Broken. Just like me.
The slice in time was more fortunate than I was, though. Because, tomorrow, it wouldn’t feel or remember anything.
I WANDERED from place to place and time to time with the travel glasses for days, finding bits of food to eat and hidden places to sleep, ignoring any incoming communications through the travel glasses. I finally understood what Enta was doing, and what it felt like to want to forget.
But the more I tried to forget Valcas, the more I didn’t want to forget him. Ironically, it was not wanting to forget him that helped me decide where I would go next: to a place with purple-red sand dunes and an all-night sky with crescent-shaped moons. To the White Tower, where I hoped Valcas would fall in love with me again.
And if it didn’t work the first time, I would try again, and again. I would travel to the same time and place over and over until we were together again.
Even if that meant getting lost.
EMPTY DELUSIONS.
Delusions I’d brought upon myself.
And her.
Flooding ripples of pain pulse behind closed eyelids.
Ivory and Ray yell at me.
“Go after her!”
I clench my teeth, unable to watch.
Nausea subsides.
I open my eyes.
Calla is gone.
It’s my fault.
I kissed her. I led her on.
I couldn’t help it.
But it had to end.
She wanted to go back—
To the White Tower.
Impossible.
She doesn’t understand the rules.
It’s not a game.
My shoulder aches.
I ignore Plaka’s grip.
Without success.
I try to resist the calm, but I can’t fight it.
My heartbeat decelerates. My breathing slows.
I am numb.
“You were right to let her go,” he says.
His hand remains on my shoulder.
I nod. We walk.
I look around.
Ray and Ivory are gone too.
“I’ve failed you a second time,” I say.
I rub my eyes, trying to resurrect the pain.
Plaka sighs.
“You haven’t failed me, Valcas.
“You’ve done everything I’ve asked of you.
“Calla is my responsibility now.”
“You will find her, and heal her…
“If she gets lost?”
“Yes.”
“And the Uproar?
“Will it be after both of you now?”
Plaka releases my shoulder.
“It may be another of my theories,
“But I suspect the Uproar will be confused,
“Now that I’m out of hiding,
“And Calla’s talent has manifested,
“Its attention may be split.
“If not—” He shrugs.
“Then perhaps the Uproar will direct
“Its full attention to me and to my talent,
“Which is of greater strength.”
Plaka turns from me.
His footsteps fade behind me,
Leaving me time to reflect.
Warmth flickers from deep within my soul,
Sprouting a seed of hope.
Calla may still be safe.
I take in a breath and look around.
The brook absorbs the darkness.
And the darkness obscures the brook.
Calla is gone.
She should have said there was no chance for us.
She should have rejected me first.
I didn’t want to hurt her.
I ball my hands into fists.
It was inevitable.
I had no choice.
I was too convincing.
I shouldn’t have led her on.
Love is an impossibility.
The timeline alone fossilizes that truth.
But there’s more.
Something Calla could never know,
Not as long as I can prevent it.
I step forward,
Following the outline of the brook.
No. I let my guard down.
I let an Earthling find space in my heart.
Time’s irrationality tricked me.
I clamp my jaws.
My chest tightens.
Was it worth it, at least for a short time?
Those moments when I thought Calla could be mine,
And I hers?
Was it worth the pain of knowing
That we could not move forward?
Was it enough that it once was?
Whoever said time heals all wounds
Failed to consider how time also provides
Ample opportunity to incur and inflict new wounds—
Injuries that fester and ache while the earlier wounds fade.
I can’t remember a time when I couldn’t feel new wounds.
And I’m fully aware of the deepest wound,
One that has nothing to do with Calla.
Only Plaka knows what that wound is,
And that I caused it:
The wound of my father’s death.
My mother assumes it was the timeline’s fault.
That the timeline betrayed her love,
Brought her life with my father to an abrupt ending.
Which it would have, anyway.
Had I not also interfered with time.
Time is a constant reminder of my greatest mistake.
The travel glasses hold burned images,
My pair, as well as Calla’s.
Not that I expect her to understand anything
By replaying her copy of my recordings.
I’d recorded a puzzle of emotions,
Times and places.
Now she’s gone.
I have no way of knowing or controlling
Where she goes or what she finds.
Unless I follow her and monitor
Where and when she travels.
I grind my teeth, realizing where I’d gone wrong.
I suggested Ray as a suitable companion,
Hoping Calla would eventually forget about me—
That her anger toward me would dwindle,
And that love for him
How stupid I am.
Calla is as stubborn as her father.
And just as unpredictable.
Yet I should have predicted it.
Her newfound strength blinded me.
Made me forget.
Running away was just what she would do.
It’s what her father did
By escaping behind the Fire Falls.
Yes, Calla and Plaka are strong,
But they are also weak.
I fear their weakness.
Almost as much as I fear their strength.
The hairs on my arms and neck stand on end.
My blood boils as reality rips through me.
And the hope I feel burns out.
Almost—
The muscles in my legs tighten.
My feet spring forward.
I pull the travel glasses from my pocket.
I have no idea where Calla went this time,
But I cannot let her stumble upon my greatest mistake.
I have to block her path,
To keep her from finding out the truth.
I slip the travel glasses onto my face.
A new chase is about to begin.
I hope I’m not too late.
~ V. Hall ~
I SHUT my notebook, tossing my pen aside. I ripped the travel glasses off my face and rubbed my eyes.
I’d recorded all sensations of the day Calla ran from me in the woods. All of it. Burned them—inside the travel glasses. Just now I’d had the chance to replay my recordings and put those thoughts and feelings into words.
I’d written a poem, something
solid to push me forward now that my motivation had nearly run out. I’d never been a worthy poet. It was merely a healing exercise Plaka had suggested that I practice from time to time.
Calla had done a spectacular job of avoiding me these past few months. She’d blocked all communications through the travel glasses. I couldn’t sense her through them. It was as if she didn’t wear them anymore.
How had she disappeared? Was she safe? Lost? I couldn’t find her. Neither could Plaka or the TSTA, including Calla’s mother, Doreen.
After our mission, the TSTA offered Ivory and Ray permanent positions. Ivory returned to her Chauffeur duties, full time instead of on a contract basis. Ray joined an elite intelligence team within the TSTA that supported Special Forces missions. Plaka and I were left to our own devices. The TSTA had no use for rogue travelers like us.
Protecting Calla from the Uproar was an entirely different matter.
I disagreed with Plaka’s theory that the Uproar’s attention would be split between him and his daughter. I also doubted that it would be more attracted to him now that he’d escaped the Fire Falls.
No. The Uproar would still be after Calla’s younger, fresher blood, filled with the Remnant Transporter talent. Which is why most of my efforts had been toward contacting her rather than traveling to her.
I was a danger to her, now that I was certain the Uproar couldn’t find her without me.
Finishing the first book in this series was a dream come true. Now I am completely overwhelmed.
Thank you to my beta readers, Christal Ferrance, Jodie Jones, Marilyn Keily, Rhonda Levinson, Ruta Lively and Kathie Snyder, who helped make INSIGHT KINDLING possible.
Many thanks to Stephanie Parent, who copy edited both this book and TRAVEL GLASSES.
Thank you to Kathie Middlemiss for her proofreading of both volumes.
And thanks to E.M. Tippetts Book Designs for the fantastic interior formatting.
Last but not least, thank you to the cover design team at www.damonza.com for the exceptional cover art.
Thanks again, to all of you, for your wholehearted support.
I hope you enjoyed reading this book!
INSIGHT KINDLING is the second installment in The Call to Search Everywhen, a serial series that continues where TRAVEL GLASSES leaves off. If you haven’t done so already, I highly recommend starting with the first book in the series, as there are multiple storylines and characters from different times and places. TRAVEL GLASSES is available in e-book format for Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Nook and Apple iBooks. The audiobook edition of TRAVEL GLASSES is available through Audible, iTunes and Amazon.
For more information about upcoming books in the series, please visit my website. You can also find me at Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and my blog.
Text copyright © 2015 by Czidor Lore, LLC
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, except for noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Cover design by DAMONZA.COM
First Edition: 2015
INSIGHT KINDLING is a work of fiction. The characters and events portrayed are used in a fictitious manner and are the products of the author’s imaginings. Any resemblances to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events are purely coincidental.
Interior Book Design by E.M. Tippetts Book Designs
www.emtippettsbookdesigns.com
Table of Contents
Title Page
Books by Chess Desalls
Dedication
Chapter 2 - The Wait
Chapter 3 - The Preparation
Chapter 4 - The Commissioner
Chapter 5 - The Hearing
Chapter 6 - The Sentencing
Chapter 7 - The Apology
Chapter 8 - The Likeness
Chapter 9 - The Mission
Chapter 10 - The Talent
Chapter 11 - The Fellowship
Chapter 12 - The Swap
Chapter 13 - The Homeland
Chapter 14 - The Question
Chapter 15 - The Talent
Chapter 16 - The Hurt
Chapter 17 - The Recap
Chapter 18 - The Training
Chapter 19 - The Game
Chapter 20 - The Attack
Chapter 21 - The Grounding
Chapter 22 - The Shield
Chapter 23 - The Hideaway
Chapter 24 - The Promise
Chapter 25 - The Fire Falls
Chapter 26 - The Departure
Chapter 27 - The Burn
Chapter 28 - The Healing
Chapter 29 - The Builder
Chapter 30 - The Penalty
Chapter 31 - The Charge
Chapter 32 - The Scuffle
Chapter 33 - The Introduction
Chapter 34 - The Emergency
Chapter 35 - The Visitor
Chapter 36 - The Music
Chapter 37 - The Legacy
Chapter 38 - The Parasite
Chapter 39 - The Hope
Chapter 40 - The Layers
Chapter 41 - The Inside
Chapter 42 - The Uproar
Chapter 43 - The Dimensions
Chapter 44 - The Hint
Chapter 45 - The Infraction
Chapter 46 - The Vines
Chapter 47 - The Plunge
Chapter 48 - The Accomplice
Chapter 49 - The Climb
Chapter 50 - The Song
Chapter 51 - The Signal
Chapter 52 - The Tour
Chapter 53 - The Flight
Epilogue
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Copyright Notice