Slim: Book 6

I've Seen Fire and I've Seen rain

If we got out of the mountains, that is.

Because not only were Naru and more or less trapped to our dry little alcove under some tree roots and ferns to avoid the rain, but we were once more in nothing but wet yukatas, and autumn isn't exactly known for its warm temperatures.

He tucked me close to him so he could wrap both his legs and arms around me. We had already done our best to squeeze out the water from our hair and clothes. Still we shivered, hard. To make matters worse, night was closing in, darkening the sky and turning the shadows of our hiding spot nearly pitch black. A high, whistling wind started up, clacking the branches above us.

We both knew we couldn't stay.

"Th-there's the b-b-blanket back in the car," I said through chattering teeth.

"Said car also has a broken window and a flood next to it." How he managed to speak without the interference of his chattering was beyond me.

"I-I-It would-d-d m-make it easier t-to find us. For Lin, th-th-that is. He should be get-t-t-ting there by now."

"Which is why we should stay put. It would be easier for him and his shiki to find us if we stay put, so just stop talking. You're going to bite off your tongue."

Groaning inwardly, I tucked my face beneath the cloth of his open yukata, pressing my burnt cheek against his chest. His heart beat quickly beneath my ear, probably frantic to create more heat through sheer exertion.

My head hurt.

As time passed and the world grew darker, the shelter of the ferns and tree branches failed as the rain turned to a deluge, dripping big, fat drops from their leaves onto us. Next thing I knew I was adjusting my leg and finding mud stuck to my shin like clay. If that wasn't enough to turn this into the worst day of my life, I had already brushed off several unseen creepy crawlies from my skin and from beneath my yukata. My toes and most of my feet had gone numb from cold. The only reason my hands hadn't was because I had tucked them up into Naru's armpits.

"N-N-Na-a-ru," I whined.

He gave me a squeeze. "He'll find us."

But it hadn't been Lin I had been thinking about. Every second more water was slipping down into our alcove, soaking into the earth. I felt a small, newborn stream slide past my ankle.

Just how much water did the monster need?

My fear started to build. My muscles couldn't tense anymore than they already had, nor could my prickled hairs go any higher for the cold. There was no running for me, now, on feet numbed by cold. I was sure to stumble on something, if my legs managed to unbuckle from their position.

As tiny whimpers started eking their way out from my clamped throat, Naru ducked his head against my own and breathed warmth onto the back of my neck. But he must have sensed something as well, for he said nothing.

A branch cracked in the distance and fell with a hollow thud. We both jumped. He held me tighter.

"Just the storm," he whispered.

I hardly heard him. An irrational fear had stiffened up like a startled cobra along my back. I started to hyperventilate.

"Getdddout of-GEdddout-" I couldn't get it out. Water, water all around me.

Naru's arms around me tensed till they felt like stone. A familiar pressure started to push at my skin, prickling, pressing against me like a solid wind.

"Did you know," he whispered, even as he lifted his shaking arm from my back. "That high levels of PK result in pyrokenesis?"

A snap, and light burst into my vision. Flame spluttered and hissed besides us in the alcove, fighting to feed on the damp twigs pressed into the mud. I could feel its warmth, and yet, oddly, I grew colder...and colder.