Burning

by Carrillo, K. D.

"Wow, you two are rude. I was just telling my advisor today about how weird you are," she prattled on.

  Something about what she’d said raised my alarm. "Why were you talking to a professor about us?"

  "He was worried about some people dropping his class. Heard we used to live in the same dorm. Chloë and Finn never showed up the first day and then dropped off his roster. He thought something might have happened. I told him you are just a bunch of freaks."

  Her forehead scrunched together. Obviously thinking wasn't something she did often. "Come to think of it, it was strange. I mean, how did he even know what dorm we lived in last year? That isn't normal information for a professor to have, is it?"

  "Did he ask you anything else?" I asked in a tight voice.

  She shook her head.

  Dean's head lifted and he focused on Cynthia with an intensity I'd never seen from him before. The muscles in his jaw jumped around, and I could hear his heart beating rapidly. I realized that Dean was struggling to control his temper.

  "What is your advisor's name?" he growled.

  "Dr. Tuttle. Why?" Cynthia answered confused.

  "No reason," I answered quickly. I grabbed Dean's arm, shoved some of the bags into his other hand, and pulled him away.

  "Call your dad," Dean ordered ominously.

  Chloë

  "Did you grab my phone?" Finn asked, searching through his bag.

  I shook my head. I knew he’d had it before we had been put in groups. I’d seen him drop it into the front pocket of his backpack.

  "Wait here. I'm just going to run and see if I dropped it on the floor by my desk." He turned around and ran back into the building. We really shouldn't have separated, but I didn’t think a few seconds would kill us.

  Suddenly, someone bumped into me hard from behind. I felt my bag being ripped from my shoulder. I dropped it because my instincts told me to run. Without Finn next to me, I didn't have enough strength to use any magic.

  I ignored my bag and scattered supplies and started to run. The pounding thud of feet behind me urged me to run faster. The main passage was full of students, but everyone was in a hurry and no one seemed to notice my distress. It was straight from a nightmare. I felt like I was screaming, but no sound was coming out. Really, I was breathing so hard from running that I wasn't able to scream.

  A large hand grabbed my upper arm and pulled hard. I could feel bruises forming under the skin from the vise grip of the meaty fingers. His other hand covered my face with a sweet-smelling rag. I struggled against his hold, but my body started to feel heavy. Dark spots danced in my vision and started to grow. Before my vision went black, I saw a man with a receding hairline sneering at me.

  Dean

  I banged my head against the wall in the hallway. I hadn’t really expected to find Finn and Chloë at home, but I had hoped. Now what? I tried to force myself to breathe slowly because I could feel rage boiling in my gut.

  My incisors were lengthening, and the rest of my teeth were becoming sharper. It had been almost two years since I had last lost control over transforming. I felt a rumbling growl forming in my chest right before I was slammed hard against the wall.

  My eyes changed immediately, and I tried to identify the threat. I realized it was Cooper who had checked me against the wall, and I started to relax.

  "We will find them," he swore. "Chloë and Finn saved me and the rest of the Watchers from being used in a demonic ritual. I owe them. I promise you, Dean. I will personally tear apart anyone who tries to hurt them."

  "You'll have to stand in line," I snarled.

  He nodded in agreement. "You and I together, we will dismember the entire auto-da-fé if it means protecting our own. I don't agree with the idea of subjugating humans, but I'm not going to be victimized by them either. I know most of them aren't like this group of terrorists, but even sane people can get caught up in hysteria."

  I began to pace back and forth. I needed to act, but how? "What do we do now? I can't sit here and wait. I need to do something."

  Cooper's eyes had a determined gleam. I realized he was formulating a plan. Maybe not a good one, but it involved doing something. It was better than sitting here, waiting to find a funeral pyre for two of my best friends.

  "Go into the basement. There is a gun safe in the back corner. Without Chloë, we are going to need an alternate means of firepower. Make sure whatever you grab you can conceal. We can't transform while we are out, and we don't want to go scaring people with weapons either. We are going to act fast but keep a low profile. Understand? I can't have you losing your temper and turning into a giant cat in front of a crowd."

  "What are you going to do?" I asked him.

  "It's getting dark outside. I'm going to get Grey. If we can't shift, we need someone with a strong sense of smell. Anita is good, but he is better."

  I ran down the stairs and turned to go down the basement. I nearly ran straight into Carlos as he was on his way up. He was carrying a large duffle bag.

  "I've got what we need. Go back upstairs and change."

  I looked him over. He was dressed in head-to-toe black fatigues. Anita came out of the living room wearing the same thing.

  Anita reached into the bag and pulled out a really big knife. She had a black sheath strapped to the inside of her thigh, and she placed the knife inside. Next, she grabbed a set of throwing knives and put those inside a special built-in pocket on the outside of her pants. Last, she retrieved a black compact bow and a small quiver of arrows. She strapped both on her back and handed me the bag.

  "Hurry," she ordered.

  I wasn't about to argue with her while she was dressed like a mercenary. I found clothes like the ones Anita and Carlos were wearing and more knives. The knives she’d left me were bigger and better for someone with brute force on their side. Hers were meant for speed, which she had in spades.

  Back downstairs and fully armed, I noticed that Carlos didn't have any weapons on him. He acknowledged my interest by producing his wand. "I don't really need anything other than this. I'm pretty powerful. I don't have Chloë's offensive magic talents, but I'm strong."

  "Chloë hasn't been very strong for a while," I disclosed.

  "Let's go find them and fix that then, shall we?" he suggested.

  I dipped my head. Definitely, let's go fix this. And if we didn’t, God save Bridgett, because only he could stop me from ripping out her throat.

  Finn

  My head throbbed. Actually, my entire body ached, but I only felt a wound on my head. I gently reached back and felt a knot forming on the back of my head. I searched my memory for details.

  I’d gone into the classroom to find my phone. I’d bent down to search the floor and then...nothing.

  I sat up and realized I was in some sort of cell. The bars were thick steel, and they had runes and Latin inscribed all over them. That was dumb, but still, I reached out cautiously to touch them. I briefly touched one finger to the bars and nothing happened. I daringly wrapped my hand around one—still nothing.

  "I thought you said them bars would repell this creature from touchin', Garrett," said a whiny country voice.

  "That wizard we collected said it would lock in a demon," answered another voice, probably Garrett.

  I looked around. I was alone, and for a split second, I was grateful. That was until I realized that, if I felt this sick, Chloë must be in agony. I leaned my head against the bars. She must have been worried sick about me right now. Maybe Carlos was able to help her with the withdrawal from our bond. At least she wasn't here.

  "What we gonna do wit 'em, boss? That girl we done grabbed sure is purdy. If she stops floppin’ around, can I have some fun wit her?" the bumpkin asked.

  It hit me—a sick girl. Damn, they did have Chloë.

  "I want to see her," I demanded. My voice rasped like I’d swallowed sand and salt water.

  "I don't see that you are in a position to demand things, demon," Garrett informed me.

  I pointedly ru
bbed the bars. "Obviously I'm not a demon. My girlfriend has a medical condition and only I know how to calm her down," I lied. I didn't want to say that I had her medicine because they probably searched me.

  Garrett narrowed his eyes at me.

  "Are you really willing to let her die because of a false superstition that we are demons?" I pushed.

  "There are always casualties in war," he responded coldly.

  I tried a different angle. "I can see that you have a purpose for us. Otherwise we would be dead already. What good can she serve you if she dies?"

  He grunted. "Get up and put your hands on your head."

  I followed his instructions. He pushed my back with a long, wooden rod to direct me forward. He led me down a dark, cement hallway with a flickering bare bulb as its only light. Everything was gray. Due to the cold seeping through the walls, I guessed we were deep underground. It was probably an old bomb shelter or something that had been built by a fanatic. On second thought, considering my current company, it had definitely been built by fanatics.

  He shoved me into another cell, but this time, I wasn't alone. Chloë was lying on the floor, and I could tell she was unconscious. I hurried to her and pulled her onto my lap. I started to feel better immediately, but she remained unconscious. Her breathing did even out, and I was encouraged by that.

  "What are you?" Garrett demanded.

  I stopped murmuring encouraging nonsense to Chloë and glared at him. "What do you mean?"

  His friend pointed to the side of my head. "You've got pointy ears. You some kind of fairy or sumpin?"

  I tried to hide my cringe while listening to him butcher the English language and decided to continue lying. "It's a birth defect, but thanks so much for pointing it out."

  "Is she going to recover?" Garrett interrupted.

  "I hope so," I answered honestly. "I need to stay with her, or it will happen again."

  "I've never heard of a condition where someone suffers physically without another person," Garrett challenged.

  "It's psychosomatic. She sees a therapist, but it hasn't helped. We are searching for a specialist," I fibbed.

  "If it is mental, she should be fine when you are apart," he countered.

  "Ordinarily yes, but she has a heart condition that makes her mental condition dangerous," I argued. It sounded believable enough.

  "I'll allow it for now," he said and abruptly left us in his dungeon.

  "Chloë, baby, wake up for me please," I begged.

  Nothing. Not even a flutter of her eyes. There was a cot with a scratchy, gray-wool blanket against the wall. I carried her to it and stripped her down to her bra. I pulled my shirt over my head and laid her on my chest.

  If touch helped, then more skin might work faster. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I had to try something. I lay there for at least a half hour, praying to every god I could think of for her to wake up.

  "Finn?" she whispered.

  "Mmhmm. Does your throat hurt?"

  She gently touched her throat. "Yeah. Is there any water?"

  "No. I don't think they plan on keeping us long. Do you remember anything? Maybe we can figure out a way to escape," I plotted.

  Chloë rubbed her temples. "I remember being grabbed outside of the science building and then nothing until now. I think I was drugged or they used chloroform."

  That would explain why it had been harder to wake her this time. With her weakened state, the drug could have killed her.

  "Finn, what are we going to do? I barely have any magic left. I can't teleport us out of here or fight back."

  "We will wait and watch for a chance to escape. But right now, we are going to hold on to each other. We are going to be thankful we are alive and together. Nothing is impossible as long as we have each other."

  "I love you," she said with her face pressed against my chest.

  I kissed the top of her head. "I love you too. You should rest. Maybe you will get a little strength back. And don't forget—our friends are going to come looking for us. No way would they let us pull a disappearing act."

  I knew they would find us, but would they find us alive? If Garrett and his redneck sidekick didn't kill us, our partial bond might do it for them. One thing was certain; if we made it out of here, we were going to have the bonding ceremony. I would never leave her this vulnerable again.

  Chapter Ten

  Into the Dark

  Grey

  I’d been sure we were going to find them. I’d followed every scent, every intuition, even errant idea by the end of the night. I’d really thought I’d caught their trail out in the tiny town of Kittitas. I followed them out to an old farm, about a mile away from the nearest neighbor. I could swear I smelled Chloë's perfume and Finn's aftershave in a dilapidated barn set in the back of the property, but they weren't there.

  The smell led me to that one spot, and it didn't leave there, but it was like they had disappeared. It would take a lot to hide a scent from me once I had caught it. That was one of the reasons I had been particularly deadly when I’d still been hunting humans. Aside from Chloë and Finn, I smelled hay and stale air, as if a room had been closed off for decades and had only been recently opened.

  The floor of the barn was littered with fresh hay. Odd since I’d noted that this wasn't an active farm. Besides the hay, there was absolutely zero evidence of livestock on the premises. Actually, the main home was also in disrepair. It seemed that the entire farm had been abandoned, but I’d definitely followed them here. They had to have been here today. But where had they gone?

  I threw the bag of weapons I’d gathered earlier in the evening when Cooper had come and told me they were missing. Damn sun. If it hadn’t been moments from dawn, I never would have given up the search. I’d tried to continue as it was, but Leah pushed me to come back home.

  "What good can you possibly be to either of them if you die?" she demanded.

  I shot her an irritated look. Sure, there was something starting between us, but she couldn't expect me to abandon Chloë over it. I'd already abandoned Chloë before, and I’d hated myself for almost a year.

  She propped her hand on her hip and gave me a withering look. "Don't read anything into what I'm saying, Grey. If you get sick, someone is going to have to leave the search and take care of you. You are going to get weaker and weaker as the sun rises and will only be in the way. I know you don't like hearing this, but we need you to leave so we can keep looking. I like Chloë and Finn. I want to find them too. Now go home."

  "Listen to the girl," Cooper said in a clipped tone.

  "Fine. I'll search the Internet to see if that professor we were looking into has any properties in the area. Maybe I can find something useful," I reluctantly agreed.

  "Great idea. Now get the hell out of here," Dean practically growled.

  I stared at him, shocked. This was not the calm and cool Dean I was used to. This was a volatile shifter with barely contained rage roiling immediately under the surface.

  Anita left his side and guided me to the door. "Don't mess with him. He is having a hard time with this. He feels responsible for their abduction."

  My mouth fell open. "I don't know why. None of us expected this. I was sure we had kept an adequately low profile. The auto-da-fé should not have any idea we are here, let alone names and where to find us. I can't figure out how this happened."

  "I think I might have a clue," Carlos spoke up. Everyone turned to hear his theory. I guess my conversation with Anita hadn’t been very discreet. “Remember I told you that a Wiccan from Nevada was murdered?”

  Cooper and I nodded yes while the others shook their heads no.

  "Anyway, her best friend went missing at the same time. Her body hasn't been found. There is a chance she is still alive, but if she is, I don't envy her at all."

  "If she is alive, she is better off than her friend," Anita remarked.

  "Don't be so sure about that. At least her friend died quickly. I fear this young lady, if she i
s still alive, is being tortured."

  "Why would you guess that?" I asked.

  Carlos sat down on an old, overturned barrel and rubbed his tired eyes. "Something has been bothering me about this person or persons knowing who we are—or at least Chloë and Finn, especially with Nik disappearing recently. I think they had to have gotten the information from him, but he hates humans. He would never betray any of us to a human."

  He sighed, and he looked worn out. "Except I discovered that Nik has been paying the girl's rent. I couldn't believe she was his girlfriend because, like I said, he really detests humans. He thinks they are beneath him. I did some more digging to see what her connection to him was. I discovered that she is half witch. I made some calls and found out that they were in fact in a romantic relationship.

  “Nik is a fully mature wizard. He is invulnerable to everything except for the magic of your coven. However, that doesn't mean he is powerful enough to escape from a cell. He doesn't have the firepower Chloë does.

  “I believe this girl was taken to force Nik to cooperate. I bet they killed her friend to prove to both of them they would kill. I talked to Marguerite, and Nik received a call that seemed to sour his attitude. It was shortly after that he disappeared. I think they used her as blackmail to force him to come to them. Once they are done with Nik, I'm positive they will kill this girl."

  "What can we do?" I asked.

  "We aren't doing anything. You are going to go home, and the rest of us will continue searching," Cooper interrupted and shoved me out the door.

  Being exiled from the daylight was extremely vexing. I had longed to live the life that had been taken from me a thousand years ago, to be human and enjoy the sun. It was mostly a passing fancy when I was too idle, but when my friends needed me—yes, even Finn—I didn't want to have to retreat into the dark because I couldn't face the light.

  Finn

  "Do you think they'll find us?" Chloë asked. Her voice was raspy, and her lips were cracked from dehydration. They had tossed us into this hole and forgotten about us.