Fractured Light (27 page)

“As far as I know, you are. And if for some crazy reason there is a girl out there who doesn’t know she’s an Aura, the Council has ways of finding her. It takes little convincing to get them to go to Lucent, especially when they start feeling Light.”

“I don’t get why everyone makes such a big deal about Lucent,” I said.

“Don’t knock what you don’t know. Those girls learn a lot.”

“Like what? Like how to grow flowers and light up the dark?”

“There’s more to it than that. You have no idea how far behind you are.”

“I’m not behind,” I mumbled.

“Your mother went to Lucent.”

“What do you know of my mother?”

“Everyone knows, or has at least heard of, your mother.”

“Why’s that?’

“She went against the Council—the same Council her sister, your aunt, sat on. It was a big deal back then. In fact, people still talk about her. They use her as an example of what not to do.”

“But my mother was never anything but kind to everyone she met! What could she possibly have done that was so horrible?”

He paused before answering, and I noticed that when he did, he wouldn’t look at me. “She married her guardian.”

“My father was her guardian?”

He nodded. “It’s strictly forbidden for guardians to become involved with their wards, let alone marry them.”

“Why?”

“A guardian cannot effectively protect their ward if they’re in love with them. Their judgment becomes clouded.”

“Is that what happened to my father?”

“I don’t know. Just like your mother, no one knows the circumstances behind your father’s death. He was one of the best guardians so everyone was surprised when he died.”

I frowned. “My father died in a car accident.”

“What?” His eyes widened. “You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Your father was killed by a Vyken. The council suspects by the same Vyken who killed your mother.”

“How could I have not known about this?”

“Your aunt was probably trying to protect you.”

I shook my head. “But why didn’t Jake tell me?”

“Maybe she convinced him not to. She can be very persuasive.”

“Even so,” I said, but my mind interrupted me by suddenly putting together two pieces of what was once a difficult puzzle. “So my father was my mother’s guardian and they fell in love,” I repeated slowly, my mind processing the words. I looked up at Christian. “That’s why you’ve been acting strange and staying away from me.”

“I was never away from you, just out of sight, but yes. I found myself”—he struggled to find the right words—“caring for you more than I should.”

I shook my head in disbelief. Everything made sense now: his constant yo-yo behavior, his stalker-like movements and that bizarre kiss.

“I’m sorry for putting you through all my emotional crap,” Christian began. “I know it was hard on you. It just took me awhile to convince myself that all we could ever be is friends.”

“You’ve convinced yourself?”

He stood up. “Please don’t look at me like that. This has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Every time I look at you, I just want to—”

I leaned forward. “Yes?”

He lowered his eyes and sighed. “Can we talk about something else?”

I was about to press the issue, when my eyes caught Christian’s reflection in the mirror. Specifically, I focused on his ear. “Do guardians have awesome hearing?” I asked.

His eyebrows raised. “Yeah, how’d you know?”

“I guess I inherited it from my dad.”

“But you’re a girl. No offense, but it’s always been a guy thing.”

I shrugged. “I guess I won the DNA lottery.”

He was about to say more but stopped. “What’s this?” He picked up my mom’s old letter from my nightstand.

I forgot I’d left it out. I quickly snatched it away. “It’s nothing. Just a letter my mom left for me when she died.”

“Then why wasn’t it signed by her?”

In addition to fast reflexes, apparently Christian was also a speed-reader. “Okay, maybe it wasn’t from her, but I like to think it was. She was always doing strange things like that.”

“How did you get it?”

“It was left on my bed in the arms of my favorite teddy bear.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Let me see it again.” He held out his hand.

I reluctantly handed it to him. His eyes read over it several times. “Llona,” he said. “What happened to you in the cornfield? Wait. Not just in the cornfield. Tell me everything strange that’s happened to you lately.”

I swallowed hard, trying to remember the first time I felt afraid. “Well, it started at the beginning of the school year. I thought I was being watched through my window. Was that you?”

He shook his head. “I never watched you close-up, only from a distance.”

“So you’re a long-range Peeping Tom?”

“What else has happened?”

I sighed. I thought it’d be difficult to tell him everything, but once I started I couldn’t stop. I told him about the person in the woods calling my name the night I’d jumped into the river, the shadow in the tree, and my feelings about the shoe and the murder at my car. I explained my odd feeling in the cornfield before I found the dog. And finally I told him about last night and the Vyken at the foot of my bed. “I was so scared, Christian. I couldn’t move. Why couldn’t I move?”

Christian’s reaction surprised me. Without warning, he embraced me to his chest. I was pressed so tightly against him that I could hear his heart beat racing.

“You have to leave. Tonight! Go to Lucent with your aunt. You’ll be safe there,” he said.

I pushed him away. “What? No! I’m not leaving. That’s ridiculous. You’re my guardian. Can’t you protect me?”

“Obviously I can’t. The Vyken has gotten too close and seems to know you too well.” He shook his head and stood up. “My first ward and I can’t even protect you.”

“How do any of the other guardians do it? They can’t watch their wards 24/7 either.”

“They don’t need to. Those other women are older and have been trained properly. They know how to make themselves almost invisible or run away if needs be. And they’ve also learned to communicate telepathically with their guardians in case of an emergency. Our situation is very different from the others, don’t you see that? I can’t keep you safe.” He paced the room frantically.

“Can’t you give me a crash course in how to do all that?”

He threw up his arms. “Come on, Llona! I can’t teach you that stuff. My training was completely different from Auras.”

I thought for a minute while Christian stared out the window. He skin was pale and I thought he might throw up. All of a sudden the solution came to me like Einstein’s E=MC
²
formula. And the more I thought about it, the more I knew it was the right decision. I could feel Light burning my skin in agreement.

I moved quickly to Christian. “I know this might sound crazy, but I want you to teach me what you know. Teach me to fight.”

He stared at me. “You can’t be serious.”

“Really. I’m tired of running, and I’m tired of feeling like a victim. You’ve taught others to fight. Teach me.”

I glared at him when he started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“The whole idea of it. Auras can’t fight. It’s not in their nature.”

“I think I’d know what’s in my nature and what’s not, and I’m telling you my nature wants to fight.”

He walked away from me. “This is crazy. Not only is the whole idea absurd, but I’m sure there’s a rule somewhere that says it’s forbidden.”

“Why?” I followed him across the room. “Because! It’s not like there are a bunch of Auras out there. You need to be protected. You have no idea how important they are.” In a much quieter voice he said, “You have no idea how important you are.”

“Christian—”

“Please, Llona. Go to Lucent where you’ll be safe.”

A knock at my bedroom door made him step away.

“Llona?” Jake asked. The door opened. “Some of your friends are here to see you.”

Behind him, May, Matt, and Tracey rushed in. Tracey gave me a hug followed by May.

“You don’t look like you almost died,” Matt said as he too wrapped his arms around me. When he let go, his arm remained on my shoulders. “You really scared us last night.”

“Sorry,” I said.

He hugged me again. “I’m glad you’re okay. The world wouldn’t be the same without you, Llona Reese.”

I noticed Christian grimace and turn away.

“You sure got here early, Christian,” May said. “Did you even leave her last night?”

“Of course. She needed rest.”

“Thanks for saving her,” Tracey told him.

Matt chimed in. “Yeah. I heard it was pretty amazing. Quite the drama ER scene.”

“It was nothing.” Christian still looked upset from our earlier conversation. He moved over to me. “I have to get going, but I’ll come back soon, okay?”

I nodded.

After Christian left, my friends insisted on ordering pizza and watching a movie. The movie, some low-budget comedy, turned out to be more entertaining than I thought it’d be. We laughed the entire way through, as we couldn’t help but make fun of the cheap filming and the inflated acting skills of the no-name actors. By the time they left, my spirits had been lifted, and I had this incredible feeling that everything was going to work out.

I wasn’t about to go to Lucent, not when I had only six months left of school, but I also didn’t want to make things more difficult on Christian. I meant what I said about learning to fight and if he wasn’t going to teach me then I’d find someone who would. The training wouldn’t be near as good as it should be, but at least Christian would know I was serious.

When Jake returned home from lunch with Heidi, I told him my brilliant idea.

“I’m serious,” I cried when Jake started laughing.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Heidi agreed. “I took Tae Kwon Do for three years when I was younger.”

“You did?” Jake asked, clearly impressed.

“Yup. My father wanted to make sure I could protect myself if I ever needed to. You should let her do it, Jake. That would be really cool of you.”

“I agree, Jake. That would be really cool of you.” I grinned.

He shook his head. “You know your aunt would never approve of it.”

“She doesn’t have to know,” I said.

“I don’t know, Llona.”

“Not to be all defiant, but I am going to be eighteen in a few weeks and then I can pretty much do whatever I want.”

“Come on, Jake,” Heidi said as she nestled up to him. “Let her do it.”

His eyes narrowed. “All right. What harm could come from it?”

Heidi cheered. “You’re going to love it. It’s such a workout. I don’t know if I’d do karate though. Do more of mixed martial arts, that way you learn everything. There’s a place not far from here.”

The doorbell rang. Christian was back.

“Hi, Jake, Heidi,” he said.

“Christian, I think you’d agree,” Heidi said, turning to him suddenly.

“With what?”

“That Llona should take a martial arts class.”

“A what?”

Jake spoke first, “Llona suddenly has a desire to learn how to fight. Ridiculous, huh?”

Christian chuckled. “Sure is, but I’d let her do it. I bet she quits after two weeks.”

“I will not!”

“Why do you think she’ll quit?” Heidi asked.

“Because Llona doesn’t have fight in her.”

“Apparently, you don’t know me very well,” I snapped.

“We’ll see.”

Heidi glanced down at her watch. “I have to go, but I’ll come by tomorrow. Llona, I’m really glad you’re okay. I care about you a lot.” She gave me a quick hug.

When she left, Jake disappeared into his bedroom, leaving me and Christian alone. We both remained still, listening only to the steady tick of the clock until I asked, “So where did you go?”

Christian sat down at the kitchen table. “I was clearing my schedule for the next little while.”

“Why?”

“You should know why.”

“Because of me?”

“Of course because of you. I can’t pretend like I’m a high school jock anymore. You are and always have been my priority.”

“Not for long. Once I learn how to fight, you won’t have to protect me.”

A mocking grin spread across his face. “We’ll see.”