Igniting Spirit (Gathering Water Book 3) (11 page)

I didn’t wake up again until I was already in my room being carried by Ezra for the millionth time in the past 48 hours.

“Hey, I can make the rest of the way myself.” I slid out of his arms and wiped the side of my mouth, where it was slick with drool. I’m a very elegant sleeper.

“Where is everyone else?” I asked when I remembered I hadn’t given sheets, or told anyone where they could sleep. We had four bedrooms, but one of them was filled with old furniture that Cash and I had decided not to use. Or rather, Aunt Ellis had decided we weren’t permitted to use until we’d “learned to appreciate nice things.” She was under the impression that we’d be hard on our stuff and since we both agreed with her, we kept a lot of the nicer or more delicate pieces covered in sheets and put in the fourth bedroom. The plan was to get a storage place or something, but I’d probably never get around to it.

“Alexander will be keeping watch tonight.” I opened my mouth to argue about the necessity of that, but Ezra held up both hands. “Hey, I tried to say if he thought it was that important, we should all take shifts. That’s how it is typically done. But he wouldn’t hear of it. I don’t think he trusts the rest of us.”

“He probably doesn’t trust the rest of you guys to keep me safe. Not that he doesn’t trust you, but he kinda takes the ‘bodyguard’ thing pretty seriously.”

“Can I make a joke about guarding your body?”

“I’m too tired to pretend you’re funny.” I told him, then stumbled over to my dresser and turned the lamp on. “Turn around.” I pulled out an old T-shirt and pair of jammy shorts, then finally changed out of the hospital scrubs. Ezra didn’t turn around until I’d climbed into bed. I had no idea how tired I was until I’d sat still for a while. My arms ached a little, and I shot some energy to my muscles there to ease the pain.

“Uh, goodnight Della,” Ezra said before moving to leave my room.

I didn’t give him a chance to, though. I Bent Air to push my bedroom door shut before he had a chance to walk out, then patted the bed next to me when he turned to look at me.

That was all the convincing he needed. He stripped off his shirt and climbed in bed, turning his body so we were facing each other in bed.

“You forgot to turn the light off,” I whispered to him.

“You’re the one who turned it on,” he whispered back.

“Last one in bed has to do the lights.” I wasn’t whispering now, but talking in my normal voice.

“Is that our rule?” There was something in his voice, something hopeful, wanting us to have bedtime rules, wanting to have that ritual.

“Yes, that’s our rule.”

The lamp clicked off, his Loa doing the work for him.

We let the darkness fold around us like a blanket fresh from the dryer, and seconds of silence ticked by on the old clock I had on my bedside table.

“What did you and my dad talk about?” I finally asked.

“He wanted to know more about my father and what I knew about my own abilities. Not just the Thanatos power, but my human half.”

“I thought you didn’t know much about your mother.”

“I don’t. I don’t know anything. I told him that and he offered to look into it a bit for me, see if he can track down some of my mother’s family.”

I lifted onto my elbow since it seemed wrong to lay down completely during this type of conversation. “That’s a great idea, Ezra! Maybe Aunt Ellis can help. She knows a lot of different families over in Europe. How do you feel about it?”

He rolled over to his back, and stared at the ceiling in the darkness. “I don’t know. I’d never really considered it, never allowed myself the possibility of family outside of my father.”

I knew exactly what he was talking about. Sometimes it hurt more to hope or to daydream. If my social worker, Sarah, hadn’t found my family for me, I don’t think I ever would have taken that step to find out who they were.

Instead of telling him all that, things he surely already knew about me since we seemed to share most of our “baggage” issues, I leaned over to kiss him. Once on the forehead, one on each cheek, then one quick peck on the nose.

He flipped me onto my back, making me laugh while he kissed my nose about a dozen quick times. It was silly, and stupid, and perfect. Then he wasn’t kissing my nose anymore, but the nerve-heavy area directly below it. He took his time, drinking from my very essence, and when the needy noises I was making reached my ears, I placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him away enough to talk.

Regretfully.

“Um, I’m not… we’re not...” I was too embarrassed to say it, but spending the night with a guy and making out with him in bed usually led to other things — things which I was not prepared to jump into without thinking about it first, and I hadn’t had time to give it the thought it deserved.

Fantasizing was
not
the same as thinking about it.

“Ever?” he asked, but the way he said it I knew he wasn’t being a jerk, just funny.

“Maybe. I haven’t decided yet,” I lied. I wasn’t a pro at Reading the future, but even I could see that we would head that way eventually. But just because it probably
was
going to happen, didn’t mean that it had to happen now.

“But you’ll let me know?” We were back in our original position, facing each other in bed.

“Definitely.”

We were both quiet again and I wondered if I made things awkward by bringing it up. It occurred to me that I may have been wrong to assume that’s where things were headed. Maybe he just wanted a little makeout session.

“Did I make things weird?” I finally asked, in a whisper again.

“Did you want to make things weird?” he whispered back. Whispering is fun.

“No.”

“Then no, you didn’t.”

I settled into my pillow then and let myself be lulled close to sleep.

“Hey, Della?” his voice reached through the sleepy haze that had swallowed me.

“Yeah?” I managed to say.

“Am I allowed to hold you?” he whispered to me, finally.

As an answer, I just scooted into his arms and tangled my legs with his, content with breathing his scent.

“Della?” he asked again, his voice clearly tired, too. I didn’t know why he didn’t just go to sleep already.

“Hmm?”

“I’m too tired for sex tonight, anyway. It’d be better when we’re both well rested.”

I knew he thought he was being funny, but I was too tired to roll my eyes, or make a smart alec remark back, so I just bit him on the meaty part of his chest where my face was smushed against, and fell asleep listening to his heartbeat thumping steadily in my ear.

Journal,

My father is insane. I’ve known this for a while. What I didn’t realize was my stupid brother would share his insanity. Seriously, Connor is getting on my flipping nerves. My Testing is right around the corner, and BOTH are hounding me about practice, about getting ready. I AM ready! I don’t need to cram for a test I’ve been studying for my entire life!

I had a huge blow-out fight with dad about my refusal to add practices. Things have been tense at home, so when Connor and Ellis invited me to dinner the other night, I was so relieved to have something to do that Dad wouldn’t question me about — hanging with Connor is always an appropriate activity. Hah!

Halfway through dinner my freaking Judas-of-a-brother started getting on me about extra practice sessions too! Ellis, who I
thought
was my friend, excused herself from the table saying she heard Cash-monkey crying. I chalked it up to supersonic mom-ears, since I didn’t hear a thing.

Nope.

She’s a traitor too. Ellis, my BEST FRIEND, got up so she could give my stupid brother an opening to lay into me.

I left immediately. No way was I going to sit there and listen to another lecture. Connor is supposed me be on my side. He always used to be — but he’s becoming more like our father every day. So, I stood up, grabbed the key lime pie Ellis had made for dessert, and calmly walked out the door. I took the whole damn pie, too. That’s what they get for setting me up!

*****

I woke up to the glorious smell of coffee wafting into my room. The light pouring in through the window proved that it was well into morning, already later than I had wanted to start my day. The bed was empty beside me, but the sheets were still warm where Ezra had slept.

I gave my cheeks two quick pats to help wake me up, then threw the covers off and got ready to head to the hospital. I went across the hall and dug around Cash’s closet until I found a duffel bag, and turned my face to empty it of the magazines that had previously filled it — I just didn’t need to see what was on those covers. After packing him random handfuls of everything he might want or need, I slung the bag over my shoulder and made my way to the caffeine.

I mean kitchen… where the coffee was.

When I got there, it looked like a bomb had gone off, if bombs were made out of pancake batter. “What —?”

I hardly saw Ezra standing in the center of the mess, things flying around him and I hoped it was just his Loa moving things around and that we weren’t under attack by some breakfast army.

Or, maybe a breakfast army would be an excellent way to die.

Either way, he turned around from the countertop and smiled. “I made breakfast!”

“Oh?”

“And coffee,” he added, holding out a cup, which I took and added a liberal amount of sugar and milk to. I didn’t always do coffee, but when I did, I wanted it to rot my teeth.

“Thank you, Ezra,” I finally added once that first sip was making its way to my belly. I checked the clock on my phone, which had been charging next to the microwave since I left, and tried not to look impatient. I really wanted to get to the hospital, and didn’t know how to say I’d be skipping breakfast without sounding like an utter butt.

Ezra must have seen the look on my face. “Did I mention that I made your breakfast to-go?” He stepped to the side, letting me see the aluminum-covered plate sitting on the counter.

My face split into a grin. “You’re great. What’dya make me?” I suddenly realized that no one else was in the house with us. “Where is everyone?”

“Alexander is outside. I suggested that Ian and Lena should speak with the people we already have stationed here since it’s possible they don’t know the full story of what happened. Some things are easier said in person, rather than through the gems. As for breakfast, I don’t know what it’s called, but Penny would make pancakes rolled around something sweet, something I could take with me when I didn’t have time to stay and eat. You didn’t have any fruit in the house, but I made pecan pancakes with melted chocolate chips. Be careful of the toothpicks.”

I reached around him and lifted the foil on one side of the plate, curious to see what he was talking about. The pancakes were thin, not quite as thin as a crepe, but thin enough to make a roll. They were probably a lot messier than the ones Penny would make, but they still looked delicious.

My stomach growled.

“Thank you. They look great.” We stood there in silence for a minute, not because it was awkward — I guess
because
it wasn’t awkward. The lack of awkwardness was making it awkward. At least for me. The two of us had become friends during our Sundays together when I’d been staying with the Elfennol, but we were more than friends now. Something as yet undefined, but there had been no “growing pains” in our relationship. Overnight, basically everything had changed for us, however it felt like it always had.

No, that wasn’t right. It felt like it was always
meant
to feel with him. Not that he was what I’d been traveling to my whole life, but that he was meant to be my traveling companion. Whatever my future — my destiny — held for me, Ezra would be right there by my side.

I’d overanalyze how I was feeling as opposed to what was normal at another time. I had a hospital to get to.

“I’ve got to head out. You’re welcome to tag —”

“I’m fine here for a while.You should be with your family alone for a little while. Plus, who’s going to clean this mess up if I leave?” His dimple flashed, but since the counters were starting to clean themselves, I had a feeling that the Loa would be doing the bulk of the work.

He’d been using his abilities more than I’d ever seen him use them before, and he seemed… different. Before, smiling was rare for him, not that he was overly broody or serious, but he seemed lighter somehow. I made a mental note to ask him about it later.

“Will you be alright on your own?”

“I plan on meeting up with Ian and Lena after I’m done here. I want to make sure they are stressing to everyone to stay out of the way when the rest of the Elfennol Council comes. We also need to work on a contingency plan in case they don’t intend to help us. There are a few people here who might know where my father may has gone — those same people might also be aligned with him. I don’t trust anyone else to figure that out.”

“Can you see the tarnished quality to their auras? All your father’s men that I’ve come across have had a type of corruption to their energy.”

“I think he infects them in a way similar to how he got to Cash. I still don’t know how he did that, since he had no contact with him, but either way, I think I can sense people who have been marked by him since I share the ability — or would if I knew anything about these abilities. Maybe I’ll have you double check once you have time and tell me what you see, I could be way off base on what I think it is.”

Having him out there alone worried me, but he was a big boy and knew how to take care of himself far better than I probably did. I had to trust that he wouldn’t get himself killed, and since he wasn’t asking if it was okay I didn’t really have a choice in the matter.

I grabbed my breakfast from the counter behind him, kissed him on the cheek and said goodbye. I didn’t linger; I couldn’t let myself linger. Ezra was entirely too distracting. There were a lot of things about him — and us— that should have worried me, and usually would have. But the only thing I was concerned with was  how distracting he was. There was important stuff going on in my life, too important to get sidetracked by a guy. But Ezra felt like something that deserved my full attention; that keeping him in my focus would clear the rest of my world from it’s blurry haze. I was pretty sure that I didn’t feel like a better person when I was with him, but I did feel stronger. Like two strong materials bonded together can create something stronger. With Ezra, I felt made of steel. Impenetrable, and capable of anything.

I sighed a huff of confused frustration, and walked out the door to where Alexander was standing, waiting for me. He followed me to the Jeep, neither of us bothering with the niceties of “good morning.” We knew each other well enough that our silence was comfortable. Alex-boy was a man of few words, and since I also valued my silence, we got along swell. When we pulled into the hospital parking lot, I realized that I should have called before jumping in the car to see if they needed anything. I knew Cash was still asleep — I refused to think the word “unconscious” — because Ellis and Connor would have called me if he woke up. Oh well, too late now.

When I walked in, Ellis was asleep on the weird hospital couch-bed and Uncle Connor was standing on the far side of the room talking on the phone. When he saw us enter, he said goodbye and hung up.

“Who was that?” I asked while I made my way to Cash with the duffel bag over my shoulder. I didn’t bother saying “good morning” to Connor either. Maybe I was having a rude day.

“A cousin of Ellis’ from Germany. He’s going to spread direction to keep an eye out for Kaylus. They don’t know he’s a Clade, just that he’s powerful, evil, and not to engage. He’ll let us know if anyone on that side of the pond catches a rumor about Kaylus.”

Connor made his way to the chair next to where I was standing. He looked exhausted, and I wondered if he’d gotten any sleep the previous night.

“Any change?” I asked, while ruffling through the bag I brought and placing a few items from Cash’s room around. I would let his parents worry about the clothes.

“Not since you left. The doctors said his heart rate is a little faster than it was before Clara came.”

“Oh my god, is that okay?”

Connor held up both hands. “Yes, it’s fine. They were excited for a minute because they thought it meant he had gained consciousness and was merely sleeping. When they couldn’t wake him up, things got quiet again. Ellis only went to sleep about an hour ago.”

My uncle looked haggard, and I felt guilty for the full nights sleep that I had been able to get.

“Uncle Connor? Why don’t you go to one of the other rooms they cleared out and take a nap. I’m here, with Alexander. We’ll come get you if anything else changes.”

Connor looked at his wife sleeping on the couch-bed, then at me, shoulders slumping with a sigh. “Thank you, Della. Maybe I’ll just go grab something to eat for Ellis when she wakes up. He gave me a hug, then walked over and gave Cash a kiss on his forehead before leaving.

I immediately went to the chair next to Cash’s bed and looked at him. He looked significantly better than before, though still connected to a lot of machines. The hospital gown didn’t look all that comfortable, and I was glad I brought a few pair of sweatpants for him. Then I kicked myself because I’d forgotten his slippers at home, and I knew the floor would be cold on his bare feet. It only took two seconds before I realized how stupid that thought was. He wasn’t going to be walking around on the cold floor. He wasn’t going to be walking around on any type of floor for a little while, not with one leg. For a moment, I was swallowed by what that meant.
Amputee
. He was destined to hop around on a prosthetic for the rest of his life. His career as a firefighter was over, and he hadn’t even finished training yet. He was crippled, forever, and it was my fault.

I jumped a mile high, and only barely managed to contain the instinct to attack when two gentle hands rubbed my shoulders. Aunt Ellis woke up, and the first thing she did was come and comfort me.

I wanted to cry at the injustice of it. I bit my lip instead, then turned to her as she sat down next to me, echoing our position the night before.

“Were you able to convince my husband to get some sleep?”

I shook my head. “No, he said he went to get some food. Maybe he’s taking a little nap, though. We can hope,” I told her with a half smile, unable to bring forth a full one.

She was quiet a moment. “I went ahead and put Cash on the list for physical therapy. The doctor said we should wait until we’re sure he’s going to wake up.”

“Good thing we’re sure.” I let my belief in that statement ring through in my words. There was no room for doubt, not around Ellis and Connor. They needed whatever optimism I could dredge up.

Ellis nodded her head. “They won’t let someone come by to fit him for a prosthetic until he’s conscious. Dove healed everything, but they want to make sure there’s no residual pain or discomfort that might need correcting. I don’t imagine he’s going to take too well to a wheelchair, so I’m hoping it doesn’t take too long to get one.”

“I wouldn’t put it past Cash to just have Luke make him a peg leg instead of waiting, if it takes too long.” At least, I hoped he went back to his typical impatient self.

“I’m sure you’re right.” Heavy seconds ticked by. “I’m going to go find Connor. Maybe if I plead, he’ll agree to lay down for a minute,” my Aunt said, before standing up, squeezing my shoulder as she walked by, and leaving the room.

It was just me and Cash for the next half hour. Well, Alexander too, but he was doing his “statue bodyguard” thing, and at this point I was used to ignoring his silent presence.

The machines next to Cash started to beep just a little quicker, then quicker still. I looked up and couldn’t make any sense of all the squiggle lines — was the blue one the heart rate, or the white one? — then looked back at my cousin’s face. His eyelashes fluttered, then opened to small slits.