Touch in the Worlds: Shadows Over the Edge

18: Red Flames

Hey!!

So, no one's mad about that last cliffhanger, right? Hehe...I might just put in a few more...maybe...

***

The moment I'd put the phone down, my first thought was how to get Stephen and Seth out of the cabin. The phone call was a taunt. Just like James, but this time around, it wasn't a direct attack. It was probably instigated by Victoria as a way of reminding me who I had messed with. Riley, however had clearly not known the implication hence the call hadn't made much of an impact.

What did make an impact however, were the background noises...

I could clearly make out the loud yawns Stephen had been letting out since the past hour, getting incessantly deeper as he got more bored and antsy.

Hearing that had made two things very clear.

One, this person was in the house. He was close enough to hurt us, which meant Victoria was nearby as well. She must've had the same idea as Book Victoria. Edward must've stowed me away somewhere but I had already sent him off to fight alongside his family. Seth couldn't possibly take out Riley and Victoria. He would get hurt or worse and then it would be endgame for me and Stephen. We would be long gone or dead by the time Edward came for us.

I couldn't let that happen. I needed to get Stephen and Seth out of the way and the only way that could happen was to send them out of the cabin. If I was lucky, they'd be able to get Edward or Jacob. Till then however, I had to buy myself enough time to get them a head start.

I watched as the door shut behind them and hopefully Seth would be able to get the hint and even if he didn't, Stephen would. I trusted him. He would be able to the needful...or at least stay safe if he didn't manage to get back in time.

When I felt the presence behind me finally, I turned, facing off the man who had been sent to scare me till Victoria got her hands on me.

Riley was an average Seattle guy. Sandy blonde hair mussed from the wind, bundled up against the cold, he stood watching me with a look decidedly not that of a murderer's. I frowned. Something was off. He didn't even seem like he was part of a large vampire massacre. I had heard him moving about, felt him behind me...

"You're human." I whispered, shocked.

The boy's eyes narrowed.

Riley was human? Wasn't he the one Victoria had first turned? Why was he human here? What had changed?

"Why are you human?" I asked.

Riley sneered, scoffing at my question.

I clenched my jaw in irritation. His plain staring was unnerving but I was losing my patience. If he was here to just stand there and gawk at me, why had he bothered to let me clear the place?

So Victoria could have an easy target...

I balled my fists, angry at my own blindness. If I had taken off with Seth and Steph, I wouldn't even be here but I hadn't known Riley would be human. Besides, now it was done, I couldn't be undone.

Also, if I wasn't there, Victoria would slip away and done something which I couldn't be prepared for.

"What, did she warn you not to talk to me?" I asked.

Riley's eyes if possible, narrowed even more as I resorted to my classic method of getting someone to talk. Goading and provoking worked well especially with retrograde hot heads. If you got them mad enough, they started prattling, just like the average comic book villain.