I love the way his eyebrow goes up when he grins at me. “You stole my line. I’m ready to play, but are you ready to lose?”
“Oh no you didn’t. Come on Miss Toughguy, let’s rumble,” he says.
I lean in and give him a quick kiss on the lips. He lets out a small groan. “Can we go to the park, the Frisbee park?”
“We can go anywhere you want. What’s your curfew?” He holds the car door open for me.
I wait to answer until he gets in the car. “Mom said I have to be home at ten. We don’t have to stop and get sodas; I brought us drinks in my backpack.”
“You know the kids around here don’t call it a backpack. It’s a bookbag. Your purse is a pocketbook. You’re in the South little lady,” Caleb teases me.
I sit back, and he cranks up his Beastie Boys License to Ill CD. Oddly enough, my dad always played the CD too, so I know all the words. Our favorite song to sing together is Brass Monkey. I’ve no idea what that is, but it’s funny.
The park is desolate of people. A few squirrels are mid-climb on a tree, tails twitching, waiting to move, probably thinking they are blended in with the tree. I always wonder if their brain works the way they move, arbitrarily.
We take the giant blue checkered blanket, his portable dvd player, and go set up to watch a movie. The first time we did this, it was so romantic...well, semi-romantic. We watched a scary movie, it scared the crap out of me. The trees were casting shadows all around us, my imagination got the best of me and scared me to death. Now, it’s our secret place to be together. The weather has been too hot for parents to bring their kids out to play so we are usually the only ones here.
“This is going to sound crazy, I need you to trust me though. Do I have your word?” I ask.
“I trust you, so yes, you have my word.”
“I want you to attack me, with everything in you.”
“When you say, attack me…do you mean in a boyfriend makes out with his hot girlfriend? Or do you mean, you’re a bad guy and I’m taking you down?”
“You think I’m hot?” I grin from ear to ear. I love it when he says I’m hot. Eeep, my inner voice squeals.
He puts his hand on my waist and pulls me in until we’re chest to chest. “Blazing." His cinnamon gum breath, teases my nose.
I rub my hands on his biceps, loving the way they’re defined. “Take me down,” I whisper seductively.
His eyebrow arches at my boldness.
“Not like that lover-boy…like this,” I say as I whip my leg around, knocking him to the ground.
“You’ve been holding out on me.” He springs up to standing. He takes my arm and pulls it up behind me. His chin on my shoulder as he stands behind me. “Like this?” He whispers in my ear.
I smile to myself before saying, “Exactly like this.”
“You want to play dirty, do you, we’ll see how that works out for you. I am a black-belt afterall,” Caleb says.
“Who me? Never,” I say between breaths. He tries to do some type of sweep with his leg and knock me off my feet. It doesn’t work.
We go back and forth bantering and play fight. He loses his concentration as I press my body closer to him, and I knock us both to the ground. He is on his back, and I’m sitting on his abdomen, I lean forward and kiss him. He puts his arms around my back and flips me over onto my back.
“You’ve been holding out on me Miss Lucente.” Caleb says.
“No, I’d never do that,” I flirt back. “If you’ll let me get up, I’ll tell you about it.”
“You’re not going to try and go all ninja on me again, are you? You know I’m a black belt.”
“I cross my heart.”
“That’s a beautiful heart.” He says and holds out his hand to help me up.
I take two Dixie-cups out of my bag and fill them with lemonade. Caleb turns on two battery powered lanterns and leans back on one arm.
“Did the ninja-faerie stop by after school and pump you up with ninja skills?” His eyes bore through me, giving me goosebumps all over.
“Sooooo, after school, I fell asleep on the couch. I had a crazy dream about Mrs. Ward. She told me about Nyx being spotted and how we have to be careful. She said her usual stuff about not having any control of the Underworld escapees. The only help she offered is giving me the knowledge that I can physically take her on. She did her hocus pocus thing and gave me the ability to fight.”
“Did she say we have to fight her literally?” He flicks a beetle off the blanket before my brain registers it’s a bug. “We’ll go to her tomorrow and have her send us to that school she told us about. I can’t risk you getting hurt Jess.”
The concern in his voice causes my heart to skip a beat. “I’m not running. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of me. If we left the only family we have, and run off to another school, we’ll be wondering when it will happen until we’re crazy. Literally crazy. I don’t think we can truly hide from something like this anyway. Erebus found us without a problem. How do we know he won’t be by her side and fight us too? No, we have to be smart and absorb the lessons from school and practice.”
Caleb leans forward and says, “I’ll love you until my last breath.” He inches closer and my heart starts to beat so loud in my ears, it’s like a symphony of drums. Resting his hand on the curve of my waist; I put my arm around him. The anticipation of his kiss is killing me.
After seventy seven beats of my heart, his lips touch mine. His tongue is soft and silky as our mouths explore each other. He pulls away and in the glow of the lamp I can’t distinguish the brown of his eyes, from his pupils.
“You don’t need to be scared Jess, we’ll figure this all out.”
“I know, but it’s hard when three months ago, my life was semi-normal. Yes, I miss having my dad around, but it isn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I can tell my mom is happier since we’ve moved to North Carolina. She’s made friends, and she’s not down my throat every five minutes like she was in New York. At first, I didn’t want to live in a boring town,” I laugh at the thought. “I’ve learned to be careful about what I wish for. New Bern is anything but boring.”
“I’m glad you’re here and sooooon…Jersey will be here to.”
“What? You’re dad is going to get the ticket? I can’t wait to tell her. Awesome!” I kiss him so fast that our teeth smack together. It doesn’t divert us from carrying on with our kiss. I lean back, “I almost forgot to tell you something. I was in my mom’s closet today, and I found an old box I’ve never seen before. It’s big enough to hold a book. I tried to open it, but it’s locked. She came home so I didn’t get a proper chance to pick it.”
“I thought your mom didn’t know anything about us.”
I shrug my shoulders. “Caleb, at this point, I don’t know who knows what. I’m not trying to be ugly, but how would my mom not know. How can two people that love each other have such an enormous secret between them? Maybe my dad was lying. Ugh, I’m so confused. You and your dad, figured out what you are, in a fairly short amount of time. My mom was around it for fifteen years.”
Caleb tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. “Those are valid points. Maybe your mom does know more. The next time you see the box take a picture and text it to me. I’ll see if I can find some information on how to pick the lock.”
“You’re good. I didn’t even think to do that. I’m thinking I’ll keep you,” I snuggle closer to him.
“As much as I’d like to stay here, it’s dark, and you have to be home soon. We have enough time to go to Sonic for ice-cream.”
Chapter 10. Guardian’s Call
“Good to see you’ve made it home safe and sound,” Grandma says as I walk in five minutes late.
“I’m sorry, we stopped to get some ice-cream, and they took forever.” I lean over and hand her one of her favorite treats of all time.
“A mocha-java drink? I’m easily bribable,” she says smiling at me. Grandma looks ten or more years younger than she is. Living in
the south, we call everyone Miss or Mister plus their first name. Grandma insists that I call her Miss Gayle, as she’s in denial that she can be old enough to fit the title of grandma. We’ve always had a unique bond, either from me coming to North Carolina every summer or because we’re a lot alike. “Let’s go in my room, your mom conked out on the couch. She has been working so much, she is missing out on living.”
The hall to grandma’s room is filled with pictures of my mom when she was young, and pictures of me. There were photos of grandma and grandpa’s wedding and family I’ve never met. I don’t have any memories of my grandfather; I was young when he died. He was thrown from a horse and another horse stomped on him. His internal injuries were too severe, and he died two weeks later. Grandma still has a hard time talking about him; she tears up and leaves the room until she composes herself. Mom always said they had the perfect marriage, and she wants the same for me one day. Caleb and I’ll be that way…I hope.
Her room screams Hollywood drama with its crystal chandeliers and white furniture that pop against the powder blue walls. I kick off my sandals and hop up on her king sized bed. We’ve always watched TV via the comfort of her bed. During The Wizard of Oz, I’d huddle up under the comforter, any time the witch was on. She and I’d eat popcorn and talk about plants and recipes. I love our time together.
“Mr Gabe said he’d let Jersey use his frequent flyer miles to come visit over fall break. Would it be okay with you if she stayed here?”
“Of course, have you said anything to your mom?”
“Yeah, I said something to her before we went to dinner. Tell me, does my mom know about Tamers?”
“I don’t think so, why?” She leaned over and flicked her DVR on to some dancing reality show she watches.
“No reason,” I lied. “It’s hard for me to believe she lived with my dad all of those years and never suspected anything. Not that she would guess that he is a Tamer, but you know…something.”
“I’ve thought about that before. Every family has secrets. Usually they have reasons behind their decisions not to say anything to the family. I honestly don’t know. Tell me, how was your date with Caleb tonight?”
“It was fun, we didn’t do much, but we always have fun together. You know that guy I told you Amber attacked in the lunchroom? She and I stopped to give him a ride to school this morning. Not only that, but she gave him and another guy a ride home. I hope it isn’t another Erebus situation.” I scooted to the edge of the bed. “I have some homework I need to finish before school. Good night, I love you.” I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Before I start on my homework, I put on my “20 Minute Abs” DVD. If I’m wearing a slinky dress for the dance, I better get rid of my flab. Okay, maybe I don’t have a lot of flab, but I’m not toned like I was when I played tennis. It takes a while but I finally start on my essay.
A tapping on my window sends me flying off my bed. It could be a Dark One. Do they knock before they drain your light? I run over to peek through the blinds…I gasp and cover mouth, holding back a scream. A face is on the other side.
“Thorne, what the hell?”
“Jessie, I need to talk to you.” His brown eyes and beautiful face leave me with no other choice.
“Give me a minute; I’ll meet you on the porch.” I scramble to put on a bra and some clothes. What could he possibly want from me?
I tell grandma I’m going outside for a few minutes; she doesn’t question me, which is good. Thankfully I don’t have to come up with an excuse.
“Thorne, you know you could get shot, showing up at some girl’s window in the middle of the night.” His face is so serious; I feel stress vibrating from him in waves. “How did you know where I live? And more importantly, where my room is?”
He sticks his hands in his pockets and tilts his head back before talking. “Middle of the night? It’s 10:00. Look, I know you don’t know me, but I need you to trust me.”
Conversations are never good when they start with trust me. “Huh? Why should I trust you?”
“Can we sit?”
“Yeah, follow me, we’ll go to the back porch. Be quiet, my mom fell asleep on the couch.” Something about him was so enigmatic, yet he didn’t send any bad vibes. He didn’t make a sound as he followed me to the back porch. He reaches for the door and pulls it open for me. “Thank you,” I whisper, as soon as we’re outside. The lights on the patio are bright enough that I can see that he needs to shave.
“I know it’s strange for me to show up like this. I need to talk to you.”
“Okay, obviously, or you wouldn’t be here.”
He breaths in deeply, and exhales slowly. “Jessie, look, this is so out of protocol what I’m about to tell you. The powers that be have sent me. It wasn’t my idea to reveal myself to you, but after the last couple of weeks, it’s been decided that I must tell you who I am.”
My heart is pounding so loud, I’m sure my shirt is moving with every beat. “Who you are? Please, don’t tell me you’re another Underworld escapee. Seriously don’t tell me that. I will faint, right here, right now. I’ll fall straight over. Me and the ground are like one these days. Spit it out.”
“Don’t faint, please don’t do that. No…I’m not from the Underworld.”
“Good, where are you from? Idaho?”
He looks at me quizzically. “Idaho? Why Idaho?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never known anyone from Idaho. You’re all mysterious, so I picked a random state. No worries.”
“No, I’m not from Idaho. I know you’ve had to absorb a lot of information lately. I know that you recently found out about your gift, and I know that you’ve bonded with Caleb. I like him, which is good, since I’m going to be around more often. I also know who Mrs. Ward is…Fate. I’m your protector Jessie. I’m assigned to keep an eye on you. I’ve been following you since you arrived in New Bern.”
I think I’ve stopped breathing, and the pain in my chest isn’t anxiety, it is my impending death. One more crazy magical crap thing to put up with. Exactly what I wanted to learn about tonight. I was going to write my essay and curl up in my bed with Caleb’s kiss on my mind. No, I can’t have a normal night like that, no, I have to learn one more INSANE piece of my intricate puzzle. “So, you’re stalking me? Are you some kind of creep?”
“No, Jessie, I’m not a creep. Stalker, maybe, but not a creep. I’m your protector, your own guardian.”
“I don’t even know you. I’ve never seen you before. I might be distracted lately, but I’d have recognized you. I don’t.”
“Listen, I’m not accustomed to revealing myself to my charge. The deal is, I’m your guardian, which means I’m guarding you against all the trouble you seem to find. I personally think you’re in more harm from yourself than you are from Nyx.”
The entire time he’s talking, I’m asking myself if I’ve ever seen him before. “What does a guardian do?”
“Good question. First off, we’re rarer than you Tamers are. We are assigned to various supernaturals for many different reasons. Some supers feel overwhelmed and go over the deep end, doing stupid things. It’s frowned upon to hurt yourself, and we try to put a stop to it. As a guardian, I will appear to you in different forms. I can be as simple as a butterfly floating by, or as charming as an owl on its nightly hunt. A lot of foster children are supernaturals, sometimes I’m a foster child in a home to watch over them, and make sure they find the help they’ll need. Some of the gifted aren’t allowed to procreate with a human. They’ll hide their pregnancy and then give the child up for adoption. Those children have a fifty fifty shot of inheriting their parent’s gifts. Not that all gifted kids have powers that are good. Sometimes their powers need to be bound so they won’t be a risk to themselves or anyone else. That is where I come in. I become a mentor to them, and I teach them how to protect themselves. I’ve never had a Tamer before; they usually don’t have other Supers trying to find them. Their danger is from their counterparts,
I think you call them Dark One. You on the other hand, are in danger from everything. As your guardian, I will put my life on the line for you. You’re my only concern. I won’t interfere in a battle that doesn’t threaten you.” He wipes the sweat off the bottle of water I gave him from the patio bar.
“You’re telling me that you’re a butterfly? Riiiiight.”
“Hey, what’s wrong with being a butterfly? No, I don’t turn into a butterfly. I’m your guardian, not your fairy godmother.”
Can someone tell me why my life is so damned confusing? “Explain how you can protect me as a butterfly? While you’re at it, can you explain how you’re going to protect me at all? You’re just going to be some voyeur that follows me?”
“Look Miss Skeptical, I’m doing what my superiors tell me to do. I have to keep you alive. Your destiny is too important to ignore. Sadly, you and your friends have become targets for the Underworld gods and goddesses. You couldn’t upset something that Fate could help control, no, you upset the total psychos. Yes, you have a destiny and NO, I’m not telling you what it is.”
“Is this like a North Carolina thing? Because when I lived in New York, the only crazy was my dad.” I try to hide how annoyed he is making me. At this point, I’m not sure if I really care.
“Tomorrow, we’ll talk about this more. Amber said you’re riding with her in the morning, so I’ll see you bright and early.”
“You’re just going to come in here, tell me you’re my guardian angel and a butterfly and leave? How absurd is that!”
“Oh, honey, don’t flatter yourself, I’m no angel. You think that’s absurd, you’ll love this next part...you can’t tell anyone. Don’t look at me like that. I’m sorry, but the rules are the rules. I know you and your friends like to bend the rules, but not this time. To assure that you won’t tell anyone, there is a Dark One on stand-by to knock off your new BFF,” he says cockily.
“You’ll have my friend killed if I tell anyone? What the hell?”
Enlightened A Light Tamer Novel (The Light Tamer) Page 6
