Chapter 15 #2
“Lillian says she heard you,” I snap, putting myself in front of Lillian. “Why didn’t you tell anyone you saw her leaving? Or better yet, try and help her?”
James puts an arm between us. “We can discuss this later.”
“It’s okay, James,” Margaret says, patting his arm.
I don’t miss the blanket strewn over her shoulders, nor that no one has brought one for Lillian.
“I didn’t think there was any harm in it.
I thought at first she was going off to use the bathroom, so I followed.
It’s better for us ladies to go in pairs, you see.
” She fiddles with the edge of her blanket as she trudges on.
“I only realized she was sleepwalking halfway here. I tried to stop her. I thought about turning back, but by that point, I didn’t think I could make it back on my own. ”
“Satisfied?” Mr. Bennett asks.
Not particularly, no.
“It’s okay, Margaret,” Lillian says, showing herself to the group for the first time. “I’m sorry to have frightened you.” The two women share a melancholic smile before James finally drops his obstruction of an arm.
“Lillian, do you have an explanation for this?” Mr. Bennett asks. “Did you think you could find something without our knowledge?”
Bruno steps in front of Lillian this time. Shoulder to shoulder with me, his distaste for the question is apparent. “You can’t possibly expect to accuse her of something right now.”
“Stop this!” Lillian seethes from behind us. She forces us to the side. “It doesn’t matter what happened, only what I was shown.”
Our handler scoffs. His head cocks to the side as his tone switches from subtle concern to condescension. “And what, exactly, did the little fairies show you?”
Lillian’s eyes narrow at Mr. Bennett. I know what she’s going to say next, but it doesn’t make it any easier when she does. “When we reach the colony, you must let me handle the dagger. I don’t want anyone else anywhere near it.”
“What are you on about?” James asks.
“This is a conversation for another time,” Diederick says coolly. His gaze tracks from over his shoulder to the edge of the cavern. I swear I see the shadow he’s tracking dart between two boulders.
I reach for Lillian’s arm, but her focus is still on Mr. Bennett. She clearly does not have a care for anything else. Thankfully, James and Margaret have tracked the shadow too. “Perhaps we should take this discussion elsewhere?” James asks, already moving away.
“I still have questions!” Mr. Bennett demands.
A low growl cuts through the echoing of the cave behind us, effectively turning Mr. Bennett a pale white.
“We really should go,” Ademir says, his eyes trained on the rock closest to us.
No one utters another word as we fall into a cluster and hightail it out into the lullaby of a nocturnal rainforest.
Lillian
Safely back at camp with a blanket wrapped tight around my shoulders and a hot cup of coffee warming my hands, I’m finally able to make sense of my night.
Even with a million questions being thrown at me about the necklace and my visions, I’m still able to hold on to that sight of the dagger being thrust into that mountain wall and then the female tribe leader killing her husband.
The dagger resides there, still buried deep in that conquistador’s chest. Waiting to be used. I can’t let it happen.
“Wait, you knew about this?” Oliver has thrust a finger at James in response to him sharing my family history, my connection to the necklace. “Isn’t this pertinent information?”
James just turns to me as if Oliver is of no consequence. “What kind of evil is it that allows you to see such sickening images?”
“That’s enough!” Ben says for the third time in this conversation. By this point his expression is murderous. “You have to give her a chance to explain.”
James shakes his head. “What, and give her a chance to twist the truth?”
I’m hurt that a man I’ve thought to be my friend thinks that lying comes so easily to me.
“I’ve never lied to you,” I answer. My eyes slide to Mr. Bennett, all too aware that he hasn’t given the group the truth either.
“I was instructed to keep certain facts to myself unless the need to share became pertinent.”
Margaret, who has been standing in the corner with her arms crossed, finally comes forward with a question. “And what you saw tonight finally swayed you to share with us?”
“What I saw tonight—” I shudder at the vision of the dagger again. “It scared me enough to share with you, yes. We cannot let the dagger fall into the hands of anyone meaning to wield it.”
“Does it hurt?”
I search the faces for who asked such a considerate question. Oliver. “No,” I answer softly. “The images, the way they make me feel, can sometimes cause discomfort and distress, but they’ve never hurt me.”
Ben scoffs at that. Ignoring the rest of the circle, he stomps forward and drops to a knee in front of me.
He gathers my cold hands in his own and looks me dead in the eye.
“Lillian, the past two visions you’ve had have nearly gotten you killed.
” He searches my eyes for fear, but I refuse to give in to it.
“Sweetheart, you’ve got to work with us here.
” He wants me to spill the truth. “We need you safe.”
We.
I pull my fingers from his grasp and look back at Mr. Bennett.
“What is it that you want to use the dagger for, Mr. Bennett?” I have too much hope in him.
I told the spirit in the cave that every man here wanted the dagger only to destroy it.
I had believed that Mr. Morgan had given me the permission to make the choice when it came time, but as I stand here now, I understand that no one but Mr. Bennett knows the truth of each side.
The man’s facade slips away, and just for a moment, I see the face of a hardened man just looking for solutions to the world’s problems. “There’s a war coming, Lillian. We will not lose it.”
He turns to leave, but I will my words to catch him as I say, “It needs to be destroyed before the Germans can use it. Before any of us can. It is not of this world.”
He stops briefly but doesn’t say a word.
“You had me fooled,” Margaret says with distaste. “I had a good idea that you were seeing things, or knew things we didn’t, but I would never have expected this.” She almost seems betrayed, and if I didn’t suspect she has been hiding things from me, I might be disappointed in myself.
James rubs a hand back and forth across his head but does nothing except follow after Margaret. Oliver collects his equipment that was dumped in the mud and scurries away like a little mouse, without showing an inkling of how he feels.
They’ve left me with those that I hold closest. How foolish of them.
I address Diederick first. “You understand that I had to tell the truth.”
He just nods. I know there’s much at stake for him here; there must be times that he’s even more frightened than I am. “I’m glad you did, Lillian. When the time comes, the others will have a choice to make.”
“And if they refuse to listen?” Bruno asks. He’s been far too quiet until now. I try to remedy that by reaching out a hand to him. He takes it and has a seat beside me.
“We’ll strike out on our own,” Ben answers.
“We can’t leave them out here,” Ademir protests. “Margaret was wildly out of her depth this evening.”
“They wouldn’t last a night,” I concur. “They may not be completely aligned with our goals, but they’ve only just learned the truth.” Compared to the alternative of running into my father outnumbered, having them around is the least of my worries.
“It’s your call,” Ben says to me and no one else.
Looking up into his eyes, I see a level of trust. With him, it’s only ever been a look of concern or true questioning. When he looks at me the way he does now, I feel like I can conquer anything with him by my side.
“We still don’t know where Ivo and his men are,” I begin. “We have no idea what this trail has in store for us beyond these trees.” Realizing that the eyes of four men are on me, I take a deep breath. “Even if it’s just a while longer, I think we should stay together.”
There are no protests, nor any words to undermine my decision. These men trust me; they believe in me to make the right choices.
Never letting go of my gaze, Ben nods and lets the weight of my decision wash over him.
He’s relinquished control, and I know how hard that is for him.
Hard, and yet he’s let it go for my sake.
When he bows his head slightly, touching his forehead to mine, I know that he is planning to be by my side until the bitter end.
“Thank you,” I whisper for the second time tonight. I expect I’ll be saying it for the rest of my life.