He looks at me and cocks his head to the side. “It makes a difference doesn’t it? It isn’t a North Carolina thing either toots. This could have happened at any super school you went to. I have some homework to tend to. Be sure to arm the alarm when I leave, I don’t want any bad guys to get you while you’re sleeping.”
Ugh, what a despicable ass. This is a guardian? “How am I supposed to keep this from Caleb? He hears my thoughts. Huh? You’re going to kill my friend because I can’t help thinking?”
“You ask a lot of questions. Don’t worry about thinking it, somehow it’s jumbled. I don’t know how it works, but it isn’t possible to spread the word via thoughts,” he says as he stands up. “Good-night my little charge.”
I try as hard as possible not to scream. Silently we walked through the house and without a word he left. I punch in the code to the alarm and head back to my room. My phone has only been on the charger for an hour, long enough to give Caleb a good-night call.
“Hey beautiful,” Caleb says as he answers the phone.
I try to keep myself composed so he doesn’t realize I’m on the verge of tears. “Hi you. I wanted to call and say good night.”
“Is everything okay?”
No, everything isn’t okay. “Yeah, I just wanted to hear your voice.”
“Are you missing your dad?”
I do miss him, daily. “Yeah, a little. I can’t really talk; I still have a little more homework to do. Good night.” I close my eyes and envision him with me.
“Good night, I’ll see you in the morning. I love you”
“Love you, too.”
Chapter 11. Killing Amber
Amber’s Jeep screeches its tires as we pull into the school parking lot. When we picked Thorne up, the jackass winked at me as he climbed into the back seat. After sitting up half the night trying to figure out what to do, I finally decided to go see Mrs. Ward first thing. After all, she is the one that seems to have made each obstacle for me. I told Amber to go on without me, and I’d see her in class.
As I lifted my hand to knock on her door, Mrs. Ward pulled it open.
“Good morning, Jessie. How are you enjoying your new school,” she asked with a smile?
She motioned for me to sit down. “You know why I’m here. What I don’t understand is why you trickle information to me.”
“Trickle? Young lady, I assure you, I don’t trickle. This isn’t a ordinary little game we’re playing. You’re back on my radar, so something is going right. Thorne and I discussed it for hours; before we decided you should know who he actually is. Your friend Amber, she is a loose cannon that girl. She is such a spurt of the moment person, it makes my job harder. She flits in and out of her path so much, it makes me dizzy.”
“How on earth can you keep up with everyone in the world and their path?” It isn’t a dumb question. “What do you mean about her in and out of her path? Is she teetering on being a Dark One?” I say, trying my best to keep my tone down and my temper in check.
“It’s not for you to worry about. Your focus should solely be on your Light Tamer skills. Your path is changing, and I see a lot of good. I also see a dark time, despair, and fear. Your future depends on your strength.”
“Where does Thorne fit into the picture? He said he is my guardian and if I tell anyone he’ll kill Amber. What kind of guardian angel is that? He will kill her. It isn’t like he will poke her with a needle, or whack her in the knee. He will kill her.” I emphasize my words with my New York accent.
“He’s a guardian, not an angel. He can’t kill her. Killing an innocent is against the rules. He is just scaring you. He’s so used to dealing with rogues and unloveables. I’ll have a talk with him about his scare tactics. As for the rest, you’re going to have to deal with him. With the Nyx situation hovering over us, especially now that she’s been seen, we have to bump up security.”
“Fine, I’ll deal with it, but I’m telling Amber and Caleb about him.”
She clucked her tongue and says, “No, you won’t. I didn’t say he can’t relocate her to Alaska. I’m pretty sure the surfing is chilly there. You need to keep the secret. I’d suggest you figure out a way to deal with it.” She looks down at her watch. “The bell is about to ring. Have a lovely day Miss Lucente.”
Nothing but a bunch of drama. What fabulous piece of insanity will happen today? .
The hallway is crowded as I weave my way through the accumulation of kids. I bump into a heavy-set guy, he’s bigger than me, and he bumps me back, and I went flying into a clique of preppy girls. The kind that have hair extensions and carry designer backpacks, the kind that I’m not. One girl fusses and tells me to watch where I’m going. I scramble away from them before I do something stupid.
A tap on my right shoulder has me fall for the game boys’ play, the one where I look right, and they are on my left. I turn expecting to see Caleb, to my chagrin, it’s Thorne.
“I saw you leaving Mrs. Ward’s office. How is the lovely Fate this morning?”
“I learned you can’t kill my friends,” I say with a smirk.
The first bell chimes through the halls. “Details, don’t get hung-up on the small little wee details.” He holds his fingers up an inch apart, to show me small. I’d like to snatch that smug look off of his face.
I feel hands on my waist from behind me, and instantly feel comforted. “Have fun in first hour beautiful.”
I give him a quick peck on the lips. “You too. I have the paper signed for the weight lifting class. I didn’t think she was going to agree to it, but she did and that’s all that matters. See you in a bit.” I say and Caleb turns to get to class before the tardy bell.
“Funny how things work out,” Thorne says as he holds up his permission slip for the weight lifting class.
I growl and walk away to class.
Miss Raine escorted us to our secret classroom and then announced that she is staying with us. Mr James smiled and left to teach the other class, I guessed. Miss Raine pranced around the room in her tie-dyed sun dress talking about the changes in the weather will affect our ability to pull light to us. Watch the weather. Keep your eye on the barometric pressure. Do this, do that, it was all overload.
“Are you paying attention Miss Lucente?”
No. “Uh, well, not exactly,” I say, voice shaky with nerves.
“As I was saying class, our fall break will be in September. The fall equinox happens that weekend. Now you’re aware of Tamers, your body and instincts will go into hyper-mode. You’ll be able to spot other Tamers, and some of you will have the ability to spot small children that are a Tamer too. Anything to do with spells, incantations, fire, earth, spirit, will be easy to retain. It will be the beginning of our daylight hours being shortened. Obviously, Tamers are able to get through winter months with little complications. You might find this interesting. During the shortened days, the Dark Ones do a semi-hibernation through winter. It’s obvious that they survive and thrive from the light. It’s hypothesized that like a squirrel they store up during the warmer, brighter months. Not that you’ll be altogether safe, so you should always carry your flashlights. Everyone has been given their flashlight holsters. Carry them in your backpacks, and keep a flashlight in your locker. Batteries are free to you for your flashlights; you can stop by the secretary’s office before and after school to stock up.”
I feel a slight buzz from my pocket. I discreetly pull it out to see who texted me. Amber of course.
Amber: Did you smell his cologne??? Deee Lightful!
Me: No
Amber: Your sniffer must be broken.
Me: I guess
Yes, I smelled his cologne. He smells like Jimmy Johnson from my old school. I wasn’t about to tell her that, or she’d have a cow.
“Miss Lucente, is your lap talking to you?” Miss Raine asks. She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear, and I notice her tattoo on her wrist is glowing.
“My lap is fine, I was checking if I had some change for the soda
machine. I’m sorry.”
From the corner of my eye, I see Thorne shake his head.
“Do you have something to say Mr Woodson?”
“Yes ma’am,” Thorne replies. “I do have a question. When did you find out about Light Tamers, if you’re not one?”
She tilts her head to the side, as though she is carefully deciding what she would say. “A darned good question. We’ll be going into this in the next segment of this class, but I’ll tell you a little about it. I’m a member of a branch that is affiliated with the Rosicrucian Order. It is a society for the spiritually gifted. My gifts are also of the healing kind, and my chapter of the Order is extremely small. There are about fifty of us throughout the world. I’ve always known about Light Tamers, there’s never been a time I didn’t. My father was highly involved with the Order, so I grew up with it around me. Your chapter is much larger, but, not the largest group. My father and the head of the Tamers charter are close friends. We had family vacations and we trained together, that is how I know about you.” Someone asked if she is a witch. “Ah, no, I’m not a witch. Our group doesn’t have a fancy name. We’re just known as the healer. My gift as a healer is purely physical. I heal wounds and sometimes I can heal an illness.”
Carmen raises her hand. “If you’re able to heal, why do you need the potions?”
“Sometimes you need a healing unguent, or a potion to help speed things up. My power can be drained very quickly; I’m not God, I can’t heal everyone. You’ll understand this even more as you become a healer. Okay, on to more information about the equinox weekend. We’ll be having a dance for juniors and seniors on that Saturday. It will be held downtown at the convention center. There are sign-up sheets for decorating committee and chaperones in the main office. Please don’t pass up this time, you’re not too cool to join in the fun. You’ll only be teens for a few more years, enjoy it while you can. There will be extra credit for those students that help out. Okay, on to another exciting thing. Next week we will have a guest speaker. Her name is Chrissy, and she is an animal healer, she can speak to animals too. She and I’ve been in training all summer, and I’m excited for all of you to hear her story.”
I wonder if Caleb would be interested in helping out. I can only imagine the four letter words Amber will say when I ask her. Oh, that’s right, she isn’t saying them, she’s making up words to use in place of the super bad words. When I asked her to take weight lifting class with me; she almost fell over laughing.
“…respect the earth. We’re not endorsing witchcraft, we’re endorsing the love and energy the earth, sun, and moon provide us. In alchemy we will use such things as crystals, essential oils and items you can probably find in your own cupboards. These items will serve as a catalyst for you to heal. Many of you in this classroom will be a doctor of some sort.” A spurt of laughter broke the lecture up for a second. “Two out of three Tamers will go forth as a doctor. There are all types of doctors. A doctorate can be given to scholars, physicians, engineers. Your positive energy is needed in all of those fields. The other one Tamer will usually be a stay at home healer.” Miss Raine went over to a cabinet and pulled out what looks like a tissue box from where I was sitting. She handed the box to Carmen, telling her to take a crystal and pass it on.”
Amber turns around to me. “You have to be kidding me, we’re going to play with rocks? I think she’s got a few rocks loose in her head, if you know what I mean.”
“Crystal’s are thought to have the strongest healing powers from the earth,” Thorne says. We all turn around to face him as he speaks.
“Oh, no, I didn’t mean anything derogatory about it. She’s just so intense,” Amber says timidly (totally out of character for her).
The box of crystals made it to our end of the room. The one I pick is small and jagged but clear and pretty. The stone feels cold as ice in the palm of my head.
“Can anyone tell me what the metaphysical aspect of a quartz crystal is?” Miss Raine asks and opened up a small notebook and wrote something in it.
Carmen is the only one that raises her hand. “Crystals amplify the mind, body and spirit. They will absorb energy from the earth, moon and sun. I know when my grandma’s arthritis is acting up, she says her crystals help the pain. Before anyone gets the gumption to say she is a witch, I’d highly suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself.”
At the end of class, we each have a quartz crystal and an amethyst cluster, which is said to help calm the spirit. Miss Raine said that it helps with attention deficit disorder, and if we keep one in our pocket it will help us focus. The bell rang, I barely made it to the door and Caleb is standing there waiting for me. He hands me a folded up piece of paper, and he tells me not to open it until I’m alone.
Rob and Caitlyn are already at our pod when I sit down. Rob is holding up a Hello Kitty mirror and checking his teeth, and Caitlyn is doodling as usual.
“So, tell me. Are you and Caleb in love? Please tell me you are,” Rob asks dramatically.
I pull out a spiral notebook and slip my note inside so I can read it when things settle down in class. Rob is leaning across his desk waiting for me to answer his question. “You don’t beat around the bush do you?”
“No, so tell me…are you?”
One beat, two beats, three beats…breathe in, breathe out. “I think so.” I say, but inwardly I wish he’d leave me alone.
“He has perfect lips, I bet he kisses wonderfully.” He looks at me for a moment, before his attention is taken to the front of the class.
Mrs. Jones starts tapping her foot in annoyance. “As you can see on the work table, I have 32 copies of The Innocent Man. I want everyone to come up and take one. Silently, I want you to read the first three chapters. When you have finished, I want you to return the book and then I want you to write down how you feel about the story. Two pages, single spaced. When you’re done, come up and get the book and continue reading.”
Someone asks why we can’t keep the book; instead of returning it and going back to get it again.
“This is an exercise on how well you remember the characters, the plot, and the way you felt as you read it. I don’t want anyone to thumb through the book to remember, I want you to work from your gut. Our life is filled with people telling us stories; it will be up to us, what we remember, how we felt, and if it’s truth or fiction.” Looking around the room, she smiles. “Has anyone in here read anything by Mr John Grisham before?”
He’s one of my favorite authors, and I’ve read all of his books, including this one. I don’t raise my hand, in my attempt at blending in. No one admits to reading his books.
Rob wouldn’t shut up so I never had a chance to take a look at my note.
Chapter 12. Jealousy is Ugly
For once, I’m in the hallway waiting on Caleb. I stood outside of his classroom and can barely see him, but I finally do. He is there, and a girl with bright green barrettes and curly red hair is talking to him. She keeps touching his arm and throwing her head back in laughter as if he’s the funniest person on earth. My teeth clench and my blood feels like it’s on fire. I’ve never experienced anything like this…jealousy. I’m seriously jealous of some girl because she is paying attention to my boyfriend. Get a grip, I tell myself.
Caleb looks up and sees I’m standing in the hallway. She follows his gaze and gives me a fake smile. They say a quick goodbye and he comes over to walk with me to the cafeteria. “Hey beautiful, how was class?”
I try to pretend it didn’t bother me, but it did. I hated her hand on him, and I hated the way she laughed. I hated that he didn’t tell her to stop touching him. I hate the way I feel.
“What was all of that about?” My eyes meet his, and he knows I’m jealous.
“That was nothing, trust me, you ready for lunch,” he asks.
“Why was she touching you? It isn’t like she can’t keep her hands to herself.” I feel the New Yorker in me rearing its ugly head. “Why didn’t you stop her?”
“Jessie, you’re being stupid.”
I refuse to take his hand as we walked towards the cafeteria. “Stupid? You think I’m being stupid? You can’t answer a simple question, and you’re calling me stupid. You can eat lunch alone.” I storm off to get in line.
“Women!” I hear Caleb say loud enough for me to hear him.
Amber runs over and grabs a tray, getting in line behind me. “Where’s Caleb?”
“I don’t know, and right now, I don’t care.” I grab a slice of lemon cream pie and a sweet tea as I slide my tray to the register.
“You’re going to have some type of sugar induced coma if you eat all of that. Suicide by lemon pie is a sticky way to go.” She grabs a chocolate brownie and some chocolate milk. “Mine has milk, that’s healthy. Why are you mad at Mr Charming?”
“I don’t know. Some girl kept touching him, and he didn’t try to brush her off or anything. My mom would say I have the green eye monster in me.”
We walk to the table we’ve sat at all week. Thorne is sitting there with a bag from a fast food restaurant and eating fries.
“Hello ladies,” Thorne says.
Amber practically throws her food on the table and nonchalantly scooted her chair closer to him. “Hey…Miss Perfect is fuming over a fight with Caleb.”
“I’m not fuming, I’m just a little pissed off.”
“Sorry, she isn’t fuming…pissed off is a totally different category.” Amber shoves a massive bite of brownie in her mouth.
“This girl had her paws all over him, and he didn’t do anything about it. I know that sounds dumb, but there was something about the way she looked at him.”
“Yeah, that is dumb. Was he pawing back? Did he act like he has something to hide? Or did you forget to wear your big girl panties today?” Thorne asks. Amber practically shot chocolate milk out of her nose as she choked on what he said.
“Whatever.” I know they’re right. We’ve never had a fight before, what if he breaks up with me? What if he decides it would be better being with another girl and just being friends with me?
Enlightened A Light Tamer Novel (The Light Tamer) Page 7
