Feudlings

by Wendy Knight

  "You're asking my motive in all this? Are you kidding me?" Ari asked incredulously.

  "No. We're not. Ari, please, you have to believe me. We didn't know it was you." Shane’s voice shook. He swallowed hard.

  "Why should I believe you, Shane? You tried to kill me! All three of you got together and planned to kill me. That's what I believe because that's what I saw." She stressed the last word.

  "I attacked, yes. But not you. I attacked the Edren Prodigy who I thought was there to kill me. By the time we realized it was you we were trapped behind that wall you threw up and we had to go clear around the school to get out. By then you had set off the fire alarm and the whole school was in chaos. We couldn't find you." Shane’s voice was strained, remembering the panic and the fear from that night, knowing she was dying and not being able to find her.

  Hunter, seeming to read his thoughts, said behind him, "We knew you were hurt real bad. We've spent every waking minute searching for you ever since."

  "So you can trap me and take me back to your Council to be tortured? I don't think so." The flames leapt and crackled from her fingertips, feeding off her anger.

  "No you idiot! Because we are trying to help you!" Hunter snapped, pushing away from the wall, frustrated.

  "Ari," Will said quietly at her side. She turned her head to look at him, keeping Shane and his traitorous friends in sight. "They've gone rogue. Their Council has put out a price on them."

  Ari's eyes opened wide in disbelief and she turned back to them, confused. "Why?" she asked.

  "Because the Council knows that we know who the Prodigy is. They wanted us to come debrief them. But we wouldn't." Hunter answered when Shane didn't. Ari just stared at them. It couldn't be true. The Carules Prodigy wouldn't go rogue.

  You did, a voice accused in her head.

  Shane moved closer yet again. "Ari, you know how I feel about you. How I've always felt about you. I could never hurt you," he whispered.

  "What are you talking about?" She shook her head and immediately regretted it as pain shot through her whole side again. She saw black splotches trying to overwhelm her vision. Blacking out now would be more than a little embarrassing.

  "Seriously? How could you not know?" At her still-blank stare, he threw up his hands. "I'm in love with you, Ari! I've always been in love with you! I'd rather throw a lirik at myself than even think about throwing one at you!"

  The sparks died abruptly from her fingers and her jaw dropped. "You didn't know," Shane said in disbelief. "How could you not know? Everyone knew!"

  "You're in love with me?" she whispered. The pain shot through her again, this time worse than before, and she gasped and fell to her knees. Then the room went black.

  Will grabbed her before she hit the floor, swinging her up and hooking his arms under her knees. "Move!" he barked as he barreled toward the couch.

  "Charity, in my kitchen there's some awful-smelling green liquid. Bring it to me, quickly," he commanded. Charity raced to the kitchen.

  "What's going on? Has this happened before?" Shane asked, falling to his knees beside her.

  "Ari doesn't heal. No one has ever been able to heal her. Even all the Carules and Edren healers in the colony working together couldn't heal this. All we can do is make her more comfortable." Will pulled up her shirt and peeled away the bandage as Charity ran back in. The wound was huge and festering, oozing still despite all their efforts.

  Will’s voice was bitter as he continued, "I guess your Carules will win this war." The cup Charity had been handing him fell to the floor as she gasped.

  "What?" Hunter exclaimed.

  "She's dying. We can't save her." Will choked on the words.

  Shane saw the world spin in front of him. She couldn't. A world without her in it was not a world he wanted to be in. "Let me try," he said, sitting up, his eyes focusing.

  "I told you, Shane, she doesn't heal." Will said, his voice low and full of pain.

  "She's never been healed by the Prodigy, has she?" Shane asked. They glared at each other, both desperate to save her. Shane could see in Will’s eyes he was too afraid even to hope.

  It was Hunter who was the quiet voice of reason. "It won't hurt her if Shane tries, will it? This is why you called us, right?"

  Will blinked at him, but moved out of the way, keeping a hand on Ari. Shane didn’t know if he did it to comfort her or himself, but he didn’t object. Shane moved closer and closed his eyes. He put his hands over the wounds and concentrated with everything he had. The world slowed and stopped; all he could see was Ari, lying before him, dying. He had to save her. A warm blue glow spread from his hands, small flames escaping from his fingers and seeping into the wound. The skin around it seemed to pulse, a red and blue war battling underneath. Shane could feel the flames pulling at him, tugging at his soul, tearing it and dragging it with them. He could feel a dull, muted sense of her pain in himself, and he concentrated harder, trying to give her everything he had. He would give her his life if he had to.

  Will's eyes opened wide; Charity held her breath beside him. Hunter laid a hand on Shane's shoulder, offering all his strength as well. Slowly, so heart-rendingly slowly, the wound started to heal from the inside, one layer at a time, until fresh pink skin lay under Shane's hands. The blue glow died, and he leaned his head against her shoulder. "That's all I can do," he said, exhausted.

  "She's healed! It's gone!" Will exclaimed.

  "There's still some I can't get to. She'll have to do that on her own," Shane said quietly.

  ****

  Ari wasn’t sure how long she’d been out, but she noticed even before she could open her eyes that the horrible pain was nearly gone. Where before it had been a horrendous scythe tearing away at her side, now there was only some mild pain. She could handle a side ache. Someone had dragged the arm chair right next to the couch, shoving the coffee table out of the way, and Shane lay there now, awkward and uncomfortable, but asleep. She studied him, knowing, of course, that he had been the one to heal her. No one else would have been able to do it. And it didn't make sense for him to heal her if he had been trying to kill her. Grudgingly, she had to admit that they must have been telling the truth.

  But pride wasn’t an easy thing to let go of, and she refused to forgive any of them. Even Will, who had obviously gotten them into the colony. She could walk through wards, but Shane couldn't, or hers wouldn't have worked that night.

  He had said he loved her. She just couldn't comprehend it.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The next several days passed quickly, as Ari spent them sleeping and healing. Although she was forced to admit that their near-fatal attack had been an accident, she wouldn’t make herself let it go. She spoke to them as little as possible and when she did, it was short, perfunctory answers. Shane watched her quietly, his dark blue eyes sad, but he stayed away from her. Charity was the one who wouldn't back down, forcing her cheerfulness on Ari whenever she had the chance.

  ****

  Ari stood at the window, staring out at the gray sky. She was almost completely healed and her strength was returning quickly. Shane leaned against the living room doorway, his arms crossed over his chest, pretending to watch the movie Charity and Hunter were watching, but really watching Ari. He had lost her. He wasn't sure how he’d lost something he’d never had, but somehow he had managed it.

  Will was in the kitchen, stirring something in a large pot. He cleared his throat, and Ari jumped. "Shane, there's a nice little trail out there. Maybe you should go for a walk, get some fresh air. Ari, go with him so he doesn't go outside the wards," Will said.

  Ari shook her head, holding tight to the stubbornness she’d surrounded herself with since they had come to the colony. “He can’t walk through wards, Will,” she snapped without turning from the window, but by then Shane had crossed the room and was at her side.

  "Walk with me," he said, his voice quiet. Ari looked over at him. She wanted to say no, he could see it in her eyes. But instead she t
hrew a vicious glare toward Will and heaved a frustrated sigh. “Fine.” She turned and stalked from the room, waiting for Shane next to the door with her arms crossed.

  Charity sent him a weak, encouraging smile from the couch, but it was obvious she didn't have much hope, either.

  ****

  They walked in silence for several minutes until they were well into the trees. Then Shane stopped. "Ari, talk to me," he said. He wasn't pleading. He said it more as a statement, and she stopped too and looked back at him.

  "About what, Shane? What is it that you'd like to talk about? The weather? It's gray. The war? It's still moving along without us. School? We're going to fail our senior year and there's no way we're graduating now. Anything else?"

  "Ari," he said quietly. She looked away. "Okay look, I hurt you. I'm sorry! We're all sorry, Ari! But you hurt me too. Do you think it hasn't killed me to be in love with you for the past six months, since the first second I saw you, and to have to pretend I wasn't just so I wouldn't lose you? And then I lost you anyway. It hasn't been pleasant, Ari!" he said, his voice rising.

  She said nothing, just stared at the ground next to her, her face turned away, her lips pressed firmly together. The epitome of stubbornness. "Fine. It's obvious you don't want us here, so we'll go. I'll text you of my location every so often so you can come kill me and finish the war. Not a chance I’m going to kill you, now that I know who you are, so you'll have to do it." He turned and started to go. "Hey, it'll be easy for you anyway. To you, we were barely even friends," he said sarcastically as he walked away.

  She looked up at his retreating back, felt panic flood through her. He’s leaving? "That's not true, Shane," she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear her.

  "Serious, Ari? Because I don't believe you," he answered without turning around. She stood alone on the trail watching him go, so afraid. She didn't have the courage to tell him, but she couldn't let him go either. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been afraid.

  He rounded a bend and she couldn't see him anymore; she was shocked to feel a sob welling up in her throat. She did not cry, but she was about to.

  "Shane!" she yelled. Her feet started to run of their own accord, racing around the bend after him. He had paused, his head tipped back staring up at the trees.

  "Shane, wait." She skidded to a stop next to him. She looked up into his face, seeing the pain there. "Don't go."

  "Why?" He didn’t look at her. His hands were in fists, clenching and unclenching. He was shaking. Ari could tell he was upset, but didn't know what to say, didn't know how to tell him she loved him too without sounding trite. "I can't stay here, Ari. I can't pretend to be your friend anymore. It hurts too much."

  He started walking again, but Ari's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. "Wait. Please," she said. "This is easy for you. You've been in love with lots of girls. I can't—”

  "No," he said flatly, looking down at her hand on his wrist.

  "No?" she asked, confused.

  "I've never been in love before you. I've never told anyone I loved them before you."

  Ari blinked, surprised. "I thought… but you've had all those girlfriends."

  "Yeah. They were just fun, Ari. That's all. They weren't you. No one has ever come close to you." He looked tortured. He pulled his wrist away, shaking his head.

  "Shane, wait. Just… stop for a second!" she yelled. Annoyed. Yes, I can handle annoyed. A lot better than fear and desperation, she reasoned with herself. "Fine. So this is as hard for you as it is for me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I let you believe I just wanted to be friends all this time. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you who I was, even when I knew who you were. I'm sorry that I'm emotionally distant and hard to get along with!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

  Shane raised an eyebrow. "I never said that," he said with a slow smirk.

  "I know. Will did, but that's not the point. I… I don't want to be friends anymore either." She shook her head.

  "Fine. This works out well for you then. We'll go," he said, his smirk gone and his voice flat. He jerked away from her and stalked down the path.

  Ari growled in frustration and ran after him, yet again. Racing in front of him, she whirled, forcing him to stop, shoving black and red curls away from her face in annoyance. The path wasn't wide enough to go around her, although he looked like he might try.

  Unable to find the words she wanted, she took a deep breath and deliberately stepped toward him, closing the gap between them and lifting up on her toes. She meant it only to be a light kiss, something to stop him while she tried to explain, but the minute her lips met his he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him.

  And then she could feel his heart. It was pounding against his chest and he was shaking like a leaf in the wind. He was just as scared as she was, and knowing that, Ari let her guard down. She let go, snaking her arms around his neck and pulling him as close as she could get him, determined to never let go.

  She didn't realize there were tears rolling down her cheeks until Shane pulled away from her. He raised a hand and slowly, gently, brushed one away with his finger, studied it, and looked back up at her.

  "I love you," she said quietly. He watched her in silence for several seconds, searching her eyes. She said nothing, just looked back at him, finally acknowledging the pain and fear in his face. It had been there all along. She had refused to believe it had anything to do with her. But it had. She had caused it.

  "I'm so sorry," she whispered. Shane shook his head once, and cupped her face in his hands, bringing his lips to hers once more. He traced the line of her jaw with his thumb before running his hands down her arms to her hands, grasping them tightly. He was still shaking, maybe more than he had been before.

  They stayed that way for an eternity, until the sky opened and rain poured down, and even then it wasn't until they were both soaked to the skin that Shane pulled away from her, looking up into the downpour with a grin. She didn't want to move away from him. She laid her head on his shoulder and for once, she didn't fight the smile that came to her face.

  ****

  "You have completely lost your mind. You know that, right?" Ari yelled, turning to face Shane, her face a mask of incredulity.

  Will, Charity, and Hunter had taken refuge in the kitchen, watching the sparks fly. "Well, that moment of peace didn't last long, did it?" Hunter said with a sardonic raise of his eyebrows. Will, at least, was pretending to cook, but he said nothing, sending Hunter a rueful look.

  "Ari, once the Council understands the situation, they'll work with us. They'll help us figure out how to end the war without one of us having to kill the other one." Shane crossed his arms over his chest. They faced off, the couch between them.

  "Your Council will try to kill me — and you too, probably!" Ari exclaimed. "They sent hunters after you when you went rogue. Did you forget that? You're in as much danger as Will now."

  "They weren't hunters. They were a recon team. They were trying to find us, not kill us," Shane argued, frowning.

  "We are not going to your Council. I've already had one close brush with death. I'm gonna wait a while before I throw myself in front of another lirik, if that's okay with you," Ari retorted. Shane paled and she heard Charity gasp from the kitchen. Ari was instantly sorry for bringing it up.

  But Shane side-stepped it, saying instead, "Do you have a better plan to end this stupid war? People are dying out there, Ari. We can't just sit back and hope it ends on its own."

  "Do you think I don't know that, Shane? I've spent my entire life fighting. I didn't get to grow up sheltered and protected in a pretty little boarding school. I know how many lives have been lost!" Ari yelled, angry now, forgetting that just a second ago she had felt bad for hurting him. Now she wanted to shove the entire couch at him.

  With a sigh, Will handed his spatula to Hunter. "If I don't stop them now, they're gonna break something. And it isn't easy getting things replaced when you're stuc
k in a colony," he muttered under his breath. He made his way to the living room, Charity following him. Hunter stayed in the kitchen where it was safe, flipping pancakes.

  Will moved between them, trying to break their staring match. "We aren't going to your Council. It puts Ari in too much danger. But maybe you could send them a message explaining the situation and ask them what they propose you do next. That way, no one is in danger, but Shane still gets to touch base with the Council. Everybody wins." Ari and Shane both scowled at him. "Just an idea," he said, holding up his hands defensively and backing into the kitchen. Behind him, Charity giggled.

  "Pancakes are ready!" Hunter appeared in the doorway with his spatula in hand.

  "They can trace the computer," Ari said, following them in and plunking herself at the table. Shane sat next to her, giving her a blank stare. "If you send the Council an email. And you can't call them, obviously," she said.

  "Obviously," Will agreed.

  "Obviously. Why is that obvious?" Shane asked, glancing from one to the other.

  "They can trace the call," Will explained, pouring syrup over his pancakes. Hunter sat back and watched them eat, pride written across his face.

  "Yeah man, pancakes are good." Shane grinned at him around a mouthful of food.

  "But we could send them an encrypted email that they can't trace. I'm the best hacker you know, Ari. I'm wounded that you didn't consider that," Will pointed out. “How else do you think we’ve been communicating with the Family all this time?”

  Charity looked up, her eyes widening in alarm. "Hacker? I thought you were a programmer."

  "Umm… yeah. That's what I am."

  Ari rolled her eyes. "Anyway, it's too dangerous. They could trace it back here and put the whole colony in danger."

  "They can't get past my firewalls," Will said with a big grin, heaping his plate full of more pancakes.

  Ari just shook her head. They ate in silence for several minutes before she heaved a giant sigh, leaning back in her chair and pushing dark red and black curls over her shoulder. "Fine. If Will can encrypt it, I think it's a good idea,” she said. Shane watched the curls tumble over her shoulder, fascinated.