Fire Cursed Trilogy Box Set

by J. E. Taylor

  I glanced at my clothes and pulled out a short-sleeved shirt, trading it for the sweater. “Thanks.”

  “There’s a full shower in the back, too. If you want to do more than wipe a paper towel over yourself,” he said.

  “I’ll take you up on that after we return. I have a feeling we both will need to clean up after today.”

  “What do you two have going on?” He glanced towards the bathroom and then back at me.

  I shrugged. “She’s the travel planner.” I hooked my finger over my shoulder. I didn’t know how much the pilot knew about the Ryan family or the dark things that lurked out there, and I would rather not freak out our ride.

  Kylee stepped out as if on cue.

  Josh brightened up. He actually seemed to stand taller when she stepped out. I wanted to dig in his mind to see what his intentions were, but it just didn’t feel right. I turned back to my suitcase and closed it just as Valerie’s lesson came to mind. I sighed and closed my eyes, turning my mind towards him.

  It was easier than it had been with Valerie. I got a distinct taste of honey in my mouth. While he thought Kylee was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, he knew that his job relied on him being discrete. He had a very high regard for the Ryans and would never do anything to compromise the business deal they had with the family.

  I turned and headed to wash up and change, satisfied with his intentions. I still felt like I’d violated his trust, but if he was going to be flying us all over the world, I had to know where his mind was at.

  I stepped out with my dirty leather outfit in my hands.

  “Just leave that on the couch, and I’ll get it dry-cleaned for you today,” Josh said. His gaze moved to Kylee. “Do you need anything cleaned?”

  “No, but thank you for asking.” Kylee glanced at me. “You about ready to roll?” She shouldered her bag of weapons.

  “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” I reached over, grabbed my cell phone, and slid it into the side pocket of my jeans.

  “Come on, Levi,” Kylee said and patted her leg.

  Levi was up and out the door before either of us got to the top of the stairs. He stood on the tarmac with his tail wagging, waiting.

  As soon as we stepped out of the cool interior of the plane, the heat hit. Josh wasn’t kidding. It was already hot enough for my brow to break out in sweat. I was glad I waited on the shower, but I was sure I would need to clean up tonight.

  When we started down the stairs, Levi jumped into the open door of the car waiting for us.

  I couldn’t help but laugh at his enthusiasm. I guess he really did want to eat a demon or two. We slid into the car after him.

  “Grasslands Nature Trail on Padre Island, please,” Kylee said as she settled in the car. The dot on her watch blinked.

  “Yes, ma’am,” the driver said with a sweet drawl, then turned back toward the windshield.

  I stared at the back of her head and reached out with my mind, checking her intent. There was nothing dark or dangerous in her mind, but she was worried about her sick daughter at home and unsure her husband could take care of things. They needed the money, or otherwise she would have given the job to someone else.

  I glanced down at Levi and patted his head then settled in for the drive.

  The landscape was much different than Maine. It was flatter. What people would consider hills here were what I called a speed bump back home. I stared out at the sparse scenery as we puttered along. A little over an hour into the ride, the driver pulled into the parking lot that donned the sign for the Grasslands Nature Trail.

  Our car was the only one in the lot, and in the distance, a dark cloud hung over the land, blocking some of the hills.

  “It looks pretty nasty over there. Are you sure you girls want to do this today?” our driver asked. She hoped we wouldn’t go. It would make her work day quicker.

  “We will be fine, but I suggest you lock your doors and don’t let anyone in. That also means keeping your window up even if a police officer wants your attention, understand?”

  She cocked her head.

  “That’s not a normal storm. There could be… fallout,” Kylee added. “And it might affect anyone who comes in contact with it.”

  The woman paled and turned her attention to the cloud. “Am I safe in here?”

  “Yes. As long as you don’t get out or open any of the windows, okay?” Kylee opened her door to get out.

  The driver nodded and the thousands of questions swarming her mind hadn’t started coming out her mouth yet.

  But that would change unless I did something.

  “We have a special lotion that we are wearing that will keep us protected. And the fallout doesn’t affect dogs,” I said, trying to ease her fears. “I’d offer you some, but we left it on the plane.” I gave her the right expression for embarrassed and humbled.

  Kylee gave me a look. I didn’t need to hear her mental question. That look said it all. Thankfully the driver hadn’t caught it, or otherwise she would have gone back to contemplating just leaving us out here like she had been. Kylee’s little impromptu acting really had unnerved our driver.

  “Is that where we are headed?” I asked after we closed the car doors.

  Kylee rolled her eyes as Levi bounded towards the dark cloud.

  The closer we got, the more solid my answer. I didn’t need to see the dot on her watch getting closer, not with Levi’s behavior and the hair on my arms standing at attention.

  The cloud worried me. It cut down our visibility, and neither of us knew what was hidden in the gloom. I glanced over my shoulder and could no longer see the car. I hoped our driver would still be there when we came out. I wasn’t sure what our condition would be, and from Kylee’s tightened muscles and Levi’s slow, cautious gait, I knew they were equally unnerved.

  Levi glanced back at me and huffed. He transformed from the beautiful shepherd to his natural form, which reminded me of the dragons I had seen in movies. He was bigger than what I thought a tyrannosaurus rex would have been but smaller than Godzilla. Either way, he was a force to be reckoned with.

  When he crouched down, I glanced at Kylee.

  “Get on,” he said with a voice that rumbled like thunder. “I will keep you safe from these pests.

  Ride a dragon. Check! Well, technically Leviathan, but still, the same principle applied.

  I didn’t hesitate the way Kylee did. I was on his shoulders within seconds and smiling down at Kylee. She sighed and glanced around before she climbed up behind me.

  I grabbed the edge of his collar, and Kylee grasped my waist. When we were settled, it was as if Levi knew we were ready to go. He took off. I nearly lost my grip on the collar, but after a moment, I got the hang of his gallop.

  When the path turned, Levi kept going straight, right into the belly of the fog.

  The mist was thick enough to tighten my throat and make breathing hard. From the sound of it, Kylee was having the same issue. What in tarnation could cause this? My answer came as we barreled around the nearest hill.

  “Damn witch,” Kylee whispered.

  I stared at the wrinkled man wrapped in a cloak. His bony hands were flowing through the air, conjuring the choking smoke as beings fell from the breach. I couldn’t tell if they were demons, witches, or other dangers to humanity.

  Levi didn’t slow one bit. He darted towards the mage, dodging the spells that the witch was throwing at us. The beast never slowed, never stopped, and gleefully tore the witch’s head right off his body as he passed by. The others in the area had no chance. When Levi stopped a few paces in front of the breach, he lowered his head, giving me a full view of the portal.

  Beings stared out at Leviathan, and every one of them registered fear. The spell holding the fog and smoke over the area started to fade. If it disappeared while we were riding on Leviathan’s back, the driver would flee like she had seen the end of the world and it was coming for her.

  I peeled off my sticky gloves and wiped my hands on
my thighs, concentrating on building the power. I splayed my fingers with my palms both facing the portal and pushed out with everything I had. Without demons trying to escape, the breach closed quickly. Almost as quickly as the cloud cloaking us faded.

  I didn’t have much time left before people could see this bizarre scene. I tried harder, crying out with the exertion, depleting every last ounce of energy.

  Levi shrank under me until he was lying on the ground between my legs, growling at what was left of the breach. When the last stitch mended and the breach blinked out of existence, I turned, looking for Kylee. She had let go of me pretty quickly once I’d committed to closing the breach.

  I stumbled and landed on the ground. My muscles trembled as I propped myself into a sitting position.

  “Where’s Kylee?” I asked Levi.

  He looked over his shoulder and then trotted to a lump on the ground just below the high grass line. He licked her once and then again. She woke, batting his snout away.

  I forced myself to my feet, crossed toward her, and then collapsed on the grass next to her. I glanced up at the clear sky above us and then at Levi.

  Kylee sat up and rubbed her head. She scanned the carnage. “We can’t leave this here.” She looked at me expectantly.

  I slowly sat up and looked at the bloody mess Leviathan had left. She was right. We couldn’t leave these things here, but I had no idea what she was asking me. I glanced at Levi, hoping he had an answer of what to do with the bodies.

  “Bedtime snack?” he said in my mind and cocked his head.

  “And where do you think we are going to store them? If you want to eat them, be my guest.” I waved towards the bodies.

  “That isn’t what I had in mind,” Kylee said. You could have turned them to ash.

  I stared at her. Even though the air was humid and the ground moist, my fire could cook this entire island whether I wanted it to or not. I slid the gloves back on as a sign the conversation was over. Besides, I was too exhausted to control it.

  My stomach rumbled. “I need to eat, too. I haven’t had anything since we left.” And if I didn’t eat soon, I wouldn’t be able to function for days.

  We turned our attention to Levi. Only his head transformed, and he made quick work of getting rid of the bodies. It was gross and intriguing at the same time, and I had to look away. When he finished, he transitioned back into a dog and let out a gargantuan burp. He wagged his tail.

  We climbed to our feet and headed back toward the car. As soon as we rounded the hill into the view of the parking lot, Levi went bounding ahead, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. I stumbled and Kylee grabbed me, helping me stay on my feet.

  By the time we got to the car, the ground was spinning, and I collapsed in the back seat. Our driver gave us an arched brow in the rearview mirror.

  A craving for barbeque ribs like my mom used to make hit. She would get those prepackaged ones from the local country store whenever they had them, which wasn’t very often. Saliva filled my mouth at just the thought.

  “Is there a barbeque rib place on the way back to the airport?” I asked.

  “I know the best barbeque place in southern Texas,” she said with a grin. “Mustang Sally’s. It’s near the airport.”

  “That sounds perfect,” Kylee said, and we leaned back in the seats, enjoying the flow of cool air coming from the vents.

  I pulled the phone out and sent a text to Alex. Two down. Five to go. And I got to ride Leviathan. 

  Epic! Call when you get a chance. I need to hear your voice.

  “He’s a little needy,” Kylee muttered.

  I hadn’t realized she was looking at my phone. I gave her a glare and pocketed the phone, not acknowledging either her comment or Alex’s neediness. Instead, I glanced at Levi.

  She isn’t wrong. His thought filled my head.

  “I know,” I whispered and glanced out the window.

  Despite what anyone said, Alex was my responsibility. I had opened the portal that let Lucifer loose. If that hadn’t happened, so much of the destruction and death wouldn’t have happened.

  Sure, Grace would have still been jealous, but I doubted she would have let a soul eater nearly destroy Alex if Lucifer hadn’t poisoned her with promises of a future with him. Of course, Lucifer’s idea of a future was him possessing a soulless body, but Grace couldn’t see past her own wants.

  I glanced back at Kylee and shrugged.

  “You aren’t responsible for him,” she said. “I know you feel you…”

  I raised my hand, stopping her from trying to placate me. “I know you are trying to make me feel better, and I know he seems needy to you, but with the loss…” I stopped talking because there was no separation in the car and our driver didn’t need to be privy to the details of what happened to Alex. “But with his recent loss, I seem to be the only one who can ground him. I guess I make him feel like he was before his loss.” I shrugged, trying to explain without making it obvious. “There’s enough of what he was left for him to know the difference, so he leans on me.”

  She nodded. “If you say so.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “What about your Alex? You felt responsible for him just as much as I do for mine.”

  “That’s different. I caused his issues.”

  I crossed my arms and raised my eyebrows. My stomach even decided to pipe in with a hefty growl.

  Kylee sighed and leaned her head back.

  The rest of the ride was quiet, and when the driver pulled into the rib joint, I was nearly out of the car before she put it in park. I paused and turned back, then knocked on the driver’s window. She rolled it down.

  “Can we get you anything?”

  Her mind filled with thoughts of bringing home a nice rib dinner for two with sides of slaw and potatoes, but she shook her head politely like she was trained to do.

  I just smiled and headed inside with Kylee.

  “Do you have any money?” I asked while we stood at the counter.

  Kylee grinned. “Yes. More than enough.”

  “Do we have enough to get our driver a meal, too?”

  Kylee nodded as she scanned the menu. “And enough to get Josh something.”

  “Can I help you?” a waiter asked from behind the counter.

  Kylee waved for me to proceed, and I stepped forward. “I’d like a barbeque rib dinner for two with potatoes and coleslaw in one bag and another double rack of ribs in a second takeout bag.”

  “Any sides with that double rack?” he asked.

  “No, but I’ll have a large orange soda, if you don’t mind,” I said.

  “Will that be all?”

  “No.” I waved Kylee forward, and she placed an order for the rib dinner for two as well.

  Thankfully, the bags were labeled, so when we got to the car, I put the dinner-for-two bag on the front passenger seat with a smile. “I hope you don’t mind.”

  I sipped my drink and settled into the back seat with my bag on my lap, trying not to tear into it before we got to the plane.

  Ten minutes later, we were on the jet, sitting at the table with Josh and our meals. Josh seemed to be the only one of us with manners, and he chuckled as he watched us devour our meals on the fine china stored in the back cabinets.

  I sat back in the seat with a plate full of empty bones and licked my fingers. I could have had two more helpings and still been hungry, but I knew if I overate, that would come back to haunt me just as much as not eating at all.

  Now I needed a shower and a nap, but I wasn’t sure which should come first.

  Josh cleaned his hands with a wipe. “Thank you for the meal. I didn’t expect that. I did replenish the refrigerator and freezer for the next flight. We have a jaunt to Hawaii and then a quick fill-up, and then we should be landing in American Samoa about seven hours after we fill up. So, expect to be landing at your destination in about fifteen hours from takeoff. The shower is available in back as I mentioned before.” He looked at me. “And then j
ust relax. If either of you want to come up and learn about flying a plane, let me know. I’d be happy to show you.”

  “Thank you,” Kylee said and cleaned off her hands.

  “Do I need to wait until we are in the air to clean up?” I asked.

  He glanced at his watch. “That’s up to you. We aren’t due to take off for another half hour.”

  I stood. “I’ll clean up before we go.” I grabbed my suitcase, hauled it onto the nearest bench, rummaged for the things I needed, and disappeared into the back room.

  I stopped in the entrance. The back room was a full bedroom, and the bathroom beyond it was as big as mine back at the Ryans’ house. It certainly made the restroom up front look tiny.

  “Towels are in the cabinet under the sink,” Josh called after me.

  I closed the door and made note that the bed wasn’t neatly made. I wondered if this was where our pilot was sleeping while we were off on our breach-closing adventures. Instead of mulling that over, I focused on cleaning the grit and grime off my body and out of my hair. I pulled the wet bandages off my neck and looked in the mirror at the stitches.

  I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Alex. Can you ask your mom what I need to do with the stitches?

  I hadn’t thought to ask before we left.

  Mom said they will dissolve on their own. Just be cautious because they are probably still tender enough to rip if you over do it.

  Now they tell me. I studied the stitches, and they were all still in place. There was no extraneous blood oozing from any of them. I slid the shirt on and glanced at the soft flannel. Alex must have shoved this in my suitcase while I wasn’t looking. It even smelled like him.

  I closed my eyes and inhaled. That deep-seated longing took hold, and even before I opened my eyes, I knew where I was going to be. His room was dark, and Alex stepped inside, seconds after I opened my eyes.

  He closed the door quietly and crossed to where I stood, half dressed in his shirt. “I had a feeling you might come.” He ran his finger along the edge of the shirt, pushing the fabric back far enough to get a glimpse of my lack of clothing underneath.