Read Touched by Darkness (Young Creator Trilogy) Online
Authors: Christiane Shoenhair
Tisiphone, who is shaking her head.
“What happened? I will tell you what happened. You just handed me your life on a plate,
Trish. You may not have your protective field, but you still have your power. I have seen you
turn swords into noodles and other objects before, but when it really counted you completely
froze up. If Ihadn’t been here and manipulated the knife to stop an inch from your face, it would
have hit you, and most likelyyou’d have been dead. You might not know this, but killing a
Young Creator is extremely… hard if not impossible. Yesterday was the only exception because
of the force field.” I don’t think I have ever seen Aunt Tisi so mad before, and I hate the anger
and disappointment on her facethat’s directed at me.
“I don’t know what happened, I just went blank.” Aunt Tisi is pacing back and forth; I
watch her, not knowing what else to say. On the fifth round I notice that her eyes have turned
this eerie white and she is starting to pace several inches of the ground. It always freaks me out
when I see her doing this. I guess it’s a fury thing. I can still remember Allecto’s black eyes, and
Ican’t help but wonder why the two sisters have different eye colors when they get like this.
Tisiphone’s eyes were one of the first things that I noticed about her. They started off an eerie
white, which took up her entire eyeball, but once she got closer to me her eyes turned into
normal human eyes that just change color every few seconds; something that I still notice when I
have a conversation with her. It’s super distracting. I get brought out of my thoughts when
Tisiphone says my name.
“Trish,are you listening to me?” I notice Keagan snickering, clearly amused at my
expense.
“Sorry, Aunt Tisi, I didn’t realize that you were talking. I was just thinking.”
“I noticed. Sit, both of you!” She points to a fallen tree that is just a few feet away.
Keagan and I sit down, several feet in between us. Tisiphone lets out an aggravated sigh. “You
two get closer!It’s not like you haven’t been all over each other before,and I don’t think either
one of you will bite the other.” I glance over at Keagan, wondering what his reaction to her
words is going to be. He is wearing an annoyed look on his face, clearly tired of hearing
references to our relationship. Regardless, he gets up and moves next to me, but sits far enough
away that we are not touching.
“I need both of you to focus. The challenges ahead of us are already going to be hard
enough without you two not getting along,” she scolds. I just point at Keagan, clearly letting her
know it’s not my fault. Glancing over to Keagan, I notice that he is sitting with his arms crossed,
pretending that this is not concerning him.
“I really need you two to stop acting like children. And yes, Trish,I’m talking to you,
too. From whereI’m standing,you’re not really helping the situation.” I feel like I’m being
punked;she can’t be for real. I haven’t done anything.
“Apparently the two of you can’t work together right now, which is really endangering
this whole operation. Not only that, Keagan, but you might be the only person that stands
between Trish and a certain death, which would be devastating on so many levels. The way that I
see it, Trish is going to be protecting everyone else and you, Keagan, need to have her back.
With the force field this would be a lot simpler. You just have to want no harm to come to
Trish.”
“It’s not that I want anything to happen to her on purpose, it’s how I feel about everyone.
I’ll do my best to make sure that I have her back,but that’s all I can do. Not trying to be mean,
but I would do the same for anybody. There is no special protectiveness that I feel toward Trish.
That’s just how it is.” Keagan shrugs, as if to say it’s not a big deal. I know I shouldn’t take it so
personally, but when just a few days ago he made me feel like I was the most important person
on the planet and regardless of what we’d faced he would always walk into the fire right beside
me, him not caring hurts. I know hedoesn’t remember, but it still feels horrible. I think that Tisi
can tell that my feelings have been hurt; her eyes soften when she meets mine and she gives me a
sad smile.
“Well, I guess we will just have to work with that for now. Keagan, you are her Guardian
and you need to protect Trish regardless of what else is going to happen tonight. She is your
mission, and you will not leave her side. Do I make myself clear, Keagan?’
“Yes, ma’am.” Hedoesn’t look happy, but knowing Keagan he is going to make sureI’m
safe.It’s just the kind of person that he is; always taking his responsibilities seriously.
“It’s time, we need to get ready. Let’s head back, and remember my words… both of
you.” Tisi starts walking and both of us jump up in an instant to head back. I wonder why, on
occasion, Aunt Tisi transports herself or others to places, and other times she takes her time and
walks.
We arrive back at the village,and to my amazement it’s as if it has turned into a military
camp. Everywhere I walk I notice different groups working on different tasks. A blacksmith,
whose massive arms are bulging with muscles, is covered in soot and pounding the end of a red
hot sword on an anvil. I notice a pile of metal that he still has to work on laying in a mountain to
his right. While he is pounding, a young redheaded man, slender in build, is dunking the swords
into cool water. Then, a sturdy looking woman is giving it the final touch on the sharpening
stone, using it to grind the edges. The sword’s edge that she is holding looks like it could cut
through a body with barely any resistance. I notice that she has about fifty swords piled up on a
wooden table. I guess everything gets used when they are on a mission, since the table is one of
the ones that I just used a few hours ago to eat on. She must have felt my eyes on her, because
just as I’m about to look away from the task that she is completing she nods her head at me,
acknowledging my presence. I return her nod and continue on.
People are rushing everywhere, most of them carrying something in their hands.
Everywhere we walk we get acknowledged by smiles and claps on the back. When we reach the
tent, I notice Helen with a large whiteboard behind her. The board is divided into two sides, and
as I get closer I notice that one side is a task list with the responsible parties listed next to it and
the other side is a rough map of Haven with different colored stars on it. I’m going to assume
that the stars are various groups of people that will be responsible for different missions tonight.
I stillcan’t believe they are wanting to do this all tonight. I always thought that planning and
putting everything into place for a battle would take weeks, if not months, to prepare.
“Does anyone have any questions about what their role will be tonight?” Everyone nods
their head, acknowledging that they understand what is expected of them. Helen sweeps her gaze
over the assembled crowd of about ten. When she notices the three of us, she excuses herself
from the group and heads over to us. “Tisi,what happened to you? You just disappeared.”
“Trish needed my assistance, so she decided to bring me toher side.” Helen stares at me
in wonder. I shrug my shoulders, wanting to sayit’s no big deal. I notice Keagan once again
staring at me and it’s making me super uncomfortable. Why do I keep finding myself in his
presence? I haven’t even had the chance to digest this change in our relationship, and at the pace
I keep getting thrown into stuff I don’t know if I will ever get a chance.
“Well, since you three are back,let me explain the plan to you for tonight.”
“I can’t believe how much is going on. Everyone seems to be so busy. What do you need
us to do?” I ask Helen, wanting to be useful.
“As I was explaining during the meeting this morning, only a few of us will go talk to the
head Guardians at Haven. The rest of you will all be posted around Haven, so in case itdoesn’t
go over well with the council we will immediately be able to attack. All of these stars are various
groups with different missions. Do you see the yellow star right there?” She points to one right
on the edge of Haven. When I look at the map, I realize that it’s a part I’m not familiar with.
“Why are you having us up on that bluff?” Keagan inquires.
“Trish has to be able to see what is going on so that she can protect the rebels. So the two
of you will be on the west side of town and responsible for those people.” I look at the map of
the village and feel a huge burden settle on my shoulders. What if Ican’t save someone or don’t
react in time?“Tisiphone, you and Maximus will be on the east side and responsible for that side
of Haven. We expect to get quite a bit of resistance if our talk doesn’t go well. Do you three
understand the plan?” Aunt Tisi and I nod our heads, but Keagan mutters to himself, not looking
at his mother.
“Excuse me, young man,did you have some sort of concern?” I have never seen
Keagan’s mom look displeased with him, so seeing her be stern with him surprises me. Not only
that, but it also seems as if she is a lot more confident and walks around with an air of authority.
I remember at Haven, Helen and I spent a wonderful day together, which ended when Keagan
overheard me talking crap about him and getting his feelings hurt. He threw his mother out of the
house, leaving me with him to bear whatever punishment he had decided on this time. Which
was Porsche of all people. Ugh, Porsche! Skanky, self-centered witch of a horrible person. Why
does she always have to pop into my head?
Keagan glances at his mom, seeming as shocked as I am at her tone and confrontational
stance. Then, right before my eyes, Keagan—like a five year old scolded by his mom—shuffles
his feet and glances at the ground, murmuring a barely audible,“No, ma’am.”
Helen glances my way and winks. I return her gesture with a hundred-watt smile,
cheering on the inside for her. The role of authority that she has taken on really fits her well, and
I’m very happy to see Helen so buoyant. Especially putting Keagan in his place like she did.
“All right then, go ahead and get ready you two. You know the drill, make sure to wear
all black to blend with the night.”
I start heading in the direction of the tent, and to my surprise Keagan falls into step with
me. I watch him out of the corner of my eye. He still makes the butterflies in my stomach do
summersaults every timeI’m around him. Being this close is not helping; I wish I could get over
my attraction to this arrogant jerk. The problem is I have all of these great memories of Keagan,
and it is making it really hard to let go. It would be so much easier if it was just a little crush and
I didn’t know how it felt to be held in his strong arms and have his lips pressed to mine.
However, I think that I miss his smile directed at me the most. Keagan and I used to go running
together at Dalton Academy every morning, and on those runs we really developed a great
friendship. Thinking back just makes me sad to realize what I have lost. I come back to the
present when Keagan stops. Scanning my surroundings to quickly gain my bearing, I realize that
we are in front of my tent. I turn to Keagan, not knowing what to do or say.
“Go throw your clothes on and wait for me in your tent. I have some stuff to take care of,
and then I will be back to come get you,” he tells me as he turns to leave.
“I’m not going to be waiting for you, I’m planning on getting some food before tonight.
If you want to meet up at a certain time I can work with that.” I don’t care that Keagan is now
glaring at me. I want him to realize that hecan’t just tell me what to do.
“Fine.” He glances at the black watch on his left wrist. “Let’s meet back here in one
hour.” He is clearly annoyed,but I don’t let it bother me.
“Fine,” I snap.
“Fine,” h
e replies.
I head off in search of something to eat, and find Sam and Chelsey eating dinner together.
As soon as they see me, they wave me over. After grabbing my food, I join them.
“So how is everything going with Keagan?” Chelsey wants to know.
“It’s not. He seems to have completely forgotten me.It’s likehe’s a different person than
the one that I knew.”
“I really do think this proves that he didn’t know that you were a Young Creator, based
onhow he treats you now versus when he got to know you as a normal girl.”
“Chelsey, you’re right. I guess him caring about me really influenced his beliefs as far as
the Guardian ways went. But what does that mean as far as how he is now? Should we be
worried?” I ask her.
“I think that you need to keep an eye on him,” Sam cuts in. I look at Chelsey to see if she
feels the same.
“I agree with Sam, Trish. He seems like a completely different person. I’m glad that he is
here,but I don’t really know if he is completely with this cause or not. Plus, he has been hanging
out with Eddie and Porsche. Enough said.”
“I’m so glad that I have you guys. Youknow I don’t think with my head when it comes
to Keagan. You have a point,I will make sure to keep my guard up.”
I realize that I only have fifteen minutes before I have to meet with Keagan, so I shovel
my food into my mouth, excuse myself, and rush to my tent. I find Keagan already waiting,
tapping his foot with impatience. “Finally!I have been waiting for at least ten minutes.”
I glance at my watch and notice that I still have five more minutes before I was supposed
to meet with him, so I shrug my shoulders and tell him,“I’m here now and it’s not like I’m late,
so quit whining, Keagan.”
I can see the rage that is about to consume him in the way that his eye starts twitching, his
lips press tightly together, and his breathing speeds up. I really don’t feel like being yelled at by
Keagan, so I decide to quickly change the subject to something I know will calm him down.
“So what’s Riley been up to?I haven’t seen your sister around at all today.”
Keagan takes a few breaths, calming that crazy temper of his, and starts telling me that
she has been put in charge of one of the groups and has been getting them ready for tonight. We
start walking, heading in the direction of the only exit in the valley. I know that it is going to take
a while to get to Haven. I remember the trip that Keagan, Sam, Kia, and I made after Haven was