Forever Burning (6 page)

Ath didn’t say anything, so Scarlet asked, “What is the condition?”

Ath looked at the others, her eyes lingering on Angelica.

“We have only one condition, and it’s simple.”

Scarlet raised an eyebrow, impatient with the repetition. “I’m waiting?”

“We’ll help you open the tear, so you can go back to Earth, but...you have to take us with you.”

Chapter Six

The werehyena laughed, and if Archer had been prone to fancy, he would have thought it sounded just like exaggerated villainous laughter from an old B movie.

“Oh, the goddess is making a personal appearance. You are in such deep shit now.”

Archer lowered his arm, and squinted into the light.

“Or maybe you are, for failing?” He couldn’t resist a cocky grin.

Even in the blinding light, Archer noted that the werehyena visibly swallowed, and his eyes widened in fear.

Archer sensed the others form up behind him, and he figured they were curious like him. Who could this goddess be? Archer had a hunch, but he wasn’t going to lay any bets until he could confirm it. There were too many Eternals after Scarlet for him to be sure.

The light faded enough for him to make out the silhouetted shape of a woman, then it faded completely and Archer gave himself a mental pat on the back. His hunch had been right.

“Jasmine.” His arms crossed over his chest again, a look of disdain etched into his features.

“Kneel before the goddess.” The hyena lunged forward, but with fluid grace, Archer’s fist shot out, laying the hyena flat on his back. “She’s no goddess.” Then he spoke to Jasmine. “Still after Scarlet, I see?”

Jasmine gave him a serene smile. She lifted the skirt of her dress and stepped over the hyena to stand in front of Archer.

“I need the pyro.” She held her smile, but Archer could see the strain around her eyes.

“Well, she’s gone, so you are shit outta luck.” Those words, spat in Jasmine’s face, were the only good thing to come out of Scarlet’s kidnapping to the phoenix plane.

“What?” Jasmine paled. “No, you’re lying. You’ve hidden her somewhere.”

Tate stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Archer. “He’s not lying. Scarlet was taken to another plane, somewhere you can never get her.”

The hyena groaned and stood, shaking his head like a dog would after immersing it in water.

“Take these misfits back to the temple, and I will deal with your failure later.” Jasmine’s command cracked like a whip.

The hyena rounded up the wounded, and looked over at Jasmine. She waved her hand, and they were gone in a flash of the blinding white light.

She turned her attention back to Archer. “What nonsense are you spewing. It will not throw me off her trail. I need the pyro.” Her hands curled to fists at her side.

“She’s not a pyro, and she’s gone. There is nothing you can do about it,” Archer grated through clenched teeth. He’d had more than enough of Jasmine and her demands. He was a twitch away from vivisecting her, and doing both humanity and all of the Eternals a service.

“I didn’t come here to listen to you talk bullshit, Archer. Hand her over, and I’ll let the rest of you live.” Her voice was glacial, and a white light had started forming in her clenched fists.

Erik stepped past Archer. “Scarlet has become a phoenix. She’s been taken to their realm, so stop
your
bullshit and leave, before we kill you where you stand.”

“A phoenix?” Jasmine’s eyes glinted with greed.

Archer took a menacing step forward. “Hold up—what do you know about phoenix?”

Jasmine answered his question with one of her own. “Can I speak with you in private, Archer?”

Archer waited, expecting her to rub her hands in glee. What had become of the sweet angel that had once dated Dimi?

“No, whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of everyone.”

“Very well. I know about the phoenix, and about their realm, and I can get you there.”

Archer was stunned into silence for a moment. “What?”

“You heard me. I can get to their realm, but I need your help. I can’t get there without you.”

“I don’t know how to get there.” He folded his arms again. She was up to something, and he had a feeling it was more than getting her hands on Scarlet.

“I smell her all over you, Archer. Do you think I’m an idiot?”

He leveled a flat stare at Jasmine. “
So
.
What
.” Archer enunciated each word, putting emphasis on them.

“You have a connection to her, and with that, I can open a doorway between the planes and we can fetch her.”

“Don’t even think about it, Archer. Nothing good can come from that suggestion. This one is pure evil,” Tate said from just behind Archer.

Heath nodded his head in agreement. “It would be a deal with the devil.”

“You.” Jasmine narrowed her eyes at Heath. “You and I have unfinished business.”

“That’s debatable, little devil. I’m done with you and your ilk.”

She clenched her teeth and turned to Archer. “I suspect that Scarlet is mated to you, so I know that sooner or later, you are going to come begging me to go get her. As for me wanting her? You can have Scarlet. I’ll take another phoenix for my purposes. Think on it. You have my number.”

She waved her hand dramatically and disappeared in the white light.

“She’s such a drama queen.” Erik quipped in a fake effeminate accent.

As a group, they turned, and in unison said, “Shut up, Erik.”

Archer was tempted, Jasmine’s words playing on a loop in his head. She wouldn’t take Scarlet. He could have his
She
back.

Heath was regarding Archer with a thoughtful expression.

“There is another way, Arch, so don’t even go there.”

“What. I didn’t say anything,” Archer snapped.

“I don’t need my precognitive abilities to see what you were thinking. You didn’t have to say it.” He put his hand on Archer’s shoulder. “We know you want her back, and we will help you get her back—Jasmine, she’s bad news.”

A chorus of,
Yeah
and
of course we will
and
you bet your ass
came from the rest of the group.

“Where do we start?” Archer felt good about the support, but still a little lost. He wanted Scarlet back
now
.

“We go back and do some research like we said we were going to do,” Tate said with a smile. “So get your ass behind the SUV’s wheel. The sooner we are motoring it, the sooner we’ll get back to Crossroads.”

He turned and walked towards the Impala, stopping to take the keys out of the trunk where Zane had left them. “Let’s go, everyone.”

By the time they pulled into the underground garage under the Outsiders Inc.’s building, it was late afternoon.

Everyone was tired, and more than a few of them were bleeding from the skirmish they’d had with Jasmine’s forces.

Archer felt as if he was functioning in zombie mode, and his beast was strangely quiet.

Heath got out first, and went around to the trunk of the Impala to open it for Zane. The vampire exited with a groan and stretched his tall body. “Never, ever again,” he said, giving the trunk a dark look.

“We’ll make sure we have some industrial strength sun block with us next time.” Heath’s lips twitched.

Zane transferred his dirty look to Heath. “Ha-frigging-ha.”

“Grab your stuff. Time to face the music.” Tate pulled a green duffel bag out of the back of the
Impala
, slung it over his shoulder, and started walking towards the elevator. Then he turned to look at Archer. “Dude, you look like someone kicked, ran over, then cremated your puppy.”

“Shut up, Tate. I’m coming, okay?” Archer grabbed his duffel and walked past Tate, the others following. The mood was subdued, and Archer had a feeling it was because of him. So, as he passed Tate, he bumped him and said, “You only want me to go first ‘cause you are scared of big-bad-Dimi.”

Tate released a bark of laughter. “Damn skippy.”

They filled into the elevator, which was a tight squeeze, but they managed to fit and Zane pulled down the grating and hit the button to take them up.

When they reached the reception area, they were greeted with, “About bloody time.”

Poe unfolded himself from behind the reception desk, a big grin plastered on his face, and walked over to open the elevator for them. “You suck at keeping a vampire updated,” he told Archer as he straightened. “And the point of owning a cell phone is to bloody well answer it.”

“I was too busy to deal with cell phone calls, Poe, so stop pouting.”

That got him a dirty look and a raised eyebrow. “I see you’ve brought the other chapter of Outsiders with you.” Poe then greeted everyone as they exited the elevator.

“And you.” Poe cuffed Zane across the back of the head as Zane walked past him. “You just up and disappear, and leave me holding the reception baby.”

“Hey.” Zane swung around and glared at Poe. “Archer needed me. You work here, too, so it didn’t kill you, did it?”

“I’m already dead, you dork, but if I wasn’t, it might just have.”

“What the hell is going on here?” Dimi’s voice boomed across the reception, and Archer nearly grinned when Tate flinched.

“Now, Dimi, try to stay calm.”

A vein on Dimi’s temple started to pulse. “You are supposed to be in Mayborn. What are you doing here?”

“Well, you see there is a problem with the headquarters in Mayborn.” Tate scrunched up his eyes.

“What’s the problem?” The vein pulsed faster.

“There is no headquarters in Mayborn anymore.”

“What?”

“That was so three weeks ago.” Erik shrugged. “We had a run-in with Jasmine’s crew and they took the place out.”

Erik’s butting in only made matters worse when Dimi bellowed, “Jasmine?”

“Where is the pyro?” When no one answered immediately, Dimi growled, “I want a full explanation for all of this, and you are all going to give it to me now.”

Archer sighed and dropped his head back. “Dimi, please, just breathe. I don’t have the strength for demon histrionics right now.”

Dimi’s skin started turning a violent shade of red.

Tate hissed out for Archer’s ears alone. “That didn’t help, Archer.”

Archer pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m too tired for this.”

“Screw tired. Debriefing, now.” Dimi spun and strode towards the living room.

Poe jumped over the reception desk, and hit a switch. “I’m not missing a moment of this.”

Dimi took the center of the floor and pointed at the furniture. “Sit, and start talking.”

Archer sank down into an armchair, exhaustion making his bones feel like rubber. He let his head fall back on the back of the armchair.

The rest of the Outsiders found seats while Dimi remained standing.

The big demon pinned them with a hard look in turns. “Someone needs to start talking.”

Tate cleared his throat. “Archer?”

“Okay, let me start where you last saw us.”

He sat forward in his chair, and told the story as it had happened. He left out his night with Scarlet in the forest, but told about the phoenix woman capturing her.

When he’d finished speaking, there was a long silence from Dimi, then he went exactly where Archer had expected him to go.

“So that bitch wants to become a goddess.” His voice was a low growl that made everybody in the room react as their hackles rose.

Archer surged to his feet and grabbed the front of Dimi’s shirt, catching him off guard. He slammed Dimi’s back into the nearest wall, putting all his fury into the attack.

“My
She
has been taken, and all you can think of is Jasmine. It’s about time you stop having a pity party about what she did, and get over her.”

With a roar that made the windows vibrate and the Outsiders cover the ears, Dimi threw Archer back away from him, sending him flying over couches as the Outsiders scattered out of the way.

Archer bowled over the armchair he’d been sitting on, but as soon as he hit the ground, he rolled, and was up on his feet again. He flew at Dimi, knocking the demon’s head back with a right hook and following it up with a hammering left to the demon’s gut.

Dimi gave an
Oomph
as his wind was knocked out, but he threw his head back, grabbed Archer’s shirt and head-butted him across the bridge of his nose.

Blood spurted as Archer’s nose broke. He ignored the crimson liquid pouring from his own, and jabbed at
Dimi’s
nose in return. Hearing a satisfying crunch, Archer ducked someone trying to grab him from behind, and grinned when Dimi’s nose bled all over his white shirt.

“Dimitri, Archer, stop this!” Poe dove between them, his vampiric agility allowing him to duck war-hammer punches as they they threw them.

He spread his legs and held his arms apart to try and separate the fighting Eternals, but Dimi barreled past him, tackling Poe to the ground, then hooking Archer’s knee and pulling him down so Dimi could crawl up to straddle Archer and throw another punch, snapping Archer’s face to the left.

Archer lifted his legs, slamming them down on his feet and rolled his back. Throwing Dimi off him, he now had the advantage.

He started to rain punches down on the demon, but someone hooked their arms around his shoulders and dragged him off Dimi, pushing Archer face-down on the floor and pinning him with a knee in the back.

“Enough!” Tate’s voice roared through the room, stopping everyone mid motion.

It was Heath that had Archer pinned to the floor, well, Heath and Zane.

Erik, Poe, and Sophia were holding Dimi down. Tate stood in the middle of the mess his face flushed with anger.

“We are
not
enemies, and I won’t stand here and watch you fight each other, because that’s exactly what Jasmine would want.”

When Dimi growled at the name, Tate’s head snapped in his direction.

“You!” He pointed a finger at Dimi. “Archer is right, so get over it, already. All she is to us right now is an enemy. So stop wallowing in the past.”