Eternal Fire (36 page)

I bit my lip
. “We’re just far enough ahead of them to have our powers back.”

“
Stop this vehicle,” he said.

“
Why? What do you plan to do?”

He glanced out the back window.
“I will put a halt to this pursuit, but I must do it now, before my powers are blocked again.”

I nodded, put on the brakes, and shifted the car into park. I left the engine running so we could make a quick getaway.

Victor raced out the door and held up his hands.
I hurried out the driver side and stood next to him. As I watched his hands glow, I knew what trick he was trying:
Fireballs
! I threw my hands into the air. Just as my fingers began to tingle, my headache returned, throbbing so badly that I couldn’t concentrate. I leaned over and gripped the car, then sucked in a deep breath. A burst of flames and a shower of sparks caught my eye as a crash echoed in the distance. Victor had held them off by knocking down a tangle of telephone poles into the middle of the road.

He
grabbed my arm. “Let’s go.”

“
Victor, I can’t drive,” I whispered, pressing my fingers into my temples. “My head’s about to explode.”

“
We can trace back home.”

I was sure running at
Immortal speed would do my headache no favors, but that wasn’t my main reason for refusing. “I can’t have those Immortals finding my parents’ car and running the plates to see who it belongs to. If they show up at my parents’ place and hurt them, I won’t be able to live with myself.”

“
Your dad taught Charles and I how to drive, remember?”

“
It was one lesson. I’m not sure you’re ready.”

“
I can do it, Sarah. I am aware there is still much to learn, but I am sure I can manage. Just remind me what to do.”

I was blindsided by the pain, but we had to get out of there. “All right. The car’s still running. Just put it in drive and hit the gas pedal.”

He sat in the driver seat and gripped the steering wheel.

“
Are you comfortable? Can you reach the pedals?” I asked, slipping into the passenger side. I didn’t know who was more nervous, me or him.

He buckled the seatbelt
and adjusted the seat. “Like your dad told me, it’s a piece of cake.”

“
The gas pedal is on the right, and the brake pedal is on the left. Just hit the gas and steer.”

The car jerked forward.

I coaxed
, “Follow the road using the steering wheel. If you need to slow down, ease your foot off the gas.”

We jerked forward when he pressed the gas a little too hard.
“I can’t believe I’m driving this machine.” Victor jerked the steering wheel again, and the car slid off the road as tires squealed. He regained control, but the car suddenly drifted right and struck the guardrail with a grinding sound, then suddenly bounced back.

I sucked in a big breath.

“
Don’t worry. I can do this,” Victor said, clutching the steering wheel as we rounded the corner.

More pain exploded in my head, and I gripped my head, letting out a moan.

“
Sarah?”

“
Please just focus on the road. Remember when I explained the streetlights and stop signs to you?” I asked, trying to speak in a rational tone.

“
I remember. Red means stop, and green means go. How does your head feel, love?”

“
It’s got Excedrin written all over it—and then some.”

“
Excuse me?”

“
Never mind. It’s getting worse. We have to hurry.” I gritted my teeth as the pain overwhelmed me, but I couldn’t help but notice how relaxed and confident he was.

“
This is much easier than I thought,” Victor said, focusing his eyes on the road. “The vehicle obeys much better than stubborn horses.”

“
I’ve always enjoyed driving.” I clasped my head as another wave hit me. “Why is my head hurting so bad?” I asked.

Before he
could answer, he swerved left, then right. A horn blared as he almost hit an oncoming car in the left lane.

I clutched my heart.
“On second thought, maybe you should let me take over. Then again, I did manage to hit a telephone pole.”

“
We’re almost home,” he said.

I took a quick breath and closed my eyes, wishing I could get my hands on a bottle or two of Motrin.

Tires squealed as
Victor pulled into the driveway of my parents’ house. He hit the brakes too hard, and I flew forward, then hit my head on the back of the seat.

“
Sarah, I am so sorry. That couldn’t have helped your headache.”

“
I’m fine,” I whispered, downplaying the pain. I reached over and shifted the gear into park and pulled out the keys. “You did great. How is your chest?”

“
Completely healed,” he said, climbing out of the car.

“
What’s going on?” Liz asked, rushing off the porch. “When did Victor’s get his driving permit?”

“
Funny, Liz. I couldn’t drive, thanks to one of these mega-migraines. Where are Mom and Dad?” I asked, with a frantic edge in my voice.

“
I just got home, but they left a note. They went to a movie and won’t be back for hours.”

“
Where’s Charles?” I asked.

“
Taking a shower.” Liz cocked a brow. “What’s going on?”

My gaze narrowed. “We just had a run-in with those blue-eyed, blue-ring Immortals.”

Liz placed her hands on her hips.
“Well, did they pencil you in for an appointment with the Immortal healer?”

I laughed sarcastically.
“Hardly.”

Her eyes widened.
“What happened?”

“
All hell broke loose.” I pointed to Victor’s bloodstained white shirt.

“
Oh my gosh! Are you okay?” Liz asked, rushing over.

“
Just a scratch,” I said, “and it’s all healed up.”

“
Victor, what happened?” she asked.

“
They shot at us—with guns.”

“
Mom’s pride and joy took some damage. She’s gonna kill me,” I said, examining the car.

Liz
walked over and crossed her arms. “Those freaks shot out Mom’s rear window. Did you give ‘em hell or what?”

“
We could do nothing. They rendered our powers useless,” Victor said.

“
So Sarah wasn’t short-circuiting at the mini-mart?”

“
Well, kind of,” I said. “The blue-eyed Immortal blocked my power, but not my strength or Immortal senses. I couldn’t tackle that robber because I’d lost my Immortal strength. The new energy coming in—the power of sight that Helena told me about—is wreaking havoc on my body. When the man immobilized my powers, the new energy had nothing to cling to, so it latched on and disabled the only thing I had left, my strength.”

“
That’s why you were defenseless against the robber,” Liz said. “What did the Immortals say to you?”

“
Nothing. They just shot at us and tried to run us off the road.”

“
This isn’t good,” Liz said. “I just got back from Della’s hotel room. She wasn’t there, and it looked as if someone had rummaged through her room.”

“
We have no idea who we’re dealing with,” I said. “We need to leave. If we stay here, we’ll put Mom and Dad in danger. They don’t deserve that.”

“
Do you think these guys came through the portal?” Liz asked. “Wait.” She held up her hand. “Let me ask Mr. History here.”

“
I have never heard of men like these,” Victor said. He cocked a brow. “What if Ethano took Della? He warned that she was next on his list.”

I gasped. The thought of Ethano stepping foot in my world sickened me.

Victor put his arm around my waist. “Don’t worry, Sarah. I will not allow him to hurt you ever again.”

“
We don’t know if Ethano had anything to do with it,” Liz said. “Maybe the blue-eyed posse have something against Della.”

“
Do you think they’d hurt her?” I asked.

“
We can’t take that kind of risk,” Liz said. “We have to find her, whether you like her or not!”

“
I have to make sure Sarah is safe first,” Victor said. “She and the baby are my first priority.”

Liz
looked up at Victor. “I know Della hurt you bad, but surely you can’t just let some unknown Immortal race steal her. She is one of us.”

Charles stormed up the driveway
in a rage, having overheard the conversation. He was still dripping wet from his shower, and it was the first time I’d ever seen him lose his temper. “You’ve murdered thousands of people during your battles over the years. So what’s one more victim, eh, Victor? Is she disposable like all the others?”

We hadn’t filled him in on what was going on, but obviously, his Immortal hearing had picked up on the end of our conversation.

“
I will find my mother, no matter the risk.” He threw up his arms. “You loved Della with all your heart for hundreds of years. How can you stand by and allow Ethano or the blue-eyed Immortals to harm or kill her?”

“
I only said I must protect Sarah and the baby, Charles. Of course I will help you find Della. We should go to her room at the inn first, to see if we can find any clues as to who might have taken her,” Victor said.

“
Thanks, Victor,” Liz said. “We can really use your help.”

“
I must learn how to use the weapons of this world,” Victor said. “Where can I get them, and who can show me how to use them?”

“
I agree,” Charles said. “I feel at a disadvantage here. If those Immortals can block our powers and shoot at us with guns, we must have weapons to fight back. Their weapons are far more powerful than anything we’ve used before.”

“
Yeah, swords won’t cut it here in my world,” Liz said, then slightly giggled at her own pun.

My pounding headache overtook me
, and everything started to spin. I could hear my friends and my sister talking, but there was a foggy haze clouding over me.

My sister touched my back.
“Sarah?” When I didn’t answer, she said, “She’s in no condition to come with us, and we can’t leave her here. What if they find out where we live?”

Spots danced in my vision
, and my legs began to wobble. Then, I suddenly collapsed.

Victor scooped me up.
“We’ll take her to Beth’s.”

Everything spun around me, and time blurred. I wasn’t sure how much time passed, but I was so tired. I closed my eyes to take a quick nap, and a sudden jar woke me up. I found myself lying on a bed, sweating profusely.

Victor
was holding a cool washcloth over my forehead. “You’re at Beth’s,” he said, stroking my hair softly.

I looked around and recognized the familiar surroundings.
“I’m in her bedroom? I can’t make her sleep on the couch. It would be so rude, and—”

“
She insisted. She’s a good friend.”