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“I still don’t trust him,” Kieran sighed.
“I don’t either,” I said. “But it’s a start. It was good to see you joking around with him.”
“Yeah, it was just like old times before he started getting depressed.”
“He’s getting better. I could see it.”
“So, how did you feel going in there?” Kieran asked, slouching in his seat.
“To be honest, I was pretty nervous. I think I was as scared as you.”
“I wasn’t scared,” Kieran said, puffing out his chest a bit.
“I had to practically drag you into the room.”
“If it were for other reasons, I wouldn’t mind going in a room with you,” Kieran joked, throwing a wink my way. I found that funny, but I punched his chest.
“You’re getting a bit carried away with this friendship, Kier.”
“Oh, so the old nickname is making a comeback!” Kieran shouted, rolling down his window and sticking his head out. “It must be a miracle,” he yelled to the sky. “She’s not the wild woman on the rampage anymore, she’s got her head screwed on!”
I hit him again and he laughed. “I’m only joking, Talis,” he said, smiling at me. I couldn’t help smiling.
It was great to catch up with Kieran and have a laugh.
It probably wasn’t going to be plain sailing, but again, it was a start.
We just looked at each other, smiling, before Kieran swept me off my feet. “Cheers, Talis,” he whispered. “I’m being serious.”
Just to let you know, I’ve had a look at the figures and they’re in the right place.
“Hilatu mikatu,” I muttered repeatedly, putting my hands over Logan’s palm. I took a deep breath and focused on the task at hand. I opened my eyes to see Logan’s hand, and I groaned in disappointment. “Why can’t I get this right?”
I put my hands on my thighs and let out a loud slap, then threw my head back.
“Don’t beat yourself up, Talia,” Logan encouraged. “Just try again.”
“You’re practically bleeding to death because of me,” I said, pointing out that Logan was frightened.
We were in the kitchen, practising my healing abilities. I’ve been training for 14 months and I’m still not perfect. Every time I tried, I failed miserably while Logan’s wound got worse with every attempt.
It would usually go something like this: Logan would randomly train me. He’d take a knife and cut a small slash on his palm. Before it would heal because of his werewolf abilities, I’d start with what I was taught. I would keep repeating the words, “hilatu mikatu” with my eyes closed, trying to get in touch with nature. I’ve no idea where those two words came from, but I know that in English, they meant healing. When I woke up, Logan’s wound was always worse. It’d be bleeding more or it’d be deeper. It was obvious that it wasn’t healed.
That meant only one thing.
I didn’t do so well.
I kept on failing.
“Have another go,” Logan urged again, looking at his bloody hand. “You’ll get it in the end.”
“Are you sure? You just don’t want to stop now?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. He looked like he was in pain. Every time I asked him how it felt, he lied and said it didn’t feel like anything. But I knew it was either stinging, burning, or aching.
“I’m all right. Let’s just keep going,” Logan said, holding out his bloodied hand to me. He wiped away blood with the third napkin he’d used that day.
“Okay,” I said after a few seconds. I closed my eyes, ready to take his hand. As I inhaled, I recited, “Hilatu mikatu. Hilatu mikatu. Hilatu mikatu. Hilatu mikatu. Hilatu mikatu…”
I opened my eyes and groaned again. The wound was bleeding a bit.
“Hilatu mikatu,” I thought to myself. “Hilatu mikatu, hilatu mikatu, hilatu mikatu…”
I felt like crying when it didn’t work again. I banged my head on the table and moaned. “I’m such a useless healer!”
“No you’re not,” Logan told him, wiping blood off his hand. “Don’t ever say a healer is useless, even if you’re talking about yourself.”
“Why am I always failing? You got it in a few weeks, so how come it’s taking me so long?” I complained, getting mad at myself for constantly failing.
“You just need to find yourself,” Logan said. “Maybe it just isn’t your time yet. It’s important to get back to nature. You need to get past the wall you’ve built between you.”
“What the hell? How do you do that?”
“I don’t know,” Logan screamed back, scared by how angry I was. He looked a bit odd with his brown eyes widening and his shoulders going up. “I’ve never had to do that! I’m sorry.”
“I feel so stupid! You keep teaching me, but I never seem to learn from my mistakes! I’m sorry, Logan,” I said, playing with my long brown hair.
“Come on,” Logan sighed, putting his hand in front of me. “Let’s give this one more shot.”
“Okay,” I said, closing my eyes. I focused really hard, calling out to nature. “Hilatu mikatu, hilatu mikatu, hilatu mikatu…”
Still bleeding.
“Hilatu mikatu. Hilatu mikatu. Hilatu mikatu. Hilatu mik – ”
“What are you doing to Logan?” A guy’s voice shouted, cutting me off.
I opened my eyes and groaned. I turned around and shot a dirty look at the ginger. I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Why are you killing him?” Cruz gave me a shout, looking at Logan’s hand with a look of shock on his face. Logan just gave a little smirk, amused by the whole thing. “And what are you on about? Is it some kind of witchcraft? I’ve always known you were evil!”
“Cheers Cruz,” I replied sarcastically. I was actually practising my healing skills while I was there.
Cruz’s eyebrows were knitted together as he looked closely at Logan’s bloody hand and the three bloody napkins next to him. His eyebrows shot up before he looked at me. “Hey, Talia, you’re doing awesome! He didn’t tell the truth. Cruz never told a lie. He gave me a nod before making his exit.
“Okay, let’s keep going,” Logan said, putting his hand out in front of me.
“I think we should take a break. I’m not feeling it anymore.”
“Talia, you’ll get there in the end. I’m all right. If you want to practise some more, I’m more than happy to help.
“Logan, I’m not feeling it anymore,” I said, avoiding his intense stare. “I don’t want that wound to get worse, especially with my added negativity.”
“Don’t give up.”
“I’m not throwing in the towel. I’m just having a breather. I’m sure I’d get it sooner or later,” I said, trying to convince him. It sounded like I was trying to convince myself as well.
“Okay. I’ll just tidy up and cook something. Do you want anything?”
I shook my head, stood up and went up the stairs. I thought I’d ask Kieran what the hunters and rogues want as part of our investigation. I managed to persuade Logan that it’d be fine for me to talk to Kieran on my own, and he eventually agreed to the idea.
I was pretty sure Kieran would share the info with me because we were on good terms. He always used to tell me things about werewolf business. So, I thought I’d go for it and ask him.
“Kieran,” I called when I knocked on his bedroom door. “Hey, it’s Talia!”
I got no answer. I was sure he was home. His car was parked in the garage and he would have announced his departure, telling us to call him if anything went wrong.
“Kieran,” I called again, knocking on the door.
When there was still no answer, I carefully opened the bedroom door. His scent hit me. I let out a low moan without meaning to. It was tidy and empty.
The king-size bed with white sheets was pushed up against one beige wall again. There was a small leather sofa and a single beanbag in front of a flat-screen TV. The window across the room had white curtains. Under the window, there was a desk with a few papers lying around and a laptop in the middle. To the left were two doors, one to his bathroom and the other to his closet.
Before I could shut the door and leave, something on his bedside table caught my eye. I went in, shut the door and went over to the picture frame. I looked at it, confused, with my eyebrows raised.