Burning Ember Read online

  No, I’ve got to get moving away from here.

  She swallowed the sudden and unexpected wave of disappointment that thought brought, and tried to focus on where she was going next.

  “Hey, thanks for the rescue and all that, but I can make it on my own from here.”

  He looked over at her again, with a frown creasing his brow. “Sorry, Scarlet. That’s not an option.”

  “Listen here… whatever your name is—”

  “Archer.”

  “Archer—thank you—I’m a grown-up and I can look after myself. So thanks again, but I can take it from here.” She dug her heals in, forcing him to stop, or pull her arm from her socket.

  He turned to face her and stepped closer, forcing Scarlet to tilt her head back and look up at him.

  “I don’t think you realize how much danger you are in, belan. Not only do the Enforcers have a death warrant on you, but the human police are looking for you, too, since you apparently decided it would be a good idea to burn down their bus depot.”

  “Human?” she asked.

  “Right now, your best bet to get out of this situation alive is if you stick with me, and since I’ve come all the damn way here, and probably seriously pissed off a good friend, you are coming with me. We clear?”

  She jerked her hand out his grasp. “No one tells me what to do. You got it? So, run along,” She made a flicking motion with her fingers. “And I’ll be fine from here.”

  He looked around as if looking to see if anyone was watching them. A couple across the street had stopped to look over at them. He grabbed her hand again, and pulled her in to the mouth of an alley.

  “If you don’t come with me, you will die,” he said in a quiet, but earnest tone.

  Scarlet felt heat start to build in the hand he was clasping. “Is that a threat?” Her voice had dropped lower as the heat intensified.

  She looked down at their hands, and orange flame danced on her skin, engulfing his hand as well.

  Archer was staring at the flames, and Scarlet was amazed that he wasn’t burning.

  “It doesn’t hurt you?” she asked.

  His eyes snapped up to her face. “Spell—kill the flames, Pyro, I’m not threatening you.”

  Pyro? The flames died when she realized he knew more about her than she did. It might be a good idea to stay with him for a while, so she could get some answers. Heaven knew she needed answers.

  “Fine, I’ll go with you—” She was cut off by the distant sound of chilling laughter.

  “We’ve run out of time.” He tugged her out the alley and down the road.

  Scarlet winced. “Ease up your grip a bit, would you. I’m not going to run away.”

  “Sorry.” He threw her over his shoulder, and relaxed his grip on her hand a little as they neared the diner.

  “Sure thing, Sally, I’ll make sure Maggie gets her pie, you have a good night now.”

  Scarlet heard the familiar voice and recognized the old guy who’d given her a ride into town. Joe Denton.

  Archer’s response to Joe’s voice surprised Scarlet. He spun, tucking Scarlet into his arms as he pushed her against the outside wall of the diner, hiding her behind his broad chest. She was so amazed she didn’t respond.

  He lowered his head, and spoke in a whisper right into her ear. “Think lovers embrace, belan. Remember the humans are looking for you.”

  Scarlet slid her arms around his waist and tucked her face into his chest, playing along with his ruse. She wasn’t all that surprised to feel the hard plains of his pectoral muscles under her cheek. She’d suspected the man was built like a movie star.

  Joe whistled a pleasant tune as he walked past them, not sparing the pair more than a glance.

  Scarlet’s nerves thrummed with the tension caused by her position. Archer surrounded her, and his warm masculine scent was mixed with a wild smell of wind and trees.

  Her body was coming alive with every small movement of his. It felt really good to be in his arms

  What the hell are you doing?

  She wiggled to get out his arms and Archer groaned. Her eyes shot wide as she felt his hardening erection pressing into her stomach. He moved away from her, putting an arm’s length of distance between them, then shocked her further by reaching down to adjust himself.

  “What the…” She was about to lay into him for it.

  “Oh, come on, you can’t wiggle against me like that and expect me not to get…interested.” He reached for her hand.

  “My car is parked a block past the diner—let’s get the hell out of town, while we still can.”

  Scarlet swallowed the retort she’d planned and followed him past the diner.

  She’d admit she was flattered her movements had turned him on. He’d done the same to her—something that had her a little bewildered. Sure, Archer was hot, and his hard body pressed to hers had been so good, but she was in danger. She had no business behaving like a hormone-addled teenager around the guy.

  Archer let go of her hand a block later to unlock the passenger side door.

  “Get in,” he ordered, and she was tempted to ignore him.

  The man needed a lesson on the value of the word please.

  He’d gone to the driver’s side of the car, opened the door and paused with one long leg in the car. “Well?”

  “Fine.” Scarlet got in and slammed the door closed.

  He slid into the driver seat and put the key in the ignition.

  “Where are you taking me?” The adrenalin that had been coursing through her body was starting to wear off, and Scarlet was thinking twice about driving away with a complete stranger.

  “Back to Crossroads.” He started the car and slid it into first for the pull off.

  “Whoa, wait—no.” Scarlet reached for the door handle, and opened the car door.

  “Fuck.” Archer hissed and slammed his foot down on the brake. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

  “I’m not going back to Crossroads,” Scarlet shot back, then started to step out the car.

  Archer reached out, grabbing her, arm and yanked her back into the car with surprising force.

  “Keep all limbs inside the vehicle,” he told her with a deadpan expression. “We have to go back to Crossroads— it’s the one place I can keep you safe.”

  She glared at him.

  “I know it’s a lot to ask, but can you try and trust me? I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  The decision was taken out of her hands when Luke’s terrifying visage appeared in front of the car’s hood.

  “Oh, Archer, you have been a bad dog. The pyro is my toy, not yours.”

  The ghost’s chilling voice made Scarlet shiver in fear.

  She slammed the car door again and tried to make herself as small as possible in the front seat.

  “No, Luke, I didn’t try…I succeeded.” Archer jammed the gas pedal to the floorboard, and the car lurched forward going straight through Luke.

  Scarlet fumbled for her seat belt, buckling the thing into place.

  “You are going to have to take that off again.” Archer glanced over at her, before he shifted his concentration back to the road ahead of them again.

  “What? Why?” Scarlet was about to protest when she heard Luke’s laughter again.

  “Get the shotgun.” Archer tilted his chin at the sawed off where he’d dropped it behind the seat. “You have to get a direct hit or…” Archer left it hanging. “Can you handle the shotgun?”

  “We are about to find out.” Scarlet unbuckled her belt, reached back, and grabbed the shotgun.

  “Watch for him. When he appears, shoot, and, belan—don’t hesitate.” He shifted gear picking up more speed.

  Scarlet pumped the shotgun and held it, feeling awkward as she scanned the front of the car for Luke.

  “I’ve got you now.”

  She felt the ice of Luke’s presence behind her and reacted. Scarlet lunged forward, twisting in her seat, and spun to face the back of the car,
lifting the shotgun, and cocking at the same time. She pulled the trigger and felt her back slam into the glass of the windshield when the weapon recoiled in her hands. The percussive blast of the shotgun was so loud in the enclosed space of the car, she thought her eardrums might have burst.

  Archer swerved the car and slammed on the breaks and Scarlet fell straight into him.

  “Did it work?” She sat up trying to see over Archer’s broad shoulders.

  “Yes.” he said in a tight voice. He shook his head.

  Scarlet saw the thin trail of blood coming from his ear.

  “Oh, God, did I hurt you?” She sat up straighter reaching for his ear.

  “No, it will heal within minutes. You did good. Luke is gone, but we won’t have long. We have to get back to Crossroads. There, you will have sanctuary, and I’m hoping Poe can pull a few strings to get the death sentence lifted.” He picked her up and put her down on her seat.

  He might as well have been speaking a foreign language, because Scarlet didn’t follow half of what he said

  She nodded without a word as Archer put the car back in gear and pulled off.

  Scarlet was left to wonder what had happened to her mundane life as a waitress.

  Chapter Six

  Archer found himself glancing over at Scarlet for the thirtieth time. She had her head resting against the door and her hands folded in her lap. She had scratches, was bleeding and bedraggled, yet she was beautiful.

  Her matted, long, dark brown braid had twigs and leaves tangled in it, but he could see that her hair was soft to the touch. Her heart shaped face, smudged with dirt, had dark circles under her eyes, but when those blue eyes were open, they were like a blazing hook on your soul.

  Once they’d gotten on the road, it hadn’t taken long for her to fall asleep. He couldn’t imagine how exhausted she must have been, and she’d been asleep the whole way back to Crossroads.

  Archer slowed down the car with another glance at Scarlet and turned into the underground parking garage of Outsiders Inc. He felt a twinge of regret that the drive was over. Watching her sleep gave him a deep sense of… rightness. That was the best word he could think of.

  Man, that vision he’d had as a cub had done a number on his mind. He was still positive there was no way that Scarlet was his she, but for some reason, his beast was convinced.

  He shook his head. He would have to deal with this was stuff later. For now, they had other worries. Archer was hoping Poe was around. The vampire Prince would make it a lot easier to get the death sentence off Scarlet’s head.

  The Eternal had two reactions to pyros. They tried to either save them, or take them out. Scarlet was evoking both reactions in spades.

  He parked the car and killed the engine. Scarlet woke with a start, her head snapping around as though looking for danger.

  “You are safe,” Archer assured her as he laid a hand on her shoulder. “Remember?”

  She made a derisive sound. “That is a matter of opinion. I don’t know anything about being safe. All I know is that no one is trying to kill me right this second.”

  Archer’s lips curled, “Glass-half-full kinda person, huh?”

  “Yeah, sure, my life is a party.”

  He reached for the door handle to get out of the car.

  Scarlet stopped him. “Wait. Before I go anywhere, I’d like some answers.”

  When he frowned, about to tell her to wait, she cut him off.

  “Archer, you said you’d give me answers. We aren’t running, right now, and I want my answers.”

  Her use of his name had stopped him from telling her to wait. Her voice was like honey, and when the syllables of his name slipped from her lips, it made him feel a twinge of something that he wasn’t used to.

  He turned towards her in his seat. “Okay, ask. I’ll answer what I can answer now, but I’m not promising to answer it all.”

  “Fair enough.” She nodded, then took a moment, he assumed, to compose her thoughts. “What the hell am I? I mean you aren’t the first person to call me a pyro, you’ve used the term human and I can obviously do things that normal people can’t do, so just what kind of freak am I?”

  The words rushed from her as if she was trying to get all the questions out in one breath.

  Archer held up a hand. “Whoa. One at a time, belan.”

  “And what does belan mean?”

  “Fire—belan means fire, and before you ask, the language is Lycan.”

  “I’ve never heard of a language called Lycan—Wait. Lycan as in lycanthrope, as in werewolf.” Scarlet burst out laughing. “You are mad.” She shook her head. “And to think I was nearly taken in by all of this.”

  “Oh, so denial is a good idea now?” he asked with a quirk of his lips. “You really think that tactic is going to work?”

  Scarlet pursed her lips as if she was considering what he had said. Archer was sure he’d made his point.

  “Okay, so it may be not a great idea, but give me a break—werewolf—come on.”

  Archer shrugged. “Fine, don’t believe it, but you aren’t human either. You are a pyro, a fire-starter. I’m sure you’ve noticed that you have an ability to create fire from nothing.”

  “Yeah.” A frown drew her brows down. “I’m a freak, but it doesn’t mean I’m not human.”

  “That’s exactly what it means. You are one of the Eternal, an immortal.”

  “Oh, Please. What kind of bull are you trying to feed me?” She looked heavenward, then leveled a dirty look at him.

  He dropped his head back on the headrest and wished for some patience. It was obvious she was going to be one of those who refused to believe the things that were happening to her.

  “I’m not going to sit here and argue with you. So, let’s go.” He opened the car door and got out, ignoring her protests. She jumped out the door to follow him.

  “You said you’d answer my questions,” she stated, slamming the door closed at the same time.

  “There is no point.” He kept on walking, forcing her to run to keep up. “You don’t want to believe a word I say.” He got to the elevators and pushed the button to call it.

  “Well, if you said something logical or even reasonable, I’d believe you.”

  Archer tilted his head and glowered at her. “You ran away because you set the shelter on fire in your sleep and—”

  “There is no proof that fire was caused by me.”

  He raised one of his brows in a questioning arch. “You set a bus depot on fire, or are you going to try and deny that one, too?”

  She didn’t answer him, but dropped her eyes, looking down at her sneakers.

  “You ran into the forest where you were hunted by some of the most dangerous beings in the Eternal.”

  He watched her shudder and felt the inane urge to wrap his arms around her to comfort her.

  “One of which is a spirit, and you want to argue with me about logic and sense?”

  The elevator doors opened, and Archer stepped in, then waited for Scarlet before it closed.

  “I’ll admit a lot of that stuff was weird and I’m beginning to think I was drugged, or I’m having some type of hysterical meltdown.” She sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than him.

  He just scrubbed his hands over his face. “Stubborn, too stubborn.”

  “What is the Eternal?” Scarlet asked him, in a quiet voice as the elevator rode up.

  “The Eternal is the collective title for all species of immortals.”

  “Species? You mean there is more than what I’ve seen.” Sarcasm made her tone hard.

  “Enough—when you are ready to believe what I’m telling you, I’ll answer your questions. Until then, be a honey and don’t ask any more.” He reached forward and lifted the gate of the freight elevator.

  She glanced around the room. “What is this place?”

  “It is many things—our offices, our place of residence, and a place where you will be safe for now.” Stepping into the hub,
Archer led the way.

  * * * *

  Scarlet stopped short when they reached a horseshoe-shaped reception area. There was a man sitting in the center of it. He leaned back on the chair, his booted feet propped up on the desk in front of him as if he were sunning on a beach. He had dark hair, shaved on one side, while the other side had evenly spaced cornrow braids that fell down over his shoulder and farther down his back. His deep blue eyes were striking with his pale, almost translucent skin.

  “Where have you been, Poe? I’ve been trying to call you.” Archer asked the seated man.

  “You were?” Poe lifted his hips to reach into his pocket, so he could pull out a cell phone, and glanced at the screen. “Sorry, seems the battery is as dead as I am.”

  He turned his attention to Scarlet and gave her a crooked smile. “Who have we here?”

  Archer frowned. “This is Scarlet, and she needs a Kalick lifted.”

  She glanced over at Archer to ask, “Kalick?”

  “Death Sentence,” Poe supplied with an intrigued look. He dropped his feet off the desk, stood, and walked over to Scarlet, getting so close that she had to tilt her head up to look at him.

  She heard a soft growl and glanced around the room for a dog. “You have a dog here, too?”

  Archer looked embarrassed, and Poe started to laugh at her question. “I’m sure he prefers the term wolf. Isn’t that so, Arch?”

  “But of course, Your Highness.” Archer made a mock bow from the waist.

  Poe stiffened and stepped away.

  Scarlet was confused by the undercurrent. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on and I don’t care. All I want right now is a shower and a bed.”

  “It’s nothing more than banter between old friends.” Poe quirked a brow. “And before we can let you rest, I need to know what you did to earn the Kalick. They aren’t enforced often.”

  “She’s a pyro. Untrained, and unaware of the Eternal before now.” Archer supplied.

  “Oh, my…” Poe gave her another predatory look up and down. “I thought they were almost always redheads. Do you color your hair?”

  Scarlet had opened her mouth to tell him to go to hell when he continued.