Eternal Flame (Night Watch 3)

“Don’t you want to be normal?” Beth inched closer. “Don’t you want to know what it’s like to have a family? Real friends? To not be the freak who’s always standing on the outside?” Beth’s hand lifted. The hand marked with the raised and red flesh reached toward Jana. “I can give it to you. I can give your life back to you.”

“And what do you get?” Because she wasn’t a fool. No way would Perseus toss her this shiny, tasty apple without having one big worm crawling around inside of it.

“We get you off our asses.”

If only it were that simple.

“It is that simple, Jana. Just take what we’re offering, and walk away.”

Davey waited for him in the hallway. When he saw the guards lead Zane out, his lips tightened. “I got him, okay, guys? Go take a break.”

The guards didn’t move. Davey straightened away from the wall. ”I’ve got him.”

They shuffled back.

“Beth wants me to take you to meet the witch,” Davey told him, thrusting back his shoulders. “She thinks Jana’s screwed with your mind. Convinced you that we’re evil.”

No, when they’d blown up Night Watch—that had convinced him.

“But maybe … maybe if you can hear that we aren’t monsters, if you hear that from someone you trust, you’ll believe us. You’ll realize that Perseus isn’t some sick nightmare that needs to be put down.” A deep breath. “We’re a group that you can join. You can help us, we can help you, and in the end, we’d make this world one hell of a lot better.”

Zane stared back at him. Someone that you trust. At those words, he’d gotten a real bad feeling in his gut. There was only one witch that he truly trusted in the world. She’d disappeared from Baton Rouge a few months back, right after Dee Daniels, another Night Watch agent, had almost been killed. “Take me to the f**king witch.” Now.

Davey turned away and led him down the hall. Past the locked, metal doors. Past more guards.

Zane’s heartbeat thundered in his ears. There was no way, no damn way, that they were talking about the same witch. They couldn’t be. They—

Davey opened a door. The room inside was dim. A long, skinny table, a few chairs, and a woman waited inside. The woman spun toward them, her hair-so blond it was almost white-flying around her face. Oh, hell.

“Zane? she breathed his name.

He stared at the witch he’d known for five years. His ex-lover, a woman he’d trusted with his darkest secrets: Catalina Delaney.

“Go ahead, Catalina,” Davey said, walking closer to her. “Tell your friend the truth about Perseus. Tell him that Jana Carter lied to him. Tell him what we’re really like.”

He stared into her moss-green eyes-eyes the color of the swamp she’d been raised in-and waited for the truth. Because Catalina had never lied to him before.

“They’re not evil, Zane,” she whispered. “They want to save the world. Not destroy it.”

No, she’d never lied to him before.

So why was she starting now?

Chapter 12

“We aren’t the only humans with psychic powers.” Beth licked her lips. “There are others out there, so many others.”

Really? Where had they been all her life? While Jana was feeling like a freak, where had they been?

“Some powers aren’t strong. Some people can just see the briefest glimpses of the future. So many have weak talents.”

She just stared at Beth. Being weak wasn’t really an issue for her when it came to power.

“Others are stronger with more … unusual gifts.”

‘Cause what? Creating fire was common?

Beth’s gaze pinned her. “Recently, we found an individual with a power we’d never imagined.”

“Good damn deal for you.” She was charged enough. She didn’t even feel the cold anymore, though Beth had started to shiver. Time to blast her way out of this room. Time to blast Perseus apart. There were other paranormals imprisoned here. She’d bet on it. She could free them, get to safety, and—

“This woman we found … she can touch you and take away your power.”

Jana’s breath caught in her throat.

Beth smiled. “I thought you might be curious about her. You see, if she touches you, all that wonderful fire will go away, and you’ll be normal again. You won’t be a threat to Perseus.”

She wouldn’t be a threat to anyone.

“We’ll leave you alone,” Beth promised. “And you can just walk away. You’ll be able to live a normal life.”

Jana’s breath shot out on a long, hard exhale.

Beth held her gaze. “Do you want that, Jana? Would you like to be normal? To be just like everyone else? All you have to do—”

The door opened behind Beth and a young girl walked inside. The girl appeared to be maybe nineteen or twenty. She wore thick glasses, and she had long, straight brown hair that hid half of her face.

“All you have to do,” Beth said again, “is just let her touch you.”

“You’re lying, Catalina,” Zane said. He shook his head. “Did you really think I wouldn’t be able to tell when you lied to me?”

She smiled then, a wide, full smile. “No, Zane. I was sure you’d know.” Then she lifted up her hands and said, “Now, please, help me get the hell out of here!”

A dozen guards exploded into the room behind her.

Davey yelled, “What the fu—”

Zane shook his head. So much for the lying front. His power erupted and hit them all.

Jana’s hands tightened into fists. “Don’t take another step.” The girl stilled.

“What happens when she takes the fire away?” Oh, so tempting. “Where does it go?”

Beth blinked. “Nowhere. It won’t hurt anyone.”

Bull. “You take it, where does it go?” Because this crap wasn’t making sense. Perseus had been desperate to get her back. So desperate they’d tracked her across Louisiana. If they’d just wanted her out of the picture, she would have been dead.

They didn’t want her dead. They wanted her alive. Because they couldn’t take the fire from a dead woman?

The girl wasn’t speaking. Her dark eyes looked so big behind the glasses, and her skin was stark white.

An alarm sounded then. A high-pitched, whining alarm. Beth flinched and swore. “Dumb bitch. She should’ve just done her damn part.”