The Solar Flare (33 page)

     He handed her a small black case containing a handgun that shot red laser bullets, similar to what she had seen the space pirates use on E.S. Number One. He used his own larger gun to demonstrate how to aim, where the safety was, and the indicator showing how many blasts she had left before it was depleted and needed to be re-charged. He held up the weapon and aimed at the target area, which was made up entirely of a black gel-like substance. The target was a giant black and white bulls-eye, also made up of some type of gel. James explained that it would absorb the laser bursts so that they would not bounce off and hit other objects or people.

     “I’m not sure if I could even shoot at another living thing,” she said softly.

     “You would if you were desperate, or if your own life or one of someone you loved depended on it,” he answered sternly.

     Cautiously she held up the gun and aimed towards the target. She pulled the trigger once and one bulle
t burst from the weapon with a little kick. It was so fast it surprised her. The laser flew through the air and missed the target completely, leaving a small plume of smoke where the energy hit the gel on the ground further away. The group chuckled a little bit as Ava stared in disbelief.

     “Here, let me show you.” James stood closely behind Ava and put his arm around her to place his hand over hers on the gun.
He bent down to instruct her. “Look through the front sight here to aim. You want to line up the front sight with the notch in the rear sight. The front sight should be centered in the rear sight’s notch. Then the top of the front sight should usually be level with the top of the rear sight. Hold steady as you fire. Pull the trigger once. It will kick back a little, so be prepared for that. If you hold down on the trigger, it will keep firing . . . but we’ll try that later.”

     “Okay,” she said with some uncertainty. She stood there with James and looked through the sight as she took her aim with him steadying her hand and pulled the trigger. This time she hit the outer rings on the target.

     “Good. Let’s practice this for a while,” he removed his hand form hers and stepped back. She continued to aim and shoot over and over. The others were doing their own target practice at some of the other stations and in some of the other rooms. James had told her that the group regularly practices about once a month to keep their skills up. Even though they lived in peace at this time, they were always prepared to help defend the planet from other Asterions or unforeseen enemies if need be. After what happened on Kyanos, Ava could understand.

     As the group finished up for the day Ava asked them a question. “So if I were to face off with an Asterion, how would I know if they were dead? When should I stop shooting? You all heal so fast. . .”

     “If you find yourself in that situation, just keep shooting until there is nothing left,” James said simply.

     “Nothing left of the Asterion, or nothing left of the ammo?”

     “Whichever comes first,” he said authoritatively.

     Ava pondered this while James retrieved the case for
her weapon. She placed it back inside after powering it down and handed it back to him. He gestured at her. “It’s yours. We’ll practice again next week with moving targets.” She looked at him in disbelief, wondering why he would trust her with a weapon. A few months ago she might have tried to threaten him with it, but now, she had no fear, and did not feel angry with him.

     Friday arrived. Ava had not seen much of James or the other band members as they prepared and rehearsed for the concer
t. Lizeth came to pick her up since James had left early to oversee the set up of some of the equipment. She handed Ava an armband that identified her as a V.I.P. guest with back stage access and front row seating. The outdoor theater had been filled to the brim with people. They sky threatened rain all day but the risk seemed to have blown over. She could not remember the last time she had seen so many people together in one place at one time. The noise and cheering excited her.

     Lizeth parked and led Ava past security into the back stage area. The gang seemed relaxed and at ease, sitting back and enjoying a few drinks before the show. James rose when Ava walked in. “I’m glad you’re here, would you like a drink?”

     “Sure . . . this is so exciting. I wanted to see you on Orionis when you came, but I . . . wasn’t able to.” She regretted saying it as soon as it was said. That was probably awkward for me to say, she thought, remembering how Wesley had taken her away to prevent James from discovering her. If he felt slighted by that remark, she did not read it upon his face. She didn’t know why, but she felt nervous standing there with him. She took the drink from him and sipped on it, taking in his appearance.

     James was back in all black. Dark black boots under black leather pants with a black belt and dark silver buckle. He wore a plain black T-shirt with his cross hanging as usual from his neck. His hair had some slight waves to it from picking up the humidity in the air. They chatted for a few minutes as the opening band played and then it was time
for the stage hands to clear it out for Geodesic.

     “Let’s take our seats,” Lizeth said as she looped an arm through Ava’s, leading her towards their seats. She, Ava, and Melanie had seats together in the center of the front row. Melanie handed Ava some black ear plugs. “Here, you’ll need these.”

     “Why? Are they that loud?” Ava yelled over the crowd.

     “Trust me, you’ll be able to hear them just fine,” she shouted with a laugh as she put her own plugs in.

     The lights dimmed and the stage went dark. Then, Blayke, Emma, Lucas, Nicholas, and finally James took their places on the stage and started playing. The entire crowd stood, and remained standing. Ava could feel them more than she could see them. The lights gradually came back up as the music picked up. Lights and lasers of different colors, patterns, and images pulsed along with the music. They started out with a strong song and an aggressive pounding beat. The crowd went wild as James started to sing, playing the electric guitar simultaneously. Ava had never heard him sing in person before and was completely spellbound by his voice. The band stayed focused on their performance and at the same time seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves. Their songs ranged from heavy fast beats with complicated lyrics and chorus to slower, mellow tunes equivalent to what would be a ballad. Blayke and Emma would sometimes sing back-up and chorus. Some songs were completely instrumental. Ava couldn’t identify some of the instruments that were being played, but recognized several of them from James’ music studio at the house.

     Some of the music sounded like what Ava
would call “old school” but most of it was more electronic and modern. It seemed that the crowd loved all of it, dancing, singing, and swaying with the beats. Occasionally during the concert James would lock eyes with Ava; otherwise his gaze swept over the audience or was occupied on his instruments as he moved around the stage. She could sense that even though he was performing, he was still perceptive to the large crowd, alert for any type of a threat to her.

     After about forty-five minutes
, the band re-treated back stage for an intermission. The others re-joined them. Everyone was sweaty and in a great mood. Ava went over to James, who swept her into a quick hug and released her, keeping his hands on her shoulders.

     “Are you having a good time?”

     “It’s awesome! I had no idea you guys were so good!” She gushed.

     “Is there anything that you would like us to play?”

     Ava thought for a moment. She remembered the name of the song she had heard at the party with Elaine back on Orionis, when she first heard his voice, and asked him to play it.

     He smiled. “I’d love to, what do you think guys?” He looked at the band.

     “You got it!” Blayke said enthusiastically, taking a long sip of his water. A few minutes later the audience was back in place and the band began to play again. Several songs went by and they still did not play Ava’s request. She started to think that they had forgotten about it and then James took the mic and announced that this would be the last song of the evening. Ava smiled as she immediately recognized the song she requested. Contrary to what usually happens, it sounded even better in person than on her music player.

     After the
song ended, the group withdrew back stage and the crowd continued to cheer for an encore. After two to three minutes the band came back out and played three more songs. After the last song ended, James introduced each band member and then finally himself before thanking the audience. The lights went down and the performers left the stage. When the lights went back up, the stage hands appeared and started to take down the equipment. Melanie, Lizeth, and Ava waded through the crowds to join the group back in the V.I.P. lounge. Several other fans who were lucky enough to get backstage passes were hovering over the band.

     Three young women and a few young men surrounded James asking for
autographs and taking pictures while more fans were crowded around the rest of the group. Ava stared at the gathering of people, surprised at how jealous she felt as some of these women flirted with James and the bolder ones occasionally touched him. James looked up at her and gestured for her to come to him, which she did not hesitate to. He slung his long arm around her waist as he continued to talk to the interviewers and fans. One reporter even snapped a few photos of them together.

    
After almost an hour, the crowd cleared out and the group disbanded for the night. Ava hitched a ride with James in his Vela back to the house. Once at home, the lights illuminated as they entered. The rain that had held off for the performance finally began to fall.

     “Have a drink with me,” James said casually as they walked through the kitchen. It was late, after midnight, but she wasn’t tired.

     “Okay,” she said quietly.

     He opened the fridge
and removed some juice while she retrieved a couple of glasses and sat at the breakfast bar. Then he went to the pantry and came back with at least two types of alcohol. He poured a bit of each into a shaker with ice and then poured them each a small glass. “Let’s go into the family room,” he suggested, holding a glass out to her. She followed behind him as he led the way.

     He
offered a toast as they sat down on the couch. “To your first Geodesic concert on Sphene, cheers!”

     “Cheers
,” she repeated, raising her glass and taking a sip.

     The sat in silence for a few
tense minutes before they started chatting about the concert. Ava had noticed that over the last week or so their encounters together had grown much more familiar and intimate. They found themselves lingering over dinner, talking about their lives, getting to know one another better.

    
She was relieved when James started talking and told her about how they started the band and how long they had been writing music. He talked about some of his favorite artists over his long history, some of them she had heard of, and some of them she had not. Ava finished her drink and set her glass down. She couldn’t figure out why she suddenly felt a little nervous. The storm outside had picked up and she wandered over to the window to peek out. After a few moments she could sense that he had drifted over to her, so that he was just behind her. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders, then slowly slid them down her arms to connect with her hands. His touch sent a thrilling sensation right into her core. She closed her eyes as her pulse quickened and squeezed his hands back.

     She could feel the connection between them, warm and strong. He released her hands and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close to him. She leaned back into him, letting him hold her
, his energy penetrating her. They stayed like this for several moments before she placed her hands over his and eased his hands away from her and then broke their connection. She felt conflicted. Being with him felt so right, and yet wrong at the same time. She turned to face him, looking up at him. Her eyes searched his, looking for something. Was it acceptance? Confirmation? Love? Reassurance? Suddenly she felt very calm, as if the struggle had ended. She had sensed all of those things and more. She had no idea why she had always been so sensitive to him or why at this moment she could sense everything he was feeling. His emotions burned inside of him and he wanted her. He needed her. His emotions radiated that had never loved anything or anyone as intensely as he loved her.

    
Their first meeting and the events that had followed left him with such little hope that she could ever feel any sort of love for him. Now, things had changed and he could sense her emotions. She did feel very strongly for him. Slowly he embraced her again, pulling her gently to him. She looked up at him and he down at her. Without hesitating he pressed his mouth against hers, kissing her passionately. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body into his, returning his kisses with the same intensity. His hands glided over her back down to her bottom and to her legs and back up underneath her shirt. His energy burned against her skin as he touched her, thrilling her. She ran her hands through his hair and then down over him savoring the ferocity of his energy. Kissing him felt so good, so carnal, she thought. It was as if it was remedying a need somewhere deep inside her. Wesley shares the same energy, a little voice whispered somewhere from the back of her mind.