One Night to Burn (Fire, Stone and Water)

by Dawn, Autumn

  “Is that your final word? You will not negotiate?” Cara demanded.

  “There will be no negotiation. You are my prisoners.”

  Kira grinned and released the fire.

  Raze lifted his head like a hound scenting blood as they stepped from the portal. His warriors were experienced and knew how to shield against the cold, and Tremor’s barely felt it. “That way.” He firebird form shot into the air, surrounded by superheated air. His soldiers formed a cloud of sparks trailed by a huge dust storm.

  As a dust devil, Tremor sent him the impression of tremendous upheaval in the earth, elated to feel the power of his beloved, but worried, too. They’d sensed the power signatures when their wives let loose, even from Hawaii. Raze marveled at the raw power of Kira’s fire, so very like his own. He hadn’t felt power like that since before he’d been imprisoned, but as they drew closer, he sensed how close she was to losing control. She was young, high from roasting so many air elementals, and Cara’s massive earth energy was surging off the charts.

  They were close to causing destruction that would shatter the continent.

  Kira’s fire leapt at his approach like an eager puppy, ready to burst forth in a super volcano. The earth rippled, begging to move plates, to stretch and yawn with gaping, jagged teeth.

  The elemental kings didn’t need to confer, shooting directly for their mates, seizing control of the seething elements. Tremor opened a hole in the rig and Raze shot in, gathered his wife, and plunged into the fire stream.

  Though she was in human form, Kira communicated like a spark, rushing him with gladness, with passion and fire. She invited him wordlessly to burn with her.

  Raze groaned and pushed away the erotic urge to revel in the power of a super volcano. “No, love, no. Easy now. Let me…no, don’t fight. Let me have it.” He sternly reeled her power in, resisting the tug on his heart when she wailed. She’d been having fun, and he ruined it.

  By turns passionate and petulant, so like a child in the dawn of her power, she finally conceded to his control with a huff…which she promptly spoiled by kissing him passionately.

  He nearly lost control of the volcano.

  When they finally emerged from the fire stream, he was prickly with unspent lust and aggression. He wanted to burn something.

  He noticed that Tremor wasn’t any happier, though his young wife looked smug and definitely smoldering.

  Raze’s eyes narrowed. That rake! In the middle of a battle? He shot Kira a look of automatic speculation and shook his head. No, he needed to concentrate. Some of them had to be responsible.

  He did lean over and suggest something in Kira’s ear, though.

  Her eyes widened in delight and she grinned. She also pinched his butt.

  He smothered a groan. Enough.

  The South Wind had either never encountered a young elemental of such colossal natural power or had forgotten what their kind could do. She cowered behind her general, attempting to shield her remaining defenses with wind, but she was no warrior. She had not expected war to begin yet and she was unprepared, stunned by her approaching doom.

  With two elemental kings burning for vengeance, ruin became a reality.

  Raze grinned with savage delight as he kicked aside the body of her dead general. “Oh, South. We have so much to discuss.”

  It was late when Kira and Raze got home. The South Wind’s power had been stripped and passed to a successor, because power like that could not be left in a vacuum. The process had rendered the South Wind comatose. Her body was imprisoned deep in the ice, guarded by rings of iron and fire, where she would remain until her spent shell expired.

  “Fine, but what about the Oracle?” Kira said as they exited the portal into the lava room. Now that Raze had sucked her power into her ruby, she felt tired and cranky. “Your army’s ready, and they kick butt! Why not wipe her out?”

  “Bloodthirsty, aren’t you?” Raze said, taking her in his arms with a sigh of satisfaction. Finally! “She knows about you and Cara’s little skirmish by now. Even if we were willing to do the kind of destruction you nearly did, she is protected from elemental power. While we could physically overwhelm her, it would not be without cost; many of us would die. She is unlikely to try to directly attack and provoke us, however. She’s not suicidal.”

  Kira sniffed, but let him nuzzle her neck. Mm, nice. “But you’re going to get her one day, right?”

  “Yes, my little firebug,” Raze said, exasperated. “Now, will you pay attention to me?” He rubbed against her, demonstrating just how much he needed her attention.

  With a wicked grin, she gave him all the fire he could handle.

  It was weeks later when Kira glanced through the mail and saw a letter from an Alaskan address to “Mr. and Mrs. Fire”. Curious, she opened it and went straight to Raze’s office for an explanation.

  “You set my mother up in a gated community?” she demanded.

  He set aside some papers he was perusing to give her his full attention. “I did.”

  “This letter is from her “personal assistant” about her allowance. She has an allowance?” She rattled the paper, incredulous. “She tried to kill you!”

  “Hence the personal assistant; my servant. He’s there to watch, as well as see to her care.”

  She couldn’t get past it. “I told her she wasn’t welcome in our house, that she’d get no more of your money. She might try to hurt you.” Her voice broke. She couldn’t bear it if anything happened to him.

  He rose and took her in his arms. “That was very sweet, but she can’t hurt me, my love. Her new home is a very comfortable prison, and she’s too fearful of the Oracle to risk bargaining with her again. She won’t risk my wrath. She regrets putting you in danger.”

  “But not you!” Kira huffed.

  Raze smiled. “I’m doing this for you, my love. I don’t care if you never speak to her again, but part of you is grateful she’s cared for. You’ll outlive her, and I won’t have you feeling regret.” He smiled wryly. “Besides, she plays cribbage well.”

  Kira goggled. “You play cribbage?”

  “She hungers for news of you. It passes the time while we talk.”

  Kira shut her mouth with a click. Well.

  Raze laughed and kissed her temple. “Kings spend a lot of time talking to those who’d like to kill us. Your mother and I will be comfortable enemies, never fear.”

  “You’re quite a man, Your Majesty.”

  He smiled playfully. “Worth burning for?” The question was flip, but there was something serious beneath.

  She narrowed her eyes, unwilling to make any admissions. The man had too much confidence as it was. “Shut up and kiss me.”

  He laughed, and did.

  “Another happy ending,” Providence sighed, turning away from the scrying glass.

  Fortune grunted. “They’re hardly done.”

  “Yes, but the romance is well bloomed,” Fortune insisted. “You can see they’re perfect for each other. Raze has come along nicely.”

  “Speaking of romance,” Destiny broke in, watching yet another mirror, this one overlooking a stormy sea. “We have work to do.”

  Providence grinned and clapped her hands. “Oh, I can’t wait.”

  Fortune grumbled as she set aside her weaving. “Fine, let’s get it over with. I have more weaving to do.”

  Destiny smiled as she ignored her sister’s squabbles. She did so love her job.

  The End

  About the author:

  Autumn (also writing as R. Lilly) is a professional writer and stay at home mom with three kids, a dog and an active imagination. She’s married to her high school sweetheart, John, who is known to bring her flowers "just because".

  After 34 years in Alaska, she moved to Washington with her family to enjoy a state with actual seasons.

  She started self-publishing in 2010 after a string of rejections that read, “We love your writing, but we’re not sure how to market it.” She published on S
mashwords, Amazon and Barnes & Noble, which lead to a number of bestsellers. After The Charmer hit #1 on Barnes & Noble for fantasy romance, she threw herself into editing and uploading her backlist.

  The next year and a half passed in a blur as she worked non-stop, and productivity declined as she took time to homeschool her autistic son, who was suffering from bullying issues. With boxing lessons and a year to boost his confidence and academic skills, he’s now doing well in mainstream high school.

  The strain of maintaining a business and home schooling while taking care of her family was draining, but God blessed her efforts and the results were worth it. Her income for 2011 was $100,000, far exceeding her best year with traditional publishing.

  In 2012, Amazon acquired Dorchester books and Autumn gave Amazon the right to publish two of her Spark Series books, When Sparks Fly and No Words Alone, believing that diversification is good business.

  While Autumn is grateful for the opportunities traditional publishing provided, she remains passionate about self-publishing.

  For more about her books, check out autumndawnbooks.com

  Connect with Autumn online at:

  www.autumndawnbooks.com

  http://authorautumndawn.blogspot.com

  Bibliography:

  Spark Series:

  When Sparks Fly Amazon books

  No Words Alone Amazon books

  Solar Flare

  Anthology for the Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance:

  Hemlock & Iron

  Indie books:

  Dark Lands Series:

  The Charmer

  Dark Lands: Homecoming

  Scent of Danger

  The Golden Bell

  Ghost in Her Heart

  Beast Wars

  Dark Lovers Anthology (includes The Golden Bell & Homecoming)

  Dark Warriors Anthology (includes Ghost in Her Heart & Beast Wars)

  Ladies in Waiting:

  The Woman Inside

  The Other Woman

  Through the Looking Glass

  Draconian Series:

  Ride the Stars

  Careful, He Bites

  Aliens Do it Better: Anthology featuring Careful, He Bites and Interstellar Lover

  Interstellar Lover

  Under the Bridge

  Women, Whiskey & Gold

  Fire, Earth & Water Series:

  One Night to Burn

  Excerpt from The Charmer

  Jasmine didn’t realize her friend Wiley was special until they were drawn into another world. Here Wiley is betrothed to the ruler of the Haunt, a wererace both dangerous and proud. Cousins to wolves, they have no place for a human, especially one helping their reluctant princess escape.

  Will Jasmine find the portal home, or will she find a wolf of her own?

  ***

  The Charmer

  by

  Autumn Dawn

  * * * * *

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Autumn Dawn

  The Charmer

  Copyright © 2011 by Autumn Dawn

  www.autumndawnbooks.com

  * * * *

  CHAPTER 1

  “Wait a minute, Lemming! Let me catch my breath,” Jasmine gasped as she clutched a slender poplar for balance. A shower of bright leaves and water peppered her head and shoulders as the tree swayed. For a moment, her vision blurred and her legs trembled, but she stiffened them to wait out the asthma attack. The painful tightness in her chest nagged at her.

  Grumbling, she dug out her inhaler and took a couple puffs. She hated resorting to medicine. Every couple of days it seemed, the TV would announce that people were getting cancer from some drug or another. Her favorite ads were the ones for male impotence that announced in fine print that the side effects included impotence. Next they’d announce that inhalers caused black lung.

  She shook her head at her imagination and shoved the inhaler deep in her pocket. There was no sense being morbid.

  Lemming trotted over to her, tail wagging, and sat gracefully at her feet. The black and white Border collie was used to such stops, but unlike her companion, she still had energy to burn.

  Jasmine inspected a large rock that had washed free of the sticky clay, looking for ants. Satisfied, she shifted the holstered pistol on her hip and sat down gingerly. Cold seeped into her jeans from the lichen covered stone, even with the extra layer of long johns underneath. She ignored it and took in the view.

  Densely wooded Alaskan hills rolled away in the distance without a sign of civilization. Autumn had hung her gold coins from every birch and cottonwood as far as the eye could see, and the golden wash of late evening sunlight showed them to their best advantage. Even the dark spruce covering the gentle slopes were sprinkled with the bright leaves.

  She glanced at her watch, her breath frosting in the chill air. It was 7:44 P.M, and it would start getting dark soon. This late in September, it could snow at any time. Too bad it wasn’t June. If it were then she wouldn’t have to worry about the darkness at all, since the sun never set during the height of summer.

  She stood and hefted her pack, her lungs giving a tired protest. To cheer herself, she counted her blessings. She could have been born allergic to chocolate, or dogs. She glanced at Lemming affectionately.

  Come to think of it, if she’d been allergic to dogs, she wouldn’t have to be out here.

  Suppressing a groan, she pushed herself to her feet and started out again. Wiley better have something hot on the fire, or there would be war. The least her friend could do after coaxing her into the boonies was to make camp.

  Rapidly losing steam, she trudged up the trail, really little more than a brushy track, noting the moose nuggets and cloven hoof prints in the soft turf without enthusiasm. She didn’t fancy running into an irate cow with a calf. She didn’t want to spend the evening stuck in a Mexican standoff while the cow tried to decide if she was worth trampling or better off ignored.

  While she was looking down she noticed the bounty of cranberry bushes. It really was a shame she didn’t have the energy to stop and pick some. They were plentiful this year and she could use a good batch of cranberry bars.

  Hey, while she was dreaming, how about a hot date, an end cut of the Turtle Club’s prime rib and a dry pair of socks?

  Maybe she should be dreaming about a hot date for Wiley, she thought with disgust. If her friend and roommate paid more attention to her love life, maybe she wouldn’t feel the need to run off to the woods at a moment’s notice. It was all great and well if Wiley had the itch to commune with nature, as long as she didn’t drag her friends into it.

  The only itch Jasmine felt were the ones left by the hordes of gnats and mosquitoes. It was almost pointless using repellent; the mosquitoes mistook it for ketchup and came back for seconds.

  Lemming barked from somewhere up ahead, signaling that she’d found Wiley’s camp. Jasmine’s head came up and she eagerly picked up her pace. In a minute she’d be sipping hot cocoa and roasting herself in front of a fire. Wiley would sweet talk her with chili and she’d forget she’d just spent the last hour stomping through the woods.

  She entered the mossy clearing where Lemming waited and stopped, confused. It was empty.

  Later, as Jasmine nursed a cup of cocoa by a fire she’d had to make herself, she tried to figure out what could have happened. At first she’d circled the area, calling Wiley’s name and trying to find evidence as to her recent occupation. It occurred to Jasmine that her friend had played a trick, maybe hid higher on the hill and grinned as she watched Jasmine wade through stickers and brush. It wasn’t like her to make Jas worry, though.

  As full dark descended, she had known Wiley wasn’t playing a game. Something had happened to her friend, and it was too dark to make her way back to the Jeep to get help. If Wiley had tumbled down a hill, it would be no help to her if Jasmine got lost herself. Instead she tried to reason out what might have happened.

  Wiley might take off at a moment’s notice on her perverse games of
hide and seek, but she always left a map, and she never strayed from it. If she said she was going to be forty-five minutes east of the Dalton Highway that’s where they’d find her. Or rather, Lemming would find her, and Lemming always found her quarry.

  She glanced at the search and rescue dog Wiley had trained from a pup. Lemming rested quietly at Jasmine’s side with her chin on her paws, content with a job well done. Jasmine had tried to get her to keep tracking, but she’d only sat down, looked at her in confusion, and thumped her tail once. As far as she was concerned, her job was over.

  Jasmine sighed and scratched an itch under her black Road Runner stocking cap. She was worried, but tried not to dwell on it. It wouldn’t help the situation. Besides, there might be a good explanation for this.

  She noticed a sticker bush twig in Lemming’s fur. Gently, she removed it and flicked it into the coals. So now what? She didn’t plan to stay in grizzly and wolf infested woods any longer then she had to. At first light she’d pack up and go for help. Maybe if she kept her eyes open she’d see signs of her friend.

  She coughed as smoke suddenly blew into her face and moved around the fire.

  Well, there was nothing more she could do right now, and she was tired of having the fire roast her front end while the cold air behind froze her rear. Time to crawl into her tent, shuck down to her long johns and hope she wouldn’t have to shiver too long before the down sleeping bag warmed up. Though come to think of it, the night almost seemed to be getting warmer.

  Scoffing at her wishful thinking, she stood and kicked dirt over the fire. That’s when she saw them.

  Eyes.

  Freaky, glowing golden eyes. Lots of them.