A Touch of Fire (Meridian Island Book 1)

by Jennie Dah

  “An honor for who?” I ask drily giving him an unimpressed look. He moves closer and with everything in me I shoot a fire ball at his face and he flies across the room slamming into the same wall I’d been up against only a few days ago. I don’t have much time to get Nicholas out of here but I can still try.

  I glimpse the device that Dr. Snow had been holding and run to grab it off the floor my muscles protesting my movements. I put it in Nick’s pocket and heave him off the bed.

  This being super thing really comes in handy. If only I had teleportation powers I could just poof him to somewhere safe and lead this fucking insane guy away from him. I need someone I can trust.

  Nicholas’s friends but I don’t even know how to do that telepathy thing. I’ve only ever tried with Nicholas and that hadn’t been on purpose.

  ‘Conscience!’

  I’m met with total silence and my heart drops to my feet. I can’t do this if I don’t have her in my head. I’ve never done anything without her before and I start to hyperventilate at the thought of not knowing what’ll happen next.

  I heave Nick up and drag him out of the room. I follow the directions conscience gave me the last time grateful for my ability to remember directions. We haven’t even reached anywhere when I trip over my feet and send us both tumbling to the floor.

  Oh my God, I can’t do this. I move to sit up with my back against the wall with Nicholas’s head in my lap.

  I gently brush the hair away from his face my heart tightening at the predicament we are in. We wouldn’t be here in the first place if he’d never met me. I need to get Nicholas to safety.

  Michael!

  He should be able to help. But how do I get him here without leaving Nicholas behind. I can send him a telepathic message which is a really great idea but completely useless since I don’t how it works. Nick managed to do it the other day with Stella so maybe I can try with Michael too.

  If only I can figure out how the telepathy thing works. I’m so tired but I at least need to try, for him. With Nick I hadn’t even been trying to speak to him but it happened so maybe if I concentrate hard enough I might be able to reach Michael. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

  ‘Michael.’

  My panic increases when I don’t hear anything but silence. No. No, I need to get Nicholas to safety.

  ‘MICHAEL!!’ I scream in desperation. Tears fill my eyes when I’m met with silence again and leak down my face. If only I had teleportation powers instead of shooting fire balls out of my hands.

  ‘Celia?’ I still at the voice in my head. It feels strange. Not like when I talk to Nick. With Nick it’s like he’s been in my head forever but this one is distant, like I’m on the phone.

  ‘Hello?’ I whisper tentatively wiping tears from my face with hope blooming in my chest.

  ‘Celia, you’re awake. How are you?’

  ‘I’m fine but I need your help right now,’ I say desperately looking around at the changing space. I don’t even know where I am anymore.

  ‘Hey, calm down. What’s going on? Where’s Nicholas?’

  ‘He's unconscious and we’re down in the tunnels in the Castle that leads to the back door,’ I sniffle blowing my nose into the collar of my shirt.

  ‘I’m on my way,’ it sounds like he’s running. ‘Why is Nicholas unconscious?’

  ‘He’s been injected with some kind of green liquid. I just need you to come get him.’

  I wish he’d just poof off to wherever Michael is right now because I don’t feel comfortable leaving him here in this weak state. I scream when Nick just fades out and then poof, he’s gone. I scramble off the floor and look around for him but he’s not here.

  ‘Celia?’

  ‘What?’ I cry desperately looking around.

  ‘Nicholas is here,’ he says carefully. ‘On my front porch.’

  ‘Huh?’

  I did it? I sag relieved that he’s somewhere safe. My stomach twists in fear when I hear heavy footsteps stomping my way, these guys aren’t even trying to be quiet.

  ‘Where are you? I’ll send Charlie to come get you,’ he says distractedly.

  Oh hell no, there’s no way I’m going to endanger one of Nick’s friends. He’s already hurt because of me and I’ll be damned before someone else gets dragged into this mess. I should have left when I had the chance but I didn’t because for once I wanted to be selfish and have something for my own.

  ‘Don’t worry about me. Just make sure Nicholas is okay.’

  ‘Celia wherever you are just stay there, okay. Nicholas will kill me if anything happens to you,’ he says pleadingly desperation bleeding through his voice.

  ‘Just take care of him.’

  I brush off my jeans and head back to the hospital section of the Castle hopefully I’ll lead Dr. Maniac away from my friends, hopefully without getting killed.

  I really should wait here for Charlie or run as fast as I can but I can’t put him in danger too if Dr. Maniac should catch up to me. I’ve seen how this things end in movies. I turn around and start back to where I came from.

  This is really stupid but I never said I was smart. I round the corner and slam head first into a beefy chest. I scrunch my nose at the foul stench emanating from whoever grabs onto my arms.

  I wince at the punishing grip and look at the person holding me. With his mashed in face, big flaring nose and thin lips, he looks like one of those dogs that are so ugly they’re cute. No that’s an insult to those sweet dogs. This guy is just plain ugly. Must be a goblin or a troll.

  “What dead thing did you steal your clothes from buddy?” I ask in disgust my nose screwing up.

  “Shut up if you don’t want me to rip your arm off,” he hisses. Oh, one of the guys in the hall from a few days ago.

  “You harm her and the Count will make you pay in ways you won’t believe,” his friend warns. So this guy is Gruffy. At least this one has some sense in his big head. “Come on, let’s go before they come looking for her.”

  “Where’s the doctor?” Ugly asks jerking me forward. Gruffy takes up the rear and I’m dragged down the hall to the back door.

  “He’s waiting with the boat,” he says looking around. “Now come on before it’s too late.”

  “Gentlemen, wait. You can’t really expect me to just walk off with you willingly do you?” I ask in indignation and cry out when he digs his fingers in my arm. “Obviously you think so.”

  How does this fire power even work? I remember bits and pieces of where I’ve been but not one memory on how to use this fire thing.

  Oh. It’s new apparently, if what Dr. Snow said is to believed. Curse my rotten luck. I wonder how Nicholas is doing? I still can’t get the look of the devastation on his face as he lost consciousness. I hope he doesn’t think he failed me.

  I just want a normal life. Is that too hard for people to understand? I hate complications. We make it outside and I’m surprised to see it’s already dark outside. How long have I been out of it?

  They drag me around the building towards the long winding road that I thought was a driveway the other night before we finally come to a clearing and I feel sand squish between my toes.

  I hear waves crushing on the shore and then suddenly my vision goes hazy then clears and I gasps in awe at how clear everything is. I can see in the dark as clearly as I can when the sun is up. My hearing has been sharpened too, so has my sense of smell. I gag as the stench coming from Ugly intensifies, my stomach roiling. They drag me to the very edge of the water and then I see it. It shimmers in and out before it becomes clear.

  “Bring her on board and hurry the fuck up, will you?” Dr. Gideon snaps. He glares at me snarling. I roll my eyes satisfaction rolling through me at the soot on the collar of his shirt. My blood heats as I remember him shoving that syringe in Nicholas’s neck. I growl the heat consuming me and I embrace it.

  “Ahhh!” the shout is followed by the thump of flesh hitting metal. The grip on my arms disappear and with everything in
me which isn’t much at this point I create a fireball the size of my head but it sizzles out, black smoke seeping from my soot covered hand and I feel a pinch in the back of my neck. I grab my neck and sway to the side my vision going hazy and then everything goes dark.

  ‘Find me,’ I whisper to the dark night trying to keep my eyes open but I couldn’t fight it anymore and I give into oblivion.

  Chapter 14

  NICHOLAS

  I stare in disbelief as Celia flips through the air and lands perfectly back on her feet before kicking Arabella off her feet. I gape at the scene in front of me my mind refusing to believe it.

  I watch as she moves fluidly her movement graceful and precise and everyone gasps again as Arabella flips through the air and lands on her face. Again.

  How is she doing that? It’d have to have taken her years to be this good and skilled at kicking ass. Her expression hasn’t changed not since the fight began about fifteen minutes ago and my worry about Arabella kicking her ass finally flies out the window and I breathe in a shuddery breath pride and excitement rushing through me.

  ‘She’s a good one,’ Griff whispers and I feel his pride at seeing her like this. ‘Don’t do anything stupid.’

  ‘Get out of my head,’ I grumble and I feel him recede.

  “Where did she learn to fight like that?” Robbie gasps as Celia catches Arabella who comes flying at her and slams her on the ground easily before twisting her arm to an awkward angle eliciting a hair raising screech from Arabella.

  “Do you think she’d teach me?” Charlie asks and I shake my head at him. He’s the best fighter on the island and even he is impressed with her.

  My stomach knots painfully as the shield goes up signalling the round where they can finally use their various abilities. Arabella doesn’t waste anytime as she moves off the floor bloody and creates an energy ball the side of my head and shoots it at Celia who goes flying trough the air and I growl as she slams into the shield before sliding to the ground.

  She cries out in pain as Arabella hits her with another charged ball and I fly out of my seat to get to her but Michael clamps a hand down on my shoulder before I can go down there. I’d teleport but my mind is a mess right now and there’s a chance I might teleport to Brazil in my current unstable state.

  “Let me go,” I grunt jerking out of his hold but the others join in and I try desperately to go to her as she curls into a ball clutching her midsection.

  My heart breaks as her tearstained face locks on mine and I fight even harder to go to her but their grip on me gets tighter and I feel Griff rise to the surface when she rolls of the ground and staggers to the side.

  I almost succeed in breaking out of their hold when an intense wave of hot air rushes throughout the arena and I won’t lie I wasn’t expecting what happened next.

  I gasp along with the crowd as her hands burst into flames her skin glowing a soft fiery red and then the tips of her hair also catches fire but it doesn’t appear to be hurting her.

  She looks at me her brows wrinkling in confusion and for a second I swear I see her eyes flash that cat green eyes with a ring of fire surrounding the irises before it’s gone again. She looks through the crowd before her gaze settles on a cowering Arabella.

  Her hand comes up and she shoots a flicker of fire in her direction and she shrieks scrambling away from her and then I calm a little as I watch my mate take back the reigns and before I know it, Arabella is engulfed in a stream of flames thrashing around but the fire won’t go out.

  Griff hums in satisfaction watching her hurt the very same being he’d wanted to rip apart himself. He finally moves back below the surface and I relax, the hands holding onto me earlier going slack. I look at them taking in their slacked jawed expressions and I couldn’t help but feel prouder in that moment.

  She finally got her powers.

  “She-e isss o-on—”

  “Fire,” Logan finishes for Charlie in a whisper.

  “Nicholas!” I jerk at Michael’s frantic tone and turn to him in alarm but his eyes are focused in the ring and I look too.

  My heart almost stops on me when I see a stream of black smoke rise from Celia’s hand and wraps around her head and then disappears the next instant.

  She tips to the side and her eyes roll into the back of her head and I teleport down there just in time to lift her off her feet before she can hit the floor.

  “Makafui?” Owen yells as he steps into the ring and falls to his knees in front of me as I lower her to the ground so he can look her over.

  He pales when he touches a finger to her pulse his eyes flying to my face and my heart slams painfully against my ribs beating a painfully agonizing rhythm when it hits me what he’s trying to say.

  “No, she’s fine,” I grit out shaking my head in denial and wrap my hand around her throat and I barely feel a pulse. “Hospital, I’m taking her to the hospital.”

  He understands what I’m trying to say and touches a hand to my arm just as I teleport her out of there. I lay her gingerly on the queen bed and tell myself not to think too much about how limps she’s is.

  “I need you to get out of here so I can work,” he rushes around doing God knows what and even though I don’t want to move away from her side I know I can’t be hard-headed right now. I take her limp hand and squeeze it in mine before placing a small kiss on her temple.

  “I’ll be right out, okay?” I whisper softly and then clear my throat when my voice cracks. “Just wake up soon and talk my ear off.”

  “Ahemm!!”

  I move over to the door and look at her once more before stepping out into the hall. A few seconds later and some nurses rushes into the room wheeling in some equipment and even though I want to badger them with questions I bite down on my fist and let them head inside.

  I pace the length of the hallway for a few minutes before my best friends come rushing in looking like they had to fight there way here.

  “How is she?” they asks at once breathing heavily and I shrug nodding at the closed door. They nod in understanding before settling down on the floor as if they plan to be there for a while.

  “What are guys doing?” I ask tiredly leaning against the wall.

  “What does it look like?” Robbie asks incredulous before shaking his head.

  “We’re waiting for some news that she’s okay,” Logan sighs nudging Robbie’s foot. “If that’s okay with you of course.”

  “Its fine,” I nod my eyes welling up with tears and I turn my back to them. “Thank you.”

  We stay silent for a while with Logan playing a game on his phone which helps my mind from wandering and I move to the floor with a tired sigh. When I’ve had enough of the waiting without any answers and I move off the floor ready to badge in there and check in on her myself, the door swings open and Owen steps out and a gust of extremely hot air follows behind him and I feel it sucking the moisture from my skin.

  “What the hell is that?” Michael grunts and everyone else gets to the feet.

  “She’s fine but she’s still not up yet,” he says cooling and I breathe in relief my insides finally unknotting.

  I push past him into the room ignoring his protests for me to leave her alone. I pull up the lone chair and sit beside her taking her hand in mine just as another hot gust of wind rushes through the room making it difficult to breathe. I rest my head on our joined hands and close my eyes just glad she’s going to be fine.

  The others come in and they stay for a while before they had to leave but I don’t leave my spot. It’s almost dark out when my stomach growls clenching painfully that I reluctantly let go of her had and head down to the dinning hall for a snack and maybe get some for her for when she finally wakes up.

  ******

  I pace the length of Michael’s living room growling at anyone who dares to try to calm me down. They don’t understand what I’m feeling right now, no one does.

  My kind mates for life. If your mate dies you live the rest of your life a
lone. There’s no chance you’ll fall in love with someone else and get a second chance at happiness. Your life becomes completely meaningless. I’ve watched it happen with my parents and I’m starting to understand why my father would choose to take his life and leave his little son behind. If anything happens to Celia, there’s no way I’m gonna live.

  “Come on, Nicholas. You need to calm down,” I hear Michael says from behind me. “We’ll find her.”

  I don’t even know what happened. One minute I was relieved Celia’s fine then the next I wake up on Michael’s couch surrounded by Robbie, Logan and Charlie.

  “They’re not on the island. They could be anywhere by now,” I growl.

  “And we’ll find them because you’re you and you have us,” he snaps.

  My beast has been going crazy ever since I woke up an hour ago. I’ve only been able to move my body about five minutes ago. Whatever Owen shot into my system must have been potent if it knocked me out. Because of the nature of my beast, you’ll need a tank full of tranquilizer to knock me unconscious.

  Gryphons are really quite stubborn on any normal day but when it comes to protecting their mates they’re downright impossible to control. I bite down hard on my fist pain racking through my heart when I don’t even feel even the faintest pulse from her.

  Griff claws at my insides trying to break free but only managing to cause us pain. I grit my teeth and forcefully push him out of my head so I can think clearly. I close my eyes and envision my psyche and a shot of fear slides down my spine. Her psyche is nothing but horrifying charred remains of what used to be the most beautiful light ever.

  What have they done to her? I fall to my knees in agony my insides twisting in despair.

  No, no, I can’t lose her. I look closer and the part of her psyche wrapped around mine pulses very faintly with light but barely.

  ‘Find me.’ I jerk at the faint whisper my heart starting to pound erratically.

  ‘Celia!’ I call out frantically but a bunch of images sail through my mind instead and I gasp. Trees. Lots and lots of trees. A mountain that is actually a portal to somewhere.