Dark Flames . Amy Blankenship
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on finding a spell that is only for those we want to see Carley. You can meet back in here later this evening.” Storm nodded toward the door.
“Sure,” Guy turned hearing the dismissal in Storm’s voice and left the bedroom thinking that Zachary was going to follow. He frowned deeply when the other man stayed in his spot against the wall.
Storm remained quiet until Guy and Carley were gone. What he had to speak with Tiara about didn’t need to be heard by anyone else. He glanced over at Zachary and waited for him to leave as well but when the other man didn’t budge, Storm mentally sighed. He supposed Zachary staying was to be expected since he was in charge of the team.
Turning back to Tiara, Storm placed his hand on her bare shoulder and tenderly caressed her skin with the pad of his thumb. Detecting a slight flinch when he touched her, Storm had the answer to his unasked question... she had never been touched by a man before, least not in the way this would require.
Keeping his face calm he smiled gently, “Tiara, you do not have to do anything you do not want to do. Always remember that. But if you do decide to try and give the gift of it, then I want Zachary to be the one you share your breath of sight with.”
Zachary remained quiet, still leaning against the wall. He wanted to see where Storm was going with this hocus-pocus. He had a feeling there was more to this spell than just words. Storm was talking in riddles in order to hide something from him and Zachary didn’t like it one bit.
Tiara’s mind was going a mile a minute. She knew she was in the same position Myra had been in. She’d never used her powers and she’d never been touched by a man… tonight she’d have to do both whether she was ready or not. Tiara suddenly wished she could pick just one man from the group… she wanted what her mother now had.
“Zachary can and will protect you better than anyone else, even Guy.” Storm locked gazes with Tiara wanting her to catch the hint he was giving her. “His heat will keep the cold ones at bay, so it needs to be him you share your sight with… but only when you’re ready. Until then, maybe Carley and Guy will come up with something so Carley can communicate with the whole team,” Storm said reassuringly.
“Carley would like that,” Tiara said but she was thinking about what Storm had just said. “She’s very excited about everything going on.”
Storm shifted his gaze to Zachary to make sure he was following at least some of what he was telling Tiara. “Carley will be a great asset, but an even greater one if the whole team can see and talk to her. For example, if anyone of you get separated from the group and or wounded, then Carley can find that person and go back to one of the other members and tell them where they are.”
Zachary cocked an eyebrow actually liking the sound of that.
Tiara lowered the pillow to her lap and sat up a little straighter, “I have to be using the necromancy in order to try the spell,” she swept her gaze toward Zachary but lost her nerve as soon as she noticed all of his attention was on her.
She focused back on Storm and inhaled deeply. It was time to grow up and do her part to save humanity… even if she lost a part of herself alone the way. Tiara lowered her voice making it sound like the secret it truly was, “Myra said I can only give the breath of sight while I’m under the control of the hunger.”
Storms eyebrows lowered worriedly, “How far do you have to take the hunger in order to share the power to see what’s really there?”
Tiara repeated what her mother had told her with a bright blush on her cheeks. “The person doesn’t have to be inside me, but I have to reach… a climax in order to feed from their life-force. His life force is a gift to me and only during the exchange can I give a gift back. That’s when I can give the breath of a necromancer’s sight.”
Storm could feel Zach’s anger vibrate throughout the room and knew Zachary was no longer with them. His double personality trigger had been flipped. Now was a good time to get the fireball out of here before he went off and embarrassed Tiara further. She was being so brave that it would be a shame to place stumbling blocks in front of her to trip over… especially a stumbling block as intimidating as Zach.
“You can trust Zachary not to go too far when you are ready to try the breath. For now you need to rest. It’s going to be a long night.” He slid off the bed and grabbed Zach by the upper arm, ushering the other man out the door with him.
The moment they were out of hearing range Zach turned on Storm and snapped, “Do you really think it’s fair to her to ask her to let everyone on the team get her off just so she can share her damn sight with them?”
Storm gripped Zach’s arm a little tighter and they were suddenly alone at the cliff. While Zach was tripping on the sudden change in scenery, Storm attempted to reason with him. “Stop for a minute and think about what Tiara just said.”
“She just said she has to get off in order to share her sight.” Zach thundered as fire erupted then sputtered when he found himself under the cold ocean water. Pushing off the bottom, he realized he could stand up because the water was only shoulder high.
“Damn it Storm, stop that!” he yelled.
Storm smirked because he was perfectly dry and standing on the beach watching the steam rise from Zachary’s skin. “Let’s try this again shall we, this time with a cooler head on our shoulders?” he asked while Zachary trudged through the water toward him. “Tiara said the person doesn’t have to be inside her.”
“Yeah, I heard that part,” Zachary said harshly but threw up a hand to let Storm know he didn’t need another dunk. He’d just walked out of the water and was damn near dry thanks to his ability to raise the temperature around him. The last thing he needed was for his clothes to start smelling like seawater.
“Glad you were listening,” Storm smirked. “Did you miss the part about reaching satisfaction in order to feed?” Zachary just glared at him so Storm enlightened him further, “I don’t know if she is even aware of what she said, but if that statement is true then she doesn’t ever have to sleep with anyone in order to feed. She only has to reach satisfaction and it will keep her alive.”
Zachary stilled himself as he thought about it, his mind going a mile a minute. She had to do that in order to live through the experience? Is that why Myra had sex with the demon that night… because she had to? Not likely, he silently rationalized. The demon from that night hadn't been a stranger… Myra had known him.
“The thought of Tiara feeding the way Myra fed seems to bother you… but you do not fully understand the part about her dying if she doesn’t feed. So, I am proposing an alternative. Get her to the point of satisfaction… then stop. If you don’t want to do it, then I’m sure Guy will be more than happy to take your place.”
“I’ll do it,” Zach snapped then blinked when Storm vanished. When the sand under his feet melted into a pool of glass, he growled and spun around… marching right back into the cold water. “No one even asked me if I wanted to see a damned ghost.”
Storm rematerialized inside Ren’s office laughing softly to himself.
“Oh god, what did you do this time?” Ren asked from behind his desk.
Storm shook his head at his own wicked sense of humor, “If we’re smart, we’ll stay away from Zach for the next couple days… or weeks. It kind of depends on how long he can stand torturing himself. That and we also need to warn everyone to stay away from the beach for another hour or so. Knowing Zachary, he’s probably turning it into a glass bottle right about now.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you have an evil streak about a mile wide?” Ren smirked enjoying Storm’s laughter over the dangers of a bloody nose any day.
*****
Damon’s feet touched lightly in front of the entrance of Night Light and he set Alicia down, reluctantly giving up his claim he had on her lips.
He’d found flying was an aphrodisiac to Alicia and decided walking