by Brea Essex
Twitter: www.twitter.com/BreaEssex
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/breaessex/
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/breaessex
If you liked this book, please leave a review. Not only do I read them, but it encourages other readers to buy the book. Be sure to look out for Time Turners, book two in The Seven Relics Saga, to see how the story continues.
KEEP READING FOR EXCERPTS FROM SOME OTHER GREAT AUTHORS!
The Dark Hour
Book One of The Keepers Series
J. F. Jenkins
Chapter One
Everything was set. The windows were locked, and soon the doors would be as well. My best friend Linnea was preparing an extra ward on the front door to my apartment. Ideally, it would help keep away all the dark magical critters that wandered around during the Dark Hour. No guarantees, though, because she's not my chosen Guardian, so her magic couldn't protect me in all the ways it should. At least she was trying, which is more than I can say about the guy who was supposed to act as my Guardian.
“Three minutes until the Dark Hour,” Kendall said from the couch. He sat with his younger brother, trying to keep the kid calm by reading a book.
Much like me, I'm pretty sure Kendall's skin was crawling. He's a Keeper, as am I. Every night when the dark hour comes, I felt like I wanted to scratch my flesh raw in anticipation. The disturbance in the dimensional field always made me uncomfortable. Gooseflesh prickled my arms and legs, uncontrollable shivers came next, and then there was the sensation of being watched by something dark and dangerous. I know Kendall felt it too because that was one of the many “perks” to being a Keeper. We know when there's a shift between the real world and the magical one. It's how we know when to do our job.
The Dark Hour, unfortunately, comes every night. It's the one time of the day when we Keepers are helpless to stop the magical minions from entering a world where they're not supposed to exist. Doubly unfortunate because of course only the naughty, scary, kind of magical beings ever cross over.
“Two minutes,” Kendall whispered.
“I don't need a countdown,” I mumbled and went to sit by him on the couch. I turned on the television and searched for something on the five-hundred some stations to watch. Hopefully, I'd be able to find something that could drown out the noise and negative energy that would soon be filling the apartment.
Linnea took in a deep breath. “Don't worry Becca, I'll do my best to protect you like you're mine.”
“I know,” I said softly. “But I don't want it to come down to that. If something were to happen to you...”
Kendall rolled his eyes. “Don't act like your protection isn't as important as mine. You know that's not true. If even one of us is lost, it could all be over.”
That was when Erik walked into the apartment, as casual as ever. He locked the door and put his official Guardian magical seal onto it before taking off his shoes and coat. No one said a word, but I did let out a sigh of relief. Erik went to the bathroom, and Linnea started to cook in the kitchen. Even though it was after midnight now, she tended to like to make elaborate late night snacks. Kendall lucked out having the good Guardian who actually did her job.
I settled into the couch, a shiver running down my spine. At least the butterflies in my stomach were gone. We would have a good night, a peaceful one, which is how it should always be.
“What ya making sweetheart,” Erik teased and walked into the kitchen. He didn't mean it as an actual term of endearment. From what I could tell, he couldn't stand her, but he did enjoy pushing her buttons.
Linnea batted at him with her spoon. “Nothing you get to eat. Since you got here late, you're denied my deliciousness.”
“Don't flatter yourself, I didn't want it anyway.”
“Everyone likes my macaroni and cheese.”
“Comfort foods?” He arched an eyebrow.
She rolled her eyes. “I was getting ready for a possibly traumatic evening because someone got here barely on time to do his job.”
“Yeah, because I have another job too,” he said with a snort. “Don't worry, it's not like I have a social life thanks to you guys. There's no where else for me to go.”
By “you guys” he meant me of course. Only Linnea was needed to protect Kendall. I was Erik's responsibility, and some nights I wondered if he would write me off to be taken away by the magical minions just so he could get out of his duties. Part of me wanted to believe he actually cared, but that was hard to figure out with how he acted most of the time. His comment rolled off of my back, but Linnea slammed her spoon down onto the stove top.
“Look asshole –” she started, but Kendall made a loud shushing sound.
“Max just fell back asleep,” he whispered while stroking his five-year-old brother's sand colored hair. “If you're going to fight, do it in another room please.”
Linnea only glared at Erik, and even though she was only fifteen, five-feet tall, and cute as a button, she was also fierce and intimidating. Even Erik, Mr. Tough Guy, flinched a little, and he was over a foot taller than she, as well as five years her senior.
He sucked in a deep breath. “Okay, I'll watch the attitude. Bad night at the store.”
“Don't take it out on us,” she mumbled and went back to work at the stove.
I did my best to ignore the whole thing. Both Linnea and Erik have bad tempers. They were usually prone to say something they don't entirely mean. If Kendall hadn't stopped them, it could have been a lot worse. For the time being, the situation was diffused, but I could guarantee Erik's near tardiness would be brought up again when my parents came back in from work.
Erik left the kitchen and stepped into the living room to sit on the couch, putting me in-between him and Kendall. The rooms weren't far apart. My family didn't have that big of an apartment. None of us did. All four of our families lived in the same complex, right next door to each other, at the end of the hall on the third floor. We'd been living there ever since I could remember. Apartments were easier to protect than a house.
As my Guardian sat down next to me, I pulled my knees in to my chest tighter. Most girls my age would probably die of happiness to be sitting next to him, and Kendall for that matter. Erik was tall, like six-foot-two, with strong, broad, shoulders and black hair. His eyes were also dark and his skin slightly tan. In fact, he kind of looked Native American, but it was hard to say because he was adopted into his family. Most of his heritage was lost in translation. If you added on his “whatever” attitude and ripped jeans with a t-shirt clothing style, Erik was bad boy sexy without him actually having to be a bad boy. He could be mean, but he kind of reminded me of puffer fish. They only get aggressive when threatened.
Kendall on the other hand was kind of the opposite of him. He was shorter than Erik by a couple of inches, and his hair was the same sandy brown color as his brother Max. His eyes were hazel and gentle, and the guy wore a lot of plaid button downs. As atrocious as it sounds, he found a way to make it work well. Kendall liked button downs a lot. Overall, he was a fairly nice guy. Sometimes he had his annoying moments, but he was just an average dude. Well, as average as anyone could be despite his position – our position.
It didn't take me long to fall asleep, curled up into the couch like I was. I hadn't even realized I drifted off, however, until a loud smack woke me up with a start. Did someone break in? Was there a fight? Were we not safe after all? Those were just a few questions that had run through my mind.
I searched around the room for the source and found a fairy splattered on the window that enclosed the balcony outside. Erik was out there looking at it and laughing.
“Do you think they'll ever learn it's glass?” he asked.
No one said anything, and I realized him and I were the only two people awake. Kendall was asleep further down on the couch, his arms around his brother Max, and Linnea was no where to be found. That usually meant she went to one of the bedrooms to sleep.
After a moment of silence, I found m
y voice in my groggy state of mind. “I thought they only flew into the glass when they were high?”
Erik laughed some more. “I forgot about that. Just like the evil minions of the Triumphant Empire, to send their best of the best drug addicts to come and kidnap you.”
“Those are the only fairies desperate enough to take on the task,” I said, then sighed.
“Go back to bed Becca. You have class in the morning.”
“So do you,” I pointed out.
“Not until three in the afternoon.” He smirked. “One of the pleasures of being a college student. Just wait until you graduate high school. It's a whole new world.”
I groaned a little, not wanting to think about having to get up for class in the morning. Being seventeen, I was in my final year of school at least. Three months and counting, which made me a lot more lucky than Kendall who, despite being the same age as me, was also a grade behind. Poor sucker got born after the cut off date.
Erik stared at me from over his shoulder, his expression now serious. “You really should get some sleep.”
“You're right. I should have been in bed way before midnight,” I said and hid my smile as he winced.
“I didn't mean to be so late. I was scheduled until nine-thirty. My co-worker did a no call, no show. I'm probably going to get fired for leaving forty-minutes early, but maybe the manager will understand.”
I did smile, but not maliciously like I had wanted to earlier. “You don't need to have a second job.”
“Yes, I do,” he stated firmly.
“If you say so, but I don't understand it.”
“Because you don't want to be normal like me.”
“No, I guess not,” I admitted. Normal wasn't something I had ever striven to be. What was the point? None of us would ever live completely normal lives.
I stood and went over to give Erik a big hug. He put his arms around me and when he did all of my doubt melted away.
“I knew you'd come for me,” I whispered.
“Good, because despite everything, there will never be a time I won't show up. Not unless something else happens,” he said. “Go to bed.”
“Yes sir!” I snickered and saluted him, and then went back to my bedroom so I could get some sleep. Linnea was in the king sized bed already out like a light, snoring ever so softly. She could even make that cute. It wasn't fair.
I climbed into bed, already in my sleep clothes for the night, and then pulled the covers up around me tightly. It took some time for my nerves to calm again. The close call of the night still sat in the pit of my stomach like lead. I'm safe. I know I'm safe. There's nothing that can hurt me now that Erik is here, but there's something terrifying about the Other Side, not just the Dark Hour.
Then again, it's not like I've ever heard anything good about the realm of magic or the Triumphant Empire. My whole life I've lived in the 'regular world'. It's a place where I'm safe even if my overall purpose is not being fulfilled. Whatever that purpose was, of course. There was little I knew about my job as a Keeper, about the Other Side, and the empire as a whole.
For a while, I stared at the ceiling and gripped the elaborate brass key around my neck. It glowed with a soft purple light and was warm to the touch. There were still magical creatures outside of my apartment watching me, waiting so they could take me far away to the Other Side. I did want to go there some day, but it needed to be on my own terms. Forcing me to go to the Other Side wouldn't be the only thing the dark magical creatures would try to make me do, either.
They want the key, I thought as I held it tightly in my hand. The heat began to fade, along with the glow, and soon it was back to being the dull brass color it always was. Outside of the spiral clover like leafs at the top, it was rather dull to look at. Kendall had a key, my father had a key, every Keeper had a key. I'd never been told what it did.
There are two rules to being a Keeper. The first being never leave your Guardian, and the second is never lose your key. The day I found out what the key unlocked would be the day the Triumphant Empire won. I couldn't let that happen.
Chapter Two
The alarm clock went off at exactly five-thirty in the morning. I'm not a morning person, at all. I almost turned it off so I could go back to bed, but the idea of staying home and letting my mom pretend to be my therapist wasn't all too appealing either. Some how she would find out about our almost traumatic evening. No thank you. I wanted to put that talk off for as long as possible.
School didn't start until eight, but if I had any chance of getting a shower in before class, I had to get up at the butt-crack of dawn in order to do so. Which sucks, let me tell you. I wasn't even guaranteed a chance to shower. Between Kendall, Linnea, and myself, it was every man for himself. If Linnea got in the shower before me, then I'd be safe. She was always quick and to the point. Kendall on the other hand took epic showers that sucked up all the hot water. I don't know what he does in there, but if he ever finished in less than half an hour it was a miracle.
It wasn't my lucky day, because the shower was running and both my mom and Linnea were in the kitchen talking in hushed voices. I knew for a fact that my Dad and Erik were still sleeping. Max probably was too, but even if he wasn't there was no reason for him to be taking a shower in the morning. He was just a kid.
I groaned and trudged into the bedroom so I could possibly attempt some more sleep. Not how I wanted to start my day. When things were rough and all over the place in the morning, that usually meant something weird or bad was going to happen at school. The idea of staying home started to appeal to me more, but again, dealing with my mom and her therapy techniques was a lot less appealing than Calculus and Physics. No matter how late I'd be allowed to sleep in, it just wasn't worth the trade.
But maybe I could get another hour in, at least. Forget the shower. I'd just wear some extra deodorant, and a good perfume to mask myself until I could get home and wash up in the evening. Besides, my hair was always amazing the day after I cleaned up. Usually, days like that didn't happen when I had to go to school. It always occurred on the weekend when I spent my time in pajamas and had no reason to look cute. One day at school where I could feel gorgeous wasn't too much to ask for, right?
I never did fall back asleep. Instead, I lay in bed with my eyes closed and remembered to breathe, to relax. Kendall got out of the bathroom at six-fifteen. I only know this because he made a lot of noise on his way out that startled me. One moment I'm cuddling my stuffed monkey in my bed, all nice and cozy, and then the next there's a loud thud, a clank, and some quiet cursing coming from the bathroom. Loud noises have always bothered me. I was more or less thinking there was a spontaneous attack happening.
The bathroom door opened, and I assumed that meant he was coming out. My assumptions are usually way off.
“What are you doing? Close the door, I'm naked!” Kendall was almost shouting. Apparently he was still trying to be a little conscientious of the rest of us in the apartment.
Linnea groaned. “I didn't see anything. If you don't want me to burst in here, try to make it sound like you're not killing yourself next time.”
“I'm not killing myself. I tripped on the floor mat.”
“You're the clumsiest person alive, I swear.”
“That still doesn't mean you can just barge in here!” he protested.
“Maybe you should lock the door!” she snapped back.
“Rule number one has always been no locking doors no matter what is going on. Duh. Besides, it's not safe to take a shower with the door locked because you could trip and hurt yourself really badly and then no one would be able to come in and help you.” I imagined he was rolling his hazel eyes then.
Oh Kendall, you always talk yourself into holes with her. I had to smother my giggling.
Linnea snorted a little. “Exactly.”
“I...oh...” Kendall sighed. “Right, because I fell and could have hurt myself and...you could have at least knocked first and asked if I was okay!”
“...thanks...”
A typical morning in my world. Rather than going back to bed, I decided to get up and stay up. Might as well, right? Besides, it was early enough, I might have been able to get a decent breakfast instead of just a granola bar.
The first stop I made was the second bathroom. There was no way I could hold it in any longer. It sucked that we had two toilets and only one shower to share with so many people. I guess if push came to shove, I could have gone to one of the other apartments shared between all of our families. At the same time, rest was infinitely more important to our parents than it was for us teenagers. They worked all night. They needed to sleep far more than I needed to shower.
Waffles sounded fantastic for breakfast, so I got two frozen ones and popped them into the toaster. My mom was no where to be seen. Perhaps I'd get off the hook of having to talk to her before school. Then again, I'd never been all too lucky.
The door opened to the apartment and my mom came in. She gave me a gentle smile; the “my poor precious baby was traumatized so I'm going to treat her like she's five” smile. Don't get me wrong, I love my mother. She's just over protective to a whole new level.
She pulled her long dark hair into a side ponytail. The same color hair I had as well. We looked almost exactly alike, actually. About the only differences were that I had less curves and brown eyes, instead of blue. Both of us were tall, had high cheekbones, and wavy hair. I wasn't about to complain about genetics in the slightest. I only hoped I could hold onto what I was given so I could be beautiful just like my mom when I got to be her age.
And of course the first thing she did was hug me. I loved her hugs, so it was fine. Then she started to pet my tangled hair.
“Did you sleep okay?” she asked.