Into the Fire

“How did she die?” Ashael asked bluntly. “I’ll bet there was something unusual about that.”

My hand tingled as grief and self-blame caused electricity to surge into it. “Yeah. She tried to pull me off the power line I accidentally touched and it killed her.”

Satisfaction spread over the demon’s features. “Both you and your mother experienced the same deadly voltage, yet you lived and she died. Did you never wonder why?”

“Of course I did!” I snapped. “What’s your point?”

A thick brow arched. “Those with trueborn magic can use their inherited powers to enhance their abilities, but they still have to learn those abilities first. Yet legacy magic allows for an instant transfer of fully functional power.”

“What does any of this have to do with my mother’s death?” I asked impatiently.

Ashael passed his hand in front of me again. Now I knew what he was doing. He was drawing upon my aura to see the different types of magic hidden beneath it.

“It’s called legacy magic because it’s passed from one relative to another. It also changes according to the needs of the person who receives it. You’re a trueborn witch, but that wouldn’t have saved you when you touched that power line. Only a sudden, incredible infusion of magic would. Your mother must have willed her legacy magic into you that day. When she did, it not only saved your life—it also transformed all the deadly voltage you’d absorbed into a functioning part of you.”

I stared at him. As fast as I could reject what he was saying, it also made sense. Doctors had never been able to explain why I’d lived and my mother had died when we’d both been exposed to the same lethal currents. In fact, I’d been exposed to them longer than her. I had been stuck to that power line for a couple minutes before all the sparks shooting from me alerted my mom to something horrible going on in the backyard. Yet not only had I survived, I’d also kept all my brain functions and eventually regained full mobility, two things all my doctors had said were impossible at the beginning.

Since then, I couldn’t count the times I’d wondered why, why had I lived but Mom had died? I’d also endlessly wondered why I had woken up from that horrible accident with freakish new voltage running through me and even more frightening visions of other people’s sins. Now, at last, it looked like I had those answers, and only years of hardening myself from various pains kept me from breaking into sobs.

I’d always felt responsible for my mother’s death because we wouldn’t have been in that storm-prone state if I hadn’t told her about my dad cheating on her. I’d also blamed myself because Mom wouldn’t have died if I’d stayed inside the house after that storm instead of trying to rescue a dog from what I assumed was only downed tree branches. Now, I knew it went much deeper.

Mom hadn’t grabbed me out of mindless panic when she saw me stuck to that power line, as everyone had always believed. If the demon was correct, then she’d put her hands on me in order to transfer her legacy magic into me. If she was thinking that clearly, she would have known that touching me while I was stuck to the power line would kill her, but she made a deliberate choice to give her life for mine.

I wanted to fall onto her grave weeping in awe at her courage and self-sacrifice while also yelling at her for doing it. I wanted to ask why she had never told me about trueborn magic or legacies or anything else I’d just learned from this smug demon, and why she hadn’t told my father, either. He sure as hell hadn’t known, not with how he’d freaked over the discovery of vampires, and Gretchen hadn’t known. If my aunt had, then she’d taken her secrets to the grave a few years ago.

I was startled away from those thoughts when Vlad’s aura flared. It didn’t feel like its usual blast of energy. Instead, it curled around me like a warm, tingling cloud, enveloping me from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. It was as personal as a loving embrace without him moving a muscle, and I knew why he did it when he spoke.

“Get to the point, Ashael. While interesting, none of what you’ve told us gives any indication how Leila’s magic might be used to break the spell on her.”

The brusque words would have stung if I wasn’t still wrapped inside the cocoon of his aura. How like Vlad to sound like an uncaring prick even while secretly comforting me.

Ashael smiled. “I told you those other things for free but that, Impaler, is going to cost you.”

“How much?” Vlad asked flatly.

Ashael tilted his head, his smile turning knowing. “I’m not negotiating with you today. You’re not nearly motivated enough. Besides, you only half believe what I’ve already said. Go, verify the rest of it, and we’ll talk price after that.”

Now Vlad’s aura flared with such anger that the former comforting embrace changed into the sting of a thousand tiny, invisible whips. The demon waved a dismissive hand, making it worse, but before Vlad could even speak, Ashael disappeared.

I was still blinking at the empty space in front of me when Vlad began to storm around the roof. “Don’t bother searching for him,” Ian said. “Demons love their vanishing acts, and remember; no one can find Ashael by looking.”

“Then I’ll summon him,” Vlad all but snarled.

Ian grunted. “You can summon him all night and all day, but if he doesn’t want to talk to you, you’ll be wasting your time.”

Vlad continued to pace in long, angry strides. My head felt like it was about to explode from everything I’d learned, which was why I was mildly surprised to hear myself say, “So let’s do it,” in a very calm tone. ns class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true">