Eternal Flame

“Shoot her!” Beth screamed at the guards. “Not the head or the heart, but shoot her! Take her down!”

The bullets flew through the air as the flames blazed higher.

Zane scooped up Catalina and held her tight. He ran out of the room and into the narrow hallway. That screaming alarm pierced his ears. A constant, high-pitched wail that threatened to burst his ear drums. He blasted his power out in waves, knocking back every guard he saw as he shoved his energy at them.

Jana. He needed to get to her. He didn’t know how long her charge would last and—

“Zane?” Catalina’s breathy voice. He glanced down. Her eyes were fluttering open. Witches were so incredibly strong. He’d figured that she would wake up fast.

He put his back against the nearest wall and eased Catalina to her feet. “What the hell are you doing here?” The last time he’d seen her, they’d both been in a shit-forsaken vampire hell. The vamps had surrounded Catalina with fire. Burn, witch. He’d gotten to her in time, saved her from the touch of fire, but she’d still left. Still left because …

“I’m not the one for you. “ Her words echoed through his mind. Catalina had scryed to see the future, and what she’d seen had made her run.

He hadn’t heard from her in months. Had she been here the whole time? Trapped by Perseus?

“It’s not like I wanted to be here.” Her breath shuddered out, and she yanked up the sleeve of her shirt. There, on her upper arm, he saw two thin white lines. Scars. No, hell, no. Binding marks. He’d only seen them once before in his life, but he knew what they were-marks to bind a witch’s power.

“I don’t have a coven to protect me.” Her gaze was steady, proud. “When the agents came to me, I didn’t realize what they had planned for me, not until it was too late.”

Until the first binding mark appeared.

“Three marks,” she whispered and he heard her, even with the wailing alarm. “Three and I’m completely helpless. With two”-she swallowed—“my powers became so weak, I wasn’t able to fight back against the bastards.”

Shit. “I’m getting you out of here.”

But she shook her head. “There are others here. I won’t leave them.”

“Others?”

“A wolf shifter … and a vampire. I won’t leave them.”

A woman’s scream ripped through the air. Jana. He lunged forward. Catalina grabbed his arm. “They want you. They’ve seen what you can do. If they can keep you here, if they can use you—”

“No one’s gonna fucking use me.”

“They were going to kill me two days ago,” she told him, her lips trembling. “Then they realized I knew you. I’m alive just because—”

Another scream. Jana. He broke Catalina’s hold. “Cat, get out of here! Run, and I’ll find you!” But first, he was getting

Jana.

“I’m alive because I told them your weakness.” Her whispered words floated behind him. “I’m sorry, Zane.” He spun back to face her. “Cat?”

Her shoulders were slumped. Her head down. “They were going to put on the third bind. I didn’t have a choice. They know about—”

The drugs. Shit.

She looked up at him. A tear tracked down her cheek. “I’m sorry.”

The screams had stopped. He could smell smoke drifting in the air. Coming closer. “Fire’s coming.” Catalina’s weakness. “Get out. Just run!”

Fear had her eyes flaring wide, but she shook her head. “Not without the others.” She stumbled down the hallway, lifting her hand toward him. “Come with me, Zane. Don’t go back, they’re waiting for you! It’s all a trap.”

He knew it, but … “They’ve got someone I—” Someone, what? Someone he needed? Someone he sure as shit wouldn’t leave behind? She didn’t leave me. “I’m not leaving her,” was all he said.

Catalina’s lips parted, and her eyes seemed to lose a bit of focus. The shift in her glance always happened when she used her magic. “No.” A bit sad. “You can’t leave her.”

There wasn’t time to waste. Zane ran down the hall, bellowing Jana’s name.

A mass of swirling and crackling flames shot down the hallway. He shoved the fire to the side even as water poured down from the sprinklers above him. What the hell?

The door to the holding room was open. He rushed inside, and the smoke shoved its way down his throat. “Jana! Jana, pull back the fire!”

But Jana was lying in the middle of the room with her hair a black curtain around her face. Flames ate at the walls and the ceiling.

Beth stood near those flames, her body swaying.

Hell. He poured his power out as he fought the flames. The heat scorched his flesh.

The fire retreated from him, and he leapt to Jana’s side. She was slowly pushing herself up.

“Pull it back,” he growled, locking his fingers around her arms as he drew her close. “It’s okay, baby, I’m here now, you can ease up on the f—”

She blinked at him. Her eyes were tired, weak, and dark blue.

He heard the laughter then. Wild, wicked laughter. He turned his head and found Beth staring at him-with eyes gone dark red.

“N-not me …” Jana whispered as her hands twisted to hold tight to him. Her nails sank into his skin. “Not a-anymore.”

Another ball of flames shot straight at him. He threw his body over Jana’s even as he sent the fire slamming into the south-side wall with a psychic surge of energy. Jana coughed beneath him and shuddered.

“You’re going to die, demon!” Beth yelled, her voice rising above the flames. “You’re both going to burn!”

Zane glanced up and saw the flames rolling over the ceiling. Looked like clouds of fire. Not. Good.

“You should have joined us when you had the chance.” More laughter from Beth. “Now I’ll just burn you until there’s nothing left.”

The hell she would.

Zane threw up his hands, pushing a powerful wave of energy at her just as Beth’s flames came for him again. The flames froze in mid-air, caught between them, and Beth screamed.

“She won’t be able to … handle it….” Jana coughed again and pushed against him. “Not the first time … not…”

The flames swelled. They shoved against his hold. Burned so hot.

“The ceiling’s gonna fall. …” Jana jerked from beneath him. “We’ve got to get out of here!” Her hands grabbed at his arms. ”Come on!”

Beth screamed again, a loud, desperate cry as she fell to her knees. The flames erupted, shooting across the room, and chunks of the ceiling fell down, crashing onto the floor.

He ran with Jana, holding back the fire and charging for the door. The smoke, heavy and gray, blocked their path, but they barreled straight through it and, with his help, through the flames.

Beth’s yells followed them, blending with the piercing alarm, and the crackle of the fire.

He and Jana thundered down the hallway. Guards were running, hell-bent on getting away from the flames so they didn’t even toss him or Jana a second glance. The guards sure didn’t try to stop them. Too busy running.

Zane risked a glance behind him. The fire was destroying everything, burning so bright. Sending screams of terror into the air. As he watched, two men appeared near the back wall. Chameleons being forced out of their camouflage because of the fire’s heat. One of the bastards was the one who’d attacked Jana.

He was burning, screaming as he fell to the ground. The flames flared higher around him and the other chameleon. Trapping them, killing them.

Zane’s legs pumped as he searched for a way out of the nightmare. Not Jana’s fire. What the hell had happened? And why hadn’t Jana mentioned that Beth was an Ignitor?

Fuck. Just when he’d thought he could trust her …

They burst through some double doors and out into the night. Jana sucked in deep gulps of air and fell to her knees.

The clean air almost seemed to burn his lungs. “Jana …” His voice sounded like gravel.

Her head turned toward him. Her eyes were wet with tears. From the smoke? Or something more?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He lifted her up and carried her farther away from that burning building and the screams that echoed inside. “Why didn’t you tell me what Beth could do?”

She just shook her head.

“Fuck.” He sat her down near the edge of the swamp. “Stay here.”

She grabbed his arms. “Where … are you going?” she rasped.

“I’ve got a friend in there. I’m not leaving her for the flames.” He wouldn’t leave Catalina to her worst nightmare.

“Friend?” Her brow wrinkled. Ash stained her cheeks. “With … Perseus?”

Yeah, okay, that sounded screwed. “Just stay here, okay?” But even as he said the words, he knew she’d be gone when he came back. It was her perfect chance to run. “They’ve got supernaturals caged in there.” His voice grew stronger with every word, just as those flames were growing stronger with every second that passed. “I’m not letting them burn.”

Perseus was dying tonight, burning to the ground, but they weren’t taking the paranormals out with them.

He whirled away from Jana and ran right back into the fire.

Jana shook her head, stunned, as Zane disappeared into the smoke again. What was he thinking? Didn’t he realize those flames weren’t going to stop? They were blazing out of control. Even a level ten couldn’t fight them-not with an Ignitor constantly charging them up. The first fire is always the hottest. Too strong. Can’t stop it.

She lifted a shaking hand to her head. Oh, God, how had this happened? One minute, that girl had been running toward her, and Jana had been getting her charge strong enough to blast, then—

Then Beth had been in control of the flames.

And I’d had nothing.

Jana had been surrounded by fire but, for the first time, completely at its mercy. If Zane hadn’t come in there, she would have died.

Her eyes squeezed shut. I’ve got a friend in there. I’m not leaving her for the flames. Beth had taunted him about a friend. We’ve got a friend of yours waiting to meet you.

What friend?

She stumbled to her feet. A guard ran out of the smoke. He didn’t glance her way. He just raced for the truck parked near the line of twisted trees.

Trying to get away?

She sucked in another breath and went after him. “Hey, hey, wait!”

He grabbed the door handle and wrenched open the door.

“Look, buddy—”

He swung around to face her. Jana slammed her fist into his face. She might not have her fire right then, but she wasn’t helpless.

The guy sank to the ground. She went with him, patting his pockets, finding his keys, a cell phone, and-yes!-a gun. Jana tucked the gun into the waistband of her jeans and glanced back at the fire. Zane was in there. Other paranormals were trapped inside. She looked down at her hands. Cell phone. Keys. The perfect time to escape. There were no more ties to her past. Perseus wouldn’t come after her. She could get away clean.

But Zane was in the fire.

Zane.

She punched in a quick series of numbers on the cell phone. Numbers she’d memorized earlier, when she’d seen Zane make one of his calls. The phone rang once, twice—

“Who the hell is this?” a snarling voice demanded.

Jana’s fingers tightened around the phone. “I’m calling about Zane Wynter.” She didn’t have a whole lot of time to waste.

“Zane?” The voice quieted. “Is he okay?”

“Kinda hard to say.” She bit her lip and rose, stepping away from the fallen guard and keeping his keys. She had to strain to make her voice louder and clearer when she said, “He’s in the fire right now.”

“What?”

“I don’t know where we are,” she said. “Some damn swamp.”

Other voices murmured in the background, then he told her, “Just keep the phone on. We can find you.”

“Send some fire trucks, would you?” She watched those flames blaze. They’d burned through the roof and were reaching so high. With a fire like this, there was only one way to stop the flames. Just one … “People are still inside. They need help.”

A pause. Then he asked, “Is it your fire, Jana?”

It should have been. “I’ll keep the phone on,” she said. “You just get help out here, got it? Perseus is burning, but I’m not letting them destroy Zane.”

Then she put the phone on the hood of the truck and made the stupidest move of her life. She went back into the fire.

“Help me…” The voice drew Zane in closer. It was weak, rough, desperate. Not Catalina.

He found himself in the same conference room he’d been in when he’d first seen Catalina. The fire had already come inside, the flames surging against the walls. The guards were gone. They’d cleared out fast, but then, his psychic blast wouldn’t have kept them knocked out for long.

He’d never seen a fire like this one. Even with his power, it was hard to push the flames back. And if he hadn’t been so high on the demon scale then he never would have been able to clear a path back inside. The fire was too wild.

The flames weren’t just sticking to the walls. They were surging forward, actually tracking people-as if they were intent on killing. Hell, they were intent. An Ignitor aimed the fire where she wanted it. Beth wanted the fire to kill, and it was. Only, it wasn’t just killing Beth’s enemies. It was killing everyone.