Burning (23 page)

"Grey, you're scaring me.  What is it?"  Chloë's voice trembled. 

"It's Bridgett.  She is tied to a chair, gagged, and being held in a dark room.  I think the
auto-da-fé
found her." 

Chloë's hand shook all the way up to cover her mouth.  Behind her hand
, she muttered, "This is all my fault.  She wanted to make it up to me, and she put herself at risk." 

Leah continued to examine the text.  She dialed a number and imitated Chloë's faint French accent.  "Hi, this is Chloë Du
Lac.  I lost my phone a couple of days ago.  I was hoping it would turn up, but my friends have been getting texts from my number.  I have GPS on my phone. Is there any way you can track where it is being used? ... That long, huh? ... Yes. Please text the location to this number.  Thank you." 

After she hung up the phone
, she turned to us and said, "I'm not sure that will help at all.  It is going to take them a few hours to track down the location.  Can you do a locator spell?" 

Chloë shrugged.  "I'm not sure if I can or not.  My magic has been pretty hit or miss lately.  I'm sure going to try though.  It would be easier if Anita were here
. Then we could combine to amplify my magic."

I
had felt trapped by the daylight many times over the centuries.  When I had been buried in the woods after defeating Alexander was one of the most painful—until now.  The physical pain was nothing compared to the impotence I felt knowing that I couldn't leave the basement to search out her scent.

I was responsible for her.  I was the one who
had picked her up from Illinois.  I’d promised her that I would keep her safe.  Sure, she had often been a giant pain in the ass, but the last few days, she had been different.  There was a shy sweetness to her personality that had previously been buried under a false sense of superiority.  I had actually been starting to like her. 

Cooper burst down the stairs
, followed by Jo.  "Leah, c’mon.  We are going to shift and see if we can track her scent." 

"Cooper, people might not think twice about deer, but a grizzly bear is going to be noticed," I cautioned. 

"We are going as wolves," Jo corrected. 

I tossed my hands in the air.  "Wonderful!  It won't be weird at all for there to be three fierce predators outside of their habitats."

"I'm only going to partially shift to gain a better sense of smell.  No one will be close enough to notice," Cooper explained. 

I nodded.  He was right of course.  Leah and Jo would be safer as wolves, and they could hide better. 

I grabbed Leah and kissed her.  I’d meant it to be a quick peck, but my fear took over and I poured my emotions into the kiss.  I gave her my fear, love, and hope through our joined lips. 

"Please be careful," I begged.
 

She nodded and kissed me quickly again before racing out behind her twin.

Chloë broke the silence.  "Where is Carlos?" 

"The
Council
called him.  Your mother instructed us to handle this and won't let him return just yet," I answered disgustedly. 

"I hope her cold heartedness
doesn't harm Bridgett's chances," Chloë said softly. 

Dean and Anita came down the stairs about fifteen minutes after Cooper and the girls left. 
"Have we got a location yet?" he demanded the second his foot hit the bottom step. 

"No
. We are waiting for Cooper to pick up her trail," I answered. 

Dean opened his mouth to argue when my cell began to ring.  Cooper's name was on my display screen. 

"We found her.  Those bastards must have had another series of tunnels even lower, because her scent disappears under the only surviving out building.” 

I began to pull weapons out of cabinets.  I handed a sword to Finn and a crossbow to Chloë.  "Without strong magic you will need these.  Remember
, getting killed won't bring her home so be careful." 

They all raced up the stairs
, and I paced the basement, powerless.

Dean

I peeled out onto the gravel road before anyone had a chance to buckle in.  Anita sat studying her phone. 

"Did Grey forward you another video?" I asked her. 

She answered without looking up.  "No, it's the same one from earlier.  But something about it is bothering me.  I just can't figure out what."  She passed the phone back to Chloë.  "Take a look and see what you notice."

After a couple of seconds
, I heard Chloë gasp.  "Finn, look at this.  It isn't what I think it is, right?  I mean, it isn't possible." 

Finn took the phone and watched for the same length of time Chloë did before he shouted, "Floor it!"

"What did you guys see?" I demanded. 

"Evil," they said at the same time.
 

"That isn't vague," I muttered to myself. 

"You don't understand.  What is in that room with her is evil incarnate.  I can't be one hundred percent sure, but if I saw what I think I did, we are dealing with a demon," Chloë explained. 

Anita took back her phone and cued up the section of the video that they were all worried about.  "That dark shadow?  That is what you noticed too
, right?" 

"That isn't a shadow," Finn commented. 

"It's a wing," Chloë finished. 

"
Oh come on.  Are you saying the witch hunters are working with a demon?" I scoffed. 

"I would bet they don't know he is a demon.  We have magic, so we can see what humans can't.  His demonic aspects could be easily hidden from them," Chloë explained, unfazed by my outburst.

We were running out of time. Everyone could feel it.  With the time it took to find the entrance to the tunnel and navigate the twisting corridors, we might arrive too late.  Almost arriving on time wouldn't be good enough. 

Cooper and the girls walked out of the tree line.  "We've been searching for the entrance, but we can't find it," Cooper announced.
 

"Demonic magic.  It's strong.  I can smell it.  Can't you
, Anita?" Chloë asked. 

Anita nodded, her nose wrinkling. 

I could smell a burnt-rubber smell, but I’d assumed it was a result of the explosion. 

"The demon is using his magic to hide the entrance.  We won't be able to sift through the layers in time
—not with how my magic is working right now," Chloë admitted.

"Point me to the general location," Finn commanded. 

Cooper, Chloë, and Anita all pointed toward the northwest corner of the property.  Finn took a deep breath and used what was left of his magic to force the earth to split open.  The ground began to shake and rumble.  With a great crunching sound, the bedrock opened to the outer layer of the preserved bunker. 

Before I could stop her
, Anita ran at full speed toward the hole and landed with a resounding crack.  She jumped straight out of the one-hundred-foot hole and landed right next to me.  "One more jump and we are in," she announced. 

I gritted my teeth as she launched into the air for the second time.  This time the crack was followed by a
deafening boom, and Anita disappeared with the cement into the hole she’d created.  I went to jump in after her, but Cooper grasped my shoulder. 

"You can't enter the same way she did.  We are going to have to find a way down.
"

"Does anyone have a knife?" Chloë asked. 
Cooper, Finn, and I each pulled a pocketknife out of our pockets.  "Okay, here goes nothing," she mumbled. 

I wanted to question her when she began to braid her hair, but it seemed to be growing right in front of us.
  In about a minute, she had a braid over a hundred feet long, and that was beyond her already waist-length hair. 

She held it out from her body.  "Cut it.
" 

Finn sliced through her hair and tied knots on the loose ends.
  We tied the improvised rope around a tree and tossed it over the ledge.  It was short by five feet, but we could all jump that far. 

"Can you handle this
, or should you stay up here?" I asked Finn and Chloë. 

"Try and stop me," Chloë said defiantly. 

"I go where she goes," Finn added. 

One by one
, we descended the rope.  My anxiety swelled as I frantically searched for Anita. 

"I'm right here," she whispered down the corridor near the corner.
 

Cooper kicked down the heavy
, steel door, and we rushed inside the windowless, cement cell.  There were two men in the room with Bridgett and something else.  Large, greasy, black wings spread behind the being.  He leaned over and whispered something in the professor's ear. 

"Yes
, Mr. Astaroth." He turned back to Bridgett and began to advance on her. 

That was when I noticed
that he was holding a large hunting knife.  Usually I would have noticed it first, but the demon in the room seemed like the bigger threat.

"Your light is dimming
, pretty little witch.  You'll be mine soon," the demon hissed. 

The professor continued to head toward Bridgett, but Anita moved so quickly around him
that he never saw her.  She untied Bridgett and pushed her towards us. 

Recognition
flashed across Dr. Tuttle's face.  His complexion turned an angry red.  "You!" he shouted, pointing a thick finger at Chloë.  "You brought those demons to my lab and they destroyed it!  The world needs to be purified of your kind.  We will cleanse the world in fire!" he screamed. 

His
sidekick rushed toward Anita.  I turned to protect her.  Cooper and the girls focused on the demon Astaroth.  The professor, though, never lost focus on Chloë.  I should have recognized the divide-and-conquer tactic.  The fact that I didn't would weigh heavily on me for eternity.

Out of the corner of my eye
, I saw the professor pull his arm back.  It took my brain a second to realize that he was about to throw the knife at Chloë.  She threw up a barrier, but her magic faltered almost immediately.  Blood trickled out of her nose, and she swayed slightly.  Finn's first reaction was to grab Chloë before she hit the floor, which kept her in the path of the knife.

It seemed like I watched the knife fly through the air for hours, but it was only fractions of a second.  Anita didn't see it fast enough to stop the knife either.  That split second
, I watched helplessly as one of my best friends prepared to die.  She accepted it.  There wasn't time to move, and she was out of magic. 

Mere inches before impact
, I watched Bridgett leap in front of the knife.  It hit her below her heart with a wet
thud
. Suddenly everything sped up, and the room fell into chaos.  Bridgett gasped for breath, and there was a sucking sound around the knife. 

"I think it hit a lung," Finn shouted. 

Astaroth's eyes gleamed.  "Would you believe he had never personally committed murder until this moment?  It is always wonderful when I can claim another soul." 

I hadn't realized I was stalking the professor until Cooper's large hand landed on my shoulder and held me firm. 
"Not in revenge," Cooper warned. 

Chloë grabbed Anita's hand, and together they sent out a blast that knocked the professor and his sidekick out and even forced the demon to stumble.
 

Cooper gently picked up Bridgett
, and we began to run.  Chloë took two steps and started to list to her left.  Without missing a step, Finn allowed her to fall into his arms and continued running. 

The sun
was setting behind the trees as we neared the opening Anita created.  When the last of the light slipped under the Earth, a
whoosh
sounded overhead.  Grey dropped down from the top.  I noticed slight burns on his cheeks and hands, but every other inch of skin was covered.  He took Bridgett from Cooper without a word and leapt back up top.

Anita went to Finn
. "Give her to me." 

He gently transferred
Chloë into Anita's arms, and she jumped up like Grey had done.  The rest of us climbed back up the rope.  Anita gave Chloë back to Finn. 

"Grey said to meet him at his house." 

I kicked the tire of my truck. 

"We can't help her if we stand here," Anita whispered so only I could hear her.
 

I nodded stiffly.  "Is Chloë going to be ok
ay?" I asked Finn. 

He exhaled a ragged breath.  "I think she is better off than Bridgett. 
She'll be okay.  They both will.  They have to." 

"If only it worked that way," I muttered grimly.
 

Chapter Thirteen

Regrets

Grey

Holding
Bridgett, I swept everything off my dining room table. Then I placed her gently on top of it.  "You are not allowed to die," I told her. 

The front door flew open
, and the rest of the coven filed into the living room and dining room.  Anita rushed to my side and helped me rip Bridgett's shirt open. 

"Shit!" I said on exhale. 

Tiny bubbles pushed out of the wound in her chest.  She started wheezing and gasping.  There was a wet, sucking sound in her chest. 

"I'm...not...going...to..." she struggled to say. 

"Stop.  You are not going to die," I demanded.  But she was.  I'd been a field medic in dozens of wars, and nothing I could do would save her.  Wouldn't stop me from trying though.

I opened my medical bag and removed a scalpel.  I cut into her chest and saw
that her lung had collapsed and her chest was filling with blood.  My hands blurred as I rushed to repair the damage. 

"Shouldn't we take her to the hospital?" Finn asked nervously.

"They will give her a blood transfusion," I said, not looking away from the medical instrument in my fingers. 

Finn paced back and forth on the other side of the table.  "It looks like she needs one." 

I glanced at him quickly.  "Human blood is poisonous to all supes, except vampires of course." 

"Will my blood work?" he asked and started rolling up his sleeve. 

"Let me get her closed up and we'll see how she's doing?" I answered. 

Even as I replaced the scalpel with needle and thread, I knew t
here was no point in taking his blood.  I didn't want to give up on Bridgett, but her chances of survival were slim.  I could hear her heartbeat growing weaker with every pulse.  Each one was a bit slower and further apart.

Anita looked at me, and I could see
that she knew too.  I finished closing Bridgett’s chest and began to step away to wash my hands.  Bridgett reached out suddenly and grabbed my bloody hand.  Her voice was less than a whisper. 

"Thank you for trying."  She looked around and saw everyone watching her.  "I'm really sorry for how I acted when I first got here.  I am glad I got to meet all of you."

"No!" Chloë screamed.  She staggered toward the table. 

It was like watching everything in slow motion.  Part of my brain recognized that she was about to do something stupid, but the part that controlled my body didn't know what to do about it.

Chloë's eyes blazed the brightest green I had ever seen them.  She rushed forward and placed her hands on Bridgett's chest.  For a split second, Chloë glowed.  The light traveled up her body, out her hands, and into Bridgett.  Bridgett's chest rose, and Chloë fell to the ground. 

Bridgett got up off the table and
lay down on the floor next to Chloë.  "This is the best gift anyone has ever given me, but you are needed here.  I would have liked us to be friends," she whispered.  Bridgett wrapped Chloë in her arms. 

This time
, Bridgett glowed and the light rushed back into Chloë.  Chloë sucked in a sudden, deep breath, and Bridgett exhaled for the last time. 

Chloë

I scrambled to go to Bridgett, but Finn's large hands clamped down with a steel grip on my shoulders and pulled me away. 

"Don't
ever do something like that again!"  He sank down to the ground and pulled me into his lap, still holding on tight, and I realized he was shaking.

Grey stormed out of the room.  A large crash and the tinkling sound of broken glass came from the room he
’d fled to.  I looked around, confused.  I’d heard her talking.  She’d been fine.  I had felt it. 

"I...I heard her
."

Anita exhaled forcefully and buried her face in Dean's chest.  He lovingly stroked her back and ran his fingers through her hair. 

Finn tipped up the bottom of my chin with his index finger.  "You transferred your energy into her.  You...ah... Shit."  Finn squeezed me tighter. 

"You died
, Chlo," Anita said into Dean's chest. "I heard your heart stop, and you weren't breathing.  It was less than a minute, but you were dead." 

I blinked rapidly several t
imes, not allowing myself to cry.  "I only meant to give her a bit of a jump start." 

Grey walked back into the room. 
He looked paler—if there were something lighter than bone.  He slid down the wall to the floor without his usual effortless grace.  He dropped his head into his hands and shut down.  He was perfectly still as only someone who didn't breathe could do.  Leah walked over to him and pressed against his side.

"I was supposed to protect her. 
I failed.  Then Chloë did... Oh hell."  He lifted his head, and two ribbons of blood coursed over his cheeks, breaking up the white planes of his face. 

I realized he was crying
tears of blood. 

I looked at Bridgett.  She was here and gone.  Physically
, she was still in the room, but the animated part of her had left us.  I had disliked her immediately.  I’d actively ignored her.  Over the last few days, I’d felt the beginning of a friendship stirring, but it hadn't made me rush to go with her when she’d asked.  What would have happened if I had? 

Dean
studied my face.  "I can see you thinking.  I have a pretty good guess what you are thinking too.  Each one of us in this room put Bridgett off when she asked us to go into town with her.  I feel the guilt for it also, but a guilty conscience won't bring her back.  We may not have been able to prevent her death even if we had gone. 

“
Think about it.  You and Finn were together when you were taken.  Killing yourself to save her wouldn't have helped either.  Trading one of us for another isn't a bargain I feel comfortable making." 

I crawled off Finn's lap and started pacing. 
"Finn had gone back into the building for a minute when we were taken.  We might have been able to stop this," I argued. 

"Yeah, and one of you could have turned your back in the store, gone down the next aisle, even used the bathroom.  Let's not
go down the trail of what-ifs. All we have is what is.  It is pretty shitty, but this is reality.  She made the choice to save you.  It was her choice, and we have to respect it," Dean answered somberly.

I gestured toward Bridgett's body.  "We can't just leave her on the floor like this." 

Grey stood without a word and picked her up.  "I have a place to keep her until we can deliver her to her parents." 

The guilt and grief crashed over me.  She
’d died for me.  Jumped in front of a knife meant for me.  My head started to whirl, and the room listed to the side.  Luckily, I was standing next to the wall. How much death would I see over an eternity, assuming I made it to twenty-five? 

I looked around the room and took in the faces of my friends. 
We’d lost someone tonight, and we were each struggling to come to terms with it.  The feelings of guilt and relief struggled to come out on top.  It was survivor's guilt.  I was here while she was dead, and that felt horrible.  But
I
was still here, and I couldn't help but be thankful at the same time. 

My legs started to feel tingly and weak.  I sank down to the ground.  No one seemed to notice.  I sniffled a bit and wiped at my nose with a tissue I
’d taken from a nearby end table.  A flash of crimson made me look closer.  I touched under my nose with a shaking hand, and it came away with blood.  I coughed a little. And then a bit more.  I covered my mouth and realized I was coughing up blood too. 

I'd used too much magic.  I'd pushed my abilities too far whe
n I’d tried to save Bridgett.  I wanted to laugh because the worst part was that she’d died for nothing. My vision started to blur, and it was harder to breathe.  Bridgett had sacrificed everything, but I was going to die anyway. 

Finn

I looked over and saw Chloë slump over.  "Someone help me!" I shouted frantically. 

Anita was a blur
as she rushed to Chloë's side.  Grey appeared out of nowhere and began tearing at her clothes.  The bonded part of me wanted to force him to stop, but logically I knew he was trying to help her.  Once Chloë was in her underwear, Grey turned to me.  With one flick of his hand, I was left naked from the waist up.

"Anita
, we need a blanket.  Finn, open your arms," Grey demanded and gently placed Chloë in my arms.  Her breaths were shallow, but a few heartbeats later, they deepened. 

Anita
returned quickly and draped a blanket around the two of us.  "Her heart rate is steady now," she said, mostly to comfort herself. 

Grey paced back and forth in front of us, his eyebrows drew close together, and he radiated tension. 
"You cannot let a moment go by where the two of you aren't touching in some way.  Skin against skin. Nothing else will work anymore.  You have to use the bathroom, bring her with you.  That ceremony needs to be performed soon.  Her magic is nearly gone after her stunt tonight.  We have to find someone who can do the ritual, or she will be dead in less than a week.  I am not losing anyone else."

"All the supernatural races came from the originals
, right?" I asked, thinking out loud.  Grey nodded.  "Doesn't that give Chloë's dad universal abilities?"

Grey cocked his head to the side, contemplating what I
’d asked.  "Eli was the first of the originals.  He is the most powerful.  The others were made from him as companions.  A lot like the biblical stories of Adam and Eve.  There is an original for each of the supernatural races, each with the strongest powers of the race they created.  Except for Eli, who has all of the supernatural abilities."

"Wouldn't that mean he could
conduct the ceremony?" I asked. 

"I'll have to track him down.  Eli is thousands of years old and hates technology.  I can't reach him by e-mail or cell phone. 
Hell, I'm not even sure he is still at the cabin we visited him in last fall." 

"How can you guys stand here and discuss the bonding ceremony right now?" Jo
snapped. 

"Jo..." Cooper tried to intercede. 

She shot him a dirty look.  "No, Coop.  Bridgett got abducted preparing
their
ceremony."  She pointed at Chloë and me.  Her expression was pinched, and she continued her tirade.  "She jumped in front of a knife meant for Chloë.  And how much consideration does she get for all of that?  Not a damn bit.  She's been gone for about fifteen minutes and they are already trying to figure out how they will have the ceremony now."

I clenched my teeth
almost hard enough to crack them.  "If you think I don't feel massive guilt for what happened to Bridgett, you're wrong.  But I'm not willing to let my guilt stop me from saving my mate.  We can't help Bridgett now, but we can still save Chloë." 

Dean turned a
detached gaze toward Jo.  "There will be time to grieve once this is over and the rest of us are still alive.  Life in this coven can be hard.  You have to learn to focus on the here and now and save emotions for later.  Allow yourself to get bogged down by any strong emotion and you'll end up dead too."

"You're a cold bastard," Jo spit out. 

"Actually, he's the nicest of all of us.  He's right too.  If you want to live, you'll listen.  We are in crisis.  We can't sit around grieving when there is still work to be done.  We save Chloë.  If we don't, we will all die.  I don't have the power to stop a demon, and no one else here does either," Anita countered. 

"Your father could do it
. Or Marguerite Du Lac," Jo argued. 

I
released a bark of laughter.  "If you expect Marguerite to give a damn about us when she'll throw her own daughter into danger to preserve her legacy, then you aren't as smart as I thought you were."

"Jo, lay off. 
We've been with these guys for almost two months now.  We both know they aren't heartless.  I understand you feel guilty for not going with Bridgett when she asked. I do too.  I'm sure as hell not going to remedy it by standing by and watching Chloë die," Leah said to her sister.

I turned to Dean and Grey, ignoring the snarl still set on Jo's face. 
"We staying here tonight?"

"It's best not
to separate now," Dean confirmed. 

"You still have that room set aside for her?" I asked Grey
, tipping my head toward Chloë. 

He glanced cautiously toward Leah and nodded when she wasn't looking. 

"You have a room for her?" I heard Leah ask as I left the room. 

I didn't envy him right then.  Chloë hated every girl I
’d ever flirted with, and they… Well, I didn't actually like to think about it. 

I used one hand to pull back the blankets and slid both of us in.  I held her close to me and listened for her breathing.  Each tiny exhale
comforted me.  A week, maybe less, but right now, she was here.  I felt her stir next to me.