Fire in the Darkness (19 page)

“You are not getting in my way, Eli, even if I have to kill you.”

The scene was quickly spiraling out of control, and I was the only one who could stop it. I couldn’t let my friends be taken like Mark had. Fear flourished in my stomach like a weed, twisting and curling around my internal organs.
Kennedy.
If he figured out she was a Druid, would he tell the Queen? I couldn't let Aneira find out. Ever. “I’ll go. Please don’t hurt them.” I stepped forward and repeated the sentiment. “I’ll go with you, Lorcan.”

“No.” Eli grabbed for my wrist.

We don’t have a choice, Eli
. My gaze shot to him.

You are NOT going with him. Don’t be stupid.

“Why? Would it be any different if I stayed here with you?” I voiced, turning my anger on him. “This is all happening because of me.” I waved my hand at my friends then to the bullet-riddled house. “I can’t sit back and let him take people I love. They are
my
family. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for them.”
And what about Kennedy? Are you willing to let the Queen find out what she is?
My stare demanded. The tension of our unspoken words grew.

Eli looked deeply into my eyes, his grip tightening around my wrist. No, but giving yourself up won’t help either. This won’t benefit Mark or your friends. The moment she has you, she will torture or kill them. It will only bring them more pain if you go.

My gut knew he was right, but my heart felt wrong letting any of this happen and for not already going after Mark. How could I let him or my friends be locked up in some dungeon in the Otherworld being tortured as I continue to sit here?

I couldn’t.

“You can’t go,” Eli whispered, his hand moving to the side of my face.

“I’m sorry. I have to.” I pulled away but my eyes pleaded with him.
Rescue Kennedy and the rest of them and keep them safe for me.

He gave a slight nod. Grabbing my arm again, he whispered something strange into my ear. The word twisted and curled around my lobe. As his lips finished speaking there was a prickling over my skin and the iron cuff, which had been wrapped around my wrist, silently dropped into the long grass. I looked up at him surprised. I knew what he was doing—what he was giving me back. My dormant forces uncoiled themselves, coming back to life. I felt whole again.

We’ll be right behind you and will come around and strike from the front. I will not let him hurt you.
Eli’s eyes communicated to mine. I touched his face softly before turning to face Lorcan again. This time it was Sam who moved forward, her eyes blazing with hatred. The loathing she felt for me was written all over her features.

Taking an unwavering step, I nodded toward my friends. “You have me now, so please let them go.”

“Oh pet, I’m not stupid.” A smile slithered over Lorcan’s features. “They are my insurance you will do what I want. They are coming with us.” Lorcan reacted to movement behind me. “Don’t think about it, Eli. I will gut her friends right here. You may not care, but you know Ember does.”

“But you have me now. You don’t need them.” My gaze flittered over my friends' terrified faces as they looked between me and Lorcan. Blood froze in my veins upon seeing how scared and confused they were. The fact I now had my full powers back, even though they weren’t always consistent, should have all these people huddling in fear of me. I was consumed with rage. But I couldn’t do anything until I knew my friends were safe. The inconsistency of my powers might actually hurt or kill them. I couldn’t take the chance.

I gulped and looked back at Eli; his face was like stone. My attention filtered over Cooper and Gabby. They all stood there with the same hard, blank look that gave me no comfort, no solace.

“Let’s go, my pet,” Lorcan whispered into my ear, causing a cold tremor to run through my body. He grabbed my arm and tugged me toward him as he pulled something from his pocket. Immediately, raw iron encircled my wrists. My knees buckled and Lorcan grabbed my arm pulling me back up, pinning me to his side. “Never underestimate me. I am not a fool like my brother. I will always be several steps ahead of you.”

“It was great doing business with you,” Lorcan retorted, looking directly at Eli. He started to move, but stopped and turned back. “Oh, and don’t worry brother, I will take
good
care of Ember. She will get the same service from me as she did from you . . .”

Panic surged through every fiber of my being at the implications of his words. Eli surged forward, but Cooper quickly blocked him. Lorcan laughed with delight, happy to provoke his brother. Was he simply needling Eli or would he actually follow through and physically assault me knowing it would be the ultimate disrespect and revenge?

Lorcan moved us through the brush, deeper into the dark forest. The other Dark Dwellers disappeared from sight. With every step, my limited energy inched back through my muscles. We were only a few minutes into our walk when someone moved in front of me, blocking my path. Looking up I saw Samantha’s fierce glare boring into me.

“So, we get to take home the repulsive, little whore.” Sam looked at me with disgust. “I’m so looking forward to the day you are torn into little bits.”

Fury almost knocked me over. “Oh darn, and here I thought we would be having a girl’s slumber party tonight: pillow fights, doing each other’s nails, and talking about how Eli would rather touch an abomination than ever touch you.” Low and spiteful? Definitely. And it felt good, but I was unprepared for her rage. Her fist slammed into my face knocking me hard to the ground. With my hands bound, I could do very little against her strikes. I swung my arms up, the metal clipping her chin.

“You fucking bitch,” she screamed at me.

Dax yanked Samantha back, pulling her off me. Lorcan roughly grabbed me, dragging me to my feet. The moment his hand clutched my back, a searing, white-hot pain raced up the lines of my tattoo—an excruciating pain. I gasped, falling back to the ground.

Lorcan screamed next to me, dropping to his knees. It was clear my tattoo had triggered a similar pain in him. Everyone stood around us, in stunned silence, not sure what had taken place or what to do. Lorcan bent over on all fours and spat, before sitting back on his heels. “What the hell?” His voice was raspy, as he stared at me with an expression of bewilderment and fury.

Eli’s touch had never caused me pain, only an intense warming sensation and that feeling was lessening over time. Cooper and West had touched me, but it had been barely a buzz. Lorcan’s touch was like tiny knives being driven into my flesh. Why did I feel Lorcan’s touch so violently and not the others? And why was Eli’s touch fading? Less than twenty minutes ago his hands were up my shirt touching my tattoo, but I couldn’t even recall if it had warmed or not. He didn’t jerk back or act like it had hurt him. But, to be honest, lightning could have struck us and we probably wouldn’t have noticed.

Lorcan stood, grabbing the neck of my shirt. “What the hell was that?”

“I-I don’t know.”

His eyes narrowed in on mine. “You’re lying.” Snatching the back of my top he pulled it up, exposing my tattoo. I struggled against him, but Dominic grabbed my arms, holding me in place. Lorcan reached out, grazing the lines of my tattoo. Simultaneously, a cry broke out from our lips. Pain filled my eyes.

“Fuck.” He yanked his hand away. “Touch her tattoo,” he commanded, motioning to Dominic who still gripped my arms. Dominic’s face stayed stoic, but I could see the hesitation in his movement. His fingers slowly reached out over my shoulder. As he made contact with my skin, a small warmness shot up my tattoo. It was so minimal compared to Lorcan’s, I almost missed it.

“Hmmm . . . interesting.” That's all Lorcan said, as he dropped my shirt back in place.

“What is it, Lorc?” Samantha asked.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with,” he brushed her off. “Ember, you are becoming more and more fascinating to me by the moment.”

“Too bad I can’t say the same about you,” I snapped. My gaze once again moved to the frightened expressions of my friends. “Please, Lorcan, let them go.

He shook his head.

“Promise me you will not hurt them,” I implored. Even though I knew his promises were empty, I was desperate for any hope they’d be alright.

“As long as you do what I say, I will not harm your little buddies.” He looked over his shoulder at them. “But, there does seem to be too many of them. We don’t need all of them for you to cooperate.”

A small relief filled me if even one of them got away and was safe.

“So which one do you pick, Emmy? Which one means the least to you?”

Relief evaporated. “What do you mean?”

“Which one do you choose to kill?”

“W-W-What? You promised me you wouldn’t hurt them,” I exclaimed.

A devilish smile formed on Lorcan’s mouth. “I promised you
I
wouldn’t hurt your friends. I didn’t say anything about them.” He nodded toward his group of Dark Dwellers.

Blind terror locked in my chest. “No, please no . . . I’ll do anything.”

“I know you will, but I think you need to see what real Dark Dwellers are like. We are ruthless, and we kill. Sometimes solely for the enjoyment of it. Eli has lost what it is to be a Dark Dweller. You should fear us, not want to play house. Deep down, you believe he would never actually turn you over or hurt you. Eli is an insult to our kind, to our parent’s memories. All of them are.”

Eli,
I screamed in my head. Where in the hell was he? He said he would be coming around to strike from the front. They probably had to go way out so Lorcan and the rest of them wouldn’t sense them. But his arrival would be good about now.
Please, Eli. I need you.

“Samantha?” Lorcan motioned with two fingers for Samantha to step up, bringing Ian with her. The knife she held to his throat gleamed under the moonlight. A fear so unfathomable reverberated in my bones, rocking me forward with a stumbling step. He was not bluffing and had just chosen for me.

A scream tore from my throat, “NOOOOOO!” Dominic had a tight grasp on me restraining me from moving forward.

“Oh, this is going to be fun,” Samantha smirked.

Feeling faint, the world blurred around me. All I could see were Ian’s terror-stricken eyes. The agony was too much. I looked away. “Please . . . don’t do this,” I choked out. All-consuming horror jangled my powers, which were under the iron curtain. I was helpless though it didn’t stop me from trying to pull on my powers through a tiny gap in the wall.

Lorcan shook his head. “Don’t Ember. If I sense any of your powers coming out even slightly, I will kill two of your friends.”

I tensed. He didn’t bluff—ever. I looked over at Ryan, and the absolute terror as he looked at his cousin caused me to whimper. Ian and I weren’t as close as Ryan and Kennedy were to me, but he had become a good friend over the years. He was Ryan’s family, which made him special. He had been out there with them, looking for me, putting up posters. Ian had no idea what world he had become involved with by simply being my friend. There was no way I would leave his side or not try, with every fiber of my being, to get him out of this. All of them. This was my world we were fighting in now, not theirs.

“Poor Ember,” Samantha’s condescending tone crackled up my spine. “All is fair in love and war, little Dae. You take something from me, and I think it’s only fair I take something from you.” Samantha green eyes blazed through the night, locking smugly onto me.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t take anything from you,” I shrieked.

“Eli was mine and you took him from me. Everything we used to be and had, your kind took from us.”

Oh God . . . she is seriously insane.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t take Eli from you. Please, Samantha, put the knife down,” I pleaded.

“You think I’m blind and don’t see the way he looks at you? Did you do something to him, whatever your kind does? Did you put some magic spell on him, bewitch him? Because there is no other reason he’d be with you. To want you so much. He hates everything about your kind,” she seethed out accusingly. “But for some reason you have them
all
falling at your feet. West did, also. In the end he chose you and look what happened to him.”

“What happened to him?” I whispered.

Disregarding my question, Samantha rattled on. “I will not sit back and let this happen. I cannot touch you . . . I am forbidden. But, if I can’t hurt you, then I will hurt the very things you love the most.”

“Please, don’t . . . .”

“Sorry, too late,” Sam crackled with laughter. Her arm jerked in a fluid motion, the knife slicing across Ian’s bare throat, blood spraying across my face as his eyes bulged in shocked fear. His body dropped to the ground with a thud.

An anguished howl tore through my body. My mind immediately shut down, overwhelmed with agony. It was as if a thin slab of glass fell, dividing me from the world around me. My actions and movements felt like someone else’s. In my periphery, I saw Ryan fall to the ground, wailing. With his arms bound, he hobbled on his knees through the dirt to get closer to his cousin. I heard myself screaming and calling Ian’s name, but I knew he was no longer there. Ian’s eyes were still open wide in shock, but there was no soul in them anymore, no light. Blood seeped onto the ground, blending with the night, the earth quickly absorbing Ian’s life essence.

FIFTEEN