Fire with Fire (Demonblood Series #2) (29 page)

“They’re gone…for now, but they’ll be back,” she replies.

“I can’t leave here—”

“You can and you must. Help an old woman to her feet, won’t you, dear?” She holds up her hands.

“Old woman, my ass. You have more power in your tiny finger then I could ever hope to have,” I mumble with a smile, pulling her up.

“Language, Lucky.”

Kieron cracks a half grin and raises an eyebrow. “Did she just chastise you for swearing?”

I nod. “She finds it unbecoming. I only pretend to give a damn when I’m around her, but even then it’s kinda hard—”

“Lucky
…” she drawls.

The three of us start laughing, and I’m relieved to see some sparkle back in Tatiana’s opaque eyes. They looked so flat and dull mere moments ago…as if the life was draining from them.

We kick our way through the rubble and debris scattered around where the cabin used to be. Tatiana slowly shakes her head and clucks disapprovingly under her breath.

“Wow, it really got wasted, huh?” Kieron says in undisguised awe. “I knew they were powerful, but that was something else…imagine if we hadn’t finished her off before she took her full form.”

“I’d rather not.
Shit…”

“What?” Kieron asks, sliding an arm around my waist.

I bend over and pick up the frayed piece of black lace and hold it up to my cheek. “My dresses…they’re all ruined.”

“You can buy more,” he says.

“Not like these. They were all vintage and one-of-a-kind. I even had dresses from three queens of England, two from France, and one from Denmark circa 1500. They don’t sell those babies at the local thrift shop—”

“Hey, what’s she doing?” Kieron nudges me and motions to Tatiana.

I look over to where she’s standing, next to the Tristan statue. It dwarfs her by at least a foot. She lightly traces her fingers over the black sculpture, her expression a mixture of awe and thoughtfulness. She paces around the statue three times, then pauses and does it again three more times in the other direction, muttering all the while under her breath. Finally she stops, swishes her hand in the air and shouts, “
Abeo!”

In almost the exact same way that the marble had formed through Tristan’s body, it falls away, leaving only a pile of shiny shards and dust on the ground. Tatiana swishes her fingers again, and the black powder lifts up into the air and out of sight, leaving a long trail of silver sparkles.

Kieron and I look at each other, duly impressed. We make our way to where she stands gazing at the spot where Tristan had been.

“Tat,” I say quietly, “Don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but if you were able to take them out, or escape as easily as you seemed to be able to, why didn’t you do it sooner? Why did you wait for me and Kieron—?”

“It was the only way for me to find out their true motives and plans for you. And now I know.” Her eyes fill with sadness as she scans the charred circles where our house once stood.

“Tatiana, I am
so
sorry… I can’t believe everything is gone! What’re we going to do?” I moan as the realization fully hits me. We have no home. Everything Tatiana and I have in the world is what is on our backs at this very moment. Even our money is gone…not that I can’t get more of that in a heartbeat. But Tatiana is old…she needs her things and a bed to sleep in.

“Lucky…nothing is ever gone. It simply changes form. Please go stand by the tree over there.”

“But—”

“Please, go. I am tired and do not wish to argue.”

“C’mon, Luck,” Kieron whispers in my ear. He takes my hand, and as I allow him to guide me to the sanctuary of the White Ash dozens of yards away, I keep watching her over my shoulder.

I lean against the tree with Kieron pressed against me. As we continue to watch her, I’m not immune to the charge that races through my body at having him so near…so kissably, touchably near. If I wasn’t so worried about what Tatiana was doing…

She looks so tiny in the middle of the burned out field, wearing nothing but a long, white dress, half of her silver hair piled on top of her head, the rest flowing freely past her tiny hips. She looks like a ghost…a spirit of the night.

She raises her hands high above her head and begins some unintelligible chant. Her hair lifts and dances on its own, swirling in a heightened frenzy, matching her increasingly loud singing. Soon she levitates several feet into the air, screaming and singing, head tilted back, hair whipping madly.

The ground moves, the air rises up like a mini tornado with Tatiana in the middle. I gasp and start toward her, but Kieron holds me back. “No, Lucky,” he whispers. “Let her do her thing.”

And what an amazing sight her
thing
is to behold. The scattered debris forms a whirring cloud around the vortex of Tatiana’s levitating body, swirling and rushing like a cyclone blizzard. It is terrifying… and awesome.

Even though I’m seeing it with my own two eyes, I still don’t believe it. The spinning tornado begins to form shapes, and in a flash the cabin, along with the trees and shrubbery, have returned to their earlier forms. In less than a minute, it’s as if nothing had ever happened.

Kieron breathes in awe. “That is some
serious
magic right there.”

“I know,” I whisper back, just as dumbstruck. It’s one thing to rebuild a wall or two, but to entirely reconstruct to its original form something that had been reduced to embers…it’s positively mind-blowing.

“Come on, let’s go in,” Kieron says as the house closes itself up again with Tatiana inside. A second later, smoke is billowing from the chimney, and lights flicker in the windows. I shake my head and chuckle.

“Coming.”

~~~~

I pour three cups of Tatiana’s favorite tea and place the cups on antique china saucers. My hands tremble, rattling the dishes as I carry one cup in each hand over to where Kieron and Tat sit next to the fire in the living room. I don’t like the wan look on Tatiana’s face as I hand her a saucer—she looks more tired than I’m used to seeing her. I glance at Kieron, and as I set his cup beside him I have to hold back a smile. His expression hasn’t changed much from the stunned awe with which he had watched Tatiana work. He gazes upon her now with a newfound respect, mixed also with a heightened sense of fear.

“Don’t worry, she doesn’t bite,” I whisper and give him a quick kiss on his lips. He grins and strokes the top of my hand before I return to the kitchen.

“It’s just so amazing,” he says, taking a small sip of tea. “I’ve never seen that much power from a human before…hell, that’s more power than many demons I’ve known have.”

Tatiana gives a small smile and brings the gilded cup to her thin mouth. “A sorceress’ powers are ever-evolving…constantly changing. We differ from the immortals that way. You are created with an exact set of unchanging powers you will have for the duration of your existences, no more, no less. Humans, the witches and warlocks, our powers change as we do. I do admit I am a tiny bit impressed I was able to restore my favorite china set to complete perfection. Just imagine, it was naught but dust a few minutes ago…”

“Remind me to never,
ever
make you mad ever again,” I say as I sit beside her, holding my own cup of tea.

“Lucky, darling, you have been one of the brightest lights of my life. I shall miss you more than you know—”

I set my cup and saucer down with a
clank.
“And what is this nonsense about me ‘having to leave’?” I make air quotes with my fingers and give her a puzzled look. “So they come back…so what? We blow them to smithereens like the others…”

“Lucky.
Everything
has changed.” Tatiana’s voice is soft, but loaded with a solid strength reserved for only the direst occasions. I shiver to hear it now. “You’ve been exposed. They know who you are…what you are. They know where you live, and they will certainly be back. They need you to accomplish their mission, and they won’t stop until they’ve succeeded.” She pauses to take a sip of tea, then closes her eyes, sighs, and leans back.

“Of course, I will be putting a concealing spell around the cabin,” she continues, “but Lucky, do you really want to live the rest of your life trapped inside here? And what about Liora? I’ve always feared the day would come when she would no longer be safe in her world…”

Kieron wraps his hand around mine, but even that doesn’t calm the jumpiness in my gut. “So you want me to run away? To hide?”

Tatiana shakes her head. “I want you to be able to
live
. I want you to be safe. You need to be where you can flourish and be free. And sadly, that place is no longer here. Dryndara is also out, is it not?”

I can’t believe I’d actually forgotten about that. It seems so surreal, being banished from Thiberoux. How can that
be
? How can someone be banished from their
home
?

My shoulders slump, and I nod slowly.

“So unless you want to be stuck inside a cabin for the rest of your life, drinking my synthetic Energy in the mortal world, sadly, I believe it is time for you to move on. It’s for the best.”

“Where will I go?” I ask quietly, tears pooling in my eyes. It’s bad enough being kicked out of Thiberoux. But now Tatiana wants me gone, too?

Kieron drapes his arms over my shoulder and pulls me closer in a silent show of support.

“I think the best thing for you to do now is go West. California, specifically. Los Angeles.”

I nearly choke on my tea. “What? Why would I go
there?
I’m not interested in stupid Sapie movie stars—”

“It’s a safe place for you…well, safer than here. In the Land of Lost Angels, demons roam free—unlike here. There are many sanctuaries available to you, and there are Energy Sources you can tap into. If you have problems with Light-angels, you will have more support on your side. Also…” Her voice drifts away, and her gaze turns thoughtful.

“Also, what?” I prompt when she doesn’t continue.

She shakes her head, purses her lips, then lets out a long sigh. “It’s near where my sister lives. Remember I mentioned her to you?”

“Yeah, you said you weren’t close.”

“We’re not. And I may be entirely off base here, but I’ve always wondered…” Her voice falters again.

“Always wondered
what
?” I ask impatiently.

“I’ve always wondered if she could help you. And Liora. Your
condition
. I’ve always felt if there was a way for you to be healed through magical means, she’d be the one to help you.”

I suck in my breath, my eyes wide. “Really? You mean she can—”

“I said
maybe
. And that I wondered
if
. I make no promises, not by any means.”

“But you think there’s a chance? Even a small one?” I ask, not daring to get my hopes up, but feeling them soar anyways. I need to hear something even remotely positive right now, especially after the complete and utter shit-storm that just rained down upon me.

Tatiana flashes a thin smile. “In my humble opinion it’s the best chance you have. Certainly better than if you stay here.”

I look to Kieron to see his reaction. “I think it’s a good idea. Of course, I’ll be by your side wherever you are,” he says.

“You wanna leave here? What about school?”

His eyes twinkle. “Gee, I dunno. It’ll be tough, but I think I’ll manage without it for a while.” He strokes my cheek and wipes away the single tear sliding down it. “My life is with you, now and forever. Wherever that is. I swear I will
never
leave your side ever again.”

I take a deep breath and nod, turning back to Tatiana. “What about you? I can’t leave you here by yourself—”

She swishes her hand dismissively. “Oh, don’t you be worrying about an old woman like me. I’ll be fine. And besides, I’m never far away from you, no matter where you are.
I’ll always be here for you, my sweet child,
” she finishes telepathically.

I stand up, cross the room, and give her a big hug. “I love you so much, Tattie. I’m not even going to get mad at you for never telling me you’re a telepath,” I whisper before planting a kiss on her cheek.

She gives a tinkling laugh and hugs me back. “A good sorceress never reveals all her secrets,” she whispers. “And some secrets are meant to be kept forever…”

I pull away, looking at her sadly before returning to my seat beside Kieron. “When should we go?” I ask.

“The sooner the better,” Tatiana replies. “But you have some time…the Light-angels probably still haven’t yet figured out which dimension they are in.” She gives a conspiratorial wink. “It will take them some time to find their way home and alert the others. Meanwhile, I’ll need to make some potions for your trip…a little something to keep you flying under the radar and enough Energy to last you until you find a new Source.”