Hellfire

Chapter Twenty-Two

I stood over a vampire falling apart into dust, my flames rushing over me hotly and Thorn in hand. I stared dimly at the flickering flames, not really thinking or feeling, just following Alistair's lead as he asked.

'Is this it?' Oliver demanded as he worked to reattach his half-severed arm.

'Seems so.' Alistair replied and cast his attention about the tiny warehouse, tilting his head as he listened.

The small-time gang had been dispatched swiftly, hearts destroyed by blood-magic and heads swept free by my burning blade; all without much effort. The little hideaway where they stashed drug-touched blood from psychics was now in Oliver's control; vials by the hundreds, full of red liquid refined with various hard drugs.

'It's fresh. A bit too fresh.' Oliver commented as he sifted through the rusted freezers. 'I think they've probably got psychic blood-mules somewhere and this gang is just one section of a bigger one.'

While I was too busy watching the blood ripple with light, Oliver noticed Alistair stiffen, and rose, dusting down his ruined jeans.

'Ella's safe in our house. No one would fucking try to touch her when she's guarded by Lucius and is considered one of us, Alistair.'

'Doesn't mean I won't worry when we let her go.' Alistair muttered.

'Just gives you an excuse to keep her close and check in on her regularly, doesn't it?' Oliver pointed out with a shrug.

'Something I really doubt she'll want.' Alistair retorted. 'Mo, Susan and Sam she'd see, even the youngsters and Doc, but not me.'

'Ah, Al, you're just being submissive about it.' Oliver said as he set the vials aside, scenting each one, labelling and making scrawled notes. 'The girl will swoon if you put your foot down.'

Alistair squared his shoulders. 'She's made her stance clear. She's not interested in someone like me. I'm at peace with that.'

I saw the worry in his posture, that same worry when I'd asked him about Ella before. I felt nothing compelling me ask after it; has Ella spoken to him at all since, had he tried to bridge the gap or was he just going to let her go despite being obviously in love with her? All I did was stand there, absorbed by the wet blood and aware I was beginning to feel a bit too hot and struggling to breathe a little.

Alistair turned to look back at me when he heard me cough slightly, and his eyes widened in panic when he saw a thick tendril of smoke slipping out of my mouth and my breathing becoming hitched.

'Susan!' He swept forward, pressing his palms against my cheeks and spreading his cold through me fast as frost cracked up his thick arms.

I only noticed then just how hot I felt, dryness peeling over my skin and splitting it into nasty red gashes. Alistair worked at healing me swiftly, his cold soothing over me and settling my flames.

Oliver had bounded over, pulling away Thorn from my hand and finding her resist for a moment as my skin stuck to her hilt little.

'How is she this hot?' Oliver demanded as he flung the boiling Thorn on the floor, her blade sparking from the heat gathered in her as she snapped against the stone floor. 'She's not acting like she's overheating!'

'She's not been acting right at all, Oliver.' Alistair reminded him and raised his head towards the solid black bat flickering amongst his own above. 'Lucius! Turn off her flames!'

My flames were snapped up with a sharp, cold click. Instantly the heat backed off and I breathed in with a shuddered, violent breath, coughing heavily to dislodge the ball of hot embers. I didn't move or react to Alistair as he kept me close, healing my body as Oliver took my wounded hand in his, observing the skin that he been ripped off from my palm.