The Fire Salamander Chronicles Series: Books 1 - 3: The Fire Salamander Chronicles Series Boxset Book 1

by N M Thorn

  “And I promise to answer your questions as soon as I can. Just not right now.” Zane headed toward the door, but then stopped and turned around. He waved his hand again and the soft yellow light disappeared. “Do you know which hospital they will take Dr. West to?”

  “Broward Health in Coral Springs, most likely,” said Tessa, lowering herself down on the floor to check on Ryan. He was abnormally pale, and an ugly deep bite mark overflowing with blood was shining on his neck. But she found a weak pulse in his wrist and that gave her hope that he would be all right.

  “I’ll see you there in an hour,” promised Zane and walked out of the room.

  Chapter 10

  ~ Tessa ~

  An empty hospital waiting room was shockingly freezing. It smelled of sterility, and the flickering light of the fluorescent lamps was throwing cold shimmering shades on perfectly neutral walls. Everything inside this room was painted in soft, muted colors. Possibly it was supposed to be relaxing, but Tessa was anything but relaxed.

  Since there was no one in the room besides her, she pulled her feet up on the neutral-colored chair and hugged her knees with her arms. She always hated hospitals. Let’s face it—unless you’re a hospital employee and that’s the way you’re making your living, no one likes to be here. But Tessa had an entirely different reason for that. Since she was a child, she always felt an unpleasant vibe as soon as she was crossing the threshold of any hospital. It was like a jolt of electricity inside her, something that pulled her nerves on alert, making her jittery and a little paranoid.

  After the encounter with Mr. Koval’s spirit, Tessa started to understand why the hospital atmosphere was affecting her this way. Here, she was surrounded by pain, suffering, death and sorrow. Death… It meant the spirits of people who recently passed away could be somewhere right next to her. She shivered and looked around, almost expecting to see someone appearing in the room, surrounded by a white light.

  She glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. Almost an hour had passed since the ambulance drove Ryan and her to the Broward Health Hospital. He lost a lot of blood and needed surgery to fix the damage to his neck. The doctor said that Ryan was in critical condition and promised to send a nurse with an update as soon as he knew anything. Where was the nurse? Tessa got up and circled the small waiting room a few times, hoping to calm her nerves.

  It didn’t work, and she sat back down. Tessa didn’t want to think about anything, but her thoughts were stubbornly coming back to Zane. She had no explanation to what she witnessed, but she wasn’t afraid of him or what he was. She caught herself thinking that she actually wanted to see him again.

  I just want to ask him a few questions, she said to herself, trying to compromise with her own standards of right and wrong. That’s all. Anyone would be curious after seeing his fire-show. I just need to know.

  Deep inside, she realized that there was more to her desire to see him than just plain curiosity. Tessa recalled the fierce flames at the bottom of his eyes and the way the fire obeyed his every command. He was different. Not like other people. He was a freak, just like her. And she liked that. She liked his igneous eyes and his lopsided smile. She sighed, struggling to admit even to herself that she liked the way his smile brought up that single dimple on his cheek, setting his whole face alight. She liked him from the first moment when she saw him in the bright lights of Aidan’s dojang. Something like this had never happened to her before.

  The door of the waiting room opened up and Tessa got up, expecting to see a nurse with an update on Ryan’s condition. But it wasn’t the nurse. Zane was standing in the doorway. He met her eyes and a shy smile transformed his face. She gazed at him wondering how he could be so different. She remembered the way he kicked the door into the room back in the dental office, his every step driven by a deadly purpose and self-assurance. Now he was standing, uncomfortably shifting from foot to foot, looking like a person who wasn’t sure if he was welcome here.

  “Zane, you’re here,” she exhaled, surprised that he kept his word and came to the hospital. For some reason she was sure that she wouldn’t see him until the next Taekwondo lesson, assuming he would show up at all after the way Aidan treated him.

  “I promised,” he said with a light shrug. He walked up to her and sat down in the chair across from her. “How is Dr. West?”

  “Critical,” she said with a sigh. “Still no updates from surgery.”

  “I’m sorry about your boss,” he said uncomfortably, and Tessa could see that he didn’t really know what to say.

  “He’s not just a boss. Ryan is more like a friend to me,” said Tessa quietly, turning away so he wouldn’t notice tears gathering in her eyes. “You saved both of us, Zane. Thank you.”

  He looked away and sighed. “I guess, I owe you an explanation, Tessa,” he said finally, still staring down at his hands.

  She glanced at his hands—calloused and rough; these were the hands of a man who was used to physical work and practiced martial arts for years. And for some reason, she could hardly contain her desire to touch these hands. She looked up. His eyes were no longer glowing red. They were silvery-gray, the color of steel. And for a moment she wondered if what she saw earlier was just an illusion, a play of light or deception created by her mind, overpowered by fear.

  “You don’t owe me anything,” she objected, leaning back in her chair. “But if you don’t mind answering just one question…” He gave her a short nod, and she continued, “What was that man? A vampire?” Saying the word vampire like it was a real thing didn’t come easy for her. “How is that possible? It can’t be real.”

  “It’s real, alright,” he replied with a smirk. “There are many things that go bump in the night that are real. You wouldn’t believe me even if I tried to tell you. But this man wasn’t a vampire. I wish he was. It would be a lot easier to get rid of him.”

  “What was he?” Tessa repeated her question, feeling the small hairs rising on the back of her neck. She saw the spirits of dead people and she talked to them. So why wouldn’t she believe in the existence of vampires and whatever else was sneaking around in the dead of night.

  “Upir,” explained Zane calmly. “It’s like a vampire on some serious steroids. You can kill a regular vampire with a wooden stake through his heart or by decapitating him. Not that simple with upir. But you saw it yourself. With an upir, you need to cut his head off and then burn his body, otherwise he still can come back. Upirs can walk in the daylight and they look absolutely normal. It’s been a while since I’ve seen one…”

  “Wow,” mumbled Tessa, not quite sure who was the craziest person in the room. “Upir… I didn’t even know that there was such a thing. And you’re what, like a friendly neighborhood Buffy, the vampire slayer?”

  “What?” he asked looking lost for a moment but then laughed. “No, I’m not Buffy. I’m Lancelot. The bravest and noblest of them all, ready to save any little damsel in distress.”

  Tessa giggled and punched him in the shoulder. “I’m no damsel, you moron.”

  Zane smiled but all of sudden tensed up staring somewhere over Tessa’s shoulder. She followed his gaze and noticed a weightless semi-transparent cloud that was softly glowing with a pure white light, slowly drifting through the wall, entering the waiting room. For a moment, the view of the room switched to negative and then back to normal. She didn’t need to guess—it was a spirit. Tessa looked back at Zane and by the expression on his face, she was positive that he could see it too. The realization that she wasn’t the only one who could see spirits of the dead gave her unexpected comfort.

  She got up with a sigh and approached the blob of energy. The spirit finished crossing through the wall and came to focus in front of her eyes. It was a young man. He looked disoriented and sad.

  “Where am I?” asked the spirit, his voice distant and hollow.

  “In the Broward Health Hospital,” replied Tessa, trying to sound as comforting as she could.

  The spirit stared at he
r for a moment, furrowing his brow. “I think I’m starting to remember something…” He fell silent and his glowing body shimmered like he was ready to vanish, but then he came back into focus and stared at Tessa intently. “I remember an accident. This driver… he just rammed straight into our car. Head-on collision at full speed and I had no time… My wife! She was in the car with me and she was pregnant! I need to find her. I hope she’s okay… the baby too…”

  The spirit turned away from her and headed toward the door. Spirits don’t use doors. He probably doesn’t realize that he’s dead, thought Tessa and rushed after him.

  “Wait,” she called after the spirit. “Before you leave, I need to tell you something.”

  “What is it?” asked the young man.

  “I’m not very good at being diplomatic,” she said apologetically. “So, I’ll just tell you straight. I think you’re dead.”

  “Excuse me? You’re crazy,” he said with assurance in his voice which made it obvious that he didn’t believe anything she said.

  Tessa searched the room and picked up a magazine from the coffee table. She offered the magazine to the spirit. “Take it. If you are not dead, you’ll have no problem holding it, right?”

  “You’re crazy,” repeated the spirit but extended his hand to take the magazine. His fingers slid though the magazine. He tried again to no avail. He raised his eyes at Tessa and stared at her mortified.

  “I’m sorry,” she said quietly, sadness gripping at her chest.

  “But why?” he whispered like he didn’t hear her. “Why now? I was happy, we were going to have a baby… Why me? It’s not right…”

  “You’re right,” she replied. “It’s not right, not fair, but it is what it is.”

  “But if I’m dead, how can you see me, talk to me?”

  “I don’t know,” replied Tessa. “I just can.”

  “So, what do I do now?” He twirled around like he was searching for the proverbial white light. “Should I go for the white light or look for a door or something?”

  “I’m not sure. I’m new to all this. But one other spirit told me that the next step is to cross behind the veil,” she explained, throwing a quick look at Zane. He was sitting in his chair, seemingly relaxed, like nothing out of the ordinary was happening right next to him.

  “Veil? Is that like heaven or hell?”

  “I don’t know what’s behind the veil,” Tessa said. “I never died before and I never met anyone who returned from behind the veil. But that’s what you need to do. And I think I can help you with it if you’re ready.” She extended her hand to him.

  The spirit looked at her hand indecisively. “How about my wife? Is she dead too?”

  “I don’t know, but I can’t see her anywhere around. So hopefully, she is alive.”

  “Good…” whispered the spirit. He visibly relaxed and put his hand into Tessa’s. “Thank you…”

  As soon as she touched his hand, the spirit shone brighter and a few seconds later, he disappeared, leaving a few floating sparks of white light slowly drifting in the air. Tessa walked back to her chair and sat down without looking at Zane. She was afraid that he was going to ask some questions she wasn’t prepared to answer. But he wasn’t saying anything—no questions, no statements, nothing.

  “You know that I wasn’t talking to myself,” she said finally, gazing at him tentatively.

  He smiled and met her eyes. “Of course, I know that. Was it a spirit of a dead person?”

  Tessa nodded. “You could see it too, couldn’t you?”

  “I could see, but I’m sure what I saw was a lot different than what you saw. I can see the energy that the human soul emits. Usually it’s a light, bright white or golden. But I can’t see the actual ghosts and definitely can’t talk to them or hear them talking.”

  For the first time in years, hope rose in her soul. Maybe Zane could help her answer the questions that were bothering her for years—why could she see the dead? What was she?

  “Zane,” she said, her heart thundering in her chest, “do you know what I am? Why can I see spirits and talk to them? Why can they talk to me?”

  “No, not yet, but let’s see if we can find out.” He got off his chair and squatted in front of her, staring up into her eyes. “Don’t get scared. My eyes may glow red and try not to touch me. My skin may get a little hotter than normal.”

  “Go for it, Lancelot,” she said with a sarcastic smirk.

  Tessa calmly observed as his eyes started to glow red and then small flames manifested in the depth of his eyes. She felt the wave of heat his body was emitting, but she didn’t move allowing him to do whatever he was doing. A minute later, he got up and sat on the chair next to her. He was sitting quietly, thinking, and Tessa was afraid to ask.

  “So, what did you see?” she dared to ask finally, staring straight forward.

  “I don’t know… I’m not sure what I saw,” he replied slowly. “You have a pure human soul, so that would make you human. Normally, I can see the energy of magic and elemental power, but you don’t have either. I can also see the dark energy of demons and other evil beings, like vampires, upirs, werewolves, you know… But you don’t have any dark energy in you either. So, you’re not evil—”

  “What a relief!” She interrupted him, rolling her eyes. “I knew that I wasn’t evil without you telling me that, moron.”

  Zane chuckled and shook his head. “Having said that, you’re not a pure-blood human either. The energy of your soul is a lot brighter than the energy of a regular human. It’s warm and kind and pure… but I can’t recognize it. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

  “Wow, nice…” Tessa pursed her lips. She tried not to laugh, but the corners of her lips quirked up. “So, I’m a covert paranormal freak. And my cover is so good that even other paranormal freaks can’t recognize me.”

  “You’re not a freak,” objected Zane. “We just need to find out what you are. I’ll do what I can to help you.”

  “Do you know what you are?” she asked without looking at him and held her breath for a moment.

  “Yes.”

  “How did you find out?”

  “The hard way,” he replied. His eyes drifted to the side like he was looking back into his past. “But I had my friends by my side. And they helped me through the transition. I also have a great mentor.”

  “You had friends?” asked Tessa. “Where are they now? Are they alive?”

  “Yes, they’re fine, but they’re far away from here and I came to terms with the thought that I’ll never see them again.”

  For a moment he looked so sad and lonely that Tessa’s throat tightened as if she could feel his pain. Her first instinct was to touch him, comfort him somehow, and she moved her hand to him, but a wave of heat around his body made her stop. What am I doing? she thought, surprised by her own actions. I don’t do touchy-feely.

  “I have only one true friend—Aidan,” she said quietly, her voice hoarse. “But I never told him anything. He’s so… I don’t know… Normal? He would never believe in anything supernatural. And I didn’t want him to think that I was crazy.”

  “Aidan? As in Aidan McGrath? He doesn’t believe in the supernatural?” asked Zane. He looked so shocked that Tessa frowned, wondering why he would think otherwise.

  “Yes, Aidan McGrath,” said Tessa dryly. “He doesn’t know anything, and I want to keep it that way.”

  “If he is your true and only friend, don’t you think he deserves your honesty?” asked Zane with a lopsided smirk. “You never know, he could be more open to the idea of the supernatural than you think.”

  “No!” Tessa got up, fear surging through her. “No, please. I don’t want him to know anything.”

  “I won’t tell him about you, if you don’t tell him about me,” said Zane winking at her.

  “I’m serious, Zane. I’m not going to tell him anything about you. I was unconscious and didn’t see anything. But if you say one word to Aidan, I swear, you�
��ll regret it!”

  Zane raised his hands up, grinning. “Tessa, relax. I wasn’t going to tell him anything. I’m not that close with Aidan to have a heart-to-heart. The man hates me.”

  “He doesn’t hate you, Zane. He just doesn’t know you, and Aidan is not a very trustful person. You need to deserve his trust first.” She sighed and finally touched his hand lightly. His skin felt like he was running a high fever, but it didn’t burn her. “Listen, can I count on you? Can you help me find out what I am?”

  “Yes, of course. I already told you I will,” he replied right away. “Can I have your cell for a moment?” She glanced at him surprised but gave him her cell phone. He quickly punched in the numbers. “Here is my phone number. If you ever need my help—call me.”

  She stored his phone number in her phone’s contact list. “Why would I need your help?” she asked, giving him an arched stare. “You saw me in action. I can take care of myself.”

  “You never know.” He shrugged, getting up. “You may have an infestation of upirs or an invasion of the walking dead. I don’t know. Since you refuse to tell the truth to the only friend you have, when paranormal knocks on your door, who are you going to call?”

  “Aw, I’m sorry. My first assumption was incorrect. You’re not Buffy, you’re an uncredited ghostbuster…” She snickered, getting up, patting him on his shoulder. “But on the serious side, Zane. May I ask you what you are?”

  “Yes, you may ask,” he agreed, an evil grin on his face, “just don’t expect me to answer.” But he quickly changed his mind. “Fine, I’ll tell you. I am —”

  He didn’t get to finish what he was going to say, as the door opened and a man in medical scrubs walked inside the waiting room. He looked tired and serious, and Tessa felt a spike of fear tearing through her heart. She took a step toward the doctor and stopped.

  “Ms. Tessa Donovan?” he asked. “I’m Dr. Alister. I wanted to let you know that Dr. West is doing well. He lost a lot of blood, but we performed a successful operation to fix the damage to his neck, and he’s stable now. We moved him to ICU and you can see him any time you’re ready.”