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Authors: Evi Asher

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BOOK: Burning Ember
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Scarlet pumped the shotgun and held it, feeling awkward as she scanned the front of the car for Luke.

“I’ve got you now.”

She felt the ice of Luke’s presence behind her and reacted. Scarlet lunged forward, twisting in her seat, and spun to face the back of the car, lifting the shotgun, and cocking at the same time. She pulled the trigger and felt her back slam into the glass of the windshield when the weapon recoiled in her hands. The percussive blast of the shotgun was so loud in the enclosed space of the car, she thought her eardrums might have burst.

Archer swerved the car and slammed on the breaks and Scarlet fell straight into him.

“Did it work?” She sat up trying to see over Archer’s broad shoulders.

“Yes.” he said in a tight voice. He shook his head.

Scarlet saw the thin trail of blood coming from his ear.

“Oh, God, did I hurt you?” She sat up straighter reaching for his ear.

“No, it will heal within minutes. You did good
.
Luke is gone, but we won’t have long. We have to get back to Crossroads. There, you will have sanctuary, and I’m hoping Poe can pull a few strings to get the death sentence lifted.” He picked her up and put her down on her seat.

He might as well have been speaking a foreign language, because Scarlet didn’t follow half of what he said

She nodded without a word as Archer put the car back in gear and pulled off.

Scarlet was left to wonder what had happened to her mundane life as a waitress.

 

Chapter Six

 

 

Archer found himself glancing over at Scarlet for the thirtieth time. She had her head resting against the door and her hands folded in her lap. She had scratches, was bleeding and bedraggled, yet she was beautiful.

Her matted, long, dark brown braid had twigs and leaves tangled in it, but he could see that her hair was soft to the touch. Her heart shaped face, smudged with dirt, had dark circles under her eyes, but when those blue eyes were open, they were like a blazing hook on your soul.

Once they’d gotten on the road, it hadn’t taken long for her to fall asleep. He couldn’t imagine how exhausted she must have been, and she’d been asleep the whole way back to Crossroads.

Archer slowed down the car with another glance at Scarlet and turned into the underground parking garage of
Outsiders Inc
. He felt a twinge of regret that the drive was over. Watching her sleep gave him a deep sense of… rightness. That was the best word he could think of.

Man, that vision he’d had as a cub had done a number on his mind. He was still positive there was no way that Scarlet was his
she
, but for some reason, his beast was convinced.

He shook his head. He would have to deal with this
was
stuff later. For now, they had other worries. Archer was hoping Poe was around. The vampire Prince would make it a lot easier to get the death sentence off Scarlet’s head.

The Eternal had two reactions to pyros. They tried to either save them, or take them out. Scarlet was evoking both reactions in spades.

He parked the car and killed the engine. Scarlet woke with a start, her head snapping around as though looking for danger.

“You are safe,” Archer assured her as he laid a hand on her shoulder. “Remember?”

She made a derisive sound. “That is a matter of opinion. I don’t know anything about being safe. All I know is that no one is trying to kill me right this second.”

Archer’s lips curled, “Glass-half-full kinda person, huh?”

“Yeah, sure, my life is a party.”

He reached for the door handle to get out of the car.

Scarlet stopped him. “Wait. Before I go anywhere, I’d like some answers.”

When he frowned, about to tell her to wait, she cut him off.

“Archer, you said you’d give me answers. We aren’t running, right now, and I want my answers.”

Her use of his name had stopped him from telling her to wait. Her voice was like honey, and when the syllables of his name slipped from her lips, it made him feel a twinge of something that he wasn’t used to.

He turned towards her in his seat. “Okay, ask. I’ll answer what I can answer now, but I’m not promising to answer it all.”

“Fair enough.” She nodded, then took a moment, he assumed, to compose her thoughts. “What the hell am I? I mean you aren’t the first person to call me a pyro, you’ve used the term
human
and I can obviously do things that normal people can’t do, so just what kind of freak am I?”

The words rushed from her as if she was trying to get all the questions out in one breath.

Archer held up a hand. “Whoa. One at a time,
belan.”

“And what does
belan
mean?”

“Fire—
belan
means fire, and before you ask, the language is Lycan.”

“I’ve never heard of a language called Lycan—Wait. Lycan as in lycanthrope, as in werewolf.” Scarlet burst out laughing. “You are mad.” She shook her head. “And to think I was nearly taken in by all of this.”

“Oh, so denial is a good idea now?” he asked with a quirk of his lips. “You really think that tactic is going to work?”

Scarlet pursed her lips as if she was considering what he had said. Archer was sure he’d made his point.

“Okay, so it may be not a great idea, but give me a break—werewolf—come on.”

Archer shrugged. “Fine, don’t believe it, but you aren’t human either. You are a pyro, a fire-starter. I’m sure you’ve noticed that you have an ability to create fire from nothing.”

“Yeah.” A frown drew her brows down. “I’m a freak, but it doesn’t mean I’m not human.”

“That’s exactly what it means. You are one of the Eternal, an immortal.”

“Oh, Please. What kind of bull are you trying to feed me?” She looked heavenward, then leveled a dirty look at him.

He dropped his head back on the headrest and wished for some patience. It was obvious she was going to be one of those who refused to believe the things that were happening to her.

“I’m not going to sit here and argue with you. So, let’s go.” He opened the car door and got out, ignoring her protests. She jumped out the door to follow him.

“You said you’d answer my questions,” she stated, slamming the door closed at the same time.

“There is no point.” He kept on walking, forcing her to run to keep up. “You don’t want to believe a word I say.” He got to the elevators and pushed the button to call it.

“Well, if you said something logical or even reasonable, I’d believe you.”

Archer tilted his head and glowered at her. “You ran away because you set the shelter on fire in your sleep and—”

“There is no proof that fire was caused by me.”

He raised one of his brows in a questioning arch. “You set a bus depot on fire, or are you going to try and deny that one, too?”

She didn’t answer him, but dropped her eyes, looking down at her sneakers.

“You ran into the forest where you were hunted by some of the most dangerous beings in the Eternal.”

He watched her shudder and felt the inane urge to wrap his arms around her to comfort her.

“One of which is a spirit, and you want to argue with me about logic and sense?”

The elevator doors opened, and Archer stepped in, then waited for Scarlet before it closed.

“I’ll admit a lot of that stuff was weird and I’m beginning to think I was drugged, or I’m having some type of hysterical meltdown.” She sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than him.

He just scrubbed his hands over his face. “Stubborn, too stubborn.”

“What is the Eternal?” Scarlet asked him, in a quiet voice as the elevator rode up.

“The Eternal is the collective title for all species of immortals.”

“Species? You mean there is more than what I’ve seen.” Sarcasm made her tone hard.

“Enough—when you are ready to believe what I’m telling you, I’ll answer your questions. Until then, be a honey and don’t ask any more.” He reached forward and lifted the gate of the freight elevator.

She glanced around the room. “What is this place?”

“It is many things—our offices, our place of residence, and a place where you will be safe for now.” Stepping into the hub, Archer led the way.

 

* * * *

 

Scarlet stopped short when they reached a horseshoe-shaped reception area. There was a man sitting in the center of it. He leaned back on the chair, his booted feet propped up on the desk in front of him as if he were sunning on a beach. He had dark hair, shaved on one side, while the other side had evenly spaced cornrow braids that fell down over his shoulder and farther down his back. His deep blue eyes were striking with his pale, almost translucent skin.

“Where have you been, Poe? I’ve been trying to call you.” Archer asked the seated man.

“You were?” Poe lifted his hips to reach into his pocket, so he could pull out a cell phone, and glanced at the screen. “Sorry, seems the battery is as dead as I am.”

He turned his attention to Scarlet and gave her a crooked smile. “Who have we here?”

Archer frowned. “This is Scarlet, and she needs a
Kalick
lifted.”

She glanced over at Archer to ask, “
Kalick
?”

“Death Sentence,” Poe supplied with an intrigued look. He dropped his feet off the desk, stood, and walked over to Scarlet, getting so close that she had to tilt her head up to look at him.

She heard a soft growl and glanced around the room for a dog. “You have a dog here, too?”

Archer looked embarrassed, and Poe started to laugh at her question. “I’m sure he prefers the term
wolf.
Isn’t that so, Arch?”

“But of course, Your Highness.” Archer made a mock bow from the waist.

Poe stiffened and stepped away.

Scarlet was confused by the undercurrent. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on and I don’t care. All I want right now is a shower and a bed.”

“It’s nothing more than banter between old friends.” Poe quirked a brow. “And before we can let you rest, I need to know what you did to earn the
Kalick
. They aren’t enforced often.”

“She’s a pyro. Untrained, and unaware of the Eternal before now.” Archer supplied.

“Oh, my…” Poe gave her another predatory look up and down. “I thought they were almost always redheads. Do you color your hair?”

Scarlet had opened her mouth to tell him to go to hell when he continued.

“There is a way I could find out for sure.” His accompanying grin was lascivious.

Scarlet gasped. She’d show him the color red with the mark she’d leave on his smug face with the flat of her hand.

“That’s enough, Poe!” Archer stepped between them. “Scarlet is under my protection, so make sure you behave yourself. Why are you at reception anyway—where is Zane?”

“Zane’s on a BeeBee. I offered to watch the front for him.”

“A beebee?” Scarlet asked. Being around these two was like having to listen to a foreign language she didn’t understand a word of.

“A blood break. He was hungry,” Poe explained.

Scarlet took a moment to process that before she started laughing. “Now you are saying there are werewolves,
and
vampires. You are all insane.”

Poe moved in a blur. He was around Archer, and before the Lycan could react, Poe had Scarlet in his arms, bent back with her neck exposed. His fangs had lengthened, and he had the inch-long weapons poised over her neck.

“Still think we are insane?” he lisped around the fangs.

Scarlet felt herself starting to freak out. The vampire’s eyes were glowing a deep blood red, and his grip on her was tight, so tight she couldn’t move. She struggled against him anyway.

“I could drain you right now, Pyro, and I’m sure your blood would taste delicious.”

“Let her go.” Archer’s voice was a low, warning growl.

“I’m sure you would like it. My bite can be…orgasmic.” His breath tickled her neck, causing shivers to race along her skin.

Poe’s braids whipped her face, and Scarlet landed on her backside as he was pulled off her with force. She watched as Poe’s back hit the wall and he slid down to sit on the floor, laughing so hard he had to hold his sides.

“It’s not funny.” Archer stood over him, fists clenching and unclenching.

Scarlet stared in awe at Archer. The tips of his fingers had four-inch claws on them and he looked bigger.

Did he get bigger? Claws?

“Yes, my pointy-eared friend. I am,” Poe said between chuckles.

Scarlet sucked in a breath. His back was to her, but Poe was right, Archer’s ears were longer, much longer, and pointed and the tips tufted with…fur?

His shoulder heaved with the deep breaths he was dragging in.

“It’s too close to the full moon for you to pull stunts like that, asshole. Did you want me to rip you open and eat your heart?”

Poe stood and shrugged. “I’d give you a belly ache, but I was trying to prove a point. I’m pretty sure it worked.” He pinned Scarlet with his red-eyed stare. “No one here is insane, little Pyro, and the sooner you realize that, the easier it will be for us to protect you.”

She watched, fascinated as he formed words around his fangs. “Remember the boogie man under your bed when you were a child? Be very afraid, because every boogie man you’ve ever imagined is real. Welcome to the world of monsters and myths.”

Scarlet heard what Poe said and felt real fear again, but it was muted by her fascination with Archer.

He kept his back to Scarlet, and she suspected he was trying to hide his face from her.

She wondered how his face had changed. A vampire had just held and pinned her down, and Archer was sporting an impressive set of claws. After everything she had experienced in the past few days, was there any way she could afford not to believe them?

Poe sauntered over to offer her, a hand up. She refused it, getting to her feet on her own. He just shrugged as if it didn’t bother him and stepped away from her.

“What’s all the noise about?”

A new voice caught Scarlet’s attention and she turned to see who it was. She felt her jaw unhinge as she looked up at the biggest man she had ever seen. His light blond hair was cut short and ice-colored eyes stared out of a tanned face.

BOOK: Burning Ember
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