Legend of the Touched (11 page)

Take your time. I'm just getting into the bath. It
should hopefully help me stay awake
, she said.

He wished he could join her. It'd been longer than he
liked since they last made love, an intimacy he wanted more than
ever lately. Not for purely hormonal reasons, but that connection
with her was important. The ability to be united with her soul. The
more distant they became, the more he desired her. Did she feel the
same way?

Maybe I should be with her.
He looked down at
his hands. The one which had punched the wall was scratched and
red, though he didn't remember it hurting. He waited to see if she
replied, but there was nothing. Once more he was alone with his own
thoughts. Some kind of leading might have been nice.
But she
seems to understand.
And so he went up to the top floor of the
building where the pool was.

Unlike most pools, this one was filled with nothing
but pure water. No chemicals were added to it to keep it clean. It
made the upkeep of it a little more difficult, but it was worth it.
Darien himself was allergic to chlorine, and any water dragon
preferred the most natural form of the element as possible. He
stripped off his shirt and pants, leaving only his boxers on. For a
moment, he gazed into the clear water, taking in its serenity. Then
he dove into the water.

At its deepest end, the pool was twenty feet deep. It
was one hundred feet in length and gradually progressed in depth
starting at a few inches. The idea was the dragons could enjoy the
pool while in their lizard form, but also bring the babies and
women along as well to enjoy the luxury.

He swam down towards the deepest part of the water
and lay along the floor. Breathing wasn't a problem. It was as if
he became one with the water any time he touched it. He could
breathe the water as if it were air. The cool freshness caused his
skin to tingle, and he felt a new energy fill him where there used
to be exhaustion. It helped in lifting his spirits some.

As he stared up and through the water at the clear
night sky, he prayed.
God, help me. What do I need to do to keep
us all alive? Because right now it's not looking so good, and there
are no obvious options.

Darien's eyes drifted close as he settled into the
peaceful stillness of the water. He was isolated from the rest of
the world, something that didn't happen too often anymore. As he
settled into the darkness, stars began to twinkle brighter in the
distance. At least, he thought they were stars at first, but when
he opened his eyes once more he noticed they were much closer and
slightly blue in color. Then they began to move. Each blue sparkle
moved towards the center of his vision until they created a small
circle of light. Suddenly it charged towards him, kissing his skin
and filling him with warmth.

"Four is one. One of four. The Touched shall bring
the change,"
said a voice that sounded an awful lot like his
father. It'd been a long time since he last heard the man's voice,
so he couldn't be so sure. That fact alone made him sad. Darien
didn't want to forget so easily.

"Thank you,"
Darien somehow managed to
whisper. He had questions, but he wasn't sure if he could ask them
because as quickly as the lights appeared, they faded once more,
blending into his skin. In a way, it made him feel a lot less alone
than before. Almost as though his father had become a part of him.
It wasn't an answer though, he didn't think. The last time he had
been blessed with his father's spirit for guidance, he had been
specifically told that no direct answers would be given. Darien
hated it, but he didn't make the rules. At least he had a
start.

I think it's time I finally do some research on what
being Touched really means.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The Inero

The last of Gwen's purse was packed up, and soon her
sandals were on. "Jason honey, if you don't hurry, we're going to
be late for our reservation." Gwen glanced up briefly to see just
where her husband was. A strange term for her to use since they
still hadn't made love, but they were legally declared so. The
emotions were there, so it worked well enough. It wouldn't feel
official though until they acted completely like a married
couple.

"Sorry, I'm having a hard time finding a good pair of
socks that match," he said from the bedroom.

"Just put on any pair then. The dinner is more
important than your footwear. Besides, I hate to break it to you
but I won't be looking down there anyway. So if you're trying to
impress me with your coordination skills, don't worry about it. If
you're trying to impress someone else, then I think we need to be
having a serious talk." She tapped her arm lightly as she
waited.

"Well in that case...." A second later he came out of
the bedroom and put on his dress shoes. "You're wearing that dress
again."

She nodded, smiling and glad he noticed that she had
on the same dress from the night she had baked the cookies. The one
he had gone nuts over. Hopefully tonight would be a more pleasant
memory with it, even if they didn't quite make it all the way. She
was worried about him. All of his talk about a voice trying to
control his actions confused and concerned her. Scared her a little
even, but she wasn't sure if it was something that should have or
not. That part she couldn't figure out. It put her on edge though.
She had to be prepared for anything.

"As always, you look amazing," he added and wrapped
an arm around her waist, kissing her forehead firmly. Then he got
the door and made a sweeping motion for her to go first.

"It's a natural gift of mine." She waited for him
outside in warm, breezy night air. The weather had been near
perfect so far. She held her hand out for him to take and a wide
smile spread across her face when he did, wrapping his fingers
in-between her own.

He gave her another kiss. "Are you ready to prove we
aren't brother and sister to these people?"

"Yes, I think Kevin at the meat market is about ready
to propose to me."

"They sure are gaga over you."

"You as well. I think it's the stranger appeal.
Similar things happened back home when new people settled in. Most
of it is in good fun. Fresh blood, it's enticing for some reason or
another." She laughed remembering the days back in the town where
she grew up. There was hardly ever a new family that moved in, and
even more rare was a new young couple. Single newcomers were
unheard of. The fascination was mostly in the fact that these
people had come from someplace
else
.

"I guess?" He shrugged. "I still don't get it."

"You're from the city. It's so obvious. How many of
the people here do you think have been there? Probably none."

"It's not that great there."

"Depends on who you ask I suppose. I thought it was
interesting. I feel culturally enlightened. There are things about
it I miss, but I'm happy here."

"I am too. This is the happiest I've been in my
entire life I think. Actually, I think that started when I first
met you."

Heat started to fill her cheeks, and she tried to
hide the blush that was no doubt forming on them by turning her
face away to stare at the city street. He cupped her chin in his
fingers and turned her attention back to him.

"I like when you do that," he said. "You don't need
to hide it. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I feel the
same way, you know."

"I've yet to see you blush," she said softly.

"I'm better at hiding it than you." He winked and she
felt her cheeks get even hotter. Something she didn't even think
was possible which was hilarious to her seeing as how she had
gotten pretty warm the night they had almost made love. The way he
had touched her, the feeling of his kisses against her skin, it was
almost too much for her to take. How could he keep holding back
when the desire was so strong? He'd seen enough of her body to make
her self-conscious, but that night she didn't blush one time. Now
he was winking at her and making silly talk and she could almost
guarantee she'd look like a tomato if she saw her own
reflection.

She stared into his eyes for a minute. "I guess you
are."

"Which is a shame, because I want to feel completely
transparent with you Gwen. I try so hard to be nothing but honest.
Me being able to hide things isn't a skill I want to have."

"Then stop hiding it and let me see next time. I bet
it would be adorable on you. You're so handsome as it is, and
there's something about a man being vulnerable about his feelings
that's sexy." She made sure to put extra emphasis on "man." His
family had a lot of obscure ideas about adulthood, and she wanted
him to be positive that she saw him as an independent and capable
adult regardless of his still-pure state of body.

He glanced at her. "And here I thought it was more
manly of me to keep my stoic demeanor."

"Depends on the moment. I don't want you to be a
crying wreck, but a little empathy can go a long way as well. When
you've shown me your softer sides, those were the moments where I
started to fall for you more and more. They're beautiful."

"I'm a guy. I don't know if I want to be adorable or
beautiful." He gave her a side-glance, but still smiled so she
could tell he was only joking around.

She gave him a slight nudge. "There's nothing wrong
with being adorable sometimes, and let me rephrase the beautiful to
handsome. The point is more, it's a touching experience."

"I can show you a touching experience." He
smirked.

"I'm sure you could." She coughed and looked down.
Again she was trying to hide the blush that was still on her
cheeks. "This isn't fair. You're getting me riled up, and I can't
get you back."

"I welcome you to try and make me blush. If you do,
I'll make it worth your while."

"What will I get?"

"I haven't gotten that far yet, but I do promise it
will be awesome."

"Challenge accepted." She laughed. He seemed to be in
a lot better spirits than he had been the past few days. Ever since
they met, he'd been a bit quiet. The more she got to know him and
the more comfortable they were with one another, the more he
dropped his guard. Instead of being strong and silent, his humor
came through. When they played these games, it meant he was
relaxed. He hadn't been that for a long time. Actually, she
couldn't remember a time all summer when he'd been completely
relaxed. There was always something happening to keep him from it.
As far as she could tell, the only thing keeping him stressed now
was this voice he claimed was inside his head. He seemed to be
convinced he was possessed. While she supposed it was a
possibility, she didn't know how serious to take him. Anything
could have happened during the ritual, and she didn't understand
what the whole ceremony was about either. But gazing up at his face
and seeing the innocent sparkle in his dark eyes, she had a hard
time believing it to be true.

How could someone so wonderful be controlled by
something bad? She'd know. It would be obvious, right?

Chapter Twenty-Four

The Oceina

"I saw the perfect dress the other day when I was
shopping at the mall with my mom. Oh, my, gosh, it was teal, and
gorgeous!" Alivia said. She was one of Tai's acquaintances at
school. They were almost friends, but the lack of ability to hang
out or even converse much outside of classes kind of hindered the
progression of their friendship. If she was ever going to have a
female a best friend, Alivia would be the closest thing to it.

Tai nodded at her, picking up her apple and taking a
bite. Her mind was only half there though because she was too busy
thinking about Darien's meeting with the spies from the night
before. He didn't give her every detail, but enough for her to know
it was all bad news. She wished she could only be as blissfully
unaware as Alivia was.

"Why didn't you get it?" Tai asked at last.

"I'm going to, but I wanted to go with Allegra and
Rhiannon and you. Get a girl's opinion. If you can come I mean. I
know your family is kind of tight on the leash, but we can work
around whatever restrictions they put up?" She was trying so hard;
it was obvious by the way her eyes went wide and glossy as if she
were pleading.

Tai gave her a small smile and held back a gasp of
surprise. She was touched to the point of tears, though that may
have just been her pregnancy hormones kicking in. "I would like
that. Let me ask about it and get back to you. When were you
thinking of going? What's the dress for anyway?" She must have
gotten behind on the gossip.

"Oh Tai, you are so cute. What do you mean, what's
the dress for? Festival of Tears is coming up. There's always a big
dance right before the holiday break." Alivia giggled, nudging Tai
gently. "Did they not have those at your old school out in the
middle of nowhere?"

"They did, but not for the Festival of Tears. We had
one for the harvest, and the spring blessing of the fishermen. I
mean, the Festival of Tears is supposed to be a sad holiday right?"
That's how she remembered it at least.

Alivia nodded. "It can be. It's a celebration too. Of
the lives which touched ours, and the joy they brought when they
were still alive. Plus it's supposed to symbolize the coming of
winter. The dragons always come and breathe snow onto the city.
It's beautiful. We remember those of the past, and how to keep
pressing on for the future."

"So you have a school dance," Tai said, blinking a
couple of times. Things were a lot different in the city than on
Little Oceina Island where she grew up. Though, maybe the island
dwellers took the task more seriously since they were the source of
the dragons demanded sacrifice. Just like her, other girls had been
chosen to be placed on the altar as a method of appeasing the
Dragon Lord. What the priests and islanders didn't know was that
this ritual was actually a method created by the Oceina Dragons to
help them gain a bride.