by Brenna Lyons
“Are you all right?” Jayde asked gently.
Sarah shook her head and pushed the shimmers away. “Yes. Sorry. Staring is rude, I know. I was just admiring your shimmers. They’re unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. They’re so — vibrant.”
Erin smiled. “You told me I was too bright to look at while you were sick.”
“You almost are now,” she admitted. “I just wanted to catalog you, but I got caught up. I do apologize. I thought I had outgrown staring like that.”
“Catalog?” Talon asked.
“Shimmers are individual, like fingerprints. When I encounter one, I can identify it in my mind like using an address book. After that, I can identify the shimmer as being a particular person even in total darkness — or blindfolded.”
“Or in a cave ten meters away with no direct line of sight,” Kohl teased.
“You should be glad of that,” she shot back, taking another bite.
“Oh, I am. Every day of my life, I am.”
“What do I look like?” Erin asked earnestly.
“Like polished gold set in the sunlight with red and white floating specks swirling through and your red braid of Blutjagd not in use. The braid becomes a thick band when it’s in use. The more fiery the bloodlust, the wider the band becomes.”
“Gold?” Kohl asked. “You’ve never seen gold before.”
“All the Königs have it to some extent or another. It must be a König trait,” she dismissed.
“Appropriate,” he decided, taking another sip of his coffee.
“What about me?” Hunter asked.
“Yours is the most unique shimmer I’ve ever seen,” she answered clinically. “It’s brilliant white with swirling specks of blues, golds, and purples. It’s like looking at a living, breathing opal.”
He smiled. “Wow. I wish I could see it.”
“It’s very — soothing,” she admitted. “I think that’s what makes your touch healing.”
“Purple?” Kohl asked again. “I thought there was no purple.”
“I’ve never encountered it in anyone before, but I’d never encountered gold before either. Face it. König shimmers will never be mistaken for anyone else.”
“What does your shimmer look like?” Hunter asked.
Sarah darkened. “I’ve never seen it,” she admitted. “They don’t reflect in mirrors, and I can’t see it on my own hand. Every sensitive sees something different, and it doesn’t translate, so their impressions of my shimmer mean nothing to me. By my own standards, I know my base color would be blue, but I can’t even guess at my identifiers.”
“How do you know it would be blue?” he persisted.
“There are classes for me. I can tell what I’m looking at without identifying the person by the base color.”
“Red is high-level beast,” Hunter mused.
Sarah nodded as she swallowed another bite of her cereal. “Yes. Yellow is low-level beast, and black—” she shuddered, “is an elder. Green is a human, and blue is a human sensitive. All the other colors I’ve encountered are Warriors — silver, gold, tan, peach, orange, and off-white.”
“So, you would be blue as a human sensitive.”
“That’s my guess. It’s disconcerting to talk to other sensitives. Tricia sees everyone as brushstrokes like portraits. Watercolor means one thing, color block another. Regina sees gemstones in the place of a chest and every stone means something different. Bernice sees shimmers like I do, but her color scheme is nothing like mine, and her perceptions are very weak.
“I’ve often wondered if when the ability manifests has anything to do with what you see — and what you know as well. Bernice was discovered young, maybe ten or so. Tricia and Regina weren’t discovered until they were adult women in their own fields. Tricia was — is an artist. Regina was a bookkeeper, but her hobby is rare stones.”
“I see what you mean about no translation,” Erin noted. The young woman smiled. “Do you feel up to watching some training? No offense, but you need some sun.”
Sarah nodded gratefully. “Normal routine is something I could use right now.”
Half an hour later, Kohl, Jayde and Hunter joined her on a thick blanket laid on the ground for her. Though Sarah was wrapped in her ski jacket and gloves, the Warriors seated around her wore just their lined leather jackets, and the combatants were in shirt sleeves. It always amazed her that the Warriors didn’t seem to mind the elements — and that they could fight so soon after eating when she was looking for a cozy hole to hide in.
She watched them draw their weapons. “Blade on blade? Where’s their armor?” she asked nervously.
Jayde smiled. “We don’t use armor once we’re fully trained. We have no use for it.”
Sarah raised an eyebrow at the older woman. “Then how did Talon get injured?” she countered.
Her smile disappeared. “How do you know he was injured recently?”
“I can see the black line knitting in his shimmer.” She ran her hand over her ribs. “Here. It’s minor and new. Now answer my question, please.”
Hunter laughed heartily. “Can’t put one over on you. My sister has an aggressive Blutjagd we’re trying to train. She typically doesn’t light at all. She doesn’t need to. When she does light, she chooses what she feels is a safe level to release at once. We want her to learn to release her full potential and utilize it when she does.”
“So, you were unaware of Erin’s potential until she loosed it on Talon, and she injured him in her lack of control?” She shuddered at the thought. By the rules of sanction, they could have killed her for that lack of control.
Hunter darkened. “Actually, she injured him before she lit, because he ordered her to do so if she could. When Erin lit, she didn’t hurt him, though it was almost impossible to leash herself. We want her to master that, so we’re pushing her to a nuclear grade Blutjagd every training session. Blade on blade is more effective for that than hand to hand. Watch her shimmer. I’d be interested in what you see as she battles.”
Sarah nodded. “I’d be glad to be of service.”
Kohl laughed lightly. “Don’t let her fool you. She loves something new to study.”
She focused on the two Warriors as they started circling. Their braids of Blutjagd were steady for the first few minutes, though Talon attacked fast and hard. They had high thresholds, much higher than she was accustomed to seeing. When the tide turned, she sucked in her breath.
“What is it?” Jayde asked.
“Talon’s braid is widening steadily, but Erin’s…”
“It’s not even touched yet,” Hunter stated.
Sarah shook her head. “No. It’s not expanding at all. How does she do that?” She bit her lower lip and moved forward onto her knees to examine their shimmers closer. Erin’s swirls were expressive, showing patience and concentration, but her braid was silent and still.
“How long are we staying, Kohl? I’d like to study this, if there’s time,” Sarah noted distractedly, her mind doing infinite computations on the swirls in the girl’s shimmer.
At the edges of her vision, Jayde’s face turned an angry crimson, and her braid widened a bit. “You haven’t told her?” she demanded.
Sarah scowled at the disturbance in her study. “Told me what?” she asked in annoyance.
Kohl cleared his throat. “You need more protection than I can offer, Sarah. After Darrien... You’re staying with the Königs when I return.”
She snapped her head around to glare at him. Kohl was trying to appear cool and assured, but his shimmer spoke of uncertainty and unhappiness. At least, there was no blame, Sarah noted. There never had been blame.
“No, I’m not. I’m going home,” she assured him quietly.
“Yes, you are. It is necessary for your safety that you remain here.”
“You don’t want me to — not in your heart, and I don’t want to. You can’t just dump me with strangers. I won’t stand for it.”
“I’m not dumping you! I�
��ll stay as long as you need me to feel comfortable, but you will stay when I go. You’re still my daughter. I won’t abandon you. I’ll visit, but I must see to your safety before all other considerations.”
“I don’t want a wandering life. I don’t want to live out of a suitcase without my treasures, moving from place to place every few months. I’d hate it. I’ve always had a range.”
“You have a choice in that,” her father managed.
“Then I choose to go home.”
“That’s not your choice.”
“What is my choice?” she asked suspiciously.
“You may either travel with the Königs or stay in Crossbearer range under the personal protection of Hunter. You would have the solace of a constant range, and Hunter does possess a certain calming touch when you overload...”
Her cheeks burned. Sarah looked at Hunter and seethed that he was staring at the training as if the discussion wasn’t happening around him. His face was impassive, though his shimmer revealed a mixture of nervous energy and fear.
“You,” she spat. “This was your idea.”
He didn’t look at her. “Yes, I suggested it — before it was necessary to care for you and only the choice of staying here. Your father wanted you to follow the Königs with no choice. Somehow, I knew you wouldn’t appreciate that.”
“I don’t appreciate any of this.”
Hunter nodded his understanding.
“You’re still intent on your course? You still think this is a good idea?” she asked archly.
“Yes and yes. The offer stands.”
“That’ll change,” she warned. Sarah had years of practice annoying men. By the time she was done, none of the Königs would want her with them.
Hunter’s mouth quirked up as if in answer to her challenge. “Oh, look. Erin is just lighting up,” he mused.
Kohl sucked in his breath. “Gods alive. It’s stronger than yesterday.”
Sarah swiveled her head back to the action. Her mind locked in shock for a long moment, and her mouth went dry. She wasn’t staying here. No way! She skittered backward reflexively and screamed her protest.
* * * *
Talon smiled as the whole ten megatons landed at once. Erin was less choppy at entrance, at least. She attacked with a vengeance, driving him back effortlessly despite the fact that he outweighed her by a hundred pounds and was almost a foot taller.
“No,” Sarah screamed in terror.
Talon avoided looking at her, needing to concentrate on Erin or risk losing his head.
His daughter stilled and her eyes widened in shock. Her Blutjagd evaporated, and her weapons fell from boneless fingers and thumped to the frozen ground. Erin fell to her knees, shaking and sweating, looking at him in confusion, looking like she had in the worst of her Krankheit.
He looked from his daughter to Sarah. The young sensitive was screaming piercing, heart-wrenching screams, while Kohl tried to hold her and Jayde and Hunter tried to talk her down. In the end, he saw Hunter wrench one of the medicated pens from Kohl’s pocket and inject her with it. Sarah sobbed and pleaded with Kohl, while the drugs dragged her down into oblivion.
He looked back to Erin, stunned to see that she was lying unconscious in a semi-fetal position. Talon sheathed his weapons and dropped to his knees beside her. Her breathing was shallow but even, and her pulse was rapid and erratic. She continued to shake and sweat. Her skin was hot to the touch, as if she really had slipped back into the sealing sickness.
Talon scooped her into his arms. “Jayde,” he thundered. “Call Sylvia. Tell her to call in whatever favors she has to. We’ll be there in an hour or less.” He bolted for the garage with his wife close behind.
“What is it?” she asked as she punched the doctor’s private number.
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be doing this.”
“What do I tell Sylvia?”
“She lit. Sarah screamed. Erin seemed to go into shock. Blutjagd died. She’s shaking, sweating, feverish— She collapsed and lost consciousness. Damned if I know.”
“How’s her condition? Hang on Sylvia. We’re on our way to you.”
“Pulse fast and choppy, breathing shallow, unresponsive.” Talon turned the corner to the garage doors, vaguely noting Jayde’s discussion with Sylvia.
“You got that? Good.
“We’re not sure. She hit Blutjagd hard and got shocked out even harder. It was over in seconds.
“She couldn’t tell us anything, Sylvia!
“Right. We’re at the car, now. We’ll keep her warm.”
She hung up as Talon eased Erin into the back seat and followed her in. Hunter stormed in, handing Jayde their coats and reaching for the passenger door.
“No,” Talon told his son. “I need you here. I need you to protect Sarah, and get me answers when she’s able to answer. I need to know what she sensed that set her off like that, what she did, and why she’s so scared.”
Hunter looked at him in disbelief. “I have to go,” he breathed.
“No, you need to field this. This is not going to go unnoticed. Already, her ten-megaton reaction has drawn calls from outside Cross. You know Hunter range saw that — maybe beyond Hunter. If Piers hasn’t called you in less than an hour, I’ll be amazed. They’ll all want answers, and you can get them from Sarah and pass them on. Try to keep them calm, or it will be a circus here by morning.”
Hunter nodded solemnly and reached in to smooth Erin’s sweat-soaked hair before closing the back door and stepping away from the car. He walked away, looking dejected.
Jayde slid into the driver’s seat and started out. Talon looked at Hunter as they passed him. His hands were shoved in his pockets, his face stony. As he turned away, Hunter drew his cell phone and closed his eyes in a pained expression.
Talon sighed raggedly. Rumor control would be impossible to handle, and the war had just begun. Piers would only be the first of many calls.
* * * *
Erin shifted uncomfortably. Of all the beds she’d slept in over all the ranges she’d traveled, this one had to be the worst. Her head hurt. Her entire body hurt, and she had no idea why.
The last thing she remembered clearly was lighting up in training. Did she black out or make some mistake and get knocked out? Either way, it wasn’t something Erin wanted to repeat. She was sure of that much. And, pain was only an effective teacher if you remembered what the hell you did wrong in the first place!
Erin rolled off the bed with every intention of landing on her feet and going to the bathroom, but several sensations assaulted her at once. The cold tile beneath her feet jarred her. None of the houses she’d stayed in had tile in a bedroom. Warriors preferred wood and carpets.
Before she had a chance to examine that fact too carefully, her knees buckled and her head started to spin. Erin white knuckled the edge of the bed and forced her eyes open. She sucked in her breath in disbelief. She had never been inpatient before, but this was undoubtedly a hospital. Who would be crazy enough to put her inpatient? She launched to the window unsteadily and looked out. Dark! She’d lost the whole day — or worse.
A bag on the chair held her clothes. Erin dropped into the chair and started dragging them on. She was fully dressed and tucking her shirt in, cursing the lack of weapons in her sheaths quietly, when the door opened behind her. She whipped around, prepared to battle hand to hand, but Piers filled the doorway.
“What are you doing?” he demanded softly, letting the door swing shut behind him.
“Getting out of here,” she managed. “I can’t stay here. I’m not even armed, and all these — people. This is nuts. Someone will get killed.”
“You’re not going, until Sylvia is done with you. Get back in that bed.”
“And get caught unprepared? No way.” Erin glanced at the Band-Aid in the crook of her elbow and ripped it off in annoyance. “I take it she’s run her tests?”
“Yes. A whole battery.”
“Good. She can mail me the results.” Eri
n shook her head and headed for the door.
Piers grasped her by the arm. “In bed,” he ordered.
“You’re crazy. I can’t stay here. Don’t you get it? Every ounce of training—”
“Fine. Defeat me, and you can leave.”
She furrowed her brow and rubbed her forehead to relieve the ache making her eyesight fuzz. Erin felt like her entire body was encased in lead. She was sweating, and her knees were still rubbery. She wasn’t sure she could beat a kitten, let alone a Warrior.
“You can’t, can you?” he growled. “You look like hell, Erin. Get in bed.”
Erin met his eyes wearily. “Get Sylvia in here. I’ll answer her questions, and she’s sending me home. Agreed?”
“If she doesn’t release you, you shut up and get in bed,” he qualified.
She shifted from foot to foot nervously. “I can’t stay here,” she repeated. Years of training backed that up. Erin couldn’t pose a threat to humans. Her presence was a threat; surely, Piers could see that. “The risk—”
“Your parents and I are here. If necessary, I can have half the North American Warriors here before morning. You will do what is in your best interests. Understood?”
“Understood, but let’s make an honest effort to spring me.” She said it hopefully, and Piers nodded his agreement. “You call them while I hit the bathroom. I really want to get this over with.”
He released her arm and watched while she headed to the bathroom then picked up the bedside phone. Erin heard the door open again before she was finished. She splashed water on her sweaty face, hoping she looked halfway competent. No time like the present. Erin made her way out, forcing a smile to her face.
“Hi Sylvia,” she greeted the gray-haired woman in the lab coat.
“Well, you know me. That’s good. Come sit down. I take it you know who you are and how old you are as well?”
“Erin Anne Cross, and I’ll be sixteen next week.” She sank into the chair. “Who do I have to thank for beating me upside the head?” she joked, looking at her parents over the doctor’s shoulder and raising an eyebrow.