Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats)

by Donovan, Jessie

  Ty’s supposed brother moved his head to the side of her face, and she felt his breath on her ear. “As much as I would love to piss off my brother, I can’t kill you.” The man brushed her cheek and it took every fiber of her being not to call forth her fire and toss him against the wall. “But, before I do the job I was hired to do, I plan to use you to make Ty lose his shit.”

  She was about to ask what job he’d been hired to do, but then his hand moved to cover her breast, and Kiarra clenched her jaw. The situation was deteriorating fast. She had wanted to avoid drawing attention to herself, but if she wanted to go looking for Jaxton, she had no choice but to make a scene.

  Despite being in a neutralization chamber, she’d earlier confirmed that her fire was still active. The guards had been careful, tying her hands behind her back to face north and not south, but those rules no longer applied to Kiarra. She sure as hell didn’t know if she were a Talent or not, but her unique abilities were going to allow her to stop waiting for someone else to rescue her.

  It was time for Kiarra to take care of herself.

  On the fourth attempt, Jaxton finally located a room with a phone. He didn’t know how closely they were monitoring the compound, and while security cameras might’ve already picked up his escape in the halls, there was also the danger that making an outbound call could trigger an alarm. Still, he didn’t have time to try and contact Neena via his dreams, so he was left with the next best thing—hoping Aislinn would answer his call.

  He took out the gun he’d swiped from the guard and released the safety before positioning his body to monitor both of the doors in the room. If the guards came through one door, he might be able to fight his way and escape through the other.

  He dialed the number and each ring seemed more like an eternity than mere seconds. On the third ring, a familiar Irish voice answered, “Jax, Darius is right outside the facility and I’m going to patch him through.”

  Not wasting time on frivolities and getting straight to the point was Aislinn’s way. Jaxton followed the same philosophy and would worry about the “how” of the situation later.

  Darius came on the line and said, “Nessa’s with me and knows the layout of the place. Just tell me what room you’re in and we’ll be there.”

  Jaxton trusted Darius, but it wasn’t only his life on the line. Jaxton wouldn’t risk Kiarra or Millie’s, so he asked, “Nessa, as in Vanessa, the woman who tried to kill Kiarra?”

  “Yes, I’ll explain it all later. Just know that she’ll help us, but won’t betray us.”

  Aislinn chimed in, “I second that.”

  Two trusted comrades outweighed his doubts about the shadow-shifter. “Fine. The plaque outside the room said ‘Research Manager’ on it. But to get Kiarra out, I need to talk with Vanessa. Put her on the phone.”

  A shuffle before a condescending voice said, “Yes?”

  “Are all of the exam rooms in the same wing?”

  “As of last month they were.”

  He pushed aside his curiosity at that statement, aware that he had been on this call too long already. “Right. Tell Darius I’ll be in the research wing, looking for the others. I can’t stay here.”

  With that, he hung up the phone and strained his ears. No, he’d been right. There were definitely noises coming from behind the door he’d entered a few minutes before.

  Jaxton went to the door on the opposite side of the room and swiped the stolen keycard. But the light flashed red, denying him access. Fuck.

  Normally he would take a stand, but without knowing how many people could burst through that door, Jaxton couldn’t chance it if he wanted to save Kiarra or his sister. He pried open the plastic cover of the security panel and hoped like hell that he remembered enough from Marco’s lessons to get the blasted door open.

  The noises from the hall grew louder as he fiddled with the wires. Finally he cut the juice and pushed the door, and was relieved when it slid open.

  He stepped through the door into in a small observation room, complete with monitors, a desk, and a few chairs. His eyes went to the two-way mirror, and he froze. On the other side of the glass was a man leaning over Kiarra, his hand on her breast.

  Jaxton growled and everything started to vibrate. He needed to find a way to break the two-way mirror before the bastard laid another fucking hand on his woman.

  Kiarra was nearly ready. Another thirty seconds and she should have enough energy to fuel her fire and knock the mysterious asshole fondling her breast across the room.

  But then Ty’s double ripped away the shirt from her body and exposed her torso. When he tugged at the pants at her waist, fury ran through her, turning her cheeks pink. The asshole mistook it for desire and said, “That’s right, little slut, you like it.”

  Enough. Kiarra focused her flame outward, directing it from behind her to the particles floating between her and the man. She barely had time to note his surprise before a massive ball of flame slammed him against the wall on the other side of the room. A split second later, the window behind her shattered.

  Her fire had burned away her bonds, and Kiarra turned around, ready to attack. She froze as Jaxton barreled toward her; he cupped her face with his hands as soon as he was close enough. “Are you all right?”

  She blinked, but brushed aside the shock. All she wanted to do was curl up against Jaxton’s chest to make sure he was real and not a dream, but that would have to wait. They didn’t have much time. “I’ll live. But we need to get out of here.”

  He shucked off his shirt and threw it over her head. She’d momentarily forgotten that she was half naked.

  Jaxton nodded and removed the gun tucked into his waistband, and then they both went over to the asshole on the floor. The man was groaning, yet despite the fact her fire had definitely made contact, he was unscorched. Strange. She tucked that piece of information away for later.

  Jaxton hefted the man up by the throat and slammed him against the wall. Judging by the look in Jaxton’s eyes, he’d kill the man before they had a chance to question him.

  She went over and placed a hand on Jaxton’s arm. “Stop. He’s our best bet for finding Millie.”

  Jaxton’s grip tightened on the man’s throat as he glanced at Kiarra, his eyes deadly. “But he deserves to die for what he did to you.”

  Kiarra’s breath hitched at the look in Jaxton’s eyes. He was being sincere. If she wanted Ty’s double dead, Jaxton would do it without hesitation. For some reason, she found that oddly sweet, and it meant more to her than she would like to admit. Still, the rational side of her brain knew better. “Surviving his failure will probably be a far worse punishment. Ask him about Millie so we can get the hell out of here.”

  Jaxton gave a male grunt and returned his gaze to the man pinned up against the wall. He eased his grip on the man’s throat a fraction and said, “They picked up a young woman named Millie Ward from a pub the other night and brought her here. Where is she?”

  “Don’t…know.”

  Jaxton leaned closer to the man. “Last chance, where is she?”

  The man shook his head and Jaxton slammed the man’s head against the wall hard enough to knock him unconscious.

  Kiarra squeezed Jaxton’s arm. “We’ll find her.”

  “Once Darius—” Jaxton stopped mid-sentence and pushed Kiarra behind him. “People are coming.”

  She’d been so distracted by Jaxton’s interrogation that she hadn’t heard the shouts coming from the hall. Kiarra tested her fire, put a hand on Jaxton’s arm, and felt her power increase tenfold. “As long as I can draw power from you, I can take care of them.”

  Sounds started to filter in through the broken two-way mirror, and Jaxton turned so they were each facing a door. “You’re going to have to explain that to me once we’re out of here, pet. For now, we’ll take them out together.”

  She squeezed his arm again. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Believing in me.”

  “Betwe
en your wall of fire and the force you used to throw that bastard over there against the wall.” He motioned to the unconscious man on the floor. “I’d be a bloody fool not to.”

  Unused to praise, Kiarra bit her lip and avoided Jaxton’s eyes by focusing on the door. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” This time she chanced a look at Jaxton and wished she knew what he was thinking. But before either one of them could say another word, men simultaneously crashed into the room from behind both the broken mirror and the door exiting into the hall.

  With guards on both sides, they were trapped. Without hesitation, Kiarra called forth her fire and pushed outward, slamming into the first slew of guards entering the room from the hall. Shots fired behind her, but before she could turn and tackle the guards entering through the broken two-way mirror, Jaxton hooked his arm around her waist and dove down beneath the steel table, taking her with him.

  Something ricocheted off the table, but the flimsy barrier wouldn’t last for long. Rather than question Jaxton’s actions, Kiarra peeked out and saw more guards entering the room. Surprisingly, their position on the floor offered better access. She was less vulnerable and could take out more guards in one go.

  She was focusing, taking a second to decide the best pathway for her attack, when a strong gust of wind danced around the room and knocked all of the guards up against the ceiling before dropping them back to the ground. Darius entered first, followed by the shadow-shifter and a few other people she didn’t know.

  While Darius and his team started checking the guards on the ground to see if any of them were still conscious, Kiarra turned her head to see Jaxton on the floor. He was pale and breathing heavily as he gripped the side of his neck with one hand. Her stomach did a little flip. “Jaxton, what’s wrong?”

  His eyes had trouble focusing, and Kiarra placed a hand on his cheek. She looked down at his neck and saw that his hand was covered in blood.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  There was too much blood.

  Jaxton’s injury was beyond Kiarra’s basic knowledge of first aid. She needed help.

  Her momentary shock passed and Kiarra yelled, “Darius,” before turning back to Jaxton. She stroked his cheek, hoping the touch would calm him, when Darius knelt next to her and drew in a sharp breath.

  “Jax, keep pressure on it. We’ll get you out of here.” Darius motioned to some of the other people in the room and they lifted away the table. Darius turned back toward Jaxton. “Trying to get a battle scar to impress your lady, eh?”

  Jaxton gave a weak smile, but didn’t say anything. The sight of Jaxton weak and pale, lacking his usual humor, heightened her fear. She needed to tamp it down and be strong for Jaxton’s sake. If Darius could see humor in the situation, then so could she.

  She made a stern face and tapped Jaxton on the nose a few times. “Don’t you dare die on me. We have an unfinished argument that I plan to win.”

  His eyes focused on her and he gave a half-smile. “What did I do this time?”

  His voice was weak, making his accent thicker, but Kiarra forced herself to keep up appearances. “Went and tried to get yourself killed, you idiot.”

  Jaxton started to laugh, but groaned instead.

  The fear gripping her heart tightened a little more.

  She brushed the hair from his forehead. “Besides, I know how to kick your ass in sparring now and I’m not about to let you chicken out on me.”

  Jaxton said nothing, his eyes struggling to stay open. A woman’s voice on Kiarra’s right said, “Sorry to break up your little soap opera, but we need to get the hell out of here. The facility’s been compromised, which means they’ll be evacuating now and will ‘clean up’ after that.”

  Kiarra looked over at the woman standing behind Darius; it was the shadow-shifter.

  Darius looked up at the shadow-shifter and said, “What’s the clean-up procedure?”

  The woman gestured with her hand. “Nothing big, just, you know, start a detonation sequence to collapse the entire facility.”

  “Darius,” Jaxton said, and all eyes focused back on him. “Take Kiarra and leave.”

  She grabbed Jaxton’s free hand and squeezed. “I’m not leaving you here.”

  He ignored her and kept his gaze on Darius. “Use force if necessary, but leave me and get her out of here.”

  “No, Jax,” Darius said. “I don’t leave people behind.”

  Jaxton closed his eyes and took a rattling breath. Kiarra squeezed his hand tighter. Jaxton opened his eyes again, but avoided looking at her face, his focus still on Darius. “Kiarra’s a Talent. She must be protected.”

  Kiarra said, “We don’t know—”

  Darius nodded. “I’ll keep her safe.”

  Darius took her hand, but she called up her fire and heated her hand until Darius released it. She raised her chin a notch. “He was hurt protecting me and I’m not going without him.” Kiarra clutched Jaxton’s hand to her breast. “I won’t be dissuaded.”

  “Darius,” the shadow-shifter said, “we seriously need to leave. We have five minutes, ten at the most.”

  Jaxton closed his eyes again and Kiarra caressed his cheek. When he finally opened his eyes, his expression was unreadable. He said, “Pet, you’re too important to die here. Go. Please.”

  Kiarra blinked back tears. “You never say please.”

  Even as the man lay dying, he was trying to protect her. This man would always put her safety above his own.

  Kiarra realized that she’d finally found someone she trusted with her whole heart, and he was about to die.

  “Kiarra, go,” Jaxton mumbled before his eyes fluttered closed. His body went limp and his hand fell away from the wound on his neck.

  “No,” Kiarra whispered as she replaced his fallen hand with her own and put pressure on his wound.

  She gripped his shoulder with her other hand and shook it, hoping like hell she could wake him up again. “Jaxton!”

  One beat, then another. But Jaxton didn’t move.

  Darius put a hand on her shoulder, but on instinct, flames appeared on her body and forced him away.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. She wouldn’t—couldn’t—leave Jaxton to die.

  Think, Kiarra, think. But what could she do?

  If only there was a way to heal him enough to move. If there was ever a latent ability needed for a Talent’s army, that would be it.

  The ability to both heal and destroy. Kiarra stilled as she remembered one of the last lines of Thomas Gladstone’s journal entry. What if she were a Talent? Then, logically, she should have the power to heal.

  She had one last shot, and she was going to take it. She said over her shoulder, “Let me try one last thing, and if doesn’t work, I promise to go without a fight.”

  The shadow-shifter huffed, but Kiarra ignored it and placed her other hand on Jaxton’s neck. Please let this work. The only problem? She didn’t know how to unleash elemental healing fire. Thinking back, her negative emotions had helped sustain the wall of fire and the defensive maneuver with Ty’s double. Maybe positive emotions would trigger healing abilities, if she had any.

  She closed her eyes and concentrated on her positive memories.

  Her first feeling of accomplishment when she’d bested Jaxton at the foot of the stairs. Feeling safe in his arms as he’d held her and rubbed her back. His refusal to walk away from her when things had gotten dangerous. His hands caressing her naked skin, his touch setting her on fire. His offer to kill a man simply because he’d hurt her. Jaxton willing to die if it meant she could live.

  And most of all, his belief in her abilities and worth as a person.

  Warmth filled her chest and radiated down her arms. She imagined Jaxton hale and hearty and fixed that image in her mind as she directed the warmth out of her hands and into Jaxton’s skin. A few people gasped, but Kiarra ignored them and kept her eyes closed. She focused on Jaxton arguing with her, making love to her, working with her on their next DEFEN
D mission. She wanted all of that. And more.

  Jaxton needed to survive so she could tell him, because after this, she wasn’t going to share him with any other woman.

  He was hers.

  As the warmth continued to flow out of her hands, Kiarra struggled to stay upright as her head started to spin and her balance began to wobble. She opened her eyes as the last of the warmth left her hands, and she saw Jaxton’s green-eyed gaze right before she passed out.

  James Sinclair clicked play and watched the video Giovanni had sent him one more time. The woman in the video put out her hands to block a guard’s blow and the earth suddenly shifted as rocks pushed up through the floor, creating a real-life barrier between the woman and the others in the room. Once the rocks stopped moving, the woman looked from her hands to the rocks and back again in surprise. That pause allowed enough time for guards to enter from another entrance and drug the woman into unconsciousness. The footage ended there.

  While some would dismiss the woman’s actions as lucky, there were other factors at play. For one, the woman had been housed in a neutralization chamber. And more importantly, if Giovanni’s information was correct, the woman hadn’t had her hands facing to the north, the direction of elemental earth particles.

  The woman in question was currently in custody, half drugged to prevent another incident, in a high-rise facility in Hong Kong. Giovanni’s source was willing to allow access, provided Giovanni was the one to do the investigating.

  But Sinclair had reservations. His adopted son’s results with Kiarra had been mixed. The woman had been captured, but subsequently escaped. True, Giovanni had completed his assignment the second Kiarra Melini had been entrusted back to the AMT guards, but that wasn’t what worried him.