Spark

by R K Close

  I wasn’t even certain what that meant. Was it was a good thing, a bad thing, or did it even matter in the scheme of life. After all, Cole turned into a giant wolf. I guess we all had our issues.

  I climbed the stairs to the top landing and the door opened before I could knock. Zoey stepped aside and motioned for me to enter. There were dozens of candles, and they were all lit, giving the apartment a warm but mysterious vibe.

  Zoey pointed at a chair in front of a small table. The table was draped in a beaded silk shawl that a woman might wear. On the table sat one large copper bowl and one small ceramic bowl, along with several objects; dried plant clippings, and a white crystal fastened to a chain, and a few items I couldn’t identify.

  I sat where she indicated, and she took the opposite chair. There were three candles of different colors and heights placed around the edge of the larger bowl.

  It looked like a confusing assortment of junk. “What’s all of this?” I asked.

  Zoey looked at me over the candle flames. She had pale skin with a splash of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

  “Tools of the trade, you might say,” she said, holding out her slender hand to me.

  Her emerald-colored eyes were wide set and pretty, but Zoey’s most striking feature was her flaming red hair. It was beautiful, regardless if you preferred redheads or not.

  I handed her the necklace. “This is hers? You’re certain?” she asked, placing it in the ceramic bowl. I nodded.

  She pulled something from her shirt pocket—a photo. Next, she took a pair of scissors and cut the picture and placed part of the photo in the ceramic bowl with the earrings. It was then that I realized the photo was of Jessica.

  She must have been photographed with several others at the Burning Moon. Jessica was smiling and happy in the small image. I glanced up at Zoey.

  “The picture will help direct the magic,” she said, opening a small pocket knife that I hadn’t noticed. “Give me your hand,” she commanded.

  I hesitantly offered her my left hand. Zoey held my index finger and ran the blade across it so fast, I didn’t have time to question. She held fast to my finger and squeezed several drops of blood onto the photo. Hairs on the back of my neck tingled.

  When she released my hand, I sucked on it to stop the bleeding. The cut would heal within minutes. She then drew the small knife across her own finger and did the same with her blood. I looked at her strangely.

  “This is not the sort of magic I practice. It’s considered dark magic or blood magic. My grandmother practiced the darker arts of witchcraft, so I picked up a few things, even though I grew up, not approving of her lifestyle. But this is the fastest and best way to do a locator spell when time is of the essence.”

  I wondered, now that I knew what Zoey was, if she knew Cole liked her.

  She lit a match and placed it in the bowl. There was nothing in the container to cause it to spark and flame, but it did. Zoey closed her eyes and said some words that I didn’t understand.

  When the flames died down, all that remained was purple ash. I’d never seen anything like it, but if it helped find Jessica, I’d go to hell and back. If that necklace had sentimental value, she might never speak to me again, but I was willing to pay that price too.

  Zoey began collecting everything from the table and placing it in the copper bowl. She then set it aside, on the kitchen counter. She spread a map of Flagstaff onto the table.

  Zoey took the ash from the bowl and scattered it on top of the map. I watched, curious about the process, but also wondering if this was just a bunch of parlor tricks and a waste of time.

  She dangled a crystal hanging from a chain, out over the map. When she closed her eyes again, her hair blew softly in a breeze that wasn’t there. I felt nothing but a tingling up and down my spine.

  The crystal began to move of its own accord, as far as I could tell. And the ash on the map started to rustle and move as if by the phantom wind. It moved and gathered over a forested area west of town.

  Finally, the crystal and the ash stopped moving, and so did Zoey’s hair. She let out a long sigh and shook her head.

  “What happened?” I demanded.

  “I’m sorry. It isn’t giving me enough. The area is too large. She’s in the forest, but the area is too vast to do you much good. It could take a week to search that much area,” Zoey said, looking sad and defeated.

  “That can’t be it. Try again,” I said, offering her my hand.

  She gave me a sad look. “It won’t work. I’m sorry that I couldn’t do better.”

  “I’ll find her,” I said, knowing it was still a long shot.

  My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out of my pocket. It was Seth.

  “Yes?”

  “I got something. Meet me in front of the Weatherford hotel,” Seth said.

  I looked at Zoey. “I’ll be right there. I’m just down the street at Zoey’s.”

  “Zoey’s?” Seth sounded surprised.

  “I’ll tell you about it later,” I said and ended the call.

  “Good news, I hope?” Zoey asked.

  “I hope so,” I said, turning for the door. I paused at the door and turned back. “Thank you, Zoey.” She smiled softly.

  “Liam.”

  “Yes?”

  “Your bite is deadly to a vampire, but only in your other form. It’s the only chance you have to kill him,” Zoey said. “Good luck.”

  I nodded, then left to meet Seth.

  24

  Cole and Seth were standing on the sidewalk in front of the old hotel. So were the two vampires I’d met the night before. I came to a stop in front of my brothers. “What’ve you got?”

  Seth handed me a map. It was the same local map Zoey had used. The one tourists purchased in almost every shop in town.

  “What’s this?” I asked, unfolding it. I glanced at Olivia and Simon. Both were glancing around nervously.

  “Should we take this inside?” I asked.

  Olivia nodded, so I led us into the hotel lobby. I finished opening the map and saw a small X that marked a spot within the area where the purple ash had settled on Zoey’s map.

  I looked at Seth, who nodded toward Olivia. Now that we were off the street, Olivia’s cool attitude had returned. She stared at me defiantly.

  “Is this where he’s taken her?” I asked.

  “I suspected this location because I followed him there once. Simon confirmed that the blonde is there. Lorenzo almost caught him.” She smiled at her companion. “But Simon’s too smart and too fast for Lorenzo.” Simon shrugged at her compliment.

  “Why would you help us?” Cole asked, giving voice to my own thoughts.

  Olivia looked at Seth. “Do with it what you want. It’s not my concern. Maybe it’s a peace offering,” she said, looking bored.

  “You speak for the other vampires?” I asked.

  She seemed to bristle at my suggestion, and stepped toward me, glaring defiantly. She couldn’t have been over five-four and a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet. But she didn’t seem to notice our size difference, or she didn’t care.

  “I speak for myself.” She rolled her small shoulders and stepped back. “I don’t care about the other leeches. Like I said. Do with it what you want.”

  “We’re supposed to believe that?” Cole said, stepping forward. Simon, who I’d never heard say a word, stepped forward to meet Cole. Simon was in Cole’s face, green eyes flashing.

  “Easy, you two. We’re trying to work together here,” Seth said, moving closer to the two men with his hands raised in a passive manner.

  “Speak for yourself,” Cole said acidly.

  “It’s all right, Simon,” Olivia said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “They don’t trust us yet.”

  Cole looked ready to rumble. Simon loosened some of the tension in his body and stepped back.

  “Cole,” I warned.

  Cole stepped back and relaxed his posture, somewhat.

  “We don’t have t
ime for this,” I said. “I know this area. Am I looking for anything in particular?”

  “It’s a small building or cabin in the woods. I think hunters use it,” Olivia said, pulling Simon away from us. “I’d hurry. If he were just going to kill her, he wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble. You’d have found her body by now,” she said as she and Simon walked away.

  “Wait,” I said. Olivia and Simon stopped and turned around. “Is Lorenzo the leader who brought you here?”

  Olivia cracked up laughing, and Simon smiled for the first time. “Yeah, right. Victor is the head of our coven. Lorenzo can’t tell his head from his ass. Nobody would follow that loser. His own people were going to off him before he convinced Victor to turn him,” Olivia said, now in better humor.

  “Should we be concerned about the rest of your family?” I asked.

  Olivia cocked her head to the side. “Like what?” she asked.

  “Like more people dying?” Cole spat.

  She looked at us for a moment.

  “Olivia,” Simon said, surprising us all. He sounded Jamaican.

  “Oh, it’s all right, Simon. I won’t share all our secrets.” She smiled at us and winked at Simon. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say that they aren’t killers, but they prefer to be more discreet when they eat.” Olivia was enjoying the impact her words were having.

  “Meaning?” Seth asked.

  “Meaning, they leave a beating heart. Does that help you sleep better at night?” she asked.

  “Does it help you sleep better?” Cole countered. I could tell that he’d gotten to her.

  “You don’t know anything about me, so don’t pretend that you do,” Olivia said, then turned on her heels to leave. Simon gave us one last look, then followed her out.

  None of this sounded good. So, who was this Victor, and how dangerous was he? I didn’t trust Olivia, but I had no choice at this point. I needed to find Jessica. An overwhelming feeling of fear washed over me, and I sucked in a deep breath.

  “What’s wrong?” Seth asked.

  I didn’t understand the feeling, but I had a clear vision of Jessica, and I could almost hear her scream in the back of my mind.

  “It’s Jessica. We need to move fast,” I said. “I need one of you here, in case this is a trap.”

  I opened the map one more time. “Cole, you stay and keep your eyes open. Seth, I want you in the forest with me. We have to shift if we want to kill him.”

  “Why is that?” Seth asked.

  “Something about our bite is fatal to vampires,” I said.

  “Where’d you learn something like that?” Cole asked suspiciously.

  “Zoey told me,” I said, seeing the surprise cross his face. “We’ll talk about that later. Seth, we gotta move now.”

  “What’re you waiting for, big brother? Let’s go save your girl,” Seth said, motioning me toward the door.

  When we reached my truck, I gave Cole a quick hug. I didn’t want to pretend that I knew what was going to happen tonight. And if I was leaving my youngest brother on his own, I wanted him to know I cared.

  Cole welcomed the embrace and squeezed me tight before letting go and slapping me on the arm.

  Seth didn’t bother with any hugs, choosing to yell at us from inside the truck, instead. “Let’s go already. We’ll be back soon, Cole. You can count on it.”

  Cole and I grinned at Seth’s confidence. “He’s right, of course,” I reassured Cole, then climbed behind the wheel.

  We drove away without any more fuss. Cole was standing under the streetlamp in the road, with his hands in his pockets, watching us go. He was still standing there when we turned at the next block, until I could no longer see him.

  WE DROVE IN SILENCE most of the way. I was doing ninety, which was as fast as my old truck could go. It took us thirty minutes to reach the forest service road that would take us closer to the area Jessica was being held. It was another twenty after that point.

  I was hoping that Olivia’s information was reliable. It was possible that there was a rift within their ranks, but I wouldn’t know for sure until we found Jessica. Win or lose, I was laying it all on the table.

  “This is the spot,” I said when we arrived at a gate in the road. We could have broken the lock and continued driving, but we planned to shift to cover more ground. Since we had only flashes of memory once we changed, it was a gamble that we’d continue our search for Jessica.

  I felt strongly that even after I shifted, my wolf wanted to find Jessica as much as I did. Since I was the alpha, my goals would be Seth’s goals.

  “Remember to think about finding Jessica when you shift,” I told Seth.

  “Already on it,” he said, climbing out of the truck.

  I could see our breath once we exited the warmth of the vehicle. Seth began stripping off his clothes without hesitation.

  I couldn’t help but worry about risking my brother’s life and exposing our secret. I just hoped we weren’t too late. It had been over five hours since she was taken.

  When I was done pulling off my clothes, Seth was already a large black wolf that blended into the night. Only his eyes glowed amber in the darkness. He barked at me, and I nodded. He turned and ran into the woods.

  When I was naked, I placed my clothes on the seat of the truck and hid the keys under the wheel. I closed my eyes and embraced the animal always just below the surface of my human skin. It no longer hurt, as it did in the beginning. I learned quickly to stop resisting and to just let go.

  I did that now, and in one magical fluid moment, I was a large, powerful creature on the hunt. Trees blurred by as I picked up speed. There was a scent or two I was searching for, and that was all I knew for the moment.

  One was the scent of something dead but not dead. The other was that of my mate. Either smell would lead me to the other. But it was her smell that I caught first.

  I picked up speed, and the scent grew stronger and stronger. I was close. Another smell warned me to slow my pace. Smoke lingered on the air, and that too was becoming stronger.

  A small shack came into view. I knew, instinctively that she was in there. I threw my head back and howled loudly into the night—a cry to tell her I was coming for her. I heard one of my pack respond with his own call, but he was far away.

  We were stronger together, but I couldn't wait for him. She needed my protection.

  25

  Jessica

  When I woke, I felt weak and sick. For several minutes I couldn’t open my eyes. It took too much effort. Something deep within me knew I had to get up. It was imperative that I escape, but at that moment, my head was so foggy, I couldn’t remember why.

  It took a great effort to open my eyes. My body felt like a heavy weight rested on me, preventing my limbs from moving. The first thing I saw was the bear’s head, and I remembered where I was and why.

  I had a new resolve now and forced my head to turn and study the room. Lorenzo was leaning against the wall, next to the fire watching me with a satisfied gleam in his eyes.

  He’d bitten me twice. He meant to do it again. And then what? He’d kill me, and I’d be like him? I couldn’t let that happen. There had to be a way out. Think, Jess, think.

  The only weapon I had was somewhere in the forest, and of no use to me now. As I watched, Lorenzo pushed away from the wall and moved to the side of the cot where I was lying. He gazed down at me.

  “You’re awake. I thought I’d be waiting until tomorrow,” he said, reaching down and pulling me up like a rag doll. He held me easily in his arms, but seeing my lack of resistance, he seemed to reconsider.

  He sat on the cot and steadied me until I managed to hold myself up. Some of my strength was returning, but it was a slow process, and I wondered if I could even make it to full speed without a hospital to replenish the blood he’d already taken.

  I struggled to stay upright and awake. Lorenzo brought a chair over and sat in it. He watched me. “You know, I think I could finish this now,” he
said with enthusiasm. “I’ve never done this before. You’ll be my first.”

  “Why are you doing this to me?” I managed weakly.

  “You don’t understand now, but you will. I knew when I saw you in the bar with those dogs. You were a woman who could hold her own. I chose you, then and there, to be my mate, to be my equal.” Lorenzo leaned over and kissed me on the lips. It was a long, lingering kiss, but I had only enough fight in me to stay awake.

  I’d already decided to reserve my strength in case an opportunity presented itself. Resisting his kiss would have taken too much of my energy. Fighting him now would not serve me in the end.

  I decided that it might be possible to distract him. It could buy me some time. “How did you become a vampire?” I asked.

  He looked genuinely excited by my question. “That’s an interesting tale. I was a businessman in the nineties—very successful, I might add. I had a falling out with one of my business associates, and well...he tended to hold a grudge.” Lorenzo seemed happy to weave his story for me, so I pretended to listen while I tried to think of a way out.

  “This business associate ordered a hit on me, so I went underground for a while. That’s when I discovered Victor, and quite by chance discovered what he was. I propositioned him to turn me, and he did. I later went back and took revenge on the associate who wanted me dead by killing his entire family,” he said, smiling as if he’d remembered a fond moment.

  I hadn’t believed I could be any more frightened, but I was wrong.

  “So, why do you want to leave Victor then?” I asked, feigning a weak interest.

  I could tell that my attention pleased him. “I’ve grown tired of Victor and his weak ways. I’ve learned all that he can teach me, and now he just holds me back. I prefer to feast where he would rather dine, if you get my meaning.”

  “What are you going to do now?” I asked.

  He surprised me by kissing me again. And again, I didn’t resist. Conserving my strength for one final battle was my only priority.

  When he pulled away, he seemed pleased by my lack of resistance. I merely watched him cautiously. He moved from his chair to sit next to me on the cot.