About halfway up the mountain, Kira started protesting. “You’ve got to be kidding. You are not taking me back up there again. I thought you meant a picnic at the park or something.”
“That wasn’t your condition,” Lydia teased.
“I’m not joking. What about those men? What if your sister finds you?”
“Relax. Octavion has traps set up all over the place, Toran’s guarding the area and he’s certain the scouts didn’t report back our location. Besides, it’s a big mountain and we’ll be clear on the other side, in the canyon.”
Kira folded her arms across her chest and slumped down in her seat. “I don’t know.”
“Look, it’s gonna be great.” Lydia took her eyes off the road just long enough to see Kira’s expression. “I want to show you someplace special. Okay?”
“Okay, but there better not be any trouble and I’m not drinking anything but water, especially from Octavion.”
For the next few minutes, neither of them spoke. Lydia seemed deep in thought, although Kira did catch her rubbing her ruby a few times, most likely telling her brother they were on their way. Kira, on the other hand, was busy trying to ignore the infernal itching. The burn around her wrist had turned a dark tan and didn’t bother her anymore, but the cut on her palm drove her crazy. She’d managed to peel off most of the scab over the past few days, but there was still a tiny section at one end that just wouldn’t let go.
At some point during her scratching fit, she’d managed to prick it loose with the edge of her fingernail. Lydia pulled off the side of the road and rummaged through the glove box for a spare tissue. It wasn’t even one drop of blood, but you would have thought Kira had reopened the entire length of the wound. Kira dabbed at the pin-point droplet and it disappeared.
Lydia sighed. “You have to be more careful, especially around Octavion.”
Kira wadded the tissue and pressed it firmly against the scab. “Why do you say that?”
“It’s just that . . . his sense of smell is . . . well . . . sensitive and sometimes he reacts badly.” Lydia eased back onto the road. “You just need to be careful, that’s all.”
Kira remembered his reaction when he cut her hand. She wasn’t sure of the reason behind it, but with what little she’d already learned about their lives, she knew she’d have to adapt to their ways if she wanted to be Lydia’s friend. “I know,” Kira said. “The night he first made this cut, he acted really weird—then left.”
Lydia sighed again. “Octavion left? He didn’t tell me that part.”
They’d just pulled onto a graveled parking area at a trailhead for hikers when she peeled away the tissue and stuffed it into her pocket. As Lydia retrieved her backpack from the trunk, Kira examined what was left of the scab and found herself wishing it would magically go away, like Lydia’s wound had. The instant the thought popped into her head, she started thinking about the possibilities. She certainly didn’t want to go through the pain she’d experienced that night, but then, this was much smaller, and already mostly healed. She ran her index finger along the scar, but nothing changed.
Concentrate, her inner voice whispered. This time Kira pressed her palms together, tightly squeezed her interlocked fingers, and tried to see her hand healed. A tingling sensation radiated between her palms, then stopped. She peeled her hands apart to find the scar, scab, and itch completely gone.
Lydia opened the door so she could get out, but Kira just sat there, staring at her hand.
“It’s . . . gone.” Kira held out her palm for Lydia to see. “Why didn’t you tell me I could heal myself? This thing’s been driving me crazy.”
Lydia’s eyes widened. She grabbed Kira’s hand to get a better look. “Octavion’s gonna freak.”
“You mean, you didn’t know?”
“No. He created the Crystor as a divining tool. He was afraid Shandira would kidnap me and they wouldn’t be able to find me. We found out about its healing powers right before we were forced from our home. We really have no idea what it’s capable of doing.” She pushed the Crystor up Kira’s wrist before touching her fingertip to the burn. “Can you fix this, too?”
Kira shrugged. “I guess.” She wasn’t sure she liked the fact that Octavion had no idea what the Crystor could do. The effects it already had on Kira’s mind and body were positive, but what if there were negative side-effects? She wrapped her hand around her wrist and focused on the burn like she’d done with the cut. This time the sensation was barely noticeable.
Lydia let out a hoot when Kira pulled her hand away and the burn was gone. “Did it hurt?”
Kira smiled. It felt good to see Lydia back to her usual self. She’d missed her. “Just a tingle, that’s all. What else do you think I can do?”
Lydia chuckled. “Patience, Kira. You must have patience.” Then she became more serious. “You can’t tell anyone. You know that, right?”
Kira nodded. “I know.”
“I mean it, Kira. If someone saw you do something like that, we could be in danger.” Lydia paused for a moment. “We have to act normal or it’ll draw attention to us. That’s where we went wrong in Montana.”
“I guess.” Kira had to admit it would be difficult. How could her life ever be “normal” again?