Enlightened A Light Tamer Novel (The Light Tamer) (20 page)

Sadly for
yoooou
. 
“No, I’m not.”  I give him my best glazed over look.  “Oh, look a butterfly.  I love butterflies.  Bees? No, I don’t like them; they scare the poop out of me. 
One summer I was riding my bike, and this gargantuan black dog started chasing me…I almost drove straight into five o’clock traffic.
  That has nothing to do with bees.  I like toast.”

“Funny, ha ha.  I didn’t peg you as a smart ass…I’ve changed my opinion.  Back to what I was saying Miss
Lucente
.”

I curtsy, “Of course
Mr
Woodson.”

“Your brain needs to take a snapshot of every moment of every day.  School is a safe zone, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be breached.  Your memory
can
be the one thing that will save you.  I’m sure Mrs. Ward told you about Underworld dwellers not being traceable on her radar.  Your ability to describe a person or share a memory with your consort will help in banishing them back to their realm.”

Chills run down my spine at the thought of Nyx finding us. 
Caleb my consort, what century is this?

He walks over to Thor and removes a ratty looking blanket.  Setting it down gently next to the
firepit
, he unwraps the blanket,
within the folds
he pulls out a skeleton key.  

I lean over, intrigued by the delicate scrollwork.  “What does it unlock?”

“It’s the key to the box you brought with you,” He says seriously.  “In all seriousness, my job is to protect you.  Sit down; I want to tell you a story.”

He crosses over and sits down on a log, closest to the elbow.  I sit on the other one so I can see him as he talks.  I snap a dead twig next to me and flit it around in my hand with nervous energy.  “You have my full-fledged attention.”

Thorne leans in; putting his forearms on his thighs and twirls the key with his fingers. 
“Jessie, the reason we came all the way out here to train is…this place doesn’t exist.
  Not in your realm at least.  This is a hiccup area, a portal of sorts.  Did you ever read A Midsummer Night’s Dream?”

My jaw clenches as the words are spoken.  It hasn’t occurred to me that other realms existed, except the Underworld.  Stunned, I can’t find the strength to talk.  My thoughts are fleeting, far away from this place, to the safety of Caleb’s arms. 
“You’re kidding,” I finally say.

“Nope,” Thorne says and reaches for my hand.

I flinch away from him, “
Don’t…please
.”  I lean forward and place my hands on my head.  “My head is pounding.”

“Jessie, we don’t have much time.  Breathe deeply and relax.”

My head snaps up,
and
I glare at him.  “You want me to relax?  I’m sitting on a log, in a forest that doesn’t exist as my guardian non-human protector is telling me to relax.  Yeah, not going to work.  I’ll listen, but don’t blame me for being skeptical.  Explain the damn key before I jump on my imaginary horse and ride back to my imaginary town.  Tell me about the quote unquote realm I’m in.  Let me guess, there are faeries lurking in the trees.”

“I don’t think they’re in the trees.”

I smack my head in exasperation.

“Jessie, yes, we’re in the woodlands.  The most famous faerie of all time was Shakespeare.  He almost dismantled the woodlands with his outing of the battles within this realm.  Stop with the eye-rolling.  We’re safe here; well, as safe as you can be within this zone.  You’ve been granted immunity from the Seelie Queen, unless she finds a reason to punish you.  She’s on
good
behavior for various reasons.   Summer consists of Seelie
fae…the
good faeries.  They’re known to do
good
deeds for humans and to help right a wrong.  If they’re taken advantage of or mistreated, they will seek revenge.  Once the fall equinox happens, the Unseelie King will be in charge until spring.  Winter is stricter and is home to the Unseelie fae.  The Unseelie Court is
unforgiving…the
King is so harsh; he has beheaded visitors for not bowing the correct way.”

I sit and listen to the story about evil faeries, wanting nothing more than to leave.  Thorne’s face looks drawn as he tells me about the faerie courts.  “They’ll behead me?  Let me
guess…even
though Summer is in charge, Winter will still enforce their rules.”

“If we cross to their side, yes.”

“We won’t go to their side, simple. 
Easy peasy
.  None of this explains why we’re out here.”

“In theory it’s
simple
.  Right now, we’re in a neutral area of the forest, it belongs to neither court and harbors
rogue
fae.  The
rogue
and Abbey Lubbers will defend neither side without a price,  and they have
switched
sides for the right price.  We don’t want to get on the Abbey’s
bad
side…talk
about ruthless.  They have a vendetta against monks though and spend most of their time spying on them.”

“This day gets better and better.
  They spy on monks, that’s the strangest obsession I’ve ever heard.”

“They’re always trying to find monks not living up to their vows.  Thankfully, there are only about ten of them in existence.  That leaves us with the natives.   Although we have the cooperation of the Seelies, it isn’t acceptable to intrude into their kingdom.  The Seelie Queen has extended an invitation to meet you before the shift of power.  Winter is unavailable until Summer passes the Ruler Staff to them during the harvest moon.  You won’t be subjected to the mischief of the Seelie fae until you’ve successfully closed the portal to the Underworld.”  His eyes go wide,
and
he smacks his knee.  “Shit, I wasn’t supposed to say that.”

“What?  Close a portal to the Underworld?  What. The. Hell!”

He lets out a huge sigh, as he shuffles his feet in the dirt.
  “Yeah, don’t get stuck on the technicality of little details.”

“Oh, sorry, forgive me for questioning all of the
freakin
crazy CRAP you shovel my way.  New Yorkers think they live in a world of crazy, they’ve no idea.  Spill it, what is
really
going on?”

“What I tell you,
must…
I mean, MUST be kept between us.”

I close my eyes and mentally focus on calm.  “I can’t make any promises.  Caleb is my other half; I can’t keep another secret from him.”

“Oh for the love
of…alright
, you can tell Caleb.”

“Good, we’ll go get him, you can tell us together.”

He shakes his head back and forth.  “Not so fast, don’t start jumping up and down; it will be on my terms.  We’ll bring him here and tell him...
tomorrow
.  If Mrs. Ward finds out, she’ll banish all of us to the South Pole to live in the winter court.” The lines in his forehead deepen with worry.  “Yes, you’re expected to close the portal off.  When
Mr
Wolfshadow
had everyone do the DNA swab, it was to find a recessive fae gene.  There was a band of fae who could control all of the elements, earth, wind, fire and air.  In the beginning, they were plentiful, but as they mated with other fae from other clans, they weakened.  It was nearly impossible for them to keep their blood pure.  Light Tamers are a derivative of fire fae.”

“Why are they looking for the gene? 
It was all a lie about finding their mate?
 
I knew it sounded too expensive just to make people happy.
  What happens if they find someone with the gene?”

“We will figure out how to activate their ability and train them how to use the elements.  Our survival depends on finding them.  Sure, you might be able to send Nyx back to the Underworld.  What will happen when the next god or goddess comes to avenge their name?   This is bigger than all of us. 
The entire supernatural species is fighting a war, yet none are prepared for a world without Fate.”
  He paused for a split second bumped my foot with his.  “You okay?”

“I’m not sure,” I answer honestly.  “Go on.”

“They’ll help the Dark Ones grow in numbers, in turn, Tamers numbers will dwindle.  Your power is
strong…right
now.  Erebus escaping and hunting you down isn’t a coincidence, he knows
something…and
that something may be in that box.  You’re only aware of a tenth of what is
really
out there walking the streets Jessie.  Every aspect of your life will be questioned.” 

My heart is pounding in my ears, practically drowning out the sounds of my thoughts. “Every night before bed I stare at my nightlight and think about other magical beings.  I’m always thinking about the possibilities of others like Tamers.  Are the faeries here right now?”

“Yeah, they’re here.  Thor and Isis are magical horses that belong to the Seelie court.  Without them, we wouldn’t have made it into this realm.  Guards set up in a circle surrounding us.  They can’t hear what we’re saying.  As a guardian, I’m granted various privileges.  I required a secured site that can’t be penetrated with hearing or magic.”  He scoots the box over with his foot, until it’s in front of me.  “I want you to open the box.”  He gently hands me the key. 

“Okay,” I hold my hand out to him.  The key is heavy in the palm of my hand.  I’d never seen a real skeleton key in person.  “Is it made of iron?”

“An insurance plan to keep most fae away.  Everyone knows iron is toxic to fae, but do you know why?”

“Something to do with the properties being of the earth and faeries are part of the dream world.
  I’m not proficient with the technical parts, they say people will eat meat because the blood has
iron…it
keeps the fae away.”  I smile confidently at his solemn face.  “Don’t look at me like that…I had a friend in middle school that was obsessed with the idea of faeries.  I’m right
are
n’t I?”

“Partially.”

“What do you mean
‘most
fae’?”

“There is a breed that can touch iron.”

“Interesting, what do the box and the key have to do with the portal?  It isn’t the portal is it?”

“No, open it, we’re about to find out.”  He shifts his look to the trees behind me.

I twist around to see what he’s looking at, “Everything cool?”  He nods his head.  “Why would my mom have the box?  It was in her closet. 
My dad said she doesn’t know about us, which I honestly don’t get.
  My life is loopy!  One day I’m a girl with an alcoholic father and a nursing student mother, the next, I’m in crazy-
ville
with front row seats.”

“Open the box,” he says impatiently.

“Okay, hold your panties on.”  My hands tremble slightly as I run my fingers along the edge.  I put the key in the brass plated hole until I feel it
catch
.  Breathing in a sharp breath, I turn the key and feel the lid unlock.” 

Thorne takes in an audible breath as the box opens.

Inside there are two daggers perfectly fitted into shadowed slots.  Another small wooden box is wedged in the corner.  I take the smaller box and slide off the lid.  Two rings of gold, like wedding bands, are wrapped in silk.   The rings are cold in my palm.  I look up at
Thorne
and his eyes are
huge
.  “Are these someone’s wedding rings?”

He doesn’t say anything, only nods his head.

“Holy shit! 
Jessie, you just found….oh,
no…you
couldn’t have.  There’s no freakin’ way!  No wonder she has trouble with you on her radar. 
I never saw it coming.
  Well, I
kinda
did, but not
really
.  This is ridiculous. 
I’m not sure we can wait until tomorrow to tell Caleb.
 
I vow to you that I will protect you and serve you as long as you’ll have me, your highness.”

Eh?
  “Why are you vowing to me?  Your highness?  What the crap is that?  What is wrong with you?  Are these the Lord of the
Rings rings
?  If I put it on, will I become evil and crouch in the corner calling it
my precious?
”  I take the smaller ring and start to put it on my ring finger.

He grabs my wrist stopping me.  “Don’t, it isn’t time for you to wear it.”

I pull my arm from his grip.  “You’re freaking me out.  Who’s rings are they?”

He holds his hand out,
and
I set the ring in his palm.  He holds the ring up, inspecting it as though he were a jeweler.  I’m mesmerized
by the way
it glints in the sun.

“It’s the proof the prophecy is true.  Look, right here,” he points to the inside of the ring.  “Preaditi Unum.”

“Don’t go all Gandalf on
me…what
does it mean?”