Destroyed (9 page)

We made it back to the farm twenty minutes later and loaded up the animals. My dad examined all of them and did what he could to make them comfortable for the ride. It was nice to see him working on something useful again.

Loading up all the animals took three hours. Only one cage went into the car with me. The cat. My dad had given him a sedative and he was asleep. When he recovered, he would be mine.

Rose breeding took on a whole new life after I discovered my abilities. Instead of waiting for months to see results, I can see them instantly. I combined roses together all the time and had some gorgeous results. The only time I failed was when I tried to combine a Kaiser Wilhelm and a Tuscany Superb. It was a stupid combination anyway, because they are such tricky roses. I never got a single bloom.

We carried all the animals into the clinic. The stench was overwhelming. Most of the animals were doped up on painkillers, but it was still hard to look at them. Jason left as soon as we were done. He hadn’t said much since I reminded him that he wasn’t allowed on Kai’s council.

Kai and I drove back to the house and headed out into the garden with flashlights. I found the Jason rose and knelt down by it again. Kai put his hand on my shoulder.

“Are you gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think you should be touching me when I get rid of the power. I don’t know what will happen.”

He stepped back but kept the flashlight pointed at the rose.

I placed my hands in the dirt next to the flower. Once more, I gathered the energy into a ball. This was evil power, a dark blood red. I shot it out through my hands. The burning was worse this time, but more satisfying. I knew that the psycho that tortured the animals got what he deserved. The burning sensation was a small price to pay for the safety of the animals.

Kai caught me before I fell over, and healed my hands. I couldn’t see the result in the faint shines from the flashlights, but I’d come back and check on the rose before school in the morning.

*

The next morning, I left Kai in bed and dressed quickly. I found my dad in the kitchen. He was pouring a cup of coffee.

“You want some?”

“No, I’m fine, thanks. How late were you in the clinic?”

“I came back at about three. I needed to sleep or I would’ve made mistakes and they can’t afford mistakes. I’m heading back out. You wanna come help?”

I gave him a half smile.

“I need to go check on my roses, then we’re heading to school. I’ll check in before we leave. The cat that was burned, is he going to be okay?”

“Eventually.” He smiled. “Do you want him when I’m done?”

I nodded and looked out at the garden. I was itching to see the rose.

“I’ll see what I can do to speed up his recovery.”

“Thanks.”

I left him in the kitchen and went in search of my Jason rose. It had grown another three inches in height. The blooms that held Dwayne’s power remained the same but a new set of blooms appeared on the other side of the bush. They did not retain the stripes. Instead they were of the deepest, darkest red. They smelled the same as before, exotic and dangerous. The thorns on the entire plant had grown another quarter inch. If this continued, pretty soon the thorns would be bigger than the blooms.

The energy that permeated the bush was so odd, a mixture of both Guardian and Destroyer.

I sensed Kai before I saw him, since I was in tune with his particular brand of sunshine. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I leaned back into him, knowing I had to play my part better. Yesterday was a turning point for us.

“I’m sorry you had to do that.” His breath tickled my ear. I closed my eyes for a second and tried to push away my feelings for Puck. That was the only way I’d pull this off.

“I know. It was worth it though. This rose, I wonder what’s to become of it. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Kai came around me and inspected the plant. “It feels of both Guardian and Destroyer. Is this a rose your Grandmother planted?”

“No, but I tended it for years.”

“It’s probably best left alone. We don’t know what powers it holds. We may have to do some research. Maybe a Guardian in the past had some experience with this.”

*

The week passed quickly. We hardly saw my dad unless we went out to help him with the animals. I helped with the cat. He needed his IV changed frequently and a few skin grafts, but my dad took care of him while I was at school.

By the end of the week I was exhausted and couldn’t wait for the weekend. On Friday, Kai and I ate lunch together with Tiff and her gang. Jason plopped himself right next to Kai.

“You look good in the cheerleading costume,” Jason said to Tiff with a wink.

She fluttered her eyes at him. “Y’all coming to the football game tonight?”

“I wouldn’t miss seeing you out there.” He was such a suck up. “Kai, you wanna come with me and watch these gorgeous girls do their thing?”

Kai shrugged and turned to me. “Do you want to go?”

Jason snatched a brownie off of Kai’s plate. “Man, you’re whipped.”

He leaned across Kai. “Naomi, Kai is coming to the game with me. Are you coming?”

Kai laughed and shoved him back. “I’d like to go, but not if you don’t want to.”

Jason made a whipping noise behind him.

“I’ve never been to one before.” I was a little curious about a football game. It seemed silly, but I never experienced all the things a normal teenager did.

Tiff gasped. “You’ve never been to a football game? Kai, you’ve deprived her of America’s favorite sport. Come to the football game, and then we’re having a bonfire at Desi’s place. It’ll be fun.”

I nodded.

Kai waited until Tiff and Jason left before he spoke to me about it.

“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

“No, I want to.”

He hesitated for a second, and a fraction of insecurity showed through. It was like he wasn’t sure what I would say. He lowered his eyes.

“Listen, you and I haven’t had much time together when we can just relax. I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said, about us not knowing each other very well. If you don’t mind, I’d like tonight to be a date. A real one. I’ll take you out to dinner before and maybe we’ll go to the bonfire afterward. What do you say to that?”

This was what Puck wanted me to do. Right?

“What about Jason?”

Kai rolled his eyes. “I’ll talk to him.”

He looked at me and I could taste sour cherries. Kai was scared that I might say no. I had to convince him that I was in him for real. I leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips with the taste of mint. I didn’t have to say anything. Although the briny taste of guilt lingered. What about Puck?

Some roses grow only in certain parts of the world. Alejandro had a few rare roses growing in his greenhouses. But he didn’t have a Turkish Halfeti rose. It’s the only rose in the world that naturally blooms pitch black. Not only that, it will only bloom black at certain times of the year. Otherwise it bloomed dark red. I’d been searching for a way to get one for my greenhouse. If I succeeded, I think I might kiss the delivery man right on the lips for bringing it. That’s how bad I want one.

I dropped my backpack in my room and threw open my closet door. I would kill for Ginny to be with me, but I had to be careful about contacting her. Alejandro was a known leader among the Guardians; if I got caught contacting him, it could impact not only my cover but Kai’s position as well. Puck gave me strict instructions to not contact any of them except in emergencies. This wasn’t an emergency.

A real date. I’d never done one of these before. Puck and I always hung out, and Kai and I mostly kissed before. What if we found that we had nothing to talk apart from Destroyer problems? This could be a disaster.

The weather tonight was supposed to be cool, so I settled on a pair of skinny jeans and a sweater Ginny bought me in Vegas. It was bright green and brought out the color in my eyes.

I looked in the mirror and sighed. I missed my colored hair. Until Ginny got married, I’d had different crayon colors at least accenting my hair. The rich brown was getting old. It was better than blonde, but not what I wanted. It was chin length, a bob, and I couldn’t find anything fancy to do with it.

I did my make up the way Ricki taught me, using darker colors than normal because I was going out. After I got dressed, I slipped on a pair of knee high black boots and heard a knock on the front door.

Odd, no one knocked on the door out here. We were too remote. If someone came to the house, they normally just walked in because they were expected.

I opened the door and found Kai holding an enormous leafy green rose bush. He peeked his head over the top of the leaves. “I know it’s traditional to bring cut flowers, but I thought you’d appreciate this more.”

I smiled and touched his hand. “What is it?”

“A Turkish Halfeti.”

Oh, no freaking way. I could fall in love with him for this reason alone. Before I could think about it too much, I pulled him close and kissed him. He eagerly returned it. After a few seconds, I pulled away.

“I’ve always wanted one of those. Where’d you get it?”

“I have connections. Should we put it in your greenhouse?”

He followed me out to the greenhouse and set the plant on a table next to me. “How long before you’ll be able to get it bloom?”

I grinned. “Depends if I use my powers or not.”

He closed the distance between us and slid his arm around my waist. My heart began to race. I was used to him holding me at night, but there was something different in this embrace. He pulled me close to him and whispered in my ear. “I miss having full access to that power.”

I pulled back a bit. “What do you mean?” My voice was breathless. I didn’t mean for it to be. I shouldn’t be surprised that I desired him, even if I was totally in love with Puck.

“It seems like the only time I kiss you is when you’re in trouble or upset. That’s not the same as it was before. You don’t give up your power so willingly since you’ve learned how to control it.”

He was right. I kept shields up all the time now. “I’m not sure how to behave around you anymore. This is different than before. Before, you were all I had and so I gave you everything. Now I don’t know how to do that anymore.”

He rested his forehead on mine and whispered against my lips. “Can you try, just for tonight? Please.”

My entire body was buzzing. I wanted him. But the guilt. Puck. He knew I’d be doing this. He wanted me to. Without answering, I pressed my lips against Kai’s and wrapped my arms around his neck. I concentrated on lowering my shields. All of them. Even the ones I didn’t put up consciously. I concentrated on letting go, releasing myself into him. His lips moved urgently against mine and every time another shield fell, he moaned against my mouth. I, too, thoroughly enjoyed the kiss. It tasted of cinnamon and smelled of coconut and salty beaches.

Then the energy shifted and I could feel my mother’s power rise in my head. Whatever shield I had used to keep her power at bay had been released, and that energy influenced the kiss. The unbidden thought came into my head to bite his lip. So I did, just a little nibble.

He responded immediately. The whole kiss changed. It tasted of dark chocolate and spice. Kai pulled me closer to him and his hands roamed into areas they shouldn’t have. I should’ve pulled away, told him to stop, but I liked it.

His hand slid underneath my sweater and his fingers were cool against my ribcage. I shivered at the touch. Everything Kai and I had before seemed so innocent compared to this. We slept together every night but he never even kissed me. It was just holding. This opened up new territory.

I reached up and wove my fingers into his thick hair and his hand moved up my ribcage. His thumb brushed the edge of my breast and I came back to myself.

He quickly pulled away.

“Sorry about that,” he muttered. He scowled a little and my stomach tensed.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“Your shields went back up.”

“Sorry, I have little control over them. Puck said I was really good at making them.”

His frown deepened. “Puck say you were good at anything else?”

I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the rose bush he brought me. There were a few buds. With a little coaxing they could bloom tonight.

“He was my teacher,” I finally said.

Kai leaned forward, catching my eye. “Right. You mean to tell me Puck never kissed you like that.”

I blushed. I thought about denying it, letting him think what he wants. My feelings were all confused. The relationship Puck and I had was different than the relationship Kai and I had. I liked kissing them both, but only Puck held my heart.

Kai grabbed my hand and pulled me close to him again. His heart beat fast against mine. I tried dropping my shields again, but it wasn’t working.

“I’m sorry. I just get jealous when you say his name. You were mine first and I resent that I have to fight him for you now.”

I raised my head; this was progress. He needed me. “Am I not worth fighting for?”

“Of course you are, that’s what makes this so damn difficult. The idea that I might lose.”

My heart clenched. I didn’t want to tell him that he would lose. Not until he was safe in the fold of the Guardians. Tonight I’d let him think that there was a real possibility for our future.

“Let’s forget about Puck for now. It’s supposed to be just you and me right? A date. I’ll work on lowering my shields.”

He smiled. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“What shield did you lower last while we were kissing? Everything changed for a few moments.”

“That was the shield I put up to keep my mother’s power at bay.”

His eyes widened for a second and then he nodded.

“That explains it.”

“What?”

“The reason I felt my own Destroyer energy react to it. You know what this means, don’t you?”

I shook my head.

He leaned forward and whispered in my ear. “It means we can kiss in front of other Destroyers.”