Kindling Flames: Smoke Rising (The Ancient Fire Series Book 3)

by Julie Wetzel

  He eyes widened, and he looked down at Zak. “I was singing?” Darien asked the fay.

  Zak gurgled before wobbling off after Vicky.

  ***

  “What do you think?” Darien asked Dakine as he sat on the barstool in his kitchen. The tall elf lord rested his fingers on the vampire’s chest and searched him with his power.

  “I can’t find anything wrong with you,” Dakine said, tilting his head slightly in concentration. He closed his eyes to better investigate Darien. “You feel like a vampire to me.” Searching a little more, he made a worried noise. “What happened here?” he asked, finding the damage Darien had done to the material that held his life force.

  “I told you there was an incident with Victoria,” Darien started.

  “You mentioned there was an accident when you tried to mark her.” Dakine eased the frayed ends back into place and healed the break.

  “Well, to make a long story short, I pulled a strand out to heal her,” Darien said, feeling a little guilty.

  “You did what?” Dakine’s lavender eyes popped open, and he stared at the vampire in disbelief.

  “I, umm…” Darien started to explain but didn’t get a chance to finish as the elf backed up in horror before dashing off through the swinging door in the foyer. Darien knocked the stool over as he chased after the flapping robes of the fay.

  Dakine raced up the steps and into Darien’s room with the vampire hot on his heels.

  Vicky turned as the two burst into the room. She didn’t have a chance to greet them before Dakine wrapped his arm around her back and pressed his hand to her chest.

  Dakine let his power flood through Vicky, making her gasp and drop the sheet she had been using to make the bed. Her knees buckled as Dakine held her up, supported by the hand at her back. She grabbed at his arm to keep from falling.

  Zak gurgled questioningly from where he had been helping Vicky.

  Dakine drew in a sharp breath as he surveyed the damage and Darien’s patch job.

  “What?” Darien asked, poised to help if he could.

  Dakine didn’t answer as he concentrated on Vicky. He soothed the damaged threads back into place properly. He reached in to snag the thread Darien had left and tried to carefully pull it out.

  Vicky hissed in pain.

  Dakine released the imbedded thread. In moving around the patch, he had seen the massive hole the strand held closed. Dakine backed up from the problem and tried to decide if there was something he could, or should, do to fix the mess that had been made. “Whatever possessed you to do this?” he asked, turning to look at Darien.

  Darien stood openmouthed, unable to answer the question. At the time he was desperate to save Vicky’s life. “I was at a loss.” He held his open hands out in front of him, showing his desperation. “I needed something to seal the tear, and I took the first thing that I could think of.”

  “Ripping a piece of your own essence out and sticking it in her was not a good solution,” Dakine snapped as he brushed his power over the wound again. “Patches like this don’t work.”

  Vicky panted as Dakine probed around the damaged area.

  Darien took a step closer to them. “Is there something you can do?”

  “I am afraid to try.” Dakine pulled his power back from Vicky. “The strand has started to bind with the material around it. If I pull it out, it may hurt her worse than I can heal.” Dakine sighed and turned Vicky around to sit her on the bed.

  Zak came over and whined as he touched her.

  Vicky gasped, trying to catch her breath.

  “But, that’s good, right?” Darien asked as Dakine made sure Vicky was recovering. “As long as the thread holds the hole closed.”

  “Yes, and no.” Dakine turned back to the worried vampire. “This type of healing is not done, Kian. Not only does it leave a piece of your soul in the patient, it seldom works. The energies have to be exact for a patch to stay. Even identical twins can’t share a soul.”

  Darien looked over to where Vicky was holding her head in her hands. “But, you said the strand was binding with the surrounding material?” he said, confused and concerned.

  “Yes, but I don’t understand how that’s possible.” Dakine looked over at her. “For all intents and purposes, it shouldn’t have stayed. Even if it held when you put it there, dawn should have burnt it out.”

  “So, what can we do?” Darien asked, desperate to find a solution.

  “Nothing.” Dakine looked back over to Vicky. “There is nothing that can be done for a tear of this magnitude.”

  “Wait,” Vicky said as she recovered. “Let me get this straight. Are you saying Darien pulled out a piece of his soul and patched it over the tear in mine?”

  Dakine nodded to Vicky. “Yes, cailín.”

  “And this piece won’t hold,” Vicky restated.

  “It should not,” Dakine said gravely.

  Drawing in a deep breath, she ran both her hands through her hair as she pushed it back from her face. She recalled what Darien had said about what would happen if the hole hadn’t been plugged up. “I need some fresh air.” Vicky stood up.

  Darien reached to touch her as she passed him, but she moved out of his reach.

  “Just, don’t touch me right now.”

  He could hear the anger in her voice as she left.

  Zak whined at her, but Vicky left without turning around.

  Darien closed his eyes and drew a shaky breath. “What am I going to do, Dakine?” He sat on the bed before he fell over. His stomach ached at the idea of losing Vicky.

  Zak wiggled over and bumped into him, gurgling.

  “The only thing you can do.” Dakine stared at the doorway where Vicky had gone. “Wait and see what happens.” He turned his head back towards Darien.

  Darien scratched his fingers into the fay, rubbing against him as he listened.

  “The patch held through dawn. If it holds through nightfall, then there is a chance the thread won’t disintegrate. It was bound pretty tightly when I tried to pull on it.” Dakine sighed and shook his head. “I also don’t know what to tell you if it does hold.”

  Darien gave him a confused look. “What do you mean?”

  Dakine brushed back his long, silver hair as he thought of the answer. “I can’t tell what effects your essence will have on cailín,” he explained. “Your energies could potentially change her nature.”

  Darien stared at him with an open mouth. “You mean it could turn her?” he asked, shocked.

  “Or nothing could happen at all,” Dakine replied with a shrug. “It’s hard to say how she will react.”

  Darien let out a ragged breath and dropped his head into his hands.

  Dakine gave him a few moments to absorb this before he spoke again. “Is there anything else that you need?”

  Darien shook his head without raising it.

  “Then I will take my leave. I have other things that need my attention. Call me if you need me.”

  Darien nodded his thanks.

  “Good luck, Kian.” Dakine patted him on the shoulder and left him sitting on the bed, holding his head. It was going to take a miracle to pull him through this one.

  Zak touched the distressed vampire, pulling him back from his thoughts.

  A sour smile turned up Darien’s mouth, and he gathered up the fay in his arms. “I really screwed up this time.” Darien squeezed Zak.

  Zak gurgled his agreement.

  Darien petted the hellhound’s feelers back from him. “Thanks for not eating me.”

  Zak snorted and rubbed his face into Darien’s stomach. He hopped down from the vampire and scuttled over to the doorway and gurgled.

  “What?”

  The hellhound came back over to him and pulled on his leg.

  Darien stood up and followed the insistent fay out the doorway.

  Zak led him up the steps to the roof patio.

  Darien cringed as the fay took him into the afternoon sunlight.

  Tu
gging on Darien’s leg one more time, the hellhound scampered off across the open space to where Vicky was leaning on the wall, looking over the edge of the roof. He bowled into the back of her legs, nearly knocking her off her feet.

  “Zak!” Vicky gasped as she caught herself. She looked down at the little horror cuddling her legs. “Oh, Zak.” Sitting down, she pulled her friend into her lap and buried her face into him to sob out her fear.

  Darien drew up his courage and crossed the patio to the distressed girl. “Hey there,” he said softly.

  Vicky raised her face and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

  “How are you?” He squatted down next to her.

  Vicky laughed at him hysterically as tears streamed from her eyes.

  He dropped himself the rest of the way to the ground and pulled her to him so she could cry against his chest until her sobs subsided.

  “I’m scared, Darien,” Vicky finally admitted to him.

  Darien petted her back soothingly. “I know.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m here and will do everything I can for you.”

  Vicky sat quietly in Darien’s arms for a few more minutes.

  He shifted as the sun made him uncomfortable.

  Vicky smiled softly and pulled away from the vampire. “Let’s go inside before you get burnt.” She stood up from his lap.

  Darien looked up at the woman he loved. “Are you better now?” He took her hand and stood up.

  “No,” she said honestly. “But what can I do about it?”

  Darien pulled her against him to hold. “I am sorry,” he said again.

  Vicky sighed again before letting out a little chuckle as an odd thought hit her.

  Darien looked down at her concerned.

  “Well, you did say you wanted to mark me.” Vicky smiled weakly at him. “I guess giving me a piece of your soul would do that.”

  Darien returned her chuckle. He kissed her hair as they turned to go inside.

  “So does this make me a part of you?” she asked as they walked back to the elevators.

  “Not really,” Darien admitted.

  Vicky looked up at him as he talked.

  “If anything, it makes me a part of you.”

  She thought about this as they got on the elevator to go downstairs. “I guess that’s a better gift than flowers or chocolates.” She leaned into him as they took the short ride to the penthouse. “So, what happens now?” Vicky asked.

  “Now we wait until sunset and see what happens,” Darien said, resigned to his fate. “If the patch holds, then everything should be fine.

  “And if it does not?” she asked.

  He smiled at her. “Well, we don’t have to worry about going to work on Monday.”

  Vicky shook her head as they got off the elevator. “Come on. I think I need a big bowl of ice cream.” She led the way to the kitchen with Zak clinging to her ankle.

  “So do I,” Darien agreed as he went to get the treat so they could wait out the rest of the day.

  Elliot leaned against the wall and worried about the two people cuddled together on the couch. He studied Darien as the older vampire rested against the arm of the sofa with his legs stretched down its length, Vicky curled up against him. Zak had his face buried into her stomach as she absentmindedly scratched deep into his bits. The tension in the air was palpable as they waited out the last few minutes of the day. With the curtains drawn, Elliot couldn’t see the light fading outside, but he could feel the sun’s progression towards the horizon. It wouldn’t be long before true nightfall would answer the question that everyone was asking. Would the strand hold?

  If the patch did not last, there would be nothing any of them could do to save the woman sitting quietly in Darien’s lap. Elliot watched as Darien drew in a deep breath and buried his face into Vicky’s golden curls as that pivotal moment drew near. If something should happen to Vicky, Elliot was sure that the hellhound in her lap would take his anger and grief out on the vampire responsible. Darien could probably stand up to the hellhound, but he was more likely to sit quietly and let the fay rip him apart without protest. Elliot was sure that Darien wouldn’t be able to handle the loss of another love by his own hand.

  Darien closed his eyes and squeezed Vicky tight as the sun slipped below the horizon and night stole over the world.

  Vicky shivered at the unfamiliar feeling of nightfall. “What was that?” She looked around for something that might have caused the strange sensation.

  “Nightfall.” Elliot pushed away from the wall to come over and check on them. “How do you feel?”

  Craning her neck, she tried to see Elliot from where she sat squished between Darien and Zak. “Okay… I guess,” Vicky answered, a little confused. She had felt a little off all day.

  Darien let out the breath he had been holding but did not release his hold on her.

  Zak started purring as relief washed through the room.

  Vicky wiggled in Darien’s grasp so he would loosen his hold on her. “Does this mean I’m going to be okay?”

  Darien released her enough for her to turn and speak to the man standing behind the couch.

  “Perhaps,” Elliot said, unsure what answer to give the woman. He had talked with Darien earlier about what Dakine had said. If the fay lord didn’t know, then it was anyone’s guess how this would all work out. “Darien?” Elliot pointed the question to the healer in the group.

  “It looks like it’s holding,” Darien answered from where he probed Vicky lightly.

  “But, what was that feeling?” Vicky asked, still worried about the strange pressure that had spread through her for a moment.

  “What did it feel like?” Darien asked, curious to know what her answer would be.

  “Like being dipped in cold water, but from the inside,” Vicky said, trying to explain the sensation.

  “That was sunset,” Darien explained. It wasn’t quite how he would describe the wash of power that came with the end of day, but it was close.

  “But, how?” Vicky couldn’t fathom how it was possible for her to feel sunset. “I don’t understand.”

  “Dawn and dusk are transition times in the world,” Elliot explained. “The hour before and after sunrise and sunset hold stronger magic than most of the rest of the day, but the moment the sun passes the horizon is important. There is a power spike that can be felt by anything sensitive to magic.”

  Vicky considered his words for a moment. “I have never felt this before.” She looked back at the man holding her. “Why do I feel it now?”

  “Probably because you have a piece of a vampire’s soul now,” Elliot answered.

  She looked up at him, concerned.

  “Vampires are attuned to the cooler energies of the night. Sunset calls to us.”

  “Does that mean I’m going to be a vampire?” Vicky looked to Darien.

  He took a deep breath before answering. “I’m not sure,” Darien said quietly. “Dakine said that sharing a soul was impossible, so I have no idea what to expect.” He turned his attention to Elliot. “What do you think?”

  Elliot made a thoughtful face before placing his hand on Vicky’s shoulder. His power washed over her skin, cool and green. He closed his eyes and tilted his head slightly as he delved into Vicky’s future. “It’s clouded,” Elliot said. “I see danger and a split in the path. There is a decision to be made soon, but I… I can’t tell what it is. I can see that it will be a major change in your life, but the paths that lead away are unclear to me.” Elliot drew his hand back and opened his eyes. He shook his head to clear it from the sight. “The only thing I can say for sure is that I don’t see vampirism in your near future.”

  “What about the major change?” Darien asked.

  Vicky just stared at the two men, lost.

  “That’s a choice she will be given.” Elliot rubbed his temple. “I don’t think it has anything to do with your shared essence.”

  “What just happened?” Vicky looked from Darien to Elliot, waitin
g for one of them to explain.

  “Elliot is a seer,” Darien explained. “He looked into your future.”

  She tried to wrap her mind around Darien’s answer. “Like fortune telling?”

  “Yes,” Elliot answered. “But what I do is infinitely more accurate than anything you have seen before. It’s my special talent.”

  “Special talent?” she asked.

  “Like Darien’s ability to heal,” Elliot explained.

  “Do all vampires have special abilities?” Vicky asked, curious to know more.

  “Most find theirs by the time they become masters.” Darien nodded. “I have only known of two vampires whose powers hadn’t manifested by the time they were masters. Both are under two hundred years old and have lived fairly sheltered lives.”

  “You mean, you don’t get your powers when you’re turned?”

  “Good heavens, no,” Elliot answered. “We all started out as human at one point in time. The newly turned have no more power than your average human. They gain the abilities they need to survive, but they have to be taught how to use those powers. Fledglings are dependent on their sires for a long time. It’s one of the reasons the world hasn’t been overrun by vampires.”

  “What if something happens to their sire?” Vicky asked.

  An ironic grin spread across Elliot’s face. “Some fledglings find a way to make it on their own, or they die.”

  “Or another master vampire steps in to take care of them.” Darien smiled back at his friend.

  “But only a fool would take responsibility for someone else’s brood.” Elliot chuckled.

  Darien laughed at the dig. “True, but we all do foolish things once in a while.”

  Vicky looked at them, confused.

  “I saved Elliot when his sire died.”

  Enlightenment crossed her face as she finally understood their relationship. “That does explain a few things.” Vicky nodded. “So, what now?” She turned the conversation back to the matter at hand.

  “I need to be heading out.” Elliot patted the back of the couch. “My girls are probably worried about me.”