Amaretto Flame (16 page)

I sucked in air for a few minutes, and
Jackson did the same. A million questions were running through my
head, but I didn't have time to ask them right now. Jackson didn't
voice the questions that were surely plaguing him, either.

“We need to get them to the basement,” I
said, grabbing the arms of one of the men. Without commenting,
Jackson helped me drag the men down the small stairway that led to
the dark basement. It was still cool down there, despite the warm
temperatures outside. When we got the third man down, one of them
stirred, meaningless noise coming from his mouth. I took a deep
breath.

“Okay, Jackson. Go upstairs,” I said, already
preparing myself for what I was going to do.

“No. I'm not leaving you down here,” he
countered, his amaretto eyes flicking from me to the men on the
floor and back. I was only trying to protect him from me, from what
I could do. But he'd seen me fighting. He hadn't even reacted to
the magick that he'd seen upstairs. There was obviously a long
conversation we needed to have as soon as I was finished, but I
needed to take care of the hunters first.

“Fine. Get behind me,” I said. Thankfully, he
followed this command, and just like I'd done in the forest that
day with Everett, I threw my hands out to my sides as if it might
somehow further shield Jackson.

The scream was aching to find it's way out of
my small body, the red haze deepening in preparation. I felt the
anger and adrenaline rushing through me, and then I screamed. The
walls in the house shook, some old junk falling off shelves where
it had probably been for decades. I could hear a startled
exclamation from behind me, but the words didn't make sense. As
each of the hunters disappeared into oblivion, I could sense the
sparks in them going out. When I was finished, the three bodies
that had been on the floor were gone, piles of dust in their
places.

With the bodies went my energy. I felt as if
my batteries had suddenly been drained, and the pain in my ribs
intensified to an almost unbearable ache. I could feel myself
falling, and a moment later, Jackson's hands catching me. There was
a small moment of panic when I wondered if I was dying. I'd never
taken on three hunters before, and definitely not when I was
injured. Then the panic was gone, and I didn't care anymore. I
could feel Jackson's arms slip around me as he lowered me to the
floor, and I could feel the darkness tugging at me. It was
beckoning me; cool and peaceful.

Jackson was pulling my shirt up, which was
enough to make me fight the darkness a little more.

“Strong women turn you on then, huh?” I said,
forcing my eyes to stay open.
Jackson shushed me, but I saw a corner of his mouth turn up,
despite his seriousness. I felt his hands touching my ribs and I
inhaled sharply. His hands were warm, though, and I felt the air
shifting as magick was dispelled from him. Then I understood.

“It's not going to work,” I muttered. He must
have had some healing magick like Charlotte. How I wished he would
be able to do something for this incredible pain. It throbbed
and--and then it was gone. My eyes flew completely open.
“How did you do that?” I asked, trying to sit up.

Jackson put his hand on my face tenderly, and
gave me a full smile this time; a brilliant one.

“I told you I was different,” he said. That's
when the darkness completely overtook me.

I swirled around in my own unconsciousness,
surfacing only long enough to have a realization or a thought
before I was sucked back down under. Images kept flashing before
me; playing cards, a guitar, the hunter's face as Jackson had
kicked him. I lingered in this state for an indeterminable amount
of time before I made a connection. Finally, I could feel my limbs
moving as I fought to wake up.

“Bluffing!” I tried to shout it, but it might
have come out as a mumble. That's what Erika had called it when you
pretended the cards in your hand were something other than what
they really were. “You were bluffing,” I said, as my eyes finally
fluttered open. I was expecting the cool, damp feeling of the
basement but instead I was hit with bright sunlight streaming in
through the window. We were no longer in the basement, but
in...Jackson's bedroom?

I squinted hard and tried to jump up,
immediately embarrassed and ready to at least rough Jackson up a
little. Firm hands gripped my arms gently, though, and my strength
wasn't completely back, apparently.

“Settle down, Slayer,” came his voice from
beside me. “I wasn't able to fully heal you. I managed to take care
of the ribs and give you some of your energy back but
that...
thing
you did took a lot out of you.”

My eyes were finally adjusted to the light,
and since there was no immediate threat, I followed his
instructions and stopped struggling. He was stretched out on the
bed beside me, and I quickly glanced down the length of him. Yep.
His clothes were still on. He was gazing at my face intently, the
sunlight making his eyes even more beautiful than usual. I imagined
he was probably just as confused as I was.

“You brought me here?” I asked, even though
it was obvious that he had. What was the reason? He could have just
left me in the basement. Most people would have if they'd witnessed
what I did.

“I was afraid more would come,” he answered,
looking away from me. “I'm so sorry.”

For a moment, it was hard to look away from
him. I had inadvertently become vulnerable in front of him, and
he'd helped me even though he had no responsibility to do so. Now
he was apologizing for bringing me to his house. I almost felt bad
for thinking he might have had shady intentions.

Then, suddenly, a million questions were on
the tip of my tongue. “Why didn't you tell me?” I asked. Pulling my
shirt up, I looked down at the ribs that had been in so much pain
after the kick. The skin there was smooth and white; no bruises, no
tenderness. How was this possible? We'd proven over and over again
that I was immune to magick. Even when my leg had been broken,
Charlotte had tried to heal me and had been unable. Even if she'd
been successful, her healing magick wasn't this...complete. I was
sure at least one rib had been broken and now I was fine. I looked
back into Jackson's face, unable to unravel this puzzle.

“Oh yeah. I usually walk up to beautiful
girls and tell them that I'm part of some group of evil magick
users,” Jackson said, furrowing his brow. Evil. Of course. He'd
been around humans too long and now he shared their ideas that Wise
Ones were horrible or unnatural. This irritated me to the core. He
had made a point, though. He'd had no idea I was a Wise One. He
would have had no reason to tell me he was different than other
humans. “You didn't tell me either,” he added.

I gazed at him for a moment, still unable to
believe that Jackson was actually like me. Was that the reason for
the strange attraction I had to him? “Actually, I did tell you,” I
countered. I'd said I was an assassin. Sure, that didn't really
count, but I was overwhelmed enough to be grasping at straws right
now.

Jackson smiled. “That's right. You did,
didn't you? Would you like to explain exactly what happened to
those men in your basement?” He wrapped his fingers around a strand
of my hair and added, “Or how you did it, or why you were so
shocked when I healed you...or what you're doing here?” His face
held a loaded expression that I couldn't identify when he added
that last part. Before I could attempt to answer him, my cell phone
rang. It was still in the pocket of my pants, and I grabbed it
quickly. It was Ivanna. Boy, did I have some things to tell
her.

“Ivanna?” I said, sticking the phone to my
ear.

“Olivia,” she said, and I immediately heard
the panic in her voice.

“What's wrong?” I felt a sense of dread,
wondering if there had been a Venator attack there as well.

“Olivia, I want you to listen closely.
Margaret has seen that they're coming to Staves; the Venator. They
must have followed Everett at some point and then reported it. She
thinks there are only a few, but those will report back and more
will be on the way. We're getting ready to leave now, but I wanted
you to be--”

“Ivanna,” I interrupted. “Margaret wasn't
seeing a future attack. She was seeing something that has already
happened. They were already here. I had an...uh...encounter last
night,” I said. I didn't add that it would have been nice if she'd
have seen this yesterday and called then.

“What?” she practically shrieked, disbelief
in her voice.

“It's okay,” I said. “I took care of it.
There were three of them. They're gone now.”

“You fought
three
of them by yourself,
Olivia? You could have died!”

I glanced at Jackson, wondering how to
explain the situation to Ivanna. I didn't have a chance, though,
because she kept talking.

“Do you think they were able to contact
anyone before you...
took care
of them?” She asked.

I tried to think back. I know they hadn't had
a chance to call or contact anyone during the time I hesitated on
the walkway at the house. I didn't know about before that. Then I
remembered something. When Everett had visited me at Stallott's,
we'd both heard something in the direction of the woods. Had they
been there, watching? Did they follow me to the house at some point
and just assume that Everett would be there with me? How had they
found the house in the first place?

“I just don't know, Ivanna. I don't think so,
but I don't know,” I answered honestly. “But I don't want anyone
coming here. You stay there and keep Everett there.”
Ivanna was quiet for a moment. “Margaret is getting closer and
closer to figuring out why they want Everett. They're searching for
him; looking at Wise Ones closely for some sign that it's him
before they try to take him, apparently,” she said.

I thought about the Venator and how they
fought last night. Maybe they were trying to keep us alive. Maybe
they hadn't known whether Jackson was Everett or not, and maybe
they were trying to make sure before they...what? Captured him?
Forced him into slavery? I shuddered. That's the reason they'd gone
down so easily.

“They don't know what he looks like?” I
asked.

“Apparently not. I don't know for sure,” she
answered. “In the meantime, I want you to do exactly what you've
been doing. Don't call attention to yourself in case more Venator
show up looking for Wise Ones. It's important that you look as
human as possible, and for the love of the Goddess, don't use your
magick.”

“Okay, Ivanna. But promise me that you will
stay there,” I said. I didn't tell her that I felt immense relief
at the fact that the Venator were looking in Staves. That meant
they weren't looking in Eagleton where my family was. “I can handle
them if more come here.”

She sighed. “Be careful, Olivia. I know
you're immune to the magick, but you're not immune to physical
injuries.”

I stayed quiet, not telling her that
apparently I
wasn't
immune to all magick.

She paused a moment and then said, “Don't
worry, Olivia. We'll figure out what's going on and get you out of
there soon.”

“Oh sure. I can come home if I'm in danger of
dying,” I said sourly.
“Just remember that every decision I've made is because I love
you.” With that, she hung up. I closed my eyes for a long moment,
feeling tension in my neck and head.

“I guess there are some things you and I need
to talk about,” Jackson said. I opened my eyes and saw the alarm
clock by his bed. It was three-thirty.

“Yes,” I said. “But first, please tell me.
Jenny and Erika? The others? Are they...?”

“No,” Jackson said. “Everyone else here is
normal.”

I breathed a sigh of relief that Jenny wasn't
wielding any supernatural powers. Or Paula.

“I don't understand what is going on here. I
don't know why you're not part of a coven or how your magick worked
on me last night. There are a lot of things to talk about but right
now we have to go to work.”

I sat up and looked at Jackson before
continuing. “I know you don't know me, but my brother is in a lot
of trouble. The hunters are looking for him, and I need to keep him
safe. In order to do that, you and I have to pretend to be as human
as we can, which means we have to show up at work like normal.”

“The hunters? The men that were in your
house?” Jackson asked, clearly confused.

“Yes. They want my brother, and I have to
save him. I don't expect you to help me, but it's what I have to
do.”

Jackson let go of my hair and sat up as well.
“So, for now we just sort of let things sink in, and we'll talk
later? There's so much I want to know.”

“Oh, we're definitely talking later.” I
absent-mindedly rubbed my hand across my ribs again. “Hey. Thanks
for what you did. For helping, and for...well, everything.” I
guessed he could have left me in the basement with the piles of
dust rather than bringing me to his house, or he could have left my
ribs bruised and broken. But he chose to help, and I was pretty
grateful about that.

Instead of replying, Jackson leaned closer to
me. When his lips were nearly touching mine, our eyes locked. His
thumb brushed my cheek lightly, and then our lips met. This kiss
was very different from the one we'd shared last night, and despite
the haze I'd had from the alcohol, I remembered it well. This time,
his lips tenderly pressed against mine, and lingered so that when
he finally did move away to look at me, I was breathless.

Even with all the thoughts flying through my
head, I recognized that this was the closest I'd ever been to
someone else in this way. I fought hard to collect my thoughts
after that kiss, to rally my nerves enough to get ready for work.
Every cell in me hoped that those hunters hadn't had the chance to
contact anyone. That might mean a delayed arrival of more. Delayed,
because surely others would eventually come to check for their
fallen brethren.