Legacy (The Biodome Chronicles) (22 page)

“I nominate Leaf Watson for the exchange,” Jeff offered in a shaky voice, casting a quick look her direction.

The smile on her face withered.

“I second that nomination,” a familiar voice called out. Looking into the crowd, she located Timothy, the Wind Element.

“I nominate Leaf Watson as well,” Connor Hansen voiced confidently.

“As do I,” Coal said as he walked into the building.

Her heart pumped through her chest acute with pain.

Canyon pulled up beside her, his smile fading as she turned toward him. They both stood silently as another community member nominated Leaf. Oaklee felt her eyes roll to the back of her head, and her body lost all strength.

***

People are conduits of energy, human computer chips firing off information and storing data. People either communicate fear or love with their energy. Fear tears down relationships. Love builds and reconnects what was once lost, creating new roads that lead to a better future. What kind of energy do you communicate?

—
Dr. Della Jayne Nichols, “Love vs. Fear Mentality,”
Psychology Today
, November 2029

Truly, it is in darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us.

When you are thwarted, it is your own attitude that is out of order.

—
Meister Eckhart, 14th century A.D. *

***

H
er knees gave way, and the world slowly began to fade to black when a pair of arms came around her waist, providing unexpected strength.

“All will be well, just wait and see.”

The words were wrapped in warmth and covered her like a soothing blanket. She closed her eyes to gather her wits, leaning into the embrace. Hearing another nomination for Leaf caused a tight and strangled cry to emerge. Earlier in the day, she tried to convince Leaf to go, and felt confident in her reasons. But hearing the will of the community felt like betrayal, a knife in her back. She looked up, stunned to find Ember as the benefactress of comfort who kindly smiled down on her like an angel of mercy. The serene countenance of Ember emboldened her spirit, and she stood straight up—Hurricane Willow making landfall, as her family would say.

“Has the community taken leave of their senses?” All eyes turned her direction. Both Leaf and Coal startled, anxiously meeting the glances of those around the room. “We just lost our father, not even out of our week of mourning, and the only person the township and The Elements wish to nominate is Leaf?”

Community members shifted uncomfortably, refusing to meet her eyes.

“Get her out of here!” Leaf boomed.

“No! I refuse to go! I refuse to let the community do this to our family, Leaf!” Oaklee began shaking with the building rage. “Tell them ‘no.’”

Leaf swallowed and looked down at his feet, and she felt her stomach tighten.

Her eyes fired up as they locked onto Coal and she walked over, slapping him across the face. “How dare you! How dare you do this to me! I thought you were a better man than this! I thought I could trust you!”

Coal turned red with her accusations, her hand print swelling on his cheek, but he refused to turn away from her glare. The gathering gasped, and she darted her eyes over their gaping expressions, astonished by the lack of support.

“I said get her out of here!”

Leaf shouted with such authority that some of the men, including Connor, sprang into action, gently grabbing her arms while leading her out of the Great Hall. The will to fight left her trembling body, too stricken by Leaf’s public rejection, and she walked away compliant.

She looked over her shoulder consumed with despondence, and found Jeff standing in the doorway watching on with nervous glances. Why did the idea of Leaf leaving feel so right and feel so wrong at the same time? Was she losing her mind?

Oaklee pushed her way out of the hands that escorted her, giving Connor a wounded expression before running off.
Emotions raced through her body and gave unnatural strength as she tried to escape her enclosed world. She leapt over rocks and rows of agriculture, flying through The Orchard, no longer caring about secrets and scandals. Her mind raced faster than her feet, furiously yearning for a way out. Oaklee continued to run, almost reaching the North Cave before she collapsed, crumpling into a heap upon the leaf-littered ground. Escape was not an option, and she desperately gulped in air to fill her lungs with that reality.
Leaf assured her that if he left, she and Laurel would accompany him. But now he would leave her to face a community she could no longer trust or depend upon. Her frame shook violently as sobs racked her body, and she curled up on the ground, bracing against the pain.

Coal had betrayed her as punishment. She possessed no inkling that he carried such cruelty, and one that ran so deep. And how could Leaf stand there and receive the nominations without defending his right to protect his family in bereavement? She needed him. Laurel needed him. Leaf had promised that they would be well, that he would do all in his power to protect them. She had believed him. She had trusted him. Oaklee had also trusted her mother and father, and they kept a life-altering secret from Leaf with no further direction on what to do or how to act. If anything happened to Leaf when he left, she would become The Aether and the responsibility and burden would be hers to carry and endure.

Oaklee sobbed, inconsolable against the truth, pressing her hands into her stomach to ease the nausea. Time seemed irrelevant as her body continued to purge the betrayal. She startled when cold fingers seeped through her linen dress as they touched her back, soothing her flushed skin.

“Go away!” she screamed through fresh tears, refusing to look up.

“No, my dear. You need a friend right now.”

Oaklee peered up hesitantly, recognizing the kind and comforting voice. Ember rubbed her back with such care and concern that she no longer found the strength to resist. Muscles twitched as she attempted to sit up, but she collapsed from fatigue, her head landing in Ember’s lap. If Coal’s sister found this uncomfortable, she did not let her know. Instead, she began stroking her hair with motherly affection as fresh sobs began anew. The comfort eased her pain after a little while, and she closed her eyes, succumbing to an overwhelming exhaustion while feeling safe and understood for the first time in days. Ember did not want something from her, did not ask her to move. She did not give her advice, tell her how to feel, or provide cheery and philosophical comments from a soul unacquainted to personal loss. Oaklee hiccupped and shuddered as her body recovered from the emotional trauma, bewildered thoughts dancing before her as she drifted to sleep.

Sometime later, Oaklee awoke to find her head still in Ember’s lap. She could feel Ember’s vocal vibrations, but could not make out her words. A deep voice responded, catching Oaklee’s attention. Flitting open her eyes, she squinted as she adjusted to the dim light. Her swollen eyes protested, the gravity of their extra weight closing her lids. She tried to sit up, causing the voices to halt, and warm hands reached for her, helping her to a sitting position. Ember repositioned herself to her side, acting as a full body crutch for her weakened state. Oaklee’s vision was blurry, but she could tell that both Leaf and Coal sat opposite of her on the forest floor.

She drawled in pain, “I do not wish to speak with either of you.”

“Laurel is at home waiting for you. She needs you, Willow,” Leaf said softly.

“My name is
Oaklee
.”

“Oaklee, your sister needs you.”

She could hear the urgency in Leaf’s voice, but this was a mess of his own making. Sure, Laurel needed her now, but only because Leaf had failed them.

“I will go home to Laurel, but you are not welcome,
My Lord
.” Oaklee looked up at Leaf, hoping he recognized the raw pain. “And you,” she turned her attention to Coal, “are not allowed to come near me.”

She watched him swallow back emotion, blinking his eyes.

“Oaklee, please permit me to speak, it is not what it seems...”

The words died on his lips when Leaf placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head with a gentle warning. Coal plucked a piece of grass and twirled it in his fingers, his brows drawn together in distress. Her handprint still smarted on his che
ek, and she internally smiled.

“You
are
a stupid, insensitive fool,” Oaklee hissed through gritted teeth.

Coal’s head instantly fell as he got up and walked away.
His muscles rippled with tension, and the veins popped out on his neck as he threw the piece of grass. She felt her heart grow cold and heavy confused by his words and actions, tiring of his unpredictable and needy behavior this week.

“Bitterness is not your way, Oaklee,” Leaf said in a soft, even voice, the same voice he used to calm spooked animals.

This made Oaklee stiffen.

“What is my way,
My Lord
? To become an object for people to mistreat and harm? And then present myself with grace and elegance as a lady, receiving the betrayal without response? You shall not break me with your unfeeling expectations, Leaf. Now you and Coal both know I have limits.”

Oaklee tried to stand up, but fell when dizziness made her head swim.

“Let me assist you.”

Ember gently placed her hands under Oaklee’s arms and helped her stand, forcing her to lean against the Daughter of Fire until her body regulated and felt more stable. Without further communication, Ember turned in the direction of the apartments, assisting her with each step.

Coal’s sister paused momentarily, then looked over her shoulder at Leaf. “I shall care for your family, My Lord. You may sleep at my home this night. My father would be honored by your company.”

Leaf nodded his gratitude, warming with embarrassment, and then watched them walk off toward his apartment. His sister was half-dead from a broken heart and, he was beginning to think, a broken mind too.

Leaf was spent, and his body painfully ached from trying to remain strong beneath the weight of all the trauma. He had never known such exhaustion.

Willow was going insane, he was quite sure of it. Truly, he had never seen another soul quite so jumpy other than Jeff, who was also recently afflicted. This morning, Willow was nearly begging him to leave New Eden, and then suddenly she snapped—as if her family and friends had conspired against her. Perhaps they had, but it was in tandem with her argument that very morning, nothing to concern her so deeply, or so he thought. If she had given him opportunity, or was in a right mind to listen, he would have explained the plan, with Coal as a witness.

She would now have to wait and find out. He did not want to divulge details that could be misconstrued by the wrong ears simply because she was unable to control her emotions and thoughts. He would not put her in that position, knowing it would create a moral dilemma that her fragile state could not process properly.

His heart broke for his sisters, and he wished he could mend Willow. If he could begin the last four days all over again, there were several things he would do differently. Hindsight, he was told by the older generation, is 20/20. He was not sure what that meant exactly, but it sounded right. Ember was ever so patient, soft and nurturing, a perfect nurse for Willow’s broken heart and an older sister for Laurel until Willow was able to stand on her feet.

Leaf had much to discuss with Coal and needed to do so quickly before he fell asleep standing up. After Willow left the milking pen, he had confronted Coal only to discover a new fear, a new burden to carry, and he understood why Coal was acting so strangely toward Willow. The young man had overheard an alarming conversation between Connor and Brianna the day his father had died, and he realized that Willow needed protection beyond that of a brother as next in line to The Legacy. Leaf knew Coal’s concerns were true, especially in light of the death card he kept in his pocket. As a gentleman, Coal wanted Willow to feel everything was genuine and not born of real concern or urgency. He was wounded by her unexpected and harsh rejection, feeling trapped by knowledge and never imagining Willow would refuse him, especially in such a manner. Coal loved Willow ardently, and he would be willing to lay down his own life for her safety.

Part of Leaf wanted to make the arrangement between his sister and Coal this instant as protection, but he knew Willow would never go along with it. Especially now.

There was a lot to prepare. In less than two days’ time, New Eden would receive her first Outside visitor in twenty years. The township would also have the very first community member walk out of the sealed doors. He had an idea, and a plan was forming in his mind. The additional information Coal had given him had fleshed out the motive behind the request his father had made before dying, a suspicion he played with, and now believed.