The Crimson Hunt

by Smith, Victoria H.

  He nodded. “If we can feel it near, we generally can use it.” He glanced away and gazed out into the distance. After a moment, he smiled and waved his hand in a circular motion out in front of us.

  I leaned away from him, trying to see what he was doing. The wind caught my hair and I sat back. The breeze picked up around me and my hair blew violently.

  Through my blowing hair, I noticed his hand stopped circulating. The wind around me settled, and I was finally able to see what was going on.

  Luca watched the sky and brought his hand down slowly in front of him.

  I looked up and witnessed a small pink flower in the sky above.

  Luca brought his hand down and the flower came down to us. He reached up, and the stem of the flower slid into his hand. Smiling, he tucked the flower behind my ear.

  Okay. That was pretty suave. “Very, nice,” I said, nodding my head in satisfaction.

  He strengthened his arms around me and brought me tightly into his chest.

  I leaned back into him and stroked his arms. “Having that kind of power … wow. It’s just amazing. You can levitate things, so can you fly?” I turned my head toward him.

  He laughed. “No. We cannot fly. We can only control energy outside ourselves. I could not make myself fly or injury myself with my own power.”

  “So, we covered speed, flight, limits,” I said, ticking off my fingers, “Normal superhero stuff.”

  His gave me a quick kiss on the neck.

  “What about strength? When I ran into you in the hallway and during our date at Demitasse, you pretty much blew the wind out of my body. I almost crushed my face on your chest.”

  “I was not very casual about hiding that, was I?” He gave a crooked smile.

  I shook my head, biting my lip.

  “Along with endurance, yes, our strength is enhanced. That is all it is enhanced. Lifting heavier objects that would normally be harder for humans is more effortless for us. That does not mean we can pick up mountains. It is not absolute.”

  “So, you’re strong, but not ridiculously, abnormally strong?”

  “Correct. The connection I spoke of earlier that we have with our bodies is a deep one. It aids with this strength.”

  I guessed that was something I never really dug into when we talked about how crazy-smart he was. “A deep connection? Can you go more into that?”

  Shifting my body on his lap to face him, he smiled coyly. “Just when I think we are close to being finished, you want to know more.” He eyed me.

  My mouth dropped open. “Well, pardon me for never dating an alien before. I’m naturally curious.”

  He slid his hand into my hair, and kissed the side of my mouth. “Breaks are … not a bad thing.”

  Mmm …. No, they’re not. Wait. “No.” I laughed and pulled away. “We finish here, and we will never have to discuss it again. I promise.”

  He sighed and relaxed his hands. “Fine.” Glancing up, he thought to the air. “With the deep connection, we understand the nature of how our bodies work. This understanding helps with the strength and agility I spoke of before. The more we take care of our bodies physically, the stronger the connection.”

  Well, that I understood far too well. I shuddered. I hated counting calories and exercising. “So, working out and eating well?”

  He tilted his head from side to side. “Exercising yes, eating well …. This one is different. Our metabolisms are different from humans. Our bodies break down nourishment the same way regardless of what we consume.”

  My jaw dropped. Well, ain’t that a bitch. “You’re saying you can eat anything and it will make you stronger?”

  He took a finger to my chin and closed my agape mouth. “Anything that is edible, yes.”

  Okay. Now, I was officially jealous. That explained the godlike physique. He probably couldn’t get fat if he tried. I wondered what other things he could do with this connection. My thoughts stopped and settled on something. I had an inclining of one, but it sounded so stupid I didn’t even want to ask. Why not, right? “I know this is a really ridiculous question, but this deep connection …. Can you control organ functions?”

  He opened his mouth to speak, but I held my hand up to him. It was too silly I even asked him that, and really didn’t want the answer. “I’m sorry. That was really dumb of me to ask. It’s just, I thought I heard you regulating your heartbeat this one time.” I chuckled. “The night of my birthday.”

  He bit his lip, giving a crooked smile.

  Good God. “You can?”

  He held up his hand. “We cannot make them stop functioning, but yes, we do have voluntary control over some organs. The same as blinking would be to you. If we are not directly thinking about them, they continue to function on their own without flaw. And I have to admit, you made me nervous that evening, and I attempted to stabilize it.” His eyes averted in awkwardness.

  My eyes widened. “I made you nervous?” Heck, I was the one sweating bullets every time he was within a ten-foot radius of me.

  “Well, you were … touching me.” His cheeks dusted a bit of pink.

  Aww …. Goddamn he was cute. I slid a finger down his chest. “You get nervous when I touch you?”

  His eyes went sly and he leaned his lips into the crook of my neck. His soft kisses lined my skin. “I did. Not so much, now.”

  Oh, goodness. I shouldn’t have teased him. He clearly held the upper hand, now. I closed my eyes, his kisses warming my blood.

  He slid his hand under my tankini top and ran his fingers along my stomach. “Could we discuss something else? Or maybe … do something else.” His lips continued to move.

  I opened my eyes. I actually did want to ask him something else. Something a little more serious. “I have another question about your power.”

  He tilted his head up and narrowed his brows. “I thought we covered that.”

  I shook my head. “No. Not completely. What about your light … the purple and blue lights you fought Gemini with. I’ve never seen you use that when you levitate things, or like you just did with the water.”

  “The light comes when we use our own life force to create more intricate or stronger connections with our environment. Levitation does not require much energy or thought to produce. As long as the object or organism is not too large, that is.”

  I breathed in deep. “How did you beat Gemini so easily with it?”

  He leaned back and watched my eyes. “I am a bit stronger than Gemini, and he was off his guard. His attack of you weakened him, as well.”

  I thought about that day and my stomach grew sick. I swallowed hard. “Did you …. Is he ….”

  He ran his hand down my arm. “No, Ariel. He is fine. I just rendered him unconscious, so I could get you away safely.”

  “Is that what you did to me? When you touched my head?” God, I was in so much pain, I thought I just passed out. Now, it all made sense.

  “Yes. I did it to help with your pain until I could get you help.”

  Despite the warmth of the water, my body covered in goose pimples. “What did he do to me?” I chilled and crossed my arms.

  He slid his hand to my cheek, and tilted my head to find my eyes. “Ariel ….”

  I shook my head. “It’s okay. I want to know.”

  His lips tightened and he nodded. “He was splitting you apart from the inside, creating tears within your skin.”

  I glanced at my arms. “Why don’t I have any scars? And how did I heal so fast?”

  “Madre’s medicines she used on you are from our world. These types of wounds are understood by our people and treatable.”

  My eyes glassed over. My body numbed. “Did Piper die that way?”

  He didn’t say anything for a moment.

  I knew he was debating whether or not to continue with where this was going. But I also knew, he said he’d tell me anything. This was a part of that agreement.

  “I did not stay long after my fight with Garrett to observe the destruc
tion because I was trying to get you out. But, yes, I believe Garrett created a similar injury. Maybe damaged, stopped organs, or even worse. There was definitely some kind of struggle that occurred. I believe he placed the knife as a decoy for the authorities,” he said.

  I felt myself recoil in that moment and close off. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to go there, but my words couldn’t stop. My pain became the forefront of my thoughts. “I don’t get it. Why bother with all the secrecy if you could just take us all out and be done with it? You could easily do it. Just a snap of the fingers. Why the bombings, the fires … the suicides?”

  His hold tightened around me, and he brought his lips to my ear. “Because the program must go unnoticed, Ariel. Eldaens do not want to raise alarm on your planet, if at all possible.”

  I cringed and my eyes welled.

  He held me even closer, but the gesture wasn’t helping. Not this time.

  “Why not just destroy us, all of us, if it will save your world? It’s quicker.” I couldn’t stop my words. I knew I was being irrational and insensitive, but I didn’t care. I was so angry and infuriated. My innocent friends paid the price for what he was involved in. Even as we spoke, there were people out there dying. None of them had even done anything to his people, yet. His kind killed based on assumption. My people were guilty and not allowed to be proven innocent.

  Luca shifted me on his lap to face him. Sliding his hands to my cheeks, he focused my wavering eyes. “Ariel, we are a kind people. We do not get enjoyment out of this. I know from personal experience.” He paused his speech, his face so serious. “We do this to survive, and that is the only reason we do it. Please try to understand. If the tables were turned, what would your people do?”

  Watching his eyes, I saw the deeply immense pain within them. That was when I knew … he was right. I couldn’t even imagine what my people would do if threatened by an apocalypse. The world would be in absolute chaos. We’d do anything, anything to fight extinction.

  “Ariel?” Luca’s thumbs stroked my cheeks.

  I blinked out of my thoughts. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to attack you. I understand. You’re trying to protect your home. This is all just … so much to deal with.”

  He brought my body in close by my waist, then slid his hand into my hair. “I understand. All of this will take some time for both of us.”

  I smiled and lay my forehead against his. “But we’ll do it together.”

  “Of course.” He nuzzled my nose and stroked my hair with his hand.

  I leaned back and took in a deep breath. The emotions finally settled down. “How is your power even possible? You said your chemical makeup is similar to ours, but we can’t do these things.”

  He laced his fingers within mine. “It is said that our forefathers drank from special waters of our world. These waters healed the mind and allowed it to open up. Overtime, the body adapted to the environment in astounding ways. We advanced and became what we are today. We are all born with these abilities, but only those who have been chosen for the program can keep their power. Everyone else is suppressed. Madre is amongst that group. She was never a Hunter like myself and Giovanni, though he’s been retired for quite some time.”

  I raised my eyebrows by how nonchalantly he stated this information. “Why are people suppressed, at all? That sounds so cruel.” It really did. How could someone take away something so special?

  He squinted at me like he didn’t understand my confusion. “I am not sure. It is just our way of life.”

  He really wasn’t bothered by this. I wondered why he never questioned such a thing? What kind of place was this where he came from? He said they were a kind people, but this couldn’t read more opposite. I guessed it was probably best to leave it alone. There was no use in pushing something further he didn’t know. I wondered, though. Who created this program, and why was this the only option to preserve their planet? I suddenly thought about who was coming after me again, about who was coming after us. Could we really make it? Or was this whole journey a pointless pipedream? I didn’t want to lose him, too.

  “Are we going to make it? I mean, do you think we can keep from being found by your people?” I looked away from him, not wanting to look vulnerable.

  He slipped his hands into my hair and joined our foreheads together.

  I cuffed his wrists, his warm breath touching my lips.

  “I will never let anything happen to you. I will make sure you get the future you desire,” he said.

  I was still afraid, though. What good was my future without him in it? I didn’t have long to ponder these thoughts. His lips finally captured mine and his hands caressed my body in their perfect ways. I no longer had any desire to hold back from him with words. Leaving my questions, I concentrated on where his touch would lead me.

  Chapter Thirty

  She brought me out of my slumber with Luca that night. Her voice was so beautiful. I’d heard it in my dreams before. She called me to her. The environment was so cloudy, but I could still see her in the distance. She stood there, holding her hand out to me. The journey was far and difficult. I couldn’t see clearly through the opaque winds, but I made it. I finally made it to her. She was so beautiful, her body translucent and ethereal. She glistened in front of me, and I could feel a powerful essence radiating off her. In that moment, it was as if the lights were turned on. My blinded vision and senses cleared. I could smell the sweet nectar of life around me. The various purples and blues of the swirling sky flowed into the crystal waters, and the teal-colored blades of the natural land took my breath away.

  “What is this place?” I asked the being.

  “It is Elanaè, Sector of Essence and Purity, and home of the Brave One known as Luca. You are on Elda, Pure One,” said the being.

  My eyes scanned away. I felt unworthy of viewing such a place. “Is all this real?”

  “Your mind makes it real, Pure One.” She smiled.

  I looked away from the land and into her crystal-like eyes. I then gazed around myself, and my heart jolted inside my chest. Luca was no longer beside me. Where was he? Had she taken him? “Who are you? Why have you brought me here?” I demanded, panic in my voice.

  “Do not be fearful, Pure One. I am Serene, guide of Elda. I have brought you here because the complications of your world have made it difficult for me to connect with you. This is an easier vessel.” She raised her arms to the world around her. Her reach was swaddled in shimmering threads.

  “It was you I saw earlier at the Falls?”

  Serene’s eyes crinkled in the corners in response.

  “What do you want with me?”

  “He needs you, Pure One. You are the key to the protection of his world. As well as your own.”

  “What do you mean? Luca said it’s I and others of my world who cause Elda’s destruction.”

  “It is you, and it is only you who can lead them all to peace. You are their only hope of survival. You must run away no longer.”

  I swallowed hard and raised my hand to my quickening heart. “M-Me? What can I do?”

  “You must locate my connection with you. It will tell you what to do.”

  I shook my head. This couldn’t be true. I wasn’t special. “What if I can’t? What if I’m not strong enough?”

  “You are the one to lead the others. You must believe in yourself, then it will be true.”

  The winds picked up around me and my hair blew wildly. “How can I find your connection?” I shouted, over the sound of the wind.

  Serene stood there completely still, her clothing stationary. The harsh winds didn’t even affect her. “His journey will help locate the truth.”

  I cupped my hands around my mouth to elevate the sound. “Luca?”

  Serene nodded once.

  I looked around me. The environment shook and spun. All the beauty was swept up, then dematerialized into Serene.

  “You must hurry, Pure One. There is not much time for the truth. Find me through the c
onnection, and you will know what to do.” Serene lifted her hand out toward me.

  I followed the line of her sight to my palm. A lavender seed appeared on my skin. The seed was one of Elda’s beautiful blooms. Within an instant, it grew into a full, glistening pink bloom in my palm. Just like the seed that grew in Luca’s hand. I slowly looked up at her. “How is this possible? I’m not one of you,” I yelled, over the ever-increasing wind.

  Serene faded into the dark horizon, and the last remnants of the beautiful world around me faded with her.

  I ran toward her, but the area was too dark and I couldn’t see. I reached out for her. “Wait, please! Serene!”

  Ariel.

  I stopped and looked around. I couldn’t see her. I was left in the darkness. “Serene? Serene, is that you?”

  Ariel, wake up.

  Luca’s face fluttered into focus, the light of the room shining behind him. He was brushing the hair away from my face with the back of his hand. It was then I realized I lay in the middle of the lake house floor. I was naked and wrapped in my quilt. “What happened?”

  He stroked my cheek. “I woke up and you were no longer beside me. I found you here, calling out in your sleep.”

  Was it all a dream? Had I imagined the entire thing? My attention was taken to a light weight in my palm. I could still feel it. I raised my hand into view and there it was. The bloom from my dreams rested in my open hand.

  Luca’s eyes shifted and he stared at my hand. His eyebrows knit. “What does this mean, Ariel?”

  Closing my eyes, I cupped the bloom in my palm and brought it to my heart. “We have to go back.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “Do you understand the severity of what you would be walking into? There will be Hunters everywhere you go with the sole purpose of your death as their goal. The young child you see innocently playing in the sandbox, the elderly couple feeding the birds in the park—they could be any one of them. You are not safe. Everyone you see will be a threat. They will not stop to question you before they kill you if they discover who you are.” Luca spoke with his head in his hands. He’d been that way for a while.