Burning to Ashes

by Evi Asher

Scarlet turned to Heath. “How did you know your zoning out was connected?”

  He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Took a guess. Archer said I’d rambled on about pink.”

  “Dude, that was a lot of pink.” Erik shook his head and put his hand to his stomach.

  Sophia spoke, then bent down to check the buckle on her boot. “I had a feeling she would find us. Creatures like the oracle don’t like to wait. She had some yummy guards, though, wouldn’t have minded staying a little bit.”

  She winked up at Zane, who wasted blood by blushing.

  “I need to hunt. Can you all wait here for me for about an hour?” He looked away from Sophia.

  “Sure, tell the bunny I said hello before you have dinner,” Erik quipped.

  Zane shook his head, not commenting as he loped off into the night.

  “Where to now?” Tate walked up to Archer who was standing at the edge of the grass patch staring into the distance. He got no answer.

  Scarlet wondered what the oracle had been talking about when she answered the question Archer hadn’t asked. She was going to ask him. With that, she moved over to Tate and Archer.

  “Dude, I’m talking to you.”

  “What!” Archer turned toward Tate with a feral snarl, causing the other Eternal to step back and raise his hands.

  “Whoa, I just asked a question. What’s up with you?”

  Archer hissed out a breath and ran his hands through his hair. “Just shut up, I need to think a bit.”

  Scarlet carefully stepped away, and went to stand next to Sophia. “You’d think I’d be the one in a violent mood, considering I’m the one who got the death sentence,” Scarlet muttered, but, Sophia heard her.

  “If my suspicions are right, Archer got a death sentence in a way, too. So, give him a little space right now, okay?”

  “What suspicions?”

  “Not something I’m willing to share.” Sophia’s tone became distant and cold as she stepped away from Scarlet.

  Scarlet wasn’t going to take this. She was going to call Sophia on this shit.

  Archer was in a mood, Sophia was being pissy with her, and Scarlet had had enough. She was sick of being the newbie, the one everyone felt the need to keep on a need to know basis, and their idea of need to know was—she needs to know jack-shit.

  She’d damn well earned the right to know these things, she’d earned it with terror, pain, exhaustion and the burnt skin that was still blistered on her forearms.

  She had just stepped towards Sophia, her hand raised to turn the other woman by the shoulder when a wave of nausea hit her hard, almost doubling her over.

  There was a roar in her head, and for some reason, Scarlet felt the almost undeniable urge to run for the trees in the distance.

  She walked slowly over to the cars, not wanting to alert the others to how she was feeling. There was enough drama going on right now, and she was sick of being in the middle of it. This new development—whatever it was—was something she would deal with in private.

  The roar in her head became a sound—a schizophrenic auditory hallucination.

  Scarlet almost laughed at the wording that popped into her head.

  She’d give her beaten up and much-treasured iPod—if she still had it—to know what the hell was happening to her this time.

  She reached the SUV and moved around to the back of it where she shielded herself from view, then doubled over and retched, trying her damndest to keep the sound to a minimum.

  The rest were distracted. Tate, Erik and Heath seemed to be having a loud argument again.

  There wasn’t much in her stomach, but she emptied it, and still, the waves came in quick succession. Her body felt as if it was trying to rip itself to pieces, and through it all, the steady roar in her head, a roar that became a howl, and echoing moon-haunting howl.

  What is happening?

  Her mind shrieked as she crumpled into a ball on the ground. She was staring down at her forearms, not really seeing the blistered flesh when she noticed that the skin had started healing at a rapid rate, the tissue pinking, but then her eyes widened as another wave of pain hit, and she felt prickles on her arms. Her eyes riveted as fur started to grow from the pink skin.

  She lifted a hand to her face and curled her fingers towards her. But they weren’t fingers. They were tipped with elegant claws that grew before her eyes, her fingers changing shape, and distorting, to become elongated and curved like a precision set of bladed weapons.

  She could feel the strength and power.

  The howl lit up in her mind again, forcing her head to fall back as her eyes focused on a moon that was on the verge of full.

  She heard a crunch, and her back bowed, curling her forward into a ball as her shoulders widened, ripping the fabric of her shirt.

  The agony was so intense, she could keep silent no longer.

  A long scream morphed into a howl as it escaped her throat, and inside her head she felt another being, a being that was elated at the freedom it was about to take.

  Chapter Nine

  Archer stood with his back to the others, trying to find some hint of composure. The oracle had hit him with a double whammy. Hell, he felt like she’d picked up a sledgehammer and pounded the thing into his gut with malice.

  He was trying his damndest to find some way to deal with the bleak situation they were in. He had to figure out some way to get through this all, and come out alive at the other end.

  His mind was swirling with one reality. Scarlet was going to have to run the rest of her life, or Geo would kill her, and if they did run, they’d have no time to get to someone who could possibly help her learn to control her power. She was going to die, and he couldn’t do anything about it.

  He felt a sense of impotent rage bubbling up in him, and fought the urge to turn and start destroying everything in sight.

  He wanted—no—he needed—to keep Scarlet safe. The oracle had confirmed what he’d already started believing. Scarlet was his She and his one chance at happiness for the whole of his immortal lifetime.

  Wolves were given only one mate. Once their wolf chose that mate, the Lycan would be unable to love or be with any other woman. He was hers for as long as he lived.

  A Lycan’s inner being knew that woman before the Lycan did. The creature usually knew from its first scent of the woman. Before that happened, Lycans were free to do as they pleased, and have as many women as they wanted, but once the werewolf had decided on their She, he would accept no other.

  Why hadn’t Archer listened more closely? Why had he doubted? Now, he faced the extra problem of needing to mark his She. The urge was mild right now, but it would continue to grow, and he’d be as touchy as hell about anyone even breathing in Scarlet’s direction until he had marked her. Why the hell did the oracle have to do him a favor? She’d made things worse. When he’d been ignoring its insistence, the marking urge had been nearly nonexistent. Now that he had accepted that his wolf-half was right, the urge was stronger.

  He’d been away from other Lycans too long. He was losing his hold on the traditions and instincts his people valued.

  It was pointless to berate himself. Without Scarlet, Archer faced a long, lonely, desolate, and celibate life. His lycan would never choose another woman.

  So, when Scarlet died, so would Archer. He couldn’t live a life like that—his heart a burned out husk in the shell of an Eternal.

  Lycan.

  Archer’s beast snarled at him in his mind, and Archer snapped back to the present.

  Listen, smell, see.

  The creature was trying to tell him something.

  Archer focused on the area around him, expecting some form of danger.

  Heath and Erik were at each other’s throats again with the occasional smart assed comment from Tate. Sophia was trying to keep them from coming to blows, but was also wondering where was Scarlet?

  Archer felt the fine hairs on the back of his neck and arms rise. There was a Lycan in the area, a Lycan
about to burst from its human skin.

  He scented the air—behind the car, then turned and sprinted towards the SUV.

  A howl burst into the quiet night, scaring the birds up out of the trees in flocks of frightened squawking.

  Archer rounded the back end of the SUV ,slid to a stop and couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing.

  Scarlet was curled up into a ball. She had pulled her hands over her head as if she were defending herself from a blow. A low mewing sound was coming from her.

  Archer dropped to his knees next to her, reaching out to lay a hand on her shoulder.

  “Scarlet?” He lost the ability to speak. He didn’t know how to explain this.

  Erik had made it around the other side of the SUV with others close on his heels. “Fuck!”

  “She’s turning. Why didn’t you tell us she was a Lycan, Archer!” he yelled out, the veins in his neck standing protruding. Erik clearly, did not like surprises.

  “She isn’t a fucking Lycan.”

  “She’s turning into a wolf.” Heath had stepped around Erik to confirm his statement. “That means she’s a Lycan.”

  “She isn’t—she can’t be.” Archer had a bemused expression on his face as he stared down at his She. Things were coming at him too fast and furious for him to think clearly.

  Scarlet shot forward on to her hands, her spine arching as she threw her head back and howled again.

  Everyone stepped back as her elongated jaw and pointed tufted ears became visible and fangs bristled from her mouth.

  She snarled and released another defiant howl. She was on the verge of bolting for the trees.

  “It’s too early.” Archer’s cryptic statement had everyone frowning. “I’ve got to stop the change.” He shifted forward and started to make a rumbling sound low in his chest.

  His hand found Scarlet’s spine, and he started to stroke it. He was using intricate hand movements and patterns as he touched her back. The rumble was melodic, a cadence that rose and fell in a soothing way.

  Scarlet’s body relaxed a little, the vibrating tension in every muscle subsiding as Archer worked his magic.

  “What the hell is he doing?” Erik blurted.

  “Shut up, you moron,” Sophia demanded. “Obviously he’s trying to prevent the transformation.

  “Why?” Erik was still loud, and it earned him a slap on the back of the head from Heath.

  “Shut the fuck up, dude. Let Archer do his mojo and talk later,” he commanded in a barely audible whisper.

  Archer knew that he had to reverse the change, and he had to do it now, or Scarlet would be lost and become a maddened monster with no humanity, intent on destroying everything and anything.

  He let his beast forward, and between the two of them, they worked the ancient ritual to bring her new wolf under control.

  It was a risky deal. Not many Lycans would have interceded like this. Only the most powerful of his people could do the Delant—the ritual that prevented the change from completing. The chances of her turning and ripping them all to shreds were high. Right now, Scarlet was more monster than human, and her creature was feral.

  But Scarlet had a lycan half—the thought almost made him smile. That lycan was his wolf’s mate, and the only reason Archer might pull this off was due to that bond.

  She relaxed more under his touch, her transformation visibly stopping, and reversing. Her fingers curled as claws and uncurled in the dirt as normal human appendages.

  It worked.

  He wanted to shout for joy, but he kept his movements and his beast’s song going until the process could finish.

  Without warning, the change reversed completely and Scarlet’s body fell limp. Archer grabbed her before her face could hit the dirt. He picked her up, standing to cradle her in his arms. “She needs a safe place to rest. This will have taken a lot out of her.”

  Sophia opened the back door of the SUV so Archer could place Scarlet down on the backseat. He took off his jacket and covered her with it, then closed the door quietly.

  Erik glared at Archer. “Time for some answers, now.”

  Archer returned the machete look, and motioned for the others to follow him away from the SUV.

  “Why didn’t you tell us she was Lycan, Archer?” Erik was seriously pissed off, his feet stomping the grass flat as he followed.

  Archer stopped about ten feet away from the SUV and turned to the other Eternals. “She wasn’t a Lycan. This threw me as much as it did you. My wolf would have told me if she was Lycan from the start.” Archer blustered, but did a quick mental check with his other half who seemed to confirm and evade the question all at the same time.

  “I think you are talking horse shit, and I’m considering beating your puppy ass up.” Erik raised himself to his full height. “How about an extra tail next time you decide to go wolf.”

  Sophia stepped between them. “Oh, stop it Erik, you are such a drama queen.”

  Erik spluttered, “I. am. Not!”

  Sophia looked at him as if he’d just made her point for her.

  “How about more logic and less testosterone?” she offered.

  “Whatever you say, Mr. Spock.” Erik must have thought he had her until she smiled and answered. “Geeky…drama queen.”

  Sophia seemed to dismiss Erick as she gave Archer her attention.

  “Scarlet wasn’t a Lycan when you met her?”

  “No. There wasn’t a bit of Lycan in her. My werewolf would have known it immediately.”

  Tate stepped into the conversation. “But we just saw her change. How can you argue with that?”

  “That’s an easy answer.” Sophia looked like a middle school teacher about to tell her class the meaning of life. “She wasn’t a Lycan when Archer met her, but somewhere along the line, he must have bitten her, infecting her with the lycanthropy virus, and now, she is a Lycan.”

  “I don’t know how that could have happened, but this was her first change, and it was too early. If I’d let it complete…” Archer’s voice was low as he shook his head. “It would have been bad for us all.”

  “Okay, here are a few questions, then.” Heath held up his index finger. “Why would it have been bad?” He lifted another finger. “Why did she change before the normal full moon time?” The third finger came up. “When did you bite her, dude?”

  He raised his pinky. “Where is the bite? I haven’t seen anything on her that resembled a bite.”

  “You’ve been looking?” Archer’s stare became flat.

  “Easy, Cujo. I didn’t look any more than any hot blooded male would.”

  A low growl escaped Archer’s throat, and he took a step forward.

  Sophia rolled her eyes and stepped between them. “Answers now, brawl later.”

  Archer stopped and took a moment to gather his composure.

  “For the record, as long as Scarlet is with us, it’s a hands-off policy.” He hoped that warning them all off would placate his urge to mark her, for a while at least.

  “Another question.” Heath raised a brow. “Why do you get to call dibs?”

  “Watch your tone, Precog, she’s mine,” Archer snarled.

  So much for that idea.

  “Scarlet is Archer’s She. There, it’s out of in the open—everyone happy. Can we get back to the problems at hand, now?” Sophia smiled brightly at the dumbfounded looks coming from the men around her.

  “You shoulda just said so,” Heath muttered.

  Archer chose to ignore him. “Your questions—it would have been bad because it’s too early. A created Lycan’s first shift has to be on the apex of a full moon, or the beast will come through completely insane, a monster that will kill without conscience or thought, or any form of control.”

  He sighed. “That’s the best answer I can give you. I don’t know why she changed early.”

  “Could have been because of the massive amounts of magic around her that the oracle used to move her home?” Tate said.

  “Yeah, th
at’s possible, but another one I can’t answer is when I bit her. I don’t remember biting her, and I’m pretty damn sure it’s something I’d remember doing.”

  “It was when you were unconscious, and she had to call for help.” Zane had come out of the trees with no sound and appeared behind Erik, causing a collective string of curse words.

  “Damn vampires—do you have to sneak up on a person like that?”

  “Shut up, Erik. I want to hear what Zane has to say.”

  Zane nodded at Archer. “When Selene and I got to the motel room, I could smell blood, yours and Scarlet’s. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but you must have bitten her when she was caring for you.”

  A hand went through Archer’s long hair in irritation. “Why the hell didn’t she tell me?”

  “That, you are going to have to ask her yourself. Is she okay?” Zane glanced over to the SUV

  “Yes, she’s okay, for now. She’s going to have to change tomorrow night again, and the gods know that first change is painful, but I’ll be with her this time. I’m hoping I can make it a little easier.”

  “Well, then, we better figure out where we are going and get going, because my gut is telling me we are being watched.” Heath looked around, peering into the trees as if he could see through to what the leaves were hiding from view.

  “I want to double check the map, but I think I saw a lake not too far from here. There should be cabins up there that are empty. That might be a good place to regroup, re-plan, and deal with Scarlet’s issues,” Tate said as he walked towards the Impala. He leaned in the driver’s side window and pulled out the map that looked like someone had used it as a serviette at some point.

  Tate spread it on the hood of the car. He scanned it for a moment and nodded, putting his finger on a part of the map.

  “Yeah, here it is.”

  The others moved around him and looked down at the map.

  Archer nodded his approval. “That sounds like a good plan. There are lots of woods for me to take her on her first hunt.”

  “Well, then, let’s get going. We need to make it before dawn and not giving prying eyes extra light to see us by.

  “I’ve got the passenger seat in the Impala,” Heath announced to a round of curses.