Silken Inferno

by Taige Crenshaw

  “Not if I get out of the building some time tomorrow. I’ve got to plan.” Storm hurried away.

  “Are you okay?” Harmony asked, coming to walk beside her.

  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Don’t pull that. Not with me. I know what Vaughn being back means to you,” Harmony said.

  “He doesn’t mean anything to me.”

  “He’s your best friend, Allure.”

  “Was. He isn’t anymore.”

  “History like that doesn’t just disappear. You need to talk with him,” Harmony said.

  “Leave it!” Allure snapped.

  “Don’t you fucking do that to me! Stop pushing me away. You need to deal with him. And Christos. It’s time.” Harmony gripped her arm.

  Allure shrugged her off. “I know you mean well. But this doesn’t concern you.”

  “I want my sister back. The one before all this happened.”

  “We all want things we can’t have. I’ll never be that person again!” Allure cried.

  “You could be if you’d stop being so closed off.” Harmony pushed further.

  “Don’t.” Allure vibrated.

  “You’re just a shell of who you are, Allure,” Harmony said softly.

  Allure wrapped her arms around herself. Harmony was right. She was, but there was nothing she could do to change it. She turned from Harmony and rapidly walked away. Harmony let her go. She spotted the crowd then faded before reappearing in the oasis of her home. The setting did nothing to calm her as it usually would. Allure sat on her chocolate-brown couch, curling her legs under her. She stared out of her bay windows at the dark house across the way. Vaughn’s house.

  When she had bought this property, which shared a lake with his, she’d convinced herself the empty house was a reminder that he was gone and not coming back. Now he was back, and she had to face the truth. She’d bought the house so she would be close when he returned.

  You are so pathetic, longing for him. Allure continued to stare at the house as day turned to night. The lights of his house stayed off. When the sun rose, she stood mechanically and got ready for her day.

  * * * *

  Allure sat in her office, staring out at the empty desks of her unit. Everyone must be upstairs watching the testing again.

  “Allure, aren’t you going to the testing?” Kalina asked as she strode into her office.

  “I have some work to do,” Allure replied.

  “I’m sure it can wait,” Kalina said.

  Allure didn’t reply, still focusing on her work.

  “I needed to talk with you.” Kalina sat on the edge of her desk. “I noticed yesterday you and Vaughn seemed to know each other,” she said.

  “Yes. He used to be my partner before I joined the agency,” Allure admitted.

  Kalina looked speculative, then smiled. “That’s good. I was thinking we should cross partner with the Tracker Unit.”

  Uneasiness filled Allure’s stomach. “Who?”

  “You and Vaughn. Ryne and I. I think since I partnered with Ryne before, and you with Vaughn, it would be a good match. Sounds good?”

  Allure wanted to tell her no, but didn’t. If she did, Kalina would want to know why, and she’d have to explain why she didn’t want to.

  Kalina continued, “Ryne mentioned he and Vaughn want Killian for the trackers if he makes it through testing. So Storm and he will be another cross-division partnership.”

  “Why would it matter what Vaughn wants?” Allure asked.

  Kalina gave her a funny look. “He’s the co-division head of the trackers. I thought you knew that.”

  Allure sat forward. She hadn’t known. Of course she had heard mention that Ryne had a co-division head for his unit, but she had never heard a name. All she remembered hearing since she had been here was that the co-head was on a tracking mission. Her eyes narrowed.

  “I didn’t know,” Allure said.

  “Is there something I should know that might affect your being partners?” Kalina asked.

  “Nope. I’ll work with him,” Allure said.

  “Good. Come on, then. I want to see Ryne and Vaughn in action. It should be good.” Kalina stood and went to the door.

  “You go ahead. I have some things to do,” Allure said, looking at her computer.

  Kalina was silent for a bit then her footsteps sounded as she walked away. Allure took a breath. She rubbed her fingers between her shoulder blades. Hard fingers gripped hers. Stiffening, she tugged but the hand held hers, pulling her arm over her head, turning her around. Vaughn. He studied her quietly.

  Allure jerked her hand away and stood. Vaughn closed the distance between their bodies. Allure automatically inhaled his scent—cocoa butter and coconut. Vaughn made a guttural noise in his throat. Allure stilled.

  “Your fragrance is what I missed most of all—peaches and honey.”

  “You forget yourself,” Allure snapped.

  “I forget nothing. I can never forget that you were never mine. I want you, Allure, more than I have ever wanted anyone.”

  Chapter Three

  Allure drew in a shaky breath. “I’m not yours to have.”

  “You could be if you would only let us have what we both want.”

  “Claude—”

  “Is dead. He’s gone, Allure. Gone for over nine years. Claude would have wanted you to mourn him, but then live. Not keep his memory as a shrine to lock me out.”

  Thoughts of Claude’s dear face filled her then instantly pain blossomed through her, quick and without remorse. Allure welcomed the pain that was her constant companion ever since Claude’s brutal death.

  “I lost him. Not you—”

  “I lost him too. He was my best friend, Allure. I loved him. Don’t you dare tell me I didn’t lose him too.” Vaughn jerked her up against his body.

  She pushed out of his hold, stepping back. “He was your best friend, and I was his wife. How could you want to betray his memory like this?”

  “Betray. You make it sound as if we’re having an illicit affair. We aren’t. Claude is dead. I was there for you as you mourned him for over a year. As you took every dangerous mission, so you could die. Protecting your back to ensure you didn’t. It ripped me up inside seeing you like that—a shell of yourself.”

  Allure flinched at his words that echoed Harmony’s.

  Vaughn ran his fingers through his hair, then brought his hand to his side, clenching it into a fist. “Do you think it was easy for me to realise along the way that my friendship had changed? That the reason I got this sick feeling in my gut at the thought of you being hurt was more than care for a friend?”

  Allure crossed her arms over her breasts. “I was fine.”

  “You were not fine. You wished for death, and it granted your request.”

  “And you turned me to save me, is that it? Am I supposed to thank you for that?” Allure gritted out.

  “I didn’t do it for you.”

  “I knew you did it for yourself,” Allure said triumphantly.

  “Is that what you believe?” Vaughn shook his head sadly.

  Allure frowned, suddenly unsure. “Isn’t that the reason?”

  “No.”

  “Then why?” Allure cried.

  “For Claude, and, more importantly, Christos.” Vaughn sounded grim.

  “What? I didn’t even know Christos then.” Allure shook her head.

  “You might not have known about him, but Christos knew about you. Do you really think Claude wouldn’t tell his twin about you?” Vaughn asked.

  “Claude didn’t tell me about him, so I assumed Christos didn’t know about me.”

  “Your stubbornness wouldn’t allow you to talk with Christos. He’s hurting more than you are. He lost his brother—his twin. You’re the only connection he had left to him, and you shut him out at every turn. I never thought of you as a coward, or cruel.”

  Vaughn turned and left. Allure staggered back as the pain filled her. Every moment over the last e
ight years played through her mind. All the times Christos had taken her gibes and silence. The moments when she would see him studying her as if he wanted to say something. Allure raised a shaking hand, placing it over her mouth to stifle a sob. Closing her eyes, she pounded her fist against her leg. She had been a coward and cruel.

  “Vaughn knows you better than anyone. He calls you on your shit.” Her voice came out wobbly.

  Allure stood, then went into the bathroom attached to her office. She cleaned her face. Looking at herself in the mirror, she blew out a breath before heading back to her desk. Bypassing it, she walked through the empty office, then to the elevator. Once it arrived, she took it to the top floor. As the doors opened, she heard the excited murmur of voices chanting, “Ghost.” Allure paused just outside the door of the training room.

  She blinked, unsure of what she saw. A faded white being stood in the centre of the floor, and, from it, tentacles of white film flowed to grip the Amazonian Warriors. It lifted them, then threw them around the room like pinballs. The warriors flowed back to it, blasting it with light. The being never moved.

  “They’re getting to see something most don’t get to. Too bad they won’t remember it when they leave this room,” Lennox said coming up to stand next to her.

  “Who is it?” she asked.

  “Ryne. It’s what made him a hell of an Assassin Agent and an even better tracker,” Lennox said.

  “This will only add to the hype around him.”

  “Not much. Those who don’t already know, once they step out of the room, will only have the foggy memory that he was powerful in the test, but not the actual why,” Lennox said.

  Allure glanced up where she stood outside the room.

  “They decided you could know the secret behind the Tracker Unit—their ability to do things beyond what is part of their races,” Lennox answered her unspoken question.

  Wonder if it’s because I’m on the inner circle of the Eve thing?

  “No. Vaughn made the choice to let you in,” Lennox said.

  “Stop reading my thoughts,” she said mildly.

  “Habit.” He didn’t sound sorry.

  “I’m not. You learn a lot about a person from their thoughts.”

  “I thought I had a better shield on my thoughts. Maybe I need to practise,” Allure mused.

  “Against most anyone else, your shield is effective. I’m special.”

  “And humble.”

  Lennox laughed.

  “Draw!” Christos called.

  Ryne dropped the warriors and retook his shape. He strutted out of the centre ring to cheers of “Ghost.”

  “Since mating with Kalina, he doesn’t have to rejuvenate,” Lennox said.

  “You seem more talkative than usual. Not to mention familiar with them all.”

  “We’ve been friends since childhood…Ryne, Killian, Vaughn and I.”

  At his name, she stiffened.

  Vaughn strode into the centre. The warriors stood straight. Vaughn glanced directly at her, his eyes fierce. The area between Allure’s shoulders throbbed. In a blink, violet eclipsed his body, then spread to each of the fifteen Amazonian Warriors. It moved over them, then through them. The training room was deathly silent. Allure’s breath caught.

  “Inferno. It can be a deadly weapon. He gets inside them. With a touch of the Inferno, he could stop their heart or rip them up from the inside,” Lennox said.

  Allure couldn’t tell what he was doing yet. “Do you feel that?”

  “What?” Lennox asked sharply.

  “No, it’s nothing dangerous. Just something… I don’t know how to describe it,” Allure said in frustration.

  The sensation was all along her skin. Not painful, but there. Shifting, she rolled her shoulders.

  “They talked about you,” Lennox said.

  “Who?” Allure glanced away from Vaughn.

  “Vaughn and Claude. They were fascinated by this fierce woman who was, for a human, so fearless.” Lennox had a small smile on his face.

  “You knew Claude?”

  “Yes, and Christos too. We were inseparable. There are a lot of people in the agency who knew Claude, and loved him too. They mourned his loss with you. Yet you never saw it. Ask around, and you’ll be surprised the stories they could tell you about Claude. And Vaughn.” Lennox patted her on the shoulder, then strode into the room.

  He joined Ryne, pushing him playfully. Ryne slugged him, then continued talking with Kalina.

  Allure glanced back at Vaughn. He still watched her. He raised violet fingers to his head and gave her a mock salute. Allure stepped back and returned to her office. She worked at her desk, blocking everything else out. Much later, the sounds of others returning drew her attention. She glanced up, then faded. Coming back to form, she leant back on the comfortable couch.

  The door opened, and he walked in. He quickly masked his surprise at seeing her, striding over and taking a seat on the chair closest to her.

  “How can I help you, Allure?” Christos’ deep, bass voice was so like his brother’s.

  Allure stared into those silver eyes, then studied the rugged, familiar features. The more she looked at him she realised, although he and Claude were identical in features, there were subtle differences she had unconsciously noticed about Christos. The rigid way he held himself. He was harder. She searched her memory for the word she wanted to use. It came to her.

  “Bhielas, I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you,” Allure said.

  “Shielas, there’s nothing to forgive,” Christos answered without hesitation.

  Allure was humbled by his easy acceptance of her apology.

  “Claude taught you some of our language?” Christos asked tentatively.

  “A few words. Like Bhielas, brother, and Shielas, sister. He always winced, because I got the inflections of the words wrong.” Allure chuckled.

  “It was bad. But I understood,” Christos replied.

  “Good. I know he’d want us to get to know each other.”

  “He talked about you a lot,” Christos said.

  “Really? I don’t know much about you. Why didn’t he ever tell me about you? Or any of this? That he wasn’t human. I was married to him, and yet I didn’t know him at all.” Allure clenched her fist.

  Christos moved, joining her on the couch. He put his hand over hers. Allure turned it and gripped his.

  “He loved you very much. He was going to tell you. But then he was killed before he could.”

  “Why didn’t he tell me before we married?”

  “You befuddled him. For Claude, that was such a…weird thing to deal with. With his seer ability, he hadn’t seen that you, a human woman, would win his heart. He had only gone to meet you to recruit you for the agency.”

  Allure glanced at him, shocked. “The agency? Really? Until Storm and Harmony, I didn’t think you all took humans as agents.”

  “We have very few. Harmony and Storm got in because they blew us away in the training programme. I had no clue they would make it. Although Claude did mention he thought not only you, but they too would be a good fit.” Christos smiled softly.

  “You miss him too.”

  “I do. Every day.” Christos was silent a moment, then said, “I was so angry at him for marrying you and not telling you the truth. Vaughn too.”

  “How’d they come to be part of the black ops team I was in? I didn’t think you all allowed the government to know about the agency.”

  “We have some associations. Claude was the liaison for that. Since he’s been gone, it has fallen to me, although I despise dealing with it. Anyway, he used them to meet you. From the way he said it, he respected your dedication, and was knocked on his ass when he met you,” Christos said.

  “I did knock him on his ass, literally. Him and Vaughn. I didn’t like them coming up on my back the way they did. The looks on their faces were priceless.” Allure laughed ruefully.

  “You surprised them. That was when they knew you ha
d some form of power.”

  “I always wondered why they didn’t seem more freaked when I told them about being able to do things that weren’t exactly the norm. They didn’t find it strange that I could talk telepathically with my sister and aunt, sense things or see things in places that I had never been. Now I know why it didn’t seem such a big deal to either of them,” Allure said.

  “Claude wouldn’t want you to be shut off as you have been,” Christos said gently.

  Allure stiffened, then relaxed. “You’re right. He wouldn’t. Tell me about you. About him.”

  “What would you like to know?” Christos asked.

  Allure asked questions, and he answered. Slowly, the tension between them dissipated.

  Later, as he escorted her to the office door, he said, “Cairo will be a little peeved you got by her without her knowing.”

  Allure chuckled. “I’m surprised I could. I expected her to burst in at any moment before you came in. You didn’t seem to know I was here.”

  “I didn’t. Vaughn will explain to you why I didn’t,” Christos said.

  “Is it because he turned me?”

  “No. Something else.”

  Allure frowned. “What?”

  “I don’t know, and he won’t tell me.” Christos sounded affronted.

  “He gets like that,” Allure assured. “Thanks for taking the time to speak with me.”

  “Any time. It’s a great start, Shielas. Next time, you can come to my house for dinner,” Christos offered.

  “I will.”

  “I look forward to it.” Christos kissed her cheek.

  Allure went out of the door smiling. She waved at Cairo who turned away with a sniff. Allure made a mental note to send her some caramels. Nobody wanted Cairo pissed off at them. Reapers tended to hold a grudge. She strolled out. It was a great start to building a relationship between her and Christos. She stepped onto the elevator when it arrived, pressing a floor. Once at her destination, she walked directly towards Vaughn’s office. Striding up to the desk, she then stopped before it. Vaughn glanced up at her.

  “You were right. I was cruel and a coward. I’d like us to try being partners again, and rebuilding our friendship,” Allure said tentatively.