The Healer: A Young Adult Romantic Fantasy (The Healer Series Book 1) (36 page)

“I figured it was the most enjoyable way of convincing her that there is no bogeyman,” he said in that lazy voice of his. “Then I can kill two birds with one stone by checking her response to me.”

“There may be no bogeyman, but I think a killer cat that is capable of turning itself into Mr. Fairmont is a hell of a lot scarier,” said Angie from the corner of the room. I turned to her in surprise, realizing she didn’t appear a bit sleepy.

From the smirk on her face I could tell she hadn’t been sleeping for quite some time.

Fabulous.

Chapter Nineteen

Angie’s comment distracted Tie and myself enough that we didn’t notice Victor sliding in between us until it was too late. He immediately swept my small frame behind him.

“Thanks for all your help, but I think I can take things from here,” Victor said with forced civility.

I stared at Victor’s back and tried to get my breathing under control, but all I saw was red. I couldn’t believe he’d just swept me behind him like I was some helpless child with little control and little choice. I was getting ready to vocalize my complete and total annoyance when I heard Tie’s voice rise up out of the silence.

“You’re right. I probably should have let her thrash about and wake up the rest of the household.”

“That wasn’t what I meant.”

I peeked around Victor. Tie wore his usual cool facade, but there was definitely something slightly off about it this time. To me it appeared as if he was barely in control of himself. Like maybe he couldn’t bear seeing me standing behind Victor instead of in his arms.

In a way I was relieved. When Victor had barged in on us I’d been afraid Tie had somehow orchestrated all of that just so Victor would see us together. If Tie really had planned to use me to get to Victor he wouldn’t have covered for both of us like that, would he? He had to have felt that kiss straight to his core…just like I had. I could
still
feel it.

I waited for him to get possessive or even break down and tell Victor the truth. Heck, I was getting ready to tell him the truth. He needed to know what had happened between Tie and myself. We had just shared something that changed everything about our current predicament.

“Victor, I think we need to straighten some things out here between all three of us,” I began.

“Sorry, but I’m entirely too sleepy to sit here and attempt to make nice with either one of you,” Tie butted in anxiously.

“Tie,” I tried again.

“I think Hope is merely suggesting that we end this contention between us,” interrupted Victor.

I tried to catch Tie’s eye so he would understand my intent, but he refused to look at me. Instead, his focus was on Victor. Correction. His venomous glare of unconcealed hatred was focused on Victor.

“You’re here for a specific purpose, and I need to know you can fulfill your purpose as objectively as possible despite your feelings toward me.”

A heavy pressure began building behind my eyelids.

“I’ve already told you I can handle it,” Tie said. “I know exactly what I’m here for.” That last part seemed painful for him to get out.

I couldn’t see the expression on Victor’s face, and I didn’t really want to. I just wanted to understand what was happening. Tie looked at me and shook his head ever so slightly. Did that mean he wanted me to keep quiet? His strained expression smoothed out quickly and became as cool, and serene as ever.

Why hadn’t he told Victor what had happened? What was holding him back? The pressure in my head continued to build, pushing and shoving its way through the rest of my body.

“Good,” Victor said, offering his hand to Tie.

Tie shook it reluctantly, and suddenly, I felt powerless. It was like an agreement had just been reached; something about my fate had been determined for me, and I was no longer capable of doing anything about it.

The pressure that had been building erupted from my body and a hot, white light shot from every inch of my skin, at least that’s how it looked and felt to me. I knew better than to fight it and simply did the very best I could to breathe until my eyesight cleared and my surroundings became visible again.

Tie and Victor were standing in the same position, shaking hands as if they’d just struck some form of agreement. I, however, was standing next to Victor instead of behind him. That wasn’t the only thing that was different. A strange woman stood behind Tie and to his left. Several other people surrounded us in a highly decorative room.

The moment we shared was serious. I sensed that immediately, but I couldn‘t understand what exactly was taking place. Tie began speaking in a language that was far from English, but I caught every word like it was my own native tongue.

“As it has been prophesied so shall it come to pass. The princess will soon take her rightful place alongside the honorable Masaru Katsu, god of warriors and keeper of the Grass Cutter Sword.”

He put a strange kind of emphasis on the word honorable, making Victor tense slightly at my side. Despite the formal and reverent tone being set for what I assumed was some kind of engagement ceremony, I couldn’t help but notice Tie struggle between indifference and rage. He didn’t want to be here, and the look he gave me made me feel as if I had betrayed him in some way.

“As a god ordained by our first parents to give approval and blessings for unions such as these, I bestow upon this particular union a blessing of the highest order and seal it with this cherry blossom,” he said.

My right palm instinctively lifted flat to meet Victor’s in the middle like some strange high five. As soon as our hands made contact a beautiful cherry blossom grew upwards between the tips of our fingers.

“This is official. In a fortnight the princess Mikomi will forever belong to you, Masaru. Protect what is rightfully yours or someone else will.”

Tie may have been talking to Victor, but he was looking at me. His look was calculating. It actually made me shiver.

I felt powerless, knowing my fate was being decided for me, sealed to some stranger, and yet Victor wasn’t a stranger really. He was kind and understanding. He’d never do anything to hurt me. All he wanted was to love and protect me.

My thoughts were chaotic and confusing. It was awful standing next to Victor with my panic mounting, forgetting what I already knew about him. It was like seeing the past as if it was my future, yet knowing the present as if it was my past.

Print that on a fortune cookie!

A mind numbing meld of contradicting emotions, opinions, and memories ignited a familiar pressure that signified the end of my vision. This time, however, the return trip took on a more forceful impact. It felt like my spirit slammed into my body which caused me to lose my footing and crumple to the floor. Pain and nausea hit me hard.

“Hope. What’s happened?”

“Are you all right?”

I tried to raise my head slowly, but doing so made the room, and everyone surrounding me blur beyond recognition. I lowered my head to the floor, grateful for the cool, wood flooring instead of something scratchy and smelly like shag carpet.

I was still trying to get my bearings when the sound of breaking glass silenced the concerned questions Victor, Tie, and Angie were throwing at me.

“Angie, get down,” Victor yelled.

I felt someone grab me from behind and slide me up against one of the bedroom walls. I tried opening my eyes again and noticed a marked improvement from the blurry scene I’d viewed before. I squinted in the direction of what sounded like crunching glass and noted three figures with swords drawn standing in three different types of fighting positions.

That caught my attention. The room came back into crystal clear focus with dizzying speed. The three sword bearers posing in front of the shattered bedroom windows looked like very hairy crosses between panthers and actual human beings. They were different from the nekomata Victor had killed earlier that evening. These three had shiny jet black fur, were fully clothed in some kind of ancient looking leather, and radiated pure evil. The nekomata in the middle made a strange purring/growling noise that gave my goose bumps goose bumps.

“All we want is the girl. The rest of you can leave if you wish,” it said in the same hair-raising voice.

“I‘m afraid you’ll have to be a bit more specific,” came Tie’s haughty voice to the left of me. “There are, after all, three girls present.”

I lifted my head gingerly and saw Ms. Mori standing next to Tie wearing a fierce expression on her face. I looked to my right and there stood Victor and my father towering over me. The only two people in the room not standing were myself and Angie who was actually kneeling in front of me facing the scary black cats from hell. I couldn’t see her face, but I imagined it looked about as angry, fierce, and protective as the rest of the group’s.

“Do not waste our time, tainted kami. You merely prolong the pain and suffering your slow death will bring.”

“Bummer,” Angie muttered.

Tainted? What in the world was this…thing talking about?

“You don’t actually believe we’ll stand aside and let you walk off with her, do you?” This from a very pissed off Victor. It looked like every muscle in his body was set to spring with just the simplest of provocations.

“Ah. You still believe you can win. My face will be the last face you see kami. My sword the last thing you ever feel. My—”

“Yeah, okay we got it. Death and destruction await those that dare oppose you. My biceps are bigger than your biceps. Blah blah blah,” Tie said. He sounded bored. He even managed to look bored. I couldn’t help but take the time to admire him for that. “Can we skip the useless dialogue and get right to the part where my sword separates your head from your freakish looking body?”

That last part must have been code for: Attack With Deadly Swiftness because Victor, Tie and Ms. Mori flashed some very gnarly looking swords—seriously, where were they hiding these things—and crossed to the other side of the room faster than I could blink.

There were six warriors in this tiny crowded room swinging six ugly weapons, and not a single nekomata was able to get close to my father, Angie, or myself. The three kami sworn to protect me were engaged in the most amazing display of sword fighting I’d ever seen. Granted, I didn’t have much experience with swords nor had I witnessed too many fights in my lifetime, but every movement was a seductively beautiful dance. The longer I watched the more amazed I became. I should have felt terrified. Instead, I was anxious to be a part of it all.

I wondered why I felt such a longing for something I knew nothing about. Time slowed, and my eyes sharpened. Everyone’s well-timed movements were more predictable now. The nekomata in the middle shot up Tie’s left side, and flung his other arm to the right, intending to distract him while stabbing his sword into Tie’s side. Tie registered the feint and adjusted his position while continuing his own thrust downward just in time to stab his opponent’s sword arm. To his left, Ms. Mori had ducked down, easily slipping into a crouching position as a bright flash of silver sliced over her.

Thrust up now, I thought, just as Ms. Mori did exactly that. There was an ungodly shriek of pain as the injured nekomata stumbled back, chest bleeding. How had I known what Ms. Mori should do?

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a grunt from Victor who fought on the opposite side of the room. He was fearless and determined…and injured. It didn’t matter that his opponent also bled badly because neither one of them were slowing down.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Ms. Mori take a kick to the head. She went down hard and didn’t move. The nekomata standing above her licked his thick whiskered snout and raised his sword high to strike. My actions were instinctive and guided by a part of me I didn’t know existed.

I wasn’t witnessing this battle through the eyes of Hope Fairmont, seventeen-year-old healer and run-of-the-mill high school student; I was seeing it through someone else’s eyes. Strategies were forming, calculations were being made; my body was moving faster than I’d ever thought possible and suddenly Ms. Mori’s sword was in my hand and extending above my head, blocking the creature’s downward thrust.

I felt my face break into a happy smile as I anticipated my enemies next set of moves.

And then the dance began.

It was like breathing to me. Block after block, thrust after thrust. The leg work, the upper body movements, all of it was second nature to me. All too soon my opponent was on the ground looking just as surprised as I felt, but he wasn’t dead. I’d dealt him a death blow, but he still breathed easily. I couldn’t understand why this creature was still alive despite the wounds I’d just inflicted, and then I realized the sword I held in my hand wouldn’t be enough to kill it. Ms. Mori’s sword was different from the nekomata. If these animals wielded weapons from the underworld then could they be killed with weapons from our world?

My thoughts flicked to the Grass Cutter Sword, and suddenly my strategy shifted. My opponent was beginning to get his bearings. I moved toward Victor as quickly as possible, knowing his sword was the answer to ending all of this madness. I stopped when I saw the fighting had stopped as well. No one attempted to kill anyone anymore. Everyone was looking at me. If I hadn’t been so intent on grabbing Victor’s sword and using it to completely eradicate this latest threat I might have found the varying degrees of shock etched on both man and beast quite comical. The new me, however, hesitated only briefly and then sprang towards Victor and grabbed the sword from his hands easily.