Born in Fire (Fire and Ice Trilogy 1)

“I didn’t get lucky at first, except with where to steal those magical books,” Tamara said. “I got all sorts of useless information until I found the right demon. Calling a demon is only dangerous if you don’t know how to properly set up a circle. And after finding those books, I had that down. Then I found the right demon. Another character switch and I was getting lucky while I was getting lucky.”

“This just got gross.” I grimaced. “Demons are asexual until they take on a body, by the way. Just so you know.”

“Vlad would have the upper hand in his negotiations if he had you,” she said, turning her attention back to me.

I met Darius’s eyes. “She’s a lunatic, so I’m not worried about her. You, on the other hand, have some very sensitive information that Vlad could definitely use. I will end you if you try to go to him with that very sensitive information.” I really should’ve made that threat when I could stand without assistance.

“If it got out that I helped you defeat a demon, it could upset Vlad’s plans,” Darius replied. “He is the only one who can destroy me. What you are—what you can do—is safe with me. You need never fear me, Reagan. And if you bond me, I can give you the protection of our entire faction. Your demon creator will think twice about seeking you.”

Tamara started to laugh. “You don’t get it, do you, vamp? This isn’t some incubus demon spawn. This is Lucifer’s daughter. The Lucifer, master of the underworld. You think a demon spawn can levitate?” She cackled this time. “She’s the real thing. She summoned the demon from my body to hers, then pushed it out so it materialized on its own. Do you know how much power that takes?” She licked her lips. “She has a throne waiting for her for all eternity. Anyone who brings her to Lucifer will receive the highest honors. We can make a deal, vampire. Do you think Vlad is talking directly to Lucifer? No way. He’s talking to an assistant, if that. But you could. You could take your place above Vlad. I could get us through the gates of the underworld. With her blood, we’d be granted safe passage. You could speak directly to Lucifer himself.”

Darius’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “That is preposterous. He is unable to pass on his bloodline.”

“That isn’t…entirely true.” I shifted, uncomfortable. “It would require an ancient bloodline, status as a high priestess, a certain type of magic…” I shrugged. “He was drawn to my mother for a reason, whether he knew it or not.”

“How did a lower-level demon know of this when I have never heard of it?” Darius said.

Tamara smirked. “I had the demon in me when I watched the footage from John’s house. He was always worried about intruders, so he had a couple hidden cameras trained on his prized possessions. Whenever he disappeared for a rendezvous with his vampire friend, I would let myself in and watch the feeds so I knew what he was up to. He had my books, after all, which allowed me to work intricate spells without the neighborhood questioning. They never questioned him.” Her gaze hit me. “I’m going to need those books back, by the way.”

I just shook my head. She wasn’t getting the grand scheme of things.

“The way she withstood the fire was interesting,” she continued. “As was her strength and speed, but her ability to work with fire—my demon knew right away. Only one can do that. Well, now two, I guess, right? He wanted to leave me for her. I had to wrestle him to keep control. Why you’re hiding up here in the Brink, I’ll never know. You could rule.” She stared at me, mystified. “You could have limitless power. Be trained by Lucifer himself!”

“Chained in the underworld with a bunch of demons. No thanks,” I said. Darius’s stare was starting to make me nervous. “Why all the male mages? Why not invite a girl or two?”

“Men are easier to dominate. A show of power, the promise of greatness—they get in line. Especially the ones craving that next level of power. The trick is making sure they think you are male. Then again, I did bring the women around in the end. So much work, though. They were always asking questions.”

“And they turned into zombies and werewolves. I think the moral of the story is that dumb people will follow any whack job, but they’ll also eventually land said whack job in the hands of a very unimpressed vampire.”

“I wouldn’t say he’s unimpressed,” Tamara said. “He hasn’t turned his eyes away from you since he learned the truth. Looks like I’ll be getting my ticket out of here after all. Men do love power.”

I tried to ignore Darius’s assessing stare. “How many more are there?”

“More what?” she asked.

“Mages. There is no way you would have risked bringing them all here. Who else is out there distributing the unicorn blood?”

She sneered. “Like I’m going to tell you.”

“I will handle the distribution chain.” Something had changed in Darius’s eyes. Something I couldn’t identify. Tingles of nervousness wormed through me, a reaction that made me edgy because I didn’t know why it was happening. “I needed you to bring this to fruition, Reagan. Thank you.”

I tore my eyes away, trying desperately to assess. I didn’t feel like I was in danger. The opposite, in fact, which didn’t make any sense, given the situation. Any at all. Darius was ambitious, and he’d just found a meal ticket. Worse, I was vulnerable—completely drained of strength. His vampire blood was doing wonders for my clarity, but not helping so much with my tired body.

“Did Margaret know about you—” I flinched when Darius ran, a blur of movement, leaving me alone with Tamara. He disappeared through the side door.

“Margaret is a clueless old hag,” Tamara said as I stared after Darius. “We can ditch the vampire. He’d just complicate things.”

“Tamara, seriously. Let it go.”

She spat at me.

“Really?” I moved away. “What about your husband?”

“What about him? He’s a fool. Making him do as I said was child’s play.”

“So he knew.”

“About this? No way. He’d want to assume control. He was always trying to tear me down. He resents me for my power.”

“Sounds like a really healthy marriage.”

Dizzy hustled out of the side of the church with a harried expression, followed closely by Darius. “There are plenty of garments out here that you can use. I understand that you don’t feel the cold, but have some decency around the women!”

“I will not wear secondhand clothing.” Darius motioned Dizzy in our direction. “I need the human freed.”

I stood, and all the blood rushed to my head. I swayed, trying to get my bearings. A large hand covered my shoulder, steadying me.

“I’m good.” I shrugged Darius off.

“I haven’t much time before dawn,” he said quietly, too close. I hadn’t completely recovered from the whole bloodsucking incident. “I must leave you here.”

“I will bring the fire down on your head if you take my mark, Darius. I found her, I caught her—she’s mine.”

“Here. Get ready to catch her. She’ll probably run.” Dizzy dropped his mouth to his open palm, where he’d gathered a pile of powder.

I tried to shove Darius out of the way. He didn’t budge.

Tamara fell forward, reaching out to catch herself on Dizzy. He contorted his body and dodged away, letting her fall flat on her face.

“That wasn’t very nice,” I muttered with a smile. “Funny, though.”

Darius bent and scooped her up easily. He draped her over his shoulder, shot me a look that may or may not have been apologetic, and took off.

I clapped my hands together, feeling a surge of heat boil through my body as I readied for hellfire. Gritting my teeth, I aimed, and then staggered forward and let my hands fall. The door swung shut behind him.

“It wouldn’t have helped my payday to destroy my mark,” I said in explanation as I fell to my knees. It sounded like a cop-out, even to me. I let my head hang, panting in fatigue as the fire bubbled inside me.