Chapter 2 My Turn

• “Close your eyes.” The man pulled slightly out of Brice’s arms. “Both of them. I’m going to—”
• “Move away now?”
• “No. I was going to say use my gift on you now. You know, the least you could do is let me finish my sentence. I’m freezing to death after all,” the man laughed.
• As Brice’s eyes closed, he laughed quietly as well. The stranger placed his hands flat on Brice’s chest. The move could’ve been to fend off hypothermia, but before he could ask what the gift was, Brice felt the sensation.
• A flood of happiness filled him and overflowed into every inch of his soul. Suddenly, Brice could feel the summer breeze on his face and sunshine melting away the chill in his bones. In an instant, Brice was transported back to his favorite place, where joy ruled. He was in that spot near the ocean. The rocky area was where Brice and his brother had built sandcastles. No longer was Brice in the hut, but now he was with his parents before they died. He relived the time before he and his brother, Colin, met Keith and became assassins for the organization known as the Seemyah.
• As the feeling began to fade slowly, Brice opened his eyes and returned to reality. A little dazed, he glanced down at the man in his arms. The stranger watched him intently.
• “You have a nice smile.” the other man said.
• Brice felt like smiling more at the compliment. He figured the tingling in his chest and the warmth must be the lingering effects of this man’s gift. The multiplying heat spreading through his arms chased away the frosty air.
• As he tried to come up with a thank you, Brice noted the streaks of blood on his pectorals. Those marks were fresh and wet. He picked up the brunette’s hand and stared. The tips of all his fingers were split open. Red drops gathered on the skin to roll toward his palm.
• “The bleeding fingers is my side effect.” The stranger tried to tug his hands away. “It’s no biggie.”
• “No biggie?” Brice kept his grip on the other man and brought the brunette’s fingers to his mouth.
• “Yeah. It’s no big deal.” The sentence ended with a shiver, and one by one, Brice licked the tiny cuts until the bleeding stopped.
• “You can’t afford to lose more blood.”
• “It was worth it to see your face like that.”
• After a few minutes passed, the stranger began to talk in low tones. He snuggled into Brice’s arms as he spoke about the cold, their captors, and possible escape. Together they whispered and then eventually fell silent. Sleet and rain beat their shelter. Soon, the violent storm became their cocoon. After what could’ve been hours or minutes, Brice tugged out of the stranger’s hold and picked up the now full bowl. He sipped on the water as he stared at the space where Toby died. An ice layer formed at the top of the water. Distracted, Brice pushed at the jagged edges with his tongue.
• “Water?” the man asked.
• Brice helped the other man hold the broken dish while he sipped.
• “If they take me away, put this dish back under the hole in the roof,” Brice instructed. “It’s the only water you will get. If you see a rat or a mouse, catch it and eat it. If they leave my body here, take my clothes, and wear them to stay warm. I’m dead. I don’t mind.”
• “I’ll remember that.” The stranger handed back the bowl. Brice could feel his eyes studying him as he placed the dish under the opening. Unfortunately, now the outside rain was turning to hail. More water might not happen for a while. He didn’t consider the problem at this time. No reason to court trouble.
• “When you say to take you away….” The stranger lifted the chains on his wrists. “You mean like the man who was in here?”
• “Affirmative.”
• “Earlier, I saw them take someone to a pit behind the outbuilding. It’s another holding area?”
• “It’s a mass grave.” Brice returned to the boulder and put his back against the stone. “Toby was dead.”
• “I’m sorry.” The other man tucked his large frame into Brice’s arms and set his head on his chest again. “He was your friend?”
• “Toby was my boyfriend a long time ago. An ex-boyfriend, but we were still friends.” Brice didn’t know why he told this stranger that, but in this hut, he felt closer to the man in his arms than the people at H.Q. he’d known most of his life. “Toby came to me and asked for help. Said his friend’s mother wouldn’t come to Headquarters in Dallas. Supposedly she feared the H.S.P.C. agents.” Brice shook his head at his gullibility. Really, he shook his head at both his and Toby’s lack of caution. Brice knew better. He should’ve told someone where he was going and what he was doing. He could’ve easily informed Rea, Karma, or Keith, but Brice wasn’t thinking. He just wanted Toby back in his bed. “I thought I was helping my ex-boyfriend by coming here. I guess I thought if I did this for him, he would date me again.”
• “Same.”
• “Same?” Brice asked.
• “It was my cousin, not a boyfriend, but it’s the same story. Carl said that his new friend needed help. The friend’s mother was too scared to move to a water base. I was loading all the sheep, and I said I’d go talk to her.”
• “Sheep?” Brice’s eyebrows rose. “You’re a shepherd?” That was a new one for Brice. He didn’t meet many sheepherders at headquarters. In fact, he didn’t even know that job existed anymore.
• “I was a shepherd, but then we closed down our ranch as the ice took over. My older brother, Butch, wanted to be an agent, so he asked the family to move to a water base so he could apply.” The shepherd spoke as if lost in thought as he cuddled into Brice’s neck. “After my parents died in an accident, Butch was the eldest, and he wanted the little kids safe from Snow Flu. I understood. Butch and my other sister agreed, and that was it. We sold our sheep, packed up the little ones, and moved underground.”
• “You don’t like the base?” Brice thought the shepherd sounded disappointed in the outcome. Maybe he hated underground living. For some, the lifestyle took some getting used to.
• “It’s no biggie. I like the base.” The shepherd paused. “It’s different than being on a ranch in the sun, but you get used to it.”
• “If you were living on a water base, why were you out here loading more sheep?” Brice tipped his head down so he could look at the man in his arms.
• “A few weeks ago, my aunt and uncle decided to move to a water base too. They still lived out here with my cousin, Carl. My brother and sisters were already on a base so moving near us seemed to make sense. My cousin asked if I’d help him sell their family’s flock. My aunt and uncle went on ahead. We said we’d join everyone after we took care of the animals. We were finished. We sold the sheep and had the H.O.C.s.” The man lifted his head. Once more, their eyes spoke in words neither of them said out loud. Brice felt a warm tingle in his chest. A growing part of him wanted to lean down and kiss the shepherd. He had no idea why. They were both bloody and broken. For Pete-sakes, they were talking about sheep. Kissing should’ve been the last thing on his mind.
• “I see. Crystal clear. You sold your aunt and uncle’s sheep and then came here to talk to Carl’s friend.” Brice cleared his throat and stared up at the ceiling. One good thing about this odd feeling was that the blush heating his cheeks warmed him for a second.
• “Yeah, but I don’t get it.”
• “Don’t get what?” Brice returned to watching the other man. He was glad the sudden and inappropriate attraction passed.
• “We were clearing the ranch. Why would The Originals want a couple of sheepherders on an empty ranch? What did they know about us? What did they want?”
• “Why did you get beat?” Brice asked. “Start there.”