Fire and Flame

by Anya Breton

  In any case, perhaps he ought to ready himself for a showdown. Brent couldn’t afford to be surprised if Derrick answered Grace’s front door. He had to be ready to defend himself and the friends providing backup. But could he count on them to protect him? Or had Derrick’s poison spread to his friends?

  Brent’s pulse raced when he thought of the danger he may have put Sara in by sending her with Colin and Perry. Though he thought he could trust his friends, the only person he could really count on was himself.

  If they lived through this, no one but he would protect Sara McKenna.

  ****

  Sara wished she’d come up with a better plan than one involving sending a lone witch into a hostage situation. Why hadn’t she seen this coming? She’d been clever enough to know dividing their resources was bad but simply not intelligent enough to know Brent never should have gone out the door alone.

  Sara wanted to blame it on his kissing her but she’d been thinking as clear as she could in any emergency prior to that. Never had she been put to the test like this. Fintan had truly coddled her. Until recently, she’d never dreamed of resenting him for it. Now…

  If they lived through this she’d make certain Brent trained her to be a better Fire witch.

  Colin pulled the SUV into the parking lot of a gas station he claimed was a quarter of a mile from Grace Anala’s house. Sara volunteered to text Brent that they were now on foot. Vanessa insisted upon doing it because she claimed to be the fastest typist of anyone she knew. Sara had insisted louder. She didn’t trust the hoyden to tell Brent the correct things.

  As they made their way around bushes and trees in an effort to remain hidden, Sara tapped out the message to Brent. He would still be driving. They’d decided he’d pretend to get lost so they’d have a few minutes to get in place. Once the message was sent, she hurried to catch up with the others.

  Sara’s heart raced when the two-story bungalow came into view. The children had better be in there. There’d be little hope for them discovering the location in time if the attacker had taken them somewhere else.

  Colin motioned for them to stop at the low wooden fence lining the neighbor’s yard. There they hunkered out of sight waiting for Brent. Her fingers shook as she typed out the message that they were ready.

  Once she’d finished, she opened herself up to the aether in the hope of sensing energy usage. There was none, yet. But she was now ready to syphon when the time came.

  Her Lexus barreled down the street a minute later. The door burst open. Brent’s footsteps charged around to the sidewalk. Sara’s heart jumped into her throat. Her fingers clenched tightly around the now useless mobile phone.

  “Steady,” Colin whispered to group.

  She could hardly hear Brent’s bangs on the front door over the roaring of her heart. She did, however, catch the slamming of the door behind him. He was inside now. A half second later she received the text message he’d pre-typed that said as much.

  As stealthy as ancient ninjas, their quartet scaled the fence. Perry and Vanessa crept around the front for a check of the left windows while Sara followed Colin to the right windows. Grace had heavy window coverings to shield the outside world from what was going on inside.

  But Sara didn’t need to see inside. She sensed the drawing of power on the aether. It was coming from three different sources. She hoped to god one of them was Brent.

  “It’s starting,” she hissed at Colin. “I’m going in.”

  Colin grabbed hold of her forearm. “No way. He’ll kill me if I let you get hurt.”

  Sara surged forward, tugging him a half step forward. “He may not be alive to kill anyone if we don’t go in.”

  Colin’s grip tightened.

  “I said I wouldn’t be useless,” she snapped. “You’re making me be that!”

  Colin stomped toward the house’s entrance shoving Sara behind him. In her impatience she bumped his heels when he walked. A fire alarm screamed in the interior. Icy fear chilled her heart. Perry and Vanessa appeared around the corner in time to join their rescue party.

  Colin burst into the house’s living room courtesy of the unlocked and ajar door. The rest of them piled inside. Sara’s pulse leapt as Brent dove for the floor away from two fireballs hurdling through the air.

  Two blond-haired male Fire witches dressed in ratty T-shirts and oil-stained jeans stood in the attached dining room with murder in their squinted eyes. Their moods quickly shifted when they spotted the cavalry’s arrival. Mouths dropping wide and bodies shifting away, they knew they were outnumbered. One turned tail while the other lifted both palms up, showing the flame buds he’d begun forming.

  “It’s a trap,” the running witch screamed on his way out the back door.

  Sara had a sinking feeling these two weren’t the only witches in the house.

  Brent mirrored the remaining witch’s pose with two blazing palms of his own. Sara drew in power, slowly at first so Brent could access what he needed. But when both witches tossed their attacks, Sara opened herself wide.

  Brent’s missiles slammed into his foe’s stopping the balls just short of impact. He charged at the remaining witch, darting around the explosion over the coffee table. So certain his dual shot would land, their foe had dashed for the stairs on the far end of the dining room.

  Sara set her palm atop Colin’s arm, discharging her excess energy into him until he could accept no more. She did the same with Perry and Vanessa even as Colin sent her a surprised expression.

  Perry took advantage of the clear living room and trailed after the fleeing witch. Vanessa was close behind him with determination set within her pretty features. Flames licked over Colin’s right hand as he pointed it toward the witch heading toward the stairs. But Brent was soon in the way.

  The new priest grabbed the fleeing witch by the neck, wrenching him off the stairs. He smashed his fist into the guy’s head with brutal force. In an instant the witch was unconscious on the floor.

  Brent motioned at the stairs. Beside her, Colin nodded his head in silent agreement. Someone was upstairs. And they needed to get them before the Ena witches called for their backup. Sara hurried across the house. Brent could use an energy boost.

  His eyebrows lifted at her questioningly. They shot higher when she set her hand in his. Brent’s head moved toward her almost as if…

  Dear god, did he mean to kiss her? Now? When Perry and Vanessa were outside chasing the other witch and who knew what was upstairs?

  Quickly she shoved all the energy she could grab through their skin link. Brent’s breath caught in surprise. His head drew back. An unreadable expression flitted across his face as he hesitated a moment longer. Then he charged up the stairs with Colin on his heels.

  Carefully Sara followed them, still drawing on the aether so their foes couldn’t. Someone pulled on the aether behind her. Sara froze in her spot.

  They’d made a horrible mistake. They’d been played.

  A fiery hand clamped down on her heel, drawing a startled scream from her lips.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Brent’s heart stuttered to an abrupt stop. The small attic room was empty. A feminine scream—Sara’s scream sent his heart into his mouth. With a roar, he shoved Colin against the wall of the stairwell so he could reach her first.

  He arrived in time to watch Sara burying her sneaker in an Ena witch’s crotch. Her attacker stumbled backwards. The witch gripped his privates in pain that showed in the broad whites of his eyes and purple-hued face. But instead of running for help like she should have, Sara jumped the guy.

  Brent stared in shock as she pressed a glowing palm to the witch’s cheek.

  “Where are the kids?” she screamed.

  “Ohh, fuck!” the witch howled from the pain in his assaulted groin as well as whatever she did to his face.

  “Where?” Sara growled deep in her throat, pressing harder against his skin.

  “Basement!” the witch howled in answer.

  Brent
gestured for Colin to check. His friend slid along the wall and opened the door to their right.

  Sara withdrew her hand only to fasten the glowing limb to his other cheek. Though the witch’s face was bright red it had yet to blister. But it would.

  Her foe tried to claw her arm. For his effort, he earned another kick to the privates. Sara pulled her hand back and punched him in the eye nearly exactly as she’d done to Brent in the office last night. The guy’s balance gave out from her most recent blow. He tumbled onto the old wood floor, landing on his back.

  Sara bent over the foe. Determination pinched her features. Her glowing palm hovered near the witch’s other cheek. “What are your friends doing at my house?”

  “You’re fucking crazy, cunt!”

  Brent had had enough. He strode forward until he was beside them both. And then with as much force as he’d used on the last guy, he punched the witch square in the temple.

  “Brent!” Sara stomped in, of all things, anger. “Now he’s out cold. How will we find out what they planned for McKenna House?”

  “I should have killed him,” he retorted.

  The guy could have hit her with a fireball, or worse, at any time. She’d been foolish not to kill him first. But Brent had to admit she’d gotten information out of the witch they would have spent a few minutes learning on their own.

  Brent sidestepped his way to the basement door. Colin stood at the foot of the stairs.

  His friend waved to him, calling up, “The three kids are bound and gagged but wide awake and seem to be fine. No one else is down here.”

  Where was Grace?

  “Where is their mother?” Sara asked the exact sentiment that had been on his mind.

  He dug his feet into the wooden floor to keep from kissing her. Brent eased his stance when he’d worked through the urge. He headed to the back door, looking for Perry, Vanessa and their final attacker. Though Perry wasn’t the smartest of witches, he could hold his own in a fight. But Vanessa may have been a hindrance.

  Brent glanced behind to find Sara watching him with a furrowed forehead and twisted lips. His gaze went to the unconscious witches on the floor. And then he recalled the children downstairs.

  “Colin,” he called out. “Please come up here and babysit the prisoners.” Softening his voice, he asked, “Sara, would you untie the kids and get them someplace more comfortable until we can figure out what happened to Grace?”

  She didn’t look any happier for the request but she didn’t argue. Sara paused at the basement door. “Be careful.”

  A ridiculous smile took up residence on his face as he stepped into the back yard.

  ****

  “Sebastian,” Sara softly greeted the boy with soft black hair and bright blue eyes.

  He eyed her warily. His figure blocked the smaller girls in their spot slumped in the corner. Sebastian appeared no older than ten but he held a wealth of age in his eyes as if he’d seen more in his ten years than she’d seen in her two decades. The tiny heads peeking around his body couldn’t have been much older than six and three.

  “I’m Sara McKenna,” she told him in her gentlest of voices. “Did you know my daddy? Fintan?”

  Sebastian’s wary gaze drew inward for a moment. He gave a small nod in answer. It was probably all he could do thanks to the gag Colin had failed to remove.

  “Can I take that thing out of your mouth, Sebastian?”

  Again he gave a small nod.

  “I’ll untie you if you’ll let me. And then you can help your sisters.” She hesitated before adding, “Unless you want me to help too?”

  Moving slowly but steadily, Sara started across the damp partial basement until she reached the corner the cowering children held. She cautiously lifted her hand to his face in an effort to give the boy plenty of time to react. The knot at the back of his head proved troublesome. She tried to keep the touching to a minimum since three awful witches had manhandled him.

  “I’m sorry, Sebastian, it’s really stuck. Do you think I could turn you so I can see the knot in the back?”

  He nodded again, this time faster. Was he coming to trust her? Or was it simply that he wanted to be free so he could hit her with a flame missile? Nevertheless, she worked the knot loose on the bandana that had been used as a gag. Though it fell away from his mouth, Sebastian said nothing.

  A thin aluminum zip tie had been used to bind the boy’s arms and legs together. She pulled her pocketknife out of her jeans.

  “I’m going to have to use a knife to saw through the metal binding your wrists,” Sara softly explained. “Please don’t move.”

  He began rubbing his reddened little wrists once they were free. But he didn’t hit her or call on any Fire magic. She repeated her warning as she moved the knife to his feet.

  “Do you want to remove the bandana from Maggie and Tanya’s mouths or do you want me to?”

  His answer was to lift the littlest girl into his lap so he could work on the knot behind her head. Sara remained where she was until Sebastian said otherwise.

  “Where Mama?” the girl cried the moment she was free to speak.

  “Mama is at work, Maggie,” Sebastian told her in a crisp, impatient tone.

  Maggie drew in a loud snuffle. “I want Mama.”

  “Stop moving,” Sebastian snapped. “I can’t break this if you’re moving.”

  “Ouch, Seb. You’re hurting me!”

  The boy cast a look at Sara that was equal parts helpless and irritated. She hoped the smile she gave him was sympathetic rather than pitying.

  “May I try?” she asked.

  “Don’t move, Maggie,” Sebastian warned in a stern, brotherly fashion. “She is going to cut the metal with a knife. It’s very sharp and can hurt you if you move.”

  “Okay, Seb.”

  Sara’s heart went out to them both. With even more caution, she moved to where Sebastian held the girl’s arms up for her. He oversaw the task, perhaps to make sure it was done properly. Sara was careful not to get too close to the little girl’s pale skin.

  She exhaled the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding when the band snapped without incident and Maggie was free to move her arms. Together Sebastian and Sara persuaded the girl to remain motionless so they could untie her feet.

  With Maggie free, Tanya was a breeze to release. Once the metal fell to the floor, the older girl tossed her arms around Sara’s neck for a hug. Tears filled Sara’s eyes at the simple gesture from a child she hadn’t met.

  “Okay, we’re going to go upstairs soon. There are still two bad witches up there,” Sara explained. “They are sleeping. Mr. Colin is watching them so they won’t do anything bad. Where are your rooms?”

  Sebastian gestured toward the front of the house. “Up there on the left.”

  “Do you want to go to your room or your mama’s room?”

  “Mama,” Maggie exclaimed without extracting herself from her pose curled around Sebastian’s left leg.

  He sent her the barest of glances before lifting his chin. “There are toys for Maggie in our room. We’ll go there.”

  Sara nodded her understanding then gestured for the kids to follow her to the stairs.

  ****

  Three unconscious witches and one unaccounted phone call to an unlisted number that had surely alerted the other half of the Ena witches did not make Brent happy. Nor did finding Perry trying to carry the unconscious witch back on his own while Vanessa texted someone. Brent wanted her gone. Sara didn’t like her and he found he agreed.

  He and Perry carried the third witch into the house. Sara emerged from the basement with a girl tightly clutching her neck. Brent nearly forgot why he should be unhappy. The girl’s dark hair contrasted sharply against Sara’s golden waves. A dull throb filled Brent’s chest when he spotted her palm sliding in soothing gestures over the girl’s back.

  Sara cast a glance over her shoulder. Her gaze narrowed. He hoped it was on Vanessa and not him. Brent didn’t want her angry
with him when she was holding a beautiful little girl in her arms. He nearly laughed at himself for how ridiculous it sounded even in his head.

  Brent and Perry deposited the last witch beside the other two unconscious figures. Colin had already bound them with metal zip ties they kept handy. Now they only had to get the witches out of the house without any of the neighbors calling the police. And they had to find out where in the hell Grace was.

  He hadn’t forgotten about second group waiting for Sara to leave McKenna House. It was also possible those witches were on their way here thanks to the guy that had been hiding in the basement with the kids while Brent had been running to the attic like an idiot.

  Momentarily free, Brent took the opportunity to follow Sara into the children’s room. He knocked and then entered.

  Sara shook her mobile phone at the little boy. “Can you call your mama for me?”

  “Use mine,” Brent suggested. Grace would be more likely to answer a call from him than from Sara’s Pennsylvanian number.

  She shot him an irritated look but took his offered phone anyway. And then in her softest of voices she said, “This is Priest Conley. Do you know him?”

  “I didn’t know he was priest,” Sebastian said with an eager nod. “I thought he worked for your daddy.”

  Rather warmly considering the subject, Sara replied, “He did. Now that my daddy is gone, he’s high priest. He’ll want to talk to your mama to make sure she’s safe. Okay, Sebastian?”

  “Okay.”

  Brent hadn’t seen her with children before. It was one of the coven’s jeers—that the princess never soiled herself with children, work, or mud. But he was beginning to see how wrong the coven was. Sara had probably even been known to get muddy a time or two.

  Images of a literal mud slinging fight flashed through his mind. In them Sara laughed and let out girlish squeals as they slapped the slick stuff all over each other. He made himself clear his throat and focus on the present. Sebastian typed the digits into his phone while mouthing the numbers on his small lips and bobbing his head in time with the beeps. Soon the boy had the phone up to his ear.