Set the Sky on Fire (Fire Trilogy Book 1) (12 page)

“Damn it,” Dave Taylor muttered under his breath. He sat at the breakfast bar doing his best to fix the portable phone when the small screw fell from his hands, bouncing off the bench and onto the floor. He followed it down, his head craned over as he scanned the carpet intensely. As they neared, he turned his head to acknowledge them before turning back to continue his search.

“Hey darling. Hello Nate,” he called from his knees.

The wink of a shiny object caught Ari's eye. She picked up the tiny screw and handed it to her father, noting how its minuteness made his hand look like those of a giant. He stood up and returned his attention back to the phone and deftly put the screw into its rightful place. Ari moved in closer, resting her hand on her father’s shoulder while hiding the bruising on her left arm. After such a strange day, the small gesture helped to connect her to some sort of normality.

“Nevaeh called for you,” her dad said. Ari didn’t have time to answer as he caught sight of Nate. “What the hell happened to you?”

Ari and Nate knew the injury couldn't go unnoticed and had worked up an excuse.

“I made the mistake of going on a mountain bike expedition this morning. I rode down the Worlsey Track. Nobody told me it was nicknamed ‘the body bag.' I had a huge 'off' while trying to miss a barbed wire fence and, somehow, my nose managed to break my fall. Bit embarrassing, really. But it was supreme fun—up to that point.” Lying to her dad too, Ari added to the list.

“It looks pretty painful,” Dave sounded sympathetic.

“I have had it checked out at the hospital, and they told me it will heal okay, so I will be good as new in a few weeks.”

“You look after yourself.”

“I will be taking it quietly for a while. I might give mountain biking a rest for a few weeks.”

Ari had been inching closer to the door and took the break in conversation as an appropriate time to head to her room. Nate followed.

Five more days until they were to fly out, which meant she had to hide the bruise, distinctly shaped like a hand, until then.

“Turn around and face the wall,” Ari instructed Nate. She’d found a long sleeve muslin shirt that would do for today, along with a pair of jeans, which she swapped for her pretty dress. Luckily, her Dad either hadn’t seen or didn’t mention the grass stain.

When she gave the all clear to turn around, Nate flicked off his shoes and flopped down on the double bed. Without needing an invitation, Ari lay down beside him, on her stomach. Her arm lay over his chest and she gazed into his beautiful, green eyes. His arm wrapped around her waist, holding her tight against him. Tenderly, she kissed him, not wanting to cause him pain. Inside, she wanted to lay waste to those lips, but the broken nose was a real hindrance. His hand climbed up underneath her shirt. The feeling of his fingers on her bare skin was electric. His lips were gracious as they parted Ari’s. His tongue gently explored her mouth.

He was good. Years of experience would do that. Ari felt inadequate, anxious even. All she wanted to do was show him how she felt, without bumbling through it. At the forest, it hadn’t been like that, the lust had given her confidence.

What the hell,
Ari thought, as she let the hidden feelings come back up. If it had been exciting before, now, it was intoxicating. She climbed on top of him, a leg on either side of his hips; she needed to get closer, to feel every inch of him beneath her. His hands trailed down the bare skin on her back, making her want to purr with pleasure. She sat up, and seductively started to slide her shirt up over her head, eyes intent on his face. Nate stopped her.

“Your parents are here,” he murmured. He acted with caution, but his eyes trailed over her, appearing to covet every inch.

“They won’t come in.” Ari again tried to unclothe herself.

“I know what you have done. I can see it in your eyes. They’re all sultry, like they were at the forest.”

“So?” Her voice was sultry too.

“So, it’s not you doing this. It’s not your true feelings.”

“Trust me, it is. It doesn’t matter where it comes from.” She bent to kiss him, but he held her away. Ari changed tack. Her hands slid over his muscular abdomen in search of the top button on his pants. He stopped her, again.

“It does to me,” he scowled.

Ari sat for a minute, hands bundled in his. Then, realising there was no other way forward, she bottled up the feelings again.

“Thank you.” Nate released her, brushing her cheek with his palm.

“It wasn’t just the lust thing, you know.” Ari felt dejected.

“I know.” With one swift movement, he flipped her onto her back and pinned her beneath him. Her heart beat faster as he trailed a string of kisses down her neck. “But I want you—just you.” Ari didn’t get a chance to reply before he invaded her mouth again with his tongue.

Nate sat up, and the place where his body had been pressed against Ari’s felt cold in his absence, even though it was a warm night. She’d never thought it was possible to fall for someone so quickly. But there he was, smiling at her, proving her wrong.

“It's time I went, otherwise your parents might feel they need to invite me to dine again. Making them cook vegetarian two nights in a row might be too much for your dad. I will be nearby if you need me, okay?”

“Okay.” His goodbye kiss, was chaste, leaving Ari craving for more.

She stopped him right before he reached the bedroom door.

“Wait,” she spoke softly, for his ears only. “I asked you in the car if you had loved your wife. You avoided the question. Did you love her or were we merely a science project you happened to get stuck in?”

“I did love her, very much. Perhaps, not in the way you are asking though. Great love is ultimately determined by the knowledge you could lose it all in an instant. It is one of the highlights of living a fragile existence. When I made the decision to leave my family, I understood then how it felt to have a broken heart. It was the hardest decision I ever made, and it brought me pain like I had never experienced. That is when I knew I had taken it all for granted. But I also knew she would be fine without me.”

“Did you really have to leave them?”

“I wanted them as far from the seethers as possible. I wanted them to have no part in it. They needed to stay safe. But, to keep them safe, I had to stop the seethers. There was no other choice for me.” Pain choked his voice. “I did all I could for them. All I could to ease their pain. I chose death over desertion. I could not bear the thought of Arabella thinking she had done anything wrong, or that maybe, one day, I would come back. There had to be finality to it. Each day for a month, I made myself appear a little sicker. Another sentinel helped. Impersonating a doctor from London, he came to the village and pronounced me dead. He took my 'body' away before anyone knew anything different. Thankfully, the plan went off without a hitch.

I will never forget my last night. Arabella came in and told me there was a beautiful sunset. To keep up the ruse of being gravely ill, I was confined to my bed, but I could see the red glow filtering into the room. If she was alive today, I have no doubt she would be an artist. The way she saw the world was incredible; hearing her describe it always brought me joy.

She told me the sky was aglow with lashings of crimson and orange, that it was as if the heavens were angry that I must pass on from their world. So in their rage, they had set the sky on fire, just for me.”

Nate paused, looking down at his feet. His face softened at the memory, and the trace of a smile waltzed on his lips. His words spoke of a lost passion.

Ari's heart wrenched at his sadness. “I'm sorry to bring it up. She obviously meant a great deal to you.”

“Through that pain, she taught me to love. Some lessons, as horrible as they are, are worth learning. Arabella would be disappointed to know it took me so long to realise this.”

The next four days were like a whirlwind. Nate arrived early each day to pick Ari up, and they went off to explore the countryside. It was the perfect excuse to be alone, to get to know one another. She was falling in love with Nate, not the stupid lust that had overwhelmed her on that first day, but a true love that warmed every corner of her heart. The lust was still there, but now it was so much more. Not that she could explain it to Nate.

They sat on a bench seat at the top of a park, looking down over Sumner Beach, Nate’s arm around Ari, her head tucked into his shoulder.

“It’s my last night,” she broke the silence.

“Just what I was thinking,” Nate kissed her temple. “But it will not be for long.”

Nate’s nose was healing quickly, the bruising around his eyes had disappeared, and he told Ari the pain was gone.

“You’ll come find me? Wherever it is you’re sending me.” He’d stayed true to his word. Ari still had no idea where she was flying off to the next day.

“If I knew who you were, I would have come and found you a long time ago.” Ari couldn’t help smiling at Nate’s cheesy line. “Now, how about we get you home, so you can do some packing?”

“Probably should.” Ari delved in for one more kiss before Nate could get to his feet.

By the time they arrived home, it was almost dusk. They walked hand in hand into Ari’s house and through to her room. A large black suitcase, propped up in the corner, waited for Ari. When she’d first retrieved it from the top of the hall cupboard, she’d still been excited about going. Now, it was more akin to a lump of coal in the bottom of her santa sack. Her enthusiasm for the trip had all but disappeared. Nate had said it himself. It would be a hiding place, not a holiday. And to make matters worse, an undisclosed hiding place.

“I don't even know what kind of clothes to pack.” Ari slammed a drawer shut, just to drive the point home. She felt as if she had misbehaved and was being packed off where no one would have to deal with her.

“You will like it Ari, stop worrying. It has a similar temperature to what you were expecting in Thailand, and it’s touristy. Plenty to keep you occupied.”

As she packed, her emotions simmered, until finally they reached boiling point.

“I can't go,” she said, shakily. “You can't expect me to drag Nevaeh into all of this.”

“You'll both be safer away from here,” Nate reasoned.

Her voice became louder. “How can you say that?” Nate half-cocked his head. Realising her parents might hear, she lowered her tone. “How can you know for sure?”

“Remember he can't sense you, but he can sense me. He can’t track you, but there's a good chance he will be looking for me. I'm hoping where I go, he will too.”

“So you're going to use yourself as a decoy?” she said through gritted teeth.

“I guess you could see it like that.” Nate was calm, not rising to Ari’s jibes.

“No. That's not an acceptable option.” Having to keep her voice hushed, increased her anger. “I’m not going to let him hunt you.”

“We've been hunting each other for centuries,” he said. “I can defend myself.”

“No. You
have
defended yourself in the past. What if something happens, what if next time you can't?”

“Stop worrying about me. Look, if you won't leave for me, do it for your family. If he is tracking me, somehow, without me realising, then he knows where I am right now.”

“You think he knows where I live?” The blood in Ari’s veins ran icy cold.

“Yes, and by now, he'll know all about your family.”

“Oh, God, I hadn’t thought…” She paced across the bedroom floor, her imagination in overdrive. She’d seen what he was capable of with Nate. She imposed the viciousness of the afternoon’s attack onto situations involving her father, her mother. They wouldn't stand a chance. She whimpered at the idea.

“I believe he’ll follow me when I leave. He will think I've taken you away.” Nate’s voice brought her back from her dark thoughts. “He will go to where he thinks you are. He wants you. He is not going to bother with your parents if he knows you're not here. I'll draw him away. If I can find the other sentinel, then, together, we have a better chance at finishing him off or, at least, distract him long enough to work out what we can do with you.

“Do you really think it’ll work?” Nate's plan all of a sudden wasn't looking so unbearable.

“I think it's our best chance. If we're separated, you can always come back here and take your parents out of harm’s way while the seether is following me.”

“Fine. I'll go on holiday.” She made air quotes around ‘holiday’ because she already knew it was going to be anything but.

“Thank you.” Relief was evident in Nate's voice.

Ari fumbled through her drawers again, intermittently taking something out and adding it to the growing pile of clothes in her suitcase. “So who is this sentinel that you're trying to find? You said you met up with her a while back?”

“When I last saw her, she was going by the name Anna. She was never a researcher, like me. When the gateway between our worlds opened, she was still in my world.”

“You’ve never told me what your world is called,” Ari interrupted.

Nate sat next to her suitcase and patted the bed beside him. Without hesitation, she joined him. “Serrathan. We call it Serrathan.”