Burned (Keeper of the Flame Book 1)

by Lila Kane

  I follow Cheyenne up the steps to my mother’s house, clenching and unclenching my fists. I’ve been in her house a few times this past week but never when she was home.

  She still looks tired when she meets us at the door. Her hazel eyes are the same shape as mine and our hair color matches almost to a tee. My father always used to tell me how much we looked alike. It always made me angry, too. After all, what good was looking like someone you barely even knew? Someone who didn’t want to know you.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Faye says. She gestures to the couch. “I found a journal from someone in the original coven who did the binding spell.”

  Cheyenne sits but scoots forward at the information. “You did?”

  Faye nods, her eyes straying to me. “It was the spell they did to bind the original four powers in Shadow Hill.”

  “If we know the spell, can’t we do it again to make it…you know, intact?” I ask.

  “I’m not sure. I’d know more if I could look at my Book of Shadows. And it seems to be missing.”

  I stand and start pacing. “It’s not here. Logan has it.”

  She glances at me sharply. “How did he get it?”

  “I sort of…took it from your house.” I try not to sound so guilty. Like I’m in trouble with my mom‒which is exactly what’s happening. “And then Logan sort of took it from me.”

  She frowns.

  “Look,” I say, putting my hands on my hips, “you weren’t here. I had no idea what was going on and I needed answers. So I found them where I could.”

  Faye’s eyes soften, but her voice does not. “I kept you in the dark for a reason.”

  “That wasn’t your choice to make. You didn’t just take away my family, you took away my heritage. I kept making fire and I had no idea why.” I draw in a shaky breath. So much for not wanting to talk about our past. “Did you even know about Dad?”

  “I heard about him passing,” Faye says, dropping her chin. “I’m sorry.”

  “You heard and you didn’t do anything? You didn’t call or come for his funeral. How could you? How could you do‒”

  “Willow,” Cheyenne says.

  “What?” I ask. “I’m in this mess because of her and the least she could have done was called. Or told me what was going on. Sent a letter or something‒since being around me clearly isn’t something she wants to do.”

  I hate that my voice is unsteady. That my mom is standing here, taking it, instead of fighting back. Or arguing with me. I want a fight, I want to scream and blame, and instead she’s nodding like what I’m saying makes perfect sense.

  I swallow hard and turn to the door. “I can’t do this. Not now.”

  “Wait.” Faye’s voice is quiet but authoritative. “Please, Willow. Don’t go yet.”

  Frowning, I turn to face her. I cross my arms. “What?”

  She bites her lip, another characteristic we share. Another thing to add to the list of what makes me angry about her. I don’t want to share anything with this woman. But now, she’s the only parent I have left.

  “There’s a bigger picture here,” she says. “I want to do whatever’s necessary to stop the spell from being broken. If we have to stick to that for now, that’s fine. Whatever you want.”

  Cheyenne shoots me a look of appeal as if to say, If she can do this, why can’t you?

  I run a hand over my face. “Fine.”

  “We’ll need my Book of Shadows,” Faye says.

  “Or mine,” I say.

  Her mouth opens and closes soundlessly. After a moment, she says, “Where did you get your Book of Shadows?”

  Not from you. But I don’t say it out loud even though she’s the one who was supposed to give me my book in the first place. “Selena showed me where it was.”

  Faye’s shoulders tense. “Selena…as in our ancestor Selena?”

  I nod, point to the necklace. “She gave me this, too.”

  Faye sinks into a chair and drops her head in her hands.

  “What?” Cheyenne asks.

  Faye doesn’t say anything, just shakes her head.

  “I’m not up for this shit,” I tell her. Cheyenne looks at me again. “I’m sorry, but if you have something to say, then just say it. Otherwise, I have stuff I need to do.”

  “Selena was a very powerful witch,” Faye says. “Yes, she was instrumental in working the original binding spell because she was a Keeper of the Flame, but her motives for that spell weren’t…” She sighs. “They weren’t warranted. She lied to the rest of the coven in order for them to help with the spell.”

  I sink to the couch on the opposite side of the room. “But I thought she‒and the rest of the witches‒wanted to stop the vampires.”

  “They did. And they were right to do so. The vampires weren’t being responsible with their power. Or at least some of them. But Selena…” Faye sighs. “She wanted the spell for revenge. She put hatred into that spell and her magic was dark. I imagine that dark magic is being carried over. To you.”

  “I don’t understand,” I say. “Selena’s been helping me. I wouldn’t have gotten out of Logan’s house if not for her. I wouldn’t have found the cave.”

  “I’m just saying, you have to be careful. You’re already connected to her through blood. If she can reach you through spirit, that bond is only going to get stronger.”

  “Then maybe that will give us the help we need to stop this.”

  “I can’t tell you what to do, but‒”

  “No, you can’t.” I stand again. “That ship has sailed.”

  The room goes silent. Maybe I’m unwilling to accept Faye’s advice on principle. She hasn’t been there to give me any for years. But Selena helped me. She didn’t seem evil, she seemed sad. Like she hoped that things turned out better for me than they did for her‒even though I really don’t know what happened to her. More research I need to do while I’m here, I guess.

  “So…” Cheyenne says. “The Book of Shadows. Myra said she’d give it to us if we tell her where Logan is.”

  “That’s right.”

  Cheyenne smiles. “Tell her, that’s fine. She won’t be able to get him out.”

  “Why not?” Faye asks.

  “I did a spell to trap him in the cave.”

  “And it worked?”

  I frown. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it?”

  “I’m just surprised that you had that much power so fast. I…” She tries a smile, but it comes across as more of a grimace. “I shouldn’t be surprised. You were always good at everything you tried.”

  I don’t answer. I don’t know how to feel about that. Maybe she’s kept track of me throughout the years. Maybe she remembers from when I was younger. I’m not sure I want to know.

  “Why don’t we talk with Myra again?” Cheyenne asks. “Try to make a deal.”

  I nod. “I’ll talk to her.”

  “Tomorrow.”

  I narrow my eyes at Cheyenne. “Why tomorrow?”

  “Because everyone needs to rest. And tomorrow maybe Ryan will be back to his normal self. So there will be more of us for the worst-case scenario.”

  “What’s worst case scenario?” I ask her.

  Her lips quirk in a humorless smile. “We have to let Logan out.”

  #

  The house is empty when I get back home. There’s no sign of Ryan, so I figure he probably returned to his human self and decided to check in with the rest of his crew. They’re working on a new house they plan to have finished by the summer. Hopefully he doesn’t keep shifting or that deadline is going to be difficult to reach.

  I skip dinner and check my e-mail, finding one from the editor of a magazine I freelance for. He wants me to do an article on the Shadow Hill Hotel. He doesn’t know about my link to the hotel yet. I should be grateful for the work, and grateful for the chance to do research on my ancestors, but all I feel is tired.

  Less than a week in Shadow Hill and I’ve talked with ghosts, learned to astral project, met a mom who�
��s been absent from my life for over ten years, and developed a thing for a shapeshifter.

  Too bad said shapeshifter isn’t here now to take my mind off what’s going to happen tomorrow.

  At the kitchen table, I shove aside my laptop and drop my head in my hands much like my mother did earlier. It’s too much. Vampires and werewolves and long-lost mothers. All I really want to do it grab a beer, watch some reality TV and fall asleep on the couch. But that seems like a remarkably lazy night considering there’s so much else to think about.

  Willow…

  Logan’s voice echoes in my mind again. I swallow hard and eye the waning evening outside. It’s getting dark and probably cold in the cave. And I never went back to visit Logan. He’s got to be hungry. And tired.

  At least when I was at his house, he gave me somewhere to sleep. Somewhere warm and comfortable. I left him in the middle of the forest in a cave.

  I lift my head and a scream lodges in my throat when I see someone near the sink. Selena. I can see through her but she’s still solid enough I can tell what she’s wearing. The same thing as the first time I saw her. A period dress in gauzy white, hair hanging in dark curls. She’s not wearing the necklace anymore, though, since she gave it to me.

  “Selena,” I breathe, heart pounding.

  Her ghostly smile is sad. “Not tonight,” she whispers.

  I open my mouth, confused. “Not tonight, what?”

  “Don’t go to the cave.”

  Is that why she’s here? Because I was thinking about Logan and the cave? I remember my mom’s words back at her house, how she thinks Selena’s involvement in the spell was because of anger and revenge. But to me, she doesn’t look angry or vengeful. She looks like she’s trying to help me.

  “Do you think Logan is going to try to hurt me?”

  Her hand reaches out, finger curling as if she’s beckoning me to come closer. “Save your power,” she says.

  I start to stand, opening my mouth to ask more questions, when there’s a knock at the front door. I gasp and slap a hand to my chest. In an instant, Selena vanishes, leaving me alone in the kitchen. Heart still racing, I walk to the door and see a shadowy figure on the other side.

  For a brief moment, I’m scared it’s Logan and he’s gotten out somehow. Then I recognize the way Ryan rubs his hand along his jaw and open the door.

  “Hi,” he says, shoving his hands in his pockets.

  “Hi.”

  Neither of us says anything for a moment. He looks tired. Frustrated. Maybe even a little lost.

  “Do you want to come in?” I ask.

  He nods and opens the screen door to come in. I want to reach out, maybe smooth some of the stress from his face, but he looks too tense for contact right now.

  I perch on the arm of the couch while he continues to stand. “How long did it take?”

  “What?”

  “How long did it take for you to turn back this time?”

  His jaw clenches. “A few hours.”

  “Is that…bad?”

  He shrugs. “I don’t know what’s normal. Longer than last time, though.” He sighs. “I talked with my lead guy over at the site, let him know I might be in and out over the next several weeks. Just in case.”

  “Maybe we could, you know, work on things. Try to see if you can start to control it‒”

  “No.”

  I stand again, walking to him. He keeps his hands in his pockets, chin dipped to look at his shoes. “Ryan…”

  He glances up to meet my eyes. There’s fire in his gaze, a flash of anger that surprises me. “I said no, okay? I don’t want to control it, I don’t want to practice with it. I want it all to go away. If my dad hadn’t wanted to shift so badly, my mom wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Things would have been‒”

  Ryan breaks off, shaking his head and looking at his shoes again. “Forget it. Just don’t push me, Willow.”

  “I’m not‒” I sigh and brush a hand through my hair. “I’m not trying to push you, I’m trying to help.”

  “You can help by understanding I don’t want anything to do with this.”

  I swallow my frustration and my guilt. It’s my fault he has to deal with this. And now I can’t do anything but trust we’ll eventually have a plan to make it go away.

  I fold my arms and nod. “That’s fine. My mom and Cheyenne are helping. We’ll take care of it so you can…deal with whatever you need to deal with.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” There’s still anger in his eyes. I think we’re both in the mood for a fight, but neither of us wants to take it out on each other. “I want to help with the situation, to help you, but I don’t want to deal with the other stuff. If it happens, I’ll take care of it but otherwise the topic is off limits.”

  Because of his mom? What had happened to her? How had his father’s shifting affected their family so much that Ryan doesn’t even want to talk about it?

  “We’re going to talk to Myra tomorrow to see if we can get my Book of Shadows‒or Faye’s‒back.”

  His jaw shifts. “She’s going to negotiate. She’s going to want Logan out of the cave.”

  “I know. But we have something to negotiate with.”

  “I don’t like it.”

  I frown and toss out the words before I can think them through. “I don’t like that you won’t talk about shifting with me either. I guess we’re even.”

  A range of emotions travels across his face before he shuts them all off. He doesn’t move for several seconds but when he does, it looks like he’s going to reach out for me. To pull me close. Then he tucks his hands in his pockets again.

  He inclines his head. “Okay. Tomorrow then?”

  “You want to come with us?”

  He lifts his eyebrows like he can’t believe I asked that question. “I’m supposed to be looking out for you. I want to look out for you. It would help if you let me.”

  I can’t think of a response quick enough before he turns and leaves the house. I watch him walk down the drive and get in his truck before driving away into the night.

  Chapter 4

  I slept so well last night, I don’t even need my coffee this morning. I remember dreaming about Selena, about having a conversation with her. Her voice was soothing, calm, and whatever she was telling me made me feel at peace.

  I hum to myself as I put on makeup and pull my hair into a loose twist at the back of my neck. I opt for my brown boots, the ones that rise above my calves, and a navy shirt that covers my arms. It’ll be cool out in the forest and I don’t know how long we’ll be in the cave. I’m pretty sure Myra’s going to insist we go there. And if not, I still need to visit Logan.

  Something flickers at the edge of the mirror. I whip around but there’s nothing there.

  “Hello?” I call to the empty room.

  I don’t hear anything else.

  Giving myself a mental shake, I leave the room, grab a piece of toast on my way out and freeze on the porch. Ryan is outside, leaning against his truck and staring at his shoes. He looks up when he hears me.

  “Hey, Willow.”

  He looks better today, less tired, less stressed. But I can still see the lingering tension in his shoulders.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask.

  A smile skims his lips. He meets me at the bottom of the steps. “Nice to see you, too. I thought we could ride together.”

  “Are you sure you want to go?”

  “Why wouldn’t I?” He reaches out, capturing my hand in his and giving it a squeeze. “I’m part of this, too. And the more of us, the better.”

  I lift my chin, meeting his hazel eyes. The green flecks in them sparkle in the sunlight. “You’re worried something is going to happen.”

  “After the week you’ve had, it’s pretty much guaranteed.”

  “They’ll have to work with us if they want me to help Myra.”

  He brushes my jaw with his fingertips, then leans in. His lips meet mine, warm and steady, before his tongue
glides across the bottom one. “Vampires don’t have to do anything they don’t want,” he murmurs.

  My lips part and he takes the kiss deeper, pulling me against his body so we touch the entire way down. My eyes flicker open just a moment, but it’s long enough to see movement from the corner of my eye. I straighten, looking for whatever it was I saw. I thought…

  …for a moment, I thought it was Selena.

  But if she’s hanging around, it’s a good thing, right? She’s the one who keeps helping me. Maybe she’s just as worried about today.

  “What is it?” Ryan asks.

  “I thought I saw someone.”

  He switches his grip on me so he can stand in front of me. His eyes scan the yard and the area around the house before moving to the street.

  “No, it’s fine,” I say. “I’ve just been…jumpy, I guess.”

  That must be it. For me to see Selena twice this morning‒even last night‒there’s got to be something else going in. But I’m not worried about Selena. She makes me feel safe.

  “I understand.” He puts his hand on my lower back and ushers me to the truck. “It’s better that I’m coming today.”

  I get in and wait for him to join me on the other side before I ask, “Why? Do you have some kind of vampire repellent or something? In case things get out of hand?”

  He slides on a pair of reflective sunglasses and smiles. “You never did ask why shapeshifters were the most logical choice to be guardians for the witches.”

  “I assumed because the werewolves and vampires were too busy fighting with each other. It was only natural for the shifters and witches to pair up.”

  He turns onto Main Street and takes us toward Logan’s house. I’m familiar with most of the landmarks already. The diner on the corner that makes excellent pancakes, the library where Cheyenne works. The rescue station a block over. Pretty soon the buildings and homes will taper off, giving way to trees for a few miles before we reach Logan’s home.

  I spot a blackbird flying parallel to the car for several seconds before it disappears.

  “That’s part of it.” Ryan reaches over to grab my hand. “The bigger reason, though, is that shifters can’t be hurt by vampires.”