Enlightened A Light Tamer Novel (The Light Tamer) (9 page)

The door
flies
open
,
and
a frazzled Amber comes in.  She rushes over to sit down
,
and
I can see
she
’s
upset.

“What happened?”  Caleb asks.

“I’ve no idea.  We were walking down the hall
,
and
the next thing you
know;
it was pitch black in the hall.  I had my flashlight
,
but
he didn’t
,
and he was freaking the freak out.
”
  Amber’s hand was trembling as she held
up
her flashlight.  “I was trying to keep him calm and get us back in here.”

I
look around the room and see some kids
have their flashlight app on
their
phone turned on.  Oddly enough,
Mr
Wolfshadow
is
cool
as a cucumber.  My grandma always uses that saying.  “Caleb, look at him, he isn’t doing anything.  Do you think this is a drill?”

“Everyone, you need to calm down.  As you can see, our back-up generators are on
,
and
the lights are working properly.  I’ve
received a
message that an announcement will be coming soon.  Stay seated, and keep your flashlights accessible.” 

Thorne turn
s
around and
gives
Amber a thumbs up sign.

“You don’t have anything to do with this do you Amb?”  I whisper to her.

“Hell
no
, you’re a turd for even asking me.”
  We all jump when we
hear
a
hullabaloo o
utside of our door. 

The door swings open
,
and
a tall
man in a red suit
stumbles
in.  He’s
probably
the same age as my
grandma;
he would look younger if he didn’t have
a
comb over
hairdo
.  “Jesus!  Can it be more chaotic?  Where is the control pane
l?  Where?” 
He is
undeniab
ly
from New Jersey by his accent.

“The control panel is in the next room.”

“To hell it is, this is 26 B
and the panel
is
in here.”  He walks across the room towards Caleb and me.  I do my best to slink down in my chair and blend in with the
desk
.  He pulls out a piece of chalk and draws a square on the wall.  Before my brain can actually process what
I’m
seeing, a door appear
s
.  The door is no bigger than a medicine cabinet, but the jumble of wires looks never
-
ending.

Everyone in the class is watching with curiosity
as he plugs and unplugs wires until the room suddenly has
power
. 

“ATTENTION STUDENTS, THIS WAS A TEST OF THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM HERE AT PARCA.  HAD THIS BEEN A REAL EMERGENCY
-
YOUR TEACHER WOULD HAVE
TAKEN YOU
TO AN OUTDOOR GATHERING PLACE. 
HAVE A GOOD AFTERNOON AND REMEMBER A SMILE CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE IN SOMEONE’S LIFE.  KEEP
SMILIN’
.”  The school secretary
announced
in her deep country twang.

“You really did think I did something didn’t you?” Amber
asked
accusingly to me.

“Not
really
, but when I saw Thorne give you a thumbs up, I couldn’t help but wonder.”

“It didn’
t mean anything.  What if it did mean something?  Do you think he meant something?”

“Class, if I can get your attention.
 
I am pleased with your reaction to the live experiment.  We test our Tamers to make sure they know how to handle the pressure of darkness. A few of you were a little timid and daunt, but that is to be expected.  It is only your second day of class.
 
Mr
Woodson, what was number three on the list I gave out yesterday?”

“
Tamers that haven’t bonded will
turn into a Dark One,” Thorne reads out loud.  By the expression on his face, he isn’t happy about
being called
.

“What do you think
Mr
Woodson?”

“I don’t know.  It seems a little silly to me to think everyone can find their partner, even sillier to think they have to turn dark if they don’
t.”
He scoots his
butt
as far forward he can without falling out of his chair.

“
FACT. 
You are
not
destined to be dark if you don’t find your partner.  You
won’t be
as
strong
to avoid the temptations
the dark provides.
  Some turn dark by accident.  How many of you know one certain way of turning you dark?”

I raise my hand and mentally pray I
won’t
regret it.
“Can’t you lose your light if you absorb another Light Tamer’s light by accident?”

“Yes,
and no
Miss
Lucente
. 
If the dying Tamer’s light is young and vibrant and their mate absorbs their light, they can and probably will become a Dark One. 
There’s a hitch, a simple loophole to that rule.  You won’t turn dark if the Tamer that dies is at the end of their
lifecycle
. 
When you’re at the end of your life cycle, you
r
light isn’t as strong, therefore, nothing happens.” 
A buzz of voices interrupts
the teacher’s lecture.  “It is easier to
gauge
if the Tamer is old, but many younger ones that die are
at the end of their life
.” 

“What about those of us that don’t bond before we’re 18?”  A boy across the room blurts out.

“You won’t be as strong as a pair that are,
p
ure
and
simple
.  T
here
are
plenty
of
Tamers
finding their mate as an adult.
  One of the teachers here found her partner after she started teaching. 
We’re hoping that with the experiment, they find the compatible mate
to
help
Mother Nature
.
  She can be so temperamental
.
”

Mother Nature is a real being too?
  Oh, Mylanta.

“Is it
really
plain and simple, or is that what you want us to believe?”  Thorne asks suspiciously.

Amber snorted trying to contain
a
laugh.

“Yes, why wouldn’t it
Mr
Woodson?” 

“No reason, just curious if anything in this world is
plain
and simple.”

Mr
Wolfshadow
rubs h
is chin in frustration.  I can hear Amber’s thumbs clicking as she madly taps out a text message. 
I duck my head to check my lap for messages. 

Amber:  HE’S SO HOT

Me: 
Mr
Wolfshadow
?

Amber: HA! HA!

I’ve lost track what they’
re talking about and start willing time to go faster
.
  I send a text to Jersey, my best friend in New York about her Facebook status. 
She went from single to ‘in a relationship’ last night.
  I’ve decided for my birthday, I want a ticket for her to visit. 

“You daydreaming about me again?”
  I look up to see Caleb standing next to my desk and smiling down at me.

I’ve learned quickly that the school
parking l
ot is not the safest place.
  One girl
in a red Prius practically backs
up into us.  Prius driver’s have a differ
ent type of road rage. 
They’re
jealous of cars that have more power.
  Caleb tug
s
on my skirt
motioning
me
to follow him to his car.
Above the noise
I hear Amber yelling at someone to watch where they’re going.
  Thorne
’s
walking with her, but no
t
actu
ally
. 
He wasn’t talking to her, and he didn’t seem to mind the parking lot bumper car session.
 
They hop into her jeep
,
and
I notice another guy climb
in
with
the
m
.
  Caleb eases his BMW out of his
spot
and
we get in line
behind a tricked out black car.  I click the button on the stereo and turn up
Gold on the Ceiling
by El Camino.

“What had you so deep in thought?  You seemed lost inside of your head.”

“Oh, I was thinking about Jersey.  I was wondering if my mom would buy her a plane ticket.  We have a 3 day weekend over Labor Day.”

“My dad has tons of frequent flyer
miles;
he is always wanting to run off on a short trip to use them up.  I’m sure he can spare some miles to fly her here.”

I reach over and
move
his hand
from
the gear shifter.  Our fingers entwine together,
perfect…minus
the fact I’m in desperate need of a manicure.  “You are the perfect boyfriend.  That would be incredible
,
if
your dad
agrees.”

He takes my hand and pulls it up to his mouth and kisses
it
.  “
Oh,
I’ve been meaning to tell you about the dance.  I bet we can get permission to bring Jersey
with us
.  The fall equinox is in September
,
and
we get two extra days out of school.  This year the dance is on September twenty
-
second.”

“
They celebrate the fall equinox?  Do you
actu
ally
think
the school will let
Jersey
into the dance
?”

“I don’t see why not.  They don’t technically call it the fall equinox, it’s the fall semi-formal.  We get fall break earlier than other schools.
  It will still be hot, but not nearly as
bad
. 
Miss
Lucente
, will you
please be my date to the dance?
”

Squeeeeee
!  I’ve never been to a dance before.  Mom is going to go crazy for dress shopping. 
“So, that
’s
an official invitation,” I say and bat my eyes at him.  Luckily we’re at a stop light so he can get the full effect.

“Oh it’s official baby,
its
official.”

“I’d love to go!”

I haven’t heard from my dad in a few days.  Earlier
in the
summer he told mom h
e was going to Greece to study under
his mentor Yiannis Melanitis.  Originally that was what I was told too.  He took mom’s emergency credit card to pay for his flight.  Mom had finished up her masters in nursing and was
looking
for a job when our landlord said we had to move.  Without dads income, we couldn’t find another place to live.  We moved in with my mom’s mom
,
Grandma Gayle, or
Miss
Gayle as she likes to be called.

My dad showed up at our house one night and told me the reason he is an alcoholic is because he is a Dark One.  My dad, my
DAD
is one of
them
.
He
said,
we come from the original family of
Tamers
.
   My own father is the
bad
guy. 
He told
Caleb and
I
about the girl he had been bound too. 
She died
in front of him
, and to keep the other Dark Ones from draining her light, he did
it
himself
.  He said it was something so natural to do
,
and
it didn’t feel wrong.  It awakened a thirst for light, one he couldn’t fight without the help of a bottle of booze.