Awakening of Fire Page 8

  "That's weird," Dirk said. "Why haven't my parents caught onto this yet? The new traffic light is getting more attention than this."

  "I don't know," I said as we stepped back outside. The Water Company was the biggest employer in town. Whoever had purchased the Water Company wanted it secret, then. But why?

  Dirk smiled. “Thanks for joining us today,” he said. “You're going to make a great addition to the Club. I'm glad to have you on board.” He slapped his hand on my back and rubbed it down my tank top as we continued to walk. I let him. Dirk had a way of putting comfort into his touch.

  We walked past the Manager's House. I couldn't help but glance in that direction.

  This time, the curtains had parted.

  Sven stood in the window, watching me depart with Dirk's hand on my back.

  Chapter Ten

  My mind turned back to Sven watching me from the window of his family's new water company repeatedly. Even from that distance, the disappointment on his face was obvious. I'd played the oldest card in the book—jealousy—and gotten results. It didn't matter that it was an accident.

  I even thought about him when Principal Adler came over for dinner the next day. She brought her own burger patties over in a box and smiled at me when she got out of the car. “Hungry?” she asked me. “I know your parents don't like you to eat meat, but a treat doesn't hurt."

  It was a struggle not to shudder. I thought of what Principal Adler must be like in full dragon form. The red glow in her eyes the other day didn't bode well. I'd heard the wings. It was no wonder she didn't seem to age. Historians said dragons could live indefinitely. They only died from violence.

  And she had tried to kill Sven.

  “Sure.” I was starving. “Burgers sound great.” She showed no sign of knowing I'd been down in the caves. Good. I hadn't crossed her.

  Dad threw the burger patties on the grill. Mom tried to protest, but Principal Adler reminded her I needed protein. The woman had no children of her own, which must be why she liked to spoil me instead.

  Sven's family wanted her dead.

  What if they had a good reason?

  And what would Mom and Dad do if they knew the truth about Adler? Dad was always complaining about Abnormals on the news. Vampires attacking hospitals again. Why don't we keep them locked up? No, there's no such thing as a vegetarian vampire. Blood bags, my—

  I shook my head. Until Adler, I thought all Abnormals were out to get you. But they were, right? Adler tried to get Sven roasted alive.

  “Nothing's wrong, is it?” Principal Adler asked as we sat at our picnic table.

  “Nothing,” I said. “That kid didn't hit you too hard, did he?”

  “Oh, no,” she said without a flaw. “It was just a plastic fork.”

  “It's no wonder you expelled the guy,” I said, taking a bite of my real burger.

  “See?” Principal Adler asked my mom. “A growing girl needs protein, especially for farm work.”

  “Speaking of that,” Mom said. “It would be a major help if you'd finish picking those last two trees once you finish eating. After that, if you'd like to pick us all up something cold from The Freezer, I'll pay you an extra twenty bucks.”

  “Sounds good,” I said. Mom and Dad rarely had me do stuff around the farm after dinner. Why couldn't it wait until tomorrow? Either they were getting me to make up for being at Journalism Club yesterday, or they would have an adult-only conversation. What other explanation was there for the distance?

  I was seventeen, and they didn't trust me to listen. It figured.

  But I had the sense it had to do with Sven and the Water Company. I thought of him looking at me again from the window and decided that I would try to eavesdrop even if it was just for a few minutes.

  After helping to clean up, I grabbed a bucket from the storage shed and headed to the two trees Mom mentioned. The three of them headed inside once they saw me picking away. I worked faster than I ever had because my lie would never work if they didn't see this bucket full by tomorrow morning. I needed to buy myself a spy gap.

  But while I worked, my legs itched with curiosity.

  I snapped small branches, I picked so fast. Energy flowed through me. Principal Adler was right about one thing. The protein helped. I cleared the two trees in record time and carried the bucket to the shed.

  I peeked around the shed. My parents had left the curtains open at the house. I spotted them sitting at the kitchen table with Principal Adler, deep in conversation. None of them seemed to notice me. As far as they knew, I was still working.

  And Mom was smoking a cigarette, rubbing her temple.

  She had never done that before. Mom was the last person I expected to take up the habit with her health kick. Adler waved her arms as she spoke. Even her sweet demeanor had vanished.

  I had to see what was up.

  Since I was still supposed to be working, I walked around the far side of the shed and to the back door of the house which I rarely used since it involved having to unlock the fence that separated our yard from the olive grove. But I unlocked it, swung it open, and crept towards the back door. Kept open most days to let in fresh air, it now stood closed and locked. Mom and Dad had pulled the latch down to keep me out.

  “Crap. Really?” I pressed my ear up against the glass.

  Sound traveled through solids well. Mom and Dad had forgotten that fact. Their voices muffled, but rose just enough for me to hear.

  “...suppressing it as long as we can. I've been feeding her a plant-based diet.” Mom.

  Principal Adler spoke. “I know you want her to stay immature forever. You're attached and I understand. When we gave her to you, you understood she'd change, and you'd have to back away when that happened. The Slayers are here. Felicia's nearing adulthood. They'll be able to detect her soon enough even with your best efforts. She may already activate their Gems. It's possible it was me causing it to glow in that boy's pocket, but--”

  “Then I'll switch her to a full vegan diet,” Mom said. “We can try to delay it for longer.”

  “It's already happening,” Principal Adler continued. “They're here and they will kill her if we don't do something about them first. It will be better if I tell her the truth so she can learn to defend herself. Please allow me to do so.”

  Dad coughed. “How do you know?”

  “You heard about the Slayer death at the mall, right?”

  “Yes. But we don't know who killed him," he said.

  “He was chasing two unknown girls. He pursued them down the security hallway. Then he died from a burning scratch that could have only been delivered by one of our kind. I've asked around. No one was at the mall except for her that night. Even if she's just developing her powers, they will consider her a danger. They'll want to kill her before she takes her full form--”

  Chapter Eleven

  I put everything into pedaling my bike as fast as I could into downtown Olivia, escaping the conversation at my house. I was supposed to be getting ice cream for everyone, so my parents wouldn't question me being gone for some time.

  Where could I go?

  I thought of stopping at Tasha's place, but I could never tell her the things I'd heard or the even scarier things going through my head.

  The glowing gem around the mall vendor's neck—

  The sword-like dagger—

  Sven with a glowing object in his pocket—

  The fact that it glowed when I was nearby—

  The mall vendor's death—

  My fingernails appearing sharp for a split second—

  The smoke and fire—

  Me putting out the flames in the kitchen without getting hurt—

  I pedaled harder, panting, putting everything I had into it. The awful thoughts had been trying to form for days now, but I hadn't let them. Now I understood why Sven had pushed me away.

  I raced right past The Freezer. I'd have to stop there on the way home to get sundaes for everyone.

  Then Princ
ipal Adler would sit me down and tell me something horrifying. And I knew what that was. I'd never be able to enjoy ice cream again.

  But I kept my thoughts on the order I'd have to make as I made a left at our one traffic light. Two banana splits, both with whipped cream, one without nuts. One Trail Mix Delight for Principal Adler. And then whatever I felt like I wanted. Which was nothing because I wanted to hurl.

  Halfway to the Water Company, I realized where I was going. There was only one person I could talk to about this who I wouldn't explode at for keeping secrets all my life and that was Sven. It was dangerous to head there—very dangerous—but I didn't know what else to do. He must already know the truth. It was why he'd pushed me away.

  It turned out I didn't have to go all the way to the Company. After making a right onto Water Road, I spotted Sven walking in my direction, towards downtown, with his head down. He wore a simple black T-shirt today and jeans that promised to give his butt a nice lift. Even in my state, he took my breath away. I pedaled to him, out of breath, and skidded to a stop as he looked up.

  “Felicia?” His accent was strong today.

  I got off my bike and grabbed his arm, careful not to dig my nails into his flesh. His bicep was perfect and so was that muscle on the back of his arm. “Sven. We. Need. To. Talk.”

  “Those are the four scariest words a person can say,” he said, holding me in a wide-eyed stare.

  I glanced down.

  He had another red glow emanating from his pocket. Whether it was his cell phone or one of those red gems, I couldn't tell. If it was a gem, it was reacting.

  “I heard scarier words,” I told him. “We need to go somewhere and right now.”

  Sven followed my gaze down to his pocket. He reached inside and grasped whatever was glowing. “I told you we shouldn't be around each other. It's dangerous for us both.”

  “So you're saying we're supposed to kill each other instead? That's what everyone wants?” I asked. Not only was I possibly likely almost certainly a dragon shifter developing powers, the guy I had a major crush on was training to kill me thanks to his inheritance and his birth. I turned away from Sven and spewed obscenities at the weeds.

  “Felicia. This is complicated.”

  “You think?”

  “We can talk. I want to talk. I didn't know how to do that before since I realized you didn't know the truth. But now that you know--”

  “Then we need to do that,” I said, facing him. I searched the surrounding area. “And not in the open. How does The Freezer sound?” Maybe I could collect myself long enough to sit in a public place. Associating with Sven—the enemy—was a bad idea, but I had nowhere else to go.

  “What is The Freezer?” His accent remained stronger than usual. Sven lapsed when he was nervous.

  And if Principal Adler were right, then he had every reason to be nervous around me.

  I had killed—

  What if Sven knew I might have made one of his relations burn from the inside out? Maybe I shouldn't be speaking to him.

  No. I was asking to talk to him after he'd pushed me away. But he'd figure out I was the killer, eventually. Maybe he hadn't yet. For all he knew, someone else could have done the deed.

  Nausea ripped through my insides. “Don't worry. It's not a place where we store bodies. It's ice cream. But people might see us there.” He was right that we couldn't be together if this were true.

  What reason did I have to believe it wasn't?

  “I thought it may be,” Sven said. “My father won't know. He sent me out scouting. He's down looking at the cave, so it's easy to sneak around.”

  “I know that feeling,” I said.

  And then I retched into the weeds.

  This was the best day ever. First the great news, and now I was throwing up in front of the hottest guy in the county. I walked further into the weeds, glad that the Water Company closed to customers this late and no one would drive this way to pay their bills. “I'm sorry,” I said.

  Sven appeared at my side.

  And then he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close.

  “You don't have to be sorry,” he said. “You just had a shock.”

  “No kidding."

  Sven was standing on the side of the road, pulling me to his perfect body. He rested his hand on my lower arm, curling his fingers around it and caressing my skin. Electricity raced up and down, making me gasp for breath. Was his touch always this amazing?

  I backed away from the weeds as my stomach calmed down. Sven's touch was doing wonders to clear my head and help me take a deep breath. The awful taste in my mouth faded. “Thanks,” I said.

  “You're distressed.”

  “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have freaked out on you.”

  “You have every right to do that.” He tightened his grip on my arm, not enough to apply pressure, but enough to reassure me he wasn't leaving. “Why are you saying sorry?”

  His blue gaze filled with confusion. It wasn't the reaction I expected out of anyone, but it felt good. He was there even though he'd seen me accidentally play the jealousy card yesterday. Sven might be a future Slayer, but I'd met no one like this. Principal Adler had been close, but she was part of the lie brigade. And because of that, my whole life had shattered in only a few days.

  “I don't know,” I said.

  There was no trace that Sven knew I might be the killer. How could he not realize?

  What if that knowledge changed things?

  “Let's go to The Freezer,” he said, rubbing his thumb down my arm. “Then you can ask me anything you like.”

  That was when I was glad I'd finished picking so fast and bought myself extra time. It wasn't as if Mom and Dad were watching me. They were busy fighting Principal Adler.

  Well, I had my first clue on where I might have come from. My parents had never told me where they got me. The official story was that someone dropped me off at the hospital after birth and left me there. My parents had taken me after that. My initial panic was wearing off (for now) and a storm of questions swirled through my head as Sven and I walked to The Freezer. It wasn't far, but the day was hot, and there were tons of people sitting inside the air conditioning and more at the tables out front, tucked into the shade.

  “That won't work,” I said.

  Sven looked at his pocket. The red glow still emanated from it. “No. It won't. We need to go somewhere else.”

  I knew why he said that. Sven couldn't afford to get seen with me by anyone. Heck, I didn't even know who we had to avoid. Principal Adler, yes. My parents, maybe. Were my adoptive parents even Normal?

  I didn't know what to think anymore.

  “How long do you have?” I asked.

  Sven nodded with sadness. “My father might explore around the caves all night.”

  The sick feeling returned. The Olsen family had bought the Water Company to get close to the lair underground. They even guarded the main entrance to the caves, the river. It was strategic planning.

  Those people wanted to kill me.

  He needed to talk, and now.

  “I'll get us something,” I said. "Then we can take our ice cream elsewhere." I felt like I owed Sven after making him watch me barf all over the roadside. It was a dumb feeling, but there you go. “What do you like?”

  “Anything,” he said with a smile. “You're nice. People should treat you better.”

  He put a lot of emphasis on those last words. I walked into the Freezer, alone, and bought us each a simple vanilla cone. My panic might have died down for now, but my mind was still spinning. I wove through packed tables, which included a Little League team, and rejoined Sven out on the sidewalk.

  I knew Olivia like the back of my hand, so I led him down a small alley and to a small garden that belonged to the owners of The Freezer and Allie's Restaurant. The garden had a brick floor complete with handprints by elementary school kids years ago. If I looked at them out of the corner of my eyes, some of them resembled dragon claws.

&nbs
p; But there was a tall wooden fence behind the place, keeping out intruders.

  The garden had two old benches. I took one, and to my shock, Sven sat next to me. My heart sped up as he scooted close.

  “Why doesn't this make sense?” I blurted.

  “Look, I'm sorry about the other day,” he said. “I didn't want to push you away. You didn't know what you were, so I felt it wasn't fair to let you get close to me." A question burned in his eyes. It started with D.

  “I know you didn't. And I don't like that Dirk kid. Well, I like him, but not like that.” Lifting my hands, I made a heart with it.

  “Dirk kid?” Sven looked at me, not comprehending.

  “The head of the Journalism Club. He has a crush on me. You might have seen him put his hand on my back. But I don't have a crush on him."

  Recognition came over Sven's face. "Oh."

  "If you ever come back to school, you might see him trying to hang on me.”

  “Him. I think I've seen him. He's one of those. You don't need him. That guy looks like he's going to live in this town all his life and he'll want to keep you with him.”

  What was I doing? My brain screamed that getting any closer to Sven was a bad plan. But I couldn't stop. And why was I talking about Dirk? Maybe a part of me was trying to dodge what I needed to discuss and that was me or I was trying to draw out jealousy again. Well, both were working, but I had limited time. “I thought I was Normal. I've even been to the doctor before and they didn't pick up anything strange." Talk about an awkward transition.

  Sven said nothing at first. And then: “I thought you were Normal at first, too. When my gem reacted to you, I couldn't believe it."

  "Your gem?" So he did have a dragon-detecting device in his pocket on his first day. Now we were getting close to the scary part. “Why did you take that to school?"

  “My father has me staking out the people of the area,” Sven said. “He wanted to get started right away. Other family members have been staking out the area, too. My cousin had the mall."

  I tensed. That explained the guy in the mall kiosk, then. If I were looking for dragons with magical gems, I'd stake out a shopping center that everyone visited.