Touching Fire (Touch Saga) (7 page)

“So why him?” I jerked my head towards Isaiah. “Why did you
bring him home?”

“Because I believed he would be useful and he was.”

The bitter tang of resentment thickened at the back of my throat. Beside me, Isaiah stiffened as well.

“Like protecting me,” I spat out.

“Yes,” Ashton said almost immediately. “I helped create him. I knew what he was capable of and I knew he would keep you safe.”

“He was just a baby!” I shot back, disgusted. “Why didn’t you…”
I trailed off, realizing just where that train was leading, straight into my angry, abandoned-little-girl place, and it was too soon for that.

“He
was and he wasn’t.” He sat back, folded one leg over the other. “As normal as Isaiah might look on the outside, we all know differently.”

I couldn’t argue with him that point. Isaiah had always kept me safe, had always been there, in the shadows keeping an eye on me.
But as sound as Ashton’s reasoning, it continued to feel wrong, because while Isaiah looked ten years old, he’d only been alive for a year. It was because he had aged rapidly after birth, growing ten years in the span of one that had made him seem older.

“He was still just a kid,” I muttered vehemently.

“I would have left regardless of his permission,” Isaiah said, speaking for the first time in what felt like forever. “I was created to be a soldier, Fallon. I was programmed to protect you.”

“Stop that!” I snapped at him. “Stop talking about yourself like you’re some damn robot.
You’re a person. I’ve seen you bleed, Isaiah.”

“What I’m trying to say,” he said in that same soft, placating tone. “Is that I have always known what my purpose was, even then. You have always been the most important thing in my life. Ashton had nothing to do with that. If anything, he gave me what I
needed to keep you safe.”

I ignored him. He was bias. Nothing would ever mar his golden image of Ashton. I didn’t idolize the guy quite as much.
If anything, his blind loyalty to a man that could talk about him as though he weren’t there, as though he were nothing, only amplified my anger.

“You used a little kid to do what you should have done yourself.” And there it was. I said it. I voiced the reason behind
seventeen years of resentment towards him. And I wasn’t finished. “You abandoned me, not caring if I lived or died. No. I’m sorry. You sent a ten year old when it should have been you. You should have been there to tell me what the hell was inside me, what you did to me. I have lived for seventeen years not know who, or
what
I am.” I abruptly broke off, realizing with horror and self-disgust that I was two seconds away from bursting into tears.

Damn it!
That wasn’t how I wanted things to start between us. I had wanted to be calm and rational. I had wanted to give him a chance to explain before I accused him. But it was out. It was hanging in the semi darkness of the carriage, hovering over us like the flickering lantern. There was no taking it back.

“Fallon…”
Isaiah telepathically reached for me even as his hand did the same.

I jerked away.
“Don’t.”

I was still pissed at him.

“You have to understand—”

I glowered at him.
“What? That I’m nothing more than a job to you?”

He recoiled as though I’d struck him.
“That isn’t true! You know it’s not.”

“
Would you even be here if it wasn’t for Garrison?”

It was a question I had asked myself countless times. Did Isaiah really love me? Was his love even real?
And even as I told myself it had to be, that not even Garrison was capable of manufacturing a love
that
strong, I doubted our feelings. Especially when he talked the way he was now, like the only reason he was shackled to me was to keep me safe. Nothing else.

“Fallon
—” he murmured my name quietly, the plea in his voice heart wrenching.

I shook my head, staring furiously at the curtains cutting me off from whatever world
Ashton had brought me to. The sweat on my palms squished the tighter I clenched my fists in my lap.

“We will work everything okay, Fallon,” Ashton assured me. “
There are things you don’t understand right now, and you’re right, that is my fault. I wasn’t there when I should have been, but if you will just let me, I swear to explain everything.”

What could I say? No? Turn the carriage around and take me back to earth? I knew he would if I said it, but I wasn’t running, as much as I wanted to. I wanted answers more. I needed to know. There were too many blank pages in my past and I was tired of being blind.

Then he said something that hit me square in the stomach. “You will never be in the dark again.”

I
had
been in the dark. My entire life was one dark room and I was always stumbling carelessly for a light. I still wasn’t convinced I could trust him; I had a feeling he knew exactly what I was and what had been done to me. But I was willing—cautiously—to give him a chance.

There was a bang on the ceiling and I jumped. It was followed by Archer’s voice. “We’re at the gates!”

The gates, I noticed when Ashton swept back the curtains, were wrought iron black, bent and twisted to forge an elaborate rose
.
Overhead, arched over dangerously sharp spikes, the words,
Peccato Mortale
gleamed in the same warped metal. Ivy wove through the spikes, intermingling until it appeared as though nature had forged a second layer of defense to the already impenetrable wall.

“
We’re almost home.” Ashton drew my gaze back to him even before he dropped the curtains back into place over the black and blue world outside the window. “I think we should discuss a few things before we get there.” He shifted closer. His gaze went to Isaiah. “Are there any outward abilities I should know about?”

Isaiah shook his head. “
Not since the earthquake.”

A deep frown pulled Ashton’s brows together. “You told me that was severe.”

“Only because of Gaston and Mistral,” Isaiah explained. “There was an incident at a McDonalds, but nothing since.”

Ashton’s confusion only seemed to grow with this last bit of information. “Nothing?”

“Is that bad?” I asked, looking from one to the other.

Ashton met my gaze. “I’m just surprised. That’s all.”

Now it was my turn to frown. “Because I haven’t caused anymore earthquakes?”

“Yes,” he replied simply. “We’ll deal with that later.”
He was pressing on before I could ask what exactly we needed to deal with. “No one can know who you are. They cannot know where you come from, or who your mother was, but most importantly, no one can ever know about Terrell. That is so important.”

I frowned. “What am I supposed to say? Who am I?”

He shrugged carelessly. “You are Fallon. Anything beyond that is no one’s concern. It is crucial that your origin remains concealed … for your own safety,” he tacked on as though as an enticement. “You will learn quickly that this world is nothing like yours. You must be careful who you trust. I can’t conceal the scent of your blood—”

“Wait!” I interrupted, putting up a hand. “The scent of my blood? My blood smells?”

“Of course,” he said as though I were an idiot for not realizing it. “You are half human after all and your human half gives off a unique…” he trailed off as he made circular motions with his hand. “Scent,” he finished lamely. “It’s not repulsive, just not something anyone here is used to. At least not directly.”

“And is that a bad thing?” I wondered.

“It can be, but I’m hoping we will remedy the situation soon.” He raised a hand to stop my new flood of questions. “For now, we must focus on Terrell and the importance of keeping him our little secret. If anyone were to ever learn of his existence, of what he can do, both our worlds will cease to exist.”

“What does that even mean?” I wondered.

“It means that there are those amongst us who will see your existence as the key to a war none of us are ready for.” Those dark, intense eyes shot to Isaiah. “As for you, I will find a safe transport back—”

I felt Isaiah stiffen a split second before I did
. “Back? Why am I going back?”

Ashton’s tone was razor sharp and serrated with arctic winds.
“Because you do not belong here, Isaiah. This is not your world.”

Anger shot through me. “Then
you might as well find a way back for both of us, because if he goes, I go.”

“He is mortal,
Fallon,” Ashton stressed. “His kind cannot survive here, nor is it allowed. It will be hard enough shielding you with your human half, but him…” He shook his head. “The guard will come for him. They will kill him.”

“It’s fine.” Isaiah put a hand over mine, but his gaze remained firmly fixed on Ashton. “I understand.”

“You do?” I sputtered in disbelief. “Because I don’t.”

Isaiah turned to me. “My mission was to bring you home safely.
Nothing else matters.”

There it was again. He was making me sound like a job he couldn’t wait to chuck off.

“That isn’t what I meant,” he muttered darkly.

“Isn’t it? You seem perfectly happy to just dump me here and walk away.”

“Stop putting words in my mouth!” he snapped. “If I can’t stay, what am I supposed to—”

The carriage came to a jerking halt. The horses outside
whinnied with displeasure. Their hooves cracked on cobblestone as they reared back.

“Archer?” Ashton called.

A second ticked by, then another. Then Archer’s voice, filled with tight apprehension. “Guards!”

Chapter
5

Ashton was out of his seat in a flash. His eyes were big and bright as they rounded on me. “Stay here. Stay down. Keep quiet.”

He swung the door open before I could think to speak and vanished through.
It closed with a resounding click.

Isaiah caught my hand when I reached for the curtain over the window. I shook him off, but didn’t try again
, nor did I look at him.

“What is the meaning of this?” we heard Ashton demand from a short distance away.
“These are restricted grounds. You have no authority here.”

There was the gritting sound of rusty iron scraping together, the squeal of corroded hinges and parts moving. The
ground rumbled. The carriage rattled. Above our heads, the lantern swayed dangerously. I gulped.

“
Human traces were detected through the nexus,” came a hollow, tinny voice. It was close. Too close.

“That’s ridiculous,” Ashton replied airily. “What need would I have to transport humans?”

“Human traces were detected through the nexus,” the thing repeated with the same nearly robotic tone.

There was a crunch of weight hitting cobblestone, a muffled grunt and then the rustle of moving leather and clipped footsteps.

“You clearly have no idea who you’re talking to.” It was Archer. He must have leapt down from the bench. “This is an imperial coach and you are trespassing on restricted, unauthorized grounds.”

“Human traces—” I was beginning to think that was the only thing they knew how to say.

“I was topside,” Ashton broke in. “It’s possible I could have picked the trace up by accident.”

“
We must be thorough.” I was wrong. Apparently it wasn’t the only thing it could say.

“Absolutely not,” Ashton barked.

“We must be thorough.”

I felt Isaiah stiffen beside me.
His fingers closed around my wrist and I was tugged before I could hear the rest of the argument. I looked at him and the urgency on his face. He tugged again and I was dragged off the bench towards the other door. He put a finger to his lips and I wanted to roll my eyes. Like seriously? Did he think I was going to break out in a cabaret song and dance?

With daft fingers, he flipped the little gold lever and pried open the door. He slipped out quietly, glanced left then right before motioning me down.
We shut the door behind us and glanced at our surroundings.

We were on a narrow
strip of what could have been mistaken for a highway if I hadn’t seen highways all my life. This wasn’t one. It was too unused. The cobblestone trail wound its way through the murky darkness like a pale snake cutting across the ground. Miles of forestry stood guard on either side, hulking black figures rustling in the breeze. The air was muggy and thick with the scent of pine, wet dirt and grease.

I looked at Isaiah. “What now?” I mouthed.

He glanced in the direction of the woods and I knew what he was thinking. We could make a run for it. We could even possibly make it without getting seen. But not when the flaming horses were lighting up the area like the fourth of July. The safest place was the small patch of shadow cast at the back of the carriage were we stood.

We heard the distinct
clang of metal feet, the grind of gears as those guard things moved closer. We were running out of time.

Isaiah grabbed my hand and tugged me down until we were kneeling.
He nudged me under the carriage. Why not, I thought. It wasn’t like my dress could get any more wrecked than it already was.

I took hold of the copper pipe
running along the base, just beneath the foothold and hefted myself under, monkey-style. Stones cut my thighs and arms, but I ignored it, paying much more attention to not getting seen. Isaiah slipped in after me, the gun grasped tightly in his hand. He slipped that arm over me, aiming it at the three pairs of feet standing mere inches from my face. I edged backward and came up against Isaiah.

The feet closest to me
were clad in scuffed boots and I recognized them as Archer’s. Next to him were Ashton’s glossy loafers. Across from them was a pair of shiny, black metal shoes attached to metal legs in the same glossy black. But what caught my attention was the crimson glow that seemed to radiate from beneath the metal. It moved and flickered like a firefly beneath a piece of paper, or the reflection water made on the walls and ceilings of a swimming arena. It seemed to ripple.

“
You have no authority here,” Archer was saying when I focused again.

“Human traces were detected through the nexus,”
the thing announced once again.

They were never going away, I realized with growing annoyance.
The ground was cold and wet and it was soaking into my dress. I was covered in blood, my foot hurt, I had the mother of all headaches drumming between my ears and I was hungry. I was starving, which was driving all the other pains. Everything hurt and the thrum was making me agitated. I hadn’t had Isaiah’s blood in over a month. It was beginning to get to me and I couldn’t allow that.

Careful not to make a sound, I reached up and poked the back of Archer’s boot with a finger. I was putting a lot of stock
in the hope that he was smart enough to get that we weren’t in the carriage.

For a moment, he didn’t move or react. He continued to stand there and I wondered if maybe I should poke him again … with a knife. Lucky for him, I didn’t have a knife, but also that he was smarter than he looked.

“Fine.” He shifted aside. A second later, we heard the carriage door swing open. “See? Nothing. Now, can we get on our way?”

The creature drew forward,
its every footstep making the pebbles on the ground tremble.

That close, I could
feel
the heat coming off him. It was like standing too close to an open flame. It was scalding. I nearly hissed as the sting of it burned my face. I squinted at the metal feet inches from my noise and frowned. That close, I could finally see what the glow was and I couldn’t believe it. The metal suit was just that, a suit and it was encasing a body of fire. That’s what the flickering was. The creature was made of fire.

“I hope you’re satisfied,” Ashton
said, his tone barely suppressing his frustration. “Now if you please.”

The creature moved back and I held my breath, hoping against all odds that he wouldn’t think to look beneath the coach.

“Human traces were detected,” it said.

“As I said, I must have the traces on me,”
Ashton replied.

Silence descended over the small group.
Then, ever so slowly, the creature pulled away. Its metal structure clanked with every movement. I watched its feet get further away, but I didn’t relax.

“
I will report.”

Something long and gold speared into the ground. There was a blinding flash of white light and the guard was gone.
The roads were quiet except the soft whisper of rustling leaves and my heavy breathing.

That was close.

“Fallon?”

Swallowing the anxiety curling up at the back of my throat, I reached for the hand extended to me.
Long fingers curled around mine and I was drawn out. I let go immediately the moment I realized whose hand I was holding. Archer smirked. I ignored it, ignored him and busied my hands dusting my dress. The thing needed to be burned and the ashes would probably need an exorcist.

“We need to hurry,” Ashton said as Isaiah got to his feet. “We’re
nearly there.”

He wasn’t kidding. The ride from there was another five minutes.

Ashton drew back the curtains so we could watch as the carriage rolled up to a sprawling structure straight from some French renaissance era. It was a freaking castle with turrets, bell towers and so many floors and windows that it was nearly impossible to count. It sat propped against a backdrop of sheer luxury. An extensive spread of green lawns that went on forever before vast wilderness enclosed. Neatly trimmed hedges formed a lavish wall, separating the manicured lawns from the sheer force of the
house
. Flowers bloomed in a spray of colors that swayed like miniature-sized rainbows tucked beneath windowsills and along the winding paths. A massive stone fountain guarded the center of the cul-de-sac, gurgling and splashing water up into the night. There were no other carriages parked there, so I assumed they were kept elsewhere, maybe a flame retardant barn in the back. It was hard to tell just how big the acreage was when the
house
was all one could see.

“How many people live here?” I asked,
unable to contain the awe from my tone.

“
People? Not very many.” The horses stopped before the magnificent arch of stairs. “I don’t know how much Diana—”

“Erin,” I corrected. Mom may have been Diana in his world, but in mine, she’d been Erin
and things had changed enough without taking that way.

Ashton inclined his head. “Erin has told you about
me…”

“She didn’t tell me anything,” I said honestly
. “Up until I met Isaiah, I was told you were dead.”

His shoulders dropped and he looked away. He cleared his throat. “
Let’s get you inside.”

“And Isaiah?” I insisted.

Ashton nodded slowly and with a great deal of hesitance. “For now. We can’t risk a second venture such as that one right now. I will think of something else. In the meantime, try not to get seen.”

“Like at all?” I said.

“You I can explain, but Isaiah…” He shook his head. “Humans are forbidden. It would be best if you remained confined to your quarters, just until I can safely return you to your world.”

Well hopefully it would take him just long enough for me to shower and change.

“So he’s basically a prisoner?”

“This isn’t a prison
, Fallon.” I’d heard that before, from Garrison, then he’d tried to kill me for trying to leave. Ashton sighed, possibly having seen my suspicions. “Things will not end well if Isaiah is spotted. I will protect you both the best I can, but I need you to help me accomplish that.”

Well, I had to trust his word, didn’t I?
I was sitting in his driveway, and unless I magically produced flying powers or the ability to bound higher than the tallest building, I was stuck. Besides, I wouldn’t leave Isaiah behind.

I nodded.

Ashton offered me a small smile. He threw open his door and stepped out about the same time as Archer leapt off the bench. He landed flawlessly next to Ashton.

Isaiah
waited until we were alone before speaking. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I peer
ed at him. “No,” I said honestly. “I don’t want to be here.”

His blue eyes bore into mine, touching me
without ever laying a finger on me. “We can leave.”

I sighed. “
No, we can’t.” I met his gaze unflinching. “I’ll get you killed or get us both captured again. You’re safe here. I’ll talk to Ashton. If you can’t stay, then maybe he can find somewhere safe for us topside.” I shook my head. “Whatever that means.”

The leather beneath him squeaked as he shifted forward. He rested his elbows on his knees and leaned in towards me. He dropped his voice.
“No. You need to stay here.”

I scoffed. “Uh, no, I don’t. We’re a team, Isaiah. It’s you and me. I don’t know this guy. Yeah, he’s my dad, but
I don’t trust him.”

He sighed and raised a hand. His fingers brushed my cheek as he pushed back a curl of blood-crusted hair.
“Okay, look, you tell me when you want to go and we’re gone. I swear it. But you have to promise you’ll give Ashton a chance.”

Fair enough. Truth be told, I was a little curious to see how this would all turn out. It could be great and we could be safe. I really wanted to believe that.

“Okay.”

His smile was beautiful. It was the first
real
smile I’d seen in forever. It lit up his eyes. I would have kissed him right then and there if a sharp rapping sound hadn’t penetrated our conversation. We glanced at the door and Archer’s face.

“It’s more comfortable inside, Princess.”

Ignoring his offered hand, I rose out of the seat, grabbed either side of the door and hopped out.

“Stop calling me that.”

His lips pulled back into a very toothy grin. “Shall I carry your bags …
Princess
?”

It
had just crossed my mind to hit him, when Isaiah unfolded his impressive frame from the carriage and stood next to me. He slammed the door behind him and stood glowering at the other boy. I was pleased to see that Isaiah had a few inches on Archer. True he wasn’t towering over him, but it was satisfying all the same.

“We’re good.”

Archer’s face was impossible to read with the stupid glasses on his face, but there was amusement in the curl of his lips. “As you wish.” He took a step around us. “I’d curtsy, but my back isn’t what it used to be. You understand.”