“they”?” I inquired after a few seconds of dumb staring.
“The bad guys.”
Okay. “Why do “they” not want me to know what I'm supposed to become?” Wow, that was a mouthful. What the crud were we talking about anyway?
He frowned, his eyes narrowing. “Because they are afraid of you. You, Clarity, are part of something big that could hinder their plans for all of mankind.”
Yeah, uh-huh. Still not making sense. “Sam. Just what exactly am I?” I really wasn't expecting an answer.
He sighed. “Give me your hands, Clarity.” Hesitantly I did what I was told. “Do you trust me?” he whispered.
Did I? “Yes.” O-kay, guess so.
He smiled. “We don't have much time. So when I tell you to take a breath, do it. You got that?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. Sure.”
“On three,” he whispered. “One...”
Suddenly my hands burned, right in the palms. “Um...Sam?”
“Two...”
The heat intensified. “Sam, wait...what's happ...”
“Three.”
Quickly I took a breath and...
Chapter Six
“OWWW!”
I woke from my restless slumber with my palms on fire. Not literally “on fire”, but feeling like I'd stuck them in hot lava. I searched the room. Desk, closet, nightstand, window, ugly yellow walls—yep, I was back in my room. But what's up with my hands? And why were my clothes sticking to my skin?
Jumping from my bed, kicking my sweat-covered sheets to the floor, I fled to my bathroom. After throwing the light switch on, I went straight to the sink, turning the cold water on to full blast. Sticking my still-burning hands under the flow of freezing bliss, I let out a loud sigh. Instantly the water cooled them, releasing them from their scorching sensations. Steam rose from the sink because they were so hot. What the heck was wrong with me? I'd never had a dream...no wait, a nightmare like that. Ever. The scariest part was that it all had felt real, like I had been fully awake.
Turning the water off, I looked down at my hands nervously. Horror and fascination slapped me in the face. Right smack dab in the middle of my palms were etchings—or maybe they were closer to being called tattoos.
On each hand appeared a cross with white feathery wings surrounding it. The top of the crosses held golden crowns—in fact the tattoos were outlined in gold. Golden tattoos, with white wings around them.
How the heck did they get there?
I turned my shower on, needing one badly since I'd sweated ten pounds off while dreaming. Laying down (way too tired to stand) I let the steaming water rain down on me, covering me with comforting heat. I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths, hoping to calm the beating of my heart before it exploded out of my chest.
The dream. It had been real—well, some of it, anyway. The part where Sam had taken my hands, counted to three, and...
Rage ignited me from the inside out.
Sam. The new guy in town. The stranger. The stranger who had a huge secret. All sorts of weird stuff had been happening to me ever since I'd met him, and that had only been a day ago!
What had he done to me? I looked at my hands, and tears cascaded down my cheeks, mixing in with shower water.
The way he looked, the way he smelled, the way he spoke—all of his refined ways had caught me, keeping me mesmerized to the point that I'd trusted him. After one friggin' day!
The way he was there one minute and gone the next. No one was that fast. Also the way he made Nick forget he was mad just by ordering him to go home. Just by talking, like he had some kind of unnatural power in his voice. No human could accomplish such a feat.
All my thoughts began to get jumbled as the incoherent chatter in my brain started to run together. I tried to put everything in its place, tried to focus on the reality of everything that was happening.
Little human. That's what Sam had called Nick. Like Sam was above him in some way. Which left me to question just what Sam was.
Was he human? And if he wasn't, what was
“The bad guys.”
Okay. “Why do “they” not want me to know what I'm supposed to become?” Wow, that was a mouthful. What the crud were we talking about anyway?
He frowned, his eyes narrowing. “Because they are afraid of you. You, Clarity, are part of something big that could hinder their plans for all of mankind.”
Yeah, uh-huh. Still not making sense. “Sam. Just what exactly am I?” I really wasn't expecting an answer.
He sighed. “Give me your hands, Clarity.” Hesitantly I did what I was told. “Do you trust me?” he whispered.
Did I? “Yes.” O-kay, guess so.
He smiled. “We don't have much time. So when I tell you to take a breath, do it. You got that?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. Sure.”
“On three,” he whispered. “One...”
Suddenly my hands burned, right in the palms. “Um...Sam?”
“Two...”
The heat intensified. “Sam, wait...what's happ...”
“Three.”
Quickly I took a breath and...
Chapter Six
“OWWW!”
I woke from my restless slumber with my palms on fire. Not literally “on fire”, but feeling like I'd stuck them in hot lava. I searched the room. Desk, closet, nightstand, window, ugly yellow walls—yep, I was back in my room. But what's up with my hands? And why were my clothes sticking to my skin?
Jumping from my bed, kicking my sweat-covered sheets to the floor, I fled to my bathroom. After throwing the light switch on, I went straight to the sink, turning the cold water on to full blast. Sticking my still-burning hands under the flow of freezing bliss, I let out a loud sigh. Instantly the water cooled them, releasing them from their scorching sensations. Steam rose from the sink because they were so hot. What the heck was wrong with me? I'd never had a dream...no wait, a nightmare like that. Ever. The scariest part was that it all had felt real, like I had been fully awake.
Turning the water off, I looked down at my hands nervously. Horror and fascination slapped me in the face. Right smack dab in the middle of my palms were etchings—or maybe they were closer to being called tattoos.
On each hand appeared a cross with white feathery wings surrounding it. The top of the crosses held golden crowns—in fact the tattoos were outlined in gold. Golden tattoos, with white wings around them.
How the heck did they get there?
I turned my shower on, needing one badly since I'd sweated ten pounds off while dreaming. Laying down (way too tired to stand) I let the steaming water rain down on me, covering me with comforting heat. I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths, hoping to calm the beating of my heart before it exploded out of my chest.
The dream. It had been real—well, some of it, anyway. The part where Sam had taken my hands, counted to three, and...
Rage ignited me from the inside out.
Sam. The new guy in town. The stranger. The stranger who had a huge secret. All sorts of weird stuff had been happening to me ever since I'd met him, and that had only been a day ago!
What had he done to me? I looked at my hands, and tears cascaded down my cheeks, mixing in with shower water.
The way he looked, the way he smelled, the way he spoke—all of his refined ways had caught me, keeping me mesmerized to the point that I'd trusted him. After one friggin' day!
The way he was there one minute and gone the next. No one was that fast. Also the way he made Nick forget he was mad just by ordering him to go home. Just by talking, like he had some kind of unnatural power in his voice. No human could accomplish such a feat.
All my thoughts began to get jumbled as the incoherent chatter in my brain started to run together. I tried to put everything in its place, tried to focus on the reality of everything that was happening.
Little human. That's what Sam had called Nick. Like Sam was above him in some way. Which left me to question just what Sam was.
Was he human? And if he wasn't, what was
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