The Burns Fire Read online

  “Of course not, Zane,” replied Akira with a sigh. “You have no trust. I would not do anything to dishonor you or myself.”

  “In this case, I accept your conditions, ma’am,” said Gunz.

  “We’ll start after you’re done with Eve,” said the queen, walking him toward the door of her office. “I don’t think you’ll be able to spare any time for this now.”

  “Yes… Assuming we all survive,” he said with a nod. “Thank you again for your help.”

  Gunz bowed to the Scarlet Queen and walked out of the office.

  ~ Tessa ~

  The world was nothing more than a continuous sequence of black and white stripes. Blurry black and white stripes. The white stripes were unpleasantly bright. They were hurting Tessa’s eyes, making them water. She raised her hand and spread her fingers, trying to shield her face from the brightness of the white light. Little by little, her vision got restored, but her head was still pounding with a dull throbbing headache.

  Slowly, her memories came back to her. She remembered her visit to the church and her conversation with Father Collins. With painful clarity, she recalled the attack on the church – a malignant swirling fog rushing at her. She remembered Father Collins and Father Beaumont, in armor, with swords in their hands, fighting to give her a few seconds so she could run. With all her heart she hoped that both of them survived… And then she remembered the darkness taking hold of her, vanquishing her strength, her will to fight. Taking her whole being over.

  Tessa turned her head from left to right and winced as the headache got sharper. She was lying down on a cold concrete floor inside a large cage. Flickering florescent lights were installed alone the length of the dirty-grey ceiling. The iron bars on top of the cage were creating the effect of black and white stripes that she saw when she first opened her eyes.

  With an effort, she pushed herself up with her arms. Sitting down on the floor of the cage, she pulled her knees to her chest and looked around, carefully surveying her surroundings. She was in a large room without any windows and without any visible doors – grey dirty ceiling, four grey dirty walls and a concrete floor.

  On her left and on her right, she counted eight glass boxes. Glass walls were running from the floor to the ceiling. Inside each box, there was a person, but she couldn’t say if either of these people were alive. Their eyes were closed, and they were completely motionless, hanging lifelessly like in suspended animation. Their bodies were sprawled in midair, but no matter how hard Tessa was staring, she couldn’t find anything that was supporting these people inside the glass boxes.

  Across the room from her, Tessa noticed another cage, just like the one she was in. A girl dressed in a dirty wrinkled private school uniform was sitting behind the bars. Her back was rested against the backwall of the cage and her eyes were closed. Tessa noticed an even movement of her chest and assumed that she was sleeping.

  The girl appeared to be no more than fourteen-fifteen years old. Her blond hair was an entangled mess and her face was covered in dust and dirt. A few lighter paths were running down her cheeks, undoubtfully left by tears. But at least she was alive and breathing. It meant that Tessa could ask her a few questions.

  Tessa searched around her cage and found a small stone, most likely a piece of concrete. She approached the bars and threw the stone at the girl. She got lucky. The stone made it all the way to the other side of the room, flew between the bars and hit the girl on her arm. The girl woke up with a start and looked around wildly. Then she noticed Tessa and her face reflected disappointment.

  “Oh, it just you,” she mumbled tiredly. “You’re finally awake.”

  “Finally?” asked Tessa. “How long has it been since I was brought here.”

  The girl shrugged her shoulders indifferently. “Do you see any clocks here?”

  “Just give me an idea. Approximately,” said Tessa, pursing her lips. The girl was nothing but a cynical teenager and she wasn’t going to get down to her level.

  The girl shrugged her shoulders again and rolled her eyes. “Does it really matter? Neither you nor I are going anywhere any time soon, so who cares…”

  “I care,” muttered Tessa, irritation starting to bubble up in her.

  “I would say”—the girl looked to the side, her lips moving like she was counting in her mind— “at least twelve hours if not more. Eve brought you here herself.”

  “Who the hell is Eve?”

  “Don’t worry, you’ll meet her soon enough,” promised the girl, relaxing her back against the bars again. “She brought me here too.”

  “Do you know why this Eve brought us here?” asked Tessa. “What does she want?”

  The girl sighed and pursed her lips. “I have no idea,” she said finally. “At first I thought that she was going to send a ransom note to my father or something like that. I thought she was… you know… like after my father’s money. My father would pay anything to get me back and since I’m still here, I don’t think that she ever contacted him. So, yeah… I have no idea what she wants.”

  She is a fountain of useful information, thought Tessa as desperation was slowly expending in her chest. The only information she got was that the evil bitch that was running the show had a name. And her name was Eve.

  “What’s your name?” asked Tessa.

  “Tanya,” replied the girl. “Tanya Karpenko.”

  “I’m Tessa Donovan,” said Tessa with a light wave of her hand. “Tanya, do you know who all these people in the glass boxes are? Are they alive?”

  “They were already like this when Eve brought me here,” replied Tanya quietly. “I think I’ve been here at least three days if not more, but I’ve never seen these people move… So creepy, right?”

  Tessa nodded and fell silent. Tanya didn’t know anything, and she didn’t feel like talking. She didn’t know how long they were sitting silently and after a while Tessa dozed off. She woke up with a start and jumped to her feet. Something wasn’t right. She checked the room but didn’t notice anything different.

  Tanya was gazing at her with curiosity and was about to say something, but Tessa raised her hand stopping her. She sharpened her ears and heard soft, hardly-audible steps. There was someone in the room with them. Someone invisible.

  “I know you’re here,” hissed Tessa, her hands grasping at the rough surface of the iron bars. “Show yourself!”

  She heard a silvery laughter and a woman materialized in the room, hardly a foot away from her cage. Tessa gasped and staggered back, away from her. The woman was tall and shapely. She had large blue eyes and long wavy blond hair with slightly red tint. Given different circumstances, Tessa would probably find her attractive. But as it was, she didn’t have to guess that this woman was no other than Eve, and nothing would make Eve look beautiful in her eyes.

  The woman was dressed in a long elegant red dress, and Tessa thought that the bloody-red color of her outfit in combination with her scarlet lipstick was giving her an ominous vibe. She looked like a repulsively evil version of Jessica Rabbit.

  Eve stopped laughing and slowly ran her fingers with sharp red nails over the bars. “Hello, darling,” she said, her voice bright and musical, “welcome back. Finally, we have the pleasure of your company.”

  Tessa crossed her arms over her chest and ran her eyes up and down pointedly slow, like she was sizing Eve up. Then she tilted her head to the side slightly and smirked.

  “How about this for the pleasure of my company, bitch,” said Tessa, defiantly, flipping the bird at her. “What do you want from me?”

  “Bitch? Really?” huffed Eve and guffawed, putting her hands on her curvy hips. “I got to give it you, child, you have nerve talking to me like this.”

  “What do you want from me, Eve?” Tessa repeated her question, dryly. “Why did you bring me here?”

  Eve snapped her fingers and a chair manifested next to her. She pulled the chair closer to the bars of Tessa’s cage and sat down, leaning back in it, crossing her ankle
s in front of her. Tessa sighed and also sat down, facing her. Inside her, everything was twisted with fear, but she wasn’t going to show it to this woman.

  “Well, darling,” purred Eve, “you see, in the beginning, I had an interest in you personally. Just like I was interested in these pitiful creatures.” She glanced around the room and waved her hand nonchalantly, gesturing toward the glass boxes. “But a little while ago, I came across something a lot more interesting and useful to my plan. More interesting than you, dear, and more useful than them. So, I hope you don’t hold it against me, but my plans have changed.”

  “Oh, goody,” drawled Tessa, gazing heavenwards, “if I’m no longer of interest, why don’t you open this cage and let me go.”

  Eve hooted with laughter again, clapping her hands together. “I think I’ll keep you here for pure entertainment value.” Eve stopped laughing and since Tessa didn’t say anything else, she continued, “Well, my plans did change, but I still need you and this other little creature.” She flicked her hand over her shoulder at Tanya’s cage. “Both of you make perfect hostages. Between her father and your lover, they will deliver me exactly what I need. Once I have what I want, I’ll let you both go. I promise.”

  “My lover?” mumbled Tessa flabbergasted. “I don’t have a lover. No lover, no boyfriend, not even a male friend. What are you talking about?”

  Eve’s eyes narrowed, and her eyebrows pulled down. “Are you serious, child, or are you mocking me?”

  “I’m not mocking you, Eve!” yelled Tessa, jumping to her feet. “You got me mixed up with someone else. I have no lover! I swear!”

  “Oh, wow…” mused Eve, her eyes twinkling derisively. “This idiot really never told you, did he? I have to wonder if he is afraid of rejection or he’s just afraid to show anybody that he can have real human feelings.”

  “Who are you talking about, Eve?” Tessa grabbed the bars with both hands and shook them.

  “Aidan McGrath, of course,” said Eve coldly. “Are you blind, child? The man is so in love with you that he would give his own life to save yours. How can you not see it?”

  Tessa fell silent, her arms dropped by her sides dangling powerlessly, and tears gathered in her eyes. Eve was lying. Aidan could never be in love with her. She grew up next to Aidan. He was always like the older brother she never had, watching over her, helping her, taking care of her. And when her mother was gone, he was her only family. He couldn’t be in love with her. It made no sense. He was her friend, her brother, her family.

  “You’re mistaken, Eve,” she whispered. She was so shocked that she forgot to be angry at Eve. “Maybe Aidan loves me, but not that kind of love. No, it’s impossible.”

  “Oh, poor child. You really have no idea and he never said anything to you. So, let me open your eyes.” Eve sighed and shook her head. She was no longer laughing or mocking Tessa. She looked dead serious. “I know Aidan McGrath longer than I would like to admit. And I’m telling you – Aidan can’t live without you. Right now, if I tell him to cut his chest open, rip his beating heart out and give it to me, he would do it. To save your life, he would do anything. No exceptions. You are his biggest weakness, possibly his only weakness. And I’m going to exploit it to get what I need.”

  Tessa pressed her hand to her mouth and swallowed, pushing her tears back. She had no doubt that Eve was telling her the truth and that scared her more than anything else. What did Eve want Aidan to do? What was that “thing” she wanted him and Tanya’s father to deliver? And most importantly why? Whatever Eve wanted, it couldn’t be good. And if she was right, Aidan would be stupid enough to give her what she needed for her evil plan to succeed.

  “I see you finally believe me,” said Eve rising. She waved her hand and the chair vanished from the room. “Well, goodbye now, Tessa. Hopefully, the next time when I see you, it would be to exchange you for what I need and give you back to your lover.”

  Before Tessa could say anything, Eve snapped her fingers and vanished from the room.

  ~ Aidan ~

  A dirty grey fog surrounded him, touching his skin with its sweltering icy fingers. Each touch sent a jolt of pain through his body. Aidan waved his hand, trying to get rid of the fog to no avail. He stopped moving and extended his arm forward. It disappeared into the murky swirls. Something touched his back and he felt another spike of pain. Aidan cried out and bolted forward, fear coiling inside him like a tight spring. He couldn’t see anything behind the thick veil of the fog, but he couldn’t stop running.

  Driven by fear and blinded by the fog, he ran until the ground disappeared under his feet and he started falling, his body twirling helplessly in the air. The fog wasn’t as thick here and he could see the rocky sea shore beneath him. It wasn’t the warm Florida ocean. It was a stormy northern sea. High waves were rising and falling, breaking into myriads of sparkling droplets on the dark rocks. Aidan gaped at the rocks, knowing that he was about to die and there was nothing he could do to prevent it.

  NO!

  He couldn’t just die. He needed to see Tessa… He had to tell her that—

  Tessa!

  He screamed her name and a hollow echo painfully bounced in his ears. Aidan cried out, his heart crumbling in his chest. In the last moment, before his body shattered and fell forever motionless on the sharp rocks by the cold northern sea, he whispered her name again.

  Aidan woke up and jolted upright, breathing hard. Cold sweat was covering his forehead, running down his back. His shirt, soaked with sweat, clung to his body. He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around his knees and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths to help himself calm down.

  “Hush, wee lad.” Someone spoke to him in a quiet voice with a soft Irish accent and stroked his back gently. “It was just a nightmare… mama is here… shh…”

  Aidan flinched at the sound of this musical voice and jumped off the bed. His back hit the wall, and he froze, hardly able to breath. Fear and anger combined into an explosive mixture, boiled up inside him and he roared like a cornered wild beast, his hands clenching into tight fists.

  “Eve, you were never my mother then and you’re not my mother now. Get the hell out of my house before I throw you out!”

  “Now-now, lad,” said Eve sternly, wagging her finger at him. “Is that the way to talk to your dear mother. Didn’t Lord Hunter teach you any manners, boy? I shall have a word with him first chance I get. He took a sweet little lad and turned him into a giant jackass.”

  She waved her hand and before Aidan could do anything, his body got numb and he was thrown on the bed. Thick ropes wrapped around his ankles and wrists, binding him to the bedframe. He pulled against his restraints, but his body wouldn’t obey, and after a few seconds of futile attempts, he gave up.

  “Did I get your attention now, son?” asked Eve frostily, staring down at him.

  “Eve, I’m going break these restraints and I—”

  Eve snapped her fingers and another rope wrapped around Aidan’s neck, strangling him. His mouth opened as he was gasping for air, struggling to breath.

  “Are you ready to shut your mouth and listen?” asked Eve, an icy smirk playing on her sinister face. “Nod for yes.”

  Aidan nodded faintly, and Eve waved her hand again, releasing the rope around his neck a little, so he could breath.

  He coughed, taking deep breaths, trying to fill his lungs with air. “What do you want?” he asked when he could speak again, his voice hoarse.

  “Aw, who is a good boy now, Aidan,” sung Eve in a high-pitched voice that pet owners usually reserve for their pets, patting his cheek. “What a good boy you are.”

  Aidan grunted, her touch felt like the caress of a venomous snake, but he didn’t turn away. She raised his shirt up holding it with two fingers and took in his appearance.

  “You shaped up nicely with age, my child,” she said, pulling his shirt back down.

  “Eve, just tell me why you are here and get the hell out of my house,” said Aidan quietly. He push
ed against the ropes one more time, but his body felt weak and heavy and he gave up.

  “Fine,” agreed Eve, shaking her head. “Listen, lad, I hate seeing you tied up to a bed.” She stared at him for a moment and then barked laughing. “Aw, who am I kidding? I love seeing you like this – sprawled on the bed and helpless. You look so cute and vulnerable. But I must admit – it feels a bit inappropriate. After all you are my son. So, where is the fun in restraining you in the bed? Swear that you’ll stay down like a good wee boy, and I’ll let you go. I promise, I just want to talk to you.”

  Aidan sighed and rolled his eyes. “You can untie me, Eve. I can’t fight you even if I tried. What did you do to me?”

  Eve snapped her fingers removing all the restraints, leaving just the noose around his neck. Aidan brought his arms down and rubbed his wrists. He tried to push himself up to an upright position but felt weak like a baby and fell back down. Eve snickered mockingly and helped him to sit up, resting his back against the headboard of the bed.

  “Don’t worry, Aidan,” she said dryly, patting his shoulder. “It’s just a spell. It is draining your magic. I picked up a few tricks over the years too and learned how to deal with little freaks like you and your master. The effect is temporary. As soon as I leave, you’ll get back to normal.”

  Feeling too tired to speak, Aidan nodded faintly. The only thing he wanted was for this evil monster to be gone from his house and hopefully from his life too.

  “I guess I won’t be able to get rid of you until you tell me what you want from me, Eve,” he said flatly. “Just say what you need already, so I can tell you no and watch you leaving.”

  “We’ll see about that.” Eve snickered and leaned forward. Her long hair fell on his face and he jerked his head to the side, avoiding her touch. She lowered down and whispered a few words into his ear. As soon as she was done, she sat up straight, observing his reaction.