The Burns Fire Read online

  “Fine,” said Uri. He gulped the rest of his coffee and got up. “But wouldn’t it be easier just to ask him a few questions? You told me that he answered every single question you asked him, and you didn’t detect any lies. Think about it, Aidan. With his Fire power, he could be a welcome ally in your war. Don’t make an enemy out of him.”

  Aidan nodded, and Uri waved his hand, instantly vanishing from the balcony.

  Questions? Well, and the questions I shall ask, thought Aidan as he walked out of the balcony, leaving the unfinished demitasse with coffee on the table.

  ~ Tessa ~

  It was a relatively quiet day for a busy dental practice. After the unfortunate events of the last evening, Dr. Davis took a few days off to recover. As a result, all her patients were rescheduled for the next week. Tessa stared at the computer screen, checking the schedule of Dr. West. He had a cancelation and the next patient didn’t arrive yet. All rooms were prepared, the instruments were sterilized, and the office was breathing with cleanliness.

  Tessa leaned back in the chair and allowed herself to relax for a few minutes. Her thoughts slowly traveled to the dojang. Between everything that happened there yesterday, she didn’t get a chance to talk to Aidan. In her mind, she re-played the sparring session between Aidan and that new guy, Zane, wondering what came over him. In all the years that she knew Aidan, she never saw him so aggressive and merciless in sparring. Especially not with the new people. She remembered the look of pain on Zane’s face when Aidan got him in the kneebar. Zane seemed like a nice guy and she couldn’t understand what Aidan had against him.

  The door into the office opened up and a tall man walked inside. He was dressed in black jeans and grungy Metallica t-shirt. With his shoulder-length dark hair and dark overgrown stubble, he looked like a biker. Even though he was inside the office, he didn’t take his dark sunglasses off.

  The man stopped at the front desk counter and smiled, demonstrating his perfectly healthy dental anatomy. Tessa threw a quick look at his sparkling teeth, asking herself why this man would need services of a prosthodontist. Claudia, the patient coordinator, got up to greet him. The man came prepared. He had all the new patient’s forms filled online and Claudia opened his file on her computer screen to review them.

  Since there was no need to make him wait, Tessa checked his name in his file and invited him in. “Please come in, Mr. Vargas,” she said, opening the door for him. “Second room on your left.”

  Once she seated Mr. Vargas, Tessa walked out of the room and checked the long hallway, searching for Dr. West. She found him in his office at the far end of the hallway. He was sitting at his desk, looking at the x-rays of one of his patients. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn’t notice Tessa’s arrival and she had to touch his shoulder to get his attention. Ryan turned around and looked at her, his eyes lingering on the fresh scar on her lips.

  “Tessa, what happened?” he asked with concern. “Don’t you know, we’re in the business of fixing teeth in this office, not breaking them.”

  “Speak for yourself, Ryan,” she replied, chuckling. “I’m in the business of making the new business for your office – hence, breaking teeth.”

  “You’re such a troublemaker, Tessa,” said Ryan, rising. “Do I need to check yours?”

  “Nope, I’m fine,” she answered, heading toward the door. “Your new patient, Mr. Vargas, is ready for you in the room two. By the way, he looks like he just jumped off his bike and I couldn’t get him to take his shades off. Have fun with this jackass.”

  Ryan just shook his head and followed her through the hallway. He entered the room and approached Mr. Vargas, introducing himself. Not without amusement, Tessa registered that the patient still didn’t take his sunglasses off. Ryan put his mask and gloves on, grabbed the explorer and mirror off the tray and sat down next to the patient.

  “Okay, Mr. Vargas, let’s see what’s going on with your teeth,” he said, readjusting the unit light. “But before we start, may I ask you to take your sunglasses off?”

  Mr. Vargas pursed his lips, but pulled his sunglasses off, carefully hooking them to his jean pocket. Tessa glanced at his face and started to understand why he didn’t want to take his glasses off. His eyelids were red and puffy, and his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, like he didn’t sleep all night. He caught her gaze and his lips stretched in a cold smile, giving him a resemblance with an alligator.

  “Allergies,” he explained with a half-shrug. “Bright light bothers me.”

  For whatever reason, Tessa didn’t believe one word this guy was saying. There was something bone-chillingly unsettling about this man. Standing next to him was like standing next to an open freezer.

  “Just bear with me, Mr. Vargas,” mumbled Ryan, leaning slightly closer to him. “I’ll try to do the exam as fast as I can. And then you can put your sunglasses back on. Open please…”

  Mr. Vargas opened wide, showing off his flawless set of choppers. For a moment Ryan stared at his patient’s teeth, his eyebrows slowly rising. Then he blinked a couple of times and proceeded with the exam. Still uncomfortable in the presence of this man, Tessa watched Ryan working without taking her eyes off.

  A soft ding of the intercom system made Tessa flinch and turn around. She got up and picked up the phone. Claudia was letting her know that Dr. West had an emergency patient and she already seated him in room one. By the time Tessa hung up the phone and turned around, Ryan was done with the initial exam.

  “Well, Mr. Vargas, I can’t see anything wrong with your teeth. As a matter of fact, the only place I saw teeth as perfect as yours was in the book of dental anatomy,” he said, chuckling. He put away the tools and took his gloves off. “I’m going to let Tessa take a full set of x-rays and if everything checks out, we can schedule you for a prophylactic cleaning.”

  Ryan pushed the button, setting the chair in an upright position, but Mr. Vargas held Ryan’s hand, already a familiar frosty smile lingering on his face. “Are you s-s-s-sure that you checked all my teeth, Dr. West?” he asked, his voice sounding deeper with an added light hiss. “Pleas-s-s-s-e take a look again… I don’t want you to mis-s-s-s anything…”

  Something is not right. A thought flashed in Tessa’s mind as she bolted toward the chair. Only two-three steps were separating her from Ryan, but she wasn’t fast enough. Mr. Vargas opened his mouth again. His normal teeth were gone, replaced by a set of sharp fangs. His every tooth was elongated and shaped into a sharp point, a thin web of saliva stretched between his unnaturally wide-open jaws.

  Ryan gasped and started to back away, but the man’s hand struck forward with a blurring speed, seizing his neck. The man was moving so fast that he was leaving a motion trail in his wake. In one lightning motion, he pulled Ryan closer, lifting him off the floor like the two-hundred-pound dentist was weighing nothing. He forced Ryan’s head to the side, exposing his jugular and sank his terrifying set of fangs into his neck.

  The raiser-sharp fangs easily penetrated his skin and a thick stream of blood, spilled down Ryan’s neck, dripping on Mr. Vargas’ shirt, but he didn’t seem to care. His eyes were half-closed as he sucked the blood like it was his morning protein shake, his blood-stained lips smacking.

  A thick copper smell drifted in the air and Tessa froze for a quick moment, fighting nausea. She came back to her senses a split-second later and grabbed Ryan’s shoulders trying to tear him away from Mr. Vargas’ grip. The man growled like a wild animal, a low sound rumbling in his throat as he continued sucking the blood.

  Tessa snapped her arm back and punched Mr. Vargas in the side of his head. The man lifted his eyes and his bloodstained lips stretched into a carnivorous smirk over Ryan’s neck. It seemed that Tessa’s punch didn’t leave a lasting impression on him.

  “Can’t say no to dessert,” he hissed. His free arm flew forward and wrapped around Tessa’s waist. He pulled her to his side, without stopping what he was doing, and Tessa couldn’t understand how he managed it, but she was almo
st completely immobilized by his hold. As she was helplessly struggling against the man’s deadly grip, her eyes fell on Ryan’s face and silent tears burnt behind her eyes. Ryan was losing too much blood. His face was drained of color, his body feeble and limp.

  He is killing Ryan, thought Tessa in despair, everything inside her crumbling into dust and ashes. Ryan is dying… no… “Help!” she yelled putting whatever strength she had left in this desperate cry. “Help!”

  The door flew open like someone kicked it with their foot and with a loud bang hit the wall. Tessa moaned, lifting her eyes, struggling to see over Mr. Vargas’ shoulder and her mouth fell open. In the doorway she saw Zane. He was breathing hard and his eyes were glowing red. He didn’t run into the room but stopped at the door and waved his hand muttering something under his breath. Tessa couldn’t hear what he was saying, but the room got flooded with a soft yellow light and the habitual white noise of the city that was coming through the window got muffled.

  Before Mr. Vargas got a chance to react, Zane crossed the distance between them and seized his long hair, wringing it around his wrist. He yanked his head back roughly, forcing him to release Ryan’s neck. The man dropped both Tessa and Ryan and roared, frustration making his fingers curl into claws. Tessa fell on the floor and huddled to the wall, shaking. She watched Zane punching out Mr. Vargas and quickly shoving Ryan’s body closer to Tessa.

  “Apply pressure to the wound,” he said, his voice a low growl. “See if you can stop the bleeding.”

  Zane’s glowing eyes swept from her to Ryan and he shook his head. Tessa could swear that he whispered the word “humans” as he spun around, switching his attention back to Mr. Vargas. The man was back on his feet, his shoulders hunched, and his arms outstretched forward giving him a resemblance with a predator, ready to attack. His upper lip was curved into a feral snarl exposing his horrendous fangs and his bloodshot eyes narrowed into angry slits.

  “Ignius!” shouted Zane. He made a circular motion with his hand, pointing at Mr. Vargas.

  What the hell? Is it even a real word? thought Tessa as a circle, blazing with smoldering flames erupted around Mr. Vargas. The man shrieked, his voice suddenly high-pitched and jumped up on top of the dental chair, crouching there and ready to launch at any moment. His narrowed eyes were following the flow of the fire with unmistakable fear.

  Zane turned back to Tessa and squatted next to her. He tapped her shoulder gently. With an effort, she tore her eyes off the dancing flames and stared at him, speechless.

  “Call an ambulance,” he ordered, rising. “Dr. West needs medical attention.”

  He walked to the opposite wall and took a picture in a wooden frame off, smashing it against the table. The glass shattered, and the frame broke into four pieces. He picked up one of the longer pieces of the frame and squeezed it in his hand like it was a knife. In no rush, he walked through the fiery circle. Tessa gasped – not only was he not burnt by the fire, the flames wrapped around his body, licking and kissing him like he was their lover.

  As soon as Zane passed inside the circle, Mr. Vargas screamed and pounced at him. Zane didn’t blink an eye. His arm shot forward, and he caught Mr. Vargas’ neck, stopping him in midair. With one move, Zane flung the man back on the chair and forcefully drove the piece of frame into his chest, piercing his heart. Mr. Vargas cried out, grabbing the piece of wood with both hands. He pulled the wood out and fell back, motionless.

  Tessa couldn’t see every little detail through the wall of fire, but everything she saw was enough to raise multiple questions. Zane was in good shape, but he was short. How could he hold a man twice his size in the air with one hand? And didn’t he just kill him? As far as she knew, a wooden stake through the heart was considered to be a fatal wound. She got up, gently lowering the unconscious Ryan to the floor and stepped closer to the fire circle, ignoring the scorching heat.

  Zane was standing over the body of Mr. Vargas, shaking his head in disbelief. To her horror, Tessa noticed that even though there was a giant black hole in Mr. Vargas’s chest, he wasn’t dead. Slowly he was rising, pressing his hand to the hole. And his wound wasn’t bleeding.

  “Hell’s bells,” muttered Zane, scratching his head. “I was so hoping that you were just a vampire…”

  Vampire? With everything that happened in the last few minutes, Tessa felt shocked and confused.

  In the meantime, Zane reached into his jean pocket and pulled out a swiss army knife. Mr. Vargas barked laughing.

  “Really? A tiny swiss army knife?” he spat between the wild bursts of laughter. “What are you going to do with that, MacGyver?”

  Zane didn’t answer, but a crooked smirk appeared on his face. He held the knife in his hand and whispered a single word Tessa couldn’t recognize. The knife started to grow, expending into a long sword. The weapon looked like a medieval sword and was blazing with smoldering flames.

  Mr. Vargas hissed and shifted away from him, hitting the dental chair with his back. Surrounded by fire, he had nowhere to run. With one fluid motion of his arm, Zane swung the sword and ran it through Mr. Vargas’ neck, instantly decapitating him. The head rolled over his shoulders, hitting the floor with dull thud. The body stayed in place for a few more seconds, the dead fingers grasping at the air. Zane pushed the body down next to the head and put the tip of his flaming blade to Mr. Vargas’ chest.

  “Ignius Amplio,” he muttered, and a steady stream of fire escaped his sword, setting Mr. Vargas’ body ablaze. In a matter of a few seconds, the body was gone like it was never there. Zane said another word that sounded like gibberish to Tessa and his sword turned back into a tiny swiss army knife. He put the knife back into his jean pocket and finally looked up.

  “Tessa, did you call 911?” he asked calmly like he didn’t kill and burn into ashes a man (or whatever Mr. Vargas was – a vampire?) just a second ago.

  Tessa swallowed and nodded. Her throat felt uncharacteristically dry and she couldn’t bring herself to say a word.

  “Okay,” said Zane. “I need to leave now. Let me get rid of all this fire.”

  He approached the fiery circle and put his hand directly into the fire. He didn’t say anything, but the flames slowly subsided and finally disappeared. He approached Tessa and halted a few steps away, scratching his head. Then he sighed and looked at her.

  “I’m sure that after everything you just witnessed, you probably have a few questions,” he said evenly.

  “No shit, Sherlock,” croaked Tessa, her speech finally coming back to her. “You’re goddamn right, I have a few questions.”

  “And I promise to answer your questions as soon as I can. Just not right now.” Zane headed toward the door, but then stopped and turned around. He waved his hand again and the soft yellow light disappeared. “Do you know which hospital they will take Dr. West to?”

  “Broward Health in Coral Springs, most likely,” said Tessa, lowering herself down on the floor to check on Ryan. He was abnormally pale, and an ugly deep bite mark, overflowing with blood was shining on his neck. But she found a weak pulse in his wrist and that gave her hope that he would be all right.

  “I’ll see you there in an hour,” promised Zane and walked out of the room.

  ~ Tessa ~

  An empty hospital waiting room was shockingly freezing. It smelled of sterility, and the flickering light of the fluorescent lamps was throwing cold shimmering shades on perfectly neutral walls. Everything inside this room was painted in soft, muted colors. Possibly it was supposed to be relaxing, but Tessa was anything but relaxed.

  Since there was no one in the room besides her, she pulled her feet up on the neutral-colored chair and hugged her knees with her arms. She always hated hospitals. Let’s face it – unless you’re a hospital employee and that’s the way you’re making your living, no one likes to be here. But Tessa had an entirely different reason for that. Since she was a child, she always felt an unpleasant vibe as soon as she was crossing the threshold of any hospital. It was like a
jolt of electricity inside her, something that pulled her nerves on alert, making her jittery and a little paranoid.

  After the encounter with Mr. Koval’s spirit, Tessa started to understand why the hospital atmosphere was affecting her this way. Here, she was surrounded by pain, suffering, death and sorrow. Death… It meant the spirits of people who recently passed away could be somewhere right next to her. She shivered and looked around, almost expecting to see someone appearing in the room, surrounded by a white light.

  She glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. Almost an hour had passed since the ambulance drove Ryan and her to the Broward Health Hospital. He lost a lot of blood and needed surgery to fix the damage to his neck. The doctor said that Ryan was in critical condition and promised to send a nurse with an update as soon as he knew anything. Where was the nurse? Tessa got up and circled the small waiting room a few times, hoping to calm her nerves.

  It didn’t work, and she sat back down. Tessa didn’t want to think about anything, but her thoughts were stubbornly coming back to Zane. She had no explanation to what she witnessed, but she wasn’t afraid of him or what he was. She caught herself thinking that she actually wanted to see him again.

  I just want to ask him a few questions, she said to herself, trying to compromise with her own standards of right and wrong. That’s all. Anyone would be curious after seeing his fire-show. I just need to know.

  Deep inside, she realized that there was more to her desire to see him than just plain curiosity. Tessa recalled the fierce flames on the bottom of his eyes and the way the fire obeyed his every command. He was different. Not like other people. He was a freak, just like her. And she liked that. She liked his igneous eyes and his lopsided smile. She sighed, struggling to admit even to herself that she liked the way his smile brought up that single dimple on his cheek, setting his whole face alight. She liked him from the first moment when she saw him in the bright lights of Aidan’s dojang. Something like this had never happened to her before.