Set the Sky on Fire (Fire Trilogy Book 1) (18 page)

Time passed, each minute, each second, drawing her closer to the moment she would have to face Nate. Her stomach churned. She didn’t want to see him, didn't want to talk to him. Once her lie was spoken, it couldn't be taken back. For Nate's sake, she’d play her part so well he’d have no option but to believe it. By the end of the day he would hate her. He would believe she didn't love him. It tore at the very filaments holding her heart together.

The seether, evidently joyous at the events, made the necessary preparations. “Michelle can be your stylist,” he barked, more of an order than a question. Ari had to agree it wasn't a bad idea. Her only experience caking on makeup ended with her looking like a clown.

“Right, enough pissing around, get in the bathroom and get dressed. We need to get this show on the road.” The seether exuded enthusiasm for the coming event.

Ari dressed, choosing items to reveal the most amount of skin—on Michelle's advice, of course.

“You still look too much like a sissy little school girl. We need you to look older, harden you up a bit. If you look more ‘experienced’ he might actually buy it.”

“Did you take drama at school?” The seether's sarcastic tone came from the chair in the corner of the room.

“No,” Ari replied, without turning to face him.

“That's a shame. You’re going to need acting skills. If he doesn't believe this little charade, I’m going to rip his head off. I've been dying to do that for years now.”

“No pressure then.” Ari tried to hide her fear.

Michelle rifled through her backpack and came out with a couple of items of clothing, which she threw at Ari's face. “Put these on.”

Ari held them up in front of her, screwing up her nose in disgust. They were such small squares of fabric. “I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing these to a nightclub, let alone during broad daylight.” She went back to the bathroom and tugged on the black elasticated skirt and leopard print tank top, placing them over the areas of skin she most wanted concealed. She returned to the lounge pulling the skirt in both directions to get the maximum amount of coverage possible. Michelle stood in front of her, her expression intense, as she plastered on the makeup. When she’d finished, Ari’s eyelids felt double their natural weight. If she bumped into a panda, she couldn't fault it for thinking she was family.

“You look like a slag, Ari,” Nevaeh said.

“I know,” Ari replied, tugging at the bottom of her skirt. “That's why it'll probably work,” she sighed.

“Is your mind made up on this?” Nevaeh looked worried. She knew Nate was the get-out-of-jail card they’d been waiting for.

“Yep. It's got to be done.”

“There has to be another way,” Nevaeh pleaded.

“If Nate comes after us now, he'll be tired, which means the seether...”

“Stop calling him that, his name is Dominic,” Michelle chimed in from the background.

Ari ignored her and carried on.

“...the seether will have the advantage. I won’t lead Nate into a fight he has a real chance of losing.”

Nevaeh nodded sadly, leaning in closer, “Run to him, Ari. Run away with him.”

“Shut your face, Nevaeh.” The seether lunged at them to stop the conversation.

Ari rounded on the seether. “You know as well as I do, I won't leave her here to be hurt.”

“You’re smarter than your friend then.” The seether seemed satisfied.

“Love you,” Nevaeh said sadly.

*****

Together, Ari and the seether headed out of the hotel. Ari tried to suppress the feelings that radiated from the seether, but they didn't want to go. It took her a while to realize they were her own feelings of sadness and grief. She couldn't repress those so easily.

Ari led the seether through the lobby and into the street. As if called, Nate’s presence moved nearer towards them.

“He’s coming,” Ari said.

“Time to play.” The seether smiled.

They stood and waited. Ari wrapped her arm around the seether's waist and slipped her hand into the back pocket of his jeans. She leaned in closer, her head nearly touching his chest. She recalled the face of the boy in the cemetery, who had gone from despondent to angry in the blink of an eye, and tried to imitate his facial expression as best she could.

Her grimace became even more realistic when the seether whispered, “If you get any more handsy, I might have to throw you up against this wall and screw you till you squeal. That would achieve the same result, and it would be so much more fun for me.”

“Just shut it, alright? I'm pretty sure he would rip your head off for less than that.”

Nate's face appeared, bobbing behind a couple walking hand in hand along the street. At the sight of him, Ari's heart skipped a beat. She desperately wanted to run and launch herself into his safe embrace.

Nate was now only a few metres away from them. His face distorted by confusion.

“What are you doing here, Nate?”

Even Ari couldn't believe how scathing her voice sounded.

“Ari, what's going on? What are you doing?” Nate's eyes slid between her face and the seether’s.

“I'm just havin' a bit of fun. Thought I deserved it after so many years of being the good girl. You wouldn't believe how boring that can be.” The lies spilled like acid from her mouth.

Seductively, she ran her hand down the seether's chest. The wheels in her head ground to a halt. She’d nearly called him the seether—not exactly a pet name. Damn it, what was his name? The only ones that sprang to mind were obscenities. Ari doubted Nate would believe she had fallen for his rival if she used any of
them
as an endearment. Luckily, the seether’s name flitted into her head.

“Dominic has been showing me what it's like to have
real
fun.”

The seether leaned his head towards hers and, before Ari guessed his intentions, he locked her into a kiss. She had to fight every impulse not to push away, or to bite down on the tongue that entered her mouth. Making it appear as if she was enjoying it was a step too far, there was only so much fake she could pull off. Thankfully, her face was covered. It was a huge relief when he finally released her. To add to her humiliation, the seether dragged his teeth over his bottom lip, as if soaking up every last lick of pleasure.

She turned her attention back to Nate. It wasn’t necessary for her to seek his emotions, his broken heart was evident. His pained emerald green eyes held shock and disbelief.

“No, this isn't you Ari,” Nate pleaded. He looked only at her. He didn't seem to be able to look away. His pain squeezed her heart. She couldn’t leave him like this.

Dominic wrapped his hand around her waist and slid it up under the bottom of her tank top. His hand was on her flesh. Her skin crawled. He moved it further up, so the bottom of the top bunched to show even more skin. It was an intimate touch, his fingers gently tracing circles. Ari wanted to scream at him to stop, to get his filthy hands off.

“You can't blame her really. Who would want to be that pitiful girl, trailing along behind you like a brainwashed slave? She intends to make the most of her short life. Don't you?”

He squeezed her to him. She stared up at the seether, grinning mischievously. Her facial muscles hurt from the strain. She clenched her jaw, holding the appearance as best she could. “I don't want to be
just
a wallflower anymore. Dominic says I can do anything I want, with his help. I want to be a star, so everyone will look up at me. No, not a star. They’re too small. They just flicker a little and fade in the daylight. I want to be more.”

She looked Nate directly into the sad green eyes she adored.

“I
want
to set the sky on fire.”

Had Nate recognised the line? Ari thought she caught a flash of comprehension in his eyes.

“Very poetic, baby. Now, I think it’s time to go.”

With his hand still on her midriff, the seether turned her around.

“See ya, Nathaniel,” she called out, tossing a wave over her shoulder, but not looking back. She couldn't let the seether see any weakness in her story.

When Ari got back to the room, she lay down on the bed and sobbed. Nevaeh did her best to comfort her.

“So he believed it, then?” Nevaeh asked.

“Yeah, I'm pretty sure he did,” Ari said, noticing the black stains from her wet eyes on the pillow.

“I wish you’d run off with him, Ari.”

“I would
never
leave you here alone.”

“You should have gone.” Nevaeh’s expression was pained.

“You should have seen Nate’s face,” Ari said.

“He must have been devastated,” Nevaeh replied.

“Even when we left, he didn’t try to stop us. He just stood there, paralysed.”

The seether slithered onto the opposite bed.

“I probably missed telling you something,” he sneered, his arrogance on show. He swivelled around on the bed, throwing his feet over the side, so he was face to face with them.

“You should be dead. He should have killed you for changing sides. You weren’t wrong when you said he has a soft spot for you. If there was even an inch of dislike, there is no way you would still be walking and talking.”

“You're lying. He can't kill people. You’re just saying that to freak Ari out,” Nevaeh shouted, provoked by his words.

“Don't be naïve. Of course he can kill. We both can. Only, it leaves us somewhat incapacitated for a short time afterwards, a bit like an emotional overload. Saying it’s extremely inconvenient might be a bit of an understatement. But if he'd killed Ari, we would have both gone down. Who do you think the public would have gone after? If he was still there when I woke—well, he wouldn’t be bothering me ever again. It really was a win-win situation for me. As it was, I didn’t get to finish him off personally, but I did get to see the exact moment his heart broke. It looked excruciating. It would have been kinder to use a blunt trowel to dig it out, throw it on the ground and then jump on it over and over again. I almost felt sorry for the prat. Almost.”

“He's still here, though. I can feel him. He’s only about three blocks that way.” Ari pointed west. “And I would say one or two floors higher than us.”

The seether stared at her, looking stunned. “You can find him that far away? Wow, your practice is really paying off if you can pinpoint him with that sort of precision. If only you were that good with your own lot.”

She might have impressed the seether, but she knew she’d also revealed to him her proficiency. Ari hadn’t said it for his benefit. Nevaeh’s face had been ashen since they’d returned, and so she’d said it to reassure her.

“It's good that he's still around.” The seether got off the bed and started to pace. “He's obviously very uncertain about what to do next. His pain may buy us a bit more time. I imagine he's wondering whether he should go and find some more Serrathan invaders. It must be quite the dilemma—I doubt any of the others will be quite as loved-up. They won't have the same problem with disposing of you. He’d be signing your death warrant,” he said matter-of-factly. “As I said, big choice for him. How about you let me know if you sense any more of them? I think that would be in both our best interests.”

“Why don’t
you
track him?” Ari complained.

“Don’t be difficult. He’s already well out of my range, and you bloody know it.”

Concern affected his voice. He didn't seem to fear Nate alone, but a group of them was apparently a threat. Perhaps, it was something she could use against him, to get back to Nate. Ari tried to put Nate’s wounded eyes out of her mind, hoping the expression on his face wouldn’t be the last of his she’d see.

******

The following day progressed like every other 'training day'. The seether dragged her to a cemetery, a different one this time. He said he wanted to mix it up a bit, but more likely it was to put some distance between himself and Nate. To Ari, it didn’t matter which cemetery it was because all she wanted to do was climb into a hole and disappear from the world.

She hoped no mourners would come. Her own grief was enough. The fresh grave, covered in flowers, should have alerted her she was in for disappointment. The seether was merciless. Within hours, three people fell victim to his insidious whispering. He could force his emotions onto people and they stuck there, something to do with the manipulation of brain waves. Ari didn't fully understand how it worked, only that it did. At first, she had tried to fight him, to stop him, but his threats of harm to Nevaeh kept her compliant.

Three people’s lives were ruined because she didn’t do enough to stop the seether. The damage she had caused them. She rubbed her temples, her conscience gave her a headache. Their anger would be taken out on others, their friends and family. They would decimate their lives. Ari hoped the anger could be taken from them as easily as it had been bestowed. Perhaps, one day she could save them. An empty hope, but one she clung to with both hands, to ease her conscience.

It was almost dusk when the taxi pulled up outside the hotel. She sensed Nate nearby, still in the same area she had told Nevaeh. His presence eased her pain, giving her some courage. What she needed now was to be convincing, but she had used her quota of acting skills the day before. Whereas, yesterday, Nate’s life had been at stake, this time, she’d have to really work at making her lies believable. With a deep breath, she turned in Nate’s direction.

“He's not there.” She opened her eyes as wide as they’d go, hoping to look startled.

“Are you sure?” the seether asked, intently focused on Ari.

With a shake of her head and a touch of panic she repeated, “He's not there. He wouldn't go and tell the others would he? Not if they’d kill me. He wouldn't do that?” She paused and looked at the seether. “Would he?”

“Who knows? Whatever he's up to, it might be time to change locations.” His voice was even, but his movements betrayed him. He was anxious. Turning sharply on his heel, he stormed off into the lobby. Ari hoped Nate would keep his distance. The game would be up if the seether felt his presence. She took a deep breath and followed him in.

As soon as the hotel door closed behind them, the seether started barking orders at Michelle. “Get on the phone to the airline and organise flights and accommodation. We need to get out of here as soon as possible.”

“Where too?” she asked.

“I don't know—Thailand.” He waved a hand over his shoulder. Both Ari and Nevaeh could see the irony in his choice.

“Thailand is a big place, care to be more specific,” Michelle said.

“Fine—Bangkok.”

“So we’re travelling
again.
I need to get out of this stinking hotel room before we go anywhere. For Christ sake, we are in Melbourne, and I haven’t even had a taste of the nightlife.”

“Suck it up,” he snapped, not using the loving voice he usually reserved for her.

“Oh come on. I’ll be back before we have to go to the airport.” She sidled up to him and sat on his lap, twiddling her fingers in his hair.

Ari quietly hoped the seether would say yes, so they didn't have to hear her whine anymore.

“Have you booked the tickets yet?” he asked.

“I'll do it now.” She pecked him on the end of his nose.

Everyone sat quietly as Michelle booked the flights. When she finally got off the phone, she spat out the bad news.

“Sorry babe, no seats left until late tomorrow night. Now can we get back to me?”

“Whatever,” he sighed.

“So can I go out?”

“Be back before 3:00 am. I need you to sleep, so you can watch Nevaeh for the day.”

Michelle was, as she proclaimed loudly, ‘amped about getting out of this hell-hole’, so much so that she shook her arse all around the hotel room to music that only she could hear. Nevaeh rolled her eyes

The seether ignored it. “While we are out tomorrow, you and the loud mouth here can pack all the gear up and meet us at the airport.”

“Yes, alright,” Michelle droned back at him, “You’re being such a buzz kill.”

The seether turned on the TV, flicking channels before settling on the news. The top headline was another dress malfunction at an awards show. It reassured Ari there was so little in the way of real news, which the world hadn’t gone to hell quite yet.

Ari and Nevaeh settled in for the night. Ari's days were becoming noticeably repetitive, and she hated every moment. She had no idea how Nevaeh was able to cope, given that she didn't even have the opportunity to go outside. When Ari thought about it, she realised Nevaeh had become significantly more fidgety in the last few days. Perhaps, she was only holding it together for Ari’s sake.

Michelle left the hotel room at 8:53 pm. Ari had been watching the clock intently, willing her to leave. During the final five minutes she’d been forced to endure the sounds of a make-out session between Michelle and the seether on the neighbouring bed.

“Oh, this might be the most disgusting moment of my life,” Ari whispered to Nevaeh.

“If I vomit, do you think they’ll stop.” Nevaeh asked. “Because it’s a distinct possibility.”

“Stop.” Michelle said, sounding perturbed. “I can hear them whispering. I’m not having sex in front of them. Those creeps would enjoy watching.”

Thank goodness it had ended.

*****

Michelle stumbled back into the room in the early hours of the morning, waking everyone up. Her head appeared too heavy for her body to hold up. The smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke, ingrained in her hair and clothes, wafted over to Ari.

“Hey there, sexy.” Michelle put both her hands on the seether’s chest and leaned in for a kiss.

He quickly swayed back, narrowly missing contact with Michelle’s lips. “I am not kissing an ethanol-flavoured ash tray. Just go to bed. It's going to be a long day tomorrow.”

Michelle flopped onto the empty bed and was snoring before her head hit the pillow.

A few hours later, the seether woke Michelle and reminded her of her duties for the day.

“Keep your voice down,” Michelle moaned. “Let me have another hour’s sleep and I’ll be ready.”

“Up. Now.” The seether threw back her covers. Michelle sat up with a face like thunder.

“I’m up. Leave me alone,” she trudged off to the bathroom. The sound of vomiting came clearly through the walls. The seether hustled Ari out the door. She glanced at Nevaeh over her shoulder, wishing she didn’t have to leave her on her own with the grumpy cow.

New day, new cemetery it seemed. This one was further from the hotel, engulfed in the suburbs but still on the same side of town so, at least, they had some familiarity with their surroundings. Nearly two hours had gone by, then the seether pushed away from the tree he’d been leaning on.

“Let's go somewhere a bit more interesting.”

Without a further word, he strolled off down the path. Ari jogged to catch up with him. He turned left when he reached the road and walked briskly along the footpath, ignoring Ari’s question as to where they were going. When she saw a mass of people standing outside a stone church, she knew they’d reached their destination. The funeral service over, the congregation gathered outside, watching as the hearse took their loved one away. Mourners trailed past Ari, many with eyes so desolate she feared that looking into them would suck her into a void. These were the faces of people trying to detach themselves from memories, from loss, from pain.

Captivated by the sadness, Ari hadn't noticed she’d followed the seether right into the midst of the sad souls. She’d left herself open, and now she shared their heartache. Letting their emptiness fill her, she gave herself up to the swirling emotions.

The incessant ring of the seether's cell phone pulled her from her despondency. The grieving crowd glared at him. Oblivious, he answered the phone.

“What is it?” the seether barked.

For a long time he stood in silence, listening to whoever was on the other end of the line. His brow furrowed and a deep foreboding expression spread over his features. The longer the call lasted, the more anxious Ari became.

“You’d better tell me what happened. It’d better bloody well be good” he shouted, his face twisted in rage.

The mourners became edgy, and Ari could feel outrage beginning to outweigh sadness as the seether started intermittently swearing into the phone. Muttering issued from the crowd, with words such as ‘rude’ and ‘inconsiderate’ audible among their complaints. The seether looked up, stared at the throng, then moved away, lowering his voice to talk.

Serious and polite were not the seether's usual traits. Ari had seen his face, panic pulling at his eyebrows. She stood silently, waiting for him to re-join her. When he ended the call, he signalled for her to join him. Rubbing his jawline, he remarked, “Well, it seems that your friend tried to escape today. But Michelle is a little handier than I’d expected.”

“Is Nevaeh okay? What happened?” Ari demanded to know.

“Don't worry she didn't use the knife if that's what you're worried about. That was my first thought too.”

“So Nevaeh’s okay then?”

“No, she's dead. I only meant Michelle didn't use the knife. That would have made for one hell of a clean-up.”