His gaze met mine as I neared, and the fury was richer in his bright eyes. “Damn it, Em, you shouldn’t be here.”
“If I were the sensible type, I wouldn’t be.” I stopped beside him, swung the backpack off my shoulder, and carefully placed it on the asphalt. As I did so, I sent the flames that sparked across my fingertips onto the pack, where they shimmered and danced but didn’t burn. Not yet, anyway.
“Destroy that backpack,” the cool-voiced vampire commented, “and you destroy any agreement we had.”
“The flames won’t destroy the pack. Not unless you attack.” I squatted down, keeping my gaze on the vamp as I said to Jackson, “I’m going to need your help to get us out of here. You up for that?”
“You bet your sweet ass I am,” he muttered. And I knew he was referring more to fighting the vamps than any toll the mere act of moving would have on him. Fae were a damn tough lot. He added, “Haul me up on the left side. It ain’t broken.”
To haul him up, I’d have to turn my back on the vampires—not something I was overly keen on doing, but it wasn’t like I had a whole lot of choice. “Tell me if one of them moves or disappears.”
“I will.”
I changed position, then gripped his raised hand. My gaze met his again and he nodded, briefly. With very little ceremony—but a whole lot of effort—I hauled him upright onto his good leg. He gritted his teeth and hissed, the sound long and pain filled. Sweat broke out across his brow and his skin suddenly looked ashen—not a great look on a fire Fae. I quickly shoved my shoulder under his and took most of his weight as he wobbled about. I slipped my other arm around his body. His heart was beating so hard it felt like someone was thumping my hand, and he was trembling violently. How he was even conscious, I had no idea.
“Now,” I said, just as much to the vampires as to Jackson, “we get out of here.”
“And the flames on the backpack?” the cool-voiced vampire inquired.
“Will retreat when we’re safe, not before.”
“You have until the trees. Release it then, or we will attack.”
“And what happens after I release the pack? We’re hardly safe in the trees.”
He raised an eyebrow, his expression mocking. “Would it matter if I promise that neither I nor any of those I brought to this meeting will attack?”
“It probably wouldn’t, but I’d like to hear it, all the same.”
“Then I so promise. We will not attack you.”
The slight emphasis he placed on “we” had my gaze going to the trees again. The cool-voiced vampire and his cronies might not attack, but whoever was hiding in those shadows more than likely would.
Still, it was a risk we had no choice but to take.
I headed for the trees and tried not to jar Jackson’s broken limbs too much—an impossible task given that he was forced to hop. After several minutes of doing so, he began to swear vehemently. I stopped immediately—which only caused another round of swearing.
“Damn it,” he said, between gritted teeth. “Just keep going.”
I did, moving as slowly as I could, trying to keep an eye on the vamps behind us as the awareness of the threat still hiding in the trees grew. To make matters worse, the dusk was fading and darkness would soon be upon us.
And darkness was the vampires’ ally, not ours.
But I couldn’t go any faster. Jackson was a big man, and it was taking everything I had to keep him upright. Sweat dribbled down my face and back, and the scent stung the sweet evening air until all I could smell was it and fear.
We inched along, slowly drawing closer to the trees. I glanced at the skies and hoped like hell Rory was watching. That he’d be ready.
The shadows reached for us, though their grasp was anything but comforting. Those shadows held dangerous secrets, and I wasn’t looking forward to their revelation.
One problem at a time, I reminded myself fiercely. And that, right now, was the vampires at our backs.
I looked over my shoulder. The cool-voiced vampire remained in the middle of the clearing, his arms crossed and his expression sitting somewhere between amusement and contempt.
Something was very definitely about to happen—and it wasn’t us getting free.
“That is far enough, Emberly Pearson. If you do not release the backpack from its flames, we will unfortunately be forced to attack.”
“Don’t do it,” Jackson muttered. “They’ll attack the minute they have the laptop.”
“And they’ll attack if they don’t get it,” I murmured. “But never fear. I do have a trick or two up my sleeve.”
“I hope they’re damn good ones, because we’re not exactly in a great state here. Or at least, I’m not.”
“You do rather look like shit.” I came to a halt. Tension—or maybe it was pain—rippled through Jackson’s muscular frame. “But the big question is, are you shit that can use flame?”
His snort was one of amusement, but it quickly became a groan. “God, don’t make me do that. But yeah, I can.”
“Good, because there’s something in the trees and it’s getting ready to attack.” My gaze met the cool-voiced vampire’s again, and I raised my voice as I added, “Remember your promise, vampire.”
And with that, I waved a hand, the gesture grander than it needed to be, but I had to be sure Rory spotted it. The flames skittered away from the backpack and quickly faded into the ether of the evening.
The cowboy stepped forward, picked up the pack, and withdrew the laptop. The pack itself was contemptuously thrown to one side and skidded underneath one of the parked cars.
“Thank you for upholding your end of our deal. And now—”
I had no idea what else he said, because his words were lost in an explosion of flame. They sprang from the earth itself, a wild and tempestuous storm that burned with all the colors of creation.
Rory, connecting with the great mother to provide a barrier around the parking lot to keep the vampires contained.
“That,” Jackson said heavily, “is one hell of a trick to have up your sleeve.”
“Yeah, but it only accounts for one problem, not the other. Let’s get out of here while we still can.”
We moved on as quickly as Jackson was able. The power of the flames that danced at our backs rippled across my skin, drawing answering sparks that shot into the shadows like little tiny comets. Under normal circumstances, I would have tried to control the output, if only because such a show gave away our position. But it was pointless to do so here; whoever—whatever—was out there knew exactly where we were, sparkly show or not.
Besides, between the sparks and the fire at our backs, Jackson surely had enough fire to amplify and use.
Jackson’s breathing became more labored the farther we went into the trees. He didn’t say anything, but the trembling was far worse, and his body was drenched in sweat. I couldn’t see him making it to the car. And while I could drag him, I certainly wouldn’t be able to get him up and over the fence. And Rory needed all his strength to maintain that fire barrier.
“It’s not that far now,” I muttered. “You have to keep going, Jackson.”
“Don’t fucking worry about me.” The words were little more than short, sharp expulsions of air. “Worry about the things—”
Something hit us side-on, with such force it tore Jackson from my grasp and sent me stumbling into the trees. I crashed into the trunk of a tree and crumpled to a heap at its base, seeing stars and fighting for breath. Heat exploded across the air, accompanied by the sharp smell of eucalyptus as the trees around me burst into flame. I groaned, rolled onto my back, and forced my eyes open.