Marie Harte - The Fire Within

When the hour reached two in the morning she decided she’d had enough. She left the club after checking in with Gerry and caught a cab back to her hotel. But once away from the noise, her thoughts strayed to Darius and refused to leave him.

The next morning Darius stared blankly out the bay window at the faint outline of Mount Olympus in the distance. After two hours of restless tossing and turning, he’d given up any hope of sleep and left the confines of his bedroom. Unfortunately, the view of the mountains didn’t sooth him as it usually did. He still couldn’t stop thinking about her .

Much as he’d wanted to grab Samantha and drag her from the bar last night, he’d needed time to process what exactly had transpired between them. Great sex was one thing, but what they had shared, well, he didn’t know what to make of it.

One of his brothers passed by the window, breaking his concentration. Shit. He’d hoped for some quiet. His brothers were never up at this hour. He stared at the intruder with a frown, wanting to curse but unsure who to address.

At times being one of four identical siblings could be more than confusing, like now when one of his brothers wore standard jeans and a white T-shirt. Only when the intruder’s head shifted and bright blue eyes darted towards him did Darius realise it was Marcus who interrupted his solitude.

“If it isn’t my big brother the fire starter,” Marcus drawled in that superior voice that grated on Darius’ nerves. Cadmus and Aerolus were bad enough in the morning, but Marcus’ superiority complex could be downright enraging. Despite his irritation, a part of Darius silently cheered. It looked as if a fight might break the frustrated confusion plaguing him.

He glared. “Shouldn’t you be fleecing people for their money, away from here?” Hell, did any of his brothers work anymore?

Marcus shrugged. “I’m taking a day off. After yesterday, I need the break. Darla made a scene.”

“Darla?”

“You remember, the stacked blonde who loves wearing dead animals?” He made a face. “I just couldn’t take anymore. Besides, she started to grow clingy.” Marcus gave a mock shudder. “I had to get out.”

Something Samantha had said stuck in his mind, and Darius narrowed his gaze on his brother. “You didn’t happen to break off with her in public, did you?”

“She started it, but so what?”

“So I got blamed for your lack of discretion,” he growled. “Next time shake free of your women in private.”

“What are you talking about? Who’s blaming you for what?” Marcus went into the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee, then joined him on the couch. After a thorough scrutiny of Darius, he smiled.

“What?” Darius silently encouraged his brother to be as obnoxious as possible to justify a sound thrashing.

“Nothing.” Marcus continued to smile. “You look tired.”

“I only finished work a few hours ago.”

“So what are you doing awake?”

“You’re as nosy as Aerolus,” Darius muttered, annoyed. Apparently Marcus sensed his need for a fight for he grinned apologetically and held his hands up in surrender.

Damn.

Since a battle wasn’t forthcoming, and to take his mind from Samantha, Darius prodded Marcus’ mind. Like Aerolus and Cadmus, Marcus remained closed. But Darius could sense a well of amusement laced with surprise.

“I felt that.”

Darius remained still. “Felt what?”

“That touch on my mind. You need more practice.” Marcus snorted. “Like everything else you do, you’re too heavy-handed.”

“Care to explain that?” he asked in a low voice.

“No way. Not when you’ve got that look in your eyes.” Marcus turned his head and focused on the coffeepot. As if controlled by invisible strings, the coffeepot disengaged from the brewer and poured coffee into a cup on the counter. The cup then floated smoothly, bridging the distance from the kitchen to Marcus’ outstretched fingers.

“Never seen you do that before.”

“I’ve been practicing.” Marcus’ eyes narrowed. “You don’t seem surprised.”

“Aerolus told us yesterday.”

Marcus frowned. “Figures. It’s almost impossible to keep anything secret from him. Funny, but before I knew about our relation to Arim, I always thought Aerolus took after the sorcerer.” He took a large swallow of coffee before his eyes widened on something beyond Darius. “And speak of the devil…”

Darius felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He turned to look behind him and saw a black void gather, drawing energy to it like a magnet. Arim stepped through the inky blackness and in a flash the doorway closed.

Upon seeing Darius and Marcus, Arim frowned. “Where are the other two? I don’t have much time.”

“Nice to see you, too.” Darius stared at Arim hungrily, needing the connection to Tanselm almost more than breath.

Arim looked as he always did, smouldering, arrogant and dangerous, and wearing a blatant mantle of magic. He no longer wore his battledress, however, making Darius think the battle had calmed.

“Not yet.” Arim held up a hand to forestall Darius’ questions. “Gather the others so I only have to explain this once, and do it quickly.”

Darius stared at Marcus until his ’younger‘ brother rolled his eyes and cursed under his breath. Despite the mere seconds between their births, Darius never failed to remind the others who was the oldest, and thus in charge. Once Marcus vaulted over the couch and sprinted up the stairs, Darius turned to his uncle.

“And how is Mother?”

“Fine.” Arim replied in a short voice, his gaze roaming the room. “At least you finally found a proper living space.” His eyes shone, what passed for amusement lighting his face.

Darius shrugged, striving to contain the fiery impatience gathering within him but unable to curtail his hostility. “The luck of magic. Cadmus thinks a lottery will ruin Tanselm. Personally, I don’t care. I just want to return home.”

His harsh tenor had the sorcerer frowning. “I know you have little patience for this world, Darius, and little patience in general.” Arim stared intently into Darius’ eyes. “But you’ll need more than patience if you’re to return home.”

The others joined them, nixing the opportunity to ask Arim exactly what he hadn’t said.

“Good, you’re all here.” Arim stared at all the brothers, seeming content when they made eye contact with him. “I have good news, and bad.” He paused. “You may be coming home sooner than we thought.”

Darius blinked. “What could be bad about that?”

“You had to ask,” Marcus muttered.

“Much as we need you four to strengthen the four corners of Tanselm, we need you alive and well.”

“We’re fine,” Cadmus interjected.

Arim silenced him with a look. “You’re fine for now. One of our most trusted men infiltrated the Djinn stronghold and informed us this world has been compromised.”

Darius stared. “Compromised? By who, and for how long?”

Arim scowled, the anger radiating from him like a heat wave. “The Djinn. Apparently they’ve been aware of your transport since you arrived.”

Darius let out a bellow of anger and disbelief, conscious that his brothers joined his rage. Even Aerolus, the most even-tempered of the bunch, questioned Arim, wondering at the information.

“How do you know this to be true?” he asked. “If the Djinn were here, we’d surely have been attacked by now. Since our arrival we’ve been on our guard but have detected no magic. How then do the Djinn survive? Especially since they cannot live under the light of day?”

“I’m not sure yet.” Arim didn’t look happy at the admission. “But it may be the light from this world isn’t strong enough to combat their darkness, or perhaps they only venture out at night. At any rate, once I learned of this new threat, I discussed it with your mother.”