by Alison Pensy
“What are you doing?” she asked. The determination on his face sparking concern in her heart; Faedra just couldn't bear to hurt him anymore.
He took another step forward, giving her a reassuring smile as he did, to which Faedra repeated her backwards step but found herself blocked by her bedroom wall.
She pressed her back into the wall, reveling in the coolness of it for just a second before her heat warmed the entire surface. Faen moved in so close he was but an inch away from her body. She closed her eyes, drew in a deep breath and held it. He could feel the heat she was radiating as her emotions started to rise, but, as yet, it was just pleasantly warm. He knew she was fighting to control the power that was ever present in her body and hoped his gamble would pay off.
“Breathe,” he whispered, his warm breath fanning over her face.
“Faen,” she warned, as he took both of her arms, peeled them away from behind her back and placed each one of her hands around his neck. She opened her eyes. “I don't want to hurt you.”
“You won't,” he stated.
“How can you say that? Have you been walking around this place with your eyes closed? I burn everything I touch.” She tried to pull her hands away from his neck but he held them in place.
Faen could see her eyes pleading with him, but he also sensed she wanted him to hold her, wanted to feel normal again.
“I have been watching you very closely and in the past few days you have not burned or scorched anything, and I have not kissed you in six months. My patience just ran out.” He brushed her cheeks as he tucked errant strands of hair behind each ear and cupped her face in his hands. Her skin heated under his palms, but not uncomfortably so.
“Concentrate on the glass of water on your bedside table,” he said as he lowered his head until his lips were just millimeters away from hers. “Ready?”
“No,” she whimpered.
“Too bad,” Faen whispered a split second before brushing her lips, gently at first. Allowing her time to adjust.
He felt her tense for a second under his touch; heat rose to her lips, almost painful, then ebbed away. She relaxed into him. He deepened their kiss for a few seconds more before pulling back. He didn't want to push her too far the first time. He also wanted to keep his lips intact.
Faedra's eyes were locked onto his, full of fear and panic. He gave her a warm smile.
“See, no harm done. No blisters.”
A bubbling noise distracted them and Faen turned to see what it was. Faedra leaned to one side of her Guardian to seek out the cause of noise. The glass of water on her bedside cabinet was boiling so fiercely that water was splashing over the rim and onto the wood.
“Well, that worked well,” Faen said, feeling proud of himself for the suggestion.
“I can't pull it back, though,” Faedra cried. “I can't let it go.”
The glass was starting to bounce around on the surface with the force of the boiling water. Steam was rising and turning to smoke.
Faen turned back to his Custodian, unwilling to let this experiment fail. “Faedra, look at me.”
Faedra returned her anguished gaze back to her Guardian.
“Breathe. In...” Faen took a deep breath in, encouraging Faedra to do the same. The glass kept bouncing about on the wooden surface. “And out...” Faen released a heavy breath. Faedra did the same. “And again. No, look at me,” Faen said when Faedra returned her worried gaze to the glass boiling over on the bedside table, the odd flame dancing about from the splashes. “Concentrate on me.” The moment he said it, he realized it was the wrong thing to say. A wave of heat seared his insides and sweat beaded on his forehead. The water in the glass reduced to a slow simmer. “Okay, that was the wrong thing to say. Concentrate on the glass, but look at me, and breathe.”
The heat subsided within him and the glass started to boil over again.
Faedra kept her panicked gaze locked on her Guardian's and followed his breathing.
“I've got you,” he said. “I've always got you. We will get through this together.”
A tear slid down Faedra's cheek, evaporating into steam before it reached her chin. Unblinking, she kept her gaze locked, drawing the positive energy she needed from her Guardian. After a few moments, the water bubbling in the glass started to subside. When it settled completely, Faedra blew out a weary sigh and allowed her head to fall and rest on Faen’s chest. He relaxed when she did and wrapped his arms around her. He would stay right here for as long as she would let him.
***
The weekend came far too quickly as far as Faedra was concerned. She was still having her doubts about this whole 'going out in public' thing, but knew at this point that none of her friends would let her back down now. They would probably drag her out of the house kicking and screaming if they had to. She really didn't want to subject them to that, so, grudgingly, she put on her boots and jacket before exiting through the front door.
“You’ll be fine, darling,” Henry said, as he waited by the door. “Now go and enjoy yourself, you deserve it. You’ll have Faen with you.” He gave a nod to Faen who was already outside waiting for his charge.
Faedra gave her dad a weak smile and then huffed out a breath. “Well, let's do this, shall we?” she said to Faen.
“Bye, Dad. See you later.” She gave him a quick hug before walking towards the car with her Guardian. She hadn't driven her car for six months. She was hoping it would still start. Her dad had kept it turning over regularly and took it for the odd spin to keep it going, so it should be okay. Faen got in the passenger seat and was putting his seat-belt on as Faedra put her keys in the ignition. Before she had a chance to turn them, the car engine turned over and whirred to life. Faedra pulled her hands away from the steering wheel and held them up as if she had a gun pointed at her.
“What the...?” she turned to Faen and gave him a questioning look. Faen finished clicking the belt into place and gave her a reassuring smile. “I didn't even turn the key and the engine started.”
“I saw that,” he said.
“That's it? That's all you have to say?”
“I think you were probably hoping the car would start.”
“I was, but... how did you know?”
“Faedra, you are going to discover all sorts of things that you can do. For a while, they will probably surprise you.”
Faedra rolled her eyes at her Guardian's stoic response. At least one of them was staying calm and controlled. She knew she was unlikely to be that side of the equation for a very long time.
With a sigh of resignation, Faedra put the car in reverse, pulled out of her parking spot and then carefully put it in gear before driving down the driveway and off the property. She could feel the tingle of the wards as she pulled onto the road. Something she had never felt before. She sucked in a breath and looked at Faen who was watching her carefully.
“You felt the wards?” he asked.
“Yes. I've never felt them before.”
“As I assumed,” he stated. “All your senses will be heightened. You have been sheltered in the house with just your father and me since getting all this extra power; you became so used to our energy. You may feel a little bombarded out in public. Just take it easy, you will get used to it.”
“Oh, and you didn't think to warn me about this before?”
Panic started to rise within Faedra again. What on earth was she going to have to deal with on top of trying to control the fire? She wasn't even sure she could keep that under control, but she hadn't considered that she would have to deal with anything other than that.
They drove in silence for the few minutes it took to get to the church where they were going to pick up Jocelyn and Etyran. The two of them had taken turns to visit her throughout her self-imposed quarantine at the house. Unfortunately, she had not been able to see her other two friends, Amy and Zoe in all that time. Her father had used the excuse that she had Glandular Fever and was not to see anyone. She had kept in contact with them thro
ugh phone calls and e-mails, but she missed hanging out with her human friends and hoped to be able to do so now. They were so 'normal' and she ached to feel that way again.
She shifted her thoughts back to driving as she pulled up to the church. Faedra saw Jocelyn and Etyran waiting for them outside the ancient wooden gate that was the entrance to the church grounds.
Jocelyn gave her a big beaming grin as Faedra pulled up. She was about to lean forward to open the back door, but Etyran beat her to it and opened the door for her.
“Milady,” he said as he gestured for her to get in with a sweep of his arm.
Jocelyn blushed bright red at his gesture and gave him a fidgety curtsey in response, before sliding herself onto the back seat. Etyran closed the door behind her and ran around the back of the car.
“Hi, Faedra,” Jocelyn sang as she settled in behind Faedra. “This is so exciting isn't it? I'm so glad you decided to come and do this with us.”
Faedra was about to respond when a wave of energy slammed into her as Etyran settled himself onto the back seat and closed the door. Her eyebrows shot up and goose bumps flashed up her arms. She turned her head, giving each of them in turn a considering look.
“What?” Etyran said. A look of puzzlement washing over his features when he saw the scrutinizing look he was getting.
She turned her look to Jocelyn, who gave her an equally puzzled look.
Faedra gave her head a quick shake to push back the feeling before blustering a quick greeting.
“Something wrong?” Faen asked when Faedra returned her attention to the front of the car.
She gave him a quick sideways glance. She cautiously evaluated the surge of energy filling her, scared that it may be something bad. Then she realized just what it was that she was feeling and a huge smile crept across her face.
A crease formed in Faen's brow. Puzzled at the absolute joy filling the Custodian's features. It was something he hadn't seen for a long time.
“Nope. Nothing wrong,” Faedra answered, the smile still plastered on her face.
Faen opened his mouth to say something else, thought better of it, and closed it again.
“Let's go, shall we?” Faedra said as she put the indicator on and pulled out onto the road.
CHAPTER THREE
The journey into the city was filled with chatter about the upcoming treasure hunt. It was a bright spring day, with not a cloud in the sky. There was still a nip in the air, requiring the use of a lightweight jacket, but it was the kind of day Faedra loved to be out in. Right now she was feeling good about her decision to go along with her friends.
As they neared the meeting point for the beginning of the hunt, Etyran explained a little bit about what to expect. Faedra was glad of this because she had no clue. Apparently, the hunt would be conducted within the city and could be done easily on foot. The use of a car would not be necessary, which was a good thing because trying to find parking in the city was like pulling teeth. Painful at best, nigh on impossible at worst.
They pulled into the car park of a pub called Adam and Eve. It had been welcoming guests for over 750 years, making it the oldest pub in the city and the perfect venue for the start of a treasure hunt. Faedra could see a small crowd of people milling about outside the pub. She watched as they ducked their heads to get through the doorway, and one by one filed into the ancient building. People were a lot shorter centuries ago and historical buildings were prohibited from changing their structure, so it didn't matter that the average person would hit their head on the door frame. They had to duck or stay outside.
She found a parking space and pulled in. They made their way towards the entrance to the pub. Faedra looked up at the cobblestone and brick walls, accented by gables at either end of the diminutive building. As well as being the oldest pub in the city, it was also the smallest. She wondered if there would be enough room to fit everyone. Picnic tables were spread in an orderly fashion outside on a paved patio, and a few people were sitting at one of them, deep in conversation while they smoked their cigarettes. The smell of cigarette smoke hung in the still air as they passed. The muffled sounds of talking and laughter emanated from inside the pub. Etyran opened the door and gestured for Jocelyn to enter, then he followed behind leaving Faen holding the door open for Faedra. She paused for a second and gave him a hesitant look before stepping into the room filled with people. She froze on the spot and time stopped, as all the different energies circulating around the medieval room slammed into her without warning.
Faedra felt anger from a man sitting at the bar, giving a dirty look to another man, across the room, who had his arm around a lady. Anticipation and excitement resonated from a majority of the occupants. And, then pain. Fear and pain, quite unlike anything she'd ever experienced before, hit her full force in the chest from somewhere in the room. She followed the energy and it stole the breath right from her lungs.
A man, dressed in 16th century clothing that hung in shreds from his battered body, was standing at the top of the stone steps that led down to the lower bar. Open wounds covered his torso and face. He jerked his head up and looked straight at the Custodian. The fear and desperation ingrained in his eyes turned to realization that she could see him. He had obviously been murdered and quite gruesomely, too. From the looks of the remains of his clothing, Faedra thought he must have been a Nobleman.
He made a move towards her. She choked in a lungful of air, trying to fight the heavy weight in her chest that threatened to force all the life out of her. He took one more step towards her before she came to her senses and backed up sharply, bumping into Faen's chest and standing on his foot as she did. She turned and looked up into the worried eyes of her Guardian.
“I have to get out of here!” She pushed past him and shoved her way through the people who were waiting to enter the pub.
“Hey, watch where you're going!” a man grouched as she barreled through the growing band of people waiting to get in.
“Sorry,” she threw over her shoulder, but Faedra didn't stop before she got to the furthest corner of the patio and started pacing, weaving in between the picnic tables as she did.
“I can't do this, I can't do this,” she mumbled breathlessly into her palms.
“Faedra?” Faen said, as he caught up with her. “What happened in there? Are you alright?”
Faedra had her head in her hands; her breathing was sharp and fast.
“Ghost,” she spat out between sharp gasps of breath.
“But, you've seen ghosts before,” Faen reminded her as he reached for her wrists. He hissed in a breath as the heat from her skin seared his palms and he withdrew them sharply. Hiding them behind his back so she wouldn't see that she'd hurt him. They would heal in a moment.
She stopped her pacing and looked at him. “Not bloody and beaten ones, I haven't. And his pain, oh, God, his pain. I felt it all, Faen, everything they did to him. I feel sick.”
She sat down on one of the picnic benches and put her head between her knees. A few seconds later, she felt the closeness of Faen's body as he sat down beside her.
Steam started to rise from the water in a bird bath that was nestled among the flowers bordering the pub walls just a few feet away. Faen watched as the water started to boil in the sculptured cement dish. He put his hand on his charge's back and softly rubbed up and down. Faedra drew from his calming energy and the slow rhythmic motion of his hand. A moment later her breathing started to return to normal and the water in the bird bath subsided to a slow simmer.
Faedra extracted her face from her hands and turned her head sideways to face her Guardian. He was also leaning forward to look at her, his hand still rubbing her back.
“Better?” he asked when she gave him a weak smile.
“Yes, thanks.” At that moment, a mixture of love and worry swept through her and she looked up to see Etyran and Jocelyn standing in front of her, watching her with concerned looks on their faces.
“What's up, Fae? What happened in th
ere?” Etyran asked.
“Faedra is having a bit more of a problem with energy than we thought she might,” Faen explained.
“And I just happen to live in one of the oldest cities in the country,” Faedra chimed in. “Oh joy, Norwich is teeming with ghosts. A lot of bad things have happened here in the past. I think it's the more passionate energies that are going to be harder to block,” she continued, suddenly realizing that she felt the negative energies much stronger than the positive ones. At least she now knew what to expect and could work on blocking it.
She put a hand either side of her on the bench and pushed herself to stand up. She was still feeling a little shaky and took in a deep breath. “Well, I guess I need to try this again.”
“Are you sure?” Faen asked. “We could just go home, if you want to.”
Faedra looked at the faces of her friends and knew they would take her home in a heartbeat. But at that moment, a feeling of determination pushed its way to the surface. It was like someone flicking a switch in her psyche. For the first time in six months, she felt determined to take her life back.
“Yes, I'm sure. You're right. I need to do this. I need to mix with normal people again; I'll never feel normal if I don't.”
“That's the spirit,” Etyran said with a smile and doffed her on the arm.
They made their way back to the entrance of the pub. Etyran and Jocelyn entered first. Faen held the door open for Faedra. “Ready?”
Faedra took another deep breath to steady her nerves and gave her Guardian a little nod before stepping, once again, into the ancient building. Again, she was slammed with all the energies in the room, but this time she was ready for them. She breathed deeply, waiting for the fear and pain to hit her again. When it didn't come, she cautiously looked around the room. The 16th century ghost was nowhere to be seen. Her body relaxed a little. There were other ghosts, though, but they were benevolent energies. A couple of monks sat at a table, supping on flagons of ale. They smiled at her and raised their jugs; she returned a nervous smile.