The Light Tamer (14 page)

We should go before he becomes a gunslinger again.
“Rudolph, you’re going to let us leave and you won’t tell anyone that we were here right?” I don’t know how, but I can tell I am messing with his thoughts.

“I won’t tell anyone you were here. Who are you again?”

“Good-bye Rudolph, I hope business is good today,” Caleb said as we walk through the door.

Without warning, my entire body starts shaking. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

“We’re safe, come on, we need to get out of here. That was pretty awesome that you could make him do what you wanted. Next time, have him do the chicken dance.” I see his jaw tighten up. “I had no idea that we can do anything like that. Control a person to our will. Crazy stuff.”

“I know, right. I didn’t either, but something inside me told me to do it. Caleb?”

“Come ‘mere,” he says and pulls me in for a hug as we stand next to his car. He put his forehead to mine and whispers softly to me. “Baby, it’s over now. You were so brave back there, I’m very proud of you.” His hands rub up and down my back. “Let’s get out of here. By-the-way you were really hot being a strong
Light Tamer
.” He bent a little so we could be eye-to-eye. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“Eventually.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“You know, it isn’t easy trying to find a bunch of losers over summer break when you didn’t make friends while at school,” says Amber. “It was like a damn jigsaw puzzle, but finally people started fessing up. Everyone will be here about seven. Your dad said he is picking up some party trays and cupcakes or something. Hi, we’re freakin’
Light Tamers
…here, have a cupcake.”

“Ha, ha. You’re a riot,” I say.

“Yeah, so what happened with Randolf?”

“Rudolph, like the reindeer you dork. Well, he held a gun to Caleb’s head and told me how to bedazzle a man to the Underworld,” I say as I plop down on the couch.

“That he did,” Caleb said.

“Did I hear that right?” Grandma says while running into the room. “That man held a gun to your head? What the h happened? Were there customers in the store?”

We spent the next thirty minutes discussing everything that happened. We came up with various ideas about how to bring Otto down.

“I like how everyone talks about this like I don’t matter. Otto aka crazed lunatic is swapping spit with me. How am I going to get past that?” Amber picks up an orange and starts peeling it with her teeth. She spits orange peel into her hand.

“I think you should continue dating him for the time being,” grandma says.

“EHHH! Wrong answer…next,” Amber uses her best game show voice. “Why can’t I just tell him I have mono?” She had brought her toothbrush in the living room to ‘scrub her mouth out’ while we talked. Her assault on her tongue with the toothbrush started to look like a controlled torture. “Ughh, why does everything have to be so flippin’ complicated?”

Grandma Gayle rests her hand on Amber’s shoulder and tried her best to console her. “Kids, I know this is tough on all of you, but it’s time to be strong. Tonight when the other kids come, you need to show authority and prove to them that you’re in control. Jessie, I want to go do an experiment. Amber if you’d like to go, get your purse and come with us. Caleb, sorry, but my car is too small for everyone. Will you drive, please?”

“Where would you like to go?” Caleb asks.

Grandma Gayle pulls her seatbelt across and buckles it. “Over the bridge there is a new lighting place. They sell lamps and chandeliers, I want to see what happens when you’re together and surrounded with light. If I’m right we will have a handle on one part of the puzzle. Caleb, it’ll be on your right.”

Amber is obviously uncomfortable to be so close to me. I put my hand on the leather seat and spider walk closer to her with my hand.

“What the hell are you doing? You want to kill me or something? That is NOT a good idea. I’m mad as hell that I’m stuck with a demon or god or whatever, and now you try to kill me,” Amber barks at me.

“You’re griping at me why? Because I’m in the backseat and I can only go so far? What really happens anyway? No one has been very clear about it. Stop gritching, it isn’t my fault that Otto isn’t who he said he was.” I’ve had enough of her grouchy ways.

“Girls, simmer down now. Amber, stop taking your sorrows out on everyone else. You can either be a victim or you can stand tall and grow from it. If you want me to change places with Jessie I will, but if you say no…that means no griping. Understand?” Gayle says.

Amber crossed her arms in front of her. “I know you’re right, but it seems everything is working against me,” she said. “No offence Jessie, but it seems like everything is going perfect for you. I get stuck with Otto, a guy that I thought liked me, you get someone like Caleb. Not that you don’t deserve Caleb or anything.”

“No offense taken. Caleb is a great guy, but he isn’t the only great guy out there. You’ll meet someone that is quirky and fun and can keep you on your toes. I promise,” I say. Without thinking it through I reach over and touch her hand. At the exact same time we both yell in surprise.

“Holy freakin’ cow!” Amber screams.

Caleb slams on the breaks, sending everyone as far as their seatbelt allowed.

“We touched. I mean, I touched her accidently on purpose. I forgot I couldn’t touch her and I did and well…nothing happened.”

Amber turned around to me and touched me on the leg and again, nothing happened.

“Who told you that a person that is bound can’t touch another tamer?” Caleb asked and continued on to the lighting store.

“It was in that book I found. It’s not like I made it up or anything.”

“Okay, what exactly did it say Amber?” Grandma Gayle asks. “Did it blatantly say you can’t touch a bound tamer?”

“It said something like…damage can be done to a bound tamer if touched by another bound tamer,” Amber said.

“Bound Amber, it said if they are both bound. You aren’t bound, so you can touch a bound tamer. It’s when you become bound too. Well, that helps a little…at least until you are bound to another tamer,” Caleb said reasonably.

“Turn here, this is the place,” Gayle said.

The sign on top of the building says
You Light Up My
Life and a giant green lamp was next to it.
Interesting sign, I hope the people inside aren’t as hokey as the sign is
. I watch as Caleb takes Amber’s hand and helps her out of the car.
You’re so sweet. Do you get a feeling of warmth from her when you touch?
He shakes his head no at me and smiles. As any true gentleman would do, he runs over and holds the door open to the store. I go through last and he puts his hand on my back and I physically dither at his touch. You made me dither, I tease. He gave me a quizzical look. I’m going to get you a pocket dictionary to carry around. You’ll have to look it up.

“You little vixen,” he whispers to me.

“I called ahead and they don’t have all the lamps on, I told them that the bright lights can be harmful to your eyes,” Grandma said. “They didn’t mind, they told me that all the lights make too much heat for the summertime anyway.”

Every type of light imaginable was hanging from the ceiling, jutting out from the walls, in upright lamps, everywhere we looked there was a light. Grandma whispered to Caleb and me to go outside for about five minutes and then come back in.

“You don’t think she’ll mind if I kiss your pretty lips for
part
of the time do you?” Caleb asked.

I try not to blush, to no avail. I giggle hysterically as he grabs my hand and pulls me to the side of the building. Before I have a chance to protest, he has my back against the brick wall and his mouth is on mine. Sweetly and with a slow rhythm he kisses me. I know my insides will be mush in about twenty seconds. If he knew how weak he makes me feel, he’d have me on the way to the hospital in an instant.

“Jessie?”

“Caleb?” I reply.

“I like you a lot,” he says.

“I like you a lot too.”

“I’ll always protect you,” he says and leans in to kiss my neck.

“You know my grandma is on the other side of this wall?”

“I do,” he says and kisses the other side of my neck. I lean my head back, giving him more access to my neck and shiver.

“Caleb, you need to stop,” I say.

“I know, I just wanted to be close to you,” he says.

“Okay, I think we’ve had enough close time. Let’s go check on my mad scientist grandma’s scheme.”

Walking into the room we see that a wall of lights has been turned on and Amber is spinning around in circles with her arms out.
Okay, I didn’t expect that
. Amber is smiling and laughing as she calls out my name.

“Jessie, you have to feel this,” she calls out.

I walk closer and I feel the light on my skin and feel comforted. Grandma turns to the lighting guy and asks him to turn on the wall across from us. Like sunshine everywhere on each side of me. I totally dig the way it feels. Caleb comes over and is smiling from ear to ear. Without me hearing his thoughts, I know he feels the same way. In a distant voice I hear grandmas voice telling the man to turn on the overhead lights.

I’m sure to the outsiders’ eye, we look like we’re tripping on some strange substance. We are, we’re basking in the light. I raise my hands above my head and twirl around. My fingertips begin to glow as my hand draws the light into my veins. Caleb reaches from behind me, his arm reaching along mine, and his hand glows too. We interlace our spirits into one being. Without a thought of anyone else in the room we dance around. To an outsider I’m positive we look crazy. Grandma talks to the sales guy and I hear something about a delivery truck coming back in an hour. The sales guy flips a switch and all the lamps turn off and so is the feeling. Like a bucket of cold water, the warmth is gone. The song by Evanescence, Bring Me to Life started running through my head
. Wake me up, wake me up inside, I can’t wake up, Wake me up inside, save me, call my name and save me from the dark.

In the car grandma tells us about her idea to take care of Otto. I remind myself not to get on her bad side. Nothing like a calculated diabolical plan to take down a ruthless god to the Underworld.

“Gran…Ms. Gayle, what if the plan fails? I mean, it doesn’t leave much room for error.” I say.

“Well, I’d suggest saying a quick prayer,” she says giving a half-hearted laugh.

“Fan-freakin-tastic,” Amber exclaims.

~~~~~~~~~~

Exactly fifty
Light Tamers
showed up, including five teachers from the school. Caleb knew almost everyone. The only kids he didn’t know were a couple of the incoming freshmen students. Gabe was true to his word, he picked up party trays and at least a gazillion cupcakes.

“Thank you for coming. I know most of you here, and there are a few new faces. I’m Caleb Baldwin, I’ll be a junior this semester at Parca of course. My girlfriend is Jessie Lucente, she moved here from New York. I don’t know how many of you are fully aware of what you are, but after tonight there won’t be any doubts. Can I get a show of hands of those that don’t?” We both look around the room and realize that at least thirty people have raised their hand. “Wow, I thought most of you knew. I guess that makes it a little more complicated. There’s more room in our family area, we set up some folding chairs for the meeting so let’s head that way. Oh, yeah, make sure you put your nametags on.”

The next hour was spent with Amber and Caleb filling everyone in about
Light Tamers
. Amber did a good job of keeping her foul attitude at bay and Caleb went into detail about being a tamer or SLIder. The guys were all saying being a SLIder sounded so much cooler.

“Hi I’m Jessie and I’m new to all of this too. I ask that you forgive my ignorance if I don’t have an answer to your questions. Believe me; I’ve been on a quest for the last few weeks, trying to figure out what all of this means. Recently I had a lunch meeting with Mrs. Ward, the principal of Parca. She educated me to several things, but the most complicated is the story on how we all began.” I clear my throat and take a sip of bottled water before going on. “As philosophers have said many times, you can’t go forward without going back to the beginning.” I take in a deep breath before continuing. I tell them the story about Artimis and Erebus. “Have any of you had to heal someone in the past? Even those that didn’t know about tamers, did you ever heal someone?” I say and emphasize the word heal. Hands flew up in the air. I see a boy, probably a freshmen or sophomore, with his hand in the air. “Hi, what’s your name?” I say as I point to the boy.