Eternal Flame (Night Watch #3)(80)
Author: Cynthia Eden

Weakness. The need for drugs that so many of his kind possessed. But the drugs didn’t call to him. Jana called. Only her. Yeah, he was addicted—to her.

She was his weakness.

Don’t let them know your weakness. The voice drifted through his mind, and Zane tensed at the memory.

“Beth would have made sure she tested the psychic’s power before trying to take my fire.” A furrow appeared between Jana’s brows. “She would have planned everything, been sure there were no mistakes.” A hard laugh escaped her. “But she didn’t realize how hot that fire would be.” Her laughter died. “Neither did her psychic.” She swallowed and her eyes grew sad.

He ran the back of his hand down her arm.

“So … wait, you’re saying those bastards at Perseus found a way to transfer powers?” Jude whistled. “Someone took your fire?”

She nodded jerkily.

“Shit.” He rocked back. “And you think-you think somebody took a shifter’s gift, too?”

“Gift, curse, all the same damn thing.” Jana heaved out a hard breath. “If they could take my fire, they could take someone’s beast. They could take anything.”

Jude paled a bit. He didn’t want to lose his beast. “You sure that psychic is dead?”

She nodded.

Dee strode forward. “But you burned me.”

“The transfer doesn’t seem to be permanent.”

Dee’s gaze measured her. “Do you believe there might be another psychic out there who can steal powers, too?”

“I think there probably is, somewhere,” Jana said, her eyes narrowing. “For a while, I thought I was the only one who could start the fires. Then I found out there were more like me. Why not have more like Laura?”

“Hell. Just what we don’t need.” Jude seemed to be sweating. Zane didn’t blame him. The last thing a shifter would want to hear is that his beast could be taken from him.

“Did Marcus shift?” Zane asked Jana, pulling her attention back to him. “When you were with him, did Marcus’s claws grow, did his teeth—”

“He was too weak to shift.” Said with sadness. “Just like he was too weak to fight off the bastard who came for him.”

The bastard that he suspected had Tony. The light overhead shattered and sent down a hail of sparks.

“Easy,” Dee said.

Fuck easy. Where was Tony? “I’m not standing here with my thumb up my a—”

The door flew open. Catalina stood in the doorway, sweating, chest heaving, and with what looked like tear tracks of blood on her cheeks. “I found him!” A broken mirror, the glass gone black, was gripped tightly in her blood-soaked hands. Simon loomed behind her, but Zane knew the blood hadn’t come from a vampire’s bite. No, this time, it had come from something far worse.

“Dee, tell me you didn’t ask her to—”

Dee brushed by him and headed for Catalina. “We needed to find him. She had to scry.”

Dee had never understood about scrying. She didn’t realize … Cat looked into the spirit world every time she tried to see the future. And the spirit world … it looked back at her. When Death looked at you, it was never a good thing.

He marks you. She’d told Zane that once. Told him that she’d felt Death’s claws in her flesh. He’d seen the scars on her back to prove the claim.

“What did you see?” Jude asked, circling close to her.

Her chest heaving, she said, “Demons-demons were all around him. Closing in.”

“A den?” The question came from Simon. He was right at Catalina’s back. Good thing. The woman would be collapsing soon.

Catalina nodded. “It was black. Covered in darkness. Like a fire had scorched—”

“I know the place,” Jana cut in, a thread of excitement in her voice. “If you’re talking about demons in a den and fire, then you’re talking about Dusk.”

Because she’d lit up that place. Scorched the walls and ceiling.

Catalina swallowed. “Th-there’s not much time.” Her gaze met Zane’s. “Death’s already there.” She turned her body a bit, and he caught sight of her shoulder, and the long, bloody claw marks that ravaged the back of her arm.

He heard Jana’s gasp and knew she’d seen the marks, too.

“Who has Tony?” He had to understand just what he was walking into at that den.

A trickle of blood slipped from her mouth. “A demon. I saw-saw his eyes. So dark. So black.”

Her own eyes began to close. He lunged forward.

But Simon had her. He caught the witch and lifted her up high against his chest. Shit. With all that blood, he’d better not be—

Simon shoved Catalina into Jude’s arms. A muscle jerked in his jaw, and Simon stepped back, fast.

“Didn’t … let you down this time.” Catalina’s voice was a whisper. “This time … did my part. T-tell Tony … didn’t … leave him alone.”

“We’ll tell him.” Because they were finding him alive. “Just rest, Cat. We’ll get him.”

And he’d make the bastard who took him pay. Perseus had picked the wrong demon to screw, and the wrong human to take.

Hold on, Tony.

Zane wrapped his fingers around Jana’s. Help was coming-and help would be in the form of that Perseus bastard’s worst nightmare.

Chapter 18

“How are we going to do this?” Jana asked. Her gut tightened as they approached the darkened shell that was Dusk.

Dusk. Well, dawn was actually breaking as they headed for the hollowed-out demon’s den, and dawn wasn’t a real good time when your backup consisted of a pair of vamps. Vamps were weaker during the day. Pretty much at human level. Since they were about to go up against some amped-up demons …

Yeah, stronger backup, or maybe actual dusk would have been better.

“We’re going in, and we’re kicking ass until we get our man back,” Dee said, not looking real fazed by the fact that the sun had started to rise.

The male vamp, Simon, was at her side. Figured. From what Jana could tell, he always stayed pretty close to her. Tall, dark, scary … the guy had done a major freak-out when the blonde was hurt. A freak-out that still had her head throbbing.

Her eyes narrowed. She’d owe him for that. And she always paid her debts.

“We don’t know how many are waiting inside.” Tension had tightened Zane’s muscles. They were three blocks away from the den. “So you two will be our distraction.”