Fractured Light (30 page)

After that I started sleeping on the couch in the living room. This made all the difference in the world. In only a week’s time of fighting hard and keeping my heart rate normal, I began to feel more confident. So when Jake told me he had to go away for the weekend on a business trip, I wasn’t concerned at all. In fact I was so confident, I decided to sleep in my own room again, just to prove I wasn’t afraid.

My favorite late night talk show had just ended. I locked all the doors and mentally turned off the porch light. I tried not to be nervous as I made my way down the hall to my room, but with every step my anxiety grew. Before I even got there, I knew what I would face. It was as if I could feel his presence, waiting.

I stopped just before entering my room. No more. I was going to put an end to this once and for all. I rushed to the garage and flipped on the light. It took me several minutes to find what I was looking for. I found it buried behind several boxes: black paint. I grabbed the rest of the painting supplies and headed back to my room. This time I didn’t feel the anxiety I’d felt before. Shadow man was gone.

I turned the light on in my room and worked quickly. In less than ten minutes, my entire window had been painted black. I stepped away from it, satisfied. And for the first time in weeks, I finally fell asleep peacefully in my own bed. That is until 2:21.

M
Y EYES FOCUSED ON THE GREEN, GLOWING LIGHT OF THE
clock. It took me a moment to realize the heart monitor was beeping. Along with my heart racing, came labored breathing. The air felt heavy, pressure mounting with every second. I sat up and tried to inhale. The feeling was so powerful—much like it’d been in the hospital—that I half expected to see a Vyken standing in my room.

I didn’t want to, but my gaze turned slowly toward the window. My body followed until I was standing next to my bed, facing the painted glass. He was behind it; I had no doubts. Count to ten and he’ll be gone, I told myself. I managed to get to eight before I took a step toward the window.

I was losing control.

As much as my mind fought against the pull, my body moved on its own accord. The sound of my heart beating was louder than the beeping monitor. A cold sweat broke on my brow, and my hands became ice cold. When I was only inches from the window, I stopped and stared into the blackness. I could see nothing beyond it, but I could feel him as close as if he were standing next to me.

The last of my bravery shattered to pieces when the paint directly in front of me began to peel back as if a claw were scraping it away—on the inside of the glass. I watched in horror as five thin stripes of black paint fell to the carpet. Again the invisible nails scraped at the glass, leaving a clear slash mark in its wake. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard; a violent chill rocked my whole body.

One last time the invisible hand clawed off paint, leaving a narrow view to the other side. What I saw melted my insides. A bloodshot, yellowed eye peered in at me as if I were a mouse in a hole.

I begged myself to move, to do anything, but I could only stare. Not until I felt the icy touch of something invisible touch my shoulder did I finally react.

Using all the strength I could muster, I called upon Light’s energy. I focused every part of me on lighting up the house. Immediately, all the lights including the back porches lit up, taking with it my shadow man.

I moved quickly, grabbing my coat, shoes, and keys, and then bolted outside to my car. I pressed on the accelerator as hard as I could. The sound of the tires squealing against the wet pavement probably woke the neighbors, but I didn’t care.

By the time I reached Christian’s house, I was crying hysterically as I banged on the front door. That’s not how I wanted to react, but I’d never been touched by something so dark and evil. The unclean feeling lingered on me like a bad dream.

Gratefully it was Christian who answered the door. I threw myself into him without thinking. His arms came around me and he held me tightly, making me feel safer than I’d felt in weeks.

He waited for me to calm down and catch my breath before he finally asked, “What happened?”

I opened my mouth to speak but then realized the heart monitor was still going off. “Get this stupid thing off me,” I cried as I tried to tear it from my wrist.

Very gently, Christian turned over my arm and pushed a button on the side of the monitor, silencing it. “What happened?”

“I—” I began, but stopped suddenly. “You need to teach me to fight, and not the normal crap I’ve been doing. I need the upgraded version with all the perks.” I stepped away from him.

Instead of answering, he took me by the hand and guided me into the living room.

“Before we do anything else, I want you to sit down and tell me what happened.”

“You mean what’s been happening.” I took a deep breath and collapsed into the sofa.

Christian sat opposite me. In a calm, but strained voice, he said, “Please explain.”

I hesitated, but only for a moment. I thought I’d be able to handle everything. I thought I was stronger. Obviously, I wasn’t.

I couldn’t look him in the eyes as I told him all that had happened, beginning with the rat on Christmas. In fact, I avoided looking at him all together. His bare knee became my focal point. When I finished telling him what happened tonight, my eyes moved to his suddenly clenched fists.

“So you see, I have to learn what you know and fast. I don’t want to be scared anymore,” I whispered.

He was silent for several moments, then, “This is all my fault. It’s my job to protect you, and I’ve failed. I will call the Council in the morning and have someone else assigned.”

I looked up at him, aghast. “You can’t be serious. You haven’t failed.”

He shook his head. “But I have. I should’ve been watching your house longer. I should’ve set up a tighter security system. I shouldn’t have been such a moron!”

“You installed a security system?”

“Just on the doors and windows.”

“When?”

“Before you moved in.”

“I thought it was from the old owners. I didn’t know it actually worked.”

“Obviously it doesn’t—not how it should anyway. I had no idea a Vyken could get to you like that.” He visibly shuddered. “I’ll need to report this. Other guardians should know.”

“No. You can’t! If you do, my aunt will tell my uncle, and they’ll all force me to leave. I’m not leaving. There’s only a few months left of school.”

“School isn’t important. Your life is.”

“This isn’t about school. It’s about not running. You said you’d teach me. I did what you asked and even wore your lame beeping machine. And I think I got pretty good at it.”

“Except for tonight.”

“Well, yeah. I was touched by something inhuman. Who wouldn’t freak out?”

“I’ll admit you’ve gotten better. And what you’ve been able to do with your fighting has far surpassed what I thought you were capable of, to the point where it’s a little unnerving.”

“Why?”

“Because Auras supposedly aren’t capable of fighting. And even if they were, the Council doesn’t allow it. If they found out, you and I would be in a lot of trouble.”

“What is so wrong with me trying to defend myself?”

“Because you weren’t meant to fight.”

“Who knows what I’m meant for? Is my destiny already written somewhere?”

His shoulders sagged. “Look, I’m not saying I agree with it, I’m just telling you what I’ve been taught.”

“If you don’t agree, then teach me.” I tried to keep from yelling, but I could hear my voice losing control.

After a moment, he said, “Fine. We’ll start tomorrow. You can stay here tonight.”

The dark cloud above me lifted. “Really? Won’t your dad care?”

“He’s at the same convention as Jake.” He stood up. “Come on. I’ll show you to the guest bedroom.”

My legs felt like bricks as I made my way up the stairs. If it wasn’t for Christian’s hand on my back, encouraging me, I might not have made it. But no matter how tired I was, I was still afraid to be alone.

“Is something wrong?” Christian asked, when I remained in the doorway.

I turned around. “I don’t mean anything by it, but could you stay with me?”

He nodded. “Of course.”

I slowly slid under the covers and pulled them to my chin. Our eyes met briefly before Christian lay down on the floor next to the bed. Within a few minutes, my mind began to drift, but before I wandered too far into dreamland, I heard Christian whisper, “I’ll get him, Llona. I promise.”

“A
LL OF OUR LESSONS WILL START WITH A FIFTEEN-MINUTE
yoga session,” Christian began.

“Really? Yoga? You never struck me as the tofu-loving sort,” I joked. We were in Christian’s basement, which had been converted into a miniature basketball court/training room. The giant room was every teenager’s dream, and I could tell by the worn mats that it had been used plenty.

After Christian had picked me up from the dojo, he’d wanted to give me a rest before training. Six months ago I would’ve taken him up on the offer while the moon was barely a sliver, but ever since I decided to fight, I found I had much more energy, regardless of the moon.

“Yoga will get you in the right frame of mind. Everything I teach you will require you to be calm and collected. Do you think you can handle that?”

“Bring it on, Yoda.” I crouched low into the Eagle Pose.

*     *     *     *     *

Christian was right about yoga. After just a few days of training, I was already more focused. Yoga helped me become more at one with Light, giving me added strength and agility. This was a new feeling and gave me much-needed confidence.

Although I was learning a lot during the day, nighttime was still difficult. I was often anxious, almost to the point of hyper-ventilating. After the Vyken’s visit at my window, Christian had installed a more sophisticated security system surrounding the perimeter of our home. He also promised to watch our house throughout the night. I refused, as I couldn’t see how he could maintain school too, but he assured me it was what he was trained to do.

My clock flipped to 3:00 a.m. I sat up straight, breathing hard from a lingering nightmare. I slipped out of bed and moved to the window, which had recently been stripped of the black paint. Christian thought it would help my anxiety if I could see outside and be able to see him not far away.

I looked out the window and smiled. Sitting in his usual spot, half way up the hill, was Christian, a blanket wrapped around him. The light from the moon encased every part of his tensed body as he stared in the direction of my house. His eyebrows were pulled so tightly together, they shadowed his eyes.

I moved the curtain back until I found the recently installed security keypad. I pushed a few buttons and a green light appeared. As quietly as possible, I opened the window and began to climb out. Christian was by my side before my bare feet could touch the cold ground.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing. I just wanted to see you.”

He shook his head. “No. You need to stay inside.” His face looked pale, making the dark circles under his eyes stand out like a raccoon’s.

“You can’t keep doing this,” I said.

“Doing what?”

“Watching my house like this. You’re going to collapse.”