The First Touch (43 page)

Helen quickly snapped
, “
What are you smiling about.”
Autumn
nearly burst out laughing then, and placed her hand over her mouth and then looked and Flanagan who watched her with suspicious eyes then
,
a grin tu
gging gently on his lips. S
he looked at Galen who shifted in his seat
,
feeling uncomfortable
,
and left out of the loop suddenly.

Helen continued to glare and Henry finally snapped
, “
Hush Helen.”

Autumn
felt the excitement build in her chest as she looked up at Henry who spoke to her now looking very suspicious, “What is wrong with your eyes and why are you having trouble walking?”

Autumn
shrugged
, “
That isn’t important.”

Then she turned and looked at Flanagan and said
, “
So are you ready to begin Flanagan?”

He looked momentarily surprised but he tapped his chest and said
, “
Yes, i
f you
’
r
e
ready.”

“As ready as I will ever be.”

Test Two

Autumn
saw something move out of the corner of her eye and recognized Utvic standing next to the doo
r that she had entered through
. She smiled then feeling instantly better at her chances of surviving today. Then she watched as Flanagan began building his
wall O’ power and her smile grew
wider. She held up her hand and pointed to
Drake
, “
Drake
can you flame on for a moment I need some inspiration.” He stopped twirling and looked up at her for the first time.

All eyes were on her now as she watched him with a steady gaze. His eyebrow raised and
Autumn
began walkin
g forward towards him,
reluctantly
, “
I guess I can make you.” He jumped to his feet as did everyone else in the council save Ivan who sat in his chair unmoving,
unblinking
stari
ng at the ground.
Autumn
frowned then,
Hel
en probably zombied him
, she thought.

“I am simply asking you to start the game with a
ceremonious
lighting
of the torch.”

He looked at Henry who nodded,
and then
Drake
flamed for a moment and let it slide through his fingers slowly.
Autumn
blinked and smiled watching as the group flinched. Next,
she felt the cold cover her skin and then her eyes. She looked over her shoulder at Flanagan, and asked
, “
Are you ready?” He nodded
then,
looking at her newly changed face, and smiled back a hint darker than before.

She felt the serge
of energy shoot through her
and she jumped hi
gh into the air. S
ounds
erupt
ed from the audience as she flipped
gracefully and landed on her feet
in front
of Flanagan. He did not step back he simply raised his hand and flicked the first energy ball.
Autumn
dodged it easily and then h
e threw another and she picked it up and threw back at him narrowly missing.

She
smiled wider
, “
Watch it Flanagan, you
a
r
e
making it look too easy. He growled at her, and threw three more
,
faster than she had ever seen before. The last hitting her square in the chest and she flew back as she had before hitting the wall.
She
dusted it off taunting him
, “
That’s all you got?” He growled again and
even Helen
hissed at her that time. Then
Autumn
watched as he moved to a semi automatic mode and threw nearly twen
ty in less than a moment. She
dodged them all and even caught the very last one in mid air.

The crowd
o
h
and
awed
until some of the last shots
bounced
off of the wall and almost hit
bystanders
. Hisses came up from that section as did a few bodies moving from the now open flames.
She
leaned down and picked up a few more as she watched Flanagan building a very sizable energy ball. Then she held hers
in between
her fingers waiting for his next move.

He sent this one at a speed that nearly hit her and then watched as the cinder block wall behind her burst into flames.
Autumn
tweaked
her head and smiled again,
then
she
tossed
five of the balls that she had. They landed in a pattern that even she had not planned. The last caught his hair and he patted it out with a few swats. She smiled broadly, feeling braver and kissed the last energy ball.

Then she winked at him and threw the final one
controlling
the spin and curve perfectly. Flanagan saw it coming and moved just in time and the energy ball slammed into the wall.
She
flinched as she felt her finger tips grow colder and then held her hand out and twisting it slightly. Then the ball reversed and reformed back out of the wall.
Then
she
flicked her fingers at
Flanagan
and the ball chased him down and hit him in the back of the head.

It sent him flying forward and up fifty feet into the wall behind the council. The sound of crunching bone sent
her running towards his fallen body. Henry
was there first as
Autumn
stood a few feet away
.
“
Is he alright?”

Henry nodded
, “
He will be fine in a few hours.”

Autumn
nodded and
Drake
walked out to the
stage beckoning her to follow. She began to
feel a little uneasy once she saw the look on
Drake
’s face. He was not pleased with the outcome
of the last challenge, and o
bviously determined to
rectify
the wrong done to
Flanagan
.
H
e flamed on, and it
occurred
to her then that the best route with
Drake
might be to be
come a
paci
fist.
Drake
threw a fire ball that hit her square in the
chest;
it pushed her back against the wall just as Flanagan’s had.

Autumn
walked back to center stage brushing the ash from her shirt. She
widened
her stance to get a firmer footing,
and
then beckoned him to hit her again. He
complied
and hit her again and she didn’t even rock back this time. Then he hit her
with
a third and forth near
simultaneously
. She
watched him pull and form his next two and then throw them at her head. She
absorbed
the flames and impact this time and opened her eyes smiling. He seemed
angry
by this turn of evens.

She cursed at herself, she shouldn’t have smiled,
it
just
provoked
him. She realized then that s
he should finish it
quickly;
otherwise he would probably end up
hurting
someone else. She let another hit her and she finally allowed her body to react. The flame shot out like a flame thrower
and saturated his entire body. Then s
he bent her knees preparing for the
attack that
she had almost experienced before.
Drake
charged screaming and
slicing
madly and
threw
her onto her back. Some of
crowds were
standing now to get a better look at the damage
, and admittedly to see if she was still alive
.

She held her hands up defensively, while
her legs snaked around his, t
hen she grabbed his wrists and pulled her hands back above her head
forcing him to press himself against her
. He was still
struggling
to
tear her throat out, w
hen she whispered
, “
Drake
,”
and he looked up at her face for the first time. Then she blinked smiling and felt him
struggle
to pull free then and was unable to
, and for the first time realizing that he was in danger
.

He was about to begin thrashing
about
again but she said his name again
with
a little more sing
song
in her voice
, “
Drake
,
” he looked at her then the cloud
beginning
to clea
r from his eyes. She said then, “
There you are.” Then she leaned forward kissing him full on the mouth. His eyes widened in surprise and he tried to pull away but she
wouldn’t
let him. He unexpectedly
groaned
and let himself follow his
tongue
inside of her.

When she was sure that she had him completely enticed she began to pull his fire up from his belly. Slowly at first to ensure that he wouldn’t become alarmed but eventually his body began to notice that something was wrong. He began rolling around then trying
desperately to pull himself free, t
hough his mouth did not even so much as twist away from her. In order to prevent him from coming fully to his
senses
she sliced her
tongue
against his teeth. It began to bleed slowly.

H
e groaned and let the blood trickle down his
throat
as he felt a surge of heat flow through his body. Then she finished pulling t
he fire completely from his chest
and felt his body go slack on top of her. Then she rolled him off and sat up wiping her mouth. As she
stood she watched as the audience looked at
Drake
’s lifeless body. The whispers began
then;
Helen was the first to
realize
why they were whispering.

Then she ran to kneel next to
Drake
’s body, and
instantly
began
sobbing
loudly. The others rushed to her side still looking confused. Flora asked disbelieving, “What’s wrong Helen?”

Helen burst out, “He’s dead. Don’t you
see?
Look at him.” Flora and the others began checking him
instantly;
even Grayton began shaking him
roughly
. They called out his name, and
received
no response. Then Helen stood and began screaming hysterically, “What have you done!”

Autumn
raised her hands defensively speaking calmly, “Wait, Helen I can fix him.”

She came charging at her, rage in her eyes, and
Autumn
felt a snap inside of her. She raised her hand and Helen went flying
across
the room and pinned
her
to the wall. Then
Autumn
said angrily, “Stay there and be quiet.” She stayed and her screaming continued but no
noise escaped her throat. Autumn
walked towards the group surrounding
Drake
. Henry and flora stepped forward protectively though Grayton tried to explain
, but it fell on
de
a
f ears.

The pain that hit her the
n was nearly overwhelming;
all of them save Grayton, Serena, and Ivan
were planning to kill her
. She slid her hand up and said
, “
Move!” A
cold voice came out of her mouth darker t
han she ever remembered before and t
hey all went flying in opposite directions landing on their backs. By the time that
they were able to regroup, s
he
was already kneeling next to Drake.
Grayton
interrupted
them
defensively, “She can heal with her touch
.”