The Touch (Healer Series)

by Allison Rios

  She saw him there, his eyes closed, his body bruised yet not defeated. Bruised to protect her, actually. Joseph would have run, saved himself. He never would have stepped in front of her, shielding her from anything. She knew AJ cared; she only wondered if she’d ever understand why he didn’t want to be with her. She’d waited the years since Robert left, hoping to find someone with half the kindness of AJ. To have him within reach and not be able to truly touch him was a pain that struck her deeper within her heart than any other had.

  She picked up the green crocheted blanket from the chair and sat it next to him, in case he got cold. She wanted to sit there with him before thinking better of it. Nothing had changed. She retreated to her room.

  As she glanced around her room, she stopped as she caught her reflection in the mirror. She pulled the elastic band from her hair, letting the chocolate strands fall across her shoulders. She took off the makeup, scrubbing gently. She brushed out her hair, slipped on a nightshirt. When it was all done, she looked at herself closely in the mirror with the bare bones of the woman she was exposed. She used makeup to hide the flaws she felt her skin held. There was nothing except sarcasm to hide the flaws she felt her soul had.

  AJ saw beyond those flaws. After all that had happened, he looked past the ugliness her mouth could spew and put himself on the line for her. He didn’t seek apologies; he simply wanted her friendship. No one had looked at her as a person since Robert. While everyone else only saw a loose girl who had a baby too early, AJ disregarded the events of who she was and saw the depth of who she was.

  Maybe it was time she started looking at the same things, she thought.

  12 PLOTTING AND PLANNING

  “Bob, mind if I take a few days off?” AJ asked, feeling a bit guilty for asking about a little vacation time already. Vacation hardly seemed the word. Vacations meant relaxation and enjoyment. Those would be the furthest thing from AJ’s mind over the next few days.

  “Who’s gonna organize the shop?” Bob scuffed, a smirk on his face. “Actually, it’ll be nice not having to search for my wrench.”

  “I built you an entire pegboard that has every tool hanging from it, grouped by type. How can you not find a wrench?”

  “It used to be under the greasy towel near the middle of the second workbench over there. Organized chaos, my friend. Organized chaos. I searched for an hour the other day.”

  “Bob, you can’t be serious. The pegboard takes up the entire back wall of the garage. How could you not see it?”

  He knew Bob was teasing him. AJ felt like maybe, just maybe, Bob was beginning to like him.

  “Get out of here kid. Go do whatever it is you kids do these days. I’ll see ya on Monday.”

  “See you Monday.”

  AJ headed back to the B&B to find Helen and Matthew. They were around back tending to the chickens as always. While they never had children, the chickens followed them around like toddlers. He didn’t recall ever having eaten chicken since he got there, and figured they were more pets than food around this particular farm.

  “Hey, ya got a second?” he asked, jogging around the corner to them.

  “Yeah, sure AJ. What’s up?”

  “I’m going to head out on a little field trip for the day.”

  “With Addie?” Helen inquired with her smile.

  “No,” he laughed, “Not with Addie, with Max. I just have some errands to run. Do me a favor though.”

  “Sure! Anything for you,” she replied, pinching his cheek. Matthew laughed to himself.

  “Stay away from that new guy, Devin, okay?”

  Helen and Matthew looked at each other, a haze of concern clouding their faces.

  “Any particular reason why?” Matthew asked. He was still a little weary of all the strangers in town.

  “I don’t have a particular reason. I just feel like he’s a bit sneaky. I don’t trust him. Neither does Max. Please just keep away from him, don’t let him in the house.”

  “Okay,” Helen replied, sensing AJ’s seriousness. She felt a kinship with him, the bond of a mother and son. A strange feeling considering they had known each other only a short time. Somehow she knew if he showed concern about the darkly clothed stranger, she should follow his lead.

  She hugged AJ, Matthew nodded, and he started heading towards the car where Max was waiting in the driver’s seat.

  “One more thing,” AJ said, looking back. He jogged back over to them. “Please keep an eye on Addie, too. Not spying or anything. Just make sure that creep stays away from her house. She doesn’t want him near her, and I will only be gone for the day.”

  “I will,” Helen promised, clutching the chicken feed to her chest. She knew it was severe, whatever AJ’s reason was. “Be careful!” she hollered after him.

  AJ hopped in the car and they were off to their next stop: Gram’s house.

  AJ didn’t have to knock on the door because she was on the porch, rocking in the handmade rocker her husband had made her on their 20th wedding anniversary.

  “I thought you might be by,” she said, smiling at him.

  “How’d you know?”

  “Just a feeling,” she replied as he bounced up the steps, two at a time. He sat on the railing.

  “It’s started,” he said. Gram knew. She had figured it out from the way Addie spoke of Devin. She knew what he was. She might have lost her powers but her senses were still the same.

  “I had a feeling.”

  “It’s going to be bad. He’s strong.”

  “I had a feeling about that, too.”

  “I need you to get Addie and Rose, bring them out there with you. I don’t want her in town near him.”

  “I’ll go now,” she replied while standing up, her purse showing as the blanket fell from her lap. “What? I figured you were coming.” She smiled her southern smile and brushed past him, towards her car. “They’ll be safe here with me. I’ll protect them.”

  “I know you will,” AJ replied. She stopped mid-stride and he walked up beside her. She wrapped her withered hand around his and squeezed.

  “It will be okay. I know you’ll keep us safe, AJ.”

  “I know.” He wasn’t convinced.

  They headed their separate directions, slightly worried about what the week would bring.

  **************************************************

  The two hour drive back to Max’s had never seemed so long. The ride was mostly silent, both men mentally preparing themselves. There wasn’t much to speak of, as making conversation about sports or anything else would have been forced and contrite.

  The few words that were spoken revolved around discussions about Grims, the first Great War, and what AJ might need to know to defeat Devin. He needed to know every detail, every weakness that Devin might possess to make himself less vulnerable to the tricks the Grim might play. To win, AJ needed to be stronger and wiser.

  When they arrived at Max’s house there were cars – a lot of them. There were even more people. Men and women both, probably 100 bodies crowded in Max’s back yard. AJ hadn’t been expecting to see anyone except a couple of elders Max had mentioned calling. He was leery of so many people being invited into their business.

  “Who are they?” AJ asked, opening his door and stepping out, the entire crowd coming into his line of vision. His hands were gripping the door as if a wind might suddenly blow him away.

  “They’re the best chance you have of surviving. Healers I’ve met. Men and women with faith in the cause you’re about to undertake.”

  Max looked over at him with a slight smile on his mostly solemn face. They shut the doors and headed towards the gathering.

  “Thanks for coming,” Max started saying, shaking hands. He started at the front of the crowd and worked his way towards the back, repeating the phrase to many as he moved. AJ followed, shaking hands as well. Not once did a vision come through, or even a tingle in his hands. It was like the complete and utter normalcy he had felt before he found out what he
could do with those hands.

  Max walked right up onto the porch of his shack and everyone turned to look at him and hear what he had to say.

  “I want to thank you all for coming. This is AJ, the reason you’re here.”

  AJ was a bit nervous at the introduction – he wasn’t sure if this group was happy or angry to have been assembled due to him. He gave a slight wave, moving his eyes back down towards the ground and wondering if he’d be dodging rocks in a minute.

  “We’ve got a problem,” Max said, his voice booming. He had an announcer’s voice, AJ thought, perfect for drawing the attention of a crowd. He spoke perfectly, like he’d been born for this.

  “The problem of a Grim. Not just any Grim, though. One that branched off from his clan and disobeys the laws that have been in place for generations. He has no shame, no honor.”

  Max lifted AJ’s arm to display where Devin had grabbed the kid. The entire group of Healers could see what the normal population could not – the marks from Devin’s fingers and palm, as if they’d been burned onto AJ’s skin like a tattoo.

  “This…this is what we’re dealing with,” Max said forcefully. He turned AJ’s head to reveal the gash on his cheek. “This is what we’re dealing with,” he continued as he pointed at the gash with even more emotion. “A rogue Grim. One bent on destroying a town simply because he doesn’t like the Healer he encountered, and he wants to play a game. And he’s strong. Very strong. Strong enough to defeat AJ without a second thought.”

  AJ could see the crowd stirring, looking at each other, talking to each other. Max’s statement scared him - Max felt he could be defeated by Devin. It sent shivers through his spine. He could sense the fear in the crowd.

  “That’s why I’ve called you, asked you to spread the word amongst each other and meet here. There will be a fight – one has not been declared, yet it is most certainly on the way. There will be lives lost. I ask that anyone who feels moved, please join us in working together to resolve this situation and try to prevent another great war between our groups.”

  There was silence and then the sound of voices, each one shouting that they were in. Voices until each of them had volunteered their own life to protect the greater good from the rogue Grim.

  Max nodded approvingly. “Thank you, my friends. We need as many as possible. Call those you know and spread the word. We are planning this to take place three days from today.”

  Max started walking down into the crowd, signaling AJ to follow him. As the Healer’s all shook AJ’s hand, patting him on the back, pledging their support, he could feel it: the passing of power to him, pieces of their greatest strength flowing into his veins and through his heart.

  They reached the back yard, and an elder Healer stood before AJ. Her face was wrinkled, freckled. She had been around for so many years and the rumor was that she may have seen the Great War. She looked AJ up and down, her white shirt and tan skirt blowing in the wind against her shrunken body. Her dark hair was long, framing her face and highlighting the color of her eyes.

  She held out her hand, signaling for AJ to do the same. He reached out and placed his hand in hers. She chanted and Max whispered into his ear that it was an ancient Native American tradition, one which they performed on Healers to keep them safe.

  She pulled out a knife and AJ took a breath. Sensing his fear, Max whispered to him again. “Don’t worry - she’s only going to cut your hair. It’s part of the ritual.” To ease AJ’s tenseness he whispered one more thing: “Plus, you really need a haircut man. You’re looking a little cowboy.”

  AJ let a laugh escape his lips.

  The elder walked behind AJ, gripping the hair at the nape of his neck. It wasn’t long by any means; it was simply longer than normal since he hadn’t had it cut in awhile.

  She held the ends and with the sharpness of the knife chopped off what little there was. AJ had kept it shaggy for a long time and it felt odd for it to be as short as it was. The elder stepped back in front of AJ, placing his hair in a satchel that she then hung around her neck.

  She reached up, her fingertips grazing the gash across his cheek. He felt the warmth as she sealed it with her gift. He closed his eyes as he felt his body heal from the inside out.

  She moved her hands down and across his torso, from his left shoulder to his right, healing each tiny cut that the gravel had inflicted. She pulled her hand back, the work completed and AJ whole again.

  She nodded, and Max told him it was over. AJ nodded towards her, as a thank you. She smiled back at him. Everyone was silent waiting for what Max would say next.

  “What is the plan?” someone asked.

  Max made his way back to the porch. “We don’t know yet. We know his name is Devin, though I don’t know how old he is. We know he can be enticed. We know he has nothing but hate for AJ. We know he is quick to anger and very strong. We know he wants to hurt AJ through others, through those he cares about.”

  “So what do you need us to do?”

  “Right now, I need everyone to spread the word. I need everyone to gather their Healer friends, any who want to band with us, and I need everyone to study up on the first Great War. We need everyone to get their strength up. We’re going to need as much of it as possible.”

  “And then?”

  “Then we meet back here in three days time to discuss what to do. Everyone think about what may work best. I don’t think he’ll have backups – he seems to work alone. He can shield himself so we need to be careful.

  Two days time – same place. On the third day we will put the plan into action. Stay strong, my friends.”

  The group’s voices filled the air as they discussed amongst themselves. Cars left, one by one, filled with Healers on a mission for the greater good. AJ felt confident and Max did as well. Perhaps it might work.

  **************************************************

  Max and AJ returned home, getting back well before sunset. They pulled up to the B&B first to check on their favorite occupants.

  “Matthew? Helen?” AJ called, stepping through the front door. He looked over into the living room and saw Helen near the window, binoculars in hand. “What are you doing?”

  “Watching for that Devin character. He hasn’t come around. I’ve been watching all day!”

  When Helen was given a task to complete, she really took it seriously.

  Matthew was sitting on the couch reading the paper.

  “She thinks she’s a special agent,” he laughed from above the top of the sports section. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s got a cookie sheet under her shirt pretending it’s a bullet proof vest.”

  AJ looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

  “I don’t!” she said, turning back to her post, hidden behind the curtain. “I took it off awhile ago. I needed to make cookies to relax.”

  Matthew just shook his head.

  “I’m back now, so you’re safe,” AJ said. “You were safe all along with Matthew.”

  “I know. I don’t get much excitement around here. Let me be!”

  She went back to watching out the window. AJ and Max nodded at Matthew and headed into the kitchen.

  “What’s the plan for tonight? You think Devin will strike?”

  “I don’t. I think he’ll keep a low profile, at least for a couple days, save up his strength. We jolted him pretty good and he’s probably a little scared about having broken the rules. To imagine doing it is one thing; to actually do it is another. He probably surprised himself.”

  AJ laughed at the thought. He’d been feeling a lot happier, a lot more courageous since the encounter with Devin. He felt confident, as if a weight was off his shoulders, because he was going to stand up for the situation. Maybe this was his destiny; to stand up against the Grims.

  “Why don’t you hang out here, rest,” he said to Max, grabbing a water out of the refrigerator. “You can keep an eye on Helen and Matthew.”

  “You going to see Addie?”

  �
��Yeah. I think I need to talk to Gram.”

  “Be safe, okay?” Max said. “I don’t know where he is. I can feel him but he can shield himself. He can always be closer than we think.”

  “I know. I will.”

  Max placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder, squeezing it. It was a mix of excitement, fear, and anxiety over the fight that was to come. He hoped AJ was ready; really, truly ready.

  **************************************************

  Addie heard the car pull up. She had gone over to Helen’s to see him that morning. Helen said he had gone out for the day. He’d left Addie’s without a word that morning.

  He had checked on her before leaving. What he had wanted to do was settle down next to her and wrap his arms around her. He knew better though. He snuck out the front door quietly, letting her sleep.

  The sun was setting behind them now, another day gone. A peaceful day. He saw Addie and Rose in the yard, Gram close by on the porch. Gram nodded when she saw him, calling Rose into the house to get ready for dinner. AJ exited the car, waving at Rose and watching as she bounded into the house.

  He walked over towards Addie, smiling in her direction. She smiled back. She tossed the ball she’d been throwing with Rose over to him, and he caught it with one hand.

  “Nice catch,” she said as he stepped into better light from underneath the trees.

  “I used to play.”

  “You’re full of surprises, stranger,” she said with a smile. She had the schoolgirl feeling again, the same as when she was fifteen and liked a boy. Only she knew this time it wouldn’t work.

  She looked at him closely, wanting to see if he looked any better than he had last night. A look of concern and confusion came over her face.

  “AJ, what happened?”

  “What do you mean?” he responded, forgetting what had happened just hours before.

  “Your face…it’s fine. The cut is gone.”