Emotionless Lighters

Chapter Two: Confusing Words

Piper

"Answer my questions," I finally think to demand. Maybe then he'll stop being so silent. "Where did you come from?"

"I do not know."

I sigh. "Okay, where do you live?"

"I have no idea."

I search his face for a hint of falsehood, but find none. They're blank, gray, and void of all expression. His tone of voice ceases to change. What kind of a child is this, anyway? Leo had called him a "lighter."

"What's a lighter?" I ask.

"I do not know. Why do you not ask that man?"

"Because I can't," I snap. I soften my tone. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you—it's not your fault." But there really isn't a need for apology; he's unfazed and staring past me again. "That was a pretty rough fall. How do you feel? Answer truthfully."

"Trapped," he says. A gasp escapes him and his eyes flicker green with fault, but soon enough they're back to the emotionless mask.

A smile escapes me. At least he's semi-aware of everything.

"Are you tired?"

"I am not allowed to be. I must return—the elders will be waiting."

I put my hands on my hips and lowered myself to his level, eyes narrowing. "Elders? You live with Elders?"

"Yes."

"What do you do with the elders?" I continue.

"Train. Please, I fear I am not permitted to answer questions to a stranger—"

"We're not strangers," I correct him. Whoa, where'd that come from? Of course we're strangers—he just fell from the sky in the front of my street. "Well, not entirely. Look, I have a little boy your age, but he's spending the night with his aunt up at his…school." I decide to keep it simple. "You can sleep in his bedroom tonight and we'll get this all straightened out in the morning, alright?"

"Thank you for the offer, but I am afraid I am not permitted to accept. I must return before my absence is taken into account."

I sigh, sitting back onto one of the tall stools by our counter that we used for those back-breaking complicated potions to sit by the stove in. "Well, your absence will just have to be taken into account, then," I inform him in a cheery voice. "I'm sure everything will be fine. Leo's getting it all straightened out. Now, please, just…"

Leo orbs in, taking me by surprise. "Sorry," he mumbles.

"So?" I pry expectantly, not bothering to erase the hostility in my voice. "What did the elders say?"

Leo's glance fleets over to the boy uncertainly. "We're…supposed to take care of him," he says uneasily. "I've been sent down to earth to protect him here. He's ours for now, I guess." He gives the boy a smile. "You don't mind, do you?"

"I am not allowed to mind," he responds mechanically, "only allowed to follow orders."

Leo looks at me skeptically, as if to say, "Does he always do that?"

"I tried, buster, I really did. Good luck," I say to Leo, starting to exit.

"Wait," Leo pleads. "I've got an idea." He ushers me into another room. "Look, Piper, I know you're mad at me, but this is a full-scale emergency. There's not much I can tell you—"

I scoff. "Elder business, hm? Too important for lowly witches like us?"

"No—not at all, Piper. It's just that I don't know much myself. I know that these children are originally of Earth—"

"Doesn't take a genius to figure that out," I cut in sarcastically.

He ignores me patiently. "—and that they were stolen either as babies are generally at a young age. They're pretty much enslaved up there, Piper." His face is grave with remorse. "It was terrible. I saw it—one false move and they're whipped brutally. For simple things like coughing or speaking out of turn. They can only take orders, according to Ariel—"

I cock an eyebrow. "Ariel?"

"Another elder," he explains. "So basically, he won't—can't—do anything on his own free will. None of them can. It's truly sick, what they're doing."

"But…" My eyes flicker over to the door where the boy waits. "Why are they doing this? They didn't do anything wrong." Anger flares through me. This is so typical of the elders, torturing small children for no reason.

"They're among the purest souls of the world. The elders have seen a prophecy of a terrible force bringing the realm of magic into the darkness, and the lighters—that's what the kids Up There are called—are being trained to protect witches and put an end to it when it begins. They're smarter, faster, and more powerful than we can imagine." He pauses. "And yet they're not allowed to defend themselves."

There's a significant moment of silence between us, thinking of the woes of those kids. "There's gotta be something we can do," I finally manage to whisper, shuddering at the thought of Wyatt, my own child, being forced to live in such a way.

"There is. That's why I'm allowed to be down here. Ariel, an elder with hundreds of years more experience than myself, is defying the rest of them. She told me to come down here, protect the boy and try to…well, make him normal. Instead of taking orders and expecting punishments."

I stifle a laugh. "That's going to take some work."

He fidgets uneasily, pacing around one of the couches. "What have you found out about him?"

"Um…well, he told me his name, but that slipped my mind. Hm. He's seven years old, I remember that—and he doesn't know what a lighter is. All he knows is that he has to protect witches."

Chris

I'm silently cursing myself for my slip-up. Sometimes I wish desperately that I wasn't forced to take orders, but such thoughts would result in great punishment if ever revealed. But there had to be some truth to it, no matter how hard I wish it'll go away. I do feel trapped. I have to tell the truth—she made me do it.

I'm not sure what to think of these people, this place on earth. But it doesn't matter, since I'm not allowed to have any opinion about them. That's forbidden, having opinions. If I did have an opinion, though, I guess they'd be okay.

But a little stupid. Can't they realize that every word they utter is comprehensible from this room? I can hear everything they're saying. Our senses were trained to pick up even the slightest disturbance, so there's really no way to tune them out.

As always, even though I am well aware of their words and almost startled by them, I compress the information in my brain and store it. That's my only option. You know the drill by now—if I linger on this, I'll be punished. No emotions. Ever.

The words "lighter" and "taking orders" and "powerful" jumble around in my head. I close my eyes, concentrating on shoving it into my head and ignoring it. They continue talking about how the Elders are cruel to us and how our lives are unfair. How dare they flaunt their opinions like that? The Elders were merely trying to protect the witches. If we were incompetent, it was our own fault and we deserved to be punished.

Wait. That's still an opinion, whether or not it's what I really think. Ugh! It's a good thing Elders can't read minds.

Finally the door slid back open. I open my eyes quickly. They'd been saying more, but I missed it in my effort to store the previous conversation. I survey their apprehensive looks. What exactly are they planning to do now?

The woman clears her throat nervously. "Okay," she begins, pausing as if trying to think of what to say. "This is the last time I'll do this, okay? Then no more questions for tonight. Alright?"

I stare at her, trying to keep my expression as nonchalant as possible.

She gives the man an "I-told-you-so" kind of look. I glance up. When will the elders realize I'm missing? What will my punishment be? Have any of the others fallen as well? Immediately I squash these terrible thoughts. I can't ask questions or be curious, only allowed to learn what the Elders let us learn.

"Now tell me the truth. Tell him what you told me before."

"What piece of information do you wish for me to say aloud?" I ask, hiding my sudden suspicion.

"How do you feel?"

I am perpetually silent for as long as I can be, resisting the sudden pull to respond. I can't slip-up again. They'll hurt me, just like they would if any of the others did such a terrible deed. Can't they just leave me alone?

"Answer," she demands.

A command. "Trapped." My eyes grow wide for a moment and I clap a hand over my mouth. Surely I'm done for. When the Elders find out, I'll be in so much trouble. These people just don't understand the consequences.

"Why are you afraid?" the woman asks, leaning in towards me at my sudden sign of weakness. I realize how cowardly I must look and immediately retract the shock at my statements, returning to the mask we all wear.

"I fear nothing," I say firmly. "I cannot fear. It is not permitted." She seems to have forgotten her promise to limit herself to one inquiry tonight, but it doesn't matter. If she persists, I must obey.

She groans. "See? That's practically his motto! The kid's been brainwashed! He's not allowed to do anything." She throws her hands up in the air, inviting him to take a try. "I can't think of anything else to try."

"The spell," the man finally says, as if giving in to something.

Spell? Oh no. They're casting a spell on me now? I've learned everything there is to learn about spells and then some, and with all the information I've acquired, I know that it's not desirable to have a spell cast upon you. My mind is reeling with suspicions and questions I'll never be allowed to ask, but I bite my tongue, pinching myself to suppress them.

I'm so busy thinking that I don't even hear her uttering the spell until my eyes are forced close and I fall back…into darkness.

Leo

I caught the boy before he hit the ground, lifting him up. "Thanks," I say to Piper.

"Just a sleeping spell," she says with a shrug.

I look at the boy and realize that, asleep, he's an entirely different person. He looks so innocent and fragile, face pale and framed by light brown hair. He almost resembles something I knew…but I can't put a finger on it. He's surprisingly light and small for his age.

"Where's Wyatt?" I ask before thinking.

Her face hardens. "At Magic School with Paige. He's spending the night," she says coldly. "But you'd know that if you ever bothered to come down here once in a while."

Her words sting but she doesn't know the truth—she doesn't know that I spend plenty of time with Wyatt in the nighttime, taking him Up There and training with him. She has no idea. I swore Wyatt to secrecy years ago.

"You can put the boy up in his bed. He won't be back till tomorrow afternoon." She stares at him, too, making the same realization. "He's so little. It's hard to imagine…"

I nod my agreement. "But we can put an end to what the elders are doing."

Her eyes lock with mine. "Exactly." Then she turns away sharply, heading up to her room and closing the door behind her. I guess that's her way of saying that the couch is free and I'm welcome to use that. I sigh, orbing into Wyatt's bedroom and carefully laying the boy down.

He frowns in his sleep and my heart goes out to him. What's he really thinking about when he's allowed to? We may never know.

Thanks for all the great reviews, guys! I feel so loved. Lol. Hope you liked the update! Thanks again for the feedback!