Blood Of Fire (The Blood Burden Series)
Read Blood Of Fire (The Blood Burden Series) Online
Authors: Wenona Hulsey
Blood Of Fire
By Wenona Hulsey
Copyright
©
of Wenona
Hulsey 2012
All rights
reserved
The right of
Wenona Hulsey to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by
her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988
Cover art
purchased via 99designs.com and all copyrights are owned by Author Wenona
Hulsey
Dedication:
To those who
dare to live a dream.
"Obsessed
by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost
kingdom of peace." ~Eugene O'Neill
Nicole stared out the airplane window
while tapping her fingers on the arm-rest in a fast, steady rhythm. The other
passengers were slowly filing in. Some struggled with carry-on luggage while
others towed small, fussy children by the hand behind them. She glanced
around, taking in the faces, and then leaned back into her seat to resume
drumming. For the moment she was sure she hadn't been followed but that uneasy,
on-edge feeling wouldn't stop tugging at her mind.
Her gaze settled on the early morning
sky. She took in the vibrant oranges, soft pinks and deep purples coloring the
horizon as the sun began its daily journey. Nicole was still amazed that no
matter how bad things were in her life, or how downtrodden she felt, or how
lost she was, that the world could continue on so beautifully, unscathed by her
pain. Not that she really thought the world would stop for her, but it would
be nice if the sky would pour down sheets of heavy rain hiding away the
cheerful sun. It would be much more fitting to her current situation. Maybe
then she would feel like Mother Earth was being sympathetic to her plight and
could be her silent ally in the lonely world she had created for herself.
Her mind rolled back over the past few
months as she wondered how things had gotten so out of control. One day she's
the best cop her small Alabama town has ever seen then the next she's a
fairy/warrior hybrid with her world completely upside down. All while falling
in love with Luke, her partner in the police department, who also turned out to
be an ancient warrior sent to protect and train her. In the end she had to
turn her back on him and everyone she cared about; it was the only way to
protect them. She had to keep Loch from using her loved ones in order to lure
her to Ireland where he expected her to join him in some master scheme of his.
Exactly what that was, well, she wasn’t quite sure. Nor was she sure where she
fit into his plans but she was positive it wasn't good for her or anyone else.
Loch only cared about ridding the world of the fairy race and he didn't care
who he had to step on or use. Not even Luke, his own flesh and blood, was held
higher than Loch's obsession with putting the warriors on top.
The best solution she could see was to
beat Loch at his own game by surprising him in Ireland and putting an end to
him. The hardest part would be finding him; she didn’t even know where to
start looking for the ancient warrior who was planning to kill all of fae
kind. Nicole also knew that if he found her first and she refused to help him
that she would be killed. Her only option was to beat him at his own game.
The banging of the overhead luggage
compartment above her seat snapped Nicole back into the moment. She turned her
attention away from the rising sun and her depressing thoughts, as someone took
the seat next to her.
“This must be your first time flying?”
Nicole found herself staring into the
most beautiful pair of ice blue eyes she had ever seen in her life belonging to
a face that was as equally heaven sent. The man that had just occupied the
seat next to her had light blond hair that framed his face, reaching just below
his broad jaw line in silky strands. Her gaze was drawn to an adorable dimple
forming in his cheek as he gave her a one sided smile. “Yes,” she finally
stammered, “This is my first time.” She lied thinking it was better for him to
assume her anxiety was due to her fear of flying and not the fact that she was
going into a viper filled snake pit blind and alone.
He laughed softly, “I figured so, since
you seem determined to drum a hole in your armrest.” He extended a hand towards
her, “I’m Slade.”
Nicole shook his hand and gave a small,
nervous laugh before replying “Nicole.” As she leaned back into her seat, she
laced her fingers together to control her anxious energy. The last thing she
wanted to do was draw attention to herself and acting as if she was about to
have a nervous breakdown was a sure way to turn all eyes on her.
“So where are you heading?” Slade asked
casually as he adjusted his seat.
She turned to look at him, this time
paying more attention to all of him, and not just his cover model face. He was
dressed in a dark suit that looked expensive, maybe Calvin Klein she surmised
but then again she wasn't an expert on designer clothes. Underneath the
tailored jacket was a perfectly pressed, white dress shirt and a black, silk
tie. His shoes were gleaming like black onyx and his hands were smooth and
looked too soft to belong to someone who did physical labor. His overall
appearance was certainly alluring but something in his demeanor hinted at
danger yet she couldn’t pin down where the feeling was coming from.
“Ireland,” she said giving him a weak
smile as the memories of why she was traveling pushed to the front of her mind,
“How about you?”
“Dublin, Ireland. I’ve been here on
business for a while but Ireland is my home.”
“Really? Your accent sounds American to
me.”
Slade shrugged, “I’ve been fortunate to
travel all of my life. I've lived years in France, Germany, Africa and America
but the place that always felt closest to my heart was Ireland. It’s such a
beautiful country with a rich history.” He smiled at her showing dimples in
both cheeks. “You’ll love it there, I promise.”
Nicole nodded as the pilot chimed in
announcing the flight was about to depart. She quickly buckled herself in,
hoping everyone would do the same so they could get off the ground. She knew
there was a good chance Luke might try to stop her and she wasn’t sure how long
the prison of wind she had created would hold him.
Though her powers were great, she was
still learning how to control them. She had actually been quite impressed with
herself when she realized she was able to trap two powerful warriors and one
fairy in her barrier of wind. But her pride in the discovery didn’t ease the
pain of leaving them there so she could fight this war alone. The memory of
the hurt she saw in Luke’s hazel eyes as she trapped him and then walked away
was still in the forefront of her mind haunting her.
She turned her attention back out the
window as she settled in for the long flight. The sight that met her eyes had
her gasping. Luke stood at the edge of the runway, his dark blond hair
disheveled and his black t-shirt torn from the night’s battle, staring back at
her. She wasn’t sure how he managed to get so close without her sensing him.
Maybe she had been too distracted to notice the pull she normally felt when a
warrior was near. Her heart started to beat painfully fast as she stared into
his stone set face. Dried blood was still streaked across his tanned cheek but
the cut that was there was now healed. She wished all wounds healed so
easily. She wanted to run to him and away from him at the same time. The very
sight of him was ripping her apart.
The plane began down the runway, moving
away from her love as he stood, watching her go. She leaned closer to the
window, desperately reaching out to his mind, wanting to hear what was going on
inside his head. She wanted to tell him this wasn’t farewell forever but she
couldn’t reach his thoughts. She was being blocked from connecting with his
mind.
Blocked or ignored
, she wondered.
Punished,
she thought,
her heart began to break as realization set in. Luke didn’t want her to hear
him; he was saying goodbye in the most painful way he possibly could…silence.
She closed her eyes, hoping to trap the
tears fighting to escape as the plane took to the sky, leaving Alabama and
everyone she loved behind. For the first time in her life she was truly alone.
**~***~**
Nicole ran water into her hands and
splashed the cold liquid across her face, trying to clear away dirty film that
was covering her skin from the long flight. She stared at her reflection in
the mirror; the dingy florescent lights didn't help make the dark rings under
her ghostly blue eyes look better as she dabbed her face dry with a paper
towel. She didn’t get much sleep on the flights because she kept trying to
figure out what her next step should be but it was ultimately pointless. She
still didn’t have a clue where to begin. This was the first time she had ever
been out of the south, let alone flying to a country that she scarcely knew
anything about. Unless eating cereal with a little leprechaun on the box
counts as research there was little locked away in her mind that could help her
here.
After quickly combing her fingers
through her tangled mass of long, brown curls, she walked back out to the
bustling airport and made her way to a rack of tourist brochures. She picked
up one and began searching the pages.
“I’ve got to find somewhere to sleep and
something good to eat. I feel like a bum,” she mumbled to herself as she
scanned the pages. While searching for accommodations a scream rang out in the
distance followed by the sound of gunshots. Her body tensed and her police
officer instincts kicked in as she scanned the airport for the shooter among
the swarm of running people. Just as she began to reach out with her mind to
find her target, another gunshot rang out. Nicole found herself being pressed
to the floor and covered by a hard, masculine body.
“Damn it woman, you're either very brave
or very stupid,” Slade whispered in her ear as he used his body to shield hers.
Nicole ignored the man hovering over her
and tried again to use her powers. She reached out to the shooter’s mind but
there was nothing. Not a whisper returned to her, not an image of a thought or
a twinge of the gunman’s emotions even though she knew he was still out there.
The crowd in the airport was in hysterics so someone had to be causing the
violence. She frantically reached out her powers trying to touch anyone’s
mind, not just the gunman's. She didn’t care who, she needed to hear a
thought, any thought, so she would know her power was still working. Just a
small taste to confirm nothing had changed since she left Alabama.
Panic filled her as a lump formed in her
throat. Nothing returned to her. Not even the tainted thoughts she had heard
for years when her powers first emerged. Her mind started to race back to the
last time she had heard anything. She had tried and failed with Luke before
her plane took to the sky but the last time it had worked was when she had wrapped
her friends in a chamber of wind to keep them from following her.
Did I
lose my powers?
She wondered as Slade moved off her and offered her his
hand.