Forever Burning (8 page)

Scarlet sat cross-legged next to Kell. Ath and Dani sat, too. Angelica was back on her bed, staring out the window. Scarlet understood a little more why Angelica was so upset. Her breeding was weeks away, now. They just had to find the right male and Angelica would have to have a child by him—one she couldn’t keep. Scarlet could understand why the other phoenix found the process so abhorrent.

Scarlet focused on the mirror. They were going to get out of this hell-hole of a realm soon enough. Now, she had to try to get some coordination going.

Kell placed the mirror on the ground, leaning it against the bed in front of Scarlet.

“Okay.” Kell looked as if she was concentrating deeply. “If I remember my training right, you have to concentrate on the person you are trying to contact. Just like the viewing tear.”

Scarlet nodded.

“Focus in the center of the image, and pull the image of Archer towards the mirror.”

“Okay.” Scarlet drew in a deep calming breath and centered her attention on the surface of the mirror.

She closed her eyes.

“No, keep your eyes open.” Ath put a hand on Scarlet’s shoulder. “You have to keep your eyes open, or you might open up a channel to somewhere we don’t want to have a channel open to.”

“Okay, got ya.” Scarlet squared her shoulders, forcing her spine straight. “Why can’t you guys do this?” The idea of opening a channel up to some place scary was now stuck in Scarlet’s head.

“’Cause you are his mate, the connection will be much stronger. Now, stop asking dumb questions and focus,” Ath said through gritted teeth.

Scarlet gave Ath a dirty look, then focused on the mirror. “Archer, where are you?” she murmured almost inaudibly.

A fog started to appear on the surface of the mirror as if someone had breathed onto the glass.

Slowly, like a mist clearing on a cold morning, the image started to crystallize.

Archer was sitting with his legs over the side of his bed, his elbows resting on his knees, his head in his hands.

Scarlet sucked in oxygen when she realized he was shirtless. What a beautiful body he had.

“Stop getting distracted,” Kell spoke, and Archer’s head snapped up.

Chapter Eight

Archer felt tension thrum through his body as his beast surged forward, flashing images of Scarlet’s face in the forefront of their consciousness. Archer kept his head in his hands, trying to force his wolf, and the images it was tormenting Archer with, back into the recesses of his mind.

The
Bittan
was taking hold of him, that sickness that occurred when the separation of the truly mated pairs was too long. He didn’t want the others to know how he was suffering. He knew it must be worse for Scarlet and he was itching, wanting to rip off his skin if it would bring her back faster. He needed contact with his mate, and she needed contact with him.

“Stop getting distracted.” A voice from nowhere made Archer look up.

“Who’s there?” He scanned the room looking for the woman who had spoken.

“Well, say something idiot, don’t just stare at the wolf.” A second female voice had Archer’s head pivoting towards the mirror on the far wall, opposite the foot of the bed.

What he saw would have brought him to his knees if he hadn’t been sitting.

In the mirror was his
She
. Other women flanked scarlet on either side, and she stared into the mirror as if mesmerized.

“Scarlet?” He rose shakily to his feet and walked to the silver glass. “Are you real?” She seemed as awe struck as he was, and her cheeks were pink with color.

She reached out her fingertips and he met her at the cold glass with his.

“Archer.”

His name was like a benediction on her lips, and it caused goose flesh of pleasure to race down his body.

“Are you okay? Where are you? How do I get to you?” he asked, throwing the questions at her in rapid succession.

“Whoa there big guy,” one of the women told him. “Slow your roll.”

“Ath, slow your roll? Really?” A smile curled Scarlet’s lips, as if the banter amused her.

“I’m okay—are you okay? I saw part of that fight.”

Scarlet ignored them and spoke to him, and Archer had to force himself to focus on her words because her voice was like honey to him.

“How did you—”

“We don’t have much time,” Ath interrupted him.

Scarlet nodded and focused on the mirror.

Her face got serious. “We need to have a long talk when I get back because I have more than a few issues with what you did.”

“What I did?”

“Don’t have time for this,” Kell interrupted, looking at the door. “They are going to pick up the broadcast, so hurry up and tell him about the plan.”

“Don’t worry about me,” she said in a rush. “We’ve got a—” She was cut off. A door out of his view was slammed back on its hinges. “Grab them, get the mirror.” A voice snarled from where Archer couldn’t see, but he
could
see the fear in his mate’s eyes as she focused on something behind the mirror.

A cacophony of screeches and hisses echoed through the mirror as Archer watched other women drag Scarlet and her companions away from the
window
.

The image went blank, leaving only a plain mirror, and his reflection staring back at him.

He roared loud and long. He wanted to climb through the glass and get to his
She
. He needed her back now.

Archer fell to his knees, his claws ripping up the carpeted floor in front of the mirror.

No more! He couldn’t take more. Now, they took her for using the mirror. All the rest of the Outsiders wanted to do was research.

Clarity formed like a placid mountain lake in his mind and he stood, utter calmness suffusing his body. He walked to the closet and pulled out a shirt and boots.

He strapped weapons into holsters over his body and pulled a jacket over all of it, picked up his cell phone off the bedside cabinet, and snatched up his keys.

Slipping the phone into the front pocket of his jeans, he hooked his finger through the key chain, leaving his room as quiet as mist.

* * * *

Zane hadn’t been able to sleep. He’d had more than enough rest in the trunk of the SUV, so he was down in the archives looking for any reference to Phoenix, but not making much progress.

In the world of myth, it was a case of Phoenix
being
a myth. A whole night and no real progress, except an obscure notation or two referring to the fire people, or fire shifters.

It seemed his best way to find out about the phoenix was either from oral tradition or from the Phoenix themselves.

The first would take more time than the Outsiders had, and the second seemed impossible.

There was a soft knock at the door. Zane put his finger on the spot he was reading and lifted his head, calling out, “Come in.”

Sophia and Trinity came through the door.

Trinity, upon seeing Zane, immediately stated, “Dude, no offense or anything, but you look like shit. When did you sleep last? Your eyes are more bloodshot than mine were when I got alcohol poisoning with the crew.”

“Say how you feel, Trinity, but please don’t try and spare my feelings or anything,” Zane replied with a grimace.

She laughed and pulled out a chair, dumping her form down onto it without ceremony. Sophia followed suit, and Zane wished they’d stayed out of the Archives. He didn’t want to spend time with Trinity. He didn’t want to be reminded of her reaction when he didn’t want to take her blood, and he didn’t want to relive the embarrassment.

“Did you see the newest episode of
True Blood
, Soph? It’s frigging epic, and that Eric Northman, oh yummy.” Trinity spoke to Sophia ignoring Zane’s presence completely. “He can use me as a chew toy all day.”

Zane gave a huff of air, and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “I’m working here, and I don’t have the strength or the patience for feminine babble, so, unless you have something useful to add, would you mind gossiping somewhere else?”

His little tantrum got him pinned by two sets of wide innocent eyes.

Sophia broke first, laughing at Zane’s turn of phrase. “Feminine babble?”

“Hmm, I guess, then I shouldn’t tell him what I know about the phoenix, huh?” Trinity kept her wide-eyed innocent stare a moment longer.

Zane glared at her and she grinned. “We are a gwowtch, li’l wampire, when we haven’t gotten enough rest eh?”

“Archer is in a bad place, Trinity. We don’t have time for games.” He kept his stare level and she dropped hers.

“Okay, you win. You are no fun.”

He leaned forward. “Agreed—not when my friend is suffering, so out with it.”

“He’s kinda sexy when he gets all demanding, don’t you think, Soph?”

Sophia opened her mouth to answer, but Zane spoke first. “Trinity!”

“Fine. There is a legend amongst the castes of witches. It’s really old, so I don’t know how much is true and how much of it is embellished.” She leaned forward to whisper. “Witches are like fishermen...we like to add to a story.”

“Trin—”

“Yeah, yeah, keep your fangs sheathed. I’m getting there.” She settled back in her chair. “A cup of coffee would

be—“ She cut herself off at Zane’s look and mouthed the word, “Sexy,” in Sophia’s direction.

Zane hissed and Trinity grinned, then smoothed her expression into one of seriousness.

“There is a tale told to us when we are witchlings at our mother’s knee, of a people who lived on Earth many, many eons ago. They were the fire shifters, the phoenix. The myth that they are all birds is just a myth. A phoenix can be any animal. Some even have the ability to shift to different human forms.”

“Why did they leave Earth?” Zane asked, cutting to the point.

“The phoenix had mortal enemies, the necromancers. Anyway, there is a spell—though many consider it a myth—that allows a necromancer to capture a phoenix and tap into the phoenix’s ability to create life from death,” Trinity explained.

“Considering that Necro’s attempt to cheat death with every spell, that would be quite an ability,” Sophia said.

“Yeah, and as you can imagine, it caused a war between the phoenix and the necromancers.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Carry on,” Zane said, motioning with his hand.

Trinity spoke again, her voice subdued. “The war was terrible, and it is said that all the phoenix males were wiped out till only the females remained. The elders pooled their powers and moved the phoenix to another realm. No one knows what happened to them after that, but I can tell you this, any phoenix is something a Necromancer would kill millions for.”

The atmosphere in the room was subdued as Trinity finished speaking.

“So, Scarlet has to contend with Jasmine, and if we get rid of Jasmine, she’ll have any necromancer who finds out about her after her?” Sophia asked in a hushed voice.

“I have a feeling that there is already one after her. I know Jasmine has a necro in her pocket, and that’s why she’s in such a snit to get a phoenix.” Zane slammed the book he’d had opened, closing it with a resounding bang.

“We are going to have to make sure that Jasmine doesn’t get a phoenix.”

Sophia nodded. “Agreed.”

“Let’s go find the others and tell them what we know.” Zane stood and led them out the door to the archives.

“What do you mean you can’t find Archer?” Dimitri was bellowing again, sometimes making Zane’s ears ache to work for a chaos demon, but deep down, when he had his shit together, Dimi was a good monster.

So, Zane took a deep breath, and spoke in a calm soothing manner. “He must have gone for a run. You know Archer. When something is upsetting him, he runs it off.”

Dimi opened his mouth, then shut it, silently bowing to Zane’s logic.

“He will have to be updated when he gets back.” Dimi sat down in the arm chair that he and Archer had almost demolished the day before. “Tell us what you’ve found out?”

Zane, with Sophia and Trinity interrupting every so often, told the story that Trinity had told them.

Poe was perched on the backrest of one of the settees, twisting one of his corn row braids in his fingers. “With no males to defend them, I can see why they chose to move their race to another plane.”

“Their numbers must be severely diminished. That’s why they transition and take pyros, like they did with Scarlet,” Tate pointed out from where he stood with his back resting against the shuttered windows.

“You’d think they’d take the local populace to breed with?” Heath asked, rubbing his chin.

“It’s all beside the point.” Zane stood, and moved to the center of the room. “I think we know why Jasmine wants a pyro, or rather, a phoenix.”

There were murmurs of agreement. “We’ll have to make sure she doesn’t get her hand on any phoenix. That means we have to keep her off the phoenix plane.” Erik, for once, wasn’t messing around, having a look of earnestness on his face.

“I hate it when they pick on women.”

Sophia snorted. “I’m a woman, and I could whip your ass, Erik.”

“You are an exception to the rule...hell,
I
pick on you.”

“Yeah, you and your imaginary army, and that’s why you always lose.”

“Can we decide what we are going to do instead of arguing?” Heath asked.

“I say...” Poe slipped off the backrest of the couch and stood, “Scarlet won’t be safe until we take Jasmine and her godly yearnings out of the equation completely.”

“We’ll wait for Archer to get back before we decide, but I agree. He has to make the final choice. Scarlet is his mate,” Dimi said.

“What about your feelings for Jasmine?” Heath asked.

“I will admit I’ve been…” He couldn’t seem to find the right words. “I’ve had issues with Jasmine, but what she is doing is wrong on many levels, and since the enforcers aren’t doing their jobs, it’s going to be up to us to get it done. More so now that we know Scarlet will be in continuous danger from Jasmine.” Dimi sat forward and steepled his fingers under his chin, resting his elbows on his knees.