Redemption (Night Marchers #2) Written by: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels (19 page)

I want to say,
because you are an evil
bastard who's trying to gain immortality at the expense of human
life and your very own brother's soul.
Instead I say, "I don't
know. I think it's great that you are helping Kai. You are a good
brother." I want to wash my mouth out with soap.

He looks at me as if trying to tell if I
meant it. I'm amazed that there is no hint of true remorse or guilt
in his gaze. He says, "Well, I owe him." He stands up and puts his
hand out to help me.

I take it and say, "Thank you."

"You are welcome. Let's start over, are you
ready to go save Kai?" He says then asks, "By the way, what is Kai
to you? Why are you going to such lengths to save a mere man?" I
can tell he really wants to know. His curiosity has peaked his
interest.

"He saved me so I need to help him. Also, I
love him." I feel more and more free every time I acknowledge this
fact. I didn't really know how I felt before, but knowing it makes
me want to shout it from the rooftops. I just wish I could be
saying those words to Kai himself and not his evil twin
brother.

"You love him? You barely know him." Kao says
amused as if I am confessing some immature childish crush.

"I don't expect you to understand, but I do.
I will do
anything
to help him." I instantly regret saying
those words. I can tell that Kao's wheels are turning in his head.
I just offered myself up as a powerful pawn since Kao knows that
I’ll do whatever it takes to save the man I love.

"Good." He says, then without further adieu
he heads back across the beach towards the valley. This time I
follow him.

I keep trying to think of ways to stall this
trek we're on. If I could, I would fall and act like I injured
something, but that isn’t an option right now. Kao would call my
bluff. My brain is reeling as we climb up the towering cliffs. I
force myself to not look down as Kao leads at an unprecedented
speed. I slow myself, not because I can’t do it but because I need
more time. I can act the part of slow, helpless, weak girl any
day.

This time, Kao doesn’t get far before he
realizes I’m lagging behind. He turns and glares at me and just as
quickly his features soften. “Do you need help?” He calls down
after me.

“Umm, yes.” It came out as more of a question
than a statement.

Kao doesn’t seem to notice though as he
climbs slowly back down to where I am. “Just follow me and put your
feet where I put mine. That way you won’t fall.”

My eyes widen at his bluntness and I end up
looking down. Worst. Mistake. Ever. I'm more than fifty feet above
the beach where we last stood. Less than four inches of earth
separate me from where I climb and where the cliff drops off. A
feeling of vertigo sets in making my hands start to sweat and my
legs feel shaky. I let out a small, shrill cry and grab to the rock
for dear life. I hear rocks break ahead of me where Kao has his
footing and squelch a little louder. I never knew I had a fear of
heights, but I guess when I don’t have an ounce of protection like
ropes or climbing gear it might make just about anyone scared.

“Emma,” Kao hollers from above. “Emma, just
keep going. We are almost there. You can do it.”

I take several deep breaths before I respond,
“Okay.” It was all I could muster at the moment, but it was enough
to appease Kao. The sun is starting to set and I know I need to get
to the top before I'm out here in the pitch dark.

Kao begins climbing again watching for me to
follow every now and then. As he finally reaches the top he turns
and extends his hand back towards me. I reluctantly grab it as he
hoists me to solid ground. I fall facedown and grab the earth in my
hand. My limbs shake as I lay there thankful I survived the climb.
I turn my head to the side and see the ocean far below us. It makes
me think about Kai, and what must have gone through his mind before
he tried plummeting to his death. Could this be the very cliff he
jumped off? I try not to think about it.

I don’t have much time to get myself together
before Kao is at my side. “We need to go now,” is all he says as he
starts walking to the nearest tree a few yards away. I scramble to
get up and follow him. He is a man on a mission and I am very
hesitant about making him wait on me.

We get to the tree as he pulls a small shovel
out of his bag. Before he starts digging he turns to ask me, “Could
it be this one?”

I nod my head instead of risking my voice. I
have no clue what to do at this point other than continue stalling
until, by some miracle, he spills the beans.

Kao begins digging in the soft green earth as
I take the time to scan my surroundings. I am just truly hoping
right now that the Menehunes and the Night Marcher chief are
somewhere nearby. The sun is almost fully set and the sky is
growing eerily dark. I watch Kao dig up the earth all around the
tree until he has nowhere else to dig. He breathes in short breaths
from the exertion of digging and turns his head towards me while
his back is still hunched over. He slams the shovel down and comes
barreling towards me. With nowhere to back up I close my eyes and
put my arms over my face. “Any more bright ideas young lady?” He
says in an all too irritated voice.

“It’s around here somewhere. I remember it
being a tree close to the cliff.” I peak out from between my arms
as I watch Kao’s face.

His eyes squint while he looks at me,
probably trying to see if he believes me or not. He takes the
backpack off his back and throws it at me. “Here, find a
flashlight,” he says while turning around and grabbing his
shovel.

I reach into the bag and find the flashlight.
Looking up I check to see if Kao is looking, then screw off the
back of the light. I quickly turn one of the batteries over and
replace the back plate. I rush to catch up to Kao and hand him the
light. He turns around just long enough to grab it roughly out of
my grip and then continues on to the next tree.

When we arrive Kao turns back towards me.
“Shine that light right here while I dig.” He hands me back the
light. Knowing the light isn’t going to turn on I realize I’m going
to have to play the part of innocent bystander.

I dramatically click the light on and off
over and over and then look to Kao in utter confusion. “It doesn’t
work.”

Kao throws his shovel down and stomps towards
me. This time I only flinch as he reaches out and grabs the light
back from my hand. I watch him as he switches the light on and off
several times and shakes the light uncontrollably up and down. A
guttural growl emanates from his throat as he throws the flashlight
over the cliff. My eyes get wide as I realize he could just do the
same to me if he wanted too.

“Those things never work well anyway.” I
watch as he suddenly peels off his shirt revealing his all too
toned abs. He takes his shirt and shreds it into several long
pieces. He wanders around with the small amount of light he has
left from the moon and finds a long thick stick. He begins winding
the shirt around and around the top of the stick and somehow ties
it all together. He grabs the pack from me and finds a lighter. I
hear him mumble something about it being the best invention from
the twentieth century and then he sets the torch ablaze. The eerie
shadows that emanates off his face cause me to flash back to the
night when I saw Kao for the first time as a Night Marcher. It’s
eerie and almost more than I can bear.

I avert my gaze to the ground as Kao comes
closer to me. He gently grasps my hand in his and places my hand
over the bottom of the torch. “Hold this while I dig.”

I wrap my hand tighter around the torch and
bring my other hand up to help sustain it. Kao begins digging again
at the base of the tree, more than likely on a wild goose chase. My
fingers nervously trace the complex patterns on the stick in my
hands. I need to get him talking; I have to get him to confess or
all of this will have been for nothing.

“So, Kao…” I begin, knowing good and well I
am starting on a lengthy monologue. “Tell me something, are Night
Marchers the only supernatural being on the Island? I mean, I think
it’s pretty neat there’s more to life out there than most know.
Where I come from, the only supernatural being that we talk about
is maybe Bloody Mary and she isn’t even real. I would know; I tried
calling out to her with my friend Kaylee when we were 12.”

Kao looks up from where he’s digging,
interrupting my thought process. I force a small smile at him,
hoping this gets him talking. He slowly puts the shovel down and
stands up. He wipes his hands on the front of his pants and slowly
starts to make his way towards me. I stand there trying not to let
the torch shake in my trembling hands.

“Emma, you have no idea what other
supernatural beings are out there. I don’t think you really want to
know.” He pauses briefly as he edges closer to me. “There are
things
out there that would make your nightmares scream.”
The way he says this makes my palms begin to sweat. His expression
becomes far more sinister as he invades my personal space. The
light of the fire dances off his irises making me shudder. “And to
be honest with you…” Kao begins, “I’m not sure you would want to
know. How do they say this now, ignorance is bliss?”

I nod my head in agreement as his finger
glides over my cheek. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear as I
try and stand as still as possible. He smirks at me a second too
long and turns around and begins digging again.

I take a deep breath trying to calm myself.
He was extremely angry the last time he didn’t find the bones;
there’s no telling how he’s going to feel this time around.
Suddenly his shovel hits something hard near the base of the tree
and Kao jabs it a few more times mimicking the same sound. I watch
his hands as they begin to dig double time attempting to unearth
whatever lies underground. Several small shaped bones appear, one
after the other. Kao’s hands become greedy as he rips them from the
earth.

What the heck? He found the proverbial
needle in a haystack,
I think to myself as I watch this
impossible feat unfold. I'm literally dumbfounded that I actually
lead Kao to the chief's bones without even knowing their true
location. What are the odds?

Within a few minutes Kao has a small pile of
bones stacked next to him.

Crap, crap, crap!
I certainly wasn't
prepared for this. Now that he has found his prize, I know that he
is done with me. His eyes and body language say it all. There is no
need to keep me around anymore. I'm so frustrated with myself for
accidentally leading him here. To top it off how convenient for him
that the cliff is right next to us? Such easy access to death.

An evil laugh permeates the silent night and
I cringe in response. Kao gets up rather abruptly and comes and
grabs the backpack from the ground where I stand. He fishes through
it for different items he apparently needs. From here it looks like
some small plants, a lighter, and some different pieces of delicate
jewelry. He tosses the backpack back down after he has what he
wants and goes back to the pile of bones. He begins placing them in
an animal skin and ties them with a small piece of twine. He takes
the small bushel of plants and begins lighting them on fire. An
ancient smell begins to permeate the air as I hear Kao chant
something in a different language. He gathers the small pieces of
jewelry and places them on top of the bag with the bones tucked
away inside. Kao stays like this for several minutes, chanting the
same eerie saying over and over again. I watch him as he takes a
knife from the dirt. I don’t remember seeing him grab that when he
was searching through the backpack. He begins to rip through his
pants continuing up to his knee. He repeats the chant one more time
and waves the smoking plants in a figure eight and then places them
by his side. I watch in disbelief as he takes the knife and slices
into his leg releasing blood that pours down the side of his leg.
He takes some of the blood onto his knife and drops it on the top
of the jewelry letting it drip down to the bag itself. He bows his
head one last time before his eyes gleam open. It’s almost as if he
was in a trance-like state for the past few minutes. He turns his
head towards me and an evil laugh permeates the air. I watch Kao
with a fixed stare as he gets up off the ground. The blood is still
dripping from the wound he caused.

Kao must see me staring at his wound. “Not to
worry Emma, it will heal all too quickly now. You see, now I
myself, am immortal.”

My heart is beating so hard I feel as if my
chest is going to explode. My brain still hasn't processed
everything I just saw, it's so other worldly and just unbelievable.
How could I have led him to the chief's bones? It's absolutely
absurd! A single tear releases from my eye unwillingly and my eyes
drop to the ground.
It’s all over now
, I think to myself.
There’s not going to be any way to help Eve, or get back
Kai.
Kao must sense that I know what’s coming next because he
smirks evilly.

“Wait,” I surprise myself saying. “I know
you’re going to kill me, and for some reason I'm okay with that.
But please, I beg you, before you do I have just one question that
I would like you to answer.” Kao cocks his head to the side and
nods his head to go on. “Did you kill a Menehune named Adam?” I
watch as Kao’s eyebrows rise up. I’m sure he is surprised to hear
that I know about Adams death, but probably more surprised I know
about the Menehunes at all.

“That’s your question, Emma?” He asks me
point blank. I nod my head in response as his expression changes.
“I did what I had to do. Did I kill Adam? Yes, I did. That little
Menehune was supposed to be the key to me finding immortality. But
when I realized that you would be the better pawn I did away with
him.”