Page 23 of A Clash of Embers

Leo moved first, reaching his hand out to Callan, and pulling him aboard the ship. When he was finally standing up right, Callan punched Leo in the shoulder. Leo gripped his wounded shoulder and cried out, “What the fuck, dude?”

Callan walked directly towards me and stopped a mere inch from my face. His eyes were blazing with anger but then his eyes softened slightly before he spoke.

“Don’t ever tie me to the grass again. I couldn’t punch you, that’s why I punched Leo instead.” He grunted as he turnedand stormed off to the other side of the ship like a two-year-old throwing a temper tantrum.

Leo walked to my side and put his arm around me, leaning in close to my ear and whispered, “Next time, tie him up tighter.” He pressed a kiss to the side of my head as we turned to watch the ship sail away from Monowi and back to the same port city we had voyaged from originally.

Leo and I conversed easily together, distracting ourselves from the rough seas. I learned that the city we stayed in was called the Wharf, situated on the edge of the region of Avellino, which was controlled by Athiana, the Angels. I also learned the exciting news about us traveling to the region of Lacassine, to meet with the Thea family, which meant I finally got to see Luke.

Queen Anne had assured me that Luke would remember me and that gave me hope. I was also curious as to what this meeting would be about because not a lot of information was passed along to me, as always. I was going to need to step up and use my powers more to demand information and I would do it at the right time.

Before I realized it, I saw the smoke rising from the wooden houses in the distance.

We made it.

It was still early in the morning, so once we docked, only a few locals were out and about. I knew once we disembarked, we would immediately start our trek to Lacassine, leaving Monowi and the city of Wharf behind.

Stepping off the ship, my eyes shifted to the inn, and noticed flowers lying at the bottom of a brick wall. Without saying anything, I walked towards the building to take a closer look. There was a young girl, probably around ten years old laying flowers amongst the dozens of others. She had a mournful expression with a few tears streaming down her soft pale face.

“I’m sorry to ask, but what happened?”

The young girl stood and turned towards me, wiping away her tears. “Mrs. Lockley passed away a few days ago. It was very sudden. She passed in her sleep, peacefully.”

I felt my chest tightening, hearing this devastating news. Susan Lockley was such a kind lady and she helped me without asking for anything in return. Purely out of the goodness in her heart.

I asked the young girl, “Do you know where she is buried?”

She nodded and took my hand into hers. “I’ll show you, it’s around the corner.”

The young girl walked me to a small cemetery at the edge of the tree line a few blocks away from the inn. I noticed the soft dirt patch covering a recent burial along with a name plate.

Susan Ann Lockley. A guiding light to all.

I felt the tears welling in my eyes thinking of how many lives she had touched. My eyes drifted to the name plate next to hers.

James Loewen Lockley. An ember for our world.

Their name plates represented each other. She was the light leading others to their happiness, and he was the ember, the fire, to keep them going. I knew they completed one another without me even knowing them personally.

I noticed the wilted flowers by his grave and wanted to give them back the life they once knew. I pushed out the essence within me and soft waves of silver light wrapped around the wilted flowers allowing color and structure to be placed within them once again. When I pulled back my power, that’s when I realized what flowers they were.

Hybrid Chrysanthemums.

The flowers that swap energy to survive. The tears were streaming down my face as I realized I had madebothflowers become alive again. I could never do that as a child. I had always been unsuccessful, but this time… I wassuccessful. A voicestartled me as I turned around to face the soft and caring face of Leo.

“I was wondering where you ran off to. As soon as I heard, I knew I would find you here.” Leo walked towards me and kneeled next to me on the ground as he examined the flowers in front of me. He reached out, touching them tenderly with his fingertips.

“Did you do that?”

I nodded and wiped my tears off my face before I turned to face him. “Even though I didn’t know them, I feel like I did. I can sense their love being so pure and unrelenting. It’s so unfair that their love is over now,” I said in a quivering voice.

He nudged closer to me and placed his hand over mine in my lap, squeezing it gently. “Clara, you must know that their love is not over, it lives on. They left their mark here. Their love is here in these people, and they will continue to share and spread that love even though James’ and Susan’s physical presence is no longer here.” He paused and pulled his hand toward my chin to tilt my head up to look into his eyes. “Were you ever told about what happens to us when our life here ends?”

I shook my head but gave him the only response I knew. “I had heard that there would be a place for me when I leave this physical place, but it was never truly discussed with me.”

He tilted his head at me curiously as he spoke. “When we pass, our soul has two paths. If you have successfully fulfilled your purpose in this world, your soul continues into Empyrean, a place of paradise—where I am sure Susan and James are rejoined happily together. Whereas, when we have not fulfilled the purpose of this life and are seen as unsuccessful in our endeavors, we live eternally in the abyss, a vast expanse of nothingness.”

My eyes were blinking so fast that I was trying to keep up with this revelation of information. “I didn’t know that. Are you sure it’s all true?”

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