Blood Of Fire (The Blood Burden Series) Read online

  Sage fought to keep her voice strong and her eyes focused even as her heart tried to beat out of her chest, "You would be caught. No one can murder inside this realm and get away with it. There are many fae that are truth seers living within the very walls of this palace."

  Teya smiled a toothy grin, "Very well. I'll prove to you how easy it is." She turned her eyes toward the door leading back out into the hall where Sage had entered, "Destiny, come." The door opened only seconds later and the witty teen fae with shimmering, shoulder length blond hair came through the door using as much enthusiasm as a young girl being grounded for skipping school would have.

  "Destiny dear, seems we had a slight accident," Teya waved a hand at the shattered tabled on the far side of the room. "Mend it for me."

  After giving Sage a curious glance Destiny stood in front of the shards of wood and shattered glass waving her hands through the air. Like her fingers controlled the strings of a marionette, the rubble moved and swayed. Each piece edged its way into the proper spot guided by the flick of Destiny's fingers.

  Sage watched the simple but fine-tuned power of the young fairy with awe until movement to her side drew her attention away, "Sage, you wanted proof," said the Queen in a volume that could be heard by everyone in the room and hinted of darkness. Teya closed her eyes as her power returned to the room. It whipped and danced through the air like wind from a hurricane racing across the space to where Destiny stood with her back to it unaware of what was looming over her as she worked her magic on the wounded table.

  Sage stepped in between Teya and the unsuspecting girl, "No, you can't do that." She pleaded holding her hands up in a sign of resignation, "I'll do it. Just don't hurt her."

  The queen stopped her forward motion and opened her eyes. She glared at Sage, "You will watch and you will see first-hand what I will do to Nicole should you fail." Her voice was hard and intimidating as she stared unblinking at Sage. With a nod of her chin the pulsing gray fog split into two streams. The first cloud wrapped around Sage from her ankles all the way up to cover her mouth as she fought to scream. The second rushed toward Destiny as she spun around to see Sage dangling inches above the floor.

  Destiny stared wide eyed but before the gray viper of power could reach her she whipped her hand around her head like she was winding a lasso. The table she had just mended slung through the air toward the queen at lightning speed. The flying furniture hit its mark leaving Teya temporally dazed and confused.

  The power holding Sage weakened slightly allowing her to free her face. She looked over to the confused girl, "Run!"

  Destiny shook her head, "I can't leave you," she yelled moving closer to Sage.

  "Don't be a hero Destiny, run you damn stupid—"

  The rope holding Sage tightened until she couldn't breathe, cutting off her plea. Teya's dark, taunting laughter echoed around the room like a ghost, "Destiny dear, you just made killing you all the sweeter. You're too much like Sage and one of her in this kingdom is already one too many."

  Destiny shook her head as she backed away but it was too late. The gray power struck out, cocooning the beautiful young fairy. All Sage could see were Destiny's big, blue eyes as they filled with glimmering tears. The girl struggled to break the power's hold on her but within moments she collapsed to her knees.

  "Stop it," Sage wheezed with what little air was being allowed to fill her own desperate lungs. Panic raced through her veins as helplessness consumed her heart. Her own vision started to blur and warp in odd shapes but it didn't keep her from seeing the life slipping away from Destiny with each ticking second. The girl's features slacked as tears streamed down her snow white skin and disappeared into the gray mass that greedily took every last emotion from the girl. Sage closed her eyes, she didn't want to see Destiny take her last breath but she couldn't help but hear her lifeless body hit the floor with a sickening thud.

  Moments later Sage was dropped to the floor and left gasping for air. The power was slithering its way back to Teya like a trained serpent to its master. "How could you," Sage screamed as her lungs burned and her chest heaved trying to recover.

  Teya looked down at Destiny's lifeless body, "Such a powerful feeling." She whispered admiring a job well done. "To be a God—decide who should live and who should die," she sat down in her chair then turned to Sage. "I make good decisions in the interest of my kingdom. I will never hesitate to kill for us and you needed to see that for yourself, Sage. Do not doubt my conviction."

  "I don't doubt that you're fucking crazy," Sage hissed as she pulled herself to her feet.

  "Call it what you will but I believe we understand one another now, don't we?"

  Sage stared into the Queen's face and for the first time, could truly see the darkness lurking under that pure skin and innocent eyes. She wasn't sure if the queen truly believed that she was doing the best thing for the fae people but she was sure that there was no way around doing this.

  **~***~**

  Sage walked back up to her room in a trance. Her mind kept screaming out how wrong all of this was even though she didn't have a choice. It would be better for her to forget all of this. She doesn't want this for her life, she thought to herself as she opened the door to her own room. She sunk down in front of her bed and stared out the open window across the room. She would rather live out a normal life, even if it is a lie, than to be dead.

  She watched the clouds rolling by outside as she tried to clear her mind then gave up and dropped her head down into her hands letting the tears fall that she had been holding back. Images of Destiny's lifeless body falling to the floor played out when she closed her eyes, reminding her that this wasn't a bluff. She had cost the young girl her life, a life that she had just began to live, by butting heads with the Queen. She wouldn't risk Nicole's life.

  Drying the tears away roughly with her fingers she took a deep breath, solidifying her resolve to do what was best for her friend even if Nicole wouldn't understand. "It doesn't matter anyway. When I'm done she won't remember me so she can't be mad," Sage sighed then grabbed the bag of beauty supplies from her bed and hurried out the door.

  All too fast Sage stood staring at the large oak door that served as the last barrier between her and carrying out the plans that would change Nicole's life forever. Her heart beat in her chest as if it was trying to escape the pain that was waiting on the other side of wall. She pulled the enchanted necklace from her waist band and stared into the emerald stone as it dangled from her hand, "I can't do this." She hid the jewel back in her pants then backed away from the door knowing this would be her own death sentence.

  Have you forgotten so quickly, Sage? Teya's voice rang out in her head stopping her where she stood. The tone of the queen's voice was sickly sweet making Sage's stomach tighten into a knot.

  "No," Sage whispered. Defeat was suffocating her with each passing second. She swallowed hard to push back the bile rising in her throat.

  Fail me and you will suffer a fate much worse than death, my dear.

  The words were so clear that Sage looked around the small space expecting to see the queen standing behind her but only found an empty stairwell. She took a deep breath as she tried to think of a way out of this spiraling disaster but before she could release the air from her lungs a searing pain rippled through her body from head to toe, dropping her to the floor. She wanted to scream out but her mouth was clamped tight by the electricity streaming into her muscles. The energy twisted and contorted Sage's body causing her back to arch painfully and her legs to draw up to her chest.

  Sage began to pray for death, begging for the end of her own life, the suffering was too much. Then, just as quick as the pain had arrived, it left; giving her control again over her limbs. She rolled to her back letting her body lay flat on the floor. The torment was over but the reminder was still sitting in her strained and hot limbs. Tears dropped silently from her eyes as she once again pleaded for death to take her.

  Chapter 14

  Nicole
lay across her bed wrapped in a white robe. The long bath helped to relax some of the tension from her muscles but couldn't erase the thoughts of everything that was pressing on her mind. A looming war, the feeling of not fitting in on either side, and then the struggle in her mind between Luke and Slade was eating away at her sanity. She let out a slightly hysterical giggle at the irony of the situation. She didn't really fit on either side of the war but belonged a little with both and, like some sick twist of fate, she didn't truly fit with Luke or with Slade but felt drawn to both.

  Her mind drifted back to just a few months ago when she was a semi-normal police woman in her small town. I didn't know how good I had it, she thought to herself. Police work was easy, I got to talk to my dad every day and I had Kat there with me to cheer me up when things got crazy. And Luke, she sighed remembering how kind and chivalrous he was even then, before she knew that he was a warrior. A small smile lit her face as she rolled onto her stomach and hugged a throw pillow. I guess he's always been able to melt me even if I never told him.

  The door to her room swung open causing her to jump. She swept her wet curls from her face so she could see Sage, "You scared me to death!"

  Sage tossed her bag into the chair without saying a word. She sat down then eyed Nicole, "Were you sleeping?"

  Nicole studied Sage curiously, "No, just resting." She pushed herself up against the headboard leaning against the pillows, "Where did you go?"

  Sage rolled her eyes, "I decided to get a shower too then I had a few things to take care of."

  Nicole could feel the tension radiating off of Sage but was afraid to ask so she attempted to change the subject. "Oh…well, what's in the bag?"

  Sage looked over at the bag lost in thought for a moment before she spoke, "I wanted to help you get dressed for the night. I'm actually really good at hair and makeup." She attempted a smile as she motioned for Nicole to go sit at the dark oak vanity.

  Nicole sat down and stared at Sage as she worked the brush through the tangles in Nicole's long curls. Something was weighing heavy on her friend's shoulders and judging by the smudges of Sage's normally perfect makeup she could tell she had been crying, "Sage, what's wrong?"

  "Your hair is ridiculously long," quipped Sage as she brushed Nicole's hair, working her way from the tangles at the bottom to run the brush down the length of Nicole's brown locks in one smooth motion.

  "Sage, stop dodging me. I can tell you're upset about something...so spill," she glared at Sage who was still refusing to make eye contact with her.

  Sage continued to work with Nicole's hair for a moment then dropped the brush down on the vanity top. She rummaged through the bag pulling out hair pins and a can of hairspray, "I'm just worried about you. You have a lot ahead of you and I know it's hard."

  "I'll make it," Nicole gave her a small smile but still had a feeling she hadn't heard the entire story. "Is that what made you cry?"

  Sage froze staring down at her hand still inside the bag, "Nicole…Do you ever wish this wasn't your life? If you were given a 'do over' by the 'do over Gods' would you take it and not enter into this world?

  Nicole laughed, "You have 'Do over Gods' here too? This place is freaking amazing."

  Sage placed her hand on her hip and waited for Nicole to answer her. The scowl on her face made it clear that she wasn't playing around.

  Nicole could see the worry in Sage's eyes and it made her heart break. She stood up and wrapped her arms around her friend's neck hugging her tight, "Sage, I'm fine, I promise. I'm not going to lie, there were moments in the beginning that I wanted nothing to do with this life. I wanted to hide away from it all but then I realized that I couldn't."

  "But what if you never knew about this life at all? Don't you think you would be happier?"

  Nicole pulled away to look into Sage's eyes, "What? And miss the chance to have you as one of my best friends? No," she shook her head. "I wouldn't change anything now. I know we can't predict what's going to happen but I'm where I should be right now."

  Sage took a in a shaky breath as she hugged Nicole back again, "Okay, enough of all this sappy shit. We've got to get you ready."

  Nicole sat back down and let Sage go to work on her hair. She watched in silence as each pin was carefully inserted. Every spiraling curl had a place that only Sage could fully understand but as the moments ticked by Nicole looked more and more like royalty instead of the rough around the edges country girl she was. The finished look was eloquent with all her hair twisted up on her head except for a few well-placed curls that hung loose.

  Without a word Sage went to artfully applying Nicole's makeup with light touches. The tension between her and Nicole had died down in the silence but the darkness of Sage's task still weighed heavy on her heart. Sage took a deep breath then asked, "Do you not miss your family back home?"

  "Of course I do. I miss them something awful," Nicole tilted her head back so she could see her friend's eyes. "Why the random question?"

  Shrugging her shoulders she pulled a round makeup brush from the bag and dabbed it into face powder, "I just figured that if you had the chance to go back to your family without all of this you would take it."

  Nicole was fed up with the odd way Sage was acting so she pushed her hand away, "Tell me what's going on Sage. There's something happening and you're not being honest with me. Are you trying to tell me to go back home?"

  "No, that's not what I'm saying."

  "Then what?" Nicole's voice was a bit louder than she intended.

  "Nothing, Nicole! I'm just….worried."

  "So that means, to make you feel better, I should go back home and pretend like none of this is going on? You want me to let this war play out and people die while I stick my head in the sand?"

  Sage spun away from Nicole and in a flash she threw the small brush across the room where it slammed against the wall, "Would that be so fucking bad Nicole? You would be safe. Let Teya and Loch fight this out and you go on living your life like you used to."

  "That's not possible and you know it Sage. For one, Loch wouldn't let me live; he's already made that pretty damn clear," Nicole stood up and stomped over in front of where Sage stood glaring at her. "And I can't just forget my powers or my destiny, Sage."

  The mention of the word "destiny" had Sage's heart in her throat. A flash of the young fairy dead on the floor consumed her thoughts for a moment. She watched as the memory warped into a vision of the future and Nicole lay on the floor with her lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling above. She cringed but the image drove home the fact that she had to talk Nicole into this so Teya couldn't do the same to her best friend. It was the only way to save her from a fate she knew her friend wasn't strong enough to keep from happening, "I can help you forget it all, even your powers." She pulled the emerald necklace from her waistband but kept it hidden in her palm.

  As the meaning of Sage's words hit Nicole her eyes widened and she struggled to form words, "You know I don't want that."

  "But it would be safe. I would watch over you and so would Luke. You would never know we were there and you wouldn't have to deal with the weight of this war on your shoulders." Sage pleaded for her to understand.

  Nicole could see genuine worry lining Sage's snow white skin around her eyes and mouth. She placed her hands on the small fairy's face, "Thank you so much for caring enough about me to want to protect me but this is my war to fight. Loch must be stopped—by me. I can't do that without knowing who I am and," she hugged Sage tight then went to sit in the chair again, "I can't do this without you on my side. I need you to support me, Sage."

  Running her hand across her face Sage nodded her head. There was no way to convince Nicole to do this so she would just have to do it without her consent. She sighed deeply then walked over picking up the discarded makeup brush from the floor, "I knew you were too damn stubborn to talk any sense into," she gave a dry laugh, "so let's finish getting ready for tonight."

  She stepped up beside Nicole and picked up the
loose face powder and dabbed the full brush into it before swirling in small circles around Nicole's face. Once she was done she picked up a dark brown eyeliner, "Close your eyes and lean your head back for me."

  Nicole followed her instructions then said, "Don't be upset with me please. I know you want to protect me but I'm doing what needs to be done."

  "And so am I," whispered Sage as she placed her fingertips on each of Nicole's temples. She sent energy jolting into Nicole's head causing her to jerk for a split second then she stared up into Sage's face with dazed, doll like eyes. "Nicole, listen carefully to me," Sage's lip began to quiver as she tried to form the words she needed. "You must…" her voice trailed off as she stared down at the necklace twined in her own fingers. She let it drop loose so she could see the green jewel shinning in the light of the room. Her mind began to spin with a million scenarios at once. What to plant in Nicole's head so her life would be happy? What should she do when she's done? How to deal with Teya once the deal is finished?

  She placed her hands back on Nicole's temples, "This is the right thing for you, Nicole. You’re my best friend and I love you." Tears flowed down Sage's cheeks as she looked down into Nicole's blank gaze and then froze. How could she let herself be forced to betray her friend? Nicole had been through so much already and now she was about to wipe away all her self-sacrifice as if it meant nothing; giving her a few blank pages filled with lies in place of all the memories of her struggles. "Screw this," She stepped back, "Teya can't kill me without people noticing me missing and I'm sure as hell not going down without a fight. I'm not her little bitch and I'm done acting like one."

  "Hey," she snapped her fingers in front of Nicole's face causing her to blink. "Stop day dreaming on me, we've got to finish getting you ready."

  Chapter 15

  The sun dipped deeply in the sky all too fast for Nicole's liking. She would be happy to spend the rest of her day chatting with Sage as she came and went or sitting on the balcony alone like she was now. She stared out past the town below and into the pink and orange sunset that decorated the horizon. Her fingers absentmindedly stroked the velvet of her dress as her mind drifted to Luke. She hadn't heard from him since she shut the door in his face this morning. There was no doubt that he was off somewhere fuming over her letting Slade into her room but strangely she couldn't feel him anywhere around through their warrior link. Letting out a deep sigh she decided that tonight she was going to find him and talk this out. She couldn't say the words that he wanted to hear but she could tell him that she wanted him to be her warrior. "Time to toughen up girl," she mumbled to herself. "If you can't handle men then you sure as hell can't handle this war."