by Kelly Hall
“Yeah, well he’s all about daddy these days. He’d believe anything the man says—all that crap about you and him—so ridiculous. Ray’s telling him what he wants to hear to get him on his side.”
I rubbed my eyes and let out a long breath. “Well, we made a pact and Owen’s a part of the circle. We can’t just leave him out.”
“Well, I say we at least tell Hunter first. Then we’ll give our sides of the argument to him and he can decide. We won’t tell Holly if it will make things better. That way, he won’t be the only one left in the dark.” Talon waited for me to agree but I stared off into space. I wouldn’t win this argument now, and I had much bigger problems on my mind. How am I going to get back to Birdie?
Chapter Sixteen
I took advantage of Talon sleeping in the next morning to slip out of the house and go to Birdie. My plan wasn’t fool proof, but the best I could think of. I left a note saying I’d gone into town and took Tom’s truck down the pipeline to the trail. From there I’d drive it as far down as I could safely get, which I thought would be most of the way. Then I’d park the truck and walk about five minutes to the house to see Birdie. It should all go smoothly, and would have if I had remembered my one obstacle.
The pipeline was wide and clear with no fences blocking passage, but the trail, however wide at the mouth, narrowed quickly. A lot quicker than I’d thought. It also had several mud holes that Talon had always avoided while riding. These puddles, during this time of year, with so much rain and overcast days, held water. I’d forgotten about that.
Everything went fine at first as I drove down the trail, but then branches started scraping the sides of the truck and I panicked about how much damage it did and how I would turn around. I stopped and considered my options. Then I backed the large truck up till I got back to the wide part and in between two puddles, a feat that I’d been proud to pull off, considering my size compared to the truck. But when I turned the wheel as sharply as I could and then pressed the gas, the truck lurched forward, the back end lost traction and it slid sideways into the largest puddle. I had turned the wheel wrong. A more experienced driver would not have made such a rookie mistake. So there I sat, wedged in the trail, stuck in the puddle and stranded.
I banged my head on the steering wheel and choked back the tears and frustration rising in me. “Think, Lily, think,” I scolded myself. Talon would be up soon and I hadn’t even arrived at my destination. I had wasted precious time. You can do this. You’ll just have to get out and push. “That’s it!” I suddenly remembered my last dose of Water and realized that with some effort I could probably push the truck out. Sure I wasn’t up to my fullest capacity of strength, but stronger than normal. People pushed cars all the time. I had to try.
Try I did, and failed. The truck wouldn’t budge, leaving me stranded. Miles from home, and probably a good mile to Birdie’s, I had to face the facts. I needed help. But who would I turn to?
Talon would kill me. No doubt about it. Hunter would tell him, and with him, I’d have to hear his big brother lecture all the way home. Most importantly, I’d never make it to Birdie’s. I knew I only had one choice. Owen. He’d be strong enough to get me out of the puddle, which upon further inspection, was about as big around as the width of the truck.
I took out my phone and dialed his cell, hoping it was on. Relief hit me when his gravelly voice answered. “Hey Sexy.” I imagined the smile playing slowly across his lips and ignored him.
In a desperate plea of panic, I got right the point. “Owen, I need you,” I blurted.
“Need. Hmm, that’s so much hotter than want.”
“Owen! Please, you ...”
“You don’t have to beg,” he continued.
He infuriated me, which was becoming the norm. He could make anything I said into an innuendo. The girls at school loved it but me, not so much.
“OWEN! STOP IT!” I screamed. “I’m not playing around, I’m in big trouble.”
“Are you in danger?” he asked, his voice sounding clearer and alarmed. I heard shuffling as he dressed.
“Ask me that when we get back home,” I sighed.
“Where are you?” I heard his keys rattling now.
“Don’t freak out, okay? I’m about half a mile down a trail just off the pipeline.”
“Wait, you wandered off again? Lily, will you ever learn? How long have you been gone? It must have taken you hours to walk all that ...”
“I’m in Tom’s truck, and it’s stuck.” I let out a long breath and slumped against my seat.
His voice fell. “Wait, you drove out there? In the truck? Are you insane?”
“Just, come. It’s the trail that leads to the old house. You know, the one Hunter and you talked about at the party? You thought there was a light on?” I rambled on.
“Yeah, I know it. Don’t move. I’ll be right there.”
“Owen! Don’t tell anyone and bring the Water for strength, okay?”
“I’m already on it.” The grumble in his voice said he didn’t like having to bail me out again
I sat in the truck and waited until Owen came around the corner on Hunter’s beastly four-wheeler that was so big that Holly had nick-named it “The Monster”.
I stepped out of the truck. “How’d you manage that?” I referred to the four-wheeler which was usually off-limits, even to Owen. But Owen shook his head and laughed.
“How’d you manage that?” he pointed to the truck.
I rolled my eyes at him.
“I knew I better come prepared to tow you if I had to but, you know, I think I got a better idea.” He opened his black sports bottle and took a long swig.
“Thanks for coming.”
“No problem. I see why you had to call me. Talon isn’t going to be happy, you know. On a happier note, he might hate me a little more for helping you,” he laughed. I didn’t react. “So, when are you gonna tell me what you’re doing out here?”
“If I tell you, will you trust me to continue on alone? I don’t have much time. Talon’s sleeping in, but I’ve already wasted so much time by getting stuck.”
“No.” He shook his head. “As part of payment for my services, you will not only tell me what’s going on, but take me with you. I’m intrigued.”
I didn’t have time to argue. “Fine, I’m going to the house. It’s where Mrs. Chandler is being kept hostage by your dad. Talon and I found her last night, and she said she needed to see me alone.”
“Mrs. Chandler? Birdie? She’s still around?” Owen took a minute to do the math. His eyes widened. “Good Lord.” He made a face.
“Ray has her locked up in the house,” I said again.
Owen’s lip curled as he frowned. “Maybe she’s dangerous.”
“Please. She’s an old woman, Owen. Frail. Even the Water probably wouldn’t do her any good now. She’s the woman who came to me in my dream and warned me that someone was coming. I’m sure now that someone is Ray.”
“I don’t trust her. I’m definitely coming.” Owen pushed the truck and began to rock it forward. “Get in, crank it up and when I say so, give it some gas.” He took some broken branches and put them under the tires for traction as I got in and waited for his signal. “Okay, go,” he said, pushing. The truck lurched forward and before I could stop it, I went across the short trail, into the thick brush and stopped against a pine tree. Without a seat belt, my head slammed against the steering wheel. Luckily, the airbag didn’t trigger.
“Lily!” Owen yelled. “Are you hurt?” He found me with a bloody nose.
“I’m fine.” I tried to focus on the trunk of the tree and noticed that some of its bark had come away, landing on the hood. I could only imagine what kind of damage had been done to the bumper leaving me in serious trouble.
I caught my breath as Owen brought me a roll of toilet paper he’d found in The Monster’s gear pack. Hunter kept all sorts of things in it for camping and hunting, and by the time I finished wiping the blood, I owed him a roll.
I slumped in my seat. “I’ll be an old woman before I get ungrounded.”
“No kidding. You need a story. Tom won’t go for this pipeline trail ride. You should tell them that you lost control on Bragg and ran off the road.”
I couldn’t believe I’d gotten swept up in so many lies. “Fine, but I want to see Birdie first. I’m worried about her, and I promised.”
“Fine.” He gritted his teeth and just when I figured he’d to try and talk me out of it, he exited the truck, walked over to The Monster, and waved me over. “Hop on.”
He mounted the beast. We abandoned the truck, knowing no one would find it, and took the short ride out to the old house.
I climbed off as Owen shut down the engine and I called to Birdie. “Hello? Mrs. Chandler?”
I thought it improper to call her by her first name since she came from a different time and was probably old-fashioned enough that I should use some manners. I pushed the door open, but did not step one foot inside unwelcome.
Not this time.
Something stirred in the darkened corner of the house.
“You didn’t come alone,” said Birdie.
“I’m sorry. I had an accident and Owen came to help and brought me the rest of the way.”
“You should be careful, child,” she warned.
“Owen is your family.” I motioned for him to step into the doorway so he could be seen. Birdie shrieked. “It’s just Owen, ma’am.”
“Are you sure? Prove yourself, young man.”
“Prove myself?” Owen looked offended. “I wouldn’t know where to begin. I don’t even know you.”
“Prove yourself to the girl. Ask him a question, one that only you and he would know.”
I went blank. “Something between us? I uh...” I shrugged, trying to think of something. I snapped my fingers. “I’ve got it. What was I doing the first time you saw me?”
Owen rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head, and then he snapped his fingers. “Oh, you were taking out the garbage. You had on that cute little tank top, the pink one you like to sleep in.” I made a face that told him to stop rambling.
“Correct. So I guess you are really Owen.” I shrugged, turning to face Birdie. “Even though I couldn’t imagine how he wouldn’t be.”
“Don’t doubt me, child. I have my reasons, even if they aren’t as obvious to you.”
“You thought Owen might be—an impostor?” I thought of Alyssa’s journal and how she had accused Rex Mitchell.
“I thought he might be Ray. With the power of shape-shifting, he’s certainly capable of such a deception. Especially with his own son; someone who already looks astonishingly like him.”
“You mean with his magic? He’s been teaching me some. He says I’ve got the family spark, but I just need to practice.” Owen tucked his chin as doubt marred his expressions.
“The family spark,” she said with an acidic tone. Then she huffed. “The only spark that runs in your bloodline was extinguished long before you were ever born.” She gave Owen a pitiful look.
“What do you mean by extinguished?” I looked to Owen for his reaction but he stood stone-faced, his brow furrowed like he was trying to absorb the words.
“The curse.” She let out a long, slow breath. “But of course it makes sense that he’s led you astray. He’s obviously manipulating you, teaching you his dark ways.” She looked at Owen as if she felt sorry for him. “And you?” She turned to me. “But how could that be?” She put a finger to her mouth to think as she slowly paced the gloomy room.
“What curse?” Owen asked, snapping her to reality. She behaved as if we’d both ceased to exist for a moment.
“The one that stripped the Light from your entire bloodline,” she answered sadly.
The memory of Owen with alien-green eyes flashed in my head. “You mean a Light like my Light? Owen’s a Light Keeper like me?”
“Not like you. Cursed,” she corrected. “He’s been stripped of his Blessing.”
“But why? How? I mean, we have powers. I’m a Guardian and I’ve never done anything wrong,” Owen ranted. “My dad has been showing us things, Lily and me both. We have a connection and he says we’re soul mates.” There was so much determination that I could tell how much he hoped it to be true. I had a feeling that the next words she spoke would crush him. My heart ached for him.
Birdie thought for a minute. The whole time she looked at us, and it seemed to take forever for her to speak.
“Of course.” She nodded. “He’s trying to use your love.”
“Wait,” I protested. “We’re not in love.” She was just as crazy as Ray.
“Use it for what?” Owen asked. The two of them continued as if I hadn’t said a word.
“Power,” Birdie answered. “He knows he cannot be redeemed. He’s reprobate. His only hope for power is the dark kind. He’s trying to lure you both and extract your powers. If he’s found a way to manipulate Lily, he’s on the right track.”
“Manipulate me?” The word insulted me as I didn’t think I had been that gullible. I’d always had suspicions.
“Mind tricks,” Birdie clarified. “Has he not made you see things, do things?” I thought of the kiss, the ways he’d led Owen and me though the sessions. Everything he’d taught me so far had been lies. He drew us together, deliberately trying to make Owen and me closer and possibly trying to get rid of Talon. I thought of the attack. Talon had been right all along. It was no coincidence that he had showed up. He tried to gain our trust. Before I could process another thought, Birdie spoke.
“You ever wonder why those eyes of yours are so strange?” she asked.
“It’s my Light, I guess. A mark of what I am.” That would be the only obvious conclusion since everyone I had seen with my eyes was a Light Keeper as well.
“True, but most importantly, it’s a protection, a shield. All Light Keepers have it. It keeps you from being manipulated by darkness and protects your sight. And if Ray has found a way to compel you, then that means you are in serious danger.”
“We’re both in danger,” I corrected, looking at Owen, who seemed lost in thought. “He’s been lying to us, using us. So what are we?”
“To understand what you are and what he’s done, you must go way back.”
“How far?” Owen shrugged. “He’s your grandson, right?”
Birdie laughed. “He is my husband.” She looked away from the flash of shock that spread across our faces. “As I said, we must go way back, to the origins of the Light Keepers. Our people are from a remote community. Everyone there had a special gift of some sort: telepathy, mind-reading, telekinesis, visions—all special and unique. The powers are gifts; blessings bestowed on our people from God himself. He sent the Angel, Oriel, to bless us with Angel Light to protect us. Over the years our people grew sick from mixing with the ungifted. We were diagnosed with a degenerative disease, and soon the higher circles, those known as the hierarchy, the highest of which were the very circle of your people, Lily, elected one of our own kind—my husband—Reginald Chandler, Ray as you know him, to find a cure.
“Ray dabbled in alchemy, and though his motives had often been questioned, his abilities and charm made him appealing to many, including me and the hierarchy. But he betrayed us in the end. After finding the cure, he used it to extort from his own kind. That’s when I realized that the whispers about his dark side were true. Eventually the Angels intervened and he, along with his entire bloodline, became stripped of the Blessing: The Angel Light. He had no other way but to use my powers for his darkness, which is what he wants to do with you, Lily.”
Owen looked up at Birdie with sad eyes. “Is there any way I can get my Light back? Break the curse? Or am I what you said... reprobate?”
“No, dear soul. You cannot be re
probate. You are far too innocent for that. But make no mistake. If you continue on as your father wishes, it will only be a matter of time.” She shook her head, sadness clouding her eyes. “The further he drags you into his darkness, the easier it will be to slip away. Look at me, he’s used me up, and you my dear child, you are the replacement. He’s been looking for you for far too long.” Her eyes stared deep into mine. I was a mere replacement, and he had sought out my dad before me.
“So can I get my Light back?” Owen spoke faster, more desperate. Why would he want to be a freak? All this time I’d only wanted to be normal.
“You can. It’s a bit tricky, but possible.” Birdie sat down, looking very tired.
“Tell me,” Owen pled.
“Only the Angels can decide that. But I suppose an act of unselfishness would prove you in their favor,” she whispered. I thought about what she said and didn’t believe it.
“That’s too easy. Owen’s already done so many unselfish things for me! He’s saved my life. He’s ...”
“Not for you. It won’t count. Besides, it’s usually something you’d never guess, and only they know what it is for sure.”
“What do you mean it won’t count?” Owen leaned forward, desperate. He didn’t dare to take a step.
“You really do love her. True love is a very selfish thing, for anything you do for the one you love so much is entirely for your own benefit as well, is it not?” She yawned. “I’m growing tired. I have to save my strength. I will tell you more another time. There is so much more to tell. Perhaps when I’m rested you will return. It takes far too much from me to visit you in your dreams.” She lay back in a tattered chair.
I pondered everything she had said. Owen loved me, therefore all the times he’d saved my life, run through the freezing rain, taken a beating, were not just for me but for himself as well. If anything happened to me, he’d be what? Lost? Ray’s words played in the back of my head. One cannot live without the other. Did he mean Owen could not live without me? No, I realized. If something happened to him, I would most definitely be lost too. Did it make us soul mates as Ray had said? I had no chance to ask.