Fire Storm

by Ally Shields

  “No. We set that up so it’s invoked by one word. G.o.o.d.b.y.e. That’s the easy part.”

  “Maybe,” Sophie said. “It worked when we had thirteen witches. We have no way of testing it until we have Warin’s power.”

  Even with such a sobering thought, Ari and the coven couldn’t contain their excitement over the success of the Acquire spell, and they spent the next hour making several versions, including spells to take away weaponry. Ari had used that version before, but it would have limited uses against the vampires. Vamps rarely carried weapons—they were weapons. The same was true for the raptors, and to a lesser degree, the bears. Still, the idea invigorated the witch coven.

  Supper was accompanied by friendly chatter, and spirits were a little lighter in the cabin that evening. A card game started, and those that weren’t playing watched. Lilith had just raked in a small pot of coins on an unlikely bet, when one of the witch sentries entered the cabin carrying a piece of paper and handed it to Ari.

  “A werebear brought this to the edge of the clearing and left. Your name is on it.”

  “Did he say anything?” Sophie rushed to the front door to scan the clearing. “Was he alone? Did you watch him leave the area?”

  “Yes, he’s gone. And nobody was with him. I didn’t bring the note until we checked the entire perimeter.”

  Ari stared at the paper. Her hand trembled. She recognized the handwriting on the outside. The note was addressed to Ari Calin in Andreas’s bold strokes. She stood and walked away from the others, flipping it open and read silently. Finally, she turned around and read it aloud:

  My darling Ari,

  I have learned you are in Germany to find me. I am grateful, but the situation is not what you think. Meet me tonight, and I will explain. Follow the path outside your cabin to a fork, take the right branch. You will come to a small glade. I will meet you there at midnight. Do not fail me. I have missed you.

  Andreas

  “You can’t go,” Lilith said. “It’s a trap. But it’s his handwriting, isn’t it?” She peered over Ari’s shoulder.

  “Yes.” Ari read it silently once again. “He wrote it, but it isn’t his words, not entirely.”

  “How do you know that?” Sophie demanded. “Wishful thinking? There isn’t a hint of warning.”

  “But there is. Twice, very plainly. This is addressed to Ari Calin, and he starts out with My darling Ari.” She turned to Lilith. “How many times have you heard him call me Ari?” When the lioness frowned in thought, Ari answered for her. “Never. It’s always been Arianna. He’s telling me it’s a trap.”

  “Well, of course, it’s a trap, but you’re putting a lot of faith in his good intentions on the basis of one word,” Sophie said.

  “But she’s right,” Lilith said. “I’d never thought about it much, but he doesn’t call her Ari like the rest of us.”

  Ari stood, putting an end to the discussion. “I trust him.” She wasn’t going to waste time trying to convince Sophie. “Sorry to break up the game, but I have some preparation to do.”

  “For what? You can’t be planning to meet him.” Lilith’s tone said she was ready to argue. “You just admitted it was a trap.”

  “I have no doubt about that. But the vampires want something. I don’t think they’ll kill me immediately, and this may be my way to get close to Andreas, even if I have to go inside the stronghold alone.”

  “As a captive?” The horror in Sophie’s voice echoed in the sudden silence. “This is suicide.”

  Everyone started talking at once. Ari raised her hands, gesturing for quiet. “Stop. I’m not changing my mind, not unless someone’s got a better idea of how I can reach Andreas. We’ve tried everything else and failed. Anybody?”

  A few shuffled their feet, but no one spoke up.

  “That’s what I thought. OK, then, I’m going. I’m still counting on you to get us out.”

  “With the teleportation spell, you mean,” Sophie clarified. “How are you going to survive long enough to get him alone? There is so much that can go wrong with this plan.”

  “I know, but this looks like my best chance…no, my only chance. Sophie, can I count on you to be there, to bring us both out?” The priestess dropped her gaze. “Lilith, tell her. Andreas has been in their hands almost two weeks. I have to go.”

  Lilith sighed, shaking her head. “Then I’m going with you. Andreas would never forgive me if I let you die all alone.” She looked at Sophie. “Crazy as this scheme is, she’s right about one thing—Andreas loves her.”

  “Enough?” Sophie’s eyes searched Lilith’s face.

  The lioness nodded. “Can’t you see how it is between these two?”

  “Oh, very well. It’s her life.” Sophie gave in with poor grace. “If we can’t stop her from going, then we’ll be waiting. Twenty-four hours, no more,” she cautioned. “It’s too dangerous for us to stay in the forest. I wish we had more time to practice. I’d feel better if we could retest the teleportation spell. And a plan would be nice.”

  “If you two are through discussing me, can we get ready?” Ari pushed through the witches and picked up her bag. “And Lilith, you’re not going. I’ll have enough trouble getting two of us out. Well, come on. We have less than two hours.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  The moon was hidden behind a bank of clouds, leaving the forest path in deep darkness. The woods were quiet. No crickets. No birds. Only the heavy scent of pine and decaying leaves. She could sense the vampires ahead, and Andreas was among them. She straightened her shoulders and paused to smooth down her long sleeves and adjust the heavy cuffs before she entered the clearing.

  Andreas stood in the center. Alone.

  Her heart ached at the sight of him, the dark outline as familiar as the palm of her hand. She couldn’t see the other vamps, but the furtive movement of vampiric energy stirred in the surrounding trees. Some of them were circling behind to cut off her escape.

  Show time.

  She ran forward, throwing herself into his arms. “Andreas, I’ve missed you so much.”

  He caught her lightly, returning the embrace for an instant before stiffening. “So, little witch, you came. It has been too long.”

  “Are you OK?” She pulled her head back in an effort to see his face. His features remained hidden in shadow.

  “I told you in the note I was fine.” He set her away from him. “But we do have need of your services.”

  “We? What are you talking about?” She took a hesitant step backward, trying to play the part she’d chosen as an unsuspecting lover.

  His gaze rested on her for a moment, his face expressionless. She sensed the vampires closing in from behind. “The Council of Elders wishes to speak with you.”

  “What do they want with me? Andreas, what’s going on? Do I have a choice about this? What have you done?” She allowed them to hear her sudden mistrust. In fact, for a moment, her confidence wavered. Had something awful happened to make Andreas really change? He seemed so distant, dispassionate, not a flicker of warmth in his eyes.

  “No, you do not have any say in what happens next.” The chill in his voice made her take another step back, and he turned away. “Take her now, and bind her hands. She is a fire witch.”

  Ari caught her breath. He’d told them about the fire. The vampires closed in to grab her from behind, and she fought to break free, even landed a few good karate kicks in spite of her lack of Guardian strength. A large vampire smacked her in return, making her ears ring. The next blow snapped her head back, broke her lips open, and she sagged as blood ran down her chin.

  Andreas had disappeared. What did that mean? Had he left because he couldn’t stand to watch or because he didn’t care? Had she been wrong about him? Suddenly, going into the vampires’ lair without a plan wasn’t looking like such a good idea.

  The large, bulky vamp threw her over his shoulder and carted her into the forest. With blood rushing to her head and her ears still ringing, she was barely awar
e of the path or how long it took. She hung, dizzy and disoriented, stunned at Andreas’s behavior. Either he was a better actor than she had ever dreamed or she was in a hell of a lot of trouble.

  She must have been unconscious for a while, because she didn’t remember entering the castle. It seemed only minutes had passed until she was dumped on a hard dungeon floor and a heavy door clanged closed. She was left in the dark.

  Ari tried to sit up, but a wave of light-headedness forced her to lie still until she regained her bearings. The bindings on her hands were tight and cut into her wrists whenever she tried to twist free. She took a deep breath, squirmed to the nearest wall, wiggling her body until she sat leaning against the stone surface for support. She was breathing hard, sweat beading her face, in spite of the chill.

  Her eyes gradually adjusted to the dim light from a high window slit, but there wasn’t much to see. Three cages in a row, chains and manacles attached to the walls and discarded on the floor. The other two cages were empty. She couldn’t hear anything except the skittering of tiny feet. Probably rats. What else would live down here?

  The smell of vampire was heavy in the air. Not exactly a surprise when rumors said there were more than five hundred in the castle.

  Ari leaned her head against the hard surface and tried to make sense of what had just happened. She had known it was trap, but she’d thought if she could just get inside the castle, she’d figure out some way to contact Andreas. That’s all she had to do. Just get close enough to touch him, set up the spells, and they could teleport out together. She’d even hoped Andreas had a plan of his own, that he’d say something, give her some hint, when she’d met him in the clearing. Well, she’d gotten close to him all right. But she hadn’t been prepared for his coldness or that he would reveal her fire ability. Could Sophie be right? Was Andreas pragmatic enough to sacrifice her for his own life?

  As the minutes dragged on, she hunched forward, laying her head on her knees, and despair washed over her. Two years of scenes with Andreas flashed through her head: the fights, the making up, the suspicions, the way their magics sang in harmony, the fear of the magical bond, the safety in his arms. The good and the bad. There was plenty of both, but he’d never given up on her, never turned against her. She raised her head.

  And he wasn’t now. For some reason he wanted the O-Seven to believe he didn’t care, but it was an act. She had to believe that—otherwise their time together had all been lies. She was going to get them out of this.

  Then, if he didn’t want her, he’d have to tell her so.

  She did a quick inventory of her weapons and magicks. They’d taken her knife, her gun, and her magicks’ pouch, but they hadn’t found the capsules sewn in the heavy cuffs of her long sleeves. She tried to reach them with her fingers and felt the reassuring bulges.

  Ari gasped, realizing her charm bracelet was gone. Although the protective charms were mostly symbolic, it had been a gift from Great-Gran and a good luck piece. Now, she was pissed. They had no right to take her charms!

  So what if she only had the Acquire capsules and nothing else. She was inside the castle. Wasn’t that what she’d wanted? Stick to the plan—such as it was.

  Supporting herself against the wall, she got to her feet, and started searching for a way out of the cell. After two turns, checking each side, she decided there was nothing to see. Unless she wanted to give up and try to teleport out with only limited power, she’d have to have to wait for the vamps to make the next move. She sat down again next to the wall. Her hands were growing numb from the bindings. She hoped the elders would get on with this soon, while she still had enough feeling in her fingers to make a difference.

  Despite her uncomfortable position, Ari had almost dozed off when she sensed four vampires approaching. The door clanged open; she was roughly grabbed and dragged down a hallway and up a flight of stone stairs. At the top, she was allowed to walk, occasionally being shoved if the vamps thought she wasn’t moving fast enough through a series of narrow corridors.

  Massive double doors stood open, and Ari was shoved into the room. She lost her footing, stumbling several steps before regaining her balance. She straightened to see seven vampires seated behind a long crimson table on a stage with an ornate gold railing. Most of them were drinking wine or blood from heavy gold goblets. Behind the O-Seven stood perhaps a dozen vampires, including Andreas, all wearing fishnet red shirts and skin-tight black leather pants. Her first thought was Andreas must hate the clothes. They were not Armani.

  Wereraptors guarded each end of the table, protecting access to the elders. The room was otherwise empty. No onlookers, and no warlock.

  Ari walked toward the stage.

  “That’s far enough,” one of the elders said, when she’d reached the half-way point.

  She raised her chin. “Afraid of a witch?” The crack of a whip was the only warning before it bit across her back. She sucked in her breath and glanced over her shoulder. Two of the vamps who’d brought her into the room were standing behind her: one held a six-foot long snake whip; the other grinned at her from behind an evil-looking whip with three barbed tails. Maybe she should watch what she said.

  She refocused her attention on the elders, watching their faces yet avoiding direct eye contact. It had been a long time since a vampire could bespell her, but she wasn’t taking any chances. There was untested power here. And one of them was Bastian, the guy with the mind control specialty.

  “What the hell do you want from me?” She tensed, expecting another lash of the whip when she heard the vampire shift behind her.

  “No, whip master, let it go.” One of the elders rose, came from behind the table, stepping off the stage and strolling toward her. “I like a bit of spirit.” His power rolled toward her, and Ari braced for a psychic attack. When it came, it surprised her. Not a brutal invasion, but a careful, insidious probing. His power walked through her outer mind shields, but when he reached the area where the fire shield had protected her in that long ago attack by Prince Sebastian, she felt the same rush of heat as before. A door closed, and the invading magic came to halt. She dared a peek at the vampire.

  His eyes were wide. “As was predicted, you are full of surprises, witch.”

  “I knew it. She has a fire shield and knows how to use it.” The voice was accusatory as the warlock appeared from a side door. “She lied to me.”

  Ari had been so distracted by the vampires that she had missed his arrival. She’d have to stay sharper if she had any hope of getting out of this.

  “You’ve been holding out on us.” The warlock stalked toward her. “I tried to tell him.”

  He was close enough now she could see he had no scar. Warin had been the traitor all along. But she hadn’t missed his reference to us. Was he referring to the vampires? Who did he try to tell? Her question was answered almost immediately.

  “Yes, you did, brother.” Gerhard stood in the doorway, a smirk on his handsome face. “My mistake. She was more cautious than I thought.”

  “It was both of you. In this together.” Ari snapped out the accusation. “That explains the consecutive teleports, handling every other one so you had time to recover. And both of you must have been in Riverdale. You’re traitors and murderers.”

  “We’ve so enjoyed the game.” Gerhard advanced into the room. “I hated to reveal the truth to you now, but I don’t think you have much longer to play. But it will be fun to see what they do with you.”

  “You better hope I die,” she said, “or you’ll pay for your treachery.”

  “None of this would be happening if you hadn’t refused to join me.”

  “Best decision I ever made.”

  The vampire stepped forward again. “While this witch reunion is rather touching, we have more important topics to discuss. Mainly, what we’re going to do with the witch now that we have her. I can already see controlling her may prove difficult.”

  “I’d be happy to take her off your hands, Porbius.” Gerhard l
eered at her. “Warin and I might even share.”

  Why had she ever thought he was handsome?

  “The warlocks are not part of this decision,” one of the elders complained. His disdain of them was evident in his face and voice. “Gerhard, you and your brother must take your seats until your services are requested.”

  Anger flushed Warin’s face, but he turned and walked away. Although Gerhard concealed his emotions better, it was clear that both brothers were insulted by this treatment. Pride. Their Achilles’ heel. And the very thing that made them underestimate her.

  She felt Andreas’s gaze skim over her like tiny needles on her skin, but when she dared to glance at him, his face held no expression. Their link remained tightly sealed.

  Porbius stopped in front of Ari. “Warin, can her fire shield be breached?”

  “By you? Of course, but it will destroy her mind and probably kill her.”

  “That would make her rather useless. So, witch…” Porbius’s voice brushed over her skin, dry, scaly, like the passing of a snake. “What do you have to offer in exchange for your life?”

  “It depends. What is it you want?”

  “What are you offering?” He smiled, revealing his fangs.

  She glared at him. “How about a nice stake in the heart?”

  He laughed.

  “Spare us this nonsense, Porbius,” a bored voice from the stage said. “I, for one, am not amused. Kill her or not, but let us be done with it.”

  “Bastian is right. I have a very scrumptious meal waiting in my quarters.” Another elder was growing impatient. “Can we hurry this along?”

  There were other murmurs of agreement.

  Bastian. Ari studied the vampire with the bored voice out of the corner of her eye. Heavy black brows, broad shoulders. He seemed rather indifferent to the entire proceedings. So much for rescue from that direction. She hadn’t discounted what Daron said. Still, she had hoped.

  “I vote we kill her.” Porbius returned to his seat. “If we can’t control and use her magic by enthralling her, then she is too dangerous to let live.”