“What’s wrong, Red? I lost you there for a minute.”
I laughed. “You had at least fifty-five percent of my attention.”
He leaned forward and kissed my neck. “Well, I better work a little harder,” he said as his lips trailed across the sensitive skin under my chin. “How am I doing now?”
I groaned again; I couldn’t help myself. “Maybe sixty.”
He grazed the corner of my mouth, teasing me.
“Okay, seventy.”
More teasing followed. He was driving me crazy. I arched against him.
“Eighty, ninety, one hundred,” I said breathlessly. “Definitely one hundred.”
And right then I was pretty sure we were going to be late for lunch.
Chapter 14
After lunch it was training time for the half-Walkers and even Lucy was included this time. Although it was going to be difficult to train her, her gift was rare and few knew of its secrets. Lallielle, having grown up with Francesca, was her best bet for information, and she was happy to impart everything she knew. They were currently sitting cross-legged in the grassy area close to the house. Every time I glanced across they looked to be meditating. Brace drew my attention back to the half-Walkers. It was strange having him teach us again, although Fury didn’t seem happy with his hard-ass attitude.
“You have an elemental power, Fury. You need to understand the mechanisms of fire,” Brace said after she’d thrown her book down for the second time.
He’d had Fury and Talina researching the properties of fire and water for the last hour.
“We’re Walkers. Surely the science of humans is obsolete for us?” She pushed her white hair back from her face.
“Once you understand the basic structure and properties of an element you have a much better chance of controlling and developing it. Grantham will be here soon. He spent many years researching minerals to assist his Earth abilities,” Brace said. “He’ll be able to tell you if it’s beneficial or not.”
Fury’s eyes narrowed. I recognized her angry-face but before I could stop her she burst into flames.
“Does it look as if I need any help? How could research improve on my power?”
Her voice lowered into a growl, which fazed none of the Walkers. The blondie twins actually looked fascinated, stepping dangerously close to the heat.
Fury stalked right up to Brace, an intense dislike on her face. “You speak to me like I’m nothing, but I’m powerful. I can burn cities to the ground and reduce you to ash.” The glow of power reflected across her features, distorting them.
She made a move to dive at Brace, who was standing stoically observing her emotional display. I reacted instinctively, leaping between them. But in my haste I misjudged the distance, slamming full-bodied into her intense heat and blue flames.
“Abby!” Voices screamed my name from all directions.
I closed my eyes, preparing to be burnt alive. But there was no pain. As we connected, a golden cord of power leapt from my centre and tethered itself to Fury. The moment this happened, her flames sprang higher and a gold sheen flowed through the blue. We were completely surrounded, the flames even flickering off my skin, but there was no pain, just a pleasant warmth.
We stood there like that for an eternity of moments; I could feel her power reacting to my energy, almost like I could control her. After a while I registered that we were surrounded by a circle of concerned faces. Mouths were moving, but I could hear none of the words.
Oh, my god, what’s happening? I can’t move; I can’t stop the fire.
I picked up the panicked dialogue, realizing it came from Fury. I sent thoughts in her direction.
Firstly, you’re lucky you didn’t touch Brace. If you ever threaten him again, I will end you. I started with the most important point. And I’m guessing we connected. I’m not sure why I’m not a small pile of ash, but we need to turn it off now.
More panic threaded her mind. I can’t pull the flames back; they’re outside my control.
Was I the one in command?
I sent energy along the cord tethered to Fury. Her flames responded immediately, surging to surround us in a radius of five feet. Everyone around us jumped back, except Brace, who stood worryingly close to the flames. I jabbed my arms at him to indicate he needed to back up. Thankfully Colton gripped his shoulders and, with some help from Josian, wrestled Brace out of the danger zone. I could tell by the set of his jaw that my mate wouldn’t be patient for much longer. I needed to stop this.
Instead of feeding power into the cord, I started to draw it back along the tether. Huge influxes of energy rocked through me, trying to find somewhere to rest. I guided it toward the well at my centre, which had always scared me with its depth and intensity. It sucked the energy down, as if it had been dying of thirst and this was a huge glass of water. This continued until the rope tethering us together started to fray. It eventually disconnected, snapping back inside me, and Fury and I fell apart.