Heart of Fire

by Lisa Edmonds

  “Her name is Felicia Lowell. We believe she’s the second-most-recent victim. We’re looking for leads on where she might be, and whether or not she’s still alive.”

  “Even if it’s her body we find, that would be worth a lot,” Sean said.

  “I’ll do my best,” Adam said. “You know there are no guarantees.”

  “We understand,” I assured him. “What do you want us to do?”

  “Just sit quietly somewhere so I can focus.”

  Sean and I sat on the couch and watched Adam as he wandered around the apartment, his hand outstretched. I knew from previous experience that he was clearing his mind of distractions and “tuning” his senses by looking for items that resonated with Felicia’s unique shifter trace. He paused at the dining table, running his fingers over one of the chairs, then moved into the living room, touching the stack of travel magazines on the coffee table and the guitar on a stand in the corner of the room. His breathing was slow and measured, his eyes half-closed.

  Meanwhile, Sean’s growing impatience made the hairs prickle on my arms and I knew it had to be distracting for Adam. I hesitated, then slid my hand over to touch his. “Relax,” I murmured.

  Sean took several deep breaths and the prickling sensation faded. His fingers brushed mine. “Thanks,” he said quietly.

  I wanted to close my fingers around his. Instead, I pulled my hand back.

  We sat silently as Adam moved around the apartment for almost twenty minutes. I was beginning to think we were going to come up empty when he suddenly stopped and turned toward me with unfocused eyes.

  Slowly, I rose. “Tell me what you see,” I prompted.

  “Darkness.” Adam looked through me. “Four people are sleeping in a dark room.”

  “Is Felicia one of them?”

  “Yes.”

  Sean inhaled sharply. I kept my tone quiet and soothing. “Where is she?”

  “A warehouse. Many rooms, many doors. Wards that tear flesh.”

  My stomach lurched. That kind of blood ward was both illegal and considered anathema among most mages.

  Sean started to stand, but I signaled for him to stay where he was so he didn’t break Adam’s concentration. “How many people are there?” I asked.

  “Dozens. I’ve heard them crying. There’s so much fear and suffering.” Tears began to trickle from Adam’s eyes. “So much death.”

  Everything he could sense might be a clue to where Felicia and the others were being held. “What do you smell?” I asked.

  Adam looked right at me. “Blood,” he grated. His hand shot out and grabbed my arm. “Save us.”

  A torrent of images poured into my brain, and the agony was instantaneous and overwhelming. Blood gushed from my nose, as my knees gave out and I dangled helplessly in Adam’s iron grip. I heard Sean shouting and sensed some kind of scuffle, but I fell down a deep, dark well, leaving him behind.

  I was experiencing what Adam saw and felt through his connection to Felicia, but I wasn’t psychic, and my brain wasn’t wired for it. It was a completely different feeling from my own Second Sight, with which I saw magic traces, wards, and spells. I might have been screaming, but my body and its condition seemed far away and unimportant compared to the horrors in Felicia’s head.

  Memories and sensations tumbled through my brain like rocks in a landslide: Going for a run…a stinging pain in the back of my neck…waking up in chains…blood… screaming and begging…trying to escape…PAIN…silver chains now…so much blood…I’m dying…Mommy, please help me—

  A face above mine, cold and cruel. Stop fighting, Felicia, or we’ll have to kill you and take your brother instead.

  A room with four beds. Many more in other rooms nearby, all chained like me. The smell of blood fills my nose. We’re all hurting.

  We’re all dying.

  12

  My connection to Felicia suddenly broke, and I was yanked backward through the tunnel with the abruptness of a rubber band snapping.

  I hit the floor on my back, jolting me into awareness. For a horrifying moment, I thought I hadn’t ended up back in my own body; my skin didn’t fit and everything felt wrong. I tried to scream but the sound came out as a gurgle. I was choking on my own blood.

  “Shit, Alice, I’m sorry,” Adam said from somewhere nearby.

  Someone rolled me onto my side and I coughed up some of the blood I’d aspirated. “What the hell did you do?” Sean demanded. “You almost killed her. Get him out of here.” It was a snarl.

  A voice rumbled, footsteps retreated, and a door slammed.

  I was still coughing the blood out of my lungs. “Jesus.” Sean wiped my mouth with something. “Don’t die on me, Alice.”

  I wanted to tell him I wasn’t dying but I couldn’t get the words to come out. I focused on clearing my lungs and breathing. Sean kept his hand on my back as I coughed and tried not to vomit.

  Finally, my head began to clear. When I opened my eyes, I found Sean on his knees on the living room floor next to me. He’d taken off his shirt and used it to wipe my mouth. His clothing and the carpet were splattered with blood. Adam was gone.

  “Can you hear me?” he asked.

  I managed a nod. My wrists and ankles burned, but when I glanced down at myself, I seemed to be uninjured. Phantom pains, then, left over from sharing Felicia’s memories. Silver chains, I remembered. My inner elbows throbbed from repeated needle punctures. Not my elbows, Felicia’s. I shivered hard.

  Sean leaned over me. “Are you all right?”

  I was a long, long way from all right. I hurt all over but it was difficult to separate my own current condition from my memories of Felicia’s pain and suffering. The agony in my head was my own, I decided, and my nose still trickled blood.

  I took Sean’s shirt and pressed it to my nose. “I’ll be okay,” I said weakly.

  His eyes blazed. “What did he do to you?”

  “He didn’t do it on purpose.” I coughed and struggled to sit up.

  He helped me sit upright. Before I could protest, he settled in with his legs around me so I could lean back against his chest. He wrapped an arm around my middle as I tipped my head forward and held the shirt to my nose.

  Sean’s warm breath tickled my ear. “Can you tell me what happened?”

  I tried to make some sense out of my muddled thoughts. “When Adam grabbed me, I glimpsed some of what he saw through his connection to Felicia. She’s alive, but in a lot of pain. I think there are others still alive, too, but I’m not sure how many.”

  He processed that. “How hurt are you?”

  “It’s just a nosebleed.”

  A long silence. I breathed slowly through my mouth and checked the shirt, then found a clean area and put it back to my nose. Every time I moved my head, pain stabbed me behind my eyes.

  “That’s the second time you’ve lied to me today, third if I count the text you sent me last night claiming it was all a false alarm.” Sean rested his cheek against the side of my head. “Pick one of them and tell me the truth.”

  I hurt too much to fight about it. “Adam unintentionally shared his visions with me. I’m not a psychic, so the overload probably burst some small blood vessels in my brain.”

  “You hemorrhaged. In your brain.” Sean’s voice was even.

  “It’s not as bad as it sounds.”

  Judging by the tension in his body, he very much disagreed with me on that point. “Would a healing spell help? Do you have any with you?”

  “I’ll use one later, when I’m home. When I use one on my head, it feels like ants crawling in my brain. I get sick.” It was bad enough to throw up in the privacy of my own home; I had no intention of doing it in Felicia’s apartment, in front of Sean.

  “What can I do?”

  “Nothing. I’ll be fine. I just need to take it easy until I can get home.”

  “What would have happened if I hadn’t intervened?”

  “A stroke, probably. Maybe worse. Thanks, by the way.”
<
br />   His arm tightened around my stomach. “What about last night?”

  I smiled briefly. “You said to pick one.”

  “I was hoping you’d want to come clean on that too.”

  My smile faded. What could I tell him, that someone had sent a poltergeist to kill me and steal my body? Until I knew why I’d been targeted and by whom, I didn’t want anyone else to put themselves at risk, especially not Sean or Malcolm.

  “Not at the moment,” I said finally. “Maybe later.”

  “I smelled blood on your bag and in your car that wasn’t there yesterday. I know you were injured.”

  I made a face. I thought I’d cleaned my bag and car thoroughly, but obviously not well enough to fool Sean’s nose.

  “Whatever happened, was it related to our current case?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Is the situation resolved?”

  “For the time being.” I reached over to the coffee table, picked up my phone, and sent a quick text to Adam. You still here?

  A few seconds later, a reply. VCS: Yes. Waiting to hear that you’re OK.

  Me: Come back in and let’s talk about what you saw.

  VCS: OK

  “VCS?” Sean asked.

  “Vampire Court Seer.”

  I put the shirt down. Sean stood and carried me to the couch. He propped me up with some pillows, then went to the kitchen for a wet towel. I took it from him and began to clean my face and neck. The pain in my head made my eyeballs throb.

  When Adam knocked, Sean went to the door to let him in, his eyes golden.

  “Take it easy,” I said as he reached for the doorknob. “If I know Adam, he’s probably been beating himself up since you kicked him out.”

  Sean didn’t reply, but the glow in his eyes faded as he opened the door and stepped aside to let Adam in.

  The psychic sported a split lip and swelling jaw. The man-mountain behind him glowered at Sean.

  My eyes widened. “Did you punch the Vampire Court’s Seer?”

  Sean shut the door, leaving Adam’s escort outside. “He wouldn’t let you go. It was either that or break his hand to get you away from him.”

  “I deserved it.” Adam came over and crouched so he didn’t tower over me. He was pale and clearly shaken. “I’m so sorry. I don’t even remember grabbing you.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. I’ll be all right.” I gave him a small smile. “My head hurts like I’ve been waiting in line at the DMV, though.”

  Despite my attempt at levity, Adam flinched. “I could have killed you.”

  “But you didn’t, so we’re okay.” I lowered the towel and looked up at Sean. “Is my face clean?”

  “Mostly.” Sean stood at my side, his arms crossed. “You missed a few spots.”

  I held the towel out. He found a clean section and started wiping my chin and throat.

  I looked over at Adam. “We need to talk about what you saw while it’s still fresh.”

  “If you’re feeling up to it, I’m ready to talk.” He glanced at Sean. “Mind if I get myself some ice from the kitchen first?”

  “Go ahead.”

  Adam went into the kitchen and the ice maker rattled to life.

  “We’ll have to clean the carpet,” I told Sean as he wiped my face. “I’ll burn my blood, but it will leave ash.”

  “I’ll get someone in here to clean up. Don’t worry about it.” He unbuttoned the top button on my bloody shirt and started cleaning my upper chest. Our eyes met and he paused. “Should I stop?”

  “No,” I said softly. He resumed cleaning me with the towel, his touch gentle.

  Adam returned to the living room, holding an ice-filled dish towel to his mouth, just as Sean was finishing. He stood by the dining table and waited until the werewolf took the bloody towel and his shirt into the bathroom. I heard water running. Slowly, I pushed myself upright.

  “Take it easy.” Adam helped me adjust the pillows, careful not to touch me. “I can have some vampire blood brought here to help you heal. Mr. Vaughan has some set aside for daytime emergencies. You’re on the list of approved recipients.”

  I started to shake my head, then decided that was a bad idea. “I have healing spells at home.”

  “You shouldn’t wait that long,” Adam argued. “Let me get the blood for you.”

  “I don’t want Charles’s help. He asks too high a price for it.”

  Adam looked stubborn. “It’s my price to pay. I caused your injuries. Let me help.”

  I couldn’t explain to him that I didn’t want Charles’s blood because I was afraid he’d be able to influence me. The fewer people who knew about our complicated situation, the better. “It was an accident, Adam. You shouldn’t have to suffer because of it.”

  “All he’ll ask for is a snack,” Adam said. “I don’t mind; it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve let him drink from me. It’s worse seeing you hurt, knowing I caused it.”

  Sean appeared in the living room, drying his hands on a towel. “Is there any blood available from Niara instead of Vaughan?” He’d evidently overheard the whole conversation.

  Adam nodded. “Yes. I can get it. Would that be better?” he asked me.

  Before I could answer, Sean came over to me. “Alice, let him help you.”

  When I started to refuse, his eyes lit up with anger. “Be reasonable. Adam caused you harm and he wants to make it right, for his sake as well as yours. You’re hurting yourself and him by declining his help.”

  Malcolm was right when he’d said I disliked others doing things for me. Maybe it was because I didn’t think I deserved their help, or because I didn’t like feeling as if I was in someone’s debt, or both.

  At the same time, my refusal made Adam’s guilt worse and if I knew anything, it was the torture of guilt. I couldn’t do much about mine, but I could at least help Adam with his.

  “If you can get Niara’s blood, and all she’ll ask in return is to drink from you, and you’re willing, I’ll do it,” I said reluctantly.

  Adam sent a quick text. The response came back in seconds. “It’s arranged,” he told me, putting his phone back in his pocket. “They’ll be here in twenty-five minutes.” He put the ice back to his busted lip and sat in the chair near the window. “Thank you, Alice.”

  “In the meantime, we need to talk about what we saw while I can still make some sense of it,” I said, ready to redirect the conversation away from myself.

  “You go first,” Adam said. “I’d like to know what you remember.”

  I tried to organize the jumble of images and feelings I’d experienced in the scant seconds I’d shared Adam’s visions. “I only saw a few of Felicia’s memories, and they were all jumbled up. I remember she was out running, and she felt a sharp pain on the back of her neck before passing out.”

  “Probably a tranquilizer dart,” Sean said grimly, settling onto the couch next to me.

  I rubbed my forehead, struggling to think clearly through the vicious ache behind my eyes. “She woke up chained to a bed. She tried to escape and they chained her with silver.”

  Sean snarled.

  I remembered the pain in my inner elbows. “They’re taking blood from the survivors.”

  “For what purpose?” Sean ground out.

  “I don’t know.” I looked at Adam. “Other than pain and fear, that’s all I remember. What did you see?”

  He adjusted the ice he was holding. “A warehouse. The smell of blood and disinfectant was strong, like a hospital, almost.” He looked thoughtful. “I felt strong wards, but it didn’t feel like there was a lot of magic being worked on the premises. If it’s a harnad behind it, I’d think the magic would be thick.”

  “They probably have a separate location where they’re doing whatever it is they’re doing with all that blood.” I frowned.

  “What?” Sean asked me.

  “It still doesn’t make sense. I told Mark the other day, if the harnad were using all this blood in ritual magic, we’d k
now. There would be signs.”

  “Like what?”

  “Weird weather. Seismic activity. High-level mages would be able to sense it, especially along the ley lines. Even the vamps would feel something prickly, shifters too. We’d know.”

  Sean looked at me. “Have you felt something like that before?”

  “Yes, a long time ago.” My grandfather’s cabal compound was the epicenter of all kinds of weird and extreme weather and seismic activity. “Some people call it ‘blood weather.’ Once you’ve felt it or seen it, you’d never mistake it for anything else.”

  “Would you feel it even if they were working inside strong wards?” Adam asked.

  “Even then,” I said. “Maybe not across the city, but anyone in the vicinity would sense it.”

  “Maybe they’re doing everything well outside the city,” Sean suggested. “Out where no one will notice the magic they’re using.”

  “Maybe,” I said reluctantly. “That doesn’t explain the lack of blood weather, though.”

  Adam jerked, like he’d just remembered something. “There was a man who threatened Felicia.”

  My eyes widened. Stop fighting, Felicia. “Yes.” I frowned, trying to remember his face, and a lightning bolt of pain in my head made me wince.

  “Stop straining your memory,” Sean told me. “You can wrack your brain after that blood gets here and you heal yourself. Adam, can you remember this man?”

  Adam had his eyes closed. “What I can see of him is more of an impression than a clear vision. I think I would recognize him if I saw a photo. Felicia might not have been fully conscious when she saw him.”

  Sean handed me my phone. “Pull up that six-pack Mark sent you.”

  I opened the lineup we’d planned to show Danielle and passed the phone back. He took it over to Adam. “Is it any of these men?”

  Adam looked over the pictures carefully, then shook his head. “I don’t think so. None of them look familiar. I’m not one hundred percent sure, though.”

  I tried to remember if the face I’d seen was John West, but my headache was getting worse, and now the room was swimming in and out of focus. I rested my head on the couch and closed my eyes.