Zola Flash (The Zola Flash Series Book 1) Read online

  The fire is bright, but not bright enough for the Payohlini to spot us. Hopefully, they must think we are dead, because as soon as the flames burn down, they are nowhere to be seen.

  It appears we have landed outside a city full of luminous lights, but at this moment, I really do not care where we are.

  I spin around and throw my arms around Pin, hugging him close to me. A few breaths pass before he cautiously wraps his arms around my waist, holding me in return.

  “I’m free,” I whisper in his ear.

  Chapter Eight

  AFTER WALKING FOR WHAT seems like days on Victian, Pin and I arrive at a bridge. It’s not like the bridges back home – arched and made from shimmering crystal that molds colors to the essence of each person who steps upon it – but matte and metal with an uninviting vibe. However, on the other side are lights and life, and we need to get there.

  Once across the bridge, I attach myself to Pin’s arm. Red tiled mud buildings, with metal railing, line both sides of the pathway, and there are people out. Lots of people. I look around for someone peaceful-seeming enough to provide us with information of our location.

  A group of hooded guys squat down in a huddle and appear to be exchanging some form of currency. As I watch them, they narrow their eyes at me. “What da hell are ya lookin’ at?” one of them yells, and I immediately turn away.

  On my other side, a young girl, who looks around my age, leans into a vehicle window. She twirls her limp, lifeless hair around her finger while chewing on something, as she communicate to the men in the vehicle. Nausea swirls in my stomach when she turns around and lifts up her skirt, exposing her fully naked bottom to the passengers in the vehicle.

  I avert my gaze, toward a fully clothed woman standing next to an illuminated cart of decorative meats. Beside her, a rotund man in a red and white suit handles her meal.

  Smiling, I jaunt over to the cart. My first interaction with Earthlings. I’ve always wanted to visit Earth, but it’s eccentric. “Um . . . Greetings.” I can’t think of anything else to say. “Do you think you could, maybe, tell me where I am?”

  The woman stares at me as if I’m a blabbering imbecile and walks away, leaving me standing there and feeling stupid.

  When I return to Pin’s side, he seems to examine my expression. Scared of looking into those emerald eyes of his, I attempt to turn away, but he clutches my chin in one of his hands and pulls me round to face him.

  Suddenly, all I can think about is kissing those lips of his. Mostly how they would feel against mine. Yeah, those lips would be a great first.

  Before I realize I’ve moved, I do exactly what I’m thinking of doing. I kiss Pin. For a moment, Pin kisses me back. A low sound rolls from the back of his throat, making me think he’s more than happy with my sudden interest, it’s like a bomb going off in my stomach.

  Rough hands force me away from him, and a slight sting grazes my face.

  I move my hand to my cheek, and it takes a moment to register that it was Pin who pushed me away. Pin’s harsh reminder of our differences burns my face. All I can do is stare at him. I should never have let myself forget. He is a Payohlini. It is in his nature to be cruel and hardhearted. “I can’t believe you,” I say, backing away from him. From what I thought I’d begun to care about.

  Pin reaches for me, but I move out of reach. “I apologize, Princess.”

  “I shouldn’t have trusted you.” I spin away take off down a dark street, wanting to get away from Pin.

  I should have taken my chances fighting against the Payohlini, instead putting my trust and feelings in one. Out of breath, I sink down on the hard, filthy ground, afraid of what I might find if I run any farther. As I try to calm myself, though, to hold back all the feelings I don’t want to show again, tears make their way out.

  “Look who we have here, fellas,” a voice comes from my left side.

  “She’s a looker.”

  I peek up as I wipe the tears away. Grubby, foul men walk toward me, and I spring to my feet, ready to fight if I have to. They laugh as they encircle me. I try to push away from them, toward the crowd, but my long hair works against me, as one of the men grabs a hunk and yanks me backward. Pain blooms in my skull as my head hits pavement, sending a wave of dizziness through me.

  I throw out a fist but it seems to hit nothing. I kick out a leg with the same result. Hands seem to be all over me. Pulling and poking and touching. I should have stayed with Pin, even though he is a monster himself. Hoping Pin might hear me from wherever he is, I open my mouth and scream, but before Pin’s name can even leave my lips, one of them smothers my mouth. Another of them tears the sleeves from my top, while even more hands grope my neck, choking me in the process.

  As fast as the hands grab, they disappear, as the men fall aside, get yanked aside, fly aside, and I blink up to see Pin throwing punches at anyone in his way on the path he’s cutting toward me. Kicking back against the ground, I push myself away from the fighting, and by the time Pin fights his way to me, I’m a shivering ball of nerves.

  Reaching down, he slides his arms beneath me and cradles me to his body.

  I lay my head on his shoulder. “I’m just not myself,” I whisper.

  “I found a place for us to stay tonight,” Pin says quietly. “It’s not far from here.”

  Around the corner is an immaculate building, constructed from the same mud tiles as the others. He sets me down on my feet, and after opening the door, scoops me back up in those strong muscular arms.

  A female could get use to this. Who cares if he’s a Payohlini?

  As we walk through the building, Pin seems to be studying my cuts and bruises. His expression makes me believe he has something to say about them, but if he doesn’t, the thoughts aren’t voiced.

  After laying me down on a bed, Pin examines my cuts. He pulls out a small bottle and kneads some red liquid over my cuts. It’s warm and burns, but when I run my fingers over the wounds, they’ve lessened to almost nothing.

  “What is this stuff?” I ask Pin.

  “My people use it in battle. It heals cuts and bruises much faster,” Pin replies. “It comes in handy when we are outnumbered and our men are down.”

  “Pin?” I wait until he lifts his gaze. “I’m sorry. None of this would have happened if I didn’t . . .”

  Pin presses one of his fingers to my lips. “Princess, don’t apologize. All you did was kiss me. And to tell you the truth, it was enjoyable. It was also uncontrollable.” He frowns, staring past me. “Go get cleaned up.”

  I bounce off the bed in the hope of easing Pin’s concern, but when I take a glimpse back at his grave expression, it doesn’t seem to have work.

  As I search for somewhere to clean up in the dark vacant building, I notice an abundance of garments hanging on racks. Earthling clothes. Scanning through the adorable clothes, I find something to wear. At least it will get me out of this awful attire Pin gave me. I wonder if Pin is responsible for the clothes — I guess it could be his way of apologizing, even though it is an outlandish apology.

  When I finally look decent enough to be seen, I return to the other room, but as I near, I hear the last of a strident and livid conversation.

  “—Zola’s guardian.”

  That is all I hear before Pin turns and sees me reentering the room.

  Chapter Nine

  PIN WATCHES ME AS I climb onto the big white bed. Hmm, it’s softer than it looks. From there, I watch Pin. It appears as if he want to ask something.

  “How much did you hear, Princess?” Pin finally asks.

  “Just the end of your conversation.” I move to the end of the bed, tuck my knees to my chin, and wrap my arms around them. “What was all that arguing about?”

  “You.”

  “Me? What about me?”

  “Nothing you don’t already know.”

  “I don’t know anything about a guardian. I’ve been locked behind a wall my entire life.”

  Pin searches my eyes as if the tru
th lies within them, before he pulls up a seat and sits in front of me. “Zola, how old are you?” he asks in a steady voice.

  “Sixteen. Why?”

  “Two years early,” Pin murmurs to himself.

  He gets up and paces across the floor. He glares at me for a moment in a way that worries me. In a few strides, he marches back over to me, grabs me off the bed, and cradles me in his lap. He traces a finger across my healed wounds, as I daze into those immaculate eyes of his.

  Halting in his ministrations, he frowns. “Would you like to hear a bedtime story before I leave?” he asks without meeting my gaze.

  “I think I am a little too old, but okay.”

  He takes a deep breath and begins, “Around sixteen years ago, when I was seven, my father was called to fight in the battle between our people. I didn’t want my father fighting, so he asked to be dismissed from his duties. I guess what I wanted wasn’t what I needed. A few days later, I found my father’s lifeless body on the floor.” His eyes crease slightly at the corners as he continues, “Before my father’s executioners could get to me, the Payohlini Guardians came and adopted me. They prepared me in the ways of the Guardians. On my eighteenth birthday, they assigned me a charge to look after. She was an adorable eleven year older. She had the most magnificent stardust blue eyes.” Pin looks up at me, a pain in his eyes that tugs at me somewhere within my chest. “So I studied her. Her flaws and perfection. Her past and future. But what I discovered . . .” He trails off.

  “So . . . um . . . I guess you are an expert on all things Zola.” I smile, trying to make light of the moment, until the rest of his story slowly sinks in. “But I don’t understand. Why do I need a guardian? I’m no one special. I am just a normal Victian girl.”

  “Are you telling me you don’t know anything about yourself? About the war?”

  I shake my head.

  “Why do you think Rican and I refer to you as Princess?”

  I frown. “I thought it was an insult.”

  Pin seems to study me for a long time. I trail my fingers over his silky black hair, but he jerks away from me. Taking that as my signal, I remove myself from Pin’s lap and cross back to the bed.

  “You’ve had a long day, Princess,” he says gruffly. “Get some rest and I’ll tell you more of the story later.”

  “Wait.” I twisted back. “I have one more question.”

  “What?”

  “Why did they choose you to be my guardian?”

  “They gave me the honor of protecting you because I’m the youngest. The Guardians wanted someone who could work well with you. Figured I could. Now get some rest.”

  I watch Pin leave with longing in my soul. Why do I feel so much for him when I’ve only known him a day? Why doesn’t he feel the same way?

  More importantly, why would the Payohlini assign him to guard me when they are at war with my people?

  Chapter Ten

  “WAKE UP, PRINCESS,” Pin says from somewhere above me.

  Maybe if I pay him no attention, he’ll leave.

  I am wrong.

  “Zola, get up before you make me do something you’ll regret.”

  I shake my head. “You’re just saying that.”

  Pin’s footsteps move away, and I relax a little. Finally some peace. Snuggling back into the bed, I curl up and head back into my dream, of a songbird picnic with Pin.

  A splash of ice cold water hits my face, and I jump off the bed, gasping. “I’m up, I’m up!” I spin toward Pin, whose eyebrows are folded low within his frown. “What was that for?”

  “I told you to get up. Your clothes are already laid out.” He points to a stack of clothes lying neatly on the chair.

  As I trudge pass Pin, I flip my long wet hair in his face. To my surprise, he inhales as the strands flow underneath his nose, and fully turning around to face him, I drink him in. I could spend my entire day just gazing at Pin, staring at all the wonderful features that makes him him. Unfortunately, he has a habit of finding a way to ruin my day.

  I pick up the clothes. My eyes water at the sight of them alone. Not even an elderly mother would consider wearing this. I go to throw the ancient outfit back onto the chair—no way will I wear it, the thought alone makes me want to vomit –but instead I fold my fist around the repulsive pile of fabric and stalk into the other room.

  Pin is about to pull on a shirt when I pass through the door. The sight of his bare chest is just as graceful as his gorgeous face, perfect in every way. He turns, jumping as soon as his gaze catches on me, which makes me jump. Who would have guessed the big bad Payohlini could be startled?

  I throw the outfit in Pin’s face, “You have to be kidding me.”

  Pin glides over and leans down until his warm lips meet my ear. “Learn to like it ‘cause it’s your new best friend.” His tone is seductive, and as his warm breaths skate over my ear, my knees weaken. Straightening, he turns for the doorway, but pauses before he passes through. “You might want to get that examined,” he says, and although he doesn’t look back, I hear the smile in his voice. “I think your heart’s beating a little too fast, even for a Victian.” With a chuckle, he ducks out through the door.

  Alone, I sit on the floor and lay out the clothing. If I must wear these awful items, some adjustments will need to be made. I tear at least two-thirds off the length of the skirt, but not too much as I don’t want look like the girl from last night who barely had anything covered. I also tuck in the sides of the shirt by ripping along the seams and tying them back in tighter, giving it a little bit of shape. There are also a pair of socks that comes up to my knees, about the only suitable piece among the pile.

  Once I’ve finished dressing myself, I trot to the kitchen, where I find Pin drinking something that looks far from appetizing.

  Pin glances up, a lazy gesture, until his eyes widen and his lips part.

  I shimmy over, letting my hips do their own talking. “How do I look?”

  “You . . .” Pin’s gaze dances over me, his eyes still wide. “… destroyed it.”

  “No, I made it look better.”

  “Whatever.” Pin glances me over again. “Come, I need to talk to you.”

  I wrap my arms around Pin’s neck. “What’s wrong?”

  He unfolds my arms and moves away from me. “Nothing bad. I just want to talk about our new life.” He pauses, as I move to the other side of the table, waiting until I’ve taken a seat before continuing, “We are going to have to blend in with these people. Luckily, I’ve found out where we are. This place is called New York. Girls your age go to school.” He pauses again, and his gaze meets mine. “So I enrolled you into Manhattan Academy for boys and girls, where I have applied to be one of the physical education teachers.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out two pieces of paper. “These are our schedules. You did have a uniform to wear,”—his eyebrow arches upward—“but you destroyed it. Don’t ask me how I did it, but we should now blend in on Earth.”

  I check over the schedules. We have no classes together. Calculus II, Chemistry III, Biochemistry are my main classes. I know my people are very competent when it comes to the matter of numbers but the schedule is outrageous. I slide Pin back his own schedule. “School starts when?” I ask, my voice small.

  “Thirty minutes.” He pushes to his feet and gestures for me to follow. “Which means it’s time for us to leave.”

  Pin holds the door open, and once I’ve exited, he locks before joining me. Neither of us speak as we walk, and I let my sight absorb the town.

  Around us, girls dressed exactly like me race by, some of them climbing into a yellow transport devices on wheels. Moments pass and the silence between Pin and I becomes uncomfortable.

  I glance sideways up at him. “So . . . um . . . are you going to tell me anymore about my life?”

  Pin’s lips press together for a moment, and then he gives a small nod. “The other night, when you ask me why you needed a Guardian, I didn’t think it was the right time, becaus
e you’re only sixteen. But as you’re out on your own, you need to know.” Pin glances down at me as we walk on the school campus. “When you were first born, my people invaded your planet and killed all the shape-shifters. All except you. You were just a baby at the time, and the rulers of Victian, your parents, made a deal with the Payohlini rulers. The Victians agreed to put you into hiding until you were eighteen. I guess my people never intended on keeping their end of the deal.”

  I frown. “If my parents were the rulers of Victian that would make me a princess. That’s why you call me Princess.”

  “Yes.”

  I don’t know what to say to the enlightenment. A princess. It’s always been my parents, my sister, and me. Nothing royal. No rules to abide by, and it never felt like we were in hiding. Granted, I could never go beyond the wall without supervision, but it never felt like hiding. Yet now, I discover I’m a princess.

  A princess!

  But wait!

  If my parents were the rulers and they’re dead … wouldn’t that make me the new ruler of Victian?

  The new ruler of Victian, and I just left my people to die.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I LEFT MY PEOPLE to die, Pin. They are never going to forgive me.” Voicing the words makes it sound even worse.

  A loud bell rings, and Pin hushes me and pulls me toward the entrance. “You don’t want to be late on your first day. We can talk about this later.” Pin points me in one direction and heads for his class in another.

  As I pull out my schedule, another bell rings, and everybody comes darting in my direction. Pushing and shoving me left and right. A harsh shove sends me face-first towards the floor, and just as the crowd seem to finally be dispersing, a boy comes running towards me.

  Closing my eyes, I kick myself back against the wall and only lift my lids when I realize I haven’t been trampled. I find him towering over me with his head tilted to the side.

  He offers me a hand. “You must be new.” It isn’t a question.

  “How’d you know?”