Chapter 43

Something woke me up.

“What was that?” Lisa asked, half-asleep.

I shook my head. “I hope it’s not your parents.”

“Don’t even joke about that.”

We lay there, holding each other and drifting off again when I heard something. The only way to describe it would be a soft explosion.

I looked up at my only window. The sun was up but there was another glow too. A flickering, fiery glow that reminded me of the light coming from the fireplace.

Then I recalled seeing fire that wasn’t in a fireplace: my apartment.

I rolled out of bed. It had reverted to its original twin size. I looked around at the room. Everything seemed normal. I didn’t feel any different. I recalled the song I sang to Lisa before our massive mutual orgasms and then passing out.

Lisa looked up at me. She looked beautiful, lying on my bed, only covered with my old quilt up to her waist. She lay on her belly, and her big, beautiful breasts bulged out from under her. “What was that sound?” she asked, which reminded me of what I was doing in the first place.

I went to the window. I couldn’t see it but there was a fiery glow coming from the front yard.

“Well?” Lisa asked, tugging at her hair, which was mussed from sleep.

“Get dressed,” I said. “I think there’s a fire outside.”

“A fire? In all that snow?”

“Yeah,” I said and found our pile of clothes. I passed her clothes to her, and then pulled on my pants, flannel shirt, and shoes. Lisa got dressed just as quickly.

“How can there be a fire. There’s still two feet of snow on the ground.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s normal to begin with.”

“You don’t mean... ?” and she thumbed at the bed.

I nodded and opened the door. Alyssa came out of her room at the same time. “Do you know what’s going on outside?” she asked.

I repeated myself to her. “Get mom up. We may have to leave.”

Alyssa nodded without question and ran downstairs toward the master suite.

I grabbed Dad’s jacket and pulled it on.

“What are you going to do?” Lisa asked.

“See what’s going on,” I said. “If it is a fire, I’ll keep it from the house until the fire department arrives.” Of course, I didn’t mention what I really thought was going on.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

I cast a personal shield over myself. It would keep me from getting hot and allow me to breath normally in smoke, not to mention see clearly. I took her hand and ran it over the shield. “Feel that?” I asked and she nodded. “It’ll keep me safe. Go get your stuff. You’ll probably have to move your truck.”

She nodded, gave me a kiss, and let me go.

I turned to the front door, and felt it for heat. It felt cool to the touch, like the night before, so I pulled it open.

The house, the porch, and about the first ten feet of snow were untouched. It was as if an invisible protective wall separated us from the rest of the yard, because beyond that point, everything was on fire.

I had seen grass fires on the news, especially when the fire threatened people’s homes. Those fires were always low to the ground and formed a line, consuming grass and leaving behind ash. This fire wasn’t a simple line heading for the house, but a sea of flame, covering everything.

I stepped out onto the porch and pulled the door closed. The fire wasn’t normal. Moreover, that line it couldn’t cross protected the house. I was certain it would protect the residents too, so I cast a lock on the front door. Whatever had started the fire had to be present, because there was nothing left for the fire to feed on. Something had to keep it going, or, more than likely, someone.

I stepped out to the top of the steps and looked out into the fire. I didn’t even feel the heat from the flames. As high as the flames danced, I should have felt them from the door, or even from inside the house. This wall, this shield, kept the fire and heat at bay. Whoever started the fire had to be here. Why hadn’t they simply walked past the shield and started a new fire inside the shield?

I spotted movement. Something moved through the flames. It looked black until it drew closer to the shield. The flames, easily four feet high, pulled back to let it pass. When it was close enough, I could make out the shape of a person – no, two persons. One held the other around the neck and waist. The one being held struggled.

I took the steps down and moved closer to the shield, but I didn’t cross it. The two individuals stopped just on the other side of the shield. I recognized the face of the person being held first. It was Chloe. I focused on the taller person and the smoke cleared away. It was Ricardo.

“Your shield is impressive,” Ricardo said, looking up and around at it. Chloe tugged at his arm and tried to say something, but he tightened his grip and choked her off. “This one caught up to me while I decorated your yard. Come out of the shield, and I will let her go.”

I didn’t know if it was a bluff or not. I didn’t know what types of magic Ricardo could cast. Was this an illusion, or was Chloe real? I couldn’t imagine her being taken and held so easily, yet could I really take the chance that she wasn’t real? I closed my eyes and focused on Chloe. The image I got was of her fighting Ricardo, struggling to breath, and desperately low on magical energy.

I opened my eyes and focused on Ricardo. “Let her go and I’ll come out of the shield.”

Ricardo shook his head. “That’s not how this works.” Then he tightened his grip on her. Chloe’s face was red and heading for purple as she struggled.

I looked at Chloe. I was ready to shunt her some power, to help her fight back, but then I saw her shake her head. She seemed to know what I was thinking, of what I would do to save her. She was right. I was going to do something stupid.

“You are the one I am after, not her. You come to me,” he called. “Step outside the shield and I will let her go.”

“Where are the others?”

“Others?”

“Yes, my guardians?”

He grinned. “I disabled their car. They’re probably walking. They should be here in an hour or two. But, you and I will be done by then.”

I focused on Greta and Michael. He was right; they were walking. I didn’t recognize the stretch of road they followed, however. They could be anywhere.

I returned to here and studied Chloe’s face. Her eyes bulged with the effort to breath. She looked at me and shook her head. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for me to understand that she didn’t want me to agree.

Then I hear someone scream, “What the hell?”

I turn to see Lisa running toward me. She stopped next to me, taking in the ludicrous scene of the fire being held back by an invisible wall. “What’s going on? Who is that, and who’s the woman he’s holding?”

I gazed at Lisa, taking in the way the firelight, angry as it felt, brought out the colors of her skin. I couldn’t let Ricardo hurt her any more than he had Chloe. “Lisa,” I said, drawing her attention to me. “I need you to take Chloe back inside.”

Lisa looked at Ricardo and shook her head. “No, you can’t trust him.” She had read the situation quickly.

I looked at him too. “I don’t trust him.” I looked down at Chloe. “Chloe! Talk to me.”

She opened her eyes and smiled. “I just need some energy.”

Ricardo shook his head and tightened his grip. “Don’t do it. If you boost her energy, I will snap her neck.”

“You snap her neck and you’ll have more than him to worry about, mister,” Lisa said.

Part of me was happy to hear this from Lisa. It meant that the magical effects of the key had fully ended. However, this wasn’t Lisa’s fight. “Lisa, while I appreciate your choice to help, this is a fight you cannot win.”

She threw me an angry glare. “As if you know anything about fighting.”

“I cannot explain it all now,” I said, “but trust that I have the combined skills of her and two others who have been trained in several forms of hand-to-hand combat.”

“What are you saying?” Ricardo asked.

I looked at him. “Chloe is my Stirpe.”

His brow furrowed. “No, that’s not possible. You cannot possibly know that magic.”

I didn’t bother arguing or trying to explain it to him. I simply grinned and added, “The other two, my guardians, are also my Stirpi.”

“You lie!”

“You’ve seen their marks,” I said.

“I am certain they know how to change the color of their marks. They follow you because they believe you offer something that is not good for them.”

“Ricardo, I’m warning you one last time: Let her go or you won’t even know what hit you.”

“Threaten me all you like,” he spat. “You cannot touch me any more than I can touch you. Not until you step outside that shield.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

“Do you think me so stupid that I did not read the shield when I arrived? I had to know what I was up against.” He looked up and around at the shield separating us. “It is very well built. It keeps anyone intending you harm from crossing or casting spells past it, but it also keeps you from casting spells at anyone outside of the shield, regardless of your intention.”

Unless I checked the shield for myself, I wouldn’t know whether he was lying about the latter. The former seemed to be spot on. Anna and the Sheriff were able to cross the shield last night because they didn’t come here intent on harm. Ricardo, however, had no other reason to be here. Therefore, the shield stopped him but not the others.

“Then you really believe my death will resolve your problem?” I asked.

“Wait,” Lisa said. “What?”

“It is not MY problem. It is the world’s problem. Your death is necessary.”

“What is he talking about?” Lisa asked.

I shook my head. “That’s just it, Lisa. It’s a fairy tale. A myth. Nobody believes this except him.”

“What myth?” she asked.

“He believes that just because my mark is naturally amber in color that I will have something to do with the death of magic.”

She frowned and looked at Ricardo.

Ricardo shook his head. “It is not how you think. You will be the cause of the death of magic. You. Your life. Your existence.”

“And so I should believe you?” I asked. “Why? There’s no proof. Having an amber mark is no different than having red hair.”

“It is quite different,” he said. “And the longer you stall, the longer you argue, the weaker Chloe gets.”

I looked at her and shouted her name several times, but she didn’t respond. “Dammit, let her go. She needs help.”

“The only thing stopping me from doing so is you’re refusal to cross the shield.”

I looked up at him and noted a very small spark of pity in his eyes. Was that for me, or for Chloe? I stepped to the side, ready to give in to his demand simply to save Chloe, but Lisa grabbed my arm.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

I looked from her to him. “I’m going to leave the shield. I need you to help Chloe. Please.”

She glanced at him but then nodded. “I will.” Then she moved in close and kissed me. Her kiss filled me with courage and a bit of anger. She stepped back and said, “Kick his ass.”

I nodded, stepped back along the shield to put some distance between him and myself, and then I stepped out of the shield.

The flames immediately grew up around me, obscuring my vision. I couldn’t see Ricardo himself, much less whether he let Chloe fall into the shield or not. The crackling of the flames was like a dull roar, drowning out all other sounds. Before I could think of a spell to help, something slammed into me.

My personal shield was designed to protect me from the fire, but the kinetic force of the slam knocked me to the ground.

Ricardo stood over me. He wasn’t holding Chloe. I could only hope that she was safe, because if I didn’t survive this, I would never know.

I drew on all my fighting knowledge from Greta, Michael, and Chloe. Chloe didn’t have a lot of hand-to-hand experience, but the others did. I swept around with my foot, aiming for his knee.

Ricardo stepped away.

I took the opportunity to get to my feet, but the flames rose up around me again.

“You’re in my element now,” Ricardo said. It sounded as if he were standing next to me without the roar of the fire drowning out his voice.

His element indeed. He knew how to manipulate the fire, to make it work in his favor. I didn’t have that kind of experience. I needed something in my favor.

I heard him laugh. “Your personal shields are weak. I’ve seen them. They won’t help you here.”

“My personal shields have improved. I’ve had time.” Which was true. Rho and I had discussed the merits of multi-dimensional shields, which could protect me from any number of attacks, including elemental. My shields weren’t the issue, at least not for me. I needed a plan to stop this guy altogether. We had discussed my use of syphoning spells, such as what was used by the Lockdown. Unfortunately, even with Chloe’s knowledge about syphoning spells and having Rho as a coach, I would never be able to cast something like that on the fly. If I had prepared something in advanced, then maybe, but it was too late for that.

The flames continued to impede my vision. I stumbled around, looking for Ricardo. He continued to taunt me about my shield and to tell me that I would be the destruction of magic. He could obviously see me just fine. He came out of the fire, hit me again, and disappeared in the flames. He appeared, hit me, and disappeared. He came at me again, and again. Each time, he punctuated his blows with his “pathetic shields” or “destroyer of magic.”

Another hit from behind, and I went down. I rolled away to get up, but he kicked me in the side, sending me rolling in pain. He caught up, stomped at me, but I rolled away.

I couldn’t think straight. His barrage kept me from focusing on adjusting my shields or coming up with a counter. I rolled into the wheel of one of the vehicles in the driveway. Ricardo caught up and stood over me, kicking me in the side.

I finally thought of something and grabbed his kicking leg. My sides and back ached with bruises, but nothing was broken yet. He bent over and punched the side of my head. “Let go!” he yelled at me, but I held on all the tighter, trying to think clearly.