Circle of Fire

by Keri Arthur

  Mack shook his head. “I’ll get warrants out for Eleanor Dumaresq and Hank Stewart. But you and I will sit down and have a serious talk after all this is over.”

  He nodded. Mack had to catch him first. “If we move now, we might still find them.”

  “I’ll get the ball rolling. And you’d better hope like hell nothing has happened to that other kid. Or the psychic,” Mack growled, then spun and stalked toward his car.

  Jon pushed away from the wall and walked inside.

  Evan stared up at him, eyes wide and full of a fearful desperation. “You have to go now. Aunt Maddie needs you.”

  He squeezed the kid’s shoulder again. “I made you a promise. I’ll bring her back.”

  Or die trying, he thought bleakly, and turned away.

  MACK GLANCED UP AS JON WALKED OUT THE DOOR. “BEN’S staying with the kid, and I’ve organized more local help. I’ll meet them up near the cabin.”

  Jon pulled up his coat collar to stop the rain from dribbling down his neck. “I’m coming with you.”

  Mack studied him for a moment, gray eyes hard. “Give me one good reason why you should.”

  “Eleanor’s a sorcerer.” He gave Mack a bland smile. “I know magic. You don’t.”

  It was hard to tell whether Mack believed him or not, simply because there was no reaction from the man. But after a moment of silence, he nodded. “Get in.”

  Mack climbed in and started the engine. Jon got into the passenger side and glanced at his watch. Two and a half hours gone. Maddie and Hank could be anywhere by now.

  “Anyone would think from your behavior that you cared for this woman,” Mack commented. The rear tires squealed as the car sped off.

  Jon smiled grimly. “I barely know her.” Which was both the truth and a lie. He probably understood Maddie better than he understood himself. And he sure as hell liked her more than he liked himself.

  Mack lit a cigarette and took a long puff. “That’s not what I meant,” he said, exhaling.

  Jon glanced across at him. “Just drive, Mack. I’m not in the mood to have my life analyzed right now.”

  The big man gave him a sharklike smile and planted his foot to the floor.

  THEY’D MISSED THEM. JON KNEW IT THE MINUTE MACK pulled the car to a halt. Though why he was so sure, he couldn’t honestly have said. Ignoring the stares of the local police, he walked across to the road leading up to the cabin. The heavy rain had quickly turned the mud to slush, but it was still thick enough to capture the imprint of a tire that had slid in the turn onto the road. He ran a finger around the outline of the track. They’d missed them by about ten minutes, if not more. The rain was beginning to wash the deep prints away.

  Mack squatted down beside him. “Recognize them?”

  He shook his head. “No. But they’re recent.”

  “So our quarry has probably flown.” Mack stood up and studied the muddy driveway. “We’ll go check, anyway.”

  “They might have left something for us.” Jon rose to his feet, hoping like hell that that something was a ransom note and not a body. Either way, he had to know before he gave chase. “We’ll have to walk, though. I doubt if the cars will make it up the hill in this rain.”

  Mack nodded in agreement and motioned for the local officers to follow. Jon led the way, listening to the wind whistling through the dripping pines. There was no sign that Eleanor was still in the area. When the cabin came into sight, Mack pulled him to a halt and Jon bit back his impatience. The man was only doing his job. He stood in the shadows of a pine and watched the cabin. There was no noise or movement to be heard. The place had to be empty—or at least empty of life.

  His gut clenched painfully. Maddie had to be alive. Surely Eleanor wasn’t stupid enough to get rid of a potential hostage?

  “Stay here,” Mack ordered, checking his gun.

  Jon nodded. Until he knew if Maddie was okay, he would obey. He watched the four men run across the clearing to the front of the cabin. He watched as they smashed the door open and tumbled inside. When no gunshots or snarls met their appearance, he walked down to join them.

  Mack glanced up as he entered the cabin. “Our birds have flown, but they left us a note.” He offered the sealed plastic bag to Jon.

  He scanned it quickly and frowned. They wanted an exchange—Maddie for Evan. But that didn’t make sense. Why not just go find another kid if they needed two? Why did they need Evan back? But at least it meant there was a chance that Maddie was still alive. At least she wasn’t dead on the old worn floorboards. The relief he felt was frightening.

  He handed back the note and tried to remind himself it didn’t mean she was still alive. “Let’s go find the bastards,” he muttered, and spun around.

  Mack caught up with him as he strode down the steps. “Leave this to the experts, Barnett.”

  He wrenched his arm from Mack’s grip. “In this case, that’s me. Eleanor is something you’ve never seen before, something you have no experience in handling.”

  “I wouldn’t bet on it,” Mack stated grimly. “I’ve seen a lot of strange things in my twenty years of service.”

  Jon smiled impatiently. He’d bet his life Mack had never seen the likes of Eleanor. Or him. And maybe he needed to see it.

  He glanced around. The other officers were inside the cabin and no one appeared to be taking any notice of them. In many ways, what he was about to do meant his life now rested in the FBI agent’s hands. At the very least, Mack could make his life hell with the knowledge he was about to give him.

  “Maybe.” He studied Mack a moment longer. Maddie and Seline were right. He couldn’t handle Eleanor and Hank alone—at least when Maddie was around to get caught in the middle. “Have you got a spare cell phone handy?”

  Mack frowned, but dug a small phone out of his pocket. “You know my number.”

  Jon nodded. He’d called Mack less than a handful of times in the ten years they’d known each other, but he knew the number by heart. Once it had even saved his life.

  Maybe this time it would save Maddie’s.

  He shoved the phone into his pocket, knowing it would change when he did—though the how and why of it escaped him. It was just a part of the magic that enabled him to shift shape. “I’ll call when I find them,” he said, and stepped away from Mack. “Damn it, Barnett—”

  The rest of Mack’s comment was cut off as Jon made the change. With a flick of his wings, he flew skyward, ignoring the rain, the wind, and Mack’s startled curse as he began his search for Maddie.

  THERE WAS A MADMAN INSIDE HER HEAD, BEATING A THOUSAND drums. Maddie groaned softly and wished he’d leave her alone. Though it wasn’t only her head that felt ready to explode. Her whole body ached, as if the madman had thrown her around like some rag doll.

  She opened her eyes. The light, though murky, made her eyes water. She blinked the tears away, and dark gray vinyl met her gaze. She frowned in confusion and blinked again. The stretch of gray vinyl became a seat—the back of a car seat.

  She was in a car. Hank’s car, she thought, without really understanding the reason for her certainty. And they were still moving.

  She shifted slightly, struggling to look around without letting him know she was awake. She couldn’t see the second teenager, but Eleanor and Hank were both in the front seat.

  She tried to shift again, but a sharp twist of pain ran down her arms and stopped her. She bit back a yelp and tried to ease her arms forward. They wouldn’t move. She pulled again, then realized they were tied—and so tightly that she was beginning to lose feeling in her fingers.

  Cursing silently, she glanced up at the back window. Rain beat against it—a torrent that made it impossible to see anything. There was no hope of telling where she was, or where they were going.

  “Damn you, Hank.”

  The sudden sound of Eleanor’s voice made Maddie jump. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed they hadn’t noticed she was awake.

  “How was I to know he’d already be
en inside? I told you, he came around the side, and the windows were shut.” Hank’s voice was an odd mixture of contempt and fear.

  Eleanor gave an unladylike snort. “Shut, but not locked, you fool.”

  Opening her eyes a little, Maddie saw Hank hunker down in the seat. “We still got one kid. Can’t we just go kidnap another?” This time there was definitely an edge of fear to his voice.

  “I told you, we need the Gaskell kid for the ceremony. There’s not enough time to go through another cleansing.”

  “Barnett’s probably handed him over to the police by now.”

  “No doubt.” Contempt ran through her sharp voice. “But the police station is the least of our problems.”

  Hank grunted. For several long minutes, the growl of the engine was the only noise to be heard above the heavy pounding of rain against the windows.

  “Stop here.” Eleanor leaned forward in the seat as the car jerked to a halt. “Get the kid out of the trunk.”

  Maddie shut her eyes again. The car doors opened, then there was a sharp rap of boots against loose gravel. I should run while I have the chance. But what hope would she have against Eleanor, who had the shape and speed of a panther?

  The trunk opened, and Maddie risked a quick peek again. The dark branches of an old Christmas-tree-type pine hung low over the car, protecting it from the worst of the weather. They were somewhere in the mountains, obviously, but beyond that there was very little to be seen.

  Eleanor and Hank dragged something out of the trunk before slamming it shut. The second kid. The certainty made her stomach turn. She’d been so worried about Evan that the safety of the second teenager had slipped her mind entirely. She bit her lip, then slowly levered up on her elbows.

  Hank and Eleanor were about twenty feet away, carrying a bundle wrapped in blankets down a steep incline. Now was the time to run. She sat fully upright and studied the area. The dark outline of trees met her gaze. A small dirt road disappeared past the pines on her left, and on her right, past the huge old Christmas tree, the land rose sharply. If there was anything else to be seen, it had disappeared into the rain.

  It would be stupid to run when she had no idea where she was—or if there was even help nearby. Running might not achieve anything but making Eleanor angrier—and Maddie had a feeling that was something she might not survive.

  She lay back down on the seat and, after several minutes, heard Eleanor and Hank returning. But only one door opened. The front seat squeaked as Hank climbed in, then the engine started.

  “Now remember.” Eleanor’s usually mellow voice was sharp and cold. “Dump our hostage at the warehouse and make sure she can’t escape, then find where they’ve got the kid. I doubt if Barnett will agree to an exchange, no matter what his feelings are for the woman, but she’ll at least still ensure his good behavior. Once you snatch the kid back, we can kill them both.”

  “I’ve seen the two of them together. He won’t risk her life.”

  “Maybe.” Eleanor’s tone made it obvious she didn’t agree. “Just find the kid, Hank. Remember, if you want your life extended again, you need that kid.”

  The door slammed shut and Maddie kept her eyes squeezed closed. The wheels spun as Hank took off, and for several seconds the car did nothing but drift sideways. Hank cursed fluently and, as if suddenly fearful, the car surged forward. She didn’t know whether to feel relieved or not. Granted, she was free from Eleanor’s sharp gaze, but she still had Hank to contend with.

  She frowned and wondered what Eleanor had meant by her last statement. Life extended again? Did that mean this was not the first time she’d extended their lives through magic? Sure, sixteen kids had disappeared, but would Eleanor need a blood sacrifice every month to extend her life and Hank’s?

  She didn’t know, but she had a feeling Jon would. She rubbed her thumb against the cold metal ring on her finger. Its presence was oddly comforting, if only because she knew he’d come back for it.

  The car bumped along, the rhythm hypnotic. After what seemed like ages, it slowed and turned, then stopped.

  Her stomach rolled. She closed her eyes and listened to Hank getting out. After a few minutes the back door opened. Hands grabbed her shoulders and hauled her out. She kept her eyes shut and forced herself to relax. Her only chance of escape might lie in convincing Hank she was still out.

  “Christ, how can a little thing like you be so damn heavy?”

  His mutter was almost a curse as he hauled her up and over his shoulder. The rain and the cold hit her immediately, and the air was ripe with the smell of sea and fish, suggesting they were down near the docks somewhere. Moisture ran down her back and around her throat as he hurried across wet asphalt. She risked shifting her head slightly and saw the old wooden wharf posts and, beyond that, the shadows of boats. They were definitely back in Taurin Bay and, as she’d guessed, at the docks.

  The scream of a hawk suddenly cut across the rain-swept silence. Hank yelled, letting go of her legs as he dove out of the way. Air swooped past her, and Maddie had a brief glimpse of brown-gold wings as she tumbled from Hank’s shoulder. She hit the ground hard and grunted in pain, struggling to breathe and briefly seeing stars. Hank cursed and reached for her. She kicked out at him and heard the hawk scream again. As Hank’s gaze jumped skyward, she rolled away from him, then scrambled to her feet and ran, desperate to get as far away from him as possible.

  The hawk swooped, and Hank’s scream of terror filled the air. Maddie jerked around, but she was still dizzy from being dropped and the movement was far too quick. She ended up on her knees, battling the urge to puke.

  Another scream rent the air, and this time it wasn’t from any human throat. Her heart leaped into her mouth as she raised her gaze and watched the hawk sweep around for another attack.

  Hank ran. The hawk circled around, then with a flick of its wings, came back to her. As it neared, a gold haze crawled over its form, and the hawk became Jon.

  “I didn’t think you’d find me so quickly,” she said, blinking back tears of relief and pain.

  He knelt beside her and quickly undid the rope binding her hands. “Neither did I.” He touched her face, momentarily brushing his fingers over her bruised and swollen cheek. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

  Everywhere, she wanted to say, but bit the words back. You’re not going to be a burden, remember? Life rushed back into her fingers, fast and furious. She swore and blinked back the tears still threatening to embarrass her. Jon took her hands in his, rubbing them gently.

  “Maddie, look at me.”

  She took a deep breath and glanced up. His eyes were a deep blue ocean in which she could so easily drown.

  “Are you hurt anywhere else?” he repeated slowly.

  She shook her head. Her head ached almost as fiercely as her arms, but not enough to mention. And that wasn’t the question he was really asking, anyway. She swallowed and gave him a shaky smile. “He didn’t touch me.”

  She saw the flash of relief in his eyes before he smothered it. She shivered—and knew it was more of a reaction to the warmth of his hands against hers than the cold rain dribbling down her back. Still, he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Can you stand? We have to get out of this weather.”

  “If you help me.”

  He rose to his feet and gently guided her upright. Then he pulled her against him, holding her tightly. She leaned her cheek against his chest and listened to the thunder of his heart. It felt so good, so right—as if she belonged right there in his arms, and nowhere else.

  “Next time I tell you to stay behind, will you kindly listen?” he whispered into her hair. “I think I’ve aged ten years in the last few hours.”

  His breath brushed past her cheek, and something deep inside shivered in reaction. She swallowed and forced a smile as she pulled away slightly. “I’ll consider it.”

  At his quick frown, she reached up and brushed a kiss across his rain-wet lips. Only to be caught totally unprep
ared by the sudden flaring of heat and her own intense need.

  He groaned slightly and splayed his hand across her back, holding her close as she deepened the kiss. Their bodies molded together, and heat trembled through her veins. When the tremulous ache began in her heart, she knew, really knew, that she was more than just attracted to this man. God help her, she was falling in love with someone she barely knew.

  His hand moved from her back to her hair—then stilled. “You’re bleeding,” he said, pulling away.

  She glanced at his hand. It was smeared red. She frowned and touched the back of her head. It felt tender and sore. Then she looked at her fingertips. They were bloody.

  “So I am.” She felt absurdly calm and wondered why. “I probably opened the cut when I fell off Hank’s shoulder.”

  Jon swore, then swung her up into his arms. “Let’s get you out of the rain.”

  She nodded and rested her head against his chest as he ran toward the nearest warehouse. The warmth of his arms and the strength and gentleness with which he held her were both comforting and arousing. Or maybe it was just the hit on the head affecting her senses.

  He kicked the door open, then gently sat her down on a large crate. He checked the wound on her head, muttered something about a doctor, then squatted in front of her. “That cut might need stitches. How did you get it?” He took her hands again, rubbing them briskly.

  She shivered, more from the force of his touch than from the chill beginning to creep through her body. “I think it happened when he hit me.”

  He paused, his fingers tightening around hers momentarily. “He hit you?” he repeated, his voice oddly devoid of any emotion.

  She nodded. The little man with the drums was starting up in her head again, and it hurt.

  “The bastard has to pay,” he muttered. He glanced past her, listening intently. She could hear a distant wail of sirens, growing closer with every breath.

  “Don’t move.” He rose and ran back out into the wind and the rain. After a few minutes he returned and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders.