The Touch (Healer Series) (23 page)

  
Devin leaned in, as he had a habit of doing
to make a point.

  
“I hope this isn’t one of those little towns
where bad things start happening. You know, because of the water supply or a
nuclear plant.
Those types of things.
Painful, long-term, terminal things.”

  
He laughed, leaning back into a standing position,
still a foot shorter than AJ.

  
“If they don’t kill the new guy who brought
the plague on them first,” AJ laughed back at him. “These folks are pretty
protective of their own.”

  
Devin reached forward and grabbed AJ’s arm,
without thinking. It was what he did to the mortals when one frustrated him
beyond belief – he’d reach out, grab their arm, and make them suffer. He had
done it out of instinct, before he realized he’d just touched a Healer.

  
The exchange was intense, and AJ’s eyebrows
grew into a scowl. He was unable to move, feeling the power being sucked out of
him. While Devin felt the same, he was so much stronger than AJ that his own
power drained slowly. He couldn’t let go though, and Max watched for a moment –
long enough for the mark to be left on AJ, although not long enough for the kid
to be seriously hurt – before he put his own hand on his friend. The combined
power was enough to jolt Devin and AJ apart. Both stood feet apart, locked in a
dead stare.

  
AJ wanted to end it right then. He knew he
couldn’t do it in front of mortals, and especially not to someone they’d notice
was missing, as they would Devin.

  
It was then he realized he’d cornered the
Grim, backed him into a place where he either ran or faced the wrath due to him
because of his blatant disobedience for the law.

  
As Devin scowled, AJ turned his face into a
smile followed quickly by a laugh, loosening up. Max had pumped some energy
back into him and made it seem to Devin as if AJ was stronger than he actually
was.

  
Devin, knowing he had already crossed the
line and started a fight he had to finish or walk away from, decided to hold
nothing back. He wasn’t about to walk away, his tail between his legs, leaving
AJ there in all the glory. He lunged forward, landing a right hook to AJ’s
face, splitting it open. Addie came running over, seeing the altercation turn
physical. Devin knew AJ wouldn’t fight back and risk exposing his kind to the
world.

  
AJ immediately laughed, keeping his eyes
locked with Devin’s. Devin retreated, angry, slamming his car door and flooring
it on the gravel road. Gravel sprayed everywhere, and AJ stepped in front of
Addie to shield her from the rocks. They hit his skin like tiny bullets, their
sharp edges nicking his amped up body here and there. He wasn’t a scared kid
anymore, new to what his body could do. He was a Healer, a warrior for the good
of the earth. Nothing made him
more sure
of how he
wanted to handle his gift than the last twenty minutes had.

  
The commotion caused the people in town that
morning to come rushing out through the doors of the stores. By the time they
did, Devin was gone. They looked at AJ and Max. Having built up a friendship
with Max – and seeing him smiling there, playing the role he needed to play at
the moment – they went back about their days, suspecting nothing more than a
show off making his way through town in his hotrod.

  
AJ turned around.

  
“You okay?”

  
“You care?” she retorted. She immediately
felt bad. He had drops of blood all over from where the gravel hit with force,
and she didn’t have one. He had taken it all to keep her safe.
 
“I’m sorry. I’m okay. But look at you.”

  
She reached out to touch his cheek under the
gash Devin had left. He let her.

  
“Why did he hit you?” She was confused. She
knew he and Devin didn’t like each other, though she didn’t know why.

  
“He’s just a bad guy, Addie. That’s the
feeling I get from him.” It wasn’t a lie.

  
She moved her hand down, seeing all the
specks of blood where gravel had hit. The electricity she felt running up and
down her spine while touching him no longer fazed her. It became a new normal.

  
“Let’s get you cleaned up.”

  
All the anger she had felt towards him a few
nights ago was gone. It vanished when he looked past all of the horrible things
she had said and shielded her without flinching.

  
He looked at Max and their eyes locked. Both
men nodded. Phase one was complete.

**************************************************

Back
at Addie’s, the shaken woman whose body he had just protected led him to the
couch. Max went to the B&B to keep an eye on Helen and Matthew, saying he
had some phone calls to make in case Devin came back raging. She brought a wet
washcloth out in a bowl of warm water.

  
AJ took off the white tank he’d been wearing,
blood stains adorning it. She took the washcloth from the bowl, wringing it out
a little, and touched his cheek with it. The gash hurt, that much he couldn’t
hide. He figured it was nothing compared to what was about to reign down on him
in the next few days.

  
He knew Devin wouldn’t retaliate immediately.
He’d think and stew about every decision he’d made. The Grim had left town and come
back again to be malicious. With the exception of today, Devin had shown great
restraint. AJ had time. Not much, but some.

  
She cleaned up the cut, and then moved slowly
to the rest of his body. She wiped down his shoulders as he tried his best to
be still. The water stung all of the tiny cuts, especially from the sweat that
covered his body.

  
As she went to put everything away, AJ gave
in to the tiredness that had crept up on him. Devin had drained so much energy.
He was exhausted, even with the help from Max. In a minute’s time, he was
asleep on the couch.

  
She saw him there, his eyes closed, his body
bruised yet not defeated.
Bruised to protect her, actually.
Joseph would have run, saved himself. He never would have stepped in front of
her, shielding her from anything. She knew AJ cared; she only wondered if she’d
ever understand why he didn’t want to be with her. She’d waited the years since
Robert left, hoping to find someone with half the kindness of AJ. To have him
within reach and not be able to truly touch him was a pain that struck her
deeper within her heart than any other had.

  
She picked up the green crocheted blanket from
the chair and sat it next to him, in case he got cold. She wanted to sit there
with him before thinking better of it. Nothing had changed. She retreated to
her room.

  
As she glanced around her room, she stopped
as she caught her reflection in the mirror. She pulled the elastic band from
her hair, letting the chocolate strands fall across her shoulders. She took off
the makeup, scrubbing gently. She brushed out her hair, slipped on a
nightshirt. When it was all done, she looked at herself closely in the mirror
with the bare bones of the woman she was exposed. She used makeup to hide the
flaws she felt her skin held. There was nothing except sarcasm to hide the
flaws she felt her soul had.

  
AJ saw beyond those flaws. After all that had
happened, he looked past the ugliness her mouth could spew and put
himself
on the line for her. He didn’t seek apologies; he
simply wanted her friendship. No one had looked at her as a person since
Robert. While everyone else only saw a loose girl who had a baby too early, AJ
disregarded the events of who she was and saw the depth of who she was.

  
Maybe it was time she started looking at the
same things, she thought.

12
Plotting and Planning

“Bob,
mind if I take a few days off?” AJ asked, feeling a bit guilty for asking about
a little vacation time already. Vacation hardly seemed the word. Vacations
meant relaxation and enjoyment. Those would be the furthest thing from AJ’s
mind over the next few days.

  
“Who’s
gonna
organize the shop?” Bob
scuffed,
a smirk on his face.
“Actually, it’ll be nice not having to search for my wrench.”

  
“I built you an entire pegboard that has
every tool hanging from it, grouped by type. How can you not find a wrench?”

  
“It used to be under the greasy towel near
the middle of the second workbench over there.
Organized
chaos, my friend.
Organized chaos.
I searched
for an hour the other day.”

  
“Bob, you can’t be serious. The pegboard
takes up the entire back wall of the garage. How could you not see it?”

  
He knew Bob was teasing him. AJ felt like
maybe, just maybe, Bob was beginning to like him.

  
“Get out of here kid. Go do whatever it is
you kids do these days. I’ll see
ya
on Monday.”

  
“See you Monday.”

  
AJ headed back to the B&B to find Helen
and Matthew. They were around back tending to the chickens as always. While
they never had children, the chickens followed them around like toddlers. He
didn’t recall ever having eaten chicken since he got there, and figured they
were more pets than food around this particular farm.

  
“Hey,
ya
got a
second?” he asked, jogging around the corner to them.

  
“Yeah, sure AJ.
What’s up?”

  
“I’m going to head out on a little field trip
for the day.”

  
“With Addie?”
Helen
inquired with her smile.

  
“No,” he laughed, “Not with Addie, with Max.
I just have some errands to run. Do me a favor though.”

  
“Sure! Anything for you,” she replied,
pinching his cheek. Matthew laughed to himself.

  
“Stay away from that new guy, Devin, okay?”

  
Helen and Matthew looked at each other, a
haze of concern clouding their faces.

  
“Any particular reason why?” Matthew asked.
He was still a little weary of all the strangers in town.

  
“I don’t have a particular reason. I just
feel like he’s a bit sneaky. I don’t trust him. Neither does Max. Please just
keep away from him, don’t let him in the house.”

  
“Okay,” Helen replied, sensing AJ’s
seriousness. She felt a kinship with him, the bond of a mother and son. A
strange feeling considering they had known each other only a short time.
Somehow she knew if he showed concern about the darkly clothed stranger, she
should follow his lead.

  
She hugged AJ, Matthew nodded, and he started
heading towards the car where Max was waiting in the driver’s seat.

  
“One more thing,” AJ said, looking back. He
jogged back over to them. “Please keep an eye on Addie, too. Not spying or
anything. Just make sure that creep stays away from her house. She doesn’t want
him near her, and I will only be gone for the day.”

  
“I will,” Helen promised, clutching the
chicken feed to her chest. She knew it was severe, whatever AJ’s reason was.
“Be careful!” she hollered after him.

  
AJ hopped in the car and they were off to
their next stop: Gram’s house.

  
AJ didn’t have to knock on the door because
she was on the porch, rocking in the handmade rocker her husband had made her
on their 20th wedding anniversary.

  
“I thought you might be by,” she said,
smiling at him.

  
“How’d you know?”

  
“Just a feeling,” she replied as he bounced
up the steps, two at a time. He sat on the railing.

  
“It’s started,” he said. Gram knew. She had
figured it out from the way Addie spoke of Devin. She knew what he was. She
might have lost her powers but her senses were still the same.

  
“I had a feeling.”

  
“It’s going to be bad. He’s strong.”

  
“I had a feeling about that, too.”

  
“I need you to get Addie and Rose, bring them
out there with you. I don’t want her in town near him.”

  
“I’ll go now,” she replied while standing up,
her purse showing as the blanket fell from her lap. “What? I figured you were
coming.” She smiled her southern smile and brushed past him, towards her car.
“They’ll be safe here with me. I’ll protect them.”

  
“I know you will,” AJ replied. She stopped
mid-stride and he walked up beside her. She wrapped her withered hand around
his and squeezed.

  
“It will be okay. I know you’ll keep us safe,
AJ.”

  
“I know.” He wasn’t convinced.

  
They headed their separate directions,
slightly worried about what the week would bring.

**************************************************

  
The two hour drive back to Max’s had never
seemed so long. The ride was mostly silent, both men mentally preparing
themselves. There wasn’t much to speak of, as making conversation about sports
or anything else would have been forced and contrite.

  
The few words that were spoken revolved
around discussions about
Grims
, the first Great War,
and what AJ might need to know to defeat Devin. He needed to know every detail,
every weakness that Devin might possess to make himself less vulnerable to the
tricks the Grim might play. To win, AJ needed to be stronger and wiser.

  
When they arrived at Max’s house there were
cars – a lot of them. There were even more people. Men and women both, probably
100 bodies crowded in Max’s back yard. AJ hadn’t been expecting to see anyone
except a couple of elders Max had mentioned calling. He was leery of so many
people being invited into their business.

  
“Who are they?” AJ asked, opening his door
and stepping out, the entire crowd coming into his line of vision. His hands
were gripping the door as if a wind might suddenly blow him away.

  
“They’re the best chance you have of
surviving. Healers I’ve met. Men and women with faith in the cause you’re about
to undertake.”

  
Max looked over at him with a slight smile on
his mostly solemn face. They shut the doors and headed towards the gathering.

  
“Thanks for coming,” Max started saying,
shaking hands. He started at the front of the crowd and worked his way towards
the back, repeating the phrase to many as he moved. AJ followed, shaking hands
as well. Not once did a vision come through, or even a tingle in his hands. It
was like the complete and utter normalcy he had felt before he found out what
he could do with those hands.

  
Max walked right up onto the porch of his
shack and everyone turned to look at him and hear what he had to say.

  
“I want to thank you all for coming. This is
AJ, the reason you’re here.”

  
AJ was a bit nervous at the introduction – he
wasn’t sure if this group was happy or angry to have been assembled due to him.
He gave a slight wave, moving his eyes back down towards the ground and
wondering if he’d be dodging rocks in a minute.

  
“We’ve got a problem,” Max said, his voice
booming. He had an announcer’s voice, AJ thought, perfect for drawing the
attention of a crowd. He spoke perfectly, like he’d been born for this.

  
“The problem of a Grim.
Not just any Grim, though.
One that branched off from his
clan and disobeys the laws that have been in place for generations.
He
has no shame, no honor.”

  
Max lifted AJ’s arm to display where Devin
had grabbed the kid. The entire group of Healers could see what the normal
population could not – the marks from Devin’s fingers and palm, as if they’d
been burned onto AJ’s skin like a tattoo.

  
“This…
this
is what we’re dealing with,” Max said forcefully. He turned AJ’s head to reveal
the gash on his cheek. “
This
is what
we’re dealing with,” he continued as he pointed at the gash with even more
emotion.
“A rogue Grim.
One bent on destroying a town
simply because he doesn’t like the Healer he encountered, and he wants to play
a game. And he’s strong.
Very strong.
Strong enough to defeat AJ without a second thought.”

  
AJ could see the crowd stirring, looking at
each other, talking to each other. Max’s statement scared him - Max felt he
could be defeated by Devin. It sent shivers through his spine. He could sense
the fear in the crowd.

  
“That’s why I’ve called you, asked you to
spread the word amongst each other and meet here. There will be a fight – one
has not been declared, yet it is most certainly on the way. There will be lives
lost. I ask that anyone who feels moved, please join us in working together to
resolve this situation and try to prevent another great war between our
groups.”

  
There was silence and then the sound of
voices, each one shouting that they were in. Voices until each of them had
volunteered their own life to protect the greater good from the rogue Grim.

  
Max nodded approvingly. “Thank you, my
friends. We need as many as possible. Call those you know and spread the word.
We are planning this to take place three days from today.”

  
Max started walking down into the crowd,
signaling AJ to follow him. As the Healer’s all shook AJ’s hand, patting him on
the back, pledging their support, he could feel it: the passing of power to him,
pieces of their greatest strength flowing into his veins and through his heart.

  
They reached the back yard, and an elder
Healer stood before AJ. Her face was wrinkled, freckled. She had been around
for so many years and the rumor was that she may have seen the Great War. She
looked AJ up and down, her white shirt and tan skirt blowing in the wind
against her shrunken body. Her dark hair was long, framing her face and
highlighting the color of her eyes.

  
She held out her hand, signaling for AJ to do
the same. He reached out and placed his hand in hers. She chanted and Max whispered
into his ear that it was an ancient Native American tradition, one which they
performed on Healers to keep them safe.

  
She pulled out a knife and AJ took a breath.
Sensing his fear, Max whispered to him again. “Don’t worry - she’s only going
to cut your hair. It’s part of the ritual.” To ease AJ’s tenseness he whispered
one more thing: “Plus, you really need a haircut man. You’re looking a little
cowboy.”

  
AJ let a laugh escape his lips.

  
The elder walked behind AJ, gripping the hair
at the nape of his neck. It wasn’t long by any means; it was simply longer than
normal since he hadn’t had it cut in awhile.

  
She held the ends and with the sharpness of
the knife chopped off what little there was. AJ had kept it shaggy for a long
time and it felt odd for it to be as short as it was. The elder stepped back in
front of AJ, placing his hair in a satchel that she then hung around her neck.

  
She reached up, her fingertips grazing the
gash across his cheek. He felt the warmth as she sealed it with her gift. He closed
his eyes as he felt his body heal from the inside out.

  
She moved her hands down and across his
torso, from his left shoulder to his right, healing each tiny cut that the
gravel had inflicted. She pulled her hand back, the work completed and AJ whole
again.

  
She nodded, and Max told him it was over. AJ
nodded towards her, as a thank you. She smiled back at him. Everyone was silent
waiting for what Max would say next.

  
“What is the plan?” someone asked.

  
Max made his way back to the porch. “We don’t
know yet. We know his name is Devin, though I don’t know how old he is. We know
he can be enticed. We know he has nothing but hate for AJ. We know he is quick
to anger and very strong. We know he wants to hurt AJ through others, through
those he cares about.”