Wicked Flames (Solsti Prophecy) (31 page)

A thousand thoughts raced through his head.
Why the hell not? Do you know how many would love to have that power, if only for a day? Look at how happy your sisters are since they’ve embraced their abilities.
But he kept them to himself. She was unique, and comparing her to others would be a bad idea. She marched to her own beat, on her own terms.

He tried a different tactic. “Strange things have been happening on Earth too. Near your sisters.”

“What?” She turned to him, wide-eyed. “Are they okay?”

“They’re fine. Two Solsti in a house full of Lash Watchers? They’re totally safe. But remember that dirt I showed you?”

She blinked and nodded. “Yeah.”

“That was found outside a water treatment facility in North Chicago. Also in the area? The trace of portal magic.”

She frowned. “What does that mean?”

“Rilan, the Elder in Chicago, noticed an uptick in portal activity in the area. Rhys figured out they were all happening near water treatment plants. We went to check one out and found that green grass. Brought it to Rilan, who couldn’t identify what was making it grow.”

“So you brought it to me?”

“Yeah. Conventional science or magic—doesn’t matter which. We just need to figure out what’s in it.”

“It didn’t look like anything I had ever seen before, that’s for sure.” She dug a pebble up from the sand and turned it over, inspecting it. “Do the same plants grow here and on Earth?”

“No.”

“So weird activity and weird dirt. That’s why you came?”

He flicked a glance to her lips and back up to her eyes. Arawn’s words rang in his head.
Persuade her, Hunter.
But what had started as a job had ignited into so much more. “That’s part of it.”

She looked at him, green eyes bright and expectant. “And the rest?”

“All the things I’ve mentioned so far, all the signs, point to trouble. Look at the Deserati who took you, and the ones in your parking lot. We think there are even more problems out there. And they’re coming soon.”

She shrugged. “So fight it. You guys are tough. So are my sisters.”

“Gin. We need you.” He searched her eyes, willing her to understand. “You want to help people. You plan to spend your life in less than glamorous living circumstances, so that others can have basic human needs met. That’s one of the most noble goals I’ve ever encountered in a human.” He paused and scooted closer, smoothing tendrils of her hair that were blowing in the breeze.

She stared at him. Waiting.

“You can still do that. But you can also use the ability you were born with, to work with your sisters and defeat whatever’s out there. Save lives on a bigger scale than you anticipated, not just here but potentially on Earth too. And when you girls have annihilated it, you go back to the United Nations program.”

“You make it sound so simple.” Her voice was low and angry.

“You wouldn’t be alone. You’d have your sisters. All of the Lash demons. Probably all of the Tarsa demons, and they never ally with anyone.”

She looked out at the sea, shoving her hair off her face and shaking her head.

“You’re a legend, Gin. When I had business here with Brooke and Kai, you should’ve seen the looks of awe she got from every creature we encountered.”

“I’m not a legend and I’m not looking for awe. And what do you know about it? You don’t know what it’s like to grow up with a…a weird ability that no one else has.”

Hell. They had more in common than she knew. “Look at me.”
 

She turned to him.

“I do know. I’m the Hunter.”

She scrunched her nose. “D’Mari called you that the other day. I thought he meant, you know, hunting deer or something.”

He chuckled. “I can find you a deer. Or a tiger, or anything else you can think of. But I can track
anything
. I can scent any creature. Anywhere. All the Lash have heightened senses, but my nose can differentiate right down to the individual.”

She raised her eyebrows. “So that’s how you found me?”

“Well yeah, mostly.” He rubbed his jaw. “I had a little help narrowing down your general location, since we were trying to find you ASAP.”

“Thank you.” The sincerity in her whispered words lifted his heart. Two simple little strings of letters, which he guessed hadn’t been easy for her to say.

And that was his fault. He’d done the job as best he could, and he’d fucked it up. But there was still time.
To get her on board, or to fix things between us?
Hell, he wanted both. “I couldn’t let anything happen to you. I
won’t
.” He sifted her hair through his fingers, thanking the gods she let him.

She turned back to the water, scrutinizing it as if it could give her a solution. “But, the thing about you…your talent…people think that’s cool.”

“Well, yes. But I was still different. I never understood the concept of Hide and Seek. It wasn’t a game for me. I immediately knew where everyone was.”

“It’s not the same.” She flung her pebble across the sand.

“It’s not the same specific ability, but it is something that’s unique to you and to me. And I decided to help. There are criminals, or information, that I can get access to easier than anyone else. My work, and Ria’s, helps preserve the balance of power in the realms.” He paused. “That balance is now in jeopardy. The Watchers aren’t enough. We need you.”

“What about the fourth one? Doesn’t the legend say there will be four women?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, that part is still a mystery. Rilan said there are four. But no one knows who she is.”

She sat in silence, digging her fingers into the sand.

“Gin. Please.” He willed her to open up to the possibility of wielding her fire power. “Remember, it won’t be forever.”

“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to fight.”

“We’ll teach you.”

“I… I’m afraid.”

“I guarantee you, whatever dangers are out there, you won’t face them alone. I—”

“That’s not what I mean!” She turned to him and drew a shaky breath. “I’m afraid of…myself.”

He tilted his head, hating that she was afraid of
anything.
“What do you mean?”

“If I make one wrong move, I can kill someone or burn someone’s house down. Or blow up their car. If Nicole makes a mistake, the wind might blow the wrong direction. Or if Brooke screws up, the wrong person might get wet. But me?” She shook her head. “What I’m capable of can cause serious harm. I’m the most volatile.”

She wasn’t on the defensive. The crestfallen, haunted flickers in her eyes spoke volumes. He’d always believed what he’d heard, that she simply didn’t want her power. But now he burned with the need to understand why. A question formed, shedding possible new light on her stubbornness. He traced a finger down her arm and over her hand, grabbing her fingers. “What happened?”

In Gin’s mind, she pictured herself walking a thin line atop a wall. If she fell to one side, she’d continue to run from the thing she’d been cursed with. She’d have to turn away from everyone she loved, with unknown consequences. But she’d be able to pursue her life’s dream. She could do the work she was good at. People needed her.

If she fell the other way, she’d have to overcome her fear and unwillingness. She’d be jumping feet first into a new life, one she would never have chosen, and full of creatures she didn’t want to know about. She’d fulfill a role that was thrust upon her. But through it, she’d be helping people on Earth too.

It was time to decide.

She swallowed hard, feeling his eyes on her. “I didn’t hurt anyone, but I almost did.” She snuck a glance at him. He watched her calmly, no judgment in his hazel eyes.

“I…” The image of the fiery knife outline loomed in her mind. Feelings long bottled up rushed out, swamping her with their deadly potential. “A friend and I had a fight. A verbal argument. I was so angry at her, I wasn’t thinking about my ability at all. I was just thinking how mad I was and how much of a bitch she was being.”

He stroked a hand down her back, but didn’t say anything.

“She was smoking. She kept flicking her lighter on and off, and that was bugging the crap out of me. And I glared at it, and out of nowhere, the flame grew to be like three feet tall. It almost burned her. Luckily she flung it away.”

“That’s good, that she wasn’t hurt,” he said. “Maybe the flame didn’t go to her body because she was your friend, and there was no malicious intent behind the use of your power.”

“Pssht. I wish. There’s more.” She shoved her hair off her face. “The lighter fell to the ground, and flames ran out in either direction. We thought it was going to start a fire. I screamed for it to stop.”

“And did it?” His prompt was gentle, pulling her back to the moment.

“Yes, but it left a shape, an outline, burned into the grass.”

“What shape? Like a symbol?”

“Nothing symbolic about it. It was crystal clear.” Her shoulders sagged. “A knife.”

He frowned. “Why a knife?”

“Because I was thinking she was so mean, and her words cut me like a knife. You know, teen angst and drama.” She choked out the last word, daring to peek at him again.
 

He nodded. “That sounds like a warning to her. Your power was channeled through your anger and frustration, maybe hurt feelings too.”

“But I didn’t do it on purpose! I didn’t know it was going to happen. What would I even warn her of?” She dropped her head back, looking up at the blue cloudless sky as if it could give her an answer.

“You were young and your power was undeveloped. It was a raw gut reaction. Nothing more. Come here.” He pulled her close, and she leaned against him. The heat of his sun-warmed skin pressing along her bare arms felt so good, so reassuring. The apprehension in her chest eased up. Just a little, but it was a start.

“You don’t judge me for that?” she asked in a quiet voice. She had to know. She still felt like a freak, even here in the demon world. “For what I could have done?”

“No, Gin. I don’t judge you.” He kissed the top of her head. “It’s not uncommon for demons, or any species, to have their power not always do what they want. Some need more time to get it under control. It’s okay.”

Her relief was short-lived. “But what about the acrobatic show? I–I don’t know what happened there. The fire was twirling in beautiful arcs, and I loved watching it…I’m afraid the accident was my fault. I think I encouraged the fire to latch onto the rope, as crazy as that sounds.”

“But you stopped it. Remember? You yelled ‘No’ and it stopped instantly. So maybe your power was reacting to the presence of the fire in the show. I don’t know. But that’s something you can learn to control. What’s important is no one got hurt.”

She twisted in his arms so she could see his face. “Did you know there was an act with fire?”

He nodded.

“And you wanted to see what would happen. If I would do anything? That was a huge risk, considering what actually happened!” She searched his face, from hazel eyes to full lips, dumbfounded at his gamble.

“I knew the building had a new sprinkler system that underwent a routine inspection last week. I also knew there were precautions taken by the show staff. I didn’t expect you to affect the flames, but I also was pretty sure you wouldn’t burn the building down. I thought maybe it would lead to some interesting after-show conversation.”

She frowned and bit her lip, remembering the direction their after-show conversation had taken. “I should be mad at you. I
want
to be mad at you.” She sighed. “But I’m not.” How could she be? He and Ria had come over to this world and managed to rescue her. They’d answered every question she’d tossed at them since arriving here on Tarsa, and the magnitude of horrors in this world made her sick.

“I’ll take that over ‘I hate you’ any day.” His eyes twinkled, but his face was serious. “I’m sorry everything turned out the way it did, all the shit with the Deserati demons. That should never have happened.”

“Did you and Ria get in trouble for that?”
Would they be disciplined? Demoted?

“Our boss is
not
happy.” Mathias shook his head. “And he’s not exactly a ray of sunshine to begin with. But we can handle him. And our assignment isn’t complete.”

“What do you still need to do?”

His eyes dropped to her lips. “Spend time with you.” His voice was rough, the low timbre sending shivers down her arms.

“Doing what?” she whispered.

“That’s up to us.”

“Oh.” She swallowed, unable to look away from his face. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

He chuckled. “Another step in the right direction. You don’t hate me and it doesn’t sound bad to spend time with me.”

She opened her mouth to object, but he laid a gentle finger on her lips. “No, it’s okay. I was an ass. Again, I’m sorry.”

She squared her shoulders. Hearing him say it made her feel so much better. “Apology accepted. But I’m still confused. Why is it your job to spend time with me?”

A tiny line creased between his eyebrows, and something flickered across his eyes. “You know I can track anything.”

“Yes. You’re the Hunter. But you already knew where I was.”

“
Everyone
knew where you were. And Arawn figured it was only a matter of time before someone ugly decided to come for you.”

“But…that’s why Ria was there.”

His eyes flicked to a screeching bird flying low over the sand. “Yeah. She did a good job. But I have other skills that Arawn wanted me to use.”

“Other skills?”
He can conjure fire and probably find a caterpillar on a leaf three thousand miles away.
She couldn’t imagine what else lurked in his arsenal.

“Extraction and persuasion.”

Her jaw dropped. “
What?
What does that even mean?” Why was this so hard for him to spit out?

“Extracting information. By any means. Gathering intel.” Hazel eyes pierced her as if waiting for her response.

Any means
. That didn’t mean— “Do you…torture people?”

“Well, not people. Demons, elves, witch—”

“Stop.” She held up a hand and leaned away from him. “I don’t want to know.”

“It’s my job. I find creatures and I get information.”