Fire

by Angelina J. Steffort

  “What should I write?” Claire asked, staying calm unlike the rest of us, despite being the one whose life was on the line. Maybe exactly because of that.

  With a quick motion—too quick for her and Liz to see, but not too quick for my supernatural family—I dropped on the couch next to Ben. He shifted and crossed his arms on his chest.

  “I have a deal to propose. Meet me in the graveyard,” I dictated. It was all Volpert would need to get tempted. Just enough to catch his interest. He would make assumptions and I could encourage him to believe Claire might actually be going to give herself up. For now, I ignored the fact that it wasn’t just an act. Claire would give herself up for her sister without a second thought.

  “That’s all?” she asked, a bit disappointed by my lack of prose.

  I nodded, not sharing the exact reasons why it was best to keep it short. The fewer words, the better. Less room for mistakes that could give us away. “All.”

  “Okay.” She held up her phone and showed the message around and held her finger over the send button.

  “Wait,” I stopped her. “Before you hit send, it would be best if I left. If I am there with them when the message arrives, I can try to steer their decision and see their reactions.”

  Even Ben had to agree it was a good idea.

  “Be safe, brother,” he said when I got to my feet.

  “Take this,” Jenna handed me her phone. “Just in case.”

  I nodded and pocketed it before I looked around and smiled at everyone, and last at my brother. “See you in the graveyard.”

  “I’ll have your back.” Ben smiled.

  I didn’t give Claire a special goodbye. My emotions were safely tucked away with my wings, leaving me free to disappear without nostalgia or the angst of losing Claire forever, the only feeling remaining; the ache for her soul.

  “Promise me you’ll get Claire out of the graveyard if anything goes wrong,” Jaden whispered with a serious face, leaning toward me so Claire couldn’t hear. “If anything happens to her, I’ll hold you personally responsible for it.”

  His words didn’t need much interpretation. The look on his face clarified I wouldn’t survive it.

  “We love you,” Jenna called before I faded out of the room and hit the ground on the tiny platform at the river.

  As I glanced around, the shadows of the evening had swallowed the outlines of the city, leaving the dancing reflections of the street lights above an echo of busy Aurora. For now, it was my Aurora. The Aurora of the night, of the dark. The Aurora of demons.

  The caves were as black as ever when I entered the tunnels. I kept repeating a pep talk to myself—I had been away a short enough time to make them believe I’d been on a hunting trip, I had nothing to fear, I was strong and had my emotions under control, I was doing this to save Claire, to make right what I had done to her. It didn’t prepare me to face them. Now that my sense of right and wrong was back and I could remember my values and morals, it was like torture to return to the place where I had hurt and killed so many creatures, human and angel. None of them had deserved to suffer and die.

  Anger boiled up in my chest. At Volpert, for manipulating me. At Maureen, for playing Volpert’s game. At myself, for being naive enough to believe any of them. Brotherly Blackbird, motherly Nora.

  Debating whether or not I deserved to come out of this alive, I skipped to my room and changed my shirt to cover the scars on my back. I stuffed the torn shirt under the pillow on my cot in order to hide the evidence of my betrayal.

  “Welcome back,” Maureen caught my arm as she popped up beside me just as I was turning into the tunnel to the throne room. “How was hunting?”

  “Not remotely satisfying,” I told part of the truth.

  “There is one human left in the banquet hall. Jin brought some in earlier.” She smiled, obviously relieved I had returned.

  My stomach was still echoing with hunger. But how could I feed now that I remembered? It would mean taking lives and the new, old me was reluctant to consider that option. Even with switched-off emotions.

  While I was still trying to come up with an excuse for my lack of interest in killing the human, Blackbird turned the corner and joined us as we entered the fire-lit cave.

  “Look who’s back,” he bit out and walked over to join Volpert at the fireplace.

  “Adam,” Volpert called and got to his feet. I was surprised at his enthusiasm. After I had failed to do his bidding and to take his revenge from him, had left him and returned with excuses, he seemed to be almost happy to see me. His bright, blue eyes had a hint of madness to them. “Sit with me, son. Sit with me.” He whirled toward me and grabbed me by the hand.

  Worried about his behavior, I kept my mouth shut, hoping it didn’t have anything to do with me.

  “It is time,” he said as he took me by my forearms and pulled me into a smaller chair before he sat in his stone-throne.

  “Time for what?” Blackbird wanted to know, frowning at me, annoyed that Volpert seemed to be talking to me exclusively.

  “Maureen, show them.” He pointed at something in Maureen’s hand and I recognized the phone.

  Had Claire’s message come in yet? Hadn’t I asked her to wait until I’d be with Volpert? Impatient human. I stifled my mild outburst of emotion behind a cough and cursed myself for even being able to get upset with Claire. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. I was her soulmate.

  “I have a deal to propose. Meet me in the graveyard,” Maureen quoted and laughed out loud.

  “Time to finish what we have started, Adam,” Volpert completed his sentence.

  Had he taken the bait?

  “What deal do you think it is?” I asked innocently.

  Volpert glanced at me, a smirk on his pale lips. “There aren’t many things she could still want to protect,” he explained as if to a little boy. “She must have figured out I am not just after her. She isn’t stupid, that one.”

  “So what do you think she wants?”

  “She wants to trade her life for her sister's. She’s always had a tendency for drama, and I would be surprised if this time was different…”

  He had taken the bait, filling in the blanks perfectly. That was almost too good to be true. Volpert was smart, dangerous. His easy belief was disturbing.

  “That’s good news.” I put on an ambivalent face and forced mild enthusiasm into my voice. In reality, I tried to fake demon-Adam.

  “Good?” Volpert squealed. “Good is a bit of a strong word for a son of the dark,” he scolded me for my choice of words. “It’s fantastic, we will be able to eradicate the family completely. If the stupid girl gives herself up, there is only one more left. We won’t even need to do much hunting anymore.”

  I bit back a blast of fury as he called Claire stupid. How could he? And then, in a moment of clarity, I realized he had never gotten to know her the way I had. How could he think of her as anything more than a monster who had his family on his conscience? If I considered how I felt about him, now that I knew the truth, his hatred toward her was hardly comparable to the revulsion I felt toward him, which I now had to disguise in a false outburst of enthusiasm.

  “In the graveyard?” I fake-sneered. “Is she trying to be dramatic by going back to that place?” It hurt to make her look bad, even if it was part of the plan to maintain my credibility.

  Maureen laughed icily. For the first time, I appreciated how cold she truly was. Feelings for me or not, there was no warmth in her smile, no care in her eyes. She wanted Claire dead, probably even more than Volpert. “We should let her rot there.”

  I swallowed the snarky comment I had for her and addressed Volpert instead. “If she gives herself up, that would solve one problem.” I tried sounding as neutral as I could possibly manage.

  “It would take away all the fun of surprising her, though,” he mused, staring right through me as if observing various scenarios in his mind.

  “True,” I agreed, just to keep up the pretenses. At tha
t moment it was Maureen who unknowingly came to my aid. “I don’t think we’ll get another chance like this.”

  She eyed me, reminding me of the time we had lured Claire out together. She had come alone. And she would again. But this time she would have her angel-army within reach, and I would be part of it—maybe not an angel, but a very protective demon.

  “Two hours,” Volpert said without preparation. “Tell her to come alone.”

  While Maureen was typing and sending the message, I imagined the look on the others’ faces when they read it. Two hours. That was nothing. Again, I swallowed my thoughts and focused on what I could do in order to ensure my family’s safety.

  “This time, there will be no excuses, son,” Volpert addressed me, eyes fierce and all enthusiasm under control. “If you fail this time, there will be no reason for me to let you live. Abigail’s son or not.”

  I shuddered at his calculated remark. Everything seemed to have become cold all of a sudden. Whatever I had categorized as warm, friendly, supportive before…like a family…I could see no such thing in either of them now. With all my memories of my true family as a reference, I suddenly saw the irony in Volpert’s game. Having me kill Claire, it was double revenge. Not just on her but also on me for developing my angel-nature before my demon-nature. In his eyes, it was my flaw that I had become a creature of light, I could see it in his face as he threatened me.

  It would be easy to confront him, let my emotions boil to the surface and spread my wings in his face, just to prove that no matter how much he manipulated me, I would always find a way to uncover the truth. But for now, it was safer to tame my ego and let him believe I was intimidated and willing to abide by his terms. It would clear my attendance in the set-up Claire-slaughter, and I would be able to protect her. As long as Volpert relied on me to execute his will.

  “I will do as you say,” I bowed my head just enough to give him the impression I was accepting his authority. In reality, he had none over me. Not anymore.

  “Where are the others?” I asked Maureen as she accompanied me back to my room.

  “Jin and Nora are on an errand,” she said, cryptically.

  I didn’t ask for clarification, not wanting to give her any reason to doubt my intentions, but secretly I cheered. Their absence meant two demons I didn’t need to worry about. If any of them found out I was about to betray them, they would kill me on the spot—or worse, take me to Blackbird’s torture chamber. I knew well enough what would await me there.

  “She’s really giving herself up,” Maureen said at the door.

  I nodded.

  “Volpert will be so pleased when you finally end the girl.”

  End her? End Volpert, more likely.

  “When all this is over, we can start fresh,” she was hopeful. “We can leave the terror of the Thompson family behind.”

  Over my own grave. That last link in the chain of Thompsons was everything to me.

  I nodded, biting my tongue.

  Maureen gave me a smile. “Cheer up,” she encouraged, “everything will be over in two hours.” She glanced at the phone and chuckled. “Less than two hours.” With those words, she left me to my thoughts.

  I dropped onto my cot and folded my hands under my head. Less than two hours. My bottled-up emotions squirmed in my stomach, giving me nausea. They had less than two hours to prepare. In the case of the demons, that was good news. Less time for Volpert’s sophisticated plans, less time for safety precautions in case I failed. On the side of my angel family, I felt differently about the short time span. They would have to get to the graveyard—drive or teleport. And they would need to find positions in the darkness where Volpert wouldn’t sense them. Claire would be alone in the graveyard, vulnerable. The thought made me edgy. Even though I would be there with Volpert, how could I trust he wasn’t just going to strike the moment he saw her? If Claire died, I wasn’t sure I would be able to live with myself.

  I was sure though that there was one other person who felt similar about the possibility of failure when it came to protecting Claire. Ben had made it clear—if not in words, but in emotions—how he felt about her. He saw me as an enemy for now, until I proved myself trustworthy. Not only that, he saw me as an opponent in the case of winning Claire’s heart. He didn’t need to say it. It was all over his aura. And Claire… What had happened between the two of them while I had been gone was a mystery I wasn’t sure I even wanted to solve. Whatever she had done during my absence was none of my business. She had considered me dead. I should be glad she had attempted to find happiness again. Even if my brother seemed to have been involved somehow… A growl escaped my lips and I rolled to the side, suppressing all thoughts. I needed to focus, prepare for the big moment. If I wanted to use the momentum and deceive Volpert, I needed to be one-hundred percent convincing until the second Claire gave the signal—and then turn against him.

  22

  Betrayal

  “Time to leave.” Volpert appeared at my doorstep to pick me up himself.

  “Aren’t the others coming?” I kept a calm expression as I jumped to my feet, startled by his sudden appearance and disguising my rising nervousness as the time to end Claire rushed closer.

  Volpert seemed to be unaware of my pending betrayal and I intended to keep it that way. Claire wouldn’t stand a chance without me. None of them would. Volpert was prepared, I could see it in his face. Determination was the predominant expression, followed closely by murderous and demonic. It all was decorated with a smile—the polite smile he used whenever he faced his opponents. A composed smile that promised diplomacy, but in reality, hid his true intentions.

  “Not tonight,” he almost sang in anticipation of Claire’s death. “This is our moment. Our victory.”

  My dead heart jumped briefly in a surge of relief. It meant we would actually stand a chance. One moment of distraction would be enough, and Dad, Jenna, and Ben would take Volpert down together with Claire’s guardian angel. I could probably even stay to watch them as they fried the master-manipulator. A smirk crept onto my face.

  “You’re looking forward to this, too,” Volpert noticed.

  All I had to do was nod to confirm. It was the truth, I did look forward to the occasion. Just the reason was so much different from what he expected.

  He started walking and I followed, obedient as I was intended to be.

  As he led me through the tunnels, up the familiar path to the marble panels, I went through the plan in my mind. Claire would appear by herself, walk toward the angel statue in the center of the graveyard, and wait for us to turn up. Then, on her signal, the others would teleport in and strike immediately. There wouldn’t be room for one second of hesitation, or we might lose Claire forever. The worst part about that thought was that it wouldn’t just be her who I’d lose, it would be that last living part of my soul.

  “We’re a couple of minutes early,” Volpert announced as we stepped into the night. From our position in the shadows I could see it all: the magical angel statue where I had first laid eyes on Claire, the willow that had given us protection from the rain, gran’s grave……it was like going back in time. Only this time, I wasn’t looking for something worth living for, I was fighting to keep it.

  “I was thinking,” he mused while we were waiting, “you could kill her before she even sees we’re here.”

  I forced an evil laugh of enthusiasm and prayed that he wouldn’t hear my panic surface in the sound.

  “We could,” I agreed.

  “Oh, don’t worry, son,” he patted my shoulder lightly, almost a robotic gesture, and I froze. “I won’t deprive you of your opportunity to torture the girl a little bit before you send her to the other side.”

  I relaxed, not because of the prospect of what he was expecting me to do, but because of the reassurance that Claire would have time to give us the signal.

  “And when she’s dead?” I managed an emotionless tone.

  Volpert studied me with his light-blue eyes. “We
have a feast,” he laughed, “and then we’ll kill her sister.”

  I joined in with his cruel delight, focusing on keeping up the appearances. Even though I had been around Volpert for months, I couldn’t fully understand him. Something told me that his need for revenge originated in something more than just hatred for the enemy. He must have truly loved his father. Was there something good inside of him? Hadn’t he thought of my mother like a mother, too?

  “What happened to my mother?” I asked before I could bite my tongue.

  Volpert raised an eyebrow and studied my face for a minute, unblinking.

  “Your mother?” he asked and tilted his head, ponytail dangling to his shoulder as his expression darkened. “She left us.”

  “Left you how?” I wanted to know. The truth was within reach, and I already knew part of her story. It was time to learn the rest. She had been part-demon.

  “She found a new clan,” he explained without really helping me understand.

  “New clan?” I really shouldn’t be pushing it. If I went too far, he might notice something was wrong with me.

  “She claimed that we weren’t set in stone, even if we were demons. That it was our choice what we made of our powers. And she chose a different path.”

  As his face went more and more bitter by the second, I almost wished I hadn’t asked. A sudden surge of compassion rushed through me but I stopped myself from comforting him. He would recognize I wasn’t the demon I had been twenty-four hours ago, and he would get suspicious.

  The sound of Claire’s shoes on the gravel saved me. She had come. Not that I hadn’t thought she would, and still it was a surprise to hear her footsteps approaching in human noisiness. A good surprise, and a dreaded one. She wasn’t supposed to be giving herself up for anyone. Why again had I encouraged this? As my emotions were getting the best of me, Volpert regained control over his facial features and put that fake niceness back into place.