Flameout Read Free

keep on speaking.
    â€œI can assure you, Luke, that
wasn’t
my intention.”
    Sam stepped out of the floodlit area and mergedwith the deeper darkness of night. It was a vampire trick, one the virus had gifted him. I wasn’t sure if all those infected with the virus got the ability, as few of the madder red cloaks—the ones who had the scythelike brand burned into their cheeks—seemed to use it. Luke
did
have the ability, but even if he were using it, I should have sensed him—unless, of course, he was using some form of magic to distort my senses.
    But if he
was
close, why hadn’t he said anything about Sam leaving the grave site? Was that exactly what he wanted—me and Sam separated—or was there something else going on here?
    â€œOh, you made your intentions clear enough.” The last shreds of amusement had left Luke’s tone. All that remained was ice and fury. “Now let me make mine clear—”
    â€œWe’re all
very
aware of your intentions,” I cut in. The quickest way to annoy Luke had always been to interrupt when he was speaking—and when he was angry, he tended to react without thought. Right now, with Sam off in the trees trying to find him, keeping his attention
and
annoyance on me would hopefully mean he wasn’t paying attention to everything else that was going on around him. “But history is littered with would-be dictators like you, and each and every one of them was doomed to failure from the beginning. Just as you are.”
    â€œThey weren’t in possession of a virus capable of infecting the world and making it mine,” he spat back.
    â€œThe world would be yours for only as long as it takes to make a cure or a vaccine.” I crossed my armsand wondered why the hell Sam was taking so long. Surely, given the clarity of Luke’s voice, he couldn’t be
that
far away.
    â€œBy the time
that
happens—if it ever happens—my army will be vast,” Luke growled, “and not even your flames will be strong enough to stop my rampage.”
    â€œI wouldn’t be so sure of that, Luke. You’ve only had a very small taste of what I’m actually capable of.”
    â€œAh, but now that I have, I can work on ways to counter it.”
    A chill ran through me. The flames of a phoenix certainly
could
be curtailed, and one of those methods had been employed by the sindicati only a few nights ago. The last thing I needed was a psycho like Luke getting his hands on
that
sort of magic.
    â€œYou might want to talk to Parella about how well that worked out for him,” I snapped back, glad my voice was absent of the fear churning my gut.
    â€œOh, if I ever get near
that
piece of vampire scum, talking is the last thing I’ll be doing with him.”
    Meaning Parella had better watch his back, because I needed him alive. I had no love for vampires
or
the sindicati, but Parella and I had something of a truce going—he’d agreed to keep his men off my tail until I found Wilson’s backup notes. It gave us breathing space—not much, granted, but at least it meant there was one less group we had to worry about. If he got himself killed, there was no guarantee his replacement would keep that agreement.
    My gaze swept the tree-filled darkness beyond the floodlight. I still had no sense of Luke, though I was aware enough of Sam’s position. His presence remindedme of a winter storm—filled with ice and the promise of fury. So why was it taking so long to uncover where Luke was—or wasn’t?
    â€œLook,” I said, my tone holding a hint of the frustration that swirled through me. “It’s been nice catching up with you again, but is there
any
point to this whole conversation? Have you decided to hand yourself in or what?”
    He laughed. It was a high, not altogether pleasant sound. He might not be one of the crazy ones, but he sure as hell wasn’t far off it,