Fractured Light (20 page)

“You look scared.”

With my head in the fridge, I made my face as calm as possible. I turned around. “I’m fine. We had a lot of fun. Those corn mazes are really cool. Have you ever been, Heidi?”

Heidi and Jake began to reminisce together about their childhood, and I could tell it wasn’t going to be a short conversation. The two were so obviously in love, it made me sick. One of them could’ve said they had rabies and the other would’ve thought that was the most adorable thing in the world.

With the two distracted by the sparkles in each others eyes, I easily snuck back to my bedroom and shut the door. Finally I could think without having to put on a “brave” face. What I’d seen tonight had been terrifying. Who could have done it and why, were the only questions that raced through my mind. I was so consumed with the question that I didn’t even notice Light’s energy. My worry and fright were enough to expel it.

Faster than any brain should work, images of everyone I knew flashed through my mind as potential suspects. I started with those who were there that night. I’d been alone much of the night, either ahead of the group or toward the end, walking behind with May. I crossed off the girls from my list first. I just couldn’t see a girl slitting a dog’s throat and then carving my name into it. I also didn’t think they would’ve had enough time to get it done and then still be able to find us in the maze.

That left the boys. There was just Adam, Christian, and Matt. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see any of them doing something so horrible. Besides, what would be their motive? I thought of other people I knew. There were several others I could think of that didn’t like me, but enough to do something like this?

I sat up in bed. There was one person I thought could be ruthless enough and definitely would feel I deserved it: Mike. The more I thought about him, the more I convinced myself that it was him. He could’ve easily found out where we were going from Adam and then planned the whole thing ahead of time.

My suspicions made sense except for one thing: the strange feeling that had came over me and led me to the dog. Maybe I’d sensed the dead animal. I still wasn’t sure how Light worked exactly and maybe because it was a full moon, I was more sensitive to death. I liked this theory best as it was much easier to accept than what the back of my mind kept trying to tell me.

I shook my head, dismissing the ugly thought again. It just wasn’t possible. A Vyken wouldn’t mess with me like that. He would just kill me and be done with it. That’s what I convinced myself, but the truth was I didn’t know what a Vyken would do. My mother and father never told me, and if my aunt said anything, I hadn’t been listening.

I made a mental note to call my aunt and ask her about it later. I dreaded the call, but better to be safe than sorry.

I stayed home from school the next couple of days, partly because of what had happened, but also because the moon had disappeared again.

I was in bed when Jake knocked on my door that night. “Llona? You still awake?”

I mumbled something incoherent.

“May’s here to see you. Should I send her back?”

“What time is it?”

“Ten.”

I sat up and turned the light on. “Send her back. Thanks, Jake.” My room was a mess and I looked like a train wreck, but I was so tired that I didn’t care. I tried to smooth my hair back with little success.

“Hey, Llona. How’s it going?” May asked as she moved into my room.

“Fine. It’s just been one of those weeks.”

She nodded as if she understood. She cleared off my desk chair.

“Sorry about the mess,” I said.

She sat down and for the first time I noticed how uncomfortable she looked.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

May bit her bottom lip and looked away. “I was wondering if we could talk.”

“Sure.” I lay back down and prepared to listen to guy trouble. “What do you want to talk about?”

She looked at me. “About what happened. In the corn maze.”

I wasn’t expecting this. I thought for sure we could just pretend like nothing had happened. “What do you mean?” I thought playing dumb was my best option.

May scowled. “Come on. You saw what I did.”

I sat up. “We don’t have to talk about it.”

“But I want to. I have no one else, and for some reason I trust you. Probably because I know you’re different too.”

I looked away.

“Can we please just be honest with each other?”

I sighed. “Listen, May, I don’t care what you can do. So you’re different. We’re different, but I think it’s better if we don’t talk about it.”

“Why?”

“To keep us safe.”

“But what about what happened out there? Someone’s messing with you, and I think it’s because of what you can do.”

“You think someone’s messing with me because I can’t cut my hair?”

May laughed, halfheartedly. “Do you really think I’m that dumb? There’s a lot more to you than just invincible hair.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

She let out an exaggerated sigh. “Really? So you’re saying you can’t manipulate light?”

I stared at her. “What makes you think that?”

“I wasn’t sure at first.” She leaned back. “I mean I definitely had my suspicions. Lights do crazy things when you’re around, like the blackout at the school assembly and the way you acted afterward. There were other signs too, but after the corn maze I knew for sure.”

“What happened at the corn maze?”

“I took the batteries out of the flashlight, yet you still made it work.”

“Maybe you thought you took them out.”

“We’re both different, Llona, and the sooner you admit it, the sooner I can feel a whole lot better about myself.”

“How’s that?”

“My whole life I’ve felt out of place. And because of my freakiness, I’ve never allowed myself to get close to anyone. I was afraid they’d see what a psycho I was, but now that we’re friends, I finally feel like I’m not so different. Because if there’s you and me, then there’s got to be others too.”

“When did you first find out about your ability?”

May looked down. “A few years ago. It was really scary at first because I couldn’t control it. Little fires would appear out of nowhere. I could just be looking at a wall and all of a sudden it would burst into flames. For the longest time I didn’t believe it was me doing it.”

“What did your mom say?”

“She thought I was a pyromaniac. For almost a year she had me going to a shrink. It was horrible. Finally, I was able to get it under control, mostly anyway, and just in time too. She almost sent me to an institution.”

“Where does it come from?”

She shrugged. “I have no idea and I have no one to ask. I almost wonder if it came from my real parents, but I have no way of finding them to ask. Maybe when I’m older …” her voice trailed off.

“I’m really sorry. I can’t imagine not knowing where it came from. What a trip.”

“So what about you?”

I swallowed hard. I couldn’t believe I was about to tell someone my secret. “I know this is going to sound crazy—”

“Highly unlikely.”

“—but I can only explain it by starting with a story because that’s how it was told to me.” I tried to think of a way to tell my tale without it sounding weirder than it was.

“Apparently, thousands of years ago, Light used to be an actual personage, sort of like us. The world was a good place then. There was no evil and everyone was happy. But then some Prince killed his brother and the forbidden darkness entered his heart, changing him. He spread his dark poison to others and soon they were hunting Light. They became known as Vykens. To protect themselves, Light hid within the female DNA. We call ourselves Auras. As for the freaky hair, I think it’s just a weird side effect or something.”

May’s eyes were big. “What about the Vykens?”

“They’re still out there somewhere. The real crappy part of it is they’ve figured out that if they drink the blood of an Aura then they are no longer confined to the night.”

“Wait a minute. So Vykens are like vampires?”

“No vampires are like Vykens. The myth came from them.”

“Can they do the same things as vampires?” she asked.

I shrugged. “I know they’re strong, and incredibly fast, but they don’t drink just anyone’s blood. I guess they could, but it would be pointless. Only an Aura’s blood gives them power.”

“Don’t they need blood to survive?”

I shook my head. “From what I understand, they don’t even need to eat.”

“So they’re like a demon in a human shell,” May whispered.

We both shivered.

May shook her hands as if to rid herself of the blanket of creepiness that had just spread across the room. “Okay, I am totally freaked out now.”

“So you believe me?”

“Of course. I wish I knew were my ability came from. I’m probably possessed or something.”

I laughed.

“I guess that explains why you isolate yourself so much.” May stood up and sat down next to me. “This may be too personal, but can I ask how your mother died? Was it a Vyken?”

I nodded.

“What about your father?”

“After my mother died, he became obsessed with trying to find who killed her. He barely ate or slept. One night while he was away, he was hit by a drunk driver and killed.” Tears filled my eyes. I’d never spoken of this to anyone. “The thing that really sucked was, the night before he left, I never told him good-bye. I was mad at him for leaving again so I threw a dumb temper tantrum. I’ve never forgiven myself for being so stupid.”

May’s arm came around me. “There’s no way you could’ve known.”

I wiped at my eyes, suddenly feeling very silly for crying in front of May. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Stop that. It is a big deal. You don’t need to hold everything in all of the time.”

I gave her a weak smile. “So my secret’s out.”

“Mine too.”

“You can’t tell anyone, May.”

“And you can’t tell anyone either.”

“Deal.” I held out my hand.

“Deal.”

After shaking hands, May asked, “You coming to school tomorrow?”

“I don’t know.” I walked to the window and stared up into the sky. “I’m still pretty tired.”

“Why do you get like that?”

“It’s the moon. When it’s gone, I can’t feel Light anymore. All my energy is zapped. You don’t know how embarrassing it can be to fall asleep in the middle of class.”

“Well, I hope you come. I feel better when you’re there.”

I turned around. “I’ll try.”

After May left, I felt better than I had in a long time. Not physically but emotionally. I had no idea sharing my secret with someone could feel so good. It even helped take my mind off whoever had killed the dog. That is until I returned to school.

I kept my eyes open for anyone acting strange, especially Mike. I’d convinced myself that it had been him who had tried to scare me, but he was his obnoxious normal self, throwing out insults whenever we crossed paths. He didn’t act like he had done anything as sadistic as killing a dog.

Christian, however, was acting strange. I would catch him lurking behind corners and staring at me from a distance. He didn’t try talking to me and I didn’t try talking to him. I would’ve been fine with this arrangement if it hadn’t have been for all his stalker-like movements. I thought I was exaggerating until both May and Tracey commented on his actions in the lunch room. I tried not to notice until, finally, I didn’t. As long as I wasn’t looking for him or thinking about him, I was fine. It was as if I’d never liked him to begin with—almost.

I
WAS STUDYING MATH IN THE KITCHEN WHILE
J
AKE WATCHED
TV in the living room, when the phone rang. Jake reached to the end table and answered it. By the tone of his voice, it sounded like he was talking to someone from work. His answers were short and formal.

I returned to solving a complex calculus problem, but then I heard Jake say, “Sure, she’s right here. One sec.”