Strange Fire

by Trina M. Lee

  I stretched on the mat, wincing when my shoulder cracked. “Naturally. So what’s the plan? Where do I find this fortune teller?”

  “She operates out of her house, near downtown. I’ll give you the address.” Cinder paused, tilting his head to one side as he regarded me thoughtfully. “It’s best if you don’t go alone. Can Jett join you?”

  Biting back a few choice curse words that would earn me a scolding frown, I sat up, shaking the kinks out of my upper body. “Not likely. Koda broke her wrist.”

  “That despicable creature. I look forward to the day he’s made to regret his choice to latch onto you.” Thinly veiled anger passed over Cinder’s face, gone as fast as it had come. He wasn’t one to hold onto such emotions for long. “Arrow perhaps? I imagine he’ll be interested, seeing as he had no problem accompanying you to the Black Market.”

  Another outing with Arrow? Just the two of us? He sure wasn’t the easiest person to be around, but he’d proven himself to be serious and somewhat reliable when it came to matters of the supernatural kind.

  “He did have a run-in with Saber, but I think he’d still be up for it as long as his injuries aren’t too serious. He might be in worse shape than Jett, but I can ask him.” I hesitated a second before adding, “Do you really think it’s a good idea to bring Arrow?”

  Cinder turned a wry expression on me. There might have been a hint of an eye roll. “Arrow is learning the value of being a team player. Being thrust out of Dash’s coven has forced him to reevaluate where he stands in this war. I do believe it’s good to bring him. You certainly found him worthy of joining you at the Black Market.”

  Touché.

  I nodded, unable to argue that. “Fair enough. I know you wanted him to be a team player. Too bad we’ve lost Rowen though.”

  Cinder wagged a finger in my face. “It’s not over until it’s over. You’ve all just begun this journey. Don’t be too quick to assume how it will end.”

  “You’re right. Thanks for the reminder.” I forced a smile. I knew he was right. Still, with the unleashing of Rowen’s full power so close, I couldn’t shake the unease.

  Because I couldn’t hide such things from Cinder, he slung an arm around my shoulders and pulled me in for a comforting hug. “Everything is as it should be. Trust that. Now, pick up that sword and prepare for another round. Unless you’d like to try some bareknuckle boxing?”

  CHAPTER SIX

  The ear-splitting squeal of feedback reverberated through The Spirit Room. The crowd of partiers booed. Paul, the lead singer of Sacred Stone, shot a middle finger up in the air before turning on his guitarist with a scowl.

  “Technical difficulties.” Jett watched the guys on stage argue amongst themselves. “Those hacks. They’ll never get out of this city.”

  Sipping a whiskey on the rocks, she managed to look comfortable on the cheap bar chair. She wore a black leather jacket to hide the bandage on her wrist. In a few days it would be healed in full, a handy werewolf trait, which meant hiding the injury until then. Unfortunately, even a short-lived injury kept her from coming along on any adventures of the angel and demon kind. So I really did have to ask Arrow. I wasn’t looking forward to that.

  Speaking of which, the dark nephilim in question made his way toward our table, a drink in each hand. Sam tagged along carrying a pitcher of beer. I assumed Rowen and Greyson to be backstage getting ready to go on next.

  Sam claimed the seat on Jett’s other side. Being her current boy toy, he plopped down and turned a playful grin on her. “Hey, baby. How’s it going?”

  She cast a glance at him that was part receptive, part judgmental. I could almost see her two sides at war with one another over this human plaything. “It’s always going.” When he leaned to kiss her, she pulled away. “And don’t call me baby. You know the rules.”

  Though she tried to come off tough, she couldn’t quite hide that she enjoyed his attention. Despite her insistence that Sam was just for fun, I suspected she genuinely liked him, though I knew better than to call her on it.

  Arrow glanced between the chair next to me and the one next to Sam, opposite me. He took the one across from me.

  That forced me to shout over the music of Sacred Stone, “I see the hospital let you go.” The stitched wound in his eyebrow and a dozen bruises marred his face. “No internal damage then?”

  “Nope. A few bruised ribs but it’s nothing I haven’t had before.” He slumped in his chair, as much as one could in these horrible things. Arrow’s eyes were heavily lined with black. One side was smeared slightly across the side of his face, as if he’d carelessly dragged a hand over it. Somehow it enhanced the sexy rocker look he wore so well. The swelling had receded considerably though he sported an obvious shiner.

  Beside us Sam and Jett laughed and flirted, caught up in their own world. They’d been this way for a while now. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous. The music covered my sigh as I casually looked around for Rowen. I knew he was around. Possibly avoiding me for a variety of reasons.

  Feeling eyes upon me, I half turned in my chair to find Koda’s red gaze locked on our table. Of course it was. Arms crossed, leaning against the wall near the door where he could watch the entire building, his scowl screamed how much he hated being here right now. Whether he was here to watch me or Rowen, I didn’t know. It didn’t really matter.

  I thought about Rowen’s request. Talking to Koda was one of the last things I wanted to do. But I’d do just about anything for Rowen. Ignoring the demon for now, I turned back to the table.

  Jett leaned in close to Sam, her burgundy lips against his ear. Under the table her hand gripped his thigh.

  “Gross,” Arrow remarked, grinning when he received the dirty look he’d sought from Jett. “This is a public place, you know. Have you no shame?”

  “None at all.” Sam barely acknowledged Arrow’s jibe. He stared at Jett like she was all his fantasies come true. She most likely was.

  “You’re one to talk, Arrow,” I quipped, “after everything you’ve done here.”

  Arrow shrugged and sipped from his drink. “Business is business. A guy’s gotta get paid.”

  So easily Arrow could go from seemingly not so bad to downright classless prick. Me and him alone on a recovery run? I was starting to doubt our ability to work together. Half the time I could barely refrain from smacking his smarmy face. The one time I’d punched him had been as satisfying as I’d anticipated.

  Maybe I’d just go alone and let Cinder think I planned to bring Arrow. Although that would make me a liar, and lying was one thing I just didn’t do. Not with Cinder. I respected him too much.

  Despite having my chance to ask Arrow to come along, I said nothing. Ignoring the make out session going on beside me, I played on my phone and cast occasional glances at the stage. I was eager for Molly’s Chamber to play. Nothing made me swoon like watching Rowen play. I resisted the urge to ask about him. Seeing him last night had reignited the flame I was constantly dousing with the waters of reality. It sucked.

  After watching Paul peacock around the stage for ten minutes, I turned back to Arrow, ready to ask him about the recovery job.

  He squinted at me expectantly.

  No point dressing it up in small talk. “Cinder has a job for me. Care to come with?”

  “Hell yeah.” Arrow chugged from one of his two drinks. “Just say when.”

  “Are you sure you’re up to it?” I gestured to his bruised face.

  He scoffed. “This? This is nothing. Besides, I’ve got enough painkillers in me to stock a pharmacy.”

  So that was that. Simple enough. So why did I feel so awkward about it?

  Sacred Stone ended their set, forcing Sam and Arrow backstage. Watching Sam disentangle himself from Jett was both laughable and cute. She didn’t go in for cute though, so already I felt bad for Sam. I doubted he knew everything he was in for.

  “I’m going out to smoke a J before the guys play.” Jett shoved her chair back and fis
hed a joint out of her bra. It had been crushed by her tightly bound and pushed-up breasts. She tried to squish it into any shape other than flat. “Eh, good enough. Coming?”

  “No, I’ll stay here and save the table.” What I didn’t say, because demonic ears might be listening, was that I hoped Koda would see me sitting alone and come hassle me. It would be far easier to get him to talk if he approached me.

  Several minutes passed as Sacred Stone cleared their gear off stage and Molly’s Chamber hauled theirs on. Although I attempted to distract myself with my phone and the mind-numbing drivel of social media, I couldn’t help but sneak repeated glances at Rowen. Black jeans and a Misfits t-shirt were paired with a spiked bracelet. A bass clef tattoo on his inner forearm stood out against his fair skin. His blue hawk fanned out perfectly, slicked up with hair product. He moved about the stage, plugging in his bass and running through the motions of a sound check while I gawked. And sighed. So. Lame.

  “Get a good look at him while you can. It’s just a matter of time until he’s nothing more than a memory.” Koda’s sly tone came as a much too close murmur in my ear.

  I spun around to find him sitting in Jett’s vacated chair. My cheeks warmed with rapidly growing anger. “And why’s that? What are you going to do to him, Koda?”

  The demon sat back, going for casual and careless. He regarded me with a knowing expression that grated on my every nerve. “That is what you want to know, isn’t it? Rhine’s rare, second-born child, the one sought after by both sides. You’d think I’d be as pleased as Dash to have him join us, but I’m not, and you’re driving yourself crazy wondering why.”

  He’d had plenty of time to watch me over the years, to get to know me. And know me he did. More than I’d ever be ok with. There was no fooling a demon who always stayed a step ahead.

  “Yeah, so?” I shrugged, pretending unsuccessfully to be unmoved by his too careful observation. “So why not tell me? It seems like you want to. Why don’t you want Rowen to join your triad? You can’t tell me you don’t want the power. I’d never believe that.”

  Koda studied me. His red gaze traveled over me. From my tousled black waves to the tips of my steel-toed boots. I refused to so much as squirm beneath his serpentine stare.

  “I’ll level with you, Spike.” A pause. Koda glanced about before leaning in conspiratorially. “I’ll gladly see Rowen dead before I’ll allow him to be initiated into the triad. The triad is over. And it needs to stay that way.”

  Like a cold glass of water in the face, panic washed over me. I sat perfectly still, trying to calm my racing heart. I’d known. All along I’d known. “It was you,” I accused. “You were the one who manipulated Arrow into trying to kill Rowen.”

  I didn’t need to see Koda’s slow grin to know I was right. I’d suspected it since the night Arrow had lost his mind and tried to kill Rowen, as well as Jett and me, due to the ridiculous belief that it was the only way to save his brother from Dash. A belief Koda had brainwashed into him.

  Koda nodded. “You don’t look surprised. Pity.”

  “I guess you’re not as clever as you think you are.” I shrugged, finding some satisfaction in his disappointment. “So why are you so against resurrecting the triad? Clearly you want to tell me since you’re sitting here talking so much shit.”

  The demon’s gaze strayed to the stage. He watched with a predatory intrigue as Rowen laughed with his drummer, Greyson.

  Perhaps I should’ve felt better having Koda finally admit the truth I’d already known. Instead a sick feeling blossomed in my gut. He had his own reason for telling me. That couldn’t be good.

  Emotionless, he said, “You should want to keep Dash from resurrecting it as well.”

  His dramatic pause, meant to unnerve me, succeeded. I held my breath and met his evil gaze, waiting for Koda to say something I didn’t want to hear. A waitress walked by with a tray laden with drinks. Koda plucked one from the bunch without her noticing. He pondered the contents of the glass, expertly dragging out my moment of pending horror.

  When I was about to give in to the growing urge to scream at him, he took a sip of what appeared to be bourbon and began to speak. “Dash isn’t content with being the monster beneath somebody’s bed or the ill-conceived voice in their ear. He has bigger aspirations. The upcoming planetary alignment gives him opportunity to dream big. So to speak.” Koda’s blood red stare found Rowen again. “Dash wants to use the triad to pursue one of his most bizarre goals. The eternal night.”

  “Eternal night?” I repeated. “What does that mean?”

  “Exactly what it sounds like, princess. A night that never ends. I’m certain I don’t have to tell you what that would bring about.” Swirling the liquor in his glass, Koda watched for my reaction with a curious tilt of his head.

  It made sense that a demon might long for such a thing. Running the idea through my mind painted an ugly picture of evil and mayhem. “Demons on the physical plane, in physical bodies. All the time.” There was no hiding the shudder that racked me. Dash wanted to break the rules. Big time.

  Demons were forced off the physical plane during daylight. It didn’t mean they couldn’t still lurk and cause all kinds of shit in an incorporeal form, but it did reduce their power greatly. One might assume a demon could merely hop time zones to avoid the power of the sunrise. However, most demons were assigned to specific people and places, which affected that capability. And though they were immortals, they were not infallible or without weakness. Eventually a trip back to the other side was necessary for them to regain strength.

  Dash wanted to change that. He wanted to dwell in the night. Always.

  I could only begin to imagine the repercussions of such a thing if he were to pull it off.

  “Exactly,” Koda said, his deceptively handsome face void of any joy. “You think it’s hard now to become a leader among nephilim, imagine how difficult it would be then.” From the tautness of his shoulders to the tense lines around his mouth, Koda seemed as uneasy with Dash’s vision as I was. Since when did a demon not revel in the promise of such chaos?

  “And why would an eternal night be such a bummer for you?” I asked, treading lightly. Koda was giving me a lot here, and I hadn’t done shit to get it out of him. That worried me. “You don’t seem too keen on it.”

  He scanned the room once, then a second time before fixing me with a raised brow. “Would you be keen on a war with the angels if you were me? Dash is inviting exactly that. The back and forth skirmishes we currently engage in is nothing compared to what will happen if Dash succeeds in his ego-driven madness.”

  All-out war. On the physical plane. My lungs froze, and for a moment I couldn’t breathe.

  Koda continued. “Long ago I accepted my place in the struggle between light and dark. There will always be battles, but the war that Dash will incite I want no part of. And neither should you.”

  Of course I didn’t. What he’d said alarmed me. I needed to discuss this with Cinder.

  “I’m going to find a way to stop him,” I declared. “There has to be something he wants more than he wants Rowen. Whatever that is, I’m going to find it.”

  Koda shook his head and pondered his drink. “There is nothing Dash wants more than he wants his triad back together. You’ll never be able to offer him enough. There is only one way to stop this from happening.”

  “No.” Clenching my fists, I sat up straighter. “Do not say it.”

  Koda too sat straighter. An ugly expression crossed his face, making him appear more demon than man. “Rowen has to die, Spike. For the greater good. For all of us. For mankind. Think about it. Sacrifice one to save many. Isn’t that kind of the foundation of the light?”

  “Shut up,” I hissed, gripped by sudden fury. “You don’t give a shit about mankind or anyone but yourself. You’re a coward.”

  Taking a slow, contemplative drink, Koda eyed me with grim satisfaction. “Say what you will, but you’re being driven by selfish desires. So much so t
hat you’re willing to bargain with a demon if it suits your purpose. Hasn’t Cinder explained to you that there are no shades of grey?”

  Was he right? Was I just as self-centered as Koda? Shame scorched me. Regardless of whether or not Koda spoke the truth, I couldn’t allow a demon to get in my head. “I have a duty to look out for my fellow nephilim. Abandoning Rowen would be forsaking that. I won’t do it.” There. That sounded like I meant it, but doubt plagued me.

  Koda finished his drink and shoved the glass aside before rising. “You know I have a soft spot for you, Spike. So I’ll give you a chance. But if you don’t find a way to save your precious Rowen from Dash before he can be initiated into the triad, I will kill him. You have eleven days.”

  I didn’t watch him walk away. Instead my gaze locked on the stage where Molly’s Chamber launched into their first song. Despite the heat inside the packed bar, a chill racked me. My mouth ran dry.

  Eleven days.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  A flashing neon sign blinked in the window of the rundown little bungalow. One of the letters was out so it beckoned us with Fortune Te ler. The house sat on the corner where a busy street met a residential area void of life. The whole situation had a horror movie vibe to it.

  “Ready to hear your future?” Arrow snickered, fearless in the face of certain gloom.

  “Shit no, I don’t buy into that kind of carnival act.” Not only did I find it all to pretty much be hokum, but if a so-called psychic did know my future, I sure didn’t want them to tell me.

  Since Arrow refused to ride in my old, beat-up Chevy Nova, his BMW sat in the parking lot of a 7/11 across the street. I glanced longingly toward it, wishing I’d passed on this particular assignment. Something about it just didn’t feel right now that I was here, standing outside the decrepit house.

  Arrow started up the front walk without me. “Let’s get this over with. I have to meet a guy about a thing later. Chop chop.” Damn drug dealer.