The Coalition (Book 1)

Chapter 48

The morning dawned soft and still. Feathery pink clouds rimmed the eastern sky and aroused memories of a different life.

Aliah leaned against a tree with his hands shoved into his trouser pockets and watched the sun rise. He had awoken early to gather wood for the fire, but the colors of the sky distracted him. The pink hinted at something familiar but distant, like a dream he once had but no longer remembered. Deep inside he had begun to know he'd lived a different life before Lael. He hadn't been sure until Remiel confirmed it with something he'd said. He only had snatches of the past that he suppressed, hidden beneath layers of guilt and anger. Until this morning. Now there was something more.

It's truth that counts. Beliefs will either be a prison or a key to freedom.

Remiel's voice played over and over in his mind. He wasn't talking about the pendants when he'd said that. He had looked right at Aliah like it was supposed to mean something. But the meaning remained just beyond his grasp.

"I've been wanting to thank you." Shai appeared from behind a tree. His cloak was too large for her tiny body so she'd overlapped the sides and wrapped her arms around herself to keep it closed. Her hair curled in tousled waves around her face and looked almost white in the early morning sun. "For bringing Eliana's pendant to me in Conley. For letting me know she's still alive. Somewhere out there."

Aliah nodded then pushed himself away from the tree to stand in front of her. "What about what he says about the pendants? Are you going to give it up? Her pendant I mean."

Shai shook her head, her fingers touching the chain at her throat. "Having it sort of connects me to her. I like knowing she's alive so long as I'm still wearing it."

Aliah looked down and kicked the toe of his boot at a root. "Yeah, I know what you mean. But what if... if it does connect you to Samael like Remiel said. What if by wearing them we can be tracked?" He hated how trapped he felt. Hated that Remiel was right about the pendants, about the poison inside them affecting their minds. But if she agreed to take it off, the effects would eventually wear off and her memory would likely return. But if she didn't take it off Samael would have a way to access her. Aliah hated that thought the most.

"I don't believe that, Aliah. Even if the pendants aren't ideal, what's the harm in them? If I think they're harmless then that's good enough for me. Kinda like the Watchers. Maybe they're not the best idea but I am beginning to see some good in them." Her pointed look stabbed him with guilt.

"Shai, I never wanted to keep that part of me a secret from you. I thought if I joined the Watchers I could protect you better."

Shai moved away from him, her shoulders slumping slightly. When she turned around again he saw no anger in her face, only hurt. The look of pain was brief before she closed herself off from him again.

"So, have you known the truth about the Division for long?" She dropped her arms to her sides where they dangled limply. The cloak flopped open and she looked so small and vulnerable inside of it.

"The day I came to Conley I started to piece things together. Remember when you told me back in the Manor that you had thoughts like dreams, of the Old World? I have too. I've remembered things here and there, but none of it came together until the other day. I didn't say anything to you before because I knew it would make you want to leave Lael thinking there might be something beyond the Borderless. I couldn't bear it if you left."

"You think I'd leave you? Aliah, you're my best friend. Overbearing and overprotective, but still my best friend. I wouldn't leave you." She smiled a small smile that made her look sad and tired. He wanted to remove the sadness, he wanted the vibrant life-loving Shai back.

The thought startled him. When had he known her to be anything but closed off? When had she ever been vibrant?

He looked at her standing there with the pink sky behind her and he remembered. It wasn't much of a memory, maybe more of a feeling. Remiel was right. He'd loved her. Sometime past, someplace else when he'd known love. He wished he could feel it again.

"Hey, you two! I caught our breakfast!" Remiel came towards them wearing a silly grin and holding up a string with three small fish tied to the end.

Shai laughed and walked quickly to Remiel, stepping over roots and rocks. "I thought you were going hunting not fishing!"

"There's a difference?" Remiel smiled again. He looked as though he'd slept well on the hard ground. His eyes were bright and energetic. But Aliah knew differently. Aliah had tossed and turned and every time he woke up he saw Remiel laying with his arms behind his head staring at the stars. He likely never slept.

Shai and Remiel stopped chattering and laughing then turned around to face Aliah. "You coming?" Shai smiled at him, her expression more open than he'd ever seen.

Aliah nodded. "I guess I have to. It's my turn to cook unless you want to eat those things raw." A strange nostalgic feeling came over him. They'd once been happy.

The three of them. Together.