Love Beyond Flames

  He would find a way. But they needed Zane and they needed him soon. He really hoped Raquel and Marina were getting through to Alexa. For many, many reasons.

  *****

  Sebastian sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was to go see Zane in the prison his father had sent the Outsider to. But the prophecy—and oh how he hated that prophecy—was clear. They all had to be together to make things happen. Since his father was blowing things up, it would have been better to have killed Zane straight out. Only it was more fun to torture Zane. Sebastian understood the feeling.

  He was going to break Zane out.

  Sebastian closed his eyes. It was easy to follow the trail of demonic energy his father left since the older demon hadn't tried to disguise it. Of course, he probably thought Sebastian would be cowering in fright by now since that was what had always happened in the past.

  But this was his earth and he wasn't losing it. What was the worst that could happen? He could have to go back to the hell dimension? He'd been there most of his life.

  Sebastian appeared before Zane. It took him a moment to make himself seen and by then he'd oriented to the mind-dungeon. This was a special kind of death. Zane's body would rot while his mind stayed tortured in here for eternity. Usually, Sebastian would find this really fun.

  "Hello."

  Zane jumped backwards before he narrowed his

  eyes like a bull. Was he getting ready to charge?

  Sebastian shook his head. "If you run at me, you're going to run right through me and hit the side of the wall. Do you want that? Give it a try for a few minutes if you doubt me. Makes things much more interesting. I do like to watch you Outsiders dart around."

  Zane panted. "Come to gloat?"

  "No, I've come to help you. If this had been a simple transference spell, I'd just put you back. But, this is far too complicated for just that. I am going to have to talk you through getting yourself out. And we need to get to it since we have so little time."

  The Outsider raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

  "Things have gone very badly out there. And I hate to say it, but if you're all going to beat my father, they're going to need you. Specifically, you. Have you figured out yet that you can open any lock?"

  If Zane hadn't realized that safes were more than inanimate objects yet then he was going to be in trouble.

  "I don't need you to tell me how to use my powers."

  Sebastian stepped back, although it was for show more than anything else. He wasn't actually stepping anywhere. "Then, by all means, break out of this safe that is your mind and travel back to your body."

  "I'm not going to be fooled by whatever game this

  is."

  Sebastian supposed he couldn't blame Zane. He'd have to do better than this. If he were Zane, he wouldn't trust himself either. "Here's the deal. Your girl is out there trying to get some help for you. I don't know how it's going. If they've gone to get Alexa, they'll find her little use. All memories returned aside, I pretty much stripped her of her powers." And he wasn't the least bit sorry. But he digressed and there was no time for that. "In the meantime, my father is blowing up the world. They can't fix this without you. You and Raquel—you're the flames. Or at least that's how we think of you. She can't control herself without you. She's not set anything on fire she didn't want to since she found you again, has she? If we want to stop my father's fires, we need you." He crooked his neck. "This is my world. Not his. Mine to abuse. Get him out of here. Now."

  Zane narrowed his eyes. "You know I don't want to believe you. Not at all. But, your self-interest I do believe in. You can't do this yourself. You need me."

  "Ask yourself this. Who do you want to fight in the end? Me or my father? Because I think you might have minutes to decide."

  Zane let out a deep breath. "Ah, what the hell. It's

  not like things could get much worse for me, other than death."

  "Death might be preferable to this." Sebastian couldn't believe he was going to instruct this man on how to handle what had to be done. "I assume you've touched that door already and been walked through a memory."

  "Yes." He looked at the ground. Sebastian didn't do emotion but he didn't have to possess an emotional intelligence to know that Zane hadn't liked whatever he'd seen on the other end of that memory.

  Sebastian stepped toward Zane. "You're going in again. But this time, in whatever memory they give you, you're going to go through it quite differently. I need you to stay aware of what is happening so when you find the safe, you can break out of it."

  Zane's nostrils flared. "I was conscious the last time."

  "Okay, then you're better than most." Sebastian wasn't sure he believed that but what the hell? They had a ticking clock. "If you didn't get lost in the memory then this should go well. Touch the door. When the memory hits you, ride through it and then when you see the safe, open it. You'll be slammed back into your body."

  The Outsider held up two fingers. "Two problems." Sebastian could have figured out the number based on the hand gesture. Did he think Sebastian couldn't count? "Why would your father even create an out for this prison, and I was aware I was in a memory but I couldn't do anything to change what I did that day. If I didn't open a safe, I can't do it this time."

  Sebastian forced himself to calm. He was dealing with a lesser being. "He made that failsafe in case something horrible happened and he ended up in his own trap. Things like that don't happen to my father, per se. But he wouldn't be my father if he didn't know how to get out of his own magic. The safe. You'll have to open it. I'm afraid you might not be able to do it, Zane. It will force you to defeat…yourself."

  And since he was talking to the most stubborn out of all them, he was going to have to speak very plainly. "That is what you Outsiders do, right? Or what you claim to do? You get better? You defeat your own weaknesses?

  Time to try really hard, Zane."

  *****

  Zane looked around. His current foster mother was a drunk. A big one. Sloppy. Nasty. He hadn't understood what happened to her every night. It had taken years for him to grasp that the foul smelling stuff she poured into her glass starting at four pm was responsible for the abrupt change in her mood. He'd been five.

  He sighed. The very grown-up Zane hadn't wanted to relive this ever again. Bad enough he'd been through it once. He took a deep breath. He had to keep his head where it belonged…looking for a safe.

  Unless Sebastian was massively screwing with him. But why would the demon do that? They already had Zane locked away. Surely, causing trouble for the others would be more fun than continuing to pound on him.

  He looked around. No safe to be found in his vision. His foster mom—Karryn—grabbed his arm and dragged him outside. "What are you doing in the house? Are you supposed to be in the house? What did I say about being in the house?"

  "It's c-c-cold." Oh, that was right. He'd blocked out his stutter. He'd stuttered until he was seven. It happened whenever things got hard or when he was lonely. He'd always been lonely. He was going to live with the stress stutter straight through this memory wasn't he? Damn it.

  "I don't care if it's cold. Get out of here. I don't want to see your face in this house again until after I'm asleep."

  That wouldn't be long. She was always out by seven in the evening. It came from the amount she was drinking. And probably the opioids she sometimes took. But he hadn't understood that then. Looking at her now, Zane felt nothing but pity. He had no follow-up with the woman; he didn't know what happened to her. Maybe she pulled her shit together and got help. Maybe she died. Maybe she was still sitting in that brown chair passing out by seven in the evening and making children, with no home and no safe place to land, miserable.

  He looked around. There was no safe anywhere he could see at this point. His feet were moving and he supposed since he didn't see any safe that was going to make him battle himself, he could let himself go outside.

  The back yard was a giant mess. Discar
ded toys from kids who'd come before him, broken beer bottles, a motorcycle that didn't work from a boyfriend his foster mother had long since stopped seeing.

  Oh, that was why he had this memory…

  The motorcycle. He'd taken it apart to see how it worked and she'd hit him over the head with a wrench…

  But he'd felt the need like he wanted to breathe, he'd wanted to know how that motorcycle worked. The hit with the wrench hadn't been the worst experience of the night. This was the first time he'd seen a zombie. He hadn't known what it was but there it had been. The thing had stayed away from him, stared at him like he was the strange creature.

  Zane had known—from somewhere deep inside of him—that the zombie was wrong. And it had scared him to death.

  Fuck. He hated this memory. The stuttering, which wasn't his fault but had made him feel weak. The beating made him feel weak. This whole portion of his life made him…

  Then he saw it.

  The safe. It was across the horrid backyard sitting on top of the broken fence that would not have acted as much of a barrier to anything or anyone that wanted to come through. But there was the safe.

  He wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't been looking for it. All of his attention should be focused on that motorcycle. It had practically consumed him that day. But, that wasn't the case now.

  The safe was right there.

  He just had to get to it. Zane tried to move and didn't. He took a deep breath. This was a problem. Sebastian hadn't been particularly helpful in his instructions.

  Fight himself and win. He ground his teeth. He'd been a weak child or at least it had felt that way. He wasn't a weak man. Or at least he wouldn't let himself be now.

  He wanted to get to that safe.

  What had the demon said to him? Safes weren't just objects. What he had to do was crack the safe of his mind.

  All right. He could do this because he had no choice and when he had no choice he somehow came through. The safe was on the fence. His childhood body tried to walk to the motorcycle. He stopped it. Well, that was a good first step. He struggled to hold it.

  He wanted that damned safe and, so be it, he would…

  Zane held out his hand.

  "Hi, Zane."

  The safe was speaking to him. Chanters started in his head. This was working. The ancestors approved. He wasn't touching the safe. Maybe…he didn't need to?

  Usually he could hear the combination. This wasn't any different. Left. Right. It all made sense. His hand could move the dials without having to touch it. Because this was entirely in his mind and always had been.

  They'd locked him in his own head.

  And he knew how to get out.

  He turned the dial like it was no damned trouble at

  all.

  *****

  Zane sat up in the bed, panting.

  "You did it." Marina sighed.

  Alexa shook her head. "I didn't."

  He didn't have the slightest idea what the women were talking about but then it didn't matter because Raquel was there and she'd thrown her arms around him. She smelled like…home. He closed his eyes.

  "You opened your eyes." Her voice shook and he hated the sound. She should never ever be afraid based on him. "I was so worried you never would again."

  He breathed her in. "I'd never leave you alone."

  "We found Alexa. We thought she could help you but you didn't need help."

  Zane pulled back. "It turns out I did, actually." How was he going to explain this? "I…"

  Alexa interrupted him. "You have demon on you. Not as much as I do but he's there. Did some dealings with Sebastian?"

  "He showed up. He doesn't want his father to win. So he helped." He rubbed his eyes. His head officially throbbed and he suspected there was no time for a nap. "I didn't see that I had a choice."

  Alexa shook her head. "I'm sure you didn't. Doesn't make a difference. This place is toast. I, for one, won't miss it."

  Drew put his arm around Marina. "If this is the last battle and we've lost…"

  "Then I suppose I'll be seeing all of your faces again. In Hell."

  One second, she was there, the next, Alexa was gone. Marina put her hands on her hips. "Are we really done?"

  Zane stood up, keeping Raquel pressed against him.

  "I'm not."

  Chapter Thirteen

  Raquel stared at the flames consuming New York City. It was actually one of her favorite cities. A tear slipped from her eye and she batted it away.

  Zane stood close behind her, a steady presence. Survivors fled toward the Hudson River, making their way to what was left of the George Washington Bridge. One of them reached for Eden, before Samuel pulled her back. There was something about Eden's goodness that kept bringing people needing rescue to her.

  Three more headed toward them. Zane raised his hand. "Stop. Go elsewhere."

  The three poor souls in question turned abruptly and ran the other way. She nodded at her love. His ability to control things was coming in handy. "I'm ready."

  He nodded. "Are you sure?"

  "Well, if she's not she'd better get that way." Leonardo crossed his arms over his chest. "Because this was her idea."

  She took a deep breath. Well, they had wanted him to be a leader and it looked as though he'd taken on that role and meant to do it now. "I'm going to do it. I'm going to control the flames."

  They weren't made by her fire. Yet they were magical. She'd do what she could. Fire was hers to call, hers to command.

  And she would use it.

  Raquel pushed her magic forward. If there was any hope of stopping the Father's flames, then she would be the one to do so.

  Her hands burned. She didn't pay the sensation any attention. Nothing worth doing ever came without pain. She would be up to the task. Raquel had been born to do this job. Nothing was over as long as her hands worked and her body held up. She would win.

  She was an Outsider and she was a woman.

  Somehow, she knew in her soul, this wasn't their end.

  *****

  Zane watched in awe as minutes became hours and still his love didn't falter. She subdued the flames, taking them inside her body bit-by-bit until all but a few of the blazes were extinguished. Eventually, she collapsed in his arms. Jason ran over and placed his hand on her arms. His power surged and the touch of it moved through Zane through where he held his unconscious love.

  Jason met his gaze. "Somehow, she's okay. She's going to have to do this over and over again. You need to let me work on her the whole time she's out cold. That's the only way she's going to survive this."

  "Even then"—Loraine knelt down to squeeze Raquel's arm—"she can't save everyone or everywhere.

  She's one person."

  The most amazing he'd ever known and…

  A presence caught his attention. It didn't feel like the zombies and might not have even been noticed had he not been near the demon himself so recently.

  The Father was here. Once second the demon wasn't and the next he was. The others fell silent, some of them seeing him up close for the first time. He looked so…ordinary.

  "Zane, I see you got out. That's remarkable. Perhaps I underestimated you."

  Zane had gone through the process with the others should the Father do the same to them. Although Zane doubted it. After this, the demon would kill them outright if he could.

  And Zane had no doubt that he could. Why were the others frozen? He didn't want to know. The Father pushed his power forward just at the same time that Zane did. He wasn't sure why he knew that he could handle this. But he knew he could.

  Sebastian had taught him. Sometimes the mind was

  as much a safe as anything else. Zane knew how to open safes. Vaults. Anything that wanted to keep him out.

  He wanted inside that man's head. Charma would be better at this but she was frozen so it was left to him. He'd open up this creature's mind and he'd see what there was to see.

  If anything at all.


  They struck at each other. His body burned. The demon wanted to set him on fire. Well, he had a great record of handling fire. That was why he'd always be able to love Raquel. The good news was that Zane had an idea.

  "Come here." He called out and just as he wanted, there were the zombies. He never wanted them but they were always there, whether he liked it or not. Right then, he wanted them.

  One by one, he sent them to shove at The Father. They pushed at the demon's body. It wouldn't hurt the demon but as long as the demon wanted to stay corporeal, he'd have to deal with them. They distracted him enough. The demon vanquished them as fast as they arrived. It was okay; this was just what Zane wanted.

  Zane cracked open the Father's mind, pushing his own consciousness right inside. He could see everything the demon Father knew. The world spun, moved up and down, and assaulted Zane's senses.

  For ten seconds, everything that being knew, Zane knew, too.

  And then heat. Before the explosion.

  The world went black.

  *****

  He woke up later, asleep in a bed next to Raquel. She breathed deeply. Jason stood over both of them and nodded when Zane shot up in the bed.

  "Relax. We're okay. For now. You seem to have saved the world, for now, Zane. Good work."

  Jason didn't usually make jokes. "That's not funny."

  "Not kidding." The doctor shook his head. "What did you do? I was frozen, painfully trying to move. We all were. And then something exploded. The demon isn't dead. He popped away. But the reports coming in are that the fires stopped everywhere. We ran like hell to recharge. With you and Raquel out cold, it seemed the best option. So, I'll ask you again, what did you do?

  He rubbed his eyes. "I got into his head. I need to see Leonardo."

  Zane wasn't going to make the decision to share what he'd seen with anyone but their leader. Leonardo could decide if everyone needed to know what he did.

  Jason nodded. "I'll bring him in here."

  Zane leaned back in the bed squeezing Raquel lightly. She needed to sleep. Even if the fires were out, they'd be back. Zane knew that much. He'd seen in the demon's mind and he would never stop.