“I’ve contained it as much as I can,” she said, her voice strained as she stared into the hazy tree line ahead.
“How long can you hold it?” I asked her, noting the sweat dripping from her temples and the sheen coating her skin. Whatever she was doing, it wasn’t easy on her.
“How long will it take you to dig a perimeter?”
I inhaled deeply, contemplating that. “You think that’ll hold the fire off the property?”
“Maybe not. But I suspect the fire wasn’t designed to hit the property.”
I looked at her sharply, but it was Brittany who spoke. “Designed as in engineered? Someone set this fire on purpose?”
I gave her a knowing look and her eyes hardened. “RJ,” she said.
I didn’t need to tell her she was right. “Sushna was ranting about fire and witches burning when we left yesterday,” I said quietly and Brittany let loose with a string of creative curses.
“Right. But no witches have been burned by this,” Koby pointed out.
“Except Harold. And Breck,” Brittany pointed out.
Safar said nothing, and I knew she had her own theories. “You think RJ targeted the trees on purpose?” I asked.
She turned to me slowly, and I knew she was keeping a tight hold on the concentration needed to maintain the protective barrier around us. “Ea will do whatever is necessary to hold us off until the equinox.”
“The merge,” I said grimly. “He knew we were going to use the trees for the witches to help with the merge.”
“Shit,” Brittany said. “If he knows we’re using the trees to travel, he’d want to destroy them.”
Safar went back to watching the forest. I did the same but my mind wasn’t on the fire anymore. I scowled as I pictured RJ’s face with Ea’s intentions. A damned rat. An ocean rat.
Fury swelled inside me. Hot and raw and aimed at the god who was intent on ruining my life and the lives of everyone I cared about. Hell, if the Witherer could be believed, Ea’s coming had even ruined my mother’s life.
“Brittany, you and Koby get to work on digging a trench perimeter.”
“On it,” Brittany said, already heading for the storage shed on the side of the house where I knew Harold kept shovels. Koby followed.
“Go talk to Breck. Then Indra,” Safar said, practically reading my thoughts. “See what you can find out.”
I turned to her. “I can’t leave you out here—”
“There’s nothing else you can do,” she said. “I’ve got it.” She hesitated and then added, “This is my purpose here. Yours is to protect the warrior.”
My eyes narrowed. “Did Sam tell you what Sushna said?”
“Sam didn’t have to tell me anything.”
“Jin,” I said knowingly.
“No, Alex. You.”
“Me? How could I tell you if I didn’t know about it myself?”
“Sam didn’t tell you about my other gift, did she?” When I shook my head, she continued, her forehead creasing. “It’s not easy to explain. The way Jin reads people … he must touch their skin to use his psychic sight. When I read people … I see things about them that they would rather leave buried. Things they don’t yet want to admit to themselves. I don’t need to touch their body to do it.”
“How does it work then?”
She pursed her lips, tilting her head as she seemed to search for words. “It’s more like … I touch their hearts. Or minds.”
“Can you read my thoughts?” I asked, not sure if I liked that idea especially considering how long she’d been a part of our group without sharing this particular gift.
But she shook her head. “No. Even these hidden truths … It’s more like an extra sense than anything physical or tangible. When I was a kid, it used to feel like an intrusion or a burden but working with Jin taught me to make it softer. Safer. Rather than digging for it, I can make you feel safe enough to take it out and talk about it on your own.”
“Sam said how comfortable she felt talking to you when we first came to you,” I said. “This is why.”
Safar nodded. “I would never betray a trust, Alex. I have never shared with anyone what I sense in you.”
I wondered if that’s why she was so quiet. Sifting through all that knowledge, keeping track of what people had told you and what you’d learned through magic, probably made relationships complicated.
“And what do you sense in me?” I asked.
She hesitated, and I wondered if she was going to refuse to answer me. She had made it clear she wouldn’t even share what she saw with me unless I was ready to admit it to myself. But finally she met my eyes, her dark, almond-shaped gaze piercing right through me until I felt exposed in a way I had never been before.
“Inside you, there is fire unlike anything we have seen here tonight,” she said quietly. “Inside you, there is Life.”
Inside, I found Breck sitting upright at Harold’s kitchen table holding an ice pack to his swollen lip. Sam stood before him, patting at his injured eye with an alcohol swab, and he flinched, scowling and cursing until I couldn’t help but grin where I sat across from them, watching.
“You’re enjoying this way too much,” Breck said.
I shrugged. “I can’t help it if karma’s a salty bitch.”
His good eye narrowed to an icy-blue slit. “You think this is payback for me killing you?”
“Trying to kill me,” I corrected.
He sat forward, leaning out of Sam’s reach, and glared at me. “I did kill you. If it weren’t for Sam bringing your sorry ass back, you’d be fertilizing the backyard about now.”
Everyone fell silent, and I caught sight of Sam, her face drained of color. Her arm hung limp at her side and she bit her lip. My retort died on my lips and I sighed around the time Breck seemed to finally understand what he’d said. I knew we were all thinking of Mason Harding who actually was fertilizer in a backyard.
“Hell,” Breck muttered. And then to Sam who had all but given up on tending his wounds, “What’s the status of that whiskey?”
She tossed the cotton swab aside and spun around in search of a glass for the bottle Harold produced. When he’d handed it to Sam he went back to sulking in front of the window. I knew he wanted to get back out there, but I also knew there wasn’t a damned thing he could do other than burn himself again.
Sam poured a glass and returned, shoving the drink into Breck’s waiting hand. He took it and drained the glass, coughing as he set it down again.
“Why is he still mangled?” I asked.
Sam sighed. “He won’t let me use magic until we’re sure the portal is closed.”
I rubbed absently at my shoulder, now healed thanks to Sam last night. It hadn’t even been on purpose. Just a nice side effect of great sex. And because we both knew that’s what had caused the healing, I’d yet to mention it to anyone else. “The portal?” I frowned. “Why?”
Sam didn’t answer and instead turned to Breck. He opened his mouth to answer, but upstairs, a floor board creaked, and he stilled. “What the hell was that?”
“Indra,” I said, unable to keep the disgust from the sound of her name.
“What the …?” Breck sat up straighter, slamming the empty glass against the table. “Why the hell is she here?”
“Long story,” I said and Sam held up a hand to stop his next question.
“We’ll get to that,” Sam said. “First, tell us what happened to you.”
Breck grumbled, and I knew he didn’t want to admit whatever he was about to say. “I made camp with Harold and spent the next day doing recon. I found the little shit easily enough. There are caves farther up the mountain on the backside, away from the trails. They’re ventilated and heated from hot springs coming from inside the mountain.”
Sam frowned. “According to your last report, he hadn’t come out of them.”
“Yeah, well. I got sick of waiting so I decided to have a closer look.”
“He spotted you,” I said
grimly.
Breck nodded, and I could see how pissed he was at himself for it. “I’ve never been made before,” he said, gritting his teeth as he ground out the words.
“You’re not exactly dealing with a normal human,” I said.
“Right,” Sam echoed, sliding into the chair beside mine. “So what happened?”
“He lost his shit, got in a few good hits, and I got the hell out,” Breck said. “I made it to the tree and used the activation phrase Harold gave me so I could travel without him. But apparently RJ sent a parting gift through the line, and I had flames literally on my ass by the time I came through the portal.”
“The fire came through from his side,” I said and Breck nodded then hung his head. “Sorry, sis. I never would have come back if I’d known.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “Of course you would. What else could you do?”
Breck didn’t answer and his gaze flicked to mine. I knew exactly what he would have done: sacrifice himself.
Sushna’s words echoed in my head. The price to pay for Sam’s merge would be a sacrifice. Is this who Sam would have to give up for the merge? Someone she loved? According to Sushna, that’s how it had happened for mine.
I couldn’t think about that.
Upstairs, another board creaked.
All three of us looked up. Breck was glaring again. Apparently having his cover blown made him grumpy.
“We need to find out what she knows about this fire ability RJ suddenly has,” I said, shoving reluctantly to my feet.
“You think she knows something about it?” Sam asked.
“I think she knows a lot more than we think. And I think you wouldn’t be here if RJ didn’t want you to be,” I added and Breck growled. I held up a hand. “Dude, the guy has the power of a god inside him. He could have killed you, but he didn’t. We need to know why.”
“Alex is right,” Sam said.
“Fine. Talk to Indra.” Breck snorted and poured another drink while Sam went back to dabbing at his eye. “Hell, the asshole lived inside her for who knows how long. She better know things. And she better tell us all of it.”
“She will,” I said quietly, avoiding Sam’s eyes. “Whatever it takes.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sam
Indra still wouldn’t speak. I’d suspected as much and insisted on being the first one to talk to her, especially after Alex’s expression had promised results no matter what. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that meant he didn’t plan on playing nice. After being alone yielded nothing, we brought her downstairs to show her Breck’s injuries and Harold’s singed clothes. Alex and Breck both insisted on taking turns trying to coax words out of her, but it didn’t work. Indra just sat there with a blank expression that made me wonder if she even heard us. After an hour of fruitless interrogation, I sent her back upstairs and gave each of the guys a shot to calm them down and shut them up. Their ranting wasn’t helping.
The reality was that with the trees burned, there was no way Harold could travel and bring the witches here in time. The moon’s power would wane, and I would be no match for RJ when the time came.
The merge was impossible now. No one had said it aloud but it was true.
The silence stretched. I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. If I did, my heart would break and hope would fail, and I wasn’t sure what would happen to me then.
Inside, my belly was dancing with nerves and magic and bits of Hina that kept leaking through thanks to the healing I’d done on Harold earlier, not to mention the strangeness of my healing Alex last night. Apparently, an orgasm was also effective at activating healing magic even when I didn’t mean to. But I didn’t mention Hina’s stirring; now wasn’t the time. Not with Alex’s worry causing deep lines around his eyes and mouth.
At the table, Breck and Alex spoke in low voices about how RJ could possibly have the power of fire when he was possessed by a god of the ocean. I had to agree, that one didn’t make sense.
Harold still sat in the corner, mute and unmoving as he stared out at the forest that continued to flicker orange. I bit my lip, wishing I could do something more. But how did I heal against a forest fire? Hina’s gifts couldn’t fight that.
“Where’s your computer?” Breck asked, and I blinked, realizing belatedly they were both looking at me.
“Here,” I said, grabbing it from the counter and handing it over.
Alex watched me intently. “You okay?” he asked.
My heart thudded and my fingertips tingled with magic. “Sure.”
He kept watching.
Across from him, Breck booted up the computer and ran a search on Mount Shasta. Rather than wait and be stared at, I poured another shot and took it myself and then slipped out in search of Safar and the others. Maybe she would know what to do. There had to be something.
I found Safar coming toward me just inside the tree line with Brittany at her side. The gray light of pre-dawn shrouded them as did a thick cloud of smoke. Brittany had a shovel over her shoulder and both of them had dirt-streaked faces that showed exhaustion.
“How’s it going out here?” I asked.
“The fire’s almost out,” Brittany said.
“Already?” My eyes widened in surprise. I hadn’t gotten as close as Alex, but even from the porch it was easy to see it wasn’t a small flame.
“We dug out the perimeter just to be sure,” Brittany said, lowering the shovel to swipe at her forehead, “But Safar was right. The fire was only aimed at the magic.”
It took a moment for her words to sink in. “The trees. It only wanted the trees.”
Safar nodded. “He wants to cut us off.”
“So that we can’t get to him,” Brittany said.
But I shook my head, my heart sinking at the reality. “No. So they can’t get to us.”
Safar nodded again, her eyes sharp on mine. We both already understood the implications of this.
Brittany scowled. “Horse shit. We’ll find another way.”
I stared at Safar, willing her to agree. To come up with something. I wasn’t sure when I’d started relying on her so much, but now I couldn’t imagine doing any of this without her.
“We’ll think of something,” she said finally.
My shoulders sagged. I nodded, numb. “Where’s Koby?”
“He’s … with the trees,” Brittany said quietly.
“Can he help them?” I asked in surprise.
Brittany shrugged. “He said he was going to try.”
“I should see if there’s anything I can do,” I said and they both nodded, their expressions tight. I took a step around them, and Brittany followed.
“I’ll join you,” she said, spinning to fall into step beside me.
I nodded, grateful for the company.
“I’m going to check the wards,” Safar said. “Increase the range until we know the danger is passed. I’ll find you in a bit.”
“Thank you,” I told her, grateful. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it and she nodded knowingly before slipping away.
Brittany and I made our way deeper into the forest. “How is Breck?” she asked.
“A mess.”
“You didn’t help him?” she asked.
“He wouldn’t let me do anything until we knew for sure the portal was closed.”
“Smart,” Brittany said. “If you had used magic with the portal open, RJ could have used the fire to target you.”
I shuddered at the idea and shoved it away. RJ hadn’t gotten to me. Yet. But he might as well have. Sealing us off from the witches … it was as good as killing me. Without the merge—
“We’ll find another way, Sam,” Brittany said.
I nodded again, still not willing to trust my voice to a response.
The smoke thickened as we walked. Even using my shirt to cover my nose and mouth, I coughed until my chest hurt. Brittany led the way and I blinked through teary eyes as I followed her past trees covered in ash and
char. In the center of the worst of it, Koby was leaning against a charred redwood, his head back and eyes closed.
When we got close, he opened his eyes and sat up, and I saw that tears stained his cheeks.
“Are they—?” I began but Koby shook his head.
“They’re all gone,” he said quietly.
Brittany cursed, and I stared into the still-smoky forest without really seeing anything. Even more than the failure this meant for me, my chest ached at the pain this would cause Harold. And I had brought it here. Tears burned my eyelids and then spilled over, streaming down my cheeks as I grieved for my part in it all.
I fell down beside Koby and he put his arms around me as we cried together, sharing and trading our grief and pain back and forth again and again. Around us, the sun finally began to rise. The start of a new day and already, we had failed. I wanted to believe Safar and Brittany—that we would find another way to get the witches we needed for my merge with Hina. But in this moment, all I could feel was the loss.
All around me was death.
The goddess inside me needed more than that. I needed more than that. I needed life. A power greater than my own. And I had no idea where we’d find it before the ocean god found me.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Alex
My eyes burned with smoke and lack of sleep, but I couldn’t just nap the problems away. In fact, I wasn’t sure when I’d sleep again. Not with the merge fast-approaching and our plan completely fucking screwed. Within minutes of my request for a group meeting, Koby, Brittany, and Harold were all seated on the rug in Harold’s living room in a loose circle. Koby and Brittany huddled close together and took turns peering at the laptop they’d been using for research.
Breck wandered in a minute later with a bag of frozen veggies in one hand. I raised a brow but he just scowled. Harold tried handing him a lit joint, but he shook his head. Harold just shrugged. Koby reached for it instead and inhaled deeply before blowing out a long wisp of smoke that sent a pungent smell through the house.
“The vibe in here is way too stressed,” Koby explained.
Defiance (Heart Lines Series Book 5) Page 18
