Eternal Flame

by Lauren DeStefano

Page 33

 

  And the last time she’d gone looking to see what the future held, she’d seen death for her friends.

  Luckily, she’d been wrong about that vision. Well, kind of wrong.

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” Jude admonished. “You’re already weak from the two binding marks. Your powers aren’t strong enough—”

  “No. ” She shook her head. “They’re not. They’re not strong enough for me to see who is coming after me, but they were strong enough to show that if I don’t do something, I’ll be burning. ”

  Shit. What was the surefire way to destroy a witch? The fire. The old bastards during the Burning Times had been right about that move. Bind a witch, burn her, and you get her powers.

  Catalina straightened her shoulders. “Someone is coming after the survivors. ”

  Oh, he wasn’t going to like where this was going. Antonio hurried to Catalina’s side. The skin under her eyes looked bruised. Hell, she looked bruised. Too pale. Too fragile. He almost reached for her, but he stopped and clenched his hands into fists. “Where’s the vamp?” The last thing he needed was that vampire popping up in the morgue.

  “He’s …” She swallowed. “Feeding. ”

  Right.

  Jude growled.

  Catalina’s eyes flashed. “He’s not killing anyone! He’s just drinking—”

  “The way the bastard drank from Jana?” Yeah, he’d gotten all the details from Zane.

  Catalina flinched. “He’s being hunted, too. He has to be at full strength. ”

  Survivors. Antonio rubbed the back of his neck. The knots were building beneath the skin. “Let’s start at the beginning, and let’s go real slow. ” Erin and Jude closed in.

  “First up, how the hell did you know we were down here?”

  A ghost of a smile lifted her pale lips. “Pak told me. ”

  Figured. Pak knew just about everything, and he’d certainly be keeping tabs on his hunter.

  Antonio huffed out a breath. “Look, Catalina, I’ve got a dead co-ed and—”

  “Lindsey Meadows. ”

  Right. The media didn’t know the victim’s identity yet, but Catalina did.

  She told him, “If you check your records, you’ll see that Lindsey’s half-sister disappeared about six months ago. Lindsey filed a missing person’s report, but then she came back and said she’d talked to Laura, that everything was fine. ”

  He’d already checked the records. He knew this. Tony also knew- “I’m guessing the sister isn’t fine. ”

  Catalina tensed. Her eyes widened an instant before the door pushed open again. Zane loomed in the doorway, and his little Ignitor was right at his side.

  “I don’t know if the sister is fine,” Catalina said. “She knows. ” There was some anger there. Fear.

  It made sense that a witch would fear the Ignitor. Any smart person would fear her. Catalina had always struck him as the smart type.

  Everyone turned to look at Zane and Jana-and they waited.

  Kelly Thomas edged onto Zane’s porch, her gun drawn. She’d kept her eyes on the demon and tailed him back to his place-and she’d seen the way the guy high-tailed out of there. Like the devil was chasing him.

  She could smell the blood, so she knew—

  Kelly sucked in a sharp breath when she saw the body. The poor guy-his throat had been sliced right open, a sick smile that stretched far too wide.

  The stench clogged her nose, and she stumbled off the porch. Wrenching out her phone, she dialed her contact with a press of her fingers. “Start a search for Zane Wynter and Jana Carter. What? No, I don’t care what Miller said. They just killed someone. Killed him. Send some agents and the cops out to 133 Louis Avenue. ”

  Her fault. Her fault that poor kid was dead. She should have struck faster.

  But there’d be more innocent blood lost. She was putting an end to this hell.

  Time to eliminate the Ignitor and the demon that Jana had brought to her side.

  Okay, having everyone stare at her was … weird. Not like she was super comfortable being down there with the dead bodies, anyway.

  The cop eyed Jana with a narrowed gaze. Seriously suspicious eyes. What else was new?

  “Where’s Laura?” Catalina asked.

  Jana blinked. “Who?”

  “Laura. ” The witch repeated. “Where is she?”

  “I don’t know any Laura. ” Jeez. Didn’t they realize what was happening? Zane had called and told them about Marcus. They should have been—

  “She’s about five-foot-seven, and she’s got long, straight brown hair. She wears glasses that are so thick-too thick. And her nose is crooked,” Catalina spoke with her eyes still locked on Jana, “like it’s been broken before, and she’s got a small black mole near the corner of her chin. ”

  The description had Jana’s heart racing.

  Catalina said, “Tell us where she is. ”

  Jana took a deep breath. Then one more.

  Zane’s arm brushed her side. “What the hell are you talking about, Cat? Look, the shifter is dead. He was sliced open on my doorstep. Pak is sending a cleanup crew over, but we’ve got a damn serious problem on our hands. ”

  “Yes,” the cop said. “You do. ”

  Jana realized her palms were starting to sweat.

  “The survivors are being eliminated. One by one. ” Okay, that witch’s voice was just eerie. So blank. So … dead.

  It took a minute for the words to sink in. Survivors. Oh, shit. “You mean Marcus—”

  “Someone’s not happy that the supernaturals got out of Perseus alive,” Catalina said. “I scryed. I saw … I’m going to die. ” The witch sprang forward in a sudden burst of motion and grabbed Jana’s shirt, yanking her forward. “Where the hell is Laura?”

  “Catalina!” Zane lunged for the witch.

  Yeah, she didn’t need his help. The day she let a witch get the best of her in a fight… That day ain’t comin'. The other woman was just embarrassing her now. Jana slammed her forehead into Catalina’s. The witch howled and those nails- more like claws-stopped digging into Jana’s shirt as Catalina stumbled back.

  Jana fisted her right hand and got ready to punch the chick.

  Zane’s fingers curled around her fist. “Easy. ” His black stare glittered at her.

  “I’m not the one who went crazy. ” And it stung, dammit, hurt, that he was telling her to back off. Crazy witch woman was the one who needed to be controlled.

  We have a friend of yours.

  Oh, right, but he cared about the witch. While she … hell, what was she to him? Did she matter?

  Zane turned his head and focused on Catalina. “What the hell are you doing?”

  Jana pulled her hand away from his.

  Tears trickled down Catalina’s cheeks. Oh, great, tears. Now Zane would probably crumble because the witch was pretty and crying and—

  “Why the hell did you attack her?” Zane demanded.

  “Because she was the last person to see Laura alive! I know she was!”

  Okay. Catalina was right about that. Now all the eyes were back on Jana. She cleared her throat.

  “Why is this Laura important?” Zane asked.

  Catalina pointed toward the body on the gurney. A body Jana had been trying to ignore. “She’s important because her sister is the one who had her throat torn out last night. Laura is psychic. She was working with Perseus. I saw her there. She was—”

  “She was there the night the flames went wild. ” Jana tried to keep her voice emotionless. She licked her lips and met Zane’s stare. “She didn’t… survive the fire. ” Flat words. Quiet.

  But she’d never forget the sight of Laura dying. A touch … the woman had touched her, stolen her fire, then transferred it to Beth. All with a touch.

  But Laura hadn’t understood the flames. The fire had been too much for her, and by the time s
he’d tried to give the power to Beth …

  The fire had consumed Laura. She’d burned, from the inside out, even as Beth screamed and ordered that Laura touch her and transfer the power.

  Before she’d died, Laura had managed to transfer some of that power. And even that bit had proven too much for Beth in the end.

  Catalina’s shoulders sagged. “Lindsey must have known about Perseus. ”

  “That’s why she canceled the missing person’s search. ” Tony slowly shook his head.

  Missing person’s search?

  “She knew where her sister was,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “Laura must’ve called her. She must’ve—”

  “She told her sister too much about Perseus. ” Catalina’s voice held a hint of sadness. “So much that someone thought Lindsey had to die. ”

  Now there were two dead in the city: Lindsey and Marcus.

  Erin cleared her throat. “Um, sorry if I seem dense here, but I thought you guys had taken down Perseus? Isn’t the group dead?”

  Catalina shook her head. “Someone is still alive. Someone with a lot of power. ”

  Someone who wasn’t afraid to kill.

  “We’re all on the list. Everyone who was there while the place burned. ” Catalina’s eyes darted to Tony, Jude, then Zane.

  “Fuck the list,” Jude said instantly.

  Catalina looked at Jana. “Bet you’re at the top of the list, Ignitor. ”

  Jana forced a reckless smile. “Bring it. ”

  “Still so brave?” Catalina asked, narrowing her eyes. “Even after what happened to you?”

  Oh, shit, she knew. Jana kept her chin up. “What do you want me to do? Run away into the shadows? Hide while someone else dies?” Who did the witch think she was talking to? “I’m not going anywhere. If some asshole is out there hunting survivors, I’ll be ready to face him. ” With or without her power.

  “No, you won’t be,” Catalina said, drawing back. “Not when death has you in his sights. ”

  “Thanks for that happy little update. ” Didn’t sound like a fuzzy Christmas card, but when had life ever been a fuzzy Christmas card?

  “You scryed. ” Zane stepped back from the witch and came closer to Jana. Finally. “What did you see?”

  “I saw me getting torched. ” Her gaze came back to Jana. “Some people like to watch those flames burn. ”

  Okay, now she was pushing too far. “I’ve never burned a witch. Never killed someone who didn’t deserve my fire. You think I killed for shits and giggles, is that it?” She closed the distance between her and the witch. “My stepfather was a perverted freak. Those demons and vampires-they tortured and murdered humans. They came after me, so I stopped them. I didn’t—”

  “It’s okay, baby. ” Zane was there, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back against the warm, strong lines of his chest. “You don’t have to explain a damn thing to them. ”

  Her gaze flew around the room. Jude stared unblinkingly back at her. Erin … there was understanding in her gaze. Tony scowled. The witch-ah, screw her.

  “What else did you see, Catalina?” Zane demanded.

  Her lips firmed. “Logan got staked. I mean, he-he will get staked. ”

  The vamp who’d tried to make her into his buffet? Was she supposed to care about what would happen to him?

  “We don’t have much time,” Catalina whispered. “The killer is closing in. ”

  Zane’s arms were strong and steady. His scent surrounded her. “Did you see who was coming?” His words seemed to vibrate around her.

  Catalina shook her head. “I’m too weak. ” A brief hesitation. “We all are. ” Those words weren’t directed at Zane. Catalina knew too much. “They weakened us, and now we’re just prey to them. That’s what they wanted. For us to be the ones who were hunted. ”

  “You’re not going to be hunted,” Jude said. “I’m not weak. Zane’s not. We’re—”

  “Isn’t he weak?” Catalina asked as her eyes bored into Jana. “I saw what happened when Logan bit you. His dark side almost took over. Do you know what happens when Zane loses control?”

  “Fuck. Enough of this,” Zane blasted. His hold was unbreakable, but a hard knot had formed in Jana’s chest. “I’m not losing control and no one else is dying. No one. “

  His words were a vow.

  Catalina pushed past them. “I hope you’re right. But I’m afraid that you’re dead wrong. ” Then she ran out the door, her shoes slapping against the floor.

  “Follow her,” Zane ordered.

  Jude nodded quickly.

  “She’s not running again, and she’s not dying,” he added. Jude’s fingers skated down Erin’s cheek. “Be safe,” Jana heard the ADA whisper softly.

  Jude kissed Erin, a light, tender press of the lips. Then he was gone as he trailed after the witch.

  Zane’s breath feathered over Jana’s ear. “There’s a dead body on my porch. ”

  Jana took a slow breath. It seemed to burn her lungs. Marcus hadn’t deserved to die like that. He should have finally been free.

  “Tony, you’re gonna want to get some of your men out there to work the scene with Night Watch. Send those who know the score. ”

  Tony nodded and eased past them as he headed out the door.

  “I’ll call the DA,” Erin said, brushing back her hair. “I’ll make sure he understands Night Watch has point on this one. ”