Ignite (Circle of Light Book 2) Read online

  Oh. All right. I’m getting up. I‘ll be over there shortly.

  I took a quick shower and got dressed. When I walked out the door to go over to Eric’s house, I could see that his driveway was jam packed with cars. I understood now why he said the circus had come to town.

  Everyone was in the living room when I walked in. “We were waiting for you.” Amy said gleefully.

  There were several people sitting there with notepads and books scattered on the tables and floor. I was introduced to everyone and Mom explained that if we were planning to get this wedding done in time, we needed to get to work.

  I agreed and took my place beside Eric on the couch. I had not really had time to think about what I wanted, but as long as I married Eric, I would be happy. Not many of the details were going to matter all that much to me. Just a few.

  After Eric and I picked out the seating arrangements, dinnerware, and things, I was beginning to be more optimistic about it. This didn’t seem as hard as I thought it was going to be. I figured it would take forever to get every little detail in order, but everything that I could possibly need or want was now at my fingertips.

  We worked diligently, going through each section they had mapped out. The subject of dresses caught me a bit off guard. With everything that had been going on, I hadn’t had a chance to ask any of my friends to be my bridesmaids.

  I quickly excused myself to go up to Eric’s room to make a few phone calls. Without questioning me, Eric followed.

  “I haven’t asked anyone yet. Have you?” I asked him, slightly nervous.

  “Yeah. Damien and Jared agreed.”

  “Oh, good.”

  I opened my phone and scrolled through down my contact list until I reached Jasmine s name. I quickly hit send. The phone rang only once before she answered.

  “Hello?” She said.

  “Hi Jazz!” I replied unable to hide my excitement.

  “What’s up doll?”

  I explained to her that Eric and I were going to get married. She almost flipped out. I think I went temporarily deaf for a moment from her screaming.

  “Jazz! Listen! Will you be one of my bridesmaids?” I asked knowing she would say yes anyway.

  “Absolutely!” She screamed into the phone so loudly that I had to jerk it away from my ear..

  I asked her if she could come over to Eric s house to meet with the dress fitter.

  “When?”

  “Um, now?” I said expecting her to scream again.

  “Sure. I‘ll be right over.” Jasmine said and hung up the phone.

  Eric was smiling at me. I think he was trying not to laugh, but he couldn’t help it. I told him to go on back downstairs and wait for me. I was going to call another one of my friends and I don’t think he could handle another screaming fit. He would die laughing over it.

  Eric shut the door behind him, but I could hear him laughing all the way down the stairs. It must just be a guy thing.

  I called Beth and went through the same fit that Jasmine had given me. Only this time it was longer and louder. Thank goodness, I’m a very patient person. She agreed to come straight over and be measured for her dress.

  I closed the phone and hoped that they would both be over all the dramatics by the time they got here. Hurrying downstairs, I went to pick out their dresses before they got here.

  This part was not hard. I picked a tasteful style, floor length of course. The color was a rich deep purple. My mother recommended adding a slight shimmer to the fabric. “I agreed. That would be so beautiful.”

  My friends arrived a few minutes behind Damien and Jared. Which was good because that gave me some time to finish calming them down so they wouldn’t fidget when the woman went to measure them.

  Damien and Jared stood like statues while the tailor measured their arms. Eric couldn’t help but to laugh at them. His laughter spread like a wildfire and the boys lost all control, leaving the tailor to wait until they could compose themselves long enough to finish.

  After everyone was finished with the measuring, the tailor and dress fitter explained that they needed to watch and not gain or lose any significant weight due to the timeline we were working with. None of them seemed to be worried about that.

  Several hours passed as we finished going over every minor detail. The only thing left was my dress. I was stupefied. I had no idea what I wanted, or what would even look right on me. Mom always handled that for me.

  “Don t worry Bailey. That’s what she is for.” Mom said pointing at the dress fitter, Mary.

  I apologized and laughed nervously. Mary asked me to accompany her upstairs to work out the details for my dress. Mom and Amy followed. I was thankful for that. I needed all the help I could get.

  The wedding planner, whose name I hadn’t quite caught, took our friends to the side to talk about the things they needed to do. I overheard some of it on my way up the stairs.

  Amy led us into the office room at the top of the stairs. It was big enough for us to all fit in comfortably.

  Mary laid a bridal gown book in front of me on the desk. I was stunned at the size of it. There was no way I would be able to make up my mind if I looked at all the dresses in here. I looked up at Mary with a look that prompted her to ask questions.

  “Do you have an idea of what you might want?” She asked politely

  I told her that I didn’t have any earthly idea where to start and explained that my mother had always picked out any formal wear that I needed. I was always very pleased with her selections.

  With that in mind, she picked up the book and gave it to my mom. I watched as the three of them flipped through page after page until deciding on four gowns for me to look at.

  I didn’t like the first one at all. It was to antique looking for my taste. The second one was plain looking. The last two they showed me was extravagant. Choosing between them was going to be difficult.

  I studied each detail of the dresses comparing each one to the other and finally came to a decision. One of the dresses looked exactly like something out of a fairytale, Cinderella to be specific. The difference was this one had long sleeves and didn’t have any color on it except white. I requested that she used purple on it in some way or another. “Maybe a ribbon going down the front or something like that.”

  Mary nodded and said, “I know exactly what you want.” It was if a light bulb had gone off in her head. She grabbed a pad of paper and sketched out her idea of my dress. I looked at it and was captivated. It was the same as the idea I had. A mixture of both gowns.

  Without thinking, I jumped up out of the chair and hugged her. “Thank you. It is absolutely wonderful!” I screamed.

  We all talked for a few minutes and then went back downstairs. All the clutter from the books and forms had been gathered and put away.

  “Well that seems to be everything then.” the wedding planner told us. “I‘ll stay in touch with everyone and update you on the progress of everything. It will take about three weeks for the gowns and tuxedos to arrive then we will call everyone in for a final fitting.”

  The crowd began to leave and we said goodbye to our friends. I was glad that everyone was leaving because I was not sure how much more of this my brain could handle. On top of everything, I was feeling a little sleepy again.

  “Bailey. Are you feeling alright?” My mom asked. “You look tired.”

  “I’m fine. I think I just need a nap.”

  “Go on up to my room and get some rest. I’m sure everyone will be here when you wake up.” Eric said with a smile.

  “Okay. Thanks.” I said and kissed him on the cheek. He gave me a quick wink as I headed up the stairs to his room.

  I wasn’t sure why I had begun to feel so tired. All I knew was that I needed to sleep for just a little while. I took off my shoes and put them in the corner next to the door. I was glad to be in Eric’s bed. It was much more comfortable than mine was. Too bad that he wasn’t in here with me.

  Eric woke me several hours
later. He was sitting in a chair that he had pulled up beside the bed. I probably wouldn’t have even known he was there if it wasn’t for me hearing his thoughts. That was what woke me.

  He was thinking about the wedding and some other random things. Most of it passed by in a blur. Too fast for me to catch on to any of it. Although, I did sense a slight bit of nervousness to them. I listened carefully, trying to decipher a reason for it to no avail. Maybe it was just him being anxious about getting married.

  “Bailey I know you’re awake.”

  I smiled without opening my eyes. I had the best feeling in my entire life. I had everything I could ever want.

  When I finally opened my eyes, I was shocked. Eric was sitting there with a look on his face that I knew all too well. Something had happened. Something bad and it had happened so fast that I hadn’t noticed it.

  “Eric? What is it? What's wrong?”

  He just looked at me as I sat up in the bed. I was not sure whether he actually heard me, to tell the truth. It was as if he was stuck in a trance or something, but his eyes were locked dead on me.

  I became so frightened that I began to shake. Acid rose up into my throat. Besides the involuntary jerking, I was completely frozen. Terrified.

  The world seemed to stop. Nothing was moving. Not even Eric. “Eric, please answer me.” I said as the tears ran down my face. I couldn’t control my emotions. Every hair on my body stood on end. Fear had taken over any rational thought in my mind and I went into a full-blown panic attack. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think and the urge to get up and run away was almost unbearable.

  A split second clear moment warranted a call to my Queens. More like a screaming demand. I called to each of them with more force than my own body could handle. The power in my voice shook the room around me.

  In an instant, the Queens were at my side. Each of them had brought their counterparts with them. Without speaking, they each joined hands, just like before with Raylan. I was confused and shaken. I reached out to join the Circle with one hand and out to Eric with the other. Not knowing what was going on was excruciating.

  Evil flowed from Eric as I held onto his hand. I could feel that he was having some sort of battle with something deep inside himself. I closed my eyes and concentrated solely on him and nothing else. He was blocking me from entering his mind. From something that I couldn’t see. I didn’t understand what was going on. How could he have gotten into this mess without me knowing it? The worst part is that he was totally alone with whatever it was that was trying to hurt him. Not a single soul could reach his mind to help him and I was frantic. The other members of the Circle were growing more alarmed with each minute that passed.

  “We have to move him away from here. Somewhere where no one can accidentally walk up on us.” Air King said as he broke the Circle and picked Eric up in his arms.

  “Follow me.” He said without looking at any of us.

  I was immediately snapped up from my place in the house and moved to the lake. This spot was beginning to become a place that I was sure to be avoiding in the future. Unsure of how I got here, I looked around in a quick scan of the area. Looking for anything that might seem out of place. There was nothing.

  Air King laid Eric gently on the ground in front of us. He was still unmoving. Everyone formed into a circle around him. I took the hands of my fellow members of the Circle, not allowing my eyes to leave Eric. I didn’t want to risk not catching a signal or any small sign that he was ok, or in more trouble than thought.

  As I stared at his face, it was easy to see that Eric was being hurt, but I couldn’t tell what was causing it. Whatever it was that was tormenting him was invisible. The pained look on his face was almost unbearable to look at, but I had to be calm. If I didn’t then I was sure that I wasn’t going to be any help to him at all.

  Every member in the Circle had joined powers and was directing everything we had into Eric. I could feel the power leaving my body and flowing into Eric’s body. He was so still. The only real difference I noticed from it was that he didn’t look like he was in pain anymore and that was a major plus. At least we were helping a little.

  After a long time, Eric stirred. His eyes remained closed, but he looked as if he was trying to wake up. We all waited patiently, still flooding his body with every ounce of power that we had. Several moments later, he woke.

  He was very shaken and disoriented at first. Eric was taking several deep breaths to try to calm himself. I tried once more to speak to him with my mind. The only thing I could say was…I love you .

  Tears ran down his face as he stared at me. Not a thing in this world could have prepared me for the hurt that caused me deep in my soul. It rattled me and I started to cry too.

  The thing that worried me the most was that he didn’t answer me back. He just looked at me. I didn’t see any emotion on his face. I was scared. Maybe something had turned him as they had done to Raylan.

  Eric collected himself and rose from the ground where he had been lying. He gave me a quick warning glance as I took a step forward to go to him. Instead of rushing over to him, I stayed with the Circle, not letting go.

  I watched him carefully in confusion and fear as he slowly walked up to me. He looked quickly at my hands and back up to me, then to Earth King and with one quick turn he was facing the same direction as the rest of us. His hands came out to his sides reaching for ours.

  I felt Earth King’s grip loosen. He looked at me and then looked to Eric and I knew right then what it was that I was supposed to do.

  Eric took a final step backwards. Earth King broke the Circle and we both grabbed Eric’s hands as fast as we could. Finally, our Circle was complete.

  Only, our troubles were just beginning. With Eric’s power strengthening the Circle, the horrible thing that was attacking him appeared out of thin air.

  It was a ghastly creature, to say the least. It had the form of a man, but that was really all that was recognizable. My stomach turned at the very sight of it.

  The thing stayed in its position in the center of our Circle unmoving, but smiling hideously at Eric. It opened its mouth and I could see the jagged, rotten teeth in its mouth.

  I was expecting to hear a human voice, but the sound that came out was unspeakable. The violent sound of a million screams blowing through the wind of its breath shook the Earth beneath us. Our grips on each other were definitely being put to the test. It pulled and tore at the muscles in my body. I wasn’t sure how much longer I was going to be able to hold on and I knew if our Circle was broken that we would be helpless. We would all die. Without a doubt.

  I gathered all the strength in me and squeezed both of the hands that I was holding. Desperately trying not to let go.

  The air went quiet. The figure stood there looking at each of us with hate and disgust in its eyes. I had never been looked at like that before in my entire life, and it was frightening me more and more as I looked back at it.

  I tried to break eye contact with it, but I couldn’t for some reason. It was like it was holding me there against my will, forcing me to look at it whether I wanted to or not.

  My fear went out of control and I could feel the scream building in my chest until it had no other choice but to come out. I screamed like I had never screamed before. The power of it shook everything around us. It shook things that the ugly thing in front of me did not. Even the air vibrated around us. All the anger I had in me came out with it.

  I let out what felt like years of repressed anger. Every little thing that had ever made me mad only fueled my strength. It made me scream louder and louder until the pitch of it was so high that it was just a whistle to my ears.

  At the time, I didn’t realize that I was killing the creature, but my scream was and I wasn’t going stop. I couldn’t t. I had to let all this out of me or I felt like I was going to explode into a fit of rage and break the Circle.

  The creature held onto its head in agony as it spun in circles just above the ground.
Rotating faster and faster until all I could see was a blur where its body should have been. Suddenly, it let out an almost deafening wail and then burst into flames and vanished.

  I stood there watching as its ashes floated slowly to the ground around us. Relief filled me, but the guilt and disbelief that I had just killed another being was burning at the edges of my mind.

  I couldn’t help it. I was not the kind of person that harmed other people, but I knew that it couldn’t have been avoided. It was the law of the jungle, right? Kill or be killed.

  All of the Kings and Queens tried to comfort me, but the lingering question of exactly what that thing was soon took over everyone s conversations. No one had any idea about what it was or where it came from. Only that it was very powerful and extremely dangerous.

  There are many creatures in our worlds. Either something is dark or it is light and that thing was definitely dark, Fire Queen said to everyone.

  Her saying that made me question everything that I had ever thought was real and what was make believe. Was it possible that everything I had ever heard was real? Could all the scary stories and fairy tales be true?

  I threw my hands up in utter disbelief. None of this makes sense. Vampires? Witches? Mystical creatures? Really?

  Well if it really is all true I guess I should be better prepared if I meet any more of them in the future. But how could I prepare myself for any of it? It seemed a little farfetched, but I guess it is possible. Anything is possible now. Right?

  The Kings and Queens gave me a quick going over about everything. They talked briefly about each of the thought to be mythical creatures. I was surprised to hear that the majority of vampires and werewolves belonged to the Circle of Light. Only a few of them belonged to the Dark Union.

  “Only the ones that lose their humanity are not joined with us. Most of them have proved their ability to retain their humanity and survive without killing innocent people. Although, the need for them to feed still exists.” Earth Queen told me.

  That was comforting in a rather disturbing way, but still comforting. The vampires still needed blood and the werewolves had to have a diet of flesh to survive.