Chapter 18

A Chapter by Emi

Chapter 18

They settled in for the night, Gwen needed someone’s presence not words so they sat on the couch and turned on the TV. The late night talk shows had just started when he felt her hand brush the side of his leg. She had been leaning against him with her head on his shoulder, he looked at her hand lying by his knee. His eyes moved to her face and he was surprised by what he found. Gwen was asleep, her long hair half covering her features. Zach grinned, being stuck with several officers had obviously taken its toll. It wasn’t that late by Gwen’s standards, she usually wasn’t home for a couple more hours. He stood up, careful not to disturb her, then lay her down and covered her with the throw hanging on the back of the couch. He considered leaving, she seemed much more at ease, but with everything that happened the idea of her waking up to find him gone pained him. He turned the TV off then went to lock the door, the last thing he wanted was for Pinky to charge in unannounced. Once that was secure the lights were all that remained, but as he reached for the switches the bookcase caught his eye. He flipped off the main lights which left only the lamp by the sofa and the glow that radiated in from the windows. It was enough, he walked to the bookcase and scanned the leather backs for the one he wanted. Even with the dim lighting he picked out the almanac easily and turned his back on the rest. He returned to the couch, stole the pillow from Gwen’s feet and took his place on the floor. The leather was soft from wear, but overall the book was in good condition, obviously it was very important to its owners. He checked the index for Lightbearer and was amazed by the sheer length of the list. Just the same, he found her title and quickly flicked through the book. The lightbearer page was marked with a symbolic circular sun in the top right hand corner that clearly represented a glowing ball of light. It was perfect. The print was faded, the paper, the colour of rich cream and smooth to the touch. Zach glanced at Gwen fast asleep, then started to read.

Lightbearers are vastly considered to be the strongest among the elemental powers and very rare. For centuries they were revered as angels, in some cases gods, later called mages until finally receiving their current name. Though other powers may seem similar to the untrained eye, they are unable to match Lightbearers. Apart from strength they are most noted by their trademark personality. No matter the age or homeland Lightbearers are truly compassionate and will place the wellbeing of complete strangers before their own. Many believe this to be their greatest weakness and the only way to defeat one. Lightbearers are all too aware of this and therefore are very cautious with those close to them, but make no mistake when enraged a single Lightbearer can easily destroy a neighbourhood without realising what they’ve done.

No question, every word of that was Gwen, it was almost scary to be honest. He wondered why there wasn’t a footnote when it mentioned other Hexes’ abilities, probably the author’s way of making sure people read the whole book. Zach closed the cover before placing it on the coffee table in front of him and yawned as he turned off the lamp. With the lights extinguished he gazed around and couldn’t help thinking life was strange. Not too long ago he barely knew Gwen, she was just another classmate. Now he was spending the night on her floor to make sure she was all right. He was curious if his parents would be angry, on the other hand if they didn’t understand he would be more than happy to clear it up for them. The hardwood was warm beneath him, he was bound to be stiff by morning, but he wasn’t about to carry Gwen upstairs so he could have the couch. Aside from the fact that it was completely self-centered the chances of waking her were too high. She deserved a good night sleep more than anyone. Whatever repercussions which would undoubtedly occur tomorrow morning there was no point worrying about it now. Otherwise he would be up all night.

When Gwen awoke the stress from the night before was forgotten. She didn’t realize she was still on the couch until she tried reaching for her cell phone on her nightstand. Rather than the glass top she was expecting, at her arm’s full extension her fingers touched solid wood. She opened her eyes only to find she had grabbed her coffee table and bolted upright. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, this normally would have given her a burst of energy to greet the day, however waking on the couch had thrown her off. She tossed the cover aside and was about to leave her makeshift bed, but stopped short when she saw who was on the floor beneath her. Zach was asleep, lying between the couch and the table, had she not noticed him she would have stepped on his chest.

“Zach,” Gwen half shrieked.

She spun on her seat and took him by the shoulder while checking the clock out of the corner of her eye. 7 O’clock! Horrified Gwen shook him so hard his head nearly struck the table leg. He groaned sleepily, then slowly turned to look at her.

“Morning,” he mumbled rubbing his face.

She could have slapped him.

“Are you insane!?” she asked wide eyed. “What were you thinking spending the night here?”

“Wanted to make sure you were okay,” he replied using the edge of the couch to get up.

Romantic as it was Gwen didn’t hear a word over her panic.

“Did you at least call your parents?” she asked tensely.

“No, but sis said she’d tell them what happened when they got home,” he said sounding unconcerned.

“Oh, my God,” she said rushing into the kitchen.

“Why are you so upset, I’ll make them understand,” he said.

Gwen took a deep breath, she didn’t want to yell. It was sweet of him to stay with her, but the fact remained they were bound to be in trouble soon.

“Zach,” she said placidly, leaning heavily on the kitchen table. “It’s 7 O’clock, Monday morning!”

Suddenly he was very awake.

“Oh God, I didn’t even think about school,” he said.

She managed to get him to absorb the situation at hand, that was step one, now she had to get him home and fast.

“Come on, I’ll drop you off at the spot I transported to when I came to your place for dinner,” she said practically jumping into her shoes.

As Zach pulled on his own she noticed she was still in her waitress uniform, oops, fortunately the idea was to go unseen. She held his hands and before he could even think of bracing for the kick there was a kaleidoscope flash that forced his eyes shut. When he opened them they were amidst the trash cans in a narrow, dead end alley between two houses. The area was empty, too early for school kids or office workers, they were safe. Gwen sighed, generally she received her dose of excitement in the evening. First thing in the morning was an unwelcome change to her day. She quickly scanned the road while Zach rubbed the residual blotches of light from his eyes, he really hated that part.

“All clear,” she said turning to him. “Hurry up, I’ll see you at school.”

“Right, I appreciate the lift, see you soon,” he said passing her with a warm smile and a tender stroke of her cheek.

He was about to turn the corner when the pang in her chest grew too painful for her to stand.

“Hey,” she said hastily, causing him to stop and glance back. “Thank you for being there last night.”

He smiled gently, then moved forward and planted a kiss on her forehead.

“I’ll meet you in a little while,” he hummed.

He jogged around the corner toward home and Gwen took a step back rubbing her face. She was in deep, but somehow she didn’t care anymore. Well, if this morning was any indication today could be very tiring.

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