Painfully Ordinary Special Edition (11 page)

“You realize I could be
banished for what we are doing right now?” he murmured.

I ran my fingers through
his thick, auburn hair. “I would like to see them try. I’m curious if I have
any other hidden talents.” I mused.

If someone tried to pull
him away from me at that exact moment,
they
would’ve
had a hell of a fight on their hands.

Talon cradled me to his
chest and tucked me under his chin. “I wish I could explain to you how much you
mean to me. I cannot find the words to describe it, even to myself. Everything has
happened so quickly. I had long since lost hope that I would find you- the
light to balance my darkness. I am afraid that I am too distracted to properly
protect you, but I am too selfish–and more than a little jealous–to allow
anyone else to take my place.”

I ran my fingertip up and
down his heavily muscled bicep. “Not to worry—there
 
 
isn’t
anyone who could take your place. I have never had anyone affect my emotions
this way in my entire life. I rarely allow people to get close and I usually don’t
like being touched. With you,
it’s
different–there is
unmistakable solace in your arms. I know—it sounds a little cheesy, doesn’t it?
Right now, I guess I am just one, big, walking after-school special.”

Leah sighed contentedly
from across the room and Talon grimaced. “Regrettably, that is going to be
another issue.”

I sat up and blinked at
him, bewildered. “What do you mean?”

“Well, there is an ancient
set of laws dictating which races are allowed to intermingle. Unfortunately,
relationships between the
Feydall
and
Lykaios
are strictly
forbidden
. The
Lykaios
are not
magic users, and thus
are not permitted
to intermarry
with magical races. There have been a couple of rare cases where marriages have
occurred, but the
Feydall
involved was
required to leave their own kind and live amongst the
Lykaios
. The fact Jace is a respected member of the
Turvata
may work in his favor, but there
is no guarantee.”

“Yes, but neither one of
us is full-blooded
Feydall
. As a
matter of fact, neither one of us even
knew
this world
existed. Leah
was adopted
as a baby, so I guess it is
entirely possible she could also be of both worlds. We simply don’t know. Mom
said that she wasn’t sure that the laws would actually apply to us.” I frowned.
“Anyway, why would it be such a big deal for a magic user to marry a non-magic
user? Why does it even matter?”

Talon ran his hand from
the crown of my head to the middle of my back, stroking my hair. “We are not as
large in numbers as we once were, due to the constant warring between the
Ethereal
and the
Accendersi
. We are desperately trying to keep the strength of the
bloodlines alive. We can always hope for Jace and Leah, but the chances are
very slim. However, if you are
a
Lumina
, then the amount of
Feydall
blood in you will no longer matter. They will promise your
hand to a member of one of the other royal families.” He crushed me against
him. “I cannot bear the thought of you belonging to another.”

I snuggled into his chest
and held on tight. “I am yours. If they think they can separate us, let them
come.” I pulled his head down to mine and kissed him until we were both
breathless. I loved to see his eyes sparkling blue in response to me, heady
with this newfound power. I allowed my lips to part and felt him breathe into
me. My entire body burned with the intensity of my emotions. Every nerve was
raw.

Talon trembled as our
passion grew and I grew dizzy. I nibbled at his lower lip and, in my excitement,
accidently bit him. A small bead of blood formed on his lip, and without
thinking, I ran my tongue across the drop.

Talon reared his head back
and dumped me unceremoniously on the floor.
“Caitlin,
no
!”
He sounded aghast. “How
could I have been so stupid? I am constantly putting you in danger. Perhaps it
would
be better for Johr to remove me as
your protector.”

What was he talking
about
?

I was embarrassed as the
tears started up again. He was going to think that was all I ever did. I was normally
much tougher than this.

“What did I do wrong now?”
I asked.

Talon helped me up and paced
the room, muttering to
himself
in a language I couldn’t
even begin to understand.

Jace’s head snapped up and
he jumped to his feet. “Talon, what is it?”

Talon faced him and a
single red tear slipped down his cheek. Jace’s face crumpled, obviously horrified
and Leah rushed to my side, wrapping her arms around me as I burst into tears—again.
Talon cursed under his breath and strode from the room.

Leah shrugged her
shoulders at Jace, baffled. “Exactly what just happened here? Did I miss
something?”

Jace sounded uneasy. “I
hope it’s not what I think. I need to go find him. You girls stay here and watch
out for each other until I come back.” He sprinted in the direction Talon had
gone.

“Cay-bear.
Don’t cry,” Leah said. “It
will make your eyes all puffy. You know what we
need?
We
need a vacation. Thankfully, spring break is just a few days away, so let’s
just sneak off to Hawaii.”

The idea of lying on a
beach far away from all the chaos here definitely had its merit.

Mom came in with a determined
look on her face. “Okay girls, we have been cleared to go back home. Brady is
with Austin at hockey, and I need to go pick him up.”

Okay, I was utterly
confused now. “So, we are just going to go home like nothing ever happened?”

“Yep, except Leah is going
to stay with us for a couple of days.”

Leah beamed at her.
“Yes—s!”

“You girls grab your stuff.
Your Uncle Johr is waiting to drive us home, and Breeg is already there,
watching over things.”

I jumped up from the couch,
panic-stricken. “We can’t leave yet. We have to wait for Talon and Jace. We
promised.”

She shuffled nervously.

I sighed. There was no way
this was going to end well.

“Um, actually, Johr sent
them on ahead to Emory.” She replied softly

I hit the ceiling. “What? Are
you kidding me? They left without even having the courtesy of telling
us?
When will they be back?”

Mom was decidedly
uncomfortable with the situation. I clenched my fists at my sides and took deep,
steadying breaths, trying to hold back the anger I could feel rising inside me.

“You still haven’t
answered me. When are they coming back?” I demanded.

She looked away. “I’m not
sure. They were going to talk to the pack
Elders
.
I have no idea how long it may take. It’s only fair to forewarn you--Johr isn’t
happy with the intensity of your relationship with Talon.” She sighed. “You have
to understand that your Uncle Johr is completely uncompromising when it comes
to the law. His entire existence has been driven by the need to protect and
uphold our culture.”

My hands shook violently. “I’m
so sick of being held to something I didn’t even know existed until a few hours
ago.” The light in the room crackled. “I will
not
let my life be controlled by it.
Period!
I hate having someone trying to direct every aspect of my life. It is like
being with Ryan all over again.”

The dust sparked
erratically and the room went dark. Leah laughed and the air around her head
sparkled and glowed. Mom silently made her way to the door and opened it wide,
allowing light to spill in from the outer room. She motioned for us to go precede
her out. As I went out, I glanced over my shoulder at the cozy chamber, knowing
my life would never be the same again.

Chapter 8

Now What?

Talon
threw the Challenger
into fifth gear and pounded the gas pedal with his foot.

“Jace,
how could I have been so careless?
Maybe Johr was right to send us away.” He slammed a
meaty fist into the steering wheel hard enough to make Jace wince. “I’ve tried
so hard to keep her safe, but I am constantly putting her in danger. He’s right
- I should have sensed Egan’s presence before he got so close. I let my guard
down and it almost cost us everything.” He brought one hand up to rub his
temple. “I will do anything to make sure she is safe, even if it means I have
to leave.” He was so stupid to have let his guard down.

Jace rubbed the back of
his neck with his hand and dropped his hands into his lap in defeat.
“Talon, seriously.
There is no way you could have
anticipated something like that.”

Talon was in a state of
shock. What was wrong with him? Couldn’t Jace understand the danger that faced
them? “You realize what could happen if she ingested more than a couple drops
of my blood?”

Jace shook his head in
disbelief. “Good God, she accidentally bit your lip. You act
like
the two of you committed a murder. It was one drop - nothing more. Maybe it
wouldn’t be such a bad thing. It would solve several problems you two are
currently facing.”

Talon gnashed his teeth
together. Had Jace lost his mind? “I would never bind her to this life.” He
spat furiously.

Jace sighed. “Talon, man,
I really don’t see what would be so terrible. She will already have the
longevity you possess. She also seems to have some magical ability - how much,
still remains to be seen. Hell, even Breeg suspects she is a latent. Who knows
what will show up in the near future?” He scratched his head and paused a
moment before continuing. “You say you wouldn’t bind her to your life. Did you
ever stop to think about what she may want? I think you might find your way of
life would be very different if she was with you. You would take her love and
her light with you. It would no longer be a world of nothing but shadow.”

Talon stared straight
ahead whipping through the traffic and mumbled in response. He had to get
himself together and look out for Caitlin’s best interests – even if he hated
his own choices. “It doesn’t matter what I want – it never has. The law is
finite and she deserves more.”

Jace was exasperated and
flopped against the back of the seat. “Dude, screw the law. I do not intend to
allow it to keep me from what will make me happy. Anyway, do you really think
she will be happy with you gone? Did you stop to look at her face when you
walked out?”

Talon’s eyes flashed blue
and a deep line creased his forehead. What kind of question was that? Of course,
he had seen it and it killed him. “Yes, and it will haunt me the rest of my
life. I swore to protect her and I have caused her more pain than anyone.”

Jace turned in his seat
and threw his hands in the air. “Brother, did you ever stop to think about why
that is? It hurts her when you leave because she cares for you. Understand?” He
rapped on Talon’s head with his knuckles.

Talon was
incredulous. It really hadn’t occurred to him to think about her reasons behind
being so upset. “I have never had anyone care for me that way. It’s all very
new to me and I don’t know how to act or what I’m supposed to do. I only know I
can’t stand to see her unhappy.”

Jace grinned
like a lunatic. “Woo--hoo. You
aren’t
perfect! Welcome to the normal world with the rest of us.”

Talon made a
face as he pressed harder on the gas and
rocketed
them
closer to Emory.

***

Uncle Johr
pulled up to the ice rink in his custom SUV.

Did we
really need to ride in a car with bulletproof windows? The entire vehicle
was reinforced
with steel. It was the kind of car normally
reserved for foreign dignitaries or royalty.

I frowned,
still coming to terms with the fact that this morning, I was just plain Caitlin—junior
at Marcus High School, average student, and favorite target of Tami’s Alley Cats.
Now I had to struggle with my new identity—part
Feydall
, prospective
Lumina
,
daughter of a fairy princess, and primary target of an evil clan called the
Accendersi
. It made my head throb just
thinking about it. It was as if I
were trapped
in a bad
movie. I had to get out of the car before I lost my mind.

Swinging the
door open, I hopped out of the car and called over my shoulder, “I’ll get him.”
I motioned for Leah. “Come on!”

We jumped
out of the car with me dragging Leah behind me.

“Caiti!
You are going to pull my arm out of the socket.”

“Sorry. I really
needed to get away from everyone for a while. I feel like I can’t breathe.”

“I
completely understand. It’s been one hell of a wild day,” she said.

This was one of the reasons why I adored Leah—she understood me
without being judgmental.
I linked my arm in hers.

“Come on;
let’s go find the little fart.”

“Hey. That
is my future husband you are talking about,” Leah giggled.

We found
Brady and his pal Austin playing bubble hockey in the corner of the rink. It
looked like a foosball table with a big plastic dome over the top. They were
like a couple of monkeys on crack, jumping all over the place, yelling and spinning
the handles. Their antics always cracked me up.

“Brady! Dude,
we have to go,” I yelled.

“In a
minute, I wanna finish this game.
Oh, man
!
Woo--hoo.
Score
!”

“Yoo-hoo, Brady,”
called Leah.

Brady spun
around and blushed. The color spread all the way to the tips of his ears, and I
shook my head. She loved to make him blush.

Austin
waved.
“Hey Caiti, hey Leah!”

They
finished up their game and sprinted over to where we were standing. Austin ran
right up to me and gave me a big hug. Brady came over to my other side and
leaned on me. I reached over and squeezed his shoulders.

“Hi Leah,”
Brady said and stared at the floor. His face got even redder.

“Hey, where
did you two get the tokens to play?” I asked him.

Brady
shrugged, “Aunt Kimmie.”

I shook my
head.
Of course, who else?

Kim was Austin’s
mom and she was like another mother to me. My mom and Kim had been great
friends for as long as I could remember.

I glanced around
the rink. “Brady, where is your gear, bud?”

“It’s in Aunt
Kimmie’s
office. I’ll go get it.” He took off running
with Austin on his heels.

Kim emerged
from the office behind the boys, came over, and gave me a quick hug.
“Hey, kiddo.
What’s up?”

“You
wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” I said.

You would be surprised at what I know.
She
watched my face as her voice floated into my mind.

Really?
You have
got
to be kidding
me?
Don’t we know
any
normal people? Can I communicate with
everyone
this way?

Kim laughed aloud.
“
Normal is completely overrated. We
’re way too twisted
to be normal. Seriously, though–are you
okay?
You two have had a pretty big shock.”

Leah was
looking at me with questions in her eyes and her head cocked to the side.

I nodded.
“Yes, her too.”

Leah burst
into hysterics, creating a halo of sparkles around her head. I’m glad someone
thought all this was humorous. Kim raised her eyebrows. “I can see we are going
to have to teach you two how to control that.
‘
Normal’
people are going to notice if you are surrounded by sparkles anytime you think
something is funny.”

Leah jerked
her thumb at me. “At least I don’t make things explode when I get mad.” She
went off into another peal.

Kim shook
her head. “Nice. Of all your mother’s traits, you pick the temper.”

My eyes
opened wide. “Like I had a choice in any of this? Yesterday, I was just hoping
to pass my geometry test. Now, I find that I am part mythical being, forbidden
to be with someone I really care about, and some legendary
Lumina
on top of everything else.”

Kim stared.
“A
Lumina
?
Who
called you that?”

I sighed. “Who
hasn’t
called me that?

She paused,
seemingly deep in thought, as the boys bounced up with Brady’s hockey gear in
hand.

She waved us
outside. “Go on. Tell your mom I will be by later tonight. I need to do a
little research first.” She gave me a quick hug, tousled Brady’s
hair
and disappeared.

“Later Austin.”
Brady gave him a high five and ran full
speed to the car, waving like a maniac at Mom and Uncle Johr.

“Uncle
Johr!” Brady bellowed, waving his hockey stick as the big man stepped out of
the car and came around to take his gear and toss it in the back.

“What’s up,
buddy?” Johr gave him a quick hug.

“
You comin’
over to our house?
Wanna
play Halo when we get there? Please, please, please?”

“You bet. We’ll
order some pizza and hang out late, since you don’t have school tomorrow.” Johr
replied

Brady was
absolutely beaming. He adored our Uncle. Johr was the closest thing to a dad
that my little brother had ever known, since our father had passed away before he
was even born. Johr opened the door for Brady, and then waited for Leah and me
to get in the car. It was so embarrassing–he acted like a chauffeur.

“Johr, you
don’t have to wait for us. We can open the door for ourselves,” I groaned. “This
is so embarrassing. People are staring at us.”

He frowned,
creating deep lines in his forehead. “So? Let them look. Cat, I take my job
very seriously. You two will not come to any harm while I am here.”

I could see
there was no way I was going to win this battle. I surrendered and gave a mock
bow to Leah, indicating she could go on ahead. “After you,
Your
Highness.”

“Oh, you are
too kind,” Leah simpered.

Johr didn’t
look amused at all, which sent us into hysterics. Mom just shook her head, while
Brady joined us in the backseat.

It took a
while for us to sober up, but once we did, the remainder of the ride
was spent
in silence. The quiet was unfortunate, as all it
did was
give
me more time to think about Talon’s
absence. By the time we turned into our subdivision, I was downright depressed.
Mom kept sneaking furtive glances in our direction and I knew she could sense
something was up. Leah and I were never quiet in the car.

We pulled
into the driveway, and Johr appeared at our door before we could even get it
open.

Whew. That
kind of speed must be nice.

He motioned
for us to stay put while he walked up to the front door to unlock it.

“Mom,” I asked,
“is he really going to make us sit here while he checks out the house? If there
were someone else there, Harley would be barking like crazy. Don’t you think
this is going overboard?”

Harley is my
little Parson Russell Terrier. She is a bit hyper, but a
really
sweet
dog. She used to sleep with me, but anytime I had the strange dream,
she would go
absolutely berserk
and start barking and
snarling. She got to the point where she was waking Brady up, so I started
having her stay in her crate at night.

Maybe I
would let her sleep with us tonight, since no one had to go to school tomorrow.

Mom sighed.
“Please don’t be difficult. He is just trying to keep you safe. He really cares
about you, you
know?
You and Brady are the children he
never had.”

Leah nudged
me with her elbow.

“Okay, okay.
We’ll stay in the car until he comes back.” I whispered to Leah, “This is
stupid.”

Leah nodded
quickly and responded in a low voice. “I know, but let’s just do this one thing
to make him happy. Think about it. It’s probably in our favor if we behave
ourselves and stay on his good side. Do you really think he is going to give us
what we want if we do nothing but give him a hard time?”

I shrugged
at her. “I guess I see your point.”

I jumped in
the seat as I heard Leah’s voice in my mind.
Have I mentioned recently how utterly cool it is that we can talk
without anyone else knowing what is going on?

We both giggled.
Mom glanced over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow as we returned her gaze with
complete innocence. She sighed deeply before looking back toward the front door.

Johr came back
out the front door with a wry expression, walking over to our car door and opening
it.

“No sign of
any danger, other than you drowning in the sea of clothes on your floor.”

“Oh, Caitlin!”
Mom exclaimed.

I shrugged a
shoulder, and Leah and I giggled again. No one asked him to go into my room.

We darted
out of the car and sprinted up the stairs to the shelter of my room. I shut the
door behind us, grabbed the TV
remote
and switched the
set on. We went through the menu looking for something good to watch that would
take our minds off everything that had
happened
the
last couple of days.