Seal of Light

by N. A. K. Baldron

  Once clothed again, the embarrassment took hold. She couldn’t look Lance in the face and felt uncomfortable when he looked at her.

  “What now?” she asked.

  “Money,” he said. “Is there money?”

  She looked in a side zipper and found a wallet.

  Lance stood up with Kandice’s shoulder for support. His wound hid under the bandage and shirt. It wasn’t showing any visible blood yet but it wouldn’t be long. Lance told her the bullet was still inside, slowing the bleeding.

  They walked up the ramp that led to the street, avoiding shards of glass from the litany of broken beer bottles on the ground. Kandice stepped on a sharp rock and yelled out, and Lance snickered at her.

  “That’s not funny,” she said.

  “It is when I have a bullet in my arm. Try to hail a cab. I can stand for a moment.”

  She raised out her hand at a cab coming up to the street light. It stopped, and Kandice helped Lance in, then handed him the bags.

  “Where you going?” the cab driver asked, once Kandice got in.

  Lance explained where they had left their car. When they got to the parking lot, the fair was a little over twelve dollars.

  “Give him a full twenty,” Lance whispered.

  She did, and the cab driver thanked Kandice several times as Lance got out.

  “Cab drivers forget any passenger that tips well,” Lance said, as the cab drove away.

  “Look under the back passenger wheel,” Lance said. “Small box.”

  Kandice found what he was describing and popped the box open. There was a key to the SUV inside.

  “You have to drive,” he said.

  “I haven't driven a car since my driving test.”

  “No time like the present. It's like riding a bike.”

  Lance leaned his chair back and rolled to his good arm while cradling the injured one. He walked her through the basics, and told her not to worry, it was easy. She hit a pole backing out. Lance only laughed and said it would be fine.

  Kandice got on the highway without hitting anyone, or worse, getting pulled over. Her driving must have looked like a drunk driver, but at least it wouldn’t be the only unstable vehicle on the road at that hour. She drove in the far-right lane the whole way, with cars passing her as if she was standing still, blaring their horns. The large vehicle made her uneasy, she tried to stay focused on the road. Lance bleeding out next to her was just too much to let her mind stray to. They just had to get home and everything would be ok.

  Chapter Nine

  Saturday, September 10th

  Around 2:00 AM Kandice pulled into Lance’s driveway. She took a deep breath. Driving had been a wreck on her nerves.

  Lance’s eyes sagged. There was blood running down his shoulder along his arm.

  She left the SUV and ran to the front door.

  Slava opened the door before she had the chance to knock. “What’s wrong?”

  “Lance-” But before she could finish the sentence, Slava pushed past her to get to the SUV.

  He still wasn’t fully healed, but that didn’t stop him from opening the passenger door and trying to carry Lance alone. Kandice picked up Lance’s feet and helped carry him into the living room.

  Yet another person bled out on the floor of her old house, it was too much to take. Slava removed the bullet with a knife and spoon, with her help. She remembered what to grab from the bathroom without being asked. Still, knowing what to do didn’t make it any easier. Somewhere between applying the vodka bandage and getting the metal sheet on his skin, Lance lost consciousness and wouldn’t respond. Slava tried slapping his face, but Lance’s body was limp, and his head just jostled.

  Tears pour onto her cheeks, her emotions tried to take control, but she swallowed them down. Slava looked at her, but said nothing. She kept focused, and they worked without saying a word to each other. Once they bandaged Lance’s arm, and the bleeding seemed to have slowed, they moved him onto the sectional and propped him up.

  “Will he be okay?” Kandice asked.

  “If I lived, he’ll be fine,” Slava said. “In fact, he should wake up in the morning.”

  “What?” she asked, almost yelling.

  "Yes. Gun wounds are easy to heal. I had Aether Walker venom in me."

  Kandice laughed. In her mind, Lance was dying. Everything seemed easier now knowing he'd live. No wonder Lance maintained a level head and got them back safe without complained. He'd known he would be okay.

  “How often do you have to heal each other, then?” she asked.

  “At least once a month,” Slava said. “We have never been hurt so close together since we stopped changing together.”

  Kandice fell down into an armchair. It was weird to sit somewhere different. It felt out of place, the change of view threw off her sense of home. A few moments later, Slava handed her a glass of vodka. She gulped it down in two swallows and asked for more. Slava poured her and even larger helping, and she took a sip before placing the glass next to her on an end table. To some degree it was becoming clear why they drank. The burn in her throat helped numb the pain in her chest.

  “You look tired,” Slava said. “I can watch him tonight.”

  There was no way for her to fall asleep at this point. Her heart still raced, with each glance over at Lance. It was easier to focus on Slava or the new view of the living room. They each took a drink of their vodka.

  “Is there anything else we should be doing?” Kandice asked.

  “No,” Slava said. “His wounds will heal with time.”

  “He was amazing. I didn’t know how strong and fast he could be.”

  “Yes. Lance is one of the best changers our family has ever had.”

  “If he didn’t have to protect me, he wouldn’t have gotten shot. I know you’ve said no, but…”

  “The answer is still no,” he said. “The only person who can train you, is Lance. He does not want you to get hurt.”

  “I could have died,” she said. “If he hadn’t been there, or reacted in time. I could have been the one shot.”

  “Trust me. You were never in danger. Lance would die before he let you get hurt.”

  Kandice took another sip of vodka. “How can you be so sure?”

  “Simple. When we change, time moves slower for us than it does for everyone else. He probably blocked the bullet intently.”

  “What?!” she asked.

  “When we change,” he said. “Time slows down to the point that we even see ourselves move in slow motion. He saw the bullet, and knew the only option was to get shot, rather than let you get hit. I can only speculate, but that is how I would have done it.”

  That settled it. When Lance was better, he would train her. There was no way he could say no at this point. The ability to see time move slow would give her the ability to defeat any Aether Walker.

  Kandice dropped the subject, and they spoke at length about what it was like to move all the time. He told her stories about Lance as a child and his mothers love for him. He stumbled with words when he tried to describe her beauty, and Kandice told him it was okay. She shared memories of her own mother watching after her and her brother.

  One of her most vivid memories was from when she was around six or seven, and they took a vacation to the beach. The smell of the salt water was still fresh in her mind. It was weird how clear the trip was for her after all these years. She could still feel her eyes burning after she would get out of the water, which hadn’t bother her then. The trip was too much fun to care. Blake could swim, but the ocean was strong. Their mom told them both to not go deeper than their waist. But Blake was fearless and wanted to swim further. They waded out into the water, then a large wave came. When Kandice came up Blake hadn't resurfaced. She screamed for their mom. Who wasted no time and jumped into the water clothed. She pulled Blake up from the bottom and back to shore. He had hit his head on a rock and was bleeding. He ended up getting four stitches, but what Kandice remembered most was her mom
’s reaction. She hadn’t yelled or even seemed mad, just hugged him tight and laughed. She told them both that not even the ocean could separate her from them.

  When she finished telling the story, there were tears forming in her eyes.

  “Those are the tears of love,” Slava said. “They can heal any pain.”

  Kandice smiled. He was right. Telling the story to him filled her with happiness. Being her mother's daughter made her proud and filled with joy. Her mother was an amazing woman, and a great role model. The pain of missing her would never go away but it was easing into a more manageable feeling. They would reunite in the afterlife, Kandice was sure of it. Visualizing her mom made her feel whole.

  Kandice tried to take another sip of vodka, but her glass was empty. Slava offered more, but she shook her head. “No thanks. I think I’ll go to bed now.”

  “Good night.”

  “Good night. Watch over him.”

  “Always.”

  Kandice never felt so exhausted before in her life. It was like she hasn’t slept in weeks. The clock on the floor next to her bed showed it was 4:00 AM. She fell asleep before her head hit the pillow, still clothed and on top of her covers.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  As Kandice laid bed, there was a soft knock on the door.

  “Who is it?” she asked

  The door creaked open. Lance was standing in the doorway. “It’s me. Can I come in?”

  “Sure.”

  His hair was somewhere between blue and black as he walked in and sat next to her on the bed. She had to shift to make room and felt the sheets knot up against her skin.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  He didn’t answer, but reached out his arm. It grew until it was behind her head, then retracted, lifting her to an inch away from his face.

  “Yes?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  His mouth was hot, like a summer sun. His tongue caressed the tip of hers, and he nibbled on her lower lip. It was hard to fight back the moan. He wrapped both arms around her waist and glided her onto his lap as he leaned her down into a long embrace. Her mouth felt full, and she couldn’t tell her tongue from his.

  She opened her eyes, and his frost-burst eyes stared into hers. Was this really going to happen right now? Her first time should to be special, but this was different. Her body was tired, cold, and full of fear. His hand slipped under her shirt and he squeezed her chest. She lost focus and moaned in relief.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Kandice bolted upright in bed. Her phone was ringing, but it stopped before she could answer it. She’d been in a deep sleep and felt damp. Her heart raced, and her body tingle as the sheets moved against her skin.

  Part of her felt ashamed but jovial. Her pants were sticking to her thighs, they needed to come off. The feeling was much like sitting in jelly, no matter how much she readjusted it would not fix itself. It was dirty, and not in a good way. She got out of bed and stripped off her clothes. Her clock read 10:48 AM. It was later than expected, but she needed the sleep. The last time she’d gotten sleep that deep had to have been before her parents died.

  She rummaged through one of her bags and found two towels to cover herself with. It was only a short distance to the bathroom from her room, but it would be more than embarrassing to get caught hobbling down the hall half naked. After locking the door, she cranked the water as hot as possible without burning her skin. The heat washed away tension from the previous night.

  After several minutes of soaking in the heat, she washed up. With each passing minute, she would readjust the water to make it a notch hotter until it was on max heat. The sting of the hot water on her back was uncomfortable at first, but soon it into a massage, with each water droplet digging into her skin.

  She stayed in the water until it cooled on its own. The bathroom had become a sauna during her extended shower and the door wasn’t visible in the steam. She found the sink and turned the cold water on to splash it onto the mirror. Her red-skin reflected, it was as though she had fallen asleep naked outside in July. The fluffy towel felt like sandpaper against her skin. The experience was more needed than expected. She sat on the toilet seat and rolled her joints, allowing them to pop at will. Her entire body relaxed.

  Once the steam was all but gone, she wrapped herself up again in towels and shuffled over to her room.

  Lance sat on her bed. “Shit,” he said and looked down at his feet. “I didn’t realize.”

  He stood up, keeping his eyes on his feet and tried to leave, but ended up bumping into her. He turned even redder than her. She slipped in past him to allow him to leave, and closed the door telling him not to worry.

  Sexy.

  She picked out tight shorts and a blue tank top to wear. At least his embarrassment about the previous night was clear. Slava had been right about his timely recover though.

  By time she went down to the living room, it was already past noon. Slava and Lance were eating lunch and had a plate ready for her.

  She ate in silence, listening as Lance and Slava talked about needing to be more careful. They thought it was a good idea to bring in new people who could help take down such a dangerous Aether Walker. It amused her that throughout any conversation Slava would slip into Russian, Lance would translate, and Slava would switch back to English.

  Once she finished her food, and her plate was in the sink it was time to bring up what had been bothering her all night.

  “We need to talk,” she said.

  “Okay,” Lance said.

  “You need to train me.”

  “No. We’ve been over this. It’s too dangerous.”

  “She knows the risks,” Slava said. “If you have no other objection, you should train her.”

  Lance looked to Slava. His face became an unreadable mask as he sat silent. There was something being said between them, but it was impossible to know what. Slava siding with her was unexpected. Their conversation last night must have impressed him. He has to see that with Slava on her side, it was time.

  “Well?” she asked.

  “I’m thinking,” Lance said.

  After another long pause, Kandice asked again, “And?”

  “I know you can fight,” he said. “Otherwise, you would have been killed long ago. However, this is different. You’ve never fought Aether Walkers that are this powerful.”

  “Which is why I need training.”

  “You don’t understand,” Lance said. “It’s not just training. Once you change, you’ll never be the same. I can’t explain what it will cost. It affects each person different. No matter what, you will lose something about yourself.”

  “It’s better than not being able to fight when the time comes. Besides, you need help, and you’ve both said Slava can’t help anymore.”

  “I can help,” Slava said. “I just cannot change.”

  “Sorry,” Kandice said. “I didn’t mean you couldn’t help. Just that you couldn’t fight alongside Lance.”

  Kandice saw the pain in their eyes. Lance was only trying to look out for her, but at this point a normal life was out of her future. The only future was fighting the Aether Walkers, even after finding the one that killed her mom. There was no way to go back to a picket fence life after all of this.

  “Fine,” Lance said. “If you really want this, I’ll train you.”

  “I do,” she said. “When do we start?”

  “Monday morning. I need to prepare.”

  Lance had a quick conversation in Russian with Slava, then left the house.

  Kandice sat confused, watching as he walked out. “What was that about?” she asked.

  “It is between us,” Slava said. “You need not worry. He will be back.”

  “He’s still hurt. Shouldn’t he stay and rest?”

  “No. He has to prepare himself physically. He will explain tomorrow, in his own way.”

  The conversation was over. She gathered up the dishes then cleaned up the living room and kitchen w
hile Slava went back to his room. The tension was hard for her to handle. Lance wasn’t happy about training her, which made her regret pushing it. They had welcomed her in so quick it was hard for her to remember that they hadn’t known each other for that long. It may not have been the best choice, but he hadn’t been willing otherwise.

  Chapter Ten

  Monday, September 12th

  “Lunge!” Lance yelled. “When you’re in a fight, there is no time to wait!”

  Kandice panted. “I know how to fight. I’ve been training since I was fourteen.”

  “That doesn’t matter. What you’ve trained to do will not save your life. Now attack me like you mean it!”

  Kandice jumped after him with all her might. She had tried throwing kicks earlier, but they didn’t land. Lance was too fast for her. His plan was to increase her agility by having her practice take down moves on him. Every time she got close enough to touch him, he would spin out of the way.

  She landed on her face. “This is pointless. You’re just dodging. You’re obviously faster than me. If I could change, I could keep up with you.”

  Lance laughed. “Changing won’t make you faster when you’re unchanged. I’m only this fast because I’ve trained. You have to see the moment and react before your opponent.”

  “What does that even mean? How can I be in the moment and react? I’m not some super warrior. I’m only human.”

  She sat down on the mat in the garage. Lance had bought the supplies so they could train without Kandice being injured. So far, that hadn’t worked. There were traces of blood coming from her lip due to an elbow blow, and her ribs were sore from hitting the ground one-to-many times.

  She took a deep breath. Lance was still pouncing around the garage, waiting. He seemed almost childlike as if this was all fun and games to him.