The Thorn Chronicles-Books 1-4: Kissed, Destroyed, Secrets, and Lies

by Kimberly Loth

  When I first started school, I liked the social aspects of it. But I got into a lot of trouble for talking; besides, I had a hard time sitting down all day. As soon as I turned sixteen I took my GED test without informing Ginny or Naomi. I passed and didn’t look back.

  “It was a mistake, I swear. Last night little Ale got a hold of my phone. I got up this morning before the sunrise and left to sketch the mountain in early morning light. When I checked the time on my phone it said eight, but when I got home it was actually noon.”

  Naomi dipped her finger into a pot of sauce and tasted it. “Mmm. You mean to tell me you don’t know the difference between eight in the morning and noon.”

  “You know I get distracted when I’m drawing.”

  “I also know you don’t like Puck.” She sighed. “Sunday, lessons with him are what’s best for you. He’s a much better teacher than I am.”

  She was right, I didn’t like Puck. But that wasn’t his fault. Not really. When Naomi came back from Arkansas she jumped right into his arms and didn’t leave for six months. I was jealous, because I wanted to spend time with her and she basically ignored me. I looked up to her so much; she had rescued me and she’d been like me before, trapped with an evil Destroyer. But every time I asked her to go swimming with me or watch a movie, she always brought Puck along. I get it now. Mostly. She had a lot to process, though no one told me the whole story. The only thing I was able to glean was that her mother died and her boyfriend ran off with her best friend.

  She was also right about Puck being a better teacher, though it didn’t matter—I hated the lessons. Both Naomi and Puck were still going over the basics, they never taught me anything I didn’t already know. I’d take Naomi over Puck though.

  Speak of the Master Guardian himself.

  Puck walked into the room and gave Naomi a big kiss. Gag me. Yeah, call me hypocritical.

  He interlaced his fingers with hers. “Where’s your ring?”

  Naomi flushed. “I took it off before I started dinner. I didn’t want to get it dirty.”

  What? I crept closer, wanting to hear more. Why was she lying?

  He leaned against the counter. “I haven’t seen you all day. I missed you.”

  She laughed. It sounded fake. “I know, Ricki needed some girl time. I’m free tomorrow. How about we go out to Santa Barbara and spend a couple of days on the beach?”

  She’d just told me she went to see Jason. I wondered what she was keeping from Puck. Naomi rarely, if ever, lied. This had to be big.

  “That sounds fantastic. But we’ll have to wait until the evening to leave. I have some business to take care of,” said Puck.

  I loved the beach. It was a great place to sketch scenery. Plus, I wanted to know what was going on.

  “Can I come?” I asked.

  Puck looked down at me, his dark brown hair falling in his eyes. He used to have cool, colored hair but sometime in the last year he decided to become an adult. It was a bit tragic. I loved his colored hair.

  “I kind of wanted some alone time with Naomi. Besides, if we are both gone then you won’t have lessons for a couple of days.”

  Before I could respond, Naomi spoke. “Actually, I think that’s a great idea. Maybe if she’s not distracted by all the pretty boys she’ll be more focused on practicing.”

  I shuffled my feet while they gave each other pointed looks. “So does that mean I can go?”

  “Yes,” said Naomi. “Now, go get little Ale please, dinner is ready.”

  “Wait,” said Puck.

  I stopped midway through my escape from the kitchen and turned. “Yeah?”

  “You’ll have a lesson at six a.m. tomorrow.”

  “Sunrise is my best sketching time,” I whined.

  “No buts. If you want to go to the beach with us, you’ll be there.”

  I nodded to show I understood, and then I raced back toward the theater room.

  Little Ale wasn’t on the couch. Crap. Where’d he go?

  I came around the side of the couch and found him in the corner with charcoal everywhere. My sunset now a mess of green and purple. Yep, I really hated little kids.

  Sunday

  Cacti are survivors. They take care of themselves. Don’t believe me? Go stab one with a knife and come back a week later. The cactus will have completely healed itself. That’s not to say it’s not hurt. It forms a scar that will be there forever. I like to keep my scars. They remind me that I’m stronger than the knife.

  I NEVER OVERSLEPT. Ever. Except today. I made it to the library at 6:30 a.m. Puck was reclining on the couch, his eyes closed. Maybe he wouldn’t notice. But as soon as I sat across from him, he spoke.

  “I thought you wanted to go to the beach.”

  “I do. I just overslept. That never happens. I swear.”

  “Whatever,” he muttered and sat up. He knew I didn’t like him. He wouldn’t have much to do with me if Naomi didn’t make him.

  “How’s your shield?” he asked.

  “You tell me.”

  He closed his eyes for a second. “Good. How often do you leave it up?”

  I shrugged. “Most of the time. Naomi said the boys can’t know I’m a Shade. It’s just easier if I leave it up all the time.”

  He smirked. “Easier to kiss them?”

  I blushed.

  “Yeah, I heard about that. I’m going to have a talk with Jeremy. The rest of them too.”

  Jeremy. That was his name. For some reason knowing that made me feel better.

  “Why does it matter?”

  “For one, I need my men focused and you’re proving to be a little too distracting. Plus, if you ever let your shield down while kissing, it’d be all over.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Naomi is determined to keep you a secret. Herself too. Though I knew what she was the moment I kissed her. She tells me you are a lot stronger than she is.”

  This was news to me. “She said that?”

  “She also said you’re irresponsible, but yeah, you’re strong.”

  I grinned.

  Puck leaned forward. “So far, we’ve only worked on the basics. Why don’t we see what you are really capable of?”

  “Really?” I asked.

  “If you can prove to me that you’ve been practicing your basic skills, then sure, I don’t see why not.”

  Easy-peasy. I might not have practiced, but I was good. Puck stood up and faced me.

  “What do you want me to start with?” I asked.

  “Make me smile.”

  I filled his head with a vision of a sunrise and the room with the smell of tulips. A wide smile spread across his face.

  “Next?” I asked.

  We went through a few more basic exercises. I sent his own emotions back to him, counteracted negative feelings, and built shields. Puck grew increasingly agitated as the session went on and I couldn’t figure out why.

  “Can you sense hidden emotions?” he asked.

  I nodded.

  “What am I feeling right now?”

  “Irritated. But I’m not using my ability to sense that. I can see it written across your face. What’s wrong?”

  He scowled.

  “I can’t believe I didn’t see this before. You’re far more advanced that Naomi led me to believe. When do you practice? Because according to Naomi, never.”

  “I don’t,” I admitted. “It comes naturally. I don’t like practicing because I’m not allowed to actually do anything with it.”

  He leaned back up at against a bookshelf and crossed his arms.

  “Naomi hasn’t done you any favors. You two need to be introduced into the Guardians. You could be an incredible force. Let’s see what kind of special powers you have.”

  “Special?”

  “Some people have powers that are more advanced. I have a few Guardians who can read minds, and a couple who are particularly good at predicating behaviors. A few are adept at mimicking a Destroyer. The most common one is heali
ng. I’d say about a third of all Guardians can heal. I can’t. Surely, a few of the boys have offered to heal those scars on your back.”

  “Yeah, so did Naomi, but I want to keep them. I thought healing was something all Guardians could do.”

  “Nope. Come on, let’s go to the greenhouse, it’s best to practice on plants.”

  “Okay, just no roses.”

  “Naomi burned you out, huh?”

  “You could say that.”

  I followed him out to the greenhouse and realized that Naomi was right. Puck was a better teacher. Her lessons were tedious and boring. She never bothered to check if I’d mastered a skill or not. She would just jump to a lecture about practice. She did a lot of demonstrating and talking. She didn’t often give me an opportunity to show her what I could do.

  “Let’s start with something easy.” He found a small tree and snapped a twig so it was barely hanging by a strip of bark. “See if you can mend this. Again, I can’t do it. Those Guardians who can will think of anything that represents new birth to them to make the healing happen.”

  I nodded and gently wrapped my hand around the broken twig. I took a minute and thought about what new birth meant to me. When I lived in Arkansas we had a farm and a few farm animals, but I wasn’t crazy about any of their births. They were always messy and gross. Then I remembered working with Mother in the garden. She taught me how plant all sorts of things. My favorite memory was when she allotted me a patch of dirt and I planted the beans all by myself. I watered them every day and sat for hours to watch for the little green stems to peak out of the dirt. I inhaled and smelled the deep earth and felt the warmth of sunshine on my face; I tasted rain. Then I withdrew my hand.

  The twig was like new.

  Puck whistled. He gave me a few increasingly more complex plants and each of them was easier to heal than the previous.

  “You’re a fast learner,” he said.

  I shrugged. “None of this has ever been difficult for me.”

  He smiled. “I think we’ve underestimated you. Let’s see what you can do with this.”

  He held out a cactus that been neglected. It was completely dead.

  “If Alejandro was still alive you would have never found one of these dead, but Naomi’s world is all about the roses. Give it a whirl.”

  Healing something and bringing it back to life were two completely different things. I had to think for a minute before I could decide what I would use. I settled on a newborn baby’s cry, a sunrise, and the salty smell of the ocean.

  It worked.

  The cactus turned a vibrant green. It was squat and round, with curved thorns.

  Puck didn’t look happy. Without warning, he whipped out a knife, sliced open his palm, and shoved it in front of me. Before I could process what was happening, I directed all the energy I just summoned for the cactus into Puck’s hand. The bleeding stopped and his palm was good as new.

  I didn’t even touch him.

  “Holy shit.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve never seen anyone do that without physical touch. Ever.”

  I beamed.

  Puck crossed his arms and scowled.

  “Should I have left you bleeding? What’s the problem?” I asked.

  “You’re unbelievably powerful, that’s what. Seriously, I’ve never seen anything like you before. We should begin the official training process as soon as possible. You could be a Guardian by Christmas.”

  I bounced on the balls of my feet. “Would I finally be allowed to do the stuff that Minor Guardians get to do?”

  He smirked. “Yeah, and more.”

  Finally, someone thought I was capable of more than just the stupid basics. I did a little happy dance.

  Puck waited until I was done.

  “I won’t do anything without Naomi’s agreement.”

  My smile turned into a frown. “That won’t happen. She doesn’t think I can handle it.”

  “Then we have a mission for our trip to the beach. Convince her to let you join us. If we play our cards right, she’ll have to give in.”

  I could barely contain my excitement. I reached over and gave him a hug, something I don’t think he was expecting.

  Just like that, Puck and I were friends.

  Sunday

  Cacti are native to the Americas. Yet, you’ll find them in gardens all over the world. Why? Because they can grow and thrive anywhere. I wish I could say the same thing about myself. Vegas remains the only place I’ve ever felt I’ve belonged.

  NAOMI AND GINNY WERE STANDING in the kitchen when Puck and I returned to the house. Ginny looked up and smiled at me.

  “Your roots are showing, I booked Gloria for early this afternoon. You might want to pack for the beach now,” she said.

  I was itching to share the news, but Puck had told me to wait until we were at the beach. He wanted to bring it up to Naomi before I said anything. But I was so excited.

  “Whatcha got there?” asked Naomi.

  “A cactus.” I held the pot of the round thing I brought back to life. I had no idea what kind it was, but I knew I was totally smitten. Naomi raised her eyebrows.

  Puck spoke before I did. “Turns out she can heal. She brought that little guy back from nothing.”

  “Wow. Good job. I take it you enjoyed your lesson with Puck.”

  “I did. I’m going to go pack so we can get our hair done.”

  I ran to my room and threw a few pairs of shorts, t-shirts, underwear, and swimsuits in my bag. It took all of two minutes. I picked up my sketchbook and thumbed through the pages. There were only two blank pages left. No way would that be enough for the beach. I took it over to my book shelf. There were twenty-three sketchbooks lined up there. Twenty-three journals of my stay in Vegas. Some people expressed themselves with words, I expressed mine with pictures. Every once in a while I’d tear out a picture if I wanted to hang it on the wall or tear it up, but I always taped them back in later. I scrawled a twenty-four on the spine of this one and shelved it. From another shelf I grabbed a new sketchbook and shoved it in my bag with my pencils.

  I stared in the mirror. My hair was the only thing I really cared about. I loved funky hair colors ever since I first saw Naomi rocking her purple hair. I went bright pink for a long time. I’ve messed with a few different colors over the last couple of years, and right now my hair was sky blue. I didn’t want a drastic change, but something different. Scattered on my dresser were the pictures I’d been working on. All various sunrises or sunsets. I studied a couple of them and picked a few of my better ones. My hair was going to be a sunrise.

  My hair turned out awesome. The crown of my head was still sky blue but about five inches down it faded into a blend of purple and pink, then a light orange, and the tips were yellow. I was very pleased.

  In the car, Naomi sat in the front with Puck so I got the whole back seat to myself. Though I did have to share it with Lincoln, but he didn’t take up much space. He always went everywhere with me, including the beach. He liked catching small fish and crabs. I had my headphones on while I sketched, but I didn’t have any music playing. I wanted them to think I couldn’t hear them. If Puck suspected I was eavesdropping, he didn’t say anything.

  “She did well in our lessons today. She’s powerful.”

  “I know, but she’s very unfocused. She needs to grow up a little before we can do anything with her,” said Naomi.

  “She’s already too strong. That kind of power can be dangerous if it’s not focused. I think she needs to become a Guardian now. She’s sixteen, and most of my Minor Guardians make the change right around fourteen. Jason knows about her too. How do you know she won’t go running off with him if he promises her a leadership position in the Destroyer camp?”

  I had to bite my tongue. Puck was hitting below the belt. I’d never go with the Destroyers, but it was a sneaky card to play.

  “She won’t. Don’t force this. She’s not ready.”

  “She’s not read
y, or you’re not ready to let her go? Look, she’s more powerful than anyone I’ve ever met. Even you. That is dangerous. Especially if she finds out about the secret power.”

  It took me a second to process what he said. Then I whipped my headphones off.

  “What secret power? What are you guys talking about?”

  Naomi looked back at me, then at Puck. She crossed her arms and huffed. “I knew you were listening. Did you and Puck plan this together? You aren’t becoming a Guardian. End of story.”

  “You aren’t the one who gets to make that decision. What secret power are you talking about?”

  “Thanks a lot, Puck.” She turned around and gave me one of her nasty stares. “When you’re older, I’ll tell you. You aren’t ready for this knowledge. Nor are you ready to become a Guardian.”

  I started to argue but Puck reached back and squeezed my knee. I took that as a signal to keep my mouth shut for the moment. But this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

  It was dark by the time we got to the beach house, but I dropped my stuff in my room and ran back outside, with Lincoln right on my heels. Puck was stacking wood.

  “Can I help?” I asked.

  He nodded. “See if you can find some driftwood.”

  I dragged a few larger pieces back up the beach. Within a half-hour we had a roaring fire. Naomi came out carrying a tray with graham crackers, marshmallows, and Hershey bars. I ripped open the bag of marshmallows and pulled out a few. I set the bag back on the tray in the sand.

  “You know, those work better if you wait until the fire has died down a bit.”

  I shook my head as I watched one of my marshmallows catch fire. “I like them burnt.”

  Naomi laughed. “No, you just don’t have any patience.”

  “True.”

  We laughed and talked until late. I learned a lot about Naomi and Puck’s early courtship. They didn’t mention Kai, but I could see gaps in their story. I wondered how Naomi really felt about him. Did she miss him?

  The next morning I was out the door before anyone else woke up. The sunrise here seemed easier to capture somehow.