Enlightened A Light Tamer Novel (The Light Tamer) (8 page)

“Yes, I’m
ful
ly
aware of your ass gene. 
Sooooooo
, did you talk to him last night?”

“Oh that, yeah, we talked.  We’re picking him up on the way to school.”  Amber grins but keeps her head facing forward. 
We pull into a neighborhood
with a
discreet sign that simply reads
Kings Row.
We take the
second street on our right
,
its
vast
front yards and tall pine trees remind
s
me why I don’t like cookie cutter houses.  They never get the character captured within their walls, not the way a
good
old
-fashioned ranch house
.  The GPS announce
s
‘YOU
HAVE REACHED YOUR DESTINATION’ just as we pull up to
a
simple
brick house. 

He is
standing on the porch with his backpack over his shoulder and impatient expression on his face.  I
notice he doesn’t have his
hoodie
on today.
His Polo fit
s
him snu
g, showing off his lack of body fat.

“Hey, thanks girls.  I’ll jump in the back, you don’t have to move Jessie,” he says
and
climbs into the backseat.

Amber tosses the paper bag to Thorne, “we got you some breakfast.” 

I look over at her
,
and
she gives me one of her famous Amber smirks.  She did not just give her breakfast to him. 
It’s moments like these that I wish I had telepathy with her.  I am
,
however
, thankful that I don’t have a ticket to her thoughts.  I
shiver…scary
thought.

Caleb is getting out of his car as we pull into a parking slot. 
Okay, I did not see that coming. 
Caleb thinks to me as he approaches my side of the Jeep.

Me either.  I didn’t find out until we were on our way to his house. 
“Can you help me with my locker?  I keep messing up with the combination I guess.  I
couldn’t ever get it opened up yesterday, remember.
”

Thorne told Amber thank you
as he
headed off towards the side of the building.  Caleb took my hand and led me to my locker.  We walked past a girl
who
looked familiar
,
but
I couldn’t place the face.  “Was that girl
at your dad’s house?”

“The girl we just walked past? 
No
, that’s Darla, the girl from Union Point.  She’s the preacher’s daughter.”

Funny how people look so different when
they’re
wearing a uniform.  Gone is her look of superiority, replaced by a look of shyness.  “Oh, right.  She didn’t have anything to say to us today, now did
she?
 
That was a strange day, that owl and the
lights…too
creepy.”  It was the first time that I tried to put out such a
powerful
light by draining it.  I knew that there were nine more lights, so we’d be safe.  Instead of putting out one light, all of them went out and I
fainted
.   I’ve never had a problem with fainting before this summer, now I do it about once a week.

Down the hall, and walking our direction is Mrs. Ward.  Her starched white shirt tucked into her black pen
cil skirt enhanced her thinness.  She could pull off the sexy librarian if she’d pull her hair up in a bun and wore some black framed glasses.  A couple of weeks ago, I went to her house for lunch. 
It was there that she told me she is one of the three Fates.
  I wouldn’t have believed her if she didn’t
show
me how she is Fate.  What is explained off as coincidence is nothing more than Fate stepping into your life’s path and changing it to fulfill another path. 

“How was your first full day of classes?  I find it fun to watch the eleventh graders finding out about the alternative classes.  Your group is my favorite.  I love the healers. 
Especially your breed of healer. 
This world needs more of your kind.”
 

“I find it hard to believe that all of this was going on right under my nose
,
and
I never suspected it.
  Teens aren’t
very
good
at keeping secrets,
and this one is
epic
,
” Caleb says.

“Oh
that…it
’s easy, you take a vow
,
and
it clears up that messy gossiping.  Where is
Miss
Edwards this morning?”

Every time she talks
, it
’s as if she has a
sinister plan.  We
tell
her
Amber went to class
;
she
turns
on her heel
and walks
away. 

“What do you think she wants with Amber?  I bet she is ticked off about the lunchroom incident,” I
say
to Caleb.

He shrugs his shoulders
and walks me to class. 
Another morning in my secret class
,
was exactly the same as the day before.
 

We passed our salt test and were fitted for custom flashlight holsters.  That cracked me up, thinking next we’d be fitted with light vests.
  The second day in the lunch room was uneventful.  Thorne didn’t sit with us, as a matter of
fact;
I didn’t see him at lunch.
  Amber said she hadn’t heard from Mrs. Ward but she’d stop by the principal’s office after lunch.

The tardy bell rings and
Mr
Wolfshadow
closes the door to the room. 
“Pens and papers out and ready to take notes.”   I hadn’t noticed his limp yesterday
,
but
he limped to his desk.  He doesn’t look like
he’s
in pain so I’m guessing
it’s
an old injury.  “
Miss
Lucente
, did you hear me?”

I look up, caught
utter
ly
off guard by the calling of my name
.  It’s annoying that none of the teachers
call
me by my first name
.  “No sir, I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked you what the second question was yesterday.  You
know
those little questions that I wrote on the board for you?”  He said sarcastically.

I flip my notebook to the page I’d written it down on.  “Do Light Tamers have to bond before they are 18?”

“What do you think the answer to that question is?”

“I think the answer to that question is yes, we do have to bond.”

“Are you certain?  You and
Mr
Baldwin have bonded, but something happened to you didn’t it?  Some type of hiccup and you were bound to another student here.”

Why is he doing this to me?  I’m going to be the freak because I’m
bound…this
sucks.  I’m updating my list tonight.
  “Yes, I’m
certain…well
, mostly.”

“Mostly?  Write this down and store the information inside of your brain. 
I don’t know where, when
,
or how
,
the rumors started you have to be bound by your 18 birthday.
  That is ridiculous.  The correct answer to the question is you will be a
stronger
Tamer
if you have bonded.
  What is true is the fact that you can bond to someone of the same
-
sex. (
S
omeone
in the back row made a sound when he said sex.)  Yes,
Mr
Franks I said sex.  You’re a junior in a
particularl
y
elite private school
,
and you still act like you’re 12
when the word sex is said.  Give me a break.  On with the lecture.
” He throws his arms around dramatically making me think of a Kung Fu movie I saw with Caleb.
 
“
S
tudents
that are bound will have the option to go to the Hidden School of Understanding next year.  You have to apply just as you would at any university.  I’m getting way ahead of myself.  Right now, there is a study that is figuring out the chemistry that exists for those that are bound together.  They are using DNA tests
that
can bring people together
and a few other things.  You don’t have to worry your little heads about it though
.
  It’s
actu
ally
quite fascinating.”  He stopped and poured himself something to drink out of his thermos.   He pulled a small box out of his file cabinet and handed it to
a
guy that was texting in his lap. 
“
Walk around and hand out one kit to every person in the class with the exception of
Miss
Lucente
and
Mr.
Baldwin.  Each kit comes with
a small ink pad, one strip and an area to write your name.  You will put your thumbprint in the area that says
thumbprint.
  Write your student I.D. number instead of your name in the area that says
name
.   Once you have done that, take the strip and lick it.  You do
not
need
to
slobber all over it, just lick it.”  The guy in the back that laughed when he said sex, was now holding his hand over his mouth snickering. 
Boys can be so obnoxious.
  “Young man, if you cannot control your puerile self, you will be asked to leave and go to see Mrs. Ward.  Now
if
you don’t mind, I’d like to get through today’s lesson before class is over.”

“Yes sir.”  The boy replied sheepishly. 

“
In case
,
any of you aren’t sure what end to lick, it’s the one that says saliva.
  As soon as you’re finished, make sure to put the strip back inside the test tube it came from. 
Miss
Edwards, I need you and
Mr
Cho to take t
he box of strips to Mrs. Ward.  You will be given 4 minutes to complete the task.”

I can almost guess what Amber wants to say right now.  I bet she is
cussing
some serious foul language
in her head
.
  I turned to see Caleb’s face and
can
tell he is thinking the same thing I am. 

During the four minutes
we all talked to each other.  Caleb and the guy in front of him were talking about going to the gym and lifting weights. 
That reminded me that I’m
supposed
to go to the athletic department and sign up for the weight lifting class.
  Caleb was on it last year and wants me to join this year.  It’s
a
good
idea since
I haven’t signed up for tennis
.

A loud boom
goes
off, and the room
is covered in darkness
. 
A cacophony of shrills and panic spread
instantly
.  It couldn’t have been more
than
fifteen seconds and half the class
had their flashlights out and shining.  One girl up front start
s
crying and chanting a spell or a prayer.  Caleb reache
s
over
to hold my hand, assuring me everything is
fine
. 

“I wonder if Amber is in the hallway?”  I look over at Caleb
,
and
he’s
worried
for her
too.

“Everyone, settle down.  The emergency system is being activate
d.  Do not move from your seats,
”
Mr
Wolfshadow
demands
. 

As he
talks
, a light in each corner of the room came on. 
They
blinked
like a strobe light on slow motion
.  If there
were
more lights
,
it would have felt like
a
1980’s disco. 
They did have disco in the 80’s didn’t they?