by Tenaya Jayne
This kiss wasn’t slow and soft like the first time and it wasn’t desperate like the second time. It was both. Soft and desperate. Fast and tantric at the same time. The moment shifted the gravity. I’m lost, he thought. Right here. Right now… Just her... I’m lost. He pulled back, his eyes searching hers.
“You’re wonderful,” she whispered. “What you did out there.”
“I just reacted.”
“I know. That’s what makes it wonderful. You’re good, X. Very good.”
“I don’t see what the big deal is. Even if the baby was hit, your father…”
Tesla shook her head. “Not everything can be fixed. Sometimes death comes too fast to reverse. You saved Sophie’s life.”
“I just reacted,” he repeated. His eyes fixed intently on her lips. “I want more.”
“Take it.”
He closed his eyes and kissed her again. For a moment there was nothing else in the world. Just them. She yielded in his arms, soft and giving. She fit perfectly against him as though the stars had fashioned her to be his from the very beginning. He pulled back, cursing himself for thinking that way.
“Can I give you your present now?”
“You already gave me what I asked for last night.”
He shook his head, a small smile in the side of his mouth. “Doesn’t count.”
“If you say so.”
He led her back to her bedroom, pulled the wooden box from inside his knapsack, and handed it to her.
“So pretty,” she said, running her fingers on the carved designs on the box.
“Maggie made that. I made what’s inside.”
“More weapons?”
“Not quite.”
She opened the lid, her face going blank. He was confused by her response. He thought for sure the flower would please her.
“Don’t you like it?”
She lifted the metal flower out and twisted the stem between her thumb and index finger, her expression still blank.
“Was I wrong? I thought you—“
“Shhh…” she whispered. “Watch.”
Tesla sliced her fingertip on her incisor and rubbed her blood on the petals. Tendrils of smoke rose off the flower when her blood ran over his. The flower shivered, the petals stretching out.
“See? Our blood, mixed together… It can make things happen,” she said.
X stared at the metal flower. It continued to move like it was real. The petals trembled as if in a breeze.
“That’s…fascinating…but do you like it?”
She laughed lightly, put the flower on top of her dresser, and grabbed him around the back on the neck, pulling his mouth back down to hers. Her kiss made him drunk. She opened her mouth and let him in. Again, he felt like he was dying. There was no hope for him anymore. The force pulling him to her was growing stronger every second. His body began to rage for more, for everything, but his heart ground to a halt. She was a cliff, and he didn’t feel secure jumping just yet. He feared what he was feeling, and he feared she wasn’t going in the same direction.
The sounds of voices calling from outside gave him the power to let go of her, and he was relieved.
“I hear your mother calling you.”
She sighed. “I need to go out and say goodbye to everyone. Stay here, otherwise you’ll be swarmed again. I have somewhere to take you when I get back.”
“Will we be alone in this somewhere you’re taking me to?”
She smirked and shook her head. “In a way, but not completely.”
He caressed the side of her face gently with his fingertips. “Probably a good thing. Being alone could be dangerous.”
“For whom?” she asked mischievously.
“Me.”
She stretched up and pressed her lips to his again quickly before going back outside. Alone, X exhaled and ran his hands through his hair. It was such a strange day. Regia was an odd place. He shook his head, bemused. He’d just been stabbed at a birthday party. He reached around and touched his back where his shirt was torn. There was no pain, no ridge of a scar, nothing. The ability to heal…how awesome was that? He made a mental note to ask Maggie if she could give him that power as well.
He thought about everyone he’d met and talked to. One thing that really impressed him was how honest everyone was. His power to know truth worked on everyone, everyone except Tesla. He watched her from the window as she hugged everyone, carefully keeping her hands from touching them.
He could hear what was being said through the window.
“I need to thank him again!” Sabra insisted to Tesla. “Can you bring him to the Lair tomorrow?”
“I don’t know if we will have time. He and I have a lot of work to do.”
“Please?”
Shreve came up behind her. “Yes. Please bring him tomorrow. Let us thank him formally.”
X smirked to himself. Shreve had been hostile toward him at the beginning of the party. His tune had changed completely.
“I’ll try.”
The party began to thin, but some still remained, talking. Tesla came back inside, carrying a handful of gift boxes. She set them down on the floor of her bedroom. He watched her shift through them until she pulled out the short swords her parents gave her.
“I hadn’t even dreamed they would give me something so awesome.”
X nodded in agreement. “They are amazing.”
“I can’t wait until I can begin practicing with them.” She put them back in the box. “So, are you ready to see my work?”
“Your work?”
“Yes. I need to show you the blood lock and what I’ve discovered.”
“Do I need to bring anything?” he asked.
“Put your palm stones back on. I think the Heart might need to see them.”
“The Heart?”
“I’m about to take you to the most beautiful place in all of Regia. You’ve done amazingly well not freaking out so far, but I’m afraid I’m about to put a bit more pressure on you there.”
He smiled. “I’m impressed with myself as well… Seriously, in all honesty, I would think I’d completely lost my mind with everything I’ve seen, but I don’t question anything anymore. Not since I accepted my transformation. Magic exists in many forms. It lives inside me, is a part of me. And…I’m starting to feel glad of that.”
She looked thoughtfully at him, as if she had something to say but remained silent. Her eyes focused on his chest, her pupils opening wide. “Hold still,” she whispered.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking inside you.”
“Oh? Do you see your name written across my heart?”
She smirked but didn’t move her gaze off his chest. “Shut up, smooth operator. Let me finish… All right. Let’s go”
He strapped the stones to his hands, and she grabbed the air and tore it open.
Chapter Eleven
She opened a portal to the Wolf’s Wood and pulled X through it. His eyes bugged as they landed on the beach near the waterfall.
“That’s crazy! You travel like that all the time?”
“Yes. This is the Wolf’s Wood. The Heart of our world lives in this forest.”
He stared at the water. She came up beside him and laced her fingers through his, letting him look as long as he liked.
“Oh, I should warn you about the shadow sand. It’s on the ground, not right here, under the trees. It has hallucinogenic powers. I’ve gone through your genetic makeup a few times, and I don’t think you’ll be susceptible to it, but just in case, don’t walk on the black or grey areas of the ground.”
“What do you mean, my genetic makeup? What’s that?”
She smiled and lifted their entwined hands up. Pulling her hand free, she touched the fingertip of her index finger to his, rubbing it in a circle. “This.”
A red light hologram lifted off her palm showing the helix of his DNA. “This is you. All that is inside. Blood, bones, tissue, and going deeper, the smaller, invisible
to the eye… Well most eyes. There’s a universe inside you. I can see it.”
He looked at the projection in her hand, and then back in her eyes, a satisfied expression on his face. “It’s like what I can see. Different but same. You’re taking about my body?”
“Yes.”
“You see a universe in the physical. I see a universe in the spiritual.”
“What do you see?”
“I can’t show you the way you’ve shown me.”
“Then just tell me,” she prompted.
“I see your soul, Tesla. When I choose to.”
“What does it look like?”
“Hmm…it’s like the night sky. Shooting stars, constellations, and fluid brush strokes of deep color, almost too dark to see.”
She smiled, feeling like she’d just received the complement of her life, but the warm feeling faded quickly, leaving a cold dread instead.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.
“You want it, don’t you? You want to capture my soul.”
He narrowed his eyes, a small flash of anger there. Then he blinked, and his expression relaxed again. “The only thing I want to capture is your heart. I like your soul exactly where it is.”
She grinned, dismissing her fear. “Slick.”
He snorted and looked back at the water.
“We can come back here, you know.”
“Let’s.”
“There is more to see, X.”
She led him through the ribcage, to the Heart. He walked at a steady pace, but his expression moved over his amazement as they walked.
“Stay right here,” she ordered when the Heart was in sight.
Tesla approached the Heart, stopped at the crystal trees, got down on her knees and put her hands flat on the ground.
You brought him. The Heart said.
“I did.”
The flames danced a little higher. It pleases me to hear your voice aloud. Tell him to come closer.
Tesla got up and turned to X. She gestured for him to come. Even a distance away, she could see him swallow before he began walking toward her. She took his hand again as he came up beside her.
“It’s okay,” she said. “Don’t be afraid.”
The music chiming through the crystal leaves was hesitantly hopeful.
“This is the power the wizards want?” he asked.
“Yes. And they will kill us all to get it.”
“What can be done to stop them?”
She reached into the flames to the tesseract suspended in the air and opened it. Red light images of the equation and biological makeup filled the air. X looked but he didn’t comprehend any of it.
“This is the blood lock. A metaphysical wall that holds the wizards out. The Heart powers it. So far it has held against their attacks, but time is running out. Eventually they will break through.”
“How much time?”
“I don’t know.”
“We should ask Maggie,” he said. “She can see the future, sometimes.”
Tesla’s expression changed.
“What?” he asked.
A cracking like thunder came from overhead. A red wave of sparks rolled through the sky.
“What was that?!”
Tesla watched the sky for a moment, then she put her hands into the box she’d opened and moved things around inside it. “It’s the wizards. That was an attack. They keep changing their methods.”
She was collected, but he could feel the tension radiating off of her.
“Did they—“
“No. They didn’t get through. But they did some damage.” She huffed as she worked. “I know!” she said aggressively.
“What?”
“I wasn’t talking to you… Damnit. Give me a boost in the eastern corner. More. Flood it… There. It’s patched.” She pulled her hands out and turned to face him. “Sorry. I was talking to the Heart. We needed to work together quickly.”
“Is it okay now?”
“Yes,” she said easily. “Relax. I just get upset when the wall takes a hit. It wasn’t that close of a call. There are many levels of fail safes. See this?” She pointed at a triangle in the center of the red light images hanging in the air. “This is us. When you let me take some of your blood, it didn’t work the way I thought it would until I mixed it with my own. Together, with the Heart, we can defend Regia. You and I.”
“How?”
“I’ll show you, if you’re ready.”
I don’t want to scare him, Tesla. The Heart said in her mind. Tell him to take off his gloves and put his hands in the flames.
“The Heart wants to talk to you, X. Take off your gloves and put your hands in the flames. It won’t burn you. You’ll hear a voice in your head.”
“Oh…okay,” he said slowly.
He removed his gloves and palm stones and stepped up to the flames. Taking a deep breath, he slowly pushed his hands into the manifestation. The flames licked at his hands, exploring the power in his palms.
Light rushed into X’s eyes, and he couldn’t see anything anymore. Comfortable heat moved through him from his hands.
I’ve been waiting for you, Enforcer. A guttural voice said in his head that was both male and female. You must make a choice.
“What choice?”
To protect Tesla.
“I’ve already made that choice.”
You are not yet the weapon you must become. Not quite. Will you let me bless you? Will you let me tie your power to Tesla’s?
He felt her run her hand down his arm until she rested her hand on top of his. His heart began thundering under his ribs. Something important was happening, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
“Will you merge with me, X?” Tesla asked.
“Yes…I will do whatever it takes to protect you.”
The flames wrapped around both of their hands, and then moved straight through their palms. It burned for a second, and then turned cool like a rushing breeze. Like two strings tied together, the Heart tied his power to hers. It was tenuous, brittle, and temporary. Then Tesla let go and stepped away from him, but the Heart had not yet released him. A surge went into his fingers. Warm light moved up through his wrists, arms, all the way up to his chest, where it burrowed into his heart.
There, the Heart said. Now you must collect the dead of Regia. You must continue to separate the stains from the souls, as you already have learned to do. Closely guard the stain, for it is a weapon only to be used in the most desperate of times. I have fortified your heart and your powers. You are stronger than ever. I have added layers to your power and given you total control over them. You are not quite human anymore. You will be very hard to kill now. Thank you, for your brave choice, Enforcer.
The Heart released him, and he stepped back, his vision returning. He looked down. A burned looking triangle now marked the back of his hand. He touched it gently with his fingertip. It glowed a pale purple under his touch. He looked over at Tesla. She held her hand up for him to see. Her hand bore an identical mark. Emotion threatened to choke him as she smiled. They were tied together. However long it lasted, they shared a bind. He felt like they had just undergone some kind of strange marriage ceremony. The only thing lacking was the kiss.
He reached out, pulled her to him, and kissed her.
She looked up at him, her eyes lightly teasing. “You think this really means something, don’t you?”
“Don’t you?”
“I think it means a great deal, I just wonder what you think it means.”
He wouldn’t tell her what he was really thinking. He held his marked hand up. “This means I have an edge over your other suitors. The Heart tied us together.”
She rested her head against his chest. “You have no competition, X. There is no one else pursuing me. And even if there were…there still wouldn’t be any competition.”
He took a deep breath and let it out on a shudder. “Please don’t say these things unless they are true.”<
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She looked back up at him again, her eyes serious. “Believe me.”
He placed both of his hands on her face and kissed her again. The ground under her feet fell away. His mouth claimed hers in a new way. His kiss was possessive. She gave in to it. She yielded.
“I have work to do.” His voice was quiet and resigned. “Can you leave me here for a while?”
“You need to be alone? I can’t help in some way?”
He shook his head. “There’s a lot for me to learn about what the Heart just did to me and what I’m capable of... You distract me.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know, a few hours perhaps.” He looked up at the darkened sky. “It’s early still. Come back for me when you’re too tired to stay awake any longer.”
“But what if you’re in danger?”
“You’ll know, right?” He held up his marked hand again. “You’ll feel it, I bet. We’re tied together, like destined life mates.”
She smirked. “I don’t think it’s quite the same.”
“It might be the same.” He argued.
“No. If we were destined life mates, we’d have already…well…you know…” Her voice trailed off at the look on his face.
“Oh my gosh!” he exclaimed. “How am I to concentrate on work now? Go away.”
She laughed. “Sorry. But don’t act like you don’t think about it without any encouragement.”
His eyebrows shot up, and he turned his face to the side. “Wow. Please, please get out of here before I do something that will result in your father killing me.”
She smiled broadly and opened a portal for herself. As soon as she was gone, he threw his hands up and huffed in exasperation.
“She’s going to be the death of me,” he said to himself.
He sighed, trying to shake off his desire for her and focus on what he needed to do. X fastened the stones over his palms and approached the cloudy crystal tree in the circle around the flames. There were two souls in there. He could see them as easily as a beacon in the night.
Be careful, the Heart said. They belong to me. I will allow you to access them, but you cannot cage them, you must leave them in the forest.
