Kindling Flames: Smoke Rising (The Ancient Fire Series Book 3) Read online

  “Sowwin?” Vicky had heard the term before, but she wasn’t sure what it meant.

  “Halloween,” Darien explained. “Samhain marks the end of the harvest festivals and the beginning of winter. It’s also the one day of the year where the veil between worlds is the thinnest.”

  Vicky listened intently as Darien went on about the old holiday. “What do you mean by ‘the veil between worlds’?” she asked.

  “Do you remember what it felt like when we went into the fairy realm?” Darien glanced over at her.

  She nodded as she recalled the sensation. “Like stepping through thick cobwebs.”

  “That was the veil between our world and Fairy,” Darien explained. “You usually need magic to break through the barrier, but on Samhain, it thins out enough that things can pass through easily. Several of the lesser fay got out last year and caused trouble.”

  Vicky tensed at Darien’s statement. “Isn’t that bad?” She thought about how the lesser fay had tried to take her away.

  “It can be.” Darien shrugged. “But it only lasts one night a year, and Lady Aine doesn’t allow the little ones to bring anyone back anymore.”

  “Anymore?” Vicky raised an eyebrow at his words.

  Darien chuckled. “Not everything in Lady Aine’s court started out as fay.” He glanced over at the surprise on Vicky’s face.

  She sat quietly for a few minutes, thinking about this as they made their way over to the warehouse. “So, what else needs to be done?” Vicky asked as they pulled up in front of the building.

  “Not much,” Darien said. “Lady Aine loved the idea and is making arrangements for food. Rupert has offered to help with setup. Arachne has volunteered her services for decorations—”

  Vicky stared at Darien as he rattled off the people helping out. “Wait!” Vicky interrupted him. “Arachne, as in spiders?”

  “Who better to dress a Halloween ball than the Queen of Spiders, herself?” Darien smiled as he got out of the car to go inside.

  Vicky quickly scrambled out behind him. “What have I gotten myself into?” She sighed as she followed Darien to the building.

  “With the wolves coming,” he peeked back at her with an evil glint in his eye, “a howling good time.”

  Vicky groaned at the bad pun. “Just open the door, fang boy.” She pulled the keys out of her bag and handed them to Darien.

  He laughed as he shifted through the keys and opened the door.

  The inside of the spacious warehouse was empty except for a few rows of shelves on the far end of the room. Darien turned on the hanging lamps, flooding the open space in pools of light and shadow. The only thing that set this industrial space apart from any other warehouse was the thin band of silver laid into the concrete floor. Vicky had found that the band made a perfect circle and could be used to set a ward. This had proven a little troublesome when Darien had last used it; an ifrit had managed to get inside. Zak had torn several huge ruts in the concrete floor, trying to get past the barrier to the creature endangering Vicky. Darien headed over to the far side of the circle to check on the repairs.

  “How does it look?” Vicky asked as her heels clicked on the bare floor. The sound echoed eerily around the room, and she huddled closer to Darien. They stopped by the damaged area to examine the repair work.

  Pulling up his pant legs so they wouldn’t pinch, he squatted down to look at the new floor. The work crew had dug out a large square section and refilled it with new concrete. “Not too bad.” Darien touched the edge of the patch. It came right up to the silver band. “I had to get someone special in for the repair so they didn’t mess up the circle,” he explained.

  “And?” Vicky asked, looking down at the band.

  Darien touched the ring and spoke a word of command.

  Vicky felt the power crackle around the circle as the air solidified.

  “They did a fine job.” Darien stood up. “I’ll have to let Lillian know.” He dusted his hands off and spoke another word to release the ward.

  Vicky shivered as magic brushed past her skin. “You and your vampire powers.”

  “This has nothing to do with being a vampire,” Darien explained. “Anyone can do this.”

  Vicky cocked her head in confusion.

  He smiled and went on. “Being a vampire does give me some benefits—”

  Vicky snorted a little laugh, and Darien continued.

  “—but this is basic magic.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, still not understanding. Weren’t his vampire powers the same as magic?

  “How do I explain it?” Darien pondered as he stuck his hand in his pants pocket. “Okay, do you know how basic physics works?”

  Vicky thought back to her high school physics class. “You mean like the ‘equal and opposite reaction’ thing’?”

  “Close.” Darien nodded. “I was thinking, things at rest stay at rest—”

  “—unless acted upon by an outside force,” Vicky finished his thought.

  “Exactly.” He smiled. “Now, think of magic as potential energy waiting to be used. We can talk about where it comes from later. That will take a week on its own.” Darien sighed as he returned to his lesson. “Right now, it’s just important to know that it’s there in the lowest possible energy state.” He held his hands out in front of him as if he were holding something loosely between them. “This energy will just sit there and accumulate until something acts upon it to release its potential.” Darien separated his hands showing how the pool of energy would expand. “It only takes the slightest nudge to set the power loose.” He shook his hands forwards slightly.

  “But, how would you stop the energy once it’s started?” Vicky asked as she watched at Darien’s demonstration.

  “This is where magic differs from physics.” He smiled at her. “If it’s not being pulled on, it goes back to its resting state.” Darien dropped his hands back to his side.

  “Oh, so the harder you nudge on it, the more power you get.” Vicky said, putting it together.

  “Exactly,” Darien answered, proud she understood the first lesson of magic so quickly. “So, to use magic, all you have to do is find it, nudge it into the direction you want it to go, and give it form.”

  “Find it?” Vicky asked.

  “That’s the hard part,” Darien explained. “Magic is in everything, but most people aren’t sensitive enough to detect it, let alone use it. But, there is an answer to that, too. Magic tends to pool together in areas called ley lines. They are easier to detect if you know what you’re looking for.” Darien looked around at the building they were in. “I chose this warehouse because it sits right on top of a node—a place where two ley lines cross.” He turned his attention back to Vicky. “If you try, you should be able to feel it.” Darien closed the distance between them and pulled Vicky around so he was behind her. He draped himself over Vicky so she was pressed into the curve of his body.

  Her heart quickened at the sudden close contact. “How?” Vicky asked.

  “Just relax and close your eyes.” Darien spoke softly. His voice vibrated through her.

  Vicky closed her eyes and relaxed into him.

  “Can you feel me?” he asked softly.

  “Yes,” Vicky answered; there was no way she would not be able to feel him pressed into her back.

  He loosened the hold on his power slightly. “Can you feel my energy?”

  Vicky thought about this for a moment and could feel the warm tingle she had come to associate with Darien. “Yes,” she answered.

  “Good. Now take that and stretch it out,” Darien explained as he held her. “Look down with it.”

  Vicky’s brow furrowed with the effort, but she was able to pull the part of her that felt Darien’s energy out and point it down. She gasped as her senses picked up something. The sensation was cool and wet, but heady.

  “That’s it,” he whispered as he held onto her.

  The wetness pulled on her, and she gasped again. It felt a
s if she was going to drown in the pool. Her legs gave out, and Darien held her tighter against him.

  “I’ve got you,” he said softly.

  The warm feeling of Darien’s energy wrapped around her and pulled her out of the pool until her senses were just barely touching it.

  “That is one of the dangers of magic,” Darien explained softly. “If you’re not careful, it can pull you in. Getting back out on your own can be troublesome if you go too deep. You just need to touch the surface.”

  Vicky nodded her understanding. Just touching the node made her head swim as if she had drunk an entire fifth of Jack. They stood there for a few minutes as Vicky adjusted to the sensation of touching raw magic. “And what do you do with it when you’ve found it?” she asked, now that she was feeling a little more stable.

  “Anything you want.” Darien smiled. “Just remember that the magic will come up through you as you use it. If you draw too much too fast, it will hurt. With time and practice, you will be able to draw up more power, but ultimately, everyone has a limit on how much they can pull at one time. Anything more than that, and you risk the power killing you.”

  Vicky nodded again, and Darien went on.

  “Most people use words to give the magic shape. I use words out of old habit. It was the way I was trained, but it’s not necessary. As long as you can vividly picture what you want in your mind, you can bend the magic to your will. The other important thing you must remember is that magic often needs something to work on. You can’t make something out of nothing. You need components to do more than simple stuff.”

  Vicky nodded once more as she took in Darien’s words.

  “Let’s just worry about the simple stuff for now.”

  “Okay,” she agreed.

  “Holding on to the energy, reach out and find the line of silver on the floor,” Darien instructed.

  Vicky stretched herself again and found the line of silver. It radiated a power of its own. She drew in another breath as she felt a sharp tingle from the silver.

  “That’s it,” Darien reassured her. “Now, pull up just a thin line of the power from the ley line, and connect it to the ring of silver.”

  Vicky pulled on the energy, and it bubbled up through her. She turned it towards the circle, and the magic rushed through her and into the silver. Vicky let out a pained noise as the sensation hurt just a little. She felt Darien step in and restrict the flow of the magic through her.

  “Careful,” he cautioned.

  Vicky concentrated on limiting the flow, and the pain eased up.

  “Better.” Darien’s power withdrew, leaving Vicky holding the ley line connected to the ring of silver. “Now, think of a wall following that line, something to give protection, and will it into being.”

  Vicky thought of the barriers that she had encountered, and the air around the circle solidified.

  “Very nice.” Darien released her.

  Vicky opened her eyes and watched as he walked over to the thin line.

  He raised his hand and pressed against the solid air.

  “Wow,” Vicky said, amazed she had done that.

  Darien looked back over and noticed Vicky was no longer concentrating on holding the barrier. “You could be better at this than I am.”

  “What do you mean?” Vicky asked, confused. She could feel the barrier around them, but it didn’t feel any different than the one Darien had made.

  “It took me months until I could hold a shield without thinking about it.” He grinned as this fact dawned on Vicky.

  She stood there with her mouth open in awe.

  “I think that’s enough for one night. Drop the shield.”

  Vicky finally found herself. “How?”

  “Do you still feel the power flowing through you?” Darien asked.

  Vicky nodded. The coolness of the lay line slithered up inside of her before heading over to the silver.

  “Cut the line.”

  She closed her eyes so she could better feel what she was doing. Touching the strand with her mind, she split it. She felt the energy over the silver line collapse, and the sliver of cold in her dropped away. Vicky’s knees buckled as two warm arms pulled her in against a familiar body.

  “You are much too sensitive to magic,” Darien said as he held Vicky against him.

  She breathed in his scent as she recovered from the sudden void the magic had left inside her.

  “Please don’t do that without me until you have had some more practice.”

  “No problem,” she mumbled into Darien’s chest. She wasn’t sure she wanted to do that again even with his help. The magic had left her more than a little drunk. She worked to get her feet back under her.

  “Are you okay?” Darien asked as he leaned back to look down at her.

  Vicky felt his warm power skate over her as he made sure the ley line had left her completely. Swallowing, she tried to force the queasiness she was feeling back. “Maybe,” she said, unsure how she was. Her insides felt as if they had taken a quick ride in a drink shaker.

  Darien snickered at her. “Let’s get you home.” Shifting her in his arms, he scooped her legs from under her and carried her from the warehouse. The only protest from Vicky was a light moan as the world spun rapidly from the quick movement. Darien settled her into the front seat of the car with her bag on her lap. He considered laying her seat back slightly but decided against it as he clicked her seatbelt into place.

  Vicky relaxed in the seat, waiting for the drunken sensation from the magic to pass.

  Settling into the driver’s seat, Darien set out for home. He hadn’t been on the road for more than a minute when the phone in Vicky’s bag went off.

  Vicky stirred and pulled the device out of her bag. She held the phone up to her ear. “Hello?”

  “Tell Darien to stop,” a male’s voice insisted.

  “Elliot?” Vicky guessed. “What’s wrong?”

  Darien turned his head to look as Vicky sat up a little better in the seat.

  “Tell Darien to stop!” Elliot nearly screamed into the phone.

  Vicky looked over at Darien, shocked.

  “Stop!” she cried as Elliot screamed into the phone again.

  Darien slammed on the brakes, but the tires slid in some gravel and carried them out into an intersection. The car’s forwards momentum was halted, but they found themselves spinning off sideways as a black SUV plowed through the red light and tagged the front end of their car.

  Darien moaned as he pushed himself up off the steering wheel. The airbags had deployed and knocked the sense out of him. He looked around the car as his mind put things together. The phone call from Elliot, the black SUV he had only seen when it hit, the crunch of metal, and Vicky’s scream. His mind snapped into gear, and he looked around for the woman who had been in the seat next to him. She was gone.

  “Victoria,” Darien called as he pulled himself together. He could hear voices outside the car.

  “Yes, officer.” A woman’s voice sounded frantic. “That’s right. Please hurry—I don’t know how badly she’s hurt.”

  Darien tried to open his door to get out but found it was jammed shut. “Victoria!” He called louder as he tried to move. Pain screamed through his side, announcing that he had broken some ribs, and his leg was pinned and holding him down.

  The voices from outside the car stopped and listened.

  “Hello!” Darien called.

  “I thought you said he was dead?” the woman’s voice asked.

  “I thought he was,” a male voice answered. “He had no pulse.”

  Darien saw a young man stand up from the ground and look into the passenger side door.

  “Are you okay?” he asked Darien.

  “Yes.” Darien pulled against his leg. Somehow, the steering wheel had dropped down to his lap. “How’s Victoria?”

  The man looked down at the sidewalk, concerned. “It looks like she hit her head badly, and her arm might be broken.”

  “Plea
se help me out,” Darien begged. “I need to make sure she’s all right.”

  “Hailey called the police,” the man informed him. “They should be here shortly.”

  “I need out,” Darien insisted. He grabbed the handle of the door and slammed his shoulder into it, trying to free himself from the twisted metal. His ribs protested, and he hissed in pain but didn’t stop. “Please.”

  The man rushed around to Darien’s side of the car. “You’re going to hurt yourself,” he said as Darien rammed his shoulder into the car door. The door gave a little, and Darien hit it again. The man wrapped his hands around the top of the doorframe and pulled as Darien pushed, and the door popped open.

  Darien drew on his vampire strength and bent the steering column up enough to get out from under it. “Thank you,” he said as the young man helped him from the car. Darien’s leg was definitely broken at the femur, but he didn’t care. His system would sort it out shortly. What he was really worried about was Vicky possibly bleeding to death on the sidewalk. He could smell her blood from here. Darien let the young man help him around the car to where Vicky was laid out. A young woman in a lavender sweaterdress stood over Vicky. The woman had tucked a light jacket over the injured girl, trying to keep her warm.

  The woman stepped back to let her husband help Darien to the ground. “She’s hurt.”

  Darien reached out and touched Vicky. He cringed at the damage done. Not only did she have a head wound and a badly broken arm, she also had several broken ribs and some internal bleeding. Darien shifted closer so Vicky’s head rested on his lap. “Thank you,” he said to the couple one more time before turning his attention to Vicky. Placing a hand on top of her head and one on her chest, Darien closed his eyes to work. He poured himself into her, wiping away the worst traces of the accident. Healing was one of Darien’s unique powers. He spent the time waiting for the police to arrive fixing the internal damage. Vicky’s arm would need to be set before he could heal it properly, and he left the minor cuts so the medics would have a reason for the blood on her. He could finish the job when he got her away from the doctors.

  The approaching police officer looked over the mangled car. “What happened?” The front, driver’s side quarter panel was smashed, and the rest of that side was torn up from spinning into the side of the SUV. The passenger’s side had crunched into a power pole just in front of the door. There was no sign of the SUV that had hit them.