Into the Fire (27 page)

He scoffs. “Vampires. As if, Cara. See, most mythical creatures are just that. Myths. But not you. Not the mighty Phoenix.” He holds the dagger in his palm, examining it from all angles. “It’s kind of ironic that the weapon that drains your power was forged
from
your power. I always found that rather poetic. Don’t you agree?” His eyes rise to meet mine, and his fingers wrap around the dagger, preparing to attack.

My mind races, trying to find a way out of this, or at least stall until I can think of some plan, a way to escape. “I told Logan I was coming here. He’s meeting me. He’s probably outside by now.” I didn’t tell Logan I was here, but maybe it’s not too late.

I slowly reach my hand behind me, feeling for my phone in my back pocket. I press three and hit send, holding the phone to my back to muffle the ringing. Logan usually picks up right away, so I only give it enough time for two rings before I hold it out so he can hear everything.

Nick paces back and forth, probably contemplating how to avoid Logan finding me. Good. That will give me a few more minutes, hopefully, and it will let me do the talking so Logan will hear everything I want him to hear. I angle the phone, hoping Logan’s there.

“What’s wrong, Nick? Did I ruin your plan by telling you Logan was meeting me here at the school? You didn’t seriously think I’d come meet you by myself when you said you had the dagger, did you?”

He stops pacing and stares at me. “You had no idea I was a threat to you. I did too good a job covering my tracks. Even when I ran into Logan that night on the street, I did a convincing job of pretending I was so shaken up over poor Henry Baker’s death that I couldn’t sleep. Logan had no idea I’d been at your house, watching you.” He laughed. “Hell, he had no idea I was the one who murdered Henry. No one in this town did.”

“You might have fooled us at first, but I must have known something deep down, or I wouldn’t have asked Logan to come here. I had to have known—at least on some level—that you wanted to hurt me.”

“I’m going to do more than hurt you, Cara.” Nick steps toward me, dagger raised. “I’m going to kill you and strip you of your essence.”

Even in my panic, I’m able to press “end.” Logan doesn’t know I’m a Phoenix, and if he hears it from Nick, he might be too freaked out to come here and save me.

I stumble backward into the lab table as Nick lunges for me. I know he won’t kill me yet. It’s not time. But I’m not going to let him grab me, either. I dodge him, scooting around the table and turning over a stool to slow him down. The gas nozzle is right next to me. I could torch the whole room. I don’t think I’d die in the fire. Not for good, at least. I’d turn to ash and be reborn. But Nick wouldn’t come back.

“Go ahead.” Nick gestures to the nozzle. “Let’s get this party started. Start the fire. I want to watch you burn.”

“You’ll go down with me.”

“No, I won’t. You won’t risk coming near me while I hold the dagger. It’s too risky for you.”

He has a point there. Nick is closer to the door. If I start a fire, he’ll get out and lock me inside. I’d be sentencing myself to an early rebirth and an early death once Nick got to my remains with the dagger.

I scan the room for a weapon, anything to knock him out. I settle for a stool, which I pick up and swing at Nick’s head. He dodges it the first time, but on the second swing, I make contact with his hand and the dagger falls to the ground. My mind screams, “Get it!” but trying to beat Nick to it is still too risky. I swing the stool again, hoping to knock him out, grab the dagger, and get the hell out of here, but Nick grabs the stool and shoves it backward into my chest. The air rushes from my lungs as I stumble backward. He runs for the dagger, and I run for the door.

I have the doorknob in my hand when Nick slams into me from behind.

Logan

I speed down the streets in Dad’s BMW, ignoring the one and only traffic light and every stop sign on the way. Oh God, please let me get to Cara in time. My phone chimes, and I answer before the ring ends. “Cara?”

“Not by a long shot,” Anton says.

“Can’t talk, man.”

“What’s up? You sound freaked.”

“Cara’s in trouble.”

“Tell me you didn’t get that girl pregnant.”

“Anton, I don’t have time for this. Cara’s in serious trouble. Remember I told you that guy was murdered?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, Cara told me she thought the killer was after her. I thought she was being overly paranoid or something, but then tonight she calls my cell and I hear her talking to the killer. He has her locked in the school, Anton. I have to get to her.”

“Tell me you called the cops.”

I didn’t even think to call them. “Not exactly. I’ll call when I get there.”

“What do you think you’re going to do to save her in the meantime? Do you have a weapon of any sort?”

“I’m thinking my bare hands on his neck will work.” My fingers tighten around the steering wheel.

“Do you know the guy? Did you hear who he is?”

“It’s Cara’s friend, Nick.” Her soon-to-be-dead friend Nick. I smack the steering wheel. “How could I be so stupid? He confessed to murder. He’s a killer, and he has Cara.”

“Calm down. You’re never going to save her if you wrap your dad’s car around a tree.”

“How the hell do you expect me to calm down?”

“I don’t know, but you’re no use to her if you’re dead, so get it together. Do you want me to call 911?”

“From New York?”

“Why not? They can connect me with someone where you are.”

I don’t have time to waste, and I’m almost at the school. “Yeah, do it.”

“Logan, be careful, man.” Anton hangs up.

I floor the gas. The tires squeal as I take the turn at sixty miles an hour. I almost miss the school because the parking lot is completely dark. The lights always come on at night. Nick must have cut the power to them. He’s making sure no one sees him enter or leave the school. Thank God Cara was smart enough to call me. I’m going to get her out of there no matter what.

As I drive through the entrance, I cut the headlights so Nick can’t see me coming and head straight to the back parking lot. If Nick doesn’t want to be seen, that must be where he went in. Cara and Nick’s cars are already there. I squeeze the steering wheel, thinking of how he fooled us all. Cara came here willingly. She thought he was in trouble. I want to kill him, and if the cops don’t get here soon, I will.

I’m tempted to drive the car straight through the building to get to Cara. Right into the school and over Nick’s body. Hopefully, he doesn’t know Cara called me, but the call disconnected so quickly. That might mean he knows. He could be waiting for me.

The door is locked. Of course. Nick covered his tracks. I look around for something to use to pick the lock. I’ve done this countless times before, breaking in to my old coach’s office after he left for the day so I could make out with some girl whose name I didn’t really know. I search my jacket pockets. Nothing. Dad’s car—he must have something in there. I yank the door open and search the glove compartment and center console. Why does Dad have to be so neat?

As I’m about to close the door, I see another small compartment between the steering wheel and door. I open it and find Mom’s shamrock pin. Her maiden name was O’Malley. She was as Irish as they come. Dad always teased her for wearing the pin, but he kept it to remember her. For a moment, I don’t hate him. I don’t blame him for her death. I reach for the pin and bring it to my lips. “I need your help, Mom. I have to get to Cara.” I squeeze the pin, which pricks my skin, and the pain drives me to action.

I race to the back door and work on the lock. It only takes a minute and I’m inside. The hallways are lit by dim lights, but I can see where I’m going. The problem is, I’ve never been inside the building before, and I have no idea where Cara is. At least I only have one floor to search. I take off down the hall, peering into every room. Classroom, classroom, classroom, gymnasium, classroom, classroom, cafeteria, bathroom, classroom… all empty. At the other end of the hall, I see a fork. It makes sense that he’d take her to the wing that’s secluded from the others. I turn down the hall on the right.

My cell rings and I duck into one of the classrooms, muffling the phone with my hands. I answer the call, but stay quiet in case Cara has her phone on speaker again so I can hear what’s happening.

“Logan, you okay?” Anton says.

My stomach drops. “Not now,” I say in hushed tones. I hang up, but my cell rings again. I’m tempted to silence it, but Anton might need to tell me something important. Something that will save Cara. “What?”

“Are you in the school?”

“Yes. I’m right around the corner from the chemistry labs, I think. That must be where he’s holding Cara. Did you call 911?” I peek my head out, making sure Nick doesn’t hear me.

“Yeah. They’re on their way. But listen, man, I don’t think you should go barging in. You’ll get yourself killed. The guy must have a weapon. Unless you have one of your track trophies to bash over his head, you’re just asking to be target practice.”

“It’s Cara, Anton. I can’t let her die.”

“Just wait another five minutes. The cops are on their way.”

“In five minutes, she’ll probably be dead.” I hang up. Nothing he can say is going to stop me.

I pick the lock on the janitor’s closet, hoping there’s something inside I can use against Nick. I pocket the shamrock pin as I step inside. Worst case scenario, I can use the pin and go for Nick’s eyes. That should at least slow him down so I can get to Cara.

I close the closet door so the light doesn’t shine into the hall. There are a bunch of cleaning products and a few mops. Nothing that will help me. I’m just wasting time. I turn off the light and run on tiptoes down the hall until I hear Nick’s voice coming from the chemistry lab.

He’s threatening Cara. Screw having a weapon! I’m about to barge in when I see Cara’s face in the window on the door. She’s pressed up against it. Shit! I can’t barge in there with her up against the door. I have no idea what kind of weapon Nick has. A gun? A knife? The way he’s pinning her against the door, he must have the weapon pressed to her back.

My blood is boiling, and I want to scream. I have to distract Nick, force him out of there. But what if he kills Cara before he leaves the lab? I can’t jump into action if it means Cara might get killed. I won’t be the reason she dies. Unlike Dad, I won’t be able to live with myself if I’m responsible for a death. But how the hell am I supposed to save her?

Cara

Logan?
I thought I saw him in the hall, but now he’s gone. Could he be here already? Is he looking for me? Or am I hallucinating? Seeing him because I want to see his face one last time?

Nick presses the dagger to the back of my neck. “Don’t make me kill you now, Cara. That would be very bad for both of us.” His hot breath sends chills down my back.

Maybe I still have a chance. I grit my teeth and focus my anger on raising my body temperature. A small flame flickers on my palm, and I reach back for Nick’s face. He lets out a howl and stumbles back. The second the knife leaves my neck, I spin around and throw a punch at his jaw. My knuckles pop on impact, and I yell out along with him. I extinguish the flame on my hand, afraid of triggering my rebirth in Nick’s presence. He tackles me head on, slamming me to the ground.

My head connects with the hard floor, and warm blood trickles down my scalp. He cracked my head on the floor. Logan’s face fills my mind. When he cracked his head open, I healed it with my hands. Would my powers work on myself? I reach for my head, wincing as my fingers touch the cut. Somewhere deep inside, I must know how to heal. I just have to tap into that power again. I hope my desire to live will be enough to force that to happen.

“Aw, did Cara get a boo boo?” Nick sticks his bottom lip out in a pout as he leans back and sits on my stomach, keeping me pinned to the floor.

“Get off me!” I struggle underneath him, but I keep one hand to my head, hoping my powers will take over and heal me.

“Not going to happen, Cara. I’m afraid we’re just going to have to wait this out.”

“Wait what out?”

“Your rebirth.”

“Didn’t do your homework, did you, Nick?”

He narrows his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“My rebirth won’t happen until tomorrow. You don’t have time to wait it out. Logan’s on his way.” Hopefully he’s already here.

“Yeah, about that. Even if you did tell him you were coming here, which I’m not convinced you did, he has to be able to get to you, and we’re locked in here. The good thing about this room is the lock is different than all the others. They have to use more caution with a room that has so many chemicals. Can’t let hooligans sneak in and get their hands on any explosives.”

Hooligans? He really
is
old. I haven’t heard that word used by anyone younger than my grandfather. “You think Logan can’t get into a locked room? He’s from New York. He’s a lot tougher than you give him credit for.” My head tingles, but I’m not sure if it’s from the injury or my powers.

Nick laughs. “Please! Just because he’s from New York and wears a leather jacket doesn’t mean anything. He won’t get through that lock. Not without me hearing him. His only chance is to find a key, and by the time he hunts down a spare set of janitorial keys, you’ll be dead.”

Nick doesn’t know the old Logan, the person he was before he met me. The person he became after his mom died. Monique was right about one thing. Logan has a lot of grief inside him, and a person grieving is more powerful than a psycho with a dagger. At least I hope. “You can’t really think you can keep me locked in here until tomorrow.”

“That’s where you’re missing some key Phoenix information. I’m a little disappointed in your mom for not explaining all this to you.” He leans down, placing his hands on either side of my head and lowering his face so his nose is about an inch from mine. “I’ve been hunting all my life. I’ve been taught how to spot a rebirth from a mile away. The tricky thing about Phoenixes is once they go through their rebirth, they’re harder to spot. They get clever. Cover their tracks, so to speak. Like your mom. That trick with the cinnamon potpourri and taking a job as a nurse—brilliant. She even wears gloves the moment it starts getting chilly outside so no one can tell how hot she is.”