Dark Days (The Childe Series, #2) (21 page)

 “Sorry I’m late,” Cat announced as she came around the corner to the cave. Ryan silenced her, kissing her senseless until she forgot what she was about to say. His hands brushed through her hair, making her heart speed up, and though the air from the ocean was cool, she felt like she was in a sauna.

“What were you going to say?”  Ryan whispered into her ear, sending a shiver down her body.

“I forgot,” she murmured as he nibbled at her ear. “Stop it, Ryan. Behave! I’m here to train,” she stated as she gently pushed away from him, and tried to control the feelings surging inside of her.

“But this is training too.  And we can’t get enough practice, now can we?” he chuckled, watching her try to pull herself together. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was messed up, but in a good way.

“Ryan, stop,” she said while backing away from him. “Let me catch my breath, you’re such a…well, I can’t think of what you are at the moment, but you are one,” she huffed indignantly. He grinned as he watched her put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

“Okay, you win, we’ll train.” 

“No touching exercises okay? Promise?”

“Okay, I won’t touch you,” he replied while turning around so she didn’t see his smirk.
I’m going to make her wish she hadn’t promised that, yes I am,
he thought. “Alright, time to train, Red Hot. Keep in mind that you asked for this, okay?”

“I’m ready, let’s do this,” Cat replied.
How hard can this training stuff be? We’re vampires,
she thought.

“Okay, first we’ll start with
shifting
, which is moving quickly from one place to another. Now, watch me,” Ryan said as he stood in front of her. Cat blinked and he was gone. Her eyes darted around the area looking for him, only to find him standing at the cave’s entrance.

“I didn’t even see you move. Do you think
I
can do that?”

“I know you can,” he replied with a smile. “Now, let me show you something else, and then we’ll practice.” Ryan walked over to stand in front of her. “Alright, I want you to attack me.”

“Attack you? What if I hurt you?” she asked smugly.

“Do you want to learn or not?” Ryan raised an eyebrow, his baby blue eyes penetrating hers.

“Sorry. So, you just want me to attack you?” Ryan nodded. “Okay, here goes nothing.” Cat moved forward and reached out to grab him. Ryan moved so quickly she lost sight of him. All that was left was a faint black outline of his body. It looked like his shadow. Feeling a tapping on her shoulder, Cat turned to her left and saw him standing there.

“Alright, one more time. Attack me,” Ryan ordered, standing there nonchalantly. Without hesitation, Cat lunged for him. Ryan sidestepped, leaving his faint, shadowy outline in front of her again. Connecting with it, Cat clutched the shadow in her arms, and it dissipated into a puff of smoke when she hit the ground.

“Okay, how’d you do that?” she asked while pushing herself up from the ground.

Ryan chuckled. “It’s called
fading
. And you’ll find out soon enough.”

“So, I can do that too, huh? What’s next?

“Well, I know you’re in shape from swimming, but you also have more strength you can tap into. You’ve got to be careful to control it, or you could end up hurting someone when you don’t mean to. Watch,” he stated, moving over to a large boulder buried in the sand and proceeded to lift it up as if it weighed nothing. “Remember, since you’re still half human, you always need to stretch before we begin. Don’t want you hurting yourself,” he said as he threw the boulder off to the side, and then moved over to the cushioned black mat in the corner of the cave. Cat crossed the room and started following his instructions for the exercises he wanted her to do.
This is going to be a piece of cake,
she thought as she bent over to touch her toes.

 “I think we’ve practiced enough today,” Ryan chuckled looking down at Cat as she laid face first on the mat. 

“Yeah…I think we should…call it a day,” she replied, drenched in sweat and trying to catch her breath.

“So grab your stuff, and we’ll get going.”

“Where are we taking off to?” Cat asked with a mischievous grin that quickly turned to a look of puzzlement, as Ryan grabbed his stuff and walked out of the cave. “Gentleman much? No, that’s okay Ryan, I don’t need any help getting up,” she rambled to herself as she climbed to her feet. Every muscle screamed at her for moving. Her legs felt like jelly and her arms not much better.
And here I thought I was in shape
.

“Are you coming?” Ryan asked, re-entering the cave with his back pack slung over his shoulder.

Cat picked up her bag, disappointment running through her.  “Okay, so when is our next training session?” she asked, trying to keep her feelings in check.

“I’ll let you know at school.” Ryan held back a snicker as he watched her face fall. Cat moved ahead of him out of the cave and sped up as she felt him trying to catch up with her.

“Cat, is something wrong?”

“No, why would there be? I just want to get home. I’m cold.” 

“Have I upset you?” Ryan asked, glad that she was ahead of him and couldn’t see his grin. “Cat, wait up!”

“I told you, I’m cold, and I want to get to my Jeep. It’s not my fault you can’t keep up,” she huffed.

Ryan let her move further ahead of him, watching her struggle through the loose sand, muttering to herself, and trying to keep her balance. He knew her legs had to be tired after the rigorous training.

In her anger, Cat didn’t see the piece of driftwood half hidden in the sand and tripped, falling forward.  Ryan shifted to her side and stared down at her.

“Can I touch you now? To help you up of course,” he asked finally laughing out loud.

“Ryan, you’re such a jerk!” Cat stated jokingly as she sat up and brushed the sand off of her. “I hope you’re enjoying yourself,” she murmured.

“Well, can I?” he asked again his face solemn, all trace of humor gone.

“No, but you can join me,” she laughed, grabbing his hand, and pulling him off balance so he fell beside her.

“My pleasure,” he smiled as he took hold of her. As Ryan’s lips found hers, he laid back, pulling her down with him. Her long fiery-red hair draped over his face, smelling like fresh peaches and salty air. “That will teach you never to make me promise not to touch you.”

Cat fidgeted in the dress her mom begged her to wear. She wondered who the special dinner guest was that had her mom acting like a spaz. She took one last look in the mirror. “Ugh, whoever designed this should be banished from the fashion world! Hello, would you like a copy of the
Watchtower
? No? Well, then have a blessed day,” Cat murmured mockingly and then made her way downstairs. Pushing open the kitchen door, she was greeted with the smell of the pot roast simmering, making her mouth water. “Mom, that smells delish. Can I have just one little piece?” she asked, watching her mom slicing the meat.

“Go ahead, you’ll bug me until I let you anyway.  Oh Cat, be a dear and do the potatoes, please?” Cat grabbed the bowl and began mashing them.

“So who’s the mystery guest? Must be someone important. I don’t usually have to dress up,” Cat asked, looking at her mom.

“He’s an old friend of the family and has traveled all the way from Austria to visit. You’ll like him. He’s a little old-fashioned, kind of like Aldon.”

“So how long until dinner?”

“They should be here any minute, and we’ll eat soon after,” Rachel answered while pushing back her hair that had fallen in front of her face with her wrist. “Taylor, is the dining room table set?”

“Yes, Mom, all done.” Taylor replied as he pushed open the kitchen door, nudging Cat’s arm as he went by.

“Hey, watch where you’re going dork,” Cat said and then gave him an indignant look.

“You bumped me,” he replied, grinning mischievously.

“You better watch it bud, or you’re going to get a hot potato facial!”

“Now children, behave. Oh, I think they’re here. Let’s go greet our guests.” Rachel took off her apron, patted her hair down, and pushed her two offspring toward the front door.

Sam stood in the foyer with Aldon, Druanna, and a tall handsome man with shoulder-length hair. As they moved closer, Cat noticed his eyes. They were a strange color.
Bronze eyes, how weird is that?
She thought.