Resistance (20 page)

I can’t deny I am happy to hear he has faith in my
abilities and I smile at him. He’s definitely not the person I used
to think he was. I’m learning there is a lot more to him than he
lets on at first glance.

"Thank you," I say, and hope he can see how much I
mean it. "I think I really needed to hear that from someone."

He grins at me and nudges me with his elbow. “See?
I’m not an asshole all the time.”

I laugh out loud. “I have a feeling you’re not really
an asshole at all, Flint. You just like people to think you are.” I
wink at him as I finish my coffee. I’ve already delayed longer than
I should. "I have to go be the bane of my brother's existence now.”
I sigh when I think of the reaction I know Eir will have to what
I’m going to say. "Oh, this day just keeps getting better."

Flint looks like he’s trying very hard not to smile
at me. “Should I expect more abuse to be inflicted on this poor,
innocent floor?” I can’t hold in the smile that breaks over my
face. Suddenly I feel very lucky to know this man.

“Let’s hope the danger has passed for today,” I say,
and without thinking about it, I lay my hand on his bicep and
squeeze. “Thank you, Flint.”

He grins and nods at me but doesn’t say anything. I
set my mug in the sink and head towards Eirnin’s room to see if I
can make him hear reason.

Stopping outside my brother’s bedroom door, I take a
deep breath and try to prepare myself for whatever happens next. I
knock on his door and hear an unhappy groan echo from inside the
room. I grin despite the reason for my visit. Where I have always
been an early riser, my brother will sleep the day away if he’s
allowed. I knock again and call out, “Eir, can I come in? I need to
talk to you.”

I hear muffled sounds that indicate he most likely
has his head buried under his pillow in an effort to block out my
voice. I knock again anyway. “Eirnin — come on, it’s after ten.
Time to start your day.” I hear something soft thump against the
other side of the door and have to bite my lip to keep from
laughing. I count to ten in my head and then shout, “I’m counting
to five and then I’m coming in, Eir!” We call this fair warning in
our house.

“No counting!” I hear him bellow, no longer muffled.
The mattress groans, I hear two large feet hit the floor and he
says, “Why do you hate sleep and the people who enjoy it?” He lets
out a huge yawn before continuing, “I guess I’m decent. Come in
already — I’m not getting off this bed if I don’t have to.”

I open the door, still trying not to laugh, and
almost fall over a pile of what I think must be dirty laundry right
inside the door. “Geez Eir, you have a dresser, you know…and a
hamper, for that matter! This place is awful.” I look around and do
my best not to shudder in revulsion. There is an odor in the air
that I really don’t want to find the source of, and I don’t know
how long I’m going to last in here without starting to clean things
up myself. “Can we go in the kitchen?” I ask, needing fresh air in
a huge way. “Or the sitting room, maybe?”

I see his demented grin make an appearance as he sits
on the edge of his bed wearing the shorts he had on yesterday and
no shirt. “Consider it payback for waking me up, sister dear. What
do you need? I’m not leaving.”

I feel my temper start to spark again and tamp it
down. It’s not my brother’s fault that I’ve already dealt with Sean
today and I’m frustrated. So I breathe through my mouth and beg.
“Please Eir, at least open the window and let in some fresh air,
for heaven’s sake. It smells awful in here! How can you stand
that?”

He sighs and gets out of bed; giving me a dirty look.
A few moments later, he’s cleared a spot for me to sit on the sofa
he keeps pushed up under the giant windows and there is a nice
breeze blowing through. “There you go. Better now?” he asks;
settling back on his bed and turning to look at me as I pick my way
carefully across the room to sit down.

I watch as he runs fingers through his hair and
pushes it back behind his ears. He has refused my every offer to
cut it and has let it grow out longer than it’s ever been before.
His hair has the same heavy weight as my own, as well as the ebony
color, and I know he can’t be comfortable with it hanging on his
neck in this heat. I take a spare elastic band I keep on my wrist
and toss it to him with a grin. “Here — you look like you might
need this.”

“Oh, thank you! I don’t know how you handle all that
hair in the summertime. I meant to ask you the other day for one of
these and forgot.” He busies himself pulling his hair into a messy
tail and I laugh; getting up to help.

“Give it here, amateur. Let me help you,” I tease;
moving to the bed and pulling the elastic out of his hair as gently
as possible. I kneel behind him, finger combing his hair to get rid
of the snarls as he makes ‘ow’ noises and I laugh. “Shush! You’ll
thank me later, trust me,” I tell him. When I finish, his hair
looks much neater and he seems a bit more comfortable in the
temperature. I kiss the top of his head and move back over to the
sofa; tucking my feet under me.

“Thank you. You were right, this is much better,” Eir
says; tossing his head back and forth, looking surprised when his
hair doesn’t swing around. I giggle at his silliness and he
continues, “You woke me up for a reason, correct?” he asks,
reminding me of why I came in here to begin with. I sigh and he
says, “It can’t be that bad, can it?”

I look at him, his face happy and open and I want to
say never mind and run away. But I can’t. I sigh one more time
instead. “Well, you know we’re leaving in a few days to go get the
Winter princess.”

The grin slides off his face and he nods. “Yes, Flint
mentioned that to me the other day.”

“I wanted to explain and answer any questions you
might have. I really don’t mean to keep you in the dark so much,
Eir. I just want to keep you safe…” I trail off and clear my
throat, hating that he’s looking at me like he doesn’t know me
right now.

It’s his turn to sigh now. “I know you mean well.
It’s just damned frustrating for me to never know what the hell’s
going on around me. It makes me feel like you don’t trust me or
something.”

“Well I can’t promise a complete turnaround, but I am
trying to get better. I wanted to explain what’s going to happen.
We’re going to bring Lumi here, but she won’t be staying in that
damn cage — that’s just a precaution until we’re sure she won’t try
and hurt anyone. I wanted to make sure you knew that. I swear I’m
not a monster.” I am suddenly blinking tears out of my eyes and I
have to stop. I feel my brother settle next to me on the sofa and
pull me into a one-armed hug.

“I never thought you were a monster, Fi. You should
know better than to think that. I know the cage was all Sean’s
idea.” He pauses for a moment. “I know you, so cheer up. By the
way, do I really get to ask questions without you glaring at me?
Because I have to admit I’ll kind of miss the glaring.” He squeezes
me again when I giggle and he gets back up. “Who all is going on
this grand adventure?”

I wipe moisture from under my eyes and blow out an
exasperated breath. “Sean, Flint and I will be going. I can’t even
begin to tell you how much I’m not looking forward to it. The two
of them sniping at each other and me playing the referee the whole
time? Can’t wait. Oh yeah, and let’s not forget that we’re breaking
into the Winter Court to kidnap a princess. I must have lost my
damn mind,” I rant.

He looks like there’s something he wants to say but
doesn’t know how. “What is it, Eir?”

He hesitates for a second and then blurts out, “You
need to make sure that Sean isn’t alone with her at all, Fi. He
will do his best to kill her. I don’t know why but he needs her
dead.” He seems to be considering saying something else, so I nod
at him to continue. “Lumi is supposed to come here — you’re doing
the right thing. It’s almost like she has to be here for any of
this mess to get fixed. I don’t know how yet, but she’s the
key.”

I consider his words and feel much better about this
idea. My brother’s ‘feelings’, as we call them, are rarely wrong.
He has my Gran’s Sight, but it isn’t something our mother ever
wanted us to talk about outside the house, so not many people
outside of family know he’s something of a clairvoyant. I know it’s
hard for him to handle sometimes, knowing things suddenly or being
able to read people’s emotions, so I do my best to be as supportive
as I know how to be.

“Thank you for telling me. As for Sean, I’ll do my
very best to keep between them at all times. I won’t let him hurt
her, Eir. Between Flint and I, we can take care of him. Don’t worry
about the princess. I do need to ask you to do something, though,
and I know you’re going to hate it.” I pause and he shrugs at me.
“I need you to stay with Sea and Ruth while I’m gone. I know you’re
capable and old enough to be left on your own, I do — but I won’t
be able to concentrate on anything if I’m worried about you the
entire time I’m gone. And I need to concentrate, Eir, so I can come
home and bring Lumi with me.”

He looks mutinous but doesn’t speak. I can feel the
frustration rolling off of him in waves. “Eir, there’s something
else I should have told you before now.” I take a deep breath and
decide it’s time he knew everything. “Before they left, Dad told me
‘they would come’ for you. I don’t know who specifically he meant,
but that’s why I’ve been treating you like you’re made of glass. I
can’t let him down, Eirnin. I already got them killed with my own
stupidity, and I can’t lose you, too.” I am crying again now and
can’t seem to stop.

Eir looks at me in utter confusion. "Why the hell are
they coming for me? I don't have anything they want."

I manage to stutter around my tears. "According to
F-Flint, they think you know how to close the gates. I know it
doesn't make a damn bit of sense, Eir. I'm sorry."

I hear my brother sigh and then he’s back on the sofa
with me again; pulling me into his chest as I sob and feel all the
guilt and terror I’ve been living with every day come crashing down
on me. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Fi.” He sighs again.
“I’ll stay with Sea, Fi. It’s okay. Nothing is going to happen to
me, I promise.” I wish I could say his words make me feel better,
but I only feel the pressure building inside me to keep him safe —
always.

Chapter 14—Lumi

July 2102

The night air is cool and damp as it blows in my open
window; rustling the tall oak’s leaves and sending my rich, purple
curtains into twirls. It dances over my face and I smell the
approaching rainstorm, and as I sit here on my window seat I can
see the black clouds just masking the stars above. Turning my chin
to look into my room, I sigh at the barren walls and fine furniture
filling it. To an outsider I am a selfish brat; sitting here in the
lap of luxury with not one, but three elders to take the throne
before me, and therefore not a care in the world. But honestly I’d
rather live as a sewer rat than spend another moment with my
family. The only blood relative of mine I can stand is sound asleep
in the queen-sized bed beside me — the youngest of my siblings,
Sindri — and even she is beginning to grate on my nerves.

The door is closed tightly and I hear no sounds
coming from the other bedrooms. This hopefully means my brother and
two other sisters are unconscious in their own beds. The ground
below is clear of guards, and the shadows tell me it’s nearly one
in the morning. I swing my feet over the edge of the window, about
to throw myself out of it when I hear a small, groggy voice coming
from the bed. “Lumi?”

I nearly jump out of my skin; grasping onto the
window so I don’t fall and break my neck on the ground below.
“Sindri!” I hiss; looking at her over my shoulder. She is
practically my polar opposite — we share the same ivory skin, but
she has black hair and eyes the color of crystals, while my hair is
practically white and my eyes a deep blue, almost black. Her body
looks nearly eighteen and, in spite of the three hundred year age
gap between us, I barely look fifteen. Unfortunately for me, I am
the only girl who got to look like our father…short, blonde and
forever too young.

“What in the world are you doing?” Sindri demands;
sitting up slowly and rubbing her eyes. “I thought you were done
with this sneaking out nonsense.”

“When did I ever say that?” I ask in a whisper,
hoping she’ll get the hint to lower her voice. Khan is only a thin
wall away from us, and if he hears us chatting he will go get a
guard…or worse, Father.

“You didn’t,” she replies, and drops her voice to a
murmur as I’d hoped. I’m not the only one who’d be punished for
being up so late. “I suppose I just assumed, after the whole…party
incident.”