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

by Kimberly Loth

  During last period, I repotted poinsettias mindlessly. About halfway through class, I acted. I thought very clearly, throw the pencil across the room.

  Almost instantly, three pencils went flying around the greenhouse. Somehow, the teacher didn’t notice. But I already knew I could do this much. What I didn’t know was if it would go any further. Were Destroyers who weren’t here also chucking pencils across rooms?

  Kai’s pencil stayed firmly in his hand. Why was he still trying to be a Guardian? Even if he were the Master Destroyer, he wouldn’t be a very good one because he refused to let go of the Guardian energy.

  After school Jason stood next to the office, scowling. “You better have a good explanation for why I and thirty other kids ended up in the office together for throwing pencils. Especially since all of those kids are known Destroyers.”

  “I promise I’ll tell you, but I want to try one more thing. Will you trust me for just a little longer?”

  He cracked his knuckles. “Do I have a choice?”

  “No. Why don’t you come over to our house at seven and I’ll explain everything. Kai will be gone, so make sure you don’t say anything to him.”

  Jason towered over me with a sneer. “You’re telling me you trust me with this, and not Kai? How do you know I won’t go snitching to Puck? Or Kai, for that matter? I have no idea what it is you are doing or who you are working for. You may be worse than I am.” I shoved him away.

  “You won’t tell because I have the most to offer you. See you at seven.”

  With that, I turned and stalked out of the school. His words bothered me; I hated to think I was as deceiving as he was. Though he might be right.

  Dad had hamburgers ready when we got home. He was trying to spoil us, I think. After dinner, Kai went into the office.

  “Dad, I need to get Kai out of the house for a while. Can you help me?” I said, while helping him with the dishes.

  “Of course, Naomi. I’d do anything for you. You’re not in any trouble, are you?”

  “No, not really, but I need to keep some things secret from Kai.” I filled the sink up with warm water. I loved doing the dishes. Weird, I know.

  “Okay. If you need someone else to confide in, you know you can always come to me.”

  Fat chance. He’d done a lot to redeem himself, but I didn’t trust him that much.

  “Thanks, but I think I got this. Can you get Kai out of the house?”

  Dad frowned. “I’ll ask him to help with the animals. How long will you need?”

  “About an hour. I’ll need you to leave just before seven.”

  “Consider it done.”

  “Thank you.”

  The warm water helped clear my head. We worked in silence for a bit. It was a comfortable silence.

  I looked at the clock; it was five-thirty. I sent an order to Jason alone. I didn’t know how it would work. I told him to do ten jumping jacks.

  That was it. Now, I would just have to wait.

  An hour later, I was doing my homework in the office with Kai. It was distracting, because he’d finished his while I was doing the dishes. Even though he had Destroyer work to do, he kept caressing me. He’d brush my hair back from my shoulder and kiss my neck, or tickle my knee, or try to hold my hand while I was writing with it. I finally decided studying was a lost cause when my dad walked in. Nothing destroys romance faster than a father’s presence.

  “Kai, I need some help with the animals this evening, would you come out to the clinic with me?”

  Kai looked at me and pouted. He was thinking the same thing I was a few moments ago. But he wouldn’t say no; that would be rude.

  “Sure.” He looked down at me. “I’ll finish helping you with your homework when I get back.” He winked.

  I grinned at him and nodded.

  Two four-wheelers started up and Kai was gone. I paced around the house. It was an old habit of mine. When I was young and my parents left, I would pace like a caged animal. It was during those times that I contemplated running away. I’d thought of a thousand plans, but never acted on any of them until my mother decided I would marry Dwayne. Funny how if she hadn’t done that, we’d probably all still be leading a somewhat peaceful, if miserable, life here at home. I never thought I’d be happy she made that decision, but I was far happier now than ever before. Life was more complicated now, but better.

  Finally, I heard a car approach. I waited for Jason to knock. He stood at the door, scowling. He never used to look like that; he used to be happy all the time. Though that was before he became a Destroyer.

  He followed me into the living room and we sat across from each other.

  “Before you start explaining the pencils, I have an issue we need to discuss.”

  This took me by surprise. “What’s that?” I asked, trying to be casual.

  “I can still tell Kai about the pictures, you know.”

  “Yes, I know. I’ve been telling Tiff nothing but good things about you.”

  “Except she still won’t go out with me, because she thinks she has a shot with Kai.”

  “I told her that things were serious between us, I don’t know what else I can do.”

  He raised his voice. “How about not making out with Puck right in front of her?”

  Oops. “I didn’t think. Sorry.”

  He leaned back in his chair. “What are you going to do about it?”

  I shrugged. “You’ll be around a lot more now, I can invite her too. Maybe if we’re all together it will happen naturally.”

  “Why would I be around more?”

  “Because you’re going to help me.”

  He rolled his eyes. “With what?”

  “Anything unusual happen this afternoon?” I asked.

  “Unusual how?”

  “Around five-thirty. Did you have any strange inclinations or behaviors?”

  “Nope. Nothing. Now, you promised me an explanation. Explain.”

  My body felt heavy. I slumped back into my chair and sighed. This was not the news I’d hoped for. It meant that, even though I could control Destroyers, it didn’t work if they weren’t close by. Jason and I would have to practice, but it would take time that I didn’t have. Plus, Kai would get unbelievably suspicious.

  Jason snapped his fingers. “Talk.”

  “You mean to tell me you haven’t figured it out yet?”

  “Sure I have, I just want to hear you say it.”

  “I’m the Master Destroyer. But you can’t tell anyone.”

  Jason frowned. “What makes you think I won’t kill you right now and take it for myself?”

  “Because deep down you are a good person and killing is not in your nature. You want the power, but you have limits. You’re the perfect Master Destroyer, because there are places you won’t go. You help me through this, and I can pass my power onto you without anyone getting hurt. Plus, if you help me, you’ll know how to control the power the moment it comes to you. I have to figure out everything on my own.”

  He sat back and scratched his chin.

  “Interesting prospect. Let me think about it.”

  I stood over him. “I don’t have time for you to think about it. Either you agree, or I take your power. There is no choice here.” I hoped he wouldn’t call my bluff.

  “Damn girl, when did you grow a backbone? Why the urgency?”

  “Because Guardian leaders are being murdered in their sleep. Do you want that? Do you want Alejandro and the rest of the council dead? I don’t believe that you want them all to die. Every minute that I can’t control the Destroyers is one minute closer to one of the Guardians dying. I’m asking again. Will you help me?”

  His face had gone pale. Without hesitating, he answered, “Of course I’ll help you. There was no question, I just wanted to know why.”

  “Well, now you know. I have to be able to control all the Destroyers across the world, so that no one else dies. Do you understand?”

  “Yes. How can I help?”


  “I need to figure out how to make my commands travel over long distances.”

  Jason sat back, folded his hands in his lap, and stretched out his legs.

  “I don’t know how that works. When your mom was in charge, there was always pain involved. I’d get a massive headache just before she would give a command. All of us did.”

  “Could she give specific instructions to just you, or only broad commands that everyone had to obey?”

  “She could do both. It was different. When she gave a command, I still had a choice. The headache was a reminder of what would happen if I didn’t obey. I only disobeyed once and the headache didn’t go away until I switched to the Guardian energy. When I went back to the Destroyer energy, it was gone. But when you told me to throw that pencil across the room, I didn’t have a choice. I had to. It was instinctual. I didn’t even realize what I had done until after I’d done it. We ought to try a few things with multiple Destroyers in a room, to see if you can have only one person do it. Is Kai under your influence?”

  I nodded.

  “Huh. I didn’t think he was actually going full Destroyer. Not many of were convinced he could lead us.”

  “We need to pretend he is. Can you imagine the fallout, if people find out it’s me? I’ll be by Kai’s side and we’ll make it look like it is him.”

  Jason smirked. “Just like your mom, huh?”

  I scowled. “No. I don’t want this. As soon as I bring back balance, you can have the power.”

  “Why don’t you just give it to me now?”

  “Because I don’t trust that you’ll do what’s best for the Guardians. While it is in my control to do so, I’m going to fix this problem.”

  He fiddled with a string on the edge of his sleeve. “You know, Naomi, you are the only girl I’ve ever had as a good friend. I liked being friends with you. What happened? Why did you tell Ricki to break up with me?”

  “What happened? How can you ask that? You betrayed me.”

  “To your mom? I didn’t tell her anything Kai hadn’t already. By the way, you should know that my loyalties lie with Kai. I haven’t ruled out telling him that you are the Master Destroyer. He’s my best friend. We kept each other balanced before you came back.”

  “I’m not talking about my mom. I’m talking about Dwayne. He came into my house to rape me and then hand me over to my mom. I’m disgusted that you’d wait in the car while he did that.”

  His dark face paled.

  “Holy hell, Naomi, that is not what I thought had happened. Dwayne was supposed to go get you, that’s all.”

  I wasn’t sure I believed him. “Why didn’t you come in with him? You had to know his tendencies at that point.” I clenched my fists. I had to take a deep breath.

  “He was only supposed to take a couple minutes. He asked me to wait in the car. He wanted to prove that he was capable of as much as his dad. That boy has serious daddy issues. Anyway, I had actually decided to come inside and see what was taking so long, when you came around the corner. By yourself, I might add. You seem to do pretty well at taking care things on your own.”

  I couldn’t tell if he was lying or telling the truth. I wanted to believe him. Maybe I had to, at this point, since he was about to become my only confidant. I should’ve told Puck what I was, when I had the chance.

  He sighed and crossed his arms. “As far as taking you to your mom, that was all part of the plan. We knew Puck and Alejandro were on their way. I am sorry about Dwayne. I didn’t know he was going to do that.”

  I inhaled deeply. In some ways I was relieved, but in others I was still wary.

  “Whatever. We need to work together now. On your way home, I want you to stop a mile down the road. Right next to Sammy’s house. You know where I mean?”

  He nodded.

  “Okay. Text me when you get there and I’ll send you a command. Let’s see if it works that far. Then we’ll try again at five miles, and at ten. Then we’ll talk again tomorrow.”

  “What are you going to have me do?”

  “Something easy. I don’t want to tell you, because it might influence your decision.”

  “Okay,” he said, getting up. Time must’ve passed faster than I thought, because Kai came through the door before Jason had the chance to leave. My dad entered, too. “Sorry,” he mouthed to me. I shrugged. It wasn’t that big of a deal.

  Kai looked at Jason. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, man. Naomi and I have a math project we have to work on together. I just came over to talk about it.”

  “Oh, okay. You guys done?” We both nodded. “Good, I needed to talk to you.” Kai motioned for Jason to follow him.

  I had to work fast. Tell him nothing of our conversation. Then you will tell me everything he says tomorrow.

  When Jason emerged a half-hour later, he looked angrier than ever.

  “Naomi, I think I had an idea for our project. Do you want to walk me to my car?”

  “Sure.”

  I scrambled out after him. As soon as we were out of earshot, he spoke.

  “Listen to me, you little bitch. You will not order me around like that if you want my help. You had no right. I will only follow you if you give me a good reason, but right now, you are acting more like a dictator than your mother ever was. You keep acting like this and you’ll never be a Guardian again.”

  I bristled and stood tall. “First of all, you threatened to tell him. I had to know that you’d keep my secret. Second, I need to know the ins and outs of the Destroyers or I will never be able to do this. How am I supposed to learn all that, unless you tell me what Kai tells you?”

  “You have no idea what Kai and I talk about. How do you know it had to do with Destroyers? It could be personal. You don’t have the right to know everything.”

  Curiosity burned inside of me. He was right, though.

  “Okay. But I don’t know how to remove a command. Let me try something.”

  Don’t tell me of your conversation with Kai, unless you want to.

  He let out a deep sigh. “Thank you. I will help you figure out how to use your power, but find someone else to tell you about the ins and outs of Destroyers. Kai might be a good place to start.”

  A few minutes later, I got a text from him. He was at the one-mile mark.

  Honk your horn.

  The text came almost immediately. It worked.

  I watched the stars while I waited for the next text. There were so many of them visible from here. In Vegas, I could hardly see any. Jason sent another message. Five miles.

  I squeezed my eyes shut. Turn on your blinker. I waited, but got no response. Then my phone buzzed.

  Nothing, what’d you tell me to do?

  I replied. Dang. I told you to turn on your blinker. One mile is not enough.

  He sent a message back. We’ll talk at school tomorrow. Brainstorm.

  One day, while my dad and I were working in the garden, he came across a small rosebush and asked what it was. He looked confused. The name of the orange bloom plant was Father’s Day. I got it shortly after my Grandmother died. Every year, on Father’s Day, I used to take the four-wheeler out to his clinic and put a cutting on his desk. That was the only day of the year that he was almost normal.

  WE STILL HAD TWO WEEKS UNTIL CHRISTMAS break, but everyone was acting like the break started tomorrow. They were wild and the teachers were frazzled. At lunch, Kai and I went out to his car so I could call Ginny in peace. I missed her. Kai stood outside the car to make a phone call of his own.

  “How’s my favorite pregnant aunt?” I asked.

  She snorted. “Sick, most of the time. Thank you for asking.”

  “I hope Alejandro is taking good care of you.”

  She was silent for a few seconds. “I haven’t seen him since last time.”

  My heart skipped a beat. “What? Why?”

  “I had too much work to do. I don’t want to go into hiding. I have fantastic security. Nothing is going to happen to me.”
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  Two more Guardians died last week. Things weren’t getting any better. They hadn’t started attacking any harems yet, so I hoped Ginny was safe. I doubted Alejandro felt that way, though.

  “What’d Ale say?”

  “He didn’t talk to me for three days, but he got over it.”

  “Well, stay safe. We should Skype on Christmas. Will you be with Alejandro?”

  She sighed. “Yes, I’ll be with him. That sounds like fun. I’m not sure he’ll let me go after that.”

  We chatted about gifts and her job. As soon as I hung up, Kai climbed into the car.

  “I got a lead.”

  Finally, our first break in tracking down anyone with information about the Guardian murders.

  “Where?”

  “Florida. I’m leaving right after school.”

  “Why does everything happen in Florida?”

  “It’s a hotbed of Destroyer activity. I think whoever is controlling the Guardian murders lives there. Three of my council members are there and keep a close eye on things. Frankie just called and said he had some things to show me. Jason will take you home.”

  I groaned. “Why don’t I just come with you?”

  “No, not this time, it’s too dangerous. Let me see where it goes. I promise I’ll fill you in on the details, but I need to do this alone.”

  He was hiding something from me. “You know I can help you. Besides, I hate Jason.”

  The corner of his lips twitched. “You sure have been spending a lot of time with him, considering you hate him.”

  “Because of the stupid math project, but I really can’t stand him. Please let me come.”

  “Not this time. Come on, class is about to start.”

  He refused to discuss it anymore, so I found myself riding shotgun in Jason’s car on the way home.

  “You should practice giving specific commands today. “

  “What do you mean?”

  “You can use your dad and me. Try to get just one of us to do something.” I hadn’t tried focusing my commands on just one person yet. I was more concerned with distance.

  “I haven’t told my dad yet.”

  “Well, then maybe you should tell him. Unless you can think of someone else we can trust.”