Sapphire Flame: A Paranormal Romance (The Flame Series Book 7)

by Caris Roane

  Grant took the tumbler. “To cut the pain?”

  Neil returned to his chair-arm seat. “Exactly. My nerve-endings feel like they’ve been blow-torched.”

  Grant sipped his Scotch but didn’t say anything further. Neil had closed his eyes and kept swirling his snifter beneath his nose. Maybe he hoped the fumes would help ease his suffering as well.

  After a moment, he seemed to relax then finally opened his eyes. “Do you accept my apology?”

  “Of course. So long as you take mine.”

  “I will. I do. I’ve been stubborn. I swear to you I’d never used a spell before to gain an advantage in a social situation. It’s been one of my vows from the beginning and I regret having broken it.”

  “You haven’t since?”

  “No.” He leaned forward slightly and hissed. “Jesus. Every joint in my body hurts.”

  “Sorry you’re going through it.”

  “Yeah.” He breathed slowly. “Thanks.”

  Grant watched him for a moment. He didn’t know a lot about wizardry but getting there looked like hell.

  Neil set his empty snifter on the small table beside the chair but remained on his perch. “Now, tell me why you’re here and what I can I do for you?”

  Grant finished his Scotch then set the tumbler on the coffee table in front of him. He gave Neil the short version.

  Neil listened intently and as Grant talked, Neil’s symptoms appeared to abate. By the time Grant told him about the dreamglide adventure to Cape Town, Neil rose from his chair and stretched.

  “I take it, the pain comes in waves?”

  “Yup. Right now, I’ve got a break, though I have no idea how long it will last. So, Natalie suspects that a wizard was involved in her alter transformation since it occurred when she bought the pie and took it home.”

  “Yes. Her husband died that night.”

  “I have to be honest. I think she’s been set up. Whether a wizard spiked the pie or whether her unknown stalker did, from what you’ve said, she’s been watched for years.” He then switched subjects. “Natalie’s studio is in a very pretty park.”

  “It is.”

  “Have you been to her home, though I suppose you have.”

  “I flew her home, but I didn’t go inside. You have to remember that though we’ve experienced a lot over the past couple of nights, we’ve only just met.”

  Neil nodded. He moved to stand in front of the fireplace opposite Grant. “I’ll tell you what I know. There are over a dozen confirmed wizards in Elegance. Half of those, at the very least, are given to the dark arts and to summoning as much power as possible for every vile purpose under the sun.

  “I’m telling you this, so you’ll know what you’re facing and how powerful this level of invisibility is. There have been rumors about these kinds of spells for a long time and only wizards can cast them. They can be controlled by the one who purchases the spell for indefinite periods of time. From what you’ve said about Natalie, if her stalker had used a fae futurist to discover a potential fae of power, I can see an amoral man of any species turning Natalie for his purposes.”

  “If that was the case,” Grant said. “Why wait all this time before approaching her?”

  Neil shook his head. “I can’t say. Depends on the motivation or there may have always been a particular timing involved, especially if the future was consulted. It also sounds like the hour is getting close.”

  Grant experienced a terrible sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. “I think we need to figure out who this person is. Could you help with that?”

  “I’m not sure. But I could ascertain whether or not she’s being stalked. I would need her here and would have to bespell her.” He paused before adding, “And something more. I would need to connect with her mentally and to some degree physically. She may not want that since it can feel invasive.”

  Grant felt his fingers balling up as they had on the way over. “What do you mean, ‘physical and mental’?”

  “I would need to hold both her hands and invade her mind.”

  Grant rose slowly to his feet, teeth clenched. “If Natalie permitted you to do this, she would be completely under your control.”

  Neil nodded slowly. “I can see this distresses you. But you would be there to protect her if necessary and you could have anyone else present you wanted. But why the hell are you showing fur? You’re pissed?” A smiled suddenly curved his lips. “Ah. I see. You have an interest in Natalie, a very alpha-wolf interest.”

  “No.” The word came out just short of a bark. He paced in the direction of the foyer, then headed back. But every time images of Neil taking hold of Natalie’s hands popped into his mind, more fur appeared, even down his back. “You can’t touch her.” He spoke the words before he could stop them.

  Neil left his spot by the fireplace and drew close. His gaze narrowed again. “Your eyes are gold. You’ll be an alpha soon. No, that’s not true. You’re already an alpha, you just don’t have your pack yet. But I think I get what’s happening. Natalie, though she’s fae, could be your alpha-mate because of her level of power, isn’t that right?”

  Grant hadn’t considered it before. “I don’t know, but I have no interest in bonding with a fae.”

  “You sure?”

  Grant didn’t answer the question. Instead, Neil’s observation of her alpha-mate potential disturbed him. He took a moment to search through all his reactions to her. The truth was, if she didn’t have alpha-mate capacity, she was damn close. But what did it matter? She was still fae.

  ~ ~ ~

  “Is this a good time?” Natalie stood in the doorway of the chapel at Agnes’s compound and saw Talya seated in the front pew, down several rows of seats.

  Talya turned around to greet her then waved her forward. She smiled. “Of course. I was waiting for you.”

  Talya was a very red-haired fae, with light blue eyes and creamy, alabaster skin. She was lean with pronounced cheekbones. Her red brows were high and arched. She wore her long hair in a ponytail and a small amount of make-up, just a little mascara and lip gloss.

  Talya continued, “I thought it would be nice to be in the chapel while we talked. Agnes agreed. She seemed to have the sense you and I should meet here. It’s very pleasant.”

  Natalie looked around and had to agree. The room was entirely enclosed and hung with tapestries on the side walls. An altar of curved wood, on a raised space at the front, held three tall, glass enclosed candles. Each was lit and gave a warm glow to the space. Overhead were a dozen can-lights.

  Natalie crossed the back row of seats then moved down the left sloped aisle. She hadn’t seen Talya since their time together in the refuge ER. She could still hear the flatline when Talya had gone looking for Grant in the afterlife. Then Grant’s touch had brought her back.

  As she rounded the front pew, she said, “You look well.” Natalie suppressed the memories of the deep gouges the woman had born because of the Graveyard mauling.

  Talya chuckled. “At least the flame-sign is gone, and you don’t have to be kind. I know I still look like death. I’m fair-skinned as it is, but right now I’m blue around the edges.” She pressed a hand to her cheek. “The only good thing to come of the attack is that for the moment my freckles have faded.” She patted the seat beside her.

  Natalie sat down, but suddenly felt very uncertain. “I’m not sure what I’m doing here. I mean, of course I wanted to see how you were doing—” She broke off not wanting to say the rest.

  Talya turned toward her more fully and took her hand. “Your fingers are warm.” She smiled. “But maybe I can help a little. I have visions. I had one of you.”

  “Of the future?”

  “Not exactly. It’s more like a portrait frozen in a moment of time. Agnes says I’m unusual, but then given your portrait, I’d say you’re even more unique.”

  “What did you see?”

  “You, as a spectral wolf, glowing with iridescent violet and green, some blue, some pi
nk. It was beautiful. Your wolf face looked flushed as though you’d been racing around.”

  Natalie shook her head. “You’ve described the colors just right. Talya, I don’t know what’s going on here. I mean, Grant can build dreamglides. It happened during the day’s sleep following your rescue. And now I have this wolf, a kind of spectral wolf as you’ve said, as part of my being. All this happened since we were together in Kiara’s refuge.”

  “You sound like you’re in shock.”

  “I am. The whole thing seems so impossible and now this?” She lifted her hand expecting to see her iridescent wolf, but nothing was there, just her normal skin color.

  “Is that where you first saw the sign? On your hands?”

  “Yes, but it’s not there.”

  “What’s troubling you most?”

  She chuckled. “You talk like a counselor.”

  “I’m reflecting who you are, that’s all. It’s part of the portrait gift. I asked about you at the refuge. They say you’re one of the benefactors there and I applaud you for that. I was so glad when you called. I wanted to thank you again.”

  “Well, actually, you have a ghost to thank for getting me out to the Graveyard.” She told her about Renee ending with her recent insistence that Natalie talk to Talya about her wolf-sign.

  Talya frowned at that. “I’m not sure how I can help.”

  “Can you get rid of it for me?”

  Talya laughed. “Even if I could, why wouldn’t you want such a gift?”

  “I guess I don’t see what good can come of it.” She then confessed her part in the Fae-Wolf Wars of three years ago. “I know what I did was wrong. I will carry the guilt of the deaths I’m responsible for as long as I live. But I also hate what the wolves did, who they are, their basic savagery which you experienced first-hand.”

  “Why did you engage in the Fae-Wolfs Wars in the first place?”

  “My closest friend here in Revel was killed during the conflict. Alexis was the sweetest person, the only true friend I’ve had in Five Bridges. I was grief-stricken and wanted vengeance. It doesn’t make it right, but that’s what happened. I told Grant I’d played a part in the wars and he confessed he had as well. We don’t even know each other, and we’ve already done hurtful things. So how can this be good?”

  Talya cocked her head. “Do you want to be with him?”

  She debated revealing the truth, but there was something about Talya that invited confidence. Besides, Renee suggested she speak with Talya so there must be something to be gained. “More than I’ve wanted anything in my alter life and I hate myself for it. But he and I pretty much agreed not to see each other again because of the wars. Now this.” She lifted her hand once more, but it was still empty of iridescent color and movement. “I keep thinking the wolf-sign will appear, but it doesn’t.”

  “It’s new to you.” Talya shifted her gaze to the simple universal altar. Natalie did the same. The chapel didn’t reflect any one religion or belief-system. Above the altar was a large woodcarving of what looked like flowing water. It was mounted on a gray stone wall.

  She leaned back in the comfortable pew and waited for Talya’s response. The sense she had of the woman was one of serenity, a very unusual quality in Five Bridges.

  Finally, Talya began, “Since coming to Agnes’s compound, which I love, I’ve been asking myself what my purpose is, as an alter fae, in Five Bridges.” She released a sigh but didn’t continue.

  Natalie was curious to know what she’d concluded. “Did you come up with an answer?”

  “No.” Talya laughed. “Life just sort of happens, doesn’t it? I was a cop before the serum hit and I loved my job. My transformation was a total cliché. The serum was in a box of donuts. Six officers went through the change. Five of us survived, including my husband, and here I am. That was three years ago.”

  “I remember the incident. You must be a Border Patrol officer then.”

  “I was until my gift kicked in about a year ago. I would be making an arrest and have a vision. I couldn’t control it back then. I got shot on three separate occasions and was asked to step down.”

  She’d said it so matter-of-factly that Natalie was taken aback. “Three times?”

  She laughed again. “Non-fatal.”

  “Can you control the visions now?”

  “Yes, but I won’t be allowed back on the force. It’s been tough. I feel like I was made for police work.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “I still don’t have a clear purpose for these visions. Like right now. I want to help you, but all I have is a portrait. I don’t know where your wolf should lead you except—”

  “Except—?”

  “I know this is going to sound odd, but you looked really happy in this vision. Maybe this is simple. How did you feel when this wolf of yours showed up?”

  This wolf of hers. Natalie’s thoughts shifted immediately to Grant and to the Cloister Garden. She allowed herself to experience what she’d first felt when she saw him in the dreamglide. “When Grant was walking on the grass barefoot in Mont St. Michel, I felt like the world would never be the same again. I felt, well I might as well say it, euphoric.”

  Talya chuckled. “Okay, that wasn’t quite what I meant but I think it’s an important clue here. What I was asking about was when your inner-wolf, your spectral wolf, made a sudden appearance. What did you feel like then?”

  Natalie felt her cheeks grow warm. That her thoughts had gone first to Grant, made her feel embarrassed, like she’d revealed too much.

  “Huh.”

  “What?” Natalie asked.

  “Well, it seems to me that Grant means something to you.”

  “That’s not possible. I don’t even know him.”

  “I don’t think that matters. This is Five Bridges and you’re no longer just human. Maybe the greater issue here is that you haven’t given yourself fully to what it is to be an alter fae.”

  Natalie felt something in her heart give way like a trap door beneath her that suddenly fell open. What slid through was a whole lot of fear and self-doubt. She was completely overwhelmed. But what did Talya mean that she hadn’t given herself completely to being an alter fae?

  Talya kept her gaze on the candles. “I have a confession to make. I went to gifted people, good alters, from each territory, hoping to find someone who could remove my vision ability. Of course, they weren’t all honorable. One warlock with striking gray eyes suggested a good amount of time spent in his bed might take care of the problem. He was a conceited ass. But when I refused his offer, he almost charmed me anyway. And when I still refused, he stopped trying to seduce me and told me his philosophy. I’ve held to it since. I would even say it brought me some peace. Do you want to know what he said?”

  “Yes. Please.”

  “It wasn’t elegant at all so brace yourself. He said something like, “Only an idiot would refuse a rise in power, especially in our world. Power means survival.”

  Natalie sucked in a deep breath. “Oh, God, he’s right. Even Renee said I was in a battle for survival. But why me?”

  “Maybe because you can make a difference. You’re one of the good alters. And you have courage. I can attest to that. As to why you’re suddenly part-wolf, who knows? I will say this, every time I offer a portrait-vision, good things come of it. Just keep being brave.”

  Natalie glanced at her. “There’s something I’ve wanted to ask you.”

  “Sure. Anything.”

  “Why were you in the Graveyard that night? Had those wolves attacked you in Revel then taken you out there? Because I can’t imagine you went out to no-man’s-land on your own.”

  “No, I definitely wouldn’t have done that. I believe I was hunted because of my vision-gift and maybe because of my sister and her gifts.”

  “The one who died?”

  “Yes. I was abducted from my front yard and taken to a gambling house though I have no idea which one.”

  “Was it The Sapphire C
lub?”

  She shrugged. “I have no way of knowing. I was kept in a darkened room and I was completely out of it because they’d shot me up with sapphire flame. I’m sure they believed it would enhance any futurist abilities I possessed. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for my very limited skill.

  “The wolves got mad and I think they were scared. They kept talking about how the boss wasn’t going to like it that I wouldn’t be able to provide futurist visions for them.

  “When the big man himself came in, they all got quiet. The drug had hold of me. I felt like I had lightning in my veins but mud in my muscles. I couldn’t move. I could barely think.

  “He told them to get rid of me. They put me in the back of a Jeep and took me to the Graveyard. I thought they’d rape me, instead, their pleasure seemed to be in going wolf and ripping my body to shreds. I don’t know how I survived the attack. I’m having nightmares.”

  Natalie could tell the recounting had agitated her. She covered her hand and gave it a squeeze. “That would be normal.”

  “I know. Recovery will be a process, but I’m so angry.”

  “Who was their boss?”

  “Someone named Kryder. He’s an alpha of one of the Savage Packs.”

  “I know all about Kryder. He’s the alpha of Grant’s pack.”

  Talya glanced at her. “Seriously?”

  “Kryder’s a bad man. The worst. Grant says he routinely seduces then rapes the youngest members of the packs, gender being unimportant. That’s just one of his many crimes. Grant’s only goal is to bring Kryder down, to defeat him in a dominance battle and take over the pack.”

  “I hope he succeeds.”

  “I do, too.”

  “So, what do you think you’ll do?” Talya asked.

  “I never thought I’d say this, but I think I need to have another talk with Grant.”

  Talya cocked her head. “No time like the present.”

  Natalie drew a deep, steadying breath. “I’ll do it now.”

  She rose to her feet and moved closer to the altar. She stared at the wood and the water-like waves as she accessed her telepathy and sent a message straight to Grant. She sensed he was no longer in Savage or in Revel. The location seemed more like Elegance. She wondered what he was doing there. Grant?