Painfully Ordinary Special Edition (9 page)

“The Challenger!” they
shouted in unison.

Jace walked to the
farthest corner of the room from the door, so the girls wouldn’t overhear
anything and beckoned Talon to follow. He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket
and put it to his ear.

“Beau?
Ha'-ah-hut
.”
Jace spoke quickly
in Caddo, then started smiling and snapped his phone shut. “Everyone will be assembled
by the time we arrive. He’s calling in the entire pack and we are to meet him
at Sonny and Gail’s.”

Talon grinned. He had a
tremendous amount of respect for Beau and spending some time with him would be
a welcome distraction.

“He is calling
everyone
in? You can always count on
Beau when there is a fight.” Talon picked up his phone and started dialing. “Johr,
the
Accendersi
made a move
tonight-right out in the open. I need to travel to Emory with Jace. The pack is
assembling to assist us and I need to go as a representative of the
Turvata
. I will be back shortly, but I
wanted to make sure the girls
were appropriately protected
.
Can you please send reinforcements to watch over them while we are gone?” Talon
nodded in awe at what he heard next. “Y…yes, I will wait for his arrival, since
he is so close. Thank you. I will not let you down.”

He turned to Jace. “They
are sending
Breeg
.”

Jace exhaled rapidly.
“Breeg?
Are you serious? I have heard stories about him my
entire life, but I have never actually seen him.”

Talon looked back over his
shoulder at the door to Caitlin’s room. He couldn’t ask for a better protector
for her, but he was a little concerned about how she would accept the news that
she would have a new guardian. “He was nearby. Apparently, he’s been watching
over her for a while. I’m not sure how they will react to him. He’s pretty
unique.”

Jace
was
taken
aback. “Unique? That is the best way you can describe a 2,000-year-old
dwarf with untold magical abilities and one of the fiercest warriors the world
has ever known. Not to mention the fact that, in the last 24 hours, the girls
have just found out some fairy tales really are true, that they are part of an
ancient race, and now you are going to introduce them to their dwarf
bodyguard?” Jace started laughing uncontrollably. “I have been privy to this
world my whole life and it almost sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud.”

Talon took a deep breath
and looked at Jace skeptically. Caitlin was probably not going to like it very
much and he wouldn’t be around to help control her temper.

“You’re probably right. Hopefully
they will accept it with as much grace and strength as they have shown with
everything else. It would have been so much easier if they had prior knowledge
of our world and the dangers within. I understand why that wasn’t possible and that
the secrecy was for their safety, but things would be so much
easier.
” he said with a wry smile. “Ok, now the hard part.
Let’s go tell the girls.”

Chapter
7

A Lumina

Our
protectors
came back into the room
and told us of their plans to leave. I was still angry they had lied about why
they were spending time with us. I knew I shouldn’t have allowed my heart to
run wild like that.

“What? You are leaving?” I
shouted, jumping to my feet.

Jace and Talon quickly glanced
at each other. I sat back down on the couch dejectedly. “Whatever. Just go. This
is just one more in a growing string of disappointments.”

Talon’s face fell, devastated,
while Leah and Jace simply appeared bewildered.

“Caitlin, I wouldn’t leave
if I had another choice. I am doing this for you. Please understand.” Talon
pleaded.

Whatever.

The green ley stones were pulsing
again. I slowly rose from the couch and stood toe to toe with Talon, poking him
in the chest.

“Yes, that is your job isn’t it?” I sneered. “Your orders
are to protect us—from what I have no idea. But, you are both here because it’s
your job
!” I shrieked as the ley
stones popped out of their bowls like kernels of corn. Leah and Jace jumped in
alarm.

“Cay-bear.
Please don’t get upset.”
Leah begged. I took a deep breath and the stones slowly resumed their soft glow.
Getting upset really wasn’t getting me anywhere – it was just going to end up
giving me a
really bad
headache.

Jace walked over, wrapping
his arm around my shoulders as he always did.

“Easy,
pixie girl.
Don’t worry, I promise we wouldn’t be going if it weren’t
absolutely necessary
. Do you really think there is anywhere
else we would rather be than here with you two?” He shot me a charismatic wink.

I scowled at him. “Has
anyone ever told you that you would make a good used car salesman?”

Leah sputtered, trying to
hold back her amusement. By the time he spun around to glare at her through
narrowed eyes, she was the picture of innocence. She had a real talent for that,
and I felt a little better in spite of myself – but I
was
definitely still pissed
.

Talon was visibly upset,
but I still couldn’t be certain if he was upset because he didn’t want to be
away from us, or due to the
fact
he didn’t want to
shirk his duty. I probably wouldn’t ever know for sure.

I sighed in resignation. “You’re
going to go whether we like it or not, so there’s really no point in making a
big production–safe journey and all that.” I dismissed them with a wave of my
hand. “We managed to take care of ourselves all these years; I think we can
handle it a while longer. It’s a long weekend anyway, so I am
pretty sure
we can stay out of Ryan’s way. We don’t really
need a nanny.” I planted my hands on my hips and thrust out my jaw in defiance.

Talon and Jace shared a
strange expression.

Oh
hell
no.

I snapped.
“
Now
what?
I have
been around you two long enough to know what that look means. What
else
have you forgotten to share with
me?
No more secrets
!” I demanded at
the top of my lungs.

Ley stones exploded all
over the room and we
were covered
in a thin layer of
sparkling green dust.

Leah clicked her tongue.
“Um, yeah.
Did I forget to mention she may have a long fuse,
but at the end of it is a truly nasty temper?”

I avoided looking at Talon
– tears threatening to spill over my cheeks. His eyes flashed a brilliant
sapphire. He strode over and tenderly cupped my face in his hands. I tried to
pull away, but he held on fast.

Leah gently grabbed Jace
by the elbow, leading him from the room.

She gave him a soft kiss
on the cheek and said, “Let’s give them a minute.”

He led me to the couch and
set me on his lap, but I was angry and hurt and certainly didn’t want to be
comforted. Talon wrapped his arms around me and adjusted me so I was facing
him. I sighed, turned my
head
and focused my attention
on the floor. I knew if I met his gaze, I would be lost.

He reached
under my chin, tilting my face so I had no choice but to look directly
at him
. His eyes were pulsing like the ley stones I just destroyed.

“
Ves'tacha
. Do you really believe the only reason I am here is duty?
My people are called the
Varyo
.”

Wait, didn’t Ael’onwe say
Freya was
Varyo
? I was so confused.

Talon continued his
explanation. “In English, it means shadow. We have been protectors for more
than a
millennia. We stick to the shadows and never get
involved with those we protect. Our sole focus is the safety of the ones we
are assigned
to watch over, and after a couple hundred years,
we tend to lose touch with what you call humanity. We no longer care to focus
on emotion, and our perspective becomes very black and white. I have lived like
that forever.”

I gulped. Had I heard him
right?
“Centuries?”

He raised a finger to my
lips, effectively silencing me.

“When you laugh, there is
a rainbow of light which surrounds you, and I am in ecstasy. The red-gold of
your hair, the way your eyes sparkle when you are happy, or the way they darken
when you are passionate–they make my heart pound and I get lightheaded. These are
feelings I never expected to experience for myself. I had given up on finding
my mate. Do you understand what I’m trying to say? This has nothing to do with
duty and everything to do with protecting my sole reason for living another
day.”

My mouth hung open and tears
spilled over my cheeks. Thunder crashed in the background. I had never heard
anything so incredibly beautiful. Was it possible
to really
have
someone feel that way about me?

Talon cocked his head to
the side and gave me a tentative smile.

“Do you hear that? You are
doing that. Your tears are falling on the ground outside as well.”

I sniffled and faced away
from him, not wanting anyone to see me so weak. I still hadn’t entirely
processed everything.

He shifted me in his lap,
so I was facing him again.

“I swear to you, I do not
want to leave and I will come back as soon as I possibly can. We will only be a
couple of hours away, and I can rush back here if you really need me.”

Didn’t he understand that
I needed him now? My entire world
had been turned
upside down. The exhaustion finally caught up with me. I crumpled in his arms
and buried my face in his chest, feeling as if I was coming apart at the seams.
He wrapped his arms tighter around me and rubbed his hand up and down my back
in an effort to soothe me, I thought, but it had a decidedly different effect.

I grabbed him by the back
of the head, pulling his face down to mine. His heart stuttered and audibly missed
a beat as I hovered inches from his face for several long minutes before I gently
pressed my lips to his. His reaction was instantaneous as he threaded his fingers
in my hair and kissed me back.

I turned completely around
in his lap until I had a leg on either side of him, wrapping my arms around his
neck
and pressing myself against him. Soon we were
both breathless. I had completely lost my mind.

He tried disentangling himself. “Caitlin, I can’t do this.
The law.”

I glared at him. “I don’t
give a damn about some stupid law. For once in my life, I am going to do what makes
me
happy.”

I tugged him back to me
and kissed him, letting my hands slide down his arms to his chest. I could feel
the slab of muscle under my hands. Moving slightly, I pressed myself against
his heart. I had never been so alive. The dust from the ley stones bathed the
entire room in a beautiful, green glow.

Just as things started to
get
really interesting
, we were interrupted by the
sound of someone clearing his throat. It was a gravelly sound, and Talon stood
up so quickly, he almost dumped me on the floor.

Ack!
I caught myself and whipped
around to see the unwelcome intruder. I was shocked to find a small man with
long, grey hair and a straggly beard. He resembled a character straight out of
World of
Warcraft
.

I raised one eyebrow at
Talon and shot him an inquisitive look. Who was this man? Talon was still
trying to pull himself together, his eyes changing back to brown. I chuckled at
his reaction, until I saw his horrified expression.

Talon immediately dropped
down on one knee and bowed his head. “Breeg thank you for coming on such short
notice.”

The small man raised one
bushy grey eyebrow. “Ach, perhaps I arrived sooner than ye expected?” He
beckoned to me with one finger. “Come here, lass. Let us have a look at
ye
.”

I involuntarily took a
step forward.

He examined me from head
to toe. “Ye are such a wee thing.” He addressed Talon. “This
be
the one ye say is a
Lumina
? Wheesh,
this wee one would need protection from her own shadow.”

The anger built up again and
threatened to spill over. Who was he to call me a wee thing? I stood up, trying
to maintain my calm, but not doing a very good job. The ley stones pulsed with
light as my fists clenched at my sides. I was so sick of people talking about
me like I wasn’t there or as though I were stupid.

Breeg let out a slow
breath. “Well, well. What do ye ken? I think ye’d rival even yer muther
herself
. Ye may be tha first
Lumina
from
Feydall
in five
hundred years. It will be an honor looking after
ye
whilst Talon and Jace are gone.”

Look
after me?
What was he talking
about
? Did they
think I was five? I didn’t need a babysitter. I’d give him something to
look
after
.

The light pulsed rapidly like
a strobe. Breeg took a small step back, clearly startled, but Talon pulled me
to his side and put a strong arm around my waist. I sighed in defeat and the
light slowly returned to its normal hue.

Breeg stroked his long
beard with a surprisingly meaty hand.
“Hmm, very interesting.”
He motioned to Talon. “
Son, that
might be something in
yer favor. Ye could be tha balance to her light.
Remember
this?

‘He’s waited
so long

Their love
will be strong

When tha
time is right

An
shadow meets Light

I'd
finally had enough and threw my hands in the air in frustration.
“Exactly what the hell is
that supposed to mean? I don’t mean to be rude, but I have had about all the
cloak and dagger I can stand for one day. Could someone
please
just give me a straight answer? Where is my Uncle Johr? He’ll
tell me what I want to know, without trying to make it all fluffy and happy.”

Breeg made a deep throaty sound.
“Whesht.
She has a temper,
no?
This could get quite
interestin
’.”

I narrowed my eyes at him.
I’d be happy to show him the extent of my temper.

Talon leaned over and
whispered in my ear. “Be careful, he is ancient and very powerful. Do not try
his patience; he has a reputation for being unpredictable at times.”

I planted my feet, putting
my hands on my hips, and stared Breeg in the eyes. “Bring it on.” I challenged,
tossing my hair over one shoulder.

The air surrounding Breeg crackled,
creating static that made my hair stand on end. Regardless of the consequences,
I
would not be pushed around
any longer. I maintained
eye contact with the little man and raised one eyebrow. Even the ley stone dust
pulsed in time with my rapid breaths.

“Caitlin!” Talon said,
panic in his voice.

“What’s going on in here? Who
the hell blew all these ley stones into dust? Did I miss some sort of battle?”
bellowed a tall, heavily muscled man with bright red hair as he strode through
the door.

I pushed past the other
two men and threw myself at him. “Uncle Johr!”

He caught me and swung me
around in the air as if I weighed nothing. “Hey there,
Cat
.
I am so glad to see you safe.” He nodded in Talon’s direction. “Good work, boy.
I am looking forward to your briefing before you leave.”

My eyes narrowed at the
reminder of Talon’s official role.

Talon bowed to him formally.
“Yes sir, whenever you are ready.”