Wicked Flames (Solsti Prophecy)

by Sharon Kay

  “Oh yes you are, little fae.” He locked both arms around her and lifted her off the ground. “You’re either going to become my pet, or Elegia’s.” And with one smooth leap, he broke through the glassy surface and tumbled with her into the portal.

  THE THIEF

  THE THIEF JOLTED AWAKE. COLD air chilled her bare arms. Her head felt like someone had used it for a punching bag. She tried to sit up. Couldn’t move…I’m stuck? She tried again, harder this time.

  Searing agony shot up her legs and into her lower back. She collapsed back down, gasping. Why can’t I move? Where am I?

  Darkness surrounded her. She forced down the rising panic, forced herself to remember. She had stolen the amulet. She ran from the hounds… and then fell… where? Wiggling her fingers, she found dirt and pebbles beneath her hands. She must be in a ravine or gorge.

  The night was silent around her. No hounds. She took one breath, then another. Lying down, she felt okay. Time to try again. Bracing for another round of pain, she tensed her muscles and moved with caution. Her legs were heavy, swallowed by an odd, numbing pressure. Lifting her head, she saw the reason why.

  Barely visible, one shade of black slightly darker than the next, she made out the shape of an enormous tree. Lying on its side, its roots extended like spindly arms out into the night. Large rocks and dirt piles surrounded it.

  And the whole mess was covering her lower body. A fucking tree? How did she manage to uproot a tree and trigger a mini-landslide when she fell?

  She wriggled and got another dose of fire rippling up her legs. Her hand flew to her mouth, muffling the yelp she couldn’t suppress. She remained still, forcing slow, even breaths while the pain subsided. If she didn’t move, nothing hurt. But staying put wasn’t an option.

  She wiggled her toes and flexed her quadriceps. Limited movement was tolerable, and nothing scraped her skin. Patting the ground, she found soft earth packed around her sides like a cocoon. Huh. That’s convenient. Now if only she was strong enough to push all this shit off her—

  The rocks shifted. The tree slid a few inches to the side. What the hell?

  She looked around for whoever made the stuff move. Out of habit she reached for her mage blade, though she sensed no one. Her hand closed on empty space. Did I drop it when I fell? It could be anywhere. Shit, she would miss that thing. It had gotten her out of more scrapes than she could remember.

  But something had made the tree and rocks move. Maybe it was just the ground settling? Maybe her wiggling had done it? She concentrated on extracting herself, visualized her legs sliding free—

  The ground rumbled like a giant waking from slumber. The rocks shifted. And the tree…rolled?

  She stared in shock.

  The dirt piles shifted and somehow moved up, shoving the tree’s massive weight. With a groan, the trunk rose enough to clear the largest rocks, then fell back down away from her.

  She scrambled, digging in her heels to push backward, but a fresh burst of tingles radiated along her skin. Like her legs had been asleep.

  Arms it is. Gritting her teeth, she put her weight into her biceps to pull free of the mess.

  She paused, still on alert for another being. Because moving earth, rocks, and trees wasn’t one of her skills.

  The air and earth were silent. No breeze stirred the downed tree’s branches.

  The thief remained still for several minutes as feeling crept back into her legs. Every sense reached out. Someone had to be there. Who could do something like this?

  Solsti.

  The unbidden word exploded like a bomb in her mind. Chills shot across her arms, raising goose bumps. She huddled in on herself, trembling.

  A Solsti with an affinity to earth could do exactly what I just did.

  The women at the party had talked about the legendary females. And they were drunk. Another shiver coursed through her body, but not from cold.

  One is missing. The thief’s heart burned with sudden longing. Four females linked by blood. But she had no family. Sebastian had found her when she was twelve, had raised her and sheltered her.

  The thoughts and questions she’d always pushed from her mind came roaring back, determined to be heard. Who am I, really? Do I have family somewhere? Are they looking for me? She had no memories of early childhood. Just a black void.

  When Sebastian found her, she’d been living in a subterranean cave on Earth. But everything before that was a void. She had no idea how she got there. He brought her to Torth, eager to use her cloaking gift to his advantage.

  Besides the cloaking, there were the mini dust storms she could create. It seemed like a silly trick, because who would need that? He’d helped her hone her cloaking skill to become a damn good thief, and he’d never been cruel to her.

  She shook her head to clear it. What was she thinking? She was an orphan and a criminal. She was lucky to have led a life free of abuse. Many young females didn’t have it as good as her. And she and Sebastian didn’t even have it good. But they were a family, of sorts. A dysfunctional one, perhaps—

  She froze, remembering the one time she had been truly furious with him. He hadn’t let her take a gown from a home they’d broken into. Said they didn’t have time and she didn’t need it anyway. She’d been maybe sixteen, and had wanted something pretty and girly. Sebastian had grabbed her arm, using a one-time amulet to whisk them out of the house.

  She had screamed at him back at their home. Yelled and stomped her foot….and the ground had rocked. Furniture skated across the room. Books tumbled from their shelves.

  They had chalked it up to a minor earthquake. But what if—

  She couldn’t finish the thought. Earthquake. Orphan. Shifting ground and moving trees.

  Solsti?

  Her breath came in ragged gasps, her body seized with the need for answers.

  Home. The item she needed was there. Reaching inside her bra for the transportation amulet, she knew exactly what she had to do.

  CHAPTER 23

  “SHE’S BEEN AT THE SAME spot for six minutes.” Ria examined her phone. “We should be there in…” She leaned over to look at the speedometer. “One. Nice driving, speedy.”

  Six minutes. The need to find her raged hot in his mind. Mathias grunted a response to Ria, hoping like hell Gin had stopped for an ordinary reason like gas or food.

  The hatred in her eyes had cut him. But what shredded his heart more was the hurt beneath it. Her words echoed in his mind. You lied. I don’t need you. I was fine before you showed up.

  He clenched the steering wheel. That last statement may’ve been true, but it wouldn’t have stayed that way. Trouble was on its way to Gin. And gods above, he needed to find her first.

  Right on cue, Gin’s terrified voice squeaked from Ria’s listening device. What did you call me?

  A male voice threatened in response. One spoken word tore through Mathias’s brain. Fae.

  Motherfucking shit. Whoever was harassing her wasn’t human.

  Ria gasped.

  Mathias floored the gas pedal and a growl broke from his throat.

  Gin continued talking, the fear in her voice clear and harsh.

  The male kept speaking. So did Gin. Rustles and grunts echoed, the sounds of a scuffle. Words carried from the device, each one adding a shit ton of dread and fury to Mathias’s soul.

  Leave for Torth. Elegia. I’m not goin—

  Silence.

  Mathias burned with the need to find Gin and kill this male. He slammed a fist through the dashboard, leaving a jagged hole.

  Ria turned to him, eyes wide as dinner plates. “Oh my God! I lost the signal.”

  Mathias bellowed every curse he could think of. Ria’s bug was magic and could only be removed or deactivated through magic. Or going into a—no. He wasn’t going to think it. She has to be there. I’m gonna flay that male alive.

  “Take this exit.” Ria pointed to a sign that flashed by. Worry laced her words, but he could tell she was hanging on for Gin. She ty
ped rapidly. “Her car’s GPS is fine. Hasn’t moved.”

  Mathias flew off the expressway and followed Ria’s directions down a two-lane road, going double the speed limit. Ria leaned forward in her seat, peering at the horizon. “Check that gas station up ahead.”

  As they neared, Gin’s yellow Bug shone like a beacon amidst the gray sky and station fixtures.

  “There’s her car!” Ria pointed. It was the only one save for a blue Toyota sedan at the adjacent pump.

  No one lingered outside. He spotted a clerk inside, wiping down a counter. Nothing else stirred.

  Gin wasn’t there. But he already knew that. Motherfucker.

  Hot rage churned through his veins. He barreled into a parking spot.

  “I’ll check inside.” Ria was out the door before he’d fully stopped, running into the tiny store.

  Mathias leapt from the SUV, heading to Gin’s car when he stopped in mid-stride. Shit, no.

  The scent of a Deserati male assaulted his nose. His chest squeezed and his nose teased apart the individual notes in the scent. What the fuck? The Deserati who’d been here was the same one who had been at the water treatment facility up north. The place where he and the other Watchers had found the green grass.

  And here, just like there, a trace of portal magic hung in the air.

  Striding to her car, his heart pounded in fury. He stopped next to her driver’s side door. The scents were stronger here. The snow had been cleared so he couldn’t check for footprints, but a flash of pink on the ground caught his eye. He bent to look closer. Shit.

  Gin’s iPod.

  He picked it up carefully, his thumb brushing the dial. The screen lit up with the song she’d been listening to.

  Fuck.

  He may as well have plunged a dagger into his heart. U2’s “Baby Please Come Home” played from the device. Even without earbuds, Mathias’s ears registered every word perfectly. Just as he had back at Gin’s apartment when they’d fucked on her kitchen counter.

  Ria rushed out, a flash of blond curls and worry. “She was inside, but the clerk said she left. Said there was a guy here at the same time.”

  “A Deserati.” Mathias forced the words out. “He took her through a portal.”

  Ria’s face paled. “Shit. I heard them say Torth, but I was hoping…”

  “Yeah, me too.” He looked down at her iPod. “This was on the ground.”

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Ria chewed her bottom lip. “We need to go over there.”

  “We need to call Arawn, and drive back to Gunnar and Kai’s house. Rilan will have to open a portal for us.” Mathias pinched the bridge of his nose. “Shit, who knows where she’ll be by the time we get there.”

  “I have a better plan.” Ria unzipped her parka. “We can call the boss while we’re there.” She stuck one hand down inside the neckline of her sweater, fishing around.

  He narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing?”

  “Getting what we need.” She removed her hand. Swinging from a chain was a transportation amulet. “I always keep it on me, in case Gin and I ended up in a situation that turned out to be more than I could handle. I would’ve popped us over to Torth.”

  “Smart.”

  “I try to always be prepared.”

  He stared at the little disc. “Too bad you didn’t have time to use it back in Gin’s parking lot.”

  “Yeah, I know. Eight of those fuckers, plus a shattered windshield for a resting spot. Cramped my style.”

  He’d always appreciated his sister’s tactical skills and her ability to get people to like her. Now, new admiration for her foresight made him proud. He typed a quick text update to Rhys, giving him the location of the gas station so he could retrieve both cars.

  Message sent, he put his phone away and grabbed Ria’s hand. After all his duties over his five hundred years, he was used to the stomach-flipping feeling of portal travel. But Ria hadn’t traveled this way nearly as often. It was best for newbies to have someone to hold on to. “Let’s go.”

  Gin screamed, but her voice was carried away into nothingness. Where are we? Panic rose as she and the strange guy fell through darkness. At least, it seemed like they were falling. Or were they spinning? She wasn’t sure, but she did know her stomach was protesting. If this lasted much longer, she’d throw up on him. Good. It would serve him right.

  He held her tightly against his chest. Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, or like she was in the midst of the worst sinus infection ever. The journey stretched out. Flashes of light appeared for nanoseconds, then were gone. What is that? Lightning? Bile rose in her throat. Her skin chilled. She was going to—

  Thud.

  The left side of her body landed on hard ground, the man still clasping her. Landed? Had they been flying? Pain shot through her shoulder where she’d crashed against the dirt. Gin struggled to her knees and tried to scoot away, but dizziness washed over her. The edges of her vision swam with a blurred darkness, and her legs wobbled.

  Strong arms clamped around her. “Not so fast.”

  She looked up and realized it wasn’t just her vision going dark and woozy, but it was nighttime. Low cliffs rose on either side of them, forming a shallow valley. High in the sky to their left, two moons hung like crescent-shaped Christmas ornaments.

  Two moons? God, where was she? The man had said Torth, right before he dragged her into that weird circle. Her sisters had told her about Torth, or rather, they had tried to. She hadn’t necessarily been listening.

  Vague details popped into her memory. Demons, fairies, elves. Were there witches here too? Nicole and Brooke had said it was dangerous. Gin tried to recall more, but it was like trying to throw a choke hold on a ghost. There was no substance to dig into.

  She could kick herself now for not filing every detail away. But she’d never planned to come here. Everything about it screamed in contrast to her chosen career. She loved science. Order and formulas. Hypotheses and explanations.

  This was as far from scientific explanation as she could get.

  “This way.” The man jostled her, tucking her against his side, and began walking along a dirt trail.

  She peeked up at him. He didn’t look particularly evil. Tall but not huge, with curly dark hair and dark eyes. Wait…he had horns above his ears. Panic surged anew as she recognized the same kind of demon Ria and Mathias had fought. “Let me go!” She struggled but his grip was like a vise.

  Of course, if they were in a demon realm, she had no idea what to do. If she escaped this guy, where would she go? Were there some kind of demon police? Would she be eaten by some creature? The old saying came back to her. Maybe it’s better to stay with the devil you know.

  “Shut up, fae. I may have to sedate you.” He paused, a predatory gleam in his eyes. “Or I could tie you up.” His chuckle sent cold spikes of fear down her arms. “That may be more fun.”

  Eew. Fighting disgust, she strained for anything rational. What did people do when they got kidnapped? You had to examine your surroundings so you could tell your rescuers where you were. Well, crap. It was pitch black. The two moons didn’t cast much light. She decided to try talking. “Why do you keep calling me fae?”

  “Because you smell like one. And until I know what kind you are, that’s what I’m going to call you.” He marched them toward a small house, its dark frame barely discernible against the night.

  “I don’t even know what a fae is.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “Really? That’s a good one. You expect me to believe that, when your energy practically vibrated that human gas station off its foundation?”

  “Energy? What energy? And did you say human gas station?” Um, is there another kind?

  “Stop playing dumb.” He leaned down to her ear. “Or I’ll bite.”

  No, no, no! Gin shuddered, stifling a squeak, and strained to examine the house ahead.

  They were close enough for her to see that it had one story. As they neared a light bulb
turned on, illuminating a door. The house looked barely held together, its weathered wooden panels scraped and dotted with holes. In front was a porch. Wait a minute…Gin stared at the light. It was moving.

  Ow! A sting engulfed her foot as she banged her toe on something. She lurched forward.

  “Dumb and clumsy.” The man yanked her up, and she belatedly realized the porch had three worn steps.

  Ignoring the throb in her toe, she fixated on the light. “Why is that light moving?”

  He sighed. “You’re doing a good job trying to convince me that you’re stupid, female. Next you’re gonna tell me you’ve never seen a fire bulb before. Up.” He tugged her up the last step and toward the door.

  A set of keys appeared in front of them, making her gasp. They seemed to hover, dipping toward the lock. They took on a blue glow, and then she saw they were hanging from his tail.

  Oh God.

  She froze. Couldn’t move as the key slid into the lock, rotated, and the tail pushed open the door.

  “Move.” The man pulled her inside.

  Gin found her feet. What else can I do? He’s a demon. He yanked me to another world, he’s strong, and he has a goddamn tail. And she’d seen what tails could do, thanks to the brawl in her parking lot earlier.

  She shuffled into a sparsely furnished room. It reminded her of a cabin. A stove and sink occupied one corner of the small room, with two closed doors opposite them. There was one tacky orange couch and…what the heck?

  Her eyes locked on a large beat-up roll top desk. A rack filled with test tubes sat front and center, with flasks, beakers, and droppers lined up neatly around it. Who the heck was this guy? Had she found a kindred spirit or deranged lunatic? “What’s that?”

  He snorted and pulled her toward one door. “Nothing for you to worry about. Like you could even understand it.”

  “But I—”

  “Shut it.” His fingers bit into her arm. She clamped her lips closed. He seemed pissed at her and she didn’t know why. She didn’t want to make it worse.

  His tail snaked in front of them to push open the door. “In here.” Another one of those weird hovering lights came on. The sole piece of furniture was a twin bed with a metal frame. “Sit.”