"Your grandmother is protective, she loves you a lot," Thorne says matter-of-factly. "You're lucky to have her in your life. To answer your question, yes, I do report to someone and no, I'm not Batman."

We headed away from town, down a two lane highway I've never been on.

"Hey, how was the bonfire last night? Did Amber get wasted?"

"I don't think so. The last time I saw her, she was with that Rob guy. I went to get something out of my car, and I didn't see her again. I stayed another half hour or so, and went home. Why? Is she raging today?"

I sigh and feel something is wrong in the pit of my stomach. "I don't know. I sent her a text last night, and a few more today...she hasn't replied. Do you mind if we stop over there on our way home?"

"You should try her sister first. I'd hate for us to show up and she has used you as her alibi."

"No doubt. Good idea."

"I'm smart like that."

"Whatever."

He turns onto a driveway paved with oyster sh.e.l.ls. I always think they will puncture the tires and cause a flat. For someone that doesn't live around here, he sure knows his way around. Hmmm, does he have an internal GPS?

"Where do you live when you're not saving Tamers in distress?" Maybe he lives in heaven or another planet.

"You're quite the talker today. My home base is in Kentucky. Where'd you think I live? Heaven?" He pulls up to single wide trailer with a cornfield front yard. "I hope you like horses."

"You didn't say anything about riding on a horse. What are we going to do, joust?"

He grabs my gym bag out of the back seat and slings it over his shoulder. He jiggles his keys until he finds the one for the front door. I'm still sitting in the pa.s.senger seat with my jaw hanging open. I can't ride a horse. People have always said to me. Jessie, you'll put an eye out with those things. I've also heard, "If you ever go horseback riding, you better wear all the support you can." I don't have said support with me. I came in yoga clothes and a semi-tight t-shirt. He doesn't care, he's walked into the house. Oh Lord, please don't let me fall.

I slam my door in disgust...although it's wasted energy since I don't have an audience. I stomp on the three wooden steps to the front porch. I give the door as loud of a knock I can muster.

Thorne opens the door looking amused. "Are you a vampire and need an official invitation?"

"No, I'm not a vampire, there's no such thing. I was raised not to randomly walk into people's homes."

"You're quirky Jessie Lucente. Come on, we need to go saddle the horses and get to the training area. There's a pair of boots, and some chaps if you'd like, in the guest room."

I take my bag from him and follow the direction he points. "Chaps, you're kidding right? Who's ever heard of yoga pants and chaps, with cowboy boots no less?"

"I gave the fashion police the day off. There are breeches if you'd rather wear them. Size seven tall right?"

Shoot me, shoot me, shoot me. He knows what size I wear? Caleb doesn't even know what size I wear. Where does he get his information? "You suck."

"Meet me at the barn out back, and bring the box with you."

Meet me at the barn...I mock silently in my head.

When someone says barn and they live in a little house, I'm expecting a dilapidated shack, not a big state-of-the-art barn. The smell of horse dung and hay fill the air. Thorne is brushing a large brown and white horse. As I get closer, I can see he has already saddled the horse. The leather has a beautiful pattern of roses and filigree around the edges.

"She's a beaut isn't she?" Thorne says and holds out a baby carrot to the horse. "You're going to ride this one; she'll be gentle with you. I'm riding that one over there." He points to the other side of the barn. A beautiful black horse with a well-worn saddle looks up at us as if he understood what we were doing.

I've no idea what size horses are supposed to be, but the horse was enormous. "What's their names?"

"This one is Isis, and he is Thor."

"You named your horse after yourself?" I rolled my eyes and snickered at him.

"You don't think much of me do you? I didn't name the horse, his original owner named him." He pulled the latch on the stall and lead Isis next to me.

"What? You're not expecting me to get on a horse alone, while you're on the ground do you? I could die." Even to my own ears I sound bratty.

"C'mere, let me help you. Stop stressing about the horse; it isn't that big of a deal. I'll hold my hands out, and you're going to use your left foot to step in my hands. You'll swing your right leg up and over." Isis makes a loud protesting noise, probably aware I'm a newbie. "You'll be OK, hand me your box and I'll carry it."

I set my bag down with a silent prayer the horse doesn't squash it to pieces. I put my boot clad foot into his hands. In his miserable attempt at being funny, his hands come apart, and he yells out "MY BACK!" I didn't find the humor. After two attempts, I finally get my leg over and place my feet in the stirrups. "I still don't understand the purpose of the horses. No offense Isis," I say and pat the horses mane. "Do you mind explaining yourself?"

Thorne puts his foot in the stirrup and in one attempt he is on the horse without any problems. "Jessie, follow my lead, and nothing will happen. The walk to the training area is long and through the woods. Take the reins in your right hand. No, no, no....don't pull back like that."

I pull the reins, like they do in the movies. The horse backs up and pulls her head back in protest. Isis starts shaking her head back and forth, and I don't know what to do. I'm fl.u.s.tered, and Thorne laughs at me.

"You keep that up and Isis is going to throw you," Thorne says seriously.

"Huh? No, I don't want to fall and get killed. How do I hold the reins?" I begrudgingly ask in the name of not being trampled to death by a horse.

After a brief lesson on how to make the horse turn and stop, I awkwardly take the reins. The smell of pine wafted through the woods. The old pine trees are at least forty feet tall. When the winds pick up, the trees will sway back and forth. You'll hear them crack and creak and squirrels complaining out loud.

My thighs are sweaty against the leather saddle. I feel like a princess riding into battle, when in actuality I'm a kid with weird friends. The only sounds are the breaking branches beneath the horse's hooves.

"Do you hear that?" I ask.

"What?"

I look up at the trees, and see birds perched up high. They're giving new meaning to the phrase, watch them like a hawk. "Exactly, the silence is eerie. Do they know something I don't?"

"They probably sense that we're not human," he says matter-of-factly. "Maybe there's a predator, and their hiding."

What? Something to the right of us rustles the leaves. "Is something over there?" I point to our right. "It isn't a bear or anything is it?"

"No, it's too early for a bear to be out for a stroll. It could be a fox or a snake. This area is known for the various species of snakes. Let's pick up the pace, I'd rather not have to go back through the woods after dark." He maneuvered Thor in front of me and Isis followed his lead.

Chapter 18. Your Highness.

We enter a clearing, or an area clearer than the rest of the woods. Downed trees had been pushed to the side in a big L with a firepit in the middle. Thorne gracefully dismounts Thor and ties both horses to a small tree.

"Come on little lady, let's make you into a warrior. Put one hand on the horn and another on the lip of the saddle. Drape yourself over the side, I'll catch you."

Isis pulls her head back and bared her teeth. Horse teeth are scary looking. They're ma.s.sive and strangely straight and in desperate need of cleaning. I turn and slide down her side, Thorne grabs me by the waist and lowers me the rest of the way down. His body against my back and hands on my waist give me the strangest realization. I felt nothing, absolutely nothing. No chills, no vibrations, no giddy boy touches girl reaction. I mentally sigh with relief. He's easy on the eyes, yet he doesn't hold a candle to my feelings for Caleb.

"Are you okay? Was the horse ride terrible?" He asks with a hint of concern in his voice. He spins me around to face him, his grey eyes searching mine for an answer.

I burst out laughing and playfully pushed him away. "I'm fine. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the ride. You see movies with couples riding a horse on the beach, I bet that's fun. Not saying couple as in romantic, unless I'm with Caleb and that's a different story," I ramble.

"We're not a couple?"

Awkward moment seventy-two. "No, of course not."

"I'm kidding! Stop being so freaky. I'm your guardian, nothing more. Take a few steps, I want to see you walk."

"Okaaaaay, that's weird." My first few steps are like I have Jell-O for legs, I can't seem to walk without them a foot apart. "Holy cow, what the heck? This isn't going to last forever is it? I'll have a tough time explaining this walk to Caleb, and possibly Amber." I did not just say that! I didn't mean to imply it was s.e.x related...he's probably thinking I'm a perv.

Thor lifts his tail and cuts the loudest fart of any horse, anywhere in the world. I scream and run away to the other side of the clearing, laughing so hard I bend over to catch my breath. Thankfully the horse saved me from moment seventy-three.

"You're easily amused by body functions. Come on, we need to start."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, I've never been around a thousand pound animal fart before. It was HORRIBLE! I'm ready...teach me oh mighty guardian."

He crosses his arms and holds his mouth in a straight line. He slowly walks around me in a circle, stopping every other moment to make a verbal noise.

"Why are you inspecting me like my dad picks a steak? If you begin to tell me I'm fat, I'll punch you in the throat." I smack his arm as he pretends to make a second go around. "Stop!" My voice cracks as I spoke.

Thorne raises his eyebrow. "You have such a short fuse. Do I make you nervous? Do you get the feeling you're being watched? Are your palms sweaty, and your heart racing a million beats a minute? If you're experiencing any of the aforementioned symptoms, you could be suffering from paranoia." The line of his lips starts to twitch as he holds back a smile.

"Yup, that's me...paranoid."

He uncrossed his arms, and runs his hand through his hair. "You should be. You're still thinking like a human girl without a care in the world. If this summer hasn't proven to you the extent of the danger you're in, nothing will. You still go to McDonald's, and the so-called mall, you never look around to see if you were followed. Maybe they haven't found you, and maybe they won't. It isn't like New Bern is the tourist Mecca of the world. In a split second, your world can change. You can lose everything, including your light to the wrong person. Caleb is right to be overly protective of you. Sadly, you're easily distracted."

Sadly for yoooou. "No, I'm not." I give him my best glazed over look. "Oh, look a b.u.t.terfly. I love b.u.t.terflies. Bees? No, I don't like them; they scare the p.o.o.p out of me. One summer I was riding my bike, and this gargantuan black dog started chasing me...I almost drove straight into five o'clock traffic. That has nothing to do with bees. I like toast."

"Funny, ha ha. I didn't peg you as a smart a.s.s...I've changed my opinion. Back to what I was saying Miss Lucente."

I curtsy, "Of course Mr Woodson."

"Your brain needs to take a snapshot of every moment of every day. School is a safe zone, but it doesn't mean it can't be breached. Your memory can be the one thing that will save you. I'm sure Mrs. Ward told you about Underworld dwellers not being traceable on her radar. Your ability to describe a person or share a memory with your consort will help in banishing them back to their realm."

Chills run down my spine at the thought of Nyx finding us. Caleb my consort, what century is this?

He walks over to Thor and removes a ratty looking blanket. Setting it down gently next to the firepit, he unwraps the blanket, within the folds he pulls out a skeleton key.

I lean over, intrigued by the delicate scrollwork. "What does it unlock?"

"It's the key to the box you brought with you," He says seriously. "In all seriousness, my job is to protect you. Sit down; I want to tell you a story."

He crosses over and sits down on a log, closest to the elbow. I sit on the other one so I can see him as he talks. I snap a dead twig next to me and flit it around in my hand with nervous energy. "You have my full-fledged attention."

Thorne leans in; putting his forearms on his thighs and twirls the key with his fingers. "Jessie, the reason we came all the way out here to train is...this place doesn't exist. Not in your realm at least. This is a hiccup area, a portal of sorts. Did you ever read A Midsummer Night's Dream?"

My jaw clenches as the words are spoken. It hasn't occurred to me that other realms existed, except the Underworld. Stunned, I can't find the strength to talk. My thoughts are fleeting, far away from this place, to the safety of Caleb's arms. "You're kidding," I finally say.

"Nope," Thorne says and reaches for my hand.

I flinch away from him, "Don't...please." I lean forward and place my hands on my head. "My head is pounding."

"Jessie, we don't have much time. Breathe deeply and relax."

My head snaps up, and I glare at him. "You want me to relax? I'm sitting on a log, in a forest that doesn't exist as my guardian non-human protector is telling me to relax. Yeah, not going to work. I'll listen, but don't blame me for being skeptical. Explain the d.a.m.n key before I jump on my imaginary horse and ride back to my imaginary town. Tell me about the quote unquote realm I'm in. Let me guess, there are faeries lurking in the trees."

"I don't think they're in the trees."

I smack my head in exasperation.

"Jessie, yes, we're in the woodlands. The most famous faerie of all time was Shakespeare. He almost dismantled the woodlands with his outing of the battles within this realm. Stop with the eye-rolling. We're safe here; well, as safe as you can be within this zone. You've been granted immunity from the Seelie Queen, unless she finds a reason to punish you. She's on good behavior for various reasons. Summer consists of Seelie fae...the good faeries. They're known to do good deeds for humans and to help right a wrong. If they're taken advantage of or mistreated, they will seek revenge. Once the fall equinox happens, the Unseelie King will be in charge until spring. Winter is stricter and is home to the Unseelie fae. The Unseelie Court is unforgiving...the King is so harsh; he has beheaded visitors for not bowing the correct way."

I sit and listen to the story about evil faeries, wanting nothing more than to leave. Thorne's face looks drawn as he tells me about the faerie courts. "They'll behead me? Let me guess...even though Summer is in charge, Winter will still enforce their rules."

"If we cross to their side, yes."

"We won't go to their side, simple. Easy peasy. None of this explains why we're out here."

"In theory it's simple. Right now, we're in a neutral area of the forest, it belongs to neither court and harbors rogue fae. The rogue and Abbey Lubbers will defend neither side without a price, and they have switched sides for the right price. We don't want to get on the Abbey's bad side...talk about ruthless. They have a vendetta against monks though and spend most of their time spying on them."

"This day gets better and better. They spy on monks, that's the strangest obsession I've ever heard."

"They're always trying to find monks not living up to their vows. Thankfully, there are only about ten of them in existence. That leaves us with the natives. Although we have the cooperation of the Seelies, it isn't acceptable to intrude into their kingdom. The Seelie Queen has extended an invitation to meet you before the shift of power. Winter is unavailable until Summer pa.s.ses the Ruler Staff to them during the harvest moon. You won't be subjected to the mischief of the Seelie fae until you've successfully closed the portal to the Underworld." His eyes go wide, and he smacks his knee. "s.h.i.t, I wasn't supposed to say that."

"What? Close a portal to the Underworld? What. The. h.e.l.l!"

He lets out a huge sigh, as he shuffles his feet in the dirt. "Yeah, don't get stuck on the technicality of little details."

"Oh, sorry, forgive me for questioning all of the freakin crazy c.r.a.p you shovel my way. New Yorkers think they live in a world of crazy, they've no idea. Spill it, what is really going on?"

"What I tell you, must...I mean, MUST be kept between us."

I close my eyes and mentally focus on calm. "I can't make any promises. Caleb is my other half; I can't keep another secret from him."

"Oh for the love of...alright, you can tell Caleb."

"Good, we'll go get him, you can tell us together."

He shakes his head back and forth. "Not so fast, don't start jumping up and down; it will be on my terms. We'll bring him here and tell him...tomorrow. If Mrs. Ward finds out, she'll banish all of us to the South Pole to live in the winter court." The lines in his forehead deepen with worry. "Yes, you're expected to close the portal off. When Mr Wolfshadow had everyone do the DNA swab, it was to find a recessive fae gene. There was a band of fae who could control all of the elements, earth, wind, fire and air. In the beginning, they were plentiful, but as they mated with other fae from other clans, they weakened. It was nearly impossible for them to keep their blood pure. Light Tamers are a derivative of fire fae."

"Why are they looking for the gene? It was all a lie about finding their mate? I knew it sounded too expensive just to make people happy. What happens if they find someone with the gene?"

"We will figure out how to activate their ability and train them how to use the elements. Our survival depends on finding them. Sure, you might be able to send Nyx back to the Underworld. What will happen when the next G.o.d or G.o.ddess comes to avenge their name? This is bigger than all of us. The entire supernatural species is fighting a war, yet none are prepared for a world without Fate." He paused for a split second b.u.mped my foot with his. "You okay?"

"I'm not sure," I answer honestly. "Go on."