The Truth Behind Those Eyes

Chapter Forty-Three

Nikki ploughed through the dense undergrowth until the dim shred of light filtering  through the tree canopy turned a deep blue. Night was coming. She'd been going for hours and had yet to cross a road or pathway, she was well and truly lost and didn't relish the prospect of spending the night in the forest. As the last of the daylight melted away Nikki was left to stumble from tree to tree, fumbling to keep herself upright.

"Just perfect," she grumbled as she caught her foot on a large exposed root sending her tumbling to the uneven floor. Landing painfully she swore, exhaustion and hunger colouring her mood black.

She shuffled back and leaned heavily against the uncomfortable bark of a thick wide tree. What was she doing here?

With a pang, she thought of Mikey's house and its comfortable bed and warm welcome. In her mind she pictured the light room she had woken up in and in it Josh sat with his head in his hands.

Nikki shook her head and reminded herself she had no choice. If she'd stayed she would only have hurt him deeper. And if she had continued with her out of control tirade earlier there was no telling what she'd have done. How would Josh have felt knowing that it was he who had taken her to that place and endangered his friends?

And what if Josh hadn't stopped his attack on Will? What if they'd actually come to blows? Would Will eventually have gotten the upper hand? What if he'd fought back and hurt Josh? Would Nikki have dealt with him the way she did the Blood Hounds? Was she capable of murder? She bit back the tears as she grasped the answer. Yes.

She clenched her fists and growled in frustration but stopped short when the immediate area lit up with a calming blue light. Nikki blinked and the glow faded. She frowned, looking down at her hands where the tingling residue of the flames still outlined her fists.

Cautiously she held out her hand and focused, drawing out a small sphere of fire. It crackled and fizzed in her palm, tickling her skin and warming her. She held her hand up and looked beyond to the lightened area before her. Pushing up carefully and keeping her hand steady, Nikki set off once again. As she walked she found it easier to keep the swirling flames constant without thinking about them until eventually her mind was almost completely on her surroundings.

Time slipped by unnoticed and she ventured further in to the greenery. The floor under her teamed with weeds, wild life and knotted, gnarled roots but her new light source enabled a clear passage. She ambled forward, climbing over fallen branches and ducking below over grown bushes.

As she pulled herself up onto yet another ruined branch she noticed an opening ahead of her. Pausing, she peered through the gloom, listening intently for any sign of life but the forest remained deathly quiet.

Dragging her feet over the fallen tree limb, she landed lightly, the floor cushioning her with its layers of foliage. Again she froze but still nothing moved. She crept forward into what appeared to be a campsite of some sort. Large tree trunks were situated around the edge of the area, cordoning it off from the rest of the forest and a primitive fire pit fashioned out of boulders and stones sat in the centre.

She walked around the perimeter and decided that this was as good a place as any to rest. Gathering up an armful of wood and dry leaves she strode to the centre and dropped them into the mass of stones. She'd never attempted to start a fire before but with her new skill she reasoned it shouldn't be too difficult.

Closing her eyes she concentrated hard as she held her hand over the timber. Within minutes it burned strongly, the flames licking at the blackened stones. Shaking her head she marveled at how easy it had been to control her gift; she hadn't, at any point, felt consumed by the fury that normally accompanied it. It had been so simple to pull the fire out and direct it to the debris. But the fire wouldn't burn for long if she didn't collect more wood.