Touched (Sense Thieves)

by Corrine Jackson

  Okay. That gave me the creeps. Wrapping a hand around my cold feet, I studied the shadows on my bedroom wall.

  Bonding is all about energy. Every Healer has a unique kind of energy. Think blue sparks like yours, while my mother’s looked purple.

  My mother had pretended not to notice the blue sparks that happened when I healed her. I experienced another sting of betrayal that she hadn’t told me any of this when I healed her the first time. I continued listening to her excited voice.

  Healers are a conduit for energy. It’s how she heals since she is able to control the flow of that energy into another’s body. A Protector, though, is more like a sponge. He or she absorbs the energy flow and converts it into strength, speed, agility. When a Healer and Protector bond, it’s like he can absorb her particular brand of energy. I’m not sure what the actual bonding was like, except that there’s a lot of heat and pain involved. As far as we know, it hasn’t happened since before the war. Crazy, right?

  Yeah, crazy. A sudden, awful feeling made itself known in the hollow of my stomach. I gripped the iPod tighter in my hand and squeezed my eyes shut.

  Well, things get crazier.

  Protectors found the key to immortality. If they killed a Healer, they absorbed her energy and became immortal. Her energy cured them of any possible sickness, including the greatest disease—aging. See, the war was never really about money. Oh, yeah, the Protectors were greedy, too, but what they wanted was eternal youth.

  My breathing came faster. I knew. I knew what was coming. Anna’s voice sounded ripe with satisfaction.

  But nothing comes for free. Oh, the Protectors got their immortality, but it cost them. When they stole a Healer’s energy, they got more than they counted on. The surge of energy shorted out their systems, and the Protectors lost the use of most of their senses. Touch, taste, smell—all gone in the blink of an eye.

  Can you imagine living forever and never being able to feel another person’s touch?

  I couldn’t imagine it, but I knew someone who could.

  It’s ironic, isn’t it? The Protectors are in a living hell of their own making, and the Healers are the only ones who can cure them.

  Anna laughed, and I understood. The Protectors had killed her mother. She felt no pity for them.

  Since the Protectors discovered what they’d done, they’ve been hunting the few Healers that remain. Those Healers caught have a single fate: death. It’s your energy, see? It’s like radiation for cancer patients: A full dose kills what makes them human while a small dose is therapeutic. It makes them feel alive again. They take their time to draw it out, keep a Healer like a pet to feel a little at a time, until the Healer is all used up. Dead. The sensations never last long, though, so they are always on the hunt for another Healer to feed on.

  But some time ago, we made a discovery of our own. It’s another reason why I kept you hidden all these years. Because of what you can do. You’re not like other Healers.

  Oh, Remy, you have the power to make them mortal again.

  Anna’s words continued, but I heard nothing else. The puzzle I’d been working out these last weeks had been impossible to solve without all the pieces.

  Asher.

  I’d seen for myself how different his body’s internal workings were when I’d healed him. When no one else would have been able to react with such speed and amazing reflexes, he’d saved that boy from landing in the bonfire. Stronger than anyone I knew, he’d pulled both me and Brandon from the pool, and he carried me as if I were a featherweight when my father struggled with the task.

  Asher knew about me because I wasn’t the first Healer he’d met.

  And by his own admission, he could feel nothing except when near me. He felt pain. If my energy was like radiation to him, then I was poison to him when our walls were down.

  When he told me we were enemies, he’d meant it. He was a Protector, and I was a Healer. His kind had been killing off my kind for over a century. He was an immortal and, according to Anna, that wasn’t possible unless he’d murdered a Healer.

  I shivered and could sit no longer. Rising, nervous energy had me pacing in front of the fogged window.

  Several things didn’t make sense.

  Anna thought Healers had no defenses, but I did. Plus, I wasn’t just a conduit for energy. Like a mirror, I reflected pain onto those who hurt me. Surely, I wasn’t the only Healer with these abilities?

  And what of the pain that came with the healing and the coldness afterward? Anna had mentioned the weakness I felt, but not that I absorbed the injuries and pain of others. She had to have guessed, as I’d taken on too many of her injuries over the years. Except Asher hadn’t known I would take on his pain along with healing his burned hand. I remembered how distraught he’d looked when I’d admitted the truth.

  And that brought me to the biggest discrepancy of all. Asher had warned me away because he didn’t want to risk hurting me. If Protectors were out to kill Healers, Asher broke the mold. He knew what I was and didn’t want to harm me.

  Anna said that Healers and Protectors hadn’t bonded since the war. If I guessed right, Asher and I proved the exception to this rule. What other explanation could there be? Since I’d met him, my powers had strengthened, including my skill for shielding myself. I was dying to confirm my suspicions because it would mean he’d changed, too.

  Picking up the iPod, I smoothed a finger around the wheel to rewind to where I’d left off and hit play again. I stared out the window into the forest below. Morning approached, and the black night faded into dove-grays and soft purples. The mass of snow-covered woods below separated into individual trees sprouting their first green leaves.

  Oh, Remy, you have the power to make them mortal again.

  It’s what they want more than anything, and they’ll kill you to get it. If you think they’ve found you, run. Because if they catch you—Don’t. Get. Caught.

  Now, the third track will tell you how to find your grandfather. I should’ve taken you to him long ago, but I couldn’t . . . I ignored my instincts and we ended up . . . You’re better than I am, kid.

  My mother’s voice softened with worry and regret. Worry for leaving me on my own. Regret for choosing Dean. I noticed a movement down below. Asher. It didn’t surprise me to find him standing in the wooded park at the edge of our yard.

  Trust your instincts.

  The track ended, and my finger hit stop. He stared up at me through the window with a tormented expression—caught between regret and yearning. Perhaps I was making the biggest mistake of my life, but my choice had been made.

  I wasn’t going to run.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  I slipped a coat on over my sling and hurried down the stairs as fast as I dared in the ratty tee and sweats I’d slept in. I scribbled a quick note to my family to let them know I’d gone for a walk in case they woke before I returned and stuck it to the fridge with a magnet before leaving through the back door.

  Asher had disappeared, but I knew he hadn’t left. A labyrinth of short paths divided the wooded nature reserve of Townsend Park. Only a block wide, the miniature park was a favorite for birdwatchers and bored teenagers wanting to lose a few hours in the maze. Some trails took you to a haven in the center, and I headed toward the entrance where I’d last seen Asher. Inside, snow smothered every surface, and the overhead arch of branches dimmed the foggy morning light. I’d halted, unsure of which direction to go, when I heard his low voice.

  “Remy, what are you doing out here?”

  He chided me for walking out in the cold alone to meet him. Focusing on his voice grew easier as my eyes adjusted to the light, and I stepped into a circular clearing. He stood with his back to me.

  “I couldn’t sleep. The pain pills wore off.”

  My husky sleep-filled words got his attention. He twisted about and reached my side in an instant. The color faded from his face when he spied the sling, split lip, and new bruises. My bulky clothing hid the cuts on my arms and
back and the deeper bruises banding my hip and back where I’d hit the entry table.

  His eyes slipped to my hip with a shimmer of danger, and I wondered for an insane moment if I’d betrayed the painful injuries in some way. Then, those melancholy eyes were back on mine, and a fresh emotion distracted me: I’d missed him.

  “How bad is it?”

  He didn’t look surprised to see me hurt. “How did you hear about it?”

  Asher’s expression turned bleak. “You’re all anyone’s been talking about at school. I tried calling Lucy, but she wouldn’t give me your dad’s cell number. She said you’d call when you got back. You could have been killed.”

  Lucy’s fierce devotion made me smile, and I held out a hand in a playful manner. “I’m very much alive. Want to pinch me to make sure you’re not dreaming?”

  We both thought about the last time he’d touched me in his car. He scowled and took a step back. “That’s not funny, Remy. I was at the airport trying to get to you when Gabe heard you were on your way back.”

  He’d been coming to the rescue, my very own damaged knight in shining armor. An extreme reaction for an enemy. I exhaled and my breath puffed out in a white cloud.

  “Why would you do that, Asher? And what are you doing out here? I wouldn’t have pegged you for a stalker, and you obviously knew I was back in town, alive and kicking.”

  “I was worried.”

  Circling around him, I swiped a mound of snow off one of the stone benches so I could sit. The seat felt like a slab of ice, but my body protested standing.

  “Were you now? Well, that’s . . . confusing. One minute you’re threatening to attack me, and the next you’re worried about someone else attacking me. Maybe you should stop playing games with me and find the guts to finish the job yourself. At least Dean is consistent.”

  Asher’s body tensed and his head whipped toward me. I’d expected it, had provoked it, but couldn’t help gasping at the fury that ignited in his eyes.

  “If I thought you meant that, I’d be pissed off. Stop antagonizing me, Remy, and say what’s on your mind.”

  “You first,” I challenged.

  “Fine.” He stalked several feet away and glared at an innocent sapling that had bowed beneath the ivy creeping up its side. I almost missed his whisper.

  “It was my fault.”

  “What?”

  Louder, through his teeth, he said, “It was my fault.”

  “What are you talking about?” Maybe I’d hit my head harder than I’d thought because he made no sense.

  His hands balled into fists when he faced me. “What I did to you was a warning. To make it easy for you to stay away from me.” The sound of his bitter laugh startled a bird from a nearby bush, and we watched it flit to a tree branch. “It worked, all right. You didn’t tell me when you left. I could’ve protected you if I’d been there, but I couldn’t even get a phone number to reach you. My brother found out you were coming home when he called your mom on fake PTA business. The PTA, damn it.”

  I stood and approached him. “Wait a minute. Forgetting for a second that Gabe is involved with the PTA, let’s focus on the important thing. You think it’s your fault Dean got to me?”

  Asher nodded, and my temper flared. When I shoved him in the chest with my good hand, he cursed. Even as I savored the heat that came with touching him, I gave him another shove. This time he didn’t budge an inch, though I’d put some effort behind the push. He grabbed my hand, holding it between his warmer ones with a gentle grip, and the fight left me as green fire sparked between us.

  We stared at our joined hands, and I told him without anger, “You’re an idiot.”

  As if my skin scorched him, he dropped my hand. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be here.”

  Asher could exasperate me like no other person I’d met. “Not about that. You’re an idiot for thinking you’re responsible for me. What makes you think I would’ve invited you? Who asked you to save me? I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. What happened a couple of days ago . . . Well, it wasn’t the first time. Dean, my stepfather, was hitting me years before you knew I existed. Hitting my mother, too.”

  At the mention of Anna, I retreated to the bench and huddled in my jacket.

  “If it was anyone’s fault, it was mine. I knew he’d kill Anna if I left her without protection, but being here . . . Well, it’s been a long time since I felt safe.”

  My words trailed off, and I squeezed my eyes shut to hide from any pity in his eyes. The air shifted as Asher kneeled on the ground at my feet. He didn’t touch me, but I wished he would.

  He groaned, and his hand slipped to the back of my neck, urging me to look at him. His mental wall had gone up, proof that he wasn’t taking any chances, and a wise action since I hadn’t bothered with my own defenses.

  “She was your mother. She should’ve protected you. Not the other way around.”

  The severity of his gaze willed me to believe him. “You’re right, of course. What kind of mother lets her husband do the things Dean did to me?” The dour Officer Kazinski’s horror at seeing the cigarette burn on my arm appeared in my mind. Anna had watched Dean brand me like cattle. My hatred for both of them mingled with sorrow because Anna and I would never have a chance to start over without the lies between us.

  “Asher, I couldn’t heal her. I tried, but I couldn’t. She woke up for a few minutes, but . . .”

  He grimaced in pain, and I wondered if he guessed what I’d risked to bring her out of the coma. It had been impossible to tell my father any of this, and now the words rushed out of me in a quiet confession. “I was so angry. She died because of Dean, and they hadn’t arrested him. He had an alibi. He didn’t even bother to come to her funeral. I hate him.”

  Asher squeezed my hand. “What happened?”

  I described how Dean had shown up in the apartment and the fight that followed. “He wanted revenge. He knows what I can do, how I can hurt people. Last time I saw him, he was unconscious with two broken ribs, among other injuries.”

  I heard the satisfaction in my voice as I replayed that moment in my head when I’d transferred my pain and Anna’s to Dean. I’d been sure I would die, and instead, I’d incapacitated him. A mere girl had flattened a grown man twice her size. That must have infuriated him.

  “He wanted to kill me. I saw it in his eyes,” I added, with a shudder.

  I’d left a lot out to spare Asher. Like Dean knocking me to the floor and wrenching my shoulder. How he’d thrown me into the entryway table and the mirror hanging above it. And the moment when he’d known he’d won and intended to kill me, before I’d loosed my pain on him.

  “I’d like to kill him,” he said, his deep voice raw with emotion.

  My urge to do the same frightened me because I knew I could do it with my new power. Shivering, I said, “I want to forget him.”

  Asher’s expression softened as he brushed a gentle finger over my split lip. “Why haven’t you healed yourself?”

  “Too many people have seen the wounds. It would cause a lot of questions.”

  “Has he told anyone about you?”

  “Not that I know of. At least, not anyone who would believe him.”

  Asher leaned forward until his forehead rested on my knees. “I give in. It doesn’t seem to matter if I stay away, Remy. You need a bodyguard.”

  My uninjured hand slipped from his to stroke his unruly hair, and my fingers sifted through the dark, silky strands. It felt softer than I had imagined. “Don’t you mean a Protector?”

  The woods stopped breathing. When Asher’s head came up, my hand fell away, and I let him read the truth on my face. He sat back on his heels with a blank expression.

  “How did you find out?”

  “My mother. Last night, I discovered some audio tracks she recorded and left on my iPod.”

  “What did she tell you?” he asked, in a flat voice.

  “Enough for me to figure out who you were. At least, she gave me
a name for what you are. I mean, it’s not like I didn’t know you were different the first time I scanned you when you’d burned your hand.”

  His lips quirked in a half-smile. “You never said anything. I thought maybe you hadn’t noticed.”

  “Not likely. Hypothetically, say a normal human body is working at 60 percent efficiency. Your body is working at about 210 percent efficiency. Definitely not normal. Besides, did you think I didn’t see how fast you move when we’re alone? Or how strong you are? Give me a break. You pulled Brandon and me out of the deep end of the pool like we weighed ten pounds each.”

  “I knew I wasn’t careful enough around you, but I couldn’t seem to—”

  By rising to his feet and moving several feet away to stare into the wilderness, he shut me out. Mentally, his wall increased the distance between us.

  “What does your family think about having a Healer living in town?”

  He shot me an unfathomable glance before answering. “Scared and pissed off.”

  “All that, huh?”

  Asher spun to face me and peered at me with obvious disbelief. “Why don’t you sound afraid, Remy? Didn’t your mother tell you how dangerous we are to you?”

  Adjusting my sling to find a more comfortable position, I returned his look with considerable calm. “I’ve been in Blackwell Falls for weeks. They would’ve hurt me by now if they were going to. Why are they scared and pissed off?”