fenced in the tiny area. I stepped into the yard then, slowly approaching Danaus. The hunter was holding a dagger in one hand and looking more than a little confused. He wasn’t sure how to strike when Jabari could so easily rip me apart with his own powers.
“Should we take a chance with Gaizka?” I asked, mentioning the bori that owned part of Danaus’s soul.
“Combine our powers?” Danaus said, his lip curling with distaste. “We can’t risk setting him free again.”
“Then get out of here and let me handle Jabari.”
“I’m not leaving you alone with him,” Danaus declared, his fist tightening around the knife. “I can try boiling his blood again while you attack.”
“You’re a liability. A weakness that Jabari can exploit. Go now!”
“Too late,” Jabari snarled. At the same time, a dagger flashed through the moonlight and embedded itself in Danaus’s chest, sending the hunter sprawling backward under the force of the blow. I twisted around for a second to look down at Danaus to see if the blade had struck his heart, but I didn’t have a chance to see anything before Jabari grabbed me with his powers and flung me back across the yard. I slammed into the side of the brick house, causing some of the bricks to crack and crumble under my weight before I slid down the wall to the ground again.
With a scream of frustration, I pushed to my feet and conjured up several balls of fire that circled me while two more hovered above my hands. I waited for Jabari to take a step out of the darkness so I would have a clear shot. I was going to burn the nightwalker to a cinder if it took every ounce of energy I had. My effort produced flickering lights that filled the dark backyard, making the shadows thrown by the large oak trees lunge and sway. Meanwhile, I did what I could to cloak the fight from the view of my neighbors, but with Jabari throwing me around, my concentration had been broken. If I survived the night, I would have to make sure there weren’t any memories that needed to be adjusted. We had to protect the secret at all times, even if Jabari was the one picking a fight in the middle of a city.
As the Ancient stepped forward, he raised his hand toward me, sending a painful wave of energy out and into my body. A low whimper escaped me as I fought to keep the flames from going out. But one by one the balls of fire that circled around my frame flickered and then were extinguished with a puff of gray smoke. Clenching my fists and gritting my teeth, I strained, holding onto the ones that hovered above my raised hands. I would not allow Jabari to steal this from me. I was the Fire Starter, and I would fry his sorry ass if it was the last thing I did that night.
Gathering what strength I had left, I pushed back at him, trying to force his powers out of my body without losing my focus on the flames that I still had flickering in the darkness. Unfortunately, I was growing tired and Danaus was not moving on the ground. I was slowly losing this battle. If I didn’t finish Jabari off now, I knew that he would have both Danaus and me.
“This is becoming monotonous, Mira.” The new voice sent a chill up my spine. Apparently, Nick, my dear father was still watching over his daughter. Or at the very least, he still needed me alive, which was more than what Jabari expected or wanted.
“Now isn’t exactly the best time, Nick,” I bit out, trying not to let my focus stray from Jabari. While my father’s appearance didn’t allow me to gain any ground with Jabari, I noticed that I hadn’t lost any either, as the Ancient was now looking just over my left shoulder, where I could only guess Nick stood watching the fight.
“You should have finished with this creature already,” Nick said, his voice growing closer. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a figure with wild red hair and pale skin standing beside me. He leaned one elbow on my left shoulder and seemed to scratch his head as if confused by something.
“Jabari is older and stronger than I am,” I snarled, frustrated beyond all rational thought. Nick knew that I needed his help, but I couldn’t force the words past my lips. I had no doubt that the old god was long accustomed to having his subjects groveling at his feet, but I wasn’t going to do it. Jabari had stolen away a chunk of my self- respect and ego when he revealed that he could control me like a marionette. I wasn’t going to give that last bit of me away to Nick, even if he was the lost god of chaos.
“And you’re my daughter,” he replied, as if that was the answer to everything.
Closing my eyes, I balled my hands into fists and turned my entire attention on Jabari, determined to push the last of his powers from my body. “Either help me or go away. I don’t have time for you now.”
“You’re always so determined to do everything the hard way.” Nick smacked me across the face, forcing my eyes to pop open again. Unfortunately, the distraction allowed Jabari to gain a fresh foothold. The last of the fireballs were extinguished, and I was left struggling to keep from being consumed by the nightwalker.
“He doesn’t seem to be much in your favor, Mira,” Jabari taunted. “It’s a shame he didn’t come along to help you sooner. He would have been great assistance with Macaire.”
A low chuckle slithered from Nick and coiled around the Ancient like a fat python, wiping the smile from Jabari’s face as he undoubtedly recognized the same laugh he had heard following Macaire’s demise. Everyone had assumed it came from an invisible liege lord, but it was Nick’s energy they had sensed. “Who says I wasn’t there to enjoy my daughter’s triumph over not only Macaire, but you and the hunter as well?”
Rage filled the Ancient’s face as he threw more energy at me, causing me to stumble back a step. Pain wracked my thin frame as if my muscles and limbs were being pulled and twisted in all directions. I was growing tired, too tired to continue this fight.
“What must I do?” I finally demanded, knowing it was what Nick was waiting to hear. He first needed to know that I was completely at his disposal like an obedient dog.
“Well, since that hunter companion of yours is out of commission for the moment, it seems that you need a new source of energy,” Nick said.
“I can only tap Danaus and Jabari,” I groaned as my tug of war with Jabari continued. The power from Jabari seemed to have increased in the last minute, as he no doubt realized that Nick was offering me assistance, potentially tilting the fight to my favor. What the Ancient didn’t realize was that there would be a price for this unrequested assistance.
“The world lies at your feet, Mira. A sweet plum waiting to be plucked.”
“I’m not a fucking naturi. I can’t use earth magic like they can.”
Nick heaved a heavy sigh, as if I were too stubborn, choosing to ignore the fact that the few times I’d been able to sense earth magic was during special ceremonies at very specific locations. The middle of my backyard was not one of those very specific locations. “Then if you insist on clinging to these nightwalker ways you’ve chosen to adopt,” he said, “I suggest using the blood magic floating in the air. Certainly that will suit your discerning palate.”
“You’re an ass,” I growled, but followed his vague instructions. Closing my eyes again, I extended my focus to include the thick clustering of humans who lived within a block radius of my town house in downtown Savannah. The energy flowed around me, seeming to soothe and comfort sore muscles and frayed nerves. Sucking in a deep breath to steady myself, I felt the energy flow within me, steady and strong like a forest stream, washing away all remains of Jabari.
I opened my eyes and the world seemed to have taken on a fresh luster of glowing silvery light under the caress of the moon. The leaves of the oak tree shimmered and the grass glistened in the growing dew. Colors seemed crisper, and the sound of hundreds of heartbeats pounded away in my brain like a tribal drum.
When I stood among the ruins of Machu Picchu, I had felt the heartbeat of the earth and the great earth mother tremble and sigh as the naturi returned. I felt her rage and her fury. Now, as I stood tapped into the pulse of humanity, I felt a different force—one that at last seemed to be in harmony with my own soul. Nick might have hated my decision to become a nightwalker, but it was who I was, and the source of my power.
Grinning at Jabari, I gathered up the blood magic that flowed around me and shoved it at him, sending him flying back against the far wall of the yard. He gave a soft grunt under the impact but managed to remain standing.
“Who are you?” Jabari demanded, pushing away from the wall.
“The new owner of this lost soul,” Nick said with a laugh, which came to a sudden, sickening halt. “Kill him.”
“As you wish, Father,” I said, a smile widening on my lips. I felt a small pang of remorse and hesitance as I pulled the energy into a little ball in the pit of my stomach. Centuries ago Jabari had been my savior, my mentor, my calm in the storm. He had been the one to teach me and guide me through the dark world nightwalkers inhabited. He had been the one to protect me and teach me how to protect myself. He had always been the guiding hand beside me when others were eager to tear me apart.
