Oh, thank God. He’s alive.
“Here’s your precious Erwan,” Lupien said, plucking the tape that held a rag in place from Erwan’s mouth.
Erwan flinched, but didn’t utter a sound. Rolling his jaw, he regarded Lupien with hatred.
“He was an easy fish to catch,” Lupien said, rounding Erwan’s chair. “The old man thought he could hide from me by island hopping. The minute I showed my face in town, he came running out of his hiding hole all but waving a sword and shouting vengeance.” He bent over Erwan. “Still angry that I—how shall I put it?” He flicked his hand in the air. “Deflowered your daughter?”
Erwan’s lips pulled back over his teeth, but he held his tongue.
Lupien spun on his heel to face Clelia, making her jump again. “You were a tougher cookie to crumble. The way you disappeared almost made me proud. I could’ve gone running after you, but I knew your beloved Joss would do the work for me. All I had to do was sit back and wait for him to hunt you down. Has he fucked you yet?” The corner of his mouth lifted when she flinched. “Yes. Good. That’ll make it more devasting for him when I kill you.”
“Leave him out of this,” she said.
Lupien’s mouth fell open in a theatrical gesture. “Leave Joss out of this? Oh, but he’s part of the subplot, don’t you see? When I’m done taking what belongs to me, the blood-sucking Joss will be easy to defeat. With Joss gone, Cain will be crushed like a fat tick bursting under my shoe.”
“What do you assume belongs to you?” she asked, stalling for time.
“Why, you, of course. I only gave you life to use you as breeding ground.”
“Let her go,” Erwan said.
Lupien threw back his head and laughed. “Or else?”
“You’ve got me now,” Clelia said, “so let him go.”
Lupien’s grin turned into a sneer. He looked from Clelia to Erwan. “The two of you make me sick.” In a movement too fast to be human, Lupien withdrew a revolver from the back of his waistband and pressed it against Erwan’s temple.
She stopped breathing. She lifted her hands as if that could stop him.
Lupien dragged his chin through Erwan’s hair. “Shall we restage the spectacle that Joss’s father so beautifully pulled off…” he glanced around, “…right here? Her brains were here.” He smoothed a hand over the wall. “The bitch was there.” He motioned to Clelia. “Exactly where you’re standing.” Closing his eyes, he rolled back his head. A visible tremor ran over his body. “Just the thought turns me on. What a piece of art.”
“You’re sick,” Clelia spat at him.
“The breeding ground of evil.” Lupien licked his lips. “I think I may stay here for a while after my job is done, take a little holiday and burn a few things.” He shivered with unconcealed pleasure.
Just like that, the sick show ended. Lupien cocked the gun and pressed the barrel so hard against Erwan’s temple it dented his flesh. “I won’t do it fast. I’ll scale him like a fish, cutting his skin off piece by piece, and then I’ll gut him. That would be an appropriate way for a fisherman to die, wouldn’t it? Roasting him will go too fast.”
Pain, pity, and fear made way for disgust and anger. The feelings boiled up inside her. Her pulse carried them through her veins. There was nothing she could do to prevent them from bleeding into her heart.
A bubble of fury popped in her chest, releasing its poison. In answer, a ball of fire sprouted at Lupien’s feet.
Panic hit as heat scorched the tips of her fingers and raced through her organs. It was incredible, like nothing she’d felt. Both right and wrong. It exploded in her mind. A feeling of invincible strength branched through her body, carried to every part by the poison in her blood.
Her senses were heightened. Everything suddenly seemed clear. One look at Erwan revealed his regret. Lupien’s dark eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
In the wake of Erwan’s reaction, shame set in. Ice encased her soul. The fire died.
Lupien placed the barrel over Erwan’s eyeball. “They say a bullet can shoot a clear hole through the socket without killing instantly.”
Another ball of fire exploded on Lupien’s right. It burned for two seconds before it vanished.
Lupien pressed the gun against Erwan’s stomach. “Of course it would be a lot more fun to shoot him in the gut, to watch him suffer while it takes him hours to die. No, wait. What am I saying? I decided on scaling, right? So many options, so little time.”
Bigger flames leapt off the floor on her left. She felt the power, knew she could spur them on by mere desire, let them lick and consume the man who threatened her grandfather. She could control their direction with as little as a change of thought. The urge to give in was overwhelming. It would be satisfying, no doubt.
Alarm bells rang in her mind. She was on the verge of sacrificing herself to frenzy. To chaos. Instinctively, she knew she could enter that state of mind right now that would allow her to burn anything to ashes. With all of her remaining conscious logic, she held onto the shreds that kept her human mind in control.
Lupien grinned. He enjoyed watching her wrestle, fire and willpower at war. As the need to protect Erwan grew, so did her power. She shook with it. She could not look away from Lupien. It was like a shadow that fell over the sun, inch by inch working itself into a full eclipse. She dug her nails into her palms as she tried to hold on to reason, to expel the fierce need for hate. The effort made her breath come in gulps. She sweated and shivered while Lupien laughed.
Invisible flames surrounded her. She felt them in her mind. It was both terrifying and liberating. She needed to look away from Lupien and pin her attention on something else. Tearing her gaze away, she fixed it on the far end of the corridor. A fire erupted, flames licking to the ceiling.
“That’s it, baby girl,” Lupien crooned. “Burn for daddy, just a little more.”
“Clelia, no!”
Erwan’s voice drifted to her, but it was distressed, and instead of calming her, it added fuel to her fire, the need to save him becoming an uncontrollable rage. She watched helplessly, her logic dreading and something primitive rejoicing as she obeyed Lupien’s command by pulling the flames higher. They burned like lovers, limbs entangling and backs arching off the ceiling. The perfume of burning wood infused the air.
“Clelia, don’t,” a voice said from downstairs. It was measured, unemotional, and controlled.
It had the desired effect. Her reason gained ground as her fury calmed. The flames retracted.
She knew that voice. It was distinct. She would recognize it anywhere. “Cain,” she said, even before she’d turned to face him.
He stood just inside the front door, leaning on his cane. “That’s exactly what he wants,” he said, crossing the entrance.
“Cain,” Lupien said smoothly, “now my joy is complete. When I take her art, you’ll die screaming. I’ll burn you alive.”
Cain took his time to mount the first three steps. “You could’ve had so much, but you wanted it all, and now you’ll end up with nothing.”
Lupien snickered. “You can’t stop the Dark Age from coming. We’ll reign like before. This time, we won’t be snuffed out and forced underground. I’ll take what’s rightfully mine, and then I’ll enjoy smelling your flesh and bones melt.”
Cain stopped when he was halfway up the stairs. “You’ve had your chance, Lupien, and chances don’t come along twice.”
Chapter 37
Siril sat on the terrace steps when Joss pulled up to the castle. It was a little before noon. To his irritation, the weapons contact he’d met in Vannes was late. For safety reasons, he hadn’t taken Clelia along, but he hadn’t been happy to leave her. At the same time, he’d been eager to get the guns. They needed all the protection they could buy. Lupien wasn’t far. He could feel it. At the first chance that presented itself, he’d go after the bastard and take care of him once and for all.
Not wanting to exhibit his purchases in front of the boy, he left the weapons
in the trunk and crunched his way across the gravel to where Siril sat with his hand on his chin. “Where’s Izabell?”
“There was a fire in the kitchen at the restaurant. She said she’d be back in time to cook lunch.”
His heart slammed against his ribs. A fire. Lupien. Every sense he had went on high alert. His voice was clipped. “Where’s Clelia?”
Siril squinted up at him. “Madame de Arradon took my bike. I’m waiting for her to get back.”
Joss froze. “What did you say?”
Siril pulled his shoulders up to his ears. “She said she was going to the bakery.”
Joss had to take deep breaths not to explode. “How long ago?”
Siril checked his watch. “Maybe two hours.”
His blood ran cold. Two hours was too long. It was hard to keep a calm demeanor. “Which village?”
“I think she was going to Josselin. She asked how long it took to go there by bike.”
Fear flared in him, shredding and cold. “Didn’t I tell you to keep her locked inside?”
“Madame said she wanted to surprise you with desert.”
“You stupid, stupid boy!”
The red-faced kid looked like he wanted to bolt. He squirmed under Joss’s hard stare. “I gave her the phone you left.”
“Stay here,” he said, turning back to the car with long strides.
“Can I catch a lift with you back to town?” Siril called after him. “I can get my bike later.” He mumbled under his breath, “I don’t feel like facing wolves again.”
Joss spun around. “What did you say?”
Siril’s face flamed. “Nothing.”
Joss walked back to him with furious strides. “What was that part about the wolves?”
Siril cowered. “It’s just been a strange morning.”
“Elaborate, and make it fast.”
“A pack of wolves cornered me inside for almost half-an-hour. The beasts waited at the door. I couldn’t come back outside until they were gone.”
“Four of them?”
“Yeah.” Siril frowned. “Do you know about them? I knew there were foxes in the woods, but wolves are only supposed to exist in the legends.”
“They’re not wolves, they’re dogs.”
Siril blew air through his noise. “Could’ve fooled me.”
“And then they left?”
“I hope so.”
“Did anything else happen?” Joss asked carefully.
“Like what?”
“Did anyone come around?”
“No.” Siril scrunched up his face. “Only that man called for Madame de Arradon.”
“What?” Joss grabbed Siril by the collar. “Which man? Where did he call?”
Siril’s eyes flared. “I think he said his name was Erin. No, Erman. Wait, Ernan.”
“Erwan?” Joss said with growing irritation, urgency clawing at his gut.
“Yeah. Erwan.”
Fuck. “Which phone did he call on?”
“This one.” Siril held up a cellphone. “Izabell’s business phone.”
“What did he say?”
“Uh, he said he’d wait for Madame de Arradon in your house.”
Holy fuck. It couldn’t be. Not that. He let the boy go. “I’ll call your aunt to come get you.”
It couldn’t be too late. There was too much on the line, much more than the end of the world. All he could see in his mind’s eye as he rushed to the car was a pretty Japanese woman. His woman.
Chapter 38
The stairs creaked as Cain took another step. “Don’t give in to your anger, Clelia. It’s the only way he can harm you.”
Clelia’s emotions stabilized a little. Cain’s disinterested tone had a calming effect. The fire that raged at the end of the hallway shrunk to half its size. The flames didn’t lick the ceiling any longer, but they didn’t die down completely.
Lupien chuckled. “Look at that beautiful fire. It’s feeding now, on the floorboards and the curtains. It will feed on anything that stands in its way. You’re too late.”
Clelia looked at Cain, feeling sick.
“Don’t listen to him,” Cain said. “He can’t kill you if you haven’t given in to your darkness.”
Lupien pressed the gun under Erwan’s chin. “We’ll see how dark she gets when I do some wall art with her old man’s brains.”
“Keep your eyes on me,” Cain said to her. “Don’t look.”
Cain had already accepted Erwan’s murder as fate. She started shaking. “I can’t let him kill Erwan.”
A movement at the door caught her eye. Her heart slammed into her ribs when Joss entered, his expression one of calculated murder.
“Ah!” Lupien exclaimed. He did a crazy tap dance. “Welcome home, Joss. Now you can tell us exactly where your mother’s organs were draped when you found her, so I can reconstruct it accurately when I rip your whore’s insides from her belly.”
Joss launched up the stairs like a demon. His coat trailed behind him, flipping open to reveal the body holsters with weapons.
“Joss, no!”
Her call wasn’t enough to penetrate Joss’s state of rage. He was going for the kill. Fear knotted her insides together as Joss passed Cain. When he reached the top of the stairs, she reached out to grab his arm, but his coat burst into flames.
“Joss,” she cried out.
Joss peeled the garment from his shoulders without acknowledging her, dropping the coat to the floor. The flames smothered under the cloth. Smoke rose from the fabric.
Lupien giggled. “Coming with knives and guns, Joss? All right, let’s have some fun first.”
The strands of Joss’s hair caught fire. She stared in horror at the fast-melting ends. Coming to her senses, she ripped her sweater over her head and beat at the tendrils. It wasn’t hard to put out. Lupien was playing with them. The smell of burnt hair hung in the air, a mocking warning.
“Fight me like a man,” Joss said.
“And spoil all the fun?” Lupien smirked. “I don’t think so.”
A fire sprang up around Joss, surrounding him with white tongues of heat. Somehow, they seemed more menacing than orange or blue flames. Joss seemed to sense it too, because instead of jumping through it, he stayed put.
“The heat will melt your bones to ash in a second,” Lupien said. “Do you like my pretty prison? Now, stay, like a good dog, and watch your witch die.”
For the first time, Joss met her eyes. Emotions flickered in his—fury, possession, and fear.
Joss unclipped a clasp on the weapon harness and lifted a strange gun. It looked like a shotgun with a cone-shaped barrel. He aimed it in front of him and pressed the trigger, which released a stream of white foam. The flames disappeared instantly, and even as he moved forward to exit the burning circle, he already had his free hand on a gun. Before his foot was outside of the danger zone, the flames jumped back into place.
“Not so fast,” Lupien said. “Another move from you and I cremate her now.”
Joss looked at Clelia, helplessness and rage etched on his face.
“I want to have some fun first,” Lupien said. “I’ll start with the old man and my rival Cain, and then I’ll do her.” He pointed the gun at Clelia. “I’ll have you last,” he said to Joss, “so that you can benefit from the show.”
“Let them go,” she said, “and I’ll give myself freely.”
Joss reached out, not able to touch her through the flames. “You won’t give yourself to that monster, do you hear me? You won’t die.”
Biting her lip, she held her husband’s gaze. “I want it to end.”
“Good girl,” Lupien purred. “You make your daddy proud.” He licked his lips. “I’ll give you one chance to hurt me before I kill you.”
“Don’t do it,” Cain said behind her. “That’s what he wants.”
“Be a good naughty girl and do like daddy does.” Lupien grimaced. “Or watch them die.”
The white flames flared around Joss.
Clelia cried out. “I’ll let you have what you want, just let them go.”
“He won’t let us go,” Cain said. “You can’t give him what he wants, no matter what he does to us. We’re a small sacrifice in the greater scheme of things.”
The words rang like a distant echo in her mind. Not so long ago, she was the sacrifice Joss was willing to make for justice. She looked at him, the man she’d once loved. No, still loved, no matter everything that had passed. Her heart was still beating, and her feelings with it. As long as she had a pulse, those feelings would always be there. Her heart would always be beating for the man she married.
The longer she stared, the closer the flames crept to Joss. She’d rather die than let Lupien kill him, but no matter what she did, Lupien was going to kill them all anyway. His word had no honor.
She pushed her body against the staircase rail. The fire from the end of the corridor was approaching. If she didn’t act, they’d all burn alive, and soon. She looked down from over her shoulder. It wasn’t high, but hitting the marble floor headfirst would be fatal.
Joss’s eyes widened. “Clelia, no.”
Cain followed her gaze. “Joss is right. Taking your own life would be just the same as taking another. You’ll give in to the darkness inside you.”
She shook her head. “Sacrifice isn’t the same as murder.” She knew it instinctively, grasping a natural law about her kind that had always been imbedded in her but that she’d been blind to before.
Feeling strangely calm now, she turned her face toward Lupien. “Isn’t that so, father?” From the worried look that flashed in his eyes, she saw her victory. “An eye for an eye. It’s the law of our kind, the answer to salvation. My life for my mother’s.”
“I’ll kill them all,” Lupien said. “I’ll kill everyone you love.”
Joss wasn’t acting because he didn’t want to risk her life, but if she was out of the way… “If I’m dead, so is my gift, and then Joss will be free to kill you.”
Pyromancist SECOND EDITION: Art of Fire (7 Forbidden Arts Book 1) Page 30
