Seared by Desire (8 page)

As soon as she could see, she wished she couldn’t. The inside
of the tavern was no better than the outside, worse even. The few
remaining items of furniture were dilapidated, the wood rotten.
Dirty tables were covered in left over ale and food, thick cobwebs
hung from the rafters, spiders and other vermin apparently having
chosen to make this place their home. Her eyes shifted, closing out
the visible spectrum and seeing instead in terms of heat or as was
now the case, a lack of it. Two cold bodies stood in front of her
and a third came up behind her, pressing an equally cold knife to
her throat.

“
What do we have here?” A male voice hissed, growing more
menacing as he pulled her body closer. “Did no one ever tell you
not to disturb a vampire in his lair?”

“
I’m a fire elemental. No one tells me what to do.” Her body
temperature spiked, the heat making her captor release her and move
towards the other two people in the tavern.

Blinking easily dispelled the strange vision, the light from
her palm allowing her to make out the somewhat sunken features of
the man. He was tall and pale, like the vampire she’d met briefly
the night before but that was all the two had in common. The man in
front of her was thin, as though he’d missed one too many meals
whereas the man from the night before had been well build, solidly
muscled beneath the tailored clothes he’d worn. The man in front of
her and both his companions were fair, blonde haired and blue eyed,
a far cry from the dark beauty of the other vampire she’d met
briefly but the blonde new comer was definitely a vampire, his long
fangs a testament to that fact.

“
What do you want?” he hissed angrily, baring his fangs as a
warning.

“
What’s your name?” Silence greeted her question. “I asked you
a question and if you continue to refuse to answer, I’ll destroy
this roof and leave you to burn in the sunlight.” The words were
harsh and Sara hoped the threat of violence would be enough to get
compliance. She wasn’t going to hurt these men if their only crime
was refusing to answer her.

“
David,” he threw back in response.

“
David, I’m here looking for some help.”

A nervous glance was exchanged between David and his two
companions. “I thought fire elementals didn’t ask for
help.”

“
Well let’s just say that I’m willing to make an exception for
now.”

“
Why?” he asked, his tone wary.

“
That’s none of your concern. I need help and you’re going to
give it to me otherwise the consequences won’t be pleasant for you.
It’s really that simple. Even you should be able to get your head
around it. Don’t look so worried, I’m not going to ask for
something impossible.”

“
Then what do you want?” One of David’s companions
demanded.

“
I just want you to take my hand.”

David looked at her outstretched palm, confusion written in
his gaze. “That’s it?”

“
That’s it,” she confirmed. “Just come here and hold my
hand.”

His eyes narrowed in suspicion but David crept forward
placing his hand against Sara’s. Heat flooded her arm, moving to
rest in her hand and she waited expectantly for it to dissipate, to
fade as it had the previous night but it didn’t happen.

David pulled his hand back quickly, scowling and cursing.
“What’s wrong with you? If you wanted to burn me then there was no
need to go through with this farce about needing help.”

His words fell on deaf ears as Sara continued to examine her
hot hand, confused by what had just gone wrong. Moving past David,
she pressed her palm against both of his companions’ and got the
same reaction. The heat didn’t fade and the vampires pulled away
from her quickly, nursing their scorched flesh.

What went wrong?
she mused, walking
away from the vampires and out into the bright light of day.
They were vampires, they should have been able to
make the fire die down. I found the one who could cool the flame
and now it doesn’t work!
Realisation
dawned quickly.
The one…There’s only one
who can help me. It can’t be any vampire, it has to be him.
She scanned the crowded street, watching as
people rushed past her, a smile forming on her face.
He’s here. I’ve met him. I know what he looks
like. How hard can it be to find him again?

*****

After two days of searching, Sara concluded that in a city of
this size it was very hard indeed to find someone you’d only met
once. She had nothing to aid her search but a very clear image of
what he looked like and as she’d quickly concluded looking for a
tall, dark haired, pale skinned vampire was akin to looking for an
off yellow piece of straw in a very large haystack. The description
was apparently very common for vampires though she was sure it was
more her inability to accurately describe the stranger that made
him seem so much like everyone else, there was nothing common about
him.

Her search was only hindered further by what she called
‘Seraphina’s episodes’. The spirit had courteously took it upon
itself to warn her of the impending destruction it was going to
cause, giving her time to get out of the city but it also seemed
intent on having these episodes at night, a distinct problem when
she was looking for a single, nocturnal vampire. When Sara had
questioned the spirit about her motive for having the episodes at
night, Seraphina had childishly replied that there could only be
one sun in the sky at a time. Sara had rolled her eyes at her
words, it only made sense that the vengeful spirit would want its
flame to outshine the power of the sun. To protect the citizens of
the city, Sara had taken to fleeing into the nearby forest at
night, warning the few drunkards she passed that she wanted none of
them to be in the woods. Thus far she had only damaged trees but
her time was running out.

As she’d walked the streets in search of information on her
mysterious vampire, she’d overheard others speaking of fire
elementals entering the city in search of one of their own. How
long her fire had burned around New Kennington Castle she didn’t
know but it had to have lasted for a few days, the city wasn’t more
than a days ride from the castle. It was amazing that she had made
it this long without them coming after her. Sara had known
instantly that they were talking about her, who else would they be
looking for? It had been easy enough to convince those around her
that she’d been sent on ahead of the main search party but there
was no doubt in her mind that the lie wouldn’t last long. A lone
fire elemental was a rare thing and no one had ever seen her with
another of her kind, she was going to get found out soon enough. If
she had found out so easily that others were looking for her, the
same could happen in reverse.

If her imminent discovery by her people wasn’t enough to
contend with, her forest sanctuary wouldn’t last much longer. Each
night, Seraphina’s episodes seemed to get worse, the fire blazing
hotter and consuming more of the woods with each trip into
unconsciousness she took. One more episode and the forest would be
all but gone, two more and the city would be in danger. Tonight was
her last chance and she was prepared to resort to desperate
measures. Her own attempts to locate the vampire had proved
fruitless; it was now time to go straight to the top.

Her shoulders thrown back and her head held high, Sara rode
Lance towards the dilapidated tavern that David and his two
companions called home. Though internally she was unsure of the
merits of her plan, she didn’t let it show and fearless, she threw
the door open wide, shocking its inhabitant. With the short amount
of time allotted to her, manners were something she couldn’t afford
to indulge in.

“
What on earth?” David cursed, springing to his feet and
baring his fangs at the intruder.

“
Calm yourself David, it’s me.” Her eyes scanned the dark room
for heat, finding only one area where it was absent. David was
alone.

“
Why are you here?” His eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Never
mind, whatever it is, I’m sure I want no part of it.”

“
And just as it was the other day, you don’t have a choice.
The sun might not be out but that doesn’t mean you can’t be
burned.” Sighing, he stood and offered her his hand. “That isn’t
what I need this time around.”

“
Then what do you want? My foot?”

“
No. Vampires have a leader correct?”

“
Yes, Lord Lucian.”

“
Good, I want you to take me to him. That’s all I want from
you today.”

“
Why?”

“
Don’t worry, I’m not going to try and kill him and then blame
you. I only want to talk to him. As for what I want to talk to him
about, you don’t really need to know.” David still looked reluctant
and though it prodded at her conscience, she decided to push him a
little further to get his compliance. “Look,” she sighed, “you
either help me or I deal with you. Harshly. It’s up to you
really.”

“
I don’t see why people have such a grudge against us vampires
when you fire elementals are on the loose,” he grumbled but he was
moving.

Once they were outside, he looked at Lance, a frown appearing
on his face. “Is that your horse?”

“
Yes.”

“
It might take us a little longer to get to where we need to
go if we have to take him. It’s much quicker to cut through the
back streets but they’re too narrow for him.”

She glanced at the loyal horse, Seraphina’s countdown
floating to the front of her mind. In a little over two hours an
episode would be upon her. “No, Lance stays with me. His staying
isn’t a topic that’s up for debate.”
I
need him to get out of the city quickly.

“
Fine.”

They walked the dark streets, David leading and Sara
following. Despite David’s fears they were making good time, the
city’s human inhabitants moved quickly out of their way, fearful of
the damage a fire elemental and a vampire could do. But time was
running out for Sara.

“
How long until we get there?”

“
It shouldn’t take us too much longer to reach him. Lord
Lucian is in the city tonight, there’s a tavern–”

“
A working one?” she interrupted amicably.

“
Yes. Lord Lucian would never be seen in one like the one you
found me in. We’re only there as a stop gap anyway. We’ll be moving
on soon. The Malachites frequent the particular tavern we’re
looking for and Lord Lucian is on the warpath. There’s been
something strange about his behaviour for a few days now. Normally,
he would try to convince the Malachites that it’s for the best that
they accept his leadership but for the last few nights, he’s been
finding them and convincing them with the skill of his sword. Those
who aren’t convinced quickly find themselves dead.”

“
He doesn’t sound like a very nice man,” Sara grumbled to
herself. The air around her suddenly got warmer and the hairs on
the back of her neck stood on end in warning. Something was about
to happen.

“
Sara!”

She turned around slowly at the sound of Abigail’s voice, a
frisson of fear running through her. Even though she had been
expecting it, the sight of her friend leading a hunting party
straight towards her, made her heart drop. “Abi,” she whispered
sadly.

“
It’s so good to see you.” Her smile was warm, genuine and all
the more hurtful for it. “We’ve been looking all over for you,” she
laughed cheerfully. “I didn’t expect it to take this long to find
you but we have now. Come back with me Sara.”

“
You know I can’t. I found him Abi, I found the one who can
help me, but I lost him,” she explained. “I don’t have to die, I
can live. I’m on my way to find him right now. By morning I might
have this whole thing figured out.”

“
Sara, you’re being selfish.” Abigail pouted as she recited
words that could have very easily come straight from Geoffrey’s
mouth. “You know very well that you have a duty to your people.
Your sacrifice will ensure that we’re the strongest of the
elementals, maybe even the strongest of all people. We’ll be
unbeatable. Everyone will fear us.”

“
What’s going on?” David asked curiously, his bright eyes
landing on each of the seven newcomers in turn before turning back
to Sara.

Sara ignored his question. “Abi, you can’t do this. Power
can’t be that important and besides the fire elementals are already
feared by all, how do you think I managed to last so long with no
prior knowledge of how cities work? You don’t need more power Abi.
Don’t you want me to live?”

“
Of course I do and if you manage to survive after destroying
our enemies then I’ll take you on a great holiday. I’m sure you’ll
be allowed to leave the village after all that you’ve done. In
fact, I’ll take you even if they don’t give you permission to leave
the village again.”

“
Abi, the fire that will destroy your enemies will kill me.
Seraphina already leaves me exhausted as is. The hotter and more
powerful she burns, the more drained I feel. She’s already killing
me, every time she makes an appearance I feel weaker.”