Chapter 15
Jared looked different this morning. Faint lines of strain showed at his sensual mouth and his muscles were rigid. Instead of his usual black, he wore gray sweatpants and an olive-green T-shirt.
She wasn’t certain what shocked her more – the casual attire or his tired expression. Grey sweatpants. Her girlfriends had joked about men and gray sweatpants and how it highlighted their male assets. She tried to avoid looking at the grey sweatpants as he walked over to the table and…
Oh. My.
As he pulled out a chair to sit, he shot her a questioning look. “What?”
“Nothing.” She pretended interest in the ham omelet on her plate. Actually something.What a package Jared has. Wrap it up and call it Christmas.
Remembering the sexy dream she had last night, with Jared making fierce love to her, she concentrated on her breakfast. Harper grated pepper on the remaining omelet and ducked her head to hide the telltale blush. She looked up to see him scrutinizing her.
“What?” She rubbed her face. “Do I have food on my chin?”
Jared looked away. “No. You look amazing, as usual.”
Ok, something was quite wrong. Not only this clothing, but the flattery. It sounded flat, as if he were setting her up for something not so nice.
If they were dating, she’d swear he was breaking up with her. Harper set down her fork.
“What is it, Jared? This clothing, and you look tired as if you’ve been running a marathon all night. What’s wrong?”
He offered a faint smile. “You’re quite perceptive. Eat, and I shall tell you after breakfast.”
“Tell me now.” She pushed away her plate. “I’m not hungry anymore. Is it about yesterday and how I became a sobbing mess when you told me I was responsible for killing my parents?”
Weeping in his arms, and how gently he had lifted her and placed her in the bed, and then…peaceful oblivion. Though she remembered little, she remembered the strength and tenderness in him. Maybe he disliked fragile women.
“I did not mind you crying,” he said softly.
“Usually I can hold it together,” she hastened to add as he kept staring at her. “But I’m out of my element and in this case, ran out of emotional duct tape to hold it together.”
“You’re quite strong, Harper. However, the news I have for you is not pleasant. You should brace yourself.”
Tension knotted her stomach. Her blood pressure skyrocketed, and she felt dizzy for a minute. “Tell me, just spit it out. I promise not to faint or scream.”
Jared pushed his chair back and went to the railing on the balcony, gripping it as if for support.
“I spent time last night with Xavier, the Crystal Wizard, one of the wizards of the Brehon who rule over others such as yourself. I wanted to know exactly how your parents were killed.”
“Okay.” She could deal with this. No matter how hard it was, she wanted to know.
“He had told me you were the reason they died, but he didn’t mention details.”
Harper managed to find her voice, despite the enormous lump in her throat. “I gather… he gave you the details?”
Drawing in a deep breath, he nodded. “Your parents had magick, but it was a weak strain. They were coldfire pyrokinetics. Extremely rare magick. They could hurt Others and Skins, but their powers weren’t strong. When you were born, you not only inherited their powers, but the magick became amplified to make you a full-fledged coldfire pyrokinetic.”
“Kind of like the difference between a match and a forest fire?” she asked.
He nodded. “Excellent analogy. Only Drust, the Coldfire Wizard, can manifest the level of coldfire you can. Coldfire can destroy everything, from skyscrapers to living human flesh. It can even kill demons. Not only minor demons, but tenth level demons, the strongest demons. Perhaps even the Dark Lord himself.”
She joined him at the railing, her own skin tightening in dreaded anticipation. In the distance, the white-capped mountains seemed silent and brooding sentinels.
“Your birth triggered a rare alignment of celestial energies. In essence, you became a kind of beacon sent out amongst Others, who sensed something had shifted in the magick world. Most Others shrugged this off, but the malevolent forces in the world, the demons who sensed a new threat who could destroy them, did not.
“As an immortal wizard, Drust is practically indestructible. You have equal abilities as Drust, but you are not immortal. You can be killed. As an infant who had no defenses and was not due to come into her magick until she reached 24 years of age, you could be easily destroyed by even a minor demon.”
Her lower lip wobbled. Harper knew where this was headed. “My parents knew this. They knew demons wanted to kill me and… I’m the reason they died.”
Jared turned and placed his warm palm over her chilled one.
“They went into hiding to protect you. Tried to live an ordinary life in New York City, a city that never sleeps and where it’s possible to hide in plain sight. They had enough money to keep to themselves, and avoided Others. But you were a curious five-year-old who wanted to go to the playground. You managed to escape the apartment and get out on the street and into Central Park.”
Jared stopped talking and regarded her. “They went after you. It was dark and…”
“Please. No more.” She shut her eyes, the unwilling memory surfacing like bubbling lava in a volcano.
Screeching with delight at seeing the trees and a nearby playground… running away from her parents’ heartfelt pleas to come back to us, come back…
The bad man dressed in dark gray who had been jogging, stopped and looked at her and slipped off the hood of his sweatshirt, revealing jagged teeth in a cold, red slash of a mouth. He raised his hands to summon power, oh, so much power the air crackled with it, and then as she screamed in terror, flung it at her…
“They jumped in front of me and were killed by a bolt of energy. It tore them apart in front of my eyes.” Tears leaked out of her eyes. Harper opened them. Jared had become a blur.
Two warm, gentle hands settled on her quivering shoulders. “Xavier told me Caderyn placed a forgetting spell on you to wipe out your memories so you could be placed with an adoptive family. Two Others who were childless and whose powers were fragile. They raised you as their own.”
Harper managed a bitter laugh. “Far from great parents. They were terrible.”
His thumb wiped away tears from her cheek. “They had their own issues. They tried.”
“They were probably afraid of me, afraid of demons coming after them as well. My birth parents… why did this have to happen? What good is my life?”
“Your parents loved you. They sacrificed themselves to protect their daughter from the shadows that would never give up their relentless pursuit, their quest to destroy you before you destroyed them. It’s the greatest act of love a parent can do for a child.”
Jared looked down at her solemnly. “They did it out of love, but they also knew you were destined to come into tremendous power of your own. Magick that could help change the world, fight evil during the darkest of times. Destroy anyone you deemed as evil. Any monster.”
The last sentence he uttered with some hesitation. She wondered why.
Harper sniffed, blew her nose and wiped her face with the paper napkin he offered. “Me, fight evil? I’m not exactly Wonder Woman.”
He tilted his head. “Oh, I don’t know. I think you’d look fantastic in a short skirt and a red bustier.”
She gave a choking laugh, glad he’d regained his sense of humor. “You know what a bustier is?”
“I watch a lot of movies late at night. Insomnia.” He squeezed her shoulder. “You’re going to be okay, Harper Ashley. Trust me. It’s not easy dealing with a shock like this, but you adapt. You survive.”
“I feel like I’m not safe anywhere.”
Jared slid a hand across the back of her neck, his touch warm and oddly comforting. “Nothing will happen to you, not if I can help it. You’re safe here in my castle.”
Safe? From him? Was anywhere safe? Confidence in her powers evaporated. What good was being powerful if a demon could slaughter her? Catch her unaware?
Harper drew in a calming breath. “There’s a big world out there and if I’m meant to use this against evil…” She wiggled her fingers as the coldfire glowed on the tips, “then I need to become a demon-fighting force for good.”
His hand dropped. “Or at least learn how to defend yourself. Small steps, Harper.”
“Guess I don’t have a choice. I have a tough legacy to live up to, my parents saving my life so I can…” She waved her hands. “Save the damn world.”
“Not save the world.” He looked solemn again. “Maybe only a small portion of it. Or one person.”
For a moment she forgot about her own pain and searched his face. Jared sounded odd, as if not talking in generalities. He was too serious. She almost preferred the sardonic, seductive Jared who was easy to distance herself from.
This Jared was the kind of guy you could fall in love with and fall hard.
The idea was almost as scary as the ridiculous notion of her being some kind of Superpowered woman with powers equal to an immortal wizard.
His deep voice interrupted her thoughts. “Harper? Are you all right? You look lost.”
Harper rubbed her eyes. “I was thinking you should start teaching me how to use this magick of mine before another demon tries to slaughter me.”
Not that she had a choice. She had to learn to harness her incredible magick or she’d be a target for every bad thing in the world. I owe it to my birth parents.
Gone was her previous life as a budding volcanologist and scientist. Harper felt as if she’d journeyed several years into the future and her past was an archeological icon. She’d allow herself a few moments of pity and grief later. Right now she needed to learn.
Wiping her hands on her jeans, she nodded. “Let’s do this. But where can I practice?”
He put a hand across her eyes. “Think of a peaceful place that brought you joy, with wide open spaces. I’m going to tap into your mind.”
Swallowing hard, knowing she had to trust him (no choice here) she thought of a park she enjoyed. Harper opened her eyes.
“That’s it? I think of a place and tap my heels together three times like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz?”
“Not quite.” He peered down at her shoes. “I doubt it works with sneakers.”
“Ha, ha. Seriously, how are we getting there?” She gestured to the tall castle walls. “Fly? Or do you have a parachute and airline tickets.”
Jared looked amused. “I keep forgetting, my dear, you have lived long on Skin terms. We do not fly. I will teleport you away the same way I teleported you from the volcano. Take my hand.”
Fear fluttered through her. Going with him meant trusting him, and up until now, he’d given her no reason for trust. Harper searched his expression. Gone was the usual sarcasm or sensual overtones. Instead, he looked solemn, almost hesitant.
As if he too, knew taking his hand was a step forward for Harper. A tremendous step.
Did she have a choice? There were no absolutes here, no science to guide her or logic. Only her emotions and instincts.
Harper stepped closer and placed her smaller hand into his. His palm was warm, hinting of strength, but Jared gently gripped her hand. He gave a small smile.
“Hold on tight.”
Her fingers curled around his. “Do I have to do anything else?”
He considered. “Brace yourself. Landings can be rough.”
Jared’s gaze twinkled with mischief. “In fact, I fear I’m a trifle rusty at this. Maybe we should bring the instruction manual?”
Harper rolled her eyes and suddenly everything vanished in a soft pop of air. They traveled through space in a dizzying speed, so fast she had to squeeze her eyes shut to tamp down the nausea rising in her stomach.
When she opened her eyes and the air had stopped rushing past her, Harper realized they stood near a lake. Pine and palm trees ringed the water. Picnic pavilions were in the distance, and a white fence corralled several horses grazing peacefully. One horse lifted its head and peered at them, then resumed eating.
She recognized the park as one she’d enjoyed frequenting. Picnic tables were set beneath a clump of trees.
Harper visited here when she needed the solace of nature. The sprawling green space north of her Miami home was a favorite. Since it was midweek, not that she could track the days anymore, no one was present. Not even a park ranger riding through the park in a pickup truck.
“You sure there’s no one here I can hurt?”
“I drove away any Skins.” He pointed to a sign that read PARK CLOSED DUE TO NOXIOUS GASES.
“Noxious gases?”
“I believe a politician held a fund-raising rally here yesterday.” He grinned.
Harper laughed. When she ceased, he stared at her as if trying to assess something.
“Your laugh…it seems familiar and tugs at my memory,” he murmured.
Jared shrugged. “Never mind. A ridiculous notion of mine. Let’s get to work.”
“I don’t know. This is remote, but why couldn’t we stay in Peru? What if someone recognizes me?” The field was empty and horses cropping grass in a nearby pasture seemed the only other visitors.
“When you left the volcano, Xavier arranged to cover for your disappearance. No one knows you.”
All Harper’s muscles locked tight. Her throat constricted. No one knew her? What of her friends? Her professors? Speech became almost impossible. Surely Jared wasn’t serious.
This couldn’t be happening. It was worse than discovering she had powers and a nasty demon was after her. Because like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, deep down she longed to click her heels and go home to all that was familiar.
Now Jared informed her no one remembered her and nothing about her was familiar to them.
Harper scoffed and shook her head. “Of course they remember me. I haven’t been gone that long.”
“It’s not the length of time you were gone, Harper. Xavier erased all memories of you.”
This couldn’t be happening. “I’m real. I am.” She poked at her arm. “This is flesh and blood real, Jared. How can I not exist?”
“You do exist. But no one in your former life remembers you.”
“No one, not even my adoptive parents?” Harper gave a short, choking laugh. “Not a great loss there. But my studies, my friends…”
Jared’s dark gaze turned sympathetic. “It was best. Eradicating your life, your existence, your student records, means no demons have a trail to follow you. Or torture your fellow academics and friends for information.” She didn’t want to know details of the torture, or mourn how her entire life had suddenly vanished.
I’ll think about that later, when I can gain control over this coldfire thing. There has to be a way to regain what I’ve lost.
“So what now?” she asked dully.
“You need a wide-open space to test those powers of yours. A place where you cannot hurt people or animals.”
He eyed a wall near the pond, far from the horse pasture.
Jared might have reason to lie to her. She had to know. Was he lying? Hard to believe everything in her life, her studies, her apartment, her friends, were gone.
Why should she trust he told the truth?
She reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out her cell phone. His expression tightened.
“Where did you get that?”
“Your maid brought it to me last night. She knew I felt lost without it.”
He swore a blue streak. “I’ve a good mind to fire her. How the hell could Jallu bring you a cell phone I hid in the castle?”
“I don’t know. But I’m going to call my best friend now that I’m back in the States.”
With dread in her heart, for her gut told her Jared had told the truth, she dialed Charlotte’s number. Her friend immediately answered.
“Who is this?”
She swallowed. Not a good sign. Char knew her number by heart. She’d actually assigned it a separate ring tone that had something to do with volcanoes blowing up. That song by Jimmy Buffet.
“Hi, it’s Harper.”
“Who?”
She cleared her throat, aware of Jared’s gaze centered on her. “Harper Ashley. Duh. Your bestie.”
“Is this Jen? Are you pranking me?”
“Char, it’s Harper. We graduated together, got our Masters, you in biology and me in geology… remember? You live in the apartment across from me. I’m 5C and you’re 5B.”
A long pause and then anger like she’d never heard in Charlotte’s voice. “The apartment across from me is rented by my best friend, Jen. I don’t know who you are or what this is about, but stop calling me. I’m blocking you.”
Charlotte hung up.
The cell phone tumbled from her loosened grip, falling on the ground. Jared picked it up and handed it to her.
Abject misery filled her. Shoulders slumped, she stared at the ground. So it was as Jared said, this horrible reality of not having an existence. No friends, no confidents, and surely no more professors urging her to finish her thesis, go the extra mile for her studies.
What life do I have left? What do I do now? Everything I’ve ever known is simply gone.
“I don’t need a cell phone anymore. My best friend in the whole world doesn’t know me. No one does. No one cares what happens to me.”
“Not entirely true,” he said gently.
She fiercely wiped at a tear threatening to leak out of her eye. “I could go anywhere, and no one knows me. I am alone.”
“No, it’s never easy to be alone, so alone you go out to public areas simply to be among people and hear their voices. You are not alone, Harper. You must think of your status now, your new life like this – you were given this power to help Others, and Skins.”
“Char was my bestie.” A lump clogged her throat. “We did everything together for years.”
“And with your newfound powers, you can save her from a terrible fate,” he said softly.
Hard to believe she could save anyone, not even herself right now. Harper felt as if all the energy drained out of her. “What if I never learn how to use this terrible power I’m supposed to have? Worse, what if I hurt someone by accident?”
Jared slowly nodded. “This is why we’re here. So you can learn and gain control over your magick. As it stands now, you have no control and your emotions are in a frenzy. You must never let your emotions best you with this kind of power or you will hurt someone unintentionally.”
Harper knew Jared had a point. Until she could effectively manage her magick, she was a walking time bomb. At least this was something she could do, something she could control.
“Where do I start?”
“Come with me.”
Following him over to the bank of the lake far from the trees, Harper tried to keep an open mind. She’d accepted the fact she did have magick, more than she could comprehend losing everything she’d ever known.
Here, without worrying about damaging anything, she could find out exactly how powerful she had become.
“Now, raise your hands and point them over there.” Jared indicated a rotting tree stump near the water’s edge. “Think of someone you wish to destroy, someone who did you harm.”
“I can’t do that.”
He gave her a level look. “Surely there is someone who displeased you.”
She thought of all the nasty people in her life. Even her adoptive parents, as unpleasant and neglectful as they’d been, didn’t warrant death.
“Not like that.”
He rubbed his bearded chin. “Harper, I’m trying to work with you here, teaching you what I know.”
“Is that all you know? How to destroy someone who hurt you?”
Ooops. Didn’t meant for it to slip out like criticism.
A haunted look entered his eyes for a minute, then he became cynical again. “Far better than being weak and caught unaware so people can use your weakness against you.”
He made an impatient gesture. “Do it. Think of the nastiest incident you can recall, if not the people themselves.”
She thought of the time when she’d failed her mid-terms and the sense of panic and gloom that she’d lose her scholarships. Harper released all her emotions.
Blue fire sailed out of her fingertips at the stump. It exploded into shards and then turned to ash.
She studied her hands. “I don’t understand. Why did I have to summon an unpleasant memory? Back at your castle, when Sonia was there, I summoned power only to please her. She asked me to demonstrate my magick and I did.”
Jared looked surprised, as if caught off guard. “Sonia did?”
“Yes. So it isn’t merely bad memories that can make this…” She waggled her fingers and blue flames peeked out of her fingertips. “Happen. It’s like a lighter. I flip the switch.”
Jared stared into the distance, as if not paying attention. “Damn.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“It could be.”
His gaze swept over the pond’s bank. “Let’s test out all your magick. Use your mind to bring the coral rock over here. Imagine you can make it float through the air.”
For some reason, this proved easier than summoning the deadly coldfire. Harper guided the basketball-sized rock over to Jared. It dropped at his feet.
Crouching down, he touched the rock, seemingly lost in thought. “Commanding coldfire, plus telekinesis. You are not a mere coldfire pyrokinetic. What the hell are you?”
Her chest felt hollow. “I thought I was a scientist. A woman. A person.”
Drawing in a deep breath, he cupped her cheek. “You are all those things, Harper. But much, much more. Learn not to label yourself. It limits the potential inside you.”
Such wise words from an incubus sex demon. “You sound more like some mystic guru atop a mountain than an incubus who seduces women.”
His gaze narrowed. “I have walked this earth far longer than you, Harper. Much longer. Do not mock what you do not know.”
Suddenly she wanted to lash out, make him hurt as she was scared and hurting. “You’re so powerful and omnipotent and you have all the answers, tell me how to take my life back. I’ve had everything stripped from me in a manner of days. My life! My best friend, whom I did everything with. I didn’t ask for any of this! I didn’t ask to have my parents die so I might live, or to lose my identity.”
She poked at the center of his chest. “So tell me, Jared, how do I get my life back? I don’t want to have power or magick. I only want my old life back!”
Quicker than she could blink, he clasped her hand, and pulled her against him so her back was snug against his chest. He hooked an arm around her throat, cutting off her struggles. “You can’t. Grow up, Harper. You can’t get your old life back. Do you think I like what I am, damnit? How I wanted my old life back? Learn to live with it as I did and stop complaining.”
She went still, her mind reeling. “What do you mean? What happened to you, Jared?”
Pressure around her throat ceded as he stepped away from her. Harper turned, searching his face. “What was your old life?”
“It matters not. It happened long ago.
Expression bleak, he scanned the horizon. “We must hurry your training. This expenditure of magick is certain to attract attention, the kind of attention you do not want. I don’t detect anything yet, but this place is too wide open to attack.”
Harper tugged at her ponytail. “How can you tell if a demon or another evil entity is around?”
“Best way is to smell them.”
The peaceful park, with a breeze rustling through the palm fronds and rippling the water, suddenly took on a new aura. She lifted her head and sniffed at the wind. Nothing but the scent of horses, newly mown grass and fresh water.
“What do they smell like?”
“Remember the sulphur at the volcano? Now add decomposing flesh, and sewage. There you have it – the formula for a hellfire demon.” Jared shrugged. “They all smell the same, no matter the power. Darkness and pain, the screams of thousands of lost souls. All they care about is power and destruction and siphoning away all joy in the world so they can grow stronger.”
Nostrils flaring, she dragged a deep breath into her lungs. Nothing evil here. Jared’s scent pleased her. Spices and earth, and leather. Nothing bad, or threatening. A faint memory tugged at her – horses and leather, a man laughing as he watched her harness a high-spirited gelding.
Harper pressed a hand to her head. Jared watched her closely. “Headache?” he asked.
“No. Memories from a silly dream I had. What do you want me to do now?”
“Let’s try something else.” He pointed to a small piece of white coral rock near the pond. “Destroy that with your powers. Focus on seeing it smashed to tiny pieces.”
Harper reached inside for her magick, a low hum in her body like a crackling electrical line. Gazing at the coral rock, she stopped. “I can’t.”
Jared arched his eyebrows. “Can’t or won’t?”
“It’s coral rock.”
“So? It’s a rock.”
“It’s not a mere rock, Jared.” She drew in a breath. “It’s the skeleton of thousands of living, breathing organisms that supported other living, breathing organisms.”
He stared. “Harper, this isn’t the ocean. It’s dead.”
“But it once was not! I can’t smash a coral rock to pieces! It goes against everything I stand for.”
Jared looked at the rock, and then back at her. He sat on the ground. “Son of a demon spawn, are you serious?”
At her nod, he buried his head in his hands. His shoulders shook. Was he crying? No… as he looked up, Jared laughed.
He was laughing.
Harper folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t see what’s so funny.”
“You. Wanting to protect a damn rock when there are demons out there who would get their rocks off at a chance to obliterate you.”
Harper glared at him. “It’s not funny. Coral is actually not a rock, but an animal. Coral is made up of polyps, thousands of tiny animals that uses calcium carbonate in the ocean to build its skeleton. Each polyp is soft, but has stinging tentacles in its mouth.”
Something flickered in his dark, intense gaze. Not the disdain of other men who found her ramblings boring. No, something deeper.
Respect.
“Stinging tentacles in its mouth.” Jared’s mouth twisted into a rueful smile. “Good defense. “
Tension left her body. “Yes, it is. Many species of fish depend upon coral reefs for survival off the Florida coast. They hide there as well as forage for food.”
“Like that movie, Finding Nemo.”
“Not exactly. Clownfish like Nemo don’t live in the Atlantic, but in coral reefs, mainly in the Pacific, Indian Ocean and Red Sea. They have a symbiotic relationship with the sea anemones hosting them. The anemones sting larger fish that would prey on the clownfish like Nemo.”
Seeing his bewildered look, she added, “It’s a great defense.”
He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. “Nemo never had to face dozens of tenth level fire demons who could inflict brutal pain before devouring you.”
“Fire demons?” All thoughts of science, marine biology and logic fled.
“Fire demons. They aren’t the worst, either. It’s the lower-level demons who can sneak up on you and slaughter you before you even sense them. Equally dangerous. Hells bells, I’m an incubus and not even a tenth level demon and I have enough magick to kill you right now because you can’t control your powers!”
“But you can destroy these demons. Correct?”
“You can destroy them yourself if you’d stop wanting to conserve rocks.” Jared glared at her. “Stop wasting time and start practicing. I’m not your damn guardian or your white knight who’s going to protect you, damnit.”
She considered, hating this, hating him for a moment, hating everything that happened to her and the heavy responsibility on her shoulders. Life was much simpler, and happier, when she was alone in the science lab studying geology.
“If you’re so mighty, then you destroy it, Jared.”
The words barely left her mouth when his eyes glowed crimson, his face became menacing. Heart racing, Harper took several steps backward. This was a part of Jared she’d never seen.
Terrifying.
Releasing a loud snarl, he whirled, flung out a bolt of energy at a nearby boulder. It smashed into several tiny pieces, fragments barely bigger than a penny.
Her stomach curdled. Harper swallowed hard. “Guess you do have the power. So why didn’t you destroy the coral?”
Shoulders slumped, he ran a hand through his dark hair. “Because you wanted to save it.”
Touched at his thoughtfulness, she smiled. “Thank you.”
“You’re something else, Harper Ashley.” He sounded weary. “Let’s get back to work. But know this, there will come a time when you stand ready to use your powers to save something other than a rock. Maybe save a Skin’s life, or your own life, and you’d best be prepared to do whatever it takes. There’s much more at stake here.”
“You sound as if the world is going to end.”
“It may.”
She studied his grim expression. “Jared, what’s going on? What aren’t you telling me?”
“My conversation last night with Xavier was more than gleaning information about your origins and your parents. He warned you need to harness your powers and soon for your own protection, and the protection of others.” Jared squatted down, picked up some soil and sifted it through his fingers.
“Why?” Her stomach began to tighten as a knot formed in her chest.
“He was evasive, but I could tell. I’ve seen a glimpse of them… zombies.” Jared stood and dusted off his hands. “The Dark Lord is taking over the minds of weakened Skins and creating human zombies to do his bidding. The wizards are planning for an all-out war.”
Fear congealed in her. Jared was correct. Babbling about trying to conserve coral rock was wasting time.
“Maybe it’s better that Char doesn’t remember me, and all memories of me at the university are wiped out. Will that protect them?”
“Yes.” Jared’s expression softened. “I know it’s hard to lose everything you know, but the wizards have a reason for doing what they did. In losing their memories of you, they are not only protected, but your friends and colleagues won’t be used as a weapon against you.”
She stuffed the fear down, deep inside, where it became a tiny, winking beacon. Not quite extinguished, but small enough to motivate.
Harper rubbed her hands against her jeans. “Let’s do this.”
For the next hour they worked on honing her powers and Harper’s ability to react quickly to threats.
Drained and tired, she sat at a nearby picnic table. “Can we take a break? I’m wiped out.”
“Demons don’t take breaks, Harper.”
“There’re no demons here, Jared. Five minutes, please.”
Suddenly he vanished. Panicked, she looked around. How could he disappear into thin air? This was not good. Was another demon approaching? She sniffed the air and smelled nothing, but there was a heaviness, a thickness on the breeze that felt unnatural.
Cold, oh, so cold.
A tingle rushed down her spine, a threat. Kind of felt like the hairs rising on the back of her neck, but this held a greater intensity. Something nasty and dangerous approached.
The crackle and sizzle of fire warned her before she smelled it. Harper whirled and saw a flaming ball of fire the size of a bowling ball zipping through the air toward her.
Without thinking, she flung a bolt of coldfire at the fireball. Her magick engulfed the threat, surrounded it and the fireball didn’t shatter. It remained in the air, bouncing like a child’s red rubber ball ringed by cobalt blue.
What if I could take it into myself and become even more powerful? Use something evil and make it into something good?
She waved her hands toward herself and the fireball/coldfire gently floated over to her. It sank into her chest, leaving a warm, tingling feeling. The soaring rush of power made her laugh. So much energy, she felt as if she could fly through the air.
Staring at her hands, she marveled at this newfound ability. I can do this. Not merely destroy things.
Could her powers actually be used for good and not merely for defense?
Jared materialized, sitting on top of the picnic table.
“Now you may take a break.” A smug look crossed his face.
Harper glared at him. “You’re a beast.”
A shadow crossed his face and then he shrugged. “So what if I am?”
She joined him at the table. “You can summon fireballs? Is that a demon thing?”
“Yes and no. I have the power to do so in limited fashion. It drains me, so I use that magick sparingly, as a last resort.”
He did look paler. A barely perceptible tremor affected his hands as he rested them upon his knees. Harper didn’t get it. “Then why do that now?”
“Because you needed the practice. Smashing rocks and throwing coldfire isn’t enough, not when demons can catch you unaware.”
Her heart melted a little at his consideration. Knowing he needed the rest, she suggested they sit for a few minutes. Jared seemed relieved at the notion.
Harper summoned coldfire to her hands, delighting in the soft blue glow. “All this and it doesn’t even ruin my manicure.”
“You don’t have a manicure.” Jared reached over and touched her right hand.
Right through the haze of coldfire. As his fingers made contact, she felt a warm glow, twined with a surge of pure desire.
Her female parts sat up and took notice. Oh yeah, they sang out. This could be fun.
Jared stared at his fingers touching hers. Then he rested his palm atop hers. The coldfire flared a deeper blue, glowing fiercely.
“I’m not burning you?”
“No. It feels good, touching you like this,” he murmured.
“Why doesn’t it hurt you?”
Jared looked equally surprised. “I don’t know.”
“Maybe it only hurts others when I’m feeling threatened.” Though she’d been terrified and confused when awakening at Jared’s castle, he didn’t elicit those emotions now.
No, I feel comfortable around him, and nervous, but the good kind of nervous you have when you’re with someone whose bones you’d jump instantly.
Turning her hand around so their palms touched, she lifted her hand as he did the same. Their gazes locked. His dark eyes, oh so dark and mysterious, smoldered with sexual awareness. Jared’s lips parted as his gaze dropped to her mouth. She moistened her lips, anticipating what his kiss would feel like – firm and warm, and dragging her down to the depths of a passion she’d go to hell and back to experience…
Suddenly his palm flamed red, and the fire reached over and seemed to caress the blue coldfire, teasing, a dance of two powerful elements. Then the fire from his hands wrapped around her blue flames, like a man wrapping his arms around his lover.
“What’s happening?” she said, awestruck, feeling an arousal she hadn’t experienced since that disastrous night in the bar.
He actually looked flushed. “That’s my incubus magick, the tendrils of power I send out when I wish to seduce a woman. But I didn’t summon it. It’s as if…it has a mind of its own.”
His gaze met hers. “As if my body is responding to you naturally.”
Harper swallowed hard. “Mine as well.”
He drew his hand back, studying it as if it held answers. “I don’t know why this happened now. It hasn’t happened in a long time, perhaps months. Years, since I’ve been able to use my sexual incubus magick.”
Feeling heat suffuse her face, she cleared her throat. “Can I use the coldfire against dangerous Skins? Like those zombies you mentioned?”
“I don’t know about zombies, but you can use it to melt bullets, if someone is shooting at you.”
A wisp of memory surfaced… a woman striding through a field, a man she loved…a bullet fired…
The coldfire disappeared from her fingers as her temple ached again. Harper rubbed her head.
Fire vanished from his fingers as well. Jared’s expression turned concerned. “What’s wrong? You’re in pain again.”
“I don’t know…this recurring dream I’ve had… every time I remember bits and pieces, it makes my head hurt.”
Jared reached over and touched her head. His fingers massaged her temple gently. Harper closed her eyes and made a hum of satisfaction.
“Feels so good. Oh, please, don’t stop.”
“I’d better stop, lest I surrender to the temptation to massage other parts of your body,” he murmured.
Feeling daring she studied him as his fingers dropped down. “Maybe I’d like that as well.”
She leaned forward, staring at his mouth. He needed no further incentive. Jared curled a hand around her neck and drew her close.
Her eyes closed as his mouth descended upon hers.
His kiss felt oh, so good. It was sweet and tart, a lick of fire polished off by a droplet of ice. All her emotions raged to the surface as she leaned into him. Her lips parted under the subtle pressure of his and his tongue leisurely licked inside her mouth, tasting her. He sipped her mouth as if sampling a fine cognac, as if they had all the time in the world and the world only existed at that moment for them both.
Losing herself in the kiss, she let her tongue touch his. Desire filled her, a sexual awareness inflaming her body, making her want him now, nothing else mattered. This felt so right, so special and yet she knew she’d felt like this before, long ago, another place and time. Or maybe her dreams. Didn’t matter, only Jared mattered with the magick he worked on her mouth, making her ache and want and need him…
Abruptly he pulled away, panting, his pupils dilated, but his expression grim.
“Son of a bitch.”
Confused and frustrated, she licked her lips. “What? Was that your incubus magick, Jared? What’s wrong?”
“It wasn’t my magick. But we’re no longer alone. Smell that?”
Through the haze of sexual arousal, she scented a foulness riding the air, unnatural and sickly sweet, like rotting meat. Her panicked gaze sought his.
“Demon,” she whispered.
“A powerful one. Damnit, I anticipated this, but figured we’d have more time. You’re not safe here, Harper.”
Her body quivered, this time not from pleasure, but fear.
Was she truly safe anywhere?