Playing With Fire

by Adrienne Woods et al.

  “Okay. Let’s do it.”

  I was terrified. More so than when I had fought the Baba Yaga. Even more than when I saw Camille get hurt, the blood oozing out of her. This was different, because this time, I was doing the killing. If this didn’t work, then I had effectively killed my sister twice.

  “Are you ready?” Luna asked.

  I grabbed a pillow, holding it in front of me. At least this would be a calm, peaceful dead. Not like what the death curse could do to her, there was no saying how anyone cursed like that would die. It could be gruesome, more painful than anyone would like to imagine.

  “I’m ready,” I lied. I would never be ready for something like this.

  Luna made a complicated gesture with her hands. “Now!” she shouted, at the exact same moment as Samantha’s eyes flew open and she gasped for air.

  I planted the pillow on her face and pushed.

  Chapter 25

  I was killing my own sister. The realization disgusted me. I had never hated myself more than I did now, but this was the only way to save her—if it even would.

  Life flooded out of her. She struggled at first, waving her hands all around, kicking against me, but I had the upper hand. She’d just woken up from a coma, and she had no idea her own sister was ready to pounce on her the moment she woke up.

  I felt the moment she took her last breath. Tears rolled down my spine. Even if she came back, even if she survived, this moment had broken me, shattered me to my core, and I doubted I would ever be the same again.

  Maybe the Baba Yaga was right. Maybe there was a darkness in me that could kill. Maybe I would cause the entire line of witches to die.

  Don’t let her get to your head, I told myself. You need to believe in yourself. Believe in your sister. If someone is strong enough to come back from the dead, then it’s Samantha.

  I lifted the pillow, sobbing as I stared at my sister’s face. She looked so peaceful, as if she was merely sleeping.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered to her, before I looked up at Luna. “Now what?”

  “Feel the connection to her blood. Force it back to her heart.”

  I closed my eyes, grabbing my sister’s hand. It was still warm. I could feel her blood, resting quietly in her veins, imbued with the same strength as mine. I tapped into the powers I’d used to make the blood boil in the Baba Yaga’s veins, those dark, twisted powers that could do as much bad as they could do good.

  Flow, I told her blood, flow. Live. Blood is life. Blood is everything.

  I kept repeating it, growing more desperate with every second that passed. This couldn’t all have been for nothing. Blood is life… Blood is everything.

  I opened my eyes and looked at Luna. “Why is she not waking up?”

  “Keep on trying,” Luna whispered. “The power is inside you, I just know it.”

  Anger. The Baba Yaga had said anger was my power. I didn’t feel angry now, just sad. But I could make myself angry.

  Angry about the Baba Yaga turning into a wendigo to trick my sister. Angry at her for killing my grandmother. For scarring Katie for life—and not just the tiny scar on her wrist, but the mental scars that would haunt her forever. Angry for that monster for tracking me down to Hexagon and forcing me to perform a death curse, cursing my own sister. Angry at her for keeping this girl, Luna, captive for centuries. For hurting Arthan. For nearly killing Camille.

  Angry at myself, perhaps even more than at the Baba Yaga.

  Angry that I had let myself get tricked. Angry I hadn’t told my friends the truth sooner, but instead had pushed them away. Angry that I had let myself fall in love with a vampire, even though it was forbidden. Angry that I had let my friends get hurt. Angry that I had put a pillow over my sister’s head and…

  “Kieran?”

  I recognized that voice right away.

  My eyes shot open, tears burning inside them. I had been so focused on my anger that I hadn’t even felt the moment that the blood started flowing in Samantha’s veins again, the moment had heart had started beating again.

  “Sam!” I leaned forward and wrapped her in a hug, pulling her so close she could probably barely breathe.

  “What happened? Where am I? The Wendigo?” Samantha asked while she hugged me back.

  I smiled through the tears as I held her at arm’s length to get a good look at her.

  I had saved her. Luna had been right after all. And maybe vampires were right too, in a way.

  Blood, the magic coursing through my veins, it wasn’t all about destruction. It could also give life. Blood was life.

  “It’s a long story,” I told Samantha while I sobbed into her neck. “I’ve missed you, Sam. I’ve missed you so much.”

  Chapter 26

  About an hour had passed. My parents and aunt still weren’t home, and they wouldn’t be home until past midnight, when the surprise of their lifetimes would be waiting for them.

  I had brought Samantha up to date on everything that had happened since she ended up in a coma. She still seemed shocked, as she sat on the couch sipping from her hot cup of cocoa, but at least she was alive.

  “Tell me again why you had to smother me with a pillow?” she asked when I returned from having let Camille and Dean out. Dean had recovered enough by now to drive them home, and they’d text me as soon as they got there. Camille’s wound had completely closed up. We’d gotten rid of her bloodied shirt, and she’s borrowed one of mine, so her parents wouldn’t get too freaked out when she showed back up.

  Luna was sitting on the couch next to my sister. We’d agreed she could spend a few days here at least, until she got hold of her family, if any of them were still alive. I figured I owed her at least that much given I’d chopped off some flesh from her arm, and she’d still gone out of her way to save Camille’s life and lift the curse trapping my sister.

  “I—” I started, but Samantha waved at me.

  “I’m kidding, sis. I forgive you for killing me, but only since you brought me back by the way.”

  Arthan appeared in the doorway. He cleared his throat. “I’m… I’m leaving now.”

  “Wait a minute,” Samantha said from her spot on the couch. She was still tired, I could tell, because the moment I’d helped her sit down, she hadn’t moved an inch. “You’re the vampire who helped my sister, and who also helped me.”

  Arthan looked at me curiously, and I widened my eyes at him, hoping he’d get the hint and not tell Samantha that I had been giving her his blood. That was the one detail about this whole ordeal that I had strategically left out.

  Why would Samantha ever need to know? I had only done it to keep her alive, but now her curse was lifted, she would never need someone else’s blood again.

  Arthan scratched his neck. “Yes.”

  Samantha narrowed her eyes at him. “I always thought vampires were monsters, but maybe… Maybe they’re not that bad.”

  As she didn’t say anything else after that, I shrugged at Arthan, as if saying, “this is all you’re going to get right now.”

  “Anyway,” Arthan said, disrupting the silence, “Goodnight.” He turned toward the hallway, and then to the front door.

  “Wait.” I chased after him, outside, closing the door behind me. We were standing on the steps leading to my house, him one step lower than me, looking up at me with a look in his eyes I couldn’t read.

  “I…” I struggled to find the right words. “How can I ever thank you?”

  Arthan gave me a wry smile. “You don’t have to thank me.”

  I grabbed his arms when he made to move, stopping him. “No, no. I do.” I stepped down, until I was on the same step as he. We were so close as we had been that night in the forest, when I had asked for his help, and he had answered my call.

  “That night, when I called you, you didn’t have to come. Our deal never included saving the other from an imminent threat such as the Baba Yaga. But I called, and you came…”

  “I did…” Arthan looked me straight in
the eyes. “I wanted to help you. Not because of some deal, not because of your blood. It stopped being about that… Well, a long time ago, I guess.”

  “You risked your life for me. And I know I’m not supposed to, I know that it’s forbidden, and that my own family would disown me if they knew but…” I shook my head while I kept on gazing at his eyes, now bright red, reflecting the stars from the night sky.

  His gaze dropped to my lips, and so did mine, and a second later, our lips were touching. Hungrily. Starving. Like two animals who hadn’t had food in ages. Like two star-crossed lovers who had been divided for centuries.

  It was magic. It was everything.

  All the peace and bliss I thought I felt when he’d bitten me during our encounters before, was nothing. Nothing compared to this. This was the world; this was everything.

  I grabbed his shirt to pull him closer, to deepen our kiss. When our tongues met, it was heaven. I had never kissed anyone before, but it didn’t matter, kissing him came as easily as breathing.

  I never wanted to let him go. We could kiss for an eternity and it would still be too short.

  And as he held my neck to pull me closer, still closer, until every inch of our bodies touched, I knew that I had fallen in love with him.

  I, a blood witch, had fallen in love with my sworn enemy, a vampire.

  About Majanka Verstraete

  Majanka Verstraete has written more than twenty unique works of fiction. A native of Belgium, Majanka’s novels explore the true nature of monsters: the good, the bad, and just about every species in between. Her young adult books include the acclaimed Mirrorland (YA dark fantasy), Angel of Death (YA paranormal), and The Adventures of Marisol Holmes (YA shifter detectives) series.

  To find out more about Majanka and her novels, visit her website at www.majankaverstraete.com.

  Love is A Merciless God

  By Carissa Andrews

  When an angel falls, it typically isn’t in love.

  * * *

  When Guardian Angel, Evangeline, fell in love with her human charge, Liam, she never expected it to come with such a high price. She was perfectly fine watching his life from a distance, but when Liam prays for guidance and he can suddenly hear her, Evangeline can’t help but confess her love.

  However, there are laws in place—laws strictly separating the affections of humans and angels—and Evangeline knows it. If the Guild found out about her love, she could be sent to Purgatory—or worse.

  Unfortunately for them both, Liam’s prayer opened him up to more than just hearing Evangeline. All the demons in the known universe come calling to answer his prayer and one of them overheard Evangeline’s confession. Unless she can stop the demon from turning them into the Guild, it will mean the end of everything.

  Chapter 1

  The Joys of Being Heard

  If the Guild ever finds out I’m in love with my human charge, it will be the end of me. They’d try me for treason and send me to Purgatory so I could become a wraith.

  Yet, no matter how hard I try—no matter how much these truths are ingrained—I can’t help it.

  Sitting upon the upper portion of Liam’s sofa, I lean forward, pulling my long hair into a twisted ponytail as I watch the argument unfold between him and his latest fling. I know full well it will end in one of two ways, as it always does—he’ll either give in or he’ll have his heart broken all over again. Meanwhile, I will continue to wish the same thing I always do in these circumstances—I wish it were me. Even if we were fighting, it would mean I was an ordinary woman. Someone he could hold, touch, kiss…

  But I’m not—and no amount of wishful thinking is ever going to change that.

  As his Guardian Angel, I’m bound by certain laws. I experience his internal anguish and his desire to pull this all back together, despite his insides recoiling. All he wants in this whole world is to make up. To feel whole again, followed closely by sweaty bursts of exertion as their naked bodies interlock.

  Bringing my hands into prayer position, I tap the bottom of my chin and wait. Free will is a messy, beautiful, irritating thing. And I do have my rules, after all. No messing in the affairs of humans unless directly asked—or if their direction is leading them against their prime directive. Doesn’t mean I can’t watch and wish I could poke Rachel in the eye or make fat inexplicably grow on her hips overnight. But hey—what can I say? He deserves better. He deserves a love as pure as he is.

  Instead, his insecurity clouds his judgement. The wounds of abandonment cut too deep. For as long as his soul has been incarnate in this body, I have been his Guardian. We’ve gone through many phases together and for whatever reason, I have a stronger connection to him than any other charge in my care all these years.

  Perhaps it stems from when he was a young boy. Up until puberty, he and I would converse. While he couldn’t see me—and I couldn’t touch him—he could hear me. We spent many years talking about all the things you can imagine. But, almost like a child who’s outgrown the tooth fairy, one day he could no longer hear me.

  It was a heartbreaking day for me, but it hasn’t changed the way I feel about him.

  I’ve seen his trials and tribulations—his awkward moments and his strength as he’s grown into a man full of potent masculinity, sexual power, and inescapable intellectual prowess.

  Yet time after time, he continues to fall into the same trap. He repeats this pattern as he tries to resolve his feelings for the mother who left him alone in this world. The little boy inside has yet to heal, and until he faces this fact, he will continue to self-destruct in his relationships. It is his fate—his prime directive.

  “Get out—” Rachel says, pointing toward the door. Her brown eyes flash with near-murderous intent.

  I sit up straighter, eyes wide and mouth agape.

  Now we’re getting somewhere…

  Liam’s dark eyebrows tug inward, covering his intense hazel eyes until they’re nothing more than tiny green crescents. He’s flooded with anxiety and anger as it wells up, and yet his desire to not be alone is winning the battle under the surface.

  I lift my right hand, blowing an air of confidence in his direction. It’s just a little nudge. Nothing that will trigger the alarms or anything.

  “You get out. This is my house, remember?” he says, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the doorframe.

  He doesn’t mean it—not really. But between my nudge and his own pain, he’s too afraid to lose.

  Rachel’s dark eyes narrow into slits, and she juts out her chin.

  “Fine,” she spits, twisting on her heel and heading for the door.

  I can’t tell whether or not she means it, but she sure looks like she does. She’s not my charge, so I can’t sense her internal battle, but if I were him, I’d take her declaration at face value and breathe a sigh of relief. She’s been nothing but difficult and harsh to him from their first month together. She has her own demons to face, and she brings out the worst in Liam. I’ve found when a human shows you who they really are, you should believe them. Actions very rarely lie.

  Liam’s back stiffens, and his insides recoil. He’s fighting with his decision—battling with the desire to hold firm versus the desire to chase after her.

  “Babe—wait,” Liam says, dropping his arms and rushing out behind her.

  I slide off the back of the couch and slump into the seat, unable to watch. Instead, I pull my legs up and wrap my arms around them.

  Gods, what I wouldn’t do to be human. I’d help him forget all about her and the stream of women just like her left in his wake. I thump my head against my knees and close my eyes.

  Being a Guardian—operating outside the dimension humans can see and interact with—is a special kind of torture. At least, it is for me. Taking a deep breath, I look up, waiting for the unavoidable end.

  “No—” Rachel says, spinning in front of the door. Her bleached-blond hair spirals around her in a dance of fury, and she practically growls at him. “W
e’re over, Liam. I’m done. I can’t keep doing this. You clearly don’t get me, and it’s obvious you never will.”

  “That’s not true—” he says, reaching for her. “Rach—come on. We’re good together. Aren’t we?”

  “No, Liam. We’re not. You’re off in your own little imaginary world all the time, and I can’t take it anymore,” she fires back. “All you care about is technology and whatever the hell it is you do at work.”

  “My own little world? I bend over backward trying to show you—”

  “And yet, you never listen to what I want. You keep doing the same things over and over, thinking it will have a different result. I don’t like being smothered, Liam. And that’s what you do. You smother me with the crappy kind of attention that only scratches at the surface, and I can’t take it,” she says, puffing up her chest.

  “Smother you? By bringing you flowers? Texting you to see how you’re doing?” he asks, his chin dropping to his chest.

  I feel the wheels start turning in his head as he tries to make sense of her words.

  “Look, I’ve… Ah, hell, I may as well just spit it out. I’ve met someone else. This thing between us just isn’t for me. Daniel satisfies me in a way—”

  “Satisfies you?” Liam gapes.

  I feel his heart shatter into pieces at this revelation, and I let out a soft sigh. In the blink of an eye, I’m behind him, placing my hand on his shoulder as I offer my own strength to help him make it through these next few moments. This blow will hit him hard—it’s more validation to his greatest fear.

  He’s unlovable.

  His abandonment issues rise out of the depths of his despair. While he doesn’t know it, these battles will ultimately lead him to his destiny. I’ve been shown this as his Guardian. All this sorrow and loss is fueling his life’s purpose, even if he doesn’t know it yet. He’s developing something—something that marries science and technology. It will can change the world.