Healer (The Healer Series) (20 page)

“So, sitting on a porch swing will help me do that?”
I ask dryly.

“Yes.”

We sit in silence
, and after a while, Mickey brings me a glass of unsweetened tea. I sip it, even though it’s awful unsweetened. After a few hours, I actually feel better. It’s nice to sit in the quiet, watching the day pass by, and I’m grateful Sarah hasn’t had any other speculations about me to share.

“When do you eat?” I
t occurs to me I’ve eaten twice and haven’t seen her eat at all.

“It’s almost time for us to eat,
” Rhett responds, walking around the side of the house. Sarah quickly disappears into the house, not acknowledging Rhett as she passes him.

When
Rhett sits beside me on the swing, I stiffen, losing my relaxed mode I had accomplished. His scent is intoxicating, clean and fresh.

“How was your day?” Rhett eyes
me.

“I
shoveled horse manure.” I thumb one of the many blisters on my hands.

“Sarah has a funny way of introdu
cing people to this way of life,” Rhett laughs. “Let me see your hands.” He tries to grab them, but I jerk away as a reflex. “It’s okay,” he assures me. “Just hold your palms out.”

I
hesitantly move my hands in front of him palms up. He places his hands above mine, his palms facing mine but not touching them. Suddenly, a tingling sensation enters my hands. His energy runs through me and when it stops, my hands are soft and healed.

“That’s amazing
,” I gasp, still staring at my hands. “You didn’t even touch me.”

“Blood healers don’t have to.”

“Thank you,” I whisper, still amazed.

“You’re welcome.” He beams a brilliant smile
of immaculate white teeth, and for a moment, he looks human.

“What’s it like?” I
continue to stare at my hands.

“What?”

“Healing the way you do?”

“Oh.” He nods
. “Well, I’m stronger. Healing as I am now doesn’t exhaust me the way it used to when I was human.” He stares out over the field.

“So you get your energy from drinking blood?” I try to hide my
disgust.

He sits back with his arm
extended behind me across the back of the swing, but not touching me. I shift, feeling uncomfortable.

“Yes. We dri
nk blood and we heal.”

“How do you get your blood?”

“From humans,” he laughs.

“
I mean do you just attack people or do you have volunteers?”

“I tell you what. We
usually feed at night. Would you like to see what we do?” he asks, as if he’s inviting me to a political function.

“Uh, n
o, not really,” I stammer, nauseated at the thought.

We sit
in quiet for a moment, with only the sound of the swing creaking as we sway back and forth to interrupt the silence. I let my mind go blank. I don’t want to feel anything. The revelations of the last few days have left me void, to say the least. The only feeling I can muster now is fear. Fear of what lies ahead. Fear of this strange blood healer, Rhett. Fear that I will never have any secrets I can keep from him or Sarah.

Rhett looks peaceful in this setting. He’s
wearing jeans and a navy t-shirt. His dark hair is loose from its slicked back look, which makes him appear younger. If I had to guess his age, I’d say he was in his early twenties. It occurs to me that he may actually be older, but was changed when he was in his early twenties. It’s odd to sit so close to someone and not hear their energy. I never realized how much I would miss that. Without the vibrations and the pitches, I feel lost, naked almost. I can’t help but let the memories I had only hours ago swore to myself I would forget, seep back in. I miss people. I miss my people. I miss Hudson and Whit. They are my twins. Maybe it’s the comfort of them I miss most. I felt like I belonged to something when I was with them. I miss Lucy too. The Lucy I thought she was. What would I do if I could go back, knowing what I know now?

“You are sad.” Rhett speaks softly as he watches me lost in my world of
what ifs
.

“How could I not be?”
Why would he ask such a ridiculous question?

He stands and holds his hand out to me. “Come. I want to show you something.”

I stare at his hand and look up to him.

“Trust me
. You will like this.” He stares down at me, his eyes offering a silent promise no harm will come to me.

I take his hand
, apprehensively, and a sensation runs through me like a cold shock, but it’s completely invigorating. I lose my balance momentarily and have to catch my breath. “What was that?” I ask like a child who just ate candy for the first time, desperate for more.

“I’m sorry.
That’s never happened before.”

“That was…
” I pause, searching for words.
Orgasmic
came to mind, but I wouldn’t dare say that to him. In another rush, fear consumes me.
What did he just do to me?

“I know.” He nods with a slight smile
, as if he knew the exact word I was thinking.

He leads me down the
porch steps and we walk through the field towards the pasture. The sun is setting, and through the wide rays of dusk that beam onto the field, butterflies dance in the light. The air smells of grass and untouched land. Rhett continues to hold my hand and I allow it, not really even noticing it’s happening.

I find myself wanting to run out into the field and b
rush my hand atop the tall wheat that looks so inviting as it sways slightly in the soft breeze. Surely this is what heaven must be like. We make our way to the fence, where Rhett climbs over and turns to assist me, but I climb the wooden rails and hop over with ease. Dancing has helped me gain quite a bit of agility. We stare out into the pasture, taking in the lovely view.

Sarah had taken six
horses out this morning, but I see only two now. “Where are the others?”

“Down by the creek
, behind that wood line. They’ll be back soon.” Rhett points.

“You brought me to see the horse
s? I saw them this morning.”

“Yes, but yo
u didn’t see what they can do.” He whistles and the two horses in sight trot towards us, lining up and meeting in unison. One is white—the one Sarah was so loving with this morning—and the other is chestnut brown. As they reach us, Rhett whistles again, and they halt standing in uniform.

“When I was human
and very young, we had two horses. They were my only friends outside my family.” Rhett rubs the brown horse on his side. The horse turns his head and flicks his thick tail in acknowledgement. “These two I rescued from a farm in Pennsylvania. They were half starved when I found them.” He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a sugar cube which the brown horse eats out of his palm.

“You always carry around sugar cubes in your pockets?”

Rhett glances at me, then back to the horse. “Yes.”

Okay, that’s odd.

“Aren’t you afraid they’ll bite you?” 

Rhett quirks a brow. “Terrified.”

I immediately flush red, embarrassed at how ridiculous my question was.

He walks over to the white horse and pulls another sugar cube from his pocket.

“Would you li
ke to feed it to her?” He holds it out to me.

I step back. “No.”

“Come on. I promise they won’t bite you.” He grabs my arm and I am once again stunned by the electrifying pulse of chills that run through me. “Sorry.” He scrunches his face, apparently feeling it too. He holds out the cube to me, and I take it, eyeing it in my palm.

“Aldo, this is
Esmeralda.” He rubs her large white forehead and stands to her side, allowing me to walk up to her. “Hold your hand flat and your fingers together. She’ll eat it right out of your palm.” He shows me his hand so I can make sure I’m doing it right.

I approach her cautiously and hold my hand the way Rhett sho
wed me. Esmeralda gently rubs her muzzle against my palm and takes the cube. I pet her gently, still unsure of this strange beast.

“Have you ever ridden one?” Rhett watches as I continue to pet the white beauty.

“No.” I shake my head in awe of
her.

“Would you like to learn?”

“Now?” I step back.

“No,” h
e laughs. “But maybe tomorrow we could get you out for a ride.”

“Su
re.” I shrug. “What is this one’s name?” I move towards the exquisite brown creature.

“This is Bruno.” Rhett
pets Bruno’s massive side. When I turn, I see the other four horses lining up beside Bruno and Esmeralda.

“Now I
can show you what I brought you out here for.” Rhett backs away and faces the line of horses. I follow, unsure of what’s about to happen.

“You’re not going
to feed on them, are you?”

“No.” He laughs hysterically. “My
, Aldo, you have quite the imagination.” He continues laughing, and my face heats as embarrassment and anger wash over me. “Okay, I’m sorry.” He tries to compose himself, sensing my frustration.

“Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

“Uno
!” he yells, and Esmeralda stands on her hind legs.

“Dos
!” Bruno follows, mimicking Esmeralda.

“
Tres, cuatro, cinco, seis!” The other four horses follow Esmeralda and Bruno’s lead. All six horses stand on their hind legs until Rhett finally says, “Down.” They all come down at once.

“Th
at was amazing.” I smile and clap.

“Take a bow my friends,
” Rhett orders, and all six horses bow down before us.

“I didn’t know horses cou
ld stand on their hind legs like that for so long.” The magnificent performance seemed almost impossible.

“Yes, well they are highly trained.” He shrugs.

“I see your talents exceed healing and dream walking.”

“You have no idea.” He smiles coyly
, and I blush.

“Esmeralda and Bruno have a few more tricks, but that’s all the six of them can do together.”

I pet Bruno’s large forehead
, and he leans into my hand as if begging for more.

“He likes you.” Rhett’s tone is deep and certain
.

“I have a way with men.”
I roll my eyes.

“I can see th
at.” I’m not sure if he’s joking or not.

What is wrong with me?
  I totally set him up for that one—unintentionally. It makes me think of Whit and Hudson when they used to set each other up for,
that’s what she said
, jokes. It was so obnoxious.

“
We better get them in the barn.” I follow him towards the gate. “Come,” he says loudly.

“I am.” I snap
, annoyed that all day long I’ve been ordered to “come” like a dog by Sarah and now him too.

“I
meant the horses.” He motions his hand in their direction.

“Oh.” I bite
my lip. “Sorry.”

His
lips press together as he eyes me with amusement.

I find myself smiling back
, and then I scold myself internally for behaving this way. This man kidnapped me. He is not a good person. I guess technically, he’s not a person at all.

T
he horses follow us in a single file line. Rhett opens the gate and asks me to run ahead and open the stall doors. All of the horses mosey into their stalls, and we shut the doors behind them. He pets Esmeralda one more time, and we begin walking back towards the house.

The
sun has fallen below the tree line, but it isn’t quite dark yet. My legs itch like crazy from multiple mosquito bites I got while standing out in the field. I keep stopping to scratch on the way.

“Bug bites?”
Rhett questions.

“Yeah, guess they like me because I’m so sweet.”

“I bet you are.” He widens his eyes, and I cringe realizing he’s referencing a desire to drink my blood.

“So, what’s it like?” I clear my throat
, changing the subject.

“What?”

“Well, being turned for starters.” I trot to catch up with him.

He tilts his head as if thinking about how to explain it.
“Scary at first. I thought I was going to die.”

“Did you know they were turning you?”

“Yes, but when you feel your life being drained out of you, even knowing what’s happening, you can’t help but think you might die.” He runs a hand through his thick hair.

“Well technically, you are dead.” I shrug.

He halts and faces me with such ease I barely see him do it. “Am I?” His tone is deep, as if daring me to say yes. His gaze is heavy, and I stumble back feeling the weight of it directed at me.