“Luca, please,” she panted. God, she wanted him. She wanted to forget everything in that moment but him.
“Samantha.” Luca wanted to stop, to tell her that they shouldn’t continue. She was so vulnerable after what had happened. As much as he wanted her, he didn’t want to take advantage either. And then there was his vow not to get involved with humans. But she tasted sweet as peaches on a warm summer day. So soft and slippery in his hands. “Mmmm…you’re so beautiful,” he murmured, unable to stop kissing her. He needed to have all of her.
As he was about to suggest they go inside the cabin, Luca tensed. He immediately released Samantha to stop and sniff the air. Smoke. He growled, baring his fangs.
“Luca, what’s wrong?” Samantha asked, frightened.
“Swim Samantha,” he ordered. “The cabin. It’s on fire.”
Luca and Samantha immediately swam toward the dock. Luca reached it first and effortlessly leapt up onto the wooden surface. Extending a hand, he pulled Samantha out and they both dressed within minutes. Luca held Samantha’s hand as they ran towards the black smoke billowing from the cabin. Orange streaks of fire danced towards the trees as they stood helplessly by and watched the inferno.
“Luca, who would do this?” Samantha gasped.
“I told you that you were in danger. Looks like whoever attacked us in New Orleans has just found you in Pennsylvania.” He released Samantha’s hand and began to search around the edge of the house for evidence. “Stay back from the flames. I just need to check. I might be able to scent whoever did this.”
Samantha stood silently for a moment, looking at the blackened embers; the flames licked toward the sky. Part of the exterior walls remained even though the front of the building was completely gone. Luca walked over to the entrance while Samantha relegated herself to the perimeter of the woods.
Looking down toward the walkway, Luca’s anger rose as he read words scrawled on the slate. “Where is the Hematilly Periapt?” Luca frowned. What the hell was that supposed to mean? He knelt down with his cell phone and snapped a picture. Then he ran his fingers over the clotted, blood-red substance; he held it to his nose and sniffed. Bat’s blood. What the fuck was someone doing with bat’s blood out here in the middle of the mountains? It was a common ingredient used in witchcraft, usually made with indigo dye, cinnamon, myrrh, and a few other benign ingredients. But the sanguine ink was genuine blood from the veins of a freshly slit bat’s throat; it was used for revenge. Someone had intended to burn them to a crisp in that cabin; fitting retribution for a witch.
What is the Hematilly Periapt? An amulet, he pondered. Ilsbeth had said nothing to him about her owning it. Could Samantha have such an object? Did she know what it was? And if existed, what did it do? Who would want something so badly they’d be willing to kill for it in broad daylight? Deciding not to tell Samantha about the writing, he smeared the fluid across the sole of his shoe, blurring the words. He wiped his finger on his jeans, looked up into the flames and sighed. They needed to get out of there.
Samantha’s eyes pricked with tears as she watched her rental cabin burn. She looked up to the surrounding trees, which had begun to catch fire. Anger burned deep within her soul. She’d had enough of the evil and destruction. Luca was right about one thing; she was strong, and she would find a way through this. Not only that; in that moment, she resolved to be part of the solution and not idly stand by while life happened to her. She remembered what Ilsbeth had told her about how she had magic within her but she was the only one who could call it to be. It was her decision, her power.
Closing her eyes, Samantha reached out her hands, palms up toward the heavens and focused on her need to put the fire out. She called to the elements as if they were servants; instinctually, she knew that they were within her control. She felt the tingle in her fingertips as her eyes flew open. The clouds had already drawn close, and lightning flashed in the distance. “Rain, come,” she commanded.
Nothing happened, and she looked up again as if readying to scold an insolent child. Anger surging, she encouraged the tendrils of magic to dance over her skin until she was within a mystic trance. Unconsciously, she chanted over and over as the words came to her from within, “Aqua Dei tui eu nunc. Aqua Dei tui eu nunc. Aqua Dei tui eu nunc!” She shook with power as the water began to fall from the sky.
Luca stood back as a bright aura surrounded Samantha. Although he’d known her magic existed, she had doubted its existence. As streams of light pushed from her palms, he knew she’d found it. He blessed the rain as it poured down in droves, putting the fire out within minutes. When it was clear all the embers were drowned, he called out to Samantha, “It’s done Samantha. You can let go, darlin’. You did it.”
Samantha barely registered Luca’s words as the power within her died. She slumped over, holding herself up by propping her hands on her knees. It felt as if she’d run a marathon. Colors danced in the whites of her eyes as she fell into blackness.
“You did it!” Luca exclaimed. “You put out the fire.” As he turned to smile at her, he panicked; she’d collapsed into the muddy mixture of dirt and ash. He rushed over, fell to his knees and gently cradled her in his arms. “It’s okay, you did it. Come on now, wake up, Samantha.” He kissed her head and pulled away, realizing they needed to get out of there. He traced his fingers from her temple down around her chin.
Her eyes fluttered, “What?”
“You scared me. You’re okay now, let’s get going.” He stood up with her cradled in his arms. She pressed her face into his chest, afraid to look at the cabin.
He walked with her over to his SUV, opened the door and carefully sat her in the front seat.
“Stay here, Samantha,” he told her. “I need to get my keys. Is there anything you need out of this rubble?” Luca knew full well there wasn’t much left worth salvaging. But after all she’d been through, he would’ve tried to save anything important to her.
She silently shook her head no and stared out the car’s front windshield, not wanting to face what had happened. Denial could be quite a peaceful state if she only embraced it; alas, she could not tear her eyes from the debris. A dazed veil fell over her face as she silently contemplated the fire, her magic. It was as if her inner light dimmed as the cold splash of reality dowsed her. She was still in danger, and if she’d had a doubt before, her magic, while unpredictable, was intact. It was a wicked blow to the fragile sense of balance she’d worked hard to build over the past week.
Samantha, still in shock from creating the rain, shook her head silently. She hadn’t brought anything of importance with her to the cabin. She hadn’t had a chance to replace all her credit cards since New Orleans. The only thing she’d replaced was her smartphone, which had all her financial information on it via the apps. And luckily, she'd worn it on her walk so she could listen to music.
Luca trod into what was left of the home, watching carefully where he stepped. The crunch of the charred wood beneath his feet resounded in Samantha’s ears as she watched the smoke-filled sky dissipate from gray to blue. The smell of burnt wood engrained itself in the surrounding woods and grass; there was no direction either of them could turn where they could not detect the evidence of what had happened.
Luca came out of the house with nothing more than a single set of keys. “Got the keys!” he grumbled. He quickly strode over to her, got in the car and started it. “Let’s go. You’re in shock and we’ve got to get out of here before whoever did this comes back. It’s odd. I can’t smell a vampire or a wolf, no magic either.” Smells undeniably human. He didn’t want to tell Samantha that wolves, shifters, vampires and those of the magic persuasion could all use human minions to do their dirty work. “Samantha, this may not be the best time to discuss this, but your magic back there…the rain. Do you wanna talk about it?”