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“Bye,” I said, trying not to sound confused.

The black SUV pulled away from the sidewalk and I turned to Rayna. “What was that about?”

Rayna shrugged and picked up one of her suitcases, throwing it over her shoulder. “Can you bring these up for me?” She smiled.

“Do I look like a bellboy?” I asked, scooping up her massive suitcases and waddling towards the door.

“Do you really want me to answer that?”

I dragged the suitcases the last few feet down the hallway and tossed them onto the floor. Rayna moved up the stairs silently as Marcus paced the kitchen with a phone in one hand, nodding, as if whoever he spoke to could see him. Rai flew throughout the room, chirping wildly and disappearing up the stairs with Rayna.

“I’m certain he won’t go for that.” Marcus eyed me and half-smiled as I came into the room. “Well, we’ll see. Either way, I will be there and we can discuss things.”

I leaned against the wall, watching Marcus as he paced the room.

“Okay, see you soon.” Marcus set the phone on the counter and smiled. “Welcome back.”

“It’s good to be back. Tiki here? I thought he’d be waiting by the front door,” I said.

“He’s looking into something for me at Revelations.”

Marcus stopped his pacing and watched me with an eager expression.

“So…”

“So, what?”

Marcus’ head canted to the side and he didn’t look amused.

“She did it!”

Marcus’ thick lips curled up and revealed perfect white teeth. “That’s fantastic. I needed some good news.”

“Why, what's going on?”

“You were right; Riley’s here. He paid a visit to the Circle last night.”

I rolled my eyes. “Screw the Circle. They don’t want to work with us, so they can deal with him their way, and we’ll deal with it ours.”

Marcus’ gaze dropped to the floor. “Actually…”

“Don't tell me we're getting involved with them again.”

“Well…now that they’ve seen what he’s capable of, they’ve had somewhat of a change of heart.”

“I don’t care. I’m not working with them.”

“I told them you’d say that.”

“Good. We’ll get our help elsewhere. We don’t need them.”

“Where exactly do you expect us to find the kind of help the Circle can provide? They’re the greatest ally we could have against Riley.”

“The werecats.”

Marcus shook his head. “I doubt they’ll want to be a part of this fight. The Dark Brothers are greatly feared among the Underworld, and once they learn what Riley’s capable of, they’ll be even more hesitant.”

“What if I said they already agreed to help?”

“What do you mean?”

“I spoke with Chief. The Hollowlights are in.”

“You what?” Marcus raised his voice.

“I thought you’d be happy.”

“Chase, the werecats and werewolves have been at odds for years and the tension between them is rising. If they go to war, you’ll have to choose between them.”

All the excitement I had vanished and the thought of having to fight against Willy made my stomach tighten. I’d already tried to convince him to leave the Shadowpack once and he wouldn’t even consider it. Rayna was right. Willy was proud to belong to something; he wasn’t about to give that up.

Marcus sighed. “No need to worry about it yet, I suppose. As long as you didn’t make a pact with them, you’re not entirely committed.”

I turned away from Marcus.

“Tell me you didn’t…”

“What was I supposed to do? He put me on the spot and offered his help. Was I supposed to say no, I’d rather fight this battle alone?”

“We’re not alone. After we meet with the Circle–”

“I’m not going back there,” I said. “I don’t want their support or anything they have to offer. I’m done with them.”

“Then I’ll go alone.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because we need them.”

“No, we don’t. They need
us
. Not the other way around. I won’t have anything to do with them.” I scooped up my duffle bag and started for the stairs.

“Yes, we do. Nobody saw this intrusion on the Circle coming. Riley raided the elders’ libraries and took out several high-powered hunters. Riley’s getting stronger and those books contain rituals going back as far as the original hunters. The Circle and I have seen every move Riley’s made so far, but this…”

“What did you say?” The duffle bag fell from my shoulder and hit the ground.

Marcus tore his eyes from me immediately. “Nothing. Forget I mentioned it. I’ll go to the Circle alone and you don’t have to be involved.”

“No, back it up. What do you mean you and the Circle have seen everything coming?”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Don’t play games with me. I can’t take that right now. Not from you, Marcus.” A nervous tension gripped my chest and my stomach scrunched into a tight ball of pain. I was frozen, my legs refusing to move.

“I’m an air elemental. Sometimes…I get visions.”

“Sometimes?”

“Often…I get them often.”

“And when you said you’ve seen
every
move Riley’s made so far, what exactly did you mean by that?”

“He’s acted as I expected him to, that’s all.”

“Don’t lie to me. Did you see what would happen to Rayna? Is that how you knew we were in danger when you called? What about Mom?”

Marcus brought both his hands up and began massaging his temples. “It’s not that simple, Chase. You need to understand–”

“No! Don’t tell me that. For once in your life, answer the damn question!”

“Yes, but I couldn’t–”

“I can't believe this.” I paced the floor; anger, fear, and sadness all tugged me in different directions. I felt like the world had been torn out from under me and everything I knew had changed. Again. “You knew Rayna was the key. You knew Mom would die and you never told me?” The fire stirred inside me. The flame burned red hot and coursed through my veins.

“I couldn’t. Chase–”

“We could’ve saved her. It didn’t have to happen like that!” My anger was a freight train tearing through my insides.

“Let me explain.” Marcus stepped forward, hands extended toward me. “Just calm down.”

“I won’t!”

The smell of burning fabric was thick and smoke billowed out from my shirt. Red embers began to glow around the sleeves until they caught fire. Flames rode up my arms, blue and silver crackling over my skin.

“All you had to do was tell me. She didn’t have to die!”

“What the hell's going on?” Rayna rushed down the stairs and stood between Marcus and me.

“Ask
him
,” I said, pointing a single finger, alit in flames, towards Marcus.

“First, you need to calm down. You’re going to hurt yourself…and us.” Rayna walked towards me and her gaze was firm.
 
I felt her element come to life and push towards me in a wave of calm.

My anger fought against her magic, and for once, the elements didn’t mingle. My power pushed against hers, trying to keep the calm away.

“Get out of the way, Rayna,” I said through gritted teeth. The flame stopped moving up my arms but the fire continued to burn my shirt.

“Marcus?” Rayna sounded nervous.

“He let Mom die.” I spat the words at him.

“She knew, Chase,” Marcus said.

“That’s a lie.”

“It’s not. I wanted to tell you, but she made me swear an oath that I wouldn’t. We were trying to find another way to handle Riley. When I had the vision about Rayna, I tried to call, but it was too late.”

“You knew what was going to happen?” Rayna asked. “I knew you got visions, but you never said anything…”

“I was trying to prevent it.”

“Did you know about me?”

Marcus sighed. “It’s not that simple.”

“What about Jonathan, did you know he was alive?”

“Rayna, please.”

Marcus took a step towards us.

“Don't,” I commanded. The heat of my flame rose and snapped at the air around me.

“Chase, please calm down.” He took another step.
 

“No!” My voice was low and serious. Power swirled around me. Sweat formed on my brow as the temperature spiked and the flames grew.

Marcus brought his element to the surface and sucked some of the air from the room. My chest constricted, struggling to conserve what air it had. The flames nipped at the air, shrinking to nothing as the oxygen faded.

Anger rode me like a storm. I called my own air element, battling against Marcus’. The air didn't come back to the room, but I'd stopped him from taking any more.

Marcus’ eyes opened wide as shock took over his features. “Chase…” he took another step forward and I unleashed the next power in line.

Water built in my palms. Ice blue liquid swirled in a beam of dark light before a stream of magic raged towards him. It hit his chest and blew him back. The force pinned him against the wall. Gushes of water crashed against him and the wall cracked.

Marcus’ power struck out and pushed my element back. The water moved through me and coursed through the air, but stopped at Marcus’ hand. The air made a force field in front of him and the water slapped against the glowing, white barrier of power.

“Chase, stop this.” Marcus held his calm exterior together, but sadness pulled at his eyes.

I saw a flash of my mother’s face in my mind. Her lips pursed, but a smile pulled at them and grew as Marcus walked into the vision. The sight of it pulled my anger back and I let my elements disappear inside me.

“Screw you, Marcus.”

As my magic faded, so did Marcus’, but he looked defeated.

“I–”

“Don't. Save your lies for someone else. I don’t want to hear them anymore.”

I turned away and the look on Rayna's face was distraught. Sadness, anger, fear, and confusion warped her features one after another.

Marcus sighed. “I have a meeting with the Circle. We’ll discuss this when I get back.”

“You do whatever you have to. When you get back, I won’t be here.”

“Please don’t do anything out of anger. I’ll be back late tonight or sometime tomorrow. Please give me the chance to explain.”

Marcus’ eyes pleaded with me, but I didn’t give in. I let him see the betrayal and anger I felt.

He hung his head and walked out of the condo, closing the door gently behind him. Anger seared through me. Mom was dead because of him. All he had had to do was tell me and we could’ve changed everything.

“Chase, take a breath. Let’s talk about this.” Rayna regained her composure, trying to be the calm one.

I saw Mom’s face again. Her smile grew when she looked up at Marcus, but as she turned away, Marcus plunged a knife deep in her back. Mom turned and fear covered her face, quickly vanishing as a demonic black filled her eyes. Cracks rushed across her skin, and she lit up in a flare of orange and red until her body crumbled to ash.

I unleashed a scream and power rushed through me. Fire scorched the air and the kitchen table exploded. Shards of wood flew across the room, igniting in a blast of heat. The wood cracked, and the veneer surface melted as fire sizzled over it.

“Chase!” Rayna yelled.

Flames seared the wood and smoke billowed up, sending the smoke detector into a frenzy of sound.

“Chase, stop. You’re scaring me!”

Fear covered Rayna’s face and I pulled the fire back. The last of my shirt had burned and the thick stench filled my senses. Pieces of fabric had melted into a tough plastic that stuck in patches against my body.

“I…” I started, but couldn’t finish.

Rayna ran into the kitchen and started filling jugs with water. She splashed it on the table, but the flame was too far gone. The fire hissed as the water hit it, turning it to steam upon contact.

“Can you help me out here?”

I fell into a daze as I watched her struggle with a few more jugs of water, tossing them effortlessly over the flames, but yielding no results. The white ceiling turned black with soot and the smoke changed from a light gray to a thick black.

“Chase!” Rayna yelled.

I snapped out of my stupor and shook my head. I pushed the water element through me, and the ball of power built in my hands, but I couldn’t maintain my focus. Thoughts of Marcus and my mom flashed before my eyes and the anger swelled again.

Water exploded from my palm in every direction and it wasn’t the cool rush I was used to. Boiling water splashed against the walls and Rayna ducked behind the cupboards.

“Chase, stop!” Rayna yelled, but I couldn’t draw the power back. A free flow of magic poured from my body and the condo started to shake.

The ancient picture that hung on the wall crashed to the ground. The frame snapped, and the painted canvas collapsed from the wooden border, falling to the floor. Coils of fire lashed out from the steaming water, reaching towards the walls and marring them black. All the lights exploded and rained shards of glass over us.