Circle of Fire (29 page)

The teenager edged forward. She was tall and slender, with long, matted brown hair. Her face was gaunt and pale, and dark shadows ringed her brown eyes. It wasn’t hard to guess she’d been Eleanor’s guest for quite a while. “Are you a prisoner too?”

Maddie nodded. “I’m afraid Eleanor doesn’t like me very much.”

The teenager stared at her. “Is that her name? I’ve only seen her when she comes to check if I’m still asleep.”

Which suggested the girl had been awake for a while. Maddie wondered whether the fact that Teresa was now awake was an oversight on Eleanor’s part or intentional. “How often does she do that?”

Teresa shrugged. “Regularly. She took my watch, so I can’t really be sure how much time has passed.”

If the witch checked regularly, she’d probably be back soon. Maddie shivered and rubbed her arms briskly. The movement sent the madman in her head
into a frenzy of activity. She frowned, and imagined the flames within her rising just enough to snatch the chill from her flesh. Fear whispered through her but still no heat came. And yet, sweat began to dribble down her spine and she began feeling rather odd.

“I’m cold too,” Teresa said, edging closer.

The nightgown she wore wasn’t much longer than Maddie’s T-shirt, and certainly didn’t appear any warmer. “I’m told sharing body warmth can help,” Maddie replied softly. “Want to try it?”

The teenager hesitated a second, then rushed forward and collapsed into her embrace. Maddie rubbed her hands up and down the girl’s half-frozen arms and wondered how in the hell she was going to get them both out of Eleanor’s cage.

“Where are we?” Teresa clung to her tightly, as if afraid to let go.

“I don’t know.” Maddie leaned her head back against the wall and studied the cavern beyond their prison. They were somewhere in the mountains, obviously, but more than that she couldn’t guess. But wherever it was, it was a stronghold Eleanor had prepared well. Fear stabbed through her heart and she closed her eyes. Jon would come for her, no matter how many traps Eleanor set for him. And he would die because he was only one man, and he couldn’t fight Eleanor and protect
her
at the same time.

She should have listened to him, should have left when she had the chance, instead of lingering that extra night.

And yet, given the chance to do it all over again, her choice would have remained the same. Maybe it was selfish, but if she had to die, then she wanted it to
be with the memory of Jon’s touch still burning across her skin.

Teresa shifted and glanced up. Her eyes were slightly unfocused.
Drugged
, Maddie thought, and wondered if it might explain her own unnatural calm.

“How are we going to get out of here?” Teresa asked.

Another question she couldn’t answer. Maddie smiled grimly and brushed a limp strand of hair away from the girl’s eyes. “I’ll find a way.” She ran her hands up and down the teenager’s arms for a minute, then frowned. “Did you wake up on the floor, or a bed of some sort?”

“A bed. Why?”

“Just curious. Come on, show me.”

Teresa rose unsteadily. Maddie climbed to her feet, then clung on to the wall as the darkness spun around her. The spinning eased after several deep breaths but didn’t entirely go away. She rubbed the sweat off her forehead and wondered what in hell was wrong. Her skin was so cold that everything ached, and yet inside, it felt as if she were burning up—but it wasn’t her flames. It was something else. Her head alternated between a pounding ache and a weird, spaced-out sort of sensation, and she wasn’t entirely sure which she preferred.

“This way,” Teresa said softly.

Walking a few feet locked them back into darkness. Another step had Maddie’s legs bumping into the wooden bed frame. It would make the perfect fire, except for the fact her flames seemed to be absent and she couldn’t set it alight. And even if she
could
, a fire
might attract Eleanor’s attention. Just because she couldn’t see the bitch didn’t mean she wasn’t here.

Maddie bent down and swept her hand across the surface. Rough wool met her touch. A blanket. She picked it up, then reached out and caught Teresa by the arm. “Here, wrap this around you.”

“It smells,” she muttered, but pulled the blanket around herself nevertheless.

The only smell Maddie could make out was unwashed teenager. “I want you to do me a favor, Teresa.”

“What?” There was suddenly a great deal of wariness in the girl’s voice.

Which was understandable, considering they were both strangers. The kid might
want
to trust her, but she wasn’t a complete fool. “If we hear someone coming, I want you to lie down on this bed and pretend to be asleep. No matter what happens, I don’t want you to move or make a sound. Can you do that?”

“Yes.” Something in her voice suggested it was a charade she’d already played.

“And if you get the chance, I want you to run as fast as you can out of this place and head down the mountain. Okay?” If this was the same place where Hank had stopped earlier, then there’d be a road for the teenager to find and follow. “A friend of mine should be outside soon, and he’ll help you.”

“What’s his name?”

“Jon.” Maddie closed her eyes briefly against the sudden ache in her heart. “Come on, let’s get back to the light.”

They shuffled back to the bars. Maddie leaned her forehead against them, trying to ignore another wash
of weakness. After several deep breaths, she studied the cavern once more.

It was hard to make out any distinct shapes in the uneven light of the sputtering torch. The breeze shivered past her legs, and the smell of snow, citrus, and death was heavy in the air.

Her stomach rolled again. She clung to the bars and licked her dry lips. When the world stopped spinning again, she glanced up at the torch. The flames were bending to her right, following the lead of the wind.

“That’s the way to run, Teresa,” she said, pointing to the left of the cavern. “That’s where the breeze is coming from, so there has to be some sort of exit.”

The teenager nodded. “She never leaves the door unlocked, though.”

“She only needs to get careless once.” And the chances of that happening were greater now that everything seemed to be going Eleanor’s way.

The sharp rattle of a stone bouncing across the cavern’s floor made them both jump in fright.

“Go,” Maddie whispered.

Teresa scooted across the darkness and disappeared. Maddie dropped to the floor and half closed her eyes, feigning a look of pain. Which wasn’t all that hard, given the sick churning in her stomach.

The footsteps drew closer and changed from the click of claws to the sharp tap of boot heels. Maddie opened her eyes slightly.

“How nice. You’re awake,” Eleanor drawled as she stopped next to the metal bars. “How are you feeling?”

There was no hint of scarring on Eleanor’s right hand, no sign that she’d ever been burned. And yet,
as she dug into her pocket and produced a key, her movements were awkward and stiff.

Had she healed herself with magic, or was she simply presenting an unscarred front?

“Does it really matter how I feel?” Maddie said.

Eleanor smiled. It might well have been Death smiling at her. “Of course it matters. I wouldn’t want you dying before the boyfriend gets here.”

The hint of malice in Eleanor’s sharp features ran dread through Maddie’s soul. Sweat broke out across her forehead, despite the chill in the cavern. Something was wrong. Not with the situation, but within herself. She licked her lips again and glared up at Eleanor. “What have you done to me?”

Eleanor’s laugh was high and unstable. “Let’s just say you won’t be lighting any funeral pyres for a while—except maybe your own.”

Maddie stared at her and repeated, “What have you done to me?” The question was little more than a soft croak, her voice almost strangled by fear. Had Eleanor torn away her fire-starting abilities, leaving her no weapon to fight with?

Eleanor smirked. “I’ve looped your gifts. Try using them on me and they’ll backfire against you.” She stopped and studied Maddie critically. “And I’d say that is already happening. Feel a little hot, my dear?”

Maddie resisted the temptation to mop her brow. To be killed by her own fires just when she was beginning to understand them had to be one of the great ironies of all time. “Where’s the other teenager?” she asked, trying to bluff for time.

“Oh, sleeping close by.” Eleanor leaned down and carefully slid the key into the lock, her movements
awkward. “Come along, my dear. We have much to arrange.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” It sounded almost childish, but Maddie didn’t really care. If she couldn’t fight, she had to delay. The more Eleanor concentrated on her, the greater chance Teresa had of escaping.

Eleanor sighed. It was a dramatic sound that didn’t fit the evil in her dark eyes. “I really don’t have time to play right now. Up.”

She made a motion with her right hand, and something whispered across Maddie’s neck and jerked tight. She gasped and raised her hands to her neck. There was nothing there but a whisper of icy wind entwining her throat. Panic and terror surged, and sweat dimpled her skin. Maddie briefly closed her eyes and struggled to breathe normally. If she lost control of her gifts, she’d kill herself. And that was one amusement she had no intention of providing.

Eleanor made another pulling motion with her hand, and the wind became a ring of ice that bit deep into Maddie’s neck and wrenched her forward.

“Up,” Eleanor repeated.

The leash pulled so tightly against Maddie’s throat she could barely breathe. She scrambled to her feet and the tightness eased, allowing her to drag in great gulps of air. But the sudden movement made the drummer in her head go crazy. Dizziness hit her. She reached for the wall, trying to steady herself.

Eleanor gave her no time to recover, yanking on the leash again. “Come, my dear. The day is passing, and we have a trap to lay.”

Her feet felt frozen and half numb, and her legs
were so wobbly they didn’t seem strong enough to support her weight. But as she stumbled through the doorway, a fierce sense of elation ran through her. Because as Eleanor continued to force her forward, she didn’t stop to re-lock the door.

There was still a chance to fulfill her promise to Evan. All she had to do was keep Eleanor occupied long enough for Teresa to slip away.

“I
S NOW THE RIGHT TIME TO ADMIT THAT
I
DON
’
T REALLY
know that much about witchcraft?” Mack hauled his coat collar up around his neck, leaned his hip against the car, and shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

Jon smiled grimly. Mack looked like a man suddenly facing the gates of hell. And it was probably a fair estimation of what awaited them.

“Eleanor’s not really a witch. She’s a sorcerer. It’s the next step up the ladder.” He stopped carving the end of the small white-ash branch and held it up to the light. A few more cuts and his makeshift dagger would be ready.

Mack turned and studied the trees, his face giving little away. But Jon could feel his unease, saw the shadow snaking through the agent’s usually confident aura.

“You suddenly don’t seem in so much of a hurry,” Mack said.

Jon made a few final cuts along the limb, then put it down to join the other half dozen near his feet. “That’s because I know what Eleanor is capable of, and I have no intention of going up there unarmed.” Which was why he’d made Mack detour past the
cabin they’d found Evan in on their way up here. He needed the supplies locked in the back of his truck.

Mack patted his shoulder. “I have a gun, you know. And backup is on its way.”

“Eleanor can change shape quicker than you can shoot.” Jon stood up and flexed his leg. The knife wound throbbed in protest, but he could move around fairly normally now, and that was all that mattered. “As for your backup, they have five minutes, then I’m off.”

“Don’t be a fool, Barnett. You can’t go after this woman alone if you want the kid or your Maddie to survive.”

Your Maddie
. The phrase whispered through his mind, soothing the lonely ache in his soul. Only she wasn’t his Maddie and never could be. He angrily snatched up the white-ash daggers near his feet.

“Take these and keep them safe,” he said, handing Mack four of the weapons. “They’ll protect you from Eleanor when all else fails.”

Mack raised a skeptical eyebrow. “How could a few crudely carved bits of wood possibly do that?”

“They’re made of white ash. It’s an ancient wood deadly to shapeshifters.” He dragged his black bag off the car hood and rummaged around inside until he found the small metal medallion Seline had given him.

“So white ash can kill you?”

Jon glanced up sharply. “Yes, it can. Why? Do you plan to use it on me when this is all over?”

Mack gave him his sharklike grin. “Arrest you, maybe. Kill you, no.” He hesitated and glanced past Jon. “The cavalry just arrived.”

Jon looked over his shoulder and saw the three police vehicles pull to a halt. Mack strode across to the first car and began a hurried conversation with the driver. Jon listened for a few moments, then turned his attention back to the medallion in his hand. Looped with a shoelace, and so black with age that he couldn’t make out the markings that surrounded the blue-green stone at its heart, it certainly didn’t look like an amulet that would protect him from the worst of Eleanor’s magic. But Seline had assured him that it would work, and she seldom promised what she couldn’t deliver.