Ignite

Chapter One | Part Three

“So, where are we going again?” Ginny asked casually, flicking a tiny piece of lint off her arm.

Cade's face hardened. Mario's 'pampering' must have been wearing off. He would have to rely on his barely existent charisma and talent for lying to avoid the questions he knew she would soon be asking.

“Oh, I just have a little stop to make before taking you home.”

“Okay,” she said happily, squinting in the evening sun.

He was relieved she hadn't been suspicious. There was no point in taking her home, they were both going to end up at the same empty fairground for misfit losers.

He was aware his presence calmed her―in a supernatural way, of course. He was thankful, too, otherwise not only would she be freaked out and reluctant to let a stranger drive her around, she would also be a neurotic mess, due to the way the Tenebris Ignite was pulling her closer.

He had no intent of taking her home, he was currently headed to JFK.

Of course, she didn't know that. His presence did more than just calm her, it blinded her. She wasn't aware of the world outside this car, she was oblivious to the fact that they were near Greenwich, not Greenfield, Connecticut. In some ways, his abilities were like marijuana to others. He couldn't turn it off though, it was part of him.

He wondered what the other victims of the Tenebris Ignite were enduring right now to get to the fire.

Maybe this year would be different. After all, Ginny was different. He regarded her for a moment, marveling at how blissful and mellow she looked right now.

About a half-hour later, they were driving through the Bronx traffic.

Ginny was still gazing at the polluted sky, blissfully unaware of the noisy blares and commotion around them.

Cade had managed to sort of put her in a bubble, as well as her being unnaturally calmed by him.

It was still another hour or so until JFK, and he hoped the effect he had on her wouldn't wear off by then.

When they'd finally reached JFK, Ginny was a bit more alert―she'd constantly been asking all sorts of ludicrous questions that Cade couldn't answer―but she was still mostly unawareof the world around them.

It had been a complicated journey to get there―there had even been some mortal complications―but they were now hastily running through the terminals of JFK.

Cade wasn't sure if he had ever flown on a plane before, he preferred supernatural transportation, but he was already hating it and they hadn't even boarded yet.

He had bought her a nice, Samsonite and gave her two hundred dollar bills, thinking she would buy a pair of jeans, some new shoes and a few T-shirts. He'd been wrong.

Today, Cade had learned an important lesson: Never give a girl more than 10 dollars and set her free in the duty-free, shopping area of an airport, especially not when she's under a supernatural oblivion enchantment.

She was now dressed head-to-toe in an assortment of plain ugliness. He couldn't bear to look at her, her clothes hurt his eyes.

He also didn't think she would use both two hundred dollar bills. She'd used every cent.

Once they had boarded the plane, Ginny was asking more and more questions.

“Where are we?” Ginny demanded frantically. “I thought you said you were taking me home.”

Cade tapped his fingers against his armrest anxiously. “I told you. We're just making a small detour.” She was suspicious, but he doubted she even knew they were on a plane. He wasn't sure exactly how his abilities worked though, he had never experienced them himself.

“It'll be fine. We'll be back in no time,” he smiled at her, hoping it was a comforting smile.

Ginny took a deep breath and looked out the plane window.

He wondered what she saw. He doubted she saw reality, she probably saw some moronic, New England landmark or a cutesy farmhouse.

A perky flight attendant approached them, smiling so widely, it made Cade's mouth hurt just looking at her freaky facial expression. “We'll be taking off in a few minutes, please fasten your seat belts.”

Cade smiled at her, before beckoning for her to come closer. He whispered in her ear, “See this girl,” he gestured to Ginny. “When we land in Carson City, I need you to see that she immediately boards a flight―to somewhere safe, secure, and most importantly, as far away from Nevada as possible. Understand?” He looked deeply into the flight attendant's eyes, feeling around in her soul, convincing her to obey his words.

“Of course,” she gulped, and walked away.

Cade took a deep breath. He didn't want to abandon Ginny, but he had no choice. He had to be at the Tenebris Ignite by the Summer Solstice, but he couldn't risk bringing her there. Maybe he had lied to Sloane on the phone. He wasn't planning on personally delivering Ginny to the Tenebris Ignite, quite the opposite: He was going to make sure she got as far away from it as humanly possible.

He wasn't sure why―the Tenebris Ignite usually preyed on weak, damaged losers, but as far as he could tell, Ginny was none of the above―but the Tenebris Ignite wanted Ginny, but he couldn't do that to her. He couldn't lead her into it's trap.

He looked over at her; she was asleep. She looked so peaceful and happy. He wanted to remember her that way, he didn't know why, but he actually liked this idiot―which was why he desperately hoped he would never see her again.