A Hidden Element (24 page)

Caleb lay on his side, moaning. Candlesticks were strewn about. And Leah. She lay sprawled by the altar. So still and quiet. He stumbled to her and knelt down. She had no breath, no life. He touched her fair hair, her face. He wanted to see her eyes one more time. Sobs filled his chest, trapped. He refused to release them.

"Caleb, help me."

Caleb moaned, stretched out his arm. "I—I can't. She drained my powers. Too weak."

"You killed her," Charlie whispered.

"She was killing you." A coughing spasm racked his wounded body.

"How can I save her?"

"Maybe she still lives. Do what I taught you."

Charlie moved his hands across Leah's still body. He had hated what she did, but he couldn't let her die. "It's not working for me. You've got to help me!"

Caleb pushed himself along the floor to Leah's body. A gash oozed blood down his face. He placed a hand on her leg and closed his eyes. His hand shook then he sank his head on the floor.

"Caleb!" Charlie shook him.

"Sorry…"

"I'll heal you. Bring back your powers."

"You can't bring back powers from a mind killing attack. My energy must restore them on its own. It's fate."

"Fate?"

"For her to die. She would live to wreak more pain on others for power."

"What are you talking about?"

"There will always be someone like her. Like my father. Like Tollen. I must stay and make sure it doesn't happen. For my sons."

But Charlie didn't listen. He kept working on Leah. He caressed her face with shaky hands, kissed her cheek. He willed life back into her body like Caleb had taught him. He used his mind to heal her, as he had healed his dad with his mom a thousand years ago at home.

Home.

He let the sobs go then. He was only fourteen. Just a kid who needed his mom and dad. But his dad was dead. And soon Adrian would be dead, his mentor who looked like his true father—had become his true father. And now both fathers were gone. If he saved Leah it would be something good out of all this bad.

"Leah, come back to me. Don't go. I don't hate you." He forced his powers into her, willing her broken body to mend, but she remained still.

Caleb raised his head and struggled to sit up. "I thought I might have loved her like Rachel. She fooled us both. She had the true Destroyer seed of hate festering in her. She grew strong on it. Like my father. She would never stop spreading her evil."

"She can change. If we save her. I don't know who Rachel is, but I need to save Leah!" He put his ear to her chest. Nothing. He rested his head on her, trying not to cry.

"I used to pray to your god. He has abandoned us in this place," Caleb said. "There is only suffering here and death."

"I don't want this anymore," Charlie cried upward to the stars in the skylight. "I can't be a Destroyer." Saying it out loud made his old life and all he had lost well inside him. "It's too late. I don't even know where my mom is and my dad died because of me. Now Leah." He looked down at her as if she might respond.

"I know where your mom is."

"I don't believe you." Charlie wiped his cheeks. Heavy despair weighed him down, suffocating him in grief. All he had was gone. His family. His home. This girl he cared for. He stood and picked up Leah in his arms. Her hair fell like a silky sheet. He placed her on the altar and smoothed down her robe then folded her hands over each other, as he had seen done in the movies when a loved one dies.

Caleb stood. "We've got to go. The community will awaken soon. And I made a promise to your mother."

"There is no promise."

"Yes, there is. I promised her to bring you with me. To help you all escape. Including your father, Ben."

Charlie stepped toward him. "Stop it!"

Caleb placed his hand on his shoulder. "It's true. I dug him up. I gave him life again."

Charlie shoved him back. "You're lying! You and Leah told me it's not possible to bring the dead back. Maybe it's
you
who wants to be in charge, isn't it? I thought you were my friend, my family."

"I am, Charlie. Let me help you. We are
family."

"No. I have no family. I have nothing." Charlie punched him in the face.

As the adrenalin urged him on he realized he liked hitting far more than mind killing. The feeling of fists slamming into flesh felt good. Caleb stumbled back but kept his hands at his side. Charlie jabbed his fist into Caleb's stomach. He bent over in pain but still did nothing.

"Come on, hit me," Charlie yelled.

"No, Charlie," Caleb said, gasping. "We're all we have. We need to get your mom and Benny now. And Ben."

"Lies. I have no one." Charlie crumpled to the floor. "I
am
no one."

He remembered his mom hugging him. He remembered his dad carrying him to bed as a kid, when he'd pretend to be asleep just to be in his dad's arms.

The years flashed through him of time spent with Adrian. Of meeting him in the field where he had guided him, been there for him when he had no one—and all this time he had been leading him here to the dark side.

Then the truth hit Charlie like a thunder bolt—why he and his dad had never gotten along. He thought it was because they were so different, but it was because Adrian had been turning him against his dad for years.

And in that truth he understood he had never truly known his dad.

His dad—who had come to rescue him and died doing it.

His dad—who had faced Adrian's power and didn't back down.

His dad—who was more a hero than he had ever imagined.

His dad—the sort of father he had always wanted. He'd had him all along.

How could he have followed Adrian? Been so brainwashed to want to kill and like it? He couldn't go home and he couldn't stay here. His rage fled and self-loathing replaced it. He swallowed hard, tasting his own bitter self-hatred. He had no good in him anymore. And there was only one thing left to do.

He drove a dagger into his mind. Fire blasted hot.

Stab. Stab.

Let there be pain then let there be nothing.

He closed his eyes and fell to the floor.

"Charlie, no." Caleb grabbed him. Shook him. "Stop!"

But he didn't want to stop. The nothing took him.

Adrian awoke and stared at himself in the small, cracked mirror in his cell. Dried blood painted his face in ceremonial marks. The taste of the female still covered his tongue. She had paid for his rage. Now he would pay for what he did, according to Elyon law. Tollen had proclaimed it. He would die by stoning after sunrise. Clarity of thought came with the release of his crazed anger over the female. He had to escape this place, but he had no powers. Tollen had taken them away by drugging him. He remained naked and his chest itched with caked blood as he stretched.

The cracked mirror directed him what to do. He pulled it from the wall and placed it on the floor. One smash of his fist cracked it into dozens of pieces. He took the largest piece.

A guard's voice called out. "What's all the noise in there?"

Adrian banged on the door. "I'm sick. Help me." He coughed and gagged, pretending to throw up.

Silence then a snort followed. "You can stay sick until your death."

"If I die before then you'll pay the consequences."

More silence. Then a click. Adrian held his stomach. The door opened.

The guard held a knife out. "You don't look sick."

Adrian moaned, doubled over, and fell on his side. He rolled his eyes up in his head. A robe rustled. Breath blew across his face. He focused his eyes on the guard and grinned. The guard's eyes widened. He scrambled for his knife and opened his mouth to call out but not before Adrian reached up and sliced his throat. Blood spurted in a jet. It sprayed across his face and chest, adding to his crimes.

The male grabbed at his throat and fell back on his haunches. He bled out in seconds. His legs and arms writhed then were still. Adrian removed the man's robe and put it on. He dragged the guard under the cot and peered out the door. The hallway was empty. All remained asleep.

His chest swelled. Even without powers he was a powerhouse. He had killed with just his wits. Energy flowed through his veins. He could survive and start over. He had lost Laura and her sons…for now. He would find them. They would still be his redemption. His powers would return and he would start a new community. Be almighty again.

Heaven is my throne and Earth is my footstool. My hand has made both the Earth and the skies, and they are mine. And all shall tremble at my word.

If only his father could see him now. There would be no well of punishment, no whippings from the heavy hand of his paternal oppressor. He would show him that he was the strong one. Not his brother. Or Caleb. They were weak. They needed love, like these despicable humans. Love didn't bring power, it brought pain.

He glided down the dimly lit hall, an obscure ghost quiet but deadly. He headed to his tunnel to escape and seek sanctuary amongst the humans.

Then Manta blasted into his mind from the grave, alive in spirit now.

There can be love without pain.
Her lovely face hovered. Her hand grazed his cheek.

He shook it off and stumbled.
Leave me be. You made me hurt you. You were leaving me for my brother and bearing Tollen's child. You betrayed me. And you died for it. And I made Brahm pay by stealing the ship and claiming his mission as my own, with my own people.

You only hurt yourself, Adrian
, she whispered.
You're still hurting yourself.

I hurt you worst of all, Manta.
He punched himself in the gut, forcing a new pain to replace the emotional one that drove spikes into his heart.

I forgive you.

Those words stung hard.

Why? I killed my wife for you so we could be together. I attacked you, the one woman I loved. I led you to your death, your unborn child's death. I've tried to redeem myself with Laura and her sons, but I can't make her love me. But I will not give up.

He heard footsteps and stopped. They moved away and he continued on. Not so far now. Soft lips moved on his.
You were cruel, Adrian. Hate filled you. It still does. It destroyed your ability to love. You can end the cycle of your father. Don't give in to your genes. It's not too late.

He closed his eyes and put his hand on the wall.
Stop it.

But she continued to appeal to him from the darkness she hovered in. Her energy haunted him. Her hand held his. So much wretched love. It burned in him anew. He had forgotten the glorious feeling of it—and the agonizing suffering from it.

Adrian, you can
s
tart a new world here with love. Elyons will follow. Don't let your hidden Destroyer element dictate who you are. There is also love hidden inside. Let that dictate what you are. Let it lead your people. You deceived Caleb to bring him here. Let it be for something good. There is more power in sacrifice than ruthlessness. The true strong ones are those who are vulnerable by choice.

He shoved her hand away and strode faster down the corridor. One more turn and he would be at the storage room. The secret door there led to his safe passage to the woods. It had taken him months to complete. Night after night of working when the newly formed community slept. Pounding through rock and earth with his mind. Inch by inch and foot by foot he had carved his crossing to another life. The day for that was here.

He slipped into the storage room and pushed aside the shelves of supplies, pulled up loose wooden planks from the floor, and lifted the latch to his freedom. Cool air blew up from his sanctuary.
See, Manta, you are wrong. Being weak does not pay.
He climbed down into darkness and sent her away.

But she would not leave.
There is no one here with you. No one follows you. Your so-called strength has left you alone. And this will be your downfall. You loved me once. You were kind once. Find that loving part of you and embrace it.

Anguish struck him. He didn't recognize the feeling at first. It rose inside him like an angry animal. He fell to his knees on cold dirt. He was alone. So alone. As he had been in that cold well.
Let these feelings go.
Release me from this pain.

Something wet touched his cheeks. He reached his hands up. What was this? Tears. Horror filled him at the evidence of his weakness. He rubbed his sleeve across his cheeks.

Manta's fingers traced his back. Her touch burned into him, not like the whip's agonizing pain but with agonizing healing.
Why do you suffer so at your own hand? You have punished yourself enough. Go forward with love and make all the wrongs you have done right.

Her face appeared again and soft hair moved across his cheek. He put his hand there, wanting to feel her on him one more time. He smelled her skin, tasted it, and held it close to him.

O
nly you can release you, Adrian. I love you.

And she was gone.

He cried out for her.
I love you, too. Don't leave me again.

He reclaimed the pain he thought he had long ago discarded. He stood. Blackness filled his every crevice in this pit of his creation. He slid his hands along the tunnel wall and forced himself to run on again, toward freedom.

Then a voice called to him from far away. Manta? No, Laura. She came to him. Had Manta sent her to him as his second chance? He didn't know. But he knew what he had to do now.

Snow swirled thick around Ben. It piled up to his calves and grew higher. He reached the fence that surrounded the compound and pulled himself up and over it, ripping his side on barbed wire. He gasped in pain and fell hard on the other side. Dizziness slammed into his head but he fought it off and stumbled on through the wilderness, shivering. He held Laura's love warm inside. It kept him going. And then, he heard her calling to him.
We need you, Ben.

And he held Laura in his arms once again. The ground quaked beneath them. He wasn't in the woods anymore. Another time and place came to him. She smelled of sunflowers. Running, running. Up he carried her through a tunnel of dark earth. Ben tripped. Snow blew white across his filthy hands. Why was snow in this tunnel of long ago? Throbbing pain burned his torso. The ground shifted beneath his feet. He tripped and crashed down, slamming Laura into the mud. So cold and wet.

She moaned, unconscious.

Up. Up. He went again.

Pine struck his nose and he breathed deep to will his dizziness away. He slammed into trees. Their spindly arms pushed him around in circles. Playing with him. Why didn't they show him the way? Icy snow beat his face and hands.

Up. Up. He went again.

Dead. They were all dead down there under the earth.

He had to leave them behind. But not Laura. Never Laura. He held her tighter. Anger and fear fueled him. The wild woods grabbed him. Tore at him until he bled. Like Laura's twin had bled him. He shoved the taunting arms away, angry to be held back.

He bounced off earth walls and cradled Laura's head to his own. Then light spilled ahead. A great rumbling bellowed below him. The ground shook and he stumbled on heading for the light.

Laura. Charlie. They were being held by a maniac.

Confusion flooded through him. How could Charlie be here? He wasn't born yet.

Laura's moans grew. He ran on, lurching sideways and, with a gasping leap, flung himself on the ground. The shaking took over. He crawled. Each movement forward shot pain in his head. The earth fell behind them, crushing all below. And Laura's screams matched the cry of earth falling. Final darkness came for him, strong and permanent in its grasp. He fought it away—again.

Ben, we need you. Charlie needs you. Come back to us.
Ben looked down at Laura. Snowflakes painted her cheeks and glistened in her chestnut hair. Her eyes were closed, her lips did not move.

Charlie's dying. Help me.

He had to get to them. Had to turn back. "I'm coming, Laura."

He blinked and she was gone. His arms hung empty. Cold pushed its icy fingers into him. The snow stung his eyes, penetrated every crevice. He was alone in the blizzard. Laura had never been in his arms. They weren't in the tunnel. Could he save her now like he had once in that tunnel long ago? The night the earth fell and crushed their friends—and Laura's brother—with it. This time he could fail. If he did his family would be lost and he would be alone again. Like the little nine year old boy he had once been whose parents were crushed under a spaceship.

He couldn't lose his family again.

He wouldn't live through it this time. He wouldn't want to.

Charlie's room had been empty. Laura used the map to navigate down darkened hallways to reach the sanctuary. She heard voices and shrunk against the wall, gripping Benny. He cried out and she gave him a bottle to suck. How she wished she could feed him.
Oh, Ben, we're coming. I'm bringing our sons to you.

And a blast of arctic ice chilled her.

I'm coming for you, too.

Ben's words came to her but swirled away with snow. He was somewhere so cold and white. Wasn't he hidden away as Caleb said? She had to get out of here and get to him. She shook the vision away and eased to the edge of the sanctuary door. A body sprawled on the altar and two figures, outlined by candlelight, tangled together.

Charlie! And Caleb was shaking him.

"No!" She ran toward them. "Let him go."

Caleb turned to her. "He's killing himself."

Caleb placed Charlie on the floor. She knelt at his side. Benny's sobs were muffled against her skin. "Charlie, please, don't do this." He was killing himself, like her twin had—only he had succeeded. She couldn't save her brother from himself that night long ago, but she had to save her son.

She placed her hand on his head. He was still there, inside somewhere. She stroked his face. Her beautiful boy's face. Her son who had been through so much. She should never have turned her back on her powers. It blinded her to their enemy who was here all along.

"He couldn't save Leah," Caleb said. "He said he had no one."

But you do, Charlie. You have me.

She willed life into him. Love coursed through her with a hand on each son, one who just had his first breath and one who was drawing his last.

Caleb knelt beside her and placed his hands on Charlie's body, too. "Leah took my powers but they're coming back. Come back to us, Charlie." She stared into Caleb's eyes as he willed life into her son with her. Such kind eyes. He was the sort of man Charlie could grow to be.

"Yes, Charlie. Don't leave me. Not now. I need you. Your dad needs you."

She kissed his face, his fingers. Beautiful strong fingers.

We'll get you the surgery. We'll make you look like you want. I promise you.

He looked like a man, but he was still her child. She felt his pain inside. It was so hard to be a teenager who didn't fit in. She wanted to look into his eyes and tell him he did belong. He belonged with her and Ben and Benny.

She felt a spark inside him. Benny gurgled against her. His tiny life force surged in her and she passed it from one son to another.

"You have so much life left to live."

No life.
A whisper in her head.