by Leyton, Bisi
“The ace of spades. Enric also carries one of these around. His is the nine of spades.” She reached for his faycard. “What does it mean?”
He put the card in his pocket before she could touch it. “It is lucky.”
“So, what is your name? You real name?”
“No, I cannot tell you my name. You can guess if you want, and I will give you a clue.”
“A clue? To guess a name from another language?” she retorted while looking amused. “Okay.”
“It will take me three hours to say it, and it would get you into a lot of trouble,” he teased. He found that he liked the banter with her.
“Trouble? What kind of trouble?”
“You do not want to know.” The corner of his lips curled up.
Suddenly, Wisteria looked uncomfortable and she tugged the top of her dress up and muttered something.
Bach could tell that she was becoming self-conscious because of him. Well, that was good, she’d often invoked feelings that he was not comfortable with.
“The four of you? You are from the same family?” she asked. “Enric, Piper—”
“Piper is not one of us,” he cut in sharply. “She is Terran like you.”
Wisteria flinched at Bach’s last statement. “Don’t call me Terran, please?”
“But that is what you are.”
“I don’t know what a Terran does, but it sounds a lot like a mud person or something and I’m not that. And I don’t want you calling me that.”
“We have called your people Terran for centuries.”
“I don’t care,” she stated firmly. “You don’t like being called different and I don’t want to be called Terran.”
“Sorry.”
Wisteria nodded. After a short pause she asked, “And that’s why the flesh eaters don’t bother you the way they do people? Because you’re not human?”
“Normally, I can sense and influence the biters to stay away from me. The poison in me made it hard to keep them all way,” he explained.
“So, you know where all the biters are around here? At any given time you can sense them?”
“Unless I am distracted by other things. There are always infected around and I am used to their constant buzz.”
“Are we safe here?”
He nodded.
Wisteria looked troubled and she frowned.
“What?” This should have been good news to her.
“This will sound strange to you, but I’m not crazy. We’ve met before haven’t we?” She sounded puzzled.
Bach froze. Yes. And he knew right then, that he wanted to kiss her.
“I think you burnt my arm with your pulse when we were little.” She showed him a scar on her shoulder.
“You remember me, too?”
“Too? You did know me then?” she asked while looking bewildered.
Without giving an answer, he examined the dark mark on her skin. “I’m surprised there is a scar. Something must have gone wrong.”
The scar looked as if a child had held on to her arm and tried to renew her by force. The Family’s children don’t have that kind of strength. He knew if he’d even tried something so dangerous it would probably end up killing both him and the Thayn.
“Bach, do you know me?”
“No, I do not Wisteria. You simply remind of someone.” Admitting that her image echoed in his mind was uncomfortable for him. “Very, much so.” Maybe that was true, he thought. It would explain his strange feelings for her.
“Who?” Searching his eyes for the truth, she grabbed his shoulder. “You’re lying to me. Ow! You shocked me.” She smacked his blue tipped fingers away from her torso.
“What?” He raised his hands. “My hand slipped. Sorry.” He rolled his eyes while teasing her again.
“Very funny!”
To his happiness, she laughed. He loved the sound of it and was glad that he had brought it from her.
“You said it wouldn’t hurt.”
“That was a different light. This one stings a bit.” He reached to touch her. “The healing light does not hurt. This light does. Can I demonstrate the difference?”
“Hey, get your hands away from me!” She laughed while forcing him back. “I saved your life. You owe me.”
“You seemed like you wanted to know. You had so many questions. I’m just trying to help,” he joked.
“Yeah, but you could just tell me. Stop, we can’t hear Garfield, anymore.” She cried in laughter as he tried to touch her face and she attempted to open her door with her foot.
“So, you are done with your questions?” he taunted, holding the door closed.
“Bach, wait!” She stopped moving; her voice had turned serious.
Looking around, he saw that he’d practically climbed on top of her to stop her from leaving. He was shocked by this. He’d never willing or intentionally touched a free Terran before.
“You’re heavy.” Nervously, she fidgeted, while straightening out her hair and clothing. “Maybe we should…” She bit her bottom lip hard.
Not thinking, he gently tugged her lip free of her teeth. He’d taken note of the endearing habit and he adored it as well. Once it was free, he rested his thumb on her bottom lip. Her plump lips reminded him of a juicy burnfruit that needed to be eaten. Terran, dirt people, echoed angrily in his mind, causing him to recoil. How could he descend as low as kissing a Terran? That was truly disgusting.
“We…” Wisteria looked troubled.
Fixing his hands firmly on the steering wheel, he faced the road ahead. This was going too far, he must resist. He must keep his distance for both their sakes.
* * * * *
What the hell is the matter with you, Wisteria? Is this really your priority right now? Scolding herself, she was grateful the awkward moment had passed. Getting carried away like that was idiotic. Sure, the guy seemed to have gotten a sense of humor and was incredibly hot, but she didn’t really know him. He’d always been rude and moody at best, and here she was, hoping he’d kiss her and feeling rejected when he didn’t. Wisteria, get a grip. And why would he even want to? She wasn’t the kind of girl that boys went for.
“Where’s Garfield?” Breaking the uncomfortable silence, she noted they hadn’t seen him in a while. “I’ll go and look for him.”
“Stay in the car.” Giving her an unsettling look, he left.
For good measure, she locked herself in and took hold of her sword. Then, she waited and waited, but after more than ten minutes, no one showed up. Sweat started forming along her palms, and her hands started trembling. It wasn’t unusual for her to lose someone within seconds. Then, there were times when you’d have to make the decision to leave without them.
The car was in good condition and he’d left the keys in the ignition, so—then she saw Bach return, but he came alone. Alighting from the vehicle, she went up to him. “Where is he?”
“Gone.” He took her arm and ushered her to the SUV. “He ran into one of the infected. I am sorry.”
“What? Why didn’t we hear anything?”
“We have to go,” he said calmly.
“No, no.” Refusing to move, she studied his emotionless face.
After staring at her blankly for a second, Bach turned and walked away, apparently undisturbed by this horrible revelation. “Hurry.”
“You don’t even care. How could you let anything happen to him?” she demanded as she grabbed his arm angrily. “If you could sense the biters, why didn’t you warn him? You should’ve done something!”
“Can you let go of me?”
“Did you—cure him?”
“Cure?” This question appeared to surprise him as his green eyes darkened. “You mean did I shoot your friend? No. I tied him up on a tree.” Getting behind the wheel, he started the engine. “He will be fine for about five to ten years.”
“I shouldn’t have let him go alone. He helped us. We’d both be dead if Garfield hadn’t been there.”
“We are leaving. The in
fected do not travel alone.”
“I want to see him!” she demanded. Garfield had been a friend to her and she couldn’t just leave him here.
“No, because then I will have to worry about protecting you and while we are sightseeing, someone might steal this car. Then you might expect me to carry you back to your island. We need to go now.”
The words cut right through her heart because they were cold and unfeeling, but right. But she was going to see Garfield anyway. Spinning around to face the direction the boy had gone, she was startled to see Bach standing inches in front of her. “Why did you let this happen? You said you could sense the biters. Why didn’t you stop them?” She was crying.
“This is not my fault.” He grabbed her shoulders. “It just happened, but I do not get why you are determined to go back there and die with him.”
Wisteria stopped crying and suddenly she was clenching onto her sword.
“Ugh,” a biter growled. It was Garfield. The flesher shuffled forward. He looked more or less normal, but his eyes were dead looking.
“You said you tied him up!” she shrieked. Bach had lied to her. Running back to the SUV, she picked up the nearest gun and aimed at Garfield’s head. Curing someone she cared about was hard and she’d never done it before. She hesitated, as the biter that was now her friend ambled toward her.
“Wisteria, wait.” Bach lifted her hand up as she squeezed the trigger and the gun clicked in the air.
Before she could respond, she heard laughter.
“You never use a gun!” Garfield exclaimed jovially, seeming to be in full control of his mind. “You’ll attract the biters from miles around.”
“You were just joking? Are you mad?” Scowling at both boys, she couldn’t believe this.
“I wanted to see if you cared,” Garfield teased. “Come on, it’s a little funny.”
“He wanted to see if you would try to put him down. I told him you would,” Bach added.
They might’ve found the joke funny, but Wisteria was more upset now than ever. The thought of losing someone—anyone—still hurt, even though she barely knew him. Attempting to get a hold of her emotions, she closed her eyes.
“You don’t ever pretend. What if Bach hadn’t been fast enough to stop me from shooting you in the head?” she stated sternly.
“It wasn’t loaded.” Taking the weapon, Garfield pulled the trigger and the gun clicked. “It’s a toy. Good for scaring off opportunists.”
“You’re an idiot.” She hugged Garfield with relief, but she still couldn’t believe that Bach would actually pull a joke on her, it was so unlike him. She needed to be careful around him even more now. He was unpredictable and that was something she didn’t need when she considered the erratic life she was already living.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Wisteria.” Someone was shaking her.
Opening her eyes, she was pleased to see it was Bach. Until she reminded herself she was being foolish about him.
“Are you okay?”
The tenderness in his voice was a little surprising to her. If she was a dumber person, she might believe he was worried, but since he hadn’t said a word to her since Garfield returned, she knew that couldn’t be true. Most likely, he felt embarrassed about getting too close to her earlier or showing that he could laugh and be more—human or something. “Where are we?” She peered out of the car window.
The SUV had stopped again, but this time they were in front of an incredible mansion. The grounds were green and lush, but well-cultivated. In the distance, she saw the sea and that meant the house was on a cliff. This definitely wasn’t London.
“Nice.” Garfield beamed as he gaped at the magnificent buidling.
“This way,” Bach informed them and moved toward the house.
The pair followed him.
The doors of the house opened and Enric emerged with an enormous grin. “Bach! What happened to you?”
“We ran into some trouble,” Bach replied as Enric came to meet him.
“Glad to have you back, man. The Family was going to send empirics here to find you. We are going to drink so much sandwine tonight, you will not believe it!”
“Where are Felip and your Ter…?” Bach halted while looking back at Wisteria. “Your friend?”
Enric embraced Bach, but his excitement vanished when he spotted Wisteria. “Felip is inside.” Enric leered. “I see you have brought back two friends.”
The way he said that word sent a shiver down her spine.
“Do you understand what they’re saying?” Garfield asked her.
“Yes, parts.”But why she understood them, she didn’t know, since Enric and Bach weren’t speaking English.
“Who are you?” Enric asked Garfield in English.
“Garfield, and I’m just getting a lift. Don’t need to worry about me,” he gulped while staring nervously at the very tall Enric.
Enric sniggered and turned to Bach. The Famila boys exchanged words in their dialect, but she could make out parts about Felip’s health.
“Is something wrong with Felip?” she asked without thinking.
No one answered. Instead, Bach rushed toward the house and was about to leave Wisteria and Garfield standing outside with unhappy Enric.
“Wait!” Enric blocked his path. “First, we must settle what actually happened. We know how the Red Phoenix found us.”
“What? How?” Bach asked.
Enric nodded in Wisteria’s direction.
“Enric, what are you saying?” Bach glanced at her, then back at his friend.
“Ask your Terran what she did before you renewed her,” Enric suggested.
“She tried to kill Enric.” Piper bolted out of the house, holding a rifle.
“Put it down, Piper. Bach must have renewed her by now.” Enric grimaced. “That is the only reason I did not shoot the animal when she got out of the car.”
“She’s still tricky.” The unstable girl jabbed Wisteria with the weapon.
“Don’t point that at me!” Wisteria stepped back.
“Piper.” Bach grabbed the barrel of the gun. “Give that to me. You will injure someone.”
Nervously, Piper glanced at Wisteria, Bach, and then at Enric. Enric shook his head, so she didn’t let go.
“She brought those people here,” Piper shouted. “We know she brought those killers into our home.”
“Stop, before you hurt someone.” Bach seized the weapon out of her hands.
She staggered back and produced a handgun.
“Tell him, tell him you did this!” Piper screamed.
“Enric shut her up now!” Bach ordered. “Enric, if your friend hurts Wisteria, there will be blood to pay.”
“She’s lying,” Piper protested as Enric tried to muffle her and disarm her.
“How the hell could I bring those people?” Wisteria inched to the SUV, but was stopped by the tall, cold body of Enric.
“How else would they know where to come?” Enric grabbed Wisteria’s shoulders.
“I don’t know,” Wisteria stated passionately. “Maybe they’re like you. Different, and they could sense you or something,”
“Different?” Bach echoed.
“D’cara, animal.” Enric charged at her and she stumbled back to the ground. “You did not care how different we were when Bach saved your life.”
“Enric, stop!” Bach ordered.
“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean it like that. You’re all really special,” she tried to explain as Garfield helped her to her feet.
“Shut up, Terran!” Enric sneered as he stormed over to her. “Well, it was really special of you to bring Red Phoenix here with your GPS tracking.” Producing a pink mobile phone, he gave it to Bach.
“We do not use this technology, Wisteria.” Bewildered, Bach examined the phone. “This is not ours.”
“That isn’t mine. I’ve not used a phone in about three years. Maybe they dropped it. I don’t know,” she maintained.
“I do not
care about what you are saying or your lies. Tell them to the infected you meet on the street tonight,” Enric seethed.
“No.” Wisteria was distraught at the notion of being thrown out to face the biters on her own. “I didn’t do anything. Bach, don’t you believe me?” Facing him, she saw him staring at her with great disdain. “Please, you can’t believe them!” She moved toward him, but he moved away.
“I do not know what to believe,” he replied.
“Do you doubt me? Over an animal?” Enric was practically screaming. “Please, do not tell us you have allowed the Terran to pollute your mind. How come you have not renewed her, Bach? Did the Terran trick you?”
Enric’s words seemed to hit their mark and Wisteria saw Bach’s expression become hard. She knew referring to him as different again had only made things worse.
The group waited as Bach thought, but he didn’t speak, he just shook his head.
“Bach,” Wisteria whispered.
“Shut up!” Enric grabbed Wisteria and threw her to ground.
“Hey!” Garfield protested.
“Touch her, Terran, and I will break your neck,” the big boy warned.
“I saved your life!” she angrily reminded Bach.
“You saved his life? You wish, Terran.” Enric stepped up to Wisteria and grabbed her by the hair. “Bach, she needs to go now. Either shoot her, send her out, or I will deal with her.”
She scratched and crawled at Enric’s hands to make him let go, but she had no effect.
“Enric.” Bach seized his friend’s hands and took them off Wisteria. “Enough.” He shoved the bigger boy aside.
“Qwaynide fool,” screamed Enric as he fell.
“Are you all right?” Bach asked quietly as Wisteria got up.
“I see you are back.” Felip appeared at the front door. Breathing heavily, he was so pale, almost like a ghost.
“He’s a biter!” Garfield drew a gun at Felip.
“We do not have your diseases.” Before Garfield could fire, Enric had the weapon dismantled and then tossed the pieces to the side, grabbing Garfield’s throat. “Try that again and you will regret it.”