Of Flame and Promise

by Cecy Robson

I released her hair, focusing on the splash of freckles along the bridge of her nose. Emme was almost twenty-three, but her gentle disposition made her seem and look younger. I never had her innocence, like, ever. If she wasn’t my sister, I doubt she’d hang out with the likes of me. But she was, and she did. And I knew I was blessed because of it.

  “Yeah. I have stuff to do,” I answered, inching away from her.

  In all actuality, I meant to talk with her and Shayna, and get some insight on what to do about Gemini. But Liam had this thing: Hunting made him horny. He bounced off the walls whenever he returned from a mission, and then quickly bounced along with Emme between the sheets. His beast, so riled from chasing prey, usually alternated between bringing home bucks and banging Emme. It didn’t take a genius to see my youngest sister preferred the latter. And seeing how Shayna and Koda were newly married, they were all about the banging, too.

  Shayna fiddled at the center island, using her ability to manipulate metal to sharpen a knife and cut into a chunk of meat the size of a toddler. She dropped the piece into a broiler pan, her long black ponytail swinging as she quickly seasoned it. But when she tried to heft the sucker in her arms, she almost dropped it.

  Koda easily lifted the pan from her grasp and crossed the kitchen to place it into the oven. “Thanks, puppy,” she told him, lighting up the room with her grin. She skipped, I kid you not, right into his arms. I may have been all attitude, but Shayna was all perk and pep, “woo-hooing” her way right into the big brute’s heart.

  Speaking of hearts…there was one the size of my skull on a serving plate. What the—? My eyes skimmed along our granite countertops. Butchered meat topped every casserole dish and pot we owned. A leg here, an organ there. It was like a twisted episode of CSI.

  Shayna turned to me and forced a smile. “We’re having bear for dinner tonight,” she explained.

  My lips slowly parted as I turned back to Liam. “You’re welcome,” he said with a grin.

  What do you say to that? Seriously? I edged away from a bowl overflowing with insides.

  “Something wrong, T?” Shayna asked me.

  “Besides the carnage?” I asked. I tried not to gag, but the row of intestines shining beside me on a silver platter shot that attempt to hell. I shuddered. “I was going to ask you about something”—crap, that liver poking through our Crock-Pot was the size of my thigh—“but I don’t want to interfere with all this foodie stuff you have going on, so I’ll take a ride over to see Celia.”

  “You’re going to see the leeches,” Koda said.

  He wasn’t happy. Wow, now there was a big ol’ shock coming from the guy who probably flossed his fangs with wire. I crossed my arms. “I’m going to see my sister. You remember Celia? She used to live here before your pussy werewolf Alpha dumped her.”

  Koda’s tumultuous dark eyes squared on mine. “Don’t call him that.”

  “You mean a pussy?” I liked Koda. Truly I did. He treated Shayna like a precious stone. That said, he couldn’t be mad at the vamps or at Celia for shacking up with them. Aric didn’t leave her with much of a choice after he left, did he?

  “T, knock it off,” Shayna said. She left his arms and led me out of the kitchen, far from her walking building of a husband. She didn’t want us to fight. But Koda didn’t scare me.

  Much.

  Okay. In all fairness he scared everyone but Shayna.

  Emme slipped from the barstool and quickly followed.

  “What’s wrong, dude?” Shayna asked, her blue irises appearing to see right through me. “You seem off.”

  I was, but I couldn’t tell them about Gemini just then. So I switched gears. “Did you hear about those humans who were found dead?”

  Shayna nodded, causing her long black ponytail to bop behind her. “Yup. Koda says they’re fresh kills. He and Liam are going to lead a team after dinner if the pack currently scouting doesn’t find something first.” She considered me, her pixie face riddled with concern. “Is that all?”

  I shrugged. “Isn’t that enough?”

  “Well, yes, but…” She considered me. “What’s bugging you, T? For reals?”

  I must have looked worse than I thought. “Nothing that can’t wait.” I pretended to glance at the hall clock. “I have to run. I’ll talk to you two later.”

  I shrugged into my coat and grabbed my keys from the small table, then walked outside and onto our front porch. Shayna and Emme followed, catching up to me at the bottom of the steps. Emme clasped my hand. “Is this about Gemini?” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “I don’t mean to pry, but he seemed upset when he left.”

  My attention shifted in the direction of Lake Tahoe when the breeze carried traces of its magic to brush against my cheek. I meant to insist nothing was up, but I waited too long to answer.

  “Liam and I aren’t doing that great, either,” she admitted.

  “What?” both Shayna and I said.

  Shayna reached for her hand. “But-but, he’s, like, totally into you. And aside from the”—forcing a swallow—“bagging-the-bear thingy, he’s barely left your side.”

  Emme focused hard on her feet, even though there was nothing there. “Don’t get me wrong. He’s good to me, and he loves me—I know he does.” She lifted her gaze, her attention alternating between me and Shayna. “But it’s not the same way your wolves love you. I can see it. And I’m starting to feel it.”

  “Then he doesn’t know what he has,” I told her. I gathered Emme in a warm hug, hating how sad she seemed. Liam adored her. That much was obvious. But I understood what she meant. As much as he showered her with affection, it was different from the way Koda practically worshipped Shayna…and yeah, maybe how Gemini treated me, too.

  Jesus. What was I going to do about my wolf?

  I released her then, unsure what to say to offer her comfort. Fortunately, Shayna’s peppy inner cheerleader always had something positive to shake her pom-poms at. “Em, Liam’s already talking about Christmas and Valentine’s Day and next summer. Doesn’t that say he’s thinking about forever with you?”

  “It’s not that his love is dwindling, or that he isn’t committed.” Emme shook her head. “It’s more like his love can’t go any further than what it is, if that makes sense.”

  Shayna crinkled her brow, unable to understand. But she was very much spinning in postmarital bliss. It was all frolicking kittens and humping ponies as far as she was concerned. “I know he loves you,” she insisted.

  True. But sometimes it wasn’t enough.

  Something in my features must have given me away. Both exchanged glances before returning their full attention to me.

  “T, what is it?” Shayna asked. “You look seconds from losing it.”

  I forced down my worry and plastered a phony grin on my face. “Nothing that can’t wait,” I answered again. “Right now, you need to get back to your woolly mammoth, and you, Miss Emme, need to go back to story time.”

  Shayna laughed at Emme’s grimace. I guessed Emme was hoping I’d save her from more of Liam’s riveting tales of disembowelment and decapitation.

  I kept my grin in place, reaching to play with her hair again. “He loves you, baby girl. He really does,” I said.

  “Thanks, Taran.” A glimmer of hope lit up her eyes. I always told it to her straight, so maybe the words meant more coming from me. But when her hands squeezed mine, I knew I wasn’t completely off the hook. “Are you sure nothing’s wrong? You seem so disheartened.”

  I lifted my chin, working to hang on to my smile. “Positive. I just need some Celia time. It’s not the same around here without her.”

  “No, it’s not,” both Emme and Shayna agreed.

  Emme pushed a strand of her blond hair behind her ear. “Will you be back for dinner? Maybe we can talk more then.”

  I thought about the remains of the autopsy scattered around the kitchen. “Sure. Wouldn’t miss it,” I bit out.

  Before they could say anything more, I strutted down our walk an
d into the driveway, thinking I could make a quick and uneventful exit.

  “Taran Wird! Must you dress like the devil’s slut?”

  I thought wrong.

  Mrs. Mancuso was hands down the worst neighbor in history, and the biggest pain in the ass in support hose. The cold breeze sweeping in from the lake flapped her neck skin like a sail, but the chill it brought had nothing on her stare. My nips could have snapped clear off from the coldness darkening her beady eyes. I took a few deliberate steps in her direction, only to have Emme clasp my arm and pull me back. “Taran,” my sister pleaded. “For once, just count to ten and ignore her.”

  I considered Emme’s plea. For about two-point-five seconds, until Mancuso trained her glare on Shayna when Shayna offered a friendly grin and a wave. “What’s your problem?” I asked the old hag. Seriously, Shayna was just being nice. “Did you wake up on the wrong side of the crypt this morning?”

  Her beady eyes narrowed. “No. I just live next to harlots,” she answered.

  Here’s the thing: Say what you want about me, but don’t mess with those I love. “Zip it, you old coot!” I shot back. “Don’t you have Snow White to poison?”

  Emme groaned as Mancuso abandoned the broom she was using to sweep her walkway and edged to her property line. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t kick your skinny ass,” she challenged.

  I threw out a hand. “Um, I don’t know. Maybe ’cause you’d trip over your neck skin, break a hip, and lose your dentures?”

  Shayna leapt in front of me. “She’s just kidding, Mrs. M.” Shayna always tried to keep the peace, but her comment only earned her a stiff middle finger in addition to the one Mrs. Mancuso was already waving at me. If she could have managed, she probably would have flipped Emme off with her toes. There was evil, and then there was Mrs. Mancuso. Most demons wouldn’t have stood a chance against this walking ad for adult diapers.

  I watched her walk away, probably in search of puppies to kick, her middle fingers still high in the air. What had I ever done to deserve Mancuso?

  Emme shook her head. “You weren’t very nice to her.”

  To which I frowned and answered, “She started it.” Hey, I was all kinds of mature.

  Emme sighed. “Now, Taran, you know if anything ever happened to her, you would feel terrible.”

  I thought about it. “Nope. Not even a little bit.” I kissed her cheek, then Shayna’s, before slipping into my sedan and starting the engine with a roar.

  Shayna tapped on the glass. “Be careful, T. Koda says there’s suspected demon activity in the area. We might have made a huge dent in the population, but those Tribe members who survived are still out there. Stay sharp, and stay close.” Her bright eyes dulled. “I don’t want them to get you, too….”

  Chapter 4

  My Subaru Legacy drove up the mile-long road that led to Misha’s compound, rolling to a stop in front of the tall metal gates that opened onto his estate. Stone walls lined the exterior, with gargoyle heads sprouting every few feet. High-tech cameras were placed within the creepy critters’ gaping maws. After losing so many vamps in his keep, Misha wanted to see all, know all. He also wanted to harness the perfect weapon.

  And that weapon was Celia.

  A vamp materialized from nowhere. Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. Vampires can’t vanish and reappear; it’s more like they’re outrageously sneaky. But his movements were so quick, so silent, it was like he was just suddenly there.

  He smiled at me through my passenger-side window. I smiled back but kept my guard up. “Good afternoon, miss,” he whispered with as much sex in his tone as found in most pornos. “Are you here to see Master Aleksandr?”

  “No. I’m here to see Celia Wird.”

  “In that case…” I didn’t see him reach in and flick the locks, his movements too fast to register. He flung open the door, reaching for me.

  The air sizzled as bolts of blue and white lightning shot from my fingertips and into the vamp, sending him soaring. I stepped out of the car and cracked my knuckles, feeding off the energetic boost my power gave me.

  Fang boy flapped, crackled, and smoked against the asphalt. I held back only because he belonged to Misha. Had he been an unknown vamp, the only thing left would have been a pile of ash.

  I didn’t appreciate him trying to take a bite, or attempting to use his hypnotic crap on me. Had I been human, I would have been easy prey, a thought that only riled my anger.

  The vamp’s stupor was short-lived. He leapt to his feet, bounding forward. Okay, fricasseed vamp it is. My vision sharpened and my hands trembled with energy. I lifted them, aimed, and—

  Another vamp catapulted over the gate, sweeping up the vamp charging me by the throat, his sharp nails puncturing through the skin. Tim, one of Misha’s bodyguards, had arrived.

  Tim held the vamp about two feet off the ground. “You fool,” he hissed. “This is Celia’s sister.” Blood seeped from the corners of the vamp’s mouth as he spoke. “She’s under the master’s protection and not to be touched.”

  Thing was, despite how vulnerable Gemini had left me, I didn’t want to be protected or coddled then. “Put him down, Tim.” I flashed him a wicked smile. “I’m having a bad day. Wouldn’t mind relieving some of that stress, you feel me?”

  Tim dropped him like a stone and kicked him about thirty feet away, stepping in front of me when I stomped forward. “Let it go, Taran. He’s new. It won’t happen again.”

  “Spoilsport,” I said with a sarcastic pout.

  That earned me a sexy grin. “Sorry to ruin your fun,” Tim said, circling. He eyed me from my fluffy hair to my high-heeled boots. “Nice. Real nice. You still seeing that mutt?”

  I leaned in and tapped his chin with my fingertip. “Be nice when you talk about my wolf, Tim, or I’ll tell Misha you insulted me.”

  Tim’s face paled even though I was kidding. When it came down to it, all the vamps in Misha’s keep adored him. He was their master and the world seemed to halt at the very sight of his godlike presence. All worshipping aside, they were scared senseless of him. I couldn’t blame them. Even long before Celia inadvertently returned his soul, Misha’s power stroked my skin like a warm and dangerous caress.

  Tim cleared his throat. “Maybe we should head inside. I’m sure your lovely sister can’t wait to see you.”

  Lovely sister? I rolled my eyes, knowing what he and the other vamps really thought of Celia. “Yes. I think that would be best.”

  I slid back into my car, but paused when a flapping sound stirred my senses. I jerked my head to the left, where a thick patch of trees stretched along the opposite side of the road. “Did you hear that?” I asked Tim.

  Tim clenched his fists. “Yeah. I did.”

  One vamp, two vamps, three vamps, four. They leapt over the stone wall like a bunch of frogs with fangs. He lifted his chin and as simply as that, they were off. “They’ll check the premises. Let’s get you inside the compound.”

  “I can help.” My voice was oddly vacant. For all I meant that I’d follow the vamps through those dark trees, it didn’t mean I wasn’t scared.

  Tim shook his head, but his attention remained further ahead. “The master remains your protector. Nothing is supposed to happen to you, especially on his land. Get inside. They’ll report back.”

  He shut the car door at the same time the gates began to part. I drove through, a familiar unease raking down my spine like the point of a dagger. Tim took off in a slow jog that turned into a blur of speed. Despite the designer dress shoes he wore, he barely made a sound as his feet struck against the blue slate double-wide driveway.

  The moment I cut the engine and unlocked the door, Tim was opening it for me. He motioned toward the main doors. “I’ll give you an update as soon as I have one. In the meantime, Celia’s in the kitchen eating lunch with the master.”

  Although I was unnerved by what waited just outside vamp camp, I stopped and gawked at him. “Damn, Tim. Are you serious? He’s sucking someone dry w
hile she’s nibbling on a sandwich?”

  Tim laughed despite the tension stiffening his shoulders. “No, hot stuff. He doesn’t feed in front of her. Besides, you know we only take about a pint.”

  I shuddered. I was a nurse by trade and could handle blood, but that didn’t mean I wanted to drink it. I hopped up the steps to the main doors. Two more vamps appeared and opened them for me, permitting me access into a massive foyer with a cathedral-style timbered ceiling. They gave me the once-over, flashing a little fang with their grins. I groaned. Although it had been a few weeks, I still couldn’t get used to the fact that my sister was shacked up with a master vampire.

  The heels of my tall boots stomped against the blocks of bluestone that made up the floor. A few vamps loitered with their meals, laughing with and teasing their enamored humans. A particularly leggy blonde watched her vamp with lustful eyes, hungry for that orgasmic rush the feed would bring her. I didn’t see the point—at least not from her perspective. She would be influenced to forget the experience, and the supernatural world along with it.

  Personally, I preferred to remember my toe-curling orgasms.

  The vamp lengthened his fangs, stroking the blonde’s jugular while his stare lifted to meet mine as I neared. “Hey, Taran,” Hank said. “You look—”

  I batted my hand. “Yeah, yeah, good enough to eat. Save it for someone you can actually snack on.”

  I flounced past him and down the hall that led into the enormous French-inspired kitchen, stopping in the arched entryway. Just as Tim had said, there was Celia. I removed my coat and tugged on the hem of my sweaterdress. The scoop neck fell just above the swells of my breasts.

  My ensemble was sexy, and like most of my clothes, fashionable. But it didn’t matter. At least, not to Misha.

  Celia sat crossed-legged on a chair like a little kid, wearing her usual tank top and shin-length yoga pants. No makeup. No cute clothes. And long, wavy hair wrangled into a messy ponytail.

  Yet she held the hottest guy with fangs completely captivated. I smiled to myself. Celia was beautiful without even trying. Maybe it was her palpable strength or her kind heart. Or maybe it was simply the way her smile reached her green eyes despite the sadness that hovered beneath the surface.