Burn

by Suzanne Wright

  You say that like it makes a difference. You know, you constantly underestimate me, and I’ve yet to figure out why. In truth, she was glad he wasn’t able to come straight to her. There was no doubt in her mind that she was being used as bait. After all, if her kidnappers had wanted to kill her, they would surely have done it by now; they would have taken advantage of her unconscious state. If they thought to lure Knox here, they had to also believe they had a way of containing him. She wouldn’t allow that. No fucking way.

  Hearing voices approaching, Harper closed her eyes, feigning sleep. There was a loud yet smooth whirring sound…like some kind of machinery was being used. Was the door electronically locked or something? The whirring stopped and then footsteps descended the stairs, slowly making their way toward her. She counted four sets of footsteps.

  “Odd that she’s still unconscious,” remarked a very well-spoken male.

  I know you’re strong, Harper, but—

  Shh, I’ve got company and I’m trying to listen.

  “It means being anchored to him hasn’t made her as strong as we’d expected,” continued the eloquent voice. “Are you sure they formed the anchor bond?”

  “Well, he calls her his anchor,” replied a coarse voice.

  “Yes, Jacques, but that does not mean that they have formed a bond.”

  “I figured they did,” defended Jacques.

  “Yet, she remains unconscious.”

  “That doesn’t have to mean anything, Alton,” said a female voice. Kendra – or whoever the hell she really was. “We don’t know enough about Isla’s bite to know how long a victim typically loses consciousness. We have nothing to measure it by.”

  The bitch is here, Harper told Knox. Fake Kendra is here. She must have been hired by the practitioners, so it looks like my little theory was right.

  How can you be smug? YOU’RE TIED TO A TABLE LIKE A DAMN SACRIFICE!

  I don’t appreciate your tone.

  “Alton, when do you want me to get a message to someone in his lair?” asked another male voice.

  “Soon, Ezra. I need to be sure everything is ready before we give an anonymous tip with her location,” said Alton.

  “Can I make her scream a little first?” ‘Kendra’ practically purred.

  “Still sore that he chose her over you?” Jacques teased.

  “It’s not about him. She should die for the agony she caused my soul.”

  “Be honest, Jeanna, Knox choosing her was an ego blow. You treasure that ego.”

  She huffed. “I’d already walked away from him by the time he met her, remember?”

  “Yeah, but you thought he’d chase you. Instead, he pursued her. That has to have pissed you off, since you literally have the gift of seduction. Tell me honestly, did you try to seduce her, too?”

  “Her?”

  He chuckled. “Don’t give me that horrified look, Jeanna. Whenever a mated guy turns you down, you seduce his mate out of spite.”

  “I don’t seduce them, I just make them want me so much that they beg for me to touch them…then I walk away.”

  Wasn’t she just a precious little thing? Her inner demon wanted to crush her skull.

  “Like that’s any better,” snorted Jacques. “Come on, tell me, did you try it on her?”

  “Once. It didn’t work. She’s an awkward bitch.”

  That could explain the warmth that had briefly bloomed through Harper when Jeanna grabbed her arm in the restrooms.

  “Do you really think you can trap Knox Thorne?” Jacques asked.

  “Any predator can be trapped with the right bait,” replied Alton.

  “But can you keep the predator trapped? That’s the question.”

  “Your part here is over, demons,” said Alton. “You’ve been paid, and you’ve been paid well.”

  “I want to see it through,” said Jeanna.

  Alton huffed. “I fail to understand why you believe you have any authority here. Ezra, please escort the demons to their vehicle while I check everything is in place.”

  Someone in your lair will get a call with an anonymous tip on where I am, Harper told Knox as the voices gradually faded. It’s a trap—

  I know it’s a fucking trap. His tone said he couldn’t give a shit. I’ll be there soon.

  That meant she needed to get outside before the dumb motherfucker walked inside.

  Once she was absolutely certain she was alone again, Harper opened her eyes and called hellfire to her hand. Then she twisted her hands enough to grip the table, infusing the hellfire into the wood. The flames burned away the rope, enabling her to free herself. Thankfully, she was impervious to any hellfire she conjured or she’d be in absolute agony right now.

  Honestly, she was insulted that anyone thought rope was enough to secure her. No self-respecting Wallis would be unable to escape ties of any kind.

  Harper smoothly slipped off the table. She stood still for a moment, testing the strength of her legs. Maybe it was the adrenalin or maybe it was that being anchored to Knox made her stronger, but her body was no longer physically weak. She knew that she still hadn’t psychically recovered from Isla’s bite, though.

  With the stealth she’d learned at an early age, she silently hurried to the other end of the room. She quickly dashed up the wooden steps, wincing when one of the boards creaked ever so slightly. The sound was like a bomb in the silence of the room, but it didn’t appear to have alerted anyone.

  When she almost reached the top step, she blinked, totally baffled. Where the fuck was the door? There was barely even a wall. The roof here in the corner of the basement was sloped. There was only a two foot gap between the top stair and the bottom of the slope. There was literally no door. She might have thought the door had been moved underneath the stairs during renovations or something, but she had clearly heard the others descend the rickety steps.

  That was when she recalled the whirring sound she’d heard earlier. Okay, if she was an electronic door, where would she be?

  Harper skimmed her fingers along the wall, searching for some kind of switch. Her index finger brushed over something hard and circular. Hopeful, Harper pressed it…and the small sloped roof above the steps started to lift. She listened hard for any signs of people approaching, but there was nothing.

  Finally, the slope came to an abrupt stop, revealing a doorway. It was only when Harper hurried through the opening that she realized the sloped roof was actually part of a staircase that led to upper floors. The clever bastards had hidden their little temple very well. Clicking another switch, Harper then watched as the small portion of the staircase moved back into position. To look at the staircase as a whole, no one would ever imagine that the bottom section lifted. She couldn’t help but begrudgingly admire the design.

  Voices in the distance snapped her out of her musings.

  Crap. Strongly suspecting that the front and back entrances to what was clearly a massive house were being guarded, she headed silently up the winding staircase. Reaching the top floor, she listened carefully for signs of company. Satisfied she was still alone, she crossed the landing to a smaller winding staircase that no doubt led to the attic. Hopefully it wasn’t another damn sacrificial chamber.

  Thankfully, it turned out to be a storage room. Quietly, she wound her way through the boxes and pieces of furniture, heading for the side window, which was disappointingly small. Not that a little thing like that would stop her. Hey, she’d once gotten in and out of a bank vault – she had this.

  The window turned out to be pretty damn stiff, so it was a slight struggle getting it open. If it hadn’t been for her enhanced strength, she might not have managed to open it. She slinked her upper body through the small space, taking in the nighttime view, and was immediately assaulted by the scents of wet grass and dark magick.

  Knox, it would appear that I’m in a house in the middle of nofuckingwhere. Great.

  I haven’t received the anonymous tip yet telling me where you are. His impatience vibrate
d against her mind. I’ll be there as soon as I get it.

  She could hear muffled voices, but none were close by. Wanting a thorough view of her surroundings and an idea of where each of the practitioners waited, she clambered onto the flat roof. It seemed like it was one of those eco-friendly builds that was all metal panels, timber, and plexiglass. Instinctively, she froze, knowing she wasn’t alone. Then there was mock clapping.

  “Clever girl.” Jeanna moved out of the shadows. She looked very different. The elegant look was gone. Her clothing was casual, her hair was now red, and her eyes were a pale blue. She was also holding a black, swirly dagger. “I had a feeling you’d get out – you’re a Wallis, after all. Don’t worry about them down there; they can’t hear us through my shield. But they will see us while I take your life.”

  “You stuck around for payback.” Typical of their kind. Harper balled up her hands as her familiar protective power rushed to her fingertips.

  “That…and it will be interesting to see if their spell works. They believe they can trap Knox. Truly. Practitioners are covering each corner of the house, forming a cube shape. Once Knox steps inside that psi-cube, walls will slam up…and the cube will get smaller and smaller until it’s the size of a closet.”

  Not good at all. Knox, when you get here, don’t come near the house! The practitioners think they can trap you in some kind of psychic cube. Knox? Knox? No answer. Was Jeanna’s shield blocking the message? If so, this was bad. “You’re the one who planted the compulsions.”

  Jeanna shrugged one shoulder. “I couldn’t have people pointing the finger at me, could I?”

  “And the snakes?”

  “One of the practitioners did that, but it was my idea. I was there.” Eyes narrowing, Jeanna asked, “Just how did you survive them?”

  “A few escaped out of the letterbox; there might as well have been a neon sign warning me away. Why work for these bastards? Why?”

  “I’ll work for whoever pays well. Be honest, Harper, our kind is darker than theirs will ever be.”

  In some instances, that was indeed true. “Do I have you to thank for the rumor about Carla?”

  “That was a personal hit. Have you ever felt soul-deep pain yourself? It’s an experience unlike any other. It hurts every part of you, inside and out. Every nerve ending, every organ, every bone, and – finally – every piece of your soul. You could say it packs an emotional punch.”

  “You wanted me to hurt like you hurt,” Harper deduced.

  “Yes. So I did my research on you, looking for dirt. I was annoyed to find that you’re not actually an imp. I don’t like being wrong.” Jeanna tilted her head. “A sphinx without wings. That’s a little like a dog without a bark.”

  Harper kept her expression neutral, betraying nothing. “You think if you piss me off, I’ll charge at you? I’ve heard worse from better.” The bitch hissed, clenching her hand around the dagger. “Ooh, temper, temper,” taunted Harper.

  “I will enjoy killing you.”

  A frisson of fear slithered into Harper. Shit, what if she couldn’t do this? What if she failed and let Knox down? Of course she’d fail! She was weak, pathetic. She wouldn’t—

  Harper shook her head a little. She’d never thought of herself as weak. Realization dawned. “You can induce fear.” Well that wasn’t good.

  “Let’s end this, shall we?”

  Harper had no problem at all with causing this bitch a world of pain; her inner demon wanted to gouge out Jeanna’s eyes and shove them down her throat. But Harper needed to be away from the house before Knox arrived or he would step inside the cube to reach her. “Think, Jeanna. Knox will come, and he won’t come alone. You won’t get away from here.”

  “Of course I will. Jacques is waiting for me in the woods. He’ll teleport us away.”

  “You don’t want to do this, Jeanna,” Harper said, her voice compelling. “You don’t even know who I am.”

  “So it’s true that sphinxes can cause confusion.”

  Shit, it didn’t seem to be working here. Harper could guess why. She was still psychically weak, courtesy of Isla’s bite. And she was expending precious psi-energy on fighting the artificial fear that threatened to drag her under and make her forget why it was so important that she win this duel – Knox. She would fight because he needed her to, because she wanted to stay with him.

  Resigned that this would come to bladed combat, Harper drowned out Jeanna’s next words and studied the nightmare. Jeanna was obviously comfortable with a blade. Being tall, she also had a long reach. However, her height also meant her legs were exposed.

  “Before I kill you, I must ask…what is Knox? You must know.” When Harper didn’t answer, Jeanna smirked. “An amazing lover, isn’t he?”

  She thought to make Harper jealous? Thought such an emotion would make her lose control? “That’s not going to work, Jeanna. You’re insulting us both by being so petty.” Hearing voices call out to each other, Harper knew she and Jeanna had been spotted. “They see us. They’ll come up here.”

  Jeanna shrugged, unconcerned. “They can’t step inside the shield. Nothing can penetrate it.”

  “If you kill me, Knox will kill you.”

  “If he finds me, yes he will. But it won’t make you any less dead, will it?”

  She had a point.

  Grinning, Jeanna held up her dagger. “Like it? I bought it from the practitioners.”

  “That explains why it looks more like a Harry Potter wand.”

  A scowl that promised retribution. “It’s enchanted. The handle is the bone of a demon who died in glorious agony. Each time I strike you with it, you’ll hear a cry of his pain.”

  “Yeah” – Harper smiled tauntingly – “if you can slice me.”

  Jeanna rushed Harper, pumped full of anticipation. With the swiftness of any sphinx, Harper retrieved her blade from her boot, infused it with hellfire, and parried the blow. The blades clanged as they met. Jeanna danced backwards, eyes wide.

  Harper smirked. “You didn’t think you were the only one who had a blade, did you?” Apparently so. Jeanna had thought this would be a quick win, an easy method of payback. Wrong. Harper was taught combat and fencing by imps. They fought dirty. They cheated. They were damn bloodthirsty. “You sure you still want to do this?”

  Jeanna’s expression answered that. Keeping her muscles loose, Harper lunged at her; went for every weak spot, including the face, neck, and chest. She was quick. Precise. Didn’t stop moving, kept up the pressure. The blades clanged as they repeatedly clashed.

  There was no hesitation in Jeanna. She parried and thrust with ease, all the while careful not to let Harper’s hands touch her. It quickly became clear she was confident and, worse, very good with a dagger. She didn’t make the error most did and try to hit the blade; she tried to hit her opponent.

  Moments later, she was successful. The dagger stung, slicing cleanly through Harper’s skin like a knife through butter. For some reason, the first cut was always a shock. What stunned her more was the agonizing male cry that rang through her head. Fucking enchanted piece of shit.

  Harper heard the practitioners gathering close like vultures. The only thing keeping them back was Jeanna’s shield…which meant this situation was fucking hopeless, really. Killing Jeanna would feel great and would save her from being impaled on a dagger, but then she’d no longer be protected from the practitioners by the shield.

  Determination flooding every vein, Harper went at Jeanna again. She didn’t let up, ensuring she was in constant motion, refusing to allow the dead male’s cries to distract her. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as the hellfire coating Harper’s blade ate at Jeanna’s wounds, pleasing her inner demon. “Looking a little like a leper there, Jeanna.”

  “You will die for this.” She slammed her open palm into Harper’s face.

  Shit! Her eyes watered, making it hard to see. Jeanna took instant advantage and sliced Harper’s chest. She winced – both at the pain and the male
scream that reverberated through her head. Fuck, that cut was deep; she could feel blood pooling to the surface but she ignored the urge to examine the wound. If she looked away from a smug-looking Jeanna, she was dead.

  A tendril of fear curled around her. She was going to lose. Jeanna was too strong, too fast. There was no way Harper could defeat her, there was no—

  Pushing aside that artificial fear, Harper swung her hips and kick her opponent hard in the stomach. Jeanna retaliated with a swipe of her blade. Harper ducked and came up on Jeanna’s side, stabbing deep. Blood bloomed, soaking her t-shirt. “Now we’re even.”

  Hissing with anger as her flesh sizzled, Jeanna tossed a succession of hellfire orbs. One hit Harper’s leg and another skimmed her temple.

  “You like to throw shit, huh?” Adrenalin pounding through her, Harper yanked one of the metal hair sticks from her bun, infused it with hellfire, and hurled it at Jeanna. It buried itself in the bitch’s shoulder.

  With a shocked, angry cry, Jeanna yanked it out. She snarled as her flesh burned. “That really, really hurt.” Um, it was supposed to.

  The taste of trepidation and anxiety suddenly filled Harper’s mouth. Jeanna was clearly redoubling her efforts to swamp her in fear. Grinding her teeth, Harper fought it. But it was hard; she could feel her psychic energy waning – she still wasn’t fully recovered psychically from Isla’s bite. Still…“It won’t work, Jeanna. You won’t reduce me to the blubbering wreck you were in the restrooms.” She blinked at the bitch’s curse. “Something I said?”

  Jeanna struck again. As Harper parried each blow, she could sense the practitioners watching, waiting for her to fail and die at Jeanna’s hands…or to win and then be vulnerable to them. Either way, Harper was a loser to some extent.

  Twisting slightly, Jeanna evaded one of Harper’s blows and kicked her hard in the thigh. Shit, that was gonna bruise, and Knox was gonna be pissed.

  Ignoring the pain and the sweat trickling down her temples, Harper made an effort to regulate her rapid, shallow breathing. She was running out of steam, physically and psychically. It didn’t help that she was bleeding from cuts and stab wounds on her cheek, chest, and arms. Not that Jeanna looked much better. Her flesh was peeling and blistering in several places, thanks to the hellfire. The stench of it was awful. “God, Jeanna, at this point you’re just nauseating.”