Eternal Flame

by Lauren DeStefano

Page 10

 

  “I can help you. “ The words were torn from him. It didn’t have to be this way. She didn’t have to keep charging up, didn’t have to keep killing. There was more to her. He knew it.

  Jana tossed him a quick look over her shoulder. “No, you can’t. ” The cold glass had shattered in her eyes. He could see her pain and sadness now.

  Then she looked away, and he felt like she’d slugged him. “Jana…”

  The doors to Night Watch burst open. Three hunters ran out and headed for them. Jude led the other two men, his blond hair shining in the sun as he charged for Jana and Zane.

  “Guess that’s the welcome party. ” Her attention focused on the hunters. Her silky black hair dipped down her back. “We don’t want to keep them waiting. ”

  She stepped forward, tugging him with her. His eyes focused on Jude. This was what he wanted. What he had to do. Turn her in. They’d take her inside Night Watch and—

  The explosion shook the street. The blast threw the three hunters to the ground as the windows of Night Watch exploded and fire blazed from the windows. Car alarms screeched down the street, and smoke billowed into the air.

  And Jana just stood there, staring at the burning building. The building that housed his co-workers. His friends.

  She’d gone back too easy.

  “Fuck!” He spun Jana around. “What the hell did you—” Horror was reflected in her wide eyes. Shock. Her eyes- they were blue. Not the red of an Ignitor charging up. Still blue.

  She hadn’t set the fire. If not her …

  His gaze flew to the building. People were running out, coughing, screaming.

  He raced for the building.

  “Zane!” Jana stumbled after him. Shit, the cuffs. “We’ve got to stop it!” They could. Or at least they could push the flames back long enough to get the people to safety. But, dammit, those flames were so hot that he could already feel their breath on his skin.

  Pak stumbled out with ash coating his face. He had his hands around one of the female hunters, and they were both gasping. Charmers didn’t have the enhanced strength of the shifters and demons. They were almost as weak as humans.

  And there were humans inside that building. Humans who wouldn’t last long-humans who were probably already dead.

  Too hot.

  He sent a blast of power at the flames, forcing them back. “See if you can get control of it,” he told Jana. “We’ve got to get them out, we—”

  Jude surged to his feet. His fangs were out, his claws ready to rip and slash. “What the hell? That bitch burned Night Watch!” He lunged for Jana.

  Zane stepped between them. “It wasn’t her. ” He shoved his left hand against Jude’s chest. “Dammit, shifter, stand down. We can help!”

  Jude growled at him.

  “Trust me,” Zane snapped right back.

  Jude’s eyes searched his. Then the shifter inclined his head in a grudging nod.

  They all ran for the building, with Zane in the lead. They plunged right into the smoke and the screaming flames.

  Survivors. They had to find the survivors and get them out. The heat scorched his skin and Zane threw his power at the fire, sending the flames sputtering back. Jude grabbed an unconscious hunter from the office on the left and threw the guy over his shoulder.

  Jana coughed behind him. Human. Weak.

  He glanced at her, his eyes watering. Her stare was red now, reflecting the flames, and he knew she was using her power to control the flames. No, to make her own fire in an effort to gain control of the other flames. Fighting fire with fire actually fucking worked.

  They advanced slowly, painfully, through the smoke and fire. He passed two bodies. A secretary and a hunter who wouldn’t be making it out. Then they found a demon, low level, cowering in the storage room. They pushed back the fire and sent the guy running for safety.

  The fire had eaten too much of the walls. Groans echoed from above them, and Zane knew the roof wouldn’t last much longer.

  Jude was back, coughing and panting beside him.

  “Anyone else?” Zane had to shout the words.

  Jude’s head tilted to the right. That shifter hearing was far stronger than a demon’s.

  The shifter pointed. They raced for the door. Ripped it open.

  Penelope Evans, a new hunter, lay slumped on the floor. Her red hair stuck to her face. Jude grabbed her and hoisted her into his arms.

  “Anyone … else?”

  A hard shake of Jude’s head. “Not alive. ”

  The ceiling groaned again, and plaster fell to the floor. Time to get out of hell. Zane waved his hands, shoving back the fire as Jude raced for the door.

  “Come on,” he told Jana, covering his mouth with his left hand, “let’s—”

  She slumped beside him. Fell into his arms.

  Too much smoke.

  Dammit, how dumb could he be! Ignitors could start the fires, they could shoot out those flames, but their bodies couldn’t handle the smoke. That’s why they worked better from a distance. Long-range assassins. See the target, send the flames, escape.

  He held her tight against his chest and ran for the door, dodging the lingering flames and the falling debris. Hold on, baby. Hold on.

  Zane burst through the broken remains of the front entrance just seconds after Jude. He rushed forward, nearly slamming into the firefighters who charged toward the building.

  EMTs were there. They tried to take Jana from him. Tried to pull her from his arms. “No, dammit!” He coughed and tasted ash. “We’re cuffed!” They weren’t taking her any place without him. He held her tighter and hurried to the ambulance. She’d need oxygen, fast. She needed to breathe clean air. Her mouth and nose were stained with ash. He put her on the stretcher. The EMT placed a mask over her face.

  “Get her a blanket!” Zane held her hand, probably too tightly but screw it. “She’s freezing. ” Her body had begun to shake. “Jana?”

  She moaned into the mask.

  He was such a fucking idiot. She couldn’t handle the heat. He knew that. All the Other knew that about Ignitors. They could bring the heat, but the smoke-hell, it was fucking poison to them. They could control the flames, not the smoke.

  A heavy hand landed on his shoulder. He looked back and saw Pak staring at Jana.

  “It wasn’t her!” Zane fired. “Look, I know what you’re thinking,” what he’d thought, “but it wasn’t her. She helped me. We saved as many as we could!” But Zane had seen the dead, and he would remember them for the rest of his life.

  Hollings, the charmer who had a way with the ladies. Giles Lang, the hybrid demon who’d been trying to fit in. Stacey Keith … ah, hell, she’d been a year away from retirement.

  All gone.

  His thumb brushed over Jana’s knuckles. “She didn’t do it,” he said again.

  “Then who the hell did?” The fierce question didn’t come from Pak. Jude had stalked up to the ambulance, and he watched Jana with eyes that glowed too bright. “There was no accelerant. I didn’t catch so much as a whiff of scent—”

  Jana’s fingers tightened around Zane’s. His gaze snapped back to her face. Her eyes were opening, slowly, and the twinge of red still remained.

  “A fucking Ignitor. ”

  She flinched at Jude’s snarl.

  Zane hunched over her. “Back off!” He took a breath. Her eyes were on him. “It’s okay. ” His voice was still rough, but softer, for her. “You’re going to be all right. ” She looked so vulnerable. So defenseless. Another one of her tricks? A quick deception?

  No. She’d fallen in that inferno. She’d sagged in his arms, and fear had iced his heart. “Just breathe, baby. ”

  But she was shaking her head. She shoved off the mask and started coughing.

  “Jana!”

  Tears leaked from her eyes. “How … many dead?” His lips thinned. “At least thr
ee. ” The fire had been too strong.

  As he watched Jana, the vulnerability slowly disappeared. She swiped away the tears from her cheeks. The fear and the horror disappeared from her face until … nothing remained.

  Now she’s pretending. The mask was back, and he didn’t like it one bit.

  She pushed up on the gurney and the blanket fell away. “We need to get out of here,” she whispered, her voice hoarse from the smoke. “This was an attack, it was—”

  “Wynter!”

  Aw, hell. Not what he needed right then. His gaze flew to the left. Jude was already edging back, and Captain Antonio Young was shoving his way through the crowd to get to them. The guy’s badge gleamed on his hip, and the butt of his gun poked from the holster on his side.

  “Zane?” A thread of worry whispered in Jana’s voice. “A cop?”

  Their last encounter with a cop hadn’t gone so well. But this time would be different. He realized he still had a hard grip on her hand. Zane forced himself to let her go. “It’s okay, baby, he’s on our side. ”

  Then Tony was there. His glittering eyes swept over the group and lingered on Jana. “Ms. Carter?”

  She nodded. The red still lingered in her gaze. Her eyes appeared bloodshot now.

  “Jana Carter, you’re under arrest. ” Tony reached for her hand and hauled Jana to her feet.

  “No, man, wait!” The other cuff glinted between their outstretched hands.

  But Tony shook his head. “You know she’s going in. ” He jerked his thumb back at the burning building. “Seriously, what the hell were you thinking?”

  Jana laughed. A hollow, mocking sound. “Guess he’s not on our side. ” Her chin tilted up, just a bit. “Maybe he’s just on yours, hmm, demon? Use me, then throw me to the wolves. ”

  No, that wasn’t—

  Tony started reading Jana her rights. Fuck.

  Chapter 6

  The door to interrogation room three closed with a soft click. Jana took a deep breath. Not like this was the first time she had found herself in one of these tiny rooms, sitting at an old, scarred table, and facing off against a cop who wanted to throw her butt in jail.

  “I’m Captain Antonio Young,” the cop said, as he took a step closer to her.

  “We know who the hell you are, Tony,” Zane muttered from her side. Because, yeah, they were still handcuffed. Still locked together. Covered in soot and ash, they’d been through fires hotter than those in hell, and they were still cuffed.

  The cop-Tony-raised one dark brow. “You know who I am, Ms. Carter?”

  Well, she did now, so Jana kept her face expressionless. Oh, she hurt. Every part of her body ached, and she just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a week.

  Preferably without being handcuffed to a demon.

  But at least the cops had sent some food in to her and Zane. Only because of Zane’s connections. Otherwise, Jana knew she never would have gotten those stale doughnuts and that coffee with the grounds floating at the top.

  Tony pulled out the chair across from them, and its legs scraped against the floor. “Which one of you wants to tell me what the hell is going on here?”

  “If I knew,” Zane said instantly, “I’d tell you. ” Of course, he would. “Good” guys always liked to rat to cops.

  “Hmmm. ” Tony’s dark eyes dropped to the handcuffs. The metal shined on the top of the table. “Guessing those are P. P. ?”

  “P. P. ?” Was that frog’s croak hers? Great. Her life was fandamn-tastic.

  “Paranormal protected,” he murmured.

  So he knew. Good for him. “What are you?” she asked, straining to make her voice stronger. Damn smoke.

  His gaze shifted to hers. “I told you already, I’m a police captain. ”

  His eyes were so dark they almost looked black. The guy had a deep olive skin tone, a perfect face, and a voice like warm honey. “You an incubus?”

  He blinked and, wait, did his high cheeks redden?

  “He’s no damn incubus,” Zane said and a thread of anger roughened the words. Sure, he’d gone through the smoke, but he sounded perfectly normal. Demon strength and healing powers had their benefits. “He’s human. ”

  “We can’t all be demons,” the cop said quietly.

  A human who knew Zane’s secrets? Interesting.

  Tony leaned forward. “Why’d you attack my man, Zane?” The question was fired fast.

  His man? Oh, the other cop. “Because your man fired on us,” Jana answered immediately, not waiting for Zane to respond. She wouldn’t let Zane take the heat for this. Not when that cop had come out with his gun blazing.

  Tony’s lips tightened. “Bullshit. I gave an order—”

  “Oh, you gave it all right,” she shot back, her hands knotting into fists. “Deadly force was fine as long as it was directed at Zane, right? What’s a dead demon when—”

  But the cop wasn’t looking at her. He shook his head, slowly, and a deep furrow appeared between his eyes. “He fired on you?”

  Zane lifted his hand, raising the cuffs. “First he tried to … ah, break us apart with a bullet. When that didn’t work, well, he said I was the expendable one. ”

  “Fuck. ” Not disbelief. Shock. Wait, did he believe what they were saying?

  Jana glanced between them. “You ordered a hit on him, you—”

  “Ease up, princess,” Tony said. What? Her eyes narrowed on him.

  “I’ve got a rat in my unit. ” Tony shook his head again, and his shoulders slumped a bit. “What the hell is happening?”

  The guy was playing innocent, that was happening. She’d never met an innocent cop. Plenty who were on the take. Plenty who knew how to look the other way, but innocent? No way.