Touched by Darkness (Young Creator Trilogy) Read online

  Getting to sit next to Nick on the plane ride was really nice; it gave me a chance to get to know him. He didn’t hold back; telling me all about himself, his upbringing, and what his life has been like so far. Comparing Nick to Keagan, I realize that the two are a lot alike. Both of them had a difficult, demanding childhood and were raised to be tough and fight for their cause. Surprisingly, Nick actually explained some of Keagan’s behavior. Nick was taught from an early age what his role in this world was and how important it was to keep the balance between dark and light. He told me that his job wasn’t easy because sometimes he’s had to do things that he didn’t agree with, but knew he had to for the greater good. Sometimes the reasons didn’t get explained to him and he just had to trust in those that made the decision. If he wasn’t out on deadly missions, then he was back home training with his dad and being homeschooled. Nick speaks over six different languages, and knows a bunch of martial art styles. He can also fight with swords and daggers, has perfection at the throwing stars that ninjas use, and can turn about anything into a weapon. He offered to teach me some useful fighting skills, because he knows what we are doing is going to be very hands on, and he feels that I should know as much as I possibly can and not depend on my powers.

  The biggest thing I realized, was it’s nice to get to know someone completely, no secrets between us. There is a part of me that wishes I’d had that chance with Keagan. I know that Keagan and I have a special connection and that he’s always going to be around because of it, I just don’t know how I feel about that. I want to move on and leave the past in the past. I realize that almost losing Keagan intensified my feelings, but I’m not sure that I can really trust myself with him. I always get hurt when it comes to Keagan. I still have to finish that chapter of my life before I can move on with Nick … or anyone else. I know having Keagan around—having to see him and be close to him—is going to make it so much harder.It’s been nice to have Nick around as a distraction. Although I definitely find him attractive and enjoy his company,I just don’t want to jump into anything right now.

  Nick ’s story is kinda sad, but I would never admit that to him since hedoesn’t see it that way. When Nick turned four he started taking self-defense and language classes. When he was seven they added strategic war, mythology, history, and a few more languages. His life has been entirely dedicated to serving the Fates and making sure that the loom of life was balanced between dark and light. Nick and Keagan have that in common, but at least Keagan was surrounded by other people and got to attend school his senior year. It’s never been like that for Nick;it’s been either missions with colleges or training and education with his dad. However, he does seem content with his life to serve the greater good.I don’t know if I could do it. I love my life and the people in it; yes it has definitely been difficult lately, but the people that have been added to my circle are amazing and I care deeply about all of them.

  We finally get to our room, and I have to say that it’s nice in a simple way. The room is painted a soft yellow, and two twin beds are pushed against the walls, a night stand next to each of them with Eifel Tower lamps, which cast the room in a soft glow. The Eifel Tower theme is held throughout the room, including the bathroom, which has an Eifel Tower shower curtain. Kinda cheesy, definitely for the tourists, but I like it. I throw myself on the bed and a soft sigh escapes me. While relaxing on the bed, I noticeRiley’s hustle and bustle around the room; my eyes follow her, and I’m amazed at how quickly she makes her side of the room hers. I have never shared a room with anyone before, and it’s interesting to see how another girl inhabits her personal space.

  Riley, noticing my attention, shrugs her shoulders and says,“What?” “It’s just interesting to se e you make this place your own. You know we’re only going to be here for a little while, right?”

  “I know, Trish, butyou saw how I used to live. I don’t know if you noticed, but Haven is a place of simplicity. The Rebel Camp was worse as far as living conditions, but at least we had our free will. The first time that we all actually had a nice place was when you and Tisiphone created the dorms. One thing I did learn, regardless of how simple or nice a place is you should always make it your own, give it that special touch.” She gives me a big smile and bounces over toward me. It’s one of the things that I love about Riley; all of her energy and positivity.It’s hard to imagine that she is Keagan’s sister since they are complete opposites … her giddiness to his somberness.

  I decide that I’ve relaxed enough and decide to go for a shower. Just as I’m about to turn the water on and get undressed, I hear knocking. Riley answers, and seconds later there is knock on the bathroom door.

  “What’s up?” I ask, even though all I really want to do is ignore it and enjoy a long, hot shower.

  “Sorry, Trish, but the boys are outside and thought this would be a good time to work on your self-defense. I figured I should stop you from taking a shower since you will probably want to take oneafter.” I blow out an exasperated breath, but realize that right now is as good a time as any to do this.

  “Tell them that we’ll be there in five. Find out where they want to meet.” I hear muttering, and then the door closes.

  “All right, Trish,they’re gone. Youcan come out and throw some workout stuff on.” Opening the door slowly, I peek out. Riley notices and laughs at me.

  “What, did you think that I would set you up?” I notice that she is pulling on a tight- fitting black tank top and twisting her hair into a bun on top of her head.

  “Are you gonna come,too?”

  “I wouldn’t miss this! I’ve heard about Nick and his group for a long time.They’re supposed to be the best fighters around. Ican’t wait to see what he’s going to show us.” Nodding my head in understanding, I quickly open my suitcase and pull out workout clothes. As soon as I tie my shoes, Riley and I are heading out the door.We’re surprised to see the guys leaning against the walls on opposite sides, waiting for us. Nick immediately grins when he sees me and Keagan gives me an unsure smile.

  This side of Keagan is completely different than anythingI’ve seen before. When I first met him he was cool and aloof, when we started dating he was sweet and caring, in Haven he was cruel and hurtful, and when we faced Allecto he was supportive. Now all I see is regret in his eyes; he seems so sad. There is no cockiness or aloofness left. I have to say, I liked the cockiness … it drew me to him, the self-assuredness that he carried himself with. I really need to talk to him, to assurehim that I don’t hold anything against him, but also let him know I’m not sure about dating him. Too much has happened. I do this by returning his smile, watching as he transforms right in front of me. The smile must have meant something to him because he stands up straighter and lifts his shoulders. I now know what I saw before; it was defeat, but now I see hope reflecting in his midnight blue eyes.

  Riley watches the exchange between us with interest while Nick is glancing back and forth between us with confusion. To break the strange situation, I ask the boys were we are heading.

  “The gym,” Nick says, and starts heading toward the stairs. We are on the sixth floor, and I believe that the gym is on the twenty-fourth.

  Riley and I look at each other, and Keagan whispers,“This is just the warm-up.” All of us are in excellent shape. I know that Nick trains all the time, and both Riley and Keagan workout and practice their martial arts to prepare them for whatever they have to face. As far as I go, I run a lot but am not as versed in martial arts and different forms of exercise as they are. At floor twelve my legs are burning, by floor eighteen my lungs are screaming and my legs want to collapse underneath me. Nevertheless,I push myself and don’t stop. When we finally reach the floor that the gym is on, I let out a relieved breath and happily accept the water that Nick hands me. A towel follows the water and I dab the sweat off my face and chest.

  “Not bad! Sprinting up stairs is definitely a good warm up. Are you guys ready to start the real workout?” All I think is, Crap, what di
d I get myself into?“I’m going to show you all a few Krav Maga moves.”

  “What’s Krav Maga?” I ask since I’ve never heard of it before.

  “It is the ultimate style in self-defense. It’s from Israel and was made for street survival. You basically do whatever to survive, no quarter is given whatsoever. It has a little bit of everything: boxing, karate kicks and knees, it also incorporates Jiu-jitsu wrestling, throws, and grappling. The big thing about this style is that you both defend and attack at the same time. It is a lot of technique, but if you dedicate some time to it, it may save your life.”

  “Okay, I’m up for it. Anything to give me a chance of beating Haddie and walking away alive.”

  “Fine. But, Trish, there is one rule while I’m teaching you this. No use of your powers,” Nick tells me.

  “That’s fine. So where do we start?” Nick takes us through some very intricate moves, starting us off with bursting, which is the defense/attack move that he was talking about. You basically block and deliver a response kick at the same time. It takes a lot of coordination, and when Riley and I first try it we keep ending up on our butts, which we find hilarious … but quickly don’t when Nick snaps at us. He’s all business, and tells us that this is no time to play around. The remainder of the time is spent learning moves that I would’ve never thought about; using strikes to the eyes, groin, and throat, which will really hurt someone.

  The moves come easy to me, and by the time that we’re done I feel fairly comfortable with at least a few of the techniques. I hope that I don’t ever have to use them, but sadly I probably will. The four of us are drenched in sweat, and when I look around the gym I notice that a few people had been watching us. A younger woman in her twenties comes up to Nick and starts asking questions. Noticing that we only have about thirty minutes before we are all supposed to meet back up, Riley and I excuse ourselves.

  I let Riley go first since she told me she’ll be quick, but may take a few minutes to do her hair. Onceshe’s done, I hop in and I take a nice, hot shower. The only reason I pull myself out of it is because Riley yells through the door that we only have about ten minutes before we have to meet everyone. I quickly get dressed after drying off. My hair is a mess,but I don’t have time to really do anything, so I pull it up into a high ponytail and put on my war paint. Five minutes later I step out of the bathroom and Riley whistles.

  “What?” I ask. She shakes her head at me and laughs. “No, seriously,what’s up?”

  “Sorry, you just amaze me.I’m so jealous. You don’t even try and in less than five minutes you look amazing. I wish I could do that.” I look at myself, and back at Riley, thinking that she must be crazy. I’d do anything to look like her. Noticing the time, I point to the clock and we rush out the door.

  Chapter 18 Keagan I hate admitting it, but Nick is a cool dude. We get along pretty well and have a lot of things in common. One of them being Trish; he actually admitted that he was interested and asked me what our deal was.I guess he didn’t believe the whole boyfriend thing.

  “Holy crap, that’s some serious stuff. I tell you what, until you guys have everything figured out I’ll back off.” We bump knuckles, which I’ve only ever done with the guys I grew up with. I realize that Nick is the first guy I would consider friend outside of the usual group of guys. He’s a lot like all of us, but at the same time different. Even though I put my stamp of approval on the whole Nick and Trish thing,if things don’t work out between us, I don’t know how I feel about the idea. It doesn’t matter, I tell myself. She’s going to realize that we belong together.

  We head out the door to meet up for dinner; we ’re going to some bistro that Nick’s dad recommended.Said it was a must. I don’t really know anything about that … food’s food. Nick and I decide to find our own way versus meeting up in front of the hotel for a cab. Nick grabs a city and Métro map from the hotel information desk, and we head out. France is nothing like the United States; there is so much history everywhere you look. Everything is either really modern or old. The architecture of the buildings is quite something, there isn’t one building that is plain. Everything is very elaborate, like the cathedrals decorated with extravagant carved stone statues.

  There is so much to take in, and if the landscape wasn’t enough to keep the eyes busy, the people definitely are. It seems like no one has any inhibitions. The things that are openly accepted in the streets of Paris would be frowned upon in the U.S., which seems funny since we consider ourselves free spirits. Getting on the Métro, we have to stand due to how crowded it is.

  “So, any idea what we’re getting ourselvesinto?” I figure I might as well find out what Nick knows.

  “I probably know as much as you do, dude. I think we’re meeting up to talk about the

  game plan and hopefully my dadwill fill in some blanks.”

  “I would’ve thought he’d have filled you in by now.”

  Nick lets out a laugh at my statement. “My dad is not the sharing kind. He likes being in

  control and having all of the cards in his hand. Most likely he’ll tell us just the bare essentials.” I

  watch Nick blow kisses to some girls that have been giggling and batting their eyelashes at him. Laughing, I shake my head at him. For me, it’s never been easy to flirt with girls. The

  first girl that I ever took a chance on was Trish. I remember the first time that I saw her. She was

  walking down the hall at Dalton Academy, hoodie pulled up and hiding her face, but from what I

  could see she looked pissed at the world. For some reason I wanted to take the hurt and anger

  away. Too busy watching her, I ended up colliding with her. The shock of a lifetime happened

  when we touched; it was an electric shock went through my body and I felt something for the

  first time.It’s strange how much Trish’s presence in my life has changed me. Thinking back over

  the last week, Ican’t believe the person that I am without her. I really don’t like the guy that I

  was, and am so glad to have had my eyes opened to that fact.

  We finally meet up with the rest of the gang. Luckily, the Métro ride only takes a few

  minutes, becauseI’m anxious to find out the details. I want to know what the plan is. The bistro

  is nice enough, but I really don’t think it’s anything special. It’s very simple in design, and

  looking over the menu it seems like they mostly serve sandwiches. I don’t know what any of this

  stuff is, so I look to Nick for help.

  “You like breakfast?” When I nod, he says, “Get the Croque Madame, its freaking

  amazing.”

  Nick is something else. He has just as much weight on his shoulders as I do, but

  somehow heseems to have a lightheartedness about him. As if he doesn’t have a worry in the

  world. I can’t remember the last time … no,that’s a lie. I guess the only time that I let go and

  enjoy myself is when I’m with Trish. I just don’t understand how someone that I’ve known for

  such a short time can mean so much to me. I stare at her, and only realize what I’m doing when

  she looks at me from under her lashes and raises her eyebrow in a questioning way. When the waiter arrives—a very serious older man—I decide to go with Nick’s

  suggestion and order the sandwich. I wonder if it has alligator in it;I’m up for anything. “So what’s the plan?” I figure I might as well get this started.

  “I was hoping to eat first, then talk,” Trish says.

  “Me,too. I’m starving,” Riley pipes in.

  I let out an annoyed growl,which gets me a slap on the back from Nick. “Chill, dude!

  There is plenty of time for that. Let’s just enjoy the company and eat some great food.” He winks

  at me and pushes my glass, which I haven’t touched, closer to me. Taking a gulp, I almost spit it

  back out. What the…

  Ni
ck is cracking up. “Man, your face… frickin’ priceless. Enjoy, compliments of yours

  truly.”

  I don’t know what I’m drinking, but it’s definitely alcohol, and it’s strong. One rule that

  we have as Guardians is no alcohol… ever. Just then the food arrives, and I have to say that I’m

  really happy with my choice. It’s a breakfast sandwich, but instead of alligator it has ham,

  cheese, and eggs. As I bite into the egg, the yoke explodes and runs down my face. Hearing

  laughter, I look up and notice Trish with a warm smile on her face watching me. After that, I

  enjoy the sandwich even more, and gulp it down with several large gulps of the drink. I mean,

  why not? You never know what’s going to happen; I could always die again. I stillcan’t believe

  that I died, that’s the other piece that snapped into place when Chris lifted the darkness. Chris lets out a satisfied belch and wipes his mouth with his napkin. All of the talk and

  laughter has slowly died down over the last few minutes; everyone wants to know what lays

  ahead. Chris glances around the table with a satisfied smile, but notices all eyes on him, which

  has him sitting up a little bit straighter with a serious look crosses his face.

  “Oh, right. Sorry. I get few chances to just relax and enjoy myself. I let myself, for a

  minute, forget why we have come to this place.” He glances around the room, and after a minute

  of staring into nothingness, he continues,“I know that you probably expect me to lay out exactly

  what we are going to face, but sadly I cannot. As Nick pointed out earlier, no one has ever been

  able to relay tales of the Underworld because no one ever leaves. What I can share with you is of

  the hardship that I underwent to gain my Sky.”