Burning Alive

by Shannon K. Butcher

Page 24

 

  “I’m like a magnet, attracting stray scraps of energy from my surroundings. Tiny sparks in the air, heat from the earth, light from the sun. It all flows into me, building up over the years. I can’t stop it, and eventually, without a means of escape, that power will kill me. ”

  He could see the confusion in Helen’s eyes and he wanted to explain everything to her, but first, he had to put her mind at ease. He’d seen her vision when they’d bonded. It was the only thing about her the luceria had chosen to show him.

  It was dark where they were. So dark he couldn’t see anything beyond the sphere of light the fire cast. She was dressed all in black except for the fiery red splash of color around her neck—the luceria. Her hair was in twin braids, as it had been earlier tonight. Her arms were spread wide, almost as if she was bound, but he could see no chains or ropes holding her. Flames engulfed her, reaching up from her feet until they rose ten feet into the air. Her face was a mask of pain and she screamed, a desperate, high-pitched scream that made every hair on his body rise in protest. Yet in the vision, he stood there. Doing nothing. He watched as the flames blackened her clothes and blistered her skin. He watched as she stared at him with terror and agony widening her hazel eyes.

  Drake didn’t want to believe Helen’s vision. If he hadn’t seen it himself, he wouldn’t have believed it. He simply wasn’t capable of watching a woman die without doing something to stop it. Was he?

  At least he now knew why she’d been so afraid of him from the moment she saw him. He hated it, but at least it made sense now. He cupped her face in his hands, reveling in the feel of her soft skin against his sword-roughened palms. “Your vision is not going to happen, Helen. I would never stand by and watch you die. Never. ”

  “I want to believe you. ”

  “Then do. I know people—powerful people—who can help us sort this out. I’ll take you to them tonight. ”

  Thomas had pushed the kitchen door open in time to hear that last comment. “No, you won’t. We’re going after Kevin’s sword. Right now. ”

  Carmen darted into the kitchen and headed straight for the bathroom. Her eyes were red as if she’d been crying.

  Drake frowned at Thomas, fighting the urge to ask what had happened. It was none of his business, but whatever it was, it had upset Thomas. He looked different. Harder.

  Thomas’s eyes settled on the luceria around Helen’s throat and his jaw clenched. He drew his sword, knelt down, and scored a thin line over his heart without bothering to remove his shirt. He uttered the customary “My life for yours,” before rising to his feet. Blood trickled down his chest, soaking into the thin cotton shirt he wore, but Thomas paid it no heed.

  “I wish you wouldn’t do that,” said Helen.

  “Sorry,” said Drake. “It’s our custom. ”

  “It’s a violent custom. ”

  “We’re a violent people,” said Thomas as he cleaned the blood off his sword with a paper towel.

  “Isn’t that blood going to draw the monsters to us?”

  “Yes,” growled Thomas. “It is. ”

  “Then why do you do it? Seems kind of stupid to bleed all over the place when you know it will make the monsters come. ”

  Drake took her hand. “It’s proof of our dedication. Our courage. Not only are we willing to bleed for you; we’re also ready and able to fight off whatever danger may come without fear. It’s symbolic of our commitment to you and our willingness to risk our lives on your behalf. ”

  “Guess Hallmark doesn’t make a greeting card for that, huh?”

  Thomas scowled at her. “We’d better get moving. ”

  “Where are we going?” asked Helen.

  “I’m taking you to see Sibyl. ”

  “The hell you are,” said Thomas. “She’s coming with us to find Kevin’s sword. ”

  The idea of dragging Helen into battle made Drake’s hands shake. He knew it was silly, that she was now more able to protect herself in battle than he was, but that didn’t mean she knew it. “She’s not ready. She doesn’t even know how to use my power yet. ”

  “We don’t have time to wait. The trail will dissipate at dawn. ”

  “What trail?” asked Helen. Her fingers were gripped tight around his arm and even without the aid of the luceria linking them, he would have been able to feel her fear. She’d had too much thrown at her tonight and it was beginning to take its toll.

  Thomas stepped close and Drake could see the difference in Thomas more clearly now. There was no warmth left in those bright blue eyes. No humor. All that was left was cold, lethal intent. “Thomas? Are you okay, man?”

  Thomas turned his back, heading down the hall without a backward glance. “I’m leaving to find Kevin’s sword in ten minutes. With or without you. ”

  That wasn’t good. Without Zach around, he’d be on his own, and as tough as Thomas was, he was no match for an entire nest of demons.

  “What’s wrong with him?” asked Helen.

  “A lot of things. ” Not the least of which was he was dying. He hadn’t taken off his shirt when he’d offered his oath to Helen. That was a bad sign. One of the first signs that a Theronai was nearing the end. Drake wondered how many leaves he had left.

  Not many if he didn’t want Drake to see.

  “What can we do?”

  Drake had to swallow hard to ease the tightness in his throat. He and Thomas had been friends for decades. In fact, they were more like brothers than friends. All of the Theronai were dying slowly, but if Thomas’s lifemark was nearly bare, then that process would speed up. And there was no way to know how much. Each man was different. Drake could only hope that Thomas would be one of the lucky ones and that he’d have at least a few more years left. “Nothing. There’s nothing either of us can do for him now. ”

  Helen gasped and pressed a hand to her chest. “Oh God. He’s dying. I can feel you grieving for him. ”

  Drake cursed. He’d forgotten that the link they shared allowed emotions to filter through. He was going to have to be more careful with her and make sure he kept his emotions under tight control.

  He pulled in a deep breath and focused on clearing his mind. “I’m sorry. Is that better?”

  She nodded, but he could still see his grief haunting her face.

  “I’ve got a lot of things to teach you and not much time to do it. Are you up for that?”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “If you want, I’ll take you to my home. We’ll have all the time we need there. ”

  “And Thomas would be on his own. ”

  Drake nodded.

  She was afraid. He could feel it coming through their link—could see in the way her eyes changed colors, leaning toward green as they did every time she got scared. She was afraid of what was happening to her, afraid for Miss Mabel, afraid of the unknown, but she was also afraid for Thomas.

  “We can’t let him go alone, Drake. We can’t let him die. ”

  He couldn’t resist the urge to pull her to him, to enfold her in his arms and hold her close. She felt so good there. Perfect. He still couldn’t believe he’d been lucky enough to find her. Her capacity to care what happened to others humbled him and made him want to shelter her. Instead, he was going to have to throw her headlong into his world and show her her true potential.

  Drake kept a tight hold on his thoughts so she wouldn’t feel them. He didn’t want her to know that even if they did go with Thomas, there was nothing they could do to save him. The only person who could do that would be another woman like Helen. Assuming another female Theronai even existed.

  He had to believe it was true. The thought of watching his friends die in hideous pain one by one was not something he could stomach. As much as he hated it, the Sanguinar already had a sample of her blood. They were probably already analyzing her ancestry to learn where she came from. If there were more women like her, the Sanguinar would probably be the first to find them.

 
; What a scary thought that was. Talk about lambs to the slaughter.

  Helen stiffened in his arms. His control on his thoughts was slipping and he slammed the barrier back in place. There would be time enough for grim thoughts like that after they found Kevin’s sword.

  “We should get moving,” she said.

  His fingers slid through her silky hair and he wished that there was time to take her to one of the empty bedrooms upstairs and kiss her until they were both too wild to stop and forgot all about the Synestryn. Hell, he would have been satisfied with simply having enough time to share a conversation with her so he could explain to her how their union worked.

  “Are you sure you want to go with Thomas?” he asked her.

  “Yes. He needs us. ”

  “Okay, then. We’ll go, but you’re going to have to trust me. If we’d known you were a Theronai, you would have been learning about your abilities and what you could do with them from the time you were first able to speak. You didn’t have any of that training and all we’re going to have is the time it takes for Thomas to track down the nest of Synestryn. ”

  “What are you talking about? What power?”

  Hell, this was going to take forever to explain. How could he take her from not even knowing that magic was real to being able to wield it all in one evening? It didn’t seem possible.

  He took her hand. “Come with me. It’s going to be easier—quicker—to show you than tell you. ”

  Drake led her outside, well away from the vehicles and the house. “Okay, see that stump over there?” he asked, pointing across the field.

  “No. It’s too dark. ”

  Right. He forgot. She didn’t even know how to pull enough power from him to see in the dark. “Okay, first things first. Here’s how it works. Inside me is this reservoir of energy, but I can’t do much with it. All I can do is store it. You, on the other hand, are able to pull that energy out of me and use it, but you can’t store any on your own. It’s like a checks and balances system so that no one person ever wields too much power. ”

  “Power to do what?”

  “Whatever you like. I could tell you what I’ve seen women do before, but it would only bias you against your own instincts and possibilities. Every woman has her own unique set of skills—things she’s better at than others. ”

  “You may need to bias me, then, because I have no clue what you mean. ”

  Drake refused to get frustrated. She’d saved his life; the least he could do was give her his patience. “We’ll start small. Tell me something you can see. ”

  She pointed to a rock twenty feet away. A little too close for comfort, but it would have to do.

  “Okay, I want you to picture the rock lifting off the ground. I’m going to touch my ring to your necklace to strengthen the link and make it easier for you to draw power from me. ”

  “I don’t even know where to start doing something like that. ” Drake could feel her confusion and uncertainty. He was pushing her too fast. Expecting too much from her.