A couple of hours later, the kid drove Keegan straight back to her house. Rourk watched him walk her to the door. Don’t do it. The kid stood there awkwardly and then turned and waved goodbye as he went back to his truck.
Rourk needed to pull himself together. He wasn’t sure if he would have been able to control himself had she kissed him. He wondered briefly if the assignment was too much for him. Richard wouldn’t have asked him to do it if it wasn’t important. He needed to think of her as an assignment and nothing more. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.
***
Thaddeus was beyond frustrated. He had been working with his mother for weeks trying to shield his gift it seemed impossible. They finally resigned that either he wasn’t old enough or his sight was too strong to block. He had been getting flashes of visions more often. The battle was rapidly approaching, and he wasn’t sure they were going to be ready. Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to have a normal mind without constant visions.
Thaddeus pushed his thoughts aside. He needed to focus on Keegan; she had gotten stronger and faster. The training had made a tremendous difference in her skills. He knew better than to let his mind wander during a fight.
Thaddeus pressed forward with his attack, forcing Keegan backwards. He immediately lunged forward again, and Keegan swiftly blocked his sword. In a quick burst, she pushed him back several steps. With little effort, Thaddeus paired her strikes and then went after her.
They’d been sparring for over an hour. He decided to end it now. He drove forward lifted his sword for the final blow. Just as his sword was about to make contact she was gone. Thaddeus sheathed his sword with slight smile on his lips.
Wiping the sweat off his face he grabbed a drink and he headed for the shower. He needed to talk to his father. After changing into a pair of jeans and his favorite Metallica T-shirt he headed in his father’s direction.
Thaddeus stood outside of Richard’s study, which was more like a library than an office. He knocked sharply on the door before entering. This was one of his favorite rooms in the house. It was made entirely from teak. Bookshelves surrounded the room. Taking a deep breath, he enjoyed the faint scent of wood. This room gave credence to one of his father’s favorite sayings: Knowledge is power not only in warfare, but in life. He had books on every topic you could think of.
His father looked up from his book and leaned back in his chair, giving his son his undivided attention. “I believe she is ready.”
Richard sighed, putting down his book to rub his face with both hands, and a look of relief came across it. “I was worried that you would not have enough time to prepare her.”
Thad’s first visions as a child had shown Keegan dying. He must have been about six at the time. He could still picture the vision as clear as day. Visions were strange in that they did not always show the whole picture, usually just snapshots.
She was on the ground, an arrow through her heart. Blood was everywhere. People screamed. Swords clashed. Blackness. As quickly as that vision ended, another one started. In this one, there was a fork in the road. Keegan, laughing, ran to the right. Behind her came a tall boy with reddish hair, he was also laughing. He grabbed her by the waist and swung her around.
Although only a boy, Thaddeus had never been a regular child. Richard had always known there was something special about his son. He was not surprised to learn his son was the child of prophecy.
Part of Richard’s job as commander of the Elfin specialized unit was to oversee the preparation of the young warriors. The ones who showed promise were taken at a young age and molded to join their specialized unit. Rourk stood out. He was noticed even earlier than most. His potential was obvious to everyone.
After the young warriors were trained and became of age they had to spend time in the regular human military. They could choose their branch as long as their end goal was to belong to the special operations community. It was then their choice if they wanted to stay in the human military or return to the Elfin Army of the light.
Richard himself had decided to stay in the U.S. Army Special Forces until he reached retirement age. Too many wars were going on for him to leave, and he felt he was of more value there. Recently, there had been talk of making an exception for Rourk and allowing him to join their specialized unit without joining the human military. Because of Thaddeus’ vision and his relationship with Keegan, keeping him around could change the outcome of the great battle.
CHAPTER 11
Keegan tossed piles of clothes on the floor searching for the perfect outfit to wear to the concert. Why was it always so hard to find something to wear? She looked around her room and clothes were all over the place. So many outfits and still nothing to wear. Picking up her phone, she texted Lauren to meet her at the mall. Keegan’s mom dropped her off at Target and she walked the rest of the way. It wasn’t that far, but she still felt annoyed that her mom didn’t take her the whole way.
Rourk wasn’t far behind and wondered where she was headed this time. Since he started following her, he’d started to notice patterns in her behavior. For instance, she couldn’t pass a Starbucks without getting a white chocolate mocha which she bought almost daily. What could she possibly want or need all the clothing for?
What bothered Rourk most was Keegan’s phone. She was always texting and oblivious to what was going on around her. This left her extremely vulnerable, and at times he wished he could grab her phone and smash it. Taking a deep breath he reminded himself that he was there for her protection. In essence, he was her eyes and ears.
One of Rourk’s secondary gifts was the ability to detect other creatures, and he noticed an increase in the amount of creatures of the dark lately. It was as if they were coming out of the woodwork. He knew they were always there, but since taking on his new assignment he had a heightened sense of awareness. He wondered if Keegan knew how many of the kids at her school were not human. Rourk couldn’t always tell what kind of creature they were, but he always knew if they were with the light or dark. So far, he had only seen her have interaction with others from the light. They were not elves though, that much he was sure of.
Rourk found it interesting that Keegan got so much pleasure from something as basic as shopping. He didn’t have any sisters, and his mother died when he was young so Rourk was not used to being around the opposite sex. He had never even had a girlfriend. To begin his training Rourk was taken from school younger than most. They said he showed promise, and they didn’t want it to be tainted by being around humans longer than necessary.
***
Keegan decided on a white tank top and skinny jeans. Now, on to accessories. There were so many beautiful things in the world and she wished she could have them all. She’d been shopping with Lauren for hours. They went in store after store trying on hats, sunglasses, shoes and jewelry. Most of the time they were laughing at each other. Keegan put on a large floppy hat and a pair of oversized glasses and then walked the aisle as if it were a catwalk. She made a quick spin and turned to Lauren and lowered her glasses, which led Lauren to join in. They were putting on their own fashion show, and people were staring at them, but they didn’t seem to notice or care.
After a while the girls were finally done shopping. Lauren’s mother picked them up and dropped Keegan off at home. Rourk always felt relieved when he knew she arrived home safely. Now, he could go home and get some sleep.
Keegan’s mother was folding laundry when she walked in. She leaned her head out of the door to the laundry room and asked, “What did you get to wear for the concert?”
Keegan smiled and said, “White tank top and skinny jeans.” She saw her mother’s face change and thought uh-oh. Her mother had a quick temper.
Calmly, Emerald said, “Keegan, go up to your room and pick out your favorite pair of jeans and top.” Puzzled, she went upstairs and did as she was told. Her mother glared when she returned and said, “Now throw them in the trash.”
A look of shock crossed K
eegan’s face. “What?”
Her mom went back to folding the clothes. “You have at least a half dozen white tank tops and skinny jeans upstairs. You are so spoiled, Keegan. You don’t even appreciate all you have.”
Keegan stomped up the stairs and slammed her door. She was so mad at her mother. It was ridiculous; if she had said she got a blue shirt none of this would have happened. Now, she had lost her favorite pair of jeans. Her mom got so mad over the stupidest things. At least she got to keep the outfit for the concert. What made no sense to her was the outfit she had to throw away cost twice as much as the new one.
***
When Rourk walked in, his father, Greg, was sitting in the living room with the lights off. Rourk sank into the oversized leather chair across from his father, putting his feet on the coffee table. They sat in silence for several minutes.
“So, how was your day, Dad? Anything of interest going on?”
“Not really, just the usual.”
They lapsed back into silence. His father never had much to say. Ever since Rourk’s mother died, his dad had closed himself off from everyone, and Rourk missed the days when the man had been filled with life. They used to spend so much time together.
Staring at his father, he thought, we look nothing alike. Rourk took after his mother’s side of the family. His dad looked like he could be a movie star. He had dark hair graying at the temples, intense blue eyes, and a strong jaw line. At work, his nickname was Fisher. The guys like to tease him saying he looked like the live version of Sam Fisher from Splinter Cell. Even with age, the lines just seem to give him more character. Rourk was always amused at how women practically threw themselves at his dad. No one stood a chance though; he was altogether indifferent toward women. Rourk’s mother had been the only one for him.
His father didn’t bother asking about his day, even though Rourk was sure he must have heard about his new assignment. Like Richard, he was retired military, and now they worked together. He wouldn’t say they were friends, but they unquestionably had a mutual respect for one another.
Rourk stretched and yawned, “I’m headed to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight.”
Tomorrow was the concert Keegan would be attending. It was going to be a long day, and he needed his sleep.
***
Keegan woke up to the sound of a little hand knocking on the door yelling, “Kee-kee-kee!”
Ugh. She pulled the blankets over her head. Why had she taught Warrick how to knock on doors? It was funny when he was doing it to Thaddeus. He sounded so cute, though, that she couldn’t resist, and it didn’t take long before she gave in and opened the door.
Her little brother ran in and crawled in bed with her. He was always so happy in the morning, and it was impossible to stay angry at him. Reaching over, she grabbed her iPad and selected 30 Seconds to Mars to play. She was already excited about the concert even though it was still ten hours away.
Keegan finally stumbled downstairs a couple hours later and noticed both her aunts were over for a visit. It was strange to see the three sisters sitting together; they looked a lot alike, and yet each was so different from the other. They all had round faces and the same blue eyes, but what set their features apart were the subtle difference in their noses and lips. Of course they all had different hair. Brigid’s hair was long, dark and wavy, Kat’s was long, curly and auburn and her mother had recently chopped off her ginger locks into a short pixie cut.
Keegan was glad she only had brothers. She wouldn’t want to deal with sisters. They seemed to be getting along now, but usually drama was around the corner when they were all in the same room. Too tired to pay attention to what they were talking about, she and Warrick went and lay on the couch.
From outside, Keegan heard lead hitting steel. Obviously her dad and Thaddeus were down at the range. She would have joined them if she wasn’t so tired.
If there was one thing her family enjoyed it was shooting guns. They constantly had competitions but to make things fair, their father had to shoot with only one hand and from twice the distance as everyone else. Of course, he still managed to win most of the time. It was kind of ironic because in any battles between light and dark, guns were not permitted, nor were any of the high tech gadgets of the present day. It was a way they honored the traditions of the earlier elves.
The day passed quicker than Keegan expected. She read some of her new book and edited more photos. Then it was time to get ready for the concert. Katrina would be there soon, and then they would pick up the rest of girls on the way. For some reason, Keegan couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen.
Keegan knocked on her brother’s door.
“Come in,” he yelled.
When she walked in, he had his nose to the television screen and the game controller between his hands, as always. She walked up to him and said, “Do you think I look good enough to go to the concert?”
He looked up from his game, pursing his lips as he eyed her. “You look even uglier than usual.”
Relief washed over her. “Are you sure?” She knew he was always honest with her about such things and always said the opposite of what he meant. It was kind of an inside joke with them.
Her real reason for going into his room was to see if he would give her a warning about the concert. He said nothing and went right back to his game, effectively shutting her out. Keegan watched him for a while and then left.
After she shut the door, Thaddeus grimaced. His gift was at times too much for him to handle. One of the main rules for someone with his gift was not to interfere with fate. It was beyond frustrating for him. What was the use of having this so-called gift if he couldn’t help others? He wanted to tell his sister to stay home and not go to the stupid concert. Instead, he did what his father suggested and worked on his breathing to control the fear racing through him. Taking a deep breath, he held it for the count of three, exhaled for the count of three, and repeated until he felt his heartbeat return to normal.
Thaddeus couldn’t help feeling restless. He glanced over at his sneakers, but decided he was better off without them. He walked through the house and yelled, “Going for a run.”
Thaddeus passed through the kitchen where his dad was on his MacBook. He glanced down at his son’s feet. “Would you like some company?”
It was impossible to tell his father no, so he grumbled, “Sure.”
His father shut the laptop and got to his feet. “Give me a second.”
Thaddeus was waiting on one of the large rocks outside the door when his father came out of the house wearing nothing but running shorts. It was hard not to stare at the scars that covered his body. He’d always been in awe of him. In his eyes, he looked more like a Viking than an elf. He looked so powerful most people were afraid of him.
His father stroked his red beard, which was a sign he was thinking.
Thaddeus grinned, “Sure you don’t want to grab your shoes old man?” In truth, his father should not run without shoes. His left foot had severe nerve damage. Thaddeus knew the run was going to cause him much pain. He also knew and appreciated the reasoning behind it. Some people were born to be leaders, and his father was one of them. He could instill admiration and make others feel as if they were his equal at the same time.
“Lead the way, son.”
Thaddeus took off in a sprint, his father close behind him. The wind felt great against his face. He loved feeling the ground beneath his feet. He always felt so free when he was running. Even though his father was beside him, it was like he was alone.
They ran for miles jumping and dodging fallen trees, mostly staying on the winding trails. Richard knew better than to say anything to his son. He would talk when he was ready. Right now, he just needed him to know he was there for him. Richard loved his family more than anything. He could never truly understand what Thaddeus was going through because of his gift. All he could do was to give him the mechanisms he needed to help h
im deal with it. Physical activity was one of those mechanisms. Eventually, Thaddeus collapsed on the ground physically exhausted. Looking over at his father he mumbled, “Thank you.”
***
Rourk arrived hours before the concert was to take place. This situation was not ideal by any means. It was going to be almost impossible to keep an eye on her from a distance. Tonight he was going to have to get closer to her than ever before. Just the thought made his pulse race. To his advantage, the place would be packed, and she had no idea what he looked like. This was more of a nightmare than he had imagined. He needed help to protect her in this chaos. The reality was he had no support. He took some comfort in knowing that Richard knew where his daughter was and didn’t feel the need to send reinforcements.
The number of people at the concert was staggering. Not to mention the fact that there were numerous light and dark creatures packing the place. His hope was that they were all there for the same reason, to enjoy the concert.
Rourk pushed his way through the crowd searching for her. He closed his eyes and could see where she was in relation to the stage and headed in that direction. The lights went out, and everyone screamed. He felt his chest tighten and then what sounded like explosions went off and the stage lit up. The opening act had started.
Rourk’s head pounded; the music was blaring. All around him people danced, sang at the top of their lungs and crushed together. Every time he advanced, he got pushed back by the crowd. He was still not close enough to protect her. People were drinking and smoking pot. It made him sick. He could never understand how people considered getting drunk and losing control fun. His mother had been killed by a drunk driver, and not even his father could prevent her death from happening.
With more urgency, he pushed his way through, and finally she was in his sights. Rourk studied her. He noticed she looked back with a look of concern on her face. Did she sense danger? Could she possibly recognize him? She eventually seemed to relax and enjoy the music. Rourk never even glanced at the stage; his eyes were only on her.