Forever Burning

by Evi Asher

  “Look, who am I going to spill your secrets to? I’m stuck here with you. Why don’t you just get it over with and tell me what Dani keeps almost spilling.”

  “I’m sorry, Scarlet. I like you, but I don’t know you.” Ath said, “And the rest won’t tell you either. Not yet, we would rather focus on the fun stuff. That’s how we make it through. So, please tell us, what shifting form you take.”

  “A wolf...don’t you all?”

  “Wow,” Dani replied, her eyes widening in awe.

  “No.” Ath giggled. “We all have the form of our shifter father. I’m a shark. It can be a bit annoying when I’ve steamed up the water. Angelica is an owl, Dani is a lion, and Kell is a Hawk. And now we have a wolf, what a fine menagerie we make,” Ath finished.

  Scarlet looked from one woman to the next, and shook her head, realizing what a crazy place her life had become.

  Chapter Five

  His mind was a dark place as Archer sped down the highway. He was driving the SUV, and the Impala was following him.

  Everyone sharing the SUV with him was silent, as if the world around them would shatter like glass if anyone uttered a word.

  For Archer, the analogy worked. It felt like his word was a thin pane of glass with huge cracks running through it and he had his full weight balanced on his hands as he lay on the glass.

  He needed to get his She back--that was an instinctual imperative—but he wanted Scarlet back. His chest felt like someone had planted a bomb in the center, then thrown the dead man’s switch. There was a gaping hole there, and only Scarlet’s presence could fill and heal it.

  The need was driving him so hard that he shifted gears and pressed the gas pedal down further.

  Archer didn’t see the group of people on the road in front of the SUV until it was almost too late. He swung the steering wheel hard left, not touching the break, so the SUV wouldn’t skid.

  The gravel on the embankment slowed the vehicle down enough for Archer to stop the car.

  The impala had had better luck with the near collision. Even though they had been moving at the same speed Archer was, his wild reactions had given them warning and they had a chance to slow down.

  Archer flung the door of the SUV open and got out, stamping his feet onto the ground.

  “What the fuck,” he spat making his way to the people in the road.

  Common sense, in the form of Sophia’s hand on his arm, stopped him from barreling into a bad situation.

  One of the people on the road leveled a glock at Archer, and pulled the trigger.

  Archer spun, pulling Sophia down to the ground with him.

  Sure, the bullet wouldn’t kill either one of them, but it would damn well hurt.

  Archer rolled, gaining his feet in a moment, and assessed the danger that faced them as a group.

  There were twenty people in a loose semi-circle, some Archer knew—on sight—were human.

  “David, you damn idiot, I said hold your fire.” The leader, a big guy—hyena by the smell of him—cuffed the shooter on the back of the head, then stepped forward.

  “I’m looking for Archer of the Lycan.” He scanned the group, and as he did, they stepped forward to form their usual phalanx behind Archer.

  Archer took one step forward and crossed his arms over his wide chest. “What do you want?”

  “We want the pyro.” The hyena took another step forward, his shoulders thrown back, but it was bravado. Archer could smell the fear and tension on the hyena’s skin.

  “Scarlet is plenty popular,” Erik quipped.

  Archer didn’t even turn his head. “Shut it, Erik.”

  “What do you want with the pyro?”

  “I have been told to take her in.”

  “In where?” Archer uncrossed his arms, he had a feeling there was a fight brewing. Hell, he knew there was a fight brewing.

  “Sorry, that’s need to know.”

  “Well, I need to know and I won’t let you near the pyro until I do.”

  “But—” Erik was cut off by Heath’s elbow in his side.

  “Ha!” The hyena barked out. “Do you think I’d fall for that? You have no plans to give me the pyro, so I’m here to take her.”

  “You and what army?” Erik had recovered enough air in his lungs to yell that.

  “He’s right,” Archer confirmed. “That rag-tag bunch of people you have there are pretty useless, since most of them are human.”

  A low growl trickled from the hyena’s throat. “I trained them. They are good.”

  He didn’t wait for Archer to scoff at that. Without taking his eyes off Archer, he spoke to his people. “Kill them all, but find the pyro. They are hiding her somewhere.”

  As one, the group attacked. The Outsiders rushed forward to meet the attack.

  “Let me disable the guns.” Tate pushed to the front of the group, and straightened his arms in front of him, cupping his hands, one palm above the other as if he were holding a ball between them. He focused and energy, glowing gold in the predawn light, started to form between his hands. He flung it out and the gunfire stopped.

  Erik winced as blood flowed from a shoulder wound.

  “You could have done that a bit sooner.” He dashed past Tate and put his hands on one of the humans carrying a now useless gun. “You like guns so much, huh?” Erik grimaced as he concentrated, and the human screamed, his cry louder than the surrounding cacophony.

  When Erik let go, the man’s hand started fusing to the broken gun, his skin growing over the weapon, tendons forming over the steel of the barrel.

  Erik tilted his head at his handiwork, and grinned. “Hope you know a good surgeon.”

  “Shit!” Erik dodged a ball of lighting that arced past his feet, singeing them.

  “Aim, Sophia,” he bellowed.

  “Get out of the way, Erik,” she yelled in response.

  They might have been outnumbered, but it wasn’t much of a fight. The Outsiders had the technical and physical advantage over the human crew, and the few Eternals that the hyena had in his groups were outmatched.

  Archer saw the first rays of sunlight start to peek on the horizon and yelled for Zane. “Get in the Impala’s trunk, now!”

  Zane must have sensed something because his head snapped toward the sun a moment before Archer called. He took a moment to send the human he was fighting reeling, with a surprise uppercut, then turned and sprinted for the Impala.

  “Catch, Zane.” Heath tossed the keys and Zane caught them without looking and was in the trunk of the Impala before the sun got any higher on the horizon.

  “Time to finish this up,” Archer ordered, and moved in to eliminate the rest of the threat.

  He aimed for the hyena and was two steps away when he fell back, flinching, his arm thrown up to protect his eyes from the blinding white light that had flared up behind the werehyena.

  * * * *

  Scarlet was getting frustrated, and it was making her mood, pissy.

  She’d been stuck in phoenix limbo—as she called it—for a month now, and she wanted to go back. She missed the Outsiders, but she ached with longing for Archer. She dreamt of him every night—his handsome face and shiver- causing smile. When she woke, she felt bitter disappointment.

  She tried not to examine what she was feeling too closely. She still insisted to herself that her heart wasn’t involved with Archer. However, when she thought that maybe he wasn’t looking for her, she felt a stab of pain, and it annoyed her.

  Scarlet wanted to know what he was doing, and the women had been teaching her how to open a portal, but she had failed so far, and since none of the women knew Archer, they couldn’t do it for her. She had to learn on her own.

  “Fuck it,” she spat, and rose from her cross-legged position on the floor.

  Ath smiled at Scarlet. “Flowery, Scar, but you are being impatient again.”

  Where does the woman get all her damn patience?

  Scarlet glared at the pretty brunette. “I’ve been
trying for weeks.”

  “And you might have to try for many more weeks to get it right, but you won’t if you keep losing focus due to impatience.”

  Scarlet looked around the circle of women that sat on the floor. Even Angelica had warmed to her, though she stayed quiet and withdrawn.

  They sat still, waiting for Scarlet to get over her annoyance and sit back down.

  Scarlet harrumphed and sat down between Ath and Kell cross legged again.

  “Now, focus,” Kell suggested. “Breathe in through your nose—”

  “And out through my ass,” Scarlet quipped.

  “That’s why you aren’t getting anywhere, so stop being a smart mouth and concentrate,” Ath chided

  “Yea, yeah.” Scarlet rolled her eyes. “And out through my mouth.”

  Time to get serious.

  Scarlet concentrated on how much she missed Archer, but nothing appeared in the air in front of her. So, she tried to picture his face, his dark hair with the long front that hid his eyes when he didn’t want you to read his expression along with the contrasting blue and amber-yellow of his wolf eyes, and the forest smell of his skin.

  A small viewing tear started to appear in the air in front of Scarlet. “Oh, my God, it’s working.” She nearly jumped up and the tear started to fade again.

  Crap!

  She stilled herself and started to picture Archer again.

  “Just like that, Scarlet. You are getting there. Keep focused.”

  The viewing tear widened, looking something like the one that Scarlet had jumped through when she came here.

  The scene that emerged was Archer and the Outsiders standing in a group in the middle of a road, facing off against another group of people.

  A big man with red hair spoke, stepping in front of the rest of his group. “I’m looking for Archer of the Lycan.”

  “What do you want?” Archer answered.

  “We want the pyro.” Scarlet didn’t hear what else was said because the women started talking over them.

  “Oh, my goodness, is that Archer?” Ath asked.

  Scarlet nodded, but didn’t answer verbally. Her eyes were glued to the scene playing out in front of him.

  “Wow! He’s all kinds of hot.” Kell exaggerated the word hot, making it sound like hawt.

  Scarlet would have rolled her eyes, but she was trying to hear the conversation she came across.

  “Shut up, all of you,” she snapped and immediately felt guilty. “Sorry, just let me watch and I’ll answer all your questions later, ‘kay?”

  “Sure, Scarlet.” Ath nodded, frowning when it looked like Dani was going to open her mouth.

  Ath held her index finger up to her lips, telling Dani to be quiet.

  “They are looking for me?” Scarlet asked as she listened, then the big red head ordered his people to kill Archer and the others, and Scarlet’s heart sped up and seemed to jack rabbit up into her throat.

  She watched the fight, her hands balled into fists wanting to get in there and burn those idiots who thought they could hurt her Archer!

  My Archer?

  The fight was over as the thought entered her mind and the blinding light flung back.

  The light caused Scarlet to jerk back, and it severed her connection with the other side.

  “No!” she yelled, but it was too late. The viewing tear quickly closed.

  “Help me get it back.” She turned to Ath, her voice panicked. “I need to see if he’s going to be okay.”

  “You won’t get it back. You are too excited to form the concentration you’d need,” Ath explained with a frown.

  “Bull. I know I can get it back, so, help me.”

  Kell put her hand on Scarlet’s shoulder. “Please breathe and relax. The portal is gone. You will have to wait to make another. Forming the bridge takes a lot out of you.”

  Scarlet wanted to rail at them, to screech that she could do it. She wanted to see Archer again. She wanted to know he wasn’t hurt. Her heart felt like it was breaking, and she needed to know the man she lo—”

  The man I love.

  The thought stopped her, and she realized that she was exhausted, bone weary. There was no way she could open another viewing tear, and the others couldn’t do it for her. Then the thought struck her again.

  The man I love.

  She did love Archer—so much for not letting her heart get involved. Stupid of her, but it was done. There was no denying it now.

  “Is he even looking for me? They looked like they were on some other kind of mission.”

  She wasn’t speaking to any of the others, her eyes still locked on the place the tear had been. Did Archer even care about her?

  “Oh, I’m sure they are looking for you. It’s only been about four hours there from the time you came through,” Ath said.

  “What?” Scarlet’s head snapped around so she could pin Ath with a look. “Four hours? It’s been four weeks.”

  “Yes. Here.” Ath nodded. “Time moves faster in our realm. One week is approximately one hour on Earth.” She shrugged her shoulders. “That’s part of the reason it’s so difficult to make a tear. Time-space constraints.”

  “Thank you, rocket scientist.” Scarlet’s mouth twisted. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

  “You never asked, silly,” Dani spoke up, and Scarlet wanted to go strangle the ditz.

  “I’ve been pining for a month—”

  “Pining? I knew you were down, but now I know why. What a hotty you caught yourself there. I wouldn’t mind a piece of that one.”

  Scarlet gave Kell the look she deserved for that comment. “I meant pining for home.”

  “To quote you, Yeah, right.“ Ath grinned. “We aren’t stupid. You are pining for Archer.

  “I liked the one with the curly blond hair.” Dani gushed. “No, I want the one with the blond curly hair. What a man!”

  “That’s Heath, and he’s sarcastic, venomous, and intellectual. He’d eat you for dinner.”

  Dani’s face split in a naughty grin. “Can you guarantee that?”

  “Oh, boy.” Scarlet shook her head. “I’d almost feel sorry for the guy if you were after him, but luckily he’s safe on Earth.”

  Scarlet thought again about what she’s discovered about Archer. She never would have thought she’d fall so hard, and as clichéd as it was, she’d hit the asphalt from a high rise with that man.

  “As much fun as I’ve had here with you all, I wanna go home, so why don’t you tell me how to open that portal now.”

  The women got very quiet.

  “Come on, by now you know me.”

  They all looked at Ath. She nodded her head. “Okay, we’ll help you, but on one condition.”

  “Anything.”

  “Don’t be in such a rush to say anything. This isn’t going to be easy, and we have to wait for the timing to be just right, or we won’t be able to do it. We are all still in training. Things can go very—and I can’t say this enough—very wrong.”

  “Have some faith, Ath. I’m sure between us, we can pull this off. We aren’t babies, after all. We are powerful phoenix women. We can do it. I know it.”

  Ath didn’t say anything, so Scarlet asked, “What is the condition?”

  Ath looked at the others, her eyes lingering on Angelica.

  “We have only one condition, and it’s simple.”

  Scarlet raised an eyebrow, impatient with the repetition. “I’m waiting?”

  “We’ll help you open the tear, so you can go back to Earth, but...you have to take us with you.”

  Chapter Six

  The werehyena laughed, and if Archer had been prone to fancy, he would have thought it sounded just like exaggerated villainous laughter from an old B movie.

  “Oh, the goddess is making a personal appearance. You are in such deep shit now.”

  Archer lowered his arm, and squinted into the light.

  “Or maybe you are, for failing?” He couldn’t resist a cocky grin. />
  Even in the blinding light, Archer noted that the werehyena visibly swallowed, and his eyes widened in fear.

  Archer sensed the others form up behind him, and he figured they were curious like him. Who could this goddess be? Archer had a hunch, but he wasn’t going to lay any bets until he could confirm it. There were too many Eternals after Scarlet for him to be sure.

  The light faded enough for him to make out the silhouetted shape of a woman, then it faded completely and Archer gave himself a mental pat on the back. His hunch had been right.

  “Jasmine.” His arms crossed over his chest again, a look of disdain etched into his features.

  “Kneel before the goddess.” The hyena lunged forward, but with fluid grace, Archer’s fist shot out, laying the hyena flat on his back. “She’s no goddess.” Then he spoke to Jasmine. “Still after Scarlet, I see?”

  Jasmine gave him a serene smile. She lifted the skirt of her dress and stepped over the hyena to stand in front of Archer.

  “I need the pyro.” She held her smile, but Archer could see the strain around her eyes.

  “Well, she’s gone, so you are shit outta luck.” Those words, spat in Jasmine’s face, were the only good thing to come out of Scarlet’s kidnapping to the phoenix plane.

  “What?” Jasmine paled. “No, you’re lying. You’ve hidden her somewhere.”

  Tate stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Archer. “He’s not lying. Scarlet was taken to another plane, somewhere you can never get her.”

  The hyena groaned and stood, shaking his head like a dog would after immersing it in water.

  “Take these misfits back to the temple, and I will deal with your failure later.” Jasmine’s command cracked like a whip.

  The hyena rounded up the wounded, and looked over at Jasmine. She waved her hand, and they were gone in a flash of the blinding white light.

  She turned her attention back to Archer. “What nonsense are you spewing. It will not throw me off her trail. I need the pyro.” Her hands curled to fists at her side.

  “She’s not a pyro, and she’s gone. There is nothing you can do about it,” Archer grated through clenched teeth. He’d had more than enough of Jasmine and her demands. He was a twitch away from vivisecting her, and doing both humanity and all of the Eternals a service.