Before the Storm

by Claire Ashgrove

  “Not now, Beth,” Kale bit out tightly.

  Beth looked down her nose at me, her entire demeanor that of someone who knew she was superior. “Even the most incredibly weak-willed Tolvenar would never choose to turn their soul over to eternal servitude. If she even remembers the day she met your father now, I’m sure she would run away.”

  “What?” Once more I shoved at Kale, and this time, his loose hold let me escape. I turned to face Beth completely. “What did you just say?” Surely I hadn’t heard her correctly.

  “Beth,” Kale warned in a harsh guttural bark.

  Her gaze skipped to him, and a self-satisfied smirk pulled at the corners of her mouth. I’m sure she didn’t mean for me to see it. But Kale’s immediate glower told me I hadn’t imagined the snide expression. She was enjoying this. Why didn’t matter—she’d distinctly implied my mother was still living.

  “Is my mother alive?” I demanded.

  She gave a nonchalant shrug of dainty shoulders. “If you can call it such. Though, technically, I suppose not.”

  No. Fucking. Way. My mother was alive, and Kale hadn’t mentioned it? Hell, he’d carried on seemingly intent on letting me believe she’d died in that car wreck. I spun on him. “You asshole! Where is she? Is she here, somewhere, in the camarilla?” Not waiting for his answer, I pivoted on my heel, intent on finding her for myself.

  “Halle!” he called after me.

  I broke into a jog. “Stay the hell away from me!” I’d find my mother and the both of us would escape this damned place of lies and deceit. To hell with Kale. He was worst of all them, sweetening me up, making me think he was concerned about me. All the while knowing my mother was alive.

  Damn it! She had to be here somewhere—maybe through that padlocked door in the stairwell.

  Anger surged through me, prickling my fingertips with the sheer enormity of it. I felt the energy rising around me, the electrical charge, and pushed it down. Not now. If it was going to come, I needed it for when I reached that locked entry. Wasting a good fit of rage would only slow me down.

  I ran faster. “Mom! Where are you?”

  My voice bounced off the stone as I burst into the corridor. To my absolute horror, my vision blurred with tears. “Mom!” I choked out, “I’m here!”

  Fifteen

  In the same instant I screamed, a flash of blinding white light erupted in front of me. I skidded to a stop, momentarily certain I’d somehow produced the blast. But as I blinked bright yellow orbs out of my vision, the thrum of power hummed beneath my skin. Nope, definitely not me.

  Flames shot forth from the walls, no less than ten feet ahead. I shrank from the heat, edging backward, one arm lifted to shield my face. Jesus, Beth must be strong, if she could produce fire from stone. I absolutely wasn’t going to piss her off. Not in this lifetime at least.

  “Stop running, Halle.”

  The commanding, masculine voice behind me was the last one I’d expected, though I shouldn’t have been surprised. I turned to glower at Kale.

  “She’s not alive.” He lifted his left palm, fingers spread, then slowly closed them. The flames winked out of existence.

  Shit. He had produced that? I came to a dead stop. Maybe I should seriously reconsider pissing him off. No, screw that. I’d had enough of his games. He’d just come dangerously close to roasting me. If I’d been running any faster, he’d have lit me up like an explosive. Another surge of energy roiled through my bloodstream, and my hands began to shake. I glanced down, observing a strange turquoise tint spanning between my knuckles.

  “Not in the way you think of alive.” He stopped two feet in front of me. “Stop and listen, and I’ll explain.”

  “The hell you will! You just tried to barbeque me!” As the angry outburst exploded off my lips, something exploded off my fingertips. I felt the zing as power shot through them, and stumbled backward with the force. In the place where I’d been standing, the stone floor cracked. Thorny vines as thick as my wrist crept from the fissure, weaving across the ground, twining toward the walls, and entangling with each other. In seconds, I couldn’t see Kale through the thick barrier, just brown overgrowth with points as sharp as ice picks.

  Wow.

  As I blinked, the dense overgrowth ruptured with an ear-splitting pop. Like ashes scattered in a gale wind, the plants disintegrated. Another rending creak-thud and the ground sealed itself once again. Kale stood in the corridor, his left hand outstretched, the air between his spread fingers rippling with the after current of energy.

  “Go ahead. Do it again,” he challenged. “If this is what it takes to get you to embrace who you are, then throw your best one at me, Halle.”

  The surprise I’d felt seconds ago disappeared with his taunt. Indignation heated my cheeks. Where did he get off? It wasn’t like I was denying I had power all this time. I couldn’t control it. Still couldn’t. If I had any idea how, he’d be flat on his back immobile so I could get past him and unable to speak further.

  Again, energy arced through my body. This time, the feeling was more natural. I opened my mind, allowing it freedom, and when it broke through my surface, I remained standing steadfast.

  My hair curled around my face as a gust of wind filled the cavernous hallway. But before it could reach its mark, Kale braced one foot, uttered something I couldn’t hear over the roar, and once more, my magic dissipated. His clothing fluttered as if he’d stepped outside in no more than a gentle breeze.

  “Screw you!” I blurted and strode forward, intent on shoving around him. “You’re not going to stop me. I’m going to find her!”

  To my surprise, he stepped sideways and let me pass.

  Quietly, his voice rang out behind me, a note of warning in his steely tone. “What are you going to do then?”

  I kept walking, scanning the long hall for an adjoining tunnel that carried the whisper of the outdoors. There was one here somewhere. We’d come in it earlier this week. It took double the time than the way I’d been going, but it was away from lying, secret-keeping, Kale.

  “What are you going to do, Halle, when she tries to kill you?”

  At that, I laughed. “She won’t kill me. She’s my mother.”

  “Was.”

  I snorted, not bothering to slow my pace. But though I’d never let him know his words got to me, a chill stole down my spine. That unease was tempered by the dark recess that caught my attention and marked the exit I’d been seeking. I headed directly for it.

  “What are you going to do when your uncle tries this?”

  As I took another step into the mouth of the adjoining corridor, anticipating leaving Kale’s taunts behind, I ran nose-first into something hard and unmoving. It repelled me like a bird flying into a clean windowpane, and I stumbled several steps backward, only to crash on my ass. I rubbed my smarting nose and stared at an invisible barrier, the dark depths of the dimly lit hallway as clear as they had been moments ago.

  “What the hell?” Scrambling to my feet, I shot him a baleful glare. “Just leave me alone!”

  “What are you going to do with this, Halle?”

  Before the echo of his voice died away, the entire corridor went black. Not the sort of dim light that comes with nightfall. But the absolute nothingness of being trapped underground in the belly of a cave. No shadows, no hints of another presence. I lifted my hand, touched the tip of my nose, and still couldn’t see my fingers. Not even the faint outline.

  In the next moment, the oppressive, sickeningly-sweet smell of decay permeated the air. It flooded my nose, made breathing next to impossible. My throat closed, gag reflex kicking in. With that came the churning of my stomach and something more—paralyzing fear. Voices whispered through the darkness, ghostly and full of menace. I didn’t know if they were real or products of my panicking mind. But the cold feel of perspiration spread over my skin, and the overwhelming urge to run possessed me.

  Yet I couldn’t move. I was too afraid to e
ven shrink away.

  All I could manage was a pathetic, shaky whisper. “Stop.”

  But he didn’t. A hollow command echoed in my head. Come.

  I tried to resist. Willed my feet to remain firmly planted in place. But the muscles in my thighs twitched against the force until the shaking became too much to control. My foot shuffled forward. Then the other. One slow step after another, propelled forward against my will, through the pitch black.

  A cold hand latched around my wrist. I opened my mouth to scream, but the overbearing horror was too much for even that. Instead, all that came out was a pitiful wail of despair.

  With that soul-deep sound, the corridor flooded with light. The stench evaporated, and my heart ceased its erratic pounding. Where skeleton-like fingers had clenched against my bones, Kale’s warm hand rested gently. He looked down at me, pain lancing behind his blue eyes, sorrow turning them soft and compassionate.

  “Stop,” I whispered again, my voice cracking with emotion.

  “Oh, Halle.” He crushed me against his chest, his arms tight and secure, taking away the terror.

  I melted into his embrace, holding on for all I was worth. I don’t know why. I should have naturally wanted to flee, instead of melding as close as I could. But Kale offered sanctuary to things I couldn’t explain, and the warmth of his body, the steady beat of his heart, was more comforting than I could comprehend. I needed to hold him to know what had just happened wasn’t real. That I hadn’t just been touched by death and perhaps nearly walked right into it.

  The relief was so enormous a tear trickled down my cheek. At the realization he’d broken me that far, I sniffed and tried to shove away. I couldn’t let him see me cry—he’d know I was vulnerable. That deep inside I harbored fears…and pain. So much pain and heartache.

  But like always, as if he could read my secret, innermost need for comfort and security, he held me more tightly, denying me the ability to run away.

  “Your mother didn’t choose, Halle. Not the final time. And you can’t save her. But you can overcome your father’s evil.” He tucked my cheek against his chest and laid his chin atop my head. “You can resist the darkness of your blood.”

  “What if I can’t?” I choked out.

  “You can. I do it every day.”

  Slowly, I pulled back to look up at him. That’s right; he’d said he was part Yaksini.

  “I was born full Tolvenar. But your father infused me with enough darkness I might as well be. It’s what he did to your mother too.”

  “You’re here though. If you can resist, then she can.”

  Compassion flooded his expression again, along with a heavy amount of regret. “I’m sorry, Halle,” he whispered quietly. “Gerard saved me before it was too late. We can’t bring her back. Your uncle controls her completely.”

  “No.” I shoved hard, my heart breaking at his solemn, finality. I couldn’t just accept that my mother was beyond hope. She existed somewhere, and I’d be damned if I’d turn my back on her. “No, I have to try.”

  His grip tightened on my forearms. For a long moment, he remained silent, a stubborn set to his jaw. Then, his features relaxed and his shoulders dropped with resignation. “Learn your magic. If you don’t…” His gaze searched my face as he lifted a hand to tenderly tuck my hair behind my ear. What he left unsaid, resonated between us: he’ll kill you.

  I swallowed with effort, emotion once again rising up to choke me. How could he care so much about what happened to me? I was just a street kid with a crazy power streak. And stubborn. Godawful obstinate. Not to mention I’d wounded him twice, told him off more times than I cared to count, and kept him at arms distance whenever I could.

  But it was written in his face, the softness of his gaze, the compassion glinting in those sky blue eyes that mesmerized me each time I looked too long. Kale cared what happened to me. I meant something to him.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I had to know. His answer would either separate us completely or shatter the rest of my faltering defenses.

  “What was I supposed to say? By the way, your mom’s alive, but she’s just a shell and her soul belongs to your uncle?” He closed his eyes with no small degree of remorse turning down the corners of his mouth. “When was I supposed to tell you that, Halle, knowing there’s nothing you can do? You’d have lit out of here like a firecracker before you could learn anything about your abilities.”

  “True,” I murmured.

  And that sealed it…there was nothing left to keep me locked behind virtual steel walls. He understood. He hadn’t been scheming. His honesty reflected in his voice, in his defeated posture, in the gentle way he ran his hands up and down my arms then grasped my fingers tight, speaking words he didn’t say.

  I laid my fingertips against his cheek. “I want to trust you, Kale.” With my thumb, I traced the faint stubble near his mouth. “I don’t know how.”

  His gaze locked with mine, full of some foreign emotion I couldn’t recognize. Yet where I expected him to speak, to tell me all the answers I needed and solve the dilemma for me, he said nothing. Instead, he dipped his head and feathered his mouth across mine.

  To my surprise, the answer was just that simple. Hesitancy floated away as I returned the gentle clasp of his lips. Everything I needed to believe in was right here in my arms, and that deep connection that flowed between us flared to life as I reached down deep and opened myself to the unexplainable tug against my heart.

  His tongue touched mine, full of promise, and in some way, hope. Brighter beginnings, a happier tomorrow. I wasn’t alone like this, with him. Wasn’t the lone soldier fighting against the world. I had a friend, an ally. Someone I didn’t need to confess my darkest secrets to, but who I could entrust them with all the same.

  I wound my arms around his neck, and stepping a half-step closer, deepened the kiss. His hands latched into my hair, the strong press of his fingertips against my scalp deliciously fulfilling. Yearning opened inside me, the kind I hadn’t felt with a man in too long to count. The kind that came with the innocence of a teenager’s first romance, which I wasn’t entirely certain I’d ever experienced before.

  One of his hands dropped to my bottom and pressed my hips flush with his. The brush of his hard erection deepened the craving to near-painful limits. No…I’d never experienced this before. And holy crap, I wanted more.

  He must have sensed the hungry edge that knifed through me. His kiss became more demanding, and with a low sound of pleasure rumbling in his throat, he pressed me backward, one full step flattening my back against the cool stone. His body chased mine, caging me in a way that was too intense for words. I grabbed at his shoulders to steady the sudden unsteadiness in my legs, and my nails bit into the muscle there.

  In a flashpoint of feeling I was needy and desperate to know everything there was about this man and to share everything I had to give. Everything.

  I would have too, if the echo of footsteps hadn’t filtered into my conscious awareness. My body stiffened, and I drew back from the kiss, taming it somewhat. Our lips had just separated, allowing us to draw a deep breath, when those footsteps turned into far more than an unsuspecting passerby.

  “Well, well, Kale,” Beth’s voice dripped with ice. “I’ve got to hand it to you, that was something for a lover’s spat.”

  A low hiss slipped from his lips and his entire body went rigid. In slow motion, he turned his head. I don’t know what he intended to say, because I’d had enough.

  “Back the fuck off, bitch,” I growled.

  Kale flashed me a look of surprise, but the way Beth’s eyes widened was a sweeter reward. Her confident stride actually faltered, as if she couldn’t believe that I’d stood up to her. Or maybe it was the bitch part.

  But what the hell—with the magic Kale could wield who needed to be concerned about hers?

  She tsked as she looked down her nose, her stare pointedly fixed on him. “With all the suitable possibilit
ies here, I never imagined you would fall for someone so weak and unacceptable.”

  If he’d been scowling at her before, he flat out glowered. He smacked an open palm on the wall above my shoulder and whirled around to face her. “For God’s sake, you’re married to Gerard! What the fuck is your problem?”

  A wry smile formed on her mouth, more a smirk than the shame that should have been etched into her face. She shrugged her shoulders with a nonchalant chuckle. “I guess we all have to have our meaningless flings. She’ll be gone soon enough—either by cowardly choice or the Yaksini will take her.”

  I lunged forward, focused on the sheer pleasure of feeling her regal neck beneath my fingers. Kale caught my elbow at the last instant, holding me back, placing himself between us.

  “Get lost, Beth. I think you’ve done enough tonight. Let me remind you, Gerard wants her here.”

  Her laugh was as soulless as she was. “That’s right. And he did say convince her however you could, didn’t he?” She flashed me a wicked knowing grin.

  If it hadn’t been for that weird connection I felt in Kale’s presence, I might have believed what she so obviously wanted me to—that Kale had just been making out with me for ulterior motives. But I had felt that link, and there was no way anyone, not even the supposedly powerful Beth, could have made me doubt it.

  “What’s wrong, Halle? Cat got your tongue?” She laughed again as she turned around the way she’d come. “Or did Kale steal it?”

  A low growl rumbled in my throat, and my gaze narrowed to hate-filled slits. That woman had a problem. One that was about to compound with me. Fury blistered through me, once again prickling my skin with its power.

  Kale’s reassuring squeeze and the flash glance of caution he slid my way stopped me from welcoming the burn and allowing the threatening havoc to break free. I sagged against the wall, recognizing the futility. Now wasn’t the time or place. But one day, Beth would regret her taunts.

  Over her shoulder, she gave Kale one last appreciative glance from head to toe before striding confidently away. He pushed one hand through his hair with a harassed sigh.