Kindling Flames: Smoke Rising (The Ancient Fire Series Book 3) (29 page)

The floor in the living room was in danger of having worn spots in it from the frequency of Darien’s passing in the two hours since Vicky’s abduction. He burnt up nervous energy by pacing back and forth in front of the windows, waiting for the cell phone to ring. The tracking spell he had tried had gone up in a flash of smoke that left him rushing to open a window before the fire alarm went off. Whoever had taken Vicky knew a great deal about magic and had made her untraceable.

Zak sat on the couch and watched the vampire, dressed in black jeans and a heavy shirt, pace the floor.

A sharp, buzzing noise sounded from the phone on the glass table, and Darien practically flew as he went to snatch it. He flipped it open, ready to yell at the caller, but he found they’d sent him a text message instead. He fumbled with the unfamiliar contraption for a moment before he got the message open.

“If you want her back, come alone to the church on Rossmore Road.”

Darien thought for a moment but didn’t know where that was. “Zak.” He turned to the eager fay. “Can you take me to the church on Rossmore Road?”

Zak gurgled positively and hopped off the couch.

Darien grabbed up the trench coat he had prepared and slipped into it. He really didn’t need the coat, but Vicky hadn’t been dressed for the cold, winter air. She would appreciate the warmth of the jacket more than he would. “Let’s go.” He followed Zak over to the pocket door between the living room and family room.

The little fay stopped just before the polished, wooden surface and grew in size. When the mass of tentacles was three times its normal size, Zak wrapped a tentacle around Darien’s wrist, anchoring the vampire to him. With a few more feelers, the fay reached out to the wall and tore a hole in reality.

Darien took a deep breath before following Zak into the blackness that lay between worlds.

Traveling by fay was both exhilarating and terrifying. The feel of the space between tingled Darien’s senses, bringing every sound and feeling alive in him. Wrapping his hand around the tentacle, he trusted it to lead him through the pitch-blackness. He could feel things in the dark with them and knew that all Zak needed to do to have Vicky to himself was turn him loose. Even with his power, Darien didn’t stand a chance against the things hiding here. And, if he did manage to fight off the creatures, there was little hope of actually escaping the darkness of this place. Darien’s feet stumbled forwards as he followed the pull of Zak’s tentacles. The hellhound gurgled to him and picked up the pace, forcing Darien to run after the fay. After what felt like forever, Zak slowed his pace and stopped.

Darien pulled up just short of falling over the fay and huffed to a stop. He took a deep, calming breath, trying to regain his composure. The hidden world of the unseelie fay always unnerved Darien. Feelers had slithered across his skin as they ran through the darkness, but a growling bark from Zak had forced the grasping thing back. Darien was glad when Zak tore his way out of the between space and they spilled out onto a backcountry road. The tentacle released Darien’s hand, and he stood blinking in the sudden light. The darkness of the night was almost glaring compared to the pitch black of the space they had just left.

Looking around at the country road, Darien’s eyes landed on a parking lot filled with motorcycles. There was a black van mixed in with the bikes. He clenched his teeth as he figured out who was responsible for Vicky’s kidnapping. A whole mess of possibilities crossed through his mind, and he turned to look at the little church on the other side of the street. It didn’t matter why Christian was targeting him; the man was going to pay for this insult. The midnight wind pulled at the hem of Darien’s coat as he turned to face the church.

The one-room church was wrapped in white, clapboard siding. An iron fence traced the edge of the property, and Darien could just make out the gravestones in the huge yard behind the building. He stood on the street for a moment and thought about the situation. The church and stones looked old. There was a possibility that the consecration on the ground had weakened over time, but Darien doubted it. Most likely, the blessing would strip his vampire powers away, leaving him as vulnerable as a human. At least he had Zak to rely on for backup. The fay wouldn’t be bothered by the blessed ground in the same way he was.

“Come on, Zak,” Darien called. The fay growled in answer, and they both started towards the church. Pushing the old gate open with a loud squeak, Darien stepped into the yard of the church. He staggered into the gatepost as the consecrated ground ripped his power away. It took him a moment to catch his breath, but he stood up, determined to continue. He took another step before a sharp bark behind him drew his attention back to Zak.

The fay hammered his tentacles on an unseen wall.

Darien chuckled and reached out his hand to touch the magical barrier that ran along the iron fenceline. “I see they’ve thought of everything.” He squatted down so his eyes were level with Zak. “Go get Rupert and the wolves.”

Zak whined and rolled on the ground, not wanting to leave.

“Please, Zak. I’m going to need help with this.”

The fay whined again before turning back to the night and disappearing.

Darien stood up and sighed. This trap was too well-thought-out for Christian to have accomplished on his own. There were too many variables for the new vampire to have figured out. Someone had to be helping him. Darien turned this prospect over in his mind. If Christian were responsible for Vicky’s kidnapping, was he also responsible for the other two attacks on his person? And if so, what was the man trying to accomplish? Darien looked up to the lit windows of the church and approached slowly, trying to figure out what he was going to do. The sound of voices from inside the church stopped Darien on the stoop. He turned his head to listen, trying to assess the situation inside.

“Let me have her,” a male voice Darien didn’t know begged.

“No,” another male answered. This one Darien recognized as Stanley. “Master Christian promised her that no harm would come to them by our hands.”

“I’ll be careful,” the other male begged again. “She is just so…” The man made a lustful sound that drew a muffled squeak from the object of his desires.

Darien clenched his fist and pushed both of the church’s double doors open so they banged against the inside wall. The sight that met him made his blood boil, and he stepped into the trap.

***

A dozen sets of eyes turned at the sound of the door opening. Christian’s menagerie watched as Darien walked into the church and glared at them all. The old church was lit by a series of sconces along the walls that gave just enough light to see by but left more of the room in shadow. The only bright light was above the altar at the far end of the room.

Darien’s eyes landed on Vicky, bound and gagged on the dais. A man in biker leathers knelt next to her, pulling his hands back from where he had been groping her. Darien’s eyes bore into the pair as he started down the aisle.

The man pulled a knife from his pocket and had it to Vicky’s throat before Darien could get half way down the room. “Not one more step,” he growled.

Darien stopped his advance but didn’t take his eyes off the man threatening Vicky. He looked the offending man over, memorizing his features. The biker had short-cropped hair and was muscular. Darien put him on the top of his list of people that would pay for this insult.

“Good evening, Master Darien.” Stanley’s voice pulled the vampire’s attention away from the pair on the pulpit. “We weren’t expecting you so soon.”

Darien shot the man a withering glance. “I have ways of getting around.” His voice was cold and pointed, with a breathy quality that made it more sinister. “Release what is mine.”

Stanley swallowed at the threat held in Darien’s voice. “No,” he managed to answer without showing any fear.

Darien raised an eyebrow at this.

“There is something important going on tonight, and we’ve been instructed to keep you here.”

Darien glared at him. “Your Master must not care about you very much.”

Another squeak came from Vicky as the man holding her yanked her head back by her hair and pressed the knife further into her throat.

“He’s seen to it that we can handle ourselves for now.” Stanley smiled at Darien. “Why don’t you take off your coat and stay for a bit?”

Darien chuckled coldly. “And what do you have planned for us this evening?” he asked, smiling back at Christian’s right-hand man. The grin that crossed Darien’s face held a hint of threat in it.

“Just a pleasant evening of waiting,” Stanley answered. “Now, take off your coat.”

When Darien didn’t do as he was told, the man holding the knife at Vicky’s throat shifted it, nicking her.

Darien turned at the sudden smell of blood. All humor drained from him, and he ripped his coat off and threw it into the closest pew. He had just opened his mouth to inform them of the consequences of their actions when something cold splashed on his back. Letting out a roar of pain, he ripped the shirt from his body as the holy water burnt him.

Lana backed away from where Darien had been forced to his knees by the sudden shock. “He’s the real thing.”

Glaring up at the bubblegum-haired woman, he held himself. He had been fast enough pulling the water away from his skin that it only blistered and smoked, but the blessing in the church prevented him from healing the damage done.

“I apologize for that.” Stanley squatted down just outside Darien’s lunging range. “We were told to make sure you were the vampire version. Not the face of the company.”

Darien chuckled at this. “You think I have someone running my company for me?” He smiled ironically. “That explains the blessed coffee.”

Stanley gave him a contemplative look.

Darien laughed harshly and lifted himself from the floor. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

Stanley stood and considered the shirtless vampire’s words.

“May I have my assistant back, now?”

“In a moment.” Stanley pulled a pair of handcuffs out of his pocket and tossed them at Darien. “Put those on.”

Darien caught the restraints and looked at them. He shook his head, amused, and clicked the cuffs closed around his wrists. “Satisfied?” He held the cuffs out for the man to see.

“For now.” Stanley pointed to the pulpit, signaling Darien to head towards his assistant.

The man holding Vicky slipped the knife from her neck and backed away as Darien approached.

Sitting on the raised platform next to her, Darien carefully pulled the cloth they had used to gag her out of her mouth.

She coughed and worked some saliva back into her dry mouth.

“Hey.” Darien helped her to sit up against him. He checked the cut on her neck but was surprised to find it was already healed.

She leaned against him, heavily drugged.

Darien slipped his arms over her head and pulled her up into his lap.

Vicky leaned her head into the crook of his neck and relaxed into his comforting presence. Using what little power he still had, he pushed it out into her, taking in her condition. Other than the restraints binding her and the drug running through her system, he could feel a powerful spell wrapped around her. This had to be what was sealing her off from Zak’s mark. He pushed at the spell slightly and recognized the signature energy of the caster. Darien let out a deep sigh and leaned his head over to kiss Vicky on top of her head. “It will be okay,” he whispered to her and pushed the drug from her system.

Vicky took a deep breath and moaned lightly. She blinked her eyes, becoming more aware of her surroundings. “Darien?” she questioned, rubbing her face into the skin of his shoulder.

Darien withdrew his power from her.

She pulled against her bonds, not sure what was going on. The last thing she remembered was running on the treadmill in the workout room.

“It’s all right,” Darien soothed her.

Vicky looked at his bare skin, then out at the room of people watching them. “What’s going on?” she asked in a hushed whisper, huddling against him.

“We’re waiting,” Darien calmed her. “Just relax.”

Vicky swallowed back the fear working inside her and rested her head into the warm crook of his neck.