BREATH . OF . LIFE . ~ { ReGenisis Chronicles Book I }

Chapter Two [Part 3/5]: Hummingbird Heart

             -Griffin King-

She was clung so closely to my side, her pale skin perfect in the moonlight. The faint freckles on her cheeks had not completely gone away after her transformation, but to the normal human eye it would have seemed so.

I was watching her every movement out of the corner of my eyes, her every quick breath, the way her brown eyes flitted around, her hand shook a little where it was clasped to the material of my coat so tightly. I could feel her heart thudding into me, hear it speed in my ears. I fed off of her anxiety, it surged through me as if the adrenalin in her veins was being pumped into my own. I'd never felt so connected to another person before.

Despite the beautiful violet scent coming off of her skin and her new icing sugar breath that drew me in; I could detect other smells that made my nose wrinkle. It was easier to smell them than hear them. But slowly I picked up on a breaking twig here or a disturbed leaf there behind us.

I picked up the pace, my fingers pressing further into her hip where my hand rested, keeping her as close as was possible without defying the laws of physics.

I had to get us back to the Sanctuary, she wasn't ready to meet with a confrontation of this kind.

That she'd taken on the drug so quickly was reassuring, it didn't mean it was stable in her system. Her eyes were still brown, resisting the change to pale silvery-blue. Instead, they simply seemed darker, richer than before and under the lamp light the iris was drawn a little, as if it was still too bright for her new eyes. Was it possible she would have better vision than the rest of us in the dark, or was this a malfunction of her rebirth being so recent?

The figures around us were drawing in, getting closer. Kate shuddered in further towards me, detecting the same movement in the air that I had. It was hard against my skin like ice cold wind. Only to anyone else it would have been the flutter of a butterflies wing. I stopped still, I could feel we were surrounded, I pulled Kate round a little, lifting her chin up to look me in the eyes.

"Please, trust me." I breathed, her eyes flickered open and shut as she reacted to my breath, it was arguably like hers, only mine was possibly not as sweet or so much like juniper. It was a side effect of the serum.

She nodded nervously. "I do."

I pulled from out of my pocket a little knife and held it up in front of her nose. She stared down at it without moving her head and reluctantly took it from me with a shaking hand. As her skin brushed mine, I felt a warm jolt run through me.

"I want you to stand back to back with me. I will keep you as safe as I can. But I can't see everything." I  admitted watching her shake her head again, her eyes drawing out widely. "Don't panic...let instinct tell you what to do." Then I turned, watching shadows at the edges of the trees becoming visible in the darkness.

"Jake," I grumbled, clenching my hands into hard fists.

I could smell him, his scent was shocking like black pepper. It always hit the back of my nose, making my eyes water.

"Griffin," he replied smugly, stepping out from the trees, alone. Allowing the others to stay back, until he gave the signal, of course. "Fancy meeting you here..."

Kate squealed behind me, her back pressing harder against mine. I figured her sight had adjusted to see the faces in the trees around us.

I'd been so distracted by her I hadn't detected anyone nearby until they were too close.

"What do you want?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Your new acquisition. She is quite lovely, the change didn't hinder her natural scent..." He smirked, pushing his mid-length blonde hair back. He liked to keep it smooth and tidy.

Vanity had always been a trait of his. His perfectionism had only gotten more profound after he could see all the detail in his features. All the little, subtle flaws. Before he'd been quite blind and contended with contacts or glasses. Now his vision was that of a hawks.

"She's not an acquisition Jake." I hissed, one of my hands reached back so that it brushed against hers. In fear she seized the opportunity to grab hold of it tightly, desperately. Another warm shiver.

"Oh I'm not so sure... She's the reason you were able to be tracked. You don't usually return to places. Not without a purpose." He started to chuckle. "You've been following her scent around for a while, probably without realising. Once we realised we made sure to do the same."

Admittedly, he was right. I had been getting traces of her violet scent around and followed it aimlessly. I grit my teeth in my mouth, I wondered if that's why she was chased, to lure me in?

"W-who is he?" Kate trembled, her heart thudding fast like a hummingbirds. The vibration of it filling me with a new adrenalin.

"It doesn't matter. He's either going to let us go, or he won't be alive much longer." I tried to sound reassuring. But I could hear the animal grit in my voice. I'd achieved dark and threatening instead. She gasped back in shock.

Jake laughed of course, "now, Mr King, how do you suppose you'll do that. If you attack me, every one of my men will head for the girl at once." He put his hand up, the shadows drew closer.

My heart jolted at the same time as I felt Kate's stop for just a moment. I held myself back, closing my eyes. I had to think, it was just so hard. The smell of violets up my nose mixed with Jake's disorientating pepper was making my head spin. I hadn't suffered anything similar since I first realised bright light hurt my eyes.

Opening them, I nodded my head. "If you will make thing's so damn awkward." I paused, taking a deep breath, inhaling violet and juniper vapours, cast out by the little creature trying not to hyperventilate behind me. "I'll take care of them instead."