Caged Fire

by L M Preston

  EmVee squeezed her hands and fought the urge to cover the Soul Trainer charm tucked in her bra with her hand. She didn’t want to lose her temper and forfeit the information he had for them, but if he touched the charm, it wouldn’t matter.

  “Luspardan, did you cheat this time?”

  Luspardan sputtered, “Afanas, I am many things, but not a cheater. How could I possibly?”

  Afanas pushed Kayson out of the way. Kayson flew off the stage and onto the floor.

  EmVee reached forward, lightning fast, and grasped Afanas’ wrist, bending it backward. She didn’t let up until she noted he was forcing himself not to bend his leg. “Don’t touch me,” she whispered. “I’m not even using all I’ve got. If you don’t want to get on your knees in front of me, let us leave.”

  “Fine, have it your way.” Afanas spat.

  EmVee released him. “We have only one question for you. Who oversees your Province? The Soul Trainer—who is she?”

  Afanas narrowed his eyes at her. He rubbed his hand. “I don’t know her name. I only deal with one of the Soul Thieves she manages. Her lover is the most frequent visitor.”

  “His name? Where we can find him?” EmVee folded her arms. She noticed the man she’d seen on the edge of the stage was long gone, his scent barely a whisper in the room.

  “I’ll tell you when you tell me—where did you get the arbitrium amulet? Is it yours? A family member’s? Who did you kill to get it? And how? How did you possibly kill a Soul Trainer, who are as invincible to magicals and the damned as a mere human want to be?”

  EmVee willed every muscle in her body to still. She slowed her breathing. “Give me a name with the location of the Soul Thief, and I will give you an answer.”

  Afanas tsked. “You have a good one here, Luspardan. I should’ve known something was different about her when she survived the damaging stab from the cyclops.”

  Luspardan placed a hand on EmVee, pushing her back. “How can you accuse her of such? Your Ferpie inspected her.”

  “They check the inside, not the person’s clothing.” Afanas waved at Luspardan. “I see it. Through her clothes. We do have that ability you know.”

  EmVee inhaled a quick breath. “You can see through my clothes?”

  “Of course, if I will it.” Afanas placed his hand on his hip. “I will tell you his name and his whereabouts, only if you leave the charm with me.”

  “No. You said you wanted to know how I got it. I will tell you that. But I am leaving with it.”

  Afanas studied her a moment then his features relaxed. “If you insist. The Soul Thief who Warlords this Province is named Zagan. As for where he lives, I can’t say. He comes and goes frequently.”

  EmVee frowned. “Was he here during the tournament? After?”

  Afanas moved his finger from side to side. “I told you what you wanted to know. Now it’s your turn.”

  “I found it at a crime scene. I was coming from a club and…stumbled upon a mutilated body. This was there, and I took it before I called the police.”

  Afanas studied her a moment. “Did you put it on? Ever?”

  EmVee smirked. “That wasn’t your question. I answered yours, and you half answered mine.”

  Afanas’ features turned monstrous. The glimmer of perfected human male he’d exuded flickered, revealing a leathery formed beast with fanged teeth, black eyes, and a forked tongue. In a flash, his illusion recovered.

  Luspardan said, “Afanas, I thank you for your assistance. I only ask we have safe passage to leave.”

  EmVee concentrated on breathing evenly. Something in Afanas’ eyes warned her not to trust him. The hairs on her neck stood at attention—something was simmering beneath his cool façade.

  Afanas’ regard never left EmVee’s. “Of course. I can only ensure that my people will give safe passage. Leave in haste before I change my mind.” With a dismissive wave, Afanas pivoted and disappeared.

  “Something isn’t right.” EmVee put her hand on her chest.

  Kayson placed a palm on her back. “It doesn’t matter. We got a name. Let’s get out of here.”

  Luspardan urged them on with a clap. “I can make us shortcuts. Getting out of this castle is the first step. I can only move us small spaces in this Province. My power is weak here.”

  EmVee wiped her hand down her side, wincing from the injury to her ribs and the wound on her stomach. “I’m behind you.”

  She followed Luspardan who was walking rather quickly for someone so short. The halls seemed to echo, and the pictures were no longer illuminated by some unknown source of light. Like Afanas’ mood, the corridors seemed gloomy and dim, more so than before.

  EmVee glanced about the gray walls, her nose picking up an odor she hadn’t noticed before. The only sound was the resonance of their feet in the corridor.

  “Here, this will put us outside.” Luspardan pointed to a nearby door.

  “Something is following us.” EmVee searched around and swore she caught a dark ink spot under one of the paintings start to expand and grow. She stopped and watched it.

  Kayson grabbed her by the arm. “Don’t wait for whatever it is to catch us.”

  Luspardan opened the thick wood door at the end of the hall. “We must hurry. If Afanas left, it’s because the light is coming.”

  “Daylight?” EmVee turned back toward the hall, sniffing to see if the scent she’d captured was still there.

  “No, they don’t have typical daylight here. They have what they call a Flare, thirty minutes of fire from a sun that practically scorches the lands. Other than that, they have no sunlight like you are used to.”

  Luspardan sighed. “There!”

  The door opened, and they ran for the bridge. Even the birds were gone as if they, themselves, had to seek shelter.

  “Don’t stop running.”

  EmVee tightened her fists. The smell of sulfur tickled her nose. “It’s coming.”

  “Run. We will make it.” Kayson yelled, close behind her.

  “The portal’s opening. It’s beyond the edge of the bridge,” Luspardan alerted them, and with his short stature, even he picked up speed.

  “I see it.” At the edge of the bridge, there was a gray, swirling smudge in the landscape. EmVee ran harder.

  Luspardan reached it first and hopped inside of it. “Hurry. It closes when the Flare starts.”

  EmVee hesitated, that feeling of something dark and sinister at her heels couldn’t be shaken. A black oily form took shape on the edge of the bridge. She stumbled.

  Slowly, a humanoid shape rose from the dark puddle.

  EmVee fell back into a fighting stance, fists high, muscles loosened.

  The form grew taller, shaped itself into a male with translucent vein-littered skin, black eyes, and sharpened teeth. The dark puddle had absorbed into his skin.

  With lightning quickness, the man took a black rope from his hip. It wrapped around her waist. “You have something my master wants!” His voice was stilted as though it hurt for him to speak.

  He jerked her forward with the rope. EmVee wrestled with it then righted her stance, grasped the rope, and yanked him forward, hitting his nose, with her forehead. She heard the crack, but the blood was black, filling the creature’s eyes with the excess.

  “You are coming with me then. Death would’ve been easier.”

  She struggled, turning one way and the other. The man wrapped his arms tighter around EmVee.

  “The hell if she is!” Kayson pushed EmVee’s head down then sliced the creature’s neck with a knife. The creature stumbled away, black blood spilling from his neck. A pool formed beneath him, and he fell into it.

  “Go! Now!” Kayson pushed EmVee hard.

  She flew through the air, falling in front of the portal where Luspardan stood inside. He was holding onto the edges as his lower body was jostled by the moving force within.

  Standing, she turned. A bright orange glow filled the sky. The heat intensified to the point where her skin felt l
ike it was burning—sizzling and crinkling. EmVee reached out her hand as Kayson ran with unnatural speed and dove to land in a rolling stop.

  He grabbed her hand, pulling her as he leaped into the dark abyss. “The necklace better be worth it.”

  EmVee leaped beside him. “It is.”

  EmVee tumbled headfirst, vertigo from being sucked through whatever Luspardan created to help them escape drummed her head.

  “What was that thing?” EmVee coughed to clear the hoarseness from her voice. She hopped up from her knees.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never seen one before.” Luspardan pushed himself upwards. “It’s a new creation, much like you.”

  Kayson wiped the leaves off his pants. “But why? And who is creating them?”

  Luspardan sighed. “We don’t know. There have been rumors that the Overlord is trying to perfect his enforcers beyond the Soul Thieves and Trainers. He likely wants creatures that can reproduce so he doesn’t have to contend with their displeasure when they realize what they gave up. He wouldn’t have to recruit them either.”

  EmVee put her hand to her chest, releasing the breath she’d been holding, until she felt the arbitrium charm necklace that Megan entrusted her with long ago. Megan had told EmVee that her sister had once been a Soul Trainer. Silas had killed her, but Megan had gotten her revenge by capturing Silas. She would return this arbitrium to Megan.

  Luspardan said, “You have the amulet? How did you get it, child? They are dangerous, addictive, and the bearers don’t realize until too late that they’ve bound their souls to darkness. The Overlord has a soul that was born in darkness, I swear it. The humans should never have given one of their own to him.”

  EmVee’s heartbeat sped at the warning. “I don’t have to tell you. It’s best I don’t.”

  Luspardan grunted. “Never put it on. It binds to the neck and can’t be taken off. If it’s put on properly by our Overlord who creates them, you won’t suffer the other diabolical effects of the stone. Not that it’s a better road to doom than putting it on yourself. It only helps you survive the transformation I’m told.”

  Kayson said, “Can this help us find Afanas’ handler, Zagan?”

  “Yes, it will allow you to travel anywhere and everywhere that a Soul Thief or Trainer can go. If you don’t put it on, it can do other things like protect you from them. They don’t have the authority to kill one another when wearing the stone. The Overlord likes to do that himself. And rarely, since their loss is great to him. He’d rather imprison them in this place called The Void until they are tortured into submission or he can pick another from their family line to take their place.” Luspardan sighed. “Never my business, I’m done with ye.” He threw up a hand.

  “Wait.” EmVee grasped his sleeve. “How can this help us find Zagan?”

  Luspardan sighed. “Too dangerous for you to try, but ask Megan. She has other methods to help find Zagan. That is if you haven’t run out of her good graces.”

  “Can you…” EmVee released his sleeve.

  “I’m done here. My debt is paid to her.” Luspardan narrowed his eyes and pointed at EmVee and Kayson. “You two are like that thing we encountered. Something created you. You are unnatural. Not human, not demi-god, but something in between. If you weren’t created by the Overlord, you better hope he doesn’t find out about your uniqueness. He will hunt you. If he does, nothing you do could save you.”

  “This Overlord, where does he stay? What is he?” Kayson walked over beside EmVee.

  “He’s a Changeling with the ruling power to control the deviants to the natural man or woman. He was a prince who became king once he married an earthen princess with a warrior’s heart and body. Born a magical, a shapeshifter, he traded his soul for something else. He’s up to something, and whatever it is, it’s not any good for humankind or magical kind.”

  “He won’t find us. I plan to stay under the radar. I want to save my family and disappear.” EmVee bit her lip. “I will make sure there aren’t hidden dangers I don’t know about.”

  Luspardan nodded. “There isn’t much that goes on without his knowledge. Especially now that he seems to be occupied with some unknown agenda. Be ye careful where that amulet takes you. Most of all, be careful of Megan; her loyalties are her own.” He turned and walked away, his form dimming with each step.

  “Ugh!” EmVee fisted her hands and covered her eyes with them. “This is a mess.”

  Kayson placed a hand on her back. “Yep. But we can stick ourselves in it and get what we need.”

  EmVee straightened her back and moved away from him. His touch actually caused her skin to twitch toward him. “Let’s find this Zagan.”

  Kayson gave her a sanguine smile. “Why didn’t you tell me you had that? You still don’t trust me or my motives?”

  EmVee folded her arms and started walking in the direction of the van. “I have many reasons, don’t you think? Your best friend was Silas. You and he knew about his abnormal cravings.”

  Kayson got in front of her, blocking her path. “I wanted you first. You knew it. Then you showed up at the cafeteria at lunchtime with him. It hurt bad. That was when I didn’t want to be part of Silas’ band or even be his friend. Not because you rejected me but because he rubbed my face in it.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Both of you were instrumental in using me. I almost died by knowing you. Relationships for me, they never work. Every guy only wants one thing or another. I need to learn to focus on what I want, what’s important.”

  “You never wanted me?”

  “What does that question mean? Why does it even matter?”

  Kayson stepped closer, his breath a mist in the air. “You kissed me. EmVee, you told me that you should’ve chosen me.”

  EmVee shook her head. “No…I—” She swallowed.

  “When I saved you from the crash. I held you until the ambulance came.” Kayson’s voice broke. “God help me, I couldn’t stop myself from kissing you. I’d wanted you for so long, and I thought you were near death. If you trusted me from the start, I would’ve protected you. Them. Any way I could. You trusted me in that moment. When I held you close?”

  EmVee blinked back tears. She remembered all of it. Every night she’d dreamt of that moment. She couldn’t let him know how she felt about him. It was a weakness.

  “I was delusional from head injuries. I don’t know what I said. I could’ve said anything. I could’ve meant someone else.”

  “You kissed me back. I had to pry your fingers from my neck when the ambulance got there. Then you begged them to let me come with you.” His jaw was rigid as he stared at EmVee, daring her to dispute his claim. “You said my name!” Kayson hit his chest.

  “It’s the past. It doesn’t matter what I did in a moment of weakness. I feel nothing for you. Except tolerance since you knew what Silas was and let him get close to me.” EmVee swallowed down the bitter lie. “Now, the only thing I care about is saving my family.”

  “Uh-huh.” Kayson studied her, from head to toe, then smacked his teeth. “I hear you loud and clear.” He smirked. “But I smell want.” He pivoted and walked away.

  Her jaw dropped, and her pulse quickened. Why it felt like he was taking her heart with him, she wouldn’t admit.

  “So, spill it.” Demi stood over EmVee who was lying on the bed.

  The room was lit by the sunlight seeping through the windows. The trees surrounding the house didn’t do much to dim it since the curtains were so sheer.

  EmVee closed her eyes. “What? Every bone in my body aches. Can you help me take off these boots?” She stuck out her foot.

  “Only if it gets me the details. Neither one of you spoke a word on the way back here. I didn’t want to ask, considering all the blood on you.”

  Twisting over from her back to her stomach, EmVee wiggled her toes as one boot then the other thumped, landing in a heap on the floor. Demi hopped on the bed, causing it to bounce. EmVee tried not to move, but Demi exaggerated her bouncing.
r />   “What happened?” Demi elbowed her.

  “I had to fight, a lot. There were vampires, Ferpies, and dwarves. Also, some other creatures; I don’t remember what they were called.”

  “No shit! Stop playing with me.”

  “No, I’m serious. There was, just, not like it is in the movies.” EmVee swallowed then wiped the back of her hand under her nose. She’d never forget the smells. “You got some gum? Candy? Smelling salts?”

  Demi giggled. “You say the weirdest things. Smelling salts? Here’s a piece of gum. I took your last pack from your backpack while I was waiting forever for you in the car. So boring.”

  “How much did you take?” EmVee sniffed the spearmint before putting it in her mouth.

  “You’ve got two pieces left, sister, and be glad about that. Six hours and no food make Demi a mean chick-a-flic.”

  “What’s a chick-a-flic?” EmVee couldn’t help but smile.

  “A girl about to flick off and go save her friend herself. I’m telling you, Sax had to hold me back. He practically barricaded me in that van. The fact that he was showering me with kisses and foot massages had nothing to do with it.”

  “Good, you wouldn’t have wanted to come with us. It was…gruesome.” She rolled over then slowly got up, still achy from her wounds even though they were mostly healed.

  “You want me to help you? I am pretty good at stitching my father back together.” Demi sat up and crossed her legs on the bed.

  “No thanks.” EmVee winced as she stood. She unraveled the sash around her waist.

  “Okay, now about the vampires. Oh my gosh, were they as beautiful as Lestat from that book by, ah, Ann something?”

  EmVee lifted an eyebrow at her. “No. Well, yes. Sort of.”

  Demi gave her a stupid look. “Come on, give a girl something for waiting and starving.”

  “They were different. Sort of like beauty in the eye of a beholder. Kayson and I saw the same vampire. I saw him younger, cleaner cut. Kayson saw him older, more disheveled, like a kind father figure type.”

  Demi smirked. “You saw him sexy, didn’t ya?”