Painfully Ordinary Special Edition (19 page)

“Uh huh.
Continue,” Mom said.

“Well, we got off the boat
close to sunset. Talon wanted to apologize and make peace before Johr and Breeg
came to pick us up. That’s where things get complicated.”

“Complicated how? Caitlin,
get to the point.” She was clearly getting frustrated.

“Oh,
Caiti!
Just tell her,” Leah said impatiently.

“Well…that is when I bit
him,” I finished quickly.

Mom burst out laughing.
“Oh my God.
You
didn’t?
Johr is going
to have a coronary. Caitlin, you know what you did is totally against the law,
not to mention being potentially dangerous. It’s not just dangerous to you, but
also to Talon. Talon
could be removed
from the
Turvata
, which is something he has
worked centuries to attain. Regardless, you better be ready to face Johr. I
doubt he’s just going to let this one go. I strongly suggest you don’t give him
a hard time and just be a little submissive with him. Tell him what he wants to
hear for now, and things will go much smoother for you. If you fight him on
this…you will lose.”

I let out a deep sigh.

Crap.

I have a very difficult
time hiding what I’m feeling. I also have a small problem with authority
figures.

“
Caitlin!
Get
down
here!”
roared Johr.

Mom patted me on the
shoulder. “You better get going.”

Leah gave me a sympathetic
look. “Caiti-poo, I’m right behind you.

I took a deep breath and
headed down the stairs, knowing I deserved everything I was about to get.

Chapter 15

Consequences

I
opened the front door, and
made eye contact with Talon. When I gave him a dazzling smile, the sky cleared.
Butterflies of various colors danced around the yard, and Talon’s eyes pulsated.
Jace subtly shook his head and gestured pointedly at Johr’s back.

“Stop that! Caitlin, have
you taken complete leave of your senses? Are you
trying
to call attention to yourself? You’re going to have to learn
self-control, or you might as well deliver yourself to the
Accendersi
!” Johr said.

The sky darkened and the
wind picked up again. “I won’t have to, if you don’t quit screaming. You are
the one who is calling attention to us by roaring at me in the front yard!” I
shrieked.

His face reddened. “I see
you’re going to have to be watched like a hawk! Obviously, you
cannot be trusted
to care for your own safety. You used to
be an agreeable child who would listen to reason.” He spun around and pointed
his finger at Talon. “I blame you for the change in her! You’re a negative
influence on her. I hereby remove you from her guard.
Return
to Sanctuary immediately!”

Talon’s his hands
were clenched
at his sides. “As you wish, sir.” he replied
through gritted teeth.

“
Who do you think you are?”
I screeched.
“
I will
not
be handed
around like a small animal! Why doesn’t anyone think to ask me what I want?” Lightning
crashed down, striking the tree to the right of where Johr and Breeg were
standing, causing it to burst into flame.

“Hootie!” exclaimed Breeg.
“Gel, mind yerself afore ye kill us all.”

Talon jumped back.
“By the Gods!”

Jace was speechless. I was
not so lucky with Johr.

“Thank you for proving my
point so eloquently. I’m only doing what’s best for you and your safety. I’m
not trying to be difficult or ruin your life, contrary to popular thought.”

“You could’ve fooled me.”
I mumbled as a single tear rolled down my cheek. When the tear hit my chin, it
began raining. The downpour quickly put out the burning tree.

Jace gave a low whistle.
“Nice, pixie girl.
Well done.
What do
you do for an encore?”

I smiled at him through my
tears.
“Just another reason why I adore you.”

Mom opened the front door.
“Perhaps you two could finish screaming at each other
inside
, before you level the entire block?”

I shrugged my shoulders at
her sheepishly. “Sorry.”

Leah put her hand on my
arm and I almost jumped out of my skin. I’d forgotten she had followed me
outside. “Come on, Cay. Let’s go inside.”

Johr refocused his
attention back to Talon and Jace. “Come on. This isn’t finished—not by a long
shot.”

Talon and Jace nodded, following
him toward the front door where Johr and I stopped in the entryway, engaged in
a silent standoff. The frustration was coming off both of us in waves.

“Whesht.
Enough
already.
Dinna think ye two can stop long enough ta get
a bite ta eat
? I’m fashed.” Breeg faced Mom. “Marne, luv, do
ye think we can find somethin ta put together ta feed this crew?”

Mom straightened up. “You
bet.” She grabbed Johr by the hand. “Come on. You are in charge of the grill.”

He gazed at her lovingly,
always putty in her hands. I had to wonder what their history really entailed. I
couldn’t believe she was going to be able to engineer time for the four of us
to be together after my little episode in the front yard.

Johr faced Talon and Jace
with his arms crossed over his chest.

Ugh, I spoke too soon.

He narrowed his eyes. “I’ll
be just outside that back door. If there is one mishap…if one of them even
stubs their toe…that will be the end of it. Am I clear?”

“Absolutely
clear.”
Jace grinned like a madman.

I swear he had no decorum
at all.

Johr addressed Talon
pointedly. “And you?”

Talon bowed to Johr. “I’m quite
clear in my responsibilities. I will not falter again.”

I couldn’t understand why
things had to be so complicated. I wasn’t even sure why the
Accendersi
were such a threat.

“Any ideas?”
I asked Leah through our mental connection.

She leaned in closer.
“Funny, now you mention it, I can’t remember
anyone actually saying what the real problem is. I mean, okay, I understand
being caught
by any enemy of your family is probably a bad
thing. It would make it a lot easier to follow their instructions if they could
give us some background.”

“Seriously!
Maybe Mom
can give us some insight later tonight after everyone leaves. Then again, we
may never get rid of Johr. He may be a permanent fixture around here. I don’t
know where he gets off talking to me like he’s my father or something.”

“Speaking of which, what’s the deal between your mom and Johr?
She seems to be able to manage him better than anyone else.
It’s
like
he’s always trying to make her happy. Did they
date when they were younger or something?”

“I have no idea. I’ve wondered the same thing lately. Maybe we can
get that story from her as well.”

I suddenly realized
everyone was looking at us. We returned their stares with wide-eyed innocence. Breeg
chuckled and walked into the den, leaving Mom to tow a frowning Johr to the
kitchen.

Jace held his hand up to
give me a high-five. “Nice little nature show there, pixie girl. That was an
impressive bit of work. It would be really beneficial to have on the
battlefield.”

I rolled my eyes. “Glad I
could amuse you. I don’t think Johr appreciated it nearly as much as you did. I’m
still waiting for the hammer to come down on me. Luckily my mom is good at
running interference with him.” I chucked. “I think his duty has gone into
overdrive though. He’s going to have a heart attack or something if he doesn’t
learn to relax.”

Leah assessed me, Talon
and then Jace, who simply shrugged. I sighed. This was really becoming awkward.
I could tell Leah was struggling with the situation and her deep-seated desire
to fix things.

I put my hand on the
banister and placed my foot on the first step.

“Come on, everyone. Let’s
play some pool while they work on dinner. I think we could all stand to blow
off some steam.”

As we went upstairs, I glanced
back over my shoulder at Talon. He wasn’t making eye contact with anyone,
simply staring at his feet as he slowly trudged up the stairs.

Great.

My nerves were already on
edge. This wasn’t going to help things at all.

When we got to the top of
the stairs, Leah jabbed her thumb toward Brady’s bedroom door. “Where is my
future husband?”

I gave a short snort.
“Hockey, probably.
Where else?”

“What?
Your
future husband?
Are you tired of me already?” Jace asked with mock
distress.

Leah playfully pushed him.
“Yep, you have competition. Brady is my first love.” She winked.

Jace shot me a roguish
look. “So, do you have a secret love as well? Anyone you want to tell us
about?”

I knew he was doing his
best to get some sort of reaction out of Talon.

I glanced at Talon. He had
a murderous expression on his face, and his eyes were flashing. His reaction
startled me.

“Maybe.”
I shrugged. The intensity
of Talon’s gaze sent a shiver down my spine, causing me to look away. “Actually,
I don’t really have a lot of luck in that arena. I just want to get through the
next twenty-four hours without ending up on a Johr-imposed house arrest.”

Talon hadn’t spoken a word
since we had come inside the house. He refused to make direct eye contact with
me. If it didn’t change soon, I was going to force his hand. Fortunately, he made
the first move.

“Johr is only trying to do
what he feels is in your best interests. He’s committed to his duty to protect
you two at all costs. It’s the honorable thing to do,” he said quietly.

“Well, we certainly
wouldn’t want anything to get in the way of duty or honor, would we?
Certainly not anything as trivial as a personal relationship.”
I grimaced at the worried expression on Leah’s face and sighed. “Guess it’s a
good thing I’m perfectly happy being by myself.”

I really didn’t have the
luxury of being selfish--there were too many people involved. I had to suck it
up for the sake of everyone else.

I winked at Leah. “As long
as I have Leah around, I can push through anything.”

I met Talon’s eyes,
issuing a silent challenge. He refused to take the bait and simply moved away.

Leah and Jace glanced at
each other worriedly.

“Alright,
pixies.
Be prepared to get owned
in a round of pool. I’ll take
Talon. Leah, you get Caiti,” Jace challenged.

“Like there was ever any
question of that. She has always belonged to me,” Leah said.

Talon racked up the balls.
I sauntered over, grabbing my favorite cue and picked up the remote to my
speakers as I went by. I flipped through my Zune until I found our favorite
playlist and switched it on. Leah grinned and gave me a thumbs-up sign.

I was determined to get a
rise out of Talon, refusing to let him wallow in his misplaced sense of duty. I
strolled to the end of the couch and leaned over the table. “I’ll break.”

“Oh, man. You two are in
for it now. Prepare to be schooled,” Leah taunted.

“Oh, I think we can handle
it. Bring it on, pixies.” Jace challenged.

Talon and Jace perched on
the arms of the couch and waited for me to break.

The cue ball hit the
others with a thunderous crash, sending them flying across the table. Several
dropped into the pockets at the opposite end. I walked around the far side, swishing
my hips.

I purposely stopped in
front of them and bent over, stretching across the table for my next shot. I turned
around as the ball dropped into the intended pocket, giving them a slow smile
while looking at them with hooded lids.

Jace let out a low
whistle. Talon’s eyes blazed.

I walked around the table,
assessing potential shots. I made a decision, standing across from Talon and bending
over until my chest was lightly resting on the felt. I ran my tongue around my
lips wetting them, raised an eyebrow at
Talon
and
slammed the ball into the pocket closest to him.

“Daaaaammmnn,” drawled
Jace.

I knew my behavior was way
over the top. Normally I would never act that way, but I was determined to get
some sort of reaction from Talon.

Leah gave a deep chuckle. “No
one said we play fair.”

I purposely missed the
next shot. Leah knew I was up to something and attempted to hide her amusement.

I shrugged. “I guess you two
are stripes.”

Talon got up to take his first
shot, while Leah watched for my reaction. I slowly walked over and stood at her
side, leaning over and whispering in her ear.

“Leah-poo, I’m tired of Talon
ignoring me. Can you bear with me for a minute? I promise I’m not moving in on
your man. I just need to see something for myself.”

“Oh good
lord
.
What are you up to? You
have my blessing, though, since whatever you do is bound to be entertaining.”

“Okay, just remember. I’m
not, I repeat…
not
interested in
Jace. He is like a brother to me.”

“Go for it. I’m dying to
see what their reactions will be to this.”

I walked over to where
Jace was now sitting, plopped down into his lap and ran my fingers through his
hair.,

“Jace, you have the
softest hair. I’m so jealous. Men shouldn’t be allowed to have hair like
yours.”

Jace gawked at me,
momentarily
shocked. He glanced quickly at Talon who looked
up from his shot with a murderous expression and let out a low growl.

I twisted around in Jace’s
lap so my back was to Talon and winked. Understanding suddenly lit up Jace’s
eyes. He knew what I was up to and seemed completely willing to play along with
me. Jace wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me in closer.

I peeked at Leah from the
corner of my eye and reached out to her with my mind.

Ewww, Leah! This is so weird. It’s like cuddling with my brother. He’s
totally in on what is going on and is playing along. Does it even look
believable?