by Amy Richie
“Better?” he asked, settling down beside me.
“Yeah,” I admitted. “You're not cold?”
“No,” his eyes moved to watch me from the corner.
Sometimes it was easy to forget that Tristan wasn't real. Of course the cold wouldn't bother him; he brought the cold. Only- he didn't. In the hotel, when we kissed, he hadn't felt cold. Not at all.
I ducked my face into the blanket, hiding my embarrassing thoughts. He wouldn't have seen it though- my cheeks were already red anyways.
“Still hungry?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah.” I hadn't eaten, of course I was still hungry. “But I'll be fine.” I really didn't want him to leave me again- even if it was to go get food. “Just stay here.”
“Don't worry,” he sighed, “I don't plan on leaving you. I like you too much.”
“Uhh,” I tried to stop my lips from shaking, but it was impossible; the wind had picked up again. “You go from wanting to kill me to liking me in less than a week,” I stammered happily.
“I never wanted to kill you,” he protested. “I wanted you to kill yourself.”
“Huge difference,” I mumbled into the blanket.
“It is,” he chuckled. “It really is.”
He fell silent beside me, his own thoughts heavy enough to influence my own mood. I wasn't sure what had him so thoughtful- maybe it was me- but I fell silent, too.
I had just started to doze off when Tristan jumped up to two feet, tense and searching.
“What's wrong?” I asked groggily, trying to sit up straighter. “Is someone out there? Is it the police?”
“Just stay where you are,” he ordered without answering me. “Just wait.”
There was a huge gust of wind, then Tristan went stiff.
“What are you doing here?” Tristan asked in a low voice. It was a voice I had never heard before. The wind was blowing so hard, I could barely keep my eyes open.
Chapter Nine
“Well, well, isn't this cozy,” a low voice snarled from somewhere in the darkness.
“I asked you a question,” Tristan snarled back.
I sunk my shoulders deeper into the blanket. I didn't know who that voice belonged to- but I did know that I didn't want to find out. Anything that could make Tristan sound like that couldn't be good.
“And I chose not to answer it,” the man said coming close enough for me to see him.
He was taller than Tristan- his shoulders more broad. His face was still heavily shadowed, but I could tell that his hair was back in a tight ponytail; his lips held just as tight.
“Leave.”
“I don't want to.” The stranger's lips curved up slightly. “Aren't you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?”
“I don't want to,” Tristan threw his words back to him.
Considering their size difference, mockery probably wasn't the best choice for Tristan. I stayed quiet, darting my eyes between both men.
“Is this Ren?” the man asked.
It was a shock to hear him say my name. How did he know me? I didn't know him; although he must have been one of Tristan's Cursed.
Looks like he didn't control them all.
“Stay away from her,” Tristan responded in a very low voice.
“Did you think you would be able to hide her from me, little brother?”
Brother? I raised my head a little to see the man better. Was this really one of Tristan's brothers?
“I wasn't trying to hide her,” I heard Tristan say. “Why would I need to?”
“Why indeed?” The man grinned wide, revealing his numerous teeth.
“She belongs to me.”
“Yes,” the man agreed.
“To do with as I please.”
“Mostly.”
“Not mostly; entirely.”
“And what do you want to do with her?” The man's head tilted with the question.
My eyes darted back to Tristan.
“I'm waiting for her to join me.”
“Waiting?” The man spit. “Waiting on a human?”
“Yes, waiting.”
“Have your troops failed you?”
“She's different,” Tristan hesitated to admit.
“So I've heard,” the man purred. “Different enough for Nona to get involved.”
“Nona can't touch her.”
Both men fell silent, staring at each other.
Finally, after too many tense seconds, Tristan's brother broke the silence. “Give the girl to me.”
Realizing that my mouth had fallen open, I quickly snapped it shut. Why did he want me? Tristan told me over and over that the ghost-people couldn't hurt me and even Tristan himself couldn't touch me- but could this man? He certainly seemed capable.
“Why do you want her?” Tristan asked my silent question. “What will you do to her?”
“I'll kill her,” he said as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Kill her?”
“Don't worry, I'll make it very quick.” His eyes shifted briefly to me. “She won't feel a thing- mostly.”
“Not a chance.”
“Don't be stupid, Tristan.”
“Don't you touch her; don't you lay even one finger on this girl.”
“She's just a girl. Think what you're doing.”
“Leave us alone.”
“Us?” The surprise was unmistakable. “It's 'us' now, is it?”
“Zac...”
“Rumors have reached me- very strange rumors.”
“Oh yeah?” Tristan's shoulders tensed.
“Don't you want to know what these rumors are?”
“I don't care what they are.”
“The girl makes you weak.”
“She can't touch me.”
“Which says even more about her power over you.”
“She'll join me,” Tristan insisted.
“And if she won't?”
“I'll kill her myself.”
I cowered low again in the blanket. I had known all along that Tristan would see me dead. No matter how hard I tried to talk my heart into not reacting, it wouldn't listen to me. No surprise there- it never did.
“I don't believe you,” Zac growled, pulling my attention back to the brother pair.
“I don't care what you believe,” Tristan shrugged.
“I don't like what this girl does to you- how she affects you.” His eyes narrowed as he watched Tristan.
“The girl has no affect on me,” Tristan snarled. “She is, however, mine. And I told you not to touch her.”
Zac shrugged, unaffected by Tristan's rising anger. “I consent that she belongs to you.”
“Then leave.”
“For now,” he bowed his head. “This isn't over though, little brother. Consider this your warning.”
Before I had time to blink, Zac was gone, leaving only a light breeze in his absence.
“Warning,” Tristan scoffed at the empty space in front of him. “Since when do you tell me what to do with my Seers?”
I didn't mind that Tristan called me his. In fact, I pulled the words close to my chest like a blanket. They had kept me safe so far.
“Is he gone?” I called to Tristan, mostly just to remind him that I was there.
His head jerked back around to look at me. “Yeah, he's gone.”
I didn't see him take any actual steps, but suddenly he was next to me again. I pulled the blanket tighter around me.
“So that...”
“That was one of my brothers,” he confirmed, eyes still dark and glaring.
“He seems...”
“He is.”
“He wants you to give me to him?” I asked quietly, trying to make sense of everything I had heard. “So he can kill me?”
“You don't have to worry.”
“I know. But...”
“But nothing,” Tristan snapped. “He can't touch you. Not u
nless you let him.”
Why would I let him? I shivered as a cold chill traveled up my spine.
“You don't have to worry about him,” Tristan repeated. “You belong to me. Zac knows that.”
“What did he mean about Nona?”
“Don't listen to anything he said!”
How could I do that though? I had already heard it all, how could I not worry? I didn't even know things like Zac existed before now. Tristan wasn't like that.
My eyes moved to take in his harsh profile. Despite his words to me of not worrying about Zac, it was clear that Tristan was not taking his own advice.
Tristan wanted me to join him; to kill myself and remain next to him forever. He hadn't hurt me himself though. In fact, he had actually saved me- more than once.
No. He wasn't like Zac.
“Will Zac come back?”
“No,” he answered too quickly. “He might,” he corrected almost just as fast, “but it doesn't matter, he won't be able to hurt you.”
“Did Nona tell him where I am?”
“Does she know?”
Probably not, I silently agreed. I hadn't had contact with Nona, so she wouldn't know that the ghost-people had made the bus flip over. I wouldn't mind talking to her though. She knew Zac and she wouldn't just tell me not to worry.
“How did he find me then?”
“He found me- you just happened to be with me. Zac doesn't even know what you look like.”
He does now, I corrected Tristan without saying anything. He was already worried enough about his brother- I didn't need to add to it.
“You should sleep,” Tristan abruptly advised.
“Sleep?” How was I going to sleep now? “I'm not tired.”
“Then it's a good time to sleep.” He glanced sideways at me. “If you're not tired- that means no one is calling to you.”
Chapter Ten
Sleep.
I scowled up at him, but the energy was wasted, he wasn't even looking my way. His full lips were pushed out as if he were thinking about something unpleasant.
I wouldn't be able to sleep now though, no matter what he said. My thoughts were racing too fast through my mind. Why didn't Nona have a phone number I could call her at? I needed some answers.
“Close your eyes,” Tristan grumbled from above me.
“I can't, I grumbled back.
“Yes you can.”
“Don't worry about me and what I'm doing.”
“Don't worry about you?” He let out a hollow laugh that sounded anything but amused. “I wish that were possible.”
“But you said the ghost-people can't hurt me,” I reminded him with more force than I intended.
“They can't touch you.”
“Then what is there to worry about?”
“Zac,” he muttered darkly.
I wanted to argue further- to find something to say that would erase some of the lines between his eyes- but I was suddenly exhausted. I was so tired I couldn't think of anything else to say; my mind went blank. Maybe I did need some sleep.
On their own accord, my eyelids fluttered closed. It wasn't peaceful oblivion that was waiting for me though. Not even close.
“Ren.”
A man's voice was the first thing I was aware of, followed closely by the heat. Why was it so hot? Had I slept through the night and now the sun was shining on me?
“Ren, get up.”
Only when I raised my head off the hard ground did I realize that I was laying on rocks- hard rocks that cut into the side of my face. I rose slowly to a sitting position.
“Ren.”
Obediently, I got to my feet. It was strange that my ankle didn't hurt anymore. “Where are you?” I called out to the voice. My own voice echoed back at me.
“Ren.”
“Tristan?”
The air seemed to bend all around me, creating odd shapes in the shadows. I tried to swallow but my mouth was too dry. The heat had sucked away all the wetness; even my eyes felt funny.
A short ways from where I was now standing, the ground was shooting up large amounts of thick white smoke. “Where am I?” I asked out loud to no one. “Where is this place?”
“Haven't you ever seen a volcano before?” Zac asked, stepping out of the shadows. “Hot, isn't it?” he grinned.
At the sound of his growling voice, I scrambled backwards several steps- almost throwing myself back down in the process. “Where am I?” I gasped. “Why are you here? Where's Tristan?”
“So many questions,” he purred. “I can't understand why my brother likes you so much.”
“Where is he?”
“You think he'll come here to save you?”
“No.” I hovered near the edge of a sharp drop in the mountain we were standing on. No, Tristan wouldn't be able to find me here; I wasn't even sure I wanted him to.
“The first intelligent thing I've heard come out of your mouth,” he grinned.
I pulled my lips closed into a trembling straight line. Zac couldn't touch me, none of this was real. I didn't need to be afraid of him.
“You're not afraid?” He cocked one eyebrow high onto his smooth forehead.
“No,” I tried to answer back confidently, but it came out a little too much like a question.
“Really?” He smiled wide, showing off his many white colored teeth.
“R... really.” I took a few steps forward- away from the edge of the drop and towards Zac. “Tristan says you can't touch me.”
“Maybe not your physical body,” he shrugged, “but you already know that's not how we kill people.”
“Why though?” I asked with more bravery than I actually felt. “Why do you want me dead so bad? What did I do to you?” This was the first time I'd ever even met Zac; and I had only met Tristan within the last few weeks too. What was so important about my death?
“You're human,” he shrugged again, “that's reason enough to want you dead.”
That wasn't it though, it wasn't that simple. What had he said to Tristan earlier? My eyes narrowed as I tried to remember.
“But,” he took a few steps toward me. With extreme effort, I held my place. “You do happen to be an unusual breed of human.” His top lip snarled up.
Unusual? Was it because I was a Seer?
“Not only because you are a Seer,” he answered my thoughts. “It's because of Tristan.”
Because Tristan liked me so much, I remembered. It was because Zac thought I made Tristan weak. He was wrong though; he was wrong about everything.
“You're nothing but a girl,” he snarled. “I had expected something more, but...”
“It's only me,” I finished for him.
“Only you,” he agreed on a purr. “But not for long.”
He lunged suddenly, swiping his arms out to grab a hold of me. More out of instinct than anything else, I ducked out of his reach. I took several steps sideways, slipping on the loose rocks and sliding down to one knee.
The rocks bit deeply into my skin, but I didn't have time to cry about it yet; Zac was still coming for me, his mouth twisted up into a dangerous snarl. Jumping back onto two feet, I hurled myself further away from him.
I wasn't able to get far though, definitely not far enough. With a mighty lurch, Zac caught a hold of my waist and pulled me close to his body. His skin felt too hot against mine- like he had spent too much time on this volcano or else he had a fever.
I was guessing he wasn't sick.
“Let me go,” I screeched, twisting violently out of his grasp, only to have him grab tightly to my arm. “Leave me alone!” How was he doing that? How could he hold onto me when Tristan couldn't? Toby couldn't either. How could Zac?
“It's all in here,” he tapped lightly on the side of my head. Up close, Zac didn't look as scary as before. A rugged sort of beard had started to show up along his chin, creating handsome shadows.
“Handsome?” Both eyebrows shot up. “
I haven't been complimented for many years,” he taunted.
“I wasn't complimenting you,” I gasped, still trying uselessly to pull my arm away from him.
“You have come to the end of your road, young Ren,” he said softly, his tongue gliding slowing across my name.
“You can't hurt me,” I stubbornly insisted, even while his fingers bit painfully into the flesh along my upper arm.
“Oh,” he grinned wide, “this might hurt a little.”
“What are you going to do?” I cowered down, letting my knees buckle down as the fear took over.
“Just a little kiss,” he traced one finger along the side of my face.
“A...k...kiss?” I squirmed against him. “Aren't you a little old for me?”
“Cute.”
He didn't smile this time, but brought his face closer to mine. Every fiber in my body told me to run away from Zac and his kiss, but I couldn't move. Not one muscle would obey my frantic commands.
When his lips finally made contact with mine, it was like a giant bolt of electricity had hit me. I staggered backward, but he easily held me close to him.
Whatever I had expected a kiss from Zac to be like, it was completely different. When Tristan kissed me, I had felt nothing but warmth. Now, a chill started at my lips and began moving throughout my entire face.
It was like I was freezing from the inside out. By the time the cold had seeped down to my shoulders, my feet wouldn't hold my weight anymore. I sagged down to my knees, unable to do anything to break away from Zac's deadly kiss.
Just when I knew I couldn't take anymore, that I was surely dead, the pressure from Zac's hand fell away from the small of my back. His head pulled away, eyes full of the same confusion I felt. The world around me was starting to fall away.
What was happening? Was I dead?
“Ren,” a new voice yelled out to me.
My eyelids fluttered open, only to close again just as quickly. I couldn't seem to make them stay open long enough to focus on the dark shape standing above me. Was that still Zac? Was I dead?
“Ren,” the voice called again, this time I felt pressure on my shoulder too. “Ren, wake up.” My body jerked slightly.
“Mmm,” I tried to respond to him but my lips still wouldn't open properly.