The flames were almost to his chest now. He was literally turning into a human fireball. On the edge of the café, suited-up fireman spread out in all directions, and I was just about to mention something when Laous moved. He slammed a hand into the stone, pushing it all the way into Daniel’s shoulder.
With a roar, the taller Daelighter dropped, his body shuddering like he was being struck by lightning, over and over. I just stared dumbfounded at Daniel, on his knees, with sparks of energy racing across his body. It even flickered through his eyes.
“Run, Callie,” he grit out, trying to get to his feet, only to have the lightning power slam him down again.
Before I could scream, or react, or run – because that sounded like a great idea – a fist slammed into the side of my head. I dropped to my knees, ears and head ringing, blood filling my mouth, while stars filled my eyes. This wasn’t the first punch I had copped, but considering I was still suffering from being knocked out earlier, I couldn’t handle another. Rolling to the side, I got out of strike range of his feet, using a nearby chair to pull myself up.
Daniel was swearing and growling, and as I turned in his direction, I was astonished that he was up on one leg now, fighting whatever was holding him.
“Miss, are you okay?” A fully suited-up fireman stepped into the building for the first time. Through his mask, I could see concern creasing his face, and as he glared at Laous, I guessed he’d seen the punch.
I opened my mouth to warn him of the danger he didn’t realize he was in. I’m sure he thought he could take Laous on, and in any normalhumancircumstances he would have. But these weren’t normal circumstances.
Before I got the words out, Laous launched an arc of fire our way, completely engulfing the firefighter. It took me a minute to realize I was screaming, and I wasn’t the only one. Other suited-up people rushed in to try and save their friend, and it was then that Laous launched into the second part of his plan. Something cold slammed into my cheek, so icy it numbed the spot immediately, while pain burst in my head, causing darkness. Wait, no, the darkness was because my eyes were closed. I couldn’t open them again, I literally had no energy in that moment.
No.No, no, no. Shit, if I fell asleep now, it was all over. But what the hell could I do? Daniel was still being blasted with whatever weapon Laous had hit him with – though he was fighting it, he hadn’t won yet. And the last human who had tried to help was engulfed in flames.
Concentrating as hard as I could on breathing and moving, I rolled. I’d mapped the layout of this building when I first walked in, so I knew where the exits were. Laous, who must have expected me to collapse immediately, reacted slowly. I heard the sound of chairs crashing as he tried to follow me. I stumbled to my feet, squinting as I deliberately knocked a table into him.
I took off in a rapid, unsteady gait. One of my eyes had closed again; the other remained in a half squint. I was bumping into lots of tables and chairs, but as long as I got out of here and back to the mansion, I could get some help. Michaels was there; he could contact others.
A hazy human came into view and I realized another brave firefighter had stepped up to assist me. I had the vague idea that if I managed to collapse against him, he would be safe from Laous’ flames, because the psycho needed me alive. Just as my arms went out, ready to dive, I was snatched up from behind. This time there was no fighting against the blow to my head. Darkness dragged me under and my scream was the last thing I heard.
* * *
Blood woke me.Well, the taste of it. I choked and spluttered, trying to clear my mouth and throat. It felt as if there was a thick, bloody coating across my teeth and tongue. My head was screaming at me again. One day in the presence of these Daelighters and I’d been unconscious twice.
Seriously, this had better be the last time or I was going to do something drastic. What that drastic thing was, I had no idea, but it would behuge.
Focusing on useless threats was better than dealing with the thrum of fear coursing through me. I had no idea where I was; the room was dimly lit … some sort of fancy condo … nice wood floors, thick drapes, marble-topped furniture against a nearby wall.
These Daelighters had way too much money to play with.
Daniel.Worry for him was building within me, even though I was probably the one in the worst position. But I got the feeling that not much hurt Daniel, and whatever the stone was that Laous had hit him with, it did something unexpected. Laous might not be thisoverlordany longer, but he clearly had a range of techy little gadgets and inside knowledge on how to disable us. And a crap-ton of money. A scary combination.
I struggled against my bindings – I was strapped to a chair. Every girl’s dream, right? There was no give at all in whatever was tying my hands behind me. I had never been great with being restrained, but I refused to let the panic take over. I needed to keep a level head until I got out of here.
Continuing to struggle, I managed to wiggle my chair forward. It actually slid quite easily on the wood floor. Maybe I wouldn’t have to get my hands free to get out of here.
Focusing on the door across the room, I started sliding forward. As I moved, I briefly contemplated calling out to see if my mom was here, but knowing I’d probably only alert the people I didn’t want to alert, I remained quiet.
Halfway there, my head throbbed so badly that I had to stop for a moment. Breathing deeply through the pain, I gave myself only a few seconds before starting again, managing to find a good rhythm. Strangely enough, only one of my ankles was secured tightly to the chair leg; the other was quite loose, which meant I could use it for balance.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness. There didn’t seem to be much in this room, which was working to my advantage. As the door came into clear view, my heart rate jumped into a thrumming pace. I wasn’t exactly being quiet, scraping this chair across the floor, so the closer I got to the escape, the higher my chance of detection.
What if Laous was right on the other side of this door? What did he plan to do with me? I’d obviously been tied up in here for a reason.
There were just too many things I didn’t know about this world.
That anger flared again. My parents should have prepared me better for this eventuality. Sure, my father had a somewhat decent excuse, being dead and all, but my mom had plenty of time to fill me in about the reality of being this stupid secret keeper, which I didn’t even get a choice about.
The last few feet to the door took the longest. When I was only a few inches from the handle, I paused to decide how I was going to go about this. There was still no give at all in my hands despite my constant struggling, and one loose foot was not useful in opening a door. Tilting my head as low as I could, I tried to see more of the chair. Thick wood legs, carved and styled into roped elegance.Crap.It wasn’t a cheap wooden rickety number that I could easily smash. It was one of those fancy solid pieces that would still be around a hundred years from now – and I would probably still be tied to it, a skeleton, with both hands and one leg bound.
A voice caught my attention, just a murmur really, and I leaned forward trying to hear what they were saying. At first the words were muffled, but then they started to yell and it got a lot clearer after that.
“Imperial is my land!”
That was definitely Laous. I’d recognize his slimy voice anywhere. The reply came from someone I didn’t know.
