Light (14 page)

I just stood there and gawked at them.

“Hey,” I yelled at them and wanted them to stop but they paid no attention to me whatsoever. “Hey!”

My hand moved through the one boy and touched the other’s shoulder. He jumped a couple of paces, dropped the can and ran. The other two followed them.

“Come back here, you need to clean this up.” I ran after them and when the door shut behind them, the art disappeared from the walls.

Ginny started to laugh behind me and I turned around.

“I don’t get it, there were…”

“That’s what makes the Compound so much fun,” she answered simply with a huge grin on her face. “They see a very old house, and not all of this. It’s the best disguise in the world for the Compound.” She looked at me with soft eyes, and her smile softened slightly. “We experience this so many times that we don’t pay attention to it anymore. Sometimes we see them, other times we don’t.” She kept staring at me and her face became slightly more serious. “What I never experienced before is what just happened with you and that boy. How did you manage to touch him, Chas?”

“What!”

“You touched one of them. Why do you think he ran?”

“I…don’t know.” It must be the shadow inside of me. Something I desperately didn’t want anybody to find out about.

“It’s the Clencing,” Elliot came out of nowhere. “I doubt that we will see them again,” he joked. “Chas’s print will stabilize and then she will be completely invisible. It’s only a matter of time, don’t worry about it.” He kissed Ginny softly on her temple and she turned around and walked away.

I didn’t like that either. It was as if she could see straight through me, knew that it was a dark trait and hoped that I would confess.

Elliot lingered for a couple of seconds more and then he smiled as if he knew my secret as well and walked away. I went to my room for the remainder of the day.

I didn’t know how I was going to stay here with people that dealt with Shadow Casters regularly. It wasn’t safe for someone like me.

At dinner we had to listen to Stacey’s babble again when a horrible alarm went off. Fox grabbed my arm without saying a word, while the others went in the opposite direction with Tom and John on their heels.

“What is going on? Why did that alarm go off?”

“Shush,” Fox said and as she shoved me inside my room and locked the door behind us.

All the windows disappeared instantly and blended in with the walls.

“Fox, what is happening?” I whispered.

“You are safe in here, Chastity. The Compound takes care of their owners.”

“That’s not what I wanted to know! Please, tell me.” Adrenaline rushed through my veins.

“What did Elliot mean this morning when he said you spoke about it in your room?”

“It doesn’t matter. If you want me to live with these people I need to know what the hell is going on.”

“Chas, it’s a Shadow Caster. The Compound is like a huge gate between Revera and the Domain. If someone enters who is not from the light, those alarms go off.”

“So Shadow Casters are trying to get into Revera?”

She nodded. “They have been for years. The only way they will succeed is if a Light Caster in the Outer allows them.”

This wasn’t good. “Are they going to fight?”

I was worried, what if it was my mother that was desperately trying to get me out of here.

“Yes,” she said and just stared at the door, or where it used to be.

I sighed. I really didn’t like this place much.

WE WAITIED FOR WHAT SEEM LIKE FOREVER WHEN the windows and door finally reappeared Fox went to the door.

“Stay here,” she said.

“Like hell I am.”

I didn’t care, I could protect myself, I knew the basics.

“Chas you don’t know what those Casters want. You were with one, they might have followed us here and are looking for you.”

“Then leaving me by myself is not the right thing to do, Fox.”

“Okay, fine, but you stay close, you hear?”

I nodded.

The first thing we heard when we opened the door was a scream filled with agony.

We both rushed to the room it came from and found Max, the boy I’d met earlier in the library, sprawled over the bed.

“Max, I’m so sorry,” Stacey babbled at his side. “I didn’t see the second one, I’m so sorry.”

“For once in your life, just shut up,” he said through clenched teeth. There was a cuss word in between that sentence and Stacey got up and ran to Ginny who folded her arms around her.

His torso had black veins running across it and Elliot’s hands lit up with bright light as he moved both hands over it.

“What happened?” I whispered to Fox without taking my eyes off Max.

He cussed, cried, and cussed some more.

“Hold him,” Elliot said as he started to squirm on the bed.

John and Tom grabbed him and pushed him down onto the bed.

I couldn’t take the screams coming from his lips anymore and went out of the room.

Stacey followed me and we sat against the wall right outside Max’s room.

Stacey hit the back of her head against the wall. “I didn’t see him, I should’ve seen him.”

“Hey, calm down okay. What happened? Was it Shadow Casters?”
Duh, what else could it be.

She nodded. “It was Level Four Casters. If Tom and John hadn’t been there, we wouldn’t have made it. Something’s not right.”

“What do you mean something isn’t right?”

I hated asking all these questions but I hadn’t been there and I needed to know, it was the type of person I was.

She turned her gaze toward me. “Level 4 Casters are the highest any Caster can go. They’re just below Somniums. Two of those Shadow Casters were Level Four.”

“And…”

“You don’t get it. Level Four Casters don’t waste their time with the Outer, they usually go directly for Revera.”

“Elliot said the only way…”

“It’s not the only way. Only a very high level Caster can find a way into Revera without going through the Outer.”

“Then why do Shadow Casters even waste their time with the Outer, why not go directly for Revera?”

“That is exactly my point, Chas. We know of four Level Four Casters in the Shadow World. One is Crane, who is like the Lord of Oblivion, and then there’s Elody, but she never comes here, it’s beyond her to fight, but it doesn’t mean she doesn’t like to torture light Casters to get what she wants. She’s just as evil. The others are Vincent and Samual, and both of them were trying to get into the Outer.

Oh shit, they were after me, but what would Level Four Shadow Casters want with me?
It really didn’t make any sense. “You think they were here for me?”

“I don’t know. They never go for a Light Caster who just discovered what she is, that’s a job for a Level Two Caster.”

“Then why?”

“I don’t know…” she cut me off with a grunt.

“Oh come on, I can see it in your eyes. You do know, you just don’t want to tell me.”

She just stared at me for a short few second. “Fine, I think it has something to do with the woman that kidnapped you. Vinicola is Crane’s daughter. For years she didn’t make a single peep and then all of a sudden she shows up with you, trying to recruit.”

I gulped hard, but was glad that the hallway was slightly dark.

“So they were here for me?”

“They must have been. We have to find out why Vinicola wanted you so badly, and why she sent her brother to find you.”

I STRUGGLED TO FALL ASLEEP AND FOUND MYSELF sitting on the ledge by the window. I stared outside not knowing how long I was going to be able to see color again, and lost myself in the beauty that was before me.

The Compound soared high into the sky, funny how it didn’t feel this way, but here I was, staring on a park a couple of miles down and small buildings that made me miss home so much more.

Max’s cries eventually died and it turned out that Elliot wasn’t just a doctor, he was what Reverians would call a natural healer. You needed to be gifted for that and he drew the dark the Shadow Casters had left in Max’s body out with his light.

Then the thoughts that had haunted me all night emerged again.

So I have family, but not the kind anybody wanted.

I didn’t know Mom was sort of royalty in Oblivion and that the Lord of that awful place, Crane, was my grandfather.

I’d always wanted one, but I doubted that he would’ve been the old, friendly pappy that taps on his lap for you to crawl up and sit on. I used to envy the girls back at school when they complained whenever they were forced to visit their grandparents over the weekend.

I had an uncle too, whether it was Samual or Vincent I didn’t know, but I had an uncle who had a heartbeat.

Still, Mom left them for a reason, and Stacey was right, we should find out why they wanted me.

If half and half didn’t exist inside Revera then coming face to face with these people wasn’t an option. They would kill me.

This knowledge brought on more fears.

How did they know about me?

Did they have Mom?

I didn’t want to think about it, she couldn’t live in the Oblivion. Still, how they had found out about me made me worry a lot about her safety.

Then I saw it. It was as if it knew I was worried. Rays of golden sand filled the night. It flew around the buildings and went into each and every window. I smiled and knew what it was. They were dreams being casted. A huge yawn played on my mouth.

Hopping off the sill I crawled into bed and fell asleep faster than I expected to.

At first I was just sleeping, dreaming of nothing and then I was in the woods. My dreams felt so real now, something that I’d only experienced once. The day of my Initiation dream.

Orange light in the distance and the clutter of a fire made me want to go investigate. I found Leigh stoking the fire with a stick.

A jolt of happiness rushed over me as he was perfectly fine, not a scratch or a lost arm from the night of my Initiation dream. I remembered his jacket but I found him wearing it which was so weird.

He smiled as I reached him. The glasses on his face made him look extra mysterious, it made my stomach flip a couple of times.

Why was he here, again, inside my dream? I didn’t know the answer but one thing I did know, I suddenly didn’t feel as alone as I had earlier.

“Thank you again for the other night.”

He just smiled.

I looked around. “I’m afraid to ask where we are.”

Leigh chuckled. “No danger tonight, I promise, just a chat, a really important one, Chas.”

I nodded. “I guess you heard about earlier tonight. Do you know why they came?”

He shook his head.

Okay, I thought and sank down on the log opposite Leigh. “What’s up?” I said a bit too over excitedly which made Leigh smile, but it disappeared just as fast and he kept staring at the fire which started to freak me out a tiny bit.

“Leigh?”

He sighed. “It’s about tomorrow and what follows. I don’t know how to warn you any other way than through dreams as they monitor me through the Virtual Realm.”

“The what? What Virtual Realm?”

“They haven’t told you about that yet?”

I shook my head.

“Tomorrow they are going to start with tests and training, some of them are through the Virtual Realm.”

He looked at the fire. “Elliot will tell you it’s to know where to place you inside Revera, Chas, but it’s not. What happened tonight makes this even more crucial for you. He ponders on a lot of things. Deals with plenty of Shadow Casters. I know what I saw in that mirror Chas. Your sand is not light, it’s dark.”

“But you said I can choose.”

“You can, you just have to be careful. The tests are created to make sure you are not a Shadow Caster.”

My throat became dry and I swallowed hard. “My sand is golden in real life, or here in the dream world.” It sounded so stupid and so ironic.

“I know, for now, but your sand will show its true color in these tests. You need to learn how to wield your golden sand without using a hint of dark emotion Chas. Bad moods and fear turns Shadow Casters.”

I closed my eyes. I was so screwed. There was no way that I was going to be able to hide my dust from these people.

“It’s not that hard to hide it. Just take these tests as they come and don’t try to face anything. They will teach you later how to deal with Shadow Casters, these tests are not the way. So don’t try to overcome them. Just give in to whatever they are going to show you, run, if you must.”

“Run?” I said with slightly raised eyes. “That’s your master plan?”

“Casters will fight, and if you wield your sand it will be dark, Chas. Don’t fight otherwise they will chuck your ass into the Oblivion and believe me it is not a place you want to be.”

“How do you know all of this?”

I could see his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly. “Because I helped create the Virtual Realm, these tests.”

I gaped. “You created them?”

He gave me a look of shame, I could tell he wasn’t proud of it. “I had no choice, Chas. It was the only thing I could do.”

“Are you going to be in them?”

“I am, but you won’t see me, or hear me. Any slight interference from me and they will start digging. You don’t want them to dig either.”

I thought about all of this, and again felt completely and utterly alone. I had nobody here.

“So they’re prepared to lie to me? Fox and John, even Tom?”

“They have no choice, they are following Selene’s orders.”

A small sarcastic laugh escaped my lips. “The more I hear about Selene, the more I don’t want to meet her.”

Leigh gave me a stare filled with warning. “Don’t ever say that out loud, okay. She’s not what you think she is, she’s not bad she’s just extremely paranoid in her own way, especially when it comes to the safety of Revera. If she picks up anything from you Chas, she will do whatever is in her power to choke the darkness out of you. You are not strong enough to handle that termination. You need to learn first.”

“Fine, then give me something more. What am I going to face in these tests?”

He shook his head.

“You’ve got to give me some sort of a hint, Leigh.”

“I don’t know. There are over a million tests, Chas. It could be anything,” he said. “They are real, you won’t even know that you are in one.”

“Then how the hell am I going to know that these test are over, and not some other creepy test to only try to trick me more? I need to experiment with my golden sand, if I can’t do it in these tests….” He got what I was saying. It felt hopeless. They could book my corner in some rundown building as I knew I was going to the Oblivion. It was set in stone.

“Chas, you need to trust your instincts.”

“Trust my…” I giggled sarcastically. “My instincts tell me to run, Leigh. Ever since that day I got my sand, it’s all they’ve been saying to me. How am I going to trust that or anyone else in this place?”

“You can trust me.”

I just stared at him. He had been in my Initiation dream when I needed him and he was here now, warning me about things I didn’t even know were going to happen yet.

“I’ll do what you asked, but I don’t like running away; it’s lame.”

“That’s not what these tests are about. Facing your fears comes later.”

“Oh yeah, when? In another virtual test, as if they are real the way you say they are, I won’t even know the freak’n difference.”

“Calm down, Chas. If you aren’t sure, don’t wield your sand.”

“I’m not sure half the time, Leigh and we are still in the Outer, not in some virtual program.”

“I know you feel defeated Chas, but you can do this. I know you can.”

“So you keep saying,” I mumbled softly. “Anything else?” I didn’t want to sound annoyed but I was. I should’ve been grateful to Leigh as he was really doing me a favor and took a huge risk warning me about these tests.

“Nope, that’s it.”

“Why are you doing this? Helping me with everything?”

“You seem like the kind that needs all the help she can get, Chastity.”

I huffed, and took a deep breath. “So I guess a thank you is in order?”

“Not at all. We have a lot in common, even if it doesn’t look like that now. Revera may be a dream world, but I can promise you nothing about Revera is a dream. Not all of them can be trusted, so be careful Chas.”

I nodded.

We sat there for a while, just staring at the embers of the fire that were flying through the sky.

“Can I ask you something?”

He nodded.

“Who are you, do you live in Revera?”

He smiled. “You could say that.”

“Please just give me a straight answer,” I begged.

“Let’s just say that I have limits to where I can run around and play.”

“Who created all of this, me, you?”

“The same person who created all the Nomads.”

I huffed. I didn’t even want to start thinking about that part as I doubted that God would create anything like this, but then again, He has a funny sense of humor and it seemed to come to light on a regular basis lately.

“Can I go? Apparently, I have a big day tomorrow.”

He smiled again which made my stomach flip. Why I had a thing for guys in glasses I would never understand. But Leigh was far from a geek, he was a kick ass heart-throb with very bad eye sight.

“Sure, and please be careful. The Virtual Realm can’t harm you, but act like it can, okay.”

“That is if I know it’s the Virtual Realm.” I got up, and brushed down my ass to get rid of the loose pieces of wood that were stuck on my jeans.

“Oh, before I forget, if you see the cat, keep your mouth shut.”

What cat?
I turned around but Leigh and the fire had disappeared.

I OPENED MY EYES AND FOUND MYSELF BACK IN MY bed. The sun was starting to light all the objects that were stacked against the wall. The shadows weren’t so dark anymore and I tried to fall asleep again, but failed miserably.

At six thirty I sat at the breakfast table, alone. Leigh’s conversation from last night replayed inside my head. I had no idea how I should let things happen or run away if I couldn’t handle it. That wasn’t who I was and it conflicted with something Mom had drilled into me in that short, almost three weeks, we’d spent together: To face your fears and fight. We were fighters.

I wondered for the first time in a long time about my real dad, who he was and what his plan was for us. Apart from what Mom told me, the little she shared and the reputation he had with Fox’s team wasn’t enough to help paint a picture of him in my mind.

He would probably have found a way to hide us from Fox and Tom and I wouldn’t have had to face any of this.

I jumped as both Ginny and Margot walked into the kitchen. Ginny wore a pair of Capri jeans and a flowery top. Margot wore skimpy denim shorts with a pair of army boots and a tight t-shirt.

“Did you have a wonderful rest, Chastity?” Ginny had a sweet tone to her voice and for some reason I couldn’t imagine her lying to me later in the day.

I smiled back politely. “I did, thank you.” Urg, I sounded like a morning person.

“Hungry?” she asked, walking over to the oven that was stationed in the far corner of the kitchen.

“Starving,” Margot said with a slight grunt as she played with a crystal that hung from her neck. The thing was beautiful, it had so many colors in it and I couldn’t stop staring. I saw Margot stop fiddling with it and found her staring back at me. I looked back to the table.