Amaretto Flame (23 page)

She is beautiful. She's more than beautiful.
Anyone looking at her could tell you that, but there's something
else. Her face is as smooth as glass and just as cool, and I think
that even if the world was burning down around her, she'd still
wear that same expression.

The most beautiful part of her, though, is
when something makes her lose the cool facade. Then the song stored
away in her gray eyes comes to life and it's as if I can really
hear the music. I've seen this happen a few times now, and I find
myself trying to think of things that might make it happen
again.

When she was a little girl, her mother tried
to end her life. Ten shimmering scars tell the story that I still
don't really know, but I can't help but recognize the similarity -
even though Olivia is so very different from me. Sometimes I think
she materialized out of a dream...that I might have created her
myself. She is everything cool, soft, and sweet...like a rain
shower in the middle of a stifling day. Is she real, this little
slayer with the hold on me?

In the quiet of the room, I let burning tears
slide from my eyes, held the paper close to my chest, and let the
darkness take me.

When I woke up, I could tell that many hours
had passed. I still had the writing from Jackson's book clutched in
my hand. I glanced out the thick curtains to see that it was
nearing twilight, and the smells of food reached me even on the
second floor of the house, making my mouth water. Instead of
running right down the way I wanted to, I stole some of the clothes
Sylvia had brought with her and took a long shower in the guest
bathroom.

As the steamy water loosened the tight
muscles that my long sleep hadn't fixed, I thought about what
Jackson had told me. He hadn't really betrayed me! I thought about
the words he'd written; the ones Paula had read. He said I had a
hold on him, and remembering this sent my heart racing. I finished
my shower and got dressed. Sylvia's jean shorts and t-shirt fit
better than Claire's clothing had, and I pulled her brush through
my hair before going downstairs. I needed a distraction from
thinking about...things, and what better than trying to come up
with a way to survive?

The entire gang was in the kitchen again,
seated around the table and passing around dishes of glazed chicken
that smelled spicy and sweet, rice with slivers of vegetables,
buttered rolls, and various other treats. I inhaled deeply.
“Charlotte's been cooking,” I said, rubbing my stomach. I was
greeted by 'good mornings' and an 'it's alive,' from Perry.

“There's really not room because we sort of
thought you'd died up there,” Sylvia said with a playful smirk.

“It's a good thing Everett, Max and I decided
you'd be the first sacrifice to the Goddess if things got tough,” I
joked, winking at Joshua, and then felt a pang reminding me that
Max wasn't here.

I sat down in the empty chair and bragged
about Charlotte's food until she was blushing, eating my fill
slowly. Dinner was a lighthearted event, with my siblings joking
back and forth, and the older coven members talking about
happenings in the world other than Venator. While none of these
were particularly joyful topics - the Wise Ones' growing unrest
about human intolerance, the Aylwen Prophecies, and more - they
weren't terrifying.

When the dishes were cleared away, Perry was
the one to say what we'd all been thinking, but didn't want to say
ourselves. With a big sigh, he looked around the table.

“There's no telling how much time we have,
but the fact remains that we need to come up with a plan. There's
just no way we can fight the Venator by hand.” He glanced quickly
at Sylvia and I easily followed his train of thought. A large
portion of us didn't have powers meant for battle.

Jackson furrowed his brow. “Olivia can't
handle all of them by herself. The amount of energy it takes from
her is astounding.”

“Absolutely not,” Ivanna agreed. “She'd kill
herself before she took out half of them.” I didn't want to admit
this, but it was true. It had taken a long time to recover from the
last couple of times fighting the Venator and those were just
scouts; not hunters bent on capturing or killing an entire family
of Wise Ones. Still, Jackson's words gave me a possible idea.

“We also have to think about their magick,”
Everett said. Venator had magick as well, and we'd have no way of
knowing what powers they might be bringing with them. I drummed my
fingers on the tabletop quietly, trying to gauge just how much
strength was truly inside of me.

“What if,” I began, gathering the attention
of my family, “the Venator were injured when I killed them?”

There was silence for a moment and then Perry
said, “What are you getting at, Livvy?”

“Well, I know I don't have the energy to take
them out with full life forces, but what if they were significantly
injured when I attempted it? I think I'd have the power to do it.
Sure, it'd be pushing myself past what I've done, but each time I
kill, I grow stronger. I should be strong enough to do it.”

I could see Perry was at least entertaining
the idea; trying to work it out in his mind as well. Ivanna still
looked as though she were trying to figure out precisely what I
meant.

“Olivia, how could we guarantee they'd all be
injured before you took them on? Like Everett said, we don't know
what kind of magick they're bringing. In addition to that, the
Venator will most likely scatter rather than being in a convenient
clump for you to scream at,” Ivanna said. I bit my thumbnail.

“You're right. Their natural instinct would
be to scatter, but not if it was easy for them to find the thing
they were looking for,” I said, flicking my eyes toward Jackson.
The plan was slowly coming together in my head, but at the moment I
was trying to find a way to plug the holes in it. Claire picked up
on what I was alluding to, and her hand went to her throat in a
nervous gesture.

“Explain, Olivia,” Ivanna said, her tone
curious.

“If Jackson and I were together in some
place, out in the open, and the Venator came after us, we could
probably get all twelve of them together,” I said simply.

“And as for injuring them?” Everett asked.
“Do you plan to have us hiding in trees with bows and arrows or
something?” He was joking, but he'd made his point. If Jackson only
had an offensive power we could utilize. My eyes went to Joshua and
I immediately looked away. It had crossed my mind that his power
could be used to damage the Venator. He was a powerful fire user,
but it couldn't be asked of him. Not after what he'd just been
through with his family.

Everett must have been following my line of
thinking; something he'd been able to do since we were children.
“Wait a minute, Olivia. You might be onto something.” I started to
shake my head and prevent Everett from saying anything, but it was
too late. “If we
were
hiding somewhere, Joshua could use his
power to damage the Venator...provided they were clumped together
like Olivia said. Once they were under the fire, they wouldn't be
able to scatter much, and Olivia could finish them off.”

Claire spoke up quickly. “Just a minute. I
know you said Olivia couldn't be affected by magick, which would be
how Joshua could use his fire against the Venator without hurting
her, but if Jackson were there, as bait, he would be right in the
cross hairs.”

“Not to mention the fact that Olivia's not
immune to physical damage, and if the Venator were to get that
close, they'd have access to her,” Ivanna added.

Jackson ran his hands through his hair. “I
think I know of a way to keep me out of the fire, if the scenario
worked the way we want it to,” he said. “Follow me outside,
Everett, Perry, Joshua?” I watched Jackson lead Everett, Joshua and
Perry outside, but was still distracted. My plan was definitely a
stretch; something that would only work if every domino was placed
correctly so that they fell in a coordinated fashion.

“The physical pain, Olivia?” Sylvia asked,
bringing me out of my calculated thoughts.

“That is the least of my worries, Sylvia.” At
Ivanna's sharp look, I remembered everything she'd compromised and
risked in order to keep me safe, and I added, “Besides, Jackson has
proven that he can heal me.”

“Only occasionally,” Claire interjected.
“You'd have to learn how to drop those guards very quickly.” I
resisted the urge to shush her, because it looked as though I'd
almost had Ivanna convinced.

Instead, I said, “You're right. I think I
might know how to do it. We'll practice before.” For a long moment,
it was quiet as we all tried to imagine the plan. Then, Ivanna
shook her head.

“Olivia, you can't ask Joshua to use his
power in that way after what he's been through. Think about it.
We've only had him for a little while. He's still very vulnerable.
He's learning quickly, but he's still traumatized,” she said. This
was the only thing I really couldn't argue with. I remembered the
way I'd felt when I'd first come to Eagleton. I rebelled against my
destructive powers. I hated who I'd been. Asking Joshua to help us
kill a group of men he didn't even know would be cruel.

To my surprise, Claire spoke up. “Well, he
wouldn't have to use his powers by himself, necessarily.”

Ivanna and I glanced at each other and then I
realized that Claire was right. “Claire can switch his powers with
someone else,” I said. “Perry or Everett. Then he wouldn't have to
do it. He would still be helping, but not in a traumatic way.” Just
then, Perry, Everett, Joshua, and Jackson reentered the house,
animated and chatting.

“We think we've figured out a way to keep
Jackson safe,” Perry said, then looked at Claire. “As long as you
don't mind your backyard getting a little scorched. He looked
slightly apologetic, but Claire shrugged as if to say that
Jackson's safety was far more important than her blooming flowers
and hedges.

“So, we'll be luring the Venator here?”
Charlotte asked, a small thread of worry running through her
voice.

“It's the easiest way,” Perry said. “We can't
fight them openly in the town of Staves. Plus, like I said, I think
this would be the best place to protect Jackson.”

“So how are we going to get them here?”
Sylvia asked. “Send a written invitation?”

“They'd most likely be hanging out around
Stallott's or the safe house,” I said, glancing around the table.
Some of my family nodded their heads slightly while others didn't
look too happy about the thought of bringing our greatest enemies
right down on top of us. I could see that Ivanna was conflicted;
unsure of whether to approve the plan or not. At the same time, I
was considering something else that I was hesitant to say out loud
at the moment.

I knew how to get the Venator here, but
convincing the others of it would be even more difficult than
convincing them that my quickly-conceived plan would work. I needed
a little time; some way to make sure they understood that this
would work.

“Let's sleep on this tonight,” Ivanna said,
with an air of finality. “In the meantime, we'll set up watches. We
don't want to be ambushed in a vulnerable moment. Olivia, Jackson,
you have the first watch. This will give you hours of time to
practice the healing thing, which is central to this whole plan of
yours anyway.” For the briefest moment, Ivanna looked at Jackson
and me, and I wondered if the practicing was the only reason she
was putting us both on first watch.

After a few more minutes of chatter and
wishes for a good night, the group dispersed to the various guest
bedrooms and pull out sofas in the house.

“Come on, Slayer. There are a few comfortable
chairs on the front porch that'll be better for watching. Also,
there's a friendly face out there,” Jackson said, standing up and
running his hands through his hair. I followed him outside into the
balmy night air, thick with the possibility of rain. To my
surprise, Zeus greeted us on the porch, nearly knocking me over as
he jumped up and put his huge front paws on my chest. Jackson must
have gotten him during the day while I was still sleeping.
Giggling, I scratched him behind the ears before settling into one
of the wooden rocking chairs.

With Jackson sitting this close, I couldn't
help but think about the pages I'd read earlier; the words he'd
written with me in mind. “So I guess we should practice this
healing thing,” I said.

“I know it was an accident,” Jackson
said.

“What?”

“Your father. I know that it was an accident.
I'm sorry that happened to you, but if you were telling me that to
scare me away, it's not going to work.” Jackson leaned closer to me
in his chair and added, “But if you don't feel anything for
me...anything at all, just say the word.”

I took a deep breath. “The thing is...I'm not
good at stuff like this,” I said, gesturing to the space between
us. “I'm not very good at getting close to people.” I paused. “My
whole life has been about fighting the Venator, about training to
be high priestess in Ivanna's place when it's time. I don't really
know anything else,” I admitted. I moved my eyes from the wooden
floor of the porch to look at Jackson.

“Caring for someone isn't something you have
to have experience at, Olivia.” Jackson took my hand, sending tiny
tingles through my arm. “Do you feel anything for me?”

My heart picked up in speed, and I hoped
Jackson's senses were at a normal level so he couldn't hear it. In
spite of that, I felt my face take on it's default look of cool
guardedness. “I barely know you,” I answered.

Jackson's mouth turned up in a slight smirk.
“You're dodging the question.” When I didn't answer him, he said,
“Well I'm getting to know you a lot better. Like how you lied about
your age and you're only nineteen. I know you love pancakes. I know
King Arthur stories are your favorite, and that you think James
Dean was the most gorgeous man to ever live.” I could feel my
cheeks turning pink.