Slow Burn

by Sascha Illyvich

  The blue top she wore hugged small breasts, a thin waist. Jeans tucked into boots gave her a sense of commanding, even for her height.

  “Who the fuck are you?”

  Sonja pushed past Derrick. “You’re the whore who tried to block our shows. Carmela Janice, head of the Anti-Shifter League.”

  She waved her gun back and forth casually then pointed it at Sonja. “Yeah. Thanks to my excellent political connections I was able to rally a lot of support against you and your kind.” She sneered at Sonja. “Your furry friends here did me a favor. All I needed to do was bribe that filthy fucking cossack with a deal that would enlarge his territory and control over Florida. Because of my political connections, he bought it.” She threw her head back in laughter before turning her sights on Max. “Your boy here led me right to Slovich, and even though I despise dealing with shifters—the way you all smell and exist—I saw an opportunity to finally capture you. Now…” She waved a free hand at Sonja. “Come here or my men make nice with their trigger fingers and put holes in you all.”

  “We have a right to exist among the humans,” Max retorted. “People like you lack courage and integrity. You give humans a bad name.”

  “Fuck you.” Carmela snarled. “You assholes are an abomination. God created man and woman. The rest of creation is below us rational-thinking creatures.”

  “If you are so rational, how come you’re a nut job?” Max snorted.

  Derrick clenched his fists. What the fuck was his brother doing, taunting the gun-weilding woman when the four of them together were without weapons? Even if they shifted and attacked, Sonja wasn’t ready for a fight and Rob was still out of it. If Sonja did pull her piece, how fast was she? Could she change the trajectory of their opponents’ bullets with her voice in time?

  Max didn’t normally go off half-cocked, so Derrick suspected a stalling tactic.

  Sonja appeared to contemplate her next move. Derrick swallowed the huge lump in his throat. His eyes darted back and forth between the two goons blocking their entrance.

  Carmela aimed her weapon at Sonja. “Don’t even think about it. Drop the gun.”

  Sonja twitched.

  Carmela smiled, revealing stained teeth. “Or your brother the unnatural witch dies first.”

  Sonja clenched her teeth and released the gun. It hit the ground with a clang.

  Carmela continued. “Now kick it away.”

  Reluctantly, Sonja did as ordered and the gun went flying several feet from the group.

  Derrick held his breath, glanced at Max. The other puma had something. Derrick had to remain patient, let his brother control this one. Calculated and smart, Max had gotten them this far in this mess.

  He’d gone out of his way to help a family member he hadn’t seen in a few years. This would be just like old times.

  If they survived.

  “Come here, witch.” Carmela’s scathing tone escalated. The gun in her hand wavered unsteadily as if she were having a seizure. Yet she continued to keep her fingers on the trigger, aiming the weapon at Sonja’s heart.

  Sonja took one step, then another toward Carmela. Her expression changed from afraid to angry. “You’ll never get what you want from me.”

  Carmela coughed, spat out something nasty, and glared. She leered, her eyes distorting the light’s reflection in them. “And you think so why? I’m the one holding the gun.”

  Sonja opened her mouth.

  Derrick felt the wave of magic building around her. He swallowed hard. She wouldn’t. Not when they didn’t know how steady she was when emotions ran high and the stakes even higher. He glared at her, hoping she knew what she was doing. The magic around them swirled into something Max felt, and when Derrick saw his older brother frown, he knew Sonja would back down. She’d have to. Fighting this close would endanger them all. Not to mention the consequences she’d encounter.

  “Use your voice on me and I’ll pull the trigger and drop all of you worthless wretches.” Carmela spat out the last word.

  The magic around Sonja dissipated. She sighed and let her shoulders slump.

  Derrick needed to get close to her, touch her. She was going to have another breakdown. He sensed, rather than felt the energy coming from her. The air crackling around him alerted him to her mood and state of mind.

  Carmela’s emotional state bordered on psychotic; that much he garnered from body language. But what was wrong with her that caused her to shake?

  He stepped toward Carmela with both hands up to show they were empty. With the gun still tucked in the waistband of his jeans, he kept walking very slowly. “If you don’t calm down, something very bad is going to happen.”

  Carmela continued to shake worse as she thrust the gun upwards. “She better not lose it. Or not only will you three die, but her band mates will also be killed.”

  Sonja’s eyes widened. “What?” Her jaw dropped.

  Derrick felt the punch in his gut from Carmela’s words. Sonja’s energy rose and poured over Derrick hard enough to knock him down. But he steadied himself and managed to reach for her, trying to still his mind even though the crazy bitch lady had a gun on them, two goons behind them were armed with higher caliber firepower, and it appeared that crazy bitch lady had captured the rest of Ark-KaotiK.

  “She gets over here now.” Carmela narrowed dark-green eyes.

  Derrick held his position, seeing the flames of cold hatred in Carmela’s sunken eyes. He kept a lock on Max from the corner of his eye.

  Max the human did nothing. But Derrick saw the vision of Max’s puma in his mind, formulating a plan to hunt, poised to strike once the situation presented itself. Shifters usually used methods irrational to humans to attack, but to animals, those methods made perfect sense. The only clue Derrick had about the wheels spinning in Max’s mind was his brother’s deep, even breathing.

  The puma inside Derrick wanted to attack, end the torment, and kill Carmela. It wanted blood.

  The way Carmela’s hand shook around the gun made him nervous. Sonja stood too close; a fatal wound would kill her. Derrick or Max could take the hit, it’d slow them down, but he wasn’t sure either of them could move fast enough to get Sonja out of harm’s way before the two idiots holding semi-automatics opened fire.

  “So what will you do, witch?”

  “You only want me.” Sonja’s breathing slowed. She blinked, stepped closer, hands up in a defensive position. One foot carefully in front of the other, her gaze locked on Carmela’s.

  “I only want you. Your brother is of no concern to me. You only have to do one thing.”

  Derrick clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms.

  Sonja’s jaw ticked and an eyebrow rose. “How do I know you’ll let my friends go if I surrender?”

  “You don’t. You simply have to trust me. It’s easy to trust those you hate. Hell, even I could do it, though it was halfhearted with the bastard bear over there. Now, come here and give me the one thing I want. Your friends die now or they live to fight another day if you surrender.”

  Again, against Derrick’s wishes, Sonja took another step and he swore he felt himself losing her.

  “What is the one thing you want?”

  Carmela twitched, more from a physical ailment than out of annoyance if Derrick had to guess. She smelled off, her scent tainted. “Very simple. You’ll play a show at our request at a place we choose.”

  “We don’t do private audiences or requests. That’s what—”

  “It’s not a private audience. It’ll be a large gathering of shifters who all like the noise you play.” Again Carmela spat the last few words out, indicating her immense disdain for death metal.”

  Sonja’s shoulders tensed visibly. “Why?”

  “You’re entertaining the idea, Sonja?” Derrick couldn’t hold the frustration from his voice but he kept his energy in check. Sonja could have that nervous breakdown and it’d only cause the deaths of another six people here and now, himself included.

 
He’d seen into her soul earlier. When she came into his head to pull out the dead weight and emotional baggage, she left a piece of herself there as part of the new bond between them. What terrified her was the screaming of those who died accidentally at her hands. Since she couldn’t be held accountable, every time she murdered someone in a situation like this where local authorities couldn’t get involved, she felt guilty.

  It also proved her love, even if she wouldn’t say it out loud just yet. She’d have to trust him.

  “Yeah. What choice do I have? My band is at risk here and…” She let the unspoken words hang between them.

  Her sacrifice required Derrick to trust her. He didn’t like that option but saw no other way. Max’s actions mirrored his own. “Fuck.” He gritted his teeth together. Blood had begun to trickle down his hands and drip onto the ground from the cuts his nails made into his flesh.

  Sonja looked back over her shoulder, worry etched into lines of her beautifully stressed face. “You need to get that looked at. Besides, I’ll be fine.” She looked back at Carmela. The weapon had lowered slightly but still pointed at a vital point on Sonja’s body.

  Too high risk, it prevented Derrick from making a move.

  And the drugs still affected Rob. Derrick smelled the scents around him; whatever they’d used to knock Rob out was strong enough to do some serious damage to Max, but shifter blood worked faster than human blood; their cells replicated at forty-eight times the rate of humans. So Max could purge the poison out quickly, but Rob…Rob wouldn’t need an antidote, but he’d need a long nap. Hospital care would probably be a good idea, just in case.

  “Fine.” Sonja interrupted the silence with her one word of acquiescence.

  “You’ll play where we tell you. We’ll provide the road crew. Just you and the band to set up. You can do this, I assume?” Carmela’s legs remained shoulder width apart and the gun in her hand shook slightly less when she held it with her other hand.

  “That makes no sense. We simply play a show to a large group of shifters and—” Carmela’s plan dawned on her. Sonja glared. “This isn’t right.”

  Carmela put a hand to her ear. “It’s like my give-a-fuck is broke.” She shot Sonja a dirty look. “Oh wait, it is. You’re going to do this or you’re all going to die and I’ll find another fucking way.”

  “What purpose does our playing serve? You hate us.”

  Carmela nodded. “Let’s say I have some people who want to see what hypocrites the shifters are when they start watching your band murder them.”

  “You’re starting a war among the humans and shifters, aren’t you?”

  Clapping her hands, Carmela stepped back, a satisfied smile on her wretched face. “Bravo. Give the ex-spy a fucking cookie. Damn right we are. And since humans far outnumber the shifters, this will be a blood bath, yes, but one that’s righteous and will deliver us from the evils of your kind.”

  Angry now, Derrick shook a fist. “You’re responsible for the deaths of those Spetznaz, aren’t you? How do you like having blood on your hands?”

  She threw her head back in laughter. “I am indeed responsible, you pathetic fool. They were shifters just like you, had as much bullshit pride as you do. And after I sent them to kidnap your little girlfriend here…” She waved the gun at Sonja. “I sent them in to guard the safe house. Unfortunately a nosey spy…” She shot daggers at Max. “…found us and brought some friends. So I pulled the plug on my end.”

  “And let them all die while you robbed them. How nice.” As Max spoke, the drowsiness in his voice was evident.

  “Fuck you. They were worthless, just as your entire species is. They’ve contaminated the human gene pool and created a bastardized version of what should walk this earth. This land belongs to those who can take and lead, not those who seek a false sense of safety with animals. And you’re nothing but animals, all of you. I smell him on you.” She narrowed her eyes on Sonja. “I can’t believe you’d sell out humanity to be with a filthy animal. Have you no pride?”

  Sonja didn’t reply.

  “Answer me!” Carmela raised the gun at Sonja’s head.

  Derrick swallowed the bile rising in his throat and felt the lead weight in his gut sink. Those men were not shifters. They were regular humans. If they’d been animal in any way, shape, or form, Derrick would have smelled it. Something was definitely wrong with Carmela.

  “It was never about pride. We’re not a band that preaches subjugation of anyone for any reason. I’m not a witch who serves evil. I believe in the beauty of all things.”

  Carmela rolled her eyes. “Dirty, wasted speech. But pretty. Now come on.” She waved a hand toward Sonja. “And if they try to follow, they’ll be spitting lead if they wake up.”

  Derrick swore softly. “Fuck.”

  Sonja turned to face him as she backed up slowly toward Carmela. “Don’t worry,” she mouthed. “I’ll be fine. And I love you.” The last part she whispered just loud enough for his sensitive hearing to pick up.

  The puma inside raged violently with the desire to kill Carmela but the human knew better. “Dammit!”

  Then he watched Carmela swing the butt of the gun against Sonja’s head, knocking her out.

  She fell into Carmela’s arms and was dragged out of the warehouse, leaving Derrick, Max, and Rob behind with two armed guards.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Wake up, bitch.”

  Sonja groaned and touched her head. She rubbed the sore spot, opened her eyes, and found her vision still slightly blurred. Gray stone walls formed the prison room that held in the dank, cool air.

  Behind Sonja, light streamed in through a tiny barred window. Where was she?

  “Wake up, you fucking whore,” the feminine voice shouted and kicked Sonja.

  The boot to her ribs hurt and probably cracked a few of them, knocking the air from Sonja’s lungs. Thank Goddess she had Derrick’s leather jacket to blunt some of the pain, but damn did that hurt. “Fuck you,” she spat.

  Her eyes opened fully and she saw Carmela standing above her. If she were quick, she could take her down and run.

  Dressed in blue jeans that hid nothing and a form-fitting top that revealed plenty of unappealing cleavage, Carmela stood with her hands on her hips. Her hair was pulled back into a tight braid that emphasized the hatred in her eyes. The faint smell of bitterness tickled Sonja’s nose unpleasantly. Perhaps the magic signal Carmela projected; one of hatred, betrayal, and jealousy. A gun rested in a strap on her hip.

  Sonja picked up the fiery scent of gunpowder.

  Carmela’s beady eyes widened. “You’re brave now. But if you want to live, you’ll do as you’re told. And that includes joining your band mates in the cell next to you.”

  Sonja’s nerves shot to high alert. Every violent emotion reared its head and threatened to overwhelm her. Sadness at her defeat sent bile to her throat and the pit of her stomach. Hopelessness weighed heavily on her shoulders and forced her to send energy through her body to remove the excess pressure.

  Yet her power built and the bars began to shake.

  Carmela’s eyes narrowed and she frowned. “Remember the deal. Magic when I say, otherwise you all die. Connected to the ventilation in the cell containing your friends, is a tank full of poison. If you make one false move, it gets released into the air and they’ll die within minutes. Then I’ll have to find another way to eliminate the majority of the shifters in this area and start my war. And that, bitch, would seriously piss me off and I’d have to let Bruno have his way with you.” She motioned behind her with her head to a tall giant of a man who looked like he didn’t hold much in the way of intelligence. Close -cut hair gripped his square-shaped skull. Beady black eyes narrowed as thin lips curved upwards in a sneer. He dressed in a white wife-beater with blue jeans tucked into scuffed and well-worn boots. He towered a good foot over Carmela.

  “I’d like that.” The tone of his deep voice gave off clues to his lack of intelligence.

  Sonja tried t
o rein in her magic. It took a moment of deep breathing and focus but she managed to clear out the air and let some state of calmness settle over her. “Great, he’s big, dumb, and has a dick. Fine.”

  Carmela leered. “I’m going to open this door and you’re going to come with me. Can you sing?”

  Sonja nodded. “But if you keep hitting me and knocking me out then, no, I cannot.”

  “Too bad.” The bars slid open. “Come. You’ll have a day to heal while we promote the greatest show your stupid band has ever played. You’ll literally be able to bathe in the blood of every shifter in the audience if you so choose. And why not? You do play a horrid style of music.” Carmela’s eyes slanted as she spat the last words out.

  Sonja scowled, pulled the trench coat around her, and strode forward, keeping an eye on Bruno. Up close, he looked even less intelligent. “You were in football in high school, weren’t you?”

  He grunted. “Middle school. I never got to high school. Now move.” He shoved his hand on the center of her back, giving her quite a push down the poorly lit hallway.

  She stumbled forward and resisted the urge to retaliate with a ball of fire to his face. Or even a fist.

  Her band mates would die if she used magic now.

  Hell, Carmela might be well connected enough to have had others outside find Derrick and Rob. Sonja had to wonder though, how had they fared? It pained her to think they were dead, and she let out a gasp at the thought.

  No, they couldn’t be. Her heart ached for Derrick, more out of longing than despair at his life being over.

  Shit. She’d really become a liability.

  But the bond would make it easier for him to sense her. She neglected to tell him that part. If she did die, he’d know it regardless of where in the world he was.

  That thought made her heart ache. He’d been good to her in the few days they’d known each other.

  The bond served a purpose. Her brother warned her earlier, but what had she done? She got herself involved, because ultimately she was selfish. She’d found the one person who balanced her, kept her even, and washed the magical despair away. There, she admitted it. Sonja wanted something in this world to call her own and she’d managed to find it, only it made her an even bigger liability by the nature of her existence as a witch.