Light Speed by Arkadie, L. (accelerated reader books .TXT) 📕

“Ek’et’ru?” He frowns confused.

“Evil incarnate.”

There’s a glow of amusement in his eyes,which have turned opaquely green.

“No, I am not that.” He’s grinning but in avery stranger manner. One side of his mouth is lifted higher thanthe other. There are intentions beyond goodwill behind it.

“You are a Selell?” I ask.

“Yes.”

“And you know I have the lifeblood?”

“Yes.”

I notice that he’s studying the rise andfall of my chest and possibly how my breaths slip out of my mouthfrom between my lips. “You don’t want to kill me?”

“No.”

My head stops spinning and my heavybreathing evens out. Oddly enough, I believe the Selell.

“Then what do you want from me?” I reachdown to squeeze the doorknob. “Why have you taken me prisoner?”

“You’re not my prisoner,” he says withcomposed calm.

“Then why have you locked me inside of thismanor?” I insist as my eyes travel across the high ceiling over myhead. The sight causes the cold and emptiness to seize me. A shiverstreaks down my spine.

But once again the Selell’s lips are sealed.I notice that he is not only frugal with words, but he is also asubtle being. His eyes shift subtly to the right of me, his left.And subtly the lines in his neck tighten.

Suddenly, he shifts swiftly and he’s soclose to me that I can feel the heat emanating from his skin. ThisI find odd because from what I’ve been taught, the body of a Selellis ice cold.

“Give me your light, Adore. If that willmake you trust me.”

I’m caught off guard by the seductive toneof his voice. I blink myself out of a stunned pause. “You nevertold me how you knew my name,” I whisper, but my words still manageto echo in the hollowness. I’m determined to remain vigilantbecause I still sense deception from him.

He glowers at me. “I can’t say.”

I gulp. “But why?”

“Because I don’t want you to be afraid ofme.”

“I’m already afraid of you,” I confess.

“But I don’t want you to be.”

“Then let me leave.” Once again, there areall the nuances that I once noticed. This time he balls up hisfists. I take notice of how his fingers slip against the inside ofhis hand. His palms are sweating.

“If I could, I would,” he says after a longmoment of observing my curious expression.

I look from his hands and back to his face.The two creases between his eyes have sunk deeper. “Why are you soconflicted?” I ask him.

“I don’t know,” he says, looking away fromme. He steps backwards. Is it anger that now colors his expression?“But we’re both stuck here, so get used to it,” he snaps.

And he’s gone. I feel deserted by the Selellwith the white hair, by my father, my mother, and my sisters. Everypart of me turns heavy—my heart, my head, and all of my limbs.Regardless, I carry myself as fast as I can back up the stairs,rushing up the staircase, through the long hallway, and back to theroom from which I came.

But as soon as I step over the threshold, Icome to an abrupt stop. A different covering is stretched over thebed. It’s thick, white, and fluffy and the hem sweeps the floor.There’s a glass-topped wooden table positioned against the wallbeneath a hanging mirror near the doorway where I’m standing andtwo tall candles burn on top of it, one at each corner. Thecandlelight casts its orange brilliance against the white wallbehind it.

I am almost convinced that my captor hasmade an effort to make me comfortable, but I don’t want to becontented; I want to go home.

I run to the bed and fall into the depths ofits cushiony softness. I flip on my backside, close my eyes and tryto contact Cl’auta again. And once again, I do not succeed. Now, Itry to reach Falu and Pan’a’tua but they do not respond either.

“Na’ta,” I whisper. Na’ta – who is calledNavi on Earth - is my last hope.

I flip around to bury my face into the plushpillow. I’m holding my breath when, in the most splendid momentthus far, it’s Na’ta I hear and, although it sounds afar off, shewhimpers, “Ad’ru help me.”

I fly off the bed and am standing firmly onmy feet. “I’k suk’ne’tu!” I boldly shout, frantically twisting myneck to search in every direction. “I’m here!” I yell. Andwait.

Na’ta has the speed. She will come and sweepme out of here; the stranger with the white hair and dark eyes willnot notice that I’m gone.

The thought of leaving him makes my heartfloat up to my throat. I smash my eyes closed. I’m confused. Iwant to be saved by Navi, don’t I?

The longer I stand here, the more it becomesclear that Na’ta is not coming for me. I flop back onto the bed andonce again bury my face into the pillow.

Time is passing. My head is filled withmemories of home until suddenly I’m running at full stride acrossthe green blades of grass that layer my beloved Enu. This is thehigh grass which leads to the Meadow of Showers. My giggles pinchthe air around me. The never-ceasing droplets of warm rain pelt myskin. I’m laughing because Tryst is chasing me.

I’m in the part of the field where the grassgrows high enough to swipe the bottom of my chin. It tickles, whichis another reason I’m laughing so hard that my stomachtightens.

“Got you!” Tryst shouts as his large orangehands wrangle me into him from behind.

I’m caught. The chase is over. We both letgo of our legs and fall onto the grass.

“You are fast, Ad’ru,” he says inEnglish.

He obeys Ce’lah’ime. She tells him to speakto me only in the human’s language to remind both of us that I amnot fully of this world.

Only, I am fully of this world!

I am here, perfectly contained in happiness.Tryst flips on his side. His orange eyes meet my emerald eyes. I’mstill smiling. Yes, I love Tryst. We can endlessly explore our orbin the long day, running, jumping, swimming, diving, sliding andlying side by side just like this. One of his hands rests on mybelly. The tips of his fingers draw tiny circles on the skin of mybelly through