Desert Flame

by Nicole R. Taylor

  Then…it exploded.

  Hardy looked up at Darius as Joseph faced off with their maker.

  Eloise knelt beside him, her gaze moving from him to the two vampires and back again. She had a haze around her that blurred the edges of her being. He blinked, but it didn’t go away.

  He didn’t feel so good.

  “It’s taken you three hundred and fifty years, but here we are,” Darius drawled. “Joseph Cheapside, still cheap.”

  “If you were going for a pun, you fell short, old chap,” the vampire retorted.

  Hardy groaned as Eloise helped him sit. She wrapped her arms around him, her warmth seeping into his cold flesh.

  His blood soaked into the fabric of her trousers, staining the navy material black. The thought of blood made his throat sear and his gaze latched onto her neck.

  “Don’t,” he murmured. “I’m starving… I…”

  “Please do,” Darius said with a sneer.

  “You’d like that, you salty old bastard,” Joseph said. “You lost faith in Hardy, but I haven’t. He won’t hurt her.”

  Darius narrowed his eyes. “Perhaps not…but I will.”

  He bared his fangs and lunged, but Joseph shoved his shoulder into the vampire’s stomach, forcing him to a grinding halt. Their boots scraped in the blood-soaked earth as they wrestled.

  Eloise yelped and held onto Hardy, her fingers biting into his arm. He tried to move, but he felt sluggish, and his veins rasped together like sandpaper—he’d been on the verge of desiccating.

  “Hardy…” she murmured, her voice tinted with fear.

  The two vampires continued to wrestle until Darius wrapped his hand around Joseph’s neck and began to push.

  Joseph’s eyes widened as he grunted in pain, his neck reddening as Darius tried to tear his head from his body.

  “Eloise, you have to get out of here,” Hardy rasped. If she stayed, she’d die. If she ran, she’d at least have a chance.

  An image of his sister appeared in his starved mind and he choked back a sob. Her frail body curled up in bed, her chestnut hair tangled across the pillow, her wet coughs, the blood that spotted her hands.

  Mary.

  He couldn’t save her, but he could save Eloise. He had to.

  “That’s it…” Her expression changed so quickly, he barely caught it.

  “You don’t understand…he wanted you to come,” he rasped. “He wants me to kill you.”

  “No,” she hissed, grasping his bloodied face. “He doesn’t understand.” Her gaze burned into his and he felt her elemental power flare. “You drink my blood, Frederick Marmaduke Hardy, and you drink it now.”

  His eyes widened as the haze around her glowed amber, the colour swirling into her eyes. He didn’t know if it was a hallucination or her elemental power, but she looked so much like an angel he almost started praying.

  Eloise forced her wrist to his mouth, and he couldn’t hold himself back any longer.

  She flinched as his fangs tore into her flesh, but didn’t pull away. Rich, coppery blood filled his mouth and he swallowed.

  As her blood filled his veins, a warmth spread through him like he’d never felt before. His body came back to life, humming with a strange magic. He felt the rivers of time brush up against him and the flutter of the curtain that separated their world from the vast expanse of all the universes beyond their own. He felt so small in the face of it all, but her blood showed him the way forwards.

  Make paths by walking…one of Coen’s favourite lines.

  Hardy loosened his grip on Eloise’s arm and finally understood. The mountain, her arrival in Solace, why Coen liked her so much, why things had escalated with the seal, and why she was so special…

  Darius had hoped the Exiles would come and save him, but he hadn’t counted on this. Eloise Hart. She was the key.

  He bared his fangs and stood, peeling himself out of Eloise’s grasp. He moved with a speed he’d never possessed before and shoved Joseph out of Darius’s grasp. But before he could turn, a deafening explosion boomed in the distance.

  It was now or never.

  Hardy lunged towards the vampire just as the ground quaked underfoot, the earth rising and falling like a tsunami wave.

  The vampires collided as the shockwave slammed into them. They fell as a shower of rock, debris, and metal shrapnel tore apart the tent.

  Then everything went dark.

  Chapter 24

  It was over in a matter of seconds.

  Something heavy pressed down on Eloise and she squirmed, her ears ringing.

  Opening her eyes, she saw Joseph staring down at her. He winked and lifted himself off her, grunting in pain, and revealing the dusty sky above. The explosion had blown the tent away, literally.

  “Joseph?”

  He fell back on his arse and looked over his shoulder. Blood soaked through the remains of his shirt and dripped onto the ground.

  “Shrapnel,” he said. “I’ll be fine, but that fellow…” He nodded across the ruined tent.

  Eloise’s heart twisted and she sat up, her gaze finding the aftermath of not only the explosion, but the fight between the vampires.

  Darius’s withered corpse was laid out on the ground. His skin was all grey and wrinkly, and a gaping hole tore apart his chest—a blatant cause of death if she’d ever seen one. Hardy stood over the desiccated vampire, a thick layer of crimson blood coating his hand and wrist.

  She stood, though her knees felt like rubber, and swallowed hard. “Hardy?”

  “I’m okay,” he said, though he clearly looked shellshocked. “I’m okay.”

  Eloise looked at Joseph, who’d begun plucking shrapnel out of his back.

  “You gave up your revenge to save me,” she murmured.

  “Hardy kind of pushed me out of the way.” He winced as he plucked a piece of metal out of his shoulder. “But it doesn’t matter. He saved my life…and you saved his. That’s a better way.”

  She pressed her palm against her temple. “You could’ve turned back.”

  “You a therapist in training?” Joseph chuckled, then winced as he pulled out another piece of shrapnel.

  “No, I just want to understand.”

  “Well…” He reached his arm back and felt his torn flesh for more bits of metal. “Killing Darius wasn’t going to bring my family back, and the satisfaction of dealing the blow wasn’t worth letting you die. Sound about right?”

  “Sure.” Eloise rubbed her filthy palms on her trousers, but only smeared the dirt further. “I’m going out to find Finn and Kyne. They were in the pit.” She nodded towards Hardy, who was still standing over Darius, his expression frozen. “Look out for him.”

  Joseph mock saluted her. “Aye, aye.”

  Eloise picked her way over the ruined remains of the tent, trying to keep her emotions in check. They had to have gotten out before the blast. If they didn’t… She didn’t want to think about what might’ve happened to Finn and the other fae. The increasing explosions had caused him so much pain, and that last one was the biggest yet.

  She stumbled and caught herself on the edge of a dirty 4WD, her fingers smearing through the ochre dust. The air was still thick with grit, the cloud obscuring everything as it began to settle.

  Coughing echoed through the haze and she squinted. Where were all the EarthBore employees? What’d happened to them? She’d forgotten to ask about their compulsions. Darius was dead, so did that mean they were free?

  “Kyne?” she called, her voice sounding far away through the ringing in her ears. “Is that you?”

  Another cough, this time followed by the faint outline of a person a handful of metres away.

  She stepped forwards, pushing away from the 4WD. “Hello?”

  A dirty, disoriented Kyne stumbled out of the dust cloud and she let out a strangled cry of relief.

  “Eloise, thank God.” He fell into her arms and they embraced, clapping together like a pair of chalk dusters. “Darius?”

  “Dead
.” She looked past him, but he was alone. “Where’s Finn?”

  The elemental’s expression turned grim, and he glanced over his shoulder.

  Her heart skipped a beat. “Kyne… Where’s Finn?”

  “He stayed behind…” he managed to say. “He tried to stop the explosion.”

  Eloise’s expression fell. “He… He was in the pit?”

  “He said he could—”

  She pushed past him and broke out into a run. “Finn!”

  Her boots thudded on the broken earth, her head throbbing and her ears ringing, but she didn’t care. He had to be okay.

  “Finn!”

  Leaving her cave was difficult, but it was time to face her fear.

  Andante peeled apart the edges of her reality, pushing through the veil and stepping into the sunlight. She blinked, holding her hand up to shield her eyes.

  The runes etched on her arms pulsed, shimmering like metallic gossamer threads as they connected to the power of the land once more. This place was special and her connection to it ran deeper than any other place she’d ever been.

  The Old Ones had scarred this place a millennia ago, and she still felt the reverberations of their meddling. Her stomach churned, the unfamiliar sensation calling out to her—the pact her people had made with the cosmic entity calling to her.

  As her courage began to build, she walked, her bare feet burning on the baked earth, her toes sinking into the red soil.

  She walked the path, finding her way to the iron ore the elementals had told her about, but she cast a furtive glance over her shoulder, watching for the èildear.

  Coen had always been lurking around her prism, sniffing around the edges like a hungry spirit. He wanted her power, they all did. The Dark, the Old Ones…everyone envied the Druids’ control over space and time, but Andante was a coward, so she remained inside her cave where it was safe. No one bothered her there, and she was able to forget her past mistakes.

  She’d managed quite well until she’d seen the elemental girl stumble through the outback. Eloise Hart.

  She reminded her of her niece Gilhana, and her regrets rushed forth like a tidal wave of icy water, the coldness freezing her in place, the despair bearing down upon her.

  Andante’s greatest regret was turning her back on her people.

  The path led her to a pit, the gaping hole a blight on the pristine outback landscape. A rust-coloured cloud billowed out of it and into the air, smearing across the brilliant blue above.

  This wouldn’t do.

  Waving her hand, Andante manipulated the current around her and stepped into the crater. There she found a curious glowing silver and blue ball and a fae man who looked worse for the wear. Blood spotted his lips and his silver eyes glowed with a mysterious hue. He hummed with a strange magic she hadn’t encountered before, but one glance told her it wouldn’t be enough to stop what was coming.

  She cast a prism around the shining orb as his startled gaze met hers…then the device clicked.

  It detonated and ignited her power, her construct flaring in a shower of violet and indigo sparks as magic collided with it. It didn’t stop all the explosion, but just enough.

  The shockwave tossed the fae through the air and he slammed into the wall of the crater, flailing as rock shattered around him.

  Andante’s magic coiled around the silver orb, tightening until it contained the device. The blue light faded and the metal retracted, then the entire thing fell to the ground, landing with a dull thud.

  The fae coughed and pushed away from the crumbled rock, staggering to his feet. “You’re Andante,” he managed to rasp. He spat, a glob of blood landing a few metres away. “What did you do?”

  “Saved your life,” she retorted, glancing at the orb. “Your device is quite dead now. It won’t trouble you or your seal.”

  “Finn!” Eloise’s voice shrieked in the distance. “Finn!”

  Andante glanced towards the sound. “It’s time for me to leave.”

  “They would welcome you,” the fae said, taking a step towards her. “Come back with me.”

  She shook her head. “Druids aren’t warriors. I’ll do what I can, but I’m not the key.”

  Finn said nothing, but his expression did the talking for him. He didn’t quite understand, but that didn’t bother her. The destination wasn’t important…it was the journey that mattered.

  “This place is a beacon,” she told him. “I will snuff out its light, but the door will be one way.”

  The fae nodded. “I understand.”

  “Go. Be with your friends.”

  “Family,” he corrected. “They’re my family.”

  Finn scrambled up the side of the crater, his boots skidding in the loose rocks and dirt.

  “Finn!” Eloise shrieked again.

  “Calm your farm, desert pea,” he said, clawing at the lip of the pit. “Give us a hand, won’t you?”

  Kyne emerged from the haze and grasped the fae’s outstretched hand, hauling him up the last metre.

  Finn rolled onto his back and coughed as Eloise rushed forwards.

  “I was scared you were dead,” she blurted, helping him sit. Her hands cupped his cheeks and she tilted his had from side-to-side, checking for gaping wounds.

  “I’m fine.” He swatted her away and cast a fleeting glance over the edge of the crater, but he couldn’t see the bottom through all the dust. “What about the vampires?”

  “Darius is dead,” Eloise told him. “Hardy took care of it. Joseph’s with him.”

  He coughed and shook his head, dislodging a shower of grit and gravel. “Could’ve been worse, I guess. At least he’s fine.”

  “Fine is a relative term,” Kyne said with a grimace.

  Finn looked around the dig site and spotted a group of EarthBore employees huddled by the excavator. “What about them?”

  Kyne followed his gaze and sighed. “I’ll rustle up Joseph. They’ll have to be compelled.”

  Finn pressed his palms on the ground and sensed the old woman’s strange magic at work. The web that had woven around the orb reminded him of the sacred geometry scholars of his homeland studied—the shapes and patterns that lived in all living things. He looked up at the elementals and knew Andante’s powers were deeper and more connected to the universe than they could ever imagine. She could help him go home.

  “Do it now,” Finn said, his gaze moving to the dazed humans, “because there won’t be any coming back to this place.”

  Eloise stared at him, her smile fading. “Andante?”

  He nodded. “I was never going to stop that explosion on my own. She saved us all.” He grunted, his lip curling. “Took her sweet time about it, too.”

  The elemental laughed and threw her arms around his neck, almost making him fall backwards.

  “Careful, desert pea,” he murmured, embracing her, “I’m still feeling a little squishy.”

  Chapter 25

  Eloise sat on the weathered wooden table outside the pub, watching the sunset. She never tired of the colours flaring above her, even though the vastness of it all made her feel insignificant sometimes.

  The sapphire blue of the summer day, the flames of the setting sun, the darkness giving way to the glitter of the Milky Way stretching from horizon to horizon. The outback was stunning in its harshness—a beautiful wrapper for what lurked below.

  Sighing, she looked to the north, her thoughts on Finn and the fae. Whatever they were going through was a mystery to her and the other Exiles. They’d chosen to remain apart, but yet again, the chaos surrounding got seal had dragged them into a life and death situation. First, the Nightshade and now the ash’strad. There was only so much they could take before it caused trouble—the bomb might be the last straw.

  Eloise sighed again, knowing there was nothing she could do about it, though she worried for Finn. What had happened in that pit hadn’t dulled his dry sense of humour, but even as she hugged him, she knew he was different.

  A door banged i
n the distance and Joseph and Hardy emerged from the opal shop. They closed the space between there and the pub in a second, appearing in front of her.

  “Well, if it isn’t the little desert pea,” Joseph declared with a grin.

  “Hey,” she said. “If it isn’t the pincushion.”

  “You’re welcome.” The vampire smirked lopsidedly and headed towards the pub. “Coming in for a drink?”

  “Yeah, in a sec.” She glanced at Hardy.

  “Go on,” he said to Joseph. “We’ll be in in a moment.”

  The vampire nodded and disappeared inside, the opening door letting out the sound of music—a song from one of Blue’s famous mixed CDs of Aussie pub rock classics—before it slammed closed again.

  “How are you?” Eloise asked.

  Hardy shrugged and ran a hand through his hair, slightly dislodging the artfully messy man bun at the base of his neck. “As well as I’m able to be.”

  Eloise smiled. “Well, that’s a good sign, I suppose.”

  “I thought I would feel satisfied, but…” he trailed off with a shrug.

  “It ended with a bang, but felt more like a whimper?”

  “Something like that.”

  Eloise smiled and pushed off the table. Her boots hit the ground with a thud, and she looked up at the vampire. “The sun always rises after ‘the end’,” she said, “and we keep on living. I don’t think any chapter in life ever feels finite.” She clapped her hands together.

  Hardy grinned. “Are you sure you’re not a vampire? You just explained it perfectly.”

  “Yeah, nah,” she tapped her temple, “I just think a lot.”

  He regarded her for a moment, then nodded towards the door. “Coming in?”

  “Yep.”

  Inside, the pub was full of the smells of good home-cooking. Blue was whipping up an epic spread, and the kitchen was a beacon that made Eloise’s stomach rumble.

  She slipped into the chair beside Kyne and kissed his cheek. “Hey, you.”

  “Hey yourself.” He glanced at Hardy. “All good, mate?”