Smolder Chapter 28

Jade spun just in time to see three Hierophants soar like a swat team off ropes through the windows to land neatly on their feet, never once waning in their powers. Jade wanted to look at Aiden and roll her eyes he watched far too many movies. It was so obviously his genius plan for them to come storming inside rather than take a stealth approach.

Unfortunately, there was no time to make fun of him because one of those demons stuck like a bug against the wall was Benjamin. And Myron, closest to the hallway, was slowly inching past the flames to slip away.

Jade grabbed Aiden's hand.

"You need to stop them!" She shouted.

"What? We need to nail these guys," he said, bewildered.

She looked around. All three of the men who had come flying inside were determined. Sweat dripped down their faces, but none moved or let their powers weaken.

"What are they going to do?" she had never seen a Seraphina mission in action before. It was a lot more intense than she realized. One man reached into his belt to pull out a long-curved knife. "Aiden!"

"It's fine," he tried to calm her, but it wasn't easy when her boyfriend was the easy prey and flames roared all around them. "We have to drain their blood. It'll weaken them enough for us to interrogate them. We need to find out where they're keeping their Vindicators."

"But Benjamin!" she pointed at the wall. The demons were slowly slinking away as if the flames were causing them to move in slow motion. Myron, she realized already had half of his body out the door. The Hierophant with the knife moved to the woman first and cut her wrist open, sending splatters of blood down the wall and to the floor. The other two controlled their powers, each with one hand focused on a single demon.

"Aiden, you have to help him," she said, pushing him towards Benjamin. He wasn't supposed to be caught up in this. Typical Benjamin, she thought, he hadn't wanted to take too much of her blood, so he had lost the immunity before he was supposed to. She thought the feeding had gone by rather quickly. He had only taken enough to be immune to the Vindicator at the door, but not enough to stay that way. Quickly, she eyed Myron, her gaze torn between both. "I have to go, but please, promise me you'll keep him safe."

He followed her gaze, seeing Myron about to sneak away, and nodded. He knew exactly what she was up to. "Just be careful, okay Jade?"

She smiled and instinctively kissed his cheek before looking through the flames. Both of the female demon's wrists were sliced open and the Seraphina was moving to other areas as well. She was getting visibly paler and couldn't move through the flames anymore. Benjamin was next.

Jade met Benjamin's gaze, smiling, and mouthed 'I love you' before chasing after Myron, who was, at that very moment, on the outskirts of the flames and disappearing through the door.

Jade pushed her way into the ballroom just in time to see him sneak around another set of Seraphina. There were maybe fifty people in the gigantic room, but Jade tried to ignore the flames haphazardly dancing around her and demons moaning in pain as the blood was drained from their veins. Broken shards of glass and trampled red roses covered the floor, mixing with the blood. Myron was already past them, all too concentrated on their prey to notice him, and he pushed another set of wooden doors wide open. Jade dashed after him, trying not to slip on the blood.

She threw herself through the doors, only to have them shut loudly behind her.

Quickly, she stood up to face him as he bolted her one escape closed. She put her hands in front of her in a warning.

"I don't want to hurt you, just tell me what you know about my mother."

"My my, you are a determined little thing, aren't you?" He said while taking a seat. Looking around, she realized they were in the formal dining room. A huge wooden table surrounded by wooden chairs with red silk cushions filled the space. A sweeping chandelier cast a soft glow around the room, lightly illuminating paintings of hunting scenes on the walls. "Please, join me." He motioned to the chair next to him.

"I would rather stand, thanks. Now, what did you mean when you said my mother wasn't trapped?"

"I see being with Benjamin has given you a false sense of security around us," he said, ignoring her question. "But when I tell you to sit, it is not a polite request." Suddenly, the chair shot out from the table behind her, slamming hard into her legs. Her knees buckled beneath her, and she landed heavily on the padded cushion.

"What the?"

"Benjamin," he said, cutting her off, "has the perfect physical composition, which was why I chose him so long ago. But he lacks the mental authority one needs to become truly powerful. You however," he said, grabbing her chin again, "are different. I can feel the power churning inside of you. I have plans for you, very big plans."

She let a flame rise on her palm as she grabbed his hand from her chin. "Do not touch me," she said, feeling the burn seep into his skin.

He laughed, the excited mirth of a boy with a new toy. "Oh, I understand why Benjamin has followed you around like a puppy. You're so exciting," he said slipping free of her hold. "Nothing like the girls I used to bring him. They were weak and terrified; I should have known he would want a challenge."

"Stop talking about Benjamin like you know him," she said while crossing her arms and trying not to picture these kidnapped girls. "It's not like that."

"Oh, but it is, with a demon it always is. You'll see."

Frustrated, she released her power on him, trying to break through his shield like she did with Skye. She needed to intimidate him.

Instead, a goblet knocked against her hands, banging them to the side so her power went flying toward an empty wall. Shocked, she stopped.

"Yes, before you ask, my demonic abilities came not in the way of force like your Benjamin, but in mental power. Try burning me again and I will send something larger at your head." There was no anger frustration or remorse in his tone. His voice was like steel, cold and unemotional, it sent a shiver down her back. For the first time in a long time, she felt very afraid to be facing a demon, especially on her own.

"Now, where were we?" he ran a hand over the top of his head, smoothing his hair back while he took a moment to think. "Oh yes, your mother. I'm sure she would love to see you. I—"

"Where are you keeping her?" she interrupted, trying to find the strength to stand up to him. He flashed annoyed eyes in her direction and the chandelier above her head began to wobble, chiming as the pieces of glass clinked together.

"This conversation grows tiring. She lives with me—"

A loud bang on the door stopped him mid-sentence.

"Myron!"

She heard a pained scream from the other side of the door. It took a second to realize the mangled voice belonged to Benjamin.

Another boom reverberated along the walls as he slammed into the door again, making the entire room shake. She looked at Myron. He sat calmly in his chair, not bothered by him in the slightest.

"He tried to leave me once, maybe a year after I turned him," he said, turning to her conversationally and ignoring the yells beyond the door. "He banged and banged on the door until even his skin was breaking open and bloody, not an easy feat I assure you. But, he always forgets that physical strength is the weakest kind. With my mind holding the door shut, he will never breakthrough."

"Why'd you let him go then?" she asked, intrigued despite her fear.

"A moment of weakness I regretted for a long time," he said. She almost believed the honesty in his words.

A loud crack caught her attention, and she eyed the door in time to see a huge fissure splinter the wood. Another bang and scraps flew off, landing against the floor and leaving a hole in the door.

She could see Benjamin back up and preparing for another charge. He looked beyond coherent thought with tears streaming down his face and his muscles bulging.

"Well, it seems he has gained more mental control in the years since I've seen him." Myron's voice was one of happy surprise. Jade thought he even sounded proud for a moment. "It seems I must bid you farewell."

He picked up her hand and lifted it to his lips. Though she was afraid, she kept her powers inside. She didn't want to test him, and she had the oddest sensation that he didn't want to hurt her, that if he wanted to hurt her she would already be dead. He had other plans in mind big plans like he said before, something far worse than killing her. She forced herself not to pull her hand from his grip as fear crept further into her mind.

In the same instant that his mouth brushed against her skin, the door behind her flew off its hinges.

"Myron!" Benjamin bellowed, but he was gone. He disappeared out the window and into the night.

Benjamin ran to Jade and embraced her, pulling her against his body. She hugged him back, throwing her arms over his shoulders. It was only after her hands met at the base of his neck that she realized a small piece of paper stuck to her palm.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He pulled her back and examined her face.

"No. I'm fine. I promise. We were just talking," she said. Quickly, she stuck her hand in her back pocket, dropping the little paper there for later.

Curiosity was killing her: she needed to know what Myron had written.

"Come on," he tugged on her hand, "Aiden is meeting us outside. They're going to blow the house apart; we need to leave now." She let him pull her along until they reached the window.

The note would have to wait until she had time alone. No matter what it was, neither Aiden nor Benjamin could be involved, at least not yet. Jade knew exactly how powerful Myron was and if she couldn't handle him, neither could they. She still wanted to find her mother, but if this night had taught her anything, it was that sometimes patience was a virtue. Not one she currently possessed, but one she needed to work on.

He slid through the window first, preparing to catch her. But, right when she lifted her foot to step over the windowsill, her eyes caught a strip of metal that reflected her image at her.

Stunned, she tripped over her foot and fell against the wooden floor. She searched for a mirror and saw a large metal plate hanging on the wall. She ran over to it, ripping it from the wall and holding it to her face.

They said her eyes were red, but she still wasn't prepared for what she saw. Where her eyes had been a rusty yellow in the center, leaking into a deep blue with flecks of orange, they were now deep red, a blood red that alarmed her.

The red started at her pupils, extending to almost the edge of her iris where a small ring of orange-yellow waves pushed their way. Those looked like her flames, fighting and struggling to stay with her, reminding her of her fight and her power. But now she didn't recognize anything else or any part of her. Her new eyes changed the entire look of her face, and she didn't like it.

Despite the saturated hue, there was no life. Red was the color of death; the color crept along the body as blood slowly pumped out from wounds, the color that stopped life in its tracks.

More than anything, she wondered what it meant. What had happened to her in there that had so fundamentally changed who she was? She didn't feel different, not really.