Heart of Fire

by Lisa Edmonds

  Ravan bellowed and knocked Sean off, then lashed out as the wolf was rolling to his feet. My breath caught as the tendril of dark gray magic hammered Sean back and left him dazed. Ravan took a step toward him but Malcolm attacked again, opening gashes on the demon’s face and distracting his attention long enough for Sean to get on his feet. He leapt at Ravan again, and this time he got his teeth into the demon’s throat.

  Our plan had been for me to wound the demon with magic from a distance while Sean and Malcolm did most of the close-quarters fighting, and thus far it seemed to be working. As I watched, however, Ravan ignored Malcolm’s attack and drove his basketball-sized fist into Sean’s ribs with a sickening crunch. The wolf didn’t let go of the demon’s throat, and Ravan punched him again. The wolf whined, but still he held on.

  Something happened inside me when I heard Sean’s whine of pain. Before I knew what I was doing, I vaulted over the porch railing and ran at them, my blood magic spooling around my hands. Ravan saw me coming and grinned, his teeth bloody. His fist drew back to punch Sean again.

  I dove at Ravan’s legs. The demon tried to dodge, but as wounded as he was and with Sean still gnawing on his throat, he only managed to stagger. I grabbed his right knee with both hands and sliced through his leg with my blood magic. The demon’s flesh seared my palms and I cried out.

  Sean released Ravan’s throat and jumped away as the demon roared and fell. Ravan lashed out, his magic striking me across my right hip. It felt like someone hit me with a lead pipe and something broke. I screamed and went down.

  Sean moved in front of me, snarling and snapping his teeth at Ravan, who was struggling to rise despite the fact his right leg had been severed at the knee.

  I lashed my cold-fire whip around Ravan’s ravaged neck. The demon’s hide was tough, but Sean had chewed through it partway already. I snapped the coil tight and pulled as hard as I could. Ravan’s head rolled across the grass.

  My hip was killing me and I could barely move, but the fight wasn’t over. A demon could heal even that wound, given enough time and the right spells. Ravan glared at me from his disembodied head, his eyes bright red as Sean snarled at him.

  There was only one way to kill a demon of Ravan’s rank. Despite Sean’s whine of concern, I managed to drag myself over to the demon’s body and used my blood magic to slice into his chest and through his ribs. Ignoring the agony, I shoved my hand inside the demon’s body, feeling my flesh burn as I pushed through his skin and the viscera underneath, searching until I found what I was looking for.

  My hand emerged from the demon’s chest, covered in gore and clutching the black, pulsing lump that was his heart. I reached for the power of my house wards to boost my magic. “Burn.”

  Ravan’s heart went up in burst of white fire. A moment later, his head, body, and blood followed suit. In seconds, the demon was nothing but ash scattered across the backyard.

  I vomited from the pain in my hip and hands. My left palm was blistered, but my right hand and arm were badly burned almost all the way up to my elbow.

  Malcolm reappeared while Sean shifted back to human.

  “He didn’t get you, did he?” I asked the ghost shakily, wiping my mouth with my left sleeve.

  Malcolm hovered over me. “Nope, he missed me. You guys took all the hits. Oh, God, Alice—your hands.”

  Sean appeared in my line of sight, naked and covered with sweat. His injuries had healed when he shifted. He dropped to his knees next to me. “Where did he get you?”

  “Right hip,” I said, gritting my teeth.

  Sean used his fingertips to gently feel around my hip. I gagged at the spike of pain. “That’s fractured pretty badly.” He looked up at Malcolm. “Can you heal her?”

  “If she’ll let me,” Malcolm said. “You know how she is.”

  Sean squeezed my left arm, his eyes on me. “Yes, I do.”

  “Hey, guys, could you gang up on me some other time?” I complained.

  Malcolm floated closer and held his hand over my hip. “Brace yourself.”

  “Alice, look at me,” Sean said.

  I looked up at his bright golden eyes and the pain disappeared in a rush of shifter magic. Malcolm spoke and the healing spell flared, but it was muted.

  As the spells pulsed through me, my shields slipped a little and I saw Sean’s wolf in the darkness between us. He was licking demon blood off his muzzle and watching me, his eyes warm and thoughtful.

  I heard a voice in my head that was more growl than human. Mate, the wolf said.

  I jerked and raised my shields instinctively, breaking Sean’s influence. My movement jostled my half-healed hip and hands, and the loss of Sean’s magic meant I felt Malcolm’s healing spells too. The sharp pain made me whimper and I pulled out of Sean’s grip.

  “No,” Sean said, taking my arm again. “I’m not letting you go this time.” His eyes lit up once more, but I was rattled now and his magic no longer worked to take my pain away. I tried to stay quiet, but I couldn’t hold back little cries as my hip and hands healed.

  Finally, the healing magic faded. Malcolm floated back. “I’ll let you guys talk,” he said and disappeared into the house.

  I sat up gingerly. My hip was sore, but the break was healed. My hands and right arm were pink and the skin felt tight, as if I had a bad sunburn. I’d have to finish healing them with a blood magic healing spell; Malcolm’s magic alone wasn’t strong enough.

  Sean stood, lifting me to my feet by my upper arms and then steadying me when I swayed. When I was standing, he kissed my forehead. “What made you decide to let us help you with Ravan instead of facing him by yourself?” he asked.

  I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the nausea caused by the healing spells. “Maybe I’m learning to like being part of a team.” I hesitated, then added, “When I was at the warehouse and I heard you and the enforcers arrive, I felt safer. And you’re right; it’s not my call whether you fight or not, either of you. That’s your decision to make.”

  His grin made my heart skip a beat. “That’s another baby step,” he teased. When I didn’t smile back, he turned serious. “Whatever my wolf said to you just then, we’ll deal with it. Don’t put up any more barriers, Alice, that’s all I ask.”

  “Your wolf called me his mate.”

  Sean sighed. “He’s been drawn to you from the beginning. I’m sorry if that’s threatening or frightening for you. To be honest, it’s disconcerting for me. That’s never happened before.”

  “We haven’t known each other very long. How can he know he wants me as a mate?”

  “The same way I knew I wanted you the first time I saw you in Hawthorne’s: instinct.” He tucked some loose hair behind my ear. “But we’re human beings, and we’re more than our instincts. There’s no rush, no pressure. We have all the time in the world to figure out what we want.”

  I thought of my grandfather’s cabal moving into the city and his war with Darius Bell, my détente with Charles, this new investigation the vamps wanted me working on, and the mystery of how Malcolm came to be bound to me, and wondered what time I really had before one or more of those things brought disaster to my door, as Agent Parker had done by revealing my identity to Ravan.

  “So, Agent Parker sent him your way,” Sean said, his thoughts echoing mine as we walked slowly back toward the house.

  Once I’d figured out who was after me and why, I’d told Sean about my role in Scott Grierson’s death and how I’d first met Lake and Parker.

  “Apparently so,” I grumbled as we reached the back porch. I climbed the steps slowly, trying not to wince at the ache in my hip. “I suppose, when you have a demon threatening you, you’ll do what you have to do to stay alive. A heads-up would have been nice, though.”

  “So what are you going to do about it?” Sean asked, reaching to open the back door.

  “Let’s go inside. You need to get some clothes on before Malcolm gets the vapors. I need to finish healing myself. Then I’m going to call Adam March
.”

  Sean’s brow furrowed. “The Court psychic? Why?”

  “You asked what I’m going to do about Parker. Well, Adam owes me a favor and I’m about to call it in.”

  Three days later, I was on my knees in the backyard, wedging a stone into place in what would be the border of my flowerbed. It didn’t look like much now, but I had big plans for my new backyard garden. It would be more life energy, feeding my house and yard wards, if I could get it going.

  A large black-and-white dog came bounding across the yard and bumped into me, dropping a stick on the ground.

  “You goofball,” I told my new dog, scratching his head. I picked up the stick and threw it back across the yard. Rogue ran after it with a happy bark.

  I picked up another rock and put it in place, then rubbed my sore shoulders and sighed. Though I tried to distract myself with yard work, I couldn’t stop my mind from wandering.

  I’d asked Sean to have one of his people deliver Mark’s wedding ring to Sharon. Mark’s funeral had been a private, family-only service, and I was not invited. His death was still a dull ache in my gut that even the memory of killing Spencer Addison couldn’t ease. The only thing that seemed to cut through the pain was drinking the Scotch Mark had given me, but I was rationing it carefully.

  Yesterday, I discovered my recycling bin had been emptied. Sean hadn’t said anything about all the empty liquor bottles. He was giving me the opportunity to be the one who brought it up. He might have to wait a while.

  The hunger for Black Fire continued to come and go, but I was resisting thanks to Sean’s help. I didn’t understand how he was able to relieve my cravings, but I wasn’t about to look a gift werewolf in the mouth. I’d liked the power and the rush of Black Fire too much to risk letting the need for it get the better of me.

  As I was looking over the pile of stones, deciding which to place next, the perimeter wards tingled. Rogue started barking and running around the yard in circles. In addition to being unusually calm around Sean, he was extremely sensitive to wards and magic. And to ghosts, as it turned out. Anytime Malcolm was in the vicinity, the dog barked up a storm and tried to bite him. We were hoping he’d get used to Malcolm’s presence soon.

  “Stay,” I told Rogue, pointing to the porch. He trotted up the steps and lay down on the concrete, watching me as I got to my feet and headed for the back gate.

  I came around the side of the house to see a black pickup parked in my driveway and a blond man in jeans and a blue shirt on my front porch, his fist raised to knock on my door.

  “Lake,” I called.

  He came down the porch steps and joined me. “Working in the yard?”

  “Putting in a flowerbed.”

  His eyebrows went up. I couldn’t blame him; I knew I didn’t seem like the type for backyard gardening. “Need some help?” he asked. He looked like he hadn’t slept well in a couple of days, and there was something in his eyes that had me worried.

  “I was actually about to take a break. Come on back.” I led the way through the back gate.

  Lake surveyed my flowerbed-in-progress and bent down to pick up one of the stones I was using for the border. “Nice. This is a good spot. Lots of morning sunshine and afternoon shade, it looks like.” He glanced at the back porch and did a double-take. “When did you get a dog?”

  “That’s Rogue.” The dog barked at the sound of his name. “He used to belong to one of the people taken from the homeless camp by the river. The man wasn’t one of the survivors, and the woman who was caring for him decided to go to a rehab program. I happened to be down there the other day, checking on the camp, and offered to adopt him.”

  In fact, Rogue had followed me back to my car, and Jo-Jo had laughed and said I couldn’t very well not take him with me. I was still getting used to the idea that I had a pet for the first time in my life. Sean was ridiculously happy that I’d adopted the dog and Rogue already adored him, following him everywhere when he was at my house.

  Lake smiled at Rogue, but the expression was fleeting. When he turned back to me, the darkness was back in his eyes.

  “What’s up, Lake?” I asked, my hands on my hips. “Is there a problem with the case against the harnad?”

  “No, not as such.” Lake looked at the porch again. “Can we sit?”

  “Sure.” I led the way to the porch as Rogue went back to running around the yard. “Can I get you something to drink? Iced tea or water?”

  “I’m all right.”

  I sat on the porch railing and gestured at the chair. “Have a seat.”

  To my surprise, he settled into the chair without arguing. He was probably still weakened from blood loss.

  “First, I wanted to let you know Detective Brody made a full confession to his involvement with the harnad,” Lake said. “He admitted to pulling Mark Dunlap over and getting him out of the vehicle so he could be spelled by Robert Miller, who you know as Bobby. He also admitted to calling Spencer Addison about John Andrews and Jake Travers.”

  It was nothing I hadn’t already suspected, but it still hurt to hear how Mark had been taken. “What else?”

  “We found out from Jorge Garcia’s people that the harnad took the shifter woman and the vampires to experiment on creating different drugs using their blood. Luckily, they weren’t successful. I understand the werewolf and the vampires are recovering well.”

  “Yes, they are.” I regarded him. “I guess the police are finding out the hard way that people don’t appreciate being lied to about there not being any harnads in the city.”

  “SPEMA did try to warn them.” Lake shook his head. “The police chief resigned this morning, as did a half-dozen other city officials. Diaz still has his job, but the lieutenant in charge of Major Crimes was fired. A lot more heads are probably going to roll before it’s all over.”

  “Well, now the Daylighters have refocused their hate on mages. There are anti-magic protests at city hall and the police department. I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but the list of vamp-owned businesses on the Daylighters’ website is now accompanied by a list of mage-owned businesses, including mine.” I paused. “I’ve been evicted from my office building, as of today. I have forty-eight hours to clear out my property.”

  He sighed. “I’m sorry, Alice.”

  I shrugged. “In the scheme of things, getting kicked out of my office seems unimportant. But you didn’t come over here to hear about my problems. What’s bugging you?”

  Lake rubbed his face. “My partner was arrested yesterday.”

  “Parker?” My eyebrows went up. “What on earth for?”

  “Falsifying evidence on a case we worked last year. Someone tipped off our bureau chief to look into it, and she confessed. Now all of her cases are under review.”

  “You’re kidding. They don’t think you had anything to do with it, do they?”

  He shook his head. “No. When she was questioned, she was very clear that she’d done it without my knowledge. I asked her why she did it, and she told me because she knew the guy was guilty but we couldn’t prove it. I don’t know what to say. I never would have thought she’d do that.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said sincerely. “You think you know somebody.”

  Lake looked up at me, his eyes searching my face. “Alice, I need to know: did you have anything to do with tipping off our bureau chief?”

  “Me? Of course not. Why would you think I would?”

  “Because when I went to talk to her yesterday, Parker asked if I’d seen you lately and how you were doing. When I said that as far as I knew you were fine, she said I should come check on you, just in case.”

  I couldn’t very well tell him a psychic had told me about Parker falsifying evidence, because then I’d have to tell him Parker sent Scott Grierson’s father after me. And then I’d have to explain how I’d killed the demon in my backyard, and that the touch-sensitive psychic had learned of what Parker had done by breaking into her house. No, Lake didn’t need to know any of that.
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  “I have no idea what she meant,” I said. “You know she never liked me. Maybe she was hoping I’d had an accident or something. Who knows?”

  A long silence. For once, he didn’t confront me about lying. Instead, he startled me. “I’m leaving, Alice.”

  I blinked at him. “What?”

  “I’ve been offered a promotion. They want me to be the assistant director at the field office in Seattle.”

  “Lake, that’s awesome! Congratulations!” I hesitated. “Why aren’t you happy about it?”

  “I am happy about it. This is something I’ve been working toward for a long time.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  He stood up and joined me at the railing. “You.”

  “Me?”

  “I’m taking this job in Seattle because I know I can’t stay here in this city with you.”

  Stunned, I fell silent.

  “You are the most beautiful, most intriguing, and most frustrating woman I have ever met,” he said, staring out into the yard. “I wanted to be with you but I couldn’t get past the lies and my suspicions. By the time I decided those weren’t as important as how I felt, it was too late. Sean Maclin was smarter than me, or luckier. Maybe both.”

  We were quiet.

  “I know you aren’t who you say you are,” he continued. “There is nothing in Alice Worth’s history to explain the things you can do or the way you killed Spencer Addison without blinking an eye. It wasn’t the Black Fire or your anger over Mark Dunlap’s death. You’re a killer, Alice—if that’s your real name. Addison wasn’t your first; that much is obvious.”

  I didn’t bother to deny it; he’d sense the lie anyway.

  “I don’t know who you are, but I’m not going to dig and try to find out, partially because you saved my life twice, and partially because I don’t want to know. I also know I can’t stay here and keep running into you, and not just because it keeps reminding me of what could have been. I took an oath to uphold the law and I’ve broken it a dozen times for you. One of these days you’ll cross a line and I won’t be able to let you walk away. I don’t want to catch you doing something I’d have to arrest you for.”