Darkness Burning Read online

  “I have a talisman,” Alex said. “One that has protected me from the demon all my life. When that talisman is worn by him, he can be killed and prevented from invading another body to effect an escape.”

  “Are you speaking of the stone you wear?” she said, her gaze dropping to the amulet lying at the base of his throat. “Why can’t we just take it from you and use it ourselves?”

  Alex rested his hands on his hips and smiled. “You and who else?”

  “Use it!” Madrigal burst out. “Find him now!”

  Nicolas sat forward. “We should think about this a moment, narrow our focus to likely suspects. Now that we know the extent of his connection with Inanna, think what you would do if you were him and able to skip bodies. Where would you position yourself?”

  “You would want to be as close as you could be to the object of your obsession…,” Alex began, and then halted when he saw Nicolas’s head draw back.

  “A lover…,” Nicolas said softly.

  “It could be you!” Madrigal gasped. “Put the necklace on him!”

  Alex shook his head. “It can’t be Ni—him. We fought last night. He was unaffected by proximity to the stone while we wrestled.”

  Inanna roused herself. “You fought?” she asked Nicolas. “You know him?”

  “It was a misunderstanding,” Alex said quickly, not wanting to tip his hand regarding their relationship so soon.

  “You fought,” Inanna said, looking at Nico as though she’d never seen him before. “He’s the father to your woman’s child. What else aren’t you telling me, Nico?”

  “Let’s stick to the subject of your demon first,” Alex interrupted. “Who else besides Nicolas are you intimate with here, Inanna? Who do you trust? Because he would want to be that close.”

  Her gaze slid slowly from Nicolas and swept the crowded room until it landed on Pasqual. “Dumuzi?” she whispered.

  Pasqual stood perfectly still, not breathing as his eyes flickered from Inanna to Alex and back to his mistress again. When it appeared no one would intervene on his behalf, he straightened, his arms coming forward and his palms turning upward in supplication. “Have I tried to harm you in any way, Mistress? Haven’t I seen to your every need? How can you think it’d be me?”

  “You’ve been different these past days,” Inanna said, her voice sounding hollow. “When we are alone you’ve been…more aggressive…”

  Pasqual’s chest rose and fell more quickly, and his face tightened. “Because I saw that you enjoyed it. I watched you with Nic—”

  Inanna rose from her chair, her eyes boring into his. “Is it really you?”

  Pasqual’s head swung toward the door, which was blocked by too many guards, toward the windows, which were also covered. Then he crouched, his hands balling into fists. “I won’t be taken,” he said, his voice devoid of any Cajun drawl.

  “You can’t escape this room,” Nicolas said, his voice even and deadly, already on his feet and moving toward him. “You’re going to pay for what you did to my brother and my wife.”

  Alex closed in, pushing back the Security Force members who were already crowding toward that end of the room. He had to get close enough to shove Miki out of harm’s way. No one else would care as much if she got in the way.

  Before anyone could get near him, Pasqual’s arm snaked around Miki’s waist and pulled her close.

  “Take him now!” Cecily shouted.

  “Not if you wish for her to live,” Pasqual said, his gaze locking with Alex’s.

  “She’s human, she can be sacrificed,” Cecily spat.

  Alex consigned Cecily to the same slag heap on which he intended to toss Inanna. He held up his hands and said quietly, “Take it easy. If you hurt her, I’ll pull you apart, limb by limb.”

  Miki’s eyes were wide, her face as pale as parchment, but she kept silent, for once, her gaze on Alex’s—open and trusting.

  “She’s important to him!” Pasqual shouted back. “She carries his child!”

  Alex bit back a curse.

  “Which makes her mean even less to us!” Cecily said, her tone becoming strident.

  Pasqual brought Miki in front of him, turning her to face him. He cupped his hand like a shovel and pointed it toward her belly. “I will kill her if you do not let me leave this room. I could scoop out your child at the same time I rip her heart from her chest.”

  “There is another solution,” a calm voice said, rising above the noise of skittering chairs, scraping feet, and despairing murmurs.

  Alex closed his eyes briefly, thankful to be hearing Simon’s quiet tones. When he opened his eyes, he found them—Simon, his mother and father, and Gabriella in her wolf’s skin—standing behind Inanna.

  “How did they get in here?” Madrigal asked in a trembling voice.

  “He’s a mage,” Nicolas said. “How do you think? He doesn’t need a door.”

  “This is outrageous,” Cecily wailed. “And just another reason why you’ve become ineffective, Inanna. Your schemes invite our enemies to pour through our doors.”

  “I just said he doesn’t need doors,” Nicolas said, giving Cecily a look filled with disgust.

  “Shut up!” Pasqual screamed. “What other solution, mage?”

  “You can go back to where you came from.”

  Pasqual’s chest heaved. “I think not.”

  Simon met the demon’s wild gaze with a quiet smile. “You can bring your wife with you.”

  “No!” Inanna said, shaking her head. “You can’t do this.”

  “Rene, grab her,” Alex said, swinging back to gauge Pasqual’s expression.

  The demon straightened, his eyes narrowing on Inanna while a gleeful smile began to stretch his lips. “You can do this?”

  While Rene clasped the upper arms of a wriggling Inanna, Simon stepped around her and slipped the loop of the satchel he carried over his head.

  Inanna moaned when she saw the bundle.

  “Yes, Inanna,” he said calmly. “You were foolish to keep it. You should have smashed the orb into a million pieces.”

  Simon opened the satchel and carefully extracted the dragon claw base, setting it on the table. Then he pulled out the black crystal, which seemed to glow with an inner light. He set it on the base and stood back. “Dumuzi, you must come toward me.”

  Pasqual, keeping Miki snug beside him, shoved past the guards surrounding him and came to a stop in front of Simon.

  “You can let her go now,” Alex said softly. “The woman…let her go.”

  “Once he opens the portal,” Pasqual said, not looking his way, his gaze instead locking with Inanna’s. “Bring her to me.”

  Rene dragged Inanna forward, only letting go of her arms when she stood beside Pasqual. Looking wildly around the room for an ally, Inanna flung back her head, but she met only cold condemnation everywhere she looked. “I did this for us. To make us strong. A male would have led us like a king. He would have forced us to serve him.”

  “You had your chance to lead, Inanna,” Alex said, feeling suddenly tired. “Besides the methods you employed, you failed because you couldn’t see what has been and what will come. You have left us all unprepared.”

  “You talk in riddles. Like a bloody mage.”

  “Enough talk for now,” Simon inserted. “I’m ready. How convenient you saved the incantation, too.”

  As Simon began to chant, he lifted the orb from its bed and held it in his open palm. The crystal blinked and began to glow, shedding arcs of light that brightened the room like a thousand shards of moonlight. Turning, he faced the back of the room, empty except for the shimmering circle that seemed to suck the fragmented beams toward it, curving them into a vertical pool.

  “Pasqual, take Inanna and go!” Simon shouted.

  Pasqual shoved Miki an arm’s length away and stepped toward the circle. Then his head swung back to Alex, and he flashed a white, feral smile.

  As horror bent him double, Alex felt as though his feet had been glued
to the floor. Too late, he watched as Pasqual thrust his hand beneath Miki’s ribs and reached deep into her chest, the force of his blow lifting her from her feet.

  Miki’s eyes squeezed shut, then her body slumped until Pasqual shrugged her off his arm, lifting her beating heart in his fist. Then he grabbed Inanna’s hand and leapt into the portal.

  Bright light flashed, blinding Alex for a moment. He recovered a split second later and leapt atop the table, landing on the other side, beside Miki’s bloodied body. He began to gather her up, but arms surrounded him, pulling him back. He struggled wildly to free himself, but the arms tightened.

  “Wait, Alex,” Simon said urgently in his ear. “Look at Mikaela.”

  Miki’s skin lost its ashen pallor and began to glow—lit by a golden inner fire that ignited her body in an instant. The fire-burst flashed, ashes exploding into the air and catching in an updraft to swirl like a tiny devil wind above the place where her body had fallen.

  With his mouth gaping, Alex watched as the whirling ashes slowed, then fell, settling on the ground. He lurched forward, reaching out, but drew back his hand when the ashes billowed outward into a shape—hers—at first a thin dark layer of sooty black that smoothed, then stretched. Another light burst from inside the fragile black skeleton, and when it blinked out, Miki lay there, her body whole again.

  Alex thrust away Simon’s hands and bent over Miki’s naked body, his hand sliding over her chest. A heartbeat stuttered and then began a steady throb. Her eyes blinked and opened, then widened as she caught sight of the many people leaning over her.

  A cry wrenched from her and she jackknifed up, scooting to put her back to the wall.

  Nicolas thrust a shirt into Alex’s hands. Still kneeling, Alex reached out, offering the shirt. “Take it.”

  Miki’s frightened gaze darted from his hands to his eyes, then she thrust out her hand and grabbed the shirt, covering her chest with the garment while she eyed the crowd like a wary animal.

  “Explain this, Simon,” Alex whispered urgently.

  Simon’s hand fell on his shoulders. “She’s a Phoenix—cursed to be reborn.”

  “Cursed by whom?” When Simon didn’t answer, Alex shot him a sour glance. “Is that really all you know? No more crap about what I need to know. I have to know.”

  “It had to have been a powerful demon,” Simon said quietly. “And probably a long time ago, since Phoenixes aren’t exactly plentiful.”

  By Simon’s tone and steady gaze, Alex accepted that was all he did indeed know. He blew out a deep breath and turned back to Miki, who was listening carefully to their conversation. “She doesn’t remember anything, does she?”

  “Not you. Not even who she is. She’ll know how to speak, how to get about. But she doesn’t remember her life or the places and people she’s met along the way.”

  “She’s not human, then?”

  “Completely so, but cursed.”

  “She doesn’t remember us.”

  “Now, I took you for a smart boy.”

  Alex glanced up to find Simon’s gaze leveled on him, waiting….

  For him to realize another purpose for his gift.

  Inside, Alex began to shake. For the first time in what seemed an eternity, he felt tears fill his eyes. “I can show her us.”

  CHAPTER 20

  All eyes turned toward Miki, whose breaths were short and labored, her fear leaving an acrid scent. Alex slowly extended his hand to her, palm up. “Let me help you with the shirt,” he said softly.

  Miki’s moss-green eyes stared in rapt fascination at his hand, as though it was a snake poised to strike. His stomach plummeted. She didn’t remember him, didn’t remember a damn thing about their short acquaintance.

  Perhaps it was a blessing, because she didn’t know she’d carried his child, a daughter now lost to the inferno that had engulfed Miki’s body.

  Her gaze slowly lifted beyond him, widening.

  “Your wings,” Simon whispered.

  Alex slowly folded them inward and withdrew them completely. Then he waited while her choppy breaths evened. “Father, Nicolas…” he directed over his shoulder.

  “We’ll see to everything,” Rene said, his voice gruff. “Take care of your little firebird.”

  Alex crawled closer on his knees and reached for the shirt she clutched against her breasts.

  Miki sank against the wall, trying to evade his reach, her frantic gaze seeking an escape.

  “I promise I won’t harm you, sweetheart.” He dragged the shirt from her stiffened fingers and lifted it above her, holding her gaze.

  Slowly, she leaned forward and let him drop it behind her, slipping her arms into the sleeves, her wary stare fixed and unblinking.

  He concentrated on closing the buttons, cursing silently because his fingers trembled and it took longer than he wished.

  When he’d finished, he slowly stood and held out his hand again. “I’ll take you someplace private where we can talk. I promise to answer all your questions. I know you’re curious—it’s one of your most endearing qualities.”

  She stared at his hand again, then lifted her gaze to lock with his. “Who are you?” she asked slowly, as though not trusting the sound of her own voice.

  “My name’s Alex. I’m yours, and you belong to me.”

  Her gaze darted around the room that was slowly emptying as Rene and Nicolas quietly took charge and ushered people away. Perhaps she only judged him the least frightening option, but eventually, she drew a deep breath and slid her palm inside his hand. He drew her up, then bent and lifted her from the floor, ignoring her soft gasp as he clutched her close to his chest.

  Alex strode swiftly for the door, leaving behind the scent of scorched flesh and miasma of despair that lingered inside the room.

  He chose Chessa’s bedroom on the second floor. The one his parents had occupied before her, and where he’d been conceived. He hoped that the pale flowers of the lavender wallpaper and the soft, feminine furnishings would soothe Miki’s alarm.

  Sitting her on the edge of the bed, he knelt beside her and drew her hand between his. “Do you remember anything at all?”

  She shook her head. “Where am I?”

  “At Ardeal, just outside New Orleans. Do you know where that is?”

  “Louisiana,” she said tentatively.

  Alex smiled. “You remember something, see?”

  “Who am I?” she asked, lifting her chin. “Besides yours.”

  “Mikaela Jones. Although you told me it was a name you chose for yourself.”

  “Why can’t I remember it?”

  “Baby, it will take me longer to tell you than if you let me show you.”

  A wrinkle bisected her brow as she frowned. “Should I understand what you mean?”

  “If you let me come closer, I can give you parts of our past. But I have to hold you close.”

  She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth while her green gaze studied him.

  Alex held himself perfectly still, hoping she’d decide to trust him. The last thing he wanted to do was force her to submit to this bite. He didn’t want her first memories sullied by a violent act.

  “Are you an angel?”

  Alex felt a smile tug his lips. “A distant relative.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Tilt your head to the side and let me come closer.”

  “Are you going to kiss me?”

  “Yes.”

  Her nose wrinkled. “Is that all you want of me?”

  “This isn’t about what I want, sweetheart. It’s about what you will receive.”

  Her breath huffed out, her frustration evident in her frown. However, she tilted her head to the side.

  The challenge in her gaze amused him. Her personality was intact. Defiance and curiosity overcame her fear.

  Alex rose slowly, brushed away the strands of red hair clinging to her skin, and leaned close.

  Her inhalation was sharp. Her body stiffened.
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  “Don’t be afraid. This might sting.”

  “A kiss will sting?”

  Rather than take more precious moments during which her anxiety would mount, he glided his lips along the smooth skin. His tongue found her throbbing pulse, then he opened his mouth and let his teeth slide inexorably down.

  Her breath hissed between her clenched teeth and her hands shoved at his chest, but Alex didn’t let go. He concentrated, ignoring her spicy, womanly scent and the salt and metal flavor of the blood that filled his mouth, tamping down his pleasure to ensure this first bite wouldn’t elicit a sensual thrill to distort the memories he gave her—or use them to bind her to him.

  Their first chance meeting in the dark, dank alleyway…“Not gonna ask me what a nice girl—”

  His seduction of her in the shop beside the blood bar…“You had to know I’d want answers. Can we talk? Face-to-face, this time. I don’t even know what you look like.” “Conversation isn’t free…”

  His manipulations that had led to their lovemaking in the gazebo on this very estate…“I already gave. Twice,” she’d bitten out. “So no tricks—keep those damn pheromones and fangs to yourself.” “I’m not a Revenant,” he’d replied. “I don’t care what the hell you call yourself, no more ‘gifts’ are happenin’ here,” she’d responded.

  The long, hot night they’d spent together in her apartment, where he’d set free his heart to love her…

  And at last her death and rebirth.

  When he drew back, he closed his eyes briefly, knowing she’d seen herself through his memories, known his every thought. Would she hate him for his arrogance?

  Miki’s eyes glittered with unshed tears, and her body quivered. “All those memories are yours?”

  “Yes. I can only let you see what I’ve experienced.”

  “That was me burning?” she asked, her eyes awash in misery. “I’m cursed?”

  Alex tenderly enfolded her small hands. “I see it as a gift.”

  “A gift?” She tried to pull away her hands, her lips twisting in a bitter grimace. “Do you see me as a woman you can remold each time I flare up?”

  Alex bent his head and took a deep breath, hoping he could find the right words to reassure her. “I’m a man who’s lived my life alone, knowing any woman I choose as my mate will be endangered. You can never be destroyed.”