Kindling (16 page)

“What color was around me?” He asked.

I shrugged. “Greenish.”

He sighed and looked a little sad. Then, he offered me his hand and pulled me up. “Let’s go get something to eat,” he said.

“Is that what’s happening? I’m going through The Coloring?” I asked, following him as he started back down the beach.

“Seems like it’s starting.” He started walking faster. He picked up his strewn shirt and I tried to think.

What had Heike said about the colors? Didn’t all the hunters have the same color? “Are you the same color as the rest of the hunters?” The crowded part of the beach was coming up, so Braith stopped and stepped closer to me.

“We’ll talk about it later, okay?” He was so close I could feel his breath on my cheek. I nodded. “You might start seeing lots of different colors, now. You might be distracted by them. Or you you may not see any more colors for a long time. You’ll figure everything out.” Then, he grabbed my hand and entwined my fingers with his. He led me through the crowd and along to the restaurant.

I felt weird about him holding my hand. I was used to American personal space and he was closer to me than my ex-boyfriend had ever been. It was kind of nice that he was acting like a normal human being. Or, he was acting normal until he spoke, that was.

Once we got passed the crowd of people he leaned into me. “Enjoy this now, sweetheart, cuz you’re not going to get love from anyone else in the next year,” he grinned.

I ripped my hand from his grip. “What, you think this is some honor holding your hand?” I said.

“Yeah, babe, I do,” he called to me. “And you should, too.”

I gave him the dirtiest look I could manage and I almost started a fight but the restaurant was up ahead and I could see Heike sitting on the deck, enjoying a beverage. Braith made his way to the deck and heaved himself over the railing.

Heike glared at him and sighed. “Civilized people go around to the entrance. And are dry before they sit down.”

“Never claimed to be civilized, did I?” Braith growled. Heike huffed. Braith’s sudden change in mood left me annoyed and flustered. I couldn’t read him. His moods were like an adolescent girl with PMS.

I placed my hands on the rails to follow Braith, but Heike interrupted me. “Don’t even think about it, Katja,” he said. “Go around to the entrance.” Braith began to laugh but stopped when he got another glare from Heike.

It took me almost two minutes to find the entrance - which looked like cellar steps - and another minute or so to find the deck. By the time I found Heike and Braith, they were sitting with new drinks and seemed more relaxed.

“Get lost, did ya?” Braith asked. I sneered. “Ordered for you already. Margarita pizza, right? Had them put some grilled chicken on it, too. You need protein.”

“Oh,” I said. I was surprised he knew my favourite dish. Then I remembered he had been following me for two years. “Thank you.” He gave me a little nod. Was it nice or weird that he remembered my favorite food?

“Did you have fun?” I nodded and glanced at Braith. He seemed to be sulking in his chair. Heike cleared his throat. “Katja, I’ve been on the phone trying to make arrangements for you. I’ve decided that you need special instruction, especially since you missed a year of training. So, at first you’ll be studying with a dear friend of mine, Ami Penzik.”

“For how long!?” Braith cried.

Heike glowered. “Until he releases her from training.” He emphasized every word and gave Braith a stare that could freeze death. “Is that understood?” Braith didn’t answer.

“Who is Ami Penserk?” I ask.

“Ami Penzik,” Heike corrected. “Ami is an amazing fighter. He’s ...” Heike paused and examined my face. “He’s a Kindler.”

“A Kindler!?” I yelled. Heike hushed me and I quieted. “You said there weren’t any others!” I hissed

“There are no other active Hunters who are also Kindlers. Ami is a teacher. He’s been waiting for another Kindler for a very long time. He’s excited about training you.”

“Yeah, I bet he is,” Braith grumbled.

Heike’s eyes burned into Braith. “Anyway, I’m not going to bring you in with the boys just yet. I feel you need ... you need more training and more protection right now. You’ll train with Ami until he confirms you can begin training with the other trainees. I’ve arranged for you to stay with one of the families, Mrs. Walters and her three children.”

“The Walters?” Braith stared at Heike.

“I think Katja will be a useful comfort in certain situations.” Heike glanced quickly at Braith, who nodded and said nothing more. Some unspoken conversation occurred that I wasn’t privy to.

“Mrs. Walters is a very nice woman. She’s got one son on the field Hunting and another one in training right now. I believe she’s got an older daughter and two younger children. She’s a lovely women, you’ll be comfortable there, I think.”

Our meal came and we began eating. “Where do the other students stay? The boys?”

“In a dormitory,” Heike said.

I thought about this for a minute. “And I can’t stay in the dormitory?”

“I would not want to compromise your integrity or theirs, Katja,” he said. He stared at me like I was an idiot.

I didn’t understand, so Braith elaborated as eloquently as he could. “He don’t want no rootin’ going on,” he said. “You know, fucking.”

“Oh!” I said. I was so disgustingly naive and I could feel my face redden. My pizza suddenly became incredibly interesting.

“You’ve always had a way with words, Braith,” Heike smiled.

Braith laughed. “See, I told you. She’s as innocent as can be.”

We ate the remainder of the meal in relative peace. Although I had a million questions, there was no more talk of training. I don’t know if they thought I couldn’t handle all the information at once, but Braith and Heike quickly changed the subject and talked about soccer for the rest of our meal. I felt okay with that, since my embarrassment didn’t quell until we were completely done with our meal.

Finally, the driver appeared next to our table. “O barco, senhor,” he said to Heike, then walked away.

Heike nodded. “Shall we?” He gestured to the doorway. Braith and I followed him down the dock to a large ferry. The driver had already pulled the car in. “I apologize for leaving you, but I have some business to attend to. Cell phone reception isn’t great on the island, so I need to make a few calls now.” Heike smiled and patted my shoulder. “Go up top. It’s much cooler.” He nodded to Braith and we walked up the stairs to the second floor of the ferry, where it was still stifling hot as the ferry hadn’t begun to move.

I was really uncomfortable around Braith and avoided eye contact as much as possible. From his going to have sex with a girl on an airplane to his wildly fluctuating moods to the sex conversation in the restaurant, I was feeling pretty awkward around him. And, on top of that, I kept thinking about him stalking me for the last two years. How had I not noticed him? What kinds of stuff did he see? I felt myself begin to redden again until Braith patted me.

“What’s wrong now, princess?” He asked, leaning back on his seat. A ring of moisture formed around his shirt collar. It was incredibly warm. I shrugged and answer. “Come, now. I’m going to be one of your only buddies for a long time. Tell your Bee-ef what’s that matter.

I looked at him and he was grinning his annoying smiles. One of his teeth were slightly crooked, which made me feel a little better. He wasn’t completely perfect. “You followed me for two years,” I said.

“Shit,” he sighed. “I was hoping you weren’t going to bring that up.”

“You followed me. It’s embarrassing. You must have seen things I wouldn’t be very happy about,” I said.

“You’re awfully vain, aren’t you?” He asked.

I was going to protest, but saying I wasn’t vain was a lie. I was a completely vain, American girl. “Yeah, I’m vain. So what? You’re the most vain person I’ve ever met.”

Braith laughed but didn’t say anything else.

“Seriously, Braith. Answer me,” I whined and I knew I was whining. He was enjoying me acting so childish but I didn’t care. I felt, I don’t know, violated and I deserved some answers.

“You never asked a question. How can I answer you if you never asked me a question?” He smirked.

“Fine,” I said. I tried to formulate my words as carefully as possibly. “When you were following me for the past two years, what did you see?” I asked.

“I don’t know, Kit, I followed you. I wasn’t writing down everything you did. It was just to protect you,” he said. He could tell I wasn’t pleased with that response. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“To me it is,” I grumbled. The boat began to move and we were quiet as it shifted into gear. The cool breeze immediately picked up. It felt refreshing on my sweaty skin.

Braith sighed. It was almost inaudible over the hum of the boat engine. “What I saw was a girl who is adored by her family. I saw a girl who treated her friends better than they treated her. I saw a girl try to make everyone happy but neglected to think about herself so much that she ignored all the signs that her best friend was sleeping with her boyfriend.” He paused, maybe expecting me to react. I didn’t react, so he continued. “I saw an amazing family who did everything in their power to keep you from this fucked up world of hunting. You shouldn’t be so concerned about what others think of you. It’s not embarrassing to be with your family.” He paused again and tried to read my face. “Is that what you want to hear, Kitty? Because I could go on.” He stared at me and I didn’t respond for almost a minute.

“I knew Allie was cheating on me with Roberto,” I mumbled.

“What?” he cried. “Are you serious?” I nodded. “Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you do anything?”

I shrugged. “Roberto didn’t mean that much to me and I wanted my friend back,” I said. He furrowed his eyebrows and examined my face. I could tell he couldn’t read me and, in all honesty, I didn’t know how I felt, either. Everyone knew when I was embarrassed - I was painted red every time - but I guess other times I had a pretty unreadable expression and I knew this puzzled him. I wasn’t completely satisfied with his answers, but I didn’t think I’d get much more out of him. In fact, I didn’t know if I wanted to get much more. He was being really nice, for once. “You like mi familia?” I asked.

Braith nodded, still trying to read me. “Yeah, you’re family is really amazing.”

“I’m lucky,” I agreed. “My parents are great.” He smiled. “What’s your family like?” I asked.

He laughed a little. “Not like yours,” he said. “Never knew me mum but my father ... well, you’ll meet him. He’s a real interesting bloke.” Braith scowled a little at the thought of his father.

“You don’t get along with him?”

“Not one bit,” he said.

“Why?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Ciaran is ... He’s something else. He left me in Australia till he dragged me out here. Then him and his son made my life hell. Then his son died and he blamed me. Ciaran didn’t like me to begin with and never lets me forget who should have been lost out there.”

“Oh,” I said, because I didn’t know what else I should say. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “Don’t be. I have a great adopted family. And I don’t usually let Ciaran bother me. I think what you have is just nice, that’s all.”

I nodded. “It is nice.” We paused and watched the water fly by. “Your father, does he not like you because you’re green?”

Braith let out a long and annoyed sigh. “That’s got a bit to do with it.”

“Why?” I asked. “What does green mean?”

He stood and leaned against the rail, deep in thought. “I’m a Dhampir,” he said, as if I would somehow magically understand a word I had never heard before. Although, I sort of remembered Heike mentioning it when he told me about The Coven of Hunters.

“A what? What’s a Dhampir?” I asked.

“Shit, I forgot you don’t know.” He sat back down next to me. “I’m half vampyre, Kit. My mum was a vampyre.” He closed his eyes and sighed.

“Oh!” I said. “Is that bad?"

"You find out I'm half vampyre and you wonder if that's bad?" He asked.

"I don't know. What do you want me to say?” I said. “You’ve been around me for two years. Heike and my father seem fine with you. Are you saying you’re dangerous or something?"

He paused and looked at me kind of funny. “Not unless you’re a vampyre. I’m lucky. I’ve got the best qualities from both a hunter and a vampyre. It makes me a Vampyre Tracker extraordinaire.”

“Isn’t that, like, the shit over here?” I asked. “I mean, killing vampyres is what you people do, right? So you’re awesome?”

“Are you kidding?” He said, anger briefly flashed across his face but then he softened. “I keep forgetting, you don’t know.” He inhaled. “In our world I’m a social pariah. If anyone forgets, Ciaran makes sure to remind them who my mother was. Dhampirs usually don’t live long if they even survive through the pregnancy and, then, it’s a draw of the straws what the kid is like, you know? Too many are blood hungry and starve or the mothers just drown ‘em.” I gasped and he smiled a little. “It’s best, Kitty. It’s not much of a life for the blood hungry ones.” He looked away.