Blaze Ignites (Scourge Survivor Series Book 1)

by J. L. Madore

  Aust sliced the air with duel scimitars wearing his look of concentration. He was stunning to watch in action, moving as though his weapons were an extension of his own limbs.

  Lexi dove in and faced off like the hellcat she was, blades gleaming. Within seconds she scrambled up a mountainous raider, then flipped off and watched him fall to the ground. The guy never knew what hit him.

  "Castian come to me." While my powers strengthened, I dove away from a Scourge barbarian the size of an oak tree. He was an unnatural mass of muscle and brawn. It was lucky his mouth was filled with stained, jagged teeth because it drew attention away from his tiny silver eyes and his chewed-up face.

  On a roar, he thrust forward, swinging his flail. He was big, but slow. I ducked when the spiked ball came at my head and heard the dull thwack when it sunk into a tree behind me. The ballad I hummed focused my energy and I slammed him with a pulse.

  The bastard didn't even budge.

  He came at me again. The metallic whoosh of chain links hissed in my ear as the metal spikes zinged past my head again. I ducked the blow, escaping decapitation by a sickening few inches. Adrenaline burned through my veins and I upped my voltage to critical-mass. My next bolt came off like a crack of lightning. It sent his head into a tree with a hollow thud.

  His expression shifted. His jaw dropped and the whites of his eyes showed. That split second of disorientation was long enough to wrap him in an incantation and lock him down. Ramming my new slim-blade dagger through his chest he disintegrated into a pile of black ichor.

  Dispatched.

  In my periphery, Galan raised his sword. Too high. His side was exposed. I whirled, my dagger hand about to release when I realized he'd intentionally overextended. His attacker took the bait and Galan lunged forward, bringing his sword down, two-handed onto his opponent’s shoulder. The crack of bone was followed by a brutal curse. The Dark Elf collapsed, his head bouncing off the forest floor, his collarbone crushed.

  The shriek of a giant bird harmonized with the keening metal of battle. A raptor swooped from the trees, talons extended. Wickedly sharp hooks targeted the lime-green eyes of the Dark raider battling Aust. He dodged and swung at the bird, but was no match for a duel attack. When the raider fell, Aust whistled to the trees. A pack of wolves made short work of him and three Scourge soldiers which were not good eating. He caught my glance and flashed a smile.

  The gleam on Aust's face darkened at the same time the hair on my neck stood on end. I spun to raise my guard as a hiss of steel cut through the air behind me. In a slow-motion moment you'd see on a Hollywood screen, a dagger blew by my face. End over end, glinting in the gold afternoon light until it found purchase. My attacker's head snapped back, the hilt of a dagger stuck in his skull. With flailing hands, he grappled me and we toppled together like a felled tree.

  Stunned, I struggled under the crush of his dead weight.

  "Blossom!" Between one impossible breath and the next, the weight pinning me down vanished. "Are you well?"

  I raised a shaky hand to his cheek. "Fine." I looked from the emotion in his eyes to the fallen barbarian and what do you know . . . I got a rush of the warm and tinglies. Galan helped me to my feet and then stomped on the body to yank his dagger free. And wasn't I just the proudest girlfriend around. "Let's go find your sister."

  Cowboy met us on the fly, the amber eyes of his wolf glowing bright and reflective. "Reign and his team secured the entrance. We're headin' in. Scouting shows four dissecting tunnels leadin' away from the main courtyard. Join your teams and activate your comms."

  High pitched beeps chirped as Talon touched their earpieces and lowered the mics. Galan broke off with Rue and his men in the first tunnel. Savage signaled Tham and his team straight along the corridor. Sin, Lexi and a few others took the hard veer to the left and Bruin, Aust and I moved with our group along the winding left passage.

  We raced down the damp, stone corridor, following the dim glow of lantern light. No. It wasn't lantern light. It was the flicker of dying Lightning Sprights trapped in glass prisons. Sick. The corridor seemed endless. There was no way we could unlock every latch and set them free.

  Trying not to hear the pitiful whimpers coming from the Sprights I caught up with my group. Bruin paused every few hundred feet to check for activity. Nothing. No movement. No sounds. No scents that might hint at where they were keeping Lia. We pushed on, deeper into the bowels of Scourge central. The reports coming over the comms were the same.

  Where is she?

  The thundering crack of stone exploding had me spinning. Directly behind me, where I had stood just a second ago, the tunnel crumbled away to rubble. A blue energy bolt lit the tunnel and then Samuel staggered through the jagged opening. He coughed on rock dust, hunched over something in his arms—no, someone. I saw the blood drenched, silver locks and I knew. Lia. Gods, she didn't look good.

  Bruin's voice rang in stereo from behind me and from my earpiece. "Target acquired. Left passage. Pull back!"

  "Jade. Hurry." Samuel looked down at the bloody mess which was Galan's baby sister. "We need to be free of the tunnels to Flash."

  "Haul ass, people," Bruin said. "I've got point."

  Fighting broke out over the comm while we made our way back to the main corridor. At least one of the other teams had been intercepted. Gods protect him.

  When we got back to the main passageway Rue came barreling into us with Galan and his squad close behind. Galan was bloody, but gloriously alive. In the cramped, bottlenecked opening of the cavern his head snapped toward me—and then on Samuel holding his sister.

  Galan charged. Bruin and Rue saw what was coming and lunged to catch him around the waist. Galan's bloodied dagger swiped the air, the arc falling just short of Samuel.

  "You putrid bastard," he snarled. "You backstabbing son-of-a-Scourge-whore." He reached for Lia, struggling against the strength of Bruin and Rue. "Give her to me or I shall run you through, as you did Jade."

  "Galan stop," I said. "Galan, look at me." Up in his grille, I was stunned by the feral look he was throwing off. "Let's get Lia home. Be angry later."

  Galan's stare hardened and simmered. I knew that look. Betrayal. He thought I was choosing sides. I opened my mouth to explain, but was knocked sideways into the stone of the tunnel wall. Chaos erupted and a dozen Scourge charged through the mouth of the tunnel.

  They all zeroed in on Lia.

  With my head ringing and white spots dancing behind my eyes, I staggered to my feet. All four teams were back and cutting Samuel a path toward the exit. The hilt of a sword blindsided Aust and a hell-bolt caught Rue in the chest. As the two of them were knocked on their asses a mass of bodies, ours and theirs, hurtled to follow.

  "Jade, go!" Galan bellowed, diving in to help Aust. "Save her!"

  The moment the night air hit our faces I slid my hand around Samuel's bicep and he Flashed Lia and me to the clinic in the castle. Her skin was caked with blood and dirt, her skirting hung heavy and torn. I tunnelled beneath the layers of sheer fabric and examined her fast and furious.

  "She seems fine. Whose blood is this?"

  "Some mine. Some Scourge. It wasna as smooth a rescue as we'd hoped. How is she?"

  "Not sure yet." I looked down the table, scanning Samuel. "How badly are you hurt?"

  "Oh, I'm peachy," Samuel deadpanned. "Are ye good? I wanna get back."

  "Iadon and Nyssa are in the lounge. Can you Flash them here in case I need a hand?"

  "Aye." He nodded, but hesitated. "Jade, about what happened . . . I am sorry. Whatever happens, I want ye clear on that."

  His eyes were burning with emotion and my gut was twisted in knots. "I am so going to kick your ass for stabbing me. You should have told me."

  "Sorry."

  "I'll consider forgiving you . . . if you bring everyone home." I tilted my head from side to side and amended that. "And after I take you out and kick your ass."

  He wiped his brow, smearing blood across his grin. "Done. I'll be
back."

  Iadon and Nyssa appeared in my clinic within seconds. After setting Ella's carrier on one of the two recovery beds in the corner, they rushed to my side.

  "Gods." Iadon gasped. "She looks so. . . How can we help?"

  "She needs fluids. Iadon, behind that door is a cabinet. Grab me two of the bags with clear liquid and blue writing."

  Nyssa and I stripped away Lia's clothes and rolled her over. Other than the filth of her hands and face, her skin was beautifully unmarred. No bruising. No sign of trauma of any kind. She was wearing an ornate silver ring with a Princess cut, blue diamond the size of a postage stamp and even her fingernails were unbroken. I accessed my gift and assessed her physical health. She was aces on that front, but—

  "Jade? What is it?" Nyssa's sharp gaze locked on mine.

  "No memories." I adjusted my palms against her warm skin. "I'm connected with her and I'm getting nothing."

  "What does that mean?"

  "I have no idea."

  The exam was textbook, no indication Lia had been abused. I had no idea about Highborne physiology, but maybe Abaddon and his men really did consider her the royal heir and had treated her accordingly. Why wasn't she giving off any shimmer of memories? Why wasn't she waking up? She will. She has to. If she didn't—if something was done to her—

  Gods, where was Galan?

  I shook my head. Any minute, he was going to Flash in, kiss his sister and her eyes would open. I'd seen enough Disney specials to know how the happily ever after shit was supposed to go. I tapped my headset. Nothing. I chucked the thing across the clinic floor. I must have lost my connection to the teams when I got knocked in the tunnels.

  What if he doesn't make it back? I banished the thought.

  Nyssa brought a small stack of towels and washcloths from the closet as Iadon retrieved the IV pole and I hung the saline. The three of us worked in busy silence and waited. Waited for the others to return. Waited for Lia to stir . . . even just a little.

  Nyssa filled a basin and washed the blood and grime from Lia's hair and off her face and hands. When she was gowned, Iadon carried her to a recovery bed and tucked her under a quilt. Bruin and Samuel Flashed Galan and the others into the clinic. Lexi cradled her wrist, Aust's head was gushing and he was leaning heavily on a battered Tham, but they were alive.

  Galan's bow and quiver clattered to the floor as he bolted to the bed. Throwing himself over his sister he stroked damp hair away from her face. "Tell me, Blossom. Is she well?"

  "I'm hoping she'll be up and braiding flowers in your hair in no time."

  The group chuckled. Galan didn't. "Hoping? Have they . . . did they . . . hurt her?"

  I looked him square in his beautiful blues. "I don't know. I examined her. She seems fine. My concern is this." I indicated two small puncture marks on the side of her neck. "It looks like she was injected with something, but I can't find anything in her system." I rubbed my hand across his back. "We'll know more when she wakes up."

  "Uh, Girlfriend? I hate to break up the family reunion but Merlin isn't looking so hot."

  I followed Lexi's gaze to where Samuel had braced himself against my herb table. Barely. He was bone white, the sheen of sweat glistening on his face. As I bolted around the table his eyes rolled back and he sank like a stone. "He's burning up." I pulled his duster open and pressed my fingers to his neck.

  Bruin dropped to his knees and ripped away the sopping T-shirt. "What is it? Venom? Spell?" Bruin's claws extended past his nail beds and he sliced up the length of Samuel's jeans.

  It hit me then. When I asked about the blood Samuel said, 'Some mine. Some Scourge.' "He was hurt getting Lia away from her captors. I forgot. Shit, his entire system is shutting down. What the hell is it with men ignoring poisonous wounds?"

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  By the way the light was hitting my face and my stomach was grumbling, I knew it was early afternoon when I began to wake. Galan was there. I could feel him even without opening my eyes; imagine him clearly in my mind’s eye. His angelic face lighting up when he realized I was awake. How he'd stalk toward me in his graceful prowl and then trace the line of my cheek with softest of touches. I sighed and stretched, excitement fluttering in my chest.

  What would happen now that Lia was home? Once she woke up and Galan helped her through whatever had happened to her, he and I would be free to enjoy our new lives together.

  My stomach rumbled again, interrupting my daydreams and telling my post-healing session body to wake the hell up. There he was. I smiled, watching Galan pad around the clinic, meticulously straightening my remedy bottles and crocks, lining the labels up to face front. Once he adjusted them and then re-adjusted them, he scrubbed his fingers through his disheveled silver hair and paced toward the kitchen mumbling wordlessly to himself. Gods he looked awful.

  "Did she rouse at all in the night?" I croaked, my morning voice in full force.

  He shook his head and stepped over to the small bar fridge. "No, though, neither did you." After pouring me a glass of pineapple juice he brought it to the second recovery bed where I'd crashed last night. "You sleep like the dead after a healing. It is unnerving."

  The thought of the healing last night brought Samuel to my mind. I was reeling over what I'd learned while stabilizing him. All the missing pieces had finally fallen into place, but I'd had Lexi, Aust and Tham to fix up, so couldn't talk to anyone about it.

  Galan rubbed the back of his neck and stretched from side to side. He seemed stiff, probably the result of fighting yesterday followed by sleeping in a chair beside his sister all night. My imagination fired up again with images of giving him a full body massage.

  I sipped at the juice, letting the icy sweetness wash down my throat. The bags under his eyes were an alarming purple against his alabaster skin. "Did you get any rest?"

  He shrugged, looking toward Lia lying in the other bed. "I watched her for hours, wondering if she truly lived. She never stirred. It is eerie how still she has been."

  I eased myself up against the headboard and set my glass on the side table. "Why don't you take a ten-minute break and wash up? I'll sit with her."

  He shook his head, dragging his chair between the two beds so he could be with both of us. I reached to cover his free hand, but he slid it away to adjust Lia's quilt. His mood hadn't registered at first, but his face was grave. "Galan? Look at me." He studied the appliqué on the quilt and ran his palms up and down his thighs. My heart accelerated. "Galan? What is it?"

  When he finally raised his head, I studied his face. His mask was in place, numb blankness covering a deliberate calm. A sickening wave of nausea threatened to swamp me and I kicked out of the covers.

  "I have been sitting here for hours," he whispered, "watching Lia . . . revisiting the battle of yesterday." His jaw twitched and he gave me a stern look. "Through no fault of your own I am forced to admit I am simply not a good match for you."

  "What? What are you—"

  "You are a warrior." He spoke the words slowly and precisely, watching as I absorbed what he said. "I believed I could accept that in you. Verily, I did try. Yet seeing you yesterday, charge into danger—" He shook his head. "Cowardly as it is, I need my female safe. What if the Scourge took you or killed you? What if they left you in the same lifeless state as Lia? I could not bear losing both of you."

  "So, you're dumping me instead? That's insane." The words exploded out of me. "Yes, I'm a Talon enforcer, but I train like a machine. I'm surrounded by skilled warriors. They're bigger and stronger than I am and would give their lives for me."

  "I am aware of that." He absently picked at a loose thread and nodded. "I come from a different world. Highbornes live and love. We do not train to battle and kill. If it were not for the recovery of Lia, we would never have taken part in an offensive."

  "Your world is changing, Galan. Pacifism doesn't—"

  "I am aware of that as well. Yet, Lia is home now. I must be true to myself, to her."

  "S
o, fine. No one says you have to fight."

  He shook his head as if I was missing something. "You are going to continue with the Talon and seeking those who killed your parents?"

  "Fucking right I am."

  "And if I asked you to give up that quest, to stay on the mountain and dedicate yourself to your teachings and your healing, would you . . . could you do that for me?"

  My lips were numb, along with the rest of me. I stared at him, my heart pounding in my throat. I couldn't think in a straight line. "You're asking me to give up avenging my parents?"

  "I ask if you could allow the past to stay in the past and look to the future."

  "I . . . I can't do that. My mother was violated, Galan. Those men need to pay."

  His eyes grew shiny as he nodded. "In that case, it would be best if I focus solely on Lia's recovery and building a new life for the two of us. The added complication of—"

  "Complication?" The cold chill creeping across my skin was washed away by the heat of hellfire. "Now I'm a complication? Bullshit. You sat up all night worrying about your sister and convinced yourself the world should be safe and simple and sweet. News-fucking-flash, Galan, it's not. It's messy and cruel and you have to grab happiness wherever and whenever you can."

  "I disagree."

  "Well give it time, Highborne. You're new to this world."

  He shook his head, his voice soft and weak. "Lives are what we choose to make of them."

  He refused to look at me, but made a quick swipe at his cheeks. I took a breath and edged toward the end of the bed. "Your mind is made up, then?"

  "It is."

  My ears roared in my head as the room phased in and out of clarity. "Fine. You park your ass and focus on Lia. Tell yourself you're happy until you realize you're old and lonely and a total fucking idiot. Then, you'll see what a colossal mistake you made today."