Feline the Burn (The Firehouse Feline Book 3)

by L. A. Boruff

  I freeze as he stands and shakes James’ hand. He has brilliant blue eyes and a scruff of a beard. His hair has been cut short and neat, but there’s a strength beneath his too-casual clothes. Almost like he’s a dangerous man who’s trying really hard not to look threatening. But does that mean anything? Is he as dangerous as he appears under his outward appearance, or is he truly harmless?

  It doesn't escape my notice that he's also a very handsome man.

  "And you must be the one all the fuss is about," he says to me, holding out a hand. "The rumors don't do your beauty justice."

  A blush rises to my cheeks. He's charming too. I take his hand, ignoring the low growl coming from James' direction. I'm sure if I ask him about it, he'll say it's some kind of manifestation of his salamander side, but I'll know that's a lie. The growl is all jealous man.

  The thing is, he's too handsome. With the kind of casual air that reminds me of a slick salesman, or a supermodel. He oozes charisma.

  "Callie." I take his hand in mine and give it a firm shake. When I see my arm, I remember I don't look like myself. "Of course, this isn't me." Meaning his comments about beauty are nothing more than lip service. I'm going to have to be careful around him. Not because I think I might fall for him, I won't. He's not my type, and from the way he shakes my hand, I can tell I'm not his either, something I don't think is to do with the glamour in place over me.

  He bows his head slightly. "I assumed. Shall we go to this private place?"

  Sunbathers lounge in chairs several feet down the beach, just out of earshot. James shoots them a critical look. "Two of yours?"

  I glance at the beachgoers again, having written them off as human the first time I looked. They still look human. Especially as the man is wearing a smiley face swimsuit and the woman is in a pink two-piece.

  I stretch my senses out, annoyed at myself for not thinking about doing that before. Now I'm focusing my attention, it's easy to detect something off about them, like a smell that doesn’t make sense. Or am I imagining it? No. I can't be. James identified them straight away, and there must be an explanation as to how.

  "I couldn't come without any protection," he explains. "Is the cove nearby?"

  I get that feeling again. The one that tells me either this guy is just really smart or that he’s dangerous. Maybe both. Which definitely makes him someone I should be careful around.

  James walks in the direction of the sunbathers but passes by them without doing anything about them. I suppose if they're here to protect Benny, then there's nothing he can do about them.

  I study them as James and Benedict discuss the need for protection spells around the cove. I can't tell anything interesting just from looking at them, other than that they need better fashion sense when it comes to beach wear. They scream human. Despite how little they're wearing and how cold it is. And yet, something still lingers in my mind, or maybe in the air, every time I look in their direction.

  "How'd you know they weren’t human?" I ask James once he's finished talking with Benny.

  If he hadn’t pointed it out, I would’ve never noticed myself. That's something I need to work on. I have to be more aware of the world around me if I'm going to survive long.

  James cocks his head. "Know what?"

  "They're not human?" I throw up my thumb and point it toward the couple.

  "Nothing they did gave them away," he says, confirming what I suspect. "But just their appearance is odd."

  Realization dawns on me. "The only people out this early are fishermen."

  Maybe I imagined something was off about them, when really all James did was apply logic to the situation.

  Benedict chuckles. "I should've taken more time to study the habits of the natives in the area. I figured they could pass as tourists."

  James laughs along with his old friend. "You're slipping, old man."

  They fall into a friendly banter. Is this really the same man as Fran warned me against? He's charming, for sure, maybe too charming. But I can't sense anything but curiosity, and maybe mischief, coming from him.

  Not that I'm a mind reader.

  James turns into the woods where a small stream feeds into the ocean. "Up this way," he says.

  Benny's disguised friends follow at a comfortable distance. I don't feel like they're going to come attack or try to kidnap me, but I keep an eye on them anyway. Besides, what they don't know is that Will is already here. I try to hide my smile at the thought. Benny might not know how to blend his little friends in around here, but we did.

  The cove has several hiding spots, and he's in one of them, comfortable with quiet snacks and a book, waiting for us to arrive. If he hears anything he shouldn't he'll come out blazing.

  Literally.

  The stream twists around until it splits, and James follows the split back in the direction we came, except up the beach. When the stream reaches the ocean, the trees are on either side of it, nearly to the water's edge, except the stream has eaten away at the sand, sinking it much lower than the forest around it. It creates the perfect hidden cove. When the tide comes in, it will lick at their trunks, but not enough to damage them.

  "Most people don't know this little cove is here," James says. "We're protected on both sides by trees and boulders. The water in the stream is more than enough for me to learn by. At high tide, the entire area would be under water.”

  Benedict nods. “This will do.”

  I grin. “And it’s better than a damn misbehaving bowl of water.”

  Benny lifts a brow, a smile in his eyes. "Shall we?"

  “Hell yeah!”

  To my surprise, he goes to the edge of the water and dips his hand into the sand. A second later, a wave rushes over his fingers.

  “What are you doing?” I ask.

  Benny looks out at the water. “I’m introducing myself to it.”

  “To water?” That’s a little weird, but also endearing. It makes me like him a lot more.

  He nods. “Water is different from a lot of the elements. It doesn’t need to be controlled like fire or the earth, it just needs to be molded. And that’s hard to do if it doesn’t want to be molded by you.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  He shakes his head, then his soft eyes lock onto mine. “Come introduce yourself.”

  I’m pretty sure this guy is pulling my leg, but I go squat beside him and stick my hand near his. “Okay, water, I’m Callie. Just your average neighborhood girl, at least that’s what I thought until all the witch—”

  “No,” Benny reaches over and takes my hand. My skin tingles at his touch. “Close your eyes. Feel the water. Feel it reach out to you, then just reach back.”

  I’m not sure about all this, but I close my eyes, waiting to feel nothing from the water like before. But then, something weird happens, I feel a change. Like the moment you notice an animal near you in the woods. It’s like I’m sharing a space with some shy creature that belongs here more than I do.

  I reach out in my mind, cautiously, scared to spook in, and I feel the water in a way I never have before. I feel the chill of it. I feel the smoothness of it, and it awakens things inside of me I never knew existed.

  “Whoa...”

  “Now,” he says softly. “We’re ready to try to mold it. If it’ll let us.”

  I glance at James. He's scowling, clearly unhappy with the way Benny is acting around me, but he nods anyway, knowing how important this is. My heart skips a beat at the thought. He, and the others, truly want what's best for me, I have no doubts about that.

  Time passes too fast. Within a short time, the water begins to respond to me. It leaps a little higher. It dances a bit. It even swirls around.

  Benny watches me more than the water as he teaches. His hands are always there, touching mine. Or he moves behind me and shifts my position to open me up better to the elements. Each time he does so, my connection with the water seems to intensify, and soon I get it. I actually get water magic!

  I laugh
as I hold a ball of water in my hands, not quite touching my skin.

  "Now," Benedict says. "Throw it at James."

  I give him a sarcastic look. "I'm not going to do that."

  "No, really, watch."

  Benedict pulls a ball of water from the creek, then hurls it at James, who only has enough time to throw up his hands. His sleeves, face, and hair are soaked in a split second.

  As he sputters, Benedict focuses, twirling his hands around, and the water gathers off of James's clothes and body, reforming in Benedict's hands.

  I clap in delight, dropping my water ball. "That's wonderful!"

  James' expression says he disagrees, but I don't worry about that. He wants me to learn this, so he has to deal with the consequences of that.

  Kneeling down to the water again, I call it to me, and a ball forms in my hands once more. James gives me a, “don’t you dare,” look, and then I hurl the ball toward him.

  It splatters him square in the face, and he glowers back at me.

  Biting my lip, I concentrate on the water. Hoping like hell it’ll listen to me the way it did for Benny. Slowly, one drop at a time, lift from James’ clothes, face, and hair, and then he’s dry once more and the ball is back in my hand.

  Hell yes!

  "Every time you shower, use this new trick to dry yourself. You'll be surprised how fast you master it that way."

  Not only me, I'll do it to the guys, too. This could be handy.

  "If you keep practicing, you'll learn to pull water from the atmosphere around you. You can take it from plants, people, even the air. But be careful, if you take too much anything organic can die. Everything needs water."

  Oh, that puts a little damper on this whole water control thing.

  He sits on a log. "Now. Tit for tat. Tell me about yourself."

  At least he's being straightforward about it.

  “Uh, okay, what do you want to know?”

  He gives a slight smile. “Start at the beginning.”

  Okay then, I can do this. Tell him stuff, but not too much.

  "I grew up with humans." True and not a secret.

  James rolls over a small boulder, then brushes it off. I sit delicately on it and watch him bring another over for himself. He must be using magic to help, as they're too big for anyone to roll without it.

  "And you've only recently discovered you're a witch?" Benedict leans forward with his hands on his knees.

  I remember James's words. He can sense lying. "Yes, but I have a lot to learn about how to use my powers. They were locked away. My father was a human, so I need lots of help." All true and evades saying how strong my powers seem to be. Hopefully he'll read into my words and assume I need help because I'm weak. Plus, by saying this much, I can avoid talking about my cat. I think that'll be too painful.

  He studies me for a minute. Long enough to make me uncomfortable. "The King isn't just grabbing people he thinks might be loyal to you."

  I raise my eyebrows and look from Benedict to James. "What else?"

  "He plans to make a blood sacrifice at the Solstice. He hopes it will please the magic to choose his son as the King and Catalyst."

  A blood sacrifice. Holy shit. "That asshole! I thought he couldn’t get any worse!”

  But of course, he has to go and remind me why we don’t want him on the throne. Not just because he’s a jerk, but because he’s a cruel monster of a man.

  "He's looking for the strongest witch he can to sacrifice." Benedict shakes his head. "Blood sacrifices have been outlawed in most witch societies for centuries. This act will break bonds with other covens, alienate them further when most other covens already disagree with the way the King operates."

  James looks shocked, and I'm so upset I can barely catch my breath. He’s actually rounding up people and then will choose one to kill? It’s just... sick.

  Benedict leans back. "Why are you two so surprised? You must know he's been stealing power for years."

  "I did, yes," James admits. "But a blood sacrifice at a solstice is publicly admitting he does it. Every witch in the coven is at the solstice celebration, and even more will come this year with the heir being chosen. The heir to the throne must be presented at the solstice for the magic to imbibe them as the next catalyst. If the heir isn't presented by their twenty-first birthday, they will never be catalyst, and no one can be King without being catalyst.”

  My jaw drops as my mind begins to turn. "My mother was younger than twenty-one when she ran off with me, right?"

  James cuts me a look, warning me to watch what I say. "Yes, why?"

  "How can we be sure my uncle was presented to the solstice?" I ask. "Maybe he never was, which would nullify his claim to the throne. And his child's."

  "He was presented," Benedict says. "The Dowager tried to stop it, but King Edmund trusted his son. the worst mistake he ever made. When Regina didn't return by His Majesty's twenty-first birthday, King Robert was presented. The magic must've known Regina wouldn't ever take her place on the throne, because it imbibed him as catalyst," Benny says.

  "How do you know all this?" James demands of Benedict.

  Benedict chuckles. "We all have our secrets, don't we old friend?" He stands and looks around. "I think that's enough for one day. I'll be in touch."

  With no other warning, he walks back into the woods and back the way we came.

  "Wow. He just up and left." I don't understand.

  "Yeah." James crosses his arms. "He's acting strange, even for him."

  Will appears out of nowhere. I have no idea where he was hiding, but it was good, because it's like he poofs out of thin air. "That dude is weird."

  James nods. "Yeah. You know another way out of here?"

  Will scoffs. "Of course. I made sure I re-familiarized myself with all of the exits when you made this stupid plan."

  Will takes my hand and holds me tightly, as if he spent his whole time in the words worrying that something bad would happen to me, then leads us a complicated way back out of the woods.

  I check my watch. "We only have an hour to get back home before our glamours wear off."

  They talk about Benedict and the information he gave while I contemplate my options.

  "I have to do it," I say as we reach the end of the woods. I realize where we are, just up the street from my cottage and the firehouse. "I have to formally claim the throne. I have to become the Queen and Catalyst. If I don't, Robert will raise his son to be just like him and that's bad for everyone."

  James and Will give me a sympathetic look.

  "If it helps, I think you're ready," Will says. "You're so strong."

  "Yeah, but Robert is the Catalyst. He's the one who makes the whole coven powerful. The throne won't accept anyone else while he's alive, that's not how it works. To claim the throne, he has to be dead. And he won't let anyone he doesn't choose become a Catalyst, that opens up the possibility of the people who oppose his rule trying to put someone else in his place," James explains.

  "And that's a lot of people," Will mutters.

  Despite the seriousness of the conversation, James laughs. "More than even King Robert realizes. He's made a lot of enemies over the years."

  "That can only be a good thing," Will says. "But how are we going to get them on Callie's side?"

  "We tell them it exists," James says with certainty. "And if she's determined to be the Queen and Catalyst, then that'll be easier than you think."

  "Hmm." Will doesn't seem convinced.

  Dread fills me. "How am I going to do this?" I whisper. Despite the question, I know there isn't any doubt about whether or not I'm going through with it. Both of them know I am.

  "You've got us. And yourself. And that'll be plenty," Will promises.

  I walk toward my cottage with one hand in James's and one hand in Will's, and it feels like the most natural thing in the world, even as my anxiety rises in anticipation of what's to come.

  Chapter Eleven

  Hank

  The sma
rt watch tinkles as I place the final layer on it. I'm trying to put protection spells into electronics that can be worn to give to anyone that has tried to help us. We can send them to people in town, if it works well, to make them difficult for the king to find.

  Setting the watch down on Callie’s desk, I stare down at my handiwork, feeling proud.

  I need to test it, but I'm confident I did a great job. This is my specialty, after all.

  My private line rings before I get the chance to see if I can find someone to test the new watches. Tension moves down my spine as I glance at the ringing cell phone. It’s untraceable, and I’ve only given the number to a few people who know only to call in an absolute emergency... when they can’t risk the possibility of someone overhearing what they have to say.

  Nobody has ever used it before.

  Three rings split the air before I have the nerve to pick it up. "Hello?"

  "Hank. It's about Lola Steelman." My Dad doesn't even say hello, just launches straight into the news. That can't be good. Will’s mom is a wildcard on her best day.

  "Is she okay?"

  "She's gone." He sighs, then continues. "Left last night. We wanted to give her time to return, but she's still not back." I check the time. James, Will, and Callie are due back from their meeting with James's old friend.

  It burned when they asked me to stay behind. But it’d been smart. Too many of us would've been conspicuous, and they needed someone to hang back in case anything went wrong. If the King gets ahold of them, somebody has to rescue them.

  But now, I kind of wished Will was the one to stay behind. He knows his mom better. He’d know what to do with this situation. I have no idea.

  If it was someone else, I’d be creating a search party. With her? I don’t want to endanger other people if it isn’t necessary.

  "It's nearly noon, Dad. Any idea where she went?"

  "I think we both can give an educated guess. But that means she's out there, exposed and alone.”

  Damn it. He's absolutely right. She's probably drunk.

  And yet, behind the frustration in his voice, there’s worry. He’s been neighbors with Lola all my life. He kept an eye on her and helped her whenever he could, even though she could be frustrating at times. As annoyed as he might be that she took off, he’d be heartbroken if anything happened to her.