Kindling Flames: Stolen Fire (The Ancient Fire Series Book 4) (20 page)

“Giving up?” He grinned as Vicky settled Vanessa into the center of the design.

Vicky glared at him as she stretched her senses out and pointed them down. “Not hardly.” She had to search hard, but she finally reached a small pocket of coolness. Drawing hard on the magic, she dumped it into the brass ring surrounding the center of the compass rose. The magic hissed as it ran along the unusual metal, but Vicky willed the barrier up, and the air solidified just in time for the rogue vampire to walk right into it.

“What the hell?” he cursed as he stumbled back from the magical wall.

“Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!” Vicky snapped before she turned to Vanessa. The skin on her neck had started to heal under Vicky’s touch, but there was still blood spilling out. “Hold still.” Vicky dropped to the floor and pulled Vanessa up against her. She placed her hand over the wound and opened herself to Darien’s power.

The vampire outside the shield stood with his hands rubbing the solid air. “Fascinating.” He walked the edge of the circle, pushing on the hardened air. Stopping in front of the woman, he smiled down at them. “You may be safe in there, but your friend is going to bleed out. Oh, the irony,” he chuckled.

“Not likely.” Vicky pulled on Darien’s powers as hard as she could, making the vampire stumble back as if he’d been sucker-punched.

Wrapping his arms around his middle, he dropped to squat on the floor. He looked up just in time to see Vicky drop her hand away from Vanessa’s fully healed throat. “What the hell
are
you?” the vampire growled.

Vicky stood up to face him. “That’s none of your damn business, asshole,” she snapped.

Surprise stole over the vampire’s face.

Vicky glared at him through the invisible barrier. If she could just keep him here a few minutes longer, Elliot and Darien had to be close.

“Interesting.” The man stood up and looked Vicky over again. “I was just going to kill you, but I think it would be more entertaining to bend you to my will.” He gave her an intense look. “Lower these shields.”

Vicky could feel the power in his suggestion, but it was obvious he hadn’t used the ability much. “Go suck eggs.” She glared back at him, shaking off his hold. The rapping of feet on tile echoed through the hall. Her heart lifted; help was coming.

The vampire looked from Vicky to the corridor leading to the parking garage. He backed up from her a few steps. “This will have to wait until next time.” Turning, the rogue raced down the hall towards the more populated areas of the mall.

“Come back here, coward!” Vicky yelled as Darien and Elliot turned the corner. She spun to look at them, dropping the shield away.

Darien stopped just short of plowing into Vicky and pulled her into his arms. “What happened?”

Relief coursed through her as she leaned into him. “He bit Vanessa!” Vicky’s voice shook with the anger she still felt.

Elliot paused a moment to look at the two women before turning and racing after their assailant.

“Are you all right?” Darien pushed Vicky back to look at her. She was covered in blood and seemed a little woozy.

“I’m fine.” Vicky pushed his hands away and turned to her friend lying on the floor. “It’s Vanessa.”

Darien took one more look at Vicky before turning to check on Vanessa. “She’s lost a lot of blood.” There was a real mess on the front of her shirt. Gripping her shoulder, he tried to sense the extent of her injuries but growled in frustration. “I can’t tell anything.” He placed his fingers on her neck to feel her pulse. “Everything looks healed, and her heartbeat is strong.”

Vanessa groaned and rolled into Darien. “What the hell?” She grabbed at her head as the world spun.

Darien carefully helped her into a sitting position. “Easy.”

Vanessa drew in a noisy breath through her mouth. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Darien pushed her forwards, lowering her head.

“He’s gone.” Elliot jogged back up and looked over the scene. Vicky has sat down and bent her head forwards trying to fend off the wooziness from the magic, while Darien supported Vanessa. “What happened?”

“He bit her,” Vicky answered.

Elliot looked over at the discarded bags and pools of blood. It wouldn’t be long until someone came through here. “We need to get out of here.” Grabbing up the girl’s shopping, he came over and lifted Vicky to her feet. “Now.”

Darien nodded and wrapped Vanessa’s arm over his shoulder.

“Whoa!” Vanessa cried as Darien stood up with her. Her other arm waved around, nearly knocking them both off balance, before latching on to him.

He pulled her in against him, pausing until she was steady. “I’ve got you.”

“Good.” Elliot settled his grip on Vicky and hurried her along. “Let’s go.”

Darien matched Elliot’s fast pace.

Vicky closed her eyes and hung on for dear life.

“Keys,” Elliot called.

Vicky heard the beep of the unlocking SUV right before Elliot reached it.

Leaning her against the side of the vehicle, he opened the door and tossed the bags over the back of the seat. Carefully, he lifted Vicky into the back. “Just relax.” He rubbed her arm soothingly before shutting the door.

Vicky nodded as she heard the door on the other side open. She cracked her eyes and watched Darien lifted Vanessa into the other seat.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” Darien soothed Vanessa as he shut the door and got in the front.

“Go,” Elliot urged Darien from the passenger seat.

Darien took a calming breath, carefully pulled the SUV out of the parking place, and casually drove it around the garage.

Vicky’s brow furrowed as they eased out into evening traffic. “I thought we were in a hurry.”

“We are,” Darien explained. “But, we’ll be in real trouble if we get caught speeding away. Police don’t look kindly on blood-covered women.” He looked at her in the rearview mirror. “We’ll pick up speed once we reach the highway.”

Elliot turned around in his seat to look at the two women. “What happened?”

Vicky looked at him and let out a deep sigh before telling him everything.

Vanessa watched her in disbelief from where she leaned on the seat.

“Who was he?” Elliot asked.

“I don’t know.” Vicky shifted in her seat; she was starting to feel better. “I think I’ve seen him before, but I don’t know where.”

“Wait a second.” Vanessa finally found the will to speak. “I don’t think I understood you.” She raised her hand up to her neck, feeling the healed skin. “What happened?”

Vicky looked at Elliot, then to Darien, and back to Vanessa. “You were bitten.” She tried to sound soothing.

“Oh, I definitely remember that.” Vanessa shuddered at the memory. “It’s the rest of it that I didn’t understand.”

Darien shoved the car into park and killed the engine. “Let’s go inside, and we’ll explain.”

Vanessa sat up, feeling for the door handle. “I don’t think so.”

“Vanessa.” Vicky grabbed her friend’s hand, preventing her from bolting from the SUV. “How long have we been friends?”

Vanessa stopped and looked at Vicky. She looked at the two men watching her. “A while now.”

“And have I ever hurt you in any way?” Vicky pushed.

Vanessa studied her for a moment. “No.”

“Then trust me,” Vicky begged. “There is an explanation, if you will just sit down and listen.”

Vanessa teetered on the edge of running for a moment before nodding her head. “Only 'cause I love you, girl,” she agreed.

Carefully, Darien opened Vanessa’s door. “Let me help you.” He held out his hand for her.

She gave him an unsure look before sighing and letting him help her from the car.

Vicky was feeling somewhat better, so she waved Elliot’s help away and went to gather packages from the back hatch.

Elliot joined her, unloading the bags. “I can get these.”

“But, we can get them in faster if we both carry.” Vicky pulled out some more packages.

“You should go in and rest.” Elliot slid the rest of the sacks away from Vicky’s hands and slipped his arm through the handles.

Vicky shook her head and gathered up the few bags she had been able to grab. “All right.” She turned to follow Darien and Vanessa.

Elliot snickered and shut the back hatch. He quickly dealt with Ethan before the man could get out from behind his desk. They really needed to do something about that poor man before all the suggestions messed with his mind. For now, they just needed to get Vanessa through the rest of the night without hysterics.

***

“So, you’re telling me that you’re all vampires.” Vanessa had sat through Vicky’s rough explanation of the last few months of her life.

“No,” Vicky said. “I’m not a vampire.”

“But you have a vampire’s soul.”

“Only a piece,” Vicky explained again. “Darien gave me a piece of his after your Halloween party.”

“When he failed to mark you properly.”

Darien cringed again as he was reminded of his error.

“Yes.” Vicky nodded.

“And what were you doing biting her at my party?” Vanessa shot him an accusing look.

Darien sighed.

“It was Beth’s fault,” Vicky added before Darien could say anything.

Vanessa gave Vicky a sarcastic look. “Right.”

“Come on.” Vicky’s voice held a note of exasperation. “You can’t tell me he wasn’t just a little bit smashed.”

Vanessa looked up at Darien. Darien had found something rather interesting in the carpet to study. “I’ll give you that,” Vanessa relented. There was no way anyone could say Darien hadn’t been incapacitated when they practically carried him out of the house.

“So you’re not a vampire,” Vanessa went on, trying to wrap her mind around Vicky’s story, “but Darien is.”

Both Darien and Vicky nodded.

“But, he’s not right now because some fairy put an enchantment on you that stole his powers and gave them to that jerk that bit me.”

Vicky nodded her head.

“Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?”

Vicky let out a deep sigh. “Yes.”

“Vicks, if I didn’t know you better, I would think you’re trying to put one over on me.” Vanessa looked over at Elliot leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. “But you’re not, are you?”

Vicky shook her head.

“They both really are vampires?”

Elliot smiled, flashing fangs.

Vicky nodded her head. “Yes.”

“What else haven’t you been telling me?”

Vicky looked up at Darien for help, but he just shrugged.

“There’s a whole society of creatures who are not human.”

“I kind of figured that,” Vanessa sassed.

Vicky went on to explain about the werewolves and the fay.

“Wait.” Vanessa held up her hand to stop Vicky. “The girl who makes your coffee is a werewolf?”

“Yes. Sue.” Vicky nodded. “She’s in the other room if you want to meet her.”

“Wait. There’s a werewolf in your other room?”

“Two, actually.” Elliot shot her an award-winning smile.

Vanessa drew in a deep breath and held it as she worked out what to say in response.

“They really are nice people.” Vicky grabbed onto Vanessa’s arm, drawing her back from the scathing comment she could see forming. “You’ve kind of already met Sue. She was the wolf that was here when you first brought over the wedding boxes.”

A shocked expression filled Vanessa’s face. “You mean…?” She pointed to the area in front of the fireplace where Sue and Zak had been curled up.

Vicky nodded.