Luminosity (22 page)

It’s too late, though. Echo has already caught the Keeper, and the violet from her eyes begins to drain into a lifeless grey hue.

“You will regret this, Dreamcatcher.” The Keeper struggles to get the words out, and as they are spoken, they are filled with pain and agony.

“I’m doing this for the sake of us all.” Echo grits his teeth and hangs on, fingers digging into the Keeper’s skin. Overhead, her raven circles and incessantly screeches, its cries shrill and haunting.

Behind him, the Beacon pops and the light sizzles out. The grip it once had on the Dreamcatchers loosens, and they all stagger backward. The Keeper’s body hits the ground at the same time, and Echo sinks down into a crouch, holding his head in his hands. He starts to moan, low at first, but then the moaning turns into agonizing screaming.

The raven suddenly stops screeching.

Elan helps Brandon pick Gabe up off the floor, but a puddle of blood remains where it seeped out of him. I look between Echo, who looks and sounds like he could be dying right in front of me, and Gabe, who looks like he’s already dead.

The Seers stop shooting just as soon as the Beacon is out, but they warily turn their guns on the remaining Dreamcatchers, of which there are now over twenty. Elan speaks up when I cannot, “We should detain them. All of them. The Dreamcatchers and the Keeper’s minions. At least until everything is back together.”

At his order, the Seers who were fighting on our side quickly disarm the others and take them into custody. Echo and the other robed Dreamcatchers remain free. We gather around his fallen form, and I crouch down to be closer to him.

“Echo…” I whisper and reach out to him.

“How do you know him?” Elan asks, but I ignore him.

Echo draws away though, shaking his head. “Don’t touch me right now. It’ll only hurt us both.”

“Beatrice! Hurry! We need to get Gabe to the infirmary.” Brandon hikes the lifeless body up in his arms, and blood drips down from somewhere in Gabe’s jumpsuit. I want to scream at Brandon and ask him who the hell is up in the infirmary when most of us are dead, but thankfully, there’s a solution. A young woman, a Seer, steps forward and motions for Brandon to follow her. “I’m a nurse. I can see what I can do for them.”

Enigma pulls Echo up by his arms. I hear her whisper something that sounds like “Your Highness,” but he’s drawn away from me before I have a chance to question it. A hovercraft appears overhead, safe now from the power of the Beacon, and six rope ladders drop down from the sky to hoist up the robed Dreamcatchers, leaving the others behind. They are all gone just as soon as they can be, and there’s no chasing them. We take the rest of the Dreamcatchers into custody, as Elan suggested. They are wounded and hurt, and now they are angry that they’ve been left here while the others got to escape.

At the end of the skirmish, though, I am unsure if any of this was worth it, with Gabe nearing death, and Echo gone.

Chapter Twenty-Six

For two weeks, I have Visions of Gabe at the border reaching for me, screaming my name. I promise him over and over again that I won’t leave him, but
Echo drags me away, and Gabe is gone. Then, something strange starts to happen, and my Visions subtly change. Where Gabe once stood at the fence, desperately grasping for me, now he doesn’t show up at all. In my Vision, I feel hollow and confused, as if I know he should be there, and for some reason, he is not, and I have no idea why. But I also feel compelled. Compelled to keep going. Compelled to believe that Gabe will understand, that he would want this for me, and that wherever I am going, it will be for the best, for the City, for the Seers…for both of us.

As I sit in front of a mirror surrounded with high-wattage light bulbs, another Seer is painting makeup on my face, and another is doing my hair. My red robes with the red satin trim and the violet eye embroidered over the right breast hang on a hook beside the mirror. These are the robes of the Keeper, which I will be named today, as tradition dictates, but they won’t be worn until after the ceremony. My identity as Beatrice will soon become nothing, and I will fill the shoes of a monster.

I especially feel less like myself because Gabe has yet to recover from his coma, and he won’t be here today to see me take over the whole Institution. I wear my raven pendant under my robes, close to my being, because it’s the only part of Gabe I have to hold on to right now. The only part of him here with me.

“There. Your hair and makeup for the ceremony are all done.”

“Thank you.” I rise and they back up a step, a sign of respect for my new station. I slip my robes on and clasp the silver hook that rests under my chin. When I look at myself in the mirror, I hardly recognize the face that stares back at me. My eyes have been rimmed in dark eyeliner, and the raven’s wings painted over them have been brushed with a luminescent powder that makes me look like I’m glowing.

“You look beautiful, My Keeper.” The Hairdresser folds her hands together and smiles at me. “Just beautiful. You’ll be a great Keeper, I just know it.”

But something in me doesn’t agree with her sentiment. I just don’t know what it is yet. Maybe it’s the fact that Gabe has yet to wake up, that part of my Vision has yet to come true, and that I’m not certain I want to fill the shoes of a woman, my mother, who almost destroyed us all without any hesitation.

“Thank you.” I force a smile in return. Over beside the stage, a manager directs me to come since the ceremony is about to begin. I swallow, and it feels like I’m sucking on sand. When I reach the edge of the stage, I catch a glimpse of the audience between the curtains. There’s maybe about a quarter of our original population left, and most are recovering from grievous injuries.

“Seers, please rise for the presentation of your new Keeper.” The announcement is made, and in unison, the Seers stand from their chairs, seat legs scraping across the ground.

I step out onto the stage, and there’s complete silence. It’s not customary to clap for the Keeper when she first arrives, only during the designated parts of the ceremony.

My gown is long and black, with a half train that follows behind me when I walk. I stop before a microphone held on a stand decorated with violet ribbons. With a bow of my head in greeting, I lunge forward into my speech.

“Seers, I thank you for coming here today. The City and the Institution are both recovering from a frightful time for most of us. We have seen and survived a war, an accomplishment that we should be proud of; we are still here today, breathing and experiencing the induction of a new Keeper.

“But at the same time, there’s a certain…uncertainty that plagues us. In our brigs, we house around fifty Dreamcatchers that we’ve managed to round up after the destruction of the Beacon. They have been beyond cooperative, but yet we still insist on keeping them captive.” I stop here, because there’s some murmuring that spreads through the crowd. Maybe they’ve already guessed that I plan on letting these Dreamcatchers go. This could be the first mistake I make as the Keeper.

“I will be letting them go, and they will go to their homeland of Aura, never to return to the City again without the express permission of the City and the Institution. I will also be conferring awards to those Seers, both alive and dead, who fought in this battle. I know you’ve lost your friends and loved ones while fighting back the Dreamcatchers, but we’ve all been deceived, and though I don’t expect you to know or understand that now, we will know and understand it in time. All of us.”

The silence is too loud. All of their violet eyes are set on me, and none of them look very happy at my proclamation. I press my lips together in a thin line and sigh. “I know you are unhappy with this, but you have to trust me as your new Keeper, that there’s logic behind my decisions. In my Visions I’ve Seen what we are going through…but not all has come true yet. We will have to face something more, and though it is not clear yet, I know that when it happens, we’ll all need to be on the same page.

“So allow me to be clear with you. From this day on, the Dreamcatchers are no longer our enemy. We are not friends, but we are not enemies either. We will strengthen our relationship through diplomacy, and if it succeeds, then we will live our lives free of enemy threats. And if it fails, then we will surely prepare ourselves for another war. This time, though, I, as your Keeper, will not be keeping you in the dark about the nature of our history with the Dreamcatchers. We’ve much to learn…much to discover…much to adjust to.”

There’s not even a stirring from the audience. I decide that this is a good time for me to stop my speech. “That is all. I thank you for your insistence that I take over the Institution, and I promise you that I won’t fail you.”
At least, I think I promise that.

Before I can leave, the raven, which had disappeared after the last Keeper’s death, descends upon my shoulder and spreads its wings behind my head. Its talons dig into my skin and I wince, knowing it has probably drawn blood. I exit stage left and disappear behind the curtains before the blood can seep through my dress. As soon as I’m out of view of the others, the talking and gossip begins in the audience. I can’t make out anything they are saying, but the general tone is not that of approval.

“I am going up to visit Gabe. Please don’t let anyone bother me.” This is said to Brandon and Elan, my two newly-appointed officials. They nod in understanding as I hurry off down the hallways to the infirmary.

The infirmary rooms are filled with patients, all suffering from war injuries. Gabe is kept in a side room where it is quiet and not so busy. I requested this room for him in hopes that he’d recover sooner. But in two weeks, there’s been no sign of improvement, and when I enter his room, I’m reminded of just how poorly he’s doing.

Gabe is hooked up to tubes and machines that beep and buzz at different intervals. I recall how proud he was of the scar that he got back when this all started. Even though he was annoying about it at the time, I’d much rather he had a simple wound like that than this never-ending coma.

I sit down in a chair beside his bed and scoot it close to the arm rail, which I drop down. Leaning over Gabe’s body, I rest my head on his chest and hold his hand in mine. He’s so warm, but so lifeless. I find it strange that someone can be in both states at one time. I close my eyes, blinking tears from under the lashes, and squeeze his fingers. “Please wake up, Gabe. I can’t do this without you.”

He doesn’t move, though. The machines continue to beep, and a nurse comes in to check on his progress, but nothing else happens. I squeeze Gabe close and rest my eyes. Eventually, I fall asleep.

…

It is nighttime, and I am back at the barricades, but everything is different now. There aren’t any screaming people, though there is a distinct feeling that something isn’t quite right. Behind me, the City is in shambles, but the watchtowers are still in place, operated by Watchmen who are much more on guard than before.

“Beatrice…”

I hear him calling for me like he did way back when I didn’t even know who or what he was. I head in the direction of Echo’s voice—I’ll have to cross the barrier and leave the City behind. Someone in the watchtowers sets off an alarm, and a spotlight swoops across the barrier to where I am standing, trying to figure out how to escape. I’m dressed in my Keeper’s robes, which are unmistakable to anyone who lives inside the City. Watchmen file from the tower and start to run toward me, but when they realize who I am, they hesitate and their footfalls come to a halt.

“Beatrice…”

Where are you?
I search the fields beyond the barrier, but I find no sign of Echo anywhere. I do note a hole dug under the fence, and after swallowing my fear and apprehension, I drop to the ground and belly my way under the barbed-wire. The Watchmen all run forward, yelling at me to come back, but I don’t turn back.

“Beatrice…”

I can’t turn back.

…

Brandon wakes me up. “Bea…er…My Keeper?”

I blink out of my sleep, turning my face into Gabe’s stomach. After taking a moment to wake up, I brush the wrinkles out of Gabe’s hospital gown and rise from my chair. “What is it? I’m sorry, I must have dozed off…”

“I just wanted to tell you that the Dreamcatchers have been released, as you’ve requested…but, um, they don’t know where to go.”

“Oh.” I didn’t think this far ahead. Where will they go without their ships? “Well, I have an idea, but I’ll need you to contact the Watchmen and tell them to prepare to turn off the barricades.”

Brandon stammers over his words, “W-what? Turn them off?”

“How else will they get through if we don’t let them through, Brandon? Think about it…they have no way home, and we don’t want them left here.”

He nods his head, eyes shifting to Gabe. “All right, I’ll let them know.”

“Tell them I’ll be down in a half hour. Round the Dreamcatchers up in the staging area.”

“Yes, My Keeper.” Brandon bows his head.

“And Brandon?”

“Yes?”

I smile. “Please don’t call me that.”

Brandon grins back at me and mock salutes. “All right, Bea.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The sun has set, and the barricades are no longer buzzing with electricity when we get to them. I lead the Dreamcatchers to the edge of the City where a gate provides an opening to the land beyond. A small conti
ngent of Watchmen and Seers stand with their rifles loaded, ready to put down anyone who causes any trouble.

Beatrice…

I look up when I hear my name, but no one is there. Lifting my hand into the air, I signal for the gate to be opened, and an annoying buzzer sounds, activating a yellow light that spins in circles. The Dreamcatchers file out of the City and into the fields beyond, but not one of them has given me any clue as to whether they know where they are going or not. They don’t even look at me on their way out.

Beatrice…

The sky turns purple and then black as the sun disappears beyond the horizon. When the last of them is out, the gate is pulled shut behind them and the powerful magnetic lock comes back to life, sucking the door closed. I turn to head back to the Institution, but when I hear my name called again, I stop and look back over my shoulder. Brandon and Elan continue on without me, the both of them chatting about something unimportant.

I have to save you…

I turn all the way around and face the meadow. It’s too late for me to walk out the gate, but I have an urge to run away from here before something happens that I can’t stop. I take a step toward the barricades.

You save me, and I save you…

“Echo?” I whisper into the night wind.

A Watchman realizes that I’m not behind them and stops the group. Everyone else pauses beside him, then turns when they want to see what he is looking at. “My Keeper?”

I look back at him, but I don’t bother turning around to catch up. Instead, I take another step closer to the electric fence.

“Beatrice? What are you doing?” Elan uses my given name instead of the formal title, which earns him a few choice looks from the others. “Where are you going?”

I still don’t answer them. “Echo? Where are you?”

Come with me; we need you now. My people need you. You are the only one who can save us…

“But where are you?”

“Who is she talking to?” a Watchman asks.

I see a hole that has been dug under the fence and it brings back my Vision…or was that a dream? Does it even matter anymore? I know I have to go under the fence, but I have no idea where I will go after that. All I know is that I have to find Echo.

I pause by the hole and chew on my bottom lip. Will Gabe ever forgive me for this? Will he understand like I think he understood in my Vision? Will I ever get back home? Though I don’t know the answers to these questions, a twisting, wrenching in my gut seems to understand what is going to happen, even if it’s not making it clear to me. I just know that something is not right here. I know there’s something more. Something that goes beyond my love for Gabe.

Beatrice…

“Beatrice! Come back!” Brandon starts after me, breaking away from the Watchmen.

I shed my Keeper’s robes, leaving me in the black gown underneath. It’s not going to be easy getting under the fence wearing this, but I haven’t another choice besides losing the gown as well and shimmying under naked, and that’s just not happening.

Taking one last step to the hole, I kneel down on my hands and knees, flatten myself onto my stomach and start to carefully slide under the electric wires. I say a silent prayer that my gown won’t get stuck or all of this will quickly be for nothing.

“Someone turn the fence off before she kills herself!” Brandon frantically snaps, his voice directed up toward the watchtower.

“Beatrice!” Elan yells at me, this time louder, like he is trying to break my trance.

But nothing can keep me from Echo. I’m being pulled to him, like how I felt when I was being pulled by him in my dreams. Nothing can keep me from whatever fate this is. I can’t leave Gabe behind, I don’t want to leave Gabe behind…

And then, I am on the other side of the fence. I am free. I slowly turn around and look back at Brandon, Elan, the Seers, and the Watchmen, and my heart sinks.

“I don’t expect you to understand this now.”

“Beatrice! Don’t do this!” Brandon continues to run toward the fence. “Come back!”

“I can’t.” I don’t know why I can’t. I don’t even know why I am saying that I can’t. But I do know that I just can’t. “I have to do this. We’ll understand it in time…I Saw it, Brandon. I Saw it in a Vision. And I Saw that it will be all right. Everything will be all right.” I pause and from behind me, I hear someone approaching.

Echo stops near me and puts his hand on my wrist. It doesn’t hurt. I don’t even feel the pain in my body when he gets near. His fingers slide down my hand and intertwine with my own.

I look over my shoulder at Echo and smile sadly at him. I turn back to Brandon, let go of Echo’s hand, and approach the fence. “Brandon?”

He looks at me with all the sadness in his eyes. “Please don’t go.”

I can’t let him shake me. “Tell Gabe, when he wakes up, that I love him.”

“Beatrice…” Echo calls for me. It’s time for me to go.

I don’t give Brandon time to respond. I step back, reach for Echo’s hand and allow him to tug me off through the fields and into his world beyond, the world where Paradigm came from, the one she warned us about, the world that threatens our own.
He doesn’t know any better…
I hear her in my head. And maybe he doesn’t. But neither do I.

The City is behind us, its million million lights flickering in the nighttime, lighting up the sky with an eerie, fuzzy halo that encapsulates all the towering buildings. The Institution stands taller than all of them, and as Echo and I walk away, I look back only once to burn the image into my mind so I won’t forget where I left Gabe in my choice to follow Echo.