Ambrosia Shore (33 page)

I sat on my bed for the last time, contemplating the years, the growth, the experiences that all took place in one little room.

There was a quiet tap on the door, and my dad poked his head inside. “Agent Duke is here,” he said. “Are you ready?”

Physically, yes, I knew I was ready. I had my two allowed suitcases out in the living room where I had been instructed to leave them the night before. I had my neatly organized boxes of memories and items of sentimental value stacked in the corner of my bedroom, ready to be retrieved the moment Rayne had the chance to come back through the border. I had my small carry-on bag filled with the items I deemed most valuable, like my diary and Jane Carpenter’s journal, tightly clutched in my lap. But, despite all that, I had to wonder. Was I ready?

I looked up at my father with a thoughtful yet confident grin. “Yes,” I told him, “I’m ready.”

I followed my dad out through the hallway to the living room, where my mom and Rayne were both waiting for us. The front door was cracked open, and I could see Agent Duke’s standard black vehicle parked along the curb at the bottom of the driveway. The agent had left the day before to take care of paperwork and make final arrangements for us at the border, but just as he had promised, he was back at precisely five minutes to eight, ready for a punctual eight o’clock departure.

My mother had her camera in hand, taking snapshots of every corner of the room. I understood why. This place was our home, our safe haven for so long. She didn’t want to forget.

My father gestured toward the door. “Shall we then? We don’t want to be late for our meeting at the border.”

Rayne lifted two of the suitcases and said, “I’ll start loading these into the car.”

I glanced at my mother’s face, wistful and nostalgic. We hadn’t even left yet, and I could tell she was already homesick.

“Could we maybe just have two more minutes?” I asked my dad.

He smiled thoughtfully and nodded. “Sure. Of course.” Then he lifted the two remaining suitcases and went out the door.

My mom squinted, scrutinizing the room. “I feel like I’m forgetting something,” she said. “Everything happened so fast. I’m sure I missed something.”

“It’s okay if you did,” I reminded her. “If there’s anything you need, Rayne can always come back for it.”

Mom shook her head. “I suppose. It’s just so hard to believe that neither of us will ever see this place again.”

I pondered over the contents of our house, and my grandparent’s house before us. The furniture, the kitchen gadgets, the electronics, would all be left behind, but our memories would stay with us forever.

“I promise you’re going to love this new place,” I assured her. “It will be like an adventure… And we both know how much you love adventure.”

She smiled at me. “That part does sound kind of exciting.”

I moved my arm, about to swing it around my mom’s shoulder playfully, when a deafening boom rattled through my ears. My hands flew to my head, shielding out the noise. Then my body froze as another boom shook the floor. A pit of fear hit my stomach. I ran to the doorway. When I saw it, my legs went numb, paralyzed in place. A mountain of flames roared before me. Both cars parked in the street at the front of our driveway were engulfed by towering blazes of fire. Another boom shook my head and a burst of shrapnel flew through the air, fragments of car parts crashing in the street, the bushes, the driveway.

I stared at the scene with panicked eyes. Rayne was a few yards away, struggling to lift himself off the ground, dragging his leg where a sharp piece of metal had lodged into his skin. My mom pushed past me and ran toward the stone wall at the side of our yard. My eyes followed her, trying to understand, until I found my dad’s limp body, sprawled against the wall of rocks. A stream of sickening blood coursed from his head down to the concrete.

Pain stabbed through me. “Dad!” I cried out.

Rayne’s voice was the only reply. “Sadie,” he called. I turned. Rayne was searching frantically through his pockets. “I can’t find it,” he said, “my Healing Water; I can’t find it.”

My legs finally moved. I ran to Rayne’s side. “Are you sure?” I pled.

“Check your father’s pockets,” he urged. “Hurry.”

I nodded in a wild daze and stumbled across the driveway.

“
Mom
,” I said when I reached her.

Anguish cut through her face. “He’s not breathing. I have to do CPR.”

I squatted next to her on the ground, fumbling for my dad’s pockets. “No,” I said. “We need to find his Healing Water.”

“What does that
mean
?” my mom cried.

My throat closed in as I pushed out the words. “Just…look for a metal bottle.”

We searched desperately, hands fumbling inside his coat, his pockets, his socks, anywhere we could think, but we found nothing.

I fell to my knees, thrusting my hands over the bed full of rocks in the yard beneath us. It had to be here. I had to find it.

My mother’s voice strained as she called out, “Rayne, call an ambulance,
please
…”

He limped toward us, wincing as he replied. “I already did. Keep looking; it has to be here.”

My mom refused, pulling my father’s torso to move him on his back. She thrust her hands into his chest, thrusting again and again. “Lin, please,” she sobbed, “don’t leave me. Don’t leave us.”

Tears stung my eyes, spilled down my face. I jetted back and forth on my knees across the ground, hands raking through the rocks and the dirt and the bushes. Why did I have to lose the Water Briolette?
Why
? The fiery cars still burned beside us, the heat scalding through my skin, pushing sweat down my forehead. My vision blurred. I wiped my hand across my face, dirt and sweat burning in my eyes.

Rayne’s voice bellowed into his phone behind me, strained by desperation. “There has to be another agent nearby,” he said. “No, I won’t calm down. This is Hamlin Fairbanks we’re talking about.”

 The words were nothing but a terrible echo, colliding with my mother’s sobs of agony, mixed with the chaos inside my own head. The world began to spin. This couldn’t be happening. Not my dad. Not now. Not ever.

I ran back to my father’s side, collapsed on the ground to my knees. My mom’s arms stopped moving. She looked at me, and her expression fell. Despair filled her eyes as she shook her head, silently telling me that it was already too late. My father was gone.

“No,” I gasped, not wanting to believe. Tears sprang from my mother’s eyes, her body shaking as she broke down, clinging to my father’s hand like it was the only thing left to hold onto.

“No!” I said again. The tears raged through me. He couldn’t be dead. I just found him. We were supposed to be a family. He was supposed to be my dad.

I took his other hand, clasping it tight against my chest, my words straining to whisper. “
Dad
…
Dad
… Don’t go. You promised. You promised you would stay.”

I listened, as if somehow he could hear me, but my father remained still. No words. No breath. No life.

My eyes drew closed, as if falling in slow motion. There was nothing left to say, nothing left to do. My body went quiet; matching his stillness, feeling him, feeling his hand for the last time. It was still warm; warm and thoughtful and protective, just like I always believed it would be.

Dirt-streaked tears ran down my face, one thought circling, aching through my head. My father loved me. All my life he loved me. I squeezed his hand tighter as the pain cut through every piece of my body. That possibility, that hope of him, that missing hole in my heart that had finally been mended, was gone. 

The emptiness dug through me, ripped away at my insides until they were hollow. There was nothing left to hold me, and my body collapsed down, head landing against my father’s lifeless body. The strength, the will, was gone from me, so gone I could hardly maintain the weeping.

In a moment of utter depletion my body went still; only my lungs moved, gasping in short breaths to pull in the air.

A strange calm suddenly wrapped over me. I could feel something—a sensation, moving up through my cheek where it lay against my father’s torso. And then it spread to my fingertips, where they clung to my father’s hand. I could feel it; his injuries; his pain. I closed my eyes and concentrated harder, feeling it deeper until it pulled me in. Somehow I could feel the damage inside him; just like with my mom when she was dying, just like Heather’s dad after his heart attack. It didn’t make sense. I didn’t have the stone anymore; Voss stole it.

I didn’t care about the explanation; all I knew was that I could feel it. I could fix it.

Instinctively, my head lifted. One of my hands moved to my dad’s chest, while the other moved to his head. The damaged energy was stronger in those places, easier to connect. I felt the bonds surge beneath my fingers, and I let them pull me in. I had to take it away, the hurt and the pain. I had to save him. And somehow, I knew I could.

There was a light, like a guide within me, and I followed it, searched with it to find the areas of disease and fight them away. Every fiber inside my body ached as I pulled with all my strength… repairing, rebuilding, restoring. I pushed through every dark corner to find the sick and broken, taking them into me, leaving healthy and good behind.

I felt my strength waning, but I didn’t let go until there was no question he could return, until every last cell in my father’s system was whole again. Once all the damage was in me, I was left drained and dry. I had to fight to sever the bond. I struggled with each string of energy that drew us together, one by one, until my hands finally burst away from his body.

My vision was blurred, but I could sense my mother’s bewilderment beside me, Rayne’s awestricken face staring down at us, just as my father’s eyes fluttered open. I was too weak to say his name, but a brilliance of joy burst through my heart.

“Lin!” my mom cried. A new string of tears coursed down her cheeks, tears of overwhelming, happy relief.

With an astonished gasp, Rayne rushed to kneel by my side. “Sadie, are you okay?”

I couldn’t respond. It took all the strength I had left just to keep my eyes open.

Rayne took my cheeks between his hands, examining my eyes. “Look at me, sunshine. Are you with me?” I tried to focus, using all my energy to nod back at him.

My father started to move, groaning as he pulled his head, and then his torso, off the ground. “What happened?” he wondered. He ran his hand over his hair and found his fingers sticky with blood.

“There was an explosion,” my mom told him. “You… you…” she couldn’t even say the words.

“We’re not really sure,” Rayne cut in, “but I have a feeling it was Voss. Probably some last, desperate effort to inflict whatever damage he could before you were all safely out of reach.”

Rayne pulled himself off the ground, his jaw going tight when he moved his injured leg. “We may still be in danger,” he said. “I’ve already made some calls, and a clean-up crew will be here any minute. Hopefully they can make this disappear before we have to deal with local authorities, but that’s not my main concern. I need to get you all to a secure location as soon as possible. A security team is meeting us at a safe house not too far from here. They’ll escort us out to the border.”

My father nodded in appreciation.

Rayne turned to my mom. “Leena,” he said, “I need to run and get my car.” He glanced at me with worried eyes and looked back at my mom. “Just, watch her for me, okay? She doesn’t look good.”

As Rayne hurried away, my mom’s tear-stained face started to blur again. Everything felt fuzzy, and a throbbing pain clamped down on my head. My muscles went weak, almost completely, causing my body to drift sideways. Just when I thought I would topple to the ground, my mom’s worried voice called out my name. Something caught me before I could fall. I heard another voice, echoing beside me, my father’s voice. “Sadie, it’s okay,” he said. “I’ve got you. I’m here.”

And when I knew I was in the sanctuary of my father’s arms, I let go of the strain, letting my body give out and my mind fade away.

My mind drifted back to awareness. For a few brief moments, I couldn’t remember where I was, or where I had been. I just knew that my body had finally pushed out the darkness, leaving me light and airy. There was only one thought in my mind that resonated clearly. I healed my father. Not the Water Briolette, not the Healing Water. Me. I healed him.

It was so clear now I wondered how I hadn’t recognized it before. Perhaps I had to learn how to feel it for myself, or maybe it was just easier to believe that I needed outside help, a stone of great value, to accomplish something so miraculous, instead of believing that I could actually do it myself.

But I understood it so completely now. My mother, Heather’s dad, Voss shooting me on the roof… it all made sense. Something changed inside me when I crossed through the Threshold with the stone. It didn’t just change my Watermark, or my eyes, or the color of the sky—I could actually feel a power within, the power to heal.

My mind flashed back to the moment I passed through the Threshold. I could see the angelic faces of the woman and the young girl from my vision, as if they were floating right in front of me.
You were the one meant to save them
, they told me.
And this is only the beginning.

Slowly my lids opened, and the first thing I saw was Rayne’s gorgeous, worried green eyes watching over me. My head was in his lap, his arm cradled under my neck. I could feel the wheels of the car spinning below us, a hum in the air as I shifted my legs where they lay across the back seat. A smile washed over me just seeing Rayne’s face.

“Sadie, you’re awake,” he said, sounding on edge. “I was so worried. You’ve been passed out for more than an hour.”

“I was?” I said, still disoriented. But then it hit me, and I remembered. My throat tensed. “Wait, where’s my dad?” I started to pull myself up from Rayne’s lap, trying to get a look at the front seat.

“He’s okay,” Rayne said. “Both your parents are in the car behind us with armed guards.”

I wanted to see my parents with my own two eyes. I twisted to look out the back window, using Rayne’s neck and shoulders to brace myself. I could see the black vehicle moving behind us but not the people in the back seat.

“I promise they’re okay,” Rayne said. He reached for me, gently pulling me back again. “
Please
,” he pleaded, “you should rest; you’ve been through so much today.”

I let him draw me back toward him, still needing an explanation. “Where are we going?” I asked. “Is Voss still out there? Did they cancel our meeting with the Council members today?”

Rayne’s forehead creased. “The safest place for you and your family is across the Threshold, in Banya. We’re headed to the border now. As long as you’re feeling up to it, it would be best to move forward with the meeting as soon as we arrive.”

I thought of Voss, still lurking out there somewhere in the shadows, waiting for his next opportunity to strike. Once we were through the safety of the Threshold he wouldn’t be able to hurt us anymore.

I tried to sound as convincing as possible. “I’m up to it,” I replied.

When I thought about it, I realized I really was up to it. I felt surprisingly well. My energy had almost completely returned.

Rayne stared down at my face as if he wasn’t sure he believed me. He rubbed my arm. “Just get some rest, and we’ll see how you feel when we get there.”

“I’m really okay,” I protested. “I’m not tired anymore.” To prove it, I pulled myself up and moved away from him sideways, shifting myself across the seat to sit upright.

Rayne’s eyes followed me with concern. “Are you sure?”

I nodded energetically. “Yep, I feel great. Totally ready to go.”

He hesitated. “Well, okay, if that’s more comfortable for you.” He paused then glanced at me from the corner of his eye. “But, the truth is,” he said, “I kind of liked you in my arms.”

I grinned back at him sheepishly. “Well, maybe I am still a little tired.” And then I slid up against his side to rest my head on his shoulder.

Rayne took my hand and pulled it closer, as if he were afraid to let it go.

“Are you okay?” I asked softly.

When he finally answered, his voice sounded strained. “Sadie, when I came back with the car after the explosion you were passed out. I didn’t know what to do. I thought your Water System had finally given out. Your father insisted that they had seen you this way before, that you would be fine after a little rest, but I’ve come so close to losing you so many times, I just…” Rayne paused, unable to finish.

“Rayne,” I said gently, “look at me.” I waited as he turned his gaze. “Look into my eyes,” I urged again. “Look at them and tell me what you see.”

He looked back at me, searching, as if he could see straight to the center of all that was me. His expression turned soft, almost wistful. “I see… radiance,” he breathed. “I see a light inside you, coming from within, a light so bright and deep it’s like your soul is calling to me.”

Emotion welled inside my chest. Tears pooled in the corners of my eyes. His words seemed to make it all true; all the things I had been feeling for so long but couldn’t recognize until now.

“Something changed in me,” I whispered back. “When I passed through the Threshold with the stone, something happened. I’m different now. All this time I had myself convinced it was the Briolette. But it wasn’t; it was me. I don’t know how to explain it, I just feel this energy inside me, and when I concentrate… I can use it to heal people.”

Rayne gazed back at me in awe, his words flowing slowly, as if each word were a new discovery. “I… saw it,” he said. “I saw you heal your father.”

I nodded with quiet earnest. “Yes…”

Rayne slid his fingers through the hair behind my ear, moved his face close to mine as he murmured, “I always knew there was something special about you.”

We both looked at each other for a long moment, as if the realization was too overwhelming to speak.

I finally pulled out my voice, feeling almost anxious to let the words out. “I don’t think I even need Healing Water for myself anymore,” I began. “When Voss shot me, I couldn’t have been out for more than a couple of minutes, and the other day I cut my finger at Heather’s house and it healed instantly, right before my eyes. I had the stone with me, but I didn’t need it. I can feel it; I’m sure of it. My body healed itself.”

Rayne’s face was bewildered. “I guess it would make sense. I mean, if you have this power to heal other people, you would think you should be able to heal yourself too.”

The car suddenly came to a stop. We both glanced up as if being kicked out of a dream.

A firm but considerate voice came from one of the agents in the front seat. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said, “but we’re here. It’s time to go.”

I stared back at the agent and blinked. I hadn’t realized we were so close.

“It’s already time?” I wondered aloud.

Rayne glanced at me with concern. “If you need more time, I can talk to them about postponing.”

“No, I’m fine,” I said. I squeezed his hand. “I’m ready.”

***

A few minutes later, my parents and I were sitting together in a beautifully furnished living room inside a large home located right next to one of the gates to the border. I didn’t recognize the area outside before we came in, and I could tell it wasn’t the same gate that Rayne had taken me to a few weeks earlier. This house was also much grander than the one I had been to before up in these hills, and by the way everyone here was treating my father like royalty, I had a feeling that this house was one they reserved for only their most dignified guests.

As we waited for Rayne to return with the Council members who would conduct our orientation meeting, several agents in black suits stood quietly in the corners, along with a few border patrol guards dressed in blue uniforms. One of the agents had a pleasant face that reminded me of Agent Duke. Now that the commotion of the day had settled down a bit, it finally hit me that Agent Duke had been inside one of those vehicles outside my house when they exploded.

I didn’t know him all that well, but I did know that he didn’t deserve to die. He had kept us safe and fulfilled his duty, all with a quiet dignity that hardly asked to be recognized. Now that he was gone, I felt a keen sense of gratitude for his sacrifice. And I couldn’t help but wonder… if I had come to understand my gift sooner, maybe I could have done something to help him. Maybe I could have saved him.

A sad sort of longing and regret moved through me as I watched my parents talk to each other cheerfully about Ambrosia and our future. Apparently, my mother knew quite a bit about it now. Once they were in the custody of the agents, my father had been given clearance to start explaining things to her, and during the hour long ride to the border, he had the opportunity to explain quite a bit. Now, I could see it in my mother’s face, enlightened and full of anticipation at the possibilities.

I should have felt incredibly lucky and relieved. Rayne and my parents were safe. They were happy. And I did feel incredibly blessed to have so much to look forward to in Banya, a chance to share a life with Rayne, a chance to grow a relationship with my dad. Even my small carry-on bag, which contained all of my most prized possessions, was sitting safely in my lap at this very moment, thanks to my mother who, even after such a tragedy, remembered to go back inside the house to grab it for me while I was unconscious.

But even with all of these wonderful things to be grateful for, there was still a burden weighing down on my thoughts. I had just discovered a great power inside me, an amazing gift, and I was about to move to the one place where nobody would ever need it. Every single person living on Ambrosia had the power to heal, without even trying. The Healing Water lived within the atmosphere, surrounded the people with every single breath.

The weight pushed down on me harder. What was the good of having such a miraculous gift if there would never be a reason to use it again?

“Sadie?” I heard my mom say. “Are you feeling okay?”

I lifted my head abruptly, realizing that I hadn’t heard a word my parents were saying.

I tried to focus. “Sorry. I guess I just have a lot on my mind.”

My mom gave a sympathetic look and moved next to me on the couch. “Of course you do,” she said. She lifted her hand to my back, rubbing in a pattern of soothing circles, speaking with soft encouragement. “It’s okay to feel scared,” she said. “This is a big change for all of us. And I know it’s hard to lose most of your things, but when we get to this new city your father says there will be a bunch of beautiful boutiques and department stores. Whenever you’re ready, the two of us are going to go out and buy entirely new wardrobes. How does that sound?”

I pushed out a smile. “Yeah, that sounds great, Mom.”

The fact that our clothes and luggage had been obliterated in an explosion was definitely a pain, but it wasn’t my biggest concern at the moment. In just a few minutes, several members of the Council would be standing before us, expecting me to profess my loyalty to Ambrosia forever, and I was suddenly questioning my decision to even go there. What I wanted now more than anything else was a way to use this gift inside me.

My heart started drumming in my chest. What was I going to do? Orion told me that if I chose to stay on Earth the Council would strip me of my memories. I would forget about Ambrosia and even about Rayne. Did that mean I would forget my father too? And if my mom went with him…

I took in a deep breath, trying to calm myself. There was no way that was the answer. I wasn’t even going to think about it. Then, it suddenly occurred to me that there was a good chance that whatever method the Council used to erase memories probably wouldn’t even work on me. My body could heal itself. It would restore anything they tried to damage or remove. But even if that were true, it didn’t matter at this point. I wanted to be
with
my parents, not just remember them.

There was only one option that calmed my rampant heart, one option that resonated clear. The only way I could have the life that I dreamed of and still use my gift to help those in need, was to convince them to let me into the Ambassadors Academy. I had to become a Water Keeper.

Rayne’s face appeared through the doorway, and my father moved to stand. Rayne wore a look of both respect and duty, the one he always wore when he was near my father. As Rayne took his place along the far wall, he shot a quick glance, an encouraging smile, in my direction, giving me an extra boost of confidence. My mother and I followed my father’s example and stood from the couch, turning to watch as three members of the Council entered the room.

The men greeted us warmly, extending their hands and nodding as my father made introductions. There was Councilman Orion Bennett, who of course both my mother and I already knew. There was Councilman Zieg Thompson, who I had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting once before when he questioned me at the Court of Ambassadors for Rayne’s hearing, and who I noticed was now being referred to as Ambassador. And then there was a sweet-looking, elderly man who my father called Councilman Bernruffenlad Gibbson, but who insisted right away that we just call him Gibbs.