Fractured Light (32 page)

M
Y HEART SUNK INTO MY STOMACH
. I
PLACED MY HAND ON
my car to steady myself. “Is he okay?”

“If you would’ve gone to Lucent like all the others, this would never have happened. I knew Christian should have declined a guardian position for someone so young and inexperienced.” Spittle from his lips sprayed my face. I resisted the urge to wipe it away.

“Is Christian okay?” I asked again.

“He will be.”

“What happened?”

“He broke a rule. That’s what happens when you start feeling beyond what a guardian should feel for a charge.” He shook his head. “You are just like your mother, careless and thoughtless. And I don’t care what difficult circumstances the Council—or should I say your aunt—thinks you have. You are just like the rest of them and should have to follow the same rules. They made a mistake allowing your mother to do whatever she wanted, but they’re making a bigger mistake allowing you to do the same thing.”

My head snapped up like a struck bow. “I don’t care what you think about me or my mother. I just want to see Christian.”

He stared at me for what seemed an eternity before he finally stepped out of the way.

As I walked off, he called after me, “Think about someone else for a change.”

In my mind, I imagined myself giving him the bird.

I opened the front door without knocking. A maid or servant—or whatever the rich call them—asked, “Can I help you, miss?”

“I’m looking for Christian.”

“He’s upstairs. Third door on the left.”

I bounded up the stairs and threw open the door. The bedroom was so opposite from the rest of the house I wondered if I’d entered the wrong room. Other than a bed and dresser, there was no furniture. The walls were bare except for a shelf that held an encased, autographed football. I quickly forgot about the oddness of the room when my eyes found Christian lying in bed. My heart broke.

“What are you doing here?” Christian asked. It was difficult to understand him because he was trying to speak through two swollen lips.

I didn’t answer. I moved to his bedside and very carefully touched his swollen face. His chest was bare except for a white brace that wrapped itself around both of his shoulders, making him look like he was wearing a cop’s gun holster.

“Shouldn’t you be at school,” he said, and turned away from my touch.

“I am so sorry.”

Christian struggled to sit up. “For what? You didn’t do anything. I was the moron who got hurt.” He grimaced as he shoved an extra pillow behind his back. “It looks worse than it is. I’ll be fine in a couple of days.” He paused. “Will you say something? You’re making me feel like Frankenstein.”

“What happened?” I finally asked.

He attempted to sigh, but his breath caught in his chest and he gasped for air. “Stupid ribs,” he mumbled.

I took hold of his hand.

With his head down, staring at my hand, he began, “Last night at around three, the Vyken came. He was on the mountain ridge above your house just standing there, staring. When I stood up, I caught his attention. I thought he’d run, but he just kept staring. And then the strangest thing happened. His body began to shift and his figure changed until it was you I saw standing on the ridge. I knew it was you because of your long, light hair. It was blowing all crazy in the wind.”

“How could it have been me?”

“Well, not you, of course, but he’d made himself look like you.”

“How’s that possible?”

“It’s the first time I’ve heard of it. I mean, I know Vykens can change their appearance after drinking an Aura’s blood, but I didn’t know they could do it multiple times.” He shook his head. “It’s crazy.”

“Then what happened?” I asked.

His eyes met mine. “If you were anyone else, I wouldn’t tell you this, but I think you can handle it.”

“What?”

“After a minute, your blonde hair became blood red. And then your face … you had no eyes, only black holes.” He moved his hand out from under mine, and then grasped my arm tightly. “And then your head fell off.”

“Wow,” I said, taking in what he’d just told me. “So what did I do next, you know, with a broken neck and all?”

“That’s what you want to know? I knew you’d be able to handle it, but I didn’t think you’d act so nonchalant about it.”

I took hold of my head and moved it around. “My head works just fine. What you saw was just an illusion. What’s the point of getting upset over something that didn’t happen?”

“Because the Vyken was showing me what he’s going to do to you.”

I shrugged. “I already know he wants me dead. Now I know how. Maybe I’ll start wearing a metal neck brace or something.”

“This isn’t funny. Why aren’t you taking this seriously?”

I took a deep breath. “You’re right. It’s not funny, but if I start thinking about how a Vyken wants to snap my neck, I’ll become a raving lunatic. I need to have a clear head about this, stay unemotional. Isn’t that what you have been trying to teach me?” I smiled at him.

“Maybe I need to stop being such a good teacher.”

“So finish your story. How did you get hurt?” I asked. I needed him to get my mind off the image he’d planted. The truth was—I was terrified.

Christian continued, “After his psychotic transformation, I lost it. I charged after him, determined to kill him. I chased him through the mountains for almost an hour. I was so intent on getting to him that I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. I lost my footing and fell down a steep ravine and ended up looking like this. It was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done.”

“What rule did you break?” I asked.

“Huh?”

“Your father. He said you broke a rule.”

“It’s a dumb rule to begin with. You see, we’re not supposed to pursue a Vyken. We are always supposed to stay with our charge.”

“And wait like sitting ducks?”

“Like I said, it’s a dumb rule, but a rule nevertheless.”

“Actually, it’s a good rule.” I dropped my head. “Your father’s right. This is my fault.”

“No, it’s not. I just made a bad decision.”

I wasn’t listening. “As much as I don’t want to, I think it’s time I went to Lucent. At least if I was there you’ll be safe—and me too. It’s selfish of me to stay.”

“No. Things are different now.” The lines in his face pulled tightly together. “I have to tell you something. When you first started learning to fight, I really believed you wouldn’t be able to do it. It isn’t that Auras are weak or anything, they’re just,” he struggled to find the right word, “too pure or something. Fighting is supposed to be a conflict of their nature. But then you came along and destroyed that whole theory. You have learned more these past months than a guardian does in five years. You’re fast, strong, logical, unemotional; well, most of the time.”

I smiled. “I’m still a girl.”

“I’m very aware of that. Too aware.”

My cheeks burned.

“I don’t want you to go yet, Llona. There’s so much more I want to teach you—to see what you’re capable of. Maybe we could change things for the better.”

“How?”

He leaned toward me, wincing. “I’ve never liked the idea of sending Auras to a private school where they learn to blend in and mask their gift just so they can stay hidden. I think we need to have people out there hunting and killing Vykens, making it possible for Auras to really make a difference in this world. Can you imagine what Auras could do if they weren’t afraid to be who they really are?”

I considered this. It would be an amazing world to have Auras like my mother around who knew how to defend themselves. I remembered the tale my mother used to tell me about how wonderful the world was when Light didn’t have to hide.

Christian chuckled. “Wouldn’t it be great if Auras could just use their powers and hunt Vykens?”

My head snapped up. “But they did!”

“What?”

I spoke fast. “The story my mom used to tell me, like every night. She said Auras—” I lifted my hands and made the air quote gesture—“used Light’s power to fight against the Vykens. They fought against them. Used their powers, Christian. I’d always get mad at my mom for telling me the same story over and over, but now I can see why she did. She wanted me to know the truth! She wanted me to know what Light’s capable of!”

Christian looked thoughtful. “I don’t know. The Council’s rules are strict, and they’ve been around for hundreds of years.”

“But surely there are others who think the rules are lame.”

“Some, but they are very careful who they voice their opinions to. Years and years ago, like in the thirties or something, there was a strong movement to hunt Vykens. They even had an Aura fighting with them.”

“Serious?”

“Yeah. I guess she was pretty amazing and even managed to kill some Vykens.”

“What happened?”

“She was eventually killed. When this happened, anyone who followed her was brought to trial before the Council. The group was quickly disbanded, and they all faced harsh punishment.”

“Like what? It’s not like the Council are police or anything. They can’t put you in jail.”

“No, but they have other ways. Like they can ostracize you from your own. Basically make you a leper. Not very many Auras go against the Council. Take your mother for example. She didn’t have any Aura friends. Your father too. They were completely cut off.”

I laughed out loud. “Like they cared, especially my mother. She had more friends than anyone I’ve ever known. I highly doubt this bothered her in the least.”

“It probably didn’t, but for most Auras this can be very frightening. If you don’t obey the rules of the Council, then there’s no one to teach you, no one to protect you. Your mother was lucky her husband was a guardian, otherwise she would’ve been left defenseless.”

“How come I have one then?”

He paused. “Not to make you feel bad or anything, but the only reason you were assigned a guardian is because your aunt is on the Council.”

“So your dad was right,” I whispered.

“You may have gotten special treatment, but I can promise you no other Aura has been through what you’ve gone through. I think you deserve it.”

“I don’t deserve anything.”

His hand tightened on mine. “You deserve to be happy and feel safe. I’m sorry I haven’t done a better job of making that happen.”

“You’ve done great. But it has got to stop.”

He shrugged and lifted one corner of his mouth, showing the dimple in his cheek. “It’s just the way it is.”

“Not any more. If I’m going to stay here until the end of school, and you’re going to stay my guardian, then our arrangement needs to change.”

“And what would you suggest?”

“Jake said you could sleep at our house. On the couch of course,” I said.

“Really?”

“It’s a great idea. You’ll be close enough to know if there’s a problem, and you’ll be able to get a lot more sleep.”

I expected him to give some kind of resistance, but instead, he surprised me by saying, “That would make things easier.”

“Yes, it would. Do you think your dad will care?”

“Not at all. It will probably be easier on him, knowing I’m indoors instead of out. You sure Jake’s okay with this?”

“Totally, but only as long as you promise to keep your perverted hands off me.”

He smiled. “I’ll try, but it’ll be hard.”

I touched his face again. “Is there anything I can get you?”

“Not now, but after school you can bring me back one of those fat sugar cookies with pink frosting and a glass of milk.”

“Deal.” I stood up and turned to leave.

“Wait! One more thing, Llona.”

“Yes?”

“If what I’m about to ask you makes you feel the least bit uncomfortable, then I want you to pretend I didn’t say anything, okay?”

“Um, okay.”

He took a deep breath before he said, “I want you to start using Light as a weapon.”

W
HAT?
I
WAS STILL SAYING “WHAT” IN MY MIND HOURS LATER
while sitting in last period. It was useless trying to concentrate on the teacher’s words. I just couldn’t get over what Christian had asked me to do. It was one thing to train my body to fight, but to ask me to use Light as a weapon was entirely different. Not that I wouldn’t use Light as a weapon if I could, quite the opposite. If I thought it were possible, I wouldn’t be wasting my time and energy teaching myself to become what I hoped would be a secret ninja warrior.