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

by Kimberly Loth

  Puck came out of the house and caught up Naomi in a hug. When he pulled away he looked her over. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded, but I could see that she was pretty shaken. Puck gently led her into the house and I followed them, still not sure how to make sense of what had happened.

  I stepped into the kitchen and froze. Seated at the table with Nan was Jordan. My breath caught when I saw him. Nan stood up and fussed with my arm.

  “Let me go grab a first aid kit and see what we can do with this.”

  I didn’t dare to look at it. I was sure the whole thing was a bloody mess. Every time I thought of it, I thought of Lincoln and the fact that he had died in excruciating pain. And for what? Nothing. My power was gone.

  A chair scraped across the floor. “Nan, there’s no need for a first aid kit. I can fix it,” said Jordan.

  He stood right next to me. I refused to look at him. I’d let him heal my arm but I wouldn’t talk to him. Except. Damn. “Can you leave the scars? I want to remember Lincoln.”

  He nodded.

  As soon as the pain was gone I let out a breath of relief. Now what? I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I escaped to my room and got busy packing to go home. I tried so hard not to think. My chest was tight and in any moment a dam was about to burst.

  I was shoving my pencils into my backpack when someone knocked.

  “Go away,” I yelled.

  “I need to talk to you.” It was Jordan. He was the last one I wanted to talk to.

  “There’s nothing to say,” I said back through the door.

  “Fine, don’t let me in. But I’m going to talk anyway.”

  I continued packing up my art stuff. I thought about finding my phone and putting on some music, but decided at the last minute that I really did want to hear his excuse, even if I didn’t want to acknowledge him.

  “I do a lot of undercover work for Puck. After you told me about Naomi visiting Jason, Puck asked me to go do some reconnaissance. I had to take on a new identity because of spies in our network. I left my phone and everything with Puck. He was supposed to tell you what happened. He passed the message on to Naomi, who never told you. I just found out today that this whole time you had no idea. You must hate me, I know, and I’m so sorry.”

  I snorted. It was a nice excuse, but I wasn’t in a forgiving mood so I didn’t say anything. After about thirty seconds, I heard his voice again.

  “Sunday, can you forgive me?”

  I didn’t answer. After a while I heard him walking away from the door. Forgive him. Hell no. If he thought he could disappear like that and then just show back up and expect me to jump into his arms, he had another thing coming. None of this would’ve happened if Naomi had been open with Puck about everything. Come to think of it, all this happened because everyone was keeping secrets. Julio had them, Wyatt did, so did Beth. This was so messed up. We were all supposed to be on the same side.

  The more I stewed, the angrier I got. Finally, I had enough. It was time that everyone let everything out.

  I stormed back into the living area and found everyone sitting around talking. Wyatt was there too. He jumped up when I entered the room.

  “Sunday, are you okay?”

  I crossed my arms and glared at him. “No, I’m not. But I’m not interested in your brand of comfort.”

  Hurt flashed across his face. “What do you mean?”

  I stalked toward him. “What do I mean? What do I mean?” I got right into his face. “Lincoln is dead and my power is gone and I blame you.”

  “But I saved you!”

  “No, Lincoln saved me. But you! If you hadn’t wiped my memories, I would’ve dealt with the problem earlier. I could’ve fixed this whole thing without anyone getting hurt. But no, you had to take the things I found out and make them disappear.”

  Jordan got up and approached us. “Why the hell would you steal her memories? That’s cruel.”

  I turned on him. “And you aren’t any better. You don’t just leave your girlfriend without a word, no matter who you told to give me a message. You should’ve told me yourself! Then maybe I wouldn’t have jumped right into Wyatt’s arms and my power would still be mine. So this is your fault too.”

  He cowered under my glare. I’d never seen him like that before. “But Naomi was supposed to tell you.”

  I glanced over at Naomi and she looked broken with guilt. “Is there a reason you didn’t pass this message on?”

  “I didn’t want you pining over him when you were supposed to be down here working.”

  I stalked over to her. “You know what, this is your fault too. Why did we have to keep this all a secret? Don’t you think Puck would’ve helped? If you had just told him, then maybe this problem would’ve been fixed without me losing my power or Lincoln.” She looked like I’d just slapped her.

  Every eye in the room was on me. I backed away from Naomi.

  “I blame myself too. I trusted everyone in this room to keep me safe instead of learning how to do it myself. I won’t make that same mistake again.” Then I turned to the one person I hadn’t yelled at. The one person I hadn’t blamed for what had happened. I took a few deep breaths and my voice was much calmer.

  “Puck, can I ask you a question?”

  He nodded but looked wary.

  “Did you bring Jordan to Vegas to spy on me?”

  Puck looked at Naomi, then Jordan, and then back at me. “I’m not going to lie to you. I did. I needed to know what was going on and you seemed to be the easiest way to get the information I needed.”

  My insides twisted. I had figured as much, but it hurt that Jordan was only after me for information.

  “That was pretty smart actually. Did you know about the group down here in Tombstone?” I asked.

  He sighed. “Yes, but I didn’t know what they were up to. Guardians are the good guys. Some of them like to manage themselves. I have a list of secret groups all over the world that operate under their own governance. Alejandro told me that as long as no one got hurt I should just leave them alone. But now I realize how stupid that was. I wonder how many of them are doing things like this in the name of ‘doing the right thing.’”

  “What are you going to do about it?” I asked.

  “No offense Sunday, but this isn’t really the time or place for this conversation.”

  I stomped my foot. “That’s the whole freaking point. If you’re making your secret plans and Naomi is making her secret plans and Wyatt is making his own secret plans, then how are any of these problems going to be fixed?”

  Puck thought about it. “You’re right. I’m willing to open up about my plans to everyone in this room, except him.” He pointed to Wyatt.

  “There’s no way you are going to do anything about this group down here without him. But this isn’t the right time. We need to expand this group. We need to include Elizabeth.”

  “Who’s Elizabeth?” asked Naomi.

  I looked directly at her. “She’s the one who is in charge of the group of female Shades down here.”

  Naomi gasped. “How many?”

  “Forty to fifty. They don’t really keep track of them all.”

  Wyatt looked sick for a minute and Puck ran his hand over his face.

  Finally Puck spoke. “Okay, we’ll tackle all of this next week. I’ll call a council meeting and Wyatt, both you and Elizabeth are invited to attend. Sunday and Naomi will be there. Right now we have a more immediate problem to solve.”

  “What’s that?” I said.

  He grinned at me. “We need to get your power back.”

  Copyright © 2015 by Kimberly Loth

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced in any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical without express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

  This is a work of fiction.
The characters, incidents, and dialogues, in the is book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead is completely coincidental.

  Cover design by Robin Ludwig

  For Tiffany

  For being the best little sister I could ask for

  Naomi

  Rose thorns are not poisonous, though sometimes they carry bacteria or fungi that can cause infection if you prick your finger. Some people have even died from it. At times I feel like a rose thorn. Tainted by others and then blamed for the consequences.

  PUCK’S EYELASHES WERE UNUSUALLY long. It was one feature that I loved about him but didn’t notice very often anymore, because I was so used to him being around. As he slept, I noticed the eyelashes once again. He looked so peaceful and normal. I brushed his dark brown hair back from his forehead. I missed the days when we were younger. When his hair was bright blue and his eyes were always lined with black eyeliner. He rocked the goth look well. But he changed after Alejandro died. We all did.

  He was still my Puck—good to the very core. Sure, he had a reckless streak but his heart was always in the right place. I envied his ability to always do the right thing even when it was hard.

  The problem with doing the right thing was that it sometimes involved doing the wrong thing. Like now.

  I was about to do something irreversible. It was something that could make Puck hate me forever when he found out. Because he would find out, eventually. Maybe not for years, but someday.

  The bed squeaked as I leaned over him, and I took a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart. I checked all my energy. There was my own energy, glowing bright. It was the reason that I knew what I was about to do was the right thing even though it felt wrong. I needed to protect that power. I also held Kai’s power. Someday I hoped to return it to him. But for now, he didn’t want it, so I kept it.

  Hidden behind all that was my dark secret. A small sliver of power that I kept even though everyone thought I gave it all away.

  The Master Destroyer power.

  I did give most of it to Jason, the real Master Destroyer, but a small portion of it remained with me. It wasn’t a conscious decision on my part.

  I exhaled and then took Puck’s hand in my own. I didn’t want to do this. Not really, but I had to. I checked his power. Puck’s own energy was so pure and overwhelming, it was difficult to find what I was looking for. Buried deep within him it resided, definitely different from his own but equally as bright. The Master Guardian power.

  Before I could begin, Puck rolled over and I froze. The blanket slipped down, revealing his sculpted shoulders. My breath caught and I nearly forgot what I was supposed to do. Even after four years, he still gave me butterflies.

  He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me toward him. I fell onto his chest and looked at his face. His eyes were still closed, but that didn’t mean anything. I watched his breath; it was slow and even. That meant he was still asleep, thank goodness. With my hands shaking, I pushed against his chest and sat up once again. I touched his face and watched for a reaction. Nothing. Phew.

  I closed my eyes and found the Master Guardian power in him once again.

  I tugged, and the energy rushed toward me. I panicked a little bit because I didn’t want that much. Just a sliver, like the Master Destroyer power. But I wasn’t sixteen anymore and this wasn’t the first time I’d drawn power from someone. I waited until the smallest amount entered my own body and shut it off. That was all I needed.

  I looked at his eyelashes again and tried to fight the tears that were forming in my own eyes. My betrayal would haunt me for a long time, maybe even forever. I pulled up the blanket over his shoulders, kissed his cheek, and left the room.

  I walked out to the patio and sat down in a lounge chair, contemplating my next step. I buried the Master Guardian energy, along with the Master Destroyer energy, deep under all my other power. Maybe I could forget I even had it.

  A few pictures were spread out on the side table. Sunday’s sketches. I picked up one and studied it. It was a drawing of little Ale swimming with a red blow-up dragon. In the background she drew Lincoln, even though he was no longer with us. On his back she’d drawn wings.

  Poor Sunday. She was still grieving after losing her cat and her power. She wasn’t quite so young anymore either. I put the sketch down and realized that was my answer. My next step.

  It was time to bring Sunday in on my plans. Tomorrow we’d head to Tombstone and then Arkansas, where I would tell her everything.

  Sunday

  Cacti can survive almost anything. Except overwatering. If you give a cactus too much water it will rot and die. Funny how too much of something can kill it. I have just the opposite problem. I feel like everything has been ripped away from me and there is nothing left inside.

  OUR PLANE TOUCHED DOWN in Tucson just after ten a.m. It felt like we’d been gone forever, but really, it’d only been a week. I’d spent most of it holed up in my room, with the occasional foray out to the pool. I couldn’t think about what had happened. I felt so empty. I was missing my best friend and my power. One seemed connected with the other.

  Jordan took my hand and my muscles tensed.

  “You okay?” he asked, his eyes full of concern.

  I relaxed and nodded. He’d been by my side the entire week, bringing me chocolate and virgin daiquiris. Not once did he try to kiss me. He was waiting for me to be ready, and for that I was extremely grateful. I just couldn’t think about boys right now. Maybe if it was just Jordan alone I could’ve used him to drown out my pain, but now I had two boys and I didn’t even know how that happened.

  Quite frankly I didn’t know what was going to happen now that Jordan and Wyatt knew about each other.

  I sighed and squeezed my eyes shut. Didn’t want to think about this.

  We followed Naomi and Puck off the airplane. They were holding hands. All was well in their world. At least someone was happy.

  The air outside was hot and dry. Honestly, not that much different from Vegas. I fell asleep on the drive from Tucson to Tombstone. I did that a lot lately—fall asleep. Before I lost power I couldn’t ever sleep and now it seemed like I couldn’t stay awake. Everything was so foggy.

  I woke just as we pulled up in front of the old sprawling Spanish style house. I’d been here only once before.

  Beth met us at the door. She gave me a big hug and smiled at Naomi. Of course the first thing I noticed was the smell. Basil and garlic. Elizabeth was cooking something.

  “How are you doing?” Beth asked.

  I shrugged. “As good as could be expected.”

  Naomi, Puck, and Jordan stood behind me. I didn’t really want to do introductions, but I was the only one who knew everyone. I let them follow me into the living room. Elizabeth and Andrea were already seated on a long couch.

  “Where are Wyatt and Morgan?” I asked.

  “Don’t know. They should be here by now,” said Andrea.

  I made all the introductions then sat down next to her. Jordan sat and put his arm around me. Beth raised her eyebrows.

  “Wyatt’s not going to like that.”

  “Wyatt can go to hell,” said Jordan, his arm tightening around my shoulder.

  “Seriously guys, can we not do this right now? We have bigger issues than my love life.” A knot formed in my chest. This was a situation that I wasn’t looking forward to dealing with.

  Beth laughed and threw herself down on a tattered Lazy Boy. “Of course we do. But no one likes focusing on the real problems, so you know Wyatt’s gonna pitch a fit about this.”

  I rolled my eyes and looked at Naomi, who hadn’t sat down yet. She stood near Andrea’s chair and stared at Elizabeth. Her face lost all color. I wasn’t the only one who noticed Naomi staring. The room went silent.

  After a few moments she took a small step toward Elizabeth.

  “Grandma?” she asked in an uncertain tone and frowned.


  Elizabeth’s mouth fell open. Then she stood up and studied Naomi for a moment. Wait, this couldn’t be. Naomi’s grandma was long dead.

  “Are you Evelyn’s daughter?” Elizabeth paused for a second. “No, wait, you must be her granddaughter, you’re too young to be her daughter. But you look just like her.”

  Then she laughed. “That’s why you called me Grandma. I’m Evelyn’s twin sister.”

  “Twin sister? Grandma never said anything about having a sister.”

  “She probably didn’t say much about her family at all. Neither one of us liked to think about our childhood.”

  Naomi creased her eyebrows and took a step back. “How is this possible?”

  “Evelyn and I didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things. We stopped speaking twenty years ago.” She sniffed. “I regret that I never made things right before she died.”

  The old woman reached out and embraced Naomi. Naomi tensed but then returned the hug. The rest of us just stared. This whole thing just got weirder and weirder.

  Finally everyone sat down and the small talk started. I closed my eyes and just listened. Elizabeth told a funny story about her childhood with Evelyn. Naomi told her about their roses and what a lifesaver they had been during those difficult years. I almost opened my eyes so I could roll them.

  Then Puck cleared his throat. “We don’t have much time. Can someone call Wyatt?” I could taste the sour grapes. He was nervous about something, or maybe that was Jordan. He was probably worried about what would happen when Wyatt returned.

  “I’ve sent him like three messages, he hasn’t responded,” said Andrea. “Neither has Morgan.”

  “That doesn’t sound good,” said Puck.

  “I wouldn’t worry,” said Andrea. “There are a lot of areas around here that don’t get cell service.”

  My phone buzzed at the same time as Andrea’s. I answered it as soon as I saw it was Wyatt.

  “Where are you?” I demanded, a little angry that he was making us wait.