Something Wanton (Mystics & Mayhem) (48 page)

I felt a tightness in my chest when I realized I could have died and the last thing I had said to him was that I hated him.  I ran to him and hugged him.  He seemed to be on the same page, because he held me so tight I could barely breathe then gently pushed me back so he could look me over.

“You okay, beautiful?” he whispered, his eyes looking suspiciously bright.  When I nodded, he scowled down at me and then tore into me with a vengeance.  “You scared the bloody hell out of me!  Don’t you
ever
do that to me again!”

“Yell at her later!” Ainsley snapped, her gaze flickering to the door at the end of the hall every few seconds.  “We have to get out of here!  Now!”

Lark wrapped Ms. Cantrell carefully in his arms, smiling down at her, and then his wings folded around them both and they were gone.  Ainsley and Ryan were the next to disappear.  But when Tyler reached for me, I backed away.  He looked confused and took a step toward me, but I held up my hand for him to stop where he was.

“Tyler, do you believe in me?” I asked softly, never taking my eyes from his.

“Of course I do, beautiful,” he said, frowning.  “What kind of question is that, Em?  You know I have complete faith in you.”

“Then I want you to prove it,” I told him, taking a step closer to him.  Not close enough for him to grab me, but close enough to be intimate.  “
Ms. Cantrell said there were four other witches here.  I want you to help them…and I want you to leave me here.”

Tyler froze where he was, his face twisting in anger and something I could only describe as acute
pain.  For a long moment, neither of us moved.  We didn’t speak.  We just looked at each other. 

I had just put him in a really hard place and I knew it, but I wasn’t going to apologize for it.  If he really believed in me, like he said he did, he would do what I asked.  I wouldn’t hate him if he didn’t, I would understand, but I would also know he didn’t think I was strong enough to do what had to be done.  Tyler was smart enough to know what that would mean for us. I might forgive him, but things would never be the same between us.

“You can’t do this alone, Em,” he said softly, taking another step toward me.  “You’re powerful, but they have the numbers.  There has to be more than a hundred people out there, all wanting to kill you for one reason or another.  You’ll take down some, maybe even most, but they’ll kill you in the end because they’ll overwhelm you.  You’re not dealing with amateurs here.”

“I don’t plan on doing it alone.”  He believed in me.  He really did.  That meant more to me than he would ever know.  “You are going to bring me my army.  In the
meantime, I’m going to show Hamilton what a
real
witch looks like.”

He reached out to cup my cheek in his palm, looking deep into my eyes like he was searching for the answer to a question that was more important to him than any other.  Then, taking me by surprise, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my lips.  It wasn’t a ground
shaking, firework-producing kind of kiss.  It was sweet and warm and…kind of beautiful.  I didn’t feel the passion or the overwhelming emotion I felt when Nathan kissed me, but I felt
something
.  There was a connection between me and Tyler, like a thread that bound us together, thin and fragile as a spider’s web.

“I love you, Ember,” he whispered, his forehead pressed to mine.  “I know you can’t return it, but I do.  I thought distancing myself from you would make it easier, but it didn’t.  The day you walked out of Grayson’s office and I saw the hurt in your eyes, hurt
I
had put there, I realized just being close to you, being a part of your life, would be enough.  I just had to say it once out loud, and I won’t ever say it again.  I only have one thing to ask of you.”

“What?” I whispered back, looking up to meet his eyes.

“Don’t die before I get back with your army, beautiful,” he said, smiling sadly.  “I can’t bear the thought of a world without you in it.”

Lifting my hand to his lips, he pressed another soft kiss to my palm.  He released it slowly as his wings closed around him.  As I drew my hand away, my fingers brushed the silky-soft feathers.  A pleasant tingle raced up my arm and seemed to coil around my heart with that one touch.  Then he was gone, leaving me to wonder what the hell had just happened.

A few seconds later, I heard the rustle of wings again through the stone wall next to me.  Each of the four angels in our group had come back for a witch.  When Tyler reappeared at the bars of my cell, there was a young girl in his arms that couldn’t have been more than ten.  I had to close my eyes and take a deep breath to contain the rage the sight of her sent spiraling through me.

“We’ll be back for you, beautiful,” Tyler said when I finally opened my eyes again. 

“I know,” I murmured with a smile.  “I’m counting on it.”

Winking, he wrapped his wings around the girl in his arms and disappeared.  For a long moment, I stared at the place where he’d been.  When even the scent of his essence had faded away, I finally sank onto the cot behind me.

And began to prepare myself for the battle to come.

When Hamilton finally showed, I was sitting cross-legged on the cot, Indian style, with my hands resting lightly on my knees.  My eyes were closed, but I smiled when I heard the door at the end of the hall open.  I counted footsteps again and my smile widened when I heard them slow and falter as the empty cells started to register.  When they reached my cell, I opened my eyes and chuckled darkly at the shocked look on Hamilton’s face.

“Missing something, Trey?” I purred, still laughing at him.  Judging by the furious glint in his eyes, he didn’t think much of me mocking him.  Yeah, because I
really
cared.  “Your father trained your baby sister very well, Hamilton.  Sucks for me that she was only strong enough to take one of us out with her, though.  I volunteered to be left behind.”

“That was a mistake, little firebird,” he growled, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at me.  “I should have burned the other witches right away.  Normally, I would have.  But I thought my men deserved to have some fun after working so hard.”

I didn’t say a word.  I didn’t really have to.  I was pretty sure he could see the angry glow in my eyes all by himself.  I refused to give into the rage pouring through me, not wanting to tip him off to the fact that I wasn’t bound anymore.  I wanted to be outside, where I would have the most impact, before I blew my cover.

“Where’s your witchy godmother?” I sneered, looking behind him like I expected Amelia to pop out of the wall.  “You two lovebirds having a quarrel?  Let me guess.  You both want to kill me and you’re fighting over who gets to do the honors?”

I could see I was throwing him off balance.  I wasn’t like the other witches he had captured, tortured, and killed.  I wasn’t afraid of him, and he could sense that.  Even if Ainsley hadn’t shown up with her little gold potion, my reaction to him would have been the same.  If I was afraid of him, that meant he won.  My fear would give him power.  I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction even if he tied me to a stake and roasted me alive.

“You’re a weird one, little firebird,” he said, narrowing his eyes and studying me.  “Most witches facing the stake cry and beg.  Not you, though.  You’re sitting there smiling at me like I’m taking you out for a movie.  Why do you think that is?”

“Because you’re a loser and not worth my time?” I suggested with an evil grin and a shrug.  “You may as well understand this now, Trey.  I don’t beg.  And the only time I cry is when I’m totally pissed off and about to set something—or
someone
—on fire.   Since
your
ass is at the top of my roasting list, you might want to hope I stay dry-eyed.”

He snorted in disbelief, still studying me.  “You won’t be setting anything else on fire.  We gave you enough of the binding compound to bind
ten
witches.  We didn’t want to take any chances.  According to our informant, you’re the most dangerous thing walking the planet today.”

Well, at least
Amelia had gotten something right.  I wondered what Hamilton was going to think of the monster he had created when I showed them the new me.  If it hadn’t been for him, and Amelia, I would still be just a darkling with some pretty cool bandraoi powers as a consolation prize.  I wasn’t sure what I had become thanks to Tyler’s blood, but I thought I might be closer to the ‘little firebird’ this creep kept calling me than he might think—wings and all. 

“Aw!” I drawled, putting my hand over
my heart like he had really touched me and batting my eyelashes.  “I’m flattered, Trey. 
The
most dangerous, huh?  Dude!  I’m really the shit!”

“You deny it?” he asked, one eyebrow arched.  “Come now,
Ember.  Surely you aren’t going to play that game.  We research our targets thoroughly.  I’ll admit, you took me by surprise jumping into that fire, but it won’t happen again.  I know what you’re capable of now.”

I shrugged again, completely relaxed, and his eyebrows drew down in a deep frown.  I smiled at him
again in response and, for the first time since he’d walked through the door, he looked a little wary.  He didn’t know what to make of me, and he didn’t know how to handle that.  He was used to people playing the role in his sick little games that he wanted them to play, and I wasn’t cooperating.

“Luke!  Harvey!” he shouted, his gloating smile returning as the door at the end of the hall opened again.  “You might not be afraid to die, little firebird, but there’s never been a witch I couldn’t break before I killed them.”

I felt a cold chill descend on the cell and the hair on the back of my neck stood straight up as a diaphanous form appeared in the corner across from me.  I stared at her as Kinsley floated forward until she was between me and her brother. 

Her expression was the most sinister thing I have ever seen.  If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought she was one of the angry spirits, the ones who were ready to take anyone and everyone to the great beyond with them.  When she turned and nodded to me, I knew she wasn’t.  She only wanted to take one person with her.  And he was staring right through her, smiling as he mentally planned my time in the torture chamber.

“The others are nearby,” she murmured, her voice soft and low.  “You don’t have to let him touch you, Ember.  I couldn’t fight him, but you can.”

I shook my head imperceptibly, and she frowned as her
brother smiled.  I couldn’t tell her why I was going to let them attempt to beat me to a blubbering, begging mass without Hamilton realizing something was up. 

Harvey was a human, the real all brawn, no brain
, type.  As big and scary as he looked, it was obvious in the dull gleam of his dark, beady eyes that he wasn’t all that bright.  Luke, on the other hand, was a very large, very nasty-looking vampire. 

I can honestly tell you that not
all
vampires are beautiful, after all.  Luke looked like he had been drop kicked into the ugly tree.  Repeatedly.  His stringy, greasy hair hung around his face in clumps.  His skin was a sickly, greenish-gray, and when he smiled I saw that his teeth were rotten and black. 

I can’t say that eager smile of his did a whole lot for my peace of mind, either.

“Take her to the chamber,” Hamilton said, smiling even wider when he saw that I wasn’t quite so confident anymore.  “You know what to do after that, boys.”

“Ember, don’t do this!” Kinsley whispered frantically.  “You won’t have the strength to fight when they’re through with you.  Please!  For Ainsley and all those other people trying to save you!  Please, don’t let them do this!”

I shook my head again, just the slightest movement of my head from side to side, as the vampire unlocked the door and grabbed me by both arms.  I didn’t fight him and he looked surprised.  When I turned and gave him a malicious smile over my shoulder, though, he looked downright scared.  Smart man.  He
should
be scared.  Very,
very
scared.

“Harvey, fetch the witch,”
Hamilton said, still smiling, as we filed past him.  “We had a deal.  I don’t see why we shouldn’t keep it before we kill her, too.  Besides, what she has in mind will help us keep our little firebird here nice and pliable.”

Harvey nodded and ran ahead of us to open the door. 
I scanned the other cells we passed.  Tyler and the others hadn’t missed anyone, and I breathed a sigh of relief for that blessing.  I was going to have enough trouble just saving myself.  I didn’t think it would help if my game turned into a mission to rescue X number of witches before we were all tied to stakes and lit up like a bonfire.

“Your hair is lovely,” Luke murmured, breathing the words against my neck.  His breath was
foul
.  Tic-Tacs!  God!  Had he never heard of them?  “It’s going to make a fabulous addition to my collection.”

This guy collected
hair
?  No, that wasn’t creepy at all. 

“Yeah, and your head is going to look really good mounted on my living room wall,” I sneered right back.  “I think a nice oak plaque with a nameplate that says ‘Dumbass’.  What do you think?”

“I think Trey’s right,” he said, glaring down at me.  “You are a strange one.  I like that.  It will make it so much more satisfying when you’re begging at my feet for me to kill you.”

“In your dreams, buddy,” I muttered, rolling my eyes.  “I’d swallow my own tongue before I begged you for anything.”

“You wouldn’t be the first.”  He shrugged when I arched an eyebrow at him. “Electroshock.  Causes convulsions, you see.  We don’t bother giving them anything to bite down on.  They’ve swallowed them, bit them off, you name it.  I can’t wait to see how you hold up.”

“Ooh, sounds fun!” I purred, just to throw him off, but inside I was throwing up.  “Can we take turns?   Me first!”

That was about the point when he stopped talking to me and started pushing me down the hall a little faster.  I smiled.  I had learned so much from my experience with Skippy.  Who knew sarcasm could be a defensive weapon?  I had gotten under his skin.  Phase one of my plan was complete.

I took a deep breath of fresh, clean air as he pushed me out the door at the end of the hall.  Like I had before, I took in my surrounding with one sweeping look around me.  Six cinderblock buildings, long, low, and windowless, formed a rectangle.  In the center three stakes had been planted in the frozen ground with heaps of wood piled nearby.  I could smell the gasoline soaking into them from where I was, and it burned my nose and caused
my stomach to churn.  Luke must have been used to the smell, because he didn’t even wrinkle his nose.  Then, maybe he just couldn’t smell it over the stench coming out of his mouth.

Tyler had had a good point; the place was crawling with people, both men and women.  I was glad to see there were no children.  I wasn’t planning on leaving much standing when I was done, and I really didn’t think I could live with killing a child.  Most of the people surrounding me were armed and they stopped to watch, a sickening eagerness lighting their eyes, as Luke pushed me across the snow-covered ground to the building at the far end of the macabre courtyard and through another steel door.

I looked around as the door clanged shut behind me, clenching my fists against another flood of white-hot fury.  There was a small gas stove against the far wall and I could see the brand glowing red in the fire.  A homemade electric chair sat in the corner, hooked up to a generator that was already groaning loudly.  Chains attached to handcuffs hung from the ceiling and there were more chains bolted to the floor attached to shackles.  Blood splattered the floor around them, and I wondered how much of it belonged to Ms. Cantrell.

I swallowed back a scream of rage when I saw a heap of bloody clothing in the corner.  Right on top was a white blouse with an embroidered logo I knew very well. 
Though I didn’t want to look, my eyes found the shiny gold nametag attached to it anyway.  I felt my heart break when I made out the name ‘Stella’ through the blood that covered it.

I wanted to howl in misery as the truth sank in.  Mrs. Stella was gone.  They had killed someone special to me.  I could picture her soft blue eyes and sweet smile the first time she’d told me I was old enough to have coffee.  She had adopted every kid that had ever walked into her shop.  She had organized bake sales for both the public schools and Oakhurst Academy.  She had taken the kids of single parents trick or treating on Halloween when they had to work.  She had thrown birthday parties and even wedding receptions for her favorite customers.  She had been perfect and wonderful, and now she was ashes and bone.  And I hoped they all rotted in Hell for it.

They hadn’t burned a witch when they’d burned Mrs. Stella, they’d burned an angel.

“Someone you knew?” Luke crooned cruelly in my ear when he saw the way I was staring at the bloody shirt in the corner.  “She was a fighter, that one.  It took us three days to break her before we burned her.”

It took everything I had to keep the heat beneath my skin in check. 
I jerked my eyes away from Mrs. Stella’s nametag before I exploded like a bomb, and my eyes fell on a sight I could have done without.  In the place of honor in the center of the room was an autopsy table.  It looked just like the table in Skippy’s morgue, except for the restraints attached at the head and foot and the buckles hanging down the sides.

If Luke tried to strap me to that table, I was going to lose it and everything I’d done so far would be for nothing.  To my relief, he dragged me toward the chains instead.  I know how bizarre that sounds, but being chained and still on my feet was somehow preferable to being strapped down on my back.

“Dead people, I need you,” I whispered, barely even a breath, dragging my feet in the hopes it would keep Luke from hearing it.  If they brought Amelia in and she sensed my power wasn’t bound, I wouldn’t be able to carry out my plans.  “Shield, but don’t interfere.  I’ve got this.”

Either he was so excited about torturing me that he was oblivious, or my ploy worked, because Luke acted like he hadn’t heard a word of my whispered instructions to my unseen friends.  I felt the icy arrival of my ghosts even as he stretched my arms over my head and attached the cuffs.  When he knelt down to chain my feet, the opportunity was just too good to miss.  I smiled smugly when my foot made contact with his jaw, sending him sprawling.