Of Light And Fire (Burned By Magic Series Book 1)

by Gina Shafer

  “It’s a funny thing, wanting something,” I say, not intending to give him even a drop. “I want a lot of things.” I sit directly in front of him, leaning back in the cold metal chair.

  “For instance…” I continue. “I want my son back.” Karina crosses the small distance that I put between us when I sat down, and runs her hand over my shoulder.

  “I had nothing to do with Lincoln killing Soren,” Aiden swears.

  “So you know about that, huh? And you do know who we are,” I say, already aware that Soren’s death was a topic heavily under discussion by all ranks of demons. I have Scarlett’s research to thank for that one.

  “News travels fast. And I’ve seen your face before. Once. I was there when they were interrogating you,” Aiden simply says. I exhale a small laugh, though none of this shit is funny to me.

  “Funny how the tables have turned…” I pause for a moment, leaning forward so that my elbows rest against my knees. “Let’s talk about Abe,” I say, leaning in even closer. I want to intimidate, hoping it will scare him into telling me the truth.

  “What about him?” he whispers, clearly exhausted and in pain. His agony won’t end soon. We both know that. His answer aggravates me, even though it doesn’t seem like he intended it to. What about him? Everything about him.

  The dagger at my ankle comes to the forefront of my mind. The harsh strap of the sheath digs into my skin and for a moment I’m struck with the question I knew I would ask myself sometime during this interrogation. Am I really capable of such torture? Even to a demon. I don’t take pleasure in pain… in fact, my sole purpose in life has been to stop the mindless torture that has been running rampant for as long as I can remember. But, then I remind myself that this torture isn’t mindless. My anger rises to the surface at one simple name, which is anything but simple to me… Soren. I’m doing this so that no one will ever have to watch his or her loved ones die at the hands of a demon again.

  “Why is he scared of this?” I pull out my dagger from where it’s been hidden under the fabric of my pant leg and Aiden visibly flinches when he catches sight of the steel. He stays silent, which only fuels my anger more. If he intends to stay quiet, it will be much harder for us to get the information we need so desperately.

  “So you’ve seen it before?” I ask, knowing full well I’m on the right track. The demons are scared of this weapon, so why the hell did Vara leave it behind for me? What can it do? What makes them so afraid?

  Aiden still stays silent, that is until I take the tip of the dagger and run it sharply against his tied forearm. Not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to where it gets him talking.

  “Okay, okay…” he says, frantic. “Please… just don’t cut me with it,” he pleads, which only makes me want to cut him more. I long to see the red pools of blood drip from his arm. I long to watch the pain smear across his face.

  “Start talking,” I demand, pulling the dagger back.

  “The tiger’s eye, on the bottom… it’s been spelled. Abe has been looking for that dagger for years. A dagger with a spell that is designed to…” He pauses, squinting his eyes shut.

  “Continue,” I order, kicking his shin with the tip of my boot. A sensation of awareness tickles its way up my spine. Torturing this demon isn’t as hard as I thought it would be. What does that mean for me?

  “It’s designed to trap a demon inside their host body. It doesn’t work on the shadow-walkers, only the upper-level demons that can shift into the unburnt. It traps us, so that we can never escape. Even if the body dies, we will be stuck inside forever.” He sobs and I know instantly that this information is not something the demons ever wanted out.

  “What happens when the body rots away?” I ask.

  “Nothing. We’re doomed if the blade pierces our skin. Our souls hang inside the bones of the body. Even when the bones disintegrate, we remain stuck. Attached to any single piece of the body left over until they finally waste away any single cell. Then… there’s nothing. We’re nothing. Anymore…” Aiden coughs after he finishes. He’s been easier to break down than I thought he would be. Not putting up much of a fight. I wonder why?

  I stand up to walk out with Karina right behind me. She hasn’t said a word this entire time, and I’m sure our heads are both swimming; trying to process everything we’ve just learned.

  “Wait, please, wait!” Aiden screams at our retreating figures. “Please, I told you what I know! Let me go!” he begs, sobbing, his body shaking while he speaks.

  I turn, looking him square in the eye.

  “If you think you’re going to survive any of this, you’re mistaken. I will not spare another demon life,” I say. Then, I spin back around and walk from the room.

  I hit the punching bag swinging in front of my face for the thousandth time and the impact beams through my gloves, causing my hands to feel the sting. I used to use this thing daily when Soren was young. I would come out here and fight until my knuckles were damn near bleeding. The worst days were when I woke up from a nightmare, then I would be in the garage for hours, hitting with more and more strength until the images from my dreams melted away and I was left with only pain. Physical pain that extended from my fingers and traveled it’s way deep into my arms. That kind of pain I could deal with.

  That’s what I’m doing right now. I’m beating, pushing, and expelling every bit of force into this swinging bag that my body can take. I feel silly, fighting an inanimate object, but I trudge on. My movements become more than just left, right, and jab. They become fluid with the bag, to the point where I can’t feel where I end and the leather begins. My anger fills the room with each breath. My despair coats the floor as the sweat flings from my body and falls like rain.

  I don’t even remember how long I’ve been out here. It’s been almost a week since we captured Aiden and I still feel the darkness looming over me after my talk with him, I had to clear out the blackness inside that the conversation left me with. I felt low, small… like I was a candle reaching the end of its life. Burning the last of my wick until it fizzles out. After my workout, I feel my light start to flicker and burn brightly again, and I know that my flame is renewed. After one last blow to the bag, I sink to the floor and lie against the cool cement.

  Magic starts to radiate from my chest, the energy covering the room in a thick fog.

  Fuck.

  I feel sparks emanating from my fingertips and I know I’ve taken this too far. Already the feeling of power I get from the magic is addicting. It’s different than the magical panic attack that I had after Soren died. This feels… fresh and unrestrained. I find myself craving more, and the fear lurches me to my feet. Why has my magic been surfacing so often? I’ve got to get control of my emotions.

  I close my eyes and count, remembering what Karina told me. For Soren, because of Soren, he will live through me. I squint my eyes shut and continue.

  By the tenth time I say the words, I feel my magic start to subside. I switch to just repeating Soren’s name. As his name leaves my lips in a whisper, I can’t feel the energy anymore. My body sags with relief. My magic is back where it should be, locked away where it won’t hurt anyone. I peel off my gloves and head inside to find Karina.

  “I know he knows more than he says he does.” Marcel walks into the kitchen, grabbing a glass and filling it with water from the faucet. He swallows it down with one gulp and slams the glass onto the hard granite countertop. “Karina and I were just discussing our next move with the demon. We’ve all become a little frustrated at how tight lipped he’s become. He’s drawn back, not revealing anything anymore.”

  And I thought this was going to be easy…

  “We’ll break him, Marcel. It’s just going to take a little time.” Micha walks in, keeping his voice calm.

  “Micha’s right, he’s going to talk any day now,” I add.

  “We’ve learned so much already.” Karina adds, and this moment has become the three of us trying to assuage the situation before Marce
l gets any more upset.

  She’s right; we have acquired some important information in the last six days. But not everything that we were looking for. My turn to interrogate Aiden is up next, and I don’t plan on holding back.

  I grip Karina’s thighs and slide her down from the countertop where she was sitting. She stills as my hands roam her hips and come to rest on the smallest part of her waist. This is the first time I’ve touched her intimately in front of anyone else, and I know I’ve surprised her. Honestly, I’m not even sure why I did that just now. I think I just don’t care anymore. I don’t want to waste a moment anymore, not after Soren… When I look up, the two other men in the room are moving about, minding their own business. They don’t even give us a glace, and I know they wouldn’t.

  “Are you coming?” I whisper to Karina.

  “Not this time. I’ve got work to do,” she says, kissing and then nipping my jaw with the tips of her teeth. Any unease she felt with my public display of affection clearly disappeared as quick as it came. I smile when I watch her hips sway as she walks away.

  “Aiden said that he heard Vara really did love you,” Marcel calls from across the room. The lightness I felt in Karina’s presence falls from me and shatters to the ground like glass dropped from fifty feet. I don’t want to think about Vara.

  “Vara did a lot of things, said a lot of things…” I begin. “But I don’t think loving me was one of them.” I tighten my jaw and walk from the room, heading for the bedroom we’ve been keeping Aiden in.

  When I open the door, I ask Aiden the same thing I ask him every time I enter.

  “Where can we find Abe?” I say, already knowing what my answer will be. Aiden spits through his bloody teeth and it lands right between my boots. The guy has aim. The blood has become a common thing in this room; usually Marcel and Micha leave him pretty battered before I get to him. We’ve been taking shifts, not giving Aiden any breaks for more than a couple of hours. We’ve fed him as little as possible, holding back water and food in the hopes that he’ll finally break.

  “Kill me,” he says, all emotion cleared from his voice. But I know the truth. He’s screaming on the inside.

  “Why would I do that before you tell me where Abe is?” I ask, feigning ignorance.

  “I’ll tell you where he is going to be, just please kill me after,” Aiden says. This surprises me. He has held on so tight to this tiny bit of information since he’s been here.

  I pull the dagger from behind my back and Aiden’s eyes go wide.

  “No. No. You promised you wouldn’t use that on me,” he yells. He’s right, I did promise. One of the times I came in here, I threatened him with it. He begged, sobbed, and got through to my soft spot. I told him I would only burn him, that I wouldn’t trap him in the body he inhabits.

  “And I still won’t. But only if you tell me the truth… Where can we find Abe?” I ask again.

  Aiden silently sobs, his shoulders rocking like someone is behind him, shaking him with all their might.

  “Just tell me, Aiden, and I’ll end this. I’ve kept my word so far.” I plead with him. I don’t want this to go on any longer, to be honest. I would rather kill him quick and be done with it.

  “If you give me a map, I’ll show you,” he says, after finally regaining his composure.

  I leave the room, tucking my dagger back into its sheath and marching directly toward Karina... determined. She glances up from her laptop, frowning when she sees the look on my face.

  “I need a map,” I say. “Do you have one?” I ask.

  She doesn’t say a word, only spins in her chair to reach behind her into a pile of paperwork. She pulls out a laminated map folded into thirds. I kiss her hard on the lips and march directly back into the room with Aiden.

  “Here’s your map,” I say, slamming it down on the table next to him. “Show me.” Aiden leans over, blinking the sweat and tears from his eyes.

  “Right there,” he says. His hands are still tied, so he can only nod his head toward a busy city street. I pull the map back toward me to study the location.

  “Where exactly?” I ask, feeling impatient.

  “A blue apartment building.” He coughs. “With a red door. It’s abandoned. Abe likes to stay in places where no one will arrive unannounced. He will be there in three days.” Aiden leans his head back, breathing deep and then wincing at the pain from his bruised ribs.

  I pull my pistol from under my arm and aim it directly at Aiden’s forehead. He closes his eyes, prepared for what’s to come. I take a deep breath, but before I fire the bullet, I pause. I lower the gun and think, hard. I consider what I’m about to do, if I’m capable of something so harsh. Aiden’s eyes pop open when the bullet never comes, and his face fills with dread when he realizes what I’m about to do. Without any further thought, I pull my dagger from its sheath once more. I’m capable of anything, I think to myself. Anything that will bring me one step closer to killing the ones responsible for my son’s death. It would be too dangerous to only burn this body. Aiden could jump into any one of us before we had time to get a fire going. He could run and tell Abe we’re looking for him. No… it has to be this way.

  “No, wait! You promised! I’m telling the truth! Just kill me, please! I’ll do anything!” He’s still speaking when I plunge the blade directly through his throat. Blood spurts out onto the carpet, onto my clothes, everywhere… but I don’t think about that. I think only of the fact that Aiden is now trapped inside a rotting corpse for the rest of eternity. I feel nothing as I wipe the blood off my dagger on the sack that covered Aiden’s head most of the time he was here. I swipe the map in my hands and walk from the room.

  “We’re going to need to get rid of the body,” I say as I enter the dining room where everyone is gathered for lunch. Everyone’s eyes go wide when they take in the bloodstains on my clothes.

  “What the hell just happened?” Karina asks first,

  “Did you kill him?” Micha asks before Karina finishes her last word.

  “Please tell me you found out where Abe is going to be,” Marcel says.

  “I did,” I answer. I slam the map down onto the table, much like I did in the room with Aiden.

  “He’ll be here…” I say, pointing to the area Aiden described. “…In three days.”

  “Holy shit,” Karina says, and then she covers her mouth with her hands.

  “Whatever you do, don’t burn the body,” I say. I turn to leave the room, to wash off all the remnants of the body I just mutilated. I know I should be disgusted with what I just did, but searching deep inside myself, I feel nothing but satisfaction. I’m one step closer to avenging Soren, and now I know that nothing will get in my way.

  The sound of the running water streaming from the showerhead clears my thoughts. My mind has been racing since I stepped in the shower and realized that now we have to come up with a plan to get to Abe. My body shivers even under the heat of the water when I think of the look on Aiden’s face when I stuck him with my dagger. I’m trembling. When did that happen? My knees are beginning to feel weaker, and I have to fight against my own body to keep standing.

  I killed that demon, and I’m not even sure if he deserved it.

  Wait, what the fuck? He was a demon… of course he deserved it. What they hell is wrong with me?

  My body stills when I feel someone wrap their arms around my chest, bare breasts press against my back.

  “Karina…” I whisper.

  “Shh, don’t talk,” she whispers back. “Just let me.”

  I do. I let her soothe me. I let her wrap around me tighter, holding my pieces together. How did she know this would be so difficult for me? I had myself convinced that I could be so ruthless to any demon, but in my time talking with Aiden… He didn’t seem too bad to me. Was Vara that way too, and I just didn’t see it?

  I can feel her nipples harden when I don’t deny her. I push down any thoughts other than one. I want her. No… I need her. We’ve done nothing but sha
re a few kisses here and there since the moment in the bedroom before the mission where Soren was killed. Since then, I’ve been mostly removed from myself, pulling back from her when she tries to deepen a kiss. She’s proven how strong she is this whole time by not blaming me for my reluctance to get close to her. Right now though, I don’t want to deny her. I want to bury myself in her, I want to forget everything but her taste, her smell, the sounds she makes when I make her feel good.

  I spin, holding her close, and feel our wet skin slide against one another while we move. Her body is beautiful, so beautiful that my knees weaken again when I catch sight of her unhindered by clothes. Though this time, it’s for a completely different reason. She should never wear clothes again.

  She tilts her head up to kiss me, and I meet her halfway, my hands sliding over her round hips and cupping her perfect ass. I feel myself harden all the way when she moans. The sound that leaves her mouth is sweet, like warm chocolate, sweet coffee, and pumpkin pie. I want to hear it again.

  I move my lips down over her chin and land on the sweet spot at her neck. I am rewarded by her moans again. There isn’t anything in the world that I wouldn’t do to hear that sound.

  Karina moves her hands in between our slick bodies, and pushes me back so that my shoulders are pressed up against shower wall. The cold tile does nothing to cool me off. Surprising her, I spin so that now she is the one with her back to the wall. The water cascades over her belly and slides down her body, falling over her core and landing on the tile floor. I kneel and gently lick between the apex of her thighs and smirk when her body jumps at my touch. She wasn’t expecting this, but I want to make her feel everything. Just this is enough to distract me from my earlier thoughts, and I want to thank her for the gift she knowingly gave when she stepped into this shower. She knew I needed her body, knew I needed to lose myself inside of her. My hard length twitches when I bury my face over her bud, suckling gently at the sweetest spot there. Her taste gives me a high, and I lick up every drop while the water runs down my back.