The Guardian, a Sword, & Stilettos (The Enlighten Series Book 1)

by Kristin D. Van Risseghem

  Me: Thanks for ending our date on a high note after such a scary night

  He must have known I was going to text him since his reply was instant.

  Shay: NP. My favorite part 2

  Me: Where do you stay at night?

  Shay: Kieran’s

  Me: Always?

  Shay: Recently

  Me: You and K buddies now?

  Shay: No

  Me: You going to tell him what happened tonight? About the Ds?’

  Shay: Yes, but only that part’

  Me: What do you want to do tomorrow?

  Shay: Anything as long as it’s with U

  Me: I’m going to ask Sidelle to come over

  Shay: Why?

  Me: Girl talk

  Shay: Oh

  Me: Maybe after U can come over? Dad wants to see your car

  Shay: Sure

  Me: Told him you’re Kieran’s friend from school

  Shay: OK. I thought you were going to bed

  Me: I am

  Shay: Night

  Me: Night

  After changing into my jammies, I climbed into bed and tried to sleep, but I couldn’t get comfortable. Images of the night’s events rushed through my mind, and I couldn’t help think how lucky we’d been. At least no one had died, thanks to Sidelle. I felt stronger now that Shay was in my life. Knowing Sidelle was on my side helped, too. But the one thing that kept coming up in my thoughts was how much I missed Kieran and his smile. I didn’t feel like I’d be able to do this without him.

  I decided to ask him to come over tomorrow, too, as well so we could hash things out. Maybe if Sidelle was there at the same time it wouldn’t be as awkward.

  It was only one in the morning, so I figured Sidelle was still up.

  Me: You awake?

  Ping.

  Sidelle: Yep

  Me: Thanks for saving my life

  Sidelle: NP!

  Me: Wanna hang out tomorrow?

  Sidelle: Sí

  Me: My house?

  Sidelle: Okey dokey. Time?

  Me: Noon?

  Sidelle: OK. CU L8r

  Knowing Sidelle was coming over made me feel better. I needed her help on both my boy and demon problems.

  Now, I needed to figure out how I was going to save the world.

  I woke Sunday morning with a killer headache. Normally I slept until mid-morning, but not today. My body ached, like I had done an intense workout the day before. I marked it down to the adrenaline. I lay in bed and watched cartoons, needing a brain break from last night’s bad memories. Later, I dressed and headed to the kitchen for breakfast.

  “You’re up early,” Mom said. “Is everything all right?”

  “I’m fine,” I told her. “I just haven’t been sleeping well lately.”

  “Are you and Kieran doing better?” Dad set his coffee on the table.

  I shrugged, not entirely sure. “He’s still a little weird about things. I guess he’ll have to work on it.” I left it at that, because to be honest, I didn’t want to talk about my relationship problems with my parents. “Oh, Sidelle is coming over today for lunch.”

  “Okay.” Mom walked across the kitchen and started putting dishes away. “How was Cali’s party?”

  “It wasn’t a party. It was just a get together.” Like that sounded better.

  She kept her back to me. “Whatever you want to call it, I’m glad you went.”

  My eyes widened. Holy crap, my mom just said she was glad I’d gone to a house party—and without Kieran?

  “You’re . . . what?” I stammered.

  She turned and leaned back against the counter, pointing a dirty wooden spoon in my direction. “Zoe, you’ll be an adult soon. We’ve raised you with a good head on your shoulders, but we can’t shelter you forever. You need to find your own wings and fly.”

  I stared at her, and covered my giggle. I know a half angel, my best friend’s an angel, my girlfriend’s a fairy, and now my mom was . . . someone else, too.

  “Plans for today?” Dad wiggled his eyebrows.

  I rolled my eyes, but Mom obviously hadn’t seen what passed between him and me. So that meant he hadn’t told her about Shay. Interesting. “No, nothing specific. I think I’ll go jogging before Sidelle gets here. You?”

  “We’re headed to church then running some errands,” he said. He peered over the iPad and winked. “We should be back by mid-afternoon.”

  I shook my head, then carried cereal and a cup of coffee back to my room. Stella stood in the hallway, in her Olaf the snowman jammies.

  She scanned the hallway and whispered, “How was your date?”

  I ushered her into my room and closed the door behind us, then I briefly described how Shay had picked me up and given me an orchid. I frowned, remembering that I’d left the flower in his car. She listened when I told her who was at the party, since I listed people I thought she might know. I glossed over parts, like the drinking, the demons, and oh, the fact that they all wanted to kill me. And she hung on every word.

  “Do you like him?” she asked.

  I couldn’t hide the grin that bloomed across my face. “Yeah. He might be coming over today. If he does, you can meet him.”

  “Cool!” She bounded out of my room, leaving me to eat my breakfast in peace, though I only ate a few bites of cereal before changing into my running clothes. I hoped to run at least five miles before Sidelle arrived, since I hadn’t done any real exercising in days.

  When I walked past Kieran’s house, I noticed all the lights were off, like no one was home. Maybe they were still sleeping. Did angels sleep? I stopped at the end of his neighbors’ driveway to stretch my legs and arms, still thinking about Kieran. He never stopped at the gym and didn’t play school sports, but he was in perfect shape. He had gorgeous hair, a beautiful face and smile. I was not so lucky. It wasn’t fair I had to work so diligently to keep fit.

  No cars passed on the adjacent street up ahead, which was strange. Normally a few would be leaving the cul-de-sac by now, on their way to church or breakfast. I waved as my family drove by. An uneasy feeling knotted in my stomach, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I felt like someone was watching me. I turned, but no one was there. Still, the sensation was enough to throw me off my run. Shaking my head, I returned home. Trying to ignore my uneasiness, I ran upstairs and grabbed my cell to text Shay.

  Me: Good Morning

  I returned the bowl of half-eaten cereal to the kitchen. With my cell phone held tight in my hand, I waited for Shay’s response.

  Ping.

  Shay: It is now

  Me: I left my flower in your car last night

  Shay: I know

  Me: Meant to bring it in. U distracted me. Will U bring it over?

  Shay: Time?

  Me: 3?

  Shay: Can’t wait

  At exactly noon, the doorbell rang. Sidelle stood at the door, smiling at me, and holding out a large cup from Coffee Grind.

  “I know it’s your favorite and you can’t function without it.”

  Laughing, I took the latte, inhaling the spiced cinnamon as it wafted out. “How’d you know?”

  She set one hand on her hip and observed me from under her long lashes. “Zoe, we’ve had our lockers next to each other all year. Every day—except for last Friday—you’ve had this either in your hand or on your breath.”

  “I had no idea I was such an open book.” I stepped back so she could come inside. “I thought since it’s such a nice day out, we could sit in the backyard.”

  She shrugged. “Sure. What ev’s.”

  I led her to the patio, and we settled in at the wrought iron bistro set.

  “Have you known Shay a long time?” I asked.

  “No, not long. Just since he was born back in what, the thirties or forties? I don’t remember the exact date, but he’s young. A baby. He’s a good guy.” She winked. “Hot, too, if I may say so. But, all angels—even the halves—are good looking. At least all the ones I’v
e met have been. Not that we socialize together, but over the centuries our paths have crossed with a few.”

  “How old are you?”

  Her head spun toward me in the blink of an eye. “Now, Zoe, you know it’s impolite to ask a woman her age. That’s also true for fairies. Besides, did you call me over here to talk about me or about your boy problems?”

  “How did you know that’s what I wanted to talk about?”

  “Why else would you text me at one in the morning? Texts that late always have to do with boys.” She let out a long, dramatic sigh and shook her head. “Oh, Zoe, what am I going to do with you? It’s like you crawled out from under a rock.”

  I cocked my head to the side. “All this started when I met Shay two days ago—no, three days ago.” I smiled wryly. “Saying that extra day somehow makes it sound better. Anyway, when I first saw him, I thought . . .” My mind traveled back to the warehouse, and I kind of forgot where I was for a moment.

  “Ahem.”

  I shook my head to clear it. “Sorry. It’s just, well, he was the hottest guy on the planet. I couldn’t stop staring. And then I found out Kieran’s liked me for years, but never said anything to me.” My body slumped deeper into the chair. “What am I gonna do?” I whined. “I mean, I’ve known Kieran my whole life. Suddenly, I find out he likes me as more than just friends, but I don’t feel that way.”

  “And Shay?”

  I sighed, remembering. “I was instantly drawn to him. It was amazing. I trust him, and I don’t even know him! How is that possible? When he looks at me I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And when we kiss, I feel like there’s no one else but him and me.”

  Sidelle practically jumped out of her chair. “He kissed you? So? How was it? Come on, tell me. This is what girlfriends talk about. If you can’t tell your girlfriends, it’s like it never happened. So spill!”

  “The first kiss was—”

  “Wait!” She leaned forward and flashed her hand up, stopping me. “There’s been more than one kiss?”

  My cheeks burned. “Yes.”

  “Oh. My. Gosh!” she gushed, beaming at me. “Okay. I want to hear all the graphic details! Do not leave anything out!”

  “Well, the first kiss was soft—”

  “Stop right there!” She shook her head. “You have to set it up for me. What led to it and where you were. Geez, Zoe. Okay. New tactic. Don’t talk to me like I’m your mother. Talk to me like I’m a girlfriend. Haven’t you ever done this before?”

  I stared at her, feeling confused.

  “Man, you need to get away from Kieran once in a while and hang with girls more often.” She shrugged. “But I guess that’s sort of why I’m here now, isn’t it?”

  I nodded, feeling more confident. So I told her about Thursday afternoon, how Kieran and I had been walking home from school and were followed by two demon Knights. “That’s when Shay saved me. We headed back to Kieran’s after, and the two of them told me enough to paint me a pretty picture.”

  Sidelle nodded, leaning in.

  “So later that night,” I continued, “Shay came to my bedroom window and asked if I wanted to go flying with him. Afterward, we talked for a while, then he almost kissed me. At Cali’s party, we were bumped by some guys and he kissed me in the hallway.” I touched my lips, not wanting to share every graphic detail. “It was soft and perfect.”

  “Aw. That’s so sweet.”

  I narrowed my eyes, wondering if she was mocking me, but she didn’t change her expression at all.

  She kind of twisted her mouth to the side, looking as if she didn’t want to tell me something but had to. “Did you know he wasn’t supposed to take you flying? He broke a rule for you.”

  “I had no idea.”

  “Okay,” she said. “Moving on. Good job describing that one, by the way, but for the next one I want even more juicy details. I want to know how you felt during and after.” She pointed at me. “Now, go.”

  Wow, bossy. I hesitated, thinking about how much of the second kiss I actually wanted to share with her, but in the end I told her everything.

  Sidelle’s eyes sparkled. “Wow. Just wow. Very nice. I could almost picture it. Oh, and you do know that when I say I could almost picture it, I can, right? If someone provides enough detail, I can pick the actual event out of their mind. It’s like watching a movie playing. Some other time I’ll have to tell you what else we fairies can do.” She sat taller and stretched her back. “So what do you think is the problem?”

  “Wait! What else can you do? Do you have other powers?”

  She waved me off. “Later. I want to hear about the boys.”

  “Fine,” I said, “but we are going to get back to discussing you.”

  She shrugged, as if she couldn’t imagine what was so interesting about fairies. “Whatever.”

  “I guess I want to know how I should handle Kieran. I love him like a brother, but I’m sure he doesn’t want to hear that. No guy ever wants to hear those words from the girl they like.” I took a sip of my drink. “I want us to go back to the way we were, when we could joke around and talk about whatever. Now it’s all so weird. I can’t tell him how I feel about Shay. That wouldn’t be fair now that I know he has feelings for me.”

  “And what about Shay?” she prompted. “What do you feel for him?”

  I kept asking myself the same question. “That’s complicated. I mean, I only met him three days ago.”

  “Who gives a rat’s butt? Don’t you believe in love at first sight?”

  How I wanted to believe. “Could it be that simple?”

  “Sure. Why not?”

  “Well, because. It just doesn’t happen that way, does it?” It seemed crazy to me, but she shrugged, as if she couldn’t see what I was fussing about. “After three days you could love someone?”

  “Do you love him?”

  I let out a long breath. “I don’t know. He was my first kiss.” I dropped my chin in my hands. “Aren’t you supposed to know someone for a long time before you love them? I thought that feeling those warm fuzzies inside was a normal thing that happens to new couples dating.”

  I didn’t like the way Sidelle was frowning at me. Like I was some kind of exotic species. “What?”

  “Zoe, aren’t you seventeen?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  Her expression was incredulous. “How is it that you’ve never kissed anyone before?”

  “I just . . . didn’t. I’ve been waiting for that special someone, I guess.”

  “So? Was waiting for Shay worth it?”

  “Definitely.”

  She smiled, looking like a satisfied cat. “Isn’t that your answer?”

  My jaw dropped, seeing what she’d just done. I studied her profile in silence, thinking about how much I liked her straightforward attitude and her witty comments. She was just cool. And right now, she sat so quiet and serene that I feared she had fallen asleep.

  “Nope. I’m still awake.”

  Had I said that out loud? I didn’t think I had.

  “Nope, you didn’t. I can feel your eyes on me.”

  I stared at her. “Can you read my mind? Do you read everyone’s? Do you do it all the time?”

  “Slow down, would ya? Man, Zoe, sometimes you talk a mile a minute.” She rolled her eyes. “Geez. I thought I rambled. Yes, I can read minds, and no, I don’t do it all the time.” She wiggled her index finger. “If I concentrate on someone and their thoughts are clear, I can get glimpses—images sometimes—but most Ordinaries’ minds are like a crazy drug or something because they are so jumbled. Plus, I don’t do it a lot because I don’t like to. I feel like it’s an invasion of privacy. But the truth is that I am one of the few fairies who think that way, so if you’re around other fairies, be careful. They will let themselves in and take whatever thoughts you have.” She lifted one eyebrow and smiled. “But in case you’re wondering, I can’t get a read on yours.”

  Oh, thank God.

  “I couldn’t picture yo
ur kiss, and I should have been able to. Doesn’t matter. You described it well enough. Anyway, sometimes it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure people out. I mean, I can usually tell just by body language, facial expressions, and good guessing.” She turned to stare at me. “But I can’t get a read on you at all. And now I’m trying to.” She blinked—twice—then shook her head. “Nothing. Interesting.”

  “Okay,” I said. “So my thoughts might or might not be safe around your kind. Tell me something else. Can you read minds over distance? Do you have to know the person in order to read them? And can you only read Ordinaries, or can you read other Enlightens?”

  “I don’t have to know the Ordinary, and distance doesn’t matter. Other than Ordinaries, I can also read the angels when they let me, wolves, and nephilim.”

  “The wolves? Werewolves?”

  She nodded, but she didn’t look like she wanted to talk about them. Fascinating.

  “How come when Shay and I touch, it feels like an electrical current goes through us?”

  “That actually happens?” She leaned forward. “What’s it feel like?”

  “It’s like when you get zapped from static.”

  “Maybe it’s your sparkly personalities. Got any more questions?”

  “Too many to list,” I replied glumly.

  She waited, but my mind had gone dry. I took another sip of my chai, hoping to come up with something.

  “That’s okay,” she assured me with a smile. “I’m sure you’ll think up more.”

  Do I want to know what she’s read from Shay?

  After speaking with Sidelle, I felt I had gotten a reasonably good handle on my feelings about both Kieran and Shay. I swiped my phone on to check the time and realized it was already 2:00 o’clock. I sent a quick text to Shay telling him he could come over if he wanted to, that our girl chat was done. As soon as my phone locked, Sidelle grinned.

  “Should I leave now so you can have some alone time with your boy toy?” she teased.

  At least I thought she was teasing. “No, you can stay if you want. Since I’m in the know these days, we’ll all probably be hanging out a lot more together, don’t you think?”