Taken

Chapter 19

I narrow my eyes at the little light pixie. “Uh,” I say hesitantly. “Hi?”

            She continues to smile at me warmly. “You have light in you, did you know that? It’s brighter than I’ve ever seen!” the light—Lux—exclaims as she flutters around in front of me.

            “Light?” I ask, confused.

            “Yeah. It’s your purity. The more good you have in you, the brighter your light is. But only we can see it.”

            I glance down at my arms, but don’t see any ‘light’ coming from me. I’m not quite sure what she means by ‘we’ either. Lux chuckles, her voice reminding me of wind chimes brushing against each other.

            “Here, I can show you,” she flutters closer. “Cup your hands.”     

            I do as I am told and Lux flutters inside my cupped palms before having me close my eyes and bring her towards my heart. There’s a moment of burning warmth before a blinding light flashes behind my closed eyelids. I gasp as beautiful images stream through my mind. Happiness flares within me and I feel a smile pull at my lips as I try to decipher what each image is; children playing in a garden, a beautiful hot springs, a lush forest—

            The images disappear as fast as they had come and I glance down at Lux who’s still smiling up at me.

            “What was that?” I ask breathlessly. My cheeks feel flushed, like I just ran a mile.

            “The beauty in your soul.”

            I stare at her as my mouth moves and try to form a coherent sentence, but all I can manage to mutter out is; “Huh?”

            She lets out another round of tinkling laughter and pats my thumb with her small hand. “Oh Aria, you have a lot to learn.”

            “How do you know my name?” I ask her skeptically.

            “Beata sent me, of course. All of the light in this world is powered by her. We are all pieces of her, just like you are. I know everything she knows,” she tells me. “I’m here to help you with your powers. I’m here to guide you.”

            “How are you supposed to do that?”

            “We’ll talk about that in the morning,” she says as she moves to hover above my injured shoulder. She undoes the gauze and places her hands on my pink skin. I wince but remain still as she grows brighter and my shoulder begins to warm.

            When she pulls away, her light has dimmed enough that I won’t blind myself by looking at her, I glance down at my shoulder to see a faint, white scar where my wound once was. My eyes widen as I turn my gaze to Lux and gape at her. “How did you do that?”

            “In the morning,” Lux replies. “You’ll need all your strength for what’s ahead.”

            She pushes against my chest, guiding me gently onto the pillows at the head of the bed. Once I’m laying down she tugs the comforter over me. “Good night, Aria,” she whispers before placing a small, feather-like kiss on my forehead.

            I open my mouth to respond, but all too quickly, the darkness consumes me.

Lux is still with me when I wake.

            I sit up and stretch, feeling more well rested than I have been in days. When I glance at my shoulder, I see that the bullet wound is still gone, just the small white scar as my only reminder of what Mother did to me.