Calvin tried to soothe me. “It is okay. We will bring whoever did it to justice.”
“How can you be so calm? They killed a girl. They killed her because of me.”
“What good will it do to act otherwise?” Henry asked. He’d been snapping at me more and more. Maybe the stress was getting to him. “We have to concentrate and decide what to do next.”
“Do we turn back? Is there even a chance the scroll is still there?” Liam asked.
I didn’t wait for anyone to answer. “We need to check. We have to at least look.” The truth was that if the scroll wasn’t there, we were in trouble. I had no idea where else to turn.
Liam nodded. “I think we’ll be all right. I checked the town twice. It seems deserted.”
Calvin ran his hands down my arms, probably trying to calm my slight shivering, which came from shock and anger—not the cold. “It could still be under watch. We will have to be careful.”
“We could go back and get more men,” Henry suggested.
Liam said exactly what I was thinking. “What men do they have left to spare? Almost everyone’s been sent out already. Besides, we came this far. We can’t waste any more time.”
“Charlotte can use her powers if she has to. We are stronger than anyone with you two together.” Henry gestured at Calvin and me.
“I can do this,” I said softly. “I can do this,” I repeated louder. “If you guys can make sure the town is really deserted, we’ll go in, and then I’ll create a fog strong enough to keep anyone else out. It will give us enough time.”
“You will not overuse your energy? You’ll stop if you sense Blake?” Calvin asked.
“I can control it. I’ll be careful.” I moved from Calvin’s arms. I needed to stand on my own.
All three nodded. Surprisingly, no one argued.
“Are we ready then?” I asked.
“Yes.” Calvin got our horse ready and helped me mount.
We rode across the now dark prairie. The only sound was the hooves of the horses striking the ground and the low howling of the wind. The night was cool, and the wind stung my face.
“It’s right up ahead,” Liam called. The silence seemed to amplify every sound.
“I need to check it out.” Calvin stopped the horse. “I will not be long. Stay with Liam and Henry no matter what happens.”
I nodded, thinking at least he wasn’t going too far ahead. We waited tensely. I focused on how I’d create the fog rather than Calvin’s absence.
Finally, he returned. “It is clear.”
“Did you see the girl?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yes. We will move her body before we leave.”
Calvin didn’t bother to mount again; he walked the horse into the village. We stopped first at the stables, and Calvin prepared the horses for the night. As a farm boy, Calvin had grown up with horses. Once the horses were safe, Calvin looked at me.
I took in a few deep breaths. “All right, I’m ready.”
“Are you sure?” Calvin asked.
“Yes, I’m sure.” I wished he didn’t look so worried. If I couldn’t create a simple fog we were all in trouble.
“It helps if we touch, does it not?”
Liam coughed.
I carefully avoided Liam’s eyes. “It does.”
Calvin put his hands on my shoulders, and I closed my eyes. I reached out, searching for some easy energy to pull from. Learning how to do that was one of the biggest lessons my mom had taught me so far. It was the only way I could avoid passing out, although I still needed to be careful. The most important thing was to avoid the ready energy sources standing in front of me. If I pulled enough energy from any of the guys, I could kill them.
I pulled energy from the fields. There was a surprising amount in the tall grains. The telltale heat seeped through me, and I knew my magic was working. Picturing a thick fog radiating out from where we stood, I worked to push it out far enough that it enclosed the entire village. I tried to make it impenetrable, the kind of fog that even Rudolf couldn’t find his way through. I momentarily lost concentration as I pictured the reindeer and had to steady myself and start over. Thankfully, none of the guys bothered me. Finally, I opened my eyes.
Liam was grinning. “Nice.”
“Well done.” Calvin spun me around to face him. “As always.”
“Why were you laughing?” Henry asked.
I smiled. “Rudolf.”
“Who is he?” Calvin asked.
Liam laughed. “Don’t worry, man. He’s not more competition.”
Henry looked at us. “I still do not understand.”
“Hey,” I said, “you had a Christmas in Charleston; you should know, Henry.”
He stared at me blankly.
“He’s a reindeer,” I started to explain, “a flying reindeer with a shiny red nose that led Santa through the foggy night to save Christmas…” Then I realized it was pointless. I’d have to explain Santa next.
Calvin smiled slightly. “So it is an animal?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, you can explain more another time.”
“That’s probably a good idea.” I turned to examine the village. It seemed pretty typical for a small town in Energo: modest homes and stores, all surrounded by farmland. We were in the center of town. The cobblestone streets reminded me of downtown Charleston.
“Which house was Ruth’s?” All I knew was that the family currently living in the house had left one room untouched for her. I still thought it was funny that she’d leave the scroll in her childhood home. Maybe she thought the small village was the last place someone would look for such an important item. People would probably assume it was in Bellgard somewhere. We only knew about its location because Percy had entrusted the information to Tomas. The more I thought about it, though, the more I figured she had to have a bigger reason. Maybe she somehow knew the Essence retrieving the scroll wouldn’t be able to get into Bellgard.
“Samantha said it had a thatched roof.” Henry seemed proud of himself for remembering that detail.
“They all have thatched roofs,” Liam stated flatly.
I laughed. “Real helpful.”
“Hey. At least I asked.”
I patted Henry on the back, and he grinned. I loved how normal our friendship had become—he really was like the little brother I never had.
“Okay, so what do we do? Start checking all of the houses?” Liam asked.