Catalyst (9 page)

/flām/

noun

1. burning gas or vapor, as from wood or coal, that is undergoing combustion; a portion of ignited gas or vapor.
   
2. Often, flames. the state or condition of blazing combustion:
   
3. any flamelike condition; glow; inflamed condition.
   
4. brilliant light; scintillating luster.
   
5. bright coloring; a streak or patch of color.
   
6. intense ardor, zeal, or passion.
   

THE MARKET WAS
an enormous open-air tent whose canvas was striped with alternating hues of bright blue, white, and yellow. Tables, booths, and baskets were set up with neatly displayed goods. And the smells, oh….the smells were divine. The table closest to us was full of dried herbs presented in tightly woven baskets. Bunches of herbs that were still drying hung from twine that stretched across the space.

Bunches of picked flowers were at the next booth, the mingling scents of roses and lavender wafted into the air. I grinned at Mitis, who nodded forward. A fruit merchant!

Baskets of apples, peaches, oranges and bunches of grapes overflowed bushels. Mitis closed his eyes, inhaling the sweet aromas. Dark lashes fanned his cheeks, and I couldn’t help but stare a little. He was gorgeous.

When he caught me looking, I played it off with excitement. It had been a long time since I’d eaten fresh fruit. The cooks always, well…cooked. And normally I was too sick to go snooping around the kitchen for food. No, food would be the last thing I’d want to think about.

Now, my stomach was growling, and food was at the forefront of my mind for the first time in years and I desperately wanted one of those succulent peaches.

“What would you like, Mitis? There is a sandwich booth just down there, as well.”

He mulled it over before narrowing his eyes. “What are you getting?”

“I plan to eat an enormous peach.”

Mitis smiled. “Fine. I’ll take the same and a sandwich, if it isn’t too much.”

The older woman behind the table heard us and had picked out the two largest peaches of the bunch and put them in a small paper sack.

“How much do I owe you?” I asked her.

“Two merits, please,” she replied with a smile that even crinkled the skin around her eyes.

“Can you charge to Elect Anderson? I’m his daughter, Seven.”

Her smile fell slightly as her eyes widened. “His daughter? But his daughter was just…Oh! Absolutely, miss. Thank you, miss.”

Wait. Was Sonnet here? Mitis and I began scanning the area and sure enough, she was harassing a vendor about the lunch he was preparing while Aric stood silent by her side.

“Actually, I’ll take a bunch of those red grapes as well, please.” She added them to my total. I thanked her again and pulled Mitis toward the sandwich maker, who piled slivers of meat high upon a rounded roll and agreed to charge the meal to my father as well. The man rolled the sandwich up in some wax paper and placed it in a bag before telling us to enjoy our day.

Mitis grinned over at me. “Thanks for lunch. Have a hankering for grapes?”

I shook my head and motioned for him to follow me. I led him back across the market toward the first booth. Sonnet was far enough away that we wouldn’t be seen. When she was being rude to another vendor, I launched a grape at her, striking her in the side of the head. She turned, mouth agape, rubbing the spot where I’d hit her.

Mitis stared at me in appreciation. “That was awesome!”

“I know. And if she’s rude again, there’s more where that came from. I have a whole ‘bunch’ of ammunition.”

He doubled over, chuckling silently as I watched Sonnet move back toward Aric, ranting and raving about how someone had assaulted her. When her back was to him, I rose my arm and chucked another at her. This one hit her in the left shoulder blade. She jumped like someone had used a stunner on her. She was more dramatic than Mitis had been when he actually was stunned.

A giggle escaped, so I clamped my hand over my mouth. Mitis couldn’t keep quiet. Tears were running down his face he was laughing so hard. When I thought the coast would be clear, I peeked out again. I didn’t see my sister, but Aric’s eyes met mine.

They didn’t harden like I feared. They crinkled at the corners, and he gave a small snort. Sonnet stepped out from behind another booth’s wall. “What are you laughing at? None of this is funny.” She was screaming. “Don’t you all know who my father is? He’ll have you all arrested for this!”

The vendors tensed at that threat and their shoulders slumped. They were afraid of her. It was time to stop having fun. They could be punished for it, and I would have to come clean. Where was the fun in that? Besides, even getting pelted with grapes wouldn’t cure her personality.

Mitis held both bags as we retraced our steps back through the edge of the city, toward the wall. “Where would you like to eat?” he asked warily.

I giggled. “Nowhere near the beach or my sister if that’s what you’re worried about. Why don’t we go back to the wall and sit beneath it?”

He smiled. “Sounds great.”

The sun was easing across the sky in that great arch that it traveled each day. I saw how it warmed the land. From a distance, waves of heat distorted the image of the hayfield beyond us. My clothes were completely dry now. Risking a glance at Mitis, I saw that his seemed dry as well. That hadn’t taken long at all.

Mitis glanced over; his smiled had faded away. I stopped. “What’s the matter?”

He was quick to answer, “Nothing.”

“Mitis, I can see that something is bothering you.”

“Come on,” he said, nodding to the wall that was now visible in the distance. “We can talk while we eat.”

That seemed a fine compromise, but I wondered if he would truly tell me what bothered him. He kept his heart close. He stopped a few feet short of the concrete barrier that separated his world from mine. I sat directly in front of it and put my back against the warm concrete. Mitis settled to my left with his back plastered to the warm stone, too. Sweat was trailing down his forehead and temples.

He used his shirt to wipe it away, giving me a glimpse of his stomach again. I gulped and looked away, finding his sandwich and unwrapping half of it for him. The wax paper on the bottom half would keep it from falling apart.

“Look, do you care if I lose the shirt for a little while. I’m dying in this heat.”

I looked toward the peaches.
Focus on the peaches.
“No, I don’t mind. You should make yourself comfortable.”

He tilted my chin up until my eyes followed suit. “I don’t ever want to make you uncomfortable. Are you sure?”

I nodded. “Yep. I’m positive.”

He tugged at the back collar of his shirt and pulled it forward over his head. “That for me?” he motioned toward the sandwich. “I can share it if you’re up to it.”

I shook my head. “Meat.”

Mitis smiled. “Meat. Gotcha. No meat.”

With his mouth open wide, he bit into the sandwich, groaning when the flavors hit his tongue. He chewed with his eyes closed. But, when he opened them, I was watching, smiling.

“What?” the garbled word flew from his lips.

“You enjoy the flavor so much.”

He nodded excitedly. “S’good.”

I rolled a smooth, white pebble over my fingers, watching the hay swish in the wind, moving more like fluid than wisps of grass. The bonfire would be tomorrow night, and while I wanted to go, I didn’t want to see Sonnet or Aric. Both would be there.

“What are you thinking so hard about, pretty girl?” Mitis asked.

I snorted. “Pretty girl? You don’t have to say such things, Mitis. You’re my friend, so you can be straight with me.”

“You consider me a friend?”

His question wasn’t meant to embarrass me, but my cheeks filled with heat. “Of course. You’re my first friend in a very long time.”

“You make friends fast.”

I smiled. “I don’t have the luxury of time, Mitis. I have to do everything fast.” He frowned, and I hated that I had put that expression on his face. “Sorry,” I muttered.

“Don’t be. You’re right, and I’m honored that you consider me a friend, Seven.”

Blinking away tears was the easy part. Looking up from the ground was hard. When I did finally get the courage to look up at him, he was staring at me.

“I’m here if you want to talk.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

He had eaten three-quarters of his sandwich. “Excited about the bonfire?”

“Yes and no,” I answered honestly.

Mitis smiled quickly and let it fade as fast. He knew exactly what I meant.

“Maybe we can go but stay on the edge of the party together?”

“That would be so great. I don’t think I could handle Aric, and my sister—if she sees you, she’ll sink her claws in again.”

Mitis chuckled. “No love lost between you two.”

“No, none,” I agreed. “She should learn to keep her hands off of what’s mi—um, you know, of you.”

Chewing the last bite of his sandwich, Mitis scooted closer toward me until his right side was plastered against my left. Heat. The scorched concrete barely penetrated my skin, but Mitis. If he touched me, I felt it to the core of my bones. My marrow, my soul. Warmth. He was warmth.

He stretched his hand across my body.

“What are you doing?” I leaned away, but he moved quickly.

When his mouth was just beside my ear, he rumbled, “Getting our peaches.” Mitis smiled and sat back against the wall, the bag of peaches crumpled loudly in his hand as he retrieved our sweet treat.

“Your peach, milady,” he offered, holding the largest out to me.

I accepted with a sweet smile. “Thank you, good sir.”

Mitis bit into his and had most of his eaten while I was still mulling over biting into mine. I did want it—so much. But I didn’t want to be sick. I wanted to be well enough to continue our walk. The trip to the market had given me a second wind, but I could feel the weakness seeping in again. I wouldn’t make it unless I had energy. The peach would provide it.

“Eat,” he ordered.

I rolled my eyes and threw caution to the wind, taking a bite of the fruit. It was juicy and perfectly ripe. The sweet fruit hit my tongue, and it was perfection. Absolute perfection. I moaned involuntarily. It was so good.

When I looked up at Mitis, he had thrown his pit into the earth beyond us and was staring at me.

“What?” I asked.

His thumb brushed just beneath my bottom lip, catching the juice that had seeped down. Instead of wiping it on the ground or his pants, he stuck that calloused thumb in his mouth and sucked the peach juice that had been on my skin. His plump bottom lip and narrower top lip were killing me. It was such an intimate thing to do—something a boyfriend did, not a friend and definitely not a companion.

He eased his thumb out and smiled slyly. “What’s wrong, pretty girl?”

I swallowed. “Nothing. Why did you just do that?”

Mitis laughed and shrugged his shoulder. “You were enjoying that peach so much. I thought that it must taste better than mine. You need to eat, so I didn’t want to take a bite of your fruit. It seemed like the better option.”

“And?”

He furrowed his brow. “And?”

“Was mine better?”

He narrowed his eyes. “I can’t be sure.”

“Why not?” I took another bite, the juice escaping the corner of my lips again. When Mitis leaned in and planted a tiny kiss there, taking it away, I froze solid as one of the statues in my backyard. I couldn’t form the right words to ask what that was.

Mitis’s eyes never left my mouth, and I never ate a peach so fast in my life. In the end, I just wanted him to stop. No one had ever looked at me like that before and I couldn’t allow it, not when my days were numbered. When I was finished, I threw the pit into the grass, stood up and dusted off my backside. “Ready to go back up?”

Hello, Awkwardness
.

Mitis glanced toward the wall and then back at me. “You feel up to it?”