Gifted Curse (Curse Trilogy) (30 page)

“How’s your food?” Hale chirps as he pulls me off the countertop.

Cold by now.

“It’s great, but I’m not as hungry as I thought,” I mumble, and Brazen smirks before walking away.

“You okay?” he asks with concern.

“I’m fine.  What did you find in the tracks?”

“They’re heading south, so now we’re heading south too.  They’ve got at least thirty people judging by the impressions in the dirt, and they’re in a hurry.  Something’s off.  I don’t know what it is.  I can’t tell if they’re scared, or if they just drive like me.”

I laugh a little at his ending joke, and then he kisses me softly.

“You want to lie down with me for a while?  I was enjoying holding you.”

“I was enjoying being held, so yes,” I almost giggle out, and he scoops me up before tossing me on the small bunk.

I laugh a little louder when he drops to the bed to land on top of me.  He starts tickling me ferociously, and I can’t catch my breath when I start laughing too hard to inhale.

“Stop,” I laugh out, and he complies just as his lips fall on mine.

I wrap my arms around his neck to pull him closer to me, and his hands jerk my hips to his.

“It’d be nice if we had this place to ourselves for a little while,” he seduces.

“This place would be in shambles if we did,” I provocatively sizzle free, and his eyes dance menacingly.

“I’d love to tear it apart,” he growls into my ear, and then he resumes his tickling attack.

Brazen walks back in with a small smile but envious eyes as I laugh wildly under the ravaging hands of Hale.

“Please stop,” I beg through my laughter, and I finally manage to flip him over and pin his hands down without knocking myself out on the bunk above me.

“I’m good with you on top,” he dares, and I blush as several others join us.

“I know,” I whisper into his ear.  “That’s how I got one ahead of you.”

His eyes blaze over with a heated and thoroughly seduced stare, and he rolls his eyes when he sees more and more people flooding in before the huge vehicle starts moving again.

“Tease,” he playfully snarks.

“I only tease for a little while,” I seduce, and his head flops back with a frustrated pounce.  “Actually, I suppose it’s not how I got one ahead.  Technically, you’re actually three ahead of me.  You forgot about the night in the interrogation room when I was savage.”

“No, I didn’t.  You’re forgetting about what happened later… my lips, your body, my tongue, and your scre-”

“Okay, okay,” I interrupt a little loudly.  “I did forget.”

I fan myself lightly, and his erection digs into me from underneath.  My body starts aching, and our eye-fucking gaze gets too intense.

“I need a drink,” he grumbles.  “Maybe it’ll take the edge off.”

I make sure no one is looking before I slide against his erection more forcefully.  He groans softly, his eyes rolling back in his head as his desire hardens all the more.

“The bathroom might be free,” I whisper.

“Fuck,” he breathes, and he jerks my head down to his to envelope me in an hot, steamy, fuck-me-now kiss.

I look out to see everyone congregated in the kitchen area, and I can tell someone’s in the bathroom when three people stand in a line to wait their turn.

“Never mind,” I grunt in frustration.  “There’s a fucking line.”

He snickers lightly, and then pulls me back to him to kiss me so much sweeter.

“I can wait.  You’re worth it, baby.  You better be ready though,” he smolders.

“I will be.”

Brazen returns to the bunk beside us, and Hale intentionally kisses me hard right in front of him as a way of staking his claim.

I suppose it’s better than pissing on me.

Brazen just rolls his eyes at the excessive show of affection.  I smile against the possessive lips owning mine, and then he releases me with a smile of his own.

“We’ll stop in twenty minutes to let everyone stretch their legs.  The sun will be tinted again by then,” Hale says to Brazen.

“How far ahead is this group?”

“At least seven hours.  They’ll have to make camp at some point, and we’ll catch up to them then,” Hale asserts.

“Do we really want to catch up?  We don’t know enough about them,” Brazen murmurs as his eyes look to me.  “Maybe we should leave Araya at Hilbrook.  It isn’t too far from here.”

“Hell no,” I bark.

Hale’s arms tighten around me, and I can see the glimpse of betrayal in his eyes.  He’s considering this to be an option.

“Don’t you dare side with him.  This is the first time I’ve been out in the field, and Clay said I was doing good,” I scold.

“Baby, I think this could get worse, and you’ve already had a rough several weeks.”

“If it gets worse, you’re going to need me - unless you’re planning on bringing your gift out of slumber.”

I climb free from the bed to raid the cabinets in my quest for liquor.

“Araya, I’m not saying you’re not good, I’m saying I don’t want to see you getting hurt,” Brazen explains.

“Until Clay says I can’t go, you can both kiss my ass.”

I feel hands heating against my waist, and I turn to face the soft eyes of Hale.

“I’ll kiss your ass, and then I’ll tie you down to keep you safe,” he murmurs to lighten the mood.

“Don’t be cute right now.  I’m pissed.  I’m not some infant.  I realize there’s a fucked up piece of my life, but that doesn’t mean I need to be sheltered for the remainder of my span.  I’m sick of being held back, and I’ll go on my own if you try to leave me behind.  If you don’t believe me, try me.  I know a thing or two about tracking as well.”

I barge by him, and I head to the front of the vehicle to sit in the passenger seat beside the driver.  He almost jumps at my sudden appearance, but he stays quiet as I stare into the full glow of the sun that is shaded by the curtain behind us.

I know it’s Hale coming through the curtains since Brazen would burst into flames, and I look away before his face comes into view.  He lifts my body from the seat, and he climbs under me to pull me into his lap.

“I love you, baby, and I’m worried what could happen to you,” he mutters while nestling his head against the nook of my neck.

“I’m worried about what could happen to you too.  Does that mean you won’t go?” I snark.

“Araya, please understand.”

His huffing, pouting plea is brought to a halt by a faint sense of urgency coming from the dash.  He reaches past me to tune the screeching noise that squeals into my sensitive ears.  I cringe while pushing a fingertip into my left ear - the one closest to the machine mimicking the shrill scream of a banshee.  The radio finally comes to life as the panicked voice scratches through the static-laced connection.

“There’s a stage five storm rolling in.  Anyone not in a secure facility, please find shelter now.”

Fear shivers through my spine as the stage five images of the past flood through my mind.  She continues her shrill warnings, and Hale turns it back down shaking his head.

“Turn here and take us to Hilbrook,” Hale says to the driver, and then he speaks to either me or himself when he mumbles, “I’ll call Clay.”

I look up to see the clouds starting to swirl violently to form the inward funnel spiraling in reverse from a tornado’s threat.  Soon it will be sucking the ground into the sky, savagely ripping apart anything it brings into its vast mouth.

“Fuck,” I gasp as some of the smaller plants begin taking flight immediately, and then the red lightening begins streaking down to the earth to emphasize the wrath of the storm.  “It’s picking up too quickly.  We won’t make it.”

“How far out are we, Sir?” the driver says with anxiety rumbling around.

“Not far, just give it all you’ve got,” Hale answers briskly, a roughness in his tone.

“I assume you’re calling to tell me you’ve already detoured to Hilbrook?” Clay says as he answers.

“I’m glad we think alike,” Hale murmurs while staring up at the growing strength of the funnel.

“I didn’t get to be commander based on my looks alone,” Clay jokes.  “I’ve already called ahead, and they’re taking cover now.  We’ll have to ram our way through their gates, but it shouldn’t be too hard to do.”

“I’ll take care of that,” Hale asserts, and then he tosses the phone on my lap while ushering the driver to move.

He keeps his foot on the pedal until Hale can fully relieve him of his duties.

“I can open them with my gift… if I can find the damn compound by then,” I murmur while staring through the stirring dust being pulled into the vacuuming sky.

“It’s too risky.  If you don’t have a visual, you could rip the side of the wall out.  It’d be too easy for you to rip out a place where people are.  I’d rather we not make any sacrificial offerings to the beast above.  I can line up with the gates easier than you can control your gifts blindly.”

Good point. 
I just nod instead of agreeing with him, and he squints into the sandstorm growing more vicious ahead of us.

“Tell the others to hold the fuck on and fasten themselves anyway they can,” Hale murmurs to the driver.

“Yes, Sir.”

I pull my seatbelt on tighter just as Brazen sticks his head in.  The sky has been tinted by nature now, so he doesn’t have to worry about flames consuming him.

“Where the fuck did this come from?” he growls.

“I don’t know, but it’s stage five.  We’re going to have to ram the gates, so you might want to hold onto something,” Hale murmurs while fastening his own seatbelt.

“A little wreck isn’t going to kill me,” Brazen says casually while pulling out a rifle from overhead.

“No, but it’s sure as hell going to hurt, and we’ll have to move quick once we get inside,” Hale counters, and I can feel the exhaustion of the engine from his hellacious driving as it whines for mercy.

“I’ll give you a little less resistance,” Brazen says while opening the door.

A suffocating burst of sand fills the front.  The small grains scratch against my eyes and accumulate in disgusting heaps in my mouth, ears, and nose.  I grab a mask to wrap over my face, and then I pull one over Hale’s as well to help free him from the grainy assault.  He coughs on the fresh air once I turn on the filter, and then I plop back down to pull my seatbelt back into place.

My head moves so I can see Brazen lining up the shot into the cloud of dust destroying all views to anything in front of us. 
His eyes can’t be that damn good
.  I’d sure as hell be impressed if they were.

More and more shit begins surging to the sky as the funnel continues to grow.  It’ll have a fifteen mile stretch in less than five minutes at this rate.  It’ll have all the power of a black hole as it tries to turn the world inside out, mercilessly carrying away all the souls it can collect.

I hear the shot ring out from behind me, stinging my ears from the close, unguarded proximity, and then I hear the snapping of a chain I can’t see. 
Well, I’m impressed. 
I hear another shot and another snap before Brazen reappears in the front with us.

“I collapsed the exposed chains holding it shut, so you should be able to break through without it breaking this thing too badly.”

“Thanks, now buckle up because it can’t be far away.”

“You can’t see?” Brazen gasps.

“This damn dust is every-fucking-where.”

Brazen pulls me out of my seatbelt while lifting me just enough for him to shimmy underneath me.  His cold touch presses against my back, and then I feel the seatbelt snapping around us, forcing my body even closer to his.

Hale starts to scold him for his crude maneuver, but Brazen’s eyes scour the land in front of us instead of me.

“You need to go five clicks east,” Brazen instructs, making Hale realize why he’s sitting up front instead of in the back.

Hale does as he says, blindly trusting the full blood he can’t stand.

“Brace yourselves,” Brazen warns - his arms protectively drawing me closer to his body.

I feel the forceful impact trying to snap my neck off my shoulders as it jolts me forward.  My head spins as the large, beast of a vehicle climbs onto its side, and I hear the snapping of wood and metal clashing as we barrel through the sand-wrapped gate.  My head thuds against breaking glass as we skid into the compound, my breath catching against the heated base of the mask. 
Brazen’s arms tighten around my waist when more glass shatters around us, the shards relentlessly trying to cut through our resistant skin.  The dust surges in with more ferocity now that it has too many points of access.  All visibility has disappeared, except for the swirling wonder of a storm in the sky that is pulling the dead land into it.  The red lightening crashes with more grace and beauty than the erratic bolts of blue that come with the other stage storms.  The vibrant drops of crimson rain litter the ground with the same elegance of blood dripping from a vein.  It all becomes more nature’s ballet rather its demon child.  It’s hypnotic, entrancing actually, and though I’ve seen them before, I’ve never felt like this about one.  I almost feel connected to it in some strange way - as though it’s trying to tell me something about… myself?  It’s the strangest feeling I’ve ever had to deal with, leaving me bemused in the face of a crisis rather than alert or even functioning.