In Smoke And Ruins Read online

  I lift my hand, studying the ring as the man who gave it to me sleeps next to me. “Wife,” I say without sound.

  I’m pretty sure I heard him correctly, and I know I understood what he meant when he gave it to me, but to hear him say it out loud is terrifying.

  I turn my head, moving my eyes over Elijah as he sleeps. He’s peaceful. I used to watch him sleep, and it always would be like there was a battle in his mind. He was constantly fighting. Now, times like those are further and further apart, and I’m not sure why.

  I shift as slow and carefully as possible, until I’m standing, slip on my pants, quickly pull on my top, and pad to the door leading to the backyard. I need some air.

  As I walk around the pool, I inhale the fresh air and listen to the crickets chirping in the bushes along the fence line. I imagine my life here in this house if things were different. I would have this ring on my finger, a child or two swimming in this pool, Elijah tossing them in. If I listen hard enough, I can hear them playing. The oldest is a boy, and he helps his little sister in and out of the pool every time Elijah throws them back in.

  I don’t realize until it’s too late that my fantasy has distracted me too much. My foot slips against the edge of the pool, and I fall in, grasping for anything I can to keep me above water, but I don’t find anything. I submerge under the cloudy green water. I breech the surface, coughing and sputtering until I catch my breath again. I swim to the edge and pull myself out, sprawling against the concrete until I finally slow my breathing slows. That was so stupid of me. I can’t believe I got so lost in thought.

  I stand. My sopping wet clothes make it hard to move, but when I finally turn to head back to the house, there’s movement out of the corner of my eye. And, if I’m not mistaken, a flash of red hair.

  “I know you’re there, Vara,” I call, feeling silly, because for a while I don’t get an answer.

  “It’ll never last, you know.” I hear her voice from behind the fence on the far side of the yard. My stomach fucking drops.

  “What won’t last?” I ask, walking closer.

  “Your relationship with my husband,” Vara says. “It’s cute, you know, your little crush on him.” She laughs.

  “I’m not sure what you mean,” I say, wanting to keep her talking.

  “We used to fuck on the couch too. All night long we would stay there. Does he call you beautiful too? Tell you that he loves you over and over?”

  It takes everything in me not to react to her words. I keep my face still, my body flexed and ready. Finally she hops out from behind the fence and stares me straight in the face.

  “Then you must know how good he is in bed,” I say nonchalantly. I’m baiting her. I want her to feel rage, because rage is a distraction. I am not weak or easy to manipulate. She was here, she was obviously watching us, and so it only makes sense she heard us too. She heard what he said to me, and she’s trying to make me feel insecure.

  “What could he possibly want with a little girl like you? You have no idea how to please him, how to love him,” she spits.

  I want to smile right now, laugh in her face, so I do. “And what, you do? You’re a demon, Vara. That body doesn’t even belong to you.” We circle each other in the most peculiar way. When I take a step, so does she. My fingers itch for my swords right now.

  “I’ve been in this body longer than you’ve been alive,” she says.

  “Cut the shit, Vara. You’ve got to be tired of all this by now. What is it you want? How did you even find us?”

  Her eyes grow darker, shining steel. “You don’t keep tiger’s eye on that baby, do you?” she says.

  I stop moving. Suddenly, it strikes me that she must have done a locater spell on Micha and Scarlett’s baby, knowing it would lead her to us. She had to have known about the baby from the raid at the old house. Tiger’s eye is the only thing that can protect us from spells used against us. I clutch the necklace my grandma made for me, a round ball of tiger’s eye that never leaves my throat. How could we have forgotten the one thing that could keep Rayna safe?

  “You’d think Elijah would learn, keeping his baby in a house with a bunch of Sicarri, thinking that would be enough to keep it from harm’s way. It’s almost pathetic.” Her anger is so palpable that it almost distracts me from what she actually said.

  His baby. She thinks that Rayna is mine…that she’s Elijah’s. Holy shit. I glance at the house. I can see the couch, see Elijah sleeping there, the small blanket still barely covering him.

  “And what would you know about protecting children? Your son was murdered by your father’s right-hand man,” I say, hoping against all hope that she doesn’t know Soren is really alive. If she thinks Rayna is ours, she hasn’t been watching us long enough to know our inner workings, or she would have seen Scarlett with the pregnant belly. No, she hasn’t been able to really find us until now.

  “Don’t talk about my son. Ever again.” Her face is red with anger now. She’s losing her composure.

  “Why not? He’s dead, and you did nothing to protect him. You practically wielded the knife yourself. I was there, you know. I watched it happen, watched as Lincoln’s knife twisted into his heart. He called for Elijah, not you. He hated you, what you are, what you’ve become.” She moves, and I can tell she wants to attack me. I have no idea why she hasn’t.

  “There’s nothing for you here, Vara.”

  “Ah, see? That’s where you’re wrong. You are standing in my way. Every Sicarri is. You’re in my way, just like my father was. Now that he’s gone, I finally have the chance to do what I set out to do,” she says.

  “And what is that?” I ask.

  “Not something that you should concern yourself with, little girl.”

  “So what, you’re just here to kill us all? Get us out of your way so that you can go on to do whatever the hell it is that you’re so adamant on doing?” I step closer to her, and she moves back.

  “Not tonight.” She smiles, but the look makes me sick. “I want what you took from me. Your father is my prisoner.” She kicks her foot out like a bratty child that who isn’t getting her way.

  “You led us to him,” I say, confused.

  “No I didn’t. I would never give over that man. Especially not to a home wrecker like you.”

  “You left a note with the address where we could find him.” I will Elijah to wake. We need to capture her. She clearly knows so much more than we thought.

  “McCade.” She laughs to herself, saying the name just above a whisper.

  “Who is that?” I ask.

  “Listen, I get your little fling with Elijah. He was confused, probably hurt and looking for a distraction. It was cute, but it’s gone far enough. I need him, and I will not hesitate to kill anything that comes between us.” She moves toward me, and I know she intends to kill me. What she doesn’t know is that I’m a lot quicker than she thinks.

  “You shouldn’t be so sure you could,” I say and jump into a back handspring, kicking her in the face.

  As I land upright, I catch the sight of her spitting blood. It was a solid kick, and it doesn’t surprise me that she’s shaking in rage.

  “You’re going to pay for that, ignis gerit,” she says, her voice mirroring the steel in her eyes.

  What did she call me? I take another look at Elijah, sending out one thought to him. Wake up, Elijah. Wake up now.

  And just as Vara tackles me to the ground, I see him leap from the couch. His eyes find me immediately, and shock quickly passes over his face before he jolts into action.

  Grab your gun, I think, and no sooner than the thought does he grab his gun from the side table and then looks at me, placing one finger to his temple.

  Can you hear me? He nods. Holy shit, how is this possible? I’m okay, don’t rush. Be smart about it.

  Vara is chanting, using her magic to pin me to the ground. She hasn’t noticed he’s awake. He slips on his jeans and disappears from sight.

  “What the hell are you doing
?” I try to shout but quickly find that my lips are unable to move.

  “I’m taking your fire,” she answers my muffled question.

  I would be lying if I said being in this position, stuck as I am, doesn’t remind me of the time it happened with my mother standing over me.

  “Vara.” Elijah’s voice breaks through my thoughts. He’s close, really close. Directly behind Vara actually.

  At his words, she jumps, breaking the spell she had over me. She looks over her shoulder, but before she has a chance to speak, I buck her off me and scramble to my feet.

  “This isn’t over,” she says without turning her head. And then, in one swift move, she hops over the fence and is out of sight.

  I turn to him, and his eyes trail over my entire body. I can tell he’s checking for injuries. When his eyes meet mine finally, I see the concern for me so deeply set in them that I rush forward, wrapping my arms around him. I want him to feel that I’m okay. I’m okay.

  At my thought, he pulls back, searching my eyes. “What the hell just happened? One minute you’re with me, and the next, I can hear you,” he says, bewildered. “How is that possible?”

  “Why can I hear you?” he asks. But I shake my head, unable to trust my voice.

  “Why was she here? How did she find us?”

  “C-Come inside,” I stutter, tugging him toward the house. “I’ll tell you everything she said.”

  He doesn’t move though, his attention trained on the space where Vara had me trapped. I think his confusion has him rooted in place.

  Please.

  He glances up, immediately after my thought, almost startled. “Lead the way,” he says, and I do.

  “I’ll kill her!” Elijah’s booming voice nearly vibrates the walls of the kitchen. It’s only been minutes since Vara ran off, and I’ve just changed out of my soaking wet clothes.

  “Elijah, please, I told you I’m fine.” I speak softer than I expected. I don’t usually see Elijah release such anger, but then again, if someone had attacked him, I wouldn’t be too happy about it either. He looks me up and down, checking again for any injuries. Every time he looks at me, it’s like he’s taking stock. I shiver.

  “What the hell happened out there, Karina?” he asks, plopping down in the dining chair in front of me. He grasps my hands and brings them to his lips. “Why were you even out there?”

  “I needed some air. After tonight, everything just seemed… heavy.” I’m unable to ignore the pang of guilt I feel at the admission. Even though I know that had to sting, he doesn’t react. He only nods. “I fell into the pool.”

  “You fell? How?” he asks, searching my face.

  “I was distracted, thinking. I should have been paying closer attention to where my feet were,” I say quietly. If he has any doubt about what I’m saying, he doesn’t show it either.

  “Say something,” he whispers, his eyes locked on mine. I don’t have to ask what he means. He wants me to think something, send him a thought. I don’t know how, but I try anyway.

  It’s not safe here anymore.

  “How?” he asks as he leans back in the chair.

  “How is it not safe?”

  “No, I know that. We’ll wake the others soon; maybe head to the warehouse for a while. I already called Soren while you were changing.”

  “Oh.” And though there are a ton of other things I could say in this moment, only that one syllable slips past my tongue.

  “I can hear your thoughts,” he says, and I nod. “Have you ever heard of something like this before?”

  “Have you ever heard of something like this before?” he asks, but I shake my head, because no, I have never heard of this kind of magic before. I don’t feel myself tapping into my fire when I use it. I don’t feel anything. It’s almost like it’s always been here, an ability that has sat inside me for so long that I haven’t known the difference all this time.

  “I think it’s only what I choose to share,” I tell him as Soren, Willow, and Marcel walk through the front door.

  “Try to send a thought to Soren, but don’t say a word if it doesn’t work. I think we should keep this between us until we know what’s going on,” Elijah whispers and then stands. He makes eye contact with Soren and ushers them into the kitchen.

  “What’s going on?” Soren asks.

  Elijah looks at me and nods, only once, and it’s almost indistinguishable. But, I know what he wants me to do.

  Vara, I think, but there’s no reaction from Soren or Marcel. I shake my head, trying to disguise the movement with a cough.

  “Dad?” Soren asks, confused. Willow sits, her tail thumping against the floor.

  “It’s Vara. She came here tonight, attacked Karina,” Elijah tells them.

  “What the hell are you talking about? How did she find us?” Soren asks, his voice laced with a hint of panic. Elijah and Soren are both protected because of their bloodlines; they don’t need to wear the stone like the rest of us do.

  “It was through Rayna. Vara thinks she is our baby.” I motion between Elijah and me, and Soren’s brows rise.

  “Shit,” Marcel interjects. “ Tiger’s eye. We never thought to give it to her. How could we have been so stupid?”

  “That doesn’t matter now. We’ve got to get out of here before she decides to come back with more reinforcements,” Elijah says, crossing the room to help me stand. “Wake the others.” he tells Soren, who agrees and we start to leave the room.

  “Wait, Karina.” Soren calls out, and I stop in my tracks, almost making Elijah trip behind me. “What did she say?” A hint of embarrassment colors his words, like he’s ashamed to admit he cares what Vara had to say.

  The hurt and confusion, the anger in his eyes, makes me want to turn away, but I don’t. “She told me to leave your father. That she has a mission she’s set out to do from the beginning. She needs Elijah for something,” I say. Elijah’s fingers tense on my shoulders, and I realize he hasn’t stopped touching me since I came back inside. His one tell that he’s not okay. He uses my skin as a balm. When I glance down, I notice the faintest glow beneath his fingertips.

  “Did she say what for?” Marcel asks.

  “She wouldn’t. Only that anyone that got in her way would die, including me, including the baby.”

  “Jesus,” Elijah whispers behind me. His breath is shaky against my neck.

  I’m okay. Safe. I’m not going anywhere. He tenses at my words.

  “She said a name. McCade?” I question, wondering if the name makes sense to anyone. Almost immediately, Elijah and Marcel lock eyes, their faces falling in recognition.

  “Who is that?” Soren asks before I get the chance to.

  “A real nasty son-of-a-bitch. Ex-Sicarri. He was kicked out when we found out he was actually a demon. Never thought I’d hear his name again,” Marcel answers, shaking his head and gripping the back of his neck.

  I realize how tired he looks, how tired all of us must look. “Well, Vara sure sounded fond of him. She wanted to know how we got hold of Beckett. I told her we got her note, but she had no idea what the hell I was talking about. She seemed to think he had something to do with it.”

  “Was he there that night?” Marcel looks to Elijah for confirmation.

  “I’m not sure. We were too far away to make out anyone other than Vara,” Elijah says. He’s still stiff, frustrated, but it seems my little message has calmed him down some. I can tell by the silence in the room that we’re all feeling unsure of what to do next. Sicarri definitely don’t like the feeling.

  “We better get moving,” Elijah says. “Soren, can you make a call to Lincoln? Let him know we’re heading to the warehouse for a night or two until we can find a more permanent place to stay.”

  “Sure, Dad.”

  “Um….” I’m completely uncomfortable with my next thought.

  “What is it, Karina?” Elijah reaches for my hand. “You okay?”

  “Yes, yeah…I’m fine. I just, it’s something with Vara.
She doesn’t know that Soren is alive. She has no idea who you are now, and I think somehow that could work to our benefit,” I spit out, looking up into his eyes.

  “And?” he asks gently.

  “Maybe it would be a good idea if Soren started calling you Elijah, and if you and I took a step back from each other. We have no idea what Vara is capable of or when she’ll find us again. We don’t want to do anything to provoke her, to cause her to hurt someone. Anyone.” My voice is weak, and it makes me angry that she’s taken some of my strength.

  No one in the room says a word. We’re silent. But it’s a silent understanding. I can see it dawn on each one of the men’s faces standing around me. We have no idea when we are being watched, when we will be attacked again. The enemy already has the upper hand, no need to load their gun for them too.

  In an instant, we’ve agreed, though none of us have spoken. We launch into work mode. In less than twenty minutes, we’re packed and leaving behind our temporary home.

  Lincoln, Soren, Willow, and Elijah are in the main SUV with me, while Micha, Scarlett, and the baby, who we’ve now made a tiger’s eye bracelet for, are behind us. Behind them is Beckett, Xo, Marcel, and Ted. They decided this time to plant a bomb, blowing up the house, making sure there wasn’t a trace that could be used against us in case Vara were to come snooping.

  Most of the drive so far has been filled with me explaining every detail to Elijah, Soren, and Lincoln. Lincoln was especially surprised to hear that someone named McCade was involved with Vara. He said he’d done business with him in the past.

  It’s been quiet for the past few minutes. We’re close to the warehouse, but something has been nagging me since we left.

  “What was it?” I whisper to myself, trying to remember the words Vara said, the name she called me.

  “What was what?” Lincoln asks beside me. I’m in the backseat, Elijah is driving, and Soren is in the front seat, a second pair of eyes for Elijah.

  “Just something I’m trying to remember. A word…or more like a name,” I tell him.