fall more deeply into it. The power rushed through her veins and laced itself around her bones.

  Remember who you are.

  You are the light of the world.

  She opened her eyes to see Nicolas staring at her, waiting for her to respond, as if no time had passed at all. The field in the distance was gone, Aaron nowhere to be seen, and the wind back to normal.

  “I can save you from your pain,” Nicolas said. “I can set you free.” He reached out and slowly brushed his finger along the outside of Carrington’s chin.

  A moment ago she would have recoiled from his touch, would have felt nothing but fear, but now all she felt was the perfect light still pulsing under her skin. She smiled in spite of herself and glanced to see Remko on the edge of breaking. He met her eyes and she held them strongly.

  “I’m already free,” she said.

  Remko’s eyes lightened a bit, and his jaw relaxed.

  She was free, she thought. She had always been, but she’d let her shame take her captive and bury her under its darkness. No more. She was the light of the world; she’d only needed to remember.

  Tic, tic. Nicolas cursed his inability to stay steady as the words rolled off Carrington’s tongue. Something had happened to her suddenly. One moment ago he had seen her resolve crumbling, had nearly expected her to fall to the ground at his knees from the weight of her guilt, and then something had switched. Like a light being flicked on inside her chest, her eyes had changed. It infuriated him, and what little control he had left was wasting away.

  “Free?” he said. “I have you. I have all of you. You are far from free.”

  Carrington moved her eyes to him, her expression calm and light. “You have my body, but the freedom I have you cannot take.”

  Tic, tic. Nicolas’s jaw ached from the way he clenched it tightly. They were all mad, tricked into believing nonsense, and it was starting to become incredibly irritating.

  “Let’s see about that.” Nicolas motioned in the air with his hand, and a guard walked toward him carrying a long silver box. He handed the box to Nicolas, and the crowd’s energy started to change. Nicolas opened the box and pulled out a syringe filled with yellow liquid. Carrington glanced at the syringe and recognition filled her face. She looked over Nicolas’s shoulder toward Remko, and Nicolas glanced back to see Remko’s stance becoming restless.

  Nicolas masked his joy at seeing them both uncomfortable and turned away from Carrington. He started to pace in front of her, facing the crowd. “For those of you who don’t know this syringe, it is the beginning of your new life, your Genesis. One without problems or solutions. Just simple, peace-filled living, within the mighty walls of the Authority City.”

  He paused and nodded toward Carrington. “Let me show you how it works.” Carrington watched him as he started her way.

  “Carrington,” Remko said.

  His voice made Nicolas pause. He couldn’t deny he would love to see the ever-valiant savior of these people break. In fact, he longed for it.

  “It’s okay, my love,” Carrington said, her voice full of hope and strength, “You know who I am. Do not fear for me, because I finally remember myself.”

  The tic pinched Nicolas’s cheek and the dark energy inside him squirmed.

  “Stand firm in your belief. And forgive me for not standing firm in mine,” Carrington continued. “I forgot my true nature. I was lost to grief, but I am not lost anymore.”

  Remko’s face was filled with worry, but Carrington’s was ignited with something that made the hate in Nicolas almost tremble. He’d had enough. He stepped toward her, but she kept her eyes glued to Remko’s.

  “No resistance,” she said.

  “No resistance,” Remko repeated.

  “Enough,” Nicolas said. Tic, tic.

  “Stay the course, my love; remember who you are,” Carrington continued, her voice gaining volume. Nicolas could see all the others standing around taking heart from her words. She was reigniting their faith.

  A tremor raked down Nicolas’s back. The evil presence in him roared its disapproval with each word that fell from her lips. “I said enough.”

  “Take heart. See beyond what is in front of you. Hear the call; remember who picked you, crafted you, held you through all things,” Carrington said.

  Rage, hot and heavy, crawled under Nicolas’s skin. She believed she was invincible; she was wrong. She believed she was powerful; she was wrong. The monster that Nicolas kept caged railed against its prison bars. “I said be quiet.” Tic, tic.

  “He calls you His own,” she said. “We are the light of the world. If we stand with Him, then who can stand against us?”

  The beast burst from its cell with fury. “Silence!” Nicholas cried and sent the back of his hand hard across Carrington’s face. The sound echoed through the sky as her neck twisted
sideways with the force of his strike.

  The world froze for a beat, shock and astonishment filling the faces of the crowd, a single cry escaping Remko’s lips as he yanked at those restraining him, Nicolas’s gleeful monster lustful and engaged.

  Carrington turned her face back toward Nicolas, the right side of her face pulsing red, her bottom lip split, a line of blood running down her chin. She held Nicolas’s eyes for only a moment before turning back to Remko. “No resistance,” she said. Her words more powerful than before.

  Remko’s shoulders shook as tears escaped his eyes.

  “No resistance,” Carrington said again.

  Nicolas couldn’t contain his rage any further. They were making a mockery of him. “I said enough!” Again he sent his hand down forcefully across Carrington’s face, and this time the blow knocked her to her knees. She cried in pain, and Remko followed suit. He fell to his knees as well, his face twisted in agony, but he remained unbroken in his resolve.

  They were all mad, Nicolas thought. Even on the ground Carrington looked to her husband to offer support. To encourage him to remain steadfast. “Remember who I am. Remember who you are,” she said.

  Her words gnawed at Nicolas’s insides like tiny insects, digging into his brain and pulling out an even deeper level of anger. He was floored with rage, consumed by the monster dictating his actions. They thought they had power? He would show them what true power looked like.

  Nicolas kicked Carrington once, very hard. She gasped in pain, all the air in her lungs exploding out and leaving her breathless. People wailed in horror and their cries echoed through the sky. Nicolas’s monster trembled with glee at the sounds of fear around him and urged him on to inflict more terror.

  “Stop!” a man cried from the front of the crowd as he stepped past the guard closest to him, hands raised, and moved into the clearing. “Please stop.”

  Nicolas turned his eyes toward the newcomer, an older man who was mistaking stupidity for bravery.

  “Get back in line, old man,” a guard shouted, but the man paid him no mind.