Kindling Flames: Flying Sparks (The Ancient Fire Series Book 2) (21 page)

Darien used a key from the ring to unlock it and held the door open for Vicky.

The inside of the warehouse was two stories high and almost empty. There were a few shelves at one end, stacked with things too far away for Vicky to see, but most of the floor was bare. She stepped in as Darien flicked a switch on the wall and closed the door behind them. Industrial lights that hung by long wires kicked on, flooding the warehouse with pools of light and shadow. They put out just enough light to illuminate the room as the sun started to fade.

“People will start getting here shortly after full dark,” Darien explained as he walked towards the open room. “We need to have everything ready so we can start.”

Vicky followed him, unsure what she could do to help. As they crossed the room, a shimmer of light reflected off something on the floor. She paused for a moment and saw the cool hint of silver arching away from her. Looking in the other direction, she saw the same gentle curve running off along the floor. She stepped over the silver line and jogged to catch up to Darien.

He dropped his bag in the center of the room to rummage in it. “We’re meeting under a parlay tonight,” Darien explained as he pulled bundles out of the bag. “I know you’re not familiar with magic, but I’m going to need your help.”

“What can I do?” Vicky asked as she drew a little closer to kneel down by her boss.

“For a proper parlay, there needs to be a neutral party to oversee the groups talking,” he explained as he started to unroll the bundles. “Someone to act as judge to mediate the situation, two to act as guards to protect the group bound by the parlay, and someone to act as keeper to bind everyone to the parlay.” Darien paused in his work and looked up into Vicky’s eyes. “Since I’m calling the parlay, I’ll act as judge, Elliot has offered his services as inside guard, Zak will act as outside guard, but I need you to stand as keeper.”

Vicky cocked her head as confusion creased her brow. He wanted her to do magic? “Okay,” she agreed. “How do I do that?”

“You really don’t have to
do
anything,” Darien explained as he went back to unwrapping the bundles. “Just stick close and hold what I give you.”

Zak rolled over as a ball of tentacles and wiggled encouragingly against Vicky’s leg.

“Is everything secure?” Darien asked the fay.

Zak wobbled around, gurgling at him.

“Good, then let’s get this set up before anyone arrives.” Darien handed Vicky a stack of candles and some bundles of herbs. They both stood up to prepare the space for the magic they were going to do tonight.

It only took about thirty minutes for Darien to walk the walls of the warehouse with a lit bundle of the herbs. He explained that he was using the sage to clean the space as Vicky followed behind him with her armload of things. Every so often he would put down a white candle into a hole in the concrete floor. Zak rolled along behind them and felt each of the candles as they went.

By the time they got back to the front of the building, a small group of people had shown up. Vicky recognized some of their faces, but she didn’t know them.

Darien ignored the group and went back to his bag in the middle of the room.

Vicky gasped as he pulled an ornate longsword and two daggers out.

Zak rolled up against him expectantly.

“You’ll get it in a bit,” he said as he pushed Zak away. “Just wait for everyone to get here.” Zak backed off and rolled over to rub against Vicky. “Why don’t you go check out who’s here,” Darien suggested, and Zak sneezed at him. “Don’t give me that,” he chided the fay. “I can always get someone else to help.”

Zak waved his tentacles angrily at Darien before turning to check out the growing crowd. Vicky could hear squeaks of surprise as Zak’s tentacles touched the more squeamish of the group.

Darien took out a copper bowl and something wrapped in a black cloth. Pulling the cloth back, he revealed a light purple orb the size of a softball. He placed the crystal in the bowl and set the bowl on the floor before looking up at Vicky. “I need some of your blood.”

“Um… okay,” she said, coming over to him.

He held out his hand, and Vicky took it. Drawing one of the daggers from its sheath, Darien poked the end of her index finger. A droplet of blood welled up from the cut, and he pressed it to the top of the crystal ball. Taking her injured finger, he stuck it in his mouth. Releasing just a hint of power, he sucked away the blood and released the digit healed, as if the cut never happened.

Vicky rubbed the pad of the damp finger against her thumb as she watched him take the knife and sliced his own hand.

After dropping his blood on top of the crystal, he stepped away from the bowl, still bleeding. “Come with me.” Darien walked away from the bowl with the dagger in hand. He held his injured hand up, so the blood flowed back into his palm. Vicky stood and followed him over to the silver strip in the floor. She watched the vampire squat down to draw something on the floor in his blood. Darien spoke words that Vicky didn’t understand before standing and following the line as it curved away from him.

He repeated his actions three more times until they had made a complete circle with the silver line. Darien rubbed the injury to stop the bleeding and headed back to his bag. He pulled out a towel to clean his hand off before returning the dagger to its sheath.

Vicky looked around the room to the four bright red marks evenly spaced around the silver line. “What was that?”

“I was just setting a circle.” Darien explained. “It’ll define who is in the parlay and keep everyone else out.” He looked up at the door.

Vicky turned to see Elliot walk in. His long blond hair hung loose around his shoulders and billowed behind him as he walked.

“Good evening
,
My Lady,” Elliot greeted Vicky as Darien stood up. “Master Darien.”

Darien held out his hand in greeting, and she was surprised when they didn’t shake hands. Elliot grasped Darien’s forearm, just past the wrist. Darien repeated the gesture so they were bound together in a greeting older then Vicky knew.

“Thank you for coming tonight.” Darien said as they held on to each other’s arm for a moment longer. They broke apart, and he turned back to the preparations. “Everything is almost ready.” He lifted the sword from the ground to hand over to the other vampire. “We’re just waiting for everyone to arrive.”

Zak rolled over and banged into Darien’s leg, causing him to stumble slightly.

“All right, all right,” he said, “here’s yours.” He picked up the second dagger and handed it to the small creature.

Zak’s tentacles took the hilt before he wiggled over to rub against Vicky. He pulled on her until she walked with him over to inspect Darien’s work.

Elliot hitched an eyebrow as the creature wobbled around the edge of the circle with Vicky in tow. “You’re letting Zak be the outside guard?” He wrapped the belt attached to the sword around his waist and secured it in place.

“There was no ‘let’ to it,” Darien said, amusement coloring his voice. “He practically demanded it.” He looked over to where Vicky was walking. “He’s tried to claim Miss Westernly.”

Elliot was surprised. “It’s been a long time since Zak staked a claim on anyone.” He smiled at Darien. “You had better watch out, or he’ll steal her from you.”

The look on Darien’s face darkened slightly as he remembered the argument he’d had with the small creature. “We’ve already had words.” It had taken him a long time to convince the fay Vicky was not an item to be owned.

“Did you warn Miss Westernly?” Elliot asked.

“No.” Darien let out a deep sigh. “Zak has promised not to run off with her, and I’ve also asked her not to take off the medallion. She should be safe.”

“All right.” Elliot shrugged. “But you may want to mark her before something less friendly tries to claim her.” He studied the girl. “She is very pretty and easy to like.”

Darien looked at the man next to him. “That’s one of the problems we have to address tonight.” His voice was low with anger as his eyes went back to the woman. “An ifrit caused the fire in her apartment.”

“An ifrit!” Elliot gawked at him. “I haven’t seen an ifrit in…” He tried to remember when the last one was around.

“A very long time
,
” Darien supplied the answer. “Victoria bears its mark, and if we don’t do something about it, she’s as good as dead.” He held out his hand for Elliot’s. “Let’s get this over with.” Elliot gave him his left hand, and Darien poked his finger with the dagger and added his blood to the mix on top of the stone.

It took another hour for everyone to show up and they were ready to start the parlay. The three groups hung back separate from each other. Vicky recognized Rupert and Sue standing among a group on one side of the room. Karl
,
the werewolf
,
and a man Vicky had bumped into in the street talked quietly together at the front near the edge of the circle.

On the other side of the circle were the vampires and some of their menagerie. Clara, Daniel, and Rachael stood waiting for things to start. Several of Clara’s gang waved to Vicky from outside the circle, but none of them stepped over the silver line set in the floor.

The third group stood between the other two groups on the side of the circle closest to the door. Vicky recognized the long, silver hair and purple eyes of Lord Dakine, dressed in his elfish robes and a long traveling cloak. The two fay standing with him looked just as regal.

One was female, tall and thin with raven-black hair and a bronze dress that hung to the ground. Her eyes sparkled in the dim light of the warehouse. The second was a short, stocky man with a neatly trimmed beard of red. He wore a simple shirt of deep blue and jeans. It didn’t take Vicky much imagination to cast him into the role of a dwarf from the Tolkien books.

The rest of the fay gathered behind them were harder to describe. Vicky’s eyes kept wanting to look away from them. When she did force her gaze on them, she found more wings and tentacles, and it made her head hurt slightly.

Zak wiggled over to her as she sat next to the bowl on the floor and whined as he rubbed against her.

“I’m okay,” she reassured the fay as she rubbed her temple. The pain had subsided as soon as she looked away from the mass.

“It’s time.” Darien reached down to help Vicky to her feet.

Zak gurgled and writhed his way to the edge of the circle closest to the werewolves.

Vicky smiled as she watched the group back up slightly from the little creature brandishing his dagger.

Zak stepped over the line of silver without touching it.

Vicky stood up, and Darien led her to the side of the circle farthest away from the fay.

He placed her on one side of him, and Elliot took up the other. He cleared his throat and said something Vicky didn’t understand.

She could feel something rush behind her along the silver line. It tingled like electricity in the air.

“I’ve called you here to join me in a Council of the Night. May three from each step forwards and join me in parlay.” Darien’s voice rebounded off the walls of the warehouse.

Rupert, Sue, and the man Vicky had seen in the street stepped up to the silver line; Lord Dakine and his two companions stepped up to their edge; and Clara, Daniel, and Rachael stood ready on their side.

“Three have come from each to parlay: Rupert, Sue, and Phelan from the wolf pack; Dakine, Einin, and Roisin from the Court of the Gray; and Clara, Daniel, and Rachael from the Council of Vampires. Please step in and be welcome.”

Vicky felt the power thump as the nine people all stepped over the silver line at the same time. Darien raised his hands and spoke again in that strange language. The candles around the room bloomed to life at the same time. He spoke another word, and Vicky felt the air behind her harden.

“Nine have come to parlay. Three stand inside to guide, to guard, and to govern. One stands without to guard. If any should object, speak now.” Darien paused to give anyone time to object. When no words came, he continued. “Then I call to order this meeting. Remember the rule of three governs all. Speak as you may, but be wary of using more than words.” Darien relaxed and stepped towards the bowl, placed his hand over it, and spoke another word of command.

Vicky felt weak for a moment as the magic took hold of them all.

“Now that the formalities are done,” Darien stood up and looked at the three leaders, “I think we all know why we’re here.”

Clara’s jaw was set in a hard line as she and Rupert glared at each other. “We’re here to talk about what’s plaguing this city,” Clara said.

“Other than vampires,” the wolf Phelan said softly.

Daniel bared his fangs at the man and hissed. “It’s the wolves that have caused the problems in this city.”

Vicky stared at them with wide eyes.

“We’re not the ones draining innocent people and leaving their corpses to rot in the street,” Phelan growled.

“We didn’t grab several of your numbers and drag them out in the sun to burn while they were sleeping,” Daniel hissed back at him.

Darien covered his face as they dredged up these old conflicts.

“It’s been more than fifty year since that happened, and the wolf responsible has been dealt with,” Rupert growled at him.

“There are still those among you who had a hand in Justin’s murder.” Anger colored Clara’s voice. “He was my friend and did not deserve his fate.”

“Not all the ones you hunted down and drained deserved their fate, either,” Rupert countered. “Many of them were innocent of crimes you claimed they committed.”

Darien hung his head and thought about the best way to mediate this situation. A while back, there had been a grave misunderstanding between the two groups that had ended in bloodshed. The only thing that stopped them was Darien stepping in and demanding a truce between the two groups. It had worked, but the wolves and vampires had never worked together since.

Vicky stood silent and watched as the two groups yelled at each other.

“Please.” Darien stepped between the two leaders and held out a hand towards each, glad the parlay prevented them from outright killing each other. “I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but we’re not here to talk about those at the moment.” Clara and Rupert glared at each other around Darien. “We’re here to see what can be done to save our city from an outside source.”