BURN (14 page)

“Wait, we—” He cut himself off as Knox’s eyes bled to black and the demon glared out at them. Even from where Harper stood, she could feel the air chilling.

It bared its teeth. “Harper is mine. You hurt her. That means you don’t get to live.” Spoken like the matter was a mathematical equation.

The blond glanced at Harper. “Doesn’t it bother you that he’s just going to kill us?”

She tilted her head. “It did…for about two seconds. Then I remembered you’re a couple of pricks that knocked Tanner unconscious and would have raped me.”

“And now they die,” said the emotionless voice of Knox’s demon.

There was a sudden buzz in the air, like something was charging, building, gathering in power. The ground began subtly vibrating, making the car tremble and the litter flutter. A chill snaked down her spine, and every hair on her body rose.

There was so much power, she could feel it hum and purr against her skin; it slithered between her fingers, stroked over her face, burned her eyes, and made her teeth rattle. A slight ringing sound filled her ears, and her chest suddenly felt so tight it hurt a little to breathe. It was
too
much power. No one and nothing should harness that kind of power. No one should be expected to control it.

Then the practitioners screamed as flames erupted from the ground at their feet and swirled around them. The flames were at least ten-feet high and were a beautiful intricate mix of gold, red, and black. And they gave off a heat that burned so hot she wouldn’t have been surprised if her skin blistered. And she instinctively knew…
the flames of hell.

They didn’t burn the practitioners, they swallowed them, leaving behind only ashes. Spotting the red residue in the ashes, Harper knew she’d been right. The flames of hell were said to leave behind such a residue. Which meant Knox really could call on them. He really was a threat to not only every demon, but every single thing that existed on the planet.
Well, shit.

The buzz in the air died away as the power seemed to return to where it came from, and it no longer hurt to breathe. Knox held out his hand, and the fire dragon was sucked back into his palm. As Knox closed his hand tight, smoke puffed out of his fist.

That was when he turned to face her, and she saw that the demon was still in charge for the moment. It prowled toward her, its gaze unblinking. The hellhound moved aside, as if it didn’t dare try to come between her and the demon. Harper put away her blade, not wanting to seem a threat.

Coming to stand in front of her, Knox’s demon studied her closely. “Now you know the truth.”

“I won’t tell.”

“You fear me now.”

Kind of. It wasn’t necessarily Knox or his inner demon that she feared, it was the power they had…and what they could do with it. “You won’t hurt me.”

That answer seemed to please it, and it fluttered its fingertips along the cut on her forehead. How could something so dangerous, so capable of cruelty, be so gentle? “They made you bleed.”

She gave a casual shrug. “It will be healed within the hour.” As if satisfied, the demon retreated. Knox cupped her nape and pulled her flush against him; he held himself stiffly, and she got the feeling he was expecting her to pull away. So she relaxed into him.

“I’m proud of you for fighting back.”

“It was good that she did, since I was unconscious for most of that.”

She turned to see Tanner, having retained control over his demon, zipping up a pair of jeans. He obviously kept fresh clothes in the car in case he had to let his demon out. “You would have done what it took if Knox hadn’t turned up and stole the show.” She couldn’t help but be impressed as Tanner effortlessly righted the Bentley.

“It’ll be safe to drive, it’s just a little banged up.” Tanner was right. None of the windows had been smashed.

“Is it demonically protected?” she asked Knox.

“Yes,” he replied. Then he frowned. “You’re hurting.” How he’d sensed it, she didn’t know. “Where?”

“It’s just a headache.” Okay, that was understating things a little – it felt like someone was stabbing her in the eye while pounding a hammer on her skull. The pain was making her feel nauseous. “They tried to knock me out the way they did Tanner. But I fought it.”

“Bonding with me has made you stronger.”

She peered up at him, smiling despite herself. “By the way, the fact that you can travel using fire is really, really awesome.”

“I’m glad you feel that way, because that’s exactly how we’re getting home.”

Wait, what?

“Tanner, you can come with us or you can wait here for Larkin and Keenan. I’ve already spoken to them. They’re on their way.” By that, Harper guessed he’d called them telepathically.

“I’ll stay here and help them with the clean-up,” said Tanner.

Knox locked both arms around Harper. “Ready?”

Um, no. It
sounded
fun to pyroport, but as she remembered the raging fire, she wasn’t so eager to try it.

“The flames will cover you, but it’s just normal fire, it won’t hurt you,” Knox assured her. “Trust me.”

A fire suddenly roared to life around them and, fuck, it was one of the weirdest things she’d ever experienced. The heat was unbearable for a millisecond as the flames engulfed her entire body, licking every inch of exposed skin. Then the flames parted and the heat vanished, and she realized they were in his living room. “Well, fuck.”

Hearing a deep rumbly laugh, she turned to find Levi on the sofa. “That was my thought the first time he pyroported me somewhere.” His brow crinkled. “You okay?”

“Been better,” she mumbled tiredly as she flung herself on the sofa. “I’m seriously tired.”

“You used a lot of psychic energy fighting to stay conscious after the practitioner dealt you a psychic hit,” said Knox. “Of course you’re tired.”

Using too much psychic energy was like being given a sedative. Lethargy was creeping over her, making her sleepily curl up into a ball. Unfortunately, the pounding headache had the potential to keep her from resting peacefully. Something in her expression must have given away the amount of pain she was in, because Knox sat beside her and used the pads of his fingers and thumb to massage her temples and scalp. It felt so good, she pretty much melted into the soft leather. “I really wish I’d killed Frick and Frack myself.”

“Frick and Frack?” echoed Levi.

“Dark practitioners,” Knox explained. Levi listened quietly as he told the tale. Sensing Harper had fallen asleep, Knox ended his massage and brushed his fingers through her hair; it was like liquid silk and he loved the feel of it against his skin.

When he’d received her frantic telepathic call, he’d almost lost his fucking mind. It was a dangerous thing for someone like Knox to be without the control that kept his demon and his abilities in check. Knox knew without a doubt that if Harper had been killed tonight, his demon would have taken over and expressed its anger on the world. It cared for nothing other than its own survival and pleasure. But Harper belonged to it, and someone had tried to take her away. That wasn’t acceptable to it.

In the alley, Knox had stepped aside and given his demon supremacy, knowing it needed to be the one to punish the practitioners if it had any chance of calming. Its anger had already subsided. Although its rage was always cold, it was also always fleeting.

“The more I think about everything, the more I believe this isn’t a case of different camps of people targeting her,” said Levi. “I think the dark practitioners were put up to this by the same person that sent Silas.”

“You think it’s Isla,” sensed Knox.

“I think it’s very likely her,” confirmed Levi. “She’s got more reason to target Harper than anyone else. To her, Harper’s trying to take a place that rightfully belongs to Isla.”

“But she didn’t know about Harper until the Manhattan conference,” Knox pointed out. “Silas visited her studio before that.”

“How are we sure that she didn’t know before the conference? She
looked
shocked, but Isla’s always been a good actress. The news of Harper’s connection to you spread far and wide. It’s extremely possible that Isla heard. Maybe she believed it, maybe she didn’t. We know Silas was sent to test your reaction. But what if the real reason someone was interested in that reaction was because it would tell them whether the rumors were true? I think Isla heard and she sent Silas to confirm it.” Levi leaned back in his seat. “The only other enemies Harper has are Kendra and Carla.”

“The practitioners said that someone wanted rid of Harper. What reason would her mother have to do that?”

“Carla got rid of her once before,” Levi pointed out.

“Abandoning your child and killing your child are two different things.”

“Stop thinking of them as mother and daughter. From what I can tell, the only thing Carla Hayden ever did for Harper was give birth to her. She didn’t want her, she dumped her onto someone else, and she didn’t look back. Yes, there are many parents out there who’ve given up their children for one reason or another. But Carla did it coldly. She’s had no relationship at all with Harper since then, despite them not living all that far away from each other. And didn’t Harper tell you that whenever they’ve crossed paths Carla dismissed her?”

The more Knox considered Levi’s words, the more his theory sounded very, very plausible. “Carla got rid of a baby she viewed as a mistake and then built a new life in which she pretended Harper didn’t exist; then she could forget what a fool she’d been to believe she could trap Lucian,” he mused aloud. “But now she can’t pretend Harper doesn’t exist any longer. Harper now has a certain fame among our kind.”

“Yes. People are curious about her. Carla could worry that someone will find out she’s her mother. Other than for Kendra and Carla, our lair feels naturally protective toward Harper because of who she is to you. They were seriously pissed with Kendra for what she did. So imagine how they’d feel about Carla. I don’t think her mate and sons know about Harper. Bray loves kids; he has two from a previous relationship and he’s been a constant, steady presence in their lives.”

“It still seems farfetched for Carla to try to kill Harper. It’s not as if Harper wants Carla’s recognition, is it?”

“It doesn’t matter. Carla’s carefully constructed world could very well fall apart if people find out the truth. Bray might be unable to understand and forgive her. Carla might feel it’s a lot easier to get rid of the threat to her world than to risk it. She dumped Harper coldly. Why couldn’t she end her life just as coldly? Some people are just callous through and through.”

Knox knew that well. “The day Carla came to my office, she painted the picture of a woman who made a mistake, regrets it, and would love nothing more than to fix it. But it’s possible that what she was really doing was making herself seem the least likely person to cause Harper harm so that no one would suspect her.”

“Yes. And that’s why she needs monitoring closely.”

“Get some of the Force on it.”

“As for Harper’s other enemy…” Levi sighed. “I don’t think Kendra would put herself through all the trouble of compulsions and hiring practitioners. She’s too lazy.”

“But she’s jealous of Harper. And it’s not just because Harper’s my anchor.”

Levi narrowed his eyes. “What don’t I know?”

Glancing down at his anchor, he lowered his voice. “It’s possible that she and Kendra are sisters.”

Levi gaped. He wasn’t a man who was easily shocked. “Are you shitting me?”

“You know I always do a background check on demons who request to join my lair. So when Kendra joined two years ago, I had one done on her. She comes from a high profile family in a lair in Alabama, though she very quickly shed that accent when she came here. It turns out that there was a scandal many years ago; her mother, Beatrice, got pregnant with Kendra by a demon who later left her for a much younger female, a sphinx. That female sphinx turned out to be Carla. It would explain why Kendra seemed to dislike Carla on sight.”

“How can you be sure Lucian is the demon who got Beatrice pregnant?”

“I wasn’t sure, I hadn’t originally asked Tanner to dig that deep. But when I realized Harper’s father was Lucian, I had him do some more digging. He confirmed it was Lucian.” Knox paused as Levi cursed. “If Kendra knows Carla lured her father away, she knows who her father is – a father that also played no part in her life. Yet, in his way, he raised his other daughter and, in fact, Harper’s the only living being he seems to have any true regard for. That can’t make Kendra feel good.”

“It’s a shame you can’t punch your way into her mind to find out if she’s responsible.”

It was a shame. But Kendra was a breed of demon known as a ‘nightmare.’ There was only one thing he would find if he invaded her mind: his worst nightmare.

“You could still invade Carla’s mind. I mean, I get that if the lair thought you’ll happily go around forcing your way into people’s minds, you could lose their trust and loyalty. But you have good reason here. They would understand if you explained the situation.”

Knox curled a strand of Harper’s hair around his finger. “There would be no point. I lightly touched Carla’s mind when she came to my office. It seems that Harper inherited her unusual shields from her mother.”