Amy Blankenship - Dark Flames

“I got a question for you,” Zachary said looking down from Angelica’s window and turning his attention to Storm.

“You want to know about Angelica,” Storm responded having seen him staring up at her.

Zachary nodded, “We’ve been partners for a long time and I think I have a right to know why we’re not going to be together for this. Can’t we include Angelica on Tiara’s team?”

“Angelica's type of power is needed elsewhere, and she has a new partner… plain and simple,” Storm said seriously.

Zachary narrowed his eyes, “Who, Syn? That guy gives me the creeps and Angelica doesn’t think much of him either.”

“It is how it should be,” Storm looked Zachary straight in the eyes, “We have been keeping her safe for him… he’s here now.”

“She’s my best friend,” Zachary pointed out in case Storm had missed the memo.

“And you will probably always be her best friend,” Storm smiled reassuringly. “But Syn is her destiny and there’s no fighting that. As a matter of fact, I’d advise you not to even try. It may be the last thing you ever do.”

“You’re sure?” Zachary asked broodingly.

“You know that I am,” Storm answered laying his hand on Zachary’s shoulder. “Would it help if I told you that she’s going to be happier than she’s ever dreamed of being?”

Zachary inhaled deeply and slowly let it out as he felt heaviness settle over his chest. Hearing it from Storm sounded so final… probably because it was. He pressed his lips together as he tried to harden his heart and let Angelica go.

Changing the subject, Storm gestured toward Tiara who had almost made it to the cliff. “It’s because you protected Angelica so well that I feel safe enough to place Tiara under your care now.”

“What do you mean,” Zachary frowned tearing his gaze from Tiara and turning it on Storm, “It’s just for tonight… right?”

Storm shook his head feeling no sympathy, “No, it’s not just for tonight.”

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Zachary arched an eyebrow. He’d crossed necromancers off his list of teammates a long time ago.

“Tiara’s going to need you more than Angelica ever did,” Storm pointed out. “Myra trained her to use powers that the girl didn’t even have yet. She may have learned the spells and rituals, but she hasn’t learned how to control them.”

“Like a human child pretending to be a wizard?” Zachary supplied.

Storm nodded and shrugged at the same time, “And now, she’s only had those powers for a couple of weeks. To my knowledge, she has yet to actually use her necromancy. Do you remember how many fires you accidentally started when you were learning how to control your powers? Not to mention the fact that you made your own parents forget who you were.”

“Don’t remind me,” Zachary ran a hand through his hair and glanced back toward Tiara just as she disappeared down a set of steps leading to the beach.

“Tonight will be her first time and the job she faces isn’t just one zombie… it’s a city of monsters that will try to raise the dead faster than she can keep them down.” Storm insisted, “Everything she does from here on out will be a first for her.”

“Her mother made everything look so easy,” Zachary’s voice was a little harsher than he’d meant it to be. He tried to cover his anger up by asking, “Where’s her father?”

“He died before Tiara was born,” Storm repeated what Myra had always said.

“What you mean is that you don’t have a clue who Tiara’s father is because her mother slept with so many men,” Zachary mused darkly trying to block the disturbing flashback from resurfacing.

“That is a side effect of the necromancy,” Storm nodded.

Zachary frowned in confusion, “What do you mean… side effect?”

“The more a necromancer uses their power to control the dead, the more their soul craves life to keep itself from being pulled down by the dead into the next dimension,” Storm explained. “It was never Myra's fault that she craved sex after using her power… it’s an uncontrollable desire that has to be fulfilled.”

“So that’s why Myra did it?” Zachary whispered. If he was honest with himself… he’d had a crush on Myra all those years ago. But seeing her make love to the enemy had turned that crush into something closer to loathing.

“I thought you knew,” Storm admitted with a slightly shocked expression. “Necromancers are very sexual creatures for a reason… they want to live.”

Zachary made a face, “And because Myra never chose a mate, she opted to stay alive by being everyone’s one night stand.”

“She tried to fight the hunger at first, but the longer she would abstain… the weaker her body became. Necromancers have always fed off the life-force of sex… though most of them did choose a mate,” Storm confirmed.

“Why didn’t Myra pick just one lover?” Zachary asked but his attention was on Guy who was disappearing down the same path Tiara had taken only a few minutes before. The man might as well have been wearing a t-shirt with the word ‘Stalker’ printed across the front of it.

“Never mind, I’ll see you later,” Zachary said over his shoulder as he took off toward the ocean.

Storm smiled secretively... Zachary was not truly happy unless he was fighting to save someone from themselves. If Tiara was anything like her mother, Zachary would have a headache for a long, long time. He turned to go back inside but paused seeing Ren come back out the double doors.

Ren took out his cell phone and read the text. He smirked before going around to the side of the castle where the huge garage was located but paused when he felt something crunch under his feet. Looking down, Ren noticed the once-beautiful stained glass that had graced the upper windows of the castle was now lying shattered in the grass.

He frowned… they couldn’t very well have a castle with broken windows. He lifted his hand slightly and the glass that had fallen during Kamui and Toya’s flight slowly lifted from the grass, righting itself like a thousand piece puzzle. Pushing his hand upwards, Ren watched as the glittering glass rose up through the air, sliding back into place on the third floor.

Following Ren, Storm quirked an eyebrow when he saw a tow truck pulling out of the driveway and wondered if the driver had seen the sky show a few minutes ago. He smiled when he saw that it was Hunter in the driver’s seat and raised a hand when Hunter waved.

Entering the garage, Storm’s smile widened. Ren was walking around Trevor’s car looking it over with a critical eye. He also took note of the high-tech circuit board Ren had in his hand.

Ren glanced up at Storm's approach and noted his smile before turning his attention back to the car.

“What are you smiling about?” Ren asked.

“Sometimes it’s nice not to be able to see the future,” Storm said truthfully.

“What does that mean?” Ren questioned.

“It means that for now at least… I am walking my own timeline,” Storm stated.

Ren nodded deciding he wasn’t even going to try to process that brainteaser and continued to run his hand across the edge of the car as though feeling it out.

“What are you planning to do with that?” Storm asked nodding toward the computer.

“I’m going to upgrade Trevor’s car,” Ren answered.

Storm leaned back against one of the other cars, “I’ll bite, why are you upgrading Trevor’s car?”

“Because I’m bored,” Ren shrugged but the look on his face said he was going to enjoy this. “And because I need an outlet for some of this power before I drown in it.”

“I got to see this,” Storm laughed.

Ren smirked as he placed the circuit board on the windshield and stepped back so he was facing the front of the car. He raised his palms toward the car and took a deep breath. The headlights suddenly flashed on and wires snaked out from the edge of the ruined hood, latching onto the circuit board and pulling it inside.