The First Touch (33 page)

Autumn slid her
hand out
and brushed
them away
, asking, “Are you alright.” He nodded
his eyes glued to her face as s
he placed
the towel over the wound on his
shoulder. He didn’t even wince, as she wiped up the small amount that dripped from the bite mark. “You are not bleeding as much as I thought you would.” Travis smiled weakly, and she asked sounding concerned
now
, “Are you sure you are alright
Travis
?”

Travis answered
,
finally
clearing out of the fog, “Yes.”

She tended his wound, asking curiously,
“Did it hurt a lot?”

Trav
is answered thunderstruck
, “I didn’t even feel it.”

She smiled bright
ly and tossed him his shirt then. When
he raised his hands to catch it he
winced
though
. Autumn frowned, asking,
“But you feel it now I take it?” He nodded and struggled with the shirt. She smiled understanding his problem
, and then she rushed to his aide
p
ut his shirt back on, p
ut
ting her shirt
back
on as well,
and helped him up.

She smiled again nervously now
, explaining
, “I have to go now. Thank you for your help.”

Tr
avis nodded his eyes wide now, admitting
, “You will have to kill a lot of people to get off of this ship.”

Autumn nodded and
said thoughtfully, “Yes, unless...”

Travis nodded looking at the clock, “Shift exchange is in ten minutes. I will go prep a boat.”

She smiled, “It’s that easy?”

Travis nodded, “Yes
…
for you it is.” She smiled and Tra
vis left the room with a tense
look on his face.

Autumn washed her hands and splashed her face and saw hersel
f for the first time since she
woke. She gasped putting her hand over her mouth, she was completely different, well the same
,
but different. Her eyes dilated even more as she took in her new changes. Her skin was flawless as she suspected that it would be
,
but her new eyes
,
were able to see every single pore on her face. The lashes on her lids were fuller and longer, as was her hair, and it was richer and deeper wi
th more pronounced highlights.

Autumn took a clo
ser look at her teeth, smiling
and then frowning
. There were too many in there
,
she thought, way too many.
Then she glanced up at her face and saw the change, n
o wonder
Travis looked scared. Her eyes
were black coals,
just as they had been in her dream. S
he was going to have to work on changing them
back to normal like Ivan did, b
ecause there was no way that she was going to be able travel unnoticed looking like this. She brushed her teeth and straitened her hair
still trying to become accustom to her new appearance
and then
she
heard the door open. She walked out to find five men in the room
,
along with Travis
,
who looked nervous as well.

Autumn raised her eyebrow and Travis explained, “They are here to help.”

She nodded apprehensively, and then Travis explained, “They just needed to see you.” She looked at
the men and then stepped closer,
seeing their reactions, they had definitely never seen a vessel before
.

A
utumn asked in a voice that
was becoming darkly familiar
to her now
, “So will you all be helping me then?”

Travis looked at them as they murmured
,
“Y
es
,”
and nodded together.

Autumn smiled nicely and one of the men flinched then
,
so she
closed her mouth adding
more gently, “Thank you.”

Then she looked to Travis who grinned, before looking at the clock
announcing all business
,
“Five minutes.”

The men left the room and Travis called over his shoulder
, “I will be back
.” Autumn nodded and minutes later, Travis and hi
s team lead her off of the yacht
without incident.

As she loaded onto the
getaway
boat she said, “Thank you Travis, see to it that Ivan gets my letter.
Ok?
”

Travis smiled, “Yes madam.”

She was just about to leave, “Oh and one more thing
,”
she smiled and kissed Travis on his cheek, “Thank you again.”

He nodded bravely
, “Good luck.” She nodded and then they lowered her boat into the water.

***

Ivan paced in his room waiting for the sounds of
the motor carriage in the court
yard below. As soon as he heard it
, he headed for the grand
hall. Henry and Flora and Galen looked at him as he entered the hall and took his seat. Helen did not look up from her nails until he settled in his chair. Then she reminded Ivan, “Do not forget to stay clear of her Ivan.” Ivan ignored her and watched as a door opened, and then
Drake
entered the hal
l and lay out in his chair
as usual
. T
he side door
opened
up,
and two
guards
drug
in
a
man’s
body dressed from head to toe in black
,
with a
bag over its head.

Ivan stood instantly, as did
Drake
both looking Angry. Henry demanded angrily, “What is this?”

The first guard answered, “He helped her to escape.”

Ivan exploded
, “
What?”

“
The female escaped and he aided
her. All of t
he others are being disposed of as we speak.
”

Henry demanded
, “What others?”

The guard answered, “He led the group that helped her to escape.”

Ivan mad
e his way down to the prisoner
and ripped the hood from his head. The two guards holding him dropped him as soon as Ivan grabbed the front of his shirt
, stepping out of harm’s way
. Helen stood then trying to get a better look at the prisoner that Ivan now held inches above the ground.
“Where did she go?” Ivan was infuriated
,
his face distended in a rage that disfigured his beautiful face.

Travis answered defiantly, “I don’t know.” Ivan raised him higher into the air and the others circled them. Travis seeing his predicament repeated his answer, “I don’t know where she went
,
I
only took her to the boat.”

Drake
snapped this time his hands beginning to smoke, “What boat?” Travis’s eyes began to bug out from his eye sockets as he saw
Drake
’s hands burst into flames.

“The life boat
,
” Galen called out as he left the room, “I will check the last coordinates and begin circling out from there.”

Henry nodded asking
Travis, “Who are you working for?”

Travis seemed confused
, “
I work for the council.”

Henry twisted his mouth and said, “No we are the council, who hired you to get her off the ship.”

Travis hesitated,
blinking, as he tried to process how these creatures were the ones whom he had pledged his life to,
“
You
are the council?” Ivan lost his temper
instantly thro
w
ing
T
ravis across the room.

Helen reached
Travis first
,
and said over her shoulder, “How about I give it a try? Before you kill him?” Flora nodded in agreemen
t, and Helen flooded the air as
Travis smiled
up
at her.

Helen smiled and asked “So why did you help her to escape?”

Travis answered honestly, “Because she asked me to.”

Helen smiled a
nd pumped up her pheromones, asking
again, “Why did you help her?”

Travis blushed
, “
Because
I love her.”

Flanagan was standing beh
ind them all of a sudden, snickering
, “I think that
the lass
might be another Helen.”

Ivan snapped at him, “Q
uiet.” Flora shot Henry a look and Henry shot Helen a look in return.

Helen asked
softly, “Where did
Autumn
go?”

Then Travis answered truthfully beginning to ramble as the pheromones turned his brain to mush, “I don’t know exactly, but I did leave her a map with the shipping routes highlighted. I also gave her a large supply of water, a compass, four life vests and three flares. I don’t think that she will need any of those things though.”

Helen urged him then, “Why do you think that?”

Tr
avis smiled sleepily, “She is
like you
,
but stronger.”

Helen hissed, “Anything else you need to tell me?”

Travis’s eyes grew
wide qui
ckly
as he remember through the fog
, “She told me to give
a letter
to someone name Ivan
.”

Helen asked surprised
, “
Where is the letter?”

Travis answered
from his stupor
, “It’s in my pocket.” Ivan held out his h
and and Helen fished it out, handing
it to him
swiftly
.

Flora was at his heels then asking
, “What does it say?”

Ivan began reading aloud...

Ivan,

I am sorry. I am not the eye.
After I drank from Travis, (The man who
should be delivering this note.
Please take good care of him, he is a good man.) I moved on to the next stage. I do not belong with you. I am sorry that I could not tell you this in person, but being tested is my choice according to
Drake
, and I am happily declining.

Please tell Grayton that I am sorry that Sophia was not his mate. I made too many assumptions, and my visions were not as strong as they are now. Also tell him to get out of France, its just depressing him even more. Watching all of those happy couples will drive him insane.

The most important piece of information that I have right now for the council, is that I will be sending new vessels to the coffee shop. (The one that we met in front of that first time I touched you.) I will send them all there as I come across them so please have someone there to pick them up.

Lastly Ivan, I want you to know that I will be forever grateful for the gift that you have unlocked in me. Thank you especially for trying to prot
ect
me while I slept. It means more to me than I can express. I hope I have not caused too much trouble for you or the council, and if I have I am truly sorry.

As I write this, I do not see any real dangers in the immediate future for any of you. Serena should be able to take over from there. Oh, please thank Serena for the journal and please keep my favorite
red
book safe. Also send
Drake
a special
thanks
for charring that snake in my bed.

Love always,
Autumn

Response

Iva
n shot
Drake
a look and demanded
, “
What snake? And what did you tell her?”

Drake
shot back
, “
I said nothing about a choice, though she is correct.
”

Ivan snapped testily then, “A
nd the snake?”

Drake
replied, “Gregory was trying to hurt her, so I set him on fire.”