Blood Of Fire (The Blood Burden Series)

by Wenona Hulsey

  “Because I need them to believe that I am one of them. They need to think that I am loyal to Loch so I can get close to him. The closest I’ve ever been is via phone call; the first call was when he sent me to retrieve you from America and the other today when he called to tell me we will be meeting in a few days. I need to get close enough to kill him. Don’t you see, we want the same thing,” he pleaded with his eyes as he searched Nicole’s face for any sign of understanding.

  Nicole’s brows crumpled together as she paced in front of Slade. “How do I know you’re not telling me a lie? You keep me blocked from inside of your head so you must be hiding more from me?”

  “Didn’t you hear me? My power is always on, like a constant protective force-field that I can’t turn off. The only way you were able to hear what you needed to tonight is because I drank so much alcohol. It dulls my powers, but it takes a lot for it to allow someone inside of my head.” He sighed as he tried to shift his body into a more comfortable position. “You can think of me as a peace keeper. I’m useful in heated negotiations where people of both fae and warrior origins would be tempted to kill each other. I neutralize everyone’s powers so hopefully a peaceful solution can be found.

  “That still doesn’t prove I can trust you, Slade. It just proves that you can make me a weak lap dog if I stay around you. I can’t be weak, I can’t afford to be weak. There isn’t time.”

  “So you’re going to do this alone? Just go out there and try to find Loch by yourself?” Slade chuckled. “Sage told me you were hard headed.”

  Nicole’s eyes widened at the sound of a familiar name, “Sage told you about me?”

  “Yes, my sister told me a lot about you and how powerful you are. And if you would let me go I will prove it to you.”

  With a sigh Nicole sent the wall of wind up into the star filled night sky. She watched as Slade smoothed out his tux then faced her again. She tensed as he slowly moved his hand. He push back the curtain of silky blond hair that covered his ear revealing a pointed tip—the pointed ear that is found on all fairy kind.

  “I guess that’s why I couldn’t do it?” said Nicole softly.

  “Do what?

  “Hurt you. I couldn’t figure out why I hesitated but now I know it’s because you remind me of Sage.” Nicole smiled softly as she realized she missed that crazy gothic fairy almost as much as she missed her dad and her best friend, Kat.

  Slade beamed a bright smile at Nicole as he reached forward picking a small twig from her hair then let the back of his fingers gently slide down her cheek, “Remind me to thank my dear sister later.” He winked at her and gently said, “Come on, we better get back to the party before we’re missed.”

  “Go back? You must be kidding? How do you expect me to go back in there when I know everyone is my enemy?”

  “You’re safe, Nicole. You are my guest and no one would dare cross me. They all know that I am expected to bring you to Loch.”

  “That doesn’t mean everyone in that party likes it,” snorted Nicole as she started to pace the small trail. “There are people in that room who think you are crossing a line by having me here.”

  Slade’s face turned hard as his jaw muscles flexed with tension. He was quiet for a few moments, lost in his thoughts. “I can’t imagine what you must have heard tonight already but I’m afraid it may be a good idea for you to go back in there and continue to listen.” After a few moments Slade’s face returned to its normal, confident state. “Just listen for anything out of the ordinary. You know, things that will help us see if we have any allies who are looking for a way to stop Loch too.”

  “And what will you be doing while I’m snooping?” Nicole asked reluctantly, giving in to the fact that she had to return to the hostile party full of hate-laced glares.

  The corners of Slade’s lips turned up into a sly grin and a mischievous twinkle lit up his pale blue eyes, “I’m going to enjoy a few more drinks as I mingle with my comrades.” He flashed a quick wink, “All in the name of helping you use your powers. The foggier my head is, the clearer yours will be.”

  Nicole rolled her eyes at the obvious joy Slade was getting out of being able to turn loose and drink all he wanted. “Men,” she groaned letting him take her hand and lead her back through the maze of tall shrubs. When they stepped back onto the cobblestone path Slade stopped and turned to Nicole. He pulled her hand to his lips, kissing it gently, “If the pressure gets to be too much in there, signal me and we will leave.”

  Nicole took her hand back slowly, not sure how to take his protective attitude and tenderness now that she knew they were on the same team. She thought for a moment that all the alcohol he had downed was bringing a new side of him out. But as she studied his face she realized she had seen that longing look in his eyes before. She smiled nervously, “I will.” She took a deep breath then started forward, “Let’s do this.”

  **~***~**

  As soon as they entered the room, Nicole’s mind was swarmed with questions and racy allegations. Similar to how it would feel if a hundred red wasps were buzzing around her, looking for a vulnerable place to attack. All she had to do was show one small sign of weakness and everything would fall apart.

  He’ll lose interest in her fast. She’s too easy, Morena’s venom filled voiced cackled in her mind. Nicole mischievous side began to creep to the surface as she listened to everyone speculating the reasons she and Slade had left the party. She stretched up to whisper in Slade’s ear, “You’ll never guess what everyone thinks we’ve been up to.” She giggled.

  Slade flashed the sexiest smile she had ever seen then pulled her gently against his chest as he moved closer to whisper back in her ear, “Well, you must forgive me if I don’t rush to put an end to that rumor,” he pressed a kiss to her cheek before turning his attention back to the party. “I think I’ll find another drink, my love.”

  Nicole stared after him as he strode into the crowd. She absentmindedly touched the warm spot on her cheek where Slade’s soft lips had been seconds ago. Her stomach knotted tight as she tried to reason out what just happened. I sure as hell hope he was playing along for the crowd because I can’t deal with this right now. Her mind raced as she fought to put on a confident face for the room. But in the end wasn't it better to let everyone think that she and Slade had escaped to be intimate? At least that way no one would suspect she was any wiser about Slade's involvement with Loch than she had been before their escape into the garden.

  I will kill him, echoed through her head, sending a heart stopping shiver down her spine. The familiar voice, a voice she had been longing to hear, caused a large lump to form in her throat. She spun around in the direction of the soul deep pull as a warm woodsy scent danced around her on the breeze from the open doors. “Luke,” she whispered staring past the glowing pool into the dark shadows of the garden.

  The tall, broad warrior who was standing guard beside the door turned to stare out the same direction as she was. Nicole knew the built in GPS that comes standard to every warrior had given Luke away. She started towards the door as the hard looking warrior moved outside but was grabbed by the elbow. “Let go,” she hissed, jerking her arm away before she realized it was Slade.

  “You can’t go to him. He can’t be part of your life anymore,” he whispered to her, careful to keep his voice from being heard by the other party goers.

  “I think I can choose who is in my life, Slade,” she said, fighting to keep her voice low as anger and panic began to fill her. “I can’t just stand here and do nothing while those goons capture him.” She started to move forward again but Slade grabbed her by the hand.

  “We both know they won’t catch him. Nicole, please, you don’t want him to get hurt so you have to let him go,” Slade looked at her with compassion and pleaded with his eyes. “What do you think Loch will do if he finds out Luke is here?”

  Nicole thought about his words as her eyes searched the dark night. She could feel Luke moving away from the hotel, leaving th
e goon that was pursuing him far behind. Hadn’t that been the reason she walked away? Protecting Luke from the dangers of her life was why she came to Ireland alone. Tears began to swim in her eyes as she realized Slade was right. She couldn’t run into Luke’s arms, no matter how bad her heart longed for him to hold her. The danger was too real. She had to keep things together for everyone even if it meant sacrificing her wants; her wants that included having Luke.

  Slade turned her to face him then lifted her chin so he could look her in the eyes, “You’re doing the right thing.” Seeing her misty eyes, he pulled her into a hallway that provided a small amount of privacy.

  Nicole nodded as a single tear escaped making a wet trail down her cheek. Slade pulled her into his arms and she didn’t resist. She needed someone to understand her pain and Slade was that person. He was her only ally in a new world that she could barely fathom and at times feared. “Thank you for helping me,” she whispered into his chest.

  “I know this is hard on you.” He slid the back of his fingers across her cheek, drying away the tears. “I’ll do whatever it takes to help you but Luke can’t be involved. Luke will only make things tougher for you,” he pulled back from her so he could see into her eyes as he spoke. “There’s always the chance he will turn on you for his father.”

  Nicole’s eye’s widened at his words. “He wouldn’t turn on me,” she shook her head as she took a step back from Slade. “I know Luke is loyal to me,” her muscles began to tense as her anger bubbled to the surface.

  Slade reached forward tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear then he cupped her face in his hands. Forcing her to look into his pale, pity filled eyes while he spoke, “If he hadn’t let Loch out of prison we wouldn’t be standing here, on the edge of this battle. Nicole, you are too kind for your own good. You’re a cop for god’s sake. You have to use what you know and not let your emotions force you into bias decisions.”

  Nicole pulled her face out of his hands and backed away again. She glared at him, biting her bottom lip as she carefully thought through her words before speaking. “You don’t know a damn thing about him or me.” She walked back out into the crowd, now thinking it was much better to face their glaring eyes than Slade.

  **~***~**

  Nicole spent the next hour mingling among her enemies, sampling their minds and making mental notes on who she needed to watch out for, but not coming out with any new information that she thought was useful. After a bit she settled into a chair next to Cal, Mr. Casey’s chatty wife. She seemed to be one of the few people here who was genuinely kind and had no dark, hidden motives lurking in her thoughts.

  “Are you enjoying the party dear?”

  “I guess so. I’ve met so many people but I’m sure I will never remember half of their names,” Nicole replied.

  Cal chuckled softly, “Don’t worry, most of those snoots aren’t worth remembering.”

  Nicole smiled back at the gray haired woman who’s eyes sparkled with a fiery, youthful glow. “I take you’re having as much fun as I am tonight?”

  “I hate these cocktail parties. They are always full of power hungry leeches,” Cal leaned in close to Nicole, lowering her voice into a whisper. “I’m sure that’s what’s driving Slade to drink so much. If I had to put up with those people clinging onto my every breath I would be downing ever drop of alcohol I could find too.”

  Nicole leaned back in her chair as she looked across the room to where Slade was standing. Morena had her arm laced around his as he finished off another glass of wine. He glanced in Nicole’s direction, a pained look met her behind his glassy eyes but his attention was quickly brought back to the group as Morena giggled loudly and placed a hand on his chest. Nicole sighed as she thought about how she had left things with Slade earlier. He really did want to help her put an end to Loch and here she was being a royal bitch to him.

  “I wouldn’t let that tramp worry me too much. She’s been trying for the longest to latch onto Slade but I think he sees past the pretty face and fake boobs.”

  Nicole could feel her cheeks heat as she realized Cal thought she was jealous of Morena, “Oh, no…It’s not like that between Slade and me. We’re just friends.”

  Cal studied Nicole’s face for a moment then patted her on the arm and nodded, “Yes, well, I don’t guess an old woman like me should be meddling in things like that anyway. I was just thinking out loud. It’s a bad habit of mine—a sign of getting old, dear,” she chuckled.

  “I know you’re not meddling,” Nicole smiled. “It’s nice to find someone who is looking out for me in a room full of strangers. Talking to you kind of makes me home sick. My dad was always the one who would give me advice about everything, men included.” Nicole swallowed hard trying to keep her voice from giving away how much she truly missed her old life. She always had her dad to lean on when times got rough and she didn't realize how much she had been taking him for granted all these years.

  “Well I’m sure if your dad was here he would be telling you the same thing. That girl is trouble and I see the way Slade looks at you. Hell, he doesn’t go a few minutes without looking at you.” Cal looked back in the direction of Slade then continued, “But if you just want to be friends, I think now is the time to prove how good of a friend you can be.”

  Nicole followed the woman’s gaze out into the party and was shocked as her eyes fell on Slade. He was making his way over to them in a zig-zag pattern and this wasn’t some covert, warrior inspired move. This was Slade when he had finally met his limit of drinks. She hurried over to him and slid her arm around his waist to offer some support.

  Slade pulled back from her to attempt to glare at her with his unsteady vision, “You and I need to talk,” he slurred.

  “Sure thing, but I think we should talk tomorrow when you’re sober.”

  “No we….are going to…talk now,” he said as he weaved on his feet, fighting hard not to fall on his face.

  Nicole put her arm back around him as she took a deep breath to steady her nerves for the fight that was about to happen, “Let me get you back to your room and then we will talk.”

  Slade stared at her for a few seconds, mulling over her suggestion, then nodded in agreement. “Fine,” he snipped.

  His brows were pinched together and his lips were drawn in a hard line but his coordination reminded Nicole of a toddler. She bit her lip to hold in the giggle that was fighting to escape as they started moving forward.

  “Where the hell do you think you’re taking him?”

  A hand wrapped around Nicole’s shoulder from behind, jerking her to a stop thus causing her grip on Slade to loosen. He began to stumble forward and she hurried to steady him before he fell and then turned to face Morena. “I’d suggest you keep that hand off me if you want to keep it,” Nicole whispered trying not to draw any more eyes on her than Slade already had with his drunken display.

  “I know what you’re trying to do and I’m not going to stand by and let you get your country bumpkin claws into him,” Morena took a defiant step towards Nicole with her chin raised high.

  “Morena, I’ve already had this conversation with you once and I’m not going to repeat myself so take your jealous ass somewhere else. I’m just taking him back to his room so he can sleep this off.” Nicole readjusted herself under Slade’s shoulder and started moving towards the door again.

  They only made it a few feet when Nicole was jerked to a stop and spun around, causing Slade to go crashing into a table and then roll to the floor. Morena stood nose to nose with her, a one sided smirk pasted on her face, “You are not leaving with him,” she hissed as she swung her hand, slapping Nicole across the cheek.

  Nicole’s body began to shake as she touched the throbbing spot on her face, “You can’t say I didn’t warn you.” Nicole sent one, well aimed punch to the center of the powder white face of Morena, taking joy in the cracking sound that accompanied the blow. Morena crumpled to the floor screaming as she cupped her bleeding nose.

/>   All eyes turned on Nicole causing the pride of knocking Morena off her pedestal to deflate. She stood frozen in place, debating on what she could do to smooth things over when she heard chuckling coming from beside her. Cal walked up with a wide grin on her face as she looked down at Morena sniveling on the floor, “I knew it would happen and it’s about time,” she laughed. “Come on honey, I’ll help you get Slade off the floor.”

  They moved over to where Slade was sitting with a smug look on his face as he had watched the scene play out. They pulled him up and Cal helped Nicole get under his arm again, “Now, I don’t think you’ll have any more trouble getting him out of here.

  “Thank you Cal,” Nicole said over her shoulder as they moved toward the door.

  “No, thank you dear. This has been the best party I’ve been too in a long time,” she winked then looked back to where two men were helping Morena up from the floor and chuckled again.

  **~***~**

  Nicole sighed with relief when she finally released Slade onto his bed. She helped him take off his jacket and shoes then went to work turning down his bed covers. “We still need to talk,” slurred Slade as he fumbled with the button on his dress shirt.

  Nicole couldn’t stop herself from blushing when she realized she was watching with deep amazement as each button popped open, revealing his marble hard chest a little at a time. She gave herself a good mental slap and turned her attention out to the terrace. She pretended to be interested in the view of the night sky outside the large glass doors. “I think that we should leave that conversation for another time Slade. You need to sleep.”

  Without any warning Slade was standing behind her, his breath warm on her neck as he placed his hand on her shoulder. “It’s because of him isn’t it? Luke is why you won’t give me a fair chance.” He leaned in close to whisper in her ear, “I think you’re using him as an excuse to push me away. Secretly, you want me as much as I want you.”