B007Q4JDEM EBOK (25 page)

“Where were we?” I smiled
, leaning in to kiss him again.
He was hesitant at first, then pulled me down onto the blanket and kissed me deeply. My hands traced down the side of his face, across his neck, then rested against his collar bone. Our lips parted slowly and I inhaled deeply, the cold air rushing through my lungs.

I kissed him once more before laying my head against his chest. My hand fell across his heart, where it rested for a few moments and I tilted my head up to look at him.

“It’
s
weird
,” I said quietly, “not being able to hear your heart
beat...because, it doesn't...”

His face was expressionless, “Yours beats enough for the both of us.”

I noticed then how erratic my heart was beating. I blushed. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't be,” h
e smiled. “It's among my favorite sounds.”

Our peaceful, comfortable, picnic was interrupted again. Salem lifted me off of him and sat me up, this time his eyes were st
artled. “Alex, we need to leave,” h
is voice was urgent.

“What? Why?”

“Paul is here, somewhere,” h
e hissed.

“You
saw
him?” I asked anxiously, glancing around.

“I can smell him,” h
e took the beautiful blanket and patted down the fire with it, putting out the flames. “We have to go,
now
!”

A twig crunched. Salem growled and spun around. It was too late. Paul stood across the clearing, peering at us from behind a tree. His face displayed a look of utter disgust. I wondered how long he had been watching, and what all he had seen
or heard
. My heart was racing even more now.

“Alex!” Paul roared at me. “Get away from
h
im
!”

“No!” I shouted. “You shouldn't be here!”

“Neither should you,” h
e replied through gritted teeth. “Do you want to
end up like
Janet?”

“Don't you ever use her name against me. Salem isn't Mark! I have every reaso
n to be here,
” I argued. “You’
ve done more harm to me than he ever has...to anyone!”

I could tell my words struck him hard, but he shook his head. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just kill him
right
now, Alexis!” Paul shouted fiercely, aiming his crossbow in Salem's direction.

Out here in the clearing, with the radiant sunlight directly on his face, Salem's pale skin was more defined. The light, purple lines beneath his eyes were evident – in fact, I wasn't sure I had ever noticed them before now. He stood between my father and me, as if protecting
me
from Paul.

“You can't kill him, because...because I love him!” I shrieked from the top of my lungs.

“Damn it, Alex!
Why’
d you have to get into this mess?!” Paul yelled furiously.

Salem dropped his gaze from my father and turned swiftly to face me. I knew this was a mistake by the mischievous grin forming on my father's face.

My lip quivered, my stomach grew queasy. “Salem, move!”

It was too late. Everything hap
pened so quickly, too quickly: t
he click of the crossbow firing, Salem turning abruptly to face Paul, the sharp arrow soaring through the sky, Salem's agonizing scream as he crumbled to the ground. I stared in horror at him lying in the soft grass. I fell to my knees, screaming profanities at Paul, telling him to leave, telling him I hated him. He gave me one last glance – a look of betrayal marking his ashen face – before he ran from the clearing. I crawled over to Salem's still body. The tears began falling and I didn't make any effort to stop them.

“Salem...oh Salem, please...” I sobbed, pressing my hand against his cold cheek. “Please...”

He smiled weakly, “Alex, it's okay...” he whispered hoarsely, “Look away, for a second...”

I nodded my head slowly, relief pulsing through me as I turned my head. When he moaned in pain again I had to fight the longing to look, to make sure he was okay. Something snapped, and this time I couldn't help but look. Betwixt his fingers
was two halves of the arrow
. My eyes fell immediately on the hole in his chest, direc
tly below his heart. “He missed,
” I whispered.

Salem smiled gently through the pain,
“Typical for him...fortunately.”
             
“The poison isn’t causing you any discomfort?”

“Not enough to
do anything permanent, I don’t think
.”

I watched the wound slowly heal until there was scarce evidence that he had been injured at all. He sat up slowly, flinching as if he were still in immense pain,
and then
wrapped his a
rms around me. “Say it again,” h
e spoke quietly, his lips right at my ear.

“I love you, Salem...” I said, my heart thumping in my chest.

I could feel his lips form
into a smile, “I love you, too,” h
e said tenderly and held me tightly within his embrace.

“Salem,
why didn't you run from Paul
or something
…instead of
turning toward him?” My eyes were confused, if not a little irritated by how close to death he had brought himself.

“I knew he would miss,” he answered
assuredly. “He always does. That man has some poor aim for a
hunter
.”

“How many times has he come after you?”

Salem laughed, “This is maybe the fourth time. I told you,
hunters
underestimate me, or in his case –
overestimates himself.

You hav
e to promise me something, Alex,” h
e said suddenly. “If you for any reason speak to Paul, or anyone that knows him
as a hunter
, I need you to pretend like he did succeed...”

“You want me to pretend you are dead?”

“
Yes
.
That way h
e won't be after me anymore
at all
.”

“O
kay,
” I promised. “You should’
ve just moved away from here t
he first time he came after you,
” I said with a sigh.

“I had my reasons not to
,” h
e smiled and kissed below my ear.

“What reasons?” I ask
ed, although I knew the answer.

“
You
.”

The following morning I was
not surprised
to find the ground covered in a fresh blanket of snow. It glimmered against the faint sunlight that peeked through a canopy of clouds. Salem was downstairs when I awoke, curled up comfortably on the sectional indulging in a book. He immediately jumped up from the couch and wrapped his arms around me.

“Good morning,” I laughed happily as I returned the hug. “How long has the snow been
coming down
?”

“At least three hours,” h
e
answered
, “Breakfast is waiting for you in the kitchen. I hope you don't mind.”

“Of course
not,
” I said as I unwound myself from his arms and waltzed into the kitchen. “What is this?” I asked as I stared at the misshapen, slightly-burnt waffles on my plate.

He shrugged and sat down. “I attempted to make you something from scratch, since you were so eager to not have your food magically prepared...”

I shook my head
and laughed
, “I said I wanted to cook because I missed
doing it
. I don't have anything against you summoning my meals. I especially prefer
it
over burnt waffles.”

“It was at least in
teresting for me,” h
e said with a chuckle. “I don't mind if you don't want to e
at it, I wouldn't if I were you,” h
e said with a look of disgust. “I can't even
remember the
last time I cooked
anything
, if I ever have for that matter.”

“
Well, it’s been far too long
,
” I laughed
again
and dumped the food into the garbage. “Now, summon me something
delicious
!” I grinned.

A plate of fresh, steaming waffles covered in strawberries appeared on the table. It definitely looked more appetizing than the ones he had
cooked
. “Thank you,
” I said and began eating. “What's
the plan
for today?”

“You
have some voice mails from Paul,” h
e said without glancing up. “
I listened to them. I hope that i
s okay.”

“Of course,
” I said as I swallowed a mouthful
of strawberry. “So
,
w
hat does he want?”

“He's received a lot of phone calls relating to your absence from school...
I guess he was your next contact listed after your
foster
mother.
”

“Oh,
” I grimaced then shrugged. “I'm old enough that I
can just drop out. In fact, I’
ll do it later today.”

He frowned at my response. “I don't want you to do that.”

“Too bad,
” I replied stubbornly. “What else did he have to say?”

“There were several furious messages filled with profanities, about how disappointed he is, how hurt he is, and repu
lsed,” h
e frowned. “I am truly messing up your life.”

“No,
you’re making it better, trust me
. It isn't your fault
that
Paul
can’t
accept you for what you are.”

“He also said that Jason was in an accident
,” h
is voice was low and careful as he spoke, watching for my reaction.

“What?!” I leapt up from my seat, nearly knocking my plate onto the floor. “What happened? Is he okay?”

“Calm down. He's fine; he just suffered a broken arm and a few gashes. Paul didn't say much relating to the incident, so you might want to call
Jason
.”

“Why didn't you tell me as soon as you found out?!”

I didn't hesitate for a moment; I didn't care to even hear his answer. I ran up to the bedroom, grabbed my cell phone and input Jason's number. Waiting for him to answer felt like forever, but finally I heard his voice.

“
Hello
?”
h
e sounded hoarse and tired.

“Jason! Are you okay? Paul left me
a message saying you were hurt,
” I wondered if he could understand me through my rushed words.

He laughed, “I'm all right, it's nothing too serious. My arm is in a cast, and I had to get a few stitches on my shoulder.”

I sighed with relief, “What happened?”

“I was driving home from Howard's last night and hit a slick spot on the road. My car
slid
and another car slammed into the side of
me
,” h
is voice changed abruptly – a hint of remorse.

“Was the other driver okay?” I asked hesitantly.

“He was fine...” h
e sighed, “But his wife didn't make it.”

“Oh, no!” I gasped, “That's awful!”

“Yeah,” h
e mumbled. “I can't help but feel
like it’s my fault somehow
, even though
it
was nothing either of us could control.”

“Don't let it get to you, Jace,
” I said reassuringly. “Would you be able to meet me somewhere? I kind of need to talk to you about something important.”

“Of course!” The enthusiasm in his voice was
evident
;
it was nice to know that I had a friend still eager to see me
. “Where’
d you have in mind? It has to be someplace
wi
thin walking distance...my car’
s in the shop.”

“My house,
” I replied. “Are you sure you are okay to walk? I can just pick you up if you want.”

“No,
i
t's fine, I think I can manage. The pain med
icine
has done the trick
,” he laughed, “w
hen do you want me to come by?

“
An hour or so?
”