The Thorn Chronicles-Books 1-4: Kissed, Destroyed, Secrets, and Lies

by Kimberly Loth

  “Anyway, the Master Guardian sent Kai out to find the Master Destroyer so that the balance can be restored.”

  Holy smokes. That meant that….

  “The Master Destroyer lives in Arkansas?”

  He chuckled. “I guess so. I didn’t know where Kai ended up. He wasn’t supposed to contact us until after the job was finished. He’s working deep undercover.”

  That would explain how he knew Mr. Yerdin. I bet he and Dwayne were those Destroyer things.

  “But what does he have to do?”

  “Naomi, I’m just a minor Guardian. I’m not told that sort of thing.”

  “Who’s the Master Guardian?”

  “No one knows except the council and the old Master Guardian. It’s a secret so that the Master Guardian is kept safe. The council meets every once in awhile with the Major and Head Guardians. They bring instructions from the Master Guardian.”

  “Wait. A letter. I have a letter from Kai. I had completely forgotten about it.”

  Puck slammed on the brakes.

  “What the hell? How come you didn’t tell me this before?”

  “I seriously just remembered. It’s at home, but it’s for you, I think. When we get home, I’ll show you.”

  He started the car again, but didn’t say anything. He seemed a little angry.

  My head swam with all the information. What did all this mean for Kai? And what about my father? Was he a Destroyer? I looked out the window and stared at the desert. Eventually the monotonous landscape lulled me to sleep. I woke to find Puck weaving up the driveway to Alejandro’s place.

  “How long was I asleep?” I asked.

  “A few hours. I sped all the way home. It should have taken us around seven hours to get home. I made it in five. I’ve been thinking too. This is a strange situation you’ve gotten yourself in.”

  He opened the door for me and took my hand, slowing down a little, taking in the various cars in the driveway. There were about fifteen. Some were older and falling apart and some were brand new. I even spotted a Rolls Royce.

  “Shit. Assignments. I forgot about it. You were probably my assignment this week anyway. But this can’t wait.”

  When Puck and I entered the library every head turned toward us. Teenage boys had scattered themselves around the room. They lounged on couches, spread out on the floor, and leaned against bookshelves. Each boy oozed confidence and had unnatural good looks. The kind that every cheerleader eagerly tossed her virginity to. I could see why Puck had chosen to go the goth route. Puck was charismatic and charming, but he didn’t possess the airbrushed appearance of the others, so went the complete opposite. I spotted Jason across the room and waved. He smiled.

  “Puck, didn’t you know? You can’t bring your girlfriend to assignment night,” A tall boy in the corner drawled. He wore gray khaki shorts and a wrinkled white button down shirt with flip-flops. He brushed his wavy hair out of his eyes. “Course she’s way out of your league, so perhaps she’ll be going home with me instead of you.”

  “Shut it, Romeo, she’s not yours to mess with.”

  I snorted. Romeo looked down at me. “What’s your problem, Princess?”

  “I’m not Puck’s girl anyway, but I’d much rather have him than you.”

  Alejandro’s voice came from a far doorway. “Okay, I need three of you to go—” He stopped dead when he saw me.

  “Puck, I didn’t expect you to be here tonight.”

  Puck rushed over to Alejandro and began whispering furiously. Alejandro listened intently.

  A smooth, golden hand slithered into mine and tugged down. Sitting on the ground next to me was another Ken clone. “Come sit next to me, Puck doesn’t know what to do with his girls. I can show you a good time.”

  “I’m not Puck’s girl.” I jerked my hand away, but he held fast. “Let go.”

  He smiled a perfect white smile. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, anger crept upon me this time, but it wasn’t as bad as with the old man. A salty taste filled my mouth, but it wasn’t blood and instead of an explosion, I heard the roar of a tiger. The effect was the same though.

  The boy jumped up.

  “Destroyer,” he growled. Boys leapt from all the over the room and closed in on me.

  Alejandro and Puck were at my side before I could move. Puck put his arm around me and Alejandro spoke.

  “Naomi is not a Destroyer.”

  “But she stung me!” said the Ken clone.

  “Naomi is special, but she is not a Destroyer. She’s Kai’s girl, so you’ll leave her alone while she’s with us.”

  The boys began to murmur at that. I even heard one deep voice mutter, “Kai’s girl and he let Puck watch her. That was stupid.”

  “Now, I’m going to give out assignments and you’ll all behave.”

  Puck and I found a couch and sat down. Jason sat down on the other side of me. Puck kept his arm possessively around me, as if he could protect me from the fierce gaze of his cohorts. Alejandro moved around the room and the guys left in groups of two or three. Finally only Puck, Romeo, and Jason remained. Alejandro hunkered down in front of Puck.

  “Puck, I need you to go reinforce the protections around my house. I was going to have Romeo and Jason do it, but I need them here with me and Naomi. When you are finished, you’ll wait for us out by the pool. Do you understand?”

  “What are you going to do to her?”

  “Test her abilities.”

  “Why can’t I help?”

  “Because you’re too close to her. Besides, you’re the only one who can handle my perimeter on your own.”

  Puck nodded and took my face in his hands, staring at me with those intense eyes of his. I felt warm again and could smell orange and clove. A smell I didn’t think I’d ever smell again without thinking of him. I thought for a moment he might kiss me, but then Alejandro interrupted him.

  “Save your energy Puck, you’ll need it tonight.”

  He sighed and dropped his hands. “I’ll see you later.”

  Jason stood up. He was taller than the other three. “Puck, I’ll keep an eye on her. I won’t let Romeo mess with her.”

  “Thanks,” Puck said and disappeared through the door.

  Alejandro sat across from me and the other two sat on both sides of him. He paused and I stared at my nails. Rita had painted them two days ago. A bright pink with white daisies. The paint on my thumbnail had started to peel. I wished, desperately, that I was just a normal girl. A girl who worried about her nails and hair and went to parties and discussed boys with her girlfriends into the wee hours of the morning. Not some freak of a girl who had psycho parents and supernatural boyfriends.

  Alejandro cleared his throat. “What exactly did Puck tell you today?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “About us, what did he tell you about us?”

  I sighed, and told him everything Puck had told me, including the energy exercise he had put me through yesterday. And the experience with the dirty old man.

  “Why did he accuse me of being a Destroyer?” I asked.

  Alejandro smiled. “Because, Naomi, you are a Shade.”

  Rose growers have always played God. If you can’t find a rose that you like, just create it. Rose breeding is relatively easy. Find two roses that both possess a quality you like and combine them. Sometimes it takes a few tries, but eventually new roses are born. There are literally thousands of rose types. No one can agree on the original. In 1597 the first list of roses was published. It contained fifteen varieties. In my garden at home I have all of them.

  “I’M A WHAT?” I ASKED.

  The room went silent for a few moments. The tall ceilings and bookshelves seemed to crowd the room like they were listening. I sat by myself on a shiny leather couch across from Alejandro and the two boys. They all stared at me like I was some kind of freak. My green hair got me that look a lot, but this was different. Tense.

  “She’s a girl.” Romeo leaned forward, studying me. “S
he can’t be a Shade.”

  “What does being a girl have to do with anything?” I asked, more out of curiosity than anything else. The Master always said that women had their place, and usually it was beside a strong man. But the way Romeo said it, it was almost like girls were physically incapable of being Destroyers or Guardians.

  “Because—” Romeo began.

  “Shut it, Romeo. You’ll just make this worse.” Alejandro sighed and waved his hand at Jason.

  Romeo glowered at me, brushed his blond hair out of his eyes, and settled back into his chair and whined.

  “Why does he always get to tell the story?”

  “Because he’s good at it,” said Alejandro.

  Jason stood and held his arms out wide. I’d never noticed how long they were. He spoke with ease and command.

  “Long, long ago, before the earth existed, a battle brewed in the heavens. Lucifer, the angel of the morning, lusted after power. He begged God for an opportunity to utilize his gifts of persuasion in the Heavens. God would not have it, knowing that by giving Lucifer that freedom, he’d be opening a world of chaos. God is one of order.

  “Lucifer rebelled. He took his followers and challenged God for the throne of the Heavens. But God was stronger.

  “He cast Lucifer and his followers out of the Heavens to the depths of darkness.” Jason clapped his hands together and the room went dark. I jumped.

  Jason spoke in the darkness, quiet and menacing. “God lost one third of his sons that day. But he underestimated the power of Lucifer. Time passed. Lucifer waited in the darkness with his new sons. Until he noticed that God had a project. Earth.

  “Lucifer crept onto Earth and watched for an opportunity. He found his opportunity in Eve. She partook of the forbidden fruit, which contained the soul of one of Lucifer’s sons. Cain was born, not as a human but as a Shade. When Cain slew Abel, God discovered his atrocity.

  “But God was wise and struck a deal with the Devil.” Three candles suddenly lit up on the coffee table in front of me. Jason sat in between Alejandro and Romeo. He leaned far forward, his dark face ghostly in the candlelight.

  “God agreed to let the sons of Lucifer use the bodies that he created for his children. But rules were set in place. When a soul entered the womb he would remember nothing of his former life. He would only be allowed to use his curse for one thing. The one gift Lucifer possessed. The power to persuade, to influence by way of emotion and thought. In exchange God would attempt to redeem his fallen sons.

  “Lucifer agreed, knowing that if he didn’t, he would be annihilated. This created a system wherein the Shades could chose, good or evil. Those who chose evil become Destroyers and those who chose good become Guardians. It is much much harder to be a Guardian than a Destroyer. A Shade’s natural inclination is toward pain and hurt. But, the Guardians do their best to undo the havoc that the Destroyers create.

  “The Guardians are an ancient society. We recognize the fact that we once betrayed God. We work every day to atone for the pain we caused him.”

  Jason clapped his hands and the lights came on again. Then he turned to Alejandro.

  “The story hasn’t changed in thousands of years. I’ve heard others tell it and the words never change. It says, ‘The sons of heaven’. How is Naomi a Shade?”

  Alejandro sighed. “I don’t know, but she is. We need to determine how powerful she is, then I’ll have to figure out what to do with her.”

  I am a girl. There is no way I was once a son of the devil and was magically born here through a piece of fruit.

  “This is impossible,” I said.

  Alejandro smiled. “The traditional story leaves out some important details I’m afraid. Things have been lost over the years. So this is not entirely impossible. Now let’s decide what we are going to do with you.”

  Romeo snorted. “Give her to the Destroyers. They’ll make short work of her.”

  “Romeo, if you can’t keep your thoughts to yourself, I’m going to ask you to leave.”

  “Fine,” he muttered.

  “Wait.” I said and all three heads turned towards me. “What do you mean that it’s not impossible? Has this ever happened before?”

  Jason interjected. “We’ve had a few women we suspected over the years but none that have been confirmed.”

  “Oh,” I said and tried to think of something else to ask, but Alejandro jumped on the pause in the conversation.

  “Jason, please go sit by Naomi.” Jason sat next to me with a grin. He smelled like oatmeal raisin cookies. The room was warm.

  I waited, not sure what was happening. This whole thing was going too fast. I had no idea what to do and I wanted Puck here with me. At least he told me things.

  Alejandro spoke. “Jason and Romeo are the two most powerful minor Guardians I have aside from Puck.”

  “Puck can’t do shit, I don’t know how you can even compare us.” Romeo stood next to Alejandro, glaring at me.

  “Romeo, go sit next to Naomi and shut up or I’ll bring Puck in here to do this instead of you. You both are about to become Major Guardians. You need to learn how to test Shades. Especially ones who’ve had some training already or seem powerful. If you blow it with them they could end up being your worst nightmare.”

  “Naomi, you seem to have some very strange gifts, ones that you yourself are not even aware of. I’m going to send an emotion through you and I want you to send it to Jason who will then send it back to me.”

  “How?” I asked.

  “Just think of what you want Jason to feel. If you are as talented as I think you are, he should have no trouble.”

  “Uh, okay.”

  At first I felt nothing, just my own confusion. Then I had visions of bright sunrises and I could smell tulips. Happiness. I let the sensations build within me and then I released them toward Jason. Instantly, the sunshine disappeared and I could no longer smell the tulips. Then I heard a woman sobbing and cold seeped into my bones. Grief. Once again, I let it build until I couldn’t stand it then I sent it to Jason.

  At first, the emotional shifts were slow and then they began to move faster and sometimes I’d even feel the same thing again. Sour grapes. A pit of vipers. Laughter. Pine. They shifted so fast that I didn’t even have time to think about what I was doing, I threw the feelings away from me as fast as they came. And I didn’t have to even think about what they meant.

  Then they stopped. I had been so focused on the act of sending away the emotions that I had forgotten where I was and what I was doing. Alejandro didn’t speak but stared at me for a long while. I stared back defiantly. Alejandro hadn’t scared me since he gave me the Tuscany. We were friends and he didn’t feel like an adult to me. He was probably the only adult that I felt would never hurt me. I wanted to show him I was capable of whatever he put me through.

  “Romeo, you and I are simultaneously going to send emotions to Naomi. I will send positive, while you send negative. Naomi, I want you to block the negative emotion and send only the positive to Jason. Ready?” I nodded.

  This was harder because I had to focus on blocking the negative and the positive was more difficult to send on. At first I somehow managed to send only the negative. Alejandro scowled when Jason began to sob. I took two deep breaths and blocked out everything. Then I allowed myself to open up only slightly. The emotions weren’t as strong, but I could feel what I was supposed to do. Minutes later Jason giggled and Alejandro relaxed. Soon it felt easy.

  “Good job, Romeo. Your assignment for this week is to replenish your energy. Come back next week. I’ll have a job for you then.”

  Jason shifted next to me and put his arm around me. I felt comfortable with him, almost like an older brother. Ricki would have a fit though. I settled back next to him and closed my eyes, exhausted by the emotional overdrive.

  “Naomi, what did the pit of vipers mean?” Alejandro asked.

  “Fear. They represented fear,” I answered without thinking. “And the sour grapes were anxiet
y, laughter was giddiness, and pine was sorrow. This is easy. I’ve been associating sensory experiences with emotions ever since Kai started visiting me. When I get angry I taste blood.”

  Alejandro sighed.

  “You have a very powerful gift. One in which I have never seen before outside of the high ranks of the Guardians. It disturbs me. You act as if you’ve been trained before, yet you seem as innocent as an angel. I don’t know what to do with you.”

  I shook my head, angry at the direction the conversation had taken. “Do with me? Nothing. When you decide to tell me what’s really going on, then maybe I’ll help you. But you aren’t going to ‘do’ anything with me.”

  I started to cry. Nothing felt real anymore. Everything seemed like a manipulation of my system. Like I couldn’t feel anything real on my own anymore.

  “What the heck is all this? This emotion crap? I don’t get it. Any of it.”

  “Calm down. I’m getting there. You ask, I’ll answer.” He folded his hands together and settled back against the couch. Then he cocked his head.

  “What’s real?” I asked. That about summed up every question I had. Did Kai really love me? Did I really love him? Was anything I felt my own emotions?

  “Everything.”

  I started to retort when Jason spoke up. “Just because you feel it through someone else doesn’t make it less real. We Guardians try not to create feelings but rather counteract feelings that come from Destroyers. It’s not a natural feeling when you feel hatred or rage. Those are contrived feelings. We are around to help minimize those. If it weren’t for us, you’d feel horrid all the time. For every ten Destroyers there is only one Guardian. We try, but we can never keep up with it all.”

  Alejandro’s words floated around in my head. I couldn’t be a Shade. I wasn’t mean. And there was no way I followed Satan down to Hell. Plus, I was a girl.