The First Touch (39 page)

He
replied sounding concerned, “See you tonight love.” Then after she had gone he mumbled to himself, “She is going to need a keeper, a
strong
keeper.”

Practice

“Is it normal for new
borns to need a keeper?” Grayton jumped startled, and looked over at
Autumn
sitting in his window seal.

H
e asked, “You feeling better now?”

She nodded though her eyes were black, “I went on a bit of
a frenzy
. You do not
smell as unnerving as before
.”

Grayton replied, “Frenzy?”

“Yes nearly ten.”
She admitted.

Gra
yton sniffed the air commenting
, “Fire.”

Autumn nodded
, “
It seemed the easiest way.” He nodded and she returned, “You didn’t answer my question.”

He
frowned, “Just the stronger ones.”

She nodded, “What do keepers do?”

“They keep you safe and out of trouble.”

She replied then, “How long do they stay with you?”

“As long as needed, usually the first decade or so, until they have everything under control.”

She asked cautiously, “Under control?”

“Yes until you are able to stop yourself from feeding on every human that you meet.”

She huffed, “Well I have to force myself to eat them
when it begins
.”

Grayton stopped moving then slightly alarmed, “You have to force yourself to eat them?” She nodded and then saw Grayton’s look of worry and then fear enter his eyes.

Autumn asked worried now
, “
What did I say?”

“
There are some that feed on others,
but they are all members of Mirth
’s clan, as far as I know.”

She swallowed, “That’s bad then, isn’t it?”

He
replied then,
“The hunting preferences of Mirth
’s clan members are frowned upon by many. But them feeding off of other vessel is not seen as one of their problems. As I understand it
,
the givers are willing participants. It is supposed to be an enjoyable experience for both members involved.”

Autumn n
odded remembering,
“So Ivan will be angry then. Better that I stay clear of you and
Drake
, when I am hungry then, got
it.” She asked then, “What
i
s
it
about you and
Drake
, I wonder? Do you and
Drake
have anything in common?”

He
shook his head
, “
Aside from the council, no nothing.”

Autumn frowned, “Eating habits, ene
rgy distribution, awakening new
borns?”

Grayton frowned again
, “
No
Drake
was originally a member of Mirth
’s clan so he has similar eating habits as them. His energy comes from internally where as I pull from the external. And
Drake
has never awakened a new born.”

“Why
is he no longer a member of Mirth
’s clan?”

He
explained looking quiet pained now, “Mirth’s clan used
Drake
to kill his creator. They saw her as a threat, and they were unabl
e to get close
enough to kill her themselves.”

She nodded and replied absentmindedly
, “
Yes they were in love even though she was not his match. Why did
Drake
not kill Mirth after he realized the deception?”

Grayton replied eyeing her suspiciously
, “
Mir
th is
Isisa
’s
brother and she made
Drake
promise not to kill Mirth in exchange for protection and life in the council.”

“
Drake
must hate Mirth.”

“How do you know about their love?”

Autumn replied
,
shr
ugging, “In my dream when I drank from
Drake
.”

Grayton looked at her for a moment, “Did you see something?”

“Yes.
A
flood of images
,
but they came so fast
. T
hey w
ere fragmented
and out of order. I
t was hard to put it all together.
”

“
Only mates are supposed to see those things.”

Autumn replied without thinking, “All souls come when she calls.”

Grayton gasped, “What?”

Her eyes were glazed and then she refocused, “I am sorry sometimes the words just flow
out
and I can’t stop them.”

Grayton watched her closely and then she stepped down from the ledge and walked closer
, “
I am right though aren’t I. You said it I think.” He nodded mesmerized, as she slid her hands upon his chest, “I do not want this responsibility Grayton. It hurts my head just to think about it. Forever holding in the darkness will hurt. I may be strong, but it seems a bit unfair to make me do it. Maybe it is best that I just die now before it gets any further.” She slid her head on to Grayton’s chest and listened to the emptiness inside. “Then Ivan will never know and I can get rid of the burden before anyone else gets hurt.”

Grayton replied skeptically, “Once you see Ivan again, you will change your mind.”

“You don’t know the dangers of that jungle Grayton.”

He winced at those words
, “
But I would gladly face them if I had someone like you waiting for me there.”

Autumn lifted her head and smiled, “Thank you Grayton.” Then she hugged him tightly and walked to the sink and drank from the
tap, asking,
“Now tell me about the other clans.”

Grayton asked
,
distracted, “You drink water?”

She seemed slightly annoyed
, “
Yes
,
don’t you?”

She grabbed a towel and wiped her face and looked at him curiously, he replied looking at the ground pushing his fingers together, “No. I do not drink water, and neither does anyone else.”

She ignored his tone, “Well I do.” Then she looked at her hand for a moment in the candle light
, it pulsed along with the flame in her chest
. “So tell me about the other c
lans.” He
huffed and watched
her lay out
a pad of paper and a pencil
, which she pulled
from her pocket.

“There are seven
clans,
each one has a leader and two
,
sometimes three abilities under their command. All but two are friendly with other clans. All honor the code set forth by
Isisa
though and support discipline carried out by us.”

She nodded, “Will I face any of the clans during my test?”

He
shook his head, “No that is not likely
,
it will most likely be only the council.”

Autumn smiled brightly, “Good then I should be alright. Wait what about the last three?”

Grayton frowned, “What three?”

“Yo
u, Henry and Serena,
”
She added.

Grayton replied
, “
Serena will only ask you questions about future even
t
s
,
her test will not be violent.”

She nodded relieved, “And you and Henry?”

Grayton nodded, “Henry is stronger than most vessels but his greatest strength is his near indestructibility.”

She asked
, “
If he is beheaded will he fall?”

“Yes.”

She nodded, “But he won’t die right?”

Grayton replied eyeing her carefully
, “
Yes as long as it is reattached.”

“
And he won’t have any permanent damage then right?”

Grayton replied frowning
, “
You will no be
able to decapitate him,
many have tried and failed.”

She nodded disbelieving him, “How strongly is it connected?”
He
looked at her skeptically, and she continued
, “
I have tried cutting my own limbs off
since I have fed
and I haven’t been successful. But if I am the eye then that would explain that
part
.”

Grayton stared a
t he wide eyed again, and she
continued, “So what are we talking here, like car or a semi?”

“More like a seven forty seven,
”
he warned.

Autumn
gawked at him, “What about fire, if I cut and burn it at that point
,
will it
still be able to reattach it
?”

“
It will take longer to heal.”

She
replied, “But it will not kill him right? Cause I just want to win
,
not kill him.
”

Grayton nodded and then redirected her, “You have cut your own limbs off?”

“No I tried, even burning it, gun shots jumping from great heights
,
I get nothing
, it’s kind of crazy,
”
she explained with a frown.

Grayton smiled then
, seeming suddenly much happier by her announcement,
“Nothing?”

“I can impale myself but it heals around it so quickly that the pain is like a pin prick.” Then she shook her head clearing the image and smiled again, “How about you?”

He smiled, “Would you like to see a demonstration?”

Autumn smiled back sounding relieved, “Yes please.”

Grayton pulled the air from the room and blew it at her throwing her across the room denting the wall behind her. As she stood
,
she smiled exclaiming, “That was awesome!” Grayton smiled and pulled the flame from the candles and threw them at her in large fire balls. She dodged them easily and her eyes dilated, “More.” He smiled and threw nearly every item in the room at her all at once. She jumped
,
but
quite
a few items in the room were imbedded into her chest and skull. Grayton rushed to her side as she pulled the kit
chen knife from her forehead un
phased.

Then she looked at him smiling
,
while she pulled the chair leg from her chest and a candle stick was being pushed from her thigh by her own body, “Impressive, anymore?”

Grayton loo
ked at her and replied
, “
Yes but I do not want to draw too much attention.”

She smiled
,
“T
hen lets go some place else.
”

Grayton looked worried
, “
Are you sure?”

Autumn smiled widely
, “
It will be fun.” Then she slid her hand into Grayton’s hand and
he
looked at her skeptically as she pulled him to the window.

Hours later,
Grayton lay on the ground next to her with almost an entire forest devastated
around them. Autumn smiled
at him as he breathed heavily, “You have a remarkable amount o
f talent Grayton.” He smiled
at her and she reached her hand out and helped him up.

Grayton looked at her with renewed interest, “Your body is like Henry’s. You should live through the tests at least.” She nodded unsmiling then, he continued a sour look creeping back in, “Flora will attack you if you kill her mate and the others will follow.”

Autumn nodd
ed, “Then I will have to
reattach his head quickly.”

“I will let them know that I found you?”

She nodded, “Yes, tell them to expect me in a few days I just have one more thing to handle.”

He
frowned, “They will not be happy.”

Autumn smiled, “Yes I know but I will feel much better about dying if I handle this last thing.”

Grayton asked hopefully, “Anything I can help with?”