Warrior of Fire

by Shona Husk

  “Am I?”

  In that heartbeat Emily knew that he knew what she was. But he was still here with her; that had to count for something? Was that the spell working? She couldn’t be sure.

  “I want to know why? Why the betrayal and the trickery?” he said. There was a snap to his voice she’d never heard before, not even when he’d broken up with her. He’d sounded bored that night.

  “Me? This isn’t about me. You lie to everyone every day. Why don’t you tell me why you do it?” He knew what she was and he wasn’t the slightest bit afraid of her. He should be. Why wasn’t he?

  He leaned forward. “I don’t lie. I don’t hurt people or judge them because they were born different.” His gaze darted to the other people in the café. He wouldn’t throw around words like magic and Albah and Guardians in here. He was too careful.

  “Not just different. Not human,” she whispered. He wasn’t human. She had to remember that. But it was hard to think of him as a monster, or potential monster, when she’d gotten to know him and she knew his favorite chocolate and that he liked to catch the train so he didn’t have to think about anything for half an hour.

  His blue eyes that had once seemed so amazing were now cold. He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Why the farce of dating me?”

  “You work it out. You’re smart.” And she had no real answer. She’d made excuses like he could lead her to others, but there was no good reason for getting in his bed.

  His lips curved in a mocking smile. “Maybe you were curious…wanting to know if your mother was telling the truth. You’ve had so many opportunities and yet all you’ve done is make threats.”

  “You don’t know what I’m capable of.” And neither did she. She hadn’t done anything, not a single death, and he was right; she’d had plenty of chances. The doubts that maybe she couldn’t were there. But only when it came to him. Her feelings for him had grown. She hated admitting that weakness, but love spell or not, he was never really going to love her. She wasn’t Albah. They were like Romeo and Juliet. Except she was not planning on dying and she didn’t want him to die. Leira, on the other hand, was fair game. If not for Leira, Julian would still be with her. He’d dumped her for the first Albah female to cross his path. She should kill him and be done with it, but couldn’t. She wanted Julian to be hers. A pet Albah who could be used to bring down the rest of his people. She wouldn’t kill him. That would be too quick. Yes, that was it. She wasn’t weak or soft. She was thinking big. “You should leave town for a few days. Come away with me.”

  She was running out of time to make her kill and the other Guardians were coming to find and take out every Albah here, including Julian if he stayed.

  He frowned. “What are you going to do?”

  She hesitated, not sure she should tell him. No, she’d tell him, and then when he was killed it wouldn’t be her fault it would be his for not listening to her. He was bringing all of this on himself. “Not me. Others. They are coming.”

  He recoiled as though hit. “How could you?”

  “I have to. Family. We both know how important it is.” She gave him a sweet smile.

  “My family doesn’t kill.” The look of disgust on his face was something she’d never forget.

  “And when you get old and you decide to cheat death, what then?” She lifted an eyebrow. “Any one of you could become a monster. That is why you must be eliminated.”

  He shook his head. “No. You can’t eliminate a whole species of people just because a couple of them might be bad. Humans have plenty of monsters and yet you aren’t hunting them.” He held her gaze. “Some would call you the monster for hunting and killing the innocent. How brave you are, killing children in housefires and car accidents.”

  “Men, not children.” She would never kill children.

  “Check your facts. I was nearly one of those kids, but I got lucky my magic kicked in.” His voice was soft, but there was no kindness in it.

  Around them people in the café were talking and laughing and a baby was crying. The world seemed so normal.

  He’d nearly died as a child and was saved by magic. That didn’t seem possible. “Magic? You mean like the spells?”

  He laughed, then shook his head. “You don’t even know who I am, or what I am capable of.”

  * * * *

  Emily’s eyes went wide. “So tell me. We were close but you kept the truth hidden.”

  How much knowledge did they keep from the initiates? Did she really have no idea how real magic was? He was tempted to show her, but it wouldn’t scare her away. It would just give her more information to feed to her group. He’d been wrong in thinking that he could help her, get her to break away from the Guardians. She’d been born into the hate and fed the lies from the day she was born.

  He wouldn’t flee the country and hide. He’d tell his father and they would prepare a welcome for the Guardians.

  “Is it any wonder I don’t talk about it when you talk so casually of wiping out my family and friends—”

  “Oh, please, we both know that Leira is more than a friend.”

  How much did Emily know? It didn’t matter. It was none of her business. “You have no moral ground to stand on. You dated me with the sole intention of gaining information and eventually killing me.”

  “I would never have killed you.” She sounded like she meant it. He didn’t care.

  “Your friends will. When do they arrive?”

  “I don’t know, soon. It’s not too late. We could both go. Find somewhere else to live. Start over.” She smiled, but there was desperation in her eyes.

  “Do you really think that I would want to be with you now that I know the truth? The last four months have been a lie.” He stood up. He was running out of lunch break and he didn’t want to spend any more time with Emily.

  She stood too. “They weren’t all a lie. We had good times.”

  He stared at her. She saw nothing wrong with her behavior or what she’d done. “If I were you, I’d leave, make a clean break from the Guardians and find something better to do with your life. Leave me and Leira the hell alone.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Neither can I.” If it came down to it would he be able to kill her? It had seemed so easy when talking to his father and demanding action, but now she was standing in front of him it was that much harder to think about.

  But then he would have never set fire to someone’s house, or tampered with a car. He wasn’t like her. She must be broken on the inside to hate so much it made her want to kill.

  She gave a short laugh. “Your people are a dying breed. A relic. Accept that you will soon be gone.”

  “My people have been living among yours for millennia. For a long time, there was peace.” At least that was what he’d been led to believe. No one was sure. Only the Keepers of the Law would know. He was sure the Guardians didn’t know about them.

  “No, there was fear. Fear of your living dead. You are unnatural.”

  His lips curved. “Yet you didn’t mind getting into my bed. What does that make you?”

  “I-I was doing my job.” She tilted her chin and glared at him.

  “And the love spell?” That was not part of her job.

  She flinched. He’d hit a nerve. Leira was right. Emily did actually like him. “I was trying to save you. If you could work with the Guardians, they might spare you.”

  “Betray everyone I know and love.” Julian shook his head. “You don’t know me at all.”

  She’d never wanted to know him. She’d been using him from day one, yet somehow she’d convinced herself that she did like him.

  “I know that you don’t have to be with one of your own. You can’t be forced into an arranged marriage. You could choose me.” Was she actually pleading with him or was this another act.

  People were watching them now. He hated being the center of attention. He lowered his voice. “Would you walk away from
the Guardians?”

  She hesitated. Was she thinking of leaving even though she’d tried to kill Leira? Tampering with a car wasn’t exactly a foolproof method of murder. Even if she didn’t have the stomach for murder, she had still made it clear that she didn’t like his kind.

  Julian turned and walked away.

  He rang his father as he walked toward the hospital. The call went through to voicemail. “There are more Guardians coming. Soon.”

  They wouldn’t be initiates trying to make their first kill; they’d be callous murderers who honestly believed they were doing the world a favor by exterminating the Albah.

  Chapter 15

  “I ordered some takeout dinner to make up for the hospital food,” Julian said as he got up to answer the door. Fire formed in his hand and Leira could see the shimmer of a shield. He checked who’d rung the bell before opening the door. They were both being extra cautious. It probably wasn’t wise to be ordering takeout, but if they stopped living, then the Guardians had already won. The fire in his hand went out.

  She could smell the Thai food from the sofa. Her stomach gave a grumble. Hospital food might tick all the boxes for nutrition and palatability, but it wasn’t what she considered real food.

  Julian said a few words to the delivery guy, then shut and locked the door.

  “You didn’t have to go to any trouble.” But he already had. He’d gotten a hire car so he could pick her up from hospital and he’d put her name on the agreement so she could drive it too. She still had to deal with the insurance, and she’d have to call her mother for that because the car was in her name.

  It was a call she was putting off.

  “It’s not any trouble. Plus it beats cooking.” He put the bags on the table and started getting out plates, which was very civilized. She’d have eaten out of the plastic tubs.

  Then he put candles on the table. This was becoming just a little more than takeout.

  “What’s with the candles?”

  “I thought it would be nice. I would’ve taken you out for dinner but at the moment it might be safer to stay home…here.”

  She wasn’t feeling safe anywhere. Emily kept finding her. “I should do that location spell.”

  “After dinner. Let’s just enjoy dinner and being alive for a little while.” He lit the candles with a touch of his finger.

  “You can’t throw fire.” She knew magic was split between male and female, but she hadn’t had much opportunity to see that in practice. She could do readings, but not heal. He could heal, but not do readings.

  “No. I have to be holding it. But you can’t make a shield.”

  Defense and attack were also separated so no one person had too much power. She got up and pulled a bottle of wine off the rack. “Red okay?”

  There were no white wines in the fridge.

  “Yes. It will go well with the beef curry, but maybe not the fish cakes.” He frowned as though that was a serious issue.

  “I’m not fussy.” She grabbed two glasses and poured the wine. Parts of her were a little stiff from the accident, but she wasn’t going to start complaining. He might try to run her a warm bath and then tuck her into bed…which didn’t sound like a bad way to end the evening as long as he was tucking himself in with her. “So, did you want to tell me about your date today?”

  “It wasn’t a date. She told me to leave the country, claimed to be trying to save me.”

  “That’s messed up.” With the extra Guardians arriving, leaving the country didn’t sound like a bad idea. But if the Albah banded together, they stood a chance of surviving and beating back the Guardians. They could be anywhere and everywhere and they couldn’t be easily spotted in a crowd, unlike the Albah.

  “Yeah. Being brought up to hate without question and then meeting an Albah and realizing we aren’t evil must’ve been hard for her.”

  “You sound like you feel sorry for her.” Did he have feelings for her? They had been together for four months. But he was here with her now, and Emily had burned down his apartment and stalked him.

  “There was a moment when I thought she’d leave the Guardians. She still has that chance.” He glanced at her as if seeking confirmation that Emily could still change her future.

  Leira encouraged one of the candle flames to swell. Emily hadn’t changed her mind yet. There was still fire in her future on the path she was on. “I don’t think she’ll take it. I think that’s the only way this ends differently. Emily is what is holding this all together.” How could one person have such influence over so many lives? She quickly scanned her future. No change. “Shall I do you?”

  Julian nodded.

  She didn’t need his blood this time. Their bond was still strong. His most likely future had changed. There was no circle of guardians around him, ready to kill him. Just Emily and a gun.

  “Whatever you said to her today changed everything.”

  “I can see.” He was staring at the flame as though he was hoping that a different future would appear. “So much for a quiet dinner.”

  “Sorry. I just keep checking hoping for a change, even a slight one.” She released the flame and let it shrink back to normal. “Thank you for dinner. It looks and smells delicious.”

  Being back in her mother’s well-warded house had eased some of the tension. She’d barely slept in the hospital, so busy waiting for Emily to come around the corner and finish what she’d started.

  She piled her plate up with rice and curry and fish cakes and prawns wrapped in pastry. “Does your dad have any news on the accident yet?”

  “No, not his department and asking for favors comes with a cost. However, the cops are looking at the breaking and entering, suspicious fire, and your car…jealous ex maybe?”

  Leira almost smiled. “Well I suppose that’s better than nothing. And maybe she kind of is. Did you brush off the remains of the love spell?”

  “It disintegrated on its own this afternoon. Which probably explains why she’s shooting me in my future.”

  “You don’t seem worried?”

  “The future keeps changing. I’m sure the one I like will come up.” He smiled at her.

  She wanted a bit of his faith, because at the moment she had none. They were dating on stolen time that wasn’t meant for them. “Have you ever wondered if we should stop this?”

  He put his fork down. “Yes, but at some point this was meant to be. So how could it be screwing everything up?”

  “Don’t know…jealous ex?”

  “She came to kill Albah, me, before we met. This isn’t your fault.”

  Leira ate so she didn’t have to answer. They’d met too early. If they’d met in a few weeks or a few months after Emily had done her thing—which Julian obviously survived—then Emily would have been out of the picture. Now her pride and her heart were wounded and Emily had something to prove.

  “Maybe life would be easier without being able to see the future. Then I wouldn’t be second guessing everything in case it derailed what I’d seen.” She’d spent years holding on to her vision of him only to have it torn apart by something she had no control over. The future wasn’t something she could control even if she could see where it was heading.

  “I think it’s useful. A glimpse at a map when you’re lost in the dark is better than nothing.” He smiled, but it was strained.

  “We’re running around in the dark, and at the same time we’re trying to obey the law and she isn’t.” They wouldn’t be able to stop Emily by playing nice. Maybe they needed to set her up somehow.

  Julian looked at her as he sipped his wine. “Let’s not waste all evening talking about her.”

  He was right; they were spending all their time together talking about his ex. That had to grate even if he wasn’t showing it. “Sorry. After the car incident, it’s been on my mind a lot.”

  And there wasn’t much else she could do in hospital except think.

  “I know a good way
to distract you.” The curve of his lips let her know exactly what he was thinking.

  “Is that right?” Her blood heated immediately. There was no hiding what she was with him and she didn’t have to worry about things getting out of control. “You like to play fireman?”

  “It won’t be forever. You’ll get it sorted.”

  What else was she going to accidentally burn down before she did get control? “I hope so.”

  He gathered up the dirty plates and put them in the dishwasher. Leira finished her wine and watched him over the rim of the glass. Even though she wanted him, there were still nerves, although she couldn’t explain why as her usual reasons no longer applied. Usually with a guy she liked, and wanted, she spent the whole time trying not to get too excited in case she caused a fire. It had made previous encounters less than satisfying, but she wasn’t going to put herself on the shelf to wait.

  She stood and kissed him when he came over. Then led him to the sofa. There was no rush, because she wasn’t trying to keep in control. She could enjoy. A little bit of the tension melted away. Even if this wasn’t forever she needed to make the most of it. The smoke in her future kept drifting through her mind and spoiling her present.

  Maybe she should stop checking to see what could happen and enjoy what was happening. Julian sat and drew her to him. He was smiling but she sensed that much like her he could hear the ticking of the clock. The future was coming to get them, and they didn’t know when it was going to arrive. She wanted to stop time for just a few moments.

  She stripped off his shirt so she could enjoy the feel of his skin beneath her palms. His hands were under her shirt, undoing her bra.

  “I’m better organized this time,” she murmured against his lips.

  “So am I.”

  A grin formed. “Best be pulling your wallet out of your pocket before I get you out of those pants.”

  He flipped her onto the sofa. “Good point. It’s safer for me to be naked. I’m tired of buying new clothes.”

  Leira swatted him on the shoulder. He was making light of her inability to control her fire, but it was true and she did like him naked, so she let him pull away to take off his pants and shoes and socks. He tossed her his wallet, then hesitated at his jocks.