Page 34 of Twisted Fates
“I’m not. I’m just a torch or something like that.”
Cary cocked his head and looked at me before answering. “Do you know what a torch does?” I shook my head. “Have you ever been in a cave? Deep below the earth when someone turned off the light?” he asked, and I remembered the trip my grandfather, Mom, and I took to Mammoth Cave National Park when I was still in high school. The tour guide had done just that, and the darkness was so intense it almost felt liquid.
“Yeah,” I answered.
“When the light came back on, what happened?” he asked.
“I don’t know. The room was no longer dark.”
“Did it feel like the darkness just disappeared or did it feel like it scurried away?”
I thought about that for a moment, then sighed. “It scurried, didn’t it?” I asked.
Cary smiled. “I’m a guardian, not a torch. I don’t bring light to the world, but I can use the light. Without torches, people like you, we wouldn’t be able to balance the light and darkness. Don’t get me wrong, when darkness stays in its place, follows the rules of balance, it brings its own benefits. All animals need the dark to keep their circadian rhythms in place. Plants need the dark to grow and thrive. Winter is necessary for most plants to produce fruit. Don’t be too quick to demonize the darkness: any guardian, your boyfriend included, will understand there is no balance without the dark. The light forces however know that dark has always strived to regain its dominance. To return to how things were before the so-called big bang occurred. Guardians need torches to keep that from happening.”
“You need the sun,” I said and picked up some of the paperwork to begin working. When Cary didn’t leave as he usually did when I showed I was ready to get back to work, I looked up.
“You are, in essence, a very tiny, but very powerful ball of solar energy. Never underestimate what you and others like you bring to the table,” he said and then rose.
“I don’t know what Elias Ericson had in mind when he put you in Damian’s path, nor am I sure it is a good idea for aLegacy Wizard to be mated. Many guardians continue to argue that point, but I do know he is very lucky to have you, as am I and the partners,” he said, glancing up toward where their offices were.
I smiled, got up from my desk, came around, and hugged him. “Thank you, Cary,” I said when we pulled back. “Now, if I find out you gave me busy work again, I’m going to figure out how to use that solar power to burn your ass!”
Cary burst out laughing and was still laughing as he left my office.
I sat back once he was gone and pondered what he said. Was I a torch? A little piece of sunlight? I guess, in a way, we were all at least some element of our sun. We certainly couldn’t survive without it, at least. I liked the romantic thought of bringing something important to the table.
Was that what light was to magical guardians? I didn’t know, but that didn’t mean I didn’t like it.
That evening, before leaving work, I asked Cary if he thought I was safe to go home on foot, and he paused, then nodded. “I don’t feel anything, but if anyone makes you uncomfortable, call your man’s name even if you call him in your mind. You could call me or the other guardians, but a Legacy Wizard is the most powerful of all of us. If you have him on speed dial, that’s who you should ask for.”
I smiled and winked before walking out. I did have the sexy Damian on speed dial, literally. I always craved his arms and his kisses, and damn, I was craving them right now.
Thinking of cravings, hopefully cook was up to their magical ways tonight too.
I could not wait to see what they fixed for us next.
Chapter twenty-five
Damian
Owen and I weresitting in the little deli across from his office when the law firm’s receptionist, Cary, came in. The guy had flirted shamelessly with me from the moment I met him, but I got a distinct feeling that was just his character.
Owen didn’t seem the least bit surprised or concerned, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I mean, I didn’t want a jealous boyfriend, but I didn’t mind him caring a little.
“So,” Owen said, moving nervously and glancing around for listening ears. “I, um, wanted you to meet Cary because he’s, you know, on the same team.”
“Honey, it’s the 2020s. You can say the gay word.” I said, chuckling.
Owen rolled his eyes toward Cary, which made him laugh. I’d already clocked him as a witch. My internal voice told me that when he walked into the deli. I didn't understand what that meant, just that hewasn’t a threat.
“I think he means the witch thing,” Cary said, laughing when Owen looked around. “Baby, nobody cares about that these days either. The ones who hear it just think we’re a bunch of nutters. The ones who know, already knew.
“Damian,” Cary said and extended his hand. “It’s a delight to meet you, on friendlier and less professional terms, that is.”
I chuckled and took the witch’s hand, pulling back when the little bastard electrocuted me, but his grin gave away the fact that he was just being naughty. He waggled his eyebrows and said, “I’ve got a very electric personality.”
“Cut it out, Cary, or I won’t invite you to have lunch with us again,” Owen said and stuffed his mouth with a hoagie.
