High Voltage (7 page)

“No,” Heath said weakly.

“Fuck, Heath. I don’t think I can
get enough of your taste.” Volt’s amber gaze was on him, intent and searching.
“Why did you run away?”

“I—” Heath’s voice faltered when
Volt’s hand drew him forward, sliding from his lower back to rest possessively
on his ass. It made Heath aware of the little aches, and of the post-spanking
redness that was no doubt there as well. The touch reminded him of Volt’s heavy
but firm hand, of Volt’s delicious possession.

“I can’t think with you touching
me,” Heath confessed.

“Get used to it.” Volt leaned in
close. “After we have this talk, I’m going to give you another spanking. You
know you deserve it, you naughty little tabby.”

“Oh fuck.” Heath shuddered and
tried to grasp the words he needed to say. “I ran because I was afraid you’d
tell me you had enough.”

“Had enough of what?” Volt growled.
“Of you?
Are you retarded?”

Heath drew back, offended. “I have
every reason to think
it’s
true, if how you treat your
past lovers was any indication.”

Anger rippled on Volt’s handsome
features. “Those people meant nothing to me. I fucked them knowing I’d never
see them again.”

“Oh yeah, and what makes me
different?” Heath dared to ask.

“Didn’t I already tell you, Heath?”
Volt grasped his arm, and this time Heath didn’t resist when his master pulled
him close. “You belong to me. I intend to keep and take care of what’s mine.”

Heath drew out a shaky breath. The
contrast of Volt’s bare skin pressing against the thin fabric of his shirt felt
amazing. He still had trouble processing the words coming from Volt’s mouth.
“I’ll hold you to those words, master.”

“I’ve always liked how you called
me master.” Volt nipped at his ear.

Heath shuddered, but managed to get
enough of his wits to press a hand on Volt’s chest. “We have to settle the
score with the demon first, master.”

Volt glowered at him, but then
muttered a curse.
“Fine.
That what Havoc said?”

“Havoc said something about the
city council ordering us to banish Felor, but you interrupted whatever he was
about to say.” Heath’s breathing hitched when Volt’s hand rose, but the rough
pads of his fingers only thumbed his left cheekbone.

“Mouthy, aren’t you?
Fine.
We’ll finish the fucker then I can have you in peace.”

****

In minutes, Heath and Volt had
showered, dressed, and equipped themselves with the spare demon hunting kits
Volt kept in his weapons storeroom. Why his master kept an emergency kit
specifically targeted at demons, he didn’t know, but he had every intention of
asking. Heath wasn’t blind or stupid.

There was some complicated
connection, some sordid past, between Volt and Felor. By summoning the demon,
Volt had broken one of the magic laws all wizards had to follow. Felor’s
mention of a blood sacrifice also bothered him immensely. It was one thing for
Volt to break the laws of magic, but it was another thing for him to murder
another human being.

Havoc didn’t need to spell it out
for him. Every member of the supernatural community in Lyon City fell under the
jurisdiction of the City Council, and the council always knew every little
thing that happened in the city. Given how they’d just destroyed one of the
city’s main power plants, it wasn’t surprising they were on to Volt and him.
His master was in really deep shit.

If Volt really intended to include
him as part of his life, then Heath had every right to know. It occurred to him
that Volt was still a stranger in some ways, but he intended to know more about
the man underneath the temperamental shell.
He’s
not always temperamental in bed.

Remembering Volt’s fine control the
night before wasn’t going to help them on their case. Heath screwed his head
back in place. They had a demon to banish. Their relationship problems could
wait.

“Volt?
What happened between you and Felor?” Heath asked when they settled inside his
car.

He thought his master would tell
him to shut up and mind his own business as usual, or some sort of variation,
but Volt grew alarmingly quiet. When he finally spoke, his voice was rough and
unlike him.

“It happened before in the time
Havoc picked me up. I was young, stupid, and power hungry. I was arrogant
enough to think I could gain more knowledge and power by summoning Felor and
commanding him to do my bidding. I lost control and things went to hell.”

“Kids do stupid things.”

“Not this level of stupid.” These
few words came out harsh, and Heath could see years of long buried pain
resurfacing. His stomach clenched at seeing Volt look so vulnerable. “Before
Havoc, I was passed from one foster home to the next. There was another boy in
the last foster home I’d been in. Kevin. Summoning Felor was a way out for us.
I thought by getting more power, some crews in the city would pick us up.”

“Kevin was special to you?” Heath
asked softly.

“Yeah.
He
was the first mortal boy I loved. I didn’t know Felor demanded a blood
sacrifice.” Volt let out a shaky breath. “I thought I was going to be sentenced
to death by the City Council, but it was Havoc who found me instead. He argued
for my case.”

It wasn’t hard to piece together what
happened next. “Felor was still out there though, and eventually found you.”

Volt laughed bitterly. “I thought I
could be free from my past, but the past always catches up with you, eh?”

The silence was heavy between them.
Volt spoke again. “Kevin’s death fucked me up bad, Heath. It left me damaged. I
know its no excuse, but I want you to understand why I acted the way I did all
these years.”

It felt like Heath had been hit
with a sledgehammer. There was still the unanswered question left between them.
Would he forgive Volt?

“I don’t expect you to forgive me,
or anything really, but even if it’s selfish, I want you to consider giving me
a chance.”

Oh Gods. Volt was actually asking
him to give him a chance. Heath could see the boy Volt had been, terrified,
misunderstood, and alone, and it pained him. He himself had been lucky enough
to be born with two parents and found by Havoc.

“I understand, Volt. Some of the
things you did were really awful, but I’m willing to work things out,” Heath
said eventually. “We’ll get Felor, finally banish him for good, and then work
on us.”

The tension between them slowly
evaporated. He became wary of Volt’s grin. “Oh I’m sure we will.
Because I have plans.”

Heath was afraid to ask what kind
of sinister plans his master had in store for him. It surely involved things like
toys, spanking, and being tied up, things he shouldn’t be thinking about in a
time like this.

“You have one dirty mind, master.”

“Says my little
sub with the erection.”

Heath’s face grew heated. Volt only
chuckled when he suddenly found the scenery outside more interesting.

Chapter Six

“Volt, are you sure this is the
right place?”

Volt finished his smoke and turned
to look at his nervous apprentice. Strapped with all matter of arsenal, from
human-made artillery to magical ones, Heath looked like a boy playing with his
father’s toys.

He’s
no longer a boy.
Heath’s a man eager
and willing to prove himself
, Volt reminded himself. He just hoped all that
eagerness wouldn’t get him killed.

“Demons can’t take sunlight, so
Felor is probably hiding during the day. The
Kafex
power plant is the second largest plant in the city. It’s the most logical
place for Felor to flock to in order to restore his depleted magical reserves.
Plus, if he takes this plant out, the city will no longer have any back-up.”

Volt studied the eerily silent
building. It was past midnight and most of the plant’s employees had probably
gone home. Only a guard or two on duty were probably on-site. “Havoc phoned you
just now, didn’t he? What did he say?”

The old man very well knew Volt and
his brothers ran their own ship and he was pissed enough Havoc interfered with
his relationship with Heath.

Volt had been beyond pissed, but
looking at his apprentice, he realized he was out of his league. He wasn’t on
his own this time, and he couldn’t risk Heath. The smartest thing was to accept
help when it was offered, even if just this one time.

“We have to banish Felor before he
drains out all the plant’s electricity. The city is currently running on the
electricity generated by this plant.”

Heath glanced at the circle they’d
drawn in chalk on the ground. It was filled with runes and magical sigils meant
to contain a supernatural force not of their world. Volt and Heath had drawn a
dozen or more such circles surrounding the plant. It wouldn’t contain Felor
completely, but it would hold him for a few precious seconds until they could
trigger a banishing spell.

Above them, the night sky seemed to
bleed into total darkness. The air grew heavy with menace as thunderclouds
gathered above the plant.

“Take cover. At my cue activate the
other half of the circles,” Volt ordered. Heath
nodded,
features tense and intent. To calm him down, Volt grabbed a handful of his
shirt and kissed him rough and hard just the way he knew Heath liked it.
Immediately, tension ebbed away from Heath’s body.

“Be careful,” Volt said, letting
him go.

Heath licked his lips, recovering.
“Aw, master. Are you going to kiss me before every job?”

Volt liked the sound of Heath’s
surprised cry as he curled one possessive arm around his waist.
“Just one more smart remark, Heath.
Go ahead. Try me and see
what happens.”

Heath looked at him with wide eyes.
“What’s going to happen?”

Volt’s hand slid to the bulge in
Heath’s jeans. One firm press was all it took for Heath to let out a moan. “I’m
going to enjoy tormenting you again, Heath. You’re going scream and beg me for
more, wriggling your sore little bottom for me to fuck raw.”

Heath shuddered. “You’re awful,
Volt.”

“I’m only telling you the truth,”
Volt said against his ear. “Now don’t let your guard down.”

Volt watched Heath disappear into
the bushes, his dark form stealthily moving from one tree to the next. He’d
done all he could. Heath was his back-up. Volt purposely made sure Heath was in
no way near the direct line of fighting.

The wind roared around the
property, and the gusts were accompanied by little surges of electricity. Felor
had dispensed with his human skin and stealth, probably confident enough no one
was going to get in his way. His stretched-out leathery and grotesque humanoid
shape lumbered with purposeful strides towards the entrance of the plant.

Volt hunkered down and thrust both
his hands, palms down, into the circle in front of him. He sent his magical
energy right into the circle to trigger it. Seconds later, he could feel the other
joined circles coming to life. A second magical signature followed his,
familiar and comforting.
Heath’s magic.
He could feel the trap working, binding, and restricting the demon’s movements.

A monstrous, rumbling growl
followed by a barely recognizable curse came from Felor’s inhuman mouth.

“Volt.”
Felor hissed and called his name louder again. “Volt, come out and face me,
coward.”

Volt stood up, dusted his hands,
and came directly in front of the trapped demon. “You’ve really become a shadow
of your former self, Felor. First you need to take a hostage to get me to come
to you and then you walk directly into a trap.”

Slitted
,
inhuman eyes stared back at him with undisguised fury and hatred. Volt casually
dodged the bolt of electricity sent in his direction.

“Do you think a puny trap like this
can contain such a thing like me, Volt?” Felor’s forked tongue slithered out of
his mouth, and the demon displayed his impressive sharp row of teeth.

Banishing spells took time to cast
and drained a lot of energy from a wizard. The only way they could succeed was
for Volt to distract Felor while Heath began the spell. Felor then smiled, and
Volt’s confidence began to wither.

“Foolish mortals
and your silly mortal games.
Did you think I couldn’t see something as
simple as a crude trap?” Felor let out an enraged roar, and the magical energy
containing him simply shattered. “Didn’t I tell you before, Volt? If you never
take care of your belongings, they might just be taken from you. Your little
tabby shifter is going to be another delicious sacrifice.”

Electricity danced around his
talons, but they weren’t directed at Volt. They were aimed at the trees to
their right, to the place where Heath was unable to move or do anything else from
while he cast the banishing spell.

“Fuck no.” Volt wasn’t aware of
moving, of his body beginning to blur. He’d never attempted the magic he
summoned now, because it could kill him. All his muscles screamed as he poured
more energy into it. His primal source of energy came in the form of electricity
and he drew more of it from the plant into himself. A human body, even an
Elementalist’s
body, could only contain so much foreign
energies coursing through it. Volt was no exception.

Electricity coursed through him
until his entire body was howling in pain. He wasn’t just channeling power.
He’d become a giant ball of energy. Volt remembered trying to do something
similar when Felor appeared to him fifteen years ago. With Kevin’s corpse in
his hands, he’d gone insane with rage, but he was no longer a naïve wizard.
Volt slammed his body into Felor before the demon could unleash his power at
Heath.