Perilous Light (2 page)

“
Well, then, it’s a good thing you won’t be getting caught.”

Chapter Two

Kevin

If Marcus didn’t get off my back soon, he was a dead man. I would have thought that between basketball and class, my lack of dating wouldn’t matter much to my teammate and roommate, but he wouldn’t give it a rest.
Marcus didn’t have a girlfriend or anything, but as he liked to remind me, he at least played the field. I didn’t want to play the field anymore.

Marcus shut his mouth long enough for us to order food. After a tedious Thursday night of study hall with the rest of the freshman on the team, we’d decided to run off campus to grab dinner before heading back to the dorm.

“
Can I have extra hot peppers?” I asked the girl making my burrito. That was the most exciting decision I made all day. I loved playing ball, but the constant practices and control over every aspect of my life got old sometimes.

“
Sure, of course.” The girl seemed flustered and avoided eye contact.

“
Thanks.” Grabbing my food, I waited for her to ring up my order.

“
You’re welcome.” She peeked up and gave me a shy smile. I could tell it took a lot of effort.

Even after a few months at Carolina, I still wasn’t used to the way people treated us like celebrities. Of course, even if they didn’t recognize us, we would probably still attract attention. Standing a good six inches taller than my six-foot-four, Marcus was a hard guy to miss.

“
Come on, man.” Marcus wasn’t good at hiding his impatience.

We ate dinner quickly before heading back outside. As we walked down Franklin Street, past the souvenir shops, coffee houses, restaurants, and bars, we passed another student stumbling down the street. Two of his friends tried to steady him, but he laughed so hard they had trouble keeping him upright. Watching the spectacle reminded me of how different my Thursday nights were from other students. Once we were out of earshot, Marcus moved the conversation onto the other topic that was putting his wellbeing at risk—my sister. “So are you excited that your family is coming to watch the game on Saturday?”

I looked over at Marcus, already aware of where the conversation was going. “Yeah, of course, it kind of makes up for not seeing them on Thanksgiving.” I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, even though I was pretty sure he was trying to bait me.

“
Don’t forget to introduce me to your sister.” Marcus stepped out of my reach before I could hit him. He was kidding, but past experience made me especially overprotective of Charlotte. I think most brothers would feel the same way if their sister had been kidnapped, and then practically married to one of her abductors—not exactly a dream situation.

Annoyed at Marcus, I wasn’t paying attention to anything around us. I zoned out as he rambled on about some girl he met. We started around a corner, and I heard heavy footsteps. Before I could turn around, someone had my arms pinned behind me. The streetlights did little to illuminate the attackers, and I felt the sting of a needle just before a bag was shoved over my head. Disoriented, I fell down to the concrete sidewalk. I struggled in the abrupt darkness, thrashing in an attempt to get free. My heart pounded in my chest. Consciousness ebbed away, and everything went black.

***

I woke up in a small room lit only by a couple of candles. My first thought was that I was back in Energo. When I looked around, I discovered we were still in the “real world.” There were boxes of food products lining the walls, and the room smelled like barley or some kind of grain. I realized it was the smell of beer and figured we were in the storage room of a restaurant.

Marcus took a few minutes longer than I did to wake up from whatever drug we had been given. “What the hell is going on? The last thing I remember is someone grabbing me from behind and injecting me with something.” Marcus struggled to get up, but his arms and legs were bound like mine.

“
Same here.” I tried to keep my voice calm, but I was worried. Gradually, my strength returned as the drug wore off, but I knew we were still in trouble. The hard metal chair I was tied to was uncomfortable, but that was the least of my concerns. I couldn’t help but assume that our situation had something to do with Energo, but I didn’t understand what our captors wanted from me. For all appearances, I had walked away from my role on the Guard. I had even moved about three hundred miles from my sister. That should have reassured them I wasn’t a threat. Evidently, someone knew otherwise.

“
It appears the Winthrop bloodline is no longer as strong as it once was.”

My eyes immediately moved toward the doorway where a tall and lanky man stood staring at us. He was dressed in a simple black cotton uniform with black boots. Even in the dim light, I recognized the man as Norman, one of my mother’s former Guardians who had turned against her. My last name was Calloway and not Winthrop, but I didn’t bother to argue about him calling me by my mother’s maiden name.

I caught Marcus’s eye as he peered over at me with confusion. I wordlessly tried to send him a message to keep his mouth shut, but I failed.

“
Winthrop? I have no idea who or what you’re talking about, but the joke’s over. Let us out of here.” Marcus glared at Norman, and I hoped the older man would keep his cool.

“
Your friend here knows exactly what I am talking about. Right Kevin?” Norman smirked as I continued to fight against the restraints. My wrists were getting sore as they rubbed against the rope. The first time I met Norman, Monty had left him tied to a tree. The tables had turned.

“
At least let my friend go. He has nothing to do with any of this.” I had no idea how I was going to explain things to Marcus, but my immediate concern was getting him out unscathed.

“
No, I think I will let him listen.”

“
Listen to what?” I asked.

“
My warning.” Norman walked further into the room, followed by four men all dressed similar to him.

“
Let’s hear it, then.” I realized I should have been nervous, but I was more annoyed than anything.

“
Stay out of the affairs of Energo, Winthrop. It is not your fight.” Norman moved closer, and I could see that his eyes were red with large circles under them. Evidently, he wasn’t sleeping. If he was going to be such a jerk, at least he was suffering.

“
I wasn’t aware that I was involved in any affairs of Energo. I only went in to get my sister. I have her, end of story.” I hoped my lie was convincing.

“
You expect me to believe that you have nothing to do with the resistance your uncle is building?”

“
The only uncle I speak to is Monty, and last time I checked, the only thing he was building is a high school basketball team.” Part of me wanted to go off on Norman and give him my own warning about how the Resistance was growing stronger, but I didn’t think that would be a good idea.

“
Spin whatever tales you want. My message is the same. No matter how strong you think you are, we can crush you. You saw how easily we took you tonight. Have no illusions that next time we will be as nice.”

“
I still think it would be easier to kill him,” one of the nameless guys said.

“
That would only give the Resistance another cause to rally behind. Besides, Winthrop is not even a threat.” Norman walked back out into the hallway, slamming the door behind him.

“
Hey! Where are you going?” I called after him. I probably should have been relieved Norman didn’t want me dead, but I still didn’t want to be left tied up.

“
So, think you want to tell me what the hell is going on, Kevin?” Marcus had been silent for a while, and I had momentarily forgotten about him.

“
Long story, man.”

“
Well, as we’re tied up, I think I have time to hear it.”

“
You wouldn’t believe me.”

“
Try me. I’m already weirded out enough about being threatened by men dressed like characters from
Lord of the Rings
.”

I laughed. I would have felt the same way if I hadn’t already been to Energo. “My sister and I are really part of this royal family in a different world, and we’re trying to push out this guy who isn’t the real leader so we can restore peace.”

“
Seriously?” Marcus’s face revealed nothing.

“
Yes.”

“
That’s awesome. So does that mean your sister is a princess or something? That makes her even hotter.” Marcus grinned. He was lucky my hands were still tied because I would have socked him.

I fought against the restraints anyway, but all I accomplished was to dig the bindings deeper into my wrists.

“
I’d give it up. If you cut your wrists too much you’re going to be no use for the game on Saturday.”

I couldn’t believe that he was calm enough to be practical. “So what? We sit here and wait?”

“
Yeah, someone will find us eventually, no point making it worse.”

He was right, but I didn’t want to admit it. I hoped someone found us soon. My stomach grumbled loudly, the sound echoing off the confining walls.

Marcus laughed. “You starting to regret those extra hot peppers?”

***

At some point, we must have fallen asleep because I woke up to high-pitched screaming. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust, but the first thing I saw was a guy running in after a tiny redhead who I assumed was the source of the scream.

“
Oh, my God! Is that Kevin Calloway? And Marcus Williams?” It still seemed so weird being recognized by people I had never met.

“
Okay, I don’t know what you two are doing in here, or what kind of weird stuff you’re into, but let’s pretend this never happened. Just get out of here and get ready for the game on Saturday.” The guy untied Marcus and then moved on to me.

I wasn’t quite sure what the guy was implying, but I didn’t like it. “Um, yeah, sorry about this. It’s just—”

“
Like I said, let’s pretend this never happened.” The guy purposely avoided my eyes as he spoke.

I considered trying one more time to explain the situation, but it didn’t seem worth the effort. Hopefully, they were big enough fans that they wouldn’t start any rumors. My legs were stiff after sitting with them tied all night, but I got out of there as fast as I could with Marcus on my tail. The morning sun was harsh as we walked out into the alley.

“
So did we seriously spend the night in the storeroom of the Carolina Brewery?” Marcus asked as we gazed up at the sign after going around to Franklin Street.

“
Looks like it.” I was exhausted and just wanted to get home.

“
Great. I hope Coach doesn’t find out about this.”

“
Let’s hope no one does. If anyone asks where we were, we fell asleep at the library.”

Marcus regarded me skeptically. “The library? Like anyone is going to believe that.”

“
Then what do you suggest?”

“
We spent the night with some girls.”

“
Sure, whatever.”

“
That is, if you think anyone would believe
you
were with a girl.” My hands were no longer tied, so Marcus wasn’t so lucky.

Chapter Three

Charlotte

Antsy and excited, I waited for James by the front door. I turned on the outside light and paced back and forth, only stopping to look out the window. The week had flown by, and I couldn’t believe it was already time for the concert. Ready far too early, I ignored the cold and sat out on the porch to wait. When James pulled into the driveway, I got up and met him at the bottom of the steps.

“
Wow, you look hot.” James unapologetically took in my outfit as we walked to his car.

“
Hot? You’re really picking up on the vernacular, huh?”

“
Well, considering I wouldn’t have had a need to describe a girl like that in Energo, I decided your lingo was more appropriate.” James held open the door for me before walking around to the driver’s side.

I was glad the conversation had turned to language because I already regretted wearing the dress I had chosen. The black dress had seemed like a good idea when I picked it out on a shopping trip with Rachel, but it was a little shorter than the ones I usually wore. I had been hyped up and feeling more daring than usual.

James glanced at me before he started the car. “Of course, Calvin would probably have a heart attack if he saw you walking around in that dress, but lucky for me, he’s not here.”

I glared at him. As much as it hurt to hear Calvin’s name, I appreciated that James at least said it. Everyone else acted as though it was a bad word or something. I sat back and tried to relax as we headed to the show. James had assured me a million times that my ID would work, but I kept picturing myself being thrown in jail once the bouncer figured out I was only seventeen.

“
Charlotte, please tell me that you are not worrying about getting in again. Trust me; it’s going to be fine. So relax, okay?”

“
I’ll try.” I smiled weakly but couldn’t stop fidgeting.

James parked the car and came around to open my door. I had spent enough time with him to know that opening it myself would have just annoyed him. Thankful for the help, I accepted James’s outstretched hand. Getting out of a car in a short dress could be awkward. As we headed down the block to the club, he moved his hand to the small of my back. I was sure that anyone watching us would think we were a couple, but I had stopped caring about it months ago, as Calvin wasn’t there to get jealous.