Five: A Maor Novel (Maor series) (25 page)

Chapter
43

Festive

Tastes like: Christmas
cookies

Smells like: Turkey,
cooking in the oven

Sounds like: Loud, chaotic
chatter

Feels like: Air beneath
your feet

Looks
like: A garden, jam-packed with family and friends

There is a definite air of festivity on campus tonight. Groups
of students in torn jeans and sneakers stand beneath the floodlights; some munching
on mini-donuts dunked in caramel; some flying by on roller-blades; and others
engrossed in the fire-juggling torch act in the middle of the chalked field. The
smell of deep-fried junk-food wafts on the evening air, accompanied by the
rhythmic beat of a summer compilation the campus DJ is pumping over the sports
sound equipment.

‘I’m starving!’ Michelle complains.

We’ve been on gate duty since seven thirty and after an
hour of breathing in the decadent odors of unhealthy food, my mouth too, is
watering. I’m also pretty sure that the low grumble I’ve been hearing for the past
ten minutes is coming from my stomach.

‘It’s almost eight thirty,’ I say to Michelle, glancing
at the face of my watch in the dim light and then over at Kael, who stands
silently in the shadows opposite the booth.

‘Why don’t you go on and get something to eat?’ I say.
‘Sandy and Peter will be here any minute now, I’m sure I can hold the fort till
then.’

‘You sure?’ Michelle asks. She flashes a grateful smile when
I nod and tucks her wallet into the tight back pocket of her frayed Levis.

‘Thanks, babe,’ she says, hurrying out of the booth into
the milling crowd. I watch her go, see her look back anxiously from across the
path and know there was more to her hasty departure than meets the eye. The mere
mention of Peter’s name is enough to send her running. There’s history there,
but I’ll wait for her to tell me when she’s ready.
 
 

Kael stirs from his post, stepping forward slightly so
his face is half-lit by the light from the booth. I shake my head and he
retreats once again into the shadows. I feel bad that he’s been standing there,
just watching me the whole time. I did tell him to go and take a walk, but he
refused.
 
 

Two entrance ticket sales later and after numerous
complaints from my stomach, Sandy and Peter arrive for duty, arms linked and
heads bent close together. Thank goodness I sent Michelle off early.

‘Hi,’ Sandy says, blushing slightly as she extricates
her arm from Peter’s and steps into the tiny booth. ‘Been busy?’

‘No, but I’m glad you’re here, I’m absolutely starving!’

‘You should try the Prego’s, they’re good,’ Peter says, squeezing
past me into the tiny space behind the counter. I flinch back from him,
although there really isn’t much room to move, and hand Sandy the float keys.
‘Running low on change but Kelly and Jarred said they’d bring some more.
Tickets are in the bottom drawer.’

Sandy nods and mumbles a ‘thanks’ but Peter is already
leaning into her and I can’t get away quick enough. I rush out of the booth and
head toward the shadows where Kael waits.

‘Please can we stop first at the nearest food stall
before I pass out from hunger?’ I beg. Kael smiles and steps into stride beside
me, but he hesitates after a step or two. I look up at him and suddenly realize
that I’ve slipped my hand into the crook of his arm. I consider removing it,
but it feels so right, comfortable and warm, so I pretend that it’s natural and
pull him toward the hot-dog stand.

Kael orders us each a hot-dog and I sigh as I’m forced
to move my hand from his arm to accept the food. We amble toward the middle of
the field to watch the fire-eaters swallow their burning swords. The performers
take a bow; the crowd applauds and moves on. I take the mustard-drenched
serviette from Kael’s hand and dump it, together with mine, in the nearest bin.
When I return to his side, I can’t resist slipping my hand once more into the
warm crook of his elbow. I ignore his look and shiver as a surge of heat runs
from his body into mine.

‘Are you cold?’ he asks.

‘A little,’ I lie.

Kael hesitates, drapes his arm around my shoulders and
tucks me against his side. I shiver again as the electrical stream between us
seems to open up even more. My eyes close involuntarily and I turn my face into
Kael’s chest, breathe in the delicious, musky scent of him. It feels like I was
made to fit here, in the space beneath his heart.

‘Kael!’ Someone calls from behind us. Kael starts, drops
his arm from around me and spins around. He looks like a schoolboy who has just
been caught making out with his girlfriend. The thought makes me want to laugh
and blush at the same time.

I sigh and turn around to one of Kael’s college friends,
waving from the other side of the field. I’m not in the mood for small talk
right now.

‘I’ll just be over there by the stalls,’ I say.

Kael frowns slightly but he looks over at the row of
market stalls and nods. I make my way toward the first, a soap stall, all the
while conscious of Kael’s gaze following me. I browse for a while, idly
sniffing the delicately scented soaps hand-carved into various shapes and
patterns. Most of my attention though, is centered on Kael, who has angled his
body to watch me while he converses with his friend.

My eye catches a stall with lacy blouses. I saunter over
and flip through the rack until I find a gauzy black top with silk ties down
the front. It’s not crochet, but it’s still pretty. I hand over the few pounds
and the student on duty wraps my purchase in a brown paper bag. I tuck the bag
beneath one arm and glance up to check where Kael is.

Out of nowhere, I’m hit by a wave of nausea and pain, so
intense that I gasp and double over. I stumble, see the ground coming up toward
me and brace for impact, but before I make contact with the grass, a pair of
familiar, strong arms closes around me.

‘What’s wrong?’ Kael’s voice is low and urgent in my
ear. I want to respond but the words are stuck behind the lump of bile at the
back of my throat.

I close my eyes and groan as he lifts me into his arms,
moves quickly to the side of the field and lays me down gently on the grass,
behind the screen of a small bush. I immediately try to curl into a fetal
position and wrap my arms around my stomach, but Kael pries my arms away,
gentle but firm.

‘Let me see, please?’ he says.

He holds my gaze, carefully peels my shirt up and looks
down.

‘Oh my God,’ I hear his harsh intake of breath but the
agony radiating from my middle has pushed me past the point of caring.

‘Hurts…’ I gasp, ‘make it…stop…please…’
 

Chapter
44

Desire

Tastes like: Melted
chocolate

Smells like: Candles and
incense

Sounds like: Soft, classical
music

Feels like: Satin

Looks
like: A heated gaze across a room

‘…fell down…’

‘…not sure…butterfly…’

‘take off….’

‘…oh my…’

Disjointed sentences and familiar voices filter through
my pain filled haze. Every part of my body aches. I try to move my head toward
the voices but even the slightest movement sends agony shooting through my
skull, so I remain still.

‘I’ve never seen anything like this.’ I recognize Nan’s
voice.

‘
You
try,’ Kael’s
deep voice replies. Even the sound of his voice sends a slow warmth through me,
chasing away some of the haze.

‘I don’t want to hurt her...’

‘She’s unconscious, Tanya. Just try.’

I feel ice cold fingers slide along my bare stomach and
then a palm flattens against the butterfly and I wish I could pass out again.
Someone cries out; I think it’s me. The hands on my belly are quickly removed
and Kael’s voice sounds out of the threatening blackness:

‘Tanya! Your hands! Are you alright?’

There is a pause and a shuffling sound. I want to open
my eyes, but it’s taking all my energy just to hang onto consciousness.

‘It’s as if…no, it couldn’t be - it doesn’t make sense…’
Nan says.

‘What is it?’

‘This is the kind of wound iron causes.’

‘Are you saying she has
iron
in her blood?’ Kael responds, sounding incredulous.

‘I know, it doesn’t make sense but…’

‘Surely she would be dead then?’

‘Not necessarily. Technically, she’s still human, at
least for the next few months, so it’s possible that iron would not have the
same effect on her now as it does to an adult
Maor
but I just don’t understand how it could have happened.’

There is another silence and Kael says, very softly: ‘She
has
been in contact with iron, Tanya.
That night…’

‘The attack…’ Nan breathes.

‘What will happen when she –‘

Kael’s sentence is cut short with the sound of a door
being thrown open. I recognize Jake’s breathless voice:

‘Fire!’

‘What? Again?’ Kael asks, ‘Where?’

‘Just outside Aylburton.’

‘Damn it!’ Kael swears.

‘You have to stay, Kael,’ Nan says.

‘I know. It’s no coincidence.’

‘Should we leave someone else with you?’ Nan asks.

‘No, you’ll need all the help you can get.’

‘What if it’s a diversion?’

Kael makes a frustrated sound.

‘Fine. Ask Kent to keep watch downstairs.’

I hear footsteps receding, the click of a door swinging
closed and then silence again.

My mind is reeling, both from pain and from what was
said. Iron in my blood? The attack? Diversion?

My curiosity gets the better of me. I grit my teeth
against the pain, turn my head to the side and open my eyes.

‘Thank God,’ Kael breathes. He leans over me from the edge
of the mattress, brushing one hand across my forehead and peering anxiously
down at me.

‘How’re you feeling?’

‘Sore,’ I say, finding it difficult to speak with my
thick, dry tongue. ‘Water, please?’

Kael retrieves a tall glass of water from the bedside
table, cups the back of my head and lifts the glass to my lips. The water
slides down my hot, dry throat like cold, soothing fingers. I sigh and drink
down the rest of the glass. Kael holds me until the glass is drained, then
lowers me gently back onto the feather pillows.

‘What happened?’ I ask.

‘You had another attack. You passed out at the festival.
I had to carry you home.’

I glance down at my stomach, where my shirt has been
moved aside to expose the butterfly and draw in a shocked breath. The skin
there is still raw and tender and the outline is an angry, red welt. Along the etching,
are newly dried scabs. I run my hand lightly over the outline and feel unbidden
tears well up behind my eyes.

‘Why is this happening to me?’ I whisper.

‘I don’t know…’ he replies, ‘we’ve never seen anything
like this before and I can’t heal you.’ He swears and gestures toward my
stomach. ‘Dammit, I’m supposed to be able to heal you!’

‘What?’ I ask, latching onto his words. ‘What do you
mean?’

‘I’m your
seastnan
,
Shaylee, I’m supposed to be able to heal you, but I can’t.’

His voice is raw, but there’s anger behind his words and
it sparks an answering response in me. This revelation is just another one in a
long line of secrets he’s been keeping from me.

‘What else are you supposed to be able to do, Kael? What
other secrets are you keeping from me?’ I demand.

‘What?’ he asks, looking a bit taken back.

‘I’m so tired of everyone keeping things from me; the
attack, the secret Circle meeting, the healing. Why can’t you just be honest
with me?’

‘Shaylee -’ Kael stands and paces beside the bed,
‘you’re not ready -’

‘Stop it! Just stop treating me like a child!’ I swing
my legs off the side of the bed and sit up, fighting the rolling dizziness that
threatens to overwhelm me.

‘I’m not even sure -’

‘Tell me!’ I push up, off the bed and sway against the
dizziness.

Kael immediately steps forward and catches my body
against his.

‘You’re still weak,’ he says, ‘you should stay in bed…’

‘I’m fine! I just -’ my voice fades as Kael lifts one
hand and brushes the hair back from my forehead. I lift my eyes from his chest
to his face. When our eyes meet, I know I’ve made a mistake. My head swims and
I catch my breath. I’m suddenly hyper aware of the energy crackling almost
audibly between us.

Time ceases to exist; Kael’s eyes turn almost black and
his gaze dips to my lips. With excruciating slowness, his head lowers toward
mine until there is barely an inch of space between my lips and his. I can feel
his breath, warm and rapid, against my face and I breathe in the delicious minty
musk of him.

My lips part and my breathing becomes labored. Every
nerve inside me tingles, my heart pounds in my chest, and I wait for him to
bridge the distance between us, but he doesn’t. He just hovers there, letting a
range of emotion wash through his eyes, drawing me tight with anticipation.

When I think he’s reached a conclusion and that he’s
going to pull away, I step forward and brush my lips against his. He freezes,
eyes open watching me and I shiver, lean forward and press my lips against his
again, increasing the pressure.

With a pained exhale, Kael’s eyes close and he tightens
his arms around me. His lips respond to the pressure of mine and he deepens the
kiss, turning it from a feather caress to a searing flame. My hands tangle in
the hair at his nape and I press against him, trying to get closer. Electricity
sparks at every point where our bodies touch. My temperature soars; I part my
lips against his, tasting, dissolving, wanting more.

Then suddenly, he wrenches his lips from mine and pulls away.
I stumble at the sudden loss of support but he catches me by the arms and
deposits me back on the side of the bed. He steps back, draws in a ragged
breath and shoves both hands through his short hair.

His eyes take in my lips, red and swollen from our kiss;
my hair, tangled from his fingers. He swears softly and disappears out of the
doorway.