Shed some Light

by Amber Naralim

  Shane nodded his head, impressed. “It's good you know your weaknesses. That you're willing to cop to them,” he told her. Shane looked up when he noticed Reese standing about five feet behind them. Reese was dressed in a pair of light jeans, a threadbare long sleeved t-shirt against the morning cold. His hair pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. A few thick strands curved against his stubbly cheek. Shane noticed for the first time that Reese's hair was a few shades lighter than his little brother Vincent’s. Shane’s fear took up all his thought processes when he was around them.

  Ellie eyed Reese for a moment before she smiled. “Afternoon.”

  Reese gave her a nod. He felt he needed to explain what happened the other day. He just had no clue what to say to her. Hence, why he’d been avoiding her.

  Shane heaved another sigh. He did not like Reese that close to her. Hell, Shane didn't like Reese that close to him. Shane turned back to the small shooting range he’d set up doing his best to ignore Reese. He looked down at Ellie. “All right, hot-shot, show me what you can do,” he said with raised eyebrows.

  Ellie pulled the Heckler. She raised it up in a two handed, teacup grip. Planting her feet in the snow, she pulled the trigger twice. Two plates at medium distance broke. One directly in the center, the second she hit the upper right edge.

  Ellie sighted down her arm and squeezed the trigger once more. One of the plates at long range fell to pieces. She flipped the safety back on and slid it home into the inner pants-holster. Ellie unsnapped her shoulder holster pulling the Glock free. She raised it up. Her grip changed slightly. She held it up with her right arm, her left hand wrapped around her wrist to help keep it steady against the recoil. Shane noticed that she flipped the safety off as she drew. Something most cops aren't even taught. He gave her an impressed turn of his lips.

  Ellie took a shot. One of the plates closer to them exploded. Her second shot shattered a plate down range. But her third shot, meant for a plate long range missed completely. She frowned, exhaling an annoyed sigh. She turned back to Vetler and Reese. Ellie dropped the Glock down to her side flipping the safety on.

  Shane smiled. “You prefer the Heckler, don't you?” he asked, walking toward her.

  “It has a wider, shorter grip. It's easier to hold,” she explained. “And it's got less of a kick.”

  Shane nodded his head. “Not bad.”

  Reese eyed her. Her stance, her hold, it made him smile. If only Vince had learned as fast as she did. He took a step closer to them. “How’s your hand-to-hand?” Reese asked.

  Vetler looked over his shoulder at him. Ellie shrugged. “I know better than to pick on people bigger and scarier than me,” she answered.

  “Liar,” Reese said with a sexy grin.

  “I'm small. I know how to throw a punch. I know how to kick. And I know most of the people we go up against can probably kick my ass. So, I carry two guns and a six-inch blade at my ankle.”

  Reese smirked. He walked around her giving Shane a wide birth. It wasn’t hard to tell Vetler wasn't exactly fond of him. Shane surely didn’t trust him or Vincent. Reese squared off with Ellie. “Show me your stance.” Ellie took in a breath, checked the safety and slipped the Glock home, snapping it secure. She took two steps and fell into the stance that her Reese taught her. Ellie raised both hands.

  “Go ahead,” Reese said.

  Ellie scowled at him. She tried to think back to her last training session. Her Reese favored his right side. So, she threw a mock right and came around with a quick hook with her left. He didn't dodge it like she expected him to. Her fist slammed into the side of his face. Pain shot down her arm like electricity. She pulled her fist away shaking it up and down. Her eyes wide, her face scrunched up with pain. He didn’t so much as even flinch.

  She huffed out a breath. Ellie fell back into position rather fast. Reese watched her carefully. Her left arm dropped by nearly an inch after that punch. He could feel a shadow of the pain that shot down her neck and made her arm ache. Ellie didn't waste time. She threw a quick jab to his right side. Again, he didn’t dodge or block. Ellie frowned at him. She was smart enough not to put all of her power behind the second hit. She learned quick. Reese gave her that.

  He could also tell that she was getting angry. Frustrated her moves weren't doing anything. Ellie fell back into position. She led with her left foot, slamming her right fist into the side of his face. Ellie did a quick step-change and came up with her left leg slamming it into his thigh. Reese moved so fast she barely saw it.

  Pain exploded over her as his right hook slammed into her solar plexus. It felt like she had been hit by a truck. It dropped her to her knees, unable to breathe. Ellie spit blood to the ground. Her body curled in on her right side. Her ribs hadn’t completely healed yet. She was just a little worried that hit might have cracked yet another one. Ellie gave her head a shake, reaching up shakily to wipe at the blood on her mouth.

  “Hey!” Shane cried, taking a step toward Reese. His need to protect overruled his fear for a moment. He stared Reese down angrily. “What the fuck do you think you're doing?”

  “I'm teaching her how to fight. If she can't take a hit, then she can't fight,” Reese said calmly.

  Ellie took in a slow breath. Her eyes opened wide for a moment. She rolled her jaw. Climbing to her feet slowly, she spit another mouthful of blood out onto the snow. It was bright red. She took in another slow breath. Rolling her shoulders back, she stood tall through the pain.

  “He's right,” she croaked.

  Shane's head snapped to her. He gave her a look like she was insane. Ellie tried to swallow. She was a bit slower about it this time around, but Ellie fell back into position, arms up. Reese gave her a proud smile.

  “Again?” his lyrical voice said.

  Ellie took in a deep breath, just to blow it back out. She rolled her shoulder. “Again,” she repeated.

  “When ya use the kick, don't worry about the fake,” Reese said. “It slows ya down. Ya only want to use the kick if ya got surprise,” he explained.

  Ellie nodded. She hurled a hook that he dodged easily. She tried a shovel hook to his stomach. She hit. But he didn't have quite the reaction that she had. Ellie came up with an uppercut that snapped his chin to the side. Again, Reese noticed that she didn't put all of her power into it. She stepped forward with her left and threw two quick jabs to his upper body.

  “Better,” Reese told her.

  Reese struck like a snake. His fist slammed into her face. Her head snapped back and blood fell from her nose. Ellie wiped it away with her hand. She let her anger take over. It stole the pain, saving it for later. Ellie copied the punch he just threw. Her fist shattered his nose. Two drops of blood rolled over his lip and then stopped. He healed it.

  “Good,” Reese said with a smile. “Be angry, but think.”

  Ellie backhanded him and came up with her leg slamming it hard into his thigh. She didn't give him time to react. She came around with two shovel hooks to his midsection. The smile on Reese’s face spread. Ellie continued her assault. She jabbed twice at his upper body. Then, she stepped forth on her right leg. Remembering what her Reese had done the last time she sparred with him. Ellie hooked her left leg around his ankle and hit him with a powerful right hook. The hit took him slightly off balance. Her leg pushed him the rest of the way.

  Reese went down. But he was faster than any human could be. He lashed out grabbing hold of her by the shoulders, dragging her down with him. They rolled in the snow, with Reese coming out on top. He pinned her shoulders to the ground with one arm, straddling her hips. Ellie stopped. Her chest heaving, she stared up into those summer-sky blue eyes.

  Reese watched her swallow the lump in her throat. He exhaled his face inches from hers. “You're thinking about him, ain't ya?” He could feel longing coming off her in waves. She missed him. She missed him holding her.

  Ellie took in a deep breath. Beaten, she laid her head against the cold ground. She rolled her head and loo
ked away. She couldn't take his gaze. Ellie closed her eyes. “He was supposed to be you,” she breathed. “I can't help it if you remind me of him.” Ellie opened her eyes and looked at him, her chin quivering. Reese leaned in close, taking in a lungful of her. He took in the scent of cherries, cinnamon, and the pain of his loss.

  Ellie cocked a brow. Reese stood up with a grace that made her sick to her stomach with jealousy and held his hand out for her. Ellie looked at it, still breathing heavily. She took it, letting him help her to her feet. Their hands still clasped. Reese pulled her to him, her chest pressed against his. They were so close that she could feel his heartbeat. He hooked his arms beneath hers. Reese touched his bristly cheek the side of her head. “I ain’t him,” he breathed into her ear.

  “You're not Vincent,” she agreed with him, sniffing.

  “Are you all right, Ellie?” Shane called across the yard. He had given them quite a bit of distance.

  She stared at Reese for a moment. His warmth washed over her. His breath was like a caress. God, she missed Reese, her Reese. But she couldn’t ignore how wonderful it felt wrapped in his arms. The feel of his skin against her neck made her lips tremble. Ellie swallowed the lump in her throat. “I'm good,” she called, pulling away from Reese. He watched Ellie walk away from him. Her scent burned his tongue. He wasn't the Reese she knew. But in that moment, awash in the love and loss she felt. He wanted to be.

  Ellie wiped the blood from her nose and licked at her lip. Shane flashed her a sympathetic smile. “Maybe you should consider not fighting things that can rip you to tiny pieces,” he said half-jokingly.

  Ellie gave him a look. “That would be like everyone I know.” They shared a grin. Shane could admit he liked her humor.

  “You're not bad. If he wasn't super-human, you might have beat him,” Shane said encouragingly. Ellie grabbed her bottle of water from where she'd stuck it in the snow. She unscrewed the cap, taking a swig. Ellie shook her head.

  “He was just playing with me,” she told Shane. Ellie watched Reese wipe the snow from his shoulders. “He was golden gloves champ twice, in forty-two and forty-four.”

  Shane looked at Reese. “How do you get over them being that old and looking that young?” Shane asked.

  Ellie took in a deep breath just to blow it free. “I try not to think about it,” she said with a shrug.

  “And the fact that at any moment he can rip your throat out?” Shane Vetler asked giving her a sideways glance. His arms folded over his broad chest.

  Ellie swallowed another mouthful of water. “Like I said, I try not to think about it.”

  Shane chuckled, shaking his head at her. Ellie was like no one he had ever met. He heaved a heavy sigh. “If you're done getting your ass kicked, I thought I'd show you the right way to make plastic explosives,” Shane offered.

  “Ooh really!” Ellie’s eyes widened with interest. That brought a smile to Shane’s face. They both watched as Reese took a few steps toward them. He reached his right arm up, feeling one of his ribs. Reese looked at Ellie slightly impressed.

  “I think ya broke my rib.”

  “Really?” Ellie asked happily. A smile played across her lips.

  Shane sighed, yet again. He felt like Alice, tumbling down the rabbit hole into a different world that he didn't think he would ever really understand, or fit into. Shane looked up and noticed Charlie standing on the porch. Charlie pulled her sweater in close. Smiling at him, she gave him a wave of dancing fingers. He returned it shyly. A smile broke across his face that made Ellie laugh. Reese crunched toward them in the snow.

  “You're still bleeding,” Reese said. Ellie reached up and her hand came away bloody. She wiped at it again. “Did I hurt ya?” Reese asked. Ellie thought she detected just a little bit of apology in those words. She opened her mouth to say something when they both heard.

  “Of course you hurt her. You're a freak and she is a little girl!” Shane growled.

  Ellie looked at him frowning. “He is not a freak,” she said slightly annoyed. Her face scrunched into a scowl “And I am not a little girl!” Ellie grumbled at him for the seventeenth time in the last two days alone.

  Reese ignored Vetler. “Did I?” he asked Ellie.

  “I'll be sore for a few days,” she told him honestly. Reese looked at her. “What no pithy comment about how pathetically human I am?”

  Reese tilted his head to the side and locked eyes with her.

  “I told ya, Goldie. I ain’t him.”

  Chapter 8

  She slid the needle into Edward’s vein with care and precision. Charlie gave him a smile as she pressed down on the plunger. “How are you feeling, sugar?” Her voice dripped with compassion. Charlie’s hazel eyes were soft and searching.

  Edward's eyebrows dragged inward. His emotions were all over the place. That rage bubbling just beneath the surface was turning his insides to cinders. Lava flowed through his veins stoking a fire he had no clue how to deal with. Sorrow and deep loneliness washed over him. It almost smothered that burning anger. Almost.

  “Does it matter?” was his reply.

  Charlie pressed her lips together. “Of course it matters, honey.” Charlie touched his arm. “You never know, we might get lucky.” Charlie worked hard to reassure him. The look in his eyes told her it was a losing battle. “You can't avoid her forever.”

  Edward wasn't sure which her she meant. He spent all of last night staring at Anna sitting next to the fire. He could barely breathe with her that close. He wanted so much to touch her. Run his hands over her face. Hold her hand. He just couldn't go there. She had already lost too damn much. Edward had to keep his distance. He just didn't know how long he could keep it up.

  And Ellie, oh Ellie. Edward had no clue what to say to her. Talking to his baby sister used to be so easy. He could hear them outside. Vetler spent the last few days testing her. Edward was curious about the things she’d done while he was locked away. But every question he asked she made a joke out of, or only gave him the broadest strokes. He noticed that was something Vincent did quite a bit. Ellie had never been good at lying. The truth meant too much to her.

  Edward hated that she felt she had to keep it from him. His imagination was bad enough without the help of her sentiment on the matter. He felt the weight of her loss of innocence like heavy rocks. He tried to shift it to the anger he felt toward Vincent. But that was all his and he knew it. Ellie was keeping secrets from him. And he was keeping them from her. The latter was something he was used to. The former was not. Edward was sure it was something he would never get used to. He heaved a sigh and tried to force a smile for Charlie's benefit.

  The house was quiet. Anna padded around barefoot like a ghost. Vincent was upstairs, somewhere. Edward had been thinking about Vincent a lot lately. Trying to figure out just what he could tell him, and what he couldn't. Vincent was the way back into Ellie's good graces. Edward hated that. But he was sure it was the only way.

  “The less Ellie knows the better,” he told Charlie. The pop of the gunshots echoed out over the trees. Charlie jumped at the sound. She shook her head and with a heavy sigh, pulled the needle free, setting it on the island. Charlie lifted the vial and looked at it. Its clear liquid mocked her. She’d read the notes a hundred times. The formula was right in front of her and still she couldn't understand it. She looked down into Edward's face. Charlie felt so sorry for him. Ellie was sure that she was Edward's salvation. But she would never be able to create a cure like Ellie hoped.

  “How long do I have?” Edward asked, pulling down on his long sleeve. Charlie turned to him. She eyed him for a long moment, chewing on her lip.

  His eyes glowed in the gloom of the kitchen. Charlie wanted to hug him. The poor thing looked lost and sad. He simply refused to let anyone else in to help him through this. She had seen a few terminal patients do this. It always ended badly. She swallowed hard against the tightness of her throat.

  “Eight months. We might be able to push it to a year if I wean
you off the dosage slowly,” Charlie said, trying her best to sound hopeful.

  Edward gave her a smile. “It's all right, you know,” he told her.

  She shook her head, plastering her lips together. “No. It's not. It's not fair what they did to you. It isn't fair what that woman did to Vincent. It isn't fair what happened to Anna. None of it is fair,” Charlie said with tears in her eyes. Edward draped his arm over her shoulders.

  His body was so warm. She could feel the stiff bristles of the short beard he wore. His long hair brushed her ear. He smelled wonderful, like pine trees. Charlie breathed him in and sighed. He was so young. The poor thing's life had barely begun and the hits just kept on coming. Charlie shook her head and sighed. Wasn't she supposed to be the one comforting him?

  “No. It's not. But it is what it is,” Edward told her.

  Charlie hated that sentiment with a fiery passion. She’d heard it from Vincent a million times. Those words were the closest thing she could think of to giving up. To giving in. Those words were admitting defeat. She wanted him to be angry, to fight. It sickened her that someone could do this to these boys. She loved Vincent. She was beginning to care about Edward. Charlie hated that there was nothing she could do for either of them.

  “She's never going to forgive me. You know that, right?” Charlie told him. She looked into those tri-color blue eyes. Edward was resigned to his fate. Charlie used to think that Edward and his baby sister were so much alike. Hearing those words come from his lips, Charlie realized she was wrong. Ellie would fight. She would scratch and claw and bite. She would fight until the very end. Ellie was the kind of person that no matter how hopeless a situation she would always go down swinging. Edward in a way almost welcomed his end. Charlie wished that he would take a page out of Ellie's book.

  “It isn't your fault,” Edward assured her.