24. Owen

Chapter twenty-four

Owen

I closed the door and pointed toward the chair at the side of my desk. "Okay, explain. You're a witch?" I asked.

Cary laughed. "Obviously, and so are Mr. Stages and Mr. Harrison. In fact, so is Lemmie Sue," Cary said, referring to our legal assistant, Mrs. Patterson. Although the name sorta worked as the woman was always talking about who should sue whom.

"Okay, so why me? Why did I get hired?" I asked.

Cary shrugged. "I don't know. You'll have to ask the partners, but I assume it's because of the light that shines from you. You've always been almost a little too bright to look at."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked and threw a paper wad at him.

"You are what we say in the business, a Goody Two-shoes."

"Is that what they say?"

"Yep, and you're one of the biggest."

"Why? 'Cause I don't murder people?"

"You don't, nor do you disparage anyone. You are always kind and offer a smile even when you're sad or frustrated or don't want to do something I stuck on your desk just to get you riled up."

"Ugh, do not tell me you've been giving me extra work to see how long it'd take to yell at you."

Cary put his hands up and laughed. "I didn't admit to anything, but you are a straight shooter," he said, and this time, I laughed loud enough that he stiffened and glanced toward the door, probably to make sure our bosses weren't coming to yell at us.

"There's nothing straight about me, Cary, or you for that matter. Okay, so I now know there are light guardians, and from the weird blasting thing you did with the scary taxi man, I assume you are one of them."

He nodded. "We all are," he admitted.

"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 a Legacy 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.