Burned (Keeper of the Flame Book 1)

by Lila Kane

  “Yes, sir.”

  He frowns but reaches for the door. To my surprise, the handle opens easily in his grasp. I can’t remember anymore if Logan locked it. But I do know he’s still in the cave. As long as my spell worked. And all the rest of them have been working, so I don’t see why this one wouldn’t.

  “Downstairs,” I tell Ryan, leading the way.

  It’s dim on the stairs, just like when I came down here earlier today. Ryan takes it slowly, listening for noises on the way. When we reach the bottom, I point to the left. The door that was closed and locked this morning is now open.

  There’s a shuffling noise inside.

  Ryan puts a finger to his lips and pushes me gently against the wall. Stay there, he mouths.

  He turns away and steps cautiously to the door of the room. He takes a quick peek inside. I see his shoulders relax, and in the next moment, someone’s arm is around my neck.

  “Willow,” a female voice says. It’s Myra.

  Ryan looks over and instantly goes alert. “Let go of her.”

  Myra shifts her grip, holding me tight enough my vision goes blurry. She’s surprisingly strong‒but then, she’s a vampire just like her brother.

  I can hear the strain in her voice, though, when she asks, “Where is Logan?”

  “Get away from her,” Ryan says, stepping closer.

  Cheyenne darts out of the room and freezes when she sees us.

  “Myra,” I choke out. “Logan is fine.”

  “Where is he?” she asks. “You’re supposed to be with him.”

  She presses harder against my throat and my vision goes hazy again. I claw at her arm, but she’s too strong, especially after losing so much energy earlier.

  “It’s two against one,” Ryan says. “Let her go or you’re going to get hurt.”

  Myra coughs. “I’m already hurting,” she says, grip still tight. “Logan said Willow was going to help me.”

  “Help you what?” Cheyenne asks, her eyes locking with mine. A silent acknowledgement that she’s not going to let anything happen.

  “Help me get better. He said if Willow can do the spell, I’ll become a vampire and I won’t have cancer anymore.”

  My breath hisses out. No wonder he wanted this spell to end. No wonder he brought Myra here with him. She probably feels better here since the first stage of reversing the curse is already underway.

  “Now tell me where my brother is,” Myra says.

  Ryan lunges at her as she cuts off the last of my air supply. I hear a scuffle as I fall to the floor, my world going dark.

  #

  “I told you,” Ryan says as my eyes flutter open. “You’re a magnet for danger.”

  “It’s not my fault,” I say, but my voice is so hoarse I don’t know if he understands it.

  I’m lying at home in my bedroom. Ryan is stretched out next to me, his hand trailing lazily down my cheekbone and lingering on my shoulder.

  “You should probably stay here for a while,” he says. “In this bedroom.” He smiles. “So nothing else can happen to you.”

  At his words, everything that happened earlier rushes back to me. I sit up, my head swirling.

  “Okay,” Ryan says slowly. He puts his hands on my shoulders. “Why don’t you wait until you feel better?”

  I drop my head in my hands as he rubs slow circles on my back. “Did you get my mom out?”

  “Yes. She’s in the other room, feeling much better.”

  I swallow uncertainty. “I don’t know what to say to her.”

  “You don’t have to say anything right now. Relax. Take it easy.”

  His voice is rough and I look over in the dim light. Either it’s later than I thought or the sun hasn’t come out from behind the clouds yet. I touch the slight bruise on his jaw.

  “Are you okay?” I ask.

  He catches my hand, turning his cheek into my palm. His stubble brushes on the soft skin. “You’re fine. Logan’s caught in the cave. Yes, I’m okay.”

  He pushes me gently to the bed and leans over me. His lips descend on mine, soft but firm. He deepens the kiss, pressing some of his weight against me until my arms wrap around his neck to draw him in for more.

  But a low and faint groan of agony echoes in my head. Logan’s voice. Logan’s pain.

  “What?” Ryan whispers, lips brushing my cheek. “Something’s wrong.”

  My stomach churns. I’m torn between forgetting my troubles with Ryan’s company, and doing something about what I’ve already done.

  “He was just trying to help his sister,” I say, voice raw.

  Ryan stops with his hand hovering over my stomach. “I know. I heard.”

  “And now he’s stuck in the cave.” In pain. Enough that I can still feel it reverberating through me.

  Ryan doesn’t say anything, but I can feel the tension in the room.

  “You didn’t hurt her, did you? Myra?”

  He flops back on his pillow with a sigh. “No. She’s sick, like she said. She couldn’t fight us both off. We left her there.”

  Sick. Cancer. I kept wondering why Logan wanted me to end this spell so badly. It had nothing to do with becoming a vampire. He just wanted to help his sister. And if she becomes a vampire, she won’t be sick anymore.

  I sit up again, moving more slowly this time.

  “Ryan, we can’t leave Logan in there.”

  He grips my wrist, eyes glued to mine. “Do you hear what you’re saying? He kidnapped you. He held you captive in his house. He’s not the good guy here, Willow.”

  “I know. Ryan, I know. I just‒I can’t be like him. Leave him there hurting, or let his sister wonder where he is.”

  I pull my wrist free and stand. When the room spins around me, Ryan catches me by the waist. “You’re making this more complicated than it has to be,” he says, breath warm against my ear. “You should be resting. Taking this one day at a time.”

  I lean my forehead against this chest. His hands slide into my hair and I shiver. “I can’t, Ryan.”

  His entire body tenses. “What is it with you and Logan? You don’t care about him, do you?”

  “No.” I shake my head, as much to convince myself as to convince him. “I feel bad. I…”

  He lets me go and props his hands on his hips. “I can’t believe this.”

  “Ryan, don’t be mad. You don’t understand.”

  He gives a humorless laugh. “I don’t understand? So it makes sense that he kidnapped you? That’s the part I should understand? It’s fine that he’s a total lunatic‒”

  “His motives aren’t what we thought they were.”

  “You’re seriously defending him right now?” Ryan shoves hand into his hair. “This is bullshit.”

  “I’m not‒” I take a breath and try to keep my voice down. “I’m not defending him. I’m just saying, he didn’t do what he did for himself or to be selfish.”

  “Yeah, well, I am being selfish. I want you safe. And being around Logan doesn’t accomplish that.”

  I rub my hands over my face. What am I supposed to do? I don’t want to do the spell for Logan, but I don’t want to leave him in there. And I don’t want him to see his sister hurting. But I also want Ryan to understand where I’m coming from.

  “I should go…” I gesture to the door. “Talk to my mom, I guess.”

  Ryan clenches his jaw but nods. I step into the hallway and walk slowly to the living room. I hear voices before I reach the room. Cheyenne and my mother.

  I don’t realize I’ve stopped until I feel a hand on my back. I glance over and give Ryan a small smile for the support.

  When I enter the room, Cheyenne stands. My mother looks up.

  “Willow,” Faye says.

  I press my lips together. I can’t bring myself to call her Mom.

  “Hi.” It’s all I can manage, but her eyes go soft.

  “This is not how I wanted this to go,” she says.

  “This?”

  “Our first meeting.”r />
  Cheyenne’s looking trapped. She’s making faces at Ryan like he’s supposed to get her out of here.

  I wish she could get me out of here, too.

  My mom stands as well. “Ryan said you could feel some of the pain Logan is going through.”

  I lift my eyebrows. I was expecting a “How are you?” or maybe, “What have you been up to all these years?” Instead, she just gets right to it.

  I give a slight nod.

  She sighs and looks understanding. “You’re connected to him.”

  Ryan clears his throat and glances away.

  “Sorry,” Faye says, looking apologetic. “But you’ve done spells against him, spells in his house. He’s latched onto you for all this. You’re connected.”

  “It’ll go away, right?” Cheyenne asks. “I mean, these things are only temporary.”

  “As long as he’s not around, it’ll go away eventually. Yes.”

  Everyone looks to me because I’m not voicing my relief in all of it. I don’t want to be connected to Logan, but I am. And I think it’s because of more than just the spells. I understand him in a way I didn’t think I ever would. He’s doing what he can to help his family. If I were in his same position, and it were my dad, I’d do a spell or break one in an instant.

  “Willow?” Cheyenne asks.

  I glance at Ryan, but he won’t look at me, so I look back to Cheyenne and my mom.

  “I can’t leave Logan in the cave.”

  “What?” Cheyenne asks.

  I take a slow breath and brace myself for disagreement. “I have to let him out.”

  Keep reading for an excerpt of Bound, book two of the

  Keeper of the Flame series, now available.

  Summary

  Willow thought trapping vampire Logan would solve her problems, but she’s still no closer to figuring out the curse which keeps paranormals powerless in the small town of Shadow Hill. When Logan offers her a deal to help put the spell back in place if she helps his sick sister, Willow agrees—in spite of Ryan’s reluctance. When evil from beyond the grave interferes with her plans, Willow’s not sure whether to trust Logan or stay as far away from him as possible. But one thing she knows for sure, she can’t fight the attraction she feels—and it could result in someone’s death.

  Chapter 1

  I fold my arms and linger in the sunshine on the back deck of the house Ryan let me rent.

  There’s a low thrum of energy pulsing through me. Maybe a product of all the power I used today seeking Selena, my dead witch ancestor, or trapping Logan, my vampire stalker, in a cave.

  I can still feel him, too. After being trapped in his house more than once and doing a spell against him, we’re linked somehow. Right now, I can feel his pain. It feels a lot like the magical fire that rushes through my veins when I use magic.

  Except painful.

  His voice reaches me deep within. Willow…He’s calling to me. Like he knows I can hear him.

  But then, we’re all linked‒descendants of the original four paranormal families in Shadow Hill. Witch, vampire, werewolf, and shapeshifter.

  “Are you plotting an escape?”

  I turn to find Cheyenne just outside the sliding door. She’s wearing her hot librarian glasses and offering me a small smile.

  “Mine or someone else’s?” I ask.

  Her smile broadens but there’s an edge to it.

  “You know, Ryan’s right. We need to think about this. Weigh our options and all that.”

  I sigh. “I know you’re worried. I am, too. But this isn’t as black and white as it was before.”

  Logan is trapped in a cave full of amethyst. I’ve created a spell to keep him in there, but it’s not like he can escape very easily anyway. The amethyst hurts him‒renders him almost useless. At least, it does with that amount of it.

  But, Logan’s sister is sick. Terminally ill as far as I know.

  It’s hard for me, in good conscience, to be the kind of person who tortures someone else and leaves his sister for death when there might be something I can do.

  “He’ll survive being in that cave a while,” Cheyenne says, keeping her gaze steady on mine.

  “He’s in pain.”

  She looks away this time. “I know.”

  But he’ll heal, is what she’s not adding. And it’s true. But not once in the time I’d spent with him did he hurt me. Now I’m letting him get tortured.

  “Your mom really wants to talk to you,” Cheyenne says.

  I cross my arms tighter. I really don’t want to talk to her. I want to blame her. She could have told me all about my powers and the spell‒everything‒a long time ago. But she didn’t. If she had, this situation might have been prevented.

  Ryan opens the back door and joins us, mouth set in a serious line. He’s angry with me still, I can tell. He’s spent a lot of time trying to stop the reversal of the curse. In one week, I managed to completely ruin all that work. Not only that, I want to let Logan out.

  I see Ryan swallow before he speaks. “Faye wants to go home. She says she has books there that might help.”

  “That might help what?”

  “Figure out how to end the spell‒or put it back into place.”

  I frown but don’t say anything. That’s what we were trying to do in the beginning. But now…will fixing the spell take away Myra’s chances at healing?

  Ryan opens his mouth to say something to me, but seems to change his mind. He shakes his head and tries again. “Okay, I know this whole situation is screwed up.” He scoops a hand through his hair and stares out into the yard.

  Cheyenne goes for the door. “I’ll wait inside.”

  He nods at her, and once she’s gone, he turns to me. “What can I say that will make you see my side of this?”

  “I do see your side.” He’s bound by history and tradition to help the witches. To protect them. Not only that, we have something here‒something more than a friendship. I’ve no doubt this is hard for him.

  He steps closer, dipping his chin so he can look into my eyes. His hands run down my arms and stop at my wrists. “Then please, just wait until your mom can see what’s at her house. Maybe there’ll be a solution to this whole problem and no one has to get hurt in the meantime.”

  Logan is getting hurt in the meantime. My eyes narrow at Ryan and he sighs.

  “Yeah, okay, I know. But what’s worse? Him staying in there a few hours‒or a few days, even‒or him getting out and hurting someone?”

  “A few days are a long time when you’re hurting,” I whisper.

  He pulls me close, running his hand down my hair. “But if it saves someone else from getting hurt, especially you, don’t you think that’s worth it? If Logan gets out, he might come for you again. Or your mom. And then who knows what he’ll do.”

  There’s truth to that. He’s going to be angry. And he’s going to take it out on us.

  I nod, even though I wish there was some other way to handle this. “Fine. I’ll wait until Faye sees what she can find.”

  Ryan winces when I say her name instead of “Mom” but he only nods. “I’m assuming you don’t want to come with us.”

  I smile at him. “You assume correctly.”

  “Willow…”

  “Willow, what?”

  He shakes his head. “Nothing. We can talk about it later.”

  “Sure,” I say. “Later.”

  Though if it has anything to do with reconciling with my mom, I don’t want to hear it. Not now. Maybe not ever.

  He goes inside and I take a breath. I promised I’d wait, but I’m not sure about leaving Logan there by himself. He needs food and water at the very least. And his sister…she probably wants answers.

  A dog barks somewhere near the front of the house. Not even a minute later, Cheyenne bursts through the back door. “Ryan saw the dog. He’s shifting again.”

  “Shit.”

  I follow her through the back door and to the front of the house. Ryan’s inside c
rouched on the ground.

  “We had to come in,” Faye says. “We can’t let anyone see him change.”

  Ryan grits his teeth and looks at me. “I can’t stop it.”

  I reach out to him, but he jumps up and darts past me, heading down the hallway. A moment later, we hear a door slam shut.

  None of us says anything for a long moment. Finally, Cheyenne turns to my mom and says, “I can take you to your house.”

  She nods, gaze skimming past mine before she leaves through the front door. I study her from behind, noting that she’s petite like me. The same wavy brown hair that looks like it has red highlights in it when it’s in the sunlight. How can we look so much alike when we have nothing at all in common?

  “It was quick last time,” I tell Cheyenne. “The shift. Hopefully Ryan will be back to normal by the time you guys are done.”

  “Of course.” She touches my arm. “Back to normal soon. We’ll hurry.”

  Once she leaves, I slide a hand through my hair and close my eyes. Willow…

  First, I was hearing Selena’s voice wherever I went, now Logan’s voice won’t leave me alone. He knows I’m the only one who can get him out of there. Maybe…maybe I should check on him. See how he is, at least. It’s not like he can hurt me from inside the cave.

  I bite my lip and peer down the hall. I don’t hear anything.

  Walking slowly, I pass the bathroom and reach the bedroom, where Ryan has shut himself in. I listen at the door but still hear nothing.

  I ease the door open, my heart racing. I blow out a breath, trying to calm down. It’s not like he’s going to attack me or something.

  Inside the room, everything looks the same. The bed with the covers crumpled where Ryan and I lay earlier. My sweater tossed on the top of the dresser and my boots dropped haphazardly at the foot of the bed.

  It’s all the same.

  Except for the dog in the corner. My eyes lock with his.

  “Ryan,” I whisper.

  The dog doesn’t move. He stays in the corner, sitting on his haunches. Wary.

  He’s a large golden dog, a retriever, with kind eyes. They look like Ryan’s. I step closer, but he backs away. The last time this had happened, he’d turned into a fox. And he hadn’t wanted me to see him then either.