She laughed. “Wyatt will grow on you, I promise. And don’t lead Morgan on. I think he really likes you.”
“I’ll avoid kissing him again.” I grinned at her. She still wouldn’t meet my eyes. Once again I was struck by her beauty, but she covered it all up with baggy clothes, pony tails, and zero makeup. And why on earth wasn’t she in the pool with the boys? It was hotter than Hades and she was sitting under an umbrella, completely covered up and studying for her SAT. Surely, she hadn’t always been this way.
I narrowed my eyes. “How old were you when you stopped getting into the pool with them?” I sent her truth, which tasted of apples. There was a story here and I wanted to know what it was.
“Twelve.”
“Why?”
She pointed at her chest. “Because they started growing and Morgan and Wyatt stopped treating me like one of the guys.”
“How long have you liked Morgan?”
She shrugged. “Six months or so. I didn’t realize it until he took that bitch Carlie to the prom.”
“Who’d you go with?”
“I didn’t.”
“Ah, well, I can probably help you with that. I know a thing or two about getting boys to chase after me.”
“Let me think about that.” She blushed and dropped her eyes to her book.
“What are you doing?” I asked, changing the subject, because Morgan swam up to the edge of the pool.
“Studying for the SAT. Morgan beat me by 100 points on the PSAT and I’m determined to beat him on the actual test.”
I creased my eyebrows. “What was your score?”
“2200”
Holy cow. “That’s almost perfect.”
“Yeah, I know.” She stuck her tongue out at Morgan. “At least I still lead on the GPA front. I’m gonna be Valedictorian.”
“Not so fast sister. I’m going to be taking more AP classes than you next year. Plus I’m smarter than you and you know it,” said Morgan.
She chucked her pencil at him. He ducked and it landed in the water.
“I was sick on the day of the PSAT or I would’ve totally beaten you,” she said.
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that. You weren’t sick.”
I was tired of all this SAT talk. During their conversation I realized these were the kind of kids who would’ve told me to shut up in class because they were desperate for an A. I jumped into the pool and came up beside Morgan. He barely glanced at me, still arguing with Andrea. When I was sure he wasn’t paying attention, I shoved him under the water and swam away as fast as I could. I crashed into Wyatt.
“Sorry,” I said and turned around to see Morgan come up sputtering. Then I winked at Andrea. She smiled.
A hand touched my back. My skin tingled where his fingers brushed the scars. I flinched away.
“What happened?” Wyatt asked. “Those Guardians in Vegas didn’t do this to you, did they?”
I shook my head. “No, they rescued me from a group of radical Destroyers.”
Morgan swam over to us. He brushed his fingers along the scars as well. I shimmied away. “Please don’t touch them. In spite of their appearance, I don’t want them healed.”
“What are you talking about?” Wyatt looked confused.
I rolled my eyes. “Every Guardian boy I’ve ever been with has offered to heal the ‘wretched’ scars on my back. But I want to keep them. They remind me that there are things worth standing up for.”
Morgan’s eyes widened. “You mean we can heal people? Dude, I think we belong to the wrong group of Guardians. They haven’t taught us anything.”
These poor boys. They knew nothing.
“Not all Guardians can do it, but most can.”
“Do you know how they do it?”
I thought about revealing myself. It would be easier if I could just show them all this stuff. Maybe if I did, they would tell me why they were in hiding. But I knew that Naomi really wanted to keep us a secret. In spite of the fact that I hated all her rules, she’d always kept me safe. Maybe she did have a good reason for the secrecy. If I did this right, she’d tell me everything.
“Nah, I was just one of the girls they liked to kiss. Seriously, I know nothing about how things work.”
Wyatt crossed his arms. “Yet we keep learning new things from you.”
Morgan leaned back against the side of the pool.
“Maybe we should just send one of our guys over there, to learn how they do things and then show the rest of us.”
Most of what I knew I figured out on my own. Maybe they were just weak. I couldn’t tell how much power they had because they kept up strong shields. If they hadn’t tried to influence me, I’d have never known they were Guardians.
That night I went home frustrated with the lack of information I gained. Wyatt bugged me for info on the Guardians in Vegas, but would offer up nothing of his own. I was glad I hadn’t called Naomi, because I was sucking at this job.
Sunday
Some cacti, like the Peyote and the San Pedro, have hallucinogenic properties. If you eat them, they make you hear and see things that are not real. I don’t remember ingesting anything, but something very odd is going on.
A FEW DAYS LATER, I was in my room sketching when Nan knocked on my door.
“There’s a boy here to see you.”
I checked my hair in the mirror and then wondered why I cared. I found myself actually disappointed that it was Morgan. For some reason I thought maybe it was that jerkface Jordan. I’d long stopped sending him messages, but it still bothered me that he’d dropped off the face of the planet.
“You wanna hang out?”
I shrugged, concerned he might be like the boys from home. Here I didn’t have Puck’s restrictions on dating them, but I didn’t like Morgan that way. He was nice and cute, but he didn’t make my heart race. Plus, Andrea totally wanted him and I had no intention of taking him away from her.
“What did you want to do?”
“Maybe explore the Bird Cage Theatre. It closes in an hour and it’s supposed to be haunted. I can call Wyatt and Andrea to see if they want to meet up with us. Andrea can hook up a projector and we can watch scary movies.”
Well, if it’s going to be the four of us, that’s a different story.
“Okay. Do you mind if Beth comes? She and I were supposed to meet up later and go to a dark sky park.”
Morgan frowned. “I don’t mind, but are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“What the worst that could happen?” I asked. Honestly, I wanted the tension. If I could catch Beth with her shield down, I could call her out on it and find out why she kept herself shielded. I hadn’t felt anything from her since that night at the diner, even though we’d been hanging out quite a bit.
He sent a couple of messages, and I sent a message to Beth.
“We gotta get there before it closes. Come on.”
I poked my head in the living room. “Nan, I’m going out. I don’t know what time I’ll be home.”
She waved her hand at me. At least she didn’t care about me enough to monitor what I did or where I went.
Morgan was unusually quiet all the way to town. I followed him into the theater. It was empty, except for the young woman who sat at the ticket desk.
“Hey sis. Do you mind if we hang out after hours?”
“No prob. Just lock up when you leave. Actually, keep the doors locked while you are here too, or you’ll end up with unexpected visitors.”
“I know the drill.”
She left a few minutes later.
“Wyatt and Andrea will be here soon, and we can lock the doors after that. Come on, I’ll show you around.”
“Are we really allowed to be here?” The Bird Cage was a really famous old west theater.
“My family owns it.”
We walked into a wide-open room with a stage on one end, few tables scattered around, and bizarre antiques filling every possible space. Morgan grabbed my hand and pulled me over to a small spiral
staircase. It led up to the second floor that had private boxes for watching the show. Everything was musty and old, but cool.
We went into a cramped box and sat on a small couch.
“Three men were killed in this box.”
“That’s encouraging.”
“I’m just saying. Be glad you’re here now and not a hundred years ago.”
“Yeah, no more wild west shootouts here. Why did you come get me early?”
He shrugged. “Cause I wanted to talk to you.”
“About what?”
He looked over the edge of the balcony, then back at me. “About those Guardians you know.”
“I already told you, I don’t know much else.”
He sighed. “I know, I was just hoping you’d be able to tell me more about what they do. I’m not sure I want to stay in Tombstone forever and I’d like to know what my options are.”
“Why won’t Wyatt tell me anything about what you guys do?”
He took a deep breath. “Because he’s Wyatt. I can tell you though. For a price.” He smirked.
I knew what he wanted. It’s what they all wanted. Normally I would have easily given it to him, but I hesitated. Andrea liked him and she was my friend. But I was here on a mission to find out why there was a supposed Guardian deadzone in Tombstone. I took a deep breath and shoved away the guilt I felt for betraying Andrea. I’d have to make it up to her later. I leaned forward and put my hand on his knee. I was good at this.
“Oh yeah, what’s that?”
“A kiss.”
I didn’t even hesitate. I was missing all my Guardian boys at home, and I still needed that information. I planted my lips on his. I knew that this would hurt Andrea’s feelings, but the information I needed was more important. Plus, I’d totally make it up to her later. I knew what boys wanted and I had every intention of showing her how to make sure Morgan never looked at another girl ever again.
After a few minutes, he pulled away. “You’re good at that.”
I smiled. “Yeah, I know. Now tell me.”
“We protect the Guard—”
“Shut your mouth, Morgan.”
I leaned over the edge of the box. Wyatt and Andrea stood down there. Andrea glared at me and turned to set up a projector. Crap. She wasn’t supposed to see that.
“How long have you been down there?” I asked.
“Long enough to know you’re trading kisses for information.”
I leaned back, crossed my arms and pouted. “Well, I didn’t get my information.”
Morgan touched my arm. “Sorry,” he mouthed.
“Tell me,” I hissed. “What are you guys protecting?”
“We should go down. Come on.”
I pestered him all the way down the stairs but he wouldn’t say a word. Damn Wyatt.
Naomi
There is a rose named Dark Secret. Its blooms are deep red and it smells divine. But it always makes me nervous because I don’t like it when people keep secrets from me. And lately, it feels like that is all people do.
MY PHONE BUZZED AND I STABBED myself on a thorn. Damn, that hurt. I sucked on my injured finger and answered the phone.
“Naomi,” Sunday whispered.
“Why are you whispering?”
“Because I’m hiding in the bathroom.”
“Why are you hiding in the bathroom?”
“I’ll explain later. Listen, there is a group of Guardians here. A lot of them, actually.”
“Really, I wonder why Puck doesn’t know about them.”
“Because they don’t want him to know. They operate in secret, they said their job is to protect the Guardians from female Shades.”
“What? Why?”
“I don’t know. I just found out and figured I should tell you. I’ve got to go or they are going to wonder what I’m doing in here.”
“You need to find out why,” I said.
“I’m working on that. Should we tell Puck?”
“Not yet. See what else you can find out.”
“Okay, I’ll call you tomorrow if I find out anything more.”
She hung up and I pondered her predicament. She was much, much better than I gave her credit for. She’d been there for only a week and already she found a secret group of Guardians that even Puck didn’t know about.
Or did he?
Sunday
Even though the most memorable feature of a cactus is its spine, some species of cacti are actually missing them. It’s like a rose without a flower. Seems wrong somehow, to be spineless, like it wouldn’t be able to defend itself.
When I woke up in the morning, I stretched and accidentally knocked Lincoln off the bed. He yowled at me and disappeared out the door. My brain was foggy. I showered and thought back to the last evening. My memory was coming up blank. I didn’t even remember coming home.
I had gone out. I knew that. Morgan picked me up. I kissed him. Guilt swam through my stomach. I shouldn’t have done that. Andrea liked him. But after that. Nothing.
What the hell?
I ate breakfast with Nan. Esteban must’ve gone in to work early. She was silent as usual. I poked at my eggs and tried to recall anything about the previous evening. What did I do? How did I get home?
“You okay?” asked Nan.
“I’m fine,” I said. There was no way I would tell her that I couldn’t remember anything. She’d think I’d been drinking or something. Was that it? I didn’t like alcohol and so I didn’t usually drink, but there was a first time for everything. Even then, though, I would remember something.
After I finished eating I hopped on my scooter and headed to work. Wyatt was already there.
“Hey Monday,” he said.
So much for asking him what happened. I spent the entire day trying to remember even a single detail. But it was like someone plucked the entire evening right out of my head.
Just before closing, Beth came in. She smiled at Wyatt but didn’t say anything to him.
“Whatcha doing tonight?” she asked me.
I shrugged. “I brought my sketching stuff. I want to draw parts of the town. But I could use company, if you aren’t busy.”
Wyatt scrubbed the counter a little harder than necessary.
She flicked her hair. “I’d love to. Come get me from the shop when you are done.”
An hour later, Beth and I found a bench right in the middle of the town. It really did feel like a ghost town when the shops closed up.
“Thanks for last night, by the way, it really does help with being around Wyatt now.”
I creased my eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”
“The movie. Thanks for inviting me.”
I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment. I couldn’t remember her being there at all. I sighed. “Last night is kind of a blur. You were there?”
She pursed her lips. “You don’t remember?”
I shook my head.
She nudged my arm and wiggled her eyebrows. “You were getting awfully cozy with Wyatt. Do you remember that?”
“I what? No way.” Oh gosh. This was worse than I thought.
She laughed. “Only a little bit. And you don’t remember, like, anything? Were you drugged or something?”
Or something. Not that I would remember it anyway. Besides, I couldn’t really see Wyatt or Morgan drugging me.
“What did we do?” I asked.
“Watched a movie. A stupid one. I left halfway through. The couch was way too crowded. But it did help, now I don’t have to worry about running into Wyatt accidentally. If I do, it’s no big deal.”
I shook my head. I didn’t want to think about this anymore; I felt like I was losing touch with reality. I needed a distraction.
“Do you still like him?” I asked, not sure why I cared.
“Of course. But it will never work. We’ll both get over it someday.”
She wouldn’t look at me. But she had her arms folded across her chest and she was bleeding pine and red wine. Her shield ha
d dropped. It was time for answers.
“You’re a Shade,” I said.
Her eyes widened. “I’m a what?”
“A Shade. You know, like Wyatt and Morgan are Guardians.”
“You’re talking crazy. Are you sure you haven’t taken something that is messing with your brain?”
I broke the tip of my pencil. “And you’re lying. I know what you are and you have a rock solid shield.”
“If I have such a good shield then how to do you know what I am?”
“So you admit it then.”
“No,” she said vehemently. “I have no idea what you are talking about. You need to go get your head checked out.”
She stood up and stormed away.
I blew it. She was a Shade, that I was sure of, but I’d never get her to admit it now.
I threw my sketchpad down on the ground.
This day sucked.
Could I have a do-over?
For the next three days I searched for Beth everywhere. But she wouldn’t respond to my texts, or calls. I even showed up at her shop but she wasn’t there. I hung out with Wyatt, Morgan, and Andrea, but no one would say a word about Guardians. To say this was frustrating would be a major understatement.
That day, Wyatt had been strangely quiet during our shift. He didn’t tease me or anything. Which was odd, because the day before I nearly punched him because he wouldn’t stop calling me Saturday.
“Do you want to go out tonight?” he asked right as I was heading out the door.
“Where are Andrea and Morgan?”
He leaned against the counter. “Morgan’s on duty. Andrea is keeping him company.”
“What’s he doing?” I asked.
He raised his eyebrows. “Nice try. I’m not telling you anything.”
It was worth a shot, to get some answers.
“So do you wanna?” he asked again.
He and I had never gone out before. We fought too much when we were alone. But he also talked a lot. Maybe I could learn more about their secret group.
I smirked. “What’s my name?”
He shrugged. “Monday.”
“Wrong answer.” I opened the door but he caught up with me before I could even step foot off the sidewalk.
“Tuesday.”
The Thorn Chronicles-Books 1-4: Kissed, Destroyed, Secrets, and Lies Page 56