Touch of Fire (Into the Darkness Book 1)

by Jasmine B. Waters

  Before Mari could even piece what was happening together, her brother, Valentyn, was pulling her away, the large hulking form of her other brother, Magni, was behind him dwarfing Fin. If Mari had felt small compared to Fin, her brothers were another story all together.

  The largest of her five brothers, Magni was formidable. Looking more like a human basketball player than anything else. He was lean and muscular, but could easily take someone the likes of Fin, if he had a mind to. They weren’t quite as broad as some of the other shifters she’d seen but were deceptively powerful. Compared to the wiry frame that Fin presented, it would have hardly been a fair fight.

  Mari’s brothers had inherited the physical traits that ran through their father’s bloodline, while Mari and their younger sister had gained the more sensitive traits from their Mother’s side of the family. Her brothers were exceptionally strong and had the fastest reflexes she’d ever seen. She was confident that Magni would be able to sort out the situation with Fin in some way.

  “You need to be more careful with that one,” Val murmured, as he ushered her quickly out of the courtyard, with an arm protectively around her shoulders, “I don’t hear great things about him from some of the other women.”

  She looked up at her brother’s dark eyes with a dry laugh as they entered their home. The benefit of dealing with her brothers was they didn’t even have any latent psychic or empath abilities. She didn’t have to worry about shielding herself from them, at least, she just ended up picking them up loud and clear. She could sense the true concern in her brother and it was reassuring that they looked out for her.

  “You have no idea,” Mari sighed, as she attempted to release more of the tension that was weighing her down. She could tell Val was looking for an explanation why, and Mari sensed his need to know, but she just couldn’t handle him in that moment. Mari desperately needed to be alone, and if she was honest with herself, she wanted desperately to fall back asleep and see where that dream left off.

  “Mar,” Val said with a tentative look as he let his arm fall, “You ok? You haven’t been yourself all day. Normally, you would be bouncing all over the place trying to catch up on the gossip. I know council meetings are hard, but you look like you’ve been running yourself ragged. Maybe we need to leave you here when we go out for the next assignment.” His eyes were searching hers, genuine concern there.

  Mari loved her brothers dearly, and all five were equally protective, but Valentyn was probably the worst. He was closest to her in age, and they had always gotten along well. Even he had the idea that she was someone to be protected, though she had proven herself time and again out on assignments.

  She desperately wished she could tell him the truth, but feared even he would think she was starting to go crazy. Mari knew that one of the biggest problems she had was simply not knowing what was wrong with her. The last thing she wanted to do was try and explain something she didn’t even understand, or something that felt intrinsically so wrong and right at the same time.

  Chapter 2

  She could feel his need rolling off of him in waves. It wasn’t a dominant need, but came from some sort of deep place she couldn’t put her finger on. It was as if he was reaching out from his very soul and trying to convince her of how much he needed her. There was a hunger beneath it all. The hunger that she felt was unlike any she had ever encountered. A hunger for power, a hunger for freedom, a hunger for release, and for…her.

  Each step the man took towards her in the dark room caused her breath to grow shorter and shorter. She felt the rise and fall of her chest straining against her bra. She pulled against the restraints that had her splayed across the bed, firm and tight against her wrists and ankles. She looked down her body at his form as he neared the edge of the bed, prowled up the bed towards her. She could see his huge, muscled body looming closer, but not his face, never his face.

  Long hair swept against her legs as he leaned over her. His body was massive compared to her own. The hair caused a shiver to run up her spine as she writhed, anticipating his touch. Her body ached as she pulled against the bonds. Her own need was matching the intensity of his as it crashed over her. He raised a hand, one finger gently grazing the inside of her thigh and sending a tremor of fire through her body. A passionate sigh escaped her lips, despite herself, as his finger neared her hip.

  She arched her back, and as she lowered herself back down, she attempted to lean up as much as she could to meet his lips for a kiss, but her body was ripped from the room just as they came together.

  ˜

  Mari’s eyes snapped open with a panicked gasp. She bolted upright in bed attempting to catch her breath. She was still riding the wave of passion and need that had crashed into her like a brick wall. Her breathing was ragged as she pushed her hair from her face. She winced as she shifted in the bed, causing her legs to rub together.

  She peeled back the covers on the bed, looking down at her pale leg. A lingering, angry, red line echoed the touch from her dream, leading from her inner thigh just to the edge of her hip. She touched it gently with the tip of a finger, pain searing through her as her finger made contact, causing her to inhale in a faint hiss as she moved her hand away.

  It was getting worse. The first few dreams had been mild by comparison. A hand on her face or neck, left with the faintest of warmth. Somehow the dreams were growing in intensity. She bit the corner of her lip out of habit. She had no idea what to do about the dreams. She didn’t know what to make of them and wasn’t entirely sure if this was normal for empaths or something she should be worried about.

  The only other Fae who had been as strong an empath as Mari, had been her mother, Maeve, and she had died giving birth to her younger sister years past. There were a few other people in her distant relatives that shared similar gifts, but none that she knew of who had ever even remotely reported such dreams. She took a few calming breaths that didn’t do much to cool her body. As soon as she closed her eyes, she could feel his heat inching closer to her again, a faint echo of feeling reaching out for her, faint but ever present.

  Mari rose from bed, letting her thin, silk nightgown fall, hanging around her knees. She retreated out to the balcony, bracing herself against the railing as the sharp, cold, mountain air enveloped her. The cold was a welcome friend in that initial moment, sweeping away the intense heat that she had been drowning in, and chilling her through to her core. She closed her eyes and drew a slow, deep breath again, focusing on centering herself. She felt a faint pull, but was at least able to open her eyes and not fear a dark figure closing in on her, clouding out all other thoughts.

  The cold air started to be too much for the thin gown she was in. Her skin rippled in faint goosebumps. Mari wrapped her arms around herself trying to stay in the comfort of the cold air for a moment longer. She heard a knock at the door and spun with a questioning look as it opened before she could answer. Her eyes narrowed as a small, blond head poked in the crack of the door, familiar violet eyes peeking around the edge of the door.

  “Mari? You up?”

  Her younger sister, Rena, didn’t wait more than half a beat before pushing herself through the door. Her small, light form bounding in the room and flopped down on Mari’s bed with a pleasant smile at her sister. “Are you sure you have to leave with Val and Magni today?” she asked with a pout. “It’s not fair you get to go and I have to stay here. It’s boring here. I never get to go anywhere fun. Silas is so boring.”

  “Be nice,” Mari reminded her gently. “He’s who trained me. You’ll be out with us in no time.”

  Mari smiled at her younger sister’s musings. She knew the young girl was eager to get out and explore the world, but she hadn’t even had enough basic training to be able to have her powers unlocked. She still wore her pendant constantly to ensure that she didn’t bleed out powers all over the place. It was the only way that Fae with gifts such as hers could be around others at a young age, otherwise their powers
were completely out of control.

  “Yes, Rena,” Mari sighed as she returned inside and closed the door behind her, “I have to go. It’s work. I’ll be back in a couple days though and we can do something fun. Okay?” Mari had an odd relationship with her sister as she had been responsible for quite a bit of Rena’s upbringing and daily needs.

  Rena attempted to give her sister the very saddest look she could muster in hopes that it would sway Mari into changing her answer. Seeing the effort was a lost cause, Rena shrugged and flipped herself over and hung her head upside down off the side of the bed, her blonde hair cascading underneath her head. She smiled up at Mari as her eyes took in her sister’s rather disheveled appearance.

  “You look like a crazy lion or something,” Rena giggled from her upside-down perch, “Oh! Yeah, I was supposed to tell you, everyone is ready in the dining room. We’re supposed to be down there already.” Rena began swinging her head lightly back and forth, allowing the tips of her blonde hair to graze the floor with each pass.

  Mari sighed as she turned towards the mirror and caught a glimpse of the bedraggled mess that peered back at her. She was sure if she tried to go down to dinner looking like she’d stuck her finger in an electric socket she would never hear the end of it from her brothers. With an exasperated sigh, she attempted to tame her curls with copious amounts of hair products.

  Mari listened intently as Rena rattled on about all the comings and goings of the council meeting and all the excitement she had seen. Mari was sorely disappointed to see that all her attempts at styling her hair had only seemed to anger it. With a frustrated grumble, she attempted to weave the wayward strands into a braid that would at least contain the bulk of the errant tresses.

  “Alright,” Mari sighed as she passed over to the closet that housed her clothes, “Out of here while I get dressed. I’ll be down in just a few minutes, okay? You head down, so we don’t both get in trouble.”

  Rena pushed her legs and body up and over her head, over the side of the bed in a half-roll. She grinned up at Mari as she passed by on her way to the door. Rena bounded out of the room, skipping her way off towards the hallway that would lead down to the kitchen area of their home.

  Mari felt exhaustion creeping back in on her, and attempted to fight the feelings back. She eyed the contents of her closet as she tried to figure out what to wear for the dinner. At least without a council meeting, her attire could pretty much be anything she chose as long as it wasn’t inappropriate by her Father and brothers’ standards. She pulled on a thin, black tee shirt and jeans, moving carefully over the remnant burn from her dream.

  Mari winced as she attempted to walk in the jeans and felt the fabric rubbing against the tender skin on her leg. She knew there was no way that she would be able to make it through the entire dinner with the fabric rubbing against the angry red burn along her thigh. Mari spun back towards her dresser with an exasperated whine escaping her lips.

  Mari traded out the jeans for a long, flowy black skirt. She hiked it up above her knee and applied some salve to the mark on her thigh, wincing as her finger came in contact. She couldn’t understand how in the world a dream could be doing this. She felt like the answer was so beyond her knowledge and familiar skills. Mari just couldn’t figure out how she was going to go to someone for help with it. It was just a little too embarrassing for her to just outright discuss with anyone she knew.

  Mari finished getting ready for dinner and left her room heading down the hall towards the large dining room where everyone was already assembled. She prepared herself, making sure that she was mentally shielding herself enough given how tired she was. It seemed like no matter how much sleep she was getting, when she had these intense dreams she felt twice as tired when she woke up. Tired was a recipe for disaster for most empaths.

  Mari’s eyes scanned the room as she entered, and her face lit up into a warm smile as she saw her favorite uncle sitting at the far end of the table, engrossed in whatever conversation he was having with her father. She made her way down the length of the table, stopping briefly to give Rena’s hair a small ruffle before she settled herself into her regular seat.

  “Ah, there she is,” her uncle smiled as she began serving her plate from the assembled dishes before them, “I was wondering if I was going to get to see you at all or not this afternoon.” Her uncle was a wisp of a man, barely taller than Mari herself, but who had kind eyes and looked strikingly like Mari’s mother.

  “I’m so sorry,” Mari offered as she added a spoonful of vegetables to Rena’s plate, “Today’s council meeting was just a lot, I guess. It took a more out of me than usual.” She shushed her sister who was protesting the additional vegetables, and began to poke at the food on her own plate with her fork. Mari wasn’t entirely sure how hungry she was, so she pushed food back and forth to give herself something to do while she decided.

  Mari raised her eyes to see her father and uncle exchanging a knowing, worried glance. It gave Mari the irritating impression that she had been what they were discussing so seriously as she entered the room. She pushed the thought back in her mind, trying not to worry about how much this must be impacting her if everyone was so worried about her.

  “Right, well, I’m certainly glad you’re feeling better now,” Mari’s father offered as they all began eating, “It seems more important now that you go along with Valentyn and Magni.” He made a small nod in the direction of the two sons he mentioned, who were involved in a deep conversation of their own at the opposite side of the table.

  “Who exactly are we looking for again?” Mari asked quietly before taking a bite of the food on her plate. She hadn’t been given details of exactly what or who they were looking for on their next assignment, but she was hopeful getting out of the house would help her take her mind off things and hopefully stop the dreams she was having. She hoped she may be able to work a stop in to visit with her friend, Ben, before returning. She hadn’t seen Ben in several weeks and was looking forward to getting to catch up with her odd human friend.

  “This will be a little different than what you’re used to,” her uncle explained in between bites of food, “You’re really just tracking down a witness at this point. We were told that a bear shifter who had been seen last in the eastern region had encountered someone who is taking people, or people’s power, and we need to bring him in to get a better understanding of what he remembers. Apparently, he injured a human, and his brother may be able to identify his location. You will be needed to see if the brother will help us and to try to make sure that it’s not too dangerous to bring him back to the residence. I’m worried about just what you’ll find once you do catch up with him.”

  Talk returned to much more mundane topics, as everyone settled in and began enjoying their food and drinks. Mari could easily sense how worried her Uncle was, and it seemed like such an odd thing to be so worried about, but she was confident there was nothing that she and her brothers couldn’t handle together. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was much more to the situation than her uncle and father were letting on, but she knew better than to push the subject. She was very interested to see what this was all about. Mari wondered if all she needed was just a good distraction to keep her mind off things. That should surely help stop her unconscious mind of traveling to such odd places when she dreamed.

  Chapter 3

  Mari and her brothers approached the small cabin where the bear shifter they were looking for was supposed to live. They had spent half a day tracking him down and looking for information based off the lead they had. They had found someone in a small mountain town who had thought they had seen him at their local safe house just the day prior and pointed them in the direction of a small, secluded cabin up the side of a mountain.

  Magni rapped his knuckles against the door a few times in a powerful, insistent knock. He settled himself back with his arms crossed across his chest. They were all slightly relieved and surpris
ed when the door opened minutely. They hadn’t been very hopeful that this was the right cabin and all relaxed at feeling like they were on the right track.

  “William Franklin?” Val asked with a hopeful tone, as the large man peered around the edge of the door at them.

  “Yes sir, that’s me. Have I done something wrong?” The man responded through the crack in the door with a thick southern accent. He seemed uncertain about whether he should open the door the rest of the way or not, which was a reasonable reaction to the two looming Fae standing on his door step.

  “Not at all,” Val explained quietly, “We just had some questions for you about something you may have seen involving your brother. May we come in?” Val was a bit more outgoing than Magni, and had a much more pleasant demeanor than Magni, who seemed to have a constant scowl when out in public.

  “Sure, I guess,” the shifter muttered as he looked between the two of them. He seemed to latch onto Val’s kindness, while trying very hard to ignore Magni. He stepped back, pulling the door open wide enough for the Fae to enter, and his face registered surprise upon seeing there was a third person. He had not even seen Mari standing behind her bothers, but didn’t seem overly disturbed by the addition as his eyes traced down and back up her body.

  Mari took a steadying breath and worked a little bit harder to keep herself guarded. She was in no mood to feel anyone else’s lust washing over her. She had surprisingly had a decent night’s sleep with no dreams at all. She could feel herself incrementally more rested, and felt the least tired she had been in a week. She entered the small cabin behind her brothers who ducked to make it through the doorway.

  Val and Magni moved to either side of the room and tried to let Mari have focal point for the conversation with the shifter. Val motioned to his sister with a small, polite smile at the shifter, silently indicating that she was the one who would be asking the questions. He settled back against the kitchen counter, with his long legs kicked out in front of him, looking every bit as comfortable as could be, while Magni scowled from a rigid stance near the doorway.