The Leader

The Leader: Chapter Five

Chapter Five: Santia

I'm walking through a hot sweltering desert, and then I cross an imaginary border. Suddenly, the ground is covered with frost, and I don't know why. I keep walking, and I find a frozen flower. I look up and see a clear star-filled night sky. I look straight ahead and see a frozen forest, all of it glistening in the light of the tiny crescent moon. This is beautiful, and this is where I belong.

I wake up with a start and accidentally wake Ethan as well. I'm not surprised that we spent the night together, because we do it often. We have never slept together in the modern term of the word, yet we always find sleep easier in each other's arms. He faces me and strokes my cheek, then gives me a quick kiss on the lips. He stretches out his arms and sits up. The blanket falls off him and exposes his naked torso, exciting my hormones. I'm confused and disorientated because it's still morning, yet I can still feel my connection to Ethan, even now. It's like fate is keeping us together, keeping us close and safe so that we can give each other a reason to live. I sit up and then climb over the blanket. I sit on top of Ethan's legs, facing him, my legs wrapped around his waist.

"Come on, Tia. It's the morning. You know I can't control-" I kiss his neck, and he groans. I stroke his chest and then kiss his chin, and finally, his mouth. I taste his unique flavour on my tongue, and I revel in it. He pulls away and then hugs me to his chest.

"I love you," he whispers.

"I love you," I tell him back.

"Tia, no matter what your power is, I'll still love you. Even if you're a giant cat that eats eagles like me, I'll still love you."

"And I you."

"Tia, one day we'll both give in to those wretched hormones, but not today. Okay?"

"Mm," I say, not really listening, kissing his neck again.

Ethan leaves around midday, and I spend the rest of the afternoon readying myself for the first party of the holidays. Over the next three weeks, my life is blurred with parties, hanging with friends and kissing Ethan. The two weeks after, however, are the part I've been looking forward to. My parents are going away for two weeks, Ethan's scientist parents have a two week conference, and Ethan and I have unlimited time to spend together. We've planned it that he'll stay at my place because Adam is at his, and he'll notice how often I'm over there. When he arrives with his bags, I run up and throw my arms around his neck, kissing him with force. We break apart, both out of breath, and he looks into my eyes lovingly.

"Tia, you are the best thing that ever happened to me. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I do. You'd go out with Maya." He shakes his head.

"No. I don't think I would. Don't ever leave me," he pleads.

"I promise to never leave you. I love you so much, Ethan."

"And I you." He takes my hand and we walk to my room, where he throws his things on the floor.

"Look, I've been thinking," I begin. "We have two weeks together by ourselves, right?"

"Yeah," he says a little hesitantly.

"Why don't we make the most of it?" I ask, grinning wickedly.

"Let me think about that one, Tia. I mean, don't you care at all about your virtue?"

"Of course I do. That's why I want to do it with you, when I love you so much."

"You know I want you so bad, but I need to think. I feel guilty about forcing people into things."

"Ethan! You aren't forcing me! This is my choice. Okay?" He looks me in the eye and grins.

"Fine, but not yet, okay?" I nod, a smile creeping across my face. The next three nights are spent as usual, and I'm planning on making him lose control, not the next night but the one after. I need time to plan, after all. When we go to sleep the next night, I'm already scheming away for my plan. I fall asleep reluctantly at three am, and I have a vivid nightmare.

I open my eyes and the cold is surrounding me. However, everywhere else is warm. When I reach out to touch the warmth, the air becomes cold. I step forward and frost forms underneath my feet. I walk quickly towards a forest, the entire ground freezing beneath me. When I feel safe, I reach out and hold a tree for support. Immediately, it ices over and the tree makes a cracking sound. The ice has covered it, leaves and all, and the tree is now freezing as well. Suddenly, the sun comes up, and the world warms around me. It becomes sweltering, and the heat begins to suffocate me slowly.

I wake up and I take deep breaths, though I still feel as though I'm in a desert. I go into the bathroom and splash cold water on my face, but even that feels warm. I take off my pyjamas and put on an extremely thin singlet and short-shorts. I walk down the hall and to the front door, and then outside the house. The early summer morning does nothing to comfort me, and yet I keep walking around in the dark. I stop panicking, and slowly I feel cold. When I begin to shiver in my meagre clothes, I start turning back towards the house. What am I doing out here anyway? I'm so stupid. That's the last thing I think before I'm grabbed around the waist and a hand is clamped around my mouth. I feel something heavy connect with my head, a shooting pain, and then absolute darkness covers every feeling.

Ethan woke up at eleven to find Santia missing. He immediately jumped out of bed and began calling for her. When she didn't answer, he panicked. He ran outside with only his shorts on, carrying a t-shirt. He threw the top on the floor and then closed his eyes. He thought of flying, of feeling the wind beneath his wings, his powerful body keeping him in the air. He felt himself change, and then he cried out in the language of the birds. He flew into the air as an eagle and used his sharp eyesight to search the ground for a twenty mile radius around Santia's house. Then he had an idea. Only one person would care enough to help him right now. He flew to Talia's house as fast as he could and right through her bedroom window. She nearly screamed, but then stopped as he started to change. He was only slightly embarassed with the fact that he was naked, but he was so worried it didn't matter to him.

"Talia, Santia's gone! I heard her get up last night, and she was quite literally freezing. She went into the bathroom, and I fell back to sleep because I thought she was going to come back. Please, help me."

"I'll get Liam to help," she said to him. "Then he can see if anyone knows where she went." Ethan nodded, and then changed back into an eagle. He flew back out the window and to Maya's house. Surely she must have seen something of Santia's whereabouts? When he shifted in front of Maya, it was a completely different story. She gaped at him, taking in every feature of his well toned body.

"Maya," he snapped, impatient and anxious. He told her what he'd told Talia, and then asked if she'd seen anything.

"Santia will return on the day that Talia discovers her new power," Maya recited. "It cannot be told to her, but she must find it on her own. Then Santia's return will be triggered by Talia's first use of her new ability." Ethan nodded, happy that at least Santia would be safe, though still anxious that he'd have to wait, maybe for a long time, until she returned.