Flight of Life (Essence Series #1) (35 page)

Weston rose from her seat and turned to
her sister. “We should leave.”

Easton didn’t stir. After a moment she
rose from the couch and followed her sister to the door. Calloway
and Breccan walked them to the entryway and Calloway opened the
door for Weston. He stared at her for a long moment before she
walked out of the house. He could see the reflection of the
Christmas lights in her eyes, twinkling like the brightest star in
an undiscovered galaxy. He treasured the sight before she walked
away, knowing he may never see her again.

“
Merry Christmas,
Calloway,” she whispered.

Calloway nodded. “Merry
Christmas.”

Both girls walked out the door and
headed to the car in the driveway. Calloway watched Weston climb
into the passenger seat of the vehicle then look at him through the
window. They stared at each other for a long moment before Easton
drove away.

When Calloway walked back inside he saw
the Christmas present he gave her sitting on the floor. Since her
other presents were gone he knew she left it behind on purpose. He
held it in his hands for a moment and felt the despair flood his
body. Calloway was destined to lose all the people he loved—it was
inevitable.

Guiding Light

The Christmas tree was exactly where
they left it the day before. The ornaments still sparkled on the
tree and the blue star on the top still shined like a lit citadel.
Calloway stared at it for a moment before he looked back at his two
friends.

“
Why didn’t you spend
Christmas with your family?” Calloway asked.

Easton sighed. “My mom spent it with
her boyfriend.”

Calloway nodded. “Well, I’m glad you
could spend it with us. You’re always welcome. Aunt Grace likes you
more than she likes us anyway.”

“
And for good reason.” She
smiled. “And I appreciate that. My mom and stepdad fight all the
time. I would rather spend the holidays anywhere else—Weston feels
the same way.”

Calloway wasn’t sure what to say. He
suspected that she didn’t have a good family life and he realized
she and he were the same—lonely. Easton missed her father as much
as Calloway missed his. Now he understood why she brought the
Christmas tree into the library—it was her home.

Calloway recalled how Easton defended
him against her sister—he knew it wasn’t easy. There was no doubt
about his intent whatsoever and he appreciated her faith in him.
“Thank you for standing beside me,” he said quietly.

“
You don’t need to thank
us, Calloway,” Easton said. “Weston is the one being
stupid.”

“
No, she isn’t,” Calloway
said. “She is the leader of an entire organization. A mistake on
her part could be catastrophic.”

“
But she should know
helping you isn’t a mistake,” Breccan said. “You’re too good to be
evil.”

“
She knows I’m not evil,”
Calloway said. “She just doesn’t want to be involved with someone
like me. It’s Beatrice all over again.”

“
What?” Easton
asked.

Calloway sighed. “Beatrice refuses to
acknowledge my existence because I’m a school loser. It makes her
look bad.”

“
I admit my sister is
being stupid but don’t you ever compare her to that dumb girl,”
Easton said. “There is no comparison.”

“
I’m not comparing them as
people,” Calloway said. “I’m saying that the experiences are
similar. I wished Weston would trust me. What does she think I’m
going to do?”

“
I don’t know,” Breccan
said. “You wouldn’t kill the Hara-Kirs if you supported their
cause—that doesn’t make any sense—and you’ve killed several
now.”

Easton sighed. “She’s worried where
Calloway’s sympathy lies. What if Sven left the gifts so Calloway
would finish his work—helping the Hara-Kirs? And what if Calloway
wants to feel connected to his father in some way, so he
agrees?”

“
Did she tell you this?”
Calloway asked.

Easton nodded. “She says you have the
potential to slip to the dark side. That’s what she’s concerned
about.”

“
Don’t we all?” Calloway
asked. “Anyone is susceptible. And besides, Hara-Kirs won’t work
with humans.”

“
I’m not sure about that
anymore,” Easton said. “Why would Weston be so concerned about
Calloway turning evil unless humans could work with them? I think
it’s a possibility.”

Breccan nodded. “Do you think that’s
what that trap was? Was it a heist to kill us and take Calloway?
Bring him back to the Anti-Life.”

“
It’s possible,” Easton
said. “But I don’t understand what they would want with Calloway.
He has no special abilities or attributes that make him
particularly useful. What is their fascination with
him?”

“
I don’t know,” Calloway
said. “I’m not special.”

“
They might want the
book,” Breccan said. “Maybe they’re going to torture him for
it.”

“
That’s possible,” Easton
said. “But why don’t they question us? We’re always with Calloway
so wouldn’t we know as well? After all, I’m the one who has the
book all the time.”

Calloway ran his hands through his
hair. “I’m starting to get a headache.” He sighed. “I just wish we
knew what was going on.”

“
Do you think Weston is
going to kill you?” Breccan asked.

“
What?” Calloway asked.
“Why would she do that?”

Breccan shrugged. “If she really saw
you as a threat to humanity wouldn’t she eliminate you? It sounds
like something she would do.”

“
No,” Easton said quickly.
“Calloway is human and she won’t kill one of her own, especially
since he hasn’t done anything wrong. However, if Calloway blatantly
joined with the Hara-Kirs she would kill him. There has to be no
doubt of his allegiance for her to do something so
extreme.”

Calloway felt his hands run cold. “Are
you sure?”

“
Yes,” she said. “Don’t
worry about it.”

“
I’ll try.” He
sighed.

“
What if they think he is
Sven?” Breccan asked. “Maybe they are trying to retrieve him for
some reason—either to punish him or bring him back.”

“
Why would you think
that?” Easton asked.

“
What if that orb belongs
to Sven, and since that’s how they see, they think Calloway is his
father. They look alike, too.”

Easton sighed. “It’s impossible that
Sven was a Hara-Kir. If his son is human, so is he. You can’t be
human if you’re a Hara-Kir.”

“
But the orb responds to
Calloway, therefore it’s his—or his father’s—that’s the only
explanation,” Breccan said.

“
I forgot about that.”
Easton sighed. “But that still doesn’t make sense. Perhaps Sven
took it from the other side so that’s why it works—the owner isn’t
dead. That sounds more plausible.”

“
And why did my father
steal it?” Calloway asked. “What the point?”

“
Perhaps he was trying to
save the essence inside of it?” Easton said. “Maybe he realized
there were trapped purposes locked inside.”

Calloway leaned forward. “So he was
trying to help?”

“
Yes,” Easton said. “It
makes sense. He traveled to the Anti-Life to gather information
then he grabbed the orb while he was there. Then he escaped the
Anti-Life and deposited the supplies in the trunk for safe keeping
before he went into hiding. Perhaps he really was killed by the
Hara-Kirs during his flight. Or he’s still running to this day.
That’s still up in the air.”

“
So you think my father
was good?” Calloway asked.

“
It’s more likely. The
only way he could be a Hara-Kir is if he isn’t your biological
father, which I find unlikely since you look so similar. And if he
was evil, he would have stolen your essence, Calloway, but the
Hara-Kir in the library said he could see your essence; therefore,
you have one.”

“
And the Hara-Kirs are
pursuing Calloway because they are trying to find his father.”
Breccan said. “That’s possible.”

Calloway leaned back and sighed. “I’m
so glad to hear that.”

“
This is all speculation,
Calloway,” Easton said. “We could be completely wrong. For all we
know, you’re the leader of their group but hit your head and forgot
everything. We don’t know,” Easton said.

“
But that story sounds
more likely,” Calloway said. “The idea that my father is a Hara-Kir
is impossible because I’m human. And he can’t be in league with
them because he would have killed me already. It makes
sense.”

“
Then why does he own this
library?” Breccan asked. “The Hara-Kirs are always
here.”

“
Maybe this is the place
he killed them,” Easton suggested. “The fireplace is huge, big
enough to fit a grown person. Or he understood that the Hara-Kirs
are always here so he eliminated human attacks by purchasing it—it
keeps people away.”

“
That explains it,”
Calloway said quickly. “And that’s why he left me. He was on the
run and couldn’t risk my safety by taking me along.” The theory
answered all of their questions and made Calloway feel better. His
father was a good man that didn’t abandon him—everything was okay.
If his father was actually working for the Anti-Life, Calloway
wasn’t sure what he would do—it would be too much. “You should tell
Weston this.”

“
Why?” Easton asked.
“These aren’t facts—just speculation.”

“
But it’s the only thing
that makes sense,” Calloway said. “I don’t want her to hate
me.”

“
She doesn’t hate you,”
Easton said quickly. “She just can’t trust you as much as she would
like to.”

“
Well, I want her to trust
me,” he said.

“
Wouldn’t you want her to
trust you because she has faith in you like we do?” Easton asked.
“She’s a very logical person with no emotions. Even if we explain
our theory it wouldn’t change anything—it isn’t
absolute.”

Calloway sighed. “I don’t want to lose
her.”

“
She doesn’t see you like
that, Calloway,” Easton said gently. “I’m sorry.”

Calloway shook his head. “That isn’t
what I mean. I don’t want to lose her as a friend. She is strong
and powerful. Plus she has connections to the White Wing. She
defended me at the dance and has become a close friend. I don’t
want to lose a friend—that’s all.”

“
I don’t think there’s
anything we can do,” Easton said. “She won’t aid you in any way and
speak about the White Wing to you. As far as she’s concerned,
you’re just my friend and nothing more.”

“
That isn’t fair.”
Calloway sighed. “We might need her for something.”

“
If I asked her for aid
she would help me,” Easton said. “As long as it didn’t involve
aiding any evil plans you may have.” She opened the Kirin Book and
pulled her notes from the paper. Calloway leaned back in his chair
and sighed, frustrated that he was being punished for something out
of his control. Easton turned a few pages in her book. “I
deciphered another page.”

“
That’s it?” Breccan asked
incredulously. “I thought you would be done with the book by
now.”

“
Even with the decoder
it’s a slow process and can be time consuming,” Easton said. “I’m
doing my best.”

“
We appreciate everything
you can do,” Calloway said. “What does it say?”

Easton met his gaze. “I’m going to give
you the abridged version.” She cleared her throat. “Basically, it
said the glowing orb is the key to the portal that connects the two
planes and that’s how the Hara-Kirs are transported from one world
to the other. It is also the soul trapper that we already discussed
and every Hara-Kir possesses one. It didn’t mention anything about
the light from the orb when you squeeze it,” Easton said. “I’m not
sure if that’s unique to your orb. The soul rapper is used to store
the essence then they place it inside of some sort of catalytic
supernova and the power will destroy both worlds.”

“
A
supernova
?” Breccan asked incredulously.
“Where the hell is this other world?”

Easton shook her head. “I don’t know,”
she said. “But that’s what the chapter said.”

Calloway pulled his glowing orb from
his pocket and studied the surface. “Did it say how to release the
essence from the orb?”

“
No,” she said. “It
doesn’t address that. I’m not sure if it’s possible to return the
essence back to the individual, especially if they’re already
dead.”

Calloway squeezed the orb and the light
returned. He clenched his fist again and the brightness dissipated.
The glow inside the ball made him wonder what the source of the
illumination was. What if the glow was from an essence that
belonged to someone else? “Do you think that’s what the light
is?”

“
What?” Breccan
asked.

“
That the light is the
essence from someone else?” Calloway asked. “Perhaps a few
people?”

Easton crossed her arms over her chest
and shivered. “I hope not,” she said. “That would be
disturbing.”