Of Flame and Promise

by Cecy Robson

  “Awake and pissed.” I struggled against the handcuffs, but all I did was dig the metal into my skin. When I tried to kick my legs out, it occurred to me that hey, look at that, they were shackled, too. “Where are we?”

  He released a growl intermixed with a frustrated breath. “The Tribe stronghold where they’ve been housing the demon children.”

  “You have to be kidding me.”

  The nearby flapping of wings followed by rather enthusiastic and wet munching confirmed his suspicions. Awesome. Just awesome.

  Fear pumped adrenaline through me, shaking off whatever tranquilizer the vamps had shot me with. Everywhere I looked, I caught sight of something new and more gruesome. Deep claw marks scarred the concrete floor, the bars in front of us, and the cinder-block wall. Whatever had been caged before us had fought to escape. The stained red concrete made it clear it hadn’t made it out in one piece, if it had made it at all.

  “Are you hurt, Taran?” Gem asked.

  It was then that I realized how hoarse he sounded. My head pounded from stress and my throat throbbed where the vamp had choked me. But I was alive.

  At least for now.

  “Some bruising, but nothing serious….” My voice trailed as I realized who was missing. “Gem, where are your parents?”

  “In the cell beside ours.”

  “Are they okay?”

  “Father is weak from vomiting, but Mother is well and keeping him warm.”

  “And how are you?” He sounded awful. As he edged off me I tried to sit up, waiting for him to tell me he was fine.

  But he wasn’t.

  A gold spear extending past his shoulders circled tight against his throat, and gold shackles bound his wrists and ankles. Sweat poured down his face. I wasn’t sure how long we’d been out, but it didn’t take long for cursed gold to sicken a were or vamp.

  I tried to scoot closer. “Jesus, baby…are you okay?”

  His face momentarily flushed only for beads of sweat to form along his forehead. “The gold from the shackles is taking its toll, and there’s a bullet lodged in my stomach. My twin is too weak to leave me with all the gold encasing us.”

  My eyes swept over his paling skin. Blood caked his abdominal muscles, but I didn’t see a wound. “It healed,” he said before I could ask.

  I crinkled my brow. “Then it’s not gold, right? If it was, it would burn and keep the wound open, correct?”

  “Yes. But something isn’t right. I’m not sure what it is, but there’s something odd about the alloy. I don’t know if it’s tainted with magic or cursed, but its negative effects are poisoning my body.” His hard expression met mine. “We have to get out of here.”

  Slurp, slurp, chomp, chomp, followed by more excited flapping. I pushed aside the chills those freak demons riled and tried to think. “Can you change?”

  His hoarse voice stiffened. “No, this device around my neck is jagged. If I change, it will slice my head off.”

  I swore under my breath. “They were looking for food, weren’t they? And I take it we’re their groceries?”

  “For their leeches and demons,” he answered. My blood boiled over, this time with fear I could no longer suppress. I nuzzled up against him for comfort as he continued. “From what I heard, they’re to move out by nightfall.” He waited as if debating what to say. “One of the weres recognized me,” he admitted.

  This wasn’t good news. I swallowed hard. “If they know you, they’ll try to kill you, won’t they?”

  “Ordinarily, I’d agree. But I think they plan to keep me and Mother alive. As weres, our kind provides longer, more satisfying feeds. Vampires can drink from us for months, possibly even years, as we replenish our blood supply quicker. Since we can also regrow limbs, they’ll sever our arms and legs for meat to feed the demons—”

  “I’m going to stop you right there, big guy.” Horror ripped through me. This couldn’t be happening.

  Sets of heavy footsteps echoed down from a row of nearby stairs. “Shit, grab ’em,” someone growled as shrieks and frantic flapping ensued.

  “Goddamnit!” another yelled.

  What sounded like cage doors were slammed shut. “Get them upstairs and load them up with the others. They should be satisfied by now.”

  Metal rattled and someone grunted. “Grab the other end,” yet another Tribesman muttered. “I don’t want to get bit.”

  The crazed flapping and shrieking from the demon children seemed to fade as a few pairs of feet hurried up the creaky wooden steps. But the Tribesmen weren’t all gone, and those who remained gathered at the bars in front of us.

  A were in really ugly flannel rubbed his arm where one of the demon children had taken a chunk. But it was the vamp with the lengthening incisors who spoke. “Well, well, well. Looks like sleeping beauty is finally awake.”

  Gem snarled, positioning himself in front of me. I screamed when the vamp lifted his gun and fired. The shot struck Gem in the stomach, its force hurtling him back against the wall beside me. The Tribesmen swarmed in, three shoving him back as he fought to return to where I lay.

  “Get away from him,” I shrieked. “Don’t you touch him!”

  The two vamps standing before me reached for the snaps on their jeans and shoved their waistbands down past their hips. “You should be more worried about yourself, cutie,” one of them said.

  Gem went ballistic, shoving his way forward. I didn’t move, watching, waiting, and focusing, allowing the vamp to reach for the front of my dress before I exploded with fire and set him ablaze.

  My magic was hindered with my hands tied behind me. But flame and light could still protect me and encase me with its power.

  The vamp lit up like a torch and exploded—spraying us with his dusty remains. I choked on ash as his buddies slid over his leftovers, falling over each other in their mad scramble out.

  Gem rolled forward, desperate to reach me. But I was blind to anything but the fleeing vamps.

  My breath released in pained bursts. They were going to rape me. I should have been scared out of my mind, but only fury reigned, knowing how bad they’d hurt my wolf.

  The vamp hoisting his jeans up hissed through the bars. “Just as well,” he spat. “I don’t want the whore of a werewolf.”

  My glare trained on him. “At least he has a bat, not a light switch for a penis.”

  Gem’s furious face lessened in severity. “Taran—”

  “Keep talking, you ball-less bastard,” I snapped. “You’ll never be the stud he is in bed.”

  “Taran—”

  I motioned to Gem’s lap. “You think he’s hung now, you should see him when I work that log—”

  “Taran!”

  “What, babe?” I asked, getting annoyed. I was on a roll, and these idiots deserved far worse than my words.

  He spoke through gritted teeth. “My parents can hear you.”

  Oh, yeah…them.

  Oops.

  From the other side of the wall, Pop muttered something in Japanese. Whatever it was turned Gem’s pale face crimson.

  The vamp hadn’t appreciated the penile belittling and bashing of his boys. A sinful grin lit his face. “The lead demon child hasn’t had his fill. But maybe the old ones will satisfy his needs.”

  My eyes widened as the vamps disappeared from sight. Gemini waited for their quick steps to bound up the stairs, and for a metal door to slam shut, before speaking fast. “Taran. Use your fire to burn through my restraints.”

  “I can’t. With my hands bound I can only surround myself with fire. To generate enough heat to melt the restraints, I’d burn you.”

  “Don’t worry about me—I’ll heal.” When he sensed my hesitation, his voice lowered to more of a plea. “Taran, it’s the only way we’ll get out alive.”

  About every swear word I knew spouted from my lips. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I also didn’t want us to die. “Get your hands behind mine,” I managed.

  I drew several breaths as he positioned h
is back against mine. “Can you see where my hands are?”

  He squirmed against me. “Yes.”

  I extended my finger. “Put the center of the chain against it.” The moment I felt the metal slide against my skin, I bent my knuckle around it. “Okay. Here goes.”

  I focused my energy on the links and took a deep breath, forcing my surrounding flame to slide along my skin and move toward my hands. Something sparked, causing Gem to grunt and jump. Nausea dug a hole in my belly as the smell of his smoking skin filled my nose. I cringed, trying not to gag. “Oh, God. Are you all right?”

  He gasped as I withdrew my power. “Your fire is building and expanding outward. Can you keep it centered on the links?”

  My head slumped forward. “I’m trying. But the longer it burns, the more it expands.”

  “What about pinching it between your fingers.”

  “I can try.” I adjusted my body so I could reach the chain and secure it with my thumb and finger. He bit back a growl, but unlike before, I could feel the metal begin to melt within my grasp.

  My fingers felt close to joining when the metal door opened with a bang and heavy clawed feet scraped along the steps. What sounded like a mammoth tail slapped against the wooden stairs until it reached the floor below and dragged along the concrete.

  The lead demon had come to feast.

  My heart thumped against my chest as I panicked—knowing I wouldn’t be done in time to help Gem’s parents. The image of their cold scowls faded, replaced with one of fear in their eyes and horror etched into their wrinkled features when the demon lurched forward and took his first bite.

  Angry and frightened tears leaked from my eyes. I couldn’t allow his parents to be eaten—I didn’t want Momma and Pop to die!

  “Taran, calm down and focus. You need to finish, love.”

  The cell door beside us was thrown open and a throaty, wet growl filled my ears. Moist splatters peppered the cement like rain. The demon was hungry, drool dripping from his voracious mouth. For a moment he seemed to watch, taking in the feast before him. But then from one breath to the next, he attacked.

  Large wings flapped and the floor shook as the demon shot forward. They were going to die—they were going to be eaten—they—

  I forced the heat to increase between my fingers, burning myself when my power rebounded.

  “Taran, stop,” Gem growled through clenched teeth. “I don’t want you hurt!”

  “But your parents—”

  Flying demon innards smacking against the far wall and sliding against the cinder block completely shut me up. The demon’s entrails slithered into our cell like wet snakes, before drying near my bare feet. I gagged, but somehow managed to keep from vomiting.

  Gem’s shoulders slumped. “Taran,” he said patiently. “My mother may be elderly, but she’s still a werewolf.”

  “Ah…right.”

  I blinked back my remaining tears and shook my head to clear it. With a determined breath, I focused hard, gathering my flame. It took some doing, and a lot more supernatural muscle, but finally Gem grunted and broke through the dissolving links.

  He snapped the cuffs from his wrists and the shackles binding his feet, flinging each to the side and far from his body. His form shuddered with relief from the loss of gold, but also with weakness. My wolf wasn’t doing so hot. Yet he steeled himself, gripped the choker tight, and ripped it down the center.

  He swayed from the effort but forced himself to work fast, stripping me of my bonds and wrenching me to my feet. My hands throbbed from the burn I’d caused, but I was still in better shape than my lover. I rubbed my sore wrists, watching trickles of sweat stream down Gem’s back as he kicked open the door to the cell.

  We raced into the hall, our bare feet crunching over dry demon parts, and into the next cell. Gem’s parents were bound but unharmed, wearing the same stone-faced expressions as always.

  Evidently, they liked the idea of being demon food about as much as they liked me.

  I jumped when Momma spat a large chunk of something nasty near my feet. “Larynx,” Gem said, pointing. “And probably part of a jugular.”

  I looked from the shriveling mound back to her, and back at the nastiness again. “Your mother ripped out his throat with her human teeth?”

  Considering her unflinching scowl, Momma seemed quite proud of herself then. Instead of answering me, Gem beckoned the beast within him.

  His twin ripped from his back, positioning himself to guard as Gem freed his folks. I glanced around their cell, my eyes latching on to a small window. Just beneath it lay an empty utility bucket. I kicked it over and stood on it, looking out to a frozen dirt lot with a large stretch of forest running along its perimeter. Feet hurried past me as Tribesmen lifted cages packed with demon children onto the back of a large freight truck.

  Gem hurried to where I stood, his gaze taking everything in. “Do you know where we are?” I asked.

  He took a breath. “North of Tahoe from what I can tell, but I can’t be certain.” He huffed. “There are too many of them, and not enough of us. I’ll draw their fire. You and my parents,get to the woods and head south. Don’t worry about me. I won’t be far behind.”

  My magic sparked as my stare locked on to the screeching demon children being loaded like freaky livestock. As much as I wanted to live, we couldn’t just run. They were being transported to their next safe haven to feed from and breed with innocent women.

  I turned to Gem, my hands crackling with blue and white flames. “Uh, uh, uh, babe. No one draws fire like me….”

  Chapter 15

  We made our way up the stairs, where Gem listened closely. The entire haven was bustling with activity but it seemed to be directed outside. “I don’t like this,” Gem muttered.

  “You said yourself we need a distraction and that we’re outnumbered,” I whispered tightly.

  “Which is why I should lead this attack,” he snarled.

  I snarled back, or at least I tried to. But all I managed was to drool on Pop’s shoulder. I wiped it with my nasty hands and went all Jersey on my wolf. “Fine. Lead it. But if you want a diversion, I can make a lot more noise.”

  “Taran—” Gem started, but he was cut off by his father, who began to argue with him in Japanese. Gem barked back, furious.

  Momma frowned my way. “How do you plan to distract them?”

  It was Gem who answered for me. “She means to summon sunlight born of magic.”

  Oh, and didn’t I have his parents’ attention then? Pop narrowed his eyes. “You can do this?”

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  Momma eyed me up and down. If it were possible, her scrutiny of me was more severe than, like, ever.

  Vamps, demons, and demon children were immune to the sunshine. But sunlight born of magic was considered “pure” light and its power would burn them to ash. A gal like me capable of something pure? Yeah, I was. It shocked many. Including Momma. Hey, including me.

  “But you are not a witch,” she said slowly.

  “Which is why it will leave her weak and vulnerable,” Gemini said. His stare darkened. “I can’t ask this of you.”

  “You’re not asking,” I said. “But I am telling you I’m going to do this.”

  Gemini’s parents spoke quickly in Japanese. Gem shook his head slowly, clearly disagreeing with what they were saying. I couldn’t understand a word and it pissed me off.

  “If you’re going to talk about me, at least say what you have to say in a language I can understand.”

  Gem’s folks stared at me like I’d struck them with lightning, but Gem kept his expression hard. “They have guns, and weapons, and numbers we do not have on their side. I don’t want to lose you.”

  “I don’t want to lose you, either,” I said, my voice shaking. “Any of you. So let me try.”

  “No,” Gem answered.

  Pop spoke low and rough, but there was a softness to it I hadn’t heard before. “You will lose each other if you do not l
et your mate help us, Tomo.”

  Yeah. We were pretty screwed. I was a tough girl, but it was hard to be tough knowing this could be goodbye. “Just clear me a path to the truck, and trust me to do the rest—”

  I meant to say more, that I was sorry for all the royal screw-ups and that it had been my honor to meet them. Most of all, I wanted to thank Gemini for loving me. But all the kind words I meant to share lodged in my throat when a vampire wrenched open the door.

  Gem’s twin wolf lurched forward, decapitating the vamp in one bite. His human half exploded in wolf form, leaping over the remains and speeding ahead. There was a scream and the blast of a shotgun, and Christ in heaven, it scared the life out of me. But now was no time to hide.

  His parents and I scrambled forward into an old kitchen in time to see my wolves dive through the windows on either side of the door.

  More gunshots, more screaming—Gem was taking on the entire camp alone! The kitchen door burst into splinters and several armed weres rushed in. Pop dove on top of me, forcing me to the floor. I couldn’t see anything, but I heard more than I wanted to know.

  Growls erupted and a barrage of bullets zipped over us, busting holes into the walls and doors and raining chunks of plaster and wood around us. I lay across the warped floor, covering my head, terrified it was over before it could actually start, until Pop’s weight abruptly lifted.

  Only the distant sounds filled the kitchen. I peered up to find a pure white wolf with a black streak down her back covered in blood and panting with excitement. She bounded over the carnage of dead weres, disappearing outside the door in fewer than two strides.

  I rose slowly, trying to step around the bleeding corpses and severed heads. “Taran,” Pop urged.

  I startled. Pop stood before me with two assault rifles strapped to his back and holding a third, while his free hand pointed to the open oven. “Distraction,” he said.

  Between Momma going all psycho and Pop ready to take on the Terminator, I have to admit, I needed a moment. Yet considering the air of death in the kitchen was quickly being replaced with the reek of gas, it wasn’t a very long moment.

  I nodded like an imbecile and hurried forward, sliding over a pool of blood, and of course swearing, since that’s how I rolled. “Yay, team,” I muttered.