Touched

by Allegra Skye

  “I love you, Percy,” he heard her say, ever so faintly.

  His entire body stiffened and clenched. This wasn’t what he was here for. Love was never part of the equation. His mission was to seduce her, get her in bed, find out about the sister. Girls never said they loved him unless they were out of their mind with pleasure. And, of course, it was never him that they loved. It was the way he made them feel. He was never confused about that.

  Percy leaned down, picked up her head, and looked into her eyes. They were glazed over, like pools of water, sad and happy at the same time. Percy didn’t want to hear another word. She was falling for him and he couldn’t take it. Every bone in his body wanted to run away. But time was short and he knew it. They hadn’t opened the door when he went to her house and banged on it. Probably they were all too upset. But he needed to find her sister. His future depended on it. This was his first urgent mission and he couldn’t blow it. The sister was a force to reckon with. The Shadows had to take her out. He didn’t have the luxury of escaping from a human girl.

  “What would I do if you weren’t here?” Amanda said in a voice that ripped him in half. What the hell was going on? Who was the one being conquered here?

  Percy put his shield up even further, trying to drown out any human feeling that was coming upon him. He remembered hearing it could be dangerous to do the mission he was on. It was possible that a girl could get to you, make you feel things you didn’t want to feel, weaken you. But it was very rare. And he’d had plenty of girls before. It had never ever happened. He was proud of his record and so were the Shadows. That’s why they chose him for this mission.

  He swallowed hard then. “What happened at home?”

  “I had a rough time with my sister,” she said.

  HER SISTER? Alarms went off inside his mind. He calmed himself before he spoke again.

  “Did your sister return to your home?”

  Amanda looked up at him surprised. “Yes, of course. I thought you knew. You were there in the admissions office when she ran back home.”

  “I know about that time,” he said quickly. “But did she come back again?”

  Amanda looked at him strangely for a moment. “No, not again,” she said.

  “What kind of trouble did you have with her?” he asked then calmly, stifling any sense of urgency, not wanting to alert Amanda to what was going on.

  “Remember I told you that after the accident, my mother went crazy?” Amanda said to him.

  He nodded.

  “Well now, it’s my sister too. She returned home the day before yesterday from nowhere. Just walked in as though nothing were wrong.”

  Every nerve in Percy was on edge, he listened with every cell of his being, alert.

  “She expected everyone to be happy to see her and just welcome her home. Well, my parents didn’t. I did. We even had a nice talk that night in her room.” Amanda paused and started crying.

  He lifted his hand and stroked her hair again. He didn’t want to do it, but he knew it made her feel better, and he needed her to feel better to give him the information he needed.”

  Amanda sighed as he stroked her hair. “It feels so good,” she murmured to him, holding up her face for a kiss.

  He wanted to kiss her so badly at that moment, but couldn’t let it happen. He had to stay focused, to keep her talking to him. In fact, if he got all the information he needed, he wasn’t even supposed to take her to bed. His instructions were only to take her to bed if he couldn’t find out about her sister any other way. Amanda was beautiful and it would be safer for him to keep as much distance as he could.

  He looked at her beautiful, soft lips parting, but closed his eyes and did nothing.

  “Tell me more,” Percy said quietly.

  Amanda opened her eyes and looked disappointed, a little hurt.

  That was the last thing Percy wanted. “We have plenty of time for that,” he said. “Now, it’s important for us to talk. Tell me more about your sister.”

  Amanda looked down. “I agree,” she said. “We have to really get to know each other.”

  Percy nodded and took her hands.

  “Well, anyway,” Amanda went on, “my sister’s also gone crazy. I mean really crazy, insane. She made up a terrible story.”

  “What?” Percy said, starting to sweat. It was rare for Shadow Vampires to sweat. They only did at the time of great urgency, or great conflict and pain.

  Amanda looked at him and then looked away. Obviously, it was hard telling him the rest of the story.

  “She said that she wasn’t fully human, had become a creature of some kind.”

  “What kind?” Percy asked with great intensity.

  “She didn’t know for sure,” Amanda said. “But she did know she was in danger. And so was I, she said.”

  Percy gulped.

  “She said you were a Shadow Vampire,” Amanda looked him straight in the eyes, “and that you wanted to be with me only to capture her.”

  His eyes flinched and fluttered. His cover was broken. Intense fire ran up and down his veins. How could she possibly have known that? The tribe was right; she was a force – a formidable enemy. His entire game plan with Amanda might have to change.

  “I told her I didn’t believe a word she said,” Amanda continued. “She just wanted to destroy our love for each other…destroy everything good in our family. Our mother was right all along. I know you came to our house then and were knocking on the door. We were all too upset. I just couldn’t let you in.”

  “Where is your sister now?” Percy barely breathed.

  “Gone. I told her to go and get out of here, never come back. Never darken our doorstep again.”

  He couldn’t believe it. “What did she say?”

  “She went. And warned me to be careful.”

  Amanda hadn’t believed a word her sister said. That much was clear. She put her beautiful head back down on his shoulder and grabbed his hands.

  “Why can’t people let each other be happy?” she asked tearfully. “I told her I’d never loved anyone the way I do you.”

  Percy’s heart started pounding again. All kinds of roaring, conflicting feelings flowed through him at once. He didn’t want to hurt Amanda, he didn’t want to push her away, and he had to remember what he was here for. For a second he had no idea what to do.

  “You must have some idea where your sister would go?” he asked again, softly.

  “None,” Amanda started sobbing then. “That’s what I feel so terrible about. I sent her away forever, and I have no idea where she could go.”

  The two of them breathed out together. Where was Keira now? It was an answer both of them wanted badly.

  “My God, I’ve lost my sister,” said Amanda.

  Percy pulled her more tightly to him. “Think,” he whispered. “There must be some place your sister always wanted to go.”

  “As a kid, she loved Lake Michigan. Other than that, I have no idea.”

  “Where in Lake Michigan?” he continued.

  Amanda lifted her head and looked confused. “There was an island off the Lake called Beaver Island. She used to read about it and talk about it all the time, when she was young. Do you think she’ll go there?”

  Percy became very still then and quiet.

  “Answer me, Percy, what do you think?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Sometimes people return to the places of their dreams.”

  Amanda seemed to like that. “And where is that place for you, Percy?”

  That stopped him short. He had no answer. He never thought about it. Shadow Vampires weren’t allowed to have any dreams.

  “Tell me,” Amanda urged.

  “Right here with you,” he said then, took her face in his hands and pulled it towards him for a kiss. Their kiss was deep and piercing, tossing all thoughts aside. When it was over, they came up briefly for air, and kissed again. He knew he had all the information from her that she had now. There was no reason to go furth
er. Yet, he could not part.

  “Let’s go to bed,” she murmured, filled with warmth and love.

  “If you go to bed with me, Amanda,” he said, “nothing will ever again be the same.”

  “Nothing is the same now anyway,” she said.

  “But this will be different,” he warned. He never had warned any of the girls. He just took them and moved on. But it was entirely different with Amanda. It wasn’t his job to protect her, but he wanted to anyway.

  Amanda’s cell phone rang, startling both of them.

  “I don’t care about it,” said Amanda.

  “Who would be calling? You never know. Pick it up,” said Percy.

  “It’s probably my mother. I’ll answer later.”

  “Just check,” he said.

  Amanda pulled out the phone for a second to check. To her amazement, it was Keira. “It’s my sister,” she said.

  “Talk to her,” said Percy.

  Amanda didn’t want to. Percy watched her stare at the phone as it rang and let it take a message. Obviously, she couldn’t bring herself to talk to her sister now, when she was here with him.

  “I’ll let her leave a message,” Amanda said. “I’m here with you now.”

  Percy felt his entire body bristling. Keira probably sensed what was happening to her twin and was calling to warn Amanda. On the other hand, she might be giving a lead as to her whereabouts. He longed to pull the phone from Amanda’s hands and answer himself.

  When it stopped ringing, he took the phone from her. “Let’s see what she said,” Percy put the phone to his ear and replaying the message. Amanda didn’t need to hear it. But he certainly did.

  “Amanda, this is Keira. I haven’t been able to stop thinking of you. I’m on my way to Beaver Island, off the coast of Lake Michigan, if you need me for anything. The house I’ll be in is under an arbor, at the very South tip, right by the lake for a week or two. Then I move on from there. Please, please be careful. I know what I told you sounds crazy, but everything I said is true. Percy doesn’t love you. He’s using you to get to me.”

  Percy listened closely and then deleted the message with a flip of his hand.

  “What did she say?” asked Amanda.

  “Nothing important,” said Percy. “Just that she was thinking of you.”

  “Did she warn me again?” Amanda asked flippantly, “did she say that I was in danger being with you?”

  That stopped Percy. Usually he would lie, pretend everything was safe and well. This time he couldn’t.

  Amanda turned and looked at him, feeling something was strange. “Did she?”

  “Yes, she did,” he answered slowly.

  Amanda laughed lightly and tossed her hair over her shoulders, asserting her beauty, as she always did.

  “And is she right?” Amanda flirted with him coyly, looking at him over her shoulder. He could see she expected him to pull her to him, reassure her, kiss her again passionately.

  But Percy did nothing of the kind. He simply stood and looked at Amanda deeply. This wasn’t a game. He couldn’t lie to her. He couldn’t make love with her now, either. Lives were at stake here, his included.

  “What’s the matter, Percy?” Amanda asked, suddenly unsettled.

  “Listen to me, Amanda,” he said.

  “I’m listening,” she said.

  “Everything your sister told you is true.”

  CHAPTER 18

  Senica called for the Shadows to gather at exactly 4:45 p.m. They were flying in from all corners. So far they were on schedule, the plan was working. They’d been seeding all corners of the globe with waves of fear, shifting climates, hurricanes, causing volcanoes to erupt, unexpected illnesses. He was sure it would be more than the Torchs and light workers could handle.

  Senica licked his lips. They tasted salty. The Shadows had grown stronger since their last defeat - because of him. He’d refused to be humiliated, especially by a girl, and a human one, or half human one at that. When he thought back to the defeat, what had shaken him was seeing his son, Cooper, again. It was a shock to remember how much he’d meant to him. Cooper had been there in the cottage with her when they swooped in. It looked like the two of them had something together. When Senica had met Cooper’s mother, even though she was from a different tribe, at least she was another Vampire. At least he’d never taken up with a human. The thought of it revolted him.

  Senica had wanted to destroy Cooper himself. It would have been vindication. Escaping from the tribe, stealing his mother’s ring and then taking up with a human was more than Senica could bear. How could Cooper have betrayed him so deeply? Especially after all those years of Senica being so good to him, grooming him to be top dog.

  This wasn’t the time to brood about it, though. He’d get his chance. This meeting was important. They couldn’t leave any loopholes uncovered. They had to bring both Cooper and that girl down. Their existence was a constant threat.

  It would be only a little while now before the tribe would gather, Percy was due in, too. He hadn’t reported in regularly this time on mission. Senica was upset about that. That was unusual for him, too. This mission was bigger than anyone he’d handled, and Senica had thought he was ready for it.

  At a quarter to five exactly, the huge wide wooden doors of the main room opened and the Shadows began drifting in. The tribe was gathered at their headquarters, in Illinois, in a huge stone room. They greeted each other, fluttered around, slipped in and out of crevices. It was always a time of celebration when many of them came together in one room.

  Percy was the last to arrive. Senica scrutinized him closely as he slipped through the open door. He looked downhearted, not as dapper as usual. A dark wave of energy filled Senica, warning him something was wrong. Usually Percy walked in high handed, arrogant, flushed with victory.

  “Percy,” Senica called out, beckoning him over.

  Percy’s rhythm was off as he walked. Senica was right. There was trouble somewhere.

  The Shadows settled and took their seats as Senica motioned for Percy to sit at the head of the table, at his right hand. He walked over and sat down, deflated.

  Senica banged his fist on the table as soon as Percy was seated. He had to call the meeting to order.

  “Darius is still in Australia, creating a web around the backlands,” Senica started, “so I am in charge of this meeting.”

  The Shadows nodded in unison and gurgled. They were not bred to disobey authority or to have any thoughts or plans of their own.

  “First I’ll report on the number one project close at hand. Seize and destroy both Cooper and the girl. Percy is locating the whereabouts of the girl. He’ll report on his progress in a few moments.”

  The Shadows clapped. An odd shuffling sound filled the room.

  “And, about Cooper. It has come to my attention that he’s been located. He’s returned to his mother’s compound.”

  A long, cold gasp went up from the Shadows.

  “But, already, he’s left.”

  The gasping got louder.

  “Now there are two tribes that he’s escaped from. He’s wild, he’s rogue. He’s not fit to live. And he didn’t leave empty handed either,” Senica’s jowls rumbled and his voice got darker. “When he left here, he stole his mother’s ring, with one stone missing. We have to assume that she’d given him the final jewel. The ring could be complete.”

  Icy attention filled the room. It was a power ring and they all knew it. Cooper could have the upper hand.

  Senica continued, “If the ring is complete, he will have great power. We must seize him while he’s isolated. Not only will we destroy him, we’ll grab the ring. Then all the power will belong to us. This is our time. Now he’s isolated. We just have to find out where.”

  Again a long gasp of pleasure rose up from the shadows along the room.

  “We’re not yet sure exactly where he ran to, but we do know he’s completely alone. Near a mountain top.”

  Percy stayed silent.
Senica turned to him and stared.”Nothing to say, Percy?” he put the spotlight on him.

  Senica knew that Percy had always hated Cooper. Why wasn’t he cheering with the others now?

  “Cooper was connected to the woman you’re after, Percy,” Senica roared. “You realize that? This is a web we are working to undo.”

  Percy maintained stony silence.

  “Report now on your mission!” Senica was enraged. He’d had enough of Percy’s mood. “Have you enjoyed the girl to the full? Found the whereabouts of her twin sister? Tell us about it, blow by blow.”

  The Shadows leered as Senica spoke. They thrived on details of conquest and lust.

  Percy looked into the distance.

  “Stand up and report!” Senica roared, about to grab Percy by the neck and twist him around.

  Percy stood. “I’ve met Amanda,” he spoke carefully and deliberately. “We made contact. All is on schedule.”

  “That’s it?” Senica felt the blood rush up to his face. He was being made a fool of again, disrespected publicly.

  “Give us details immediately. Have you taken her to bed, gotten her to give up her sister’s whereabouts?”

  Percy stiffened and shuddered slightly. Senica had no idea why. Usually he was a fountain of lurid details. Something else had happened here. Had Percy run into Keira? Had she intervened? Somehow, he’d been weakened.

  “I haven’t taken her to bed yet,” Percy said quietly.

  The Shadows hissed.

  “Why not?” Senica roared again.

  Percy could not answer.

  Then the Shadows began hooting. It was their way of laughing, a long, thin eerie sound that crept along the walls, in through their bellies and ran down to their toes. They were laughing at Percy.

  It all became obvious to Senica then. “This girl has gained power over you,” he howled to Percy.

  “Definitely not.” Percy insisted.

  “Her miserable twin sister accumulated powers-- maybe she has some of them too?”

  “She has no powers,” Percy grew stronger. His face looked whiter, his eyes inflamed. “She has no powers. Nothing at all. This one is different. It’s just taking time.”