Eternal Flame

Zane pushed to his feet. “That the best you’ve got?” His shoulder had been dislocated. No big deal. He was also pretty sure that the back of his head was bleeding. Still, he was walking, and he was ready for his turn to attack.

Davey stared back at him. “You can’t beat me.”

He was pretty sure he could. “I’d say I have a fifty-fifty shot.” More, because Jude was starting to push to his knees. Can’t keep a good shifter down.

“Marcus wasn’t the first.” Davey spit on the ground. “And Laura wasn’t the first transference psychic we found, either. Our first psychic didn’t last as long, though, but Donna did manage to steal a Born Master’s youth for me.”

Zane kept his face blank. Born Masters were the vampires who were born with the immortal power already locked within them. Then they hit their late teens or early twenties and stopped aging. If that little bastard had really managed to steal a Born Master’s youth … “How the hell old are you really, Davey?”

“Forty-eight.” Davey licked his lips. “I look real good, don’t I? ‘Course, Donna didn’t look as good. The psychics can be weak sometimes, you know. They take the full hit of the power-that blast can be hell on a human.”

Jana stood behind Davey. Zane saw that the red in her eyes had darkened even more. Charging. Beth hadn’t permanently stolen her power. Those odds of kicking Davey’s ass were looking better and better.

“What happened to Donna?” Zane asked, trying to keep Davey focused on him.

A little shrug. “Let’s just say she got a little too young. Her body couldn’t handle things. I stole what I could from her before she … well … before the end came for her.”

Shit. “So after Donna, you lucked out and found Laura.”

“Luck had nothing do with it.” His gaze darted to Jude. The shifter was still on his knees, with his head down. “It took us months to find her and—”

Zane attacked. He shoved his psychic energy right at Davey, blasting as hard as he could. This time, Davey was the one to fly through the air. He flew into the window on the side of the building, smashing glass and disappearing inside.

Zane ran forward and grabbed Jana’s arm. “Get the hell out of here,” he told her. “Run. Go to Dusk. Find Dee. You’ve got to get out—”

Shards of glass flew into his arms and back. Swearing, he shielded Jana as the glass flew. The sharp edges embedded in his skin and dug deep.

“She’s not getting away.” Davey’s voice was darker. Harder. He climbed from the broken window, knocking glass off his shoulders. “She betrayed Perseus, and that bitch is dying tonight.”

“Zane…” Jana breathed his name and her fingertips pressed against him. Even through the clothing, he could feel the heat of her skin. Come on, baby, burn.

“Why does she matter?” he yelled at the asshole. “You took her power away. She’s not a threat to you.”

“No.” A fast agreement. “She’s not… now she’s just easy prey.”

“I thought you didn’t hurt humans!” Sick freak. Zane concentrated and the glass shards slipped from his body-and then they flew right at Davey. They hit the demon in the face.

Davey howled.

“Run, Jana!” Zane launched forward. He heard the snap and crunch of bones. Jude was transforming. When Jude shifted, he’d be a white tiger, and they’d tear the demon apart. This fight was ending.

He reached out, his hands ready to rip into Davey.

The demon disappeared. Zane grabbed only air. What?

Laughter teased his ears and a chill skated down his spine.

“The second Other I drained was a djinn. Those djinns … they can move fast. So fast.”

So fast it seemed they vanished into thin air.

Turning slowly, Zane locked eyes on Davey. The bastard had Jana again.

“Just so you know”-Davey’s eyes narrowed—“she wasn’t running away. She was running after you. Kind of sweet, hmmm?” He held up his claws. “You know I got these from my last transfer. One slice … that’s all it will take, and everyone will know that you don’t fuck with Perseus.”

“Don’t.” The word was bit out, and it was directed at the poised tiger, not at Davey. Because Jude had shifted completely now, and if he attacked … Jana’s dead.

“Doesn’t matter,” Davey said, his grin coming back. “She’s still dead.”

His gaze jerked to Jana’s. The whites of her eyes were blood-red now. But Davey hadn’t looked at her. He didn’t even realize … “I should have told you sooner. I should have trusted you sooner,” Zane told her, needing to say these words. Needing her to understand. Everything she was—“I love you.”

“Oh, that’s so fucking sweet,” Davey sneered. “My old man told me that my mother said the same crap before he slit her throat.” Davey’s claws came up to Jana’s throat. “Wanna tell him the same thing? Wanna tell him—”

Jana smiled at Zane.

Burn him. The whisper floated through his mind. He swallowed and pushed his power forward, wanting to be ready to attack with her.

Jana tossed back her hair and she said, “Fuck you.” Not words for Zane. The snarl was for Davey as she spun toward him. The demon’s claws slashed over her skin. Blood poured. “Go to hell!” Then the fire erupted. Her fire.

And Zane pushed all of his energy, all of his fire, at the demon, too.

Davey screamed-it was the last sound he ever made as the demon erupted in flames.

Chapter 19

There wasn’t much left of Davey. Zane stood in the alley and stared at the flickering flames. No matter how much power the demon had stolen, he hadn’t been able to heal from an Ignitor’s blast, not delivered at point-blank range with a full charge.

That fire had burned so high. So wild. Cops were coming. Firefighters, too. The EMTs would be there, but there wasn’t anything they could do to help Davey. “Where is she?” Jude asked him, his voice gruff. Zane glanced back. Jude had on a pair of jeans, nothing else. At least he was back in human form. “Gone,” he said, and the word felt hollow.

Jude’s eyes widened. “Aw, shit, man, the fire—” He laughed at that. “No, no, that fire didn’t touch her.” She’d been safely away from the flames. He’d run forward, and pushed her back even more as he tried to make sure the bastard was gone.

No coming back from that. Davey had been strong, but not strong enough.

He’d turned back to face Jana just as he’d heard the shout of approaching cops, but she’d been gone.

“What do we tell the cops?” Jude asked him softly. His gaze raked the night. He could still smell Jana. Her blood. Her scent. Rising over the smoke and ash. “We tell them that a killer confessed to us, then he torched himself.”

“There’ll be questions.” “There always are.”

Cops hurried toward them. “Hands up!” one shouted.

He put his hands up, and then he looked past the uniforms and into the shadows. Her scent lingered so strongly in the air.

Don’t leave me. The psychic order left him before he could stop it, because, hell, yeah, he was desperate.

“We’re hunters,” Jude said. “With Night Watch. We were tracking a killer.” He kept his hands up as he talked fast.

The cop who’d barked the order, an older, balding man, sniffed hard, and his face tightened. “What the hell is that smell? What’s burning?”

“That’d be our killer,” Zane said, keeping his own hands up as his gaze swept from the cops to that darkened alley. “Or what’s left of him.”

The cops began to gag.

Softly, so softly, he heard the sound of retreating footsteps. Jana.

He stepped forward, but the older cop had his gun ready and Zane knew he wasn’t supposed to hurt humans. He couldn’t chase after her.

Not yet.

Run then, baby. He hit their mental link easily. Touched her mind and felt her fear and her worry. I’ll find you.

Because he’d meant what he’d told her before-and he wasn’t about to just let her disappear into the night forever.

Coward. Jana put a hand to her throat and felt the wet warmth of her blood. Damn that demon, he’d slashed her good and deep.

The cops were there now, demanding to know what was going on. Wanting to know what had happened to the killer.

She sucked in a deep breath and could still taste the flames. He felt the fire.

Her fire, and Zane’s.

She stumbled away. She’d have to get to a hospital. She’d need stitches and explaining the wounds would be a bitch. She needed the hospital and she needed- Don’t leave me.

Zane’s voice seemed to echo in her mind. She froze. For an instant, she could feel him. His strong arms around her, his breath on her face. Zane.

A tear leaked down her cheek. She forced herself to keep going. One step. Another. So many damn cops. She’d have to watch herself.

Run then, baby. Again, his voice seemed to drift right through her. I’ll find you.

Such a dark promise. But what would happen when he found her? They weren’t going to get a happily ever after. That wasn’t what waited for her. The fire was back. Whatever Laura had done to her, it hadn’t been a permanent deal. Thank God.

She was back.

She slunk deeper into the shadows, aware that her blood was dripping onto the ground. She’d spent so much time hiding in the shadows. Hiding and running. And now she was running away from the one man who’d actually looked at her and said …

I love you.

“What the hell am I doing?” she whispered. Fear. She tried to pretend that she was never afraid, but at the first sign of those boys in blue, she’d turned tail and left Zane.

No, they might not have a happy ending, but maybe it was time she started facing up to her past. And to her choices.

She broke from the shadows and immediately saw a female cop with a curly mass of brown hair. The cop’s eyes widened when she got a good look at Jana.

“Miss! Miss, are you okay?”

What the hell? Did it look like she was okay? “Get me … to a hospital.” Okay, so she was a selfish bitch. She needed treatment, but she did manage to say, “And by the way …”

Surprisingly strong arms closed around her.

Jana licked her lips. “I … killed a man tonight.”

The cop’s eyes flashed demon black. “No, honey, what you did was put down a rabid dog.” Those black eyes burned down at her.

They were the last sight Jana saw.

He’d answered a million damn questions, and he was done. “Handle it,” Zane ordered Jude and turned away. The scent of Jana’s blood was driving him crazy. She shouldn’t have left when she was hurt. She should have let him take care of her.

He rushed down the alley, following that scent. The farther he went, the more blood he smelled. A fist squeezed his gut. How badly had she been hurt? Jana?

No answer. He couldn’t feel her at all anymore.

Fear whispered through him.

“She’s gone.”

His head turned to the right when he heard the soft voice. A cop stepped forward, her hair tumbling over her shoulders.

“Where is she?” Obviously, they were talking about the same she.

“Hospital. She passed out, and I loaded her into an ambulance.” The cop’s brows rose. “'Course, that was after she confessed to killing a man.”

Hell. He didn’t blink. He knew the cop. Had known Paula Channing for years. After all, he’d made a point of knowing all the demons on the force. But was Paula a demon first and a cop second? Or was she …?

He cleared his throat. “Obviously, she was confused. I just told Officer Hill that the suspect poured gasoline on himself and ignited—”

“I’m guessing a container with trace amounts of gasoline will magically appear in the evidence room later, huh?”

He shrugged.

“Good. That will make things easier.” She gave him a smile. A smile that died too fast. “I saw what happened to Tony. That bastard needed to be put down.” He had been.

“Your girl’s at Mercy General, with Tony.” Paula turned away and headed back into the shadows. “And don’t worry,” she tossed over her shoulder, “I’ve already forgotten what Jana said to me.”

When Jana opened her eyes, her throat hurt. Her jaw ached. And a man with midnight-black hair, a too fancy suit, and dark eyes stared down at her.

“Hello, Ms. Carter.” His voice was Southern, rolling slightly and soft. “My name is Jason Pak. I’m one of the … managers … of Night Watch.”

She lifted her hand and touched her neck. No, not her neck, bandages.

“You needed some stitches. Nothing too major,” he murmured, easing a bit away from the bed. A hospital bed. “But the doctors didn’t want to take any chances.”

Great. She looked down and found herself in one of those really annoying paper hospital gowns. Jana tugged the IV out of her arm and shoved up to a sitting position. Then she swung her legs over the side of the bed. Lucky for her, when her feet touched the floor, her knees didn’t buckle.

But, she was pretty sure Pak got a glimpse of her ass.

“You don’t need to run,” he told her. “The cops aren’t looking for you.”

Oh, right. She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Since I confessed to killing Davey, they probably are.”

He smiled. “Self-defense.”