Ricki and Naomi both broke into hysterical laughter. Naomi wiped her eyes.
“I’m sorry, but I’m still remembering it. You looked just like her at Halloween and you did such a good job impersonating her public meltdowns. It would probably have passed, except that someone recorded you and it went viral. People are still talking about it.”
Yeah, and that person who recorded me and posted the video on Youtube was Puck. He could’ve taken it down, but he didn’t. Since then, Paris and I only came face to face once, and I thought she was going to claw my eyes out.
“Where to now?” I asked.
Ricki shrugged. “We should probably get some dinner.”
Naomi looked more relaxed. Maybe she really did simply need to talk about what she was up to. Ricki was good for that kind of thing. The rest of the night was uneventful. We got home around 2:00 a.m. and I collapsed into bed, pausing only to take off my wretched shoes.
Two days later, a knock sounded on my door and I hastily covered up the picture I was working on for Ginny. It was coming together nicely. I peeked out and saw Jordan. Puck had him running errands so I hadn’t seen him since our lessons in the library. Puck had ruined Jordan’s kisses for me. Still, my stomach fluttered a little when Jordan smiled. I opened the door wider and waved him in.
“Shut the door behind you,” I said, already taking the cover off my painting.
“I didn’t realize we’d already reached this point in our relationship. But I’m open to it.”
“Ha-ha. I don’t want Ginny seeing this picture until I’m done.”
He picked up one of bright pink heels that I left on the floor from the night I went out with Naomi and Ricki.
“I didn’t realize you wore shoes like this.”
“I don’t. But Ricki wouldn’t let me go with her unless I wore heels. Bet you’d like to me see me in those,” I said, winking at him.
He shrugged. “I’m sure you looked hot, but I’d rather you be comfortable. Seriously. Shorts and t-shirts are just as sexy.”
I blushed and the back of my neck tingled. It was such an odd thing for him to say. We really hadn’t talked much, most of our interactions had been solely lip locking. For him to make such an endearing comment was just weird.
He picked up a few of the photos I had sprawled on the ground. They were blown up pictures of Alejandro. I had a vase of his roses on the table next to my easel, which also held the paint infused with his energy. I wished I knew how Naomi did it.
Jordan stood behind me, close enough that he made me nervous. He reached around me to touch the painting but I swatted his hand away.
“The paint’s not dry.”
“That’s incredible. The detail. I’ve studied a lot of art, it’s sort of a hobby of mine. It’s rare to see this kind of talent. It looks like a photograph.”
I shrugged. “Thanks. I didn’t know you liked art.”
“My mom’s a curator at a museum. I spent a lot of time waiting for her in galleries.”
“We should do an art tour of Vegas. Most of the malls have fantastic shops featuring new artists.” I turned and grinned at him. “I spend a lot of time in those shops while Naomi and Ginny try on clothes.”
“That sounds fun. You want to go tonight?” He stood there with his hands in his pockets, and his eyes dropped slightly. Even when he was insecure he was hot. But again, so weird. He never displayed any insecurity before. He was very confident in his make-out abilities.
“Yeah, I’d love to.”
He looked up and met my eyes. Then he moved around me and studied the picture closer. “Most Guardians would infuse their own energy into a picture like this, but I can only detect a faint hint of your energy. Yet it has the feel of a Guardian.”
“It’s Ginny’s dead husband,” I said with a nod toward the roses.
“How’d you transfer that to your painting?”
“I’ve no idea. Naomi put it into the paint for me. She won’t tell me how she does it. It has something to do with our secret power.”
He didn’t respond. There was a long pause. Any normal person would have asked questions about secret powers. I spun toward him so fast that my brush put a streak of green on his cheek.
“You know!”
He wiped at the paint, which just made it worse. “Know what?”
“About the secret power. What is it?”
He put an arm around my waist and pulled me close to him. “You’re cute when you’re mad, you know that?”
His lips were only a couple of inches from mine, but he wasn’t getting away with this.
I pushed at his chest but couldn’t put any distance between us. “No. You tell me. I’m the only freaking one who doesn’t know.”
He kissed my lips and of course I responded. The head rush was amazing. Once I got my thoughts back, I pushed away, then pointed at him with my paintbrush. “You tell me now.”
He chuckled. “I wish I knew, love, but I don’t.”
“Right, and that’s why you tried to distract me.”
“Believe it or not, I like kissing you.”
“Whatever. I need to finish this thing. Did you need something?”
He shrugged. “I’m just bored.”
Lincoln dropped a hair tie at his feet.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“He wants you to throw it.”
“A cat that swims and plays fetch. What other tricks does he do?”
“A lot, he’s not a normal cat.”
A knock sounded at the door and I froze. If they found Jordan in here they’d think all kinds of bad things. I was doing so freaking good, too. I needed to give them a reason to keep me here, not send me away.
“Hide,” I said, pushing him toward my closet. I shoved him in and shut the door. “Come in,” I called. Lincoln dropped the hair band next to the closet door and yowled at it.
Naomi came in. I’d not seen her this undone in years. She had her hair in a ponytail and was wearing sweats and a t-shirt. She wore absolutely no makeup.
“You okay?” I asked.
She blinked. “Oh. Yeah. I’ve been doing research. I don’t like what I found. I need to take you out for some training. You up for a drive?”
“Sure. I just need to change.” I waved to my clothes. Lincoln started scratching and meowing at the closet door. Stupid cat.
“Yeah, I probably should too.” She closed her eyes.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked. She didn’t notice Lincoln at all, even though he was making quite the racket. Her eyes were normally super sharp. She’d notice something like that.
She nodded. “I’ll be fine. I don’t like keeping things from Puck. But he can’t know what we are up to.”
I pounced. “What exactly are we up to?”
She gave me a small smile. “You must learn how to keep your mouth shut before I tell you. First, you need to do this job in Tombstone. After that I should have all my ducks in a row and I can bring you in on the plan.”
I sighed. Tombstone again. Maybe if I could get her to open up before that, then she wouldn’t insist I needed to go away. “Should we meet in fifteen by your car?”
“Sure.”
I glanced at her finger before she left, and her ring was there. At least they were still engaged. Though from the sounds of her ominous plans they might not stay that way for long.
“Can I come out now?” Jordan asked.
“Yeah.”
Lincoln swatted him on the leg, then waited for him to throw the hair tie. Jordan threw it. Then he stood next to my dresser and fiddled with a couple of pencils.
“You heard her. I have to go do some training. You need to leave so I can change. I’ll be back by seven and we can go out.”
He made no move toward the door. “What was she talking about? What is she keeping from Puck?”
“I’ve no idea. She won’t tell me anything. I just know she hasn’t been herself and she’s been seeing Jason.”
“Jason? As in
, the Master Destroyer?”
I nodded, suddenly aware that I just spilled one of her secrets. Again. This time to Jordan, who I knew absolutely nothing about, except that he was loyal to Puck. And he was a good kisser. Damn my big mouth. Maybe Naomi was right not to tell me things yet.
“I shouldn’t have told you that. Any chance I can get you to keep that from Puck?”
“Don’t you think Puck should know?”
“No. I trust Naomi. If she’s keeping things from him, it’s for a good reason.” I grabbed his hand and leaned into him. “Can you keep this secret for me, please?”
Yeah. I batted my eyes. No shame. I didn’t want Naomi in trouble because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.
He leaned in for a kiss and I let my shield down. He pulled me close. After a couple of minutes I pulled away. I had an appointment to keep.
“You are going to be my undoing, sweet Sunday. But yes, I’ll keep your secret.”
I smiled. One disaster averted. Maybe I could pull off operation Stay-In-Vegas after all.
Naomi
Just like Guardians, all roses have their own distinct energy. You could blindfold me in my greenhouse, rearrange all the roses, and I could identify them all, including the Charlotte and the Dark Lady which feel almost exactly the same.
SERIOUSLY? I DON’T WANT TO GO SHOPPING,” Sunday crossed her arms when we pulled up to the mall. I almost grinned at her insolence. I knew better than anyone her detest for retail therapy because I used to feel the same, but it’d grown on me over the years.
“We’re not shopping,” I said as I got out of the car.
We walked through the glass doors of the outlet mall. This wasn’t where we would usually shop. Ginny would kill me if I even thought about wearing anything from the shops here. But this trip wasn’t about the clothes.
“I just need a big crowd and I don’t want to go down to the strip. Let’s go grab a milkshake.”
Sunday followed me as we wove through the crowd of people. It was a Saturday, so it was packed. After we ordered our shakes, we sat in the middle of the crowded food court.
“So what are we doing here?” Sunday asked. She was never one to beat around the bush. I was going to miss her while she was away, but it was definitely time to cut her loose, even though the thought of it made me nervous. We didn’t have long and she had a lot to learn still.
“I’m going to teach you how to sense power in others. In order for it to work, you have to let your shield down just a little bit. Not enough that anyone else would sense you, but enough that you can feel for power around you.”
“I’ve done something like this with Puck before.”
“Then it should be fairly easy. Tell me what you sense.”
She closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them she looked around before responding.
“Two tables away. Navy blue jacket. Destroyer. The table in front of us is full of Minor Guardians. But I recognized them before we even began this. Then to our right—”
She swiveled around. By the look on her face, I knew she was surprised.
When she faced me again, her eyes were wide. “Pink dress. A Shade. Powerful too.”
I nodded. “Very good. There are four other Shades close by, but their power is weak. The more often you do this the easier it will become.” I was impressed by how much she actually sensed. She was a quick learner. I knew that, but I guess I didn’t really want to admit it to myself.
Sunday took a sip of her shake. “So what’s this about?” she asked. “Why is this important?”
“Because the boys can’t tell a girl with power. When Puck and I did this exercise, he only pointed out the boys. Even when I found you, Kai couldn’t sense your power until I pointed it out. There’s something different about us. They don’t look for it.”
A tall woman walked up to our table.
“Sunday, right?”
Sunday looked up and nodded, then waved her hand in my direction. “Naomi, this is America, Julio’s girlfriend.” She pulled out a chair so America could sit down.
America sat and twisted her hands. “Ex-girlfriend, actually. He dumped me as soon as we got off the plane here in Vegas. I have no idea what I did.”
I very nearly rolled my eyes. Not at her, but Julio. His way of coping with Alejandro’s death was to dump his girlfriends before they got attached. I reached across the table and put my hands over America’s. I sent her the smell of vanilla ice cream and the sound of waves crashing on a shore. This was one of my strengths. I could make anyone feel what I wanted them to. Right now, America needed peace.
“Don’t take it personally. Julio got divorced right after Alejandro’s death and since then hasn’t kept a girl around for more than a couple of weeks. He’s had a hard time.”
America sighed. “I knew that. But I thought since he was taking me to meet his parents that maybe I was different.”
I leaned back and thought about what else I could do to help her, but before I could say anything else, she stood up.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your girl time, I just wanted to say hi.”
I smiled at her. “It was nice meeting you.”
She waved and walked toward Nordstrom Rack. Probably going to shop away her sorrows. Sunday watched her walk away. She turned back to me with her eyebrows creased.
“She’s not a Shade.”
I nodded, wondering why she would point out the obvious. “Good observation, but most people are not.”
“No, she came over the other night with Julio, and she was buzzing with power.”
Now that was strange. “Really? Maybe she’s just shielded now.”
“That means she knows. Shouldn’t we say something?”
Of course we should say something, but I wanted to wait until Sunday wasn’t around. If she had mistaken America’s power, I didn’t want her to feel embarrassed or to tip off America that we weren’t normal.
“Not today. She needs to recover from Julio first. I’ll get her number from him, then call her next week and see what she knows. Come on, let’s walk. I want you to practice. Tell me anyone you can sense.”
Like everything else, this seemed to be easy for Sunday. Soon, she was pointing out Shades that even I didn’t notice.
“Why are there so many? How come they haven’t been picked up by the Guardians or Destroyers?” she asked.
“The boys are easy. If their power isn’t very strong, neither the Guardians nor Destroyers feel like they are worth training. The ones we saw today were either too weak or too young. But the girls. That is what I’m trying to figure out.”
Sunday
Cacti thorns have different names. The big ones are called spines. Spines aren’t really that scary though, because they are easy to see and remove. The tiny, hair-like thorns are called glochidia. Just a brush against a spine surrounded by glochidia could result in hundreds of barbed thorns lodged in your skin. They are hard to see and even harder to remove. Also, don’t be that idiot who tries to suck them out. Guess what? You’ll then have hundreds of tiny barbs in your tongue.
THAT NIGHT JORDAN DROVE me down to the strip. The best quirky art shops were in casinos with good malls, like Caesar’s Palace and the Venetian. The shops changed all the time, most only lasted a year or two. Right now, my favorite was a photographer who used special film that made his pictures change with the light in the room.
Jordan held my hand as we walked down to the Venetian. Believe or not, this was the first time I’d ever done that. I’d always had to keep the Guardians I kissed a secret; we never got to do normal things, like hold hands. It was nice.
“What kind of training did you do with Naomi today?”
“Sensing Shades, Guardians, and Destroyers.”
He nodded. “That can be tricky. Can you sense any now?”
I closed my eyes for a second. “On the bridge. See the couple leaning over the rail?”
He creased his eyebrows. “I don’t sense anything.”
>
“It’s the girl.”
He frowned and dropped the subject.
“Do you want to do a gondola ride?”
I giggled. It was so silly. Couples rode in the gondolas and got serenaded by actors who had bad Italian accents. But I wanted to get caught up in the normalness.
Jordan held me close as we wound through the casino on the fake river.
“Tell me about Boston, I’ve never been anywhere but Arkansas and here.”
He shifted. “It’s got good weather. I don’t think I’m going to survive long here, with no snow. Boston’s got good baseball too.”
“How long are you here for?”
“As long as Puck needs me. Eventually he’ll send me back to the east coast. It’s best to have the council spread out across the country.”
“What does he need you for?”
“That I can’t tell you.”
I pouted. “I tell you my secrets.”
“No, you don’t. I found those out by hiding in your closet.”
He had a point.
“Why is Naomi sending you to Tombstone?”
“Because I’ve been bad.”
He squeezed me tighter. “I thought you said she wanted you to do some work for her.”
“That’s just an excuse. I haven’t been a good student and I don’t behave the way they think I should. But I’ve been doing really well lately. Well, except for you. But Puck approves so you’ve got that in your favor.”
He dropped it after that, thank goodness. I really didn’t want to accidentally tell him something I shouldn’t.
We went to dinner at Planet Hollywood.
“Why don’t you go get us a table and I’ll be back in a minute. Actually, why don’t you order for me? This might take a little while,” Jordan said.
“What do you want me to order for you?”
“A sprite, and something you like. I’m not picky.”
“What are you going to do?”
He kissed me lightly on the lips. “It’s a surprise. Give me fifteen minutes.”
It felt weird getting a table by myself. I liked being alone when I was sketching, but otherwise it made me uncomfortable. I ordered a sprite, a Virgin Daiquiri, and two chicken strip baskets. Then I buried myself in my phone.
The Thorn Chronicles-Books 1-4: Kissed, Destroyed, Secrets, and Lies Page 50