Chapter 10: Written in Flames 🌶️🌶️

EVE

We sat by the fireplace in Raphael’s office, nursing our drinks against the light of the flickering flames.

I hadn’t noticed before, but Killian was covered in scratches and bite marks.

He’d been to hell and back, tracking Barron von Logia, but he’d fought his way through it.

And now he was here, holding vital information that might help us…

Or make everything a thousand times harder.

“Tell us, then,” Raphael said. “What exactly happened out there?”

“Barron is a mad man,” Killian replied. “Though you already know that. Every town that I tracked him to, people went missing. There were rumors that he was locating young people and turning them into vampyres.”

“How? Barron doesn’t have that power,” Raphael said in a low growl.

“Maybe not, but the vampyres that he coerced into joining him ~do~…and now their numbers are multiplying exponentially,” Killian replied.

“For what purpose?” I asked, feeling a deep unease in the pit of my stomach.

“Nothing good for us,” Killian said darkly. “It seems like he’s collecting followers, building an army of some kind.”

“We need to end this before it goes any further,” Raphael growled.

“He’s a Deity,” Killian said, looking into the fire. “You can’t just kill a god.”

“Watch me,” Raphael said, narrowing his eyes.

“Where is he now?” I asked, downing my drink. “You said you were tracking him.”

“I never actually saw him, but I chased his ghost to Eastern Europe. That’s where things got…strange.”

“Strange, how?” I asked, not liking where this was going. There was enough strangeness in Lumen already. We didn’t need it imported from Eastern Europe too.

“I was right on that bastard’s tail. I was ~so~ close to catching him before he moved on to his next location, but when I arrived at his base of operations in Budapest…”

“Spit it out!” Raphael growled, losing his patience.

“He jumped through a portal,” Killian said ominously.

“A ~portal?~ To where?” I asked, incredulous. I’d been around for five hundred years and this was the first time I’d ever heard of someone jumping through a portal.

Judging by Raphael’s bewildered face, he was similarly perplexed.

“I’m not sure, but I’ve never seen anything like it,” he replied. “But I saw what was on the other side. Only for a brief second, but I saw it.”

Killian leaned forward and spoke with a serious tone. “I think it was…another world.”

Raphael and I exchanged uneasy looks. ~Another world? Could that even be possible?~

I wasn’t sure what any of this meant, but it wasn’t good.

“After that, I completely lost his trail,” Killian said, sitting back again. “But when that portal closed, a bunch of vampyres went berserk on me. It was like their powers were enhanced or something. I barely made it out alive.”

“We’ve been dealing with something similar here. I’ll fill you in on all the details,” I said, pouring myself another drink.

Was it possible that Barron von Logia and this portal had something to do with the Haze imbalance?

I wasn’t usually a betting woman; I tended to stick with what I knew to be fact, but…

I’d bet my fucking left wing that this was all connected.

REYNA

“I fucking HATE clowns!” I said, shuddering as I helped Derek unload a life-size wax clown statue from the truck.

“Well then you’d better stay out of the funhouse this year,” he said, laughing. “It’s called the ~House of Clowns~.”

I’d faced a lot of horrifying creatures in my time, but nothing compared to the deeply unsettling feeling that came from standing face to face with a clown.

I unceremoniously dropped the clown statue in front of a tent and shook my hands in the air like they were diseased.

“I feel like it’s ~on~ me,” I said dramatically.

Derek took my hands and softly rubbed the white face paint from them.

My heart skipped a beat as our skin touched. As he looked into my eyes, I felt my face burn.

“How would you survive carnival committee without me?” he said, shaking his head.

“Honestly, I probably wouldn’t,” I said, laughing. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too,” he said, giving me a heart-melting smile.

Embarrassed, I pulled my hand away. “I think that was the last load of clowns. God…that sounds so weird.”

“Good, because I don’t think I could carry another one of those red-nosed nightmares. I need my fingers for tonight,” Derek said, massaging his hands.

I raised my eyebrows at him. “Get your mind out of the gutter,” he said, smirking. “I have a gig.”

“A gig? Like, you’re playing a show?” I asked, intrigued.

“Yeah, I’m in a band,” he replied. “We’re called ~The Hell Howlers.~”

“And here I thought all you were good for was carrying clowns,” I teased.

“Hey, do you want to come tonight?” he asked suddenly. “I could put you on the list. I mean, if you’re interested that is.”

I felt butterflies in my stomach as I looked at Derek’s nervous expression.

“Sure, that would be chill,” I said, trying to play it cool. “I have to check, but I think I’m free.”

A smile appeared across his face. “Awesome, hope I’ll see you there.”

Was he just trying to fill up the venue?

Or was he…asking me out?

***

I stared at my over-sized closet as Anya sat on my bed, flipping through the pages of a magazine.

“I have nothing to wear!” I said, despite that being extremely untrue.

I just had no idea what to wear for this maybe-possibly-kind of date.

Rows of black fabric draped off of hangers, making my closet look like a compact funeral.

~Why didn’t I own a single colored article of clothing!? What if Derek thinks I’m bland?~

Sensing my anxiety, Anya jumped off the bed and pulled two dresses out of the fray. “Here, try one of these. Black or…well, black.”

“This is hopeless,” I said, collapsing on the bed. “And I can’t borrow anything from you. Nothing will fit me.”

“Maybe you could see if Blaire has something that—”

My eyes flashed like lightning at Anya, daring her to finish that sentence.

She held her hands up in surrender. “Whoa, just kidding. Bad idea.”

I was trying to forget that ~she-who-will-not-be-named~ even lived here.

I looked through the dresses that Anya had pulled out and threw them to the side.

“Just wear jeans and a T-shirt like you always do,” Anya said, starting to get annoyed with my indecision. “I’ve done all I can for you.”

As Anya left my room, I reached for my phone.

Maybe Jed could give me some insight into what boys liked…

Reyna

Hey

Reyna

If a boy asked you on a date, what would u wear?

Jed

if a boy asked ME on a date?

Reyna

Sorry, let me rephrase 😅

Reyna

What would u want a girl to wear on a first date?

Jed

uhh wait

Jed

why are u asking me this?

Reyna

I don’t know, you’re a boy aren’t you?

Reyna

A guy kinda asked me out and I’m a little nervous about it

Jed

oh…

Reyna

So like should I go sexy?

Reyna

Or more casual, laid back style?

Jed

i’m sure whatever is fine

Jed

not sure why ur asking me tbh

Jed

don’t u have a sister for these kinds of questions

Reyna

Damn, sorry to bother u I guess

Jed

i just don’t get why you’d ask me for advice about a date

Jed

whatever

Jed

have fun

I wasn’t sure why Jed was being so cagey with me. So what if I was asking him about dating advice?

We were friends.

This was what friends did.

There was no way that he was jealous of me spending time with another boy, right? I mean, he hadn’t made a move on me since the Yule Ball and that was ages ago.

~Whatever, I’m just going to blame it on the Haze.~

But one thing I couldn’t blame on the Haze was a poor sense of fashion, so I’d better find the perfect outfit or I’d be screwed.

EVE

“I hate not having any conclusive answers,” Raphael growled as he removed his shirt and sat on the bed. “Killian just created new questions instead of answering any of our current ones.”

I removed my robe and crawled into bed next to him. “Yes, but at least now we can be better prepared,” I said, lying on my side, my silky slip riding up my leg.

“Yes, well I guess…all we can do is…wait,” Raphael grunted, his mind wandering to ~other~ places as he hungrily eyed me up and down.

I smirked as Raphael’s hands started sliding up my legs.

Portals or not, I had needs…

My own ~portal~ needed to be opened.

I turned to face Raphael and spread my legs wide. I wasn’t wearing anything underneath my slip.

“Let’s save our theories for the morning and focus on things closer to home,” I said, beginning to rub my clit with my fingers.

Raphael growled excitedly and shoved his face between my legs. “Sounds good to me.”

He began flicking his tongue around inside me. I arched my back as his fingers dug into my thighs.

He was making me so wet, and all I wanted was for him to plunge inside me and make me scream.

I grabbed his hair aggressively, holding his head in place.

Raphael came up for air and wiped his mouth, giving me a smirk. “I’m gonna fuck you until neither one of us can fucking move.”

“Is that a promise?” I asked, leaning in to kiss him.

Suddenly, a piercing scream from down the hall ended our foreplay.

It had come from Snow’s room.

We jumped out of bed and raced down the hall, throwing Snow’s door open with lightning speed.

She was sitting in her bed, shaking, and pointing to the open window.

“What did you see?” Raphael asked, placing his arm around her in comfort.

There was a faint burning smell and smoke floated into the window from outside.

I leaned over the windowsill to see something burned into the pack house lawn…

They were words…written in flames.