Hidden Fire

by Deirdra Eden

  I opened the balcony doors and stepped outside. The dark clouds of Erebus’s storm shrouded all light. All of this was my fault. I should have never gone to Scotland. For all I knew, it was actually Erebus who fed lies to the king until he ordered me to go. Maybe they were just trying to get me out of the way so Erebus’s army could invade London.

  I pulled at my hair. How could I have been so foolish to turn my Watcher duty over to the Shadow King himself just because he looked like Lucas? I willingly gave Erebus my ruby necklace that healed him in battle. I gripped the railing and doubled over as queasiness hit me. This had to be the most idiotic thing a Watcher had ever done.

  I retreated back inside, grasped the cold brass handles of the balcony doors, and pulled them shut. There had to be something I could do to amend my mistakes. I turned around and almost touched noses with the beast I hated most in the world.

  Erebus smiled slyly at me with Lucas’s lips.

  I pressed my back against the balcony doors and stared into his face. My hand trembled as I gripped the handle of the sword at my waist. I imagined running my sword through his body and braced myself to do it.

  He yanked my sword from the scabbard and tossed it across the room.

  I tried not to act surprised or afraid. He leaned against the doors with one hand on either side of me and pressed closer. His icy breath washed over my ear.

  “You have been crying. What is wrong, my love?” He slid his bitter cold arms around me. I stiffened at the lack of human warmth in his touch. I searched his black eyes that were once cornflower blue. I wanted desperately for him to be Lucas. “We are going to have the wedding ceremony tomorrow,” he said. “You will be my queen and fight by my side as we always dreamed.”

  I swallowed the hard lump in my throat. I’d rather die than aid the Shadow Legion in destroying the human race.

  The Shadow King took my hand and kissed it. He had done the same thing many times, but this time I shivered from the icy touch as his lips brushed across my skin. “My love, I got a report that there are three rebels in the castle. I’m going to stay with you tonight to protect you. Trust me. Let me watch you sleep tonight, my future queen.” He leaned in to kiss my neck.

  I pushed him away with strained hands. “It is not proper.”

  He gripped my hands and pressed them against his chest. “I do not care about propriety.”

  I tried to pull away while keeping my voice overly sweet. “I am finishing my dress tonight, and it is not proper for you to see it before our wedding.”

  “I see,” Erebus said with a smile. “If you will kiss me before I go, I will be satisfied until the morning.”

  I tightened my fists and fought to hold my composure. I didn’t want to kiss him—I wanted to kill him. The Shadow King frowned and realized, “You don’t know how to sew.” His eyes flashed with smoldering brimstone.

  My breath quickened as I stared into Erebus’s eyes, still searching for any sign of the man I loved. “What have you done to Lucas?” I tried to pull away.

  “Lucas is dead. I not only took his body, but all his memories of you.” He grinned, his teeth now pointed and dagger-like. “Do you know who I am, my lady?”

  My voice broke. I couldn’t get in the breath to speak.

  “I am Erebus, Shadow King of the Damned.” He leaned closer, hovering over me. “I’m not as evil as the Neviahan king thinks I am. I’m actually quite good and I’m offering you everything you’ve ever wanted and a throne by my side. I offer you power, fame, wealth, and . . . my passion.” His harsh whisper echoed as if he shouted it. “Don’t you dare refuse me.”

  My mouth hung open in awe at his bold, but empty offer. Did he really think I would actually consider joining him when it was my destiny to destroy him? I stared at the sapphire ring burning on my hand. “I . . . I need some time to think about this,” I stalled, hoping the three Immortals would walk in the door any moment and save me.

  Erebus pulled away. “I will have your answer tomorrow morning. If you fight against me, more will die, including your new Watcher friends.” His words bit into me like the fangs of a venomous snake. Erebus snatched one of my red locks and twisted it around his finger before letting it fall onto my chest. He smiled, and embers smoldered in his eyes before he turned and left.

  Once the door was shut and I was alone, I braced myself against the vanity. My rainbow ring glinted from the tabletop. I couldn’t believe I ever took it off. The Fairy Queen gave it to me when I first discovered I was a Neviahan. She told me it should always remind me that just like the rainbow, I was from the heavens. The rainbow ring slid easily back onto my hand, right where it belonged.

  Bad things happen to everyone. I cannot control all the horrible things that happen in my life, but I can control whether my trials make me weaker or make me stronger.

  I picked up my fallen sword. Erebus and the Shadow Legion should be terrified of me. They had done me so much wrong, but instead of weakening me, the Legion drove me to find the strength and determination of an entire army.

  I would show them I remembered who I was. Flames shot from my hands and enveloped my sword.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Aura's Sacrifice

  Orion and Korban burst into my room and barricaded themselves against the door.

  “Thirty-three Shadow Lords and two Shadow Wolves,” Korban said with a wide grin. Shadow blood covered their battle kilts and bare chests like proud war paint. “That’s a new record for us.”

  “Lucas is Erebus,” I sputtered and took a deep breath. “He was pretending to be Lucas all along.” I lowered my head. “I was deceived.”

  “We were all deceived,” Korban said while holding the door shut with Orion.

  I hoped part of Lucas was still alive.

  “What colour were his eyes?” Orion asked.

  “Black,” I said. “Very black.”

  “Then Lucas is dead,” Orion confirmed my fear.

  “Erebus doesn’t fight fair,” Korban said. His eyes flashed to the doors as the sound of footsteps grew louder. “Don’t let regret distract you from what we have to do now. They are coming.”

  I ran to the door and helped them brace it with my feeble mortal strength.

  Orion eyed me up and down. “And you thought how we dressed for battle was inappropriate.”

  I glanced at my midnight black stowaway outfit. There wasn’t anything wrong with what I wore for battling the Shadows. Black pants and high boots sheathed my legs. I had just finished lacing up the soft black leather corset when they came in. It was a different look for a woman, but perfect for a warrior like me who depended on agility and flexibility.

  Korban let out an impressed whistle. He had to be mocking me.

  “Really?” I said and lowered my head to hide the sudden flush to my face. “You don’t expect me to go after Erebus in a ball gown, do you?”

  The footsteps grew louder. “‘Tis Azrael. Let him in,” Orion said. We scrambled out of the way and Orion momentarily opened the door for him.

  Azrael slid into the door frame and ricocheted ungracefully into the room. It was the first time I’d seen him do something clumsy. Baby bounded in behind him. “I saw at least a hundred more in the main hall.” Azrael froze when he saw me dressed for battle. “Whoa!” His face relaxed, and he dropped his hard stance and grinned like a fool suddenly hit by Cupid’s arrow.

  I kept a straight face. “I know, it’s not very ladylike, but you better get used to it if we are going to be fighting side by side for the rest of my time on Earth.”

  He brushed back his hair with one hand, but didn’t stop smiling. “It might be a little distracting, but I’d be more than happy with that.”

  More footsteps pounded from the hallway. Azrael spun around and peered out the doors. “Blast! They’re coming.”

  “How many?” Korban asked.

  “600, at least,” Azrael answered.

  “Can we take on 600 strong?” I asked.

  Korban narrowed his
eyes. “Maybe, but not without risking Aura.”

  Azrael glanced at me. “Can we outrun them if I carry Aura?”

  Korban shook his head. “Do you know what that kind of speed would do to a mortal?”

  I suddenly felt like the liability I didn’t want to be. It was best they run away without me and save themselves. I wasn’t trying to be a martyr—I just didn’t want Erebus to drink their blood and steal the power of four Neviahans instead of one.

  The lamplight from the balcony reflected in Azrael’s silver eyes. “Come with me. I’ve got an idea.”

  Korban, Baby, Orion, and I followed Azrael to the balcony. Azrael peered over the edge at the vines climbing up the castle wall. “Orion, can you—”

  “Already on it.” Orion lifted his hands into the air. A sound like rustling leaves resonated through the courtyard below and grew louder. I looked over the edge of the balcony. The vines twisted and thickened by the second as they reached toward us.

  The Legion pounded on the doors from behind. I whirled around and gripped the edge of the railing. The wood of the doors bowed as the Shadow Lords and Shadow Wolves made siege on my bedroom chamber. “They’re breaking through.” Wood shattered as the enemy flooded the room.

  Azrael slammed the balcony doors shut. Korban and I helped Azrael brace them. My boots slid against the stone as I pressed my back against the doors with all my might.

  “Ready,” Orion said. “One at a time.”

  “Go, Aura!” Azrael shouted. I left the doors which added more weight for the others to hold. I could hear the Shadow Wolves on the other side, snarling and scratching at the doors. I gripped the vines and slid down two stories to the courtyard below. My feet hit the bottom with more shock than I intended, and my legs tingled from the blow.

  Korban climbed down next, followed by Orion with Baby draped over his shoulders.

  I furrowed my brow. “Azrael is holding the doors alone?” I asked Korban. He didn’t say anything. I shook my head and repressed the horrible image of him being stabbed in the heart and having his immortality destroyed.

  Once Orion hit the ground and set Baby down, Korban called, “Now, Azrael!”

  Azrael didn’t appear over the balcony. I gripped my sword tighter and counted the seconds he didn’t answer.

  “Azrael!” I yelled.

  No reply.

  Korban shifted his weight.

  Baby paced and looked at the balcony.

  “I’m going after him,” I said.

  Korban gripped my arm. “Wait.”

  Azrael’s silhouette sprang from the balcony and stretched spread eagle in the air. His body whirled around. He snatched the vines and swung wide like a pendulum.

  The Shadow Lords hacked the vines with their swords and tossed daggers at him.

  The vine snapped. Azrael freefell, twisting his body like a cat, before landing lightly on his feet. Obviously feline grace was another trait he inherited when Baby became his animal companion. Azrael stalked toward me with a proud grin. “Did I give you a fright, my lady?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “You are too reckless, Azrael.” I wanted to slap him and kissed him at the same time.

  Azrael’s eyes opened wide behind his dark mask. A smile flared across his immortal face.

  I drew my sword as Shadow Lords and Shadow Wolves flooded the courtyard from the arched hallways.

  Arrows sprang from bent bows and shot toward us like lethal hail. Azrael raised his hand. A gust of wind caught the arrows and suspended them in flight. He flicked his wrist and the arrows turned and rained down on the advancing Legionnaires.

  “Brilliant!” I complimented.

  The advancing army crashed against Korban. Metal sang as his blades sliced through the rebel’s line. I encircled myself in a protective ring of fire. Streams of flames burst from my fingertips and out the end of my sword. I shot a ball of fire at the pack of wolves, but it didn’t stop them. They seemed to feel no pain even as their fur and flesh burned off their bodies. Orion’s axe pounded down on a wolf. The beast’s head rolled toward the base of the castle, its venomous jaw still snapping wildly.

  “Keep firing!” Orion shouted at me. “I’ve got your back!”

  I nodded and summoned all the energy in my body. Steady streams of inferno poured from my hands.

  Baby lunged for a Shadow Wolf. The usually tender-eyed feline went wild with rage, teeth and claws sinking into the wolf, shredding the dark flesh and fur from the wolf’s body.

  Shadow Lords in stolen human bodies and wispy black Spirits of Shadow surrounded us.

  The ground trembled.

  “Erebus,” Azrael growled.

  The Spirits of Shadow and Shadow Lords cheered as their master approached. Erebus’s steps hit the earth like an executioner’s drum. The Shadow King laughed and pointed at me. “There you are, my Neviahan pet.”

  “Lucas?” Azrael gasped. He hadn’t been there when I told Orion and Korban about Erebus. Azrael glanced back at me. I looked away, still ashamed I had been deceived.

  Brimstone flared in Erebus’s eyes and the ground trembled as he roared. Erebus leaned forward and eyed me with hunger.

  I positioned my sword between myself and the dark creature in Lucas’s body.

  He whipped his hand through the air and pulled the sword from my grasp without even touching it.

  Azrael raced toward me. With a single glance, Erebus tossed Azrael across the courtyard into Baby. They both hit the castle wall and slid to the ground. Azrael stood and braced himself as rebels surrounded him. Baby hissed with all the rage of a wild cat.

  Erebus raised his hand and pointed at me. Nothing happened. He narrowed his eyes and flicked his wrist like a whip. Whatever spell he was trying to cast didn’t work on me. He clenched his teeth and pointed at the balcony above. The stones broke away from the main castle and crumbled over my head.

  “Look out!” Korban yelled.

  I held my hands up. A flaming shield sprang from my flesh and covered my body. The rubble crashed over me.

  My fingers and toes felt like ice as the last of my energy burned. My fire shield extinguished and rubble fell down on me.

  I shook my head, trying to repel the pain of the attack. My whole body ached as I fought to catch my breath under the pile of rocks.

  Blood tricked down my forehead like sweat. I couldn’t let Erebus have my blood and steal my powers. Whatever happened, I couldn’t let him win this battle.

  Wind rushed between the cracks around me and soaked into my skin. “Azrael,” I whispered. His energy fed me. “Don’t touch my blood,” I warned.

  Hot flames erupted from my body, bursting the boulders around me. I pushed myself up from the debris. My fingers sank into the burning embers. Smoldering shards of wood rolled down my hair into my face. The fire blazed at my feet, healing the gashes along my skin.

  I stood regally, opening my palms and absorbing the heat. The fire extinguished and the courtyard went black like the shrouded night. The steady thump of my own heartbeat pounded in the pitch darkness as I inhaled.

  When I exhaled a blinding light burst from my body. Hot flames blazed off my shoulders and swirled wildly like ribbons of light. The inferno raised high above my head and danced around my frame. The rebels cowered and backed away from the heat.

  Azrael smirked at Erebus. “You’re in trouble now. You shouldn’t have made her mad.”

  Erebus froze and stared at me with wide eyes.

  I harnessed the energy and formed it into a glowing sphere of light. The intense orb rotated in my hands, growing in size and velocity. I thrust the hot light into the rebel army. They burst into ash as the explosion struck them. My hair swirled around my face like living wind and fire as I prepared to attack again.

  Azrael, Orion, Korban, and Baby took defensive positions and blocked the rebels approaching from behind. Mounds of ash littered the ground around us.

  Erebus pointed at me and screamed, “Stop her! Stop her!”

  More Spirits of S
hadow emerged from the ground and floated toward us.

  My powers quickly drained and my arms and legs went stiff and cold as ice. I needed more sunlight. My knees hit the ground and the fire around me dimmed.

  “Aura?” Azrael shouted.

  “‘Tis her energy,” Orion said.

  “Fall back!” Korban commanded.

  I wasn’t going to stop fighting. I had to avenge Lucas. “No!” I would fight with or without my powers. I searched for my sword.

  “Fall back!” Korban said again.

  I yanked the dagger from my boot. “I will not be moved!”

  Azrael dashed toward me, grabbed my hips, and tossed me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

  “You can’t do this, Azrael!” I complained. “The battle is not over. Put me down this instant or I will—”

  “Or what?” Azrael challenged. “You’ll use your powers against me and blow up the whole castle? You don’t have much left after that dramatic fire show.” Azrael laughed at me, which only made me angrier. He raced toward the stables with me still over his shoulder. “This fight ‘tis over. We will return with reinforcements.”

  I ground my teeth together and pounded on his back. His shoulder blades were as hard as marble. “I have to fight Erebus,” I demanded. Stone walls and torches streamed past us. “Erebus has my ruby necklace.”

  “I’ll buy you a new one,” Azrael promised.

  He and the other Neviahans raced out the corridor to the stables. He set me on my feet, but stood like a barricade between me and the door so I couldn’t return to the fight.

  “You don’t understand. It’s a necklace that can heal,” I explained. “I have to get it back or we won’t be able to ever defeat Erebus.”

  Orion and Korban mounted their horses.

  Korban shook his head at me. “If he steals the power of Starfire, then it will be impossible to defeat him.”

  Azrael tossed a saddle onto his horse with one hand while holding my wrist so I couldn’t run back to the courtyard.