Flight of Life (Essence Series #1) (31 page)

“
That’s not a bad idea,”
Calloway said. “We could use an extra vehicle.”

Easton rolled her eyes. “Just squeeze
in.”

Breccan and Calloway both crammed into
the front seat. The seat belt wouldn’t reach across both of their
chests so they abandoned the attempt after several minutes,
choosing to ride in the car without the safety strap.

“
You’ll get a ticket if a
cop sees us,” Breccan said. His shoulder was rubbing in Calloway’s
arm and their feet were tangled together on the floorboard. Even
though they were cousins that shared a bedroom, the closeness was
uncomfortable for them both. Calloway could feel Breccan’s breaths
fall on his neck and he felt awkward in the position—he would feel
awkward with anyone. His arm was pinned to the door and it started
to ache with the awkward position.

“
Why do you think I’m
stupid?” she snapped. “I already know that. We’re just going down
the street—we’ll be fine.” She started the car and pulled away from
the curb.

“
Sorry, Mr. Grinch,”
Breccan said as she drove down the street. He shifted his weight
and elbowed Calloway in the stomach by accident.

“
I’m the one who brought a
Christmas tree,” she said.

“
And is really angry about
it,” Breccan snapped. Easton’s lips frowned in a scowl and Calloway
could feel the anger emit from her. They fought every single day
and Calloway didn’t understand why they couldn’t get
along.

“
I just love the Christmas
season,” Calloway said sarcastically. He moved in his seat and
elbowed Breccan in the stomach, but on purpose.

Easton drove to the intersection then
turned on the street that housed the library. “I made Christmas
cookies,” she said in an attempt to play nice.

Breccan stared at her. “You
did?”

She smiled. “I’m not the Grinch
anymore, am I?”

“
Hey, Santa.” Breccan
smiled.

“
That’s what I thought.”
She laughed. She tightened the pink scarf around her neck then
pulled over to the curb in front of the Headquarters. It was
especially cold today, and Calloway felt the winter chill creep
through his thick jacket. Easton was wearing thick leather boots
over her pants along with a warm blazer. Together, they carried the
tree into the library and up the stairs. After they verified they
were alone, they set the tree by their table near the window. When
Easton connected the Christmas lights to the outlet the tree shined
in the dim library. Calloway started a fire in the hearth and the
ornaments sparkled in the light of the roaring flames. The blue
star on the top of the tree reminded him of a magical night in his
past.

“
It’s beautiful,” Easton
said.

“
That’s the first time you
used that word correctly,” Breccan said. “Now where are the
cookies?” Breccan didn’t look at the tree because his gaze was
focused on Easton. The beautiful lights didn’t attract his
attention or elicit any memories at all.

“
It looks lovely, Easton,”
Calloway said as he stared at the twinkling lights. “You did a
great job.”

“
Thank you, Calloway.” She
smiled. She ignored Breccan’s question.

After a moment of silence, Breccan
spoke again. “So, what about those cookies?”

She sighed and turned to her bag. She
pulled out a Christmas plate along with a bag of cookies and
sprinkled the sweets on the plate. “My sister and I made
them.”

“
Speaking of your sister,”
Calloway said. “Didn’t we promise her we wouldn’t do
this?”

“
And we kept that
promise,” she said. “We said we wouldn’t hunt them—we’ve never
hunted them.”

“
I disagree,” Breccan said
as he shoved a cookie into his mouth.

“
Shut up. We aren’t doing
anything wrong,” she said as she sat down at the table. “If they
come to us, we’ll take care of it. We can’t control what they
do.”

“
I still feel like we
mislead her,” Calloway said.

“
She’ll get over it,”
Easton said.

Calloway sighed then sat across from
her. He stared at the flames of the fireplace then looked at the
frost covering the windows. The Christmas season was heavy in the
air and he could feel it in the library. The roaring hearth and
beautiful tree reminded him of his childhood holidays even though
he couldn’t recall them vividly. Being with Breccan and Easton
chased away most of the sadness, but it crept back into his heart
like it always did. The fact that his father might still be alive
still weighed heavily on him. The revelation was enough to dampen
anyone’s Christmas spirit. He wondered what his father was doing if
he was still living. Did his father have another family somewhere
else? Another life?

Easton opened the Kirin Book and placed
the decoder alongside it. She started to work furiously while both
boys sat in silence. Breccan ate all the cookies on the plate and
wiped the crumbs from his lips. Calloway didn’t get to try
one.

“
How were they?” Calloway
smiled. It still amazed him how much his cousin could eat. Even if
they ate a large meal, Breccan still had room for desert and a
snack. His cousin was thin and lithe, and Calloway was astonished
he wasn’t obese.

“
Good,” he mumbled while
he tried to chew the cookie in his mouth.

Calloway rolled his eyes and stared at
the lit Christmas tree while Easton worked quietly. Since he had no
knowledge about the symbols he couldn’t assist her. Being silent
was the best help he could offer.

“
I’m done,” she said an
hour later.

“
With the whole book?”
Breccan asked.

She glared at him. “With the chapter,”
she said. Easton reached for the plate but realized it was empty.
She glared at him again. “You are disgusting.”

“
What?” Breccan asked. “I
thought those were for everyone.”

“
Then why didn’t anyone
else get some?” Easton snapped.

“
Calloway ate a few,” he
said.

Easton didn’t bother to verify with
Calloway—she knew he was lying. “You’re such a pig,” she snapped.
“Anyway, let’s get back to this.”

“
Yes,” Calloway said. He
didn’t want to hear another argument. “Please read it.”

Easton grabbed the page. “The darkness
in light and the light in shadow are most prevalent to the
Hara-Kirs, allowing them to distinguish between what is essence and
what is hollow. Vision is secondary but the light source is their
prevalent means of tracking. The essence is the light in shadow and
the hollow is the darkness in light.” Easton finished the page and
looked up.

“
Is that
it
?” Breccan asked.
“That wasn’t a lot.”

“
Their language is
different than ours,” she explained. “It takes more time to express
the same ideas,” Easton sad.

“
Even though they take so
long to explain their point, it still doesn’t make sense.” Breccan
turned to Calloway. “You have a guess?”

On the stormy night that Calloway first
came to the Grand Historian Library, the Hara-Kir had said those
words to him—that he could see the darkness in light and the light
in shadow. Calloway knew it wasn’t a coincidence. “They distinguish
the essence inside our bodies—that’s how they see.”

Easton shook her head. “They have eyes
just like us,” she said. “They can see the world as we
do.”

“
We don’t know that for
certain,” Calloway said. “And perhaps they can do both. The
Hara-Kirs can detect obstacles and dimensions like we do. Seeing
the essence might be an extended feature.”

“
So they aren’t human?”
Breccan asked.

“
I suppose not,” Calloway
said.

“
And what about the
hollow?” Easton asked. “That must be the darkness in
light.”

Calloway nodded. “Yes, but I don’t have
a clue what that means.”

“
Well, hollow means
absence of something, right?” Breccan said. “It might be referring
to humans that lack an essence. They can detect who has one and who
doesn’t.”

“
But humans can’t live
without an essence,” Easton said. “I don’t think that’s
right.”

Breccan shrugged. “I gave it my best
shot.”

Since humans can’t live without an
essence, Calloway suspected the feature was directed toward their
race. “Breccan’s right,” Calloway said. “But I don’t think this
feature works on humans. Hara-Kirs don’t possess an essence
themselves so that’s how they recognize their own—they see the
hollow.”

Easton leaned back in her chair. “That
makes sense,” she said. “If they all look identical it would be
difficult to determine who was really human and who
wasn’t.”

“
I is smart.” Breccan
smiled.

They both smiled at him then looked
away.

Calloway wondered why the Hara-Kir had
said those words to him. It was dark in the library when the
Hara-Kir was having a difficult time located him on top of the
bookshelf. “The Hara-Kir never tried to take my essence,” he said.
“He just tried to take the book.”

“
What’s your point?”
Breccan asked. “You already said this.”

Calloway shook his head. “I don’t
understand why the creature said that to me.”

“
What are you implying?”
Easton asked.

“
I don’t know,” he
whispered. “I—I don’t know.”

Easton stared at him for a moment and
looked away. She glanced at the time on her phone and sighed. “We
should probably get going. My family is expecting me and I’m sure
yours is as well.”

They finally had one chapter deciphered
that detailed information about the Hara-Kirs. Yes, Weston would be
furious if she knew about the book, but Calloway was certain she
would take it from them if he admitted the truth. “I’m glad we
finally read a chapter,” he said as he grabbed his backpack. “Now
we know how they communicate, in a sense.”

“
I don’t think it’s
helpful,” Breccan said. “It’s not like we can use this
ability.”

“
It’s still knowledge,”
Easton said as she walked toward the door.

“
What about your tree?”
Breccan asked. “Are you just going to leave it here?”

“
Christmas isn’t over
yet,” she said. “Besides, the Hara Kirs will have something to look
at when they visit.”

“
That’s thoughtful,”
Breccan said as they left the library. They hurried to the car to
avoid the cold air and drove back to Breccan’s house across town.
When they stopped in the driveway, Aunt Grace was carrying
groceries out of the trunk, and the three of them left the car and
helped her carry the bags into the house. Calloway peaked inside
and spotted the ingredients for a pie and cinnamon cookies—they
were his favorite.

“
Thank you,” she said as
she turned to them. She wiped the sweat from her brow. “It was a
zoo out there.” She sighed. “I can’t believe how many people wait
until the last minute to do their shopping.”

“
Aren’t you one of them?”
Breccan asked.

“
I suppose.” She smiled.
She turned to Easton. “Thank you for helping as well. And I’m
grateful that you keep Breccan out of the house. He tends to eat
everything while I cook.”

Easton smiled. “That doesn’t sound like
Breccan at all,” she said sarcastically.

“
Take it as a compliment,
Mom,” Breccan said.

“
Are you spending
Christmas with us tomorrow?” Aunt Grace asked Easton. “You’re more
than welcome.”

“
Don’t worry about it,”
Breccan said quickly. “You don’t have to.”

Easton’s eyes lit up like beacons on
fire and her smile stretched wide. “I would love to spend Christmas
with you,” she said. “But I have my sister as well.”

“
Bring Weston, too,” Aunt
Grace said happily. “We have plenty of food. You did just carry it
all in the house.”

“
Thank you,” Easton
said.

“
Of course, honey,” she
said as she hugged her. “You two are my favorite girls. In fact, I
like you more than my two sons. You’re always welcome
here.”

“
Thanks,” Breccan
spat.

“
I don’t blame her,”
Calloway said.

The girls ignored their comments.
“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Easton said as she walked to the
door. “Good night.”

“
Good night,” they all
said. She shut the door behind her and disappeared.

Breccan moved to the living room and
sat on the couch and watched television with Uncle Scott. Calloway
watched them for a moment before he decided to walk upstairs to his
bedroom. He shed his clothes and lied in his twin bed against the
wall and thought about all the recent events of his life, wondering
how he got there to begin with. Initially, he assumed his father
left him a trail to follow and a mission to accomplish, but now he
was losing his belief in that. Perhaps he misread the signs. He was
certain his father had those gifts because he was fighting for the
Life—there was no doubt—but something was missing. The idea that
his father abandoned him because he didn’t want him was too much to
bear and he felt the tears under his eyes. Every year on Christmas
Eve, he mourned the loss of his parents but now he didn’t know what
to do—one of them was alive.