The Beloved Fire

  James was sitting on a tree stump, poking a stick around in the fire as she walked up and sat down joining him. There was a weird quiet around them and she couldn’t help but notice the ground looked like it had been burned by a fire and all the trees were dead around them. No stars, or moon hung in the sky and if it hadn’t been for the fire being so close to the cabin she would have tripped in the overwhelming black of the night.

  “Why is it so dark? Where are we?” Mikayla asked.

  Blake stared at the fire ignoring her, his eyes were back to a cool blue, but his sharp jawbone told her he was mad. Probably because he couldn’t stay out of her head or probably because she sat next to James instead. She huffed looking away from him. She needed space from guys for a bit.

  James and Blake were both wearing black outfits that were decorated with weapons. James looked up at her with his green eyes and she had to look away, the image of Anock flittered through her head at the reminder of green eyes and the fire gave her chills.

  “We are back in Blake’s cabin in the far future. Further than you were when you left, but we don’t need to concentrate on that right now. I think I owe you an explanation.”

  Blake shot him narrow red eyes. “He means we owe you an explanation. Mikayla listen to me…”

  James stood up cutting him off. “Why the hell would she listen to you? After all you’ve done?” Blake stood up meeting his challenge.

  “Both of you stop!” Mikayla yelled standing up so fast she felt a little dizzy. They both turned to look at her, Blake growled at James and sat down as James summoned a cocky smile and sat down as well. “Now, one at a time. James you go first, since I think you owe it to me to explain why switching sides was such a good idea and how it benefitted this situation. I also want to hear about how throwing my best friend and guardian angel into Hell was such a good fucking idea.”

  James flinched at her words, his blonde hair seemed to shine against the fire’s glow but soon his face was back to its normal smug and confident look. Instead of her thinking of how much of an ass he was, she felt drawn to him and had to shake herself as she sat down concentrating on the fire. She really needed to be done with all this guy nonsense. He smiled bigger as he started to talk and she realized that he could probably also read her thoughts, making her purposely avoid Blake’s accusing stare.

  “Lilith abandoned us after birth leaving us with mortal women to be cared for. After turning twenty-five we stopped aging. Finding out who we truly were, was a journey for each of us and discovering that we were brothers was something entirely different. We were forced to choose sides. The balance of heaven and hell had to stay even. I picked the side of good and allegiance to the group called The Chosen. Blake as you know sowed allegiance with The Watchers.”

  “How is this an explanation?” She tempered her rage. If they didn’t get to Ander soon she was leaving. That thought gave her pause and she growled out loud. Nope. She couldn’t. The fuckers now had her in the future. She huffed.

  “That’s enough explanation for tonight.” Blake warned turning to the side and giving James a dangerous look. James squinted his eyes and smiled like he was getting ready to relish in an evil plan.

  “What? No! How the hell was that an explanation?” She yelled standing up. Both the guys slowly stood up and she looked down to where their focus shifted to her red arms. Oh hell. She took a deep breath calming herself.

  Blake stepped forward like he was going to come to her, unafraid of her little show of anger, and she lifted a hand. “Someone tell me where the fuck Ander is now!?”

  James sighed running his hand through his hair looking way too much like his brother. “We don’t know.” Her jaw tightened to the point of breaking and she took a deep breath trying to calm the shaking that would soon start. “We were only able to grab you before demons rushed us, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t get out.”

  She laughed humorlessly throwing out her hands. “Then where is he?”

  It was Blake who answered this time. “We took you to the future to keep you safe. He would be back in the present.”

  “Take me back now.” She wasn’t asking and her temper would soon be out of her control. Even if it was unleashed on two guy’s she had feelings for, one slightly more than the other.

  “There is something that needs to be done first.” James said smirking before snapping his fingers.

  Low sounding growling hummed through the air, rippling all around them. Mikayla looked around as Blake pulled out a gun to his side, giving James a look of pure death that would stop the devil himself in his tracks as his eyes bled red and his skin transformed into his demon. He stepped in front of Mikayla and she wasn’t as scared as she was confused, still looking around to find the source of the growling and why James snapped his fingers.

  Blake stepped in front of her protectively. “You stupid asshole!” Blake roared in his demon form and the sound sent chills down her spine.

  James only look amused, like he normally did. “What? I had to get her alone somehow.” After that things happened in a flash as creatures emerged from the trees surrounding them heading for her and Blake. Her pulse spiked and she called her powers letting the red flow over her arms, unsure of who to steal powers from and what the hell those monsters were.

  They looked like huge albino, skinny, hairless creatures with black slime stuck around their lower face and neck. The closer they got the more the stench of death chocked her gag reflexes. James and Blake said they were in the future. Was this the apocalyptic future? Are these creatures that roam the Earth in the future?

  “Where is he?” Blake growled, as the creatures paused now fully surrounding them.

  James smirked rubbing his hands in front of the fire in excitement. “He’ll be along soon.” At that the creatures howled rushing forward.

  Her heart exploded in fear and she called up her fire trick that had worked in the levels aiming her hands out away from Blake as the power rushed through her core and out her arms. Shrieks filled the air as the first flew from her hands incinerating the creatures in her path, while she watched Blake’s demon swipe out a deadly claw taking out five of the monsters at once throwing them back into the darkened woods.

  Before she could turn her fire behind her words flittered through the air killing her fire and making the monsters that were a second away from grabbing her, vanish in a second. Quiet filled the air and she turned to see Blake gone and only James now standing by the fire with a sinister look on his face. She turned in a circle looking all around before looking up. Her heart pounding harder. Where was Blake? She called her demon powers, but nothing happened.

  A thought froze her in place, squeezing her chest. Was Anock back?

  “No. No. No. No!” Her panicked voice rising in fear.

  “Anock isn’t here if that is what you’re worried about. I just needed to call in some help to…” He paused looking thoughtfully before lifting a sexy half smile at her. “Distract Blake for a bit.”

  “What did you do?” Her voice wobbled unable to control it.

  “Oh nothing. He’ll be fine. But there’s something me and you need to discuss in private. Unless you would like to move this to the cabin. On second thought I heard you like it rough, against trees.” James mused as her stomach turned, watching as he stalked forward slow, and sexy. The predator in him both excited her and scared her. Or was that the predator in her?

  She gulped trying to reign in her emotions and steady her voice taking a step back. “Bring me back to Ander. To my parents.”

  “You don’t want me?” He asked looking her up and down in a slow manner, licking his lips slowly. “I changed just for you, you know. Come on Mikayla.” He stepped forward grabbing her hips pulling her into him before she could stop him. Fire crawled up her body, a tightness squeezed her muscles making her heart race in a different way. No. She couldn’t want him.

  She wouldn’t want him.

  “You can’t touch me I belong to your brother.” Sh
e was glad at how confident her voice sounded even though she knew in her heart her statement wasn’t a hundred percent correct. Ever sense she’d been around Blake’s angel side she felt strange around him, yet James intrigued her and made her skin tingle with anticipation. For what? She wasn’t sure. One minute he was an evil shit, the next he was saving her and trying to own her body.

  He silently watched her internal battle, stroking his thumbs along her rib cage and she leveled her breathing refusing to be affected more than she was. “You’re supposed to be the angel.” She whispered, now the tremor clear in her voice. How could she compete with an incubus? Was that all it was? Was she only attracted to which ever brother held the demon?

  “Don’t get the two confused Mikayla. I have wings but I can be bad when I want, and right now I’m feeling very bad.”

  A gasp tore from her throat at the same time his hands flew up grabbing hard at her face before his lips slammed down on hers. She melted into him, a rush of pure sexual tension running through her, before he broke his punishing lips from hers.

  “You know, there was a time when things were kind of like they are now. Blake and I were fighting for your love. You were being fooled by Anock. Only this time he got a lot closer.” James paused stepping back from her before bringing out his wings.

  “Angels don’t seduce women and try and kill their own brother.” She said raising her chin while trying to ignore the tingling he left behind on her lips.

  “Just because that’s what I am…it doesn’t make it who I am. Find the truth in me first.” He said bringing up a hand kissing it before throwing it back at her just as Blake tackled him out of nowhere.

  Mikayla yelped out in fear as she stepped back. “Stop! Blake! James!” Her screams rendered useless as James retaliated grabbing Blake in his arms as he pushed off up into the air. Blake struggled and punched him repeatedly in the chest, trying to break free but James didn’t even flinch. It wasn’t long before they disappeared into the blackened sky leaving her alone in the silence.

  A twig snapped behind her.

  She turned backing up now towards the fire, the only light around her. Thoughts hammered her mind of deadly things in the night that could be coming for her and a quick glance up in the sky told her Blake and James were not on their way back to her. She couldn’t hear anything other than her heart pounding in her chest. What if the monsters came back?

  “James is right you know. It’s time you find out.” A big man stepped out from the trees wearing a red cloak over an old-time outfit. She sucked in a breath as he got closer, realizing he was the one in the vision Anock showed her of the deal Blake was tricked into.

  “Who are you?” She couldn’t walk back anymore unless she wanted to catch on fire, the heat of the flames was already burning her back. She tried to call her powers back up but they wouldn’t come.

  The man continued to walk towards her slowly and the closer he got the more features she could make out, along with the huge book he carried at his side. “I’m the key to all of this.” He scoffed like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  He continued to get closer and was standing where she once sat on the tree stump. Looking at the cabin not far from them she could probably make it inside before he got any closer, but she wasn’t sure if there was a lock on the door. Something inside her was telling her to run, not to trust him. “Stay back, I don’t want to hurt you.” She bluffed.

  “Yeah I understand your powers were unlocked this time. At least they got that part right. Listen it’s time for you to take a little trip to your past life, the reason all this is happening to you.”

  “I don’t have a past life.”

  “Of course you do. Well at least that’s what the relic allowed you to achieve. The first time you didn’t survive, you know like a video game, you have two lives, but since you used one there is no second chance this time. The relic only serves one purpose now. Anock is on his way and your loves are tied up, literally. You have two options and not a lot of time. Step into the red dust and relive your past, I promise you will only be viewing from afar, this will allow you to see the person responsible for your demise, and you will live through them. You will view Blake’s past, you will live as Blake. The other option is to drink from this bottle relinquishing your free will and you will forever more be at my command.” He spoke quickly at the end like he wanted the words to hurry and get out of his mouth.

  “I choose neither.” She said clenching her fists trying to call her anger.

  “He told me you’d say that.” The man said as he reached into his brown trouser pants and threw a red dust that floated in the air between them. It was like magic. The dust just swirled softly, floating around reminding her of a snow globe. Her right foot was shoved forward hard. She looked back only to see the fire, looking around there was no one, and then her left foot went forward. An invisible force was pushing her towards the dust.

  “Please! Stop!” She begged looking to the man who obviously was compelling her to walk forward.

  “You’d choose Blake every time if you had the chance. Don’t you see, this is the only way for this story to end in everyone’s favor? This is the only way to get you to see James is the one you want. This was always about love.”

  One more step and she’d be in the floating specs of red. “I don’t understand. What will happen to me?”

  A smile more wicked than even Anock himself could produce spread across the giant man’s face, giving her chills and stopping any chance to defend herself with her rage, it had been replaced by fear.

  “Death.”

  That one word hit her as she was plunged the rest of the way into the floating dust that now acted more like swarming bees than the peaceful substance, she once considered it. She was going to die. She tried to cough out the stuff but no matter how hard she threw her hands around the stuff still struck her vision. She shut her eyes only to have an image of Blake’s blue eyes show up. It scared her into opening her eyes and seeing the man who caused this, laughing and holding his belly, only she couldn’t hear him. The trees around him started blowing away into the black world that was now replacing everything.

  A scream of fear and frustration broke from her, but not for long because the dust that filled her lungs caused her to cough and sputter more and then deep breathes of panic made more dust fill her lungs. She tried to close her eyes one more time only this time to be hit with Blake’s eyes that now changed like a fast slide show flittering through her mind, showing his eyes blue, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, brown, red, pink, blue, red, purple and then black. The empty tunnel eyes made her force her eyes back open to see nothing around her but a black world and the red angry dust still swarming her. It would only be a matter of time before she passed out, her breathing was to the max and way past panic mode. This dust was going to kill her. This was the stupidest way to die ever.

  “You promise she’ll come back.” It sounded like he was right in front of her, it was definitely James talking but she couldn’t see anyone. She fell to her knees, as she took gasping breaths trying to calm her heart.

  “To her it will be a lifetime, to us it will be a matter of hours. We had a deal, now trust in it.” It was the man who spoke although he didn’t sound evil like he did when he talked to her, he sounded calm and even like he was concerned.

  She needed to get through to them. “Please.” She whimpered, she wanted it to be louder, but her mouth was so dry.

  “We’ll be together Mikayla, soon. Find the truth in me first. I love you.” She gave into James’ whispered promise as her breath halted, and the greatest pain she ever felt filled her chest radiating throughout her body. Although she knew it was James that made her a promise of life, Blake’s loving eyes were the last thing she saw before the black world erased the red dust, along with her life.

  ~ For Now ~

  Want to read the beginning of The Beloved Heart, Book 2 in The Beloved Series? Go Here-

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