Serpent's Kiss: A Dragonfire Novel (8 page)

Maybe her nature was the issue.

“Twenty-two months,” Rafferty said. “You disappeared the same day that JP vanished from Erik’s captivity.”

Thorolf shook his head. “Twenty-two months? No way. It was just yesterday that…” His voice faded as he obviously became uncertain.

“That what?” Rafferty prompted. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Viv and I went to a new bar. It was fun. The music was good and the women were hot.” Chandra caught her breath at the mention of her target, but Thorolf didn’t seem to notice. “She dared me to drink some mix the bartender had made up.” He smiled in recollection and affection. The expression softened his features, making him look appealing, but Chandra knew any affection for Viv Jason was misplaced. “She always does that. This one, though, it was wicked shit.”

“And then?” Rafferty prompted, his disapproval clear. Chandra wondered if he disapproved of Viv or of Thorolf’s taking the dare. She didn’t doubt that Thorolf was inclined to indulge, given his robust metabolism.

“That’s it.” Thorolf shrugged, mystified.

So, he didn’t know where Viv Jason was.

Chandra could have bailed and gone on to search for her prey alone. But Thorolf had a bond with her. Chandra decided to wait and see if Viv Jason turned up.

Besides, Thorolf might know more about her location than he realized. She’d still take him to her sanctuary, then, just to be sure.

Chandra might have considered all of this a rationalization to linger in the glow of the firestorm, but Rafferty frowned, distracting her from her thoughts. The older
Pyr
reached out and touched a fingertip to a dark mark on Thorolf’s forearm. There were two round holes in the middle of what looked like a large bruise. “Where’d you get this?”

Thorolf frowned, looking so vulnerable that Chandra wanted to help him. “I don’t know.”

“And a new tattoo,” Rafferty said, indicating the rows of spirals on Thorolf’s arms. The repetitive design covered all the skin that was visible, even the blue dragon on the back of his left hand. That dragon was blue and its tail wound around his wrist. It was very well done.

The spirals looked amateur. Like doodles on his skin.

Thorolf frowned at his forearms. “I don’t remember these swirls,” he said. “But they must have taken a while. And I hurt all over.” He peeled off his T-shirt abruptly, baring his muscled chest to view.

The way Rafferty caught his breath told Chandra that the spiraling tattoo covering his torso and throat was new, too. She found herself catching her breath for an entirely different reason. Thorolf was magnificent.

“How can you not remember getting such an extensive tattoo?” Rafferty asked quietly.

“It burns, too,” Thorolf said with a wince. “Like I went to some dirty hole to get it. Rox would kill me.”

“And your legs?” Rafferty asked.

“It’s everywhere,” Thorolf said. “Like a nasty burn.” He looked at Rafferty with fear, clearly expecting the other
Pyr
to know the answers to everything. “How can that be? How could I be drunk long enough for someone to do all this?”

Chandra decided to try an experiment. How helpful was the firestorm?

“You must remember more,” she said, deliberately putting her hand on Thorolf’s arm. The firestorm burned hot and golden, the flurry of sparks from the point of contact taking her breath away. Even though she’d braced herself for its power, it shook her.

And aroused her.

It felt so good that she wanted to explore it more.

Thorolf smiled and drew her closer. “You’re right. I remember I woke up in the apartment, alone.” He inhaled sharply and looked agitated. “And then something happened.” He shoved his hand through his hair, looking so troubled and vulnerable that Chandra wanted to fix everything for him. “Something bad, but I don’t know what it was.” He glanced between the two of them with concern. “Almost two years? Seriously?”

“We’ve been looking for you,” Rafferty said with affection. “But you vanished without a trace.” His gaze trailed over the tattoo and he frowned.

Since Thorolf was looking at her, Chandra nodded agreement. She declined to mention that no one could hide from her without a trace, not unless more powerful forces were involved. She’d assumed that the creature who had become Viv Jason was responsible, but now she wondered.

Who else might have targeted Thorolf?

Did his disappearance have something to do with his attacking Rafferty?

And why had he reappeared now?

Had the firestorm revealed him, or was that enemy using the firestorm against them both? Given the firestorm’s influence on Chandra and the havoc already wreaked on her carefully laid plans, it was easy to believe the latter. She could almost have blamed her brother.

She lifted her hand and the ink of the new tattoo seemed to have faded. Thorolf followed her glance. “It hurts less,” he said with surprise.

“Then it’s not a normal tattoo,” Rafferty murmured. “Not if it’s affected by the firestorm.”

Then both
Pyr
looked at Chandra, their expectation clear.

Chapter Three

Chandra changed the subject quickly, not wanting either of them to make the suggestion that she could or should heal Thorolf by consummating the firestorm. She reminded herself of the merit of working alone.

“Who or what can hide a
Pyr
from other
Pyr
?” she asked instead. “You all have such sharp senses.” That wasn’t all of the truth—her abilities were considerable, too, but Chandra didn’t want to reveal too much too soon.

Rafferty cast her a quick glance, one filled with assessment. “You know about us?”

She simply nodded.

Rafferty waited for a long moment, long enough to make her wonder what he saw. He then glanced back toward the city. “We’ll be pursued. Have you anywhere safe to go?”

“I have a sanctuary,” Chandra admitted.

Rafferty’s eyes narrowed at her choice of word. “How safe is it?”

“Safe enough.”

Again, Rafferty gave her a long steady perusal. Chandra didn’t tell him more.

Thorolf spoke up. “But I can’t be
Slayer
, Rafferty. That’s crazy.”

“Your blood was dark,” Rafferty observed.

“It’s like you spontaneously manifested today,” Chandra added and Rafferty gave her a hard look. “I know some
Slayers
can do that.”

“Some
Pyr
, too,” Rafferty said tightly.

Thorolf flung out his hands. “But I’m having a firestorm!
Slayers
don’t have firestorms.”

“That must mean that there’s still hope,” Rafferty said with confidence. “You must not be completely lost as yet.”

“But
Slayers
are made,” Thorolf protested. “I would never choose to be
Slayer
. I’d never sacrifice the chance of a firestorm.” He took Chandra’s hand in his. The flurry of brilliant sparks that erupted from the point of contact made Chandra hot and bothered. She could taste that kiss again, feel his hand in her hair, and wanted him to stroke her from head to toe. “See?”

Chandra pulled her hand from his and stepped back, putting distance between them. Rafferty watched, his expression inscrutable. “I thought the
Pyr
were supposed to defend humans, as one of the treasures of the earth,” she said.

The two
Pyr
nodded agreement. “Of course,” Thorolf said.

“So, you weren’t trying to kill that guy in the apartment?”

Thorolf frowned.

“What’s this?” Rafferty looked between them.

“I found him, choking the life out of a man who had apparently moved into his former apartment. Isn’t that
Slayer
stuff?”

“I guess if it’s been two years, then Viv must have left the place.” Thorolf pushed his hand through his hair again, then paced a few steps. He spun to stride back to them. “I was so pissed. I came looking for Viv, to protect her, but he was hiding her.”

“Protect her from who or what?” Rafferty asked.

“From the
Pyr
.” Thorolf seemed dazed by the admission, and it certainly shocked both of his companions. “I was going to squeeze the life out of him because I thought he was helping the
Pyr
. I thought he’d given Viv to them.”

Chandra should have been so lucky.

Then she realized that something—or someone—had turned Thorolf against his own kind.

How could that even be? It didn’t sound like one of her brother’s pranks. He adored the
Pyr
and considered them his favorites of all creation.

What
was
going on?

It was probably a bad sign that she was curious enough to be tempted to put her own quest aside.

* * *

Rafferty and Thorolf seemed to be just as mystified as Chandra.

“Your wanting to injure the
Pyr
and humans is consistent with you turning
Slayer
,” Rafferty mused. “But why aren’t you violent now?”

Thorolf shook his head, then appealed to Rafferty. “How could I be made even partly
Slayer
without my agreement?”

Chandra didn’t know nearly enough about this kind of transition, despite her research, so she just listened.

“Chen,” Rafferty said with quiet heat. “I had wondered.”

“Chen?” Chandra echoed, unfamiliar with this name.

“An ancient and powerful
Slayer
, possessed of lost dragon magic,” Rafferty said. “He’s targeted Thorolf before and his lair is hidden in the Himalayas. In this part of the world, damage can be easily attributed to him.”

“He likes enslaving
Pyr
and has made
Slayers
and shadow dragons with the Elixir,” Thorolf said.

“I thought the Dragon’s Blood Elixir was gone,” Chandra said, inadvertently drawing Rafferty’s attention again. “Or at least its source.”

“You’re well informed,” Rafferty said softly.

“Yes,” she said simply. He waited, but she didn’t elaborate.

Chandra would have to see what she could learn about Chen once they got back to her sanctuary. She supposed it only made sense that the
Pyr
’s traditional opponents might be involved, although it was yet another complication. She folded her arms across her chest, unable to dismiss the sense that life would only get more complicated the longer she remained with Thorolf.

She had to find Viv Jason and she believed Thorolf would lead her to her prey, one way or the other. She wasn’t leaving yet.

“But it can’t be Chen this time,” Thorolf argued with Rafferty. “He almost got me once, but he failed.”

“Why couldn’t he come after you again?” Chandra asked.

“He did say he needed a
Pyr
with an affinity for air,” Rafferty said. “That’s why he targeted you, and Lorenzo, and Brandon.”

“If he didn’t get any of them, what makes you assume he got me?”

“Where else could you have been all this time?” Rafferty demanded and Thorolf looked bewildered again. “And this tattoo took time. Remember that Chen uses spirals in his dark magic.”

Thorolf stared at his skin in horror.

Rafferty tapped him on the shoulder. “Remember: it was the firestorm that led me to you.”

Purpose lit in Thorolf’s blue eyes. “You think it can save me.”

Rafferty smiled. “I think that’s what firestorms do. The firestorm saved Delaney from a plan to turn him
Slayer
.”

“So, I’m having a firestorm at the perfect moment,” Thorolf said with satisfaction. He reached for Chandra but she backed away.

This was all getting too complicated too fast.

“I thought firestorms were about the creation of more
Pyr
,” she felt obliged to note. She wasn’t going to be anyone’s sexual toy or destined mate, much less the mother of his son. She was in this realm to complete a quest and had already lingered longer than she’d planned.

This was an expectation she had to stop in its tracks.

“They are,” Rafferty agreed. “But sometimes they’re about more than that. Sometimes they’re about partnership and alliance.”

“Sometimes they’re about second chances,” Thorolf agreed. “New beginnings and all that.”

That was exactly what Chandra didn’t want to hear. She didn’t do commitment and long term and partnership. “No. That’s out of the question. I work alone,” she said. “Always have and always will. I complete the task at hand, then take on another.”

Thorolf stared at her, his astonishment making her feel mean for stating the truth. “You’d just carry on, as if the firestorm had never happened, as if you’d never had a son? My son?”

“I’m not going to have your son.”

“Of course you are! When we consummate the firestorm, you’ll conceive my son.”

Chandra folded her arms across her chest and glared at Thorolf, wishing the firestorm would stop making the
Pyr
plan sound so desirable. “Just because there’s a firestorm doesn’t mean it has to be consummated.”

Thorolf’s eyes gleamed and his hand landed on her elbow. The heat made Chandra swallow, but she didn’t back down.