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

by Kimberly Loth

  “But I like kissing them.”

  She sighed. “I know, but I’m afraid you are building a reputation that you won’t want in a few years. Just pick one boy.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” I asked.

  She grinned. “You’ve been hanging around Ricki too much.”

  I set Lincoln down. “You know Puck won’t let me date them. What else am I supposed to do? They’re always here.”

  She put her arm around me as we walked back to the house. “I know. Maybe Puck needs to move out and find his own place.”

  “Right, and leave Naomi here.”

  She laughed. “Maybe they’ll get married this spring.”

  I rolled my eyes. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “It better. I don’t think I’ll be able to cancel on the wedding planner for the third time.”

  I grabbed my towel off of a chair and picked up my sketchbook. It was open to the page where I’d been sketching J-something’s chest and abs. Ginny looked down at the drawing.

  “Pretty accurate. Could you watch little Ale while I go meet with a client? Lupe is sick.”

  I groaned.

  Ginny tapped her foot again. “I know you aren’t crazy about watching him, but it will only be for a couple of hours. Naomi should be back soon and she can help you with him.”

  I dragged my feet all the way to the house. I hated watching little Ale. I hated kids, period.

  Naomi

  I used to identify with the bloom of a rose the most. It is beautiful and pleasant. But lately I find myself to be unworthy of the blooms. Now I’m just a thorn.

  JASON’S HOUSE WAS A FORTRESS. The fence surrounding the property would take an army to get through. Jason never struck me as the peace and quiet type. Arkansas seemed like the last place he would set up camp. As I pulled up to the house and looked out over the massive lake, I realized that you couldn’t beat the view.

  Jason answered the door and kissed me on the cheek. He took both my hands in his own.

  “Apparently my intel is lacking. I heard you and Puck were going to tie the knot.”

  “You heard wrong,” I lied.

  “Well, you look fantastic. The Guardians have been good to you. Come on in.”

  He led me into a living room with sleek modern-looking couches. We sat down and I made a mental note to never go for looks over comfort. These couches were not made with relaxation in mind. Not that I came here to relax.

  “Puck can’t know I was here.”

  “Of course. I notice you aren’t a Guardian. Do you want to join the dark side?”

  I shook my head and shuddered.

  Jason laughed. “I know. I can’t see you on my side, though I wouldn’t complain. How’s your protégé coming along?”

  “Sunday?”

  “The one and only. I heard she is very powerful.”

  Damn. His intel was good. I was hoping to keep Sunday under the radar. Powerful and itching to do something, she was a force to be reckoned with. But I didn’t want her to rush into any decisions she would later regret. The Guardians were the best place for us right now, but if she became one, that would limit her choices in the future. She was too young to make that kind of commitment.

  Puck wanted us to commit though. He thought if we joined with the Guardians we’d just be magically accepted as any of the boys.

  But we aren’t boys. We are women.

  I had to pretend that I thought Sunday couldn’t handle responsibility, even though I knew she was more than capable of outdoing all of Puck’s Minor Guardians. Though they did seem to be her Achilles’ heel.

  “She’s fine, having a little too much fun with the boys.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, I heard that too.”

  “Who do you have in Vegas? You seem to know everything.”

  “One of those boys Sunday’s been kissing. I doubt that gives away too much. But I expect I’m going to be keeping secrets for you, so I trust you’ll keep this one for me.”

  It was common knowledge that both Guardians and Destroyers had spies among each other. I doubt Puck would be very surprised to find that one of his Minor Guardians worked for Jason. Besides, that really wasn’t my concern.

  “So why are you here?” Jason asked.

  “I need information, and maybe some help.”

  “What kind of information?”

  “How many female Destroyers do you have?”

  He cocked his head. “None. That’s an odd question. How many does Puck have?”

  “He doesn’t. Why don’t you train women?”

  He rubbed his chin. “Because we can’t find them. I’ve never sensed a female Shade before. Not that I’d recruit one, even if I could.”

  “Why not?”

  “Did you see what your mother did?”

  “We aren’t all like that.”

  “Naomi, I dare say you are one of a kind. Power like that is hard to control. Does Sunday know she can steal power from Guardians and Destroyers?”

  I shook my head. “Of course not. She’s not ready for that yet.”

  Maybe she was, but she was so carefree, I didn’t want to burden her with that knowledge yet. That kind of power was scary and, truthfully, if she went her whole life without knowing she had that ability, I’d be happy.

  I sighed. The first time I used the power, it was an accident. Though I was grateful for it, I could’ve very easily taken the power of someone I loved. The power to steal was triggered by fear and anger, two things I’d tried very hard to shelter Sunday from.

  Plus the power was addicting. Once you get a taste of it, you feel invincible and do stupid things, like the curse I laid on Mr. Yerdin. He deserved to suffer, for sure, but it wasn’t my call and now there was no way for me to undo it.

  That was the price of our power. I knew I’d have to tell Sunday someday, but for now I was putting it off.

  Jason studied me. “Why aren’t you a Guardian yet?”

  “Because things don’t make sense. I’m afraid once I do, I’ll be treated like a dirty little secret. A girl who will hide and allow a man to take all the glory for her power. Puck claims he wants us out in the open, but he doesn’t really. Besides, I’m not sure I want to.”

  I knew I was being vague, but Jason didn’t need to understand the details until he committed to help me, and even then I wouldn’t tell him everything. There were a lot of girls with power, but most Guardians didn’t even know it was possible for females to be Shades. That kind of secrecy bothered me. I also found it very hard to believe that I was the only one they’d discovered in the last fifty years. What happened to the others?

  “So what are you going to do?” he asked.

  I chewed on my nail, unsure if it was a good idea to tell him. I hadn’t told Puck yet and I needed someone to confide in. Jason might just be the right person. Or not. But he was a good person to test the waters with.

  “I don’t know. But I doubt I’ll ever join the Guardians.” Jason raised his eyebrows. “Or the Destroyers. I’m thinking I might start my own group, just for women.”

  He leaned forward in his chair. “Why?”

  “Because there’s a need for mediators between the Guardians and Destroyers. That’s a perfect position for us.”

  He rubbed his chin. “How many girls are we talking about?”

  “I figured I’d start with twenty or so and then expand. After a few years, I expect we’d number in the thousands.”

  “What the hell? How is that possible? Where are you going to find so many women with power?”

  “We are everywhere. I sense them almost as much as I sense the men with power. Sometimes even more. Most are weak and not worth training, just like men, but there are a lot more of us than you think.”

  His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open a little bit. He sucked in a deep breath. Then he shook his head.

  “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this. You are Puck’s fiancé, even if you left your ring at home. I fear this would
give the Guardians an advantage over us.”

  “You really think that? Then why am I here sharing this with you instead of Puck?”

  He laughed. “Because you’re afraid Puck will get mad at you if he thinks you are going to do something that hurts the Guardians.”

  Damn. He saw right through me.

  I shrugged. “Will you help me?”

  “Can I think about it?”

  I nodded, even though that wasn’t the answer I wanted from him.

  “Naomi!” a voice squealed and I turned. Tiffany rushed at me and threw her arms around me.

  “Tiff, what are you doing here?”

  She held out her hand, which was sporting a monstrous diamond. I rubbed my left ring finger, the absence of my own ring bothering me just a little bit.

  “Jason and I got hitched.”

  “What? When?”

  “A few months ago. We eloped down in New Orleans.”

  “That’s wonderful, congrats!”

  “Do you have time? Can you hang out? What are you doing here anyway?”

  “I only have a couple of hours. I have to catch a plane at five. I had to talk to Jason about a few things, but I think we’re done.”

  “Let me make you lunch and we can catch up. I’ve missed you.”

  She dragged me into the kitchen. I sat at the table while she dug out bread and sandwich meats from the refrigerator. “We normally have a cook but she has Tuesdays off, so Jason and I usually go out. What’d you have to talk to Jason about?”

  “Just business stuff. Did anyone come to your wedding?”

  “Kai and Ruth were there. She and I have become quite good friends. I couldn’t believe she wasn’t dead. They’re still in Florida, but they come out here once every couple of months. You know Kai is Jason’s best friend.”

  My heart hurt a little bit to hear her talk about them. I missed Ruth, but Kai didn’t want her to have any part in our world. Kai and I still talked occasionally, and I respected his need to keep her out of the loop. Most of the time our conversations revolved around Puck. I wanted the two boys talking again, but they both refused.

  I listened to the birds chirping outside; I missed the quiet of the country. If Tiffany hadn’t asked me to hang out I was going to go visit my dad, even though I’d just seen him a month ago.

  A buzz of power floated around my head. Weird.

  I looked around, figuring I’d find a Minor Destroyer skulking around the corner, but no one was there. On second thought, it didn’t feel quite right for Destroyer power.

  “Does anyone else stay here with you and Jason? Maybe some of Jason’s business associates?”

  She shook her head. “He doesn’t want me around them. He does all of his business in town. We own a couple of other homes and they meet there.”

  “Do you know what he does?”

  “No. He said he didn’t want me knowing and that as long as I didn’t get nosy I’d be taken care of, but if I ever found out, even accidentally, things would have to change. I like the way things are, so I don’t ask.”

  It was then that I figured out where the power was coming from. Tiffany.

  But she never had power before. How was this possible? I would’ve noticed it earlier if she were a Shade. Unless I was just getting better at sensing it. She wasn’t very strong, but strong enough that if I found her on the street, I’d want to train her. How could Jason not see this?

  We chatted for another hour or so and then I caught a plane back to Vegas. An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach. This trip was supposed to make me feel better, but instead I felt like I shouldn’t have revealed so many of my secrets. I clenched my fist. I wouldn’t make that mistake again. I’d keep my secrets close to me until I was absolutely sure I was ready to reveal them.

  Sunday

  I’m not sure where my dislike of little kids came from. I’m not crazy about baby cacti either. Some of them are so small they grow in cracks between rocks and sidewalks. But they still flower. The Blossfeldia is considered the smallest cactus in the world and yet it still produces these beautiful tiny white and yellow flowers. Kids just produce dirty diapers and noise.

  THIS ONE SUNNY.” Little Ale thrust the Toy Story blue ray in my face. We were sitting by the movie cabinets in the theater room. Lincoln was curled up next to me, grooming himself. He might like swimming, but he didn’t like being wet afterwards.

  I took the disc from Ale. “Not yet, not until you use the right name.”

  He pouted. “But I like Sunny.”

  “Except that’s not my name. It’s Sunday.”

  He shook his head. “No. It’s Sunny. Now Toy Story.”

  I hated arguing with kids. There was no way to reason with them.

  Before I came to live with Ginny the only person who would call me Sunday was my mother. To everyone else I was Sunny. I once asked my mom why she didn’t use my nickname. She replied that if she wanted to call me Sunny she would’ve named me Sunny. After her death, I decided that I would never respond to anything but Sunday. If little Ale thought he’d be the one to change my mind he had another thing coming. The scars on my back were proof that I could withstand more than a toddler’s tantrum.

  I put Toy Story back on the shelf.

  “Sunnnnnny,” he whined.

  “Sunday.”

  He stomped his foot and I knew what was coming. The crocodile tears began to flow and then he threw himself on the ground and screamed. He was good at fits. Alejandro, his dad, died before the boy was born and I think sometimes Ginny gave in to her son’s tantrums just because she felt guilty.

  Lincoln jumped up and raced from the room. He was usually pretty good at comforting those who were upset, but anytime little Ale started screaming, he bolted. A cat after my own heart.

  I shrugged, pulled out Cars, and put it in the player.

  Then I planted myself in the corner and began to sketch. I clenched the pencil hard and reminded myself that the screaming was coming from a child, not my mother. The memory of her screams kept me up in the middle of the night. I drew without thinking and before I knew it, the page was full with a raging fire. Fire that killed my mother.

  In less than five minutes, Ale’s tears magically dried up; he climbed into a massive chair and was engrossed. Nothing distracted little Ale more than a cartoon.

  As soon as he quieted, I tore the picture out and crumpled it up, shoving the memory in a box in my head labeled Mom. That box was hard to open because although I had good memories of her, they were tainted by the horror of her death. She had died a month or so before Naomi rescued me, and the gruesome details crept up on me when I least expected it. She had third degree burns all over her chest and her last few hours alive she screamed in pain. I was actually grateful when papa took the gun and shot her in the head.

  But I still missed her like mad.

  I continued to sketch while Lightening McQueen and Mater argued in the background. I wanted to capture the colors of the sunset but it wasn’t working. I smudged out the sun once again when Naomi walked into the room. She pulled Ale into her lap and looked over at me.

  “Did you feed him anything?”

  “I gave him popcorn. Ginny’s only been gone an hour.”

  She frowned. “He needs more than popcorn. I’m going to make him some dinner.”

  She looked down at the little boy. “Ale, Aunty Naomi and Aunty Sunday are going to go make dinner for you. Will you be good and watch your movie?”

  He nodded and squirmed off her lap. He planted himself on the floor only a foot or so from the screen.

  “Come on, I need to talk to you.”

  I set down my pencils and followed her into the kitchen. She always wanted to talk to me.

  She put on a pot of water to boil and then turned to me. She looked so much like Ginny that sometimes I forgot Naomi wasn’t her child. She wore white capris, a silver blue blouse, and strappy sandals that matched. Her makeup was flawless of course, even though it was almost seven in the evenin
g and she’d been gone all day. The way they dressed always intimidated me. Course I had a closet full of clothes just like that. But I refused to wear them. It was denim shorts and t-shirts for me.

  It was so weird to think that Naomi and I had nearly the exact same upbringing. She used to have scars on her back too, but she’d gotten rid of them. Mine were a badge of honor that I wore with pride. They were proof I could stand up for both myself and my mother.

  I looked at Naomi’s hands as she placed them on the counter, and pounced on her before she could lecture me.

  “Where’s your ring?” I asked. Ginny might have to cancel on the wedding planner again after all.

  Naomi sighed.

  “In my desk drawer. But it’s not what you’re thinking this time. I had to go somewhere today and it’s better that I don’t flaunt the fact that Puck and I are getting married.”

  Damn. I couldn’t distract her long with this one. She and Puck had broken off their engagement no less than three times. I was surprised Ginny was still offering to help them with the wedding at all.

  They only ever fought about one thing.

  Naomi still refused to become a Guardian.

  “So…where’d you go?” I asked, hoping that she’d forget what she had to talk to me about.

  “I had to meet with Jason.”

  Oooh, this was good. She was now fraternizing with the enemy. Jason was the Master Destroyer. The exact opposite of Puck.

  “Why?”

  She poured a handful of spaghetti noodles into the pot and pointed the spoon at me.

  “Doesn’t matter. Why’d you miss your lesson with Puck this morning? We had a deal that when you quit school you’d take lessons everyday with one of us.”

  I squirmed. I was good at missing things I didn’t like. It was never my fault, but somehow things always happened that caused me to avoid doing something I dreaded. And I didn’t quit school. It was just one more thing that I hated. Before I came to Vegas I’d never been to school. Mother homeschooled me.