Wreathed in Flame (Faith of the Fallen Book 3)

by Cassandra Sky West

  The woman’s friendly voice couldn’t prevent a sudden spike of fear. Savanna unfocused her eyes, switching to her witch-sight. Brilliant hues of green, blue, and purple sprang to life. Magic would stand out in swirls of red and orange, but there was none on the woman. Savanna blinked several times to clear her eyes.

  “I know you mean well,” Savanna said carefully, “but that isn’t a question you ever want to ask.”

  There was an edge to Savanna’s words, sharper than she had intended, and the woman’s features paled, eyes widening.

  “It’s okay, really,” Savanna said quickly. “I don’t mind, but… there are those who might. And not everyone with magic is friendly.” She reached out, touching the woman’s arm reassuringly. “I’m Savanna Grace. What’s your name?”

  “Caitlin Delaney.” Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “I didn’t know the thing about asking.” Her eyes darted about, as though she expected someone to be listening. “Would you consider coming and meeting my coven? We could use some advice from a person who actually does—you know— magic.”

  Coven. The word inspired a pang of pain, even after all this time.

  “I… uh… sure.” Savanna was surprised by her own answer. “When do you meet?”

  Caitlin fished a card out of her bag. Her… Balenciaga bag. Savanna’s eyes widened as she saw the logo. She’d walked past the Balenciaga store a few times, and once she saw something she liked through the window. It wasn’t the sort of place that had prices out front, though, and a quick search on her phone had made Savanna a little queasy. She couldn’t imagine having enough money to carry a bag like that around.

  “We meet a few times a week, depending on our schedules. I have this massage booked today, and I’m going to have my eyebrows shaped right now—I know, don’t judge me, I know they’re awful—” She made as if to shield her perfect eyebrows with the card. “Maybe tomorrow? Give me a call.”

  Caitlin Delaney

  Fashion Designer and Personal Stylist

  “Is this what you do for a living?” Savanna ran a finger over the surface of the card. It was velvet flocked, and stamped with gold foil.

  “Oh, that?” Caitlin waved a modest hand. “No, that’s just a hobby. But, I could…” She looked down at Savanna’s worn sneakers and torn jeans. “I mean, if you wanted.”

  Savanna’s face heated with embarrassment, though she could tell Caitlin wasn’t trying to be rude.

  At that moment, the bell on the door rang. Savanna startled, and turned to see Alexi walk through the door with two large shopping bags in hand. She stopped to say something to Warren, and then came to stand next to her. Alexi looked nice. At least one of them was well-dressed.

  Savanna smiled at Caitlin, thankful for the interruption. “Thanks, it was nice meeting you.”

  “Same.” Caitlin offered her a faintly apologetic smile. “I hope to hear from you!”

  Alexi raised an eyebrow at Savanna after Caitlin left. “Who was that?”

  “No one,” Savanna muttered, still embarrassed. She turned around and marched back to the counter. “Warren!”

  Warren materialized from the back room, his face lit in a smile.

  “How many hours a week, and how much an hour?”

  He grinned.

  Alexi’s ringtone interrupted them before he could say anything—an awful, electronic rendition of Summertime. She fished her ancient phone out of the pocket of her new coat.

  “I’m sure we can come to arrangement that will benefit us both,” Warren said, casting her a wink.

  They needed to move closer, Savanna mused. She couldn’t commute from Tacoma to Capitol Hill every day. Maybe Alexi—

  Alexi snapped her phone closed. “Savanna, we need to go. John’s needs us up in Marysville. He says it’s urgent.”

  “It’s thirty miles away! We have to take the bus,” Savanna protested. “There’s no way—”

  Warren coughed for attention. He lifted a single key with a red ring out of the drawer. “You can borrow my bike, if you like.”

  The high-pitched roar of the Ducati racing bike drowned out the horns and frustrated shouts of the other drivers as Alexi barreled through traffic. She leaned hard, bringing the bike with her around the freeway on-ramp. Once the road straightened out she gunned the engine and let out a shout of joy.

  The last rays of the setting sun dropped below the islands to the west, bathing the city in twilight.

  Alexi’s body hummed with power as the sky darkened above her. With nothing to hold her back she gunned the engine. The bike whined as the motor revved and sent them sailing past one-hundred miles per hour.

  “Alexi!” Savanna shouted in her ear, arms tightening around her waist.

  “Sorry!” Alexi called back over the rush of air, and let off the throttle. “I didn’t know I could drive one of these.”

  It was a nice bike. Warren said it was payment for something, but he had no need of it. The high-performance machine had been collecting dust in his storeroom.

  As soon as Alexi slid her jean-clad legs over the seat, a sense of familiarity came over her. It was the same feeling she experienced when picking up a gun, or sparring… or a dozen other things she didn’t remember doing before, but found she had the knack.

  Alexi loved riding. The sense of freedom, the wind in her hair, the ground rushing past. She twisted the throttle, the bike leaped forward and a little scream escaped from Savanna.

  “Alexi!”

  Savanna wore the bright yellow helmet that came with the bike. Alexi was pretty sure she didn’t need one. She could heal from gunshot wounds or lost limbs—she doubted a simple traffic accident could kill her. Savanna, on the other hand… Alexi let off the throttle again, trying to keep herself in check.

  Seattle proper gave way to the sprawling suburbs of the north. It wasn’t long before they were leaving Everette and entering Marysville. The freeway here was more like a two-lane country highway, and the land more grass than buildings.

  To the west of the freeway stood a few large shopping centers, and a huge billboard advertising the local casino. To the east side, it was all trees and neighborhoods sheltering quiet cul-de-sacs.

  Alexi leaned over to bring the bike down the long, sweeping exit. A cold chill ran through the air, a precursor to rain, she was sure.

  “Savanna?” Alexi idled the bike on the side of the empty road not sure which way to go.

  “One sec,” Savanna replied as she fumbled with her phone.

  “Right,” she said after a moment.

  Unable to resist, Alexi squealed the tires and left behind a trail of smoke. The freeway faded behind them along with the drone of traffic. The tree guardians admirably protected the eastern side from the noise of the freeway and the shopping centers.

  The road turned east for a few blocks then cut north. Alexi followed the curve of traffic with ease, guiding the bike around obstacles as she shifted her weight.

  To her, the houses all looked the same. A passing driver flipped his lights at her and Alexi realized the last of twilight was gone and full night had descended. She switched her headlamp on, not wanting to be pulled over. She didn’t have a license, or ID, of any kind. She probably should have thought of that before screaming down the highway without a helmet, she thought with a grimace.

  At one time, she had wanted to ask the Arcanum to put together something for her, but she was pretty sure that bridge was burned, now.

  Savanna tapped her left shoulder and Alexi turned. The police car on the street, and John’s Charger on the curb, told her they had arrived. Other than the police tape on the front door of the modest house, everything seemed normal.

  She stopped the bike short of the house and parked next to the curb. She slid off with a sigh. Fun didn’t even begin to describe it.

  “I hate you,” Savanna muttered as she got off the bike.

  “Really?” Alexi looked to her friend. “I’m so sorry. I just—”

  “Okay, only a littl
e,” Savanna said with a half-smile. “Just try to remember that I’m squishy, ok? You’d probably survive a crash, but I wouldn’t.”

  Alexi reached over and gave her friend a quick squeeze. “I’m sorry. I was just—I’ll be more careful, okay?”

  A sudden shift in the cool night breeze brought a strangely familiar scent to Alexi’s sensitive nose. She couldn’t quite place it, but at the same time was sure she had never smelled it before.

  “You all right?” Savanna said. “I didn’t mean it.”

  “No… it’s not that. I just… I smelled something strange, but I have no idea what it was.”

  Savanna crinkled her button nose, “Enhanced senses sound like a lot of fun.”

  “Tell me about it.” They walked up to the shattered door. Alexi made out several spots where the frame had buckled and shattered.

  Savanna rapped her knuckles on the door frame. “Detective?”

  “In here, Savanna,” John’s voice came from the house.

  Alexi followed her in. The ruins of the door were swept to one side. Other than the pile of shattered wood, the house was immaculate. Nothing looked out of place or disturbed. No dust on the pictures so perfectly placed on the wall.

  The living room was spacious. No TV adorned the wall, just pictures of family and painting. A Chinese man sat on a long couch decorated with an assortment of tastefully coordinated cushions. Alexi guessed he was about forty, but the woman who sat next to him was much younger. She looked so much like John, they could have been twins.

  John smiled as she entered, and he bent to quickly kiss her cheek. He smelled good. “I’m glad you came.”

  “Of course. What happened?”

  The man said something in Chinese. Alexi didn’t understand his words, but she understood the tone.

  He didn’t want her here, she was sure of it. Despite that, she felt a surge of sympathy for him. He needed help—desperately—and yet was unable to ask for it.

  If Alexi couldn’t ask for help, she would literally be dead. She survived on the kindness of her friends, and of strangers.

  “Alexi, Savanna, this is my twin sister Sara, and her husband Li.” Had she not known John so well, the flat note in his voice as he said Li’s name would have gone unnoticed.

  A twin sister? He hadn’t told her. When the world was ending in a crush of zombies, all she had thought about was her own family. It hadn’t occurred to her to ask John about his.

  Sara made as if to rise and shake Alexi’s hand, but her husband pulled her back down with a quiet, sharp word. Alexi was left with her hand awkwardly in the empty air.

  “How exactly can these people help find our daughter?” Li asked, his voice accented but clear.

  “We may not be able to,” Savanna said gently. “We will try, but I don’t want to raise your hopes and then disappoint you.” As she spoke, Sara seemed to deflate, bending her head to rest it in her hands.

  Alexi looked again at the pictures on the mantle. Most of them showed a cute little girl with a bright smile.

  Their daughter had been taking. That adorable little girl. Alexi couldn’t imagine the pain these people were going through. She drew in a sharp breath, suddenly feeling as though a fist had closed around her heart.

  “Let me show you that thing I mentioned,” John said. “Upstairs.”

  They followed John to the second level of the house. The rest of the place matched the downstairs, down to the lovingly polished wooden railings.

  “I need to get the number of their cleaning lady,” Savanna muttered.

  “It’s my sister,” John said with a bit of growl in her tone. “Her husband is very particular.”

  A tall woman leaned against the wall next to one of the doorways, seemingly waiting for them.

  “Detective Summer, this is Alexi Creed, and Savanna Grace.”

  Detective Summer didn’t smile. “When you said a specialist, I imagined… well, not this.”

  “I know I’m asking a lot here, Detective,” John said to her, his voice apologetic. “Give me a little rope. I promise I won’t waste it.”

  Summer let out a sigh. “Okay. But don’t mess up my crime scene.”

  Alexi turned to John. “I don’t even know why—” Savanna walked past her into the room.

  “The door frame, Lex,” John said quietly. “Look at the door frame.”

  Alexi paused, craning her neck. Deep gouges cut through the frame, pushed deep into the plaster around it. As she stepped into the room to look closer a whiff of something odorous and sour hit her. She crinkled her nose.

  “Do you smell it?” Savanna asked.

  “This is what I smelled outside, only much more intense. It’s like, beer, cigarettes and… something else…”

  It was annoyingly familiar but she still couldn’t place it. She glanced back to John, he was speaking in hushed tones to the pretty detective. She could listen if she wanted to, but if he was whispering, he intended it to be private and she would respect that.

  The air stirred as Savanna conjured a small bit of magic to move the sheet back from the bed, revealing a bundle of twigs.

  “What in the hell?” Detective Summer began quietly, stepping forward.

  Savanna’s violet eyes glowed in the dark room casting an eerie light on everything. It didn’t faze Alexi, but then again, she was a vampire.

  “Detective Yu, can you please explain the situation to Detective Summer?”

  “I’m trying to. Detective Summer—the hall?”

  “A cold day in hell,” Summer snapped. “This is my crime scene. What is going on?”

  “Fine—just, give it a minute, ok? Let them work.”

  Whatever Savanna was seeing, she wasn’t sharing.

  What’s going on? She sent the words to her friend silently.

  Quiet, Alexi. I’m concentrating. The unspoken words were somehow absent and vaguely impatient, though she couldn’t really hear Savanna’s tone of voice.

  Alexi knelt to examine the carpet. A little yellow tag showed the location of the torn unicorn. She pushed her fingers into the carpet. There was a gouge in the carpet, disguised by the fibers, and in the pad beneath… and then the wood subfloor beneath that.

  There was that smell again. She leaned down to the carpet and sniffed. She closed her eyes and willed herself to ignore the scent of imported beer and cigarettes. There, underneath it all the smell of something primal. Something animal. Almost a wet dog—

  “Oh, crap,” Alexi said suddenly, jerking herself upright. She darted to the window. Both detectives had their hands on their guns.

  “Alexi?” Savanna turned to her.

  Alexi scanned the far side of the street. The dark woods were immersed in shadows. Seconds ticked by while she waited for her vision to adjust. If she caught the same scent outside, then it was likely whoever took the kid had lingered to see the aftermath.

  “Listen, I’ve—” Detective Summer began.

  “Just shut it for a minute, okay?” Alexi snapped. She could almost feel the woman prickle behind her, but she didn’t have any time to worry about that. The shadows within the trees finally faded, her vision sharpening.

  There… deep in the trees, where no human could possibly see him, stood a man. Stocky, but thick. Broad shoulders. He could be human, but her instincts told her otherwise.

  “He’s still here.”

  “Go,” the witch replied.

  If the man in the shadows knew she was on to him, he gave no sign. She couldn’t give him any time to figure it out. Alexi shot forward, crashing through the glass. A shout followed her. Detective Summers was in for an enlightening evening. thought she was on to him, he gave no sign.

  The ground came up fast and Alexi rolled with the impact, up and running as the shards of glass rained down behind her.

  She was halfway across the street before the man turned, and fled into the woods.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Detective Summers held an arm across the door frame, preventing
them from leaving. Savanna could hear the concerned parents below. “I don’t understand a damn thing you said in the hall. A witch? What—”

  “I don’t have time for this,” Savanna waved her hand. Eldritch energy burst forth from her fingers, bathing the room in an eerie blue light. Detective Summers gasped as the energy enveloped her and pressed her against the wall, letting Yu and Savanna by.

  “I’m really sorry, Christa,” John called over his shoulder. “I will explain everything when we get back, I promise.”

  Savanna was down the stairs and out the front door before she released the spell.

  “I thought you needed to… you know,” John made a cutting motion on his arm as they jogged across the street.

  “I did too.” Things had been different since they returned from the Fae, and Savanna didn’t quite understand it all—only that she didn’t seem to need blood any more. If only it had happened in time to save Connor.

  She slipped into her second sight as they reached the spot they had last seen Alexi. A bright smear of magical residue led deeper into the woods.

  “That way,” she pointed.

  “How do you know?”

  “They leave a kind of wake behind them as they move. If I’m right there when it happens, I can follow it. Come on, it’s already dissipating.”

  She took off at a run, and the Detective followed with his gun out. Savanna weaved between the trees, her vision letting her see the aura and the magic of the area. The trees were young, and full of life.

  A savage roar split the air.

  “What the hell was that?” John asked.

  “Werewolf,” Savanna said, unable to keep the shiver from her voice.

  Trees blurred by as Alexi ran. Her feet found sure footing almost on their own. She heard the pounding of footsteps ahead of her. The smell of cheap cologne and cigarettes left a trail, even if she couldn’t see him. She could barely stand the smell. How a wolf could endure it—that was beyond her.

  She ducked around a tree, vaulted over a fallen log, and slid on the wet ground as she touched down.

  Alexi saw it coming a moment too late. A massive branch collided with her chest, sending her flying backward.