Of Flame and Light: A Weird Girls Novel

by Cecy Robson

  “You bitch!” she screams. She raises her staff above her head, her magic building with gray light.

  I don’t wait for her to act, rushing to my feet and thrusting my power forward. My magic collides against the elk’s chest, slapping away the rotting pieces of skin that remain, but not much else.

  Savana laughs. That’s right, laughs.

  Tendrils of gray smoke surrounding her like armor. I shove all I have into her beast. Yet my magic has no effect. None.

  But sometimes all you need is muscle in the form of two very vicious twin wolves.

  Both halves of Gemini collide against the elk, tearing into the bleating creature. Savana topples from its back, screeching as her ride collapses on top of her and pins her to the ground.

  I run forward, diving for her staff where it pokes out beneath the elk.

  The moment my hand connects with the staff, magic as revolting and vicious as Savana jolts me like a bolt of electricity. I shake off my hands and reach for it again, swearing when another jolt slams into me.

  Savana holds tight, spewing power into the staff as she writhes beneath the creature Gemini is mauling.

  Again I try, again I’m zapped with something nasty. Fortunately, there’s an old saying among werewolves, “If the hand of your enemy brings you pain and torment, bite it off.”

  That shit should be embroidered on a pillow, and is exactly what Gemini does. I snatch the staff when the wolf with the left white paw snaps Savana’s hand off at the wrist.

  “Good boy,” I say, shaking the hand loose from the staff and sprinting back to the triangle.

  I lift the staff above my head, forcing my will into it as I speak the words of power.

  “Protegeme.”

  Protect me.

  “Defiendeme.”

  Defend me.

  And most importantly, “Véngame!”

  Avenge me.

  I slam the staff against the invisible force covering the triangle, my power and Savana’s colliding at once. Like a storm built from a thousand hell fires, a tornado of blue and white projects into the heavens, spiraling out and torching the sky.

  Swirling clouds of black, blue, and white form, canvasing the night and blocking out the moon. Lightning bolts crash along the field, one after the other, splitting the clouds and making it rain clumps of freaking fire.

  I am amazing. Awesome. A sight to behold.

  Or I would be if it weren’t for the smoldering bunny slippers on my feet and my right tit sticking out of my dress.

  I toss the staff aside as that awful sense of death and evil builds, shoving my breast back into what’s left of my tattered dress and racing to where Vieve lies suspended.

  Blood pools from her mouth and her eyes are partially closed. I stroke back her hair as the fire surrounding me recedes, wondering if I’m too late, and if I’m not, how the hell I’m going to get her and the others down.

  I startle when she turns her head slightly and smiles. “You accepted your arm and mastered your magic,” she says, choking on the blood, spilling from her mouth.

  “How the fuck are you still alive?” is my response.

  She struggles to speak, but even though I’d rather she not try in her condition, it’s like she has to. “Because we’re both survivors and more alike than you think,” she slurs.

  “Maybe we are,” I agree. “But why don’t we keep that little tidbit to ourselves there, Vieve.”

  Her chest rises and falls sporadically, I think she’s seizing and possibly dying, I rush to support her head when I realize she’s chuckling. “You want to know something?” she asks, so softly, I barely catch it.

  “What is it?” I ask, hoping it’s not a warning of something else to come.

  What remains of her subtle smile fades. “I never stood a chance with Gemini.” She spits out the blood filling her mouth. “No female does with you around.”

  I ease her head down and step away, trying not to permit her words to affect me like they do, but not managing anything close to it. Maybe, though, I don’t have to.

  I whip around as an unearthly scream rattles the earth. Savana raises her staff and mutters the death curse. “Muerte.”

  Her magic blasts toward me, fast and furious.

  But not faster than mine.

  The crackling energy from my lightning encapsulates my form, guarding me and rebounding the curse. It strikes her chest almost at the same moment Shayna’s dagger flies over my shoulder.

  The tip of the dagger drives through Savana’s eye and into her skull.

  Yet it’s her own damn curse that makes her what she becomes.

  Her chest caves as her body shrivels inward, decaying into gray wrinkled flesh. She peers down with her one eye as chunks from her face fall in pieces at her feet. I think she’s turning into a zombie, and I think I need to set her ablaze. But then Gemini’s wolves appear, saving me the trouble.

  Their fangs latch onto her shoulders, digging in their points and tearing her in half. They bound away from me, flinging what remains of the big, bad witch into the mounds of fire burning the field. Around me the Pack is doing the same with their prey. But with Savanah dead, the deceased werebeasts are no longer bound to her. As I watch, all the zombies start flinging themselves into the fire, freeing what remains of their souls.

  Except for two.

  Alice wails as she clutches the zombie tied beside Vieve. I don’t have to look at the zombie long to recognize there’s a resemblance between them. They’re family, I see it now.

  Shayna rushes forward, cutting her loose. I look back at Vieve as Emme reaches her. “Go,” Vieve says. “I can free myself.”

  She laughs a little when I look at her like she’s nuts because hello, she is. “You’re impaled,” I remind her. “As in there’s this giant stake sticking out of your stomach.”

  “Not for long,” she answers weakly.

  Vieve doesn’t have her talisman, but I don’t think she needs it. A flock of owls sweep through the skies as the clouds begin to recede. Their speed outrageously fast as they dive. I back away, bumping into Emme as the owls grip Vieve’s limbs and carefully pull her up.

  I expect her to scream and flail, I would. But she does neither, going flaccid as owls gently pull her up to the top, streaking her blood along the length of the stake.

  She should be dead, I think to myself. But hell, so should I.

  Emme cradles Vieve against her when the owls set her down, not waiting for them to leave before surrounding her with her healing touch.

  The owls flutter away, their long wingspans stretching out as they move to the other Superiors not currently being freed by the Pack. I think Vieve is going to be okay, the knowledge easing the tension clenching my shoulders. But while I didn’t harm her, I don’t feel right hovering over her. She’s hurt and needs her space.

  I start to walk away, only to be intercepted by Paula. “We found the rest of the coven,” she says, motioning to where the Lessers help carry the injured forward. “They were being leeched near the entrance to curse anyone who entered. The Pack figured it out and went a different way.” She sighs. “They weren’t able to free them, but we did. We helped them.”

  “No,” I tell her smiling. “You saved them.”

  “Maybe,” Merri adds stomping out her hairy and singed feet. “But you like, made it rain fire!”

  “Yeah,” I say. “Just don’t expect that to happen again.”

  I make my way toward Alice, rubbing my arm as I come to terms with finally accepting it. I mull over when exactly it happened, my thoughts automatically returning to when Gemini brushed his lips over the knuckles and finally appeared to accept himself. But then I concur it wasn’t one single moment, but rather a culmination of many, and that perhaps the love he demonstrated was the final piece I was missing.

  I smile softly as the fingertips of my left hand trail over the bright white skin. “Thank you,” I tell it, my eyes welling with how much I mean what I say.

  I look up to w
here Gemini’s wolves, along with Bren, Koda, and their packmates are rounding up the leftover zombie parts that remain. It must have been hard, battling and now destroying their fallen friends and family members. But evil like Savana doesn’t care: one more reason she needed to die.

  Alice is so enthralled with her sister when I reach them, I’m not sure if she’ll notice me. Yet she does, throwing herself on top of me when she sees me. I start crying the minute she connects, knowing this is goodbye.

  “Thank you for being my friend,” I tell her as Emme quietly steps toward us.

  “Ergh,” she wails.

  She doesn’t want to leave and grips me tighter. “It’s okay,” I say, rubbing her back. “Go and find your peace. You deserve it, sweetie.”

  She releases me slowly, nodding stiffly and reaching for Emme.

  “Wait, she’s going?” Shayna asks when Alice clutches her to her. As much as she wanted Alice to find eternal rest, like me, she’s having a hard time watching her go.

  I hug her and Emme as Alice clasps the other zombie’s hand. Together they hobble to the nearby cluster of flames. “She was waiting for her sister,” I explain, which of course only makes us cry harder.

  If Alice and her sister feel pain, they don’t show it. They simply walk into the fire unafraid. But that’s what sisters do. We’re there for each other through good, bad, and even death.

  “Taran?” Vieve calls.

  She’s standing with the help of the Lessers on either side of her. She’s beat up, having just survived torture and a stake through her gut. Yet somehow, Vieve makes weak and tormented look good.

  “Yeah?”

  “Would you like to help us squelch the fire and make it rain?” she asks.

  The corners of her mouth lift in that soft and regal way. She’s trying to be nice, and I appreciate it. But she has her sisters and I have mine. “Do you need me to?”

  She laughs, shaking her head slowly. “Not at all. But just as you helped us, I swear on my honor we’ll be here to help you.”

  Her vow makes me smile, so does the sincerity behind it. Vieve and I will never be buds. But her kindness comes from the heart and doesn’t this world need more of that.

  “I appreciate the offer,” I say. “But I think I’m better at blowing shit up.”

  She chuckles softly, appearing weak yet determined. Before she can turn away I ask. “Hey, Vieve. What did I sacrifice?” I lift my arm and point at it. “You said I had to sacrifice something, accept my arm, and learn to focus. I get everything else, but what did I give in return?”

  “You sacrificed yourself to save both the Pack and your coven,” she explains.

  “How?” I ask, not understanding.

  She tilts her head as if I’m missing the point. “In cutting the bind, you unleashed a power that could have killed you. Not for your stubbornness or gain, but to help us all.” She considers her words as remnants of her magic trace across my limb. “There may be times you’ll struggle, as I find your arm to be almost as strong-willed as its owner. But if you continue to work with it, instead of against it, eventually, it will become a treasured part of you.”

  “Thank you,” I tell her quietly, not only because of what she tells me, but also because of how hard it was to say what she did, giving her weakened state.

  She and the coven shuffle away from me as Koda and Bren race forward. Koda changes from his giant wolf form, back to the male who can’t wait to hold his mate. I’m not surprised, but I practically keel over when Bren changes and pulls Emme against his naked form.

  “I was scared I lost you,” he murmurs quietly.

  What the fuck?

  I back away fast, wondering what the hell I missed, and unsure whether or not I’m imagining things. Along the field, a caravan of SUVs barrel forward, stopping in a line a few yards away from the smoldering flames. I recognize Aric’s vehicle at the center. He steps out, reaching for Celia’s hand and keeping her back.

  They didn’t leave for the stronghold. And maybe now, they won’t have to.

  I trudge toward them, not realizing how tired I am until I catch glimpses of the sun rising in the east. I don’t think the witches utter more than the first few words of their chant before sprinkles of rain begin wetting my face.

  Tired maybe how I feel, but loneliness isn’t too far away.

  Alice, sweet Alice, is gone. And me and Gemini, what can I say? We’ve worked through some things, but I can’t be sure we’re okay.

  I’m almost to the last mound of burning flames when twin wolves race past me on either side. They ground to a halt a few feet away, joining to become one. Gemini’s back curls slowly upward as he stands, transforming into the man I’ve barely lived without.

  He storms forward, his dark eyes glistening in the remaining flames as he dissolves the space between us.

  “I have to finish searching the grounds for any evidence of zombie werebeasts that remain,” he says in a way of a greeting.

  “Okay,” I respond, confused as to why he seems so angry.

  He starts to turn, but I can’t let him leave me like this. “Are you mad at me?” I ask.

  He freezes in place. “Yes,” he says, peering over his back. “I shouldn’t be, but I am.”

  I ram my hands on my hips. “Why? Yeah, I set the compound on fire, again. But damn it, it all worked out in the end.”

  He stomps forward. “You thought I hated you,” he growls. “You are my mate, yet you thought I hated you.”

  The full impact of what he’s feeling causes a burn in my heart that has nothing to do with my fire. “What else could I believe when you turned away from me like you did?” I ask, the sadness I feel leaking into my voice. “All those times you rejected me and pulled away. What did you expect me to think?”

  His chest rises and falls with the extent of his rising fury. But it’s not fury. It’s something else. “I’ve used these hands for revenge and to protect the innocent from harm,” he tells me holding out his arms. “I’ve used them to kill monsters, and to carry the fallen and those too injured to fight.” His hands slowly grasp mine as a single tear cuts a line down his face. “But the best thing they’ve ever done is hold you.”

  “I . . .”

  He kisses me as I clutch him against me. It’s a deep, long kiss, heavy with love, but as gentle as the breeze passing along our skin. I don’t want to let him go. No, I never want him to let me go. Except our lives being what they are, he has to. At least for now.

  “We have things to talk through,” he murmurs as his lips leave mine to trail along my jaw. “But I’m done being without you.”

  “Okay,” I agree.

  He pauses. I suppose he expected me to argue. Can’t blame him, I’m what some may refer to as slightly challenging. But like him, I don’t want to know another day without him.

  He presses a kiss to my forehead. “I’ll be at the house as soon as I’m finished. Will you wait for me there?”

  “Yes,” I promise.

  “All right,” he says, releasing me slowly. “I won’t be longer than necessary.”

  I watch him walk away, splitting into two wolves as he leaps, the heavy paws of his beasts pounding against the earth as they speed forward.

  Everything Gemini told me hits like a tidal wave of emotion that keeps me still and only barely breathing. And yet as a familiar brush of power presses against my back, I wipe my eyes and straighten.

  The being approaching isn’t one I can be vulnerable around. Nor can I ever demonstrate weakness around him.

  Through the lingering smoke and flames, and as the rain continues to fall, he stalks forward, his long blond hair fanning out as he prowls in my direction.

  The way his black silk shirt and finely tailored black pants hug his tall frame make him appear more model than man. But Misha Aleksandr is no mere mortal and neither are the vampires flanking his sides.

  He stops directly in front of me, his gray eyes briefly scanning the smoldering landscape and lingering remain
s of battle.

  Along with the holes on the front of my dress.

  “Impressive,” he says.

  I smirk. “The destruction or my rack?”

  And there’s that sinful smile he’s known for. “Perhaps both.”

  “You’re late,” I point out, motioning behind me. “We could have used you and your peeps when the zombie werebeast army tried to eat us. Oh, and when the psycho witch who raised them and imprisoned most of the coven launched her first curse.”

  “No,” he disagrees. “It seems I arrived just in time.” He stops smiling then. “I have a proposition for you, Taran. One I have no doubt you’re the right sister for . . .”

  Reader’s Guide to the Magical World of the Weird Girls Series

  acute bloodlust A condition that occurs when a vampire goes too long without consuming blood. Increases the vampire’s thirst to lethal levels. It is remedied by feeding the vampire.

  Call The ability of one supernatural creature to reach out to another, through either thoughts or sounds. A vampire can pass his or her call by transferring a bit of magic into the receiving being’s skin.

  Change To transform from one being to another, typically from human to beast, and back again.

  chronic bloodlust A condition caused by a curse placed on a vampire. It makes the vampire’s thirst for blood insatiable and drives the vampire to insanity. The vampire grows in size from gluttony and assumes deformed features. There is no cure.

  claim The method by which a werebeast consummates the union with his or her mate.

  clan A group of werebeasts led by an Alpha. The types of clans differ depending on species. Werewolf clans are called “packs.” Werelions belong to “prides.”

  Creatura The offspring of a demon lord and a werebeast.

  dantem animam A soul giver. A rare being capable of returning a master vampire’s soul. A master with a soul is more powerful than any other vampire in existence, as he or she is balancing life and death at once.

  dark ones Creatures considered to be pure evil, such as shape-shifters or demons.