Dark Flame

by Caris Roane

  Brannick, behind you!

  He had just started to turn, when he felt a tremendous pressure on his back. He looked down and saw the point of a bloody sword emerge from his own abdomen. He couldn’t feel his legs. He couldn’t think.

  His enemy jerked the sword from Brannick’s body. He watched the blade disappear, then fell face down on the grass not far from the man he’d shot to death. He heard shouting near him, the sound of victory.

  Where was Juliet? Was he leaving her to the enemy?

  His mind began to swirl with black clouds. Juliet. He had to get to her, to help her.

  But his consciousness faded, then he fell into a black hole.

  What seemed like a second later, however, he emerged inside what he knew instinctively was his own dreamglide. He had no idea how he’d gotten there, or how the hell, as a vampire, this was even possible.

  He was on the bridge with Juliet, yet not with her, but hovering nearby. She wasn’t in his dreamglide with him, which meant he needed to figure out what kind of trouble she was in.

  Roche was on the bridge not ten feet away from Juliet. But he kept looking around as though he couldn’t see her.

  Juliet, can you hear me?

  Brannick, is that you? Wait a minute, where are you? I’m seeing your body through the stone balustrades of the bridge. You’re lying face down in the grass. You look like you’ve passed out. How are you in my head?

  I’m in a dreamglide, something I think I created by myself though I have no idea how I did it. And I’m right next to you. Can you come to me? Brannick couldn’t fathom how much power it required to do exactly what he was doing. How could a vampire perform a fae skill?

  He felt Juliet grow very quiet and a moment later, she drifted into his dreamglide. Within the half-dreaming, half-waking state, she rose to her feet and turned to stare at him.

  She gripped his arms. Then you’re not dead?

  Close, but not yet.

  Suddenly, memories of all their times together from the past five months rushed forward. The swell and sensation was so great, he almost fell, but righted himself at the last moment.

  He and Juliet were lovers. No wonder the sight of her in Carl’s garage had started leaking memories to his conscious mind.

  His first inclination was to haul her into his arms, but he had a couple more important things to attend to.

  Through the blur of the dreamglide, he could see Juliet below him in real-time. She sat on the bridge ten feet away from Roche, her legs pulled up, her knees pressed into one of the curved stone balusters.

  It looked like Roche couldn’t see her, but she’d done the smart thing curling up against the bridge rails.

  Roche was a dangerous alter fae with red hair to his shoulders and small dark eyes. He had teal flames on his neck and cheeks. He might be lean because of drug use, but he was bulked with muscle as well.

  Juliet, I’m not understanding something right now. It appears to me that Roche can’t see you. Why is that? It didn’t make sense.

  I’m not sure.

  Within the dreamglide, Brannick drew close to Juliet and slid his arm around her. He was very weak, a sure sign he was close to death. Still, if he could save Juliet right now, nothing else mattered. Tell me what you did when I first started firing at Roche’s men.

  I dropped down as you see me now on the bridge. I thought it would be wise to make myself as small as possible.

  Very smart. But can you tell me what thoughts went through your head when you did this?

  Juliet huffed a sigh. I wanted to tell you to use your vampire shielding power, that it was my guess none of the men, not even Roche, would be able to see you, but everything happened so fast.

  Then that’s it, he said. And I can feel it now, an energy you have that is all about the vampire ability to create a shielding cloak.

  I feel it, too. Although, at first I thought I was just so full of adrenaline, I couldn’t stop shaking. But now I know what I’m experiencing is vampire power. So how am I doing this?

  I suppose the same way I took on your skill to create a dreamglide.

  Brannick felt himself fading a little more. The dreamgliding would soon come to an end as his unconsciousness took over. We need to figure out how to get your real-time self to safety. Can you get to your feet, in real-time I mean?

  Yes, but not until I leave the dreamglide.

  Roche turned in a slow circle, still hunting for her.

  Juliet, before you leave the dreamglide, listen. I’m right at death’s door, but there’s one person who might be able to help, the witch, Emma. Call the safe house in Elegance Territory that Vaughn and Emma operate together. Emma has powerful healing abilities, though Vaughn will need to help her as well. Apparently, he facilitates her power.

  I will, Brann, but please stay with me ’til I make contact.

  Of course. And one more thing. You need to find out if the shield includes the disguising of your voice. Roche might not be able to see you right now, but it’s possible he could hear you.

  Okay. What do I do?

  When you leave the dreamglide, clear your throat softly. If he doesn’t respond, do it louder. If he still doesn’t appear to hear you, call out his name. You’ll know by then.

  As she dropped out of the dreamglide, Brannick heard her clear her throat, but Roche gave no indication he’d heard her. She followed the process Brannick had suggested, and when she spoke Roche’s name in a clear strong voice and he still didn’t respond, Juliet sat up and pulled her phone from the pocket of her dress. She then contacted Brannick telepathically, What’s the safe house number?

  She tapped each in as he spoke them. She reached the safe house but was being routed to Emma, which might take some time.

  He watched Juliet as she waited. She kept her gaze pinned to Roche’s position, but looked ready to bolt if he got too close.

  Fortunately, Roche was still a good ten feet away, his gaze extended to the surrounding garden. He called out to his last remaining guard. “Keep checking. We all saw her. She has to be here somewhere.” The fae warrior flew from one side of the bank to the other, scouring any bush large enough to hide her.

  Finally, Juliet made contact. “Emma, it’s Juliet Tunney in Revel. You don’t know me, but Robert Brannick told me to call you. He’s been mortally wounded, a sword through the back. We need your healing power at the Talisman Bridge in Revel Territory. Can you come to us? He said you’d need Vaughn with you as well.”

  Juliet appeared to be listening. Then after a long moment, she covered her face with her free hand and said, “Thank God. I’ll be waiting for you next to Brannick.”

  He heard the sob in Juliet’s voice as she ended the call.

  She tucked the phone away and slowly rose to her feet. She kept a guarded pace as she began walking carefully in Roche’s direction. She’d have to pass by him to get across the bridge to where Brannick’s body lay.

  Brannick stayed right with her in his dreamglide. You’re doing fine.

  I can smell Roche. He reeks of dark flame.

  I know. Just keep going.

  She gave Roche a wide berth, but as soon as she passed by him, she broke into a sprint and ran the remaining distance to Brannick.

  Still within the dreamglide, but feeling weaker as each second passed, Brannick watched two Revel Border Patrol SUVs pull up. The doors flew open and four officers emerged. He knew a couple of the men, good men. One of the neighbors must have called in the sound of gunfire.

  Brannick checked Roche’s position. But he and his one surviving warrior were already in the air. Roche no doubt didn’t want a confrontation with the border patrol, especially with men who opposed the drug trade as these officers did. Within a few seconds, they rose high into the night sky then disappeared from view.

  Juliet knelt beside Brannick’s body. He watched as blood seeped onto her light green dress. She leaned over and pressed both hands against the wound in his back, trying to staunch the flow.

  One
of the men he knew, Officer Keelen, knelt beside Brannick’s body. Keelen was one of his main contacts in Revel, who worked his off hours to get human women out of the dangerous sex trade.

  On the side opposite to Juliet, Keelen pressed two fingers to Brannick’s neck. He called over his shoulder to his fellow officer. “He’s gone.”

  Juliet spoke to him. “No, he’s not.”

  But Keelen didn’t respond to her in any way.

  Brannick quickly realized the man couldn’t see or hear her. Juliet, you’ll have to release the vampire shield. Keelen doesn’t know you’re here.

  Right. How do I do that?

  Brannick thought for a minute, recalling his early days as a vampire when he’d had to practice building the shield then letting it go. But he didn’t know how to communicate that to her.

  The same odd, powerful instinct that had told him Roche was after Juliet now told him what Juliet needed to do, at least in this situation. You have to let go of me.

  What? But Brann, I can’t do that. I don’t want to. I’m afraid if I do, you’ll die.

  He stared down at his body, at the severity of the wound, at the blood he could see pooled on the grass off to the side. His skin was very pale, unusual for him. Was he looking at his own death?

  He also knew that the moment Juliet released him, the shield would peel away, he would leave the dreamglide, and she’d be visible to all four officers who had responded to the scene.

  Juliet?

  Yes?

  It’s okay to let me go, and I’ll do everything in my power to stay alive. But I want you to know that I’ve loved my time with you. If I survive, please keep fighting for us. I have a lot of baggage, mostly I think because of losing my family and watching my sister die. But you mean everything to me. Will you do that?

  He watched tears roll down her face. She still kept pressure on the wound. I will. Stay alive. Please, Brann.

  I’ll battle as hard as I can, I promise.

  He felt her release him and at the same time, it was as though he fell backward into a dark empty void.

  ~ ~ ~

  The moment Juliet felt the shield slide away from her, Keelen saw her and his hand went to his gun. Recognizing her instantly, he eased back. “Juliet, where the hell did you come from?”

  Juliet didn’t try to explain. “I’ve called for help, a witch with tremendous healing powers. Will you stay with me?” Keelen was a good man and had served as part of Brannick’s rescue operation for a long time.

  “Of course I will. We’ve called for more backup as well, but what the hell happened out here?” He glanced at the two dead fae warriors on the ground near Brannick, then toward the canal where no doubt the other bodies floated.

  “Roche and his men attacked.”

  “Roche? Why? He rarely takes a battle to the streets. It doesn’t make sense.”

  Juliet kept the pressure on the wound, but she had no idea if she was doing any good at all. As for Roche, she wasn’t sure how to answer Keelen’s question, but he might as well know the truth. “Roche has been after me for a long time, for my dreamglide abilities.”

  Keelen ground his teeth, then let loose with a long string of profanity. He apologized afterward, but Juliet had no problem with the words he’d chosen. Each fit the situation exactly.

  He then tilted his head, trying to get a better look at Brannick. “And who’s this? I sense that he’s a vampire, but he’s barely breathing.” With Brannick’s face turned away from Keelen, he couldn’t possibly know who the injured man was.

  She caught Keelen’s gaze, and more tears ran down her cheeks. “It’s Brannick.”

  “Holy fuck.” More obscenities flew. He shook his head back and forth several times. “We can’t lose him. He’s made a difference in Revel. He’s one of the few men I know who’ve even tried.”

  “I know.” Her rib cage felt way too small, she couldn’t seem to breathe, and the tears still fell.

  Keelen suddenly shouted. “Incoming.” She watched him kneel on one leg as another officer moved up next to him in support, weapon drawn. Keelen held his Glock in both hands pointing into the night sky.

  She turned her head and saw the distant flyers. She reached out telepathically to the woman. Emma, is that you?

  Yes, call off your dogs.

  “Keelen, it’s the help I summoned. Emma Delacey is a witch with a gift for healing, and she’ll have a vampire with her.”

  “Okay, got it. Right, that’s Vaughn. I know him, though I haven’t seen him in some time.” He whistled softly. “He’s engaged to the witch, isn’t he?”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “And they run a safe house for abducted human teens.”

  “That they do.”

  Emma flew in quickly, a violet satchel over her shoulder. She put on speed at the end then landed next to Juliet. She took one look at Brannick and spoke to Vaughn over her shoulder. “I’ll need your help, Babe. Juliet, please let go and move out of the way. You don’t have to go far, but I’ve gotta have room to work. And it’s urgent.”

  Juliet scooted backward on the grass. Both her hands and her dress were covered with Brannick’s blood, but she didn’t care.

  The odd pair moved into position.

  Without warning, power boiled from the couple. Once again, Juliet couldn’t breathe but for a totally different reason this time. She’d never felt anything like it.

  But hope rose as well. No wonder Brannick had told her to call them.

  Vaughn remained behind Emma but kept his hands gently on her shoulders, or maybe they were just hovering. Their connection seemed profoundly intimate.

  There were times in the dreamglide when she’d felt that way with Brannick, that they had a similar connection. Oh, God, she couldn’t lose him.

  She grew dizzy as she watched the couple work on Brannick. But to Juliet’s eye, their movements appeared to change as though they now operated in slow-motion. When Vaughn spoke to Emma, his voice was in the bass range his words slurred. Emma’s were as well.

  Juliet knew she was in shock. Had to be. She wanted to touch Brann, to yell at him to live, to wake up, to kiss her again. But none of that would help, and might even hurt the process. So she stayed very still, her hands in her lap.

  Emma looked worried as a sheen of sweat appeared on her forehead. She was lovely with long, thick wavy red hair that she wore with the front half pulled into a top knot. Energy rose off her body like a mirage of heat waves above a distant asphalt highway.

  After a few minutes, Emma leaned back, her face pale and drawn. There was still no movement in Brannick.

  Juliet swallowed hard. “Is he dead?” Speaking aloud somehow shook Juliet out of her slow-motion stupor.

  Emma turned slightly in her direction. “Yes and no. He’s hovering in a very distant place that I can’t seem to reach.” Her lips were compressed and she had tears in her eyes.

  Vaughn held Emma’s shoulders. He looked gut-shot himself as he stared down at Brannick’s inert form. Juliet knew how much Vaughn meant to Brannick. They’d been friends and brothers-in-arms for a long time.

  Vaughn’s voice rolled through the space. “I’ve known him from the time I entered Five Bridges. He got me into the border patrol and saved my life. Jesus, he was with us a month ago when we rescued those girls in Savage and later at Loghry’s mansion.”

  Juliet swallowed hard, sliding her gaze slowly back to Brannick’s wound. Despite the level of healing that Emma and Vaughn had given Brannick, the cut still seeped, and his breaths were shallow and infrequent.

  But Emma wasn’t done. She reached for her satchel, drew out a jar and unscrewed the lid. She then pushed Brannick’s bloody, black tank up above the wound. Pulling the salve out in a big glob, she spread it over the wound, then pressed it in with the palm of her hand. The ointment had a pale violet color and smelled like flowers.

  Brannick still didn’t move. The witch’s concoction melted into his skin and appeared to stop the bleeding.

&nbs
p; Emma turned to Juliet. “I’ve done all I can for him. You’ll need to take him home, then coax him back to life. Is that something you can do?”

  More tears rolled down Juliet’s face. “I know him well, and I’ll do everything I can.”

  Emma nodded. “You’ll do.”

  When Juliet stood up, she wasn’t sure what to do with her hands since they were caked with Brannick’s blood.

  She was about to rub them on her already soiled dress, when Emma stopped her. “Hold on. I’ve got something you can use.”

  Emma reached into her satchel and drew out a small tub of wipes. She stood up, plucked about half-a-dozen from the container then went to work on Juliet’s hands as well as her own.

  Juliet could have done it herself, but Emma’s touch, still vibrating with her witch power, eased Juliet. Emma took her time getting every bit of blood off Juliet’s fingers.

  Juliet watched her perform this service as though she stood outside her body and observed Emma dispassionately from thirty feet away.

  Emma then hugged her, an act that jerked Juliet back into herself. “You can do this, Juliet. I know it’s hard, but you can do it.”

  The witch’s kindness had an immediate effect, filling Juliet with something akin to hope and definitely with purpose.

  At about the same time, an EMT vehicle arrived.

  When Emma released her, she and Vaughn apologized for having to leave, but they needed to stick close to the safe house.

  Juliet totally understood. Their operation had proved a big success for human teens who escaped their captors. But their efforts had become dangerous work as well and the facility was under a constant threat of attack. Vaughn headed up the heavily armed security team that protected the building.

  The moment they left, Juliet had the EMTs put Brannick on a stretcher. Each territory had a small hospital, but medical care wouldn’t do Brannick any good at this point. She would take him to her home just a couple hundred yards away. Then, God help her, she’d find some way to bring him back from the dead.

  ~ ~ ~

  Brannick’s eyes were open, though he knew they were closed. Weird. From his time dreamgliding with Juliet, he recognized her home. It had a retro feel because of the bamboo furniture. He lay on his side on her couch with his chest bound tight. It was hard to breathe, though he wasn’t even sure he was taking any breaths at all. His heartrate had slowed to a few beats a minute.