Unfaded (48 page)

             
Micah had to grab hold of Kian to keep him from getting his hands on my ex-boyfriend. Connor picked up the baseball bat again and waved it around. I stood between them all wondering how this got so dangerous.

             
“Kian has never hit me,” I said quietly. “You need to go home, Connor.”

             
“I’ll leave when I’m ready.”

“
I don’t want you here.”

             
“You don’t mean that.”

             
“I do. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

             
But Connor had gone too far. There was no backing down. The fight inside him was festering and he needed to settle the score. He needed to hurt the one person who’d taken everything away from him.

             
“Come on, pretty boy, let’s settle this like men.” Connor held up the baseball bat in front of him and then threw it hard. It hit the cement and rolled until it came to a stop underneath one of the street lights.

             
“Connor, stop it! Kian! Don’t you dare!” I might as well been invisible since no one was listening. Kian shrugged off Micah and stepped forward. Once again I got in between them with my arms spread apart.

             
“Stay out of this, Mai,” Connor said. “This is between us.”

             
But I couldn’t. I knew what kind of damage Kian could do. Connor didn’t. It was Micah who pulled me back. I struggled against him but he dragged me towards the motel door.

             
“He won’t hurt him,” Micah spoke softly into my ear. “Kian will let your boy win the fight and walk away with his dignity. Let them be.”

             
Would he? I’d seen the look in Kian’s eyes when Connor suggested that he’d hit me. He’d crossed the line and Kian was like any other, his honour was at stake also. Why did men have to behave so stupid when it came to things like this? There were better ways to solve problems. But getting them to listen to me was like trying to convince a dog not to eat the bacon in his bowl. I didn’t get the chance to step in again. Connor made the first move, raising his fist and slamming it into Kian’s face. It was a free punch. I knew Kian could have blocked it if he wanted. Micah was right. He wasn’t going to do anything except let Connor use him as a punching bag.

             
“Don’t,” I begged. “At least defend yourself.” I couldn’t bear to see Kian’s face get beaten, even though I knew he’d heal immediately.

             
Kian turned and glanced in my direction, giving me a brief nod.

             
There was a second and a third punch but Kian calmly dodged them. He was faster than Connor and I guess he either decided to listen to me or figured one punch was enough. He wasn’t going to attack but he would defend. Moving left, he jumped out of the way as Connor charged. It was similar to the techniques Seito and he’d shown me, only he didn’t grab him by the arm and shove him into the cement. He didn’t need to, Connor tumbled over his legs and fell on his own without the extra help.

             
Kian reached out and offered a hand. “Had enough?”

             
“Screw you.”

             
Connor was breathing heavily as he pulled himself to his feet. He threw a few more punches, most of which Kian dodged. One of them took him in the chest and I gasped at the sound of knuckles meeting muscle. Kian stepped backwards and out of the way. He wasn’t put out in the slightest, even his breathing remained steady and calm. Connor slipped on the ice and went down a second time. Once again, Kian reached out and offered his hand which went ignored. Connor got to his feet again but this time he was staggering. He was getting tired. He’d never been up against an Unfaded before.

             
“Why won’t you fight?” he screamed.

             
“I don’t want to hurt you.”

             
Connor charged and for a third time he found himself on the ground. Only this time he allowed Kian to help him up. I immediately ran to join them before it started up again.

             
“Please stop,” I begged. “Please.”

             
“Mai.” Kian’s voice was calm and strangely odd. “I want you to take Connor and get out of here.”

             
“What? Why?”

             
“Don’t question me. Just do it.”

             
I paused long enough to look across the parking lot where Anique and Sobek waited off by the trees. They were under a street lamp and the orange light reflected off the weapons in their hands. They were back to finish the job.

             
“Take the car and go,” Kian said. Grabbing my arm, he pulled me towards him, forcing me to look at him. Pressing the car keys into my hand, he gave me a kiss on the forehead. “Remember our spot? Down at the falls? Wait for me there. I’ll come get you when it’s over.”

             
Micah joined us, his eyes watching the lot where the two Unfaded were steadily making their way towards us. There would be no pleasantries this time, no baiting each other with words. No knocking sand in each other’s faces. There would only be blood.

             
“No.” I said.

             
“Mai. Go!” Kian shoved me gently to the side. Our eyes met and there were hundreds of years of pain in on his face. Hundreds of years of being lost. Stepping forward with Micah at his side, Kian walked out to meet them

I grabbed Connor by the arm and pulled. “Come on,” I said. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

Thankfully he didn’t fight me. We walked over to Kian’s Civic and I unlocked the door and shoved Connor in. As I opened the driver’s side, the Unfaded met and the fight began. Micah went after Sobek and Anique immediately grabbed Kian and tossed him across the lot as if he were a bag of rice. I had to cover my mouth to keep from screaming out his name when his head hit the pavement. When Kian pulled himself up I could see blood glistening from a wound on his forehead.

Starting the engine, I hit the lights. Anique was running towards us, her feet slapping on the pavement as she gained speed. At the last second, Kian came out of nowhere and slammed her against the side of the motel. Glass shattered the surrounding windows.

Connor’s mouth dropped open in silence. I put the car in gear and moved forwards. It was killing me. I didn’t want to go but I didn’t want to refuse Kian either. Where was Rafferty? Maybe I should go looking for him instead of hiding. Could I find him in time and get him to come? Would he? Or would he just take me and lock me up in some castle away from everything I held dear? No, I had to listen to Kian. I’d be safe at the falls.

As I pulled out of the lot I saw Sobek
attack Micah from behind, the older Unfaded fell to his knees. My foot instinctively hit the brakes.

“Don’t stop!” Kian screamed
. “Go!”

I had no choice. I hit the gas and peeled out of there. I headed onto the highway in the right direction, away from town and the other
Unfaded. I had to trust Kian. He said he’d come for me. I would go where he sent me and believe that he’d be there. I had no choice. I’d run out of options.

“
What the hell was that?” Connor asked. He’d cranked his neck back trying to watch the action as it faded away.

I didn’t answer. As far as I was concerned this was his entire fault. If he hadn’t come to the motel, Kian and Micah never would have been caught off guard. If they died, I’d spend the rest of my life blaming Connor.

              The road was empty. There was no other traffic. The dashboard clock glowed, the numbers reading a little after four. There were still several hours to go before the morning sun peeked over the mountains. I would have liked nothing more than to drive in sweet silence but Connor lashed out at me with a steady stream of questions, eventually pausing once he realised I wasn’t going to answer. He wouldn’t have believed it anyway. He was better off not knowing. Safer. We drove, a tense invisible wall separating us, with only the moon and stars to light our way.

             
I worried about Kian. It took every ounce of will power to keep myself from slamming the brakes and heading back towards the motel. So what if I’d made a promise? What good would it be if I were to return and find him dead?

             
I never should have left him. I had my curse. If I died I’d be reborn. If he died it would be forever.

Eventually I arrived at the turnoff that led to Ehnita Falls. As I pulled onto the logging road, Connor started talking again.

“Why are we going here?”

I ignored him.

“Mai. What’s going on? Talk to me. Tell me what’s happening?”

“We’re going to the falls,” I said.

“Why?”

“Because it’s safe.”

“Safe? Why don’t we just go back? It’s freezing out and you’re not wearing a jacket. We’ll go to my house. I’ll call the police.”

“No.”

“This is crazy, Mai.” Connor reached past me, trying to pull the keys from the ignition. I grabbed his hand, shoving him backwards against the passenger door with more force than necessary. He grunted in pain and I immediately let go.

“I’m sorry,” I said and I meant it.
It may have been a stupid excuse but I really didn’t know my own strength. There was a definite learning curve here and it was a shame I had to use my ex-boyfriend for target practice. The last thing in the world I wanted to do was hurt him more.

“What’s happened to you?” Connor held his arm protectively against his chest, rubbing the spot where I’d touched him. “When did you get so strong? What did they do to you? Have you been taking drugs?”

I bit my tongue to keep from laughing. The idea of drugs causing my strength was just too funny. “They haven’t done anything to me,” I said. “This is me. Just me. There is no drug in the world that can change it.”

“What are you then?”

I sighed. We’d reached the point where there was nothing I could say that would convince Connor otherwise. He’d seen too much. Telling him I’d been spending my spare time at the gym just wasn’t going to cut it. The lies were over. This was one secret I could no longer keep.

“I’m
Unfaded.”

“You’re what?”

“It’s a long story.”

“We’ve got time.”

“I’m not telling you about it,” I snapped. “It’s over, Connor. I don’t owe you an explanation. I wasn’t lying when I said it was my fault and not Kian. I’m the one who changed and no one else convinced me otherwise. You just couldn’t let it go. And now Kian might die because of you. So, no, you’ll have to forgive me but I don’t want to talk right now.”

“How did he do it? Did he bite you?”

Laughter burst from my mouth. “I’m not a vampire. You need to lay off the horror movies. Kian didn’t do anything to me. I was Unfaded all along. I just didn’t know.”

“Is he
Unfaded?” Connor couldn’t bring himself to say Kian’s name.

“Yes.”

"What the hell does that mean?"

I slammed the brakes. I’d almost missed the turnoff. Putting the car in reverse, I moved back a few feet and pulled into the parking lot of Ehnita Falls.

"It means I belong with them," I finally said. "And nothing you can do will change that."

Connor chewed on his lip for a bit while I parked over by the pathway to the falls. I was surprised he was taking this so well.
He was doing a better job than I did. I guess he’d seen enough firsthand to make him a believer. If Kian had tossed a car or lifted an elephant from the beginning I might have been quicker to accept it too.

“What do we do now?”

I shrugged. “We wait.”

“I meant about us.” Connor reached out and took my hand. “I love you, Mai. Is this why you broke up with me? Big deal.
So you're unforgotten or unfixated or whatever the hell that means. That doesn't change how I feel about you."

Sighing, I pulled my hand away from him. “
There is no us, Connor. Why can’t you accept it?”

“Because I don’t believe it. Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t love me anymore. Tell me that and I’ll walk away.”

I looked him straight in the eyes and opened my mouth but the words wouldn’t come. How could I even think about this when every time I closed my eyes I saw Kian bleeding and lying on the pavement back at the hotel. No, I couldn’t think that way. I had to believe he was on his way right now, safe and sound, the battle won and over.

“See.
You can’t say it.” Connor mistook my quietness for assurance that he was right. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a tiny box which he held out towards me. When I wouldn’t take it, he opened the lid so I could see what was inside. It was a silver necklace with a tiny vial of blue sand.

“I can’t accept that,” I finally said. My stomach hurt and I knew it wasn’t because of the wound I’d obtained. I did love him. No matter what, it wasn’t something that was going to simply go away. I’d probably love him for the rest of my life. But that still didn’t change anything. It still didn’t make me want him back. And I couldn’t try and explain any of it to
Connor. He wouldn’t understand—he’d see it as a chance for which he’d always fight for.