by Ali House
“You’re too hard on yourself.”
“But I messed up with Nathan. I got you shot.”
“No, you didn’t. Nathan was suspicious of you from the start and nothing you did would have changed that. And I got myself shot because I wasn’t thinking and I rushed into the situation.”
The room fell silent. Her tears had stopped, but she was still frustrated.
“You have to tell the others,” Vaughn said quietly.
She stepped away from him. “No. No, I don’t.”
“They deserve to know what you are.”
“I already told you – I’m not that. If I tell them, then they’ll think that I can do all these amazing things, but I can’t. I’m useless. I’m weaker than most of the people in this house.”
“But –”
“Give me time,” she interrupted. “I’m trying to get stronger – honest! Once I’m strong enough I’ll tell everyone. I can’t go to them like this. I’ll be more of a liability than anything.”
“Kit –”
“No! I know what’s expected of me and I won’t be able to deliver. You have to trust me on that.” She could tell that she was winning him over. “You can’t tell anyone, okay?”
“But…” Vaughn’s voice trailed off.
“What?”
“I don’t know if I can keep this a secret,” he said. “This is really big. The team, Triton, the ISS – they all deserve to know.”
“And I will tell them, just not yet,” she replied. “Please give me more time. I have to do this the right way.”
He was silent.
She walked over to him and took his head in her hands. “If you tell them, then I’ll run away. I’ll disappear. I can’t disappoint everyone, Vaughn. It’s too much. I just can’t.”
This close up he could see that she meant everything she said.
“But you will tell them eventually?” he finally said.
She nodded.
CHAPTER TEN
On Thursday evening, Triton gathered the team for a meeting at the ISS building. Each person went through the same motions as the first time they’d met – arriving at staggered times and taking strange routes. They met in the same room, where Triton was already waiting for them. He assured them that nobody was in the other room, watching through the mirror.
“We’ve had a bit of a breakthrough,” he said once everyone was gathered. “Yes, we’ve had a bit of a set-back, but we’ve also had some luck. After telling the police about Nathan, they ran his picture and they came up with a name: Nathan Smith from Drakkar.”
“But you said that he wasn’t in the ISS database,” Zenyth remarked.
“When I first looked for him there was nothing. I tried to find him three times since then and I always came up with nothing, until today. After reporting him to the police, he’s suddenly there.”
“It’s not a coincidence,” Naydir said.
Triton nodded. “This means that they have someone with them who can hack into the public registry and create a background. This is probably the same person who found the tape of Kit’s fight at the mall and tracked down Bryanna.”
“So now we’re 99.99% sure that Nathan is with Tecken.”
“Yes, and that he has at least one friend here with him. Tecken would never be able to get into our computers from their island. We’re trying to trace the hacking, but there hasn’t been much left behind. Whoever the hacker is, he or she is good.”
“So what do we do?” Vaughn asked.
“Well, you’re not going to be able to do much. Neither are Kit or Bryanna. I want the rest of you to continue doing what you’ve been doing. Keep listening to people on the street. Tecken will be on edge about one of their soldiers having an arrest warrant on his head, so it’s possible we might overhear something. Or it’s possible that they’ll go further into hiding and we won’t hear anything of use.” Triton clasped his hands and put them on the table. “We’re in a stale-mate right now. The Council refuses to intervene. Even if we’re 99.99% sure, there’s still that 0.01% that needs to be eliminated before they’ll step in. I’m confident that Nathan is now into hiding, so we’ve lost our only connection. Technically we’re back to square one.”
After the meeting ended, they left the same way they arrived. When Kit exited the building, she saw that Vaughn was waiting for her.
“I have something I want to show you,” he said, gesturing towards his motorcycle, which was parked in front of the building.
She wanted to decline. She didn’t want to talk to Vaughn about the Six-Elemental thing anymore, and it would be in her best interest to go back to the house and practice. Then again, now that he was keeping her secret she should try to be nicer to him.
“Okay,” she replied. “But I’m following you.” As she walked across the street to her El-car, Vaughn obediently waited at his motorcycle. When she pulled into the street, he drove off, slowly heading towards the southern area of Stanton. Every once in a while she saw him turn around to make sure that she was still behind him.
He parked in front of a small one-story building, close to the water. The area was full of small businesses and a few houses, but also a lot of buildings with For Sale signs on them.
As she parked, Vaughn unlocked the front door.
“In here,” he said, leading her into the building. “This is my studio. It’s actually where I was living before I moved into the house.”
Inside the door was a small waiting area with a counter. There was a fold-out couch and a chair in the waiting area, and a few photographs put up on the walls. Thick, dark curtains were in front of all the windows, blocking out the sun. There was a door off to the side, which Vaughn told her led to a bathroom, and another door behind the counter, which led to his dark room. He explained that the building had been unused for years before he bought it.
“It’s nice,” Kit said, looking around the room. She still didn’t understand why she was here. Did he want to show her the photographs?
“I want to help,” he explained. “I know you’re trying, but you can’t do much in your room. You have no access to earth, and you can’t risk setting the house on fire or starting a flood in your room.”
“So what are you proposing?” she asked.
He walked over to the counter and picked up a bucket. Walking to the centre of the room, he upended the bucket, dumping a pile of earth onto the floor. “I bought this building when I first moved here, so it’s mine to do what I wish. It’s also private. I don’t care what happens in this front area as long as you try not to destroy my dark room.”
Kit didn’t know what to say. He was offering her his studio not only to practice in but also to destroy. “Are you sure?”
He nodded. “You made me promise that I won’t tell anyone, but I can’t sit back and do nothing. You need a place to practice and I have a place. It makes sense.”
She was speechless. He was doing this for her, even after she’d blackmailed him into keeping her secret.
“Vaughn, I’ve been such a jerk to you. I don’t deserve your help.”
“You do deserve it,” he said. “Besides, I have no idea how hard it must be for you to live with that kind of secret. I want to help you and give you a place where you don’t have keep secrets.”
“But what if I burn your studio down?”
He shrugged. “I’ll buy insurance first thing tomorrow.”
In spite of her conflicting emotions, Kit laughed. “Vaughn, I…” She looked up into his white eyes. “I know that I ruined it all before, and I want to say that I’m sorry.”
“What are you talking about?”
“In my room. I never explained why I pushed you away.” She looked down at her hands. “It’s because of my Tattoos. The one for Ice is on my stomach and I couldn’t risk you seeing it, so I freaked out.”
“Considering how I reacted when I found out, I understand why.” Vaughn smiled. “I mean, at the time I wondered if it was because you would rather be with Nathan
.”
“What!? No!”
The horrified expression on her face made him laugh. “Sorry, that was a bad joke.”
She glared at him, but she couldn’t stay mad for long. “You know, that first time when we were out together, you asked me why I wore these bracelets. I was honest, but not one hundred percent honest.” She unhooked the bracelet from the left wrist and held her arm out to him.
He stared at the blue lines on her wrist. Even knowing what she was, he couldn’t believe that he was seeing a second Tattoo.
“This is a safe space, right?” she asked softly. “No secrets?”
He nodded. “No secrets.”
They looked at each other for a few seconds, and then suddenly they were in each other’s arms.
Moonlight filtered in through gaps in the curtains. There were no lights on in the room, but Kit’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness long ago.
“You know, I saw you at the museum,” she said. “During the opening.”
“Did you?” Vaughn smiled. “And what did you think of me?”
Her smile grew wider. “I thought that you were attractive, but that you were probably the type of guy who took art way too seriously.”
He took her hand and intertwined his fingers in hers. “Well, you had me all figured out.”
“What was your first impression of me?” she asked.
“Well, I also thought that you were attractive. You seemed nice, but also really shy. I wanted to get to know you better.”
She laughed. “You had no idea how much trouble I was going to cause you.”
“Some people are worth the trouble.”
She couldn’t help but kiss him. Kit had no idea that she could feel this happy. She’d been so guarded ever since her 21st birthday and had never imagined being able to be this intimate with anyone. She couldn’t get enough of him, the feel of his body next to hers, the taste of his lips… She wanted to stay in this moment forever.
“I’m sorry I distracted you from your training,” he said. “That wasn’t my intention when I brought you here.”
“I’ll forgive you, I guess,” she teased. Immediately she realized that there was a lot that he was going to have to forgive her for. Did she deserve his forgiveness?
“You’ve gone all serious on me,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry. For everything. For forcing you to keep my secret and for threatening to run away.”
He brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I’m not happy about it, but I said I’d keep your secret and I will. Provided that you keep your word about telling them once you’re stronger, and that you keep trying to get stronger.”
“Then I should probably get back to training,” she said.
Neither of them moved. Kit had the feeling that if she were to move away from Vaughn, then the moment would end and they’d never be able to get it back. It was a pessimistic thought – surely they’d be able to sneak away again from the others – but now that she had him, she didn’t want to risk letting him go.
“Oh no,” she sighed. The others… “What time is it?”
Vaughn looked over at the clock, squinting in the darkness. “I think it’s midnight.”
“I have to get back to the house.” She frowned. It was okay for Vaughn to be out all night – he’d done it many times before – but the others would be suspicious that she’d been gone for so long.
“All good things…” Vaugh trailed off. He kissed her again and she wrapped her arms around him tightly, not wanting to let go.
“Kit, it’s Friday night! You have to go out!”
“I don’t have to do anything,” Kit said. Bryanna had spent the last ten minutes trying to convince Kit that tonight was the perfect night to go out to a club. Kit knew that she should be training, but she had also spent every night locking herself away in her room and going out sounded like a refreshing change.
“You should go out. You should have some fun. You’ve been working all day and shutting yourself away all night. And then yesterday you had to go back to work for some stupid overtime project until way too late in the evening. You need a break.”
“But I’m too tired to go dancing,” she countered. She really should be practicing tonight. Last night she hadn’t trained at all. The memory of what had happened brought a smile to her face, but she quickly hid it.
“Then have some really strong tea. You can change your clothes while I make you a cup.”
Kit had to smile at Bryanna. She could be relentless when it came to going out.
“Are you saying that I’m not dressed appropriately?” Kit baited her.
Bryanna smiled. “Of course I am. Let me loan you something sexy.”
“I’d be afraid to wear whatever you’d loan me.”
Bryanna laughed. “Fine, you can wear whatever you want, just agree to come out. This past week has been so stupid, and we need to get out and have a good time. Nathan’s not going to show up, since his face is plastered everywhere and the cops are looking for him. We need to forget about Tecken for one night and just pretend that we’re normal girls who like to go dancing.”
Kit was starting to bend. It would be nice to pretend to be normal.
“Are you sure you don’t want to ask Cale?” she asked, as a last ditch effort.
Bryanna scoffed. “Please, Kit. You should know better. Cale is a terrible dancer.”
“Fine,” Kit said, giving in. “I’ll change into something more appropriate and meet you downstairs in ten minutes. But if I get bored or tired, I’m leaving.”
Bryanna squealed in delight and bounced downstairs.
Shutting the door, Kit tried to think of what to wear to a club. Anything she wore was going to overheat her, but she had to cover up her Tattoos properly.
She stared at her closet for five minutes before making her decision. In the back of her closet was the dark blue dress that she’d worn to the museum opening. Since then it had hung in the closet, out of sight. Surely Bryanna would consider that appropriate.
“You’ve got four minutes!” Bryanna’s voice called out.
Kit quickly changed. Before leaving her room, she checked to make sure that her bracelets were secure and that she was completely covered.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Bryanna said, looking at Kit’s ensemble. “Although you have to lose the leggings.”
“Or I could lose the whole outfit and stay home,” Kit threatened.
“Forget what I said. Let’s get going!”
On their way out of the house, they ran into Vaughn. He had just parked his motorcycle in the driveway and was walking up the driveway.
“Where are you two going?” he asked.
“We’re going dancing, so that Kit can learn how to have fun.”
“Good luck with that.”
“Maybe you should join us,” Kit teased.
“No way,” Vaughn laughed. “I’m a fighter, not a dancer.”
He smiled at her and she couldn’t help returning it. Bryanna was walking to the El-car and didn’t notice the look.
“Have fun tonight,” he said. “But not too much fun.”
“I make no promises.”
Bryanna was waiting impatiently. “Let’s go, Kit!”
She smiled again and got into her El-car.
“You should drink something,” Bryanna advised.
Kit shook her head. “I’m driving.”
“We can get a taxi. Or we can call Cale.” Bryanna looked at her intensely. “Drink something.”
“No way, Bry. Bad things happen when I drink.”
The music in the club was so loud that they had to shout at each other. There were tables and chairs at the front of the bar, near the counter, and the dance floor was at the back. About half of the tables were full, while the dance floor was almost packed.
Kit had danced with Bryanna for six songs before saying that she needed a break and a drink. Bryanna had ordered a Blazing Fire, which consisted of vodka and s
omething red. When Kit ordered water, Bryanna shot her a disapproving look.
Looking at the dance floor, Bryanna downed half of her drink. “If I can’t convince you to drink, can I convince you to dance some more?”
“In a minute. I need a bit of a breather.”
“Really?”
“One more song, then I’ll be good to go again.”
“Fine.” They located an empty table and sat down. “So, did you really have to work late last night?” Bryanna asked.
“Yup,” she lied.
“That sucks.”
Kit wondered if Bryanna suspected something. Last night she hadn’t returned home until after midnight. Vaughn stayed out later, so that they wouldn’t get back at the same time. Did Bryanna notice what had passed between Vaughn and her at the door? Did she suspect that the two of the might have spent the night together? Kit wanted to talk to Bryanna about what had happened, especially since she had a feeling that Bryanna would be happy for her, but she couldn’t – not without telling her everything.
Her secrets were getting tougher and tougher to keep. Kit suddenly felt guilty for not practicing tonight. She should be working on her elements, not having fun at a bar.
A petite young woman with bright yellow hair and yellow eyes approached the table.
“Can I ask why you girls aren’t dancing?” she asked, smiling at the two of them. “Perhaps you’re in need of a partner?”
Bryanna stared at Kit and Kit understood immediately. She nodded.
“Are you asking?” Bryanna flirted.
“Only if you’re agreeing.”
Bryanna stood up and the two of them walked towards the dance floor.
Kit couldn’t help smiling. Bryanna never had any trouble finding someone to be with. Perhaps this was a sign that she could slip out. If Bryanna still wanted to dance with this girl after one song, then Kit could make an excuse and leave.
“Can I buy you a drink?”
She looked over at the man who had spoken. He had shaggy dark green hair and grey eyes. There was a white Ice Tattoo on the back of his left hand.