Enlightened A Light Tamer Novel (The Light Tamer) (17 page)

Oh, look at my
arm…you
gave me
goosies
.  I’m all twitterpated.
  I cross my arms and rub them to get the goose-pimples to go away.   I concentrate on closing off my thoughts to him, I need my privacy sometimes.  My heart skips two complete beats as I think of his last words to me.

“Oh, you play dirty,” Caleb says.

I turn and put my hand over my mouth and make my eyes go wide, “Who me?”  I move my hand and pout my lips.  “Amber, I’ll meet you in the guest room, I want to show you something.” 
Caleb mouths the words “I love you,” and I skip off to the guest room and giggle out loud.
 

“What’s up with her?” I hear Amber say to Caleb as they trail behind me.

“She’s off her rocker.”

“Fo
shizzle
.” 

“Okay Snoop Dogg.”

The family room is usually
Southern Living perfect
,
now it’s filled with forty or so teens. 
Mr
Gayle borrowed folding chairs from the country club to accommodate our crowd.  We’d spent the last hour setting them up and removing unneeded furniture.  The weatherman issued a Flash Flood warning so we decided to have an indoor meeting.

I’m looking around the room trying to recognize everyone in their
street
clothes.  At school, everyone looks
preppy
, tonight they don’t.  A guy in the back looks like a deranged lunatic in his top hat, shredded jeans and button down shirt with a plaid bowtie. 
When did top hats become a fashion statement?  Do you know him?
   I think to Caleb.

Take a better look, it’s Rob.

Oh my freakin’ frog, it is Rob.  That’s hysterical.  How many Mountain Dews did Amber have? 
She is bouncing up and down on her toes?

I think she drank a two liter, she kept going in the kitchen to get a refill her flask..

She’s drinking from a flask?
  What the h?

She says it makes her look like she has street cred if she drinks like a gangsta.

I focus on not busting out in giggles.  “I guess we should start,” I say to the group.  A few people are still talking,
and
others are staring off into space.  I catch Amber’s attention,
and
I give her the look.  The one that says
‘help’
, she winks at me
and
gets
everyone
'
s
attention.

“HELLLLOO!  Do you think we’re standing up here for our health?  Stop your
yappin’
and start your
listenin’
.”  Oh my, her country girl came out
big
time.  She is small and doesn’t look over 14, but when pushed to her limit, she’s a force to be reckoned with.  “Ya’ll are the ones that wanted to meet on this beautiful FRIDAY NIGHT, after being around all of us all day long.  So, don’t be a loser, listen with your ears so we can all get on with our night.  Jessie here is a New Yorker from the Bronx, she’s got the mob in her back pocket.  Don’t think because she is quiet that she’s not tough.”

What is she doing?  I don’t know anyone in the MOB, she’s delusional. 

She’s loving it though.

Yeah, you’re right. 

“Without further ado, meet Jessie.”

I lean over and whisper in her ear “MOB seriously?”  Her grin lights up her face with mischief.  I scan the crowd and see Rob waving.  “Hey everyone, I’m Jessie,
and
this is Caleb.  We’re bonded Light Tamers.  Some of you were here a few weeks ago when we lost our bond for a
nanosecond
,
and
I inadvertently bonded with Clark.  As you can see, it’s no longer an issue.”  I catch Jasmine glaring at me like a tiger ready to pounce.  Caleb gives my hand a little squeeze
, and
I calm my nerves.  A girl on the second row raises her hand.

“What makes you an expert on anything?  You moved
here
this summer, 
and
you’ve been stuck at the hip with Caleb and Amber since you got here.  I don’t get why we have to listen to you.”

I’ll answer her,
Caleb says.  “Tammy, you’re right, Jessie did move
here
this summer.  Yes, we spend a lot of time together as well as with Amber.  What makes us any different?  We do have inside information, and we want Tamers to hone their skills beyond what the school wants for us.  We’ll all be out of school in a year or two and off to college or whatever it is life hands us.  Before we have a chance to begin our journey, we have another problem.”  The room starts murmuring lightly.  “Nyx has left the Underworld, rumor has it, she is
looking
for vengeance.”

“For what, that little hoochie Amber?”  Tammy replies.  The room collectively gasps at her comment.  Before Caleb answers, Thorne is up from his seat in the back row. 

“Who do you think you are coming into someone’s home and insulting one of their guests?  You’re a disgrace to Tamers, who are
good
and do
good
things.  Take a minute and look at what’s wrong with this world.  People bully other people because they feel threatened or insecure.  Amber is my friend and I highly suggest you apologize to her this instant.”  Thorne is standing there in front of Tammy with his arms crossed.

“
Did he say disgrace?  Who says that?”
Caleb takes a sip from his water bottle as he watches the standoff unfold.  “Tammy, I’m afraid I have to ask you to leave if you can’t apologize.”

“Sorry,” Tammy says, not
very
convincing either.

“It doesn’t matter why Nyx is here, what matters is getting her back to the Underworld.  Our two worlds don’t belong together anymore,”
Mr
Gabe says.  “Young lady, you owe Amber a better apology if you intend on staying.  This is my home, and these are my son’s friends and they
will
be respected.  Is that understood?”  His stature and delivery demand attention.

“Thanks dad.  He’s right, if anyone else has snide comments, please leave.  We don’t have time for cattiness.  Nyx is extremel
y
powerful if what the internet says is true.  We’re powerful too, and tonight we’ll show you how to harness your light.”  Caleb and I are standing
together,
hand in hand watching everyone. 

I pretend to smooth out my top when I’m actu
ally
wiping off the sweat.  Caleb and I face each other, and he holds his hands out, palms down.  I hold my hands under his with the palms up.  “Watch what we can do.”  I breathe in and focus on my inner light, I sense Caleb is too. A few of the people in the back stand up to see better. 
My hands begin to tingle, and my heart beats so hard I’m certain I’m going to die, right now, right here.

“You’re kidding!  Look at the light, very cool.”  Someone whispers from the group.

I look over at Amber, she is standing perfectly still.  “Are you ready,” I say to her.  She nods and holds out both of her hands, at the same time, Caleb,
and
I hold our hands out towards her.  Caleb has one hand facing mine, I have my other hand to Amber,
and
she has her other hand to Caleb, a triangle of light beams. 
The light is soft and billowing from our hands, it feels good to have it radiating to each other.
  “Pull the light in.”  The three of us inhale, filling our lungs with air.

“That’s a great party trick, but what will it
do
?”  Carmen says and swishes her hair over her shoulder.

“We’re showing you how you can draw light from everywhere and use it.  The way it was explained to me, is when we’re able to control our own emotions and light, our power will grow.  Obviously we can’t cure everyone or everything, but we can help as many as we can.”  I see several people look skeptical,
but
the others look intrigued.

“Why don’t we start out practicing, from there, we can figure out what we can do with the light,” Amber says with confidence.  “I’m not trying to be a bitch or anything, but if you sit around doubting everything and not give it a
try…well
, you suck.”

Let the
good
times roll.

One Hour Later

Earlier we practiced drawing in the light.  Thorne had conveniently avoided practicing without drawing any attention.  Amber didn’t seem to mind interacting with people, which made playing with others easier.  Obviously she enjoyed being in charge
by the way
she ordered everyone around.  Thankfully, Caleb and I were the only bound Tamers.  We learned that when more than four couples practiced together, the lights would surge. 
Mr
Gabe checked the backup batteries for his emergency lighting, in case we blew the circuits.  He thinks of everything.

Jess, are you feeling okay?
  You’ve been at this for over an hour. 
We practiced before everyone arrived, remember?

Yes, I remember. Maybe I am a little tired.  It doesn’t appear that I’m the only one, everyone is
looking
somewhat ragged.  We should probably call it a night.

I concur my beautiful Light Tamer.

My pulse fluttered and my cheeks hurt from smiling so big.
 
I’m going in the kitchen to help them clean up.
I’ll leave you to clear everyone out.  I heard Rob tell Amber he’d give her a ride home.  I think Jersey will have a field-day with him.  He’s
so…so
flamboyant, and she’s
so…Jersey
-Girl. Which reminds me, she has a thing for old cemeteries,
and
we happen to have Cedar Grove.  
With it being the Fall Solstice, do you mind if we go there before the dance?
  She’s exploring her religious options,
and
right now she is considering Wicca. I know they honest
ly
don’t have anything to do with each other, but she wants to get a picture in front of the gate.  She looked up on the web of things to do while in New Bern.

No, I don’t mind at all.  It’s fascina
ting
to walk around and see the graves.  The Spanish moss hanging from the trees and the gothic tombs will make a
cool
backdrop.  She sounds
cool
.  She’s such a large part of your life,
and
you make
a
excellen
t
friend
to have
.
He turns me around to face him, meeting eye to eye.  His pupils are lost in the darkness of his eyes. 
I’ve never known anyone with eyes so brown.
 
One of my mom’s best friends is Wiccan, she came out and cleansed our house of negativity.  Honestly, I’ve no idea if it worked…I `
             
know it didn’t
hurt
.

She must have been a
great
mom to have. Thank you for being so
awesome
, I’m lucky to have someone like you in my life.

Yeah, you are lucky…I’m a fox.
He laughed and squirmed away from my sucker punch to his arm.

I round the corner into the kitchen in time to catch grandma and Caleb’s dad popping each other with a dishtowel.  I stand in the doorway watching them play. 
She might be 55, but yoga has done her figure good.
 
Mr
Gabe and Caleb go to the gym every morning at five and by the size of their guns, it is obvious. 
It’s cute to watch them having fun together, they both deserve to be happy.

I back up and cough out loud to give them a heads up. “Do you need any help in here?  Caleb is about to send everyone home.”  I smile to myself when I see they’re standing on the opposite ends of the room.  “If you have a dishtowel, I’ll dry the dishes,” I glance over and wink at Grandma.  “Let’s turn on the music and finish cleaning this mess.” 
I scroll my lists and find exactly what a moment like this calls for…The Imagine Dragons song Its Time blares through the room.
  Grandma loves a catchy beat because she is obsessed with a dance move she calls
The Bump
.  The only thing I know about
The Bump,
is every time she bumps my hip with hers, I get a bruise.  Caleb’s dad decided that he would bump my other hip making me the center to a giant bruise sandwich dance.

“What on earth is going on in here?”  Amber asks as she runs over to where we’re dancing.  “Oh, I love this song.  Look at you go Miss Gayle, show me how to do that groovy move!”

Grandma grabs Amber’s hand and pulls us both into the middle of the room.  We bump our hips in the front, in the back, side to side.  She tells us to put our arms above our head and let the groove run through our body.  We start laughing so hard my sides begin to cramp. 
We were caught dancing by a few of the stragglers that were looking for a way to help out.
Rob runs over and bumps Amber on every off beat.
  The next thing you know the kitchen is full of laughter and dancing Light Tamers.  Grandma semi-gracefully escapes our line of teens.  She keeps saying she’s going to need a hip replacement if she doesn’t stop.  I glance up to see Thorne brooding in the corner.