Cursed by Fire (Blood & Magic Book 1) (15 page)

Everyone at the table seemed deeply disturbed by the thought. Some seemed skeptical and I could understand why. They were being told that a mysterious group was gunning for them but had no proof. No true reason to believe that there was anyone else out there aside from the vampires that could be of any sort of threat to them.

“Ms. Naveed, would you care to explain our situation?” he asked, and then went on to offer a quick introduction. “Ms. Naveed has been working with James to bring down the individual responsible for murdering Daniel Blackmore. While following leads, she uncovered some disturbing revelations.” I looked to James and he smiled in encouragement. We had already discussed our plan of action earlier last night after I had left Sanborn Place. James had immediately decided a meeting with Declan and the Pack Alphas was our best course of action and I had no reason to disagree. Taking a deep breath I faced the Pack leaders and laid everything out.

“We originally thought a vampire was responsible for Daniel’s death.”

“And now?” Declan asked.

I shook my head. “I spoke with Rebecka. She’s arrogant and self-absorbed. She also has no affection for the Pack, but I believe her when she says none of her Coven did this.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Tegan bit out.

“Look, I know the easy thing to do is to blame the Coven, but after Emma’s death and the vampire body at the scene, things just aren’t adding up. I think both murders were set up to create conflict between the Pack and the Coven, to instigate a war between your two races.” I heaved a sigh, I needed them to believe me because if they didn’t, war would come next. I didn’t think they would tolerate another unsolved murder within their ranks. There was a chance I was wrong about this but my gut was telling me I was on the right track. I had to at least try.

“Is anyone here familiar with Psykers?” I asked.

“What the hell is a Psyker?” Mauro asked in a deep baritone voice.

“A Psyker is a human with psychokinetic abilities. Essentially they have psychic powers. Some can read minds, others can teleport, and some hold power over the elements. A Psyker is still human though. They live an average human lifespan and don’t have any regenerative abilities like shifters or vampires outside of healing at an accelerated rate.

“Psykers are not easy to kill and most can take you down before you ever get close. There is an organization called PsyShade and it recruits Psykers, conditioning them to view both the Pack and the Coven as abominations along with every other paranormal species.” The information Twitch dug up was a gold mine filled with more Psyker and PsyShade knowledge than I could have imagined. I felt a bit in the dark, like I should have known most of this already being a Psyker myself, but was satisfied that at least now I had more than I did before. I’d spent all night going over every note and reference Mike had given me.

“Their goal is to restore the world order by placing humans back in power and eliminating anyone who may pose a threat. They view the Pack as an obvious threat and since the Pacific Northwest Pack is the largest in the U.S. the belief is if you fall, the other packs will submit rather than risk the same casualties. They don’t just want a war. They want to exterminate you.”

When I finished, the entire room erupted into chaos. There were growls and snarls. Everyone spoke over one another and many called me a liar. Declan sat back in his chair and watched as pandemonium ensued. After two minutes passed, he’d finally had enough. He stood with an eerie calm and let loose a vicious roar. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and I had to fight my instinct to crawl under the table and hide. He was one scary bastard.

Instantly the room became quite and all eyes were on Declan.

“Aria, would you please share proof with our council of the existence of the Psykers?” he asked. Beneath the table James squeezed my hand and I squeezed back before rising from my seat. James stood as well, pulling the chair out for me. I stepped around it and positioned myself at the opposite end of the table to give everyone a clear view.

I held my arms slightly out before me, palms facing up. Closing my eyes I pulled from deep inside of me, directing my energy towards my outstretched hands. In seconds the temperature in the room began to rise. Seconds after that, flames encompassed my hands. I focused as hard as possible to keep the flames large enough for everyone to take notice, but not so large that they’d overwhelm me. Fire had a way of consuming. It called to you, a silent chant to let it grow and run free.

Hearing audible gasps, I opened my eyes and gauged their expressions. The twins had narrowed eyes, their gazes assessing. Jessica and Mauro seemed unperturbed, as if they’d already known. Eva looked angry, Yvonne was biting her lip—looking concerned—and Robert, Robert had that same feral grin on his face, like he’d just found a tasty snack. With all eyes still on me I allowed the flames to lick up my arms.

Pushing further, the flame soon encompassed my entire body. Even my face was hidden. After a full minute I tried to call my fire back inside of me. It took longer than I’d have liked but after a slight internal struggle, I was able to release a sigh as the pressure eased. I’d been practicing my control but even that small demonstration took its toll. An itch remaining under my skin.

“Thank you for the demonstration,” Declan said, completely unfazed. He knew what I could do, James had shared the information with him before I’d arrived. He’d never seen it before, yet he acted like a woman bursting into flames was an everyday occurrence. Taking my seat Robert leaned into me. “That was wicked, and hot,” he said, placing his hand on my forearm. “Shit!” he yelped, recoiling.

He stared down at his palm covered in burn blisters. His eyes shot from his hand to me, a look of shock on his face. I shrugged my shoulders and offered him a small smile.

My bad.

Not
.

He would heal in minutes. It was nothing to get upset over. The Lyc-V in his system was likely already repairing the damage and soon his hand would be unblemished, no signs of any burn. Too bad.

Declan cleared his throat. “As I was saying. We have a new threat. One we have never faced before and we need to prepare ourselves.”

J
ennifer waited in the car as I walked across the parking lot to Sanborn Place. After my demonstration, Declan requested that she accompany me back to the office to touch base with Mike. He had called earlier and left a message saying he’d found more information and to come by the office when I was finished.

As I walked into Sanborn Place I found myself frozen in my tracks at the threshold. The thick scent of blood assailed my senses as soon as I opened the door. I wrinkled my nose and quickly scanned the room—nothing out of place—but I knew something was wrong. Careful not to make any unnecessary sounds I slowly crept into the office building, letting my nose guide me through the darkened room closer to the metallic scent.

As I stalked through the office, the offending smell became stronger. When I turned the corner I saw a pair of legs on the floor, barely visible behind the bulk of a desk. The legs were thick, encased in gray slacks. The shoes polished but made of well-worn leather. The exact shoes that Mike wore to the office every day.

A chill of dread settled deep in the pit of my stomach as I inched closer. Tears already forming in the corners of my eyes. Moving completely around the desk, I found Mike’s body splayed on the ground, a shaking hand clutched to his stomach. I rushed to his side, pressing my hand to his wound yet unable to stop the blood from seeping through my fingers. It was warm and thick. Panic began to set in.

“Mike, oh God, Mike what happened?” I said, pressing my hand more firmly against his stomach. Blood was rapidly pooling all around me. The logical side of my brain knew he was losing too much, knew that he was beyond saving but I couldn’t give up on him.

“Ar...Ar...Ari…you need…”

“Shh…it’s okay. We’re going to get you some help. Everything is going to be okay,” I told him, blinking several times to keep my emotions in check but it was no use. Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes against my wishes.

“JENNIFER!” I yelled, hoping she could hear me outside. Praying that her shifter senses would pick up on the sound. I couldn’t leave Mike’s side to run for help. He wouldn’t make it. If I let go of his stomach, he’d bleed out in a matter of seconds.

“JENNIFER!” I screamed again, my voice going hoarse as I struggled to contain my sobs.

“It’s going to be okay,” I said again. “Just hang on all right? Just hang on and it will all be okay. I promise, just please, please hang on.” I was babbling, not knowing what to say or if I was saying it aloud for his benefit or my own. I needed to believe it would be okay. I couldn’t lose him. I just couldn’t.

His breathing was wet and labored, and as I held onto his prone form, I watched as his eyes visibly dimmed, the fight leaving his eyes.

“No, no, no, don’t you leave me,” I told him, shaking him awake. His eyes fluttered open and when his gaze met mine, he smiled. I tried to smile back but couldn’t make it reach my eyes. Mike reached a blood-coated hand up and cupped my cheek, his hand shaking from the effort.

“Aria, my sweet Aria.”

“Shh…” I told him, “don’t talk.”

Mike shook his head, a tear leaking from the corner of his eye.

Distantly I heard the office door open and quick footsteps head in our direction.

“Run,” Mike wheezed out. “They came for you, not me. Run.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked him as Jennifer came up behind me. She had the first aid kit with her. The one I kept in the trunk for emergencies but she didn’t bother opening it. She knew it was too late, just as I did, but I still wanted to try. I had to. I owed it to Mike to at least try.

I removed one of my hands from Mike’s stomach and hastily opened the first aid kit before rifling through its contents. Grabbing gauze and tape I tried to staunch the blood flow but it just kept seeping through. I pulled Mike’s shirt up and realized why. What I assumed was a stab wound to his stomach, was more. Mike had four separate entry points that I could see, each one oozing a heavy flow of blood.

“Oh God.”

“Aria, you can’t fix that,” Jennifer whispered to me. A restraining hand on my shoulder.

I shook her off. “Yes I can. I have to.” I choked back the sob lodged in my throat. I could do this. We would fix it, there had to be a way. I moved to look for more gauze; we were going to need a lot more gauze.

There wasn’t any more and I needed more.

“I need more gauze,” I told her.

She put her hands over mine, stopping my movements. “Aria, he’s gone.”

I looked up. “What are you talking about?” I asked, shaking my head.

“Aria, look. I can barely hear his heartbeat anymore. His breathing is lessening. Let him go.”

No…no…no, I couldn’t let him go.

“No, I can’t!” I dropped everything and reached for his face. “Mike? Mike! Please, please wake up.” I chanted it over and over again. “Please just wake up. Please.” My vision blurred. I could barely see through my tears. A sob finally broke loose and I crumpled over him. “Please, don’t leave me,” I begged, clutching his body to mine.

I turned to Jennifer. “You have to do something.”

“There isn’t any—”

“Yes there is,” I said, cutting her off. “Turn him.”

Her eyes widened. “I can’t.”

“Yes you can. There isn’t anything stopping you. Please,” I pleaded.

She shook her head. “You don’t know if it’s what he would have wanted. And even if I try, there’s no guarantee it would work. He’s lost so much blood.”

“I don’t care. Just try, please, just try.”

She nodded and reached down toward Mike. Before her hand touched him though his chest stopped moving and his breathing ceased completely.

Mike’s blood continued to pool around me. Distantly I wondered how any one person could have so much blood inside of them. I felt like I was swimming in it but I didn’t care. I didn’t care that his blood coated my hands or that I had streaks of it across my face. My chest ached, I felt physically ill but not from the blood, no. This was different. I felt weak, my body worn. There was a gaping hole in my chest now that I didn’t think could ever be filled. My head was spinning over the loss.

I could hear Jennifer talking to me. Her hands were on my shoulders but it all felt far away. I didn’t hear what she was saying. It didn’t matter anyway. Nothing mattered anymore. Mike was gone. He was really gone. She couldn’t turn him now. Not without a heartbeat, without a pulse.

My heart plummeted into my stomach and suddenly I felt cold, but only briefly, before numbness set in.

It was just like when I had found Daniel, the pool of blood, the loss…

Jennifer was shaking me now, hard. I wanted her to stop, why wouldn’t she just leave me alone? I just wanted to be alone. Frustrated she couldn’t see that, I finally sat up, glaring at her through my tears as flames began licking my fingers.

“Get off of me,” I said.

Her face was etched with concern. Her gaze collided with mine but only for a moment. Suddenly she looked away, towards the office entrance. Her eyes grew hard and she quickly stood up.

“We have to go,” she said.

I shook my head. I wasn’t going anywhere. She could go, but I was staying. I wasn’t going to leave Mike here all alone.

Jennifer crouched down in front of me, her hands on my shoulders ignoring the flames rising over my arms and shoulders. She winced in pain but her eyes bored into mine, demanding my attention.

“Aria, I need you to look at me, okay? Focus. He’s gone but there are several vampires outside right now. I can smell them. We need to go. Now.”

“I…I can’t.” I looked back down at Mike. “I can’t leave him like this.”

She forced my gaze back to hers. “You have to,” she said through gritted teeth before pulling me up with her from the floor. Briefly I struggled, pulling away from her, I didn’t want to be touched. Who the hell did she think she was? Anger rushed through me like a vicious flood and I jerked free from her grip once more.

“Don’t touch me,” I said.

“Aria, before Mike died, he said they were here for you. He told you to run. We need to do that now. I need you to run. I can take on a vampire. I can even take on two of them but any more than that and I might lose. We might lose.” The last was said louder.

Faintly I remembered Mike’s final words.

“We’re going to go through the back, okay?” she said.

Before I could respond she started pulling me away and blindly I followed, unable to stir up the will to fight her anymore.

As we reached the back door, I heard glass shatter.

“Shit,” Jennifer said under her breath. She pulled me closer.

“Come on, I know she’s around here somewhere,” an unfamiliar voice said.

“Dumb bitch. We’ll see how she feels when we do to her what Ryan here did to that old man.”

Two men laughed in unison. “Old bastard, he didn’t even put up much of a fight,” another voice said.

Suddenly I saw red. These were the ones responsible for Mike’s death. They were the ones that took him away from me. Without thought I walked towards the voices. Jennifer reached out for me but quickly drew back when her hand made contact. The heat from my skin causing a visible burn. The flames had grown and turned from an orange glow to a bright hot white, coating my skin from head to toe in a thin layer of flame.

“Shh…I heard something,” one of the men said, the one who had spoken first. Taking several more steps I finally turned the corner that hid them from my view. I felt more than heard Jennifer come up from behind but she kept herself hidden. She probably thought she was going to back me up. I didn’t need any backup though.

Three vampires stood before me. Each one wore similar attire, dark clothing, long leather trench coats. God, couldn’t they at least be original. They were all Spike wannabes and a small part of me found that comical in a morbid way.

“Well look what we have here,” one of the vamps said. “Wanna play?” A wide grin spread across his face making his wickedly sharp fangs all the more visible. Idiot, I was going to make them burn.

“You killed my friend,” I said. My voice sounded cold even to my own ears.

The second vamp made a sad face. “Aww, are you upset little girl?” His frown was quickly replaced by a sadistic smile. “Your friend didn’t put up much of a challenge. You’ll make this interesting for us though, won’t you?” he said before laughing aloud, the other two joining in.

“We’ve got a score to settle with you and your little party tricks aren’t going to be any help.”

Distantly I wondered what score but I didn’t really care. They’d killed Mike. That was enough for me to condemn them all. The party trick comment had me grinning. They didn’t realize my flames were real. No they believed this was all for show, I’d show them.

Without another word I threw my head back and opened my arms wide. I’d always tried to keep a leash on my abilities. Never trusting myself, never knowing just how much power I had within me. I didn’t hold back this time. I let all of my anger and grief rise to the surface and before the suckheads could so much as blink, I let it all go, focusing on the two vampires closest to me.

The room flashed in a wave of blinding light. The fire so hot, that for a brief moment it shone blue. Within seconds two of the vamps were incinerated along with the majority of the surrounding furniture. The charred smell of burning wood wafted through the room.

The third looked horrified. I’d saved him for last. He was the one the others referred to as Ryan. He was the one who’d killed Mike.

I drew my daggers from my waist, a thin white flame covering the steel edge.

“Wha…”

“You killed my friend,” I said in a deadpan voice. “So I killed yours.”

He backed up two paces, arms held out in front of him in a sign of surrender.

“Look, I don’t know what you are but—”

I cut him off. “Stop talking.”

Taking a deep breath, I called my fire back inside of me so it no longer covered my body. It took significant effort but I was determined. I wanted this to last. When all of the flame receded, Ryan attacked. It was exactly as I’d expected.

His speed gave him an advantage but my rage fueled me. A blur moved to my right and I slashed out my blade, drawing a line across pale flesh. Ryan paused, bringing a hand to his cheek, drawing a finger along a thin line of blood.

I smiled. There was a reason daggers were my weapon of choice. They were intimate. They required you to get close and personal to your opponent. To see every nick and slice you issued. A sword created too much distance for my liking. No, I wanted to look into this bastard’s eyes as I carved his heart from his chest.

Ryan’s lip curled. Without thought I struck, both blades connected with the flesh just below either of his shoulders. I pushed with all of my might, ramming him into the back wall. He snapped his teeth, barely missing my face, like a vicious animal.

My daggers were buried through flesh and plaster. I stared into his cold eyes, an amber glow illuminating them. I gave each dagger a brutal twist in my hands, relishing the grimace he wore on his face. “Why are you targeting me?” I asked.

He laughed, a grating sound that chafed my senses.

“Your interference will be your demise,” he said.