Valiant (Wiccan Wars Series - Book 2)

3 - Wildfire

Zack threw himself on to the towel next to Summer. She flinched away from his damp wetsuit and dripping hair.

"How can you deal with being in the sea?" She asked grouchily. "You're the most potent fire witch I know. I cant even take a shower without feeling uncomfortable."

"Aww," Zack pouted, holding out his arms. "Let me hug it all better." He leant closer to her; she shied away from his wetsuit-clad arms. 

"Nope!" She shouted, jumping up. She sprinted as fast as she could away from him.

"You cant get away that easily!" He shouted back, following her up the beach. She giggled as she dodged through some rocks; Zack skidded to a halt. He knew another way around the rocks. He'd cut her off.

He backed away from the stones and started heaving himself up the small cliff beside them, and, once he was firmly on the clifftop, jogged just ahead of where Summer was below him. When he neared the end of the rocks, he began to lower himself down the face of the cliff, being careful to find steady footholds. He'd climbed down that particular part of the cliff many times, so it was familiar to him - or at least familiar enough that he wouldn't fall.

He landed on his feet and weaved into the maze of rocks, searching for the familiar face of the girl he'd come to know better than he did himself. He heard a giggle and ducked behind a rock, seeing her bustle past him. He jumped out and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back behind the rock. It was a tight squeeze; he could feel her hips pressing against his.

"This is cosy." She murmured, glancing up at him. He could feel her heart racing through her skin, which was melded to his from the closeness of her.

He opened his mouth to respond, but heard footsteps and soft voices approach. He held his finger up to his lips to signal to Summer that someone was coming, then leant out from behind the rock and looked in the direction that the voices were coming from.

Zack saw someone he hadn't seen for months, and had assumed gone - Abby. But she wasn't alone.

"What are you trying to tell me? That some witch kidnapped you?" A girl that Zack didnt recognise, said. She was fairly short - about the same height as Summer - and wore an oversized mens hooded jumper. She had several facial piercings, and a tribal tattoo crept from the collar of the jumper.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Abby said. She rubbed her face with a scarred hand. "You need to leave this town. Anyone…different, will end up in a whole mess of trouble."

"What's going on?" Summer breathed. Zack shushed her.

The new girl pulled the hood of her jumper down. "Thanks for looking out for me, sweetie, but I can take care of myself-"

Someone landed next to her. He was a broad-shouldered boy with a tattooed neck and more piercings than the girl.

"Simon." The girl breathed, relievedly. 

Abby's eyes narrowed. "Don't say that I didnt warn you." She dodged past the boy and left the way she'd come, her white-blonde hair flicking behind her. The boy turned to the girl.

"Who was that?" He asked, his voice echoing around the rocks.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Some girl called Patricia or something. She said we should be careful around here."

"Patricia?" Zack breathed lightly. 

"Sounds a bit paranoid to me. Still, you should be careful. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

The girl punched his arm. "Hey, don't pull the whole 'overprotective boyfriend' on me. I can take care of myself." They turned and left. Zack dodged back into the gap before they passed him, then shimmied out once they were gone. Summer followed him. When he didnt look at her, she put a hand on his shoulder.

"What is it?"

He shook his head. "Nothing."

She wrapped her arms around his waist, standing on tiptoe to nuzzle his neck. "Come on. Let's go back to my house." She released his neck and took his hand, leading him towards Blackstone Road.

* * *

Zack flopped onto Summer's bed, his shorts now dry. He'd left his shirt back at the beach, but someone would pick it up. It wasn't as though he'd need to wear it - Summer seemed to be in one of her let's-strip-Zack moods.

As he suspected, she climbed up onto the bed and straddled his lap, leaning down to kiss him lightly on the lips. He amused her for a minute, kissing back, then pulled himself away from her. 

She pouted. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." He sighed. "I just don't want to rush into anything."

Summer rolled her eyes and removed herself from his lap. She sat in front of him and crossed her legs. "You've been acting really strange since we nearly had sex before the battle."

"I-"

"No. I want to say something. We haven't been intimate at all since the battle. I understand that you've been grieving - we all have - but there's a time to grieve, and a time to move on, and the time to move on has long gone by. We aren't kids anymore. We've matured over these past few months; I guess death does that to a person." She sighed. "I don't know about you, but I was ready then, and I'm ready now. If it's that you just don't think of me in that way-"

"Of course I do!"

She stood up, her face turning beet red with anger. "Then why are you being so distant?! I love you, Zack, and I want to give myself to you. So why wont you let me?"

"I…I just…" He stuttered. He felt his stomach tense inside him, twisting into knots. "Summer-"

"Just…forget it." She grumbled. "I think we should," She paused, sighing heavily. "I think we need to have some time apart."

Zack's stomach dropped.

"W-what do you mean?" He stammered. Was she breaking up with him? "Why? What are you talking about?!"

"It has to be this way." She said. She was trying to sound strong, but there was a quiver in her voice, and he couldn't ignore the tears budding in her eyes. "I'm sorry-" She broke off with a sob.

"Summer," He stood up and approached her; she held up her hand and turned away from him.

"Just…leave. Please."

Zack gritted his teeth. Summer was stubborn, he knew she wouldn't forgive him today. Maybe if he left quietly she'd think about things, and remember that she loved him.

"Fine. I'll go. But let me say this:" He paced across the room so that he was stood no more than a foot away from her. "I love you. I love you more than I've loved anyone in my entire existence. You are the only reason I joined the coven in the first place, and the only reason my magic is so strong is because my love for you, my passion, burns through my veins like wildfire. I love you, Summer. Don't forget that."

He turned and left the room, feeling the last cords of energy that connected them stretch and snap, and fade into the air like mist in sunlight.