Enlightened A Light Tamer Novel (The Light Tamer) (12 page)

The hall to grandma’s room is filled with pictures of my mom when she was young, and pictures of me.  There were photos of grandma and grandpa’s wedding and family I’ve never met.  I don’t have any memories of my grandfather; I was young when he died.  He was thrown from a horse and another horse stomped on him.  His internal injuries were too severe,
and
he died two weeks later.  Grandma still has a hard time talking about him; she tears up and leaves the room until she composes herself.  Mom always said they had the perfect marriage,
and
she wants the same for me one day.  Caleb and I’ll be that way…I hope.

Her room screams Hollywood drama with its crystal chandeliers and white furniture that pop against the powder blue walls.   I kick off my sandals and hop up on her king sized bed.  We’ve always watched TV via the comfort of her bed.  During
The Wizard of Oz
,
I’d huddle up under the comforter, any time the witch was on.  She and I’d eat popcorn and talk about plants and recipes.  I love our time together.

“
Mr
Gabe said he’d let Jersey use his frequent flyer miles to come visit over fall break.  Would it be okay with you if she stayed here?”

“Of course, have you said anything to your mom?”

“Yeah, I
said
something to her before we went to dinner.  Tell me, does my mom know about Tamers?”

“I don’t think so, why?”  She leaned over and flicked her DVR on to some dancing reality show she watches.

“No reason,” I lied.  “It’s hard for me to believe she lived with my dad all of those years and never suspected anything.  Not
that
she would guess that he is a Tamer, but you
know…
something
.
”

“I’ve thought about that before.  Every family has secrets. Usually they have reasons behind their decisions not to say anything to the family.  I honestly don’t know.  Tell me, how was your date with Caleb tonight?”

“It was fun, we didn’t do much, but we always have fun together.  You know that guy I told you Amber attacked in the lunchroom?  She and I stopped to give him a ride to school this morning.  Not only that, but she gave him
and
another guy a ride home.  I hope it isn’t another Erebus situation.”  I scooted to the edge of the bed.  “I have some homework I need to finish before school.  Good night, I love you.”  I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Before I start on my homework, I put on my “20 Minute Abs” DVD.  If I’m wearing a slinky dress for the dance, I better get rid of my flab. 
Okay, maybe I don’t have a lot of flab, but I’m not toned like I was when I played tennis.
It takes a while but I finally start on my essay. 

A tapping on my window sends me flying off my bed.
  It could be a Dark One.  Do they knock before they drain your light?   I run over to peek through the blinds…I gasp and cover mouth, holding
back
a scream.  A face is on the other side. 

“Thorne, what the hell?” 

“Jessie, I need to talk to you.”  His brown eyes and beautiful face leave me with no other choice.

“Give me a minute; I’ll meet you on the porch.”  I scramble to put on a bra and some clothes.  What could he possibly want from me? 

I tell grandma I’m going outside for a few minutes; she doesn’t question me, which is
good
. 
Thankfully I don’t have to come up with an excuse.

“Thorne, you know you could get shot, showing up at some girl’s window in the
middle
of the night.”  His face is so serious; I feel stress vibrating from him in waves.  “How did you know where I live?  And more importantly, where my room is?”

He sticks his hands in his pockets and tilts his head back before talking.  “Middle of the night?  It’s 10:00.  Look, I know you don’t know me, but I need you to trust me.”

Conversations are n
ever
good
when they start with
trust me
. “Huh?  Why should I trust you?”

“Can we sit?”

“Yeah, follow me, we’ll go
to the back porch. 
Be quiet, my mom fell asleep on the couch.”  Something about him was so enigmatic, yet he didn’t send any
bad
vibes.  He didn’t make a sound as he followed me to the back porch.  He reaches for the door and pulls it open for me. “Thank you,” I whisper, as soon as we’re outside.  The lights on the patio are bright enough that I can see that he needs to shave.

“I know it’s strange for me to show up like this.  I need to talk to you.”

“Okay, obviously, or you wouldn’t be here.”

He breaths in deeply, and exhales slowly.  “Jessie, look, this is so out of protocol what I’m about to tell you.  The powers that be have sent me.  It wasn’t my idea to reveal myself to you, but after the last couple of weeks, it’s been decided that I must tell you who I am.”

My heart is pounding so loud, I’m sure my shirt is moving with every beat.  “Who you are?  Please, don’t tell
me you
’re another Underworld escapee.  Seriously don’t tell me that.  I will faint, right here, right now.  I’ll fall straight over.  Me and the ground are like one these days.  Spit it out.”

“Don’t faint, please don’t do that. 
No…
I’m not from the Underworld.”

“Good, where are you from?  Idaho?”

He looks at me quizzically.  “Idaho?  Why Idaho?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never known anyone from Idaho. 
You’re all mysterious, so I picked a random state.  No worries.”

“No, I’m not from Idaho.  I know you’ve had to absorb a lot of information lately.  I know that you recently found out about your gift,
and
I know that you’ve bonded with Caleb.  I like him, which is
good
, since I’m going to be around more often.  I also know who Mrs. Ward
is…Fate
. I’m your protector Jessie.  I’m assigned to keep an eye on you.  I’ve been following you since you arrived in New Bern.”

I think I’ve stopped breathing, and the pain in my chest isn’t anxiety, it is my impending death.  One more crazy magical crap thing to put up with.  Exactly what I wanted to learn about tonight.  I was going to write my essay and curl up in my bed with Caleb’s kiss on my mind. 
No, I can’t have a normal night like that, no, I have to learn one more INSANE piece of my intricate puzzle.
    “So, you’re stalking me?  Are you some kind of creep?”

“No, Jessie, I’m not a creep.  Stalker, maybe, but not a creep.  I’m your protector, your own guardian.”

“I don’t even know you.
I
’ve never seen
you before.
  I might be distracted lately, but I’d have recognized you.  I don’t.”

“Listen, I’m not accustomed to revealing myself to my charge. The deal is, I’m your guardian, which means I’m guarding you against all the trouble you seem to find.  I personally think you’re in more harm from yourself than you are from Nyx.”

The entire time he’s talking, I’m asking myself if I’ve ever seen him before.  “What does a guardian do?”

“Good question.  First off, we’re rarer than you Tamers are.  We are assigned to various supernaturals for many different reasons.  Some supers feel overwhelmed and go over the deep end, doing stupid things.  It’s frowned upon to hurt yourself, and we try to put a stop to it.  As a guardian, I will appear to you in different forms.  I can be as
simple
as a butterfly floating by, or as charming as an owl on its nightly hunt.  A lot of foster children are supernaturals, sometimes I’m a foster child in a home to watch over them, and make sure they find the help they’ll need.  Some of the gifted aren’t allowed to procreate with a human.  They’ll hide their pregnancy and then give the child up for adoption.  Those children have a
fifty
fifty shot of inheriting their parent’s gifts.  Not that all gifted kids have powers that are
good
.  Sometimes their powers need to be bound so they won’t be a risk to themselves or anyone else.  That is where I come in.  I become a mentor to them,
and
I teach them how to protect themselves.  I’ve never had a Tamer before; they usually don’t have other Supers trying to find them. 
Their danger is from their counterparts, I think you call them Dark One.  You
on the other hand
, are in danger from everything.
  As your guardian, I will put my life on the line for you.  You’re my only concern.  I won’t interfere in a battle that doesn’t threaten you.”  He wipes the sweat off the bottle of water I gave him from the patio bar.

“You’re telling me that you’re a butterfly? 
Riiiiight
.”

“Hey, what’s wrong with being a butterfly?  No, I don’t turn into a butterfly.   I’m your guardian, not your fairy godmother.”

Can someone tell me why my life is so damned confusing? 
“Explain how you can protect me as a butterfly?  While you’re at it, can you explain how you’re going to protect me at all?  You’re just going to be some voyeur that follows me?”

“Look Miss Skeptical, I’m doing what my superiors tell me to do.  I have to keep you alive.  Your destiny is too
important
to ignore.  Sadly, you and your friends have become targets for the Underworld gods and goddesses.  You couldn’t upset something that Fate could help control, no, you upset the total psychos.  Yes, you have a destiny and NO, I’m not telling you what it is.”

“Is this like a North Carolina thing?  Because when I lived in New York, the only crazy was my dad.”  I try to hide how annoyed he is making me.  At this point, I’m not sure if I
really
care.

“Tomorrow, we’ll talk about this more. 
Amber said you’re riding with her in the morning, so I’ll see you bright and early.”

“You’re just going to come in here, tell
me you
’re my guardian angel and a butterfly and leave?  How absurd is that!”

“Oh, honey, don’t flatter yourself, I’m no angel.  You think that’s absurd, you’ll love this next part...
you
can’t tell anyone.  Don’t look at me like that.  I’m sorry, but the rules are the rules.  I know you and your friends like to bend the rules, but not this time.  To assure that you won’t tell anyone, there is a Dark One on
stand-by
to knock off your new BFF,” he says cockily. 

“You’ll have my friend killed if I tell anyone?  What the hell?”

He looks at me and cocks his head to the side.  “It makes a difference doesn’t it?  It isn’t a North Carolina thing either toots.  This could have happened at any super school you went to.  I have some homework to tend to.  Be sure to arm the alarm when I leave, I don’t want any
bad
guys to get you while you’re sleeping.”

Ugh
,
what a despicable ass.  This is a guardian?  “How am I supposed to keep this from Caleb?  He hears my thoughts.  Huh?  You’re going to kill my friend because I can’t help thinking?”

“You ask a lot of questions.  Don’t worry about thinking it, somehow it’s jumbled.  I don’t know how it works, but it isn’t possible to spread the word via thoughts,” he says as he stands up.  “Good-night my little charge.”

I try as hard as possible not to scream.  Silently we walked through the house and without a word he left.  I punch in the code to the alarm and head back to my room.  My phone has only been on the charger for an hour, long enough to give Caleb a
good-night
call.

“Hey beautiful,” Caleb says as he answers the phone.

I try to keep myself composed so he doesn’t realize I’m on the verge of tears.  “Hi you.  I wanted to call and say
good
night.”

“Is everything okay?”

No, everything isn’t okay.  “Yeah, I just wanted to hear your voice.”

“Are you missing your dad?”

I do miss him, daily.  “Yeah, a little.  I can’t
really
talk; I still have a little more homework to do. 
Good night.
” 
I close my eyes and envision him with me.

“Good night, I’ll see you in the morning.  I love you”

“Love you, too.”

Amber’s Jeep screeches its tires as we pull into the school parking lot.  When we picked Thorne up, the jackass winked at me as he climbed into the back seat.  After sitting up half the night trying to figure out what to do, I finally decided to go see Mrs. Ward first thing.  After all, she is the one that seems to have made each obstacle for me.  I told Amber to go on without me, and I’d see her in class.

As I lifted my hand to knock on her door, Mrs. Ward pulled it open. 

“Good morning, Jessie.  How are you enjoying your new school,” she asked with a smile?

She motioned for me to sit down.  “You know why I’m here.  What I don’t understand is why you trickle information to me.”