Eternal Flame

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.”

The vamps nodded, but didn’t look particularly happy.

“You go in the front, loud and strong, and we’ll take the back.” Zane pointed at Jude. “You go with us.”

The big shifter’s face was etched into tight lines of fury. “I can smell his blood from here.”

Oh, that couldn’t be good. Death’s already there. That was what the witch had said. The last thing Jana wanted to do was walk in there and find the cop’s dead body. For a cop, Tony hadn’t been a bad guy. Not really bad at all.

The bees began to buzz in Jana’s head. She reached for Zane. “It … hurts when you do that.”

He blinked, then glanced quickly at Dee and Jude. They both shrugged, each with No-I-Don’t-Know-What-the-Hell-She-Means expressions.

“They’re not human,” she muttered. “I am. When you amp up the power, I can feel it.”

His eyes widened. “Then you stay here. Because if we go in there, and I find Tony and he’s—” He shook his head. “You need to be far enough away that the blast doesn’t hit you.”

The blast? She shook her head. “No, you need me.”

“He’s got two vamps,” Simon said. “And a shifter. I think we’ve got this covered.”

The vamp really wanted payback from her. She didn’t look away from Zane. “You need me.”

“I told you already,” he said. “I need you more than I’ve ever needed anyone.” He almost looked sad for an instant. No, not sad. Like he was—

“So I hope you understand when you wake up,” he continued, “I only did this to keep you safe.”

Then those bees swarmed in her mind. The green bled from Zane’s eyes, and the darkness she saw in his gaze seemed to reach out to her. She felt his arms catch her as she fell, and then … nothing.

“She’s going to be so pissed with you.” Dee shook her head and frowned down at Jana’s body. “And when that woman gets angry”—she shook her right hand—“she burns.” He grunted. “I’d rather have her pissed than hurt.”

“So what … you’re just going to leave her here?” Dee asked, lips pulling down. “What if some of the other assholes out here find her?”

Good fucking point. He grunted and looked at Jude. “Keep her safe.”

“But you need me in there! You don’t know what’s—”

“I need you to stay with Jana.” The shifter would understand. He might not like it, but he’d understand. Jude had his own lady that he’d die to protect. “I can track Tony. He’s human. I can send out a psychic wave and feel him once I’m inside.” He just had to get closer to make contact. “Jude, keep her safe.”

When had she come to mean so much? Come to mean … everything? When she’d gone after the demons who’d attacked him? When she’d braved the fires at Perseus for him? When they’d made love and she whispered his name?

Hell, it didn’t matter when. She was under his skin, locked in what was left of his heart, and he wasn’t risking her.

Don’t let them know your weakness.

The killer already knew, and Zane would be damned if he put Jana at risk. He would have left her back at Night Watch, but the drugs had dulled his powers and he hadn’t been able to put her out then.

Now his strength had returned. Real good thing.

“Be back soon, baby,” he whispered and brushed a kiss over her still lips. He looked up at Jude.

The shifter nodded his head in agreement. “Watch your ass, demon.”

“Always.” He squared his shoulders, ignored the throbbing in his head, and walked away from the woman who could break him. The demons were waiting for him. Holding the human he called his friend.

“Distract them,” he ordered Dee and knew that she would. With her new vampire skills, she’d tear a path right through any demons who were waiting inside. She and Simon would be more than a match for at least a dozen demons. Well, they’d be a match while the sun stayed low. Since time was against them, they all needed to haul ass.

But how many were inside? Catalina hadn’t told them for sure. Just that Tony was surrounded by Zane’s brethren.

He split from the vampires and kept to the waning shadows. The stench of burnt wood and ash hung in the air. He slipped down the alley, moving as soundlessly as he could. He sure didn’t want to tip off his prey. Not now.

The back door was boarded up. Boarded from the outside, as if someone had tried to keep the demons in.

He stared at those boards and let his power flare. The nails began to ease out of the wood. Slowly, so slowly, and carefully. The nails dropped to the ground with a soft clink. He caught the boards before they could fall.

Then he heard a roar. A loud, guttural cry of female fury.

Dee. Timing her distraction perfectly. More shouts filled the air as the demons inside attacked or were attacked.

He eased open the door and went into the hollowed-out hell. The scents were stronger. The ash stained his fingers when his hand brushed against the wall. The odor of blood was stronger. Thicker. His heart slammed into his chest. Too much blood.

Zane’s breath rasped out. If Tony was dead …

A floorboard squeaked and he whirled around. A demon stared back at him. A demon with the face of innocence and eyes blacker than the ash. Screams echoed from the front of the den. Curses filled the air.

The demon smiled at him. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to get here,” Davey said, and he shook his blond head. “I mean, it’s not like the human had that long to keep living. We were running out of time.”

Zane lunged for him and grabbed the kid by his shirt. He jerked Davey close. “You fucking bastard.” Davey. The kid. The barely legal asshole.

My damn fault. I let him live.

Davey must have read the thoughts on Zane’s face because he laughed. “Guess you’re wishing you’d just let me burn, huh? But don’t feel too bad. I would’ve gotten out anyway.”

But the little bastard had been all but begging for help then. As powerful as he seemed now, why would he have—

He’d taken the shifter’s powers. And his weaknesses. That cage-Zane would fucking bet it had been made of silver. Couldn’t move it, could you, asshole?

Zane shoved his fist into Davey’s face. The demon’s nose shattered, and blood sprayed in the air. “Where. Is. He?”

Davey wrenched away from him. That perfect smile was bloody now. “I got ‘em both, you know.”

More screams. “Vampire bitch!”

Something heavy thudded, shaking the den. Probably a demon hitting a wall.

“I’ve got the cop.” Davey swiped the back of his right hand over his mouth and smeared the blood. “And the agent.”

His back teeth clenched. Attack. “I’ll find them both after I kill you.”

“No.” Davey shook his head. “You’ll find their bodies. I sprayed the blood all around the place. Without a shifter, you won’t be able to find ‘em. Not until it’s too late.”

Fuck that. He’d send out his blast and he’d find them.

“Tell you what …” Davey nodded, as if he’d just reached some kind of big, damn decision. “I’ll let you hunt ‘em. I’ll give you two minutes-because hey, you’re supposed to be the big, super demon, right? The badass hybrid.”

Zane didn’t speak, but his nostrils flared. He sent out his power, searching for Tony. Searching …

And he hit a damn brick wall of darkness.

Davey laughed and jumped back. “Really, did you think I’d make it that easy? I can’t let you just probe and find them.”

The fucker had blocked the humans. Shielded them somehow.

“Two minutes,” Davey said again. “And this whole place will be going down. Think you can save one of them in that time?”

Flames began to flicker near Davey’s feet.

Zane sent out a hard burst of his power. The flames didn’t die. They didn’t flicker. They surged higher. Hotter.

“I learn from my mistakes.” Davey bared his teeth. Teeth that were too sharp for a demon. “This time, I’m using all of my power, too.”

And the little bastard was strong.

The lines of fire raced across the room, then the fire split in two, one branch of flames snaking toward the right, one to the left.

“Better hurry,” Davey murmured. “If the fire gets there first …”

Shit. Zane ran to the left.

“Choose well, demon. Because one of them is already dead. No point in saving the dead.” Death is already there.

“'Course, vampires don’t like the fire too much, either, do they?”

Zane didn’t look back at the taunt, but he felt the rush of heat and knew that Davey had sent another blast of flame out into the den. How was the demon so strong? Because he’d stolen power from the shifter? Or from a hell of a lot more paranormals?

“Dee! Simon! Get the hell out of here!” Zane shouted, and he kicked down the door on the left, ignoring the flames that burned his legs and his arms. That blood … he raced down the hallway, getting a few desperate inches in front of the fire. Hurry, hurry. Another door. Another—

His foot slammed into the door. Wood shattered. The thick stench of death hit him then. “No! Fuck, no, Tony!” He shoved his way past the broken wood.

But Tony wasn’t the one on the floor. Kelly lay there, her eyes wide open, and her throat ripped out. The flames raced toward her, as if homing in on her.

“Tony!” He spun around, but the flames were walling him in. Zane pushed his power at them, but that fucking kid was stronger than he was. Stronger than any demon he’d ever seen.

Playing with me before. Just jerking me around. More screams rose over the flames. Dee. Simon. They needed him.

Zane stopped pushing his power at the flames. He just ran forward and jumped right through the fire.

Something tapped her on the cheek. “Hey, pyro, come on, wake up.” Another tap, harder this time. “Zane’s not even around now. You’ve got to wake up soon.”

Zane. Her eyelids flew open, and she found Jude staring down at her, his nose less than an inch from hers.

“About time.” He grabbed her arms and hefted her up. Because she’d been on the ground. What? Why had she been lying on the ground? “I’m smelling fire, and I’m not leaving my team in there alone with the flames.”

Fire? His team? She stood on shaky legs and turned-then caught sight of Dusk. Jana sucked in a sharp breath. “That ass left me.”

“No, he tried to protect you.”

Same thing.

“But now they need us.”

Yeah, she could see that. “Then let’s get the hell in there.”

Zane raced after the second snake of fire, even knowing that he was too late. The den fell around him. The beaten walls couldn’t hold up against the flames again.

“Zane!” Dee’s desperate voice called through the fire and the smoke.

“Get out!” Vamps had a tendency to burn way too fast, and he didn’t want Dee burning because she was trying to save his ass. “Go!”

Everything was falling around him. He lunged forward, no longer even feeling the blazing bite of the fire on his flesh. The door had burned, and he rushed inside. Zane flew down a corridor, following the flames and—

Tony’s desperate eyes met his. The cop had a gag in his mouth, and he was handcuffed to a chair—and flames were eating at his legs.

Zane leapt across the room and knocked Tony back. They hit the floor, hard, and he started slapping at Tony’s legs. But those flames-those flames flared brighter.

They homed in on Kelly. They’re fucking doing the same with him. Zane had to get Tony out of there. He grabbed the cuffs, jerked, and they broke apart.

Tony started slapping at the flames.

“Run,” Zane shouted.

Tony coughed. Choked. “Wh-where?”

Because there was no way out. The flames had circled them. The flames had—

Zane blew out the back wall. He hoisted Tony over his shoulder and hauled ass, running right for the streams of sunlight he could see flickering through the smoke.

He hit the cement, and felt the bite on his knees. Zane glanced back. The flames were higher, surging and twisting, but not coming past the edge of Dusk.

Maybe there were some fucking limits to Davey’s power after all.

Tony coughed and heaved against him. Zane lowered him carefully.

“You got him!” Dee ran up to him, her face stained by soot. Simon was at her back. Sweat sliding down his face. “I knew you would!”

He hadn’t been so sure.

Tony was crouched on the ground now, almost hacking his lungs up.

“Those demons are burning in there.” Simon’s voice was cold, hollow. “They were pumped up so high that they ran toward the flames, not from them.”

The roof collapsed on Dusk. Far, far away-sirens called out. The human cavalry. Coming, at long last.

He slapped his hand on Tony’s shoulder. “You’re gonna be okay.”

Tony turned toward him, his eyes stained red, and the skin on his hands blistering. He wouldn’t be healing so easily from those wounds. No, as a human, he’d carry the scars. “F-fucking k-kid…”

Zane tensed. He could see the claw marks on Tony’s neck now. Not deep enough to kill. Just deep enough for Davey to play.

“D-demon’s eyes … sh-shifter’s … claws …”

Dee hurried to Tony’s side. “Easy.” She pushed him back onto the ground. Her hands were so gentle on him. She brushed back his hair. “Just take it easy.” There were tears swimming in her eyes because she’d seen the full damage to Tony’s legs. “Simon, get a damn ambulance!”

Simon took off running.

“Who did this to him?” Dee whispered.

“I did.” Because he’d been soft. He’d shown his weakness, and Davey had seen it.

She looked back at him with a furrow of confusion between her eyes. “What?”

“Stay on guard, Dee.” Because he knew Davey hadn’t died in the flames. He knew and—

And a tiger’s roar shook the streets. Oh, shit. No.

But Davey was going after everyone who’d brought down Perseus, and Jude had been there that night.

“Kill anyone who comes close-and if it’s some eighteen-year-old kid with demon’s eyes and blond hair, don’t fucking hesitate.” Because he’d hesitated.

She nodded.

An ambulance sped up, following close behind Simon as he rushed back to Dee. A fire truck raced behind it.

Zane followed the roar as fear tightened his heart. If Davey had found Jude, the bastard had also found Jana.

Jana. He didn’t realize he’d screamed her name.

Zane rounded the corner, running fast to the spot he’d left Jana. She was supposed to be safe. She was supposed to be—

She was locked against Davey. The bastard’s claws were at her throat. Jude stood less than five feet away from them, his own claws out, and his fangs bared. “Let her go!” Jude snarled.

But Davey just jerked her closer against him, and blood leaked down her throat. “Stay back!” Davey ordered and his eyes flew from Jude to Zane. “Both of you, stay the fuck back, or I’ll rip her throat out!”

“Then you’ll die,” Jude told him, edging closer. “Because your shield will be gone. I’ll be on you, and you’ll be dead.”

But Davey, smart, slick Davey, just smiled his still-bloody smile. “She’ll be dead.”

Jana’s gaze met Zane’s.

“He’ll be crazy.” Davey stared right at Zane as he tossed that out. “And you, shifter”-now his eyes darted back to Jude—“you’ll get your ass kicked five seconds later. Because I’m the strongest damn thing you’ve ever seen.”

Jude growled in response, but his body had frozen.

“I knew you’d come for her,” Davey said, and he wrenched Jana back a step. “When I left the fire and I caught her scent …” His head lowered toward her hair, and he inhaled deeply. “I could have walked away, could have just got in my car and left, coming back to hunt another day. But with such great prey close by, how could I leave?”

Sick fuck. “She isn’t prey.”

More blood trickled down Jana’s neck, but she didn’t make a sound. “She’s the prey I’ve been after for a very long time.”

“Y-you …” The word seemed to break from Jana’s mouth then. “Not B-Beth, was it? You were Perseus.”

What? This damn kid? No fucking way.

Davey’s smile flashed again. “I was wondering if you knew. Beth liked to take credit for every damn thing, but Perseus-that was my baby.”

“What the hell?” Jude shook his head. “You’re Other. Why would you hunt your own?”

Davey’s gaze again tracked to Zane. “Why would he? Why would you?” He licked away some of the blood on his lips.

Zane saw Jude’s hands clench into fists. “We go after the bastards who have crossed the line. We don’t hurt innocents. We stop the Other who can’t stop themselves.”

“So do I.” Davey blinked a bit, as if surprised they’d even doubt him. “Perseus goes after those who hurt humans, we- they—”

“That’s a damn lie!” Jana’s eyes were bright. “Marcus didn’t hurt any humans. He—”

Davey’s left hand wrapped in her hair, and he yanked her head back. “He sliced open the throat of Clayton Ridge-way.”

“Because Ridgeway killed Marcus’s girlfriend! And a dozen other women!” Jana didn’t sound scared. Didn’t look it either. Her eyes were so bright … and starting to become streaked with the faintest of red lines.

Zane sucked in a sharp breath. Charging up. Could Davey tell?

“Doesn’t matter what Ridgeway did.” No smile lifted Davey’s lips now. “Paranormals can’t kill humans. The two worlds aren’t meant to cross. When they do, hell comes.”

Hell comes. “The two worlds cross all the time.” Zane risked a few steps closer. The claws didn’t dig any deeper into Jana’s throat. “That crossing … that’s how you and I got to be here, right? Hybrids, both of us. For me, because my mother loved a demon, and for you, because your dad—”

“Don’t talk about him!” The scream echoed through the night.

Yeah, okay, obviously he’d just found Davey’s weakness.

“My dad did the damn best he could. He couldn’t help that a demon tricked him, got into his mind and—”

“Is that what he told you?” Zane asked quietly, keeping the emotion out of his voice. Her throat was still bleeding. If those claws dug in a bit more … “That your mother used her power to work into his mind and steal his will?”

“She was a demon. She tricked him. Made him think she was human.” Sweat slid down Davey’s temples. “He didn’t even know, not until she had me, not until he saw her eyes change.”

Well, shit. “The delivery, right?” Because when you were having a baby, you probably weren’t real focused on holding the glamour.

“He saw her for what she was then.”

Jana slammed her elbow into his stomach. “Demons are fucking people, too!”

“Jana!”

Davey snarled and held her tighter, harder. “The bitch deserved what she got!”

“What?” Jana taunted him. Always taunting, always pushing … and giving Zane the chance to slip ever closer. “What did she deserve? You for a son? The woman must have really screwed some people over to get—”

He whirled her around and drove his fist into her jaw. Jana went down, and Zane lunged forward as the fury burned through him. Davey was reaching for her again, death in his eyes, when Zane slammed into the bastard. ”Don’t fucking touch her!”

They crashed into the ground. The air thickened around them. So hot. Heavy with power and rage.

But Davey wasn’t attacking. He just stared up at Zane. “You understand. I know you do. You killed your father. You know what a sick bastard he was.”

And I’m not like him. He’d been afraid, for so long, but…

Demons are fucking people, too. Jana’s words rang in his ears. His strong, fierce Jana. “He was a bastard all right, but not because he was a demon. Just because he was one twisted addict who got off on his drugs and on giving pain to others.”

Davey blinked. “No, no, you understand—” “What do I understand?” He kept his arms loose at his sides. The attack would come again. He knew it. Jude circled behind the other demon. Jana rose slowly to her feet. He caught sight of blood dripping from her lips. Fuck. “I’m a demon, Davey. You are, too. And you’re a twisted asshole, that I know.”

“But you’re not, Zane.” Jana’s voice. Still strong. “You’re not like your father or like Davey.”

He stared into Davey’s black eyes. Demon eyes, but eyes filled with hate and fury. “No, but I think our Davey might be one hell of a lot like his old man. He taught you to hate, didn’t he, Davey? Taught you to destroy the things that were different in this world. To destroy the things he didn’t understand.”

Davey charged him with his claws out. “The bitch deserved to die! She would have made me evil, made me—”

Zane sidestepped the attack and drove a fist into Davey’s back. “You are evil. You don’t even realize it.”

Davey hit the ground.

“You killed a human, Davey. That girl at the college- Lindsey was human.”

Davey jumped back to his feet. The wind began to roar around them. “The bitch would have told what she knew about Laura and Perseus. I wasn’t gonna let that happen.”

“Why? Because then the big lie about Perseus defending the humans would fall apart? Because the truth is that you were just using the psychic to steal power, power that you took, that Beth took, hell, that others at Perseus probably took, too? Because deep down, you all just wanted to be the badasses that people feared in the night?” Zane shook his head. “Give me a break—”

The wind slammed into him with the force of a bus. Zane flew back and rammed into the brick wall. He heard Jude’s hard grunt and turned just in time to see the shifter slam face first into the side of a garbage dumpster. The shifter’s body slid to the ground, and a large dent hollowed the side of the dumpster.

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.