The Truth about Broken Trees (Light Keeper Series Book 3)

by Kelly Hall

  “It’s got to be recorded somewhere,” he mumbled to himself as he rose to his feet and walked into the living room, leaving us to wonder. We exchanged nervous glances.

  When he returned he had a book: a brown leather ledger, so worn and wrinkled the rubber bands holding it together had dry rotted. One popped off and flew across the table as he tried to remove it. His finger scanned the page and stopped at the bottom. “Alyssa Harris. She died so she never completed her sessions with my great-grandmother.” His eyes shifted to ours, meeting each one waiting for a reaction.

  I was the only one who moved, lifting a shoulder. “Someone murdered her.”

  He huffed, expelling a short breath which caused him to flinch. “Really? How do you know that?”

  “She showed me,” I said. “In my visions.” I figured he’d know what I meant since he seemed to know everything else.

  “Visions, huh?” Ray seemed amused. Nervous, I didn’t know if we were on the same page or not and found myself at a loss for words.

  Owen broke the awkward silence. “Lily has visions of the past, present and future.”

  “And can you read minds as well?” Ray asked, still looking through the book.

  “What?” Surely he joked.

  He lifted the book and thumped his finger against it. “This here says Alyssa could read minds. Well, it was a suppressed gift, so ...” He broke off to continue reading. He started to act strange as if his mind was cluttered with a million different thoughts.

  “You aren’t making much sense.” I shook my head wondering if he was off his rocker. “Your great-grandmother was Mrs. Birdie Chandler, right?”

  “What, my Grand— yes. How do you ...” he said, his attention slowly peeling away from me and back to the book.

  I cut off his question hoping to get answers of my own. “She was a Light Keeper too?” My curiosity about the mysterious old woman had grown. “Does the book say anything about what happened to her?”

  Ray looked at me curiously processing what I’d asked. “No, and she’s a Guardian like me. Like my son.” He turned his nose back down to the page he read and back. “It says here that Alyssa was a mind reader, though her gift had been suppressed by an early trauma. Then there’s a reference marked to the 1900 Galveston Hurricane. My grandmother obviously tried to help her regain it but it doesn’t say she finished. But she’s listed as very powerful, the most powerful of all Light Keepers. It seems her father, who died in a tragedy as well, physically passed on his Light to her, in the same manner that you claim Alyssa passed hers to you. It’s all recorded here. It’s not often one passes on their Light. Gifts are shared all the time, but the Light, never.” He looked at me in wonder with a hint of something else, something that seemed like envy.

  “And so what does that mean?” Talon asked.

  “Well, if she gave her doubled-strengthened Light to Lily that means that Lily is now the most powerful Light Keeper.” I glanced around to the others who glared wide-eyed making me feel like a freak again. This time I was more uncomfortable with Ray’s eyes on me as well.

  I looked away to the ceiling in frustration, tired of being gawked at. “So if you know so much, tell me something I don’t know. What’s the point? What’s my power for? Why me? Why Bragg Road? What exactly is a Light Keeper?”

  Ray looked surprised. “You haven’t figured that out?”

  “I’m not psychic!” I snapped.

  “Well, with practice, maybe.” Ray shrugged. “But seriously, you understand that the gifts have been born in you, inherited the same way as your eye color and that frizzy hair, right?” He curled a lip and regarded me with pity.

  “I get that, and my hair’s not frizzy.” I frowned and crossed my arms.

  “Just kidding.” He put his hands up defensively. “Easy girl. Boy, she has a short fuse.” He smirked at the guys. Owen and Talon made a sound of agreement. I sagged in my seat as he continued.

  “Bragg Road is built along one of the oldest and most powerful ley lines in the world. It’s the thinnest Veil between here and the hereafter and you, you’re the go between. You keep the bad things on their own side.”

  “Bad things.” A chill crept up my spine.

  “Yeah, you know ghosts and spirits or whatever you want to call them.”

  “Shadows?” I whispered. Talon’s head lifted to see Ray’s reaction.

  “Yeah, Shadow people. Those can manifest using your Light energy.”

  I looked to Talon who lifted his shoulders and shook his head “No, they’re afraid of it.”

  I remembered how I had called my Light to scare the one away.

  Ray closed the book and secured it with the only decent band he had left. “You haven’t seen any of those, have you?” He looked concerned.

  “Yes, at our house and the shack. They’ve been showing up a lot lately.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s because you haven’t been protecting the Veil. Alyssa must have kept things at bay on her side for years now, but since she’s moved on, you are left to do the job.”

  “But I don’t know what to do.” Me? My nerves were on edge and I exhaled loudly. “I’m responsible for the safety of the world from ghosts and evil spirits? I don’t know how to stop them.”

  Ray stretched out a hand and placed it on my shoulder to comfort me. “You’ll learn. I’ll help you. The first thing you need to do is learn how to take your medicine.” He pushed the canteen my way.

  “I’ve taken the Water before. It makes me glow.”

  “Yeah, about that, I noticed you were a little dim.” He looked disappointed in me and I felt irritated by his tone. “A Light Keeper’s job is very stressful. You come in contact with some really dark energy. It’s maddening after a time. Take your dad, for instance. His gifts only made him crazy; all that power and not understanding it. Not having the Water to strengthen himself would have killed him if the wreck hadn’t. It’s why there aren’t so many Light Keepers left. We—Guardians, had to develop the Water to cure it.”

  I wanted to ask how he knew so much, but never knew about me, but I didn’t want to interrupt. I still had a million things running through my head and couldn’t believe any of it. And just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, the conversation took a strange turn.

  “Owen, you’re responsible for the well now. I’ve taken care of it long enough, but now that you and Lily are here and have found your purpose, it’s you who has to continue on.” Owen’s jaw dropped and I clutched my neck as Ray continued. “Our family once practiced in magic. The Water was created by our ancestors many decades ago. Its power is said to be blessed by Angels and designed specifically to assist the Light Keeper. You have to keep its mystery. Protect it. If anyone would find it, figure out its strengths, it could prove catastrophic for us all.” My mouth hung open and I stood frozen.

  Owen closed his eyes and took a deep breath before glaring at his dad. “What? How do I do that, and how do we know that someone else doesn’t already know about it? Mr. Hill did.”

  “Michael.” Ray smiled. “He was a good man, too. He was my cousin. Birdie, my—well, our—grandmother made him Guardian and invited him into her circle, too. Powerless man; she’d overestimated his purpose. Alyssa held all the power. Or so I’ve read.”

  “Alyssa’s circle,” I said. “He was Alyssa’s boyfriend.”

  Ray nodded. “Michael knew how to keep secrets. He and I fought together for years to keep Bragg Road from being developed. We knew if that ever happened, people would buy up the land and expose the well. We couldn’t have that.”

  “So I’m supposed to fight off commissioners and surveyors for the rest of my life?” Owen sighed.

  “You’ll do what it takes to protect Lily. You love her, right?” He stared at Owen waiting for his answer. Talon and I stared too, making him shift in his chair uncomfortably.

  “Everyone knows that I do.” He shrugged.

  “Of course you do. You’re soul mates. One cannot exist without the other.
I mean, look how you’ve found one another? Not a coincidence.” He looked at Talon, who now shifted in his chair uncomfortably, his chest rising and falling quickly and his jaw clenching tightly.

  I figured I better react before he did. “All of this is really too much.” I stood, shaking my head.

  “I think you and Owen should explore your gifts. You have no idea how important your roles are. I can help you, if you can trust me?” He seemed sincere, but I didn’t give him an answer just then. I thought back to Michael’s warning. Trust no one. How could I believe anything Ray told me?

  Owen shrugged. Heavy lidded, his eyes looked weary as he stared at his shoes. “To think, I just came out here to try to score some beer.”

  Ray laughed. “Score some beer for what?” he asked.

  Owen lifted a shoulder and hesitated. “I only wondered if you would get us some beer for a campout we want to have this weekend.”

  “I’ll tell you what... you come out on Friday night. I’m having a little get together. You’ll probably know a few people and you can drink all you want. I’ll even let you crash on my floor so you don’t have to drive home. Don’t want anyone getting killed.” Surely Ray didn’t know about Talon’s wreck, but he tensed at Ray’s words. “Besides, I’d like to get to know you all better. We have a lot of work to do.”

  Owen shook his dad’s hand. “Sounds fun. We’ll be here.” And soon after, we piled in the truck and headed home with the shock of our new knowledge weighing us down.

  “Can you believe this is happening?” Owen asked as he settled into the truck. “It’s a lot to take in for sure, Lily. I swear I almost punched him.”

  “Yeah, me too,” said Talon. He gritted his teeth, which he always did when he didn’t want to say more.

  I didn’t know what to say either. I felt violated when he’d grabbed me, and it still seemed odd knowing he did that to help me. We’d have to call a circle and tell Holly and Hunter everything. I had lots of questions in my mind and I hoped Ray would help me with the answers.

  ***

  The next day after school we called our circle meeting. As usual, we rode out on the ATV’s and took our places in our scattered lawn chair rejects so Granny wouldn’t overhear anything.

  “Okay,” Hunter began. “Between Talon and Owen telling me all about the visit with Ray and the fact that I already told Holly all about it, I feel there is no need to go into the whole destiny debate.” He shook his head. I wondered just how varied their accounts had been. “What I want to know is how we’re going to take care of this shadow person problem and Kevin Hilliard? He’s made his threat known, and I think it’s him we keep seeing.”

  “I agree with Hunter,” I said. “I think it’s Kevin. It makes sense. Ray said that Shadow people can use my Light energy and Kevin’s been threatening to steal it. I know that spirits can manifest with energy and I’m pretty sure my Light is strong enough to do the trick.”

  “Yeah, but if that’s the case then why hasn’t he stolen it yet and why did your Light scare him away?” Talon ground his teeth and still seemed frustrated from the day before.

  He had a good point, and I had thought about it too.

  “I don’t think it did. Maybe Kevin didn’t want to manifest and reveal himself just then, not with all of us together.”

  Talon let out a long breath. “He’s definitely a dark spirit and probably biding his time.” His dulled tone sounded regretful. I could see in his eyes that he still felt guilty for what had happened to Kevin. “But I really think that Light is more of a weapon against him.” I wondered why he insisted on that point, but I didn’t feel like arguing.

  Owen spoke up, “Well, I think the best thing to do is to tell Ray everything. Aside from the way Kevin really died, of course.” Talon let out a breath and didn’t look as sure.

  “Should we trust him and let him teach us?” I asked. “Should we just ignore Mr. Hill? He said that I should trust no one.”

  Owen shook his head and breathed deep before he continued. “He was nuts. He also said that Birdie could help, but she’s obviously long dead. Look, Ray seems to know something, more than us. I say we keep on guard but give him the benefit of the doubt and let him help. Maybe this is what Mr. Hill meant; this is the way Birdie can help: through Ray and through the books she left. He’s kept the secrets out here for this long.”

  “He just popped up out of nowhere with all the answers and all this talk of destiny and Guardians. I’m leery,” Talon said, clearly not so willing.

  “We found him, though. He had no idea we knew Lily until we showed up,” Owen defended. “Besides, Talon, as much as you’re always saying we should ask for help, I’d think you’d be cool with this. Come on, Hunter, he’s our dad and I say we can trust him.” Neither of the other guys knew what to say. They both sat pondering the situation.

  “Is that why you haven’t told Cate?” Holly asked me. “The trust thing? You think she’ll tell someone?”

  “Aside from a psychiatrist, no.” I folded my arms and wished for a moment that I had a different life.

  Holly continued, “You know if you show her, Lily, she won’t think you’re crazy.”

  “No, she’ll think she is.” I shook my head. “I’m not ready for that. She’s not ready. I don’t think Tom is either and you know she’d tell him.”

  Talon agreed with a nod.

  “True, couples tell each other everything,” said Holly.

  I glanced at Talon. No, not all couples. Despite my temptation, I didn’t bring up his magazines or e-mails. He was still upset from the whole destiny talk and I didn’t want to fight.

  We spent the rest of our circle planning our Friday night fun strategy. We’d tell Mom and Granny we had decided to camp out. Of course, Hunter would suggest taking the car this time, since his four-wheeler was low on gas, and then we’d sneak off to Ray’s for the party. Owen had convinced us that if we got to know Ray better, we could make our decision about the rest later.

  The boys also decided to wait until after the party to invite Ray over to meet Granny. Not that they didn’t already know each other from years ago, but it would be a good time to let her in on their secret, especially before LeAnn decided to come around again.

  Chapter Eleven

  Friday, Holly got off work early and we got our camping stuff ready as usual. We loaded it in the car, each bringing a bag with a change of clothes that we’d leave in the car for the morning.

  The guys quickly unloaded all of our camping gear into the shack, just in case Granny came out to check on us like she threatened. None of us really thought she’d actually do it, since she might miss one of her shows, but just in case, we’d claim to be out joyriding. No big deal, really. Cate wouldn’t come out to check. She’d be asleep early like usual, and the shack was much too creepy for her to come out.

  I couldn’t believe Ray’s driveway seemed darker than Bragg Road. Owen leaned in across me and looked out the front window. “That’s French’s Jeep.” He pointed ahead. “What’s that ass crack doing out here?”

  I sighed and sank in my seat. “Great,” I mumbled.

  Talon put his arm around me. “You’ll be fine. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  How did French know Ray—Ray who seemed to know all too much about me and my gifts?

  Hunter drove on further. Packed with cars, Ray’s driveway had cars parked half in the tree line, and half in the road. Hunter pulled into the first spot he could find and we all piled out. Talon took my hand immediately and helped me through the dark until we got up to where the security lights shone bright from the back yard. We still hadn’t talked about getting back together since he told me to think about the future. I didn’t know if it would happen that night, but I had hoped that at some point, Talon and I might end up alone. And maybe he’d ‘fess up about the girl and explain everything.

  As we got closer to the house, the muffled voices in the distance became more clear. With the knowledge that French was lurking aroun
d, I silently hoped that everyone would behave themselves and we wouldn’t have a repeat from our last party. That’s when Meagan Martin’s nasally sarcasm greeted us. “Well, isn’t this a picture?” she sneered and grabbed French’s arm to get his attention. “Who invited the losers?”

  When he turned and saw us, his face fell. He curled his lip into a snarl. “What the hell are you doing out here, Riley?” French and his friends started to crowd around. Dodie and Coy were right behind him, along with a few others, mostly girls, who I recognized from school.

  “I should ask you the same, but it wouldn’t be nearly as interesting,” said Owen.

  Hunter stepped in between them. “This is our dad’s house. What the hell are you guys doing here?”

  “We go where the party goes, Riley. Funny thing though, the way I heard it, you two bastards don’t have a dad,” French mouthed back. He and Owen bowed up and Hunter turned and put a hand on his little brother as the crowd parted.

  “Everyone has a dad,” Ray said, flashing his pearly whites at French as he broke in and threw his arm around his sons’ shoulders.

  Faces everywhere lit up and jaws dropped as they saw the resemblance. I couldn’t understand how they hadn’t seen it before. Maybe they didn’t know Ray very well? Maybe they crashed his party? I hoped so. Knowing these idiots wasn’t a plus for Ray.

  “Glad you could make it.” He gave the guys each a hand shake, and then he kissed mine and Holly’s knuckles. He seemed happier than usual, pushing past the crowd of shocked faces to lead us inside his small, overly crowded house.

  The place was packed with all sorts of people of all different ages, though mostly young; early twenties maybe? People walked in and out, hanging out by a large fire, and helping themselves to the tapped keg by the back door. The bar in the kitchen that separated the dining room contained every kind of bottle imaginable. Ray offered to mix up whatever we’d like, and he wasted no time.

  He poured a few shots and pushed them at us. Talon and Owen each took one and tossed them back quickly. Owen took the extra shot, which reminded Ray that Hunter and Holly didn’t drink.