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  “You okay?” Logan asked, kneeling in front of me.

  “I think I’m onto something.” I stood up and walked over to the birdbath.

  I took a deep breath and began to feel lightheaded as I embraced the urges running through me. I no longer felt a body filled with uncontrolled heat. Instead the breeze began kissing my skin, providing a chill from the dampness on my neck as the burning rushed to my fingertips. My entire body began to cool immediately.

  I pulled my right hand back and threw a ball of air at the ground, watching as sparks flew in every direction.

  “Babe!” Logan yelled with excitement in his voice.

  I pulled my hand back again and tossed my fist forward once more.

  “Are you here?” Bakula’s voice trilled through the air as more sparks skipped and hopped over the ground.

  “In the corner,” Logan yelled. “I think she’s getting it.”

  “She hasn’t fully released yet?” Bakula’s voice was urgent.

  “Only sparks.” He shook his head.

  I turned to see Bakula fluttering toward me, her eyes wide with worry.

  “My dear, we’ve got to speed this process along.” She hovered in front of me and placed her finger on her pointy chin. A sly smile spread across her lips, and I watched her zip off to Logan.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Yeah. What are you doing?” he seconded, his brow furrowed.

  “Providing a little incentive.”

  She hovered three feet in front of Logan and before I knew what she was up to, Logan dropped to his knees as electricity began flowing from Bakula’s fingertips. The bright blue and silver voltage was dancing all over Logan’s body as he silently writhed in pain.

  Without thinking my hands ignited into fiery weapons, and balls of flame spiraled toward Bakula. The entire backyard lit up as tiny fires erupted in several different locations. I missed Bakula completely, but it got her to stop electrocuting Logan.

  “Just took something a little extra,” Bakula hummed.

  Logan, not one to stay down, hopped right back up and grinned at me.

  “Nice work, Bakula.” He laughed and unzipped his sweatshirt. “Guess it’s my time to feel a little overheated.”

  “How could you do that to him?” I demanded, moving inches away from her tiny little head that I suddenly wanted to squash.

  “Fairies are known for getting things done. It worked didn’t it? Now get back to it. Put some twigs down around the yard, and let’s see if we can work on her aim.” She gave directions to Logan, ignoring my stare.

  “Don’t do that again,” I snapped.

  “I’ll always do what it takes to get things rolling, my dear. Now if you perfect your ability, I’ll be on my way.”

  Logan was laughing as he gathered the twigs, and I couldn’t help but get more annoyed.

  “You’re the one who got electrocuted. Why are you laughing?” I asked.

  “It really wasn’t that bad.” He smiled as he tossed the twigs on the ground. “But it’s nice to see you try to put a fairy in her place.”

  “Too bad Dace couldn’t have come instead.” I glared at Bakula, but she only smiled back.

  “Oh, sweetie. He wouldn’t have had near the patience I did. Now are you ready to go again or do I need Logan’s assistance?”

  “I got it.” I walked over to the nearest twig pile and threw the flames directly at the wood and watched it completely engulf. I tromped to the next pile and repeated the process.

  “Well, my work is done here,” Bakula chuckled, smacking her hands. “I’m glad to see that of all the things that you could have inherited that this is one of them.”

  “What else could there be?” I questioned, but Bakula was already fluttering away. She had no intention of answering my question or staying around for chitchat.

  “Fairies can be so annoying,” I groaned.

  “Are you feeling pretty confident with everything?” Logan asked, ignoring my complaint and walking up behind me.

  “I am.” I glanced at the base of the birdbath and threw flames exactly where my eyes targeted. “This talent could come in handy.”

  “Yes, it could,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me in. “And it’s really sexy.”

  “Yeah, right.” I bit my lip to hide my giggle, but I failed miserably.

  “Seriously.” Logan nodded, bringing me in tighter. His hands slid along my arms, and the strength in his fingers couldn’t be missed as I thought about what he could do to me — what I wanted him to do to me.

  He bent his head to murmur in my ear, allowing his lips to gently touch my lobe. “It’s incredible watching you. You’re so strong and beautiful.”

  “You certainly know what you’re doing.” I closed my eyes allowing the sensations to run through me.

  “Do I now?” his voice deepened as he pulled away from me.

  “Hey. Where are you going?” I teased, making a face at him showing my disapproval. He knew exactly what he was up to.

  “Think we should go inside. My mind can’t get over seeing you in the bath earlier today. Think we need a repeat.” His mouth turned up and he grabbed my hand.

  “We definitely should try it again. Especially knowing what I must have looked like earlier.” I scrunched my face at him.

  “Babe, what you do to me is undeniable, no matter what condition you’re in.” His eyes twinkled as he pulled me through the sliding door to the house.

  “You know, I have a confession.”

  “What’s that?” He stopped and turned to face me.

  “I thought your silver eyes were the sexiest thing I’d ever seen.”

  “Is that so?” His eyes narrowed playfully as he took me in.

  “Uh huh.” I replied, feeling my skin tingle.

  “Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll get to see them again.” His lips brushed over mine.

  “Not that your blue ones are shabby,” I countered. My eyes lifted to meet his as he drank me in. He guided his hand through his hair and let out a heavy sigh.

  “I’m one lucky man,” he murmured, and before I knew what was happening, he pinned me to the wall. His right hand gripped both of my hands as he slid them over my head. His firm body pressed against mine while he continued holding my hands above us. His other hand ran up my arm until he reached my chin, his fingers brushed my jawline before holding it tight. His lips found their way to mine as our mouths parted in a foolish attempt to soothe our hunger, but with every kiss the hunger grew.

  “About the bath?” I whispered.

  He slowly released my hands and glided his fingers down my arms, creating a trail of shivery delight in its place, when the sound of shattering glass exploded in our family room, followed by a thick, yellow fog from a canister that rolled by us.

  “Logan,” I screamed. A shadowy figure came up behind him, hitting him on the back of the head. He collapsed and the same figure came for me. I attempted to run but all I could see was the yellow haze, and I tripped over a table. A large hand squeezed my neck before I dropped to the floor.

  “Looks like we interrupted the love birds,” a woman’s voice laughed before my world went to darkness.

  Chapter 5

  “You’ve really messed up our plans.” Lara squinted at me from across the room. I looked around to see Logan, but he was nowhere in sight. Rope that had been tied around my wrist was digging into my skin. I was in the office of a warehouse with rusty beams overhead and loose wire dangling. There was a window in the wall that divided this space from the rest of the warehouse. All I could see through the glass were boxes and crates stacked on top of one another. There looked to be barrels of chemicals out there too.

  Lara began pacing, staring at the floor. She was dressed in a different outfit than I had seen her in previously. How long had I been out?

  My tongue traced over a lump on my upper lip. I didn’t remember being hit, but I didn’t remember much of anything since the fogger was release
d at the house.

  “What plans are those?” I asked, tipping my head up to meet her stare. The light from above caused me to squint.

  “Don’t be cute. You may think disbanding the followers back east destroyed us, but it did nothing of the sort. We’ve got chapters all over the world, Triss, and they’re coming for you. If I don’t end you first.”

  I shrugged my shoulders and my head fell back down.

  “Why don’t you?” I asked.

  “I might,” she paused briefly and looked at me. “I’m sure you’re wondering where Logan is. I don’t know if he told you, but we don’t enjoy letting our investments wander away. He’s our property.”

  “Your property?” I growled, jerking my head back up.

  Would they consider my mother their property?

  “Well, he came willingly. We promised him that we’d let you go if he came without a ruckus.”

  “I don’t believe you. He wouldn’t have agreed to that.”

  “People do strange things for love. Look at your mother.”

  The stinging began in my heart, but I wasn’t going to fall for it. Logan wouldn’t do anything like that. We were on the same page.

  Lara began walking toward me and my pulse quickened. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see what she wanted to show me. She leaned over and loosened the rope from the wooden crate and pulled me to my feet and then immediately tightened the rope around my wrists as she led me to the window.

  “Look out there. Do you see him?” she asked. I followed her finger that pointed to the far corner.

  A gasp almost escaped, but I held it back. Logan was completely unconscious and tied to a chair. His head hung to the left, and the one eyelid that I could see looked swollen.

  “Doesn’t look like he came willingly to me.”

  “We had to persuade him a little, of course,” she replied.

  “So you’re the head of the Venators?” I asked, attempting to buy time.

  Lara’s lip curled up slightly. “What do you know about them?”

  “Just that you go around scooping up people who try to leave the organization.”

  “And what organization is that?” she asked, folding her arms.

  “The Praedivinus order. You know that little one that my father and grandfather run or I should say ran until we took my dad out.” I smiled at her. “I wasn’t afraid of my father and I’m not afraid of you. Whoever you are.”

  “Well, you should be. Your father wasn’t what we hoped. I’ve always loved my brother, but I knew he didn’t have it in him.” She raised her eyebrow at me and grinned, waiting for a reaction. “I’m sure you don’t either. My father’s got his hopes pinned on you now. But he’s wrong. I’m the one he should be working on developing.”

  “Is that so? What makes you special?” I asked.

  “I don’t have a problem getting rid of things that stand in the way of our goals. Your father didn’t have that in him.”

  “Yeah. He was a really great guy,” I replied sarcastically. “Grandpa Eben seems like another winner. I really won the lottery with that batch of relatives.”

  My eyes slowly traced her body from head to toe, and I noticed her squirm. Maybe I could get to her.

  “So are you my dad’s older or younger sister?”

  I glanced out at Logan who still hadn’t moved when a guy dressed in blue jeans and a tan construction jacket appeared from the side entrance. He stood by Logan but stared directly into our room. He was waiting for something — a sign.

  “Eben, your grandfather, is an amazing visionary,” Lara continued, ignoring my question. She nodded at the man standing near Logan and my heart started pounding.

  “Then why would he want me rather than you, Aunt Lara?”

  Her body stiffened, and she glared at me.

  “Well?” I taunted her once more. “If he’s such a great visionary, maybe he’s right. Maybe it’s me who should be running things.”

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re nothing more than a spoiled brat who was raised by a careless and neglectful woman. I bet you don’t even know a simple demoniker, do you?” Her brown eyes held steady on mine.

  Nope. I sure didn’t.

  “I bet all she taught you was how to chop and boil herbs. That’s why you’re so pure and nothing conjured got to you.”

  She was the one sending the spirits after me — not my father. Did the fairies know this?

  “There’s nothing wrong with choosing to only work the white side of sorcery. Choosing that doesn’t make someone ignorant,” I replied, pushing the sickness that was threatening to take over out of my abdomen.

  Lara walked over to a brown, leather bag and pulled a scarf out of it. She placed it in front of her nose and mouth and tied it around her head. She looked out to the warehouse.

  “We’ll see how your tinctures and teas save you now. I’m not going to let you or anyone stop us from finding what we’re searching for,” she snarled.

  “And what is that?” I asked.

  She ignored my last question and ran to the window, pounding the glass with her fist when the guy standing by Logan turned toward us and nodded. I looked down at the floor by Logan and saw a gel substance around him leading in several directions. There were barrels of chemicals all over the warehouse so I knew this wasn’t going to end well. The guy flipped open his lighter igniting a flame and tossed the fire onto the glossy gel.

  I screamed and pounded on the glass, trying to wake Logan as the guy ran out of the building. The flames were quickly igniting down the trail surrounding Logan. I was slapping on the glass so hard the rope around my wrist was cutting into my flesh, but I didn’t care. My heart was hammering with fear as I forced the lump from my throat. I didn’t know which emotion was going to take over, but I had to be strong. I could get us out of here.

  The flames ignited quickly, and I cursed my newfound ability. There’s no way to fight fire with fire. Was there?

  “Enough!” Lara pulled my hair and dragged me back over to the crate, anchoring me down and tying my wrists to the handle on the crate before she ran out of the building.

  As the flames grew taller, I could see the orange and red flames reflecting in the glass dividing me from Logan. I had to get to him. But what if the flames already had?

  I slid my wrists up and down, back and forth, anything to get a little slack between my skin and the rope. I kicked the corner of the crate repeatedly, hoping I could pull myself free somehow. The wood began to splinter with each kick but not enough. I could see the reflection brighten against the glass, which made me kick harder and harder, while struggling with the rope around my wrists. I didn’t even realize that I had been screaming Logan’s name until my throat began aching.

  “Please listen to me. Wake up. Wake up,” I channeled to him in an attempt to wake him. All I could hope was that the warmth from the nectunt meant he was alive.

  Sweat dripped down my face, plastering my hair to my cheeks, which made it almost impossible to see when my foot finally kicked the corner wood free. Pulling myself up I yanked on the handle with all my weight hoping to break it off where the crate was weakened.

  With one last tug I fell to the floor, freeing myself from the crate. I began frantically untwisting the ropes as I ran to the metal door. I glanced out the window to the warehouse, but all I could see was smoke.

  As I opened the door, an explosion rocked the warehouse and threw me to the ground where my head broke my fall against the concrete. The flames must have reached some of the chemicals. God! What were they? I heard pieces of metal and wood hit the concrete floor, and my hands began trembling as I fell to the floor, crawling my way through the main warehouse. The stench of chemicals in the air burned my nose as I worked my shirt up over my face. The only sounds I could hear were of the wooden crates crackling and the whooshing of flames. I couldn’t allow myself to think of what had happened to Logan or the tears would come, and I didn’t have time for tears.

  I look
ed over to where I last saw Logan, but all that was visible was a cloud of smoke swirling in every direction blocking my view. The haze was so thick I could taste the bitterness of the chemicals and wood that was burning. My head was throbbing from the blast, but I had to find Logan. He was so much closer to the source of the explosion than I was, especially if he hadn’t awoken yet.

  “Acapnos ignis. Acapnos ignis,” I chanted, hoping to clear out some of the smoke.

  The images of Logan propped in the chair flooded my mind, and I shook my head to release them. My eyes stung with the constant smoke, and my tears wouldn’t stop falling. I needed that spell to kick in. A tickle in my lungs was beginning to become unbearable. I had to shake this. I had to find Logan.

  Even with the spell, every breath was a struggle. Every movement was painful. My bones ached, but my heart ached more as I thought about what might have happened to Logan. My nectunt had fallen silent as soon as the explosion occurred. I only hoped that didn’t meant what I thought it might. Swallowing the lump in my throat back down, I reached for the closest crate and grabbed hold of the splintery wood. I lifted myself up, which only produced a painful cough. I attempted to gain my bearings but my world was spinning faster the higher I stood. The only reason I knew I was upright was because my feet were firmly planted on the concrete floor.

  “Logan?” I yelled, but my lungs went into a spasm, coughing immediately replacing my calls for him.

  Timbers fell and the flames crackled around me. It would only be a matter of time before the flames reached me. If we didn’t get out of here soon, I knew we wouldn’t get out at all.

  I stripped my shirt off and twisted it quickly into a mask, tying it around my face and neck. It did little to stop the tickle deep in my chest, but it was something.

  I crouched down, which only caused more pain to strike down my spine, but I didn’t care. I needed to stay as low to the ground as possible. My eyesight was useless. I used my hands to guide me through the maze of wooden crates, cardboard boxes, and plastic bottles full of substances that when all combined would probably create another ticking time bomb.