Out of the Ashes (21 page)

Kyle yanks the phone away from me and puts it to his ear. “Oh you will come, Cara, and you’ll come alone or your boyfriend is dead. You have ten minutes.” He hangs up, and then my cell connects with the side of my head and I’m unconscious again.

Chapter Thirty

Cara

The Hunters have Logan and the dagger. I still don’t know what was going through his mind when he stole the dagger and ran out of here. I mean, he’s the reason Linette is better. I thought that meant he was different, that he was good. Then why would he take the dagger?

Everyone is searching for Logan again, this time in teams of two: Mom and Jeremy, Linette and Garret, and Monique and me. Monique is inside the café getting a sign to put on the door to say she’s closed until further notice. I use the opportunity to take off. I leave my car and run to Nick’s so Monique doesn’t hear or see me pull away. I head for the back roads that most people avoid. Nick’s house isn’t far from here, so I don’t have much time to think through what I’m going to do.

If the Hunters really have Logan trapped, then it means he isn’t working with them. He isn’t trying to hurt any of us, and he probably only took the dagger to get it away from me so the Hunters didn’t find me. I need to find him as soon as I get to Nick’s so I know what’s really going on.

I have no idea how many are in there with Logan, but he mentioned them in plural so I know it’s more than one. I’m sure they’re watching the front door, so I sneak around the side of the house. I peek at the deck, which is empty, but there are windows so going in that way isn’t an option either. My only hope is an open window on the other side of the house.

I get low to the ground and creep across the back of the house, staying pressed up against the siding so hopefully I can’t be seen from the windows above. Once I’m under the deck, it’s a little easier, but I freeze when the back door opens and someone steps onto the deck above me. If they look down, they’ll see me.

“No sign of her, Kyle.”

“Would you get back in here?” Another guy, the same one from the falls, comes out and yanks him back into the house.

I hold my hand over my mouth, afraid I’ll make a sound. How did he get away? I boiled that water. No human should’ve been able to survive that. Unless he managed to get away before I had a chance to boil the water. I’m supposed to know the falls so well, but without my memories I can’t figure it out. I shake the thought away because I have to focus on getting inside the house and saving Logan.

I reach the side of the house where there’s a window to what I’m hoping is a bedroom, and I stand on my tippy toes to peer in. The door is closed, and the room appears to be empty. I push up on the window, but it’s locked. Now what? I look around. There are plenty of things I could use to break the glass, but then I’d be alerting the Hunters that I’m here. I stare at my palm for a moment. Can I melt the glass? I’ve never tried it, that I know of. Maybe it would work.

I place both palms against the window because I need a hole big enough to pull my body through. I concentrate on heating up my hands. The glass gets slippery under my palms and then it feels like liquid. It drips down my arms and lands in the grass, singeing it. It’s working, but the hole isn’t big enough. I reposition my hands and do it again. There. That should work. Now I just need to find something to give me a boost.

I head back to the deck and duck underneath it. There’s an old garbage can lying on its side. It should be able to support my weight long enough for me to get inside the window. I carefully drag it out from under the deck and stand it upside down under the window. Using the siding for balance, I climb on top of the can and grab the window. The edges around the burned glass are smooth, thankfully, so I pull my head and torso through. There’s a dresser with a lamp on it in front of me. Crap.

I grab the lamp and look around for somewhere to put it. I hope the Hunters don’t go outside and catch me with my ass hanging out the window. The only place to put the lamp without it being in my way is on the bed, but I’d have to chuck it and hope my aim is good. I should’ve played more basketball with Jeremy. I take a deep breath and toss the lamp, aiming for the pillows. It hits the pillow closest to me and starts rolling toward the bottom of the bed. I hold my breath as I watch. It stops just before the edge.

I exhale and pull myself the rest of the way through the window. I hop down from the dresser and look around. I already have firepower, but another weapon might be good too. These guys have the dagger, but I have no clue what would work against it if they get close enough to use it on me. Unfortunately, the room is pretty bare thanks to Garret.

I creep to the door and slowly turn the knob, opening the door only enough to peek out. I can see a hallway leading to the living room, but both are empty. They must be in the kitchen. That’s why they came out the back door. They probably figured I’d try to sneak up on them instead of coming in the front. I take a deep breath and open the door a little wider. Still no sounds or anything. I walk to the end of the hallway. This is it. Once I turn the corner, I’ll be able to see into the kitchen. I let a fireball form on both of my hands, and I step out into view.

“I wouldn’t do that,” a voice says behind me.

I turn and hurl the fireball at the redheaded guy. He ducks, and before I can send another one his way, I hear, “Do it and Logan dies!”

The guy from the falls—Kyle, the other one called him—drags a kitchen chair into my view. Logan is slumped over, unconscious.

“What did you do to him?”

The guy behind me tries to grab my arms, but I increase my body temperature and he cries out in pain. “The bitch burned me!”

“Enough of that. You burn anyone else and I’ll gut this guy.” Kyle holds the dagger up to Logan’s chest.

Logan stirs and looks around, his eyes falling on me. “I told you not to come.”

“I had to see for myself.”

“Oh, you’ll see,” Kyle says. “You’ll see me drive this dagger through your heart all right.”

The other guy laughs. “Good one.”

“Would you shut up already, Will?” Kyle yells.

I look back at Will. He’s nowhere near the threat Kyle is. “Just you two, or are there more?” I ask.

“Oh, there are more, but it’s only us now and believe me, that’s enough to take you down.” Kyle’s cockiness makes me want to burn him more.

“Did you know Nick?” Everyone says Nick worked on his own, but maybe he ran into these two at some point.

“We’ve met,” Kyle says, not sounding happy about it.

“Want to meet him again?” I ask, trying to sound confident. “I’m the one who killed him, you know. I’d be happy to reunite two Hunters.” I turn to Will and smile. “Make that three.” I’m willing to bet this guy has never killed a Phoenix. He doesn’t look like he could hurt a fly.

He gulps and backs away from me. “Hey, Kyle, maybe I should get the dagger for a while.”

Yeah, even I know Kyle’s not giving up that thing.

“Just stay there and make sure she doesn’t try anything,” Kyle says.

“How am I supposed to do that?” Will looks at me and shrugs. It’s comical, and I’m tempted to tell him to just run far away and never come back because he’s that pathetic.

“What the hell do I train you for?” Kyle screams.

“Because you killed my brother. That’s why.”

I turn to Will. “He killed your brother?” Why would Kyle do that? Hunters are only supposed to care about killing Phoenixes.

“My brother is the Hunter, not me. Or he was until
he
stabbed him.” Will motions to Kyle.

“We were training. The knife slipped.” Kyle lets out a guttural yell. “I’m not going through this again. It was an accident. I didn’t ask you to follow me around after that.”

“I had no one left,” Will says in a small voice.

“You’re not a Hunter?” I ask.

“No. I hang with them though.”

I shake my head at him. “I’m giving you two options. Get the hell out of here and get new friends or…” I let a fireball form on my palm.

Will looks at it and then at Kyle. “Good luck, man.” He runs out the front door.

“One down, one to go,” I say, bouncing the fireball in my hand. “Want to surrender yet?”

“Sweetheart, you did me a favor. When I hook up with my boys back home, they’ll greet me like a king. I’ll have bagged you
and
gotten rid of that imbecile.” Kyle smiles and holds the dagger up. “And I have this.”

“Yeah, about that. I’m afraid I’m going to have to take it off your hands.”

“That’s cute.” Kyle clamps his hand down on Logan’s shoulder. “You don’t have the upper hand. I do.”

“I told you. She doesn’t care about me,” Logan says.

He looks into my eyes, and I can’t figure out if he’s serious or if he’s trying to somehow communicate with me through his words to Kyle. “It won’t matter to her if she takes us both out when she hurls that fireball this way. She’ll get two Hunters for the price of one.”

“Stop trying to convince me you’re a Hunter!” Kyle screams.

“He is,” I say. “I saw what happened when he held that dagger. He’s one of you. Only even he didn’t know it. That’s why you saw us together. I fell for him before I found out what he is.”

Kyle cocks his head. “And now?”

Logan’s plan finally makes sense to me. “Like I said, he’s one of you.”

“So you don’t care what happens to him?” Kyle waves the dagger in the air, keeping his body positioned behind Logan, using him as a shield.

“No,” I lie.

“I could drive this dagger through his heart and you wouldn’t bat an eyelash?” Kyle smirks at the thought.

I swallow hard. “No.”

Kyle drags the dagger down the side of Logan’s face and tiny drops of blood form. I cringe, trying to cover it up by crossing my arms like I’m bored.

“This doesn’t bother you? Seeing me shed his blood?”

“Why would it?” It’s getting harder to keep my voice from shaking.

“Because I saw what you two were doing in the back seat of that car. I saw the way you touched him and let him touch you.”

“So you’re a perv,” I say, but in my mind I remember Logan’s touch so well I can almost feel it. It sends shivers through me, and I have to force my eyes to focus on Kyle instead of going to Logan.

“I told you. The second she found out what I am, we were through.” Logan stares at me, and it doesn’t seem like he’s worried at all about what Kyle might do to him. All he’s concerned about is getting me out of here safely.

“Exactly,” I say. “Because there is no way I’m going to trust a Hunter.”

I hope Logan can tell I’m lying.

Kyle stares at me, debating if I’m telling the truth or not. “So I could kill him now, and you’d have no problem watching?”

I gather all my strength and force out the words I’m hoping he’ll buy. “I’ll kill him myself if you hand me that dagger.”

I keep my face devoid of emotion even though I’m bursting on the inside. I don’t really think Kyle will be stupid enough to hand over the very weapon he plans to kill me with, but it’s worth a shot.

He lets out a deep belly laugh. “That’s classic. Ask me to give you the thing you’re after and play it off as you wanting to kill this guy. Sure. Will might be a complete idiot, but I’m not.” He lowers the dagger to Logan’s neck. Logan tenses and tries to back away, but he’s tied to the chair and can’t escape.

I raise my hand to throw a fireball at Kyle, but Logan cries out as the dagger pierces his skin. Blood trickles and I scream. A full-out Phoenix cry, cut short by images flooding my brain, and I pass out.

The falls. Logan running up to them, wearing a leather jacket, and gawking at me in my bikini.

“I’m Logan Schmidt. You a junior?”

“Senior in a few days. How about you?”

“Same, except I finished out the school year back in New York.”

“You’re from New York?”

“Lived there all my life.”

The scene changes. Logan and I are sitting by his pool.

“You’re always so warm.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s nice.”

“It is?”

Logan leans forward and kisses me. It’s so intense I’m on his lap in seconds. And then I bring us both tumbling into the pool.

Now we’re at the falls again.

“Kiss me,” I tell Logan. “Kiss me, and please don’t stop.” I pull his hips toward mine in the water and press my lips to his.

The chem lab.

“I’m not fully human. I’m a Phoenix. I’m sorry, Logan. I don’t want to leave you, but I have to. I can’t change this. I thought I could, but I can’t. I can’t stop what’s meant to happen. Logan, listen to me.
There’s something I have to tell you before I forget who you are.”

“Forget who I am?”

“You have to listen to me,” I beg. “I don’t have much time, and I need you to understand. I may not be myself soon.”

“I’m not going to let you die. I just have to find another fire extinguisher.”

“I know this is hard to accept, but it’s happening. You have to see that. I’m going to die and be reborn from the ashes.”