Crimson Dahlia (7 page)

Flames
erupted from his body, blasting from his hands toward the forest. Lila watched in
horrified fascination as the trees around them exploded with a deafening roar.

Her
heart raced as she and Ramsey were instantly surrounded by the inferno. At
first she didn’t want to take a breath, afraid of smothering in the smoke. But
lack of oxygen eventually forced her to inhale. To her surprise nothing but
clean air entered her lungs. She felt warm but not hot. In fact, the heat from
the fire didn’t seem to be touching them at all.

She
closed her eyes as the blinding light from the blaze became too much. With her
eyes shut, her power to sense emotion caught her attention. She could feel the
volatile emotions that came with his power swirling around inside of Ramsey –
hate, rage, and so much more – but she could also feel the ocean of serenity
that kept them in check. He truly had gained control over his power.

“We
need to extend the line!” Ramsey yelled. Lila had no idea how she heard him
over the raging noise, but she patted his stomach so he’d know she understood.

“Right
foot first,” he called. And together they made their way to their left. Away
from where Selene had run off to meet their people.

Fire
continued to pour off Ramsey’s body, although it never touched any part of
Lila. They walked through the conflagration of flame, almost as if they were
leading a slow march of death and destruction through the trees and brambles.

Lila
felt the fear and desperation of Maddox’s wolves as Ramsey pushed the massive
wall of flame their way, using only his mind.

And
they kept walking. Lila just figured he was making the barrier long enough so
they’d never get around it. But after a while, when he didn’t stop, she started
to wonder...

“Ramsey!”

But
he didn’t respond. And he didn’t stop.

“
Ramsey
!”

He
kept moving. Lila’s heart started to race.

Lila
maneuvered herself so that she was positioned in front of him, walking
backwards.

“Ramsey,
stop!”

He
kept going.

Lila
knew what she had to do. Taking a calming breath, she closed her eyes and
pulled on every ounce of the power within her. She pictured a mountain stream,
peaceful, cool, and soothing. And then she pushed those feelings into Ramsey.
She felt his steps falter and then stop.

Underneath
her hand she could feel the frantic beating of his heart. She reached up and
took his face in her hands. Ramsey looked down, and recognition lit his eyes.

“Lila,”
he gasped.

Relief
flooded through her, but she could tell he was still struggling. She had to
distract him. Get him to focus solely on her.

She
closed her eyes, got up on her tip toes, and pulled his head down. Then she
gently lay her lips on top of his, pouring all her emotions into the kiss.

At
first he didn’t move. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her
up so that her feet no longer touched the ground, his lips eagerly responding
to her scorching kiss.

Ramsey
pulled back and gazed into her eyes. Lila wasn’t sure if his eyes were blazing
with desire or just with the reflection of the fire still surrounding them.

And
then he smiled. And Lila’s heart stuttered in her chest. His smiles – rare as
they were – always had that effect on her. With a rushing sound, the flames
around them all extinguished. There was silence.

“Thank
you,” Ramsey whispered as he gently lowered Lila back to the ground.

Lila
simply nodded, unable to speak.

Ramsey
frowned. “You okay? I didn’t burn you, did I?”

She
managed to nod and break from his embrace. “Didn’t feel a thing.”

He
gave a relieved smile. “Good.” He glanced around, and then up into the night
sky. “It gets pretty cold here at night. We need to double back. Find my gear.”

“Will
it be safe?”

“Yeah.
I left the line of fire burning everywhere but here.”

“You’re
keeping it contained?”

Ramsey
nodded. “It won’t go anywhere other than where I’ve told it to go.”

“Oh.”

“Well…
we should get going.” Ramsey reached down to pick her up, but Lila pushed
against his chest and stepped away.

“I
can walk.”

He
looked as if he wanted to argue, but he held his tongue and nodded. He started
away, Lila following at a slower pace. He kept the wall of fire to their left
stoked. “The sound of the fire should be enough, but we need to try to be as
quiet as possible.”

“Why?”

“Maddox
has a powerful teleporter who he might use to hop the flames. If he hasn’t
already.” Ramsey levered himself up a series of small boulders and then turned
to offer her a hand.

Lila
grasped his hand and let him pull her up. For a moment they were chest to
chest. Lila didn’t look up into his eyes. She just focused on his
well-developed pecs until he turned and started walking again.

They
had quite a bit of light and warmth from the flames to their left. Despite the
circumstances, Lila was grateful to be outside after over a month stuck in that
dark hole in the ground that had been her prison. As they trekked along, she
tried to ignore her growing need for water and the raging headache that was
settling just behind her eyes. She forced herself to relax and let her mind
drift, trying not to think about the fact that she was in the middle of
nowhere. Alone. With Ramsey.

After
a while, Lila no longer needed to ignore Ramsey. She was so parched and so
exhausted all she could think about was getting to wherever they were going so
that she could rest and get something to drink.

When
she stumbled for the nth time, Ramsey abruptly stopped. “This isn’t working.”

She
looked at him through a haze of misery. “What’s not?”

“You’re
shattered.” He held up a hand when she tried to protest. “Don’t deny it. I can
see for myself.” He looked around. “Okay, here’s the plan. We’re going to get
you up into the woods over there. And then I’ll go get my gear and bring it
back here.”

“But…”

“We’d
have to come back anyway. We can’t stay where my gear is, in case they’re
searching the area for us.”

Lila
dreaded the thought of having to backtrack. She gave a frustrated nod. “Okay.”

 “Don’t
call out for me,” Ramsey said as he turned to leave. “I can find you. If you
hear something, get up in that tree.”

“Got
it.”

“Don’t
go to sleep either. You need to stay alert.”

Lila
nodded. “Yup.”

“Are
you sure you’ll be okay here? Maybe I should—”

“Ramsey,
this was your idea. I’ll be fine. I’d rather sleep in a sleeping bag tonight if
it’s all right by you.”

Ramsey
looked at her for a moment and then gave a single nod. But he didn’t move away.
Lila raised her eyebrows.

Suddenly,
Ramsey squatted down in front of her and took both her hands in his. “I’m glad
we have you back safe and sound, Lilliputian.”

Lila
chuckled. “You haven’t called me that silly name in years.”

The
corners of his mouth turned up. “Don’t go making me worry again. You got it?”

Before
she could say anything, he lifted her hands and placed a tender kiss on each
one. Then, as abruptly as he’d taken them, he dropped her hands, stood up and
walked away.

Lila
was fighting sleep when the snapping of twigs caused her to jerk her head up.

“Lila?”

She
relaxed at the sound of Ramsey’s voice. “Over here,” she called back softly.

He
moved into her sight, his large pack slung across his back. He hefted it to the
ground and then immediately started pulling things out.

“Can
I help?”

“Nah.
I’ve gotten fast at this over the last month.” He handed her a bottle of water
and a bag of trail mix. “This should help.”

While
Lila gratefully gulped down the food and water, Ramsey got to work setting up
camp. By the time she’d inhaled her little meal, he had their tent up and
everything else put away.

“It’s
only a one-man tent and we’ll have to share the sleeping bag,” he said.

Lila
shrugged, too exhausted to care. “Okay.”

Ramsey
wasn’t quite so apathetic. He wasn’t entirely sure he’d be able to sleep with
her so close. He gave her a pair of sweats and a t-shirt from his pack, opting
to stay in what he was already wearing.

Once
she was changed, he lay down in the sleeping bag on his side, and then had her
slide inside with him, her back to him. He wrapped an arm around her middle and
pulled her in close to him, and then tugged up the zipper.

“You
good?” he asked.

“Yup.
Snug as a bug,” she murmured.

Ramsey
closed his eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come. Instead, a long suppressed memory
insisted on playing through his mind. It was the scene he’d witnessed in Lila’s
dream. The one that he’d lived out with her a long time ago…

“Hey.”

Ramsey
looked up as Lila leaned in the doorway. He inconspicuously admired her long,
slender body covered in a pale yellow sundress that showed off her curves.
Jeez, she was gorgeous.

Ramsey
compressed his lips, irritated with the wayward thoughts that periodically
popped into his head concerning Lila.
Nothing
could ever come of it.

“We’re
going outside to hang out and work on our powers. Wanna come?” she asked.

Lila
had asked him this almost every night. She’d done so for almost ten years, ever
since he’d joined their family.

“Sorry,”
Ramsey shrugged. “I’m working on homework.” While his power made him too
dangerous to attend school, Charlotte had still insisted on home-schooling him.
Since he’d left home at nine in an age when schooling was minimal anyway,
Ramsey had had very little education to speak of when he’d joined the Jenners
and the Pierces.

“Liar.”

Ramsey
ground his teeth. Her ability to tell if someone was telling the truth or not
had gotten stronger over the past year. Consequently, he spoke less and less in
her presence, too afraid she’d be able to tell what he felt when he was near
her.

He
said nothing, merely regarded her with a stoic expression.

After
a minute, Lila shrugged. “Suit yourself,” she said, and then she left the room.

Ramsey
sat unmoving and stared vacantly at the empty doorway where Lila had just been
standing. She used to ask him with a pretty smile and pout when he refused. But
lately she’d become almost perfunctory, as though inviting him was only out of
habit. Sometimes Ramsey wished she’d just stop asking him.

He
waited for about two hours after she left. In order to not be a complete liar,
he did work on his math homework to fill in the time. Then he snuck out of the
back of the house and made his way through the surrounding trees to the
outskirts of Hugh and Lucy’s backyard. The Jenners and the Pierces always
bought adjacent properties out in the middle of nowhere so that their two
families could remain in close proximity. He knew this was where Lila,
Adelaide, and Nate hung out at night. Every once in a while, he would torture
himself by watching them from the safety of the dark woods.

These
days he didn’t get too close, because he suspected Adelaide sensed he was
there. She’d recently developed the ability to see relationships between
people. The power was very new and uncontrolled. Svatura started to receive
their powers when they hit puberty, but it could take decades before they could
fully control them. Sometimes longer. Once or twice, when he’d gotten a little
too close, he’d noticed Adelaide twitch and then look his direction. Ramsey
wasn’t sure what she was seeing, but he kept his distance just in case.

The
sound of Lila’s laughter drew his attention as he found a good spot to watch.
Nate had made her laugh. Nate always made her laugh.

“I
totally could,” Nate was saying.

“No
way!” Lila laughed again.

“You
don’t believe I could run four miles in less than two minutes?” Nate asked her.

“How
would I know? It’s not like I can watch you.”

“You’d
know if I was telling the truth about it,” he pointed out.

“You
know that doesn’t always work for me. I’m still developing it.”

Nate
thought a moment, clearly determined to prove his super speed. “I’ve got it!”
He snapped his fingers.

Lila
gave him a skeptical look. “Yeah?”

“I’ll
give you a piggyback ride. I mean, it’ll slow me down some. You’ll have to give
me three minutes instead of two.”

Ramsey
wasn’t surprised at all when she agreed. She had a bit of a thrill-seeker
personality.

“All
right, Superboy,” she said, and hopped on Nate’s back. “Let’s go.”

She
wrapped her arms around his neck, and Ramsey had to choke back his jealousy. Adelaide
counted down on her watch, and then they were off. Lila’s squeals of delight
followed them through the woods and then faded as they got further away.

Ramsey
waited for the sound of their return. When two minutes passed, he frowned.
Another minute later and Nate suddenly burst through the woods all alone.

“Where’s
Lila?” Adelaide asked.

Nate
laughed. “You know that pond about a mile or so out? She said she was convinced
about my speed and that she wanted to go swimming. I think she’s nuts.”

“So
you left her there alone?”

Nate
shrugged. “She insisted. Said she knew the way back.”

Adelaide
frowned. “We shouldn’t leave her there. What if something happens to her?”

“She’s
fine, Delia. That pond is perfectly safe. We’ve been swimming in it lots of
times.” Nate started heading toward the house. “Come on, let’s go play a game.”

Adelaide
gave the woods one last worried glance and happened to look in Ramsey’s
direction. It almost felt as if she were telling him to go after Lila.

Once
they were gone, Ramsey turned in the direction of the pond. After a brief
internal struggle, he started walking in its direction.