Painfully Ordinary Special Edition (12 page)

There was a
light knock on the door and Mom poked her head in the doorway. “Johr is going
to order pizza. What do you girls want?”

“Talon and
Jace,” I said sarcastically.

“Ha, ha.
Very funny.
Trust me in
this–if you follow my lead, you'll be a lot more likely to get what you want in
the end. Your father and I had many happy years together before his accident.”
She gave me a sad look.

“Sorry, Mom.
I don’t mean to be difficult. My nerves are
just completely raw, and I haven’t slept well in forever.”

“Okay, so
back to pizza.
The usual?
Pesto
pizza?”

Leah and I
nodded enthusiastically and Mom left, shutting the door behind her. Leah was disconsolate.
“I wonder if Jace and Talon made it okay to…where was it they were going
again?
”

I stared at
her thoughtfully. “Wait. Didn’t they say they were going to Emory?”

Leah jumped
up. “Hey! Your Aunt Gail lives in Emory!”

I couldn’t
believe I hadn’t thought of that before. “Yep, remember we used to go there
when we were little?”

Leah clapped
her hands together.
“Oh yeah!
It was so much fun out there.
I remember there were always tons of people hanging around the house. There was
always something going on.” She watched me strangely. “You don’t think?”

I threw my
hands up in surrender. “Who knows? I don’t think anything would surprise me at
this point. I just wish we could talk to Talon and Jace. I never even thought
to ask for a cell phone number, because anytime we wanted them, they were
already there.” I could feel the depression setting in on me again. “I wouldn’t
mind visiting my aunt again,” I sighed. “Things are just so much easier out there.”

Leah seemed
to agree. “I remember her little white house with the blue trim, and all the
trees lining the street so they created a canopy over the road.”

I tapped her
on the leg excitedly.
“Yep.
Remember the last time we
were there, how we sat cross-legged on the floor of her den and tried to
convince her she needed a two-person hammock in the back yard?”

She grinned
back at me. “Now that you mention it, I do. We talked about getting one with
green and white stripes.” She clapped her hands together. “Let’s make a deal. When
we go back, and it will be soon, we will buy her the hammock and take it with us.
It will look awesome in the back yard.”

“I totally
agree. I can just picture it there.”

Suddenly, I
noticed something going on in my mirror. An image shimmered into focus as
Ael’onwe appeared and put a finger to her lips. With a wave of her hand, she
disappeared and we found ourselves staring at the front of my Aunt Gail’s
little house in Emory.

I grabbed
Leah’s hand. I couldn’t believe what we were seeing. She stared openmouthed at
the mirror.

“I wish we
were there right now.” I said wistfully.

“Me too.”
She whispered.

There was a
flash then everything went black.

Talon pulled
into the narrow gravel driveway at Sonny and Gail’s house. It was a cute little
white house with blue trim. The yard was full of various trucks and looked like
everyone had already assembled by the time the boys arrived. Talon glanced at
Jace and exhaled noisily.

“Well, here
goes nothing. Let’s hope they have good news for us.” He had such great
memories of this place, maybe it would be good luck for him.

Jace grinned
and gestured toward the yard. “There certainly are enough of them here. I
haven’t seen an assembly like this in decades and am curious to see what
information they have. They usually have a unique outlook on things.”

Talon
started laughing and dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “What you mean is
they have a special talent for being able to get around the rules.”

“Dude.
Call it what you will. As long as I get my way, I
don’t care.” He chuckled.

Talon rolled
his eyes skyward. “Spoken like a true
Lykaios
.”

He put the
car into park and cut the ignition. The screen door swung open. Holding the
door was a small woman with graying hair and bright eyes who was grinning from
ear to ear.

“Jace!
You rascal!
Where have you
been? You’ve been gone for much too long.”

Jace walked
forward quickly and wrapped his arms around the small woman. “I’m so sorry. I
know, and I promise not to stay away for so long again. You remember Talon,
don’t you?”

Gail smiled,
her eyes twinkling. “How could I ever forget my sweet
Varyo
with the sparkling blue eyes?” She reached one hand out to Talon.
He immediately took her hand, kissed it and pulled her into a mighty bear hug.
This tiny woman reminded him of Caitlin and he couldn’t resist hugging her.

“I am so
glad to see you again. I cannot thank you enough for hosting the assembly
here.”

She winked at him. “Like there was any other
option?” She gestured toward the house. “These are my family now. Anyway, who
else could keep them all in line? If I wasn’t around, they would all simply act
like a bunch of wild animals.”

Jace lowered
his voice. “How many have arrived? Who’s here?”

Gail took a
quick look back at the house and let the screen door close quietly. “Well, Beau
was the first one here other than our pack: Sonny; Scott; Todd; Bub and Ronnie.
Shortly after Beau got here, Shine, Bunk,
Benson
and
Burl all arrived within a couple of hours of each other.”

Jace was
visibly impressed. “All of the Elders are here? I cannot remember the last time
I saw them all in the same place“. He shot her a big grin. “Actually, now I
think about it a little, I think it was your wedding.”

Talon bowed
his head with the humility he felt. He couldn’t believe Beau had called in so
many of his clan. “I am humbled that they would all come to offer their
assistance in our time of need.” He felt slightly better knowing he and Jace
weren’t in it alone. Maybe they would be able to put their heads together and
come up a solution that would benefit them all.

She looked
deeply concerned. “Exactly
what
are
they pledging their assistance for? Everyone has been very tight-lipped around
here, and for this group that is quite a feat. They are not known for their
silence.”

Talon nodded
and held the screen door open. “Yes, perhaps we should go inside with the
others and I will explain things further.” There was no point putting it off any
longer.

Jace wrapped
his arm around her narrow shoulders and led her back to the house. Inside it
was filled
to the brim with pack members.

A great cry
went up.

“Jace”!

“Talon“!

“It’s about
time you guys got here.”

“What did
you two do, walk here? It took you long enough.”

Jace
grimaced and punched the closest pack member, Todd, in the arm. Todd threw his
head back and laughed. A small man with salt and pepper hair slowly rose from
the couch and the entire room silenced.

Talon and
Jace bowed their heads.

“Beau, we
are honored” said Talon.

Jace stepped
forward and got down on one knee in front of Beau without making eye contact.
Beau put his hand on the top of Jace’s head and spoke, “Rise brother. We
welcome you back into the open arms of your pack.” Jace stood up his entire
face alight with joy.

Beau
inclined his head to Talon.
“T
uu
'
-
wi
' a tah'-shah.
Brother
of the wolf.
You are always welcome here. We are happy to offer whatever
assistance we can.”

Talon looked around the
room at the faces he had known for generations. “Well, I’m not sure where to
begin. There is so much to tell.” He might as well jump in with both feet.

Beau walked back to his
place on the couch.

“Have a seat and start
from the beginning.” He gestured around the room with a wave of his hand. “We
are all ears for as long as it takes.”

Gail strolled back to
where Sonny sat in a chair near the doorway of the kitchen. She whispered into
his ear, patted him on the
shoulder
and disappeared
into the kitchen. Sonny watched her walk away with a smile on his face and Talon
felt a pang of sadness as his thoughts began to stray to Caitlin.

What was she was doing
right now? Was she still angry with him for having to leave? Did she understand
that he didn’t want to go?

Jace sat cross-legged on
the floor a few feet away from the couch and cleared his throat. Talon snapped
out of his daydream and realized that everyone was waiting for him to begin.

“Let me start at the
beginning” he said. “We were sent, as members of the Turvata, to protect two
children of the
Feydall
, one of royal
blood. The four of us got along quite well – actually far better than we should
have.” He should have known that would set them off.

Several men around the
room began hooting.

“Silence!” demanded Beau. He
motioned to Talon “Continue.”

“We were out with the
girls one evening when the
Accendersi
tried to abduct them with the help of a boy they knew from their school. We
were able to foil their attempt and took the girls into Sanctuary…that is where
things became complicated.
”
 
His face heated and took a deep breath to calm himself before
continuing. Friends surrounded him – he could get through this. “We realized
that our problems were much greater than we originally suspected when she was
able to almost blind us with ley stones.”

Beau moved to the edge of
the couch.
“A
Lumina
?
Truly?
There hasn’t been
a
Lumina
of the
Feydall
for centuries.” He looked at
Jace, who simply nodded.
“ And
your relationship with
this girl?” he asked Talon.

Talon squirmed in his
seat. “Problematic.”

He was still very
uncomfortable with trying to explain his feelings about Caitlin to someone
else. Hell, he was still trying to figure them out himself.

Jace turned from Talon to
Beau and spoke quietly. “Beau, he described her by the rainbow in her laugh,
and the color of her hair and eyes.”

Beau narrowed his eyes and
looked at Talon.
“Truly?
Perhaps the legend will come
true in my lifetime after all.” He raised his face skyward and chanted.

“He’s waited
so long

Their love
will be strong

When the
time is right

And shadow
meets light”

Talon
was
shaken
to his very soul. That was the second time someone had referred
to that same prophecy.

“Amazing.
Breeg recited the same
thing.” Jace said in awe.

Beau’s head snapped up.
“Breeg?
Where did you see my old friend? How is he?”

Talon wasn’t surprised the
two men were friends. Their
world was vast, but very close
knit at the same time. “He was brought in to watch the girls while we came here
to meet with the Elders. When we left, he and Johr were taking over our duties
as their protectors.”

Beau scratched his head. “They
must be confident that she is
a
Lumina
if they called Breeg in for protection. I take it
Johr wasn’t very pleased with the relationship you two had formed with these
girls, and you are hoping that we would know of a way around things?”

Talon cringed. If Beau
only knew how unhappy Johr had been.

Jace grinned widely. “Well,
now that you mention it - yes. She is the first girl I have ever been around
where I don’t feel like I have to hide my true nature. I know it didn’t bother Caitlin
in the least, so there is hope for Leah…when she finally figures it out. We
understand they are only half
Feydall
.
Surely there is way around the ancient laws?”

Talon looked at Beau
unhappily. “I’m not so sure my problem will be solved as easily. They believe
her to be
a
Lumina
and you know how unyielding they are about the Law.” If only Caitlin hadn’t
picked up those ley stones. Maybe no one would have ever noticed her powers.

Beau gave a dismissive
wave of his hand. “Rules were made to be broken and this is one area where we
excel. There is also the old prophecy, which may work in your favor, my old
friend. Regardless, we have been able to arrange marriages between
Feydall
and
Lykaios
before.” He looked pointedly at Sonny as Gail came around
the corner and placed her hand on his shoulder. Sonny took it and raised it
gently to his lips, looking at her lovingly.

Talon had to look away
from this show of tenderness. It made his
heart ache
for Caitlin and her bright smile. He was a warrior – how was it that such a
small girl could cause so many problems? Why had he chosen now to lose control
of his own feelings?

Bub, the Beta of the pack,
spoke up. “So, who are these girls? Who is this half-
Feydall
they profess to be a
Lumina
?”
He snickered. “I’d really like to meet the girls who managed to get the two of
you so wound up.