The Forgotten Light

67. Kaelen

The Invicta was late.

The Florence campers were getting angry and panicking. Ritael at first tried to calm them down, but when a decent twenty minutes had passed, she gave up and was now sitting somewhere off to the side, propping her head on her hands. Kaelen knew that she was tormenting herself. She probably wanted to kill herself now, just as she wanted to kill the Being then.

"Arrangements with a fucking Invicta... I knew it. I knew it was going to turn to shit," Carter muttered loudly.

Harlyn wouldn't give him a break. "I told you that we should finish your ship, but you, as usual..."

"Oh, shut up at last!" Reyn threw his hands in the air, brandishing his cane. "Do you really think we'll fly this junk such a long way? We've barely made it here!"

"Was he talking about midnight our time, or the one in San Diego?" Dusty asked, counting something on his fingers.

"This Invicta dumbass probably isn't aware of time zones." MJ rolled her eyes.

"Maybe something happened," wondered Sandra aloud.

"Yep, he gypped us, that's what happened. Probably the whole Invicta army is already flying here."

"Ace... You're not helping," Usain said quietly, massaging his temples.

Kaelen stood in front of them all.

"Get back to the canyon before anyone hears you. I'll wait here a little longer, and if the Invicta doesn't show up, then we'll think about what to do next."

Most of them left, only the Roy brothers, the bosses, MJ and Ritael, who probably didn't even hear what he had just said, remained.

He had almost sat back down on the grass, preparing for a long wait, when suddenly something flashed between the trees. A small sparkle began to grow until it finally reached the size of a large door.

Ritael slowly raised her head from over her shoulders and measured the portal with a penetrating gaze. No one was coming from there and didn't come even after a few minutes.

Kaelen took a deep breath. "Well, then, let's hit the road." And he moved towards the light.

"Kaelen..." Colin began, and he knew the tone well. He wanted to stop him, so he interrupted him in advance, "Don't miss too much, I'll be right back."

A step before the portal, he looked at Ritael one more time. She was looking at him. He waited for her to open her mouth and say that he'd better not get himself killed and call him an idiot, but the girl remained silent.

He stretched his hand out in front of him, examining the luminous surface, but felt nothing, as his hand immediately went through the light. He entered the portal and momentarily got the feeling that he was traveling hundreds of miles per one step. Images of the passing road scrolled across the tunnel walls. They rushed by so fast that the full moon lit terrain blurred into one long swath.

He was so fascinated by the portal that he felt disappointment when suddenly the world around him stopped and he found himself in a huge dark throne room. Moonlight streamed in through the large broken windows and the wind picked up dust from the rubble around him.

Kaelen felt like he was in a war zone. What had happened there? Was that why Invicta was so late in opening the portal?

Maybe it was a miracle that he managed to open it at all...

He turned around and spotted the Being leaning against a large empty chair on a platform.

"What happened?" Kaelen asked.

He searched for the presence of other Invicta, but everything indicated that they were there alone. He walked past the broken gold chandelier, crushing the glass shards with his shoes. He tightened his grip on the shotgun and his heart froze within him when his gaze fell on the steps of the platform.

He rushed over to the fair-haired girl, putting his hand on her shoulder and aiming his gun at the Being at the same time.

"What is wrong with her? What happened?" he asked loudly, cursing the beating of his own heart, which echoed in his ears.

In the light of the portal, he saw that Invicta was carrying nothing that could hurt them, so he focused on Fairlight. He turned her face toward him and clenched his teeth at the sight of blood on her left temple, cheek, neck and in her hair. There couldn't be any life left in her, he couldn't even feel her breathing, and her skin was cool.

His gaze fell on the gun lying right next to the throne.

"I had no other choice," the black-haired man said quietly.

Kaelen shielded her with his own body, and scowled at the Being, not knowing what to expect now. So it was a trap after all.

"You lied to us, you were late, and worst of all - you fucking let her die."

Invicta gave an exasperated growl. "She's alive, she's just unconscious. Check for yourself."

Kaelen, not taking his eyes off him, put his fingers to her neck and held his breath, waiting to feel the slightest beat. If he wasn't hit in the ear then, he would be able to hear her beating heart. He would also know if there were other Beings somewhere nearby. He hoped that he would soon regain his supernatural hearing, because without it he felt incredibly vulnerable, which he couldn't under any circumstances show. There were a lot of predators around that flocked whenever they sensed weakness.

"No wonder she looks dead, since she was so socked," he muttered, feeling relief sweeping over him. He cupped the girl's face. "Wake up, Firefly. We're going home."