Eyes of Light

It had been five minutes of silence as Nick carried me through the forest, trying to find the right path. My arm ached terribly and I winced, leaving him to tighten the knot once in a while. I tried my best not to squirm when his hands had to reposition themselves underneath my thighs. I didn’t want him to drop me, and I knew he wouldn’t, but when you almost die you find the littlest thing the scariest.

The leaves crunched under his feet as he struggled to hop over the logs while hugging me to him. He was still without a shirt, of course, and I tried my best not to stare, especially since it was that close. Maybe his attitude was a little iffy, but he definitely had the looks of a god. I blushed. Sighing heavily, I hung my head back, finding everything that was passing to be upside down.

“You’re going to hurt yourself,” he muttered, his soft voice finally breaking the silence.

I picked my head up and sighed again. I could feel my hair sticking to my cut, a few drops of blood still trickling down. I wanted to wipe it away, but my arm was too busy sticking to his neck so I wouldn’t fall. His eyes met mine for a moment as he walked on and he sighed himself, squinting in the sunlight that peaked through the branches.

“What’s wrong? Am I too heavy?” I questioned, pulling myself closer to him. He shook his head, turning us off the rocky area and onto a dirt path.

“I’m irritated.”

“What did I do?” I asked defensively, furrowing my eyebrows when he chuckled. It was light, almost holding relief.

“Wow, this is strange to say, but it actually isn’t you,” he smirked, his eyes connecting with mine. I narrowed my eyes at him and laughed sarcastically, wiggling in his arms again. “Do you want to walk?” he questioned, raising his thin eyebrows. I quickly stopped and bit my lip, shaking my head.

“Why are you irritated then?” I whispered, tearing my gaze away from him to focus on what was coming ahead. The wind was still, cool against my hot skin, and I breathed in deeply. I needed to clear my lungs. It seemed like the smoke was still around me, making me slightly dizzy. And my lips tingled for some reason.

“I don’t see how the black magic could find us. It may know you now and be able to track you, but how would it know what direction we were in?” he mumbled, shaking his head in frustration.

“So… you think someone’s following us?”

“Not necessarily,” he breathed, picking up the pace once he realized where we were. “The black magic is obviously a witch, but it has to be connected to the council some way.”

“Why though? Because Jeremy knows who I am now and you think he told his dad? That fast?” I asked, getting no response. “I mean… what would his dad do if he’s human-”

“That’s the thing,” he interrupted, his voice stern. “The black magic gets closer to you whenever we tell anyone anything. Sheba knew we were going to see the great wolf. Jeremy knew you were the great witch. The council knows who and where you are because three of them happen to be who we’re staying with.”

His words made sense, but I couldn’t quite understand.

“So you’re saying that Sheba…”

“No,” he sighed, not quite sure what he was saying himself. “Sheba doesn’t have to be the black magic.”

“But you were so set on it before, Nick.”

He licked his lips and stared forward for a moment, slowly opening his mouth, thinking. “The more I think about it, the less sense it makes. If Sheba really was the black magic, willingly at least, she would have already killed you. I can protect you, but once I’m out of the picture, she could take your magic and be on with a plan. She wouldn’t have waited this long and even so, Eve would be out of the picture along with your mother.

“Think about it Lonnie. Eve and Sheba were friends of Rosalind. Why would Sheba go behind the scenes and kill her for magic? She could’ve taken Eve’s and had even more before she got to your mom. Rosalind wasn’t stupid and she knew what was going on… that’s why she hid you until you were needed.”

“Willingly?” I whispered after a moment.

“Remember how I told you that you don’t control black magic? You are black magic?” he asked, getting me to nod. “There’s barely any doubt in my mind as of now that Sheba is the black magic… but something is controlling her…” he trailed off.

“What about Coimbra?”

“No,” he shook his head, his curls swaying as he bit his lip. “Coimbra has no power, he’s a vampire, remember?” Boy did I feel stupid. “But he’s in it somehow. He’s a ploy. He’s keeping Eve busy while Sheba goes out, whether she wants to or not…”

Silence took over again and I tried to wrap my mind around this. Nick thoroughly thought Sheba was the black magic, but he had doubts of her free will.

“Coimbra’s the hunter,” he quickly whispered, almost stopping in his tracks. I looked down at him quickly, breathing in his scent. “Coimbra… he knows what I smell like, especially what you smell like. When we first got there… he was ready to attack, remember?” he questioned quickly, his eyes saying he was slowly piecing this together… in some way. “He lives with Sheba. He’s on the council. He’s a hunter who can track your scent. They have to be in this.”

“Then who are they working for, so to speak? Coimbra works for Sheba; who does Sheba work for and why doesn’t Eve know about this?”

“I don’t know,” he muttered, sighing again. “But all I can think of is that, wherever we go-alone-they’ll always know.”

He let out a grunt and moved to a log that was randomly placed, setting me down gently. His eyes locked mine and I wasn’t eager to let go, but I had to once he started pulling away.

“I think it’s best that we leave Eve’s place and you can train on your own.”

“What?” I hissed, my eyes widening. “Nick… I can’t. I need her help-”

“What has she done so far?” he countered, setting his hands on his hips. “She hasn’t done anything because you have all the power to do it yourself. Lonnie, you can do things that she doesn’t even know about.”

“Where-where are we supposed to go then?” I whispered, suddenly becoming scared. I knew I couldn’t go home and I couldn’t go by myself; I was injured and I hated being alone. Stay with Josh or Anna… they didn’t know anything about this. And we couldn’t stay with his mom. What if they got hurt?

“You’ll be safe, okay? As long as you’re fine then where we stay doesn’t matter. We’ll have to spend a couple nights out here until we can get back to my shed and then we’ll see where we can go. Right now, we might as well leave my bag at my mom’s and go straight for Eve’s. It’ll get dark soon and we’ll have to tough it out, so don’t complain.”

“So we’re spending the night out here? In the middle of nowhere?” I whined, biting my lip. He raised his eyebrows, narrowing his eyes. I put on a fake smile, my mind barely registering the ‘no complaining’ rule. “Great.”

“Now, stay still,” he muttered, bending down to his knees. I watched him grip his shirt that was tied around my arm and rip a piece of in a swift movement. The wind blew gently and I watched him look up, his hand slowly moving to my cheek. He used the cloth to wipe the blood of my cut cheek, pulling back when I winced.

“Ouch,” I breathed, feeling myself begin to panic.

“Calm down. It’s just a scratch. You’ll be okay,” he muttered, but I could actually hear reassurance in his voice. “You’re just shook up.”

“I… I could’ve died, Nick,” I whispered, my voice inaudible compared to the slight whistle of the breeze. I gulped and inhaled sharply as he kept wiping my cut, pursing his full lips. His eyes met mine for a moment and he narrowed them in thought.

“I wouldn’t have let that happen, Lonnie,” he murmured lowly, his face a little lighter.

“You saved my life. I owe you.”

“You don’t owe me anything than what you’re already giving. You’re helping my dad, remember?”

“But I want to do that. It’s not a chore. I still owe you,” I argued slightly, shutting my eyes when I felt his fingertips on my skin, brushing against my temple. I tried to gain my breath but it wasn’t working too well.

He didn’t say anything after that. He just flung the cloth into a bush and bent down, picking me up with a grunt. I swallowed the lump in my throat and gripped his neck again with my free hand, watching as we settled onto the path again.

&&&

The sun began to go down, the clouds seeming to take over, but it wasn’t going to rain. The trees blew in the slight breeze and everything as silent, Nick’s footsteps barely echoing as we walked. I was tired of keeping my head up, so I managed to set it on Nick’s warm shoulder. I was surprised that he didn’t shove it away, he just seemed to grasp me tighter so I wouldn’t fall. Now was about the time I missed my bed in my bedroom, at my house where my father was… scared. I missed Josh at the coffee shop and I knew Anna was probably worried while he was angry. Nick didn’t get to say a proper goodbye to his mom or brothers, or even his pack, and they were probably also worried. This life just had so many limitations. And now I was cold.

“Can we stop now?” I groaned, looking around, my eyes catching a glimpse of the fast darkening sky.

“I guess,” he sighed. I could tell he was tired and wanted to just collapse.

He turned off the grassy path and moved through the trees carefully, trying not to bump my head on any branches.

“You know-” he grunted, keeping up his pace, his arms barely quivering underneath me. “you’re arm is the thing that’s broken, not your legs.”

“You offered,” I smiled dryly, shrugging closer to him. Maybe I was selfish, but I’d take as much as I could get.

“Yeah,” he scoffed, sighing heavily when he found a slightly grassy spot, only a few bushes and trees surrounding it. He leant down and placed me on my bottom, settling on his knees for a moment. “When we get close enough to Eve’s, we’ll go to that river,” he mumbled, falling onto his back with a small thud. It was then I remembered he was seventeen, only a couple years older than me. He seemed so mature. Any woman would be lucky to have him as the years passed--then I remembered; that was me.

“Are you okay?” I whispered, leaning over to make sure he wasn’t dead… or asleep. I didn’t want to be alone.

“Yes,” he answered groggily. He was already ready to go to sleep, but something was missing for me.

“Are you going to sleep already?” I whispered, brushing the hair on my face to settle behind my shoulder.

“Yes,” he grumbled, opening his eyes to focus on me. “So you might want to do the same.”

“It’s early…”

“It’s getting dark,” he shook his head, pointing to the sky. He was right. I could already see a few stars peaking out.

I sighed and twisted my body so I was on my knees, allowing myself to crawl next to Nick. He had no shirt on, his back on the grass. What if he got bit by something? Or got sick if it started to rain? He may be a wolf, but he wasn’t Spider-Man; although…

“What?” his voice interrupted, my eyes refocusing on him.

“Huh?” I breathed, blinking in surprise. He let out a sigh and settled himself on his elbows, his eyes on me.

“You were staring at me.”

I felt my cheeks flame up and I quickly shrugged, wincing at the pain that shot down my shoulder and to my arm. “I was just thinking.” Maybe. “Umm… you know we have another project to do?” I was just trying to make small talk.

He chuckled slightly, shaking his head. “You’re thinking about school work?”

“Well… yeah,” I shrugged, letting out a breath. “I don’t want to live through the black magic attack but then be killed by my dad because my grades suck. Aren’t you afraid of your grades slipping?”

“Why should I care?” he muttered, but I could tell he really did.

“Because… don’t you want to make your parents proud?” I bit my lip when he narrowed his eyes, sitting up fully, his hands gripping the grass tightly.

“I honestly think they’re much more worried about what’s going to happen rather than some stupid school grade.”

“Don’t you, or didn’t you, ever plan on college?” I questioned, looking away nervously.

“No. How would that work? I’m not normal Lonnie. People stare at me like I’m a freak.”

I let out a giggle suddenly, making him give me a confused look, and I had to hold back another laugh.

“You think that’s why all those girls stare at you?” He shrugged, waiting for me to continue. “Nick, they stare at you because you’re a hunk,” I said bluntly, blushing myself, but it was true--not just for me. His cheeks suddenly flamed a bright shade of pink, his eyes locking a tree behind me instead. “And besides, you’re so smart. You could be anything you want. You could be a doctor, a lawyer, a detective!” I grinned, pointing my finger at him. He finally looked back over, his face still flushed, but he rolled his eyes.

“Right, because I can think about crimes during the day, and save them with my wolf powers at night,” he scoffed sarcastically. I smiled.

“Hey, we could be a team,” I laughed slightly. I was surprised to hear his chuckle sound again.

“Goodnight Lonnie,” he rolled his chocolate eyes, plopping his back onto the grass.

I looked up at the now dark sky, my fingers running over the soft blades of grass. The breeze blew them gently and I could smell flowers in the distance. I could see the moon peaking out through the trees, the stars seeming brighter, twinkling slightly. It was hard to believe what had happened earlier when the night was so peaceful… and cold; I shivered.

Sighing, I turned onto my unharmed side, my eyes settling on Nick’s peaceful features through the dark. His eyes were closed and his chest rose up and down slowly, but he had a look of thought and I knew he wasn’t asleep. I shivered once again and found him doing the same, his hand moving up to grasp something that sat around his neck. I squinted to see it, recognizing the sparkling silver as a dogtag, but I was suddenly too tired to question it. Making a quick decision--without thinking--I scooted over until I was close enough, and set my head on Nick’s chest hesitantly, wrapping my arm around him. He tensed up underneath me, and I could feel him move slightly.

“What are you doing?” he hissed. I shut my eyes.

“I’m cuddling,” I murmured, my breath hitting his warm, muscled chest. I could feel him jerk slightly underneath me.

“Why?” he drug out, a strain in his voice. I rolled my eyes and tried not to take it personally, knowing Nick was like that, but I couldn’t help it.

“Because I’m cold and I hate it out here,” I breathed again, trying my best not to get teary-eyed. Sometimes I hated being so in tune to my emotions, wishing I was more like Nick. Or maybe he was miserable deep inside and was good at hiding it. He seemed so distant--to everyone.

He didn’t respond or move, and he hardly breathed, so I started to slip away. His hand rested on my back suddenly, stopping me with surprise.

“Just go to sleep, okay?” he muttered, pulling me a little closer softly.

I smiled to myself and snuggled my face into his skin, inhaling his smooth scent. He seemed to relax just a little and his body began to move with each slow breath.

“Nick,” I whispered suddenly, biting my lip.

“Huh?” he mumbled, his voice low.

“What’s your full name?”

“Why?” he wondered, his voice suggesting I was crazy for asking while he tried to sleep.

“I dunno,’” I shrugged. “Just wanna’ know.” It was silent again before he sighed, moving his hand on my back awkwardly, keeping me from rolling off and onto my broken arm. Could I fix that with magic?

“Nicholas Jerry Jonas,” he whispered finally, his voice so soft and gentle. I smiled.

“That’s a nice name. Mine’s Lilliani Rose Stewart.”

“Pretty,” he mumbled almost inaudibly. I smiled shyly even though he couldn’t see it.

Silence took over once again, the crickets singing in the distance. I closed my eyes and heard his slight breathing, slowly lifting my hand off the ground next to his side to scratch my head.

“Hey Nick?” I whispered, getting him to sigh.

“What?”

“If you weren’t a wolf… what would you want to do? Like, for a living and whatnot?” I whispered, finding myself interested.

“Umm…” he mumbled hesitantly. I could feel him shrug, but I knew he knew. Nick always knew. “I like music.”

“Music?” I mused, setting my hand on his chest, next to my cheek that was warmly pressed against him. He jumped a little. “Like… singing?”

“I don’t know,” he quickly muttered, his voice shy and dismissive.

Once again silence took over and my eyes began to droop, my I found another question. “Nick?”

“Yes?” he asked, his voice slightly irritated.

“Have you… ever kissed a girl?” It was a stupid question, but I couldn’t help but be interested…

“Uh, yeah.” And jealous. His voice was hesitant, kind of shaky, and I furrowed my eyebrows. I guess I wasn’t surprised. He had probably had many kisses.

“Oh,” I muttered, chewing on my lip. “Who was your first kiss?”

“Who?” he asked in surprise, shifting underneath me almost uncomfortably. “No one. Just… go to sleep.”

“But you said-”

“Lonnie,” he warned, his voice hard. I sighed.

“Well, I’ve never kissed anyone,” I muttered, moving my head farther up his chest. “I don’t see why you can’t tell me,” I continued lowly. “I’m your soul mate. You’re supposed to want to share things with me. It’s not even a big deal, really. It’s not like I’m jealous. I mean… I just-”

“Okay!” he growled suddenly, making me jump. “I kissed you! Earlier today, okay? Now just go to sleep.”

His voice slightly echoed with anger and irritation, but I was too shocked to shut up for long. “What?” I coughed, sitting up to look at him. His eyes were open and I could see his cheeks flushed in the dark. “W-when?”

“I-I had to give you CPR earlier, when you weren’t breathing,” he answered, scratching his head. I blinked in surprise and found myself blushing as much as he was, and looked down at my feet. Was that why my lips tingled? Because he gave me CPR?

“Did you… actually kiss me or was it just CPR?” I breathed suddenly.

“Does it matter?” he stressed, gripping his curls tightly, nervously, as he lied there.

“Yeah,” I scoffed, biting my lip. “I-I mean, yes… if it was just CPR, then it wasn’t a kiss-kiss, but…”

“I don’t know. I guess so,” he grumbled. I knew he wanted me to shut up and I knew he wasn’t going to say it outright, so I was safe.

“You guess so what?”

“Damn it Lonnie! I kissed you, okay? I was giving you CPR and you were just… there; and I… I kissed you. It was part of CPR anyway, so it’s not a big deal! Now shut up and go to sleep!” he finally blew, making me jump. My heart was pounding and my breath caught in my throat, my fingertips shooting up to my lips.

And I didn’t even get to kiss him back!?

I took his advice though and slowly lowered my head back onto his chest, biting my tongue so I didn’t annoy him further. I just couldn’t believe he actually kissed me. That was his first kiss? That was my first kiss…

“Hey Nicholas?” I whispered, tapping his chest with my finger.

“What now!” he hissed, clear annoyance in his voice.

“Goodnight,” I murmured, letting off a yawn before scooting closer to him. He didn’t speak for a moment and then I heard him yawn in return, making me smile.

“Goodnight,” he finally whispered, and I found it easy to sleep… despite the conditions of us being outside and Nick shirtless. That wasn’t exactly a bad thing though.

[&&light]

I was surprised when my mind stayed blank through the night, an image not once flashing through my mind. It was very peaceful and such a sigh of relief. Even though the ground wasn’t comfortable, my head on Nick’s chest was.

My eyes fluttered open and was greeted with the bright early-morning sunshine. It couldn’t be more than 7 am and I yawned, slowly lifting my head up to see Nick’s eyes still closed. His hair was messy and his lips were slightly parted. I could feel his hand on my side, keeping me from falling, and I sighed slightly. When I moved again, he stirred, his hand quickly sliding off my back as he shot up, his head hitting mine again.

“Ugh,” he groaned, shutting his eyes tight. I just winced, letting out a yawn.

“Sorry,” I muttered, backing away from him nervously.

“We have to get up anyway, to get to Eve,” he shook his head, opening his mouth wide as a yawn escaped. His eyes were shut and he ran his fingers through his curls, his muscles flexing. I blushed and looked away.

“Does this mean, with all your theories, that we’re going to have to fight more than just the black magic now?” I breathed suddenly, looking up at the clear sky.

“Maybe,” Nick answered dryly, wiping his hands on his pants as he slowly stood. “It could mean anything. Maybe that’s why your mom sacrificed herself. She knew she couldn’t do it alone…”

“Because I have you?” I asked lightly, locking his gaze. His eyes were a little softer and he offered a small smile, but shook his head. At least he looked a little flattered… I hoped.

“Because you have her. Always.”

I knew that was true. Slowly looking down, the bright gold necklace struck out to me, and I settled my fingers on it.

“Come on,” he sighed, bending down to grab my waist. He tugged me up and onto my feet, sliding his hand into mine, lacing his fingers around mine tightly, without a second thought.

“What about school?” I whispered as he pushed through the bushes, looking around.

“We’ll try to go later today. Eve’s isn’t too far away, remember?” he asked, motioning to the slightly familiar surroundings. “We’ll do everything we can, with school and training, but with the black magic coming as quickly as it does… I have a feeling that’s it’s testing the waters.”

“How so?” I blinked, feeling my stomach rumble. But I had to focus on this now.

“It wants to see how you do without training. That’s another reason why I have my theories about Coimbra and Sheba. They know you don’t have proper training and catching you at off times is an easy distraction. If it keeps coming when you’re unprepared, you’ll start to get weak. Whoever this is, is smart Lonnie but you’re smarter. And I’ll do my best to get you through this.”

Thank god for Nick’s theories. At least we were getting somewhere with sense. But now I was nervous.