Fractured Light (31 page)

“I’ll be fine. The last thing you should worry about is me.”

My eyes found his. “Impossible.”

“Go back inside.”

“Give me your hand first.”

“What?”

“Just do it. Please?”

He slowly lifted his hand. I gently closed my palm over his, shut my eyes and concentrated. In a matter of seconds I felt Light ignite between us. I transferred what I could without making myself too weak in the process. I opened my eyes. “How do you feel?” I asked, dropping his hand from mine.

He swung his arms backwards and turned his head back and forth. “Much better.”

“Good. I’m not sure how long it will last though.”

“What did you do?”

“Gave you some of my Light.”

“But won’t that make you weak?”

I shrugged. “A little, but you needed it more than me.”

“Don’t ever do that again.” He stepped away.

“Christian?”

“Go back inside, Llona.”

“I was just trying to help.”

“I know, but I don’t need it.”

“Sure you don’t, Hercules,” I said and turned around to climb back in the window. If he wouldn’t let me help my way, then I’d find another way.

*     *     *     *     *

Sure enough, after just a few weeks, the dark circles under his eyes seemed permanent. I decided something needed to be done about our current arrangement and there was only one person who could make it happen.

“Can we talk?” I asked Jake after breakfast.

“Sure. What is it?”

I swallowed. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

“Sounds serious.”

“It is, sort of. I mean, we have it taken care of. In a way.”

“Have what taken care of and who is ‘we’?”

“You know Christian—”

“Yes, I know him.” He leaned forward.

“Well, there’s something you don’t know about him.” I tapped my hand on the table. Why am I so nervous?

Jake waited patiently.

“You see, Christian and I are close. We’re bonded in a way that most other couples aren’t and our current arrangement is making it difficult on us.”

Jake’s eyes widened, and he began to shake his head. “No. Not me. This can’t be happening.”

“What?”

With a grim expression, he said, “Adoption is always an option.”

“What? Why would we—oh, Jake! No that’s not what I was going to say.”

I laughed so hard I thought milk would come shooting from my nose.

“So, you’re not pregnant,” Jake guessed.

“Hardly. Christian and I haven’t even kissed.” Not in my book anyway.

“Then what are you talking about?”

I decided to just blurt it out to prevent any more miscommunication. “Christian’s my guardian.”

Jake grew quiet.

“Jake?”

His head lowered.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

When he finally lifted his head, his eyes were wet. “Your father was your mom’s guardian.”

“I know.”

“Did Christian tell you?”

I nodded. “How come you told me my father died in a car accident?”

“Do you know how he really died?”

“I know a Vyken killed him. That’s about it.”

Jake wiped at his eyes. He suddenly looked ten years older. “After your mother died, your father became obsessed with finding Lander.”

“Who?”

“Lander. He was Mark’s—your father’s—friend who turned out to be a Vyken. He was a manipulative jerk—even I liked him.”

“How did they meet?”

Jake leaned back in his chair, remembering. “They met at the logging factory where your father worked in Oregon.”

“I remember living there, but I don’t remember a Lander.”

“Really?” Jake seemed genuinely surprised. “You spoke to him many times. You must’ve been what, four or five?”

I shrugged, thinking nothing of it. “What happened?”

“Your father wasn’t like your mother. He didn’t let people into your lives very easily, but after a long time he came to trust Lander. He befriended our family like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. All of us were fooled.

“Then one early morning while your father was out of town, Lander called saying he had a flat tire. Your mother woke me up and told me she was leaving to go help him since Mark was gone. Instead of going back to sleep after she left, I got out of bed. The sun was just coming up, and I wanted to take advantage of being able to play video games unsupervised.”

I shook my head.

Jake continued, “I had just barely started playing when you woke up screaming.” He swallowed. “I couldn’t get you to stop. You just kept screaming over and over for almost two hours. I finally called Mark to tell him what was going on. He could hear you screaming in the background. When he asked where your mother was and I told him, he completely freaked out. He knew something was wrong.

“He told me he was on his way home and to turn on your mother’s favorite music to calm you down. Luckily it worked.” He paused and took a deep breath. “By the time your father came home, the police were already at our house. They found your mother’s body in the middle of the street. I tried to talk to Mark, but he went immediately to you.”

This was the first time I’d ever heard this story, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from crying. “And my father? What happened to him?”

“Like I said, he became obsessed with finding Lander. He quit his job and began searching full time. He chased him all over the country.”

“That’s why we were moving all the time,” I said, remembering how horrible it was. We were never in a place longer than a few months.

“Yes. It was a rough time for both of us. I begged Mark to let me come with him, to help him, but he refused. He said I needed to be there for you. Besides, I hardly had his abilities, but I would’ve given my life for him.”

“Why couldn’t he just let it go?” I said. “Why did he have to leave us to avenge her death?”

Jake stared at me. “You think that’s what he was doing?”

“Wasn’t it?”

“He was doing it for you. Once your father found out that Lander was a Vyken and had killed your mother, he knew you’d be his next target. Not right away, but eventually. He was trying to save your life.”

My voice was so quiet I barely heard it. “I had no idea.”

“I’m glad we had this talk then. I would’ve told you sooner had I known you were angry with him. You were always his priority.”

Very slowly, my eyes met his. “How did he die?”

“We don’t know. My guess is he found Lander and they fought. He must’ve lost because his body was found in almost the exact same position as your mother—two puncture wounds in the neck.”

“Do you think Lander will come back for me?” Deep down I already knew the answer, but I didn’t want to associate a name to the faceless creature who haunted me at night.

He sighed. “It’s a fear I have every day. I’m not like your father. I can’t protect you like he could. These last several years I’ve trusted you to know when you don’t feel safe. That’s why I never argued with you when you said you wanted to move. I had to trust you knew what’s best. I also knew Sophie had people checking up on you occasionally, but I had no idea she had assigned you a guardian. And Christian? I just thought he was your boyfriend this whole time.”

“Hardly,” I said.

“Isn’t he kind of young to be one?”

“Sophie thought a guardian posing as a student would be best to keep an eye on me.”

“How old is he?”

“Eighteen.”

“Huh,” Jake said as he tried to digest what I’d told him. “Then why the dramatics? What’s going on between you two?”

I took a deep breath. “There’s more, but you have to promise not to tell Sophie.”

“I can’t do that.”

“But if I tell you and you tell her, she’ll make me go to Lucent early, and I don’t want to do that. For the first time in my life, I feel in control. I don’t want to leave.”

“How about I agree to listen and then we’ll work something out, but I can’t promise anything.”

I considered this. If I didn’t tell him, then Christian might pass out from exhaustion. There’s no way he could make it another few months at the rate he was going. As much as I didn’t want to leave, I couldn’t watch Christian suffer any longer.

With my mind made up, I told Jake about the Vyken coming to my window at night and how Christian had been guarding me ever since. “It’s killing him, Jake. I tried to get him to stop, but I think he feels responsible or something.”

Jake nodded. “It’s how your father was. Look, Llona, this is serious. Have you seen the Vyken during the day?”

“Not that I know. Do you think it could be Lander?”

“It very well could be, but coming to your window doesn’t sound like his style. He would want to get to know you. Do you remember anything about his looks?”

“No, but it’s always been dark. And besides, that wouldn’t matter. Vykens can change their appearance, so Lander could pretty much be anyone I know.”

“Wait, what? Since when?”

I shrugged. “Since Sophie told me.”

“I had no idea. I’m not in the loop on all the Aura gossip. The rules in your world seem to change all the time. Knowing this, it’s probably best if you do go to Lucent.”

I lowered my head.

“That being said,” Jake continued, “You are different. You’re not like other Auras, not even like your mother.”

“Really?”

“Your mother was strong, but she was also careless. She lived her life with no regards to the future. That’s not how you are. You’re so much more careful. And you’re not afraid to fight. Maybe I won’t make you leave.” He rubbed the back of his neck, frowning. “Let me think about it though.”

My face lit up. “You mean it?”

“We’ll see, but I am worried about Christian.”

“I think we can help him.”

“How?” Jake asked.

“First, you have to have an open mind. Second, you can’t freak out.”

“Just spit it out,” he said.

“Let him stay here at night. He can sleep on the couch, and I’ll be in my room. That way if there’s a problem, he’ll be right here. He can get his sleep and still be close enough to protect me.”

The hand that was rubbing the back of his neck moved to his temple. I think I was giving him a headache. “That may work, but I don’t want any unnecessary contact between the two of you, if you catch my meaning.”

“Not gonna happen. It’s against the rules.”

“Rules can be broken. Remember your father and mother?”

“But Christian’s not like that. He takes his position very seriously.”

“So did your father, but when it comes to matters of the heart, rules don’t matter.”

I placed my hands flat on the table and stared at him. “I promise. It won’t be a problem. Besides, other than me leaving, this is the best way Christian can keep me safe without killing himself in the process.”

Jake stared into the distance while he tapped his fingers. I waited patiently for him to decide—for a second.

“Come on, Jake. I promise nothing will happen.”

He turned to me. “All right. He can sleep on the couch, but I’m going to come up with some strict rules.”

I threw my arms around him. “Thank you!”

I jumped up and opened the front door, but Christian’s car was already gone. He usually left at dawn to get ready for school, but sometimes, he’d come back. I guess I’d have to tell him at school.

Christian wasn’t in first period and when I couldn’t find him in second, I began to worry. As far as I knew, he’d never missed a day of school. I tried calling him, but he didn’t answer his cell phone. After third period, I faked sick and drove straight to Christian’s house. His SUV was parked in the driveway.

As soon as I jumped out of my car, I saw Mr. Knight leaving the house. I was half tempted to dive behind my car and hide, but he had already spotted me and was walking toward me with an expression that said, “Wait until I get my hands on you!”

He moved so close I had to back into my car just to leave a little space between us. “Hello, Mr. Knight. How—”

“This is your fault.” He raised a finger at my chest. It might as well have been a gun.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“You think you’re more special then the rest of them? That you don’t have to follow the rules?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

His eyes twitched and his nostrils flared. “Christian got hurt protecting you last night.”