The First Touch (41 page)

Autumn raised her eyebrow not understanding,
“You like it then
, um, down here
?”

He shrugged
, “
Room and board, peace and a purpose, what more could a man want.”

“A
mate,
”
She offered.

He winced, “Newborns come here all the time, and eventually one will see me.”

“That makes sense, and still the lack of social interaction would drive most people crazy.” He did not r
espond to that statement, she
asked, “If I live through tomorrows test I would love to visit with you from time to time. I mean unless you would rather that I didn’t.”

“You probably will not live through the test.”

Autumn smiled, “If I do can I come down from time to time and at least check on you?”

He nodded, “Two pair.” Then he laid his hand in front of her.

Autumn smiled wider, “Full house.”

He looked at her in surprise, “You should get some sleep you look horrible.”

She smiled again
, “
No worse than I always do.” He smiled at her attempt to keep things light. She collected the cards and slid them back into her pocket. Then she laid back, “Goodnight then Utvic.”

He nodded and sat in the chair, then asked
, “W
hy are you not using the blanket?
”
Autumn smiled her eyes still closed, “I know better than to take gifts from people like Mirth.” He smiled and nodded then he clos
ed his eyes as well thinking,
I hope she lives through tomorrow
, though he was fairly certain that she would not. No one had passed the te
st in nearly two hundred years.
He frowned and opened his eyes and then looked at her motionless body.

She looked so sweet and innocent,
and
she had seen him. Perhaps she was the one, he swallowed, “
Autumn
are you asleep?”

Autumn
nodded, and then said
, “
No,”
alt
ho
ugh she did not open her eyes.

“What
can you do?”
Autumn
smiled.

“I can do everything that the council can and a bit more
I imagine
.”

He felt relief rush through him then, “What more?”

Autumn
opened her eyes then
, “
I can hurt with my mind and heal with my touch.”

Utvic nodded, “Anything else?”

Autumn
smiled, “When I drink from others I can see their memories.”

“That is promising.”

Autumn
tilted her head, “But?”

He shrugged
,
“
Isisa
was different she developed further in a shorter time.”

“
She challenged the last eye though right?”

He nodded, “The eye before her was not a good leader. The dark ages were a troubled time even for our kind.”

Autumn
nodded
, “
Isisa
pushed herself to take the place as quick as possible?”

“No
,
her brother sensed the danger and then pushed her to stop her from being killed before her highest potential was achieved.”

Autumn
nodded again, “What could she do?”

“
Nearly indestructible, fast, and strong, just like the council, but with additional abilities of the mind.”

Autumn
frowned
, “
I only
have limited mental abilities….
Perhaps if I tried a little harder
?
”

He seemed encouraged, “Yes that is a good idea.”

Autumn
nodded, “As soon as I finish tomorrows testing I am going to try to push a bit and see if I can come up with more.”

“
If you live
,
the challenges will likely begin right away.”

Autumn
nodded sadly, “I know.”

Utvic nodded suddenly feeling compassion
, “
I could help you to escape.”

Autumn
frowned then, “Thank you for the offer but I have to test, or else they will kill my mate.”

He
frowned, “You have a mate?”

Autumn
nodded, “Though I am not sure if he is actually my mate...”

Utvic sat forward, “You don’t know?”

Autumn
smiled slightly embarrassed
, “
We have only kissed but he told me that he had the same dream that I did before we met telling him to meet me at the same coffee shop.”

He nodded, “I see.
Which council member is it?”

Autumn
replied then, “I do not want others to know, so when I tell you this
,
you must promise not to tell another person.”

He nodded and leaned in slightly more and
she
whispered it, “
Ivan.”

He sucked in
, “
I figured.”

She
looked curious, “Why?”

Utvic explained, “He looks like hell,
short temper
,
and random acts of violence.”
Autumn
nodded, and then he
continued
, “
He also nearly slaughter
ed
the entire council as you slept. And he has been pacing above us since you entered the castle.”

“I think I accidentally bonded with him when I kissed him.”
She admitted.

Utvic asked skeptically, “Accidentally?”

Autumn
smiled coyly, “Well it is not that I would not have chosen him for my mate. I simply would have waited until after the testing. It would have removed some of the complications. And what do you mean he has been pacing since I got here?”

Utvic look
ed at her skeptically, “You can
not feel him?”

Autumn
closed her eyes and listened to Ivan’s footsteps above then and smiled, “He is agitated.”

He
replied chastising her, “You should pay more attention to your surroundings.”

Autumn
shrugged, “I like
blocking everything instead. I
t is less distracting
,
especially Iva
n
.”

He
asked, “It is too difficult for you to concentrate.”

Autumn
nodded,
“I
f I focus on both then the darkness slips out.”

He
seemed particularly interested by her choice of words
, “
The darkness?”

Autumn
looked at the ground
, “
Yes, it is hard to keep it locked up. It becomes almost impossible to hold back when I am hungry. It also becomes especially difficult if I am close to another vessel with power.”

He
seemed taken aback by her words and even shifted back looking at her worried, “What happens when you le
t this
darkness out?”

Autumn
swallowed, “I black
out and hurt people, in a dream
I nearly killed Helen.”

Utvic replied concerned though not in the way that she had suspected, “What did you do to her?”

Autumn
watched his reaction and replied slowly
, “
It was
just a dream
Utvic, it did not really happen.
” He nodded, and she continued, “Well in my dream
Helen was in
Ivan’s room, and she kept pushing me. Then I let the darkness slip just for a minute. I couldn’t control it for nearly half of that and when I opened my eyes again I saw it. I had sliced her and burnt her so badly that she was barely able to move.”

Utvic replied
, “
She’d heal quickly from that.”

Autumn
frowned and replied, “That’s just it, she didn’t repair her self she just kept crying and looking at her burnt arms and hands.”

Utvic paused from what he was about to say, “She didn’t heal?”

Autumn
nodded scared, “I touched her afterwards and healed her.”

Utvic stood and began pacing, “She didn’t heal.”

Autumn
looked at him skeptically
, “
You might just be the one.
.
.
,
”
he let the words drift off into the darkness.
“That could be helpful in keeping you alive tomorrow.”

Autumn
shook her head then, “I won’t use that against the council.”

“No, if you use it against your challengers then you will likely scare off a majority of them.”

Autumn
nodded, “I don’t know how long or how many I could hurt with it though. Or if I can even control it once I let it out again.”

He nodded solemnly, “That will be your choice once the challengers arise.”

She
replied hopefully, “Maybe I will get lucky and I won’t have to use it at all.”

“Mirth will likely send in a few of his men to finish you
and
if they are unsuccessful
,
then he will come for you himself.”

Autumn
nodded, “You said he had all of the powers of his sister save his soul right?”

“Yes that is where the real potential lies though.”

Her
eyes widened, “So I have no soul then?”

“You can still retain human form. I do not think that you would be able to do that if you did not have a soul.”

Autumn
replied her eye brows arching together, “So then I am not the eye?”

He looked speculative then
, “
You might not be finished with your transformation yet.”

“
Now that is a difficult concept to wrap my
mind around.” Her mind raced,
How
much more could I change. Would I
even be
the same person? Where would my
soul go if I didn’t have it? And If
I let the darkness out will I l
ose it then? What will happen after I die for real then?
She shook her head, turning
to Utvic, “Did she lea
ve an instruction manual?
A
journal?
Anything?”

“I am uncertain
….
”
He added not seeming to want to share, all of a sudden.

She
frowned, “Do you think you could check for me. I think it would be helpful in the future, assuming I do live through tomorrow.”
He nodded hesitantly.

Autumn
yawned feeling sleepy all of a sudden
, “
Good night Utvic, see you in the morning.”

H
e smirked
and sat back in the chair again, “Yes
,
in the morning.” She listened to Ivan pace back and forth upstairs and slowly drifted off to sleep saying to Ivan, “Stop worrying, I will be fine love. After this is done we can talk.” Ivan stopped pacing and his heart began racing.
Autumn
felt it and took that as a sign that he heard. Then she smiled sleepily and
murmured
, “Good night love.” Then she listened to Ivan’s foot steps leave the room above her.

New Developments

Ivan pushed open Helen’s door without notice and said, “Did you call to me?” She was sitting in a chair knitting a blanket and staring out the window.

She did not look at him, “So you don’t knock now?”

Ivan hissed, “Did you call me?”

Helen replied honestly, “No.” Then he stormed from the room and headed towards Henry and Flora’s room. There were guards standing there, Ivan pushed past them easily. They followed him in to the room guns drawn and Henry signaled for them to stand down. They left the room just as quickly.

Ivan asked Flora, “Did you call me?”

“No
,
should I have?”

Ivan asked then, “Did you hear her?”

Henry looked worried then, “Is
Autumn
in trouble?”

“No.”

Henry looked relieved, “What did she say?”