Kindling Flames: Smoke Rising (The Ancient Fire Series Book 3) (9 page)

“Okay,” she agreed.

“Holding on to the energy, reach out and find the line of silver on the floor,” Darien instructed.

Vicky stretched herself again and found the line of silver. It radiated a power of its own. She drew in another breath as she felt a sharp tingle from the silver.

“That’s it,” Darien reassured her. “Now, pull up just a thin line of the power from the ley line, and connect it to the ring of silver.”

Vicky pulled on the energy, and it bubbled up through her. She turned it towards the circle, and the magic rushed through her and into the silver. Vicky let out a pained noise as the sensation hurt just a little. She felt Darien step in and restrict the flow of the magic through her.

“Careful,” he cautioned.

Vicky concentrated on limiting the flow, and the pain eased up.

“Better.” Darien’s power withdrew, leaving Vicky holding the ley line connected to the ring of silver. “Now, think of a wall following that line, something to give protection, and will it into being.”

Vicky thought of the barriers that she had encountered, and the air around the circle solidified.

“Very nice.” Darien released her.

Vicky opened her eyes and watched as he walked over to the thin line.

He raised his hand and pressed against the solid air.

“Wow,” Vicky said, amazed she had done that.

Darien looked back over and noticed Vicky was no longer concentrating on holding the barrier. “You could be better at this than I am.”

“What do you mean?” Vicky asked, confused. She could feel the barrier around them, but it didn’t feel any different than the one Darien had made.

“It took me months until I could hold a shield without thinking about it.” He grinned as this fact dawned on Vicky.

She stood there with her mouth open in awe.

“I think that’s enough for one night. Drop the shield.”

Vicky finally found herself. “How?”

“Do you still feel the power flowing through you?” Darien asked.

Vicky nodded. The coolness of the lay line slithered up inside of her before heading over to the silver.

“Cut the line.”

She closed her eyes so she could better feel what she was doing. Touching the strand with her mind, she split it. She felt the energy over the silver line collapse, and the sliver of cold in her dropped away. Vicky’s knees buckled as two warm arms pulled her in against a familiar body.

“You are much too sensitive to magic,” Darien said as he held Vicky against him.

She breathed in his scent as she recovered from the sudden void the magic had left inside her.

“Please don’t do that without me until you have had some more practice.”

“No problem,” she mumbled into Darien’s chest. She wasn’t sure she wanted to do that again even
with
his help. The magic had left her more than a little drunk. She worked to get her feet back under her.

“Are you okay?” Darien asked as he leaned back to look down at her.

Vicky felt his warm power skate over her as he made sure the ley line had left her completely. Swallowing, she tried to force the queasiness she was feeling back. “Maybe,” she said, unsure how she was. Her insides felt as if they had taken a quick ride in a drink shaker.

Darien snickered at her. “Let’s get you home.” Shifting her in his arms, he scooped her legs from under her and carried her from the warehouse. The only protest from Vicky was a light moan as the world spun rapidly from the quick movement. Darien settled her into the front seat of the car with her bag on her lap. He considered laying her seat back slightly but decided against it as he clicked her seatbelt into place.

Vicky relaxed in the seat, waiting for the drunken sensation from the magic to pass.

Settling into the driver’s seat, Darien set out for home. He hadn’t been on the road for more than a minute when the phone in Vicky’s bag went off.

Vicky stirred and pulled the device out of her bag. She held the phone up to her ear. “Hello?”

“Tell Darien to stop,” a male’s voice insisted.

“Elliot?” Vicky guessed. “What’s wrong?”

Darien turned his head to look as Vicky sat up a little better in the seat.

“
Tell Darien to stop
!” Elliot nearly screamed into the phone.

Vicky looked over at Darien, shocked.

“Stop!” she cried as Elliot screamed into the phone again.

Darien slammed on the brakes, but the tires slid in some gravel and carried them out into an intersection. The car’s forwards momentum was halted, but they found themselves spinning off sideways as a black SUV plowed through the red light and tagged the front end of their car.

Darien moaned as he pushed himself up off the steering wheel. The airbags had deployed and knocked the sense out of him. He looked around the car as his mind put things together. The phone call from Elliot, the black SUV he had only seen when it hit, the crunch of metal, and Vicky’s scream. His mind snapped into gear, and he looked around for the woman who had been in the seat next to him. She was gone.

“Victoria,” Darien called as he pulled himself together. He could hear voices outside the car.

“Yes, officer.” A woman’s voice sounded frantic. “That’s right. Please hurry—I don’t know how badly she’s hurt.”

Darien tried to open his door to get out but found it was jammed shut. “Victoria!” He called louder as he tried to move. Pain screamed through his side, announcing that he had broken some ribs, and his leg was pinned and holding him down.

The voices from outside the car stopped and listened.

“Hello!” Darien called.

“I thought you said he was dead?” the woman’s voice asked.

“I thought he was,” a male voice answered. “He had no pulse.”

Darien saw a young man stand up from the ground and look into the passenger side door.

“Are you okay?” he asked Darien.

“Yes.” Darien pulled against his leg. Somehow, the steering wheel had dropped down to his lap. “How’s Victoria?”

The man looked down at the sidewalk, concerned. “It looks like she hit her head badly, and her arm might be broken.”

“Please help me out,” Darien begged. “I need to make sure she’s all right.”

“Hailey called the police,” the man informed him. “They should be here shortly.”

“I need out,” Darien insisted. He grabbed the handle of the door and slammed his shoulder into it, trying to free himself from the twisted metal. His ribs protested, and he hissed in pain but didn’t stop. “Please.”

The man rushed around to Darien’s side of the car. “You’re going to hurt yourself,” he said as Darien rammed his shoulder into the car door. The door gave a little, and Darien hit it again. The man wrapped his hands around the top of the doorframe and pulled as Darien pushed, and the door popped open.

Darien drew on his vampire strength and bent the steering column up enough to get out from under it. “Thank you,” he said as the young man helped him from the car. Darien’s leg was definitely broken at the femur, but he didn’t care. His system would sort it out shortly. What he was really worried about was Vicky possibly bleeding to death on the sidewalk. He could smell her blood from here. Darien let the young man help him around the car to where Vicky was laid out. A young woman in a lavender sweaterdress stood over Vicky. The woman had tucked a light jacket over the injured girl, trying to keep her warm.

The woman stepped back to let her husband help Darien to the ground. “She’s hurt.”

Darien reached out and touched Vicky. He cringed at the damage done. Not only did she have a head wound and a badly broken arm, she also had several broken ribs and some internal bleeding. Darien shifted closer so Vicky’s head rested on his lap. “Thank you,” he said to the couple one more time before turning his attention to Vicky. Placing a hand on top of her head and one on her chest, Darien closed his eyes to work. He poured himself into her, wiping away the worst traces of the accident. Healing was one of Darien’s unique powers. He spent the time waiting for the police to arrive fixing the internal damage. Vicky’s arm would need to be set before he could heal it properly, and he left the minor cuts so the medics would have a reason for the blood on her. He could finish the job when he got her away from the doctors.

The approaching police officer looked over the mangled car. “What happened?” The front, driver’s side quarter panel was smashed, and the rest of that side was torn up from spinning into the side of the SUV. The passenger’s side had crunched into a power pole just in front of the door. There was no sign of the SUV that had hit them.

“We were heading home after dropping some stuff off at the Lock-N-Store,” the man that had helped Darien out of the car answered. “We were stopped at the light over there,” he said, pointing to the cross street, “when this black SUV ran the light and slammed into him.” The man pointed at Darien. “He must have seen the thing coming, because he hit his brakes before making it out into the intersection completely. I have no idea how, because the asshole didn’t have any lights on at all. Hell, I didn’t see him until after they hit. Then the jerk didn’t even slow down! Just barreled right past, like nothing had happened.” More police cars and an ambulance pulled up as the man talked.

“If you could come with me,” the policeman said, “I would like to get your statement.”

“Gladly.” The man and his wife followed the police officer, leaving Darien and Vicky to the care of the EMTs.

An EMT came over to check on the injured pair on the sidewalk. “She’ll be all right,” he said reassuringly.

“I know.” Darien spoke softly as he let the man look at Vicky. He had healed the internal bleeding and the concussion, but it was taking a lot longer than he was used to. There hadn’t been time to start on the busted ribs yet. In fact, his ribs were still complaining. Usually, his body healed more rapidly than this.

The medic looked over Vicky with his little light before fitting her with a medical collar and letting two more EMTs slide a backboard under her.

Darien had to move out from under her so they could get Vicky strapped in properly. His femur screamed in pain, and he clutched at it, surprised. It should have knitted during the time he sat there.

“Let me help you,” the medic offered, when he saw Darien was hurt, too.

Darien pressed on the injured leg. “Please, give me a moment.” Turning his mind to the wound, he pushed his power into the damaged bone and felt it knit together. It was the first time he had ever had to use that ability on himself.

“Are you ready now?” the medic asked.

Darien took the man’s hand. “Yes.”

The medic was shocked when Darien only used him for a little balance.

Darien picked the woman’s jacket up and gave it to a police officer. “This belongs to the young lady.”

The officer took it.

“Thank her again for her help,” Darien said as the medic waited for him to come. He picked up Vicky’s bag and went over to the car. Sticking his head in, he fished around until he found the cell phone and the battery that had popped out of it. He put the thing back together as the medic took him to the ambulance into which the EMTs had loaded Vicky. Darien had just gotten the battery in and phone back on when it rang.

“Darien!” Elliot’s frantic voice sounded down the line.

Darien smiled as he climbed into the ambulance. “Cutting it a little close there,” he said weakly. His head hurt badly.

Elliot let out a sigh of relief. “I let you know as soon as I knew. Are you okay?”

“Car’s totaled.” Darien looked back at the little, black sports car, smashed into pieces. “They are taking us to…” Darien turned to look at the EMT. “Where are we going?”

“Bethesda,” the medic answered as she ran an IV into Vicky’s arm.

“Did you get that?” Darien asked Elliot.

“Yes,” Elliot said. “We are already on our way.”

“Good.” Darien looked down at the blood on his dress shirt. He hadn’t realized he was bleeding. “I think I need something to eat.” Pressing his hand over the rib poking out of the skin, he pushed it back into place. The hiss that came from him drew the attention of the medic.

“Let me see.” The medic pulled Darien’s hand away to find the rib healed.

“It must have come from her head wound,” Darien mused as the medic searched his side for the source of the blood. He’d made short work of that broken rib, but he had at least three more that were not healing properly.

“How is she?” Elliot asked, drawing Darien’s attention back to the phone in his hand.

Darien looked past the EMT trying to check him over. “She’ll be okay.”

“How are you?” Elliot sounded more concerned.

“Hurry,” Darien replied. If he didn’t get some fresh blood to get his system working right, the doctors would find out that he wasn’t quite normal.

“We will meet you at the emergency room.” Elliot cut the line off, and Darien lowered the phone.

The EMT was working to get Darien’s coat off so she could check his blood pressure.

He conceded and let the woman pull his jacket off. She looked over the bloody spot again before wrapping the blood pressure cuff around Darien’s arm and pumping it up. He was interested in what it would come out to be.

The woman pumped it up three times, rechecking the levels. “That’s weird.”

“What?” Darien asked.

The medic checked her machine. “Your blood pressure is eighty-nine over sixty-four.”

“Is that good?” Darien asked.

“It’s way low.” She pulled out her stethoscope. “But blood pressure usually rises in stressful situations. Breathe in for me.” The woman placed the listening device against Darien’s chest.

Drawing in a deep breath, he made sure his heart beat normally. He reached over and touched Vicky’s leg to match her pulse. A confused look crossed the woman’s face, and she looked up at him.

“Do you have a heart arrhythmia?” she asked as she moved the stethoscope around on his chest.

“Not to my knowledge,” Darien said as she listened. He contemplated stopping his heart to see what she would do but decided that would cause more trouble than it was worth.

When she was done listening, she pulled out a penlight and shined it into Darien’s eyes. “How do you feel?” she asked, checking over the bump on his head.

“All right,” Darien lied. His head hurt badly, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. He was hoping that some fresh blood would set him right. For a moment, he considered biting the nice EMT pestering him, but he shook that idea away. Not only would her driver notice, but she was also taking care of Vicky. Darien tried not to feed from emergency crews. They did more good with their blood in them.

“Looks like you have a bit of a concussion.” The woman put her light away. “Just relax, and we’ll get you to the hospital.” The medic turned her attention back to Vicky, who was just stirring.

Darien placed his hand on the woman’s shoulder. “I’m fine. Worry about her.” He pushed the woman to forget about his condition.

The medic nodded and bent under his suggestion.

Sitting back, he rubbed Vicky’s legs as the medic looked her over. His fingers found the silver ring of flowers Zak had placed on her ankle. He fiddled with it, thinking about what the little fay was going to do to him for letting Vicky get hurt again.

***

Vicky woke up to the comforting feeling of Darien driving the hurt from her. She opened her eyes to find she was strapped to a gurney with a woman leaning over her, checking her vitals. Vicky followed the source of the warmth down to see Darien leaning forwards with his eyes closed, holding on to her leg. The woman fired off a string of questions, but Vicky ignored them, worrying about the man near her feet. “Darien?” Vicky called softly.

He looked up and gave her a reassuring smile that he really didn’t feel.

Vicky leaned back and gave her attention to the medic. It only took another five minutes for them to arrive at the hospital, but Vicky felt infinitely better than when she first woke up. The EMT was surprised that Vicky was in such good condition after such a hard crash. The only things Darien hadn’t fixed yet were the surface wounds and the broken bone in her arm.

“Let’s get you inside,” the EMT said as her partner opened the back of the ambulance.

Darien released Vicky’s leg and got down. His head was killing him, and he was a little shaky on his feet, but he did his best to not show the injury to the medic. It would be problematic if they tried to get him into the emergency room.

The pair of medics pulled Vicky out and wheeled her through the double doors into the hospital. Elliot and two others were waiting for their arrival and stepped up as soon as they saw Darien get out of the back of the ambulance.

“Darien.” Elliot grabbed him before he fell over. “Are you all right?”

“No,” Darien admitted. “I’m not healing.”