“Are you bored?” Mike sat down on the bed beside her taking her hand in his own.
“I can’t answer that.”
“Yes you can. Are you bored here?” Mike sounded a bit defensive which made Skye’s answer even harder.
“Sometimes yes. I love being with my parents and learning who I am. I can heal people, magical creatures, and even plants. I can change the colors of the sky. I can even fight demons if I need to. But I do miss my old life.” Skye looked down at her hands.
“You miss Maddox. That’s what’s really bothering you.” The bitterness in Mike’s voice was shocking.
“No! Mike don’t think that!” Mike stood up and walked across the room. He turned facing her and nearly shouted.
“How can I not? It’s always been him.”
“How can you say that? We’re together! We’ve been together for a while now. Have I let on that I’m not happy with you?”
Skye felt torn inside. Mike did make her happy, yet she also knew that no matter how hard he tried she could never be as happy with him as she wanted to be. Their relationship was more one-sided and that made her feel guilty.
“You smile, you kiss me, you make love to me, but I feel you holding back. I feel you holding onto that precious piece inside of you that should be mine.”
“I… maybe I do. If I do it’s not on purpose. I just don’t want to get hurt again. I care for you Mike I really do.” He shook his head.
“You care for me. I love you. LOVE you! When will I be enough?” The hurt in his voice stabbed Skye directly in the heart. She stood up grabbing his hands.
“You are good enough. Hell you are probably better than I am! I don’t deserve you! You are sweet, kind, loving, and always there when I need you. Yet here I am hurting you. I’m a horrible bitch to you.” Mike pulled her into his arms as soon as he heard the sob that was about to escape her throat.
“No, you are not.” He stroked her hair softly trying to calm her. “I should be more patient with you. I’m sorry.”
Skye wanted to say the three words he longed to hear. She wanted to, but couldn’t. Instead she grabbed his face and kissed him hard. She needed to show him in some way that he meant something to her. This was the only way she could think of.
“Skye, we don’t have…” she put her finger over his lips and shook her head.
“Be quiet.” she whispered into his ear. She licked his lobe and traced her tongue down his throat softly.
She stepped back grabbing his shirt pulling it off and throwing it to the ground. Her hands quickly undid his pants pushing them to the ground with his underwear. His eyes were wide in shock at how in control she was.
“Be a good boy, Mike.” She purred as she pushed him onto her bed.
Skye pulled her shirt over her head letting it fall to the ground. Wiggling her hips back and forth she slowly pushed her jeans down to the floor. Mike sat in awe of the beautiful woman in front of him.
Skye unclasped the back of her bra and let it slide slowly down off of her, falling into the puddle of clothing around her feet. Mike’s answering smile made her feel more confident in herself. His growing erection helped even more. She slid her panties to the floor quickly.
“Let me show you how I feel.” she whispered before taking his mouth relentlessly with her own. Mike’s hands grabbed her hips pulling her to straddle him.
Skye smiled as she sank down onto him, impaling herself until they both cried out in unison. The feeling of him inside of her always drove her mad with need. Skye grabbed Mike’s hands placing them on her breasts. He grunted in pleasure as his fingers teased her nipples. Skye slowly pushed herself down onto him before rising up quickly, and then forcefully pushing him inside of her again.
“Oh Skye!” Mike groaned her name. Skye’s head fell back moaning loudly.
When she opened her eyes she thought she saw him again, Maddox, in the corner watching them. Skye closed her eyes and rode Mike harder and faster determined to focus solely on his body.
“Baby I’m so close!” he said through clenched teeth trying hard to hold on for her.
Skye felt her body quicken and tighten. She looked into Mike’s eyes and let herself go. She dug her nails into his shoulders as she finished, exploding around him. Mike cried out his release loudly following hers.
Skye bent over resting her head onto Mike’s chest. He was breathing heavily with his eyes closed. Skye rolled over off of him lying beside him. Mike put his arm around her and quickly fell asleep. Skye, though, remained awake with a frown on her face.
She no longer cared that Maddox’s image would appear to her at inopportune times. What bothered her was that Mike was right.
Chapter Fourteen
Gary sat down in the meadow beside Skye without a word. She had been outside all night and had yet to come back home even though it was late morning. Gary took her hand in his own and held it. Skye looked to her father and he saw purple tears falling from her face.
“These tears can be both acid and medicine depending on how you feel and how you use them.” He placed a finger under her eye, captured a purple tear, and watched silently as it burned his skin. Skye gasped.
“Daddy no!” She wiped the tear from his hand then placed her fingers over the spot using her light to heal him. Gary smiled at her.
“Why would you do that?” Skye shook her head perplexed.
“To show you that you are quite powerful. Your decisions will affect you and everyone around you. Sometimes you’ve just got to let it burn. Sometimes you have to heal it.” He plucked a flower from the ground.
Skye watched in shock. They never picked a healthy flower from the ground. Being creatures of nature they knew each flower, weed, and piece of grass had its own purpose.
He opened his hand and the flower floated away on the wind in front of both of them. Skye watched silently still trying to understand.
“Sometimes you have to let go.” he whispered. Skye held her head down in shame.
“Everyone thinks my every thought revolves around Maddox. It doesn’t you know.”
“Skye, darling you misunderstand. I’m not telling you to let go of Maddox. I’m telling you to let go of that which does not serve you.” Skye looked at him shocked.
“Dad…” Skye couldn’t speak.
“I won’t presume to tell you what to do with your life, but I will give advice. My advice is not to hold onto something due to guilt. Be your own person. You’re my daughter so I know you happen to be pretty amazing.”
Skye couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. She leaned her head against his shoulder grabbing his hand in her own again. Gary had a way of communicating with her without ever opening his mouth. Skye felt they could have whole conversations simply by holding hands.
Skye let go of his hand and stood up. She knew that Kel and Buck would be leaving that evening and she wanted to spend time with them before they went back home. Gary stood up and walked back to the house with Skye.
The day seemed to go along slowly. Kel and Buck talking about what they were going to do once they were back on Earth. Kel, of course, said Evan was her first stop.
“That pipsqueak has to hear from me again or his life will be boring.” Kel said with a boisterous laugh. Skye smiled at her.
“Give him a hug from me too.” Skye said. Kel nodded glancing at Skye.
“Will do.” Skye knew that Kel could see inside of her. They had been friends long enough that Skye didn’t need to tell her what was about to happen with Mike. Kel’s eyes softened every time she looked to Mike. As much as she loved to torture him, she actually felt sorry for him. Skye had to look away for a moment.
“I know it seems like weird timing,” Kel began looking directly at Skye “But timing can never be perfect. What needs to be done, well, needs to be done. Painful or not.”
Skye’s eyes started to fill with tears but she held them back from falling. Kel gave her a kind smile. Skye knew she was speaking directly to her. As much as it would hurt, she knew it
had to be done.
When the time came to say goodbye everyone gathered and took turns hugging them both. Skye waited until last. She wasn’t sure how she could manage to get through it. She walked up to Buck first. He looked down at her with a smile.
“You know you have become like a baby sister to me girl.” Skye laughed softly at him.
“You are like an annoying older brother.” She stifled a cry. “One that I love.”
“Aww damn.” He pulled her into a big hug kissing the top of her head.
“Take care of her.” Skye whispered. “She’s my best friend.”
“I promise I will.” he whispered back still holding her in his arms. “Be happy. I know you haven’t found the one yet, but there’s no rush. We live for a hell of a long time you know.” Skye let out a small laugh and released him.
“I’m going to try to be happy. You too. I’m so glad you came here with us.” He kissed her forehead once more.
“I am too. Now go hug my woman.” he winked. Skye looked over to Kel and ran into her arms. Kel kissed Skye on the forehead as well.
“I hate that you are leaving me.” Skye cried in her arms.
“You will see me again. I’m not dying!” Kel tried to joke, but her voice was tight with sadness.
“You and Buck take care of each other. Be happy. I’ll come visit. I promise.” Skye said. Kel pulled back and looked at her.
“What you are going to do tonight is going to hurt. You are going to feel as if you are breaking apart again. Remember something will you? You are strong! Stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
“I just hate hurting anyone.” Skye frowned.
“He will hurt, but he will forgive you. Just give him time. He loves you and he has for a long time. In the end, though, he will realize you two were better off friends.” Skye nodded feeling doubtful.
“You better visit me. I’ll come visit you too.” Skye said. Kel pulled her close hugging her hard for a moment before letting her go.
Kel walked over to Buck and took his hand in her own. They kissed once and then nodded to Gary and Cloud. Gary and Cloud raised their joined hands towards the two of them, engulfing them in their light. After a second they were both gone.
“I love you.” Skye whispered to the empty spot.
Gary and Cloud walked into their house silently. Mike walked over to Skye putting his arm around her shoulder as he leaned his head against hers.
“I know you will miss them but we’ll see them again.” he said softly.
Skye felt her heart constrict at his comforting words. Why couldn’t she just pretend she was happy enough with him? Why couldn’t she just be happy enough? What was wrong with her?
Skye hated herself for a moment before letting those feelings go. She let the universe take them away in the wind. She couldn’t hold onto that. She needed to rid herself of the negativity that had held her down for so long.
Skye turned facing Mike. He was so handsome and sweet. His eyes promised love, his heart promised loyalty, and his hands promised she would never hurt. She took his hand, lifting it to her lips and kissing it softly.
Mike watched her for a moment before closing his eyes and shaking his head gently. When he opened his eyes he saw the unshed purple tears in Skye’s eyes. His heart felt like it was dropped ten feet.
“So that’s it, huh?” Mike said. Skye’s mouth opened wanting to deny it. Instead she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“I’m sorry, Mike. I never wanted to hurt you.” He pulled his hand away from her.
“No one ever intends on hurting the other person. It just seems to happen.” His voice seemed resigned. He wasn’t bitter at all. It was as if he had been expecting it to happen all along.
“You are the most amazing guy. A perfect boyfriend.”
“So perfect that you have to dump me?” he asked.
“I’m not ending this because of you. Or for anyone else either. I’m ending it for me. I don’t love you the way you deserve. That’s my problem, not yours. You did everything right. The problem is that I have to be alone. I need to be my own person.” Skye said gently.
“So you’re dumping me for yourself?”
“What?” Skye paused looking at his face. He had a small sad smile on it.
“I get it. I don’t need an explanation. I loved you long before you cared for me. I loved you long before we ever made love. I will keep all those memories dear to me. Maybe one day when you do find yourself, you’ll find you have room for me too.” He started to walk away. Skye grabbed his arm feeling desperate.
“Mike, wait! You… we’re still friends right?” Mike saw the fear on her face and nodded.
“We will always be friends.” She released his arm allowing him to go inside the house. Skye stood outside looking up at the full moon. He had let her off easy and she knew that.
Skye let out a breath that she hadn’t realized she had been holding and felt a weight lifted off of her shoulders for once. That’s when she heard the scream.
Chapter Fifteen
Skye ran inside the house as fast as she could manage. In the living room floor her mother laid in a puddle of blood. Gary stood over her, fighting a demon that was holding a blade bathed in blood.
Skye started to run to them but tripped over a foot on the ground. She looked over and saw Mike’s body covered in blood as well. He had been stabbed in his stomach. Skye let out a scream. The shock was wearing off quickly and her instincts were kicking in.
She thrust her hand inside of the wound in Mike’s stomach using the powers within her. Her whole arm lit up bright red and she watched as it flowed down inside of his stomach. She could feel it working. Every torn muscle was weaving itself back together. Every broken blood vessel was reattaching itself. Slowly she pulled her hand out of his stomach and watched as the wound disappeared leaving only a small scar in its place.
Mike’s eyes quickly opened looking at her in shock. Skye quickly crawled over to her mother and repeated the same process. Once again the red light went through her body and healed her mother. Cloud’s eyes opened seeing her daughter glowing red. Cloud backed away from Skye shocked and bewildered.
Skye looked at her confused. She had just saved her life yet her mother was afraid of her. Skye stood looking at the man still battling her father. Skye felt her blood run hot. She pushed her father away from the demon and faced him herself.
Skye couldn’t hear over the pounding of her own heart. It was roaring. The blood was rushing through her veins faster than possible. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cloud keeping Gary away from her.
“How dare you come here and hurt my loved ones?” Skye screamed in a high pitched voice that did not sound like her own.
The demon snarled at her. He thrust the blade towards her, pausing when it should have entered her torso but failed. He pushed the blade harder trying to force it into her chest.
Skye laughed as she stood with her arms to her side waiting for him to accomplish the task at hand. He grunted as he used every ounce of power he had in him. The blade didn’t even nick her.
Skye grabbed at the blade easily pulling it out of his hands. With one fast motion, she severed his head from his body. It made a loud ‘splat’ as it hit the ground. His body quickly followed.
Skye held the blade in her hand looking at it as if it were nothing special. She threw it to the ground and looked to the three people who were staring at her. They were staring at her in utter shock. Skye looked down at herself confused as to their staring.
That’s when she noticed her body was glowing red from the inside out. She was also covered in blood from saving Mike and her mother, not to mention the blood from the demon on her body.
Skye slowly blinked taking in the change in her light. She was not meant to shine red. She’s an elf. She is light colors. Not dark. Not red. Never red.
Her eyes met with her fathers and she knew what it meant. She had used too much of her demon powers that he had passed unkn
owingly down to her. She was no longer just an elf. She could be dangerous.
The prophecy could be true.
“Daddy?” Skye whispered.
“Pull it back, Skye. Close your eyes. Feel the power of the moon enter your body. Feel it calm your heart. Let the moon be your center.” Gary spoke softly as Skye followed his instructions. It took several minutes but she finally looked like herself again.
Gary pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. Cloud and Mike stood back watching them. Gary sighed as he looked over to them.
“We must protect her.” Gary stated looking to his wife and Mike. They both nodded in agreement. No one needed words to describe what was happening. They had all heard the prophecy, but none of them ever thought it would happen.
“I’m so sorry.” Skye cried softly.
“You saved your mother and Mike. There is no apology needed.” Gary said flatly.
After a messy clean up in the living room, they all sat down together to talk. For a long time no one said a word. Skye couldn’t take it anymore.
“I’m not going to end the world.” she said.
“Of course not.” Cloud said quickly.
“None of us think that.” Mike said.
“Besides, the prophecy isn’t quite clear on what is truly going to happen.” Cloud added. Skye shook her head.
“Ending the world as we know it sounds pretty scary to me.” Skye replied.
“Well we will find a way.” Gary said determined. He was the only one who didn’t seem as shaken up as everyone else.
“Gary, the power she used… every light being in this realm would have felt it. They are going to know something happened.” Skye glanced at her mother.
“Is that true?” Skye asked.
“Yes. We felt it as well, but no one will know where it came from.” Gary said.
“They will think that there are demons in this realm.” Cloud said.
“Uh, obviously there are.” Mike added. They looked to him and he shrugged. “One was here and technically it killed two of us. He can’t be alone. Since when do those swine travel alone?”
Slivers of Skye (The Skye Chronicles Book 2) Page 8