Marked by Time (The Mark Series Book 1)

by Victoria Basnuevo

  His voice was rushed like he was panicked, but his eyes were alight with the pride. “Skyler, you’re positive the light was yellow?” He gripped me tighter until I nodded. He released me and laughed.

  “Of course. Of course, that would happen when I wasn’t around.”

  I crossed my arms. “It would be easier to react if I knew what I was reacting to.”

  Daris looked at me with that same prideful look. “You’ve bonded with your dagger.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning,” he continued, “there isn’t another one that’ll fit you. That dagger is yours and the light is the symbol of that connection. It’s the sign that a Luxator has the complete respect of Nature.”

  I smiled. “Really?” I loved my dagger.

  Daris dropped to the floor and nodded while I took out my blade and ran my fingers over the metal. It hummed under my touch.

  “Be grateful Travis and your dad don’t know about that light.”

  I slid my weapon away and looked at him. “Are they like vampires or something?” I put my hands up to cover my face and hissed. “The light, it burns.”

  Daris smiled and laughed with me, shaking his head, before turning serious again.

  “You would be fearing that light more than they would, Skyler. If either of them knew about the glow when they saw you, you would be dead. The only reason you’re alive right now is because they don’t know.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me. They want you, not to kill you, but to turn you into an Acerlum before you can access your full Luxator power. I can tell you right now, that yes, your father is still alive, he still has all of his power, and Travis is with him.”

  My good mood vanished and I sank to the ground, crossing my legs beneath me as I collapsed, hiding my head in my arms. “I know.”

  “Usually, it takes months for the glow to appear, but, and I know this will not be the last time I say this, you’re unique even by Luxator standards.”

  I blushed, feeling my heartbeat speed up. “Stop it.”

  He continued, “If you started becoming an Acerlum, with the power you currently have, there’s no telling what you could do; and I’m sure your father knows exactly what you’re capable of after seeing your mark.”

  “Stop it,” I said louder, my voice cracking.

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if your dad wanted you to join them so you could inherit the throne from him.”

  “Stop it! Stop it, stop it, stop it!” I didn’t want to hear this, not now. I didn’t want to hear how my father only wanted me because of my power; and now, he wouldn’t want me at all. I was more alone than I thought I was. I curled up and shut my eyes, my snack laying forgotten on the ground beside me as the truth crumbled my momentary happiness. I just learned to fly and I suddenly felt like I had enough weight on my shoulders to keep me on the ground forever.

  “You had to be told eventually, Skyler.” He sounded apologetic as he came over and wrapped me in the blanket.

  “So, I am alone,” I whispered, voicing my fears into the still afternoon. The trees offered me their sympathy in the form of sweet-scented blossoms raining down on us. Daris’s breath caught slightly.

  “Hey,” he knelt next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “As cheesy as it may sound, you’re not alone, okay? You’re a Luxator, you share a connection with Nature that not even the most avid environmentalist can ever have. And,” he smiled mischievously, “you have Camille and Melanie, too.”

  I scoffed, trying to hide my obvious grin. “I think I’ll live just fine with never seeing those two again.” We laughed.

  “You’ve got me, too, even if you don’t always want me around.”

  I knew he was referencing my ability to lock myself in my room and not speak to him when I got mad. He nudged my shoulder and I let myself fall to the side. I hid my smile in my knees, but I couldn’t conceal the laughter that escaped my lips when Daris started tickling my sides.

  For that moment, we were just two friends having a tickle fight in the dim light peeking through the branches. We stayed outside the rest of the day eating fruit, cracking jokes, and messing with one another.

  “Oh my God! She finally learned how to flirt,” was what Camille and Melanie would say if they saw me right now. My mom would shoot me her infamous “I told you so look”. Dad and Travis would attack us. However, for the time being, Daris and I were free to mess with each other the way only we knew how.

  Falling asleep that night under the peek-a-boo stars, curled up in a ball with a belly full of fresh fruit with Daris by my side, I was able to sleep with no nightmares-- something I wouldn’t have thought possible after the hectic turn my life had made.

  It felt strange not going to school, but it was a change I was not protesting. So long as I didn’t have to deal with Camille and Melanie and their party planning, I was content. Unfortunately, I still had my phone, and they still had my number. That meant that, before school started, while I was either asleep or training, my phone would sound at least twenty times. Each message was complaining why I wasn’t at school and every phone call and voice message was probably high-pitch and accusatory. I wouldn’t know; I ignored each call and message, deleting all their attempts at contact as soon as I saw them.

  I was relaxing in the living room. Daris was in the kitchen cooking lunch while I was reading another book when my phone chimed. Too lost in the story, I picked up the phone before he could stop me.

  “Hello?”

  “Sky!” A voice screeched on the other end.

  Daris turned around at the sound. I had to pull the phone away from my ear, but the sting was there. Damn, she was loud.

  “You okay?” Daris mouthed. I shook my head and winced as Camille called my name again.

  “Skyler! Where are you? Your party is tomorrow and you need to try on the dress. Travis and I have been looking everywhere for you.”

  I made a gagging motion to which Daris looked puzzled. I grabbed a nearby notebook and wrote ‘Travis + Camille= Search Party.’ Daris just laughed quietly while we both listened to Camille, but I could tell it was forced.

  “Skyler! Are you even listening to me? You need to get here now!”

  Of course, now that my birthday had passed, she was having a small panic attack over the fact that the “perfect party” wouldn’t happen. I smiled until I heard some muffling in the background before Camille told someone, “Fine, you trying talking to her.” Then, a deeper voice came on the line and I tensed.

  “Hey, kitten. What happened to our classroom date?”

  Daris noticed my change in posture and looked concern. I picked up the notebook and pointed to Travis’s name and pointed to the phone at my ear. Daris tensed too. I put the phone on speaker and rested it on the sofa. Daris sank next to me, vicious lightning flashing from his eyes to the phone.

  “If you want to play hard-to-get, kitten, I promise I’ll find you.”

  I heard squealing in the background and knew it was Camille and Melanie. They probably thought Travis was being seductive with the low, husky tone he was using; but to me, that was a threat. I started shaking.

  “Skyler?” Daris asked quietly.

  “Don’t worry, kitten. I’ll find you.”

  The call beeped in conclusion and the room was bathed in silence. I was stunned into shock. I was scared when my dad showed up. I was scared when Daris dropped me. Now, I was terrified. This wasn’t dealing with my past. This fear was very real, very present, and, if he found me, very life threatening.

  “Skyler, everything is going to be alright.”

  “No, it’s not. I have Travis and my own father hunting me down, Daris. How is that okay? How is everything alright?” I was shouting, my anger echoing off the walls. “Explain it to me!” My voice quieted to a whisper. “How is it alright that I am being tracked like an animal, that my life was just threatened?”

  “That part,” Daris finally answered, “is not alright. I knew when I met you that
you were going to be tracked, and I was shocked when I learned who your father is. Skyler, Luxators are always hunted by Acerlums. Even after we merge with our blades in that flash of yellow light, which I will explain later,” I closed my mouth, “Acerlums hunt us because we threaten them. Now that your dad has seen your mark, the Luxators are in more danger than ever.”

  “Why? Why harm others if he only wants me?”

  “Your father knows just as I do that you are one of the two biggest threats to the Acerlums.”

  “One of them? Then what’s the other?”

  “The only way to get rid of Acerlums is by reciting a spell from a certain book. No Luxator knows what the book is titled or understands the language it’s written in, but everyone knows where it is. Supposedly, it’s kept under the tightest Acerlum security, deep in their main compound. The spell can be read by anyone who understands the language, but, according to legend, only the most powerful Luxators can activate the spell and make it effective.” He paused and looked at me closely, weighing his next words. “Skyler,” he said softly, “I think that’s you”

  “But you have the same mark as me! It could be you!”

  “No, Blossom. I know it’s not me. I thought I knew how powerful you would be when your mark first formed; but, based on your progress, it is obvious that I was way off.” Daris got a faraway look in his eyes. “When I was younger, everyone thought it was me. As soon as my mark appeared, I was put through lesson after lesson, tasked with trying to decipher pieces of text that could have helped. It didn’t help that no one knew what the samples said. Additionally, they ignored history. One main fact was glaring at them but they were so desperate that it didn’t matter that I wasn’t even the right gender. I think they thought I would have grown out and dyed my hair by the time I went to fight the Acerlums.” He looked at me. “Now, that’s your job.”

  “Oh.” I stared at the phone in my hands. “No pressure or anything.” I shrugged my shoulders and Daris chuckled humorlessly.

  “What are you thinking?”

  I sighed and glared at the cell in my hand. “I’m thinking I won’t need a phone for a while.”

  “That depends on your next lesson: sensing your surroundings.”

  Too late, Daris. I can already do that.

  He pulled me off the sofa and out the door until I was standing in the center of the backyard. He swiped his hand through the air and the plants lined up like sentinels along the fence. Daris took off into the sky and flew in circles above me.

  “Showing off much?”

  “Nope, just enjoying the sky.” He landed behind me and covered my eyes with a piece of fabric before leaving in a whoosh of air.

  “Daris?”

  “Your lesson,” he said from somewhere above me, “is to catch me.”

  “But--”

  “Uh uh. I don’t care. Figure it out.” Then, he was quiet. He wanted me to catch him. He was somewhere in the sky, and I couldn’t get to him.

  “I’m pretty sure this constitutes as more than one lesson if you’re going to be flying around.”

  He didn’t respond.

  I sighed. “You’re not going to let this go?”

  Again, he was quiet, but I sensed him shaking his head from above me.

  “Mind at least telling me how to get up there?”

  “Nah. You seem to do better without instruction.” His voice appeared from my right and I ran over there, sensing him take off before I got there.

  “Dammit.” I touched the dagger at my side and felt the sudden rush of energy fill me. It flowed from up to my hand and concentrated in the individual bands of my mark. The heat was pleasant and encouraging. I closed my eyes and breathed, feeling some innate desire well up inside of me, telling me what to do. I stopped listening to my mind and plugged in to nature, inhaling deeply before shooting upward. When I got up in the air, I heard Daris immediately land with a groan.

  “That can’t be fair,” he complained from where he landed.

  “Just like you flying when you thought I couldn’t?” I floated beside him as he grumbled unintelligibly.

  “I knew you could fly; I just didn’t know you could take off.” When he tried to pull me down by my leg, I moved to the side so he couldn’t get me.

  I went to walk into the house with my blindfold still on but stopped and turned to face the man who was still sitting in the dirt. “What can I say? I learn quickly, Daris.”

  I untied the cloth from around my head and tossed it behind me without looking back leading the way to the kitchen. “By the way, you have a bit of dirt in your hair.”

  “This is starting to scare me,” he said as he followed me. “How are you getting this stuff so fast?”

  “I told you already, I learn quickly. It’s why I never had to pay much attention in math class.” While I did do well in math class, the only reason I was getting this so well was because I felt it. I didn’t have to think for this; I just had to feel it, to connect with what was around me. It also helped that I didn’t have to struggle to pay attention to my teacher.

  “Also, I’ve been able to sense you for a while now, so the only thing I had left to figure out was how to get into the air which wasn’t so difficult since I’ve done it before by accident and because of the power surge my dagger gave me.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because, Daris, you aren’t the only one who likes to have the upper hand.”

  “There has to be some other reason you’re getting this so easily.” He paused, “Are you doing more midnight training sessions?”

  “No.” The lie was too quick.

  “Aside from the fact that that was a terrible lie, I heard you last time you trained.” I looked at him as he combed his hair back. “I didn’t think it was the…best idea to try to talk to you since you were venting with a dagger.”

  I nodded and started cooking. I felt Daris’s eyes watching each of my movements as I searched through the items he had purchased and grinned when I found everything I needed. The least I could do was say ‘Thank you’ for the help he’d been.

  The batter came together in a flurry of eggs and flour and sugar and chocolate. It went into the small oven just after Daris had gone into his mysterious room, which I still hadn’t seen, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before he came back out again. Resisting brownies is like resisting air. Sure enough, a few minutes passed and the sound of a door being flung open cut through the chocolate-scented air.

  “Please tell me I’m not being tricked and that those are real brownies baking in my oven!”

  I smiled while I prepared the fudge frosting and cleared the rest of the counter of bowls. “There are brownies baking in the oven.” I stirred the frosting and swiped the spoon, nearly fainting at the chocolate taste on my tongue. Daris came up behind me and reached for the spoon, narrowly missing. “But I’m not giving you any.”

  He was shocked, his mouth falling open and his eyes bugging out. “But it’s my food!”

  “You ate my food first.”

  I heard the timer beep and I pulled the dessert out of the oven. Immediately, I felt calmer as I was assaulted by the decadent smell of fresh-baked chocolate brownies. I sighed.

  “Can I at least lick the spoon?” He whined.

  I poured the frosting over the cooling cake and spread it with the spoon before putting the brownies in the fridge. I swiped the spoon clean and ate the frosting before handing the clean spoon to Daris. “Sure. Here you go.” He scowled at me before opening the fridge and stealing a big glob of frosting off the cake. “Hey!”

  “Mmm. Revenge is sweet.”

  I grumbled before evening out the frosting and hitting him. “I’ll just get you back later.”

  He just laughed. “I’d like to see you try.”

  “Okay.” I grabbed the brownies out of the fridge, the pan still warm, and sprinted to my room with Daris trying to catch me. I veered to the side sharply and stuck my foot out, giggling when Daris’s six-foot frame
came crashing to the ground. Unfortunately, he had decided to try to save himself by grabbing the closest thing to steady him: me, which so happened to send us both to the floor. The food landed safely on a nearby table thanks to Daris, but I wasn’t so lucky.

  “Crap.” I groaned when I hit Daris’s chest.

  “Ow,” Daris gasped. He put his hands on my waist and lifted me slightly. “I’m cutting you off. From now on, you are only allowed to eat fruits and veggies. No more brownies.”

  I pouted, thought for a second, and grinned. “If I can’t have brownies, I won’t bake them. If you cut me off, you’re screwed too.”

  Daris’s eyes widened and I saw the hesitation flicker across his face. “Unless I get some,” he added.

  I pretended to think about it, but giving up sweets was out of the question the moment he bothered suggesting it.

  “Deal,” I said reluctantly. I put my head on his chest and sighed while he laughed.

  “Alright, Skyler. Try again.”

  It was three weeks since Travis chased me away from my apartment and I had officially begun my training. To say I was struggling would be an understatement. So far, I had figured out the basics of flight, done more work with my dagger, and established a strong connection with nature. My problem: I couldn’t create an attack to save my life; and if what Daris said about Travis and my dad was true, then I needed to get this hang of it sooner rather than later. Right now, I was still trying to harness the power of natural storms and failing miserably.

  “Daris, we’ve been at this for hours.” I rested my hands on my knees and caught my breath.

  “You’ve almost got it, though.”

  “Daris, the sun is starting to set. I’m tired and I’ve barely eaten anything today.”

  “Come on, Blossom. One more time.”

  I sighed. “If I haven’t gotten it the past 100 times, what makes you think I’m going to get it now?”

  “You’re bound to get it eventually.”

  “Thanks, that’s so helpful.” I faced the woven targets and repeated the same motion I had been perfecting for the past week only to come up with nothing, again. “Dammit! I rather get knocked on my ass with the wrong attack than have nothing happen! What is wrong with me?”