“Just because.” I didn’t want to explain how I looked too much like my mom with it down. Then I remembered how much Calvin liked it down and told her I thought it was a great idea. Besides, I was already wearing her clothes. I was sure no one would mind if I looked just like her.
“You look wonderful. Do you feel ready?” Tara asked. As ready as I’ll ever be, I thought.
Chapter Seventeen
Kevin
The sun had just started to set when we neared the Cason caves. Squinting to get a better view, I was skeptical as we headed toward the side of the mountain. “You’re sure your guy lives here?” I struggled to see where we were headed, but all I saw was the massive rock face of a mountain.
“This was where Percy lived the last time I was here, before we fled. If there is still a resistance, it would be here,” Monty assured me.
“Resistance?” Liam asked.
“When Emma and I fled, some of the people rallied against Blake, blaming him for running Emma out. They made up the resistance,” Monty said, as he slowed down. I was trying to think of something to say in response when I felt someone grab my arm. I flipped around, ready to attack, but lowered my fist when I came face to face with a sword. Evidently, someone lived in this cave.
“What are you doing here, and what do you want?” a man in his late twenties asked.
Monty held his ground. “We are here to see Percy.”
“And who are you?” the man asked.
“Monty, Guardian of Emma.” Monty displayed the hilt of his sword, and the man nodded.
“And who are these others?”
“Emma’s son Kevin, and Liam, a friend of the family.”
“What do you hope to accomplish by seeing Percy?”
I didn’t wait for Monty to answer. “They’ve taken my sister, and Monty says Percy is our only chance of getting her back.”
“Please, just let us go to Percy. We do not have much time,” Monty pleaded.
The man looked at us seriously. “I trust that you are who you say you are, but if you’re lying, then consider yourself dead.”
“As a show of faith, I hand over our only weapon.” The man nodded, and I almost choked. I couldn’t believe that Monty was giving up the sword.
The man put away his own sword, and appeared weighed down by Monty’s as he led us through thick overgrown ferns that obscured the entrance to the cave. It was like we were in some sort of fern grotto. I turned to look back and, out of the corner of my eye, saw the gray cat take off down the steep mountainside. The further we walked, the denser the ferns became until it grew dark. Suddenly, we stopped. I was last in the line, and up ahead I heard a scraping sound, as if someone was moving something heavy. I assumed it was rocks. When Liam started to move ahead of me, I followed, trying not to let the fact that we were walking into some hidden cave bother me too much. Whatever I expected it to be from the outside, I was wrong. I could not believe what I was seeing as we walked into the mouth of the cave. It was immense, like nothing I had ever seen, with several entryways on either side. Finally, we stopped in front of a large wooden door.
The man knocked on the door, then opened it slightly, telling someone who I assumed was Percy that he had visitors. I heard a voice from inside tell the man to let us in, and Monty pushed ahead with Liam and me at his heels. Once again, my expectations were wrong. In front of me sat an old, decrepit man who was barely able to stand, even with the help of a cane.
“Monty,” Percy said. “It has been far too long.”
He looked at me next. “You have some of her in you for sure.” I assumed he meant my mother, but I didn’t dare ask.
He then looked at Liam. “And who might you be?”
“Liam, sir.”
“And what does that tell me?” Percy said in an unreadable voice.
Monty interrupted before Liam could respond, “He is a family friend who has come to help. But Percy, please, we have little time.”
“This would not have anything to do with a certain girl with blue eyes, now would it?” Percy asked.
“Yes, have you seen her?” Monty asked eagerly.
“So I was right to assume that she must be Emma’s, then?” Percy had an edge of excitement to his voice.
“Yes, Emma’s daughter, Charlotte. I am pretty sure that Blake has her.”
“He has her, all right,” Percy said seriously. I got chills when he said that. I had already accepted the fact that Charlotte was likely a prisoner, but it was different to hear someone say it aloud.
“What have you heard?” Monty asked.
“My sources at Bellgard only told me that Blake had called a meeting with the remaining Guardians and a crop of strong young men. This was after his son brought back a young girl with blue eyes who has not left Bellgard since her arrival. I could only assume that Blake had found the next Essence.” Percy stroked his beard.
“So they think Charlotte is the Essence?”
“It is more than just a suspicion, Monty. I have heard word that the girl has shown clear signs of being the Essence, and no other female in your family has shown any.”
“But how?” Monty had a stricken look of fear on his face. “It is much too soon, and Charlotte has never shown any signs. I would have noticed.”
“It seems the call of the Essence is stronger than we would have thought,” Percy replied. “Perhaps the signs only started when she entered Energo.”
“How could I have been so blind?” Monty sounded completely defeated. “The glow I saw, it was more than just a teenage crush. James must be her Gerard!”
“Wait a second,” I broke in. “Are you trying to tell me that James and my sister are supposed to be some kind of ruling couple now?”
“Maybe not,” Percy said slowly. “The glow may be unrelated. There is a possibility that James is not her Gerard. There has never been an Essence raised outside of Energo, so we do not know if the signs will be the same.”
“So, all that tells me is that there is just some other guy who is going to try to get with my sister,” I said angrily.
Monty ignored me to ask Percy another question. “You say they have young men. Have they already found all the Guardians?”
“All but two, and I assume that one is standing right here with us.” Percy looked directly at me. It took me a few seconds to realize what he was implying.
“Yes, I would also think so,” Monty admitted. “Kevin is Charlotte’s only brother, so if she really is the Essence, he should be a Guardian, unless the call of the Guardian is not strong enough to transcend the borders of Energo. But you said there is another Guardian missing,” Monty added, while I was still processing the implications of what he was saying.