The Cypher Wheel (2 page)

“But that's just the problem. It's not so much
someone coming after me, but me hurting someone else by accident. I
mean, what if I sneeze? I could set a whole building on fire.”
Faedra looked down at the table. “No, this isn't a good idea,” she
whispered.

She heard a chair squeak on the tile floor and sensed
Etyran sitting down to one side of her. Faen took her hand again
and squeezed. She raised her gaze to meet his. This time Faen
subtly withdrew his hand before she had a chance to take it. Her
heart felt heavy again.

“You need to get out into the big wide world again
someday.”

“He's right, Fae,” Henry said. “You really can't stay
locked away here forever, it's not healthy. Go out and enjoy
yourself. If anything goes wrong you can always come home early.
You're not going to hurt anyone; you couldn't hurt a fly on
purpose. I know you'll do everything you can to keep control of
your power. And, let's face it, I haven't seen any new scorch marks
around for a few days now.”

Faedra gave him a weak smile. He was right; she
hadn't burned anything accidentally for several days. Maybe she was
getting a handle on this new power, after all. Could she really do
this? Did she have the courage to go out into the general public
again? She could feel herself caving in to the thought of mixing
with normal people once more.

Faedra sighed. “Oh, go on then,” she said to Etyran,
who gave her the biggest grin he could muster. She turned to Faen
to see he was smiling at her, too.

Etyran got up from his chair, leaned down and gave
Faedra a quick squeeze.

“Excellent, I'll go and tell Jocelyn. It's this
weekend. You can drive.”

“What? So soon?” Faedra gulped.

Etyran wasn't going to give her the chance to change
her mind. He made a beeline for the kitchen door and shot a “See
you later” over his shoulder before she could say another word.

CHAPTER TWO

Faen sat in silence, cross-legged on Faedra's bed, as
he watched her pacing back and forth in front of him. They had just
finished with clearing up the dinner things before making their way
up to her bedroom. She tended to hide away in her room most of the
time, something Faen knew her father was saddened by. But whenever
he brought up the subject, she would just tell him the longer she
was away from the rest of the house, the less damage she could
do.

Faen could see the signs of panic etched into her
features as she paced and decided it was best to leave her to her
thoughts. If he butted in, she would probably make excuses not to
go out in public, so he just continued to watch as she wore a path
in her carpet. He was becoming concerned about her now; he had been
for a while. He understood it was a lot of power to handle. He
didn't have any doubts that she would, eventually, handle it, but
it was the change in her personality that worried him the most.
He'd seen her demeanor shift considerably over the past six months
and she wasn't getting any better. If anything, she was slipping
further away from him and he had to think of something to stop her
soul from fading, and do it fast.

Faedra had gone from being warm and outgoing, to
introverted and distant. Faen was sure that if she just got out
among people again, she would start to feel like her old self. It
had gotten to the point that she would hardly touch him anymore. On
the odd occasion that she did let him touch her, she would withdraw
after only a few seconds. Just a short time ago at the dinner table
had brought that back to the forefront of his mind. He had to admit
it left him feeling empty and helpless, even though he knew it was
because she'd burned him on several occasions and she couldn't bear
to hurt him anymore. The pain in her eyes when she'd done it almost
crushed him. Even though he always healed quickly and the pain was
gone in a few moments, Faedra was not willing to keep on doing it,
and he missed her.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he realized
she'd stopped pacing and was standing in front of him, head
lowered. Her face was harried, showing signs of a soul much older
than her years.

“I can't do it, Faen. I'll just hurt someone, I know
I will,” she said, her eyes full of sadness. Everything about her
posture screaming defeat.

“Yes, you can, and, no, you will not,” Faen
whispered. His expression emphasizing his determination to get back
the girl he loved from where she was hiding behind a carefully
erected wall.

Faedra's eyes glistened. “No, I can't. I can't risk
hurting anyone. Faen, you don't understand… this energy, it's
almost consuming me. Every minute of every day all I hear is a roar
inside my head, like the blast of a furnace. Sometimes I think I'll
go crazy. I just want it to be quiet, I want it to stop. I don't
know how much longer I can take this.”

Faen uncrossed his legs and slid off the bed in one
fluid motion. He stood in front of her and took her hands in
his.

“I know you can do it and I know you will not hurt
anyone. I will prove it to you right now.”

She looked up into his eyes, giving him a wordless
apology as she extricated herself from his grip and took a step
back.

Undeterred, Faen took a step forward, taking hold of
her hands again as he did so.

Faedra gave him a puzzled look as she withdrew again
and took another step back. When Faen took another step forward and
reached for her hands again, she carefully put them behind her back
and matched his forward step with another backwards one.

“What are you doing?” she asked. The determination on
his face sparking concern in her heart; Faedra just couldn't bear
to hurt him anymore.

He took another step forward, giving her a reassuring
smile as he did, to which Faedra repeated her backwards step but
found herself blocked by her bedroom wall.

She pressed her back into the wall, reveling in the
coolness of it for just a second before her heat warmed the entire
surface. Faen moved in so close he was but an inch away from her
body. She closed her eyes, drew in a deep breath and held it. He
could feel the heat she was radiating as her emotions started to
rise, but, as yet, it was just pleasantly warm. He knew she was
fighting to control the power that was ever present in her body and
hoped his gamble would pay off.

“Breathe,” he whispered, his warm breath fanning over
her face.

“Faen,” she warned, as he took both of her arms,
peeled them away from behind her back and placed each one of her
hands around his neck. She opened her eyes. “I don't want to hurt
you.”

“You won't,” he stated.

“How can you say that? Have you been walking around
this place with your eyes closed? I burn everything I touch.” She
tried to pull her hands away from his neck but he held them in
place.

Faen could see her eyes pleading with him, but he
also sensed she wanted him to hold her, wanted to feel normal
again.

“I have been watching you very closely and in the
past few days you have not burned or scorched anything, and I have
not kissed you in six months. My patience just ran out.” He brushed
her cheeks as he tucked errant strands of hair behind each ear and
cupped her face in his hands. Her skin heated under his palms, but
not uncomfortably so.

“Concentrate on the glass of water on your bedside
table,” he said as he lowered his head until his lips were just
millimeters away from hers. “Ready?”

“No,” she whimpered.

“Too bad,” Faen whispered a split second before
brushing her lips, gently at first. Allowing her time to
adjust.

He felt her tense for a second under his touch; heat
rose to her lips, almost painful, then ebbed away. She relaxed into
him. He deepened their kiss for a few seconds more before pulling
back. He didn't want to push her too far the first time. He also
wanted to keep his lips intact.

Faedra's eyes were locked onto his, full of fear and
panic. He gave her a warm smile.

“See, no harm done. No blisters.”

A bubbling noise distracted them and Faen turned to
see what it was. Faedra leaned to one side of her Guardian to seek
out the cause of noise. The glass of water on her bedside cabinet
was boiling so fiercely that water was splashing over the rim and
onto the wood.

“Well, that worked well,” Faen said, feeling proud of
himself for the suggestion.

“I can't pull it back, though,” Faedra cried. “I
can't let it go.”

The glass was starting to bounce around on the
surface with the force of the boiling water. Steam was rising and
turning to smoke.

Faen turned back to his Custodian, unwilling to let
this experiment fail. “Faedra, look at me.”

Faedra returned her anguished gaze back to her
Guardian.

“Breathe. In...” Faen took a deep breath in,
encouraging Faedra to do the same. The glass kept bouncing about on
the wooden surface. “And out...” Faen released a heavy breath.
Faedra did the same. “And again. No, look at me,” Faen said when
Faedra returned her worried gaze to the glass boiling over on the
bedside table, the odd flame dancing about from the splashes.
“Concentrate on me.” The moment he said it, he realized it was the
wrong thing to say. A wave of heat seared his insides and sweat
beaded on his forehead. The water in the glass reduced to a slow
simmer. “Okay, that was the wrong thing to say. Concentrate on the
glass, but look at me, and breathe.”

The heat subsided within him and the glass started to
boil over again.

Faedra kept her panicked gaze locked on her
Guardian's and followed his breathing.

“I've got you,” he said. “I've always got you. We
will get through this together.”

A tear slid down Faedra's cheek, evaporating into
steam before it reached her chin. Unblinking, she kept her gaze
locked, drawing the positive energy she needed from her Guardian.
After a few moments, the water bubbling in the glass started to
subside. When it settled completely, Faedra blew out a weary sigh
and allowed her head to fall and rest on Faen’s chest. He relaxed
when she did and wrapped his arms around her. He would stay right
here for as long as she would let him.

***

The weekend came far too quickly as far as Faedra was
concerned. She was still having her doubts about this whole 'going
out in public' thing, but knew at this point that none of her
friends would let her back down now. They would probably drag her
out of the house kicking and screaming if they had to. She really
didn't want to subject them to that, so, grudgingly, she put on her
boots and jacket before exiting through the front door.

“You’ll be fine, darling,” Henry said, as he waited
by the door. “Now go and enjoy yourself, you deserve it. You’ll
have Faen with you.” He gave a nod to Faen who was already outside
waiting for his charge.

Faedra gave her dad a weak smile and then huffed out
a breath. “Well, let's do this, shall we?” she said to Faen.

“Bye, Dad. See you later.” She gave him a quick hug
before walking towards the car with her Guardian. She hadn't driven
her car for six months. She was hoping it would still start. Her
dad had kept it turning over regularly and took it for the odd spin
to keep it going, so it should be okay. Faen got in the passenger
seat and was putting his seat-belt on as Faedra put her keys in the
ignition. Before she had a chance to turn them, the car engine
turned over and whirred to life. Faedra pulled her hands away from
the steering wheel and held them up as if she had a gun pointed at
her.

“What the...?” she turned to Faen and gave him a
questioning look. Faen finished clicking the belt into place and
gave her a reassuring smile. “I didn't even turn the key and the
engine started.”

“I saw that,” he said.

“That's it? That's all you have to say?”

“I think you were probably hoping the car would
start.”

“I was, but... how did you know?”

“Faedra, you are going to discover all sorts of
things that you can do. For a while, they will probably surprise
you.”

Faedra rolled her eyes at her Guardian's stoic
response. At least one of them was staying calm and controlled. She
knew she was unlikely to be that side of the equation for a very
long time.

With a sigh of resignation, Faedra put the car in
reverse, pulled out of her parking spot and then carefully put it
in gear before driving down the driveway and off the property. She
could feel the tingle of the wards as she pulled onto the road.
Something she had never felt before. She sucked in a breath and
looked at Faen who was watching her carefully.

“You felt the wards?” he asked.

“Yes. I've never felt them before.”

“As I assumed,” he stated. “All your senses will be
heightened. You have been sheltered in the house with just your
father and me since getting all this extra power; you became so
used to our energy. You may feel a little bombarded out in public.
Just take it easy, you will get used to it.”

“Oh, and you didn't think to warn me about this
before?”

Panic started to rise within Faedra again. What on
earth was she going to have to deal with on top of trying to
control the fire? She wasn't even sure she could keep that under
control, but she hadn't considered that she would have to deal with
anything other than that.

They drove in silence for the few minutes it took to
get to the church where they were going to pick up Jocelyn and
Etyran. The two of them had taken turns to visit her throughout her
self-imposed quarantine at the house. Unfortunately, she had not
been able to see her other two friends, Amy and Zoe in all that
time. Her father had used the excuse that she had Glandular Fever
and was not to see anyone. She had kept in contact with them
through phone calls and e-mails, but she missed hanging out with
her
human
friends and hoped to be able to do so now. They
were so 'normal' and she ached to feel that way again.