Prince's Fire (2 page)

6 Cara Carnes

Now she was really pissed. No one told her what to do, especially in that tone. Who the hell did he think he was to presume he would get anywhere near her after mentioning Shana? She looked around at the cashiers and customers in the small grocery store and knew he made sense.

Altering human minds? Could he do that? If he could, it meant he wasn’t human. The freak of nature needed to tell her what his intentions were. Now.

She backed out of the store. He followed her. She was relieved he kept a slight distance between them. Could he sense her powers building?

She made her way to the alleyway behind the store, intending to get some answers. An awkward pain coursed through her body. He cursed aloud. She glared at him.

“Take us to your secret place now !” He was angry. She fought him when he grabbed her arm and dragged her the rest of the way into the alley.

“Get your hands off of me! Who the hell are you, and what did you do with Shana?”

She rubbed the back of her head, unable to ignore the stabbing pain that ran down her spine.

Radiating from the center of her bones, it burned its way through her head until an intense throbbing began at her temples. Her vision blurred slightly. “And what the hell are you trying to do to me?”

“That pain you are feeling is not my doing. I feel it as well. The demons have found us because of your power surge. Calm yourself. Envision your hideaway. I can’t take us there without your help. Show me exactly what it looks like and where it is. Fighting them here would endanger too many innocent people.”

“For your information, I can take us wherever the hell I want to.”

“You cannot take more than your body weight plus ten percent, Gitana. Trust me on that. You can prove the truth behind it at a later date. Now, think about your place. Your life depends upon it. Trust me.”

Prince’s Fire

7

She looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Dumpsters filled with broken-down cardboard boxes lined the alley, crates strewn in between. A loud rupturing sound at the end of the alley seized her attention. She whirled around in time to see four creatures walk through a vortex, like something from a sci-fi movie. Their slimy looking skin was partially covered in animal hair. Their eyes were small in proportion to their heads, and they appeared to communicate in a mixture of clicks.

Anger and resentment festered within her, adding to the terror she was trying hard to ignore. This had to be a bad dream. Nothing else made sense. Fear wouldn’t solve the problem, but getting pissed might.

She hurled a fireball at one of the creatures and watched it stumble briefly. The man beside her hurled a stream of liquid at them and she watched in disbelief when it hit the being she had just struck. The water froze instantly and shattered the being into tiny bits.

Fear coursed through her when the other three monsters increased their progression, their clicks and beeps becoming louder. There was a slight push in her head, and the man beside her squeezed her upper arm in a silent request. She looked over at him, closed her eyes, and thought of her open field in the country outside of town. It had served as her training ground. Only she and Shana knew of it.

She felt a strange pull then she was falling on top of him. She looked around, surprised he had managed to get them away from the alley and straight to the place she had envisioned in her mind.

“What were those things? And who the hell are you?” The thick foliage around the clearing moved restlessly in the light breeze. No weird portals or creatures appeared from thin air. Her concern began to dissipate, the surroundings offering a sense of normalcy to the freakish events that had occurred. She knew every inch of this terrain. That had to give her some sort of advantage. She sprang to her feet.

8 Cara Carnes

He stood slowly and scanned the area as if memorizing every inch of it. A smile crossed his face as his gaze roamed across her body. Her skin tingled under the perusal. “I am your mate, and I came to bring you home.”

Her mate ? He was crazy.

“Okay, that makes no sense. Where is Shana? And what the fuck were those things back there?”

“Sentient robots created by our enemies, the D’kalhiks. They are evil dwellers we drove out of our world centuries ago. They have been trying to kill you and women like you since you were born.”

The man stepped closer to her, and she glared at him. “Stay the hell away from me.”

Gitana paced in front of him angrily. Glaring in his direction, she asked, “And they conveniently showed up with you?”

“Someone will pay with their life when I find out who told them of my plan to come to Earth and retrieve you.”

“Retrieve me? I’m not luggage ! Where is Shana?” Gitana needed answers and she intended to get them. The fear and anger building inside of her only ensured she would get them. The vague responses and outlandish events only increased her determination. She was done with threats. It was time to kick some ass.

“Do not allow yourself to get angered again, Gitana. They will continue to track your power surges. I would take you to Shana right now, but you must be willing to go with me and trust in my ability to get you there. It is a long journey, even in transport.”

The air crackled in response to the low levels of electrical energy coursing from her.

Controlling that power had been the most difficult. What the man said made sense, but she still needed to know Shana was safe.

“Then tell me what I want to know about Shana.”

Prince’s Fire

9

“Your friend is very happy where she is. She wasn’t snatched, as you seem to think. She showed up at Paradise.”

Paradise was real? Oh my. Her gaze roamed over the man before her as it had in the grocery store as she contemplated what all they could do together in the place of her fantasies.

“Why didn’t she come with you? Are you holding her hostage?”

He laughed, and Gitana bristled. “No. She is being treated like royalty right now and has the mightiest of our warriors wrapped around her little finger. She was quite content when I last saw her.”

She wanted to believe him, but she didn’t trust her own judgment. Her body’s response to him made her doubt her ability to see past her raging hormones. Just because he was gorgeous didn’t mean he was telling the truth. “How do I know what you say is real?”

“She told me that you and she used to lay awake at night hidden under the covers and dream of my world. You used to fantasize about Paradise, about the men there. I know you used to dream about a man that could handle the full brunt of your lust. One that could take your power surges and demand more from you,” he whispered, his hand cupping her face.

“Do you wish me to make it happen, Gitana?” She knew her face was reddening from her blush and looked away quickly. Why would Shana reveal something that private to this man?

“Who are you? You still haven’t given me a name, yet you want me to trust you?”

Skepticism flowed off of her in palpable waves. She crossed her arms and glared at him, her lips thinned to a frown.

“Val Zan A’Mar. And you are Gitana Var Teresi.”

Gitana’s heart lurched hearing a last name. She had been raised without one for many years, until the need for one arose. Then it had become a random name drawn from the phone book. Nana never revealed much about her parents, and the things she told as 10 Cara Carnes

childhood stories were meant to instill a fear of strangers in her. Creatures killing her parents in the middle of the night, and Nana barely escaping with Gitana in tow. She knew what little Nana did share couldn’t possibly be real. But she wasn’t about to let this man before her see that.

“It’s so good to hear my name. I’ve been wandering around responding to just anything, you know.”

Val smiled seductively and brought his hand to her face, pushing her hair behind her ear. “There is no need to be defensive with me, v’amarita. You have had a rough life when you should have been living like a queen.”

She wanted to look away but found herself mesmerized by his cobalt blue eyes. Her skin tingled in response to his light touch. He had no way of knowing how few people had ever touched her, or how much the small gesture meant to her.

“I am here to bring you home.”

Home. Did that mean she had family? Why was she even here if all this was true? Hope consumed her. Could he answer the questions about her family that had plagued her for so long? Did she have other family? About why she was so different?

She rose onto her tiptoes and pulled his face close. Her hands wrapped in his long black hair. She wanted one taste of this warrior. He groaned as she brought her lips softly up against his.

She moaned and leaned against him as his other arm wrapped around her and pressed her into his frame. She sighed when he assumed control of the kiss. She didn’t want to lead; she only wanted to savor each moment. His mouth claimed hers with a fierceness that increased her pulse. Pent-up hunger thrummed within her. His tongue licked her lips softly, begging for entry. She sucked on it, and he tightened his grip on her.

“I waited a lifetime to meet you, v’amarita.”

Prince’s Fire

11

Gitana’s hands roamed over his chest then to his large biceps. The same pain she had experienced in the alley sliced through her spine. She opened her eyes just in time to see his widen in shock. He brought her behind him protectively, and a large beam of light hit him hard right below his heart.

She braced his fall and threw up a force field around them, praying that it could withstand whatever the four demons had downed him with. She had learned -- through trial and error -- that the force field prevented her from using her other defensive powers.

He whispered a chant of some sort and paused looking up at her as she brought his head into her lap. His hand caressed her cheek softly, and then his eyes closed. She screamed angrily, knowing whatever damage he had suffered had been meant for her. She should never have allowed herself to become distracted. This was all her fault.

12 Cara Carnes

A shiver passed through her body as a portal of bright light opened beside her. A man with long blond hair walked through and glanced over at them. His eyebrows arched as he looked at her from behind the soft pools of color radiating off of the force field she had created. The power beams the monsters threw bounced off of the force field, wreaking havoc on the surrounding underbrush and trees.

The man stepped forward. The creatures turned away -- in retreat, she hoped. All four erupted into ash. She screamed as tears welled up in her eyes. She needed to remain calm and not draw attention to the fear ripping through her veins, but that knowledge didn’t stop her from trembling. Her heart beat wildly as she looked at Val, her hand pressed tight to his wound, covered in his blood.

The stranger spun around and faced her.

Shit, you have really gotten yourself into a mess now. He killed those four things without breaking a sweat, and now you are the only one left standing. She pulled Val’s limp body closer and stared back at the man, daring him to penetrate her makeshift protection.

“I mean you no harm, Gitana.”

Prince’s Fire

13

It didn’t surprise her that he knew her name. Everyone that came through those odd-looking portals or used powers similar to hers seemed to. It was disconcerting to know strangers knew anything about her. How much did they know? Did they know things about her obscure childhood she didn’t?

“Who…who are you?” The fear in her voice was palpable.

“I’m a friend. Your downed warrior called me, in a way. I must ask you a favor.”

“My downed warrior? What do you mean?”

“It isn’t my place to discuss such things.”

“That’s convenient.” She was tired of not getting answers. Confusion and helplessness were two emotions she’d fought hard never to feel again. Overgrown lummoxes with superpowers weren’t taking that away from her.

“You’ll find out more than you want to know very soon,” he said.

Gitana doubted she could do anything. Based on what she had seen, he was a force to be reckoned with. Her powers were nothing compared to those he had just used to obliterate those enemies. “What is the favor?”

“Forget you ever saw me. Tell no one of what happened here. Val’s life depends on it.

Do you understand?”

How could this freak of nature affect Val’s life? Should she even believe it? Val had saved her life. He had sensed those creatures and positioned himself in front of her. She couldn’t risk not believing him. Gitana nodded, but she didn’t like it.

“Is he going to be okay?” Concern and guilt flooded her. She had allowed her power to surge out of control during the kiss. His injury -- whether he lived or died -- was her fault.

She had distracted him, both of them.

Why did this always happen? Anytime she became intimate with a man, her powers would create havoc. If she knew how to wield her powers correctly, this wouldn’t have happened. Val didn’t seem to have problems controlling his.

14 Cara Carnes

Tears stung her eyes as anger mixed with her overwhelming remorse. She didn’t have time to turn into a weak, emotional mess. She had screwed things up enough already.

“Our people are immortal,” the stranger continued. “Only severe chest wounds can kill us. This one was a bit off center so he’ll recover, but you must help him heal. His brothers will arrive shortly. It’s imperative that you let them believe he called them.”

None of it made sense. “He saved my life. He doesn’t even know me. Why would he do that?” He had claimed she was his mate, but that explanation seemed too unreal to be true.

Like everything else that had happened today.

“It isn’t my place to answer that for you. Just remember what I told you, Gitana.”

“At least give me your name. Please.” She needed something to process before her terrified mind spun out of control.

“My name is Taro. Keep this force field up. You will need to heal him quickly. The men that come through the portal will be quite angry and will act like true brutes. Don’t allow them entry into this force field until he’s completely healed. Don’t allow them to merge minds with him. I can’t explain to you why, but you must heal him.”