Touch (Denazen #1)(71)

“For me,” he said. It came out as a cross between a choked growl and a whimper. It was shocked, and it was possessive. Full of pain, and laced with joy. “You were made for me.”

For a brief moment time stood still, then raced forward. The world exploded.

And there was peace.





27


We lay low at Misha’s the entire next day. Kale was fascinated with TV—mostly the commercials. He’d seen a little while at Denazen, but nothing extensive. He couldn’t believe there were so many products for the same purpose. Seven kinds of soda. Three kinds of bathroom cleaner. A hundred different kinds of cars. He couldn’t understand why people needed more than one of something.

At lunch, breakfast, and dinner, a cart of food mysteriously found its way to the hall outside our door. Each meal was something different and new for Kale, and each time he’d find something that fascinated him. By dinnertime, his favorite was the watermelon Jell-O.

And of course, there was me. Another thing Kale couldn’t seem to get enough of, which worked out because I couldn’t get enough of him.

“Tell me this is different,” Kale said sometime after dinner. We were curled up on his bed, snuggled close. He played with a strand of my hair, twirling it between his fingers while his other hand traced feathery circles across my arm. “Tell me this is something special.”

“It’s something special,” I said, twisting to look at him.

TV, good food, kissing, cuddling—and a lot more touching. Each time Kale would marvel at the softness of my skin. He would insist it was all a dream because nothing in his life could be this good. For a while, I forgot we were on the verge of something major. Something life-altering. Something dangerous.

For a while, I forgot about the nagging voice in the back of my head. That voice came with warning bells. Warning bells and big, bright neon signs. I ignored them, even though they were always the elephant in the room.

Ginger said she’d help Kale learn to control his power. But she’d screwed us. Her promise of handing over the Reaper had been a lie. Sort of. For selfish reasons, I hadn’t questioned her about her other promise. The one to help Kale. In the dark, self-serving corner of my brain, I wanted him to stay as he was. Exactly how he was. I wanted strings. If Kale never changed, then those strings would never choke me. The way I saw it, I’d had to suck face with a lot of frogs to find my prince. I deserved a little happy.

In the end, though, my conscience won out. I’d have to find Ginger—as long as things didn’t go south—and ask for her help with Kale. He deserved a choice. If that choice in the end wasn’t me, I’d have to live with it. I loved him. I wouldn’t cheat him out of living his life because I wanted him for myself. That’s what Denazen had done. What Dad had done.

Early the next afternoon, we bid Misha good-bye and set out to gather the costumes we’d need for tonight. Only one costume store stayed open all year round, but I refused to shop there. They were overpriced and the selection was a joke. French maids, gorilla costumes, cowboy hats…nothing original. But I was a resourceful girl. I could improvise. I’d had a killer idea last Halloween, but I’d come down with a wicked cold and never got to follow it through. Now was the perfect chance.

The costume idea for the rave served two main purposes. The obvious one was it’d be easier for Kale and me to hide in plain sight. They knew we would be there because of the information Mercy had given us, so by being harder to spot, at least we’d be able to move through the crowd more freely. The other reason? The chances of Mercy and Dad not finding out about the last-minute change in theme were in our favor. Knowing Denazen, there was always a possibility, but it was slim. We’d be hidden, and they’d stick out like sore thumbs. Win-win.

Thanks to a pair of scissors, a pad of paper, and a borrowed twenty in my back pocket, there was enough cash to get us whatever we needed.

Since it was summer, my costume had been fairly easy. A quick trip to the mall—Target, then Toys R Us and CVS—and I was set. Kale proved a little harder. When he saw what I’d bought, he got nervous about skin exposure, but I assured him I had something different in mind for him. We managed to track down most of what we needed at the mall—black jeans and T-shirt, dark sunglasses and boots—but the leather jacket was a problem.

“I have a question,” Kale said as we made our way to the leather shop a few blocks away. The sun was starting to set and we needed to hurry if we were going to make it before the store closed.

I took his hand. “As long as it doesn’t involve a midget and some whipped cream, I’m game.”

He stopped, eyebrows raised.

“It’s a joke, go ahead.”

We started walking again. “What’s going to happen after?”

“After?”

“This party. When it’s over, then what?”

“What do you mean, then what?”

“What will happen to me?”

“Happen? Nothing’s going to happen. You’re free to live your life now. You can go wherever you want and do whatever you like.”

“Go?”

“Yeah, like travel.”

His eyes sparkled.

“There’s an entire world out there, Kale. Things you can’t even imagine. Fascinating sights to see, interesting people to meet…” Pretty girls to kiss. Damn it.