Amethyst Flame

by Caris Roane

  Vaughn nodded, then let the girls pass. He saw that Beth was shaking, and he slid his arm around her. He was pretty sure her body was caught in a withdrawal from amethyst flame.

  A couple more turns, however, and the dizziness started taking over his mind again. He kept pushing his feet forward, trailing after the last girl, but it wasn’t long before his ankles grew leaden and his mind clouded once more. “Sorry, Beth.”

  “I’m feeling it, too. It’s Loghry.”

  Vaughn contacted Emma. Loghry’s spell has me. Can’t move. Can’t think. Beth is with me, she’s very sick and the spell has her, as well. Get the girls to Brannick if you can.

  I will and Vaughn, I’ll come back to you as fast as I can.

  I know you will.

  But even as he slumped to the dirt, with Beth falling into his arms, he held his mind and his power open to Emma. He felt in his bones that somehow she’d be able to make use of all that he was as a vampire and return to him.

  Beth shook badly now, caught in a severe withdrawal.

  Vaughn tried to access Emma’s healing power, but Loghry’s spell prevented him.

  Suddenly, Loghry arrived, floating into the space. Vaughn could smell the darkness in him, a stench that turned his stomach. He was tall and levitated as the more powerful spellcasters could. He wore a black fringed scarf wrapped around his neck as well as a black, long-sleeved, leather coat to hide his addiction to amethyst flame.

  His eyes were black and sunken, his skin white as chalk, the way Emma had described him from her nightmares. His cheekbones were pronounced and skeletal, his nose slightly bulbous, and his lips thick and violet colored. He barely looked like a man anymore. Maybe he hadn’t been one in a long time. His evil temperament coupled with amethyst flame had given him the appearance of the monster he was.

  “I should kill you right now, Officer Vaughn. Your sister with you. But I’ll wait, because first I want you to watch your woman die.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Emma knew what she had to do, but it killed her not to immediately go back for Vaughn and Beth.

  Instead, she broke through the final veil of the spell that Loghry had set in place at the exit. Sure enough, the stone stairs leading to the outside appeared right in front of her.

  She gestured for the girls to climb the stairs. “Hurry! Go with the men at the top.”

  Brannick was right there, urging each forward as well. “Come on, girls. We’ve got you. Let’s get you home.”

  He even ran down several steps, picked the first girl up, then levitated her to ground level. He passed her quickly to one of his men, then drew the next forward.

  At the base of the stairs, tears filled Emma’s eyes as she watched each girl being carried into the air to safety.

  Brannick had the last girl in his arms, but he didn’t take off right away. Where’s Vaughn?

  I’m going back for him.

  Emma, what’s wrong? Should I stay?

  She smiled suddenly. No. I’ve got this.

  Brannick offered her a crooked smile in return. Do your worst, witch. I suspect Loghry’s in for a surprise.

  Emma grinned as he took off. Whatever happened next, they’d done it. They’d saved another group of girls, and she vowed that so long as she lived, she’d spend the rest of her life getting innocent humans out of Five Bridges.

  She turned toward the entrance to the labyrinth, then opened her ability to see the immediate future, but static returned. Loghry was blocking her.

  It didn’t matter, though, because she could feel Vaughn now, like a second skin. His vampire strength surrounded her and she drew his energy close. This was something Loghry couldn’t disrupt.

  Keeping her mind focused on Vaughn, she began making her way through the labyrinth.

  The path was as clear to her as if she’d seen it in a series of snapshots.

  But she could feel Loghry as well. Maybe it was her connection to Vaughn, but he seemed more sinister than ever.

  As she moved, she felt Loghry approach her telepathy, but she blocked him. She didn’t want the wizard inside her head. She took several pathways to finally enter the space where Loghry held Vaughn captive.

  Vaughn’s eyes looked glazed. He was still caught in Loghry’s spell. As for Beth, though Vaughn held her close, she shook head to toe.

  Loghry stood off to the side, his lips curved as he stared at Emma. He was as tall as Vaughn, though emaciated as addicts often were. His lips were actually the color of the drug he took.

  “So we meet at last, Emma. I’ve seen you numerous times in the visions I occasionally enjoyed, and of course I met you in your dreams earlier. But you should know that I’ve prepared for your arrival. You don’t equal me in power.”

  Emma didn’t respond because that’s exactly what he wanted her to do.

  When she felt him press on her telepathy again, she blocked him as she had before.

  “Very good.” He inclined his head slightly, an acknowledgment of her power.

  He began to unwind the black scarf, though at first she wasn’t sure why. But when he completed the process and let it fall to the dirt, she realized he’d wanted to knock her out of her stride. He almost succeeded, because she couldn’t believe the state of his throat and neck. Everyone thought he used the scarf to cover up his addiction. Instead, the fabric had been hiding the bruising up and down his throat as well as a large number of feeding scars where Beth had done permanent damage through the years.

  At the same time that her gaze became fixed to the horror of his wounds, she felt a wave of energy come from Loghry. She felt dizzy and nauseous, then she understood. He was using the disgusting nature of his scars to distract her while he applied his spell.

  She gave herself a shake and met his gaze once more. “Not gonna work.” She conjured a spell of her own, full of light and warmth and flung it at him with a wave of her own energy.

  He lifted an arm and squinted. He even shouted as though in pain. He might have tremendous ability, but he still had feet of clay.

  Despite the fact that she stayed focused on her spell, she felt Loghry battle back swiftly, and like a shower of glitter in the air, her counter-spell disappeared.

  “I’m angry with you, Emma. Though more so at Dagen for putting you in with my pet. He should have known your blood might have the ability to heal Beth. The truth is that I could have stopped you from killing the shifter, but he and I had gone as far as we could go.”

  “You’re a monster, Loghry.”

  “Please, let’s not reduce ourselves to name-calling. Especially since I have an offer for you, though essentially it’s the same one Dagen made. I want you to join with me, both sexually, of course, and with all the latent power you’ve been suppressing. You’re a woman of exceptional abilities and we could accomplish extraordinary things together. In fact, we could rule Five Bridges. Think what that could mean.” His gaze fell the full length of her body, then back up. “Of course, you would need to embrace amethyst flame.”

  “And I’ll give you the same answer I gave Dagen: I’d rather eat sharp pieces of glass.”

  “That can’t be your only answer. Don’t you see? You’ve got the wrong attitude about living here. I was like you early on, wanting to retain my humanity, hoping perhaps I could do some good in Five Bridges. But I was attacked by vampires after only being here a few months. They were officers of the Crescent Border Patrol. Your boyfriend was one of them, which was why I took Beth. Vaughn robbed me of hope and I decided to do the same for him. I knew abducting his sister would cause him a lot more anguish than if I merely killed him straight out.”

  Emma snorted. “Funny how Vaughn remembers the night you were attacked very differently from your account, or have you forgotten that you killed a woman, a female vampire?”

  He spread his hands wide. “It was an accident.”

  “How is using your bare hands for several minutes to strangle a woman to death anything like ‘an accident’.” She couldn’t help herself; she mad
e air quotes.

  “Well, it was. I was caught up in the drug. I tried to tell the men, but they were intent on doing me harm. And for that, they needed to be punished.”

  Loghry clearly enjoyed rewriting events to suit himself.

  He smiled. “Of course it turned out brilliantly since they thought I was dead. It had been so easy to fool them and even easier to leave the morgue.”

  “But why did you have to abduct and kill all those girls?”

  He shrugged. “I was merely taking my revenge, that’s all, for being attacked. Vaughn and his friends are to blame.”

  “You’re full of shit, you know that? You see yourself as a victim which you’ve then used as an excuse for doing whatever the hell you want. You enjoy being an addict and you get off on torture and murder. You can call it revenge, if you like. But in my book, you’re just a run of the mill psychopath.”

  “More name-calling?” He moved in her direction, one slow step at a time.

  As he grew closer, she felt a new spell descend like a warm blanket over her body. Her emotions evened out as though spilling over sand and disappearing between the grains.

  “Feeling better, Emma?”

  He was suddenly right in front of her, though she hadn’t seen him move. Some distant part of her mind knew she was in danger, but the rest of her felt at peace. She’d thought Loghry would breathe fire and burn her to a crisp. Instead, he was easing her fears and making her feel wonderful.

  “I want you with me, Emma. You have so much to offer.” He stroked her hair. She longed for him to touch her, to do anything he wanted. “And I can make it so that you always feel desire for me.”

  Emma struggled deep within herself. She needed to break free of Loghry’s thrall, but no matter how fiercely she called on her witchy powers, she couldn’t do it.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Vaughn stared up at the wizard touching Emma. The man’s long bony fingers glided the length of her hair, all the way down her back. He knew Loghry’s spell held him in a state of thrall, yet each movement of the wizard’s hand sparked Vaughn’s rage.

  He’d listened to the man’s excuse for how he’d come to embrace his dark side. He’d spoken of his innocence as though there’d been a time when he was good and just. But Emma was right, the man was full of shit.

  But it was his command over Emma that forced Vaughn to fight his way out of the spell. Yet, instead of summoning any of his vampire abilities, he focused on Emma’s powers as a witch. The more he concentrated, the more he could feel a kind of barrier rising. It also helped that given Emma’s level of power, Loghry was forced to work hard to bespell her. No doubt he was employing the full scope of his dark arts to keep her in an enthralled state, which might work for Vaughn.

  He remained sitting where he was. Though it was risky, he contacted her telepathically. Emma? Can you hear me?

  Yes. Oh, God, Vaughn, I can’t break his hold over me. He’s too powerful.

  Think like a vampire, not a witch.

  He watched her blink, a good sign.

  Okay, like a vampire.

  Beth drew back from Vaughn and slid off his lap to sit in the dirt. At the same time, she tapped against his telepathy, and he opened to her. What is it, Beth?

  I can see that Emma shares our vampire gifts. She should bite Loghry. Tell her to bite his throat. She can enthrall him if she does.

  The last thing Vaughn wanted was for Emma to engage with Loghry. But Beth was right. Emma might be able to enthrall the wizard if she could get to his neck. She was several inches shorter and it would be difficult, but if Vaughn was able to distract the wizard, it could work.

  Emma, listen. You need to attack Loghry at his throat. Beth and I both believe you’d be able to enthrall him as only a vampire can. He probably doesn’t realize how much we’re sharing powers.

  I don’t know. I’m afraid if I made a move, he’d figure out what I was doing and block the strike.

  I’ve thought about that. I intend to distract him, but you’ll have to wait for my signal and be very quick. Can you do this?

  There was a pause before she responded. Yes, I can. She sounded more confident.

  Let me gain his attention, then I’ll give you a count of three. Okay?

  Go for it.

  Vaughn knew the blocking spell he’d just built would give him the exact tool he needed right now to disrupt Loghry’s concentration.

  He called out in a strong voice, “You’re a small man, aren’t you, Loghry, attacking women. What is it? You afraid to battle a man?”

  Loghry turned his head in Vaughn’s direction. He didn’t seem disturbed at all by Vaughn’s words. He simply lifted his arm, and his dark energy flowed toward Vaughn, the same kind of electricity that the spellcasters could focus at the end of their fingers to kill other species.

  But Vaughn’s spell was now firmly in place and the stream of energy didn’t touch him. In fact, he knew what he needed to do to distract Loghry.

  He slowly stood up, and the wizard’s brows rose. “How are you doing that?”

  “Don’t you know? Haven’t you wondered why Emma and I have made it this far? Why I could block your power just now?”

  At that, Loghry frowned. “You’re making no sense.”

  Vaughn let Loghry stew as he contacted Emma. Can you do it, Em? Has his thrall loosened enough?

  Yes, I can feel it easing up.

  Then we’ll give it a shot. Be ready on three.

  I’m ready.

  Loghry flared his nostrils. “Answer me! What are you talking about?”

  In this moment, Vaughn knew he had the wizard. “Because of Emma, of course. We’ve been sharing our powers.”

  “The fuck you have.” Loghry scowled and lifted his arm once more in Vaughn’s direction. “Let’s see how you can handle this.”

  Vaughn could feel Loghry loading his power into his arm. He also knew gathering that power would take the time Emma needed to attack.

  He started the countdown. This is it, Emma. Three … two … one … take him down!

  Emma moved vampire fast, levitating to sling an arm around Loghry’s neck. She took his throat between her teeth. She didn’t have fangs, but she held on. At the same time, Loghry grew very still.

  Vaughn had worried that Loghry would fight. Instead, the wizard couldn’t seem to move and his black eyes had filled with panic. Emma had him!

  Vaughn moved swiftly to support Emma’s hold on Loghry, holding her waist with his hands. “You’ve got him. Draw blood if you can.”

  Emma bit harder, and Vaughn watched a red stream glide down Loghry’s neck. “Good. That’s it.”

  Vaughn, I won’t be able to hold him for long. Loghry’s building his power from within. I’m slipping. I’m not vampire enough.

  Vaughn could feel it as well, that Loghry had started regaining his power.

  Suddenly, the wizard twisted his neck, and he felt Emma lose her grip. Loghry then released a wave of power that sent Vaughn and Emma flying backward and landing hard on the dirt floor near the stone wall.

  Furious, Loghry moved to stand over them, his eyes blazing with hatred and madness. He lifted his arms, conjuring a new spell, then let his wizard power blast them, this time with a different be-spelled power.

  The force of the new spell, full of electric energy, sent needle-like sensations over every inch of Vaughn’s skin. The pain was so intense he writhed, Emma with him.

  “So you thought you could take me, a dark wizard with more essential power than the pair of you could ever dream of.” He waved his arms again, and the air grew thick and dense as though filled with black smoke.

  Vaughn couldn’t breathe. He heard Emma gasping for air as well. Hold on, Em.

  I’m doing the best I can. But this hurts like anything and there’s no oxygen.

  I know.

  Vaughn tried to rebuild the blocking spell, but couldn’t. The pain intensified.

  Vaughn, he’s too powerful, and nothing I’m doing is working.
>
  Suddenly, however, the spell broke, though Vaughn had no idea why.

  He lifted up on his elbows and saw to his surprise that Beth had leaped on Loghry’s back, her fangs sunk deep into his neck. She was drinking, which helped to solidify the thrall. But at the same time, blood poured from the wound as she continued to savage him. She’d sliced through his vein. Held in this state, Loghry would soon bleed to death.

  A vampire could always enthrall a spellcaster, even a powerful wizard.

  Loghry slumped to his knees, his leather coat flaring around him, but Beth held on tight. She kept him upright as blood ran down his coat and began pooling in the dirt. The wizard couldn’t move a muscle, and he couldn’t stop Beth.

  Vaughn contacted her. Do you need me to do anything, Beth?

  No. And if you try to interfere, you could break the thrall. Besides, he’s mine. For what he did to me and all those girls, he’s mine.

  Vaughn turned his attention to Emma who moaned, but didn’t open her eyes. He put his hand on top of her head and using her witch power, let the healing flow. Her whole body relaxed and after a minute, she was able to sit up.

  She recoiled, however, at the horrible sight of Beth draining the life out of Loghry. “What should we do?”

  “Beth said if we do anything we’ll disrupt the thrall. And she wants this.”

  With both of them sitting in the dirt, Emma slipped her arm through his. “This is the least she deserves, isn’t it? Yet for what she had to endure, it doesn’t seem like enough.”

  “No, it doesn’t.”

  A few minutes later, Beth released Loghry, and he fell forward in the dirt, his eyes open. He wasn’t breathing, and the dirt all around him was stained with his blood.

  At the same time, the triplets appeared nearby, staring down at the man who had tortured them and taken their lives.

  “Look at the girls,” Emma whispered. “I’ve never seen them so somber before.”

  “They’re waiting for their killer.”

  “They must be.”

  Vaughn rose to his feet and lifted her with him. Beth was sitting against the opposite wall, shaking with exhaustion. The recent intake of more of Loghry’s corrupt blood had caused some of the mottled flames to reappear on her neck and face. Together, they crossed to stand near Beth.