Circle Of Fire

He stopped three feet away from the flames. A tingle ran from the ground and up his body, and the amulet sprang to life, burning fiercely against his throat. He glanced down. He'd stepped into some sort of star drawn into the ground. Magic. But what had Eleanor intended it to do?

Laughter, high and unstable, shattered the silence. Eleanor stepped out of the trees, a predatory smile dominating her thin features.

'I thought you'd be a tougher catch, Shapeshifter.' She brushed a long strand of hair away from her face with a hand that alternated between burned and unburned flesh.

He frowned. The burned hand was obviously Maddie's work, but why was the witch wasting energy to cover it up? Vanity, perhaps? 'Maybe you've overestimated me.'

Eleanor's dark eyes were watchful despite her triumphant air. 'Oh, I doubt that very much.' She hesitated, her face surreal in the odd light of the pale orange flames. 'Perhaps you'd best rid yourself of those white ash daggers you have in your boots.'

Electricity raced up his legs from the ground, swirling around his body like a cord, yet never really touching him. He sensed it was somehow meant to make him obey. That he didn't surely had to indicate the amulet burning against his throat was working. He bent and slowly took out the two daggers from his boots, then tossed them to one side. For the moment, at least, it was better to let Eleanor think she had him in her power. He left the smaller dagger hidden in his coat. Eleanor didn't mention it, so maybe she couldn't sense it through the leather.

'Let Maddie go, Eleanor. She's of no use to you.'

Eleanor was the image of a cat playing with its prey. 'I can't set her free, Shapeshifter, but you can.'

He raised his eyebrows, feigning unconcern despite the churning in his gut. 'How, when you have me pinned to this spot?'

Eleanor's smile widened, which meant his guess was right. The star was meant to do nothing more than temporarily immobilize him.

'There's no fun in defeating an enemy who cannot move. You will be free soon enough.'

Eleanor was too calm and Maddie too still. Sweat trickled down his back. The whole situation seemed out of whack and way beyond his control. 'Then what will stop me from ripping out your heart, witch?'

'Oh, you can try, but the price will be your lover's death.'

His gaze ran back to Maddie. Despite the chill in the air, her slender body was flushed with heat. It burned across her skin, beacon bright against the cold flames surrounding her. Sweat beaded her forehead and darkened her burnished hair. Even her T-shirt clung damply to her skin. The pale flames surrounding her held no warmth, so why was she so hot?

He met Eleanor's gaze and saw the uneasy mix of amusement and cruelty in the dark depths of her eyes.

The witch wanted them all to pay—him for his interference, Maddie for burning her hand… His heart gave a sickening lurch. Maddie was a firestarter. The heat was internal.

He flexed his fingers. 'Let her go, Eleanor, and I am yours.'

Her responding smile was little more than a sharp snarl. Her form was blurring, shifting shape, becoming something less than human—but not quite catlike. 'She has five minutes, Shapeshifter.' Her voice was a purr, deep and menacing. 'But to rescue her, you must defy my spell and then defeat me.'

Blood trickled down his leg; its sweet smell seemed to hang heavily in the air. The craving in Eleanor's inhuman gaze grew stronger.

'What spell?' he asked, watching her form shiver and darken, becoming more catlike with every passing heartbeat.

'The flames, Shapeshifter. They will take the essence of your soul.' Her sharp smile was little more than the snarl of a panther. 'They will take your shapeshifting abilities from you.'

'No…' The denial escaped before he could stop it. He was a shapeshifter —it wasn't just a gift, like Maddie's fire starting, or a product of magic, as were Eleanor's shapeshifting abilities. It was an integral part of what he was. It couldn't be ripped away without killing him.

'It won't destroy you, Shapeshifter.' Her voice had become little more than a rough growl, her shape a breath away from the panther. She was retaining only enough humanity to speak. 'That would be too easy. You must pay for the trouble you have caused me. Pay with pain.'

Her paws hit the ground, and with another snarl, she sprang. Not away from the flames, but into them— straight at Maddie.

'No!' He leapt forward, hitting the flames. Pain ripped through his body, tore the scream away from his throat. For a frightening heartbeat there was nothing but emptiness, then he hit the ground and darkness invaded his world.

Chapter Nineteen

Maddie jerked awake. For several seconds she stared at the mist shrouded trees high above her and wondered where she was. She felt the damp ground pressing into her back, the caress of the cool breeze against her heat-fevered skin, and it only added to her confusion.

Then memory returned with a thump. She was burning up, killing herself because Eleanor had somehow looped her firestarting abilities. And because she didn't understand how to fully control them, she couldn't stop the fires raging deep inside from consuming her.

If she attacked Eleanor, she'd kill herself for sure.

Something black flew over her head. White teeth flashed a second before a snarl cut through the silence.

The ragged sound of a gasp cut through the air— Jon. She didn't question her sudden certainty. He was here and in trouble because of her.

I have to help him. Somehow, I have to stop Eleanor.But her body refused to obey her need to move. Despite the heat flushing every pore, her limbs were locked in ice. She couldn't move, was barely able to breathe. The panther snarled again. A heartbeat later there was a guttural sound of pain. Dear God, what's happening to him?

She struggled to shift her head. Sweat ran down her forehead and stung her eyes. She blinked the moisture away and gritted her teeth. Her breath became a hiss of pain as the ice tightened around her neck.

I have to move… energy surged through her body, energy that burned with heat. Something splintered against her neck, and suddenly, her head and arms were free.

She twisted around, trying to see what was going on. Jon and Eleanor were silhouetted against the brightness of the flames. Jon was on his back, struggling to hold the panther standing astride his prone body at arm's length. Blood soaked his jeans, and a bloody rent marred his left side. The panther was unharmed, toying with its prey.

Fire surged, burning through her veins. Maddie bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. Attack me, and you will kill yourself, Eleanor had told her. But maybe, just maybe, she could turn her fires on something else instead of the witch, and give Jon the chance to run.

She quickly scanned the trees above her until she found a branch that hung out far enough over the clearing. Half closing her eyes, she stared at the limb and reached down to the fires boiling through her body. The response was quick and deadly. The branch exploded into flame and, with a crack that ricocheted through the clearing, fell to the ground. The cat snarled in fright and leapt away from Jon. He scrambled awkwardly to his feet but didn't flee.

'Maddie, run!' he gasped. He stood between her and the panther, a bloodied warrior still ready for battle.

She could barely move, let alone run. And even if she were able to, she wouldn't have. He was ready to die defending her. She had nothing left to offer him but the same willingness to trade her life for his.

She glanced quickly at the trees and found another branch. The panther leapt again. Maddie aimed her fire at the branch, simultaneously croaking, 'Jon, jump back!'