Love Beyond Flames

by Rebecca Royce

  "I know." He bent forward. "And that's why I keep you out of my head. Hard enough having Raquel in on my deep, dark secret of being a softie. Can't have you running around in there, too."

  She snorted. "Get the asshole who hurt her." Apparently the news had already hit the Outsider wavelength that they were going.

  "Will do."

  Having their memories back made them all stronger. At the very least it reminded them how much they all hated to lose each other.

  The rest of the Outsiders waited by Drew, who cracked his neck and stretched his arms. "I was hoping we weren't done for the night. I hear we're human hunting. Maybe we'll find Sebastian too and we can send him back to his hell dimension never to be heard of again."

  "Not how the prophecy reads." Christophe shook his head. "Although I'd love the idea."

  So would Zane. But Sebastian wasn't his main concern at the moment. First, he had a human to deal with. If he led them to Sebastian, then someone else could deal with it. Zane was going to be preoccupied for a long while to come.

  One second they stood in the caves and the next they were in the clearing. When they steadied, Marina spoke. "I hate to state the obvious, but it's possible this dude has hopped on an airplane and flown off into who knows where. We can trace him if Drew or Gabe can get a mental picture of him. Worst case scenario, we find nothing out here and then Zane draws them a picture and we can…" "No." Zane shouted, interrupting Marina while he stormed forward. "He's still here. Trust me. I can feel his stench in my blood. That's just the kind of night it is."

  Leonardo extended his hand in front of him. "Then have at it, Zane. Lead the way."

  Chapter Nine

  Raquel shot up in the bed, clutching the sheet to herself. She'd been having the weirdest dream. It wasn't the same as the time the ancestors had come down and given her the horrible news about the battle. No, it had been a dream. She'd been falling toward her death, unable to stop herself, screaming for Zane and he hadn't been anywhere.

  Sweat drenched her body. "Zane?"

  The caves made it impossible to know exactly the time of day but she was stiff like she'd been asleep for hours.

  "Hey." Charma poked her head around the side of the door. "I felt you wake up. Hope that's not invasive. I didn't want to sit in here and stare at you so I used a little power to know."

  "It's fine." She rubbed at her eyes. "I was having the most awful dream. Where is Zane?"

  She wasn't going to feel better until she laid eyes on him. In her dream, he was missing from her. She'd been falling to her death and he hadn't been anywhere around.

  She'd woken up and he wasn't here, which was weird.

  "Zane?" No response hit her and she shivered. "Where is he?"

  "They went to find the human who was leading the zombies. He's probably taken by Sebastian. I believe you know the man. I think he was responsible for most of your earlier problems."

  Charma touched her face and some of Raquel's anxiety started to melt away, which was exactly why she swatted Charma's hand away.

  She'd been given a piece of information and she needed to focus on it. "Did you say they went after Dorstore?"

  Raquel pulled the covers off her. This was horrible, worse than unimaginable.

  "You don't look at all okay with this." Charma moved out of her way as she dashed around looking for clothes. All the women had given her some when she'd first arrived. Some of them fit, some didn't. But hell, she'd wear a burlap sack to get to Zane.

  "I'm not okay with it. Dorstore is very, very dangerous. And that was before he aligned or whatever with Sebastian." The very idea that he was with the demon made her skin crawl. "Why would he have run out and done this before I woke up? If he knew I was the person with the most experience with the man, why would he leave me here?"

  Charma touched her arm but Raquel didn't want any calming and ripped it away, again.

  "I'm sure he thought he was protecting you. That's what they do."

  "Yeah that and get giddy when they are fighting zombies. No one is in their right mind at the moment. You, at the very least, should have discouraged this."

  Charma sighed. "I'll admit I got kind of giddy at the idea. Why is that? That's so unlike me."

  A boom sounded in the room around them and Raquel jumped backwards, putting herself in front of Charma. What had made that noise? What was happening?

  Voices sounded everywhere, yelling and calling out. Raquel could feel their pain but not understand their language.

  "What is this?" Charma moved around her so that she wasn't blocked anymore. "And don't protect me. I'm not a child. I can help you as well as you can help me."

  "I don't know." But the noise was starting to make her head ache. She covered her ears. Whether or not Charma could protect herself was neither here nor there at the moment.

  The voices became louder, like the people talking really wanted to make themselves understood. Next to her Charma jolted. "My hands are burning."

  Her statement seemed such a non sequitur that it took Raquel a second to answer her. "What?"

  "My hands are burning, like I'm supposed to be using them."

  "Use them how?" Raquel had no sooner asked the question then Charma placed her hand on Raquel's arm.

  She winced, expecting more of the same calming influence she always got from the healer but instead Charma's hand on her seemed to clear some of the clutter out of Raquel's brain. The words shouted around the room weren't nonsense sounds but language she could understand.

  "It's clearer." Charma let out a breath. "I have to keep my hand on you but I understand…"

  Raquel nodded once. "Me too."

  "He's coming! Prepare! He's coming! Prepare!"

  Over and over again the same two sentences were spoken. As quickly as it started, it stopped. The room fell silent and Raquel let out the breath she held.

  "Who's coming?" Charma dropped Raquel's arm and stepped away.

  Raquel shook her head. She had no answers for Charma. They'd heard exactly the same thing. The room was too silent, as if the loss of the strange voices had left things cold in their sudden disappearance. What the hell was going on?

  "I don't know. But let's go find the others. Maybe

  we can work it all out together. Ruby and Christophe may have some answers in their books."

  Charma headed toward the door to the room. "Or Leonardo. Once upon a time, he was an expert on these things."

  In any case, Raquel wanted them all back in the caves and not chasing Dorstore around without her. Why wasn't Zane answering any of her telepathic calls to him? What was…

  Her thoughts came to an abrupt stop as the loudest boom she'd ever heard threw her to the ground from the sheer force of the sound. She gasped and grabbed at her ears. A quick glance at Charma through the pain ringing in her ear drums showed her in the same position, rolling around on the floor grasping at her head.

  "Charma." Raquel's voice wasn't more than an echo in her own head. Was she shouting? Whispering? She couldn't tell over the pain in her head.

  Fainting wasn't an option. It was bad enough she had to succumb every time she used her powers. She wasn't going to lose it now. Raquel hoisted herself up on her knees and crawled to Charma who managed to pull herself up as well. The other woman shook her head and raised her hands from her ears to show Raquel her hands had blood on them from where they'd gripped her ears.

  Raquel looked down to examine her own. They were also covered in red. Damn, she really hoped Jason, wherever he was and whenever he got back, could fix whatever had happened to their ears. It couldn't be a good thing to bleed from the ears.

  Black smoke appeared in the room and goosebumps appeared on her skin. There was something very, very wrong happening. Her stomach turned. Raquel jumped to her feet, her ears still ringing and tugged at Charma's arm. They had to get out of the room. They had to get away from that black smoke. Fast.

  "What is that?" Charma shouted, which was the only reason Raquel could hear
her.

  "Nothing good," she shouted back.

  They ran like their lives depended on it. Without a transporter they had to get out of the caves on foot, which Raquel had never done before. Hopefully Charma had, otherwise they were dead meat.

  She wished she had asked someone how big the

  caves were. Right then, it seemed like a really big oversight

  *****

  Sebastian stared at the scene in front of him. The Outsiders were out of their caves, well most of them were anyway. His plan couldn't have gone better and he'd hardly worked on it all. But, then again, that was why he was the demon of the century.

  He had one human who already had a fixation on an Outsider and he'd managed to infuse him with enough evil over the years that pushing him over the edge into psychotic had been downright easy. And now he got to watch as thousands of zombies appeared over the horizon and…

  His thoughts stopped abruptly as his body caught on fire, only that didn't make any sense. He didn't have a body, hadn't possessed a corporeal one since the Outsiders had foolishly killed him, setting him free to roam the world as he saw fit.

  So what the fuck was happening now?

  He groaned, hitting the ground with a thump, the unpleasant sensation of new skin growing around his darkness forming. He'd already put up with this hell once when he'd been in utero. Once was more than enough.

  Nothing—no magic the Outsiders would ever possess—could do this to him. This didn't rank among their powers.

  There was only one being in the universe that could have done this to him.

  His father.

  But it wasn't possible. Was it? Sebastian's heart rate kicked up fast as his chest tightened. If his father was here, he was really fucking screwed.

  A shout in the distance caught his attention. The human had been spotted by the Outsiders. He'd love to help but considering the change in his circumstances, the man was going to have to live and die all on his own.

  If Sebastian's father had come to this dimension it was bad news for Sebastian.

  And damned if he'd put up with any crap after all the effort he'd put into this place.

  Sebastian stood and on legs that were unfamiliar after not having any for so long, he ran from the woods.

  This fucking sucked.

  *****

  Alexa watched the scene from above. None of the guys had noticed her and she didn't expect them to. She really needed to be somewhere else, plotting, and planning. And yet she couldn't go. Sebastian would have to be made to pay for how he fooled her. She couldn't even really call it rape. She'd consented to his abuse.

  But she would blame Leonardo for leaving her to that situation for the rest of her damned life. He'd let her get wrecked. With her memories back, she couldn't make sense of any of it. She knew Leonardo, had loved him with every bit of herself for as long as she'd had a self to speak of. He loved her the same way. This time he suddenly didn't?

  She needed help and he left her there.

  What was…

  Movement in the air around her caught her attention. Something was wrong. A shiver crossed through her. In the caves. There was screaming. Her mind's eye flashed to scene. She didn't have second sight but, then again, she didn't know what she could and couldn't do. The demon infestation in her cells had changed her.

  Maybe she could…she let her vision travel. She saw the caves. Raquel and Charma running for their lives. Marina holding onto Eden, who, without Samuel, couldn't see anything. Loraine and her dog charging through the halls with Ruby. They were alone and the demon was there…but not Sebastian.

  She gasped and held her throat when she wanted to vomit. The Father. He'd come. Why? Why were the other demons around in this lifetime? This had never happened before.

  "Ah, hell." Literally. Alexa popped into the cave. She didn't mind the additional travel power. Not having to rely on anyone else to take her anywhere made a huge difference.

  Marina and Eden were her targets and she landed in front of them. Without asking, she grabbed their arms. "These caves aren't safe anymore. The Father is here. I'm getting you."

  Eden's eyes widened. "Is that you, Alexa?" "It is." She hated these women.

  They hadn't helped her when they could have. Yet, somehow, she couldn't bring herself to let them die. Not now, anyway. She surged her power and landed outside of the cave, on the grass where she set down Eden and Marina. "Stay here. I'm getting the other women."

  One by one, she brought them to the pasture where she had left Marina and Eden. They were all worse for wear. Raquel had a black eye from something flying out to hit her in the face. Charma held her hands over her ears like they pained her. Marina coughed up black smoke. Loraine held onto Eden, who rocked back and forth. Isabelle was covered in soot.

  They all stared at Alexa, even Eden who presumably couldn't see her. What were they waiting for? Did they expect her to speak? "The caves aren't safe anymore, obviously. You'll have to find somewhere else to go. That is, if you can convince your men to come back from their crusade. That's demon magic and you should know better."

  Raquel got to her knees. "That's your powerbase. We need you for that."

  "Then I guess I should have let you all die in that cave because I'm not going to be around to help you. I'm leaving." Her mouth watered and it wasn't for food.

  She needed blood. Except she'd spent so many weeks getting off the stuff. She couldn't let herself slide back down. Charma rose to her feet and dropped her hands from her ears.

  Charma looked Alexa straight in the eyes. "Thank you for saving us. You've always been like a sister to me. Except in this lifetime." The healer didn't lie. They had always been close. "I failed you. I can't get the demon out of you. I'm sorry."

  Alexa wanted to tell her it was okay. It was always hard to deny Charma forgiveness, particularly because the other woman was so good-natured in all she did.

  But, not this time. "You should be. Go find your men before they die. And tell Leonardo I hope he rots at the hand of the Father."

  She blinked away. Screw them all.

  *****

  Zane stopped moving. They were all together in the woods looking for one human. How was he evading them so well?

  Terror moved through him and he knew it wasn't his own. He was supposed to be concentrating on someone else…and he couldn't seem to figure out who or what or why he was where he was.

  "Hold up, everyone," Zane called out. "Something is wrong."

  Drew came up next to him. "Agreed. Something is. And maybe it's just that you're a huge pain in the ass and I hate you."

  Now, that was unexpected. "Excuse me?"

  Drew shoved him. "I hate you. I want you dead. In fact, I want all of you dead."

  The other man's eyes didn't look right. His pupils were huge. Zane spared a glance to Leonardo who shook his head. Their leader was as much in the dark as he was.

  "Drew." Zane put a hand on Drew's shoulder. "You're not right. Jason, can you do anything for him?"

  The doctor shook his head. "Afraid not. That's not my domain. Emotional issue belongs to…" His voice trailed off. "Who does it belong to?"

  Zane felt he should know the answer to that question and, what was more, he really thought that Dr.

  Jason should be able to complete his thought..

  Christophe cleared his throat. "If you want to kill him, Drew, why don't you get to it?"

  "What?" Zane looked at the Frenchman. Was

  Christophe suggesting violence? His eyes had a red tinge to them.

  Drew shoved him and Zane fell backwards. He darted to his feet. Well, that was fine. If Drew wanted to fight then Zane would give him one. Drew would be dead in minutes.

  "You made a huge mistake here, Dubowski." Zane grinned. "I'm a really bad person. I've killed people. I went to jail. People run from me on the street. You think you had a hard life up until now? I'm going to show you pain before you die."

  They rushed at each other. His powers lit up but he didn
't use them. This was a test of skill, of strength. They pounded on each other. Zane's ears rang and blood flowed out of his nose. Drew didn't fare better. Zane's hands hurt from how hard Zane punched him.

  A roar sounded. The other men started to yell, to holler, to punch and kick each other. Zane grinned. This was it. This was life. This would be a good death.

  A cold dose of water—or ice—moved through his veins and Zane hit the ground just as Drew let go of his neck. He panted.

  "Enough," someone shouted. "Cool down, boys."

  Zane had never fainted in his life but he hit the dirt.

  *****

  Waking up, his head spun. His mouth was dry but a warm hand—Raquel's—stroked his hair gently.

  "Love?" He called out to her and she shushed him.

  "Not yet. You're not ready to be awake yet."

  Okay, he'd agree with her. He shut his lids again.

  The next time he woke up it was to hear the sound of dripping water and the smell of mold. No one petted him lightly. He rolled over. Where was Raquel and, at the same time, where the hell was he? He sat and pulled the covers off himself. A quick check of the room around him made him think it was a motel. Why was he here? How had he gotten here? And where were the others?

  "Hello?" No one answered.

  Maybe that was for the best, considering he wore nothing but his boxer shorts. He didn't really want to run into too many people without more clothes on. But the ones he'd been wearing when he went after Dorstore were folded neatly on a chair. He picked them up. They smelled laundered and were warm under his hands.

  Who had done his laundry?

  He shoved them on fast followed by his shoes. The door to the room swung open and Raquel came in.

  She had a coffee in her hand and her eyes widened when she looked at him. "You're up. You keep trying to wake up way too soon. Charma thought you guys might be out as long as a week."

  Seeing her meant he could breathe. He sank down into the chair he'd just taken the clothes from. "You're okay."

  "I was always fine, mostly. You took a heavy dose of magic from Charma to get the demonic stuff off you. You were all coated in it. Hating on each other. You might have killed each other." She walked over to him.