Lucid (21 page)

He’s doing this to help you
, I repeated to myself over and over, but I frowned as I followed him deeper into the woods, leaves crunching under my shoes. “Why are you doing this, Drystan?” I asked the back of his head. I needed to know he wasn’t planning to leave me lost in the woods, expecting me to find my way back as some kind of twisted punishment.

“Because you need it,” he shot back in a terse tone as he veered off the path into the thick woods.

I stumbled over a root, but managed to catch myself as I followed suit. “No, seriously. Why?”

Drystan stopped so abruptly that I ran into his back. I took a step back and met his serious gaze as he turned around and set the ladder down on the ground next to a tree.

“This is about trust, Nara. You obviously have trust issues. So we’re going to work on those.”

“What are you talk—”

“I can tell you were lying to me about why you were late,” he cut in, his lips tight.

I stiffened and snapped my mouth shut. I didn’t want to get into an argument. Instead I glanced at the woods all around us. We’d reached a slight clearing about fifty feet wide where only a few trees stood. “I thought this was about learning self-defense.”

Drystan smirked, the first glimmer of amusement he’d shown. In his current mood, I wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

“It is, but first we have to start with balance.” He turned his gaze upward, then jumped up and pulled on a flat, inch-wide elastic line that had been strung about seven feet up between the tree next to him and another tree thirty feet away. As it bounced up and down, he said, “This is called a slackline. It’s great for working on balance.”

Drystan dug the ladder’s legs into the ground against the tree. When he held his hand out as if he expected me to climb the rungs, I shook my head in fast jerks. “No way! There aren’t any cushions under that—that piece of thread you’ve got stretched between two trees. There’s no padding. No safety net. I’m not getting on there.”

“It’s flexible nylon and it’s not going to snap on you.”

I smacked his outstretched hand. “That doesn’t change the fact there’s nothing under it to catch me when, not if,
when
I fall.”

His lips tilted in a confident smile. “That’s what I’m here for.”

He’d totally laid on the accent with that last statement. I folded my arms. “You’re not charming me up on that line. I like my legs and neck just the way they are.
Unbroken
.”

Drystan lowered his hand and climbed the ladder. He gripped the tree branch near his head, ducked under it, then stepped onto the nylon. The flexible line dipped with his weight, proving my biggest fear; every movement was like walking on a thin trampoline.

My stomach took a dive as he scooched out farther from the tree. I found myself subconsciously moving with him. I even held my hand up for him to grab, which made no logical sense, considering his outstretched hands were a good four feet higher than the line’s seven-foot height. Despite my apprehension, Drystan stayed perfectly balanced as if he were walking on a two-by-four.

“Don't use your legs to balance. Only use your upper body and hips, like this,” he said, demonstrating as he moved forward toward the middle. “When you first get up here, stay close to the tree until you feel more comfortable. There’s less movement of the line there. Once you start forward, be sure to bend your knees and keep your chest forward. That’ll help you maintain balance.”

After he made it to the middle of the line, he jumped up and down a couple of times, then twisted a hundred eighty degrees in the air. He landed on the line with a shock-absorbing give of his legs, facing the opposite direction. He bounced up and down, and reversed his position, facing me once more with a wide grin. “See, it’s not so bad.”

He made it look too easy, which I knew was a big fat lie. It was like a sniper telling me I could hit my target from a quarter mile away on a windy day with the sun in my eyes. No problem. My only response was to scowl at him.

“Nara…” Drystan gave a slight hop and dropped onto his butt on the thin piece of nylon, his legs dangling.

On instinct, I grabbed his legs to keep him from falling backward.

A smug smile tugged his lips even as he rolled his eyes. “How do you think I was able to push myself off that stairwell wall and land back on the railing without falling off?” he asked, his voice softer now.

“You have a retractable cord in your belly?” Irritated that I’d worried for nothing, I released him and took a step back. “Either that or you’re part cat.”

Drystan chuckled and bounced back to a standing position. With a big swooping jump, he tucked into a backward flip to land on the ground in a crouch. He quickly stood, then walked over to me.

“Show-off,” I muttered.

He smirked. “Learning how to quickly regain balance in combat situations as well as how to land so that you won’t get hurt are aspects you should learn along with self-defense techniques. I’m going to teach you how to defend yourself, but you should also know how to get away, Nara.

“Parkour is perceived as constant movement using natural motion. The technique is very physical, but it’s a way of evaluating and perceiving your environment around you in a strategic way, where you don’t let your mind or physical barriers stop you. Defensively, if you can think at least two steps ahead of your pursuer, then your chances of getting away are much greater.”

He paused and glanced at the line. “It all starts with getting comfortable with balance. Are you ready to give it a go now?”

I followed his gaze while chewing my bottom lip. “Can we lower the line to a couple of feet above the ground?”

He shook his head and turned me toward the ladder. “You’ll learn to balance much faster if you fear falling. Consider it incentive.”

I’d already put my hands on the ladder, but I quickly glanced over my shoulder with a sarcastic tilt of my eyebrow. “I
do
fear falling. I was pretty clear on that. From my perspective, your logic is flawed.”

He squeezed my shoulders, a shameless grin spreading across his face. “You’re just going to have to
trust
me.”

And that was the crux of it. If I couldn’t trust Drystan to have my back with this, how could I possibly trust him with my secret, regardless of the outcome? I took a deep breath and began to climb the ladder.

“Use the tree limb to help you get balance on the line,” he called out once I got to the top.

With a tight hold on the thick limb, I put one foot on the line, then ducked under the limb like I’d seen him do. As soon as my weight shifted, the line began to wobble, then swing wildly. Pulse thrumming, I tried to tighten my hold on the tree but my gloves slipped.

I screamed on the way down. Strong arms caught me mid-fall, wrapping around my body. Drystan’s low chuckle vibrated against my shoulder. “I suggest ditching the gloves since it’s warmed up a bit. They kept you from maintaining a tight grip.”

My heart was still beating on high rev when he set me on my feet. I didn’t want to climb the ladder again, but the challenging “you’re not chicken, are you?” look in his eyes made me tilt my chin at a stubborn angle.

Without a word, I stripped off my gloves and tossed them to the ground. My heavy fleece followed. As I started toward the ladder on wobbly legs, he spoke in a low, determined voice behind me, “You’re going to learn to trust me if it kills you.”

Chapter Eighteen

True to his word, Drystan caught me each time I fell, which didn’t stop my heart from slamming into my throat whenever my feet slipped off the nylon line and I plummeted toward the hard ground. By the time I finally managed to stay on the line for more than a minute, my trust in him was completely solidified. It only took me two and a half hours to figure out how to balance with my legs and hips, not my arms. Um, yeah,
hearing
that advice and actually
learning
it were two very different things.

Drystan lay back in the leaves underneath the slackline and tucked his arms behind his head. “I think that’s a good start for today. You might not feel it now, but you’re going to be sore as ’ell tomorrow.” He paused and cast an amused gaze my way. “And no, I’m not cutting you any slack just because you ache all over in the morning. Nine sharp. You’ll just have to suck it up, Miss Collins.”

“We agreed on four days. Every other day works best for me.” I settled into a crossed-legged position beside him. A light breeze blew through the trees, tinged with the smell of moss and pine as it cooled the sweat coating my temples.

“Nope. I’m taking four in a row,” he countered. “As the week goes on, Lainey’s going to distract you with winter dance stuff.”

I laughed at the distasteful look on his face and shrugged back into my fleece. “They don’t have school dances in Wales? Or do you not know how to dance, Drystan? Which is it?”

He grinned and rolled onto his side. Sliding his hand through his sweat-dampened hair, he propped up on his elbow. “I know how to dance, right enough. Why don’t you come to the dance with me? That way you can keep the adoring American girls at bay.”

I stiffened. I hadn’t expected the conversation to turn in this direction. “I have a boyfriend, Drystan. I thought Lainey told you that.”

“So.” He shrugged. “I’m not asking you on a date. I’d just like to go with someone I know. Plus, I was serious about batting away all the girls wanting a go at the new Welsh boy,” he finished, giving a smug wink.

“Cocky much?” I said, smirking.

“Where is this invisible bloke of yours? Lainey said he’s taking cyber school right now while he’s out of town for a while. If I were your boyfriend, I’d make the trip home to take you to the dance.”

I tensed and plucked a crunchy leaf from the ground, then shredded it between my fingers. “Ethan’s relationship with his parents is complicated. He’s trying to work it out.”

A hard, unsympathetic look poured into Drystan’s green gaze. “My dad refused to acknowledge my ability, even when I’d proven my accuracy several times. He looked me right in the eyes and told me to ‘cut that bullshit out.’”

“That had to suck.” I grimaced, surprised he’d shared something so personal.

Drystan snorted. “That’s nothing compared to him refusing to acknowledge he was my father.”

My gaze locked with his. “What do you mean? I thought he was a part of your life before he passed away. At least you made it sound that way.”

His mouth turned downward. “He lived with and supported us, but he never married my mum or introduced me as his son. He even called me Maddox—my mother’s maiden name—as a constant reminder he refused to give me his last name. The selfish bastard.”

As much as I heard the hate in his words, I also sensed deeper emotions reflected in his hard stare: hurt, confusion and disillusionment.

Before I could say anything, he interrupted with a confident smile, shrugging away the past. “But even with all that parental shite going on in my head, I’d manage to put myself straight and take you to the dance.”

Put myself straight?
His literal-speak, spoken in that Welsh accent was so quaint. “I’m sorry about your dad, Drystan, and thanks for asking, but I won’t be going to the dance without Ethan.”

“Your loss.” Shaking his head, Drystan picked up a handful of leaves and tossed it at me. “We’re going to have a grand time.”

I sputtered and batted the leaves off my face and clothes, then held up my hands when I saw he was sitting up with another handful ready to throw. “But I do have a favor to ask. If you’re willing to help, then I’ll share.”

He immediately dropped the leaves, excited anticipation in his expression. “Share? As in you’ll tell me your ability?”

I inhaled to bolster my confidence and nodded.

“Done!” He moved to sit beside me, bent his knees, then leaned back on his hands with an expectant look. “What do you want me to do?”

“Maybe you should hear me out first before you agree.”

An eyebrow shot up and his lips quirked. “I’m already intrigued.”

I bent my own knees and wrapped my arms around them, resting my chin on my knee. “I’m trying to find an important book—a journal—that’s disappeared. It’s for a project I’ve been working on.”

“Is that all?” he snorted, sitting up. “No problem.”

I pulled a water bottle from my backpack. “I wish it were that easy.” I sighed and took a sip. “It was stolen from my house and I have no idea who stole it.”

Drystan let out a low whistle. “Trouble follows you like the plague.” He rubbed his hands together, then continued, “Stolen or misplaced, my ability focuses on the result, not the how or why of it.
Locating
is all that matters.”

I gave a half smile. “This will be a true test of your ability then, because I can’t even see it.”

He tilted his head. “Really? Well then, how about sharing what your power is…”

“Every night I dream my entire next day,” I blurted, then held my breath, waiting for his reaction.

“Wow!” Drystan’s eyes widened and he shoved a hand through his hair with an astonished laugh. “Just…wow. Now that I know, seeing myself in the future makes an odd sort of sense.”

I frowned. “I don’t understand.”

Drystan held his hand out, palm up. “Remember I said that holding things is how I use my power to find what I’m trying to find? I was holding Lochlan’s collar that day, seeking his location. But you didn’t know that’s what I was doing, and when you touched my hand, that’s when I saw myself giving Lochlan to Lainey. It’s like when you touched me, my power combined with yours and let me see a glimpse of the future.”

I furrowed my brow. “What doesn’t make sense is that I dream my
next
day. You saw something that happened later the same day.”

“Maybe when my power and yours merge, there’s a shift in how yours works? I’ve never ‘seen’ myself finding the object either until that day you touched my hand. That’s definitely a change in how my ability has worked in the past.”

“But you didn’t touch me that day you knew I was going to get shot. How did you see the ‘future’ then?”