The Keepers of Azera ( Book 1 of the Keepers Trilogy)

Chapter 19

My father squints at me, probably disbelieving what his eyes see. "Callie? Is that really you?"

"Yes, it's me," I say. For a moment, I wonder why he didn't recognize me on sight, but then I remember the last time he saw me, I was only five.

He climbs down the stairs and hugs me tightly. "Oh, my dear child," he murmurs into my hair. "It's been too long." He pulls away and examines my face. "You've grown so much." He touches my swollen cheek where Matilda struck me. I wince. "But what happened to your face?"

The mere question brings me to tears again. "Poppa, Matilda-"

I cut off as I hear James call my name from the floor below. I look at Poppa and he looks at me. Then he calls down the stairs, "James?"

We hear James's footsteps as he runs up the stairs. "Alex," he gasps. Then he nods his head down to him. "Chief."

"James, there's no need for that," Poppa says. "We've been friends long before this one-" he gestures to me- "was conceived."

James shrugs. "Customary. What brings you here?"

"I'll answer that in an second," Poppa says. "First, tell me what happened to my daughter. That mark-" he turns my face so James can see it- "will bruise. I want to know what happened so I can bring it up to the rest of the board-if they're not so blinded to see it."

"Matilda..." James sighs. "Callie provoked Matilda and she lashed out."

"I wasn't trying to provoke her," I say sourly, "and she shouldn't have hit me. Poppa, you have influence on the board, you're the Chief-can't you do something about this? How do they not know what's going on?"

"They won't listen," Poppa says quietly. "She's got them under her thumb-and being Head Trainer of the Keepers, that means she's on the board, too."

"I don't understand, though. You're the Chief Keeper; you should have say on how the Keepers-in-Training are treated," I protest.

"Yes, I make the decisions of all Keepers, from training to combat. But their actual training falls under Matilda." My father pinches the bridge of his nose. "If I could override their decision, you know I would. I wouldn't let anything happen to the younger Keepers."

"But Simon's coming closer to the Training Base," I say. "I had a flashback, a couple nights ago, of you and the commander talking. Because he wants me, for some reason."

"His army is at bay. For now," Poppa says. He fixes the high collar of his robe. "But we're not sure how much longer we'll be able to hold them off. We're losing Keepers-so many that we've had to pull them out of battle."

"Why does he want me?" I ask quietly. "Me, the useless of all Keepers in combat? Don't tell me that it's because of military tactics. And I thought fighting on Tarak ceased. That's what Henri told me."

"Why you? You knew Simon best. You trust him. The two of you were close as can be. After all, James and Baya did spend a lot of time together, so it was natural that the two of you would as well."

James blushes and looks into the corner. "How long will you be able to hold him off?" he asks, changing the subject a little.

"A little while," Poppa says. "A month at the most."

"And then what?" I ask. "Will we be moved?"

Poppa gives me a sad smile. "I wish I knew, child. I wish I knew."

I take a deep breath and exhale. I don't want to think about what might happen in a month. So I ask, "Where's Momma?"

"She stayed back at Axedence," Poppa says. "She didn't want to leave Artemis."

Artemis. She brings a lump in my throat, even though I never met her. I barely even think about her, and I've only heard her name maybe three times. He had said the same thing last time, about how Momma stayed behind. "How is she?"

"They're both okay. Artie's planning on studying medicine," Poppa says. This only makes me feel a little worse, because in my mind, she's still nothing more than a photograph that Poppa showed me. Before the incident, before the lock-down. And now she's old enough to pick out what she wants to study. I remember the locket that Henri gave me. He gave me a picture of a stranger in there.

"Do you have any photos of her?" I ask.

Poppa pulls out a photograph and hands it to me. I take it and unfold it. It's the same picture of the girl in my locket. A young girl, around eight years old, smiles at me. Her long, blonde hair and pale skin remind me of Momma. The Northerner look. She wears a simple white dress. The only resemblance to me is the grey eyes and the jaw line. It's hard to believe that the person who's the most closely genetically related to me is a complete stranger to me.

"So that's her now?" I say, looking at it. "I can't believe it. She's all grown up."

"Keep it," my father says, nodding at the photograph. "But I want a photo of you, too. She asks about you daily. She's quite eager to meet you."

I nod, still looking at the photograph. "I can't wait to meet her too. Why couldn't they both come along?"

"I'm here on business, Calypso," Poppa says. "And I don't want either of them here now, during the war."

I take a shaky breath and pocket the photograph. "What sort of business, Poppa?"

"Regarding the Training of the older Keepers," Poppa says. "I'll only be here for a couple days."

I nod. "It's better than not seeing you. I missed you, Poppa."

He hugs me again. "I missed you too, child. You're so grown-up now. I still think of you as a little baby."

I nod into his chest and sneak a peek at James. He's just standing there awkwardly. "Hey, James!" I say. "You should join in."

He shakes his head. "No, I'm fine. Where are you staying, Alex?"

"I'm not quite sure yet. I don't think the capitol is suitable at the moment."

"You could stay in our dorm," I say, pulling away to look at his face. "James, you can sleep on the couch."

"Thanks, kid," James says. "Or-oh, I've got an even better suggestion! Callie, you're sleeping on the couch."

I make a face at him. But Poppa says, "I think we can deal with that minor issue later. I need to speak with some of the other Guardians."

He kisses me on my head and goes downstairs. I watch him go. Then James comes over and puts an arm around me shoulders. "Well, that's a surprise," he comments. "I didn't know Alex would be here."

"Me neither," I say. I pull the photo out of my pocket. Artemis. I wonder what life's like for her, living in Axedence. I wonder if she worries about her safety, like I do late at night. I never thought about her for years, and the guilt tugs at me.

Some sister I am.