Awakening the Fire (33 page)

The caverns on the Mississippi River cliffs were high above the river. No stairs on this side. No paths. One by one the hunting party slipped over the edge and inched down the rocks. Ari’s fingers and feet searched for holds on the slick, cold surface. The splashing of the water on jagged banks below was a reminder how bad a slip would be.

The vamps led the way, dropping from one crumbly ledge to the next. With her weakened arm, Ari’s drops were often clumsy, blindly hoping she’d find a solid landing below her feet and not a long plunge into an icy grave. To the vamps this cliff climbing was old stuff, and Mike’s special ops skills were almost their equal. Ari found the trip more challenging. Once Andreas, and a second time Mike, gave her a hand. Ari hated it, but she’d do whatever it took to be there.

They stopped on a ledge barely a foot wide. The surface was slimy. When her feet slipped, Ari clung to a crack in the surface. The edge dropped straight down. The river was louder now, angrily smacking against the rocks.

Andreas whispered in her ear. “Are you able to continue?”

“Yes, fine. How soon?”

“Not much farther. I’ll take the lead. Stay close.”

He eased past her. They began to move again, stopping only minutes later in front of a large, dark opening. The entrance to the caverns.

They crowded inside. Carmella and the four vamps disappeared. When they returned, she nodded to Andreas.

“We can go in now,” he said in a low voice. “The first two sentries have been eliminated.”

They filed in, two or three at a time. Carmella and Andreas led the way, followed by Ari, Benny, and Mike, with the four vamps guarding the rear.

At first progress was painfully slow, as each side passage was checked. Once the wolves’ path was certain, the hunting party moved quickly. The deeper they went, the cooler it became. Ari shivered, even in her leather jacket. No one else noticed the temperature change.

As the passage became narrow, they used their hands to feel the way. Ari’s fingers grew icy, and she rubbed them for warmth. She peered ahead, hoping to see or hear something soon. The sound of dripping water was the only accompaniment to the quiet passage of their feet. The darkness was impenetrable. Even with Ari’s night vision and the rare flicker of a penlight in tricky places, the absence of light was challenging. And creepy.

A dim glow appeared ahead, and they came to a halt. Ari saw two distant figures moving beyond the light. The only approach was through a series of two passages lit by flaming torches on both sides, a defense against vampire attacks. The passages were narrow. Even sliding sideways, the chances of being burned or singed were high. While the flames were uncomfortable for Mike and Ari, they were a major problem for the vampires. There was no such thing as a minor burn for a vamp.

Ari felt the unease ripple through the vampires. One mistake and the hapless vamp would be cinders. Even Carmella and Andreas were not immune, although they showed no outward discomfort. They were better at hiding it.

Ari nudged Mike, pointed ahead, and they crept toward the passage.

Andreas came up on her right. “Do you have a plan?”

“Yes,” she breathed. “Let us take care of this.”

Andreas pulled back, and Ari unsheathed her dagger. Catching on, Mike produced his military issue. “You know how to throw that thing?” she asked.

Mike grinned.

Their backs flat against the cave wall, they inched forward and through the first passage without serious burns or being noticed by the sentries ahead. Ari thought they were now close enough for reasonable accuracy. She checked for the wolves’ current locations but saw only one. The male wolf looked bored, standing with one foot on a rock, so he could lean on his knee. Finally she located the second wolf, squatting near a small fire, a coffee cup in one hand, a cigar in the other. Easy marks for gunfire, but that would alert the others who must be somewhere nearby.

“We’ll only have one chance.”

Mike lifted his blade. It winked in the torchlight. “I’ll take the cigar.”

“OK,” Ari whispered. “Now.”

Two slivers of metal flashed through the second passage and across the intervening space. Each found its mark. Mike sped forward, knocking down torches as he went. Ari doused all but one torch in the passage behind her. By the time Mike had checked the sentries to make certain they were dead, the vampires had come safely through the passes. Mike returned Ari’s dagger with a conspiratorial grin.

Four down. And still they hadn’t seen Sheila. Wolf energy permeated the air. Excited by the blood, the younger vampires were edgy, pupils dilated. When a voice called from the farther caves, the hunting party froze. Knowing they were about to be discovered, they took the offensive and rushed forward. They rounded a sharp corner and abruptly entered a large, open chamber.

A male werewolf walked toward them, barely fifteen feet away. Sheila and another male crouched beside a second campfire. A third was stirring what smelled like beef stew in a cooking pot. Three figures wrapped in blankets appeared to be asleep. Seven, Ari thought. More than expected.

The male in their path gave a startled cry, rousing his companions, and unleashing an uproar. The vampires poured into the room. One of the werewolves grabbed an Uzi and fired at them. He was still firing when they swarmed over him. Some of the wolves tried to escape into side tunnels. The vamps gave chase, and the wolves didn’t get far.

Sheila and two companions fled deeper into the cavern. Blood singing with magical rage, Ari hurled witch fire toward the retreating figures. Red and gold tentacles of flame arced across the room, just missing the she-wolf as she dodged around a corner. The wolf next to her wasn’t as lucky. He burst into flames. His screams bounced around the walls until Mike shot him. The second wolf retreated from the fire, running straight into Carmella. She sent him flying across the room with one flick of her hand.

When the witch fire hit the wall, the explosion took out a large section of rock. Chunks crashed to the floor, shattering into small projectiles. The damp walls sizzled with steam. Ari stood in the middle of the cavern, staring at the fire, which hadn’t died on impact. Glowing fingers spread over the rocky surfaces as if it had a will of its own.

The vampires hung back, staying clear of the deadly reaching flames. Ari shrugged off her fascination and sprinted after Sheila. The flames followed, slithering across the walls and the top of the cavern.

“What the hell is that?” Mike said.

Ari’s sentiments exactly. But she’d worry about it later. Her priority was Sheila and making sure she didn’t escape.

But Sheila wasn’t going anywhere. She’d boxed herself in. The side chamber, though large, went nowhere. Ari stepped into the entrance, blocking the way. Sheila fired a handgun from her sheltered position behind a large rocky protrusion, and Ari dropped to the floor, returning fire with her derringer.

The fire swept into the room, raced across the ceiling, fingers dipping down the wall and forming a circle on the floor, surrounding Sheila. Tails of flame flickered around the encircled wolf like dozens of tiny, malevolent lizards. A hundred eyes within the flames turned to watch Ari. Waiting. For what she wasn’t sure. Orders? Recognition?

Suddenly, she
did
recognize them. Mythical creatures come to life. The ancient salamanders. She felt a surge of pure power. The fire spirits were awaiting her order to devour the wolf. It was exhilarating and terrifying. Her heart pounded like a thousand drums. The magic filled Ari, threatening to burst through her skin.

When Sheila moved, drawing her attention, Ari laughed, a strangely hollow sound. She was nearly drunk on power. And just because she could do it, she summoned a lesser magic, a child’s magic, and took Sheila’s gun away.

Thought to deed, heart’s desire; with this thought, I shall acquire
.

Bewilderment spread across the she-wolf’s face as she looked at her empty hand and watched the weapon reappear in Ari’s hand.

Sheila stood helpless before her. Ari smelled the sweaty stench of the she-wolf’s dawning fear—and liked it. “You should have left my friend alone.” Ari’s voice was soft, almost conversational.

“It is our way,” Sheila said. “An eye for an eye. It’s the code.”

“Yana was an innocent.”

“She was a casualty of war.”

Ari laughed. “What war? Sebastian’s? You were only a pawn in a vampire game.”

Small, furry tufts appeared on the backs of Sheila’s hands.

“You really think I’m going to let you shift?” Ari nodded toward the wolf’s hands and tossed the gun aside. She stared into the eyes of the fire, focused her magic, and ordered the spirits to leave.

There was an instant puff of steam and smoke. The cave darkened as the flames went out, leaving a fallen penlight as the only illumination. Sheila tried to run. Ari leaped forward, the dagger in her hand and tackled the wolf. Sheila fell with a hard thud on the rock floor, Ari on her back. Sheila reached back, snagged Ari’s hair, tearing at it until they rolled. But Ari came up on top, straddling the wolf’s chest. Breathing hard, she stared into the face of Yana’s killer, relishing the moment of triumphant, and raised the dagger.

And then she hesitated.

The world slowed, flipping frame by frame, as Ari struggled with her inner demons. She wanted this. A voice said no. The she-wolf smiled.

Then Ari was roughly yanked away. Andreas reached down and snapped the she-wolf’s neck with a powerful twist.

Reality bent. And snapped. Ari’s blood boiled with primitive rage. He’d stolen her kill. She sprang toward him. He turned, his lips drawn back, exposing white fangs.

Ari jolted to a halt and backed away, nearly falling over her own feet. Anguish clawed at her chest as the impact of the situation hit her. Her throat tightened, a scream stuck there. She and the vampire were ready to kill each other over the rights to take an enemy life. An unarmed woman. Ari raised a hand as if to ward off the truth and noticed the dagger still clutched in her fist. Shocked, she opened her fingers, and the blade clattered to the cave floor.

She looked at him. His dark eyes were hooded, a black curl had fallen across his forehead. The fangs were gone.

“Arianna.”

“Stay away from me,” she hissed. She whirled and ran as if all the demons of hell were at her heels. And maybe they were.

Chapter Thirty-Four

“Ari, wait. I’ll go with you.” Mike caught up with her near the cavern entrance and held out a flashlight. “They don’t need me back there.”

Ari stopped her sprint through the dark. The finger fire she’d been using to light the way was almost depleted. Breathing hard, she rested her good hand on her thigh. “Thanks for the light. Give me a minute, will you?”

Mike nodded, his eyes saying nothing.

Ari’s brain whirled with images and thoughts she couldn’t reconcile right now. The dagger in her hand. The salamanders, their eyes flickering with fire. Andreas standing over Sheila’s body. She willed her brain to shut them out and concentrated on slowing her pulse. She needed to quit feeling.

“Go help them with the wolves,” Ari said when she was sure her voice was steady. “I can get back on my own.”

“No. You can’t. Not with that arm.” Mike was matter-of-fact.

She had forgotten. Glancing down, she saw the bindings were tight; it was swelling. “I guess you're right. Let’s go.”

She started off in the lead, Mike followed. He didn’t attempt conversation, and the return trip up the cliffs was completed in silence. It was harder than she had anticipated. Without Mike, she wouldn’t have made it.

When they reached the top, Ryan was sitting in his off-duty car. The door opened when he spotted her, and he stepped out. “I heard there’s been some trouble.”

“Yeah, you might say that. Who called you?” As if she couldn’t figure that one out. She wondered how much Andreas had told him.

Ryan ignored her question, looking at her arm. “You’re injured.”

He was being careful, cautious. Andreas must have said quite a bit.

“It’ll keep,” she said. “Prisoners and bodies come first.”

A brief frown crossed his face before he shrugged, accepting her answer. No barrage of questions. His restraint made it easier to stick to business.

Mike left, refusing a ride, and headed back to the vampire compound.

Ari filled Ryan in on most of the night’s events. She didn’t mention the fire salamanders. Not now, maybe never. And she didn’t talk about how Sheila died. Surprisingly, Ryan took it all in stride. Of course, he’d already been primed.

“No human bodies,” she said. “In fact, no one local. They thought they could walk into Riverdale and take over.”

“Overconfident, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess. Too bad most of them aren’t alive to learn by their mistakes.”

Ryan gave a short, mirthless cop laugh.

He drove her to the compound. Mike was already there, and no one asked her what happened. The next hour was a flurry of activity. Carmella and the four vampires arrived from the caverns with the wolves, both living and dead. Carmella took no time in letting Ryan know the caves were off limits. He was fine with that, said the delivery saved him and the police department a lot of trouble. He called in officers to take custody of the prisoners and the coroner to handle the bodies. Ari started to follow the last officer out the door.

“So this is the vampire court, huh?” Ryan stood in the middle of the security area and looked around.

Ari stopped and turned back. “This is security. The audience chambers are down the hall. Sleeping quarters are far from here.”

“Not very fancy. Somehow, I expected plush quarters.”

“They were better before the fight.” She started to shrug, grimaced at the discomfort in her arm.

“You need to see a doctor. We’re done here. Unless you’re waiting for someone.” He paused and waited for an answer.

“No, no one. Let’s go.” Now the work was done, she was anxious to get away. Afraid Andreas might appear. She couldn’t see him right now.

“Hey, Ari.” It was Mike. He walked toward them, pulling something out of his belt. He held out her silver dagger. “You dropped this.”