by Myers, AJ
“Actually, I find your name suits you,” he said, not quite meeting my eyes. “You remind me of a flame. Warm and full of light, but blazing hot and dangerous if one gets too close. Yes, I think Ember suits you very well.”
There was actually something about me the little man liked! He thought I was rude with bad hair, but he liked my name. The shock was almost too much for me to stand. Then again, maybe he was just trying to lure me into a dark room to use that hooked skewer thingy on me. Hmm…
“What are you thinking?” Skippy asked, grinning at me as I gave him a look dripping with doubt. It was just too easy, his turnaround from potential murderer to new best friend. I didn’t trust it.
“That I would prefer not to be autopsied, since I’m not technically dead.” I rolled my eyes when he just stared at me, his expression a mixture of horror and amusement. “Don’t give me that look, Skippy. I know you were fantasizing about dissecting me a couple of hours ago, so don’t deny it. Where is all this tolerance coming from all of a sudden?”
He looked bemused for a second and then he laughed, really laughed, and I saw surprise flash across his face before he looked at me, his eyes wide. “Why, Ember! I do believe I like you!”
Oh-kay. I didn’t know whether I should smile or run screaming down the hall. I mean, what kind of guy decides he likes someone because they have the nerve to be mean to him? That was just too bizarre.
“If you can find me some clothes, I might like you, too,” I told him, flashing him a cautious look when he gave me another wide smile. “In fact, I’ll make you a deal. You find me something to wear and I’ll stop calling you Skippy. What do you say? Deal?”
He seemed to consider my offer for just a second, his face set in lines of contemplation. It was an eerie look on a kid. That’s the thing about vampires; you can be fooled by the face. Beneath the surface, though, is a being who might be hundreds of years old. The mind, the soul, might be ancient. When their true age really shows through, it can be kind of weird.
“Very well, you have a deal, you ungrateful little imp,” he said, his face transforming back to that of a kid barely into his teens fluidly. “Let’s go see what we have in the closet, shall we?”
I let him lead me from the room and down the hall to the elevator. As we walked, I tried to figure him out. He was obviously powerful, but he also seemed very lonely to me. How long had it been since the little man had had a real friend. Not one of the goons that worked for him, but a real friend?
I watched him curiously as he laid his palm flat against a panel next to the elevator door and softly murmured, “Ground floor.” The elevator doors slid open soundlessly and Skippy, smiling, waved me in ahead of him.
“How many levels are in this house?” I muttered after he’d joined me and the doors had closed behind him.
“Three levels underground and four above,” he said with a slightly patronizing smile. “We use the subterranean levels as a sort of laboratory and hospital for creatures such as yourself who can’t be helped my modern medicine or healers, like your dear grandmother. The lowest level is a dungeon. We keep criminals in the cells there—under strict guard, of course.”
A dungeon and a morgue. Oh, no! That didn’t make my skin crawl! Uh-uh, not me!
“Do I even want to know what the upper levels are used for?” I asked warily.
“The upper levels are just what they appear to be—a rather luxurious home.”
If I hadn’t been so lost in my thoughts of dungeons and mad scientists, I might have seen the way Skippy’s body suddenly stiffened. I might have heard the soft growl that started to build in his chest. But it wasn’t until the doors opened to reveal a lavish pink marble entryway that I realized something was terribly, terribly, wrong.
“What’s that light?” I whispered shakily, watching the flickering light that was coming through the open front door.
I knew what that light was. I had seen it many times in my dreams. I knew it was the fire of torches…or maybe even something worse.
The question was, who had lit the fire.
“I believe we have company,” Skippy snarled. “Stay here. I will return shortly.”
Stay there? Was everybody that I dealt with just plain stupid? There was about as much of a chance of me standing there as there was of my other half slamming back into me with a ‘Hey there! I missed you!’
The second Skippy disappeared through the open front door, I started running after him. I came to a quick stop on the front steps, feeling a little trickle of fear, as I took in the scene before me. Mrs. Val and Blake were being held back by Tyler and Zan—and they were fighting like crazy to get loose. Grams, Ainsley, and Nathan were standing in front of them with what appeared to be a small army of very large, very hard-looking vampires spread out on either side of them.
The expressions on their faces should have been enough to tell me I didn’t want to look any further. But, like someone passing by a train wreck, I couldn’t seem to help myself.
My blood ran colder than ever before when I saw what they were all staring at. Standing in a loose circle before them was another small army, this one armed with torches and all manner of weapons. And in the center of the circle was a stake.
A gasoline-soaked stake.
And tied to it was my best friend.
Chapter 26: This Means War
“No!”
The eerily echoing sound of that agonized scream drew every eye to me. But the only eyes I saw were Kim’s. I was locked to her gaze just as surely as my feet had frozen to the stones beneath them at the sight of her tied to that stake.
I didn’t see the people who turned to stare at me. I didn’t hear the indrawn breaths or the sound of footsteps hurrying toward me. All I could focus on was the terrible fear in my friend’s eyes. All I could feel was the rage that raced through my veins.
In that moment I became someone else. I became something else. I felt the shift inside me. It was like some dark shadow had obliterated everything except the terror in Kim’s eyes. That was all I could see through the dark haze that obscured my vision. And I reveled in it. I reveled in the strength it gave me, the absolute freedom.
It was in that moment that I really understood the term ‘The Dark Side’.
“Looks like the guest of honor has arrived,” a cold voice crooned. “Let’s get this party started.”
“How did you breach my defenses?” Skippy asked, interrupting the much more unpleasant response I’d been about to give. “No one has ever been able to enter within these walls without my consent—or my knowledge.”
“Let’s just say I have a witchy godmother,” Hamilton said, his eyes never leaving mine. The smug smirk on his lips practically dared me to blow him to smithereens.
A witchy godmother? A witch was helping this scumbag? Well, I hoped he or she had had a good laugh, because their ploy was over. I was going to rip Hamilton to shreds so small that his idiot friends would never find all of them. He was as good as dead, and he was too stupid to know it.
And when he was gone, it was his ‘witchy godmother’ I’d be going after next.
“It’s very simple, witch,” he continued, so overconfident that he didn’t realize I was two seconds from obliterating him. “You have two choices. First choice, you can give me my sister in exchange for your friend.”
I arched an eyebrow at him; so far from impressed that it wasn’t even funny. It would be a cold day in Hell before I let him burn my friend. I would burn in those flames myself before I let that happen.
Apparently, that was exactly what he had in mind.
“Your second choice, firebird, is to take her place yourself,” he said, never taking his eyes from mine. “Rumor has it you’re kind of scared of fire. I guess it’s time to really test those bonds of friendship, huh?”
Since every eye was still focused on me, that dark side of me decided my best option was to smile. Without taking my eyes from Trey Hamilton, I slowly made my way down the stairs. The snow felt like fire beneath my
feet, but I ignored it. Oh, there was definitely going to be some fire, but I wasn’t going to be the one burning in it.
And neither was Kim.
I didn’t take my eyes off of Hamilton once as I walked forward to meet him. I paid no attention to Nathan and Tyler as they fell into step beside me. I ignored Blake’s agonized cries as he begged me not to do what he thought I was going to do. My sole focus was Kim and the idiot who’d dared to threaten what was mine.
Death and destruction. That was all I knew in that moment. I craved it. Even the auras around me, which had grown more brilliant and more tempting, had nothing on my desire for carnage. And I wasn’t sure if that was my demon…
Or me.
“I’m afraid the options on the table don’t work for me,” I purred as I came to a stop less than fifty feet away from the stake Kim was tied to. “Let me give you some of my own. You can untie my friend before I kill you, or I can untie her after I kill you.”
Hamilton smiled. “I think my choices are much better.”
“Yeah, and I give a shit,” I sneered.
I didn’t fight it when I felt the power tightening my chest. I didn’t even blink. It didn’t matter to me if everyone and everything around me was incinerated in the blast that was coming. I didn’t care if I killed all of them. It wasn’t personal, it was just warfare, right?
But…I did care. My Grams was standing there. Blake was there, and Mrs. Val. Ainsley and Zan, people who I’d come to care about, were there. Skippy, who I was determined to befriend, was there with all the people who protected him—the fact that they were ruthless vampires not withstanding—were there.
And Tyler was there. Tyler, who had cared about me and cheered me on and made me a better person. Tyler, who believed I was better than I was, who believed that, in my very core, I was still the girl I used to be.
But, more importantly…
Nathan was there.
As if I had been transported back to that moment, I could hear Nathan whispering that he had a stronger claim on my soul than my demon. Only Nathan could help me fight the darkness inside me that was becoming stronger and stronger the longer I taunted Hamilton.
It was Nathan who had to save me.
It had always been Nathan.
It would always be Nathan.
As if he had heard my thoughts, he was suddenly at my side. His hand wrapped around mine, as strong and sure as it had always been, and, with his touch, I felt that darkness that had bubbled up inside me cringe back into the shadows. It didn’t completely obliterate it, but it made it easier to see through. With Nathan’s touch, I could see the light, and as I had embraced the darkness, I then reached for that light like a dying woman in the desert would reach for water.
“You won’t trade one life for another here, Hamilton,” he said coldly, grasping my hand more tightly when I started to tremble slightly. “You have no idea the kind of power you’re about to incite. I’m going to give you one chance to walk away. Untie the girl and leave, or, so help me God, I will kill you myself.”
Trey Hamilton looked at him long and hard. I could almost see the thoughts going through his mind as he contemplated Nathan’s offer. Unfortunately, I already knew what he would choose. It was there in his eyes, in the expression on his face. He was going to make me kill him.
It was in that moment that I first paid attention to his aura. Whoever was helping him was hiding his scent from me—and apparently from the vampires around me—but I could see the aura around him just fine. It was a strange kind of blue-black color that reminded me for some reason of my ghosts. Ghostly blue. Yeah, that was a perfect description for it. There was something both ugly and terrifyingly beautiful about that color, something mesmerizing.
“I’m here to cleanse the world of things like her,” he finally said, jerking his head toward Kim. “They’re tainted, you know? The only way they can find redemption is to be cleansed by fire. Think of it as a public service.”
Tainted. Just the word was enough to start my temper simmering again. The girl tied to that stake was a hell of a lot more pure than Trey Hamilton would ever be. She was beautiful and strong and good.
But I wasn’t.
“I’m going to count to five,” I said softly, my voice so chillingly cold that even I shivered, pulling my hand from Nathan’s. “When I reach five, I’m going to kill you. Just let her go, and I’ll consider letting you walk away.”
“You don’t intimidate me,” Hamilton said with a sneer. “I’ve dealt with much worse than you and come out on top.”
Yep. Just plain stupid.
“Dude, you’ve never even seen anything like me,” I told him, taking another step away from the people I loved. “One.”
“Oh yeah?” he asked, tossing his torch from hand to hand. “And what’s so special about you, firebird?”
“I’m your worst nightmare,” I told him as I continued to move toward him and, more importantly, toward Kim. “I’m the kind of witch you should hunt. The kind with real dangerous powers and a real bad temper.” When he arched an eyebrow, I shrugged. “Two”
By the time I reached four, I was less than ten feet from him. The smell of gasoline was so overwhelming at that proximity that I thought I might gag. I didn’t look at the stake where my friend would die if I failed. I didn’t look back at the people waiting for me to save her. I only looked at the monster determined to burn her.
“Five,” I said softly as I came to a stop not five feet from where Hamilton stood. “Time’s up. Make your choice.”
“No problem.”
With another shrug, he tossed the torch in his hand at Kim’s feet. I heard the whoosh as the gas caught, saw the flames as they shot up around her, but the heat I felt didn’t come from the fire raging so close to me. No, that heat was all me. It came from my suddenly glowing white body.
I had a split second to make the hardest decision of my life. I could kill the little maggot who’d lit the fire, or I could save my friend from dying in it.
“Ember!” Grams screamed…just as I jumped into the flames with my best friend.
To my surprise, the flames didn’t burn. It felt like there were butterfly wings brushing against my glowing skin as I stepped amongst them, became part of them. Unfortunately, my mind wasn’t seeing things that way. My long-ingrained fear of fire kicked in with a vengeance and for just one breath of a second I couldn’t move, couldn’t think through the all-consuming terror I felt.
But then my eyes locked on Kim—who actually was burning—and everything changed. I was still afraid, don’t get me wrong, but I wasn’t afraid for myself anymore. I was afraid for her.
Her eyes and mouth were both clamped shut tight, but I could still hear the screams that were trying to get out. Her entire left side was cooking and I could smell the scent of burning hair. Tears rolled down her cheeks, becoming steam before they ever reached her jaw.
Get her out! a more than hysterical voice screamed in my mind. Now, you dumbass! Before it’s too late!
I stopped thinking and started acting. I had just reached for her when her eyes suddenly flew open. They met mine for a split second, before she opened her mouth and screamed, “Blake! Help her!”
The order stunned me. She hadn’t begged for help to save her own life, but she was begging for the man she loved to help me. Uh-huh, because that made a lot of damn sense!
Deciding I would look into getting her a good shrink later, I hurried around her to find out how they had secured her to the stake. I felt that darkness inside me flare up again when I saw she was handcuffed to it. I could see the blood leaking from the deep cuts she had made trying to get loose starting to bubble in the intense heat. I reached out to grab the chain on the handcuffs, noticing that my skin was glowing even brighter than before, and heard Kim scream again—this time in pain—as the metal literally melted to her skin at my touch. About the only good thing I could say about that is that it also melted the chain that was holding her tethered to the stake.
“Get out of here!” she actually howled, turning to look at me, her eyes bright and furious—and more than a little crazed.
I stumbled back a step, a little afraid of her. There was something different about her, something I’d seen once before but had discounted as my imagination and a couple blows to the head. But in that moment, she was someone else, someone cold and dangerous.
I never would have thought she had it in her…
With one last snapped order for me to get my ass out of the fire, Kim tried to move away from the stake—or maybe away from me—but she stumbled and nearly sank to her knees. I knew what would happen if she did. She would die there, because if I tried to carry her out I might kill her myself. That only left me with one way to save her.
Without thinking about it first, I reached out and put one hand on her back and shoved her as hard as I could. She literally soared out of the fire with yet another pained scream and landed in the snow nearby. Through the flames, I saw Tyler and Nathan rushing toward her. They would take care of her, they would protect her. My work was done for the moment.
It was only when I knew that Kim was safe and sound that I turned my attention back to the man who’d tried to kill her. He wanted to play with fire? Well, I would show him just how dangerous that could be.
When I stepped out of the fire, I figured out real quick that someone had already beaten me to the punch. It looked like I had stepped into a battlefield. The ground around me was heaving and buckling like we were in a major earthquake. Lightning flashed overhead, and a strong wind was blowing the snow so hard that you could barely see ten feet in front of your face.
I started moving in the direction I thought I had come from, my hands held out in front of me protectively. I hadn’t taken ten steps when I stumbled over something soft and mushy. My glowing body illuminated a scorched body on the ground, and I immediately backed away, covering my nose against the gagging odor of electrified dead guy.
Too scared to move anymore, I started looking for the source of the power that was making my nerve ends tingle. My mouth fell open and refused to close again when I saw Blake’s figure coming toward me through the blinding snow. At least…I think it was Blake. My friend looked like a god! His dark hair blew in the wind that howled around him, his muscular body was practically glowing, and I swear I saw the lightning overhead crackling in his eyes!