Darkness Unmasked (DA 5) (14 page)

“You were successful?” Azriel said, then raised a hand and lightly brushed the hair from my eyes.

I nodded. “He said whatever he creates will not restrict anyone in flesh form from entering, though, so we still could be attacked.”

“It wasn’t so much the attack that was the problem last time, but the fact that the sorcerer used it to divert our attention from his arrival.”

“Well, he can still arrive, just not via magical means.” I paused. “It also means Lucian will not be blocked.”

“Trust me, it will be my great pleasure to deal with him if he
does
attempt to take the key from us.”

I eyed in him for a moment, then said, “You’re hoping he does, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” His reply was short, sharp. Angry.

“Because you want a reason to kill him.”

“Yes.”

“Why? Because of me? Because he was using me?”

He didn’t reply, but he really didn’t need to. I could feel the answer echoing deep inside of me. I reached out and placed a hand on his leg. His muscles tensed under my touch. “You cannot kill Lucian because of me, Azriel. I don’t want that guilt on top of everything else.”

“The guilt would
not
be yours—”

“If you break reaper rules to gain revenge for the way he’s treated me, then that
is
my problem. We’ve broken enough rules lately, Azriel. Let’s not top it with murder.”

“There are some rules worth breaking.” He sheathed Valdis and crossed his arms.

Talk about closing himself off, I thought with amusement. But before I could actually say anything, my phone rang. I bounced off the bed and ran into the living room to answer it.

“Risa? It’s Jak,” he said, rather unnecessarily given his rather handsome face was crystal clear on the phone’s screen. “You wanted to know if I’d heard anything unusual concerning fires?”

My heart began beating a whole lot faster. “Yeah, I did.”

“Well, I might just have something. But it’ll cost you.”

I snorted. “I’m not giving you a story, Jak. Not on this one.”

He grinned. It touched his eyes, warming the dark-chocolate depths and creating the usual havoc with my pulse rate. He might have caused me untold heartache in the past, but there was still a tiny part of me that remembered—and maybe even hungered for—the good times.

“Oh, I don’t want a story.” He paused, and the spark in his eyes grew. “I want a date.”

“No.”

“Fine. I’ll talk to you later—”

“That’s fucking blackmail, Jak.”

“Yep.” His voice was cheery. “I believe there’s still something between us, Ris. You keep saying there isn’t, but you lie, and we both know it. A date should sort it out one way or the other.”

“Jak, I’m not getting into a relationship with you.” Annoyance filled my voice. “Accept that and move on.”

“I had, but then you went and kissed me, and it just reminded me of how good we’d been together.”

I rubbed my forehead wearily. I hadn’t actually kissed Jak—I’d kissed Azriel. At the time, he’d been wearing Jak’s image, as we’d thought Jak might have been the target of a sniper. Those suspicions had turned out to be wrong, but I couldn’t entirely regret it, because that kiss was the reason Azriel and I had finally ended up lovers. What I
did
regret was telling Azriel to give Jak full memories of what had happened that night—kiss included.

“Jak, just tell me what you’ve uncovered. It’s important.”

“Answer the question on the table, and I just might.”

I opened my mouth to say, “For fuck’s sake, one date, no sex,” but what came out instead was a flat, “No.”

Jak didn’t immediately say anything, but I could see his surprise. Hell,
I
was surprised. And yet, weirdly, I also felt free. I may not have wanted him back in my life, but at least confronting him had finally freed me from the pain of our past.

I could move on.

At least until Azriel got around to shattering my barely healed heart again.

“Look,” I continued. “I’m not denying there’s still chemistry between us, but I have to wonder how much of it is just the pull of our wolf natures.”

“This is more than
just
that—”

“Jak,” I cut in, exasperated. “I’m with someone
else
. I don’t care how much lust might flare between you and me—or anyone else for that matter—it’s
not
going to happen. If you can’t accept that and move on, well, then, good-bye. But I won’t be blackmailed into something I don’t want.” Not this fucking time, anyway.

He stared at me for several seconds, then took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Okay.”

“Okay, you accept what I said, or okay, you’re out the door?”

He smiled. “The former. You still owe me a major story, my dear, and you’re not getting rid of me until I get it.”

I couldn’t help a chuckle. He really
hadn’t
changed. “Then cut the crap and tell me what you’ve got.”

“I just hope your reaper appreciates what you’re giving up,” he said, amusement teasing his lips.

“Who said it was the reaper?”

He snorted. “Anyone with two eyes and half a brain. Don’t try to kid a kidder.”

“Jak—” I warned.

“Okay,” he said, the amusement on his lips becoming an all-out grin. “There have been several weird fire-related reports popping up on the scanner over the last half hour.”

“This is the scanner you haven’t got because they’re illegal?”

“Do you want to hear the news, or not?”

I smiled. “I’m listening.”

“There’s been reports of fires breaking out on freeway verges near Strathmore, Keilor East, Calder Park Raceway, and another of a grass fire near Diggers Rest.”

“And?” I said, hoping there was more to the reports than just that. Spot fires weren’t unusual, especially along freeway verges. Cigarettes being thrown out of car windows started too many fires in the summer and autumn months.

“And,” he said, “all reports mention a figure seen fleeing the scene.”

I closed my eyes. Here it comes, I thought. “Was there any description?”

“Just one,” he said. “They all said the man was made of fire.”

Chapter 6

Damn, damn,
damn
!

Of course, there was always a chance it
wasn’t
Tao, but deep in my heart I knew it was a very remote one. While he wasn’t the only fire starter in Victoria, they all had one thing in common—even though they
could
make their entire body flame, they never appeared to be
made
of flames. Their features were always visible underneath them. If the figure seen fleeing the string of fires
did
appear that way, then there could be only two reasons why: Either a witch had conjured a fresh elemental, or Tao’s elemental was now in control of his body.

I rubbed my suddenly stinging eyes. “How long ago was the last report?”

“The Diggers Rest report came in about ten minutes ago.” Jak paused. “Ris, what’s going on?”

“Nothing that I can tell you about.” I swung around, walked over to the light screen, and quickly brought up Google Maps. I typed “Diggers Rest” in the search area and waited for the screen to respond. “When did the first report come in?”

“About twenty minutes earlier.”

Meaning it had taken him roughly twenty minutes to travel the twenty or so kilometers from Strathmore to Diggers Rest. At that rate, he’d be in Gisborne in ten minutes. I kept following the freeway up with my finger, but stopped when I hit Macedon. Oh,
shit
. The elemental was going
home
. Going back to where the witch had created the flames that had given birth to it. It
had
to be. What other reason could there be for it to be heading up to Macedon? Obviously, the witch fire was still alive, though how that could be after all this time I had no idea. That was a question Ilianna would have a better chance of answering than me.

“Thanks, Jak—”

“Don’t you dare hang up on me without—”

I hung up, then swung around to face Azriel. “I have to get out there and find Tao before he creates too much more damage.”

“You wish me to take you?”

I hesitated, then said, “No. I’ll go in Aedh form. It’ll be easier to spot him that way.”

“Remember, I cannot follow you or help you until you retain flesh form.”

I nodded, then grabbed my keys and gave Azriel a quick kiss. “Wish me luck.”

“I wish you safety,” he said. “Luck is not something either of us should depend on at this point of time.”

“True.”

Ilianna’s wards were still active, which meant I couldn’t actually change inside the apartment. I headed out to the street, making sure the apartment was locked and the alarm on, then gripped my phone and keys tightly and reached down for the power of the Aedh. It swept through me instantly, a force stronger than ever before, switching me from flesh to energy form in the blink of an eye.

An unpleasant tingle ran across my particles, a telltale sign that the wards were definitely working. I spun around and headed skyward, arrowing northwest, straight toward Macedon. There was no point in following the roads—not in this form, anyway.

I was going so fast, the streetlights were little more than vivid streaks. The wind buffeted my body, occasionally throwing me sideways, but I still made good time. Soon the lights of the civilization started giving way to longer patches of darkness as I moved from the city to the country. After a while, I found the Calder Freeway and started following it, simply because the elemental seemed to be. For several miles, there was nothing more than the occasional car zooming past; then, gradually, a deeper, richer glow began to show up on the horizon. It was slightly off the highway, walking through paddocks, flicking flames through the undergrowth and sparking more spot fires.

I sped up. The closer I got, the more certain I became that it was Tao. Or rather, the elemental. Fear slithered through me, but it was fear for my friend, not fear for me.

Soon a fiery form became visible. It was trunk shaped, with thick arms and legs and no head. It dripped fire as it moved, the molten globules sizzling as they hit the ground. The dark energy that rolled off the creature crawled through my particles, making them quiver in discomfort.

This is Tao,
I reminded myself fiercely. He wouldn’t hurt me. I had to trust that, if nothing else.

I flew downward, shifting shape as I neared the ground. I landed on hands and knees and skidded forward, skinning my palms and ripping the knees out of my jeans. I cursed softly—more from the pain of those injuries than the incapacitating pain that usually followed such a shift—and forced myself upright. The abrupt movement had the world doing a brief three-sixty around me, but I ignored it and forced my feet forward. A heartbeat later, an all-too-familiar heat ran across my skin.

“I have no sense of Tao within that creature,” Azriel said, voice soft and holding little in the way of emotion.

“You may not sense him, but he’s still there somewhere.”

“If he attacks, you must defend yourself.”

“No.” I glanced at him. “And you won’t defend me, either.”

Anger flickered through his eyes, even though his expression was as remote as it had ever been. “It is my duty to protect you from
all
danger. That includes threats from friends.”

I stopped and swung around to fully face him. “If you even go
near
Tao, I’ll fucking attack you myself.”

“Tao is
not
in control of that being,” he all but growled. The fury he was barely showing washed through my mind, a whirlwind of heat that left me singed. “And he
will
attack you.”

“Maybe. But he won’t kill me.”

I had to believe that.
Had
to.

“I cannot stand here and watch—”

“You
will
,” I cut in. “Promise me, Azriel.”

“No.”

“Damn it, I haven’t asked
that
much of you. I’m asking this. Please, for me, stand back and let me deal with Tao.”

He eyed me for a moment, then made a short, chopping motion with his hand. “Fine. I will not interfere unless I sense death is inevitable. I will
not
let you die. Anything more, I will not promise.”

“Thank you.”

I turned and walked toward the fiery form. Its steps were ponderous, as if its flaming trunklike legs were a weight it could barely lift. And yet, for all the appearance of slowness, it was covering a lot of distance fairly quickly.

The closer I got, the hotter it got. Heat rolled over me, furnacelike in its intensity. Sweat beaded across my brow and began to roll down my spine. But it wasn’t all caused by heat. Some of it was definitely fear. No matter what I’d said to Azriel, no matter what I believed, I knew deep down that there was a very real possibility that this encounter would not end well for one of us.

Amaya’s hissing began to fill the back of my thoughts. She wanted to kill, wanted to draw the life of the elemental into her steel and feed on its flesh.

I shuddered.
No way in hell, Amaya. This is a friend, not an enemy.

Not,
she replied.
Only way
.

I ignored her. I flexed my fingers, took a deep breath, and said, “Tao.”

There was no response. The creature kept moving forward, its heavy steps making the ground quiver.

“Tao,” I said, louder this time.

The creature paused, then slowly turned around. It didn’t have a mouth or even a face, so, basically, it just stood there, dripping fire. I wondered what was going on within the creature, wondered if Tao had any awareness of what the elemental was doing and whether somewhere deep within the flames he still fought to regain control.

“You have to retake control, Tao. It’s trying to return to the fire that created it. You can’t let it.” Because if it did, I’d never see my friend again. I was sure of that, if nothing else.

The creature twitched. Whether it was a response to my plea, I couldn’t say. “Tao—”

The rest of the sentence was cut off as the creature raised a fist and punched. I swore and ducked, but not fast enough. The blow hit my shoulder rather than my face, melting my sweater and sending me sprawling backward.