Firebloods

by Casey Hays

  It’s very difficult to answer a question like this, especially when I’ve railed against a relationship with Kane for so long. So I don’t answer her immediately. Instead, I slide off my ring and work the lotion into my arms, thinking. In reality, our friendship all these years took a backseat position on my list of concerns the minute I looked into his fiery eyes. I knew we had bigger mountains to climb if we were going to have any kind of chance. I mean, the guy can fly. Wait… can he? I chew on that thought for a bit. I hadn’t really pondered the possibility. I mean, turkeys and ostriches have wings; they can’t really fly.

  Ugh. It’s all a bit overwhelming. But…

  “No.” I lean back, my eyes on Kane’s dark head bobbing above the surface. “I’m not hung up on that anymore.”

  “Well, it’s about time,” Devan chirps. She shoves her sunglasses into place on her nose and leans back. “Really, Jude, in all seriousness, I think this is great.”

  “Why?” I ask.

  I really want to know this time. Devan slides her glasses down to peer at me before she tears them off completely and sits up, swinging her legs over the edge of the chair and facing me. She’s got my full attention on this subject for the first time, and she’s taking advantage.

  “Look. I’ve seen how you two are together. When I first met all of you in seventh grade, I actually thought you were Kane’s girlfriend.”

  “Really? You never told me that.”

  “Well, I kind of figured out you weren’t after a while, and then it was just not important to bring it up. But my point is, you two have had something special for a long time. A friendship, yes. But… it’s always gone a little beyond that.” She lays a palm against my knee. “And don’t laugh, but, I really think you’re supposed to be together. Like… forever.” She shrugs.

  “Hmm…” I nod.

  A mother walks past us, herding three little kids who all carry tiny, bright innertubes wrapped around their waists like plastic tutus. The pool is full of all the familiar sights and sounds of summer. Children splash in the shallow end, a hairy man floats on his back, and soft poolside talk from sunbathers patters all around us. I smell watermelon for a split second, and then, coconut tanning oil.

  Devan isn’t finished talking. She smiles and falls back into position on her lounger. “I have to tell you, in my opinion, only being friends with Kane was a real waste of your time.”

  I laugh then, slipping my ring back into place and digging my own sunglasses out of my bag. “You’re very proverbial for a seventeen-year-old.”

  “I’m a sage,” she teases. She really looks at me then. “Does he make you feel things?”

  “Like?” I’m almost afraid to ask.

  “I don’t know, like if you never took another breath, it wouldn’t matter as long as your last breath was used to kiss him one more time.”

  “Really?” I grimace. “That mushy stuff is all you got?”

  “I guess that’s my answer.” She sighs. “It wouldn’t hurt you to read a trashy romance novel once in a while.”

  “I’ll pass.”

  I decide to let the topic slide, but if she’d persisted, my answer would have been yes. Yes, he makes me feel things. Most definitely.

  I lie back and spot Mindy Cantwell on the other side of the pool. She lounges under one of the tall umbrellas, big, black sunglasses hiding her eyes. Lexie Peters and Eve Marin are with her, and none of them are even remotely trying to hide their gawking or their drooling over Kane. Mindy leans to the side, says something to Eve, and slides to her feet. She drops her sunglasses on her seat and shrugs out of her coverlet. At the edge of the pool, she sits and slides her feet into the water.

  “Kane?”

  He turns, wades over to talk to her, and I shrink in my seat.

  “Will you look at that,” Devan sneers, peering over the top of her sunglasses. “That girl has no pride. And no chance with Kane. She needs to move on already.”

  “Yeah.”

  It’s no lie that Kane looks pretty good with all that shimmery wet hair and his tanned chest. His pheromones rage all over this pool today, and now that I’m actually focused on it, I sense this. It’s no wonder Mindy is drawn to him. We all are. Eve studies him with sultry eyes and an expression that sends a clear signal: she’ll go after Kane herself if Mindy can’t make any headway.

  I watch their interaction, and I smile. Kane keeps a good two feet between Mindy and himself. He nods, laughs at the appropriate times, but nothing in his body language proves any kind of attraction toward her. And trust me, I know exactly what that looks like. Mindy kicks her feet a little, splashing him, but he doesn’t react.

  “Hey, Mindy!” Devan hollers.

  She jets straight up on her chair. Mindy lifts her head; Kane tosses a glance at us over his shoulder; I dash my eyes toward Devan.

  “What are you doing, Dev?”

  “Having a little fun,” she winks and turns her attention back to poolside. “Only one girl has ever had a chance with that boy,” she says loud enough for everyone on this end of the pool to hear. “And she’s sitting right over here next to me.”

  She points both fingers at me like I’m on display. Jonas, bobbing in the water, throws out a laugh. Kane squints, turns back to Mindy, and shrugs. Mindy’s expression goes stone cold, embarrassment chiseled all over it, and I’m completely unsure how to act. So I don’t move. Devan reclines, adjusts the strap on her bikini top, and grins at me.

  “You’re welcome.”

  I huff out a breath with a shake of my head. Yeah, that makes my life so much easier.

  Leaving Mindy, Kane swims our way and pulls himself up, resting his forearms on the edge of the pool. He squints at me.

  “I guess I need protection from flocking females. So you’d better get in here.” He winks. Devan laughs, shoving me in the shoulder playfully. I smile.

  Across the way, Mindy stomps off to her friends, her feet leaving wet footprints on the cement. They try to console her, but after a minute, she gathers up her things and leaves. I slide to the end of the lounger and peel off my cover up before turning back to Devan. “You going in?”

  “Nope. You kids have fun. And I mean it from the bottom of my heart.”

  She disappears behind a huge, floppy hat. Jonas hoists himself out of the water, steps up to me, and shakes himself like crazy. Water splatters Devan in the process. I duck away from him; she squeals, flying to a sitting position.

  “Jonas David Cameron! I did not want to get wet today.”

  Laughing he reaches for his towel while she slaps at him with her big hat.

  “Too bad, babe.” He plops down next to her, nuzzling into her neck. “I have other plans.”

  Laughing, I move to the edge of the pool and sit, dropping my feet into the water next to Kane.

  “So, did you two talk? About us?”

  “Before or after she chastised Mindy?”

  He breaks into a grin. Water droplets glisten on his bronzed shoulders. I reach over and muss his hair a little. He takes that as his cue to wrangle me around the waist and haul me into the water. I squeal, hands on his shoulders for support, but after a moment, he releases me enough for my body to glide downward against his, right into his arms. I shiver as the lukewarm water slithers up around us. I feel Eve’s and Lexie’s eyes on us, but I don’t care. Most things just melt away when Kane is so close.

  “You’re blinding me, Jude,” he whispers. I smile.

  “How so?”

  “You’re full of light, and yet, I can’t seem to look away.”

  I tilt my head. “Since when have I been full of light? I live in the house of Depression.”

  “Maybe. But you’ve never let it have you. Not completely. You can’t see it yet, but there’s a fire in you. And I feel it.”

  “You really do feel things, don’t you?”

  “I feel everything about you,” he whispers. “And I think, if you try, you’ll feel me too.”

  “Why do you think that?”
<
br />   “Because most people don’t realize what they’re capable of. They think they’re limited to their humanness, so they never try to reach beyond it. I can show you differently.”

  “Spoken like a true Fireblood,” I tease. “You wouldn’t know about our limitations.”

  “I’m just saying,” he shrugs. “Maybe you need to consider it. You’ve been too scared to let anything happen with us. Afraid of crossing a line with me.” He grins. “Well, that barrier is gone. The sky’s the limit now.”

  He kisses me then. A wet-lipped, chlorine-laced kiss. I give in to it, and we sink together up to our chins. And then the lifeguard blows a whistle. We pull apart and gaze up at him while he waggles a prohibiting finger at us. Oh, yeah. No public displays of affection allowed at the pool. Bummer.

  Still keeping a hold on my waist, Kane floats us to the middle.

  “Okay, so we can’t kiss.” He says it out of the side of his mouth with mock irritation. “But… I can show you something pretty cool.”

  “Yeah?”

  He slides my arms up and over his shoulders, and I feel something pretty cool all right. Creasing my brows, I run my fingers along the area just between his shoulder blades and then slide my hands up. There’s no question—those are feathers.

  My eyes couldn’t get any wider. I lean back, full of amazement and look for them. I see nothing, but I feel them. I clutch a handful of feathers in my fist.

  “Watch it, there,” he chides. A couple of kids splash past us, laughing. I barely notice.

  “Incredible.” I run my fingers through the silky layers. “How are you doing that?”

  “Water helps camouflage. I can manifest my wings physically, and they stay invisible.”

  “Wow.” My grin turns into an awe-filled laugh. “Seriously Kane, why didn’t you let me in on all of this?”

  He shrugs. “My parents have rules. The entire Vatra u Krvi organization has rules.”

  Vatra u Krvi. He uses the technical term. Okay… this is really, really for real.

  “I can’t name how many times I’ve wanted to tell you.” His voice rings with sincerity, and I have to believe him. He runs his hand over my hair and clutches the bun at the base of my neck. “I wanted you to know more than anyone else.”

  “You never told Jonas?” I pry. “You never told him and then compelled him to forget?”

  “I’ve never told anyone. Only you.”

  I smile.

  “I’m honored,” I whisper.

  He tightens his arms around me, and musky vanilla sticks to my wet skin. The feathers tickle my fingers, and I lean in for another kiss. From the shrill sound of it, the lifeguard doesn’t miss it.

  I don’t care. Let him blow his stupid whistle.

  Nineteen

  Much to Frankie’s delight, I pour my heart into our science project after this. I reread the article on Ademov’s discovery of the Phoenix, mindful this time of its marked qualities that are also evident in a Fireblood. This time around, it’s so much more interesting.

  Frankie took a risk and confiscated some of the items from her dad’s crate, hiding them in a large chest at the back of her closet. They become my central focal point. Obviously, it isn’t because I care so much about the project. The scholarship fair is the last thing on my mind these days. I mean, the subject of our little endeavor has been here all along. Hypothesis proven.

  And I can’t even tell Frankie.

  When I let myself think about this, Guilt comes knocking on my door. But in the next breath, I remind myself that it doesn’t matter how I feel. I cannot ever reveal Kane’s secret, and if things get too close for comfort, I’ll intervene. To protect Kane and his family, I’ll do whatever I have to—even shut Frankie down completely if it comes to that.

  Until then, however, I plan to learn right along with her.

  I know what you’re thinking. Why do I waste time sorting through items from an old crate when I could just ask Kane my questions? Well, I could, and more than likely, I might be able to drag a few details out of him. It’s just that… I sense that he isn’t supposed to talk about certain things, and I won’t force him into a corner.

  I saw the fiery look in his father’s eyes when Kane told him that I knew… and I mean that in the most literal sense. If I hadn’t been in the room, Connor might have flared right then and there, and who knows what would have become of Kane. Trust me, I’m not in that much of a hurry to find out. I figure Kane will tell me what he thinks I need to know in his own timing, and I’ll let him.

  So, Thursday afternoon we lock Frankie’s bedroom door and delve in. While Frankie takes inventory of our findings at her desk, I sit in the middle of her bed and shuffle through every single document, article, journal, and photo spread out before me. I scour over several letters written in various handwriting and even a couple of photos of what is supposed to be a Fireblood. It’s anybody’s guess, but to me, the images just look like streaks of light. Nothing like the boy in the first photo Frankie ever showed me.

  Frankie sealed the feather in a sandwich bag so that we could look at it without touching. I hold it up to the light and a prism dances across the wall. My mind rumbles with images of Kane wearing feathers of this color. Is this what Jonas and Frankie saw three nights ago? It suddenly seems a little unfair that she can’t remember.

  The letter we found along with the feather is sealed in another sandwich bag. I study the foreign words through the plastic. They still mean nothing to me.

  “Have you figured out what this says yet?”

  Frankie looks up.

  “No. That language doesn’t seem to exist. I’ve searched through virtually every book in the Underground Section with no luck. Although, I will say, I’ve found some interesting facts on all sorts of other subjects.”

  “You mean on vampires and fairies?” I only half-tease because, well, I can’t really judge the non-existence of any mythical creature at the moment, now can I?

  “And werewolves.” She peers at me, completely serious. “There are three thick volumes on Were legends, in fact. Quite impressive.”

  “Interesting,” I drawl. She shrugs.

  “At any rate, I’ll keep searching. I mean, look at what we’ve found already. Something is bound to come up.”

  At this point, that’s an understatement, and it makes me a little nervous. Because the more she digs, the greater chance she’ll have of finding her Fireblood. I have no doubt.

  Kane’s parents made it very clear. Nobody else—not Jonas, Frankie, Devan—no one is to know that the Vatra u Krvi live among us in Carson City. I told Kane I really didn’t think we’d find anything of value, but I study Frankie, absorbed in her research, and a chill takes over. Kane’s own digging led him to the knowledge of our project, but it didn’t lead him to this crate. And I suddenly feel as if I have an obligation to tell him what we’ve found.

  I have to break my promise to Frankie.

  It makes me sick.

  ***

  I spend the rest of the afternoon reading through a mound of scribbled documents that detail all the physical attributes of a Fireblood. Turns out, they can fly—as high as a jet plane. It takes me the rest of the day to wrap my mind around that one. I read again: Heat emits from their feathered appendages aiding in protecting them from the cooler atmosphere. This and the motion of their wings creates oxygen so they can breathe at such a high altitude.

  Kane wasn’t lying about water, either. It actually weakens a Fireblood’s telepathic abilities which include compelling and mind talk. And for obvious reasons, they can’t flare underwater. But… as Kane so poignantly demonstrated at the pool, they can manifest their wings underwater and keep them camouflaged.

  Hands down, their camouflaging technique intrigues me the most. It involves a huge amount of self-inflicting mind control that uses a form of something called inner-compelling to help a Fireblood conceal his wings and all other features completely. The wings become invisible in all aspects as if they aren’t t
here at all. I read through this section three times and still can’t quite grasp this fascinating attribute.

  By the time I leave, my head is spinning, and if I let myself think about it too much, I feel crazy. Because it is crazy—all of it.

  I see Kane’s motorcycle in my drive as I round the corner onto my street. He sits on the steps toying with his pocketknife, but he hops to his feet as the garage door lifts. I ease my car in and cut the engine.

  He opens my door. “Hey.”

  “Why didn’t you call me?”

  He shrugs. “I wanted to surprise you.”

  I climb out, keys in hand and a teasing glint in my voice. “I was at Frankie’s… studying up on you.”

  “Oh yeah?” His dimples cave in. “And do I pass inspection?”

  I slam the door, a smile reaching all the way to my eyes. “You’re fascinating,” I whisper.

  “Finally.” He steps in and presses me against the car. “And… the feeling is mutual.”

  “Yeah, right.” I crinkle my nose. “You make me look even more boring than I already am.”

  “Not true. You’re the most intriguing part of my life.”

  His kiss warms me all the way to my soles, and I savor the musky taste of his lips. He smiles and speaks against my mouth.

  “I told Mom about us.” Another kiss. “She’d kind of already figured it out yesterday, so she asked me to invite you to dinner.” He pins me with a wide-eyed look of fake terror before he smiles. “I went one step further and decided to come get you.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.” His fingers tangle with mine, and he squeezes them gently. “I couldn’t wait.”

  “Well, I suppose I have to eat. And I do like your mother’s cooking.” I toss my fingers through his curls. “Maybe a little better than yours.”

  His eyes glint with amusement, and I focus on them. The golden hue burns low, but after all my research today, I recognize what it means. It’s the first sign of the flare, brought on by his stirring emotions, and my blood boils with excitement. Because this time, I’m fully aware that I’m the cause of this weakness in him. He can’t control his camouflage as easily with me in his arms.