The Legend of the Light Keeper (The Light Keeper Series Book 1) (15 page)

“You gotta come now! It’s the Light!” He waved us out into the darkness. We both followed quickly, and sure enough, just out back along the tree line there was the Light, hovering slowly as a beacon, calling us to it. Talon turned off the flashlight so we could see it better and I stepped forward.

“You shouldn’t, Lily.” Talon held me back, not wanting me to get too close. He was already concerned, and two trips to Alyssa’s time in one night seemed like pushing it. But something in the way the Light moved told me that it was not like before. It made no move to approach me, no move to capture me into a vision. It simply wanted me to follow.

“It’s okay,” I said, walking forward into the span of darkness that stretched between me and the tiny Light in the distance. I wasn’t afraid. The Light, my protector, was there waiting for me. Talon’s hand clasped my elbow and pulled me back, but I shrugged away and moved forward.

“Let her go,” Owen said. “I think she’s right, it’s not coming at her.”

“I think she wants to show me what she was trying to show me before in the dream.” I motioned for them to follow and heard their steps behind me moving slowly and carefully toward the Light, as if stepping too hard would snuff it out.

As we approached, it moved farther away, leading us down the dark trail. The same trail I had seen Mr. Hill on before. I hoped he wasn’t here now, lurking in the dark and waiting to grab me again. I rubbed my bruised wrist and listened as my heart thumped loudly in my ears. I wondered if it was that loud to the others or if it was drowned out by the sound of their own. Surely they weren’t as scared as me. I felt a little bit better as Owen stepped up to my side and Talon closed in just behind me.

The Light followed along a curve in the path, and I remembered the way from before because of its sharp direction. Then it led us further still, the path narrowing a bit with lower limbs before it widened again. We stopped dead in our tracks as the Light hovered in place. It circled the ground low and illuminated something off to the side of the path. In the dim glow I could see a mound of leaves, or so it seemed. I leaned in close and the Light took to the sky, hovering just up above and brightening so I could see what it wanted me to. There, just above the ground, was a square board covered with leaves and pine straw.

“It’s found something,” Owen said, stepping forward to push the board aside.

“It could be a trap,” Talon warned, turning on his flashlight, but it was too late. Owen had already pushed the boards off to reveal a small circle of stones that were tightly and intricately stacked. Talon shined the light closer and looked inside. “It’s a well.”

WE STARED
DOWN INTO THE DEPTHS
of the well and gasped. The air was cold within and the water sparkled, emitting a soft glow. But then, just as I noticed something wasn’t right, Talon turned off the flashlight, and I saw that Alyssa was gone.

“It’s glowing.” Owen voiced. The water shone a soft blue in the darkness. Talon reached for a rope that hung down into the well and pulled up a pail that was tied to the other end. Just then, we heard Hunter approaching the shack in the distance on his four-wheeler. He’d be looking for us, so Owen stepped away from the well to text him and tell him where we were. While we waited for him to catch up to us, we speculated about our findings.

“It’s ice cold,” Talon said, pressing his hand against the pail.

I ignored his observation. “This is why Mr. Hill was out here. There’s something special about this well.” I paused as we heard Hunter’s footsteps approaching.

“Seems I missed all the fun,” he said, finding us there with the help of Talon’s flashlight. He took a swig of his bottled water and seemed to be catching his breath. He must have run back to find us.

“Yeah, watch,” Talon turned off the light and the soft glow lit the depths of the well but was not quite strong enough to shine out.

Hunter’s eyes widened. “Swamp gas.” He scratched his head and then took the lid off of his bottled water. He took one long last pull from the bottle and then dumped the rest out. “Here, let’s fill it up.” He handed the bottle to Talon who still held the pail. He filled the water bottle and then dropped the pail back to the bottom, splashing into the depths of the soft glowing water. “It must be something down there, because
this
water isn’t glowing.” He shook the bottle. The water in the pail had also lost its glow once it was pulled up from the well. Maybe it was just swamp gas formed at the bottom of the well. Maybe the glow wasn’t anything special, but the well was. It had to be.

“Alyssa led us here. This is close to where Mr. Hill attacked me so I’m certain that this is what he was trying to keep me from finding. Alyssa is trying to help us. What do you think it is?” I watched as Owen went ahead and covered the well back up, placing the board over its top and then scattering leaves and pine straw over it like we’d found it.

“We’ll get back to the shack and check it out, but I think it’s the medicinal water that Granny was telling us about.” Hunter closed up the bottle, and we followed him along the trail and back to the shack.

“Granny might be able to tell us more about the medicinal waters, right?” I asked as we went inside. I sat down next to Talon, and Owen and Hunter sat across from me.

Hunter opened the bottle and took a sniff. “It’s strong and metallic,” he said. “I bet it’s loaded with minerals and God knows what.” He passed the bottle around for us to smell.

I held it close to my nose. As soon as I processed the odor I knew exactly where I’d smelled it before. It did have a hint of the smell of our tap water at home, but the thing that stuck out most to me was that it smelled sort of like blood and sulfur. “Mr. Hill. He’s been drinking it. When he grabbed me on the trail I smelled it on his breath. It’s something I will never forget. Trust me. He’s been drinking this.”

“But why? It’s disgusting.” Talon made a face, taking another sniff. He held the flashlight up to the bottle to see the water inside. It was cloudy and orange and seemed to have bits of grit floating around in it. “It’s dirty.”

Owen leaned in closer. “If it’s what he’s been drinking, and he’s as old as Lily thinks he is, this could be the key. I mean hey, it looks disgusting, but what if it’s like some miracle,” he said. “You know, like they thought in the old days.”

“Then drink it.” Talon laughed.

“No!” I elbowed him. “It could be dangerous and besides we have no clue what’s even in it. It could be poison to us. What if Mr. Hill is special and that’s why he can drink the water and survive?”

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Talon said. “You might get diarrhea. I dare you.”

“No way, man, I’m not getting diarrhea.” Owen crossed his arms and sat up straight.

“Figures.” Talon laughed and then made a clucking sound, and then Hunter joined in. They almost sounded like my ring tone.

“Okay, fine, but if I drink it, you gotta drink it,” Owen said. Talon thought for a moment and agreed.

“You’re both going to get diarrhea.” Hunter laughed.

“It’s not funny! They
could
get sick and...” Owen turned back to the bottle for a sip. It was too late. Whatever was going to happen would and there was no going back now.

He made a face when the mouthful of grit hit his throat. “Piece of cake.” He smirked at Talon as he passed him the bottle, and then he spit out a tiny piece of pebble that had stayed behind on his tongue. I waited to hear how it was, but he didn’t say until after Talon had his taste.

Talon studied the bottle, then his gaze met Owen’s and he turned it up, taking an equal sip. I held my hand over my mouth and waited as he, too, choked down the grit, spitting out the larger pieces that couldn’t find their way down. He lifted a shoulder. “It’s not that bad.”

“Yeah it really isn’t,” Owen agreed. “It doesn’t taste like it smells. I think the dirt is the hardest part, but that could be filtered out.” Talon nodded and then slammed the bottle down in front of him. The bottle crushed in on itself, ending up about half its size. Luckily it didn’t break, but some of the water spilled out on the floor. His eyes widened.

“What the heck you do that for?” Hunter said. He laughed as Owen snatched the bottle away, which only made things worse. The bottle seemed to crush in his grip, so he fumbled with it and then gently set it back down. Talon was still in shock and unable to move.

“I feel weird.” Owen slapped himself on the stomach pretty hard and winced. The look on his face told us he didn’t mean to.

“What’s going on, Brother? Did you just punch yourself?” Hunter and I exchanged a glance and I shook my head, unsure what was going on. Talon was still afraid to move, but Owen was busy fumbling around trying to stand. He finally managed to, and when he did, he stomped a few steps forward into the dark corner of the shack, still not saying a word.

“What is wrong? Are you drunk?” Talon slowly lifted his arm and shook his hand. Then he too, tried to stand, still not speaking. “One of you better tell me what is happening,” I scolded. I was scared.

“Do you trust me, Brother?” Owen reached out and grabbed Hunter by the arm before he could answer and pulled him closer, still moving in a strange way. He bent down and lifted Hunter up sideways over his head without much effort. I was sure that Owen could lift him before, but not over his head in that way. Hunter laughed and begged for Owen to let him down, but I stood there in shock.

The Water had made them stronger, so strong that they had a hard time controlling their own bodies. They kept moving around the room testing out their abilities and laughing. They finally got smoother and more natural with their movements, and if you didn’t know they’d just taken some magic potion to be stronger, they’d seem normal. It was the most fun I’d seen them have together, but it was the most terrified I’d been since coming to Bragg.

“You have to try this!” Owen handed Hunter the smashed bottle, and he opened it to take a sip. He winced at the grit and all I could think about was that I was the only one who hadn’t taken it; the only one with any sanity or reason, because if something happened to them now, I would have to call for help alone.

Before I could get angry, Owen, who’d already seemed comfortable, pointed at his brother with his jaw wide open. “Oh my gosh! Your face! It’s healed. Look at his lip!” Talon and I took a closer look and sure enough, Hunter’s busted lip from his brother’s sucker punch, which had left a pretty nasty scab, was completely healed up. There was only a faint line marking him. We sat there in awe at the possibility of healing waters.

By the time I snapped out of it, Hunter, who’d gained a better grasp of his movements, was making his way outside. The other two followed and I ran behind them with the flashlight.

Once out on the ground, the three of them took turns testing their strength. They lifted large branches that they would have needed help with before and even tried the four-wheelers as if nothing was odd about it, though they weren’t nearly strong enough to lift them over their heads like Owen had Hunter. They weren’t superhuman, but close to it. I wondered if they took more Water if it would make them even stronger. Talon was brave enough to test that theory and apparently it did change some; however, they each had their own limits, and once they figured that out, it was a test to see who was strongest and fastest. Then they darted out to Bragg Road and lined up, laughing the whole time. Before I knew it they were taking off like a shot down the road. They were extremely fast, and finally Talon ran back to apologize for leaving me alone.

“This is amazing, Lily,” he said. His eyes were wide and his brows rose in surprise. I was torn. I was happy for them and yet still scared what the Water would end up doing to them. “I can run twice as fast as before. I’m like three times as strong! I’ve never felt this alive!” With strong hands, he pulled me close and kissed me. He was so gentle that he was barely making contact at first and then he laid it on me. Our lips mingled together with more passion than before, and suddenly I didn’t seem to mind the extra strength at all.

After finishing the bottle and going back for a refill, the guys finally sat down to talk, and then the plotting began. “Well, at least Mr. Hill will have met his match if all goes wrong tomorrow,” said Hunter. “This certainly explains the strength.”

“If he goes back every day, then it must wear off. We surely won’t be like this forever.” Owen lay back on the floor and stared up at the ceiling. “Lily, are you gonna try it, just once?”

“No thanks. I’m not sure I want to until I figure out this Light stuff. I’m freakish enough already, thank you very much.”

“Well, Alyssa did show it to
you
,” he argued. “I think she meant for
you
to drink it.”

“In time maybe, but not right now.” I was scared. I was just starting to feel self-conscious when Talon spoke up.

“She should probably wait till we see what the lingering effects are. I mean, if we do all get diarrhea in the morning, that’s really gonna suck.” They laughed. I shook my head. I was scared of much worse. If this amplified how you already were, then what would it do to someone like me who could see Shadows and had visions? They were already draining me, and I was beginning to think that the Light and its visions were responsible for my headaches too. I let the subject drop and lay down on my sleeping bag, exhausted. The headache from earlier had dulled a bit with the medicine, but it still existed as a low throb at my temples.

The guys spent a couple more hours playing with their new strength. Hunter was a natural, and Owen seemed to be the strongest, which everyone thought was strange since Hunter usually was. Talon was intrigued with their speed. No matter how many times they raced, they always tied.

Eventually it quieted down enough for me to fall asleep, and the morning brought the boys back to normal aside from having a little more energy. They spent most of it lifting things. Hunter kept the bottle and what was left of the contents. He wanted to take it home and get a test kit to see what was in it. I suggested that we make a pact that no one would drink it again until that was done and surprisingly, they all agreed.

We left for home early, hoping Granny would feed us. The guys were all starving, and I had to wonder if it was from all the energy they’d exerted the night before. They would need a good boost before our next mission: going into Mr. Hill’s house and seeing what else we could find. The boys would take the Water only if they needed it and would carry a bottle with them just in case they did.

Granny made us all breakfast and even let me help this time. Afterward, Talon and I sat on the back porch, stealing a moment alone.

“You can’t go with us today, you know.” He stroked my hair softly. “I don’t want you in that house if something were to go wrong. It’s illegal, Lily.”

“But I have to, I’ve read the diary, I might see something that rings a bell,” I argued, while taking his hand and wrapping his arm around my neck to hold me close.

“Or, you could get your bell rung. No, it’s too dangerous. You could get into real trouble.”

“Then maybe
you
shouldn’t go. You‘ve just gotten out of
real
trouble, and no telling what will happen if you get caught.”

“Don’t worry about me and don’t change the subject. You’re not going. I read the diary, too, remember?” He kissed my nose. “Don’t argue.” He held his finger to my mouth as soon as my lips parted to protest. “I love you, Lily.” The words lifted my heart into my throat and burnt my face with a blush. “That’s why you can’t go. I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you.”

“I love you, too.” I smiled so big I was almost embarrassed and I knew my face was burning red. I had never told anyone that before, and more than that, no one had ever told me aside from my parents and Gram. So that’s why I wouldn’t argue. Once he was inside the house, I’d simply follow, and there would be no sense in stopping me by then. He would be mad, but hopefully not for long. I had to take the chance; I needed to be in that house.

Finally the time came, and the boys were ready. Mr. Hill was long gone.

“Lily, you’re the look out.” Talon gave me the two-way and attached the other one to his jeans. “You sit tight right here and watch for him up the road. If you hear him coming, call me, we’ll be out before he gets too close.” Talon turned to Hunter and Owen. “You guys ready?” he asked.

Hunter gave him a high five. “Ready, man, let’s do this.” They all seemed excited again, like they were off to go bowling instead of breaking in to a murderer’s house. It was as if the strength from the Water had gone to their heads, and I wondered if any of them broke their promise and drank it.