Read The Light of Oriah : Burning Jungle - Part One Online

Authors: Sam Vickery

Tags: #romance, #vampire, #urban fantasy, #paranormal romance, #fantasy, #young adult, #fantasy fiction

The Light of Oriah : Burning Jungle - Part One (5 page)

BOOK: The Light of Oriah : Burning Jungle - Part One
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Picking up a fallen pine cone, I held it out in front of me,
my arm outstretched. I felt the energy begin t
o build up, first in my chest, spreading warmly out through
my limbs, my face, my hands and finally my finger tips. The pine
cone was emitting a light buzzing sound now, so light that it would
be inaudible to any normal ear. One by one I removed my fingers
from their hold, very gently and slowly. The pine cone appeared to
be leaning against just my thumb now, and barely moving, I eased it
back, placing my hand down on my knee. The cone hovered in the air
for just a second before dropping to the ground, the buzz
extinguished. More determined now I tried again, this time
attempting to clear my head completely of the other interfering
thoughts. The cone swayed slightly when I released it, but
continued to hover. I felt more confident now. Without breaking my
gaze I reached down and picked up two more pine cones. I held them
up, one either side of the hovering central cone, splitting my
focus now, determined, exhilarated. My arms were tingling with the
waves of energy flowing through them, my hair felt static, I could
feel it begin to rise above my head, but I didn't break my focus. I
released the cones and smiled as they held steady, taking their
place in the pocket of air.

I began to feel a sense of elation, this was the first time I
had practised my skills since coming to England. I found that I
could look away now without the cones dropping. They started to
move and I felt as if I could direct them, make them dance. They
began swirling, circling one another in a fluid and mesmerising
motion. And then like a lightning bolt hitting me, a thought popped
into my mind shattering my focus, the cones tumbling to the ground.
It seemed so clear to me now – Sebastian was good. I didn't know
how to explain it, I just knew deep in my bones that he meant me no
harm. Perhaps he even believed his story about my mother, maybe he
had been misinformed somewhere along the line. I was certain that
he was wrong, but a seed of doubt continued to plague me. The
meditation had cleared my mind and let me see that my anger over
his assumptions had caused me to overreact. He wasn't playing
games. I let myself picture his face now, the memory still as clear
as ever, as I allowed his image to flood my mind. I tilted my face
to the sky, tasting the air to see if he was still waiting nearby.
No trace remained, he had gone.

I sat perfectly still, the rain washing over me as I went
over and over my thoughts. Yes, there was now no doubt in my mind
that Sebastian was not a danger to me. But I had treated him so
badly, ignored him, run away from him without bothering to take the
time to correct him. He was probably equally annoyed with me too.
And now he had clearly given up waiting for me to come to my
senses, judging by the fact that he was no longer following
me.

Besides, he had such an affect on my ability to reason, I
would never be able to focus on tracking down the other Children of
Venus if he were around distracting me. I didn't allow myself to
consider the glaringly obvious; That if I had Sebastian to answer
my questions, I would no longer have a need to find the others.
There was still so much I didn't know about what I really was, so
much that I wanted to ask. It would probably be better if I left
things as they were with him, I resolved, ignoring the pain in my
stomach as I made my decision. I didn't think I could face seeing
him again, especially if I knew I would have to walk away once
more. He probably wouldn't forgive me anyway.

I lay back, feeling suddenly overcome with exhaustion after
expelling so much energy. The ground was hard and wet but it didn’t
bother me. The huge branches of the conifer shielded me from the
worst of the rain, and I closed my eyes, trying to clear his face
from my mind once again.

The colours swirled as I found myself walking bare foot
through the jungle. A jaguar nearby didn’t flinch at my presence,
giving me the impression that I could not be seen, and I stepped
lightly over the debris, walking towards my goal with purpose now.
My father lay on the ground, abandoned and drained, his usually
bronzed face now pale and lifeless. His mouth hung open and a faint
trail of dried blood remained on his muscular neck

the only wound visible
on his fragile human body. My eyes stung at seeing this, my chest
swelling with a burning pain. Who had done this? I wanted revenge
so much I could almost taste their blood. Who was this enemy who
had come for us, destroying my little family? The images swirled
once again as I felt myself being pulled out of the dream, before
being dropped directly into another. The picture of my mother's
distraught face filled my vision, consumed with a pain I had never
before witnessed that radiated from beneath her skin, her eyes,
like fire, burned in undiluted rage. I watched as she turned and
set off chasing through the trees, intent and determined in her
goal. Her head was down and her teeth barred. Her agony was too
intense, it flowed from her like blood from an open wound. I turned
my face away, unable to watch her go.

I woke
shaking, the rain still pouring down in an unrelenting sheet of icy
water, the light changing into dusk. The dream had frightened me,
it had seemed so real, more like a vision than a nightmare. That
seed of doubt had been watered and was beginning to sprout now. I
couldn't even think about it, I couldn't let myself begin to hope,
or consider the possibility that there was a chance my mother was
alive, that she had managed to escape from our attackers. I had
seen the ashes, I had spent my every moment since that awful day
grieving. It wasn't healthy for me to be letting these thoughts in.
Sebastian had a lot to answer for, bringing back all this hurt when
I wanted so desperately to let it go.

I walked in a daze back to the cottage, feeling more lonely
and lost than ever before. I made polite small talk with Ivy who
was still grumpy after last night's disagreement, munching half
heartedly through another plate of her questionable cooking, before
excusing myself to go upstairs. I needed to be alone, to try to
regain some of the focus I had achieved earlier. Standing at the
open window with the cold breeze tingling my bare skin, I stared
into the growing darkness feeling a strange sense of disconnection,
and wondering if this pain in my heart would ever
subside.

Chapter
Four

The rain was
coming down in an uninterrupted sheet outside my window. It seemed
to be becoming a constant feature of my new life. I lay in the dark
tossing and turning as I tried to clear my thoughts enough to drift
off to sleep. The room felt too hot, too humid for this December
evening and I threw back the covers sighing. Experiencing no sense
of relief, I realised that the heat was probably coming from me
rather than the room. Standing up with a groan, I paced over to the
window looking out into the night. It was no good. I felt too
trapped in here, like a caged animal. I had to get out of this
house. Pulling on my jeans and grabbing a hoodie from the floor at
the foot of the bed, I threw open the window once again, breathing
in the fresh air. It felt cool, clean and inviting. I turned back
to the mess of clothes on the carpet and rummaged through them,
unearthing my boots. Yanking them on in one fluid movement, feeling
full of certainty and determination, I turned and sized up the
window, already moving towards it. I took a running jump out of the
open frame, flying through the air in exhilarated freedom, before
landing catlike and silent on the lawn below.

The street was deserted and I gave one final glance back at
the dark cottage, listening for sounds of movement. Ivy was snoring
gently, undisturbed by my break for freedom, and I smiled to myself
as I set off. I walked in a trance, not quite wanting to admit to
myself where it was that I was heading. I followed my feet as they
took me farther and farther out of town, the rain coming down hard
on me, washing away the tension I had been feeling for so long. I
was still warm, my skin repelling the water, much like the feathers
of a duck, but my clothes were sodden, dripping with the icy cold
liquid.

Spotting the edge of the forest, I realised I had already
walked a long way. I sped up as I broke through the trees into the
thick woodlands, listening to the sounds of the night. I heard an
owl stretch her wings before swooping through the inky sky, diving
down low and sinking her claws in to her prey. A mouse I thought,
judging by the accompanied squeak. I heard badgers, maybe half a
mile away, the rumble of cars passing on the duel
carriageway.

And I heard him. His heartbeat. I could pick it out from a
million hearts, I had only ever heard one similar – my own. I
didn't know if I was ready to face him yet. Feeling suddenly unsure
of myself, along with a mild wave of embarrassment at the memory of
running from him at the lake, I continued to walk, not breaking my
speed, ducking branches, jumping fallen trees. I felt him following
and wondered if his eyes were as piercing as I remembered. I wanted
to turn, to face him, to feel his skin on my own, but I was too
afraid. Doing that would open up the possibility that he was right
about Marie being alive, and I couldn't let it be true. It hurt too
much. But being away from him, even though I barely knew him at
all, had broken me even more than I thought possible. I thought I
knew loneliness and pain after losing my parents. Turns out, I knew
nothing. Looking up now, I saw I had nearly reached the lake again,
the grand old yew standing eerily in the dark, almost as if it were
waiting for me to arrive.

The sight of it stopped me in my tracks and I lost the will
to fight against my feelings any longer. It felt as if we were
playing games and I was already sick of it. I needed to be honest
with him and trust that he was doing the same for me. My voice
didn't waver as I finally spoke. “I know you're there.”

“I know you do,” he replied in a voice that had filled my
mind since I had first heard it. It was as beautiful as I
remembered. I turned, not surprised to find him right behind me,
looking at me with those emerald eyes, a half smile on his too
perfect face. “I'm sorry Oriah, I never intended to cause you more
pain. I just...”

“Stop, please! I don't want to talk about it... I can't,” I
breathed, wrapping my arms tightly around my body. Annoyed at
myself for my feisty reaction, I tried to regain control of my
wayward emotions. His eyes met mine for just a second and then
suddenly, before I could even register that he was moving, he
reached forward in one quick motion, grabbing me and pulling me
close into his chest, his arms wrapping around me in a tight hold.
I felt myself calm instantly at his touch, and melted into him
involuntarily, breathing in the smell of his hair, drinking in the
warmth of his skin, holding on to each tiny detail as I made a
silent wish that this would never end.

We stood like statues, the rain slowly subsiding, the lake
sparkling enchantingly under the bright moonlight. I had a million
questions I wanted to ask, so much I wanted to know about him, but
I was determined to keep the serious mood that had been consuming
our relationship at bay for the time being. There would be plenty
of time for talking about the tough stuff later, I
decided.

“So, tell me something fun,” I said looking up at his angular
jaw line, smiling at him properly for the first time.

His eyes twinkled mischievously as he picked up on my playful
mood. “Hmm, something fun...” he pondered, rubbing his palm across
his chin. “Well, I'm faster than you!” he joked, suddenly breaking
away from our embrace and taking off through the trees.

“No way!” I shouted after him. “Let's count that as a head
start shall we!” I laughed as I sprinted after him. It felt so good
to run like this, it had been too long. My legs felt light, free as
they shook off the heaviness of the past few weeks.

I darted around the edge of the lake, and spotting him way
off in the distance, I ran in a loop towards the steep hillside,
bounding up it with gleeful speed to race over the hilltop as fast
as I could physically run. I dived from the opposite end of the
hill, somersaulting in the air and landing gracefully, right in
front of him with a huge smile on my face. Sebastian was running so
fast that he didn’t stop quite in time, his reactions just a tenth
of a second out. Bundling into me, we went crashing through the
air, twirling and tumbling as we fell together, landing in a heap
in the soft mossy undergrowth. I looked up from beneath him and
could see the navy clear sky, a thousand twinkling stars and a
luminous full moon lighting up our little patch of
heaven.

I felt his body tense as he breathed in, smelling my skin, my
hair. His own thick dark curls were full of leaves and twigs, and
gently I reached up, lightly brushing them to the ground with my
fingertips. The silence between us was thick with expectation and I
instinctively looked to his face, desperate to know his thoughts. I
looked into his piercing green eyes and felt as if I had know his
soul for all eternity, though it felt too silly to say
aloud.

“Oriah, you have no idea how long I have waited to find you,”
he spoke, his voice shaking. I pulled him towards me, knotting my
fingers through his hair as if I could stop him from ever leaving.
He moved back smoothly, pulling me up to sit beside him, looking
fiercely into my eyes. “I love you Oriah,” he said
simply.

I felt the bubble in my belly growing out of control now,
ready to burst inside me.
He loves
me.
I had known since I first laid
eyes on him that day on the bus, that I felt the same. The golden
leaves carpeting the forest floor began to swirl and rise up around
us as I leaned in towards him. “I love you too Sebastian,” I
whispered, not breaking eye contact.

BOOK: The Light of Oriah : Burning Jungle - Part One
5.02Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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