“I don’t want my wife and kids to know about . . . about . . . all of this,” Daniel growled, throwing out his arms to encompass both Barrett and myself. “They don’t need to know about this world if it can be helped.”
“They won’t know,” I quickly said. “Barrett and I have ways of helping. Your wife and daughters will have nothing to worry about, whether it be money or protection from the Daylight Coalition.”
“That’s all I care about,” Daniel said with a slight huff as he pushed out of his chair, followed a moment later by Barrett. “If you don’t mind, I need to get home to my wife and girls. I’d like to spend a little time with them before I leave town.”
“I understand,” I said, showing them to the front door.
“I will keep you updated on any information Daniel sends to me,” Barrett offered as I pulled the door open.
I nodded, my hand tightly clenching the doorknob. This was my last chance. Daniel was going to walk out and disappear within the Daylight Coalition in Atlanta. I could stop it all right now with the right suggestion, a brilliant idea that would keep him from sinking even deeper into our world. But I said nothing as both men left. I shut the door then and stood facing it, staring out the glass front. I didn’t see them chatting, making plans, as they descended the stone steps. There were only my own swirling thoughts.
Danaus came up behind me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, squeezing lightly. “He’ll be fine,” the hunter said, but I didn’t hear his usual conviction embedded in those words. Neither of us thought Daniel was going to be fine. He was willingly walking into the devil’s lair because we were desperate.
“I hate this,” I said one last time, letting my eyes fall shut, because there was nothing else I could do that wouldn’t risk his life more than we already were.
Seven
My only warning was a surge of power filling the air in the narrow hallway. Flaring out my own powers, I twisted around in time to see Jabari pop into existence behind Danaus. The dark-skinned nightwalker grabbed a fistful of the hunter’s thick hair and jerked him backward, holding him close with his neck exposed.
“It’s good to see you, my Mira,” Jabari growled. I lurched forward, grabbing for Danaus, as I felt the rise of power, but came up with only empty air and fell flat on my stomach on the hardwood floor as Jabari and Danaus both disappeared. They were gone. Panic filled me as I searched my brain for a way to quickly reach the hunter when the two finally reappeared.
Backyard, Danaus whispered in my brain a second later, sending a wave of relief through my frame. I had expected the Ancient to drag Danaus back to Venice and the Main Hall of the coven. Unfortunately, that relief was short-lived, as I sensed a sharp stab of pain slice through Danaus.
Clenching my teeth in rage, I pushed off the floor and flew through the house, weaving through the rooms and past furniture until I busted out the back door in an explosion of wood and glass. Nothing would keep me from Danaus, particularly when he was in the hands of one of my enemies.
Jabari stood behind Danaus, toward the back of the yard under a large tree, almost hidden within the thick shadows. Yet, the moonlight still danced on the bloody tip of the blade that protruded from the hunter’s stomach. Jabari kept one hand on his muscular shoulder, holding him in place.
“Release him,” I ordered, my voice cracking like a whip.
“As you wish,” he hissed, an evil grin spreading across his thin face. He pushed Danaus forward so that he slid off the sword the nightwalker had plunged through his body. As Danaus staggered forward a couple steps, Jabari raised the blade with the intention of chopping off his head.
Tapping into the energy swirling about me, I located the powers that emanated from Jabari and wrapped them around my fist. With every muscle clenched in my body, I held tight, forcing Jabari to stay his blade. The Ancient fought me, inching the blade slowly closer to Danaus, but the hunter stumbled from the nightwalker’s immediate reach as he clutched his wounded stomach.
Nick had given me the ability to sense the powers of others and ordered that I learn to control my two previous puppet masters. During my last visit to Venice, I had used Jabari’s powers to kill our mutual enemy, Macaire. Since then I’d been waiting for Jabari to strike back at me. He couldn’t afford to leave alive someone who could control him. It went without saying that I felt a certain amount of justice and satisfaction in being able to control him after centuries of being his plaything. Unfortunately, I wasn’t nearly as good at it as he was.
A low roar rumbled from his chest as he finally broke free of my hold, pushing my energy back at me with enough force that I hit the back of the house. He glared at me, his arms hanging limp at his sides in exhaustion, while I pushed away from the house and stepped into the yard. Danaus stood off to the side, a hand on his stomach to stanch the bleeding, a knife clenched in the other hand.
Lifting one hand, I summoned up a fireball. “It took you almost four months?” I mocked. “I really expected you sooner.”
Jabari stood relaxed before me with his hands clasped behind his back. “Considering that you were successful in destroying Macaire in a rather exquisite display of power and violence, I thought I would give you a slight reprieve. A chance to revel in your brief triumph.”
“Yes, I forgot to thank you for the minor assistance you provided.” I edged a few feet deeper into the yard, closing the distance between us as I attempted to put myself between him and Danaus. “It certainly made Macaire’s demise more entertaining.”
“Minor assistance!” Jabari bellowed, his temper finally snapping. “You would never have survived a minute alone with Macaire if you had not learned a new trick.”
I chuckled, moving my fingers through the flames. “And that’s why you paused instead of killing me immediately. You had to know where I learned my new trick. Couldn’t figure it out, could you?”
“I’m not concerned. You’ll be screaming it to me before I finally kill you.” He raised his hand and I felt pressure building until the fire that hovered above my right hand was extinguished. At the same time, the Ancient pulled a long, wicked-looking knife from his belt and threw it at Danaus. The hunter lunged out of the way, but the blade still embedded itself in his shoulder, rather than his chest.
“Danaus, get out of here,” I snarled as I pushed back against the power filling my body.
“I’m not leaving you!”
“He’s using you as a distraction! You’re going to get me killed.”
“I’m ending this,” Danaus growled, pulling the knife out of his shoulder. Extending his right hand toward Jabari, I felt a wash of the hunter’s powers brush past me as he summoned up his special gift. He was preparing to boil Jabari’s blood, ending this stalemate once and for all.
A scream was ripped from my body as Jabari threw more of his powers into me. I tried to grab hold of them and push them out, but there was too much pouring in. The Ancient was too old, too strong. I was still learning how to use my new abilities. I wasn’t ready to stand against this monster. I had succeeded against Macaire only because I had both Danaus and Jabari working with me.
“Trust me, hunter,” Jabari said in a strained voice. “I’ll destroy her before you can kill me.”
Danaus immediately dropped his hand, allowing his powers to flow away with an errant breeze. My own screaming stopped a second later as Jabari eased back on some of the power flowing through me. Pain radiated through my entire body, and I knew that the Ancient no longer needed me alive.
“Come now, Jabari,” I choked out. “Are you sure you’re done using me? Don’t you want to go after Our Liege next?”
A fresh surge of energy pushed through my limbs, sending my arms straight out into the air as if I were being crucified. It was one of Jabari’s favorite positions, because it left me helpless.
“I have run out of uses for you, my desert blossom,” he replied sweetly. “It’s time you joined the others that I tried to make to replace you. Time for you to die, b
ut first I’ll allow you to watch the painful death of your companion.”
With a grunt, I gathered my energy and pushed against Jabari’s powers, forcing my arms to lower back to my sides. I would not be controlled by this bastard any longer, and I wasn’t about to allow him to lay a finger on Danaus.
As Jabari reached down and picked up the blade Danaus had pulled from his body, I grabbed his powers once again. Using the Ancient’s psychokinesis, I threw him across the yard until he slammed into the brick wall that fenced in the tiny area. I stepped into the yard then, slowly approaching Danaus. The hunter was holding a dagger in one hand and looking more than a little confused. He wasn’t sure how to strike when Jabari could so easily rip me apart with his own powers.
“Should we take a chance with Gaizka?” I asked, mentioning the bori that owned part of Danaus’s soul.
“Combine our powers?” Danaus said, his lip curling with distaste. “We can’t risk setting him free again.”
“Then get out of here and let me handle Jabari.”
“I’m not leaving you alone with him,” Danaus declared, his fist tightening around the knife. “I can try boiling his blood again while you attack.”
“You’re a liability. A weakness that Jabari can exploit. Go now!”
“Too late,” Jabari snarled. At the same time, a dagger flashed through the moonlight and embedded itself in Danaus’s chest, sending the hunter sprawling backward under the force of the blow. I twisted around for a second to look down at Danaus to see if the blade had struck his heart, but I didn’t have a chance to see anything before Jabari grabbed me with his powers and flung me back across the yard. I slammed into the side of the brick house, causing some of the bricks to crack and crumble under my weight before I slid down the wall to the ground again.
With a scream of frustration, I pushed to my feet and conjured up several balls of fire that circled me while two more hovered above my hands. I waited for Jabari to take a step out of the darkness so I would have a clear shot. I was going to burn the nightwalker to a cinder if it took every ounce of energy I had. My effort produced flickering lights that filled the dark backyard, making the shadows thrown by the large oak trees lunge and sway. Meanwhile, I did what I could to cloak the fight from the view of my neighbors, but with Jabari throwing me around, my concentration had been broken. If I survived the night, I would have to make sure there weren’t any memories that needed to be adjusted. We had to protect the secret at all times, even if Jabari was the one picking a fight in the middle of a city.
As the Ancient stepped forward, he raised his hand toward me, sending a painful wave of energy out and into my body. A low whimper escaped me as I fought to keep the flames from going out. But one by one the balls of fire that circled around my frame flickered and then were extinguished with a puff of gray smoke. Clenching my fists and gritting my teeth, I strained, holding onto the ones that hovered above my raised hands. I would not allow Jabari to steal this from me. I was the Fire Starter, and I would fry his sorry ass if it was the last thing I did that night.
Gathering what strength I had left, I pushed back at him, trying to force his powers out of my body without losing my focus on the flames that I still had flickering in the darkness. Unfortunately, I was growing tired and Danaus was not moving on the ground. I was slowly losing this battle. If I didn’t finish Jabari off now, I knew that he would have both Danaus and me.
“This is becoming monotonous, Mira.” The new voice sent a chill up my spine. Apparently, Nick, my dear father was still watching over his daughter. Or at the very least, he still needed me alive, which was more than what Jabari expected or wanted.
“Now isn’t exactly the best time, Nick,” I bit out, trying not to let my focus stray from Jabari. While my father’s appearance didn’t allow me to gain any ground with Jabari, I noticed that I hadn’t lost any either, as the Ancient was now looking just over my left shoulder, where I could only guess Nick stood watching the fight.
“You should have finished with this creature already,” Nick said, his voice growing closer. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a figure with wild red hair and pale skin standing beside me. He leaned one elbow on my left shoulder and seemed to scratch his head as if confused by something.
“Jabari is older and stronger than I am,” I snarled, frustrated beyond all rational thought. Nick knew that I needed his help, but I couldn’t force the words past my lips. I had no doubt that the old god was long accustomed to having his subjects groveling at his feet, but I wasn’t going to do it. Jabari had stolen away a chunk of my self-respect and ego when he revealed that he could control me like a marionette. I wasn’t going to give that last bit of me away to Nick, even if he was the lost god of chaos.
“And you’re my daughter,” he replied, as if that was the answer to everything.
Closing my eyes, I balled my hands into fists and turned my entire attention on Jabari, determined to push the last of his powers from my body. “Either help me or go away. I don’t have time for you now.”
“You’re always so determined to do everything the hard way.” Nick smacked me across the face, forcing my eyes to pop open again. Unfortunately, the distraction allowed Jabari to gain a fresh foothold. The last of the fireballs were extinguished, and I was left struggling to keep from being consumed by the nightwalker.
“He doesn’t seem to be much in your favor, Mira,” Jabari taunted. “It’s a shame he didn’t come along to help you sooner. He would have been great assistance with Macaire.”
A low chuckle slithered from Nick and coiled around the Ancient like a fat python, wiping the smile from Jabari’s face as he undoubtedly recognized the same laugh he had heard following Macaire’s demise. Everyone had assumed it came from an invisible liege lord, but it was Nick’s energy they had sensed. “Who says I wasn’t there to enjoy my daughter’s triumph over not only Macaire, but you and the hunter as well?”
Rage filled the Ancient’s face as he threw more energy at me, causing me to stumble back a step. Pain wracked my thin frame as if my muscles and limbs were being pulled and twisted in all directions. I was growing tired, too tired to continue this fight.
“What must I do?” I finally demanded, knowing it was what Nick was waiting to hear. He first needed to know that I was completely at his disposal like an obedient dog.
“Well, since that hunter companion of yours is out of commission for the moment, it seems that you need a new source of energy,” Nick said.
“I can only tap Danaus and Jabari,” I groaned as my tug of war with Jabari continued. The power from Jabari seemed to have increased in the last minute, as he no doubt realized that Nick was offering me assistance, potentially tilting the fight to my favor. What the Ancient didn’t realize was that there would be a price for this unrequested assistance.
“The world lies at your feet, Mira. A sweet plum waiting to be plucked.”
“I’m not a fucking naturi. I can’t use earth magic like they can.”
Nick heaved a heavy sigh, as if I were too stubborn, choosing to ignore the fact that the few times I’d been able to sense earth magic was during special ceremonies at very specific locations. The middle of my backyard was not one of those very specific locations. “Then if you insist on clinging to these nightwalker ways you’ve chosen to adopt,” he said, “I suggest using the blood magic floating in the air. Certainly that will suit your discerning palate.”
“You’re an ass,” I growled, but followed his vague instructions. Closing my eyes again, I extended my focus to include the thick clustering of humans who lived within a block radius of my town house in downtown Savannah. The energy flowed around me, seeming to soothe and comfort sore muscles and frayed nerves. Sucking in a deep breath to steady myself, I felt the energy flow within me, steady and strong like a forest stream, washing away all remains of Jabari.
I opened my eyes and the world seemed to have taken on a fresh luster of glowing silvery light under the caress of the moon. The leaves of
the oak tree shimmered and the grass glistened in the growing dew. Colors seemed crisper, and the sound of hundreds of heartbeats pounded away in my brain like a tribal drum.
When I stood among the ruins of Machu Picchu, I had felt the heartbeat of the earth and the great earth mother tremble and sigh as the naturi returned. I felt her rage and her fury. Now, as I stood tapped into the pulse of humanity, I felt a different force—one that at last seemed to be in harmony with my own soul. Nick might have hated my decision to become a nightwalker, but it was who I was, and the source of my power.
Grinning at Jabari, I gathered up the blood magic that flowed around me and shoved it at him, sending him flying back against the far wall of the yard. He gave a soft grunt under the impact but managed to remain standing.
“Who are you?” Jabari demanded, pushing away from the wall.
“The new owner of this lost soul,” Nick said with a laugh, which came to a sudden, sickening halt. “Kill him.”
“As you wish, Father,” I said, a smile widening on my lips. I felt a small pang of remorse and hesitance as I pulled the energy into a little ball in the pit of my stomach. Centuries ago Jabari had been my savior, my mentor, my calm in the storm. He had been the one to teach me and guide me through the dark world nightwalkers inhabited. He had been the one to protect me and teach me how to protect myself. He had always been the guiding hand beside me when others were eager to tear me apart.
Yet, it was only after I teamed up with Danaus at the Themis compound that I discovered I had been little more than an experiment for Jabari. I was his precious puppet for centuries. He spent years controlling me and then wiping my memory so no one would ever know that he had a special weapon tucked up his sleeve should the need ever arise. He never cared for me.
I might have a new puppet master now, but Nick was determined to make me stronger. I only hoped that newfound strength would help me win my freedom in the end. At the moment, it was enough that I would be able to crush my old mentor.
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