Burning Bright (Ivy Granger) (30 page)

The sheets were smoldering and it had nothing to do with the
scantily clad incubus tied to the headboard.

“Why haven’t you untied him yet?” I asked, body tensing.

“Him?” she asked.  “He is just a slave.  Now put out those
flames and help me lift these strongboxes.  The items these contain are
priceless.”

I pulled out the demon vessel and rubbed it three times like
Kaye had instructed.  She said that it would accelerate the spell and attract
the fire imps like pixies to salt.  With a tittering laugh, six more imps
bounced into the room to join the four already facing the glaistig.  Flame
sprung from their fingertips as they eyed her long, green robes and a table
covered in maps and scrolls.

I remembered the vision I had while riding a fire imp’s
blood. 
Fire, fire, fire
!  All these demons cared about was finding
things that were flammable…and making them burn.

“Consider this a gift from Kaye,” I said, holding up the
demon vessel.

I was about to toss the vessel at The Green Lady when she blanched
and pointed behind me.  I spun around to see Kaye stride in, the bells on her
skirts jingling merrily.

“You!” the glaistig cried.

“You look surprised to see me,” Kaye said, eyes glinting in
the growing flames.  “I wonder why that is.”

“You are supposed to be dead!” she yelled.  She twisted her
head my way.  “You were bound by our bargain to kill the witch.”

I smiled and shrugged.

“You said I had to kill her,” I said.  “You didn’t say
anything about her staying dead.”

My grin wavered as a cough racked my body.  While we were
having our chat, the fire imps were getting busy doing what they did
best—burning the place to the ground.

The fire imps had reached the table beside the glaistig and
were setting fire to books, maps, and scrolls.  Judging by the bulging eyes and
the veins popping out along her temples, The Green Lady wasn’t taking it well. 
She was madder than a bald bugbear in winter.

That would have pleased me more if I could breathe.

“Um, Kaye, a little help here?” I asked, blinking against
the smoke.

Kaye lifted her arm and with a flick of her wrist, the tent
flew away into the night.  The smoke dissipated and I drew in a ragged breath. 
I started toward the bed where the incubus was strung up, but a familiar
chirping voice made me stop.

“Iveeeeeeeeeeee!” Sparky cried.

The little guy threw himself at me, Forneus close on his
tail.

“What the…?” I asked.

“Sorry,” Forneus said.  “He insisted we come, and I was not
swift enough to stop him.  Sparky is surprisingly agile for one so young.”

“Um, okaaay,” I said.  I looked down into Sparky’s serious
face.  “What’s so important that it couldn’t wait?”

He pointed to the demon vessel in my hand and shook his
head, then pointed to the fire imps, then himself and nodded.

“He can send the fire imps home,” Forneus said.  “He can
remove the threat without trapping them inside that cursed vessel.”

I looked down at the little demon clinging to my leg.  Sparky
could do that?  Color me impressed.

“Okay then, change of plan,” I said.  “When we’re ready,
Sparky can give his method a shot.  But first, I have something I have to take
care of.”

Forneus nodded and Sparky let go of my leg.  I spared one
glance toward the glaistig, but Kaye was keeping the faerie queen busy.

I ran to the huge bed where the incubus was tied.  He was
alive, but his wrists were bloodied where he’d struggled to pull himself free. 
The bottom of the bed was in flames and the pillows on which he crouched were
beginning to smolder.

If I left him here to burn, he would die and Jinx would
live.  Death would break the incubus’ hold on my friend.  I grit my teeth and
palmed one of my blades.

“Pleassse,” he begged, tears streaming down his face. 
“Don’t kill me.”

I had every reason to want him dead.  I gripped my knife and
stepped forward.

I
raised my
hand and used the knife to slash at the rope that bound his wrists.  The
incubus sagged in relief.

“Why?” he asked.  “Why sssave me?”

That was a good question, one I’d think about later.

“No one deserves to die as someone’s slave,” I said. 
“You’re more than a piece of property.”

Heck, the glaistig had been more concerned about her
precious treasure chests than this man’s life.

“But I hurt your friend,” he said.

Something inside me shifted and I met his gaze.

“Yeah, you did, but you were under orders, right?” I said. 
“You couldn’t resist.”

He was a slave, chained to a powerful faerie queen.  The
Green Lady was the one responsible for Jinx’s failing health, not Adam.

“Yesss,” he said, nodding.

“That’s what I thought,” I said.  “Look, you can still make
this right.  Release your hold on Jinx and I’ll do what I can to get you out of
here.”

He covered his mouth with a bloodied, soot covered hand,
eyes wide and shining, and nodded.  The hope in his eyes was painful to see. 
How long had it been since someone thought this guy was worth redeeming?

“Yesss,” he said.  He placed his hands together at the level
of his heart and nodded once again.  “It isss done.”

“Good,” I said.  “Now come with me.”

Adam staggered, legs unsteady, as I showed him where Delilah
waited.

“Go with Delilah,” I said.  “I’ll meet you two as soon as we
take care of the fire imps.”

He nodded and limped away.  I turned back to see Forneus standing
rigid, nostrils flaring.

“You let that scoundrel go,” Forneus said, biting off the
words.

Flame flickered in his eyes and I had the distinct feeling
that I was standing on a powder keg ready to go up in smoke—and it didn’t have
anything to do with the fire imps that converged on us.

“Yes, I did,” I said.  “He was just as much a victim here.”

“But Jinx…” he said.

“She’ll be fine,” I said.  “He released his hold on her.”

He scowled and lifted a sleek cell phone from his pocket.

“Forgive me if I do not take the incubus’ word for it,” he
said.

He punched in a number, the other person picking up on the
first ring.

“Little witch, this is Forneus,” he said.  “I require an
update on Jinx’s status.”

Forneus rapped his fingers on his cane, eyes dancing.

“Splendid!” he said.  “Yes, I will let her know.”

He hung up, a smile on his lips.  Tears welled up, but I
blinked them away.  Jinx was doing better, thank Mab, but I wasn’t done here.

“Your efforts to persuade the incubus, though misguided,
were successful, and just in time,” he said, waving a hand at the surrounding
devastation.  “As you can see, things are getting out of hand.”

I surveyed the wreckage of the carnival and sighed.  Fires
were not raging completely unchecked, Ceff and his kelpie guards were making
sure of that, but even doused flames left behind scorched property and greasy
smoke.

There were fire imps on nearly every surface, scampering
from tent to tent, ride to ride.  Smoke hung thick in the air, but the imps
showed no sign of slowing down.  Flame shot from their fingers as they danced
around the carnival, eager to watch it burn.

“Make them stop!” the glaistig screamed.

Yeah, it was time to put a stop to this.  But that didn’t
mean I couldn’t make a few things right at the same time.

I stomped over to the glaistig and folded my arms across my
chest.

“If I do, then I want your word that you let your incubus
and succubus go free,” I said.

“But this is your fault!” she yelled.  “How dare you demand
a boon from me?”

“You started this when you ordered Adam and Delilah to
attack my vassal,” I said.

She looked from me to Kaye and back again.

“Perhaps we can bargain for the lives of the succubus and
incubus…” she said, licking her lips.

“I want more than just their lives,” I said.  “Removing the
fire imps from your territory will fulfill any remaining bargains that they owe
you.  Deal?”

Forneus cocked an eyebrow at me, but I ignored the demon. 
Thankfully, he didn’t interrupt.  He went back to babysitting Sparky and
watching my back, his cane sword drawn and ready.

“Yes, fine, you have a deal,” she said, grinding out the
words.  “Now get these fiends out of my domain before they burn everything!”

Kaye flicked me a questioning gaze, but I shook my head.  We
weren’t using the demon vessel I still held.  Not yet.  I crouched down and
gave Sparky a nod.

“It’s all you, buddy,” I said.  “Send them home.”

Sparky nodded, long ears flapping, and lifted his spindly
fingers.  As if conducting a symphony I couldn’t hear, the little demon
gestured and tugged at the air, unraveling reality.  A small portal opened,
just large enough for a fire imp to pass through.  I covered my nose and mouth
with my arm, trying to block the stench of decay, sulfur, and brimstone from
the other side.

Sparky had opened a portal to Hell.

I swallowed hard and watched as fire imps came racing
forward, drawn to the fiery land.  Sparky waved his hands and chattered at the
imps in a strange tongue.  The imps bounced from foot to foot and proceeded one
by one through the portal.  When the last imp crossed through, Sparky waved a
hand and the gate slammed shut, making my ears pop.

Sparky brushed his hands together and turned to me with a
smile.

“Good job, Sparky,” I said with a grin.  I handed him a
sparkly pencil and a pack of chewing gum.  It was all I had, but the little guy
seemed to like it.

I walked over to Kaye and handed her the demon vessel.

“Guess we don’t need this anymore,” I said.

She nodded and took the vessel, slipping it away in one of
her skirt pockets.

“We will talk later about your new friend,” Kaye said,
eyeing Sparky warily.

“Yeah, I thought you might say that,” I said with a sigh.

“But now you should take your friends, and the succubus and
incubus, and leave,” she said.

Yeah, I wanted to get out of here, go see how Jinx was
doing, and take a week long shower.  I walked past the glaistig who was staring
at the remains of her carnival.

“Thank Mab, this day is over,” she muttered.

I didn’t have much sympathy.  The woman had brought all of
this on herself.

“You’re forgetting one thing,” Kaye said, lifting her wand
and moving toward the glaistig.  “You have not yet settled the debt between us. 
This battle is far from over.”

I’m no coward, but I had no desire to get between Kaye and The
Green Lady.  I waved to Adam and Delilah, collected my friends, and ran.

C
eff waited for
me at the waterfront, his body dry, but a pool of water at his feet.  He’d
pulled himself from the harbor as soon as we cleared the carnival turnstiles.

My friends and I weren’t the only ones to turn tail and
run.  Most of the carnival fae had evacuated to the strip of land just inside the
gates.  They could not leave The Green Lady’s territory, but that didn’t mean
they wanted to stick around while a powerful witch and a faerie queen duked it
out.

“Thank you,” Delilah said.  “You helped usss essscape.”

I shrugged.  “Just don’t make a habit of us meeting like
this,” I said.  “Stay out of trouble.”

“You too,” she said with a wink.

She grabbed Adam’s hand and they slipped away into the
night.  I glanced back to the carnival, seeing the pained look I half expected
would be there.  There he was, holding his bow with white knuckled hands,
staring after Delilah.

The archer had a crush on Delilah, but this turn of events
might be for the best.  If the two of them ever got intimate, she would feed on
him, draining his life energy until he was dead.  You had to be as powerful as
a faerie queen if you wanted to knock boots with a succubus, or incubus, and
survive.

“You are really letting them go?” Forneus asked.

“Yeah,” I said, stifling a yawn.  “It’ll probably come back
to bite me in the ass, but I couldn’t leave them with the glaistig.”

“No,” he said.  “I suppose you could not.”

Nope, I just wasn’t made that way.

“Let me get Ceff and we’ll go see Jinx,” I said.  “Any idea
where Torn is?”

I hadn’t seen Torn amidst the chaos, but I was sure he was
around here somewhere.  Forneus scowled, but nodded.

“The
cat sidhe
is brokering secrets,” he said.  “He
said to thank you for a non-boring day.”

“That sounds like Torn,” I said.  “Okay, I’ll be right
back.”

I limped over to where Ceff stood waiting.  Now that the
adrenaline was wearing off, every ache and pain was a new agony.  I moved
stiffly, but I couldn’t help the silly smile on my lips.

Ceff was gorgeous, standing there in low slung jeans and a button
down shirt that pulled tight across his chest and broad shoulders.  I moved in
close, breathing him in, letting his sturdy presence sooth my battered soul.

“Hey,” I said.  “Thanks for keeping the fires under
control.  There were a lot more imps than...”

Ceff pulled me into a fierce kiss, his arms wrapping around
me, pulling me close.  As our lips met, I was hit by the visions that his skin
held.  But I’d grown used to riding these particular visions.  I experienced
the many tragedies of his life, and a few particularly good moments that we’d
shared.

I knew just from our touch that Ceff hadn’t suffered
anything severe during our altercation with the glaistig.  If he had, I would
have experienced it firsthand through the visions.  The fact that he left
himself open like that, allowing me glimpses of the man he was and what he had
endured, took my breath away.  Trust didn’t come easy for either of us, but
somehow we’d managed to find each other and lay our hearts open.  That never
ceased to amaze me.