Chapter 16

Kate

Luke and I stood opposite each other, face to face, several feet apart on the beach. My stare was a look of complete concentration and his was of complete amusement.

"Let me try again," I urged him.

Ever since the fight between Carrie, Luke and me yesterday, I had been curious about my shielding ability. It was something I never knew about vampires and, honestly, it was really cool. I practiced intently all morning after Luke and I had gotten breakfast together in the forest. My progress was limited since I could not replicate the same strength of shield I had the day before.

I narrowed my eyes as I tried to push a force away from me. I tensed my entire body and tried to force a solid barrier off my skin. Luke, sensing the right moment, took a step forward, but did not meet any restraints.

I growled. "Why can't I do it? I did it only yesterday!"

"Maybe you're not in the right mindset. Remember why you produced a shield in the first place?"

"I was trying to keep Carrie from getting to you," I told him, referring back to the exact moment. I had a complete need to keep Carrie away from Luke, even if it was the last thing I did. I recalled my entire body tightening, a tingling sensation had also appeared. And, even though I passed it off as being extremely angry, my surroundings seemed to ripple before me.

"Try to think of a reason that you would never want me near you," Luke suggested.

"That wouldn't work because that would never happen in reality," I told him, rolling my eyes.

"That's all I have. Just try to keep me away from you with all your might."

I closed my eyes and concentrated again, remembering the feeling I had when Carrie was barreling towards me. With my heightened senses, I could reenact the memory perfectly in my mind, almost feeling the sensation over again. I heard Luke take a step forward and, telling my mind it was Carrie, the front of my body began to tingle. My eyes flung open and found that I had produced the illusion of a thick wall, a trick on the eyes that only I could see. Luke continued to proceed with caution and his approach suddenly got slower, until he stopped moving altogether.

"Keep moving," I told him, struggling to hold up what I guessed was my shield.

"I can't," Luke said, looking down at his feet. He swung them back and forth and I registered the feeling of a pressure being put against my wall.

"Oh my gosh, really?" I asked, my face brightening up, but then I lost my wall completely and my vision was plain again.

"That wasn't as strong as it was with Carrie," Luke observed. "It was like walking through thick mud. Carrie had run straight into a solid wall."

I rearranged my stance, putting my feet wider apart. "Let's do it again." I began to stare Luke down, telling my mind it was Carrie again, and concentrating on the feelings in my skin, on trying to pull out my wall again. Ever-so-slightly, Luke began to ripple in front of me, and my wall was thinner now, more defined than the blurry wall I had produced a second ago. Luke, walking slowly, walked into the wall carefully and came to an abrupt halt. I gave him a wide smile, forcing myself to keep the shield up for as long as I could.

"Very nice, Kate," Luke grinned.

Thinking I would take it down, he kept forcing himself forward. I was able to feel his advances through my shield, as he tried it over and over again.

"Okay, okay, you've made the shield. Now can I come congratulate you?"

I only grinned at him, keeping the shield up.

Luke narrowed his eyes and took several large steps back before running full speed at my shield. Knowing that he would run straight into my stronger wall, I quickly brought it down and Luke barreled through, running straight into me. The both of us fell to the ground, Luke twisting in mid air so that I landed on top of him.

"How did you know I would let my shield down?" I asked. "I could have just let you run straight into it."

Luke laughed. "You wouldn't have done that. I know you too well."

"Maybe next time you shouldn't be so sure," I muttered.

He chuckled and gave me kiss on the lips.

I sighed, brushing Luke's shaggy hair off his forehead. "You need a haircut."

Luke chuckled. "Thanks."

Even though Luke was smiling, it was clear that his face showed the marks of long-term pain. When Luke first appeared to me in the forest yesterday morning, a time that felt centuries ago, I remember thinking he looked pained and disheveled. Certainly it was my absence that had done that. His hair was still unkempt and scraggly, and his eyes, although having improved lately, still have the unmistakable droop of sadness.

"Luke?" I asked.

"What's wrong?" he asked instead, putting his hand on my cheek as he heard the concern in my voice.

"How bad was it?" I asked.

Luke's forehead creased. "Your shield? It was awesome…"

I shook my head. "No. How bad was it for you when I was gone?"

Luke's face fell. I expected him to comfort me like he always did, but there was no such luck now. His face gave away all the pain he had gone through. I put my hand on top of his hand resting on my face. "It wasn't good," he finally said.

I nodded, and Luke's eyes became glossy. After a second of staring into my eyes, his face hardened and his jaw tightened. He moaned loudly, throwing his head back in frustration. "Ugh! I can't even think about you like that—not being with me. Those days were the darkest of my life. I can't even imagine a world without you, and living it was like someone had buried me alive, six feet in the dirt."

The image that gave me was difficult to think about. I shook my head to get it out.

Beneath me, Luke's body began to tremble in anger. His jaw was still clenched and his eyes were squeezed tight. There was more emotion for my absence than I thought. In order to calm him down, I placed my hand on the side of his face and his jaw immediately unclenched. From underneath his eyelid seeped a single tear that trickled to the sandy beach.

"Now we can be together forever."

He nodded, his eyes still clenched together, but somehow he didn't seem consoled by that sentence.

"I won't ever leave you again. This time I can stop it," I added.

I gave him a kiss on his cheek, lingering there for a moment, and then kissing downwards until I met his lips. His arms wrapped around me tighter than he ever had before, forcing my body to mold with his.

I drew a few pictures of Kate! See them at DeviantArt here: .com/#