Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
I felt the strength from Penny’s magic, threading light and buoyancy through the demon’s dark, dank magic. Cracks formed, shattering the cohesiveness of the pyramid of the spell. The circle flickered, one moment a self-imposed cage with a one-way trip to the underworld, and the next, nothing more than some lines and characters drawn on the concrete floor.
My power burst forth, grabbing the demon in a concussion of air and raising it up. Darius ran around the circle, easily dodging a battery of spells. He broke a spell casing he’d been carrying and threw it at one of the mage’s feet. Sickly green smoke enveloped the mage, making him convulse. Callie and Dizzy threw something at another one of the mages. The final mage met Darius face to face as he came out of his trance. He shot off a stream of red, but Darius easily dodged it. A moment later the mage succumbed to the elder’s strength and power.
I crawled fire down the borrowed body of the demon, shedding the shell he’d made of the homeless man, and exposing the oily black feathers beneath. I pushed my hands forward and felt the rush of fire fill me, rolling over my arms and out through my fingers. The spicy heat raked across me in a way I’d grown to love, even as the hollow coldness pumped in my stomach. A stream of hellfire tore through the air and splashed across the demon’s front, melting half of him away.
Orbs of light popped up around us. Boxes floated up from the floor. I didn’t worry about controlling either hallmark of my power.
I gritted my teeth from exertion as sweat dripped down my face.
The demon howled and writhed, trying to break free. A blast of air slapped my body, jolting me backward. Boxes flew, aiming for me.
None of them made it far.
Magic pulsed from all around us, my mages putting up spells to block me from being struck.
“Die, you bastard,” I yelled, squeezing the demon in place with air while pushing forth another blast of hellfire. My limbs shook with the effort. Weakness clutched at me.
The fire tore at the creature right before something cold and solid hit my face and sent me reeling backward. A pile of char sank to the floor in the middle of the circle as the power radiated through the room .
“It’s sending it down,” Callie shouted, throwing a spell at the circle. The energy melted in, fueling the banishment spell.
“It’s done,” I said, panting. I held up a hand. “It’s done.”
The pile of burned black feathers disappeared from the warehouse floor, sent down to the underworld.
“It got two full-power blasts of hellfire.” My legs gave out and I fell to the ground. Darius was there a moment later, hefting me up into his arms, in human form again, thank bejeebus. “It was nothing but a puddle of a former demon. Nothing could come back from that.”
“Are you sure?” Dizzy asked, analyzing the circle.
My head felt unbelievably heavy. I let it fall to Darius’s shoulder. “I saw it right before it went down.”
“That was close.” Callie glanced around. Exhaustion deepened the lines around her eyes. “That was really close. Thank God you can find a needle in a haystack, Dizzy. We almost didn’t get here in time.”
“Oh, that was nothing.” Dizzy took out his phone and held it up to take a picture of the circle. “The pay stub was lying there, clear as day. I just had to pick it out from under a pile of his junk. He probably forgot it was even in there.”
“Darius, you need to get dressed,” Callie said, scowling at him with her hands braced on her hips. “No one needs to know what urges you are having right this second.”
“We need to erase this evidence.” Darius lowered me to the ground, ignoring Callie. “And to do that, you need to burn this warehouse to the ground. It is the easiest approach. Do you need some blood?”
“No, no.” Callie marched over. “No way. She’s in it thick enough where you’re concerned. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. No, Penny can take care of that.”
Penny stood off to the side, wringing her hands and looking anywhere but at the fallen enemy mages. “Yes, I can do magical fire. I mean, you know, not like Reagan. I can’t control it like that. But I can set a fire well enough. My mom still doesn’t know what happened to our shed.”
“Atta girl. And don’t you tell her, either. You’re better off.” Dizzy nodded matter-of-factly. I noticed that he very consciously didn’t glance at the glowering Callie. A few questions had probably just been answered for her regarding some destroyed items in her house.
“Let’s get going.” I struggled out of Darius’s grasp.
“You’re staggering like a drunk.” Callie grabbed my arm to brace me. “Vampire, cover that thing up and then go get the car. We’ll get this place burning in the meantime.”
In as little time as it had taken her to say it, Darius was dressed and looking impeccable. It boggled the mind.
I squealed like an idiot when he scooped me up and took off, leaving Callie shouting behind us. I let my head drop again and held on tightly.
“Today is Saturday, right?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“I forgot to text J.M. that I was working. He probably figures, but still. I should’ve texted. I’d much rather be out to dinner with him instead of battling a demon.”
“I know,” he said as we tore through the lots. Dawn was a few hours away. We had to get back to the hotel. “Can you still read my thoughts?”
I let my eyes flutter closed. “No. That’s only when the other power overcomes me. You know, I vaguely remember that happening with the fire when I first learned to use it. Well, not like that, but I remember feeling the fire rage through me, and having the uncontrollable desire to burn everything down. Just burn it all down. I just remembered that when I was wrestling with my magic earlier. My mom had a way of talking me through it. I can’t remember how, though. I was never in my right mind.”
“We will figure it out.” Darius zipped past the office building. The security guard, who hadn’t moved much since we’d walked past earlier, blinked in our direction. He didn’t even unhook his thumbs from his belt.
“How are you on blood?” I asked, then wanted to knife myself. “I didn’t mean to ask that.”
“I do not need blood, but I long to revel in your body. Stay with me today.”
No was on the tip of my tongue, but it wouldn’t exit my mouth. I’d spent so much time fighting to keep from losing myself to the demon, to that cold power, that I didn’t have any energy left to fight the allure of the vampire. I didn’t even want to.
He set me down next to the car and opened the door before handing me into the seat. He filled the driver’s seat a moment later, and then we were on our way.
“They’ll notice the car rolling through,” I said as I put on my seatbelt.
“By the time they check it out, we’ll be gone.”
It turned out we were both right. The guard started as we drove along the road, moving much faster than the posted speed limit, but no one had shown up by the time we’d loaded up the mages.
“Why’d you put up a more intensive invisibility spell?” I asked in confusion as Darius turned back to the road. We’d forgotten about Penny’s car. Oops.
“Penny’s magical fire wouldn’t have burned much of that place before someone noticed the fire.” Callie massaged her thighs.
“It seemed a lot stronger before I saw Reagan’s fire. I’d love to speak with your cousin, Reagan,” Penny said .
We passed a security truck, and the driver slammed on his brakes when we zoomed by.
“He’s a recluse,” I said, rubbing my eyes. “He lives in a shack in the woods. I only see him once every so often. He just randomly sends me spells to try out.”
“Maybe the next time you get some, you could let me know?” she asked hopefully.
“Yeah, sure. If I do. Who knows, he might be dead.”
A grin curled Darius’s lips as he pulled into the employee parking lot.
We said thanks and goodbye to Penny (and Callie and Dizzy promised they’d call her) before pulling away. She got into her car and pulled out behind us so quickly that one might’ve thought she was a vampire herself. Clearly she didn’t want to get caught by the security guard who was patrolling around, looking for us.
“Give me a moment,” Darius said as the security truck pulled across the road in front of us.
I watched in vague fascination as Darius exited the car, put on the jets, ripped the door of the security truck open, and bit the driver. That hot jab of emotion pierced my chest, and I looked away. This was getting out of hand.
When he entered the car a moment later, his eyes lingered on my face.
“What’s up?” I asked, not meeting his stare .
“I saw your expression just now. You are losing the battle, as I have. You are realizing that forever between us would be the unbreakable bond humans speak of, but could never fully understand.”
“No,” I said, and crossed my arms. Why did he turn me into a juvenile with my responses?
“I don’t like the sound of that, young lady.” Callie leaned toward us.
“I was only wondering why you bit him instead of just knocking him out,” I said, trying to dig myself out of this sudden hole I’d found myself in. Callie and Dizzy would find a way to kill Darius if they thought my mind was lost to him.
“This will be a positive experience he won’t quite believe,” Darius responded. “He will be less likely to share news of it.”
“We should get going before someone else comes,” Dizzy said, peering out his window. “I hope there aren’t any cameras. You didn’t kill him, did you, Darius?”
“I didn’t, no.” Darius’s gaze lingered on mine for a moment longer before he turned back to the wheel.
The ride back to the hotel was quiet as everyone decompressed. Darius parked out front and helped Dizzy and Callie out of the car before holding out his arm for me. He didn’t insist on carrying me, thankfully, even though I leaned heavily on him. When walking through the lobby, a dapper-looking man in a tailored suit glided up to us.
“Mr. Durant.” The man, who was surely a vampire, based on his flawless face, nodded at Darius. “It is a pleasure. I apologize that I haven’t been able to properly greet you until now.”
“Mr. Regent,” Darius said in greeting. “We have been busy. Thank you for accommodating us.”
“My pleasure, as always. I look forward to the critique.” His smile was a whopper—charming, disarming, boyish, and devilishly handsome all at once. He was a panty melter, for sure. “Please, can I interest you in a drink?”
“Not just now, I thank you,” Darius said, starting forward again. “We’ve had a long night. I do wish to speak with you regarding some matters in the area, but that can wait until tomorrow.”
“Of course, sir.” Mr. Regent flashed that mouth-watering smile again. “Can I send something to your room?”
“I’m hungry,” I mumbled with my hand on my stomach.
“Yes, darling. You are always hungry.” Darius nodded at Mr. Regent. “Surprise her. She’ll eat most anything.”
That was true enough.
“Of course. And you?” Mr. Regent glanced at Dizzy and Callie.
Dizzy turned up the wattage of his smile. If he’d hoped to compete with Mr. Regent, though, he had a long way to go. “We’ll place an order in a little while. Thanks so much.”
“Of course,” Mr. Regent bowed with a soft chuckle. “At your convenience.”
Back in my room, I heaved a sigh of relief and collapsed on the bed. The last trembles of fear worked their way out of my system. That had been a helluva fight, and most of the battle was against myself. I had so much to learn. I knew that now. There was a gaping hole in my knowledge about my power that I needed to close up. That I needed to fuse with what I did know. The demon had seemed so certain I was powerful, and being what it was, that it had been sent up to find me, it probably knew. I needed to look into that.
Tomorrow.
Or maybe the next day.
I was too tired to worry about it now. The threat was gone, and that was good enough for the moment.
My stomach rumbled. I heaved myself up off the bed and stripped. I needed a shower and food. Then I needed to really ponder if heading over to the vampire’s room was a good idea.
My stupid heart fluttered again. This time it wasn’t as welcomed. I was in great danger here, and not like I’d originally thought. I wouldn’t lose myself to Darius because of his species, but I might in the way a woman loses herself to a man.
The hot water falling over my skin felt good. The absence of the hollow, cold magic felt good. And when I got out, wrapping myself in a white, fluffy towel felt great.
I stood in the center of my room, looking at the white door leading to Darius. He wouldn’t come in to pressure me, I knew. He wouldn’t open the door and ask if I was coming. He would wait for my decision, and respect it, whatever it was.
I heaved a sigh, tried to resist, and walked to the door.
On the other side, I smiled at the fresh rose petals littering the ground and bed, then cocked my head in confusion at all the unlit candles.
“Afraid of a fire hazard?” I asked as I stepped into the room, officially making my decision.
He was dressed in a robe and had draped a big arm over the back of the chair.
“I thought you could light the candles,” he said. He stayed where he was, waiting for me to come to him.
“You’re not playing those hunter-and-prey games you said you liked, huh?” Heat infused my body. Concise balls of flame sprang to life around us, then drifted toward the candles .
“No.” Darius lifted a hand to stop me. “Light them with a thought, not with that method.”
I snuffed the little balls of flame. My fingers curled into fists as I concentrated, imagining all the different little wicks spread across the room. With a push, they lit as one.
Darius smiled. “Perfect. And I already told you, I hunt until my intended fully succumbs to our joined pleasure. As you did last night. When that happens, I fully succumb as well. We are past games, you and I. We are equals, and both of us are completely invested.”
“That’s heavy.” My instinct was to meander around the room, trying to get comfortable or work up the gumption to leave. I knew where I would end up, though. I knew that when I’d walked through the door.
So I just cut to the chase. And dropped my towel.
“When’s dinner coming? I’m starving,” I said, heading toward him as my body surged with need and my core tightened in desire. I’d fight it tomorrow. Tonight, I’d succumb, as he’d said.
“Soon,” he whispered, his eyes feasting on me. “But first, let me worship you.”