Written in the Stars of Heaven

I never bothered to tell Nikolai that I was mostly able to walk again. I’m sure he knew, seeing as how he could so easily tell that I couldn’t before. But for some strange reason, he didn’t say a word, only carrying me along without a complaint. Not even from his arms. I’d have thought that after a couple minutes carrying someone, no matter that she was so small, his arms would at least be somewhat shakey. Nope. Not Nikolai. It was like I wasn’t even a burden on those hard, toned muscles.

When we finally came to a stop, I lifted my head up from where it had been resting on his shoulder. I didn’t know how much time had passed since we were a mile away, but this seemed to be a good place for a Jeep to be hidden. The trail tapered off into a narrow, rough dirt road, thick brush and vines in a chaotic mess on either side. It seemed almost too perfect… But who was I to judge. I was just ready to be able to get off my feet and drive. Then my mind could be occupied with more dire issues than the state of my poor, weakening body.

“This it?” I asked to make sure before I let myself get too excited.

“We’re finally here,” Nikolai breathed, seeming just as pleased by this information as I was.

“How do you know for sure?” I asked out of curiosity.

“I can feel it. The vibrations, remember?”

“Right.”

“Blaze, Avan, and Reyleigh, get the branches off the Jeep. I think we’re all ready to get this over with.”

My heart dropped at his ‘get this over with’ attitude as he set me back on my feet and went over to help. I should have known that’s how Nikolai would see this whole thing. Hell, I did know. I’d just foolishly let myself believe that maybe he was starting to warm up to me over the past few days. Whatever. I wouldn’t even let it get to me.

Brows pinched into a frown, I stood with my arms crossed as the boys worked to get the car cleared.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Leona asked, moving to stand closer to me.

“What?” I asked with a sigh, having no energy to fight with her.

“How he acts like we’re nothing more than pawns in this game of his life. Just another player to used to reach his ultimate goal.”

Damn, when did Leona get so insightful? Or a ticket into my innermost thoughts?

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Cut the crap, Melani,” she said without quite so much venom as usual. “I can see that you’re making the same foolish mistake I made. Don’t let those looks fool you. He’s not what you think.”

“Then what, pray tell, is he?” I snapped. Who asked her to warn me? Last time I checked, that would have been no one.

“He only wants to free his mom. He’ll do whatever it takes to get her out. Even if that means sidling up to you. His act is perfect, I have to say. Other than those insensitive boy moments, like this one, where he forgets that he’s supposed to be Mr. Sweet-Hero and treats you like everyone else.” The entire time, she was shaking her head like it was so tragic.

“How would you know? Did he seduce you into this gig?”

“No. His father ordered me to accompany him here. Blaze too. He thinks that Nikolai is secretly letting Herllow go, so we’re supposed to report our findings when we return. Our Russian will face adequate punishment.”

Well, I hadn’t seen that one coming! “Are you going to do it?”

“What?” she asked, having gone off on some private thought.

“Are you gonna tell him he let Selena and the boy go? And that he plans to let Avan and Reyleigh go when it’s safe?”

“Haven’t decided yet. Blaze is already against the idea, but I’m not so sure. I’ll probably do whatever benefits me most in the end. It would be fair, right? He uses that damn charm on me all the time.”

“Poor girl,” I rolled my eyes. “Does Nikolai know that’s why you’re here?”

“Nope. He thinks his dad was worried about him being too serious and hoped that Blaze and I could up his spirits. Yeah right.”

That was pretty cruel. Or at least I thought so. But my father had done some nasty things too.

“But that’s not my point with all of this. What I wanted to tell you was to be careful. Nikolai will do anything to make sure his mom is free. Don’t let him pull you in.” Patting my shoulder with a little too much force, she went to pretend to help the guys with the Jeep, leaving me with a million questions.

Everytime I thought we’d had a connection… was all of that fake? Was he pretending to befriend me? Was everything I’d felt been no more than an act for him? The near-kiss in the mud, the comment about not letting anyone have my blood, those looks he thought I didn’t see? Was it all just to get me to cooperate?

Suddenly, it made so much sense. Of course it was! Everything was so false, I couldn’t believe I’d fallen for it before. Why would he really like me? It was all to make me do what he wanted without a fight. Well, I’d show him a fight. Just wait. I was going to get the hell out of his custody and make everything he’d done be for nothing. He probably didn’t even have a mom in prison. It was most likely some fabricated sympathy story designed to make me pity him. It was all about the money and glory. Worthless pig. I’d show him. I’d show them all…

“Melani, come roll this tarp up,” Nikolai called, oblivious to my radiating anger.

Doing my best not to give anything away, lest they anticipate an escape, I refrained from stomping as I moved to oblige him. “A 'please' wouldn’t have hurt,” I mumbled.

The others were busy moving the huge branches out of the black Jeep’s path. Even in my anger, I had to admit I was impressed. Kendyll went through a phase where he was all about off-roading, so I’d been forced to endure hours of his babbling. Because of this, I knew that the beauty that rested before me was a 2009 4-door lifted Jeep Rubicon. The ultimate rough terrain vehicle. At least according to Kendyll.

“Ready?” Avan bounced over next to me.

“My God, you have no idea,” I gasped, scrambling to the passenger’s side.

“You get back Melani,” Nikolai ordered, seeing or ‘feeling’ my haste to get shotgun.

“What? Why?” I whined.

“Security. Blaze, Leona, you get either side of her. Avan gets front and Reyleigh rides in the storage section in the very back. No complaints,” he said, cutting off my unformulated protests.

Glaring daggers in the back of his head, I followed instructions and climbed in the most uncomfortable seat in the entire Jeep. Except maybe the back. Poor Reyleigh.

The second I was fully situated, wet jacket and shoes stuffed on the floorboard, I took back the comment about this not being comfortable. It wasn’t anything more spectacular than a regular car’s seat, but I was so sore and exhausted, a stone bench would have seemed like a fluffy cloud. Even Blaze and Leona squishing me wasn’t enough to ruin this.

“So, are we just driving non-stop? When are you gonna sleep, Boris?” I asked once Nikolai started the ignition. Yeah, I was still mad at him, but it wasn’t smart of me to make that a known fact. I’d have to act my ass off.

“We’ll stop in the towns we go through. As much as I’d like to hurry, sleeping in these cramped quarters isn’t going to work.”

That was a relief. The mere thought of a bed made me ache with longing. I’d never take them for granted again.

I settled in, leaning my heavy head against the back of the seat as Nikolai pulled onto the path and began our bumpy ride. The heat blasting from the vents shot back into my face and I let a quiet sigh leave my lips. It was so nice to be able to relax, to curl up into a ball and revel in the warmth. Everything hurt, but simply being able to sit and rest worked wonders.

“Any music?” I asked, voice thick from the groggy haze that had overtaken me.

Avan reached out to fiddle with the dial on the dashboard, but only static filled the speakers. “Sorry. No radio reception this far in the woods,” he told me, sounding like he actually felt bad about that. I was touched that he noticed and could acknowledge what I was going through, and cared about it. He seemed to have really wanted to be able to provided even the little joy music could bring me. I had to say, I was growing quite fond of that boy.

“It’s cool,” I smiled back at him, hoping to ease his guilt. “I don’t need it.”

Letting my heavy eyelids close, I began to hum a lullaby my mom used to sing to us. It was only the piano trilling its soft, melodious wonders with no words, but over the years I learned to hit the notes perfectly and sometimes even made up my own lyrics. I’d managed to find the track on the internet when I was about 13 and listened to it every night before I went to bed since then. This and my necklace were all I truly had left of her. Every time I’d hum it, I would feel close to her. Almost as if she were really with me.

I lulled myself to a steady slumber with that tune, feeling the sweet tendrils of sleep pulling me under.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Standing in an unending expanse of green meadow, I felt the wind rustle my loose hair. The tall blades of grass tickled my bare calves as they danced in the breeze. I stared up into the brilliant blue of the cloudless sky, feeling the warm sun beating down on my arms. The bright yellow sundress I was in fluttered against my skin. This, I thought, was what Heaven was. It was perfect.

Only, when my mother appeared in front of me out of no where, I decided I hadn't known what I was talking about. This was Heaven. It couldn’t exist without her. And finally, here she was.

“Mommy!” I called, lifting my legs and setting off in a full out sprint. Nothing else mattered, but reaching her.

I ran on for what seemed like hours, but she never grew closer, the distance between us never shortening. It was like I was on a treadmill, wasting all of my energy but covering no ground. I was stuck in this place and she was just out of reach. I could see her, but never touch her. Never smell her sweet, flowery scent or feel her loving arms around me. She was right there, but I couldn’t cross those few yards.

In a panic, I began screaming out her name, crying for my mom to come and save me. I was wrong before. This place wasn’t Heaven at all. It was Hell.

Sinking to my knees in defeat, I let the outpouring of tears burst. Warm rivulets of saltwater spilled from my eyes, staining my cheeks. I needed to reach her, but I just couldn’t do it. I-

“Melani! Mel, wake up!” an outside voice shouted, sending my world into a shaking mess.

Prying my eyes open, I realized that I’d been dreaming. The tears though, were real. My eye lashes stuck together and my cheeks were wet.

“Mel, get up!” the voice commanded. It was Avan, turning around and violently jostling me.

“What’s your problem?” I demanded, but the reply wasn’t necessary. The moment I looked out the front window, I knew what was going on. This was another Herllow Hunter attack. And Nikolai and his troops didn’t seem to be fairing very well.