Fire Me Up

by Katie MacAlister

  Panic, sharp and hot, filled me at her words. I didn't know how to draw wards! Jim had told me a little about them, saying there were various types used for a number of purposes, but other than that, I had no idea how to go about drawing one. I looked at Nora with my heightened vision, about to admit to her that I hadn't the slightest idea how to draw one ward, let alone five, but something in the aura that glowed around her kept my mouth shut. She was silent. But her eyes flickered to the wards that I had seen scattered around the room, then back to me, just as if she was trying to tell me something.

  I grinned and walked over to the palm, tracing the pattern of the ward that hung in front of it onto a nearby lamp.

  "The protection ward. Very good," Nora said. I shot her a look of gratitude before continuing to the next ward.

  'The luck ward. Well drawn."

  The patterns I drew in the air didn't last like Nora's did—I assumed it had something to do with my inexperience—but the symbols burst into sparkly life for a second before dissolving away into nothing. By the time I drew the last one, I was feeling much better. Nora might be bound by the rules of proctoring to avoid helping me outright, but she was obviously taking my unorthodox entrance into her world into consideration as she set the tests. I thanked my stars that she, rather than Marvabelle, had offered to conduct the ritual.

  "Excellent," Nora said as I finished and came back to stand before her. There was the usual momentary sense of loss as my vision returned to normal, but it took a lot of energy and concentration to look at the world the pretty way. I could do it for only short amounts of time, "You will now please recite the names of the eight princes of Abaddon."

  Now that was something I knew. I hadn't read all those ancient medieval demonology texts for nothing! "In alphabetical order, they are Amayon, Ariton, Asmodeus, Ashtaroth, Bezlebud, Oriens, and Paymon."

  "Very good. Now name for me three demons and the demon lords they are bound to."

  I almost laughed out loud. "Ilarax is bound to Magoth, Bafamal is bound to Ashtaroth, and ... er ... Effrijim is bound to me."

  Laughter flashed in her eyes. "That is correct. The last part of the ritual involves you drawing and closing a circle with which you might summon a being."

  'That's it?" I asked, a little stunned. "I just need to draw and close a circle? I don't have to summon a demon or anything?"

  "No. Applicants to the position of apprentice generally do not have the experience or skill to do something so demanding as to summon a demon."

  Well, hell! I could draw a circle with my eyes closed. I knelt carefully on the wood tile floor, accepting the piece of chalk she handed me, drawing a circle about two feet in diameter. I didn't have any blood, ash, or salt to seal the circle (all of which were used for varying purposes), but since it wasn't intended to do anything, I pulled a strand of my hair out and carefully laid it across the point where the circle started and ended. Then I stood and called the four quarters, which had the effect of extending the circle from the mortal world to the Other-world.

  "I guess that's it," I said, as I stood looking at the circle.

  "Yes, that is it. And it was very well done, too. I especially liked the peace signs you drew as wards when you called the quarter, A very unique and fascinating touch."

  I gnawed my lip, wondering if my improvisation would count against me, but Nora was smiling. She rubbed out the chalk circle with the toe of her shoe and gave my arm a little squeeze. "You needn't look so worried, Aisling. You completed the ritual successfully, and with seven minutes to spare. I will inform the committee tomorrow morning that you have done so. You are free to seek a mentor with the goodwill of the L'au-dela."

  "Thank god. I don't think I could stand to be kicked out of one more thing."

  She walked with me to the elevators, and I wished with all my heart that I could summon up the nerve to ask her to be my mentor. But I had read the etiquette in the conference packet—it wasn't polite to pressure a potential mentor. There were more apprentices than mentors, and some people ended up waiting years before they found a mentor willing to take them under their wing. Much as I wanted to beg Nora to teach me, I kept my mouth shut and simply thanked her for making time in her schedule to oversee the ritual. 'There is one thing I'd like to know," I said while we waited for an elevator. "Why do some people call it L'au-dela and others refer to it as the Otherworld?"

  "The words are interchangeable, and it's just personal preference which you choose to call it. L'au-dela is the closest approximation to Otherworld to be found in mortal languages. Amongst other things, the words translate to 'beyond,' which I believe is really a better name for the society than 'Otherworld.' It's not an other world ... it's just a state beyond the mortal one."

  "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I think I'll stick with—oh, hi, Tiffany. Off to virgin?"

  She stepped from the elevator clad in a length of translucent silver material draped in toga fashion. It didn't take much of a glance to see that she was naked underneath the material. "Good evening, Aisling. Good evening, Nora. Yes, the Mages have contracted me to conduct cleansing rituals by the light of the goddess. It is said that a drop of blood from a virgin under a full moon will restore a man's virility and a woman's purity, will reclaim a lost soul, and remove even the most stubborn tarnish stain."

  "Wow," I said, trying hard not to laugh. "That's some powerful blood you have!"

  "Oh, yes, very powerful. Now you see why being a professional virgin is such an important job. Just think of all the people whose lives I am making better with just one tiny little drop of my perfect blood I AIL those men able to make happy little babies, and women who will be able to be as they once were. It is a gift I share with the many peoples."

  "Selfless to the core," I said, giving her a little wave as she headed toward the front door, where a group of men in expensive suits and shiny shoes were waiting for her. "What I'd give to have that sort of belief in your own abilities."

  Nora laughed as we got into the elevator. She asked for my floor number, pressing her own, just one floor above Drake's. "I suspect the chastity she must embrace would soon have you wishing for a little less self-confidence."

  I slid a curious glance at her, aware that we had just a few seconds before the elevator arrived at Drake's floor. Would I kill any chances I had with her if I asked her what I wanted to know? No. My chances were long since blown. It couldn't possibly hurt. "I realize this is going to sound very invasive and rude, but I have a really good reason for asking. Have you ... have you ever summoned an incubus?"

  Her eyes widened just a little. "That is a very personal question."

  I couldn't help it. A faint blush rose under the mildly offended look she was giving me. "I know it is, it's impertinent and nosy, and honestly, Nora, I wouldn't ask it if it didn't have some bearing on something important, but it does, and if you wouldn't mind telling me, I'd really like to know."

  "No," she said after a moment's silence. The elevator doors opened on Drake's floor. I hesitated, wanting to ask her more but not wishing to ruin the easy friendship we seemed to have fallen into.

  "Do you know of other Guardians who have? Since they arrived here, I mean?" I asked, grabbing the elevator door right where the electronic eye could see my hand. The door bucked in an attempt to close.

  She shook her head. "Aisling, I feel [ must warn you. To succumb to the lure of an incubus is a very dangerous thing."

  "Dangerous? Dangerous how?" The door bucked again. I stepped in front of it. 'The ones I've met seem a little pushy, but not dangerous in any way." Unless they wanted to sex you to death, that is.

  "They can be dangerous in that women who resort to calling incubi to fulfill their sexual needs quickly lose the taste for mortal men. They can be satisfied only by incubi. They crave only their touch. They do anything to have them, eventually going so far as bartering their souls. That is how an incubi gains in power—he lives off the souls of the women he enslaves."

  "Wow. I had no id
ea—"

  She touched my shoulder gently as the door pushed against my back, trying to shove me out of the way. "I tell you only because it's evident you've been spending time with an incubus. I don't want to see you fall into that trap."

  How on earth did she know I'd been with an incubus? Was there a sign? Maybe if there was, I could track down other Guardians who might know something. "How did you know I've spent time with an incubus?"

  She smiled a sad little smile. "You smell of incubi smoke."

  "Oh." That wasn't going to be very helpful. I couldn't go around smelling every woman at the conference. "Thanks for answering my questions. I appreciate it."

  I stepped away from the door, allowing it to close.

  "Good luck with the investigation," she said just before the doors met.

  Why was it that everyone there seemed to know what was going on before I did?

  20

  I he lights were dimmed in the living room of the suite. Jim's blanket sat in forlorn emptiness next to a couch. The doors to Istvan's and PaTs rooms were closed. The door to Drake's room, however, was enticingly open, golden light spilling out, drawing me to it like a moth. I entered and closed the door, frowning at the bed. It had been turned back, but it was empty of dragons. A little splash from the bathroom had me heading that way.

  "I would think that a creature that spends so much of its time playing with fire would avoid water," I said as I entered the huge bathroom.

  It was done in black stone tile, the walls, floor, and countertops all glistening in ebony beauty. The usual appliances—sinks, toilet, bidet, and a glass-block-encased shower big enough for two—were present, but they were anything but utilitarian. Drake, who I was beginning to suspect was a true romantic at heart, had lit at least two dozen candles and scattered them around the bathroom. The light from them flickered and danced on the warm, moist air, their faint scent mingling with a familiar spicy smell. Dominating the bathroom was the large sunken bath with steps leading up to the edge that had intrigued me the first time I'd seen it It could probably fit at least ten people into it. Drake lolled around in the water, his dark hair wet and slicked back showing the widow's peak that always made my stomach clench, a book in one hand, a goblet of a familiar dark red liquid in the other.

  "Water is the green dragon's element," he answered, setting the book down on the shelf nearest him. "We find comfort in it."

  "So that's why you chose to seduce me in that dream pool," I said, strolling over to kiss him. His lips were as hot as the fire that I knew was captured within him, sparks of it showing in his eyes. I eased back, wanting to take it slow, slow enough to make him burn for me the way I did for him. "You taste like dragon's fire."

  "The dream was not of my making, Aisling." He handed me the goblet. I took a small sip of the heavily spiced beverage, trying as I always did to identify the various elements before the punch it carried turned into an inferno. There were cloves, and cinnamon, and a dark, heavy wine .. . and fire. Lots of fire. It was a drink dragons preferred, but most mortals were unable to drink it without risking damage. I had quickly taken to it. Drake told me later that the fact I could drink it was one of the signs that indicated I was his mate. "Mmm. Good year. Nicely spicy without setting off the fire sprinklers like that last bottle did."

  He said nothing as I handed him back the glass, but I recognized the took in his eyes. My body did, as well, immediately urging me to throw myself into his arms. I turned my back on him and sauntered over to the counter to fetch a sea sponge. "Would you like me to wash your back?"

  "I would greatly enjoy whatever you feel in the mood to wash," he said, his eyes glowing bright even in the candlelight. He set the glass down carefully, then draped both arms over the flat ledge around the perimeter of the tab, looking like some exotic, potent sultan waiting to be attended by a harem girl.

  "Mmm." The light in the emeralds glittering on my dress couldn't match the desire in his eyes, the very sight of him wet and naked immediately stirring dark, secret parts of my body. My hand slid down the front of the dress, drawing his attention to my breasts, then the curve of my hip. "I wouldn't want to get this lovely dress wet, Perhaps I had better take it off."

  "Perhaps you had," he said, and I smiled over the roughness of his voice. With a great deal of wicked intent I set down the sponge and reached behind me with one hand to slowly pull down the zipper. Drake's gaze flickered between my face, my breasts, and the reflection of flesh being exposed in the mirror as the zipper parted.

  The two thin, emerald-encrusted straps that held up the bodice slipped down my shoulders as I gave a delicate shrug. Drake's eyes snapped back to my chest as the bodice gaped "You do the striptease for me?'I

  "Well, I do have to take the dress off. I suppose if you want to interpret such a mundane action as a striptease ..." I let my fingers trail across the curve of my breast before giving a little wiggle, the dress immediately sagging down to my waist.

  "It is good. You will continue," he ordered, his voice thickening. He was sitting up straight in the tub now, his hands clenching the edge, his lips curved in a soft smile, the lines of his chest and arms hard and tense.

  I spread my fingers on either side of my rib cage, sliding them down to where my hips flared out. Two flicks of my fingers and the dress pooled with a soft sigh at my feet.

  Drake made a choking noise, his gaze following the dress down to the floor before slowly sweeping upward, lingering for a few breathless moments on my thighs, the very naughty underwear made up of a couple of scraps of satin and a little lace, then up higher to where I was unhooking my black lace strapless bra.

  "Kincsem, you are the most glorious creature to ever walk this earth," he said as I dropped the bra, his gaze so heated my nipples tightened with just the merest glance. "And you are mine. Every inch of you is mine."

  I walked toward him, enjoying the way his eyes turned almost solid green as his pupils narrowed. I swung my leg across his body, my shoe resting next to him on the rim of the tub, "Help me with the buckle?" I said in a pathetic little voice.

  He eyed the exposed part of me, vaguely hidden by my underwear, following the line of my leg down to my foot. "Poor mate. Cannot take off her shoes. It is my duty to give you assistance whenever possible."

  His warm hand closed around my ankle, his head dipping toward it. His teeth closed around the buckle, the leather giving almost immediately under the pressure. Long, sensitive fingers stroked away the sting, freeing my foot. He threw the shoe behind him, then licked a path down the top of my foot to my toes.

  My knees almost gave way at the touch. He lifted his head and held out his hand. "Your other foot?"

  I placed my bare foot carefully next to him in the tub, the warm water lapping at my knee just as sensually as in my dream. My other foot I draped over his shoulder. His hand slid along my calf toward my thigh, trailing little paths of fire. His mouth closed on the top of my foot, his tongue swirling in a way that raised goose bumps up and down my body. He plucked the shoe off my foot, pulling me a little closer so he could flick his tongue on the spot behind my knee.

  "And now, I think, we have no need for this."

  My leg slid down his arm as he put both hands on my underwear, literally ripping it right off me. The undies drifted softly to land next to a discarded shoe.

  "You're absolutely right. We don't need them," I agreed, sinking to my knees, straddling his thighs, my back arching of its own accord to press my breasts against him. His hands were everywhere, sliding up my thighs, fingers spreading to brush oil-slicked water up my rib cage to where my breasts were aching and heavy with need. I leaned forward to kiss him, tasting his fire, tasting him, the two things merging as my tongue did a sensuous tango around his. His fingers found the hard little knots of pain on my breasts, gently rolling, teasing, tormenting my nipples until I was overwhelmed with the need for him to fill me.

  'i want to go for a dragon ride tonight," I said, aware but uncaring that my voice was just as hus
ky as his. My hands slid down his chest, my finger following the slick trail of hair down to his belly. His chest heaved as I found him, hidden in water made inky by the black stone of the tub, a groan slipping from his lips as I stroked his length, fascinated by the feel of the softest velvet over a hardness that resembled the stone surrounding us.

  "Ride me, mate," he said on another groan, the tendons in his neck standing out as I nipped his neck. He slid forward a little as I sank downward, his fingers finding the very heart of my desire, opening me for his invasion. I let the tip of him enter, then sucked his lower lip into my mouth as his hands moved up my back, around to my breasts.

  "Breathe fire for me again, Drake," I said a moment before dropping down on him. The slickness of my desire for him, combined with the oil and water, meant there was little friction to slow his penetration. A little scream of pleasure burbled in my throat as my body clasped him in an unforgiving embrace. Sharp pinpricks of fire touched my hips, where Drake was holding me, urging me upward again. I resisted the need to move, savoring the feel of him deep inside me, touching parts of me that no one had ever touched before.

  His tongue twined against mine as my body's demands became too much for me, and I moved on him, his hands and mouth and every touch of his flesh urging me on faster. Flames licked around our joined bodies, but I paid them no heed. My focus was on the man in my arms, on my heart, which beat so loudly it almost drowned out the sultry, heated words he was moaning into my mouth, on the feel of his flesh sliding along mine, burning me more than any mere fire. The tension inside me that had been building since I had stepped into the bathroom wound tighter, faster, harder, deeper until I knew it was about to explode within me. I tightened my muscles around Drake, willing him to find his release at the same moment I found mine. He yelled something, his body jerking beneath me, his hips thrusting up as I moved down. I arched backward, the orgasm sweeping me up before it, the flames of OUT passion racing through me, to Drake. His body erupted into mine, his shout of exultation joining mine as we burned brighter than the brightest sun.