I Am the Storm (The Night Firm Book 2)

by Karpov Kinrade

Three Enforcers, fully armed, faces hard.

  One holds up a parchment. "Liam Night?" he asks.

  "Yes," Liam says harshly. “What’s going on—"

  The Enforcer grabs him, wrapping his wrists in steel carved with magical glyphs. "You're under arrest for arson, public destruction of property, and conspiracy to steal a dragon egg."

  The Fight

  How do you go back to being strangers with someone who has seen your soul? ~Nikita Gill

  The warrant has been signed by Dath'Racul so there is little we can do but watch in silence as they drag Liam away. Inside the house, Alina begins to wail as if she knows what is happening with her father. And who's to say she doesn't?

  We reconvene in the library, everyone on edge. Matilda rocks the baby, who is inconsolable.

  "I'll make sure he gets out on bail as soon as possible," Derek says, sitting at the desk and pulling out a sheath of parchment and a pen.

  "They must think he caused the explosion at the festival," Elijah says, scratching his chin. "It did, after all, draw away Ava'Kara, who was needed to put out the flames. The egg was stolen while she was away. That can't be a coincidence."

  "That's ridiculous," I say, angry. "Liam would never do that. He and Alina were caught in the blast. He'd never risk her life that way."

  "She's part fire Druid," Elijah says. "He would know she'd be fine." I glare at him and he shrugs. "But I don’t disagree. I could see Liam setting a fire by accident, if his powers or temper got away from him. But he would never do something so premeditated. It’s not who he is. He was clearly framed."

  "Who would do that?" I ask. "And why?"

  "Someone who wanted that egg," Sebastian says. "And who wanted Liam to take the fall for it. I’ll go to the crime scene and see if there are any clues pointing to the real criminal. Or at the very least, anything that could help exonerate Liam."

  "I'll go with you," I say. "An extra set of eyes could be helpful."

  Sebastian nods in agreement.

  "I'll come, too," Derek says, jumping up from behind the desk.

  But Matilda tsks us all, setting the sleepy baby back into the crib. "Planning on going now, are you? The streets are swarming with Enforcers who will be none too happy to see you lot. They won't let you near the water dragon's nest."

  Derek sighs, looking deflated. "You're right. We won't get anywhere tonight. I'll put in a formal request in the morning."

  Matilda nods, her long white braids bobbing on her shoulders. "Good. Then all of you can get some rest. You have a busy day tomorrow and Liam will need you sharp. I'll wait for the milkweed to arrive, make the potion for Lily, and keep watch over Alina."

  Sebastian looks ready to argue, but Matilda stares him down. All four feet of her.

  "Don't think that just because you're a big tough guy I can't still take you, my boy. You need blood and sleep, or you'll be no good to Liam or anyone else. This won't be solved in a night."

  Sebastian looks sheepishly away, and I almost laugh at how fast this tiny old woman put him in his place.

  With minimal grumbling, we all file out of the library and head to our rooms. Elijah, Sebastian, and Derek each nod to me as they pass, and I feel some comfort in knowing we are all in this together. But then I think of Liam, of what his night will look like, and my heart breaks. He doesn't deserve to be in jail. We have to get him out.

  When I get back to my room, I notice my window is open. The wind pushes the rain through the curtains and onto the rug, sending a chill through the air despite the blazing fireplace. I wonder if one of the castle ghosts opened it. They live—if live is the right word to describe a ghost?— and work in the castle, but I have never seen them.

  My bedroom door closes behind me.

  And I feel him there before I turn.

  Adam, standing in the corner, next to the urn that I thought held his remains, soaked in rain, and looking as healthy and strong as he did at the festival.

  Moon, my feisty black cat, creeps out from under the bed and hisses at the figure by the door, fur spiking on his arched back.

  I suck in a breath, my mind whirling. "Is that really you?" I ask. "Or am I dreaming?"

  He steps forward. "I'm here," he says, gruff with emotion. "I missed you, Evie."

  My voice cracks when I speak again. "I missed you too, Adam. So much."

  There is silence between us, and I sink onto my bed, the weariness of the day catching up with me. Moon curls up near my feet, and Adam comes to sit by my side, his hand on mine.

  "Did you know the explosion would happen?" I ask.

  "Yes," he says.

  "Then why not warn me? Or the others? So many were hurt. Some could have died." We still don't know the extent of the damage, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were casualties.

  "I made sure you were safe," he says.

  "How?" I ask, confused. I didn’t see him when the fires started.

  "If I hadn't found you, if we hadn't spoken in the forest, Sebastian would have come for you sooner. You would have sat nearer the courthouse, in one of the available seats. You would have been caught in the blast."

  I sigh. This is all so confusing. So hard to understand. So hard to believe. All I have is my brother's word that his visions are true. Even if he is seeing them, even if he believes them, that doesn't make them real. Has Adam gone mad? Did dying destroy his mind?

  "Why not stop the explosion?" I ask, my voice tired. "My friend was almost killed. Liam's been arrested. If you have this power, this gift, why not stop it from happening?"

  Adam sighs and squeezes my hand. "I know this is hard for you to understand. And I'm so sorry about Lily and Liam. But things are proceeding as they should. As they must. I couldn't stop the explosion without risking too much."

  "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I ask, angry. "Is this all part of your master plan? Did you cause the fire?" The possibility crashes into me like lightning and I feel sick to my stomach. I think of Moira and her grief at facing the truth of her brother. Her desperate need to exonerate him from whatever crimes she could, even knowing the other awful things he had done. We all wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to our loved ones. We all see what we want to be there, which makes it that much harder to see what actually is there.

  Adam puts his arm around me, and I rest my head on his shoulder. "No, Evie. This I did not do." He kisses the top of my head. "But it had to happen. For the sake of the Otherworld. You will understand…in time."

  I pull away, facing him, my heart torn in two. "How can I trust you?" I ask. "You murdered a woman and child and—"

  "And I told you about it," he says, cutting me off. "I didn't have to show you the Memory Catcher. But I wanted you to know the truth. That's why you can trust me." His blue eyes carry so much grief, so much sadness. "I've never lied to you. And I never will. You can always trust me."

  I look away, my emotions all over the place. But he's right, in a twisted way. He's never lied to me in the past. That was our sacred promise to each other. Never to lie. The promise we never broke. Ever. He didn't have to show me the memory, but he did.

  So, if he's not lying…then this is all real…or he believes his own insanity. "Why are you here?" I ask. “Why now?”

  "I needed to see you again. To talk to you. To be with you. I've missed you. You're my other half. We are never complete apart. You know this."

  Tears leak out of my eyes and I nod. I do know this. We have always been a team.

  "But there's more, isn't there?" I ask, sensing it in his voice.

  He nods. "There's more. When you find the dragon egg, you'll receive an offer."

  "What kind of offer?" I ask,

  "To leave the Night Firm," he says. "For… another opportunity. It's important that you accept."

  My stomach drops. "Why?"

  "That's all I can tell you," he says.

  I know from his tone I won't get any more information, so I don't try. I sit with him, safe in the circle of his arm, and I think o
f all the things we've missed about each other these past months.

  "I killed Jerry," I say suddenly, confessing my darkest crime.

  "I know," he says softly, tightening his hold on me.

  "It's not an easy thing, taking a life."

  "It had to be done."

  And in a strange way I realize we are connected, even in this. Even in murder, in death, in ending a life.

  I marvel at the macabre serendipity of it all. Growing up, Adam and I had always been connected. We shared events in a very twin way. One summer, as children, we were placed in different foster homes. It was the first time we'd ever been apart and the longest three months of my life. It was agony. During that summer, my only consolation was music, and I became obsessed with a country song by Billie Ray Cyrus, Achy Breaky Heart. I listened to that song on repeat the entire summer. Adam and I weren't allowed to call or see each other, and when we finally got a new home together in the fall, we couldn't wait to update each other on our lives. When I told him about the song that got me through his absence, he grinned and showed me the cassette tape he'd been listening to. It was the same song.

  This was only one example of so many times our twin powers—as we called them—connected us in shared experiences. When I broke my ankle while on a girl's only field trip, he broke his playing basketball after school with friends. At the same time. Our foster parents were not happy.

  And now, we've shared in the act of taking a life. An act that has left a scar of darkness on both of us.

  The exhaustion of the last few days settles on me, and I rest my head on my brother's shoulder, my eyelids too heavy to keep open. Adam notices, and guides me gently to my pillow, laying my head down and tucking me in, just like when we were kids. Moon hisses at him and readjusts his position to stay close to me.

  "Sleep now, sister," Adam whispers. He kisses my forehead as dreams pull me into their realm.

  I’m standing in a dark forest, wind whipping around me. Lightning blazes in the sky and rain pours in torrents through the thick foliage. Thunder rattles the earth, and everything is cloaked in shadow, but I do not feel afraid, only curious.

  Then I see him. The darkly beautiful man from the festival, his ebony eyes catching my gaze. Black leather pants hang from his hips and his chest is bare. Celtic tattoos weave across his back and torso, skin glowing in the moonlight. He smiles and I feel the pull of him, the need to be closer to him, to touch him. I can see the magic connecting us, like a smoky wire with a core of light. I walk closer, but he disappears behind a tree. I follow him, but it's like trying to catch the wind in your hands.

  I reach a grove of silver flowers and then he is behind me. He grabs my hand and spins me around. His touch electrifies me. His lips move to speak my name, and then I hear another voice, a familiar voice, angry and yelling.

  "What is going on?"

  I'm pulled out of my dream forcefully and a feeling of whiplash rocks me as my eyes open. I sit up, confused, disoriented, trying to figure out what happened.

  Adam is next to me one moment, gone the next, like smoke in the wind. The window slams shut behind him and in the doorway, I see Derek, wild-eyed and angry. He glares at me. "What is the meaning of this?" he asks.

  "I can explain," I say, sitting up, my heart beating like a hummingbird against my ribs. What did he hear? What did he see? What does he think he knows?

  "Your brother is alive?" he asks. Of course, he would know what Adam looks like. The Night Firm investigated me before hiring me. He knows more about my life than I do, probably.

  "Yes," I say, my mouth dry.

  "How long have you known?" he asks, storming into the room, peering out the window.

  "I just found out. At the festival." I don't want to ask any questions for fear of giving away something he doesn't already know, so I wait.

  "He murdered a woman and child…" Derek says. "Mary? And the baby? He's the real killer?"

  I pause, considering my options, but I can't outright lie to him, especially when he already knows the truth. I nod, hesitantly.

  "My brothers must be told," he says, turning to leave.

  I shoot up from the bed, disturbing a sleeping cat in the process, and grab his hand, my actions and voice full of desperate pleading. "No. Not yet. If Liam finds out, he'll kill Adam."

  Derek pauses, his face softening just a bit. "I will make sure your brother has a fair trial. I will represent him myself. But justice must be served."

  "You can't," I say, my voice cracking. "He…he had a reason for what he did."

  "And what reason could possibly justify the murder of a woman in labor and her unborn child?" he asks, his voice heavy with disdain.

  And so I tell him all that Adam told me. About the future vision, the child who would have done such evil things. I study him as I speak, but his expression reveals nothing.

  "No one can see the future," he says sternly.

  "Matilda can," I argue. "She gave me a vision once."

  "A vague prophesy," he says. "A glimpse of a possible outcome. Nothing this specific. No one, not even my grandmother, knows what will happen for certain. Not enough to kill others over it."

  A sob wells up in my throat. "I can't lose him," I say. "Not again. I can't lose my brother again."

  Tears stream down my cheeks and I can't hold it in anymore. The thought of losing Adam after just getting him back is too much to bear. Derek sees the despair on my face and his expression changes. His eyes grow distant. "Sometimes we must sacrifice those we love the most for what is right," he says. He seems to want to say more, but he remains silent.

  "Please," I beg. "Don't tell them yet. My brother isn't evil. He can't be evil."

  Derek sighs. "They have a right to know. Especially Liam. But… " he walks towards the door. "I will leave this choice to you. If you wish to lie to our family, so be it. I will carry your lie. But just know, it will kill me inside every moment that I do."

  He walks out, slamming the door behind him. And I sink to my knees, gutted and heartbroken.

  The Past

  They witnessed her destruction, Then they were left to wonder why, She saw nothing but darkness, Though the stars shone in her eyes.

  ~Supernova by Erin Hanson

  Dreams flit in and out of my mind. Sometimes I know I'm asleep and sometimes it feels all too real. I see Adam, his hands covered in blood, crying. Jerry, his dead eyes staring at me, his hand raising to point an accusing finger. And then I see the man from the festival, his energy pulsing and feeling the most alive and real of anything I've ever dreamed. He seems to be reaching for me. Calling for me with a silent voice. But I can never get to him before I wake.

  Sunlight streams into my bedroom as my eyes, swollen from tears after my fight with Derek, peel open. I feel like I've got the world's worst hangover, even though I wasn't drinking.

  As my blurry vision gains focus, I see someone standing beside my bed holding a tray of food. They’re dressed in vibrant green and wearing a red scarf. Liam.

  His intense golden eyes study me. "I didn't mean to wake you," he says, a shy smile forming as he puts the platter down on the bedside dresser. "I just wanted you to have some food available when you woke."

  I leap out of bed and cut off his flow of words by throwing myself into his arms shouting, "You're back!"

  Relief floods me and I can't let go of him. He smells of wood and fire and feels so solid and strong, I could stay in his arms all day.

  "I got out on bail," he says, his lips brushing my earlobe.

  I finally pull away, though I clutch his hands in mine to keep him close. "Have you seen Lily? Is she okay?"

  "She is," he says. "Matilda administered the potion, so Lily will recover. It will just take time. Dryads heal slowly. Trees are not fast at anything."

  I nod. "I'm glad she'll be okay. This whole thing has been so awful."

  He runs a hand through his red hair, and I notice a pink scar running up his left arm. It looks fresh, puckered, and raw. It wasn't
there last night. "What happened?" I ask.

  "Just a scratch." He releases my hand to tug his sleeve over the wound. "The Enforcers didn't appreciate my lack of useful information about the crimes in question. They did their level best to loosen my tongue. To no avail, obviously."

  He tries to make light of it, but I can see the rage simmering behind his eyes, and I feel it boiling up in me as well. "They tortured you?" I ask through clenched teeth.

  "I've had worse," he says quietly. Then he drops his head and looks away from me. "I've done worse."

  I remember his curse. How his fire raged out of control before he became a vampire. But I get the sense there’s more to his words. Other dark deeds in his ancient past.

  I'm not naive or stupid. The Night Brothers have made mistakes, done horrible things. I chose to accept that when I chose to stay at this firm and in this family. I'm not here to judge what they've done in the past, but I sure as hell am going to judge what was done to him now. "This has to be illegal," I say, my own temper flaring, the fire in me burning through my skin.

  Liam looks down at my hand in surprise as flames dance along my skin and against his. Fortunately, he's immune to the dangers of my fire. Does this mean I'll be immune to his as well, I wonder?

  "It is illegal," Liam says, still watching my hand. When the flames die down, he looks up, surprise on his face. "We should test your powers when there's time. They’re growing."

  "Yes, we should, but right now we need to deal with this mess. If it's illegal to torture, then they need to be brought before a judge."

  Liam scoffs. "There hasn't been a new dragon egg since the creation of the Otherworld," he says. "More than a thousand years. Enforcers will do whatever it takes to get it back. And if they break a few rules along the way, who's going to hold them accountable? The dragons?"

  I shake my head, disgusted with how some get away with anything while others are held accountable for more than their share. And it all has to do with race, money, and power. Some things are the same everywhere.

  I glance at his arm again, at the wound there, and tilt my neck. "If you need blood," I say, the invitation clear.