Starlight (The Lightning Strike Trilogy Book 1)

by K. A. Rygaard

  “How long have you been up?”

  “Three something. I just couldn’t sleep.” She brushed her hand over my hair.

  “Things will get better, Emma. People will just

  have to accept that you are the Keeper.”

  “Do you?”

  She didn’t answer right away, which made me

  nervous.

  “I can see them in your eyes sometimes. I don’t

  know why I never realized it before, but now. . . When

  you’re feeling very strongly about something, your eyes

  change. It might be a trick of the light, but your eyes

  have seemed to turn gray when you use certain magic. .

  .”

  “Seriously?”

  She nodded.

  “I thought I was imagining things, so I forgot

  about it. Now that I know, though, everything makes

  more sense.”

  “They keep me safe,” I whispered. “I—He can’t

  sneak up on me, Mom. They don’t like him, and—it’s

  almost like they warn me that he’s close.”

  She kissed my forehead.

  “You just keep safe.”

  I nodded and together we headed downstairs,

  where Dad was sitting at the table.

  “Morning, Em,” said Dad, without looking up

  from The e2ian Times, e2’s main newspaper.

  Clara looked up at me, smiling slightly.

  “Morning.”

  “Did you sleep okay?”

  “No.”

  He looked at me.

  “Why not?”

  I shrugged.

  “Too restless, I guess.”

  “It’ll get better.”

  Twenty minutes later, I was finished getting ready. I walked back downstairs with my bag and into the kitchen.

  “Bye, Mom, bye Dad.”

  “Bye, Emma,” said Mom and Dad.

  “You coming, Clara? I thought you wanted to

  walk with Zach and I today. . .”

  “Umm—I’m going with Chloe. We gotta make

  sure our debate speech is ready.”

  I frowned.

  “Oh, okay, then, I guess. . .”

  “What time is it?” Dad asked, looking up from

  The Times.

  I checked the sundial.

  “Seven fifteen.”

  “Seven fifteen! I’m going to be late!”

  Dad drained his coffee and folded up the

  newspaper, grabbing his briefcase. We walked together

  to the front door and he opened it, shutting it behind us.

  Zach was already here, just about to come up the steps. “Good morning, Zach,” Dad said.

  “Morning, Mr. Fitch. Hey, Em.”

  “Hi.”

  “You two want a ride to school today? I can drop

  you off on my way to work.”

  I looked at Zach a bit wearily.

  “What?” Dad asked.

  I looked back at him.

  “I kind of wanted to delay facing everyone,” I

  admitted.

  “If they screw with you,” Dad said, startling me a

  bit, “just come home. I’ll call you in.”

  “Seriously?”

  He nodded.

  “Even if it’s a half-day today, I don’t care. Don’t

  let them get to you. This isn’t anything to be ashamed

  about. You’re the Keeper, Em, because your moral

  compass has always pointed north. You’re stronger than

  that entire school, and they hate it.”

  “I’m not ashamed about being the Keeper, Dad,

  it’s just—the looks. It’s like I’m a leper now.”

  “Give ‘em one back. You’re my kid, you’re strong.

  And you have Zach to back you up.”

  I looked at him.

  “She knows I’m not goin’ anywhere, Mr. Fitch.” “Keep an eye on her.” Zach nodded. “So? Ride?” I sighed.

  “Yeah, all right.”

  Zach went around to the passenger side with me

  and we climbed up.

  Our normally twenty-minute trip to school took

  five minutes. As we drove along, I thought about how

  everyone was going to act. Jessie and Thalia I can’t even

  count on; they’ve been overly distant. It made me trust

  Zach even more for not pushing me away because of this. Dad wished us a good day, which I hoped I’d get.

  I watched him drive away to his job before looking back

  at the school.

  Zach took my hand.

  “You can do this. I’m here.”

  I nodded and we went up into the school. People

  were staring, whispering behind their hands, but I kept

  my eyes straight ahead, forcing myself to ignore them.

  Zach being here made it so much easier for me. We went straight to history instead of sitting

  outside like is our routine. The door was open, saying we

  could go in. Zach and I stopped, unsure of what to do.

  Professor Kantiu had rearranged the room. There were

  just two chairs at a table and there were many of them. “Ah, good morning,” Kantiu said, smiling at us.

  “I felt we could do with a bit of rearranging. Professor

  Lewis said that the old way’s a bit cliché, so I took her at

  her word. I still do have assigned seats, though. . . You

  two are right here.” He tapped a desk with his notebook,

  one in the back row. “This’ll keep them from staring.” I felt uncomfortable. They’d done this because of

  me.

  “C’mon,” Zach whispered, dragging me over

  there. Luckily it was on the edge of the rows, so I could

  easily escape if I needed to.

  “You two are in early,” Kantiu said. “You’re

  always in just after the bell rings.”

  I shrugged.

  “Didn’t really want to be out in the courtyard

  today.”

  “Oh,” he said awkwardly, moving around to his

  desk and organizing things.

  “You’re going to be fine,” Zach whispered when I

  looked at him.

  “I hate being treated differently,” I mumbled. “But you are different. You’re lightning.” That

  reference made me smile. “There you go.” He smiled

  back. “Much better.”

  The rest of the day was pretty much the same. All of our teachers had rearranged in different ways and I was able to sit next to Zach in each class. The teachers acted like nothing had changed, but I received weird looks from my fellow students all day. Jessie and Thalia were a bit better, but they sat with their boyfriends at lunch.

  “They’ll get over it,” Zach said, leading me outside with our teas.

  “I hope so.”

  We found a spot away from people and sat.

  “Emmy!”

  I jumped at the sudden exclamation and looked up, seeing Clara come toward us. She hasn’t called me that since she first started talking.

  “Clara? What’s—”

  She plopped down cross the table from us.

  “Can I eat with you two? My friends keep bugging me.”

  “Do I have to beat someone up for you, Clara?” I asked her, smiling.

  She smiled back, pulling out her fruit and veggie plate.

  “Nah, I’m good. It’s just about you.”

  “I know.”

  She looked at her plate and grabbed a carrot, nibbling at it.

  “Whoa,” Zach whispered.

  I looked at him, and then to where he was staring. Ian and Addy were coming toward us with their food, too.

  “Sup, bro?” Ian asked, sitting down. Addy sat next to Clara. “Mind if we eat with you?”

  “Um—no, it’s fine.”

  Zach
gave me a bewildered look.

  “Clara,” I said. She looked at me. “This is Addy and Ian, Zach’s sister and brother. You two, this is my sister Clara.”

  “Sup?” Ian asked.

  Clara raised an eyebrow at him.

  “You are weird.”

  “Just ignore him,” Addy said. “He’s always been weird.”

  Clara smiled at her and they ended up sharing each other’s lunches. Ian chatted away about his day— he’s in his final year here—and kept asking Zach and me questions about our classes. He said nothing about me being the Keeper, which made me feel thoroughly relieved. Lunch was over, and so was our school day, resultantly.

  “So, guess what?” Ian asked as the five of us headed out of the school.

  “What?” Zach and I asked, a bit exasperated.

  “I’m takin’ you two home! Mom said Em’s mom called and I have to.” He nodded.

  “Why’d my mom—” I started.

  “She’s goin’ somewhere and you’re not allowed home alone. I mean, yeah, you got Zach and all but you’re coming home with us.”

  “What about Clara?”

  “I’m good, Em,” she said. “Mom said I could go home with Chloe.”

  “Oh—okay, then. . .”

  “Bye, Emmy.”

  She hugged me and then ran off after her blackhaired best friend to get into her mom’s vehicle. Ian rocked back on his heels.

  “Let’s go. Come on. Snap, snap.”

  “Shut up, Ian,” Addy and Zach told him.

  Ian was actually a decent driver (I feared he’d be reckless) and when we got to the Stone’s, he dropped us off and then left for work. Zach took my bag, placing it with his at the front door. We found Mrs. Stone waiting for us in the kitchen.

  “Addy, homework?”

  She nodded and ran upstairs to her room.

  “Zach?”

  “None.”

  “All right. Do me a favor?”

  “Matters,” he said uncertainly.

  She gave him a look.

  “I need you to make sure Addy’s doing her homework and not playing.”

  He sighed.

  “All right. C’mon, Em.”

  He reached for me, but Mrs. Stone spoke quickly.

  “Actually, I also wanted some time to talk to Emma alone. . .”

  We both stared at her.

  “Mom—”

  “No, Zach, it’s okay,” I said reassuringly. “I’ll be right here.”

  He hesitated but then nodded and left.

  “Let’s sit.”

  I followed Mrs. Stone over to their kitchen table, which has a window right next to it.

  “How are you?”

  “I’m fine,” I told her. “It’s been. . . difficult, but Zach’s been there.”

  She smiled a smile only a mother could give.

  “You really care for him, don’t you?”

  I nodded.

  “I love your son, Mrs. Stone. I’m sorry I put him in—”

  “It is not your fault that Lucas Adler hates him,” she interjected. “Besides, Zach would do anything for you.”

  I smiled now.

  “And I’d do anything for him. I promise, Mrs. Stone, I’m going to do everything I possibly can to make sure he’s safe.”

  Family Faults

  The year was coming to a close. It was already

  half-way through Ott, and I was thankful it wasn’t next year. The notion that we only had a year to go until the Crowning was a bit unsettling, but we focused on other things to ignore it. I still received stares wherever I went, saw people whispering behind their hands. . . but I was getting better at ignoring them.

  I was, however, free to walk outside again, which eased my soul. I hated being cooped up inside. It was Esvit, in the middle of Alsace, and all the trees were changing colors. It made me smile to see their glory. I was making my way to Zach’s, as we split our time up between his house and mine.

  I got there and found Mrs. Stone leaving with Addy. She stopped dead, staring at me.

  “Hi,” I said to them.

  Addy didn’t say anything and Mrs. Stone shook her head, as if in an attempt to calm herself.

  “He’s in the living room,” she said. “You can just go on in.”

  “Thanks.”

  I went into the house and immediately heard Zach and Ian’s voices in the living room. They were a bit louder than usual, but that didn’t stop me from going in there. They both stopped arguing as soon as they saw me, looking like Mrs. Stone had, only Zach looked like he was guilty about something.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Tell her,” Ian said. “I gotta go take a cold shower.”

  I frowned and he went past me without saying another word. I looked back at Zach, pointing with my thumb over my shoulder at Ian.

  “What was that all about? Tell me what?”

  Zach came and took my hand, sitting me down on the couch. He pulled the ottoman up in front of me and sat on it, taking my hands. He didn’t look at me.

  “Zach, you’re scaring me,” I said quietly.

  He sighed, his eyes closing and his grip on my hands tightening. Finally he looked at me.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

  “What’s wrong? You look white as a ghost.”

  He swallowed.

  “I need to tell you something.”

  “You’re not leaving me, are you?” I asked worriedly.

  “No! No, I’d never do that. It’s—Mom told us something. Well, told me, and Ian and Addy overheard. Ian didn’t want anyone to know, that’s why we were arguing. But I said I was going to tell you, because you deserve to know.”

  “He said to—”

  “Yeah, I said I couldn’t lie to you, and he got it.”

  He hesitated.

  “Please tell me.”

  “It’s about Mom’s family. Specifically, her brother.”

  “I didn’t know your mom even had a brother,” I said, not following anything he was saying.

  He shook his head.

  “Nor did we. She always said she was an only child, and that only Dad has a sister. But today she said she had to tell me the truth, because you and I were getting ‘serious’, to use her word.”

  “So, she has a brother? What’s so bad about having a brother?”

  “It’s who he was, Em.” He forced himself to look at me. “Her brother was Liam Adler.”

  I stared at him, my mind unable to process this. I shook my head.

  “No, but, that would make Lucas—”

  “My cousin.”

  He turned even paler.

  “But—” I stopped, unable to find the words to say. I shook my head. “He can’t be your cousin. That would make him related to you, and you’re noth—”

  “Em, I know. I’m sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am about this. He’s my family, whether I want him to be or not. Mom and her brother were estranged, and when Lucas went south she and Dad refused to tell anyone, even us, that we’re related.” He hesitated. “Em— I don’t want to lose you.”

  “Why would you lose me?” I asked, perplexed. “You don’t choose your family. You two—you’re nothing alike. You are the kindest person I have ever known, and he’s—not. He’s a sadist.”

  “You don’t care?”

  “No.” I let go of one of his hands and held his face, leaning closer to him. “A name is just a name, Zach. They have no meaning to who a person is.”

  “I thought you were going to run,” he muttered.

  “I could never run from you.”

  I kissed him.

  “Mom hates this, you know,” he whispered, holding the back of my head with his hand.

  “Us?”

  “No. Being related to them. She said it’s always been hard to hate them, and that because Adler is her nephew and what he’s done, she’s stressed. But after what he did to you—”

  I rested my forehead against his.

  “It’s not he
r fault he’s this way. He was the black sheep.”

  Zach half-smiled.

  “Thank you.”

  “What for?”

  “Understanding.”

  I sighed.

  “Zach, you’ve put up with everything that you know about me. This isn’t any different.”

  He kissed my gently, but then he looked at me curiously.

  “Can I ask you something?” he questioned hesitantly.

  I nodded.

  “Of course.”

  “Why—Why do you call him by his first name? Everyone calls him ‘Adler’.”

  I hesitated. I hadn’t really realized I called him Lucas, when everyone else called him by his surname.

  “I—I don’t know. I never realized I was.”

  Zach shook his head.

  “He does call you ‘Emma’, and me ‘Stone’.”

  “I should—”

  Zach stressed, “Em, it just occurred to me. It really doesn’t matter.”

  “But it’s weird,” I mumbled. “Aren’t I supposed to call my archenemy by his last name?”

  Zach shrugged.

  “I don’t really think there’s a rule, Em. Don’t worry about it.”

  And yet there was the overwhelming sense of dread that came along with it. . .

  Silent Night

  There was a foot of snow on the ground, and I

  was seriously tempted to make it all disappear. It was too cold. I hate the cold, how it makes your bones feel like they have frozen up. I kept the fire burning all day, every day in my room, and some nights I actually slept on the couch. I was trying to keep warm, to keep going, because if the cold got to me, I’d think I was there.

  Lucas’s house felt like the middle of winter, even in the summer. Of course, it fit perfectly with his cold heart and toxic personality, but I was home now. So I had to stay warm. I wasn’t going to let Lucas Adler ruin Christmas.

  ****

  As usual, Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Walt came to

  our house for the day. They came early, gifts in hand, and we sat in the living room around the tree. After we had opened gifts and had a small lunch, Dad drove me over to the Stone’s. I had already used my Magic to send their gifts over, so we did the exchange around one. I felt genuinely happy and safe for the first time in a long time.

  Zach and I stayed inside while his family went into the backyard. It resulted in a snowball fight, so I was relieved to have avoided it. We went into the kitchen to brew some more tea.

  “I got you something,” Zach said suddenly. I looked at him.

  “You got me a few things. . .” Books, a sweater, a

  bracelet. . .