Ascended (5 page)

Fallon began her defense. “I was angry about Violet and the mission. I felt like she was taking my place with the Guardians and with Gabriel
, so I came to you to talk about it and you just dismissed me like I was nothing. I remembered hearing about the diaries and thought if I could find out something, anything, about Violet then I could…” Here she paused, unsure how to go on.

“You could what? Destroy her?” he finished her thought.

“No,” Fallon replied, humiliated by the uncanny accuracy of his guess.

“Then what?
What did you think you would accomplish by breaking the rules of the Gates?” he asked.

“I don’t know!” she shouted
, ashamed of her actions. “I didn’t expect to find anything, really, and when I saw what I saw, I was shocked. Actually, Camulus, it was I who felt betrayed. Violet is—”

“Violet is one of us!” He interrupt
ed her in mid-sentence. “She is a Guardian! You didn’t just betray her; you betrayed all of us, Fallon!” “What makes you think Violet is any less a Guardian than you?”

“Are you forgetting who her father is?” she yelled back,
chafing at the comparison.

“I don’t care who her father is
! I only care about who Violet is, but I can tell you what she isn’t: a traitor,” he said, his words twisting in her gut like a knife.

She sat back in the chair,
disgraced and guilt-ridden, unable to even look at Camulus now.

He walked over to Fallon and said, “I promised your mother I would always look out for you
, Fallon, and I have lived up to that promise until now.

“
However,” he went on, “I am at a loss of how to fix this for you, and quite honestly I don’t know if I even want to. You did this. You let your jealousy get in the way of your morals and that’s a very dangerous thing for all of us. You allowed a man to almost be killed—the man you say you love—and for what? Violet doesn’t even love Gabriel; she loves the boy. So what was it all for, I ask you? All for nothing, Fallon, that’s what,” he finished, worn out from his tirade.

Fallon finally
spoke, her voice soft and humbled, a different tone than Camulus had ever heard from her. “I know all of that now…and all I can offer are my apologies for my transgressions. I accept any punishment you need to allot for my misconduct; all I ask is that you’d allow me to speak to Gabriel about it before anyone else can.”

Camulus could see she was truly sorry for
her betrayal. He loved Fallon very much and couldn’t bear the thought of banishing her from the Gates. “I’ve decided I’m not going to tell Gabriel or anyone else about what we discussed here today. You did this, Fallon, but I’m going to give you an opportunity to fix it.”

“But how?” she asked.

“Gabriel will be looking for the Angel Blade you gave Lucian. If he finds it, he’ll know exactly where it came from. In fact, I can’t believe he hasn’t remembered yet. You see, Gabriel was at the Gates when Vie first arrived and he saw the blade with her, I am certain of it. He already knows it’s significant, and I’m afraid if he sees it again it will be enough to jog his memory. Back then, Gabriel had no clue about the significance of the black blade, but now he does. It won’t take very long for him to figure out who Vie is, and we just can’t have that right now. I’ll cover for you here, but you need to head back and find that blade!” Camulus said.

“But where will I say I’m going? Surely Gabriel will question me
.”

“You forget
, my dear, Gabriel is not in charge of missions any longer; you are, Fallon,” he replied. “Now go. Take Raphael with you. He needs to pick up where Gabriel left off in training the boy. Carter will need to be prepared when the time comes to defend himself against the evil that will come again. This war is not over yet. Lucian will be back to claim what is his, and Carter is the only one who can stop him.” Camulus said this last bit with absolute certainty.

Meanwhile, Gabriel was searching urgently for Vie. He needed to tell her that Camulus had lied to him, and that he was convinced, now more than ever, that Reese had been innocent of deceit.

He found her sitting at the
Gates, staring out at the rainbow, waiting for something to change. She looked amazing sitting on the deck, with her hair blowing like feathers in the wind.

“
Here you are,” Gabe said. “Would you like some company?”

Vie smiled at him, took his hand in hers and guided him down beside her. “I can always use a friend,” she said
, resting her head on his shoulder.

Gabriel relished
this perfect moment with Vie; he had missed her very much, and decided his news could wait until tomorrow. Today, all he wanted to do was sit with his friend, with Vie.

Chapter Five

Exception to the Rule

Nurse Ivy entered the room.
She couldn’t help but notice that Carter looked like he had just seen a ghost.

“Is everything OK?”

He nodded his head. As much as he wanted to tell someone about what he had just witnessed with the disappearing violet, he decided to keep it to himself, knowing how crazy he would sound.

Ivy pulled
Vivian’s blanket up and tucked her in lovingly.

Carter appreciated the care Ivy gave to her
; when he wasn’t at the hospital, he took comfort in the fact that Ivy would be with her, looking after her the way only she could. Ivy had taken to Vivian almost immediately, caring for her and nurturing her as a mother would. It was a wonderful thing to watch; Ivy was definitely heaven-sent.

“You know
, Carter, she always seems to improve when you’re around. Look, her vitals are stronger, and there’s even a little color in her cheeks now. You give her strength Carter; in fact, I might even go so far as to say that I believe you keep her alive,” she said.

“Ivy, do you believe in miracles?” Carter asked.

“Of course I do. I see them every day,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Do you think Vie
—Vivian—needs a miracle?”

“I think she’s already been given her miracle,” she replied.
At Carter’s bewildered look, Ivy smiled and walked over to him, saying, “It’s you, Carter. You are her miracle. Don’t you see that?”

“No, but she was mine,” he said
softly, touching Vivian’s cheek with his hand.

“Carter, don’t talk about her in the past tense. There is no
was.
She
is
yours! Don’t you ever give up on her. Don’t ever forget what the two of you have, because it’s stronger than you know. Your love is all the power she needs to come back to you. Don’t let go, Carter,” she begged him, “Never let go.”

Carter
had a feeling Ivy knew something he did not. It wasn’t in what she said to him, necessarily, but more the way she said it. The only time he felt sure Vie would return to him was when he was in Ivy’s presence, after all. There was something about her—something powerful but pure. She exuded such a compelling force within the words she spoke that it seemed to bury any doubts he was having. Ivy was more than persuasive; when she spoke, it was with such intense conviction that it made him believe Vie would come back. He watched as Ivy left the room, giving him time to reflect on what she had said.

As
Carter sat, still holding Vivian’s hand, he suddenly felt a presence in the room. No one had knocked and the door had not opened, but Carter knew someone was there with him. He stood up and said, “Vie?”

“No.
It is I, Raphael,” a strong voice replied.

“
Raphael! It’s so good to see you!” Carter greeted him excitedly with a man-hug. “What are you doing here? Is Vie with you?” he asked, looking around the room for her.

“Carter, Vie is
n’t coming,” Raphael sounded apologetic. “Gabriel sent me. You didn’t think you were going to get out of training did you?” He grinned.

“Why is Gabriel not here?” Carter inquired.

“Gabriel has been reassigned, so you’re stuck with me now,” he made a wry face.

“Raphael, I didn’t mean any disrespect
.” Carter tried to backpedal, feeling as though he’d offended the Guardian.

“No worries, I understand,” he responded
, not bothered in the least.

“And Vie
?” Carter asked again.

“Vie is
n’t here, Carter. I’m sorry; it’s just the way things have to be.”

“But she is coming back…right?”
Carter’s hope shone in his eyes.

“No
, Carter, I’m afraid she is not,” he replied.

“I don’t believe you! She is coming back, I know it. I can feel her with me
—right here, when I touch her hand,” he said grabbing Vivian’s hand to demonstrate.

“Carter
, this is not Vie,” Raphael said, looking at Vivian lying in the bed. “This was only the vessel she used to travel through for her mission.

“This is Vivian,
” he continued somberly, “and I’m afraid she’s not going to awaken.”

“You’re wrong. Vivian is getting better. Her vitals are improving every day
. Even the doctors agree. I know it’s really Vie, fighting to come back to me. Why are they stopping her?” he shouted at Raphael, sure of what he was witnessing.

“No one is stopping her
, Carter. There are things you can’t possibly understand about our world, and I’m sorry I can’t offer you anything more than the truth. But the truth is this vessel needs to be put to rest, and only you can release her soul,” he replied.

“Well, I’m not letting Vie go
, no matter what you say, and you can tell Gabriel I said so, too!” Carter shouted, determined to make Raphael see his side of things.

“Carter, who are you shouting at?” Jeremy said
, walking into the room with Kade.

Carter looked back to where Raphael
had been standing and noticed he was gone. He looked at Jeremy and Kade who were waiting for his response and said, “I was just yelling at God, that’s all. Just having a moment, I guess.” He was still feeling the sting of Raphael’s words regarding the grave state of Vie’s vessel.

Kade and Jeremy starting talking about things going on at school
, but all Carter could think about was what Raphael had said.
I have the power to release her?
he thought, trying hard to make sense of it.

He
couldn’t help but notice how cozy Kade and Jeremy had become over the past month. He knew how much Jeremy loved Vivian and was happy that he’d had Kade to turn to. Carter didn’t think for a moment that Jeremy was betraying Vivian; in fact, it was quite the opposite. He believed the two of them had bonded naturally in their pain over the possibility of losing Vivian.

Carter, on the other hand, had no one to
whom he could turn. There was no one he could talk to about Vie because no one knew she existed, other than Jeremy; and he wasn’t about to speak to Jeremy about his feelings for Vie because in truth, he knew they both wished for different outcomes concerning the person lying before them. Carter was stuck in his misery all by himself and he had never felt so alone in his entire life.

“Carter? Carter?” Kade repeated his name
, trying to get his attention.

“Sorry, what did you say?”
He pulled himself from his reflections.

“I said, she looks better
, don’t you think? I mean, I can see a little color in her cheeks today,” she said, brushing the hair back off Vivian’s face. “She looks just like Sleeping Beauty. She always did look like a princess.”

“Inside and out,” Jeremy said
, putting his arm around Kade as they consoled each other.

Carter felt
as though he were interrupting a special moment and excused himself, needing to get out of there, to clear his head, to think about Vie. He left the hospital, not knowing where he was headed; he only knew he had to get away.

Lost in his thoughts,
distraught, and not paying any attention to oncoming traffic, he crossed the street, only to instantly hear a car sound its horn, followed by the loud squeal of rubber tires braking hard against the pavement. Carter could do nothing but prepare to be struck by the SUV.

Boom!
It hit him, launching him into the air, where he lingered for a split-second before slamming to the ground with a loud
thump
!

“Oh my
God, oh my God, oh my God!” a female voice screamed in horror as its owner got out of her car and ran to where Carter lay. She kneeled down and placed her sweater under his head, calling out his name. “Carter? Oh God, please be all right,” she whispered over and over again.

“Tess?” Carter look
ed up at her as she cried hysterically. “Tess, I’m fine; see?” He stood up, holding his arms out to prove he was still in one piece.

“You can’t be,” she said in astonishment. “I just hit you
while driving forty miles per hour.” Her eyes were filled with disbelief. “Carter, we need to go back to the hospital and get you checked out. What if you have a concussion—or something worse, like internal bleeding?” She tried to reason with him.

“Tess, I’m fine, and the last place I want to be right now is in that hospital!” Carter said
, realizing that he shouldn’t be fine at all. Other than a little dirt and gravel in his hair, he was as good as untouched. He was also becoming increasingly aware of the attention he had drawn to himself. “I need to get to my car.” He sounded panicked.

“Oh
, no you’re not, Carter Stone! I don’t care how good you think you feel, you are not driving yourself home. If you won’t go to the hospital to get checked out, then I’m taking you home and I won’t take no for an answer,” Tess scolded.

“Okay, okay, fine. Let’s just get out of here
,” he said, looking around to make sure no one else had witnessed what had just happened.

Tess and Carter drove for miles without saying
a word. Tess had already decided she wasn’t going to simply let this go. Too many strange things had been happening in Newcastle, and in light of the accident that had just occurred in which Carter remained unharmed, Tess had grown suspicious.

She began discussing the strange events that happened almost a month ago at
Devils Tower, asking Carter what he thought about the whole thing. Carter, of course, remained silent. The disturbance at the Tower had been the talk of the town for the past month; although most accepted the explanation of seismic activity in the area, Tess still had questions, since the Tower was the only place in the area the quake had affected.

“
So, you were there that night, right? You know, the night of the dance—the one involving the supposed
seismic activity
?” she questioned him.

Carter wondered how she knew he
had been present at the Tower that night, and then he realized there was only one person who could have told her.

“Did Jeremy tell you I was there?” he asked.

“He may have mentioned it,” Tess said, feeling like she was finally getting somewhere.

Carter was furious with Jeremy. He
had been sworn to secrecy about the events of that night, well aware of the consequences he would suffer if he uttered one word about it to anyone.
I knew I couldn’t trust him
, Carter thought. He wondered what else Jeremy had revealed about the night in question. He decided to turn the tables on Tess, to see what she really knew.

“So, what else did Jeremy tell you?”
He probed further.

“Carter, Jeremy doesn’t have to tell me things. I have eyes
, you know; I can see things for myself.”

“Things?
Like what things?”

“Like Vivian
, for example. She was a totally different person this past month, right? It was like she was someone else…like I was in a movie or something. Remember that movie where aliens were stealing all the unsuspecting townspeople’s bodies? Invasion of the Body Snatchers!” She thumped her hand on the steering wheel as she remembered the title of the classic sci-fi movie.

“You think Vivian was snatched up by aliens?” Carter started
to laugh. “Tess, you really do have quite the imagination,” he said, thinking she wasn’t really too far off the mark.

“Yeah
, well, I didn’t imagine me hitting you with my two-ton car and yet here you sit, without a scratch on you,” she returned. “I’m just saying, weird things have been happening here in Newcastle and I’m not buying into the explanations given, that’s all!”

“Maybe we
’ve entered the twilight zone?” Carter said, still laughing at her.

“Very funny
, Carter!” Tess punched him in the arm.

“Ouch!” he yelled
dramatically, holding his arm.

“I’m sorry
, Carter, I didn’t mean to hurt you!” she looked instantly contrite at the idea of having injured him further.

“Kidding
, Tess. Remember, I’m made of steel,” he joked.

Tess just gave him a dirty look and then they both
burst out laughing.

Minutes later they arrived at the ranch. “Thanks for the lift
, Tess,” Carter said. He reached for the door handle, but stopped and turned to her before opening the car door. “All kidding aside, I’m actually kind of grateful that your driving skills leave much to be desired.”

“That’s your definition of leaving all kidding aside?”
The look on her face was almost comical.

“Well, it’s just
that I haven’t laughed or even spoken with anyone since Vivian…well, you know…has been in the hospital. It was just nice, that’s all. Easy, being with you today.”